Excerpt from Winds Of Change

The thunderous hoof beats of the horses reverberated through the village. Men scrambled from their lodges, many of them still naked. They ran and waved their arms to divert the spooked horses. Running Swift and Hands So High dashed through the village.

Some of the women with small children ran for cover of the woods while others stood ready for an attack as the enemy rode past, raising their clubs in the air. Young boys ran among the enemy, firing arrows from their small bows. Many of the villagers scrambled between teepees to seek safety from tomahawks and pounding hooves, all the while swinging knives and clubs to defend themselves.

The Blackfeet galloped into the center of the campsite, shooting arrows wildly into the crowd of attacking Arapahos. One warrior slashed a teepee pole, causing the covering to collapse and catch fire from the pit inside.

“Stop the horses,” shouted Running Swift. Quickly, he ducked a wild thrust by an attacker, which barely scratched his shoulder. He nocked his arrow and took aim. The feathered shaft pierced the rider’s chest. The brave died on his way to the ground. Running Swift grabbed a handful of mane and swung into the empty pad saddle.

As he rode into the melee, he yelled, “Push them to the lake.”

Deer Hunter ran toward the water, trying to keep the raiders in front of him. With his quiver empty, he threw his spear at one of the Blackfeet, missing by two feet. His arrows would have found their mark.

Hearing the thunderous hooves pound the campsite ground, Vision Seeker darted from the path of the panicked animals. She held her son, Little Feather, in one arm and waved the other, trying to divert the frantic horses.

A woman in front of her stood terror stricken by the battle raging around her.

“Move,” Vision yelled, as she dodged a Blackfoot’s tomahawk. She grabbed the woman by the shoulder and pulled her between two teepees. A young boy bumped into Vision, knocking her off her feet as he sprinted after the enemy with his bow and arrows.

Clutching Little Feather to her chest, Vision raced toward the shelter of several trees to hide her son. She hung his baby bag safely from a branch.
From the tree line, Vision saw Many Faces pick up her small daughter, Little Fawn. She yelled, “Many Faces, behind you.”

The woman swung a club at a brave on horseback. An arrow struck her in the stomach. As she crumpled to the ground, she dropped her daughter.

Overcome with anger, Vision screamed, “Kill them. Kill them. Kill the Blackfeet.”

Treasure Hunt

We are all interested in treasure hunting, especially watching the divers on television as they bring up gold and jewels from the bottom of the ocean. The mystery of the hunt grabs our interest. Well, here is a little tidbit that I found from the book The Complete Guide to Treasure Hunting.

Many treasure hunters believe that $2 million in silver bars still lies at the bottom of Hendricks Lake near Galveston, Texas. The story began when a Spanish brig named the Santa Rosa left Vera Cruz Mexico, loaded down with $2 million in Mexican silver ingots and sailed out along the lower Texas coast. The ship was soon attacked by Lafitte and his band of pirates, the silver transferred to the Pride, and the Santa Rosa sunk.

In the summer of 1816, Lafitte gave the order to remove the silver from his home on Campeachy and carry it inland. A wagon train was organized and was soon heading up Trammel's Trace, through what is now Carthage, Marshall, and Texarkana. While camped one night near the Sabine River, by a body of water called Hendricks Lake, Lafitte's men were surprised by 200 Spanish soldiers who had been sent to reclaim the silver. The Frenchmen hurriedly cut the mules loose and let the six wagon loads of silver roll down the bank into Hendricks Lake.

In 1920, a group of fishermen brought up three silver bars from the bottom of the lake. Although many attempts have been made to recover the rest of the ingots, even some far out attempts to pump all the water out of the lake, no more of the treasure has ever been found.

What happened to Jean Lafitte himself? Many historians now believe that the pirate Lafitte and Jean Lafitte who lived in St. Louis and died in Alton, Illinois in 1854, were one and the same. Was the Hendricks Lake treasure salvaged by Lafitte himself to finance his St. Louis business ventures? While historians are digging deeper for clues, treasure hunters continue to dig at several sites for the buried booty of Jean Lafitte.

The Complete Guide To Treasure Hunting, written by Norman V. Carlisle and David Michelson (1973), pgs 42-43.