Chapter 69: Birds of a Feather

After summer festival Walking Buffalo took six men and left to buy cattle. The work in the valley continued with determination. Fighting Hawk asked Storm Cloud if he would like to take a little trip with him and he nodded. After Fighting Hawk discussed his idea with Gray Eagle, he gave his permission, as long as Fighting Hawk handled the negotiations. He nodded that he would. Fighting Hawk talked to Big Owl and Big Cloud and they both agreed to go, along with six of the young warriors. Since Fighting Hawks return they were almost always under foot and Fighting Hawk thought that Big Cloud had something to do with it.

It was early in the morning when they set out. They traveled for a week before they entered the Ute village. Fighting Hawk noticed that it was looking a little run down. Some of the warriors were even looking a little thin. Fighting Hawk couldn't understand that with the forest almost overrun with wildlife.

When they arrived Fighting Hawk remembered the young warrior that he sent back to the village. He was quickly standing before Fighting Hawk. He led them to the Counsel fire. When they arrived Fighting Hawk motioned to the warriors and they spread out and tried to look disinterested. Fighting Hawk, Big Cloud and Storm Cloud sat at the counsel fire with the Chief, War Chief and the Shaman. Fighting Hawk marveled at the similarities between the two people.

The War Chief was the old man that had come to pay the ransom, he spoke first. "Did you come to see the destruction that you have caused?" Fighting Hawk looked the old man in the eye, "No, I knew when I demanded the ransom what I was causing, and what the end result would be. The fact that you are still here, says that you have done well. But it is only a matter of time, unless something changes." Fighting Hawk could see the anger in his face.

The Chief held up his hand and the assembled warriors calmed themselves. "Why would you do that?" Fighting Hawk sighed, "When you attacked the Cheyenne, it was obvious that we couldn't allow the Utes to grow any stronger. You attacked us because the wagon trains had moved south, and the Army was protecting the settlers. We were the obvious choice, and we would continue to be the obvious choice. If we didn't stop it, you would have destroyed the Cheyenne people. Did you consider that when you planned your raid? Did you think about what it would do to our people to lose so many women? Did you care?"

Fighting Hawk saw the truth in their eyes, and smiled, "And you accuse me of destroying your people, just like you had planned to destroy us." None of them would look in his eyes as he accused them of their plan. "But this is not what I came to talk about. Instead of looking to the past, you have to look to the future, if you want to survive." The Chief looked at him and considered his words. The War Chief huffed and growled, "Nice words, but what can we do now?"

Fighting Hawk looked at the three men and explained what he had in mind. "The Ute will die from these mountains, that can't be changed. But I can offer you another choice. I can offer to take all of you in as a Cheyenne village. You can grow strong as the Cheyenne people grow strong. You can trade for what you need, with the other villages and you will be protected as the other Cheyenne villages are protected." The War Chief growled, "Enough! First you cripple us, and now you try to take the last thing of value; our honor. I should kill you where you sit."

Fighting Hawk smiled, "If you think that you can old man, I will accept your challenge gladly. It will just be one less fool to deal with."

The next words that Fighting Hawk heard were a surprise, not because of the words, but who said them. The Shaman spoke loudly, "Enough! You are both acting like dogs fighting over a bone. The bone is old and is of no value to either, but still they fight. I had hoped better from both of you." Fighting Hawk had to admit that the attitude of the War Chief was affecting him. He wasn't used to backing down, and he wouldn't start now, but negotiations were another matter and that was a situation of give and take. He had to accept that he would have to give a little. "The Shaman is right, I apologize for my words. We can't discuss things fighting with each other."

The War Chief grudgingly nodded that he agreed. Fighting Hawk turned to the Shaman, "What would you recommend wise one?" Fighting Hawk meant no disrespect and the Shaman seemed to understand that. The old man took a deep sigh and spoke, "Our legends also speak of the Spirit Walker, but we had always assumed that he would be Ute. It tells us that he will be our savior and our destroyer in the same breath. Many stories say he should be killed, and many say he should be worshiped. Since the Spirit Walker is a Cheyenne, it answers many questions that we have had. I will hear your words, and see if you will save us, or destroy us."

Fighting Hawk looked at the old man, and wondered where else he would appear in legends. Fighting Hawk cleared his throat and spoke clearly and strongly, "We have bought the Cheyenne lands from the white man. As a white man, I use the white man's laws to protect the Cheyenne people. We also have moved into the Valley to the south of the main Cheyenne village. There we cleared the land, built barns, raise cattle, and grow crops."

The Chief of the Utes was suddenly sputtering and yelling. "You are nothing more than white men, and now you come to us and tell us to be white men?" Fighting Hawk calmly looked at the Chief and waited for him to calm down. He saw the War Chief holding his own outburst by sheer will.

When the Chief had run down, Fighting Hawk calmly asked him, "If the white man is so soft why do you fear his Army? Do you know how to make guns? Where do you get your flour? You talk about the white man like he is stupid, but I can tell you that he isn't stupid. You will never drive the white man from these lands. Even if you kill every white man here more will come, and more after that. They will keep coming until there is nothing left. Then they will take your lands and they won't mourn their own dead any more than they will yours. Are the Cheyenne people white men? No, we are Cheyenne, but we are smart enough to learn from the white man."

Fighting Hawk looked to see that he had their attention. They were thinking about what he was saying and he knew that it meant hope. "We live the way of the Cheyenne, but if there is something that the white man does better, then we learn how to do it. The white man will not starve when the buffalo are gone, because he has his cattle. When we lose a great craftsman before he teaches his apprentice, it is lost. The white man has schools and teaches his young. Those that have the talent become great craftsman."

Fighting Hawk saw the men frowning and thinking hard, and decided to cover something easier for them to understand. "When the white man came to this land he found the Indians waiting for him. They taught him how to hunt and grow crops in a strange land. He learned what they taught him. Then he took the land away from the Indians. Why? Because he was willing to learn the ways of his enemy, and use that knowledge against him. The Cheyenne people will learn the ways of the white man, and use that knowledge against him. It does not make the white man weak to raise cattle, or to grow crops, or even to live in houses. These are the things that make him strong. When the winter winds blow he doesn't freeze, and he will always have food to eat. Is every white man like that? No, and not all Indians are renegade warriors, or thieves and cowards. You must learn to see what is good and to use it, and what is not good, to ignore it. These are the ways to grow strong in the face of your enemy."

Fighting Hawk sat and let them think about what he said. He knew that it was a bitter weed to chew on, but sometimes it has to be done to get better. He looked at the Shaman and saw that the old man had already grasped the idea. He assumed that as a Shaman he had to learn from others all the time, it was just making the leap that white men could teach you things too.

Fighting Hawk spoke to the Shaman, "We will come back tomorrow and talk more, after you have had time to think on this." The Shaman nodded wisely and watched them leave. He knew that this man was the man of legends, but he still didn't know if he was their savior, or their destruction. He thought about it and knew that his words were true, and he could see the benefits of his way over their own. Now, he just had to get the others to look past their own prejudices.

The next morning the Cheyenne group rode back into the Ute village. They took their places at the counsel fire. The Chief was quick to start, "We have thought long and hard about your words. We agree that the White man can never be driven from our lands, and for us to survive we will have to change. What you say seems better then becoming a white man, and lets us keep our values. We can see that the white man can do things that we can't and to learn how would make us stronger. We thank you for this knowledge, but we cannot see ourselves joining the Cheyenne. We are Ute, and we will stay Ute, or die Ute."

Fighting Hawk shook his head. "You will die Ute. Only if you join the Cheyenne can you survive. You must see that we can offer you more, and we are already so close in our beliefs. It would not be a hardship to become a Cheyenne. You can call me Sioux, or Apache but it won't change what I think, or what I believe. We aren't asking for you to give up anything but your name. Is that so bad? I have been called many things, but none of that means anything. It is what is in your heart, and the Ute heart and the Cheyenne heart beat closely. Don't make the decision now. Come and see the valley that we are building. See the people and how they live. We wouldn't expect you to move there. You could just move your village into the Cheyenne lands, and everything would be as it is here. You would just be called Cheyenne, and follow the Cheyenne leaders. You have known Gray Eagle, and you know Big Cloud. Is this a bad thing? Please consider my words."

The Shaman was speaking quickly and convincingly to the two Chiefs. He saw that the Spirit Walker was offering a chance of survival, but it would cost them their Ute heritage. He suddenly understood the meaning of the legend; He would save them, but they would no longer be Ute, so he would destroy them as well. He thought that it was a good way to be destroyed, if one had to be destroyed. His voice carried a lot of weight, and he used everything that he had to try and convince the Chiefs.

When the Cheyenne group returned to the counsel fire the Chiefs were in agreement. "We will come to see your valley, and talk to Gray Eagle. How many warriors should we bring?" Fighting Hawk frowned, "Bring as many as you want, but please make sure that the ones that you bring will be willing to see new things and learn new things. If they have already made up their minds, why waste their time, or ours?" The old Chiefs nodded that they understood. "We will prepare and travel in three days." Fighting Hawk nodded and led his group back to the Cheyenne lands.

As they were riding Storm Cloud asked, "Why did we go to the Utes? Why do we want them in our lands?" Fighting Hawk knew that everybody was listening to his answer. "Once they move into the Cheyenne lands, they will be Cheyenne. Their children will be Cheyenne. Either way the Ute are dead, but this way the Cheyenne get stronger. The more people we have the stronger we are. If we have to fight, we will have more warriors, and if we don't we will have more workers. No matter how you look at it, it's good for the Cheyenne people." Storm Cloud shrugged, "You understand those things better than I do, but it does make sense."

Fighting Hawk was sitting at the cook fire of Gray Eagle's lodge when the warrior came up to him and Fighting Hawk motion for him to approach. He quickly whispered in her ear and left as fast as he had arrived. Gray Eagle raised an eyebrow and Fighting Hawk said, "They are one day out, and there is the Chief, War Chief, the Shaman and nine warriors. There aren't any other warriors within two days of them in any direction." At Gray Eagle's look Fighting Hawk grinned, "I might be trusting father, but I'm not stupid." Gray Eagle smiled in return.

Gray Eagle had sent out riders to the other villages the day Fighting Hawk returned. The Cheyenne people were filtering in, and it was taking on a festival atmosphere. There were many empty lodges that could be used, and Fighting Hawk offered his own in addition.

The Ute warriors were wary as they rode into the Cheyenne village. They knew that they had been watched and were looking for any signs of trouble. What they found were a people in full swing of a festival. There were bright colored clothes and a cow roasting over a large spit. There was singing and dancing everywhere. The Utes didn't have a clue what it meant, but accepted it and quickly got into the festive mood.

After the Chiefs and sat at the counsel fire and talked about everything that was going on Fighting Hawk offered to show them the valley. Since it was the reason that they were there, they nodded and started into the valley. They were amazed at the size of the valley and the cleared area. The herd of cattle grazing gave them pause for thought. They could see the benefit of raising cattle. The barns were examined and as they looked at all of the stored hay they knew that there wouldn't be any starving horses in the Cheyenne village.

The tour of the blacksmith's shop and the forge showed them that working their own metals meant that they didn't have to deal with the white man to get what they needed. The crops were just starting to break the ground and it covered the valley from side to side, a full five miles. They saw that the Cheyenne people wouldn't starve in the worst winter. They saw the old warriors and the widows all working side by side. When the Chief made a comment about it Fighting Hawk replied, "All of them came here to work because it is a job that they can do, and in return we supply them meat and hides as they need them. Each person does the job that they can do, and that is all that we ask of them. At our festivals the old warriors come with their heads held high, there isn't a charity case in the whole village." The Chiefs were stunned at the idea and knew that their own old warriors hadn't held their heads up in many years. They felt ashamed that they hadn't done something for them.

Fighting Hawk knew what they were thinking and led them away. He wanted them to think about their own people, but he didn't want to shame them. He showed them the stored lumber and they saw the continuing removal of the trees, to make room for more crops. They couldn't understand the need for that much food. When they asked Fighting Hawk replied, "We will use the food all year, not just in the winter. We will can it, to preserve it. And we will send some to the trading post."

When Fighting Hawk saw the confused looks the explained, "We built a trading post on the Santé Fe trail. We keep it stocked with plenty of food and blankets and other things that we might need to get through a hard winter. If that time comes we help our people, and all of the other Indian nations. If there is anything left over, we'll even help the white man."

It was the War Chief that asked, "And if the other nations can't pay for the food and blankets?" Fighting Hawk smiled as he said, "We will allow them credit. When the winter is over they can hunt and pay their debt. If they don't pay the debt, they won't get help again. When you give things away, people come to expect that you will do it, and won't do for themselves. If they have to repay the debt, then they know that there is a cost, and it isn't charity. It is just a loan." The Chiefs looked at each other, and Fighting Hawk didn't know what the look meant, but he didn't worry about it.

He led them back toward the Cheyenne village. On the way he stopped to show them his house. He didn't tell them that it was his house, but to show them that living in a house could be comfortable and safer than a lodge.