Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard

by Johnny Fowler

  “Did you cheat?” he teased.

  They both chuckled.

  He took the point and they followed the Snake River bank, riding far enough away from the water so they could see any cabin between them and the river and look toward the east as they rode. Arabian challenged the drifts as he did before, jumping on them and then pushing through. The fun of that soon faded and Man had to urge him to push through. When he was winded, he pulled back, Kate took the point, and Red Bird led the way.

  They rode for two hours, circled to the left for a mile, and went back toward their cabin. Kate was the first to see a cabin and gestured toward it. Smoke was coming from the chimney. They rode closer. Man stopped and scanned the cabin with his binoculars.

  “Nothing,” he said. “The barn door is closed.”

  He gestured to his left for her and he veered to the right. They circled to the sides of the cabin. He chose the side with the barn, rode to where he was hidden from the cabin, and dismounted. He went to the barn to look inside. He saw two burros and two horses, but no wagon.

  He worked his way to the side of the cabin and stopped at the corner. Kate stuck her head around the other corner.

  Man shouted. “Hello, the cabin!”

  “A rifle barrel was the first thing that appeared in the doorway. That was followed by a bearded face. The man stuck his head out and quickly looked both ways. “Who’s out there?” he demanded.

  “United States Marshal Manchester,” Man said. “I’m searching for two killers who kidnapped a woman in Mountain Home.”

  The door opened fully and a mountain man stepped out dressed in dirty, greasy skins. “It ain’t us, marshal,” he said. “Come in out of the cold. We have hot coffee on the stove and you’re welcome to a cup.”

  Man walked forward, but motioned for Kate to stay out of sight. He put his rifle in the crook of his arm and walked to the door. A second man was seated at a table. He was dressed like the other with a full beard.

  “I’m called Moose,” the first man said. “My brother is called Hoss. If we ever had a last name, we don’t know it.”

  Man looked around and assured himself the two men were alone. Neither mentioned the coffee and Man didn’t ask. He wouldn’t drink or eat anything offered him in this cabin.

  “You said two men killed somebody and kidnapped a woman in Mountain Home,” Moose said.

  “They shot Tom Carbon and abducted his wife, Clarice. Have you seen any strangers? They have a covered wagon and were last seen headed this way.”

  “We haven’t seen nobody in a coon’s age,” Moose said. “We trap, but haven’t been out since the snow got so deep. Our traps will be covered with snow, anyhow, and with the ice on the Snake, the beaver are in their burrow.”

  “Thanks,” Man said. “I need to get moving on. I’m making a circle this morning checking any cabins I see. Are there any abandoned cabins close by?”

  “Only one,” Moose said. “It’s about a mile upriver, but it’s empty, or it was the day before the snow started. We stopped in there for a break when running our trap line.”

  “Thanks,” Man said.

  “That snow is getting deeper out there,” Hoss said. “Where are you holed up?”

  “I haven’t found a place as yet,” Man lied. “Last night I slept under a rock overhang a couple of miles down the river.”

  He wasn’t about to tell them where he and Kate were staying. From the stench in the cabin, he had learned a long time ago to be leery of mountain men who had no pride.

  He went out and when the cabin door closed, he gestured for Kate to leave. He went for Arabian and rode away. He saw the door open a crack and knew one of the men was watching him. A sentry would be prudent tonight.

  Kate circled and met him. “I was close enough to the door to hear and smell them,” she said.

  “Pure trash,” Man said.

  “I recall vividly when mountain men came to the cabin that first winter we were together. They looked and smelled like Moose and Hoss. They tried to rob us and kill me. I think these two may try something. We need to be cautious.”

  “I’d already decided we’ll keep watch tonight. Even with the snow, they can follow our tracks. They’ll show enough for them to follow.”

  They continued their circle and returned to the cabin without seeing any sign of another cabin, or of Valdez and Engledow.

  Man stopped and looked through the binoculars at their cabin. The mules were still in the barn and there were no tracks, other than theirs. He went to the cabin first and pulled a pistol before opening the door, but found it empty. Kate followed him to the door and went inside. Man took the horses to the barn. They were tired and he knew they’d had enough for the day. He fed them oats and went to the cabin. As expected, Kate was bent over the fireplace putting food in a pot.

  He sat on their bed for a few minutes, resting, but then stood. “If Moose and Hoss followed us, I don’t want to be caught in the cabin. I’ll wait in the barn until it’s time to eat. Go ahead and eat and then come relieve me. With the cloud cover and snow, it’ll be very dark tonight. Should they come, I expect it to be before sunset or early tomorrow morning.”

  She went to their bed and handed him a blanket. “Even with your heavy coat, it’s cold out there.”

  He tucked it under his arm and went out the door. She watched until she saw him find a place to sit where he could see the area in front of the cabin.

  She finished warming the stew, put on her coat, filled two bowls, and took them to the barn. She didn’t feel right eating alone with him sitting in the barn. He stood when he saw her and waited until she was close. “Why did you come out here to eat? It was warm in the cabin.”

  “I felt guilty and didn’t want to eat alone. Hurry and eat before the stew freezes.” She sat on the blanket beside him and they ate. Red Bird and Arabian had finished their oats and nickered for more.

  “I’m sorry,” Man said. “But that’s all you get tonight. We may be here for several days and I need to ration the oats.”

  Red Bird stomped his hooves in protest as though he understood.

  Kate went to him and hugged his neck. “I’m sorry we don’t have more oats or hay for you, but with the snow, there’s no way for you to graze and we couldn’t bring hay on the mules.”

  She went back to Man and asked, “Do you want me to take a shift now? You can rest for an hour and relieve me before dark.”

  He started to hand her his rifle but she shook her head.

  “I want mine,” she said. “I know they’re alike, but mine feels more comfortable. She knows me and I know her.”

  “I understand,” he said and put his back in the scabbard on his saddle. He gave her a hug, and a kiss, and trotted toward the cabin. She picked up the blanket and went to the stall where Red Bird stood watching. She put a hackamore on him, led him out to a clear place, lifted his front leg, and pushed on his side. He lay on the ground as he had been taught.

  She placed the blanket behind his front legs and leaned back against his shoulder. “You’re warm,” she said. She sat and looked at the white snow and searched the trees for any movement. There was nothing, no birds or animals. The wind whipped the limbs and blew the falling snow making the drifts deeper.

  The hour was almost up when a slight movement caught her eye. She leaned forward, reached for her rifle, and jacked a bullet into the firing chamber. It might be a deer or something, but there was definitely movement in the trees.

  Red Bird lifted his head and was watching the same place as Kate. He either saw something or was mimicking Kate.

  A moment later, she saw more movement and made out the form of a person. Two men were coming toward the cabin. When they darted to another tree for cover, she recognized Moose and Hoss. Man had been right about them.

  Moose gestured toward the barn. “Get the horses and mules. If the pack
s are in there, put them on the mules. More supplies would be welcome. I’ll cover the door.”

  Hoss hurried to the fence and crawled over. Kate let him come closer as she wanted a fast first shot with no chance of a miss since she would be facing two. She wanted him out of the fight so she would be free to deal with Moose.

  Hoss had his pistol in his hand when he got to the door of the barn. Kate was standing now with her rifle resting on a post. Red Bird stood and went back to his stall.

  “Drop the pistol and put your hands in the air,” she shouted.

  He did neither and jerked his hand around to shoot. Kate squeezed the trigger of the rifle and her bullet took him in the chest over his heart. He got off a dying shot as he went backwards and landed in the snow.

  Moose began firing at her from behind a tree. His shots went wild, as he had no target. Kate moved away the instant she fired at Hoss. She took cover where she would be protected.

  Man was now standing at the door with his Walker Colts in his hands. He spotted Moose and returned fire, even though the killer was hidden by a tree. However, his bullets plowing into the tree caused Moose to move to the side. This gave Kate a clear shot. She took it and a red spot appeared on his side as the bullet went through the chest. Moose fell forward with a scream as the white snow turned red under him.

  Kate went to the body of Hoss and made sure he was dead. She pulled his gun belt from him and put his pistol in the holster. Man was doing the same with Moose. She hurried to where he waited beside Moose’s body.

  “You were right,” she said. “They wanted our horses and mules as well as our supplies. At least we won’t need to worry about them anymore. They made my skin crawl.”

  “I’ll bring in their horses,” Man said.

  Kate pulled on gloves and went through Moose’s pockets. There was no money, but she found a knife. Inside his wallet was an old wanted poster of them. It was issued in Seattle where they were wanted for robbery and murder. She put it in her pocket and went back to Hoss. He had nothing but a skinning knife.

  Man came back with the horses and she cringed at their sight. They were half starved. “We can’t keep them,” he said. “We don’t have enough oats for our animals.” He pulled the saddles and bridles from them and tapped them on their buttocks and the two horses went toward the trees.

  “I hope they find something to eat,” she said.

  “Me, too. They will. There’ll be places they can find grass even in the snow. We need to go back to their cabin tomorrow. There were two burros in the barn that we need to cut loose.”

  “What about these two?” she asked.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll find a crevice for the bodies. We can’t dig a grave in the frozen dirt.”

  That brought back a memory of the day after the Indian attack on the wagon train when she’d buried her father and all of her friends who were killed. She’d had to pull their bodies into a deep ravine that day.

  Man saw her expression, put his arm around her, and they went to the cabin.

  Kate suddenly turned and ran back to the barn. “I don’t want to leave my two rifles out here,” she said.

  He went to his saddle, pulled both of his, and followed her back to the cabin.

  She seemed to be emotional over the gunfight. “What do you want to do first tomorrow?” she asked. “Go to Hoss and Moose’s cabin or hunt for Al and Bob.”

  “The cabin,” he said. “In the morning, I’ll feed the horses and take care of the bodies while you fix breakfast.”

  He got ready in bed and was waiting when she began to undress and put her clothing on top of the bearskin. She didn’t stop until she was nude and she slipped under the covers with him. He half expected this as lovemaking always helped her relax after a traumatic experience.

  The next morning, he dragged the frozen bodies to a deep crevice in the rocks with Arabian’s help. He pushed them over. The snow was deep and there was almost no sound as they were instantly buried.

  He rode back to the barn and fed the animals oats then hurried to the cabin. Snow was still falling and the heavy clouds promised more. Finding the killers would be very difficult as moving around the hills searching for cabins was exhausting on the horses.

  Kate was waiting when he came in and gave her a morning kiss. He didn’t mention burying the bodies. She knew what he was doing, but it was better to leave the details unspoken.

  He watched her dress and put on her heavy coat. Since he was ready except for his coat, he relaxed on their bed and enjoyed watching his beautiful wife. She gave him a confident smile and teased, “Do you like watching me dress?”

  “Yep,” he said. “It’s almost as exciting as watching you undress.”

  She took a step to where he sat and gave him a playful punch on his shoulder as she said, “Fibber.”

  Kate pulled her long amber hair into a ball, put her hat on her head, and tied a scarf around her neck. “I’m ready,” she said.

  He stood and reached for his hat. She was waiting and handed him his two rifles, put hers over her shoulders, and they went to the barn.

  The two horses were already saddled. Man had done that after he’d fed them. She put her rifles in the scabbards and stepped up on Red Bird. Man was mounted and led the way from the barn. He turned toward the mountain men’s cabin.

  The snow was almost chest deep in places and the horses had to struggle. “We can’t do much today,” he said. “By the time we get back to our cabin, the horses with be about done for the day. Besides, Valdez and Engledow are not going anywhere in this weather.”

  Kate had pulled the scarf over her face and all he could see was he eyes. She nodded agreement.

  They rode into the barn and found the two burros in a stall. There was enough feed in a sack to give them enough to make it through the day. The remainder, he divided between Arabian and Red Bird.

  They left them to eat and went to the cabin. The stench inside was horrible. “How do people live like this?” she said.

  He shrugged. “I have no idea. From the odor, I wonder if they peed on the walls instead of going outside.”

  They found nothing of value except a pile of skins in the corner of the cabin. Kate decided the only thing she would take was an unopened sack of dried beans. Man went through their belongings, found two more wanted posters, and put them in his pocket. Kate took the lid from a cooking pot that was on a shelf. “Look here,” she said.

  She pulled out several wallets and put them on the table. There were also several gold rings and pocket watches. He went through the wallets and found names. “From robberies, no doubt,” he said. She located a cloth sack and put the valuables in it.

  “That’s it,” she said as they went out the door. Man pushed it closed and they went back to the barn. He put the sack with the loot and the wanted posters in his saddlebag. Kate put the beans in hers.

  The horses had finished the feed and were waiting. The two burros were gone.

  Man mounted and led the way. It was easier on the horses going back to their cabin as they had a trail in the snow to use and didn’t have to push through the drifts.

  It was past noon when they unsaddled the horses and put them in a stall. Kate took the sack of beans into the cabin and washed what she mentally measured as two cups in water, picking out small rocks often found in beans. She put them in clean water to soak.

  “I have several options for you to eat,” she said. “You can have stew, stew or stew. What do you want?”

  He rubbed his chin in deep thought before he said, “I think I’ll have the stew.”

  “Wise choice,” she said as she began to heat it in a pan.

  “Are we going to make another circle this afternoon?” she asked.

  “We need to make a short one,” he replied. “I think the horses are up for not more than a four mile circle. Tomorrow we can make a wider swing wh
en the horses are fresh.”

  Chapter 12

  Al Valdez and Bob Engledow were not more than ten miles from where Marshals Man and Kate were staying, but they had no idea anyone was looking for them. They felt safe and secure after making a clean getaway from the store. The snow had been perfect to cover their tracks and the continuing snowfall increased their confidence that nobody would be out looking for them in this weather.

  Clarice Carbon screamed every time they took the gag from her mouth, but after several hard slaps, she stopped. After letting Lucille escape from them, Bob put a light chain around her ankle with a bolt to keep it secure. The other end was fastened to the heavy table. The chain was long enough she could go to the fireplace, table, and the bed, but wasn’t long enough to reach the far side of the cabin.

  Of course, the two men were aware of her mental state and kept their weapons and anything she could use to hit them on the safe side of the cabin where she couldn’t reach.

  Bob had taken the chain from the general store while abducting Clarice. Tying Lucille with rope didn’t work, but there was no way Clarice could get the bolt out of the chain without tools, and the tools were in the wagon.

  At first, she’d fought them every time either took her to the bed, but with each passing day, she fought less. The pain from their blows when she hit at them or tried to bite them was taking its toll on her resistance. She mostly lay unmoving, enduring.

  They had settled into a routine by the end of the first week. She did the cooking and cleaning and sat on the bed at all other times. Tears no longer seeped from her eyes each time they took her, but the hate for the two men had built to the point she’d vowed to kill them if she ever got the chance. She’d rather die than continue as a prisoner to the two ruthless men.

  ***

  Man and Kate were dressed for the snow, ice and wind when they mounted the horses for a short circle to see if any cabins were close. As usual, Man took the point and Arabian broke the trail for Red Bird and Kate. However, after a mile, he dropped back, Kate urged Red Bird to the front, and they continued to search. They spotted two abandoned cabins, but when they rode close enough to see, they were empty and obviously hadn’t been used recently.