Coal Black (Book 5)

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Ten

Carnage in the Woods

Ethan followed his tracks on the river's edge as he headed east towards home. When they reached the bend in the river, he pulled the mare back to a walk. Dolly came to a halt, pricked her ears, and backed up several steps. The smell of death filled Ethan's nose as he quickly dismounted. He grabbed his rifle and tied the horses to a sapling by the river.

As the young mountain man walked around the bend, his eyes beheld a horrific sight. Down the river was a bear with three large timber wolves feasting on the belly of the large animal. He saw the long rifle, and a man still holding a bloody knife in his hand, lying in the sand. His eyes were open, and he was dead.

He knelt and rolled the man onto his back. It had clawed the old mountain man across his neck and shoulder. The bear hit a major artery, and the man bleed to death by looks of the pool of blood. Ethan smelled the faint odor of gunpowder, but the rifle was cold.

The bear must have charged the man who shot at it. Like Carl always told him about bears, "the first shot just pisses them off." When the bear attacked in anger, the mountaineer stabbed him in the heart. The enraged animal staggered backwards, possibly with one last roar, then he fell, and died on the edge of the river. He saw the marks that showed the man tried to claw his way to his camp but only made it several feet before he succumbed to his injuries.

Ethan said a quick prayer over the man and then sized up his next obstacle. The bear hide was worth good money, and there was a bounty on wolf hides. The money alone could buy extra supplies for the winter. Ethan stepped forward, taking aim with his rifle. He watched for any sudden movement as kept his aim. The largest timber wolf on the end bared his teeth and growled, showing dominance over the kill with his two front paws.

"Boom"

Ethan shot the timber wolf dead with his first shot. The other two canines scattered into the woods. He knew they wouldn't go far. By nightfall, the pack would arrive.

He reloaded and walked forward to check to be sure the wolf was dead and not injured. Surveying the tree line. Ethan pulled the man out of the sand shoreline to the edge of the camp. He covered his head with a blanket.

Then he walked backward to his horses, keeping his eyes on the woods, and moved them near the makeshift camp. He removed both saddles and set it next to the tarped wall. He looked around the back of the camp for dry wood and saw a dark brown horse and a pack mule grazing near some newly sprung green grass. The supplies had been tarped on the east side of the camp.

Ethan walked the horses back to camp for the night and wrangled a rope, securing all five animals within sight. There were coals in the fire, and strips of rabbit meat drying on a rack. He saw the rabbit hides and a leather roll of tools and scrapers lying next to the larder box. The man had rigged his tarp for protection from the northwest.

The trapper's worn saddle was propped in the corner. Ethan saw the fresh pine boughs layered on the floor. The man had planned to camp, cure the hides and dry meat for his journey. After the horses were secured, the dead body covered, he carried armloads of wood, watching the tree line. Then he secured the dried rabbit meat in his pouch, removed the drying rack, and stoked the fire into flames.

Ethan grabbed a piece of warm rabbit jerky from his pocket. The meat melted in his mouth as he stood by the fire. It was too dark and too dangerous to travel through the east valley. On the ridge, the pack would follow him and go after the horses. There were five horses to protect and a wealth of supplies. He knew they would have to wait until daylight to travel to the ridge. He finished his canteen of water and knew he had one more task.