Laurel Ridge Ordinary 1795 Part III by beanerywriters

The passageway was twice the length of his body, and as his figure filled the space, the light disappeared toward his feet. He held his rifle in front of him as best he could and crawled on his elbows and knees. He could smell the musky dank odor of the bear's den. His heart pounded in his chest. His breathing became labored and his senses piqued.

He paused for a moment and as the sound of his breathing slowed, he could hear the labored panting of the wounded bear. It became louder. He leaned to the far left to allow a sliver of light to penetrate the tunnel. He saw a reflection that was most likely the sunlight reflecting in the eyes of the big she. He cocked the gun with the grip of his hand and raised the barrel to end the life of the great beast. The bear, as if taking on human characteristics, raised its head and lunged toward the glimmer of light. Creed felt something against the end of the barrel and withdrew slightly from the passage for fear of blowing up the barrel when it discharged. More light flooded the passageway as he neared the opening. Backward movement required twice the forward. He saw the wet nose of the bear. He knew this was his chance. He pulled the trigger and the flint struck the frizzen. A bright spark only inches from his nose ignited the power in the pan. In a low sizzle the power flashed in the pan illuminating Creed, the passageway, and a bleeding bear-but no shot was fired. It was but a flash in the pan.

A hunter's worst nightmare, damp powder! Creed crawled backward. The bear was soon upon the end of his rifle. He poked her sharply hoping to drive her back into the den. It was then he felt a ripping at his deerskin moccasins and leggings. He was being pulled along on his belly as his arms flailed wildly. How had the bear passed him in the tunnel? His question was answered by the crack of a rifle. The bear fell dead alongside Creed at the mouth of the passageway. Creed jumped to his feet to meet a tall slender man with a short beard.

"It was a might close in there," Creed exclaimed, " I do appreciate your assistance."

The man introduced himself as Randolph Reed. He explained how he followed a blood trail from where Creed killed a doe earlier in the day. He tracked him from where Creed hung up the deer to pursue the bear, hoping to ask directions to the nearest town. The light snow cover helped him. An earlier snow had caused him to lose his way.

The men gutted the bear and loaded it on Randolph's horse and walked a short distance to where the deer hung in a sugar tree. The last light of day faded into blackness as they approached the cabin. There was great joy at their arrival along with the sound of children laughing and women quietly weeping with short smiles on their faces.

As Creed said the blessing over dinner, he knew in his heart God had again provided for his family. His wife could but hold back the tears as she silently prayed with her husband. Kessiah had fed her guests fried mush with butter. Elizabeth had supplied strawberry preserves and pickled eggs from their provisions. With her husband's return, Kessiah prepared venison fried in bear fat and everyone had their fill. Just perfect, she thought.

Creed relished the beauty of his wife in their special dress. He had not told her about his brush with death earlier in the day and most likely wouldn't. As the reed lamp flickered in the darkness, the children joined Creed and Kessiah in their bed and allowed Randolph and Ruben to take their ticks in the loft, along with Elizabeth. The mice danced along the loft that night to the sleeping sounds of three very tired travelers.

Click back on the beanerywriters blog for the continuing saga of Laurel Ridge Ordinary 1795, for the final segment to be submitted to this site this week.

The segments are be stored under the blog category BW Visitor Writings.
Rock Foster, Somerset, Pa., has authored two historical novels, When Gauley Ran Blood and On the Banks of Gauley. The books offer a life experience of children of the wilderness on the American frontier long before it reached the Ohio River. Journey with the Hughes family as they leave the security of the tidewater and travel into the forested Promised Land in western Virginia. Discover their dreams, joys and sorrows as they scratch out their forested empires. Discover how they found love in the midst of Indian captivity and lived to raise families whose true wealth lay in their faith in God and faith in each other. Relive the adventure, learn the history, and rejoice in the celebration of the lives of these early American heroes.

Information on the books, including the first two chapters of each, is available at:
http://www.lhtc.net/~rock/otbogpage.htm