"That's the wagon road from San Fernando where the road from Altar crosses the border. I didn't think we wanted to go through that town because someone there might recognize me."
"You seem to know this country quite well," he said.
"I lived with my aunt and uncle for four years when I was twelve until I was sixteen. My mother sent me down here because the Apache were raiding around Rancho Sopori. When my uncle died, my aunt sent word that she couldn't handle me along with her grief, so I went back to be with my mother and father on the rancho. I remember that I had a lot of fun living down here. The people are different. I was sad to leave."
As they passed an old adobe house on a hill above some corrals, María pointed to the house. "This is Rancho San Vicente," she said. "Toribio Rodriguez owns it. He runs a few head of cows and sells his calves to a buyer from Tucson. At least that is what he did when I lived in Tubutama."
Within an hour, María reined the dappled gray to the right over an irrigation ditch. Billy followed and then rode up beside her. "What is this village?" he asked.
"This is Saric where we will spend the night with the Sotos. They live over there," she said pointing across the village plaza.
They rode up to the house that was sandwiched between others to form a row on the south side of the plaza. Billy asked why the houses were built in a row.
"You can see the other side is the same. They built the houses like this to form a wall against the Apache."
"I thought your parents sent you down here to get away from the Apache," Billy said.
"These houses were built a long time ago when there were many more Apache than when I lived with my aunt and uncle. In 1751 the town saw violence from a different direction than the Apache."
"What could be worse than an Apache raid?" Billy asked.
"It wasn't worse, but from what my aunt and uncle told me about the history of the valley, it was different. Now it is called 'The Pima Rebellion of 1751' and it all started here in Saric. Let's dismount and sit on that bench over there in the plaza so I can tell you this story."
They dismounted and led their horses over to the bench that María had pointed out and sat down.
"This valley's settlements were the furthest north that were established by the Spaniards after they conquered Tenochtitlan, that is now Mexico City. They managed to settle these pueblos with the help of the Jesuit priests that had been assigned to the New World to gain converts to Catholicism."
"How did they do this?" Billy asked.
"The army generally accompanied the priests until they convinced the natives that they were here to help them," María said. "These Jesuits brought with them cattle, sheep, hogs, horses and goats plus corn, beans and squash, the staples that the people grew on the farmland that the Jesuits showed them all about."
"How long did the army stay around?"
"The army stayed until they were sure the priests had charge of the natives. But, the priests made one of many mistakes when they brought natives from other tribes to oversee the work on the mission farms. These overseers spoke different languages and had different customs. Sometimes the overseers overstepped their authority and the Mission Indians rebelled as they did in 1695 in Tubutama."
"I thought we were talking about a rebellion here in Saric in 1751," Billy said.
"I'll get to that after I tell you about the rebellion in Tubutama that happened earlier," María said. "The overseer there was an Opata Indian from Arispe. He did not speak the Pima language and the Pimas did not appreciate him being in charge of them. The Pimas at the mission took the opportunity to rebel against him during Easter Week when Padre Januske had gone to visit a fellow priest who lived in a town called Tuape. The Pimas wanted to follow the priest and kill him also, but some elders in the town of Tubutama talked them out of that notion. So, they destroyed several missions and went down to Caborca, a larger town to the south and killed an altar boy and Father Saeta. Before they could do further damage, Father Kino, the Jesuit in charge of all the area's missions negotiated peace. Kino is known for convincing the Spaniards to stop enslaving the Pimas. He also is known for all the introductions of crops and animals he made to the area."
Billy looked at María with expectation in his eyes. "And now, the rebellion that happened here?"
"It was after Kino died, so again there was unrest among the Pimas. The headman in Saric, a man named Luis Oacpicagigua, or Luis de Saric, was angered by the Spanish treatment of his people, so he went on a campaign against the Spanish throughout the area, killing and wounding a lot of people. He ended up in the mountain near Rancho Sopori before he surrendered. The Pimas laid the blame on the Jesuits and were pardoned by the colonial Governor, Ortiz Parrilla."
"You really know a lot of the history down here," Billy said.
"I learned it all from my aunt and uncle. You probably know the history of your state of North Carolina. I know the history of mine, too."
"But this is Sonora, not Arizona," Billy said.
"I feel like I am from both, but I have a certain love for Sonora that I do not have for Arizona."
They led their horses to the Soto house on the plaza and were warmly greeted by the couple. María and the Sotos chattered away in Spanish so Billy just stood there until she showed him to their room. He could feel the warmth between the couple and María. He couldn't remember that feeling between anyone that he knew at home except his relatives and himself. María and Miguel Soto led the horses around in back of the house where there was a small orchard and a pen for horses. She took care of them while Billy watched from the window of their bedroom. Darkness came shortly after and María slipped into bed beside him.
"María, I have to tell you something," Billy said. "I must learn to speak Spanish."
"It is a beautiful language," she said. "I spoke Spanish before I spoke English."
"Ever since I arrived in Tucson I have heard Spanish everywhere I have been, and now here in Sonora, that is all I hear. I want to learn it because it is so beautiful and musical. I can sit and listen to Spanish being spoken all day long. I learned a few words while I was working cattle at the Sopori, but I want to learn to speak it like you do. Of course, I know it will not sound as musical coming from me as it does when you speak it."
"That makes me very happy to hear you say that, because I will love teaching you my language. Spanish is a part of me, and I will be happy to share that part as well as the rest of me with you, my cowboy."
She leaned over, tousled his hair and kissed him.
The following morning they rose early and were back on the trail before sunrise. Shortly after leaving Saric on the trail that bordered an irrigation ditch they came to a large rock outcropping where the trail went around in both directions.
"Here is where I used to meet Alfonso when I was fourteen. We always had a plan to meet by "The Rock" at a certain time on a certain day. He and I were boyfriend and girlfriend. When my aunt found out about us she sent word to my mother that she should come to Tubutama and take me back to Rancho Sopori. My mother told me later that Aunt Rosa was afraid that I would become pregnant. Aunt Rosa seemed afraid of lots of things, but as far as me getting pregnant she feared for nothing because Alfonso and I never did that. One time he got pretty excited so I led him over to that irrigation ditch and pushed him in. That cooled him down, but he went home in wet clothes. I felt kind of sorry for doing that to him afterwards, but at the time I felt strongly that it was exactly what was needed."
"When was the last time you were down here to see your Aunt Rosa?" Billy asked.
"My mother came down two years after Uncle Carlos died. Rosa needed her sister for comfort. She was surprised at how much I had grown. She told me that Alfonso had found a job shoeing horses in Caborca. But, I had forgotten Alfonso. He was just part of my growing years. Anyway, Aunt Rosa told me he had married the Mendosa girl from Altar."
They came to the small settlement called La Reforma where the people that were outside of their houses just s
tood with vacant looks on their faces, neither greeting nor waving at the strangers. The couple rode through without stopping. Shortly after riding through La Reforma they came to the Altar River again and crossed it, taking the trail that went up the hill to the mesa on which the town of Tubutama sat with its beautiful white mission church, San Pedro y San Pablo de Tubutama. María rode ahead of Billy and when she reached the top of the wagon road before it led into the plaza, she turned around in her saddle and smiled broadly at Billy. "We are home," she said, and waited for him to join her for the ride into the plaza.
Chapter Twelve
Homer made his exit, walked to the sorrel and mounted. He rode first to the Congress Hotel and got a room and then went to the livery stable where he left the sorrel. Arriving back at the hotel, Homer went directly to his room, slouched into the one stuffed chair by the window and started leafing through the dodgers he had taken from the Sheriff's office. He read every one as carefully as he could in his state of weariness. He had gotten through six dodgers depicting all sorts of crimes from theft to murder. Suddenly one without a photograph caught his attention. It stated that Billy Peabody was wanted for burglary and kidnapping and the reward offered by Juan Elias, was a thousand dollars to be paid in cash on delivery of the fugitive. Homer read the dodger again and again as he wondered what his friend Billy had done to warrant the thousand-dollar reward. Homer recognized Elias as the owner of Rancho Sopori. He asked himself two questions: who did Billy kidnap? And, where did Billy go? He put the rest of the dodgers on a side table next to the chair. He kept the "Billy dodger" in his hand, looking at it quizzically with wrinkled brow. There was so much he needed to find out. He rose from the chair and paced back and forth in the room, lost in thought about what to do about this latest dilemma.
Taking one last look at the dodger, Homer stepped over to the table and dropped the piece of paper on top of the stack with the others, grabbed his hat, put it firmly on his head and left the room still wearing his Colt. As he went down the stairs into the lobby he spotted the entrance to the bar and turned toward it. After hesitating in the doorway, he walked in and glanced around to see who might be there that could inform him about the latest gossip that had happened while he was away capturing Dooley, the murderer. A man he had seen around before was sitting at a small round table at the back of the room reading a newspaper. The thought went into Homer's mind that someone who is interested enough in the news to buy a newspaper might have heard what Billy had done to deserve the issuing of a dodger. Homer made his way to the table and was glad to see an empty chair.
"Mind if I join you?" Homer asked.
"Not at all," the man said. "May I buy you a drink?"
"That's mighty kind of you sir. I would enjoy one if you'll allow me to buy the next one."
Homer sat down as the man beckoned for the bartender. Homer looked at the man curiously because it seemed strange for a perfect stranger to offer to buy him a drink. "I'm Homer Crane."
"Walter Grimes. I have seen you around town occasionally. What business are you involved with?"
"I've been a bounty hunter for a while. I move around a bit."
"I should think so if you're going to collect any bounties," Grimes said. "There should be plenty of work since the lawmen around here seem to be glued to their office chairs."
"So far I am doing all right," Homer said. He didn't want to reveal any more of his business than he had to in order to get information on Billy's troubles. "Do you live here in Tucson?"
"Yes," Grimes said. "I have been here in Tucson for a couple of years."
Chapter Thirteen
The long legged cavalry horse that Gus had ridden up into the mountains did not step out as lively as he had down on the flatlands. In fact, he was stepping slower and slower the higher they climbed. Gus wished he were riding a mule instead of a long-legged Thoroughbred. Then he thought he should be grateful that he wasn't walking.
He had been following what seemed to be a trail, but at times he wondered just how often it had been used. When the trail came to mountain streams it looked to Gus like the streams had had their way washing out the trail for many years. What struck Gus' interest the most was the way the vegetation changed the higher up on the mountain he climbed. From the desert grassland below where he started, the next zone that appeared was a community of oak with grasses still occupying the spaces between the trees. Higher still, juniper, then a mixed community of juniper and piñon pine that had nuts in their small cones. As he got closer to the top of the Sierra Madre, ponderosa pine dominated the landscape with an under story of grasses, many of which grew in bunches.
The trail had taken him into a rocky terrain where the trail became narrower than it had been down below. There were outcropping of boulders, and around one bend in the trail Gus saw a mountain lion atop one of the boulders. The big cat looked down at him in what Gus felt was a menacing way. The cougar growled, then turned, jumped from the boulder and disappeared among the trees in the forest. Gus kept his eyes focused on the spot where the cat had vanished from sight.
A little further along he reined in his horse when he saw another trail splitting off and going into what looked like a large mound of boulders where no trees grew except for a few brave ones that had sunk their roots in between cracks in the expanse of rock. Gus looked at the secondary trail for a while before deciding to explore where it went. He kicked his horse to get him moving again and after three hundred yards the trail came to a space in the rocks that looked like it had been cleared by someone. Riding a little further he saw a burro carrying a packsaddle with a shovel handle sticking out. Tied to a small tree, the burro stood with its eyes closed as if sleeping, but as Gus approached, the long-eared jackass turned his head toward the intruder and gave forth with the noise only a burro can make sounding like a makeshift horse's neigh. Gus' horse nickered in return. Gus reined in the horse and wondered where the burro's owner might be. It was then that he saw the open shaft beyond the burro. Next, he saw a white-haired man dressed in overalls, a sweated felt hat and wearing sturdy looking boots come out of the shaft and stand looking at him. The man waved a friendly wave. Gus waved back and said, ""Hello there."
"Get down and stay a while," the man said. "My camp is behind those boulders," he said pointing in back of him. "I'll have coffee ready in a jiffy."
Gus hadn't heard the word jiffy since he had left the plantation when he ran away. He dismounted and led his horse to the tree and tied him up with the burro. There were no other trees nearby. Gus walked over to where the man waited. "My name be Gus," he said.
"I am Silas," the man said. "The Apache call me 'Silas, Man of Gold' because I am a prospector and look for gold most of the time when I am not living with the Apache. Are you a soldier?"
"I was a soldier," Gus said, not wanting to reveal any more of his personal information.
"That uniform looks fairly new," Silas said. "I don't mean to pry, but I think it is strange to see a soldier alone up here in the middle of Apache country."
Gus followed Silas to his camp around the boulder and stood as Silas stirred the coals of the fire and put his coffee pot on to warm.
"Are dere Apaches near here?" Gus asked.
"I live with Tara and his band and I go home every night unless I find a vein to follow."
"I never heard name," Gus said.
"You sound like you haven't been out West very long. Tara is famous in Arizona. He is the son of Cochise."
"I heard soldiers talkin' 'bout Cochise when we was at Fort Buchanan."
"I guess I need to tell you that it doesn't make any difference to me about you being a soldier or just wearing a uniform because I don't cotton to the U.S. Cavalry, the U.S. Infantry, or even the U.S. Government for that matter. They have never treated the Apache like human beings and I happen to be close friends with the Apache. I have an Apache wife."
"I doan cotton to U.S. Cavalry so I run off from Agua Prieta. I's wearin' dis uniform cuz I didn't wait round to buy a
change. I come straight here to da mountains. Da army made me feel like I was a slave agin, an I doan like that feelin' a-tall."
Silas grabbed the coffee pot and a cup. He poured it full of steaming coffee and handed it to Gus. Then he filled a cup for himself. They both sat down on logs that Silas had provided in place of chairs. They chatted while sipping the coffee. Silas told Gus about his life among the Apache and Gus spoke about his trip West with Homer and Billy. He also asked if Silas knew of anyone in Sonora who raised mules who might hire him to train them.
"I heard about a feller that bought a small ranch way west of here in a valley that has lots of farmland. Someone said he was raising mules to sell to the U.S. Cavalry."
"Dat doan sound lack somethin' I'd wanna get took up in," Gus said.
"Where are you heading? Do you know?" Silas asked.
"I haven't thought 'bout dat. I jes wanted to get away from dat uniformed slavery dey calls da army."
"I'll tell you what," Silas said. "I'm about done for today. I'll load up the burro and I'll take you to meet Tara, where I live. He might have some idea about what you can do around here."
"What's he gonna say when he sees a feller lack me dressed like a sojer?"
"I'll go in ahead so I can warn the guards and the rest. You'll be fine. The Apache trust me and treat me like I am one of them. That's more than the territorial people did when I was down and out trying to find someplace worth claiming."
Silas packed the things he wanted to take home from his mine and the two new friends started for the cave where Tara and his people stayed hidden from the Mexican and American military. Before starting, Gus said, ""Silas, jump behine and lead da burro."
"Good idea," Silas said.
Gus took his left foot out of the stirrup and Silas handed the lead rope to the burro to him. Silas lifted his left foot, put it in the stirrup and grabbed the cantle of Gus' saddle. Then Silas pulled with his right arm and pushed into the stirrup with his left leg and swung his right leg over the leggy Thoroughbred's rump. Gus handed back the lead rope and the pair started for the meeting with Tara.
Along the Trail to Freedom Page 9
