After a Time

by Laurie Salzler

  The women followed the successful hunters into the circle of tepees and converged onto the deer as they came to a halt. The men dismounted and after the deer were taken off the horses, led them away.

  Her presence momentarily forgotten, Mayme watched with fascination as the women expertly and efficiently skinned and butchered each animal. Soon large chunks of meat roasted in the main fire pit. Other straps of meat were hung from poles above smaller fires.

  Mayme felt a sharp tug on her arm. The young girl from Osh-Tisch’s tepee stood next to her, holding one of the deer hides.

  She pointed at Mayme. “Teteaiwoppih.”

  Mayme nodded. She had no idea what she was agreeing to, but knew it was the correct action because the girl grinned and quickly walked away. She tried to keep up with the girl’s pace, but the tether around her ankles hindered her greatly.

  The girl swivelled her head around to make sure Mayme was following. She rolled her eyes, frowned, and stomped back to Mayme. The girl bent down in front of Mayme and with a quick flick of her knife, cut the rope.

  “Teteaiwoppih,” she said more urgently and trotted away.

  With her feet now free, Mayme was able to easily keep up with the girl. She wondered what Osh-Tisch would think of the girl freeing her. With nearly everybody occupied with the butchering, she could handily make a run for it. But the grisly scene of Billy’s body popped into her head and she decided against it for the time being.

  The girl led Mayme to a large log that had been propped up on one end by another shorter log. Two rocks were wedged in on either side to prevent it from rolling off. The bark had been scraped off, leaving a smooth surface upon which the girl straddled. She draped the hide over the edge and removed the knife from a sheath tied around her leg. She looked at Mayme expectantly.

  Mayme shrugged and got a frown in return.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you want.”

  The girl sheathed the knife and slid off the log. She took Mayme by the arm and guided her to the tip of the log. There, she picked up the edge of the hide and put it in Mayme’s right hand. The girl then moved to Mayme’s left and handed her another part so that Mayme’s hands were spaced three feet away from the other.

  Mayme had to clench her hand tightly over the slimy hide to hold it. There were still chunks of meat, fat and silver skin clinging it. A gaping hole indicated where the arrow had pierced and brought the animal down.

  The girl took her seat and put her hands over Mayme’s and squeezed slightly. “Himakka.”

  Mayme thought she understood the girl’s directive; hold the end of the hide while she did whatever she was going to do with it, which quickly became clear.

  The girl pulled on the hide and stretched it over the wood between them. By expertly using the knife, she scraped the hide clean without putting a nick in it. Two brindled, well-muscled dogs crept in and alternately grabbed the scraps.

  “What’s your name?” Mayme knew the girl didn’t have a clue what she just said, but she felt the need to talk anyway.

  The girl paused and furrowed her brows. She looked at Mayme curiously and shook her head.

  “My name is Mayme, but have been going by Nathan ever since I’ve been riding for the post. I’m supposed to be a boy. But I guess you all have figured that out.” She couldn’t help but giggle quietly. “I guess it doesn’t matter what I am now.”

  The Indian girl set the knife on the hide and wiped her hands on the fur. She captured Mayme’s gaze and patted her chest with her palm. “Muha ai-wa.” She tapped her chest again. “Muha ai-wa.”

  “Is that your name?” Mayme tapped her own chest. “Mayme.”

  The girl pointed at Mayme and carefully said, “Ma-eem.” She tapped her chest again. “Muha ai-wa.”

  Mayme licked her lips and cleared her throat. It was difficult for her to hear where they accented their words. It was a very nasal language with intermittent clicks. “Mwa-a-wa.” She patted her chest again and repeated her name.

  The girl smiled. She pointed to herself. “Muha ai-wa.” And then to Mayme. “Ma-eem.”

  “Yes!” Mayme finally felt like she was getting somewhere. She pointed at the knife. “Knife.”

  Muha ai-wa picked the knife up and looked at Mayme. “We-its.”

  “We-its.”

  Muha ai-wa smiled brightly.

  “We-its. Knife.”

  “We-its. Neef.”

  MAYME AND MUHA AI-WA continued to “talk” for the remainder of the afternoon. Mayme helped Muha ai-wa stretch the hide tight and tie it on a frame to dry. Afterward, they helped Ponzo-bert cut strips of meat from a hindquarter and hang them to make jerky. They traded the knife back and forth as they tested words and associations. Even Ponzo-bert chuckled a couple times at their silliness. They returned to the tepee and got the old woman laughing outright. She slapped her thighs and clapped as she listened. Their frivolousness was cut short as Osh-Tisch returned to the tepee. But even then, Mayme and Muha ai-wa traded grins when they thought he wasn’t looking.

  If Osh-Tisch noticed the tether binding Mayme’s legs together had been cut, he showed no sign of it or being displeased. Nevertheless, Mayme took small steps so it wouldn’t be blatantly obvious. Osh-Tisch paid her no attention. After a huge meal of venison roast, he sat cross-legged and smoked a pipe filled with sweet grass. The pipe went out, and he tapped the ashes into the fire, crawled between the buffalo hides, and was soon fast asleep.

  MAYME AND MUHA AI-WA were virtually inseparable from that point on. It seemed the rest of the tribe, who Mayme found out were Shoshone Indians, approved of their growing friendship as well as Mayme’s valiant attempt to learn their language. She found more times than not, she was able to understand what they were trying to convey. And if she couldn’t, most of the tribes-people showed much patience in helping her. But only the women spoke to her. None of the men said anything to her, let alone show any acknowledgement of her. She found she didn’t mind. She wanted to avoid making any of the men angry for fear of her life. Although she wasn’t so sure her life was as expendable now as it might have been when she was first captured.

  The Shoshone people didn’t have a complicated language because the vocabulary was limited to a few hundred words. However it took practice remembering where the stops and nasal inclinations were. Mayme spent hours imitating Muha ai-wa. Muha ai-wa, on the other hand picked up the general English words very quickly.

  Time flew by quickly for Mayme. Her days were filled with helping Muha ai-wa and Ponzo-bert with daily chores, including cooking and sewing. As the days grew longer and the snow melted and came less frequently, the women of the tribe wandered farther afield to gather the lush green sprouts of wild onion and the sweet flowered fireweed. Wild strawberries and grapes grew in the meadows. Cattails lined marshes and small ponds.

  Mayme was amazed at the plants the Shoshone utilized. One day the entire force of women descended upon the low-lying shaded areas in search of wild ginger. Muha ai-wa explained that it was an important medicinal staple. The dried roots were used to reduce fever and the fresh ones were bound together to stop bleeding and promote healing. Mayme lived in fascination as every day she learned something new.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “REMEMBER WHEN OSH-TISCH brought me to the village?” Mayme asked Muha ai-wa one summer morning. They’d been able to shed their fur vests in favour of short-sleeved deerskin shirts. Mayme’s cotton clothing had finally succumbed to wear. Ponzo-bert and Muha ai-wa had surprised her one morning by presenting her with attire made entirely of tanned deer hide. Mayme spent evenings sewing beads onto it by firelight.

  “Hadug. I mean, yes.” Muha ai-wa smiled at her quick translation. She stepped forward into the mud and with a skillful flick of her knife, decapitated a cattail flower from its spike.

  Mayme took the cigar-looking blossom from her and dropped it into a pouch. Baked over a slow fire, they’d be eating them like corn-on-the-cob tonight. Ponzo-bert would pound some into a ye
llow-colored flour for biscuits at a later date. “Would I have been killed if I’d been a boy?”

  “No.” Sticky mud squished beneath Muha ai-wa’s moccasins. Her feet sank a few inches deeper.

  “Careful.” Mayme held the pouch open for three more flower heads. “Then why was it so important to find out?”

  “Because Osh-Tisch wanted to know if you would be my companion or my husband.”

  “Oh.” Mayme was confused. “The Shoshone are friendly with the white man? Um. Taipo?”

  “Yes. Ponzo-bert was returned to our tribe by two taipos. She had been kidnapped many years ago by the Hidatsas tribe. We will forever be indebted to the taipos.”

  They worked in silence for a while. Mayme was trying to make sense of what she’d been made to believe by the people in Oro Fino Creek and Eagle Rock. She’d learned that the Shoshone were not the blood-thirsty savages everybody thought them to be. In fact, she’d only known them to be a peaceful tribe. During the many months she’d lived with Osh-Tisch’s tribe, she’d only seen the men leave in hunting groups. She’d never seen a raiding or war party.

  “Will you stay with the Shoshone?” Muha ai-wa broke into Mayme’s thoughts. She stood in mud nearly to her knees. Yellow cattail pollen covered her arms and parts of her face like a mask.

  Mayme’s almost laughed at the sight before her until Muha ai-wa’s question sank in.

  “What do you mean? I don’t see as I have much of a choice. I can’t imagine Osh-Tisch would ever allow me to leave.”

  Muha ai-wa shrugged and resumed harvesting cattails.

  After a while, with two pouches full of cattails and a smaller one packed tight with serviceberries and field mint, they decided to follow the stream back to the village. In addition to washing off the mud from the marsh, they hoped to find some crawfish hiding under rocks.

  Although the day was quite warm, the rushing channel still showed remnants of the snowmelt high in the mountains. The water was silt gray and ice cold. White birch and cottonwoods grew a safe distance from the water’s edge. Several ragged stumps and overturned trees were evidence of the ones that had succumbed to the raging spring floods. The force of the water had sheered everything in its path, leaving nothing but a nice silty area for grass to grow.

  Muha ai-wa removed her moccasins and leggings and dropped them on the ground next to Mayme who was content to sit in the sun and rest. Although she had become quite fit in their meanderings afoot, Muha ai-wa had amazing stamina and could still run her ragged.

  Mayme watched as Muha ai-wa took a tentative step into the water. And then another. She turned her head to look back at Mayme and playfully raised her eyebrows. Suddenly her feet went out from under her. With a sharp cry she went under and was quickly swept downstream.

  “Muha ai-wa!” Mayme jumped to her feet and raced after her. The water was moving too fast. She saw the panic and fear on Muha ai-wa’s face. Her head bobbed above the water. And then she was gone.

  Mayme ran hard until she finally had to stop, bend over, and gulp air. Sweat mixed with tears and snaked down her face. The blood pounded so loudly in her ears she couldn’t hear the roar of the water. She had to find her! Mayme filled her lungs with air and pushed on.

  She nearly cried in frustration as she came upon a huge jam of wash and overturned trees as tall as she was piled in her path. The rushing water had forced tons of debris up onto the sharp bend. The undergrowth was too thick to go around it. She’d have to climb over.

  It took nearly all of her strength to pull herself up and over the entwined pile of massive logs. Branches stuck out in every direction. Sand and pebbles filled some of the spaces, but they were precarious at best. As she stepped on them, her foot broke through, jolting every joint in her body.

  Mayme finally got to the other side. She sported several scrapes and a slightly strained ankle. She felt bruised everywhere. Small prickles of blood and raised flesh peppered her arms from the unrelenting brambles. Wild rose had taken up residence on the other side and the thorns were relentless in their quest to hang onto clothes and skin. She gritted her teeth and pushed through, crying out in determination and pain.

  She ignored the burn in her legs and lungs as she ran. She had to keep going.

  Mayme focused on the ground. It wouldn’t do Muha ai-wa any good if she broke her leg while trying to find her.

  She flung her leg over another log to get over it. And saw Muha ai-wa’s body. The water had deposited the lifeless form on a sandbar in the middle of where the creek had widened out.

  “Oh no. Please, no.” Mayme hurried into the water. Although it was much shallower, the water still reached to the middle of her calves. She kept her eyes on Muha ai-wa and avoided looking at the running water. Her heart flew into her throat when she tripped over a submerged rock. Somehow she was able to regain her footing and balance.

  “Muha ai-wa!” Mayme struggled to run the remaining distance. She fell to her knees as she reached her. She worked to catch her breath. Exhaustion made her hands shake as she reached for Muha ai-wa. Mayme sent a silent prayer to all the gods that she was still alive. She grasped her by the shoulder and tried to flip her onto her back. But her arms lacked the strength and she only succeeded in getting Muha ai-wa’s halfway over. She rested on her side against Mayme’s hip. Muha ai-wa’s eyes were rolled back into her head. There was no rise and fall of her chest. Mayme leaned over and tried to hear a heartbeat. In doing so, she inadvertently put pressure on Muha ai-wa’s stomach just below her ribs.

  Water suddenly gushed from Muha ai-wa’s mouth and she gave a great gasp, followed by a gut-wrenching cough. She looked at Mayme and coughed again. Mayme helped her get to her knees and she bent over heaving in her search for air. Muha ai-wa vomited brown water for several minutes. She hacked and spit to clear the remainder of the silty water from her stomach. Mayme rubbed Muha ai-wa’s back, tears of relief streaming down her face.

  Muha ai-wa’s teeth chattered incessantly. Gooseflesh maintained a constant presence on Mayme’s flesh too.

  “We’ve got to get you warm. Can you walk?”

  “Hadug.”

  Mayme helped her stand and draped Muha ai-wa’s arm over her shoulder. “I’ve got you. Just hold on tight.” Mayme wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

  They waded slowly to the streambank. Mayme made sure each step was steady and solid to hold both of them. They reached the other side and took a rest in the remaining sunlight. Dusk wasn’t that far off. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, indicative of an oncoming chilly night.

  “Stay here. I’ll get a fire going.” Mayme rose unsteadily. She closed her eyes and let the relief of finding Muha ai-wa alive give her strength. Although she was bone tired, there was work to do.

  Firewood was plentiful and Mayme didn’t have to go too far to gather it. She had a crackling fire going in no time, thanks to the flint she and Muha ai-wa always carried.

  They sat huddled next to the fire and warmth gradually reached the core of their bodies. Because of the breeze generated by the water, they wore their garments to dry, although Muha ai-wa only had on a deerskin shirt. Steam rose lazily from their bodies and was gently carried away. Neither said anything and eventually they both fell asleep with their heads resting on each other.

  MAYME OPENED HER eyes the next morning and felt every bruise and ache from yesterday’s event. She looked to Muha ai-wa, who was still sound asleep with her head resting on Mayme’s shoulder.

  Only ash and a few unburned end pieces of wood remained of the fire. But at least they were warm and dry again. Muha ai-wa’s teeth no longer clacked together. Her body was still but for her breathing. The relentless shaking of her body to get warm had stopped.

  Mayme stared into the remnants of the fire. It scared her to think how close she’d come to losing Muha ai-wa. She’d grown to love her as a sister. She felt that same familial affection toward Ponzo-bert as a mother, and the old woman, who she now knew as Muha ada,or Moon Raven, as a grandmo
ther. Over the months, Osh-Tisch had become friendlier toward her. Although they rarely spoke, he treated her fairly and with kindness.

  Muha ai-wa stirred and gradually woke. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around. “Before the sun set, I didn’t think I would see another dawn.”

  Mayme hugged her close. “I didn’t think you would either. You almost scared the life out of me.”

  Muha ai-wa’s stomach growled.

  “We should start walking. The pouches and your leggings and moccasins are a ways back.”

  The sun was hot and high in the sky again when they finally reached the spot where Muha ai-wa had been swept away. Along the way they ate whatever crickets and gooseberries they could find. But they still arrived hungry. Muha ai-wa shoved handfuls of berries and mint into her mouth and chewed while she dressed. Mayme rested on a log while she ate.

  PONZO-BERT AND MUHA ada clucked disapprovingly as they arrived back at the village. Once Muha ai-wa relayed the story of how Mayme had rescued her and brought her back to life, Ponzo-bert set about preparing a hearty meal for them. She insisted they rest atop two buffalo hides placed on top of one another.

  Osh-Tisch ate silently while Muha ai-wa retold the story. He flicked his eyes to Mayme. “Eshi eshi.”

  Mayme smiled and nodded. She knew it was a big deal for him to voice his thanks.

  Mayme woke to an empty tepee the next morning. She was too comfortable to move, and if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be reminded of the beating her body had taken two days before. So she let her eyes drift to the blue sky through the hole at the top of the tepee. The poles seemed to point to the sky and she was reminded of what Muha ai-wa had taught her one snowy day when they chose to hide inside away from the frigid wind. The tepee floor is the symbol of the earth, the walls a symbol of the sky, and the poles are links between the earth, man, and the spirit world in the sky.

  Mother would give birth to a cow if she saw me living here. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t thought about her parents in a very long time. Several full moons, in fact. She reminisced about Mr. Smart and Betty oftentimes but admittedly, although she felt bad that they undoubtedly thought her dead, she didn’t miss them as much anymore.