262 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 24 1889. 



COMANCHE CHIEF. 



The Peace-Maker. 



From advance sheets of a forthoonrine volume of "Pawnee Hero 

 Stories and Folk-Tales." 

 BT GEO. BIRD GKINNELL ("YO"). 

 I. 



MANY years ago there lived in the Ski'-di village a 

 yourig man, about sixteen years old. His name 

 was Kut-a'wi-kutz (the hawk). At this time the Pa wnees 

 wore their hair in the ancient fashion, cut as the Osages 

 wear theirs; the whole head was shaved except a roach 

 running back from the forehead beyond the scalp lock. 



A war partv went off to the south and he joined them 

 as a servant," They went a long way and a long way, 

 traveling far, but they got no horses and came back. 

 Afterward another partv started off on the warpath, and 

 he went with it. They traveled many days, going to the 

 southwest, and at length they came to a camp, and hid 

 themselves to wait until it was dark. It was a camp of 

 the Comanches. 



When night had come they all went into the camp to 

 steal horses. The young man went to a lodge near which 

 stood three horses, two spotted horses and one gray. 

 They were tied near the door of the lodge, and from this 

 he thought they must be fast, for the Indians usually tie 

 up their best horses close to the lodge door, where they will 

 be under their eyes as much as possible. He went to the 

 lodge to cut the ropes, and just as he was about to do so 

 he thought he heard some one inside. He stepped up 

 close to the lodge, and looked in through a little opening 

 between the door and the lodge, and saw a small fire 

 burning, and on the other side of the fire was sitting a 

 young girl, combing her long hair. The young man 

 looked arcund the lodge to see who else was there, and 

 saw only an old man and an old woman, and the fire- 

 maker. "He cut the ropes of the two spotted horses 

 standing outside, led the horses out of the camp, and 

 met his companion. To him he said, "Now, brother, 

 you take these horses and go to the hill where we were 

 hiding to-day, and wait for me there. I have seen an- 

 other fine spotted horse that 1 want to get; I will go back 

 for it and will meet you before morning at that place." 



He went back, as if to get the spotted horse, but returned 

 to the lodge where the girl was. He went all around it, 

 and looked at it carefully. He saw that there were feath- 

 ers on the lodge, and rows of animals' hoofs hanging 

 down the sides, which rattled in the wind, and to one of 

 the lodge-poles was tied a buffalo tail, which hung down. 

 Then he went back to the door and looked in at the girl 

 again. She had braided her hair and was sitting there 

 by the fire. He stayed there a longtime that night look- 

 ing at ber. Toward morning he went to look for his 

 companion. When he met him he told him that some 

 one had taken the spotted horse before he got to it; he 

 could not find it. When the party all met next morning, 

 they found that they had taken a lot of horses, and they 

 started north to go home. They reached the Pawnee 

 village, and every one was glad of their success. 



After this, whenever this young man saw anything 

 that was nice or pretty, such as medals, ear-rings, finger 

 rings for women, beadwork leggings, bracelets, necklaces, 

 wampum beads — things that the Comanches did not 

 have — he would give a pony for it. For one year he 

 went on like this, gathering together these pretty' things. 

 When the year had gone by he had no horses left; he had 

 given them all away to get these presents. He packed 

 all these things up in a bundle, and then spoke one night 

 to his friend saying, " I intend to go off on the warpath 

 again, and I would like to have you go with me; we two 

 will go alone." His friend agreed to go. 



II. 



Before the time came to start, other young men heard 

 of it, and several joined them. There were eight of them 

 in all. Kut-a ici-kutz was the leader. He told his young 

 men that they were going to a certain place where he 

 knew there weie lots of spotted horses to steal. They 

 started out on foot. After traveling many days, they 

 came to the place where the camp had been at the time 

 he saw the girl. There was no camp there. 



They went on further, and at length came to a camp 

 and bid themselves. When night came the leader told 

 his men to remain where they were hiding, and he would 

 go into the camp and see if there were any horses to 

 take. He went through all the camp looking for the 

 lodge in which he had seen the girl, but he did not find 

 it. Then he went back to where the young men were 

 hiding, and told them that this was not the camp they 

 were looking for; that they did not have here the spotted 

 horses that they wanted. In the camp of the year before 

 there had been many spotted horses. 



The young men did not understand this, and some of 

 them did not like to leave this camp without taking any 

 horses, but he was the leader and they did as he said. 

 They left that camp and went on further. 



After traveling some days they came to another camp, 

 and hid themselves near it. When night came on Kut-a' 

 ioi-kutz said to his young men, "You stay here where 

 you are hiding, and I will go into this Gamp and see if it 

 is the one we are looking for." He went through the 

 camp, but did not find the lodge he sought. He returned 

 to the hiding place, and told the party there that this 

 was not the camp they were looking for, that the spotted 

 horses were not there. They left the camp and went on. 



When they had come close to the mountains they saw 

 another camp. Kut-a'wi-kutz went into this camp alone, 

 and when he had been through it, be went back to his 

 party and told them that this was the camp they had 

 been looking for. Then he sent the young men into the 

 camp to steal horses, and he put on his fine leggings and 

 moccasins that he had in his bundle, and painted himself 

 and went with them. He took a horse and his friend 

 took one. They met outside the village. He told his 

 friend to get on his own horse and lead the other, and 

 with the rest of the party to go off east from the camp to 

 a certain place, and there to wait for him. "I have 

 seen," he said, "another fine horse that I like, and I wish 

 to go back and get it." 



His friend looked sorrowfully at him and said, "Why 

 are yon all dressed up like this, and why is your face 

 painted ? What are y ou doing or what is in your mind ? 

 Perhaps you intend to do some great thing to-night that 

 you do not want me, your friend, to know about. I have 



seen for a long time that you are hiding something from 

 me." 



Kut-a'wi-kutz caught his friend in his arms and bugged 

 him and kissed him and said, "You are my friend; who 

 is so near to me as you are? Go on as I have said, and if 

 it turns out well I will tell you all, I will catcli up with 

 you before very long." 



His friend said. "No, I will stay with you. I will not 

 go on. I love you as a brother, and I will stay with you, 

 and if you are going to do some great thing I will die 

 with you." 



When Kut-a'wi-kutz found that his friend was resolved 

 to remain with him. he yielded and told him his secret. 

 He said to him, "My brother, when we were on the war- 

 path a year ago, and I took those two spotted horees, I 

 heard a little noise in the lodge by which they were tied. 

 I looked in and I saw there a little girl sitting by the fire 

 combing her hair. She was very pretty. When I took 

 the spotted horses away, I could not put that girl out of 

 my mind. I remembered her. Brother, when we went 

 back home, that girl was constantly in my mind. I 

 could not forget her. I came this time on purpose to get 

 ber, even if it shall cost me my life. She is in this 

 camp, and I have found the lodge where she lives." 



His friend said, "My brother, whatever you say shall 

 be done. I stay with you. You go into the camp. I 

 will take the horses and go to that high rocky hill east of 

 the camp, and will hide the horses there. When you are 

 in the village I will be up in one of the trees on the top 

 of the hill, looking down on the camp. If I hear shoot- 

 ing and see lots of people running to the lodge I will 

 know that you are killed, and I will kill myself. I will 

 not go home alone. If I do not see you by noon I will 

 kill myself." 



Kut-a'wi-kutz said, "It is good. If I am successful I 

 will go up there after you, and take you down into the 

 camp." 



They parted. The friend hid the horses and went up 

 on the hill. Kut-a'wi-kutz went into the camp. 



in. 



It was now the middle of the night. When he came 

 to the lodge he saw there was a fire in it. He did not go 

 in at once; he wanted the tire to go out. He stayed 

 around the lodge, and gradually the fire died down. It 

 was dark. He went into the lodge. He was painted 

 and finely dressed, and had his bundle with him. He 

 took his moccasins off and his leggings, and hung them 

 up over the girl's bed; then strings of beads, then five or 

 six medals, bracelets, ear-bobs, beaded leggings, every- 

 thing he had — his shirt. He took his blanket and spread 

 it over the bed where the girl was lying, stepped over 

 the bed and crept under his own blanket, and lay down 

 by her side. 



When he lay down she woke up, and found that there 

 was some one lying by her, and she spoke to him, but he 

 did not answer. He could not understand her, for he 

 did not know Comanche. She talked for a long time, 

 but he did not speak. Then she began to feel of him, 

 and when she put her hands on his head — Pi ta' -da — 

 Pawnee — an enemy! Then she raised herself up, took a 

 handful of grass from under the bed, spread the fire and 

 put the grass on it. The fire blazed up and she saw him. 

 Then she sprang up and took the top blanket, which was 

 his, off the bed, and put it about her and sat by the fire. 

 She called her father and taid, "Father, get up; there is 

 a man here." 



The old man got up, and got his pipe and began smok- 

 ing. This old man was the Head Chief of the Comanches. 

 He called the servant, and told him to make a fire. The 

 girl got up and went over to where her mother was 

 lying and called her. The mother got up; and they all 

 sat by the fire. 



The old man smoked for a long time. Every now and 

 then he would look at the bed to see who it could be that 

 was lying there, and then he would look at all the things 

 hanging up over the bed — at the medals and other things. 

 He did not know what they were for, and he wondered. 

 At length the old man told the servant to go and call the 

 chiefs of the tribe, and tell them to come to his lodge. 



Presently the chiefs came in one by one and sat down. 

 When they had come there was still one brave who ought 

 to have come that was not there. His name was Skin 

 Shirt, the father wanted him. He sent for him three 

 times. He sent word back to the chief to go on with the 

 council, and that he would agree to whatever they de- 

 cided. The fourth time he was sent for he came, and 

 took a eeat by the chief, the girl's father. This brave 

 spoke to Kd-a'im-kutz, and told him to get up, and take 

 a seat among them. He did so. The girl was sitting on 

 the other side of the fire. When he got up, he had to 

 take the blanket that was left, which was the girl's. He 

 put it around him, and sat down among them. 



When the chiefs came in, there was among them a 

 Pawnee who had been captured long ago and adopted by 

 the Comanches, and was now himself a chief; he talked 

 with Kut-a'wi-kutz and interpreted for him, telling him 

 everything that was said as each one spoke. 



After the young man had seated himself, the chief 

 filled his pipe, and gave the pipe to his brave to decide 

 what should be done with this enemy. The brave took 

 the pipe, but he did not wish to decide, so he did not 

 light it, but passed it on to another chief to decide. He 

 passed it on to another, and he to another, and so it went 

 until the pipe came back to the Head Chief. When he 

 got it again, he asked Kut-a ' ioi-kutz: "Why have you 

 come here this night and lain down in my lodge, you 

 who are an enemy to my people? And why have you 

 hung up in the lodge all these strange things which we 

 see here? I do not undei stand it, and I wish to know 

 your reasons." 



The boy said to him: "A long time ago I came south 

 on the warpath to steal horses. I traveled until I came 

 to your camp. I saw three horses tied outside a lodge, 

 two spotted horses and a gray. While I was cutting one 

 of the ropes I heard a little noise inside the lodge, and 

 pushing aside the door, I looked in, and saw that girl 

 combing her hah. I stole the two spotted horses, and 

 took them out of the camp, and gave them to a friend of 

 mine, and came back to your lodge, and kept looking at 

 the girl. I stayed there until she went to bed. For a 

 long year I have been buying presents; beads and many 

 other things, for I had made up my mind that I would go 

 after this girl. I came down here to find hex. I have 

 been to where you were camped last year, and to two 

 other oamps that I discovered. She was not in these and 

 I left them, and came on until I found the right camp. 



This is the fourth place. Now I am here. I made up my 

 mind to do this thing, and if her relations do not like it 

 they can do as they please. I would be happy to die on 

 her account." 



When he had spoken the old chief laughed. He said: 

 "Those two spotted horses that you stole I did not care 

 much about. The gray horse was the best one of the 

 three, and you left him. I was glad that you did not 

 take him. He was the best of all." Then for a little 

 while there was silence in the lodge. 



1 hen the chief, the girl's father, began to talk again ; he 

 said: "If I wanted to decide what should be done with 

 this man. I would decide right now. but here is my brave, 

 Skin Shirt, I want him to decide. If I were to decide, it 

 would be against this man, but he has my daughter's 

 blanket on, and she has his, and I do not want to decide. 

 I pass the pipe to my brave, and want him to light it." 



The brave said, ' ' I want this chief next to me to decide," 

 and he passed the pipe, and so it went on around the 

 circle until it came to the Head Chief again. He was 

 just about to take it and decide the question, when they 

 heard outside the lodge the noise made by some one 

 coming, shouting andlaughing; then the door was pushed 

 aside and an old man came in, and as he passed the door 

 he stumbled and fell on his knees. It was the girl's 

 grandfather. He had been outside the lodge, listening. 



The pipe was passed to the chief, and he gave it again 

 to his brave to decide. While the brave was sitting there, 

 holding the pipe, the old grandfather said, " Give me the 

 pipe, if you men cannot decide, let me do it. In my time 

 we did not do things this way. I never passed the pipe; 

 I could always decide for myself." 



Then Skin Shirt passed him the pipe, and he lit it and 

 smoked. Then he said, "I do not wish to condemn to 

 death a man who is wearing my granddaughter's blan- 

 ket." The interpreter began to tell Kut-a 'wi-kutz that 

 the old man was going to decide in bis favor, and that 

 when he got through speaking he must get up and pass 

 his hands over him, and thank him for taking pity on 

 him, and so to all the others. The old man continued. 

 "Now, chiefs, do not think hardly of what I am going to 

 say, nor be dissatisfied with my decision. I am old. I 

 have heard in my time that there is a tribe up north that 

 is raising from the ground something that is long and 

 white, and something that is round; and that these 

 things are good to eat. Now, chiefs . before I die, I want 

 to eat of these things, and I want my granddaughter to 

 go and take her seat by this man, and for them to be 

 man and wife. Since I was young we have been ene- 

 mies, but now I want the two tribes to come together, 

 join hands and be friends." And so it was decided. 



The young man got up and passed his hands over the 

 old man, and over the brave, and passed around the 

 circle and blessed them all. The Pawnee, who was in- 

 terpreter, now told him to get up, and get a medal and 

 put it on the brave, and then another and put it on the 

 chief, and so on until all the presents were gone. And 

 he did so, and put on them the medals, and ear-rings, 

 and strings of beads, and breast-plates of wampum, until 

 each had something. And these things were new to 

 them, and they felt proud to be wearing them, and 

 thought how nice they looked. 



iv, 



By this time it was daylight, and it had got noised 

 abroad through the camp that there was a Pawnee at 

 the Head Chief's lodge, and all the people gathered there. 

 They called out, "Bring him out; we want him out here." 

 They crowded about the lodge, all the people, the old 

 men and the women and the young men, so many that 

 at last they pushed the lodge down. They shouted: "Let 

 us have the Pawnee. Last night they stole many hordes 

 from us." The chiefs and braves got around the Pawnee 

 and kept the Comanches off from him, and protected 

 him from the people. The Cheyennes were camped close 

 by; near the hill southeast of the Comanches, and they, 

 too, had heard that the Comanches had a Pawnee in 

 camp. They came over, and rode about in the crowd to 

 try and get the Pawnee, and they rode over a Comanche 

 or two and knocked them down*. So Skin Shirt got his 

 bow and arrows, and jumped on his horse, and rode out 

 and drove the Cheyennes away back to their camp again 



The Cheyennes saw that the Comanches did not want 

 the Pawnee killed, so they sent a message inviting him 

 over to a feast with them/in tending to kill him, but Skin 

 Shirt told them that he was married into the tribe. While 

 the Cheyennes were parading round the Comanche camp, 

 they were shooting off their guns in the air, just to make 

 a noise. Now, the young Pawnee on the hill, who was 

 watching the camp to see what would happen to his 

 friend, saw the crowd and heard the shooting, and made 

 up bis mind that Kut-a' ioi-kutz had been killed. So he 

 took his knife, and put the handle against a tree and the 

 point against his breast, and put his arms around the tree 

 and hugged it, and the knife blade passed through his 

 heart and he fell down and died. 



In the afternoon when all the excitement bad rmieted 

 down, the Cheyennes came over again to the Comanche 

 camp, and invited the Pawnee and his wife to go to their 

 village, and visit with them. Then Skin Shirt said, 

 "All right, we will go." Three chiefs of the Comanches 

 went ahead, the Pawnee followed with his wife, and 

 Skin Shirt went behind. They went to the Cheyenne 

 camp. The Cheyennes received them and made a great 

 feast for them, and gave the Pawnee many horses. Then 

 they went back to the Comanche camp. Kut a'lvi kutz 

 never went up to the bill until the next morning. Then he 

 went, singing the song he had told his friend he would 

 sing. He called to him, but there was no reply. He 

 called again. It was all silent. He looked for his friend, 

 and at last he found him there dead at the foot of the tree. 



v. 



Kut-a'wi-kutz then stayed with the Comanches. The 

 Cheyennes came north and east, and the Comanches 

 went on west, nearer to the mountains. While the Paw- 

 nee was with the Comanches, they had several wars with 

 the Utes, Lipans and Tonkaways." Kut-a'wi-kutz proved 

 himself a brave man, and as the son-in-law of the chief he 

 scon gained great influence, and was himself made a chief. 



After some years the old man, his wife's grandfather, 

 told the Pawnee that he thought it was time that he 

 should eat some of those things that he had long wanted 

 to eat that ffrew up north; that he was getting prettv 

 old now. Kuta'wi-kutz said: "It is time. We will go." 

 So. he had his horses packed, and with his immediate 

 family and the old man, started north toward the Paw- 

 nee country. At this time he was called Kut-a' wi-kutz-u 



