The Wrath of a Shaman

By Larry Boales

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462856602

Book preview

Chapter 1

The sky was beginning to show its first gray and pink glow of light in the eastern sky and as the sun slowly began to rise over the tallest peak of the Mountain of The Spirits. Grey Eagle was sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was his customary time to awaken because even as a child he always loved to watch the sun rise, and smell the cool crisp morning air with the fragrance of all the flowers of the meadow mixing together. This day was also a special day, because his Quest for Manhood was over. For the past two moons he had been living alone in the mountain valley. When he had left his village he was only allowed to bring his knife, his bow, and a quiver of arrows. He had learned to survive by living off the land and learning all he could about nature. He had improved his ability to read the tracks of all creatures that lived in the wilderness, even snakes and the smallest of the insects, which crawled on the ground left signs and he had learned to read them as well as all the hunters, which provided the food for his tribe. It had been very lonely for the first few days, but it had given him time to sing his prayers and study the habitat that lived in the mountains and the valleys that had been his home for as long as he could remember. His knowledge had grown by leaps and bounds and he felt much more comfortable in the wilderness now than he had ever thought possible. He had learned which plants were edible and which ones could be used for medicine if he were sick or injured; he had learned where he could readily find food or medicine when the circumstances dictated the need for either.

There were some close calls, which he had to overcome, such as the night the Great Bear had wandered into his camp. But luckily the bear had been more interested in the rabbit that he had on the spit than it was in him, he had stood within ten feet of the great bear as it took his rabbit and his spit, and then he watched it ambled on down the trail. He had gone hungry that night, after the bear took his rabbit, but the berries he had found earlier in the day carried him through the night. Needless to say he sang his Prayers to the Great Spirit loudly that night.

There was also the near danger of falling off the cliff when the Great Eagle he had been studying decided he was too close to it’s nest. When it attempted to protect it’s nest, it had swooped down on him and almost knocked him off the rock ledge, but in all he was very pleased in his quest.

He gave Thanks to the Great Spirit for his help in keeping him safe and for protecting him during his quest. Then he rolled up his sleeping blanket and picked up his bow and quiver, and headed down the path to the valley floor. When he came to the mountain stream that ran through the valley he stopped to wash the sleep from his eyes, and take a long, cool drink of water. As he stood up he felt a strange feeling of despair come over him, as he tried to make sense of what he was feeling, he noticed that the valley was absolutely quiet. There were no sounds from the animals or birds of the forest. He knew this was not normal, because he knew that the valley contained a full assortment of animals and birds and yet there was no movement or sound from any of them. This only intensified the feeling of despair and he decided to pick up the pace of his travel. He decided to follow the stream because in this part of the valley there was no thick brush along the creek bed and he could move more quietly and faster than by following the trail along the cliffs.

As he walked he began to think of his family, it would be great to see his mother (Dark Fawn), and to eat her cooking which was much better than his own. He was sure that his father (Running Horse) would be proud of his accomplishments, and maybe now that his quest was over, he would give him the horse he had promised. He thought of his little brother (Spotted Elk) and laughed to himself when thought of all the questions he would have to answer, and his sister (Little Rabbit) would be happy to have someone who would play that silly game she loved so much.

He knew that his grandfather (Grey Feather) would have a stern look on his face but inside he would be beaming with pride and would have new warrior’s bow and a set of hunting arrows. His grandmother (White Dove) would be smiling and holding his new buckskin warrior’s shirt along with his new quiver.

He had tried not to think of his family the first few days of his quest, because it always gave him such a feeling of being alone. But now for some unknown reason he could not stop thinking about them.

He came to an area where the brush and small trees began to grow along the banks of the creek, so he turned toward the cliffs where he knew there was a heavily used game trail that would be much easier to travel. He found the trail and started to walk down it, when he notice there were no fresh sign of game on the trail. He knew then something was not right, because this was the main trail, which all the animals used to go to the stream for water. Now positive that something was wrong, he began to feel the need to hurry even more. He would have to travel this trail for another two hours before he would come to the trail that led up the mountain to the pass, which would take him over the top of the mountain. The afternoon sun was starting to go behind a cloud when Grey Eagle thought he saw movement along the canyon rim. He could not be sure of what it was because of the shadows, which were caused from the sun and the diffusion of light through the trees. There was one thing he was sure of, it was not something he could recognize and he could not find any comfort in knowing there was something in the valley that he could not recognize.

He started down the trail at the fastest pace he could manage. He knew that he would have to dodge overhanging branches where the trail grew thick with underbrush, but he could not stop thinking about the shadow, which he had seen. He knew he would have to make his way back to the stream to refill his water-skin; because there would be no water once he started up to the pass in the mountain. He wanted to make it out of the valley before he would stop to make camp for the night. If he could get an early start in the morning, he would be able to get to his family’s village by sunset the following day. He decided to go on to the stream to refill his water-skin and he would eat some of the dried meat, which he had smoked two days earlier and then be on his way again.

He could hear the running water of the stream as it tumbled over the rocks and pebbles and he began to slow his pace. When he reached the edge of the water, what he saw startled him, the water that flowed in the stream was no longer crystal clear, and instead it was blood red! At first, he thought some animal must have made a kill upstream, so he cautiously made his way up stream to see if he could find the source of the red water. He traveled slowly and quietly so he would not walk upon and surprise whatever had made the kill. He came to a little bend in the creek and found the carcass of an animal, which he had never seen before. It had a head similar to a snake, but the body looked more like a wolf or a dog, with the exception of the neck, which was elongated and about two feet long. Its body had been mutilated and ripped apart much worse than anything he had ever seen. He had seen many animals that the great bear had attacked and killed, and they were never ripped apart like this, the great bear can kill an animal with a mighty swipe with its’ huge and powerful claw or by biting through its neck or head. Then it will rip the stomach with its claws and then begins to eat at its’ own leisure. Grey Eagle had never seen any animal that could make these kinds of wounds. This animal had virtually been cut into pieces, and there were no signs that any part of the animal had been eaten, or even chewed on. This animal had been killed by something that just enjoyed killing for the pleasure of it! He looked around with extreme caution in all directions, but could not see any tracks, or signs of a struggle. He moved farther up stream where the water was still clear and knelt down to fill his water skin. When a shadow passed along the ground from something, which had flown over him flew over his head. He quickly lifted his head skyward but there was nothing there. He took an arrow from his quiver and notched it in his bow, so he could be ready to defend himself just in case he encountered something and then began stalking his way back to the trail, which would lead him up and out of the valley.

The climb up the trail had slowed his pace, because there was steep grade and the footing was loose dirt, leaves, and small stones. Grey Eagle had enough experience to know he would have to take the trail one step at a time, in order to prevent himself from having a bad fall and possibly injuring himself. The sun was already starting to go over the top of the mountains in the west, and he knew the light would start to fade quickly, this would mean he would have to climb the last half of the trail in the dark this would very dangerous. But he was sure of one thing; he was not going to make camp down in the valley! So he tried to climb faster, but as the daylight quickly began to disappear and the shadows began to grow longer with each passing minute. He knew he could not slow his pace and still make it to the top of the mountain before nightfall. This meant that he would have to struggle with the loose dirt and the rocks, and now to make things even worse the leaves were gathering moisture, because the low clouds were forming around the rim of the canyon. He kept pressing on he had to make it to the top, the pass could not be much farther. Once again his mind went to the scene at the creek and the slaughtered animal. He tried to make some kind of decision as to what kind of animal it could have been and where it could have come from? He also wondered if it could be the reason for the disappearance of all the other animals in the valley. He climbed steadily until darkness overcame him, then he knew he would have to slow down his pace. It had become so dark, he had to virtually feel with his hands to continue his progress upward, but at last he could see the rim of the canyon and only then did Grey Eagle breath a sigh of relief!

As he climbed the last few feet to the rim, he noticed that the night air had developed a heavy chill; this was another thing, which was not normal for this time of the year. He found a big rock and he sat down on it to catch his breath, and he thought about heading down the trail leading into the valley below, but decided it would be too dangerous. As he rolled out his sleeping blanket, he took a drink of water from his water-skin and quickly spit it out. He smelled his water-skin and a pungent odor of death permeated his nostrils. He quickly threw his water-skin down the trail he had just traveled. He hesitantly lay down on his blanket, and as his thoughts went back to his family, he drifted off into a fretful sleep.

After only a few hours of sleep, a loud blood—curdling scream that sounded full of rage awakened him; the scream was followed by an echoing name, "Mitschumaka, Mitschumaka, Mitschumaka". It lasted for only a few seconds; however to Grey Eagle it seemed to lasted forever!!

Grey Eagle sat up quickly and listened closely to the fading sounds, he knew at once they had come from the direction of his family’s village. He looked at the sky and could tell that the moon had begun to rise. He thought to himself, if there was enough light from the moon; he would try to start down the mountain trail for his village. If not he would have to wait for daylight, for the trail down would be too dangerous to travel in the dark. Checking the position of the stars, he knew it would be at least three hours before the sun would rise. He recalled the name he had heard called out, but could not remember ever hearing the name before, not even in the stories his grandfather told, but he knew now that it had something to do with what was going on in his people’s land. It seemed to take forever for the moon to get high enough in the sky to cast any light on the trail, which would lead him down the mountain. He decided to try and make it down to the valley below, if he could get down to the valley by sunrise, he could probably reach his village before the sun set. Slowly he started down the trail, but he could not stop thinking about that name Mitschumaka, what could it mean?

The Great Spirit was with him and guided him in the poor light. He kept moving downward as fast as he dared without risking a fall and possibly injuring himself. He reached the bottom just before the sun rose over the eastern rim of the valley of his people.

Now on level ground, he could travel more quickly, so he started to run at a pace he knew he could keep for hours. Grey Eagle knew that even at this pace it would take several hours to reach his village. He had realized also that he must find some water, because he had not had any water, since about mid-morning the day before. He knew of a stream that flowed out of the mountain from north rim of the canyon, but he was not sure it would be running this late in the summer, because it was fed from the snow covered peaks that were high up on the mountain above the valley. As the snows melt the water would seep into the rocky surface and follow the cracks in the rocks until it finally came out here on the valley floor. He did not know if it would smell like the water in the valley, he had just left. However he knew he had to take a chance, so he headed toward the area the stream was located. He reached the stream after about an hour of running, however the water was barely trickling out of the rock. He took out his knife and began to dig at the hole where it filtered out of the rock; it finally began to run a little faster. He knew that if he drank it to quickly it might make him sick, so he took his time and only drank enough to quench his thirst. He went back into the valley to begin his journey again, this time at a little slower pace, which he felt he could sustain for a long period of time.

He traveled with an uncertain feeling for the safety of his family, but he ran with determination knowing that he must get home as quickly as possible. The morning soon passed, and Grey Eagle had covered almost half the distance to his village, and his heart was feeling a little lighter, but he still had that strange feeling of despair. He told himself that he must stop and rest long enough to catch his breath and eat a few bites of his smoked meat to regain some of his strength, so he began to slow his pace down. When he reached the point where he walking instead of running, he spotted a tree where he knew there would be a shade. He was only a few yards from the tree when he became aware of something in the tall grass below the tree; he cautiously approached it not knowing what he might find. When he reach the tree he could not believe his eyes, it was the carcass of a great bear, and it was ripped apart from its head to tail, with what had to be giant claws, much larger than those of even the biggest of the great bears he had seen. He told himself this was not possible, because there is no animal that preys on the great bear, even man does not hunt the great bear. Once again as he looked around for signs there were none. It was as if something just swept down out of the air and with one mighty swipe killed the great bear! What could be this powerful, and kill without leaving even one track, nothing from this world he thought!

A growing fear that came from deep within his soul began to grow, not only for himself, but also for his family and friends in his village. He knew he must hurry and talk to his father and grandfather, maybe they would know of this creature.

He started to run again with dread and anguish. He forced himself to run faster than he had ever run in his life. He only hoped that he would not run upon the creature that had killed the great bear, because at this speed he would not have time to defend himself so he forced himself to slow down and focus on the valley and the sky as he ran.

After three hours his heart was beating to the rhythym of the war drums, his legs felt weak and numb but he did not want stop. One more hour at this pace and he would be only a short walk to his village, then he would slow down. With this thought in his mind, he gained the knowledge of knowing that he would soon be home and that knowledge would carry him the rest of the distance to his home. Then his worst fear happened, with an upward glance he caught the sight of something strange in the sky.

He stopped so he could wipe the sweat from his eyes and focus on the object in the sky. It seemed to have wings, but it was so far away he could not recognize it. But he thought to himself, for him to be able to see it from this far away, it had to very big! Even the great eagle was not even close to being this big, but what else could fly that was bigger than the great eagle? Grey Eagle stared at the figure in the sky and judged that this creature was flying south of his village; he thought to himself surely his people had seen it.

He started to walk at a faster pace, at the same time trying to watch the creature, he did not want to lose sight of it, just in case it changed directions and came back toward him. His village was just over the next knoll, along the river that ran east and west through the valley, he would stop for a long deserved drink when he reached the river.

The time seemed to pass slowly now that he was walking, but it gave him time to think about the creature. Grey Eagle’s grandfather had told them stories, when they were small children, some of the stories had spoke of the giant elk and the great bears that lived in the caves, there was even a story about a great beast with long tusk that grew out of its’ mouth and an even longer nose and he remembered one story that had a flying dragon. This particular story had been passed down from the Ancient Ones, whom his grandfather had told him were the first of their people, who had come to this land they now called home. All stories were passed down from a father would then passed all of the stories down to a son or daughter, who in turn passed them down to their children, and after several generations all the stories of the tribes over the years had changed, parts were added and some parts had been forgotten. In this story a medicine man, which was very powerful cast a spell to the God of Darkness to bring forth a demon, in order to vanquish his people’s enemies. Grey Eagle tried to remember how the story ended but he just could not remember. Grey Eagle had been walking with head down in deep thought trying to remember the story, as he raised his head, he saw the river that ran through his village. He ran down to the river and fell to his knees; he scooped up a handful of water and raised it to his face, he tested the smell but there was none, so he took a small sip of the water, it had no taste at all. He drank his fill of the water and threw a couple of handfuls over his head to cool his body.

Then he slowly rose to his feet and looked towards his village, he could just see the tops of the lodge poles in his villages. He began to run towards his village. When he came to the edge of the village he stopped and listened for several minutes, but he could not see anyone moving about, and there was no sounds coming from the village.

His fears and apprehension filled his mind with the scenes he had already witnessed earlier, the strange animal he had found in the stream and the great bear that had been killed. His heart jumped up to his throat, but he knew he had go into the village; he had to find his family. He went slowly to the first lodge, which belonged to Fast Elk his cousin, he called out to Fast Elk as he approached the lodge. No one answered his call, he looked into the lodge but no one was there. He ran to the next lodge calling out for all his family member and friends, still none answered.

After checking the first six lodges and finding no one, he entered the lodge of Standing Deer the village chief. Over to right side of the door, laying grouped together were Standing Deer; and his wife (White Smoke), and their daughter (Spotted Fawn). All had been slain in the same manner as the great bear ripped apart as if some creature with monstrously huge claws had killed them right there in their own beds as they had slept!

Grey Eagle ran from the lodge as fast as he could and went straight to his family’s lodge, calling out his mother and father’s name; he entered their lodge, but it was also empty. He wheeled around and ran to his grandfather’s lodge, calling his grandfather and his grandmother’s names; as he entered the lodge, it too was empty! Grey Eagle now decided he must inspect all the lodges. He went to each one and found only two more lodges with the dead family members all killed in the same manner. The dead families were all related to the Chief Standing Deer. There was no sign of any of the other families, including his own. He checked the ground around the village to see if there were any tracks that would tell him where they might have gone. At the east end of the village there were the tracks of a large group of people, heading north towards the ancient Burial Grounds and the Great Spirit’s Cave which his grandfather also referred to as the Cave Of The Elders. It was also the same cave where his grandfather had once told him the Great Spirit speaks from the dead! Grey Eagle took the time to gather another water-skin and some food from his family’s lodge, and to refill his quiver of arrows and then headed north to follow the tracks of his family.

Grey Eagle was following the tracks of his people, which were very plain to see. It was obvious that they were not trying to hide their tracks from anyone. He had gone to the Great Spirit’s Cave once with his grandfather and his father. That was many moons ago he was only a small child. Now he could only hope that he could the find the cave and his family soon. He remembers with great awe the size of the cave and although the cave had an eerie feeling, and was filled with silence he could remember that he felt completely safe even when they were deep inside the cave. He could remember the great respect that his grandfather and his father had shown, when they began to chant their prayers and also the feeling that there was a presence of someone or something in the giant room where they were sitting on the floor. There was a warm feeling, which seemed to float around the room like a gentle breeze on a warm summer day. His grandfather started to talk in a soft voice as though he was having a conversation with someone but Grey Eagle could not hear any other voice except his grandfather’s. When his grandfather stopped talking they slowly arose from the floor of the and quietly left the cave.

On the way back to their village Grey Eagle asked his grandfather, with whom he was talking? And his grandfather told him he had been talking to his father who had died a long time ago. Running Deer then asked his grandfather, what Grey Eagle had said and his grandfather replied to him, your son and my grandson has a very inquisitive mind, and with that his father and grandfather began to laugh!

Chapter 2

Grey Eagle had been so intent on finding his family; he had neglected to watch the sky for any sign of the creature, or to check the time of day. He realized now the sun was almost to the canyon rim and daylight would be fading soon. He knew it would not be very smart to get caught out in this open area with that thing that killed the Standing Bear’s family. There would be no place to hide and no way to fight it. He knew he would have to take a chance and make a run for the canyon wall, it would at least offer some protection, and he might get lucky and find the Cave of the Great Spirit. He was hoping that he could find his family before nightfall. He broke into a fast run toward the area of the canyon wall that seemed most likely to have a cave. He began to run faster as if his life or his families’ lives might depend on how soon he could find them.

As the sun went below the rim of the canyon, the evening shadows began to fill the valley and with the darkness setting in Grey Eagle had to slow his pace. However, the wall was only about two stones throw away. That was when it happened Grey Eagle caught the setting sun’s last glint of light reflecting off something in the sky, he could tell that it was coming straight for him, he tried to zigzag back and forth to confuse it, but it still kept coming. The canyon wall was still about a stones throw away Grey Eagle knew if he stopped to get his bow ready for the oncoming creature, he might not get the chance to make it to the wall to safety. His survival instincts kicked in and his hand automatically reached for his bow and arrow. He was still running at full speed, as he notched his arrow in his bow. He looked up just in time to see the beast make an approach from directly in front of him. Grey Eagle came to an abrupt stop, raised his bow and aimed at the hideous beast that was now almost on top of him, he let loose his arrow and instinctively dove off to the left side and completed a shoulder roll then somersaulted back to his feet at a run. Luck was with him as he released his arrow, it flew straight and true to the target and struck the great beast in its’ right eye, which made it turn to its left. Its huge claws missed Grey Eagle shoulders by only inches. The beast released a scream that was not only deafening, but also truly bloodcurdling. The beast was fighting furiously to remove the arrow that had been lodged in its right eye. And as it did this the creature lost sight of Grey Eagle, which gave him the chance to make it the rest of the way to the wall. He ran like the wind, just as fast as was humanly possibly. In all the commotion, Grey Eagle had failed to hear the calling of his name from somewhere along the wall.

Now he not only heard the calls to him but he could see his father and grandfather and two of his cousins motioning for him to run as fast as he could, and not to look back. From this he knew the beast was coming for him again, so he lowered his head and with a new burst of energy that probably came from the fear, which he could feel welling up in his mind he ran as hard as he could. Grey Eagle could see his grandfather and his father, they were trying to distract the beast, while his two cousins had their bows drawn and were aiming at the oncoming creature. He never saw the beast swoop down but he felt wind as it passed over him. His cousins had both hit the beast with arrows and caused it to veer off once again from Grey Eagle. He covered the remaining distance and ran right into the open arms of his father and grandfather and they all fell backwards into the Cave of the Great Spirit!

Everyone gathered around Grey Eagle, they all were so glad to see him as they swallowed him up in their hugs and greetings, and his grandfather said everyone needed to get back inside to the protection of the cave. As Grey Eagle sat down alongside of his father and grandfather his mother brought over some food and water and his grandfather began to tell him what had happened in the village two nights past. They were gathered around the fires and they had just finished their evening meal and everyone was socializing, talking about the return of Grey Eagle in only two more days, when something from the sky swooped down and attacked the lodge of Standing Bear. In the panic everyone ran for the cover of his or her lodges, where all the men grabbed their weapons and ran out to fight the creatures; the women grabbed up what they could carry and took the children out through the back of the lodges to hide in the tall grass. To wait for the men to come and tell them when it was safe. The men fought the creatures with their weapons but to no avail. The creatures just kept going from one lodge to another as though they were searching for someone or something killing anyone who got in their way. The men then ran to get the women and the children so they could take them to a place of safety. They had walked all night in the dark to escape the creatures. They knew the only place they would be safe was in the Cave of the Great Spirits. When they had finished telling their story, the room got deathly silent. Then Grey Eagle’s grandfather asked Grey Eagle if he had seen anything out of the ordinary on his journey?

Grey Eagle then told his family and friends his story, and everything he had seen including the strange beast in the stream and also about the great bear. When he came to the end he told them about the strange scream that had awakened him and the name that followed, "Mitschumaka". He looked at his father and then turned to watch the face of his grandfather turn ghostly white and then his grandfather sat down ever so slowly. Grey Eagle asked him if he had ever heard of that name; and his grandfather said he could not talk about it right now, he said he needed to seek out the Great Spirit.

His father talked privately to his grandfather for about an hour and then returned to where the rest of the men were sitting around talking and told them that Grey Feather had said he would have to go to the sacred burial room, which was located in the Cave Of The Elders and have a prayer vigil, and that Grey Feather had named the men that were to accompany him. Their names were Running Deer, Grey Eagle’s father, Buffalo Knife his father’s brother, Red Calf, Grey Eagle’s mother’s brother, and Grey Eagle, and his two cousins Fast Elk and Spotted Horse. The rest of the men were to stay with the women and the children for protection. The men who had been selected by Grey Feather all rose and followed Grey Feather to the rear of the cave. Carrying torches they followed the wall of the cave to the right, which looked like a dead end, and then Grey Feather turned to speak to the men. What you see from this point on you must never tell to anyone; you must do exactly as I tell you, when I tell you and nothing more. You must not speak unless you are directly spoken to. Do not show any fear and if you speak you tell nothing but the truth and speak only from your heart! Grey Feather reached into his medicine bag and pulled out a two hundred year old rattle made from a turtle shell, and an eagle claw talisman with three eagle feathers tied to the toes of the claw. He started to sing an incantation and shook the rattle and the claw. After only a few moments a doorway started to appear in the wall, it slowly got lighter and lighter until, with a brilliant flash of light the doorway was fully opened.

Grey Feather led the men through the doorway and as soon as they entered the chamber the doorway closed. The room was dark but each man had no problem seeing all the details of the entire room they also were able to see that the chamber was very large. Grey Feather led the men into the center of the chamber and positioned them in a circle. Then he went to the center of the circle and began to shake the turtle rattle along with another incantation, Grey Feather reached into a leather pouch that was covered with beads, and pulled out a blend of special powders and tossed it on the floor of the cave. A great fire appeared; it burned extremely bright, however the warriors could see no logs to fuel the fire. Grey Feather remained standing in the center of the circle, he began to chant his prayer and shaking both the rattle and the eagle claw he greeted the Great Spirits one and all. He gave thanks to them for all of their blessings. He told them he was seeking their help to vanquish one of their oldest enemies. After only a short time the whole back wall of the chamber began to glimmer with distortions and when it came into view, there were several levels of buildings, each one a home for a spirit. When all the spirits had made their appearance, Grey Feather spoke again "Oh Great Manitou, we ask for your help to banish your ancient rival Mitschumaka, for he has returned and vows to seek vengeance for your casting him out of the Happy Hunting Grounds and into the abyss of the beast. He now seeks a horrible death to all related children of those who served you so bravely many, many years ago". When Grey Feather made this statement a silence enveloped the great chamber, slowly an eerie sound much like that of a bumble bee began to grow, softly at first but after only a few moments it started to increase in volume. The humming reached a crescendo at last and a large number of ghostly apparitions began to form in front of every doorway of the adobe type buildings that lined the great chamber all the way from the floor to the top of chamber ceiling. When the humming stopped all of the warriors from the doorways moved toward the warriors as though they were floating on air to the floor in front of Grey Feather and they started to encircle the group that had come with Grey Feather, when the circle was complete the humming stopped. Patiently Grey Feather waited for what would happen next. Suddenly from somewhere behind the group on the floor came a mystical figure floating down to the floor and stood beside Grey Feather. Grey Feather acknowledged his presence and the reverently bowed his head, the figure next to Grey Feather was none other than Spotted Owl the Greatest Shaman that had ever lived among Grey Eagle’s people. Spotted Owl greeted Grey Feather and then he asked Grey Feather to tell him everything that had happened. Grey Feather sadly told him of the death of Standing Deer and his family, he included the death of Standing Deer’s relatives. Grey Feather then told of his grandson’s near death experience, and that the rest of the tribe was staying in the front room of the Great Spirits Cave. He then told Spotted Owl that with his permission he would let his grandson Grey eagle tell of his experiences. Spotted Owl looked at the group of warriors on the floor and said Grey Eagle may speak!

Grey Eagle arose to his feet and bowed his head in respect to the greatness of the figure standing before him. Grey Eagle cleared his throat and began to recite everything that had happened to him for the last two days, including the murderous fashion in which the strange beast and the great bear had been killed. He told Spotted Owl that Standing Deer and all his relatives had been killed in the same way. He told of his last night on the mountain and of the horrendous scream and of the name he heard repeated, "Mitschumaka"! Then he describes the strange creature he had found killed in the stream and also the one that had attacked him and how it could fly. He then bowed his head and stepped back to his place in the circle of men on the floor.

Spotted Owl thanked them for all the information they had given him and his council. He then asked if they would allow them some time to discuss the problem and find the best way to resolve it. He told Grey Feather to take his council of warriors and wait until the next sunrise.

Grey Feather agreed and told his men to rise and pay their respect and the wait for him along the back wall of the cave. Then he turned back to Spotted Owl and told him he and his men would return in the morning at sunrise. Grey Feather turned to rejoin his men, when he reached the back wall the doorway appeared and they silently returned to room at the front of the cave, where the remaining members of his tribe waited patiently. Grey Feather