Grail Quest (18 page)

“Very bad. Leg broke. Wound in stomach bleeding. I cut throat to finish.”

“I’m wondering if pony meat good to eat.”

“Ponies still scrawny. Not much good meat.”

“From what Leahna is telling me about buffalo hide use, maybe pony hide is useful too. Many people in Europe eat horse flesh and make leather from their hides.”

The hunter’s story to Wadena backed Moyock’s tale. With an excess of buffalo meat, Wadena ordered a communal feast for the whole village. The chief’s wife offered the tongue to Moyock. He acknowledged the honor, but offered the tongue back to his four hunt companions.

The next morning I asked Moyock if he could find his way back to the scene of the kill.

“Yes. Can do. Why you ask?”

“I want to see if we can save any part of the pony, examine the hide and meat, if any.”

We took the best one of the remaining ponies and walked back to the hunt site. As we got close we could hear snarling, barking and yipping. We tied the pony to a tree and crept through tall grass toward the noise. Gathered around the fallen pony, three adult and one young gray creature tore at the pony’s remains.

“Coyotes!” Moyock gasped.

The largest of the animal turned at Moyock’s voice. Seeing us in the grass, it bared his teeth…snarled a warning. Since it didn’t advance on us, I signaled for us to back away.

“They are similar…but bigger than Coyote. Whatever, they have field position on us.”

Back a ways from the animals, we stood and watched them feast. We didn’t bring either of the fire arms with us. Moyock carried his bow and arrows. He probably could have skewered all of them. “I don’t think they’ve left enough for us to want any of the remains. Killing them doesn’t do any good.”

Wadena told me the animals we saw were called ‘lobo.’ “Very ferocious. Lucky they already fed. Not go after you. In hunger times, pack of them kill people.”

During a smoke, I asked Wadena what he thought about the ponies.

“Missouri not see ponies before. Maybe good thing. Maybe not. How can man ride them?”

“Riding takes much practice, hard work.”

“I see ribs on ponies. Think they not up to hard work, need to fatten.”

“Yes. We have pushed them pretty hard. They need rest to put on flesh, before they can be put to good use.”

“So. What you do with them now?”

“Hobbled out in the prairie to eat, for maybe fifteen days, should restore them. Then they will be good pack animals for hunters. Maybe some can ride them.”

“Yes, very good to carry game.”

“Not much use to man who needs canoe.”

Chief Wadena thought about that for awhile. “You not have canoe.”

“True. Maybe man who could use ponies, could part with canoe.”

“Maybe. We go look at canoes.”

I followed Wadena to the beach. I counted eleven canoes pulled up on the sand. The smallest probably carried only two men. The two largest probably carried seven or eight men. They were not as large as the Sioux canoes, which before they departed, I really had an eye on.
 
I walked around and examined the condition of the larger two Missouri canoes.

“With three people, and all our supplies I need a big canoe. Perhaps our friends, the Missouri, would think about parting with one of their fine canoes ”

“Yes. Missouri think about parting with one canoe. Perhaps our friend, Chief Squire, thinks about giving three ponies for one good canoe.”

“Three ponies for one boat? I think one pony, one canoe.”

“Hah. Three ponies not well. How I know they don’t die?”

“You rest and feed them, they be healthy. Ponies not only pack carriers. If killed, meat good. Hide useful like buffalo.”

Wadena grinned like a happy puppy. “Hah. If I trade one canoe, one pony, what you do with two ponies in one canoe?”

“My friend…Chief Wadena is shrewd man. You the best trader. I give three ponies for one big canoe, this one.”

Happy with his side of the bargain, Wadena agreed to the swap.

That evening back in the wikkiup, I told Leahna and Moyock, “Now that we have a canoe, we should leave as soon as practical.”

Moyock said, “Yes, I think best to go before Sioux return. Not our friends.”

Leahna said, “This nice place. Missouri nice people. Many friends. I think we welcome to stay here. Do we have to go?”

“Don’t you want to rejoin your own people, the Mandan?”

Leahna shrugged her shoulders, waved her hands around. “How I know Mandan really my people? I not see them. What matter if I join them, or not? I like this place…not see Coyote here. No can be witch mate now.”

No, as my mate she was safe from being coyote’s witch-mate, but she was still in danger of being rogered by him. Leahna never mentioned how Coyote Witch was able to attract squaws to his bed.

“Since squaws have husbands with bone-things, why they want Coyote’s bone-thing?”

“Coyote say he makes sound with lips.” Leahna screwed up her mouth and tried to whistle. “He can do very nice. Magic.
 
Squaws can’t resist. They come to him.”

“If I hear any fancy whistling around you, Coyote better be out of gun shot.”

She hadn’t made the connection to the lightning that came close to killing us. “Don’t forget, Coyote brought us here. He’s not too far away.”

Leahna’s face slumped. She sat down and then lay with her face in her arms.

“Listen dear heart. I have been chosen to recapture the Holy Grail. I accepted that quest. So I must press on until I find it. Yes, it would be nice to stay here among the Missouri, but I have a mission to fulfill, and not here. I love you dearly, and now you are my woman,” (Moyock looked surprised) and a woman follows her man. You must come with me. Is that clear?”

Leahna jumped up and hugged me. Eyes still wet, she said, “Yes, yes. Now I am your woman. I will go where you go.”

I said we would depart on the second morning. The first day Moyock and I spent most of our time teaching Chief Wadena and his men how to use the ponies. Moyock taught riding and I taught packing. We also stressed letting the ponies build up their strength for a while. I taught what little I knew about horse medicine and their general care.

Back at the wikkiup, Leahna had been violently ill with stomach cramps. She told me not to be concerned. “Pain not last long. Stop baby.”

“Are you going to be sick every time we make love?”

“Only first time.” She held up her doeskin bag. “Squaws say, maiden must swallow first time. After, put inside to stop baby. Can not put inside maiden first time. Maiden-flower in way. Squaws very surprised I still maiden. They surprised you not take me first time you see me.”

So was I. “Did you explain how you defended your virtue with a mean knee?”

The next day we loaded our canoe. I would ride in back. Leahna sat in front of me. Most of our cargo was in front of her. Moyock manned the bow paddle. Weight was distributed in the canoe so the center of gravity was behind the mid section.

When we were ready to shove off, many of the Missouri came to say good bye. Moyock and I shook hands with Chief Wadena and the hunters accompanying him. Several women were there to hug Leahna, and hers were not the only wet eyes. So, we were on the way again.

The Missouri was every bit as wide as the Ohio. To miss sandbars, and Naturals along the way, we tended to stay in midstream. Not that we wanted to be unfriendly. All three of us were tired of traveling and anxious to reach the Mandan. Visiting anyone along the way would delay us, and we wanted to make good time on the river. Even with two of us paddling against the current, we didn’t make as good time as we did on the Ohio. Leahna insisted on taking a turn with the paddles, so occasionally we let her work too.

Camping at night fall our practice varied from our previous routine. Moyock still scouted the area while Leahna and I set up camp. Taking advantage of Moyock being out of sight, before we got anything else done, Leahna would say, “Hurry, find bone-thing.”

Then so we didn’t waste any time she’d help me. I was surprised at her modesty. She didn’t want us to make love when anyone else could see us. Perhaps it was a natural trait for her since she hadn’t been around a conjugal family. Living as close as they did to one another, I was aware that most Naturals viewed sex as one of the ordinary bodily functions. They didn’t think anything of people performing such necessities any where. In some of the Natural Villages that we visited, we at one time or another, saw or heard couples enjoying mutual congress.

The wide Missouri wandered around and followed a generally west-south-west direction.
 
Chief Wadena had assured me that the river turned north, or I would begin to doubt it. On the fifth day out from the Missouri village the river turned a definite northerly direction.

The further north we preceded, the terrain became more and more open, with great stretches of open prairie in between forests along the river bank. Along with the openness there seemed to be a lot more wind, and we experienced some heavy rainstorms. Since we were usually soaked in a hurry, there wasn’t much use in stopping. We couldn’t dry out till the rain quit and the sun came out. Where ever we looked the land teemed with game: huge herds of buffalo, deer, antelope, elk and lobo packs. The shores and skies abounded with all manner of fowl: flocks of ducks, geese, swan, cranes and prairie chickens. Finding game for our supper was no problem.

One afternoon, under a sky so low I thought we could grasp a handful, intermittent rain poured pails of water on us. The wind blew from every direction…our forward vision often drowned. Soon a strong surface gust smashed us broadside. The unexpected wind nearly capsized our tipsy canoe. We shipped water. “Head for shore,” I shouted.

Now bullets of rain peppered us. With the three of us paddling we managed to beach on the eastern shore before the canoe was swamped. Leahna and I grabbed our belongings. Moyock turned the canoe over to dump the water.

Looking at my soaked companions I said, “This is some wild country. I wonder what other surprises it has planned for us.”

 
Leahna said, “Not want surprises. I think boat sink. Happy we get to shore.”

“Maybe lucky this time,” said Moyock.

Though mid-summer, the rain and whistling wind cooled us enough that I was concerned for our health. We left the canoe well up on the shore, and we retreated to a copse of dense trees to find shelter. Using some fallen branches and breaking off low pine boughs we built a rudimentary shelter. Once the rain slaked off we built a fire to dry out our clothes and persons. It was too late to resume our water course, so we spent the night in our wind break.

We were woken by a familiar yipping. Coyote stood just outside. When he saw we were awake he dashed toward the river. “Something is up,” I said. I grabbed my flintlock and chased after the witch. Moyock followed. As we neared the shore, Coyote disappeared. Out in mid-stream I saw the two Sioux canoes just turning inshore towards our landing place. I strode down to the rivers edge, and leaning on my weapon raised my right arm in peace. Just behind me Moyock said, “Caution, Squire. I don’t think they are friends.”

Three men in each canoe paddled toward us. They chattered back and forth. I couldn’t hear all that was said. Closer, Pukwana hollered, “Ho, waischu, where your ponies now?”

No peace sign, no civil greeting. Moyock said, “He not call you Squire. He say ‘fat-taker.’ Not friendly.”

“Chief Pukwana, we are happy to see our friends the Sioux again, but my heart is heavy, the way you speak to a White Chief.”

“You not a chief in our land, Hu-Hanska-Ska. You a guest. Iktome warned us of your coming. You are bad for Naturals. We take you our village. Show how we treat waischu.”

“Now he has called you, ‘white long legs,’ Moyock said.

“Chief Pukwana. We must go to the Mandan. I thank you for your kind invitation to visit your village. Perhaps we can stop on the way.”

All six
 
of them bent their paddles toward us. “Time to retreat, Moyock. We need to load our weapons.” Back at our shelter I told Leahna to stay to the side in the trees and be ready to use her arrows. Moyock and I loaded and turned back to face the Sioux. Pukwana said, “Come out here, waischu. You ride in our canoes.”

“We must turn down you kind offer. We go to Mandan.”

“No. You come with us.” Pointing, “ Seize them!”

Four of the Sioux, holding massive clubs started for us. Did they think he meant smash instead of seize? Not wanting to get into a semantics debate, I shot Pukwana. The flintlock noise and Pukwana’s scream caused a deleterious effort on his companions. I handed my gun to Moyock for reloading and prepared to discourage the remaining Sioux with my pistol.

Obviously confused, our enemies fell back to their dying Chief. Then, while Pukwana sang his death song, they recovered and came after us. Had to give them credit for guts. Surely fearing some strange power, singing their own death songs, they sprang back toward us. One faster than the others and carrying a lance, ran at us. While admiring his courage, before he could loose his spear, I convinced him of his foolhardiness with a pistol shot to his solar plexus. He sat down. He couldn’t believe there was a big hole in his stomach.. Stunned by the demise of the lancer, his comrades regrouped. They charged again.