Wendigo, Deer Woman and Murder

Arrival

Autumn was nearly over and George could feel it getting colder and colder. The marching helped though, it kept the body warm. He thanked the Lord that his boots fit so well and he looked down upon them as he and his comrades marched through the forest towards their allies, the Algonquians. The sounds of their marching was intensified by the crunching of the leafs beneath their boots.

"I wonder what these people are like." George said to the soldier next to him, an old comrade named Isaac. They had gotten to known each other on the transport ship to the colonies and were from the same town. But that was pretty much the only thing they had in common.

"Who cares, I just hope they have beautiful woman." Isaac smirked.

"Urgh." George scoffed and decided to cut the conversation there. For his part, he was very curious about their allies. He had read stories about them back in England, as well as Voltaires writings of their 'perfect' society. Was it true? He was about to find out. And he had the chance to talk to some native merchants while they were stationed in New York and waited for their marching orders. The first time he had seen and talked to natives in person! It was even more interesting than he thought it would be.

The battalion reached the village by noon. It was quite a large one, almost the size of a town and situated by a large lake. Apart from a large clearing on front of it, there were only trees and mountains around them. Truly a beautiful place, yet also very isolated. Their commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson, had been given the order to raid the American outposts around New York. The natives style of warfare suited these tactics perfectly and, since the Americans wanted to expand westwards, they eagerly accepted british help.

The British would supply the natives and they in turn would lead the raids against the enemy. Simple as that.

After the officers met with the chief and village elders, the regiment made their camp right outside of the village and set up barricades around them. After setting up their tents, the Sergeant came and gathered his men. "As far as we can tell, the enemy is unaware of our presence. Still, be on your guard. The Colonel gave the order to start patrolling around the area. You are also free to enter the Indian village whenever you want. But don't do anything stupid, you understand?" The men, including George, nodded. They all knew how severe the punishments for disobeying were. The Sergeant then selected the ones that would be first to patrol, George and Isaac were among them.

As they walked through the forest, muskets over their shoulders, Gorge looked up to the sky. The trees blocked part of the warm sunlight that broke through, creating a beautiful scene. Nature was truly fascinating.

If it wasn't for the warm sun, he would have begun to freeze. "It's gonna snow soon, I can feel it in my bones." he commented.

"Ya think? Ah I'm sure it's just a feeling."

"It hasn't let me down before." George stated with certainly. They walked on for a while and eventually he and Isaac leaned against a tree to rest.

"It's always marching and training, saying 'Yes, Sir.' and what not. Urgh, sometimes I regret joining the army." Isaac complained.

This man was honestly getting on his nerves but George tried to be polite. "Too late now, huh? Besides, who cares as long as we get our 8 pence daily?"

Isaac stood up and sighed. "Yeah you are right. I guess." Unlike George he was not enthusiastic when joining the army and even less so afterwards.

The duo came across some natives that returned from a hunting trip, another one of their patrol and finally a few native woman picking berries.