I was out of breath and my heart was thumping so hard that I thought it was going to burst. My legs hurt and looking across the small valley, I could see that my brothers were feeling the same. We had seen the two mule tail deer that we were pushing up the valley to the point where Dad waited quietly until they were in range of his rifle. One was a small doe, but the other was a big four point buck that must have been at least 600 pounds.
The two deer moved cautiously up the valley and we ran along the two sides of the valley making noise to get them to move in the direction they were going. Just then the buck headed for the side of the valley where I was moving. This would lead him away from Dad and I began to run again making all the noise I could to head him off.
It worked. He moved back down the valley and just then I heard the sharp crack of the rifle and the thunderous echo from the hills around us. The buck seemed to stumble, jumped forward and went down. The doe, frightened by the sound turned and within seconds was gone over the next ridge bounding out of sight. We ran down the hill toward where the buck was last seen and when we arrived found dad there finishing it off. “Wow, that’s a big one!” we exclaimed.
The big buck lay there on the ground and it was indeed as big as it had appeared to be. The horns were large, wide and dark brown. There were four points on each side and they looked majestic. Dad’s first shot had gone through its neck and with the final shot in the head to ensure it was dead, it lay with its huge body and legs stretched out among the sage brush. Its noble head lay slightly lower than its body as Dad work over it. Once Dad had finished his work, we each helped by taking a leg and began to drag the big buck back to the car which proved to be no small task.
Mom would be so excited that we got his big deer. The meat was so good and my mouth watered at the thought of the juicy deer stake we would be eating that evening and in future weeks. I was also thinking about the deer jerky that was going to be ready in a few weeks. I love deer jerky. There isn’t anything that tastes quite so good, except a big bowl of homemade ice cream.
I lay dying, with an arrow through my heart.I was lying at the base of a large rock with the sun in my face where I had fallen. When I was hit, I rolled over the edge of the bank and down the ravine to where I lay against the sage brush, partially hidden, but enough in view that it would be easy for the Indians to see me.Each breath hurt and I could taste the blood coming from my lips. I knew that if I was not dead soon, I would be, because they were still there just above me in the bushes near the big rock. I closed my eyes, breathed deeply and with a slight quiver and final involuntary stiffening of my body, I lay still.
They came stealthily around the rock and down the ravine. One had an arrow fit to his bow, not knowing if his shot had been successful. As he gazed at my face he could see that I was already dead. He whopped loudly and taking me by the hair quickly removed my scalp. Standing over me and holding the scalp high in the air above his head his victory cry was heard echoing from the near hills.
I opened my eyes and got up, brushing the dirt from my faded blue jeans and worn plaid western shirt, my favorite one with the pearl snaps down the front, and said, “It’s my turn to be the Indian chief this time.” We laughed and climbed out of the ravine and back up the hill to Shakespeare again. This huge rock rose some 30 feet above the hill side and was a challenge for us to climb, but we could manage it.
We climbed to the top and the three of us, standing, looked out over the valley below. In our position on top of Shakespeare, the breeze gently cooled our sweaty bodies and we felt like we were on top of the world and indeed, we were. We could see the whole world from here.
Taking a deep breath we drank in the wonders of the view. The pink coral cliffs to the left and the green wooded hills that surrounded the rest of the small beautiful valley was a sight to behold.
Just below us some 300 yards lay the cool inviting waters of the town reservoir. Looking beyond the reservoir upon the small friendly town below, we could see the streets laid out in nine perfectly square blocks. We could see the houses and identify the homes of everyone of the one hundred and ten people living in our town.
There was our house, the first one on the main road into town, the one with the huge cottonwood tree in the middle of the yard and home of the highest tree house in the world. A block south was the general store, post office and home where two of our friends lived.
On the right, a bit past that, was the small two room school house where we spent our weekdays and had each year from the first grade to the sixth.
As we sat gazing over the valley and looked down at the reservoir the game of cowboy and Indian gave way to a desire for a cool swim in the reservoir. We climbed down the rock and made our way home to ask Mom’s permission.
Mom was in the garden looking at the vegetables and she looked hot. I thought of how much she liked to swim and determined that we would use it to our advantage. Trying to look hot and exhausted, we approached Mom and to ask is we could go swimming. Her answer was that we could, once the weeds were pulled from two rows of peas.
Even though it was not our favorite thing to do, we made a game of it by throwing the weeds at each other and breaking open an occasional pea pod for the sweet taste of the peas warmed in the sun. I even snacked on a few of the fresh green beans that were not quite ready for picking but were tender and juicy.
When we completed, we found our swim suites and let Mom know we were ready for the cool swim. That’s when we heard it, the sound of the sheep coming up the street. Swimming would have to wait. We rushed outside to see how close they were; not far. There must have been hundreds of them.
We sat on the brick wall in the front yard while waiting for them to arrive.As we watched we could see friends walking behind with men on horseback following the dogs that were barking and nipping the white woolly sheep’s heals to keep them moving and on course.
We joined our friends on the way up the street to the sheep corrals above town. Careful not to step in the wrong places, we ran with the dogs shouting and whistling at the sheep with the men. At the corral, we helped move the sheep into the narrow gates, slapping the soft woolly backs with our hands and shouting like we knew what we were doing. They were crowded so tight into the pens that we could walk across a waving sea of woolly backs from one side of the pens to the other.
When we grew tired of the sheep it was a short distance back home where we decided to spend some time in the upper limbs of the big cottonwood tree. High up in the limbs we listened to the rustling of the green leaves and could feel the gentle sway of the sturdy limbs as they moved back and forth in the gentle breeze. Lying on our backs on the small tree house platform we had built ourselves and looking up through the leaves at the blue sky, I could imagine we were sailing the high seas with the pirates of the Caribbean.
Just then Mom opened the front door and announced that it was supper time. We quickly climbed down the tree and ran to the house. Entering the door, we were met with the delightful aroma of cornbread and gravy with milk and honey, my favorite. We quickly washed our hands and faces and ran to the table. Even though it was our favorite meal we wanted to finish as quickly as possible so I could go back outside until dark.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Here are a few pictures from our visit to Cardinal, Ontario for Karen and Paul's wedding.
It was held on their Hotel that they are remodeling and was a lot of fun.
I have included a picture of the chapel room, Paul and Karen feeding each other cake, Johnny and Gordy.
Kathy and I had fun helping to prepare for the wedding and meeting all of Paul's family. They are all very special people and we are so glad to have them all as family now.
I ducked, and the sound of breaking glass followed instantly, loud in our ears. As I turned, the results of our little scuffle hit us like a brick. We stood looking with our mouths open. There was broken glass on the ground and broken shards of glass still hanging precariously in the window frame.
Mom came around the corner of the house to see what had happened and we realized that we would have to face Dad and explain why the large section of his bedroom window was broken. Neither of us wanted to face the situation, but the hours that followed until Dad arrived home from work gave us time to think in our rooms where Mom send us to cool down. How would we respond when he demanded an explanation?
Fred blamed me for ducking and I blamed him for throwing the rock. I guess we were both at fault for not getting along. We sure wished that we had been a bit slower to anger.
Fred and I had been in the house and something that I had done made him angry with me and to steer clear of his anger, I took off running. I ran down the hallway and out of the front door to evade his catching me. Once outside I had a better chance at avoiding him because I was a fast runner and could keep out of his reach. I ran around the house a couple of times staying comfortably ahead of him. I thought I had lost him when suddenly I found myself standing next to the house just outside of the master bedroom window facing him. He had a rock in his hand and he was good with his aim.
I knew that either way I ran I would be in trouble. To my right, the corner of the house was a good 15 feet away and he would have plenty of time in taking aim to hit me. To my left was the drive way, and would also provide ample time for him to take a good aim. We stood for an instant trying to determine what each other would do next. I waited until he let the rock fly where I stood and ducked just in time for it to speed directly over my head crashing into the bedroom window.
When Dad arrived home, he directed us to clean up the mess and we found that we were working extra chores for the next month to make up for the cost of the window that had to be replaced. It was a good lesson for us both.
I have since thought of the lessons that I learned that day. First, that I needed to be slow to anger and that I should not provoke others to anger. Second, that here are consequences for our actions. And third, that there is forgiveness once we have gone through the steps of repentance.
