Eagle People

by Benton, W. R.

  “Blindness is bad, but it won't kill me.” Byron was looking for any aspect of hope.

  “The last stage is when the disease will start eating at your brain, and eventually you'll go insane. Death follows shortly after.”

  “Good God, and this is cause by what? What causes this?”

  “Our papers do not say, except that it is transmitted between people when they have sex. I'm sorry, but I can't do a thing for you. I will say, for the rest of your life, you must avoid having sex, or you'll transmit it all over the place. If you want a woman, then take her during a raid and then after you're finished, kill her.”

  Byron was destroyed and completely shocked at the news. There must be some mistake. I am to die as a warrior, not babbling like a fool and drooling down my chin, as I sit blind. I am never to know a wife and family? I need a drink, he thought as he moved for his gear.

  He spent most of the night thinking nonsense and drinking. Finally, a little after midnight he fell asleep. Morning came too soon and his head was pounding, with a hangover, so he took another long sip of whiskey. He moved to the bushes, peed, and grimaced as he did the job.

  “Byron, you and three other men have point today and keep your eyes open. According to Ora, we're getting close.” Asa said.

  “We can do that.”

  “The shaman's assistant told me of what ails you, so when we return, the woman is yours to do with as you wish.”

  The leader of the Plains People chuckled when his scouts returned and said, “Most of the warriors of the Wolf People are gone. We count only a few in the village now.”

  “Prepare the men to attack; it is time they feel the wrath of the Plains People. When I give the order, have all the men attack the village. Save only the women. All males, even male children, are to be put to the sword or spear. Right at dawn we will attack, but wait for my command.”

  A short time later, the Chief raised his right hand, which held a spear, and he gave a loud war cry. He ran for the village, found resistance light and the slaughter began. In minutes the village was burning, the bodies of men were left where they fell, and the women were rounded up.

  Then the mutilations started on the dead and the injured.

  Two men who'd been captured, were brought before the Chief, who said, “Burn them alive on the fire poles in the center of the village. I know some of our brave warriors met death tied to those very same poles, so I find it ironic Wolf warriors will now burn there.”

  Both warriors were tied to the poles and secured well, with their hands tied behind them and their legs secured, as well. Brush was gather and stacked around the men. When the brush was finally chest high to the old Chief he said, “Light the fire. Let us truly see how brave the warriors of the Wolf People really are.”

  Both men were heard praying loudly as the flames started at the base of the brush. Then, seconds later, as hot flames began to lick at the men, it brought screams of pain and fear. Finally, the brush pile was full of flames and the inhumane screams from the two men sent chills down the Chief's spine. The men were now inside the inferno and their flesh was melting. Abruptly, all sounds from within the fire stopped, except for the cracking and popping of the water in the wood.

  The sweet smell of burnt flesh filled the air, and the Plains warriors gave loud screams of joy at their victory over the hated Wolf People. The Wolf People were no more.

  “Gather the men and prepare the prisoners for moving!” said the Chief.

  One woman made a mad dash toward the trees, but the loud twang of a bowstring was heard and she fell screaming.

  “Finish her.” the Chief yelled.

  The warrior moved to the woman, squatted beside her and cut her throat. As she died, she thought, Now I will never see my revenge on the Wolf Clan bear fruit. I have spread the—, her

  world turned gray and then rapidly turn black, she was dead.

  Chapter 13

  THE WARRIOR of the Great Lakes People didn't cry out as Eldon pulled his arms out and tied them to the stakes. The stakes were driven deeply in the soil of the plains and could not be removed easily. When Eldon secured his legs he'd almost gone insane from the pain in his hip. The arrow remained in place. The warrior was now spread out on the grasses naked, his clothes cut off.

  The Eagle warrior took his knife and made four long gashes in each of the man's legs and arms, getting only a loud grunt with each cut. “You are a brave man, warrior, but you will die. Have you seen what ants will do to a human body? They will strip you of flesh, but slowly, and over days in a hot sun. Most die for the need of water, not the ants.”

  Eldon then grabbed the man's hair, lifted his head, and sliced both cheeks deeply.

  Mongoose, who was standing near, said, “It is the blood that attracts the ants. Within an hour you will feel them feasting on your flesh. If you believe in the One Above, now would be a good time to speak with him. In a few hours, you'll be almost insane from thirst and pain.”

  Placing his clean knife in his sheath, he'd wiped the blood on the doomed warriors shirt, Eldon said, “Come, we must ride.” He then picked up the warrior's clothing and moved toward his horse, with the others following.

  As they walked to the horses, the warrior screamed, “Don't leave me like this! What kind of people are you? Please, don't let me die like this! I don't want to die. Do you hear me?”

  The warriors of the Eagle Clan ignored the man as they mounted their horses. It was a little after sunrise and they had a full day of riding planned. As they rode past the man, Mongoose said, “I, a woman, decided your manner of death, so think on that fact as you die.”

  “Don't leave me! Kill me, but don't leave me to die like this!” the ill-fated warrior screamed.

  “Let's ride, we're wasting daylight.” Eldon said as he moved his horse forward at a slow walk, while leading a packhorse.

  The weather was cool, but not cold, only the cold season was coming. While the sky was clear of clouds, the light wind had a bite, so each pulled out a thin buckskin jacket.

  Shortly after their nooning, they topped a crest; on the plains in the valley below were hundreds, if not thousands of cattle. Wanting fresh meat, Mongoose said, “Let us try to kill a young bull or a cow. No reason to take an adult animal, because the meat will spoil before we can eat all of it, which would be a waste.”

  “I see wolves on the outside edges of the group, or maybe wild dogs. It's too far to see clearly.” Eldon said.

  “It matters little, because their behavior is the same. Once an animal is down, two of us will watch, while the other quarters the meat. Be sure to take the loin, heart and liver. Leave the skin on and we can skin the meat as we use it.” Mongoose replied.

  Thirty minutes later, a young bull lay dead in the grasses. When they approached the animal, Lydia dismounted and said, “I will skin as you two watch.”

  The other two gracefully slid from the backs of their horses, pulled their bows and made an arrows ready. Wolves were soon spotted trotting toward the kill.

  Lydia expertly and quickly quartered the animal and then removed the loin, heart, and liver. Dividing the meat into piles, she soon had it loaded on all four horses. The wolves were smart and had experience with men, because they remained just out of arrow distance. Eldon smiled when he noticed they were patiently sitting on their asses. Once we leave, they will converge on the remains and within an hour, all that will remain are a few bones, he thought.

  “Let's ride, I have the meat loaded.” Lydia said, and then mounted her horse.

  Soon, as they moved away from the kill, all three saw the wolves moving for the dead carcass of the animal. Vultures would be circling the kill and would soon strip the body of anything edible overlooked or unwanted by the wolves.

  Shortly before dusk, they stopped near a small, but cold stream for the night. There were a few stunted trees growing hear the banks of the stream, but other than that, no trees of any size were in the area. A canvas shelter was soon made, a fire started, and fresh m
eat was cooking over the open fire. As they sat in the dirt around the flickering flames, Eldon said, “Tonight, the same shifts. I will watch from midnight until day break.”

  The meal was finished with little talk, which was normal for Eagle warriors while traveling. When they needed to speak, they usually used sign language to keep the noise down. Mongoose smiled and signed, “Looks like rain or snow coming.”

  Eldon signed back, “It matters little. We have coats and blankets, so we are prepared.” Then standing he said, “I'm going to my blankets now. My shift is a long one.”

  The two warriors by the fire nodded, but didn't reply.

  A few minutes later, Lydia moved over by the horses to stand guard and Mongoose went to her blankets. Within minutes, not a sound was heard and the fire was slowly dying. When her shift finished, Lydia woke Mongoose and then climbed under the shelter. Moving to where she could still see the horses, as well as camp, Mongoose sat on the cold damp ground. It was then she noticed snowflakes falling around them.

  It's the first snow of the year, so it won't last long, she thought and then buttoned her coat. But, if it grows too deep, we'll not ride tomorrow or a horse could slip and fall, breaking a leg.

  She let her mind run wild, with random thoughts shooting from all directions. She thought of the baby to come, her love for Amon, and even her dead parents. She wondered what it must have been like to live as the Ancient Ones. They'd had light at night, heat and cool air in their lodges, a box to keep meats and foods cool, and even an endless amount of entertainment, or so she'd once read. But, the Learned Ones said the Ancient Ones were hard to please and were never happy. They'd had medicines that cured most diseases, were able to save the lives of many seriously injured, but they'd lost the grace of God and soon fell as a nation. Now a person lived just slightly better than animals and most died before they were forty. She'd read of some Ancient Ones living to be well over a hundred years old, and she did not believe it was possible.

  In the same book, she'd read old people were placed in lodges with other old people where they waited to die. Why would they do that? Did they not honor their old ones? Did they not tap the wisdom of those who'd walked the path of life for many long years? It made no sense to her. What was that noise? she thought, and then scanned the area for movement. She saw nothing.

  Picking up a small pebble, she threw it toward Eldon, striking him on the leg. She couldn't see his face, but when she glanced at the shelter a minute later, both warriors were gone. There, she thought, I see movement again.

  She slowly moved toward the horses. It was then she noticed the wind was blowing toward the movement, which meant the horses could smell nothing yet. Looking toward the fire, she saw it was out and not even red glowing coals were seen.

  A series of low grunts were heard and the sound confused Mongoose. Minutes passed with no sound or noise, when suddenly a huge dark form stood and gave a loud roar!

  “Grizzly!” Eldon screamed as he ran for the horses.

  The bear charged, but suddenly stopped about twenty feet from the horses. Grunting and sniffing the air, the big beast stood on it's back legs. Mongoose let an arrow fly, as did Eldon, who was now by her side. Roaring, either in anger or pain, the grizzly bear walked toward their mounts. Eldon moved forward, spear in hand and Mongoose admired his bravery. She shot two more arrows into the animal, but it had no effect on the bear.

  When Eldon stabbed with the spear, the beast knocked the weapon out of his hands with one swing of his right paw, and then moved toward the man.

  Mongoose yelled and fired an arrow, hoping to draw the big animal from Eldon, only it didn't work. She heard a loud scream from the warrior and then saw the bear was on top of him. Eldon was curled up in a fetal position with his arms crossed in front of his neck, obviously to protect his belly and throat.

  Dropping her bow, Mongoose picked up her spear and ran at the animal. Where is Lydia? she thought, as she stuck the point of her spear a good six inches into the beast's side. The bear dropped Eldon, she'd had the warriors head in her mouth, and stood on her rear legs again. Two arrows struck the animal within a second or so of each other. Lydia was heard screaming and a bright light suddenly filled the camp.

  Mongoose moved forward once again with her spear, but the bear knocked the point away, swung a paw hard, and knocked her out of the way. Laying on her back in the grasses, she felt no pain, but her world quickly faded into darkness until she knew no more.

  Mongoose heard a slight noise when opened her eyes. She was on her back under the gray canvas of a shelter. It was daylight, only she had no idea of the time of day. Turning her head slightly, which brought pain, she saw Eldon sleeping beside her. The bear attack, she thought as she remembered the battle. Raising her head, which cause her eyes to blink back tears, she saw Lydia sitting beside a small fire, her chin on her chest. Snow, as far as she could see, covered the ground.

  “W . . . whiskey.” Mongoose said; speaking even a single word brought pain.

  Lydia moved to her side, opened a bottle of the strong drink and said, “You've been unconscious for days, and I thought you'd both die. Eldon awoke about an hour ago and I fed him enough whiskey to put him asleep.” She then raised Mongoose's head and allowed some of the strong drink to flow into her mouth.

  After drinking two cups of the whiskey, Mongoose asked, “The . . . bear?”

  “Dead, but not before it killed my horse. The other three horses broke from the picket line, but I found them the next morning in a valley nearby. We are lucky I found any horses, because the bear scared them all badly. Hell, it scared me.”

  “Bear . . . dead?”

  “Look around you and you'll see meat drying in the sunlight. I placed six more arrows into the big brute before she finally dropped. So, we'll have beef, horse, and bear jerky, once it dries. Don't worry about moving yet, because we have a good foot of snow on the ground, which is too much to be moving in. The meat may not cure properly, because it's pretty close to freezing right now.”

  “More . . . drink.”

  Lydia raised her head and fed the injured woman two more cups of whiskey, lowered her head, and then said, “Eldon had about half of his scalp torn off, two busted ribs and a single deep claw mark down his back. I fixed him up as best I could, and even sewed his scalp back on. Now, you, you've a twisted ankle, two claw marks on your chest and boobs, and a dark bruise on the side of your face. I ain't sure about your ribs, but don't think any are broken.”

  “Clean . . . us?”

  “Used whiskey on all the needles and thread, even poured it on your wounds. Both of you are healing well, with no sign of infection. You should try to get some rest, so when all this snow melts, we'll be able to travel again.”

  Over the next week, the two injured gradually spent more and more time awake. Their wounds healed nicely and were well scabbed over. The meat, most of it, finally dried and the little that didn't dry was stolen by small animals. Lydia had awakened one night to find a raccoon feasting on the semi-dried meat. The next morning, fresh raccoon meat was drying in the sun.

  “Tomorrow we must move.” Eldon said from beside the fire. “Even if we must drink alcohol to move, we've wasted too much time here.”

  “Are you well enough to move?” Lydia asked.

  “How well we are isn't important.” Mongoose said. “I agree with Eldon, because we need to finish our trip and return. I have an uneasy feeling that has come over me the last few days.”

  “About what?”

  “I have no idea, but it's given me a sense of urgency, if you will.”

  “We will leave at first light then.”

  Morning dawned cold, no wind, and a few gray clouds floating low overhead. Before they mounted, but right after a breakfast of meat, the two injured downed a good swallow of whiskey. Mongoose had no real central location for her pain, because her whole body hurt.

  Smiling at Eldon, she asked, “You ready to try this?”

  “Sure, but remember
in each of our saddlebags is a bottle of whiskey, so we'll stay mounted.”

  “I won't be sitting straight in my saddle.” she laughed.

  “The key here is to cover as much distance as we can. I believe in your feelings, and while I don't think three warriors can make a difference in a big ass fight, we don't want something to happen while we're gone. I suspect the village is in danger.”

  “Amon is a Leader and capable of handling any battle, unless there are too many of them and then we'd not be of help to him. I finally realized last night; what will happen will happen and we will either be a part of it or not. It is in the hands of God.”

  “Good,” said Lydia, “I want you two to heal quickly. It grows old doing all the cooking, cleaning and guard. I'm tired.”

  Tapping his horse gently with his heels, Eldon said, “Hell, I imagine it does. I think by the end of the week we'll be able to help you out a great deal. Tonight we'll stand guard, so you can catch up on some of your sleep.”

  Most of the day was uneventful, with not a soul seen. The normal beef herds were missing and not a single deer was seen, which all three thought was odd. It was two hours before dusk when they rode over a crest on a hill and in the valley before them, hundreds of bodies were seen. Dead horses, mules, and fire damaged wagons were scattered all over the grass.

  Eldon said, “You two remain here and let me check this out. I've never seen so many dead in one spot.” He pulled his bow and made an arrow ready.

  He moved forward slowly, looking for survivors, and at the same time, enemies. When he neared the first body, it was of a man who'd taken a spear to his chest. The body was not mutilated and if not for his open and unseeing eyes, he could have been asleep. Dismounting and holding the reins in his left hand, Eldon walked to the man.

  He squatted and felt the side of the man's throat. While the flesh was cold, it had not grown stiff and the blood, while almost dry, was still tacky to the touch. Looks like this happened near first light this morning, he thought, but why?