Passions of the Heart - BOOK 2 of PASSION series

Chapter Three - Freedom?

Chapter Three

Freedom?

Just when the blonde completed her mint tea sweetened with raspberries, Wawat’ecaka entered.

“Come.  Drink tea with me,” Kaitlin invited the mother-like figure.

“Tos, I’d enjoy that.  When we finish, let us work with the sacred white elk hide.”

Mazaska Zi Ista nodded in agreement.  After filling mniapahta with fresh water and stacking newly gathered firewood, the women went to the place where they tanned leather.  The location was well-shaded by oak and other trees.  A small stagnant pool was nearly separated from the main branch of the river.  Further back from the pool, a rock wall bordered its side.

Under the shade by the tepid pool sat a wooden rack in which a great white elk hide was stretched.  Wawat’ecaka walked to the rock wall and followed it back about twenty-five feet.  She grabbed two fire-hardened wooden bowls from a shallow cave etched into the side of stone.

Handing one to Kaitlin, they walked together to the hide.  Each woman stood at opposite ends of the pelt and began to smear the mixture of brain and fat from the bowls onto the leather.  Kaitlin worked the goop into the elk until it would no longer absorb into the surface.

The procedure was repeated with the opposite side.  When both sides had been completely oiled, the women stretched and pulled on the leather to create the supple flow of the someday fabric in which Wawat’ecaka was famous for.  Then they retacked it to the wooden frame, stretching it as much as possible.

“This will make the best leather.  It is my… our masterpiece! Wawat’ecaka claimed with pride.  “It belongs to your betrothed.  He made the killing strike.”

“He will be pleased, I am sure!” Kaitlin agreed

The women took the yucca root soaking in a rock indented with a natural shallow place. They pounded the root until soapy froth was produced.  Each woman washed hands, arms, and face.  They each returned to their tipi for a quick lunch and rest during the heat of the day.

Working the leather was hard work.  As always, Kaitlin welcomed resting her tired muscles.  She was thankful that her body was responding to the more intense rigors of Indian life in the past month.  The adopted woman still slept when she rested, but not so deeply.

When Mazaska Zi Ista awoke, she grabbed the two newest baskets she’d woven and a sharp digging stick.  She wanted to collect tubers and yams that grew wild in a nearby field.  She planned on sharing her find with Wawat’ecaka.

Gentle Rabbit took care of her tipi and that of her son’s.  The elder woman’s husband had been killed in a raid several years back.  Normally, her son would reside with her until he took a mate, as was Indian custom, but her son already achieved important status in the tribe.  A medicine man, especially one in so much demand, needed a private lodge to treat illness and to practice ritual incantations.

The same was said of all four tribal council members.  All four lived in their own tipi.  Men did not own tipis, but these leaders were granted one until they took a woman.  Then the woman would own the structure.

When each young man attained leader status early in his life before he’d selected a mate, all were honored with a tipi for taking so much responsibility onto their shoulders.  No higher honor could be bestowed upon these leading men by the band.  Most men in the tribe resided in the structure of his parents’ until he married.

Upon her marriage to the chief, Kaitlin would become owner of the dwelling, but she was unaware of this custom.  She still had much to learn about the Indian community.