by J. R. WRIGHT
“You’re quite a salesman, Tom,” the governor interceded again. “You sold me.”
“How much?” Rainford weakened to Luke’s very persuasive pitch.
“Well, sir, to start with, two hundred bulls are not going to do the job for you. Three thousand cows will need three times that many in this country. Cows are not confined, here on the open range. They spread out for miles. Two hundred bulls would need to run themselves to death if they were to keep up with the demands of that many cows.” Luke laughed and the others joined in. “So here’s what I’m proposing: I’ll let you have six hundred of my best three- to five-year-old bulls, for half of what you’ve budgeted for the two hundred you plan to bring in from England.”
“How can you pass up a deal like that, Truman?” the governor tossed in.
“I don’t see how I can,” Rainford said. “But how do I know they’re good quality bulls?”
“You have my guarantee on that, Mister Rainford. If they’re not to your liking when they arrive, I’ll take them back and gladly refund your money.”
“In that case, sir, I’ll cable my people tomorrow and put a stop to any shipment of bulls from England. You have a deal, Mister Hill,” Truman Rainford said and put out a hand to shake on it.
“Marvelous!” Governor Campbell cheered. “Now, will you take that drink, Tom?”
“Whiskey. Make it a double, John.” Luke laughed. “By the way, Truman, who from are you getting the Longhorns?”
“A man named Charlie Goodnight. The herd is somewhere in Colorado Territory now. They were taken there last summer. He’ll be bringing them up from there soon.”
Just then Isabella Campbell squeezed in next to Luke. “I hear you bought the Empire Hotel, Tom? You know John and I can throw a lot of business your way. With the new congress coming to town, and all the people flocking here because of it, you should do well.”
With that, Luke turned and caught a glimpse of White Bird among a group of women, seemingly having a great time. He wondered now what else she was telling them about his business. “In that case I’d better expand. Thank you, Misses Campbell.”
“Oh, please Tom, call me Isabella. John and I are common folks, just like you. By the way, how did you meet your wife? She is so charming.” She chuckled.
“She’s the sister of the wife of a friend of mine. His name is James Bordeaux. James has the trader store at Fort Laramie.”
“Oh, sure, I’ve heard that name. General Snively mentioned him.”
“Henri Snively?”
“The same. He and my husband served in the war together. They were both generals, Union side, of course,” Isabella Campbell said, casting her eyes to her husband at the bar. “As a matter of fact, I think my husband is going to talk to you about that…”
“There you go again, Bella, stealing away my news!” Governor Campbell came up with Luke’s drink. “Now you just go back to the women. You’re not supposed to be in the parlor. Not even on Ladies’ night.”
“Okay! I’m going. Just don’t forget to tell…”
“Isabella!”
“Okay!” Isabella Campbell reluctantly left the room. She went directly back to White Bird and rejoined the rather large group of women surrounding her.
Luke took a hefty drink of the whiskey and waited for the governor to find his tongue again.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Now there’s one thing I have to say before going on to the other thing,” John Campbell said. “Thank you for giving Truman Rainford a fair deal on those bulls?”
“I gave him the best deal I could, seeing as how good bulls anywhere close to here are scarce, Governor.” Luke spotted Rainford at the bar talking to what appeared to be, by his noble dress, another Englishman. “I may be a lot of things, but scoundrel isn’t one of them, sir. In fact I probably could have gotten more for those bulls, with Wyoming opening up to homesteading soon, and so many moving in and squatting already. I passed four new farms coming to town that sprang up since last year.”
“Well, I just wanted to say, I appreciate it. Truman is a friend of mine, and so are several of the other Englishmen in this room, with like ideas. I think they’ll be good for us here in Wyoming, Tom. You and I both.”
Luke wondered how he figured into this, unless Campbell was simply speaking of the betterment of all with that statement. Sure, he had sold a few bulls, but he had also created a competitor. Just how that figured into his future, he wasn’t certain yet. Only time would tell that.
“Now, about your request for the land grant, Tom. I am diligently working on your behalf, and so are a lot of others. So far I’ve received over a dozen letters on the subject, one from the president himself, asking for my input. I think what everybody is having a problem with is the acreage involved. A hundred and forty thousand acres is a lot of land to most in the east, where the average farm is a hundred and sixty acres or less. That’s why I don’t think Congress is the way to go. Voting to give that much land to one individual could cause an uproar heard across the nation. Congress is getting plenty of guff over all the land given to the railroads as it is, and that whole thing was for the public good.”
“What other way is there?”
“Henri Snively is in Congress now representing the State of Ohio, and he agrees. You know Henri?”
“I think you already know that, Governor.” Luke said. “I would have been hanged back in fifty-five had it not been for Colonel Snively. General Harney was ready to string me up right then and there. That was just after Harney had blown Little Thunder’s camp to hell with his cannon and killed a goodly number of defenseless women and children in the process.”
“Henri told me about that. Then, as it turned out, you got the Congressional Certificate of Merit for saving what you could of those people.”
“Well, I didn’t actually receive it, or the ten thousand dollars that went with it.”
“Why?”
“Mainly because I didn’t go to Washington D.C. so Congress could present it. And the reason I didn’t was because I felt it was undeserving. At the time Congress was getting a lot of heat from the press over what General Harney did. And I figured the giving of the award to me was nothing more than a face saver on their part. The press had kind of made me out a hero, so it was me that got the award. Colonel Snively, no doubt in my mind, was the hero that day. He was the only officer that had the backbone to stand up to Harney.”
“That isn’t the way Henri told it. He figured there would have been seventy more women and kids killed had it not been for you. Take the award, Tom! You deserve it.”
“I’m afraid it’s a little late for that.”
“Now, that’s where you’re wrong!” Governor Campbell moved away to the bar and returned with a framed document. “Ladies and Gentlemen, gather around! Here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” Campbell shouted out to all present.
Luke, not knowing what to think of this, glanced around at all the people merrily gathering around now.
“Since you wouldn’t go to Congress, through me, Congress is coming to you. And here is the letter authorizing me to make this presentation. It, along with the award, is signed by every member of each respective Congress. Now here is what it says: The 34th Congress of these United States of America hereby awards THOMAS HILL this Certificate of Merit for Gallantry, displayed by a private soldier in regard to preservation of human life during warfare.”
With that, the near two hundred present clapped and cheered.
“That’s not all!” Campbell calmed the group with two hands raised, one holding a two inch round gold medal embossed with the eagle of the United States, and attached to it was a red, white, and blue ribbon. “Here I have the medal that goes along with the certificate. And I’m told to make this presentation official, I must pin it on you. So, Tom, here goes…”
The group cheered loudly as Campbell did so. “Now, here is the best part. I have here a bank draft drawn on the Treasury of the United States in the amo
unt of ten thousand dollars.”
Again they all cheered, maybe even a little louder this time, since such a large sum of money was involved.
“Thank you, Governor,” Luke said, appearing somewhat embarrassed by it all. “I appreciate what you’ve done here.”
“Again, you have to thank your friends, Snively, Twiss, and Bordeaux. They were the ones that got it done. All I did was deliver it here from Washington, at Congress’s direction. But of course I had the honor of presenting it. Congratulations, Tom.”
Luke took the hand offered just as White Bird slipped up beside him, all smiles.
“Those women say you are very brave man, Tom. That you saved so many Indian women and children. Is that true?”
“Well, yeah, I guess it is, but I wouldn’t get all teary about it. Every man in this room would have done likewise, given the same set of circumstances.”
“But they didn’t, Tom. You did. They say I should be proud to be your wife. And I am.” She then pulled him down for a kiss before departing to go back to her newfound friends.
“How sweet!” Isabella Campbell shouted and everyone clapped again.
“You’re a lucky man, Tom.” Governor Campbell slapped him on the back.
But Campbell didn’t know the half of it, Luke thought. He had one wife in the grave and another lost out there somewhere, he still carried in his heart. White Bird was so much younger than him, he really hadn’t thought of her as a wife – at least not yet. Maybe in time he would, but for now, she was just fun to have around. And love had little or nothing to do with that.
“Perhaps,” Luke said, “but could we get back to your plan for saving my ranch?”
“As I was saying, I don’t think Congress will touch this thing, for political reasons. So I came up with an idea that may work. If you agree, we can get started on the proper authorization process right away, as soon as Congress reconvenes. What it entails is convincing them they are way too busy to be involved in decisions that involve the distribution of every single acre within the boundaries of the territories. Those decisions should be made by the territory itself, in my opinion. I mean why not? We’re here, this is our home. Who knows better of what decisions need be made? Those that will most benefit us as a future state. Don’t you agree?”
“I do.” Luke saw where this was going. “So, what would that mean for me, and say, your English friends over there?”
“I should have known better than to try and slip something past you, Tom.” Campbell smiled. “Okay, here it is straight up. If we can use your case to persuade Congress to give us control over all public lands, therefore saving them a backlash over your request, we can then give you the grant you’re asking for. It works out well for all concerned.”
“And the Englishmen, they get grants as well?” Luke asked with concern in his tone.
“Oh, heavens no, Tom! They’re foreigners. That would cause an uproar in itself. No, what the Englishmen will get is the right to open range, nothing more. And even that, only on lands not likely to be put up for homesteading in the near future. Hilly and/or rocky tracts not suitable for cultivation.”
“There’s plenty of that out there,” Luke said. “In fact, most of the territory.”
“So you agree? I can contact Snively and Twiss? Twiss is very keen on your retaining that land. He already told Congress how important it is that the Indian Bureau continue to receive the beeves you supply, in satisfying the annuities agreements with the Indians.”
“I will have to know what effect this will have on James Bordeaux’s request for a grant, before agreeing. He also supplies beeves to satisfy treaty requirements. He’s asking for ten thousand acres.”
“Ten thousand acres is not a problem. Nobody in our Wyoming legislature will even blink at such a grant. But that request of yours will be a little more difficult, being it is for considerably more. Fourteen times more! Now, that will require some finessing,” Campbell said and laughed. “I may have to kiss some feet, and hold others over a flame, to get that done. But rest assured, Tom, it will get done. That is, if the U.S. Congress acts in my favor and President Grant signs it into law.”
“I appreciate what you’re doing, Governor,” Luke put out a hand.
“Then it’s a go?” Campbell took the hand.
“It is.”
“Great! Then shall we eat? I see the buffet is near ready.”
“I’m starved, but I will need to talk with Truman Rainford again before I go.”
“He’s planning on that as well. In fact, that’s him waving us over. It looks as though he wants us at his table. Here’s your opportunity to meet some of the other investors.”
“Sure,” Luke said and followed Campbell over.
“How many of those bulls do you have available, Mister Hill?” one of the other Englishmen at the table asked, not bothering to introducing himself.
Luke thought for a second. “I should have another thousand three- to five-year-olds kept back for replacements, I can part with.”
“What if I take them all?” the smallish man, with piercing blue eyes, returned. “What will the price be then?”
“Now hold on there, Kent,” another man at the table said. “I want some of those.”
“Then you’ll need to buy them from me, Hicks! How much, Mister Hill?” Kent demanded.
“Now that you’re cutting into my reserves, Mister Kent, I’m afraid I’ll have to have five hundred a head, if it’s all of them you want.” Luke noticed this had brought a smile to Truman Rainford’s face. He had agreed to pay roughly three hundred and thirty dollars for each of his six hundred bulls. Luke only used the three- to five-year-olds as cleanups behind the older bulls, which, it seemed, always missed a few in the breeding process. But he would still have plenty of them left for that purpose, even if he sold another thousand.
“Well that’s bloody thievery, Hill!” Kent stood up. Then, seeing how he measured up to the larger Luke, he sat back down. “I was thinking more like three hundred.”
Thinking about that for a moment, Luke returned, “If it’s okay with Mister Rainford, I’ll sell all sixteen hundred bulls to you gentlemen, as a group, for the three hundred offered. That is, if you can come to some agreement for sharing them.”
With that, the five men sitting at the table put their heads together. Seeing this was going to take a while, Luke went on to the buffet table. When he returned minutes later, they were already in agreement. All five then stood and shook Luke’s hand, sealing the deal. It was also agreed the money for the bulls would be placed on deposit at Luke’s bank and released upon delivery.
All in all it had been a great night. Not only had Luke gotten the award promised years ago, he had discovered a more lucrative market for some of the livestock he produced. From now on all male calves born on Tea Cup range would keep their testicles. At four times the price he could get for them as steers under the Indian contract, why not expand in that department? The market for good bulls could only increase with time, as more settlers moved to the area. And when it did, Luke would be ready.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kenny Hardy arrived the following morning, and Luke was at the Union Pacific Depot with the Empire Hotel carriage to pick him up. His younger friend hadn’t changed too much over the years. Clearly, he was a little heavier, a little older looking, but other than that he was the same Kinney Hardy of fifteen years previous. He still had a full head of red hair, and the twinkle in his eyes when he smiled.
After the initial greetings on the platform as Hardy exited the train, Luke asked, “So why no wife yet, Kenny?”
“I was married once, right after I returned from the west. But that lasted only three years. She wanted me to be a banker, like her father. Then, when it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, she left me for a stock broker. She had a passion for suits, I guess.” Kenny laughed.
“Any kids?”
“A boy, fourteen. His name is Sean. I’ll send for him when he’s done with his sc
hooling.”
“Good!” Luke led the way through the swarms of people, toward the carriage. “What did you end up doing as an occupation then?”
“I took up carpentry and did that for a time. But then later I got into working design, on the side. That’s where I actually built what I drew up. Carpenters always know more about how something should be built, as opposed to draftsmen, who never sawed a board or swung a hammer.”
“What did you build, mostly?” Luke examined the possibilities.
“Mostly I built store buildings with living quarters above. The company I worked for did a lot of projects for the wealthy. Except most of them aren’t so wealthy anymore.”
“I heard about the market crash from my banker. Is that why you decided to come back west?”
“I never thought I’d ever say it, but I actually missed being here once I got back home. And yeah, when the work dried up, I thought I may as well drop you a line. See if you could use me here.”
“So you came west with the intention of punching cows?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, if that’s what you want me to do. Unless maybe you want me to build you a house?”
“I have a house. But I do have something you may be interested in. Let’s go, I want to show you what I have in mind.”
“How about you, Tom… Did you ever marry?” Kenny tossed his carpet bag into the carriage and climbed in after it.
“Twice, since you were here.” Luke had never mentioned Breanne to Kenny, and he didn’t plan to now.
“Wow, you’ve been busy.”
“Well, the first one died.” Luke climbed to the driver’s seat.
