Chapter 15

I bought some additional tack for the horses and burros. I had some ideas about fast messengers so I bought 3 saddles, 6 blanket and 6 bridles.

I took the girls by the library, and we bought a couple of boxes full of books. They were mostly children's books and an old set of encyclopedias. I also got a couple of books about ancient battle tactics, and weapons.

I bought three fishing rods, and a tackle box full of lures, just for fun.

I got two cases of buckshot and five cases of #6 birdshot for the shotguns.

I bought soap, shampoo, and 5 cases of toilet paper. Hell, I am the king, I can afford it.

I bought a light two wheeled cart for moving up to four people quickly with one horse. It had suspension, and was small enough to transport without much disassembly. I also bought a spare wheel and tire, and additional bearings. I also bought some grease and spare parts for the big wagon.

I let the girls go wild in the household supply store and $1000.00 later we were finished.

I talked to Marty every couple of days, and he said the stoves were there.

We loaded everything up on a rental truck and towed Momma's sedan.

We unloaded everything, and went and bought some big garden carts and big wheelbarrows for moving things.

We loaded the stoves on the wheelbarrows for transfer. We allowed an extra 3 minutes between shipments to get the stoves moved out of the way.

I asked Lena to go through with me and asked Zepha to stay and help Marty.

Everything went through like clockwork as usual. Marty had the time travel business down pat.

I asked Lena to go and bring the wagon back as soon as we got there. I moved things around as they came through. We sent those things that could be taken in the carts and barrows without too much strain on ahead.

A short time after noon, Lena, Eldon, Lamar, Joe and Luke showed up with the wagon. We loaded the stoves and other heavy materials on the wagon and wheeled the other items on back to the camp.

For the next week we were involved with gift giving, unpacking and setting up stoves for cooking.

The girls had bought wash tubs, scrub boards for washing, dishwashing detergent and a million gizmos that only women know what they are for. I think everyone in camp had at least one pair of tennis shoes.

I wore my moccasins that the girls made me most of the time.

I drained the pump and pipes for winter, and tried to get ready for the snow.

Betsy was pretty sure she was pregnant by now. Randa, Sarah, and Kimi were all asking me to give them children. I tried to explain about how hard it was for me to get children. I told them that Betsy and I had been married for years and she had just gotten pregnant.

Our hog herd was ready to thin, so we picked a boar, and two sows to keep, and killed the rest and smoked the meat.

The stream had not frozen yet so I tried out my fishing tackle. I caught some fish nearly every time I went, and we had some fresh fish along until the stream froze over.

I put the cart together, and trained Jenny to pull it. She could pull it at a trot for several hours per day and that meant I could travel quickly between camps, if needed.

I took both of the Indian made Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifles I had and sighted them in. They were not the best I ever shot, but they were good out to about 250 yards. The bayonet was stout, and I practiced my bayonet fighting from time to time.

Alice and Jenny's little ones were growing off fast and looked like they would be big enough to use for riding stock for someone besides me.

I took to carrying my bolo knife on my left hip and my pistol on my right. They really did not get in the way that much.

I turned the fields to let them rest over the winter. Alice and Jack were a good working pair for the farm, as well as the wagon.

In early spring, a runner came to the camp to tell that they were in a fight with another camp and needed the war band. I sent Eldon in the cart to take word to meet us at the camp that was in need and the runner and I along with Kimi, left to return to his camp. Pet carried our things on a pack saddle. Kimi had her pistol, and extra magazines and ammunition, as well as her knife. I had my pistol and rifle, with extra ammunition for both.

We arrived in the camp in three days. There had been a fight and the camp had lost three men killed and two wounded. Their warrior was slightly wounded. He told me what happened.

The opposing force had swept in one day near noon and grabbed two women, and took some food and possessions and killed some people. He had killed one of them and gotten hurt.

I asked if he knew where they came from. He said he did and could guide us there. In a week, the clan guard had assembled and was ready to depart.

We planned to leave the next day. That night Kimi was extra loving and we made love three times. She loved sex and even though she was getting all of my time at night now she still was always ready to make love.

I guess she was worried about the upcoming battle. She insisted on coming with me. She told me that she had promised my wives that she would take care of me, and she would not leave me.

In two days we were at the other camp and deployed our forces in two lines with the spears in front, and missiles in the second row. Kimi and I were behind them and were watching the flanks and the rear.

Kimi held to my belt and we moved forward. The enemy deployed about 25 men and attacked in an unorganized manner. They broke like a wave on a rock. If one of then would stop to use a missile weapon; our missiles would cut them down like grass. Our spears and shields were basically unstoppable. I never had to fire a shot or stab a single opponent. After eighteen or twenty of their men were down, the rest either ran or surrendered. We had two minor wounds.

I asked some of the men who survived why they had attacked our camp. They said they needed food, and their leader wanted more women. "Where is your leader?" I asked them.

"He is there," a man said pointing at a corpse.

"Where are our people?" I asked.

The women that were kidnapped were found in a hut. They had been treated poorly.

I asked the people in the camp why I should not kill everyone here for the treatment our people received. I could see that my soldiers did not agree with this, but they were quiet.

One of the camp's women, came up and knelt in front of me. She explained that most of the camps people did not agree with the attack, but the leader made them go.

"Is anyone still alive who was for the attack?" I asked.

She looked around and said, "All that were for the attack are dead now. None of the women were for the attack."

"Is the leader who is now dead the clan leader or the camp leader?" I asked her.

"He was the camp leader, we are not in a clan," she said.

"You are now in my clan, and as such you will follow the clan rules, and be treated as equals," I said.

"Bring the camps men to see me," I told my men.

About half of the wounded men would probably live. I asked who would become this camp's leader. A man who had surrendered stepped forward.

"I am designating you as leader, now," I told him. "All these people will be treated with respect. You will send a warrior to become a member of our clan guard unit for two weeks after the trading time in spring and fall."

"How are your food supplies, now that you have lost 10 men?" I asked him.

"We will be alright now," he said.

"If you need help you send to my camp and we will take care of your emergency needs," I told him.

We went back to our homes.

I talked with Eldon about the success of the guard unit. I was very pleased with the way they had performed.

I don't suffer from megalomania, but it could tempt the weaker individuals. I had heard some of the men talking about how easy our victory went.

I knew I had to talk to the troops about the purpose of the clan guard again.

When we got home, my wives and Eldon's wife were very glad to see us. I knew they were worried.

We had a calm rest of the winter. Our farming and orchard enterprises kept us in plenty of food. On toward spring, a messenger from the conquered camp came and asked us to send them some additional food supplies. We loaded some of what we considered surplus supplies onto the wagon and hooked up Alice and Jack. Sarah came with me. I think it was a conspiracy among my wives to get everyone pregnant, even though Kimi didn't get that way.

Eldon said that his wife wanted him to go find a good woman from the new camp's widows, so he and she wanted to go with me. I advised him to let his wife pick the woman for their family. That way there would be no animosity between the women.