Navajo Long Walk (13 page)

“Oh Mother, would you do that?” Kee asked with excitement in his voice.

Gentle Woman hugged the little old grandmother. “It is easy to see why you were given the name Wise One. We will go.”

Ration day arrived. The Diné were not frightened by the high-walled corral that had been built at Fort Defiance. They crowded in, laughing and talking.

Ganado Mucho, standing on top of the corral wall, waved to Kee as he walked through the gate. Then he began to talk to all Navajos in a loud voice. “My kinsmen, remember we have made a promise to keep the peace. No stealing. No killing. You must all work. Come for your rations each week. In the spring, the government will give each Navajo a few sheep and goats to start your herds once more. A school will be started here at the fort as the white men promised in the treaty. Those of you who want your children to have an education, send them to the school. Now, go home and live in peace.”

The next morning, when the first streaks of light were showing in the winter sky, Strong Man's family was already at the top of the hill leading out of the valley. They looked back down the hill. “I hope we never come back to this place,” Hasba said. “I hate it.”

“I could come alone on Little Mare for our rations if Mother would let me.” Kee told them.

Gentle Woman patted Kee's shoulder. “My son, you are too anxious to grow up.”

Little Mare was so loaded with the family's belongings and rations there was no room for Wise One to ride. Gentle Woman insisted on stopping often. She said it was to let the sheep graze in peace, but she kept watching that Wise One did not get overtired. Kee was unhappy when they stopped to camp. He was impatient to cover more ground so they would arrive at the hogan early the next day.

Snow had fallen a few days before. In the warmth of the sun it had melted from the mesa except under trees. Kee went to a pine tree to get a bucket of snow to melt, so Gentle Woman could cook some of the beef they had received. Under the snow, he found a few cones still filled with nuts. “Piñon nuts,” he shouted.

Hasba and Wise One joined him in scraping snow from under the trees. After a meager supper, they sat near the campfire happily chewing piñon nuts and tossing the shells into the fire.

At daylight they were walking again. Shortly after midday, Gray Dog began ranging far afield, then returning to the sheep. At intervals he would stand still, throw his head, sniff in all directions and start ranging again. Kee called the dog to him. He heard excited rumblings in the dog's throat. “He remembers this place, I think,” Kee said.

“I remember it too,” Hasba said. “We sometimes brought the sheep here to graze.” She pointed to a clump of juniper trees. “Behind those trees is the pile of rocks where we hid when the goat chased us. That day was the first time we saw a white soldier. Remember, Kee?”

Kee nodded, his heart pounding. “We are not far from the hogan now.”

Wrinkling up her face, Wise One said, “If I did not know better I would say I can smell the sweet smell of piñon smoke. It is perhaps only that I would like to smell it.”

“Little Mother, that is exactly what I have been thinking,” Gentle Woman said. “But I must be dreaming.”

Just then Gray Dog bolted. Soon, joyful barking was heard in the distance. Kee dropped Little Mare's lead rope and ran. As he broke into the clearing around the hogan, Strong Man came running toward him, Gray Dog at his side.

Strong Man stopped and stared. Kee rushed to throw his arms around his father. Strong Man murmured, “My son, my son, you are here at last.”

Kee was surprised to find himself thinking, “I am now as tall as my father's shoulder.”

By this time, Hasba had her arms around Strong Man's waist. Gentle Woman and Wise One stood at the edge of the clearing watching. Tears were running down Gentle Woman's face. Strong Man looked up from hugging Hasba and saw her. Walking forward as if he could not believe his eyes, he took her tenderly in his arms. “I have waited for this moment forever, I think.” Suddenly he turned around, swooped Wise One into his arms, spun around, and set her gently down on the ground again.

Everyone was talking and laughing at once. Little Mare was unloaded and admired by Strong Man. She was led to the corral to be fed, to enjoy a well-earned rest, and make the acquaintance of Swift Runner.

The hogan was clean. Sacks of piñon nuts stood against the wall. Strips of venison were drying on the wall logs. A fire burned in the pit. A large pot of mutton stew stood nearby, ready to warm. Sheepskins were spread around the fire to sit on. After looking around, Gentle Woman said, “Everything looks as if you were expecting us.”

“I have been waiting and hoping for many days,” Strong Man replied. “Some families slipped away and came home from Bear Spring. I have talked with them. When I heard you had returned to Fort Defiance, I wanted to come for you, but was afraid to leave the hogan and corrals I have worked so hard to rebuild. Everyone is in such great need, I was afraid our food and the few animals I have would be stolen.”

While they were eating, Kee asked, “My father, where have you been all the time we have been prisoners at Bosque Redondo?”

“I have been hiding in the Chuska Mountains. After warning the Diné in the canyon as Long Earrings asked me to that night, I found myself near one of the hidden trails known only to Navajos. I thought if I could find a hideout perhaps I could come back for the rest of you and we could all escape the soldiers. But they moved too swiftly for me. A few families who were already hidden
in the mountains and some men who escaped like me, are all the Navajos I have seen until this summer. Blue Cloud brought word to me that you had gone to Fort Defiance. Now I am ashamed I did not come back and look after my family.”

Gentle Woman reached out and put her hand over Strong Man's. “You did what you thought was best. That is all anyone can do.”

“I made it hard for all of you.” Strong Man looked at Kee. “My son left here a small boy. He has grown into a man taking care of all of you. When I went raiding I promised him a horse, but he brings home his own horse.”

“My father, you must know by now our tribe has signed a treaty with the government. We are not to raid, nor steal, nor kill. We have promised.”

Wise One shook her finger at Strong Man. “We must keep that promise to our dying breath. We have learned it is possible to get along with the white man.”

Hasba spoke. “Kee has learned to speak the white man's language. I can even say a few words.”

“I went to school at the fort,” Kee said. “The government is going to have schools for us here. When the first one is started at Fort Defiance, I would like to go, Father. The more we know of the white man's ways the better it will be for our tribe, I think.”

Strong Man nodded his head. “While you have been away I have had much time to think in loneliness. I am ready to help keep the peace.”

Again, Wise One shook her finger at her son. “I shall remind you of that promise if ever I see the gleam of raiding come into your eyes.”

Strong Man smiled. “That reminds me, my mother, I have a present for you. Come to the sheep corral.”

They all went to the corral to see the present. When the bars were let down, Gray Dog ran Hasba's three sheep inside to join three others and a goat Strong Man had acquired since his return to the mesa.

Taking Wise One to a shelter he had built at the far side of the corral, Strong Man told her to look in. She started to click her tongue. Kee ran to look. Not since Small Burro was drowned had he heard his grandmother click her tongue. Looking over her shoulder, Kee saw the smallest burro he had ever seen. Wise One sat on the ground holding the burro's head in her lap. She stroked his head and long ears. For the second time, Kee saw his grandmother really cry. This time it was for joy.

Gentle Woman laughed. “He is the smallest and nearest to white I have ever seen. Where did you get him?”

“Blue Cloud had a pair of burros he stole from a Mexican ranch. This is their foal. I gave two full-grown goats for this baby because I heard what happened to Small Burro. He is a bit wild, but Grandmother will tame him.”

Little Mare began to whinny in the next enclosure. Kee ran to her. He petted his horse and watched sun-bearer prepare to leave the winter sky in a blaze of glory. Everything was touched with a rosy glow—sky, sand, and patches of snow under the trees. Much as he had missed the desert, Kee decided he had not remembered how truly beautiful it was. The quiet was glorious. He could hear only sounds he loved, the subdued voices of his family, and noises made by contented animals moving in their corrals. Peace settled over him. Not since he had left the mesa had he thought of the Blessing Way Chant. Now a verse came to mind and he sang:

“With beauty before me, I walk.
With beauty behind me, I walk.
With beauty all around me, I walk.
In beauty I walk.
In beauty it is finished.”

Nancy M. Armstrong was born in Yorkshire, England and emigrated to Utah in 1910. She has published over 400 articles and stories.

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