Grizzly Killer: Under The Blood Moon

by Lane R Warenski

  Zach, with the speed of a lifetime of practice shouldered his rifle and fired with Running Wolf firing only a second or two later. The bear tried to charge but it was plain his shoulder was broken. Jimbo charged the bear as Zach and Running Wolf were reloading. Even though the giant bear couldn’t run, Zach could tell he wasn’t going to get reloaded before the bear got to them. Then Dancing Feet and Smiles a Lot ran in front of them and started shooting their arrows. Jimbo was staying away from the deadly claws but was barking, growling and getting behind the bear distracting him. The bear was only about fifteen yards away when Zach fired again and with the impact of the heavy lead ball the bear turned, biting at his side. As Running Wolf fired his second shot, Zach was finished reloading again. Now both shoulders of the massive bear appeared to be broken and as he fired his Hawken again Zach noticed at least a dozen arrows was sticking in the bear. They each fired three more times and the two Shoshone hunters had no more arrows to shoot before the giant bear stopped moving.

  They waited, making sure the bear had finally stopped breathing. Then walking around where the bear had fallen they went back to where Jimbo was in the brush. There they found what little was left of the remains of Yellow Hand covered with leaves and dirt. It appeared the Grizzly had covered what he hadn’t eaten of the body to finish it at a later time.

  It was a sad and gruesome task as they reverently uncovered the remains. Dancing Feet rode back to their camp to find Yellow Hand’s sleeping robe. It was ripped and tattered but not nearly as bad as his body was. They carefully rolled the remains in the robe and tied it onto the horse Dancing Feet had been riding and he and Smiles a Lot took the body back to their old camp while Zach and Running Wolf started skinning the huge bear.

  Zach told Running Wolf that this bear was bigger than the one that killed his father and it must weigh near a thousand pounds. While skinning the huge beast they found the holes of the twelve shots they had just fired plus two more where Shining Star and Sun Flower had hit it several days ago. Plus, there were fifteen arrows with the stone tips in it, but most of them had done little more than just penetrate the hide.

  After Dancing Feet and Smiles a Lot had placed the remains of their friend under one of the destroyed lodges of their old camp they crossed the river again and went up the hill to round up the horses they had seen earlier. When they reached the hilltop they could see that just down the other side were all nine of their horses. There had been ten in all with three of them used as pack animals.

  It took a lot of time and effort to skin that bear and get all of the prized claws that were over five inches long. By the time they got the hide rolled up and tied on the back of Ol’ Red they figured the green hide must weigh well over a hundred pounds, alone. Zach walked into the hunter’s old camp leading Ol’ Red with Running Wolf bringing up the rear and Jimbo in the lead. The first thing he saw was the nine horses all on a picket line then the two Shoshone hunters going through their destroyed lodges finding whatever they could still use.

  They loaded what they could salvage on their horses then they tied the remains of Yellow Hand onto his own horse and Jimbo started off leading the solemn precession up Lost Creek and to their camp.

  A quarter mile from camp, Jimbo ran ahead letting everyone know they were coming back. As they rode into camp they were met with both smiles and sadness. Dancing Feet and Smiles a Lot led Yellow Hand’s horse over to where the other Shoshone hunters were and as they were laying out the body of Yellow Hand, Zach and Running Wolf took care of all of the horses.

  Sun Flower watched as the Shoshone hunters tried to piece together a suitable burial robe out of the ripped and tattered robes the bear had left them with and she got into their packs and pulled out a new blanket. Then she, Raven Wing and Shining Star went over and asked the hunters if they could help. The three women laid out the blanket then spent the next hour cleaning the mangled remains of Yellow Hand and placing them on the new blanket then very carefully rolled the blanket around him.

  Little Deer had found a spot not far from camp up on the hill overlooking where these two canyons came together. It was early evening when they took Yellow Hand’s body up on the hill and laid him between two large boulders. They then led his horse just under his feet and while Gray Owl held the lead rope Little Deer stabbed the horse in the side of his neck where he bled out and collapsed in just a minute or two. Then they placed Dancing Feet’s bow along with his knife and several of Yellow Hands arrows they had found along side of his body. Yellow Hand’s bow had been broken when the bear attacked him and Dancing Feet wanted to make sure he had a good bow to make the journey with. They covered it all with rocks to keep the coyotes, wolves, or other critters off.

  It was just getting dark when they got back to camp. The women had been cooking a stew all afternoon and they all sat around the fire and ate. After they finished eating Dancing Feet and Smiles a Lot told the rest of them the events of the day praising Grizzly Killer, Running Wolf and Jimbo for their powerful medicine. Smiles a Lot told of how their arrows barely went through the giant bear’s skin but how the guns of Grizzly Killer and Running Wolf had killed the great bear and how the Big Medicine Dog had attacked the bear giving Grizzly Killer and Running Wolf time to reload and fire again. They told them that all the stories they had heard about Grizzly Killer and the Great Medicine Dog were true but that Running Wolf, Grizzly Killer’s Ute brother’s medicine is just as powerful and how it was their honor to hunt the great bear beside such great hunters and warriors.

  Grizzly Killer told them all of the bravery of Dancing Feet and Smiles a Lot. How they ran in front of himself and Running Wolf to shoot their arrows while he and Running Wolf reloaded. How it had been his honor to hunt with such brave young men.

  Sun Flower then asked them if they had heard that less than a moon ago, Grizzly Killer had killed the Blackfoot war Chief Thunder Cloud as Thunder Cloud and his warriors attacked the Shoshone village of Charging Bull as they traveled to the rendezvous at Sweet Lake. There was only silence from the hunters then Little Deer spoke, “Thunder Cloud is really dead?” Sun Flower said, “Yes, we have his scalp right here with us and his body was burned in a fire on the shore of Sweet Lake after Grizzly Killer killed him with a knife. The white men along with Ute and Shoshone warriors killed many Blackfeet warriors and drove them back to their own lands.”

  Antelope then spoke, “Thunder Cloud killed many of our people last year and then Spotted Elk and his warriors came to help us and drove the Blackfeet away. There will be much celebrating when this news reaches our village.” Raven Wing, with a look of pride, told them, “Spotted Elk is Sun Flower’s and my brother.” There was silence for just a minute then Gray Owl spoke, “My heart is glad to have met such great people as you. We are fortunate to have had your help. Know this now, if Grizzly Killer or any of his family ever need me I will be by their side to help any time or any place.” All the others agreed and Zach and Running Wolf thanked them all.

  Antelope then spoke to Sun Flower. “I have seen you before Sun Flower Woman, at the great gathering of our people four summers ago on the Popo Agie. I was just a boy then but I remember you. You were the prettiest girl at the gathering. I did not know you were the sister of Spotted Elk and now you are the wife of Grizzly Killer, the one above has truly blessed you.” With a smile she thanked him and said, “Yes the one above has blessed me and I am grateful to have the love of such men.”

  Zach smiled with pride at the compliments being shared and as he watched the dancing flames of their fire his mind wandered back to their homestead in Kentucky. He wondered what his life would have been like if he had never come to these Shining Mountains. But he shook that thought from his mind because he knew deep within his soul that this was the life he was meant to live.

  Running Wolf spoke to the Shoshone hunters telling them that only two summers ago he never would have believed that he, a Ute warrior could be making new friends with Shoshone braves. He told them they should ride back to their vi
llage with their heads held high, for they had succeeded in finding new hunting grounds for their people. That they had helped kill the great bear that had killed Yellow Hand and had honored him by giving him a warrior’s burial.

  Zach asked Swift Hawk how he had broken his leg. Swift Hawk, with an embarrassed look told them he was backing away from the bear after he shot his arrow and stepped between two logs and fell, that he felt the bone break just before he hit the ground. They talked well into the night getting to know one another better and by the time they went to their robes for sleep, Zach knew these six hunters would make their people proud and that he had made good friends for life.

  The next morning Little Deer, Gray Owl and Smiles a Lot went up the creek hunting for it was taking a lot of meat to feed the eleven people that were now in camp. After they left, the three women staked out the giant Grizzly’s hide and started to scrape it. None of them had ever seen a hide that big. Zach stepped it off and figured it was a full ten feet from tail to nose.

  It was just past midday when the three hunters came back with two deer and a yearling cow elk proving they really were good hunters. They set up smoking racks and got the fires started using the dead branches of the wild plums that grew in abundance up and down the creek. The women staked out the deer and elk hide and they looked incredibly small next to the giant grizzly hide.

  They stayed there on Lost Creek for two more days. Raven Wing had found the right plants to keep a fresh poultice on Antelope’s wound and now he figured he could ride. Swift Hawk was getting around pretty good with a crutch stick.

  On the third morning after they had killed the bear they all loaded up to start out for their homes. The grizzly hide would take a lot more work to make a soft robe but the women had made a very good start on getting it tanned. After a brief discussion between Zach, Running Wolf and their wives, Zach took the rolled up grizzly hide and tied it onto one of the pack horses of the Shoshone Hunters. He said, “Take the skin of this Grizzly back to your people and show them the reason Yellow Hand is not with you.” He went to each of the six hunters and placed a necklace he had made around their necks. On each necklace he had placed two of the great bear’s claws with colored beads between the claws. He told them, “Let this be a reminder of our friendship and a way to honor your lost friend.”

  They each thanked him and then Running Wolf and the women for their help and friendship. Antelope and Swift Hawk needed a little help to get mounted up but once on their horses they seemed just fine. They all rode together the short distance down to Weber’s River where the Shoshone turned west downstream. Grizzly Killer watched them ride away then he turned up stream heading east back toward the Bear River, Black’s Fork and home.

  Home

  With Jimbo in the lead, they worked their way east by a little south along the north side of the river. They moved off the river up on the bench land because the brush and trees made the going mighty rough. This was a land of rolling hills with rocky outcroppings. The rain of a few nights ago had really helped to keep the grass green but much more was needed. The oak brush and mountain maple were green and plush as was the cottonwoods and thick brush along the river.

  By mid-afternoon, the river had turned straight south and a creek entered it coming from a large canyon from the east so they left Weber’s River and started east along this creek. As they rested the stock and ate their midday meal, Zach rode to the crest of a hill and looked over the country. He could see high mountains in every direction and he longed to see more of this land but for right now they needed to get their supplies safely home and stored.

  The canyon they were now following was heading east by a little north. It was broad with steeps hills covered with grass and brush on the south. On the north were large rock bluffs as far as he could see with the rock faces broken often with steep draws going up to what looked like more and higher hills. He figured they were twenty miles or so further south than when they left the Bear River getting away from the Blackfeet war party. He didn’t know how far west they had traveled but he figured no more than thirty or forty miles.

  They stopped for the night and camped in a large grassy area right along the creek just above a beaver pond. Just before dark a herd of a dozen or so elk came right down to the pond to drink. They shot a yearling cow that would last them through the next few days getting back to their home on Black’s Fork. They had given most of what meat they had to the Shoshone Hunters when they left.

  There were clouds moving in from the west and the sunset was brilliantly colored with reds, oranges, pinks, and purples. There was a breeze coming from the south so even though it was nearly dark they decided to set up one of their lodges. With good grass and water so close they just hobbled the stock instead of tying them to a picket line. By the time they finished cooking and eating strips of the fresh elk it was well past dark. Coyotes were yipping from the hill just to the south and the stars were disappearing behind the cloud bank as it moved across the sky to the east. They all moved into the teepee and settled in under their robes for the night. A couple of hours later Jimbo pushed his way through the flap of the teepee and curled up right in front of the door. Zach hugged both Shining Star and Sun Flower as they listened to the rain drops hitting the well cured buffalo hide covering of the teepee.

  The next morning the rain had slowed to just a light sprinkle and by the time they were loaded up it had all but stopped. The sky was still low and gray with a right cool breeze for the middle of July, but the rain once again had refreshed the land. This canyon they were traveling up was broad and open making traveling fairly easy but it was a steady uphill climb. They stopped to rest the horses each hour for a little while and when they nooned, they unloaded them all for a couple of hours break. They could hear the horse’s hooves echoing off the canyon walls when they would step on the rock just right and just as they were stopping for noon Ol’ Red bucked and let out a bray that they could hear over and over again as it echoed down the canyon. He continued bucking and jumping until Zach got over to him and saw a large rattle snake stomped to pieces.

  By late afternoon the canyon had opened up even more and the hills were covered with sage. There were many deer in the draws around large clumps of brush and now antelope were out on the sage covered hills. It had sprinkled a light rain on and off throughout the day and it was still cool. They stopped in a spot between two hills for the night where they found good grass and water and just set up the one teepee again. The sky was clearing by the time the sun set behind the mountains to the west and soon the evening star was the brightest point in the sky. The moon was becoming fuller every night now and as the last of the light faded from the western sky several wolves started howling from the hills to the north.

  They sat around a small, friendly fire and finished the rest of the pot full of coffee and talked of the events of the last week. Shining Star leaned her head into Grizzly Killer and told him they had worried about him when he was away. Sun Flower said, “Yes, we will stay together if that ever happens again. We can all help fight our enemies. You will not face them alone again.” Grizzly Killer smiled and with his arms around his wives said, “I only wanted to keep you all safe and I didn’t do anything that would have kept me from coming back to you two.”

  But Sun Flower looked up into his blue eyes and with a look of determination said again, “We will stay together one way or another, but we will stay together.” He looked into those beautiful dark eyes and saw a look that told him she meant every word. Then he looked at Shining Star and she nodded her agreement and said, “We will not run away again and leave you to face an enemy alone.” He looked across the fire to Running Wolf and Raven Wing. Running Wolf had a smile on his face as he and Raven Wing both nodded their agreement.

  There was a thin high cloud cover the next morning and as it started to get light a pink glow started on the clouds from the east and moved across the sky. It colored the hills, sage and brush in the colors of the clouds. As the sun got closer to peekin
g over the horizon the colors got more intense turning to a brilliant orange glow. Zach stood just outside the teepee in this eerie colored scene with Jimbo by his side and watched as the colors changed with each passing minute, Running Wolf then joined him and just a minute later, the women. They all stood and watched this colorful spectacle of nature, and in just a few more minutes the sun broke over the horizon and the colors changed again. A few minutes later the color faded from the clouds and the world returned to normal.

  When Zach and Running Wolf had the horses and mules loaded, the women had coffee and biscuits ready. They had sliced some thin strips of fresh elk and fried it and put the strips between the biscuits and within just a few minutes they were headed east again.

  They had traveled only a couple of hours across rolling sage covered hills when from the top of one hill they could see the green water course of the Bear River only a few miles ahead. They stopped at the river for an early noon rest and watered all the stock. They crossed the river and headed east by a little south back to Black’s Fork and home.

  This country they knew well but with the heavy loads they couldn’t make it back in one day. They stopped early and camped in a stand of quakies that had a small spring and grass a foot and a half high. They had watched clouds build over the Uintah Mountains just to the south of them and before long could hear the thunder rolling down the slopes toward them. The afternoon thunder storm was up on the higher ground and they just watched it move off to the east over the mountains.

  They didn’t put up the teepee this night, just slept out under the stars. They lay on their backs and looked at the stars pointing out some of the constellations. A bright shooting star passed across the Milky Way and Raven Wing told them that was the soul of a warrior going to the other side. Sun Flower said maybe that was Yellow Hand making his journey along the sky trail to meet the ones that have gone before.