My heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth Happy, archivist, Dayton Library, Regis University Denver, for guiding me into the world of Edward S. Curtis; and to Eric Paddock, curator of photography at the Colorado Historical Society, Denver, for guiding me through the technical nuances of early photography. My thanks, also, to Ed McAuslan, Fremont County Coroner, Riverton; Paul Swenson, special agent, FBI, Lander; Richard Ortiz, Riverton; Fred Walker, firearms expert, and Sherrie Wolff, PhD., international political consultant, Boulder; Rob Kresge, former CIA agent, and Anthony Short, S.J., former pastor of St. Stephens Mission;
And to Bob and Marianne Kapoun and Christopher Webster, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Luther Wilson, director of the University of New Mexico Press; and Ann Pruitt, Boulder Public Library, reference department;
And to my husband, George, and my daughter, Kristin Henderson, and to my good friends who read versions of this story and offered suggestions that could not be ignored: Virginia Sutter, PhD., and Jim Sutter, members of the Arapaho tribe; Beverly, Sheila, and Mike Carrigan; Sybil Downing and Jim Lewis;
And especially to Karen Gilleland.
Ho’hou’!
This is for
Aileen, Sam, Liam, and Eleanor
Bi’gushish—the moon, literally “night sun,” from bi’ga, night, and hishi’sh, sun, or celestial luminary.
—Arapaho glossary, in The Ghost-Dance Religion and
the Sioux Outbreak of 1890, by James Mooney
There was a camp circle along the river. One night when Moon was shining brightly, as were also all the stars, there were young women sitting outside enjoying the night breeze. One of them said that she wished very much that she could marry Moon. Of course Moon heard the remark and immediately began to consider the course of events were he to marry a human being.
—Traditions of the Arapaho,
George A. Dorsey and Alfred L. Kroeber