The chief's tent was plain and simple, smelling of leather and herbs. Father and daughter sat on the ground, looking at a crude map as they discussed where the tens of thousands of Red Crow tribespeople would go.
"Father, how far is this big lake?"
Alan widened her eyes, looking at the great lake in the north of the map where Amoxi's finger had come to rest, her gaze flickering.
"Is it that huge lake we saw before, when we subdued those several thousand Bozalos tribespeople?"
"That's right! This lake is enormous, more than seventy li from north to south and over ten li from east to west. According to what the Bozalos People call it, it's named 'Warrior's Lake.' And its location is more than four hundred li from our camp here!"
Amoxi's finger moved, drawing a very large circle around Warrior's Lake (present-day Las Adjuntas Lake, five to six hundred li from the U.S.-Mexico border).
"Alan, I asked the tribal chiefs of the Bozalos People, and I also sent Moqi to inspect it in person. To the east of Warrior's Lake are hills, which can block the summer hurricanes a little. And a hundred li west of Warrior's Lake is the edge of the wasteland. Towering mountains stretch north and south for over a hundred li, a natural barrier for the tribe. A full five or six rivers flow down from the mountains and merge eastward into Warrior's Lake."
"For more than a hundred li to the west, north, and south of the great lake, there are broad stretches of flat, fertile riverside soil, suitable for planting corn, beans, and squash. And the great lake itself produces large amounts of fish and shrimp! As long as we occupy this great lake, have the Huastec People, who are skilled