Doc Ch. 13

As we rode out, I heard the storekeeper call out to Bear. "Make sure you share that with your cousins!"

The journey back to the ranch was uneventful. The wagons and teams performed flawlessly. Of course, the mules had many miles on them, having pulled their loads all the way from Georgetown, Colorado as part of Charlie Utter's famous wagon train to Deadwood. With those long-legged critters stepping out, we made excellent time and arrived home well before three that afternoon.

When we got settled in, I looked around but couldn't find Grandpa anywhere. I finally found Don.

"Do you know where Uncle Henry is?"

"I think he's in the East pasture where Red Cloud is setting up his camp."

Don and Dawn took charge of a couple ranch hands and got them unhitching the mules which they then turned out in a paddock by the main barn. While they did that, I headed over to the East pasture to look for Grandpa.

I found him sitting on his horse, smiling and laughing merrily as he watched a bunch of kids play. We greeted each other warmly.

"What's got you all happy and smiling?"

He just pointed and said, "Look at that bunch of wild Indians over there."

I took a closer look at the playing kids. Brad, Davy, and Little Jake were all playing and roughhousing with about a dozen other children. They looked to be having a wonderful time, free spirits like all kids.

I called over to them. It took two or three tries before they finally heard me and stopped to listen.

"Hey, you fellers! We're home now! Standing Bear is at the cabin! Why don't you all run on over there and fetch him! He's worked real hard today! I betcha he'd just love to be playing here with his friends!"

Our bunch said something to the other kids. They must have gotten agreement on something because the three of them let out a wild yell and jumped on their ponies which had been picketed nearby. Whooping and hollering, off they tore, racing to see who could get there first.

Grandpa slapped his hat on his knee in delight and let out a happy little yip himself as he watched the antics of those young boys. His happy grin looked like it was about to wrap all the way around his head. He had told me before how much he enjoyed having a large group of children around. I had taken it almost as a joke then. Not now! Here was visual proof – this was a man who really, unequivocally, loved and enjoyed kids.

As the lads roared away hooting, in a cloud of dust, I asked him how the move was coming.

Grandpa shrugged. "It's pretty much done, now. There's still a few problems, but it's coming. Don and the boys dug all those privies for them but they're not used to them. It's been a bit of a struggle to teach and convince them to use the outhouses instead of going off into the woods. Still, I think everyone is settling in OK. It gets better every day. Red Cloud seems to have a handle on everything so it's been going pretty smooth."

Grandpa continued to bring me up to date on the happenings around the ranch. I told him about our trip to Deadwood and the friends we had made there. I finished my tale by telling him about the new wagons.

"Grandpa, these are going to work out fantastically. There's no way we need a two-team hitch on those wagons, so we ended up with two extra teams of big strong Missouri mules. With a single team on each one, the girls can drive them with no problem. The roads and trails around here ain't bad enough to need any more, 'cept maybe in the spring mud.

"So that went fine, but the girls bought more than we could carry in them vans. I have to go back tomorrow to get it."

Grandpa shrugged. "Why don't we take our wagon and go now? Today's already shot, so let's do it and save you a trip tomorrow. If we were to leave right now, we should be able to make it back before dark, easy. We should be able to make a round-trip in about four and a half hours as long as we don't have any problems."

"OK, let's go. I saw your team was already harnessed when I left the house. I hope they still are. I'll hafta let the women folk know what's going on, too."

"They should be. We usually keep a team ready to go."

We turned our mounts and galloped up to the barn. Dawn and Don were still grooming the new mules. Grandpa's team was still harnessed. As we hitched them to the ranch wagon, we explained that we were on our way back to Deadwood to pick up the stuff we hadn't been able to bring. We should be back in a few hours.

We threw our saddle bags in the wagon and left, setting the team into an easy, mile-eating trot. With an empty wagon and the good road, we reckoned we could make the 12 miles to Deadwood in just over two hours.

We made even better time than we thought, and the horses didn't seem particularly tired, either. When we reached Deadwood, we went directly to the general store where I introduced Grandpa to my friend the storekeeper. We loaded the goods we had left behind earlier, then checked what else we might need for the new wagons.

We bought several new kerosene lanterns, a small cot for the medical wagon and two new mattresses for the living-quarters wagon. We also bought various sundries to make living under the stars that much easier

As I looked over stuff we had already bought, wondering what else we needed, I started to think. Many of the things in my wrecked camper would fit in the vans quite easily. My camper really wasn't in that bad a shape. But... the right side where it met the treewaspretty well smashed up. I decided to think of a way to use the sink, icebox, stove, oven, and various other things in the living-quarters wagon. I would make it into the kind of mobile home in which I could make a circuit of all the small towns the area in comfort.

Grandpa interrupted my reverie by suggesting, "You should maybe get some paint, too. You don't want people thinking you're just another snake oil salesman."

When he mentioned it, I realized theywerequite bright – painted to look like a traveling road show.

Grandpa laughed. "They're so bright they could be mistaken for a mobile cathouse."

Shaking my head at the image Grandpa's remark conjured up, I went back into the store to see what kind of paint he had. The selection wasn't too good. Well, what did I expect – 'Color Your World'? I found 3 gallons of white, 1 gallon of yellow and a gallon of dark green.

I thought, "If I mix the white and yellow together, it should turn out a very light yellow... Use that for the bodies. Then paint the trim dark green... and they should look pretty good... Hmmm... Not a bad idea."

With that, I bought the paint. We loaded everything. We said another goodbye to my friend the storekeeper who sentanothersmall bag of candy for Bear and the other boys, and headed back to the ranch.

While the load we had wasn't very heavy, it did slow the team down a bit. Still, we made it back to the ranch about an hour before dark, taking about two and a half hours to travel the 12 miles back. By being on the road, we figured we'd miss supper, but we each carried trail food in our saddle bags, so we didn't go hungry. That's why we brought them with us.

The women had waited for us to return, and when we did, they were all for getting started, cleaning and painting the wagons right then. However, it was too late in the day to start what I knew would be a big job. Besides, I wanted to wait until bright daylight so we could see what was really there. Then we could determine what we could pitch and what we could use.

The women wouldn't hear of it that we ate on the trail. Determined they were going to dosomethingtonight, they went into the cabin to start making supper. While they did that, Grandpa and I went to check with Red Cloud to see if he needed anything or any help setting up the new camp.

When we arrived at the East pasture, we found that most people were pretty much done. Red Cloud was sitting with several other Elders. Grandpa asked if everything was almost done and if they needed anything. They said everything was under control and had everything they needed for now.

I asked Red Cloud about the three wounded men and if I could check them.

Red Cloud replied. "All three men left with Crazy Horse to let soldiers chase them. We thought only two would go, but Young Dog, the brave with the saber wound, him followed after them."

I couldn't believe the stupidity of such an act. "But... he was hurt too badly to go with Crazy Horse! Riding will tear the stitches and open the wound! He'll either bleed to death or it will become infected. He could die or lose the leg!"

Red Cloud agreed, "He is stupid. We told him not to go – to stay at camp and rest. If he dies, it is not your fault. You did what you could."

I just shook my head and kept quiet, biting my tongue. Red Cloud could see I was upset so to help change the subject he asked, "How are wives? Is everything okay? Are Dawn and Standing Bear helping them and the rest of the family?"

"Everyone is good. I am going to take Dawn as a wife and Standing Bear as my son. We all want it, so it will work out OK."

"Is a good thing you do, Two Lives. Dawn is a good woman and Standing Bear will be a strong brave when he is older."

"He is a good boy now. I am very proud of him. Are there any problems with the People, now that I have three wives of the People?"

"No, you are family and friend to the people. There will be no problems. Some of the young Braves, they resent that you are white. But since you are Hawk's family, you are of the people also." Red Cloud reassured.

With the family and small talk out of the way, I felt it was time to put my cards on the table. "If anyone is sick or hurt send for me. I will either be at the ranch or in one of the towns nearby. I'll always be close enough they can send for me.

"If there is trouble with the white eyes, have someone send a message for me as quick as you can. I will come as fast as I can and see what I can do to stop it. But please... don't try to fight the white eyes alone. It will just hurt what we are trying to do and cause more trouble than we are already trying to avoid."

I showed him my badge. "I am now the law around here. Because of that, I can help stop many problems that might come up. However, if you pick a fight with the white eyes, the government will send in the army and there is nothing I can do to stop that."

"We will try it your way Two Lives. However, if they attack, we will fight back. We will try it your way as long as we can and not start something first." Red Cloud said.

"Thank you, Red Cloud. I can ask no more than that. Now, it's been a long day for me. My wives were getting a meal ready when we left. It should be about ready now, so I think we should head back now. C'mon, Uncle Henry! Supper and bed are waiting for us."

Grandpa finished up his conversation with the other Elders. We said our good nights, mounted up and headed back to the ranch. A ranch hand was waiting to take our horses. We dismounted and went for supper. The girls had a lovely meal ready.

Grandma Dove was there, too. "You boys timed that just about right. Set you down. The food is just on the table."

The day was finally catching up to me. I hardly had enough energy to eat, and I don't think I did their excellent cooking any justice that night. I almost fell asleep in my pie. The women took pity and bundled me off to bed. The last thing I remembered was the feeling the soft warm feminine curves snuggling up to me.

The next morning, I awoke later than usual to find myself alone in bed. An overfull bladder sent me dashing for the privy. When I returned to the house from performing my morning duties, I found my wives and the rest of the ladies of my family standing on the porch waiting impatiently for me. They demanded the keys to the wagons, so they could start cleaning them.

I don't do well in the mornings without coffee. That may be why I was a little short with them. "Couldn't this have waited a few more minutes until I've had a chance to get some coffee and maybe a little solid food into me? You ladies can just damn well wait to clean those wagons! There's a whole lot of changes and modifications I want to do to them first!"

My ladies looked a little chagrined. Little Doe apologized, "We're sorry, Clay. Your breakfast is in the warmer waiting for you, and there is a fresh pot of coffee on the stove."

Coffee! I started for the kitchen. Rose, the spokesman as usual, spoke up. "Sorry to keep you from your breakfast, Clay. But by letting you sleep late, we're losing time we could be putting to good use cleaning those wagons."

I started to remind her about my plans for those units. She waved me off. "You always were a grump in the morning, even when we were kids. We understand you may want to make changes. However, there are linens, glassware, dishes, silverware, bedding and other things that still need to be washed if they are ever to be used. And, all that stuff has to be moved out before you can do what you want! You need to be able to see how they're put together so you can plan whatever changes you want to make. So give us the keys, Buster."

There was no way I would win this one. I don't know why I balked in the first place. Put it down to being a morning grump like Rose said. Rose's argument was absolutely correct. All the stuff she listed would just be in the way of what I wanted to do, and risked being damaged if left in place while I did it.

"I guess you're right." I grumped and gave up the keys.

Needing coffee even more, I headed in for breakfast. Dawn got my plate out of the warmer and poured me a coffee. I think I inhaled that first cup. Assured I was OK on my own now, she and my other wives hurried after the others as they traipsed over to the wagons.

As I leisurely ate a delicious breakfast and sipped my second coffee, I watched them out the window. Those women swarmed over both wagons like ants on an anthill. Grandpa wandered in just as I finished eating. He joined me for coffee and to watch the ladies.

It soon became apparent that they were totally emptying the wagons. I had no idea these wagons could or would have that much stuff in them. Before long, the ladies had a small mountain of goods stacked in the yard. When I looked closer, all that seemed to be left of the Gypsy Caravan style wagons was just bare shell.

Grandpa and I watched in amazement as the women went about their task with military precision. When everything had been removed from the caravans, the ladies turned on the boys who had been watching the whole operation and ordered them to help carry everything into my cabin so they could start cleaning it.

With the ladies busy inside, I had Grandpa follow me to the shed where my truck was hidden. I inspected the damage to my camper and discovered the side above the door, where the top bunk was, had been hit by the tree. It was caved in about 3 feet wide and about 2 feet deep.

Grandpa remarked, "This thing's pretty beat up."

I replied, "I had been thinking about trying to fix it up and somehow use it as a mobile clinic, but now I have those wagons. They can be made into much more comfortable living quarters and office if we can use some of the things from here. It'll be a whole lot easier, too."

Grandpa was interested in what I thought we could use. "Show me what's in this thing you think will work in the wagons."

So I showed him. There was a small two-sided sink with a pump style faucet and a three-burner camp stove, both set into a formica counter top. Built in under that was a 15 gallon water tank that was pressurized by the faucet, an oven and an icebox. The whole setup could easily be installed in the caravan.

The stove and oven burned white gas. I had a full five gallon can of fuel, but that wouldn't last very long. When that was gone, I thought I might be able to use diesel or kerosene as fuel if I couldn't get more white gas locally. I knew white gas or 'naptha' was available at this time, but I wasn't sure justhowavailable. I'd have to check with the general store.

If I couldn't get naptha, then modifying the stove and oven burners to use kerosene, the common fuel for lamps, was the best alternative. The truck had twin 50 gallon fuel tanks that were about three quarters full of diesel at the time of the crash, but it was a lot harder and dirtier to use than kerosene.

Once I finished setting up the wagons, I thought there might be a way to use some of the other parts of the truck to our advantage since it would probably never be made to run again.

Grandpa was suitably impressed. We started emptying out the camper. When everything we thought was usable was out, we would try to figure out what all we could actually use. After we had been at it for several hours, I found we had salvaged many things that could make our lives much more comfortable.

Once we got everything unloaded we took my toolbox and moved on to the caravans to measure and survey what we had to work with. These wagons were 12 foot long with a six-foot wide wheelbase. They looked like they might have originally been prairie schooner wagons, but the overall construction was too light. They may have been based on the ubiquitous conestoga, but upon inspection, revealed themselves to be purpose-built – the American version of a showman's wagon or a gypsy caravan.

The roof was a hard top with a slight peak in the center to shed rain. The sides were built out to six-foot wide, covering the tops of the wheels. One wall was solid. The other had two small windows quite high up. Both were about seven feet high, with extra headroom provided by the open ceiling. The lower part of the box, between the wheels, was 4 foot wide, the same as my pickup. The back was closed in with a large Dutch door. The steps to the back door were removable. There was a storage box mounted between and behind the rear wheels. The wheels were sturdy and tall, good for rough roads and fording creeks. The rear wheels were somewhat larger than the front.

The front had what could only be described as a covered porch. There were two well padded seats to either side of the door. Either position could be used as a driver's seat, as both boasted a foot pedal for the mechanical wheel-chock brakes. There was also a Dutch door at this end. The removable steps would be stored on the floor just inside the door. In use, they mounted to the side of the wagon tongue after the team was unhitched.

Inside, there were shelves and cupboards everywhere, maximizing the internal storage. The designers and builders of these wagons gave away nothing to the camper builders of my time. As a matter of fact, from a couple things I noted, they could have taught some things to their twenty-first century counterparts. It would take a very small modification to fit in the 'modern' kitchen fixtures. The builders may even have been marine builders, from the use of every available nook and cranny like in a sailing yacht, to the thoughtful way shelves and drawers were padded and protected against spillage and breakage.

Both units had a small wood stove with a cook top on the solid wall at the mid point with a chimney directly through the roof. The exposure to the wall at the back of the stove was protected by some brickwork that only went as high as the stove. I thought this was a good place to use some flat sheet metal from the camper to install a proper heat shield all the way to the ceiling. The aluminum of the camper shell would be relatively easy to work with.

While similar on the outside, the two were laid out differently inside. The similarities in efficient use of space and heating were there, but one could determine their relative usage quite easily.

What I referred to as the medical van was set up more like an office or store. There were open shelves obviously meant to display one's wares, but also made them handier. Work benches and a built-in desk replaced beds. It would require the least alteration, as it was already set up more-or-less like a doctor's consulting room of the time. All it lacked was an examination table or bed. The cot Grandpa and I bought yesterday could be adapted quite nicely.