(part XXXVII)
We returned to the waterfall
Where I had told the scouts to go
And to bring Willow and Lily
I was happy to see them there
And the scouts had also found
Most of the other women and children
I took three of the older scouts with me
Tall Pine included
And we made our way back to the village
To assess everything.
When we arrived there
Our hearts sank
As they had the first time I saw the damage
Teepees tipped over and half burnt
Same fate for the smokehouses
We found two women killed
And one young scout killed
With a tomahawk in his hand
There were three other women mulling around
In a complete state of shock
But only minor injuries, bruises and cuts,
From trying to fight
Upon finding the state of things
I sent one of the scouts to the Waterfall
To bring everybody back.
We were relieved to see
Not much other damage had been done
I had come upon much worse before
But it’s never easy to see
Our hearts were sullen as we
Built platforms on the edge of the village
To place our dead people.
When that was done
We all began to try and piece together
The teepees and smokehouses
There was still lots of meat to be smoked
And we knew that the hunting party would return soon
Hoping we would need to smoke lots of meat.
That night I told Willow as we sat side by side
Around the fire that was burning
In the center of our village
What had happened when Tall Pine and I
Had tracked the men down
She sat silently as I told her
And put her arm around me when I was done
I could see a few of the other women
Were listening to the story
All of the scouts, too
Were straining their ears to listen
I made sure to embellish
The fearlessness that Tall Pine had shown.
part XXXIX
