The Story of Water
In the days of the old the work of the Indian woman was very hard.Running Spring would have to go to the nearest river or spring to get water for her family.She did the cooking of the food washing of cloths,teaching and caring for the children.She wood make the leather soft with her on mouth. Her days were long and when time came to sleep she was ready to rest.Her husband had gone with the shawman of the horn to the city of peace which was north and west of Shooting Creek.Many of the Elders of the also attended the meeting.Only the women and children and some others were left in the Village.
Running Spring had turned in for the night,her children were put to bed and the Village was filled with the sound of Mother Earth.As Running Spring walked through the village on her way to her lodge she come upon a friend of hers Water, her husband had also gone to the City of Peace and went into her lodge.She untied the strings at the top of her dress and let it fall to the floor. She lay down under the buffalo rope, across the room from where her children were sleeping. The spirit of the moon had come up and mother earth was singing very loudly.
Into the village came five white eyes, moving very slowly, looking into the lodge when one said to the other just outside of Running Springs lodge. There were no braves here and Running Springs said, "who is there", two of the white eyes ran in and held her down to the floor and one put his hand over her mouth and another one came in and they said, "we have all the indian women to ourselves". They took their turns on top of her as she put up a fight. Then they bound her hands and feet and did the same thing to water, as well as the other women in the village. After they had taken the women by force, they placed them all in one lodge and the children in another.
The child of Running Stream, the one they called One of Few Words made his way into the woods. He had gone with his father to the Peace City many times but it was a long way for a child. Once he entered the woods he took off running to find his father. Back at the lodge the women were still tied up, but earlier Running Stream remembered her knife was there in her lodge. She moved across the floor and found it, she worked on the rope that held her hands until she had cut herself free. Then she cut the other women loose, they were all without clothes, but at that time it was not important. She told the women to find anything they could use to fight with.
Running Spring said to Water, "look and see where the white eyes are" Water looked and said, "they are taking all the valley buffalo ropes from all the lodges", she said, "we can go out the back of the lodge, we have a hole in the wall". So the women all snuck out of the hole in the wall, Running Spring said,"Water and I will go together and the rest of you go in two's and we will kill the white eyes, all of them". As they moved along the back side of the village, Water found an old broken spear, only about half of it was there and the point was still good.
Running spring and Water came upon one of the white eyes as he was coming out of one of the lodges. He made a loud call and ran towards Water. Running Spring threw her knife hitting him on one side of the chest, Water took the broken spear and ran it into his lower parts, cutting them off. She said,( you wish to hold something white eyes, then hold them). Running Spring took her knife from his chest and ran at another one of the white eyes fighting with two of the other women, She jumped on his back, as the white eye tried to get her off the woman that was still standing found a knife and plunged it into his heart. A white eye grabbed Running Spring from behind and was getting ready to sink his knife into her, when Water broke her spear off into him and he turned Running Spring loose. The last white eye was cutting the breast off one of the other women Running Spring took her knife and cut his windpipe. She pulled him over on his back while he was gasping for air she reached down and cut the rope that held up his pants. She said , "You were wanting to dishonor all the women of this village, then watch white eyes as i make you less than a white eye", and she cut off his manly parts and gave them to the dogs. "what do you know she said even the dogs don't think your any good" and she pushed the knife further into his chest.
The next day Red Wolf and the Shaman of the Horn and the elders along with the warriors returned to the village running and the One of Few Words had found his father. Red Wolf and the Shaman and the Elders just stood there looking at the tree at the edge of the village. One of the young warriors said," Red Wolf, would you look at that, there are five white eyes hanging upside down and they are all missing their manly parts", Red Wolf said' "No one is to ask the women of this village why these white eyes are missing their manly parts, just find sticks and we will beat the flesh from the white eyes bodies. Later, Red Wolf said to Running Spring," I am sorry that it took us so long to return home. Did they hurt you badly?" Before she could reply he put his arms around her and said, " Never again will all of the braves leave the village at the same time" Running Spring replied, " Did we not take care of this? Do you think the women of the village are weak and unclean"? No said Red Wolf, Then why do you wish the braves to sit here like a bunch of mother hens, said Running Spring. Red Wolf replied, " only because i care about you I lost one woman to the Seneca a long time ago and i do not wish to loose another". You are not going to loose me my husband, said Running Spring. "Come let me fix you something to eat for you have come a long way".
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