Grizzly Killer: The Medicine Wheel

by Lane R Warenski

  Zach told them all he was leaving in the morning to get back to Black’s Fork. He had already been delayed and he wanted to make sure he was there for the birth of his first child. He looked at Bear Heart and White Feather and asked them, “Do you wish to come to Black’s Fork?”

  Bear Heart looked at White Feather and could see the longing in her eyes. He then said, “Yes, but we do not wish to slow you down, we will follow, just a few days behind you.”

  Zach could see the worry on the face of Spotted Elk and he knew it was not a safe journey for just the two of them. So Zach excused himself from the rest and went and found Bear Heart and Red Hawk.

  He talked with them about their immediate plans and then knowing it was asking a lot he asked them if they would guide and protect Bear Heart and White Feather to see their daughters all the way to Black’s Fork. Red Hawk answered first, trying to keep a straight face saying, “This is a great thing you ask of us. It will take much time and we could face many dangers.”

  At that Bear Heart couldn’t take it anymore and with a big smile and more excitement than he could contain he jumped saying, “Yes, we are honored you would ask. We will lead them to the land of Grizzly Killer and will protect them with our lives.”

  Red Hawk was now smiling with the excitement and being proud that the great Grizzly Killer would trust them to protect his family.

  He felt good about the boys going with Bear Heart and White Feather and he thought Spotted Elk would too. Elizabeth Allen was still with him and he wondered if she would consider going back to St. Louis with Abner and Sean. He was very aware it would be a lot to ask of them but he felt certain they would not hesitate, especially Sean. So he needed to talk with the two of them before he said anything to Lizzy about it.

  He walked back over to the fire in front of Bear Heart and White Feather’s lodge. Abner and Sean where just about to leave when he approached. He smiled at everyone and said, “Come on Abner I’ll walk with ya back to your lodge.”

  He walked slowly telling them of his dilemma getting Lizzy back to St. Louis. Sean couldn’t hardly contain himself offering to take her with them. Abner looked at Zach and said, “Look what ye have saddled me with, a pup that thinks he’s in love and a fragile, pretty young lass that every Injun ‘tween hear and St. Louie would just love to steal.”

  Zach put a hand on Abner’s shoulder and said, “I know it’s a mighty task, but you can handle it.” Then he looked at Sean with a very serious tone and told him that Lizzy’s had a mighty rough time. The men that killed her husband and took her had abused her in every way they could. He told him she’s a mighty strong woman or she wouldn’t have survived, but it might take her some time before she’s ready to move on. Sean looked at Zach and then his older brother and said, “Ya, I like her a lot an’ ‘cause a that I only want the best fer her. I’ll watch o’er her, an’ pertect her, an’ treat her with all the respect our sweet mother, God rest her soul, taught us to.”

  Zach smiled, shook his hand and said, “Now we just got to see if she’ll agree to go with y’all.”

  As the three of them approached the fire again Zach saw that Red Hawk and Buffalo Heart were there. He was worried about Bear Heart thinking he had ask them to go because he couldn’t take care of himself and his wife anymore. His respect for the two boys grew even more as he heard them asking Bear Heart if they could go with him, for they would like to visit the land of Grizzly Killer again. As he walked up Spotted Elk looked up at him and the nearly unnoticeable nod from Zach told Spotted Elk this had all been arranged. He smiled with the knowledge that Grizzly Killer was indeed taking care of his aging parents.

  Lizzy wasn’t as excited about going with Abner and Sean as Sean had been. It was real plain to see that she didn’t want to leave Zach but she was a realist, she knew Zach already had two wives and it was clear to her he loved them dearly. So she agreed it would be best if she went back home with Abner and Sean.

  6 A Broken Cinch

  The next morning the village of Charging Bull was a busy place. By sunup Otter and his two companions had left for Broken Lance’s village and Spotted Elk had sent Lame Foot and Burnt Feather to find Jacob Henley. Jacob was now the presumed leader of Henry Cayson’s brigade of trappers. Zach wished he could wait for Jacob to get there but he knew it might be several more days. He wasn’t worried about the plews and supplies getting to Jacob he just wanted to tell him firsthand what had happened to Henry and the others and how he had dealt with the ones that did it. He didn’t know how much of the Shoshone language Jacob spoke but with Abner, Sean, and Lizzy there he figured Jacob would get the whole story.

  He made sure Abner, Sean and Lizzy had plenty of the horses and supplies from Skinner and his men to make it to St. Louis alright. Then said his farewell to Charging Bull and the rest of the village.

  The whole village was there as he mounted Ol’ Red and all the activity had Jimbo excited and ready to go. Spotted Elk stepped forward and quietly thanked him for having the boys travel with his parents and then Lizzy, Sean, and Abner told him farewell and if he ever went back to civilization to look them up. Their farm was only a day’s ride north of St. Louie.

  He nudged Ol’ Red with his knees and with his right hand pointed to the southwest and Jimbo took off leading the way.

  As his friends watched him ride away there were tears in Lizzy’s eyes. She said, “I’ve never met anyone like him before.”

  Butterfly told her, “That because there is no other like him.” Just then they watched as Zach stopped Ol’ Red turned and waved one last farewell to them all. Then, just as suddenly, he set the big red mule into a lope as he rode out of site into the distance.

  Zach was heading southwest right for the pass that he and Lizzy had crossed just the day before but now he was making much better time. Jimbo was staying a couple of hundred yards out in front and Zach figured they could be back home in 4 days.

  It was a beautiful spring day some light fluffy cloud set against the dark blue sky. The willows and cottonwoods along the streams were starting to get their leaves. The aspen up on the slopes were still bare but he knew it would only be a couple more weeks and they would be greening up as well. The snow was deep and holding in the upper reaches of the mountains and he thought about Jacob and the rest of Henry’s men up on the headwaters of the Popo Agie. How cold it would be wading in the streams that was nothing more than melted snow.

  It was near midday when he topped the pass and he stopped to let Ol’ Red rest a few minutes. As he did he looked out at the endless miles of the sage and grass covered prairie that he needed to cross. He figured he had lost two or three days on the way up here and he knew he had not taken a direct route. One man traveling alone on the well-used trails along the Seeds-Kee-Dee just wasn’t safe. Although now he wanted to be home and he figured the crossing to the south could save him a full day. So he mounted up and headed southwest straight across the barren flat lands that went for nearly a hundred miles to the crossing of the Seeds-Kee-Dee.

  As he made his way down out of the trees on the west side of the pass he pointed southwest again giving Jimbo the direction then put the big mule into a gentle lope. He could feel the powerful muscles of Ol’ Red under him as they headed out across the barren prairie.

  His eyes scanned the horizon for any sign of movement. He seen a small herd of buffalo way off to the southeast and passed several herds of antelope. He seen several badgers scurry to their holes as he loped past. A family of foxes darted up the far side of a small wash and disappeared into the sage. Then at about midafternoon Ol’ Red rode right into a large flock of prairie chickens. They flushed right out from between his legs flying in every direction. That got the big mule to bucking and Zach was doing his best staying astride Ol’ Red when the cinch broke and he, the saddle and the rifles he had tied to it all went flying.

  The saddle was still between his legs as he landed on his side with his face pushing right into the middle of an old dry sage. The stiff branches st
abbed into his skin and scratched the whole side of his face. He was bleeding from his ear to his chin. He had deep scratches both above and below his right eye, but what hurt the worst was his side. He had landed on a rock and he figured at least a couple of his ribs where busted.

  He lay there not moving for a few minutes then pushed through the pain and sat up. Ol’ Red then walked up as if nothing had happened and looked down at him as if asking, “What are you doing down there?”

  Just as Zach was getting up on his feet Jimbo came up to see what the delay was. Zach looked at him and said, “Don’t you start too, I’m not in the mood.” He tried to take a deep breath but the pain in his ribs stopped him short. He got into his possibles bag and brought out a small coil of raw hide and started in repairing the torn cinch strap. He was moving much slower than usual and wondered just how well he was going to be able to ride. Then he shook off that thought realizing he had no choice he would do what he had to do no matter how bad it hurt.

  After the cinch was repaired he went to throw the saddle up on Ol’ Red once again but the pain shooting through his side stopped him short and the saddle hit Red’s side and fell to the ground. Ol’ Red turned his head around looking at Zach as if asking, “What is wrong with you?” Zach reached back down this time with his left hand, turned Ol’ Red around and threw the saddle on from the opposite side. Then turned him around again and tightened the cinch. By the time he was sitting in the saddle again Zach felt like he had been through more than enough for one day.

  He gave Ol’ Red his head but just at a walk and within only a half hour he started looking for a place to spend the night. He figured a good night’s rest would help. He knew he was still many miles from the Seeds-Kee-Dee so when he came to just a small depression in the ground he stopped. This time he just loosened the cinch but left the saddle on telling Ol’ Red, “You’re just gonna half have to put up with the saddle tonight, it was you busted the cinch anyway.”

  He gave Red and Jimbo a small drink of water and then started to look for anything that would burn. He gently kicked lose several pieces of dry sage and found a few very old buffalo chips, it wasn’t a lot but he would half to make do. He scraped out small hole right in the bottom of this small depression and set the sage and buffalo chips by it. He wouldn’t light it ‘til night fall so the smoke couldn’t be seen. With the depression and the hole he had managed to scrap out he figured the light of the fire wouldn’t be seen from very far away.

  He rolled his buffalo robe out on the ground next to his little fire pit the carefully laid down on his back. He could feel his ribs moving every time he took in a breath. He poked and prodded with his fingers trying to tell how many ribs were really busted. Best he could tell three of them were. He had never had a broken bone himself before and he thought back to when he had set his partner’s, Running Wolf’s broken leg and how he had never made a sound. He remembered back home in Kentucky when Matt Barlow, a man from town had a tree fall on him busting several of his ribs and his Pa had cut a wide strip off of a blanket and they wrapped it tight around his ribs. Zach didn’t have a blanket or cloth of any kind but he had his buffalo sleeping robe.

  Sitting up about took his breath away but he slowly got his knife and cut an eight-inch-wide strip off the robe, split the ends to tie it with then wrapped it around his chest just under his arms and tied it off just a tight as he could. He was breathing pretty hard by the time he had the knots tight enough he figured they would hold then just stood there as his breathing slowly returned to normal.

  The sun was setting by now and he just stood there not wanting to move. He watched the few clouds start to turn orange around the edges and then the whole western sky turned into a brilliant flame orange glow as the last of the sun slipped below the horizon.

  As he moved to get down and start a fire he was relieved to find the strip around his chest had stopped the broken ribs from moving and they weren’t nearly as painful as they had been before. He sat there huddled right by his fire that wasn’t much bigger than just his hands and watched the last of the light fade from the western sky.

  Jimbo sensed something was wrong and never left Zach’s side. He knew Jimbo hadn’t went on his normal hunt for his dinner so he gave his faithful companion a couple pieces of jerky as they sat there by the small fire. They could hear Ol’ Red munching on the sparse grasses that grew around the short brittle sage and listened to some coyotes yipping at the moon not far off to the south.

  Every time he moved during the night he would wake and was more than happy to get up off the cold, hard ground just as the stars were starting to fade with the coming of dawn. He used what was left of his sparse supply of fire wood to get the fire started and brewed a little coffee with the last of his water. Jimbo went out and brought Ol’ Red up to the fire just as Zach was throwing the grounds from the coffee pot. He winced as he bent over and rolled the buffalo robe up and tied it off behind the saddle, tightened up the cinch then stepped up into the saddle. Before he started out he tightened the strip of robe around his ribs once more.

  He pointed Ol’ Red toward the southwest but kept him to a fast walk until he could tell how his broken ribs was going to take to the movement. After no more than a mile he squeezed his knees into the big mule and brought him into a gentle lope. He was surprised to find Ol’ Red’s smooth gate was actually easier on him than the walking had been.

  By midday they topped a small rise and he could see the waterway of the Seeds-Kee-Dee just a few miles to the west. He knew Ol’ Red and Jimbo both needed water so he turned and headed straight for the river. He came to the first of the river breaks about a mile and a half from the river and stopped looking for the easiest way down to the ancient flood plain below when he saw the smoke.

  It was coming from a large stand of cottonwoods a mile or so south of where he was planning on hitting the river. Not having any idea who was there he decided to back track north a mile or two before dropping off this higher bench land he was on. As he rode north he figured whoever it was would just be there hunting but if it wasn’t Shoshone hunters he knew it could mean big trouble.

  After he was far enough north he knew he could cross the river without being seen. He headed down to the flood plain through the next wash he came to. Jimbo was out in front as always and could sense the urgency as Zach brought Ol’ Red into a fast gallop getting into the cover of the trees right along the river.

  He stopped only long enough to let Jimbo and Ol’ Red drink and for him to fill his water pouches. Then moved across and headed straight west away from the river. By late afternoon he figured he was between fifteen and twenty miles from the river and into the cover of timbered hills. He then turned south hoping he would find a stream before night fall.

  His ribs ached, in fact his whole side was sore but he kept Ol’ Red at a steady walk and just tensed his muscles against the discomfort. He was heading nearly straight south. He had climbed up off the barren flat land into these hills and although there was some timber in the draws there was a lot drier open ground.

  It was about two hours before sundown when he topped a small ridge and stopped. To his west a large canyon dropped off with a stream winding its way south. The sun was reflecting off the water making it look like a silver ribbon that was laid along the valley floor. He carefully studied the lay of the land and picked what he figured was the easiest way down and forty-five minutes later he entered a large stand of willows that was growing along the creek.

  He figured the willows would give him a little shelter from the wind that had started this afternoon and conceal the light from his fire. The creek made one of its many bends right in the middle of the willows and it had washed up a large pile of branches and logs there on the bend. He climbed down off Ol’ Red deciding this is where he would make his small camp.

  After getting the saddle off Ol’ Red he just patted the big mule’s neck and told him he was sorry for not rubbing him down after a long day on the trail. Ol’ Red nuzzled the palm
of his hand then walked out onto the dry ground, laid down and rolled over and over again. Zach put his hand over his head and moved it in a small circle and Jimbo took off in a large circle around their camp making sure it was clear and safe.

  Zach was exhausted and his side hurt not only from the broken and bruised ribs but from having his muscles tensed all day trying to keep the ribs from moving. Although it was still light the sun had already gone behind the high ridge to the west so he knew he couldn’t just sit and rest like he wanted to, he had things to do before darkness fell.

  He started by scraping out a small shallow fire pit then getting enough of the wood that had been washed up on the bank to last him through tonight and tomorrow morning. Then carefully kneeling down with his fire starter kit he got a spark to take in the small piece of charred patch cloth. Just as he was transferring the cloth to his prepared tinder a gust of wind swirled through the willows and blew it out. He took a deep breath, sighed and started all over again.

  By the time he had the fire going it was nearly dark. As he added larger and larger sticks a bed of coals started to form. He filled his small coffee pot with water from the creek and set it on the coals. Jimbo returned and Zach smiled as his faithful companion dropped a rabbit right at his feet then turn and disappeared again into the twilight. Zach skinned and cleaned the rabbit and put it on a stake over the fire. Just as the rabbit was done Jimbo came back with another one for himself. They both sat there by the fire and ate their rabbits while Ol’ Red grazed on the new grass shoots that was coming up along the creek. After they ate he sipped his hot bitter coffee and watched the sky as the milky-way appeared, almost like a cloud against the blackness of the night sky.