Posted August 21, 2019 / Adelaide Chappel

"I'm all in!" Grinning, Addy settled at the table, knowing that they were likely in for a long day, and knowing what it was like to go for days without more than a few scraps gobbled down during brief breaks between battle, she was more than happy to start the day full of biscuits and gravy! And even better, she knew that there would be food going along with them, so that their spirits would be bolstered for their grim task.

Aurelian sat down with the rest of the party and there wasn't any food on that table he did not take a grand helping of, it was all so good too. He looked at the arsenal they had assembled and the assorted volunteers and was quite confident they could rid the county of this bear. Well, of course, the trick was finding him though.

Once she was done eating, she headed out to check over the harness and packs on the mules, then quickly looked over the remuda, assessing if there were any of the horses that might give her problems. At least Arabesque was easy-going and didn't mind ponying the string of horses and mules. The trick was controlling so many creatures if they got whiff of the bear.

Posted August 22, 2019

:: later in the day... ::

The main ranch and breakfast was long behind the team that had gathered for the hunt. As was normal for August, the day was already getting hot. Shade had long since shed his coat although he still wore his black leather gloves. The track had been steady which had kept them pushing forward. However, it was all uphill...literally. Lost Lake Ranch spanned a huge area, but most people forgot that the majority of it was mountainous as it encompassed most of the Choguns. Shade looked around, admiring the rugged beauty of the land while he let his big grullo gelding rest. He had been riding ahead, following the track but now it was time to let everyone catch up, maybe break to stretch their legs and get a bite to eat.

While waiting for the rest of the group to catch up, Shade walked the area to make sure that he had the direction of the bear's tracks set in his mind. He couldn't help but wish they had the help of one of his grandmother's younger Navajo nephews, John Warbow. The man could track over solid rock. He had taught Shade much of what he knew about hunting and tracking. Unfortunately, there had been no time to send word to him.

Those thoughts cleared from his mind as the sound of the other horses caught his attention. Shade rose to his feet and rested his rifle in the crook of his arm, carefully pointing it down and away from unintended targets. As the first horse came into view, Shade called out, "Bear's still on this trail...such as it is. We should give the horses a few moments to rest."

Posted August 22, 2019 / Quentin Cantrell

Quentin rode at the front. He nodded at Shade and turned to the next one in line. "Shade says we should rest the horses...pass it on." He eased his mount over to the side and looped his reins over a thick tree branch. He then walked toward Shade with his Trapdoor cradled in his arm so the barrel was pointed safe. He had a round in the chamber and the hammer down but ready to fire at a moment's notice. He had replaced his usual hideaway pistol with an Arkansas Toothpick he had had for years. The Trapdoor's bayonet hung beside it for ease of draw. Quentin's Schofield was still on his hip just because he felt naked without it. The Trapdoor pistol sat in a holster slung around his saddle horn.

Quentin walked up to stand behind Shade and to one side. "How long since it came by here?" He said quietly. Quentin knew it was foolish to speak low with a party this size and all these mounts, but his superstitious side still won out. Quentin wasn't one to tempt fate if he could help it.

Posted August 22, 2019 / Adelaide Chappel

A good question from Quentin, Addy thought as she reined Arabesque to a stop then dismounted. If they were getting close, now might be a good time for them to switch to fresh mounts, giving them a longer range. In any event, she had her job, and that was the remuda. After loosening Arabesque's cinch, she moved around the animals in her charge, checking for any sign of problems, then led them over to a shallow stream to let them drink.

Posted August 23, 2019 / Aurelian Redmond

Aurelian dismounted with the rest, his horse was older and very reliable but this going uphill bearing the weight of a solid rider was more than the animal was used to, a short pause for the horses made perfect sense. It was hot out and Aurelian was in shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He reached for his canteen near the saddle horn and then took a few swigs before capping it up again.

Cradling his rifle he then listened to Quentin and Shade discuss the tracking. That was one frontier skill he openly admitted he knew almost nothing about so he was happy to defer to those who did.

Posted August 23, 2019 / Henry S. Guyer

Speed swung down, patting his horse on the neck as he dropped the reins, ground hitching his mount, something he took the time to train all his horses over the years. He slipped his canteen off of the horn and took a drink, the took off his hat and poured some in it for the animal.

He listened to Shade and Quentin giving thought to changing mounts, but his wasn't even lathered, yet. He barely heard the question about how long ago the beast had passed, that would not be something he was able to gauge, yet. It would take more time on the trail tracking before he could be certain of a time.

Posted August 30, 2019

On 8/22/2019 at 4:59 PM, Quentin Cantrell said:

Quentin walked up to stand behind Shade and to one side. "How long since it came by here?" He said quietly. Quentin knew it was foolish to speak low with a party this size and all these mounts, but his superstitious side still won out. Quentin wasn't one to tempt fate if he could help it.

Shade unhooked his canteen from the saddle and took a long drink before answering Quentin. At least there would be plenty of fresh water sources for refilling their canteens. The Chogun Mountains were riddled with creeks and streams. After hanging the canteen back on his saddle, Shade stepped slightly away from Quentin and kneeled beside the track.

His sharp blue eyes took in the details of the sign left by the bear. Even had he not seen the animal when it had pursued him, Clara, and the twins, it was easy to tell the size of it. The depth of the track indicated its massive weight. He studied the decay of the track wall and the debris in the track itself. Finally, he leaned forward, spread his hand flat next to the track and pressed it into the earth. Standing up, he compared the two.

'We're maybe four to six hours behind him. I know from experience that he will double back on his own track, so we need to be doubly cautious here on out, folks."

Posted August 30, 2019 / Henry S. Guyer

On 8/30/2019 at 12:40 PM, Shade Thornton said:

Shade unhooked his canteen from the saddle and took a long drink before answering Quentin. At least there would be plenty of fresh water sources for refilling their canteens. The Chogun Mountains were riddled with creeks and streams. After hanging the canteen back on his saddle, Shade stepped slightly away from Quentin and kneeled beside the track.

His sharp blue eyes took in the details of the sign left by the bear. Even had he not seen the animal when it had pursued him, Clara, and the twins, it was easy to tell the size of it. The depth of the track indicated its massive weight. He studied the decay of the track wall and the debris in the track itself. Finally, he leaned forward, spread his hand flat next to the track and pressed it into the earth. Standing up, he compared the two.

'We're maybe four to six hours behind him. I know from experience that he will double back on his own track, so we need to be doubly cautious here on out, folks."

Speed looked at the track a long minute, a chill ran down his spine as he recalled the encounter with the beast on the road from Whitefish to Kalispel. he stepped back to his horse and drew the Sharps out of the saddle scabbard. If in fact the bear had decided to double back, there was no real way to tell where he might be. If he got a whiff of the men and the horses, well, the beast could be just about anywhere and he wanted to be ready.

Posted September 1, 2019 / Aurelian Redmond

Aurelian watched Shade analyze the track, interesting. It was good to know someone at least had this sort of tracking and hunting experience. Also he blinked at the revelation the beast may well double back on it's path. He would not have known that, Aurelian conceded.

"Really? Wonder why they do that? Or is that pretty common with predators?" he asked even as he noticed one of the men extract his Sharps from it's scabbard. He could understand why the gent might be feeling a bit jumpy upon hearing that. He already had his own weapon in hand, loaded and it would only take one cock of the trigger for it to be ready for fire.

Posted September 3, 2019

Shade gathered up Lakota's reins and led the big smoky dun gelding to the stream so he could drink. He glanced back at Aurelian and smiled, "Not all predators will do it. Mostly, it's older animals that have experience at hunting and being hunted. Like humans learn to circle around to see who or what might be trackin' them, animals can figure it out too. I only know about this bear because we experienced it when he came after me, Clara, and the kids."

He ran a hand down Lakota's shoulder and legs, feeling for heat. The horse was still in good shape, not even breathing hard. Shade elected to keep riding him. If the bear did come after the hunting party, he'd rather be astride a mount that he knew well. "I think another two or three hours and if the sign doesn't get fresher, we should make camp. Don't want to be caught on the trail after dark if the creature attacks."