10 Pound Bag Ch. 101-105

**** Chapter 101 -- When the cows come home ****

Cattle don't travel quietly. It's not that they mind the herd moving long distances, that's actually part of their nature. But they like to take it easy and eat along the way. It's not just a cattle thing, either. It's just that they can complain louder than most other livestock. Other than that, they herd easy, unlike pigs. There is nothing really good to say about trying to move a herd of pigs across distance.

We heard them coming from a couple of miles away. They came up from the prairie on the same game trail I'd used to head north. I'd sent the Pawnee runner down there to guide them, once they came into view. As soon as we heard them at the camp, our riders saddled up to help guide them into the pasture. There were four of us who we trusted to sit a horse well. Mouse was allowed to join, so Michelle could evaluate her skill.

We had prepared our corral by adding the spare fencing section to the gate mouth. When the gate was open, we had a funnel to drive the herd through, directly into the pasture. Sonya and Esther were to man the gates, each with a boy to help them. Michelle, Holder, and Amos rode out with me as designated cowherds. Mouse trailed along silently, simply listening as we discussed the plan.

We needed to keep the herd out of the corn fields; that would be our primary focus. We also wanted to avoid the camp and get them directly into the pasture. Aggressive riding was to be avoided because we couldn't afford to incite a stampede. That wouldn't be a problem in the future, when the cattle knew where to go, but, for now, we had to take extra care. They would spend a lot of time grazing down on the prairie, and the herd would get used to the short trip back and forth. Our pasture simply wouldn't support that many cattle for very long. It was best to save it for the dairy herd.

We could hear them coming through the trees, so we positioned ourselves to keep them strung out and moving. They were forced into a narrow column coming up the trail and we tried to hold them in that shape. Of course, their instinct was telling them to bunch up again for protection. We managed to keep them moving.

Mouse surprised us all by dismounting and walking to the lead cow, making a strange "kitch, kitch'ing" sound. She got the leader to walk with her. They calmly made their way into the pasture, and that was that for the cattle. The pigs, thankfully, just followed the cows. With the exception of a few stalks, our corn had survived.

Behind the herd came the riders and the rest of the entourage. The horses and goats were all strung with leads and were uneventfully led into the pasture, as well. Holder assumed the first pasture shift and that part of the migration was complete. Now we only awaited the return of the riverboat.

First, it was time for families to re-unify and introductions to be made. Petalesharo was here with his family and I needed to see him.

**** ****

Pete's brother-in-law, with his family, had joined him; he also brought along a nephew with his pregnant wife. At least they had their own tipis. Nice folk over all, but they didn't speak a lick of English, so the going would be rough, at first.

As we sat and watched the tipis and tents go up, Pete explained that they usually sent scouts down this time of year, to watch for the buffalo as they moved north. The buffalo really didn't like the hotter climes, so they would head north during the spring and early summer if they could. The Pawnee would follow the herds and poach off them in preparation for the winter ahead. Mass kills didn't work. It took too long to process each buffalo. I basically knew about what any modern history buff would know, but it seemed that I was about to learn more. We were going to have our own buffalo hunt!

Pete would keep a scout down on the prairie watching for the herd. As soon as they showed up, a runner would head north and the Chief would prepare the main hunting party. Great care was taken with all of this, due to their centuries old feud with the Kansa Tribe and rising trouble with the Lakota. Every few years, that Kansa feud would flare into war again, with bloody results. This wasn't a Hatfield and McCoy type of feud;, this was a Scotland/England sort of conflict.

The Pawnee currently had the upper hand, but incursions by the Lakota and the Europeans had them reeling. Everything was happening just the way the fur trading companies wanted it to happen. The tribes' ancient animosities were being used against them. Profits for the Hudson Bay and Missouri Fur companies were at an all-time high, even if they were sometimes violently competing with each other.

Regardless, the Kansa were now a de facto enemy of mine - one more tear in an already full bucket. Old Bent Nose had wisely decided that, since I had embedded myself down here, I could be of use. My 'accidental' ties to both the Chief and Petalesharo had, in reality, been deft political maneuvers. I'd fallen for it, like the political amateur that I was.

So Pete and his family would man this outpost with me. Basically, we were watching his southern border. Well, hell, it's not like I'd never been hung out to dry before. And at least I knew what I was up against. The longer-term realization was that nobody was going to vie for my land anytime soon. I had time to prepare. I'd have a word with Michelle later.

I walked Pete out to the fields and showed him our growing bounty. Like any good sub-Chief, he started talking trade immediately. My crops were going to be a valuable commodity. I gave him an overview of my plans, including running the herds down on the prairie. Not surprisingly, the Pawnee were happy to help with that task.

I introduced him to Lunch. I think Pete fell in love with the horse on first sight. Lunch did his part by coming over and bugging me for a treat. Lunch was still young, but his strength and speed were obvious just in the way that he moved. He had the confidence that comes from being the only stallion with a growing herd of mares, and he wasn't afraid to show it.

"How fast?" Pete asked.

I simply smiled and introduced him to the llamas. Now he was crazy full of questions that all basically boiled down to one thing: "What is this odd looking creature?"

I cut off a bit of llama pelt and gave it to him. He marveled at the softness. I filled him in on the packing and carting ability, but admitted you couldn't ride them like a horse. You could eat them, but you could eat horses also. Like horses, these had better value than simple butchering.

We walked out to check on the watering pond. It wasn't close to full yet and we'd need to keep a keen watch on the inflow. Hopefully, the tools would show up tomorrow and we'd be able to finish this job rapidly. There were a lot of people here now and things were going to start changing fast.

We headed back to camp after that. We needed to check on the madhouse we'd left behind.

**** Chapter 102 -- Introductions all around ****

Lunch was served as a walking meal, allowing everyone to eat when, and as, they chose. We'd sort out the village pantry in the days to come. I knew we had a storekeeper now.

I sent a runner off to Thomas and Martha. We were having a get-together tomorrow and they were invited. Amos and Holder were the emissaries for that mission and they left out at a quick pace; they'd easily make the round trip in an afternoon. If the invitation were accepted, Amos was to stay the night and guide them the next day, while Holder would return with the news. They took along two extra mounts to insure an easy trip for the family tomorrow.

Esther, along with one of the older boys who could sit a horse, was sent to watch the livestock. Everyone else was called together for formal introductions and our first census. Most of the folk were still squaring away their summertime living quarters. We called the families one at a time up to the table to meet and greet with my new "council."

The council consisted of Michelle, Petalesharo, Captain Timmons and Mouse; of course, I was the head of the council. Sonya was the official 'Town Clerk' even if this was a village, at best. Many titles had been suggested for me over the last few days, almost none of which were acceptable in respectable society. In the end, I just remained Mr. Narrater for official records. Sonya consistently listed me as 'the Narrater' in all of the initial records. I resolved to avenge this intentional slight by assigning her all of the most annoying responsibilities.

**** ****

The council all sat on one side of the table as each family in turn came up, introduced themselves and gave a brief background. We would then discuss their hopes and plans. We kept the time to less than thirty minutes per family but it still added up. We'd have to keep up the pace if we wanted to make it through the entire group by supper time.

Captain Timmons and his family went first. Sonya recorded the names, birth dates, and genders into her ledger. We'd pick up more detailed data points later, but time was important today. Each adult also discussed their intentions and their skills. Some wanted a homestead and others wanted a house and shop in the village. I let everyone know that there would be a village gathering tomorrow and that we would post the village rules and laws at that time. It was a long day.

The quick overview showed we had twelve families in our little village, plus two groups of men living as bachelors. The Pawnee scouts had two female slaves that had accompanied them to run those two tipis while the men hunted. That was going to cause a problem, but I felt confident that I'd be able to work a deal with Pete to emancipate them; somebody would get paid, but at least it wouldn't be settled with blood. I'd aim for the British model, not the French/American disasters. Our other group of men were the boatmen, though that was a topic for another day.

All in all, it was a pretty sizeable population and rules needed to be laid out immediately. We'd work on the rules after supper. A general construction plan needed to be set also. We needed winter housing up by the end of October. The axes would start swinging tomorrow, at first light.

Introductions complete, we still had time for a tour of the temporary village before supper. It was surprise time for me. The first surprise was that I now lived in the camper, and I lived alone. I wasn't sure what that meant and whether it was good or bad - most likely both. Sonya and Esther had moved into my tent, while Michelle had moved in with Matilda. Hmm, now that was food for fantasy. Holder and Moses had our second tipi, and Mary, Mouse, and Banshee had the other. Of course, those tipis were the first and closest to the homestead; it was about thirty yards from door to door.

After that, the temporary village was laid out according to Sonya's plan with six tents or tipis on each side of the road. That gave us fourteen on the road outside of the palisade. When you added the three living quarters inside the palisade, we had a total of seventeen houses in our sudden village. Calling it a village was still a stretch, but I had the feeling it was going to grow quickly. I expected to pick up a couple more families just by announcing the land I was claiming.

My intent was to claim all of the land bordered by the Big Nemaha, Little Nemaha and Missouri rivers and I was prepared to defend that claim. Basically, I was claiming the entire Nemaha Basin as my own territory. I knew that 2,800 square miles was more than I could ever get away with, but overclaiming was basically just a negotiation tool. I'd be happy if I ended up with quarter of that in the end; it was still a lot of land. That would still be 450,000 acres of prime farmland. I could deal with that.

I also knew I'd be granting a lot of that land to others. Over the course of a couple of decades, I'd use it to encourage the development that I wanted. Amusingly enough, my plans for the land would make Little Miss Social Warrior Sonya very happy. Well, she'd be happy until we got to the part about the rigged elections.

**** ****

Supper time was upon us and I was surprised to find only our group at the table. Apparently, everyone else had taken their food 'to go' and were eating in individual family units on this evening of family reunification. I couldn't blame any of them. Moving was a trying time even in the modern world, and this was a fairly drastic change for most of them. Our little meal was wonderful and everyone seemed to relax. The women had seemed to form a collective plan and my personal life was in others' hands again. I didn't care. I relaxed in my comfortable chair and enjoyed the feeling of calm brought about by a full belly.

The trip had turned out well in many ways. I no longer needed to fuss over the minute details of daily life, since everyone else had that firmly in hand. I was served and fussed over. Sonya even climbed into my lap for a little bit. I reassured her that I would always take care of my 'little sister' and that she was doing a great job. She seemed happy and gave me a kiss on the cheek as she climbed off. I think I had found the definition that she wanted and needed. The table was cleared for one more council meeting before the night ended.

It was time to write the laws.

**** Chapter 103 -- The Rules of Rulo ****

It was time to lay down the law. As dramatic as that sounds, it was exactly that dramatic. The things we decided as the core rules tonight, would probably be in effect for years, at the very least. Tremendous pressure comes with that, since you are the people defining how others will live.

I viewed our first set of rules as a draft of an eventual more complex set. I also didn't fancy myself to be any sort of advanced political thinker. I just stuck to what I knew.

We hit our first snag before we ever really got started. Of course, we did. That's how this shit goes. Timmons weaseled his way off the council, offering his wife up as a replacement. His excuse was that he would be gone too often to be a valid contributor. Fabiola would take his place. Bastard actually left immediately, to 'go watch the children' as an excuse. Slick move on his part.

We got down to business. Sonya was recording and I was running the meeting. We started with the basics.

Rule #1: All persons are equal and have the same rights.

Done, no equivocations, no conditions. This part was easy. Hell, I was appointing myself to be the judge and I would enforce that 'all persons' meant everyone, regardless of anything short of a capital crime. The fewer words the better; there'd be less to be twisted around later. I would explain to Pete what this meant tomorrow morning. That would be a fun conversation.

Rule #2: Religion is a private matter between a person and their chosen deity. Religion is confined to private property and shall not be used in any manner to limit Rule #1.

I know you love your version of god, but I'm not interested, so take it on back home. If you want to build a church, build it on your own land and pay the taxes associated. Proselytizing would be strictly prohibited. I had seen the deadly power of churches and the blood they had shed for centuries. I wasn't going to allow that here. I expected the Christians to blow a gasket over this one.

Rule #3: You will not kill or assault other citizens.

Easy, folks. Don't hurt the village. We'd all need each other to survive. If any hurting needed to be done here, I'd be the one doing it. Assault meant everything and anything physical that the other person did not want.

Rule #4: Full citizenship can be obtained at the beginning of the eighteenth year or any time after by pledging an oath to these rules.

It's not hard to join us, but you have to swear that you will follow the rules. Eighteen is the age of full adulthood.

Rule #5: You will not steal, defraud, or over-charge.

Again, not rocket science. Be on the up-and-up with all transactions or face judgement.

Rule #6: You will not bear false witness, spread rumors, or, in any way, publicly injure a citizen with communication.

A bit tougher, but I knew what the future would bring. Mass media would unleash hell on the rights of those publicly judged and shamed without warrant. Don't say anything you can't prove in front of the judge. Falsely accusing another of a crime...well, that earned you whatever punishment the accused would have been in line for.

Rule #7: You will not commit adultery.

I got to define adultery. To me, that meant having sex with someone's partner without their prior agreement. As I knew from personal experience, cheating brings on way too much havoc and I wasn't going to have it. If you were desperate to bang the neighbor's partner, you must get that neighbor to agree without enticement. Keep yourself at home and out of other people's relationships.

Rule #8: Family and partnerships are defined by those involved and can only be entered into by adults.

Personal relationships are not our business. Stay together or breakup with whomever you like. No getting together with children with the strict exception of some rare situations covered by Rule #9.

Rule #9: The Seven Year Rule.

Relationships with those under the age of eighteen are controlled by the Seven Year Rule. It's a simple equation and easy to understand: take your current age, divide it by two and add seven years. If the number is more than the age of the younger person, the relationship is not allowed. Under this rule a twenty-two year old could not have a relationship with a seventeen year old. Rounding up to the nearest even number would be enforced. So a twenty year old could have a relationship with a seventeen year old but a twenty-one year old could not. The math worked well to prevent the exploitation of the youth while allowing for the natural curiosities of youth. In the aftermath of Mary's story, this rule had received strong support from my women.

Rule #10: All voices will be counted.

Voting is a right and duty of all adults. Votes will be private to each person and voting will not stop until all sworn citizens within our borders have voted. The vote will stay open for up to thirty days to account for citizens with planned absences, and will contain accommodations for those with known extended absences. No quick votes while people are traveling; we aren't going to allow those types of games.

Rule #11: A person is responsible for the spawn of their loins.

If you make a kid, you help support that kid. The adult raising the child pays half of all costs associated with raising that child, including direct costs such as food, and fractional costs such as a share of home maintenance. The other half is paid by the other parent. Visitation is a right and responsibility, unless deemed otherwise by the council.

Rule #12: All people within our borders must pledge or leave. Invited guests are excluded from this rule.

You can't stay here and just live off the rest of us. Survival and success require work on the part of all parties. I'd give everyone thirty days to opt in or out. If you were out, you were on the road immediately. I would also make all property grants conditional on a number of items; nothing good is free.