The Rider of Phantom Canyon by Don Bendell

mountain lion.”
    â€œMountain lion?” Scottie said.
    Joshua replied, “Yes. Stop and think about it. They only eat deer just about, and are very finicky. After a few days they leave it to bears or coyotes and go on and kill another one. Mountain lion is delicious.”
    They arrived at the young antelope’s body. Joshua knelt down, drawing out his knife. He closed his eyes.
    Scottie said, “Were you praying?”
    â€œSort of,” Joshua explained. “You know, I am half Sioux, so when I was your age, I learned to speak to ananimal’s spirit after I have killed it, to thank it for providing me with food, and to tell it I will not waste any of its body.”
    Scottie thought about this a minute and was impressed.
    He said, “Gosh. Mr. Strongheart, I . . .”
    Joshua said, “Call me Joshua, not
Mister
.”
    â€œYes, sir,” the teen said. “I never thought of anything like that. That is kinda neat.”
    Strongheart replied, “Well, I think the important message to get from that is to never kill an animal just to kill. Kill them for food and do not waste any of the meat, and use the hide and antlers wherever and whenever you can.”
    The lad had learned yet another lesson this day.
    Strongheart quickly and efficiently field dressed the pronghorn and said, “Okay, son. Pick it up and let’s take it back to camp. We will eat well tonight and relax. Tomorrow, we’ll head back to Cañon City.”
    Joshua made them a delicious meal and both had steaming cups of coffee. The teenaged young man could not believe how good the antelope tasted. He felt it was probably the best meat he had ever eaten, although his Aunt Kathy’s meatloaf was a close second.
    While they ate apple cobbler Strongheart made with flour and apple slices Aunt Kathy had given him and drank coffee, Scottie said, “Mister, I mean, Joshua, do you know any neat stories from the Injuns?”
    Strongheart finished his cobbler, took a long sip ofcoffee, and said, “I’ll tell you in the manner of the way my father’s people tell a story. There was a young Lakota boy named Dancing Hare, and his first cousin and best friend was named Boy Who Climbs Trees. Dancing Hare and Boy Who Climbs Trees were both very adventurous, and both were students at the Mission School. While attending the school, Dancing Hare became very excited about the white man he met, who was called a missionary. He liked what the man spoke about, and what the missionary said made perfect sense to him. After some months, Dancing Hare became a Christian, but his cousin and best friend, Boy Who Climbs Trees, remained true to his tribal beliefs and was indeed a true follower of Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery.
    â€œThe religion of choice did not matter to each boy, and they respected each other’s differences and opinions. What they really enjoyed more than anything was adventure. They could not wait to grow and hunt game for the family circles and fight in battles and count coup. Both hoped someday to become Dog Soldiers, the best of the best warriors in their tribe.”
    â€œWhat does
count coup
mean?” Scottie interjected.
    Joshua smiled and said, “To make it simple, with my father’s people, after touching a live enemy in battle or after some heroic deed is performed, like hunting and killing a grizzly bear, that is considered a battle honor. It is called counting coup. When you count coup, or perform a courageous act, you are awarded an eagle feather.”
    â€œOh,” the lad replied enthusiastically.
    Strongheart continued with his story. “There was one major difference, though, and that was that Dancing Hare always believed in winning and would never admit defeat. Once, when wrestling with Fights the Badger, he would not give in when put in a painful hold and actually had two of his fingers broken, but would not quit and would not cry. Boy Who Climbs Trees,