Hawk Eye, page 1
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Title: Hawk Eye
Author: David Cory
Release Date: September 20, 2010 [EBook #33772]
Language: English
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THE SHAFTS SPED TO THEIR MARKS AND TWO BIRDS FLUTTERED AND FELL TO EARTH.
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HAWK EYE
BY
DAVID CORY
Author of
"LITTLE INDIAN," and others
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
* * *
Copyright, 1938, by
GROSSET & DUNLAP, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
* * *
FOREWORD
There is a secure immortality and a depth of intuition in the utterance of Wordsworth, the peer of nature's poets, when from his pastoral reed he strikes the notes:
"The child is father of the man."
Nothing could be more insistently and persistently true of the Indian child—the girl to be the mother of warriors, the boy to become a hero and the father of future "braves."
It goes back, all of it, to a heredity born of three vital and vitalizing forces. The Indian holds with steadfastness and devotion to his many and weird ceremonies, but these all lead him back to the supreme, piloting force of his life, his unfailing faith in the Great Mystery.
The altar stairs to the spirit world are hills, buttressed by granite; trees that talk with the winds—whispers from the spirit world; the thunder of the waterfall—the voice of the Great Mystery; stars—the footprints of warriors treading the highways of the Happy Hunting Ground. In all of these he sees God.
Falling into communion with this happy philosophy of life, the glory of Indian motherhood crosses our path—and there are few things more beautiful. When the day of expectation dawns upon her, she seeks the solitude of all the majesty in which from childhood she has seen the footprints of God—revels, communes, rehearses to herself the heroism of the greatest hero of her tribe, and all that the impress of it may be felt upon the master man, the miracle of whose life has been entrusted to her to work out.
For the first two full years of his life, a spiritual hand guides his steps. There, in struggle and patience and self-denial, he must learn all of nature's glad story.
His grandparents then take him into their school. He learns to ride before he can walk; he is taught the use of the bow and arrow, which means hitting the mark, keenness of vision, a steady aim, precision, so that when the crisis comes he is ready—an ample reason for the brave, effective and self-reliant conduct of the Indian soldier on the fields of France in the World War.
Deep breathing in the open air, giving full lung power; self-denial, giving strength of limb and endurance in the race; fellowship with all of nature's winsome and wild moods; a discerning will power; a steadfast reliance upon the guiding hand of the Great Spirit, empower the Indian boy to stand on all the high hills of history and challenge any militant force that may confront him.
The sphere is complete; Boy: Mother: God.
Leader of the Rodman Wanamaker Historical
Expeditions to the North American Indian
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Any writer who adds to the number of books on that ever fascinating subject, the American Indian, must owe thanks to many authors who have written about the Indians. My special thanks, for information concerning the customs and legends of the Sioux, are given to:
Joseph Kossuth Dixon, author of The Vanishing Race,
George Bird Grinnell, author of When Buffalo Ran,
Charles A. Eastman, author of Indian Boyhood,
Lewis Spence, author of The Myths of the North American Indians.
Grateful acknowledgment is made, also, of valuable information found in the Thirty-Second Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
David Cory
* * *
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I Wild Geese 13
II Plans and Pelts 20
III Loading the Canoes 28
IV Jealous Slow Dog 34
V Hawk Eye's Offering 40
VI The Bear 47
VII The Kill 51
VIII The Pelt Is Removed 57
IX The Rapids 61
X The Beaver Dam 67
XI Toeprints in the Sand 76
XII Across the Prairie 83
XIII The Boys Are Taken Prisoners 89
XIV Hawk Eye's Revenge 96
XV Two Good Shots 102
XVI Ohitika Is Wounded 108
XVII The Trading Post 113
XVIII Journey's End 120
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HAWK EYE
* * *
CHAPTER I
WILD GEESE
Slow Dog, Medicine Man, looked out of his lodge. Wild geese were honking overhead. To the Indian it meant the return of spring.
"I must be the first to kill one," muttered Slow Dog. Entering his lodge, he presently came out with bow and arrows. Hastening toward a bend in the river which formed a sheltered cove, he hid among a clump of willow bushes and waited in the hope that the birds might come down to feed.
Slow Dog was not the only one to notice the geese, however. Two boys, one about fifteen years of age, the other, close to thirteen, had also heard the honking.
"Get your bow and arrows," cried Hawk Eye, the elder, darting into his tepee. The younger boy, Raven Wing, ran to his lodge for his weapons. In a few minutes both were hurrying to the river.
"There's Slow Dog hiding in the bushes," whispered Raven Wing. "He wishes to be the first to bring one to earth."
"Leave him there," answered Hawk Eye, noticing that the flock, headed by an old gander, had slightly altered its course. "The geese are making for the lake." Breaking into a run, the boys headed for Big Stone Lake, from whose southern boundary issued the "sky-tinted waters" of the Minnesota River.
As they hurried through the timber belt that bordered the river's edge, Raven Wing remarked, "they may come down in the marsh."
Ice still lay thick upon the lake, but on the shallower waters it had begun to melt under the increasing warmth of the sun.
"Can they see us?" asked Hawk Eye as Raven Wing, who was in the lead, stopped at the further end of the grove.
"No. We have yet time to run across this open space," answered the younger boy.
On reaching a thicket of willows, the boys halted; then crept in to almost the edge of a frozen stretch of swamp.
"Here they come!" whispered Raven Wing. As the flock settled on the marshland, Hawk Eye fitted an arrow to his bow. "I'll take the one close to the leader," he said. Almost simultaneously Raven Wing let fly his arrow. The feathered ash wood shafts sped to their marks and two birds fluttered and fell to earth. Alarmed at the fall of their comrades, the flock rose in the air, but before they could get beyond arrow range, two more birds dropped to earth.
"We've outwitted Slow Dog," chuckled Hawk Eye, as he made his way over the half-frozen ground to pick up his birds.
"He must return empty-handed," laughed Raven Wing, retrieving his arrows from the birds he had slain. "What do you intend to do with your first kill?" he asked.
"Give it to Old Smoky Wolf," answered Hawk Eye. "The goose first slain in the Spring is always made the occasion for a feast."
"I will give mine to my stepfather, Black Eagle," said Raven Wing. "He will be our chief when Old Smoky Wolf takes the trail of departed warriors."
"Because you have outwitted him, Slow Dog will now bear another grudge against you," went on Hawk Eye.
"Perhaps it were better had I not seen the geese," sighed Raven Wing. "I would not be the cause for further trouble between him and my stepfather."
"Slow Dog would find one if it suited his fancy," said Hawk Eye. "He has a tongue with two ends, like a serpent's. But he has no need to look for an excuse. He has not forgotten that it was you who discovered the buffalo herd during the great blizzard and so saved us all from starvation. Had you not done so, he would have succeeded in convincing many that the famine had been sent by the gods to punish us all for allowing your mother to hunt with the men. You, he hates. But for you, he might have persuaded the tribe to elect him chief in place of Old Smoky Wolf."
"He hates Black Eagle," said Raven Wing, sadly.
"Because he knows our warriors will choose Black Eagle to succeed Old Smoky Wolf," added Hawk Eye.
As the boys neared camp, Slow Dog came out of the bushes by the river bank. A scowl spread over his fa
SLOW DOG CAME OUT OF THE BUSHES BY THE RIVER BANK.
"Had they not changed their course, your arrow would have slain one," answered Raven Wing, quietly.
Slow Dog turned on his heel and walked to his tepee. The two boys continued on their way. Presently they halted beside Old Smoky Wolf's lodge. At the sound of approaching footsteps, the aged chief had bade his wife go out to greet whoever the visitors might be.
Hawk Eye handed her one of the birds he had slain. "'Tis the first goose brought to earth. Hawk Eye would present it to our chief," explained the boy. As he and Raven Wing were about to turn away, Old Smoky Wolf appeared in the doorway of the lodge. He gravely thanked Hawk Eye on learning of the gift.
"You both shall come to the feast," he added kindly. The boys thanked him and as they turned away, a smile spread over Old Smoky Wolf's wrinkled face.
"My tribe are not women. A brave is no stranger in my village. These boys will become great hunters. At the sound of their moccasins the beaver will lie down to be killed," grunted the old chief.
* * *
CHAPTER II
PLANS AND PELTS
The sun grew warmer. The snow melted and trickled in little rivulets down to the river. Crocuses bloomed and red-winged blackbirds cried amid the yellowing willows in the bottoms. At last the ice broke in the river and the waters rushed madly along between its banks.
The hunters, who had been industrious all winter, gathered together the pelts of the animals they had killed. Buffalo robes and deer skins, together with pelts of minks, martins, foxes, wolves, beavers, bears, fishers, otters and raccoons. Thousands of muskrat skins were also made up into bundles.
The packs were loaded into canoes and the hunters set off down stream for the trading post at Mendota.
Raven Wing and Hawk Eye watched the canoes for some time. When the last frail craft had turned the bend in the river, Raven Wing said to Hawk Eye, "Let us make the trip also, and take our pelts to the trading post."
RAVEN WING AND HAWK EYE WATCHED THE CANOES FOR SOME TIME.
"Will your stepfather allow you to go on so long a trip?" asked Hawk Eye.
"I can but ask him," answered Raven Wing.
"We will go, you and I, if he agrees," said Hawk Eye. "I have no father to ask permission of. Besides, I am two years older than you. My mother I know will give her consent."
Presently both boys were on their way to their lodges. Bending Willow, Raven Wing's mother, looked up as her son stood before her.
"I would like to take the pelts I have cured from my winter's hunting to the trading post. Hawk Eye plans to go also and we can make the journey together," he announced in a low voice.
Bending Willow regarded the tall, strong boy for several minutes before she answered him.
"I have no objection, son," she answered quietly. "But you must receive permission from your stepfather."
"Will you speak a good word for me?" said Raven Wing.
"I will, my son," answered Bending Willow. "I know that you will be careful. You are strong and tall for your years. You are a fine hunter; you know the river; your canoe is well made."
As she finished speaking, Black Eagle strode up.
"The hunters are well on their way," he said. "The last canoe is now out of sight."
"Raven Wing wishes to take his pelts to the trading post," announced Bending Willow.
Black Eagle turned to his stepson. "You wish to go?" he asked.
"Yes," replied the boy. "Hawk Eye will go with me. He has many fine skins, also."
"You have had no experience as a trader," said Black Eagle. "The pale faces at the post will offer you foolish trinkets for your good pelts. They may even make you dull and foolish with their minne wauken, (firewater) and when your eyes are heavy-lidded and your mind falters, strip you of your pack."
"I will learn by watching our hunters when they offer their pelts," answered Raven Wing. "I will not be deceived by trinkets, nor will I taste the firewater."
"I see no reason why he should not go," said Black Eagle after a silence of several minutes. "How does his mother look upon this adventure?" he added, turning to Bending Willow.
"He must go some time. I am willing," she answered simply.
"Hawk Eye goes with you?" asked Black Eagle.
"He is now asking permission of his mother," replied Raven Wing.
"When do you plan to go?" inquired Bending Willow.
"At once," said Raven Wing.
"That is wise," said Black Eagle. "The boys will easily catch up to the hunters if they ply their paddles with vigor." He did not add that there was safety in numbers, not wishing to needlessly alarm Bending Willow. He could see that she was concerned over the adventure, although she tried to hide her feelings.
The matter being settled, Raven Wing strode over to Hawk Eye's lodge. Since the death of Running Deer, Hawk Eye had taken his father's place with credit. Being two years older than Raven Wing, he naturally had had more experience. Notwithstanding his advantage, in age he was no taller nor stronger than the younger boy.
As Raven Wing neared the tepee, he heard Hawk Eye's mother, Light Between Clouds, say in a low voice;
"You are my only support since the death of Running Deer."
"Sure, Mother," answered Hawk Eye, "but you would not have me always remain in our village. Hawk Eye is now a man; he has a mother in his wigwam, but he need not ask her permission to go on the hunt."
"'Tis a long journey to the trading post," answered Light Between Clouds. "You have had no experience at bargaining with the palefaces. Why not wait and go with the next band of trappers? There will be another party setting out soon."
"They will merely trade in my pelts with their own and I shall have nothing to say," cried Hawk Eye. "Besides, I would like to gain experience first-hand. I am strong. I can handle my father's gun with the best of the hunters. I am a boy no longer. Comes another snow and I shall be a warrior."
* * *
CHAPTER III
LOADING THE CANOES
"You are my only son," sighed Light Between Clouds, gazing lovingly upon the stalwart form of Hawk Eye. "You are the main support of your sister and me. I am loath to give my consent. It is a long journey to the trading post at Mendota."
"Black Eagle, my stepfather, is willing that I should go," broke in Raven Wing.
"And what does Bending Willow say?" inquired Light Between Clouds.
"She agrees with my stepfather," answered Raven Wing.
"Then you have my permission to go," said Light Between Clouds, turning to Hawk Eye. "And may the Great Spirit look kindly upon your adventure." Without further words, she turned on her heel and walked toward a nearby lodge.
"So your mother is willing that you should go," said Raven Wing.
"Yes, she has given her consent, as you have heard," answered Hawk Eye.
"Why did she leave us so suddenly?" asked Raven Wing, doubtfully.
"She has gone for moccasins, I think," replied Hawk Eye. "My grandmother is skilful at making them; she always keeps a supply on hand."
"You have more pelts than I have," remarked Raven Wing, lingering a moment to watch Hawk Eye deftly pack the skins in several bundles of convenient size.
"We will need two canoes; yours and mine," said Hawk Eye. "But should one be damaged during the trip, we can get along with one. We must lose no time in starting."
"I will be ready as soon as you are," answered Raven Wing. He returned to his lodge, gathered together his pelts, which were already packed in several bundles, and carried them down to the river. Hawk Eye, having more experience, attended to the loading of the frail vessels.
