by Rita Hestand
"We'll have to bring the horses inside too. They'll freeze out there."
"Good thinkin'. This here is one big cave."
"It sure is. How did you know about it, Lucy?" Aiden asked.
"Our hunters have used it many times."
Aiden looked about and found a piece of scrap metal lying on top of the barrel that someone had used as a water barrel. He started digging a long tunneling hole from the place Angus placed the rocks for the fire and under it to the entrance of the cave. Someone almost stepped on it and he shouted. "Watch out, don't get on the tunnel."
"What are you doing?" Frank wanted to know.
"Building an inlet of air for the fire. In a closed-up cave the fire won't last without air. So, we build a small tunnel, cover it, and build the fire."
"That's ingenious." Frank remarked. "You figure that out by yourself?"
"Not hardly." Aiden laughed. "The Frenchman that raised me, taught me. He was in the wars, way before our time and he learned from the other soldiers, said one was a ships mate and one was a builder of some kind. They taught him all kinds of tricks to stay alive."
"Glad he passed them on to you," Frank smiled.
"Yeah," Aiden chuckled. "See if you can break some of those left-over rocks on that big rock over there against the wall. We'll need them to cover the tunnel with. We don't want to smother it, just keep it so it's headed for the fire."
"Alright," Frank seemed almost eager now to help. He gathered several bigger rocks and went to the stone and pounded them into small pieces, then carried them to Aiden. "This what you need?"
"That's great. You can place them over this little tunnel, very gently, and everyone be careful not to stumble over them."
Frank did as he asked. It took a while to cover the entire small tunnel but as Angus built the fire, it seemed to work.
"Good." Aiden smiled.
"Now what?" Frank asked.
"There's an opening up there, we need to reinforce it, with mud and stick and bit of rock, so it stays open and the melt doesn't put the fire out."
"How do we do that?"
"Go to the entrance and dig on the other side of the entrance, bring me as much mud as you can put in that old worn out hat laying over in the corner on top of that barrel. Then we'll use sticks from that big branch that Angus brought to make a mud cover for it. We'll pack it in hard and it should hold while we are here."
"It's a lot of work, isn't it?" Gloria noticed watching them work steadily.
"Yes, but then the smoke will go out, and the air will come in, and we can keep a fire going. Otherwise it would go out and we'd eventually freeze or be frostbitten by the time we get out of here."
"I wish I knew that Frenchman you talk about, so I could thank him for his knowledge." Frank smiled. "I'm glad you are here with us, I wouldn't know what to do. But I guess I'm learning." Frank told him.
"We all are." Aiden grinned.
Frank gathered the mud and brought it over to Aiden who was going to stand on Angus' shoulders to doctor the outlet in the top of the cave. Angus was a big man and he held Aiden without a bit of trouble. Aiden was tall enough to reach the opening, and he pasted the sticks together with the smaller rocks on the walls of the opening. Aiden patched the sides of the hole the best he could, and he could smell the smoke as he stood on Angus shoulders. He started coughing and got down quickly.
When he came down, he was satisfied with his work.
With that taken care of Aiden felt more confident of surviving in the cave for a few days.
Gloria was just now getting back to life. She'd been so wrapped up in her grief, she wasn't functioning, but with her husband being so understanding of her feelings, she began to relax, and she'd obviously put the experience with Peggy behind her for a while. She seemed proud that Frank could help in the work too.
The cave was big, and it showed signs of other humans camping here before them too. There were a couple old barrels looked like rain barrels to the back, a leftover blanket that was more dust than blanket, a long-ago campfire too and a hat.
Aiden had gone out to check on the horses, the snow was coming down faster now and the temperature was dropping. The horses couldn't stay out in this. He'd have to make a place for them.
The girls were just beginning to make a little camp, setting saddles down and blankets for everyone sit on, when out of the back of the cave came a huge black bear. No one expected a bear to come stumbling out at them. He looked very much as though he just woke from a long sleep. The bear seemed to take note of who was there, then roared loudly, as he raised himself on his hind legs. Gloria and Frank shrieked and leaned against the wall of the cave. Their faces mirrored the horror, sweat ran down Franks face, as fear held him still. Pumpkin backed away but handed Angus his rifle. Angus didn't hesitate to take his rifle and with three shots fell the bear. Pumpkin hadn't been afraid at all. She knew Angus would kill him.
Lucy grabbed the other rifle, but it had no bullets. Still she could fight it off with it, if Angus missed.
Aiden heard the shots and came running. He saw the bear at Angus feet. Angus had killed him only a few feet from his body. He hadn't wavered though, and knew he'd take him down.
Lack of fear, good aim and a trusted gun was all that was needed.
Pumpkin was already dressing him out. Lucy helped her.
"Looks like we've had a visitor." Aiden chuckled.
"A very unwelcome one," Gloria muttered.
"We'll have bear roast for supper," Lucy announced.
"Bear?" Gloria shrieked.
"It's very tasty, similar to beef." Aiden told Gloria.
Frank hugged Gloria. Later Frank came up to Angus, "I can't believe you killed him with one shot."
"Depends on where you aim, and what kind of gun you got. I carry one rifle that I know will down them. The trick is not to let them intimidate you. Because once they do that, you forget about your good aim and trusted gun." Angus grinned. "Pumpkin will make us a fine coat with that bearskin too."
"Do you have a home, Angus?" Frank asked sitting close and watching Pumpkin and Lucy work on the bear.
"Naw, we just mostly drift around."
"I would think she would want one." Gloria came to sit by Frank now and nodded toward Pumpkin.
"Pumpkin, no, her people are wanderers. She's used to moving around. We get to see a lot of country that way." Angus told him. He looked at Frank, "They used to follow the buffalo, but they are getting scarcer as every man seems to want to hunt them. You said you traveled west on a wagon train. Where were you planning on settling somewhere in particular?"
"We were headed for the California gold mines, but I'm not sure now. I'm really not a miner. Although it is tempting. I'm more practical than that. A nice cabin where there's plenty of water and civilization around would be good. Although I've got to find work first, I'm afraid. We didn't plan this trip west very well."
"I think me, and Pumpkin might settle someday too, as the older I get the harder it seems to move about." Angus chuckled. "They are giving land grants away in Oregon, you know."
"Yes, but the horror stories we've heard along the way to get there, make me want to find a closer place." Frank told him.
"Well you're right about that now. Those mountains can be treacherous, and if you get a late start, they can be murder. But it is beautiful country there, once you get there." Angus shook his head. "I guess we'll stick to wanderin' for a while longer. It's too cold here to enjoy it much. We are thinking of going south."
Aiden brought the horses in and put them toward the back so they wouldn't be in the way and could still stay warm. Evidently the bear had curled up in a back corner so no one could see him.
The weather was getting extremely cold and bad outside the cave. The wind whistled through the cave now, making a strange music all its own. Aiden fed and watered the horses while Angus worked at closing the cave with branches and sticks, He hung a blanket up too, to help keep the wind out. But before he sealed it compl
etely Aiden stopped him.
"I want to fix something up to keep air coming in but not necessarily the cold too."
"Why?"
"Because we need a source of air too, to breathe in here, after keeping the fire going it will use all of what that tunnel will provide, so we need some for ourselves."
"We may be stuck here a few days." Aiden told them as he joined them around the fire. "We have to make the place as livable as we can until we leave. Air is important and we need it big enough we can check outside, too."
"Days, are you serious?" Gloria frowned.
"'Fraid so, ma'am. Take a good look, that's a full-blown blizzard out there, we can't travel in that. And by the time the snow stops we'll be digging our way out of here."
Gloria went to stand by the front of the cave. "I've never seen such a storm in my life. But I suppose I've never been out in one."
"You won't find them this harsh down in the valley, but up here, it can get dangerously cold. So, everyone prepare to stay indoors. Frostbite is a hazard and until we can move out there in the cold, we need to be patient and wait until the weather will allow us travel."
Aiden had a hammer and nails and several odd-looking piece of metal and wood.
Finally, out of curiosity, Gloria asked, "What are you going to do with that?"
Aiden sighed knowing everyone was curious about what all he was doing. He grinned and looked around at everyone who was staring. "I'm going to make us a place to do our privates in." He told her.
"You aren't serious?" Gloria shook her head.
"Very serious." Aiden told her. "It's too cold right now to go outside, every time someone needs to, and we have to make do with what we have. It isn't a perfect solution but going outside in this weather would be dangerous. There is a lot of us, and we'll have to dig a long and deep hole, so I better get started."
"But surely… " she glanced at the weather outside and shrugged. "Alright, alright, perhaps it's the only way."
"Angus I'm going to need your help for a bit. I want to get this started now. Each time it is used, sprinkle some of this mixture in the bag in the pot, it will keep it from smelling so badly. So, don't forget to use it each time. And we'll make a lid for it, too."
"What's in the bag?" Frank asked curiously.
"It's a combination of charred ashes with baking soda."
"What is it for?" Angus asked.
Aiden chuckled. "For the smell, Angus."
Angus came and smelled the bag, "Where on earth did you hear of this?"
He sighed, glanced at Lucy who was smiling. "An old Indian Shaman gave me the recipe for it. Said he couldn’t stand the odors when too many people live together. He experimented with it himself until he came up with this. You dig a hole in the grown first, build a seat, and a lid and that's all there is to it. It works well, so use this mixture when you have to use it, but a little goes a long way."
Everyone came up to look and smell it.
"It's a little messy on the hands to dig into it, but it works, that's what's important." Aiden assured them.
"An old Indian Shaman?" Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Stump Nose, as a matter of fact, you know him?"
She stared, "I do. He gave you the recipe?"
"He did!" He smiled.
"He usually doesn't share his knowledge." She couldn't stop the grin, "Well, I'll be… I didn't know he was still alive."
"Saw him last year up on the river, he was doing fine, had him a couple of squaws and they had a semi-permanent place to live."
Lucy and Pumpkin worked on the hide, while the men helped dig a hole for to indoor outhouse. It took a while to dig deep enough to do any good and then they made a small seat on top, strong enough to hold any of them so anyone could sit on it. He even made a lid to keep the odor away. He made it back behind the horses so it wouldn't leech out to the main part of the cave.
He showed them all it was like a miniature outhouse, inside. Everyone was shocked that they could make such a thing. Of course, it took nearly three hours, but most of the work was digging the hole, with that many people they needed a good size hole.
Angus took the remaining parts of the bear outside and buried it in the snow. The wind was so bad he could barely stand up against it. The snow was so thick it was hard to see. He hurried back inside. Pumpkin laughed as his mustache and beard were frozen practically.
With the portable outhouse, and the hole for the smoke and tunnel for the fire, all they needed now was the airhole at the entrance.
"For privacy everyone will have to use your blanket to lay over you when you use it. That's as good as we can do about that." Aiden told them.
Later after everyone ate, Gloria was the first to smile and admit she liked the roast.
"Bear is quite tasty," Lucy smiled at her, especially cooked over an open fire. "The Indians consider it a treat."
"I've heard they eat snakes too."
"Snakes are tasty too but I prefer bear to snake," Lucy told them.
The men began telling tales of their past adventures around the fire that night as the fire crackled in the quiet air.
Aiden and Angus made some brush around the door, so the snow wouldn't seep inside so easily. They put up the blanket. But thinking about it. Aiden knew he had to rig something up that would work if the snowdrift got too thick. "We'll need to keep some air holes, so the lack of air doesn't put the fire out and kill us."
"That's good thinking. How we going to rig it?" Angus asked him
There was an old burnt out barrel to the back of the cave, Aiden thought it might have been used on watering the animals by someone. Aiden shrugged, "Guess we'll have to use out hat to water the horses, and there's a piece of worn out pants we can tie up their food in, fee them one at a time. Get that barrel over here, we need to knock a hole in the bottom so we can knock the snow off and keep an airway open. We'll stick it in the side of the entrance up here so we can see out at the weather and get air too."
"Alright, I got ya. You got anything we can feed these horses?" Angus asked.
"We'll have to check the provisions in everyone's saddle bags. If anyone is carrying oats, we'll put it all together and give them a ration each day. If not, we'll just have to offer them our own food scraps."
"Pumpkin has a good supply of oatmeal, she always carries it, she likes it in the mornings."
"Good, hate to tell she might have to give it all up."
"Can't afford to lose our horses." Angus told him.
"That's for sure."
He brought the barrel over, it was wooden but wrapped in metal wiring. Angus went to his horse and brought back an ax and whittle the bottom out of it. They mounted it on several strong limbs that they had used to hold a door for the entrance. They plugged around it with mud so it would harden and hold it. "We'll use our gun buts to clear the snow out with."
"How'd you learn so much, you ain't that old." Angus laughed. "That old Frenchman must have taught you a lot."
"I was raised by him after my folks were killed in an Indian raid. He'd been around and done a lot. Fought in several wars, got shot up, and still managed to live. He taught me a lot about survival. He said the way he found me it was a wonder I had survived."
"Well, we're awful thankful he did teach you." Angus grinned.
"He taught me that without air, a fire won't keep burning. That's why we dug the tunnel. It didn't have to be a big tunnel, just so when the wind blows it will blow in on the fire."
"I didn't know the French were so smart."
"He learned to stay alive until consumption took him."
The way Aiden said that made Angus take note.
"What was his name?"
"I couldn't pronounce it, so he told me to call him Frenchie… " Aiden laughed.
"How long did you live with him?"
"Sixteen years, he just died last year."
"Too bad." Angus bowed his head.
"He did a heap of living though. Saw a lot of the world and narrowly esc
aped a few hard times himself.
It was late when Aiden laid down, but he couldn’t help but stare at Lucy as she slept. Out here in the woods it was easy to see Lucy's talents and how well she adapted to the country and the needs. She was quite a woman. He had to admit, he missed her laying beside him. He studied her long and hard that night. He'd never missed a woman before. He'd never hungered for a kiss before either, but Lucy had the makings of a powerful lover, and she had no idea.
He realized he was looking at her like a woman now, thinking of her like one too. He wondered if she'd mind?
Chapter Ten
The next morning, Lucy was the first one up and had the coffee on before he raised his head from his saddle.
"Smells good." He went to the door and peaked through the branches, but he could hardly see a thing, the snow drifts had accumulated and seeing out wasn't possible. He checked the barrel, there was a small opening of snow and he could see out, but it needed to be cleaned out regularly or it would stop up too. He took the end of his rifle and cleared it to look out. The snow was halfway up the entrance and still falling.
"We're snowed in now." He told her.
"I know. But at least it's warm in here and we've plenty of room. Looks like we've got plenty of food too. To be stranded in a cave we are doing well. I'm impressed with all your knowledge and know how, too."
They sat by the fire, no one stirred.
"So, what have you been doing the past few years Aiden?" She asked him as they sat and sipped their coffee together.
"Old Frenchie died."
"Oh, God, I wish you hadn't told me. I loved him." She frowned.
"Yeah. He caught the consumption."
"Damn, I'm sorry to hear that. How long were you two together?"
"I was ten when he found me, I guess about sixteen years. He died last winter."
"We scouted for the soldiers at Fort Abraham Lincoln and Fort Ellis, until he died. Then I kept on."
"I guess he was like a second parent to you, huh?" She asked.
"Yeah, he sure taught me a lot. I buried him on the edge of the Cheyenne River, that's where he asked me to."
"I remember he liked watching the River there. I liked him."