บท 74: onwards
The quileutes were like many of the other native tribes I had met before.
At first, the quileutes were a bit standoffish, which I can't blame, how many people have they ever seen that look like I do.
So quickly, they sent a small war band of their warriors to come and meet me.
As I explained that I was a traveler who only seeked to tell tales, for some food and shelter, they seemed a bit more receptive to my presence.
As it turned out, they had recently had a large number of accidents and sickness in the tribe.
So as a show of friendship, I asked to be taken to any of their wounded or sick.
Again they seemed a bit hesitant, but a young looking warrior who for some reason seemed to be in charge, nodded his head a few times before telling me to follow him.
As we walked, I was able to see deeper into the trees, where two long huts that looked like long houses stood.
They were made out of woven tree limbs and had a thatched roof of dry reeds.
In front of both were a small collection of fires where a group of elderly sat, bundled in animal furs.
As they caught sight of me, a few of the elders started to talk to one another.
But I didn't have a chance to listen in, because I was led into a large open area of one of the longhouses.
Stepping into the dim area that was only lit by a smoldering fire in the middle, I was able to see people laying on mats on the ground.
As I looked at them, I was able to see that some of them had wounds with makeshift herbal bandages, while some looked very sick.
Nodding my head, I turned to the young warrior.
"On my alpaca, or animal friend, there is a large black fur bag, grab it and bring it to me." I said, as I kneeled down next to the person in front of me, to look at their symptoms.
The middle aged man had a high fever and was sweating like crazy.
Looking him over, I didn't see a rash or cuts that might show that it was an infection.
"Probably a cold or the flu." I said as I felt the man's burning head.
Just then the young warrior came back with the bag.
"That animal of yours is quite strange, he spit at me." he said, as he set the bag next to me.
"Yeah, Tony tends to do that to strangers he doesn't know while I'm not around." I said, mindlessly, and with a chuckle, as I opened my herbal bag.
Opening the bag, I grabbed a plant I had gotten in South America.
It's name was Echinacea, and was a miracle plant when it came to the cold or flu.
Grabbing the plant, I turned to the warrior again.
"Please get me some water."
Turning, he left at a run. leaving the other warriors to stand around and watch me.
Looking around, I saw that a steady wind was coming through the open ending of the longhouse.
Turning to the warriors who were standing there watching me, I asked.
"Is there any way we can close the end off, so it will warm up in here?"
They looked at each other for a moment, when one of them separated and pulled a shutter style door across.
It was like the rest of the hut, made of thin woven tree branches and stems, with moss pressed between the cracks.
Now with that done, I turned to the smoldering fire, and threw a few of the branches that lay not far away onto the fire, then pulled the man's mat closer to the fire.
Not too close where he would be burning up, but where he would be warm.
Coming back with a large wooden bowl of water, the young warrior set the bowl by my side.
Nodding my head, I pulled a bundle of fabric I had saved from the old clothes I had come to the Americas with.
Dunking a line of the fabric in the water, I started to cool the man off.
"Someone will need to do this repeatedly, until the fever breaks. I told the young warrior, who seemed very interested in what I had been doing.
Delving back into my large bag of goodies. I pulled out a clay cup that had a small circular lid.
Dumping the clay cup in the water, I added the Echinacea, which I had crushed in my hands then rubbed together to get all the inside properties to activate.
Once that was done, I added it to the clay cup.
Putting the lid on, I set the clay cup in the outside embers of the fire.
Turning to the warrior by my side, I had him continue cooling off the man while I went and started to check the others in the longhouse.
Most of the people in the longhouse were suffering an assortment of different injuries and illnesses.
Most illnesses were a mix of the flu or cold, with your everyday 'ate something bad' issues tossed in.
But those with injuries were the real issues.
Cuts and the occasional twisted ankle, were sprinkled in with those who had severe injuries.
One man had fallen off a tree and had a broken arm I would need to re-set.
While another had a run in with a bear, and ended up with a couple of deep claw marks before the rest of the hunting party he had been a part of could reach him, and ward it off.
For the rest of the day and half the night, I and the young warrior worked to bring these people back to wellness.
At one point, the young man, who seemed to be in charge, ordered the others who had been watching us to help.
And even a few of the women and girls of the tribe contributed, by bringing fresh water, as well as anything else we would need.
With my bag of herbs and my knowledge, we broke the fevers of many of those in the longhouse by giving them herbal teas to fight any infections or illnesses they had.
While those with injuries I helped the best I could.
It truly amazed me to see the unwavering dedication the young warrior put in during the whole process.
Not once did he take a break or stop, even though a few of the others who had started after us had long ago flagged.
Once during the night, when we were finally able to take our first break, I got to ask the young man his name.
'Klee black' was the translated name I got.
And as it turned out, he was the current chief of the quileutes.
Although young, He was a nice enough kid with a good heart for his people.
I ended up staying with the quileutes for a solid four months.
where I told my story's, and helped around the village as best I could.
I also showed them how to make herbal remedies that could help avoid the illnesses they had been suffering, with the local plant life.
And to my amazement, not once did I see or hear of any of them shifting into wolves, the whole time I was there.
But one night before I was to leave, the elders who loved my own stories, decided to tell me the tale of the quileute tribe.
They talked of a deity who came to the clan, and showed them how to spirit walk.
Then of a great betrayal to a chief of the clan, by another member of the tribe, who could also spirit walk.
The member cut off the strand, holding the chief's spirit to his body, making it impossible for the chief to return to his body and to wander the land as nothing more than a spirit.
Filled with rage, the chief wanted nothing more than to return to his tribe and get vengeance on the wrongdoer, who had taken over as chief.
While wandering the surrounding forest, thinking of a way to get back to his tribe, he stumbled upon a completely white wolf.
The wolf seemed so majestic to him, he couldn't stop himself from getting close to the wolf.
As he got closer, he felt a pulling sensation.
And before he could do anything about it, he was pulled into the wolf itself, where he and the wolf merged together as one.
Then as the wolf, the chief returned to the tribe, and killed the traitorous chief.
But not long after killing the traitorous chief, the chief, as a wolf, was attacked by his own clan members, where he was wounded.
Running away, the chief in his wolf form, hid in the forest.
But waking the next day, he realized he was human again, and not a wolf or a spirit.
Returning to the village, the chief told his story to his people, of the usurper, And of his new abilities.
And from that day, the descendants of his gained the ability to change to that of a great wolf to protect the tribe.
It was a very interesting story that shone light on some of the things I had always wondered about.
And it made me wonder.
Who was this 'deity' that showed them to spirit walk?
It is possible that there was no deity, and it could just be a whole mix up of the original story, like how I became the first human.
But who knows.
Early the next day, I set out again, and started making my way East.
Not long after leaving, I saw from a distance atop a large wooded hill, Mount st Helens, and damn, was it majestic.
Continuing east, I made a sort of zigzag, going to anything interesting that I saw and could remember.
Like Yellowstone, with its hot springs, and the numerous other incredible places across America that I never experienced before.
One of my favorites was the great planes, and the massive herds of Buffalo, that could be in the hundreds of thousands
Or when I got to Niagara falls, which was way bigger than I imagined.
But Unfortunately, Toney got sick around that time, and passed away.
I was sad, but how many alpacas have traveled as much as he ever did, and lived such a good life.
I kept the beads of his, and made a bracelet from them.
I wasn't sure why his death affected me so much compared to the other numerous animals I have had and have passed away before.
Maybe it was because he was the only constant that has been with me throughout most of my travels through the America's, or maybe it was because I was tired of being lonely.
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Right. I'm sure most of you are wondering where I went.
Well, let me start with my apologies.
My family and I went to a family gathering a few states away, and decided to drive the whole way.
Which made it hard for me to write, because being cramped into a car isn't the best time or place to do so without getting completely burned out from annoyances.
Sorry about that.
Good news is, I graduated, so I will have more time to do this, so that's cool.
Oh and before I forget.
I will be adding a few more chapters than originally thought, because people seem to want Adam to be a founding father, and so do I. It's a cool little add-on to go onto his resume.
And I would much prefer to go into a little more depth about it than just a synopsis about it.
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