Chapter 2

At camp, Bear Claw quickly made dinner and cleaned up the camp then set the bedroll out for me and knelt next to the bedroll waiting for me to get in. I asked where she was going to sleep and if she had any gear we needed to collect in the morning? Bear Claw told me that all she had was what she was wearing. She had been part of a hunting party that was attacked. She ran off while the two parties fought and got lost. Bear Claw looked like she was going to cry, so I reached out to hold her. She grabbed me and held on tight for a short time. Once she regained her composure, she released me and said she would sleep by the fire and keep it going through the night. I flipped the bedroll back, picked her up, sat her on the bedroll and turned to put two large logs on the fire. I set the rifle next to the bedroll and kept the pistol with me as I sat next to Bear Claw and said good night, pushing her onto her back as I moved to my own back, pulling the covers over both of us.

Just as the sun was starting to break the horizon, I turned to look into Bear Claw's eyes and saw she was also awake. I smiled and got up. She was just as quick to get up and moved to the far side of a bush, raising her dress she squatted and peed. She then returned to the fire to pile more wood on the coals and stoke it up to a large blaze, so she could cook food for the morning meal. I checked the perimeter after checking both weapons, taking the time to pee myself and at the river edge, washed my face and rinsed the taste of sleep from my mouth. I walked back to camp and was admiring Bear Claw as she gracefully moved around the camp getting the coffee and meal ready. Once we were both done eating, Bear Claw cleaned up again and had everything packed away, ready to leave at any time. I collected my traps and had two beavers to clean and skin, Bear Claw did one and I did the other. She was just as fast as I was and did almost as good a job; in fact I thought that with a little practice she would be faster and better at it than I was.

Bear Claw cleaned the two skinning knives and put them back in the pack, but I told her to keep one for herself just in case, until I could get her a Bowie of her own. Bear Claw was shocked at first because squaws were not allowed to keep weapons. Then she realized that I looked at her as an equal and depended on her being able to help protect us both, so she put the strongest of the skinning knives inside her right moccasin boot. I gathered my pack mule, Bob, and loaded up to move on.

We walked all-day and just before sunset found a nice clearing to set up camp. Bear Claw started a fire and began to make dinner while I scouted around the site, picking up firewood and making sure that there were no immediate threats. After settling down to eat, I noticed that Bear Claw was acting shy or something, because she would not look at me. I was wondering if I had done something wrong and was trying to figure out a way to ask what I had done, when Bear Claw stopped in front of me, dropped to her knees and looked right into his eyes.

She said that she was very afraid of joining with me since she had never been taught or had anyone explain what she was suppose to do, and she did not want me to be angry or upset with her. Bear Claw just begged me to teach her whatever she needed to know and not punish her too severely for not being a good squaw and knowing how to take care of a man. I told Bear Claw that she was not required to do anything she did not want to do and I was not going to punish her for anything. I enjoyed her cooking and her company. That was all that I required from her for now. She asked if she was not pretty enough for me. I said that she was very pretty and that I was glad she was traveling with me. I asked her how old she was and found she was only fourteen. Bear Claw smiled and said she still wanted to take care of me the way a woman was supposed to. I said as soon as she learned how or what she wanted to do, I would let her, thinking that she would not be able to get help or instruction with us being alone out here. That night, Bear Claw set up the bedroll and climbed in first, waiting for me to climb in next to her. I set the rifle next to me and checked the fire, since Bear Claw had put the last of the wood on the fire before climbing into the bedroll the fire would burn for quite a while. I set the pistol under my right thigh and put my right arm around Bear Claw resting my hand on her right breast. She just smiled and closed her eyes, moving next to me.