Comanche by J. T. Edson Read Free Book Online Page B

satisfaction for his injured dignity. The offer of a week’s supply of meat, while tempting and generous, did not lessen his determination to carry the matter further. By the time he had returned to his tepee area, he had decided to take firm action himself lest the boys grew up with no respect for old age, wisdom and dignity. With that thought in mind, he told his wives that he would need certain items which had proved most useful on other occasions when discipline had been required for the children.
    Unaware of their impending lesson, the children reached their selected site and gained possession by right of prior occupancy. Swiftly they set about building the miniature village which would form their home during the daylight hours as long as they stayed in the area.
    While regarding their activities in the light of play, the children spent much of their time performing tasks which fitted them for their future life. The girls erected small windbreaks, for shelter, such being woman’s work, and prepared fires ready for the return of the boys from foraging missions. Already Loncey and his companions knew how to locate birds’ nests and collect the eggs. They knew which kind of plants might be eaten safely, the kind of berries they must avoid and could differentiate between edible and poisonous mushrooms.
    Nor did they stop at vegetable matter for their food, but hunted with their bows and blunt-headed arrows. Showing that skilled co-ordination between hand and eye which would one day make him famous as a rifle-shot, Loncey excelled in the matter of driving an arrow into and killing the large grasshoppers which leapt and fluttered about. Once killed, the grasshopper could be roasted over a fire and made a much-prized delicacy. Rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, prairie-dogs, small birds or anything the boys’ arrows could bring down gave bulk to the meals. The boys hunted with grim determination, never relying on the fact that they could obtain a meal in the village if they failed to lessen their attempts. They were encouraged to be self-reliant, taught to fend for themselves and praised when they succeeded. Although the game might sometimes fail, the Pehnane rarely faced prolonged periods of starvation such as the Shoshone and other more northern tribes met. In winter food might be short, but that had to be borne. Even so the foraging boys often had a full belly gained by their own efforts when their parents tightened belts and made medicine to guide them to deer, elk or buffalo.
    Not all the time in the play-area was spent in hunting or house-keeping practice. In the late afternoon, after a meal of baked grasshopper, gopher, pinon nuts, pigweed, the inner bark of a birch tree and bulbous roots of the sego lily, the children decided to play ‘Grizzly Bear’.
    Going out on to a large, sandy bank of the river, the children built a mound of sand. Loncey and Loud Voice up-ended the youngest member of their band and dragged him around the mound by his heels until they smoothed down the surface. With everything ready Loncey stepped on to the smoothed down area to be the ‘grizzly bear’. Outside the circle Loud Voice formed the others into single file, each child holding the preceding one’s waist.
    ‘Now!’ commanded Loud Voice and advanced, leading the line towards the level area.
    Crouching slightly, Loncey watched the line approach him. As the ‘grizzly bear’ he had to protect the mound of ‘sugar’ and also try to catch the ‘mother’, Loud Voice, or one of the youngsters.
    For a time Loud Voice managed to keep his ‘family’ safe. Swinging the line back and forwards, he steered them clear of Loncey’s grabbing hands. However, the white boy’s slim build gave him added speed that enabled him to cover the ‘sugar’ effectively and prevented the others from stealing any of it. Then one of the girls in the line made the mistake of coming too close. Out shot Loncey’s right arm and the girl screeched as his