Chapter 5

Dakota Territory, September, 1867

Over the course of the last few years, Cletus had accumulated 10 "Army Brass" pistols. He didn't carry them all; he kept four in his pack. He decided that these pistols would make great gifts for his new clan, so he took them to his next council meeting. He gave one to each of four war chiefs who were there and explained the advantages of the pistol over the rifle for close combat. He offered to demonstrate the next day.

The next day, about midmorning, practically every warrior of the clan showed up for the demonstration. Cletus had installed a stake about 6 feet high in an open area where everybody could see. To this stake he attached some brush so that he had the general outline of a man. He asked one of the warriors who had his rifle with him to assist in the demonstration and the request was accepted.

Cletus had the warrior stand about three feet away from the stake and to shoot it with his rifle. The man had some difficulty getting his rifle in position to fire because he was so close to the target. Cletus thanked the man for his assistance and assured him that the difficulty he had was exactly what would happen in a real fight at close quarters. Cletus then drew and fired his pistol with perfect ease right into the stake. He then gave a short lecture on the advantages of a short barrel versus a long barrel in this type of fighting.

Cletus freely admitted that the pistol was no good beyond about 15 to 20 yards because of poor accuracy, so there was no reason to discard the rifle. However, much fighting, both on foot and on horseback, was close up, so there were many advantages to carrying a pistol, too. He admitted that getting enough pistols for all the warriors to have one was going to be a problem, but he would work on that if there were enough interest.

Of course, there was enough interest. Showing a warrior an improved weapon was a sure way of getting his interest. A special council meeting was held on the spot and Cletus suggested that they pool their gold and he would go into Yankton and buy as many pistols as he could. He didn't know how many he could get, but surely he could get enough that they could start practicing with them right away. Only a minimum amount of discussion, about two hours worth, was necessary to reach the required unanimity, and Cletus was authorized to act for the clan.

He collected what money was available in the tribal coffers and left for Yankton. At that time, there were no laws or other restrictions on selling guns to anybody, so Cletus was able to buy 14 Army Brass pistols and the necessary powder, lead, and caps to go with them. He cleaned out the stock in the general store and the owner said he would order more immediately.

When Cletus returned to his village, another meeting was held and a plan was worked out to start the training program. Eventually, the clan would need 47 pistols, plus the extra cylinders, to equip all the warriors. Cletus had paid $14 a piece for the pistols so they were going to need $462 for the remaining guns. They also needed the extra cylinders and ammunition, so they were going to need more money for the project to succeed. The clan only had $327 left. They would have to find a way to get more money.

Meanwhile, Cletus started his training program. The first item on his agenda was to be very careful not to offend anybody! He figured that the best way to do that was to make a game of it. He divided the 47 warriors into four teams, the Eagles, the Horses, the Buffalo, and the Snakes. He let the men swap around so that friends were on the same team, and let them make any other adjustments to keep them happy. He set up four 3-hour training sessions, to run in sequence, so that everybody would get his chance at the guns every other day. When they finished training, the best team would get the first guns. This was enough to strike their competitive instincts. A morning session and an afternoon session would still give Cletus time enough to take care of his other obligations.

The first session was spent in learning how the gun worked. Things like why you had to cock the hammer before you pulled the trigger and how to change the cylinder. Gun safety was emphasized, since they didn't have any warriors to waste in silly accidents. Cletus also made sure that they all understood the necessity of cleaning the gun after firing because of the corrosiveness of the powder residue. Cletus had no problem in keeping his students attention, since they all had the true warrior's love of weapons.

Before the class was over, Cletus taught them how to load the powder and shot into the cylinder and put the caps into the gun. He then let each man shoot so that he would remain interested enough to return for the next lesson. Every man left the lesson with eager anticipation for the next session.

Six weeks later, the men had all learned as much as they possibly could by practice, alone. The winning team, the Horses, had been selected and they were issued the pistols. The men were warned not to brag about them or show them off outside the clan, because they would be the most effective in combat if they came as a surprise.

Cletus returned to Yankton and was able to get 20 more guns and 24 extra cylinders. He told the store owner that he wanted 13 more guns and 27 extra cylinders. The owner promised to order them and have them in stock by January. Cletus said that he would be back the first week in January if the weather wasn't too bad.

These guns were also issued and a regular schedule of shooting contests was organized so that the warriors wouldn't get rusty.

Meanwhile, Bright-Sky's pregnancy was moving along with no problems. She maintained that she would deliver in March. She told Cletus that he should not worry, she would take care of everything. Her pregnancy did not interfere with regular sex between the two and Bright-Sky was as vocal as ever. Cletus began to wonder is she was so loud in a effort to make him look good in the eyes of the rest of the clan. Whatever the reason, his ego was certainly messaged by her noise. By now, Cletus dearly loved her.

The problem of getting enough cash for the guns was solved by a very good fur season. A large number of high quality furs were taken that year, so the clan easily had enough money for Cletus to purchase the rest of the needed guns when he next went into Yankton.

Cletus' next project was to equip the clan with Henry rifles. However, at $42 each, that was going to be a more difficult task. All of the warriors used muzzle loading rifles or muskets. It took only one short demonstration of Cletus' Henry to convince everyone that the Henry was the way to go. The gathering of furs was redoubled and everybody put forth a maximum effort. As a result, enough money was raised to purchase 10 of the Henry rifles. By March, Cletus had gotten them and told the store owner that he would be in for more next fur season.

Bright-Sky was ready! Cletus wondered how she could walk, she was so big in front. When she began to have the expected pains, Cletus was sent to find a particular woman who was the tribal midwife. The midwife came, along with several assistants. They barred Cletus from the tipi and did their thing.

Eight hours later, Cletus was presented with a yowling son. Cletus was so proud that he nearly burst. Bright-Sky was very happy that she had pleased Cletus, and, contrary to custom, asked him to concur in the name she had chosen. Cletus immediately agreed to "Black-Man." The boy wasn't that dark, but he was a little darker than most Sioux. The name was really picked to honor Cletus, rather than to describe the baby.

Unlike most Sioux men, Cletus took a strong interest in the baby, almost to the point of exasperating Bright-Sky on occasion. He spent a lot of time holding his son and talking to him in the tribal language and in English. Cletus wanted Black-Man to learn both languages, though he may have been a little premature in his teaching.

Cletus was a little taken aback when Bright-Sky announced that they would start working on the next baby as soon as she was able. She thought that might be as long as a week, but she hoped Cletus wouldn't mind waiting. In the final weeks before Black-Man was born, some of the unmarried women of the clan had expressed an interest in Cletus and had asked Bright-Sky if she would mind if they had a sample while she was incapacitated. Bright-Sky had given her permission to the women and had insisted that Cletus avail himself of the opportunity. Reluctantly, Cletus had agreed, but he was never completely comfortable with the idea or the act, particularly since Bright-Sky had wanted to watch!

The summer of 1868 was as good as the previous year. Cletus hunted and fished, something none of his fellows ever did, but they were never reluctant to share in his catch. Black-Man grew and was as spoiled as any child could possibly be and Cletus loved every minute. Cletus happily returned to Bright-Sky, exclusively, and they had many joyful nights together.

The only trouble experienced by the clan were a few brief incursions by White men looking for gold. The Indians knew that there was none nearby, but the White men refused to listen. The invaders were chased out with nothing more than a show of strength, there was no shooting or even fisticuffs. The White men left reluctantly, but the Indians knew that they would be back. Cletus could hardly wait for fur season so that he could get enough money to equip all of the warriors with Henry rifles. Cletus knew that it would be soon, but would it be soon enough?

Fur season came and went. Cletus was, indeed, able to equip every warrior with a Henry, and this made Cletus breathe a little easier. By this time, Cletus had gained enough skill in moving about stealthily that he had the respect of all the warriors. He was now fully accepted as a war chief and consulted whenever the need arose.