第 18 节
作者:恐龙王      更新:2021-02-21 14:14      字数:9322
  In the good old days; before the charge there was a smoke。               At home; by
  the fireside; when the old men were asked to tell their brave deeds; again
  the pipe was passed。        So come; let us smoke now to the memory of the
  old days!〃
  He   took   of   my   tobacco   and   filled   his   long   pipe;   and   we   smoked。
  Then I told an old mirthful story to get him in the humor of relating his
  own history。
  The old man lay upon an iron bedstead; covered by a red blanket; in a
  corner of the little log cabin。      He was all alone that day; only an old dog
  lay silent and watchful at his master's feet。
  Finally he looked up and said with a pleasant smile:
  〃True; friend; it is the old custom to retrace one's trail before leaving it
  forever!    I know that I am at the door of the spirit home。
  〃I was born near the forks of the Cheyenne River; about seventy years
  ago。    My father   was   not a   chief;   my grandfather   was not a   chief;   but   a
  good hunter and a feast…maker。           On my  mother's side I had some noted
  ancestors;    but   they  left  me   no  chieftainship。    I   had   to  work   for  my
  reputation。
  〃When I was a boy; I loved to fight;〃 he continued。           〃In all our boyish
  games I had the name of being hard to handle; and I took much pride in
  the fact。
  〃I was about ten years old when we encountered a band of Cheyennes。
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  They   were   on   friendly   terms   with   us;   but   we   boys   always   indulged   in
  sham fights on such occasions; and this time I got in an honest fight with a
  Cheyenne boy older than I。 I got the best of the boy; but he hit me hard in
  the   face   several   times;   and   my   face   was   all   spattered   with   blood   and
  streaked     where    the   paint   had   been    washed     away。     The    Sioux    boys
  whooped and yelled:
  〃'His enemy is down; and his face is spattered as if with rain!                 Rain…
  in…the…Face!      His name shall be Rain…in…the…Face!'
  〃Afterwards; when I was a young man; we went on a warpath against
  the Gros Ventres。       We stole some of their horses; but were overtaken and
  had to abandon the horses and fight for our lives。               I had wished my face
  to represent the sun when partly covered with darkness; so I painted it half
  black; half   red。     We   fought   all   day  in   the   rain;   and   my  face   was   partly
  washed and streaked with red and black: so again I was christened Rain…
  in…the…Face。      We considered it an honorable name。
  〃I had been on many warpaths; but was not especially successful until
  about the time the Sioux began to fight with the white man。                   One of the
  most daring attacks that we ever made was at Fort Totten; North Dakota;
  in the summer of 1866。
  〃Hohay; the Assiniboine captive of Sitting Bull; was the leader in this
  raid。     Wapaypay;       the   Fearless    Bear;   who    was    afterward     hanged     at
  Yankton; was the bravest man among us。                 He dared Hohay to make the
  charge。     Hohay accepted the challenge; and in turn dared the other to ride
  with him through the agency and right under the walls of the fort; which
  was well garrisoned and strong。
  〃Wapaypay   and   I   in   those   days   called   each   other   'brother…friend。'   It
  was   a   life…and…death   vow。     What   one   does   the   other   must   do;   and   that
  meant that I must be in the forefront of the charge; and if he is killed; I
  must fight until I die also!
  〃I prepared   for death。      I   painted as   usual like   an eclipse   of the   sun;
  half black and half red。〃
  His   eyes   gleamed   and   his   face   lighted   up   remarkably   as   he   talked;
  pushing his black hair back from his forehead with a nervous gesture。
  〃Now      the  signal   for  the   charge    was   given!    I   started   even    with
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  Wapaypay; but his horse was faster than mine; so he left me a little behind
  as we neared the fort。        This was bad for me; for by that time the soldiers
  had somewhat recovered from the surprise and were aiming better。
  〃Their   big   gun   talked   very   loud;   but   my   Wapaypay   was   leading   on;
  leaning forward on his fleet pony like a flying squirrel on a smooth log!
  He held his rawhide shield on the right side; a little to the front; and so did
  I。 Our warwhoop was like the coyotes singing in the evening; when they
  smell blood!
  〃The soldiers' guns talked fast; but few were hurt。              Their big gun was
  like a toothless old dog; who only makes himself hotter the more noise he
  makes;〃 he remarked with some humor。
  〃How much harm we did I do not know; but we made things lively for
  a time; and the white men acted as people do when a swarm of angry bees
  get into camp。       We made a successful retreat; but some of the reservation
  Indians followed us yelling; until Hohay told them that he did not wish to
  fight with the captives of the white man; for there would be no honor in
  that。    There was blood running down my leg; and I found that both my
  horse and I were slightly wounded。
  〃Some two years later we attacked a fort west of the Black Hills 'Fort
  Phil   Kearny;   Wyoming'。        It   was   there   we   killed   one   hundred   soldiers。〃
  'The   military   reports   say   eighty   men;   under   the   command   of   Captain
  Fetterman  not one left alive to tell the tale!'          〃Nearly every band of the
  Sioux   nation   was   represented   in   that   fight      Red   Cloud;   Spotted   Tail;
  Crazy Horse; Sitting Bull; Big Foot; and all our great chiefs were there。
  Of course such men   as I   were then   comparatively  unknown。                 However;
  there were many noted young warriors; among them Sword; the younger
  Young…Man…Afraid;   American   Horse   'afterward   chief';   Crow   King;   and
  others。
  〃This was the plan decided upon after many councils。                  The main war
  party lay in ambush; and a few of the bravest young men were appointed
  to   attack   the   woodchoppers        who    were   cutting    logs   to  complete     the
  building   of   the   fort。  We   were   told   not   to   kill   these   men;   but   to   chase
  them   into   the   fort   and   retreat   slowly;   defying   the   white   men;   and   if   the
  soldiers should follow; we were to lead them into the ambush。                  They took
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  our bait exactly as we had hoped! It was a matter of a very few minutes;
  for   every   soldier   lay   dead   in   a   shorter   time   than   it   takes   to   annihilate   a
  small herd of buffalo。
  〃This attack was hastened because most of the Sioux on the Missouri
  River and eastward had begun to talk of suing for peace。                     But even this
  did not stop the peace movement。              The very next year a treaty was signed
  at Fort Rice; Dakota Territory; by nearly all the Sioux chiefs; in which it
  was   agreed   on   the   part   of   the   Great   Father   in   Washington   that   all   the
  country  north   of   the   Republican   River in   Nebraska;   including   the   Black
  Hills and the Big Horn Mountains; was to be always Sioux country; and no
  white man should intrude upon it without our permission。                    Even with this
  agreement Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were not satisfied; and they would
  not sign。
  〃Up     to  this  time   I   had  fought   in   some   important     battles;   but  had
  achieved no great deed。          I was ambitious to make a name for myself。                  I
  joined     war    parties   against    the   Crows;     Mandans;      Gros    Ventres;    and
  Pawnees; and gained some little distinction。
  〃It was when the white men found the yellow metal in our country; and
  came   in   great   numbers;   driving   away   our   game;   that   we   took   up   arms
  against them for the last time。           I must say here that the chiefs who were
  loudest for war were among the first to submit and accept reservation life。
  Spotted   Tail   was   a   great   warrior;   yet   he   was   one   of   the   first   to   yield;
  because he was promised by the Chief Soldiers that they would make him
  chief of all the Sioux。       Ugh! he would have stayed with Sitting Bull to the
  last had it not been for his ambition。
  〃About this   time   we   young warriors began   to  watch the trails   of the
  white   men   into   the   B