The Battle at Horseshoe Bend

by Michael Aye

  “It wouldn’t hurt you to go hunting, you lazy old coot,” Ma had retorted.

  “Naw. Naw, it wouldn’t,” Madison admitted. “And as soon as it warms up I’ll do just that.”

  This caused the Vaughts to giggle and Ma Madison to snort. Crockett grinned like an old sulling opossum, while Jonah, Moses, and Houston did their best not to chuckle.

  That night, alone with the others in their party, Crockett said, “I think I’ll get up in the morning and see if I can get a deer or a couple of turkeys.” The next thing he knew, Moses and Jonah had decided to go hunting as well. Houston had yawned and asked his companions to be as quiet as possible getting up as he intended to sleep in, since they’d be back at Fort Strother the next day and the routine of army life would undoubtedly prevent him from enjoying a peaceful rest for some time.

  -

  Jonah knelt beneath a low, overhanging pine limb. He froze, not making a move as the buck lifted his head and twitched his tail. Jonah continued to watch, as he knew he was down wind, so the deer had not smelled him. Had he made a noise or had the deer picked up on his movement? After what seemed like an eternity, the deer’s head went back down. Trying to not make a sound, Jonah lifted his rifle and drew a bead on the buck. Jonah cocked the trigger as the deer pawed at the snow. Again the animal’s head came up and he seemed to look directly at the hunter. Tail twitching again, it was obvious the buck was nervous. He’d stood all he could. The big buck swung around to flee, but it was too late. Jonah had squeezed the trigger just before the deer moved. The crack of the long rifle was followed by a whomp. Jonah knew before the smoke cleared he’d made a good shot. Now came the dreaded part…field dressing the deer with half frozen hands. Jonah thought briefly about just waiting until he got back to the trading post to gut the deer. But by doing it here, he’d lighten the load by at least a third.

  Reloading his weapon before he moved, Jonah picked up movement. Was this what spooked the deer? Easing back under the tree, Jonah intended to circle around and see if he could pick up the movement again. He didn’t have far to go, as he backed out from under the tree, he stood up and turned, coming face to face with an Indian woman. She carried no weapon and seemed frightened to be discovered by the white man. Finally she spoke, “Your deer?” Surprised that she had spoken in English, Jonah continued to stare. “Your deer?” the woman asked again.

  “Yes,” Jonah managed.

  “We hunt too,” the woman said.

  “Any luck?” Jonah asked.

  “No, no gun, only bow.”

  The movement Jonah had first picked up was moving again. It was an Indian boy; twelve, maybe thirteen years old. He carried a bow but no other weapon was visible.

  Seeing Jonah eyeing the boy, the woman volunteered, “My son.”

  Knowing that it was not normal for a boy and his mother to be out hunting, Jonah asked, “Where’s your man…the boy’s father?”

  “Dead, he died fighting that crazy old Jackson.” Then realizing she may have said too much, the woman asked, “You Jackson soldier?“

  “No. I sometimes ride with Jackson, but I’m not one of his soldiers. I do not make war on women or children,” Jonah added.

  “I’m no child,” the boy snapped.

  “I see you’re not,” Jonah said, not wanting to hurt the boy’s feelings. “You help with deer and come to trading post, I will see you are fed,” Jonah said.

  “No take white man’s kill,” the boy said.

  “You help with deer and then we will share kill,” Jonah said. “Maybe we,” pointing to the boy and back to himself, “maybe we go hunting again. This time you shoot deer.” Now he had the boy’s attention.

  The woman expertly gutted the deer. Tying the legs over a pole he cut, Jonah handed his rifle to the woman while he and the boy hefted up the pole onto their shoulders. With the woman leading, they made their way back to the trading post. Once there, Madison’s slaves took the deer out back where two more hung. Crockett and Moses had been lucky, as well.

  The Madisons did not seem surprised that Jonah had returned with guests. Washing up, Jonah quickly told his story to his friends of his meeting. After eating a good noon meal, Jonah had Ma pack a bag with fried cornbread and leftover bacon. He rounded up the boy whose name sounded like Wolf, so that’s what Jonah called him. Crockett had passed a small creek with some patches of green and close by was an old oak tree. He said, “Acorns are most likely all frozen but the deer may come looking for a morsel.” Finding the spot, Jonah and the boy checked the wind direction and then found a place that provided cover on two sides. About an hour had passed when two does came up. They were close enough that Wolf was able to kill one with his bow. Jonah was cold, stiff, and about ready to call it a hunt when a buck showed up. Wolf had previously told Jonah his father had taught him to shoot. Therefore, when the buck crossed the creek, Jonah handed the gun to the boy. Taking the gun, Wolf drew down on the deer and dropped it in its tracks. Once the deer was down, the boy let go with an excited little whoop. This time they had brought a pack mule along. Loading up their harvest, they headed back to the trading post. All the time, the boy never stopped talking and jabbered through the evening meal. The boy’s mother didn’t say much, but she gave Jonah a look of gratitude.

  Before going to bed that night, Jonah and Moses had a few minutes alone. “I somehow feel reluctant to return to Fort Strother,” Jonah confessed. “I don’t know that I feel the same way as I did before we left. I think I know…I understand more how Henry Parrish feels now.”

  Moses nodded, “It’s hard to kill a man you don’t hate, and it’s hard to hate a man once you’ve come to know him and shared a meal. Did you ever think, Jonah, how easy it could be for us to be having our lands, our way of life taken from us? I don’t mean fighting the British. I mean people we’d welcomed and helped who suddenly turned on us.” Moses then turned to Jonah, “Can you imagine how I’ve felt at times looking at people of color or Indians and knowing but for the grace of God and Mama Lee.” The mention of Mama Lee made both men chuckle then Moses continued, “I would be in the same boat as many of them had things been different. Being a part of the Lee family has provided me with things some could only dream about. I’ve been treated as a son and as a brother.” Moses said this putting his arm on Jonah’s shoulder. “I know how you feel about me. But what if tomorrow I turned on you and tried to take all that the Lees had worked for, for my own. How would you feel then? That’s the feeling the Red Sticks are feeling now.”

  The two men were silent for a while and then Moses spoke again, “Weatherford was right, you know. Once Jackson wins this war and he has no further need for his Indian allies, he will turn his back on them. Sam knows it’s true. I know it’s true and deep in your heart you know it’s true.”

  Jonah didn’t speak but nodded. What a complicated world we live in, he thought. It is being made worse by politicians and greed.

  “It’s getting cold,” Moses volunteered. “I’m going inside.” They’d been sitting on a back porch step. Jonah hadn’t really noticed the cold. Was Moses cold or just giving Jonah time to be alone with his thoughts? Sitting on the steps for a while longer, Jonah heard a plank creak as a person stepped on it. Standing and turning toward the porch, Jonah saw Wolf’s mother. What happened next was something Jonah would remember for a long time. Sometimes with fondness, other times with guilt…but remember it he did.

  Wolf’s mother spoke much as a white woman, “Thank you for being a friend to my son.” She then opened the heavy robe she wore and stood naked before him. Jonah was stunned at the beauty this woman possessed; beauty that had been covered by her winter clothing. She pulled him toward her and all the emotions and needs a man could have came flooding forth over Jonah as he felt himself drifting away in the arms of this woman. A woman who sensed the man was about to break and comforted him the only way she knew how. When Jonah woke up the next morning, the boy and woman were gone. No goodbyes, no complications, nothing but gratitude, at l
east on Jonah’s part.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The trip back to Fort Strother had been uneventful. No bad weather, no Indians, and only very few birds. Crockett said it just wasn’t natural to make the trip with no bother at all. “Man has got to have a little bother, regular like, to keep him on his toes,” he declared. “Otherwise, he is likely to get lazy. Once a man gets too relaxed, his hair ends up on some Indian’s lance. No, a man needs a little bother in his life.”

  Moses grinned at the scout and said, “Well, I wouldn’t mind a little bother now and again but it seems mine always comes from a woman.”

  “Can’t disagree with you there,” Crockett responded. “I thinks I’d rather deal with blood-thirsty savages everyday than some nagging woman once a week.”

  “You listening, Sam?” Jonah asked.

  “Sure I am,” Houston answered. “I was just trying to figure out where this conversation is going. I don’t know about Davy, but I ain’t yet heard Moses complain about the attention he’s been getting.”

  “That’s just it,” Crockett jumped on Houston’s words. “In the spooning stages it’s all they can do to please you. They don’t fuss if you go hunting or pull a cork on a jug or anything. But you just wait till they got you treed. Then you’ll find those carefree days of being one’s own boss is long gone.”

  “That why you volunteered to join Andy?” Houston asked. Jonah didn’t miss the ‘Andy’. Out of camp, he’d address the general as others did.

  “Well, yeah,” Crockett admitted. “She didn’t even seem overly glad when I went home for a spell. No joyful reunion, she just sat in nagging about what needed doing whilst I was home.” Moses had got the conversation started on this current path but had clammed up.

  Houston was not about to let it rest. “What about it, Moses? Is your pretty little squaw still in the pleasing mood or has she got you treed yet?”

  “Humph,” Moses snorted. “I’m not near as treed as she’d like me to be. Of course, Indians are different.”

  “Not that I’ve seen,” Crockett threw out. “I don’t care what color you are, women are women. Reminds me of a little saying our old neighbor used to say.” Pausing a second to get his thoughts right, Crockett recited the saying; “God created earth and rested. God created man and rested. God created woman, and since, neither God nor man has rested.” This brought cackles from the group including Crockett who laughed until he cried.

  Once he was able to stop laughing, Jonah leaned over and said, “There is one I know who would get a kick out of that.”

  “He sure would,” Moses admitted, knowing Jonah meant his father. After a second, Moses added, “But not in Mama Lee’s hearing.”

  “Definitely not in her hearing,” Jonah agreed.

  -

  The group was greeted with hoots and hollers when they rode back into the fort. Fort Strother had been well-manned when they left but now the place seemed to be busting at the seams. General Coffee was up and about, seeming to have fully recovered from his wounds.

  When Jonah discussed his meeting with Weatherford, Coffee snorted and said, “I’d have shot him dead right then and there.”

  “You may have, General,” Jonah said not to kindly, “but I pride myself on being a man of honor. When given shelter, I respect a man’s property and rules, not to mention giving my word to Weatherford.”

  Coffee was not satisfied, “Your word to a Red Stick.”

  Jonah rose up and with clenched jaw said, “My word to any man, General.” After a tense moment, he added, “In fact, I had a much more invigorating conversation with this man than you would expect. He’s really very educated. His grandfather is well known by the King, Heads of State, and even the President of the United States.”

  Coffee seemed to settle down but still had to get in one last word. “He’s still the enemy.”

  Determined to stand his ground, Jonah said, “And so is the King, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t call a truce and sit down to talk under the right circumstances.”

  Jackson must have felt that the banter had gone on long enough. “Quite right you are, Jonah. Now, let’s get down to business and discuss our latest scouting reports.”

  The next hour was spent talking about the breastwork being constructed at Horseshoe Bend and the number of Indians making their way into what was now called the ‘stronghold.’

  After the meeting, Jonah and Moses went to visit Captain Stephen Lieupo. He was sitting on the side of his bed playing checkers with Henry Parrish. Jonah and Moses had missed the old cuss but figured he was out scouting for Jackson. Lieupo’s color was back and he seemed in good spirits. “I ain’t ready to straddle no horse yet, but otherwise I’m doing tolerable,” he said.

  Jonah and Moses told of their trip and all that had taken place. Well, most all, as Jonah didn’t divulge his night with Wolf’s mother. They then discussed the buildup of Red Sticks at Horseshoe Bend and the construction going on.

  “Why does Jackson wait?” Lieupo asked. “He’s got a fair number of the Red Sticks there now. Why wait until they’ve got a wall up and make things that much harder.”

  “I tell you why,” Henry volunteered. “Jackson wants to push south and fight the Redcoats. The fastest way to do that is to do away with the Red Sticks. Andy’s going to wait until he’s got them all bottled up in a wad and put an end to it once and for all. Wall or no wall, once he’s got most of them there, we’ll attack.”

  How wise, Jonah thought. Henry Parrish had more savvy than a lot of men gave him credit for.

  -

  The next week was filled with the hurry up and waits of military life. Houston resumed his duties. Jonah and Moses killed time by joining in on a couple of short scouting trips. A few fights broke out, as will happen when men have too much time on their hands. Crockett was back to his tales of derring-do, now made stronger by his face to face encounter with the Red Sticks war chief, Red Eagle. And in case some didn’t believe it, Sam Houston, Moses, and Jonah Lee were all there, just ask any one of them, they’d tell you it was the gospel.

  At the end of the week, a small patrol rode in from Fort Deposit. To Jonah’s surprise and delight, Captain Greg Clark was with the patrol. An officer’s call was held immediately. Clark explained about the British agent they’d captured but who had escaped. This was not new, as Jonah and Houston had added this in their reports. However, Clark now had reliable information that this agent was assisting in the design and construction of the defenses at Horseshoe Bend.

  “This will not be just some timbers thrown together,” Clark advised the general. “This will be a formidable wall. One your cannons will have little effect in hopes of breaching.” This was not welcome news, but it was important.

  Turning to Major Russell, Jackson said, “I want a series of scouts sent out. I want a man with a fair hand at drawing to go with them. I want as detailed a sketch as we can get. We may have to move sooner than expected. And Major!”

  “Yes sir,” Russell replied.

  “Take any prisoner you can, especially any British prisoner.” Russell gave what passed as a salute and left Jackson’s quarters.

  The meeting lasted a while longer. After the meeting, Clark agreed to dine with his new friends that evening, as they had to return to Fort Deposit on the morrow. He then had to head back to Nashville. But for now, he wanted to visit his friend, Captain Lieupo. On the way over to the fort’s hospital, Clark paused and answered Jonah’s unasked question. “No, there has been no more news from Captain Hampton in regards to Ana.”

  -

  For the next several weeks, Jackson did all he could to prepare for the final engagement with the Red Sticks. He realized his supply route needed to be shorter than the distance from Fort Strother to Horseshoe Bend. Fort Williams would be the ideal base from which to launch his attack. He sent out a forward force that included engineers to build roads on which wagons and marching men could easily pass. Not wanting his raw recruits to fail him, as had been the cas
e earlier that year, he grudgingly took the time to have his volunteers trained. He also sent out scouts when it was time to march to Fort Williams. He had to know things were as they appeared to be, that the stronghold at Horseshoe Bend was not just a faint. The scouts would meet up with the main army at Fort Williams.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  For two days Jonah, Moses and Henry spent more time astride horses than they did in their bedrolls. They zigzagged from Fort Strother south and east toward Cholocco-Litabixee, as the Red Sticks called it. Horseshoe Bend was the white man’s name for it. Henry reminded Jonah and Moses that the name Cholocco-Litabixee meant ‘horse’s flat foot.’ Something he’d explained at least three times. Was the scout getting forgetful? Something Jonah doubted.

  “More like he’s anxious to get this done with,” Moses whispered. Jonah agreed with his friend.

  Tension was building at the fort. The officers were grumpy and argumentative. The men were stressed and ready to fight at the least little provocation. The scouts could have cut their trip in half, but Jackson had been adamant that they should not make their destination obvious.

  “Andy’s got a hair crossed if he thinks the Red Stick scouts don’t know where we’re headed,” Henry argued. “It ain’t getting there that concerns me as much as the getting back.”

  This caused his friends to smile. Henry was right as usual. Past Talladega, past the place near Emuckfaw where they’d recently battled the Red Sticks, and continuing southeasterly the men traveled. They’d stop, eat, and move on until they found a suitable spot to layover for the night, one man always on guard. Jonah had noted the woods had seemed to thin out and open up.

  “River is close by,” Henry said, pulling up on his horse’s reins and taking his unlit pipe from his mouth. It had been too dangerous to light up but Henry still kept the worn, old pipe clenched between tobacco-stained teeth. Swinging down from his horse, Henry handed his reins to Moses. “Be right back,” he said and then quietly disappeared over a rise.