Sioux Fire Talker

Wind Foot

I was born in the year 1830, When I was a small boy there were not many white men in my country and the Buffalo were plentiful. One day whilst playing in the long prairie grass with my friend Yellow Bird we came across a party of white buffalo hunters. The hunters were on horse back and had many rifles, they fired at us from a distance, possibly mistaking us for adults. My friend was shot in the back as we ran. He fell to the floor and I think he was dead. Two of the hunters chased me down on horseback but could not catch me. I ran like the wind that day and when I got back to my village I told what had happened to the first camp warrior I seen. Chief Matoskah, which means 'White Bear' gathered the warriors from the village and seven of them left on horses to find the hunters. As I was the only person who knew where the hunters where I was told to get on the back of the head warriors horse, his name was Enapay which means 'brave' in lakota. Enapay was a tall fierce man who seemed to have no fear. His hair was long and black and he had a muscular physique. He asked me how I escaped the hunters and when I told him I ran like the wind he give me the name Wind Foot. This was a great honour for me to be named by our greatest warrior. I must have been around 6 or 7 years old at the time.

My people had no rifles back then, we only had our bow and arrows and clubs. I was to young to use a bow and arrow so I was given a small club made from a Bur Oak tree. When we found the white buffalo hunters I was told to get off Enapay's horse and wait. Enapay shouted the words "Ska Oyate" meaning 'white men' then gave out a war cry, the seven warriors then went on the war path. I could see from where I was standing there were four white men. Our warriors charged at the white men on horse back making war crys, the whites were sitting in a circle trying to make a fire. The white hunters were surprised and frightened when they seen Enapay and the warriors, Enapay rode his horse through the centre of the white man circle trampling one of the men and hitting another with his war club in the side of the head, the other two white men were wounded by many arrows and looked to be dead. Enapay called me to come over, I was frightened but did what I was told. When I got there one of the warriors named Ishtasapa which means 'dark eyes' was in the process of cutting off the scalp of the soldier who had been trampled with his scalping knife. He ordered me to take the knife which I did, he then ordered me to take the white mans scalp. I grasped the white mans long dark hair and pulled it tight, then cut away at the scalp, to my surprise the man groaned, he was still alive. I put the knife into his body many times until he stopped groaning. Ishtasapa smiled at me and ordered me to finish the scalping, which i did. This was the first person I had killed and scalped, but it wasn't the last. I was no more than 7 years old at this time so the year must have been sometime around 1837. Enapay told me to keep the scalp, which I did.

Enapay, Ishtasapa and another warrior each scalped the other three dead white men and we rode out to find Yellow Bird. When we found my friend we saw hat he to had been scalped by the white men, Enapay put Yellow Birds body across the back of one of the warriors horses. Nobody spoke a work on the return journey. I did not feel bad for what I had done to the white man as he they had killed my friend.