by Jack L Knapp
"Anything I should be concerned with, Elizabeth?"
"Just minor stuff, Matt. No one's going to need more than a wash and bandaging."
"How's the salvaging going, Lilia?"
"We lost some things but nothing we can't replace, Matt. Some of the bedding is simply gone. Maybe one or two of those mammoths is wearing a bison skin for a flag! And some of the meat can't be salvaged; you don't want to try eating anything after an animal weighing several tons stepped on it! It's more dirt than meat now. But we've got other food. Colin and Margrette are butchering the mammoth you shot."
"I suppose that needs to get done as soon as possible, Lilia."
"We can use the fresh meat, and what we don't get will need to be dragged away. It'll stink us out of camp otherwise and probably bring in animals we don't want to have around camp."
"You're right. We'll need to dump everything we can't use in the river. We don't have any way to dispose of the rest of the carcass."
"You're right. Remember how much trouble you'd have been in downtime if you'd done that?"
Matt chuckled. "I know. I think about that once in a while. But we do what we have to. The river is our best way to dispose of things, and it won't matter so long as there are only a few people on Darwin's World. Still, other people might do the same, use a river for a dump. That's why I prefer to get drinking water from a spring whenever I can.
"How much of our personal stuff is left?"
"We've got bedding. We'll need to share, though."
"Works for me, Lilia. Where are we set up?"
"Third campsite south of the cookfire. Lee and Sandra will be in the camp next to us."
"Sounds good. I'll see you after supper. I'll go talk to Colin. Maybe they can use a hand butchering that mammoth."
#
Margrette was quiet when Matt found them, Colin looked mad, Callie was downcast.
"Something bothering you, Colin?"
"Couple of things, Matt. Tex says he wants to take Callie off to some hole in the prairie to live. I tried to talk to him but he handed me some lip and we didn't see eye to eye. He's a good fighter and hunter, and he mentioned he's got horses, but if he gives me any more lip I'm gonna take him down a peg or two!"
"Did he threaten you, Colin?"
"No. It's Callie's choice, anyway. But I tried to be friendly. I invited him to eat with us tonight but when I told him we were having fresh mammoth steaks, he got positively rude!"
Chapter 29
Two days passed. The wreckage had been removed and the salvage effort completed. The tribe had recovered some of the sense of normalcy that existed before the mammoth incursion.
Salvaged wheels and axles had been joined to new frames and nine carts finished. Some of them were already being used to transport meat. A hunting expedition now went out every day and brought back a bison. Fresh meat was the rule at every meal, and what wasn't eaten was placed over the curing fires. The tribe’s reserve stores grew, although they were not yet back to where they’d been before the mammoth stampede.
One hunting party had found a salt lick to the southwest and two carts had visited the site. Loading them with the cleanest salt they could find had taken the crews less than half a day, and they'd returned to camp late in the afternoon. Margrette and Colin had developed a process, salting down the fresh meat overnight, then placing it over the fires the next morning for final smoking. The cured meat was added to the tribe's reserve at the end of the day.
Sal's crews had found a large grove of huge old chestnut trees, some recently fallen. The workers developed a technique for splitting the trunks to produce boards. Pegs joined the boards to make boxes and covers, attached to the boxes by thick leather hinges. The mammoth Matt shot had been useful in a number of ways.
In addition to excellent lumber, the trees also produced large numbers of nuts. A few early-ripe nuts had already been harvested and stored. Other boxes held salt, enough to see the tribe through the winter if used sparingly. But there would probably be an opportunity to visit the deposit again before they moved on; salt was always useful.
River mud was the material for new pots, and the latest efforts were larger and better formed than earlier ones had been. Some enterprising person had reinvented the pottery wheel and now pots, mugs, and jugs appeared daily. Matt wondered how they'd manage to haul all the things people were making and accumulating. Well, choices might have to be made, but for now an embarrassment of riches was certainly preferable to the mess the mammoths had created!
Tex had settled in, spending most of his time at his camp. The corral held the horse herd and Tex moved it every other day by simply building another fence south of the corral, then joining this to the first with a cross fence. When not engaged in that, he worked on training the horses.
He'd built a collar for a horse, wood-framed and leather-padded, and had used it to train a mare to pull loads. A rudimentary system of straps around her barrel controlled positioning of the tug straps, and a wooden singletree attached the straps to the load. So far he'd not taught the horse to answer to reins, but she could be led. The technique worked but required two men, one leading the horse and the other working with the load being dragged. Trees left behind in the first corral were hitched to the horse and dragged downstream to become part of the next corral.
In this manner Tex found it relatively simple to move every day so that the horses could have fresh graze and water.
Two men, José and Ernesto, took turns assisting. They were learning the techniques from Tex, but wouldn't be ready to take over caring for a horse anytime soon. The two had joined the tribe after being rescued from the slave raiders. Now, Matt wondered if they would both leave with Tex when he eventually departed. Perhaps he would remain until the tribe was ready to move on. There had been no apparent resolution regarding Tex's desire to acquire a woman to share his camp, at least not yet.
Matt had remained aloof from the various interactions, feeling it was not his place to interfere in private matters that didn't affect the tribe. Meantime, Callie had not left her parent's camp. She still worked every day at the kitchen fire, assisting Margrette.
Matt found Colin in the afternoon and the two sought out Lee and Lilia for a discussion.
"I still think we need to move west. People are making stuff, and we're almost back to where we were, but time is passing. Winter won't wait. We've got it easy right now, but those bison will be moving south when the snows come.
“Plus we can't defend this place. We're near the river and it might freeze or flood, the same problems we had before. Whether from animals or people, we've still got to be ready to protect what we build."
"Matt, it sure would be a lot easier if we had horses when we move."
"Yes and no, Colin. We'd move faster, but horses have to be cared for. You'd need herders and night guards too. If you plan on using half a dozen horses for work, you'll need at least double that number; they can't work every day, they've got to have a day to recover or you'll kill them. Whether they're being ridden or pulling a cart, they still have to rest.
“You can work horses two days in a row if the work's not too heavy, but you can't plan on that. If heavy labor is necessary, you can't work them more than every other day and sometimes you have to give the horses time off to rest after half a day. They're animals, not machines.
"We don't have the tack we'd need either, and that will have to be made. Tex told me how much work and time it took to braid those reatas he uses, and we don't have the time to make the tack now.
“So I don't know if we can use horses this year, but if we work on building tack and other equipment during the winter, we can easily be ready by next spring. But we still need to move west before then, so we’ll do it the same way we did before, pulling the carts ourselves.
"I don't think we have time now to build a winter camp where I wanted. The mammoth stampede put that out of reach. I think we need to start bending south as soon as we can if we're going to find a protected
place we can defend."
"You have some place in mind, Matt?"
"I've got a couple of ideas, Lee. You won't know of them, but Tex and I talked. The country west of here's fairly dry downtime, but there are huge springs so clean water won't be a problem. I'm sure we can find a sheltered canyon with a spring-fed stream and a shallow cliff-cave or overhang. There's a lot of limestone down there, left when this area was underwater a few million years ago. We can build our shelters under the cliff overhang, easy to do because the limestone breaks along flat lines. The houses would be fireproof except for the roofs, and depending where we build we might not need more than a basic roof anyway. We could use ladders for access, just pull them up at night for protection.
“The country south of here is warmer too. I think that's where the southern bison herd goes to winter, probably the mammoths and sloths too. We won't be left down there without game during the winter, as happened to us last year."
"How long to reach there, Matt?"
"Three weeks, maybe four, using the carts. That means we've got to be moving soon, within another week if we want to get there before winter.
"I think we can do it if we don't wait too long. The farther south we go, the longer it takes for winter to set in and the sooner spring arrives. It shouldn't be nearly as hard this winter as the last one if we're far enough south."
"Matt, if that's the way you want to go, I should take a few of my people and have a look first. We don't want to get stuck somewhere worse than this place is. We're already quite a bit south of where we spent last winter anyway."
"Good idea, Lee. Leave Laz with a couple of people for security and you can take three or four with you. Pick up supplies from the kitchen, plan on making a fast trip. Make sure you've got arrows enough. When do you plan on leaving?"
"We've got arrows, Matt. Piotr has been busy, and all of us have a spare quiver now with a dozen arrows. I'll pick my guys after we finish here and we'll start getting ready. I'll leave tomorrow morning.
"I'll plan on being back in five days or so. That will give us an idea of what's out there, and the scout mission won't hold you up if you're ready to move on in a week. We can find you after you leave the camp."
"Do it that way, Lee. Colin, talk to Sal, see how much longer he'll need. I figure we should offer to swap a cart to Tex. If the people who are working with him decide to go with him when he leaves, they can pull the cart with the things Tex wants.
"Has Callie decided whether she wants to go with them?"
"She hasn't said, Matt. Tex has been talking to Monika too, but whether he's just hanging around because he likes her kid or because he likes her, I don't know. That might be a problem, though."
"How so?"
"She's been staying nights with Dominick, or maybe he's staying with her, I don't know. But that's where he ends up every night."
"I guess we'll see. I told Tex that it was up to the woman to decide, and that's still the way it is. If she wants to leave with Tex, that's between her and Tex. Dominick will just have to accept it."
Lee nodded. "Maybe. But I'm pretty sure Tex got in a fight with Marc before. They never made any noise about it, but Marc had a bruised face and Tex had a scratch over his cheekbone."
"Nobody told me anything about that!"
"Nothing to tell, Matt. It happened when they were on a hunt and it was over before they got back. I don't bother you with stuff unless you need to know about it."
"Well, maybe it will be OK. But if Tex can't accept that the woman decides, I'll have another chat with him."
"You think that will do any good?"
"I guess I'll just have to make it a little stronger. If Tex can't keep his hands to himself, he'll have to leave."
#
Matt walked away and the others went about their business. But Matt couldn't forget what Lee had told him. Was Tex someone who could be a hard worker one minute and turn into a bully the next? If so, something would have to be done. That kind of behavior could destroy the trust tribespeople had built up. Tex would be told to leave, and if that didn't work, stronger measures would be taken.
#
Lee was gone when Matt went to the cook fire for breakfast. Laz was getting his breakfast after posting two new guards. Sal was off to the side with his crew, getting ready to resume work on the carts. The new version had board sides and a flat board deck; the carts were balanced now to put most of the weight slightly ahead of the axles for easy pulling. Instead of tying the cargo in place, much of it could be placed within the cargo beds. Best of all, the new version could easily be adapted later for use with horses if Tex could provide them.
Matt noticed that Sal was looking around. He appeared to be asking something of one of his crew and he left the others finishing their breakfast while he walked back into camp. Perhaps one of his crew hadn't gotten out of bed yet.
Whatever it was, Sal could sort it out. He was very dependable and a hard worker. Matt considered himself fortunate to have found such a man to serve as foreman for the construction crews.
#
Matt headed for the latrine to deal with his usual morning business. Tribespeople disposed of ashes and bits of charcoal from the kitchen fire by spreading them in the trench, and Matt finished by shoveling in a thin layer of dirt. This kept the smell down, a necessity when the latrine was located near the camp.
The latrine now sported a shallow pottery bowl and a pitcher for water. Matt washed his hands and dried them on a long piece of deerskin.
The pitcher was almost empty, so Matt took the deerskin and pitcher with him. He walked down to the river, then rinsed the deerskin and wrung as much water out as possible. He rinsed the pitcher too and filled it with river water before returning the items to the latrine. Someone had been very thoughtful when they provided the basin and pitcher; it was only polite to keep them filled when the water was used. Better sanitation would pay off in the long run by reducing disease.
Finished, Matt headed for where the carts were being made. Puzzled, he looked around but no one was working. It was very unlike Sal to be late. Matt headed back to camp.
No one was at the cook fire and that too was unusual. Matt heard noises coming from the south end of the camp so he walked that way.
The noise was coming from people, watching a fight between Tex and Sal. Sal was clearly unused to fighting with his fists; he was getting the worst of it. Tex was smiling as he punched and as Matt watched, Sal dropped to the ground.
Matt pushed his way through the people gathered around the two.
"This stops now! Tex, step back or you'll be fighting me."
"By golly, I'm ready! I'm plumb tired of people telling me what to do, what not to do. This one," and he pointed at Sal where he was now sitting up, gingerly feeling of his jaw, "told me a bunch of crap about getting in a fight with that other feller. Hell, it was only a friendly fight, like. No knives, not even a head butt. Just settled it like men, that's what we done!"
"Who was the other man, Tex?"
"Hell, it ain't none of your business. Like I said, we settled it like men."
"Who was it, Tex? I won't ask again."
"Wal, it was that Dominick feller. I tried to talk sense to him but he wouldn't listen."
"So you got in a fight with Dominick, and then you got in a fight with Sal too?"
"Like I said, it was just a friendly kind of discussion. I've been in cow camps where the boys done worse than this to kind of settle their breakfast. It ain't nothin' special."
"Pack your stuff, Tex. I want you gone by noon."
"You still think you're some kind of God, and I've had about enough of it. If I don't leave, you gonna get the tribe to fill me with arrows?"
"Why no, Tex. I thought I'd just see whether you were all talk or if you still feel like a little more action. So what's it going to be, Tex? Are you leaving, or do I need to encourage you?"
Matt reached down to his belt and began untying the thongs that held his cased knife and camp axe.
He handed them to Colin and turned around. Tex had watched in surprise, but then a slow grin broke across his face.
"This is gonna be a pure pleasure!"
Chapter 30
Tex was quick. A straight left rocked Matt, but he managed to take the punch on his shoulder instead of allowing it to thump into his ribs. Tex's follow-up right cross carried a lot more force, but by the time it arrived Matt was moving away so the punch lost most of its power.
But the hits brought a welcome surge of adrenaline. Training, mastered half a century earlier downtime, came roaring back. Matt felt a quick spike of joy; this enemy he could face without help from anyone!
Forced back by Tex's sudden attack, Matt quickly regained his footing. An open left hand brushed Tex's right fist, pressing it aside so that it barely touched before continuing on in the direction Tex had intended, but traveling farther. Before he could recover, Matt launched a punishing strike with the heel of his right hand, delivered straight to Tex's forehead.
Half stunned, Tex tried to stumble back and regain his footing. Matt gave him no chance. A fast step forward, right foot now leading, and Matt's left hand powered in. He was able to change the strike from a modified spear hand, delivered with the fingers folded, into a punch that struck Tex in his unprotected solar plexus. Suddenly unable to breathe, Tex started to fold. Matt's follow up right cracked against Tex's jaw and he went down, unconscious.
Matt immediately realized that Tex was unable to breathe. Dropping to his knees, he pressed down on Tex's ribs, then did it again. Tex gasped and began to breathe normally as Matt stood up.
"Elizabeth, he might need a little more help. But I doubt he's hurt bad."
"Lilia, can you give me a hand?" The two women bent over Tex. He wasn't fully awake but was beginning to stir.
Matt was still feeling the effects of the adrenaline. He turned his anger on the circle of tribespeople who'd watched the fight.
