Masata

Masata was an Indian boy, he lived on the banks of the Ohio River in     Kentucky. During the Revolutionary War in 1771, the Americans were     taking over the land very fast, and when Masata was ten years old his     parents moved to the wild regions of the Dakotas, taking Masata with     them.     Here he enjoyed life although it was much colder than in his native     Kentucky, and in the Winter months he wore coats of fur made from bear     skin.     The days soon became filled with interesting things for Masata. One day     when he was roaming through the wilds, he heard a wild buffalo     approaching. He seemed almost helpless, as he had nothing but a small     bow and a few arrows, and the buffalo was only a short distance from     him. He began to run in what he thought was the direction of his home,     but instead he was going in the opposite way. In a few minutes he saw     the smoke of a camp fire and ran toward it. By this time the beast was     very close to him and he was almost in despair, when the buffalo lurched     forward, then rolled over dead. Three Indians hunting near by had hit     him in a vital spot with an arrow.     The Indians belonged to a tribe which was his father's most bitter     enemy, and they took him before their chief. The chief ordered that he     be let live for two moons, and he was given a bed of dry twigs to sleep     on as the night was drawing near.     Time passed quietly for Masata until the approach of the morning of the     second moon. He had been planning how he would escape from his father's     enemies. Finally one morning he slipped into a bear skin and hopped     bravely off toward the woods. The Indians thinking he was a bear, shot     arrows at him and wounded him in the right arm, but Masata kept     bravely on and was soon out of range of the arrows. Then he bandaged his     wounded arm the best he could and set out for his father's wigwam.     He arrived safely the same evening, and his parents were overjoyed to     see him and know he was safe once more, and the tribe made a great     feast, or as they call it, Pow Wow, as a welcome to his home coming.     While Masata was still a young "brave" their chief died and after a     great ceremony, Masata was made Chief of the tribes, and was known as     great and good ruler.