America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 535: The mystery of falling off a cliff
Chen Jianqiu and a group of people got off the train from Juarez and headed straight to the Juarez Valley.

Juarez Valley is located on the border between Mexico and Texas, parallel to the Rio Grande River.

It is also the water of the Rio Grande that makes this valley different from the barrenness of the surrounding land and has soil for planting.

Under Chen Jianqiu's arrangement, Geronimo settled here with the Apache tribe.

It's not far from Ciudad Juarez. A dirt road connects the valley to Ciudad Juarez. It only takes half a day to drive a carriage.

Daily necessities can also be purchased in the city at any time. Indians who go to work in Juarez can also travel between the two along this road.

It is not easy to get the Indians to give up their original living habits.

However, between the improvement of living standards and sticking to old habits, they still chose the former.

After all, everything has to move forward.

As for security, as life became increasingly stable, Geronimo no longer led his tribe to continuously attack Texas.

Colonel Nelson Miles, the former commander of the federal frontier troops, wanted this very much.

He claimed to the outside world that he had completely solved the Indian problem in the southern United States during his term of office, and later wrote it in his autobiography.

But Colonel Wiltord, who took over, disagreed.

The latter is a staunch white racist.

Not only was he very dissatisfied with the Indians living close to the border, but he was also very dissatisfied with New Mexico becoming a Chinese-dominated state.

The attitude of the Mexican side towards the Indians living here is even less important.

To put it bluntly, Juarez belongs to Chen Jianqiu.

Mr. Chen brought prosperity here. The local Mexicans and Chinese had jobs and paid taxes.

He himself is also a guest of the Prime Minister of Mexico and President Díaz.

According to Mexican tradition, as long as Chen Jianqiu does not declare independence or lead the army to fight against Mexico City, he can do whatever he wants.

Chen Jianqiu was a little emotional.

If nothing else happens, this group of Apache Indians should be able to thrive here.

But Geronimo died, and died in a strange way.

In the news that came, the cause of death was not even stated.

Whether it was out of the friendship of old friends for many years, the sympathy of his comrades, or for the stability around Juarez, he had to come over.

The procession moves along the Rio Grande.

After walking for a while, the outline of the mountain gradually appeared on the distant horizon.

Juarez Valley, almost there.

In an open space at the entrance of the valley, Feiniao and his people camped, waiting for the arrival of Chen Jianqiu and the others.

Asuka held his beloved horse Huey and looked far away in the direction of Juarez.

As time passed, the young chief who had followed Chen Jianqiu from Shiquan Town had grown into a strong man in his thirties in the blink of an eye.

His long hair reached past his shoulders, and his eyes were less green and more determined.

Over the years, Asuka has been leading the Roswell militia, and Abiot has maintained order and security in Juarez and New Mexico.

When Chen Jianqiu and Black Radish appeared in his field of vision, Feiniao came up to them.

"What's the specific situation?"

Chen Jianqiu dismounted, handed Black Carrot's reins to a follower who came with him, and walked quickly towards the camp with Feiniao.

"The news I got is that when the chief was collecting herbs on the cliff, he accidentally stepped on his foot and fell down." Feiniao replied, "But I think there is something fishy."

"What's strange?" Chen Jianqiu stopped.

"The chief's body has never been found," Feiniao said. "But according to your instructions, I did not intervene too deeply. I only stationed the militiamen at the entrance of the valley as a deterrent."

Chen Jianqiu fell into thinking.

He raised his head, covered the sun with his hands, and glanced at the grassy hilltop.

"The big army won't move for now. Please order twenty capable people to join me into Juarez Valley."

Chen Jianqiu and Feiniao led about twenty people on horseback and entered the valley with guns on their backs.

Geographical location aside, this valley is truly a paradise.

The tributaries of the Rio Grande pass through the valley, making both sides of the valley lush and green, forming a conspicuous green in the gray and yellow at first sight.

Soon, an Indian town came into view.

On the outskirts of the town, there are large fields of corn fields and other crops.

The original Apache Indian group was accustomed to living together in villages, even in reservations designated for them.

However, in order to allow these Indians to live better, Chen Jianqiu specially supported a Chinese engineering team and built some houses for them.

Since there are not many trees that can be used as building materials here, most of the houses are made of mud and stone, with some hay as roofs.

There isn’t much rainfall here, it’s basically enough.

When the Indian residents in the town saw Chen Jianqiu and Feiniao, they all made way for them.

They stood separately on both sides of the road, with sad faces.

Those who were busy also stopped what they were doing, put their hands on their hearts, and saluted Chen Jianqiu and the others as Indians.

The other part looked a little uneasy.

For this Mr. Chen.

Most of them were grateful and in awe.

He is the Apache "Sky Warrior" and has indeed saved the Apache tribe time and time again.

The Apache Indians owed him too much, too much to pay back, which more or less turned into an invisible psychological pressure.

Now that he came in with his soldiers, what was he going to do?

Chen Jianqiu's expression was very serious. He nodded slightly to the Indians who saluted him, without a trace of smile on his face.

Under the gaze of those Indians, Chen Jianqiu and his party came to an open space at the other end of the town.

There are piles of stones here, arranged in a mysterious pattern. There are also some animal skulls and other things placed on the stone piles.

The open-air worship site of the Apache tribe is now full of people.

These people are divided into three parts, and at a glance they appear to belong to three different tribes.

Chen Jianqiu saw several familiar faces among the group of people.

Lozen, Turtle Dove.
"I think the top priority now is to wait for Mr. Chen to come and then elect someone who can maintain the overall situation, otherwise everything will not go forward." A middle-aged Indian man with tied hair raised his hands and talked. .

He is the leader of the Iquitay tribe, named Klickitat, who also belongs to the Apache tribe.

"No, I don't think so." Another old man wearing a feather crown paused the wooden crutch in his hand on the ground and shook his head, "This is our Apache people's own business. There is no need to let Mr. Chen Get involved.”

He frowned and looked at Klickitat: "Besides, the chief's body has not been found yet. I don't believe he died just like that!"

"Old Marley, I don't agree with what you said. Isn't everything we have now given to us by Mr. Chen? He provided us with a place to live and shelter! He also gave us job opportunities! Without him, I'm afraid you would have died in Carlsbad Valley, right?"

Klickitat looked at the old man with a mocking expression.

He spoke in English and the old man answered in English.

There are also some differences in language between Apache tribes, and there are gaps in vocabulary.

Sometimes, they really get used to communicating in English.

Klickitat pointed to Turtledove standing next to Rozen and continued:

"What's more, he saw the chief fall off the cliff with his own eyes. The cliff was so high that he must have been smashed to pieces. Even Geronimo would not have survived."

The old man called "Old Marai" was the leader of another Apache tribe. The previous leader, Coloradas, participated in the last rebellion against Geronimo, and was suppressed by Chen Jianqiu who rushed over and lost his head, so Old Marai became the new leader.

He ignored Klickitat's provocation and looked at Turtledove expressionlessly:

"Is that so, Turtledove?"

Turtle Dove nodded:

"Yes, the chief fell off the cliff in front of us. I went to the bottom of the cliff to look for him, but I only saw a pool of blood, but no body. Chief Klickitat is right. He can't survive if he falls from such a high cliff!"

Old Marley walked up to Turtledove with his cane.

His eyes were slightly cloudy, but they did not prevent him from releasing a kind of oppressive pressure:

"Can you explain why there is no body?"

"Maybe it was dragged away by a hyena or a coyote or something," Klickitat interjected.

"Nonsense!" Old Marley couldn't bear it any longer and slammed the ground with his cane. "Anyway, I want to see the chief's body. Besides, I don't approve of Mr. Chen and the others getting involved in this matter!"

"He helped us a lot and we are grateful to him, but this is our own business. Besides, he himself said that he would not intervene in our affairs."

The old man said in an old voice.

"What if I come to mourn my good brother who once shared life and death with me?" a voice sounded.

Chen Jianqiu appeared at the entrance of the sacrificial site.

He had already dismounted, and behind him were Asuka and twenty or so fully armed soldiers.

The expressions of the Indians here were not much different from those in the town, full of awe.

Chen Jianqiu walked into the inner circle and went towards Luo Cen and Banjiu.

He found that Luo Cen was watching the discussion between the two tribal leaders coldly throughout the whole process, but he did not say a word.

"Mr. Chen! You're here at last!" Klickitat walked quickly to Chen Jianqiu's side, bent down and bowed to him.

Chen Jianqiu looked up and down at the Indian chief in front of him.

I don’t know if it’s because he has been dealing with modern society more after settling down, but the chief in front of me is very secular in his dress, words and deeds.

He was wearing a grey suit with a white shirt underneath, his hair was tied back, and he spoke fluent English.

If you ignore his skin color, he looks like a typical American or Mexican gentleman.

"you are?"

Chen Jianqiu didn't have a deep impression of the person in front of him.

In fact, he had little impression of the Apache Indians except those of Geronimo's tribe.

"Oh, Mr. Chen, have you forgotten? We met in Albuquerque and I used to work for your railroad company." Klickitat said with great respect.

Chen Jianqiu looked at him carefully a few more times and finally remembered.

The man in front of him had indeed worked in his railway company, but was fired because he loved gambling and often made mistakes; now he didn't know how he ended up here and became the leader of a tribe.

"After I left the company, I returned to my tribe and regarded you as my idol. Following your teachings, I led my people to join the fight against the U.S. military." Klickitat licked.

Chen Jianqiu felt both physical and psychological discomfort.

"Don't you hate me?"

He raised his eyebrows and asked Klickitat.

"No, no, no. It is because of your strict requirements that I realized my shortcomings and changed my ways." Klickitat said with a humble look, "I am now leading my people to work in the cotton processing plant in Juarez."

Chen Jianqiu suddenly fell silent.

"You have no shame." The old man on the side snorted and said unhappily.

"Geronimo was a great chief, dead or alive, he was always the leader of the Apaches."

Chen Jianqiu spoke loudly to everyone present.

"As his good friend, I felt very sad when I received the news of his death. I couldn't accept it for a while, so I rushed here overnight to see if I could see him for the last time."

"But now, his body has not been found. This is a very regrettable thing. So, I will lead people to search and try to bring his body back."

When he finished speaking, there was silence among the Indians.

They didn't know what to say for a moment.

Klickitat's "dog-licking behavior" was interrupted and he did not receive any positive feedback, so he was speechless for a moment.

He originally thought that Chen Jianqiu would pat him on the shoulder and say something encouraging.

But no, Chen Jianqiu's attention was not on him.

So, he had to leave with his people first.

The old man's expression eased a little:
"Well, I hope our people can join you in the search and bring back the chief's body."

Chen Jianqiu's temple moved again:
"Oh, okay, I'll let you know, but we might have to take a break today."

Seeing this, the old man had no choice but to leave with his people.

Soon, only Luo Cen, Banjiu and their group were left at the open-air sacrificial site.

Luo Cen remained silent, which made Chen Jianqiu very strange.

This Indian woman had fought alongside Geronimo since a very early time and was extremely brave, making her one of his most capable subordinates.

No one has deeper feelings for the chief than she does. The two are not brother and sister, but they are better than brother and sister.

At the same time, she is also a straightforward person.

It was impossible for her not to have an opinion about Geronimo's death.

There's something wrong with this silence.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He walked to Luozen and asked in a low voice.

Luo Cen waved to the people behind him, signaling them to leave first.

Wait until everyone has dispersed.

Luo Cen and Chen Jianqiu walked to the side, behind a pile of arched stones, and then spoke with sorrowful looks on their faces:

"Mr. Chen, do you believe that the chief will fall to his death?"

"I don't believe it, but things are unpredictable." Chen Jianqiu gave an ambiguous answer.

"If he is really dead, he must have been killed by someone." Luo Cen sighed, "I really don't believe that with his skills, he would fall off the cliff so easily."

"Are you doubting Turtledove?"

Chen Jianqiu took out a cigar from his clothes, put it in his mouth after finishing it, and asked while lowering his head to light the cigarette.

"I really don't want to doubt him. Turtledove has always been loyal." Luo Cen was very conflicted. "But when the chief fell off the cliff, only he and the armadillo were at the scene. The armadillo came to report the incident, and only Turtledove went to look for the body."

"It's okay, let me handle this matter." Chen Jianqiu said.

He turned around and waved to Fei Niao who was chatting with Turtle Dove:
"Let's go and take a look at the place where the chief fell off the cliff."

Asuka nodded.

"Do you want to call people from other tribes?" he asked.

"No need, let's go take a look ourselves first." Chen Jianqiu held a cigar in his mouth, raised his belt, and walked towards his horse.

But when he had just taken a few steps, he suddenly turned around, stared at the turtledove that was watching them, and suddenly asked:
"Is the Chief really dead?"

Turtle Dove was stunned for a moment, but then replied calmly:

"I saw him fall with my own eyes. If you go there, you will understand. You can't survive from that height."

(End of this chapter)