Walks the Fire (8 page)

Jesse found one and called out,
“Pow-gay!”
The women looked up and laughed at her, but Prairie Flower corrected her and smiled encouragement.

Jesse remembered only one thing from that first day among the other women. They could be unbearably cruel as they laughed and made fun of her. But Wakanka—the old one—was kind. And the beautiful one with the gentle eyes seemed to like her.

That night Old One showed Jesse how to cook what they had collected. Rides the Wind arrived, ate, and departed without a word to either woman. He seemed not to notice Jesse at all, except to grunt with satisfaction when he saw her feed his son.

It was late when the door flap opened and he entered the tepee. Jesse, who had been asleep, woke when he touched her shoulder. She sat up, her heart pounding, but the Indian only moved to another part of the tepee, opened the box made from skins, and returned to her side, placing a bundle on her lap. He motioned for her to unwrap it, and she obeyed, gasping in amazement at what she saw. The edges of its pages gleamed gold in the firelight. It was a small Bible.

Jesse picked it up with a quiet cry of joy and held it to her. She bowed her head, and a tear spilled down her cheek.
Oh, Lord,
she prayed,
how can I ever thank you for this miracle?

It seemed, however, that this was to be a night of miracles, for the Indian abruptly sat before her and said in a low voice, “You tell words in book?”

Jesse was dumbfounded. Had she really heard her own language?
No,
she thought,
it was only the wind
…
or my own dream
…
or
…

“You
tell words
in
book?”
It was repeated, with accents on different words, as if he thought she had not understood him.

Jesse looked at the Indian in wonder. She did not answer his question but rather stammered, “You speak
English?

The Indian gave one brief nod. “Many moons ago. I forget much.” He paused before saying, “In your tongue I am Rides the Wind.” He pointed to Jesse.

“King,” she stammered. “I am Jesse King.”

The Indian reached up to grasp the gold cross still about Jesse’s neck.

“Jess-e-king know book?”

Jesse nodded.

“Jess-e-king know Jesus?”

Again, she nodded.

He reached for the Bible and opened it, pointing to the page. “You tell book.”

Jesse could only sit and stare dumbly at the hand that covered half the open book. Veins stood out in relief along its back. The fingers were long, and the nails were cracked and rough.

When she remained silent, Rides the Wind made a fist and placed it over his heart. Slowly, he spoke. His voice was gentle and low. Jesse was reminded of the way her father had spoken once when they had come upon a deer in a clearing. His usually gruff voice had become gentle as he tried to avoid frightening the wary fawn.

The Indian thumped his chest with his fist and repeated, “Know God here.” Opening the fist, he touched his temple. “Need God here. Missionary say this book teach God. You teach.”

Jesse fumbled with the pages of the worn Bible, praying for guidance. Rides the Wind waited patiently. The pages fell open to the first Psalm. Jesse finally began to read, her voice shaking,

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

She stopped reading and sat fingering the pages of the book.

Rides the Wind, too, was quiet for a moment Then, he said, “Tree by stream grows strong.”

Jesse nodded her agreement.

He took the Bible from her, wrapped it carefully in skins, and handed it back to Jesse. “When the stars come again, you tell book for Rides the Wind.”

Jesse nodded.

After a moment he asked, “Jess-e-king have brothers?”

“No.”

“Sisters?”

“Yes, I have a sister.”

He started to speak and then stopped abruptly, struggling for the right words. Finally, he asked, “Sister of Jess-e-king sorry she stay with Lakota?”

Jesse thought about the question. Would Betsy grieve? It would be years before Betsy even realized that something was amiss. Other than the Woodses, she and Homer had had no friends on the trail. Homer had no family. No, no one would miss her. The truth hurt terribly, but she told Rides the Wind the truth. “No, she will not be sorry. She will not know.”

He was quiet for a long moment, then he said,
“Wicatokapa
need milk. Jess-e-king has milk. Rides the Wind needs more God. Jess-e-king knows God-book. You give milk to my son? You teach book?”

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word.
” The apostle’s words came into her thoughts as Jesse pondered his question. In the darkness, she smiled at the odd way in which she would be able to obey the mandate if she stayed.
If I stay,
she thought in wonder.
Lord, am I really being given a choice?

As if in answer to her thoughts, Rides the Wind said, “Jess-e-king want to go, Rides the Wind will take her to her people.”

Lord, how can I make such a decision when so much has happened?
She
was dismayed by the impossibility of deciding tonight. Then she was amazed to realize that she was actually considering staying instead of instantly demanding to be returned to her own people.

How can I possibly be considering staying with these savages?
she wondered.
But if I go back, where would I
go? Painful memories reminded her how relieved her parents had been when she finally married.

Rides the Wind waited.

Jesse avoided answering directly. “You are Rides the Wind. Does the child have a name?”

“Lakota call him
Wablenica
—‘mother gone.’ I call him
Wicatokapa
—‘first son.’ He will have new name if Jess-e-king stays.”

“A new name?” Jesse asked softly.

“If Jess-e-king stays,
Wicatokapa
will be called Two Mothers.”

The infant stirred in his sleep, and as Jesse moved to feed him, the sounds of his eager nursing filled the tepee. He nuzzled Jesse’s warm skin. Reaching down to take a tiny hand in her own, Jesse felt five fingers close tightly about her thumb. The baby didn’t let go. Jesse whispered, “His name will be Two Mothers.”

Rides the Wind smiled and retreated to his own pallet across the tepee.

You should smile more often,
Jesse thought
I’m not so afraid of you when you smile.

The next morning Jesse woke when Rides the Wind left the tepee. Rising immediately, she stirred the fire. Old One woke with a start, smiling her approval at Jesse. She joined her in morning duties, correcting Jesse’s clumsy attempts to make the morning meal. Seeing the smoke rise from the vent at the top of his tepee, Rides the Wind reentered his home, nodded to the women, ate without a word, and left.

When the village women met again to go foraging for roots and berries, one wore the petticoat Jesse had spent hours trimming with handmade lace. The other women laughed and joked among themselves, and the petticoat’s owner soon discarded it in disgust because it kept catching on the plants as they foraged.

Once again, the beautiful young squaw took the role of teacher. She taught Jesse to say
Prairie Flower
in Lakota and was obviously pleased to see that Jesse had remembered what some of the edible plants and roots looked like. She patiently repeated the names of the plants until Jesse could remember a few of the new words. Once, when Jesse reached to dig up a plant, the young woman stopped her, grabbing her hand and making a face. Jesse found another example of what she thought she was digging, and her new friend carefully pointed out the differences in the leaves of the two plants. One, edible, had a longer stem than the other. Jesse nodded her understanding.

Old One had not come on this expedition, and when Jesse returned to the tepee, she proudly presented the older woman with her small contribution to the next meal. One by one she laid the items out, trying to remember their Lakota names, and dutifully correcting her pronunciation when Old One corrected her. At evening that day, they ate alone, for Rides the Wind had left again with a hunting party and would be gone for several days. He had told Jesse in her own language, but he had used as few words as possible. “Jess-e-king,” he had said, “I hunt many days. Old One, Prairie Flower teach you.”

Jesse waited for his return, trying all the while to learn how to fit into her new role. For every kind act by Old One and Prairie Flower, there were myriad jeers and cruel jokes from the other women. Unable to communicate except with signs to either of her friends, Jesse longed for Rides the Wind to return. In his absence, she read the small Bible by the hour, searching for passages that would have meaning to him. She wondered about his ability to comprehend the old language of the Bible, and despaired of her own abilities to explain anything.

She prayed, asking the Lord to guide her to the right words, asking for patience with the unkind women of the village,
and please, Lord,
she added each time she prayed,
please help me not to be so stupid and slow about all the new things I must learn. Help me to understand what they say and to imitate what they do so that I can serve while I am here.
She knew that she would be leaving as soon as Two Mothers no longer needed her, but she was eager to fit in until that time.

Just how much there was to learn became apparent two days later when the village suddenly became a hive of activity. Women shouted, children screeched, dogs barked, and everyone hurried about as tepees were brought down, fires doused, and things packed up. Old One somehow made Jesse understand that the activity had something to do with food, but Jesse remained ignorant, fumbling about and getting in the way until finally even Old One grew frustrated and forced her to sit on a travois and hold Two Mothers.

Eight

… I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
—
Philippians 4:11

The women and children
streamed out of camp. As soon as Old One had everything packed, she motioned to Jesse to take hold of the horse’s jaw strap and lead it along. Jesse recoiled in fear. Old One insisted, strapping Two Mothers’ cradle board to the side of the animal where the child could watch the activity around him.

Still, Jesse hesitated. At last Old One grabbed the jaw strap herself and, in disgust, started out across the prairie. Jesse followed along, humiliated, but unable to overcome the fear she had always had of horses.

They had walked only a few miles when they came to the site of the buffalo hunt. Old One unloaded the travois and began to re-erect the tepee. First, she took the four longest poles, laid them on the ground, and tied them with a leather strap. With Jesse’s help, she raised the four poles and spread their ends apart. The framework for the tepee formed, the two women added more poles, completing a circular framework. Old One showed Jesse how to order the process so that the poles would lock into one another. When the poles were set, Old One brought out the tepee cover. It had been folded so that it was easy to lash its middle to the last pole by straps sewn along the length of the cover. Once this was done Jesse and Old One lifted the last pole and set it in place. They each took a fold of the cover and walked about the framework of poles, meeting where the door opening would be. Above the opening, the edges of the cover were fastened together. Finally, a stake was thrust through a loop at the edge of each side of the doorway and into the ground.

Jesse stepped back to survey their handiwork. Old One patted her on the shoulder and smiled encouragement. They both took the buffalo skins that served as their bedrolls inside, prepared a fire pit, arranged Rides the Wind’s parfleche and their few other belongings and were soon ready to join Rides the Wind at the side of his freshly killed buffalo.

Jesse gave Rides the Wind’s white horse a wide berth and stood helplessly by, ignorant of what she might do to help. At one point, Old One motioned to her and laughed. Rides the Wind turned his face away, but Jesse caught the expression of disbelief on his face.

Rides the Wind skinned the buffalo, but not until he had cut open its side and, reaching in, removed the beast’s liver and, to Jesse’s horror, bit into it with relish. He offered her a bite, but she shook her head and turned away. He shrugged and continued his treat before finishing carving up the buffalo, placing each piece of meat on the hide. Once the job was completed, he caught up the four corners of the hide and used it as a sack with which to carry his catch back to camp. To Jesse’s great relief, Old One led the white horse.

Running ahead to the village, Jesse hurried inside the tepee. Eager to be of help, she had decided that she would start the first fire. She had watched Old One do so several times, and although Old One used sticks instead of the flint and iron Jesse had used on the trail, she still felt confident that she could accomplish this “simple” task.