Ben Smith

User:Johnm's mountain man in Hunting Napoleon

Background

In 1785, when Ben was 10, the French trappers stopped coming around. A few days later, some soldiers came to his village in the mountains. They said the land was the property of the United States. There was a battle, and Ben's father, brothers, and most of the other men in the village were killed by American muskets.

Ben and his older sister were spared. He, an overgrown novelty, she, a slave. After the first night the soldiers abused her, he hugged her until she stopped breathing, and then hugged her some more, for a long time.

For months, the American soldiers took turns trying to beat him in a fist-fight, laughing all the time.

Around 1800, Ben was rescued from a traveling circus that used him in a boxing spectacle that also included bears. His rescuer was an American military man who thought that Ben should serve his country. In fact, the military man gave Ben not only his training but his new name, Ben Smith, rather than Abukcheech, a name he has now forgotten.

Ben served his country in the War of 1812, fighting both British and French warriors in mountains and forests and towns. A disastrous skirmish in Canada resulted in the military man's surrender. Ben was given to the British as an asset, part of the spoils of war. The military man died of consumption later that year.

Recent Happenings

Because of his large stature, Ben was deployed by the British variously as either heavy labor, or background intimidation. He stood silently through countless confrontations aside colonels and captains, just being tall while the white men used their words.

Recently, Ben was deployed to Belgium where he accompanied a squad of expert mercenaries. They caused an entire town to acquiesce, through violence, compassion, and generosity, to Ben's great satisfaction. The team was very wise, very talented.

One night, enemy soldiers raided, and Ben had to fight hard, and got shot seven times. But he survived and carried his bleeding sergeant to a staging camp in the forest. For this act of valor, Ben was awarded a medal.

That was five weeks ago. Four days ago, he was sent with a new team, younger, not so wise, to a village called La Haye Sainte. It was an ambush, and the team was all killed, but Ben escaped death because he was loading crates of ammunition on to a black horse behind a building. He ran away, and found shelter, calmed his breath, and checked his weapons while a black-and-brown mouser sniffed his boots.