Grizzly Killer: The Medicine Wheel

by Lane R Warenski

  It was late spring 1828 and still mighty cold at night along the upper reaches of the Seeds-Kee-Dee. He had stayed west of the river on his way north to reduce the chance of running into Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow, or Blackfeet that may be traveling along the river. He figured this creek was what many of the trappers called Fontenelle creek after Lucian Fontenelle the leader of a trapping brigade that had spent much time in this area. He was about to turn east and head to the pass at the south end of the Wind River Mountains when he’d seen the black smoke that led him to the slaughter of Henry Clayson and his men.

  He knew he had to give them enough time to go to sleep before he made his move on the guard so he put an arm around Jimbo for his body heat and lay there motionless for the next hour. The fires had died down to just a few glowing coals as he rose to his feet and slowly started toward where he figured the night guard would be. He had Jimbo stay where he was so the horses wouldn’t catch scent of the dog and maybe make a fuss.

  He had only moved a few yards when he saw the silhouette of the guard sitting on a log. His head was weaving and every few minutes he would shake it to try and stay awake. Zach moved with such skill he made no sound at all as he approached the drowsy guard from the rear. Then when only an arm’s length away he reached out and put his left hand over the man’s mouth and drove his knife down through the side of his neck and out his throat. There was only a gurgling sound as his body went stiff and Zach pulled him tight up against himself and held him there until he went limp then slowly lowered him to the ground without making any noise. One of the horses blew as he smelled the blood but made no further sounds.

  From where Zach had been he couldn’t see exactly where Skinner had taken the woman, so he had to be mighty careful until he found out. There were still five men against only himself and Jimbo so he knew just how careful he had to be. He didn’t know how much time he had before one of the others might get up to relieve the guard.

  He could see three of the sleeping men from where he was and moved carefully around them until he could see the forth, then moved just a little further and found where Skinner and the woman were lying. He figured if he went after Skinner the woman may scream and wake the others so he figured he had to take out the other four first. It was a serious risk but he couldn’t see any other way.

  He slowly pulled back the hammer of his rifle then pulled the pistol from under his belt and did the same. He then carefully laid the 50 caliber Hawken on the ground and pulled his knife. With the pistol in his left hand and knife in his right he made a vicious slice across the first one’s throat and a second later fired the pistol into the next. He dropped both of those and in one swift motion had the Hawken in his hand and fired it before the next one had even sat up. He was reaching for his tomahawk just as Jimbo attacked the fourth. Zach, with tomahawk in hand turned toward where Skinner and the woman were just in time to see Skinner’s bare butt running away from their camp.

  The woman was lying there naked with the sleeping robe several feet away and the look on her face told Zach she was too frightened to move. He turned back to check on Jimbo only to see the huge dog with a death grip on the throat of the fourth man.

  Zach took a step toward the woman and she jumped back, he spoke softly as he said, “I ain’t gonna hurt you ma’am. I’m here to help.” Her eyes were wide and the fear Zach could see in them he knew was real. He slowly walked around her to the sleeping robe that had been pulled off her when Skinner had fled, picked it up and carefully put it back over her.

  Jimbo came up alongside Zach and growled as he looked into the brush where Skinner had run into the darkness. The woman gasped at the site of Jimbo, for he was a mighty fearsome site. Zach patted his dogs head and said, “Easy boy, not now.” Then he told her, “Ma’am, I know you’re mighty scared and confused but we have to get rid of all their truck. We can’t leave nothin’ that Skinner feller can use an’ we have to do it all mighty quick ‘fore he gets so cold he comes back.” She never said a word just stared up at him with her big blue eyes.

  Zach started picking up the guns and possibles pouches that each of the now dead men had and carried them over by the horses. He gave Jimbo a hand signal to go get Ol’ Red and the big dog left on the run. Most of their supplies had not been unloaded from the packs so he started loading the packs on the horses. By the time he had everything loaded the woman had dressed and was just standing there staring at him.

  Zach stopped and looked down into her confused and worried eyes and said, “My name is Zach Connors, the men this murdering scum killed this morning were friends of mine. That big one is still out there and since I didn’t find his rifle I figure he has it with him. He only has the one shot but that can be enough so we have to get a move on. He’s naked and it’s cold so he’ll be comin’ back here for the fire and clothes and more shot and powder. We can’t leave nothin’ for him and we’ve got to leave in a hurry.” She nodded and went right over and started to strip the dirty, greasy, ragged clothes from the dead men and threw them all on the coals of the fire. The clothes were just starting to burn when she saw movement and jumped back with a gasp as Jimbo and Ol’ Red came into sight and right over to Zach.

  He stopped for only a moment and scratched the ear of Jimbo and stroked the side of Red’s neck. Then went to the fire and threw an arm load of firewood on it to make sure all the clothing and moccasins would burn.

  Satisfied there was nothing left that would be of any use to Skinner, Zach looked at the woman and said, “Ma’am it’s time to go.”

  She walked over and looked up at him and said, “I’m Elisabeth Allen but I’ve been just Lizzy most all my life.” Zach smiled and pointing to all the saddled horses said, “Well, Lizzy, take your pick.”

  She climbed up on the back of a small sorrel mare and said, “I’ve been riding this one, she knows me, I call her Molly.” Zach cut the picket rope, climbed up on Ol’ Red and started all of them across the river heading east toward the south end of the Wind River Mountains.

  Zach ask Lizzy to take the lead, heading for a distant star that was setting low in the eastern sky as he and Jimbo brought up the rear. These horses were all trail wise and followed along behind Lizzy’s Sorrel with little effort. The land here was mostly flat, high desert and they were making good time for it being such a cold dark night.

  They had been traveling for three or four hours and Zach figured it was only a couple hours before light when they come upon a draw that had just a trickle of water running in the bottom and Zach called a stop. He rode up alongside Lizzy and saw she was shivering from the cold. With his right arm he made large a circle in the air above his head and Jimbo responded immediately by disappearing into the darkness. He then helped her down and went right to work building a small sheltered fire where he knew it couldn’t be seen. He made his small coffee pot full of strong black coffee and they sipped coffee sharing his one tin cup as they warmed themselves by the fire. They were on their second cup of coffee when Jimbo came up to them waging his tail and Zach smiled and said, “Looks like we’re safe here for now.” She hadn’t said a word since they had left the river but she had a bewildered look as he said that. He smiled as he told her, “Jimbo just ran a complete circle way out around us and told me all was clear.” She had a look of disbelief but never said a word.

  He walked over to Ol’ Red and removed his bed roll from behind the saddle, brought it over to the small fire and laid it on the ground. Lizzy got a distant look and sadness shown on her face as she reached up and started to unbutton her dirty and torn dress. Zach reached down put his large calloused hand under her chin and gently raised her face to look at him. He could feel her trembling under his touch and said, “Ma’am, I figure you’ll stay warmer if’n ya leave the dress on. I want you to lay down here and get some rest while I ride our back trail just to make sure nobody is followin’.”

  He felt her body relax just a little and she looked back down at the fire then asked, “You’re not goin’ to take me lik
e the others.” He just stood there and watched her for a minute then said, “No ma’am, I ain’t like them others. I have wives waitin’ for me and I love ‘em dearly, but right now I need to make sure we ain’t bein’ followed and you need some sleep, so we’ll talk about this when I get back, it’ll be light by then.”

  With a slight whistle Jimbo came right up to him, he patted the huge dogs head and told him to watch over her. He then looked at her and said, “Trust him, he’ll keep ya safe.”

  She watched him walk away, took a deep breath then looked at this huge, mean-looking dog as a chill rocked her body. She sat down on the edge of the buffalo hide bed roll and pulled it up around her shoulders as she stared into the flickering flames of the small fire. She didn’t know what was going to happen to her or for that matter she had no idea even where she was. Jimbo laid down next to her and she reached out and patted his head. He slid even closer to her and a few minutes after she’d heard Zach, Ol’ Red, and a spare mount ride away she laid down resting her head on Jimbo.

  3 A Hard Choice

  Zach kept Ol’ Red and his spare mount in a steady lope for over an hour then slowed to a fast walk until the stars were fading with the coming of dawn. Thirty minutes later he stopped to study the terrain before him. He could see no movement at all. Then as the rising sun hit the waterway of the Seeds-Kee-Dee he could see a column of smoke coming from where Skinner’s camp had been the night before.

  He knew the fire he had left would be long out by now so he figured the one they called Skinner had kept it going. He angled off the trail they had made the night before and hit the river about a mile south of where the smoke was coming from.

  He tied the spare mount but just dropped the reins of the big mule. Ol’ Red would stay right where he was whenever Zach dropped the reins. Then he started through the brush and trees along the bank toward the camp site. He slowed his movements when he was no more than a quarter mile out and checked the prime in his Hawken and pistol. He carefully moved in closer and closer until he could see Skinner sitting by the fire. He was still naked as a new born. The bodies of his men had not been moved, they were all lying right where they fell the night before.

  Skinner had his back toward him so Zach raised his rifle and slowly stood. Then in a calm but deadly voice said, “If’n ya move you’re dead.”

  Skinner jumped and Zach fired. He didn’t want to kill Skinner out right but after what he had witnessed the day before he sure wouldn’t lose any sleep over havin’ to kill this murderer either. For a big man Skinner was fast and Zach’s shot just grazed his backside, putting an inch-deep groove right across his buttocks. Skinner hit the ground reaching for his rifle but he froze motionless as Zach appeared in front of him. As Skinner looked up he was staring down the .54 caliber barrel of Zach’s horse pistol.

  Zach with a cold smile said, “Told ya not ta move, now didn’t I.” Skinner’s face was turning red and Zach could see the anger building behind those blood shot eyes. So without any hesitation Zach kicked him right in the face hard enough that it turned Skinner over and broke his nose. Skinner’s eyes rolled back in his head and he was out cold.

  Zach took a piece of coiled up rawhide from his possibles bag and securely tied his hands and feet. Then walked back down the river to where he had left Ol’ Red and the spare mount. Zach took his time riding back up the river to where he had left Skinner. He was thinking about just what to do with this murdering, useless piece of humanity. He knew very well Skinner deserved to be strung up but he really didn’t have the taste to hang a man and he thought that would be letting him off too easy. Then he remembered what he had overheard last night. One of the other men had said they had taken some squaws a couple of weeks ago. In this area he felt sure they would have been Shoshone so he decided he would take Skinner with him and let the Shoshone deal with him.

  When he rode up to where he had left Skinner, he could see he was now awake, his butt was bloody and still seeping blood and his face was covered with blood. Skinner still had a dazed look but said with a snarl, “Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m a friend of those you killed yesterday, they call me Grizzly Killer.”

  Skinner spit out a mouthful of blood and said, “I heard of you.”

  Zach climbed down off Ol’ Red, looked down at him and told him, “You have a choice ta make, I can hang ya right here and now or I can tie you over my spare mount and take ya up to the Shoshone village of Chargin’ Bull and let them deal with ya. What’s it gonna be.”

  Skinner with an angry snarl replied, “You ain’t gonna hang me.”

  “OK, you made the call.” Zach said as he took a step toward him, the look on Skinner’s face went from anger to worried as Zach bent over grabbed him by his hair and picked him up. Skinner tried to swing his tied hands at Zach’s head, but Zach blocked the swing with his left and brought his right full of rock-hard knuckles into Skinners side doubling the big man over and he went to the ground having the wind knocked out of him. Zach said in a calm but serious voice, “I can do this all day… you sure you want me to?” Then he reached down and grabbing his hair again he lifted him to his feet. Without saying another word he stepped behind Skinner and with his hands on Skinner’s sides he threw him belly down up over the saddle and tied his hands to his feet under the horse’s belly.

  The deep gash across his butt had started to bleed again with all this movement but the only thing Zach said was, “Hope ya don’t bleed ta death ‘fore we get to Chargin’ Bull’s village.” He then climbed up on his big red mule and with the lead rope in his hand he headed back to where he had left Jimbo and Lizzy.

  He started out in an easy lope and after only a few minutes Skinner started to scream he couldn’t take this anymore, but Zach never slowed. He figured he was less than an hour from getting back when he slowed to a walk to rest the horses. Skinner was just moaning and mumbling by now. He stayed at a walk for only a few minutes then started at the easy lope again.

  In about another quarter hour he saw Jimbo come running out of the draw right to him. Ol’ Red nickered at the big dog, glad they were all together again. Lizzy had kept the small fire going and had made another pot of coffee that Zach could smell as he rode up. She smiled when she first saw him then stepped back when she saw the bloody mess of Skinner lying across the saddle of the spare mount.

  She had a look of pure hatred as she asked, “Is he dead?”

  Zach turned and looked back saying, “Hope not, he still has to pay for his crimes.” Zach climbed off Ol’ Red and pulled the saddle then went back and cut Skinner loose and pushed him off, Skinner was out cold and made no sound as he hit the ground. Then Zach unsaddled the horse and rubbed her and Ol’ Red down with clumps of dry grass, then went back to see to his prisoner. He got his water pouch and poured a little into the man’s face, who moaned as he opened his eyes. Zach handed him the pouch and with very shaky hands he brought the pouch to his lips and drank. Lizzy looking at him with both hatred and fear said, “I thought you would kill him like you did the others.”

  Zach told her, “I gave him his choice… I could hang him or take him to the Shoshone. He chose the Shoshone but I have a feelin’ he’s gonna regret that choice.” She just looked at him with a questioning look but she never asked any more. There was no doubt in his mind though that there was a burning hatred behind those dark blue eyes.

  He then told Jimbo to watch Skinner as he told Lizzy he was going to get a little sleep. He lay down on his robe by the fire and was asleep within minutes.

  It was about two hours later that he opened his eyes and listened. He could hear the horses munching grass and saw several buzzards circling. He could hear the small larks singing in the sage and he knew all was safe. He took a quick look around and he couldn’t see Lizzy or Jimbo anywhere in sight. Skinner hadn’t moved at all and was still laying right where Zach had left him. But he expected Jimbo to be right there watching as well. It wasn’t at all like Jimbo to leave what he had been told to do and he h
ad been told to watch Skinner. Zach stood and looked around but still couldn’t see Jimbo or Lizzy. He took two steps toward Skinner and then could see the knife sticking out of his chest. His eyes where open, looking up at a bright blue springtime sky but not seeing a thing.

  At that moment in time Zach regretted bringing Skinner back wishing he would have just strung him up back at the river. He hadn’t thought through what the impact of bringing him back would have on Lizzy. He thought back to what his Pa had told him in a dream that he hadn’t taught him about the treachery of men. Zach sadly thought he was learning, but he knew very little about women as well. He whistled once and a minute later Jimbo appeared from up on the flat and he walked up out of the small draw to his big dog.

  He could see the blond hair of Lizzy about a hundred yards ahead of him, she was sitting in the sage looking up at the majesty of the mighty Wind River Mountains. There were white puffy clouds against the azure blue sky and just a slight cool breeze that reminded them it was still spring. She didn’t look at him when he walked up to her but he noticed her body tensed up. He didn’t say anything just sat down beside her. She had tears running down her dirty cheeks and her hands were clutched so tightly in her lap all her knuckles were pure white. He reached around her with his left arm and gently pulled her up against him. He felt her body start to relax then she leaned her head into his chest and started to cry.

  She cried until her body rocked, until he thought she couldn’t have any more tears. He could feel the dampness soaking through his buckskin shirt and still she cried. He didn’t have any idea how long they had been there but he just held her and let her cry.

  Finally, the tears stopped, and she reached up and tried to dry her eyes. She leaned back away from him and with an embarrassed look said, “I’m sorry.”