Chapter 12
Down the Mongol River, 2 K
(Down the Missouri from E. MT to C. IL 1370)
The Siksika council had been quite a large gathering, and Kaidu had gone with the thought that he would convince many more to join the Ordu. He and his escort had been made quite welcome, and there had been several meetings of chiefs that he and Givevneu had attended, but nothing had changed.
“They are as intransigent as ever,” he said. “Nothing I or the chief who had joined us said would make any difference. They wished to remain friends and allies of ours but would not change their ways to join us. It would take a massive upheaval to move them. They are determined to retain their independence. I’m beginning to think I should form a sort of confederation with them. Perhaps they could remain as they are, but could become associated with us, as allies, I suppose. I was thinking that in exchange for our sharing our advances with them—they could send young men to be trained in our ways with the horse and weapons—we would then come to their aid if anyone attacked them, and they would send us back the trained soldiers when we needed them. Perhaps the tribe could be a sort of buffer for us. And just maybe the training will seduce away their young men one at a time. Do you think it would work?”
“It is likely best,” Juchi nodded. “And the same would do for the Anishinabe and the Kensistenoug. They will never join us either. Even the Ocheti shakowin and the Dzitsiistas may not like the discipline. What do you think, Raven?”
“I’ve been resisting the inevitable a long time.” I shrugged. “We cannot expect these people to change as radically as necessary to adopt our ways. To be honest, I think only the Ocheti shakowin and, perhaps, the nearby tribes along the Mongol River are likely to make the adjustment. Their chiefs seem to have more authority. We might have better luck in the cities they talked about.”
“Cities?” Kaidu jumped up. “There are cities in this land?”
“So the Ocheti shakowin implied,” I answered. “They said that there was a large walled settlement in the south along a river we crossed, but they avoided it because of sickness.”
“A city!” Kaidu smiled. “We must investigate this as soon as possible. Winter would be the best time. You can go by dogsled as soon as there is enough snow. Do you think you could find it?”
“I suppose so.” I nodded. “But what sort of contact would you want? If they are, indeed, cities, would they be as friendly as the bands have been? Would it be best if we were discreet?”
“Of course,” he agreed. “Don’t go until you can communicate suitably with one or two of the Ocheti people and take them along. You two stay out of sight, but send one of them in to find out what they are like. We must not tip our hand too soon, we might have our first enemy.”
We left pleased at the interesting assignment, but not pleased that we’d have to leave the Ordu so soon again. I went back to Paula and the others and told them the news. I also told Henry about the possible iron ore I’d be checking out next spring. He reminded me about coal again and the fact that he had only once worked with iron ore, and wasn’t sure about the blast furnace design. I sketched it out for him as it had been explained to me and was reminded that we would need to turn some of the coal into coke and find some limestone also. The latter would be no problem, since I had seen limestone along our path and would likely find some nearby. Coal remained a problem, however, and I was determined to address it in the spring.
Juchi took over giving language lessons to the two Ocheti shakowin volunteers, leaving me a little time for Paula and my maps. I decided that the following spring when I went to look for the iron ore, she would come with me. I had been over much of the path before, and it was quite safe. At any rate, I would need to bring along some carts and furthermore was tired of being separated from her most of the year. Padraig and Mathilde would also come along. We should make quite an eyeful for the locals.
Once our river was frozen enough, our small party moved out over the ice in three dogsleds. Nitsiza had also volunteered to come along as well as one of the Tsattine, Saya. From what the Ocheti shakowin told me, I thought it best to follow our river downstream, for they were sure it emptied into the other river near the “city.” The river was alternately broad or narrow with cliffs or large deciduous tree-covered bottoms as we went along. Some evergreens could be seen along the slopes up to the plains, but the plains were treeless. On the second day away from the Ordu, the Absaroke River joined the Mongol from the south. It was several times wider, but we had just emerged from a gorge, which had considerably narrowed “our” river. The Absaroke was dotted with small tree-covered islands so it was probably shallower, also. Perhaps one day we could explore that river. Of course, the Absaroke villages were in this area, and we stopped by for a visit to try out our Ocheti shakowin on them. They could make out every few words, so it was clear I would have to learn their language, also.
Our river twisted and turned a bit but tended generally eastward for four days before turning south, east, south again, and east again over the next four days, and finally generally south. Of course, along this stretch we passed and had to visit the Hewaktokto and Numakiki towns. The latter could make out about half of our Ocheti shakowin. I promised I would learn their languages before spring. They were very interested in our dogsleds and asked a lot of questions. Not long after the river turned south the latest time, I was attracted to what looked like three black parallel lines on a cliff over the river. We stopped so I could look at it more closely. It proved to be a bit of a scramble up to the lines, but we were rewarded when they proved to be three seams of coal. They were only about a foot thick, and they were bituminous coal, good enough for our needs, and potentially suitable for coking. I took out a small amount and carefully marked the spot on the map. There was quite a large bottom just downriver from the coal, so we could probably move the Ordu down to here, as long as the Numakiki joined us, since they had villages both north and south of this site. The site itself did not look like it had been settled in the recent past. I was sure we’d find even more coal in the area.
We continued on our way, and five days later, the river veered to the southeast after a little switchback, taking us out of Numakiki territory. The river continued generally in that southeast direction for the next six days. During this leg, we encountered a group of villages with mound dwellings much like those of the Numakiki. We stopped to see who they were and found a completely different people. They spoke an utterly incomprehensible language. We did make out that they called themselves, Ariki. They were a fine-looking people, although they had a curious hairstyle. They had two bones sticking up like horns on each side of the crown. Perhaps they were imitating the plains oxen. With much difficulty we got across the idea that we wanted to learn their language and got one of them to go along with us to that end. His name was Hishkowits, a young man of perhaps seventeen years. We passed more of their villages for much of this leg, and then the river shifted to the east for two days and then back south again. We could see that ours was quite a river, for all along the way rivers and streams of all sizes joined it from both banks. It was quite a chore mapping this river, and I was glad we would be retracing our path on the way back so I could check my map. Also the high cliffs seemed to recede farther away as we progressed and by the time we turned south were fully replaced by more gentle slopes with occasional bluffs. Game was plentiful along the way, especially deer, but we had brought along enough food and did not want to tarry.
For the next seven days, we went generally south and a little east, and again we encountered Ariki villages. Hishkowits helped us pass by without wasting too much time, although there was again much interest in the dogsleds. We finally ran out of Ariki villages, and then the river turned sharply east, continuing in this general direction until it emptied into the other river, or the other river emptied into it depending on one’s point of view. Had we continued uninterrupted, this last leg of the trip would have taken about eight days. As it happened, however, after two days, we were surprised by an arrow ambush. We quickly shifted to the far side, in this case the north bank, of the river to seek cover until we could see what we were up against. Fortunately, no one was hurt for the attackers underestimated our distance, or overestimated their bows. Once under cover, we tried to see who had attacked us, but they remained out of sight. I must admit I was quite incensed when the first arrow skidded across the river ice short of its mark. Everything had been so peaceful so far that I had become complacent and oblivious of danger. So, on further thought, I should have been grateful to our unseen attackers. The moon was a mere sliver that night, so we set up a small ambush for our adversaries. We made a campfire and bundled up some rocks to look like sleeping figures, then moved the dogs a distance away downwind and lay in wait. No one took the bait, however, and we spent a cold miserable night for nothing. We decided to go overland along the north shore at a more careful pace to avoid any more surprises. Late that day, we saw a settlement on the southern shore of the river and hid in a shallow ravine while one of our Ocheti shakowin, Wanbli Sapa, went over to scout out the town. He left behind all his more modern weapons, taking only an old stone and wood war club. He went straight across the river to the town, making no attempt at concealment. From what we could see, the town was larger than any we had seen so far, but it was not walled, and the houses were quite similar to those of the Ocheti shakowin, with the same steeply sloping roofs, but they appeared larger.
He went right into the town before anyone took notice of him, and we lost sight of him among the houses. There then followed a lot of commotion and noise from the town, but we could not see what was going on. We decided to wait until dark and then go over to investigate. As soon as it was dark enough we (except for Nitsiza who stayed with the dogs) slipped across the river making use of whatever cover we could. It proved unnecessary, however, for there were no sentries. Our other Ocheti shakowin, Wakinyan Cetan, moved stealthily into the town while the rest of us hid behind the riverbank. He soon returned with the disturbing news that Wanbli Sapa had been taken prisoner. He would have likely been killed by now except that there was tremendous disagreement about the situation. It seems that since he boldly and freely walked into the town, there was a sizable group who felt he had to be treated as a guest and should be honored for his courage. Another group felt that he had insulted the town by striding contemptuously in as if they were not worth fearing. A third group felt it didn’t matter how he fell into their hands, he was a prisoner and should die. A final group felt he should simply be thrown out of town with the garbage since he was one of their “poor relations” from the north and not worth all the fuss. It was this last group that most angered our spy, Wakinyan Cetan. He was prudent enough to do nothing for the moment until the argument was settled. He explained that these people were related to his people. They were called Hotcangara and could be found from here all the way up to just south of where his people lived. They had all been one people in antiquity, but his group had moved away because of all the sickness and had flourished in the North Country. The Hotcangara were arrogant and treated all other people with contempt. I asked about the sickness, and he said it was a wasting disease that was accompanied by much coughing. It sounded like a disease the Hanjen called lao (tuberculosis), a fatal lung ailment, but I couldn’t be sure. Wakinyan Cetan returned to the town to await developments.
While waiting, I looked around the town a bit using what little light came from the town. It seemed to have about forty or fifty of the long houses. There were extensive fields that had apparently been cultivated. It would seem there were about six to eight hundred people in the town, but still, it was hardly Khanbalikh, or even the small towns in the old Khanate I had passed through on the way to and from the old capital. I decided that if we could get Wanbli Sapa back, we would just go on to look at the so-called “city” but not bother entering it. Finally a grim-looking Wakinyan Cetan returned to us. “The fourth faction won out,” he reported darkly. “We must be avenged.”
It took a while to get him over this idea. First, we got him back across the river, so we could wait for Wanbli Sapa; then when he returned, we managed to convince them that we were only a scouting party, not a war party. The next time we came, it would be as a war party, and they would have their revenge with interest. This seemed to satisfy them, especially since the whole Ordu would be descending on their antagonists. In fact, they were very excited at the prospect, spending the rest of our journey fantasizing about the looks on the Hotcangara’s faces when the Mongol horsemen surrounded them. We continued on to the “city” traveling as inconspicuously as possible. At this pace, it took us about four days to get to the junction of our river and the one from the north. The latter was a bit larger, and we gave it the name “Missi Sipi” by which the Ocheti shakowin knew it. It meant, of course, “Great River.” It was quite an impressive river, about two li wide, and fortunately, it was frozen—greatly simplifying crossing it. Once across we were in a very large bottom, which had been cleared and heavily cultivated. We left Nitsiza and Saya with the dogs near the riverbank, and the rest of us moved forward on foot. It was late in the afternoon when we set out from the riverbank toward what looked like a village to the south of our position. It was indeed a village and not a very impressive one. We continued toward what looked like a hill to the southeast of our position about four or five li away. As we drew near, we passed between two more villages before reaching what had looked like a hill. It was too regular to be a natural hill but seemed to be a truncated earthen pyramidal mound that was topped with a platform on which was a wooden building. It was deserted at the moment, so we climbed up the mound to have a look. It was too dark to see anything inside the building, but it was probably some sort of temple. There were a few other smaller pyramidal mounds also topped with wooden structures around a flat open area like a square. From our vantage point, we could see some fires from settlements. There appeared to be a large one to the north with several smaller ones to the south and east of it. There was a scattering of smaller ones to the west and east of our position, with the eastern ones being farther away. To the south, there seemed to be a profusion of settlements, but we could not tell where they were separated from one another from this perspective. There also seemed to be more of these pyramidal mounds. We decided to move south for a closer look.
We found a fairly settlement-free area east of our first mound, so we went south along that corridor. About nine li south, we came upon a town about the size of the one that had detained Wanbli Sapa, although it also had one of the pyramidal mounds with the building on top. Six li farther south we came upon the “city.” The moon had risen by now, and although it was still waxing it gave enough light that we could see a truly high pyramidal mound with a wall around it. We approached from the northeast, and because of the dim light, it took a while see clearly. We crossed a small river and came upon a group of four pyramidal mounds of various sizes about a large open area. Just south of this was another small river and across it the largest pyramidal mound we had yet seen. It seemed to be about a hundred feet high and also appeared flat on the top. We couldn’t see a building. There was a high wall made of large logs set on end and with square bastions at regular intervals along the wall. Still, it was open at the north or river end, which was strange. We could not get any closer since it was manned with lookouts and we did not want to be seen at this point in time. We went east along the river and crossed it well out of sight of the bastions.
The wall proved to come to a point in the south about two and a half li from the river. We could still see the high pyramidal mound over the wall from our vantage, but nothing else. There were a great many houses scattered on the western side of the “citadel,” and there were more mounds surrounding squares on both sides of the citadel. Some of the mounds were conical rather than pyramidal in shape. We continued around the city to the west noticing that there were even more settlements to the south. When we finally cleared the city, we turned back north, noticing another large settlement to the south and another pyramid center to the west. We moved northward as quickly as possible not wanting to be caught in the open in daylight. Just as the sky was beginning to lighten, we heard the low welcoming growl of the dogs. We immediately recrossed the Missi Sipi and found a convenient ravine in which to rest up from our night’s work. I quickly sketched out a map of the area before turning in. There had to be at least twenty five thousand people in that complex. I wondered what Kaidu would want to do about them.
Late in the afternoon, we set out back up our river again on the north side, out of sight of the river. We found two towns on this side of the river on this more northerly course, but managed to avoid them. They were on a river that ran parallel to our river and encouraged us to veer back to the latter. Once we were beyond the point at which we were attacked, we sped back up the still-frozen river the same way we had come. The return took about forty-five days and proceeded without incident. Along the way, we stopped at Hishkowits’ village, and with the Ariki we had learned and the Mongol he had learned, we were able to make our pitch to his chief. He was much surprised by our proposal and wondered what we had to offer. We showed him our bows and arrows and tried to explain our horses. He considered for a while and finally sent Hishkowits with us to see if it was all true. This was beginning to look like a pattern. It was still late winter when we got back. The river had remained frozen the whole way and didn’t start to thaw for another ten days. As soon as we returned, we reported to Kaidu about the city and the rude reception we had received at the Hotcangara town. He thanked us for our report and told us to rest up for a while, he would talk to us more later. I told Henry about the coal seam and showed him my sample. It turned out he had never made coke before, so I had to show him how to make a coke oven. It was fortunate I had a good memory for detail; it was becoming essential.
The kidding and foaling was beginning, so we thought it best to wait until spring had fully arrived before setting out on our iron expedition. I was anxious to hear what all of our recruits thought about the Ordu. They were all very excited although some of them seemed more interested in retaining their settlements and independence. While I was gone, Doqus had presented Henry with a daughter, and Mathilde had presented Padraig with a son. Quite a few others among the Ordu had also given birth in the new land making us feel all the more at home. Paula had still not become pregnant but with me away all the time it was no wonder.
Finally Kaidu called Juchi and me to meet with him. We found him with Givevneu but otherwise alone. The two had been conferring when we came in, but stopped and greeted us as we approached.
“Our shaman tells me he has learned much from his Siksika colleagues,” Kaidu said. “He has learned about the medicinal properties of various local plants. More to the point, he was humble enough to learn. The Siksika are an admirable people; they remind me of the old Mongols, before we got into all the trappings of empire. I, too, have learned from them. I will again attend their council this summer and offer them the sort of confederacy we spoke about earlier. After all we don’t want to become a roving horde. It is best that we remain scattered until we need to come together for defense. We still need to train their young men, so that when we call on them, they will be ready. From now on this will be the proposal we will offer. Of course any who wish can still join us outright, but if they prefer, they can remain our allies only and maintain their separate identity. What do you think?”
“Most prudent.” Juchi seemed relieved. “I would like to return to the Kensistenoug, the Inuna-ina, the Yanktonai and the Anishinabe with that proposal. I think they may warm to the idea, what say you, Raven?”
“I would add the Dzitsiistas to that group also.” I nodded. “But why not let me talk to the Anishinabe since I must go there anyway in search of iron. That still leaves the Absaroke, Hewaktokto, Numakiki and Ocheti shakowin. I think they are all ready to become Mongols en masse.”
“Aren’t they all rather large tribes?” Kaidu asked. “Do you really think they will all want to join us?”
“I do,” I replied. “The groups who have been observing us are very enthusiastic. If they all joined us, they would very likely outnumber us six or seven to one, so it would be quite a job absorbing them all. But I think you will find them to be fine Mongols.”
“They are all impressive people,” Kaidu agreed. “They seem to be fearless. They took to the horses as quickly as the Siksika. They are also a rather refined people. They remind me of you, Raven.”
“I am honored by the comparison,” I replied. “But Juchi informs me that they are much better looking than I am.”
“Indeed?” Kaidu looked at Juchi. “Does that mean you finally decided to marry?”
“No, not yet.” Juchi grinned. “But perhaps this fall, if you promise not to send me off to scout any more cities.”
“That brings me to the final problem.” Kaidu turned serious. “I feel we should send an ambassador to this city you found, but from your report I have no reason to believe he would be received with respect. I have decided to wait until next year, and then we will send an army to make sure they receive us correctly. That should give us enough time to turn all these recruits into Mongols. Also, I have decided to move the Ordu farther down the river. After harvest this fall we will move down to your coal seams, provided the Numakiki do join us and do not object. I will leave an outpost here. You should both be back before then. Good luck on the recruiting and on finding the iron.”
With that we left and getting together our expeditions, set out in different directions. Juchi with a small entourage of Kensistenoug and a few others moved northeast, while I with Paula, Padraig, Mathilde, and a group of Absaroke, Hewaktokto, Numakiki, Dzitsiistas, Ocheti shakowin, and a few Anishinabe including Odinigun, set off downstream to the east.