1840 Indian Rebirth

Chapter 26 [American Businessman]

April 5st morning.

The Apaches in the camp received word that American merchants from the east had arrived nearby, and the merchants would stay for a day to buy or exchange their bison hides.

So under the leadership of Chief Oak of Chiricahua and Rainy Day, High Priest of the Plains, a team of Apaches took the buffalo hides and headed to the designated trading place.

Indians will not trust whites, and whites will not trust Indians.

Therefore, the trading location of the two parties was carefully selected. It was some distance away from the Apache camp, and at the same time, the terrain was flat and the view was wide, so it was impossible to set up an ambush here.

The number of people on both sides is also limited, and neither can exceed 50 people.

There were more than forty people on Apache's side. When they were about to arrive at their destination, the horse sentry made a visual inspection from a distance. It was estimated that the number of white caravans in front should be about thirty, most of them were cavalry guards armed with guns. , looking at them vigilantly.

Oak was the leader of the Apache team, and Whistle followed closely behind, paralleling the rainy ride.

"This stirrup is really useful." Stepping on the wooden stirrup in the rainy day, he said, "Riding a horse is much easier than before, and you can imagine its power on the battlefield... Horse whistle, you are indeed a war chief. "

The oak walking in front also said: "We should have used it a long time ago. But it is not durable, and I have already stepped on one."

The horse whistle said: "After all, it is made of wood. If it is replaced with metal, the durability will be much better...We need metal."

With the help of the rainy weather, the promotion of stirrups and strongbows went very smoothly, and thousands of Apaches in the camp had already changed into these two equipments.

For this reason, the horse post also got a resounding nickname: Great Craftsman.

This is undoubtedly a good name. If it were changed to someone else, it would most likely replace the original name and become the new official name.

But the horse whistle is different. His whistle is more impressive.

In the past month, Ma Shao has held countless "camp tour concerts". Almost all gatherings and ceremonies cannot do without his unique whistle skills, which made everyone deeply remember his extraordinary whistle.

Therefore, the name of Horse Whistle is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and even the title of Great Craftsman cannot replace it.

Not long after, everyone arrived at the trading place, riding a few steps forward on a rainy day, and two people from the white caravan on the opposite side also came over.

One of them was obviously the leader, a man in his 30s, with a slightly fat body and a stubble chin. He greeted with a smile, "We meet again, High Priest, I believe you still remember me."

"Hello, Mr. Smith." He also greeted in English on a rainy day.

This is not the first transaction between the two parties, so there is no nonsense, businessman Smith said directly: "I brought your favorite spirits, there are 620 gallons, enough for you to fill 1000 or two hundred bags."

"The price of wine is still the same as last time. You can exchange three gallons for the best bison hide, one and a half gallons for ordinary bison hide, and half a gallon for poor quality bison hide... I don't know how much you need this time? Five hundred gallons ?”

Cowhide is exchanged for spirits, and other commodities are small. The business has always been like this, and Smith thought it would be the same this time.

However, what he said on a rainy day was completely unexpected: "No, we don't want alcohol this time."

"?" Smith thought he had heard wrong, showing a puzzled expression.

Immediately on a rainy day, he said it again in Apache, enunciating clearly: "We won't buy alcohol this time."

The translator in the white team translated this sentence to Smith, and Smith finally confirmed that he heard it right.

Indians don't even buy alcohol!

Bewildered and annoyed at once, he said, "What, why? Don't you buy hard liquor every time? Delicious whiskey, don't you like it?"

"Yes." Rain said, with a calm face, "We have decided to stay away from strong alcohol, which will corrupt our bodies. We should have done so long ago."

"No, who told you this? It's nonsense!" Smith waved his hand, his tone excited.

He swore that if he knew who the Apaches were to stop drinking, he'd wring that man's head off!

"In the name of God, whiskey will never harm our bodies, not only that, but it will make us more spiritual." Smith continued quickly, while instructing the translator to ensure that his meaning could be conveyed more accurately.

"...Of course, some people drink too much and some bad things do happen. But that's true of anything, even water, and a gallon of water will blow your stomach, won't it? That doesn't mean alcohol It's a harmful thing, absolutely not."

Rainy day replied: "The problem with spirits has never been that your belly bursts, no one can drink to that extent... In fact, one of our shamans has pointed out that alcohol is actually a kind of medicine, and it is not suitable for diet at all. "

"medicine?"

Smith hesitated, not knowing what to say.

But he quickly regained his composure, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "Well, although the benefits of drinking are obvious, I have to admit that everyone is free to drink or not."

Then he changed the subject: "You have the right not to drink, but you should abide by your promise!"

"This is not the first time that we have bought and sold wine. Every time we prepare at least [-] gallons of wine and deliver it to you personally, you should not break the agreement. If you don't want to buy wine, you should tell us in advance."

"We didn't sign an agreement," Rain said.Since the Indians have no written language of their own, paper agreements are rarely signed.

Smith argued: "You guys told me last year you needed more spirits!"

"Perhaps, but it's only verbal at most. According to the nominal principle of honesty of you white people, only the written contract must be obeyed." There was a hint of sarcasm in Rainy Day's tone.In the eyes of the vast majority of Indians, whiteness has nothing to do with honesty.

Smith was speechless, and for a moment could only purse his lips and hold the rein tightly, as if trying to suppress his anger.

The other white people in the caravan were also agitated and talked a lot.

"What the hell, the Indians say they're quitting alcohol!" Nobody expected the Apaches to suddenly quit drinking.

"Are we going to make a trip for nothing?"

"This is a big loss!"

There are also some white people who are directly vicious, discussing the possibility of conflict with the people around them in low voices.

"I think we might need a fight..."

"That's right, but it can't be here. You have to know that the Apache's stronghold is not far away. And even if we want to fight, it's best not for us to make a move. We are businessmen..."

Seeing the turmoil of the white people, he was unmoved by the rainy day. In fact, this was completely within his expectations.

The Apaches have never thought about not buying alcohol. This is simply impossible, not to mention that some alcoholics in the clan will not be able to quit for a while, and the medical use of strong alcohol cannot be given up by the Apache.

He just wanted to buy less, and what he just said was just a way of negotiation.

(End of this chapter)