Free Walks the Fire by Stephanie Grace Whitson Page B

with the paste. Then, round, smooth stones were used to work the mixture into the skin. Finally, everything was covered with the broth the brains had been cooked in and allowed to age for the rest of the day. The hides were then soaked in a mixture of water and pounded yucca roots. They took on a sweet smell. Remounted on their frames, the hides were stretched again and the water worked out.
    At Old One’s instruction, Jesse stretched and worked the hide over and over. Her shoulders and arms ached and she panted with the effort, but still Old One instructed her to continue working the hide. Finally, the two women pulled and stretched the drying hide over a braided buffalo sinew rope that had been attached to a tree limb high off the ground and stretched to a stake that had been pounded deep into the ground. The two women pulled and tugged with all their might as the hide was drying. To Jesse’s amazement, when it was finally dry, it was as soft as velvet.
    At last, Rides the Wind took the softened hide and staked it over a slow-burning fire. As it was smoked, the hide turned a soft brown color. He explained to Jesse that smoking would keep the hide soft if it got wet.
    Jesse helped Prairie Flower sew many hides together, using the long tendons from the buffalo’s back as “thread.” Howling Wolf smiled at the prospect of a new tepee and set to work decorating the outside with skillfully drawn pictographs. Jesse was amazed by his artistic ability, and her opinion of him softened as the beauty of the tepee grew. Surely there must be a good side to a man who has such artistic abilities.
    Jesse watched and learned as the women of the village transformed their buffalo hides into tepee covers, moccasin tops, dresses, leggings, and cradles. Feathers, porcupine quills, and dyes made from berries or roots were constantly in view as the women worked to create beautiful things for their families. Rawhide provided moccasin soles and parfleche boxes for storage. As they worked, the women sometimes roasted a large buffalo bone over a cottonwood bark fire. Every few minutes, someone would turn the bone so that it would cook evenly and thoroughly. When it was done, the women cracked the bone and ate the brown, tasty marrow.
    One morning Prairie Flower signed that Jesse should begin a pair of moccasins. Jesse nodded her agreement and became a willing student. However, when time came to decorate the moccasins, she quickly displayed her own artistic skills, wielding the awl easily and creating an intricate beadwork design for Prairie Flower to admire.
    When the moccasins were at last ready, Prairie Flower smiled coyly and suggested that Jesse give them to Old One. Old One accepted the gift with a warm smile and kind words.
    Pointing at Jesse that night when Rides the Wind had joined them, she showed him the moccasins, and motioned for him to translate what she said.
    “Among the people, it is the custom for a new wife to make moccasins for the husband’s mother. When the mother accepts the gift, she welcomes the new wife into the family.”
    Jesse blushed at the message her innocent gift had sent to the old woman. Rides the Wind watched Jesse carefully as he concluded, “My mother accepts the gift you have given. She says that she welcomes you as my wife.”
    His dark eyes met hers briefly, but then he picked up Two Mothers and said, “My son and I will say good night to Sun, now.” Jesse was left behind to watch as Old One donned her new moccasins, clucking her appreciation.
    As the days went by, it became a habit for Rides the Wind to seat himself next to Jesse outside the tepee just at sunset. Holding Two Mothers, he would demand that she read from the “God book.”
    Jesse struggled to know just what to read, until Rides the Wind solved the problem. One evening, as the village women looked on and smiled knowingly at one another, Jesse thumbed the pages of the Bible. Rides the Wind covered her hand with his own.
    “Is not all of