People of the River by W. Michael Gear

Author:W. Michael Gear [Gear, W. Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Historical, Native American & Aboriginal
ISBN: 9781466817821
Google: ZIhzcWnRRx4C
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2009-11-29T13:00:00+00:00

In a hidden valley to the north, nine hundred warriors camped, their robes thrown on the soft grass. The pungent scents of sweating bodies and human wastes pricked the breeze, wafting up to the guards who stood on the bluff, silhouetted against the moonlight.

Petaga clapped his hands as he peered over the crackling camp fu-e at Hailcloud. Moon Maiden's glow illuminated the war leader's face, shadowing his eyes and mouth. "That's three hundred more, Hailcloud! With Red Star on our side, that makes twelve hundred. We can do it. V^e can heat Badgertail!"

Hailcloud's brows drew down over his slender nose. "I pray that you are right, my Chief."

Petaga's joy died at the apprehension in that voice. "You don't think so?"

"Maybe. If we can keep our warriors together. They come from so many different clans." He gestured weakly. "I don't know. It will be a trial. We still must recruit more warriors and gather supplies quickly, praying that we haven't lost the element of surprise. And I think we have."

"Why?"

"Too many people escaped our attack on Spiral Mounds. Any one of them could have fled to Cahokia. I fear, my Chief, that Badgertail has already started assembling his warriors."

Petaga lowered his eyes and squinted at the wavering flames. The orange light drenched the brush around them like thick amber resin. "What will Badgertail's strategy be? Can you guess?"

Hailcloud lifted a burly shoulder. "Were I him? I would make a play for all the unaligned chiefs. Every small village we haven't approached yet, and those that have refused to join us—^they'd be my target. I would tell them that the chiefdom was at stake and that they had to choose sides."

"And if they refuse? As most did our offer."

Hailcloud propped a fist on his knee. "He's Badgertail. The small villages will go rigid with terror the moment they see him coming." He fixed Petaga with stony black eyes. "They'll either flee instantly or want to please him."

"But if he surrounds them with a full force of a thousand, how can they flee?**

Hailcloud's fist tightened. "I don't . . . Vm not sure, but I don't think Badgertail will approach it that way. If he really does want them on his side—and he does—he'll send less-threatening emissaries. It would be more like him to split his forces into smaller groups. That way, he can discern very quickly which villages are friends and which are foes."

Petaga exhaled wearily. "Then we must stop him."

"Yes . . . if we can. He'll make it easier for us if he does split his forces."

"How do you mean?"

"Small war parties are easier to confuse than large ones. If we use quick hit-and-run tactics . . . well, I'll have to think about it more. But the first thing we must do is to cut off his lines of communication."

"So we'll need to station lookouts on every possible trail, you mean?"

Hailcloud nodded. "And in groups of three or four . . . just in case Badgertail decides to send guards with his runners.

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