Sacagawea: American Pathfinder by Flora Warren Seymour

Author:Flora Warren Seymour [Seymour, Flora Warren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Childrens' books, Genre.History
Published: 2010-11-08T10:21:17+00:00

Her aim was good. The head fell and the rattling stopped. Then the girl snatched Mother’s knife from her belt and struck at the rattler’s head. A few blows made her sure that the snake would never hurt anyone again.

“You have saved my life,” said Grandmother. “And now,” she added, “you are going to have a hard time to help me get home. I think I have broken my ankle, and my back is hurt, too. We shall have to leave the wood where we dropped it when the big stone fell.”

“I can come back for it,” said Sacagawea.

Grandmother was thin and little, as old Shoshoni women usually were. Still, it was not easy to hold her up and help her hobble on her one good foot all the way home.

At last they were there. Mother helped make Grandmother more comfortable on some buffalo robes near the fire. “We can’t get the man who fixes broken bones for another day,” Grandmother said. “He will be too busy with the Sun Dance.”

“Now I must go back for our wood,” said Sacagawea when Grandmother was settled.

“But it is nearly dark.”

“I know the way, and I can hurry.”

“You are a brave girl, Sacagawea,” said her grandmother. “You don’t need a Sun Dance to prove that.”

As Sacagawea went off, she was thinking about this. “Surely Grandmother is bravest of all. The pain made great drops of sweat stand out on her forehead, but she didn’t make a sound. Surely that takes as much courage as fighting.”

Next morning began the big day of the Sun Dance. Willow Girl and Little Grass were starting toward the dance lodge when they met Sacagawea hurrying in the opposite direction.

“Come with us,” begged Little Grass.

“Little Grass won’t remember a thing about it,” said Willow Girl.

“I will, too,” said Little Grass.

“But she thinks she has to see everything.”

“That’s the way with Little Brother,” Sacagawea said. “He’s already there. But I still have the other bundle of wood to get. I couldn’t carry them both last night.”

“How is your grandmother this morning?” asked Willow Girl. She had heard about the big rock and the snake the night before.

“She can’t get up yet,” said Bird Girl. “Mother is worried about her. Save a place for me, will you? I’ll hurry back as fast as I can.”

The two sisters watched the old men bring the peace pipe and the white bones of the buffalo head into the lodge and put them in the place of honor. Almost before the chanting of the words that called upon the sun to look down on them, Bird Girl was hurrying into the lodge and sitting down beside her friends.

“You haven’t missed very much,” Willow Girl told her. “The dancers will soon be coming in.”

“Is that the same pipe as last year?” asked Bird Girl.

“Oh, yes. Old Man keeps it in his leather trunk. He takes good care of the pipe and the skull. Something terrible would happen to us all if he should lose them.”

“I ought

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