Wolf Eyes by C.R. Coburn
Chapter 2: Bad News
The hunting party had found the blood trail again, but now it was a day older and would be harder to follow. The trail headed north and they half walked, half ran in a pulsating rhythm. Wolf Eyes was in the lead. He would stop and look down at the trail, and then run to the next spot in question. Following a trail this way could go on for hours and sometimes days. If they knew where their prey was going, they would break into a full run. Chickasaw warriors had been known to follow their human quarry for five hundred miles before catching them and fighting to the death. The one that died was usually the opponent. This occurred when the chase was performed in revenge of another’s death.
The trail had led them to the river. On the bank were signs that a lone canoe had been beached. The canoe had left early this morning, according to the signs. They were unable to tell which direction that it traveled when it left. The signs did show that the canoe had been beached there several times in the past.
Wolf Eyes said, “ Let’s look up and down stream to see if there are any other signs that might show who they were.”
After several minutes they found the remains of an old fire. Maybe it was five or six days old. The signs told them that it was a small group.
“Fire Cub and Loot,” said their uncle, Red Talon, “it would be good of you to stay here. Watch the river to see if they come back. I would honor you with a feather if you learn who our visitors are.”
Fire Cub and Loot were brothers. Fire Cub was thirteen, and Loot was twelve.
“How long will we stay, Red Talon?” asked Fire Cub.
Red Talon said, “Oshta nitak,” which meant four days.
Wolf Eyes said, “Here, you take our provisions. Wait for us to come back in four days. If you see the strangers well enough to see what kind of people they are, then both of you run to our village. Don‘t let them see you because it could be dangerous. May the spirit of the issi be with you, so that you can run like the deer.”
Wolf Eyes and Red Talon left for the village, praying that the Great Spirit would watch over the boys and return them home safely. There was always much danger in the forest from ferocious animals or enemy tribes.
The boys had a pouch of dried venison that would keep them from starving for the four days until Red Talon and Wolf Eyes returned. They found a place where they could watch the river, without being seen. It was a place where an ancient tree had been; its roots had rotted away, leaving a great hole. The hole had filled with leaves, making a soft place to lie down and wait. Loot and Fire Cub settled down in the hole. Time passed ever so slowly, and they watched, not only the river, but the squirrels, turkeys and everything else that moved in the forest.
“I wonder,” said Loot. “What do you think is the purpose of existence?”
Fire Cub said, “We are here to watch the river.”
“No,” said Loot. “Why are we here on this earth? What is the reason for our existence?”
“Oh,” said Fire Cub. “We are here, because without us, the good spirits would be lonesome, and the bad spirits would be bored. We are a boundary between them that keeps them from fighting directly among themselves. We will be spirits one day too. Just as the sun and the moon, the deer and the bear all have spirits. We human beings also have spirits.”
Loot said, “I don’t feel my spirit. Do you feel your spirit, Fire Cub?”
Fire Cub said, “No, you can’t feel it, but it is there. It is there in all living things.”
Loot said, “Trees?”
Fire Cub said, “Yes, even trees. Everything has a spirit. Rocks and reeds have spirits. Some are great spirits, and some are small spirits. You have to pay much closer attention to sense the spirit of a reed than you would to sense the spirit of a deer.”
Loot said, “It is easier for me to sense the spirit of a reed than it is for me to sense my own spirit. Why is that?”
Fire Cub said, “We can’t sense our own spirits now, because we are spirits at the same time we are human beings. Human beings are locked in to this world by time and a body. When you die your spirit is set free, and it is not trapped in this world or by time. Death sets a spirit free. The hawk and the eagle have a more present spirit, because that is the way they communicate with us – through their spirits. When we see them it gives us the feeling of awe. The powerful bird is giving you some of his spirit just by letting you see him.”
“I guess that is an answer,” said Loot. “Here, have some dried meat.”
Wolf Eyes and Red Talon were halfway back to the village when something in the forest made an unusual sound. It was something moving through the woods very fast. They hid in some bushes beside the trail and fitted arrows to their bows. They saw some deer coming down the hill. The deer were moving through thick growth, but they were still moving very fast. They were leaping and weaving as they came. Wolf Eyes and Red Talon drew back their bows, and when the deer crossed the trail, they released their arrows at the same instant. Almost like they had practiced a thousand times, though it was done instinctively. Wolf Eyes had shot at the first buck, and Red Talon had shot at the second. There were three does in behind the two bucks. It was amazing how the deer ran. They had a pecking order, the largest first and the smallest last; the biggest in the lead, running with his nose in the air and his antlers lay back. For some reason the lead buck had failed to detect the hunters. Maybe it was the fear of what they were running from that caused a distraction.
Both arrows had found their marks. Both arrows had found the lung-heart area. The deer disappeared into the thick bush. Wolf Eyes and Red Talon waited for a few minutes to see what the deer were running from, but nothing ever appeared. Then they went into the bushes after the deer. They had not gone far when they found blood on the ground and on the leaves of bushes. A few feet farther on and they found the deer. They had made a double kill. They cut the throats of the deer to let them bleed.
They cut a long stiff pole and tied the deer to it by the feet. The heads they tied up by the antlers. One deer faced the front man; the other faced the rear. They fixed their clubs and bows so they would not be in their way. Each man picked up one end of the pole, and they transported the deer back to the village.
It was a long trek carrying that much weight. They made it to the village just before dark. The chief and some braves greeted them at the meeting fire; Waving Willow was there too. They acknowledged the chief, and some women took the deer to another fire and dressed them.
They told the chief about finding where the canoes had been run up onto the riverbank, and that Loot and Fire Cub had stayed behind to watch for returning strangers, then about the deer running through the forest and the double kill.
Later the women brought deer meat back to the meeting fire, and it was cut in a size that could be easily roasted on skewers. Red Talon and Wolf Eyes each took a small portion of meat and threw it into the fire as an offering to the Great Spirit. They roasted a piece for each person who wanted some. There was much talk as they ate.
The chief said, “There is word that there has been a raid on the small village of Nunnimingo across the river. It is believed to have been done by the Homa Fochush village of the Creek that live across the Yellow Leaf (the name of a small river). The destruction and slaughter were so bad that this attack is considered a massacre. There were known to be about twenty-five men and fifty women and sixty children in the village. This village must be avenged. There has been a tribal council called of the neighboring Chickasaw villages. We must send a representative tomorrow to the council at Tuscaloosa. I have called a village council meeting in the morning to decide who is to go.”
Red Talon said, “ Now I’m more concerned about Fire Cub and Loot than I was when we left them. I will return to them tomorrow. I will remain with them for a few days. We might do well to place other sentries at points along the river.”
The chief said, “In the morning, at the council, pick more braves and take them with you. Station them along the r
The next morning all the braves in the village met in the counsel house. It was a round building with a forty-foot circumference, built on a small mound. The chief sat directly in front of the wall, facing the main entrance. To his right sat Burning Arrow, and to his left sat Lonely Bear. The older braves, about twenty in number, sat on the first row and made a circle in front of the chief. On the second row, behind them, sat the younger braves and older men of the village. Some women stood or sat behind them next to the wall.
The chief began by explaining what the messenger from Tuscaloosa had said about the Creek raid on the neighboring Chickasaw village. He chose Lonely Bear to be the representative of their village, Nuktala, in the regional council. He was to leave as soon as possible with a party of five braves, two from the first row and three from the second. Next he asked Red Talon to choose whom he wanted to use as sentries at the river. He was allowed to choose four braves from the first row and six from the second.
Red Talon chose Wounded Eagle, a brave of thirty-five winters and a skilled tracker. Next he chose Giant Owl, a mature young brave and a good shot with a bow. He also chose Deer that Stares and Laughing Wolf, both good hunters. Then he chose braves from the second row. These were braves in their late teens that had not much experience in real combat.
Burning Arrow suggested to the chief that the sentries be increased around the village and cornfields. This was done with more braves from the first and second row.
Red Talon left with his chosen warriors as soon as they could after the council meeting broke up. They took ample supplies of food and some extra deer hides for personal comfort. Each warrior was fully armed with war clubs, spears, bows and arrows. They would travel at a fast pace, for about a day, to reach the river.
Lonely Bear left for the regional council with his contingent about midmorning. He would travel west, about a three-day walk to Tuscaloosa.
It was a time of much concern. It was unusual for a raid to be so severe. The village of Nunnimingo must have been caught in complete surprise. It would eventually put the whole Chickasaw nation on high alert. The word about a massacre would spread faster than wildfire.