Tonka
“Comanche is a horse famous in history, for he was the only survivor of Custer’s Last Stand. In this exciting tale, based on the Walt Disney motion picture, Comanche has a young Indian master who names his horse Tonka Wakan – the great one.”
“That is the horse I’m going to catch.” cried White Bull suddenly. He pointed to the young stallion thundering behind the herd of wild horses.
Strong Bear laughed, “You will never catch him!”
With Bull and Strong Bear were not old enough to ride with the hunters. Their job was to mind the horses that pulled the travois. White Bull snatched up a lariat from the travios.
“That is Yellow Bull’s lariat!” cried Strong Bear.
“He will be very angry if you take it!”
White Bull didn’t answer. He climbed down the rocky hill, tossing his bow and arrow quiver into the brush as he went. Then he shook out the lariat.
The wild horses came thundering through the deep gully. White Bull’s lariat loop whipped down and tightened around the stallion’s neck.
The stallion reared, and then raced on, dragging White Bull with him.
The lad hung on desperately, but suddenly the stallion swept past a clump of twisted brush, and White Bull found himself jammed in the branches. The stallion thundered away, the lariat still around his neck.
Yellow Bull was very angry when he learned that White Bull had taken his lariat and lost it, along with the bow and arrow quiver. He made the lad walk all the way back to the Sioux camp, and then he marched him to Sitting Bull.
The chief frowned as he listened to Yellow Bull’s story. He turned to White Bull. “You can’t go hunting again until you prove you may be trusted,” he said sternly.
White Bull knew that he must find the lost things.
Very early next morning, he headed for the gully where he had last seen the young stallion.
His bow and arrow quiver were lying at the bottom of the gully. White Bull scrambled down to get them.
Suddenly he heard the whinny of a horse. It was the young stallion!
He was in a narrow box canyon, helplessly tangled up in Yellow Bull’s lariat, and panting with thirst.
White Bull dug a hole near the horse’s head. Then, using his arrow quiver for a pail, he brought some water and filled up the hole.
While the stallion was drinking, White Bull made a corral out of the canyon by closing the open end with many dry branches.
“I will keep you here, and tell no one I caught you until we are friends,” he whispered to the frightened horse. “Then we will ride to the Sioux camp.”
“You will be the horse in all this land, and I will call you Tonka Wakan – the great one.”
Gently White Bull untangle the lariat. Then before Tonka could get up, he climbed onto his back.
The wild young stallion didn’t like this. He arched his back, and reared and twisted until he threw White Bull off. Then he kicked up his heels and tossed his big, beautiful head.
“Oh-ho!” laughed White Bull. “You think you are smart. Just wait! I will tame you, and we will have fun together.”
Day after day, White Bull went to the canyon, and tried to make friends with Tonka. He even stayed ther at nights, and built a fire to keep away the hungry timber wolves.
Tonka loves wild turnips, so White Bull dug many of them for him. He also gathered handfuls of fresh grass and fed them to Tonka.
At last the day came when Tonka let the boy climb onto his back and ride him.
White Bull was happy and proud. “Now we will go to the village of my people,” he said.
His head held high, White Bull rode into the Sioux village.
“White Bull is back,” cried Strong Bear.
The word spread quickly through the village as White Bull made his way to the Chief’s lodge.
“You have proved you can be trusted,” said Sitting Bull when he heard the boy’s story. “Now you may ride with the hunters, and some day soon, you may even ride into battle.”
Then White Bull returned the lariat to Yellow Bull. But Yellow Bull not satisfied. He wanted Tonka, too.
“No,” cried White Bull. “You can’t have him! He is mine!”
“We will let Sitting Bull decide,” said Yellow Bull.
“Yellow Bull is a great brave with forty eagle feathers in his war bonnet,” the chief said to White Bull. “You don’t even have one. I’m sorry, but you must give him the horse.”
A great lump rose in White Bull’s throat. He hurried away to the corral.
“I will get you somehow,” he told Tonka.
Tonka whinnied as if to say he understood.
Yellow Bull was cruel to Tonka. The wild horse would not obey him, even though Yellow Bull beat him, and forced a sharp bit into his mouth.
One night, White Bull took Tonka out of the corral and hung a good luck charm around his neck.
“I can’t bear to see you hurt any more,” he said softly. “I’m sending you back to the wild herd.”
Tonka whinnied softly, and didn’t move.
“Go!” said White Bull. “Run far and fast so Yellow Bull will never catch you!”
As Tonka galloped away into the darkness, White Bull called after him, “Goodbye, Tonka Wakan ! I shall never see you again.”
But White Bull was wrong.
Many months later, White Bull and his friend saw a line of paleface soldiers. One of them rode Tonka.
White Bull didn’t know it, but the soldier’s name was Captain Keogh. He had bought Tonka from some horse hunters. He had named the stallion Comanche, because he was a great fighter.
That night, White Bull stole into the army fort and made his way to the stable. It was there that Captain Keogh found him, close to his beloved horse.
“What are you doing here?” asked the captain.
“I came to see my horse,” said White Bull fearlessly.
“I see,” said the captain. “So it was you who put the good luck charm around his neck.”
White Bull nodded, and suddenly he found himself telling the captain all about Tonka.
When White Bull had finished his story, Captain Keogh nodded kindly. “I don’t have the right to let you go, but I shall take you to my chief, General Custer. We will talk with him.”
General Custer scowled fiercely when White Bull stood before him.
“I will turn you loose,” he snarkled, “so you can tell Sitting Bull that I’m going to wipe out him and his people.”
As he left the army fort, White Bull sait to Captain Keogh, “I’m sad because your Chief Yellow Hair hates my people, and my people hate him.”
And to Tonka, he said, “But I’m also happy because you have a good master. Serve him well, Tonka Wakan, and good bye.”
Soon after White Bull returned to this people there was war between the Indians and the white men. A fierce and bloody battle was fought at the Little Big Horn River. When it was over, all the white men and many of the Indians were dead.
White Bull, too, had been fighting, and was badly hurt. As he stumbled across the battlefield, he spied a wounded horse with a good luck charm around his neck. It was Tonka, and he was still alive!
Later, some friendly white soldiers took White Bull and Tonka to Fort Abraham Lincoln. There they recovered from their wounds, and lived happily together for many years. The white soldiers called the big brown stallion Comanche. But to White Bull, he was always Tonka Wakan – the great one.
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