Chapter 45: Land Dispute

This has been quite common throughout history.

The white people bought a piece of land from an Indian tribe, but the Indian tribe that sold the land did not actually own the land in full or even at all. There were also Indians from many other tribes living on the land.

With the help of such operations, the white people could, on the one hand, sow discord among the Indian tribes, and on the other hand, they gained a certain degree of legitimacy, claiming that the land they occupied was purchased and that they were the legal owners of the land.

Since they were the legal owners of the land, it was natural for them to expel or even massacre the Indians living there.

While the white people's behavior is despicable, the Indians themselves are also to blame for their short-sightedness and infighting.

Sometimes, the Indians who were selling the land would not even bargain. They would just sell the land to their neighbors as an offer of some liquor, and then when the neighbors came to their door, a fight would break out between the two sides.

The Indian tribes harmed each other in this way, and were finally wiped out by the white people and driven to the reservation.

Ma Shao didn't know this history.

But he also knew that this situation was indeed troublesome and might even require several battles.

No wonder Old Bear gave him the position of chieftain without hesitation as soon as he returned to the clan the day before yesterday...

If it were the former sleeping bear clan, facing this situation, there would be no good solution, or even no bad solution.

But now, with the addition of eight hundred new members, the population of the sleeping bear clan has directly exceeded one thousand, with more than two hundred young and middle-aged warriors, and they are also equipped with a large number of powerful weapons such as revolvers.

This is considered a relatively large force within a few hundred miles, and is enough to resolve some land disputes.

After all, the Midwest of the United States in 1844 was very sparsely populated, and it was difficult to find a village or town with a population of over a thousand even if it was every 100 kilometers.

Not only that, large tracts of territory in the Midwest did not even have a formal organization - that is, there was no state government. This resulted in Ma Shao being unable to confirm to this day in which state of the United States the Sleeping Bear clan was located.

The Sleeping Bear Clan has a sparse population and no state government. It has a population of one thousand and elite armed forces. As long as it does not alert the US federal government, it has nothing to fear from anyone.

Ma Shao thought for a moment and then said, "Let's go talk to the Comanches."

He then gathered a hundred warriors, armed with live ammunition, and rode at full speed, heading straight for the Twin Wolf Clan.

That afternoon.

"It's a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding!" Chief Shuanglang looked at Ma Shao and the one hundred Apache warriors behind him in horror, and hurriedly explained.

Ma Shao stepped forward and said bluntly: "Don't tell me there is any misunderstanding. I only have one request, which is to cancel the deal you made with the white man immediately."

"This…" The Twin Wolf Clan looked embarrassed.

Ma Shao continued, "As long as you cancel the deal with the white man, the Sleeping Bear Clan can help you to the best of its ability. You are short of horses and food, and we can lend you some so that you can at least survive this winter."

Chief Twin Wolf blinked in disbelief and asked, "Really? Are you really willing to help us?"

"What else?" Ma Shao pointed at the Apache warriors behind him, "We can drive the Arapaho back to the north without any effort. If I have bad intentions, why would I waste my words with you?"

The Twin Wolf Chief was stunned for a moment, then he seemed to suddenly remember something, and looked at Ma Shao with wide eyes: "Could it be that you are the 'Son of the Sky'?"

"What?" Ma Shao was puzzled, because there was an interpreter between the two of them, and he thought the interpreter had said something wrong.

"Son of the Sky, an Apache war chief respected and feared by the Arapaho, defeated the Arapaho easily and mercifully released all the captives," added the Twin Wolf Clan's translator.

"Chief, that must be the name the Arapaho gave you!" said the Rat Hunter behind Horse Whistle.

"This is a wonderful name. The sky at that time was really like a roaring father protecting his son!" other Apache warriors also commented.

Ma Shao reacted and remembered that when he released the Arapaho people that day, there was a shocking thunder in the sky, which looked like a miracle.

Given such an amazing sight, it's no wonder that the Arapaho called him "Son of the Sky."

But then again, isn't this name a bit... too childish?

"Did the Arapaho tell you?" Ma Shao asked casually. He remembered that the Arapaho and the Comanche were nominally allies.

"Yes."

Ma Shao nodded first, then said in a calm tone: "If the 'Son of the Sky' mentioned by the Arapaho people refers to the man who defeated them and released all the captives, then there should be no one else but me... I am now the new chief of the Sleeping Bear Clan."

"It's an honor." Chief Twin Wolf bowed his head slightly.

After confirming that Ma Shao was the Son of the Sky who defeated the Arapaho army, he thought that Ma Shao was right.

As defeated enemies and allies of the Arapaho, the Comanches were well aware of the Arapaho's strength, and the existence of a being that could easily defeat the Arapaho was so powerful that it was beyond their imagination.

The Sleeping Bear Clan really had no need to pretend anything, and the benevolent Son of the Sky even released all the Arapaho people. What difference did it make to provide a little help to the poor Twin Wolf Clan?

"We will tell the white people to cancel this deal," said Chief Two Wolf.

Ma Shao added: "I mean completely cancel all land transactions you have made with white people. This is a stupid deal."

"That's right."

As it got dark, the Apaches rested for a night in the camp of the Twin Wolf Clan. Chief Twin Wolf also prepared some barbecue and entertained Ma Shao.

"You seem to have very few horses?" Ma Shao asked about the source of the Twin Wolf Clan's financial difficulties.

"Yes..." Chief Twin Wolf nodded with a sad face, "We only have less than seventy horses now."

"Why?"

Chief Twin Wolf: "A few months ago, our horses were somehow infected with a plague, and we suffered heavy losses. Although the plague has passed now, we are short of horses and don't know if we can hunt enough bison before winter."

"Oh, plague, why are there so many plagues!" he sighed again.

A large number of plagues naturally came to America with the colonists. Due to the frequent and complex internal exchanges, Eurasia has a rich variety of pathogens, and people living in Eurasia also have corresponding resistance.

The Indians living in America have long lived in a relatively closed and single environment, lacking external communication and germs acquired through domesticated animals.

As a result, when the colonists came into contact with the indigenous people, the Indians suffered a large "deficit" in the exchange of germs across the Asian and American continent, and countless deaths and injuries.

After more than three hundred years of training, the Indians' resistance to Eurasian pathogens has been greatly improved, but there are still some shortcomings and plagues occur from time to time.

The Twin Wolf Clan was lucky that the horse plague did not directly affect humans.