MISSOURI summer 1850…. Jake a cocky 22 year old cowboy is riding the range looking for straying cattle with two other cowhands, Jesse, at 47 and Pete the 18 year old son of the ranch owner. Jake likes riding shirtless feeling the warm breeze on his lean body. Jesse hollers over to him,“If you get a burned hide I ain’t gonna be the one rubbing horse liniment on ya agin… you hear me boy?” Pete laughs at this and, taking off his own shirt, starts swirling it around his head calling out, “Yeehah! Yeehah!” Jesse shakes his head saying,“Dang fools, it ain’t my job to nursemaid ya. Just don’t expect Jesse to sooth yer red hides while ya whimpering away… I ain’t ya pa!”
Just then…. a whoosh and thud is followed by a yell from Jesse as he falls from his horse with an arrow buried deep between his ribs. Jake shouts over at Pete,“RIDE FOR YOUR LIFE BOY!” The two spur their mounts into a gallop away from the direction of the arrow and Jake looks behind to see if they’re being pursued by any indians. But just as he does he is aware that Pete’s mount has stumbled and thrown Pete to the ground where he rolls to a halt laying face down and still. Jake makes a sharp turn and halts his mount near to the fallen Pete. Dismounting he draws his pistol and, looking all about, starts shaking Pete’s shoulder saying, “Get up boy we need to move out fast!” Pete starts to groan and rolls over shaking his head saying,“Wha…what….being attacked… indians…. Jesse?!” As the boy comes around he looks up at Jake,“What you looking at Jake?” Pete notices Jake peering over at the stumbled horse and then sees what Jake is looking at…Pete’s horse has an arrow buried deep in its hindquarter. Then they both hear the whooping of indians approaching and look to see a band of ten loincloth clad Shawnee on coloured ponies bearing down on them. Jake knows they couldn’t outrun them with two on his mount so he grabs his rifle and signals to Pete to run for the cover of nearby rocks.
On reaching the rocky outcrop they get down on their naked bellies and Jake takes careful aim with his Winchester rifle…he shoots and one of the pursuing braves is struck in the chest, the bullet’s impact flipping him backwards from his pony. This causes the others to split up and circle the outcrop, shooting arrows from horseback towards the cowhands’ position. Arrows ricochet off the rocks too close for comfort so Jake risks levelling his rifle again and fires…another brave is hit in his side and his back explodes in a red mist from the exit wound. The other eight braves then quickly dismount to take cover nearby and start up a continuing whooping. Pete says, “What we gonna do Jake, we’re surrounded by injuns and lost our horses?”Jake replies, “Stay calm boy…your pa will soon send a search party out for us. Now keep your pistol at the ready in case these savages rush us.”
Nightfall approaches bringing with it a nearly full Moon while the remaining Shawnee continue to whoop from any and every direction causing the half naked cowpokes’ nerves to be on edge. Pete whispers, “Can you hear something else Jake?” He replies, “There’s something out there right enough… keep your eyes peeled and git your knife ready.” The two scan the surrounding rocks until…Pete squeezes Jake’s arm and gestures towards something. Jake starts to make out a form, slithering snake like over the boulders towards them…every now and then the moonlight glistens off tensing muscled skin revealing the sinewy form of an indian. Jake whispers, “Now!” as he launches himself at the crawling brave landing on his naked back. Grabbing at the brave’s knife hand Jake wrestles him into a choke hold and ends up lying on his back with the squirming indian laying belly up atop of him. Jake says, “Do it Pete…do it now!…What’s wrong with yer…You’ve gut a deer before ain’t yer boy…well this here buck is no different…now stick him!” Pete lunges forward with his hunting knife and helps Jake by also holding off the brave’s knife arm then, almost in a frenzy, stabs his blade deep into the lower belly and navel of the struggling indian…again and again and again. When Jake feels the brave go limp and hot blood pooling on his own belly he says, “Pete, that’s enough…PETE!…enough!” Just then, as if knowing what had become of their brother warrior, the whooping falls silent. Jake rolls the dead brave off him and they both try to remain alert but the chill of night time makes it difficult so Jake, crawling over to Pete, embraces the youth in a hug. They share each other’s body warmth until sun up when they again take up their defensive positions. In the light of day Pete tries hard not to look at the indian brave he butchered. The continuing silence prompts Pete to say, “Maybe they’ve skeddadled Jake?…maybe they’ve seen my pa and the search party coming?” Jake replies, “Listen Pete, ya pa won’t know we’re missing until later cos I told him we were gonna camp out overnight…I only told yer that to keep ya calm, so no, those savages are still out there.” Pete doesn’t react to this revelation.
Suddenly they hear the sound of a single pistol shot…Pete excitedly exclaims, “It is pa, he’s come for us…I told yer he would Jake.” Jake replies, “No yung un, I’ll wager that’s Jesse’s pistol those ornery varmints are playing with…don’t worry none cos these injuns ain’t used to guns so unless they’re right up close to ya they couldn’t hit a barn door.” Not long after Jake says this they hear the clattering of stones and spin around to see a mostly naked and war painted indian warrior appear atop a shallow scree slope aiming Jesse’s pistol in their direction. Almost simultaneously all three fire their pistols… the Shawnee is hit in his navel but before he can claw at his wound a second shot to his left breast sends him spinning to fall limp down the slope. Pete says, “We got another one Jake…JAKE!”…Pete, on turning to Jake, sees him clutching at his belly and in obvious pain. Jake whimpers, “I’m gut shot Pete…it hurts real bad!” Pete, now oblivious to the impending danger, tries to aid Jake but before he can do anything he is roughly grabbed from behind by a muscular forearm around his neck. Pete is disarmed and firmly held while forced to watch as a brave, believing that bullets can be reused like arrows, commences to cut the bullet out of the belly of a screaming Jake who eventually falls quiet and still as death takes him. Pete struggles, cursing at the Shawnee. One of the Shawnee band is Pete’s age and an older warrior summons him forward to stand face to face with Pete. The Shawnee youth is similar in physique to Pete but with better defined abdominals. His war painted face gives the aggressive snarl he is giving Pete a fearsome look. Then the older warrior starts chattering away in his native tongue which Pete can’t understand…but he soon comes to realise what they intend for him.
The Shawnee youth is given Pete’s hunting knife which he starts running across Pete’s body…When he gets to Pete’s navel the brave gestures a cutting action feigning gutting him as Pete feels the icy sting of the blade’s tip across his belly. Then the young Shawnee hands over the knife to Pete, walks back a few paces and, drawing his own knife, adopts a crouching classic knife fighting stance at Pete. Pete follows suit and looks for weaknesses in his adversary but all he can see is the hate the young Shawnee has for him and his desire to spill pale skin blood. Pete knows he is a dead man whatever the outcome of this fight…so, not caring they cannot understand him, he loudly says, “I AIN’T DYING WITHOUT TAKING YOU WITH ME SAVAGE!” With that they both start to circle one another but it is the Shawnee who more boldly thrusts forward with his blade. However, Pete was hoping the Shawnee’s arrogance would offer up this opportunity…As the Shawnee thrusts at Pete’s naked belly Pete sidesteps forward and, grabbing his opponent’s knife arm, uses his leg to unbalance the brave causing him to roll to the ground. “Don’t know them wrestling moves, do ya red!” Pete says as he follows through by straddling the brave who responds by violently bucking Pete off him. The two then set about a deadly wrestle in the dirt while defensively holding off each other’s knife hand. Pete feels the squirming power of the brave’s body tight against him as they roll this way and that. Soon however, the Shawnee gets the better of Pete by holding him down with his back to the ground and he slowly starts to overpower Pete’s defensive hold causing the brave’s knife to descend closer and closer to Pete’s belly. Pete can feel the brave is, like himself, in a state of arousal and Pete starts to think about accepting his fate in the deadly embrace of this handsome savage. Then, to the side, Pete sees Jake’s blood covered body and his resolve changes and he spits up at the brave. This action makes the brave to again hold his snarling face close to Pete’s but again this is what Pete hoped for…Pete rapidly head butts the brave causing him to lose some strength. Feeling the temporary lull in his enemy’s strength Pete forces his hunting knife directly into the Indian’s navel…as Pete feels the resistance of the brave’s tight abdominals he pushes harder causing the young brave to cry out and spasm against Pete. Pete, not content with this, viciously twists the blade in his enemy’s guts until he becomes limp atop of him.
Now, while the body of the dead brave is lifted from him, Pete awaits his own death… He is lifted to his feet to again stand before the older warrior. Accepting his fate Pete defiantly spits on the ground at the warrior’s feet but the warrior just starts chanting followed by reaching down to the young brave’s death wound to collect some still warm blood on his fingers. He then smears this blood on Pete’s cheekbones, like blood warpaint and chants again. Inexplicably the warrior then gives Pete the young braves knife, bow and arrows and tomahawk while another warrior brings over the coloured pony of the brave and hands Pete its halter rope. While Pete continues to just stand there the Shawnee band gather their ponies and dead and are soon gone out of view. Not knowing how much time elapses Pete becomes aware of a familiar voice, that of his father urgently calling out his name…
Pete is initially left with mixed feelings over surviving the encounter while his friends lay dead…In a weird sense he had developed a kind of respect for the Shawnee, in much the same way as he did for wild animals…Yet despite this, the overriding feeling for Pete would end up being one of hate…A hate that would soon see him lead a vigilante raid on the nearest, mostly peaceful, Shawnee village, regardless of where the war party had come from, as revenge for the loss of his two friends…but that’s another story…
