It was still extremely dark…dark enough that you could not
see your hand in front your face. It was also extremely cold…cold enough that it was
difficult to stand in one spot without moving from foot to foot in an attempt
to keep your feet from freezing. There was a constant and chilling wind blowing from
the north that at times, would take your breath away and make your eyes water.
As Niškiišeko
Peleθi (Eyes of Eagle) crept forward, he could hear and almost
smell the presence the the animal close by.
Eyes of Eagle stood completely still in this spot...not
moving a muscle as he looked for the animal he sensed. After satisfying his
senses by searching the forest as far as he could see…he was assured that the
animal was not yet within sight, allowing him to safely crouch behind the large
fallen log in front of him. From there he patiently scoured the landscape,
watching for movement indicative of an approaching animal or another human. He
was not sure if it was an animal approaching or another Indian dragging and or carrying an
animal that they had shot and were returning to their camp.
Eyes of Eagle remained very still and vigilant as he watched
and waited for movement before him. After what seemed an eternity, he saw movement
emerging from between the trees in the distance. Training his attention upon
the moving form he watched patiently as it approached, but still remained alert
to the rest of the woods around him. He was wary of the fact that there could be another
human or animal coming toward him and the one he was now watching, was not what he
first sensed.
The moving form in the distance continued to come closer and
closer, until Eyes of Eagle could distinguish that it was indeed an animal and
he could now tell the color of it. It was a tan or dark yellow and appeared to
be long and moved low against the ground…not reaching more than 16 inches high.
He still could not distinguish what the animal actually was, but now his imagination
was digging throughout his memory, trying to figure out what species it could
be.
The animal now entered a small ravine between Eyes of Eagle,
which obscured his view of the animal as it approached in this depression.
Before he could think of an animal with that color on its body, the animal
crested the ravine, stepping into full view some 100 yards away, but directly
in front of Eyes of Eagle.
Now, he saw beyond a shadow of a doubt that the animal
before him was actually a cougar or mountain lion. Obviously, the
mountain lion just winded Eyes of Eagle…for at that precise moment, it abruptly
stopped and crouched tight against the ground. There it laid; looking to find
what animal possessed such a foul and daunting scent. It had smelled
this scent before and quickly associated it with the two legged, human from before and immediately did not like it. The large cat obviously could
not locate the position of Eyes of Eagle, so it laid very still, almost squashing it's body flat upon the forest floor. Minutes seem like hours and the hours seem
like days as both sat there waiting for the other to move. Finally the cat
could no longer force its self to remain there knowing a human was somewhere close and unseen, so it very carefully began sneeking
away. Eyes of Eagle remained very still, watching as the cat slowly crept away. Suddenly, at one point, the cat's uneasiness caused it to break into a full run, continuing on its way. After several moments Eyes
of Eagle continued through the woods on his original journey.
Soon a thought entered Eyes of Eagles mind as he stalked through the forest undergrowth. What was the huge cat looking for? Was he
out hunting? If so, perhaps there would be no game within several hundred yards
of where he came from…for surely the large cat would have followed any game
that it winded. This thought convinced Eyes of Eagle to turn in a right angle,
continuing away from his present location, heading to new territory.
After proceeding at least two and a half miles through the forest, Eyes
of Eagle came upon a group of deer feeding in a clearing. As he stood
motionlessly, he watched the group as they fed. They were definitely oblivious to his presence. Eyes
of Eagle had learned from his father at a young age that one must approach
animals from downwind once they are located. This assures that they do not smell
you and you can wait, watch and plan your next move in stalking your prey.
Eyes of Eagle watched for some five minutes as the deer continued to feed in the
clearing. All of a sudden, he saw a huge racked buck slowly enter the clearing
from the heavy brush. Had he not waited and watched for the last several minutes
and had decided to move closer for a better shot, the buck surely
would ehave seen his movement and ran. Instead, his patience now allows him to remain in his present
location and decide the best way to approach the huge buck.
Looking back through his memory, he was now ready to pull
past teachings of his father out to use, assuring victory in the hunt. As he
watched the deer feed he continued to think back to all the conversations and
teachings his father had given him about hunting. Eyes of Eagle slowly drew an
arrow from his quiver and knocked it to the bow, taking his first step in
stalking the large buck. Very slowly…step by step…Eyes of Eagle closed the gap
between the buck and himself, being ever careful not to alert the browsing does
all around him. The deer all continued to browse, as Eyes of Eagle crept ever
closer. He continued to monitor the direction of the breeze, sensing that it came to
him from the deer. If the breeze were to change and Eyes of Eagle could feel it
chilling the back of his neck, even for a moment, he knew it would then be imperative
that he shoot immediately, for his scent would surely spook the deer when it
reached their sensitive noses. The breeze held firmly and steadily flushing
against Eyes of Eagle’s face as he closed the distance between himself and the
unaware deer.
At fifteen yards, Eyes of Eagle slowly stepped to his left
of a tree he was standing behind and with his arrow at full draw, aligned
it with the buck’s side, just behind the front leg. There he stood…awaiting some
event or chance to release the arrow undetected. A large grey squirrel
chattered from behind the deer somewhere, announcing something was not right in
the woods. As the deer all looked toward the squirrel, trying to determine from
which direction danger approached the squirrel, it afforded the chance to release
the arrow on its way…undetected by any of the deer. Eyes of Eagle watched as
his arrow approached its mark, striking the spot behind the front leg and
immediately disappearing into the animal. The buck lurched forward, bucking and
jumping straight into the air before turning and bolting straight way some ten
yards before collapsing motionlessly into a pile on the ground. Eyes of Eagle
watched intently as the motionless form simply laid there. There was no kick or
noise. He knocked another arrow, just in case and approached the downed deer.
When he arrived at the deer...it was dead.
Eyes of Eagle immediately dropped to his knees and gave
thanks to the great Father for his success and that the deer did not suffer. He
prepared the animal, slung it over his shoulder and started for the village
with fresh meat for his family. What seems so barbaric and brutal to us now…was
an everyday occurrence in the life of Eyes of Eagle. It was something unworthy of mention, once he gave thanks for the blessing of sustenance.
This is very simply how my ancestors lived and what they did
to survive. They killed when they needed to, but never for fun or without
express need. They lived among the animals and used only what they needed to
survive, much as you would only go to the grocery store when you need food. There
was a reverence for what they killed and they used every last bit of that
animal to sustain themselves and the lives of their family and friends. Nothing
went to waste and nothing was taken for granted. They tanked God for all his
blessings…including life in a wilderness of asceticism.
If you like what we talk about and the pictures we show, why not become a follower? Join at the left by clicking on "Join this site". Also, feel free to leave a message anytime about anything I write. Skip
Very good!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the exciting historical hunting trip. Well done Skip. Thank you for sharing. M
ReplyDeleteGlad you both enjoyed it. My step-son gets on me every now and then to write some stories about my Indian heritage. He likes them too. I guess I'll have to write more. BTW....Niškiišeko Peleθi (Eyes of Eagle)is my actual dream fast Indian name. The Oki revolves around my ability to see animals out in the woods as we drive by on the road...big or small. Vick is constantly amazed that I know so much about wildlife and can see things so quick....even when they are lying down or are amongst brush. She laughs when I call turkeys to the road when we see them in the woods, or get owls to come to us at night by calling them. I always tell her what a deer will do as we watch them to which facinates her. I'll write more Indian Stories from time to time. Thanks again...Skip
ReplyDelete