Chapter 31

It was a few days later that Black Otter left the valley with five wagons loaded with lumber, supplies and even black smith tools. He wondered about that and decided to see what was going on.

As Fighting Hawk entered the forge area he saw Little Fox working a piece of iron on the anvil. "Little Fox, what are you doing back here?" The sudden sound surprised Little Fox and he jumped at the voice close to his ear, dropping his hammer and luckily missing his foot.

"Damn it Fighting Hawk, don't sneak up on people when they are trying to work. You scared the shit out of me!" Little Fox flustered and grunted a few times before he broke out in a huge grin. Then he launched himself at the surprised Fighting Hawk, and wrapped him in a true bear hug. He whispered, "Thank you, for letting us go. Even if it wasn't what we expected, we now know where we really belong."

Fighting Hawk hugged the young man and kept quiet. When Little Fox stepped back, Fighting Hawk saw the apprehension on his face. He knew that the young man had not been looking forward to their meeting. "So what happened in your travels? You've only been gone about six months."

Little Fox took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he sat on the anvil. He didn't look at Fighting Hawk as he told his story. "We were really excited when we left. I guess that we should have each gone someplace different, but we decided to stay together just so we had a friend we could count on. We heard about your adventures in Kansas City, so we decided to go there. We couldn't believe the smell of the place, even before we got there. By the time that we were ready to ride in, I wasn't sure that I could stand the smell but we all took a deep breath and rode into town."

Fighting Hawk realized that this might be a long story and sat on a nearby barrel. He turned his full attention to Little Fox's tale. "When we arrived we moved into the hotel. At a dollar a day we knew that we couldn't live there very long. I realized that we would have to get jobs, if we wanted to keep eating. So, I went to the local blacksmith and asked about a job. He was reluctant at first, but he gave me the chance to show him what I could do. I got a job as an apprentice smith." Fighting Hawk noticed that he seemed proud of his job, or possibly of his skill. Fighting Hawk had to acknowledge that it was only fair.

"Straight Arrow and Standing Buffalo weren't as quick to realize what was going to happen, or they were too busy gawking at the town. But Straight Arrow showed up at the smith's forge asking about a job. The smith told him that he didn't need any more help. There wasn't much that I could do, and we both knew it. Straight Arrow went over to the stables and managed to talk the old man into a job. It wasn't what Straight Arrow wanted to be doing, but it was a pretty good job, and he let him sleep in the loft. I was still in the hotel and I was spending almost everything that I made just to stay there. When I told Straight Arrow how things were going with the money, he asked the old man if I could stay with him in the loft. The old man just shrugged and said that he didn't care either way, but there had better not be any trouble." At this point Little Fox went over to get a drink of water from the barrel and Fighting Hawk stretched before he sat back down on his barrel.

"Standing Buffalo spent almost all of his time in the saloon. Before the end of the month he was out of money and owed the hotel for his room. He also started hanging around with some people that I would have to say were the worst of the worst of white men. We cast out people like that, but the white man just seems to ignore them until that get killed, by somebody. He started coming around the blacksmiths asking me for money. I gave him what I could, but after a while I realized that he was just spending the money at the saloon. I told Straight Arrow that I wasn't going to give Standing Buffalo any more money, and he was just as surprised as I was that he had been getting money from both of us." Little Fox shook his head sadly at the memory, but Fighting Hawk also saw the look of determination on his face as well.

"When he came and I refused to give him anything he got mad and he actually tried to force me to give him money, but I think that he had gotten used to dealing with white men and he wasn't prepared to have a knife at his throat. He quickly backed down and left. I found out that it was a similar situation when he went to try Straight Arrow. That was the last time that he tried to get any money from us. We saw him wandering around broke for a while, then he seemed to get a lot of money. For the next two months that was the way that things went; he would be broke, then he had a lot of money. It just seemed to keep happening over and over, but he never got a job that we saw." Fighting Hawk nodded his head showing that he understood the situation, and his expression was somber.

"Things kept on like that for quite a while, until we heard a rumor." Little Fox got up and paced the smith area. He was apprehensive and wouldn't sit back down, and Fighting Hawk noticed that he wouldn't meet his eyes either. Finally Little Fox stopped and looked Fighting Hawk straight in the eye, "We heard that Standing Buffalo sold some information to some buffalo hunters. He told them how to find the Cheyenne village, the time of the summer festival and what Grey Eagle and you looked like. When we heard about it we knew that we weren't cut out to be white men any more. We both quit our jobs and left town. Then a few days later we slipped back into town and paid a visit to Standing Buffalo. We took him with us and reminded him what it was like to be a Cheyenne. I am afraid that he didn't live through the reminder. When you betray your own people, you don't deserve to live." Little Fox had a fire in his eyes as he finished his little speech. Fighting Hawk saw the almost fanatical fervor that he had burning just below the surface and smiled at the idea that this young man would make a very good protector.

He now felt the connection to his Cheyenne values and understood why the Cheyenne people must survive contact with the white man. Fighting Hawk smiled and clasped him by the arms, "So, now you understand why the Cheyenne people must survive? Why the white man can't be allowed to kill all of the Cheyenne?" Little Fox nodded his head vigorously. Fighting Hawk smiled and asked if Straight Arrow also understood.

"Oh yes, Straight Arrow understands. The longer we were in Kansas City the more he wanted to return here. He said that to be around so many people who don't care about anything is depressing. I had a hard time holding him back from butchering Standing Buffalo there in the hotel. I didn't want anything pointing to us, so I knew that we had to get him out of town and away from the other white men that he was friends with. But once we got him away, Straight Arrow made sure that he understood what it meant to betray his people. He can be a dangerous man when he feels the Cheyenne people are threatened. I never saw him like that before, but the knowledge of what Standing Buffalo did, did something to him. He only seems to care about the Indian nations now. Not just the Cheyenne, but all Indians." Fighting Hawk smiled and nodded his head. As he thought about it he realized that he might have the perfect man for a difficult job.

"So why did I see some blacksmithing equipment in the wagons with Black Otter?" Fighting Hawk watched as Little Fox quickly switched mental gears. "Ah, well it was so that Black Otter could set up a forge at the new trading post. The idea was that he could have some ore mined from the surrounding mountains and brought back, and then he could have anything that he needed made instead of waiting for it to be brought to him. Running Deer thought it was a good idea, and he even thought that if Black Otter could build a good building for it, he would even leave it there so that the trading post could have a blacksmith. He believed that it would get the trading post more people visiting it, and it was something that you didn't have to get supplies to operate."

Little Fox looked around quickly and then move very close and whispered, "Besides there are so many of us that like to work in the smithy that he doesn't know what to do with all of us. This way he can get rid of a few of us and we can run our own forge." Fighting Hawk smiled at the conspiracy, but nodded that not only was it a good idea, but it solved many problems at the same time.

"I want you to come to my house tonight, and bring Straight Arrow with you. Come just after the evening meal. We will sit at the cook fire and talk." Fighting Hawk smiled at the young man's confusion as he walked out of the smith's cave.

Fighting Hawk walked around the village and the workers in the valley. He talked to the people and greeted everyone. Occasionally he would ask a surprised young warrior to visit with him at his house just after the evening meal.

Fighting Hawk was sitting at a small cook fire built away from the house, but close enough for the house lighting to still illuminate him. He had been sitting there for some time just staring into the fire when he came to realize that he heard the polite cough signaling that he had visitors. Pitching the small stick into the fire, that he had been poking the fire with, he looked up to acknowledge his visitors.

Fighting Hawk watched as ten warriors sat easily around his fire. He knew all of these warriors and he nodded as each sat and made himself comfortable.

Fighting Hawk started his talk focusing on Straight Arrow. "Little Fox tells me that you have decided that the white man is a waste of air, and all of them should be removed from our lands." Fighting Hawk watched as Straight Arrow struggled with his statement.

"No Fighting Hawk, I never said that. White men are just like the Indian, there are good ones, and bad ones. But when it comes to white men, there just seems to be a whole lot more bad ones." Everyone at the fire laughed, and Fighting Hawk smiled and nodded his head that he understood Straight Arrow's comment.

Fighting Hawk cleared his throat and looked Straight Arrow in the eye, "I am sure that everybody has now heard about the trading post that I plan to build." He looked around and saw heads nodding. Looking back to Straight Arrow he continued, "I will need a white man to run the trading post. The Army will not deal with an Indian running it, and the white men would kill everybody there and take what they wanted. So I need a white man that will do things the way I want them done. He will have to be quick and smart. He will have to be honest and brave. We will store food all year and when a hard winter comes we will be there for our people. If there is anything left over then we will help the good whites." Fighting Hawk watched the smiles around the fire. He knew that they really didn't think that any whites were good, but Straight Arrow didn't have the same look on his face.

Fighting Hawk studied the young man intently. "Can you be that man for me? Can you run my trading post? Will you make sure that our people have enough food, blankets and guns to survive the hard winters? Will you treat all people like they should be treated? Will you be honest and fair to all?" Fighting Hawk watched as Straight Arrow nodded his head to each question and when he finished he saw the determination on the young man's face and the fire in his eyes, and he smiled at him.

"Standing Bear, you and Silent Wolf will work with Straight Arrow. You will use your white names and be white men. Straight Arrow knows what can happen to tempt you. You will do as he says. You will defend the trading post and the Cheyenne people. There will be other warriors close by, and you will work with them to keep the smoke house full and to gather what food you can to see our people through any hard times. But you will follow Straight Arrow. If any warrior is sent back they will stand before Gray Eagle." As Fighting Hawk looked around the fire he saw some of the warriors shiver before shaking themselves and smiled to himself.

"Straight Arrow, when you and the others are ready you will leave and help Black Otter build the trading post. Since it will be your trading post I want you to tell Black Otter how you want it done, and what needs to be done. If you are not sure about anything find out before you leave, or go to the trading post at the fort. Do what you think you should do because it will be you that will answer for any failures." Fighting Hawk nodded his head and waited as Straight Arrow thought about things. When Straight Arrow stood, Standing Bear and Silent Wolf stood with him. They nodded their heads and silently turned and left the fire. Fighting Hawk watched the young warriors leave.

Fighting Hawk looked at the remaining faces at the fire. "Do any of you want to go with them?" He looked around the fire watching as each of the remaining warriors shook their heads. Fighting Hawk smiled and said, "Before it is all said and done, many of you will have wished that you had gone with them." He noticed a few worried looks on some of the warriors and smiled at them.