My favorite story from Black Elk Speaks is The Courting of High Horse. High Horse was a young Lakota man in love with a beautiful who was just out of his league.
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High Horse was so badly in love that he felt sick. The girl’s parents kept close watch over her, and he didn’t know if she liked him even a little bit. One day he ambushed her, and held her in place while he made his pitch. The girl didn’t reject him utterly. The game was on. /1
Feeling confident, High Horse approached the girl’s father and offered to buy her for two horses. The old man waved him off without a word. It was an insulting offer for his only daughter, but it was all High Horse had. /2
A friend offered to loan High Horse two more horses for the payment, and High Horse returned to the girl’s father with an offer four horses, but again he was rebuffed. Seeing High Horse’s persistence, her parents began to tie the girl to her bed to keep him from stealing her. /3
High Horse was despondent. Seeing his despair, his cousin Red Deer approached him with a plan. There was only one option: the two of them must kidnap the girl and run away. By the time they returned, her father would have to accept that she was now his wife. /4
One night, High Horse snuck into her tepee, where she slept with her parents. He began to cut the ties while Red Deer waited outside. Unfortunately, he dropped the knife and it stuck in the girl, who shouted, raising an alarm. HH & Red Deer barely escaped w/their lives. /5
HH was now more depressed than ever. He foolishly accosted the girl to ask her to run away with him. She rejected this, demanding to be purchased like any respectable woman.
But Red Deer had another plan. /6
But Red Deer had another plan. /6
They would again try to kidnap the girl, but this time Red Deer would paint HH to resemble a water spirit. That way, if he was again caught, The people would be too afraid to chase after him. With no other ideas, High Horse agreed to the plan. /7
He was painted white from head to toe, with black stripes and face paint. At night, he snuck in and began cutting the girl’s restraints. But the ties were tight, and every time he cut one, it popped, and soon woke up the mother. She shook her husband, and HH lay very quietly. /8
The husband told the woman to leave him alone and let him sleep, and soon started snoring. While HH waited to hear the mother’s snores, his mind drifted, and he soon fell asleep himself! Red Deer dared not call out, and at daybreak left with their escape horses. /9
At morning, the girl awoke and saw the water demon sleeping beside her bed. She screamed, and a general alarm was raised. Several braves wanted to chase HH to shoot him, but the elders warned against the possibility that it was a sacred being. /10
Having failed yet again, HH determined to forsake the world, and go on the warpath all by himself. But Red Deer was a loyal friend, and said, “No cousin, you shall not go in the warpath alone, for I shall go with you.” And the two set off toward a Crow encampment. /11
Coming upon the Crow camp as the enemy slept, HH and Red Deer killed the man guarding the horses, and stampeded 100 Crow horses into the night. For 3 days they drove the herd of horses, finally reaching their own people, who had moved by now. /12
Triumphant, he approached the girl’s father and asked if 100 horses would be enough to buy her. This time the father said yes. “It was not the horses he wanted. What he wanted was a son who was a real man and good for something.”
That’s how you do it. /end
That’s how you do it. /end
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