Lakota by G. Clifton Wisler Read Free Book Online Page B

red rock dangled from a rawhide thong on one side.
    "This is strong medicine, Mastincala," He Hopa declared. "So long as you remain true to Tatanka, so it will keep you safe. Hau, it holds great power!"
    "Thank you, He Hopa," Mastincala said, accepting the gift.
    "I now walk the bent backbone days of my life," the old man said, clutching his young companion's wrists. "Soon my time upon the earth will be at an end. Give me your eyes and ears, young one, that I can teach you the mysteries of the wakan, the sacred ways."
    "But I am to be a warrior."
    "A warrior has need of medicine, too, Mastincala," He Hopa said gravely. "More so if he is to lead. There are great dangers in the world to come, and a man who can see them will save the people from great harm."
    "I will learn all I can," Mastincala promised.
    "Hau!" the old man then shouted as he led Mastincala from the lodge. "Look here, my brothers, and see Mastincala reborn as a man."
    "Hau!" Hinhan Hota cried, and the shout was taken up by others among the camp. Hokala, the Badger, who had so often tormented Mastincala the boy, yelled loudest of all, for he had only just completed his own dreaming. Cehupa Maza, the Iron Jaw, clasped Mastincala by the shoulders, as did others.
    "My son is a man," Hinhan Hota declared proudly as he presented Mastincala to his young brother, Itunkala. The Mouse climbed up into Mastincala's arms. Tasiyagnunpa and Wicatankala gazed with admiration upon the new man among their people.
    Mastincala noticed great differences in the way he was now treated. Women retreated at his approach, and young maidens often gazed shyly as he passed nearby or else giggled among themselves. He rode to the buffalo hunt with the warriors, and he was expected to supply game for the kettle.
    At first he felt cut off. His mother and sister were occupied with Itunkala, the small one. Nothing was expected of the child. Mastincala grew envious, especially when the long days riding the buffalo valleys left him weary and lonely.
    "A warrior rides alone upon his horse," Sunka Sapa lamented as the two young men topped a ridge, only to see there was nothing but another ridge beyond. "Hau! Who will sing the scalp song when I fight my enemies? Only a sister."
    But there were times when a boy of fourteen would choose no other fate than to ride as a Lakota warrior. Three days after slaying two buffalo cows and rescuing a dismounted Sunka Sapa from a charging bull, Mastincala was brought before his family.
    "Here is my warrior son," Hinhan Hota boasted. The Owl then offered Mastincala a fine shield made of hump hide from a bull buffalo. From it hung tufts of hair given with prayers to keep its holder safe. The face of the shield bore the countenance of Tatanka, the Bull Buffalo, surrounded by white clouds torn by lightning streaks.
    "Ate, it is a strong shield," Mastincala observed. "I'll carry it proudly, remembering the one who made it."
    "Hau!" Hinhan Hota shouted. "Be worthy of it, my son."
    So Mastincala swore he would be.

Chapter Six
    With the wasicun soldiers busy fighting among themselves in the out-of-sight lands beyond Platte River, the Lakotas enjoyed a time of peace. Oh, there were still raids against the Crows in the north, the Snakes in the western mountains, and the Pawnees south of the Platte, but those fights were little matter. Even the Pawnees, who carried the white man's rifles and fought in his fashion, didn't raid whole villages or cut down women and little ones. Most of the raiders were after horses, though at times women or children were stolen. More often than not, captives were retrieved, and sometimes the horses, too.
    There was honor and respect among the fighters, and rarely was killing necessary. Where a warrior could count a coup upon his enemy, with hand or bow or lance, that was done. Only when the blood grew too hot for reason was much killing done. For when a man was killed, surely a brother or son would raise the cry for revenge.
    Mastincala had