It was not
at all unusual for a woman of the People to participate in a buffalo hunt. Usually it was some young wife accompanying her husband in a carefree spirit of fun and games. There would be time later to settle down to the care of children and the lodge.
The People had always been proud of their women. They had a reputation for beauty, but also for athletic ability. Early training in weapons and the hunt was given to both boys and girls. Many of the young womenâtall, slender, and long-legged, as the accepted normâwere quite proficient with weapons. It had been only a few winters ago that the women of the band had been instrumental in the defense of the village. The Elk-dog band had been at low fighting strength because of the political trouble with the Blood Society. Their traditional enemy, the Head Splitters, had discovered their weakness and had launched an all-out attack on the winter camp of the Elk-dog band.
The Head Splitters had also had an opportunity to observe firsthand the effectiveness of the women's skill with weapons. The wives of the Elk-dog warriors had defended
the strip of woods on the flank, counting many honors. Songs and stories recounted the victory and the women's part in it.
Women of the People also held higher status than women among some neighboring tribes. They could own property and could speak and vote in the council.
So it was not unheard of that young Eagle Woman, daughter of Eagle, announced that she would go on the next buffalo hunt. The unusual aspect was unspoken. Only two people knew, at that point, that her motive was more than to have a good time. Only Long Walker and Eagle Woman herself knew that she intended to use this hunt to qualify herself for application to the Elk-dog Society. Long Walker had tried in vain to dissuade her, but his attempts only made her angrier and more determined.
Aiee
, he should never have laughed, he now realized too late.
Meanwhile Eagle Woman prepared herself for the hunt. She practiced endlessly on her horse, riding swiftly past and thumping a well-aimed arrow into the grass-stuffed skin target at every pass. She had chosen the bow rather than the lance. It required perhaps more balance and dexterity but less brute strength.
From his place of concealment, Long Walker watched and shook his head in despair. As a user of weapons the girl was good, without question. In his heart he already knew she would succeed in the hunt.
She must make at least one unassisted buffalo kill. Then she could request induction into the Elk-dog Society. There was the formality of acceptance, but as far as Long Walker knew no qualified warrior had ever been refused. It was an accepted step, a ritual progression into manhood. Manhood? Long Walker shook his head again, frustrated and uncomfortable.
Perhaps the most distressing thing to Long Walker was his own inability to walk away from it. A season or two ago he would have found the situation uproariously laughable. It would still seem so, if it were any other girl. But now, just as he and the tall daughter of Eagle had rediscovered each
other, she had developed this crazy idea of warrior status. Perhaps she had gone mad. Still, her every action was precise, sensible, and efficientâappropriate, at least, to the effort at hand. She was behaving as any normal young man approaching the time of elevation to membership in a warrior society.
And again, that did not befit a woman of the People. At the age of Eagle Woman, some eighteen summers, most were married. All other unmarried women were busy developing their skills in sewing, cooking, and preparing skins. Most girls far younger than Eagle Woman had started to collect the small items necessary for the time when they would have their own lodges. There would be the small flint knives and scrapers, bone awls for sewing, and perhaps a supply of sewing sinew.
Many girls also started very young to collect their cooking stones. Skill in choosing and use of the stones was a major factor in developing a reputation as a superior cook.
Perhaps Long Walker should have felt more secure. Deep in the storage space behind the lining of Eagle's lodge was a small rawhide pack belonging to his daughter. For many seasons the girl had assembled items to be used in her own lodge.
But Long Walker had no way to know the womanly instincts of this young woman. He could only see that she seemed to be behaving in a very unfeminine way. This was affecting the young warrior deeply and in strange ways.
First, it seemed that the girl was becoming more attractive and desirable to him. Perhaps it was only inaccessibility, but he felt increasingly drawn to her.
Then there was the matter of concern for the girl's safety. Long Walker found himself increasingly anxious that she would find herself in a situation of great danger because of her masculine pursuits. He felt an urge to hold her, to protect and shelter her from harm. Wisely he refrained from any move in that direction. He realized that in her present stubborn frame of mind it would only make her angrier with him.
There was a very real danger in the offing. He was not concerned with the immediate physical danger of the hunt. Long Walker had confidence in her ability to handle that. But, if she succeeded and applied to the Elk-dog Society, the next step was the fast and the vision.
Each warrior, before formal induction, must go alone to a remote place. With no human contact for at least three days, the aspiring warrior would spend the time in prayer and fasting, seeking his vision. It was during this time that he would find his spirit guide, his medicine animal whose identity he must never reveal.
Long Walker had gone through this religious rite two summers previously. It had been a deeply satisfying experience. But, it must be conceded, it was sometimes dangerous.
There was always the possibility of accident or injury, but this was a way of life. It was made only slightly more hazardous by the fact that no one else must know where the vision seeker was.
The real danger, however, was not from the elements or wild animals, but from the enemy. The Head Splitters were always a threat. Owl, the medicine man, had been captured during his vision quest and carried far away to be sold as a slave to strange tribes. True, in the end it had made his medicine even stronger, but it was certainly not a desirable thing.
And for a girl to take such risks was beyond the understanding of Long Walker. It was known that the Head Splitters loved to kidnap women or young girls of the People. “Our women are prettier than theirs” had long been the accepted attitude of the People.
It was true. Longer of limb and more graceful of movement, a girl of the People was a prize for a Head Splitter to capture.
For all these reasons Long Walker became increasingly apprehensive for Eagle Woman. He could see no way in which he could protect her from the mounting threats to her safety if she persisted in this course of action. That is, he could not protect her from herself.
He rose from his place of concealment, where he had been watching the girl's practice, and walked back toward the village. Angry and frustrated, Long Walker tossed a rock at a yapping dog that irritated him. The animal retreated with a yelp. If only all his worries could be banished so easily.
A young man on horseback was riding through the camp, calling an announcement. Long Walker hurried forward to listen.
The message was simple. The scouts had discovered a large herd of migrating buffalo moving into the greening area. The medicine man had burned last year's dry grass at the proper time, and the Moon of Greening had come with the returning herds.
There would be a great buffalo hunt tomorrow.
Eagle Woman, tense
with the excitement of the hunt, held her gray mare in line with the other hunters as they approached the top of the ridge. On her right Long Walker smiled a nervous smile of encouragement at the girl.
She knew he disapproved of her efforts. He had scarcely bothered to conceal that he had watched her every day at her practice. The knowledge affected the girl with mixed emotions. She was indignant that he should be so presumptuous, yet at the same time she was pleased. It was a good feeling to have a loyal friend such as Walker.
Eagle Woman tried constantly to reassure herself that this was the only basis for the warm sensation she felt when she thought about him. Of course she had no romantic interest in Long Walker. He was a friend, a good-natured competitor, whose company she enjoyed. Nothing more.
Besides, he had laughed at her. At the very memory, she gave her glossy braids a toss over her shoulder in indignation. At least Long Walker had had enough insight to refrain from repeating the error.
She looked straight ahead, a reassuring right hand resting
on the neck of her horse. The animal had been a gift from her father. Cat quick, the mare was called Gray Cat by family and friends. It was descended directly from her grandfather's First Elk-dog, Lolita, and had much the same appearance and agility, it was said. Eagle had trained the little mare well, and confidence on the part of the girl had resulted in an effective team. The animal thoroughly understood the pursuit of the buffalo. There was no way to teach that. It would either be there or not.
The riders were now topping the grassy ridge, and Eagle Woman could see the dark shapes of numerous buffalo ahead. The mare's ears pricked sharply forward at the scent. Eagle Woman balanced carefully, alert lest the mare jump unexpectedly, but the animal remained calm.
On the left Long Elk, leader of the hunt, signaled forward, and the line moved at a faster walk. The scattered buffalo were becoming alert now. A nervous old cow lifted her head to catch the scent and moved uncertainly back and forth. Her vision was not acute enough to identify the approaching figures. Other animals, previously resting, were lumbering to their feet now, peering confusedly at the approaching hunters.
A shift in the light breeze suddenly allowed a whiff of human scent to drift in the direction of the herd, and an individual animal here and there started to trot away. Some merely stood and stared, still trying to visually identify the approaching line of hunters.
Long Elk kneed his horse forward, lance at ready, and the other hunters followed quickly. In the space of a few heartbeats the buffalo herd was running wildly, with the riders gaining rapidly.
Eagle Woman clutched her short bow and guided the horse forward with her knees, searching for a target. The gray mare, understanding the purpose of the exercise, pressed after the retreating buffalo, her ears flattened against her neck. They moved alongside a fat young cow, and the girl dropped the rein to the mare's neck, freeing both hands to shoot. She fitted an arrow to the string and pulled the
bow to full draw, her eye on the soft flank just behind the rib cage. The bow twanged, and the feathered shaft, ranging forward into the chest, all but disappeared into the body of the running cow. The animal stumbled, and the horse and rider swept past.
Eagle Woman glanced to her right to see Long Walker make a well-aimed lance thrust at a large cow. She looked aside to find another target of her own. A yearling bull blundered past, and the girl's arrow again sought vital structures. The animal fell, bloody froth spewing from the nostrils, and the girl rode on.
An older bull snorted and threatened with a toss of his massive head as he brushed past. Eagle Woman refrained from loosing her arrow. The destructive might of a wounded bull was to be respected and avoided if possible. Besides, the girl told herself, the meat would be better on a fat young cow.
She called a warning to Long Walker and pointed to the aggressive herd bull. He reined aside and waved his. thanks as the huge animal thundered past. A moment later Eagle Woman lost sight of her friend in the dust and confusion.
The herd was thinning now, the thunder of their myriad hooves fading into the distance. Eagle Woman glanced around to see the extent of the hunt's success. The short new grass of the meadow was strewn with dark bodies, some still moving or kicking feebly. Mounted hunters moved among the fallen buffalo, administering a final blow here and there. A thin haze of dust hung heavily over the scene.
The butchering party was straggling over the distant hill, and Eagle Woman turned to point out her kills to the members of her family. She wondered if she would be expected to help with the butchering, and the thought struck her as amusing. It had not occurred to her until now to wonder if she should perform the duties of both the hunter and the woman. Probably, she decided. It would do no harm and would give the others a good feeling.
A stray yearling cow came blundering up out of a rocky draw, panicky at being separated from the herd. The animal
made a dash for open prairie, its route to pass close to Eagle Woman's position. The gray horse was instantly in pursuit, nearly unseating the rider.
Eagle Woman was still excited from the chase. The prospect of returning to the drudgery of butchering was not nearly so appealing as that of continuing the hunt. She leaned forward, fitting an arrow as she rode.
The cow doubled back, quick and evasive. This, the girl realized, was probably the reason for the animal's escape from the first onslaught. She reined the horse around and started pursuit again.
Other hunters, returning toward the area of the main kill, stopped to watch the chase. The sound of their hoots and laughter carried across the meadow, penetrating even the totally occupied thoughts of Eagle Woman.
It was a question, at the moment, whether embarrassment or anger was her uppermost emotion. She missed another run at her quarry, and a wave of laughter echoed from the spectators.
The girl was furious. There would be many warriors, she knew, who would delight in her failure. It would be only right, they would say smugly, that a woman who aspired to hunter and warrior status should be proved inept and incapable.
The cow dodged again, and the frustrated horse pivoted on its heels to pursue. Again Eagle Woman was almost unseated, but she held tightly with her knees. The inside of her thighs ached at the groin from the constant muscular strain.
Fiercely the girl calmed herself to reason how to end the ludicrous scene. If the animal would only run straight away and allow her to pursue! But it had learned quickly that escape was effected by running straight, then turning back as the horse and rider approached.
The buffalo now stood still, facing the girl on the gray horse. The front legs were spread wide, sweating sides heaving from exertion. How simple it would be, thought Eagle Woman, if some of the other hunters would help her, would
turn the running cow back for her. That would have been customary in the hunt. This, though, was a special circumstance. She knew she could expect no help. She must devise a means of success or be laughed at forever.
On the last turn the girl had noticed that the running buffalo usually feinted with a toss of the head and turned in the opposite direction. Perhaps she could take advantage of that fact. If she had a warning, even the space of a heartbeat, there might be time to loose an arrow. She rode slowly forward, and the cow blinked suspiciously, then turned to run.
The run was straight away, like previous sprints. Eagle Woman held tightly with her knees and let the finely trained horse approach on the animal's right side. She watched carefully for the telltale warning.
The signal cameâthe cow tossed her head left, then turned sharply across in front of the charging horse. Eagle Woman was already drawing her bow.
It was a difficult shot, impossible, almost. The girl concentrated on placing her arrow precisely as the brown blur of the moving form darted past. At the same time the horse had begun to drop to its haunches in a sliding pivot. Momentum carried the rider forward, over the horse's head, to crash heavily to the ground. Men rushed forward. The cow lay kicking, but the other form on the grass was still.
Slowly Eagle Woman began to move. Long Walker was first to reach her, cradling her head in his lap. A swelling purple bruise above the girl's left eye testified to the force of her fall. Dully she smiled at the young man.
Another hunter rode up and dismounted. “Well,” he commented, “at least she made her kill!”
Long Walker had reached the height of his tension for the morning. He looked up indignantly at the speaker. “Stupid one!” he shouted. “This is her
third
kill! Did you make three kills today?”