October 1, 2027 - Manatee Springs, Florida
Dozens of refugees from Cedar Key came through with news of an attack by El Jefe and his army. Estimates of the number of troops varied, but all said El Jefe commands at least a thousand, all armed with guns and riding bicycles and horses. A few days before the attack, a rider came through with an ultimatum to either surrender unconditionally or be massacred. The rider was chased away with jeers. Cedar Key was a fairly large, prosperous settlement when I visited it, and there is only one way in or out along a road on a narrow strip of land. Even so, El Jefe attacked in such great numbers that their defenses were overwhelmed. The townsfolk fought back as best they could and inflicted many casualties before they were wiped out. Many young women were captured and violated. Others fled in boats and made their way here. We're happy to have reinforcements, but now fearful we are El Jefe's next target. Sure enough, a few days after we heard the horror stories of the refugees, a rider with a white flag slowly rode into camp.
It occurred to me that in addition to making the ultimatum, he was also scout and would report back on our defenses. I went out to stop him before he could ride all the way to our inner stronghold at the spring. The rider was a young man about 20 years of age. He was lean, strong, and had a mean and proud look in his eyes. I guess he had delivered many threats before. He told us that his majesty, El Jefe, is the strongest warlord in Florida, and all that he and his men desire are theirs for the taking. Surrender everything now and receive some mercy, he warned. If we fight, all the men would be would be killed. He paused for our reply. I grabbed him and other joined in. We tied him up so he would not report back with what he learned about our defenses. If he was sent out to threaten us, then the bandit horde is already on its way here, and when their scout does not return, they will move to attack us. So we lost nothing by capturing the scout. We decided that anyone who could not stay and fight or did not want to should retreat a few miles to the north by following along the river.
We sent out a small group of scouts to see if they could locate El Jefe and his men. It wouldn't be hard. If their army was as large as the refugees said, their campfires would visible at night from a distance and the sound of hundreds men talking would carry a long way. In the meantime, we lit many more fires than usual at our village to exaggerate our numbers. Our scouts returned and told us the bandit army was camped in Chiefland, some six miles away. We decided it was best to attack them by surprise at night. Starting at sunset, we began marching out in little bands of five or six. We marched past their camp and then circled back in order to surround them. Once we closed the circle around them, we began moving toward the center. I don't know who fired first, but once the shooting started, there was a lot yelling and some of the bandits tried to flee. Of course, they had to run toward us if they wanted to escape, and all were quickly cut down. The shooting tapered off as dawn approached, and we again started moving toward the center.
There were many dead, but more were wounded. Since they couldn't be helped, they were disarmed and left alone. If they refused to be disarmed, they were killed outright. Others were playing dead or hiding in tents. We ended up with hundreds of prisoners, including El Jefe himself. Everyone gathered around as I prepared to execute him with my pistol. There was no good reason to let him live, and if I hadn't done it, someone else would have, and my reputation would have suffered. It was over quickly. I asked him if he had any last words. He just gave me the finger and I put a bullet between his eyes. That was the first time I killed anyone. I didn't feel great about it, but I didn't feel bad about it either. He was an evil man, and only death would stop him. I sawed his head off with a hunting knife to keep as a trophy.
There was a discussion over what to do with the other prisoners. Some suggested mutilating them in some way and letting them go. Chopping off hands or gouging out eyes would be messy and take a long time. On the other hand, doing so would let them serve as living warnings that my tribe is not to be trifled with. Others suggested that we enslave them as whatever work they did was work we didn't have to do ourselves. I was against slavery for moral and practical reasons. There were also some who thought the safest choice was to just kill all of them. In the end, I decided on a compromise. There was roughly one captive for each one of us, and I had already killed mine. The prisoners were huddled in a mass and we were in a circle around them. One by one, I went to each prisoner and led him to a man in the circle. I then told the man to make his choice about what to do next. And so, some were killed, some mutilated, and some enslaved. At the end of the day, we had about 100 slaves. I knew slavery was more trouble than it was worth, but to argue against it then would have been futile.
The mutilated ones were let alone to wander off as they wished. Some just sat down and buried their faces in the hands; those that still had both hands. Like me, a many men returned to camp with human body parts as war trophies. I can't blame them too much for doing what I did. It made the ones who took slaves seem merciful. The enemy dead were left to rot. We cremated our own fallen warriors nearby and made a cairn to mark the spot. From the enemy, we captured many weapons, much ammo, hundreds of bicycles, and a few horses. Most of the horses ran away during the battle. We might be able to catch them later. We set the horses to plow more fields for vegetables and potatoes. We also captured a number of wineskins, and drank from them to celebrate the victory. It reminded me of the need to get a brewery going. Beer is one of the pillars of civilization. What we did to El Jefe and his men is also part of civilization. It still bothers me how it conflicts with what we say about ourselves.
November 1, 2027 - Manatee Springs, Florida
I have questioned the captured scout at length. He calls himself Huerfano, meaning orphan. Although he has no reason to lie, he also has little incentive to tell the truth. Even so, by reading between the lines, I can separate fact from fiction with some confidence. He said that El Jefe got his start in the Miami area. The collapse there led to a particularly brutal civil war. Part of it was due to the prevalence of drug gangs, but Latin machismo was also part of it. El Jefe was able to unite Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, etc. on the basis of La Raza, or the Hispanic race. Spanish became a kind of prestige language spoken by the elite while English continued as a lingua franca, albeit with many Spanish words mixed in. According to Huerfano, El Jefe defeated several rival warlords on his way to the top of the heap. At times, he could even be charming and was always generous with the spoils of war so as to build the morale of his troops.
In our council meetings, there is a growing faction which suggests we should strike out to raid and conquer. The best defense is a good offense as the old saying goes. I and others recommend a porcupine strategy of making ourselves are hard target so we can safely build up our numbers. We all agree that the general rule of history is expand or die, so at some point, we will need to fight wars with far off enemies. The aftermath of the battle has led to some social factures. To heal them, I put forth a motion that we not take any more slaves and the ones we do have are to be freed after seven years. The ban on future slavery was overturned, but there was a strong consensus on freeing all slaves after seven years. Freed slaves would have a choice of joining the tribe or being exiled. There is no point in forcing resentful former enemies to be a part of our group. We all agreed it was far safer to get rid of them; violently if necessary.
Likewise, the issue of torture and mutilation arose. It was agreed that we would not engage in such atrocities again, though it was officially allowed to take anything property from a slain foe. Cannibalism was strictly forbidden. As for war trophies, it was restricted to the taking of teeth and skulls. Only those who fought in at least one battle could take teeth and wear them on a necklace. Only one skull, ideally of the enemy commander, would be taken for each victorious battle, and it would be displayed in a common area with the skull of El Jefe. Speaking of which, I decided that should be the one who preserved the skull since I had taken his life. First, I gouged out his eyes. Then I boiled his head so the flesh would come off more easily. His brain oozed out of his skull's eye sockets. When only the bone remained, I placed it in a small shrine located so that everyone who had to use the spring would walk past it. In this way, they would be reminded of our victory and the need to be vigilant.
The crops are doing well, though we will probably have our last harvest of the year soon. The weather is turning colder again, though not nearly as cold as it was in January back in Crossville. The pagans built their own shrine decorated with the miniature stuffed animals from the aquarium. The animals have been named and associated with deities, though I have not bothered to learn much about the new mythology. From time to time, I kneel before the shrine and leave an offering of a small fish. This gesture satisfies the pagans without angering the Christians or inciting ridicule from the non-religious. We pride ourselves on both freedom of religion and a lack of religious conflict. I hope it stays that way. As another ceremonial gesture, we made four extra large pirate flags and mounted them on the Chiefland water tower. It's the tallest structure around that can be climbed easily. It marks our territory and serves as a warning to would-be invaders. I like to say never bite when a growl will do. That's the rule in nature.
Our slaves seem to have accepted their lot in life and for the most part behave. Here they are safe and well-fed at least. They are banned from handling weapons, but otherwise have few restrictions. A few have been killed for refusing their masters' commands or for trying to escape. This harsh punishment keeps them in line and also reduces the slave population to the most compliant. I look forward to the day when there are no more slaves, but I suspect it is a long way off. Slavery was the norm for most of history. At least with our tribe, slavery is restricted to enemies captured in battle. They can neither be bought or sold. That at least keeps a lid on things. Those desirous of slaves must become adept warriors and go into battle. Amongst the young men, there is a growing desire to fight wars, as the veteran warriors have the most beautiful wives. Prostitution exists in our tribe, but is frowned upon. Young men and women, with encouragement from their elders, are marrying with the goal of raising families.
As for myself, I have chosen to abstain, at least for the time being. Being celibate grants a measure of prestige, especially if a man has easy access to women. I do want children of my own someday. Until then, I am satisfied with teaching the young about constellations, plants, and animals. As far as I can tell, just about all the fertile women in the tribe are either pregnant or caring for a baby. In the coming years, we will need many teachers to educate them. It is my hope that the young people I teach now will carry on that work. The best monuments are living, breathing ones - the people you help and the lives you touch. Even if I end up without children, my legacy will be secure. I take solace in that.
