Francis Lynde Kroll

“ Bent Arrow waited.
“I have had a medicine dream about you,” Clawing Bear resumed. “Not all of it was clear. However, there will be trouble with the Sioux. You and Flying Arrow will be in great danger. There was something about an eagle or an eagle feather, it wasn’t clear which. Yet I saw you running swiftly. I saw that your leg was well.”
Bent Arrow’s face glowed. He hardly heard the words about danger. The medicine man’s dream meant that he would be well. Already he could see himself winning a great race and earning a new name much better than Bent Arrow. ”

“ Angry Wolf said.
“No other meat is so good,” Little Eagle answered.
They rested until the darkness was heavy enough to hide their movements. It didn’t take them long to reach the grove of trees. They could see the gleam of campfires on the other side of the grove.
The two Sioux slipped among the trees until they reached a place where they could see the Crow camp. There were several campfires, and chunks of buffalo meat were roasting over each of them. Some warriors were sitting around, gorging on fresh meat. Others had evidently stuffed themselves and crawled into their tepees to sleep. ”

“ Little Bear wondered if Grandfather could find his way if there were no trail to follow. Probably he could. He seemed to know where they were. Little Bear had been thinking how easy it would be for the Crow to hide his horse in one of the canyons leading from the one they were in. He could wait for them and easily ambush them. He hadn’t thought at all of the danger of a heavy rain sending water roaring down the narrow canyon. Now that Grandfather had mentioned his fears, Little Bear remembered tales of warriors who had been caught in sudden floods and drowned. ”

“ The two Crows cleared most of the snow away that had drifted onto the sheltered side of the lean-to. Flying Arrow managed to blow flame alive on one of the coals still in the fire. Bent Arrow hunted for more wood, while the warrior peeled dry shavings and built the fire up. ”

“ Little Eagle had been so busy with his lessons that he had forgotten this was the day for the powwow between the Crow chiefs and the chiefs of his own tribe to start.
Little Eagle stood watching the Crows as they filed into the wigwam. He thought of how bitterly he hated these enemies of his people. Reluctantly, he admitted to himself that the Crow chiefs were brave. The Sioux chiefs had promised them safety while they were in the Sioux camp, but who knew when a young man, anxious to become a warrior, would ambush them on the way to or from their own camp? ”

“ He told that he had thought of the shortest way to camp. He had taken the risk of running to the first tepee and walking from it to the nearest tripod. It had occurred to him that the squaws would pay no attention to one boy. He had been right. He had grabbed a piece of meat and was away from the camp while the other boys were still crawling toward the tripods.
“You did well,” the teacher praised. “Sometimes it is better to take greater risks in order to catch the enemy unprepared. This eagle feather is the reward for your coup. You may wear it as a warrior would who had counted coup.” ”

“ The warrior made a complete circuit of the herd. Sometimes he was hidden from view behind a horse or in its shadow, but at last Little Bear saw the warrior return to his blankets. Still Great Bear made no move to start towards the horses. After a time, another warrior left his blankets as the first one had done. It was so dark Little Bear couldn’t follow the warrior’s movements after he left the glow of the fire, but at last he saw that warrior complete his circuit and return to his blankets. ”

“ In a moment Clawing Bear would make the sign of dismissal. There might still be time to race to the tepee, get his bow and arrows, and join the contest.
“Wait,” Clawing Bear ordered. “You have done better than I expected. As a reward, you may carry some of the poultice with you.”
Little Eagle tried to keep his face from showing the pleased surprise he felt. A real warrior or a real medicine man would have given no sign of pleasure. He watched as Clawing Bear picked up a small bag made from the lining of a deer’s stomach. The medicine man filled it with the mixture from the bowl. ”

“ Taking the horse from the herd had to be done slowly and carefully. Any rapid movement might arouse a warrior. Bent Arrow had to hold back his own impatience. By the time that he had worked his horse out of the herd, he was about halfway up the hill out of the valley. Here the shadows were dark, and there was small danger of being seen even if a Sioux warrior chanced to waken. A few steps and he would be across the hill and completely out of sight of the Sioux camp. The horse suddenly swung its head, jerking the rope tight. ”

“ As he finished his account, Little Eagle looked toward Angry Wolf. The other boy’s eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep. Little Eagle picked up his bow and arrow and got to his feet.
“Where are you going?” Angry Wolf asked, opening his eyes.
“We need more meat,” Little Eagle explained. “I’m going to try to get a deer.”
“Let it go until tomorrow,” Angry Wolf answered. “You have done everything. You need a rest. Tomorrow I’ll be strong enough to do my share. Let the hunting go until then.”
Little Eagle tried to hide the doubt he felt when he looked toward his friend. ”

“ The Pawnees might be careful enough to have a lookout on this hill. They edged forward to the rim of the hill. The last few yards they lay on the ground and wriggled forward like snakes. When Little Bear parted the grass and looked down, he could see a small valley with a little stream running through it. Across the stream a large party of Pawnees was waiting at the mouth of Buffalo Trap Canyon.
“That is the only way out of Buffalo Trap Canyon,” Great Bear whispered. “Our men can’t escape.” ”

“ As he trotted up the hill, Little Eagle thought back to the actions of the Crows. He was sure they had spent considerable time following the trail he had made to lead them away from Angry Wolf. None of the returning Crow warriors had had new scalps at their belts. They had acted much more like defeated warriors than like ones who had carried out a successful raid. Even though he thought of all those things, Little Eagle dreaded the moment when he would look down onto the Sioux camp. ”

“ Sly Fox told of how he had chased the buffalo and how his horse had fallen.
“If Bent Arrow and his horse hadn’t acted quickly, the buffalo would have killed me,” Sly Fox finished.
Chief Barking Wolf turned toward Bent Arrow.
“You did well,” he praised, a smile replacing the stern look on his face. “I like an almost-warrior who doesn’t make excuses. A good Crow knows when orders must be disobeyed.”
Bent Arrow felt a lump rising in his throat as it had done when his uncle praised his running. ”

“ Little Bear told him.
Great Bear dismounted and walked to the top of the hill. He soon returned.
“The herd is moving to the lowlands ahead of the snows,” Great Bear explained. “We can get all the meat our horses can carry.”
Little Bear’s eyes sparkled. He and Great Bear would ride into camp with a long string of captured horses. If they brought those horses in, loaded with meat, they surely would be heroes.
“Let’s get some buffaloes,” he urged.
Grandfather had been as excited as Little Bear. Now he hesitated.
“Riding into a big herd when it is on the move is dangerous,” he cautioned. ”

“ Little Eagle gave a start. It was almost as though Clawing Bear had whispered in his ear. Sioux medicine was powerful too. There was a way that might fool the Crows.
“How long will it take the Crows to reach here?” Little Eagle asked.
“They were starting to cook their meal when I saw them,” Angry Wolf replied. “They will stop to study the place where we were attacked. We may have until the sun is straight overhead.”
“We must build many fires to make it look as though this is a big Sioux camp,” Little Eagle explained. “The Crows will turn back if they think many Sioux are camped here.” ”

“ A Sioux warrior might catch the thud of running feet.
It was all Bent Arrow could do to keep from running. Step by slow step, he went down the hill and came to the trees. In his mind he had been thinking of the trees as a hiding place. When he reached them, he knew he must go on. Undoubtedly the Sioux would select this spot for their camp. He crossed the valley and climbed the hill at that side, constantly looking back. At the top of the hill, he took one last backward glance. The head of a Sioux horse was just coming into sight at the top of the hill on the other side of the valley. ”

“ He had to be taught how to use a bow and arrow, how to shoot straight, how to saddle a horse, how to ride, and the many things a young Indian needed to learn.
How Great Bear trained his little grandson and how together they tracked a horse thief who stole their horses: how the courage, determination, and ability of Little Bear saved the entire tribe, make absorbing, exciting reading, and when at length Little Bear is finally called “warrior,” the reader has an authentic, historically accurate picture of the real life of a boy in an Indian tribe. ”

“ He could hear the sounds of the camp ahead. He crawled forward until he came to a place where the hill sloped steeply down into a valley. He found a clump of brush to hide behind. From there he could look down onto the Crow camp with little danger that a warrior would see him.
As Little Eagle studied the camp, it seemed as though his suspicions had been wrong. There were no more than the agreed twenty-five warriors in it. As nearly as he could tell, the warriors were loafing, waiting for the chiefs to come back from the powwow. ”

“ Clawing Bear stood.
“When a youth does a great deed,” Clawing Bear spoke solemnly, “his nearest relative is entitled to give gifts and to give the youth a new name. Twelve summers ago a party of Sioux injured a Crow boy—injured him so badly that the boy could not walk erect and so was given the name Bent Arrow. Now that boy has been cured. He has raided a Sioux camp. He has run a great distance in as short a time as any Crow has ever run it. When he reached us, he was ready to drop, but he was running erectly. I say that the boy, Bent Arrow, has become the warrior, True Arrow, a true Crow.” ”

“ Little Eagle tied the leather bag to his belt. He stooped down to pick up the cooking bowl, but changed his mind. He would take the larger one he had seen abandoned in the Crow camp.
As he hurried back toward Angry Wolf, all kinds of fears tormented Little Eagle. Without water, Angry Wolf might not still be alive. Some enemy might have passed that way and found him. Little Eagle used all of his will power to hold a reasonable pace. He reminded himself that if he became exhausted, there would be no one to care for Angry Wolf. ”

“ Great Bear constantly looked to the northwest. Early in the afternoon he called a halt. He had chosen a small valley, well supplied with trees, for their camping place. Little Bear found a place where the horses could paw through the snow to grass.
“I saw you often looked to the northwest,” Little Bear said, as they sat by their campfire. “Are you afraid there will be more snow?”
“I am.” Great Bear nodded. “It doesn’t feel like snow weather, but we have been fortunate. The spirits have helped us. Some of them are sure to turn against us. ”