"But, so many of them? Where do they come from?"
"They have arrived here from the East," said Stands Strong. "Their numbers are so large, they have changed our land in many ways. It has been hard to understand them because they often act in the ways of a crazy man, killing game without the need of its skin or its meat, and speaking to us without sense."
"Is it mostly men, then, who are invading our country?" asked First Rider.
"Áa, yes," Stands Strong replied. "But, there are a few women who have come here with the men. However, they are a breed of woman we have never encountered before."
"What do you mean, a new 'breed'?" asked First Rider.
"What our almost-cousin says is true," Red Fox said, joining in the discussion. "These white women who come with the new invaders of our land are different from a Pikuni woman or any other Indian woman we have ever known. It is said these white women do not marry as do our own women."
"Truly?" asked First Rider.
"So it was told to me by Little Feather who makes his home within the fort. Because he has now become like the gold-seekers in many ways, he has knowledge of these women and has told us stories of bringing a few of these women home to his sleeping robes. He tells of proposing to make each one of these women his own. But, all of these women have refusedhim. Instead, Little Feather told the story, unbelievable as it may seem, of how he discovered these women were enjoying the pleasure of many men, and doing this for payment of the white man's gold."
"Saa!No!"
"My tongue is not twisted about this," replied Red Fox.
Silence between the three men ensued, perhaps because of First Rider's astonishment. But, in due time, Stands Strong spoke again, saying, "The fireboat-that-walks-on-water comes more frequently now than it did in the past. And, each time these fireboats come, there are more and more of the seekers of the evil gold rock who venture into our country."
First Rider could barely comprehend all of what was said. How had this country, this fort, changed so drastically? Still speaking in the Blackfoot tongue, he asked, "Do these evil, golden-rock people stay long at the fort?"
"Some do," answered Stands Strong. "Most arrive here during the Moon when the geese come [early spring], and, shortly thereafter, they go to the goldfields, although some wait until the Moon of high water [early summer] to take to the trail. Then in the season of The-leaves-fall-off, they return to the fort, and, embarking upon one of the white man's boats, they return back to where they came from. There is now a wide trail, leading these white men into what they call the 'goldfields.' But, not all have taken to the trail; some have stayed at the fort, but none who have made the fort their home are good men.
"Even the fort's hunters show no respect for Pikuni country," Stands Strong went on to say. "They litter our land with whisky bottles and shoot our game without our chiefs' permission. I tell you true, these seekers of the evil rock are as different from the first white traders who came to our country as a buffalo is to an antelope."
"What he says is true," confirmed Red Fox. "Our old Fort Benton is gone. It is no longer friendly to us, and it has become a wild and dangerous place."
"Áa," Stands Strong said in Blackfeet. "The fort is now regarded by the Pikuni people as a center for murder, banditry and violence. These evil-rock seekers even treat their women worse than a dog, sometimes degrading a woman with acts of life-threatening violence or dishonor."
Although their council had continued in a like manner, First Rider could barely account for the happenings in his four-winter absence. With their conversation continuing on, First Rider had learned that, after only two winters of watching the fort deteriorate into a settlement of unbridled passions, the chiefs had counselled together and had forbidden any Pikuni woman to work at outside tasks during those times when the tribe, due to the need to trade, was required to camp close to Fort Benton. And, no man who was any man now brought his women with him into the post.
Gone were the days of the past when a Pikuni woman could come and go into the fort freely and unattended. At times, it was even worse for a warrior to venture into the fort alone. Sometimes the warrior never returned, rotting in a place the whites called "jail."
Their council had continued with Stands Strong speaking of a different problem these newcomers were bringing into Pikuni territory. He said, "Our chiefs have many stories to tell now of a new poison brought into our country by these evil-rock seekers. They caution us about this poison which is said to take a man's mind away from him, leaving only a crazy bear where once had stood a man. And, although the firewater of the white man is still a terrible destroyer of men, this new venom they bring here has a much worse effect upon a man, leaving its victim either violent without cause or lazy and without will. It issaid this new invader's poison has the power to take over a man's mind. But worse, this newest problem brought into Pikuni country has another strange effect: after a time, the indulger of this powder often becomes listless, making a man useless as a warrior, a hunter or even as a husband.
"As bad as this is," Stands Strong continued on, saying, "it is sometimes worse: the more a man consumes of this new poison, the more he craves it. And, some of our own men have stopped eating real food altogether, becoming worthless for anything except in begging for more of the poison."
"Áa, truly, our friend speaks with a true tongue," said Red Fox. "In these past four winters, the chiefs have held many councils about these golden-rock diggers. They believe these men have brought a curse with them, and they daily enact this curse upon our land."
"And, a jinx it is," agreed Stands Strong. "Chief Red Bull has told us about how he personally witnessed several of these gold-seekers degrading a woman in the way only a man can do. Shocked, the chief has seen the deed being performed in the open."
And so, First Rider had gone on to learn that the chiefs, not knowing what to do about these problems, now forbade any Pikuni man to enter the fort alone since the Indian men were divested of their weapons, while these murderous gold-seekers remained armed with guns, rifles and knives to steal and to kill at their pleasure.
Indeed, to the Pikunis' way of thinking, what had once been the friendly trading post of Fort Benton was no more. The place was to be avoided, and the Pikuni now encouraged the honest trader to come to their Indian camp for trade, rather than the entire tribe being required to make the long journey to the fort.
There was talk, however, about a new fort being built by men who were well-known friends of the Pikuni. First Rider could only hope that such a fort would be of the same character as the white man's trading centers of the past.
What was unbelievable to him was that it was to be Fort Benton where he would find the pretty, young girl—Otahki.
Stands Strong had confirmed this in the council.
"My woman tells me that Otahki and her father, as well as my wife's mother and father, are living at Fort Benton," he had said. "But, she also said her parents plan to be there only until they have built their new home."
Shock had filled First Rider's heart, not only because of the residence where the family was currently situated, but because of another surprise, and he had asked, "Your woman's father and the rest of the family are building a home here, on Pikuni land?"
"Áa, they are. But, they have counselled with our chiefs and have received permission to raise up a home on the site they have chosen, which is further up Bear River. It is a good spot since it is a good distance away from the fort and the Big River."
