Eagle People

by Benton, W. R.

  As she left, Rufus remembered the grief in her eyes when told of Albert's death. She'd maintained control, but it'd hurt her. He suspected what she had in mind for Cane would be rough. The woman had been turned over to the shaman and was being treated.

  A few minutes later she returned. She now sat by the fire sipping sassafras tea, while Cane whimpered in the semi-darkness of a false dawn, just outside of firelight.

  Mongoose said, “At full light, wake everyone and have them come here. We have a hanging to do.”

  “How in the hell do you plan to hang him when he's taller than the trees around here?”

  “Watch and learn, Rufus.” she said and then took another drink of tea. A few minutes later, she stood and made her way to a wagon. She took two ropes and tied them to the wagon tongue and raised it as high as it would go, using her horse. She then dismounted and secured the rope from the tongue to the rear left wheel. Now the tip of the wagon tongue was plenty high enough to hang a man, so she rode back to the fire and dismounted.

  “We'll just tie a slipknot in the other rope, hang his nasty ass, and be on our way in twenty minutes.”

  “Why two horses?”

  “One for Cane and the other will be used to fetch the horse after it runs out from under him. I'll slap the animal on the ass, but she'll not go far.”

  At sunrise, Mongoose called the people together near the wagon with the raised tongue. Few had any idea what was going on, and voices were heard questioning the assembly.

  Climbing up on the wagon seat, Mongoose said, “Yesterday we lost a proud and proven warrior by the name of Albert. He didn't die in vain, because he was fighting man eaters. One captive was killed and placed on a spit to cook as our Dog Soldiers watched. Another captive, who was to be their next meal, was rescued by our brave Dog Soldiers, and one man eater was taken prisoner. Albert died in that battle. Our men killed or took prisoner four of them and now we will hold a council to determine the fate of the captive.”

  “Amon, bring the man forward.”

  Cane was carried to the wagon and placed on a wool blanket. His eyes were huge in fear, because he felt it was his day to die. The crowd grew angry and threats, as well as catcalls, were heard. He grew so frightened his eyes darted from person to person in the crowd and he peed his pants.

  Holding her hands up to silence the crowd, Mongoose said, “I must have quiet. Quiet, please.”

  When the group grew silent, she said, “Cane, tell us how you turned man eater.”

  The captive remained silent.

  “Cane, speak now, or I will have you put to death by fire.”

  “Please, no fire.” he replied.

  “Why did you become a man eater, when plenty of game is available?”

  “I grew up, uh, eating people. My parents and our small village all ate humans. It ain't no big deal.”

  Amon, shocked by the man's words yelled, “It is a big deal, you sonofabitch! You're sick, do you know this? Sane people do not kill people and then eat them.”

  “I have always been with others who did the same thing. I see nothing wrong with it.”

  Mongoose asked, “If released, would you do it again? Will you kill and eat a human?”

  Cane, knowing his fate depended on his answer said, “I don't think I would, but if I couldn't find any other meat, yes, I'd do it. I don't want to starve to death no more than you do.”

  “Do you not see killing humans for food is a sin against God?” Mongoose asked.

  “Who is God?” Cane asked.

  “He is the Great Creator of All Things. He is powerful and sent us commandments to live by, or rules, and they must be followed.” Amon said.

  Cane shrugged and said, “I know no God. Humans are like deer or cows, for eating when a man is hungry.”

  Mongoose, not wanting to waste any more time with this man, said, “Cane, as the Chief of the Eagle Clan People I sentence you to death by hanging for murder and being a man eater. You killed a young man and then placed his flesh over a fire, in preparation of a meal. You have admitted you are a man eater as well. You also killed one of our best warriors, but you'll not be sentenced for his death, because it was an act of war. I, as well as all warriors here, would have fought if attacked. Amon and Rufus, place Cane on the horse nearest the wagon. I will carry out the actual execution.”

  Cane began to cry and plead, but he was ignored as he was placed in the saddle.

  Mongoose picked up the rope, tied a quick slipknot, and then said, “Amon, lead his horse to me. Rufus, you mount the other horse and when this one runs out from under him, bring it back.”

  When the horse stopped in front of her, she placed the rope over Cane's head and then tightened it enough to take up the slack.

  She then took a shorter rope and tied the man's hands behind his back.

  Cane was crying louder now, knowing he was going to die, and said, “I won't eat nobody no more! I promise—please—I won't do it no more!”

  “Cane, I usually give the condemned a minute to pray, but you don't know God, so I'll not waste the time.” She slapped the horse hard on the ass and the animal shot forward, leaving Cane in the air. When he dropped, his neck didn't break and the man was suffocating to death.

  His face turned red and then quickly turned purple as he danced and struggled to breathe. Saliva ran freely from his mouth and his eyes grew huge, as his legs kicked in all directions. Over a short time, his movements slowed and his legs slowly grew still. Finally, Cane was swinging from side to side on the rope—dead.

  Mongoose yelled, “Harness your teams, get your gear in the wagons, and let's get ready to move.” She then turned to Bill, the owner of the wagon Cane was swinging on and added, “Give him ten minutes then lower the rope. Pull his nasty-ass away and harness your animals. Leave him where you pull him, because critters have to eat, too. Right now, start loading your wagon.”

  “We'll be ready.” Bill replied as he moved toward his campfire.

  It was near noon, when a Dog Soldier rode to the moving group and found Mongoose near a wagon with a cracked tongue. Leaving the men to work on it, she turned to the rider and asked, “What do you have?”

  “Just a warning. The point man said the terrain ahead is rough as hell and any weight that is not needed should be dropped now. At a point later this afternoon, we'll have to unload the wagons and lower them one-at-a-time over a cliff. We can use horses to carry the books and other gear with us. Extra weight needs to go and now.”

  Mongoose walked up and down the group shouting, “Anything you don't need or is absolutely unnecessary to survive, needs to be unloaded from your wagons now.”

  Sergeant Dooley said, “They can get rid of extra food and only keep enough for tonight. If all goes well, we'll be at the mountain tomorrow.”

  “You all heard the man, dump any foods we don't need. Lighten your loads, because we have rough country ahead.”

  Dooley asked, “How are you going to lower the wagons? It'll be a big job.”

  “We have some pulleys the Learned Ones designed years ago, and I intend to use them with horses. We'll have to lower the wagons individually, but this will be the easiest way. Do you have a better idea?”

  “No, while we have wagons, we mainly use them around the village to move food and heavy stuff. We don't go on long trips with wagons.”

  Mongoose watched as food, tools and even a bookcase was removed and placed beside the wagons. After about an hour, they had the wagon tongue repaired, so they moved forward again as a group.

  At the cliff, she saw no way around it, so she had pulleys rigged and first lowered the women, then the horses and finally they started on the wagons. They had a total of six wagons and all carried some books. Much knowledge and information was in them, so they were valuable to The People.

  The first three wagons were lowered easily. The lowered horses, in teams, actually backed toward the pulleys and the wagons descended smoothly as long as the horses backed up beside each other. It was on
the fourth wagon, as they lowered it, when a rope snapped from weight and use. The wagon fell to the valley below, a good two hundred feet. Those on the ground in the valley, removed the books and remains of the vehicle quickly, but it took time.

  Finally, all the wagons were in the valley and the three people on the cliff needed to be lowered. The three were Mongoose, Amon and Rufus. Worried about the condition of the ropes, Mongoose decided to go first because she felt, as the Chief, she should check the integrity of the system. Some of the poorly made ropes were showing signs of use.

  Then, Amon was lowered and he joked and laughed the whole way down. Actually, the trip scared the hell out of him, so his laughter was a front to avoid showing his deep fear of heights. He knew as the second in command of the village, he had to be brave.

  The last to be lowered was Rufus. He was about half way down when he stopped moving and could not be moved in any direction. The damned rope is twisted in the pulley, he thought.

  Sergeant Dooley said, “I can get him down, but keep the horses exactly where they are right now. When attacking enemy villages, we often have to repel down cliffs or climb up, and it's part of our training since we live in mountains.”

  Rufus yelled, “What am I to do?”

  “Dooley is coming for you!” Amon replied.

  “How are you going to do this?” Mongoose asked.

  “I'll climb up beside him, tie a rope around his chest, under his arms, and then loop the rope to the main line. Then, all he'll have to do is to lower himself slowly. If he lowers too fast, he'll either burn some skin off his hands trying to stop, or fall to his death.”

  “Make sure he understands the dangers. We don't climb mountains or cliffs in our area.” Amon said.

  “It'll be easy, unless he panics and lowers himself too quickly. Now, let me climb to him, because I suspect he's scared shitless about right now.”

  The climb took some minutes. Once in place, Dooley could be seen cutting and tying ropes as he spoke with Rufus. Rufus was terrified and knew he'd fall, but Dooley reassured him by saying, “Lower yourself slowly and you'll be fine. Go too fast and it may kill you. You can can do this, just take your time, because we're not in a hurry.”

  “I'll do my best.”

  “Remember to keep your descent slow, and you'll walk away to laugh about this one day.”

  “I can do this.”

  “Ready? I have you tied under your arms and around your chest. The rope is looped on the second rope, so it's completed. When you're ready, I'll cut the first rope, you'll fall a little, and down you go. Use your hands to 'walk' down the rope. That means hand under hand until you feel your feet touch the ground, okay?”

  “I'm ready.”

  When Dooley cut the rope, Rufus fell about four feet and people on the ground screamed in fear. Rufus grinned, because it happened just as the Sergeant said it would. His confidence stronger now, he began to lower himself slowly. Once he was on the ground, the watchers surged forward, but Mongoose said, “Back up, we still have another man coming down.”

  Dooley was down the cliff quickly, smiled and said, “Ole Rufus did the job like he's been doing it for years. Good job, my friend.” He extended his hand and the two men shook.

  “Okay, folks, let's get the wagons hitched to the horses and get rolling. Tomorrow, God willing, we'll be with the Cheyenne Mountain People.”

  “What about Rufus?” a voice asked from the crowd.

  “Tonight, before or after supper, you can all talk with him. We're in danger every second we stay out here, so get a wiggle on and let's move.”

  The remainder of that day was rough moving, and the mileage covered was half of what they normally covered. Mongoose was frustrated, because the trail was full of potholes, ruts, rocks and the closer they got the mountains, the worse it became.

  Over coffee after supper, Dooley said, “I've sent two of my men ahead, to bring out some additional soldiers to help us move the remaining distance safely. We'll soon come to canyons and other places that'll be good ambush sites for our enemies.”

  “Thank you, I'd forgotten about the canyons and to tell you the truth, I'm not sure we came this way when I visited.”

  The Sergeant said, “That's completely possible. There are many ways to the complex, but all are guarded. I'm leading your people on the easiest route and for the sake of the wagons. Now, it's likely on the mountain trails we'll have to cut some trees or brush to continue moving, especially the last mile or two.”

  “We'll do what it takes.” Amon said.

  Near daylight the extra soldiers arrived, with additional food, and reported the route looked safe and clean, but all knew there were risks anytime you moved over open ground. Enemies of The People had the bad habit of striking when the opportunity was there for them, regardless of any other conditions.

  Four days later, the wagons rolled into the village of The Cheyenne Mountain People. Mongoose was glad the trip was over, only she knew the next few months would be difficult for both Clans. There would be problems, and they had to address each situation honestly and fairly. She consider Colonel a fair and honorable man, and was glad they'd be sharing leadership roles.

  Colonel walked from a lodge, extended his hand to her and said, “I see you made it. You did lose a few people, right?”

  “A few, only not as many as I expected. Here almost a week back we lynched a man eater and my warriors killed three others.”

  “I would have hanged the bastard, too. See, they started eating people hundreds of years back, when the country first fell, to keep from starving to death, and over the years they haven't changed their diets. Nasty business in my mind.”

  “All kinds of game around, and they want to eat people.”

  “I know you have many books, so I need your folks and mine to take them into the complex. My men have cleared a large room and installed row after row of shelving for your books. We will do your books like we do our technical orders. When someone wants to read a book, they'll sign a listing showing what book they have borrowed, so we can track them, and give them a couple of weeks to return it. How does that sound?”

  “I'd rather not do that. Mainly because the books may be lost, stolen or destroyed and these are the only ones we have. When these are gone, there are no more. If they want to read them, do it in the room you have prepared for us.”

  “I understand, and hadn't thought of that. Come, let us eat.”

  The meal was a simple one of a small piece of meat and vegetables grown in the garden. Mongoose, a big meat eater, looked at her serving and then met Amon's eyes. He grinned.

  Colonel, seeing the exchange, said, “We usually eat soups for breakfast, small piece of meat with vegetables or fruit for lunch, and then for supper more meat and vegetables. It is hard for us to get meat, not to kill it, but to pack it in from the plains or lower elevations. Because of that, we eat less meat than most people.”

  “We'll get used to it. Colonel, what is the biggest threat to you here?”

  “We have many, but the Snake People and Goat People are the biggest villages we have to deal with most of the time. We've had some run ins with The Northern Plains People at times, and they're vicious in battle. They only use male warriors, but they're hard men.”

  “We fought them on the way here. Seems your guns make it an equal battle.”

  Colonel laughed and then replied, “Guns are an advantage, but we have weapons in storage that we've not used in a long while. We have grenades, which are small balls of steel that explode when thrown and kill the enemy, mines, which are explosives that explode when stepped on, and many other things. In the past, as far as I know, we never had enough warriors to use most of what we have. I use all our explosives, which is what we call things that blow up, sparingly. Once used, they are gone forever. I do have three men learning how to make gun powder, bullets and guns, but it'll take some time.”

  “Perhaps our books can help you. We have books on how to make things, except we lacked t
he tools to make them. Maybe by using both books a man or woman can learn more.”

  “I will tell my team of teachers and workers that you have many books. I think our joining was a good thing.”

  At that point, Sergeant Dooley walked to the Colonel, saluted and said, “Our guard at post number 19 just reported a large group of Snake warriors moving toward the village.”

  Chapter 20

  COLONEL SAID, “DEFENSIVE POSITIONS, everyone. Warriors of the Eagle People, each of you must go with one of my warriors. Women, children, and elderly who are not warriors go into the complex immediately. Once the battle starts, the door will be closed and locked. You'll be safe there.”

  “Go, my people, and learn from this attack!” Mongoose yelled.

  The Colonel looked at her and said, “Come, and I will show you how we secure the complex when under attack.”

  “What about me?” Amon asked.

  “You are the second in command, along with my Major, so you go with him.”

  “Major!”

  “Sir?”

  “Take Amon with you and show him how we do things.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The Major and Amon ran to the edge of the village. Holes were dug and some were already filled with warriors. Moving to a hole in the middle of the field, the Major said, “The battle will be controlled from here. The holes are positioned for interlocking fields of fire, which means, each can also provide a killing shot into another area. You'll quickly get the feel for it once the fight starts.”

  “Are there a lot of Snake People?”

  “Thousands of warriors, but they've yet to breech our defenses. The guns make the difference and once your people are issued guns, if they're smart, which they are, they'll leave us alone.”

  Dooley called out, “They're are at the 300 yard marker.”

  “That's distance from the first hole. At about 50 yards we'll open fire.”

  “Do they have guns at all?”

  “Yes, a few, but not much ammunition. See, at times they'll kill one of us and take the guns and ammo. Then over a period of time, they run out of ammo and the gun is converted into a club until they can get their hands on more bullets.”