Week 5 Storytelling - Ben and his new rifle

One day all of the brothers and cousins had gone out to go camping in a federal fort near the Rio Grande River. They had spent some time there and went out looking for game, spending time hunting and finding trails for future outings. One evening they all had set up camp and got a fire going. Daryl had decided to cook for everyone and made a large pot of sofkey and biscuits while all of the others tied up the horses, laid out their pallets and prepared for the night. Daryl, having finished cooking, ladled out a wholesome portion of the hot concoction into a wooden bowl.

“Cousin! First bowl is for you, been a long day.” 

Nodding his head, Ben took the bowl of sofkey from Daryl and said, “Thanks, Daryl, tracking game can make a man mighty hungry!”

Daryl, however, had ulterior motives and wanted to kill Ben. Before Daryl fed Ben, he placed some poisonous mushrooms in his bowl, mashed them into a paste, and then filled the bowl with sofkey. The poison was quite effective and Ben fell ill in a matter of hours. In the middle of the night, Ben got up from his bedding and, in a hazy stupor, stumbled towards and into the river.

After floating down the river for a few hours he was pulled out by some local Navajo Indians. Their wise men looked over Ben and immediately knew the cause of his sickness. They fed him some fish, fresh picked herbs, and a drink made from berries and wood ashes. Ben was instantly better. These Indians had heard of the many great feats and stories of Ben and his brothers. Vaskala, the Chief of this village, was delighted to help Ben. He felt honored to have saved him and even went further by providing him with a new Winchester lever-action rifle that had been gifted to him by a legendary hunter. This rifle had been modified to shoot more powerful bullets compared to most other rifles.

Ben with his new rifle.

Ben stayed with the Navajo for over a week, recuperating and going on hunts. When he returned to the fort, his brothers and family saw him could not believe their eyes. They thought they were seeing a ghost! In the end, Ben had overcome the plans of Daryl and survived the assassination attempt on his life. After the whole course of events, he was cured of his ailments and given a new and powerful weapon which made him a mightier warrior.

Title: Indian Myth and Legend
Author: Donald A. Mackenzie
Year: 1913

Author's note

Once again I decided to go with a Western theme though it is less obvious with the content and plot of this story. It does follow the same idea as the original story of Bhima and the Nagas though the plot devices are a little different. In the original story, Bhima had been poisoned by Duryodhana. Bhima ends up going down into the world of the Nagas who give him extraordinary strengths. The changes in the story are primarily the setting, being 1800s in the Western United States. The names have also been changed. The image primarily shows a frontiersman with a quality rifle which is meant to show Ben and his “new rifle.” Overall, my goal was to attempt to retell another story with the Western setting that I had used before. I think the overall execution is good but I do feel that there is not as much detail to this story. The plot here is kind of hefty so I think I spent most of my writing time getting through the plot. I will probably attempt to add more detail and perhaps more background when I revise. This story should go into my portfolio quite nicely and will look good alongside the other stories there once I add a little more meat to it.