"In connection with my Indian experience, I conceive it to be my duty to devote a few lines to one of the bravest women that ever lived, namely, Pine Leaf--in Indian, Bar-chee-am-pe. For an Indian, she possessed great intellectual powers. She was endowed with extraordinary muscular strength , with the activity of the cat and the speed of the antelope . Her features were pleasing and her form was symmetrical. She had lost a brother on the attack on our village before mentioned --a great brave, and her twin brother. He was a fine specimen of the race of red men, and bade fair to rise to distinction ; but he was struck down in his strength , and Pine Leaf was left to avenge his death . She was at that time twelve years of age, and she solemnly vowed that she would never marry until she had killed a hundred of the enemy with her own hand. Whenever a war party started, Pine Leaf was the first to volunteer to accompany them . Her presence among them caused much amusement to the old veterans; but if she lacked physical strength , she always rode the fleetest horses, and none of the warriors could outstrip her. All admired her for her ambition , and as she advanced in years , many braves grew anxious for the speedy accomplishment of her vow. She had chosen my party to serve in, and when I engaged in the fiercest struggles , no one was more promptly at my side than the young heroine. She seemed incapable of fear; and when she arrived at womanhood , could fire a gun without flinching , and use the Indian weapons with as great dexterity as the most accomplished warrior.
"I began to feel more than a common attachment toward her. Her intelligence charmed me, and her modesty and becoming demeanor singled her out from her sex. One day, while riding leisurely along, I asked her to marry me, provided we both returned safe. She flashed her dark eyes upon mine, "'You have too many already ," she said . "Do you suppose I would break my vow to the Great Spirit? He sees and knows all things; he would be angry with me, and would not suffer me to live to avenge my brother's death.'
"I told her that my medicine said that I must marry her, and then I could never be vanquished or killed in battle. She laughed and said I will marry you.
"When we return?
"No; but when the pine leaves turn yellow."
P.201-205, THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES P. BECKWOURTH (1856, 1981) as told to Thomas D. Bonner
Saturday, March 24, 2018
PINE LEAF
"In connection with my Indian experience, I conceive it to be my duty to devote a few lines to one of the bravest women that ever lived, namely, Pine Leaf--in Indian, Bar-chee-am-pe. For an Indian, she possessed great intellectual powers. She was endowed with extraordinary muscular strength , with the activity of the cat and the speed of the antelope . Her features were pleasing and her form was symmetrical. She had lost a brother on the attack on our village before mentioned --a great brave, and her twin brother. He was a fine specimen of the race of red men, and bade fair to rise to distinction ; but he was struck down in his strength , and Pine Leaf was left to avenge his death . She was at that time twelve years of age, and she solemnly vowed that she would never marry until she had killed a hundred of the enemy with her own hand. Whenever a war party started, Pine Leaf was the first to volunteer to accompany them . Her presence among them caused much amusement to the old veterans; but if she lacked physical strength , she always rode the fleetest horses, and none of the warriors could outstrip her. All admired her for her ambition , and as she advanced in years , many braves grew anxious for the speedy accomplishment of her vow. She had chosen my party to serve in, and when I engaged in the fiercest struggles , no one was more promptly at my side than the young heroine. She seemed incapable of fear; and when she arrived at womanhood , could fire a gun without flinching , and use the Indian weapons with as great dexterity as the most accomplished warrior.
"I began to feel more than a common attachment toward her. Her intelligence charmed me, and her modesty and becoming demeanor singled her out from her sex. One day, while riding leisurely along, I asked her to marry me, provided we both returned safe. She flashed her dark eyes upon mine, "'You have too many already ," she said . "Do you suppose I would break my vow to the Great Spirit? He sees and knows all things; he would be angry with me, and would not suffer me to live to avenge my brother's death.'
"I told her that my medicine said that I must marry her, and then I could never be vanquished or killed in battle. She laughed and said I will marry you.
"When we return?
"No; but when the pine leaves turn yellow."
P.201-205, THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JAMES P. BECKWOURTH (1856, 1981) as told to Thomas D. Bonner