Grizzly Killer: Under The Blood Moon

by Lane R Warenski

  Good to See Friends

  Zach had Running Wolf and the Shoshone boys stay to protect the women and their camp while he mounted Ol’ Red and followed Jimbo to see just what the trouble was. He had traveled only a couple of miles when he could smell a hint of wood smoke and left Ol’ Red right there while he and Jimbo crept through the brush to see just who was up ahead. He stayed to high ground and over the crest of a hill to the east of the river for another half mile or so then got on his belly and inched his way to where he could see over the hill without being seen. There were a couple of dozen Indians in a camp under the cottonwoods along the river and he was mighty surprised and pleased when he saw they were Utes. Then a very tall one walked out into the open and he could see right off that it was Two Feathers, the son of Stands Tall, the chief of Running Wolf and Shining Star’s village.

  Jimbo started to whine and Zach could tell he now knew they were friends. Last year when they had stayed in the Ute Village on Rock Creek on the south slope of the Uintah Mountains, Jimbo had become close friends with Gray Horse, one of the teenage boys that watches the village and cares for the horse herd. Just then, Jimbo let out a loud bark and took off toward the village. Zach stood up and started to wave and yelled in Ute, “It is good to see friends this far from home.” With the whole village now watching, Jimbo ran right in among them and right up to Gray Horse and knocked him off his feet. As Zach jogged into the camp he was greeted with smiles and Gray Horse had his arms around Jimbo’s neck with Jimbo licking his face.

  Two Feathers greeted him with a smile and hand shake and asked immediately about Running Wolf and Shining Star. Zach told him they were close, just a ways up river setting up a camp. Two Feathers had Gray Horse bring up two horses and Zach jumped up behind him and they rode to where he had left Ol’ Red.

  Jimbo ran into camp well ahead of Zach, Two Feathers and Gray Horse letting them all know they were coming in. Shining Star was the first to see Two Feathers and she yelled for her brother to come and see who Grizzly Killer had found. It was a happy reunion with old friends. They had not seen one another in nearly a year. Buffalo Heart and Red Hawk stood back away not sure about this tall Ute Warrior, for the Utes and Shoshone had been enemies for as long as these two could remember. Running Wolf called them up to meet Two Feathers and Gray Wolf. With a smile on his face he spoke with sign language to the two boys telling them that any friends of Grizzly Killer and Running Wolf were their friends as well. Buffalo Heart was the first to speak and said with Raven Wing translating into Ute, “Any friends of the Great Medicine Dog are good friends to have.”

  Because they hadn’t known what the trouble might be they had not set up camp yet waiting for Grizzly Killer to return. So they just moved on and set up camp with the Utes. Although Zach could tell the Shoshone boys were still nervous, he was proud of the way they handled themselves. They couldn’t understand the Ute tongue but it became clear to them they were with friends and started to use sign to make friends with Gray Horse.

  It was time for celebrating and everyone was in a festive mood. Running Wolf and Shining Star was so glad to see their friends again they ate and laughed and danced well into the night. There were stories told and retold of the battle last year with the Arapaho’s and Running Wolf told of his and Grizzly Killers rescue of four Ute girls and their return to their families and how the Arapaho raiding party had been almost completely wiped out. He told them of their successful buffalo hunt and trapping season throughout the fall and winter and how Sun Flower had healed from her wound of that battle and how close of a family the five of them had become.

  Two Feathers told them of their village and how this group had decided to come to the white man’s Rendezvous. He told them of Stands Tall, their Chief, and Dove, his wife, and how much he wanted to make the trip as well but the winter had been hard and had taken much of the strength out of his father, their beloved Chief. He told Grizzly Killer that it will make Stands Tall’s heart glad to know how happy Shining Star is with her man and how Running Wolf has become the man he is today.

  It was only a couple of hours before light when the fires died down and they all went to their robes for some sleep. It was well after first light when the camp started to stir and Jimbo was setting on his haunches looking at Zach wondering why his friend and master was not up as always. When Zach opened his eyes he got big wet tongue right across his face with Jimbo wagging his tail ready to be on the trail again.

  The camp was slow to get started but Zach figured it would take less than a day to get to Sweet Lake and he hoped the Rendezvous was just getting started.

  They crossed the Bear River and continued north until they came to the trail that leads over the ridge to the west and on down to Sweet Lake. As they crested the ridge the sight of that huge body of water below them was still awe inspiring and they all stopped to look at all the shades of blue from the light blue off the sandy beaches, to the deep dark blue out in the depths of the lake.

  Although they were still miles away there was a haze of smoke over the valley at the south end that told them all they were not the first to arrive. They followed the trail down into the valley and when they were only three or four miles out they stopped in a large stand of cottonwoods for the Ute village to set up their camp. Zach left Running Wolf and Shining Star with their friends while he, Sun Flower, Raven Wing, Buffalo Heart and Red Hawk continued on to see if the Shoshone were there yet.

  They started seeing the camps of trappers and it wasn’t long before he started seeing friends. There were happy greetings by all and then he saw Grub Taylor and Ely Tucker. Zach jumped off Ol’ Red and ran over to their fire. There were bear hugs and back slaps and it was a mighty happy reunion. He learned the Nez Pierce and Flat Heads were camped just a few miles to the west and had been there for a while but they hadn’t seen the Shoshone yet. Ely told them a lead scout came in yesterday and said the supply train of mules was to be there in the next couple of days.

  Grub saw Sun Flower and Raven Wing and made a large bow to them and then asked about Running Wolf. Zach told him he was here with the Utes. It was getting late and since the Shoshone weren’t in yet they would go back and stay with the Utes.

  They rode back to the east and just outside where the Utes set up their camp Zach found a band of scattered Cottonwoods with good grass that went almost to the water’s edge and that is where he decided to set up his camp.

  Running Wolf and Shining Star joined them and it wasn’t long before they had their two lodges up and all the stock hobbled out on the grass. Running Wolf said a group of hunters from the Ute camp had left heading to the hills south of the lake as they needed to make meat even though it was very late in the day. Jimbo went out along the lake shore and in just a while came back in with a marmot for his supper.

  They ate what was left of their fresh meat and with very little sleep the night before they were all ready for a good night’s rest and it wasn’t long after the sun set that they all crawled under the robes for the night.

  Zach was awake just as the sky was turning gray along the eastern horizon. As he dressed and stepped out into the early dawn, Jimbo greeted him with his tail wagging and nudged his head under Zach’s hand. This was his favorite time of the day and he rubbed Jimbo’s ears as he watched the dawn light up the world around him. Running Wolf stepped out and looked around for a minute and said, “The one above has given us another fine day.”

  Buffalo Heart and Red Hawk gathered the stock and took them down to the lake for water while the women were preparing their breakfast of boiled jerky. They needed to make meat and with the number of people that had been in this area for a week or more Zach and Running Wolf figured they would have better luck back along the Bear River breaks. Running Wolf took Buffalo Heart and Red Hawk along with two pack horses and headed over the hills that separate Sweet Lake from the Bear River. Zach took Sun Flower and Raven Wing south along a winding creek as they looked for roots and eatable plants to supplement their diet. Shining
Star had stayed behind to spend more time with her friends in the Ute camp.

  Sun Flower and Raven Wing tied the horses and started along the creek bank. They found cattails and some camas bulbs. Zach, while keeping a watchful eye all around jumped a doe and fawn along with a yearling buck and with the speed and grace of long practiced movement he brought his Hawken to his shoulder and fired. The yearling stumbled and fell. He quickly dressed it out giving a few tasty morsels to Jimbo then tied it over the back of his saddle and continued on. Sun Flower and Raven Wing had continued upstream while he cared for the deer. He mounted Ol’ Red and rode up behind them. He rode around a large stand of willows and saw Sun Flower trying to keep a large cow moose away from her by keeping a small pine tree between herself and the moose.

  Zach charged right at the moose yelling and screaming like a banshee. Jimbo was growling and attacking it from the opposite side and that moose lost all interest in Sun Flower. As she headed back into the willows Zach could see a young calf join her and they trotted away following along the creek then turned off into the forest. Zach jumped off Ol’ Red and ran to Sun Flower making sure she was alright. Sun Flower took and deep breath then started to laugh as Zach held her. Raven Wing came through the willows from the far side of the creek wondering what all the commotion was about.

  After they gathered up the plants that Sun Flower had dropped getting away from the angry moose they figured they had plenty to last two or three days so they headed back to their horses. Zach walked along side Sun Flower leading Ol’ Red while Jimbo as usual was scouting out ahead.

  When they got back to camp Sun Flower and Raven Wing started skinning and cutting the deer while Zach lashed together a smoking rack and gathered wood for the smoking fire.

  Not long after they had one haunch roasting over their fire and the rest of the deer on the racks smoking, Running Wolf and the two boys came back with two more deer on the pack horses and they started the process all over again.

  It was late afternoon when a large group of trappers came riding by, led by Henry Clayson. They had left Rendezvous last year headed for the Wind River Mountains. Henry stopped and there was another happy reunion. He told them they had lost three of their party over the winter to an avalanche and another froze to death after falling through the ice on a fast running stream. After that they had spent some of the winter with a Shoshone village and that had made the winter much easier. He told them Charging Bull’s village is not far behind and should be here by tomorrow. That news brought big smiles to the faces of Sun Flower and Raven Wing. Henry and his company of trappers moved on toward the main camping area to set up their camp for the duration of the Rendezvous.

  The next morning Running Wolf and Shining Star went back over to the Ute camp while Sun Flower and Raven Wing staked out the three deer hides to scrape and start tanning. Zach took the two Shoshone boys and rode north along the western shore of Sweet Lake to meet the Shoshone village of Charging Bull.

  They were roughly following the trail left by Henry Clayson and his party of trappers when Zach left the trail and led them to the crest of the ridge just east of the lake. He followed along the crest of this ridge north bound and had gone maybe a mile, when he heard the report of several gun shots. The shots where way too close together to be hunters and it sounded like a battle was going on just a mile or two north of them. Zach told Red Hawk to go back and get help while he and Buffalo Heart found out what the trouble was.

  Jimbo had come back to them now and all the hair down his back was bristled up. Zach kept Jimbo right close in as he moved off the top of the ridge down into the brush for better cover. As they got close to the battle they left Ol’ Red and Buffalo Hearts horse tied to some brush and crawled through the brush to a point of high ground right above the battle.

  The Shoshone were forted up on a small flat not far from the water and were being attacked. Buffalo Heart said, “It is Blackfeet out for vengeance after the defeat Spotted Elk gave them last year.” Zach could see several of the Shoshone horses were down on their sides and there were warriors using them for cover. It looked like the Blackfeet were pulled back now regrouping for another attack. Many of the Blackfeet were using old British muskets they had traded Hudson Bay trappers for. Although they were not accurate they were intimidating and were keeping the Shoshone under cover. He figured it would take another hour before Red Hawk could get back here with help and he wanted to get word to the Shoshone and Spotted Elk that Grizzly Killer was here and help was coming. He motioned for Jimbo to go west to the lake shore and find Spotted Elk. Zach knew if Spotted Elk saw Jimbo he would know help was close.

  From their vantage point above the battle they could see the Blackfeet had built a fire and were chanting, working themselves into the courage for another attack. On the Shoshone side the women and children were huddled in the group right on the lake shore with the warriors forming a half circle protecting them. Zach could see the Shoshone were outnumbered, but they had a good defensive position and he figured they could hold out until Red Hawk got back with help.

  They saw Jimbo enter the Shoshone position and a minute later they heard a war cry that Buffalo Heart said was Spotted Elk letting us know he got our message. Just a couple of minutes later the Blackfeet attacked again.

  The Battle

  Red Hawk pushed his mount as hard as he could and it didn’t take long for him to cover the eight- ten miles back to their camp. Running Wolf was just getting back from the Ute camp when Red Hawk come running in with his horse- white with lather from the hard run. Quickly, Red Hawk explained what was happening and Running Wolf sent Raven Wing and Sun Flower to go find Ely and Grub while he went to the Ute’s for help. Within just a few minutes Running Wolf was back with ten Ute warriors. Sun Flower and Raven Wing were back and told them the trappers would be here in just a minute. Red Hawk had just changed mounts when twenty-one trappers came riding in.

  With Red Hawk leading the way there were over thirty trappers and Indians riding to the rescue of the Shoshone village.

  The Shoshone’s had repelled another attack from the Blackfeet but from their vantage point they could see a couple more Shoshone warriors were wounded. Zach had to almost restrain Buffalo Heart to keep him from going down there to help. He explained, “When Red Hawk gets back we can do a lot more damage to the Blackfeet from behind them than we can being trapped with the rest of the Shoshone.”

  During the last attack, Jimbo had left the Shoshone’s and had returned to Zach’s side. He started to whine as he was looking to the south and Buffalo Heart was the first to see the large group coming at a fast lope. It wasn’t long until they could see Red Hawk out in front with Running Wolf and then the rest.

  Zach and Buffalo Heart moved off the ridge and went down to meet the reinforcements. It was quickly decided that Zach would lead the Ute’s and a few of the trappers behind the Blackfeet while Buffalo Heart would lead the rest to the Shoshone to reinforce their position.

  The Ute’s, along with Ely, Grub and five other trappers followed Zach and Running Wolf around the ridge to the east. They moved into a position behind and just above from where the Blackfeet had their fire and were starting their attacks. The Blackfoot warrior that was watching the Shoshone position let out a war cry as he saw the reinforcements enter their perimeter. Just a minute later the Blackfeet attacked again and were completely surprised to find they were being attacked from behind at the same time.

  With most of the Shoshone warriors staying in a protective circle around the women and children, over twenty trappers moved forward and charged right into the face of the attacking Blackfeet. With the Ute’s and trappers hitting them from behind, the Blackfeet were confused and broke their charge and scattered. The battle was bloody and fierce and the bravery and fierceness of the Ute’s was really something to see. They were like ghosts appearing out of the brush firing a couple of arrows then disappearing to pop up again in another spot to do the same. Zach had seen this group of Ute’s in battle before
nearly a year ago when the Arapaho attacked the Ute Village and he knew how fierce of warriors they were, but to fight like this to protect an old enemy was something that surprised him as well as all the other trappers that witnessed it.

  One Blackfoot jumped up from the other side of a large sage as Zach was reloading and with a screeching cry dove over the bush right at him, with a knife in one hand and a war club in the other. For Zach it was like time stopped. He could see every detail of the Blackfoot warrior’s face painted half black with yellow streaks coming down across his cheeks. He could see the hatred in his eyes and every muscle corded in his neck, shoulders and arm as he raised the stone club for a killing blow. He could hear the deep throated war cry as the Blackfoot tried to instill fear that might cause just a moment of hesitation that it would take for his war club to strike home. But time hadn’t stopped, Zach had seen all this in less than a blink of an eye and he reacted even faster. He dove to his left just as the stone club came down and he felt a sharp pain and then numbness in his right shoulder. He landed on his left shoulder and rolled to his feet putting a little distance between himself and the Blackfoot. He drew his old Cherokee tomahawk with his left hand and tried working some life back into his tingling and numb right arm ignoring the pain in the back of his shoulder.

  The Blackfoot had landed hard, he was not expecting this white trapper to have moved that fast and the few seconds it took him to get back on his feet is all that was needed for Zach to be ready. The Blackfoot raised his war club and charged again. Zach blocked the blow with his tomahawk and spun to the left trying to throw the Blackfoot off balance, but as he did he felt a painful cut across his ribs and could feel the blood as it ran down his side. The Blackfoot could now see the blood and with an evil grin and a blood curdling cry he charged Zach again. This time Zach spun to the right and the mighty stone club missed and with all his might he brought the tomahawk down onto the back of the Blackfoot’s hand holding the deadly knife. The knife and two of the Blackfoot’s fingers went flying to the ground and with the shock of that blow the Blackfoot hesitated and Zach brought his own knife up with his now working right hand and buried the knife deep into the Blackfoot’s chest. There was a look of surprise in the Blackfoot warrior’s eyes for only a second then the glaring hatred was back. As he staggered and then fell, there was nothing at all in his eyes as they glazed over in death.