Bucking the Odds Read online

  “This has got to be the craziest thing that I have ever heard, but if I can eat like this the whole way, you can count me in.”

  Will, Silvan and Rebecca all jumped up and danced around the bewildered cowboy and when Jack saw Silvan without his hat for the first time and he looked at Will.

  “You, Curly and I can get a start rounding up again in the morning.”

  Will knew it was a common practice among cowboys, and people in the west generally, to give people nicknames, a man might be a little overweight and they called him slim or a man with a full head of hair down to his shoulders might be called Baldy, but he was not sure how Silvan would react to that name.

  Silvan stopped his dancing for a minute and just stared at Jack, and then he broke out into a grin.

  “I suppose I can handle that name after some of the ways they shortened my name.”

  Will breathed a sigh of relief, and they continued dancing around. The next morning they headed out early to gather more cattle and it was not long until they were finally on the trail north.

  Chapter 2

  Most trail drives of that size required at least ten men, but they were doing it with just the three of them and Rebecca driving the chuck wagon. They plodded along day after day with Rebecca leading the herd in the wagon and the three riders covering the sides and the back. The first week was the hardest because the wildest ones still wanted to make a break for the brush, but finally they got the message and settled down for the remainder of the drive.

  On the trail they lost a hundred head, not including a hundred they gave to the Sioux for letting them pass across their country. When they arrived at the Sioux reservation most of the remaining hostiles had reluctantly settled into reservation life. They stopped at the Indian Agent’s office to get permission to cross the Indian land and saw the deplorable conditions that they were living in.

  It was only the work of Chief Red Cloud that kept them on the reserve, but even he was having trouble explaining why the Government was not honoring their promise of food and clothing. The Indian agent was reluctant to have them cross the land but Will went directly to Red Cloud and offered him one hundred head of cattle in exchange for permission to cross their land.

  It was much more than was necessary in the way of payment, which both he and Red Cloud knew, but he could not stand to see the condition of the women and children. Although the cattle were to be his livelihood, there was also something inside him that made the decision.

  When they reached the ranch things were peaceful enough, but they always had to be vigilant as the territory was now filling up fast with people. Most of them were farmers and ranchers, but the discovery of gold in the Black Hills to the south and in the Montana territory to the west brought an influx of lower life characters in search of easy money. There were few lawmen in the country and the army was not charged with handling civil issues, so honest farmers and ranchers were their own law.

  The first hard Dakota winter took half of the remaining herd. Curly, Texas Jack and Becky stayed with him through it all, even though there was no money for any of them.

  The winter kill of the cattle was caused by the fact that the Texas cattle weren’t used to having to dig through snow to find their food, and the cold weather just froze the weakest of them to death.

  It was Texas Jack who came up with an idea that saved the herd. On the bottom end of the ranch there was a large coulee that was more like a box canyon and Jack suggested they keep the herd penned in there all winter where they would be out of the severe winds and could be fed on a daily basis.

  They became farmers as well as ranchers when they started cutting and storing the hay for the winter feed. Will, Texas Jack and Becky were able to get two crops off the tall prairie grass and store it in two barns they built by the mouth of the coulee, while Curly rode the high country keeping the herd in the timber country and away from the lush grassland. It wasn’t a hard thing to do because these big Texas cattle were used to rough country like that.

  The big coulee was large enough to hold the thousand head that he hoped eventually to run, but the first year they had only four hundred head to handle and that year they only lost a few head due to natural causes.

  After three years the herd was build up but there still was no money coming in. Texas Jack and Becky were married and had a child, a little girl, with another one on the way. They had a small house of their own while Will and Curly shared the original ranch house.

  Jack had been in love with a woman who chose a banker’s son over him and that was what turned him to the bottle. The first person he got in a fight with and beat up was the banker’s son and it felt good. The drinking and fighting seemed to give him back some of the pride he lost to that unfaithful girl. The night that Will stopped him was the first time he came close to killing someone with his gun.

  He had never told Will but when he woke up in the jail cell he did recognize him as the man who struck him, but he had no revenge in mind he was actually thankful for his interference that kept him of committing murder

  They had no money but they were able to live off the produce from Becky’s garden and the deer and antelope that were plentiful on the prairie grass. Will was not sure why they stuck with him, but he was thankful.

  He had not been able to send for Barney and the way things were going it looked like he never would, but all that changed one day when he chanced upon a man sitting by a fire drinking a coffee. He rode carefully up to the fire.

  “Hello the fire.”

  Even though this was his land it was always better to announce yourself and wait for an invite before coming into another’s camp.

  “Light and set, you are wholly welcome to join me in a coffee, it’s little else I have to offer you.”

  Will looked carefully around before he dismounted and he saw that the man was not wearing a pistol, but had a rifle leaning against a small pack off to the side, so he dismounted and took the coffee the man held out to him.

  Will took a drink of the coffee and it tasted terrible, but he had to hold back from making a face so not to offend the man.

  “My name’s Will Bronson.”

  He held out his hand and the man took it.

  “Ryan O’Rourke…then you would be the owner of the land I’m squatting on.”

  Will was pleased that the man recognized him and that he admitted he was on the land uninvited so he wouldn’t have ride roughshod over him and run him off.

  “Yes I own all this land and it is private property as you seem to be aware.”

  Ryan smiled at him knowing he had just been chastised for trespassing.

  “It started out as me just crossing your land, but something stopped me here and now I’m glad you came along. I’m a miner by trade and like most miners I’m always in search of the one find that will make me rich.”

  When he stopped of a breath Will interrupted him.

  “I’m a rancher and I have no interest whatsoever in mining.”

  Ryan took being cut off in his stride.

  “Well as I said, I’m a miner and have no interest in ranching, but there is one thing miners and ranchers have in common, and that is money.”

  Will was getting a little impatient with the way things were going.

  “So what has that to do with us?”

  Ryan reached in a sack laying on the ground and pulled out what looked like a rock and handed it to Will.

  “I know to you this just looks like a rock, but this holds the key to making us both rich men, this rock is laced with gold and I suspect that there is a large vein of it under where we are now standings.”

  Will looked at the rock more closely and at first glance could see no evidence of gold and then Ryan pointed out the small flecks that were in the surface. He took the rock back and with a small stone hammer he smashed it open and then both of them saw what he already knew, there was a small vein of gold running through the rock.

  Will turned the broken rock over in his hand.
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  “So this was taken on my land, so how is it you figure it will make both of us rich?”

  Ryan smiled at him and gave him his best shot.

  “Well you just said it yourself…you are a rancher and as I said I am a miner. It’s your land but I can dig it out and have it smelted to pure gold and we can share it fifty-fifty. You provide the land and I provide the work.”

  Will took another drink of the coffee that was getting cold now. This man had him thinking and he could see no way he could lose unless the man standing before him was crooked.

  Ryan watched him quietly as he churned it around in his mind.

  “I am a hardworking and honest man and I assure you that you will get a fair deal from me.”

  Will made the quickest decision in his life and he held his hand out again to this tough looking Irishman standing in front of him.

  “You just got yourself a partner, I don’t know how you deal but a handshake is good enough for me.”

  Ryan did a little jig as he danced around with glee and Will added.

  “You are on your own with any money needed to start the operation and I can only hope mining is more profitable than ranching, but ride over to the ranch sometime and I’ll show you how to make a cup of coffee.”

  It was three months before Ryan showed up, and when he did he had a bag of gold coins which he dropped on the table in front of Will.

  “Our first installment…now how about that cup of coffee you promised.”

  Will had all but forgotten that Ryan was out there still digging for gold and he hefted the large bag of twenty dollar gold pieces. It took him both hands to lift it and Ryan laughed.

  “That’s right lad, there be eight thousand dollars in that sack so it’s bound to be heavy.”

  Will looked at him incredulously he had never thought that the mine would turn out this kind of money. Ryan explained about the rich vein he had found and the fact that he had hired two helpers and he explained the next installment should only be a month, and every month after that.

  It took him the first three months go get organized and get two full wagonloads of ore to the stamp mill and smelter at Fort Buford. He knew they were both in need of spending money so he cashed in the gold bricks for gold coin. Will’s share of the results was sitting on the table in front of him and it was like a large weight lifting off his shoulders.

  After he fed Ryan some of Becky’s cooking and a cup of good hot coffee he gathered the group together and he counted out three piles of the shiny twenty dollar gold pieces. He paid them each fifteen hundred dollars, which he figured would catch them up for the last three years they worked for nothing. The rest, and promise of more to come, was enough for him to send for Barney as he had promised he would.

  Chapter 3

  As the River Lady eased up to the high bank Will moved the wagon closer to the shore where the gantry crane could swing the load off and lower the pallets directly into the wagon. He watched the gangplank drop and saw the five men who got off leading their horses.

  Then he saw the rear gantry lowering a wagon to the shore. It looked like a circus wagon or a snake oil peddler’s wagon. It was all wood and completely enclosed and coated with a colorful red and yellow paint. As he watched the men hooked up a horse to the wagon, and then four men rode off leaving the wagon sitting there with only the driver who was an older man than the others.

  The next thing he saw was a woman and a young boy walking down the gangplank, each carrying what appeared to be a heavy suitcase. They sat the suitcases down and walked over to the rear of the wagon where he was waiting. As they came closer he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the woman was.

  “You must be Audrey Cross, but I wasn’t expecting the boy.”

  Her shoulders stiffened up.

  “I am not Audrey Cross, I am Julia Wilks, Audrey was my sister, and this is my son Russell…you must be Barney Bronson.”

  This time he stiffened a bit, this is not what he expected, not what Barney had told him about.

  “No, I’m Will Bronson, Barney’s my brother…and now that we got that settled would you tell me why you are not Audrey Cross, the woman I was supposed to pick up and take to Barney.”

  Before she could answer the first pallet of goods was being lowered toward the wagon and he jumped into the back of the wagon and guided it gently down between the sides and close to the front. He removed the paperwork on the top of the goods and unhooked the ropes so the gantry could swing back for another load.

  His mind was racing wondering what he was going to do with this woman who was not the one that Barney was expecting. Then the second pallet was lowered and when it was neatly in place up against the first one he jumped down and stood behind the wagon waiting for the third and last pallet.

  The young boy had come over beside him, fascinated with the operation of unloading the goods. As the last load was swinging slowly toward the back of the wagon he heard a loud crack and he grabbed the boy and flung him backwards toward his mother as he jumped back himself just as the fully loaded pallet struck the ground.

  The noise he had heard was one of the ropes snapping, and it was just his quick impulse that saved him and the boy from getting buried under the cases of canned goods and the bags holding flour, beans, sugar and coffee.

  He looked at the boy who was hugging his mother with his head buried in her dress and giving off big sobs. He walked over and reached down and turned his face toward him.

  “It’s ok boy, this is not a time for crying…this is a time for working. How old are you boy?”

  With the sobs subsiding the boy answered

  “I’m eleven…sir.”

  Will was glad to hear that he added the sir.

  “Well son, in this country eleven is almost full grown, so how about you giving me a hand loading those things into the wagon?”

  Julia started to object, but a quick stare from Will changed her mind as he and the boy headed for the pile of goods lying on the ground. Seeing Will pick up one of the boxes and put it on the tailgate he grabbed one and couldn’t budge it, but Will didn’t say anything, he just let him try and then when he turned around he saw that between him and his mother they had managed to lift a box up and were putting it on the tailgate.

  He let them continue putting a few more of the heavy boxes on the tailgate as he stacked them tight against the load, then he jumped down and threw the remaining boxes up on the wagon.

  “Why don’t you two gather some of those smaller bags that got scattered?”

  He saw the relieved look in her eyes as they started to collect the small bags while he started throwing the big hundred pound bags of flour into the wagon. When they had the wagon loaded he turned back in time to see the repaired gantry swing ashore to pick of the pallet of wood that he had cut.

  Captain Willow waved.

  “Sorry about that Will, just glad that no one was hurt.”

  Will waved back as the boat started to ease away from the shore.

  “No problem Cap, just take good care of my cargo.”

  On the pallet was a box holding some gold bars that were covered with the wood to keep anyone from seeing the transfer.

  “Don’t worry Will, it’s as good as in the bank.”

  He had made arrangements with a bank in St. Louis to accept the gold deliveries from Captain Willow and the proceeds were used in buying the goods they needed for the store. Getting the refined gold back to Will undetected was something that Ryan had worked out masterfully and now his shipping it by boat was just as masterful.

  He started to tie a tarp over the load and he turned to the woman and boy who were patiently waiting.

  “Now you can go and get your bags and throw them on the wagon.”

  He stood watching the look of shock on her face and she made no movement towards the two bags waiting on the bank.

  “Lady, if you want those suitcases to go on this wagon, you are going to have to get them yourself.”

  She looke
d in disbelief.

  “You are the driver and your job was to pick us up wasn’t it?”

  He didn’t answer and continued tying down the tarp. When she saw that he meant it she, stomped off, and made the two trips it took to get the suit cases to the wagon.

  He threw the two suitcases up on top of the load and turned to the boy who was still bulging with pride at being able to help.

  “What was your name again boy?”

  He stepped right up to Will.

  “My name is Russell, sir.”

  Will started to turn to the wagon, but turned back to help lift him up onto the seat.

  “Well I’ll call you Russ.”

  The boy stepped back from his outreached hands.

  “My name is Russell.”

  This time he left off the sir, and Will reached out and ruffled his hair with his hand.

  “OK, maybe you’re right Russ won’t do…so with that red hair you have I’ll just call you Rusty.”

  Before the boy could answer or object he grabbed him, lifted him up to the seat and turned to the woman still standing there.

  “Before you ask, my name is Julia and that’s what everyone calls me.”

  He stood looking at her for a minute.

  “Ok, I’ll call you Jule because you will look like a diamond out here among all of our costume jewellery.”

  When he finished he couldn’t believe that he actually said what he had, and before she had a chance to say anything he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up on the seat beside her son.

  He climbed up and smiled when he noticed that she had put the boy in between them.

  “Well Rusty have you ever driven a six up team?”

  The boy looked down at the six mules that were hooked to the wagon and he gulped.

  “No..no sir.”

  Will smiled as he clucked the team into motion.

  “Its easy boy, all you got to do is keep the first two going where and when you want them to and the rest will follow.”

  When he had the team on the tracks going up the hill away from the river, he handed the reins to the boy.