Chapters Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen Summary and Analysis

The next day Pretty-Shield tells Frank about caring for newborns. Pretty-Shield had three girls and two boys, but lost a boy and girl when they were babies. Her girls are all dead. Her boy, Good, is alive and he is a good child. She will discuss her daughters Pine-fire and Little-woman. Pretty-Shield then recounts her first time giving birth in a lodge pitched for her by others. The birth involved the use of robes, coal, smoke, paint and grease. They rarely washed newborns until later on.

Babies were not put into back-cradles until they were six months old. The women would take some time off from work after giving birth, but usually only for a month.

As Chapter Twelve begins, Pretty-Shield announces that she has become tired and may wish to stop telling...