Arizona Territory

by Dusty Richards

  “Do you feel better, now that you know they are out there?” she asked him behind their hotel room door.

  “They didn’t take wings, anyway.”

  “You knew this would be tough.”

  “Oh, yes. Liz, I’m pleased we have some evidence they are somewhere up here. But getting things rolling won’t be easy.”

  “You love challenges. Heavens, you chose me. You could have sent for a German farm girl.”

  Her humor had him laughing.

  “I am blessed to have you.” He hugged her tight. “Day in, day out, I look over and see that roan horse bob his head beside me and you riding on uncomplaining.”

  “I asked to come along. I love being with you. You are a tough leader, but those kinds of leaders win wars.”

  “We’re going to win this one. Thanks.”

  “Tell me about Tularosa.”

  “It’s a frontier town. Not much law, unless the rangers have straightened it out. Be careful, and stay with one of us all the time.”

  She yawned big and buried her face in his chest. “We will do this. Let’s try to sleep.”

  They stayed the next night at a west Texas rancher’s place. Herman Acres, a big man the size of Hampt, was delighted to introduce Liz to his Hispanic wife, Leona. His ranch crew were interested in their search and what they’d do when they found them.

  Chet explained they had to find them first.

  “We heard about them, but never exactly where they were.”

  “What’s wrong?” one man asked.

  “A Texas banker hired us to come from Arizona to go look for them.”

  “They figured they wandered that far?” another cowboy asked.

  Chet shook his head with a smile. “I have no idea what they thought.”

  “Hey, guys, we’re glad you stopped by, and come any time,” Herman said.

  When Chet rejoined his wife in the ranch house, Leona had found her a bath and Liz beamed. “I told them they needed to come stay in Oak Creek. I have never been there, but they can catch trout, and it is cool in summer?”

  “Both. If you come, just let us know. It’s a heavenly place. Those folks bring us produce all summer long.”

  Leona smiled. “We get brave, we might do that.”

  “How many horses could I buy off of area ranchers, if I need them?” Chet asked Acres.

  “Oh, a hundred, I bet.”

  “I may need two hundred.”

  Acres narrowed his blue eyes at that number. “You figure that’s his problem?”

  “No idea, but it has been offered as one.”

  “That’s going to be a real mess.”

  “A big one, I fear.”

  “Good luck. Send me word if you need horses. I’ll gather them for you.”

  “Thanks, I may be sending for them.”

  They rode into Tularosa the next day—a town of adobe hovels, with skinny black Injun camp dogs that bared their teeth at them, and naked brown-skinned children who stood back and looked hard at them. Some fat, Mexican women ignored them and looked to be on a shopping quest. And two barely clad, skinny whores came out in the street to proposition them. They must have thought at first that Liz was a boy.

  “Hampt, try the saloon. They may know something in there. I’m going to the telegraph office.”

  “Got’cha,” the big man said, dismounted, and hitched his horse at the rack beside several other hipshot mounts.

  When Chet walked into the office, the telegraph key operator nodded to him from behind the counter.

  “Chet Byrnes. Any messages for me?”

  The man nodded. “Only ten. You expecting more?”

  “Glad to have any at all.”

  He and Liz took them to the stand-up table and she began unfolding them. Jesus and Cole stood back to listen.

  CHET

  THE PARTY YOU WANT IS CAMPED ON

  THE CANADIAN RIVER NORTH OF THE

  DEPOT ABOUT SIX MILES. I LEARNED

  THAT FROM A RANGER WHO TALKED TO

  THEM. GARDNER GREEN

  “We’re close, boys.”

  CHET

  I CAN SHOW YOU RIGHT WHERE THEY

  ARE FOR FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. WIRE

  THE MONEY TO THIS ADDRESS.

  MILLARD COLLINS

  He shook his head, amused. “I don’t think I’ll do that, Millard.”

  They all laughed.

  CHET

  I CAN’T FIND OUT A THING. SORRY, I

  TRIED. NOLAN FILES

  Chet picked up the next.

  CHET

  NO HELP. CLAUDE BARKER

  The room was quiet.

  THE SHERIFF IN KANSAS SAYS HE WILL

  RELEASE THEM FOR TEN THOUSAND

  DOLLARS. COTTON MULLINS

  “Who the hell is that?” Cole asked.

  “A smart aleck in Wichita.” He read on.

  SORRY, CHET. NO HELP. LEROY NEAL

  “Here’s another that knows nothing.” He put it down.

  TO LIZ AND CHET AND CREW

  WE OUT IN ARIZONA HOPE YOU HAVE

  FOUND THEM AND ARE HEADED HOME.

  WE ALL MISS YOU.

  THE WHOLE BYRNES RANCH GANG

  “That is probably May’s,” Jesus said. “She is bighearted enough to do that.”

  BE CAREFUL.

  MONICA RHEA AND ANITA

  “The rest are nothing. They don’t know a thing.”

  “Who are you looking for?” the clerk asked.

  “Bob Decker, a black drover and a big herd.”

  “Oh, them niggers are up on the Canadian. I guess they’re going to homestead up there. You want them?”

  “Yes, you know what the problem is?”

  “Water run out. They got here too late. All those moon lakes are dry. Playas, you know what I mean?”

  “I know both words. You mean he stopped up there ’cause the water was gone?”

  “That’s what they say. You need anything else?”

  “Yes, I want to send some wires home. Cole, write one to your wife. Liz, write one to Monica and the girls. I’ll write one to May for Hampt.”

  Cole took off his hat and clapped it on his chaps. “Whew. We’ve made it.”

  “Can I send one to Anita?” Jesus asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks, boss man.”

  “No problem.” He went to work on his message for May.

  Hampt arrived and came in the door, fresh faced. “You all hear where they’re at?”

  Chet nodded and pointed north. “This man said they’re stopped ’cause the water holes dried up. Here’s the message I’m sending to May. You write the rest.”

  “We are writing them all,” Liz said, amused.

  “I want Cole, Jesus, and Liz to find us a house or rooms to rent and take care of the horses. Hampt and I are riding up there and see what the hell we need to do to get them rolling. We’ll be back later tonight. Eat supper if we aren’t back.”

  “We can handle it,” Cole said.

  Liz agreed. “Just be careful.”

  He kissed her on the forehead. “We will. You stay close to those two here.”

  They went outside, took their horses out of the string on the rack, mounted up, and rode northeast. In a while, they found the line of cottonwoods that marked the Canadian bottoms and headed east. It was obvious that the scattered, grazing cattle were a part of the large herd they sought.

  “These cattle sure been rode hard and put away wet,” Hampt said with a shake of his head about the cattle’s thin condition.

  Chet was upset about how they had found the animals. “I agree. These cattle, big and small, are in tough shape.”

  “Is this grass no good up here?” Hampt asked.

  “No, they didn’t get like this overnight. I think he’s pushed them too hard to get here.”

  Hampt looked deeply concerned. “What can we do?”

  “Get organized.”

  A black cowboy rode off a nearby ranch to stop them.


  He set the horse down roughly in front of them. “What you’s wants?”

  “Mister Bob Decker.”

  “He’s a busy man. What’s you need him fo’?”

  “’Cause I’m his new boss. Now show us the way.”

  With narrowed eyes, the black cowboy glared at him. Then he snorted. “Hmm, he ain’t taking no orders from the likes of you.”

  Chet put his hand out to stay Hampt. “Just lead the way to the camp.”

  “We may have us a thing here,” Hampt said under his breath.

  “We’ll settle it. No problem.”

  Hampt looked skyward for help. “I hope so.”

  “We can work it out.” The man began to lope his horse and they fell in behind him.

  They came over a rise to see a scattered camp of tents and tarps set up with a lot of small fires and black faces raising up to see who was coming in. The guide jumped off his horse, went to the tent fly, and pointed back at them.

  Way over six feet tall, the snowy-headed black man who came out folded his arms on his chest. Some of his gold jewelry flashed in the afternoon sun.

  “What can I’s do for you?”

  “My name’s Chet Byrnes. Samuel Severs sent me here to ramrod this herd drive and get it to Ogallala. Would you like to see the paper he sent me to take it over?”

  “He owes me—”

  “I am authorized to pay you that agreed amount, if you assist me in getting them up here.”

  A larger black man with a bald head appeared to demand, “Who dis man?”

  “Yeager Brown, meet Chet Byrnes.”

  Chet nodded to him.

  “They sent him from San Antonio to take over.”

  “Who?”

  “Sam Severs.” Decker held out his hands. “He says we’ll get paid, if we help him.”

  Yeager reflected on it a moment. “What you gonna do?” he asked Chet.

  “Reorganize this train.”

  Decker held up his hands to stop them. “I’s wants these boys paid. I asked dem to come with us. I will collect that money for dem.”

  Still not convinced, Yeager shook his head, squeezed his chin, and spoke. “How many slaves you own, growing up in Texas?”

  “Me and my brother.”

  “Huh?”

  By then Hampt and Decker were both laughing. Chet shook his head. “We never owned a slave. My people came from the hill country of Arkansas to Texas. My grandfather and father fought for Texas freedom.”

  Yeager came right back with, “You a damn rainmaker? You don’t look like one to me.”

  “No, that’s God’s job. But I want an inventory by tonight of your food, guns, ammo, and number of usable horses.”

  “What you going to do with dat?”

  “Get this operation ready to move north.”

  “You must have damn deep pockets, mister.”

  “I have the authority to do whatever is necessary. Get me that information.”

  Chet dismounted. “This is Hampt Tate. I’ll introduce the others tomorrow.” Then he took a tablet from his saddlebags and two pencils. One of the hands came and held their horses, and they went into the larger tent. The tables were rough, weathered boards with benches set around them. Two open bottles of whiskey and some cups littered the one they sat down at.

  “You want a drink?” Decker asked.

  “No, thanks.”

  “We don’t have any coffee left.”

  “I understand.”

  He wrote coffee on his list.

  “Sugar?”

  Decker shook his head.

  “What do you have?” Chet asked bluntly.

  “Two hundred pounds of rice. Three hundred pounds of frijoles. We’ll open one sack of those tonight.”

  “No chuckwagon?”

  “No.”

  “It was too damn hard to get dem from place to place out cheer,” Yeager said. “We left it down in the Indian Territory.”

  “I’m going to buy one and we’ll figure out how to get it moving. How many modern rifles do you have?”

  Decker looked at his man. “Five?”

  Yeager nodded in agreement.

  “How many of your men have pistols?”

  “Maybe a dozen. Why?”

  “Every man here needs a working firearm. The damn Comanche, Cheyenne, and Kiowa all have working firearms. They haven’t found you yet, but they could. Now, how many horses?”

  “Maybe a hundred.”

  “How many can be ridden to herd cattle?”

  “Sixty.”

  “How many horses did you start with?”

  “A hundred and fifty.”

  Yeager shook his head. “Dat ain’t right. Dey weren’t all sound horses.”

  “That’ll be the problem. It may take a few days or so, maybe more, to get them here. But I have a promise by a rancher to bring me some good ones.”

  Hampt spoke up. “Tomorrow, I want eight men to take rifle training. They’ll each have a rifle and be shown how to use it, and keep it clean. They turn it in when we get to Nebraska, or pay for it.”

  “You think—”

  “These Indians will kill black men as quick as they kill white. You just haven’t faced them. You’re an invader, and they won’t treat you any better than a white cowboy.” Chet dropped his head down and shook it. “My wife is with me. I expect her to be treated with respect. See that every man knows it. We can talk more tomorrow.”

  “Where you going to get the water for dem?”

  “Yeager, I can’t make water, but these cattle are in tough condition today. They’ll die when winter comes unless we get them on some real feed and water.”

  “Where will you live?”

  “My wife and men will be in your camp tomorrow, and we’ll move with the herd until we deliver them. I’ll be here, too.”

  “What about water ahead?” Yeager asked.

  “We’ll have to find sources. Maybe hire someone to help guide us northward.”

  He and Hampt shook their hands, then they mounted up and hurried for Tularosa in a long lope.

  “What did they think they would do for food?” Hampt asked.

  “I have no idea, but we have a big task ahead, and I can’t see us pulling out of here in short of a week.”

  Hampt nodded in agreement.

  They met the others in Tularosa and went to supper in a bar the hotel man said served good food. It was mid-week and there were few customers in the place, so they got a nice welcome from Johnny Reed, the man who owned the bar. When they told him their plan to move the big herd north, he nodded.

  “We all wondered when someone would be in charge of that outfit. You’ll need lots of luck to get that bunch to even get off their butts. Excuse me, ma’am.”

  “No problem.”

  They ordered supper and Chet explained his plans. He finished with, “We want to send a messenger out to Herman Acres’s ranch, for him to send me a hundred and fifty using horses quick as he can.”

  “I can get a boy to do that. Write a note and he can deliver it.”

  Chet wrote the note and put two silver dollars down.

  “One’s enough. Two will spoil him.” Reed left the other one laying there and went to take care of it.

  “They have no horses?” Liz asked.

  “Not very many. When you’re driving cattle and not graining them, you need several changes to get anything out of them.”

  “Who cooks for them?”

  “We haven’t met that person yet. We only met Decker and his man Yeager. I was not impressed. They abandoned the chuckwagon—too hard for it to keep up. Maybe I can talk to the big storeowner tonight. I’ll ask Reed about him.”

  When he spoke to the bar owner about the man, he sent a boy to find Phillip Rymore. Before they finished their meal, a big man arrived, took his hat off for Liz, and pulled up a chair.

  Chet explained his plan to Rymore, and before he even listed his needs, the storekeeper told him he could get about anything they wanted. He migh
t have to ship some of it up the trail to them after they’d gone.

  Chet told him about the bank arrangement on receiving payment, and how they would honor his purchases. Rymore agreed that would work for him.

  “Three dozen Winchesters?”

  “I have a dozen. I can beg, borrow, and steal the rest. They sell for about seven fifty. I’ll try to hold that price.”

  “Two barrels of flour?”

  “No problem.”

  “Four hundred pounds of frijoles?”

  Rymore nodded.

  “Dried apples?”

  “Got them—and raisins?”

  “I’ll need plenty of both.”

  “I’ve got some good dry sugar, too.”

  “I’ll need it. Canned tomatoes and peaches?”

  “I have them in stock.”

  “Lard, baking powder, bacon, Arbuckle coffee.”

  “That I have. I have some new potatoes, too.”

  “Good, add them in.”

  “Cinnamon, and red peppers,” Liz put in.

  Rymore nodded that he had them. “I have a chuckwagon in good shape. Someone brought it back and left it here and I can sell it to you for eighty bucks, which was what I gave for it.”

  “We can use it. Can you find us four solid mules and harness? They sure won’t have any. I also want girths, and latigo leather, plus some bridle leather. And a couple of reels of grass rope.”

  “Those mules may take a day or so to find. But I’ll get you some.”

  “I’m sending for horses from a man that promised he could find me some. I want some canvas sheeting, too. Some lamps, and coal oil, in the mix. Tomorrow, I want about forty cans of peaches for that bunch. Tobacco and paper. I’m going to meet with the whole outfit and tell them how this is going to work.”

  “Two sacks of old bottles for target practice,” Hampt added.

  “No problem. I have a big draft horse and a two-wheel cart, so I can send some of this up there in it for now.”

  “Sounds good. You have anything else for us?” Chet asked.

  “I know an older man who’s been up that trail several times. He really knows the water and the rest.”

  “Can I meet him here tomorrow night?”