Detour to Otherwhen ©
by K Pelle
Chapter 6
Once I'd been warned about the party, it wasn't long before I was in the shower. However, when I got out of the shower I found that Anna had laid out my Métis regalia, which I normally only wore when I went to a Métis Rendezvous. Being a Métis wasn't something I usually flaunted when I was staying at Chuck and Maybelle's. Only since Anna had laid the clothes out for me, I knew well enough not to argue, I just put them on. Of course when I saw that both Anna and Mimi were dressed in their Métis outfits as well, I thought there must be a reason for dressing up. For once I was smart enough not to comment, other than complimenting them on how good they looked.
Their reason was plain when I saw Ellen a moment later; she was also dressed as a Métis. Anna had mentioned that some of the young folks at the dig had been giving Ellen a rough time about being a coloured woman who was horning in on native business, only the kids had used far rougher language. It was obvious to me that this was Anna's way of telling the local tribe that we accepted Ellen as one of us, without the need of saying one word out loud. In any case, it was obvious we were going to attend the party in Métis regalia to set ourselves somewhat apart from the members of the local tribe. Anyone looking at us would have known that we were not Piikani, just from the way we were dressed.
I was wearing a fancy beaded buckskin jacket, complete with fringes, and on my head was a typical Métis cap, with an ornate woven band and a tassel that hung over my left ear. Around my middle I had a woven Métis sash with a fire-bag on my right hip and a ceremonial tobacco bag on the left. The beaded tobacco bag hung beside the long, tasselled ends of the sash, which draped to my knee. Below the waist I wore corduroy pants and 'mitasses' or over-stockings, and on my feet I wore a pair of beaded moccasins. The only piece of the ceremonial gear I wasn't wearing was the big 'buffalo' knife that would have been carried in the middle of my back, tucked inside the sash around my waist. Because of past fracases that I'd seen happen at other dances and parties, I now refused to wear any sort of weapon in those situations. I was almost ready to leave the camper when I noticed that Anna had even dug out my fiddle, so I knew she expected me to play a few jigs at the party, then she'd be able to dance Métis style. I just sighed at the amount of effort we were putting into getting ready for a little party, but I thought I'd be a good sport about it and tuned up the fiddle before putting it back in its case.
As usual when I was around Métis women I felt like a peacock, because they were all wearing old fashioned, ankle length dresses with long sleeves and puffy shoulders. Actually I don't think they were really dresses, but since both the skirt and top were the same colour, it was hard to tell. The top section was called a jerkin or 'Basque' and was closed at the front by multiple small white buttons from waist to chin. It had long sleeves that puffed out above the elbows all the way to their shoulders. The skirt section was long, full and pleated. The whole outfit had almost no decoration of any kind, other than those small white buttons on the jerkin.
So really, the only decorations the women wore were the beaded moccasins on their feet, as well as the typical Métis sash. Anna, whose outfit was made of black velvet, had draped her sash over her shoulders so the two fringed ends hung below her knees on the front, then it ran up and over her shoulders, drooping from each shoulder in a long loop that hung down her back. Mimi's outfit was similar, but in a very dark blue velvet and her jerkin had shoulder puffs that almost touched her ears when she lifted her arms, meanwhile her sash was belted around her waist, the same way mine was. Ellen's dress was a dark green, nearly black, but it wasn't made of velvet. Whatever the material was, it was somewhat lighter in weight and very glossy, so it shifted and shimmered as she moved. She too wore beaded moccasins, but she wasn't wearing a sash. That lack was somewhat traditional since she wasn't an actual Métis, yet was associated with us as a fellow traveller. Of course that fact was something only someone who understood the traditions of Métis would know or probably even notice.
Actually, the way the four of us were dressed, we looked like we had stepped right out of the mid-nineteenth century, but our costume was a statement of our heritage. No matter what else happened, the party was going to be remembered by anyone from the local community just because of our Métis costumes, if for nothing else.
I had been under the impression that the party was going to be a small get together with the family and a few friends at the house, so I was wondering why we were dressing up in our fancy clothes. I was wrong about it being a small get together though and the party wasn't even being held in the house. Instead it was going to be held in Chuck's hay barn, which was really just a roof, held up by stilt-like posts. When we walked over there I saw that the remaining hay bales from last year's crop had been stacked either at one end of the hay barn or around the outside edges of the concrete floor and the floor had been swept clean. By the time we arrived at the hay barn people were already arriving and setting up tables and folding chairs at one end of the open area. A band was setting up on a stage of sorts which had been made out of sheets of plywood laid on a layer of bales down at the end of the barn where the bales had been stacked high. Meanwhile, as I'd been looking over the setup and finding a safe place to stash my fiddle, more people had arrived, joining those that were milling about. Before long there was quite a crowd of people standing around, but I was surprised to find that I recognised most of them, either from meeting them recently or from previous meetings.
As far as I'm concerned, the less said about the lead up to the real party the better, so all I'll really mention here is that Anna, Mimi, Ellen and I were made to feel very welcome. Two of the elders of the local tribe gave a short talk and a ceremonial presentation to each of us, then a representative of the Métis Council did the same sort of thing. The point they were trying to make seemed to be that we were acting in their behalf, yet we had blood ties to the local community, so to them our efforts were something extra special.
I did appreciate the gifts we were given because they were all hand made and were obviously fashioned recently, since each of them were sized and suited to the individual who received each gift. Each of us was given what might be called a travel kit. First of all, we were each presented with a fire bag, which contained a small amount of tinder, a flint and a steel, but most important to me, the bag itself had been decorated with Piikani style beading. The next gift was a pair of travel moccasins,made from the hide of either a very old bull, or else a real buffalo, since the hide was so thick. Unlike ordinary ankle height moccasins, these reached to mid calf, with thongs meant to lace them in place on the leg, but they had almost no beading since they were meant for function, not fancy dress. Lastly we were each given a small pack of travel food, mainly a small amount of smoked elk, pemmican and dried fruit. That travel pack was decorated in Tsuu T'ina beading, which was a surprise in a way, but then I suppose we'd be acting as their representatives as well.
Lastly we each were given a small parchment scroll by the Métis representative, supposedly adopting each of us into one of four Métis families from either Saskatchewan or Manitoba. I felt that was strictly a political gesture and it meant almost nothing to either Mimi or me and little to Anna, but it was kind act, meant to show approval of Ellen's involvement, so I accepted it in good grace. Of course since Ellen was now adopted as a Métis, she was presented with a somewhat simply patterned Métis sash, which Anna and Mimim helped her arrange in the same over-the-shoulder style as Anna wore.
Finally though, all the gifts and speeches had been given and all four of us had expressed our thanks, which meant I could take a deep breath and calm down. As you can probably guess, I'm not a great one for ceremonies of any kind, so I was happy when that portion of the evening was over with and we could actually relax and party.
Before I say much more about that party, there is one other fact I should mention – I'm one of those unlucky people who seldom has a bad hangover the morning after drinking alcohol. As a result of that genetic anomaly, I've never learned to moderate my drinking. I'm not proud of that, in fact I'm somewhat shamed by it, but it's a fact of my life – at a party I will sometimes drink too much, then make a damn fool of myself. That night I actually tried to be sane and sober, and on top of everything else, Anna wanted me to play the fiddle, so during much of the party and the dancing, I was able to hold my drinking in check. Unfortunately as the main party was winding down, Chuck and I managed to get each other into a private party mood. The result of that bit of stupidity was predictable. Out came my fiddle and out came Chuck's guitar, then we started playing for the fun of it, but playing the style of music we did that night is thirsty work. Needless to say, both of us drank far too much and since our hands were busy while we were playing, what we drank was polished off between songs, in other words, far too quickly.
Then life got extremely complicated because Uncle Charlie came over carrying a very old fiddle case and handed it to me.
"This was your grandfather's and since you're the only person in the Bearclaw family that can play a fiddle well, we all thought you should have it. Besides, if you take it with you, I won't have to look at it sitting on the shelf and get pissed at the man who owned it a long time ago. All I've ever been able to play on it are sad songs and those not well. Maybe you can give it back a happy voice and take away the sad memories it holds for me."
And with that he turned and walked away, leaving me holding the fiddle that had belonged to Matoux Delacroix, a man I'd always held in strictest contempt. Just what the hell was I supposed to do with that old piece of crap?
"Well, don't jus' sit there, play us a jig." Chuck demanded, striking an off-key chord on his guitar.
I glared at him, then slowly opened that old case and lifted out the fiddle. A quick check with my fingernails assured me that the fiddle had been recently tuned, then I reached back into the case for the bow.
When I touched that bow to those strings, something happened, something strange, which I can't explain. I've been playing the fiddle since I was six years old and I've played at numerous places with countless people. I know that I've played well at times, but I have never ever played like that before. That night I played songs by the dozen, happy songs, sad songs, love songs, courting songs, as well as jigs and other dance tunes. I played songs that I'd only heard played once or twice before and songs I don't even remember having heard anyone else play. While I was playing that fiddle, I wasn't drinking, but I'll swear I was getting drunk on the songs that I played. Finally though, my right arm and the fingers of my left hand were hurting, so I played my last song for the night, then carefully put the fiddle and bow away and closed the case. I recall having several drinks after that, as one person after another came up to praise my musical skills. Truthfully once I quit playing, the party virtually died and the last hangers-on began to either leave, or if they'd been drinking heavily, most of them were smart enough to crawl into their car or truck and sleep off their drunk.
I recall commenting that there were certainly a lot of drunks who weren't trying to drive away and having Maybelle laugh about it. It seems she knew who the worst offenders normally were and before any of them had started drinking, she'd gone to them and insisted they should give her their keys. I remember giving her a big hug and telling her that she was brilliant and thanking her profusely. Then I think Charlie got sick, or something happened, but I'm not sure what it was.
I do not remember going to bed that night. Unfortunately, I do remember waking up the next morning.
I was shocked to awaken just as the sky was getting light and find that I'd been sleeping out in my tent, snuggled up in my big double sleeping bag. I certainly wasn't cold either, because I had lots of company. In fact I couldn't move right away since I was pinned down by Mimi and Ellen, who were each lying on one of my shoulders. It only took a second or two longer for me to realize that none of us were wearing a stitch of clothing. I wasn't about to get away with sneaking out of that tent and pretending to be innocent either, not since Anna was the person who'd awakened me.
"Hi, Stud," she whispered as she grinned down at me. "I told you this was inevitable, but you could have chosen a better time to act like a lion with a pride of females, so unless you want people to talk about it, you'd best get out of there. I don't think anyone else is up yet, but I don't think you want to shock people either, so it might be an idea to move before others see who you spent the night sleeping with."
Somehow she helped me get out of that sleeping bag without waking the girls, then Anna and I picked up my fancy dress clothes and scooted to the camper.
"What the hell happened last night?" I asked once we were inside and out of everyone's sight.
"Obviously, you had fun," Anna giggled quietly, while hugging and kissing me. "The last I saw of you was when I helped Maybelle get Chuck up to the house and into their bedroom. We had all been drinking quite a lot while you were playing that old fiddle so well, but Chuck had way too much and got sick. You were still sitting with the girls, holding that old fiddle case and being teased silly by the two of them when we left to help Chuck inside. When I came back out you were all gone and I was feeling quite loaded myself, so I came in and went to bed, thinking you'd come wandering in later."
I just stared at her, surprised that she hadn't gone looking for us the night before.
"Don't look so shocked that I'm not upset. I told you before, I fully believe that all men are like cats. I just haven't made up my mind for sure if you're an alley cat or a lion," she laughed softly, then pushed me back toward the bed. "Get into bed, you nut, you need more sleep than you've had, and don't worry, I don't think you made love to the two of them last night. You'd had enough to drink that getting a boner would have been practically impossible, although it wouldn't have hurt anyone if you had. Besides, having you sleep with the girls last night kept them safe from some horny young buck wandering over and accosting them. On top of that, the two of them were just as drunk as you were, so they probably aren't going to remember that they slept with you. Still, I decided to get you out of there this morning to save all three of you some embarrassment."
I was probably still under the influence of alcohol, or else the weird effect of that bloody fiddle, but I wasn't about to argue with Anna right then, so I crawled into bed. Only Anna wasn't done teasing me about the two girls and since neither of us were wearing a stitch of clothing, one thing led to another, then inevitably both of us got quite energetic. Following that I was worn out, but I do recall her looking at me strangely and commenting that she might have misjudged my powers of recuperation. Of course I acted like a typical man by dozing off, so we did finally manage to squeeze in a few hours of sleep.
We rolled out of bed about ten in the morning and Anna made coffee, then went out to get the girls while I used the can, grabbed a shower and got dressed. Then as soon as I gulped down a cup of coffee, I hurried out to help with the morning chores, but Maybelle and the kids had already done most of the essentials. Chuck was badly hung over and as usual was vowing to never drink again, but that morning he had Mimi and Ellen for company. Actually both of the girls looked like they had aged about five years overnight, but as well as that both of them kept looking at me strangely, only for once they were being very quiet.
It was almost noon before anyone really got moving and accomplishing anything though. Then while Chuck and I were talking, we started bouncing ideas off one another about that dang wagon. I'm not sure who came up with the brainwave, but as we were talking, one of us happened to recall the fact that one of Chuck's neighbours had a perfect way of hauling the wagon. Dave Little Wolf had a goose-neck flatbed trailer that he used to haul his backhoe when he did custom work for others and he even had a pickup truck with a fifth wheel to haul the trailer. I remember suggesting that something like that would be darn handy for Chuck to have, which was when Chuck frowned at me.
"Din't ya hear?" Chuck said quietly. "Dave had a big fire in ta winter, lost ta shop, ta backhoe, ta big cat, ta whole shebang. No insurance on any o' it neither, an' now since he's got almost no equipment, he's got no work, so his company is jus' 'bout belly up."
"So he lost the truck and trailer too?"
"Unh uh. He had ta two o' dem parked up by ta house an' they was paid fer, so he din't lose em yet, but he ain't usin' 'em an' ta bank'll take 'em back soon if he caint pay fer t'other stuff. Whatcha thinkin' o' doin'?"
"Well, if he isn't using them, maybe he'd rent them to me for a few weeks?"
"Ya know, he might at thet. At least he'd have some dough comin' in. Come to think o' it, I could use a rig like thet fer a couple o' weeks m'self, so I could pay part o' the rental an use it after ta summer. Let's give 'im a call an' see whut he sez."
It turned out that Dave hadn't even had the money to insure the truck and trailer that spring, so we offered to take out six months insurance on the rig if he'd let us use it for the trip. Dave jumped all over the offer, but suggested that he could haul the wagon for us, then come get us again in a month. In between the two trips he could use his rig to make some money since he still had a small crawler tractor and he could get jobs for that. A quick trip to Dave's, then to town to see his insurance agent and we paid for minimum insurance on the rig, after that we took Dave home, then he drove the outfit back to Chuck's ranch. He left the trailer there, with the promise that he'd be back to haul it for us on Sunday morning.
I didn't realize it until we got Chuck's wagon out of one of his barn's, but he had the bows and canvas needed to turn it into a covered wagon, similar to what the pioneers had used, only bigger. Since he hadn't used the top in a couple of years though, he wanted to check that it was all there and the easiest way to do that was to put the top on the wagon. However after we got everything fitted, it had to come back off again since we certainly didn't want to drive down the road with the top on the wagon, not at highway speeds. Then with all the top bows, the canvas covering and the wagon tongues stowed in the wagon box, we loaded the wagon onto the flatbed trailer and chained it down so it wouldn't move.
Doing all that took us most of what was left of the day, but by five in the afternoon Chuck and I decided that we were ready for the trip. All we needed to do was load the horses and people. So, we went in the house to tell the others that we were ready to go the next day, but of course they'd managed to discover a couple of complications that might cause a holdup or two. Maybelle, Anna and Mimi looked quite serious about it too.
"What's wit' ta long faces?" Chuck asked.
"Oh we're just working out what other supplies we're going to need to have along and we decided that somehow we're going to have to stop on the way and buy more. We need to carry enough supplies to last at least a month, you know. The problem is going to be finding a place that sells organic foods and vegetables," Anna sighed.
"So, use the computer," I grinned at her. "Get on the internet and have a road map handy for reference. Call all the farmers' markets and organic food stores along the route we plan to take and find one where we can stop and stock up. We can always detour a little ways off the route you know. It's not like we're on a set schedule or taking a specific route, for gosh sakes."
"Oh, yeah. That's a good idea," she smiled at me. "Is there anything you can think of that we need to get?"
"Well, since we're going to use horses, they can graze, but we might want to take along some oats or something, especially for the team, since they'll be working hard, pulling that wagon."
"Don' worry about thet," Chuck offered. "I got a pile o' mixed grain from ta seed cleanin' plant in town, all sacked up an' ready t'go. Thet stuff was real cheap. We kin jus throw a few more bags in the one trailer, or better still we throw 'em in ta wagon an' we don't hafta move 'em agin."
"We should do that too, then we wouldn't have to buy grain on our trip," Maybelle suggested.
"Too much junk to pack fer us," Chuck frowned. "I got too much extra stuff packed in my farrier truck now."
That led to a rather heated discussion between Chuck and Maybelle and I'm not sure what the result would have been, because we heard a ruckus outside that caught everyone's attention. It sounded as if several dogs were in a major fight and I had a sinking feeling that Curly and Bruno were in the middle of it. I was on my feet and hurrying outside almost instantly, but Anna was on my heals and Chuck wasn't far behind the two of us. When we got outside though, there was virtually nothing we could do.
It seemed that one of Chuck's cattle dogs had come into season and Bruno had decided to add her to his harem. At first I thought Curly was jealous and raising a ruckus about being two timed, but after watching what was going on for a second, I realized that she was actually aiding and abetting Bruno. She was keeping the other dogs away as he bred one of Chuck's multicoloured Australian Collie bitches.
"Well, looks like I ain't gonna hafta go ta Banff ta get me a bear-dog after all," Chuck snorted as he broke into laughter.
"Well, you've got the same problem we have. Just look at the difference in the size of those two dogs and consider how much trouble she could have when she whelps," I sighed. "I know the vet said that bear-dog pups were small when they were born, but it still worries me."
"Huh, we'll worry 'bout thet when it comes time. If necessary we'll take 'er ta a vet," Chuck frowned then. "Right now I'm worryin' 'bout how we go 'bout splitting 'em up tomorra when we go to load up an' leave."
"Hell, take the dog along too," Anna snapped and turned to go back inside the house.
Chuck looked at me and started to laugh again, "Look at us, we're goin' ta be moving a damn circus. We got ridin' horses, workin' horses an' dogs now. The next thing ya know Fawn is gonna wanna take along her cat."
"Well, Maybelle did borrow a cat carrier from the neighbour, so you might be right," I broke into a grin, then couldn't help laughing as Chuck wheeled around with a frown on his face as he followed Anna into the house.
I just walked away, because I wasn't about to get involved in that discussion.
Later that night after all the chores had been done and we'd eaten, Anna, Mimi and Ellen wanted me to take a short walk. I thought it was to give Chuck, Maybelle and their kids a chance to be alone for a while, but it soon became obvious that the women had other thoughts on their minds. We'd walked about half a mile from the house and had come to the top of a knoll, when Anna broached the subject which had been worrying them.
"Joe, before we came, you suggested we shouldn't mention treaties while we were here and we've tried not to, but at the party last night the subject came up. I felt lost because I didn't know one damn thing about this Treaty #7 that they were going on about. Was it as bad as they made it out to be?"
"Oh boy!" I sighed heavily, then pointed to some rocks that wind and weather had exposed. "Let's have a seat, because this is going to take a while to explain, since it involves a lesson in Canadian history that isn't depicted very honestly in the history books -- at least not the way anyone involved closely with the First Nations community sees it."
"Are you saying that the history books are biassed?" Ellen frowned.
"Ellen, you might as well face it. All history books are biassed, because the winners of the wars, battles, negotiations and treaties are almost always the people who write the history books," Anna sighed deeply. "In this case we're still within the time period when oral histories of the people who were around at the time can be discovered and exposed though."
"Anna is right and I'm going to tell you part of that alternate version of history," I nodded.
"Hey, we're budding archaeologists," Mimi grinned as she plopped on a rock. "We usually have to hunt like mad for alternate historical data, but you're offering to let us sit here and learn without working, so talk away, oh, Learned One."
"Oh, I'm not all that learned," I shrugged. "However, let's start off in 1871, which is when British Columbia agreed to join Canada, but only if the Canadian Government would guarantee to build a railroad across Canada."
"I thought BC was officially recognised as a British colony in 1858 and Canada became a country in 1867?" Ellen looked slightly confused.
"You're right on both dates, but those were two separate areas of the continent and they weren't legally connected to each other. In between them was an area called Rupert's Land, which was actually the name given to all the land which drained into Hudsons Bay. The fur trading rights for Rupert's Land were part of the Hudsons Bay Company's charter, but the land was still nominally in the control of the various Indian tribes. So when BC wanted to join Confederation, and the government agreed to build a cross country railroad, they had a problem. The government needed to actually own the land that the railroad would be built on. You see, in order to pay for building the railroad, they were planning to make huge land grants to the railroad company. That way the railroad company could recover the money it cost to build the railroad by selling the land near the right of way to immigrants, who would turn it into farms and ranches.
"One of the largest areas that the government needed was the hunting grounds of the Blackfoot Confederacy, which was approximately fifty-thousand-square-miles of land. The Blackfoot Confederacy controlled almost all the land between the present borders of Saskatchewan and BC, from below the US border to well past Red Deer. In other words, all of what is now southern Alberta and a little more," I paused for a second to let the sheer size of the area that was under Blackfoot control sink in. "The Blackfoot Confederacy, was actually made up of three groups who shared the territory between them. The group that gave the confederacy its name was the Blackfoot Nation made up of the Siksika or Blackfoot tribe, the Piikani or Peigan tribe and the Kainaiwa or Blood tribe. As well as that, there was the Stoney Nation, which included the Bearspaw tribe, the Chiniki tribe, and the Wesley or Goodstoney tribe. And finally, there were the Tsuu T'ina, or the Sarcee tribe, who are linguistically part of the Athabaska Nation. I think I told you before that the Sarcee tribe had migrated into the Blackfoot Nation's territory several hundred years ago. Since they lived in the area, the government representatives just included them in the negotiations since they felt it was simpler and because the Blackfoot Federation tolerated the Sarcee tribe, they didn't protest.
"Anyway, as far as the native population was concerned, they were a nation and their chiefs were negotiating with the head of another nation, the Queen of England, through her representatives. The tribes expected fairness and honesty in those negotiations, but I can't say that they got either. Before I say anything more though, you might remember that the federal government was made responsible for the overall care of Indians and Indian lands in 1867. That's when the British North America Act was passed and Canada first became a nation. Even prior to that though, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 recognized Indians as the rightful occupiers of their hunting grounds. So legally, the Canadian government had to negotiate land treaties before they could build the railroad across Rupert's Land, so by hook and crook, they did. Treaty #7 was signed in 1877.
"Treaty #7 gave each family a square mile of land, a few cattle and a few dollars of treaty or ammunition money. Oh, yeah, they gave each band a plow, which had to be shared by all the people in each band. The Queen, or rather her representatives were also supposed to provide education for native children and in some cases, medical services as well.
"Now you have to understand that part of the problems that followed involved the land the natives were allowed to keep. It was grazing land, not farming land and on top of that, the natives weren't farmers, they were accustomed to living by hunting and gathering their food. They simply had no idea how to provide themselves with food from such a small area of land since they were accustomed to moving from place to place to follow the herds of buffalo and other game.
"Now there is one other point you have to realize and that is the difference in the viewpoint of the two parties involved in the treaty. The government representatives wrote the treaties as a purchase of the title to the lands, while the Blackfoot Nation understood the treaty to be a permit for the Canadian government to use the lands. Basically, that's the real problem. A lot of the present elders feel that our native forefathers were bamboozled out of the ownership of their land by a bunch of shysters."
"You've got to be bull shitting us," Mimi stared at me in astonishment.
"Nope, you can look at copies of the original treaty in almost any local library if you want to," I shook my head. "In all honesty, it was a very unequal situation and I feel sympathetic toward the natives, not the Canadian government. I feel the Blackfoot Nation was treated dishonestly and the government representatives from Britain and Canada acted dishonourably."
"Well, it was unfair, but it isn't a surprise," Anna sighed. "Just consider the fact that the First Nations people of that time were basically nomadic tribes, barely out of the stone age. In effect they were hunter gatherers. They were accustomed to hunting great herds of bison that wandered through their lands on a yearly basis and they had no actual concept of true land ownership. They were negotiating with people who were industrialized and who had centuries of education in the concepts of free market competition. They didn't stand a chance and were cheated out of their lands."
"Fuck, I'm ashamed of my white ancestors," Ellen looked almost ready to cry.
"Oh, but that's not the worst of it," I shook my head sadly. "On top of that, the people who were put on the reserves had to put up with crooked Indian agents, unethical suppliers, criminals, acting as whisky traders, and who knows what else. Besides, the natives had no immunity to many of the diseases that the immigrants brought with them, so they got sick and died of things like measles, mumps and smallpox. They were no longer allowed to move off the reserves to hunt or gather their own food or look for better shelter. Hell, they were punished or even thrown in jail if they left the reserve without prior permission from the local Indian agent. So people simply starved, or else grew weak from hunger and died of diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis, or even simple exposure. Perhaps worst of all, in most areas the children were sent off to live in residential schools. Once they were there they were given white names, then weren't even allowed to speak their own language, and that changed the younger generations forever. Those children lost their true names, their language, their traditions, even their cultural roots. The whole situation was and is terrible, so it's no wonder people here are touchy about the subject."
"Damn!" Mimi just shook her head. "Here I thought the Métis had it bad."
"How can you say that? We Métis still aren't recognised as a nation or anything else by the
federal government," Anna snapped. "Métis live in a state of limbo, not quite normal citizens,
but not quite native people either, so no matter what happens, the government gives us the short
and shitty end of the stick."
(Editors note; Anna was right about that at the time, but not
for long -- on September 22, 2003, the Métis were recognised as a 'Distinct People' by the Supreme
Court of Canada. Only once again it was a 'weasel worded' document that limited that recognition
to only those Métis living in specific areas.)
"But what about the Métis Council that we've been working with right now?" Ellen frowned.
"That's a perfect example of how screwed up the government can be. The Métis Council is recognised and even able to gain some government funding, but many of the people the council is helping aren't officially recognised for what they are," Anna snapped. "What we're doing is probably paid for by donations, or from university budgets - I was very careful not to ask about that. Actually, if we can prove that we had an established community of Métis in the Cypress Hills in the 1800's, it will benefit our negotiations and might even help the Métis in that area become recognized as a nation."
Everyone fell silent about then, but it wasn't long before we decided to head back down to the two campers for the night. When we got back, there was no reason to go into the house, and the dogs seemed to have settled down for the night. We were heading for the campers for the night when I saw Chuck and Maybelle coming out of the barn.
"Hey guys, what's going on?"
"We just tied ta team and thet dang bitch thet was bred by yer dog in next door box stalls fer ta night," Chuck shook his head as he looked at Anna and me. "Looks like I'm gonna be haulin' 'round a circus all summer."
"Just a petting zoo," Maybelle grinned as she slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Yeah, well we've added a cat an' a dog ta our animals now. We need ta git goin' soon, or we'll need a couple of semi-trailer trucks jus' ta haul the animals we're takin' along." Chuck snapped, sounding unhappy. "As it is we almost need ta take another truck ta carry feed fer 'em all."
"Well, there's still room on the big trailer with the wagon," Maybelle suggested.
"Hell, we still got two spare stalls in the small trailer that yer haulin, Maybelle," Chuck sighed. "I s'pose we could fill thet with ta feed and maybe some alfalfa bales."
That conversation led to Chuck and I working late that night as we loaded bags of feed and bales of hay into the trailer, then built a separation wall to keep the team of horses from eating it. It was after midnight before we finished the job and were finally able to stagger off to bed.
I'm not sure how well Chuck slept that night, but I had a rough time of it. Most of my tossing and turning was probably caused by worry. On top of that though, our dogs seemed to be restless that night and since they slept under the overhang of my camper, every time they made a noise, it woke me. I imagine each time I was awakened, I probably disturbed Anna, because neither of us wanted to get up early the next day, unfortunately we had to get the show on the road.
We were awakened by Ellen and Little Jo, who were excited that we'd be leaving and had brought us coffee, even delivering it while we were still in bed. I'll be honest, I'd have rather had more sleep, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I also knew I wasn't going to try to drink hot coffee in the upper bunk of a camper, so since both Anna and I slept in the nude, we had to order the girls out of the camper. They teased us about getting up right away, but they didn't argue long before they left and we were able to get up.
That started one of those days! Anna and I went to the house for breakfast and ran into a madhouse. I think everyone there had a special request or an idea that they wanted to share with everyone else. I felt as if I was in the middle of a hurricane because it seemed to me everyone was talking at once. Finally I slammed a hand down on the table, slapping it loudly and getting everyone's attention.
"Enough already! I can't hear what anyone is saying because you're all talking at once. Take turns, dammit!" I bellowed, pointing at Maybelle. "Let's start with Maybelle. What did you want to say?"
I think everyone was shocked that I'd break in like that, but it got the point across and some form of order was reestablished. In the long run, we were all able to hear and understand the thoughts, demands and requests that everyone had and we were able to agree or disagree. At least it meant we were able to plan our morning while we all ate breakfast.
It's a good thing we did talk things out then, because right after breakfast Uncle Charlie and Aunt Lil showed up to say goodbye. Then it wasn't long after that before Maybelle's folks showed up as well. Then Dave, the fellow who was pulling the trailer that was being used to haul Chuck's wagon appeared. At least we had lots of help loading up to leave, and once we had the animals loaded, we were ready to go. As we drove out of the yard though it was soon obvious that we had a small complication.
I suppose Chuck and Maybelle had changed their mind and decided to leave the dog that had come into heat behind, but she'd refused to obey. Instead she was chasing my Jeep down the road, since that's where Bruno was riding. I had to pull over and stop for fear someone would run over that idiotic mutt. Which meant we all came to a stop about half a mile from the house; five vehicles and five trailers, all held up by one lovesick hound-dog. I was actually relieved when Maybelle grabbed the dog and shoved her in the trailer she was pulling instead of taking the bitch home.
"What ta hell are ya up ta?" Chuck hollered at Maybelle as she headed back to her truck.
"Well, you said you were hauling a menagerie," she snapped. "I've just added a guard dog to the list of animals we're taking along."
Chuck just threw his hands in the air and shook his head, then since I was leading the convoy, he waved for me to go ahead. About then I really wasn't in the mood to get involved in an argument anyway, so I restarted the Jeep, put it back in gear and pointed it toward the highway.
We'd talked it over earlier and decided that either Chuck would lead the way or I would, then I'd drawn the short straw for the first part of the trip. Once we got on the highway we were going to spread out a bit so traffic could pass if they wanted to, but we'd even arranged the order we were going to take. Dave was following me in his pickup truck, hauling the trailer loaded with the wagon and feed for our animals. Maybelle and Mimi followed the pickup with their RV and the trailer carrying the team, Then came Anna and Little Jo, with the borrowed camper and the trailer loaded with my horses. Chuck, Fawn and Johnny were tagging along at the rear with the big farrier truck and Chuck's load of horses. I had Ellen riding along with me for company, but she was being darn quiet, which was probably a good thing; after all, I'm not at my best when I don't sleep well.
We paused on the outskirts of Fort Macleod just long enough to fill all the vehicles with fuel and buy a few snacks, then headed east on Highway 3. Since the kids loaded up with soft drinks while we were there, I rolled my eyes at Chuck and suggested that we might stop for a rest room break after we got on the far side of Lethbridge. Checking with Maybelle, she suggested a stop at Taber, saying that she thought Fawn would be the first to call for relief. Since Taber was only fifty miles away, she thought we'd make it that far before one of the kids wanted a potty break.
As we headed east from Fort Macleod, we came out onto the gently rolling lands on the edge of the prairies, then we were driving into irrigation country. For some reason I didn't remember ever being in that general area before, and I found it quite interesting. In the other areas of the prairies that I'd been through, the fields were all laid out in squares and rectangles. However in the area we were driving through that afternoon most of the fields seemed to be laid out in huge circles, probably to make irrigation easier.
In fact the irrigation was automated and was accomplished by using what I'd heard people call 'walking' pipes. In each circular field there was a long pipe, fed from a central standpipe, the pipe itself acted as the axle for multiple big wheels. Spaced along the top of the pipe were a series of huge sprinklers and as the wheels slowly rolled around the field, those sprinklers sprayed water onto the plants to keep them alive. All the farmer had to do was pump water to the central standpipe and everything else was done using the pressure of the water itself as a power source. The wheels were rotated by water pressure and even the sprinklers were operated by water pressure.
Now, I'm not a farmer. I don't know what kinds of plants were grown in those fields, but it seemed to me that the farmers there had to be going to a lot of expense to grow a crop. I was positive that the men who planted those crops wouldn't have gone to the expense of setting up something that involved and that expensive unless they got a good return on their investment. It certainly wasn't something I'd want to do though.
About then I was glad Ellen was riding with me and that we were finally wide enough awake to talk to each other. First of all, she was able to tell me what kind of crops were growing in those fields. Secondly, she could explain some of the inducements that drove farmers to grow huge fields of one single kind of plants like that. I wondered if they just did it for the money, or if all of the farmers had some other reason for being there and living that way. I mean, they weren't growing things just to feed their families, so it had to be the money, but I wondered if there wasn't a better way to grow the food. From what I had heard, farming wasn't an easy life either. There was lot of hard work and long hours involved in the job, but one bad storm could wipe out a whole year's investment of time and money.
I could understand people growing food for themselves and their family, but growing food on such a massive scale just boggled my mind. Still, I decided that someone had to grow the food that people like me ate since I lived in a city and couldn't grow everything I needed to have to survive. I was just glad it wasn't me, because I don't think the lifestyle really suited someone with my temperament. I would much rather build something from scratch and make it work.
Still, thinking about the farms and discussing why the farmers did it occupied Ellen's and my time as we drove and the miles rolled away under the Jeep's wheels. Almost before I knew it, we were driving under the big railroad bridge near Lethbridge.
We breezed through Lethbridge without stopping and made it to Taber before we stopped again. That was just a short pit stop though, mostly for the kids and the women to take a bathroom break, so we were soon on the way again. When we pulled out, Mimi and Ellen had swapped rides though and when she got into the Jeep, Mimi grinned at me.
"Hiya cousin, how ya doin' today,"
"Cousin?" I frowned at her.
"Yep, I had a close look at that old fiddle you were given at the party and it's got the Delacroix family mark on it, sort of a family crest, which means you and I are related. Only since none of my direct ancestors were named Matoux we aren't closely related, just kissin' cousins," Then she paused and chortled. "So if we ever wanted to, we could safely have sex and not risk me giving birth to an inbred monster, or anything like that."
"Well, Cousin, I don't think that's gonna happen," I snorted softly.
"Oh, I don't know, all I'd have to do is get you to play that magic fiddle, and I might end up in your bed again."
"What are you talking about?" I tried to bluff my way out of what could be a touchy subject.
"Well, yesterday when I woke up, I realized I'd had sex the night before, and as well that I was lying in your big sleeping bag, which was in your tent. Ellen was in the same condition, so although we had drunk a lot the night before and neither of us could recall going to bed with you, we're both convinced it happened. Not only was there some physical evidence, but Ellen and I had that sexual euphoria thing going that we both get the day after we've had some sexual relief. Our Métis clothes were piled in the corner of the tent, but the final clue to what had happened was your fiddle case, which was under our clothing," She sighed heavily. "I'm positive I remember walking beside you after the party, and you were carrying that darn fiddle, but then I don't remember anything more. I don't know about Ellen, but I feel a little bit as if I'd been cheated though, because I'd sure like to remember making out with you."
"Well, I don't recall going to bed with you in the tent. However, I definitely recall getting into bed with Anna sometime after the party, and I recall what she and I did then, so . . ." I shrugged my shoulders, trying my best to bluff my way through the situation. "Now considering the amount of time between the end of the party and the time we all woke up, that fiddle would definitely have to be magic for me to have done much with you and Ellen as well. At my age it normally unh, well . . . it takes a few hours to unh . . . shall we say 'prime the pump' for want of a better description. Or, we could say that I'm no longer a teenager, equipped with a rapid repeater, sort of thing. I mean because of the amount I drank, it surprised Anna that I was in good enough shape to . . . Whoa, I've already said too much, and I'm sure you get the idea anyway."
"Dammit, I was afraid you'd say something like that," she grumbled. "Now I'll always wonder who I went to bed with that night, but I do know one thing, I'm never going to drink that much again, not if I can't remember who I went to bed with the next day."
"That's probably a wise idea." I nodded, trying to look innocent and probably failing miserably. "When it comes to drink I'm one of those unlucky people who don't really get a hangover, just a minor headache, which goes away after my first cup of coffee. As a result I usually don't drink much, because I know once I start drinking, I'll often overdo it simply because I don't pay a stiff penalty for drinking too much."
"Oh, you lucky bugger," she sighed. "I was hung over all day yesterday and I still feel slow and logy, even today."
After that we drove in silence for a while and we made it to Bow Island before Dave flashed his lights and made me aware that we needed to stop. We topped up the gas, and checked all the vehicles, then we were on our way once more. When we pulled out, we reversed our order and Chuck was now leading because Anna wanted to pull off at a specific market and he knew how to find it. Actually, we made it all the way through Medicine Hat and had turned onto the Trans Canada Highway, going as far as Dunmore before we pulled off the road again.
As soon as we pulled off the highway, I knew why Anna had wanted to stop there. It was a huge farmer's market and organic food store. Not only that, but it looked as if there was a huge yard sale going on in the parking lot. I looked past all the noise and confusion though and saw a large area that must have been a pasture not many years before. Since the grass in that area was long enough for grazing, I suggested someone should ask if we could let the animals out for a while. We had hobbles along, and I was certain that Chuck didn't want to see much more of the marketplace than I did, so we could take turns keeping an eye on the horses. Maybelle hurried off, but soon came back, already having arranged for permission to let the horses out to graze. Meanwhile Anna asked me to leave the Jeep parked near the marketplace so she could load it with more supplies. I parked where she wanted, while the others pulled all the trailers down to the far end of the parking lot, then I put Bruno on his leash and hurried down to help unload and hobble the horses.
As we unloaded all the horses, we drew a small crowd, but Bruno kept them back. He didn't act really vicious or anything, but just looking as fierce as he did was all it took to make people back off. He didn't keep folks back very far though, in fact a lot of people wanted to ask us questions about the dang dog. I'd grown used to fielding questions about Bruno by that time and found that the answers came almost automatically, but that day there was one guy who seemed to be a real doubting Thomas. In the long run I gave him Dietrich's name and told him he should go ask the breeder about his wild questions. Hopefully Dietrich would be more patient than I was, but if he wasn't I hoped he wouldn't feed that goofball to the dogs. Something like that idiot might make them sick to their stomachs, which would make work for Char. After the dolt left and I told Chuck about my thoughts about dog feed, he laughed so hard that he got himself into a coughing fit.
Needless to say we were at that market for quite a while and I'm not sure whose idea it was, but one of the women sent Little Jo out to us with doughnuts and coffee. So Chuck, Little Jo and I sat on the loading ramp of one of the trailers and watched the animals while we snacked. The only problem we had with the animals while we were there was between my stallion, Cayuse, and Chuck's gelding, who didn't seem to realize that he'd been cut. Normally the two of them were kept apart, but that day they were free to roam around, even if they were on hobbles. To complicate things, Maybelle's barrel racing mare seemed to be acting as if she was coming into season, so both the stud and the gelding were both trying to be as close to her as possible.
Chuck was upset about the mare acting as if she was coming into season, since he'd paid to have her bred to a registered Quarter Horse stud earlier in the spring. He didn't really want her covered by Cayuse since the mare was a purebred with papers. Instead Chuck wanted her bred by another Quarter Horse, and as he said, if she hadn't caught when she'd been bred there was a chance either she or the stud had a problem.
We were still questioning that possibility when the women finally showed up and we could reload the horses and dogs. By that time it was well after four anyway, so even though we didn't have far to go, we still wanted to get a move on. Which meant that as soon as we had all of the animals in the trailers, we were back on the road.
I was last in line again, and somehow I'd ended up having Little Jo riding along with me. I don't think we drove more than five or ten miles after leaving that market before we saw the sign for highway 41 and turned right towards Cypress Hills. By then we could easily make out the hills in the distance and as we drove toward them I was able to appreciate their actual size. That was about the same time I realized that we had been climbing a grade since we left the river valley at Medicine Hat.
"Wow, those hills are impressive, aren't they?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah, the Cypress Hills cover about 2500 square kilometres. Which is what, almost 1000 square miles, I guess?" Little Jo snapped back almost instantly.
"You've been studying."
"Well, of course," she giggled. "Actually I did a report on the Cypress Hills instead of writing two of my last tests for the year, just so I could skip the last couple of weeks of school. Let's see what else I remember. Umm, they stand about 600 metres, or 2000 feet above the surrounding prairies and the highest point is about 1500 metres or almost a mile above sea level. They were formed out of rubble from the early erosion of the Rocky Mountains, deposited into an ancient sea bed that stretched over this area a long time ago. Then later, once the sea had drained away, the hills were eroded into their present shape by rivers and streams that flowed around them. Of course part of their present shape was modified by the glaciers that piled up against them during the ice ages as well."
"You really studied about them didn't you?"
"Hey, I got an 'A' on the report from the English teacher and an 'A+" from my Canadian Studies teacher," she grinned. "Actually though, I was interested by the idea you guys gave me, that my remote ancestors might have hidden out there during the last ice age. Those hills were actually one of the very few parts of the prairies that didn't get covered by glaciers. There are a lot of archaeologists who say that since our ancestors came across from Asia on a land bridge during the ice age, they needed refuges to get off the ice. Since everyone thinks the tops of those hills weren't covered by ice, that might be one of the places they stayed for protection."
"That makes sense," I nodded. "The only thing I can argue with concerning that is the idea that very few people could have lived in that space because there wouldn't have been a lot of game and they'd run out of food in a hurry."
"Oh, I agree, even if it is a thousand square miles, that's not all that big," she nodded. "They'd have had to be careful about overpopulating the area, but at least the place would give them some shelter from the cold of the ice sheet. I think the idea of investigating the whole area is fascinating."
"Yeah, you do sound pretty interested in that sort of thing. What brought that on, the fact that we're here?"
"Oh, yeah, I was interested in history before, but you guys coming this spring increased my interest in the idea of studying prehistoric things," she smiled at me. "If we weren't going on holiday and going to take in rodeos, I'd have been begging Mom and Dad to let me come along with you guys and dig for clues about the Métis and the first people. After meeting Anna and listening to you guys all talk about this project of yours, I think I've decided that's what I want to do after I finish high school. I think I want to get into archaeology in some way or other."
"Well, have you told Anna that you're interested in archaeology?"
"Unh huh, that's why I was riding with her earlier. I was asking her what I should study when I get into high school, so I'll have all the courses I'll need when I get to university."
"That was a good idea," I commented, then noticed that Dave was tapping on his brakes to flash his brake lights, then slowing rapidly. "Oops, something is up. It looks like everyone is stopping."
I easily stopped in time, then shut down the engine so Little Jo and I could hop out to see what was going on. Once I was stopped I could see there was an RCMP officer talking to Anna and Chuck and while I walked toward them I had time to wonder what was going on or what could be wrong.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about it, but I'll bet that's the RCMP guy that Anna phoned from the farmer's market," Little Jo said quietly. "She called them and asked where we should camp for the night, but I think she said they suggested they'd meet us and guide us to a camping spot."
"Ahh. Well, thanks for the warning, Twerp, even if it came after we were stopped and I had time to get worried that we were in trouble."
"Well, better late than never," she winked, then shrugged her shoulders.
As we passed the other trucks, both Dave and Maybelle joined us, so we all heard the cop as he explained some recent changes that could affect our project.
"There are some young bucks who have gotten riled up by a cranky old shaman. For some reason he's raising a ruckus with the archaeological site being dug by the group from Calgary and I'm a bit worried about his anger slopping over onto you," the cop explained. "If anyone realizes that you're a second archaeological group, they might try to take out their anger on you. So to be honest, I don't think you should even think about going into the town of Elkwater right now. I'm not exactly sure how you want to go about getting to the area you want to explore, but I think your best bet might be to detour around the town and come in from another direction."
"Is the situation that touchy?" Anna frowned. "I mean, would we be in any sort of danger?"
"You could be, if things went wrong, or the whole situation might all blow over in a day or two," the cop shrugged. "We're having a problem even finding the shaman who has been raising a stink, but if we can find him and if he is causing trouble just for trouble's sake, we can calm things down. For now though I'd recommend that you give the town a wide berth."
What the cop was saying wasn't good news. Our maps leading to the areas we wanted to explore were all drawn up based on geological sites that were relative to the town and the roads that ran past it. If we had to avoid the town we'd need to do some extra work just to find the sites we wanted to check out, but the situation wasn't impossible, just slightly more difficult than we had counted on.
When Anna explained to the Mountie about our problem of working to a map reference that began at the town of Elkwater, he offered a solution. He had a locally produced map that was not only more accurate than her map, but also covered a larger area. That reduced our dependance on using the town and its environs as reference points. It wasn't long before everyone was standing around the front of the cop car and looking at the maps spread out on the hood of the car. Amongst all the other things going on I noticed that Mimi and Ellen both managed to stand next to the young Mountie as often as possible. I only noticed what they were doing because it was quite obvious, but I had to wonder if they were competing for his attention. I realized that Anna had noticed it too since she looked at me, then winked and shrugged.
Both Anna and I were more interested in the maps than what the girls did, but even if we could use different reference points for our search, we still needed a place to camp for the night. That's when Dave, the guy we'd talked into hauling our horse drawn wagon, spoke up.
"I've got an uncle that lives on the other side of the hills and next to the other edge of the park, and I'm pretty sure he'd let you camp at his place for a night or two," Dave offered. "He knows I'm coming, 'cause I was planning to spend a night or two at his ranch. You probably know him, Officer. His native name is Walter Walking Stone, only you might know him as Wally Sam."
"Is he a tall, older fellow, quite thin and very quiet around people?" the Mountie asked.
"Yup, that sounds like him and what you're saying sounds like the way he's been acting recently as well. He lost his son and daughter-in-law in a level crossing accident a couple years ago and he's become a bit of a hermit since then. It's not that he doesn't like people, it's just that he likes to stay home as much as he can, so I suppose he's still grieving his son's death," Dave nodded. "Actually, the road that runs past his place leads up into the park from the other direction, so Anna and Joe could head out from there quite easy. I'll bet Uncle Wally would even let these folks leave all their trucks and trailers parked at his farm if he was asked."
As Dave talked about his uncle, I considered the idea closely and thought it sounded like an excellent solution to our problem. When he pointed to the map and indicated where his uncle's farm was, I commented that its position looked even better than his description had made it sound, since it was much closer to the area we wanted to investigate. Anna agreed with my opinion, so we turned our convoy around at the next wide spot in the road and backtracked a few miles, then headed off on a gravel road that headed west, then curved south.
About then I didn't feel much like talking and Little Jo hadn't spoken up either, so we drove in relative silence for a long time. After driving for several miles, crossing several roads - even one paved road - then passing a few farms, we turned east on a gravel road and followed that for several more miles. Then we turned onto a narrow dirt road that headed north and gradually climbed into the hills. Finally Dave pulled off the road, pausing long enough to open a farm gate before driving off along a dirt track that led back toward an opening in a stand of Lodgepole pines.
The Mountie had been following us up to that point, but when I glanced back in my rear view mirror I saw that he'd stopped long enough to close the gate, then had turned and driven off. I assumed he had only been escorting us until we were off the public roads, but now that we were on private property he probably felt we were safe so he was headed back to town.