Read Online Ralph Compton Comanche Trail by Carlton Stowers - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Carlton Stowers
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hatred for the white man and a dwindling following.
Were it not for the need he served, Stallings knew he and his men would long ago have been killed, probably in the dead of night, scalped, their bodies left for scavengers.
Hawk had chosen to ignore the treaties his elders had agreed to. He had initially banded a sizable number of like-minded young tribe members to his cause. He stirred their anger with whiskey-driven rants about the broken promises of the white manâs government, the theft of their homeland, the weevil-infested grain and spoiled meat parceled out to their weak elders who had agreed to retreat to the reservations, the killing off of their buffalo. The only good white man, he insisted, was a dead white man. And to that end he had led raids on settlements north into Kansas and south into Texas, leaving death and destruction in his path.
And with each act of revenge, the legions of his nomadicfollowers had grown. He soon become one of the most feared and respected members of the Comanche tribe. Army scouts were never swift enough to keep up with his movements. Hawk on the Hill was like smoke, a ghost, here one minute and gone the next, always leaving flames and death in his wake.
His savagery was making him into a legend and he reveled in the recognition.
Then another face emerged from the Indian rebellion. His name was Isa-tia, and he possessed an evangelical skill that Hawk was unable to match. The stocky, broad-faced Isa-tia was a medicine man, equal parts shaman,
brujo
, and magician. Traveling through what remained of the fragmented Comanche Nation, he spoke of how he had ascended into the clouds to a place far beyond the sun, where the Great Spirit had spoken to him, providing a plan that would not only destroy the white man but restore the Comanche tribe to its former glory.
It was just what many of the angry young warriors wanted to hear.
Isa-tia claimed miraculous healing powers, even the ability to raise the dead if he chose. The white manâs bullets, he said, could not harm him. As proof, he would belch up cartridges he said had been fired into his body by soldiers. On command, he could send lightning, hail, and thunder down on his enemies. When a brilliant comet appeared in the western skies, Isa-tia promised that he could make it vanish in five days. And it did.
To demonstrate his ability to pay visits to the Great Spirit, he would gather a group of warriors and demand that they look directly into the sun as he began his skyward journey.While his followers were temporarily blinded, he would steal away to hide in a nearby cave, only to reappear the following day with new promises brought from on high.
Gullible warriors were promised eternal life in exchange for their loyalty. They quickly fell under his hypnotic spell. Many of Hawkâs men were among them, and he had no idea how to combat the mystical hold the new leader had gained.
Until the woman named Kate Two had spoken to him of powers that she also possessed.
â¢Â   â¢Â   â¢
It had been his plan to sell both of the women taken during the recent northern raids to buyers in Mexico, a profitable practice heâd employed since his early days of leading raids on white settlements. The pretty one with the long black hair and piercing eyes had shown no fear when she was taken from the wagon in the middle of the swollen river. A woman of such strength and beauty, Hawk was certain, would bring as much as four hundred dollars. The other, plain and frightened, would earn him less.
Aware that Hawk had been taught some English at the reservation school as a boy, Kate Two had asked to speak with him. Assuming the captive woman would plead for her life, he had entered the teepee where she was being held.
He had remained there for several hours, listening to her claims of being a spiritualist.
âIf you will allow me,â she said, âI can be of great help to you. I can contact the great chiefs
Were it not for the need he served, Stallings knew he and his men would long ago have been killed, probably in the dead of night, scalped, their bodies left for scavengers.
Hawk had chosen to ignore the treaties his elders had agreed to. He had initially banded a sizable number of like-minded young tribe members to his cause. He stirred their anger with whiskey-driven rants about the broken promises of the white manâs government, the theft of their homeland, the weevil-infested grain and spoiled meat parceled out to their weak elders who had agreed to retreat to the reservations, the killing off of their buffalo. The only good white man, he insisted, was a dead white man. And to that end he had led raids on settlements north into Kansas and south into Texas, leaving death and destruction in his path.
And with each act of revenge, the legions of his nomadicfollowers had grown. He soon become one of the most feared and respected members of the Comanche tribe. Army scouts were never swift enough to keep up with his movements. Hawk on the Hill was like smoke, a ghost, here one minute and gone the next, always leaving flames and death in his wake.
His savagery was making him into a legend and he reveled in the recognition.
Then another face emerged from the Indian rebellion. His name was Isa-tia, and he possessed an evangelical skill that Hawk was unable to match. The stocky, broad-faced Isa-tia was a medicine man, equal parts shaman,
brujo
, and magician. Traveling through what remained of the fragmented Comanche Nation, he spoke of how he had ascended into the clouds to a place far beyond the sun, where the Great Spirit had spoken to him, providing a plan that would not only destroy the white man but restore the Comanche tribe to its former glory.
It was just what many of the angry young warriors wanted to hear.
Isa-tia claimed miraculous healing powers, even the ability to raise the dead if he chose. The white manâs bullets, he said, could not harm him. As proof, he would belch up cartridges he said had been fired into his body by soldiers. On command, he could send lightning, hail, and thunder down on his enemies. When a brilliant comet appeared in the western skies, Isa-tia promised that he could make it vanish in five days. And it did.
To demonstrate his ability to pay visits to the Great Spirit, he would gather a group of warriors and demand that they look directly into the sun as he began his skyward journey.While his followers were temporarily blinded, he would steal away to hide in a nearby cave, only to reappear the following day with new promises brought from on high.
Gullible warriors were promised eternal life in exchange for their loyalty. They quickly fell under his hypnotic spell. Many of Hawkâs men were among them, and he had no idea how to combat the mystical hold the new leader had gained.
Until the woman named Kate Two had spoken to him of powers that she also possessed.
â¢Â   â¢Â   â¢
It had been his plan to sell both of the women taken during the recent northern raids to buyers in Mexico, a profitable practice heâd employed since his early days of leading raids on white settlements. The pretty one with the long black hair and piercing eyes had shown no fear when she was taken from the wagon in the middle of the swollen river. A woman of such strength and beauty, Hawk was certain, would bring as much as four hundred dollars. The other, plain and frightened, would earn him less.
Aware that Hawk had been taught some English at the reservation school as a boy, Kate Two had asked to speak with him. Assuming the captive woman would plead for her life, he had entered the teepee where she was being held.
He had remained there for several hours, listening to her claims of being a spiritualist.
âIf you will allow me,â she said, âI can be of great help to you. I can contact the great chiefs
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