The Acorn-Planter

The War Chiefs before me made all well with
the Nishinam.
Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
The War Chief of long ago slew the Sun Man.
Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
The Sun Man said his brothers would come after.
Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
The Sun Man lied.

People     Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
The Sun Man lied.
Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
The Sun Man lied.

Shaman     (Derisively.)     Red Cloud is sick. He lives in dreams. Ever
he dreams of the wonders of the Sun Man.

Red Cloud     The Sun Man was strong. The Sun Man was
a life-maker. The Sun Man planted acorns,
and cut quickly with a knife not of bone nor
stone, and of grasses and hides made cunning
cloth that is better than all grasses and hides.
—Old Man, where is the cunning cloth that is
better than all grasses and hides?

Old Man     (Fumbling in his skin pouch for the doth.)     In the many moons aforetime,
Hundred moons and many hundred,
When the old man was the young man,
When the young man was the youngling,
Dragging branches for the campfire,
Stealing suet from the bear-meat,
Cause of trouble to his mother,
Came the Sun Man in the night-time.
I alone of all the Nishinam
Live to-day to tell the story;
I alone of all the Nishinam
Saw the Sun Man come among us,
Heard the Sun Man and his Sun Men
Sing their death-song here among us
Ere they died beneath our arrows,
War Chief's arrows sharp and feathered—

War Chief     (Interrupting braggartly.)     Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!

Old Man     (Producing cloth.)     And the Sun Man and his Sun Men
Wore nor hair nor hide nor birdskin.
Cloth they wore from beaten grasses
Woven like our willow baskets,
Willow-woven acorn baskets
Women make in acorn season.

(Old Man hands piece of cloth to Red
Cloud.)
Red Cloud     (Admiring cloth.)     The Sun Man was an acorn-planter, and we
killed the Sun Man. We were not kind. We
made a blood-debt. Blood-debts are not good.

Shaman     The Sun Man lied. His brothers did not come
after. There is no blood-debt when there is no
one to make us pay.

Red Cloud     He who plants acorns reaps food, and food is
life. He who sows war reaps war, and war is death.

People     (Encouraged by Shaman and War Chief
to drown out Red Cloud's voice.)     Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
The Sun Man is dead!
Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
The Sun Man and his Sun Men are dead!

Red Cloud     (Shaking his head.)     His brothers of the Sun are coming after.
I have reports.

(Red Cloud beckons one after another of
the young hunters to speak)
First Hunter     To the south, not far, I wandered and lived
with the Petaluma. With my eyes I did not
see, but it was told me by those whose eyes had
seen, that still to the south, not far, were many
Sun Men—war chiefs who carry the thunder in
their hands; cloth-makers and weavers of cloth
like to that in Red Cloud's hand; acorn-planters
who plant all manner of strange seeds that ripen
to rich harvests of food that is good. And there
had been trouble. The Petaluma had killed
Sun Men, and many Petaluma had the Sun Men
killed.

Second Hunter     To the east, not far, I wandered and lived with
the Solano. With my own eyes I did not see,
but it was told me by those whose eyes had seen,
that still to the east, not far, and just beyond the
lands of the Tule tribes, were many Sun Men—
war chiefs and cloth-makers and acorn-planters.
And there had been trouble. The Solano had
killed Sun Men, and many Solano had the Sun Men killed.

Third Hunter     To the north, and far, I wandered and lived
with the Klamath. With my own eyes I did
not see, but it was told me by those whose eyes