(A hundred years have passed, when thehillside and the Nishinam in theirtemporary camp are revealed. The springis flowing, and Women are filling gourdswith water. Red Cloud and Dew-Woman stand apart from their people.)Shaman(Pointing.)There is a sign.The spring lives.The water flows from the springAnd all is well with the Nishinam.PeopleThere is a sign.The spring lives.The water flows from the spring.War Chief(Boastingly.)Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!All is well with the Nishinam.Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!It is I who have made all well with the Nishinam.Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!I led our young men against the Napa.Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!We left no man living of the camp.Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!ShamanGreat is our War Chief!Good is war!No more will the Napa hunt our meat.No more will the Napa pick our berries.No more will the Napa catch our fish.PeopleNo more will the Napa hunt our meat.No more will the Napa pick our berries.No more will the Napa catch our fish.War ChiefHoh! Hoh! Hoh!The War Chiefs before me made all well withthe 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.PeopleHoh! Hoh! Hoh!The Sun Man lied.Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!The Sun Man lied.Shaman(Derisively.)Red Cloud is sick. He lives in dreams. Everhe dreams of the wonders of the Sun Man.Red CloudThe Sun Man was strong. The Sun Man wasa life-maker. The Sun Man planted acorns,and cut quickly with a knife not of bone norstone, and of grasses and hides made cunningcloth that is better than all grasses and hides.—Old Man, where is the cunning cloth that isbetter 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 NishinamLive to-day to tell the story;I alone of all the NishinamSaw the Sun Man come among us,Heard the Sun Man and his Sun MenSing their death-song here among usEre 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 MenWore nor hair nor hide nor birdskin.Cloth they wore from beaten grassesWoven like our willow baskets,Willow-woven acorn basketsWomen make in acorn season.(Old Man hands piece of cloth to RedCloud.)Red Cloud(Admiring cloth.)The Sun Man was an acorn-planter, and wekilled the Sun Man. We were not kind. Wemade a blood-debt. Blood-debts are not good.ShamanThe Sun Man lied. His brothers did not comeafter. There is no blood-debt when there is noone to make us pay.Red CloudHe who plants acorns reaps food, and food islife. He who sows war reaps war, and war is death.People(Encouraged by Shaman and War Chiefto 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 ofthe young hunters to speak)First HunterTo the south, not far, I wandered and livedwith the Petaluma. With my eyes I did notsee, but it was told me by those whose eyes hadseen, that still to the south, not far, were manySun Men—war chiefs who carry the thunder intheir hands; cloth-makers and weavers of clothlike to that in Red Cloud's hand; acorn-planterswho plant all manner of strange seeds that ripento rich harvests of food that is good. And therehad been trouble. The Petaluma had killedSun Men, and many Petaluma had the Sun Menkilled.Second HunterTo the east, not far, I wandered and lived withthe 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 thelands of the Tule tribes, were many Sun Men—war chiefs and cloth-makers and acorn-planters.And there had been trouble. The Solano hadkilled Sun Men, and many Solano had the Sun Men killed.Third HunterTo the north, and far, I wandered and livedwith the Klamath. With my own eyes I didnot see, but it was told me by those whose eyeshad seen, that still to the north, and far, weremany Sun Men—war chiefs and cloth-makersand acorn-planters. And there had been trouble.The Klamath had killed Sun Men, and manyKlamath had the Sun Men killed.Fourth HunterTo the west, not far, three days gone Iwandered, where, from the mountain, I lookeddown upon the great sea. With my own eyesI saw. It was like a great bird that swam uponthe water. It had great wings like to our greattrees here. And on its back I saw men, manymen, and they were Sun Men. With my owneyes I saw.Red CloudWe shall be kind to the Sun Men when theycome among us.War Chief(Dancing stiff-legged.)Hoh! 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 andWar Chief encouraging it, while RedCloud and Dew-Woman stand sadly ata distance.)(Rifle shots ring out from every side. Upthe hillside appear Sun Men firing rifles.The Nishinam reel to death from theirdancing.)(Red Cloud shields Dew-Woman withone arm about her, and with the other armmakes the peace-sign)(The massacre is complete, Dew-Womanand Red Cloud being the last to fall.Red Cloud, wounded, the sole survivor,rests on his elbow and watches the SunMen assemble about their leader)(The Sun Men are the type of pioneerAmericans who, even before the discoveryof gold, were already drifting across theSierras and down into Oregon andCalifornia with their oxen and great wagons.With here and there a Rocky Mountaintrapper or a buckskin-clad scout of theKit Carson type, in the main they arebackwoods farmers. All carry the longrifle of the period.)(The Sun Man is buckskin-clad, with longblond hair sweeping his shoulders.)Sun Men(Led by Sun Man.)We crossed the Western OceanThree hundred years ago,We cleared New England's forestsThree hundred years ago.Blow high, blow low,Heigh hi, heigh ho,We cleared New England's forestsThree hundred years ago.We climbed the AlleghaniesTwo hundred years ago,We reached the SusquehannaTwo hundred years ago.Blow high, blow low,Heigh hi, heigh ho,We reached the SusquehannaTwo hundred years ago.We crossed the MississippiOne hundred years ago,And glimpsed the Rocky MountainsOne hundred years ago.Blow high, blow low,Heigh hi, heigh ho,And glimpsed the Rocky MountainsOne hundred years ago.We passed the Rocky MountainsA year or so ago,And crossed the salty desertsA year or so ago.Blow high, blow low,Heigh hi, heigh ho,And crossed the salty desertsA year or so ago.We topped the high SierrasBut a few days ago,And saw great CaliforniaBut a few days ago.Blow high, blow low,Heigh hi, heigh ho,And saw great CaliforniaBut a few days ago.We crossed Sonoma's mountainsAn hour or so ago,And found this mighty forestAn hour or so ago.Blow high, blow low,Heigh hi, heigh ho,And found this mighty forestAn hour or so ago.Sun Man(Glancing about at the slain and at the giantforest.)Good the day, good the deed, and good thisCalifornia land.Red CloudNot with these eyes, but with other eyes in mylives before, have I beheld you. You are theSun Man.(The attention of all is drawn to RedCloud, and they group about him and theSun Man.)Sun ManCall me White Man. Though in truth wefollow the sun. All our lives have we followedthe sunset sun, as our fathers followed it beforeus.Red CloudAnd you slay us with the thunder in your hand.You slay us because we slew your brothers.Sun Man(Nodding to Red Cloud and addressinghis own followers)You see, it was no mistake. He confesses it.Other white men have they slain.Red CloudThere will come a day when men will not slaymen and when all men will be brothers. And inthat day all men will plant acorns.Sun ManYou speak well, brother.Red CloudEver was I for peace, but in war I did not command.Ever I sought the secrets of the growingthings, the times and seasons for planting. EverI planted acorns, making two black oak treesgrow where one grew before. And now all isended. Oh my black oak acorns! My blackoak acorns! Who will plant them now?Sun ManBe of good cheer. We, too, are planters.Rich is your land here. Not from poor soil cansuch trees sprout heavenward. We will plantmany seeds and grow mighty harvests.Red CloudI planted the short acorns in the valley. Iplanted the long acorns in the valley. I madefood for life.Sun ManYou planted well, brother, but not well enough.It is for that reason that you pass. Your fatvalley grows food but for a handful of men. Weshall plant your fat valley and grow food for tenthousand men.Red CloudEver I counseled peace and planting.Sun ManSome day all men will counsel peace. Noman will slay his fellow. All men will plant.Red CloudBut before that day you will slay, as you havethis day slain us?Sun ManYou killed our brothers first. Blood-debts mustbe paid. It is man's way upon the earth. Butmore, O brother! We follow the sunset sun, andthe way before us is red with war. The waybehind us is white with peace. Ever, beforeus, we make room for life. Ever we slay thesqualling crawling things of the wild. Ever weclear the land and destroy the weeds that blockthe way of life for the seeds we plant. We aremany, and many are our brothers that come afteralong the way of peace we blaze. Where youmake two black oaks grow in the place of one,we make an hundred. And where we make onegrow, our brothers who come after make anhundred hundred.Red CloudTruly are you the Sun Man. We knew aboutyou of old time. Our old men knew and sang ofyou:White and shining was the Sun Man,Blue his eyes were as the sky-blue,Bright his hair was as dry grass is,Warm his eyes were as the sun is,Fruit and flower were in his glances,All he looked on grew and sprouted,Where his glance fell grasses seeded,Where his feet fell sprang upstartingBuckeye woods and hazel thickets,Berry bushes, manzanita,Till his pathway was a garden,Flowing after like a riverLaughing into bud and blossom.
SONG OF THE PIONEERSSun MenOur brothers follow on the trail we blaze.Where howled the wolf and ached the naked plainSpring bounteous harvests at our brothers' hands;In place of war's alarums, peaceful days;Above the warrior's grave the golden grainTurns deserts grim and stark to laughing lands.Sun ManWe cleared New England's flinty slopes and plowedHer rocky fields to fairness in the sun,But fared we westward always for we soughtA land of golden richness and we knewThe land was waiting on the sunset trail.Where we found forest we left fertile fields,We bridled rivers wild to grind our corn,The deer-paths turned to roadways at our heels,Our axes felled the trees that bridged the streams,And fenced the meadow pastures for our kine.Sun MenOur brothers follow on the trail we blaze;Where howled the wolf and ached the naked plainSpring bounteous harvests at our brothers' hands;In place of war's alarums, peaceful days;Above the warrior's grave the golden grainTurns deserts grim and stark to laughing lands.Sun ManBeyond the Mississippi still we fared,And rested weary by the River PlatteUntil the young grass velveted the Plains,Then yoked again our oxen to the trailThat ever led us west to farthest west.Our women toiled beside us, and our young,And helped to break the soil and plant the corn,And fought beside us in the battle frontTo fight of arrow, whine of bullet, whenWe chained our circled wagons wheel to wheel.Sun MenOur brothers follow on the trail we blaze;Where howled the wolf and ached the naked plainSpring bounteous harvests at our brothers hands;In place of war's alarums, peaceful days;Above the warrior's grave the golden grainTurns deserts grim and stark to laughing lands.Sun ManThe rivers sank beneath the desert sand,The tall pines dwarfed to sage-brush, and the grassGrew sparse and bitter in the alkali,But fared we always toward the setting sun.Our oxen famished till the last one diedAnd our great wagons rested in the snow.We climbed the high Sierras and looked downFrom winter bleak upon the land we sought,A sunny land, a rich and fruitful land,The warm and golden California land.Sun MenOur brothers follow on the trail we blaze;Where howled the wolf and ached the naked plainSpring bounteous harvests at our brothers' hands;In place of war's alarums, peaceful days;Above the warrior's grave the golden grainTurns deserts grim and stark to laughing lands.(The hillside begins to darken.)Red Cloud(Faintly.)The darkness is upon me. You are acorn-planters. You are my brothers. The darknessis upon me and I pass.Sun Men(As total darkness descends.)Our brothers follow on the trail we blaze;Where howled the wolf and ached the naked plainSpring bounteous harvests at our brothers' hands;In place of war's alarums, peaceful days;Above the warrior's grave the golden grainTurns deserts grim and stark to laughing lands.
Red CloudGood tidings! Good tidingsTo the sons of men!Good tidings! Good tidings!War is dead!(Light begins to suffuse the hillside, revealingRed Cloud far up the hillside in acommanding position on an out-jut ofrock.)Lo, the New Day dawns,The day of brotherhood,The day when all menShall be kind to all men,And all men shall be sowers of life.(From every side a burst of voices.)Hail to Red Cloud!The Acorn-Planter!The Life-Maker!Hail! All hail!The New Day dawns,The day of brotherhood,The day of man.(A band of Warriors appears on hillside.)WarriorsHail, Red Cloud!Mightier than all fighting men!The slayer of War!We are not sad.Our eyes were blinded.We did not know one acorn plantedWas mightier than an hundred fighting men.We are not sad.Our red work was whenThe world was young and wild.The world has grown wise.No man slays his brother.Our work is done.In the light of the new day are we glad.(A band of Pioneers and Sea Explorersappears.)Pioneers and ExplorersHail, Red Cloud!The first planter!The Acorn-Planter!We sang that War would die,The anarch of our wild and wayward past.We sang our brothers would come after,Turning desert into garden,Sowing friendship, and not hatred,Planting seeds instead of dead men,Growing men to manhood in the sun.(A band of Husbandmen appear, bearingfruit and sheaves of grain and corn.)HusbandmenHail, Red Cloud!The first planter!The Acorn-Planter!The harvests no more are red, but golden,We are thy children.We plant for increase,Increase of wheat and corn,Of fruit and flower,Of sheep and kine,Of love and lovers;Rich are our harvestsAnd many are our lovers.Red CloudDeath is a stench in the nostrils,Life is beauty and joy.The planters are ever brothers.Never are the warriors brothers;Their ways are set apart,Their hands raised each against each.The planters' ways are the one way.Ever they plant for life,For life more abundant,For beauty of head and hand,For the voices of children playing,And the laughter of maids in the twilightAnd the lover's song in the gloom.All VoicesHail, Red Cloud!The first planter!The Acorn-Planter!The maker of life!Hail! All hail!The New Day dawns,The day of brotherhood,The day of man!
THE END