Chapter 1

Author's notes: It has recently been determined that what was historically known as sweet oil we know as olive oil.

Biting into a may apple affects the mouth as biting into a chunk of alum. It is nasty, bitter and puckers the mouth.

Some early bricks were 14" x 7" x 7" and larger, used principally as paving stones and ship's ballast.

I was christened and named Joshua Stuart early in 1819, a full year after my birth. This is according to my mother, Katherine. My father was from Scotland and my mother from England. She was horribly scarred as a young woman and revenged by my father, who then had to run for his life. I stand proud in knowing my fore bearers have overcome so much and kept true to each other.

We live within a great stone manor upon a bluff looking East out at one of the great sweet lakes. Father was made the governor of the Wisconsin territory and has successfully defended his appointment for some years.

I have just turned twelve, as has my sister Mary. She is darker and smaller than I, yet we fit together as two hands shaking. We play and run everywhere together. The old ones in our village always smile to see us come as we will sit for hours and listen to their stories. Father and Grandfather taught us to listen well, so that when asked I could tell their stories back to them.

Our place is called a village by some, a tribe by others and Clancy calls it a manor and grounds. Clancy is funny, sometimes. Especially when he drinks.

Four years ago our Grandfather came to stay with us, along with Aunt Caroline. He is a great tall man, with huge shoulders and hands. He smiles much and teaches us interesting things. Aunt Caroline is a may apple. She looks as if she just bit one, too.

Soon after they arrived, the next spring I think, the horses came! And such horses! They are enormous. That was when I learned to respect Aunt Caroline. She jumped aback one of them and pounded down the surf line as if chased with her hair flying in the wind. She smiled so broad that I thought her face would crack. After I 'pestered her unto her grave' she promise to teach me to ride, and Mary as well when our feet can reach the stirrups.

Until then, we found other things to do. Mary and I follow the hunters, trying not to get caught. We got a good talking to after coming upon them deep in the woods. Father then told us not to count coup on the warriors--it made them feel bad. After that, we were invited if we could keep up. I can keep up for a while with any save the long-legged black folk. Mary and I have learned the use of the throwing stick and have taken game. We must keep to the smaller animals as we are too small to drag a full deer to camp without help and throwing sticks just annoy a pig. Then they chase you.

Little Samantha, my other sister, follows us about as if attached by a string. We have been commanded by mother to care for her. In return mother has been teaching us the sword! We started by wrapping pads about our arms and legs, then stick-fighting. It was great fun until one or the other took a good whack upon the head. She has flat laid me out several times and I have done the same to her. We resolved never to fight in anger as we were much too precious to each other to risk one seeing the other in a box.

Samantha was proving to be a pugnacious little thing. We wrestled and did stick-fighting together, having a grand time until Samantha snuck up behind father and whacked him behind the knees with her staff. He rose, roaring and caught us up together, threatening to drown us all and start over. It is my dearest hope that he was making fun but at the time all I knew was if my legs got close enough to the ground I may hope to get away. I wrenched free and started running, only to hear my sisters scream in his grasp. I turned about, took up the stick on the ground, and gave him my best stout whack behind his knees. They broke free and started running. He rose and then came for me. I caught him with the end of the staff in his breadbasket and laid him out. Upon catching up with my sisters, we resolved to travel long enough for him to forget the event or our mother to sit upon him. We begged sacks, food and weapons from the first grandmother we found and made steady pace towards the sunset. I carried a throwing stick and six shafts while Mary carried the staff.

We made camp late. The bag we were given was heavy and it was time to see what we were given. We found three blankets, twine, a small copper pot, flint, steel and tinder, a gathering basket, two knives and two hatchets as well as a large bag of jerked meat, a pound of salt in a bag, five pounds of corn meal and a water flask, all within a large sack.

We ate and rested that night. The next day we walked two streams in case we were pursued and continued well past our home lands. I knew that we still could be followed as the hunters ranged long days away and knew the lands well. We decided to turn south the next day. We kept a cold camp to deny any hunting us an easy target.

We searched out roots and ground nuts, retrieving them with digging sticks. We watched for forked sticks to cut free as we walked. We also gathered birch bark from dead trees (so as not to leave trail sign) and squaw wood as we made our way. Under a great bachelor pine we cleared a spot and started a small fire, knowing that the tree would break up the smoke. There we roasted the roots, peeled them and made a stew in our pot with the dried meat. We ate well and slept.

It was nearing dark when we rose. The moon was rising so we would have light. We agreed to press on. The moonlight was strong enough to point out the hazards of the trail. The moon was near setting when we came upon cattails. Since mire could be in any direction we stopped and took the opportunity to harvest food. Samantha agreed to guard our goods as Mary and I stripped to find the roots with our feet. We pulled roots until we tired, then she wove a large rough basket from the cattail fronds as I washed the roots. We could eat them raw but too many would give you the grunts. We washed and dressed, then we sat huddled together beneath a blanket waiting for dawn.

As soon as we could make out the wet from the ground we searched out a game trail. We quietly followed it through the mists. The deer would be about. We hoped to take a yearling. The sky was looking grim and we had to shelter soon. Suddenly Samantha tugged my arm and pointed off the trail. There was a single doe. I breathed deep to calm myself I knew that she had not started nor caught scent of us as she was eating, not looking for us. I easily took up a lance and the throwing stick as if I had been doing it for years, drew back and cast at her heart. It struck fair, dropping her to her knees. She died quickly. I looked about at my sisters, a finger to my lips. We were quietly happy. We butchered the game keeping the meat wrapped within the skin. the flight had broken when the doe fell. I retrieved it still with a foot of shaft upon it. The head was good steel. It would make a good camp knife. We had no use for the bones nor guts, yet kept the liver to broil. We raked the rest into a nearby mire and kept moving down the trail as it was the easiest path and did not wander much.

We came upon a growth of bush willow. Remembering the stories of the grandmothers, we cut as many of the long straight wands as we could carry and looked for dry ground. We found a rise flat enough and large enough as it started to rain. We quickly fashioned a wickiup shell with the wands and string, then covered it with two blankets leaving a small split open in the middle for smoke. Mary and I cut hanging wood while Samantha carried it back to the camp. It began raining harder. We quickly gathered great armfuls of cattail fronds and made our way back. Within the shelter of the wickiup we rested, then opened Mary's cattail basket part way, weaving it further into a great mat that we could sleep upon. I fashioned a fire from our gathered wood, splitting the limbs to find the dry and sparking into the tinder then setting the shavings alight aided by some birch bark in a small depression dug for the purpose.

Mary and Samantha threaded thin cuts of deer meat upon some of the remaining willow wands, preparing them for drying over the fire. We roasted the liver and some backstrap to eat then, which was marvelous with a bit of salt. We kept a small fire and coals going beneath the meat and the pot out at the edge of the shelter to collect water. We slept covered under the remaining blanket and soon dried, to sleep comfortably. With that much meat to dry we stayed an additional day. We gathered firewood morning, noon and night. We drank our fill then started a stew. We wanted to use some of the cattail roots we had harvested. We found some wild parsnips that the deer had been foraging for and Jerusalem artichoke. We wished for spoons and cups yet made do with wrapped cattail fronds and tree bark.

The next morn we were ready to leave. The blankets were dry enough. We tore apart our shelter and formed a travois to drag behind us from the thickest of the willow wands, covering it with a blanket and the cattail mat and lashed our goods to it. Mary and I traded the burden while the other remained ready with throwing stick and shafts. Samantha kept a knife at her side, hidden under her shift. I carried a hatchet, as did Mary. Our last knife stayed in our pack. We made fair time yet knew that our trail was now being scratched out behind us.

That night, we discussed our safety. We knew that we were within the tribal lands of the Winnebago, and would soon be in the land of the Sauk. They were farmers yet fierce in defense and war. We would seek them out rather than wait for them to find us. We split our salt in half to trade with and told each of the others to keep our good steel hidden for safety.

We struck out for higher ground, keeping our eyes open for man-trails. We smelled a fire three days later. I looked my sisters in the eye and nodded. we calmly walked into their camp and hailed them. It was a Sauk hunting party, numbering nine braves. We were soon surrounded. Their leader stepped forward. He had a long scar across his forehead.

"Who are you that walks bravely into the camp of Sauk warriors?"

"We take our adult journeys from our tribe. We are of walks together."

"What keeps me from taking all you have?"

"If attacked, I can easily kill one. Should it be you?" I readied a flight on my throwing stick. Mary waved the steel- tipped broken-off flight beneath the nose of the warrior before her. Samantha took up a stone.

We chanted
"We walk together
We sleep together
We eat together
We love together
We suffer together
We kill together."

I continued "Trade or fight?"

He replied, "Trade." then motioned with his hand. Suddenly I was forced to the ground, my flight broken two feet from the tip. I took it in my hand and thought "sword." I began slashing and stabbing about. Three of them stood back and raised their spears to throw. Mary and Samantha dove to cut the cords of their ankles One still threw. I pulled the bulk of the warrior that attacked me over me. He took the lance low in his back.

I struggled out from beneath the body and faced their leader. "You lie like a white man. Do you know your father?"

Enraged, he drew his knife and lunged at me. A stone took him in the belly. I took out first one eye, then the other with quick jabs. As he howled and clutched his face I turned to the remaining tribesmen, standing together. They faced me. They were very stupid. Mary sent three flights thru them one after the other. They dropped in pain, breaking the flights off within their bodies. After cutting their throats I addressed their leader, the last remaining alive.

"Either stand still and die easily or I leave you for the cats and wolves."

He stood and cried as I pulled back his hair, slitting his throat. He had more blood than honesty.

I gathered my sisters within my arms. We hugged. I whispered. "We kill together." They nodded in agreement.

We cut free the steel points and fastened them to the heavier shafts the hunting party were carrying. They had two steel points among them, the rest copper. I practiced a while with their copper points, getting used to the new shaft weight. I did not wish to dull my good points. they had a good pot, four blankets and two spools of good cordage. their dried food was not as good as ours. We saved the bags except for one, which I sacrificed to hold their ears and medicine pouches. They each had copper knives which I took as well. The travois was heavier. That was all right.

We left that camp that day. We refused to sleep among their bodies.

As we walked, I thought about our group. Samantha had stick-fought with us many times. I would make her a staff with a surprise within. One of the steel dart heads within a split end, hidden by a further section split and secured by a string. I had to ask if she would use it.

"Samantha? If I gave you a staff with a hidden spear tip, would you use it?"

"Yes, please! I feel naked with just a staff."

Mary smiled at me, agreeing with my thoughts. That night, I made three. They were green wood and soft, yet of good ash, peeled and strong. Each night we baked them slowly beside a small fire, turning them slowly so they would not bow nor warp. The straight grain of the wood carried true. I left mine on the travois to keep the flights ready as I walked. Mary did the same when it was her turn to carry. We also made Mary and Samantha each their own throwing sticks. We practiced daily.

As we walked further South, we came upon a corn field. We quietly watched for half a day, then followed the trail around it. Soon a native village came into sight. I met my sisters' eyes. "Again?" I asked. "Again." Mary said. Samantha nodded, bracing her staff.

I called out "We Come!"

A voice called out "Who comes?"

"Traders. What nation is yours?"

"We are of the Fox people. Who are you?"

"Walks Together"

By then three men with spears met us from the camp.

"You are known--Be welcome."

We walked into camp, trying to watch in all directions at once. We stood back-to-back before their chief. He watched us for several heartbeats then nodded to himself.

"You are young to be alone, yet aware of danger as warriors. I would hear your story, as would my brother, my war leader." He motioned to a scarred slender man near him.

"We approached a camp, offering to trade. They offered treachery under the face of trade." I emptied the bag of ears and medicine bags before me.

"We survived. They did not. We think little of Sauk honesty or warriors."

The chief sat back and blinked. The war leader showed his teeth in a long grin. He turned to his brother and said "This wolf tribe has teeth, no?"

We were invited to eat and sleep with them. We kept our senses about us and retired early. In the morning we traded our copper knives for much corn meal. Their war leader respectfully asked about our 'spears' and if the Sauk hunting party leader had any marks. When I motioned where his scar lay the war leader nodded. He was known to the Fox. We took the war leader hunting and killed three porcupines near their midden. We had sweet porcupine that night. It was better than dog. I talked further with the war leader.

"Turkey feathers are too small. Use oiled rawhide, baked before a fire. The shaft should flex, not be stiff. Throw smoothly, not like a spear."

He nodded. I put a copper spear point in his hand and closed his fingers over it. "This much weight in front, or use a lighter shaft. Our women use lighter shafts and half-weight heads. Never get a woman warrior mad at you. Never."

He nodded his head quickly and walked away. Soon a handsome young woman came near us with a bowl of nuts. She sat and put it down between us.

"Your tribe has women warriors?"

"More than men. Walks together is a sanctuary tribe. We number many more women than men. Many are damaged. Some fight just to fight men. Others fight to protect the others. My father started the tribe. Eyes of Wolf. No-one is ever turned away. Ever."

She nodded, rose and walked away. I looked to my sisters, who were looking at me. "We may have a partner soon."

We would leave the next day.

Late that night the door to our tent opened and a person slipped in. We each grasped a knife and made ready to fall upon them.

"I am Small Ear. I wish to join your tribe." It was the voice of the woman from the feast. We all relaxed. I called out "Come in. Sleep with us. At dawn we will accept you. Sleep now."

We curled up and finished the night.

At dawn, Small Ear held our hands as we chanted out the creed of our tribe. Somehow, three crones, their medicine man, their war leader and their chief found their way there to witness.

"We walk together.
We sleep together.
We eat together.
We love together.
We suffer together.
We kill together.
We are one."

As we hugged our newest member their war leader grinned at us. She must have given him fits. I later found that he was her father.

We ate together and made ready to leave. Small ear had a hide roll to add to our travois and carried her own spear. She was perhaps twenty or twenty- two years old. She was clean of limb and graceful, with long shiny black hair and dark eyes. We walked East to find a river or the great sweet lake. We would travel North from there.

I equipped our newest sister with a good steel knife and a throwing stick. She practiced along with the rest of us each morning with the flights. She soon became very good. Her longer arm provided us our next deer. We camped for three days while drying the meat.

It was getting cooler at night. Harvest would soon come. We kept up our pace.

We walked thru swamp and field. We collected inner cedar bark for twine and a great bag of deer moss. Small Ear said that dried dark, it made very good tinder.

We came upon the great sweet water. We stood staring, watching the waves roll in. after sighing as one, we made camp. We made a large fire set high on the beach and kept a small fire burning at all times in camp. We would set the large fire alight from the other if we saw a ship.

It was past harvest when we saw the ship. The full moon had come and gone. The great triple-hull ship came at our fire. I called out in Iroquois "Want to trade?" "Ayeeeeah! We live to trade! What you want? What you got?"

I looked over at Small Ear and grinned. "How many deer can you harvest in a day?"

"Around here? maybe ten, twelve."

"Do it. We are about to hold a feast." She nodded and disappeared into the woods.

"How about a feast to set the mood?"

"Okay! Clear the beach!"

We backed off as they grounded their ship near the fire. These guys were ready for fun.

I gathered my sisters beneath my arms and grinned. "We walk together."

"Oh so? Prove it!"

Father had shown me how. I panted for six breaths and howwwwwled.

"Yeah! who are you?"

"Son of Eyes of Wolf, named Joshua"

"Jossua? That will break my jaw. Jawbreaker! Hi, Jawbreaker."

"Hey, yourself. Our hunter is out getting deer. She said she could get ten or twelve today."

"Whoo! No pinching her ass! So, you want trade?"

"We want passage to home. Father can pay, I can work. We can fight and hunt. I have a little steel, corn, meat."

"Anything else?"

"Sauk ears?"

"We will talk later. We can do something."

We feasted on venison that night. They had eaten fish for so long their sweat stank of it. They gorged on hearts, livers and backstrap. Small Ear brought in enough venison for days. We bled it in the water and sliced it thin. We started drying it. We had teams drying meat as Small Ear went out for more. I told her of our agreement. She was buying our passage. No problem.