And afraid for her too. Every day that the Sauk suffered hunger and illness, every time more men were killed, the women would want all the more to hurt the one pale eyes who was in their power. And the men would hunger to take pleasure with her fair-haired beauty. He could not guard her at every moment. How, then, could he keep her safe?
They sat in silence again. The Winnebago Prophet looked pleased with himself. Black Hawk was grim, probably brooding over how badly the war was progressing.
Desperate to protect Nancy, White Bear could think of only one way.
He said, "I want to make the pale eyes woman my wife."
Black Hawk's eyebrows rose. "Why should White Bear do that?"
"The people will not kill the wife of a shaman."
The Winnebago Prophet burst out, "This is wrong! The spirits have told me that our people must not mate with the pale eyes."
Black Hawk said, "White Bear's father was a pale eyes."
"The offspring of an impure mating should not be a shaman," Flying Cloud grumbled.
White Bear felt his cheeks burn; the Winnebago Prophet might as well have slapped him.