Mood. Mood, or atmosphere, is the feeling or emotion the writer creates in a literary work. By working carefully with descriptive language, the writer can evoke in the reader an emotional response such as fear, discomfort, longing, or anticipation. Identify words and phrases in the story that create these or other reactions in you as you read.

Characterization. Characterization is the act of creating or describing a character. Writers create character using three major techniques: by showing what characters say, do, or think; by showing what other characters say or think about them; and by describing what physical features, dress, and personality the characters display. Notice the ways in which the author characterizes Buffalo Calf Road Woman, the main character in this story.

• History Connection. The Cheyenne nation originally lived in central Minnesota but moved west as they were driven away by Dakota and Ojibway peoples in the 1600s and 1700s. They eventually settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where they had to modify their way of life from one based on farming and small-game hunting to a nomadic existence based on following and hunting buffalo. The Cheyenne became one of the major tribes of the Great Plains. They were excellent hunters, skilled on horseback, and well respected among other Plains tribes both in war and in peace.
• By the mid-1800s, the Cheyenne divided into two groups—the southern Cheyenne and the northern Cheyenne. The northern Cheyenne formed alliances with the Lakota and Arapaho nations. As more and more white settlers moved into the northern Great Plains, the United States military became a growing presence. One day in November of 1864, U.S. troops killed more than 100 peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho, starting a war that would last for 20 years. During this period, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota forces defeated the U.S. troops in several major battles. These victories, however, angered the U.S. government. Strengthened U.S. military forces returned and virtually killed off the Cheyenne people. Survivors were forced to move to a southern Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma, where they suffered from disease and hunger. They then fled back northward, with many killed by U.S. forces during the journey. Eventually, they settled on a reservation in Montana, where they still live today.

Describe a time in which you witnessed someone acting more bravely than you thought possible.