Bear Attack

My name is Cheyenne Cody Jones, a fur trapper, Xstagecoach driver and Sheriff" for a short time in thelittle town of Jasper Creek, Wyoming. "Born in 1844 in Laramie,Wyoming."

My life was almost gone but given back to me by someone veryspecial.

"I, awake, to the sound of raindrops falling lazily on the leaves.

Starting to stretch I feel an agonizing pain in my stomach andall of a sudden realize that what I thought was a bad dream is realand very true. Fully awake now and realizing that I have beenattacked, my vision is blurry as I strive to open my eyes, and lookaround. Thinking it is just because, I'm not awake yet but as I wipemy eyes, I see blood on my hands and realize that my blurred visionis due to blood all over me.

Struggling to sit up, it all comes back in my memory. Ridingbriskly along headed to check my traps, suddenly a grizzly sprangfrom the bushes and as my horse spooked, off I came.

Hitting the ground with a thud, the bear on top of me instantly.Feeling his sharp teeth tear into my body with enormous pain nodoubt screams of fright coming from my mangled body. The will tosurvive extends beyond all pain and suffering.

Close to passing out, struggling to get to my hunting knife.Feeling my flesh being torn away, one bite at a time. I must havepassed out and the bear thinking I was dead, stopped the attack andleft me there.

Looking, down the ravine and seeing the mangled bodyof my horse, and realizing that the grizzly has killed and eaten aportion of the carcass. The Bear has gone but he may return soon.Possibly to eat more on the dead horse, and attack again if he seesI am not dead. Realizing my body is mangled and my clothes tornand soaked with blood, I strive to get to my feet. I must make anattempt to get to my horse. I need my Winchester in case he returnsor I will have no chance at all.

Trying to get to my feet, the pain is more than I can bear.Laying back down on the ground, thinking I will rest for a bit andgive it another shot shortly. Basically falling back to the ground, Ilet out a shriek as the pain of torn flesh and blood pulls from myclothes as I hit the ground.

Laying my head back and closing my eyes to try and gathermy thoughts. I feel I'm going to pass out and sure enough I dosuddenly.

The next thing I remember is hearing the footsteps of someonecoming toward me, the crackling of the twigs as the footsteps getcloser. I open my eyes, but am too weak to raise my hand.

Saying a prayer that it isn't the Crow Indians because they areon the warpath. Suddenly I feel a hand brush across my face. Islowly opened my eyes to the most beautiful Indian woman I haveever seen.

Hoping and praying that she is alone and has compassion andwill help me. Realizing being a white man and her an Indian squaw,it puts her in a precarious situation.

Saying a prayer and hoping that she will help me, and instantly Iknow my prayer has been answered. She raises my head and gentlygives me a drink of water from the canteen she is carrying.

She tears a piece from my already torn shirt, wets it with somewater from her canteen and starts to wipe some of the blood away.She is as gentle as can be, but I still moan in pain from the torn fleshand the dried blood.

Smiling to show her I appreciate what she is doing for me, butit is truly hard to smile when in this much pain. She looks down atme with a smile that is very evident she is a kind and caring person.Her dark eyes sparkle with beauty and caring.

I am truly overjoyed that I have been found and am beinghelped by this Indian woman.

Closing my eyes and gritting my teeth and saying a prayer as shecontinues to gently wipe the blood from my mangled body.

Love can hurt but love can also heal. "The grizzly had cubs andI got too close to them and that is why she attacked me and yet thelove for mankind from this caring Indian maiden will be the lovethat helps me to heal.

The sun is starting to set now and she begins to gather limbsto start a fire. She suddenly heads down the ravine toward my deadhorse. I pray she can get to him, get my Winchester and saddlebagsbefore the bear comes back. I watch her as she moves quickly downthe ravine. She is to the horse in a matter of minutes and soonhas the Winchester and saddlebags and is back at my side. She alsobrought my bed roll which is good.

She puts the bedroll under my head, I'm still hurting terriblybut I have a bottle of whiskey in my saddlebags which she finds,brings over and starts to give me some.

As a fur trapper for many years and dealing with the Indiansome, I have learned some of their sign language. I asked herwhere she is from and how she found me. Seeing that I speak andunderstand some sign language she starts to talk to me.

She tells me she was driven away from her tribe because she wascaptured by a white man. She escaped and went back to her peoplebut had been violated by this man and was considered unclean.

She draws pictures in the dust with a stick, telling me she haslived in a cave for many moons, living on fish from the lake runningthrough the ravine. How uncommon is this I asked myself and thenthank God that it all came about.

I truly believe she is a blessing sent from God and just maybe Iwas a blessing to her also. After several days of eating small amountsof the rations I had in my saddlebags and her catching fish from thelake that ran through the ravine, we start to become closer as we aretogether more.

We are sleeping out in the open at night on a blanket togetherunder the stars and the clear moonlight. It's mid-June, a warm timein Wyoming. She has patched up my wounds well.

Mud packs made from mud she got from the lake that runsthrough the ravine. She also gets alder bark and heats it in water ina pan I had in my saddlebags. She washes my wounds with the alderbark water.

After several days the wounds are healing very well, I'm startingto get strength back and feel alive again. I again thank God for thisIndian maiden whom I believe was sent to me by the AlmightySpirit.

The sun is starting to set in the West, some three weeks or moreafter she found me. During the time we have been together I havetaught her how to use my Winchester. She has managed to shoot arabbit and other small game for food during our time together.

By now the moon is starting to come up, she has a fire goingand has water heating in the pan and has also found sassafras rootsto make tea. I am able now to move around without too much pain,she has done wonders with my wounds and I am forever thankful.I motioned for her to come and sit with me, as we sit together bythe fire with a full moon giving its night glow that lights up the hillsalmost like the sun during the day.

My bedroll around us, the night air is cool. With a piece ofwood for a pillow and my bedroll around us, we lie down togetheralongside the fire. I feel her warm body touching me and cannothelp but become excited. My arms around her I pull her close andwe snuggle up together. After some time, we do make love.

Now I'm starting to feel a special feeling for this Indian woman,who has shown me true love and caring ever since she found me. IfI can convey to her that I love her and want her to come be withme and she understands, I will take her to live with me at my cabinsome five miles from here.

A Painful Trip

Feeling I was able to travel, I wanted to head back for the cabin.

From the hand signals and the talking we have done overtime, I have figured out that the name of the Indian woman is'Walking Fawn'.

She is a lovely woman and seems to no doubt have a heart ofgold. I tell her in sign language, that I am headed back for the cabinand I hope she will come with me.

She smiles a beautiful smile and nods her head that she will go. Itake the lead and head down the ravine toward the river. Each stepis painful, as I still have an open wound from where the bear tore apiece from my leg.

I start down the ravine carefully with Walking Fawn closebehind me. She sees the pain in my face as I grimace with each step.I stop for a moment and from behind she puts her arms around myneck and kisses me softly on the cheek.

I know that it hurts for her to see me in pain. The pain isexcruciating and I start to wonder if maybe we should wait a fewmore days before making the trip to the cabin.

I need to get back to the cabin for several reasons.

I have left a good amount of hides back at the cabin and beinggone for some three weeks or more now, someone might come byand steal them.

Starting again to move slowly down the ravine with WalkingFawn still close behind me, I move slowly, trying not to slip, but myboot slips off the edge of a rock.

I manage to catch myself but the pain is terrible from thewound in my leg. Again I stop and sit down for a few minutes.

Walking Fawn, consoles me and offered me a drink from thecanteen she is carrying. I take it from her and take a drink, mymouth is dry and it feels great to have water.

I hand the canteen back to her, kiss her hand and smile as shetakes it from me.

Suddenly I hear the sound of horses coming in the distance. Imake a motion to Walking Fawn to be quiet.

There are some trees close by at the top of the ravine, we needto get to those trees so that no one can see us.

Walking Fawn helps me as much she can, we struggle with allour strength to hide quickly.

We manage to make it to the trees and lie down flat on theground,

Indians are coming into sight, and it is six Crow Indians onpinto ponies.

As they get closer, I can see the leader is chief Red Bear. Theypass slowly, looking at the ground as if they are tracking someone.

I'm afraid to even breathe in fear of what might happen if theycatch the Indian woman and myself together.

Soon they have passed, and yet we continue to lay on theground very still until they are far away. After some fifteen minutesor so I stand up slowly and look in the direction they went.

Walking Fawn right beside me, holding my hand and stayingvery close. I motion for her to come with me and I once again startdown the ravine.

Still seeing my horse at the bottom of the ravine with vultureseating away, I get a nose full as we are now downwind from thecarcass.

We need to go this way as it will be the shortest distance to thecabin.

Sure happy those Crow Indians didn't get close enough to theravine to see my horse, "I tell myself".

With a big oak tree close by, I grab a limb and break off a pieceand put it in my mouth to bite on, will help me endure the painwithout screaming are making noise.

Don't want to make any extra noise, with that war party closeby. Walking Fawn is staying close and I'm very happy about that.

She is a woman of not only beauty but of strength andendurance, she has brought me through a terrible thing back tohealth again.

I bite on the piece of oak branch, as I start down the ravine.

This is going to be a very painful trip but it has to be done. Weneed to get back to the cabin and check things out.

I move slowly so that I won't hopefully slip again and fall or cryout in pain. I move slowly and plant my feet firmly as we continuedown the ravine.

The smell of my dead horse permeates the air, I sure hope thatwar party doesn't get a whiff and come back to see what it is.

About halfway down the ravine now with Walking Fawn closebehind me, we continue to move slowly. We are getting closeto the river that runs through the ravine and suddenly I hear abloodcurdling sound.

Oh my God, the grizzly has returned. I look straight ahead,coming down the other side of the ravine toward us. It is the grizzly,headed straight for us.

Walking Fawn is caring my rifle and I turn and motioned forher to give it to me quickly.

I do not want to shoot because I am afraid that war party willhear us.

There is nothing else I can do, the grizzly will no doubt kill usif I do not shoot him.

I have no recourse, so I wait for him to get a little closer. Then Itake aim and slowly squeeze the trigger, the sound of a shot echoesthrough the ravine as the bear hits the ground.

We continue down the ravine toward a small circle of youngsycamore trees.

We will stop there and wait for some time, to make sure the warparty doesn't come back, in case they heard the rifle shot.

The sycamore trees are very close together and are a good placeto hide without being seen. Its late afternoon now and about thefirst of July.

Sycamore trees give good shade from the sun as Walking Fawnand myself sit down to rest and wait to see if the war party returns.

I need to go skin out that bear, need his hide and carcass forfood. I have Walking Fawn wait for me. I head for the bear as fast asmy riddled body can move.

Soon I am there, I start at the rear of the bear and slice up hisbelly toward the head. Then the legs and I start to pull the hidefrom the body. Slowly and surely I pull the skin from the legs.

Cutting to remove the hide from his back, I pull and cut. This ishard for one person, especially someone at half strength or less. Afteran hour or so I finally have him skinned.

Throwing the hide over my shoulder I start for the thicketwhere Walking Fawn is waiting. Will dry the hide by putting it onthe wall of the cabin when we get back home.

Soon I am back with Walking Fawn and she greets me with akiss and a drink from the canteen.

Using my saddle bags as a pillow, we lay down together in theshade. Hidden well amongst the trees. Walking Fawn cuddles closeto me I hold her tight.

After sometime we both fall asleep and when we awake it'salmost sunset. I do not want to start a campfire because of that warparty.

We will simply huddle close together and spend the night here.We will head for the cabin in the morning after daylight.

We find some wild strawberries and some snake berries, we picksome to eat and there is still one piece of hardtack in my saddle bag.

Walking Fawn picks some of the berries and bring them backto me. She sits down with me and we share the berries and shealso gets the piece of hardtack. A full moon is coming up over thewestern horizon and daylight is fleeing fast.

After the berries and hardtack, and a drink from the canteen, welay back to relax, staying close together. Keeping my Winchester andmy Colt 45 loaded and close by in case they are needed. The windhas shifted now and the smell of my dead horse isn't so bad.

Next thing I remember is waking to the sound of birds singingin the trees nearby. It's day light now and the cool damp night airhas dulled the bad smell of my horse.

I wake Walking Fawn and motioned for her to get up, so we canhead for the cabin. After doing our normal morning thing, we headout quickly for the cabin. Not only because I want to get there butbecause we need to get away from this rotten horse carcass.

I'm not moving very fast and still have a lot of pain. After aboutfour hours or so, suddenly the old cabin comes into sight.

The skins I had hanging on the walls of the cabin are still there.I feel happy and relieved because this is how I will get money fromthe trading post to buy some needed things.