The Saga of Harlan Waugh (The Mountain Men) by Terry Grosz Read Free Book Online Page B

had to suffer through short rations many times throughout the year. But because Harlan and later the boys were so adroit with their outdoor skills and the big Hawkens, not many meals were missed. Those extra calories began to show up not only in the boys’ stature but their muscular development as well. Their arm strength was remarkable to behold as they labored mightily alongside their newfound dad.
    In fact, Harlan was continually amazed at their strength when the three of them got into wrestling matches over who would cook the evening meal or skin the last beaver. When the boys got hold of him, Harlan discovered that he had to use all his strength and cunning to escape their clutches in order to remain free from the cooking or skinning detail. Harlan was pleased that he had raised such capable and strong young men. That was what life in the West required, and if you didn’t measure up, you soon joined the soil forever.
     
     
    ***
     
    At first, Harlan couldn’t believe his eyes. Not forty yards away was a grizzly bear feeding on a fresh moose carcass—a bear of enormous size, pure white in color with pink eyes and reddish-pink claws! Here was a pure albino animal, something so rare that he had heard of only one other having been seen, and that had been only a partial albino.
    As if sensing danger, the brute stood up and tested the air with a loud blowing in and out through his nostrils. Then he returned to all fours to feed on the moose he had just surprised and killed in the creek bottom.
    My God, thought Harlan, I have been in this country for over five years, and never have I seen such a magnificent creature. That damn bear is at least eleven feet tall and must weigh over fifteen hundred pounds!
    The two boys had frozen when Harlan had given the hand signal to stand still, and it was apparent from the size of their eyes that they too had never seen such a creature. Harlan continued to slowly shake his head in disbelief as the boys just looked and looked.
    Still sensing something amiss, the great bear rose once again on its hind feet, testing the air, and this time looked directly at Harlan and the boys. Since none of them moved and the bear had such poor eyesight, he detected nothing out of the ordinary. But the look he gave with those bright reddish-pink eyes appeared to Harlan to be almost supernatural. He dropped back down, and all that could be heard was the great tearing sounds that are made when a creature that size dismembers another large animal.
    Harlan slowly raised his rifle, although his powerful Hawken appeared to be only a small popgun in comparison to this monster. He quietly cocked the hammer against his buffalo coat in order to muffle the sound and made sure he had a cap on the nipple. Then he held the sights steady on the area into which the bear had disappeared. The boys, seeing him raise his rifle, followed suit, silently pointing their rifles in the direction of the great bear.
    Shuffling his feet loudly in the willow leaves to get the bear’s attention, Harlan prepared for what was to come. Woof—woof, snorted the great bear as it once again stood on its hind legs and looked in the direction from where the threatening sound had come. Ka-boom went Harlan’s Hawken as his bullet flew straight into the bear’s throat, ripping through the spine and killing it instantly.
    The bear crashed into a thicket of willows, and a great thrashing and tearing of brush occurred as he danced his last dance. Harlan, trying to reload his Hawken, discovered that his nerves were so rattled that he couldn’t do it! Laying the rifle on the ground, he turned and reached for Big Eagle’s Hawken in case a second shot was necessary. The brush continued to object to the bear’s thrashing, but soon all was deathly quiet.
    Returning Big Eagle’s rifle and recovering some of his nerve, Harlan quietly reloaded his Hawken. He motioned for the boys to spread out and follow him into the willows where the bear had