From Fire to Frost

Leaving the Big Burn Behind

    The next two days continued on in the same manner, but the group passed not a single other homestead or farm. Towards evening of the second day, they finally left the burn area. For a very short while, no one noticed it. But it was such a significant change that in less than a half hour, every one of them figured it out, although they did have a helping hand.

    They came across a large alpine lake that had vast marshy areas surrounding most of it. The river which fed into the lake meandered its way through a deeper channel it had carved through the marsh before entering the lake on the western edge. The river then left the lake through the marshy area on the southeastern side before flowing over a series of cataracts into the river below.

    It was a beautiful, breathtaking sight, and the group paused for a few minutes to absorb the sight. They decided to ford the river above the lake and spend the night on the opposite shore. That's when little ever-observant Eva noticed the trees. She gasped, pointing to the other side of the lake. Surprised, they turned to look, then glanced down at Eva in confusion.

    "What is it dear?" asked the widow Bancroft, her brow furrowed in consternation.

    "Trees!" Eva shouted as she hopped up and down in excitement.

    Then it dawned upon them. She was right. For some reason, the trees had ceased growing on the western side of the lake several hundred yards from the water's edge which had given the fire nothing to feed on.  Therefore, the trees and vegetation on the western side had been completely untouched by the inferno that had claimed so much of the mountain. The birds were singing happily in that area, and waterfowl were patrolling the lake in search for food. They watched as a couple of fish jumped out of the lake after some insects.

    "Oh wow," said Laura and Amelia at the same time, "it's gorgeous!" The rest of the group couldn't agree more, and they quickly found a shallow part of the upper river to ford.

    The group stripped off their shoes and socks, the women binding their skirts up and the men rolling their pant legs as high as they would go. Then Eldridge carefully waded across the shallow, but quick-moving waters of the river. He tied the strips of rawhide together and fastened them around a small tree on the river bank. Then he tossed the rawhide back across the river. One by one, each person waded across with James carrying Devin on his back, and Eva on Madelynn's. 

    On the other side, the group found a nice place to set up their camp for the night.  After taking inventory of their supplies, Madelynn decided that she would go hunting the next morning to restock their supply with fresh game. As far as meat went, after dinner that evening they would only have the dried beef and salted ham left, which would stay indefinitely.

    As Eldridge dug out furrows for each person, James and Amelia were gathering firewood and getting a camp fire started. Laura, meanwhile, was refilling their waterskin over by the river, so Madelynn decided to take her children foraging.

    Bucket in hand, she took Devin and Eva down to the marshy areas which were thick with cattails. She showed them how to dig up the bulbous roots of the cattails which could be eaten raw, or roasted. They tasted a bit like a mix between a mild onion and celery. The three dug up an armful of them and then moved onward.

    They also found some wild carrots growing further back from the water's edge, the white plumey tops standing erect several feet into the air. They gathered as many as they could; a good baker's dozen in all. Then they realized, as they neared the forest's edge, that huckleberry bushes were growing in abundance amongst the trees.

    They filled up their bucket with as many berries as it could hold, until the berries were threatening to overrun the sides. The three returned to the lake and rinsed everything in the cool, fresh water. With their trophies in hand, they returned back to camp.

    When the rest of the group saw the haul that Madelynn's family had found, their eyes grew wide with excitement and Laura practically began to drool.

    "Fresh vegetables and berries!" she exclaimed. "I have been craving berries for so long," she told them.

    Madelynn offered her the bucket with a  grin, and Laura immediately plunged her hand into it, grabbing a handful of them and shoving them into her mouth, moaning in contentment. Eva and Devin both giggled, but Eldridge, ever the voice of reason, removed the bucket from his wife's hands.

    "If we don't take these away from her there's liable to be nothing left for the rest of the group," he said with a fond look at his wife. Laura pouted good-naturedly and they all sat down around the campfire.

    James had built up the fire while they had been foraging and it had now burnt down to a decent bed of coals. They laid the cattail roots and carrots into the cast iron pan and set it into the coals to cook.

Eldridge had whittled a spit the previous day and now used it to spear the last of the bull meat. He held it over the fire and turned it slowly to allow it to heat through on all sides.

    It didn't take long for the smell of the meat and roasted vegetables to start wafting through the air. Before long, the juices in the meat were sizzling and the vegetables had a nice char around the outside.

At the beginning of their trip, each of the travelers had cut a strip of fabric from their own garments and they used these strips to handle the hot food as it was removed from the fire. With a handful of freshly roasted beef, roots, and carrots, the group dined sumptuously on their fare.

    "I tell you," said Mrs. Bancroft, "when you have nothing, a dinner such as this makes you feel like a queen. Thank you, McDonoghue's, for the food you have provided." The rest of the group echoed her sentiments, and after they had finished their dinner they passed around the pail of huckleberries, eating handfuls of them.

    When the it was half empty, Amelia wisely took it away from them tucked it out of sight. "These will make an excellent breakfast tomorrow morning," she told them. Without arguement, the group settled down into their divots and conversed about what they would possibly find now that they had left the burn area.

    "If I remember correctly," said Madelynn, as she continued to hollow out the inside of the last bull's horn that she had been working on, "We came across the cabin of several fur traders and a couple of smaller settlements. I don't believe that any of those were more than 15 to 20 people at most. I don't think any of them would have what we will need to get through the winter. I don't even think they had a doctor or a midwife in their populations," she said.

    "That might be true," said James, "but they might still be able to provide us a safe place to spend the night before we move on."

    "I am more concerned," explained Eldridge, "with predators, now that we have left the burn area. I know that we have Mudd to keep guard for us, but I think that once we start heading into the forest it might be wise to have a rotating watch throughout the night. Does anyone not know how to use a rifle?" He asked.

    Of the entire group, the only one who was ignorant of gun usage was Amelia. Even her mother was knowledgeable on how to shoot, load, and clean various firearms. "Well," said Eldridge, looking at Amelia seriously, "I think it might be best if you learn. This is very important survival skill."

    "But I don't understand," said Amelia. "If there is only one rifle."

    "And one pistol," interrupted James.

    "Then why do I need to know how to use it? We already know that Madelynn is the best shot in our group," continued Amelia but she was cut off by her mother.

    "But darling," said Mrs. Bancroft, "You can't expect Madelynn to stay up all night, every night to guard our group. Whether she is the best marksman or not, we will all need to take turns so it is fair to the whole group."

    "I suppose," agreed Amelia hesitantly, not looking forward to sacrificing a portion of her sleep.

    "Since there are so many of us, it won't be much of a sacrifice. We might have to go an hour or two less of sleep, or we could even take turns. Eldridge and James and Mrs. Bancroft could take one night, and then Madelynn, you, and i could take the next night," offered Laura. "That way we would all get a full night's sleep every other night." Everyone seemed to think this was the best plan and quickly agreed.

    "Why don't you come hunting with me tomorrow morning?" asked Madelynn to Amelia. "It will be a good chance for you to learn how to shoot."

    Amelia nodded unhappily. Used to a rather pampered lifestyle, she didn't much care for waking early, nor killing animals. She had expressed, in the days before the fire, how she felt Madelynn's skills were uncouth and unbecoming of a lady.

    Madelynn had always felt it was better to be prepared, so had brushed off the snobbish comments without regard. Especially now, she was grateful that she had the different survival skills she had.

    "While you two go hunting tomorrow, do you mind if I borrow your reel to do some fishing?" asked James.

    "Not at all," said Madelynn. "Ah! There!" she exclaimed. She held the second horn aloft, fully hollowed, and scrutinized it for flaws.

    Both horns had been excavated inside, leaving only a half-inch shell to contain the water. Each horn was approximately two feet long, and about six-inches wide at the base. They would hold just under a half gallon each, the same as her skin. She had carved a hole through the tip of each one as well as a groove around the base of each about an inch from the edge.

    "Let me help," offered Eldridge. "With both of us working on the caps, we might have two useable drinking horns by tomorrow."

    Madelynn nodded with a smile, and tossed one of the hooves his way.  "Can two of you braid us a couple lengths of rawhide about this long?" she asked to the group in general, holding her hands about three feet wide. She figured that would give the bearer enough length to loop it over their shoulder and tuck it under their arm.

    Laura and James rose to the task and worked together to tightly weave three thin strips of rawhide into two braids. They made sure to pull the same amount on each strip as they worked it so that the braid had an even strength throughout the whole length. They left both ends unknotted so that Madelynn and Eldridge could fasten them to the horns as they chose.

    Meanwhile, Madelynn and Eldridge bent over their projects, finely carving, fitting, and making minute adjustments to the caps. As the four people worked on their respective tasks, the group continued to talk, nestled down into their beds. Amelia stirred up the fire from time to time to give the workers more light to see by.

    Finally, a couple hours into sundown, both carvers had finished and held up their caps for examination.

Each hoof had been whittled down to a plug that fit snuggly into the base of each horn. There was a wide button, about two inches in diameter, on the top of each one to grip the cap with. It was to this button that Madelynn and Eldridge had attached another strip of rawhide, tying it securely to the braid of rawhide around the groove at the horn's base. The other end of the braid had been threaded though the hole at the horn's tip and then tied off.

    "They're perfect, Mama, and Mr. Mason," commended Devin proudly.

    Mrs. Bancroft and the others agreed. "What a clever idea," said the widow. "Whatever would we do without you?" she asked to Madelynn.

    Madelynn smiled at her in response, and thanked her, but noticed as she looked towards the stately older woman that there was a glint of malice and jealousy in Amelia's eyes, sitting beside her mother.  The next second, Amelia was fawning over the horns as well. Madelynn frowned, unsure of what she had seen, and shrugged it off.

    Her own daughter had already fallen asleep, curled up with Mudd, who had his head laid over her back protectively. Madelynn looked at her son. He was laughing about something James had said and she couldn't believe how much he looked like his father at that moment. She randomly took ahold of his arm and pulled him towards her.

    Caught off guard, the small boy sqwauked in surprise as he went tumbling into his mother's lap. He giggled as Madelynn wrapped her arms around him and cuddled with him. "Mama?" he asked her, his face full of confused happiness.

    "Nothing," she said, "I just wanted to snuggle with you." She buried her nose into his hair and sighed with contentment, closing her eyes briefly. He giggled again and snuggled back.

    The group gazed at them fondly, reveling in the sight of such motherly love. "Awww... I can't wait!" said Laura impatiently. "I can't wait to hold my little one in my arms. I hope it's a boy as strong and smart as you," she told Devin with an excited smile.

    "No matter what you have," said the widow, reminiscing, "There's nothing better than the smell of a baby." She pulled her daughter closer and embraced her fondly, while Amelia smiled with a patient look in her eyes, rather embarrassed. "Each baby has their own smell," the widow explained, "but it helps the parents and the baby bond with each other."

    Madelynn opened her eyes, reverting back to her tough, responsible persona. "Alright Mister," she told her son, "Off to bed with you!"

    He sighed in acknowledgement and scooted off her lap. He ran off into the woods so he could go to the bathroom. When he returned, he burrowed into the furrow with his sister. Madelynn laid down beside her children and covered them all with her coat.

    The rest of the group mirrored her actions while James banked the fire. One by one, the group settled down to sleep, the bed of hot coals keeping their feet warm. The night passed smoothly and quietly, with barely a rustle to be heard around them.

 Early the next morning, before the sun had touched the horizon, Madelynn, Amelia and James rose. James took the makeshift fishing pole that Madelynn had brought from New Haven and headed for the lake. The women took the rifle and entered the woods, which were quiet and dark. They traveled deeper into the forest, looking for signs of animal life.

    "What are we looking for?" asked Amelia in a whisper.

    "Game animals leave trails through the forest when they head for water every morning. More than one type of animal will use the same trail," Madelynn explained. "We are looking for the trails. They will look like very thin paths worn through the vegetation. And they are never straight; oftentimes they weave all over the place."

    Traveling further, Madelynn finally found what she was looking for. She pointed and Amelia, following the direction of her finger, saw a groove in the ground, barely worn through the moss and bushes. It wound it's way through the woods like a drunken man had created it. It was headed for the river back the way they had come.

    Madelynn showed Amelia how to test the air for wind direction, then they headed down wind. A large copse of trees and bushes were not too distant from the path and Madelynn chose this place to hunker down in. Keeping her eyes on the game trail, she explained to Amelia their next steps. "Find a comfortable position. We will be here awhile and you don't want your legs falling asleep under you. You can sit on the ground or kneel, but whatever you do, don't make a lot of movement. They will be able to hear us long before they could see or smell us."

    Amelia sat cross-legged on the ground next to her and then watched as Madelynn showed her how to load a rifle. She gave it to Amelia and showed her how to correctly hold it, and look down the sites to properly aim. "It's always best to know the gun you are shooting with," she told her. "For example, this rifle used to shoot straight as a whistle. But over time, the metal of the barrel has started to pull a little. Now the bullets will always fire a little to the right of where you are aiming. If you know this, you can compensate -"

    "By aiming more to the left?" asked Amelia. Madelynn nodded.

    Seeing no game around, and after listening carefully, Madelynn decided to show her more. She demonstrated how to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the rifle and explained to her that proper firearm care would be to clean it after every use.

    "You mean clean it after every time you fire?!" asked Amelia, aghast.

    Madelynn laughed. "No. But after you are done hunting with it for the day you would want to clean it."

Feeling mollified, Amelia nodded.

    Madelynn was about to have Amelia disassemble and reassemble the rifle herself, but just then her ears picked up on the sounds of something moving through the trees. She peeked through a gap in the vegetation and saw a doe making her way down the path. She gestured to Amelia, who leaned forward to see better, then raised the rifle to her shoulder. She sighted down the barrel, exhaled and pulled the trigger. The deer fell in a heap, pierced through the chest by the bullet.

    The two women rose and made their way to the doe, who had been killed cleanly without any suffering. "If I can, I don't shoot females that are pregnant. But this late in the year they have all born their fawns and the fawns are old enough to survive on their own. If your prey didn't die immediately, you will have to finish the job. You would use a hunting knife to stab it, here," and she showed Amelia the spot on the chest of the deer.

    "I could never do that!" exclaimed Amelia, horrified at the thought.

    "So it is better to let a poor animal suffer in pain?" Madelynn questioned, with a raise of her eyebrow.

    "Well no," muttered Amelia, unhappily.

    Madelynn nodded. "If you have the manpower, it is easiest to carry a deer by binding it's legs to a branch, like we will do. But if it is just yourself, you will have to sling it over your shoulders."

    "But then I would get blood all over myself!" exclaimed Amelia, disgusted at the idea. 

    "Well yes," agreed Madelynn, "but if it's a choice between getting blood on yourself and not eating, blood can wash out now, can't it?" Amelia said nothing in disgruntlement. 

    Madelynn had already spotted a long sturdy branch and she broke off any smaller limbs before bringing it back to the downed deer. She used her two lengths of rawhide that were in her pocket to bind the legs of the deer to the pole, and then she and Amelia raised the pool over their shoulders, carrying the deer back in single file. "Of course," mentioned Madelynn, "Ideally you would have your horse with you and then you could just hang the deer's body over the horse's shoulders and carry it back that way. But we are on unfortunate enough to not have a horse available. That being said, if you must hunt alone, never kill an animal bigger than you can manage yourself. I would never shoot an elk or even a large wolf, because their bodies are over a hundred pounds or more. As it is," she said, "This deer should feed our entire group for several day, so I think it will do." 

    It took them a while longer to exit the forest, seeing as how they were weighed down by the body of the doe, but after about 35 minutes they had made their way back to camp. James had already caught several large fish, and breakfast was sizzling over the campfire when they returned. 

    "Well look at that," said Eldridge, "That should feed us for a while". 

    "Yes," Madeline agreed, "Although it will slow down our traveling speed. Still, sacrifices must be made keep the group fed and healthy."

    With the two men carrying the deer, and the women dividing up the rest of their provisions, Madelynn thought that the group would move much slower but seeing as how they were still restricted by the speed of the two children, they actually weren't slowed down at all. They traveled just as quickly as before, pausing to rest every couple of hours, and in that manner they moved throughout the day. 

    "How come we don't dress the deer before we leave," questioned Amelia to Madelynn soberly. 

    "The meat will stay better the longer it is still part of the body," explained Madelynn. "We will butcher it tonight, far from our camp, so the smell of the blood and organs doesn't draw any carnivores to our campsite."