Jesse has inherited his Grandfather’s ranch and now must fight his father to keep it while on a quest to find Coyote and his spirit animal.

In Western Native American lore Coyote was either the maker of the earth or the messenger to those who made the earth. It was Coyote who was tricked in making death a part of life. I apologize to any who may be offended by my use of Coyote. He is central to the story and used with much respect. Native Americans have much for which to be respected; their love and care of the earth and the sacrifices made for this great land.
I hope you enjoy my first attempt a story for Big Closet.

It is with much thanks to Hope for her edits. Also, Thanks to those who helped me get the third chapter straight. As this is my first rodeo, I knew I would get thrown a couple of times. Thanks for baring with me.

Chapter 4 The Sweat Lodge

Jesse woke early the next morning. He had banked the fire before he slept, so restarting the fire was easy. The female wolf came over to him as he fixed breakfast and asked, {{Did you sleep well?}}

“Yes, I did,” stated Jesse. “I did have some strange dreams. I dreamed that I was running through the forest. Nothing had any color. They were just shades of black, white or gray. I could hear things and my ears tickled as if they were turning toward the sounds. I could smell things that I couldn't before. Maybe it was just my imagination from being able to speak with you.”

The female replied, {{Maybe.}} She would report this to the elders when they rejoined the pack.

Though the sky had been light for awhile, the sun was just peaking over the mountain across the lake as they finished eating. The wolves were leaving. Just before the large male left he came over to Jesse. {{Keep your ears up and your nose to the wind. That puma is still out there. After we leave he may try to attack you again. The horse will help warn you, but trust your instincts. They have served your forefathers well in the past. You have chosen your camp well as the puma will have several yards in the open once he breaks cover from the forest, to get to you. He is most dangerous at night.}}

Jesse replied, “Thank you for your help. Run fast and run safe with your ears up and nose to the wind.” With that, the male turned and trotted after his mate.

Jesse had much to do before he called George to tell him he had arrived at the lake. There were aspen saplings on the north side of the lake. Jesse would cut several of these to make a drying rack to dry fish on that he caught or if he killed an animal he would cut it into strips like jerky and dry it on the rack. Also, he would cut several to make a sweat lodge to cleanse the spirit while seeking Coyote. Normally one would cover the lodge with hides, but he would kill only what he needed to eat. There were enough pines nearby he would be able to cover the lodge with the aspen leaves and then an outer layer of pine boughs. Not only would this provide a sweat lodge, but constructed properly the lodge would turn all but the heaviest rains.

Jesse untied Big Spot from his tree. Big Spot seemed relieved that the wolves were gone and stood idle as Jesse placed the saddle on him. Jesse rode to the north side of the lake to the aspen grove. He took his ax and started cutting saplings. When he thought he had as much as Big Spot could drag easily, he placed the two longest ones in the stirrups of the saddle to make a travois. He placed a smaller stick across the logs behind the horse and lashed it down with some binder twine he had brought with him for lashing. Binder twine or grass string is strong enough for these temporary lashings. Also, being made from natural materials, it is biodegradable. Then he placed another stick at the lower end to keep the ends apart and lashed it down. He piled the remaining saplings on the two sticks and tied them down with his rope. After making sure he had not over loaded his saddle and Old Spot, he walked his horse back to his camp site. Jesse made three trips to the aspen grove before he thought he had enough saplings of various sizes.

Next, Jesse started lopping pine boughs from the pine trees that were nearest to his camp. This provided the cover to his sweat lodge but also it cleared some of the areas in which any unwanted guests could hide. Jesse thought a rustic cabin would be nice up here once he had the ranch up and running. He could bring guests and others for back country adventures.

Jesse took the four longest poles and using the binder twine he lashed the tops to form a 12” by 12” square. This hole would let the smoke out of his sweat lodge. He then took a shorter pole and lashed it near the top so that he could lift the center of his lodge off the ground. This would hold the top in place long enough for him to get the four poles dug into the ground with his entrenching tool. Once he had the four poles in the ground like he wanted. He began to place other poles around the perimeter. He could just reach the top of his lodge and tie everything in place. He stopped for lunch and to call George.

George answered on the second ring, “I thought you were going to forget to call,” said George.

Jesse replied, “I wasn't going to forget. It has been a bit adventurous so far. I've met the wolves that were calling these past weeks. They've traveled with me to the lake. They left this morning to go meet with their elders. I'll explain when I get back. They were sent to call me and to protect me on the beginning of this journey. We had a run in with a puma. If I was the shot my Grandfather was with these pistols, that cat would have been dead.”

“It sounds like you are having an adventure. Are you sure you are safe?”

“I'm okay for now. I'll have to face that puma again before long. I feel it, but he won't be able to ambush me this time. Have you heard anything from my lawyer?

“He called looking for you yesterday. I told him that you were in the back country for a minimum of two weeks. He said your father had petitioned the courts to throw out the will on account that your Grandfather was incompetent and that you are not his biological son. The lawyer said you need to be back here in two weeks to take a DNA test. Even if the test was to prove you are not a blood relative, he said the will will stand up in court if we can get past the incompetent accusation.”

“Okay, see if you can get the lawyer to delay that test for a couple of weeks. Did the lawyer say why my dad said my Grandfather was incompetent?”

“He said it had to do with the way the will was written. Your Grandfather's lawyer actually wrote the will, but your Grandfather insisted that the lawyer refer to you as his Grandson slash Granddaughter. It is known that you are not becoming a woman or seeing a psychiatrist for gender related issues, so your father has raised the issue of competence.”

“Just keep me up to date on the will. Also, send my lawyer a copy of the letter from my Grandfather. When I check in next, let me know if I need to come back early.”

“Okay, be careful up there”

“I will. I have my ears up and my nose to the wind.”

“What?”

“I'll explain when I get back”

“Okay, talk to you later.”

“You too” Jesse turned off the phone and went back to work on his lodge. That afternoon, he had to make more trips to get pine boughs to cover the lodge. When he was done he sat inside for a few minutes. Even though the wind had picked up outside, he could not feel it through the pine boughs. Jesse's next step was to gather enough fire wood so that he would not have to leave the lodge for several hours. Water for the steam would be his biggest challenge, but he would find a way to handle that. He decided that he would eat tonight and begin his fasting and cleansing in the morning.

The next morning, Jesse woke to a light rain. Big Spot was standing next to his tree looking miserable. Jesse walked over and patted the horse on the neck. “Maybe I should have made the lodge big enough for both of us.” The horse nodded its head. There wasn't much Jesse could do for the horse, so he walked to the lodge. Looking inside the lodge he noticed that everything was dry except the area under the smoke hole. He decided there was something that he could do something to make his horses life a little better.

Big Spot's tree had a limb that was about two feet higher than the horse and ran about ten feet from the tree. Jesse had used this tree because it was tall and would provide some relief to the horse for a short rain. The present rain looked to have set in for the day and the tree would be saturated soon so it would be raining under the tree by lunch. If there was no lightening, the horse would be safe under the tree. Jesse took his equipment out of his tent and moved it into the lodge. He would have to air it out once he was finished using the sweat lodge for its intended purpose. He took his tent and threw it over the limb top side up. He had closed all the zippers and the windows on the tent. Then he tied the mesh at the top closed.

He tied the twine around the top of the tent around the trunk of the tree. Then he stretched the tent as far away from the tree as possible. He took the four corners of the floor of the tent and staked them down to form an inverted vee roof over the branch. Then he took the rain fly and threw it over the limb next to the tent. Taking some of the binder twine, Jesse staked the rain fly out to match the tent. This made a roof the horse could stand under. The drips from the tree would roll off the tent and fly. The horse could stand under the roof and stay dry. The oils in the animal's hair would have shed most of the rain, but it would help to keep the horse warmer if the temperature dropped if its hair was dry. Also, Jesse could throw his sleeping bag and saddle blanket over the horse if it became too cold. A fire in the lodge would keep him warm along with his heavy coat.

Big Spot seemed to be pleased with the roof. He was standing under it looking out at the rain as Jesse crawled into the lodge to start his cleansing rituals and his search for Coyote.