The Fire Bird Part 5

So hard I worked, O Medicine Man, From the lifting to the setting of every sun, So long I danced at night in the a.s.sembly Lodge, That when I walked to my wigwam Sleep came swift and deep upon me.

Sometimes I lay visionless, My body worn to stone heaviness; Sometimes the flaming bird burned my breast To gray ashes, like dead campfires, And the white lilies overflowed my unwilling hands Until I fought to keep from choking among them, Even as Couy-ouy was smothered By the little yielding wave hidden sands.

When I had worked that season Until the troubling mating moon Sailed like a polished pearl canoe in the Spring sky, When the hurrying blood of the trees Ran fast in the red and yellow osiers, When the birches, givers of large gifts, Put out their little talking leaves of gold, When strange birds made love chase in the forest And the fish leaped high from the shallow water As the yellow sp.a.w.n they planted and quickened, There came a night of quivering moon magic When, after all the others had a.s.sembled, Star Face entered the Council Lodge, His head lifted to face the star country, And the great wealth of his riches Rode flauntingly from head-band to moccasins.

He had scoured his skin to fatling softness, He had oiled his body to birch bark smoothness, His braided hair was filled with eagle feathers, With quill feathers of white swan And wing pinions of wild turkey.

He was robed in the soft gray skins of the otter; On his feet were beaded moccasins of deerskin; In his hand was a broad fan of the wing feathers Of the proud and contented white swan, Round his neck lay heavy shining ornaments Made from the teeth and the cutting claws Of many black and brown bear, Of fierce mountain lion and wildcat, And the big teeth of the elk and moose, Carved copper and cunningly pierced bone beads, From obsidian and little singing sh.e.l.ls.

The dance of the maidens was beginning When he entered in high pride.

He came through the long Lodge And stood with compelling eye before me, And before his Father on the throne, And his Mother, his brothers and sisters, The whole council of Chiefs and wise men And all the a.s.sembled people of his tribe.

Slowly he began the Mating Dance Of the Mandana who would prevail, While his eyes like coals from the campfire Seared my body to action-- The eyes of black bear when he is facing the hunter, The fierce eyes of the starving panther When the hunger moon is shining, The scouting eyes of the eagle of high s.p.a.ces, Seeking a mate in the far country of the stars.

When he had danced the dance of allurement To the last stamped out measure, Straightway I walked to the feet Of his powerful Father, on his throne, And in the speech of the Mandanas I said to him: "Great Chief, thou hast seen the dance Of thy mighty son, Star Face.

If I dance the ancient Mating Dance Of the unconquered Mandanas This night before thee, for Star Face, Even as he has danced before thee, for me, Great and powerful Chief, am I of thy people?"

The Great Chief looked into my eyes and said: "Thou art of mine, even as Star Face is my son; With our last arrow, with our last battle axe, With the stoutest blood of our hearts Will our Braves defend thee forever."

The next sun, the young women Set me a tall prideful wigwam apart.

They bathed and oiled my heart sick body; They beaded and feathered fine robes For the mating ceremonials of a rich Brave.

In another tent all of the young men Were busy preparing Star Face for our union.

Down the long wide trail Of the swarming, bee like village The painted criers on swift horses Were announcing the marriage of Yiada, Daughter of the far and friendly Canawacs, And Star Face, the son of the Head Chief Of the boastful Mandanas--the proud ones!

So, with the full Mandan ceremonial, I gave my tortured body to Star Face.

There was no heart left in me, O Medicine Man, And that Star Face might not miss it, When he looked in my eyes in tenderness, I gave to him such willing and sure service As no other Chief of the Mandanas had ever known.

Soft were the skins that bedded his wigwams, Warm his earth-lodge against the sting of winter, Sweet was the crisp squaw bread That bubbled in his fat kettles, Gold was the mountain of tallow Stacked in his storehouse for winter, High heaped were the nuts of tree and bush Gathered and husked against the Ice Chief, Rich were the berries dried with sunshine, Boiled back to tenderness, honey sweetened.

And, Medicine Man, No other Brave served his mate as Star Face.

High and boastful was his pride When I gave him a straight little chieftain, And great to pain was my joy When I oiled the little fatling: For the fire ever burning in my heart Had not scorched his small body, The fulness of my hands had set no mark upon him.

He was a young chieftain of spirit magic Who in suns before his coming to my lodge, Had ridden on the backs of milk white fawns Over the floating thistle seed trail That we saw nightly in the country of the stars, Who had played with baby beavers In their village at the creek's mouth, Who had hunted canyon ways, Stout heart with bear and panther, Who had sailed over tall mountains with the eagle, Who had hung in the eye of the sun With the silver winged falcon, Who had fished angry waters with the crafty mink, Who had raced among the white birches With the soft eyed does of Spring, And slept deep with his tall blue heron brothers In their rough nests among the wailing cedars.

Every sun I watched him, Every moon my fear-filled hand was on him.

Ever his gay cradle was light in my eye Its tinkling sh.e.l.ls sweet music in my ears.

When he could walk with strength I led him to the meadows, to the forest, And I taught him--thou knowest, O Medicine Man, thou knowest well, How carefully I taught him Our every custom and tradition; And how Star Face trained him with the bow, To fish the rough waters, to ride the wild ponies, And how he taught him all the laws and customs For young Braves who would be warriors.

Thou knowest how all of the tribe shouted When first he sat his pony alone, And rode it through the village at its racing speed.

And then, O Medicine Man, thou knowest the day When first he strayed far from me With the little curious feet of childhood, And now, now, I hear the wild shrieks of terror When the snake that has death in its mouth Struck its pitiless fangs into his tender flesh.

When his little blanket wrapped body, Looking so long and straight, and lonely, Was carried to the far, haunted death village All the forest echoed wild cries of mourning From a thousand wigwams of desolation And earth-lodges that loved him.

My stiff lips made no sound, My robbed hands lay death's captive, For my eyes saw again the nut thicket, And the thing the sky flower sheltered, My ears again heard the soft buzzing menace.

Well I knew that Couy-ouy Had escaped the watchful Great Spirit, That she had come back to earth To strike me through the death snake, That hers were the fangs of poison Buried deep in my little fatling.

Thou knowest, Medicine Man, How another little chief came to me, And how again, with all the wild magic All the wisdom of our tribe, All the strength in our power And the cunning of our hearts of love, The great Star Face, and I, his strong mate, Strove over the life of our son.

Thou knowest how he shouted When to us there came a little sister.

And then the black day, that dread day Thou knowest well as any, When tall and straight he entered the forest alone To strive for the first vision from the Great Spirit.

Without food and without sleep I knelt silent in my lonely wigwam; With one hand ever easing my burning breast With the other I fought back The slowly rising tide of the white flowers, The luring spirit flowers of destruction That home on the still lake waters.

I needed not the chilling death cry That came to my ears three suns later: I knew surely that my little chieftain Would not come back to me from the forest.

He still breathed when the hunters Brought before me his stout body Ripped deep by the cruel knives of the killer.

The black death, man's height and buffalo heavy, Lay dead in the far uptorn pitying forest Where they had battled for their lives.

It had been the greatest fight That youth had ever waged in our tribe.

All night the anxious Medicine Men Made their strongest Medicine for him; But the green sickness was eating his slender body.

In the morning, O Medicine Man, Couy-ouy again danced her triumph dance, Again scored victory over me, When our unavailing death wail Beat against the copper face of heaven For my little chieftain, my brave little warrior.

Because of her pointing finger no cry would I utter.

Silently in my tortured wigwam I writhed in the flame of the fire bird And choked with the rising sick sweetness Of the hated water flower of the pasture lands.

But ever I held in a tight grasp The clutching hand of little fat face, And my ears ached with her shrill wail For the long journey of her brother; For she had ridden his racing pony Before him on the saddle on far trails, And gathered gay flowers in the valleys On the coloured faces of high hills, And brought me the little juicy birds From the snares of cunning set in the valleys, And chased the war painted wings Where the hunting ponies pastured.

Medicine Man, O Medicine Man, Darest say I had not killing torture?

When the burning of the fire bird was past bearing, When the stifling cloud of the white flowers Sickened my body to leanness, I arose and began skin dressing and fish drying And seed grinding and weaving blankets.

All of the squaws and the young women Pointed taunting mischievous fingers When, silent, I pa.s.sed among them.

They said: "She is possessed of a devil; Evil spirits drive her with secret arrows, It is with strength stolen from the Spirits That she works every sun at the fish drying, The meat curing, the seed gathering And the making of tents not needed.

But ever, when far grown I carried little Dove Eye, Little cooing bird, on my aching shoulders, Ever I pressed her against my burning heart: I would not trust her to the stoutest cradle.

Tightly I held her that from my fear strong hands She might not be pushed out by the white flowers.

When her stumbling little feet of uncertainty Carried her to the willing knees of Star Face, Like the first dawn of Spring long awaited Came the light to his hungry eyes, Like the soft talking brook water Came the sweet words in his throat; Like the wings of a snow white sea swallow Writing mating signs on the blue sky of heaven Flashed his quick hands of entreaty, In the little love sign talk he taught her.

Many suns he sat grinding small beads of bone Every little rare white sh.e.l.l he found, And polishing squirrel and otter teeth For the necklace she wore so proudly.

Never did I leave my hands free of her Unless the hands of Star Face were upon her.

When he made signs of soft pale-faces I made signs of the pa.s.sing of spirits, So he saw that my hands ever upon her Were only that I might hold her back From the land of the great Unseen; For only these three, Medicine Man, Only these three little people, The Great Spirit sent to my lodge, From the far land of cradle filling.

Always when we came near still or running water I held her with the hug of black bear.

Before she might chase the little fishes, Even in the shallow insh.o.r.e water of the bays, Or hunt the clinging mussel for food, Or bathe with the small people, I went before her every step And always my feet were feeling, searching, For any sign of the sands of treachery.

In my heart I said: "They shall not have her, The ravenous Monster mouths, They shall not have her, the pitiless death sands!"

Thou knowest, Medicine Man, The season of the great pow-wow When I was needed at the fires roasting deer meat, When I was needed to set the forest of wigwams For seven tribes, seeking our welcome, When I was needed to make swift preparation, To use all the store of my knowledge, For the coming of a cloud of peoples From far countries to our village, To teach us of their experience And to learn of our wisdom from us, Thou knowest that day, Medicine Man-- The greatest day of the life of our nation.

I held little Dove Eye tight Then set her on the pony of Star Face before him That she might ride to meet the friendly people.

Thou knowest how she danced to him, And beat her little hands in triumph, How she s.n.a.t.c.hed at the sunbeams And fluttered her fingers to me, Like the flying painted wings Honey gathering over the valley pastures; How she made me the sign of birds far flying, When she rode away at the head of our Braves, On the proud pony of Star Face.

Thou knowest how again and again, harshly, I made the sign of full cradling arms, Of tight holding, of unsleeping spying, To Star Face as he left me.

All day the fire bird burned my heart All day I heard his prison song; I stopped work at the smoking baking stones, To push back the hated water flowers Like fulling wool from the wild sheep's back.

Ever I pleadingly prayed the Great Spirit To have her in his safe keeping.