The Mystery Of Mountain Mike
Mountain Mike was a mountain man.
Hunting and trapping in mountain land.
Making a living from selling the furs.
He had his rifle and a mangy cur.
He would be gone all year long.
He would hunt and fish till game was gone.
He was friends with most of the Indians.
Even so, he would seldom see them.
One day he found a girl, nearly dead.
Her parents died of a disease, it’s said.
She was starving, went looking for food.
She was in a severely depressed mood.
Mike nursed her back to health.
In his one room cabin, built for himself.
After a few months, they became friends.
She called him father in the end.
He taught her to fish, hunt, and trap.
Prepare the fur for taking back.
Taking back to the outpost to be sold.
Then buy supplies for the winter cold.
She became an expert shot.
Better than Mike, when really hot.
He was very proud of her.
Dressed her In their very best fur.
They were a team. They worked well.
Herding game to nature’s hell.
A box canyon where they were trapped.
Taking the best game was a snap.
They didn’t kill for fun. Only to eat & survive.
Selling furs kept them alive.
They would fish to feed themselves.
They were where nature dwells.
Several years passed by.
Then, Mike was injured in a landslide.
She drug him miles to civilization.
On a cot made for the occasion.
People were amazed by her feat.
When done, she was still on her feet.
Mike recovered with medical aid.
After a month resting in the shade
they headed for the mountains then.
One year, they were never heard from again.
But, their rumors will never die.
Others said they saw them bye and bye.
No one could say for sure.
Yet somehow, they got a supply of fur.
—————————R.W. Johnson—–(2017)
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