Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 684 Katata's Watch
Many years later, when Katata was very old with gray hair, she couldn't go anywhere, but could only sit in front of the window of her house, watching the thick fog coming from the sea as before, like a gauze curtain Generally shrouded in the Western Hills.At this time, she would definitely think of the morning when she ran to the beach alone.

At that time, the tribe she was in had more than 300 people, and there were about dozens of tribes like them, scattered in the coastal area from the northern tip of the peninsula to Big Sur in the south, although each tribe did not consider themselves a unified group, but the tribes east of the Sierra Nevada called them "Miwok" - Miwok people.

By the way, Katata means "kingfisher" in Miwok language.

Like everyone else in the tribe, the Katata family lived in a conical house made of red cedar and covered with red cedar bark. The inside was almost three meters in diameter, and the whole family squeezed inside; Father, mother, older brother, younger brother, and herself.

One summer night, in the tribe where Katata lived, an old man named Soaring Eagle approached the chief and said that he had a strange dream.The chief attached great importance to this, knowing that the Soaring Eagle was the only one among them who could communicate with the wolf god and the eagle god, so he quickly summoned the elders of the tribe to the "sweat steaming hut" used for prayer and sacrifice.

"It won't be long before a white boat like we've never seen will come to us from the sea. It's big, and our 'tule boats' are like fleas and sea lions compared to it. Even those white skins The ships of men are no match. I look down in the air, and the white men across the strait have been driven south by the men of the white ships, and can no longer enslave us."

"The wolf god told me that he will leave us and go to the north. There will be a large area of ​​cultivated land in the future, and we will all live in square houses and wear soft woven clothes."

Someone interrupted at this time: "Who is on the white boat?"

"People who look like us, but are completely different. And they have a miracle drug that will save a lot of lives."

Hearing this, the witch doctor in the tribe hurriedly got up and interrupted: "Everyone, don't believe the words of the soaring eagle. The wolf god will never abandon us! The square house, what a terrible thing! Sickness and death are arranged by the wolf god in advance. Well, God has given us plenty of food; if no one gets sick and dies, someone else is going to starve."

Well, the elders are silent about it.Soaring Eagle had no choice but to walk out of the "sweat steaming hut" with lead-filled steps, and returned to his residence under the watchful eyes of a group of tribal men.

After the sun went down, Katata quietly sneaked into Soaring Eagle's house while no one was paying attention.The old man seemed to be sick, lying motionless on the ground, occasionally raised his eyelids to look twice, and then closed them again.

Katata poured some water, and when the Soaring Eagle drank it tremblingly, she said softly, "Is your dream real?"

The old man was silent for a moment, then opened his eyes to stare at her and said, "A long time ago, Kakenu also saw the same illusion."

The Miwok people regard the wolf god "Coyote" as their ancestor, and Kaknu is the grandson of the wolf god. He usually appears in the mythology of the Miwok people as a peregrine falcon.Legend has it that when Kaknu ended his years in the world, he turned into a dove, and then flew into the depths of the earth to fight the lord gargoyle underground, shot the monster with all his arrows, and saved many people .When the Gargoyle died, its body burst into pieces and became mountains scattered around the world.And Kakenu lived in the underground world with the people he rescued, peaceful and peaceful.

"When will the white ship come?" Katata asked hesitantly.

"The weather turns cold, the maple leaves turn red, and the eagle god spreads the fog-woven clothes from the sea on the top of the western mountain, and the white boat arrives."

The soaring eagle reached into his arms, handed a necklace made of colorful shells to the girl in front of him, and then stopped talking.After another ten days, he passed away in his sleep.From the second day after he left, whenever the thick fog rose from the sea, Katata would come to the seaside to look out.

A year has passed in a flash. Of course, the Miwok people don't have a "month" in their concept, they only have four seasons in their eyes.The berries and grass seeds in spring are the most delicious; in summer, the sun is hot, and exotic flowers and grasses are overgrown; in autumn, there are countless salmon in the stream, and it is also the time when acorns and nuts are ripe; in winter, it often rains, but it is not counted. cold.

Katata waited and waited, people in the tribe were laughing at her, but fortunately this behavior did not affect anyone, and since she was still a girl, her parents let her go.

During this period of time, more Miwok people were attracted to the Spanish mission area south of the strait, and even the tribe where Katata was located also sailed across the sea, trying to trade with each other.When these Indians participated in the "baptism ceremony" organized by monks wearing dark gray robes with curiosity, they were shocked to find that they had lost their freedom.

Since the Spaniards established a fort across the strait in 1776, Franciscan monks have followed suit.When an Indian participates in baptism, personal liberty is lost; driven by whips and weapons, they must perform manual labor and daily mass every day under the supervision of monks and overseers.

If an Indian did not report in the morning, his residence would be searched; if he was found to have left his residence without authorization, he would be deemed to have fled.The fortress will send men to round him up.Escape of any kind was usually met with severe beatings and chains, with twenty-five leather lashes for even the slightest punishment.

With the Franciscans outnumbered, any resistance by the Miwoks would be crushed.When Indian women tried to abort the children conceived by defilement, the monks beat them, chained them, shaved their heads, and stipulated that at every mass, women should stand in front of the altar facing the next one. Wood carved baby making confession.

In addition, those monks will let the baptized lead the way and go to the tribe accompanied by soldiers from the fortress.After arriving in the village, they will trick or coerce all the babies and children under the age of eight in the tribe to be baptized.Because the former is too young, it will be temporarily left with the mother; the latter will be taken away and away from the family.

Katata's brother was taken away in this way three years ago, and the siblings have never seen each other since, so she doesn't like the Spaniards very much.

The maple leaves started to turn red again.In the morning of this day, Katata woke up very early. When she walked out of the house, she saw that the mountains and forests in the distance seemed to be covered with a layer of flowing white gauze, so she went back to the house to get her buckskin cloak , and then walked towards the beach.

"Katata, are you going to wait for your white boat again?"

"The Soaring Eagle has been away for a year, why do you still believe his deceitful words?"

Katata ignored the cynicism of the tribe. She walked out of the village and turned her head to look back at the western mountain. She saw that layer of "white yarn" that was constantly flowing was rushing towards the top of the mountain, and her pace couldn't help but quicken a bit.When she came to the shore full of sea lions, the white gauze had completely covered the top of the mountain.

"God Wolf, my people are suffering. I miss my brother and want him to go home! When will the news you let Soaring Eagle bring back come true?"

Groups of thick fog, like a veil wrapped around Katata's body; the West Mountain behind him is also completely shrouded in fog, looming, floating or sinking.After a while, cool raindrops began to fall.The water surface of the entire strait, including the land, was shrouded in mist and drizzle.

I don't know how long it took, when the rain became more and more dense, so that the fog began to recede, Katata sighed softly, and when he was about to turn around and leave, he heard a faint sound coming from a distance that he had never heard before. There was a strange sound, like a pack of wolves howling in the forest, it was extremely long, but the sound came from the sea.

The Miwok Indian girl's heart trembled, and she instinctively thought that the wolf god was giving her a reminder, and her lips began to tremble uncontrollably.At this moment, she really wished that she could become Canuck and fly over as a peregrine falcon to find out.

Finally, when the morning fog on the sea disappeared and the rain stopped, a rainbow streaked across the sky.At the far end of the rainbow deep into the sea, a white spot the size of a fingernail is shining brightly in the sun.

Katata stared wide-eyed for a while, and saw that the white spot was getting bigger and bigger until it was as big as her own fist. She was finally convinced that it should be a ship.

"What the soaring eagle said is true!" Katata's eyes gradually became moist, and she knew that the old man was not lying, and her long wait was finally realized!

"Tom!"

On the Spaniard's battery south of the strait, a bronze 12-pound cannon opened fire.It's just that there are no cannonballs in the barrel, and the fortress defender's move is to warn the strange ships in the distance not to approach again.

A few minutes later, the Spaniards in the fortress discovered that the white ship had really stopped at a position two nautical miles away.When the commander of the fortress was confidently waiting for the other party to send a small boat to contact him, a high jet of water suddenly exploded on the sea about [-] yards northwest of the fort, followed by a message like A roar like thunder.

I wipe!The fortress commander's chrysanthemum tightened, thinking, can we still have a friendly game?I didn't even load the cannonballs, and you guys are actually serious!
Just as he was in a state of confusion, the second shell roared and landed in the bay three hundred yards east of the fort, causing another column of water to rise.

"Go and ring the bell! Notify everyone in the castle to be alert, a group of unknown pirates are attacking us!"

Regardless of the fact that the Spaniards built the "Royal Fortress of St. Francis" at the northernmost end of San Francisco Bay in 1767, and it was equipped with six 12-pound bronze cannons, but it is just a simple building made of adobe, mud and wood. Courtyard-shaped forts, and are often damaged by earthquakes or heavy rains.

Up to now, there are only 52 Spanish soldiers in the fortress. Apart from a small number of monks, there are laborers and family members.The main duty of the local garrison and the Spaniards was to declare the existence of the kingdom in northern California, and the second was to supervise the baptized Indian laborers to support themselves by farming, grazing, hunting and weaving.

As for the Spanish Governor's Palace in Mexico, the local support is very limited, and only two supply ships will come every year.

"Clang clang clang~~~!!!"

As the commander issued an emergency order, a rapid bell rang on the top floor of the monastery, and there was a sudden commotion in the Royal Fortress of St. Francis, and an emergency mobilization began.

Katata, who was standing across the strait, didn't know what was going on.Although she was only two kilometers away from the fort on the other side of the strait, and she could hear the roar of the cannon, the Miwok Indians had no idea about cannons at all, and instinctively thought it was thunder.The little girl was so frightened that she shivered, thinking that the eagle god was angry, so she hurriedly found a rock to hide.

At this time, on the Thunder God, more than 300 soldiers with rifles on their shoulders were gathering in line. They looked like tigers about to come out of the cage and return to the mountain, with excitement on their faces.

After everyone queued up and counted, an officer wearing the uniform of a major in the Beihai Navy raised the horn in his hand and shouted to all the soldiers:

"This battle is your first battle for Beihai Town! You have to remember that you are now soldiers of the Beihai Overseas Corps! You must always keep in mind the discipline of Beihai!"

Hearing the officer's words, more than 300 former Manchu Eight Banners and Green Battalion soldiers on the deck unconsciously puffed up their chests.Almost all of these people were converted Manchu prisoners of war, and one-third of them were Eight Banners soldiers.Some were captured after the Battle of Ningguta, and some were captured in the Battle of Hunchun. They all went through hard labor and education on Kuye Island for at least two years, and then joined the North Navy Overseas Corps.

The main task of setting up this army is to come to the other side of the ocean to occupy and develop. To put it bluntly, it is to grab territory with the Spaniards.Although it is called Corps, its current strength is only more than 500 people, and the number will increase in the future.

Considering that there are so many bears, wolves, and two-meter-high bison in North America this year, in addition to the "1790-style percussion rifle" and 12-pound guns, some weapons were also equipped with imitations from the Beihai Town Arsenal. The "1894 Lever Rifle".Although the effective range of this gun is only 100 meters, because it uses .357 caliber Magnum bullets, it is powerful enough to kill wild animals with one shot.

Only the officer continued: "I repeat, everyone must obey the command after they go ashore. Our first goal is to capture the fort! The second is to capture the fort. Remember! Don't kill innocent people indiscriminately, don't bully women, In particular, do not set fires! Violators will be dealt with according to the military law!"

"Yes!" The voices of more than 300 people on the deck shouted loudly.

"Now start boarding the ship in order of row, starting from the first row!"

Three or ten minutes later, more than a dozen black speedboats carrying more than 10 soldiers, under the cover of two 100 howitzers on the deck of the Thor, rushed towards the turret of the Royal Fortress of St. Francis like an arrow from the string.

(End of this chapter)