Grail Quest (16 page)

Moyock, having seen our mishap, released the lead pony, and swam after the raft.
 
He caught it…guided it onto a sandbar at the south end of the island. Four of the ponies came ashore. The deer hide lines we used to tie the ponies had come loose. The weakest one floated downstream. We couldn’t recover him. I waded through the shallows to help Moyock carry our things to dry land.

I returned to Leahna. She sat rubbing her calf. Kneeling in front of her I used both hands to massage her leg. She lay back and tried to relax. “My leg hurt very bad in water. Can’t help it. Think I might drown. What happen to my leg?”

“You had a cramp. Your leg muscle, not used to kicking so long, tied up. You give me big scare. I scared I lose you, Honey.”

She stopped sniffling. “Water not too deep. I push bottom with good leg to get air. I scared too. You not want to lose me? That mean you want to keep me, Squire?”

What could I say. “Yes, I mean to keep you, Leahna.”

She still looked unhappy. “Some Natural men have many squaws. White Men have many squaws?”

I pointed to the sky. “No. Our God says only one mate.”

“Squire, what white girls like? They same as me?”

“Well, yes…and no. I think girls are much the same every where. White girls in my place have many things not found here. May have big house. May have a lot of clothes, many dresses of cloth, not deerskin. May have other people to do some of their work. White girls are not as strong and capable as you are.”

“Squire, you have white girl, your house, your mate?”

“No. I warrior. Live in camp. Have no house.” I didn’t think revealing my past romantic liaisons was appropriate. “Have no white girl mate.”

Leahna smiled. Was I casually committed? Did she consider us mates? Was I engaged and not even sure?

With our cargo removed, the raft floated higher in the water, so we pulled it farther in shore. We might need it on the other side of the island.
 
After our exertions on land and in the water, we needed to rest. We camped on a grassy plot near the woods. Storm clouds from the west brought a rain shower. We were all ready wet, so it didn’t bother us much. When the sun came out, I walked along the western shore to scout the next route across the river. The island was much larger than I thought. On the west side it was separated from the shore by a narrow shallow slough. We would have no problem crossing it in the morning.

The next day we waded to dry land. The remnants of my trade goods we loaded on one pony. The things we needed for our own survival were distributed among the three of us. I kept the flintlock and gave the pistol, and some of the shot and powder to Moyock. No sign of Coyote, so I started moving us northwesterly. The countryside here seemed to contain more open space than on the eastern shore. I’d been wrong before, but I was convinced we’d just crossed one of the ‘great rivers’ on the way to the Mandan. During the day we saw lone Naturals in the distance who watched us. They never came very close, and I suspect they were happy just to see us continue on. When we came across a plot of squash we helped ourselves to just enough for our needs that day.

We camped near a stream that night, and following our usual plan, Moyock scouted while Leahna and I set up camp. Coyote’s yipping at dawn got us up and moving. He sat off somewhat to the southwest examining us. “He’s up early. I wonder if he’s in a hurry,” I said.

“I sorry to see him,” Leahna said. “Not want him back.”

Nevertheless, once loaded we followed him again. Maybe he’d come back because he led us on a generally westerly course. The day before I had us heading northwest. As near as I could determine, once we were riding, we’d cover between thirty and forty miles a day. Coyote set us moving at a forty mile pace for sure. With our jerky running low, whenever we saw small game, I sent Moyock with his bow and arrows to hunt. “Keep us in sight, if you can,” I said. “If not, forget about hunting and catch up with us.”

On the third day out from the river, Moyock was hunting behind us when I heard him shout, “Hey! Get away! Let go!”

Whipping around I saw he was surrounded by a party of Naturals. They must have wanted to take him alive. They could have killed him. Maybe they were afraid of the bucking pony. I charged at a gallop. “Moyock! Fire your pistol!”

I left choice to him. He chose the Natural trying to grab his reins…shot him in the chest. The remaining four took off like scalded dogs. “Come on, let’s get back to Leahna. I left her with the pack animal.”

Where we’d killed a man, we didn’t want to hang around. One of the Naturals overcame his fear enough to shoot arrows at us from the tree line. One stuck in Moyock’s pack. “We can’t take time to kill him,” I said. “We need to leave this area as soon as possible.”

I didn’t like running our scrawny mounts, but when we got back to Leahna, we continued
 
at a fast pace. I wanted to get farther away from our enemies than they could run.

“They bold warriors. Second time Naturals not scared by horses, not scared by bushy faced white man and big red-haired girl,” Moyock said.

“You’re right,” I said. “I think we’re lucky more such an attacks haven’t happened. Best we be more vigilant than ever.”

Near the end of the fourth day, Coyote led us directly to a large Natural encampment. He watched until we continued directly toward the village, then flew off as Raven. From a distance I could see a structure that didn’t look like any we’d seen before. It was cone shaped and taller than the predominant wikkiups. There is a large body of water beyond the village, either a lake or river. “Let’s stay close together,” I said. “Hard to know what kind of reception we’ll get here.”

Not showing any signs of hostility, a large group of Naturals watched as we rode into the center of the village. Full of curiosity, a crowd
 
flowed in behind us. They showed no fear of hairy me, red-haired Leahna, pale-skinned Moyock or the ponies. I called a halt in front of the
 
headmen who watched us. First raising my flintlock from across my lap with my left arm, with our right hands, the three of us signaled peace. Very dignified, an older man wearing many eagle feathers stuck into his hair, returned our peace sign. Using hand language, he welcomed us, and invited us to eat and smoke. Moyock and I sprang down from our mounts. Leahna waited until Moyock handed her down. I wanted anyone we dealt with to understand that she was an important member of our group.

We tucked into a savory stew of vegetables and a meat “This is a very fine meal they’ve treated us too. Very tasty. I don’t recognize the game,” I said to Moyock.

“Yes very tasty. I think maybe very fat dog.”

While the pipe was being passed, using sign language, our hosts were naturally curious about us, and our strange big-dogs-that-carried-people. I explained my role as a cavalry man back in England where horses were common. “The ponies we have were taken from Tenesans who tried to kill us. They got the horses from evil White Men, called Spaniards.
 
I think they are far away from here.”

“We not see all-white man before. Your ponies, can you raise young from them?”

“No. These four are all non-male ponies. Their male medicine cut off. Makes them easy to handle. No good for young.”

During the conversation, Leahna and Moyock learned many of their words. Chief Wakena said his tribe was the Missouri, and that was the name of the river near the village. I asked him about the conical structure at the far side of town. It was a portable dwelling, of skins over poles, that belonged to traders from the west who visited. Moyock asked Wakena, “You are not surprised by us with our pale skins?”

“No. We have heard of people who look like you. They live far up the Missouri. We have not seen them. Traders from the Sioux tribe live up that way. They trade with them. Sometimes war with them. The Sioux call them ‘Mandan.’ Say they live in huge fortified village beside the Missouri. Sioux say many Mandan have pale skin, not white.”

“I think they are the people we search for,” Moyock said. “We try to find the people of our red-haired Princess. She is to be mate of White Chief Squire.”

The Missouri were very curious about me and where I came from. From my experience in trying to impress on Leahna the size of the ocean, and the idea that the world was round, I
 
said only that I came from across a big, big water. Oh yes, they knew of lakes, but never saw anyone like me from across one before.

When we finished smoking, I asked Chief Wakena if we could tour their village. He was happy to take us around himself. The Missouri wikkiups were similar to those of the Naturals back along the Ohio. The village lay on a huge loop of the Missouri that flowed north up to here, and then turned south. Wakena said flowing south was temporary, eventually it flowed west and somewhere in the distance, turned North to where the Mandan were. Finally we must be on the right track. Several large canoes were beached in front of the village. I noticed two large ones which were decorated differently from the others. Wakena said they belonged to the Sioux.

When we reached the Sioux camp, we were made welcome, had to share another pipe and retell our tales. I was very interested in the construction of their dwelling they called tepee. Tanned deer hides, forming a cone, were stretched over poles stuck in the earth. At the top a flap of deer hide could be opened to permit smoke to escape. The Sioux headman, Pukwana, said this was a small travel tepee. Back in their village tepees were big enough to sleep a dozen people. Pukwana said they traveled up and down the Missouri trading, among other things, the sacred stone for fashioning pipes that they controlled. He brought out an elaborately carved one. He explained such pipes were very valuable and much in demand. Easy to carry, the pipes traded for many skins.

After our tour, Wakena showed us to a wikkiup which was to be our lodging place. He invited us to stay with them for awhile. I thanked him. Then Moyock and I went to retrieve our ponies and carry our things into the wikkiup.
 
The animals were hobbled at the edge of the town. The ponies docilely munched wild grass. Bold young boys dared each other to run up and touch them. When I arrived, I grabbed the nearest youth and lifted him onto a pony back. He was thrilled down to his toes. Of course then the other boys wanted up too. Moyock and I loaded all the ponies with boys and led them around in a circle. Admiring parents watched, and occasionally laughed, when a youngster got too cocky and slid off to the ground. No one was hurt. I hoped we made friends.

After we retired in our lodge, Moyock and I once again laid our pallets on either side of Leahna. “Coyote can’t be too far. We won’t take any chances of him making an unexpected appearance. We are in the middle of a large village. He could easily be here as Coyote-Man. Be alert. Keep your eyes open for him.”
 

In the middle of the night I felt Leahna push on my arm. “Hunh?”

“Squire, you awake,” she whispered.

“I am now. What’s
 
wrong?”

“Squire, Moyock say to Chief Wakena, Leahna is to be mate of White Chief Squire. Is that so?”

Darn Kid put words in my mouth. Well, he was right. But he had no business telling anyone else. On the other hand I had to face the truth. Indeed, Leahna was to be my wife. I put my arm around her. “Yes, that is true, Honey. I want you to be my mate.”

“That nice. I want to be your mate.” Then she shoved my arm away from her. “So why you not tell me before you tell Moyock?”

Zounds! Just engaged and our first quarrel. Had I made a mistake? More than one. “Honey,” I whispered and put my arm around her again. “I didn’t tell Moyock any such thing, He just figured on his own…that’s the way things are. He could tell that I love you.”

“You love me?”

“That means I have very big feeling in my heart for you. I love you very much.”

“You do? Then I have big love for you too, Squire.”

Nature prevailed. This time when I slid into her pallet I held her in both arms and kissed her mouth and then her breasts. Before long I slid my hand down to her bush and felt moisture. “Honey, I want to make you my women. I’m going to put my bone-thing in you.”

Leahna’s body stiffened. She moaned. Her hand fluttered on my chest. “It may hurt a little the first time, but not for long. Then it will feel good.” Leahna twisted back and forth. “Do you want me to make you my woman?”

“Ohh, Squire. I want be your woman…I not want baby yet.” She moaned.

I held her in my arms and felt her terror. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have my way with the woman in my arms. I held her close and kissed her, but pulled my thighs away from her. My stallion objected and squirted all by himself.
 

Since we seemed to have a warm reception among the Missouri, I told Moyock and Leahna we would rest here for a week at least. “Walking around the village, talk to people and learn everything you can. Moyock, see if you can get friendly with any young Sioux men.”

“I talk to squaws. Long time I not talk to other girls. Maybe many girl things I can learn here,” Leahna said.

I called on Chief Wadena and gave him a good handful of tobacco. My supplies running low, I had not given any other gifts or mentioned trading. I needed to exercise caution in doling out the things I had left. From what we’d been told about the Mandan being up the Missouri, my mind was set on acquiring a big canoe. Not knowing the distance we had to travel, I didn’t trust the bony ponies to carry us much farther. As useful as they could be, they ought to bring a good barter price.