Before the sun came up Zeke was sitting there missing his sons and wishing he had just walked in, caught them in the act and said ‘Have a nice life” and walked out. Now he was sitting there waiting on a man he did not know or like cease to exist and leave him alone.
Zeke heard them before he saw them, Ghosts, Indian Ghosts, all dancing and chanting around Billy.
The dawn broke over the horizon and Zeke saw the spirits fade away only to be replaced by real Indians.
The weather turned cold and Zeke watched in amazement as the Chief of the Tribe and Shaman came forward.
The Chief asked “Who are you”?
Zeke was startled to notice that he understood what was said and replied “We are Apache and were separated from out tribe”.
The old Medicine Man had gone to look at Billy and returned moments later where Zeke thought “Yeah; I know she is dead, now go and leave me to my own business”.
They talked for a moment and the Chief said “Your woman is still alive, come, we go now”.
They reached their destination later that day and the tribe immediately set up camp while the shaman made poultices to apply to Billy’s snake bite.
That night he slept in a Tee Pee with several others and at one point heard a noise across the way, looked up to see a papoose nursing on its mother’s breast and her warrior husband on the other.
Zeke just smiled and said to himself “So that is why they have two of them”.
The camp was up early next morning and Zeke went to see if he could make friends with those who had adopted him and Billy.
As he was going out the shaman was going in.
Children were running about in collecting firewood and doing what they could while a hunting party was getting together for a morning hunt.
Zeke was curious about how they would go about getting wild game so he tagged along to learn what he could for the memoirs he had been writing.
They were about four miles out when everyone fanned out to cover more land.
Soon there was a yelp and everyone road to its source.
Tracks of a Buck and Doe were found and everyone followed them.
Zeke was amazed at how these warriors could tell the size and age of the game they followed just by the tracks they left behind.
They were not far along the trail when everyone came to a stop. One Buck got off his horse and searched the ground. He looked up at Elk Horn who was the leader and said “Other riders follow too”.
Elk Horn had a clear and distinct voice and asked “Who”?
The answer came like a bad omen “White Soldiers and one Scout”.
Elk Horn: “We follow”.
They topped a ridge a quarter mile ahead and saw four specs headed off to the east.
The party proceeded to where the four had come from and in an outcropping of boulders among a stand of Alders they found remnants of the deer they were following.
The deer were cleaned and parts of them had been left behind.
The Indians picked up what they could and as Elk Horn looked about he announced “No good Indian would leave meat behind and so doing dishonor the spirits of those who gave their lives to provide for my people”.
At camp the women brought out what was left of the dried meat they had packed and Zeke was ashamed to accept what meager rations were set before him.
The next day saw much of the same and found the swelling in Billy’s leg had gone down greatly.
A few fish had been caught in a nearby stream and snares had caught two rabbits.
The tribe suddenly came to life at the site of soldiers coming into camp.
The Capt. announced himself and shook hands with the Chief.
Through a translator the elders went into a Tee Pee. Not long after all the braves were called together.
The Chief announced that the soldiers would agree to supply beef to the tribe for the long winter if they agreed to surrender their guns. This way the soldiers would not have to worry over any trouble from the Indians. Many braves protested and said they did not like it but knew their families needed the food and reluctantly surrendered their guns.
The Capt. had the chief make his mark on a document as Zeke got to view it for his memoirs.
The soldiers then gave the tribe the two deer they had beaten them to, took the guns and left camp.
Zeke; despite the circumstances enjoyed the rest of the day playing with the kids and was particularly taken by a little girl he called “Princess”.
He went to his saddle bags for paper and pen, when he opened the bag realized the sack was still hanging from Billy’s Saddle Horn.
Zeke opened it and thought it would be a good idea to share the canned goods with his newfound friends. As he rummaged through the bag he found the bottle of ink Billy had taken and said to himself “Well, the little prick does have a heart”.
He put a few pieces of the candy in his pocket for Billy because he knew the Indian had a sweet tooth.
At the campfire Zeke presented his treasures to the tribe and everyone was thankful, especially the beaming faces of the children who had never had anything like it.
The fire was bright against the evening sky and Zeke had forgotten who he was for a time and felt happy to be among these people.
A dance of celebration and chanting began around the fire.
Zeke’s heritage was flowing deep in his veins and he joyfully danced with the warriors in celebration and thankfulness of life.
Elk Horn came face to face with Zeke and in a swift move he pulled Billy’s knife from Zeke’s belt, grabbed Zeke’s right hand, cut his palm then did the same to himself and clasped hands with him in a fierce grip. He boldly announced “We will always be brothers and one day in the spring we will hunt in the land of the Apache”.
He took the knife, flipped it around while admiring the craftsmanship and motioned for Zeke to take it back. Zeke thought of the knife’s history; placed it back in Elk Horn’s hand and said “Always”.
Zeke sat back down and wondered just what else was in the bag. He reached back in and as many of the braves watched, pulled out a bottle of whiskey.
The Chief spoke “It is only one bottle and we shall all get a taste to celebrate the future of the Sioux Indians and thank our brother…………. What is your name young buck”?
Zeke thought for a moment and said “I am Black Buffalo and my squaw is Kicking Bird”.
He did not know that some of the Indians had witnessed the event at the shack and one announced “Sounds right to me” and there was laughter.
There was a shout and all turned to see Billy hobble up to the group amid yelps for defeating death only to watch his whiskey being passed from brave to brave and with each passing became less and less.
The bottle reached Zeke, he looked at Billy, raised the bottle in a toast, tilted it back to take the last swallow then toss the empty bottle into the fire.
Billy hobbled off in anger and heard an Indian say “You make squaw angry, she must think you drink too much” and there was a roar of laughter from the fire.
Billy ate his fill then because he was still weak laid down to get some rest.
Zeke came in a short time later and when he laid down exclaimed “What a day”.
He went on to tell Billy of the last two days, the hunt, the treaty and the soldiers.
Billy became alert “What was the date on the treaty and the name of the Chief”?
Zeke told him and Billy exclaimed “Oh God; go to sleep; we must leave early in the morning”.
Zeke thought “You are jealous again. I am having a good time and you don’t like it”.
Zeke woke up to find Billy gone.
The sun was just coming over the horizon and as Zeke came out of the Tee Pee he could see Billy sitting on a fallen tree.
He went over to him and asked “So why the big rush. For the first time since we came here we have felt welcomed. They even brought you back from the dead”.
Billy let out a sigh and said “On this date of December 29th of 1890, 297 Sioux Indians were murdered by Federal Agents and members of the 7th Calvary who had come to confiscate their firearms. Obviously they felt that not all the Indians gave them up. 200 of the 297 victims were women and children. Yes; even your “little princess”. Twenty members of the 7th Calvary were deemed “National Heroes” and awarded The Medal of Honor for their acts of heroism”.
Zeke was stunned and as he stood up he felt a tug on his pants. It was “little princess” with her hand out. Zeke’s eyes were wet when he reached into his pocket and gave the little girl a piece of candy.
Last thing he heard was her humming as she skipped away.