Strongheart

by Don Bendell

  His legend was spreading everywhere and grew with each telling. It was the story of a man who refused to be a mongrel, but was a mighty warrior of two races. His tale was being told in the lodges of his people, the Lakota, but also in the lodges of their allies, the Cheyenne and the Arapaho, and even in the lodges of their enemies, such as the Crow. At the same time, the story was being carried from one saloon to the next, to church meetings, and other rendezvous. Everywhere, the tale of Strongheart, a man of two hearts, a will of iron, and principle of pure gold, was being told. A story of how he hunted down a simple wedding ring, a keepsake, because of one reason, a pledge to the widow of a hero, a cavalry officer who lost his life in the line of duty. Strongheart had bested many men in search of that ring, and then, attacked by six armed thugs, he did not run. He did not hide. He shot it out with six men at once, killing them all, and getting filled with bullet holes himself.

  The widow now had her ring back because of his incredible courage and unquestionable integrity and tenacity. And the great young man lay lingering near death, while she tirelessly cared for him. People far and wide prayed for him. Neighbors in Canon City, like the Rudd women, took over her café and kept her recipes and good service going, while she stayed by Joshua’s bed. The Pinkertons, through Lucky, gave her money, which she tried to refuse, to care for him. A saloon owner in Westcliffe and a storekeeper in Cotopaxi had come to see the young man in near funeralparlor repose, and before leaving, they had each placed large sums of money on the widow’s table just to help with expenses. There was no hospital around Canon City.

  Joshua rode atop Gabriel, and his hair streamed out behind him, a bald eagle tail feather attached to it, with a beaded base. He wore his Levi’s and moccasins, his father’s knife and his stepfather’s pistol, and in his hand was his beautiful Winchester ’73, but he now had it decorated with horsehair, dyed porcupine quills, and an eagle feather attached to the front stock and two red-tailed hawk feathers attached to the rear stock, near the receiver. Instead of his saddle, he sat atop a Hudson’s Bay blanket, while Gabe galloped across a high mountain meadow and Joshua’s father, Claw Marks, and his mother rode before him, each on matching Golden palominos. He was trying to catch up, but far behind him, he heard Annabelle’s voice again, pleading. He looked wistfully at his parents and reined the mighty pinto back and looked behind him. Somewhere in the thickness of the trees was the woman he loved calling for him.

  “Joshua, please come back!” came her distant cries, and they grew louder as he rode closer to the woods. “I love you Joshua. I cannot lose you, too! Come back please.”

  He felt a presence. He was in a room and opened his eyes. In the firelight he saw the beautiful features of Annabelle Ebert, looking away, tears running down both perfectly formed cheekbones. He smiled again and his eyes closed.

  Joshua felt warm, and the smells of the cooking fire were wonderful. He smelled bacon, egg, potatoes, apple pie, coffee. It made him so hungry he thought his throat had been slit.

  He opened his eyes, and it was a sunny morning. Joshua could see from both eyes now and suddenly realized that. His eyes looked around the room. There was a table with clean sheets and towels and bandages on it. There was a washbasin and a pitcher next to it, and a bar of soap. Everything sat on lace doilies, and the room was very clean and smelled nice. He could see into another room where there was a fireplace, and he saw the edge of a table. He was in a comfortable feather bed and was covered by a down comforter. He moved it and looked down. Joshua saw several obvious bullet wounds, now unbandaged and scabbing over.

  Then he heard Annabelle’s voice in the other room, saying, “Oh, Joshua, will today be the day you wake up and join me?”

  He said as loud as he could manage it, “Yes!”

  It did not come out too strong, but he clearly heard her stop. Footsteps, and there she was as beautiful as ever in the doorway, wearing a bright dress and apron, with a smile a mile wide and the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen set off by her jet black hair. The eyes glistened with the brand-new tears he was watching form.

  “Oh, Joshua!” she exclaimed and ran forward, unable to contain herself. “I knew this day would come.”

  He smiled and said softly, “Did you get the ring?”

  She said, “Oh yes. God bless you. Thank you so very, very much. How are you feeling?”

  “I am starved! My stomach is rubbing a blister on my backbone,” he mused.

  She laughed and walked over to prop him up on several pillows from the bedside.

  Bidding him to be patient, she returned with a small table with shortened legs, which she placed across his lap. Then she brought in a plate heaping with bacon, three eggs sunny side up, sliced potatoes, and biscuits. She then brought him a large cup of coffee. Strongheart ate two helpings that first meal, while she just watched him eat and smiled nonstop.

  “How long have I been here?” he asked.

  “Weeks!” she said enthusiastically.

  “Dr. Barry Greenfield was in a store in Florence the day of the fight and was one of the first to find you. He got your bleeding stopped right away, and several told me that was what saved you,” she replied.

  “How did I end up here?” he asked.

  She said, “I told them to bring you here and I would take care of you.”

  She looked down now, having embarrassed herself.

  Strongheart said softly, “Thank you.”

  Annabelle said, “You are welcome. I have been speaking to you for weeks, trying to get you to awaken. They all said you would die.”

  Joshua said, “I tried to, but I think I heard you. It made me want to stay.”

  “You think you heard me?”

  “Yes, several times. Did you yell one time that I was smiling?”

  “Yes, weeks ago. The doctor was here and your boss, Lucky. I saw a smile on your face and knew you would live,” she answered.

  He said, “Your back was turned, but I opened my eyes, well one of them, and saw you.”

  She said, “You did? Oh, I wish I would have turned around. Yes, you would not have seen from your right eye then. It was terribly swollen for a long time. A bullet hit you in the temple right next to your eye and tore the skin along your temple and into your hair. It is healed now, but there is a scar. It was horribly swollen on that side of your head and around your eye. Even your other eye was black and blue from it.”

  Joshua said, “What about those owlhoots I had the disagreement with?”

  “You killed them all! You were magnificent, folks said who saw it,” she replied. “They said you were shot to doll rags and were walking towards them shooting, and they all said you were laughing.”

  He chuckled and accepted a third cup of coffee. She brought him a generous slice of apple pie.

  Strongheart said, “Annabelle, you make the best food I have ever tasted. This pie is the best I have ever eaten.”

  She blushed and played with her apron. She replied, “That is just because you were so hungry.”

  “No,” he replied immediately. “It is because you are such a great cook.”

  There was a long, awkward pause.

  Finally he said, “How have I lived without food? How did I get so clean? I have so many questions.”

  She said, “I have had to force-feed you mashed up food and water. I have kept you bathed.”

  Joshua said, “You have seen me naked?”

  She really blushed now, but then chuckled and said, “Joshua, I did not give you baths with your clothes on. It defeats the purpose.”

  He laughed, and it was his turn to blush. Then he got very serious.

  “Thank you for saving my life. I must have cost you a ton of money. I will pay you when I am up and about.”

  She started laughing, and he wondered why. She told him about Lucky, Jerome Guy, and Zack Banta, about receiving money from all three men. She told about the women who ran her café for her, and Joshua was simply amazed that people who did not even know him had helped so
much and cared so. He really felt humbled.

  Joshua suddenly felt a strong urge to void his bladder and bowels. He tried to get up and his head started swimming.

  Embarrassed again, he said, “I guess eating all that after so long of not eating.”

  She did not say a word, but brought a bedpan over to him and a washrag. She left the room and closed a large curtain behind her in the doorway. He heard her go outside and was grateful.

  Joshua slept most of the rest of that day, but the next day, with Annabelle holding his upper arm, he walked into the other room and sat in front of the fireplace in a rocking chair, wrapped in a quilted blanket. She made him hot chocolate. He ate liver for lunch and steak for dinner, and within two more days, he was feeling more alive and healthier. Strongheart wanted to try walking outside, but he saw snow on the ground.

  Annabelle came in with an armload of firewood, and he said, “It is wintertime?”

  She smiled and it hit her again that he had missed so much.

  She said, “Yes. You know in this area the snow never stays, so it should be gone tomorrow.”

  “I know,” he said. “I like the climate around here better than any place in Colorado Territory. What month is it?”

  “December. You just missed Christmas,” she said. “A new year starts in just two days.”

  Annabelle got dressed and then came up to Joshua, saying, “I have to go to my café and check on things, collect my receipts, and deposit money in the bank. Will you be okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

  Annabelle returned two hours later and saw that Strongheart was in bed sleeping soundly.

  She went to the table and saw something lying there. It was a small package, wrapped in old newspaper, and there was red yarn tied around it and into a bow. A small folded piece of paper was attached to the bow and she looked at it.

  It read, “Merry Christmas. Thanks for all you do and for being you. Joshua.”

  She opened the package and inside was a rolled-up piece of her good paper with some script written on it. Attached was an eagle feather with the base wrapped in colored beads.

  The note read, “My dearest Annabelle, I have had no way to shop for you for Christmas, so all I have to offer is my undying gratitude and affection and some words from William Shakespeare. Your most humble servant, JoshuaDoubt thou the stars are fire;

  Doubt that the sun doth move;

  Doubt truth to be a liar;

  But never doubt I love.

  William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act II, Scene II”

  She sat there with tears once again tumbling from her eyes, staring into the bedroom yet seeing only his legs and feet.

  She shook her head, whispering to herself, “What an amazing man!”

  Strongheart asked if he could try sitting at the table for dinner, and afterward, when they both were drinking coffee, Annabelle excused herself. She returned from the fruit cellar and carried a wrapped package herself.

  Smiling, she handed it to Joshua, saying softly, “Merry Christmas.”

  He said, “Annabelle, you have done enough already.”

  He opened the package slowly, and she bit her lower lip in nervousness and anticipation. Joshua looked down into the wrapping paper and smiled broadly.

  She said, “I have been working out Gabriel a couple of times each week and noticed you do not have one.”

  Joshua said, “Thank you very much. I have needed one. That is really thoughtful.”

  He lifted up a braided thirty-foot leather lariat.

  She said, “I hope you like it. I was going to get a rope one, but I thought you might like this better.”

  “Better?” Strongheart said. “Annabelle, do you know how many men would love a braided leather lasso? This is much stronger and lasts longer than rope. Thank you very much.”

  He was very impressed. A lasso was one thing Strongheart had been lacking, and he’d known he needed one, but he’d always been so busy he never remembered to buy one.

  The riata, lariat, or lasso was one of the cowboy’s most important tools. Besides being used for the obvious, lassoing cows or horses, it had a whole myriad of other uses. It could become a clothesline, the main ridgepole for a tent, an aid to climbing, the tie to lash items on a travois or to make a travois, an emergency bridle and reins, a frame for a hammock, a repair tool for harness or wagons, a snare for large predators, a pull for large items that needed to be moved, a splint for broken legs or arms, the binding to tie up outlaws, and many other things.

  “I can’t wait to see Gabe. Thanks for riding him,” Joshua said.

  “He is a wonderful horse,” she replied, “the best I have ever ridden on. His gaits are so comfortable. I curry him and brush him down all the time.”

  “Oh no,” Joshua said. “He’s going to hate me when he sees me.”

  She giggled, as this really tickled her fancy.

  Strongheart said, “Annabelle, I have seen that you have that old army cot in the corner you have been sleeping on, and I sleep in your feather bed. I am doing better. Why don’t I sleep on the cot?”

  She started laughing, “Because your legs and arms and shoulders would hang out all over the place. Besides, you have not even been able to go outside yet, Joshua. You are doing better and getting stronger, but we have a ways to go.”

  “Annabelle,” he said, “why are you doing this for me? Nobody deserves this kind of treatment.”

  “You do,” she said without hesitation, embarrassing herself again. “Joshua Strongheart, how can you say that? You spent months and almost died keeping a promise to me, over a ring, a simple little ring.”

  “It is not the ring,” Strongheart said, getting serious. “I want all men and women to always know that my words are iron. If a man says he will stand in the rain, he should get wet. If a man says he can fly, he should jump from a cliff and fly to his death keeping his word. I did nothing. I only kept my word. That is what all men should do.”

  “You did nothing? Ha ha.” She laughed. “Joshua, you are indeed a real man and there are none any more. We have politicians in Washington who tell people lies about the men from the other party and make hollow promises just to get elected. These are our leaders. Men do not really risk their lives to keep their word, except you.”

  The next day, she made sure he had been fed and checked his wounds, which were now healing very well, and with his reassurance all would be well, she went to the restaurant. That is what Joshua had been waiting for. He made his way to the door and went outside. The snow was gone and the sun was out, so the day in the semi-arid climate was nice, especially in the direct sunshine. He made his way to the woodpile and grabbed a piece of firewood, then another, and another. He still had his muscles, so it did not seem that he would overburden himself with any amount of logs. He carried them inside and stacked them near the fireplace. So far, so good. Strongheart headed back out the door. He carried four loads of firewood inside, then had to sit down in the rocker and rest. He fell asleep and had a nice nap for an hour.

  Annabelle came home before dark, carrying a meal for him from the restaurant, but he was asleep in the bed. Annabelle walked into the other room and saw all the firewood he had stacked, and she smiled, shaking her head.

  She went into the bedroom and decided to check his wounds to make sure he had not torn anything open. As she pulled back the sheet and started to touch his rippled abdomen, his right hand shot down and grabbed her wrist like a vise. As his eyes opened, he let loose immediately, saying, “Sorry. I guess I am getting my reflexes back.”

  Their faces were inches apart, and she did not speak. She wanted him to kiss her so badly and sweep her into his arms.

  He had never wanted a woman so much in his life, but this was no dance hall chippy. This was the woman he had fallen in love with. Joshua felt so conflicted. Her husband had now been dead just over a year. That was not a long time. He wanted to taste those soft lips. He wanted to hold her.

  They stared for awkward mo
ments, and he finally smiled backed, lifted his head up a little, and said, “Do I smell some delicious food?”

  She said, “I brought you dinner from the restaurant. It’s still hot. Do you want to eat?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, getting out of bed.

  They went into the other room and sat at the table. As she had already gotten used to, he held her chair as she sat down. They talked well into the night, and he really slept well.

  The next day he was sore from the previous day’s exertion, but he was not as sore as he’d expected to be. He would add some more exercise this day.

  Two days later, Dr. Greenfield showed up. Jewish, he had graying black hair, a pleasant smile, and was short, with a bit of a paunch. Joshua liked him.

  After introductions, Strongheart said, “Dr. Greenfield, I just do not know how I can possibly thank you. You saved my life. If it were not for you, I would be in Greenwood Cemetery right now.”

  Dr. Greenfield nodded at Annabelle, saying, “She is who you should thank. This young lady would not give up on you, and everybody else did. She stayed with you day in and day out, watching over you like a meadowlark watching her nest. She would speak to you and act like you were awake. Best nurse I have ever seen.”

  Joshua smiled at Annabelle, and she blushed and turned her back to find busywork.

  Greenfield examined Joshua and said, “So you have started doing things, huh?”

  Joshua said, “Yes, Doc, a little each day.”

  The doctor said, “Well, several months ago, I would not have believed it, but your wounds seem to have healed. You lost lots of blood, but I do not think you will hurt yourself with exercise. You need that, sunshine, and food.”

  He turned to Annabelle, saying, “Young lady, I would get lynched by the good people of Canon City if I tried to get you to give up your café, but if you ever want to be a full-time nurse, I have got plenty of work for you.”

  He smiled and left.

  In the days ahead, Annabelle kept the food pouring into Joshua, and he kept adding more vigorous exercise. By the following week, he was able to saddle Gabriel and Annabelle’s horse, and they took a short ride together. He had been practicing his quick draw each day behind her house, too, including bringing the Winchester to bear fast. They started going to the hot springs, and he would soak there each day.