Prey For Me Ch. 13

"Yes, that does seem rather coincidental, Kim," Jack pondered.

"Coincidence my ass, Jack," Kim retorted. "OK, now it’s my turn to talk. Give me another shot of that Jose Cuervo first."

"As Jorge would tell you if he talked a little faster, Jack, Santa Anna finally told Burton and Pike what happened to the ‘leshonah.’ Not that they didn’t already have a very good idea. They suspected Emily made off with it while Santa Anna was otherwise preoccupied with the Texans fanatically screaming ‘Remember the Alamo’ and ‘Remember Goliad.’

"After the Battle of San Jacinto, Emily made her way in the next week or so to Parker’s Fort, about seventy-five miles north. Like San Jacinto, Parker’s Fort is of great historical significance.

"The Comanche, dubbed Lords of the South Plains, ravaged and pillaged the Texas panhandle and into areas of New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Mexico. At one time the Comanche, one tribe broken into several bands, numbered over 30,000 strong.

"The last great Comanche chief was Quanah Parker, the son of the Comanche chief Peta Nocona and a white woman, Cynthia Ann Parker. Cynthia Ann Parker, age nine, became a Comanche captive in a raid on Parker’s Fort on May 19, 1836.

"Several other children and women were also taken captive. One woman, Elizabeth Kellogg, was traded to the Delaware and later purchased from them by Sam Houston. Emily, just having recently arrived at Fort Parker, attempted to rescue Cynthia Ann. Knocked unconscious by a Comanche warrior, Emily was thrown on a horse and taken off. Those kidnapped often suffered a fate worse than death, until they were sold, traded off, or escaped, as Emily did.

"Captive-taking was prevalent among the Comanche and other North American Indians dating back to prehistoric times. Often the kidnapped women became wives and concubines of the warriors, who practiced polygamy. Yes, the men could fool around, but in the case of an adulterous woman, she was executed or her nose was cut off. Many captured women were tragically abused, tortured and ritualistically raped. Others received unexpected respect.

"Comanche raiders typically covered long distances. They usually traveled at night along separate routes to meet at a previously-agreed location. After the raid at that location, they would retreat and again separate into small bands to hinder apprehension.

"Soon after the abduction of the women and children from Parker’s Fort, the captives were separated. Another woman who was taken was Rachel Parker Plummer. The Comanche treated her like a slave and subjected her to repeated beatings, rape and torture. Rachel was eventually sold to Mexican traders on June 19, 1837. She published an account of her ordeal entitled Rachel Plummer’s Narrative of Twenty One Months Servitude as a Prisoner Among the Commanchee Indians the next year. Rachel died on March 19, 1839, due in part from lingering complications resulting from her ordeal. Her father later published a revised edition of her tribulations in his Narrative of the Perilous Adventures, Miraculous Escapes and Sufferings of Rev. James W. Parker.

"Back to Emily. She became the love slave of two brothers, Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape, who were named after two famous Comanche chiefs. I found the sexually explicit and extraordinary account of her captivity in her papers. I’m very glad my father did not read that one.

"These brothers were of the Yamparika band, the root eaters. Comanches named their various nomadic tribes after things that were eaten. They wore their hair long, parted in the middle and braided on the sides. They preferred blue clothing stolen from the whites, as opposed to buckskin, and wore high riding boot colored a matching blue. Their war bonnets were buffalo scalps with horns; very horny dudes they were as it turned out.

"I have Emily’s papers regarding her escapades with Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape." Kim reached into her purse and retrieved the old and wrinkled scarlet letters.

"Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape were medicine men, shamans. They used peyote in their religious ceremonies. Peyote, also called Cactus Pudding, Dry Whiskey and White Mule contains more than fifty alkaloids and related compounds."

"Yes, and one of those is mescaline, right, Kim?" Jack interrupted.

"And just how did you know that, Jack?" Kim asked.

"I’m somewhat of an Aldous Huxley fan and recall his book, The Doors of Perception, which is all about his trips on mescaline."

"Well, this Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape liked the stuff too, and they introduced Emily to peyote, against her will. These Comanche shamans had themselves been introduced to peyote during their frequent excursions into Mexico. Most of the peyote was to be found in northwestern Mexico although peyote cactus buttons were found in Shumla Cave in southern Texas that have been radiocarbon dated to 5,000 B.C. The stuff has been around for awhile.

"Years after the capture of Emily and Cynthia Ann Parker, Cynthia and her son Quanah were traveling near the Mexican border when Quanah was severely gored by a bull and was near death. Although Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape had since departed this world, Cynthia recalled the healing skills of peyote proclaimed by these shamans. Quanah was cured with the peyote and later became its most vocal advocate. He introduced Half Moon style meetings to many other tribes such as the Delaware, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Pawnee.

"Many Native Americans came to regard peyote as a holy medicine and a Christian sacrament. Quanah Parker became the leader in the peyote cult and proselytized that the medicine prevented a warrior from being killed and enhanced psychic visions.

"These are the own words of Emily as she described her abduction …

‘The two medicine men, Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape, took me to their camp, a clearing on a hill in the middle of a forest. It was rather obvious it was a place of religious ceremony where no one was permitted without the permission of the shamans. I soon surmised that most guests, whom I suspected were usually women, did not visit willingly.

‘Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape spoke a smattering of English. Enough to tell me their names and along with their sign language, I could grasp what they said. The Comanche language, Uto-Aztecan-Numi, is almost idenical to Shoshoni. They kept saying that we were friends, with both hands held high with forefingers locked together.

‘I was stripped of my clothing and restrained inside a tipi frame that just consisted of the wooden poles, without the covering. It resembled a cage. Spread-eagled on a bed of straw, my hands and feet were tied with long strips of rawhide to the bottoms of the tipi poles.

‘The two medicine men painted their faces and shed their clothing except for loincloths. For hours they danced around me with rattles decorated with feathers, paint and beads, singing holy songs. Every ten minutes or so, Leather Cape would pause, and force a peyote button into my mouth and make certain I swallowed it. He would also hand a button to Buffalo Hump and eat one himself. We each must have ingested several dozen peyote buttons.

‘When the sun set and the full moon was quite visible, they stopped dancing. Leather Cape began playing a drum, a small iron kettle filled with water with a rawhide head, in continuous rhythmic vibrations.

‘Buffalo Hump brandished his very sharp knife and at first I thought he was going to stab me in the stomach, but no, he was about to stab me with something else. But first, he very skillfully trimmed my pubic hair with that knife.

‘Alternating between blowing and licking, Buffalo Hump began to tease my clitoris and upper labia. Within a few minutes I concluded that Walking Tongue would have been a more appropriate name for him.

‘Buffalo Hump freed the ties on my feet and grasped me under the thighs and elevated my legs as he sat on his heels and entered me. I screamed because he was very large but it began to be somewhat less painful as I accommodated his size.

‘Leather Cape ceased playing the drum and sat behind my head with his large member across my forehead. After he amused himself tweaking my nose with it, he sat up, and with his testicles drooping over my eyes, he forced his member in my mouth as he pried my jaws open roughly with both hands. They both began chanting and praying in unison as Buffalo Hump thrust harder and harder between my legs and Leather Cape thrust harder and harder down my throat.’

"Emily’s account of her rape and torture," Kim paused a moment and began crying, "goes on and on. I can’t read anymore. Here Jack, you read the rest if you want."

"I don’t think so, Kim. What eventually happened?"

"After four days of raping Emily in every way possible she escaped. She took their horses and restrained them the same way they did her. But Emily did not ravage Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape. The wolves dispensed with these shamans.

"Apparently Emily used a similar strategy to distract Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape that she used to distract Santa Anna. These Comanches knew not some of her more bizarre techniques that were a new and incredible experience to them. For some reason, their squaws must not have been receptive to creative sexual experimentation.

"Before she departed the scene, Emily did coerce the two to tell her what happened to the ‘leshonah.’ White Eagle, the leader of the raid, took it along with most of the other valuables that belonged to those at Parker’s Fort.

"Emily never saw or heard about the ‘leshonah’ after that. White Eagle seemed to have vanished since that raid on Parker’s Fort on May 19, 1838. She was left with one lasting reminder of her tribulations with Buffalo Hump and Leather Cape; a son named Samuel Wright."

"OK, Kim, but we know the ‘leshonah’ recently made an appearance right here in Jorge’s restaurant, right?" Jack asked. "At least it was talked about here."

"That’s right, Jack," Jorge began, "the late Miyuki Huang and a Native American named Black Eagle discussed the ‘leshonah’ right here. Black Eagle had previously visited my restaurant on numerous occasions. He knew some of the history of the ‘leshonah’ and questioned me regarding my knowledge of it. I told him of my great, great grandfather Diego’s relationship with Santa Anna and everything else that I have told you.

"I don’t know much about Black Eagle but I can tell you where to look for information. He is a leader in the Native American Church, which is infamous for peyote worship and legal proceedings concerning First and Fourteenth amendment rights.

"Another individual began to meet here with Black Eagle, the late Miyuki Huang. I overheard small bits of their conversations and they did refer to the ‘leshonah.’ It was apparent to me that what they were doing was negotiating." Jorge paused and shrugged, as if to say that was all he knew.

"OK, Jorge, thank you very much for your help," Jack offered.

"My pleasure, Jack, and anything for my lovely friend, Kim." They said fond farewells.

When Jack and Kim returned to his hotel, he had several important messages. One was from Caitlin; she was on a flight to Las Vegas. The other was from Governor Thomas Bridge. He wanted Jack to meet with his daughter, Sal Bridge, immediately if not sooner.

Jack recalled the comment Caitlin made about being the bait. He wondered how Kim would feel about being a worm on the hook.

To Be Continued...