Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 10:35:42 -0400
From: Chris Johns <chris-johns@hotmail.com>
Subject: Education Wild West Style Pt 7

			Education, Wild West Style
				 Chapter 7
			  A new beginning for Tom

On the reservation again it was almost like Tom and Little Buffalo, Luke
and Running Bear, were joined at the hip. They could hardly bear to be
apart from each other until they had assuaged their lust with their
lovers. Then it was down to some serious work.

The first serious piece of work was to get English speaking members of the
new tribe they were going to work with and try to emulate the same thing
with that they were already doing with Lone Arrow's. Luke suggested that
Tom start to groom Little Buffalo to be a reservation policeman, then he
could take him to the new location and parting would not be an issue. Both
things worked.

Several members of the new tribe who had lived close to the white men at
the frontier fort close to the tribal grounds spoke good English so Tom
moved there with his detachment, and Little Buffalo of course.  The change
brought problems for Luke. Tom's replacement was not a sympathiser and
started to cause trouble. The two NCOs came to Luke to tell him of
incidents that were causing resentment among the Indians. The culmination
was when he pistol whipped Running Bear for an incident. Luke went berserk
and had the lieutenant trussed up by members of the tribe, slung over his
horse and Luke took him into the fort.

The colonel wasn't sure whether he should laugh or cry at the spectacle and
ensuing conversation. Luke was like a cat on a hot tin roof he was so
angry. He had Running Bear with him so that the colonel could see why. The
fort doctor dressed Running Bear's wounds after the colonel had seen them
and then listened to the lieutenant who came across as an Indian
hater. Using the word savages when talking about the gentle people of Lone
Arrow's tribe was enough.

"I think Mr. Atherton should be arrested Sir, and thrown in the brig. A
good spell in jail would do him good for assaulting an army officer."

"I think a better idea Lieutenant will be to post you to Colonel Custer's
command where you can take out your hatred of the Indians on the Apaches
giving him so much trouble. Two years loss of seniority will go with you
and if you can't be more dispassionate in your feelings towards the Indians
you will lose much more before the Indian question is settled."

"I'm sorry Luke, I hope the doctor will be able to repair the damage to
Running Bear. Please take my apology and condolences back to Lone Arrow for
the action of this officer."

The lieutenant was speechless never expecting this kind of support for an
Indian tribe. Unfortunately he didn't live long enough to learn. He was
with Custer at the Little Big Horn when so many Cavalrymen died.

Luke and Running Bear returned to the village with another young second
lieutenant, not anti Indian and two new troopers.

"He is a good officer Luke, for one so young. I have put him under your
direct command so you can teach him and discipline him. You know the
officer's code so you should have no more problems. I have another two
troopers I would like you to take and train as well. I want you to double
the size of your police force because we are getting an increased flow of
settlers and your tribal lands are very attractive."

This was going to give Luke lots of problems he was sure. Michael and Brett
would have to be more discreet as would he with Running Bear. There would
be lots of work teaching more of the tribe English and integrating more
into the reservation police force.

Lone Arrow appreciated what Luke was doing and was as co-operative as he
could be. The new Lt. was impressed with how well received the new
cavalrymen were, but was disappointed at the obvious suspicion with which
he was greeted.

"Bill, your predecessor caused trouble here and injured the Chief's
youngest son. You will have to prove you have the interests of the tribe at
heart if you are to be accepted. Learn the language, take guidance from
your sergeant and corporal, they have both been with this tribe for more
than two years. Treat the young braves with respect when you are teaching
them, they aren't savages."

Bill had been briefed by the colonel before taking up this post and knew
quite a lot about Luke and his two NCOs. He was ambitious so if he could
make a success of this posting perhaps he would get accelerated promotion
like Tom Arnold so he watched and learnt. Of course he saw things he
thought were not quite right so he went to Luke with his worries.

"Luke, I have been watching and learning for several weeks now and I think
I can handle the job. My problem and worry is that Hudson and Tanner are
almost like Indians now instead of cavalrymen. I am sure that their actions
with some of the braves aren't quite correct for military personnel
either."

Luke sat Bill down and told him what he had told Tom when he actually
caught Michael Hudson having sex with a brave. Of course he didn't tell
Bill about the sexual side.

"But that is contrary to civil and military law Luke, they should be
disciplined."

"Put aside those thoughts for a minute and tell me how you think the two of
them perform their duties and how effective you think their attitude to the
braves helps their performance."

Bill blushed a little as he formulated his reply.

"They are liked and trusted by the trainees Luke, so they learn
quickly. They are quite patently integrated totally into the tribe and I
know they sleep in tepees most nights, instead of here in the camp. But
this is all wrong."

"Bill, if you spent one year of your life being treated like a woman by a
tribe of Indians don't you think you would have adapted to survive?"

Bill realised then that Luke was speaking sense and then it clicked.

"You were a prisoner the same, weren't you?"

"Yes Bill."

"And Running Bear is your lover?"

"Yes Bill. Before you say or do something you might regret, think on
this. We are doing a job here that is good for a whole tribe, keeping them
on their own lands. The cavalrymen at the fort were being slaughtered on
nearly all the patrols that tried to find Lone Arrow's people, so we are
saving large numbers of lives there, and the colonel can now keep the
lawlessness of the towns under control because he isn't using his resources
to hunt rebel bands. The Senate in Washington is 100% behind me and is
using this experiment to expand the scheme. If you want to be the oldest
Lt. in the army just make waves about what you perceive as improper conduct
here."

Bill had much to think about during the next few days before accepting what
Luke said.

Bill did take on board Luke's brief and was a success. He did get his
accelerated promotion, but only to a captain. Michael Hudson and Brett
Tanner both obtained field commissions and joined Tom Arnold and Bill in a
special unit set up to carry on the work started by Luke. A series of
troopers did field training with Luke and Running Bear before joining the
same unit.

Luke, Tom Arnold and Luke Snr. would sit down every few months in
Washington to discuss progress.  Unfortunately there were not many success
stories but Luke's tribe remained one of them. When the colonel changed at
the fort, Luke went through a rocky spell until he, and the reservation
police had convinced the new commander that he should be grateful for a
simple job instead of fighting Indian wars like most other commanders.

Much pressure was placed on Luke after his five year stint to hand over to
another white administrator with Running Bear as his aide but Luke fought
it and remained in charge, with no white supervisors, keeping the
reservation police trained and mediating occasionally with settlers that
tried to encroach on the tribal lands.

His only concession to his father's wishes was to spend short spells of
time in Washington as an advisor on Indian affairs.

When Lone Arrow died, Running Bear became supreme chief with Luke at his
side, a much respected member of the tribe now.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I would like to have kept this story going because I like Luke and Running
Bear, but I didn't know where to take it. I hope you enjoyed it and will
let me know.

It has been pointed out to me that in some of the earlier chapters I spelt
Lone Arrow's name 'Loan Arrow'.  I apologise if it spoilt your appreciation
of this story in any way.

My next posting will probably go to College section. It's a five part story
called, "College Challenge"