Between Two Worlds by Coverstone Stacey

Author:Coverstone, Stacey [Coverstone, Stacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-08-04T04:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

A group of Pima children were the first to greet the couple as they drove into the village. The black-haired, shirtless boys jogged beside the buggy and called out to Gabriel, who waved and addressed a few of them by name. The little girls wore deerskin dresses, and all the kids wore sheepskin sandals on their feet.

Delaney smiled and waved, too. “How precious. They all know you.”

“Yes. I come here often. I consider He Who Fights Bravely to be one of my best friends.”

“Really?” The news was a surprise. “I had no idea. You didn’t mention it when I’d told you he and I met.”

“These people are very generous and hospitable. More so than some of our townsfolk in Phoenix. The Pima welcomed me from the day I arrived.”

She peered around as Gabriel drove down the village thoroughfare. The river rushed alongside the banks to the west of them. The homes sat one next to the other, in rows on both sides of the road. He told her they were called hogans. They were small, round, flat-topped shelters framed by poles and covered with grass and mud. Near the center of the village stood a large rectangular frame with only one wall. She pointed to it. “What happened to that building? Was it destroyed in a raid?”

He shook his head. “That’s a ramada. It’s a community clubhouse of sorts. The one side is built as a windbreak. They hold ceremonies and other family and community activities there.”

She smiled and waved at the women sitting outside their hogans. They were weaving baskets, cooking over flames, and polishing red and black pottery. She noticed the older girls and all the grown women had lines tattooed from their mouths to their chins, and many wore turquoise ear pendants. Some women’s skirts appeared to be made of shredded bark and some, deerskin. A few younger men milled around the village, but most, she noticed, were older men. Their chests were all bare and loincloths covered their lower halves. All the people had long flowing hair, like He Who Fights Bravely.

“Where are all the young men?” she asked. “I see mostly children and elderly males.”

Gabriel halted Lady Godiva and laid down the reins. “I imagine they’re out hunting right now. The men travel considerable distances to hunt deer, sheep and rabbit. It’s also the time of year when they gather the fruit from the saguaro. They pick saguaro pears and the women ferment the juice into liquor to drink during ceremonies to bring rain.”

“This is all fascinating,” Delaney said, waving at the kids who continued to run alongside the buggy. “I still can’t believe I’m in 1888 meeting Indians and living the life of a frontier woman.”

“It suits you.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

Their gazes fused. Delaney stared at Gabriel’s lips, desiring more kisses.

“We’re here,” he announced, as he reached for his medical bag. He nodded toward the hogan perched close to the edge of the babbling river. “This is the home of He Who Fights Bravely and his wife.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.