Grizzly Killer: The Medicine Wheel

by Lane R Warenski

  He removed the strap he had tied around his ribs and carefully felt his side again, tried to take a deep breath and wondered just how long it would take busted ribs to heal. Then he replaced the strap and tied it in place again, rolled out his buffalo sleeping robe by the fire and laid down for the night. Jimbo curled up by his feet and he could hear Ol’ Red munching on the grass. He watched the sky as he listened to the howl of a lone wolf that didn’t sound very far away. A shooting star streaked across the milky-way and he wondered about the Indians belief that it was the soul of a departed one traveling the milky-way to the other side. The last thought he had as he drifted off to sleep was of his wives, Sun Flower and Shining Star and he wondered if they were thinking of him.

  Jimbo licked him right across his face and as he opened his eyes he could see a very faint light starting along the eastern horizon. He didn’t move at all until he knew why Jimbo had awakened him. Jimbo’s hair was standing up all the way down the middle of his back and he was staring upstream into the darkness. Zach picked up his rifle and instinctively checked the powder in the pan. Then just as he was getting to his feet a vicious fight broke out just up the creek. He could tell by the sounds of the fight it was between a dog and a bear. Jimbo took off on a dead run into the darkness. Zach threw a few pieces of wood on the fire and waited.

  It was less than a minute when he heard the vicious attack of Jimbo and then the familiar baying of his big dog giving chase. Less than a half hour later most of the stars had faded with the coming light and Jimbo came running into the edge of the willows, barked twice, turned and disappeared into the brush again. Zach knew he was expected to follow so he slid his horse pistol under his belt and followed Jimbo’s trail into the brush.

  7 The White Wolf

  Zach had only gone about a hundred yards when Jimbo met him in the trail and led him between two large bushes to a clearing. As he stepped into the clearing he could see a large nearly white wolf lying on her side. Instinctively Zach raised his rifle but then seen the only movement was a young pup hiding behind its mother. In the dim light of early dawn, he hadn’t been able to see the she wolf’s eyes were already glazed over in death. She had given her life protecting her pups from the large male bear that had found her den.

  Jimbo walked over to her and nudged her with his nose but when she didn’t move he then reached out with his nose sniffing the young pup. Zach knew very well the best thing to do was kill the pup for it was way too young to survive without its mother. Then he saw Jimbo, the biggest toughest dog he had ever seen standing there nose to nose with this little white wolf pup and he just couldn’t do it.

  So he reached down to pick the pup up. To his surprise the pup growled and bit his finger. Its teeth were just coming in so there was no damage done, but the next time he reached for it he used both hands. He was amazed how much fight a puppy this young could have and it took him several minutes to get a piece of rawhide around its neck and tied off to a willow branch.

  Back on their homestead in Kentucky he had seen his Pa skin a dead calf and tie the hide onto another calf that had an injured mother so the healthy mother would let the calf nurse. So Zach figured maybe if he skinned the dead mother wolf her hide might help this pup accept him and Jimbo too. As he turned her over he could see where the bear, with one swipe of his paw had caught this beautiful white wolf in the neck and ripped right through her artery. As he skinned her he wondered if this pup was the only one she had or was there a den nearby with others in it.

  By the time he had the hide off her it was light, the sun wasn’t yet up but it was plenty light enough to see. He took the hide over and laid it by the puppy and stepped back and in just a minute the pup was curled up in the middle of the hide. Zach started to look at the tracks and the torn up ground where the fight had taken place. He was able to follow the wolf’s tracks and saw there was blood so she had been injured before this fight had started. He also seen where the bear had been following her. He followed the trail for nearly a mile up to an outcropping of rocks and could see the entrance to her den while still fifty yards away.

  As he approached he could plainly see where the bear had found the den and the she wolf had tried to fight him off. He knew no matter how fierce a fighter she was, a 130-pound wolf was no match for a 350-pound bear that was determined and very hungry after hibernating all winter. He figured she had done the only thing she could and that was grab one of her pups and run. It was plain she had been hurt and after the bear had killed and ate the other two pups he had followed and caught her there on the creek by his camp. When he returned he found Jimbo curled up there next to the puppy.

  He slowly moved toward the pup talking softly as he did. He got down on his hands and knees even though that movement hurt his ribs. When he was close enough to reach out and touch it he slowed down even more and just crawled his fingers forward. The puppy’s eyes never left Zach’s fingers and when his hand was only a couple of inches away he stopped and waited for it to reach out and sniff his fingers. The puppy waited several minutes but then reached out, sniffed, and then licked Zach’s fingers. He then moved his hand a little closer and started first with just one finger rubbing its ear and stoking along its side.

  Zach stayed right there petting the little pup for maybe a half hour then very slowly picked it up and held it in his arms. The puppy stiffened at first but as Zach softly spoke and continued to stroke its fur it settled right down and finally closed its eyes and went to sleep. He carried the pup back to his camp. As he sat down by the fire he saw this was a she pup and before he even realized what he was doing he was thinking of names.

  He was well aware a wolf wasn’t a dog and that wolves could not be tamed, but he didn’t figure he had a choice now. He couldn’t just kill her and the way Jimbo was acting he figured Jimbo could teach her to hunt. Then he realized this pup wasn’t weaned yet and he had to figure out a way to feed her. He sat her down on her mother’s hide once again and set a piece of jerky down by her while he put a little water in his fry pan and set another piece of jerky in the water. Then after getting some more wood on the fire he set the pan on some coals and started the water to boiling in order to soften the jerky up.

  Jimbo hadn’t left to go hunting at all this morning, he was just sitting on his haunches watching everything the pup did. Zach noticed every time the pup would move Jimbo would turn his head to the side like he was trying to figure out just what to do.

  After the water had been boiling a while he pulled the piece of jerky out to let it cool then took it over and tried to get the pup to chew on it. It took a while but once she got it in her mouth she tried to chew it up but the jerky was still too hard for her tiny teeth. So Zach got out a little flour he still had for biscuits and put a spoonful into the broth the jerky had made and stirred it into a gravy. Then he dipped the softened jerky into the gravy and this little wolf pup started licking it off the jerky and doing her best to chew on the jerky as well.

  After the pup had ate as much as Zach could get her too he stood and tried to take a deep breath again, but the pain stopped him short. He retightened the strap around his ribs and broke camp. He washed out his fry pan and coffee pot, refilled his water pouch, and rolled up his buffalo sleeping robe. Then gave Jimbo the hand signal to go get Ol’ Red. After he had the bed roll tied behind the saddle he went back over and picked up the now sleeping puppy. He draped the wolf’s hide over the front of his saddle and holding the pup stepped up on Ol’ Red. Ol’ Red blew once from the smell of the wolf on his back but he had faith in Zach and knew it was alright.

  He headed straight south following this creek. He figured this creek he was on was the upper reaches of Ham’s Fork and if it was he would follow it all the down to where it runs into Blacks Fork. He would only be day from home when he got there. Then he thought again, maybe a day and a half as slow as he was traveling now.

  After following along the creek for just a couple of hours the pup started the fuss and cry. She was trying to find
a teat. Zach shook his head as he brought Ol’ Red to a stop, thinking this trip was going to take a lot longer than he figured if he had to stop every couple of hours to feed her.

  Getting such a late start it was nearly midday and he didn’t think they had covered more than six or seven miles. He got down and built a small fire, boiled three pieces of jerky and added a little flour again. Once the pup had eaten her fill of the gravy Zach wrapped the left over in a piece of hide and figured it would do for the next feeding. Once they were on the trail again the pup curled up on the wolf skin that he had pulled up onto his lap and with his right hand he held her as they rode along.

  The midafternoon feeding went much quicker since he didn’t have to build a fire or prepare any food. He just unrolled the saved softened jerky and gravy and the pup went right after it. She was learning to eat on her own mighty fast.

  By late afternoon Zach was where he recognized the land and knew for sure he was on Ham’s Fork but he was disappointed for he was still several hours from Black’s Fork. He was seeing an abundance of antelope now and was leaving the hills behind as he traveled farther out into the flatlands toward Black’s Fork.

  It was nearly sundown when he finally seen the confluence of Ham’s Fork and Black’s Fork. The land here was extremely flat. He could see no high point at all where he would have a better vantage point of the streams ahead. He slowed right down as he got under a half mile from the confluence. All of his senses were on high alert for anyone that might be camped in this area where the two streams meet. He stopped as he approached a stand of his willows and with a silent hand signal he sent Jimbo ahead to scout the area before he got any closer. He smiled to himself thinking he was just being overly cautious, but he knew very well being overly cautious was the only way a man traveling alone in this wilderness could survive.

  No more than ten minutes had passed when he heard a movement just downstream. With all his sense honed in on that sound a small doe burst out of the willows right in front of him startling Ol’ Red. Red jumped and Zach about lost his hold on the Wolf pup keeping his balance. As Zach watched the doe disappear into the brush he thought of how good some fresh meet would have tasted since he just been living on jerky except for the rabbit Jimbo had brought him the night before.

  Only a moment later, Jimbo came out of the willows right on the path of the deer and he looked up at Zach wondering why he hadn’t shot. The look on the big dog’s face told Zach Jimbo would have liked some fresh meat as well.

  He moved on toward Black’s Fork and stopped for the night in a small stand of cottonwoods just a couple of miles upstream from the confluence. The sun was just setting and he paused for a few minutes to watch the colors in the western sky change from just a light pink around the white puffy clouds to the brilliant oranges and reds then finally to the dark purples as more of the light faded away.

  Zach hurried and got a small fire started and put on a pot full of water. When it was hot he poured a little out to soften the jerky. Then added enough flour to thicken the broth into the gravy that the little white pup was learning to eat. He sat the hide from the pup’s mother next to his buffalo robe and watched as the puppy curled up on it and went right to sleep, soon after he was asleep as well.

  Zach opened his eyes, he did not know what had awakened him. His senses were immediately sharp. He didn’t move but listened for any sound that might be out of place. He slowly moved his right hand down to his rifle that was lying right beside him. He noticed the moon was right overhead shining through the branches and budded out leaves of the cottonwoods above. Then right by his side he heard a feint high pitched howl. He slowly looked toward the pup and she was sitting on her haunches with her nose pointed right at the moon trying her best to howl. Most of the time no sound at all was coming forth then the feint high pitched squeak came again. Jimbo was right there looking at the pup as well. He was tilting his head back and forth trying to figure out just what the puppy was doing.

  Zach smiled then reached out and petted and white fur from the top of her head down to her tail. At that the pup yawned walked the few steps over to Jimbo and laid down snuggling right up against him. Jimbo just lay there still with his head up watching the pup. After just a few minutes Zach watched as Jimbo lay his big head down surrounding the puppy and within just a couple more minutes he could hear the soft snores coming from his big dog.

  The stars were just beginning to fade as the gray of dawn was replacing the black of the night sky when Zach next opened his eyes. Just as his Pa had taught him, he didn’t move a muscle listening for the comforting sounds of nature all around them. He heard the quack of a mallard just around a bend of the river. A splash in the other direction he figured must be an otter going fishing for its breakfast. He could hear the ever present songs of the small birds in the branches overhead and he knew all was safe with the world around them.

  After feeding the puppy again and giving Jimbo a couple pieces of jerky he was on the trail again. He had traveled several miles before he felt the rays of the sun warming his back and shoulders from the still nippy night air. He knew unless there was trouble along the way he would be back in the embrace of his beautiful wives before the sun was down this day.

  He crossed the river to the south side where Smith’s Fork enters and it even felt like Ol’ Red’s gait was a little lighter as they all realized they were getting closer to home. As the terrain started to change from the dry flat lands to the higher elevation grasses he felt excitement building inside himself and pushed Ol’ Red into a little faster lope.

  The big red mule responded and the miles quickly faded away. He stopped every couple of hours to feed the pup and give Ol’ Red a breather but the stops were short and by late afternoon he could see the rocky hill at the north end of the big meadow. The hill where just a few years ago they had buried Sees Far, the young Shoshone cousin of Sun Flower and Raven Wing after he was tortured and killed by an Arapaho war party. That hill always brought both good and bad memories. It was the first thing they seen coming home but it was also a reminder of the brutal violence that this land could produce.

  It was just a few minutes later when he could see a faint column of smoke coming from beside the stream and he seen Jimbo take off at full speed heading for the lodges letting them all know they had made it back home.

  8 Good to be Back

  The first thing he saw, even before the teepees was the jet black hair of Sun Flower as she ran at full speed down the trail toward him. He squeezed his knees into Ol’ Red’s sides and he broke into a full run then with just the shift of his weight the mule slid to a stop. The sudden burst of speed and stop jarred his ribs and he winced against the pain. The puppy was tense; she could feel Zach’s excitement but had no idea why. Zach jumped off Ol’ Red and shifted the pup to his side just as Sun Flower jumped throwing her arms around his neck. Zach was caught off balance trying to shift the puppy and Sun Flower’s momentum carried them all to the ground.

  As Zach landed on his back the pain from his ribs shot a white hot pain through his side and chest. The puppy yelped and rolled out of his grip. Sun Flower had her face buried in his chest but when she heard the yelp she raised her head just in time to see the little white ball of fur roll to a stop. She had a surprised look on her face as she reached out and smiled as the puppy growled and tried to bite her hand. Only then did she see the look of distress on Zach’s face. After a quick kiss on Zach’s waiting lips, she pushed herself up still sitting on him and asked, “What is wrong, my husband?”

  Zach just smiled back at her then said, “It is nothing, just some busted ribs. My saddle cinch broke and I landed on a rock.” She then gently brushed her hand across the scratches on his face and said, “It looks like you landed on more than a rock.”

  She carefully took her weight off him and then noticed the buffalo hide strap he had wrapped tight around his chest. She felt bad for hurting him and tried to help him to his feet. He repositioned the strap and stood then bent over
and picked up the puppy saying, “Sun Flower, meet Luna, she is named for the moon that she tried to sing to last night.”

  Sun Flower’s eyes were wide as she asked, “Where did you find this small one?” Zach bent forward and kissed Sun Flower one more time, only now he took his time then said, “That is a story to tell around the fire for everyone to hear.” Then as he was getting back to his feet he asked her about Shining Star and Raven Wing.

  As he held the pup Sun Flower very slowly started to rub her ears then stroked the soft white fur. As they walked the rest of way into their camp he learned that neither Shining Star nor Raven Wing had given birth yet but they thought it would be any day now for Raven Wing.

  As they walked into the clearing past the pole corral and smoke house Shining Star was struggling to stand. Her belly was now so large she had a very hard time bending to stand up. Zach quickly handed the puppy to Sun Flower and ran to Shining Star to help her stand. He held her beautiful face in his large rough hands then kissed her forehead relieved to be home and so thankful everyone was alright.

  Sun Flower walked over with the little wolf pup still in her arms and held her up for Shining Star to see. With a smile on her lips but a questioning look in her eyes she too reached out and petted the scared puppy. Before she could ask where the puppy came from, Zach asked where Running Wolf and Raven Wing were. Shining Star told him, “Raven Wing’s back was aching so they took a walk up the creek to see if that would help, Jimbo went after them to let them know you are back.”

  Zach unsaddled Ol’ Red, laid the wolf hide down for the puppy then rubbed the big mule down with a clump of dry grass, slapped him on the rump to send him out into the big meadow with all the other horses. He watched as his mule joined the horses then looked around at this place that had become his home. It felt good to be back with his wives and family and be in the relative safety of this area that the Shoshone and Ute’s now call the land of Grizzly Killer. He held out his arms to Sun Flower and Shining Star and the two women came to him. With an arm around each and a big smile on his face he said, “I have missed you both more than you will ever know.”