Grizzly Killer: The Making of a Mountain Man

by Lane R Warenski

  As we neared what I figured was the top of the ridge we were climbin’, the quakies started to give way to pines. We would have to skirt around most of the stands of pines ’cause the trees were so close together and had so much deadfall the horses couldn’t get through, so our progress had slowed a lot.

  It was gettin’ to be late afternoon when we came upon a little clearin’ with a pond out in the middle, and as we approached, Jimbo started to growl, and all his hair stood up down the center of his back. Then he just took off toward a pine thicket on the other side of the clearin’. He had just started off, when a small black bear took off out of this thicket and ran for all he was worth out into the forest, with Jimbo ’bout a hundred yards behind. I whistled real load for Jimbo, since we weren’t in need of a bear right now and decided we would camp here in the trees not too far from the clearin’ and water.

  We started unloadin’ the packs and gettin’ hobbles on the stock so they could wander this little meadow all night, ’cept Ol’ Red. I don’t put hobbles on him ’cause I trust him not to wander off. We were still sleepin’ in the open as the weather was still warm and dry. The women were gatherin’ firewood and gettin’ camp set up when Jimbo come back. He looked at me real disappointed like. He knew he had done his job on that bear, but he didn’t understand why I hadn’t done mine and followed him after it. I noticed Jimbo’s nose was swellin’ up and called him over. He had a big ol’ bee sting right on his nose, and it was gettin’ bigger. I wondered why a bee would sting him and where he got stung. I walked over by where I’d first seen the bear, and there were bees swarmin’ all ’round that thicket, and it didn’t take long for me and Jimbo to get away.

  I figured that young bear was after honey, just like they did back home. Me and Pa had robbed beehives for honey before, and some fresh honey on some cornbread sounded mighty fine. So I went back to the others and told them my plan. Sun Flower said she was no bear, and the bees were too angry. Raven Wing just smiled and shook her head. Runnin’ Wolf looked mighty skeptical, but he said he would help. I made up a couple of torches usin’ grass and pine pitch, one for each of us. Then we wrapped a blanket around us and headed for the bees. We lit the torches when we were ’bout thirty yards out, and when they was smokin’ real good, we moved in. It was workin’ real well, and the bees were stayin’ away from the smoke and heat of the torches. We got up to where I could see the hive and where that bear had ripped it open, when a little bit of a breeze came up and blew the smoke away from the hive and bees. The bees were on us like flies on a fresh kill. I was gettin’ stung all over my face, and when I dropped the torch and ran, Runnin’ Wolf was just jumpin’ in the pond. I followed right behind him, only to find out the pond wasn’t deep enough for us to get all the way under. I was swattin’ at bees, just sittin’ in and splashin’ water all over me till all the bees finally left. And then we could hear the laughter. Sun Flower and Raven Wing were standin’ by the campfire, laughin’ and pointin’ at us, and they would laugh some more. Jimbo was sittin’ on his haunches between them, and I really believe he was laughin’ too.

  We both stood by the campfire and stripped out of our wet buckskins and hung them by the fire to dry. Raven Wing went to the pond and got a big handful of mud and some moss and mixed it together, and they started coverin’ all the bee strings with the mud. When Sun Flower was done, my whole face was covered with mud, and she laughed all the harder. She told me I might be the great Grizzly Killer, but I was no bear to get honey. At this point, I figured she was right.

  After the bees had settled down, Sun Flower walked around to the other side of the pond and picked up the blankets me and Runnin’ Wolf had dropped runnin’ for the pond. We wrapped up in those blankets and sat by the fire, drank coffee, and ate smoked deer. Just before dark, we walked to the pond and washed off all the mud and went to bed. There was a pack of coyotes yippin’ at the moon just down the hill a ways and some owls hootin’ back and forth to each other in the forest. Sun Flower backed her body up against me, and as I wrapped my arms around her, holdin’ her tight, I thought how natural this felt. It was hard for me to believe we had only known each other such a short time, ’cause this felt like we had known each other forever. I remember Pa sayin’ many times as I was growin’ up that him and Ma was meant to be together, and as I went to sleep, I figured that me and Sun Flower were meant to be together too.

  Next mornin’, I woke to Raven Wing’s laughter. I sat up to see what was goin’ on and saw Runnin’ Wolf. One side of his face was swollen up something terrible. He had three or four stings on the right side of his nose and a couple more right under his right eye. His eye was swollen shut, and his nose was all distorted. I had to chuckle a little, but I don’t think Runnin’ Wolf figured it was funny. I had bumps all over my face as well, but my stings didn’t swell up as bad as Runnin’ Wolf’s. Sun Flower was gettin’ coffee goin’ and some biscuits started while Raven Wing went for a walk out through the forest. When she came back, she was carryin’ a handful of plants. She took a coffee cup and started to break up the plants in it. Then she added just a little bit of water and heated it on the fire. She took a stick and mixed it up as it heated into a paste then set it aside to cool. By the time the coffee and biscuits were ready, Sun Flower handed me a coffee cup that had a big chunk of honeycomb in it. The honey was drippin’ out of that honeycomb and the cup was almost clear full of thick, sticky honey. Sun Flower just smiled at me and said, “Bees not angry at night.”

  Runnin’ Wolf drank a little coffee and tasted the honey, but he didn’t feel like eatin’. That honey on the warm biscuits was mighty fine. After we ate, the plant mixture Raven Wing had mixed up was cooled, and she smeared it on Runnin’ Wolf’s face. It looked worse than the mud did, but she said it would make the swellin’ go down.

  We got loaded up and started off to the east and again. We were still havin’ to go around the thick stands of pines, but within an hour, we had started to descend the ridge. As we started off the east side, there was mile after mile of sage coverin’ the hills. There were stands of quakies, but they were stunted in their growth and thick like the oak brush that grows here in the west. As we would approach these patches of quakies, deer would run out and head across the open sage toward other stands of those quakies that might be a mile or two away. There was a line of cottonwoods, makin’ a green line, twistin’ its way down off the mountain that was obviously a creek, and we headed for that. I figured we could follow it all the way to the Bear River.

  By midday we were by the creek and stopped under some cottonwoods to rest the stock and eat. I was amazed at how the swellin’ was down on Runnin’ Wolf’s face. He looked almost normal. My stings were now ’bout like mosquito bites, but they itched worse. I figured we wouldn’t be tryin’ for honey again anytime soon, at least not in the daylight.

  We could now see the channel of the Bear River, and I figured we would make it easy ’fore nightfall. This side of the mountain was mighty dry. This creek we were followin’ was the only water I could see. It hadn’t rained at all in over month now, and I thought no one would ever be able to farm this land ’cause the crops would just dry up and blow away. We jumped a few rabbits and two different flocks of prairie chickens as we descended these barren hills. Jimbo had a run-in with a big ol’ diamond-back rattlesnake, but his reflexes were fast enough that he killed the snake and brought it back to us. Runnin’ Wolf said it would make a good dinner and skinned it. I kept the rattles to add to Jimbo’s collar.

  While we were noonin’ here, Runnin’ Wolf took his bow and walked out through the sage and disappeared. ’Bout an hour later, he came back with three big prairie chickens. He said he needed feathers for the arrows he was makin’ and the birds and snake would make a good dinner. We moved on toward the Bear. We were down in the foothills far enough now, and there was nothin’ but sage and a few little prickly pear cactus, ’cept along the creek.

  By midafternoon there were clouds buildin’ up over the mountains to the w
est, and a gusty wind had started to blow. As the afternoon passed, the clouds kept gettin’ thicker and darker, and by the time we reached the Bear River, we all knew we were in for a storm. We unloaded the horses and mules and hobbled ’em just as fast as we could, and the women went to work settin’ up the teepee. The wind was gustin’ so hard by then it took all four of us to set it up. I had never set one up before and didn’t know what I was doin’, so ’bout all I could do was hold things down to keep them from blowin’ away.

  It took some doin’, but once we got the coverin’ over the poles, I was amazed how stable it was in the wind. We barely got the bedrolls inside when the rain hit. There was lightnin’ and thunder that shook the ground. Me and Runnin’ Wolf went out and gathered just a couple of armloads of firewood and were soaked to the skin when we came back in. Then the hail came, and Jimbo pushed his way inside with the rest of us. The hail was hittin’ the teepee and ground so hard it made a mighty loud roar. The lightnin’ was flashin’ so bright it would light up the inside of the teepee, and the temperature fell till it was downright cold. Once we got a fire goin’ inside, it warmed right up, and the women put the chickens and that snake to roastin’ over it.

  We heard a big crash, and I looked out to see what had happened, and not fifty yards away, a big cottonwood had split down the middle and was burnin’ even in this hard rain. I couldn’t see Ol’ Red or the horses and hoped they were all OK. The storm seemed to be gettin’ worse, and water started to run in under the hide coverin’ ’cause we didn’t have time to shovel dirt up over the flap that touched the ground. So me and Runnin’ Wolf went out and covered it with mud the best we could. I couldn’t have been any wetter if’n I’d jumped in the river. I was gettin’ mighty concerned ’cause we still couldn’t see any of the stock.

  We stripped out of the wet buckskins and just wrapped a blanket ’round us and ate, hung the buckskins over the fire to dry, and listened to the storm rage outside. I don’t think any of us slept. We just lay there and listened to the poundin’ rain. I wondered what had become of the mules and horses and just what we’d find in the mornin’.

  18 The Badger

  The next mornin’ we got up to low-hangin’ clouds, and everything outside the teepee was wet. I was mighty glad we had the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and bakin’ powder in barrels, or it all would have been ruined. I sent Jimbo out to find Ol’ Red, and we tried to build a fire outside. Everything was so wet we had to use coals from the little fire inside the teepee to finally get it started and then set all the packs ’round it to start to dry things out. Every so often it would start to sprinkle a little, but the hard rain seemed to have stopped. The river was runnin’ mighty high and looked like rollin’ mud. This was the first time I’d seen a river muddy since we’d left the lower parts of the Platt last year. It was runnin’ way too high to try to cross this mornin’.

  Sun Flower and Raven Wing were gettin’ the coffee goin’, when I saw Ol’ Red trottin’ through the brush from upriver with Jimbo right alongside. That ol’ mule came right up to me like he was comin’ back to the barn. He sure was a pretty sight. I threw the saddle on him and followed his tracks back along the river, hopin’ the other mules and horses would be together. I went for a couple of miles and saw the other two mules just standin’ in the brush, and as I approached them, I could see the horses were scattered along the river for another couple of hundred yards. I was surprised they all had traveled that far with the hobbles on.

  I took the hobbles off each one as I got to them, and they all followed along pretty good. One of the pack horses was favorin’ one leg a bit, and I figured that was from her tryin’ to run with the hobbles on. Jimbo was a right convincin’ herder when he needed to be. We set up a good strong picket line when I got ’em back to camp on the best grass we could find, but it wasn’t much. We would have to find ’em better graze soon.

  We kept rearrangin’ the packs and such ’round the fire, tryin’ to dry it all out, and ’bout midmornin’, the sun came out for a little while. But by midday, the clouds were lowerin’ again and gettin’ darker. When we heard the first thunder off to the west, we started loadin’ everything in the teepee. I took the spade and shoveled dirt up over the ground flap good. We hurried and brought in enough firewood for the rest of the day and night, just in case it came down on us again like it did the day before.

  Runnin’ Wolf was over checkin’ on the stock one more time, and he took the horse favorin’ his leg and was walkin’ him some, when up in the sage, maybe a hundred yards, Jimbo got into a mighty fierce fight. I could see Jimbo up over the sage, but I couldn’t see what he was a fightin’. From the sounds Jimbo was makin’, he was takin’ this fight mighty serious. When I got up there, it was over, and there was blood all over, and Jimbo had a big ol’ badger in his mouth, shakin’ the life out of it. I couldn’t tell whose blood was whose. Jimbo finally dropped it then pushed it a couple of times with his nose to make sure it was dead. When he turned to come to me, he was limpin’. That badger had got hold of his right front paw durin’ the fight, and it looked like one of Jimbo’s toes was ripped right off.

  Runnin’ Wolf had tied the pack horse back to the picket line and had run up to us as me and Jimbo started back down. Jimbo was hoppin’ on three legs, and when we got to the fire, Sun Flower and Raven Wing just moved me out of the way and started doctorin’ him. Runnin’ Wolf was carryin’ that badger back down and said he could use the hide. He also handed me the turquoise piece Butterfly had given Jimbo. I guess the badger had bit his neck as well and just got the collar instead of his neck. I gave the turquoise to Sun Flower for safe keepin’.

  Those two had Jimbo’s foot bandaged and had cleaned up several other bites in no time at all, and Jimbo seemed to love the attention. Sun Flower took off his collar and checked the grizzly claws and made sure they were still tied on tight. She then just put the collar in her bag instead of back on Jimbo.

  The lightnin’ was gettin’ closer and the thunder louder as we made a final check and made sure everything was secure, and then we could hear a roar comin’ at us, and you could see a wall of hail. We got inside the lodge mighty quick, and Jimbo just curled up by the door on the inside again, and the hail hit with a real vengeance. The hail only lasted a few minutes, but then the rain poured down again. Sun Flower got her bag and pulled out Jimbo’s collar and started cuttin’ a rawhide strip. When she was done, that piece of turquoise was secure right in the middle of the collar, and she moved over to Jimbo so’s he wouldn’t have to move and put it back on him. Then she went to work and made a moccasin for his hurt paw and laced it on him.

  While we waited out the rain, I made sure all the guns were dry and the powder was dry and protected. Runnin’ Wolf was cuttin’ the prairie chicken feathers for the arrows, and Raven Wing started on dinner.

  The rain only lasted a few hours, and a couple hours ’fore dark, it had stopped, and we ventured out. The sky was clearin’ to the west, and by sunset, it was mostly clear. Everything was wet and muddy, and the river was a roarin’ torrent of muddy water. The air was clean and cool with the fresh smell that comes after a rain. Me and Runnin’ Wolf moved the picket line for the stock over to some fresh grass, and when we were done with that, Sun Flower had an outside fire goin’. We sat around it and ate smoked deer and biscuits.

  By then the clouds were only a dark line way off to the east and the stars were shinin’ overhead, and it was cold enough we could see our breath. We moved some of the packs back out of the teepee and turned in for the night. I could see the light from the night sky through the smoke hole and went to sleep, listenin’ to coyotes yippin’ all around us.

  Next mornin’ there was a thin layer of frost on the grass and brush leaves. This was ’bout the third week of June, and I’d never seen frost this time of year before, and I said so. Sun Flower said it could freeze any time of the year in this country. The fire felt mighty good by the time we had it goin’, and we had hot coffee and leftover biscuits for breakfast.
By the time we got loaded, the sun was up, and it was warmin’ up fast. The river was still runnin’ high but not like the day before. We started out and just followed it along the west side, watchin’ for a good place to cross. By midday, I figured we’d traveled ’bout ten miles and the river was ’bout down to normal level, but this time of year, normal was pretty high, and it was still mighty muddy. So we just stayed on the west side, headin’ south.

  By midafternoon we came to a place where the river widened out, and we decided to make our crossin’ here. The water was only ’bout two feet deep, but it was movin’ mighty fast. The horses and mules made it across all right, but Jimbo was still favorin’ his sore paw, and the current swept him downstream. By the time he fought his way across, he was a half mile north of us. I galloped Ol’ Red along the shore, tryin’ to get ahead of him, but by the time I was in a position I could help, he had made it out. He shook, and muddy water went flyin’ in every direction.

  We were much farther south now than we were when we first hit the Bear River on the way to Rendezvous, so we left the river, headin’ east by south toward Black’s Fork. The rain had refreshed the land. Where the flowers were wiltin’ and the grass turnin’ brown a couple of days before, now everything was alive and bright colored. We crossed hill after hill with these big shallow draws between them, and by late afternoon, we made camp in the bottom of one of these draws with a little creek runnin’ down through it. There were new blooms comin’ out on the flowers, and the grass was turnin’ green right before our eyes. There was good grass along both sides of the creek, and it was small enough you could step across it in most places. We just hobbled the stock again so’s they could move along the creek to stay on good grass. The women started to set up the teepee, sayin’ it needed to dry out ’cause it was still damp when we put it away.