Sheriff Tucker

by Laszlo Endrody

  They all laughed. The heavy girl then said, “John, why are you talking to that savage?”

  “We are trading for his horse. He already said that he didn’t want you, he said that you were too fat.” Everybody laughed.

  I saw a nice woman’s overcoat hanging inside the ambulance, “I will take that overcoat and your mare, and you can have my gelding.”

  The Major agreed to the trade and I told him to give me a bill of sale on the horse, since it was probably already branded.

  “Where did you learn all of that?” he asked me.

  “In the army,” I answered. “Okay, let’s take the harness off and we can put my saddle on her. I will ride behind my wife.”

  The major got the overcoat and handed it to me. I got Dolly off her horse and helped her into the coat; after it was on I gave her a kiss.

  “You have a beautiful wife,” remarked the doctor.

  My head started hurting and I shook my head. “My head hurts, bad. I have a bullet in my skill and it is driving me nuts,” I told the doctor.

  “Let me take a look,” the doctor remarked.

  I let him look and he said that the bullet had to be pulled out, “Do you want me to do it?” he asked.

  “Will it hurt?”

  “You Indians are supposed to be able to put up with pain,” he replied.

  “Not me, I am a big chicken,” I confessed.

  He got his bag out and told me to sit down on the saddle and he would pull the bullet out. I did as I was told. Using a plier instrument, he then pulled out the bullet and handed it to Dolly. My head started bleeding so he put a bandage over it and I thanked him. We kept on talking while they got the gelding in harness and hitched up. We shook hands and away they went.

  As soon as they were out of sight, I got off the yellow horse and went over to my new mare. I took out my knife and pulled the thorn out of her hoof. The chief about busted his gut laughing so hard. The chief wanted to go home, so we did. He went after the hunters. We rode home and I had a good night’s sleep with my family.

  The hunters came back the next day with a lot of meat. They left us a whole round of a hind quarter. We made a big two-day stew and started smoking some of the meat. As soon as that first batch was gone, we made another big batch. It was cold enough now that the meat kept, it was freezing at night.

  I had two .45’s from the bandits with ivory handles. I decided to give them to the chief. Dolly wanted to give a small coffee pot to the chief’s squaw and I told her to go ahead. We went over to his teepee and he greeted us, but he was sick. I gave him the pistols and he was happy to get them. He told us that he felt sick. Wolf Fang, Dolly’s old husband, was shooting off his mouth that he was the chief now. He had about 15 braves that rode with him; they attacked the store in town and robbed and set fire to it. They also killed three men. The law wanted him and the chief could not stop them.

  The chief died. Dolly said we should leave because Wolf Fang wanted us all dead. I was very much in favor of pulling out; we had six horses that could carry our things, along with four saddles. We started to pack everything in to sacks. The chief’s friend that spoke English gave us a packsaddle and Buck said he would go in an Indian saddle.

  Two days later we were ready to travel, and we rode out that night. Dolly had little Liz in front of her on a blanket. We went for three hours and then we stopped and slept three hours and fixed breakfast. Buck was grazing the horses. We had a sack of oats, but I wanted to hold on to it because we might need it later on.

  We traveled all day and covered a lot of miles. We only stopped for lunch and some grazing. The horses were in good shape, so we worked with them some. We were going west. We hobbled the horses at night so the hungry ones could fill up before they slept. The second day we traveled a long way. We started early again in the morning at noon. We grazed for three hours, the horses needed that.

  On the fifth day, we made camp in a grove of trees and I shot a young buffalo. Dolly skinned the buffalo with Buck’s help. We kept watch the whole time, I did not trust Wolf Fang. Of course, we were far out to the west. We made a big stew and started smoking some buffalo. Little Liz fed the pup; he was getting to be a good size. It was the dog that spotted the rider coming, and he growled. I looked him over with the glasses. He was leading a packhorse with a big pack. He was heading straight for us. He probably wanted to camp here. The trees probably covered our smoke.

  He came close and I waved him in. When he came in I told him to make himself at home. He saw Buck holding his Sharps. Dolly had a warm dress on that I bought her, and Buck and I were dressed for the cold. Every morning, Dolly would fix my feathers.

  The stranger called me chief right away. He said that he was going to the trading post. I asked him where that was, because I needed to buy some things. He said it was about three hours from here.

  “Does the storekeeper do business with Indians?” I asked.

  “Old Jake does business with anybody.”

  “Maybe I will follow you there, if that is all right with you,” I suggested.

  “Fine with me.”

  Dolly had the stew ready and started dishing it out. I got a bowl and Liz came over and sat on my lap so I fed her some, then as soon as her mother started eating she wanted some from her. Dolly gave a bowl to our new friend too. While Dolly was busy, Liz came back to me; she was so funny and made us all laugh.

  Our new friend said his name was Johnson. He made his camp over at his big pack. His horses were grazing with ours. In the morning, we had some bacon and frybread with coffee. We traveled with Johnson to the trading store and left Buck at the camp. I told him not to sleep until we got back.

  When we arrived at the trading post, there were three Indians outside. As soon as they saw us they disappeared and we went inside.

  “This is Chief Iron Hand,” Johnson introduced me. “He wants to do some trading.”

  Jake, the storekeeper, came over and greeted us, and we greeted him back. Liz had never seen a big store before and she was asking Dolly all kinds of questions. Jake got a piece candy and put it in Liz’s mouth, she liked that a lot. Then he asked what I had to trade. I told him I had some guns. There was a sergeant and a soldier sitting at the bar. The soldier disappeared, and the sergeant came over closer to listen in. I put four Colt Confederate Army .44’s on the counter, and then I brought in a Smith and a Sharps. Then I went back out and brought in a Spencer .56. He said he would give me five each for the pistols, three for the Smith, ten for the Sharps, and thirty-five for the Spencer.

  “That’s fine,” I agreed. “That’s sixty-eight dollars, sold.”

  He did not expect an Indian to be able to add money and speak English. He asked where I learned English; I told him in the army.

  “What did you need?” he asked.

  “Twenty-five pounds of potatoes, onions, carrots, beans, flour, sugar, salt, four slabs of bacon, Henry .44’s, a Colt 36, and six ten-gauge’s and ten-gauge shells. I also need a packsaddle,” I told him.

  A big rat suddenly ran along the counter and I pulled my Colt and shot it then quickly put my gun behind my belt. Everybody was stunned. I just kept talking and telling him how much I needed of everything. Jake looked to see what I shot at and said, “Thanks for getting that rat for me.”

  Then in walked a major that I knew. He came over and shook hands with me and Dolly. “I am glad you came our way, Chief,” he said. “Do you know Chief Wolf Fang?” he asked.

  “I know him, I just shot his brother,” I gestured to the rat.

  “I have to find him and hang him,” he told me. “He just raided a wagon train and killed six men and two women. How can I get this bastard?” he asked.

  “Well, you could have had him when I first met you. He was there and wanted to gun you down. I told him if he shot at anyone I would shoot him. That’s why I rode down to talk to you, to show them that we
were at peace. How was that horse that I traded you?”

  “That was a good horse, Chief. Wolf Fang carried off two other girls. We have to find him.”

  “Come out to my camp and we can plan something for Wolf Fang. Did you bring some men with you?” I asked him.

  “I have eight men, and this sergeant can come with me too.”

  “I would be glad to, sir,” the Sergeant agreed.

  “Tell the men to come in and have a drink on me,” said the major. “We will go with you when you finish, Chief.”

  Jake then told me “I have two boxes of all four of the ammunition you want. How many beans do you need?”

  “Thirty pounds,” I replied.

  “It’s pinto beans.”

  “That’s fine,” I answered.

  “I gave you ten pounds of sugar and salt.”

  “That’s fine. We also need ten pounds of coffee too.”

  I said.

  “You will have twenty-five coming yet.”

  “Give me six blankets, a comb and a brush for the wife, and some candy for Liz.”

  “What do you want for that nice Colt with the ivory handle?” he asked me. “That comes with the belt holster and four boxes of forty-five’s and it finishes you off.”

  “That’s good, how much are the ready-made dresses?” I asked.

  “Three, for you,” he replied.

  “Give me three that fit my wife.”

  He went and measured her in the shoulders and got three dresses for her. Jake got some sacks and started packing everything up. He had the packsaddle and I took it out and it went on one of my horses. It took about an hour to load everything. Then I shook hands with Jake and told him that I might be back again. He told me to come back any time. We had to ride my Arab with Dolly in the saddle with me and Liz behind her. The horses were loaded behind us. We headed home to our camp with the troops behind us.

  Chapter Seventeen

  We had a good surprise when we got back to camp. One of the girls Wolf Fang kidnapped had escaped and walked in a ditch for a full day with her feet bleeding. Buck took our big pot and filled it with water and heated it up and let her soak her injured feet. She had a blanket around her and was sitting on a big piece of wood, soaking her bleeding feet when we rode into camp. The major said, “This is great.” I told him that they would probably track the girl and Wolf Fang would come to us.

  Dolly made a big batch of stew to feed everybody. There was someone helping her, and the sergeant made coffee. I gave Buck the .45 with the belt and showed him how to load it; he was happy and he gave me a hug. Dolly gave one of her dresses to Elsie, the girl that escaped. All of the soldiers were very nice to her. Elsie went to Buck for everything. He did not understand her, but he made a bed for her with some blankets that we had. When the stew was ready, we all had some. We did not have enough bowls, so Buck gave his bowl full to Elsie. After she finished, he had some in the same bowl. She thought that he was so nice, especially since the other Indians were so cruel. Buck got her some coffee, and she told him one sugar and he understood that. She drank the coffee and then he got a cup for himself.

  Some of the soldiers had a steak that Dolly cooked up on the skillet. We all had coffee too. After all the coffee was gone, we all settled down while one man stayed on watch.

  The next morning, Dolly made some frybread in several skillets, along with some bacon and some more coffee. I went out after a while with the sergeant to look at the camp from a ways out. Everything looked good, except there were too many horses. We went in and moved some of the horses to cut down on the numbers, should they see some.

  Around ten, we saw two Indians coming, tracking the girl. I went out with Buck and we asked them what was going on. They said that they were looking for a girl who ran away. I told them she was my new squaw. One of them said she belonged to them, I told him, “She is mine now.”

  “You can tell that to Wolf Fang,” I encouraged him.

  One of them pulled a gun and Buck shot him. He was fast and was good with his .45. I told the other one to go back to Wolf Fang and tell him if he wanted to take that girl, I would take his horse.

  “Wolf Fang will take the horses that you stole,” he told me.

  “I don’t think he is man enough,” I mocked.

  He left, and we took the dead man’s Kentucky rifle and went back and told the major that Wolf Fang would be coming. He asked if we should follow the Indian. I told him, “Just as soon as I have some more coffee, let him come to us.”

  The major then told the sergeant to make some more coffee. I told the sergeant to form a line with his men with rifles.

  “Don’t shoot at the same man,” I told them. “When I shoot, everybody shoots.”

  “Sergeant, the chief is running this chore,” the major said. “I will back everything he told you. The chief was General Sheridan’s sergeant in the war. He knows what he is talking about.”

  “That’s where I lost my left hand,” I said, “I was trying to catch a cannonball.” They all laughed.

  It was about 3:00 p.m. when they came. There were 12 of them. The major said he did not have a rifle and asked if I would loan him one, so I gave him Dolly’s Henry.

  “Which one is Wolf Fang?” he asked.

  “My son and I will take Wolf Fang, you get another one,” I told him.

  “Why do you want him?”

  “The horse he is riding is the old chief’s horse, and I want his guns for my son.”

  When I figured that they were close enough, I shot Wolf Fang. They all fired, and they dropped all but four. The four raced away and I told them to just let them go.

  “Let’s get the horses and we will go get the other girl,” I instructed.

  We checked on Wolf Fang and he was dead. I told Buck to take his horse and follow them, we would come along too. The soldiers loaded Wolf Fang up on a horse, along with a couple of others, and then they got on their horses. The major gave back Dolly’s Henry and we went after them. When we caught up with Buck, he said the Indians were just up ahead of us, they had slowed down.

  A couple hours later, we got to their camp. There were about ten of them. I told the men to hold right there and I rode in closer. One man saw me and raised his hand and came over to me. I asked him where the girl was. He said she was in the camp. I told him to get her and he brought her to me. She had no clothes on, just a blanket around her. I told the Indian that she needed a horse. The major came up and asked what I had in mind.

  “They need their horses to get home,” I explained. “Let them go. Have the sergeant take two men and take this girl to your post. The rest of us can go back and clean up and get the other girl. You can take her back tomorrow.”

  “What you say makes sense,” agreed the major.

  He went off and organized everything and we sent the dead Wolf Fang with the sergeant as well.

  We rode back to our camp. The four soldiers and the major spent another night with us. The following morning, they gathered up all of their guns, and all of their horses were with ours. The major asked if I needed any of the horses, and I told him only the black one that Wolf Fang was riding since it belonged to the old chief’s squaw. There was another Henry with the Indian’s guns and the major said I might as well keep that; it was worth good money and he knew it. All the dead Indians ended up in the ditch. We did not have any shovels, so we rolled some stones on top of them and that is where they stayed for the birds.

  After lunch, the soldiers left. I went with them because there were some things that I wanted to get. The girl kissed Buck, and Dolly rode one of the extra horses. When we got to their post, I met their colonel and a lot of the officers. I was able to get a map of the west, along with some items that we needed from the commissary; like forks and spoons, and the major gave me a new pair of binoculars. After a lot of goodbyes, I went back to our camp and we stayed
there for four more days.

  We decided to go west towards the mountains. First, we had to go back to the trading post and get another packsaddle and some groceries. He had some apples this time and I bought a bag full. All the food items went in to the packsaddle. I paid cash this time. The pack saddle was for Buck’s gray. I gave an apple to Liz; she did not know what it was. I had to bite into it and then she tried it and liked it.

  We got an early start in the morning, heading west. We had seven horses. Both Dolly and Buck were pulling two with packs. We had two sacks of oats with us for the horses. At lunchtime we had some good grass, so we grazed for an hour. The horses were in good shape. We got out to the wagon train trail and met some soldiers going west. We stayed on our own. I did not have my feathers on, so we just looked like some western folks. Dolly was wearing her overcoat. A captain rode over to us, so I took my map of the west out and asked him where he figured we were and he pointed out a place on the trail. I asked him where he was heading, and he said Fort Zarah. It looked like a long ride.

  I shot four prairie chickens with my pistol, so we had chicken stew that night. We went off the trail to make camp and found a good place and we stopped. We took the packs off and hobbled the horses. There was a creek with water and some cottonwood trees, so we had plenty of wood. The mare that we traded from the major was ready to foal; I called her Fatima. She lay down that night, and in the morning, we had a small filly colt. Liz was so happy with her. We had a good spot and we stayed a couple of days. We were in no hurry. I just wanted to see the mountains and we let the horses grazed the rich grass.

  Buck shot a deer and Dolly skinned him out and we cut it up. At first we had the chops, then I boned out the rest for a couple big pots of stew. It was getting cold enough now, so we did not have to worry about the meat. We were grazing now for two hours every noon. We took the sacks and packs off the horses. At times we gave Fatima a nosebag with oats so that the little horse would have a lot of milk.