Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard

by Johnny Fowler

  He rode to where Kate could see him and waved. She turned toward him. “Man found a place to bed down,” she said.

  Lucille nodded. She hadn’t complained about riding the mule with a bearskin for a saddle. Kate knew it was uncomfortable, but it was the best they had to offer. They needed their horses to open the trail.

  Man took the buffalo robe, placed it near the rear of the overhang of rock, and covered it with two blankets. He lifted Lucille from the back of the mule, carried her to the bed, and gently placed her on the blankets. He handed her two more.

  Kate was busy building a fire from a rodent’s nest she’d found. Man grabbed the ax from the pack, went to a fallen tree, and began cutting branches. They were wet and covered with snow, but they would burn.

  When he had an armload, he carried them and placed the sticks beside Kate. She started placing them on the fire and smoke and steam began to rise before the wood caught fire. The wind circling under the overhang carried the smoke outside to be quickly blown away.

  Man went back to chopping wood until he had a pile large enough for the night. Kate took the cooking pot outside, filled it with snow, brought it back, and placed it beside the fire.

  Lucille sat and watched Kate as she began pulling food from the pack to start supper. When she had everything ready, she took her knife, began to cut the jerky into small strips and chunks, and dropped it in the water, which was now simmering.

  “How did you learn to cook like this?” Lucille asked.

  Kate stood and turned toward the older woman. “When I was on the Oregon Trail and then when I started to ride with Man, we were often on the trail and I guess, by trial and error, I learned.”

  “I admire you so much,” Lucille said. “And my two sons think you and Man hung the moon. I often hear them say they want to be like him. I’m afraid their father wasn’t much of a role model.”

  Kate didn’t want to continue this line of conversation. “They are both good boys and can make something of themselves. Man and I have plans that, should they develop, will involve them.”

  “What is that?” Lucille asked, very interested in what Kate was saying.

  “We’re planning on building cabins or homes on our land for sale. If it works out, we’ll use the profit from the sale to build another and hopefully, in time, we’ll be operating in the black. We would like for Roy and Dan to build them for us. They’ll be on a regular salary with a bonus if we’re successful.”

  Lucille grinned from ear to ear. But, then a frown crossed her face. “They are competent carpenters, but there are things they don’t know how to do, like build a fireplace and form a foundation. If you build a home, it’ll need cabinet work and they’ve never done that.”

  “Man and I discussed that, but they know men that are competent in doing those things. We’ll hire skilled carpenters for the detail work and they can watch and learn. Who knows? In time, this may evolve into them becoming building contractors, if that’s what they’d like to do. They’re smart and good workers. We have no doubt they can accomplish what we want.”

  “They’re good boys,” Lucille agreed as tears came to her eyes. She moved back against the rock wall behind the bed and watched Kate at work.

  Man came inside and sat on rock close to the fire. He sensed the mood in the tight space and saw the tears in Lucille’s eyes, but he didn’t offer any comments. Dealing with traumatized women was Kate’s purview.

  When Kate declared their supper was ready, she filled a tin plate and handed it to Man. He sat on the rock and began to eat. Kate filled another and took it to Lucille. Kate noticed she ate as if she had been working hard in the field all day. But, riding the mule for so long was hard work.

  When they finished, Man took the plates and utensils outside and cleaned them in the snow. He brought them back and Kate put them on the pack to be ready for breakfast. It was dark outside now and the snow was still falling. He glanced at Kate with an unspoken question.

  She read his glance and went to where Lucille was seated. “Since it is so cold, we’ll all have to sleep here. The buffalo robe and blankets are large enough for the three of us.”

  “Sweetheart,” Lucille said, “don’t worry about me. As long as I’m sleeping free I don’t care where I am.”

  Kate lay beside Lucille and Man moved to the other side. He had the extra blankets, which he put over them, followed by the bearskin. He kicked off his boots and slid in beside Kate.

  “Is everybody comfortable?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” Lucille said from the other side of Kate.

  “I’m good,” Kate added.

  He relaxed and was asleep in seconds.

  Man woke first and moved away from Kate. She was pressed against his side for warmth.

  He pulled on his boots and heavy coat and went to the fire. He had placed three large chunks of wood on it before they went to bed and there were still red coals. He added small sticks until they were blazing and then put larger pieces on the campfire.

  Kate sat up and watched until he had a roaring fire burning and then moved to the side of the bed and stood. Man brought her heavy coat and steadied her as she put her feet in her boots.

  Lucille was still asleep.

  “We won’t wake her until breakfast is ready,” Kate whispered. “Go get me a pan of snow.”

  He went outside and frowned. The snow was much deeper. He guessed at least three feet on the level and much deeper in the drifts. It would be another hard day forging a trail.

  He brought her the snow and then went to where the horses were staked. They needed hay, but there was none available and the snow was too deep for them to paw for it. He gave them a triple ration of oats. That would have to do until they got home and in the barn.

  He found Lucille sitting up eating when he returned. Kate handed him a plate and sat beside him on the rock.

  “It snowed more last night,” he said. He held his hand out to show the depth. “I hope we are getting close to home. It’ll be hard on the horses today.”

  As soon as they finished, he and Kate began to pack. He brought Lucille’s mule close and Kate placed the bearskin on his back and covered it with a blanket. Man lifted her into place. Kate handed her a blanket to wrap around her body, and she used another to cover her legs and feet.

  Man was saddling their horses and putting the pack on the other mule. He mounted and took the point as before. Arabian wasn’t as frisky as the day before. The fun of jumping on the snowdrifts had lost its intrigue. But, the horse understood his role and challenged each drift with sureness, plowing into them with his chest and shoving his way through. Red Bird took his place every half hour or so and they slowly made their way forward. At noon, they stopped to let the horses and mules rest and eat. Their own meal consisted of pemmican, jerky and parched corn. Man gave the animals more oats to keep them going.

  “How much farther do we have?” Lucille asked.

  “I don’t have any way of knowing,” Man replied. “It has been such slow going. But, I would think we should see signs of Coeur d’Alene in three or four hours.”

  Kate and Lucille offered low groans. Lucille was the first to speak. “We can do it.”

  The faint hint of the sun in the heavy cloud cover was near the western horizon when Man spotted the first house. “Look,” he said as he pointed.

  He was riding point at the time and Arabian raised his head as if he understood. He lunged forward into the next snowdrift and Red Bird was behind him. They sensed home was close.

  “Lucille,” Man said, “we’re going to our house first. It’ll be dark by the time we get there. You can sleep there tonight. It’s out of the way to go to your house first.”

  She nodded agreement.

  Main Street of Coeur d’Alene was almost abandoned. Only a few lights were visible. Man noticed the telegraph office was open and pulled Ara
bian to a stop. “I’ll send Chief Marshal Meek a wire we’re at home with Lucille and check to see if we have any messages.”

  “I’ll go over to the police station,” Kate said, “and tell them we’re here.”

  She turned Red Bird, went to the hitching rail, and stepped down. “I’ll only be a minute,” she said.

  “Ask about Cliff,” Lucille said.

  “Will do,” Kate said.

  Chief Kincaid heard Kate and came out of his office with a welcoming smile. “We were worried about you. We got a wire that the train went back at that big cut. They said you unloaded the horses and took off with Lucille.”

  “She’s outside,” Kate said. “Her feet, knees and hands are in bad shape. She escaped from Valdez and Engledow with only a blanket. The rocks did a number on her.”

  Kincaid winched at that thought.

  “She’s concerned about Cliff. I told her I would ask.”

  “He had a concussion but the doctor released him this afternoon. Roy and Dan brought his buggy and took him home. He still has a headache, but the doctor said that would go away in a day or so.”

  “That’s good,” Kate said. “Lucille is going home with us for the night. Man stopped to send a wire to Chief Meek and see if we have orders.”

  Kincaid turned and hurried away as he said, “I have a couple of wires that were delivered here for you.”

  He brought them back and handed the envelopes to her. “Thanks,” she said. “We’re anxious to get home. It was a hard two days fighting the snow.”

  She met Man at the door and handed the two envelops to him. “These two were delivered here for us.”

  He opened and read them. Both were from Chief Marshal Meek. “As expected, nobody has reported seeing them,” he told Kate. “However, with the blizzard, I expect they are in a hole somewhere waiting it out. That’s what I would be doing if I were them.”

  Lucille was waiting. “What about Cliff?” she asked as soon as she could enter the conversation.

  “He was released today,” Kate said. “Roy and Dan came in with his buggy and took him home. He had a concussion, but the doctor said he’ll be fine.”

  Lucille’s worried expression softened and she nodded.

  Arabian wanted to run, anxious to be at home in his barn with hay and oats. He had enjoyed all the snow he wanted for a while.

  Man held him back. Red Bird was close behind and occasionally nipped Arabian on the top of his tail to hurry him along. Kate was leading the two mules, and Lucille was covered from head to toe with blankets to stay warm as the temperature was dropping rapidly.

  The moment the barn came into sight, Man had to pull hard on the reins to keep Arabian from bolting. To the disgust of the big horse, Man stopped near the door of the house, jumped down, went to Lucille, carried her inside, and put her on a chair at the table. Kate followed and hurried to build a fire.

  “I’ll bring our packs in and then go tend to the horses and mules,” Man said. He made two trips, a pack in one hand and his saddlebag in the other. He put them inside the enclosed porch, then went back for the other pack and Kate’s saddlebags.

  He grabbed the reins of both horses and led them inside the barn. The mules followed and immediately went to the feed trough to wait. They both snorted for Man to hurry with their feed.

  He quickly unsaddled the horses and they followed him to their trough in their stalls. He gave each a double ration of hay and extra oats. He did the same for the two mules. They had earned a good supper.

  He examined the finished walkway to the house and was pleased at the job Roy and Dan had done. He didn’t have to wade through the snow that was now well above his knees.

  In the house, he quickly removed his heavy coat and went to the fire. Kate had it blazing and it was quickly warming the house. Lucille sat at the table watching Kate as she worked putting their supper on to cook.

  He sat across from Lucille and smiled. “I know you’re glad to be home. We’ll take you to your house first thing in the morning.”

  “How can I ever thank you enough for coming to rescue me from those….” She paused in thought for a moment, selecting the right words to describe Al and Bob. “Those… bastards.”

  “We’ll get them,” Man said. “It may take time, but as soon as somebody reports seeing them we’ll be on their trail again.”

  “I hope you don’t bring them back,” she said softly.

  At first, Man assumed she wanted revenge. But from her flaming cheeks, he quickly surmised the true meaning behind her words. She didn’t want to appear in court and have to describe what they had done to her.

  Kate brought three cups to the table and went back for the coffee pot. She heard Lucille’s comment. “We’ll have to bring them in if they throw down their weapons,” she said. “But, that’s unlikely. They know they’ll hang if we bring them back here for trial. If they put up a fight, we’ll shoot to kill.”

  Lucille offered a slight smile as she nodded and took a sip of the hot coffee.

  They finished the coffee and Kate went to the cooking fire and brought a pot of hot stew to the table. Man jumped up and went for the plates and utensils while Kate refilled coffee cups.

  They were all as hungry as the animals and there was no talk as they ate. A knock on the door brought Kate and Man out of their chairs in a flash. They both had a Walker Colt in their hand. Kate went to the window.

  She peeked beyond the curtains and said, “It’s Cliff.”

  They holstered their weapons and Man opened the door. “Come in out of the snow,” he said.

  Cliff came in and said hello to them as he almost ran past them and bent over Lucille and gathered her in his arms. He searched for her lips and kissed her. Her arms went around his neck and Cliff lifted her into his arms and held her as they continued to kiss.

  Kate and Man were startled at the open display of affection and pretended to be busy to keep from staring, but it was a losing effort. Kate dusted the nearest table with her bare hand and Man examined the curtains as if he’d never noticed them before and might decide to take up sewing as a hobby.

  Cliff finally put Lucille back in the chair and knelt beside her to examine at her hands. Kate had put heavy socks on her feet and the moccasins made of soft deerskin.

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t stop them,” Cliff said. “I was told you had to crawl on rocks to escape those monsters,” he said. “You could have frozen to death. I should have stopped them.”

  “You couldn’t have,” Lucille assured him. “I was worried about you and the boys. Are they all right?”

  Cliff laughed softly. “They’re fine. Just worried about you. We were all just so worried about you.”

  “I’ll be fine as soon as I’m home again.”

  Kate and Man ambled back toward the table.

  “Not that I’m not grateful to be here under your fine care,” Lucille added to the couple.

  Kate waved off her concern. “Of course you’re anxious to get home. I would be, too.”

  “I wouldn’t be here now, if not for these two,” Lucille told Cliff, tears coming to her eyes. “I never knew what the word hero really meant before. I do now. These two are genuine heroes.”

  Uncomfortable again, Kate went to tend to the dishes and Man went to help her, mumbling, “Just doing our job, ma’am,” as he went.

  “Hold on,” Cliff said, stopping Man. “What are your plans? Are you going after them again? They have to be caught.” His face turned a deep shade of red. “They have to pay. If you don’t go after them, I’ll do it myself!”

  Man turned back to deal with the man, understanding his anger. But he couldn’t have inexperienced locals running off blindly in search of revenge. He held up a calming hand. “We’ll get them. But we have no choice but wait until they’re spotted. We know they moved on after Lucille escaped. I’m sure they ha
ve a destination in mind, but with snow falling, their tracks have been long lost. Even in this weather, they’ve had time to make distance. As soon as we get word, we’ll go after them.”

  Cliff let out a breath and nodded. He bent over Lucille and spoke softly. “Do you want to stay here for the night or go with me? I can come back tomorrow morning and take you home.”

  She reached for Cliff’s hand. “I’m ready to go home.”

  Kate went for a spare coat and handed it to her. “You can return the clothing when you have time to buy more.” She turned to speak to Cliff. “Al and Bob took everything from her home. She’ll need clothing from shoes to coat.”

  “That’s not a problem,” he said. “I own a mercantile. I’ll see to it tomorrow.”

  Man and Kate watched Cliff carry her out to his buggy. Kate ran and took her a blanket. Cliff helped her wrap it around Lucille and he kissed her forehead in the process.

  Kate went back to where Man waited and reached for his hand. “I think she’s in good hands for a change,” she said. “Like me.”

  It had been a trying week and the next morning, Man and Kate were late risers. Man woke first, slipped from under the blankets and bearskin, went to the fireplace, and built a fire. He had it blazing when he heard Kate behind him. She circled him with her arms and kissed the back of his neck. “It’s nice to get up and find a warm house.”

  “My pleasure,” he said, turning to wrap her in his arms. He wanted to take her back to bed, but released her with a grumble instead. “I’d better go feed the animals and see how much snow has accumulated.”

  He looked out the window and saw snow still fell steadily. He pulled on heavier clothing and his sheepskin coat. The moment he stepped out the back door under the walkway to the barn, Arabian and Red Bird saw him and began to nicker. They wanted their breakfast. He walked under the covered passage and saw the snow had drifted at least six feet deep on the north side. Building the covered walkway had been a good idea. Otherwise, he’d have been fighting his way through waist-deep snow.