When the tree flowered

by John G. Neihardt

“So the second husband was dead and Sees-White-Cow was a widow again. She cut her hair and mourned awhile. But she was young and good to see; and when her hair was beginning to get long, a brave young man, called Tall Horse, asked for her, and she became his woman. Tall Horse was from another band and he had been visiting some relatives. He wanted to go back home with his woman, and Sees-White-Cow was willing, so they got ready and started out afoot, because there were few horses in those days.

“They traveled all day, and when it was getting dark they came to a rough country, hilly and wooded. Sees-White-Cow did not want to lose another man. She was thinking hard about this, so she chose a place to camp where they would be hidden and safe. There they made a tepee of brush and grass. Tall Horse was tired and he went to sleep right after they had eaten; but Sees-White-Cow could not sleep at all for thinking and thinking. It was getting near morning when she heard an otter calling. When she had listened awhile, she knew it was not an otter at all, but a man making like an otter. Then she heard another—and another—and another—”

Moves Walking, with his hands cupped behind his ears, listened breathlessly for some time.

“They were not otter! They were enemies! She could hear the difference. So she shook her man and whispered, ‘Tall Horse, get up! There are enemies and I think we are surrounded! We can crawl down the ravine and escape.’ Tall Horse listened, and when there were more calls, he yawned and said, ‘They are otter. They are mating and calling to each other. I am tired, so let me sleep.’ But the woman was frightened and she was thinking of the other husbands too. ‘Man, I know! They are not otter! You’d better come if you want to live, for I am going.’ But he yawned and said, ‘They are otter, and I am sleepy.’ Then he lay down again.

“Sees-White-Cow started crawling down a wash and thought her man would still believe and follow her when he knew she meant what she said. She was not far down the wash yet, and some men were coming up it. So she made herself flat in the grass and they nearly stepped on her. When they were gone awhile, she listened, and heard Tall Horse yell just once. After that, men were talking all excited. Then she got up and started running, for she knew her man was dead up there. Afterwhile, she could hear men running after her. There was an old moon coming up, not very bright, but it helped her to see. She came to where there was a flat place with a big tree standing alone in its shadow. So she ran into the shadow and made herself flat against the tree. Soon the men came running by in the dim moonlight. She could hear them puffing. When they were gone, she ran back down the wash and into a ravine. There she hid again just as the day was coming. After two more nights she was back home.

“When the people heard her story, a war party started out after the enemies, and the two brothers went along. The enemies were Chippewas again, and there was a big fight. Not one got away. The two brothers of Sees-White-Cow were braver than ever. They brought back so many scalps and counted so many coups that people talked and talked about them even more than before; and there was a big victory dance. Seemed like every time their sister lost a man, they got more famous.

“So the third husband was dead, and Sees-White-Cow was a widow once more. She cut her hair again and mourned and mourned, and she did not want to get married to anybody at all. She always had such bad luck that she thought she would just live alone and maybe save a few men. But she was still a young woman, and she was good to see, after her hair began to get long again.

“There was a brave young man called Red Horse, and he was very handsome. After a while he wanted Sees-White-Cow for his woman. She already had three dead husbands and maybe he would be the fourth. So she would not listen to him for a long time. But her brothers liked Red Horse, whose father was a chief, and when he offered four good horses to her father, she forgot about her dead husbands for a while, and took him.

“Red Horse was from another band and he was visiting relatives. Of course he wanted to go back home and take his woman along, but she would not go. She would not even let him go on war parties, and she was always watching him, for she was afraid something might happen.

“They got along well together that winter, and afterwhile the grass appeared again and got tall in the valleys. One day Red Horse came back from taking care of his horses, for he still had some after he traded off the four; and horses were few in those days. So he said to his woman, ‘I saw many turnips, and they look good. Why do we not go out and get ourselves some?’ And Sees-White-Cow said, ‘I think it would be good to do that.’ So that is what they did. It was not far, so they went afoot. Many people were out there with their sticks digging turnips, laughing and having a good time. The scouts had been all around, and there were no signs of enemies, so the people were not afraid.