Corn Flower, A Girl of the Great Plains: First in a Fiction Series Based on the Four Seasons

By James D. Lester

Corn Flower, an eleven-year-old Native American girl, is a member of the Kansa tribe living along the Cottonwood River in the 1820s. She is a loyal daughter to her parents White Plume and Kicking Swan. Corn Flower and her best friend Night Sparrow are in charge of each family's herd of goats. Together they sing the “Song of the Kansa,” find excitement in their simple life, and delight in the folk tales spoken by an elderly tribal storyteller. Corn Flower enjoys the thrill of adventure as she travels with her father to a nearby trading post. Once she returns home, her happiness is short-lived as a tornado sweeps toward their village with a great wind. Corn Flower saves a baby goat and barely escapes the storm. The late summer brings horrible heat and a swarm of grasshoppers. Relief finally comes when a huge thunderstorm sweeps the grasshoppers away, yet the lightening from the storm sparks a fire on the prairie. Fortunately, their village is spared, and Corn Flower returns to her hillside in the remaining days of summer to tend her goats and again sing the “Song of the Kansa” with her special friend Night Sparrow. Much like children in modern culture, Corn Flower cherishes the closeness of her family, fun with her best friend, and the endless quest for adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sunstone Press
• Release date: Jun 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781611395464

James D. Lester

James D. Lester, Jr., PhD is a veteran English instructor with over thirty-seven years of experience as a secondary teacher at Alpharetta High School and a college instructor at Gwinnett Technical College, both located near Atlanta, Georgia. He is also the author of the popular texts Writing Research Papers, 16th edition and The Research Paper Handbook, 4th edition. In this third in his series based on the four seasons, Lester has again tapped into his unique outlook about the joys and challenges of Native American life in Kansas during the early 1800s. Much like children in modern culture, Corn Flower pursues an endless quest for adventure as she cherishes the closeness of her family and the fun times and trials that she faces with her best friend Night Sparrow.

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Corn Flower

© 2018 by James D. Lester, Jr.

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including

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except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Sunstone books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use.

For information please write: Special Markets Department, Sunstone Press,

P.O. Box 2321, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-2321.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lester, James D., Jr., 1959- author.

Title: Corn Flower : a girl of the Great Plains / by James D. Lester, Jr.

Description: Santa Fe : Sunstone Press, [2018] | "First in a fiction series

based on the four seasons."

Identifiers: LCCN 2018001295 (print) | LCCN 2018014642 (ebook) | ISBN

9781611395464 | ISBN 9781632932198 (softcover : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Kansa Indians--Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Kansa

Indians--Fiction. | Indians of North America--Great Plains--Fiction. |

Family life--Great Plains--Fiction. | Summer--Fiction. | Great

Plains--History--19th century--Fiction.

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.L475 (ebook) | LCC PZ7.1.L475 Co 2018 (print) | DDC

[Fic]--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018001295

www.sunstonepress.com

SUNSTONE PRESS / Post Office Box 2321 / Santa Fe, NM 87504-2321 /USA

[phone] / orders only [phone] / FAX [phone]

To my two lovely granddaughters, Peyton and Paris.

May your hearts always seek adventure.

Special thanks is extended to my artist June Hyde and to Grace Hirsch for acting as a reading consultant.

Preface

Corn Flower, A Girl of the Great Plains tells of the life, adventures, and challenges faced by an eleven-year-old Native American girl. Corn Flower is a member of the Kansa tribe living along the Cottonwood River in the 1820’s. She is a loyal daughter to her parents White Plume and Kicking Swan. Corn Flower and her best friend Night Sparrow are in charge of each family’s herd of goats. Together they sing the Song of the Kansa as they face hardships, yet find excitement in their simple life among the people of their tribe.

As a grandfather of two young girls, ages nine and two, I wanted to share an adventure story with them like the tales that inspired me as a boy. Moreover, I want my novel to leave my grandchildren and all middle readers in grades four to seven with an uplifting adventure that includes folk stories to enrich a young person’s moral compass.

Written during the summer months while on break from my teaching duties, this tale is close to my heart, for I was a Kansas boy who played in the vast expanses of the great plains. I have always had an affinity for the kinship of friends and family while growing up. Books were abundant in my early life, and the simple tales of adventure with an ethical twist helped me to grow into a caring and compassionate person.

I encourage each parent to read along with their children. Corn Flower is not just a character—she is a sketch of life from a simpler time of growing and discovering. In like manner, this novel can inspire today’s young reader who faces many trials and obstacles in our modern world.

This novel is dedicated to my two lovely granddaughters, Peyton and Paris. Heartfelt appreciation is also extended to their parents, my son Caleb and his wife Jessica, as well as my daughter Sarah and her husband Logan. Their love and patience made this project possible.

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Song of the Kansa

Corn Flower sat on the dusty side of the riverbank above the Cottonwood River. Below her at the edge of the stream were eight goats. They were black, white, and brown. Two of the goats were young ones born in the green springtime. The goats dipped their noses to the soft water and drank at the stream with their long tongues. Corn Flower sang a little song to herself as she watched the goats.

We are the Kansa, people of the plains. We are the Kansa, people of water and the south wind. We dance in the moonlight and rise with the sun. We are the Kansa...

Corn Flower?

Yes, my mother?

Are your watching the goats?

Yes.

Be ready with your walking stick, for a wild dog may try to harm the little goats.

Yes, mother.

And Corn Flower—

Yes?

Your song is lovely. You must sing for your father this evening when he returns from the hunt.

Yes, my mother. Corn Flower then added, And will you sing with me, mother?

Yes, my child. I will sing the song of our people with you. Now prod the goats and take them up on the hillside to eat the new grass. I will go to the field of new corn with the other mothers.

Corn Flower stepped from the dirt ledge and made her way to the stream of the water. The goats each looked at her with yellow eyes in the sunlight.

My turn, she said as she bent down, cupped her hands, and raised the fresh water to her lips. "The water is getting warmer. Summer is coming soon. The goats all blinked at Corn Flower as if they knew what she said.

After one more handful of water, Corn Flower touched the oldest goat on the hip with her walking stick, and he turned to walk up the bank of the river onto the pastureland.

That is good Bully Goat. Lead the others to the hillside. There is green grass to eat and grow fat.

Corn Flower followed the herd up the slope then walked at a brisk pace to lead the goats. Their place was on the hillside with the other goats of the tribe.

The older goat had stopped in the open grass to eat sprigs of dry sage. Corn Flower circled back to prompt the older goat.

No. Keep going Bully Goat. The horses will chase you if you eat their seeds and straw. With another tap on the hip from Corn Flower’s staff, the old goat ran ahead to lead the pack to the green hillside.

Corn Flower was a girl of the Kansa tribe in the central plains. She was eleven years old. Her skin was tan, and her hair was dark brown. She wore a deerskin dress. Around the bottom of the dress were bright, painted bands of yellow and white. Her headband was thin leather. The headband helped to keep her hair out of her eyes. Corn Flower took the most pride in her necklace. The necklace held eleven wampum. Wampum was decorated shells with a hole in them. There were eleven shells on the string because Corn Flower had lived through eleven winters.

Every morning Corn Flower took the goats to the river to drink from the stream. She then led the goats to the hillside pasture to eat good grass. She was a mother to the goats. They needed her to lead them, or they would get lost. In the evening, they slept in the fence next to her family’s lodge.

Her three older brothers also had jobs each day. Today the boys were hunting for birds and ducks with their father White Plume.

As she reached the pasture, the goats each began to nibble at the sprigs of grass. It was then that she heard a familiar song.

We are the Kansa, people of the plains. We are the Kansa, people of water and the south wind.

Is that you, Night Sparrow? I see your goats and know your voice.

At that question, a girl who had been lying in the grass sat up and smiled.

Yes, Corn Flower. It is your friend. I knew that you would be here. I was waiting for you.

Corn Flower smiled in reply.

You are here early today. You must have been up before the sunrise.

No, not just that early. But I was up early, for my brother Keya got in trouble with my father.

What did Keya do to get into trouble?

He was to go to fish on the upper river with my father, but while getting ready for the journey, he threw stones at the goats. He was mean to them.

That is not nice, Cornflower frowned. What did your father do?

He scolded him and made him to stay behind. He could not go with my father to fish with the nets. His task today is to help the older women with the planting of potatoes. Night Sparrow giggled. My brother must dig and dig and dig to turn the soil for the planters.