Chapter 11

The trip took most of a day. The apprehension we started out with turned out to be unwarranted as we were greeted warmly by the people of the village. Coming in with a couple of bison on the travois for everyone in the village to share probably helped the general feeling of goodwill coming from the villagers. Pullar was especially happy to see us and proudly announced that his mate Danni was with child. I was happy for him. So far none of my mates were pregnant though it wasn't from lack of trying.

We were assigned to Calnot's old hut and were told that it was our hut for when we visited the village. The villagers had maintained it for us and we found that it had been stocked with some serviceable furs and even some dried meats and fruits. It was nice that someone went out of their way for us.

When evening meal time came, I went out by the fire and my lovelies brought me food before serving themselves. Then they disappeared to gossip and probably trade with the other women of the village. The village elder came to me immediately after I finished eating.

"I noticed that your mates carry spears," he said.

"Yes elder, my mates and I are on our own most of the time and having them armed adds spears to defend us in case there is an animal attack or an attack by human animals. We had one such attack a day after our last visit here and two of my mates were seriously injured. They are always prepared now in case it happens again."

"It is not our way to arm our women with spears," he said.

"Do you not want your women to be able to protect themselves?" I asked.

"Men are hunters and protectors; women gather from the land and care for our young. This is the way of things and has always been the way of things."

"Please elder try to see this through my eyes. There is only one of me as protector and I go out to hunt often. Taking all of my mates along isn't an option on a hunt. I have to leave them alone. I learned several months back that men will try to take my mates and kill me if they can. Arming them and teaching them how to use their weapons helps keep them safe from animals and others."

"This has been discussed briefly among the counsel of three here in the village. There is no reason for your mates to go about armed as a man within the safety of the village. Do you not trust us to protect them and you?" the Elder asked.

"It's been done more out of habit than anything Elder. My mates have spent a lot of time practicing with their spears and the other weapon they carry. They are comfortable and confident with them and in the knowledge that they can defend themselves if needed. If you ask me to tell them to disarm while in the village, I will out of respect for you and the camp. When we leave, they will go armed as usual again though."

"Young men often jump to conclusions. Even if they are the wrong conclusions," said the elder.

"I meant no disrespect," I said.

"I understand that and can see where you might think that was the purpose of this conversation. We aged elders are valuable to a community because of our patience and wisdom but even we can learn new ways. We do not wish your mates to disarm. We wish to understand what is gained by arming them so perhaps we can adopt your ways for our own," he said. "We also wish to know about your weapons so that we can hunt and protect our village better."

"I can teach you about some of these weapons. The bow I use is easy to duplicate and excellent for hunting. It is powerful and can be fired very rapidly. The defensive bow my women carry is completely different and is difficult to construct. I also know a little about defenses and tactics that might help with village security and defending such a large group."

"Will you speak at counsel tomorrow Frank? Are you willing to teach some of us your ways?" asked the Elder.

"I would be honored to speak. I can teach and help your village in this way elder. We will stay for a week unless the snows start to fall. I will need some time to find more horses during that time though."

He smiled, nodded and slowly rose to his feet. "Tomorrow after morning meal we will have a gathering. All who want to hear your words and learn more of your ways will be there. Prepare yourself for a long day Frank. The people are curious about you and your ways." With that, he walked away.

I collected my mates. They were excited about some of the trades they did that day and showed me the things they had gathered. I thought it was cute. We went down to the river to wash and turned in early. The elder told me to be prepared for a long day and I didn't have any reason to doubt him.

After morning ablutions and a meal, I looked around. Everyone from the village was sitting or standing around the central fire pit. There must have been more than 60 people ranging in age from the elder to young children.

The elder stood and said, "Frank has agreed to speak to us of his ways and to teach a few who wish to learn. Please watch and listen to him closely. His time with us is limited and he has things he needs to do to prepare for the snows the same as the rest of us."

He nodded to me and I stood up.

Assani, my lovely head mate stepped forward with all of her weapons so I could start the presentation.