Wili

Abraham wanted Wili to go with him to the herd in the morning. He woke the boy at sunrise. By the next spring when most cows calved, Wili would be old enough to find the calves on his own. There was much he must learn. It was important that the calves be found while they were still with their mothers. Most of the members of the White Buffalo Calf Clan had begun to run at least a few cattle. Some were still trying to farm and a very few like Black Buck clung foolishly to the old ways. They tried to survive by hunting as had their ancestors.

After a calf was several months old, it would be branded but the hot iron would probably kill a newborn. New born calves were identified by notching an ear in a manner peculiar to the owner. Then, when the calf was old enough to brand, ownership was easy to establish. Since the cattle of several owners grazed the same areas and intermingled, calves had to be marked while they were still with their mothers.

Wili and his Papa would ride together today. Abraham would do the notching. Range cows were still almost wild and very protective of their young. By next spring, Wili would have learned how to distract the cow while he notched the ear and would have learned well which ear, where on the ear and exactly how to make the Fox mark. But today, he would help his Papa find the calves, watch and learn.

When Wili was returning from the privy area, he saw Broken Bough still sitting, his back toward the center of the circle. Wili was doing well at learning the Arapaho language but did not yet know enough to have understood everything Broken Bough had said last night. He knew that the old man was not pleased that he had been adopted into the Clan but he was not aware of the depth of Broken Bough's hatred. All Wili knew for sure was that the old man had been sitting there all night and was probably hungry. It made no difference to Wili that the old man did not like him. Broken Bough was hungry and needed food. He asked his Mama for a bowl of broth for the old man.

Abraham and Fern were not surprised at Wili's largesse and were interested to see the old man's reaction. It also happened that Black Buck had just stepped from his tepee and saw the boy walking toward the old man. Others were also beginning their days and their attention was drawn to the unfolding drama.

Wili offered the bowl to Broken Bough. The old man would not take it. Wili pushed the bowl right under Broken Bough's nose and said, "You have to eat."

Broken Bough said something in Indian that Wili could not understand. "Papa, come tell me what Broken Bough is saying."

Wili again pushed the bowl close to Broken Bough's face and the old man raised his hand and knocked the bowl from Wili's hand. "Wait, Papa, I have to get more broth,"

Wili Fox had morphed back into the stubborn little German, Wili Slatz. He had decided that he was going to feed Broken Bough and he was going to feed him. The boy pushed the second bowl under Broken Bough's nose. This time the old man raised his hand with the intent to strike Wili. He withheld the blow probably remembering Abraham's threat of last night. The old man again said something in the Arapaho language.

"What did he say, Papa?"

"I do not think you want to know what he said. It was not very kind."

"Papa, I know he is mad with me but he is not going to decide what I do. I am going to give him food and he is going to eat it. He's old and he needs to eat. What did he say?"

Abraham was interested to see where this would go. His son was tough and the old man's vile insults would probably make the boy more determined rather than hurt his feelings.

"He said that you are a nit."

"What's a nit?"

"It's like a baby louse."

"So? That's supposed to make me mad?"

"He says that since we let a white nit into the clan, he wants to die."

"If he wants to die, he better have another reason than me. He won't die because of me. He's a brave of the White Buffalo Calf Clan. He is sad and angry now but he brought honor to his clan and he will not bring dishonor now - not because of me.

"Remember the story of how Broken Bough ran back into the prairie fire to save those children. Remember the stories of how he could kill a buffalo every time he went for one. Those stories say that he was the only one that got one every time. He was brave and the best hunter and he was honorable. He will not die because of a boy - nit or not - white or Indian. What was in him in the old times is in him now. He is old and sad and angry. He is not stupid or foolish. He is still wise and brave and is honored by his clan and I honor him.

"Tell him that, Papa. Tell him that his blood can be bad for me but he cannot make my blood bad for him. It is my blood and I will decide if it should be good or bad. Ask him if his children who died at Sand Creek would be proud of him now. Ask him if it is any different to die at Sand Creek or to die because of Sand Creek. Tell him if he dies he will be letting Colonel Chivington kill him just as the Colonel killed his children. He is surrendering to Colonel Chivington. Tell him I will stay here all day until he eats. I will not let him let Colonel Chivington win again. Black Buck will help you."

Wili stared into Black Buck's eyes as if he were saying, "You damn well better help my Papa."

Abraham was so proud of his son that he could not speak for a moment. How could a child be so wise? Also, the boy had understood much more of the Arapaho language than Abraham knew that he could. Maybe he was just what boys of ten summers are. Since he was ten summers himself, Abraham had not known the attributes of a boy of ten summers. He was sure, however, that his son was wise beyond his years. But, how could he tell? New Heart was his son and he loved him. Love does not let you see things clearly.

The old man listened. He knew enough English to know that what Red Fox was telling him was what the boy had said. Broken Bough did not have to think long. The boy was white but he had an Indian heart. He did not have the forked tongue of the white man. He had the straight tongue of an Indian and he was wise. White or Indian, one with such a tongue and such a heart belonged in the White Buffalo Calf Clan.

Perhaps he was already a shaman. His words were too wise for a boy of ten summers. Perhaps the spirits did make him run from the old times to the new - from hate to joy. Perhaps the spirits had sent the boy to make his heart new. Perhaps he did have more than hate. The boy was right. He had the honor of his clan. If his children could see him from the other side, he must make them proud. He took the bowl from Wili and ate.

Wili placed the blanket on his horse, grabbed a handful of mane and threw himself onto the horse's back. "Get your horse, Black Buck, we need your help."

"Wili, you are a boy. Black Buck is a man. You must speak to him with more respect."

"Black Buck acted like a foolish child last night so I spoke to him as if he were a foolish child."

"You were very wise when speaking to Broken Bough. You spoke like an Indian. But you speak to Black Buck like a German. There is both German and Arapaho in you and that is good. I think much of the German makes you strong and wise. Use it. But you must be respectful. Let the Arapaho in you teach you that.

"Now, ask Black Buck to come with us as an Arapaho boy should,"

Black Buck had already mounted up. "It would make my heart happy, Black Buck, if you would help my Papa and me."

Abraham guided his horse until he was riding beside Black Buck. He held out his right arm as did Black Buck. They grasped each other's forearm just at the elbow in the traditional Plains Indian gesture of greeting and friendship.

"I have been a fool, Red Fox. Just as does your son, you always fought better than I. I was your friend but I wanted to win at least once. I never could."

"But you never ran away."

"Not with my legs but I did in my mind. After Strong Bear gave Gray Fern to you, I ran away in my mind and have covered my mind with the garment of the woman. I knew that your blood was not bad for me but I could not stop having the mind of the berdache. And I could not even have the mind of the spirit of a berdache. Perhaps I should not insult the berdache or the woman. I had the mind of a petulant child. Your tongue was straight last night. I was foolish."

"That is past. My heart is happy. We are boys again - friends. I will give you a yearling calf today so that you will have meat. Each moon that your ride with me, I will give you a cow until you have enough for your own herd. We will herd our Cattle together just as we played together as friends. New Heart will be big enough to help next spring but to keep the herd together takes two men. As our herd gets bigger and your sons grow, we will need them all. We may even have to hire others of the clan to help. Just as this land made many fat buffalo, it makes many fat cattle. We will do well. Perhaps I need another heart. I thought it was full because of my son. Now it is too full because you are again my friend."

"Before your son became a member of the White Buffalo Calf Clan, he was German?"

"Yes."

"Where did the German Tribe hunt?"

"Across the big water, I think."

"I didn't know "The People"¹ lived across the big water."

"I don't think they were "The People." Before the sun kissed him, New Heart was white."

"Perhaps they had white skin but they had to be "The People." Those not of "The People" are not as wise as New Heart."

That definitely sealed their renewed friendship. There is no stronger way to honor a friend than to speak favorably of his son.

It was late June and hot. Wili had become a very good rider but he had never before spent a whole day on a horse. His naked, little behind became sweaty and that made the course blanket almost a rasp. By the time they went home in the evening, Wili was one tired, sore little Indian.

But he did not complain and he learned some very important things. He learned, for example, that regardless of how stubborn and determined he was, he could not simply by the force of those traits bend nature and nature's creatures - ranch cows in particular, to his will. He was determined not to let the hot sun deter him but the sun did what sun does. It sucked the moisture from the boy's body and left him light-headed and nauseous.

Abraham kept a close eye on the boy but said nothing. When he determined, however, that the boy was close to heat stroke, he made Wili drink and sit under his horse - in the only shade available.

"Did you learn something?"

"No. I got sick."

"And why did you get sick?"

"There is no reason. You just get sick."

"But for the kind of sickness you have now, there is a reason. Didn't your body tell you that it was time to rest and drink?"

"But, Papa, you did not rest."

"I rested but I rested differently from what you must. I am riding a saddle. I can relax my body. You must always support yourself with your knees. That is not resting. You are a boy and you must learn to listen to your body. Next year I will not always be with you. I will have a saddle for you then but your body is not as big as mine. When the sun takes water from you, your body needs water quicker than mine. You must listen to your body. Did the cows begin to look blurry?"

"Yes."

"That was your body telling you that it is time to rest and drink. You are a strong boy. You are a determined boy. You are a wise boy - but not always. You are not wise enough to know that you cannot make Mother Earth do what you want. You must learn to be wise enough to do what she tells you to do."

"But that cow wouldn't go where I wanted her to go. I had to make her do what I wanted. I couldn't stop."

"That is probably the most important thing you have learned today. You are more important than a cow. You must take care of yourself or you will not live to make any cow do anything.

"And, you must learn not to be so stubborn. There are many ways to get a cow to do what you want. You tried only one way and would not learn from her. If a cow won't do what you want when you try one way, you must learn other ways. It is better to get the work done than wasting your time trying to prove that you are right."

Wili was stubborn but not arrogant. He understood what his Papa was telling him. He did not learn all he needed to know about Mother Earth and cows that day but he did learn the most important things: listen to your body and that determination was more than bull-headedness. It was also thinking, being creative and doing what was necessary to get the job done. Today, Wili had learned the basics. He would learn how best to implement the basics as he grew and worked with his Papa.

Wili had never heard his Mama speak crossly to his Papa but when she saw Wili's bottom - all red and raw, she forcefully reminded Abraham that Wili was just a boy and she didn't want to see him come home looking like that again.

"You are a woman. You do not know what boys must learn. New Heart learned some of how to listen to his body today but not all of it. His sore bottom is a lesson. Just as Mother Earth will never let you win, your body will do only what it can, not always want you want it to do."

"But, Papa, I am not a baby. You rode all day. Did you want me to come home and dress like Ruth?"

"Quitting because you are afraid or don't want to be hurt in a fight is your head telling that. Your head does not always know what the body can do. You must learn to tell the difference in what your head tells you and what your body tells you."

"How do I know if it's my head or my body?"

"Think on what you learned today. You are wise but you are stubborn. You must learn to be more wise than stubborn. I think you are already learning that. You will know."

Wili got that answer a lot when he asked questions that only had answers that time and experience could give. He did not like that answer. He was one who wanted to know everything right now. He did not like the answer but he loved his Papa and if his Papa thought it was a good answer, Wili reluctantly accepted it. He had already learned that when his Papa said something, he was right.

Wili's mama rubbed something on his sore bottom. It wasn't the sacred oil and it didn't smell that good but it made his bottom feel better. She also made it quite clear to both Wili and Abraham that Wili was not going to ride a horse tomorrow and if Abraham was going to keep the boy out all day it was time to buy him a saddle and some Levi britches. Wili liked the idea of the saddle but britches still made him think of Marvella. He hated thinking about her. He almost never did. He thought about his first mama and papa and Wina. He didn't think about Marvilla when his mama dressed him in his buckskins. He thought about being a proud Indian. But Levi britches felt like Marvilla. But as he was going to sleep it occurred to him that Marvilla was dead and couldn't make him do anything anymore. If he decided to wear Levi britches it would be because he wanted to and he conceded in his mind that britches were probably more to be desired than a raw, tender bottom.

Abraham had made his point with Wili so it was not necessary for the boy to go to the herd everyday. Black Buck was now helping Abraham so they took Wili only about once a week when something that was necessary for Wili to know was going to happen. At first, Wili resented Black Buck. Wili was jealous of the friendship he saw between the two men. He had wanted to be his Papa's only friend, but Wili was not a stupid child. He realized that two grown men were necessary with the herd and he also realized that he had Flying Hawk for a friend so it was fair for his Papa to have Black Buck.

Flying Hawk, by the way, had decided that he wanted to have both a clan name and a white man's name. He asked his father if Wili could give him a white man's name. Wili seemed to know everything so he probably knew the best white man's names.

Wili thought long and hard. Flying Hawk was his best friend. In his old life Vaasco had been his best friend. Why shouldn't his new best friend have the same name as his old best friend? But, was Vaasco white? Was Vaasco really a white man's name? Vaasco's skin was not as dark as Flying Hawk's but it was not as white as Wili's had been. Maybe Vaasco wasn't a white man's name.

Wili's next best friend in New Bedford had been an English boy in his school. Vaasco went to a different school where all the teachers wore long black dresses and funny white and black things on their heads. So - Wili had a school best friend and a home best friend. His school best friend's name was Billy Nelson. Billy was how the English people said Wili. Wili thought it would be a good idea for Flying Hawk and him to, in a way, have the same name. Flying Hawk was still his clan name but all the rest of the time he became Billy Hawk. It wasn't long after that that Lone Hawk became John Hawk.

It took Echo a while to stop being overly arrogant about being the chief's son. Actually it was understandable and seemed not to offend anyone in the village. When he was Obadiah Dugood, he had been a nothing - a prairie rat. Now he was one of the most important people in the village. Everyone seemed to understand the boy's pretension. They knew him to be a good boy and knew that he would come back to earth.

Although no ceremony had been preformed, Echo assumed that he was married to Singing Lark and Two Larks. Tall Man had promised them to him and he acted as though they were his squaws both during the day and at night in the tepee. The girls were about ten summers, the twin daughters of Running Lion, a Ute squaw that Tall Man bought from a Mountain Man who had in turn purchased them from Running Lion's brother who did not want to support her and the little girls after her Brave had been killed.

Running Lion was a good woman and, if truth be told, Tall Man had grown to love her but she was Ute. The Cheyenne and the Arapaho had been at war with the Ute for generations. Tall Man had never brought it up in council but he felt sure that the White Buffalo Calf Clan would not accept a Ute as wife of their chief. It really made no difference to Tall Man. She did all the things a good squaw did and she did them better than most. Her buckskin was soft and her artistic bent resulted in clothing for Tall Man, Echo and the girls that was beautiful.

But Echo wanted a ceremony and Tall Man knew that would take another council. He had already made Echo his son and a member of the White Buffalo Calf Clan but allowing his son to marry Utes would probably draw more ire than letting whites into the clan.

Wili was again annoyed at the pre-council ritual but he understood now and gave his Mama only a modicum of resistance. He wondered why he objected. He was so proud of how he looked after he had been oiled, coiffured and dressed. It probably was just the idea of clothes or maybe, being ten, he had to fuss with his Mama about something.

Wili and his Papa met Broken Bough on their way to the council circle. The old man patted New Heart on his still tender back side and said, "Wise. Very wise."

Wili smiled and said, "Thank you, grandfather."

Red Fox was proud. New Heart was learning the respectful ways of the Arapaho.

Wili wondered, at first, why he was Wili most of the time but New Heart at the council. After he thought about it he realized that the clan was playing "old times" so they used old time names. He was proud to be New Heart because he knew what that meant to his Papa and Mama but most of the time he liked being Wili better. Anyway, councils were boring. Billy Hawk thought so too.

This council, however, had all the boys' rapt attention. Much of the talk was about what Echo and the girls did in the teepee at night. Even though all of the boys did it whenever they felt like it, there was still something about it that made you want to hear more. For now, it was just a game but there was something about it that gave it a mysterious and intriguing air. Since more and more of the white man's ways were becoming the custom, most parents no longer instructed and encouraged their children. They did not, however, discourage them either. Such play had just been part of a child's life like any other play. It had no more moral significance than a game of lacrosse.

Before Wili was an Indian, although he had never been told, he somehow got the idea that it was bad. The boys of the clan could not believe that Wili got to be ten summers and had never done it. But now it just made sense to Wili. It wasn't something boys of ten or eleven summers did a lot but if they let the girls talk them into playing camp, they did what Indians did in the camp. It didn't seem bad. It seemed natural. That's what horses did. That's what cows did. That's what dogs did and when you slept in the tepee with your parents, you knew that's what people did. The Great Spirit or God or somebody decided that's what people should do so people did it. Anyway, Wili had known for a long time that if you wanted to get babies, you had to do it and Wili wanted to get babies so it made sense to learn how.

The girls seemed to like it best. Often girls who were fifteen or sixteen summers would crawl under the sides of the tepee of a boy they liked. Maybe they didn't like it better than boys but they always came to the boys so you know the boys were doing it but they never had to go after the girls. When Wili asked his Papa why the girls did that he was told that that's what girls did. They had been doing it that way since the first time the sun rose.

After the council had gathered and Keechee had done his thing, Tall Man spoke. "Men of the Clan of the White Buffalo Calf, I come with a petition.

"You know my squaw died of the white man's sores. You know one of my sons died of the sores. You know my other son was killed by the Breed. I had no squaw and I had no sons. You also know that I bought a Ute woman but I do not ask that you allow me to make her my squaw. She serves me well but she is Ute and knows the bad blood the Arapaho have for the Ute. Running Lion has no bad blood for the Arapaho but she does not ask to be my squaw. She asks only that if a child is born to us, that that child be a member of the White Buffalo Calf Clan but that is a petition for another time - perhaps never. For three summers we have bedded and no child has come.

You know also that I now have a new son. He is brave and strong like was Thunder Eagle. He is almost the same as Thunder Eagle but not the same. He is like an Echo of the son I loved so I have named him Thunder Echo.

You know that Thunder Echo avenged Thunder Eagle. You also know that he did all the things necessary to become a brave and to take a squaw. He counted coup. He took the scalp of an enemy. He stole the horse of an enemy. He did not kill a buffalo because there was no buffalo to kill. Because he is brave and because he avenged Thunder Eagle, I made him my son and wish to give him the daughters of Running Lion for his squaws. They are Ute but these are new times. They are children and it is not honorable for the White Buffalo Calf Clan to have bad blood for any Indian child. If they were not Ute, I would not ask. I am chief. I ask because I want the blood of the White Buffalo Calf Clan to be happy. Tell me that your blood will be happy when I give Singing Lark and Two Larks to Thunder Echo for squaws."

Abraham spoke. "This is not a matter of happy or bad blood. This is a matter of old ways and new ways. Thunder Echo was brave and he did much of what the old ways said made a boy a brave. But he did not prove that he could provide food and shelter for his squaws. That is part of the old ways too. There is no buffalo to kill but we have found new ways to provide food. Thunder Echo has not proven that he can do that."

"I will provide food for them."

"You would not let Thunder Echo be a man?"

"He is not a man. He cannot yet make the white water."

"You are right, Tall Man. He is not a man. When he is a man all of the old ways will be gone. We will live by the white man's new ways. The white man's ways are one wife and only after a boy can make the white water. Most white men do not approve of children playing such games. I do not understand that. If children were not to play such games, why did the Great Spirit or the white man's God make it so pleasurable?

"Also, in the white man's ways, the girl's father does not decide. The girl decides and then asks her father's permission. When Thunder Echo can make the white water and Singing Lark and Two Larks can make the blood that warms babies inside them, would they decide on each other? Will Singing Lark and Two Larks want to share Thunder Echo?

"I ask Tall Man to think. I know he loves his son, Thunder Echo. I know he is grateful to him. But, is he being kind not to let them be children. They need not be married. They can be children and play at making babies as we all did in the old ways if they wish. It will be no different. If when they can make the white water and the blood, they choose each other, then let them marry. Now I think it wise to let them be children."

There was a general murmur of approval around the circle.

"Perhaps I have loved my son, Thunder Echo, too much. Love does not let you see things clearly. You are right, Red Fox but I made a promise to my son. I must ask his permission to break it.

"Thunder Echo, did you hear Red Fox's words?"

"I heard."

"Do you still wish me to keep my promise?"

"I will not decide that now. I will wait until I can make the white water and then I will tell you."

"You are not only brave and strong. You are wise, my son."

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¹ The word in each tribal language used by most Native American tribes to describe themselves simply meant "The People". The same word in each tribe usually referred to Native Americans in general.