The Travelers 1

by Lee Hunnicutt

  Beth began to work the pan. In about five minutes she had finished the process. She smiled, stood up and went over to Anne to show her what she had found.

  Anne looked in the pan. There were some small nuggets, some flakes and about two tablespoons of black dust.

  Beth said, “There is probably about an eighth of an ounce of gold there. That may sound small to you but it is incredibly rich.

  When we run this through a sluice we’ll get several ounces a day, maybe as much as a pound, maybe more.

  The black dust is iron oxide. We can separate it from the gold with a magnet.”

  Anne said, “I want to know everything. I want to do everything. I want to learn how to mine gold. I want to learn how to ride and to shoot.” Her face was serious and her voice had a grim sincerity about it.

  “In time, get well first,” said Beth. “We’ll teach you anything you want to know.”

  Anne said, “Please sit down and talk to me. There are so many things I want to ask and to talk about.”

  Beth sat down and for the next three hours she and Anne talked. Beth had forgotten how enjoyable it was to talk to someone of her own age and sex. She had talked to Falling Moon Woman and her nieces and sisters but Beth was too busy keeping up with Sonny, Jack, Tall Boy and Stone Fist. She had never fit into a traditional Cheyenne female role.

  Anne asked Beth how it was that the three of them came to be alone in this vast, hostile land.

  Beth stuck with the cholera story and recounted how they came to live with the Cheyenne. Beth left out the part about Jack killing Dirty Earl and her encounter with the Crow. She didn’t want Anne to think that she had fallen in with cutthroats.

  She said that they had found Two Feathers in bad shape and had patched him up. In return he had taken them to his tribe where they had lived for the last two years. She told Anne how they were forced to leave the Cheyenne.

  When she was finished, Anne had a thousand questions to ask Beth about their adventures with the Cheyenne but Beth stopped her and said, “It’s your turn. How is it that you came to be out here?”

  Anne paused.

  Beth said, “If it’s too soon or too painful, we can talk about something else.”

  “No, it’s not that. I’m just trying to figure out where to start.

  My Grandfather owned several fabric mills. He used cotton imported from the United States in his mills to make cloth.

  That all came to an end with your Civil War. His supply of cotton was cut off by the war but he was a wise and frugal man. He had accrued a large fortune, enough for us all to live comfortably on for the foreseeable future.

  My Grandfather said many times ‘The war will come to an end and in a few years the cotton trade will open up again.’ so none of us were worried.

  How could we know that disaster was right around the corner? My father was the youngest of three sons. The middle son, my Uncle Michael, he was the best looking of the three and the most lovable.” Anne smiled at the remembrance and then her face clouded “Damn his black soul to eternal Hell!”

  This took Beth back a bit.

  Anne looked Beth in the eye and said, “He was with the rebels, don’t you know? And they were on to him.

  One night, and I’ll never forget it, the British came after midnight pounding on the door. When the butler was too slow to open it, they broke it down.

  They pulled the house apart looking for my uncle. They broke everything they set their hands on.”

  Anne’s voice was bitter and her face contorted in hatred.

  “I will damn the English till my dying breath.”

  Beth looked at this small, frail girl and thought, “Hell, I don’t ever want to get on her bad side.”

  “Of course they didn’t find him. The blackguard had already fled to the Americas.

  They took my father, grandfather and oldest uncle off to prison for questioning. Of course, they knew nothing but that didn’t stop them and two days later from the stress of it all, my sweet dear grandfather died.” Tears came to her eyes.

  She put up her hand and shook her head at Beth not to stop her. She sat there for a couple of minutes composing herself and then she began again.

  “My grandmother and mother were allowed to collect his body. My father and uncle couldn’t even go to their own father’s funeral.

  The damned British kept them in prison for another two months. They kept them there so that the English could confiscate, plunder is more like it, my grandfather’s Irish and English bank accounts.

  When my uncle and father were released, they found that there wasn’t a penny left in them. Stolen!” the word spit out of her mouth.

  Fortunately, my grandfather had some small business accounts throughout Europe. He exported his cloth everywhere and had payments delivered to the local country’s bank.

  The adults decided that there was nothing left for us in Ireland. We were too afraid to stay so we packed up everything that the British hadn’t broken or stolen and moved to Munich.

  We had enough to live on but we had to conserve everything. My father had studied music in Munich so he now taught music to middle class burgers sons, daughters and wives to help make ends meet.

  My oldest uncle and grandmother didn’t follow us to Germany. They went to Paris where my Grandmother died a year later and my uncle turned to drink.”

  She stopped again to get herself together. Tears once more ran down her cheeks.

  After a short while she restarted her story. “We stayed in Munich for two years, when my father decided that we should seek our fortune in America. We packed up what we had, went to Bremen and caught the first steamer to America. It was going to Savannah, Georgia.

  We lived in Atlanta for about two years but Atlanta was in a shambles from the war. There was very little work for a music teacher so my father decided that our fortune was to be made in the West. We went to St. Louis and joined up with a wagon train to Denver.

  My mother wanted to go by train but my father said that we had too much to carry with us. Besides he said this way we could see the country.

  It was a big adventure to him.

  We left St. Louis late so we ended up wintering in Denver. When Spring came, my father was impatient to move on. Foolish man that he was we left Denver by ourselves.”

  At this point Anne broke down and began to weep in earnest.

  She blubbered, “Wonderful, loving, foolish man that he was, he got us all killed. I don’t know whether to mourn him or hate him.” She wailed the last part out.

  Beth wrapped her arms around her and tried to soothe her, “He had no idea what was to happen. Thousands of people have done what he did and are alive today to tell about it.

  It was bad luck that’s all, bad luck.

  Remember him as the kind, loving man who loved you and your family very much.”

  All the time Beth was thinking, “What an asshole. The dumb shit has never laid eyes on an Indian, doesn’t know the country and takes his family out here alone.

  What was he thinking!

  In Europe and on the East Coast there are rules. Out here, there are none.”

  It was all she could do to keep from shaking her head.

  After Anne had stopped crying, Beth said, “Let’s go back to the wagon. You’ve had a long hard day.

  I’ll make some coffee.”

  She helped Anne to her feet and helped her back up the hill. She sat Anne down next to her rock and started to fix a pot of coffee.

  She said, “The boys will be back soon so I’ll start supper. Usually Jack cooks. He likes it and he does a good job of it.”

  Beth was doing her best at persiflage. She didn’t want to get too deep and she wanted to distract Anne as best she could.

  “While the coffee is boiling let me look at your shoulder.”

  Beth gently pulled the bandages off and looked at the bullet wound.

  “It’s healing nicely. You must have one hell of a resistance. Beside a little puckering and
drainage, which is to be expected, you have no infection.

  I think it’s time for a little physical therapy. My father told me that if you don’t move it, you lose it.”

  She took Anne’s left hand in her right hand and slid her left hand up under Anne’s left elbow. She slowly straightened Anne’s arm out. She then slowly raised the arm above Anne’s head.

  If Anne felt anything her face didn’t show it.

  Beth asked her, “Does this hurt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, it can’t be helped. You’re going to have to move your arm every day. Rotate it in every position. That includes putting it behind your back and across the front of your body.”

  “How do you know all of these things?” Anne asked.

  “My father is … was a doctor.

  Jack had a pretty bad break a few years back. He fell out of a mango tree and broke his arm. My father had him do all of the things that I’m having you do.”

  “Mango tree? What’s a mango tree?”

  “Did I say mango tree? I meant apple tree.

  I don’t know where I got mango tree. I must have read about one once.

  I’ll work with you every day on this arm exercise thing.

  Where are those boys?” Beth lamely tried to change the subject.

  “I’m going down to the river for some water. Do you want anything?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “Good, I’ll be back soon.”

  Beth snatched the cooking pot out of the wagon and started down to the river.

  Anne noticed Beth’s discomfort about the mango tree but she didn’t know what to make of it so she let it go.

  When Beth came back from the river, Anne was asleep. It had been a big day for her.

  About forty-five minutes later the boys rode in noisily. Both were excited and talking at once.

  Beth tried to shush them but it was too late. Anne woke up to see what all the excitement was about. She saw that it was Sonny and Jack and fell right back to sleep.

  They moved away from Anne so that they could talk and not disturb her.

  Sonny said, “Beth, this place is wonderful. Jack and I rode a couple of miles into the canyon. The walls are sheer. Only a mountain goat could climb them.

  There are trout in the river and deer in the fields.

  We panned a couple of places and they were as rich as here. At one place, we got a half ounce between us and we only panned three times.”

  “Yeah,” said Jack with a straight face, “the place is a gold mine.”

  Both Sonny and Beth groaned. Beth rolled her eyes.

  “We think we found a great place to build a cabin,” said Jack. “It has trees nearby for logs and it’s close to the river but not close enough to be washed away if the river floods.

  It would put us just about in the center of the canyon so that no matter where we set up mining we would be no more than two or three miles from the sluice, max.”

  “I think we should break camp tomorrow and let you look at where we think we should build. If you agree with us, we should start building right away,” said Sonny. “After we build, we can start looking for the best spot to mine.”

  Beth was excited.

  “Great!” she said, “I agree. We do as you say. Start building right away.”

  “If this is such a great gold field and is so rich, how come nobody’s been here before? How come nobody traced the gold from the river below the falls to up here?” said Jack.

  “Good question,” said Beth.

  Sonny said, “Maybe when the river goes through the lower canyon, it goes through a deep plunge pool or a series of deep plunge pools and that traps the gold before it gets downstream. It would be sort of a natural sluice box.”

  Beth shrugged her shoulders and Jack said, “That’s as good a reason as any. Makes sense.”

  “What’s for supper? I’m starved,” said Sonny.

  The next day they were up at dawn and after a quick breakfast were on their way. In about an hour they were at the site that Sonny and Jack had found. It was almost in the middle of the canyon. The river ran west to east. The land on the north side of the river rose until it was about twenty feet above the river. On the south side of the river, across from the building site, the land was flat for hundreds of yards.

  Beth rode up with the boys to the clearing. Behind the clearing, it was heavily wooded and the land began to rise towards the far canyon wall. Running on the edge of the clearing and down to the river was a swiftly moving mountain creek.

  Beth looked at it and said, “Perfect. Let’s get cracking.” The three rode back down to the wagon.

  They crossed the river and whipped up the horses so they could pull the wagon to the top of the rise and on to the clearing.

  They set up the tent and began to unload the wagon.

  Beth admonished Anne, “I don’t want you doing anything. You don’t pick up so much as a sheet. You sit over there and watch us. Maybe in a week, I’ll let you help Jack with supper.”

  “We’re serious about this, Anne.” Sonny said. “You’ll be much more help to us healthy. OK?”

  Anne reluctantly nodded her head that she understood.

  After they had unloaded the wagon, hobbled and set the horses out to pasture, they pulled out a piece of paper and began drawing out how they were going to build their house.

  Beth said, “I think we need to build a stable.”

  “Why’s that?” said Sonny.

  “Well, you said there were deer here. Something has to be keeping the deer population in check.

  If we build a sable, whatever it is won’t be keeping the horse population in check.”

  Sonny pouched his lips out, nodded his head and went, “Hum! You’re right. A stable it is then.”

  Jack smiled and said, “Shit, Sonny, she’s always right. Why should that surprise you?”

  Sonny laughed and Beth shoved Jack on the shoulder.

  “Also,” Beth said sheepishly, “I want our own room.”

  “Your own room?” said Sonny.

  “Why?” said Jack. “We all slept in the same tent with two Feathers and Falling Moon Woman for two years and you didn’t have your own room then.

  What’s different now?”

  “It is different now. We have Anne to think about.”

  The boys looked at her and she could see the skepticism in their eyes. They were laughing at her. They weren’t laughing out loud but she knew they were laughing.

  Her face flushed and both boys stepped back. They knew she was angry and they wanted to put distance between themselves and Beth.

  She said through her teeth, “For two years I had to sleep in the same tent with you two bozos. I never had a moment’s privacy and now I want some. Is that too difficult for you morons to understand?”

  “Private room sounds good to me,” said Jack. “How about you, Sonny?”

  “I don’t have any objections. Sounds great. When do we get started?”

  Beth just narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth and stomped back to where Anne was.

  Jack gave Sonny a puzzled look and said, “It didn’t seem to bother her when we lived with the Cheyenne that we had no privacy. What’s the big deal now and who does she think she’s pushing around?”

  Jack just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head and said, “I wonder how big she wants her room?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s go ask her.”

  The boys went over to Beth and Anne and Jack said, “How big do you want your room?”

  Anne brightened and said with excitement, “We’re going to have our own room?”

  “Yeah,” said Jack “it was Sonny’s and my idea. We just thought you two girls needed some privacy.”

  “It’s the least we could do,” said Sonny.

  Beth opened her mouth to say something but just laughed and shook her head. She could never stay mad at them long.

  When the boys went over to pick up the axes, Anne said, “Th
ey are such sweet boys, aren’t they?”

  “Yes they are.” Beth smiled and said, “They certainly are.”

  In three days they had built the stable and in five twelve hour days they had built the cabin. It still had finish work to be done but they could move in, which they did.

  Anne marveled at their work ethic. There was no nonsense. All three of them worked and they shared tasks equally. As before, Anne saw how Beth did everything the boys did. She chopped down trees, notched them with an ax and helped to lift them in place. When it came to work, the boys showed her no deference because she was a girl. It was plain to Anne that Beth didn’t expect to be treated any differently.

  They worked as a team and the cabin went up in no time.

  The cabin was twenty feet wide by forty feet long, with a dirt floor. The girl’s room was at one end of the cabin. It was ten feet long and ran the width of the cabin. The inner wall that separated it from the rest of the cabin was made of logs and was six feet high. This allowed privacy, yet allowed airflow between the two rooms. They placed the door in the center of the wall and used a sheet as a privacy curtain.

  They placed the two burner potbellied stove in the center of the main room, a few feet in front of the girl’s door. They ran the stovepipe over the top of the wall and out the side of the house. The theory behind all of this was to provide heat to the girl’s room.

  Most of the load in the wagon had been wooden planks. This wood was to be used for the sluice box and to build furniture. They built wooden pallets on legs for beds and nailed them to the walls. They put the girl’s beds on one end of the room across from each other so they could talk at night. There was only two and a half feet separating the beds but that was what they wanted. At the other end of the room, they placed a small table and stool and ran a line of rope for hanging what clothes they had.

  The boys placed their beds at a right angle using one wall of the girl’s room and an outer cabin wall for the other bed. The idea was to get as close to the stove as possible. It was now late April or early May. At night it got down to the low forties and during the day up into the mid-fifties.

  Across from the boys’ beds was the sink and counter for preparing meals. At the other end of the cabin was a dining table and two benches. They built four stools that they could pull up around the stove on cold nights. There was a window on each of the twenty foot walls and two on each of the forty foot walls.