12/02/2023
Iron Eagle was considered the greatest War Chief of the Cheyenne. He fought many battles, always winning.
He was not afraid of any other man or Tribe. His courage was legendary and he and his horse, always the fastest, were the pride of his Tribe.
One day Iron Eagle's brother, Four Fingers, came to tell him that Spotted Fawn, the most beautiful woman in the Tribe had agreed that he also wanted to marry Spotted Fawn. But Four Fingers knew he did not stand a chance. He was not a great warrior, because he was crippled.
As a small boy he had lost both his thumbs in an accident so.. his name. Without a grip, he was unable to throw a spear or hold a knife as well as others. Never would he have a beautiful woman or win a war like Iron Eagle. His only consolation was that the people considered him special because four was a sacred number
There were four seasons, four directions, and four names for Spirit, and this man had only four fingers; that was a special sign. Iron Eagle was very happy with the news of Spotted Fawn. To celebrate, he declared that he and a group of warriors would attack their age-old enemies, the Arapaho.
Iron Eagle gathered the warriors together and set out the next day, telling Spotted Fawn he would bring her a victory for a wedding present. It would be his greatest victory. But Spotted Fawn could not stand to see him go off to war alone, so she dressed like a warrior and rode out with the war party. She would not let him fight alone. The only one who recognized her was Four Fingers. The battle turned out to be a very difficult one for the Cheyenne. They were greatly outnumbered by the Arapaho, but Iron Eagle still felt he could win.
Then, suddenly, he noticed a strange thing. One of his warriors, who had been fatally struck by an arrow, fell from his horse and long, black hair fell from the headband. The warrior was a woman. Then Iron Eagle realized it was Spotted, Fawn. She was dead, killed by the Arapaho Chief.
Everyone seemed to realize at once what had happened. All the warriors stopped fighting, for they realized that a woman had been killed. Both sides stopped and there was silence on the battlefield. Then Iron Eagle, in revenge, sped for the Arapaho Chief.
He would get revenge for the death of this woman. But the Arapaho Chief made a deceptive move and evaded Iron Eagle and stabbed him.
Then the Arapaho Chief raised his spear over Iron Eagle and Spotted Fawn and the Cheyenne began to run. Their great Chief had been killed. Then out of the running pack came Four Fingers. He rode straight for all the Arapaho, who were lined up ready to kill the retreating Cheyenne. One man against all the Arapaho; they couldn't believe it. And when Four Fingers raised his hands in the air, all could see he had no weapons.
The Arapaho Chief sat on his horse, hypnotized by the lone warrior who would challenge the Arapaho without a weapon. Then Four Fingers knocked the Arapaho Chief off his horse and jumped on him. Four Fingers reached out with a deformed hand and touched the Arapaho Chief. He did not hurt him. He stood up, facing the Arapaho, and raised a hand straight up in front of the chief with his four fingers raised and said, "How" which means "Peace".
The Arapaho saw that he had only four fingers and they knew he was a holy man. Because of his courage, they answered him in return with "How". Since that time the Arapaho and the Cheyenne have never fought one another. And the four-finger peace sign became a sign used by all the people. And during battles, it became common practice for warriors to touch one another to show courage instead of killing each other.
