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Back to Wesoomi's Archives The Legend of Wesoomi: Twenty Eight: Preparations: September 9, 2002: When Wesoomi returned to his village, he found that many of the young ones who were captured had found their way home. The losses of people were not so great as he had feared. The losses in stores would make a difficult winter. The hunt would need to be successful lest there be want in the village. Wesoomi called the elders together and told them of the dire evil planned by Crazy Wolf. "What shall we do?" asked Elder Quiet Stalker. "My thought now is to go to Crazy Wolf and thus spare the Husbandmen." "Nay, Wesoomi," insisted the elder. "That would avail naught. He would slay you and that would change nothing. He would be stronger and more deadly." "Perhaps that be true," agreed Wesoomi. I know not what to do. I must needs seek the counsel of my mother." "It seems we have little time," worried Quiet Stalker. "Aye, Elder. Little indeed. Little Warrior foretells the raid to come at first budding." "Then you will seek The counsel of the Golden Earth Mother soon." "I leave at first light for my forest shelter." "It is good, Wesoomi. We must needs trust in you and the Great Spirit." "In the Great spirit, to be sure," smiled Wesoomi. When the eastern sky began to glow red, Wesoomi prepared a pouch with food and water. Then he turned his face along the trail to his forest shelter where the two streams joined. In two days, he arrived. He had built well and the shelter stood as he had left it so many summers ago. He sat beneath the roof and began sending his entreat to the Great Spirit and his mother. All that day and night he sent his praise and begged counsel. Into the following day he continued. It was in the perfect still of the second night when the moon stood high that she came. Wesoomi had closed his eyes and, upon opening them, he beheld the Golden Earth Mother standing before him. She stood tall and beautiful as always. "You have come," he said. "As is your need, so I shall come at the great Spirits bidding." "I praise you and the Great Spirit, good mother." "As you must for you are the appointed one. As you be, so be the Nation of People." "I pray to be worthy." "As you are. Now, you must needs heed my message." "I listen for you words." "You have learned of the evil in the heart of Crazy Wolf. It be his wish to usurp the power given you by the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit be angered with this madness. It must not come to pass. Little Warrior spoke true. You must become a warrior. You must prepare the Husbandmen to battle this evil. It must be ended." "I am no warrior, mother. The taking of life be not within me. Each man be like my own brother. How can I do this thing?" ""Hear me my son. Do not deny your duty. The Great Spirit has spoken. You are a warrior. You must do your duty" "I will struggle to do what must be done." "Your struggle will succeed my son. As each man be your brother, each man be also of the Great Spirit. As each man does evil or good, so he changes his bond to the Great Spirit. Many of the Bandar have drawn away from the Great Spirit. So too of the wild ones. These too be of the Great Spirit, but they drew away in times long past. "As you do battle, many of these will perish, but know this: No man must perish forever. It be their duty to find their way back to the Great spirit. Many must needs perish of this earth and suffer greatly err they find their way. This be not your concern. This be in the domain of the Great Spirit. It be your duty to prepare the Husbandmen for the coming ordeal. It be your duty to become a warrior of the Great Spirit." "I will do as you bid, mother. How will I become a true warrior?" "You have already in your heart the will of the warrior. In your head you have the knowledge of the warrior leader. You must combine these things. It is not yours to combat men. It is yours to understand the battle and so direct men. "You must teach each man the use of the spear and the bow. You must lead them in the practice until their aim is true and their strength is full. You must teach them to strengthen their bodies. They must learn to run for a full day without faltering. This be most important. When the Husbandmen are ready, you must inspire them to continue preparing. They must remain strong. No man must falter in battle. They must be full prepared for a fierce ordeal. "For the battle, you must look at all things near and consider all things possible. You must know what will occur ere it occurs. In you head, you must see the battle unfold err it begins. "It is yours to take all advantage. You must know the place of the battle. You must know where each warrior will be. You must know the strength and weakness of each place and each of your warriors. You must keep all of this knowledge fresh in your head as the battle unfolds. "You will have the advantage that Crazy Wolf will not know of your plan. Through Little Warrior, you will know of his plan. By your own runners, you will learn where he is even as he leaves his village. You will know and you will be prepared. You will succeed." "I will do as you bid, mother." "It is well. I go now." Wesoomi watched as the image of his mother faded into the moonlight until there was only moonlight. Then he fell into a deep sleep. At first light, he was awakened by the chirping of birds. He arose, did his morning rituals and began the journey home. He arrived late on the second day as the first snow of the winter was falling. At his arrival, the Husbandmen gather outside the door of the longhouse. Wesoomi then told them of the commands given him by his mother. There were some wide eyes and some looks of surprise as he told them they were to become warriors. "We be no warriors," insisted Soft Hand. "You speak true," agreed Wesoomi. "You be no warriors. You be husbandmen, but you will be warriors in duty to the Great Spirit and the People of the Nation. It is given us to thwart the plans of Crazy Wolf." "How will we do this thing?" asked Quiet Stalker. "This I must teach you," replied Wesoomi. "I am given, in my head, the knowledge of what a warrior must be. It is yours to know that and to become warriors. Then, when the time comes, I will lead you. It is given me to understand the battle. These things I will explain as needs be. We must begin come first light. We have little time." In the days that followed, Wesoomi found the most successful hunters. These he enjoined to train other Husbandmen in the use of the bow and the spear. There was little Wesoomi need do in that regard. He also took the best runners and studied them to know their skills. These he was able to explain to each of the people and they became runners. Some of the younger ones became very swift and strong runners. These he marked as messengers. As the Husbandmen trained, Wesoomi spent much time looking at the land about the village. He was most interested in the approach to the village. He made several trips over the route that he knew Crazy Wolf would take. He carefully studied the high ground around the final approach. Often, he called counsels with the Husbandmen. In those, over time, he spoke of the tasks of each man. In time, each man knew if he was to be a runner or a spear man or a bow man. He took the Husbandmen in smaller groups over the whole battle area. With the runner messengers he went over the route and showed them where they would be and what they would do. Too the extent possible, he also assigned positions to each group of Husbandmen. Finally he select a point on the high ground where he could be. From there he could watch the battle unfold and send runners if needs be. When he was sure he had prepared as best he could, he went over each detail again. He also kept the Husbandmen constantly preparing. He wished them to remain strong and swift. Back to Wesoomi's Archives
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