6
Makooshi and Tonka’s Last Rain
The rain was falling steadily and an elderly Indian wo
man, Makooshi*, knew she must tend to her horse, Tonka
Wakan*, before nightfall; it was dusk then.
Quickly she donned her buckskin shawl and lit a buffalo
grease lamp. With lamp and cane in hand, she stepped
out into the wet rain.
Makooshi didn’t realize how quickly the rain was com
ing and how swiftly the wind was blowing. Why, just a
few minutes ago it was only sprinkling.
Along came Chasmuyabee*, her little dog she had raised
■since a pup. He was full of spirit, but the old lady had
no time for play.
The rain was falling harder now, as she made her way
into the poorly-fenced pasture, and the soft dirt was be
ginning to get mushy.
“ Here Tonka,” the old one called in her native tongue.
She could not see too far ahead. It was later than she
thought. “ Tonka, where are you?” she called again, but
her spotted horse was nowhere to be seen. The old woman
quickly remembered where the fence that led into the
dense wooded area needed repairing, and she knew where
Tonka must have wandered.
The rain was pouring now; the wind was howling; light
ning and thunder had joined in.
The fragile woman was intent on retrieving her horse;
it was all she had.
Into the trees she ventured, eyes peering for her pre
cious horse, but at that moment, a bolt of lightning flashed
and she saw the form of her horse lying in the wet, soft
earth.
Quickly Makooshi hurried to Tonka, only to find he had
a broken leg__ The rain continued through the night, to
bring a dry dawn on a sad picture.
Some Indian Braves approached the little woman’s
dwelling and soon discovered hfer gone. Since she had a
reputation of being a sort of hermit since her husband
died, they quickly searched the area, and then they ap
proached Tonka’s pasture. From there, they heard the
small bark of Chasmuyabee and they rushed to it.
Makooshi was in a slouched position, as if asleep, but
Tonka’s head was in her lap. The little dog was licking
his m istress’ hand as if waiting for her to go, but the old
woman had seen her last rain. During the night, too old
to withstand nature’s torrents and too loyal to leave her
animal to die, she had passed away.
Together Makooshi and Tonka left, and if the Indian
Braves would have glanced into the sky, they would have
seen the faint outline of an old woman on her spotted
horse, riding into the clouds on their way to the Happy
Hunting Grounds.
—Charlene Bearcub
*Makooshi—a Sioux word for “ Grandmother”
*Tonka Wakan—a Sioux word meaning “ Big Medicine”
*Chasmuyabee— meaning sugar or something sweet
More Than Dead
I came in late. I can’t remember anything that hap
pened last night. Well, I remember the car going off the
road. Anyway, I went into the washroom to wash up. As
I was washing, I looked into the mirror.
I had several gashes on my face and on my head. My
body was all bruised up. My ribs felt as if they were
caved in. My shirt was all torn. My pants were torn at
spots and were bloody.
I searched my drawers and closetfor some clean clothes,
but none were to be found. Mom must have thought my
clothes were awfully dirty to have washed them all.
The house seemed to be empty. There wasn’t a living
soul. I went downstairs and looked for notes or anything
that Mom might have left behind for me to find.
I walked outside. There was a note on the door. It
wasn’t for me. It was for Mom’s best friends. It was for
them to go to our family church.
The church wasn’t very far. I decided to walk. When I
arrived, everyone was mourning. I thought one of Mom’s
friends must have died. I walked up to her and asked her
who it was. She seemed not to notice me. I walked up to
the coffin and looked in. It was me.
- - Wayne Pinkham
An Indian Story
There once was a coyote who was taking a walk through
the woods. As he was.walking along, he felt something
funny behind him. He looked and saw a big rock that was
bouncing itself behind him. The coyote . started to get
scared, so he took off a little bit faster, but the rock was
catching up to the coyote.
The coyote was running and saw the nighthawk. So the
coyote ran behind the nighthawk and the coyote asked the
nighthawk to save him. The nighthawk told the coyote to
get behind him, but the coyote kept on running. Then the
rock smashed the woodtick; that is why the woodtick is
flat.
Finally the coyote really started to get tired, and the
rock was getting closer. The coyote was scared because
the rock was going to kill him. Then the coyote saw the
chickenhawk, ran behind him and asked the chickenhawk
to save him because the rock was going to smash him.
The chickenhawk told the coyote to get behind him. So
the coyote did, but this time he stayed because he was
too tired to run. The rock came bouncing into the air,
but then the chickenhawk gave a loud cry, so that the
rock broke into many pieces. That is why the rocks are
high and sharp.
- - Patty Simpson