CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
Looking out from the summit ridge of Níaiistáko, Chief Mountain, Red Fox gazed at the various mountains in the range to the west. On and on they went into the far distance.
He knew the eastern ridge of the Backbone-of-the-world Mountains well, it being a favorite hunting spot, and, since the hunt was carried on most every day, he knew the paths through them well.
But, the western range of the Backbone Mountains he did not know well, nor did he like that part of the country, with its dark forests and its mists and rains.
No, these plains were his home, and he loved them as much as any other Pikuni man.
Looking up into the blue above him, he beheld its deep, though bright, shade with many a fluffy white cloud adding both depth and color.
Below him, near the peak of Chief Mountain, was a narrow glacier, still icy even during these summer months.
Also, here at the top of the mountain remained the buffalo skull which Bear Chief had left as a Pikuni youth after he had obtained his vision.
Bear Chief had used the skull as his pillow; moreover, he attributed the good luck he'd had all his life to it.
Because the skull now welcomed a weary dreamer to the summit of the mountain, and because those who came here experienced good luck throughout their lives, Red Fox hoped he, too, might partake of the reputable fortune it had bestowed upon Bear Chief and others.
Picking up the skull, he said a prayer to it, thanking the skull and asking it to extend its good blessings to him.
Early in the morning, George had accompanied him here to the very summit of the mountain, and once they had reached the topmost edge of the pines on the western approach to the summit, they had tied their horses and had gone up the rest of the way on foot to the mountain's peak.
Of course, nothing grew here at the top of the mountain, it being littered with boulders and rocks, many of those rocks narrow and flat on both sides, a strange shape.
Once he and George had reached the summit in these early hours, they had paused for much time to look out over the plains.
There to the east were the Kutoyists, the Sweetgrass Hills.
Still farther away in the southeast were the Ispitsists, or what the whites called the Highwood Mountains.
How beautiful they were, and both he and George had done little more than gaze out over the plains and at the mountains in the distance, in awe of the view from so high a place.
At last, George had spoken up and said, "I must leave you here, my friend.
I will come to the top of the pines below this summit again around midday tomorrow, and I will do so for each day thereafter until you have completed your prayers.
I will take your horse with me, but each day I will bring him back so you might ride him home, because I know you will be weak from the hunger of your fast. Do well, my friend. Do well."
And, so it began. Red Fox stretched out his buffalo robe on the top of the summit, it being long, but not very wide.
And, placing those possessions he had brought with him—his knife, his pipe and tobacco, his rifle—he lit the pipe, offered it to the four corners of the world and invited the Above Ones to look with favor upon him.
He did little else than pray this first day of his fast. Truly, he did little more than cry out to the Creator and the Above Ones all the day through, until he, at last, fell to sleep. Upon awakening, however, he was disappointed to have received no vision and no answer back from the Creator.
Still, despite his disappointment, the beauty of the Backbone Mountains would not allow him to wallow in self-pity. Below him were a scattering of clouds, and he was struck by the perfect elegance of this world. In awe, he thanked the Creator for giving to this world such perfection.
On the morning of the second day, he said his prayers while still admiring the land of earth, clouds and mountains.
As he finished one prayer, the clouds below him cleared a little, and he looked out east over the seemingly flat prairie that extended north and east and south.
There now he could clearly behold the many buffalo as they were returning onto the plains from their watering hole.
And, a little north, he caught sight of several of the Pikuni's brother tribe, the Káínaa, out hunting the buffalo on those plains.
Here and there, he could see a herd of elk, but the hunters were running the buffalo this morning, and Red Fox, as well as the hunters, paid little attention to the elk.
So breathtaking was the land beneath him, he sat and gazed down at the scene below him with respect, feeling closer to the Creator.
And so, it wasn't until the sun had climbed up high into the sky when Red Fox again began his prayers.
Soon, a sign of inspiration was given to him as, while he was praying, an eagle flew above him.
It was known to him and to all his people that the eagle can fly high into the sky and can reach out to the Creator.
Then, looking up at the bird, Red Fox pleaded aloud, "You, oh eagle, you, the best hunter of the skies, beloved bird of the Creator, will you fly high to the Creator, who lives above me, and tell Him I am here and am seeking His guidance? "
But, Red Fox wasn't certain the eagle had heard his pleas, and, standing up, Red Fox held up his pipe to the Creator and prayed:
O Creator! O Above One! I beg You to hear my prayers.
O Creator! O Above One! I know not what to do with the problem I and my woman are facing.
O Creator! O Above One! Help me to envision a way to keep my woman with me.
O Creator! O Above One! She is not to blame for what she had to do to come back to my country. Please understand her and forgive her.
O Creator! O Above One! Please hear me! If she goes ahead and does what she has pledged she will do, and if she marries this man from the East, she might very well live a life of misery.
O Creator! O Above One! If I cannot discover a way to cause this man to give up his hold on her, I, too, will live a life of misery.
O Creator! O Above One! I ask for your help.
O Creator! O Above One! I love her and she loves me, and we are now man and wife, but we cannot let another soul know we are man and wife, and, if she must do as she has pledged to do and if she marries this other man under the sight of her God, I fear we will not know our love again.
O Creator! O Above One! Hear my plea! I fear her plans will bring her nothing but unhappiness. A, I, too, will know misery.
“O Creator! O Above One! Please help me! I will leave my best buffalo robe for your pleasure against the cold in this high place. I will also leave t his sacred pipe and the sweet tobacco you love. I ask only your counsel.
“O Creator! O Above One! I have said it.”
Coming back down onto the buffalo robe, Red Fox sat for a moment. But, hunger, as well as thirst, was taking its toll over his body, as well as his spirit, and he knew he needed to find water.
On the north side of the mountain face, there was a large stretch of glacier ice he had seen upon his climb to the top.
It was only a little below him, and it was not a difficult climb down to it.
Grabbing hold of his knife, as well as his rifle, he made the descent down to the ice and cut off several chunks of it, letting the cool liquid melt in his mouth.
Its taste was sweet to him; it also gave him strength to go on with this quest.
Then, no longer in a weakened frame of mind, he came up to his feet and slowly climbed back to the summit of Chief Mountain.
****
For the rest of the night, Red Fox prayed until his voice became so hoarse, he could only speak in whispers.
Yet, he would not give up his quest. Over and over he filled and refilled his pipe, offering it and the fragrant tobacco up to the Creator, until at last, the Seven Men—known to the white man as the Big Dipper—moved into a position to show him it was the midpoint in the night. Then, he slept.
But, he was given no vision, and his spirits plummeted.
Awakening at first light, although he was in a debilitated state, he prayed again to Sun, to Morning Star and to the eagle, who came back to him and circled over him again.
Looking down, Red Fox saw a herd of elk in the pine forest below him.
He prayed to them, though whispering now because his voice was failing him.
He was hungry. He was thirsty, but he would not give up. Again, he climbed down to the ice on the north side of the mountain, there to quench his thirst and give him a little vigor.
Then, reaching the top of the mountain once more, he prayed and slept; awakening after some time, he prayed some more. He entreated his prayers to the lucky buffalo skull, he prayed to all the Above Ones and he beseeched the Creator to help him. But, still he was given no vision.
When night fell, discouraged, weak from hunger and his voice failing him, he could do little more than sleep. And, it was then when it happened.
As a shadow, he left his body and roamed down the mountainside and into the valley below it. There, in the world of shadow creatures, he saw many animals and asked each one of them to help him, but all turned their back on him and lumbered off in a direction away from him.
He came to Bear River—also known as the Marias—and there he sat, seeing no creature at all who might help him. Sadness overcame him, and he was envisioning how lonely his life would be without Poka'aki when a water creature raised itself up from the water and came to sit by him.
Looking down at the creature, he asked, "Will you pity me? Help me?"
The animal answered and said, "I have taken pity on you, and when I did, the Creator spoke to me and has asked me to help you."
Red Fox's heart gladdened, but he said nothing.