A silent grove of tall pines attracted him. He selected a sheltered spot within, and because of his fever leaned against a tree bole. His sight blurred and cleared, only to blur again. His body shuddered with cold or steeped with inward fires.
He remembered then the sickness of the whites in the cabin. This then must be The Great Spirit's reason for his journey. Perhaps this was his final testing, a purification to strain his will and his body, perhaps unto death itself.
The Warrior's mind thrilled at the contest, He forced himself erect, turning his palms upward. He raised his chin, facing The Sky God, who might soon appear.
Forever it seemed the flush of fever or rack of chill shredded the visions, and he sensed passage of time when he knew nothing.
Within his chest his heart thumped like a medicine drum, and the rasp of his breathing filled his hearing. Cold assailed him until his jaw ached with the need to chatter, only to become heat so intense his skin crackled with it.
Slowly visions formed, and he fought to know their meaning. Where there had been woods, a broad trail opened that seemed to climb gradually for infinite distance. Along it his eyes sped, passing camps of many that seemed familiar. At each passing he could feel the strength of his body returning until he was again running in the tireless stride of old.
Across a vast meadow and through forests where deer flags darted away he effortlessly ran. Always the broad path rose and he knew it to be the Great Spirit trail so long in his thoughts. Far ahead a mighty sun began its majestic rise and he supposed that there The Sky Father waited for them all.
A camp in a glade of grass turned him aside, and figures behind a crackling fire rose to greet him. Bright and proud they stood, young in their strength, but brave with the wounds they had earned.
As one, the hand of Friend Seeker and the great grip of The Blackhawk reached for his, and he saw with vast contentment the glitter of approval above their wide smiles of greeting.
Mightily he strained to touch the hands and felt their clasp close about his own and draw him to them. His cry, exultant as the eagle's, shattered the forest silence and obliterated all that he was.
In the grove of tall pine, The Warrior's giant body lost its straining and slumped to the tree. His chin fell to the suddenly lax chest, and the powerful hands lay limp beside his thighs.
In death, the mighty body grew smaller, as though the spirit within had truly departed for The Sky Father's hunting place.
When a wandering Shawnee found him, only the multitude of honored scars and the ferocity of the painted features told who had once dwelt within.
The End
About Roy Chandler
Rocky Chandler is now 86 years of age. He remains active and still rides his Harley-Davidson across the continental United States.
The author divides his time among Nokomis, FL, St Mary's City, MD, and Perry County, PA,
Author of more than sixty published books Chandler is writing a final novel titled Blackwater Jack.
Yep, that Blackwater. The new tale is a zinger.
Rocky Chandler: Author, Educator, Soldier, Patriot
Books by Roy Chandler
Reading order of fiction books in the Perry County Series
Friend Seeker
The Warrior
Arrowmaker
The Black Rifle
Fort Robinson
Ironhawk
Song of Blue Moccasin
Tim Murphy, Rifleman
Hawk's Feather
Shatto
Chip Shatto
Ted's Story
The Boss's Boy
Tiff's Game
The Didactor
The Perry Countian
The Sweet Taste
Old Dog
Gray's Talent
Ramsey
Shooter Galloway
Shatto's Way
Gun of Joseph Smith series (Juvenile)
Gun of Joseph Smith, The (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1987
Tuck Morgan, Plainsman (Vol. 2) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1991
Morgan's Park (Vol. 3) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1997
Sniper Series
Death From Afar I (And Norman A. Chandler), 1992
Death From Afar II: Marine Corps Sniping (And Norman A. Chandler), 1993
Death From Afar Vol. III: The Black Book (And Norman A. Chandler), 1994
Death From Afar IV (And Norman A. Chandler), 1996
White Feather: Carlos Hathcock USMC scout sniper (And Norman A. Chandler), 1997
Death From Afar V (And Norman A. Chandler), 1998
Sniper One (Iron Brigade series), 2000
One Shot Brotherhood (And Norman A. Chandler)
Antique Guns
History of Early Perry County Guns and Gunsmiths (With Donald L. Mitchell), 1969
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes and Barrel Marks, 1972
Arms Makers of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1981
Gunsmiths of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1982
Pennsylvania Gunmakers (a collection), 1984
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes All New Volume 2, 1992
Behold the Long Rifle, 1993
The Kentucky Pistol, 1994
Hunting
Alaskan Hunter: a book about big game hunting, 1972
Choose the Right Gun, 1994
Hunting Alaska, 1995
The Hunter's Alaska, 2005
All About a Foot Soldier, 1965
All Books by Publication Date
All About a Foot Soldier, 1965
History of Early Perry County Guns and Gunsmiths (With Donald L. Mitchell), 1969
A History of Perry County Railroads, 1970
Alaskan Hunter: a book about big game hunting, 1972
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes and Barrel Marks, 1972
Tales of Perry County, 1973
Arrowmaker, 1974
Hunting in Perry County, 1974
Antiques of Perry County, 1976
The Black Rifle, 1976
Homes, Barns and Outbuildings of Perry County, 1978
Shatto, 1979
The Perry County Flavor, 1980
Arms Makers of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1981
The Didactor, 1981
Fort Robinson: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, the years 1750-63, 1981
Friend Seeker: A novel of Perry County PA, 1982
Gunsmiths of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1982
Perry County in Pen & Ink, 1983
Shatto's Way: A novel of Perry County, Pa, 1984
Chip Shatto: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, the years 1863-6, 1984
Pennsylvania Gunmakers (a collection), 1984
Firefighters of Perry County, 1985
The Warrior, A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania 1721-1764, 1985
Perry County Sketchbook (And Katherine R. Chandler), 1986
A 30-foot, $6,000 Cruising Catamaran, 1987
The Gun of Joseph Smith (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1987
The Perry Countian, 1987
Hawk's Feather - An Adventure Story, 1988
Ted's Story, 1988
Alcatraz: The Hardest Years 1934-1938 (With Erville F. Chandler), 1989
Cronies, 1989
Song of Blue Moccasin, 1989
The Sweet Taste, 1990
Tiff's Game: A work of fiction, 1991
Tuck Morgan, Plainsman (Vol. 2) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1991
Death From Afar I (And Norman A. Chandler), 1992
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes All New Volume 2, 1992
Behold the Long Rifle, 1993
Death From Afar II: Marine Corps Sniping (And Norman A. Chandler), 1993
Old Dog, 1993
Tim Murphy, Rifleman: A novel of Perry County, Pa. 1754-1840, 1993
Choose the Right Gun, 1994
Death From Afar Vol. III: The Black Book (And Norman A. Chandler), 1994
The Kentucky Pistol, 1994
Ramsey: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, 1994
Gray's Talent, 1995
Hunting Alaska, 1995
Last Black Book, 1995
Dark Shadow (The Red book series), 1996
Death From Afar IV (And Norman A. Chandler, 1996
Morgan's Park (Vol. 3) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1997
White Feather: Carlos Hathcock USMC scout sniper (And Norman A. Chandler), 1997
Death From Afar V (And Norman A. Chandler), 1998
Ironhawk: A frontier novel of Perry County Pennsylvania 1759-1765, 1999
Sniper One, 2000
One Shot Brotherhood (And Norman A. Chandler), 2001
Shooter Galloway, 2004
The Hunter's Alaska, 2005
The Boss's Boy, 2007
Pardners, 2009
Hawk's Revenge, 2010