Lakota Flower by Janelle Taylor Read Free Book Online

white woman captive, so why did you speak for her to stay here?”
    In a gentle tone, Nahemana reminded him, “Do not forget, our chief, Cloud Chaser came from your union with Omaste. Was she not a good woman though her skin was white, and was not the birth of your second son by her good? I believe it was the will of the Creator for you to mate once with her to bring forth the seed that has done many great things for us.”
    “That is true, Wise One, but I sensed a strange hunger in War Eagle for her and it worries me, as it will trouble others. I do not want him to suffer as I did over a forbidden bond with a white woman, for she is unlike Omaste was. Omaste was given to me; War Eagle captured this girl. Omaste was a friend to us; that girl is an enemy, and could be a danger to us.”
    “My grandson did not keep her for himself, my chief,” Nahemana said. “He gave her to his second brother and Dawn as a helper. Even if he has feelings for her, how do weknow the Great Spirit did not place them within his heart and head for a purpose? Wakantanka often works in mysterious, and sometimes painful, ways. Many troubling thoughts have come to me during this hunting season; I sense large peril not far ahead. On the past moon, I prayed to the Creator to send us a sign on this sun; and War Eagle brought the girl to our camp, a female with hair that glows like the sun. I say it is wise to allow her to live with us for now.”
    “If what you say is true, Wise One, I will not intrude in the workings of the Great Spirit, but I pray it is not so. If the Creator speaks other words to you and she must die or be freed, whisper them into my ear first.”
    “It will be as you say.”
    While they ate the midday meal and Macha breast-fed their infant son with her back to them for privacy, Cloud Chaser asked Caroline about herself. He needed to learn all he could about her and what she knew, if anything, about the army’s war plans. Besides, he could think of no valid reason to be cold or cruel to an innocent female.
    Caroline decided it could do no harm to reveal the losses of her parents and property and her trip west to join her brother. She related her grim information as the man listened and watched intently. Afterward, he offered her sympathy … then made a provocative statement.
    “Such tragic losses should help you grasp how Indians feel about the white man’s encroachment.”
    “Why did your brother attack us?” she countered. “We did nothing wrong or threatening, unless it’s a crime to cross your lands. We were taken by surprise and all the soldiers were killed. Why?”
    “Your brother is a soldier. What did he tell you about the troubles in this territory? Why did he come here to help your people steal our lands and to slay us when whites have plenty of land elsewhere?”
    “David didn’t tell me anything about this kind of trouble and danger. If he had known it was so bad, he wouldn’t have allowed me to come and be imperiled like this. He’s a good man. He joined the army for two reasons: he wanted to see the West before he settled down and took over the plantation for our father, and he wanted to escape the pain of the woman who broke their betrothal. All I know about the hostilities was told to me by soldiers during my short stay at Fort Pierre and the five-day ride across the grasslands before I was captured.”
    Cloud Chaser nodded. “Did they tell you the white leaders are sending their best general here to subjugate or destroy us? They plan to attack as soon as he arrives at Fort Kearny, where your brother was sent. That’s what those wagons were for that War Eagle attacked and destroyed with just cause; and those men were slain before they could join forces with the other soldiers to attack us.”
    Caroline was alarmed. “Is there no hope for peace between the whites and Indians?”
    Cloud Chaser shook his head. “In September of fifty-one, Indian nations in this territory were tricked, bribed, and