Freya Inherits the Ranch

As a Lutheran the foreman would feel uncomfortable if he were not married to his Indian bride in a Christian ceremony and have the marriage recorded in government records, He knew marriage with Indians had been done frequently during pioneer days so it was not unheard of, but he was unsure how his fellow workers would handle him bringing Running Squirrel back with him even though he had a strong urge to have her now. There were no appropriate quarters for him to take a wife anyway. Then there was the possibility Ari would send them all away from the ranch after the way he’d been defied today. Where would he take her then. He explained this to the chief who shrugged his shoulders.

“Then you can live with us White Wolf!”

The chief clicked his fingers, and his closest advisor sped to his side.

“Find accommodation for the cowboy with my braves and prepare an empty tent for White Wolf to sleep in as our honoured guest.”

The chief ushered him to the prepared tent where he found mats had been laid out with covers in case needed during these cold nights and White Wolf the now blood brother of the chief was directed to rest. In the morning he’d leave to complete his work on the ranch with the cowboy then head back to face whatever eventuated at the ranch home.

White Wolf was settling down to sleep when the tent flap was drawn back and the wife of the chief entered with Running Squirrel. The chief’s wife directed her daughter to lie down with this man as she was now considered to be his wife, and it had been explained how the chief her father and this man were brothers. Running Squirrel lay down and locked eyes with this man. She now understood what his eyes had been communicating and with her parents blessing she was now content with the answer to her eye’s questions. She would go wherever this man took her and serve and defend him. If any man touched him in anger, she had her knife at the ready. A wave of relief and peace went through White Wolf’s body. Come what may she was his wife now and he reached over to embrace her which she immediately responded to.

The next morning the foreman rose early and embraced his new wife Running Squirrel then moved to visit with the chief who was counselling with his braves. They all rose having been made aware of the blood mixing ceremony the previous evening. White Wolf now had even more status in the tribe. The chief greeted him warmly and called for the women to bring food prepared for them all to eat together. White Wolf saw the cowboy eating with some of the braves and indicated they should return to branding calves as soon as the meal was over.

He requested that Running Squirrel be permitted to remain with the chief until he’d prepared a suitable place for her to live with him. He also disclosed to the chief that there was tension at the ranch, and he was not sure if he’d be welcome there but would be in touch with him soon to disclose his plans. He also expressed his joy at being given the chief’s daughter as wife and promised he’d cherish and defend her.

The foreman did not disclose to the cowboy his marriage the evening before as they worked together to finish the branding work and headed back to the ranch arriving there in the evening. At first, he thought of visiting Ari to get the question of his employment settled then on second thoughts headed for the barracks to get a good rest before dealing with that issue the following day. He was already missing Running Squirrel and anxious to settle everything so he could be with her again.

But when he reached the barracks, he found the men engaged in anxious conversation. He inquired what was troubling them. Apparently, Ari’s horse had arrived back at the ranch headquarters without him. They’d spent the day looking for him and were not able to locate him. They’d not been back at the barracks long and had just eaten their evening meal. They were waiting for the foreman’s instructions as to what to do. This was an unexpected turn of events so he ordered them to bed as they would have to be up at first light to renew the search.

Next morning the foreman decided to retrace their steps back toward the Indian camp Ari had commenced his trip home from two days before at the Indian camp. They’d spread out so that the group would be widely separated and if any man found evidence that may lead to a solution as to what may have happened, they were to fire their guns, and the foreman would head over to that direction to look at what they’d found. They were hoping to find him alive.

Perhaps he’d been thrown from his horse spooked by a snake. There were lots of them around, but none were venomous. Perhaps he could be injured and unable to walk so the men were instructed to call his name frequently hoping to hear a return cry for help. The foreman frequently scanned the sky looking for raptors. If someone was in trouble and unable to fend for themselves the raptors were always circling waiting for the eventual feast.

In the back of his mind the foreman wondered about mountain lions. They were becoming less frequently sighted in this part of Canada now but if a person were injured and helpless they could be a tempting feast. He felt a twinge of conscience at the cowboy denying the request for return of Ari’s rifle. Perhaps they should check out the hill areas with their thick tree cover on the return journey. They reached the Indian camp and explained why they were back in force. The chief and his braves mounted their horses and spread out into the hill areas. They were skilled in picking up traces of people passing through an area and would be an important part of solving the problem of Ari’s disappearance. The Dakotas communicated long distance by a series of calls only they could interpret and one sped to where the foreman was travelling. A body had been found. The foreman fired his gun into the air and slowly his team of workers converged in his direction along with the Indians.

Some of the Indians had followed the river course which was not in a direct line between the camp and the ranch headquarters. The team had been searching in the wrong direction. The chief sent most of his braves back to camp and accompanied the foreman and his team to the river where a lone Indian stood over a body. Apparently, Ari had been swimming in the river and drowned at some point further up toward the Indian camp and his body had been washed down and lodged in reeds from where the Indian brave had retrieved him. They loaded the body on an Indian pony and headed back to the ranch with the workers while the Indians returned to their camp.

When they reached the ranch barracks the men began gathering their personal effects to load on the model T one of them owned. They’d return to the city and find work there, but the foreman asked them to continue running the ranch and he’d head to the city to get advice from their pastor. If Freya could be persuaded to return, then all would be well as they had confidence in her management skills. That way they would continue to have secure work and a much more pleasurable environment under her direction with the foreman’s help. He asked the owner of the model T to take him to the city to work things out. He was confident he could run the ranch operations, but the business and government issues were beyond his expertise, so they needed Freya. He also had to request the pastor to come and perform the burial rites and of course confess his wedding to Running Squirrel and have a proper western wedding according to his culture. But would the pastor perform such a wedding between a Lutheran and a woman of the Dakota nation?

Pastor Johanson left his appointments in the hands of his wife Annika and followed the foreman in his own vehicle over the hours of dusty road travel until they reached the ranch. He was accompanied by Freya who as the eldest in the Gustafsson clan was now the owner of the ranch.

They buried Ari in the family grave plot a half kilometre from the ranch house. It contained the remains of grandparents, parents and some of the other family members who’d chosen to be buried at the family memorial site. Each grave was identified by simple wooden crosses detailing their names and years of their life with no accompanying messages.

Freya wept over her parent’s graves as she remembered her childhood but had no tears to share for Ari. The service was attended by all the workers who secretly were happy Ari was no longer in control. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders not having him grumbling at them every day. They flocked around Freya hopeful she’d agree to return and be their employer. Freya was struggling with this responsibility to return to the ranch that carried so many negative memories of the brief time she’d shared there with Ari in control. She loved her teaching work and was loth to set it aside.

That evening exhausted she sat with the pastor to discuss the way forward. She preferred to continue her teaching career but felt obligated to continue the Gustafsson name by assuming control over the ranch. The workers had pled with her to consider coming back until she was too tired to receive their visits anymore. The pastor watched her as she struggled with her options. Finally, she sighed.

“Pastor, I suppose I have an obligation to return to the ranch for the sake of these workers, but my heart will not be in it. I suppose I’ll have to pay back the investment the church has put into my education so we will need to calculate that amount, and I’ll find a way to use ranch funds to pay that back.”

The pastor considered that for a while before responding.

“Freya you can be of much greater benefit here at the ranch as your employees are all Lutheran and supporters of the church. In a sense their contributions to the church financially have been part of your sponsorship in education so you would be repaying at least some of our community who supported you by offering them continued employment and making it possible for them to continue their financial contributions to the church. I think the elders would agree with me on that point though the college will certainly fight to retain your services.

Let’s assume you take over control of the ranch as of now and we will adjust the needs of the college in other ways. Some of these men have only had a partial education so you could consider offering them further education here as their tutor. The foreman tells me that you have an Indian encampment on the ranch. Perhaps you could give them language lessons to help them fit into the new reality of English domination of this country now. I will need to arrange for your personal belongings to be packed up and sent to you as soon as I return to the city. Now I think you will need a partner to share your life with. Have you met anyone who appeals to you as a suitable husband to share your load?”

“Not now Pastor. There are some men I’ve met who I like very much but marriage is for life, so I’ll need to think about this for quite a while. I’ll let you know if I decide and will always welcome your input too.”

Pastor Johanson nodded.

“Now I want to talk with you about your foreman Freya. He told be after the burial that he’d taken an Indian woman as his wife and wants to have it legitimized by a Christian marriage. I’m not happy he did this and unsure if I could legitimize this. You know what it says in the Bible about being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Do you have anything to say about this.”

“Pastor, I have full confidence in this man you recommended to us to hold this responsible position as foreman and the workers obviously look up to him. I’d welcome his Indian bride into our community and make her feel at home. If he’s chosen to take her as his wife, I’d respect that but of course you must decide whether you could confirm what he’s already done in a Christian way. I’ll talk with him tomorrow morning and ask him to bring her to our ranch complex. We’ll have to construct a place for them to live. I’d gladly take her into our home, but I know she’d feel uncomfortable here where we speak a different language, and she needs to have a space of her own to retreat to. Perhaps she would be my first pupil to learn to converse in English which seems to be the predominant language our government will be working in for the future. I still prefer our Swedish language though.”

The pastor nodded his head in agreement.

“With your permission I’d like to take rest now Freya, Tomorrow I return to the city to arrange for a replacement for you at the college and to pack and send your personal belongings to the ranch. I’ll try to make more regular visits here but at least my talented wife Annika can make the journey to give you support.”

Freya smiled happily. It was all coming together and she could see this was her assigned responsibility to care for those who relied on the Gustafsson ranch for their livelihood.

“Thank you for sending Annika as she has been a mother to me who I’ll always cherish.”

Early next morning they all saw the pastor off as he headed back to the city to care for issues raised by Ari’s death. Freya called the workers for a conference and assured them she was dedicated to serve them as their new ranch owner and would always be willing to help them with their personal difficulties too. She suggested some of them may wish to improve their education and almost all of them accepted her offer of night classes. Then she called the foreman. She’d always called him foreman but was anxious to make it more personal, so she wanted to know what his real name was. He smiled as he remembered he did have a name. He was so used to being called foreman or white wolf that it was strange to resurrect his real name again.

“Freya my real name is Nilsson, Erik Nilsson.”

“Do you prefer me to refer to you as foreman or Erik in front of the workers Erik?”

“Erik would be nice Freya as I’d like to use that instead of foreman with the team as I think that makes for a better working relationship. But they’ll certainly know I am the foreman by title if I must pull rank. But I need to inform you that the Indians call me White Wolf and I’m quite conversant with their Dakota language as most of the team do to a certain extent.”

“Erik I also understand the rudiments of their Dakota language more so than the rest of my siblings as my father Bjorn interfaced with them and I often accompanied him as the eldest when I was small. Now to your Indian bride. The pastor told me you were married in the Indian manner and your wife will be welcome to join you here. We need to build some accommodation for you and your wife, so I’ll make that a priority now. The pastor is considering your request for a Christian marriage, but I have no say in that.”

“Freya how would you feel about the Indians constructing their traditional dwelling somewhere around the ranch housing complex for my wife and I to live in? We could have it out of sight from the ranch house if you find that doesn’t fit in.”

“If the Indians would like to move their whole campsite close to our ranch housing complex and barns for protection, I’d have no problem with that at all and we could discuss a suitable site, but I suspect they prefer to be close to the river as I recall that was their preference from childhood. Dad used to give them cattle for their food and craft use as I remember but they have not been on our property for a while now so am glad to see they’ve returned. Will you take me to meet the chief? I’d like to pay my respects to him and see to his needs while they decide to locate here. Now I need to investigate our financial situation so please make sure I’m not disturbed for this day. If it’s convenient to you I’d like to have you take me around the ranch the next couple of days and in the process, we can meet with the Indian chief. What did you say his name is? I am quite comfortable with camping out under the stars during the night.”

“The Chief’s name is Sky Eagle, and I’m married to his daughter Running Squirrel.”

To be continued

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