Teton Sunrise (Teton Romance Trilogy) (30 page)

Competition between fur companies was fierce, and larger companies used ruthless tactics to break the backs of some of the smaller companies. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company and the American Fur Company were two of the largest outfits.

The annual trapper rendezvous was first held in 1826, when William Ashley led a pack train of supplies from St. Louis into the Rockies to outfit his men. This became an annual event, with trappers and Indians coming to trade goods, swap stories, buy supplies, sell their furs, and generally have a good time.

Fascinating tales of the mountain men abound.  Whenever I come across a story that piques my interest, I try and find a way to incorporate some of it into my books. For instance, I used the story of John
Colter
and his escape from the Blackfoot Indians in one of my other novels, Yellowstone Redemption.

Another story I came across that was too good not to incorporate into Teton Sunrise, was an incident that happened to mountain man Joe Meeks. While traveling with fellow trappers and his Indian wife, a group of hostile Indians kidnapped his wife when she fell behind in their travels. Joe Meeks charged after the kidnappers, and lost control of his horse. The Indians were so impressed by Joe’s show of “bravery” at riding headlong into their midst, that they gave the wife back to him. It didn’t happen quite like that to Alex in Teton Sunrise, but I thought it was a great little tidbit.

The Teton mountain range is one of the youngest in North America. It was formed some 9 million years ago due largely to the uplift of several faults in the region. Earthquakes in the area are due largely to the nearby Yellowstone caldera.

The Grand Tetons were named
Les
Trois
Tetons
by early French trappers, and the range of mountains was called the
Teewinots
(many pinnacles) by the Shoshone Indians.

Scroll down for an excerpt from Book 2 in the Teton Romance Trilogy, Teton Splendor

 ~Peggy

My other titles:

Yellowstone Romance Series:

Book 1   Yellowstone Heart Song

Book 2   Yellowstone Redemption

Book 3   Yellowstone Awakening

Book 4   Yellowstone Dawn

Book 5   Yellowstone Deception

A Yellowstone Christmas (novella)

Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series

Book 1
  
Come Home to Me

You can find all my titles by visiting my Amazon author page:

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Teton Splendor

Prologue

Jackson Hole, Oregon Territory (what is now Wyoming) 1853

Joseph Walker pulled his horse to a stop just outside the large conical tent near the center of the Indian village. Men and women stopped what they were doing to watch him, some holding their hands up in a gesture of greeting. Children ran anxiously beside his horse, waving and shouting, and dogs barked at their heels. Smiling at his exuberant welcoming committee, he swung his leg over the back of the saddle and dismounted. Handing the reins to one of the older boys, he untied a large leather pouch from his saddle.

“What did you bring us,
Nu
umi
Kin
numpu
?” several of the children called.

Joseph faced the children. Grinning broadly, he reached into the sack and produced ribbons of various colors, beads, and strips of cloth that he handed to the bright-eyed girls. For the eager boys, he pulled out flint and elk antlers, a few eagle feathers and claws, and mountain lion teeth.

“It is good to see you,
toko
,” a raspy voice spoke above the exited chatter of the children. They fell silent and dispersed, and Joseph’s eyes fell on the old man who had emerged from the tipi.

“It is good you have returned to the valley for the summer,
kunu
,” he said, and clasped the old man’s hands. The chief’s grip wasn’t as strong as he remembered from last summer, and his smile faded.

“You are well?” he asked tentatively, and searched the old man’s wrinkled face. Two Bears, chief of this small band of Bannock Indians, offered a slow smile, and returned his stare through watery eyes.

“I am not as young as I used to be,” the chief answered. “Come walk with me,
toko
.
I hoped you would visit soon. There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

Joseph’s brows drew together in a worried frown, and he fell into step beside the old man. Rather than the usual drawn-out greeting, Two Bears seemed to be anxious to tell him what was on his mind. The chief walked bent forward with a hunched back, and shuffled away from his tent, toward the meandering stream flowing along the edge of the village. Joseph glanced sideways down at the frail-looking man, and remembered a time when he looked up to the once proud chief in admiration. Now it was Two Bears who had to raise his head to look him in the eye.

“What is on your mind, Grandfather,” Joseph finally asked when they reached the banks of the stream. The chief stopped and faced him.

“I have had visions in my sleep. Visions of my death,” Two Bears said. Joseph gripped his arm and chuckled uneasily.

“You will live for many more seasons,” he said with exaggerated confidence.

Two Bears smiled sadly. “I am not ready to die,” he said, searching Joseph’s face. “There is something that has been troubling me, and I must ask a favor of you.”

“Anything,” Joseph said quickly. Aside from his father, there wasn’t a man he respected more than the old chief, and nothing he asked could be too much.

“As you know, I had a daughter once.” The chief paused and glanced expectantly at Joseph. When he nodded, Two Bears continued. “She was my only child. She was taken from me much too soon. She and her husband were killed by an evil white man.”

Vague memories of his father’s friend, a French trapper named Laurent
Berard
, entered Joseph’s mind. He and his father had trapped the surrounding mountains when the fur trade was big business in the east and overseas. Since the decline of beaver pelts a decade ago, his father and mother had taken to raising cattle and horses in the vast valley at the base of the great Teton
mountains
. Joseph was no more than five years old when a ruthless man, bent on revenge, murdered
Laurent  and
his Bannock wife, Whispering Waters.

“My daughter bore a girl child. I know that my granddaughter is still alive,” Two Bears continued, his voice faltering slightly. “A white man took her away so she would not meet the same fate as her parents. That is what your father has told me.”

Joseph nodded. According to his father, Laurent had given his daughter into the care of an easterner before he died, to protect her from getting killed. Byron Yancey had come to the mountains to learn about the fur trade first hand, and his family was one of the largest exporters of beaver pelts to Europe.

“I cannot die until I see my granddaughter. She was two summers old when she was taken to the big white man’s city in the east.” Two Bears inhaled a raspy breath and coughed. “It is my wish that you bring her to me so I may see what kind of woman she has become. Only then will I be able to walk peacefully in the spirit world.”

Joseph stared at the old man. This was the last thing he had expected. Although his father had told him that Yancey fled back east with the little girl, no one knew whether they had survived. Joseph had no idea where to even begin a search for her.

“It is a long journey,
kunu
. It will take many months to even reach the cities in the east.”

“I will wait for your return,” Two Bears said confidently. “I know you will not fail me.”

Joseph nodded slowly. He was willing to do anything for the old chief, but this seemed like a futile, if not impossible undertaking. Staring into the hopeful old eyes of the Indian, he knew he couldn’t refuse the chief’s request.

Sucking in a deep breath, he smiled, and said confidently, “I will find her and bring her to you.”