The Raiding Party

My older brother and I were on a pilgrimage to our sacred burial grounds about six miles from our village. The pilgrimage involved us living off the land for three days without any weapons or horses. We were both clad in buckskin shirts and breechclouts and on the second morning it was my turn to fetch water from a nearby river. On the way I checked our crudely made traps but there was nothing caught in them. While filling the water skins I heard the sound of horses coming my way so I backed into the cover of rocks to see who was riding them. To my horror they were a raiding party of fifteen braves from a tribe in the next valley who had started attacking villages close to ours for horses so it was just a matter of time before our village would be targeted and it looked like they were on their way now. The raiding party then stopped and dismounted by the river but what can I do to warn my village which was six miles away? I must fetch my brother, we must do something. Upon returning to our makeshift camp I saw the ground had been disturbed by the raiding party’s horses....it didn’t take long for me to find my brother....he was lying face down in the dirt with two arrows in his back, his spirit was now with our ancestors but I must choke back my emotions to take action to warn my people. 

On returning to the river I could see the horses but where were the warriors? I then saw the smoke from a camp fire which was visible above the trees where they must be holding up prior to the raid on my village. But there must be lookouts....ah yes....now visible between the horses I saw that a lone warrior was standing in the shallow waters of the flowing river allowing the horses to drink. The warrior was younger than me well toned and wore just a loincloth with a sheathed hunting knife hanging from it on his right hip. It was going to be hard to take on such a fit adversary unarmed as I was but I had to get one of those horses, and scatter the rest to take my chance to warn my village. I removed my buckskin clothing down to my loincloth to quietly enter the river and swam underwater as far as I could until I reached the shallows. I then made my way in between the horses stroking them softly as I went so they knew I was there and wouldn’t get spooked, all the time fixing my gaze on the enemy warrior in case he turned and saw me. Fortunately the sound of the flowing river water and horses allowed me to approach the brave from behind undetected.

I needed to grab his sheathed knife from behind before he could react with the intention of a quick kill. I was now so close I could feel the heat from his body, I put my left forearm across his throat squeezing tight and making him arch backwards and at the same time made a grab for his hunting knife.....but his reactions were too quick for me and he had hold of the knife’s handle while I had firm hold of his wrist. As I continued to choke him his left hand was clawing to free my forearm from his throat and we struggled for control of the knife as its blade came free of its sheath. I attempted to turn the blade into his side but while we were struggling he suddenly lunged backwards throwing us both off balance. I landed on my back in the shallow waters losing my choke hold on the brave who was now atop of me belly to belly with his snarling war painted face into mine as we fought for control of the knife. Now it was his left forearm that was across my throat pushing my head down into the shallow water. I could feel the squirming power of the young warrior’s body against me as he tensed trying to deliver the killer thrust under my ribs that would end my life. Using my left forearm hard against his neck I managed to force his body to turn off me just enough to expose his wet naked belly to the knife’s blade. With thoughts of my brother and village I found the strength I needed to turn his knife clutching hand so that the blade was now towards his torso and despite his resistance I managed to lunge the blade into his tensed belly. He bucked and tried to roll off me but I held him there while gaining full control of his knife and again stabbing deep into his bleeding belly feeling the resistance of his abs against the blade. He yelped and tried to lift himself off me, now fully exposing his abdomen I thrust the blade up into his navel and slowly twisted it....this time for my brother. The warrior gasped, writhed and then slumped back onto me, his hot blood turning the water red about us I rolled his limp body off me and into the flowing river.

Not knowing wether I had been detected by the other warriors I bareback mounted the nearest horse and while scattering the rest down river I was aware of arrows flying past me as I spurred the war pony towards my village.