Uncivilized

by Laura Stapleton

  Del struggled for a second with how much to admit aloud. “It’s what I would do.” He started to say more but Jack Winslow staggered around the wagon toward them, cutting off anything he might have added.

  Winslow bellowed, “What the hell happened to my wife?” and brushed past Marie to the circle of men. “I heard she’s dead. That can’t be true.”

  “Yes, sir,” Sam began. “It’s my duty and regret to inform you….”

  “No!” Jack lunged for Del and both Sam and Lucky grabbed hold of him. “One of you red skinned bastards killed her!” They didn’t move him back far enough and he spat at Del. Ducking back didn’t matter. The gob caught in Jack’s beard and oozed down his chin. “I’ll see you hang from the nearest tree.”

  “There’s no need for that, Mr. Winslow,” Sam said through gritted teeth.

  Struggling to free himself, he continued his threats. “The hell there isn’t! I’ll bet the bastard raped her before slitting her throat.”

  An icy tremor went down Del’s spine. He and Joe were the only two who knew exactly how Lucy died. Not even Sam had been told so far. “How did you know her throat was cut?” If Winslow had killed his wife, what did he do with Ellen?

  Jack paled and sagged in Sam’s and Lucky’s arms. Sam shook the man as he began sobbing. “Answer him. I thought you didn’t know how your wife died.”

  Leaning his head back while still limp, he gave a high, keening wail until out of breath. Before he could inhale, Sam shook him again. Jack made a gurgle sound before replying, “I guessed.” He panted a few times as if the effort to say those two words exhausted him. “This animal never carries a tomahawk, just a knife.”

  Del folded his arms to stop his urge to beat sense into the man. If he’d wanted to kill Lucy and kidnap Ellen, he could have a hundred times over by now. He couldn’t make the senseless see reason, but had to try anyway. “So I do. You carry a rifle. Does that mean every person shot in the territory has died by your hand?”

  Winslow glared at him for a second before letting his head sag to his chest, his entire body deadweight. Lucky shot Sam an exasperated look and Sam nodded. They both eased Mr. Winslow down to his knees. When his shins hit the dirt, he began his wailing again. The younger men moved away from him and went to Del. Sam spoke first in a quiet voice. “We can’t go on without Ellen.”

  He knew his friend’s priority was beating the first snowfall. Sam had a set timetable for the wagon party, one that winter made non negotiable. Del’s priority had changed in an instant. Now, he needed to find and return Ellen, if she was alive. The memory of Lucy’s body and all of her blood wouldn’t leave him. A moment passed before he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yes, you can. Continue and we’ll catch up.”

  “We?” asked Marie.

  He tried to smile, acknowledging the hope in her ashen face. To bolster his and everyone else’s confidence he said, “Yes. I will find Ellen and bring her back when I do.” Del took Sam’s offered hand, and the two had a brotherly hug. When they separated, Del stared down at the keening man below him. “Though I’m not sure he deserves a daughter like her.” He understood the man’s pain, but Winslow needed to think of his young sons now. One of the ladies sniffled and he added, “Ellen’s brothers and friends need her, so I’m going.”

  “She’ll want something familiar when you find her,” offered Marie. “It’ll comfort her.”

  Sam nodded in agreement. “We’ll go and pack her some food and fresh clothes.”

  The sun grew warmer by the second, letting him know the day still marched forward. Ellen’s kidnappers also rode further away with every minute. The need to find her hit him like the most gnawing hunger he’d ever known. “Let’s get started.”

  Pomme dripped with sweat by the time Del slowed his pace enough to think clearly. He’d been following a small creek through a steep canyon all morning. The infrequent hoof prints he had crossed told him the kidnappers had already passed through. Both he and his horse panted while standing still. The panic inside Del subsided enough for him to realize the group taking Ellen had rode from the main Shoshone camp to the south. The others likely waited for them to the north and maybe even a little west. Del needed to stop his chase for a moment and consider the best way to go. Cutting across to the main camp meant being there when Pointed Nose arrived with Ellen.

  He stared down at the hoof prints in the mud. They wanted him to follow them. At least, for now they did. If she managed to escape, he’d have a better chance of finding her by staying close to the group. He shook his head at the idea. Ellen was too sensible to run into a wilderness alone. Even so, he worried. Pointed Nose might drop her at any point, thinking she was too much trouble.

  Irritated with both possibilities, he slid from his horse’s back, leading him to the stream for a drink. He scooped a handful of water and drank until satisfied then waited until Pomme was finished. The pause helped him decide to head straight to Pointed Nose and Ellen’s destination instead of following them. If Del talked to Chief Running Cloud first, the chief might ally with him instead of Pointed Nose. Back on Pomme, man and animal headed north.

  As he climbed higher in elevation, so did the sun. Del hated running his horse so hard, but needed to beat the others. He patted his horse’s neck. “We’ll rest at camp, boy.” Pomme snorted, tossing his head as if he understood. They eased down the mountain, every unplanned slide stopping his heart for a moment until the animal found his footing. At last the pines gave way to deciduous trees and finally a valley. By now, the sun hovered above the western mountain range. The Blackfoot River stretched out in front of him, glittering as the sun’s rays scattered across the surface. The Shoshone village sat on the far side of a wide part of the river. No others approached and Del waited as the distant scouts rode to him. He knew enough of their language to speak simply and hoped they understood him despite his accent. “Hello.”

  The two exchanged a glance before the thinner man spoke. “Hello. What business do you have here?”

  As if the men were skittish animals, Del kept his tone even. “I need to speak with Running Cloud.”

  One said something to his partner. After the other man’s reply, the first scout said, “We will take you to wait for him.”

  Del nodded and the two took positions with him in between. Wanting to learn as much as possible before his arrival, he asked, “Is Pointed Nose there too?”

  “No.”

  Any other time he might appreciate their stoic nature. This wasn’t that time. “I have business with him too. Did he leave alone?”

  “He went out with a hunting party yesterday.”

  He almost scoffed aloud at how true the term hunting was in this case. Pointed Nose had certainly made prey of Lucy Winslow. Del gritted his teeth. Even returning Ellen to the whites might not avoid a war. He needed to get her back before tempers increased.

  They entered the camp. Playing children, women mending clothing, men making weapons all stopped and stared as the trio rode by them. Silent at first, they talked as Del continued past. He strained to catch snippets but heard no real words to give him any clues about Ellen. The smaller huts formed a circle. Inside was another ring of finer homes until they reached the center where the largest home of all stood. Made of skins and sturdy saplings, the richness of the beading told him the occupant was no ordinary leader. He dismounted as the other two did.

  The scout who seemed most familiar with his language made a give-me motion at Del. “We will take your horse for care. You wait here until Running Cloud is ready.”

  Smart move, he thought, in keeping Pomme from him. Del glanced around, seeing others look away when his gaze met theirs. He let them stare, knowing they were all just as curious about him as he was about them. Unwilling to do anything else until gaining an audience with the chief, he went to the home’s opening. Del sat, waiting until Running Cloud had time for him. He only hoped to have a chance to plead his case before Pointed Nose could.

  At first, Del stared st
raight ahead and ignored the life going on around him. Eventually, curiosity drew him in and he started watching people as they went about their late day activities. The cherubic children giggled and peered around tents to stare. They soon grew bored of playing peek-a-boo this way and went to play elsewhere. He suspected those walking in front of him did so more than once. After several minutes of watching, he was sure of it and worked hard to ignore his urge to smile at their shared curiosity.

  A commotion to his right caught Del’s attention. Chief Running Cloud approached, flanked by the two scouts and several others. They stopped several feet away from him and spent a few moments talking. Each man spoke low enough so Del couldn’t pick out the words he knew in their language. Running Cloud held up a hand to stop the chatter. His people stopped talking and scattered. The chief stared at Del. “Hello, young man. Please, be my guest inside.”

  He followed the man into the home as directed. The room was far bigger and more ornate than the temporary quarters Del had. Beaded fabric decorated the walls like the tapestries did in Europe. Sunlight filtered in from the top where the saplings loosely intersected. Weak embers burned and Running Cloud settled in on an ornate pillow. He gestured and Del sat opposite him.

  When his guest sat still, the chief said, “I saw you at Bear River. Why are you here, my child?”

  Del took in a deep breath, glad the chief spoke so kindly to him. “I have come here for a white woman taken from my friends.”

  Running Cloud thought for a moment before shaking his head. “There’s no white woman here. You could be mistaken.”

  While not wanting to argue, Del had to disagree. “I’m not and wanted to be. The tracks lead away from our group and to here. Your son is also gone.”

  The chief tilted his head as if hearing a message meant only for him and smiled after a moment. “He’s returned and his horse rides heavy. Either he has your woman or a small deer. He will come here. You and I will discuss with him his crime.”

  Del swallowed his heart back down his throat. He placed hands on his knees in an effort to keep still. Every ounce of him wanted to run out and find Ellen.

  “Patience, child. Pointed Nose will come in to tell me what he’s done in triumph.”

  The word the chief used irritated Del. A murder was not a triumph. He strove to keep a respectful tone. “My woman’s mother was killed in the abduction. Will he be glad of that?”

  Eyes narrowed to slits, Running Cloud ground out between gritted teeth, “You have certain knowledge of this?”

  “Yes.” He looked down at the fire, convinced the chief’s words were now profane as the man swore a blue streak. Some sounded like the ones rarely said by his mother. The thought would amuse him at any other time, but now, he needed to get Ellen back to her people. “Father, the woman is mine and I’m only here to claim her.”

  “Enough. She will be returned to you even if I have to tie my son up to do it.”

  “Father! I have—” Pointed Nose burst into the home and hurried to his father. When he saw Del, the young man’s face scrunched up as if he’d stepped in manure. “What are you doing here, halfwit?”

  “He’s here to retrieve his woman, son. Tell me what you did to get her.”

  “She’s not his. She was married to a white man who couldn’t keep her and she’s mine now.” He sneered at Del. “He’s a white man’s slave and is only here at his owner’s request.”

  Accepting the challenge, Del stood face to face with Pointed Nose. “I’m no one’s slave and am here to make sure you’ve only killed one woman today.”

  Running Cloud wore the same expression Del’s father did when furious with him. “Is what this man says true? Did you kill her mother?”

  “I had to do so, Father. She began screaming and—”

  “Enough!” The chief held up a hand for a long while, speechless. Both younger men stood, watching and waiting. At last he said, “You’ve started a war that I need to end. Go to your own home until I send for you.”

  “No.” The young man crossed his arms and leaned back. “She’s my woman and I’m not a child.”

  “Maybe so, but you’re also a fool who has begun something no one wants to finish with the death of all of us. Go before I call for you to be dragged home by your feet.”

  Giving Del a look that would wither stone, Pointed Nose stomped out. The air he left behind didn’t ease in his absence. Running Cloud motioned to the ground. “Please be seated again and we’ll discuss the woman.”

  Del eased back down, crossing his legs in front of him. “No one needs trouble, Father. I only want to take the woman back to her people without harm.”

  “My son said she’s another man’s wife. Why are you here and not him?”

  He cursed Sam’s lie and decided to tell him the truth no matter how embarrassing. “My friend misspoke in an effort to keep your son away from her for me.” The chief’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but not hostility. Encouraged, Del continued, “I feel for the woman but am not ready to tell her. Sam knew this and lied to Pointed Nose so I’d have time to win Ellen’s heart.”

  “She’s not married?”

  “Not yet.” Del looked hard at the chief, hoping he got the message.

  A small smile played around the older man’s lips. “So Pointed Nose can have her if she chooses?”

  He breathed in sharp at the thought of her marrying anyone else. “She won’t choose him.”

  “What if she does? You would start a bloody war over the affections of a mere woman?”

  “Not a war, no, but Ellen is….” He floundered for the appropriate Shoshone word. “She is everything.”

  A few seconds passed before Running Cloud spoke. “I’m convinced.” The chief stood, leaving the home. “Follow me.”

  He trailed behind the great man. Del was tall among his people on both sides, yet Running Cloud looked down on him. The chief barked out orders with Del catching only every other word. He had understood wedding.

  A lovely young woman walked up to him. “Father says you might be married today. I’m responsible for making you presentable. Others are getting Pointed Nose ready for a possible wife too.”

  “Who decides her husband?”

  “She does. But that’s for my Father to officially declare.” She motioned for him to follow her into a tipi. “The woman is being bathed and dressed for this too. Your warm water is here, as are ceremonial clothes. Unless you have your own?”

  “I do, with my horse.”

  She nodded. “I’ll bring everything but the animal to you. Bathe until then.” She slipped out of the small hut as gracefully as she’d entered.

  He looked down at the earthen pot of hot water. The French rarely bathed, but the Natives did daily. Del grinned at how European he’d been in the past few weeks. Maybe that’s what Ellen disliked about him. He undressed to his pants and began washing with a small cloth.

  “Hello?” The young woman seeing to him came into the home. She held up his saddlebags. “I have both of these sacks. We can leave here what you don’t take to the ceremony.”

  “Thank you.” When the girl left him alone again, Del removed his pants and finished bathing. He opened the bag holding his clothing and took out his mother’s beads, putting them around his neck. He changed into the fresh attire, liking how everything fit. The pants were a little tight, but wearable. The headdress and face paint remained left to do. The feathers felt right on his head and he carefully applied the red and black from memory, having traded his mirror long ago. Hopefully after tonight he’d have a reason to celebrate Ellen’s freedom from Pointed Nose. Impatience to rescue her tugged at his conscience, and he stepped outside to see the native girl waiting for him. “Is this my home for after the ceremony?”

  “Yes, no matter if you’re married or not.”

  Del grinned at having a roof over his head. “Thank you.” He put a hand on her shoulder for stability and pulled on his moccasins.

  “My pleasure.” Stepping away when he fi
nished, she traced a toe in the dirt. “You might not need to spend the night alone.”

  Her offer surprised and pleased him in a way. If he’d not met Ellen and lost his heart, this young woman would have been worth a closer look. “Are you the chief’s daughter?” She shook her head and he continued, “Then Pointed Nose is a fool for looking anywhere but here for a wife.”

  She smiled, her cheeks flushed. “We should leave. I hear others celebrating.”

  He followed her outside. The first star began its twinkle in the fading light and a waxing moon struggled to break free of the horizon. He looked and saw everyone walking to the village center. Drums began and a few beats later, so did the chants. Del and the young woman followed the others as they made their way.

  Pointed Nose sat to one side of his father. Both men frowned and Del guessed they’d just finished arguing. Running Cloud motioned to his vacant side and Del went to sit beside him. The other man’s glares almost made him laugh. Scowls weren’t going to help Pointed plead his case with Ellen. It seemed every person in the village sat in a large circle around the fire. Lesser chiefs and leaders sat on either side of Del and Pointed Nose.

  The young man leaned forward, addressing Del. “Father tells me you love this woman.”

  Del stared straight ahead. “I do, very much.”

  “Why?”

  The question took him aback. He never thought about why he loved Ellen, just that he did. “She has a kind heart and cares for her family.”

  Pointed Nose laughed. “You’ve described every woman here.”

  “Maybe so, but why do you want her so much as to risk a war?”

  The younger man sneered. “I asked you first, metis.”

  He looked away from the fire and turned to Pointed Nose, feeling his pulse pounding in anger. The French word for mixed race didn’t insult him as much as the man’s intent did. Using the term just confirmed what a tiny mind the chief’s son had in his head. “Ellen is smart, a good cook, and beautiful,” Del ground out from clenched teeth. “I’ve told you my reasons. Now tell me. Again, why do you want her?”