Eagle People by Benton W.R

Author:Benton, W.R. [Benton, W.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: North America, tribes
Publisher: Loose Cannon Ent.
Published: 2014-08-23T07:00:00+00:00

Mongoose heard a slight noise when opened her eyes. She was on her back under the gray canvas of a shelter. It was daylight, only she had no idea of the time of day. Turning her head slightly, which brought pain, she saw Eldon sleeping beside her. The bear attack, she thought as she remembered the battle. Raising her head, which cause her eyes to blink back tears, she saw Lydia sitting beside a small fire, her chin on her chest. Snow, as far as she could see, covered the ground.

“W . . . whiskey.” Mongoose said; speaking even a single word brought pain.

Lydia moved to her side, opened a bottle of the strong drink and said, “You've been unconscious for days, and I thought you'd both die. Eldon awoke about an hour ago and I fed him enough whiskey to put him asleep.” She then raised Mongoose's head and allowed some of the strong drink to flow into her mouth.

After drinking two cups of the whiskey, Mongoose asked, “The . . . bear?”

“Dead, but not before it killed my horse. The other three horses broke from the picket line, but I found them the next morning in a valley nearby. We are lucky I found any horses, because the bear scared them all badly. Hell, it scared me.”

“Bear . . . dead?”

“Look around you and you'll see meat drying in the sunlight. I placed six more arrows into the big brute before she finally dropped. So, we'll have beef, horse, and bear jerky, once it dries. Don't worry about moving yet, because we have a good foot of snow on the ground, which is too much to be moving in. The meat may not cure properly, because it's pretty close to freezing right now.”

“More . . . drink.”

Lydia raised her head and fed the injured woman two more cups of whiskey, lowered her head, and then said, “Eldon had about half of his scalp torn off, two busted ribs and a single deep claw mark down his back. I fixed him up as best I could, and even sewed his scalp back on. Now, you, you've a twisted ankle, two claw marks on your chest and boobs, and a dark bruise on the side of your face. I ain't sure about your ribs, but don't think any are broken.”

“Clean . . . us?”

“Used whiskey on all the needles and thread, even poured it on your wounds. Both of you are healing well, with no sign of infection. You should try to get some rest, so when all this snow melts, we'll be able to travel again.”

Over the next week, the two injured gradually spent more and more time awake. Their wounds healed nicely and were well scabbed over. The meat, most of it, finally dried and the little that didn't dry was stolen by small animals. Lydia had awakened one night to find a raccoon feasting on the semi-dried meat. The next morning, fresh raccoon meat was drying in the sun.

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