In later years, in the tribal history of the People, it would be remembered that the split began immediately after the Great Battle. It was curious that this should be. The tribe had adapted to the changing culture which included the elk-dog. The hunting of buffalo was now so much easier that the People had become an affluent and respected group on the Plains.
And then, under the leadership of Heads Off, the young hair-faced outsider who had brought the first elk-dogs, the Southern band had met the dreaded Head Splitters in battle. For the first time in tribal memory they had not only stood fast before this enemy, but soundly defeated him. Aiee, the Great Battle would be retold in song for many generations!
The Southern band would henceforth be called the Elk-dog band, and Heads Off had reluctantly assumed the position of chief after the death of that leader in the battle. The Elk-dogs were now the most prestigious of the bands in the tribe. Their warriors’ opinions were respected in the Big Council each summer at the Sun Dance. Their children were fat, and their women were happy. Their lodges were made of many skins, and each family owned increasing herds of elk-dogs.
So, it was a strange thing that at this time was to come the split that would nearly destroy the People from within. One would think that with the increasing wealth of the tribe, there could be no conflict. Yet it came to pass, in spite of the easy living that had become the expected norm.
Or, perhaps, because of it.
The People of earlier generations had been largely preoccupied with survival. It was difficult to hunt the buffalo on foot, before the advent of the elk-dog. If hunting was poor, the winter would be hard, and there would be mourning for the dead among the lodges in the Moon of Hunger. It had been, as one elder noted, a time of many worn-out moccasins.
Now, with the elk-dog, the hunt was easier. There was more time in which to dream and plan, and to gamble and sing songs of bravery.
And unfortunately, there was more time for the young hotbloods, striving for warrior status, to boast and threaten and dream of combat with the Head Splitters. For many of the warriors of the People, the Great Battle had furnished more than enough combat for a lifetime. But there were those who had not been present, or had transferred allegiance to the Elk-dog band for prestige since the fight, who now yearned for further war. It was these restless souls who provided the breeze that fanned the sparks of trouble into open flames.
At first the split into two warrior societies was almost unnoticed. The age-old Warrior Society was entered at manhood when a youngster proved himself in the hunt or, more rarely, in combat usually defensive in nature. Then came the elk-dogs, and those young hunters who were instructed in their use called themselves, jokingly at first, the Elk-dog Society. After the Great Battle, they had proudly assumed the name and its associated prestige.
Meanwhile the older warriors, those who had proudly fought beside their now fallen chief, began to refer to themselves as the Bowstring Society. In their pride of accomplishment they wished to make sure that the contribution of those who stood among the lodges and faced the charge on foot was not overlooked.
Thus, there were for a time two warrior societies, with mutual
admiration and respect. The early Elk-dog men, in effect, belonged to both societies. Both groups rigidly adhered to the rules of the council. This was all as it should be, and would have continued indefinitely, perhaps, had it not been for the restless activity of the troublemakers.
The first inkling of a splinter group actually could be seen, in retrospect, before the Great Battle. A handful of young men had set forth on their own foray. They had encountered a large band of the enemy, who had ceremonially tortured, killed, and left the bodies of the youths to be discovered by the People. Still, this had seemed only an isolated incident. It was unlike the young men of the People to defy tribal custom to engage in a private foray of this sort. The problem was compounded by one fact above all else. Until this time, there had been no tribal custom that would govern the deliberate seeking of a fight with the Head Splitters.