Puma Son of Mountain Lion by Dicksion William Wayne

Author:Dicksion, William Wayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: revenge, slaves, western, santa fe, indian territory, wagon train, arapaho, mountain men
Publisher: William Wayne Bill Dicksion

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At dawn, Puma was awakened by the crowing of roosters and the sound of men and women going to work in the fields. He stood for a moment watching them from his window. He saw no happiness on their faces, only resignation. They looked healthy. Their houses looked substantial, and the area surrounding their homes was clean and well maintained. Their homes looked better than the houses the peons lived in at the hacienda in New Mexico. Still, it seemed that there was something wrong, but he couldn’t figure it out.

He noticed a tub of hot water had been placed in his room and fresh clothing lay across a chair. Puma was concerned that someone had been able to enter his room and do all of this while he was sleeping. A man could get killed in the west by being that careless. “I must have been more tired than I realized. I will not be that careless again,” he muttered.

A knock at his door startled him and a voice, heavy with accent, said, “Breakfast will be served in half an hour.”

The large clock on the wall indicated six. Puma bathed and dressed quickly, then hurried out the door to look for his father. He knew that his father would have gotten up early and would be somewhere outside. He walked around the plantation home. A river flowed about a hundred yards behind the house, just like at the hacienda, only this river was larger. The water was slow-moving, and it was muddy. He saw his father standing beside the river, looking at the water. He didn’t look up, but Puma knew that his father was aware of his presence.

“Good morning, Father,” Puma said.

Without turning, his father responded, “Good morning, son. You must have slept well. You were tired; it’s good that you slept a little longer.”

“You seem troubled, Father. Is Mother or Carmen not well?”

“No, I’m not troubled. I’m just reflecting on a situation that exists here. This is a beautiful place. Your great-grandparents are good, honorable people. I do not believe that they would willingly do harm to anyone or anything, yet all this beauty was built and maintained by slave labor. It seems wrong to me.”

“I don’t understand,” Puma said.

“No, of course you don’t. You have no way to understand. It’s good that we have these moments to talk. I want to explain the lifestyle of the people who live here. I doubt that you will understand, even after I explain it, because I don’t understand. These dark-skinned people are not paid for their labor. They are slaves.”

“What does that mean—they are slaves?”

“They are owned by your great-grandfather, like we own the animals at our ranch.”

The look on Puma’s face showed his father that he truly didn’t understand.

“I could sense that there was something wrong" Puma said, "but they seem well cared for. They don’t look hungry. Their homes are better than the homes of our peons.”

“Yes, they’re well cared for because they’re valuable property. You own Lightning.

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