Walking in Two Worlds

Chapter 1: The Mountain-3

The next few days were spent in love making, language lessons, hunting and frolicking in the lake and on the beach. Lee had never been happier. Tatanka seemed content. As far as Lee was concerned they could live here for the rest of their lives.

Tatanka had taken to kissing like a duck to water. After his initial reticence, he quickly and thoroughly incorporated the practice into his love-making repertoire. Being the dominant partner when it came to f*****g was another story. He gently but firmly refused to penetrate Lee and because of the limitations in language, there was never an answer to Lee’s queries as to why this was the case.

On the language front, it soon became apparent Tatanka had the greater propensity to acquire English than Lee had to learn Dakota. Tatanka picked up vocabulary, grammar and syntax much more quickly and completely than Lee. Lee was learning, too, but not with the strides of Running Buffalo.

One night, by the fire, Lee mused, “Tatanka. You’re Tatanka iåyaåke and sometimes I call you Running Buffalo or just Tanka. Don’tcha think I oughta have a Dakota name, too?”

Tatanka thought for a long while. He got up and walked around him, surveying Lee from head to toe. Lee guessed getting an Injun name was a big deal. Finally, Tatanka pulled Lee to his feet and stood in front of him.

“You Lee Masters. He reached out, unbuttoned his shirt and ran his hands through the thick hair on Lee’s chest. Now you Was’sichu Ahan Hiasma Maku Supa: White Man with Black Hairy Chest. I call you Hiasma Maku, Hairy Chest. He smiled and pulled Lee into an embrace and rubbed his smooth muscular chest against Lee’s muscular, hairy one.

“How you like?”

“Was’sichu Ahan Supa Hiasma Maku like very much,” said Lee, using his new name, pulling Tatanka down to the ground, taking full advantage of the arousal brought about by the naming ceremony.

They spent most of their days without clothes, enjoying the freedom the privacy of the mountain afforded them. Life was good.

One afternoon the men were in the lake. They were wrestling and splashing. Their laughter was loud and they didn’t hear the approach of men on horseback.

Lee came up sputtering and coughing after Tatanka had dunked him and held him under the water for a long time. As he gasped for breath, he became aware six Indians on horseback were standing near the water’s edge, observing them.

Tatanka rose to the surface and the smile faded from his face.

Together they waded to the shore to face the intruders.

“Hau ciaye,” one of the braves said, addressing Tatanka.

“Hau suaka,” Tatanka replied.

Lee strained to follow the conversation. He knew the first speaker had addressed Tatanka as his older brother. He caught the words for ‘chief’s son,’ ‘home,’ ‘woman-man,’ ‘woman’s talk’ and ‘Winkte,’ a word he did not understand. While the discussion got more intense and animated, Lee walked to the shore and pulled on his jeans. The eyes of some of the men followed him.

The group had an extra horse. It was apparent to Lee they expected Tatanka to leave with them. Lee began to worry.

After what seemed like an eternity, filled with angry words and threats, the leader of the group shook his fist in Tatanka’s direction and reached behind him to a bag hanging from the carry pack. He extracted a garment, spit on it and threw it to the ground saying something about a dress and a white man: was’sichu. They wheeled the horses around and rode off at a gallop.

Tatanka stood tall and proud: shoulders back and head high as the party left the lake. Lee came to his side. The Indian turned to him. “Was’tecidake, I love you.”