Grizzly Killer: The Making of a Mountain Man Read online

  We spent the rest of the day right there, skinnin’ that bear and then scrapin’ the hide. I slept sound that night, and the next mornin’, we were loaded and back on the trail just after light.

  12 Willow Valley

  After we crested the pass, we followed a creek down, goin’ through meadows so full of wildflowers you could hardly see the green of the grass for the colors of the flowers. We went through stands of timber and scattered stands of quakies. There were sage flats, and even the dry sage-covered hills had flowers bloomin’. We traveled what I figured was ’bout twenty miles and made camp where another stream came in from the north. We hobbled the horses and Jimbo set out on his routine scout.

  The game was plentiful; we’d seen deer and elk throughout the day. There were wolves howlin’ to the north just as it was gettin’ dark, and several moose came down into some beaver ponds that were just above us on the stream comin’ in from the north. Although his antlers were just half grown this time of year, one bull looked to be bigger than Ol’ Red, and Red was bigger than any of our horses.

  We continued with the English lessons each night around the fire and every time we got the chance in our travels each day. I was startin’ to pick up more and more Ute and even a few of the Snake words. But the women were learnin’ English much faster than I was learnin’ Injun. When we got under the robes for the night, I had a mighty hard time goin’ to sleep with a naked girl snuggled right up against me.

  We entered Willow Valley ’bout midday the followin’ day, and none of us knew where to go. The valley was mighty big. I could see maybe thirty or forty miles to the north and another ten or so to the south, and it was at least ten miles across to the west to another high, rugged mountain. We climbed up to a high point of land just north of where the river had cut its course through the foothills and just looked ’bout. Runnin’ Wolf noticed a smoky haze way off to the south, so we headed that way.

  We hadn’t traveled but a mile or two, when we saw a half dozen riders comin’ toward us. As they got closer, the hair on Jimbo’s back started to stand up, and Runnin’ Wolf came up from the rear to my side and said, “Snakes.” Then Sun Flower kicked her horse and took off toward them. When she got to them, there was hand wavin’, and it was clear she knew them, and then Raven Wing took off to go meet them. Runnin’ Wolf had a mighty serious look on his face, and I checked the prime in my pans. In just a few minutes, they all headed our way. Jimbo slipped off into the brush and disappeared.

  When they were ’bout forty yards out, a very tough-lookin’ brave ridin’ beside Sun Flower held his hand up in the sign of peace, and I did the same, and then Runnin’ Wolf held his hand up in peace, and these six braves along with Sun Flower and Raven Wing came on up to us. It was clear Sun Flower and Raven Wing were excited, and she started to talk way too fast for me or even Runnin’ Wolf to understand. Raven Wing must have noticed the confused look on our faces and said something, and Sun Flower slowed down and started to use sign. I then started to get the gist of what she was tryin’ to say.

  It seemed this fierce-lookin’ brave to her side was their brother and their village was here, camped on the Little Bear River just an hour’s ride south of where the Little Bear runs into this river we were followin’. If it had a name, I missed it. Her brother’s name was Spotted Elk, and he was leadin’ this huntin’ party to bring meat to their camp. He was lookin’ real serious at Runnin’ Wolf, and Raven Wing started talkin’ and then rode over to Runnin’ Wolf and signed he was her man. I’m not sure whether Runnin’ Wolf was more concerned ’bout bein’ a Ute in the middle of all these Snakes or ’bout bein’ called Raven Wing’s man. He was mighty uncomfortable; it was plain to see. Raven Wing talked to her brother, and although I didn’t understand any of what was said, it was plain the look on Spotted Elk’s face and the others with him changed, and then he signed to Runnin’ Wolf that the protector of his sisters was welcome in their village. Then he looked at me and signed and, along with some English, said, “We have met before in battle.” I must have had a confused look, and he continued. “I steal horses. Mule kill my friend. You Grizzly Killer, great warrior.”

  There didn’t seem to be any hatred toward me for killin’ their friends, only respect of a warrior in battle. He told us the village elders would want to meet Grizzly Killer and this Ute that was the protector of Shoshone women, that seein’ Sun Flower and Raven Wing would make the hearts good of everyone in the village. Then he asked me, if I was Grizzly Killer, where was the big Medicine Dog?

  I whistled, and Jimbo came out of the brush behind them and trotted up alongside me. They all had a surprised look, and Sun Flower said something to them in Snake, and they all looked a little nervous. Then she said something else and got down from her horse and walked over to Jimbo and rubbed his ears. Spotted Elk smiled at her and then motioned for them to go. I ask Runnin’ Wolf if he knew what she said to him, and Raven Wing answered in sign and English that Sun Flower told them they didn’t need to worry, that she would not let the Medicine Dog eat them. I was still laughin’ at that as we headed toward the Little Bear River and the Shoshone camp.

  I was right pleased I could understand their sign talk, ’cause I could only pick out a word or two every so often of the Snake tongue. I was havin’ a mighty hard time with Ute talk, and I could tell it was goin’ to take a while to learn Snake. I was findin’ out that Raven Wing spoke more English than I had figured she did, but she wasn’t real sure of herself with English, so she didn’t use it much. I figured with Sun Flower and Raven Wing’s village bein’ here at Rendezvous, that they would stay with them when we left. So I might not learn much Snake anyway. I was ponderin’ over why everyone called them Snakes but they called themselves Shoshone. But that seemed to be more than I could talk ’bout with knowin’ so little of their tongue.

  As we approached their camp, I whistled Jimbo back to me ’cause there were dogs barkin’ and comin’ out to us. As the people of the village noticed us, they moved back away, pointin’ at Jimbo, then Sun Flower and Raven Wing rode on ahead. Then two very serious-lookin’ young warriors stepped out in front of us, and we all stopped. Sun Flower and Raven wing talked to them for just a minute, and one of them took off, announcing our arrival throughout the village.

  People started to gather, watchin’ us. Sun Flower motioned for me and Runnin’ Wolf to follow. The lodges were all set with their openin’s to the east, and there were paintings on the outside of most of them. There were scenes of huntin’ and battles, some of the sun and moon, others of animals. There were stands set up with totems hangin’ off them in front of most of the lodges and a small fire ring just outside as well. Most of the children were completely naked, some hidin’ behind their mothers, peekin’ around them, watchin’ us. Others were more bold right out in front. I had the thought that Sun Flower would have been one of them right out front ’cause there was nothin’ bashful ’bout her at all.

  We passed fifteen or twenty lodges and came to a larger one with a big space around it, and Sun Flower stopped us and motioned for us to get down. This was clearly the chief’s lodge, and then I noticed Runnin’ Wolf. I never saw anyone look to be in such misery. He was mighty uncomfortable bein’ in the middle of a Snake village and with the warriors that had tried to kill him just a couple of months ago probably right here as well. As I got off Ol’ Red, I told Jimbo to stay, and I rubbed his ears a bit.

  Sun Flower and Raven Wing just stood off to the side of the lodge openin’, and in just a minute, a man stepped out. He was wearin’ a full headdress of feathers that trailed clear down to his knees. He appeared to be in his forties and was wide in the shoulders and looked to be a very powerful man. He was much shorter than me, but he had a look that told me I didn’t want to make him mad. Two beautifully dressed women stepped out behind him and stood one on each side of the lodge openin’. Their dresses were almost white and decorated with colored quills and what looked to be colored glass beads. He spoke to Raven Wing, and she nodded. Then he
turned to Sun Flower and spoke. Both women looked surprised, and Sun Flower turned and left. He spoke again, and Raven Wing said he wished for us to sit.

  When we were all seated around the fire, he spoke again, this time in heavy accented English. He said his name was Charging Bull, and he was chief of this village of the Shoshone people. Then he started talkin’ in Shoshone, and Raven Wing Spoke in English, tellin’ us what he was sayin’. She spoke much more English than I would have believed. Just then, Sun Flower returned, and with her was Butterfly. He motioned for Sun Flower and Butterfly to sit down. He told us of Butterfly meetin’ them on the trail, and they had taken a shorter way to Willow Valley through the canyon of the Little Bear River. He said that Butterfly had told him of the French trappers’ treatment of the women and of bein’ bought from the Frenchmen by Grizzly Killer. Butterfly had not looked up; she was just starin’ at the ground. He said that Butterfly had shamed them by runnin’ away, and I could take her back now, and she would not run away again.

  Lookin’ at Raven Wing, I asked her if I could speak, and she nodded. I spoke slowly so Raven Wing would not miss anything I wanted to say. I told him that Butterfly had the right to leave anytime she wanted, that I bought them not for myself but to get them away from the Frenchmen whom I did not think had good hearts, that Sun Flower and Raven Wing could leave us if they wished. I told him that these brave Shoshone women were worth much more than furs, and my heart was happy to see Butterfly back with her people. Butterfly looked at me with a look of surprise. Sun Flower had a worried look on her face. I told him we were honored to be welcomed into his village, but we had to meet General Ashley at the Rendezvous and asked if we could return later.

  He said it would make his heart good if we returned, and he hoped to get to know Grizzly Killer and this Ute warrior better. Raven Wing then spoke again, tellin’ her chief that “this Ute’s name is Running Wolf.” Runnin’ Wolf had not said a word since we entered the village. As we got up and went to the horses, Jimbo was right by my side, and Chargin’ Bull asked and Raven Wing repeated where the big Medicine Dog came from. I turned and told him, “From your camp. This is the pup your warriors left behind when they stole my horses.”

  He looked surprised then shook his head and smiled. As we got in the saddle, Sun Flower came over and reached up to my hand. She looked at me with questioning eyes and asked, “You come back?”

  I looked into those dark beautiful eyes, smiled, and said, “Yes, I come back.”

  As we rode out of the village, a Shoshone boy came ridin’ up to us and signed he would lead us to the camp of Ashley. Runnin’ Wolf asked his name, and he said it was Little Horse. We hadn’t rode far when we saw another Injun village on the other side of the Little Bear. The Shoshone boy with us pointed and said “Nez Pierce.” Their horses were right pretty with most of them havin’ spotted rumps.

  It didn’t take long, and we were seein’ white men and their camps. I hadn’t seen a white man since last rendezvous. We waved and yelled greetin’s, and not much farther, I saw the tents set up that Ashley done his tradin’ from. As we rode through the camps, Jimbo seemed to be gettin’ a lot of attention, and men were wavin’, pointin’, and yellin’ at others to come and see this huge dog.

  When we got up in front of the tradin’ tents, some of Ashley’s men came out and helped us unload all the plews and furs from the horses. The horses were all mighty tired as they hadn’t had these heavy packs off all day, and it was gettin’ to be late afternoon now. When I asked, they said the general was out with a group, scoutin’ the valley to the south of here, and they didn’t expect him back till sometime tomorrow. As they were gettin’ the furs weighed, several men that I knew from last year came up. William Sublette and Jedediah Smith were among them, but neither of them knew me. Mr. Sublette came up and asked who it was that got all these plews, and I smiled and said Zach Connors. He just stared at me for a minute, and Jed Smith walked up and said, “Boy, you’ve changed.”

  I hadn’t thought ’bout it, but I guess my looks had changed. My hair ain’t been cut in over a year and was way down past my shoulders, plus now I had a beard. Mr. Smith asked where Captain Jack was, and I held out my grizzly claw necklace and told them that it was what was left of the grizzly that put Pa under, that he was buried along a creek in the Bear River Mountains. They looked at me and said they were awful sorry that this was a mighty rough country. Then one of the others said it was a lot easier to go under out here than to survive.

  Just then, Jimbo came around the corner of the supply tent and right up to me. Another one saw him and asked me if I was the one that the Snakes were callin’ Grizzly Killer and if that was the big Medicine Dog. I patted Jimbo on the head and nodded. Mr. Sublette then said, “Boy, you’ve got you a mighty big name with the Injuns.” He told me that Grizzly Killer was bein’ talked ’bout all over the mountains now, that word was spreadin’ that I had mighty powerful medicine, and that I could talk to that dog and he could understand me.

  ’Bout then, the supply clerks were weighin’ the furs and told me I had 248 pounds, and that would give me $1,240 in credit. That sounded like a fortune to me. Back home, you could buy a pair of good mules for forty dollars and a year before we left a neighbor sold his whole farm with barns, cabin, stock, and fifty acres planted all for $1,250. For the first time in my life, I felt rich. I knew I wouldn’t have near this much if it wasn’t for Pa, and I really wished he were here to see this much money. I knew he’d never had that much before. I picked out some beads and brass loops, a good-sized cookin’ pot, a few yards of bright-red trade cloth, and several twists of tobacco. When they had tallied up what I had, I told them we would be back tomorrow or the next day to get the rest of our supplies after General Ashley got back. The clerks offered me whisky at five dollars a bottle and seemed surprised when I turned it down. Pa had never been a drinker and had always told me it robbed a man of his senses. I had tasted it a couple of times at socials back home and never had a taste for the stuff.

  We said our good-byes and headed back to the Shoshone village. Runnin’ Wolf was still bein’ mighty quiet, and I asked him if he wanted to go back there. He said no, but he wanted to be with Raven Wing, and he believed Chargin’ Bull was a man of his word. But he wasn’t sure ’bout all the other warriors in their village.

  It was only ’bout three miles back to their village, and we were followin’ along the Little Bear. We passed the Nez Pierce village again and watched a huntin’ party cross the river into their village with several pack horses loaded with game.

  When we approached the Shoshone village, there was a new lodge put up on this south end, and as we rode past, Sun Flower stepped out, smiled, and ran over to us. Then Raven Wing stepped out and motioned for us to come over. She said that the village had given them this lodge, and we would stay here. Little Horse said that he would take the horses out to the horse herd and they would be safe. We kept Ol’ Red and the chestnut with us and led them over to the side of the lodge and picketed them on a good-sized patch of grass that went on down to the river bank. We pulled the packs over by the lodge, and I pulled out the trade cloth, beads, and brass rings and loops, and we gave them to the women. Their eyes lit up, and the smiles they had were really something to see. I brought out the cookin’ pot, and they got even more excited. They pulled us both inside the lodge, and there was a small fire pit right in the center and a large openin’ at the top for the smoke to go out. They had their buffalo robes laid out one on each side of the fire pit against the outside walls, and I thought of my dirty and smelly bedroll and knew it wouldn’t do. I told them all I had to go back to Ashley’s camp, and I would be back in just a little while. Sun Flower got that worried look on her face again, and I told Jimbo to stay with them, and she smiled at that. I figured she was still afraid I wasn’t comin’ back.

  Ol’ Red wasn’t very happy ’bout bein’ saddled again, and he made it plain he figured he had done enough for today. But we came to an understandin’, and he final
ly stood still. I put him in a lope and was back at the tradin’ tents in no time at all. I picked up six good Hudson Bay–type blankets and headed back. The sun was just an hour or so from settin’ when I got back. Sun Flower and Jimbo were standin’ out in front, waitin’ for me. I knew I had only known Sun Flower for a mighty short time, but it was almighty comfortin’ to have her waitin’ for me when I got back. I handed her three of the blankets and stepped inside and set the other three on Raven Wing’s robe. I looked at Sun Flower and asked where they were, and she pointed down toward the river. I took care of Red and went back to the lodge. She was makin’ up a bed with the new blankets. She had cut a strip off the red cloth and was usin’ it as a sash. She had it tied around her waist, and she was wearin’ some of the brass rings around her arms. I walked over and picked her up in my arms and just held her, and I realized that I really had feelin’s for this girl.