One day, not long after the raid on the Assiniboine, Beckwourth watched a group of boys as they played the bow and arrow game, one boy rolling a willow hoop that others shot at with their arrows; just shafts really, with no tip or feathers. It was a pleasure to watch children play, so carefree and joyful, boasting to one another of their prowess. Also nearby, a teenaged boy was being instructed by a woman. Or what seemed at first to be a woman. But the shoulders were too broad, the voice too deep. Beckwourth had heard of berdache among the Indians of the plains; men who chose at a young age to dress as women, and who in every way took up the life of a woman. He watched, fascinated and repulsed at the same time. He was not close enough to hear what was said, but could see that the teen paid
