文档介绍：OLD INDIAN DAYS
OLD INDIAN DAYS
BY CHARLES A. EASTMAN (Ohiyesa)
1
OLD INDIAN DAYS
To My Daughters DORA, IRENE, VIRGINIA, ELEANOR, AND
FLORENCE I Dedicate these Stories of the Old Indian Life, and
especially of the Courageous and Womanly Indian Woman
2
OLD INDIAN DAYS
PART ONE THE WARRIOR
I. THE LOVE OF ANTELOPE
Upon a hanging precipice atop of the Eagle Scout Butte there appeared
a motionless and solitary figure--almost eagle-like he perched! The people
in the camp below saw him, but none looked at him long. They turned
their heads quickly away with a nervous tingling, for the height above the
plains was great. Almost spirit-like among the upper clouds the young
warrior sat immovable.
It was Antelope. He was fasting and seek- ing a sign from the "Great
Mystery," for such was the first step of the young and ambitious Sioux
[who wished to be a noted warrior among his people.
He is a princely youth, among the wild Sioux, who hunts for his tribe
and not for him- self! His voice is soft and low at the camp- fire of his
nation, but terror-giving in the field of battle. Such was Antelope's
reputation. The more he sought the "Great Mystery" in solitude, the
more gentle and retiring he be- came, and in the same proportion his
courage and manliness grew. None could say that he was not a kind son
and a good hunter, for he had already passed the "two-arrow-to-kill," his
buffalo examination.
On a hot midsummer morning a few weeks later, while most of the
inmates of the teepees were breakfasting in the open air, the powerful
voice of the herald resounded among the pine- clad heights and green
valleys.
"Hear ye, hear ye, warriors!" he chanted loudly. "The council has
decreed that four brave young men must scout the country to the
sunsetward of the camp, for the peace and protection of our people!"
All listened eagerly for the names of the chosen warriors, and in
3
OLD INDIAN DAYS
another moment there came the sonorous call: "Antel