Pioneer Village

Marty smiled and said, "OK. Let's ride around a while and see what we can find." As they rode Marty and Callie talked about the terrain and the possibilities of this new land. He paid special attention to the area near the smaller stream and pointed out where he wanted to build his cabin. He said, "I think my house would go there. I can pipe water downhill from the small stream so I have running water in the house. I plan to live in my freight container for a while. I'll build a barn and some fences before I even start on the cabin or house. With the money we are earning just for being here I should be able to build a nice place but I want to see how things work out first before I put a lot of effort into something I might not like later."

"That makes sense. That looks like a great place for a house. You'll have a wonderful view down the valley and the location is on high ground so you shouldn't have trouble with flooding and run off."

"Yeah and there seems to be enough fall in the steam to install a waterwheel if I can figure out how to make a dam and hook up my generators. I can't have an all-electric house or anything but I might be able to generate some power. I hope so, then I can use my electric tools. well, I suppose we need to move on and see what we can figure out for your place. Have you given any thought about where you want to locate and build?"

"Yeah. I want that small piece of ground between your place and Dad's. That way if I don't keep it one or the other of you can use it or buy it. I'll put the house or shack near your place on that rise. There are some trees over there that would make a good location. What do you think?"

"Yeah. Looks good from here. Let's go see."

Marty and Callie had the shortest distance to ride so they were done and back at the meeting place well before the rest of the group. They talked as they prepared the noon meal then sat waiting for the rest. Marty was already planning the layout of his farmstead in his head and thinking about what he had to do and the order in which to do the tasks. He told Callie he thought they should do like the old pioneers did and help each other build their necessary buildings. She agreed wholeheartedly.

About noon the rest of Callie's family arrived. Tim looked unhappy but Jim and Dottie were excited about the possibilities. Marty looked over at Tim and asked, "What's the matter Tim? Didn't you find a spot you like?"

"No. I don't know why we have to file on land here. I don't even want to be out here in the boonies. Why do I have to work like a dog helping you all build shacks? I want to go home and see my friends. I want TV and my phone. There's nothing to do here. This place sucks." After his diatribe Tim stalked off, walking into the woods and out of sight. He ignored Jim when he ordered him to straighten up and get back to the group.

With an oath Jim headed into the woods after Tim. Callie wrapped her arm around Martin's waist as she watched her father and Tim disappear into the woods. Dottie muttered, "Oh dear. I don't know what we're going to do with that boy. He's worse here than he was back home."

About 20 minutes later a visibly angry Jim returned without Tim. Marty glanced at him and asked, "No luck?"

"No, he was moving too fast and after I lost sight of him, he just disappeared. Lord knows I'm no tracker. At least he had his pistol with him. Maybe he'll be OK until he cools off and comes to his senses."

Callie looked at her father and said, "Are you sure he will Dad? Like Mom said while you were gone, he's worse now than he was at home. I know he's not on drugs now unless he brought a lot with him but he sure acts like he's tripping."

Marty frowned and said, "If he was doing drugs before and is worse now, he's probably coming down and suffering from withdrawal. Some of those people can become violent as they dry out. Do you think he was hooked enough we need to worry about that?"

"I don't know. I didn't think he was hooked at all. I just thought he was on the fringes. You know, running with the wrong crowd and doing some once in a while. We were trying to keep him away from the bad influences and straighten him out. I thought we were doing a fair job but now I wonder."

After a quick meal the friends dithered around, hoping Tim would return but he didn't. Finally, after waiting almost an hour Marty said, "Look, I'm sorry as hell about Tim but I really don't want to lose this ground. I think I'll leave for the land office. I recommend you do the same if you want to settle here. We can leave some food and his pack for Tim if you want to but you really need to file quickly too."

Jim looked toward Callie and Dottie. He sighed and nodded his head before he said, "Yeah, you're right. The little shit did this to himself. Maybe this will be a wakeup call for him if we leave him here. OK, let's go everyone."

Dottie said, "Jim! We can't just take off and leave him alone out here!"

"Honey, we can and we will. Now come on. If we hurry, we can get close enough to town we can make it before dark tomorrow. If we do that, we can file and get back faster. They rode until it was almost too dark to see well before stopping for the night. The women prepared a quick meal and everyone crawled into their beds for a well needed rest. All of them were exhausted and hurting from the days on horseback they weren't used to.

They were up just after dawn the next morning and riding out as the sun rose. They arrived in the nearby town late that evening. They stopped at the first general store they saw for directions to the land office. While the men were getting directions, the women were inspecting the goods for sale and remembering prices.

The land office was closed by the time they arrived so they had to spend the night before filing. They opted to camp just outside town but ate in a local cafe. The next morning, all four of the group filed into the land office. The clerk looked up from the paper he was reading and said, "Good morning. What can I do for you folks?"

Marty looked at the three Carters and then turned back toward the man. He said, "We want to file on some land about a day's ride west of here if we could."

"Well now, I suppose you can if it's not already taken. Where is this ground?"

Marty looked at the map nailed to the wall and walked over to it. He studied it for a moment then pointed out the little valley. "We believe this whole valley is still open. If it is, we each want to file for the allowed section."

The clerk studied the valley and made note of the survey before he went back to his desk and opened a book. After he studied it for a moment he said, "Well now, I don't find any record that anyone wants that ground so if you have the necessary fees, we can file the paperwork.

"Now, show me which section each of you want please." He handed each of the group a paper and said, "If you will fill out this here paper for the claim, we will take care of it for you. After five years you come back and file for the deed if you have improved and lived on the land all that time. Of course, there will be a final fee then for recording the deed and so forth."

The man looked thoughtful for a moment then said, "I should have asked before. Can you all write or will I have to help ya with them papers?"

Dottie got slightly pink and burst out, "Of course we can all write. What do you mean by that?"

Jim placed his hand on Dottie's arm and said, "Now Dottie. He didn't mean anything by that. There is a lot of folks hereabouts that probably can't write. Just calm down."

The clerk looked relieved and stammered, "I am sorry ma'am. I didn't mean nothing by it. It is like your man said, most folks cannot write much and I just wanted to know if I needed to help you. That is all."

"Humpf. OK, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

"That is fine ma'am."

After they finished at the land office the friends walked out of the courthouse and stood on the sidewalk. Jim said, "Why don't we find a different cafe from the one we ate breakfast at. I would like to eat lunch then get back on the trail. I'm anxious to get back to our valley and get started on our place."

All three of the others said they were fine with that. They started for their horses and Jim stopped a well-dressed man walking down the sidewalk. He asked for a recommendation on a cafe and directions to it.

After he thanked the man, he joined his family and said, "That gentleman said the cafe just across the street and down a ways is where he and most of the folks from the courthouse go for meals if they don't bring their own."

Marty said, "Well, that's good enough for me. Let's go." He grabbed his horse's reins and began leading him across the street and down it somewhat toward the hitching rail in front of the cafe. It was just shortly after 11 AM but about half of the tables were already full. The four trouped inside and sat down. A cute young woman sashayed up to the table carrying four coffee cups and a battered pot of coffee. She poured the coffee without asking if they wanted any then stood a moment. Finally, she asked, "Four lunches?"

Dottie said, "Yes. We haven't seen the menu yet though."

The woman laughed and said, "My, ain't you an uppity one. Honey we do not have no menu. We got beef and beans or steak and taters. Now which one does ya want?"

Everyone looked somewhat surprised but finally each ordered and the woman rushed off. She was back before their coffee was half gone and placed plates in front of them. She rushed off as they began eating.

Dottie cut her steak and took a bite. She chewed and chewed and chewed. Finally, she said, "I think I could cook a saddle and get it more tender than this steak. I don't think they even salted it either."

Marty chewed his steak and said, "Well, it's not the most tender meat I've ever eaten but the fried potatoes aren't bad. Nice and crispy."

Callie and Jim were buzzing through their beef and beans. Callie smiled and said, "Well this beef and beans is pretty good and the cornbread is to die for. I think its soaked in real butter too."

Marty smiled and said, "Well it should be. If they don't have butter, they can put grease on it but margarine hasn't been invented yet."

They finished their meal, paid and headed back for the church and their belongings just as the cafe was filling up. They made it back well before their two weeks were up and found all their belongings safe and ready to go. They went to see Jones to tell him they were leaving and how to find them if the need arose. As they were leaving, he said, "Remember, your contract is for two years from the time you met at the warehouse in your time line. The days pass the same on this timeline as yours. Are you keeping track of them?"

Everyone agreed they were and Jones continued, "If you want to end your participation in this work you need to meet back here two years to the day from your entry onto duty with us. We will not wait around for you. If you want to extend your stay just stay where you are. We will be here every year anniversary after the two years for three more years. After that, we will assume you intend to stay here forever." He laughed and continued, "The last group we hired only about 3% came back for transport home. Of course, I don't know how many of those that stayed were still alive but I'm sure most of them were. You all be careful and good luck."

The friends headed back to where their belongings were parked. They planned to spend the rest of this day and night there and move out early the next morning. They laid out everything they could in preparation for the next morning and then relaxed, visiting with others who were still there while they passed time waiting for the evening meal.

PIONEER VILLAGE

CHAPTER 4

BY SW MO HERMIT

It was still dark when Marty was awakened by yelling and clanging coming from the Carter's parking area. He quickly put on his boots, grabbed his weapons and took off toward their camp. He saw someone running away carrying an arm load of something with someone chasing them. He changed his direction of travel and made a running tackle, bringing the miscreant down. The man came up fighting and started to pull a pistol. Marty had his in his hand and slammed it down on the wrist causing him to drop his pistol. It was still dark enough he couldn't see the man well at all. He could tell he was slight of stature with long shaggy hair and dirty, ragged clothes. That was all.

Marty raised his pistol and pointed it at the man's chest and said, "OK, that's enough fella. Just raise your hands and stand still. I suggest you tell me why you were rummaging around in my friend's belongings while we wait for them to catch up with you."

The Carter's came running up as Marty said that. Jim pushed the man and said, "What's the idea stealing our stuff?" He stood, leaning forward, ready to pounce. The anger evident on his face.

The man said, "I wasn't stealing nothin'. I only took some of what's mine."

Jim stepped back and said, "Tim?"

About then more people showed up, a couple with lanterns, and they could see it was a very dirty and disheveled Tim standing in front of them looking sullen."

Jim said, "Why did you think you had to sneak in and take things in the middle of the night? Couldn't you have just came to us in the daylight? We're going to head to our new place this morning. The clerk at the land office wouldn't let us file for your place. You'll have to go there and do it in person."

"I told you I don't want nothing to do with farming. I'm going to hang here in town until that asshole will let me go back home. You can have this shithole. Now can I take my stuff and go?"

Dottie moaned and Jim sighed before he said, "I can't force you to do anything. You're a man grown by the standards of this reality. What do you plan to do about money and a place to live if you stay here in town?"

"Don't have to do anything. I'll have my pay from asshole. I can live on that until I can get back home."

"Have you forgotten a couple of things son? IF you work you get to keep what you earn legally in this time plus twice what you were earning back home. Tell me, how much did you earn back home Tim? You refused to work during the school year and you only had part time work with neighbors during the summer. Can you live on a dollar a day plus what you might earn here?"

"Hey, that's not right. I made almost $3000 last summer. I can live great on two times that here. Hell, I'll be the richest man in town!"

"Son, Jones didn't say you would be paid twice what you made back home. He said you would be paid an amount equal to twice the buying power of what you earned working back home. I don't know what exactly, that is but in 1950 dollars you only made about 450 a year. We're 80 years farther in the past from there so you can figure you only make MAYBE $150-200 a year in current buying power here if you work. Most adult males here are lucky to make one or two dollars a day for work from sun up to sun down."

Tim glared at his father then bent and began picking up his belongings. Jim didn't check to be sure he only had his personal things. He was, after all, his son. He watched him sadly as he turned and stomped off. As he left, Tim said, "I'll see what Jonesey will pay me. I'll get by somehow and I won't be farming. That's for sure."

Jim shook his head and said, "well, since we're up shall we just hook up the teams and go? It's almost five, I think. By the time we're ready to go we can get breakfast and some coffee then roll."

Everyone agreed with Jim and they took off to pack the few remaining bedrolls and personal items before they hitched their teams. Marty finished first and walked over to the Carter wagons to help. They rapidly finished and walked to the mess tent for a final "free" meal.

They had to wait a few minutes for breakfast but the coffee was ready and they enjoyed it while they waited. No one said much but it was evident the morning excitement was on their minds. As they got their meals and began eating a few more early risers came into the tent. Some greeted them and wished them well. Two couples with young children verified the location of the valley they filed on and asked if they thought there was enough land for them to file on also. They did ask if they minded if they settled there with them.

One of the women, Joan Stiles, explained why they were anxious to live close to the friends. She said, "You are from back home, even if we did live quite a ways apart and didn't know each other until we got here. If I slip or am feeling homesick, I'll at least have someone nearby who can relate to me. Besides, I want the children to have a better education than they can get from teachers in this time. I know, between all of us, we can give them that. Our college degrees from before are probably the equivalent of a master's or doctorate here and now."

Dottie said, "Of course you're welcome. We can all benefit from likeminded people nearby. You sound like you've already decided to stay here when our time's up. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Joan looked at her husband and smiled, "Yes, we're pretty sure. We have each other and the kids. We were struggling back home making ends meet. Neither of us finished college although we both went some. We worked dead end jobs in a factory and rented a little 80-acre farm with an option to buy then the owner died and his kids sold it out from under us. We have nothing to go back for and here we can own a whole 640 acres just by working on it and living on it. Yeah, unless something happens, we're here for good."

Marty spoke for the first time. He told their new friends about the three brothers and their threats about the valley. He continued, "I would enjoy having you there but I don't want you to come unless you're willing to fight for what's yours if it comes to that. I've watched those three since we had the run in with them and they seem to be adopting the local mindset whole heartedly. They wear guns and swagger like they've done it for years. I've seen them bullying others here in camp. I expect trouble when they find out we filed on the ground. You'll have the same problem with them if you file for land in the valley."

The two men looked at each other and nodded before the other man, Joshua Talley spoke for the first time saying, "So be it. I never did let people push me around and I ain't gonna start now. Look at me. I'm a runt and I always had to fight and stand up for myself. Seems there was always someone that wanted to show what a big man they were by pushing us little guys around. Now I'll have even more to fight for. Count us in if we're welcome nearby."

"You're definitely welcome. Let's finish our meals then go get you loaded and hitched. We have miles to go before we sleep."

PIONEER VILLAGE

CHAPTER 5

BY SW MO HERMIT

Early the next morning Marty and his group of fellow settlers left the little town in which they arrived and received their small amount of onsite training. The trip to the valley they intended to settle was mostly unremarkable, it being the third time in a week that most of them rode on the same route. The only exception to that statement might have been learning how to drive their teams, and moving slower with the wagons than they had previously when they were on horseback. Thankfully, Marty had a small amount of experience as an equestrian and with teams because of his deceased wife's passion for horses. This being so, he could help the others somewhat. Of course, they all obtained the same brief training session in the town but it was not enough to do more than familiarize them with the procedure for hitching, unhitching and basic driving of the wagons and saddling and caring for the horses. Mistakes were made and it took way too long to hitch and unhitch the teams but they managed, becoming more proficient daily.