“Perhaps,” suggested Dove-eye, at a loss for an excuse, “they do not count time in the spirit-land as we count it here. Perhaps The Big Medicine has returned. It is several suns since I have visited the lodge at the cliff. If the chief will permit me, I will go there now, and will watch for the Big Medicine, if he is not already there. As he promised to return, he will surely do so.”
The consent of the chief was given, and Dove-eye, dressing herself in woman’s attire, took up her residence in the lodge at the foot of the cliff. This was for the purpose of gaining time, in order that she might reflect upon the matter, and determine what course she had best pursue.
At the end of four days she came to the village, and informed Black Horse that she had a message for him. The old men were convened in the council-lodge, where she was brought before them, and was ordered to declare her errand.
She said that she had seen the Big Medicine, who had been well received in the spirit-land, and who had met there many of the warriors who had been slain in recent encounters. She mentioned the names of those whom he had met and described their pursuits in the happy hunting-grounds, and the honors that were bestowed upon them. This part of her subject she treated with consummate tact, knowing how to adopt the style of the old man, and how to flatter the vanity of her auditors. She succeeded so well, that the Arapahoes were highly pleased, and considered themselves favored above all other men, in receiving such consoling messages from the other world.
She went on to say that the Great Spirit was highly pleased with the punishment which they had inflicted upon the Crows; but the warriors who had been killed in battle still demanded vengeance. The Big Medicine advised them to persist in their enmity to the Crows, and to strike them whenever an opportunity offered, although they need not entirely abandon the pursuits of peace for the purpose of engaging in war.
At this there were visible signs of disapproval among the old men; but Dove-eye, nothing daunted, went on to declare the last and the worst of her errand.
The Big Medicine, she said, had been suffered to leave the spirit-land but for a short time, and had not been permitted to visit his people; but he would return to them after the lapse of six more moons, and would never again leave them, until he should be finally taken away. He exhorted them to give themselves no uneasiness concerning him, as his absence was for their good, and he was continually watching over them and guiding them. It was his last request that Dove-eye should again be allowed to assume the garb and weapons of a warrior.
The old men received this portion of the message in the most profound silence; but Dove-eye could not fail to see that their displeasure was great. For this she cared little, as she had taken the risk, and was not afraid of their frowns. If her secret should be discovered, she knew that death was certain, and her only chance was to continue the imposture.
No direct action was taken upon Dove-eye’s second communication; but the message was tacitly heeded. The warfare against the Crows was kept up in a desultory manner, and the presence of the girl, when she joined the war-parties, was not objected to. Still, she saw that there were those who looked upon her with suspicion, and she hoped that an honorable death in battle might put an end to her troubles, and absolve her from all liability.
There was a white trader residing among the Arapahoes at this time, named Silas Wormley, a cunning, foxy man, shrewd enough at driving a small bargain, but incapable of any enterprise that demanded enlarged ideas. He had gained the favor of the tribe by procuring supplies for them when they were short of peltries to give in exchange. This accommodation had greatly pleased them, as they had not troubled themselves to think of the exorbitant prices which they were to pay in the future.