The Heart Remembers

by Al Lacy

  “Marshal, I’ll detain you no longer, but as soon as you have a few minutes to talk to your deputy, ask him about yesterday at church, and the announcement Pastor Shane gave about Melinda Kenyon and the Ute Chief Tando.”

  Jake looked perplexed. “Melinda Kenyon? She’s dead. And what’s that got to do with Chief Tando?”

  The doctor chuckled. “Well, I’ll tell you this much. Melinda’s not dead. And Chief Tando is no longer the enemy of white men.”

  Jake’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “Like I said, talk to Len as soon as you can.”

  With that, the doctor put Pal to a gallop and rode away, leaving the two men to stare after him.

  Some two hours later, Dr. Dane Logan left the dense forest and trotted Pal across the open land toward the Ute village. As he drew near, he saw the dozen army horses gathered inside a makeshift rope corral, and the men in uniform standing among the Indians. All were watching him as he rode toward them.

  When Dane drew up and dismounted, Tando shook hands with him Indian-style. The doctor then shook hands with Captain Darrell Redmond, and Redmond introduced his men collectively to the doctor.

  Chief Tando then took the doctor to a stately-looking, gray-haired Ute in a chief’s headdress, and said, “Dr. Dane Logan, I want you to meet Chief Ouray.”

  Dane greeted the venerable Ute chief warmly as he shook hands with him—Indian-style, of course.

  Chief Ouray said in his deep bass voice, “Dr. Dane Logan, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I want to thank you for the influence you have had on Chief Tando. I am very pleased that Chief Tando and his warriors are now ready to cease warring against the white men, and that he has agreed to sign the peace treaty.”

  “I’m very pleased at this, too, Chief Ouray.”

  Ouray nodded. “And I am also very pleased that Colonel Perry Smith has sent Captain Darrell Redmond to escort us to the fort.”

  “And did Captain Redmond tell you that your friend General Joseph G. Dayton will be there for the signing?”

  A broad smile captured Chief Ouray’s thin lips. “He did! It will be nice to see him again.”

  Dr. Dane looked at Chief Tando. “How is Latawga doing, Chief?”

  Tando’s face went grim. “Our medicine man, Rimago, asked that before we leave for the fort, Dr. Dane Logan come and examine Latawga’s wound. There seems to be some infection.”

  Dane nodded, then looked at Captain Redmond. “I need to take a look at Latawga’s wounded leg before we leave.”

  Redmond touched the brim of his hat. “Sure. We’ll go ahead and prepare to pull out.”

  Dr. Dane hurried to Pal, took his medicine bag from the pommel, and returned to Tando, who led him amid the crowd toward the medicine man’s tepee. As they neared it, Dane saw Leela standing at the opening, smiling at him. The long shower of her black hair fell glistening over her shoulders, down her back, almost to her hips.

  “I will feel better about Latawga’s wound when you examine him, Dr. Dane Logan,” Leela said.

  Dr. Dane nodded, then followed Tando inside the tepee, where Rimago was standing over Latawga, who lay on a blanket on the dirt floor, covered with another blanket.

  Latawga smiled at the doctor as he knelt down beside him. “It is good to see you again, Dr. Dane Logan.”

  Dane smiled warmly while removing the blanket so he could examine the wounded leg. As he removed the bandage, he saw that infection had set in. Looking up at Tando, he said, “It is infected, all right, but I can treat it.”

  While the chief and the medicine man looked on, Dr. Dane took a bottle of carbolic acid from his medicine bag and said to Latawga, “This is going to burn a little, but it will kill the germs that are causing the infection.”

  Latawga steeled himself for the burning, and winced when the liquid touched the wound.

  Dr. Dane capped the bottle and handed it to Rimago. “You saw how much I poured on the wound.”

  Rimago nodded.

  “I’ll put a new bandage on the wound, but I want you to pour the same amount on the wound two times a day until the bottle is empty. That should completely clear up the infection.”

  “Rimago will do.”

  Almost the entire village looked on as their chief, the young doctor, and Chief Ouray rode northward with the cavalry unit toward Fort Junction.

  Soon the riders were making their way through the rugged mountain country. The leaves of the aspen and birch trees were a brilliant gold in the bright sunlight.

  Dr. Dane was filling Captain Redmond in on how he happened to be in Chief Tando’s village—which resulted in the chief’s change of heart toward white men—when a sergeant rode up beside him, smiling.

  Dane stopped his story as the sergeant said, “Excuse me, Dr. Logan—Captain, sir. I just wanted to ask Dr. Logan a question.”

  “Go ahead,” said Redmond.

  “Thank you, sir.” Then to the doctor: “My name is Jim Thatcher, Dr. Logan. Are you still the only surgeon in this part of the country who does hip replacements?”

  “I am. How do you know about me?”

  “You did a hip replacement for my Aunt Frances Benton in Casper, Wyoming, a couple of months ago. She’s my father’s sister.”

  Dr. Dane grinned. “I sure did. How’s she doing?”

  “According to Mom’s letters, Aunt Frances is doing fine, and she is still talking about what a wonderful surgeon you are.”

  “Well, I’m glad she feels that way.”

  The sergeant reached toward the doctor from his saddle and shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” With that, he pulled rein and rode back to his place in line.

  Dr. Dane finished telling the captain his story.

  Redmond then said, “Dr. Logan, I sure hope Chief Tando’s change of heart will cause the other renegade Ute chiefs to quit making war on the white people, and live in peace with us, too.”

  Twilight was on the rigorous mountain land as the cavalry unit, the two Ute chiefs, and Dr. Dane Logan drew near Fort Junction, situated at the junction of the Boulder and St. Vrain Rivers. A beautiful light showed upon that mountain country—the afterglow of sunset. The surrounding peaks wore crowns of gold. All the lower ranges were purpling in shadow.

  The light magnified the rocks, the upper portions of the canyon walls, the winding ranges, and the bold peaks until all seemed almost unreal.

  Soon they rode up to the fort, with its long stockade fence, punctuated by gates at the front and halfway back on one side. There was a lookout tower beside the front gate, manned by four armed guards. Two of the guards had descended the steps from the tower and were opening the gate.

  One of the guards on the ground saluted and said, “We’re glad you’re back, Captain Redmond.”

  “Glad to be back, corporal. Do you know if Colonel Smith is in his office?”

  “He’s not, sir. He said to tell you when you arrived to take Dr. Logan and the two chiefs to his office, then come and get him at his house. He has General Dayton there, too.”

  As the riders entered the military compound, the shadowed figures of spectators appeared at the stable, the smithy shed, the barracks doors, the quartermaster’s porch, and the side door of the mess hall.

  The men of the army unit guided their horses toward the stable while Captain Redmond led Dr. Dane and the two chiefs to Colonel Perry Smith’s office. They dismounted, and Redmond led them inside, where lanterns were already burning.

  Redmond ran his gaze over their faces. “You men heard what the corporal said. Please sit down in these chairs facing the desk, and I’ll go get the colonel and General Dayton.”

  The chiefs chose to sit beside each other, leaving the third chair for the doctor.

  Moments later, Colonel Smith entered the office, followed by General Joseph G. Dayton and Captain Redmond.

  Chief Ouray rose to his feet, smiled, and did a half-bow. “General Joseph Dayton, it is very good to see you again, my friend.”

  “Good to see you
again, Chief,” said the silver-haired general as they shook hands Indian-style.

  Chief Ouray then turned to his Ute brother, who was now on his feet, and introduced him to the general. Dayton and Chief Tando shook hands in the same manner, then Dayton said, “Chief Tando, I am so glad that you are wanting to make peace.”

  Tando took a deep breath, gathering his dignity about him like a robe, and said, “The gates of the heart of Chief Tando were opened by Dr. Dane Logan. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to learn that for the sake of my people and myself, it was the only thing to do. I had mistakenly believed that all white people hated Indians.”

  “Well, I’m glad you know the truth about that now.”

  Tando nodded.

  The general then turned to Chief Tando and said, “Chief, I learned from Colonel Smith that he is holding your subchief, Nandano, and four other warriors, who were captured recently by a cavalry patrol when they were caught stealing cattle from a rancher.”

  Tando bit down hard. “Yes.”

  “Well, the colonel and I have agreed that since you have come here to sign a peace treaty, we will release your subchief and the other warriors to you.”

  Chief Tando’s dark face showed the relief he felt as he said, “This chief cannot express his gratitude sufficiently, but please know it from the language of his heart.”

  The general’s eyes twinkled. He looked at Colonel Smith. “I believe we both know it from the language of Chief Tando’s heart, don’t we, Colonel?”

  “We sure do.”

  Tando smiled. “I am glad.”

  Colonel Smith said, “Chief, we will have the signing of the peace treaty after breakfast in the morning. We will do it outside in front of my office. I want all the people in the fort to witness it, and we’ll have Nandano and his band there, too.”

  Tando nodded. “That will be good.”

  “And tell you what. After we feed you some supper, I will take you over to the guardhouse so you can see Nandano and the others. Chief Ouray and Dr. Logan will accompany us.”

  “You are very kind, Colonel Perry Smith.”

  “I just want you to know that we whites mean business when we say we want no more war with the Indians. We want to be your friends.”

  “You have made this clear.”

  Smith then said, “After the signing of the treaty in the morning, Captain Redmond and his cavalry unit will escort the group—including Nandano and his band—back to your village.”

  Dr. Dane Logan spoke up. “Colonel, I’ll only be riding with the cavalry unit about twenty miles, then I’ll veer off and take a direct route to Central City.”

  As Smith was nodding, Captain Redmond, who stood near, asked, “Where will you veer off, Doctor?”

  “Best place will be right where you and the others make a westward turn at the first of the Rainbow Lakes. I’ll go east around the lakes, then straight south to Central City.”

  Redmond nodded. “Makes sense.”

  The colonel said, “Well, gentlemen, it’s time we go to the mess hall for supper.”

  When they entered the mess hall, they saw about thirty men just finishing their supper. Smith stepped to a sergeant at one of the tables and told him to alert the guards at the guardhouse that after supper, he would be bringing Chief Tando there to see his five warriors. The sergeant nodded, then Smith led his guests to the serving line, where the cooks were ready to dish up their food. With their plates and cups full, Smith led them to a long table.

  During supper, Colonel Smith explained to Chief Tando that after he took him to the guardhouse to see Nandano and the others, they would go to his office, where he and General Dayton would discuss the terms of the peace treaty with him.

  General Dayton said, “Colonel, I’ll just go on over to your office and wait for you there.”

  When supper was over, Smith led the chiefs and Dr. Logan across the compound toward the guardhouse. A cold wind howled through the fort, causing the Indians to pull their blankets tighter around their bodies and the white men to tug their hats firmly on their heads and pull up their coat collars around their ears.

  When they entered the guardhouse, Nandano and the other four warriors were in two adjacent cells, and were standing at the barred doors, waiting for their chief to appear. Two armed guards stood in the circle of light from a pair of kerosene lanterns that hung from the ceiling in the open area outside the cells.

  The Ute prisoners smiled at their chief as he stepped up to the bars with Chief Ouray beside him. Chief Tando said, “I am here to sign a peace treaty with white man’s government.”

  The smiles turned to frowns, and Chief Tando asked Chief Ouray to speak to them. Ouray reminded Nandano and the others that for years, he had been trying to convince Chief Tando to make peace with the whites, but Chief Tando had refused. Ouray brought to mind the many warriors of Chief Tando’s village who had been killed in battle with the white man’s army over these years, saying those men would still be alive if Chief Tando had listened to him when he first implored him to cease his warfare against the whites.

  Chief Tando reminded the warriors of the day they were captured by the Fort Junction patrol. He pointed out Dr. Dane Logan, who stood a few feet behind him, then told them how the doctor had saved Latawga’s life, showing that all white men did not hate the Indians. Tando explained how this truth came home to his heart, and because it did, he was at the fort to sign a peace treaty with the United States government.

  Nandano and the other four smiled broadly when Chief Tando told them that because he was going to sign the peace treaty, Colonel Perry Smith would be releasing them to return home with him.

  The colonel then took the chiefs and Dr. Dane back to his office, where General Dayton was waiting. They sat down together, and the general and the colonel discussed the terms of the peace treaty with Chief Tando as Chief Ouray and Dr. Logan listened.

  When the army officers found Tando so agreeable to the terms laid down, General Dayton said, “It won’t take long in the morning to wrap this up, Chief Tando.”

  The chief smiled. “That is good.”

  Dayton leaned toward the chief. “Colonel Smith has told me about Dr. Logan saving your son Latawga’s life.”

  Tando nodded.

  “Chief, I would like to hear in your own words how Dr. Logan’s act of kindness brought about this change in your thinking.”

  Chief Tando gladly related to Dayton the details of how Dr. Dane Logan saved his son’s life because of his compassion for all human beings, and explained how this made him see that all white men do not hate Indians.

  The chief then said, “I want no more bloodshed between Indian and white man. The people of my village are completely in agreement. They, too, want to live in peace.”

  The general smiled. “Wonderful! This is going to make a lot of people happy.” He set appreciative eyes on the young doctor. “I am impressed, Dr. Logan, with the story of your having saved Latawga’s life, and how you took him to the village, knowing you could very well be in danger from the chief and his warriors. I’m going to see that the story gets to every newspaper in Colorado and Wyoming, and I guarantee you, it’ll spread all over the country when it does.”

  Dane shook his head. “General, I don’t want any glory.”

  “Listen to me. The people of these two territories are going to rejoice at another Ute chief signing a peace treaty, and they need to know what brought on Chief Tando’s change of heart. This chief was especially known to harbor a hatred for whites. Your compassion and courage made the change, and the people of Colorado and Wyoming have a right to know it. And it sure won’t hurt for the rest of the country to know about it, too.”

  Colonel Smith chuckled and looked at Dane. “So there, Dr. Logan. You’re going to get some glory whether you want it or not.”

  Dane laughed and shrugged. “Okay, okay. Whatever you say.” He paused, then added, “If it weren’t for the Lord Jesus in heaven, I would be nothing. He is the one who deser
ves the glory.”

  The Indians looked on quietly as the army officers smiled and Smith said, “I very much appreciate your attitude, Doctor. Well, this meeting is over. I have had a special private room prepared in one end of the barracks for you and our Ute friends, Doctor. I’m sure all three of you could use a good night’s sleep.”

  Dr. Dane smiled at the Indians. “I’m sure we could.”

  The colonel led them to their room, and as the three men were preparing to retire for the night on their bunk beds, Chief Tando said, “Dr. Dane Logan, I would like to know how life is going for Melinda.”

  Dane grinned. “Melinda is doing fine, Chief. She’s back in Denver with her parents and is planning to marry Dr. Tim Braden next spring. I’m sure she told you about him.”

  “Yes. Many times. I am happy for her.”

  “And by the way, Chief. I’m supposed ask you to express thanks to Latawga from Melinda’s parents and from Dr. Braden for saving her from drowning. And they want me to thank you that even though she was made a servant in your village, that she was treated well.”

  The next morning, the gray gloom in the eastern sky was lightening as breakfast was being served in the mess hall. The fort’s physician and the chaplain had made a special point to sit with Dr. Dane Logan at breakfast.

  Less than an hour later, long lines of pink fire appeared over the mountain peaks to the east. Just above them, a bank of fleecy clouds was turning rose-colored as the day brightened.

  Everyone in the fort gathered in front of the colonel’s office, where a table had been placed on the ground so all could view the signing of the treaty.

  Seated at the table were General Joseph G. Dayton, Colonel Perry Smith, and Chief Tando. Chief Ouray and Dr. Dane Logan stood close by. Nandano and his warriors stood next to them.

  In the crowd were the uniformed men, the officers’ wives and children, the fort’s physician, and the chaplain.

  General Dayton rose from his chair and ran his gaze over the crowd. Speaking loud enough for all to hear, he told them in brief how Dr. Logan’s compassion and courage were the reason Chief Tando was there to sign the peace treaty.