the death of the Indian fighter

the death of the Indian fighter

fiction
edward w pritchard

see commentary on the Kent state shootings -feb blog for author's commentary on Indians and Wounded knee

Billie Teagarden had at 17 followed orders and pursued and followed and shot American Indians at Wounded Knee South Dakota on December 30. 1890. Only Billie knew how many women and children he had shot. Billie was just a common soldier who followed orders so he had received no special accommodation for his actions that day.

Fifty years later after he retired from the railroad Billie Teagarden began to have recurrent violent dreams about Wounded Knee. Neither he nor his Doctors knew why nor was anyone able to fix the guilt complex causing the dreams.

At age 68, Billie took a job as a janitor at an Indian school about 50 miles from the original Pine Ridge reservation where the original slaughter had occurred. In time in addition to being the part time janitor Billie assisted with teaching the students, functioning as an aid to the head teacher, a young woman of about thirty.

One day five young white men entered the school and terrorized the teacher and classroom of young Indian children. Billie Teagarden rushed to the teachers assistance from his janitor duties and was held at gun point with the students and teacher.

Over the next five years, occurring as the same time as World War Two, Billie stalked and killed each of the five men who had been involved in the original incident at the Indian reservation school. Shortly after he killed the last of the five assailants Billie Teagarden shot and killed himself. The deaths of the five assailants was never solved and because of the back drop of World War two Billie Teagarden's death was barely noted or observed.