THE BLUE FEATHER
409
Two portal jumps later, camped outside Lehman’s Caves in
the Great Basin National Park, Tital’s entire crew were sitting
down around a slow-dying campfire.
Bardala, sitting next to Tital feeding him chocolate smores,
asked, “Ek Chuah, how many horses and burros have we
transported so far to Vivia?”
“By my count it is fifteen thousand and sixty-six horses, plus
eight hundred and seventy-three burros. You should be proud,
all of you, of the work you have accomplished. You have set your
goals high, and you have worked hard to meet your goals. That is
important in your world...to try and be a success.”
“How many horses and burros will we be able to roundup at
this location?” Ronú asked Ek Chuah.
“The other Spirits that control this area tell me we will find
over five thousand two hundred horses, and a large group of six
hundred burros south of here along the Snake River. To the
southwest along the White River there are an additional total of
eight thousand four hundred animals.”
“Are there some other animals that would be good for my
people to raise around this location that we could transport?”
Lena asked of Ek Chuah.
“Yes, we could capture elk and mule deer in the high country.
There are pheasants, quail, and wild ducks of several species,
turkey, and wild geese. They would all be good to help your
people survive. I will see about locating these animals for you,
and sending several of each species to Vivia for you.”
“My people will very much like the Black Angus cattle that
Tital used the sacks of gold dust to buy from the managers of the
Southwest Livestock business back in Los Lunas. That little bit of