Camp Camel: The Heart of Texas

by Eaton, Rosemary

  Jenny blushed, “No, man now. Good Gage not ghost.”

  Gage swallowed, “Good Jenny not ghost too.”

  Jenny took his hands, “You give me back to Bryan? You tell him so.”

  Gage chuckled, “Well maybe and maybe not. Don’t you think he needs to worry a little about how his words are taken before you go off and scalp him someday?” Jenny frowned and wagged her finger in his face like he was the young boy again then poked his chest until Gage laughed, “Alright, I’ll tell the bastard as soon as you show me how you got out without either of them knowing. You could have broken your neck Jenny. You should have let him climb out.”

  Jenny shrugged her shoulders, “Not know where. Break leg then I have to carry him on back. Brought rope, you fix?” Jenny handed Gage the ladder rope.

  Gage looked at the old rotting piece of rope, “Maybe we go and find Dallas or a new rope. I don’t think it will reach them without them having to climb up those rotten hand grips. Can you ride this beast?”

  Jenny looked at Daisy with disgust, “You show way?”

  Gage said, “I show way, you won’t leave me if I fall off?”

  Jenny said, “Not see Bryan stop.”

  Gage yelled out, “Travers!”

  Bryan was still talking to Lacy and looked up, “Yes?”

  Gage grinned, “You loose something down there? Where is your wife?”

  Bryan said, “Jenny speak up. Say something.”

  JC said, “Gone. She went that way Unc Bryan.”

  Bryan asked JC, “She went where? Here hold my hand and point.”

  JC took his Uncle Bryan’s hand and pointed up and angled side way toward the top of the cavern.

  Lacy asked, “JC where did she go. Just tell Mommy.”

  JC said, “Up. Climb up.”

  Bryan followed JC’s direction and made his way back to the wall and put JC down. Bryan used his hands to feel the side of the rocks for hand holds. Jenny was back down and reached over to take JC’s hand and helped him find a grip and started to climb one step at a time moving up and side ways with the boy while Bryan was still feeling the wall trying to find another grip above the one in his hand.

  JC said, “Come on Mommy.”

  Lacy asked, “JC? Bryan tell me you have his hand.”

  Bryan looked up, “Nope, but I got him spotted. JC you little monkey. Keep going, that’s right, don’t look down now. Mommy will be up in just a minute.”

  Lacy said, “What do you mean I’ll be up in a minute. You’re not going first?”

  Bryan said, “Nope, I’ll stay in case you fall to catch you. You weigh less. You should go first.”

  Gage called out, “Jenny has your rotten rope. If you’d rather try that I guess we could throw it down again. You might have to jump for it or move those bones into a pile.”

  Lacy shivered, “Nope, no bones Gage. If she can do it, we can. How much different can this be from climbing a tree?”

  JC called out, “Again!”

  Jenny had JC safe off the ledge and pushed him out by Daisy with the helmet off the bag of bones to play with. Jenny motioned to JC to stay.

  Jenny looked back at the cave and sighed. There was a part of her that just wanted to lay back down, but if she stopped now she might not get back up. Jenny returned to the insides of the cave and once she was about five feet off the floor she could feel Bryan’s hand on her waist as he held her while she took the remaining steps. He had the starting spot, “Lacy, time for you to go. Jenny’s going to show you just like she showed JC. She isn’t going to let you fall.”

  Jenny took a breath and went back on the wall and took a few steps. She reached out for Lacy and got a grip on her wrist and placed it on the hand hold and waited while Bryan held her waist. One step at a time Jenny called out the word haa and slowly moved Lacy’s left grip to the next hand hold and waited for her to find a foot hold.

  Jenny was about three feet away from the top when Lacy’s foot slipped, then her hand came off the wall. There was the sound of her feet trying to dig into the solid stone as she dangled by one arm. Gage called out, “Grab her Jenny!”

  Bryan called out, “Lacy, can you reach over and put both hands in your left grip?”

  Lacy was cussing, “Shit fire, what grip. She’s got me dangling like a fish off her arm, Bryan.” Jenny had Lacy by her left arm. Lacy was dangling debating whether to let go. She could pull them both off any minute. Gage dropped the old rope ladder down in front of where Lacy hung. She reached over with her right arm and looped her elbow in the ladder then let go of Jenny. Lacy felt Gage start to pull the ladder up then stop as soon as she was about two feet off the ledge. Gage’s hand reached down and took Lacy’s and pull her the rest of the way onto a narrow ledge. Jenny found her grip and took a deep breath as she finished the climb to the top and sat on the ledge trying to get her breath and let her muscles recover from the strain. Jenny waved Gage off as he offered his hand. She needed to stay. She had another trip to make once she caught her breath.

  Gage could tell she was exhausted, “Travers, I’ll send Jenny back to you once she catches her breath.” Gage turned to Jenny, “You stay here with him Jenny. You’re his now.”

  Jenny nodded as she took deep breaths and waved Gage on as he lead the way back out of the cave.

  Lacy followed Gage as he lead her back along the ledge to the opening that lead up to the cave entrance. JC was merrily playing by Daisy’s hump as he opened and closed the visor on an old Spanish helmet in his lap. Lacy told JC, “Well, I guess it might deflect an arrow. Stay here JC. Mommy needs to look around while we wait for Unc Bryan.” Lacy looked to see if there were any live Indians on the other side or in the ravine below. So far so good. Now for the ridge above her. Lacy worked her way up to the braves Gage killed. She picked up one of their rifles and reloaded it and took his knife. She carefully made her way to the top of the ridge and looked out on the now quiet dessert plain. Nothing was moving except for the buzzards circling over head. She could hear the sound of coyotes. Yes, it wouldn’t be long before the smell of bloated flesh and blood brought predators. It was going to be easy for the dead men’s friends to find them. They needed to leave this place before they came back.

  Lacy stared at her attacker’s dead body and kept telling herself, “Just a man. Come on Lacy, get your knife. He’s not going to reach out and grab you for heaven’s sake. He’s a dead man. You’ve killed men before.” Well she had kill Union soldiers in White County when they fought General Curtis’ army. But that was using a rife and they weren’t on top of her sticking their prick between her legs. She looked at the cuts on his head from the stones. So that’s what she would have looked like if Dallas hadn’t covered her unconscious body with his own body. Suddenly Lacy felt foolish. She had been pushing him away since Jenny showed up. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to feel his hands touch her right behind her ear and lightly brush her neck and chin with his finger tips. Lacy wanted his breath on her face and to press her lips against his. She wanted him to wash away the memory of this man’s prick. She needed him to tell her things would be alright.”

  Gage crawled back down to the ledge where Jenny sat. Jenny started to go back down when Bryan said in calm tones, “There is a snake. Don’t come down.”

  Gage held her hand, “No, if it hears you it could strike out and bite him. Odds are it will leave on it’s own Jenny.”

  Bryan said, “Take Lacy, JC and go. Daisy could carry all of you. We’ll wait here. If we walk out, it makes everyone a target.”

  Gage thought about it, “I could just send her and the boy and stay with you.”

  Bryan said, “I’d rather you were with them. Red Cloud sees another set of tracks, he’ll think everyone left. We’ll be fine. Jenny seems to know this cave well enough. We’ll find a safe place to bed down once my friend decides to move.”

  Gage said, “Red Eagle. Don’t call him Red Cloud Travers or he’s likely to strip your skin off in quarter inch pieces like Jenny fillet
ed Mouse Dog’s buckskin shirt. They’re going to come for their bodies and look around.” Gage took Jenny’s hand, “Come, help me collect their weapons and see if there are any water skins above the ravine that might have fallen off their horses Jenny.”

  Jenny looked at Bryan, “Stay.”

  Bryan replied, “No, go on with him Jenny.”

  Gage grinned, “I think she meant you, dog.”

  Jenny poked Gage, “Not dog, you say like promise.”

  Gage sighed, “She loves you for some reason so don’t die on her Travers.”

  Bryan looked at the snake at his feet, “I wonder what he’d do if I peed on him.”

  Bryan could hear Gage chuckle, “Sure wouldn’t want to get bit there.”

  Jenny and Gage found Lacy and JC already gathering up the men’s knives, rifles, and tomahawks. Gage re-loaded some of the better weapons and smashed the rest on the rocks. Jenny had found a couple water skins. Lacy split up the jerky and dried fish giving the larger portion to hold Bryan and Jenny over. It things went well, they might only need a little for JC. Boys were always hungry. But they wouldn’t leave empty handed. Jenny insisted they not go without enough to sustain them for several days and that they take Bryan’s special leaves. She showed Lacy what she did and checked Gage’s wound to make sure it had stopped bleeding. Gage just looked at Lacy and and said as if it explained it all, “Big sister.”

  Lacy had pushed back some of the food toward Jenny insisting they keep it. They might be stuck there for a while. It wouldn’t be safe to come out while the bodies attracted who’s knows what to eat on them. Gage put his hand out when Jenny was about to push it back and looked her in the eyes, “Keep this. Bryan’s little sister wants to make sure you have enough Jenny. Do this for Bryan.”

  After the tug of war between the women was settled, Jenny poked Gage, “Need knife.”

  Gage wasn’t giving her his knife without a good explanation for multiple reasons First she might kill herself if she was sick enough. Second he might get blamed since he had admitted to trying to kill her to more than one person. Three it was his bowie knife and he didn’t want it nicked or dulled by digging in dirt or trying to cut through bone. Gage asked, “Why?”

  Jenny pointed to the cave, “Bryan ssnaake, bosh.”

  Gage looked at the shrub brush, “Alright, but no big branches.” With that Gage turned over his knife and crawled through the cave opening with several rifles over his shoulder. He could at least get their supplied down to the ledge while Jenny found a bush they could use to remove the snake from Bryan’s boots.

  Lacy was trading out the small canteen for a larger water skin. She figured they didn’t need as much as what Bryan might before anyone could get back. Lacy looked up just in time to see Jenny pull the hair back on one of the bucks and look the other way as she sliced a piece of his scalp off. Then she moved to the next and did the same until only Mouse Dog was left. Jenny looked at Lacy, “You take this one? You want prick?”

  The bile that had been working it’s way up was too much. Lacy turned and puked. If only getting rid of his smell was so easy. She felt him all over her skin.

  Jenny sighed as she thought to herself, “We will send a message of our own today.”

  Jenny’s mind went back to the first time Sparrow Hawk took her. She had struggled in his arms and he brought his arm down on the top of her neck, separated her legs with his knee and took her quickly like a man who knew his business. It was rough, cruel, and told her in no uncertain way that he owned her body and soul and he could have her any time he wanted. Each night they played out the same scene until she submitted. Maybe not willingly, but without resistance. Then somewhere months later his hands became tender. He caressed her skin with his hands and held her lightly in his arms and she touched him. At first hesitantly waiting for him to strike back for daring to touch him. Then lightly, very lightly so he’d know she wasn’t about to grab his balls and yank them off and he submitted to her touch. There was truce between them, captor and captive but not before she understood exactly what place a woman played in a Comanche man’s world. She had no illusions what Mouse Dog intended for her either. It would have been deep searing pain of many men ripping through her insides and cutting her skin until she bled out slowly as each took their turn.

  If Lacy didn’t want to take back her soul that his prick had stolen, the Knife would do what she could not. Jenny yanked Mouse Dog’s head up and took his scalp. She poked his eyes out so he would be blind and unable to find them in the spirit world, cut his breach clout off and whacked off his prick and stuck it down his open gaping mouth.”

  Jenny sank to her knees and sliced her arm screaming. These men were not from her village, but Mouse Dog was Tatsinuupi’s family, scum or not it required her to mourn as the only member of his family here. It might also save the one called Lacy’s life. Death was now the minor offense in what had befallen Mouse Dog. The target was on her back, but it was only one of many.

  Gage touched Jenny’s shoulder gently. His hand felt like her father’s when he knew she had gone through a rough day. She had forgotten how that felt. Gage said, “You mourn. Did you know them?”

  Jenny took her time remembering the words to say, “Yess Mouse Dog Tatsinuupi’s brother. I mourn that I did not do this sooner.” Jenny rose, “Bryan bush, you pick. If snake bite him, she will say I kill him.” Jenny handed Gage’s knife back and climbed up the hill until she was on the flat land above the ravine.

  Gage motioned to Lacy, “She did this for you. At least watch.” Lacy and Gage followed her watching as Jenny dragged their scalps in the dirt. Her cut was dripping a stream of blood down her hand. Jenny found a large cactus and threw one of the scalps up onto a high arm where it sat hanging from a spine. Gage took one from her hand and nodded his approval, “For JC’s sore bun.”

  Jenny threw another that stuck to the side of the arm dangling scalp side out, “Bryan.”

  Gage threw another, “My rage.”

  Jenny had Kahuu’s hair left for last and held it out to Lacy, “Throw.”

  Lacy took his scalp in her hand and threw it up as high as she could, “May you burn in Hell Mouse.”

  Jenny added, “Dog.”

  Gage looked at their handy work and thought with satisfaction, if they wanted their hair back, they would have to deal with a prickly situation. He cut a branch and cleaned his knife off on his pants leg and sheathed it. The three of them walked back down the ravine to the cave feeling a little better about what happened here. Gage looked over at Jenny’s arm, “You should put some of those leaves on it. Too much blood.”

  Lacy asked, “Why did she do that?”

  Gage said, “Comanche women cut themselves when they bury their dead. It’s a sign of mourning. The more cuts the more beloved the dead person. One cut, is pretty much like saying I know who you are but you are not going to be missed. She mourns for what their families will feel. What she would feel if it was her sons, not them.”

  They each took turns dragging part of the supplies into the lower part of the cave. Gage had used the branch to clean a path through the bat dung making it easier to go back and forth. Jenny shook her head as a grin came on her mouth, “Bryan not like smell.”

  Gage chuckled, “Maybe the snake doesn’t like bats even more than Bryan hates them Jenny. Just don’t burn this one or it will get into your lungs.”

  Gage lowered the extra weapons, food, and blankets down into the cavern. Jenny slowly lowered the branch covered in flakes of bat dung into Bryan’s hands and he quickly dispatched the curled up snake on his boots and threw the branch with it saying, “What the hell, is that a nest of bats!”

  Lacy called down, “Worked didn’t it? Admit it Bryan, the snake didn’t want any more to do with the dung than you did.”

  Bryan said, “Dung? You moved the dung pile?”

  Gage said, “Don’t worry. We’ll try to put some back just so you can crawl through it coming out.”

  Jenny said, “Fir
e.” Bryan jumped, “Beelzebub, Jenny, give me some warning there. Were are you?”

  Jenny was climbing back down with the rotting rope ladder around her waist. Bryan had insisted that any rope was better than none. Once Jenny’s feet hit the ground she said, “Here.” Gage threw the other end down and Bryan reached up just in time to keep it from landing on her head. Rotten or not, they shouldn’t give the Indians any hint that they were hiding or could easily get down into the cavern. Bryan called back up, “See you in a couple days.” Gage called back, “We’ll send help as soon as we can.” With that Gage left and everything was quiet as the ghosts in the cavern.

  Bryan and Jenny packed up and Jenny lead the way down into the lower chambers. Bryan had made a torch of some of the scrub wood wrapped with stripes of the braves shirts that lit the darkness enough for him to see several feet ahead of him. He was wishing Red Cedar had used yellow war paint on his face. The red matched the walls and if you didn’t have a torch for light, black was going to be hard to find again.

  The Return of the Beast

  Dallas’s sortie into the Comanche territory of the high desert plains was proceeding in the most direct path to the stage way station South of the fort which would take them along the stage coach road southwestward. If the stage coach had out run the trouble, it was likely the station master had not.

  Sure enough, they ran into a party of braves who had stolen horses from the way station and quickly ran them down. There were no survivors on the Comanche side. They fought bravely and foolishly to their deaths. They were young bucks from Red Eagle’s tribe and in way over their heads.

  Dallas returned the horses back to the station master and his men joined in the water bucket line to try to salvage what remained of his hay barn. The braves had set it on fire, they used the distraction to ride in and take a team of horses off the station master’s hands. An hour later the fire was out, Dallas left some men to help protect the station from further assaults and moved on toward the west following the tracks in reverse of the direction the raiding party had traveled.