The Sheep Eaters

by William A. Allen

"The next ten days were busy ones in the village. Every Indian had his share in the preparations for the great event.

"On the morning of the tenth sleep, before even the birds had begun their morning chants, thirty braves in their gala dress, stole silently forth from their lodges and assembled in the open space before the village. When the first faint blush of dawn appeared in the east, a blast from thirty cedar horns broke the stillness of the beautiful mountain village. As the last notes died away two processions from opposite ends of the village started toward the bridal lodge. Aggretta, in her bridal gown of skins and beads, black hair down to her moccasin tops, came with the step of a queen from her father's lodge, attended by twenty-eight lovely maidens, each the choice of her tribe. From the other end of the village came Red Arrow out of the lodge of Chief Red Eagle, attended by twenty-eight braves, all splendid in their wedding garb.

"Never bride pledged her troth amid greater beauty. Overhead a canopy of blue, with here and there a fleecy cloud daintily edged with pink. Round about were walls of massive, towering rock, stately evergreens and the thousand surrounding lodges, and under foot a carpet of grass and ferns and flowers.

"Just as the sun's rim cleared the horizon, the lovers met at the door of the lodge and stood side by side on the great bear skin, while the blowing of horns and the chanting of twenty-eight maidens and twenty-eight braves made the mountains ring with joy. Then a thousand voices swelled the chorus of praise to the young aristocrats.

"The great medicine chief came forward and performed the rites of the tribe. The pair knelt on the bear skin with their faces to the sun, while he joined them together in marriage. The ceremonies finished, the brave and his bride entered the lodge he had prepared, while the villagers went to their tepees, chanting songs of praise to the new made bride.

"At evening, when the sun had gone to rest and the stately peaks had changed from pink to lavender, from gold to copper, and from purple to gray, when the evening star had cleared the horizon and had begun to wink and beckon to the laggard moon, then again the village awoke to life, and the royal feast began. Fires were kindled and great flat stones were heated. Choice cuts of elk, the tenderloin and tongues and hams of sheep were roasted. Venison steak and ribs were broiled to a turn. The bridal couple came forth and once more took their place on the bear skin. The singers and dancers in the center of the great throng began their weird chants and slow rhythmical steps. The tom-tom burst forth, the chants became louder, the dance swifter. The maidens took up the chant, first low and sweet, and as it grew higher and louder, the young braves added their voices, then the older people joined the chorus. Torches of cedar, burning like rockets, were thrown into the air, the tom-toms pealed out their muffled notes, and from a thousand throats rolled the great wedding song, until the tepees shook, and the hills and valleys echoed with the sounds of rejoicing. They danced and chanted and feasted while the stars came out till the sky seemed crowded, while the camp-fires leaped and blazed. They danced and feasted and sang, until the camp-fires smouldered and died out, and the night birds made their last faint twitterings before seeking rest. They sang and feasted and danced when all else was still save the Grey Bull River, murmuring as it swept along over its gravelly bed, the far off hoot of an owl, or the cry of the coyote still lingering for his share of the wedding feast. When the little stars had gone to rest and the larger ones were beginning to slip away, then quietly, in groups, the throng dispersed, wishing the newly married pair good night and happy days, as they passed.

"When the last one had gone, Red Arrow turned to his bride, and taking her by the hand, led her into his lodge. Looking into her brown eyes, so full of love and trust, he said, 'This is our home, and I know we shall always be happy here, for our people all love us and the great spirit is well pleased.'

"Then he let the skin fall loosely over the door, and the great day of the Sheep Eaters had passed. The silent night became more silent, the owl ceased calling to his mate, the coyote skulked into his lair, the birds ceased their chirping, the great forest trees seemed in a trance, not a flower or fern moved, all nature was at rest.

"The Great Red Eagle, chief of the twenty-eight tribes, sent runners to all his people with the message that in the spring, when the warm sun should come again, all the tribes were to assemble at the great Sun Dial to worship and rejoice over the wedding of his son to the beautiful Aggretta.

"The warm sun came, and a great camp-fire was kept burning for two nights on Bald Mountain, where it could be seen by the tribes many miles away, even into Wyoming. Then came the greatest gathering that had ever assembled in the mountains.