part 3 ....an ole book & a windy night by Swampy | SouthernPaddler.com

part 3 ....an ole book & a windy night by Swampy

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Chapter Three Meeting of the minds

Morning light came late here. The winds were still blowing with a
force. Two men are seen approaching the lodge from the creek below.

"I'd rather try splitting gum for the runners." said one

"Recon I'll stay with maple."

"Too rough."

"Not if ya soak it some."

"Maybe."

"I'd use tupelo but there just isn't any in these parts. Now if I were
back in Floridy I'd have a room full!"

"Swamp wood wouldn't make it here."

"Maybe not."

Andy Pee thought harder on his new approach to building snow shoes for
this snow. It should work he pondered.

Pee Roe just shook his head slightly. His proven ways had seen him this
far he reasoned why not all the way?

"Well looks like Jean had more visitors last night by the way the snow
has moved on the porch."

Both looked at the drifts that had changed from around the door way.

Knocking off snow at the door and entered the large wooden structure
they looked over to the table at the four men seated around Jean's
feeding table. After the door closed the four turned back to their meals
before them.

"Howdy!" called Pee out to the room.

Grunts and "humps" came back to him.

Meriwether got up from his chair and walked over to the two men who had
just entered.

"Pee Roe and Andy Pee?" Meriwether asked with his hand extended.

"YEP!" they both barked.

Shaking their hands, Meriwether asked," Are you two prepared for the
trip now?"

"YEP!" they both answered smiling.

"Good! Have a seat. The rest will join us shortly."

"You boys wanta rum and butter?" asked Jean.

"YEP!" they said in louder voices this time.

Gathering a couple of chairs from the wall hooks they placed them next
to the fire.

"The rest will be up from camp shortly," Pee said.

"Doc is gettin his axes sharpened and th' cook, Kahuna, was washing his
feet in the last of the hot water. Uphill was last seen packing a year's
worth of gear on one mule. Poor mule. But the mule can handle it! Never
seen anyone get so much on a mule and the mule lived! Anyways, John Dep
was finishing bottling up his "medicine" for the Indians and us."

Andy added," Rusty and Oldyaker were tossing horse shoes in the snow.
Snow don't bother Yaker like the rest of us."

"Yea," Pee continued," poor ol' Rusty was taking ferever to find his
shoes in that five foot snow around the pegs."

Soon the table emptied and the men gathered by the fireplace. Birch
Bark reached for a plug of 'backy inside his shirt. Constable Chuck
withdrew a stogy and bit off one end and lit it up to enjoy. Bear, just
watched the fellows who just walked in before they finished their
breakfast. Jean was busy clearing the table, knowing that these men were
to use it again for their planning.

Meriwether began. "Gentlemen, the time to start is at hand. These snows
are the last of the year and I'm to wager that spring is on its heels.
Therefore we need to be ready now to start pulling out. Is the canoes
ready?"

Pee Roe answered, "Michigan Al an' the Commandor has everything ready
to go now."

"The metal boat is ready then?" Meriwether asked knowing about
Commandor Harry's boat.

"Aye," came the reply.

"What of the trade goods for the Indians?"

Andy told him that John Dep had packed three canoes with "potions" that
the Indians would love and so would the men in their needs. He also
added that Doc had his tools of trade packed and that any housing would
be up, with some help from the group, within days of starting.

"Good!" exclaimed Meriwether.

"I have asked the services of this man (pointing to Birch Bark) to cook
for the camp. He has agreed to fulfill this obligation."

"You serve gritz?" asked Chuck

"Hell no!" came the reply.

"But," Birch Bark continued," I do serve yellow corn meal in a soup
form. 'N I fry it and pour real maple syrup on it too."

"mmmmmm... sounds farmilur enough." quipped Chuck.

"Have all the men been issued their fire arms and bullets?"

"Some," said Pee Roe.

"See to it that all of them are well armed." ordered Meriwether.

"Aye aye sir!" stated Andy.

"I will visit the camp tonight and speak to the rest there. I expect
you all to be there also."

The room moaned their "Ayes".

"I'm a gonna go and get some meat for supper tonight," Chuck told the
men.

"I'll go with ya," Birch Bark offered.

Both came out of their upstairs room at the same time. Each had winter
furs on and each carried a large musket with ball and powder hanging off
their shoulders in fringed bags and buffalo horns. Jack's had double barrels. Taking their snowshoes off from the wall next to the door they exited the warm room and stepped into the bitter cold.

"I ain't never seen so much cold with snow in May before," Jack said.

"Me neither. But I haven't seen snow before either," Chuck answered.

After about two miles of walking in the snow, the two of them both
froze still. With their ears they looked towards the noise both had
heard. A branch had broke some 50 yards ahead and now the hunters
strained into the snow cloud and searched for what had made the noise.
Without a word, Chuck swung his musket up and an ear blasting BANG
emitted. Smoke from the powder fogged the space in front of them. They
both started to half run half walk towards where Chuck had aimed through
the smoke. "I saw somethin." "What?" "Not sure." After walking a good
100 yards there lying in the snow was the carcass of an elk. Chuck's
shot had hit the animal in the left ear lobe and parted the buck's brain
and then exited the right ear lobe.

"Hump!" exclaimed Birch Bark, "Not a bad shot."

Chuck nodded his thanks.

"This will feed some in camp."

When this was said and in the same second, Birch Bark wheeled on his
right foot and had his knife primed to throw. When his left foot came to
rest the knife started its travel towards the target. Chuck then saw
what Birch Bark had thrown his knife at. A huge grizzly! The knife
struck the grizzly in the nuts. This caused the bear to fall
frontwards.

"Better finish th' job," Birch Bark whispered. With that said, he
lifted his own rifle with the double set-triggers, while Chuck busied
his self re-loading his musket. But Chuck needn't hurry. Jack's shot
split the grizzly's head open as well as a young boy could split a water
melon open with an axe.

"I didn't have the right angle to shoot him first. That's why the
knife. To get his attention."

"mmmmm," murmured Chuck.

Now the hunters began gutting the critters and preparing them to haul
to the lodge. Snow continued to fall and the wind howled on too. Both
men carried half of what they shot. The other halves (more than half of
the elk) was to be picked up the next morning. They did secure the
pieces left up into a large hemlock branch and poured water over the
meat several times. This froze into a coat of ice that neither bear nor
wolf could get through. Then, they began toting their game out of the
woods.

Now both had seen how the other shot. Both were impressed within
themselves but without acknowledging it aloud. The group had two fine
shooters to help with Indians and animals ahead. Meriwether knew this
already. Tom Buzzard had told him of their prowess a year before back
east. Tom had known many a wild wood man and these two came heavily
endorsed by him. And that carried a lot of weight to Meriwether.



Chapter four later this week..... swampy
_________________
What instructions?

Back to top