Chapter 11: Black Deeds
Wolf Eyes awoke with an eerie feeling. A feeling that somewhere in his world there was something wrong. It was a sixth sense that he possessed. It sent shivers through his bones, but he did not know what it was. He slipped off of the bearskin that covered their bed. He glanced at the morning light that came through the entrance to the house. He took two steps, and then stopping for a moment; he glanced back at Waving Willow. He could see her brown body, partially uncovered. She was beautiful lying there – her slender shoulder and back visible in the morning light. He went back and covered her, kneeling down to give her a kiss. She did not awake completely, only turned a little and then was again in slumber.
He came out of the house and walked around the perimeter of the palisade. All was well. What is it, he thought. Are the spirits of Nunnimingo still un-avenged? Maybe that was it. He felt his muscles at the back of his neck tighten. He walked back, toward the houses.
There was movement at the house of Three Baskets. He knew that Red Talon had a bad wound. He heard painful groans inside that he knew were made by Red Talon. He looked in the door and saw Three Baskets at the hearth that was in the center of the room. She was heavy with child. To the right side of the room was Loot and Fire Cub, sitting and looking grim. They did not know what to do for their uncle.
Three Baskets looked up and saw Wolf Eyes. Her face looked worried. She nodded toward the bed at the left side of the room. There in the dark was Red Talon. He was lying on his stomach, facing the doorway. His shoulder was a bloody mess.
Three Baskets said, “I am glad you are here, I need help with this.”
She brought a pot of hot water to the bedside and began to wash the wound. The wound was turning red around the edges, showing infection. Wolf Eyes put his left hand on the back of Red Talon’s neck and held down. With his right index finger he probed the wound. He could feel the arrowhead still in the shoulder. Red Talon’s body contracted with the pain.
“The head of the arrow is still in his shoulder,“ he said.
Wolf Eyes and Three Baskets both knew what had to be done. They moved Red Talon to the summer shed, a roof supported on posts, with no sides. The light would be better out here. Loot and Fire Cub helped with the move, because Red Talon could barely walk. Three Baskets heated a pot of bear fat on the hearth until it became very liquid and started to smoke. Wolf Eyes dipped his hunting knife into the bear oil and stirred it around.
Red Talon was lying on his stomach again. Several village people began to gather around the summer shed. A boy was sent to get the aliktce. Red Talon would need strong medicine.
“Help hold him down,” said Wolf Eyes, to Loot and Fire Cub.
Loot lay across Red Talon’s feet, and Fire Cub put his weight on the upper half of his body. Several bystanders came in to hold his arms.
Wolf Eyes withdrew his knife from the hot bear oil. The blade of the stone knife was smoking.
“Hang on, Red Talon. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Wolf Eyes probed the depth of the wound with the knife. Red Talon’s body pulsed and contracted with the pain. Wolf Eyes felt the edges and the barbs of the arrow with his knife blade. The knife blade turned parallel with the plane of the arrowhead and sliced the meat that was shoulder muscle to clear the point of the barb. Wolf Eyes withdrew the knife and put it back in the hot bear oil. He let it stay just for a moment. Then he was probing again. This time for the other side. Another slice, and then the arrowhead was loose. The butt of it popped out, above the surface of the skin. Three Baskets pulled it the rest of the way out with her fingers. Then the wound was treated by pouring in some slightly cooled bear oil. Three Baskets made a bandage compress from some cloth that was soaked in the oil and allowed to cool. The cooled oil congealed and made a salve.
Everyone released his or her hold on Red Talon. He made a sigh of relief as he relaxed from the tension.
Three Baskets thanked everyone for their help. They all nodded and went about their business.
The aliktce arrived with his helpers, the hopayes. The aliktce was dressed in his devil garments. He turned his face away from everyone, and when he turned around, his face was covered with a mask. He lit fires around Red Talon and began to dance around inside the post of the shed. He turned this way and that, making sure that he faced in every direction of the perimeter of the summerhouse. He wanted to leave no direction unexplored as he sought out the evil spirits. When he saw one he would dart at it with all viciousness, shaking his rattles. When the evil spirit was frightened away, the hopayes would come between it and Red Talon to guard against its return. He had Red Talon to himself now, and he worked his magic. This would go on, intermittently, through that day and the night. The aliktice was a busy man, with all the wounded that were in the village.
The aliktce made potions from herbs that he, with the help of the hopayes, had gathered from the forest. He would give this to Red Talon to drink. The hopayes would sit Red Talon up and hold him as he drank the potion.
Three Baskets would come by to check on Red Talon periodically and to see if the aliktce needed anything. It would not be long before her child came.
Wolf Eyes walked back to the house of Waving Willow. She was outside her house with their son, putting him in the cradleboard.
“Nitaki” (Morning), she said. “I did not know where you went earlier. Will Red Talon be all right?”
“Yes, I think so. He will have a very sore shoulder for a while, but the wound is not life threatening anymore. Nitaki impa?” (Breakfast)
“Yes, It is ready.”
He had a seat under the shade of the summerhouse. The sun was already beginning to warm the day. He would eat and then go for a swim, he thought. He sat there, watching the breeze flow through the trees. He was relaxed and felt good.
Waving Willow brought him a tray full of food. There was a bowl filled with grits and some dried venison on the side, also some cornbread and bear grease with fresh blackberries mashed into a jam sweetened with a little honey.
“Afehna chukma” (very good), he exclaimed, with wide eyes. It was then that he realized he was very hungry. He ate until it was gone. Waving Willow sat and watched him eat, as she nursed her baby. Wolf Eyes thought, life is afehna chukma.
He went to the river and swam for a while. He was still tired from the battle. Returning to the house, he found a spot in the shade and lay down. It was not long before he was asleep.
In the deep forest a trail runs beside the Yellow Leaf Creek. It passed the burned out village and kept on going beside the creek for a long distance. There, on a hillside, underneath rock bluffs, was a cave. It was a new home for some refugees of the Creek village. The cave was large enough for many people to live inside. It had ancient drawings on the walls. Some of the drawings were depictions of past hunts, showing a party of hunters surrounding tigers and bears. Other drawings depicted wars. They showed captives, being tortured by surrounding warriors. In one of the drawings a man was shown as a captive. He was tied with his four limbs, arms and legs, stretched tight in four directions between the members of a square frame. Although the drawings were ancient, these methods were still practiced.
The cave was now in use by some of the people of the defeated tribe. They tried to recover from physical wounds and psychological ones such as sorrow from the loss of loved ones.
Black Scorpion had crossed the hills and valleys after his escape from the general. The wolf pack had been thrown off by the discard of the putrid smelling essence. He had tossed it on the trail to stop the wolves from chasing him. It was only a small bag of rotten fish skin that he had hidden on his person. It was used for the sole purpose of keeping anyone from checking him too closely. The stench would be enough to deter the curiosity of unwanted attention.
He made his way to the cave, where he expected to find shelter and subsistence. This cave was well known by Black Scorpion, as he had been here many times. As a young man, he had been brought here by his teacher.
As a hopaye, he learned the ways of the spirit world conjures and spells, the dances, the properties and medicinal values of herbs. He had also learned some unethical practices such as calling on the spirits of the underworld.
Later in life, he had gone back to the evil ways and used powers he called up from the underworld. Here, over the years, he practiced his witchcraft in the cave. He held ceremonies of devil worship with his hopayes in the cave. These acts were frowned upon by all the people that wanted to live in peace. He kept his witchcraft secret, so that his tribal status would remain high.
The Creek refugees did not know the evilness of the cave they now called home, but they did not want Black Scorpion to come there. It was said that he lived in darkness. He had been accused of making bad medicine that caused the destruction of the Yellow Leaf village. The people knew that he had the ear of the wildest of the Creek braves – the one known as the Raven. And that he had incited Raven to raid the village of Nunnimingo.
Living amongst the people in the cave were some of the braves that had participated in the raid of Nunnimingo. This group was supporters of Black Scorpion. They would be his followers again, and were glad to see him when he arrived.
The people who were not supporters of Black Scorpion had a name for this group. They called this group of evil renegades – the Lomuts. The Lomuts would not hesitate to cause others hardship, if they found it to their advantage.
When Black Scorpion returned, some of the older people left to find a new home. They could not tolerate the unsettled atmosphere of the cave since Black Scorpion had arrived. Some of the people in the cave were sick or wounded; they could not readily leave. They stayed, and some of the ones that looked after them stayed.
Some of the younger ones stayed, because they were more impressionable and did not know the tricks of Black Scorpion. All in all about twenty people stayed.
Black Scorpion had five young braves to do his bidding. Two of these were recovering from wounds. Black Scorpion did attend the sick that would allow him to do so. He pretended to do things that were normally done by an aliktce such as frighten away evil spirits, make poultices and potions and cure the sick. At one time he was a valued member of the tribe. Jealousy had caused his demeanor to change; his attitude toward some members of the tribe became bad. He was mentally sick and blamed others for his non-popularity. Once he started causing people trouble there was no way of turning back, unless he had made a real effort. It would have taken a long time for some of the people to trust him again. He did not care to put forth the time or the effort to change. He was resigned to remain a bad seed.
Still, he managed to influence some of the braves that aspired to make a name for themselves. Raven was well on his way. He had more scalps than any other brave that had lived at Yellow Leaf. Not all of these scalps had been taken when on a military campaign. He was kind of a loner. Frequently, he would go to the woods by himself. These scalps would just appear by his lodge without much notice. There were no questions asked by the elders, and there would be no information volunteered by Raven. He was regarded by the people of the village as a devious man who needed to be watched.
The cave was not a shallow one. Its passages went deep into the earth. The caverns were the haunts of Black Scorpion, who would disappear into the black depth of the caverns for days at a time. He had been doing this for years. It was here that he sought the alliances of the spirits of the underworld.
Today he was preparing to go and seek the Black Spirits. He would take some of his trusted young hopayes and journey into the unknown. They would light their way by torches. Raven was an interested party on this journey. He was a frequent participant in the activities of the aliktce, especially when it came to ceremonies involving the underworld.
The night was very dark. There was no moon or stars in the sky. They sat as five figures around a fire a distance from the cave and shared a drink of dedication to their ill purposes. At the fire were the aliktce, Black Scorpion, three hopayes, Long Fang, The Fox and Five Toes. Five Toes was the newest member, who had just been recruited by Black Scorpion. Five Toes was defective from birth. He was born with a clubfoot, and he only had five good toes. The fifth figure was Raven. They were swearing an oath of dedication to the Devil Spirit of the underworld. Their bodies were painted white.
When they arose from their places by the fire, they appeared as living corpses. The fire was quenched, and a flash of orange flames rose as a small ball of fire. It rose as a burning cloud. This in itself was an evil act. Water was never used to quench a flame, because flames were a holy gift from the spirits of the upper world. The water in any quantity bigger than a raindrop was an element of the underworld. The fire had been polluted.
The whole group now ran into the cave. As they ran, they gave war hoops and catcalls. The unsuspecting people in the cave were startled, and those that could, left their fire and ran out in fear. Black Scorpion and Raven lit torches from the fire, and then the five began their journey into the cave.
The distances between the walls of the cave became smaller as they went farther and farther back into the cave. The once great room was now a narrow passageway. The surface of the floor was uneven.
Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and stalagmites stood up from the floor. They appeared as lost warriors who turned into rock, long ago. Water coming out of the ceiling formed puddles and pools on the floor. Farther back, these pools were linked together and then became a stream with current. They kept following the stream until it emptied into a large, underground river.
They stumbled on the bleached bones of an old corpse. Black Scorpion looked grotesque from the shadows cast by the torch. He declared, as he looked back at the other four.
“All who come into this cave belong to the Hottuk Ooproose for eternity.”
Black Scorpion stopped and gathered another torch that had been left there on a previous journey.
“We are about to enter the chamber of the Devil Spirit,” said Black Scorpion.
The men, with their bodies painted white, were almost iridescent. They were all, with the exception of Black Scorpion, filled with dread at this announcement. Five Toes almost turned to run out, but realized that he was trapped because he had no torch. He knew there was no darkness like cave darkness. The sunlight never made it down this far. To leave the group would be suicide. The caverns were endless, and no one knew the way out but Black Scorpion.
They now entered into a great room, and the sound of the flowing water was deafening. Black Scorpion lit other torches that were mounted to the walls. The river was a torrent, and the crashing of the waves echoed from the sides of the room. Now they could see the room and the river. The ceiling of this room was a hundred feet high. They were on the edge of a great abyss. They were on a ledge that sloped down to the edge of the river. The river became a waterfall here and fell into a deep, deep, black hole. No one knew where the water went. Apparently, it disappeared forever.
Black Scorpion showed them a pile of driftwood that had dried for some time. They gathered this and built a fire at a designated place, where countless fires had been built before. The fire was placed in the middle of a circle – a circle made by men, dancing for endless ages around a fire.
Black Scorpion had a pipe. He put in it a special tobacco and lit it by a stick that he picked up out of the fire. Now the men sat by the fire in the roar of the river. The pipe was shared and passed around. There was no talking here, and if there was, no one could hear what was said. The tobacco had an intoxicating effect. Soon the men were seeing double.
Black Scorpion walked to a pool, and from it he produced a jar of evil potion, which he brought back to the fire. With the jar in hand, he began to dance once more around the fire. He danced and drank. Raven got up to dance and was handed the jar. One by one the rest followed. As all the men got up, they were given the jar and they danced. As the last man sat down, being unable to dance more, all were thrown on their backs. Once they were on their ba
cks they found that they could not move – as though held there by some restraint. Their muscles were limp, and extremities paralyzed. They were still conscious of their surroundings and aware of all things happening, but their power to move was not there.
They could do nothing but stare at the ceiling and the column of smoke that rose from the fire. In the dim glow of light that shown against the ceiling, the smoke was gathering, and the men watched in horror as it formed the face of the Devil Spirit.
The Devil Spirit looked down on them with a glare that made the men cry out. Each one wanted to run, but that was impossible. They could not shut their eyes, but were forced to look at it as it came down from the ceiling, closer and closer.
The men were shouting in fear, not knowing what was to come next. The Devil Spirit wanted their souls. He had their souls separated from their bodies, as they lay there witnessing the horror, but not being able to run. They felt themselves being pulled deeper into the earth, as the blackness fell over them. They could no longer hear the rush of the river. They no longer could see the face of the devil. There was total darkness. They now could only hear the voice of Black Scorpion as he talked with the Devil Spirit.
“Oh Great Demon of the Deep, Hottuk Ookproose, how long I have been your servant. You know the things that I have done for you, and that I am at your bidding. We are cast here in the middle world and are searching for ways that your spirit wishes. Do you remember me, oh Great Demon of the Deep?”
The devil replied. It had all the coarseness of an ax splitting wood.
“How dare you come to my abode! You know the rules. No one is to come to this hallowed hole in the earth. You know what the costs are for coming here. All who come here belong to me…however; I do remember you, Black Scorpion. What is it that you seek?”
Black Scorpion replied, “We have come to obtain your aid and blessing, as we have been banished from our tribe. We have been unchained as far as the deeds we can do, oh Great One.”
“You are not banished alone. Who is with you? Never mind, I sense their presence. One is new for the first time. You have done well. Which one is mine?”
“The one called Five Toes, Master.”
“ Very well. So you are free now to do my will more than ever?”
“For all eternity, Master.”
“I will aid you then in your endeavors. You have been a faithful servant to me thus far. There are good souls in the village of Nuktala. Those people are working for the spirit of the upper world. You must do as much to them as you can in the coming months to see that they are caused much trouble. I will withhold no evil deeds from your power. They are the ones who made war on the village of the Yellow Leaf.
“We will cause them much trouble, oh Great One.”
“There is one who lives there known as Wolf Eyes. He is a great warrior. His forefathers foiled my plans to destroy the entire Chickasaw nation. I have never forgiven them for that. You remember the one called Night Walker? He called on the spirits of the upper world, just in time, although it did not save himself. You have his scalp on your pole. He was the uncle of Wolf Eyes. The underworld will be in great appreciation to the one who defeats the spirit of Wolf Eyes.
If you can defeat Wolf Eyes I will make you a new race, and your people will multiply. They will become the most populated of the earth... but if the spirit of Wolf Eyes is not broken, he will single-handedly destroy you. His defeat will determine whether your race lives in the middle world or in the underworld. The future of your own race is in your hands.”
“We will defeat Wolf Eyes. His spirit is going to be trodden into the earth, with your help, oh Great One.”
“You will have my help, Black Scorpion. Now be on your way, because I am tiring of you. It is not enough that you come to my abode, but you tire me with these endless requests of trivial matters. Be gone with you.”
The darkness went away, and there was torch light again in the cave. All the men had their movements back now, except for Five Toes. He still lay on the ground with a horrified look in his bulging eyes. He was still unable to move.
“Sorry, Friend,” said Black Scorpion. “There is always at least one that we have to leave behind.”
They formed a line and walked by Five Toes; each one sprinkled him with tobacco. His horrified expression said it all, as he struggled to move, but could not. He was trying to scream, but he could not make a sound. They left him and took the torches with them.
And then the cave was dark.