Francis Lynde Kroll

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ By the time Angry Wolf had crawled to Little Eagle’s side, the Pawnees were flying back down the trail. Three riderless horses raced ahead of the warriors. Little Eagle saw that the Pawnees were whipping their horses, trying to get them to go still faster. When he saw the big band of Crows come into sight around the bend, he understood why the Pawnees were fleeing.
There must have been fifty warriors in that band of pursuing Crows. The Crows were lashing their ponies as furiously as were the Pawnees. ”

“ When he glanced toward Clawing Bear, he saw a look of approval on the medicine man’s face.
“You nearly missed,” Clawing Bear said gruffly. “I know it’s hard for a boy of twelve summers to study when other boys are playing. There will be no more lessons today.”
Using two sticks as tongs, Little Eagle lifted the bowl off the fire. His eyes moved from the bowl back to the fire as though they had been drawn by a magnet. He gave a little gasp as, in the leaping flames, he seemed to see a party of Crow warriors riding swiftly. He tried to count them, but they went too fast. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When he reached Angry Wolf, Little Eagle had to bend over the wounded Sioux to make sure he still breathed. He gave Angry Wolf more water and then sat down to try to make a plan. When he had seen the Crows fleeing so hurriedly, he had been sure that Sioux were close behind them. He could have stopped the Sioux and someone would have gone to get Clawing Bear to help take care of Angry Wolf. But now he knew the Sioux weren’t coming. If Angry Wolf’s life was to be saved, he must have help. ”

“ Again Little Eagle knelt to get a better look. He saw that the strides taken were not much longer than his own. The warrior who had passed must not be a large man, but Little Eagle could not tell whether the man had been a Sioux or a Crow. He wished Clawing Bear or a warrior were with him. ”

“ At midday he and Angry Wolf stopped for their usual rest. They had come a long distance that morning, but they had seen only one clump of trees. While they were resting, Little Eagle watched a bank of clouds forming in the northwest.
“Will we be rained on again this afternoon?” Angry Wolf asked.
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“Rain will not matter,” Little Eagle answered uneasily. “To me, the air has a feel as if Old-man-of-the-north’s cold wind was behind that cloud. It may be a long way to the next camping place. It would not be good to be on the prairie if there is much snow.” ”

“ Little Eagle saw that he could take a short run and jump across the creek. He ran as though this were his plan, but he shortened his leap and landed in the water. He stopped to listen. He had gained so much on his pursuers that he could hardly hear them. He smiled to himself when he remembered something the warrior-teacher had told him.
“When you have to hide from your enemies,” the teacher had said several times, “hide as near them as possible.” ”

“ Little Eagle promised. “I will be careful not to walk into an ambush.”
Angry Wolf shook his head.
“Crow warriors may be anywhere between our camp and that other Crow camp,” he said. “The only chance is to ride through on a horse. It would be better if you helped me get a horse.”
Little Eagle kept the smile of triumph from his face. Now they would use the plan that he had thought wisest from the first. Both of them would sneak to the Crow horse corral and each would take a horse. One of them would get away and take the warning to the Sioux camp. ”

“ Little Eagle shuddered. He knew what it would be like to be caught on the prairie in a blizzard. They had no tepee to shelter them, nor blankets to keep them warm. There were places where they might travel on foot for several suns without seeing a tree. If they were caught in one of those places, they would be without fuel or shelter.
“We must get horses,” Little Eagle urged.
“It is late in the season for hunting parties to be here,” Angry Wolf said. “There may be no one from whom we can take horses. Besides, our medicine is not strong. We didn’t get any horses from the Crows.” ”

“ He couldn’t even find the trail they had left when they wandered away. When the sun was getting low in the western sky, Little Eagle turned back toward camp. On the way back, he wondered what words he would use to tell Angry Wolf so that the other boy would not be too alarmed at the danger of their situation. Little Eagle didn’t try to hide from himself the fact that they were in grave danger. Here in the middle of the prairie, with no horses, they might not be able to get enough game to keep them alive through the winter. ”

“ Angry Wolf said. “We are warriors now. We have taken horses from the Crows and you have shot two enemies. You may be made a medicine man. You healed both of our wounds and you made the plans that allowed us to escape from our enemies.”
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Little Eagle gave his friend a startled look. It was true that both of them were entitled to be called warrior, but would he be made a medicine man? He had never heard of a boy of his few summers winning that honor.
“Let’s wait until we reach the winter camp,” he suggested. ”

“ He had found a large herd of buffaloes near camp and was leading the warriors to the hunt. If the buffaloes had been far from camp, some warrior would have been given the job of bringing the herd of pack horses. The pack horses would be needed to bring the meat into camp.
Little Eagle looked longingly at the herd of horses. If Angry Wolf and he had two of them, they could safely risk the long journey across the prairie. Little Eagle was confident he could get two horses, since no warrior had been left to guard the herd. ”

“ As soon as he was back at camp, Little Eagle built another fire. He spitted the squirrel on a stick and roasted it over the coals. When the squirrel was cooked, Little Eagle carried it to Angry Wolf. Angry Wolf took it, but he didn’t have strength enough to tear it apart. He handed it back to Little Eagle. Little Eagle twisted off a chunk which he handed to his friend. Angry Wolf accepted the piece of meat, but he didn’t start to eat. Little Eagle looked at him questioningly.
“I eat when you eat,” Angry Wolf told him. ”

“ Angry Wolf suggested. “It may be that while we sleep, you will have a dream to guide us. You have studied under Clawing Bear. You might have a medicine dream like a medicine man or a warrior.”
“I hope I do,” Little Eagle responded.
Little Eagle took the log away from Angry Wolf’s back. As soon as Angry Wolf had stretched out on the pile of leaves, Little Eagle put armloads of leaves over him. Before he crawled into his own pile of leaves, Little Eagle covered the fire with dirt. ”

“ Angry Wolf reached the top of the hill and started down the other side. His horse was running harder, and the gap between him and his pursuers began to widen. As the Crow warriors dashed past, Little Eagle sprang up. The warriors were so intent on the chase that there was no danger they would look back. Little Eagle raced after them as though he expected to overtake the horses. The riders reached the bottom of the hill, crossed the narrow valley, and started up the other side. Little Eagle’s hopes began to rise. Angry Wolf was getting farther ahead at every jump of his horse. ”

“ By the time Little Eagle had a cheerful fire going, Angry Wolf returned to camp with an antelope on his shoulder.
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“Hunting is good,” Angry Wolf said, with a pleased smile. “This will be food enough until we get a buffalo.”
As soon as they had finished eating, Little Eagle brought the horses into camp. The sun had risen in a clear sky and already was melting the snow. Angry Wolf had made two packages of the meat. One he had wrapped in the hide of the antelope he had shot and the other in Little Eagle’s deer hide. He handed one of the packages to Little Eagle. ”

“ Little Eagle saw that the Crows had reached an agreement, but there was no way for him to tell what the agreement was. When he saw two warriors mount horses and ride up the hill toward him, it looked as though the decision had been made to search near the camp. He was puzzled to see a third warrior come up the hill on foot. The two mounted warriors sent their horses racing along the trail which led to the other Crow camp. The warrior on foot selected a tall tree and started to climb it. ”

“ Little Eagle said, suddenly making up his mind.
“It is too dangerous,” Angry Wolf repeated. “There is some danger you have overlooked.”
“When the Pawnees have finished dressing the buffaloes they have killed, they will cure the meat before leaving their camp,” Little Eagle pointed out. “While the meat is curing, the Pawnees will have time to scout. They are sure to find our camp. There is a danger that I have seen.”
Angry Wolf smiled.
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“You are learning to be a good leader,” he said. “If you think you can get horses for us, I am willing that you try.” ”

“ A couple of trackers on foot would follow the trail. Mounted warriors would ride at each side of the trackers and behind them. The riders would turn aside to surround each of the clumps of brush toward which he had made his trail.
When he started, Little Eagle’s one plan had been to lead the Crows away from Angry Wolf. As he realized that he was getting farther away from his pursuers, he began to change the plan. There was a small hope that he might escape and get back to Angry Wolf. His hand brushed against the bag of poultice Clawing Bear had tied at his belt. ”

“ All day Little Eagle was restless. Several times he wanted to suggest that they go on. The Crows were bitter enemies. It might well be that when the warrior didn’t return, they’d send a party to search for him. When they found him, they would look for their enemies so that they could take revenge. Angry Wolf seemed to feel that it was safe to rest in camp. He did mount one of the horses and ride a scouting trip around the camp. ”

“ Angry Wolf rode straight west until he saw that Little Eagle had the herd under control. Then he turned north, as they had decided to do. There was no chance to pick a route where they wouldn’t leave a trail. Even in the places where there was no snow, the tracks of the horses could easily be seen.
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After they had ridden for what seemed a long time, Little Eagle called for Angry Wolf to stop. Little Eagle circled the herd and rode to his friend’s side.
“We’ll turn east here,” Little Eagle ordered. “We may be able to fool the Crows into thinking we are Pawnees. ”

“ Angry Wolf was better, but he was still far from well.
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Twice on the journey back to the creek, Little Eagle saw small herds of deer. Each time the wind was blowing from him toward them. They caught his scent and dashed away long before he was within bowshot of them.
Little Eagle reached the creek at a place far downstream from where he had crossed before. He turned to follow the bank to the place where he had crossed. He had covered about half of the distance when he saw a stag and two does grazing near the creek. The deer were in a small, grassy glade. ”

“ Before they reached the winter camp, a party of warriors rode out to meet Angry Wolf and Little Eagle. The warriors surrounded the boys and chanted the Victory Song. The warriors continued to circle until they neared the first wigwam in camp. Here the warriors changed positions so that there were men ahead, at each side, and behind Angry Wolf and Little Eagle. The warriors conducted the two boys to the council wigwam. Little Eagle noticed the admiring looks that the boys in the camp were giving the captured horses. ”

“ The Crows believed that while the owner slept, his spirit talked to the horse. In that way, the horse would know just what to do when the battle started. Little Eagle was so relieved to know there was still a chance to get a warning back to his own camp, that he could hardly wait to make the attempt.
“There will be other horses in the corral,” he said. “It would be easier to get one of them.”
“If we get a horse from the corral, it might be one that wasn’t much good,” Angry Wolf answered. “The best horses will be tied to the owners’ wrists. I must get one of them.” ”

“ Little Eagle wanted to protest that both of them should try to get horses, but he remained silent. Angry Wolf was the one who had remembered the Crow custom of keeping horses in camp the night before a battle. He had proved himself capable to be the leader. Little Eagle must obey him until he, too, proved himself. ”

“ The Crows knew of this stream. Probably they had planned to camp here but had been delayed on the way. If the warrior who had attacked Angry Wolf and him had been able to return to camp, he had reported to them. If the man hadn’t returned to camp, the other Crows had found his body by now. Yes, they would come on.
“We’ll have to leave the horses we have captured,” Angry Wolf said. “We can’t drive a herd of horses and outrun the Crows. They have swift horses and strong medicine.”
“We would have powerful medicine if I had studied more with Clawing Bear,” Little Eagle thought to himself. ”