Just Yarnin' Chapter 9: Diah's Ear
“Speakin’ of butcherins,” Solitaire chimed in, “have I ever told you about the butcherin’ that old grizz’ give Jedidiah Smith after we raised the Ree’s hair?”
“Cain’t say I heard from a child as was thar,” replied Parfleche. “Though heard tell round the fire ever’ now and then from some ol’ coon that heard about it.”
“Well now hoss, let me tell you, I was thar, and I seen old Diah dern near go under.
“Like I said, after we had paid them Rees fer thar’ savagery after they’d surprised us on the Missouri. Any way, we goed back to Fort Kiowa and Ashley outfitted us with some hosses. We packed ‘em west to try an’ get the fixins to the fellers out by the Powder. Thing was, that was the trip Old Ephraim got hold of Diah.
“We had been travelin’ pretty good out of the fort. Men was all tough and hard cases fer shore. It had been tough travelin’ but we had managed to make the Black Hills. I still remember seein’ them rise out of the prairie and the badlands. Them hills seemed something like a dream fer us.
“We took a hard line straight up them hills, with Diah in the lead. We sort of wandered around fer a spell, tryin’ to figure the best way through. Them hills was thick, but not tall like the Rockies.”
“I reckon I seen the Black Hills,” Parfleche angrily interrupted.
“Easy, hoss. Don’t get yer bristles up.” Solitaire said almost apologetically. “I was just a’sayin’.
“Anyhow, we’d been stumblin’ around them Black Hills fer a while when one day a bear come whoppin’ by the brigade.
“Now keep in mind, we was mostly greenhorns back in them days. We seen that bear running through a thicket off to one side, like he’s tryin’ to get ahead of us. Old Diah was in the lead and he drops his lead rope and takes off the get in front of that bear. Brave that Diah was ifn’ he was anything.
“Just then Old Ephraim comes blowin’ out of that brush and runs straight for ol’ Diah! He opens his mouth an’ grabs Diah right by the head. He swung poor Diah around and around fore we finally got up thar’ and got our guns smokin’. By the time we had laid that bear down, the tracks was plain to see that Diah was in bad shape.
“Then Jim Clyman, another good ol’ hoss, goed up and asks him ifn’ he were ok. Diah says he ain’t, but ifn’ we helped him, he figured he’d be ok. We all sort of looks at each other wonderin’ what to do. Diah, havin’ his bark on, wipes the blood out of his eyes and starts givin’ orders. He sends men fer water, and I grabs his needle and thread from the pack. Clyman grabbed the pair of scissors we had stashed away and we heads back over to our dyin’ captain.
“Blood was runnin’ free down his face, but old Diah says to Clyman ‘grab that thread and stitch my scalp up.’ Clyman bout goes white, but knows he can’t pull foot no way. As such, he goes over and cuts Diah’s hair short so as he can see. I remember the matted hair mixed with blood, skin, and the scum that grizz had left was all mixed up. Though I was green, I knowed this warn’t good.
“Clyman goed to dressing the wounds best as he could. All Diah did was sit thar and stare forward. He never said a word, nor flinched a muscle. Clyman would send that needle through his scalp and pull the two sides together, but you’d never knowed it by the look on Diah’s face. It was a hard job, for that grizz had nearly torn the whole scalp clean off.
“After awhile Clyman’s hands are shakin’ and he’s about done. All’s that’s left is Diah’s ear, just hangin’ thar’ by a thread. Clyman says to Diah, ‘I done the best I can partner, but I cain’t do nothing with yer’ ear.’ Diash jist looks and says, ‘you have to try to tie it up some way.’ Clyman takes a few seconds to calm himself then grabs that needle and thread. I remember he had a hard time of it. See that needle had got plumb slippery and blood was runnin’ free all over everything. That ear was also harder to push that needle through than scalp I reckon. The whole time I was watchin’ Diah, an he don’t even flinch. His eyes jist look forward like he was lookin’ at some far off mountain er’ somethin’. Anyhow, after a while Clyman makes his last stitch and tells Diah he has his ear. I remember it didn’t look quite right, sort of hung off a little, but Diah was happy to have his ear any how.
“We moved camp to the nearest water that night and set up fer a spell. I warn’t ten days and Diah says he was ready to start ridin’. Like I said, if thar ever was a coon that had his bark on, it was old Jedidiah Smith. That’s how my stick floats.”
CHAPTER 10 - DIAH’S TRAVELS COMING SOON!
If you like this mountain man series, check out my Jemmey Fletcher series available at this link, or click this link to view on Amazon.
