Through the Badlands

[KHickam]

It was the Moon of Falling Leaves, it had been almost a month since he had left the Missouri near the Arikara villages and following the Grand River up from its confluence with the Missouri.

Those had been plentiful times, deer and buffalo abounded along the meandering river, amongst the towering and majestic cottonwoods and tall prairie grass. Grouse had been plentiful feeding on the ripe plums and chokecherries along the river. He had lived good and easy the past month. Grouse, and red deer had fallen to his long fowler, as he made his way up the Grand to it's forks on the vast buffalo prairies.

He did take a fat cow, that he traded the meat for two buffalo robes from a wandering village of Lakota, and met a beautiful white captive that he was told was called Stands Alone Woman.

He gave her some blue beads and a couple butcher knives in return for some extra pairs of moccasins and made a mental note to find her on his way back home and perhaps trade for her freedom. The beautiful blonde hair, strong and supple body and deepest blue eyes of Stands Alone Woman filled his dreams each night.

Shortly after leaving Stands Alone Woman and the Lakota he came upon the forks of the Grand River. His french was rudimentary and his sign language was even more so. But he learned from the Lakota that the south fork would take him a few days west of another river that he thought might be the Little Missouri or Yellowstone.

Along the way he had seen the great white bear of the north, it's grizzled appearance was fearful. He had no wish to tangle with one of the many sows with cubs he had seen along the river. Although, he was relatively certain his long fowler shooting 20 balls to a pound would be potent medicine against them, he was in no hurry to find out.

Along the way he set traps and had a nice bundle of beaver and otter pelts that he carried on his pack horse, he marvelled at the abundance of game along the course of the Grand River. Numerous times he came across huge trails where buffalo had crossed the river some of these several hundred yards wide.

He was struck by how beautiful the prairie was in fall, the clear blue sky and the eagles soaring on the air currents high above the buttes and bluffs. Farther below the rich prairie grass, willows, maples, beech and other trees leaves were turning brilliant, reds, orange and yellows and they in turn gave way to the pines and other evergreens nearer the top of the buttes.

These in turn gave way to brillant red, grays and multicolored soft stone, of the buttes and bluffs. Sculpted by the hand of the Creator, by wind and rain for the enjoyment of his children.

He was mindful of his back trail, and consciously made sure that if possible he travelled along the deep ravines and gullies and tried not to skyline himself for he knew that not all indians in this area were as friendly as the village that Stands Alone Woman belonged.

He had been travelling towards the sunset for three days, since he left the headwaters of the south fork of the Grand River. He was beginning to wonder if he had misunderstood the Lakota, because he thought they said that it was only one or two days ride across the prairie.

As he topped a ridge, his breath caught in his chest. He was looking directly down on a beautiful bend of a river. A vast herd of buffalo was spread out throughout the bottom, wolves stalked the herd through the ravines and buttes. The valley was unlike anything he had seen - the river flowed through the valley, it's silt laden and muddy colored water gave way to prairie grass that swayed in the wind, and bordering that were vast stands of cottonwoods, willows, maples and other types of trees, the buttes were unique from anything he had seen, bands of white, grey and red rock were clearly visible, evidently the soil was worn away by wind and rain and it was a beautiful contrast to the fall colors of the trees and low brush.

He spied elk, deer and antelope feeding along the shores and broad bottom of the river, as well as otter and beaver swimming leisurely along the backwater sloughs formed by dams and eddys in the river. He eased his sure footed mountain horse and pack horse down into the valley. He explored the base of the buttes and found a sheltered area that was formed by a rock overhang.

He felt that this would be a good area to hunt, trap for a while, and unsaddled and hobbled his horses. He took his half axe off the pack of his dark colored horse and fell some of the smaller cottonwoods around the camp, and built a sturdy half faced camp with a roof of peeled bark and tree branches. A large boulder partially concealed the front of his camp and provided a reflective surface to direct the heat of his campfire into his dwelling. It also gave him some cover should he have to fight for his life.

He settled into his camp and felt secure that it would serve him well for a while as the fall deepened. It had turned cold and there was skiff of ice on some of the backwaters of the rivers on a daily basis and he had awakened to a skiff of snow more than once. He had added another bundle of beaver to his first bundle in the month that he had stayed in this beautiful valley. He had killed 5 elk had tanned them into a couple of robes for his bed and had tanned the others for use to make moccasins and other assorted stuff. He lit his pipe and listened to the wolves howl on the ridges above his camp, in the distance he heard a panther scream and hooting of owls. He banked his fire, knocked the tobacco out of his pipe. He checked the prime in his pistol and fowler and made sure his knife and hawk were close by. He slept with his moccasins and clothes on and in a pouch around his neck he carried flint and steel and char, just in case he had to run for his life. He snuggled under the robes and went to sleep, his wolf dog curled up against his neck, and the old trapper felt safer with his newfound friend and companion.

Dan'l Hickham

[old salt]

Another good one Dan'l

[NAULTRICK1]

 

[Stitch]

That is some fine writing!!!! Left me wanting more!!!!

[KHickam]

thanks
I appreciate it

[mlisa]

i really enjoyed that, and for a short time became that man, and could see every detail of your description. it was a very nice vacation!

[Bulldog lady]

Been hankerin  for more of your stories,