Shadow Walker

SHADOW WALKER

CHAPTER 1

PAUL MEETS A COMPANION

Paul acquired many native skills during the past several years, which in turn have provided him with all the necessities that he will require to survive.  He managed to develop these skills simply because he forced himself to apply his perseverance and determination toward the task.  There were only a few commodities that he required that he can’t produce; they were lead, gunpowder and steel weapons such as knives and hand axes.  The lead that he purchased would eventually be melted down and poured into a mold, that in turn would produce the balls he will require for his Kentucky Long Rifle.  Needless to say, his rifle is always by his side, since it’s his constant companion. Items like steel knives and hand axes that will hold a good cutting edge, can be purchased only at the English and French Forts along the frontier  These Forts usually contained a trading post where trappers and natives alike can trade their furs for whatever their needs might be at that particular moment. The other source of these items can also be found on the corpses of your enemies!

The one flaw that most people found in Paul was the fact that he always insisted upon remaining in his own company.  He seldom allowed himself the luxury of being surrounded by many people.  In his own way of thinking, a friendship represented an involvement of some type or other, which always included some form of a payback, which he found to be totally unacceptable.  Therefore a friendship represented a commitment and he found that to be an impediment to his lifestyle.   The few people that were privy to Paul’s acquaintance have often asked him if he never became lonesome while he was in the wilderness by himself.  Paul would simply respond to them by saying that he has learned a long time ago to enjoy his own company.  To those who knew him, it always seemed unusual to them that he had never developed a desire to have a companion, even if it would have been a native woman.

Actually, at one point in his life Paul did have a lady of his own, when he lived in the colony of Pennsylvania. That particular relationship turned him sour against the female gender as a whole.  The experience had only proven one thing to him, that he was better off  being dependent upon himself rather than others.  He found that most people can be pleasant to your face, but underneath their shallow smiles there can be a very vicious treatment awaiting you.  It was because of this unpleasant experience with this one woman that he found his own company to be most acceptable, and he does enjoy this present lifestyle that he has managed to develop for himself.  Even though the town folks may have thought of him as being strange, he relishes his privacy.

Paul is presently sitting near a small campfire contemplating the idea of visiting his old friend Chief Flat Nose, who is a Delaware War Chief who is presently living in the Ohio Country, just west of the colony of Pennsylvania.  In his own special way, Paul is an excellent frontiersman who knows how to survive under terrible conditions.   He was twenty-four years old, so he was certainly old enough to have a companion of his own, if that would have been his desire!  However, the thought of marriage seems to possess no particular interest to him, no matter how the idea was presented.  He has now become a man who likes the idea of wondering freely in this large country, much like the wild animals do that presently live here. He could give a damn less what people thought or said about him, since he held no feelings for them to begin with.  These sentiments included the white race as well as his friends the Delaware.

As a man grown full, he couldn’t possibly conceive in his mind how any man could possibly tolerate the constant whining, bitching, and strange ways of a woman.  To him it didn’t matter if the woman happened to be a white woman or native, big or small --  a pain remained a pain regardless of the circumstances.  During his various stays in the wilderness, he always had many opportunities to become bedded down with different native girls; however, he chos