Lords of the Plains

by Paul Bedford

  ‘You can draw all the powder and ball that you need gratis from now on, and move your possibles in with the walking boss when you’re in camp . . . which won’t be often. The general expects results, so you’d better get to it.’ And so saying, he too turned away, leaving me alone with a new job and little idea of how to tackle it.

  Ten dollars a day and found, plus unlimited ammunition! That was damned good money. The average track hand earned only two dollars and fifty cents and had to pay for room and board. Such potential riches should have filled me with good cheer, but there was a tight feeling in my gut as I searched for Dan. There would be no choice other than for me to eat humble pie. Yet as it turned out, our reconciliation was easier than I had expected. Approaching my team, I spotted his fresh-faced figure lounging by the wagon. On seeing me draw near, he shifted uncomfortably before making eye contact.

  ‘Thought you might have lit out on me,’ I remarked.

  ‘Nah. We got through that damned war, so I ain’t splitting now. But you said some powerful harsh words yesterday, Josiah. There was no call to get all wrathy. I ain’t ever fought Indians before, and the thought of going back out there kind of unmanned me.’ This was uttered apologetically. Dan was plainly seeking to rebuild bridges, and now of all times I had no reason to push him away.

  Quickly thrusting out my right hand, I stated, ‘Reckon I could have been a mite hasty. Let’s just let bygones be bygones.’ Moving on quickly, I enquired, ‘Where’s Elijah, anyhu?’

  Accepting my grip with obvious relief, Dan muttered, ‘Gone!’

  ‘Gone where?’

  ‘Just up and took off. Probably hitched a lift on the train returning to Omaha for supplies. You’d best watch yourself if you and him ever meet up again. He seemed like a dark one.’

  Shrugging off that development, I related the content of my meeting with the chief engineer, and then quickly followed on by offering Dan another job at better money. Although, since we were to be effectively a partnership, I thought it prudent not to mention my own remuneration.

  His youthful face lit up with delight. ‘Five dollars a day!’ he exclaimed.

  ‘And found,’ I added. ‘Plus cartridges. And you won’t be wallowing in blood everyday either.’

  At the mention of blood, Dan’s features clouded over. ‘It occurs to me that hunting Indians sounds a whole heap more dangerous. How do you propose to go about it, anyhu?’

  That was a good question, because although I’d served as a skirmisher with Colonel Hiram Berdan’s Sharpshooters in the war, I’d never fought any of the wild tribes before. ‘Well, I guess we just need to go looking,’ I finally managed. What we would do if we found something was another thing altogether.

  It was later on that same morning when the two of us set out on our new mission. This time we were travelling light. No wagon, or even a pack mule; just what we could carry in our bulging saddlebags. My own, now redundant, wagon and team had been left in the care of the railhead farrier. He had instructions to sell them, but only if a good price could be obtained.

  I had refined my vague plans somewhat. Since the Sioux undoubtedly knew where the railroad was, it made sense for us to attempt to discover the location of their camp. Because, as my pa had never tired of saying, ‘knowledge is power’.

  To hopefully mislead anyone that might be watching, we initially set off to the north, before sweeping around in a wide semi-circle out of sight of the railhead. Then we deliberately made for the site of the buffalo that I had reluctantly butchered. In the absence of any definite strategy, it seemed like as good a place to begin as any.

  As we approached the remains of the great beast, with its head still untouched by carrion, I had the irrational thought that its sightless eyes were regarding me reproachfully.

  Dan had a far more practical turn of mind. ‘Did you think to cut out its tongue?’ he enquired eagerly.

  I sighed. ‘No. No, I didn’t. But don’t let that stop you.’

  It didn’t. Gleefully dismounting, Dan drew his knife and moved in, recklessly oblivious to his wider surroundings. It was left to me to keep watch. Kneeling down in front of the ruined creature, he struggled for a considerable time to prize open its jaws. However, once inside, it then took only moments to slice out the long thick tongue. His only recently relinquished line of work meant that he had displayed no signs of squeamishness whatsoever.

  ‘You must want that thing really bad,’ I remarked doubtfully, all the while searching the surrounding terrain for any sign of hostiles.

  He shook his head in amazement. ‘I can’t believe you’ve never eaten one of these. I’ve heard of folks killing these poor beasts for the tongue alone. Boil it up, and you get a delicious fatty meal. It’s no wonder they fetch good money. If you’re lucky, I might just let you try some.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ I muttered ungraciously. I was on edge, and wanted nothing more than to get moving again. Having got well clear of the Iron Horse, the only sound was that of the wind rustling the long grass, which stretched away seemingly endlessly in all directions. And now that I was no longer hunting dumb animals, I found the relative silence strangely unnerving, but knew that I would just have to get used to it if I was to succeed in my new role.

  Dan wrapped the severed meat in some cloth and stuffed it into a pocket. It was obvious that he fully intended eating it before the day was out. Only then, with business finally concluded, did he suddenly appear to sense my disquiet. ‘Which direction did the Sioux come from when you first saw them?’

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ I responded unhelpfully. ‘The herd saw them first, and then that spooked me.’ Sighing, I added, ‘I reckon we should keep heading south for a while, at least for today, and then turn west. Shit, this is like stalking a grizzly without having any idea where it is!’

  My companion frowned. The magnitude of what we had undertaken was beginning to sink in. ‘But what if we. . . ?’

  As though by divine timing, a single muted gunshot rang out. Although distant and barely audible, for me there could be no doubting its identity. ‘If that ain’t a Sharps, I’m a horned toad!’

  The two of us waited in expectant silence until, some moments later, the sound was repeated. And this time we could definitely discern that it came from the west of us.

  ‘You know what I reckon?’ Dan ventured. ‘I think it’s that new hunting outfit you told me about. I believe I saw one of them strutting about in buckskins, while you was jawing with the quality in that fancy carriage. If they’re all the way out here by now, then they’re keen, I’ll give them that.’

  As an idea came to me, I nodded slowly. ‘And, we might not be the only ones to hear that shooting. Let’s go take a look see, but for Christ’s sake keep your eyes peeled, unless you want to end up like a pin cushion!’

  By the time that we got within sight, two more shots had crashed out, each one louder than the last. Then there had been only the sound of the wind and our horses. Perhaps he’d shot his fill for the day. Anxious not to blunder into anything, I reined in and extended my drawtube spyglass. It was as I had thought.

  ‘He’s done with killing,’ I reported. ‘Looks like there’s ten of the big shaggies to carve up, and the wagon’s joining him with the skinners.’

  ‘Anyone on it we know?’ Dan queried, pointedly. He obviously hadn’t completely dismissed Elijah from his thoughts, as I had.

  ‘Too far off to make out the faces,’ I replied. ‘This thing ain’t magic, you know, and it’s had its fair share of knocks.’

  ‘Aw shit!’ my friend exclaimed abruptly. ‘I bet it can make out those devils, though!’

  Chapter Four

  Swinging around in alarm, I followed the line of his outstretched hand. I sure as hell didn’t need any lenses this time. Off to the south, concealed behind a low rise, of which there seemed to be so many on the plains, was a Sioux war party. They numbered about thirty and, oblivious to our arrival, were apparently about to charge the buffalo hunters. Swiftly dismounting, I g
round tethered my animal and drew the Sharps out of its scabbard.

  ‘You right sure about this, Josiah?’ Dan asked nervously. ‘I mean, we could just slip away and no one would know.’ Even as he uttered that, he was colouring with embarrassment, because he well knew that such a suggestion wasn’t really worthy of him.

  ‘We’d know!’ I snapped back. ‘And this time make your shots count. Don’t just blast away like you’re having a conniption fit.’ I knew that I was being overly harsh, but my own nerves were stretched taut . . . and the situation was only going to get worse. Before contracting the spyglass, I took a closer look at the war party. What I saw momentarily took my breath away. ‘Sweet Jesus! Some of those savages are carrying Henry repeaters.’

  Alarm flashed across Dan’s youthful features. ‘Are you sure? How can that be? Even the army doesn’t have those.’

  Snapping the glass shut, I retorted, ‘We’ll have to be mighty careful here. We’ll let the Sioux attack the hunters, and then hit them from behind. Surprise should give us an edge, especially if they don’t know how many of us there are.’

  Dan regarded me solemnly, but to his credit this time he didn’t quibble. He just took hold of his own long gun and silently retracted the hammer. The two of us stood side by side, gauging the distance, when quite suddenly the war party burst into action. Rapidly working their ponies up to a gallop, they careered over the rise and down towards the startled buffalo hunters. Rifles cracked out, as the warriors opened up with their repeaters.

  ‘Wait ’til the hunters fire back,’ I commanded. ‘Then the Sioux won’t spot us too soon . . . I hope.’ As we both levelled our weapons in readiness, I quickly added, ‘And aim for their ponies.’ The distance was increasing all the time, and so it made sense to aim for the largest target. Putting someone afoot was likely to make him more reasonable.

  As the no doubt startled white men responded with their own gunfire, I drew a fine bead on a pair of haunches and fired. With the ever-present wind blowing the powder smoke away, I witnessed the poor beast slew sideways. Its rider was hurled to the ground with great force. At my side, Dan’s Spencer crashed out with comforting ferocity, and he too brought a pony and rider tumbling to earth.

  We were both able to get in two more shots with mixed results, before the rearmost warriors realized that they were under attack from behind. Then the war party suddenly fragmented, and became an entity of two halves. Those in front continued to bear down on the hated buffalo hunters, whilst those at the back milled around in confusion as they tried to locate their assailants.

  Dan rapidly loosed off another shot, but he rushed it and so inevitably missed. The necessity to reload my single-shot weapon meant that my pace was slower and I took a more deliberate aim. This time I struck my target broadside on, with the inevitable bloody result. Three men were now unhorsed, with another one wounded in the left shoulder, but two of them were back on their feet and all of them had finally realized where we were. The question was, what would they do about us?

  If I had been in their place, I would have hunkered down, and returned rapid fire with the Henry rifles, but the Sioux were part of a horse culture that thrived on movement. Instinctively, those still mounted swung their ponies around and made directly for us. As they rapidly closed the distance, we could make out strange cries that sounded like ‘Hoka He.’

  It’s only the stupid that never scare, and I had a pretty fair idea how my partner must be feeling, because fear was stabbing at my guts as well. ‘Stand your ground, Dan,’ I commanded firmly. ‘Those sons of bitches won’t be able to hit anything at that speed!’

  And wasn’t that just a fact? The approaching riders got off a few wild shots to accompany their howls, but none of the projectiles came anywhere near us. Then, as the distance dropped to around fifty yards, we both fired at two more unfortunate animals. The pair collapsed as though their forelegs had been snapped, throwing their hapless riders to the ground. Dan levered in another cartridge and shot one of the men straight through his chest, just as he vaulted to his feet. I, on the other hand, dropped my empty Sharps and drew my Colt from its now open-topped holster. Thumbing back the hammer, I fired again and again.

  The supposedly ferocious attack stalled abruptly in the face of our staunch defence, and the warriors wheeled sharply off to their right. One of the dismounted survivors leapt up behind another and then the whole group fled back from whence they had originally come. Over near the hunters, the departure of half their number had severely disconcerted the front-runners of the war party. They too were coming under sustained fire, and any advantage of surprise was now completely lost. As though by mutual consent, they completely abandoned the assault. All that could were soon racing after their rearguard, slowing only to pick up one of the survivors of our first volley.

  ‘Hot dang!’ Dan yelled excitedly. ‘Ain’t that a sight to see? We’ve actually gone and run them off.’

  Nodding with relief, I was gratified to observe that even through his excitement, my companion had the presence of mind to reload his Spencer. Removing the tube from the butt, he carefully slid fresh cartridges into the magazine until it contained its full quota of seven.

  ‘Seems like we really are Indian fighters now, don’t it?’ I observed, recalling my earlier blasé comment back at the railhead. With that, I reloaded my Sharps, retrieved my horse, and moved cautiously towards the still figure lying in the long grass. I kept my weapon trained on him until I noticed that his head was resting at an impossible angle to his torso. Only then did I relax.

  ‘Neck’s broke,’ I remarked to Dan, as he came up behind me. Leaning down, I recovered the Henry rifle from the long grass. It was in decent condition, and more to the point contained a full magazine. I also found some spares in a hide pouch slung over the dead man’s torso. ‘These sons of bitches don’t seem to have any shortage of metallic cartridges. Really does make you wonder who they got them from.’

  Since the bronzed corpse could tell us nothing, we both mounted up and continued on to join the hunters who were congregated around their wagon. I had at least benefited from the violent encounter, because I now owned a modern repeating rifle as well as my long-range man stopper. The other apparently dead body that we passed on the way possessed only a bow and arrows, so we didn’t bother to check it over, but I did empty a .44-rimfire cartridge from my new acquisition into its skull . . . just to be on the safe side! The Henry’s lever action proved to be extremely smooth and satisfying to operate.

  Three of the waiting men regarded us with interest, as we walked our horses up to their wagon. The fourth was in too much pain to pay us any mind. He was nursing his blood-soaked left arm, which had a rudimentary bandage tied around it. I experienced a vague sense of relief on discovering that Elijah was not a member of the new outfit.

  One individual immediately stood out from the rest, and not just because of the Sharps rifle cradled in his left arm. Of medium height, and clad in a mountain man’s buckskins, he appeared to be barely out of his teens, but his eyes blazed with wit and intelligence. A sweat-stained slouch hat was worn at a jaunty angle, indicating that appearance played as much a part as practicality. Underneath a wispy moustache, a smile played on his lips, although whether that was out of amusement or welcome we had yet to find out. My immediate, instinctive assessment was that he was likely to be short on experience, but big on bravado.

  ‘Mighty fortunate for you fellas that we happened along,’ the young man brayed loudly.

  ‘You must be Cody,’ I remarked somewhat stiffly, deciding that I had apparently summed him up correctly. ‘Mister Casement said that you might be out here somewhere.’

  ‘ “Bill” to my friends,’ he threw back. ‘And if I kill enough of these big dumb beasts, I think I’ll stick “Buffalo” in front of it. Has a nice ring to it, don’t it?’

  ‘It might do if you live that long,’ Dan retorted angrily. ‘As it is, you seem to have a very hare-brained view of things. But for us, those cockchafers
would have claimed your scalps!’

  Cody bristled at the accusing tone. ‘That’s some tongue you got on you, Mister,’ came his sharp rejoinder.

  ‘Well, yeah, actually it is.’ So saying, and with a decidedly music hall flourish, Dan produced the severed buffalo tongue from his pocket. ‘And it’s all mine!’

  For a long moment there was complete silence, and then the young buffalo hunter slapped his thigh . . . hard. ‘Haw, haw, haw,’ he guffawed loudly. ‘You boys are all right!’

  That was followed by another long silence, as we all gazed at each other, as young men do when they’re sizing each other up. Then, realizing that we were after all on the same side, I resolved to work with what we had and make the best of the situation. ‘I’m Joe Wakefield and the man with the nourishing meal is Dan Sturgis. As you’ve probably realized we work for the Union Pacific, just like you, only we don’t hunt big shaggies any more.

  Cody raised his eyebrows. ‘Ah, so we’ve got you to thank for us getting a job so quickly.’ Then he fell silent again and waited. It was very noticeable that he hadn’t actually thanked us.

  ‘Yes, you could say that,’ I pointedly replied. ‘And now we need you to do something for us in return.’

  The other man smiled brightly, undeterred by a sudden loud groan from his wounded companion. ‘Well, hell, Joe. Of course I will. We’re all friends together, now, ain’t we?’

  ‘When you get back to the railhead, I’d be obliged if you’d tell Casement everything that occurred here. Tell him we’re following the band that attacked you. And what’s really important is that you mention this.’ Brandishing the Henry rifle, I continued with, ‘Some bastards are selling these to the Sioux. If the Indians get enough of them, his railroad could be in real trouble.’