Chapter 7

Colorado Territory, September, 1871

It was time for the big fall buffalo hunt. Cletus was looking forward to this, since he had missed out on the Yankton hunt. He had talked to Howling-Wolf, the leader of the hunt, about having Cletus shoot a number of animals with his Henry. Cletus proposed that he and one other man sneak up on the buffalo herd and Cletus would shoot those animals picked out by his spotter. As an experiment, they would kill up to 10 animals. Howling-Wolf agreed.

On the first day of the hunt, Cletus and Big-Foot set out for the herd. Big-Foot was noted for his ability to select prime animals quickly and Cletus was counting on him to point out the best targets. Cletus felt that his inexperience might keep him from selecting the best animals during the heat of the hunt. The two men crept to within 100 yards of the herd and Big-Foot quickly scanned the available animals. He pointed out the prime animals and Cletus began to shoot. The buffalo stood around for a minute or so as their companions began to fall, but they started to move off as the sound of the rifle begin to register as a possible danger.

The shift in position of the animals within the herd caused Cletus to lose his targets and Big-Foot had to point out new targets. Cletus resumed shooting until he had downed 10 animals. He stopped shooting and signaled the rest of the Indians that they could approach safely. The women came up and began to dress the animals while the men stood around and watched. The women were expert at dressing the buffalo and in ignoring the suggestions offered by the men. In a short time, the meat was ready for final treatment. The smoking fires were prepared and the processing began. Cletus did his best to stay out of the way!

Howling-Wolf pronounced Cletus' experiment a resounding success, but the other men had to be given an opportunity to bring down buffalo, too. Cletus yielded the field to the rest of the tribe and they prepared to begin their more conventional hunt the next day.

The next morning, the herd was located and the men loaded their guns and mounted their horses. The rode up to the buffalo in single file and began circling the small herd. On signal, each man rode toward his chosen target and shot the buffalo at very close range. This way, it made very little difference whether the man had a musket or a rifle. It was the skill of the rider and not the nature of the weapon that determined the quality of the kill. One shot was all they got, so it had to be right.

The remaining buffalo ran off and, again, the women moved in to do their job. That night, Cletus conceded to one and all that their method of hunting required the most skill, but his method produced the most meat with the least amount of work. They all agreed, but none wanted to give up their current method; it was just too much fun! Cletus laughed and shook his head.

Four more days of hunting yielded all of the meat they wanted, so they returned to the main camp for a big celebration. There was a lot of feasting and a lot of singing and dancing. Many stories of skill and bravery were told and none raised the slightest question, no matter how tall the tale.

The party lasted until everybody was ready to go home.

When they returned home, the women began preparing the winter lodges. This wasn't too difficult, except when more than two hands were required. Everybody, including Laughing-Eyes, was surprised when Cletus offered to help. Laughing-Eyes let Cletus help, even when he was more of a hindrance than a help, but she balked at some of the more critical stages. Those, she insisted on doing herself. Finally, the job was done, and it only took twice as long as it should have. But the fun and laughter more than made up for the trouble. They stayed in the tipi while the weather was still warm, but struck the tipi and moved into the winter lodge when the cold weather finally got there.

Most of the winter passed without hardship, but Cletus wound up providing much of the food when the prey got scarce. Cletus always took another man with him on his hunts to make up for Cletus' lesser hunting skills. However, Cletus learned fast, and really did not need help by the end of cold weather. Nobody went hungry, since food was shared on a need basis, and Cletus' Henry provided all the firepower needed. Even in the worst weather, Cletus went out when the need arose with no more than good-natured grumbling, and his help was appreciated by the whole tribe. By the end of the winter, Cletus was accepted as a full-fledged member of the tribe.

In February, Laughing-Eyes announced, to Cletus' great delight, that she was pregnant! It was during this time that Cletus realized just how much he had come to love Laughing-Eyes.

This winter was also the time that Laughing-Eyes acquired a new name. They talked back and forth in Cheyenne and English to help each other improve in fluency. When they were speaking English, Cletus started calling Laughing-Eyes "LE," more in fun than anything else. However this eventually turned into Ellie and stuck as her English name. Ellie adored the name because it had been given to her by Cletus.

Colorado Territory, April, 1872

Spring finally came and it was time for the first great buffalo hunt of the year. Scouts were sent out to locate the herds. Meanwhile, the winter lodges were struck and the tipis erected. Everyone got ready to move to the site of the best herd. Finally, the scouts reported back and the trek was on.

This time, Howling-Wolf decreed that all hunting would be done in the traditional manner, with Cletus joining in. They would save Cletus' slaughter method for dire need. Cletus was agreeable and looked forward to participating. The tribe spent two weeks in work and fun before holding the closing celebration.

The celebration took place with even more dancing and singing than the previous fall. More and taller tales were told, some contributed by Cletus. A wonderfully joyous time was had by all!

The tribe returned to their home and life resumed its languid pace. Peace could never last very long, it seemed. Word came that the Utes were on the warpath. They wanted revenge for the massacre of their youth the previous year. They were expected in a few weeks, so preparations had to be made. Cletus was elected supreme war chief, based on his successful strategy in the previous battle with the Utes. The Utes were rumored to have overwhelming numbers in the war party and Cletus was concerned about the firepower of his own men. Thus, he asked the chiefs' council for permission to buy repeating rifles for the tribe. His request was granted, and Cletus found that he had nearly $700 in gold to work with. Furthermore, the previous fur season had been good, so they had some prime furs to trade for guns.

Cletus gathered up the money and the furs into a pack train and headed to Denver. It wasn't the closest town, but it was the largest, and was most likely to have the most guns available. He took six braves with him to provide security for the treasury and the furs. They made good time and sold the furs for more than Cletus had expected to get. With Cletus' own money, they had nearly $1000 to spend on rifles and ammunition.

They only had enough money for 23 Henry rifles, which would not be enough to equip the entire tribe. But he could get 47 surplus Spencers, with ammunition, for the money he had. The Henry was a better rifle for his needs, but the added quantity of Spencers would justify them. The main difference between the two was that the Spencer's hammer had to be cocked as a separate operation by the shooter, while the Henry reloaded and cocked the hammer as a single operation. This meant that the Henry could be fired faster than the Spencer, but Cletus figured that he could forgo that luxury in exchange for more rifles.

Cletus knew that training would be necessary before he could rely on his men to handle adequately the Spencer rifles. Therefore, they hurried back to the tribe to get started.

There were 66 warriors, but only 47 rifles, so a culling process would have to be undertaken. Cletus knew that his prestige would be hard pressed to cover accepting some men and rejecting others for the new guns. Thus, he called on the chiefs' council for advice and help.

The warriors of the tribe were called together and the situation was explained. Time was short and they did not have enough rifles for everybody, therefore, a competition would be held and the best shooters would be issued the new rifles. Everybody would get a chance to try out for a new rifle, but the tribe would have to wait for more money before they could get more rifles.

Cletus would be in charge and it would be his decision, only, who got the new rifles. Cletus divided the men into four groups so that he could be sure that everyone got enough individual attention. Several men had made a trip to a popular wagon train camp ground and picked up as many tin cans from the rubbish heap as they could carry to be used as targets. Meanwhile, the women had cleared a flat area to be use as a shooting range. The idea of a range where everybody would shoot was a novelty; previously, each man had gone out on his own and taught himself to shoot by firing off as much ammunition as he wanted to and could afford.