The House Of Crow Collection

11. How Crow Became Isaiah

Crow, LeRue, and Carlos rode across an open field filled with spring flowers. The brilliant colors were enhanced by a bright blue sky. A multitude of birds sang and squabbled while honey bees hummed as they gather pollen.

The sun warmed their backs, and the pace was slow. Carlos, who was riding next to Crow, broke the silence. “The other night, you said that you were brought up by the Crow. How is it that you are called Isaiah?”

Carlos saw a smile on Crow"s face. With a knowing nod of his head, Crow said, “That would be Yahoo Putnam who gave me my name. He was a Mountain Man who came to our village for the winter…”

The winter wind whistled across the smoke-hole of the tipi, rattling the hide-walls against the lodge poles. Buffalo robes covered the floor. The flickering yellow firelight cast a moving shadow of a man on the walls of the tipi. Yahoo Putnam sat cross-legged as he worked on a broken trap. The slightest bump to the trap, and it would snap shut. Putnam looked up from his work when wind, snow and a young Indian came through the entrance. The young man was handsome, with thick black hair. His hair was so long that it was kept in a net that hung down his back. Putnam eyed the rabbit held in the Indian"s hand and smiled.

“What you got there?” He asked.

“White Crow gives to you,” he said, handing the dressed rabbit to Putnam.

“Well set yourself down. I"ll stick this critter on the fire. You"ll stay and eat?”

White Crow answered with a flash of teeth in a broad smile. Dropping his buffalo robe to the floor, he squatted by the fire. His blue eyes were watching Putnam"s every move as he prepared the rabbit for the cooking fire.

As Putnam worked, he watched the boy. It was his first winter with this tribe. He"d heard about the white Indian from other trappers but put it off as just another tale told around the fire.

While the rabbit cooked, Putnam again began to fiddle with the trigger of the trap. White Crow watched Putnam set the trap and placed it on the floor. Taking a stick, he poked the trap from the side. When nothing happened, he poked the trigger, and the jaws snapped shut on the stick.

“That ought to get it,” he said, as he removed the stick from the jaws and handed it to White Crow. “Here, put that in that sack with the others.”

White Crow took the trap and pulled the bag to him. There were now sixteen traps inside, cleaned and ready for the spring season. He pulled the drawstring tight then pushed the bag upright. That"s when he saw the thick book with water stained pages. The covers had once been black, but wear and moisture had turned them a dirty gray. White Crow opened the book. On the open page, he saw a drawing of a young man dressed in a loincloth. His arm was pulled back with a sling whirling over his head. At the feet of the boy lay a pile of armor. In front of him stood a giant with a spear and a sword, dressed in full armor. White Crow looked up at Putnam questioningly.

“That"s David and Goliath,” said Putnam. “See the armor? The king, David"s chief, gave him armor to fight the giant warrior, Goliath. But David didn"t use it. David said the Great Spirit would protect him. That"s a sling he"s using. It can throw a rock like a bullet. He killed Goliath with it, and the enemy soldiers ran away.”

“He was a Dog Soldier?” asked White Crow.

“Well no, he was a shepherd. That"s a boy who protected the tribe"s sheep. He had a vision that told him to fight, and that he would win a great victory and become chief.”

“What are these?” asked White Crow pointing at the words.

“Those are words. They tell the story. Here let me show you. “And David went down to the river and selected five round stones and placed them in his pouch.”

“They say that?”

“Yes, here.” Putnam placed his finger under each word as he read.

“You will show me how this is?” asked White Crow.

“So you want me to teach you how to read, do you?”

The blue eyes fixed on Putnam"s face, “Yes, teach me to read.”

“Old Putnam worked with me all that winter. He had several books, even some Shakespeare. When spring came, I could get by. Later, there was many a night that we would read to each other.

“Putnam was born and raised in Virginia. His father grew cotton and tobacco. He was schooled; even had some college. It was at college where his life changed. He met a girl and fell in love. However, a local boy was jealous. He took offense to their relationship and challenged Putnam to a duel. Putnam chose pistols and shot him dead. Well, there was hell to pay. Both boys" families were wealthy and powerful. The duel was in the dead boy"s town, so his family had the edge with the law and had Putnam arrested. Sometime during the night, two men who worked for Putnam"s father showed up and broke him out of jail. His father met him on the road with a good horse and a bag of coin and sent him on his way. Putnam ended up in Missouri, and because he could read, write and do numbers, he got work with a fur trading company. The next year, he went out with the supply wagon to buy beaver pelts and sell supplies to the Mountain Men. Well, when he returned to Missouri, he quit his job, bought two horses, a set of traps and a Hawken rifle. He headed for the Yellowstone and never looked back.”

Carlos asked, “Why did they call him Yahoo?”

“He got the name "Yahoo" when he"d gone out with the supply train. Putnam had a voice you could hear over a stampede in a thunderstorm. When excited or angry, his voice would rise, and anything with ears could hear him for miles!”

“So you left the tribe then? You went with Putnam?”

“Yes, but it wasn"t an easy thing to do. I told my father I was excited to go, but that I also felt great pain at leaving. My father, a wise man, said that I should go with the white man and learn their ways. So I went with Putnam. He taught me to read, write and do numbers. Putnam said that I would be with white men and that I should have a Christian name. He named me Isaiah Crow, after the Christian Saint, Isaiah, the protector of widows and orphans, just like a Dog Soldier.

“We"d trapped together a few seasons, then one day Yahoo started talking in a slurred voice and fell to the ground. I took him back to our camp. When he didn"t get better, I built a cabin to protect him from the weather and make him comfortable. He died a short time later.”

The three men rode in silence for a distance, and then Carlos asked, “So Isaiah, you can read, write and do numbers?”

“Yes, I can do that.”

“Amigo, I think you may have a bright future here.”