Chapter 21
Gunpowder and Cannon, 8K
(SD to OH and Back, 1376)
In late spring, I set off with Paula and the children back to the Wolf Ordu. Over the winter, Henry and his men had fashioned helmets with appropriate effigies for all of the Ordu commanders. The helmets for the leader of each Ordu had a larger effigy with a widely open mouth (I wasn’t sure if there was a message there). The second tier of commanders had effigies with closed or (if appropriate) snarling mouths. The third tier had the same effigies as the second, but made out of copper. I took the ones for my Wolves with me. Everyone was very pleased with them, for they were quite well crafted. I decided to have the fourth-tier commanders, the arban commanders, wear the actual wolf heads over their helmets, since higher ranks no longer needed them. Temur had done an excellent job in my absence. The Ordu was back up to full strength and in fighting trim. Still, there would have to be quite a bit of training for the new recruits. There was also a group of about a hundred of the Hotcangara in camp to be trained. They were distributed around and kept under close scrutiny. Making sure all was in order, I again turned the Ordu over to the able hands of Temur, and, with Paula and the children and my Wazhazhe guide, set off to find the saltpeter.
I had brought along with me all the sulfur I had gathered in the Yellow Canyon just in case I found any saltpeter. I also brought some of the same sort of iron tools I had given the Anishinabe in return for their iron ore.
The Wolf Ordu was in Hotcangara territory on the eastern bank of the Missi Sipi River some distance north or upstream from their city. We had renamed the city Murenbalikh (River City in the Mongol tongue). This was, of course, an insult to the Hotcangara, but was intended also as a test to see if they were prepared to fully accept their defeat by accepting our name for their city. It was too soon to tell at this time, and I certainly didn’t trust them. In fact, the next leg of our journey would take us through their territory to the Deer Ordu, so I made sure we had a strong escort. We passed a few of their towns but did not stop or even pause. Paula wanted to see the towns but appreciated the imprudence of doing so. The Hotcangara we came upon were not overtly hostile, nor were they even vaguely friendly. I did begin to think they were resigned, but I remained on guard.
We stopped at the Deer Ordu for a couple of days. Their commanders were all resplendent in their new helmets and expressed gratitude for them to Henry through me. I promised to pass it on to him when I saw him later. Chagatai, the commander of the Deer and a nephew of Kaidu, brought me up to date on events in the east. A renegade group of the Mingue had become bandits, attacking small groups of our men as well as any of their own people who had accepted the situation. Donduk cleverly ordered the Atirhagenrat to wipe them out as a proof of their loyalty. They went out in force and pretty much ran the renegades to ground virtually annihilating them. It seemed they didn’t like them anyway and took to the task with some relish. Meanwhile, the Wendat had sent spies to check us out and see if our threat should be taken seriously. What they heard from their relatives convinced them they should cut a deal, and they sent a group of their chiefs to visit Donduk in early spring. Donduk had ordered the scattered Mingue towns of the eastern groups including the southern one that had resisted us so bitterly to relocate between a group of small lakes not far south from Lake Mingue and the Mahican River up to where the Bear Ordu was camped. This would put them directly between two Ordu making it easier for him to keep an eye on them and at the same time protect them from any opportunistic attacks by their neighbors. Once they were removed, he sent word to their neighbors to freely move into the evacuated areas. They lost no time in doing so. The groups that had not resisted were left intact, and the Yenresh were consolidated near the eastern end of lake Twanh. It looked like all was in control there.
When we left the Deer Ordu, we moved southeast through the lands of first the Iliniwek, then the Shawunogi before reaching the country of the Wazhazhe. We, of course, had to stop at any villages we encountered and go through the usual formalities. Paula and the children attracted a lot of attention probably because the locals couldn’t believe there were any more like me, especially women and children. Paula enjoyed seeing the towns and villages and admiring the crafts the women showed her, and showing off and fussing over each other’s babies. George was all over the place having the time of his life. I had to go through the weed burning and meet with the elders. Paula would wrinkle her nose when I returned from these meetings, lest I forget the noxious smell clinging to me. I guess she never did get used to it. At length, our Wazhazhe guide brought me to the cave. It proved to be a limestone cave, and indeed there was a large deposit of saltpeter on its floor. It must have formed from seeping through the limestone, but I had no idea how or from what. In any case, while I gathered up as much as the horses could carry, I got my guide to get together the chiefs of all the villages which might have caves like this near them.
It took a few days to get the group together, but was well worth it. They passed around the iron tools and agreed they were worth having. I explained carefully what I wanted from the caves and passed around a bit so they could all be sure. One of them told me that there were more such caves across the Wazhazhe River as well and offered to send word to the chiefs of the villages near those caves. I thanked them all and asked them to take great pains to keep the saltpeter dry and deliver as much as they found to the Kestrel Ordu, the most convenient location to them. After the meeting, I hurried to the Kestrels myself. It took several days to get there because we had to stop at any villages along the way and go through the usual. By the time we reached the Kestrels, even Paula was getting a little tired of it.
Once at the Kestrels, I briefed Togun, their commander. He was excited that we would be able to use gunpowder again, for he had seen it in action in the old Khanate when he was young. I sent dispatches to Henry to send more iron tools and to Padraig to send me some more sulfur from the Yellow Canyon. Then I set up something of a factory at the Ordu. I got some of the men preparing charcoal. Although there were several different gunpowder formulae, I was mostly interested in the exploding formula, the best to use in cannon. Besides, we didn’t have any arsenic, and I always considered the use of it as typical Hanjen overkill. I made up as much gunpowder as I could with the sulfur at hand, showing a couple of handpicked men how to make it. They would stockpile the saltpeter and charcoal until we got more sulfur from Padraig. A special building reinforced with stone was erected near the center of the Ordu to hold the materials. The finished gunpowder would be sent to my Wolf Ordu and to the Eagle Ordu, the most central locations. Meanwhile, I would take all I had made with me to the Hawk Ordu and see if Henry could make me cannon, or at least the more primitive fire sticks. We loaded the powder on horses rather than wagons so I could make better time, and set off for Murenbalikh under very strong escort.
Tatanka Ska Koda greeted us warmly and assured me the city was safe and the Hotcangara reconciled. Still I insisted on an escort as I showed Paula the city. We crossed the Missi Sipi on the pontoon bridge, which had been set up again after the spring floods. All the river bottoms were green with growing crops. I sped on the Owl Ordu and called on Kuyuk. I told him about the gunpowder and asked if he had heard anything from Smoking Mirror. He had not, but there were so many recruits that he had had to send large groups of them to the three nearby Ordu for training. He didn’t know if there were any of the Hasinai among them, but there were many different tribes represented. It occurred to me that Smoking Mirror might know where I could find sulfur more conveniently than the Yellow Canyon. Since he could now read and write, I wrote him a note asking if he knew where it could be found and enclosing with it a small amount of it in case he wasn’t familiar with it. Kuyuk had set up a yam system to connect us with our confederates the Chahiksichahiks and the Kitikiti’sh, so I sent it to the latter asking them to deliver it to him. If we could get a good reliable source of sulfur, I could even make some of the sorely missed matches we had grown used to in the old land.
We took our leave and went on to the Eagle Ordu where I briefed Kaidu. He was glad I found the saltpeter, but told me to be very careful in making the cannon. He had seen them explode horribly when flawed and didn’t want to lose Henry and me to an experimental cannon. I assured him we’d detonate from a safe distance. It was almost late summer by the time I arrived at the Hawk Ordu. Henry assured me that he had sent a large shipment of tools for the Wazhazhe. He was willing to try to make a cannon but had no idea how. I explained the shape and thickness and suggested he not make it very long or a particularly large caliber for now. We settled on about two feet long and about three inches thick with a caliber of about four and a half inches. It would have to be of cast iron since I had found neither tin nor zinc to make bronze or brass. I decided to start with some solid stone projectiles at first just to see if it would work at all. I fashioned these and some very long fuses while Henry worked on the cannon.
The finished cannon was a beauty. Henry was justifiably proud of his effort. Once it had completely cooled, I carefully checked it for any cracks or thin spots, but found none. We loaded all on a wagon and went well away from the Ordu to try it out. We found a promising spot, and I wedged the cannon against some rocks, loaded it with powder and one of the rock projectiles, and attached one of my very long fuses. We checked around to make sure no one could be in any danger from it; then I lit the fuse, and we took cover. The cannon erupted, and the projectile flew with great force for some distance. I ran up to examine the cannon carefully. It was unharmed and still showed no cracks. I fired off my remaining rocks playing with the trajectory and different amounts of powder to get a feel for what the gun could do. After each shot, we both carefully examined the gun for any cracks, but it remained sound. I congratulated Henry and told him to make two or three for each tumen and some extras if possible.
While he had that task before him, I showed his apprentices how to make hollow shot to fit the cannon and odd-sized ones for use as thrown bombs. I got some other men started on making solid shot out of stone. Still others I had gather and make stone and pottery chips and store them in containers for shrapnel shot. I showed another group how to make the Hanjen fire arrows using a little gunpowder. These were more effective than the older Mongol fire arrows. Finally, I converted some of my gunpowder to burning powder and made some rockets. These would have to be battle rockets rather than festival ones since I didn’t have the ingredients to make colors. Even so, I fired one off for the Ordu much to the amazement of the non-Mongols. I made sure each new cannon was fired at least once and checked for flaws as soon as it was ready. The locals eventually got used to the “ground thunder,” as they called it.
By early fall, I was getting low on gunpowder, and still there was no sulfur from Padraig. I sent another dispatch to him, but the rider had just set out when an answer to my note to Smoking Mirror arrived. With it was a bag of sulfur. In his note he said that there was a very large supply of sulfur in the lands of the Ishak, and they would be glad to trade it for almost anything we might offer. He suggested dried ox meat would be the best commodity. Meanwhile, he was sending more sulfur, but he would need us to send him the promised meat for now, and I could send anything else I thought the Ishak might be able to use for further shipments. This was ideal since we always had a large supply of the dried ox meat on hand in case of need. I sent a dispatch to Kuyuk asking him to send several horse loads of the dried meat to Smoking Mirror and asked him to route the promised sulfur to the Kestrel Ordu. I sent the Kestrels a dispatch advising them of the coming sulfur and asking them to send me a few wagonloads of their saltpeter. I thought it best if we had a good supply of gunpowder here in the Hawk Ordu so we could test the new cannon and make more of the bombs and fire arrows. I got some men to make a stone-reinforced building to house the gunpowder just like the one at the Kestrel Ordu. I used some of the sulfur to make matches and sent them with a note about our progress to Kaidu. Finally I sent another note to Smoking Mirror thanking him for his help in getting us the sulfur and inviting him to come for a visit so I could show him how we used the sulfur.
Finally, in mid fall with the first snows already dusting the plains, a wagonload of sulfur came from Padraig. I sent him a dispatch thanking him and explaining that I realized how hard it was to get it from the Yellow Canyon, but urged him to get more the following year and send it on to the Hawk Ordu. I had gotten some of the men to make and powder charcoal so when the saltpeter arrived all was ready. I showed a couple of picked men how to make the burning and the exploding gunpowder, and, at Paula’s suggestion, showed a couple of the women how to make matches. With everything under control, we returned to the Eagle Ordu in early winter. When we got back, Paula informed me that she was again with child. I should have noticed by now, but had been so caught up in my work. I apologized for missing the obvious. I promised myself not to miss such a thing ever again. I did make sure she consulted with Givevneu again.
I went in to see Kaidu to report on all that had been accomplished. I suggested that it would be a good idea to train some men to handle the cannon, perhaps giving them a distinguishing helmet or insignia since it was dangerous work. He thought that a good idea and suggested that my brother might come up with an appropriate helmet. He also said that he had an old gunner in the Ordu. His name was Kabul; he was about sixty years old, but still quite sharp. I thought it odd that he had a Mongol gunner, since they usually left that to the Hanjen. He said Kabul’s mother had been a Hanjen and her brother a fine gunner who had taught him all he knew. In any case, he didn’t want me teaching gunners next spring; Kabul would do that. He wondered if Smoking Mirror had given any indication of his brother’s intentions in his note. I replied that he had not, but he couldn’t be too hostile, since he let us get sulfur. I mentioned that I had invited Smoking Mirror to visit and find out for what we used the sulfur so I could find out how his tribe was leaning. He thought it unwise to let them see the power of the gunpowder unless they were with us, or they would surely cut it off. I suggested I could just show him the matches, and he thought that best. He gave me the latest efforts of our wandering mappers and sent me off telling me he might have a task for me next spring.
The maps filled in more of the blank spaces. Shingabaossin mapped the rest of Lake Twanh and all of Lake Mingue as well as the rest of the river that led from the latter to the deep bay they had found two years before. He had named the river the Wendat since the group had been quite cooperative. He also filled in the area between the lakes and his earlier more northerly passage. Pesequan and Watang’a had spent the whole time mapping the very large bay they had found the year before. They had tried to map all the rivers that emptied into it up to the fall line, a daunting task. It looked like quite a bay. Their notes said it was full of shellfish, fish, and waterfowl. The locals never went hungry. They were apparently related to the Leni lenape, although not closely enough to be friendly to them. They used the village names to name the rivers resulting in the following odd names: Tauxenent, Potomac, Cuttatawomen, Onawmanient, Rappahannock, Mattapony, and Mummapacune among others. I wasn’t too sure these were the best choices, but no doubt the locals would approve. Mahohivas and Pakonkya had finished mapping the land of the Tsoyaha. They mapped all of the first and most of the second of the two large rivers that joined the Wazhazhe from the south and had named them the East and West Tsoyaha rivers. At the headwaters of the East Tsoyaha, they had run into the southern extension of the chain of mountains we had encountered during the Mingue campaign. They had found a chiefdom consisting of several towns about halfway up the West Tsoyaha River. They were not overtly hostile, but would not allow them to continue mapping the river. Looking at my completed map, I thought we should first explore the mountains between the Tsoyaha and the coast. I wondered how Kaidu would see it and when he would want us to begin our exploring. Padraig’s dispatches said that his mappers had not yet returned to him from their expedition to the western coast, so he would be sending out scouts to try and find them the following spring.
I had barely finished the maps when Smoking Mirror showed up. He said he had planned to come in the spring since he found our winters a bit rough, compared to what he was used to. Nevertheless, my note had piqued his curiosity since he had only heard of the yellow substance being used as a medicine. I asked if his brother had made a decision about joining us yet. He said that his brother had decided not to join or confederate, but he would cooperate with us and in no way impede our movements. Also, he would not stand in the way of any of his people who might want to join us. I was a little disappointed but not entirely surprised. He had been the most hostile of all the chiefs I had interviewed on my journeys. But at least he would not impede us. Still, I wondered how Smoking Mirror felt.
“My brother is more interested in his own position,” he began, “than in the welfare of his people. Or at best, he confuses the one with the other. He sent me to look you over because I have seen much and been among many different people. He was sure I would be able to find you no more threatening than any of our neighbors. He was quite angry with me for not fulfilling his expectations. Of course, I would never lie to him, and he knows that. He fears you and will not raise his hand against you. I suspect that before long some of the members of the confederation will split off from him and join you. For my part, I will join you, and serve you in any capacity except against my own people.”
“I am sorry about your brother,” I told him, “but delighted that you have joined us. I can show you both things we do with the sulfur. Kaidu was concerned that your brother would impede our getting the sulfur if he knew what we used it for.”
“He has given his word that he would not obstruct you in any way,” he replied. “Besides, you get the sulfur from the Ishak, and they could easily send it to you from the west through your new allies. In truth, the Ishak and the others to their southwest have expressed their desire to join you as long as they need not move to the cold north. My people are now surrounded by yours on three sides. I have been doing some “trading” to the east of our tribe, the fourth side, and have been asking questions and spreading some information about you. Directly to our east, there are three groups. In the south, around the mouth of the Missi Sipi River, there are the Pantch. North of them are a group of cities that are subordinate to a city called Natchez whose chief is referred to as the Sun. North of them are the Taunika, who are more of a confederacy like the Hasinai. They make and trade salt in competition with us. North of them are the Chikasha and then Hotcangara. Except for the Hotcangara, these groups speak somewhat similar languages but are hostile to each other and to some extent the Hasinai. East of them away from the river are two other groups related in varying degrees to these four and definitely related to each other, speaking a similar tongue. These are the Pansfalaya in the south and many different chiefdoms in the north and east. The former are a generally peaceful group who live in towns and raise crops. They have chiefs in each town and are only tenuously connected to each other. The latter include some violent, restless, and warlike people, living in palisaded villages and always attacking their neighbors as well as more peaceful settled people determined to avoid conflict. The majority falls in between the two extremes, but in general is more warlike than the Pansfalaya. I suspect one of them will eventually attack the tribe you call the Tsoyaha before long or perhaps even the Hotcangara group south of the Wazhazhe that you left undisturbed. Or perhaps the Hotcangara will attack the Tsoyaha. They have in the past. Some of them have even passed through the Taunika to attack us.”
“Do they know what we have done to the Hotcangara and the Mingue?” I asked. “Would they really dare attack us?”
“All the southeast knows what you did to the Hotcangara and the Mingue.” He shrugged. “They speak of little else around the campfires, but some of the chiefs would rather die fighting than be forced to live in peace with anyone. You may well get the Pansfalaya to confederate with you, but I’m sure your next campaign will be against one of the other chiefdoms, and it will be at their provocation.”
“Well, our mappers were told to avoid their ‘country,’” I said. “But I don’t remember any mention being made of them by the Tsoyaha. Of course, Juchi interviewed them during the Hotcangara campaign, and they were fairly quick to agree to send observers. Perhaps that was why. What about the other groups?”
“Ah!” He smiled. “I took the liberty to speak to our three immediate neighbors on your behalf. The Pantch and the Taunika have sent observers. I left them at the Owl Ordu along with a small group of my Hasinai. The ‘Sun’ would not give me an audience since I was only the son of a lowly merchant. I’m afraid you will have to visit him yourself. Perhaps this spring?”
“If Kaidu agrees,” I replied, “I’ll be happy to try. But meanwhile, we must go see him and report on your recruiting efforts.”
We went to see Kaidu and told him all. He was amazed at Smoking Mirror’s initiative and very grateful for his information. Dispatches were prepared and sent to the Kestrels and the Cranes, the two Ordu nearest the Tsoyaha, advising them of the possibility of an attack on the latter. The two new forest tumen, the Martens and the Wildcats, were put on alert to move south across the Wazhazhe River in the late winter and set up camp between the West Tsoyaha River and the Missi Sipi. We would not start anything ourselves, but we would be ready if anyone else started something. As for my visiting the “Sun,” it would depend on whether we had to move against anyone. If we didn’t, then I could visit him and the Pansfalaya as well. As for visiting the other chiefs, I should only do that with very strong escort. Kaidu thought it would be worth the trip if a large group like the Pansfalaya could be induced to confederate. Also, I could finish mapping the Missi Sipi.
At this point, Smoking Mirror brought out another surprise. He had finished mapping the southern coast of the land all the way to the Missi Sipi and had mapped the Missi Sipi from its mouth almost to where we left off. Kaidu and I were both very impressed, and Kaidu insisted on raising Smoking Mirror to the rank of minghan commander, detached from command for special assignments. He wanted him to accompany me the following spring, if possible, and perhaps go on beyond the Pansfalaya to the tribes farther east. He told me to get Smoking Mirror an appropriate helmet as though he were in my tumen.
I sent word to Henry to make the helmet and meanwhile showed Smoking Mirror the matches and the gunpowder. I used one of the matches to light a small trail of the “black sand,” as he called it, and he was truly amazed. He wanted to know how we ever figured out such a thing, and I had to admit we didn’t, it was the Hanjen again. I explained about a cannon and promised to show him what it could do in the spring. Meanwhile, I did demonstrate a rocket for him. He said he would very much like to meet the remarkably inventive Hanjen, and he was sorry we hadn’t brought any with us. I suppose, after all, it was an understandable sentiment, but I cautioned him not to say such a thing to the other Mongols.
“The Mongols despise the Hanjen,” I explained. “The Hanjen always looked down on the Mongols as barbarians. Besides, even with all their inventive abilities, they were unable to prevent the Mongols from conquering them.”
“Do you hate the Hanjen?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted. “I learned too much from them to hate them. Still, they can be a corrupting influence. They corrupted and finally destroyed the Mongol Khanate in the old land. They can be too clever, to the point of being conniving.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “I have known such people. Every tribe has a few. They are very dangerous while being very helpful. The sun shines and burns; the river quenches thirst and drowns; the fire warms and burns. So it is. Still, I would like to see these people and their cities.”
“Well”—I smiled—“if we ever decide to get back in contact with them, I’ll bring you along.”
I added Smoking Mirror’s efforts to the master map with his help. He was quite fascinated by it all and hoped to be able to travel to the northwest part of the land sometime. The winter passed fairly uneventfully until Paula presented me with a second son. We called him Ignace, her father’s name. He was a fine healthy boy. All the children seemed to thrive in the new land. It was a wonderful place, there were no epidemics, and in fact, there did not seem to be anything like the sickness we would see in the old land. I supposed it was because the people were not so concentrated in small areas as were the Hanjen. But I really didn’t know why the new land was so salutary. At any rate, both people and herds flourished.