Grizzly Killer: Under The Blood Moon

by Lane R Warenski

  Shining Star never let go of his hand, she had never seen this part of Rendezvous before and was nervous of the stares many of the drunken trappers were giving her. Zach held her close by his side and told her they meant no harm, they just weren’t used to seeing such a beautiful woman as she.

  They mounted up and headed back towards their camp. As they approached the camp area where Bull Beaumont had been, Zach saw a grave right in the spot where he had fought Bull. His friends hadn’t moved his body at all just dug the grave right where Bull had fell. Shining Star could see a slight change in the look of her husband as they rode by and she knew he was deep in thought.

  Zach did not feel bad about killing Bull for he had gave him a chance to apologize. In the wilderness, where the only law was what you enforced by your own hand, a threat to yourself or family could not go unanswered. He knew no man would ever threaten the ones he loved and not answer for it, just like he knew as long he still had breath no one would hurt his family. Bull Beaumont had made his choice and had paid for it with his life.

  Zach thought back to the dream he had had with his father telling him he did not know of the treachery of men. But he figured he was learning and it wasn’t a pleasant lesson.

  They rode into their camp and Sun Flower and Raven Wing had just put a large fresh deer roast on the spit over the fire. Running Wolf was out with the horses and waved as Zach and Shining Star dismounted. Shining Star was met with a smile on the face of Sun Flower and Zach noticed a look between the two that made him think he was being manipulated by these two women. That brought a smile to his face as he thought about the events of the day. He led Ol’ Red and the mare out to the herd and Running Wolf told him of the successful hunt.

  When the roast was cooked they sliced off pieces of roast and had fresh biscuits. After they ate Zach took his two wives each by a hand and they walked along the shore of the lake enjoying the evening. He felt closer to these two completely different women all the time and tried to find the words to tell them so.

  As they returned to camp Running Wolf and Raven Wing were sitting by the fire. Running Wolf told them that Grub and Ely had been by saying everyone had just about given up hope for Jedidiah Smith, no one has seen or heard anything about him.

  The next day and the two following were spent in camp visiting friends and family. Zach and Running Wolf were getting to know Spotted Elk and Bear Heart much better as they were spending a lot of time together as White Feather was spending as much time as possible with her daughters. Zach could see a real bond developing between Running Wolf and Spotted Elk, not just as brothers in law but as friends. And it seemed to him the old animosities between the Utes and Shoshone were truly gone.

  There had been a couple other groups of Shoshone who came into Rendezvous since Charging Bull’s village had arrived and they had been by to show their respect to Grizzly Killer and the Utes as well for the battle with the Blackfeet and the killing of Thunder Cloud. The scalp of Thunder Cloud was mighty powerful medicine to all of the Shoshone making Grizzly Killer’s medicine all the stronger in their eyes.

  By now Rendezvous was winding down, most all of the trappers had their supplies and most all of the trade goods were gone. Most had very little to bet with and the whisky had about all been consumed. The next day, Zach and Running Wolf went back over to the trading area and there was a solemn mood as everyone now figured Jedidiah Smith must have, for sure, gone under. There were still a few Indians trading furs but the bulk of the trading was complete.

  They headed back to camp by way of Grub and Ely’s camp and as they approached they could see the back of another trapper with new buckskins on and a plump Indian squaw talking with Grub, Ely and the others. As Zach approached, the trapper and his squaw turned around. Jimbo was out in front and as this Indian woman saw Jimbo she jumped clear over the fire to get away from him, slipped and landed right on her bottom.

  Everyone rushed over to help her along with Jimbo and she knocked Grub and two others over trying to get away from this huge dog. Zach called Jimbo back and everyone started laughing. He was surprised to see this other trapper was Stinky Johnson, the man at last year’s rendezvous that had smelled so bad they threw Skunks into his tent to get him to take a bath and then burned his buckskins. When everyone had settled down, Stinky told them how he had taken Little Bird, this Flathead woman, as his wife and she had changed his ways, kept him in new buckskins and had made him bathe regular. Everyone got a good laugh out of the story he told and then they all thanked Little Bird.

  It was getting on the middle of the afternoon when they rode back into their own camp. Sun Flower, Shining Star and Raven Wing were there with a big pot of stew cooking. They had been out and gathered plants all morning. They had wild onion, sego lily root, camas root, cat tail shoots, and more. The stew smelled good enough that Grizzly Killer’s mouth was watering just from the smell.

  Just as they were getting ready to eat, a big boom rattled through the trees again and a minute later another one. It was clear they were shooting the cannon again. Grizzly Killer and Running Wolf mounted back up and headed for the trading area having no idea what trouble might be there.

  Jedidiah Returns

  As they rode up to the trading tents the men there were celebrating, not fighting off an attack. Just as Zach was ready to dismount off of Ol’ Red he saw a thin haggard-looking man that everyone was surrounding. As the man turned he could see it was Jedidiah Smith, the man they had given up on ever returning. The cannon had been fired to celebrate his arrival. He was one of the owners of the Fur Company. The man that was respected by all and who had traveled further and seen more of this western frontier than anyone else, had finally made it back.

  Robert Evans and Silas Globe were the only men with him, even though 18 men left Willow Valley with him a year ago to explore and trap the country to the south. After the three weary travelers had time to recuperate from their journey they told of their travels and ordeals over the past year. Jedidiah Smith and his brigade had been all the way to California and the ocean.

  He told them he had left most of his men in California because they and their horses were not in good enough condition to continue on. Zach and the rest learned of the seemingly endless deserts, the heat and lack of water. The terrain being so rough it wore the horse’s hooves down so far they went lame and couldn’t continue on, for going days without food or water, of the horses giving out and dying and of having to eat many of them to stay alive.

  Jedidiah told them of the plush grass plains of California where horses and cattle grazed by the thousands, of the Missions and how the Catholic Fathers enslaved the Indians there to farm the land and tend the mighty herds. But most of all, he told of the barren lands between the Rocky Mountains and the mountains the Spanish call the Sierra Nevada that separate the great deserts from the lush California plains.

  He continued telling of this great barren waste land with little water and less game where neither man nor beast could survive long, where hunger and thirst seem to never end. Where the Indians live on bugs and roots and where a rabbit was considered big game. The endless deserts where their horses could not survive and only by the grace of God did they make it across. He told them of an Indian mother he had seen roasting scorpions to feed her children and that these were the poorest people he had ever seen.

  As Zach heard these stories, his mind went to the crystal clear streams of the Rockies and the meadows full of grass. He thought of the abundance of the game and he thought to himself that these Shinin’ Mountains were home and they would provide all the adventure he would ever need. He knew he loved seeing new country and he thought about the thrill he felt when he topped a ridge to see what was on the other side. But he also knew the Rocky Mountains were big enough he would not be able to see them all in his lifetime. He didn’t figure he would need to venture into this great desert to the west to satisfy his need for adventure.

  On their way back to camp they found Henry Clayson and his par
ty breaking camp and they stopped to talk. Henry told them he was headed northeast again this year because he figured there were still plenty of beaver from the Popo Agie all the way to the Yellowstone. Zach shook his hand and bid him good hunting.

  As he and Running Wolf rode into their camp the sun was just setting. There were a few clouds hanging over the mountains to the west and as the sun dropped behind one of them the edges of the cloud turned a brilliant orange with shafts of sunlight shooting out all around the top and sides making it a sight to behold. The three women were waiting by the fire and they hurried to unsaddle Ol’ Red and the Chestnut and took them down to the lake for water and quickly checked on the rest of the horses.

  They sat around the fire and enjoyed the pot of stew the women had kept warm on the side of the fire. Zach told the women of Jedidiah’s return and the stories he told of the great deserts to the west. Running Wolf and Shining Star told them they had heard stories from Ute Slave traders about the people that lived in the deserts. About how the slave traders would go there to capture slaves to sell to the Spanish because they had no horses and few weapons; that they were not good fighters and gave up easily. Running Wolf said he had never been west of the Timpanogos Valley and after hearing Jedidiah’s stories he never wanted to go.

  As the evening progressed they talked of leaving the rendezvous and getting their supplies back to their home on Black’s Fork. Sun Flower and Raven Wing wanted to spend as much time with their mother and father as they could, so it was decided they would stay until Charging Bull was ready to move his village back toward the Popo Agie country.

  Early the next morning, Two Feathers, Weasel and Gray Horse came from the Ute camp to say their farewells. Gray Horse went right to Jimbo and the two of them went down by the lake to play. Gray Horse was throwing a large stick out into the water for Jimbo to fetch back to him. Two Feathers told them the game was getting scarce and he thought they had been away from home long enough with his father being so old and weak. Sun Flower asked how Grandmother was doing. Grandmother was the old Ute Healer that had saved Sun Flower’s life after an arrow had nearly killed her in the battle with the Arapaho last year. Two Feathers told them she was just as she had always been and that she had not changed in his lifetime. Sun Flower gave Two Feathers a fan made from the red tail feathers of a large Red Tailed Hawk attached to a piece of deer antler decorated with beads and white weasel fur. She asked Two Feathers to give it to Grandmother as thanks for helping her. He smiled and told her he was sure she would appreciate it very much.

  Two Feathers told them he had already sent some hunters ahead to the Bear River to find game and the rest of the village would meet them by tonight. Not long after they left, Grub and Ely stopped by and told them they were pulling out tomorrow. They were headed northeast, figured to trap the Salt River country for the fall.

  Zach asked them to come by for supper tonight and they would have one last night to tell stories around the fire. With a hand shake and smile they said they would be here. Grub made a big bow to the ladies and they left to get ready for their journey.

  Sun Flower, Raven Wing and Shining Star left to go spend some time with Bear Heart and White Feather while Zach and Running Wolf tended the stock. After Ol’ Red and the horses had been watered and moved to better grass they went to the Shoshone camp as well.

  Charging Bull greeted them with a smile and took them to a small fire where their wives, along with Spotted Elk, Butterfly and their parents were talking, laughing and having a good time together. Zach and Running Wolf joined them and asked them all, including Charging Bull and his wives, to join them for supper tonight. After they accepted, Zach and Running Wolf left to go hunting for they needed meat to feed a large party.

  They headed for the mountains to the west and passed where the Flatheads and Nez Pierce had camped. Zach was still shocked at the mess an Indian Village left when they move camp but he also knew just how fast nature would reclaim the land.

  At the base of the mountain they headed south and within just a couple of miles’ came upon a small creek and followed it up. They jumped a small black bear just as the canyon narrowed but it was in the heavy timber and they couldn’t get a shot. About a mile up the canyon, it opened into a basin with a herd of a couple dozen elk grazing in it. They tied Ol’ Red, the chestnut and a big buckskin mare they brought for packing and started their stalk. Running Wolf went to the south and Zach to the north. The breeze was blowing ever so slightly down the canyon so they didn’t think their scent would be a problem until they got close.

  Zach was staying in the trees and hadn’t gone far when he froze in his tracks. Just a few yards in front of him at the edge of the trees was a wallow with two bulls right in the mud and several large bulls lying in the grass all around it. He stayed there motionless hoping the wind didn’t shift. They wanted good tender meat for dinner tonight, not the tough rank meat of a big bull, so he waited for Running Wolf to get in position to take a yearling.

  It seemed like forever but he finally heard the report of Running Wolf’s rifle and at that gunshot all the elk jumped up and headed to the thick timber for cover. One bull headed right for Grizzly Killer and he stepped behind a pine for cover as it ran past.

  He headed back to where Ol’ Red and the horses were tied and led them out into the meadow where he could see Running Wolf gutting a good fat yearling cow. They loaded the elk and headed for camp in a hurry as they knew they needed to get the elk roasting early in the day.

  Once in camp they built up another fire and spit and got the two haunches on the spits and roasting. The rest of the elk they put on their drying racks. With the fire wood near camp being mostly depleted with the Shoshone and Ute villages camped so near they had to drag firewood for quite a ways to have enough to keep two fires going throughout the day and into the night.

  It was late afternoon when Sun Flower and Shining Star returned but Raven Wing had stayed with Butterfly. They were making a cradle board for they all had learned today that Butterfly was pregnant.

  Sun Flower and Shining Star went right to work preparing sego lily root and several other plants they had to go with the roasting elk and by early evening they were ready for their friends and family. The elk had been removed from their main fire and placed by the secondary fire to stay warm while they set buffalo and elk robes around the main fire for seating everyone. Of course where Zach and Running Wolf were to sit, Sun Flower and Shining Star had placed the grizzly robe.

  Grub and Ely were the first to arrive and had just sat down when the rest came in from the Shoshone village. White Feather, Raven Wing and Charging Bulls two wives, Blue Bird and Morning Dew went right to helping Sun Flower and Shining Star and they were all served roasted elk, sego lily root and a mixture of boiled greens. When everyone had eaten their fill a pipe was passed around for the men.

  This had been a very pleasant and peaceful day spent with friends and family and this gathering for supper was its fitting end. They talked well into the night about all their plans for the next year before they would meet again at Rendezvous which was to be right here at Sweet Lake again. Charging Bull told them his village would be leaving early the day after tomorrow and Grub told them he figured Gen. Ashley would be heading back to St. Louis within the next couple of days. Zach figured they would leave the same day as the Shoshone and around the first of August they would head for the buffalo country for their annual hunt.

  As the evening ended and their guests left, Running Wolf and Raven Wing went for a night walk along the lake shore. The moon was just a sliver and the night stars stood out in stark relief against the black sky. Sun Flower went into their teepee leaving Shining Star alone with Zach. The fire had burned down to just a few glowing coals and Shining Star walked over and stood in front of Grizzly Killer holding her hands out to him. He pulled her down to him and they made love on the grizzly robe next to the darkening coals of the fire.

  As they climbed under the robes in their lodge, Sun Flower snuggle
d up tight against him and her and Shining Star both fell asleep with their heads on his shoulders. When he woke the next morning Shining Star was nowhere to be seen. Sun Flower was watching him and smiled as he looked into her beautiful dark eyes. She slid her body on top of his and they made love as the sun rose over the low hills to the east.

  When they came out of their lodge, Shining Star and Raven Wing had coffee, biscuits and left over elk roast from last night heated up, and Running Wolf was just getting back from watering the horses. Jimbo was lying on the other side of camp just finishing off a rabbit he’d caught for his breakfast. Zach stretched, looked around, smiled, then looked up at the sky and said, “Thank you God for such a wonderful life.”

  With Rendezvous winding down and them planning on leaving the next day, they needed to get the elk still on the drying racks finished so the women were out gathering wood for the smoking fires. Zach started working on the packs that would carry all of the supplies back to Blacks Fork while Running Wolf was checking the hooves of each of their horses.

  About mid-afternoon, Charging Bull, Bear Heart and Spotted Elk came by. Spotted Elk gave Grizzly Killer a warning about the Blackfeet. He told him that word would spread fast about him being the killer of Thunder Cloud and many of the Blackfeet Warriors would want revenge as well as the fame of taking the scalp of the great Grizzly Killer.

  Even though their home in the great mountains to the south was not close to Blackfeet land they would travel where ever they needed to go to avenge their War Chief. Charging Bull then spoke with a serious tone, “Grizzly Killer, take what Spotted Elk has said to heart. Every great warrior has enemies but you will now be sought after by the Blackfeet more than any other man. If you ever need us we will be at your side. But this is a big land we live in and we live far away, so go with care.” Bear Heart added, “Keep an eye on the horizon and your nose to the wind, my son,” and he added with a smile, “White Feather expects grandchildren from you and Running Wolf the next time we meet.”