Chapter 15

Lightning Strike was badly startled when the young medicine man bolted upright and shouted, “Bison! Wait!”

“Chirping Cricket, are you all right?” Lighting Strike asked.

“Yes. Do not touch me,” he said. “Is Smoking Fire here?”

Lightning Strike nodded. “Yes. He is over at the fire.”

The boy slowly rose from the ground. His legs felt weak and wobbly. “I am tired. I have been to the land of the spirits.”

Lightning Strike walked beside him, noting his unsteady gait. “What did you see?”

“I must see Smoking Fire before telling my story.” Everyone turned to him as he neared the fire. “No one touch me. Smoking Fire, will you make a purifying fire?” he signed.

Smoking Fire noted that the boy’s eyes looked a little glassy. “Yes, of course.”

“Thank you.”

The two medicine men went to the lodge where Smoking Fire made a fire using cedar chips and sweet grass.

Once he’d purified himself with the smoke, the boy said, “I am ready to tell my vision to everyone.”

Smoking Fire nodded. “Then it is time to convene the council so that you do not forget anything from the vision.”

Quickly, the other men and Willow gathered inside the council lodge. Chirping Cricket was sat at the back of the lodge in a place of honor. The others quieted and waited for him to speak.

He wasn’t used to speaking in front of so many people, but he fought back anxiety, intent on passing on all that he’d been shown. He glanced at Willow letting her know that he wanted her to translate. She gave a slight nod of assent.

“The first thing I must tell you is that I have been renamed by Bison. I will now be known as just Cricket. This is what the Great Spirit has decreed. Although slightly different, He says that I am the embodiment of all the great abilities a cricket possesses,” Cricket said.

Murmurs of surprise rippled through those gathered.

Smoking Fire said, “If this is what Wakan Tanka has decided, then let it be so. Henceforth, you shall be known as Cricket. Please go on.”

Cricket nodded. “Bison showed me that we will be separated from the bison herds, that they will die out.”

One of the council members said, “We cannot live without the bison.”

“We must find other ways to survive when that time comes,” Cricket said. “Bison also showed me a great battle between the Lakota and the Ojibwa. Although the Lakota fought valiantly, they couldn’t hold back the tide of Ojibwa. We will all be pushed westward, but if we work together, most of us can survive.”

Soaring Falcon said, “We will not run like frightened deer. We will find a way to stand and force them to retreat.”

Cricket’s expression saddened. “It will do no good, and many of both our peoples will be killed. There is a place we can go and be happy for a time. Bison has shown me this sacred place.”

The crowd didn’t know what to think and talked amongst themselves for a few moments before Growling Wolf said, “If Chirp—Cricket says this is true, then I believe him. He is an honest man and his past visions have come true. Where is this land you speak of?”

“Further westward into the mountains we live near,” Cricket said. “There the land teams with game, and there is lush pastureland for the horses. That is where we must go.”

Slither said, “If what you say is true, how long until we would have to move?”

“We should not go now,” Dark Horse said. “Winter will soon be upon us. It would be better to wait until spring. I also believe Cricket.”

Soaring Falcon looked the young medicine man over. There was something different about him. He seemed a little more confident and mature. “I believe you, Cricket.” He turned to Growling Wolf. “However, I still do not understand why we should create an alliance with you. What are you offering?”

Growling Wolf said, “We have already given you a woman of very high standing who is fertile and will give Dark Horse children. But there is more. We have many items to trade that will help us create good relations with other tribes.”

“I have seen your jewelry and it is beautiful,” Soaring Falcon said. “Something tells me that your jewelry is not the only thing of importance that you wish to trade.”

Growling Wolf nodded. “Our friendship with the Crow, Mandan, and a couple of other tribes, gives us access to crops that you do not have. Grapes, musk melons, pumpkins, maize, and peaches are but a few of the offerings we can provide.

“We have plenty to make wasna with as long as we have enough meat. And when we don’t, we have a few cows that our friend Ames brought to us a couple of autumns ago. Their milk provides for us when times are lean. And since you have moved into our territory, we have indeed had lean times.”

Soaring Falcon nodded. “It is the price of war and only the fittest will survive. It is a truth as old as time.”

Growling Wolf nodded his agreement. “We have brought you one of our cows as a gift, a show of goodwill that we mean you no harm.”

Impressed by the generous gesture, Soaring Falcon said, “We appreciate such a fine gift. This Ames you speak of, why does he come to you?”

Growling Wolf chuckled. “Ames Duchamp showed up unexpectedly one autumn and asked for refuge for the cold season. He carried only one rifle and gave some of us gifts to show that he was friendly.” The chief shrugged. “He is now one of us. He traps all winter long and then goes back north in the spring. When he comes, he brings supplies of all sorts with him as repayment for being allowed to stay with us.”

Ah, so that is where their real value lies. They do not have vast riches, but they are a conduit between many different people and can provide us with channels through which to gain the things we want and need. Soaring Falcon admired Growling Wolf’s skillful maneuvering and his regard for the other chief rose higher.

“So, you want our protection in exchange for ways of acquiring goods,” he said.

Growling Wolf nodded. “Yes. There is no sense skirting the truth. We are too small to withstand a large attack, but with our bands fighting together as we travel, we will be mighty enough to handle enemies.”

Soaring Falcon remembered Cricket’s statement about them being like the ant; small but powerful. He thought that it was an apt description of this band of Kiowas. “There is one condition that you must be willing to meet before we agree to deliberate.”

Growling Wolf lifted a brow in question.

“Just as one of our braves has married one of your women, we wish that one of your men of high status marries one of our women. Then we will truly be kin and our tie will be irrevocable,” Soaring Falcon said.

Growling Wolf had to work hard to hide his surprise. This was completely unexpected and must be handled delicately. “We have men who are eligible for marriage, but this woman you wish to marry into our tribe would have to be one of high standing.”