Revised: 7/5/2012 Subject to Revisions
The big male cat sniffed the air and perked up his ears to listen to the strange sounds coming from just beyond the edge of the tall grass. He kept his head low so that his entire body was below the tops of the grass making sure he was fully hidden. He let out a series of low grunts to signal that his hunting pack of seven other male and female big cats should hold position and stay hidden in the tall grass. He heard the familiar hoof sounds of Double Twist Horned bulls and cows and their lowing sounds. The strange sounds of clanking, tinkling, heavy creaking and rumbling that accompanied the sounds of the prey animals were new. He remained cautious so he could watch and see what might happen to the desired prey, the big bulls and cows.
He crept forward very slowly so he was nearly at the edge of the grass and able to look out over a stretch of shorter grass and a band of dirt. He was encouraged as the prey bulls and cows often cropped down a clear area so they could watch for predators better. The prey animals that had caught his attention were moving closer walking along the dirt trail. In the background was taller brush and trees. As he looked down towards the sounds he heard, he saw a small clustered group of prey animals coming along the dirt area. Behind them was a large strange object keeping pace, indeed seemingly to push the small herd. That big object was making loud creaking and rumbling sounds. Also, a number of smaller animals were on the big one behind the prey animals shouting and chattering between them. They were coming closer, slowly, as the small herd was straining to walk.
The big cat leader looked at the clustered prey bulls and cows and the big thing following closely. He had seen mixes of large herd animals in clear patches of grass land before. The thought that this situation was just that, a group of suitable prey animals and close by some bigger animal. Usually when the big cats would attack mixed groups like this, the animals would scatter and the big herbivorous were no threat. The big cat let out a short series of low growls to signal the hunting pack that prey was close and soon he would signal a charge. With such a small herd the big cats had a distinct advantage as the prey animals could not hope to defend against attacks by so many cats at the same time. The cat pack would eat well very soon.
The big male cat waited patiently until the small herd was just passing his position from left to right and signaled for the other cats on his left to attack by issuing a sharp snarl. The three big cats to the left of the big male leader rushed out of the tall grass snarling and growling towards the small herd. They had a fairly short distance to go over the area of short grass, perhaps only five to seven bounds and they would be on the small herd.
In the half loaded coal waggon pulled by three paired teams of double twist horned draft animals, the crew of two drivers and four guards were on full alert being close a stretch of the tall grass. As the waggon moved slowly along the dirt road, the draft animals straining to pull the coal load up a slight grade in the road. The guards were all sitting on top of the waggon with their feet hanging down into their defense position open hatches so they could see better. A nervous lowing by the draft animals alerted them to possible trouble, which they didn't want to have along this grassland bordered stretch of road from Coalton to the next settlement, Rivertwo. This was a stretch of road that normally wound through the woods that exposed their right flank to attack by big cats.
At the first sounds of the big cat charge, the waggon guards dropped down into their windlass bow firing positions and pulled the hatches closed. The drivers were already inside looking out through window openings with close spaced bars. The entire crew was fully alerted now and looking over the area of cropped grass towards the tall grass at the right of the waggon. Almost without any notice three of the big cats bounded out of the tall grass from slightly behind the waggon and rushed towards the draft animals. As soon as the cats cleared the grass, the draft animals all started loud calling and stopped pulling the waggon as they attempted to turn their horns towards the charging cats.
The coal waggon only had three working windlass bows, the fourth at the left rear of the waggon has a broken part that they had discovered only after leaving Coalton. They did not have a repair part on the waggon. The fourth guard then pulled out a hand bow and cluster of the shorter three foot arrows. He would have to shoot out between the bars of the windows at the left rear corner of the waggon. The right rear and right front windlass bows were aimed at the on coming cats and both guards got off a shot before the cats reached the team. The remaining operating windlass bow at the left front was not able to bear on the oncoming cats. The cat in the lead of the charge took an arrow in the upper front leg and went down in a tumble with a loud shriek. The shriek alerted the big male lead cat hidden in the tall grass that something was wrong and he bellowed out for the remaining four cats at his right side in the deep grass to hold position while he looked to see what happened.
When the first attacking cat stumbled and fell because of the arrow hit, the second and third cats were startled but kept on coming now as they got the smell of the prey animals pulling the waggon. The second cat in line, a hungry female, darted around the stricken first cat and ignored his shrieks. She managed to reach the middle team on the right side and got her claws deep into the bulls neck. She bit hard on the neck and managed to break it and crush the animals windpipe in just a couple of seconds. The big bull went down tangling itself in the harness rigging. The large cow just behind the stricken bull reared back hard snorting in fear trying the get away from the big cat.
Both the right rear and front side guards worked furiously to reload their windlass bows. The front left location was ready to shoot and swung the left front turret right to shoot at the big cat that had just attacked the middle team right side bull. The female cat that had just made the kill was struck in the chest and went down hard with a kill shot. Meanwhile the right side windlass bow turrets were reloaded and swung to aim and shoot at the third big cat that was rapidly nearing the teams. Both bows twanged at nearly the same moment and unfortunately the last of the big cats that attacked was unharmed. The third big cat lunged at the terrified third team cow that was on the right side. The cat's jaws clamped down on the hapless animals neck which promptly was crushed killing the poor beast. As the third team cow fell the cat hung on to make sure of the kill.
Meanwhile the front left corner guard managed to reload. He was able to swing his turret hard right and just aim it at the front of the big cat's chest. He shot the big windlass bow six foot arrow which struck true at the big cat's heart and lungs. The big cat died almost immediately and now loosely hung unto the dying cow.
Meanwhile the wounded first attack cat managed to limp off into the grass making loud meowing sounds indicating he was badly hurt. The big male lead cat noticed the disastrous injury to the three cats that had attacked and loudly called for the troop to pull back into the grass. He was alarmed that so few prey animals had managed to kill or badly injure those cats that had attacked. This was not a good thing and so many bad injuries signified the need to pull back and stay away from that herd.
The tired guards breathed a sigh of relief as no more cats came out of the tall grass, but they remained on alert. Meanwhile the drivers struggled to calm the remaining double twist horn draft animals who were now fully terrified of the presence of the two remaining big cats that lie alongside the dead team mates. One of the big cats kept making loud meowing sounds for a while and then silenced in death. No one in the waggon was going to leave cover while there appeared to be some chance more cats might strike.
This attack by the big cats was fairly typical leaving the waggon with two dead draft double twist horns, or doubles for short. The drivers had managed to somewhat calm the surviving team members while the guards and drivers began planning the process of re-rigging the teams so they could pull the dead cats and draft animals away from the waggon. They all knew that soon other predators would arrive, particularly the scavenging wolves that followed big cat hunting packs. The drivers were not sure that the surviving team of four could pull the waggon due to the heavy coal load and the waggon might just have to wait for a passing waggon to get help.
The wolves and big cats were both on the minds of the guards and drivers who now had to duty to pull the dead animals away from the waggon so the scavenging wolves and other wild life would not get close to the surviving draft team animals. That meant that some of the crew would need to leave the relative safety of the waggon to re-hitch the teams and use pairs of doubles in a team to pull the dead creatures away. The guards that remained on the waggon would need to provide sharp lookout against the possibility that more big cats might choose to attack or wolves if a pack of them showed up.
Guard Arbiums Groot, Danikels older brother, was coming down from the high excitement of the attack. The senior guard volunteered Arbiums and another guard to help the drivers with the re-hitching and provide protection . Arbiums, the other guard and the drivers would each carry a hand bow and arrows. The drivers would carry their bow and arrows on their back since they would be busy with the harnesses and driving the team of a pair of doubles. The guards would have their bow at the ready and carry two spears, one to hand to the driver if they were threatened by scavengers while outside. The hope was that the group of four could complete the re-hitching and pull away the dead animals before the wolves or any other big cats arrived. The smell of the dead animals was sure to attract various scavengers which include both types of animal.
The four men, Arbiums Groot, the other guard and two drivers gathered up their protective weapons in preparation to go outside the waggon. The two remaining guards opened the hatches on the top of the waggon and got out to look around and be ready to warn the others should wolves or cats come around. The four outside crew members then carefully exited the door, one at a time. They stayed close to the door for a short while and were ready to jump back insided the waggon while the guards on top looked around carefully. After a while when nothing came around, they went to the front of the waggon where the draft double twist horn animals were hitched to the waggon drawbar. The surviving doubles calmed down somewhat when the men came around front. They were used to working with men and trusted them for food, handling and safety.
The drivers immediately went over to the drawbar and unhitched all the doubles from it. They also cut away harnesses from the dead doubles so they could be pulled away. The front most team of two doulbles was intact and could immediately be used to work at pulling away dead animals. Abriums and his driver made use of that team and hooked up to one of the dead cats. The cat was hooked up with sections of harness removed from the dead draft animals. While this was going on, the other driver and guard pair took the two surving doubles and made up a second team pair connecting them to a common team pair bar so they could work together to pull a load.
It took nearly a half hour to move the first cat to the side of the dirt road and pull it a bit unto the cropped grass. They put it about fifty feet behind the rear of the waggon to keep it somewhat away from the drawbar of the waggon where the surviving doubles would eventually be hitched. The team was driven back to the waggon drawbar area to hook up another dead animal. Abriums and his driver hooked up the dead middle team bull and began pulling it out of the drawbar area. At the same time the second team made of the the surviving doubles was being hitched to the second dead cat near the waggon. It took some effort to work two teams of the big doubles so close together. It was decided to pull the dead bull down back of the waggon a bit closer than the first dead cat they had previously pulled away. Meanwhile the other team would pull their dead big cat forwad of the waggon drawbar area about fifty feet or so.
Working now with two teams of two, each with a driver and guard, the outside crews were making steady progress moving the dead carcasses away from the waggon. About that time the waggon crew heard barking and snorting noises coming from the deep grass and knew that a pack of wolves was coming their way. They had to protect the surviving two teams of two doubles each and still had to move the dead animals away from the waggon.
Arbiums and his driver were scared now. They were about thirty feet behind the waggon with their team and load. They knew that the wolves would go right for the dead animals. They would not likely be patient to wait until the crew finished moving them away. They might decide to attack the outside crew members or double teams. Arbiums held his bow tightly and checked that his first arrow was in the bow correctly. He had never before been around the scavening wolves on foot. He knew they were big enough to be a real threat. He determined that if wolves came for him or the driver he would drop the spears at his side and shoot arrows while they were about thirty feet or so away hoping to hit one and keep them rest away. If they came closer he and the driver would use the spears as a last resort. Although he had some practice with the spear jabbing it into piles of hay he worried that a wolf might get by the spear and attack him with it's sharp teeth. He knew when he took the job as guard that he might face such danger, and with it now upon him he sweated and shook at the danger.
Arbiums and his driver were about thirty feet to the back of the waggon on the short grass to the side of the road with the dead bull when the first wolves came out of the tall grass. In the blink of an eye at least a dozen wolves were standing at the edge of the grass barking and howling. The wolves were about fifty feet away just in front of the tall grass. The wolves saw the men with the doubles and took that to mean a competing pack was busy working on the dead animals. They were not afraid of a fight for food so they began to advance cautiously. The two guards on the waggon top hollered out to the crews on the ground the situation and jumped into the right side big bow positions to begin shooting. The wolves were very cautious and moved towards the dead cat off the side of the road fifty feet behind the waggon.
Arbiums and his driver quickly unhitched the dead bull and drove their team back to the front of the waggon. Luckily the maurading wolves did not follow them back since the dead bull they had just towed was there for their taking and they lunged into it instead. In a few seconds two big arrows flew at the wolves and one was struck. The arrow penetrated the wolf and pinned him to the ground. He yelped and went silent. The rest of the wolves concentrated on the dead cat and double bull and kept advancing on them.
When Arbiums and his driver released the dead double they quickly moved their team back and hooked up the remaining dead double cow. Meanwhile the other driver and guard and their team of doubles pulled their dead cat further up the road some fifty feet ahead of the waggon. Suddenly a second pack of hungry wolf scavengers began to poke out of the grass land, very close to where the other team was dragging the dead cat. The new pack of wolves didn't wait but went for the dead cat they were dragging. The guards on top hollered watch out and began shoot at the newcomers. The new pack was bigger, perhaps twenty animals. The second team was in danger so that driver and guard began shooting their sand bows and managed to hit several wolves. The big arrows from the waggon windlass bows also managed a couple of hits. The wolves however were hungry and went for the dead cat anyway.
The driver and guard cut the harness draggin the dead cat and ran back towards the waggon. Two wolves jumped at them and bit them. They were both hurt, but turned with their long spears and jabbed the hungry wolves. The wolves that had attacked them turned back to the dead cat and the driver and guard were able to continue running back towards the waggon. Some of the new pack moved over to eat on the dead double located behind the waggon by Arbiums and his driver.
At this point about thirty wolves were busy eating on the dead cats and dead double that were off to the side of the road. Arbiums and his driver had managed to hook up the remaining dead double and were preparing to pull it away from the waggon. The two hurt crew men scrambled back inside the waggon,. The two guards up top were busy reloading in preparation for more shooting of the big arrows. With so many wolves present they didn't know which wolves to shoot as their were so many.
Arbiums and his driver discussed what to do with the remaining dead double now that the right side of the road was lined with wolves eating on the dead animals. They thought they might be able to pull the remaining dead double along the left side of the road nearer to the trees behind the waggon into the woods area that way avoiding getting near the feeding wolves. The wolves would often turn towards the waggon and snarl and snap their teeth at the outside crew warning them away from the food.
Arbiums and the other crew knew that the wolves would probably be satisfied with the large dead animals they were eating on for some time and they might have enough time to move the remaining dead creature to the left side of the road. They wanted to move it well away from the waggon however to avoid other scavenger wolf packs that were sure to come along.
Just then a third large group of wolves arrived. They came out towards the food and a fight commenced between the newcomers and those that arrived earlier. Although their were three food sites the three wolf groups could not sort it out amicably and continued fighting. During the fight some of wolves drifted towards where Arbiums and his driver and team were pulling the final double steadily off the road to the left side into the shrubs near the trees. Arbiums shot arrows into two of them which discouraged the few that had come over that way.
The guards in the waggon shot a couple of wolves that left the overall melee as they came down past the rear of the waggon towards where Arbiums' team was pulling the dead double. Fortunately Arbiums' team was able to unhook the dead double a bit off the road in the brush and pull back towards the waggon before several wolves came through the bush and went after the second dead double. When they got back to the waggon area with their team they hitched it up loosely to the waggon drawbar along side the other team. They left the teams rather loosely hooked so they could turn and fight off any wolves that might come around.
With that the tired outside crew of Arbiums and driver got into the waggon and shut the door. The entire crew was now safely inside. The two guards on top were joined now by Arbiums while the injured guard and driver rested inside and the drivers helped them apply wound dressings. There was no point in waisting the big arrows on the many wolves that were now fully pre-occupied eating the two dead cats and two dead doubles. Those large animals would serve as food for even more wolves than presently surrounded the waggon. The crew was thankful that no more big cats had come by. Now they all they had to do was wait for another waggon to come along to provide help.
Danikel's father Tomaka Groot heard the story of the big cat attack on Arbiums coal waggon from other waggon drivers that came in down the roadway from settlements up Cone River. He related the story at Grandfather's birthday celebration and gave thanks for Arbiums survival. Tomaka himself had survived several big cat attacks on waggons with results similar to those experienced by his son Arbiums. The big danger following an attack was the wolves that seemed to trail the big cats and scavenge the cat's kills.
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