Riding home, Coyote saw a man dressed all in black <br />Who was holding a large bag and sitting on a stone <br />Beside the trail. Drawing closer, he could see <br />The face was a skull, the rest of him just bones. <br /> <br />“Ya T’ey. You’re Coyote, aren’t you? ” said the skeleton, <br />I am Smallpox. I was coming to visit your village today <br />With this bag of warm blankets from the paleface women <br />At the fort. Then I got lost. Can you show me the way? ” <br /> <br />Looking from the skeleton to the bag, Coyote said <br />”I just left the village. I’m hunting deer and have their track.” <br />Smallpox said thanks, lifted the bag, and set off the way <br />Coyote had come. “I’ll see you when you get back.” <br /> <br />When he was gone, Coyote headed home at a race <br />To move his village quickly to a new and safer place.<br /><br />Chuck Toll<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/coyote-meets-smallpox-native-american/
