Grizzly Killer: The Making of a Mountain Man

by Lane R Warenski

  Sun Flower grabbed my arm, looked up at me, and smiled and then told Shinin’ Star that the one above had truly blessed her to bring such a man to her.

  We went up and sat under the arbor again, with Stands Tall, Two Feathers, and five other men I had not met. Shinin’ Star was there, and the rest of the village was standin’ around our circle. Stands Tall asked Runnin’ Wolf to tell what had happened, and Runnin’ Wolf told of the chase, catchin’ up to them, and how the fight started and Black Hand was killed. He told them what we did with Black Hand’s body.

  I was able to understand most of what was said, but not all. Stands Tall was silent for a few minutes, and then he spoke slowly and deliberately. He said it was a serious thing to kill another of our people, that he was proud of Runnin’ Wolf for tryin’ to get Black Hand to give up Shinin’ Star and leave without a fight. But it had been Black Hand’s choice to fight like it had been his choice to take Shinin’ Star against her will. He then looked at me and said Black Hand was one of the greatest warriors of the Utes. He had fought many battles and had always won, that it would take a great warrior with powerful medicine to kill Black Hand. He went on that they had heard by a runner that Runnin’ Wolf had been killed by the great white warrior Grizzly Killer and that Grizzly Killer had taken his power from the great bears he had killed. He told us his heart was glad that the runner was wrong and that I was a brother to Runnin’ Wolf and our people, that the medicine of the great bear was in me. He said that Shinin’ Star would make me a good second wife, and their hearts were glad that she would now have a man to provide for her. I felt the color drainin’ from my face, and I started to shake inside. I wasn’t afraid of any man, and I knew I couldn’t let it show, but these women scared the hell out of me.

  I needed to be alone for a while, and I saddled Ol’ Red and, along with Jimbo, rode up Rock Creek. This was a beautiful wide valley filled with sage, the green of grass, and wildflowers of every color. There were cedar and pinion on the slopes down low, changin’ to quakies and pines the higher up I rode. I could see the valley was narrowin’ down into a steep-sided canyon just up ahead. After ’bout an hour, I stopped, and while Ol’ Red munched on the grass along the creek, me and Jimbo played and wrestled around. Life seemed a lot simpler last winter when it was just me, Jimbo, and Ol’ Red. But I really didn’t want to spend another winter alone either.

  I lay down in the grass, just watchin’ some fluffy white clouds passin’ overhead, thinkin’ ’bout all that had happened, when Jimbo jumped up and headed downstream. Just a few minutes later, I saw Sun Flower on her roan, followin’ Jimbo right to me. She climbed down and walked over and sat down next to me. Without sayin’ a word, she took my hand in hers. She knew I was troubled, but she couldn’t figure why. I didn’t know how to explain my feelin’s to her so she might understand.

  I knew most men would jump at the chance to have two beautiful women, and I had to admit there were some mighty appealin’ thoughts ’bout it. But I still felt I would be betrayin’ Sun Flower, and the thought of that was overwhelmin’ me. I thought back to Pa’s last words when he said “Never do anything that won’t make yourself proud.” I asked Sun Flower why they wanted me to take Shinin’ Star when I already had her and I didn’t want anyone but her.

  She was lookin’ right at me with those big beautiful dark eyes and said, “My heart is happy to have you want only me. But there are many reasons that a man takes another wife. His power grows bigger the more wives he can care for. Sometimes he is obligated if his brother dies, then his brother’s wife will become his to take care of. Sometimes a man’s first wife gets old or hurt, or there is too much to do, so the man takes another wife to help his first. And sometimes a man falls in love with another woman. Runnin’ Wolf and Stands Tall wants you to have Shinin’ Star for more than one reason. Runnin’ Wolf loves his sister very much, and he knows you will always take care of her. He knows you are a good man and will never treat her bad, and she is a beautiful woman that will always make you happy too. He wants the best for both of you. Stands Tall knows there are no men in the village that Shinin’ Star wants, and by the way she looks at you, everyone can see she wants you.”

  Bein’ ’round the Cherokee as much as I was growin’ up, I knew the Injun ways and beliefs were different than ours. And I knew that was one of the things that caused so much trouble ’tween the Injuns and whites. I was now livin’ in a land with tens of thousands of Injuns and only a few hundred white men scattered over thousands of miles and no white women. I was livin’ like the Injuns and with them, and they didn’t understand the difference in our beliefs. I held her tight, lyin’ there in the grass along this crystal clear mountain stream they called Rock Creek, and wondered what Pa would have said ’bout all this.

  I asked her then, “What does Sun Flower want me to do?”

  She sat there in the grass and pondered on that for quite a while. Then she said, “It would be a good thing for us to have another woman. We will have more importance with both the Utes and Shoshones. We will need much help preparing for winter, tanning the hides, making another lodge, gathering enough berries and nuts for the pemmican. We will need a lot of help living at the log lodge. What if we have a baby? What if we have trouble? Shinin’ Star would be a big help to all of us, and what ’bout Shinin’ Star? Who is going to hunt and care for her? Runnin’ Wolf is her family, and she should be with us because she is our family too.”

  I told her, “Shinin’ Star bein’ with us is different than her bein’ my second wife, and what do you feel ’bout that?”

  She said, “Women have always shared their men, just like when visitors come to a Shoshone village, the men will share their wives with them. I will share you with Shinin’ Star, and I will make sure you always want me as your first wife.”

  She then slid her dress up over her shoulders, and she helped me out of my buckskins, and we made love lyin’ there in the grass, under the bright blue sky as the afternoon storm clouds were buildin’ over the high peaks just north of us. I held her tight up against me for the longest time and told her she would always be my love. I would never understand the Injun way of thinkin’ any more than they would understand mine. I thought then my life would be much simpler if I just took Sun Flower right then and we rode away. But Runnin’ Wolf and Raven Wing had become my family too. I’d grown to love them like the brother and sister that I never had, and I couldn’t just run out on them any more than I could leave Sun Flower. I was mighty troubled. It seemed everyone just expected me to take Shinin’ Star as another wife.

  We rode back to the village as slow as I could make Ol’ Red walk. Jimbo kept Runnin’ back to us, seein’ why we were takin’ so long, but I was tryin’ to put off facin’ what was expected of me in the village. When we rode in and up to the teepee, Runnin’ Wolf and Raven Wing were there. Raven Wing told Sun Flower they needed to go help, and the two of them left.

  I walked down to the creek to ponder on all this some more, and as I sat there on a rock, watchin’ the water rush on by, I started thinkin’ ’bout just what had brought me here. I thought of Ma and Pa and back home, of the two explorers that had stopped in Pottersville three or four years back that had been with Captains Lewis and Clark in the Corps of Discovery. It was the stories they told us of these great western mountains and of all the different Injun peoples, of all the different animals, the giant bears, and the little antelope, of the countless numbers of buffalo on the endless plains that got Pa wantin’ to see all this, of how after Ma had got sick and we buried her, Pa just lost interest in the farm and we decided to come west. I remembered Pa seein’ the post in Saint Louis ’bout General Ashley hirin’ men to take supplies to his Rendezvous and how excited we had been to get hired on. I thought ’bout the first buffalo herd we saw and that there must have been ten thousand of them. I thought of just how much I had changed since we left home.

  It seemed like a lifetime ago that I was gettin’ up and doin’ chores on the farm, yet it was less than
two years ago. I’d grown to love this western wilderness and figured I would stay here forever. I had only known Sun Flower for a few weeks now, but I had a mighty strong love for her, and Runnin’ Wolf had become a true and trusted friend. Sun Flower told me I should be proud that Shinin’ Star wanted me.

  It was late afternoon on a warm July day, and there was a cool light breeze blowin’ down the creek as I walked back from the creek to the teepee. The village was buzzin’ with activity, and there were whole elk haunches roastin’ over several different fires.

  I was standin’ by the side of the teepee when I saw Sun Flower walkin’ toward me. There were several women with her, includin’ Stands Tall’s young wife, Dove. I had learned his older wife had passed away last winter. Sun Flower was dressed in the new dress she had worn at Rendezvous, with the red sash and red headband that I didn’t even know they had brought with them. Then I saw Raven Wing dressed the same. Me and Runnin’ Wolf just watched, smilin’ as they walked toward us. I thought then there couldn’t be two more beautiful sisters. Then behind them all came Shinin’ Star. She was dressed in a pure-white dress that was decorated with colored quills and fringe cut long around the bottom and a row of fringe across her breasts that ran over the shoulders and across her back. She had her cheeks brushed with a light reddish tint, and in her hair were tied strips of white weasel fur and blue ribbons cut from trade cloth that Sun Flower must have given her. I thought again of Grub Taylor and what he would think right now of the beauty of these three walkin’ up to us. It was a sight to remember.

  We made our way over to the brush arbor, and I found my grizzly robe was spread out for me to sit on. I looked at Sun Flower, and she just smiled, so I figured the women had supplied that. Runnin’ Wolf had left us, but in just a few minutes, he came back with a wolf hide across his shoulders tied in front of his neck by the front legs. He was wearin’ a headband with two eagle feathers in it and otter fur hangin’ down from his temples. I forgot to bring some twists of tobacco and ran back to the teepee and got it and was back in just a couple of minutes.

  Stands Tall was just sittin’ down on a very colorful rug that had been weaved from what looked to be dyed wool when I returned, and the chief motioned for me to sit. As I sat down on the grizzly robe, Sun Flower and Shinin’ Star came up and sat down, one on each side of me. Runnin’ Wolf sat down, and Raven Wing sat next to him. Then Two Feathers and the other five men finished the semicircle under this brush arbor. The rest of the village was just behind us. Two boys started a fire just out from the arbor but directly in front of us, and a drum started to beat. A row of young dancers in the most colorful costumes I’d ever seen started followin’ one another, dancin’ in a line ’round the fire. Then women brought us strips of roasted elk and wild onion and sego lily root that had been wrapped in leaves and roasted in the coals.

  After everyone had eaten, Stands Tall picked up a roll of soft tanned skin and unrolled a pipe, and I handed him the pouch that I had several twists of tobacco in. He smiled and nodded and filled his pipe. Runnin’ Wolf then stood and got a burnin’ stick from the fire and held it for the chief while he lit the pipe. After the pipe was passed around, much the same as the Shoshones had done but without the talk, a small bundle of sage was lit and passed ’round, with each wavin’ the smoke over themselves. I did not understand the reason but followed along and would ask Runnin’ Wolf ’bout it later.

  When this ritual had ended, Stands Tall spoke. His speech was slow and deliberate, and I could understand most of it. “We will dance tonight to celebrate the return of Runnin’ Wolf, whom we thought had gone to the land beyond, and Shinin’ Star, who was taken against her will, and to honor our white brother Grizzly Killer for bringing Running Wolf and Shining Star back to us.” He went on, “Even though the Snake people have been our enemies, Raven Wing and Sun Flower are now our sisters, and they should live long and raise many sons and daughters.” He looked right at Shinin’ Star and then said, “My heart is glad she had found such a great warrior to fill the emptiness she has felt inside.” Then with a smile, he said, “Let us dance.”

  The fire was built up, and the drums started a rhythm again, and there was chanting and dancin’ well into the night. There was never a question asked if I chose Shinin’ Star or if I wanted another wife. It seemed to be just a fact that now I had two wives. Two months ago, I had never been with a woman, and now I had two that was dependin’ on me and expecting me to be a husband to both. All I knew ’bout bein’ a husband at all was just from watchin’ Pa, and again I hoped I’d learned well enough.

  It was just two or three hours before dawn when the last of the dancin’ was finished and everyone was back in their wickiups. I had no idea what to expect ’bout goin’ to bed with Sun Flower and Shinin’ Star.

  24 The Attack

  Just ‘bout the time I figured out Sun Flower was leavin’ me alone with Shinin’ Star, Jimbo came up to me and started his low, throaty growl, and it was plain he wanted me to follow him. Shinin’ Star had a puzzled look on her face, and I asked her to get Runnin’ Wolf. She could sense the urgency in my voice, and in just a minute, Runnin’ Wolf and Raven Wing were there. I told Raven Wing to get Sun Flower and all their weapons. I asked Runnin’ Wolf to have Shinin’ Star alert Stands Tall that there might be danger and to get Two Feathers. While they were doin’ that, I got my Hawken and Pa’s old rifle along with Runnin’ Wolf’s long rifle, with his bow and quiver and our possibles bags. When I got back to the arbor, Sun Flower was there with her squirrel gun, and Raven Wing had her bow. Two Feathers came up with his bow and a questionin’ look.

  Runnin’ Wolf told him the dog sensed danger and his medicine was strong. The moon was almost full, and the night was light. The fire had burned down to just coals when me, Runnin’ Wolf, and Two Feathers followed Jimbo out into the night. We followed him north, maybe a half mile, and as we started up on a little rise, he stopped and dropped down to his belly. Two Feathers and Runnin’ Wolf crawled to the top of the rise, and in just a couple of minutes, they were back. Runnin’ Wolf said we had to get back to the village. There were many horses bein’ held by a warrior just over the rise, and he feared the village would be attacked. We followed our same path back to the village at a fast jog.

  When we got back, Stands Tall and the other men were at the arbor. It was then explained what we had found. We had to get the women and children to the other side of the river. I felt sure the village was bein’ watched, so we needed to move them without bein’ seen. Raven Wing and Shinin’ Star left us and went inside the first wickiup. Stands Tall said we would let them come into the village and surprise them when they were not expecting it. I saw several women and children on their hands and knees, stayin’ in the shadows, movin’ toward the river. Raven Wing and Shinin’ Star and now a couple of other women were movin’ in the shadows to each wickiup, and within a half hour, the village was empty.

  Two Feathers thought whoever it was would not attack till dawn, but we couldn’t be sure. It could be Navajo, Comanche, Arapaho, or Snakes. Runnin’ Wolf said it wouldn’t be the Snakes and told them of the Arapahos we had dealt with movin’ down the Seeds-Kee-Dee. He said if it was the Arapaho, they had split up because there weren’t as many horses as they were movin’ down the river.

  Shinin’ Star did not have a weapon, and Runnin’ Wolf told her to make sure the other women and children were well hidden and safe. I was hopin’ we couldn’t be seen bein’ in the shadow of the arbor. Stands Tall and Two Feathers laid out a plan for us to split up, half on each side of the village, and when they attacked, we would have them in a crossfire. We didn’t know for sure which way they would come, but the way the village was set with Rock Creek just to the west, the best cover they had to hide their approach was from the northeast. Me and Sun Flower, Runnin’ Wolf and Raven Wing, along with Stands Tall and Two Feathers, were on the northwest side of the village, well hidden in the brush, while the other Ute warriors hid in the brush on the other side just across from
us.

  We sat there in the brush, silent and motionless. Jimbo was right between Sun Flower and me, and I just watched him. I knew he would know before the rest of us when they were comin’. I figured it had been a couple of hours, and just as the sky started to turn gray along the eastern horizon, Jimbo started his low growl. I put my hand on his head and motioned for him to let the others know. He moved silent as a ghost and was back in just a minute. As the last of the stars faded from the sky, I caught a glimpse of movement out in the brush to the northeast, just like we had figured. I had my powder horn and several balls laid out in front of me and had taken my ramrod out from under the barrel so I could reload faster and made sure Sun Flower was set up the same way.

  These warriors were movin’ into the village without makin’ a sound, and I counted twenty of them. Some had bows with arrows ready, but most were carryin’ lances or war clubs. When they were set in front of each wickiup, one shouted out a war cry and flung the hide cover open. I fired, and then almost at the same time, Sun Flower and Runnin’ Wolf fired. Then almost instantly, there were arrows flyin’ and men on the ground. One warrior was runnin’ right for me, and as I brought Pa’s rifle up and fired, he threw his lance. His head almost exploded with the impact of that lead ball, and his lance struck the ground barely an inch from me. I could hear Jimbo’s vicious growl and saw a warrior go down under him. There were hand-to-hand battles goin’ on across the village, and as I finished reloadin’, I saw Runnin’ Wolf stand up and shoot the last of his arrows. I fired again, and another warrior fell, and just as I pulled out my tomahawk and knife to charge, Sun Flower fired again. I saw one of their warriors flinch from her shot, but before he fell, he pulled back his bow and let his arrow fly.

  Raven Wing saw it happen just as I did. It didn’t seem possible, but that arrow hit Sun Flower and buried deep between her shoulder and breast. Raven Wing reached her at the same time I did, but she screamed at me to go and kill them all. I charged into the melee, but it was ’bout over. One warrior turned to face me and swung his war club, but I blocked his swing and brought my tomahawk down right on the top of his head. There were seven or eight of them runnin’ through the brush to get away from us. This peaceful Ute village had been turned into a bloody and gruesome mess.