“There is not a thing that lives forever Except the earth and the mountains.”
Red Eagle realized then that if he stayed, he would be killed, despite the protection of the American flag and the flag of surrender. He grabbed his wife by the hand and they darted down a ravine, miraculously escaping Chivington’s band.
Now, Red Eagle was the leader of his own village, and he was determined not to let his people be slaughtered as had been the villagers under White Antelope’s protection. If the soldiers demanded that Red Eagle keep his people on the reservation, then that is exactly what he would do. And if Walking Bear and the band of young firebrands who followed him wanted to make trouble off the reservation, then they would have to deal with the soldiers themselves, because he would not make council on their behalf.
As the shadows of evening pushed away the last vestiges of color in the west, Red Eagle came out into the village circle to sit near the fire. The village circle acted as a community center for the village. It was an area of dry grass, smooth logs, and gentle rises making it a very good sitting place. Every night that weather permitted, men, women, and children from the village would gather around the fire’s light and talk of the events of the day.
The village circle was a place where problems were discussed, group decisions made, and young men and young women could court under the watchful eyes of the village. It was also a place of entertainment, sometimes consisting of dancing, but often a place where stories were told.
One of the reasons Red Eagle was a leader of the village was because he was an old man who had lived through many winters, and had experienced a lot of adventures. That made him a particularly good storyteller when he was in the mood, and tonight he was in just such a mood. Besides, he thought, a good story would lift his people’s spirits so that they would not think of the hunger that was gnawing at their bellies.
“Listen,” Red Eagle said, “and I will tell you a story.”
Those who were around him, the men of the council, the warriors, and those who would be warriors, drew closer to hear his words. The women and children grew quiet, not only because it was forbidden to make noise while stories were being told around the campfires, but also because they knew it would be a good story and it filled them with excitement to hear it.
As the fire burned, it cast an orange light upon Red Eagle, making his skin glow and his eyes gleam. A small gas pocket in one of the burning logs popped, and it sent a shower of sparks climbing into the sky, red stars among the blue. Red Eagle held his hand up and crooked his finger as he began to talk.
“Once there was a time before the people, before Kiowa, before Arapaho, before Commanche, before Lakota, even before Cheyenne.”
“What time was this, Grandfather?” one of the children asked. Red Eagle was not the young questioner’s biological grandfather, but he was the spiritual grandfather of them all, and so the child’s innocent question reflected that.
“This was the time before time,” Red Eagle replied. “This was in the time of the beginning, before the winter- count, before there was dry land. Then, there was only water and the Great Spirit, who floated on the water. With him were only things that could swim, like the fish and the swan, the goose, and the duck.
“The Great Spirit wanted to have people, but to do that, had to make land to walk upon. So he asked someone to dive to the bottom. ‘Let me try,’ a little duck said.
“The swan laughed at the little duck. ‘You are much too small. I am a mighty swan, the most noble of all creatures. I will dive to the bottom and find earth.’
“So the swan dove down through the water to try and find the earth. But when he came up, his bill was empty.
“‘The water is much too deep,’ the swan said. ‘I could not find the bottom.’
“‘Let me try and find the bottom,’ the little duck said.
“But the goose laughed at the duck. ‘You are much too little and too weak to find the bottom. I am a goose. I am big and strong. I will find the bottom.’
“So the goose took a deep breath and dove very deep, but he couldn’t reach the bottom either. He came up, gasping for breath, and he said, ‘Great Spirit, I think you are playing tricks with us. I think there is no bottom.’
“‘Please, let me try,’ the little duck said again.
“Both the swan and the goose laughed. ‘Foolish little duck,’ they said. ‘If we could not find the bottom, what makes you think you can?’”
“‘I believe I can do it,’ the little duck said again.
“‘You may try,’ the Great Spirit said.
“The little duck took a deep breath and plunged down through the water. He was underwater for a long time, and everyone thought that the little duck had drowned and they were very sad. ‘You should not have let him try,’ they said to the Great Spirit, but the Great Spirit told them to have patience.
“Then, when it seemed that all was lost, the little duck came back up with a bit of mud in its bill.
“‘How could he do that when we could not?’ the swan asked. ‘He is small and we are big.’
“‘He is small, but his heart is big and his soul is good. That gives him very strong medicine, and that is why he succeeded where you failed,’ the Great Spirit said.
“Then, taking the mud from the bill of the little duck, the Great Spirit worked it in his hands until it was dry, and with it, he made little piles of land on the water surface. That land grew and grew until it made solid land everywhere.” Red Eagle held his arm out and took in all the land around him. “And that is what we see today.”
“And then did our people come to live on the land?” one of the children asked.
“Yes,” Red Eagle said. “Two young men and two young women who were looking for food walked for eight days and eight nights without eating, or drinking, or sleeping. They saw a high peak and decided to go to it to die, for it would be a marker to show their burying place. But when they got there, they saw a yellow-haired woman who showed them the buffalo. The men hunted the buffalo and got food to eat, and the women bore many sons. The sons took many wives and bore more children. I am the child of one of those children, just as you are the children of
