Grizzly Killer: The Medicine Wheel

by Lane R Warenski

  The sun was well above the eastern horizon by the time they were on their way again. Jimbo acting like nothing at all had happened took off out in the lead as he always did. Again today they were not making great time but they were all glad to be on the move again after the startling start they’d had to their day. One of the pack horses had injured his left fore-leg as he panicked and ran into the darkness when the bear ran toward them. Although his injury wasn’t bad enough to leave him behind they stopped often to let him rest.

  By late afternoon they had made it to the hot springs, and stopped for the night. The four youngest, Buffalo Heart, Red Hawk, Standing Bear and Running Deer went out hunting while the others took care of the stock and hobbled them on the green grass below the warm pond. As always, by swinging his hand in a circle over his head he sent Jimbo out to scout a large circle around them. He was back by the time the horses were taken care of, wagging his tail letting them know all was safe.

  After the women had camp set and a fire going they went to the edge of the pond slipped out of their doe skin dresses and stepped out into the very warm water. As the men finished their chores they all got into the water to soak and bath.

  Although Zach was walking now without a limp his leg still ached from the arrow wound almost constantly. As he stepped into the warm water and headed towards where his wives were in water up to their necks, he could feel the warm water easing the ache. When he was in water just past his knees he sat down on the sandy bottom taking the weight off his leg. He let it just float out in front of him and relaxed it. Shining Star and Sun Flower soon was sitting there next to him. Shining Star moved down in front of him and started to softly rub the injured calf muscle, Zach closed his eyes with a smile and let the warm water and Shining Star take away the nagging ache.

  Soon all the others were back in camp leaving Zach and his wives there alone. The hot mineral water felt so good and with the ache in his leg having completely stopped, Zach didn’t want to move. His eyes were closed when he felt Sun Flower slowly move away. He heard her walk up out of the water dress and walk back to camp. He opened his eyes as Shining Star moved up and sat on his lap facing him. With her arms around his neck she moved her face closer to his until their lips met and as they kissed she started moving her body against his.

  It was nearly an hour later when the two of them left the comfort of the warm water dressed and walked back to camp. Soon after that the four young men came riding in with an antelope tied over the back of Standing Bear’s horse. It took no time at all for the women to have it skinned and over the fire roasting.

  The day had been another warm dry summer day but as the sun set its heat went with it. Zach wondered why it was so much cooler here without the sun than back in Kentucky, but then he thought everything else was different why not the temperature as well.

  Sun Flower watched her sister and Shining Star nurse their babies and White Feather could see the longing in her face. She walked over and sat beside her daughter saying, “Be patient my daughter, for you are still young, your time will come.” Sun Flower looked at her mother, smiled and nodded, but the desire she had to have Grizzly Killer’s child did not lessen.

  This warm spring, they were camped by came out of the ground and formed this large pond about a half mile east of the river. The green around the warm spring and the creek flowing out of it stood out in sharp contrast to the dry sage and cactus covered hills around them. At a quick glance one would think these dry hills wouldn’t be so full of life, but with water plentiful there seemed to be life all around them. The hills were spotted with badger holes. They had seen several weasels in just the few hours they had been here.

  As the light started to fade they could hear three different packs of coyotes yipping back and forth to each other and soon after that that two wolves started to howl somewhere on the other side of the river. There were herds of antelope scattered through the hills and deer in the thickets along the river. Zach thought again just how much he had grown to love this land. He had learned it could be brutally harsh and unforgiving but he also knew it could provide everything he and his family could ever need.

  He slid under their sleeping robe that was laid out in the open again tonight and enjoyed the closeness of Sun Flower and Shining Star. Star was restless and Shining Star picked her up and laid her between Sun Flower and Zach, she was asleep almost at once. They watched the milky-way start to fade as the moon rose over the ridge top to the east with its bright light washing out the brightness of the stars.

  The moon was nearly set in the west when Zach next opened his eyes. Star was still fast asleep nestled in between Sun Flower and himself. He smiled thinking this was the first time she had slept all the way through the night. He listened for the early morning sounds that told him all was safe around him. Jimbo had already left on his early morning hunt so he knew all was safe. He listened, as he always did, but they were two far away to hear any birds along the river then he heard a rustle out in the brush and the desperate squeal of a mouse as a weasel made its kill, probably taking the mouse back to her little ones.

  He rolled over Shining Star as he got up stopping just along enough for a quick kiss. As he moved Star woke and was instantly hungry. She started to try and suckle from Sun Flower’s bare breast but Shining Star moved over to where Zach had been laying and provided Star with her breast that was nearly bursting with milk. This had been the longest she had gone since Star was born without nursing her and she winced as the baby started to suckle, her breasts were so full they were tender.

  Zach walked to the edge of camp and watched as the sky started to lighten along the eastern ridge line. This was his favorite time of day, it was quiet and peaceful. He had always enjoyed watching the world come to life in the mornings. He looked all around and couldn’t see a single cloud in what seemed to be an endless sky. He heard footsteps and looked just as Badger walked up beside him. He smiled at the older warrior and was about to say good morning when a shadow silently flew low right over camp.

  The shadow was a large great horned owl and the two men just looked at one another. They both knew that Owl was the harbinger of death. Owl was a night stalker taking his pray in the dark of night on silent wings and only the dark spirits hunted at night. Neither men spoke, they just stood there in silence.

  Running Wolf joined them and just a few minutes later the women were up getting the fire going. They used the last of their flour this morning for biscuits and Raven Wing showed Zach the pouch that had the last of the coffee beans. There was only enough for a few more pots, but they were on their way to Rendezvous and Zach figured to resupply in a few days anyway. So they used what they needed. Jimbo came back with one of the large mountain hare that is common to this area just as they were getting biscuits and coffee for everyone.

  Badger took a sip of the hot bitter coffee and shook his head setting the cup down. Then asked Shining Star to make his words in the Shoshone tongue. She nodded and he proceeded, “This morning before the sky lightened as Grizzly Killer and I was watching the darkness fade, Owl flew low over our camp. I am not a medicine man so I cannot say who Owl was coming for, but I thought everyone should know that Owl made his presence known.”

  No one spoke for several minutes, then White Feather stood. She nodded at Shining Star to continue, “Maybe Owl came to speak to someone not take their spirit away. Many times Owl has spoken to our Medicine Man letting him know what the spirits want from us.”

  Badger nodded when Shining Star had finished her translation then he said, “But we have no medicine man with us.”

  Running Wolf then spoke up, “We have Raven Wing, Uncle, and I believe she has the medicine of Blue Fox the Medicine Man that taught her to be a healer. Owl could have come to talk to her.”

  They all looked at Raven Wing as Badger asked, “Did Owl talk to you last night?”

  Raven Wing was devastated and her heart sank as she looked up. She had indeed had a very troubling dream last night. She had not k
nowingly spoken to Owl, but in her dreams she was troubled for she was trying to help a young warrior who was in tremendous pain, but her medicines didn’t seem to be working. She could not see his face only that his arm was hurt and she was trying to help him. The dream was troubling and she had not known what it could mean.

  She told them of the dream and said she did not know if it was Owl trying to speak to her or not for Owl has never spoken to her before. Badger thought for a few minutes then said, “Raven Wing is a young healer, her medicine will grow stronger with age. Perhaps Owl is teaching her to listen so later on she will be able to tell us the wishes of the spirits of the ones that have gone before.”

  Everyone nodded at that and Raven Wing was looked at with even more respect among the Ute warriors. For now, they all believed she was more than just a healer, she would be a powerful Medicine Woman someday.

  25 Crossing the Snake

  Ely sat there watching the breeze catch that little bit of smoke. It would disappear completely as the wind blew it through the tops of the pines. Then as the breeze died back down the tiny smoke column would reappear. Ely tried to plot a course that would get them to their cache but would keep them away from whoever was camped right where they needed to go. He turned back toward where Grub and Benny were and hoped he couldn’t see the smoke from their fire over the top of the trees and smiled as he could see no trace at all.

  He slowly slid off the point of rocks then carefully climbed back down to where he had tied his horse. The sun was now down and the light was fading fast. Under the canopy of pines, it was almost dark by the time he was making his way back to his partners.

  He could see the flickering glow of a small fire before he could hear any sounds, then when he was only a hundred yards out he gave the call of a screech owl. A moment later he was answered with the chattering of a squirrel. This was a signal that Grub and Ely had worked out years ago. The sounds were completely natural in the forest so if anyone else was close enough to hear, they would not think it anything but animals and they might avoid the area where an owl was hunting. For they knew most people believed the owl was a bad omen, meaning death or bad fortune was coming.

  Ely walked on in, he smiled when he seen Benny diligently working the cougar hide. Ely didn’t figure it would be worth much but he admired the kid for caring for it. They hadn’t taken any game now for several days and they were down to just a little jerky left. The last coffee they’d had was so weak they’d just threw the grounds out. So as they sat around this little fire and chewed on hard dry jerky and cold water, Ely told Grub and Benny of what he had seen.

  Grub was working on a particularly hard piece of jerky and looked at his long-time friend with a disgusted look and said, “Ya know Pard, it might be worth just getting the hell out this country jus’ so we dare do a little huntin’. I’m tired of livin’ off this stuff.”

  Ely smiled and nodded saying, “You ain’t no more tired of it than me, but you ain’t willin’ to leave all them plews any more than me. I figure we can be to ‘em by tomorrow night.”

  “Is that with or without our hair?” Grub asked.

  As they started out the next morning Ely led them out of the drainage they were following and around the bottom of the high rocky point of the ridge where he had been scouting the night before. They were now heading east and he figured they could hit the top of the canyon and work their way down to the cache safer than hitting the Snake and following the creek up. Once they got their plews they would follow the snake upstream find a place to cross and then head straight for the valley of the Salt River.

  They crossed another large drainage they had heard called Sheep Creek and continued on east around a peak they just naturally called Sheep Creek Peak. Their cache was in the next canyon to the east that they called Little Elk Creek. Ely figured if they stayed way up high on the mountain away from the river they would be safe from the large Blackfoot war party that he figured was along the river looking for them or any others they could attack.

  Staying up on the mountain slope was hard on all of them, but especially the horses. By the time late afternoon had arrived they were just starting down into the canyon of Little Elk Creek. Ely figured they were ten or twelve miles from where he had seen the smoke but by not knowing who it was or which way they were headed he still didn’t figure it was safe to fire a rifle to make meat. It was quite a temptation to do so, when they come out of the trees at the bottom of the canyon there were a dozen elk watering at the creek only fifty yards or so away.

  They stopped there and watered the horses then moved on down the creek to their old camp. The sun was down but it was still light when they got the horses stripped and hobbled. Grub walked up the hill just a little ways and smiled when he seen where they had cached their plews was completely undisturbed.

  As they sat around their small fire and chewed on what jerky they had left, Grub commented, “We’s is gonna be goin’ mighty hungry from here on out if’n we don’t make some meat tomorrow. This here is the last of the jerky.”

  Ely replied, “Just tighten yer belt a little fer mornin’. We’ll get loaded up and by afternoon we’ll be to the Salt and we should find meat and be safe by then, I don’t figure those Blackfeet will foller us that far south, they gotta know they’s only three of us. We’s cain’t be worth that much trouble fer ‘em.”

  Grub nodded saying, “I guess yer right, Pard, I be damn glad ta be rid a this here country.”

  Benny asked, “Once we hit the Salt how much further is it on to Sweet Lake and the rendezvous?”

  Ely thought for a minute then answered, “I’d guess about a hundert miles- maybe a hundert and fifty.”

  Grub answered as well, “We should make it in another three or four days, less we gotta play hidy seek with them Blackfeet all the way, then who knows how long it’ll take?”

  The night passed quietly and the next morning they were up and digging up their cache by the time the sun had appeared. The horses had been able to graze well throughout the night on the tall meadow grass growing along the creek. Both Grub and Ely figured they were ready for another long day on the trail.

  They were still worried about the Blackfeet but a more immediate concern was finding a safe place to cross the wild Snake River. All three of them hoped the spring runoff would be over and they could find a suitable crossing but the worried look on Ely’s face told of the concern he still had.

  The next morning, they didn’t even bother with a fire, they didn’t have anything at all to heat up and although it was cool it wasn’t cold. They dug up the plews that Grub and Ely had taken last fall working hard clear into winter until the streams were frozen over. They then added those to the ones they had with them from the spring trapping season. Once they had the weight spread evenly on their pack horses they started down Little Elk Creek toward the Snake. About a mile before they got to the river Ely handed the lead rope of his pack horse to Benny and went forward scouting the area alone.

  He was staying up in the timber where he couldn’t be seen as he followed the canyon down. He could hear the roar of the river long before he could see it. When he was only a couple hundred yards from the river bank he dismounted and continued on foot. He came out of the trees on the point of land on the east side of Little Elk Creek and cautiously continued to the big rivers edge, looking both upriver and downriver for any sign of trouble. He watched two otters playing along the rocks just a few yards upstream and smiled when one of them came out of the water with a fish in his mouth. His empty belly growled as he thought how good a trout would be slow cooked over the coals.

  He watched for several minutes seeing no sign at all of any human activity but the river was fast and wild. He studied the fast moving current and far bank and could see there was no way to cross here. By the time he got back to Grub and Benny he had decided their best chance at a safe crossing was going to be upriver. Less than a day’s travel upstream the Salt River runs in and a little above that the Greys River. He fig
ured once they got above those two rivers the Snake would be a little smaller and the crossing might not be so treacherous. He knew they would then have to cross Greys River and eventually the Salt but they were much smaller and he didn’t figure they would be a problem.

  When he got back to Grub and Benny he told them what he was thinking and Grub nodded and said, “Let’s get on with it Pard, once we get on the south side of the big river I is gonna shoot the first thing I see’s that’ll make a meal.”

  Benny was grinning as Ely looked at him saying, “Ain’t no doubt why we call ‘em Grub is there?”

  Benny answered with a big grin, “I recken not, but I gotta tell ya I’m a might hungry myself.” Ely shook his head at the two of them and started back down toward the river.

  The mountain side was too steep to stay up off the river so they made their way right along its edge. It was slow going most of the time for it was rocky and the mountain in places came right to the river’s edge.

  It was late afternoon by the time they could see where the Salt entered and the sun was nearly down when they found a spot they figured they could cross just above where the Grey’s joins the Snake right at the mouth of the canyon. Ely figured they should wait and cross in the morning, but Grub told him, “If’n we wait it means ridin’ all day tomorrow in wet buckskins, if we cross now and make camp on the other side we’s can let these skins dry by the fire tonight and be dry to move on.”

  Benny who normally didn’t say much about what they should do, added, “That sounds a lot better to me Ely, let cross now and get it over with.”

  Ely looked at them both, nodded and told them, “We best go one at time. The river ain’t as wild here but that water is mighty cold and deep enough it’s gonna mean some swimmin’.”