by Alan S Evans
Shane had seen Kate and the HTH get involved with many causes through the years, and he knew her organization could be a real thorn in the side of whomever they went up against. Shane knew from past experience that Megan Tillie and her magazine would not partner with the HTH. These would be two separate entities coming at Nethers from two different directions. Megan and the magazine would be shining a spotlight in his eyes, while Kate and the HTH would put a boot on his ass.
Shane was aware that in the past Kate had been involved in saving wild horses in Montana and Utah. When he told her about the Shoshone’s unique herd and what was going on, she agreed to come out as soon as she could get her group together.
Shane sat with Tigee on the porch, waiting for Megan to return his call. “I think this will work.” Shane could see the old Indian was still uncertain about bringing outsiders in. The herd and their heritage was always a private thing to the tribe.
“I hope I’m not taking our horses out of one bad situation and putting them in another,” Tigee replied.
Shane understood change was difficult for a man like Tigee, who had spent his whole life trying to preserve the past and the old ways. He tried to assure him, “If it allows you to keep your valley, then your tribe will be able to control the amount of access the public will have to the mustangs. In the end, this will be good for your people and the horses.”
Tigee reluctantly nodded.
As soon as Megan Tillie hung up the phone, she walked to her senior editor’s office at the Journal of the Horse. Rick Bivens was reviewing an article as he looked at her over the top of his reading glasses. “Hi Megan, what can I do for you?”
She walked in and sat in a chair at the front of his desk. “I think I may have an interesting story for us. Do you remember Shane Carson?”
“Wasn’t he the clinician you did a couple of articles on when you first came to the magazine?”
“Right. I told you that a couple of years ago he lost his family in a car accident.”
“Sure, how could I forget that? You had been a friend of his wife for years.”
“Yes, actually I introduced them, and I spent a lot of time with the whole family, so you can imagine how shocked I was when I heard about Jen and the kids. I can’t even fathom what it was like for Shane.”
Rick closed his eyes and shook his head. “How is he doing these days?”
“He just called me, and he sounded good. I tried to contact him after the accident without any luck. I’ve thought about him often and now, out of the clear blue, he called me just a few moments ago.”
Rick put his hand up to stop her from going on. “Look Megan, I feel bad for what the guy has been through. I know he was a special trainer. But the guy hasn’t been in the limelight for, what, about
ten years or more? He may even be a better horseman than some of the ones who are well known now. I’m sorry, he’s just not worth us spending the time and money it would take to do an article on him. If he’s looking to do a comeback on the clinic tour, all I can do is offer him a good discount on some advertising.”
Megan jumped in to stop Rick. “No, no, Shane’s not asking for a story on him. He’s run into a real interesting situation in Wyoming that I think will spark the interest of our readers.” Megan told Rick all about the mustangs.
“Wow,” he said. “The powers that be here at the magazine have been on my case to come up with a good human-interest story. This sounds like just what I’ve been looking for. Our deadline for the next issue is in ten days. Do you think we can put it together by then?”
“Just give me some plane tickets and a photographer. I’ll fly out Monday. I’ve got a good feeling about this story. I think the idea is good enough to write itself.”
Rick smiled at her enthusiasm as he told her to make the arrangements.
Shane and Tigee were sitting quietly on the porch when the phone rang. Tigee looked at Shane and motioned toward the door. Shane was at the phone before the third ring. It was Megan calling, all excited since she had gotten the okay from her boss.
Today was Friday. She would be flying into Riverton early Monday morning along with a photographer. Shane offered to pick them up at the airport, then drive them out to the Wind River Reservation that afternoon. “You can bunk here with me Monday night, but I’d rather you stay in town after that. I need the word to get around town as soon as possible that you’re doing a national article about the Shoshone mustangs being killed off. It’s a small town, so it should be the buzz around there pretty quick. There’s no doubt the news will get back to Nethers, so he’ll have to postpone any future hunts and rethink his next move.”
“Shane, you know I can’t write about anyone’s involvement in all this unless I have hard evidence.”
“I know. Even if you can’t bring any names into the story, we do have pictures of dead horses, as well as pictures of test sites on the reservation. Those photographs show that someone was definitely looking for oil and then covered up their tracks.”
Megan thought a moment. “I’ll run that angle by our legal staff, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be okay as long as we aren’t accusing anyone without proof. You know, Shane, the Journal of the Horse is a horse-related publication. The article can’t stray too far away from facts about the herd and their plight.”
“I understand, and I look forward to seeing you Monday.”
“Me too. I’ll see you then.”
Shane walked out onto the porch to join Tigee and leaned on the rail. “Well, everything seems to be in place. My friends will be out the first of the week. These are all good people whom you can trust, and I can assure you they will have your horses’ best interest at heart.”
Again, the only response he got was a slight nod. As Shane started to walk away, the old Indian spoke to him. “My grandsons have been in the valley keeping an eye on the horses. JB and Hawk will be relieving them tomorrow. If you’d like to go out to the valley and help, they’re leaving here at ten. I’m worried that there will be an attempt on the herd soon. I’m sure they could use a third man if there is any trouble.”
“I’m working with Tommy in the morning, but I’ll be ready to load by ten.”
As he started to leave, Tigee called after him so Shane turned. “I just needed to thank you for all you’re doing.” Shane smiled and left.
Later that day when Tara came home from work, she cooked dinner for her grandfather, then went to see Shane. When she walked into the house, she could tell he was off in his own world again. The sight of her snapped him out of it and immediately put him in a better frame of mind.
“Did your grandfather tell you I have a few friends coming out the first of the week?”
“Yes, he did. He appreciates what you’re doing and trusts you, but I know he has mixed emotions about sharing our herd with the world.”
“I don’t blame him,” Shane said. “So far, the only interest outsiders have shown with your horses is to shoot at them. He’ll feel better when he sees there are other people beside the Shoshone, who will care about the herd. You’re going to like Megan. She will write a great article, one that will make the horses and your people come across to the public in a special way. Who knows, she may even kick up some tourism business in Fort Washakie. I really don’t think anything bad can come out of this.”
Tara shrugged her shoulders with a disheartened look on her face and looked away from Shane. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“When all this is over, and it’s safe for your mare in the valley, you’ll set her free.”
“That’s what I came here for.”
Tara took a deep breath, looked back in his direction, and said, “I know. And once you set her free, you’ll be going back to your farm in Tennessee.”
All of a sudden, it hit Shane like a ton of bricks. He hadn’t put much thought into life after he accomplished his objective, and he certainly hadn’t expected to end up in a relationship with this Shoshone woman. Now everything had become more complicated, an
d he didn’t know quite how to respond to her.
Neither one of them were naive about this situation. The fact that their two worlds were a nation apart was something they had consciously chosen to ignore. But, as a couple, they could overlook this for only so long.
Shane’s first response was to walk over to her. He wanted to tell her that everything would be all right, even though he really had no idea if it would be. As he reached down to lift her chin, he saw the heavy look in her eyes, and his heart began to sink.
“Come back with me,” he said as he pulled her face around to look at him.
No matter how much she wanted to be with him, Tara knew she would never become comfortable or fit in Shane’s Tennessee. The fact that he wanted her to go, told her how much he cared. This alone, meant the world to her. But with a quivering voice, she mumbled, “My place is here.”
Shane nodded. “I know. Look, I don’t have any idea what the future holds for us, but I do know I never thought I could feel this way about anyone again. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either,” she said as she moved her hands onto his chest and looked at him with misting eyes.
He brushed back the hair from her face and tried to think of some words to reassure her. “You know, there’s not a lot left for me in Tennessee. Who knows where my life will lead me. I’m still just living one day at a time. I can’t even conceive of making plans for the future right now.”
“I’m not asking for any promises,” she said, “only that you be honest with me. Beyond that, we’ll just see where our destinies take us.” For now, what they had between them was too good to let go, and neither one had any intentions of walking away from it. They stayed together that evening, and in the morning, she and Tommy helped him load Tory onto Hawk and JB’s trailer. Then she kissed him good-bye.
JB wasn’t too sure about bringing the dogs along. He had no idea how much help they could be. He and Hawk still didn’t know about the trip Shane and the two women had gone on, or what had happened during their stay at Shadow Creek. Tara’s bruises were healing, and what was still noticeable, she covered with makeup and sunglasses.
The possibility for trouble was still very much on the horizon. If the young Shoshone men knew what was going on, it would be impossible to keep them from going on the offensive. It was more important now than ever to keep the lid on this potential keg of dynamite until Shane’s plan could start working.
After watching Tara say good-bye to Shane the way she did, JB and Hawk could not help but razz him about it as they drove off. “You know, I’ve seen a lot of guys go after Tara,” said Hawk, “but none seem to get past a date or two. What the hell does she want with you?”
“I guess she likes old, skinny white boys,” said JB as both the Indians laughed.
“Yeah, yeah, you guys are hilarious,” Shane growled, “Or is it you’re just a little jealous?”
Hawk laughed again. “Shoot, JB and me are the studs of the Shoshone tribe. We’ve got women waiting all over the reservation. Besides, Tara thinks she’s too good for us. You probably told her you’re rich or something.”
“That’s how I get all my women,” Shane answered. “Now why don’t you guys cut me some slack?”
JB, who was driving, looked across at Hawk and then at Shane before saying, “All joking aside, Tara means a lot to us. If you hurt her, there will be a lot of pissed-off Shoshone, including me, to deal with.”
Shane nodded while looking out the truck window, “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”
As they pulled into the unloading spot, some dark clouds were beginning to roll in, and it looked like a sure bet they were going to get wet. Jessie and Butch jumped out of the truck’s bed as soon as it stopped. They slipped into the woods before the men had a chance to get out of the truck. “Hey, your two pet wolves have run away,” Hawk pointed out.
“Nah, they just like to stay out of sight; they’ll keep close.”
JB stepped up on his horse as he spoke. “Tigee told us to keep a low profile. Those damn dogs better not give up our position to the horse hunters if we get into a situation.”
“Don’t worry, they have too much wolf in them to bark at anything.” Shane knew if they encountered any trouble this weekend, Butch and Jessie might be of some help.
The rain came down hard that afternoon, but luckily, it didn’t last too long. All of their gear would have a chance to dry out before the cooler night air was upon them. It took about two hours to get to the high ridge where JB, Hawk, and Tara’s brothers had set up camp.
This was the perfect place to keep an eye on things. It had easy access to and from the lower ground. The best part was that the narrow trail on the far side of the hill next to them formed the north entrance to the valley. This was where hunters would park their trucks and trailers.
“We have plenty of trees and cover between us and their unloading area,” Hawk said, “but we’ll still be able to hear their vehicles if they come in. We’ll know they’re here before they even get out of their trucks.”
The camp the Indians had set up was just a lean-to built on the side of an undercut rock ledge. It didn’t look like much but would serve as a good, dry cover. A light wind was blowing out of the north, which would allow them to build a fire tonight. Any smoke would blow in the opposite direction of the poachers’ parking area.
“I’m going hunting,” said JB. “I saw sheep tracks on our way in. I’ll try to find us one for our dinner.” He went alone and on foot but took his rifle and a compound bow with a quiver full of arrows. “He’ll shoot the sheep with his bow,” Hawk said. “It won’t make a noise and give away our position.”
Hawk slapped Shane on the shoulder in a friendly manner and said, “Grab your rifle and binoculars and follow me.” He explained the position of the camp. “From where we are now, we can see a lot of the west side of the valley. The ridge we’re on comes to a point about a half mile southeast of our base camp. From this side of the point, we’ll have a good view to the south. Once we work our way around the high rock wall that forms the point, we’ll be able to see the Wind River a long way off to the east. There’s plenty of cover down there,” he added, “but we’ll still have a good view of most of the trails and the grazing areas on this whole north end of the valley.”
The path they started out on worked its way up and away from the camp. At one place they climbed an eight-foot-high crevice between two rock ledges. When they got to the top of the crevice, it was an easy quarter-mile walk through woods on good solid ground. As they approached the point, the southwestern view of the valley below slowly began to emerge. Magnificent scenery had become a common sight for Shane, but no one, not even Hawk, who had grown up here, could help but stop and take a minute to gaze down into this natural wonder. It seemed like you could see forever and the view of the valley below left Shane in awe. The six-hundred-foot drop to the bottom from this high cliff, called Devil’s Point,
startled him. Hawk laughed as Shane’s natural fear of heights caused him to gasp and step back from the edge.
“Holy shit,” he said as Hawk showed him the narrow ledge they’d be moving across to get around the point. It was about thirty feet long on each side of the point, making it a total of sixty feet to safe ground on the other side. The scary part wasn’t the length; it was the one-and-a-half-foot width between the drop off and the high rock wall behind it. Scaling this obstacle was the only way to get around to the other side.
“Just stay close to the wall and don’t look down,” said Hawk. Shane took a deep breath and followed Hawk out onto the narrow ledge. His legs felt weak, and his heart raced as they made their way around the point to the east side. “See, there’s nothing to it. Now, look down at the river and this side of the valley, and tell me it wasn’t worth risking your life to see this.”
Shane took a deep breath as he tried to regain his composure, and then looked to where Hawk was pointing. Down in an open meadow near the Big Wind River,
was the herd of mustangs. Hawk looked at Shane and said, “I don’t know if Tara or Tigee told you, but the older ones in our tribe call them the spirit horses. The Shoshone words for this are Mukua dehee’ya nee. The old ones believe they will carry us to where we will cross over into the next life when we die.”
“Yes, I’ve heard this.”
“Take a look at that palomino stallion,” Hawk said, as they both raised their binoculars to look down at the herd. He’s a three-year-old son of a different stallion than Naatea. Ivan and Willie told me that he’s been getting bolder with Naatea over the last week. I think he may challenge the old stud for head of the herd soon.”
Just then, the young stallion, who was still about seventy-five yards away from Naatea, started rearing and striking out with his front feet. The young horse was screaming so loud Shane and Hawk could hear it up on the ridge. Then the young palomino started kicking out wildly with his back legs.
“Looks like he’s working up nerve to do it right now,” Shane remarked.
Hawk smiled and nodded as they watched. The horse settled down only long enough to get his breath before aggressively pawing the ground with his right front foot and then charging toward Naatea. Now both stallions were screaming as Naatea bravely charged back to meet the younger one, head on. The two soon met violently, mingling into a blur of teeth and hooves. This was a desperate fight for control of the herd. A fight that was as old as time itself.
Naatea had been challenged many times before and had the advantage of experience on his side. He also had a heart as big as the valley of which he had been king for many years. The palomino sported youth and flexibility as well as an unwavering desire to win. He felt it was his turn to be top dog. Naatea knew he needed to overpower the young horse quickly in order to retain his status. For every move the palomino tried to make on Naatea, the older stud would have a counter. Finally, Naatea’s savvy prevailed. A crushing blow by both his back feet made solid contact with the palomino’s left shoulder, which sent him away with a heavy limp. Naatea knew the younger stallion would try again as soon as his wounds had healed. The next time might have a different outcome, but for now the old king reared high in the air. As he stood on his back haunches, he gave his victory call—like he had done so many times before. The sound of this call echoed across the valley and sent chills up Shane’s spine.