The Acorn-Planter | Page 9

Hoh! Hoh!?Let the Sun Men come!?Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!?We will kill the Sun Men when they come!
{People}?_(As they join in the war dance.)_?Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!?Let the Sun Men come!?Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!?We will kill the Sun Men when they come.
_(The dance grows wilder, the Shaman and?War Chief encouraging it, while Red?Cloud and Dew-Woman stand sadly at?a distance.)_
_(Rifle shots ring out from every side. Up?the hillside appear Sun Men firing rifles.?The Nishinam reel to death from their?dancing.)_
_(Red Cloud shields Dew-Woman with?one arm about her, and with the other arm?makes the peace-sign)_
_(The massacre is complete, Dew-Woman?and Red Cloud being the last to fall.?Red Cloud, wounded, the sole survivor,?rests on his elbow and watches the Sun?Men assemble about their leader)_
_(The Sun Men are the type of pioneer?Americans who, even before the discovery?of gold, were already drifting across the?Sierras and down into Oregon and?California with their oxen and great wagons.?With here and there a Rocky Mountain?trapper or a buckskin-clad scout of the?Kit Carson type, in the main they are?backwoods farmers. All carry the long?rifle of the period.)_
_(The Sun Man is buckskin-clad, with long?blond hair sweeping his shoulders.)_
{Sun Men}?_(Led by Sun Man.)_?We crossed the Western Ocean
Three hundred years ago,?We cleared New England's forests
Three hundred years ago.
Blow high, blow low,?Heigh hi, heigh ho,?We cleared New England's forests
Three hundred years ago.
We climbed the Alleghanies
Two hundred years ago,?We reached the Susquehanna
Two hundred years ago.
Blow high, blow low,?Heigh hi, heigh ho,?We reached the Susquehanna
Two hundred years ago.
We crossed the Mississippi
One hundred years ago,?And glimpsed the Rocky Mountains
One hundred years ago.
Blow high, blow low,?Heigh hi, heigh ho,?And glimpsed the Rocky Mountains
One hundred years ago.
We passed the Rocky Mountains
A year or so ago,?And crossed the salty deserts
A year or so ago.
Blow high, blow low,?Heigh hi, heigh ho,?And crossed the salty deserts
A year or so ago.
We topped the high Sierras
But a few days ago,?And saw great California
But a few days ago.
Blow high, blow low,?Heigh hi, heigh ho,?And saw great California
But a few days ago.
We crossed Sonoma's mountains
An hour or so ago,?And found this mighty forest
An hour or so ago.
Blow high, blow low,?Heigh hi, heigh ho,?And found this mighty forest
An hour or so ago.
{Sun Man}?_(Glancing about at the slain and at the giant?forest.)_?Good the day, good the deed, and good this?California land.
{Red Cloud}?Not with these eyes, but with other eyes in my?lives before, have I beheld you. You are the?Sun Man.
_(The attention of all is drawn to Red?Cloud, and they group about him and the?Sun Man.)_
{Sun Man}?Call me White Man. Though in truth we?follow the sun. All our lives have we followed?the sunset sun, as our fathers followed it before?us.
{Red Cloud}?And you slay us with the thunder in your hand.?You slay us because we slew your brothers.
{Sun Man}?_(Nodding to Red Cloud and addressing?his own followers)_?You see, it was no mistake. He confesses it.?Other white men have they slain.
{Red Cloud}?There will come a day when men will not slay?men and when all men will be brothers. And in?that day all men will plant acorns.
{Sun Man}?You speak well, brother.
{Red Cloud}?Ever was I for peace, but in war I did not command.?Ever I sought the secrets of the growing?things, the times and seasons for planting. Ever?I planted acorns, making two black oak trees?grow where one grew before. And now all is?ended. Oh my black oak acorns! My black?oak acorns! Who will plant them now?
{Sun Man}?Be of good cheer. We, too, are planters.?Rich is your land here. Not from poor soil can?such trees sprout heavenward. We will plant?many seeds and grow mighty harvests.
{Red Cloud}?I planted the short acorns in the valley. I?planted the long acorns in the valley. I made?food for life.
{Sun Man}?You planted well, brother, but not well enough.?It is for that reason that you pass. Your fat?valley grows food but for a handful of men. We?shall plant your fat valley and grow food for ten?thousand men.
{Red Cloud}?Ever I counseled peace and planting.
{Sun Man}?Some day all men will counsel peace. No?man will slay his fellow. All men will plant.
{Red Cloud}?But before that day you will slay, as you have?this day slain us?
{Sun Man}?You killed our brothers first. Blood-debts must?be paid. It is man's way upon the earth. But?more, O brother! We follow the sunset sun, and?the way before us is red with war. The way?behind us is white with peace. Ever, before?us, we make room for life. Ever we slay the?squalling crawling things of the wild. Ever we?clear the land and destroy the weeds that block?the way of life for the seeds we plant. We are?many, and many are our brothers that come after?along the way of peace we blaze. Where you?make two black oaks grow in the place of one,?we make an hundred. And where we make one?grow, our brothers who come after make an?hundred hundred.
{Red Cloud}?Truly are you the Sun Man. We knew about?you of old time. Our old men knew and sang of?you:
White and shining