The Trail West Ch. 08

Chapter 8 -- The Conclusion

Please read Chapters 1-7. They will give you a better understanding of the characters, situations, and obviously how we got to this point in the tale.

There are no graphic sex scenes in this story. As usual constructive comments and emails are welcome and appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read my tale and please enjoy.

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Late Thursday afternoon, the group set up a base camp and made ready to start the round up the next morning. Their camp site was at the entrance to a box canyon where they could hold the cattle until they started home. The canyon had water and some grazing for the captured animals.

Each of the men had brought two horses with them; Charley White loaned a trained cow pony to Jacob to go with his Puma. Josh brought Diablo of course and his second horse was Joey.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring Sunny," Red said. He had brought Jasper and Queenie.

"Don't think I could've got him away from Danni. She's just about takin him for her own and I don't think Sunny would leave her either. Besides, Joey is a better stock horse than Sunny; he's smaller and quicker. He's just the horse for this rough country."

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By Tuesday evening five days later the men had rounded up 87 cattle. The box canyon was getting full; there wasn't a lot of room for many more animals. It had been a hard five days work; riding from sunup until sundown through scrub brush, cedar trees, and lots of rocks.

"One more day I think," Red offered at the campfire Tuesday night. "Don't think our corral there will hold many more and the cattle are getting harder to find. We'll make one more sweep tomorrow morning and get geared up to leave Thursday early. That suit you boys?"

Josh, Jerry, and Jimbo Hughes, the hand from the Lazy L, all agreed it was time to head home. Jacob was the only hold out.

"I didn't get a chance to work the round up. Josh, I'd like to do more than just baby sit the cattle. Can I go out with you tomorrow?" Jacob asked with a hopeful look.

Josh had to smile; Jacob would do. He'd done most of the work around the camp, taken care of the remuda, and guarded the animals already collected. He never complained and was always ready to help take care of the horses after a hard day of riding.

"Okay Jacob. I'll stay here and be the baby sitter tomorrow. But you take Charley's extra horse; you don't want to get Puma all cut up in the brush. You can ride with Jerry; he'll show you what to do."

Jacob was awake and up before anyone else the next morning. He'd made coffee and was a bundle of nerves waiting for the men to ride out. When they left Jacob had a big smile on his face; he was finally going to be a cowboy.

Josh left Diablo, ground tied, at the head of the box canyon and started to pack up unneeded items at the camp. The presence of the big horse would keep the cattle bunched in the canyon. He heard a strange noise just over a little rise, mounted Joey and went to investigate. Sounded like someone riding through the brush he thought.

He topped the rise and as he came around some cedars a rifle shoot rang out. Joey staggered, coughed, and went down in a heap. Josh was thrown and rolled as he hit; he stood up a little dazed. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and saw four men riding toward him. Before he could pull his pistol the lead rider had a rifle pointed at his chest.

Josh recognized Jake Stillwell and the other three drovers that he had run off the Lazy L. Douglas, the man that Josh had shot that day was with them and had an evil grin on his face.

"You should'a killed me when you could've Kelly," Stillwell said. "Looks like it's our turn."

"Now I'll get you for shootin me," Douglas added pointing a pistol at Josh.

"You didn't ride all this way just to hunt me down Stillwell," Josh said ignoring Douglas and playing for time. "You could have found me a lot closer to home." He hoped the men would relax a little and give him a chance to pull his pistol to defend himself. "What'da you doing here?"

"Heard you talkin in Victor when you stopped to get some supplies. Thought we'd let you do all the work and then take the cattle."

"So take em and go," Josh replied.

"We will, but first we're gonna settle our debt with you. After you threw us off the Lazy L the word got around and no one would hire us so we've living on slim pickins. When we're done with you we'll go find McCall and settle up with him too."

"You won't have to go far to find me; I'm right here."

Stillwell and the others spun around and saw Red sitting on his horse about 30 feet behind and to the side of them with his pistol drawn. Douglas turned back toward Josh raising his pistol but before he could bring the gun to bear Josh pulled his own pistol and shot him in the chest. He brought down another man and turned toward the others. Stillwell and the other man were on the ground; one dead and one fatally wounded. Red had put them down.

Red rode over to Josh, "Are you okay partner?"

Josh nodded and holstered his pistol. "Little shook up from being thrown but I'm okay. Glad you decided to come back when you did."

"I didn't find enough cattle to stay out so I thought I'd come back and take it easy with you sittin around camp," Red replied with a big grin. "Decided to make one last sweep through that gulley yonder. I heard the rifle shot and then heard you and these fellers talkin. Thought I'd better come and see what kind of trouble you'd got yourself into."

Josh didn't return Red's grin and looked at the dead men. "I guess we should bury em."

"Why? They wouldn't have buried you; they'd left you to rot. Besides coyotes and varmints got to eat too. Let's get back to camp."

"We just can't leave them here Red. It's not right."

Red disagreed but knew that his friend was upset at the killings. Josh wasn't squeamish about defending himself or his friends but the wasted lives always bothered him. So Red didn't argue with him, he just said, "Sorry about Joey. He was a good horse."

Josh nodded and pulled his saddle and gear off his dead horse. He had tears in his eyes as he climbed up behind Red.

"Jasper now you behave yourself or I'll beat you with a brandin iron," Red told his horse. As they rode Red suggested that they roll the bodies in ground cloths and the next morning put them across their saddles. They could drop them off with the law in Victor.

They hadn't been in camp for more than a few minutes before the other three members of the crew came in riding hard. Jerry was the first in, holding his pistol at the ready. When he saw Josh and Red he holstered his weapon and said, "We heard shots. What happened?"

Red quickly told the three about Stillwell and the gun battle on top of the rise. After answering a few questions Red took Jimbo and went back to the scene of the gunfight. They wrapped the bodies and rounded up the dead men's horses.

At daybreak Red and Josh started the herd back to Chico Basin. The dead men were tied across their saddles and lead ropes had been attached to their horses. It was Jerry's unpleasant task to lead that death train until they reached Victor. Jacob took Jerry's place on the left flank of the herd.

Late that afternoon they bedded the cattle down just outside of town. Josh and Red went to find whatever law there was in Victor, leading the horses carrying the bodies. They took them to the undertaker and dropped the dead men off. The undertaker said that the town sheriff would be back to town around 4 PM.

"How much to bury a man?" Red asked.

"Twenty dollars," answered the undertaker.

Before Josh could offer to pay for the burials, Red pointed to the bodies and said, "Their horses, saddles, and guns should cover the cost, don't you think?"

The man nodded, not wanting to cross the stranger with the wild eyes. Besides, he would make a very nice profit from selling the gear of the dead men.

Red continued, "The Sheriff will want to see the bodies before you put them in the ground. My name's Red McCall, this is Josh Kelly; we'll wait at the saloon until he gets back to town."

Josh went with Red to the saloon to wait for the Sheriff. He really wanted to go back to camp but couldn't leave his friend to face the law by himself. It was a case of self defense but they were strangers to the area and sometimes the law was funny.

They sat at a table and Red had a quick whiskey while Josh nursed a beer. Red had just sat back down after getting a beer for himself when there was a commotion behind him.

"Is there a back shootin, horse stealin, cattle rustlin son of a bitch name Red McCall in here?" A short, solid looking man about 40 asked.

Red stood with a wild, mean look in his eyes and turned to face the man insulting him. When he saw the man asking about him, he smiled and then laughed. "Watch who you're calling a son of a bitch, you old tub of lard," Red replied.

Josh had stood when Red did and was prepared for a fight; his partner wouldn't let anyone get away with those deadly insults. He was surprised and puzzled at Red's reaction. The man confronting them had a Sheriff's badge pinned to his vest.

Red saw that Josh was primed for trouble and put his hand on his friend's gun hand. "Josh, this old fart is Jackson Slaughter. He's too lazy to find real work, so he came out here and became a Sheriff I guess," Red explained. "He's John's older brother; Jackson is my cousin too."

Jackson shook hands with Josh and grabbed Red in a bear hug and spun him around. "Damn, it's good to see someone from back home; even if it is a no account scoundrel like you."

"Put me down you old coot. Pa told me you'd come out to Colorado, but he didn't know where. Said you hadn't written or anything since you left," Red remarked. He paused and then asked, "Why'd you leave anyway?"

"My family didn't own slaves, never did and never would; didn't see any sense in gettin shot up in that damn stupid war over something I didn't abide with. So I left in late '60. Heard John went to fight in early '62; don't know if he's still kicking or not. My folks aren't real happy with me so I don't have much contact with them."

"John's fine, at least as of last month, according to the letter from Pa. He joined the Confederate Army but got real bad sick and was sent home. Now he's riding with the Texas Rangers." Red explained.

"Sorry to hear about your brothers Red. I did get word about them," Jackson said putting his hand on Red's shoulder. After a sad moment, he continued, "So tell me about those four bodies over to the undertaker's."

Red explained about Stillwell and the other dead men. "They tried to kill us Jackson; we couldn't allow that to happen. Josh said we should bring them to the law; I wanted to leave them out on the prairie."

"Those boys were no good; I knew it and run them out of town just after you came through. But I'm glad you brought them in. You won't have any trouble over the shootin; not with what I knowed about them. Now, can you come over to the house for supper?"

"No Jackson, we have to get back to our herd. Can't stay for a visit this time, but you're invited to my wedding next spring. I'm living just outside of Fountain; I'll write and tell you all about it," Red responded.

On the way back to camp Red asked Josh, "Feel better now?"

Josh nodded.

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Two days later they completed the drive from Cripple Creek to the CBC. Josh and Red cut out about half of the herd and pushed them toward the grazing grounds on the Maggie M. Jerry and Jimbo drove the rest of the herd to the Lazy L.

Danni was at the Maggie M, home for the weekend. She was at the corral with Sunny hoping Josh would come home soon; she wanted to see him before she had to go back to Fountain.

Sarah was the first to hear the cattle, mooing and bellowing as they got closer to the ranch house. She yelled, "They're back." Sarah made a running leap, mounted her horse, and tore out toward the herd. Danni was right behind her on Sunny. The slowed as they got close to the cattle to keep from spooking them.

At point, leading the herd was their brother Jacob. He was dirty and covered in dust and looked dog tired; but he rode tall and proud. Josh and Red rode drag. Drag was the worse place to be on a cattle drive; the riders were almost obscured in the dust kicked up by the herd.

Danni and Sarah smiled at each other; it was typical of their men to take the hardest job. They never asked their hands to do anything that they wouldn't do first. The girls waited for the herd to pass, then joined Josh and Red riding drag. They were quickly covered in the dust thrown up by the herd; neither cared, their men were back safe and sound.

Josh had been wearing a bandana across his nose and mouth to protect him from the dust; Red also wore one. He pulled it down and greeted Danni with a big grin, "Dang, it's good to see your but y'all gonna get covered in dust back here."

"It'll wash off. I didn't want to wait for you any longer," Danni replied riding Sunny closer to Josh and taking his hand in hers.

Red didn't bother with words. He rode next to Sarah, leaned over, put his arm around her, and kissed her. "I missed you girl," he said to a smiling Sarah. "Didn't know how much until right now."

The dust settled as they drove the cattle onto the grass of the Maggie M and past the ranch house to the grazing grounds near Black Squirrel Creek. "They'll settle down for the next few days," Red told the others. "They're tired and hungry and won't leave the water and grass. Let's get back to the house."

Jacob was dead tired by the time they got back to the ranch house. He was a strong boy but he wasn't used to riding and working stock for 14 to 16 hours at a time. Maggie rushed off the porch and hugged her son, glad to have him home safe. Daniel tried to get by with just patting Jacob on the shoulder but couldn't help himself; he pulled the boy to him with a big hug and a kiss on the top of Jacob's head. He offered to take care of Jacob's horses for him.

Jacob turned down the help. "My horses, my responsibility," he said and led Puma and the cowpony to the corral.

"Mother, I guess our boy has grown into a real cowboy," Daniel said with pride.

Red smiled at Jacob as he passed and said, "You'll do boy. Good job."

The three cowboys went to the creek for a bath. After supper everyone had to hear about the trip to Cripple Creek; they talked until nearly 10 PM. Josh finally stood and said, "Maybe Jacob there isn't tired," he pointed to the boy asleep in a chair, "but I sure am. See y'all in the morning. He kissed Danni and headed for the bunkhouse.

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The cattle brought from Cripple Creek were allowed to graze and rest for about a month. Not all of the cattle from the wild round up or from the two ranches were ready for market this year; some would be held over and fattened up until the next year's round up.

Between the cattle rounded up from both parts of the CBC and the ones brought from Cripple Creek there were 250 some animals to be driven to the railhead for sale. Daniel, Josh, Red, Jerry and Jacob went on the cattle drive. They also brought Jimbo Hughes and Will Stinson another hand from the Lazy L; leaving Charlie White and the other two hands to take care of the ranch. When the men of the Chico Basin Cattle Company started the drive the quote was $15 a head. This would bring almost four thousand dollars for their cattle; more than double the amount that the ranches had ever brought in previously

Maggie, Sarah, and Danni rode ahead of the cattle to Fountain; they wanted to look into some things from Mitchell's store for the upcoming weddings. They would wait in Fountain for the men to ride back from Colorado City after delivering the cattle. The girls and their mother had discussed wedding dresses but Saran and Danni decided they would rather get married in Sunday go to meeting dresses; maybe a little fancier than normal but something they could wear more than once.

"After the wedding and the shivaree, a special dress won't stay on any longer than it takes to get to the house anyway," Sarah said nudging Danni in the ribs and giggling. "Rather spend the extra money on things to make the house at the Lazy L more of a home."

It took two full days for the men to drive the cattle to Colorado City's railhead. By the time they got there the price for cattle had gone up to $17.50 a head. The drive was finished on a Friday and Saturday morning early the crew started back for Fountain. Daniel had a bank draft for $4375 in his inside vest pocket. It's a great beginning for the Chico Basin Cattle Company, he thought.

The partners and the cow hands met the Maguire women in Fountain. Red suggested that they stand good for haircuts, shaves, and a hot bath for the two hands. "Wouldn't be a bad thing for us to do the same thing; I'm a little ripe myself after two days on the trail with 250 cattle," Red suggested with a wrinkled nose and a laugh.

Josh agreed saying that the men had worked hard on the drive; they deserved a little extra. "What about paying them a bonus for the drive and giving them today and tomorrow off? They probably would like a night in town to blow off some steam."

Red nodded and said, "Next weekend we can give Charley, Will, and James a night in town." He turned to Jerry and explained, "We pay the boys a salary but a cattle drive is extra work, so we'll give them a bonus with some time off. But you have to do that for all the hands. Jimbo went with us to Cripple Creek but the others took care of the ranch while we were gone. They deserve a little extra too."

All of the men made a trip to the barber shop to get spiffed up. After the baths, shaves, and haircuts Daniel gave each of the hired hands a $10 gold piece and some advice. "We're givin you boys a week's pay as a bonus and the two days off. But remember, come Monday morning we expect you back at the ranch ready to work. Have a good time fellars."

The two cow hands thanked Daniel and headed for the saloon laughing and hollering. I'm afraid there's gonna be some headaches in that group come Monday, Daniel thought and smiled. Did the same thing when I was younger and before I met Maggie.

After the happy cow hands left the rest of the group went to the café for an early lunch. They wanted to get back to the ranch that day. It wasn't fair to leave Charley and the others doing the extra work for much longer. While they had been gone on the cattle drive the three hands back at the ranch had extra work to do.

Even after a large portion of their cattle had been taken to market there was still a lot of work that had to be done at the ranch. Charley, Will, and James were the ones that stayed and made sure things were taken care of. They checked and counted the calves born that fall, branded most of the remaining cattle brought in from Cripple Creek, and did the day to day chores necessary on the place.

Finishing lunch, the Maguire women made a visit to the seamstress, again to discuss the dresses that Sarah and Danni were having made for the wedding. Daniel and his three young partners went to the bank. On the way Daniel steered all of them to the saloon, including Jerry. Josh, Red, and now Daniel considered the youngster a man now; his hard work and attitude earned him that right.

"I thought we were going to the bank while we waited on the women," Red remarked with a big grin. "Course I got no problem with a saloon, don't you know."

" We'll have to go gather up those women or we'll be here all afternoon. About the only thing I've learned about women is that when they start talking about dresses and such you'll end up having to throw a rope on em to drag em away," Daniel replied. "Sides I got some business I want to talk over with you three and the saloon is as good a place as any."