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Description

We had faith in the power of our medicine. We had strong hearts. In battle the women sing strong heart songs for the fighting men. Our warriors were all women, so we were our own strong heart song singers, filling the air with our chants. We took courage from our numbers. We would ride them all down. We just had to.

Never had there been a cause more just than ours. The road of thieves was cutting right through our best hunting grounds. We had conquered these just a generation before from the Crow at great sacrifice. We would fight to the death to keep them.

There they were, hunkered down behind their wooden boxes. One warrior suggested that those were the middle parts of the vé'hó'e's rolling tipis, and she was soon proven right. Of course the vé'hó'e were all armed with guns. Some of us were, too. But we didn't think much of guns then. Those among us with guns had often no more than one or two bullets. That was just alright. Shooting from horseback was pointless unless one was very close to the enemy. Only then one had a good chance of actually hitting the enemy - and watching his face, disfigured by terror, agony and the knowledge of imminent death. There would be no time to reload, especially when on horseback in the middle of a fight. A gun was a one-shot thing to be used at the beginning of a fight. After that it was little more than a clumsy club. The bow-women knew they were better off, having a full quiver of deadly ammunition on them. All of us had clubs and knifes, and some had war lances.

We were the bravest warriors, had the swiftest ponies and the best possible weapons. We knew we were unstoppable.

But we weren't stupid. Not everybody's war medicine is equally powerful. The vé'hó'e had many guns, and some of us would get hit during the charge. More would get hurt in the ensuing melee. But we would prevail, that much was certain. We would have to get through that one salvo of deadly fire! We would be upon them before they could fire off a second one.

We started the charge! Amidst the thunder of hundreds of hooves and bone-chilling war cries, we stormed on, laughing in the face of death, certain of our glory! In front I could see the enemies, ducking down for cover and soon hidden behind puffs of gunpowder. Like angry flies, the bullets whizzed past us. They all seemed to be firing at once! I laughed grimly! Those surely were their last shots ever to be fired! To my right and to my left they came crashing down, their ponies whinnying, the women screeching in pain! But I was almost there! I clenched the grip of my gunstock club, ready to bury its blade into the body of the next best enemy! I braced myself for the jump over the enemy breastwork - when suddenly Hevovetáso jerked around! Only steps from the enemies, my war pony fell, dead already before she crashed into the dust! I screamed, first in surprise, then in pain, as I slammed into the dirt and the heavy dead body of Hevovetáso buried my leg under her!

Dazed, I saw a dozen of our warriors being mowed down like blades of grass before a sharp knife. Something was going terribly wrong! Why were the vé'hó'e shooting so fast? In horror I realized they kept on shooting without actually reloading! They had guns I had never seen… They were decimating us! Before my very eyes, the pride of the Cheyenne woman warrior society was being butchered in just a few breaths! I screamed in agony! I couldn't get out from under Hevovetáso! I heard a gleeful mumbling amidst the shots, the syrup-like words of the cruel language of our mortal enemy, followed by the metallic sound of a new bullet being moved into the barrel of one of these deadly wonder guns! I was going to be shot, unable to even fight to the death! Then my eye caught sight of Aénóhé'ke! She aimed her bow at something right behind me and unleashed her arrow with deadly true aim! I heard the enemy behind me scream and smiled. Then all went dark.

I don't know how Aénóhé'ke got me out of this. I'll be forever in her debt. We lost many good warriors on this day. But we won the war. And now I have one of these guns. It's a seven shot Spencer carbine. I can't wait to give the vé'hó'e something of their own medicine. I'm sure they will come back one day. I'm looking forward to this day of reckoning...

Description

We had faith in the power of our medicine. We had strong hearts. In battle the women sing strong heart songs for the fighting men. Our warriors were all women, so we were our own strong heart song singers, filling the air with our chants. We took courage from our numbers. We would ride them all down. We just had to.

Never had there been a cause more just than ours. The road of thieves was cutting right through our best hunting grounds. We had conquered these just a generation before from the Crow at great sacrifice. We would fight to the death to keep them.

There they were, hunkered down behind their wooden boxes. One warrior suggested that those were the middle parts of the vé'hó'e's rolling tipis, and she was soon proven right. Of course the vé'hó'e were all armed with guns. Some of us were, too. But we didn't think much of guns then. Those among us with guns had often no more than one or two bullets. That was just alright. Shooting from horseback was pointless unless one was very close to the enemy. Only then one had a good chance of actually hitting the enemy - and watching his face, disfigured by terror, agony and the knowledge of imminent death. There would be no time to reload, especially when on horseback in the middle of a fight. A gun was a one-shot thing to be used at the beginning of a fight. After that it was little more than a clumsy club. The bow-women knew they were better off, having a full quiver of deadly ammunition on them. All of us had clubs and knifes, and some had war lances.

We were the bravest warriors, had the swiftest ponies and the best possible weapons. We knew we were unstoppable.

But we weren't stupid. Not everybody's war medicine is equally powerful. The vé'hó'e had many guns, and some of us would get hit during the charge. More would get hurt in the ensuing melee. But we would prevail, that much was certain. We would have to get through that one salvo of deadly fire! We would be upon them before they could fire off a second one.

We started the charge! Amidst the thunder of hundreds of hooves and bone-chilling war cries, we stormed on, laughing in the face of death, certain of our glory! In front I could see the enemies, ducking down for cover and soon hidden behind puffs of gunpowder. Like angry flies, the bullets whizzed past us. They all seemed to be firing at once! I laughed grimly! Those surely were their last shots ever to be fired! To my right and to my left they came crashing down, their ponies whinnying, the women screeching in pain! But I was almost there! I clenched the grip of my gunstock club, ready to bury its blade into the body of the next best enemy! I braced myself for the jump over the enemy breastwork - when suddenly Hevovetáso jerked around! Only steps from the enemies, my war pony fell, dead already before she crashed into the dust! I screamed, first in surprise, then in pain, as I slammed into the dirt and the heavy dead body of Hevovetáso buried my leg under her!

Dazed, I saw a dozen of our warriors being mowed down like blades of grass before a sharp knife. Something was going terribly wrong! Why were the vé'hó'e shooting so fast? In horror I realized they kept on shooting without actually reloading! They had guns I had never seen… They were decimating us! Before my very eyes, the pride of the Cheyenne woman warrior society was being butchered in just a few breaths! I screamed in agony! I couldn't get out from under Hevovetáso! I heard a gleeful mumbling amidst the shots, the syrup-like words of the cruel language of our mortal enemy, followed by the metallic sound of a new bullet being moved into the barrel of one of these deadly wonder guns! I was going to be shot, unable to even fight to the death! Then my eye caught sight of Aénóhé'ke! She aimed her bow at something right behind me and unleashed her arrow with deadly true aim! I heard the enemy behind me scream and smiled. Then all went dark.

I don't know how Aénóhé'ke got me out of this. I'll be forever in her debt. We lost many good warriors on this day. But we won the war. And now I have one of these guns. It's a seven shot Spencer carbine. I can't wait to give the vé'hó'e something of their own medicine. I'm sure they will come back one day. I'm looking forward to this day of reckoning...