Trouble at the Indian Camp

The pastor addressed the oldest man among ranch workers.

“This ranch has potential and can be a good place for you to stay if the owner of the ranch wants to develop a team spirit with his workers. What would you say to that?”

“He would need to make a lot of change in his attitude for us to agree to that. The beating of his sister was the final straw for us. She’s a saint and he’s the devil.”

The pastor turned to Ari waiting for his response.

“I’ll make those changes if you stay.”

“We want Freya to stay as she’s the only sane one left in the house.”

The pastor smiled.

“Unfortunately, I need to take Freya with me as she needs to pursue an education training course, but I advise you to stay on and I’m sure Ari will do more as a much-needed example of what a mature ranch owner will do to keep his workers happy. Would that be your commitment to these men Ari?”

Ari nodded humbly.

“Yes, sir I’ll follow your advice and with the help of these men we will make this ranch a great place to live and work.’

The pastor smiled and spoke to the oldest man among those workers.

“I think you’d make a great foreman for the ranch and give some good advice to this young ranch owner.”

The man nodded and indicated his fellow workers should unpack their belongings.

Ari retreated to his room to sleep off the effects of his beating from the workers and the woman entered the home to prepare meals for the workers. She moved her husband into the room vacated by Freya as her protection at night and Ari gave them respect for their privacy.

Freya was placed in a boarding school to learn to be a teacher and the local Lutheran community covered expenses of her board and tuition in expectation that on her graduation she’d be placed in one of their schools around Manitoba. The tutors were amazed at the depth of her knowledge and marvelled at this until they learned her mother Brigid had been trained as a teacher herself before marriage. Freya drank in all the knowledge given through her tutors and was constantly in the library during her free hours. It was finally determined this young woman had the skills to pass on her knowledge at the college and on her graduation, it was decided to employ her as a teacher in this training college rather than send her out to one of the remote schools in Manitoba. Not only did she have the book knowledge but had acquired teaching skills tutoring her siblings in the home as they learned the basics of education under her teaching.

Life on the Gustafsson ranch was proceeding under the guidance of the elder worker who Ari had confirmed as the foreman in charge when this had been urged on him by Pastor Johanson who still included an occasional visit to the ranch to check out the wellbeing of his flock and offer them religious instruction.

Ari was still a headstrong young adult prone to occasional fits of temper in getting the work accomplished around the ranch. He was quite proficient in managing livestock and seeing to the overall supervision of maintenance but not so proficient in managing the business of the ranch. Occasionally he’d attempt to order the woman of the home around but as her husband who now lived with her in the home threatened him with retribution and this man had taken the lead in punishing him when he’d beaten his sister Freya, he was careful to not overstep in his demands. The time would come when he’d find a wife and get rid of this woman and her husband.

Ari realized his sister Freya had been an asset to the ranch as she’d managed home and business very effectively, but he was too proud to ask her to come back and help him run the ranch and had to make do with the people he had working for him. He understood that the foreman was the key to keeping the workers at the ranch as they respected him, so he never challenged this man and was careful to give him respect and direct his occasional fits of anger against the rest of the workers.

Ari had approached the pastor on his occasional visits requesting help in finding a suitable wife to help him on the ranch and produce children for him. But the pastor had made it plain that Ari still had to make some changes in his attitude. If he couldn’t get along with the people, he had working for him and had a track record of a lack of respect for women then the pastor could not recommend any family release their daughter to him as wife.

But after three years had gone by Ari tried contacts outside the Lutheran community looking for a wife, but his reputation had spread beyond that community much to his surprise and he began to take stock of his need to make corrections in the way he thought and acted if he was to have fulfillment in marriage.

He was puzzled at the idea women were not there to be controlled by men and do their bidding but were to be treated as equal partners in a marriage. His father Bjorn had been rough on his mother at times and that he reasoned was the norm. Bjorn had ruled the children with a rod of iron and punished them frequently with the belt too and Ari felt that what he’d seen modelled as a child in the home was to be the role of a husband and father.

He’d observed that the husband and wife occupying space in the ranch house had a bond of mutual respect that was obvious and when Ari had shouted at the woman the husband had come to her defence and warned Ari to back off. To Ari this man’s actions were a puzzle. The man should have supported Ari in correcting this woman so he had them marked to send away when he could find a wife.

There came a day when Ari was travelling around the ranch with the foreman and another worker. They’d been travelling for a day to inspect their cattle looking for newborn calves to brand with the distinctive Gustafsson brand. He’d learned previously through one of the workers taking recreational leave in the city he’d seen an occasional beast at the cattle markets bearing the ranch trademark. It was common for itinerating unemployed cowboys to traverse the ranches on an onward journey and steal some of the cattle to drive to market through remote paths on the borders of ranch property for their survival money.

Ari was suspicious some of his men could be involved in assisting these itinerants to steal for money, but the foreman assured him none of their workers was like that and they were religious with a good reputation in the community. They were reaching the limits of the property on the second day when they came over the hill to find a camp of Dakota Indians by the river. Ari paused in surprise and turned to his foreman.

“Get your rifle. We need to drive these Indians off our property they are probably the ones selling off our cattle.”

The foreman put up his hand to stop Ari.

“Leave them alone. What you call your ranch is land stolen from them by our government and given away. The ranchers let them itinerate through the land taken by the government and assigned to settlers in most cases as they understand they’ve been displaced and don’t have any place to go but move around their ancestral lands now under legal title to the settlers.

Our workers are friendly to them and would take their side if you try and act rough with them and these Indians would certainly not steal your cattle. Your father would have let them stay and they have inquired where the old man is so they could pay their respects to him after a long absence. I told them Bjorn was dead and they were sad to hear that as he’d been good to them. I’m surprised you didn’t know about this arrangement though I concede it’s a few years since they reappeared and camped here to fish and hunt wild game.”

“I don’t want them on my land!”

The foreman turned to the other worker who was handling the branding equipment.

“You want to express an opinion on this discussion Lars?”

“Leave them alone. You touch them and the rest of us may take the belt to you again. The men are not very happy working here and only stay because of the foreman and pastor; they are our elders. So, keep that in mind.”

Ari was shocked at this outburst and turned on the one holding the brand.

“Pack your things and get off my property!”

Ari turned and rode his horse toward the camp and the Indian chief’s braves rose from around the campfire in the expectation of a pleasant greeting. The foreman sped to greet them giving a quick explanation and turned facing his boss blocking him from any move against the Indian camp. Ari raised his rifle and pointed it at his foreman. The cowboy dropped his tools and mounted his horse speeding to the side of Ari who had now come to a halt. He reached over and snatched the rifle out of Ari’s hands and Ari reached over and punched at the cowboy who raised his whip to strike in response. The foreman barked a command to restrain the cowboy. Then faced Ari.

“I’m telling you to ride back to the ranch now and when I get back from our job on the ranch you and I are going to have a serious talk. This cowboy is going to stay with me until we complete our work and from now on you will respect the Indian first nation just as your father before you did. They have a perfect right to be here, and they are under our protection.”

He turned to the chief who’d now made an appearance and looked puzzled at the exchange and greeted him using the Dakota language. The camp braves had materialized from everywhere and had their bows and arrows at the ready to protect their chief. Ari took it in quickly and decided retreat was in his best interest.

“Give me my rifle!” He commanded the cowboy.

“When you get back to the ranch it will be returned to you. Now do what my boss tells you to do and ride back to the ranch house.”

Ari rode off quickly shouting insults at the two and threatening their jobs when they returned home, and the foreman turned to the chief smiling explaining away the situation quickly and headed to the chief’s tent. He turned to the cowboy.

“Bring two of the cattle. We will slaughter them and present to the camp as a peace offering. We will stay here this evening and complete the rest of our work tomorrow before heading back to the ranch quarters.”

That evening they all feasted while the hides were set aside for processing next day. They were a poor substitute for the buffalo that had been hunted almost to extinction but welcome, nevertheless. The chief had noticed the foreman’s interest in one of the single women serving them and smiled. It had been a while since Running Squirrel’s husband had died during one of their hunts and his braves all had their own women. There was a surplus of women in the camp. They certainly were not a liability as their skills were of great importance to the tribe but perhaps, they could spare one if this paleface fancied her. The chief spoke and addressed the foreman in the name the tribe had chosen for him long ago.

“White Wolf how is your wife and family?”

The chief knew from reports gleaned from the cowboys who served the perimeters of this ranch all about the foreman, but it was an opening point of conversation between both.

“Chief Sky Eagle my wife died giving birth to a child many moons ago and the child did not survive more than a few weeks before joining its mother in the sky hunting grounds. I’ve been working on this ranch for a few years now and it keeps me busy, and I try not to remember how good it was to have a wife to share my life.”

He laughed but the opening of that memory bought him sadness.

“My daughter Running Squirrel also lost her brave husband several moons ago and needs someone to take her sadness away White Wolf.”

“I’m so sorry to hear of the misfortune of your daughter Running Squirrel Chief Sky Eagle. Which one of these women is your daughter?”

The chief pointed in the direction of the woman who’d caught the foreman’s eye. She was beautiful and carried herself proudly. Her brown skin oiled shone in the reflection of the campfire. The chief called to her, and she smiled and sped to her father’s side to do his bidding.

“White Wolf needs to have some more food Running Squirrel.”

She glanced at the foreman and smiled. The Indians liked this man. He was respectful and helpful to the tribe, so she had a positive view of him too. She speculated on his age. He still looked youthful, and she wondered whether his white squaw was as friendly as he was. He spoke their language well for a paleface. She sped to get more food for this friend of their tribe. His eyes had communicated something that made her feel tight in the chest and she wondered what that was. The chief turned to his ranch friend.

“I think Running Squirrel would make you a good partner to take away your sorrow White Wolf. I would like to see you take her with you when you go. It would make our friendship even closer too. You should think about that.”

The foreman was stunned at this direct approach and glad the cowboy was busy with the braves consuming some of their liquid refreshments that made the heart merry. He stammered.

“Chief you have done me great honour to make this suggestion. Your daughter is a prize any brave would fight for, but she is a worshiper of the spirits of the sky and earth and I’m a worshiper of the great God of all creation. She would not be happy away from her familiar culture and having to deal with palefaces daily. I could not do that to her even though she is a prize to be sought after by any man.”

The chief was not convinced of the sincerity of White Wolf’s refusal but flattered by his friend’s response. Running Squirrel returned quickly, and her eyes sought the meaning behind White Wolf’s penetrating eye communication as she rushed to perform her errand. Now on returning she detected a yearning in those eyes and her eyes communicated to him in return asking what it was his eyes were asking. Chief Sky Eagle read these messages and noted the interest his daughter had in this man. He waved her away and she continued to lock eyes with White Wolf as she went seeking a response. The chief laughed and clapped his hands turning to foreman White Wolf.

“My daughter will accompany you when you return to the ranch homestead, and you have my blessing. He reached over and took the hand of the foreman making a quick cut in his finger then he made a similar cut in his own finger placing the two fingers together mingling the blood. We are now brothers White Wolf. This places us under obligation to defend each other as brothers do. We are now family.”

The foreman sat silently for some time shocked at the rapidity of their changed relationship. He felt a strong connection to this tribe now, but it had happened so suddenly he was lost for words to express how he felt. Finally, the enormity of this act was balanced with the reality of what this would mean. The Lutheran community would be aghast at the thought of his seeming apostacy in marrying one of the heathens.

To be continued.

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