Hawk looked at the faces of Donald’s fellow survivors and he could tell they were reliving the horrible experience along with him. He nudged Conner and said softly, “I don’t know if we oughta take them up to see that scene or not.” Even as he said it, the little elf called Frog hopped down from the wagon and started up through the trees toward the top of the hill.

When Donald turned as if to start up the hill after Frog, Conner stopped him. “Mr. Lewis, I’m not sure you and your friends oughta go up that hill. Hawk, here, says it’s a pretty grim scene up there. Nothing but bodies lying everywhere, and the buzzards are already working on them.”

It was enough to cause Donald to hesitate, then turn to the other three survivors before deciding. They talked briefly, then Donald turned back to Conner. “We know it’s something we don’t really want to see, but we owe it to our friends to drive the vultures away and bury our people.” He gestured toward one of the three. “Brother James lost his wife and two sons, and he wants to bury them, himself.” So, they unhitched the horses from the wagon and Corporal Johnson detailed three of the men to take all the horses around the base of the hill to water them in the river. The rest of the party climbed up through the trees to the grisly scene at the top. The rest of the day was consumed with the work of digging deep trenches, using the few tools they’d brought with them, plus some found on the bodies of the pack mules. After battling the buzzards for what was left of the bodies of their fellow church members, they decided to let the fierce birds have the mules for their feast. Sick with grief, Brother James was unable to continue when he could not identify his wife and children after the buzzards had mutilated all the bodies. It was almost dark when the last mound was tamped down over the mass graves, and Donald gave a brief eulogy for the departed souls.

“Well, I guess that’s about all we can do up here for these poor folks,” Conner commented to Hawk. “I’m thinking I’ll have the men set up camp back down the road by that little stream we crossed on the way here, since it’s too much trouble to get to the river from here. That way, we can let the Quakers sleep in the wagon. Then we’ll go back to Fort Benton in the morning. Whatcha think?” Hawk said it was as good a plan as any, then another thought occurred to Conner. “What the hell happened to that little fellow? He just disappeared after we got up here on the hill.”