Crossed Arrows: Mountain Men (The Mountain Men Book 1)

by Terry Grosz

  Surprised at the shooting to their rear, the remaining seven Blackfoot turned to see what was going on. They decided to get up and run in panic towards their horses, allowing Jacob and Martin time to start reloading.

  By now the Snake Indian encampment was alerted and their warriors streamed from their tepees with bows, arrows and rifles in hand. Looking all around, they did not see the running Blackfoot in the bushes by the creek until Jacob and Martin let loose with another barrage. Boom-boom roared the heavy rifles. Seconds later the reserve Hawkens let forth two more shots. At that range the men could not miss. Four of the seven running Blackfoot would never steal another horse or kill another trapper.

  The remaining three scrambled up the hill as fast as they could towards their horses. The Snakes, upon seeing the fleeing Blackfoot for the first time, began shooting wildly. They were shooting but not hitting at that distance with their poor quality rifles and excited aim.

  Just as the lead Blackfoot reached his horse, Martin stood up from his hiding place, shooting him squarely in the face with his pistol from a distance of three feet. The man was so close to Martin, his speed carried his body into the trapper, knocking him down.

  The next two Indians, with tomahawks raised, moved to kill Martin as he was untangling himself from their dead companion. Pow went Jacob’s pistol. The closest Indian dropped before he could swing his tomahawk. His partner, surprised now at the close presence of Jacob as well, turned to look and hesitated.

  Martin, from his position on the ground taking full advantage of the Indian’s hesitation, viciously sank his long-bladed knife upwards into the man’s groin. An inhuman screech followed but it was not as loud and blood curdling as when Martin disemboweled him with another deft stroke of the same knife.

  Still screaming, the man fell to earth on top of his intestines, wiggling in pain in the dirt. Within moments, he laid still in a huge spreading pool of bright red blood. At that instant, the two trappers were swarmed by the revenge-seeking Snakes. Jacob and Martin held up their rifles overhead in a sign of peace and Jacob hurriedly signed that they came in peace to kill the Blackfoot about to steal the Snake’s horses.

  For a few brief moments, the anger of the Snake Indians was so great that many men’s lives were now hanging in the balance. Then screaming and yelling came from the creek. The two women from the river were yelling to the Snake warriors. They continued yelling until the Snake men hesitated and finally lowered their raised weapons.

  Jacob hurriedly began to sign to one of the Snakes about how their friends had been killed by the Blackfoot earlier in the day and how the trappers had set out to revenge the killing. Continuing, he told how they had come upon the Blackfoot after they had killed the boy guarding the horse herd and how the raiders tried to kill the two women in order to steal the horses. Then Jacob signed how their blood ran hot as they killed those guilty of killing their friends and who were now trying to kill the two women. Lastly Jacob quickly signed that they came as friends to the Snake and desired them no harm.

  Based on what the women in the creek were yelling and the two men’s peaceful moves, the fight went out of the Snakes and calm settled over the confrontation with Jacob and Martin.

  With that, the Snake warriors descended on the dead Blackfoot, scalping and mutilating them in the process, the common practice among many Indians because it kept the dead with their missing parts from entering the Happy Hunting Ground. Jacob and Martin remained frozen in place as the Snake’s anger was taken out on the nine dead Blackfoot.

  When the Snakes returned, they were now led by what appeared to be a tribal leader. He turned out to be the chief of the band, a man named Nash-e-weta or He Grizzly.

  In sign, the elder asked again what the trappers were doing there and how they had saved the two women. Jacob signed the whole story once again and the old man appeared not only to be satisfied but very pleased. The two trappers were then invited to the Snake’s camp to eat and smoke the pipe of peace. Jacob and Martin agreed but not before recovering all of Tom and Al’s horses, rifles, possibles, traps and knives. The remaining horses from the Blackfoot raiding party were divided up among the Snake warriors making them happier than all get out, not to mention wealthier than they had been just moments before the attack began.

  Jacob and Martin went down to the camp loudly escorted by the Snake warriors. Soon several cooking fires were roaring with much meat being placed on roasting sticks and in cooking pots. Other items were also prepared by the squaws and soon a feast was in preparation for the two lifesaving guests. Feeling a little foolish, Jacob and Martin sat by one of the fires as the Snake children shyly approached the two men in order to touch the clothing of such great warriors and, by so doing, gain some of the white man’s magic and strong medicine. Throughout the occasion, Jacob and Martin noticed that the two women who had been bathing in the creek before the shooting had started were now tending to their every want and need. Both women appeared to be sisters and about seventeen to nineteen years in age.

  The men also noted to each other that, in addition to their good looks, they were very lithe and beautifully endowed.

  Soon the eating and speeches commenced and Jacob and Martin were asked again and again to tell the story of how they killed the murderous Blackfoot, saving the lives of the two women and the valuable horse herd. Then a dance began with the warriors waving the bloody scalps of the Blackfoot in the air as they moved around a campfire in a ragged celebration of the event. The celebration went on past midnight over the wailing of the family members who had lost their son guarding the horses.

  Finally, Jacob and Martin told their host that they needed to return to their camp in order to care for their horses still in the corral. The chief allowed the two men to leave but signed he must have some time to properly thank the men.

  Jacob, realizing this was part of the Snake culture and not making a mistake like he did with the Ute chief before when he gave him the grizzly necklace, advised they would be happy to accept the chief’s kindness at a later time. That brought a big smile to the face of the chief and with handshakes all around the two trappers headed back to their camp but not before going back to the scene of Tom and Al’s death.

  Using their hands and sharpened sticks, they dug a hole and buried the men in a single grave. Being that they were brothers, Jacob felt that method of burial was proper. Then the grave was covered with rocks to keep the critters from digging the two men up and eating their remains. Lastly, a roaring bonfire was built over the rocks to foil any scents and further hide the bodies lying below. Satisfied, saddened and drained of any further emotions, they quietly headed for their camp.

  They arrived at the cabin in the early morning dark. They let their corralled horses out with hobbles so they could water and feed. Then still emotionally drained over the loss of their friends, they sat around a campfire quietly staring into the flames. In so doing, they let their thoughts go back to better times with Tom and Al.

  Come daylight, both men were once again checking and setting their traps. But in so doing, they remained very alert to any other dangers that might be forthcoming. After returning to camp in the late afternoon with a load of beaver, they commenced skinning and hooping their skins. The best parts of the beaver were put into a large cast-iron cooking pot with a handful of salt, pepper, wild onions, red pepper flakes, some flour and water, and soon a large stew was merrily boiling away.

  Just as they finished hooping their last beaver, Jacob was startled when he chanced to look up. Sitting there quietly on their horses at the edge of the woods not thirty yards distant were twenty heavily armed Indian warriors.

  “Martin,” said Jacob to get his partner’s attention as he quickly reached for his ever-present and always-at-arms-length Hawken.

  Martin in one fluid motion did the same as the two men rose to face this latest threat. Only then did they realize the mounted warriors were from the band of Snake Indians they had met the day before. Lowering their rifles, Jacob s
trode forward and made the sign for peace. Chief Nash-e-weta did the same and soon the Indians and trappers were intermingling as old friends.

  The Indians were invited to dinner and didn’t have to be asked twice. Soon the twenty pounds of meat in the cooking pot was gone. That forced Jacob and Martin to stick chunks of beaver around the fire on cooking sticks for roasting to fill the rest of the Indians’ empty bellies.

  The chief remarked on the trapper’s absence of fresh meat because of the recent battle and their lack of opportunity to replenish their stores. He turned and said something to one of his men. With that, the warrior quickly disappeared back into the forest on horseback.

  Several hours later, the warrior returned with the two women from the creek incident who were now leading two horses each pulling a travois. Soon the women were cooking fresh meat they had brought from their camp.

  It was about then that Martin made a decision relative to the celebration now about to unfold. He strode purposefully to their cabin, then returned with a gallon jug of whiskey from their own stores. It wasn’t long before everyone was having a good time and as the whiskey ran out, the dinner cooked by the women was ready. Everyone fell to and soon the men were sitting around the fire with relaxed looks on their faces and full bellies. Then Jacob returned to their stores and brought forth two handfuls of smoking tobacco cuds. That lit up the faces of the Indians and soon the air was blue with the sweet-smelling James River tobacco smoke.

  As the two squaws cleaned up the eating area, the chief rose to make a speech. In that speech he thanked the trappers for saving the two women and their entire horse herd from the hated Blackfoot. He also talked about the brave trappers and their straight-shooting rifles. Then he thanked them for the meal and advised that as long as he was the chief, they could trap all the waters in the valley as friends of his band.

  However, Jacob and Martin, full of food and slightly warmed from the whiskey, were floored by the chief’s next statement. The chief continued with the words that as a gift from his people for the trappers’ bravery, they each would receive one of the women they had saved to be their wives.

  Jacob and Martin were so stunned at those words that their faces must have showed great surprise. The chief, out of concern over the stunned looks, asked if the gift from his people was not good enough. It took a few moments for the men to speak but when they did, it brought instant relief to the face of the chief.

  “Yes,” signed Martin and Jacob at the same time.

  Then an amazed Jacob signed, “The gift from the Snake is great and totally unexpected. A gift of such proportions is the greatest of honors.”

  “Good,” signed the chief with a huge grin replacing his look of worry. “Then it is done. They will be your wives and, as such, my two daughters will be well cared for.”

  Jacob and Martin were still stunned and didn’t know quite what to say or do, so they wisely kept their mouths shut.

  With that, the band of Snakes made ready to leave after much good-natured back slapping and hugging. Once they mounted their horses, the chief signed good-bye and the Indians quietly disappeared into the night, leaving behind the two young women.

  For a few long moments, the two trappers just sat there, lost at what to do with their change of fortunes. Then Jacob rose and headed for the women’s horses and travois. He grabbed a load of items from one of the travois and headed for their cabin. He laid the items just inside the door, then headed back for another load. Martin followed Jacob’s lead and did the same.

  Once unloaded, the horses were unhooked from their travois and intermixed with the trappers’ horses in the corral.

  Then Jacob and Martin removed their sleeping gear from the cabin and laid it under one of the cabin’s lean-tos.

  Speaking in sign, Jacob indicated to the two squaws that they were to sleep in the cabin that night for the protection it offered. Without a word, the women quietly rustled past the men and into the cabin. Jacob and Martin then headed for their sleeping furs under the lean-to and, placing their rifles next to them, drifted off into an uneasy but welcome sleep. Moments before they were two young and free trappers and now they had two Indian women to deal with and care for, and very beautiful women at that.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The 1834 Rendezvous

  The next morning, the two men were awakened by the women working around the campfire before daylight. Breakfast was ready and the women were waiting for the men to awake. Jacob and Martin washed off their faces and hands; Martin even attempted to comb his long mop of hair. As they sat on one of the log benches next to the fire, the men were served a wonderful tasting corn stew laced with chunks of smoked moose meat. The ladies made coffee far superior to that ever made by Jacob or Martin. The still surprised looks on the faces of the men were now mixed with appreciation for the new treatment and care they were receiving. It had been a long time since they had experienced some of the finer things of life and to their way of thinking, this had the makings of a good day.

  When the men arrived back at their cabin later that day with a large load of beaver, they were further surprised. The camp had been cleaned up and their sleeping furs had been lain over the corral rails to air out. There was a skinned-out doe taken with a bow and arrow by one of the women hanging from the meat pole and great smelling food was once again cooking around the campfire. Both men looked at each other in amazement still wondering how to handle the situation. Since dinner was not quite ready, both men, as if on cue, headed up into the hills surrounding their cabin and began cutting logs so another cabin could be built.

  When Jacob had cut his first tree, he noticed the arrival of the woman he had come to know as White Fawn carrying an ax. Before he could say anything, she began removing the limbs from the tree just cut. A look over at Martin found the same event occurring with the other woman known as Running Fast.

  Both men stood there in amazement until the women finished removing the limbs. With that, the men commenced cutting more trees as the women continued removing the limbs. With a load of timber cut, the men hooked up the horses and began pulling the logs into camp. This work was interrupted as the women gestured that dinner was ready.

  As Jacob and Martin commenced eating, the two women began skinning and hooping out that day’s catch of beaver. When they finished with the beaver chores, they returned to the campfire and then had their dinners as the two men sat there in surprise. Never had they experienced such hard working and yet pleasant-to-look-at women.

  This pattern soon became a daily afternoon ritual after each day’s trapping, until there were enough logs to build another cabin. Then the two men cut and built the second cabin while the women maintained camp, skinned and hooped the beaver, chinked the logs and assisted the men in whatever else needed doing in their extra time.

  Over the next two weeks it became apparent that each woman had picked her man and both men were not displeased with their picks. Soon the men were learning the Snake language and the women English. When the second cabin was finished, White Fawn moved her belongings from the first cabin into the second. Jacob then moved his sleeping items from the lean-to into her cabin as well. Martin followed suit with his living items, moving them back into the first cabin with Running Fast.

  As Jacob arranged his gear around the cabin, he was acutely aware of being watched. White Fawn’s eyes followed him around the small room from where she stood by the door. Jacob could feel her anticipation, her fear, her excitement. Technically, they had been Mountain Man and squaw, husband and wife for weeks, but moving into one bed together, this marked their bonding.

  Jacob avoided her eyes and busied himself by arranging and then rearranging his blanket furs on the bed. He knew what to do. The carousing at the rendezvous made it clear what men and women were supposed to do. But that was different. The whoring of uncouth men was what he had to draw from, but he knew that it was not what he wanted, not for such a beautiful and loving woman as White Fawn. He stopped fidgeting, now that
he realized he really knew nothing of what men and women do to consummate a marriage, nothing beyond the mere mechanics.

  He turned and looked at her. White Fawn, in her buckskin dress, simply waited for him. He thought of her that first day, when he spied her bathing naked in the waters while Blackfoot warriors plotted to kill her. At the time, there was only thought of blasting a hole in a murdering varmint’s head to save the life of an innocent woman, but as he pulled the memory back up in his mind, something inside him stirred. Something hot, something that took over his thoughts faster than whiskey and twice as strong.

  Lust.

  White Fawn said something in the language of the Snake. He held his lust in check, as the words, loving and strange, flowed over him. She was of the earth, the wind, the spirits of nature. He could not move with the crudeness of a Mountain Man. Instead, he stepped to her, with the firmness of a warrior, a role he knew, one that spoke of a desire to protect, not a desire to conquer.

  Jacob took White Fawn’s hand in his. “You are my woman. This I swear to you, that I will keep you safe, that you shall never fear the Blackfoot, the grizzly, or the wolf, so long as I am with you. Not even the White Man shall harm you.” He caressed the jaw line of her face with a finger, and she pulled his hand against her cheek, pressing it into her face.