Iron Hawk continues:
We stayed there waiting for something and there was
shooting everywhere. Then I heard a voice crying “Now they
are going, they are going!” We looked up and saw the cavalry
horses stampeding. They were all gray horses.
I saw Little Bear’s horse rear and race uphill toward the soldiers.
When he got close, his horse was shot out from under
him, and he got up limping because the bullet went through his
leg; and he started hobbling back to us with the soldiers shooting
at him. His brother-friend, Elk Nation, went up there on
his horse and took Little Bear behind him and rode back safe
with bullets striking all around him. It was his duty to go to his
brother-friend even if he knew he would be killed.
By now a big cry was going up all around the soldiers up there
and the warriors were coming from everywhere and it was
getting dark with dust and smoke.
We saw soldiers start running down hill right towards us.
Nearly all of them were afoot, and I think they were so scared
that they didn’t know what they were doing. They were making
their arms go as though they were running very fast, but they
were only walking. Some of them shot their guns in the air.
We all yelled “Hoka hey!” and charged toward them, riding all
around them in the twilight that had fallen on us.
I met a soldier on horseback, and I let him have it. The arrow
went through from side to side under his ribs and it stuck out on
both sides. He screamed and took hold of his saddle horn and
hung on , wobbling, with his head hanging down. I kept along
beside him, and I took my heavy bow and struck him across the
back of the neck. He fell from his saddle, and I got off and beat
him to death with my bow. I kept on beating him awhile after
he was dead, and every time I hit him I said “Hownh!” I was
mad, because I was thinking of the women and little children
running down there, all scared and out of breath. These Wasichus
wanted it, and they came to get it, and we gave it to them.”
Excerpted from “Black Elk Speaks”, as told through
John G. Niehardt, author.
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London.
Islander.