Grail Quest Read online

  Three men in each canoe paddled toward us. They chattered back and forth. I couldn’t hear all that was said. Closer, Pukwana hollered, “Ho, waischu, where your ponies now?”

  No peace sign, no civil greeting. Moyock said, “He not call you Squire. He say ‘fat-taker.’ Not friendly.”

  “Chief Pukwana, we are happy to see our friends the Sioux again, but my heart is heavy, the way you speak to a White Chief.”

  “You not a chief in our land, Hu-Hanska-Ska. You a guest. Iktome warned us of your coming. You are bad for Naturals. We take you our village. Show how we treat waischu.”

  “Now he has called you, ‘white long legs,’ Moyock said.

  “Chief Pukwana. We must go to the Mandan. I thank you for your kind invitation to visit your village. Perhaps we can stop on the way.”

  All six of them bent their paddles toward us. “Time to retreat, Moyock. We need to load our weapons.” Back at our shelter I told Leahna to stay to the side in the trees and be ready to use her arrows. Moyock and I loaded and turned back to face the Sioux. Pukwana said, “Come out here, waischu. You ride in our canoes.”

  “We must turn down you kind offer. We go to Mandan.”

  “No. You come with us.” Pointing, “ Seize them!”

  Four of the Sioux, holding massive clubs started for us. Did they think he meant smash instead of seize? Not wanting to get into a semantics debate, I shot Pukwana. The flintlock noise and Pukwana’s scream caused a deleterious effort on his companions. I handed my gun to Moyock for reloading and prepared to discourage the remaining Sioux with my pistol.

  Obviously confused, our enemies fell back to their dying Chief. Then, while Pukwana sang his death song, they recovered and came after us. Had to give them credit for guts. Surely fearing some strange power, singing their own death songs, they sprang back toward us. One faster than the others and carrying a lance, ran at us. While admiring his courage, before he could loose his spear, I convinced him of his foolhardiness with a pistol shot to his solar plexus. He sat down. He couldn’t believe there was a big hole in his stomach.. Stunned by the demise of the lancer, his comrades regrouped. They charged again.

  Another flintlock shot and pistol discharge took care of two. No time to reload. Moyock and I faced two frenzied warriors at close range. To the surprise of the nearest, Moyock blocked his club blow…stabbed him in the heart. Watching, concerned about Moyock my attention slipped for a moment. I was beset by the last Sioux. I deflected his club. Before I could bring my saber into play he crashed into me. I was knocked stunned on my ass. Up and screaming he bashed his club at my head. I didn’t have time to think. Leahna acted. Before his club could connect, she shot an arrow into his throat.

  I pushed the dead man off of me and sat up to look around. “Are they all dead?”

  Returning from the shore, Moyock said, “No, two alive. Wounded bad. They get in canoe. Maybe not live. Squire, you lucky Leahna is huntress. Arrow hit him before he put weight into club.”

  “Too bad. I didn’t want to make enemies of the Sioux.”

  “No choice,” said Moyock. “They come as enemies.”

  “Yes, I doubt if we would have enjoyed their hospitality. We’d better get moving…can’t overtake the survivors. Just hope their village is away from the river.”

  The surviving Sioux abandoned one of their canoes leaving their supplies to us. We took what we could use and loaded food, skins and pipestone into our craft. Mine being almost depleted, we certainly could use the trade goods. Then we took the Sioux canoe out in mid stream and scuttled it. We could have used that larger craft. Not knowing who or what was ahead, I figured showing up in that distinctively decorated craft might cause some embarrassing questions.

  The next few days on the river were uneventful.

  One night as Leahna was off taking care of her privacy, Moyock seemed to be moping. He’d get up and walk around, and then sit down. His face screwed up, and then relaxed. He didn’t know what to do with himself. When Leahna was out of earshot, Moyock looked at me like he was about to burst. “What is it, Lad? What’s bothering you, what’s on your mind?”

  Moyock frowned and his mouth opened. “Squire, something happened.” He stopped.

  “Yes, well go on. If something troubles you, maybe I can help.”

  Moyock frowned and glared at the ground. “Maybe you be mad at me.”

  “I am not mad at you, Moyock, I am your friend. You are like a younger brother to me. If you have a problem, I want to help you.”

  “If I tell you, you might get mad.”

  “Ah, so what. I’ve been mad at you before, but it always passes. I can’t stay mad at you, so tell me what the problem is.”

  Moyock moved close to me. “When I sleep, sometimes I dream…dream strange dreams. I feel good. Soft bone-thing leaks. That feel good.”

  “So. That’s normal. That happens to every young man. You had a wet dream. It is nothing to fear. Enjoy it and don’t worry about it.”

  “Every time before, I like it. No problem…Last night was different.” Moyock choked up. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Well…I can’t help you if I don’t know what the trouble is.”

  “All other times dream is mysterious. I don’t know what it is.” He looked close at my face with pained eyes and a twisted mouth. Determined, “Last night I not dream of something formless. Last night I dream of a real person. I dream of Leahna.”

  I looked at him and grinned. I tried not to laugh. “So you dreamed of a real girl. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

  “It okay I dream of your mate? It okay I dream I have Leahna’s nipple in my mouth …my hard bone-thing between her legs?”

  “Whoa! Hold on son.” His confession shook me. Surprised me! I recovered.

  “Yes, Moyock. Considering her close and constant contact with you, It is not surprising that you dream of her. Just be sure you don’t get carried away with her when you are awake. I’d hate to kill you.”

  Hmmm. I thought, the sooner we meet other people the better. He needs to have a girl friend. I wonder if among the Mandan there are women who would satisfy a young man without any commitment…certainly there were among the Pensyca.

  During the past few days we spotted small bands of naturals hunting, but we didn’t contact them. At a place where the river turned almost due west again, we saw an encampment of Naturals on the eastern shore. We didn’t see any marking on their teepees that indicated Sioux, so I said, “Let’s pull in and talk to these people.”

  Moyock in the lead now jumped ashore, and then with apparent courtesy handed Leahna out of the canoe. A curious throng of people watched from some distance. While Leahna grandly surveyed the crowd, Moyock came back to me in the canoe. I handed him my flintlock. He stepped aside and held the gun with the stock on the ground and the barrel pointed skyward. After I stepped out of the canoe Moyock bowed and handed the weapon to me. I lifted it skyward and then horizontal across my body. All three of us then raised our arms in the peace sign. After lowering our arms we waited for recognition.

  The crowd made way for an elderly man and two younger men who came towards us and made welcome signs. Moyock, using sign language and a mixture of words picked up along the way, told the villagers who we were and where we headed.

  He introduced me as a White Chief with his mate, a Mandan. I broke out tobacco for the three men at which point we were invited to smoke. Sitting in front of Chief Titonka’s teepee we learned that they were part of the Ponca tribe, and only recently moved into that area from further east. They heard of the Mandan but had no contact with them.

  Casually, Moyock asked if there were any Sioux camps around.

  Looking sober, Chief Titonka said, “Yes, many Sioux all around. Many camps. Move often. Follow buffalo. Not always friendly. We stay on guard.”

  By way of conversation, Moyock told the men of our encounter with the Sioux at the Missouri Village. Not mentioning our use of fire arms, he followed that with a
vague description of our run in with the same party several days ago. “Two wounded Sioux in canoe come this way. Did our friends the Ponca see them?”

  “Not see them. Maybe they go ashore down river. If arrow wounded maybe dead. If back to Sioux village, you be careful. Sioux looking for you.”

  “Do you see many Sioux on trading trips?”

  “Some. Sioux have sacred pipestone in far place. Sioux say nobody else go there. Only Sioux can get pipestone. Others must trade for it.”

  “We have a few Sioux pipes. Take after fight. We give some to our friends, the Ponca.”

  Titonka seemed pleased with the presents. His companions exchanged looks behind the old man’s back. Since each of them received a pipe, I wondered what that was all about.

  Looking around at the shabby encampment I got the impression that the Ponca were having a hard time. With game being so plentiful I wondered why everyone looked so thin. Aside I said to Moyock, “I have an uneasy feeling things are not right here. We need to push on.”

  “Yes, these are poor people, maybe tired, maybe sick.”

  “Round up Leahna. I’ll make our departure excuses.”

  Since the Ponca hadn’t invited us to eat, I didn’t think they would be sorry to see us go. I explained that we wanted to go a farther distance upstream while we still had plenty of daylight.

  Back at the canoe, Leahna said, “I gave Chief’s wife fine rabbit fur from the Sioux stock. Squaws envious of things in canoe. They travel long way, long time to here. I think maybe many sick. We should go.”

  Then I noticed they didn’t have any canoes. Out on the river, all of us wanted to put distance between us and the Ponca. Within a few miles the river dipped sharply south, then around a large elbow turned northwesterly. Coming on dark we pulled to the eastern shore for the night.

  Just after dawn I was awakened by Coyote yipping. I sprang up just in time to see two men pushing our canoe into the river. Screaming at them, “Hey, hey stop thieves. You can’t have that canoe.” I charged and knocked one of the thieves down in the water. The man in the canoe tried to paddle away. I grabbed the gunwale and tipped him out. “Out you go, blackguard!” The first man got up and tried to jump me from behind. Moyock slammed into him. “They can’t swim. Let’s pull them back on shore,” I said.

  Moyock and I hustled them up on the beach and shoved them face down. Now that we had a good look at them, they turned out to be two of Chief Titonka’s followers. They must have followed us along the shore. As emaciated as they were, I was surprised they had the endurance to travel that far.

  Still holding them down, Moyock said, “What we do with them, Squire?”

  I twisted the arm of the man I was holding to keep him from getting up. He groaned and then both of them sang their death songs. “Maybe we should scalp ‘em and turn ‘em loose.”

  “Better for them, we kill.”

  “Why so?”

  “We scalp, they may die anyway. If not, live in disgrace. Tribe not want them back.”

  While we tended to the thieves, Leahna hauled the canoe back ashore. Looking at the prisoners she said, “Ponca poor people. Not have much. Want to steal our goods. Not get. Not harm us. Maybe keep their arrows. Let them go.”

  Figuring the entire concept was too difficult to get across to her in a short time, I had not tried to teach Leahna very much about Christianity, but here she was pushing compassion like a preacher’s wife. I looked at Moyock. He shrugged.

  “All right. Put their arrows in the canoe, Leahna. Then bring me my saber.”

  Reluctantly, I thought, Leahna with her face agonized, brought the sword to me and turned away. I stabbed the saber into the ground between the two men. “Moyock tell them because they didn’t succeed, and we bear no ill toward the Ponca, we will release them this time. If we have any more trouble with them, I will cut off their heads with this ‘waken’ blade. Their spirits will huddle in a black pit until the end of time.”

  I believe Moyock put a little ham in his translation, because the two stared goggle-eyed at the saber. When released, they took off like the grave followed them.

  The next four days flowed by uneventfully. The speed of the current slowed when we went through an area of switchbacks. If we were familiar with them, we could have saved time by portaging across the narrow necks. Occasionally we saw hunting parties in the distance. When we camped at dusk one night, we saw a large canoe full of warriors passing downstream. They didn’t stop so we didn’t hail them. Just in case the strangers returned, the three of us took turns staying awake that night.

  Late one afternoon under a gray and windy sky, Leahna pointed at a remarkable boiling cloud formation. “I think the sky is angry.”

  Far to the west, I could see five fingers of clouds that reached to the earth. They appeared to be spinning. I pointed them out to my companions. “What is that?”

  “Not see clouds like that before.” Moyock said.

  “Me not see either,” Leahna said. “Very strange. Maybe bad thing. Clouds moving very fast. I not like.”

  Lightning flashed all around between the formations, and to the ground. It was the strongest display I’d ever seen of that phenomenon. The strange clouds reminded me of horsemen, more or less abreast, approaching at a gallop. While we watched, one at a time, they began to draw back up into the overcast, almost in order.

  Paddling along we heard a loud roaring noise. It seemed to come from behind us to the southwest. As the noise grew louder, we saw one of those strange cloud fingers stretch out of the sky to the ground. Leahna shivered. “Squire, I not like that. Scares me. Very bad thing. Could hurt us.”

  Now we could see that it spun violently. It headed in our direction. Stunned, we couldn’t move for a few seconds. “Coming at us!” Moyock shouted

  “Head for shore!” I had to scream. We paddled like demon pursued. We beached the canoe. The devil cloud reached the river. “Lay down, lay down as low as you can!”

  I threw myself over Leahna. I felt utterly helpless. The churning tail of the funnel whipped around. No use in running. We couldn’t tell where it would head. The thin funnel shape pulled off the ground. Then came down in the river. It churned water and dirt. In the spinning terror a doomed buffalo whirled as light as a kite. Such power overwhelmed me. I prayed from a prone position. “Dear God, please make it go away.”

  He didn’t make it go away. It did skip and move away from us. Instead of the full force, the edge of the storm just missed us. After the rumbling monster passed to the east I sat up…looked around. We were covered in mud. Leahna was unhurt. Moyock wasn’t moving. I grabbed his arm. He rose up on his elbows…wiped mud off of his face. “Am I still alive Squire?”

  Less than ten yards away a broken tree had crashed to ground. Much closer and we would have been injured or worse. “Yes, lad. We’re lucky. We dodged a devil.”

  We knelt and I more formally thanked God for our deliverance.

  Our canoe was missing. Everything we owned was in it.

  Maybe the devil got us after all.

  “The canoe! We’ve got to find it! Come on! Get up! Lets get going!”

  All around, broken branches, uprooted trees, trees stripped of their leaves, a forlorn landscape surrounded us. The muddy Missouri was muddier than ever…and still roiling, carrying our canoe downstream? “Spread out, about three yards apart. Moyock, search midstream and the far shore. I’ll concentrate on middle river and near shore. Leahna, in case wind or waves carried it inshore, stay off to my left.”

  Since it probably was turned over I hoped enough of it was floating to be seen. If we found it we’d have some idea where to look for its cargo, perhaps an impossible task. Without weapons other than our hunting knives and one hatchet, we faced a dire situation in this wilderness. Struggling along we proceeded about three-quarters of a mile before I called a halt. “I’ve don’t think it could have floated this far. Spread out and wade back to search for any sign of cargo or canoe in the water.”

  �
�Maybe if not see, we step on it, huh, Squire”

  “That’s not as funny as you think, Moyock. The water is very muddy. We need to walk slow so we don’t step on anything that’ll hurt us. I’ll walk farthest out. You two stay closer to shore.”

  Up to my hips in water slowed my progress. I let the other two press on a little faster. When our original landing site came in view I was exhausted and discouraged. At least the rain and all the wading helped clean some of the mud off of us. I flopped down on a grassy hummock to rest. Moyock and Leahna set out to find something to eat.

  She searched for edible plants and roots. Moyock gathered some branches to throw at any rabbits he saw. After recovering my wind I searched for a limb that I could make into a spear. I was whittling a point onto a broken branch when I saw Moyock running toward me. “Squire, Squire, I found the canoe!”

  “Huh? Where?”

  “Back here. At the edge of that woods. The wind must have taken it.”

  Our shouts alerted Leahna who came running from a marsh. Moyock led the way to his discovery. Somehow the keel of the canoe was smashed onto the trunk of a denuded tree.

  From where we beached the canoe, the wind must have thrown it in a circular route to its destruction on the oak. Perched sideways the canoe was empty. Backtracking we found some of our things along its path. Most of the material items were sodden and dirty. Fortunately we came across our jerky supply. We chewed on strips of it while searching for weapons. We found my black powder canister nearby, and my flintlock covered in mud. When searching for the canoe we just missed the weapon. While I cleaned the gun, Moyock and Leahna looked for the pistol, any bows and arrows and our hatchets.

  Darkness coming on I said, “Lets make camp. We’ll look around some more in the morning. Moyock see if you can find some fire wood. I’m going to build a shelter. Did you find anything to eat, Leahna?”