Chapter 7

The new owners had our books and records to guide them. If they shouldn’t order enough the warehouses would empty and customers would need to wait, making them unhappy. If too much of one item was stocked it took up floor space. Charley had built this from the bottom and she rarely missed on her stock now. We talked about it and chuckled over what the owners would have to face when an upset client was told they had to wait for some large order that hadn’t been telegraphed in yet.

Before we moved out of our houses, the three owners were at our door with a complaint. It seemed they had not known how dangerous the Indian situation was. When they found the Army didn’t always provide an escort up into the hills, they were upset to find they had to hire their own escort.

“There is nothing marked down in your records about the added expense for providing escorts. We assumed the Army would provide.”

“The Army does when they have troopers available. If we have freighters not out on the trail and know some will be available, we give the men half pay to ride along as armed escorts. Another thing, you’ll have to feed the beggar Indians so carry some food to give out. Remember giving them too much is worse than not giving them enough because it just draws more in to beg. Soon you’ll be feeding a whole tribe if you screw it up. Depend on your mule skinners for something like this.”

“I started out the same way you are doing. I was here a month and left Berta and went out with the freighters. I was thirty days on the trail, but I returned knowing what the job entailed. It was one of the wisest moves I ever made.” I smiled to myself, thinking on how the freighters might get these bosses out on the trail and have some fun.

We began to get telegrams from Pete and Hank. They reached end of the railroad in Sacramento. Hank was spotted by three hard cases as they approached him, not realizing he had help. One of the men was shot by Hank and the rest ran off. The telegram was short necessarily, but Pete had put “fast” when telling that Hank had shot the person. I smiled for I knew Pete wanted me to know that Hank had become gun handy under my direction. I imagined he could beat me at my own game now.

Charley replied immediately that the business had been sold the day after they left and things would be wound up here in a month.

Another Telegram came from California that the land grant was now safe and they were asking when we would arrive in California from Cheyenne. A few days’ later letters followed. The first one was for Charley from Pete. He gave more detail about their trip. A stream of letters continued almost daily telling us about the land grant that Hank was making his home.

There was one from Elena de Castillo, also to Charley. There was little information in this one. Mostly it was about how much she loved her Dear Henry and how he had saved her from losing her home. Her English was that of a twelve year old, but we understood that she had been speaking Spanish at home all her life.

Pete sent word that he had been up to where the earthquake had changed the lay of the land. This had happened not that many years ago, Pete couldn’t pin down the exact year, but most everyone alive remembered it happening. The grant under the United States could care less and hadn’t helped the grant recover. The de Castillos were not rich and from that year on just got poorer and poorer.

Pete wrote to Charley and we learned how Hank had come to know Don Pedro de Castillo and his daughter.

Hank and the two vaqueros from Texas had stopped at the Hacienda for water while riding by. Hank got a glimpse of Elena lugging some water for her tiny flower bed. He approached her and he was invited in after lugging enough water to drown the flowers. He stayed and worked at the ranch for meals. The first year he explored the grant. He found one place near the mountains where there was feed for some cattle. He scoured the wilds and moved the found cattle onto this part of the grant.

When the government began talking about the land grants needing solid titles, Hank sold the cattle and hired surveyors to make the grant title solid. This left the grant short of the money to re-file on the grant and pay the fees. The Attorney Don Pedro hired was unscrupulous and thought that Hank would never find the money for both the fees and his bill.

Pete wrote that the mission where the priests held services previously would house Brady, Berta and family. Across the churchyard was the presidio where the governor, his staff, and the soldiers were quartered along with their mounts which were stabled, all in a building called a presidio. It was now uninhabited but could still be used. This was a stark place without ornament and the adobe had deteriorated in places. Some of the walls had fallen in. This still belonged to the Catholic Church, but of course wasn’t active and now abandoned.

There was another church not nine miles away that was still active. This was where Elena had gone to school, riding in a pony cart there with a trusted Indian escort. Pete said he was going to talk to the Church to see if permission could be gained to stay in the abandoned presidio under a long term lease.

We were scrambling here in Cheyenne getting ready to leave. I made arrangement to retain two railcars for the furniture and household goods we wanted to take with us. We found we would need some sort of storage near the depot when we reached California. The demurrage charges would be considerable if the cars went over the three day unload limit and the charges kicked in.

We planned to leave on Monday morning. The two cars we had reserved had been sitting on the siding since Saturday. On Sunday early, all of my former crew who weren’t out on the trail came and loaded the rail cars with what we were taking. The first item loaded was a surrey that had been disassembled. With four children and three women, this would save them consternation if a buggy wasn’t available when we reached California.

We decided also to take Jack’s and my mount along with the pair of driving horses for the surrey in the stock car. Jack and I were riding in the stock car with our mounts and we agreed to feed and water all the other animals that were in with ours. We wouldn’t be charged for passage if we would see to all the animals in the railcar’s care.

After the two rails cars were loaded, we all went back to the yard for a royal send off from the men with whom we all worked since I won the freight outfit. There was a lot of sadness, mostly because the crew had seen three children born to Berta and me, and were family in all but name. Charley had arrived at fifteen and was pretty. She chose one of their own for a husband, grew into a beautiful woman, and had a cute little baby named Daniele.

Some of the men had come with Sarah when she became part of the Royal Flush Freight line. She was well loved. Berta, well, she was as much loved as Sarah. I don’t know how many times she was cautioned about shooting people. This was something they were hung up on. The marshal charged Berta with the same. George Cosgood was there and asked us to write telling him about our new life and would be hurt if we needed help and didn’t ask.

A wagon came into the yard with four of the women from the fancy houses. They had brought food and drink and then buggies and gigs arrived with several more of the town’s people. I was startled to see many of the so called better class of people mingling together with everyone.

Suddenly the hay barn doors were pushed open and music poured forth. There was a band made up of ten different instruments. There was only room for about a dozen couples to dance on the barn floor, but I saw that the ruts and hoof prints had been smoothed in front so the dance could take place for all. Charley, Berta and Sarah immediately took partners and the party began. Jack and I were in as much demand as our women.

The new owners didn’t seem to know what to make of this and stood off to one side watching. I saw that Polk was there with his wife. I went to him and asked if it was okay to ask his wife to dance. He said of course. She joined with us and then all the owners and their wives mixed with the crowd. That one thing happening as it did might ingratiate the new owners with the crew of men they now commanded.

The children who were with us were getting tired so we slowly made our excuses and escaped to the boarding house where we were staying the night before gaining the train near daylight. Our two cars were shunted from the siding and hooked onto the train. Jack and I loaded our horses and fed and watered the stock that was already in the car. Our families were in a passenger car about twenty cars ahead of the stock car where Jack and I were. Soon we were on our way heading for California.

Jack and I stood in the open door of the stock car and watched the world speed by. Some of the trip, a man could ride as fast as the train traveled, but there was no letup as the miles piled up behind us and Cheyenne was soon left behind. When the train stopped for water, we filled our buckets and the barrels at the same source. We had to pail ours out of a trough whereas a pipe filled the train from a movable pipe from a tank higher than the train. Sometimes we had time to run forward to say hi to the women and children. If we late getting back, we would swing aboard before the train picked up to much speed.

We were having no trouble. Robby wanted to come back and stay with Jack and me in the stock car. We told him maybe later. The children were all sick of riding and we still had two or three more days of this. Trouble reared its head after we left Evanstan. We had gone quite some distance and were climbing which meant we were moving slow. The engine was laboring when we came to a full stop.

The brakes squealed and we began to move backward. The train did halt. I thought I heard a gunshot. I looked at Jack and we swung down and headed for the front of the train. I glimpsed a man up on the pile of fuel in the tender, but he didn’t see me. I heard horses moving around and looked between the wheels to see the hooves of four horses on the other side.

We were a little past where Berta and the rest were in a car. I heard the door of the passenger car open and close on the one we were standing beside and then the next door open. Two more and the robbers would be in the car that Berta was sitting in. Jack had been watching for the man on the tender to spot us. At that moment, he sent a shot at us.

I had my eye on the space between the cars and a head came out and looked at us. He ducked back and it sounded like he had entered the next car back. There was a lot of shouting and cursing from both the robbers and those who were on the train. We followed the noise back and when I heard Berta’s voice telling the kids to get down on the floor, I shook my head.

There was a flurry of gun shots. Someone jumped down at the front end of the car that we were opposite which was the one Berta was in. He looked to be dragging his leg. The man was headed for the front of the train. I swung up between the cars and shot at him. He went down. The bag of loot went flying when he did. It was now quiet. I spoke. “Berta, it’s me, Brady. Is it safe to open the door?”

“Yeah, come on in.” I looked in could see a man dead on the floor. The three youngest kids were crying. Robby announced, “Mama shot him and Aunt Charley shot and hit the one who ran away. Is it all over?”

“Not sure, I’ll be back in a few minutes. There may be one more somewhere.”

Just then, the conductor stuck his head in. “Everything okay, here?”

“There is still one up front unless he rode off. There were four horses so we’ll have to find the fourth one. I’ll check the one who I hit on the other side.”

“Good, I’ll go up through the cars and check them out. We’ve got to get this settled or we’ll be late getting into Brigham City.” He opened the door and went into the forward car. Jack looked in and there was a man standing there with his hands in the air. A passenger had a gun on him. Jack and I stepped down onto the ground to look over the man whom both Charley and I had shot. He was dead. All four horses were tied to the train up by the engine. There was a man on the ground with the engineer and the fireman standing over him. That put an end to the botched robbery.

The conductor said. “Load the dead men into the caboose and I’ll take statements. I’ll have the horses turned loose and we’ll get going. You two would like to be with your family so I’ll pick up another man in Brigham City to tend the stock so you can be with them the rest of the way. I’ll see if I can return the passengers wallets and things they were robbed of to the correct owners. The railroad thanks you. I’ll wire ahead to where you leave the train so they can thank you in person.

It was difficult for the engine to start the train on the long grade we had come up earlier before the trouble. Finally, Jack and I were able to go in and see our wives and family. I came up to Berta and looked at her.

“Brady, I know just what you are thinking. I couldn’t help it. What was I supposed to do, the damned fool stood there with his gun on me and Charley had just shot the other man. I was watching his eyes. He was going to shoot.”

I stepped and pulled her into my arms. She shuddered once and then pushed me away taking my youngest, Brenda into her arms to calm the crying child. I looked at Charley, asking, “Are you okay?”

She nodded that she was and clasped her baby tighter to her. I went up and kissed her cheek and she sat down. “Thanks, Brady, I needed that.”

There were twelve other passengers in the car and they had been silent through all this. Now a little conversation resumed. A woman started to say something to Berta who didn’t look up when she was addressed. I shook my head that she wasn’t to be bothered. Robby made room so I could sit by his mother. Berta’s hand came and found mine.

When we reached Brigham City, it was a circus and we were held up several more hours. It was still unusual for a woman to kill. News had come from Cheyenne that this wasn’t the first robbery of the train in the past week. Finally, the Conductor let her, Charley and the three youngest kids into the caboose until just before we left when they could resume their same seats.

Robby, at ten was old enough to be really interested in history. I was able to tell him about the Mormons and Brigham Young. “The Mormons had originated with a man named, Joseph Smith born in upstate New York not far from where I was born. He died in Ohio after people didn’t like him having multiple wives and killed him. But the religion he started has lived on while he was trying to find a home for their faith. They came always west when moving and settled here near the Great Salt Lake.

“Another follower, Brigham Young, was born in Whitingham, Vermont. He carried on and brought their faith here from Ohio. When this same railroad we are on today was in trouble from lack of workers, Brigham Young provided them to keep the rails inching forward in this section to completion. They are an industrious group. They are looked down on by the Christian faith because they believe in having more than one wife at the same time.”

I also related when we reached The Donner Pass how travelers headed to California were stuck in the pass in heavy snow. They were a total of 81 persons there all winter. When they were relieved in the spring there were only 45 survivors. Only the hardiest survived. There were some gross actions during the winter and you’ll hear about that when you are older.”

“Tell me now, Daddy, I’m sure it won’t gross me out.”

“No, you’ll have to hear it later from someone else.”

“You’re mean!”

“Son!”

“Okay, Dad, but someone will tell me.” I shrugged my shoulders.

At the next the next stop for water, Robby got off the same as always. I checked my stock and headed back to the passenger coach. When Robby returned, he came running up to me. “Dad, did those people really eat each other and their babies?”

“That’s the rumor, son. No one knows for sure. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.”

We got back on the train and were sitting, he looked pretty green. “Dad, I wish I had listened to you. I have two sisters and it is horrible to think about.”

“I know, it is only rumor and I hate to think about it too.”

We came down the slope of the mountains and reached Sacramento where we would be leaving the train. We had two loaded rail cars to get emptied as soon as possible after being shunted to a side line. My animals came off first. Pete didn’t help with this. He was checking on Charley and their baby. Tom and Harry helped me. Hank was talking to the shunt engineer about where our loads of furniture and goods were being spotted. There were two other cars that were unhooked at the same time.

Hank and Pete had wagons to put our goods on. Harry and Tom were going to drive these. “Where did you get these from?”

“There are a few freight outfits around. I bought these and the mules to pull them. Do we have anybody who can handle mules?” This was a light-hearted attempt at a joke.

“One or two. I wouldn’t let you drive them. The mules might jump the traces and then what would you do?”

“Hank, it’s good to see you.

“You too, Brady. We heard that Berta is at it again?”

“Yeah, and Charley got some lead into one of them too.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. She’s my sister and she brought us a long way across the country before we met up with you. Ma and Pa were some discouraged once in awhile. It was Charley who was the backbone for all of us. Me, I was just plain scared.”

“Well, let’s get that buggy put together. The tools are in a burlap sack in the bed.” It took us less than an hour. We left the freight yard and headed south toward San Francisco. We would stay east of the bay and keep going. We had about one hundred and fifty miles south to go. We drove two hours and stopped for the night at an inn. We men stayed in the yard and the women and children had a bed to sleep in—the first since leaving Cheyenne.

We got breakfast and soon continued on the road south. The mules were slow, so we made the decision for Hank and Pete to go on as an escort to the surrey that held the three women and four children. Tom and Harry, with me as relief driver would follow. We traveled parallel to the coast several miles in the interior. Tom informed me that the grant we were headed for was about fifty miles from the ocean to the west of the grant.

The landscape was strange and nothing like what we had in the Dakota Territory. Strange plants and trees for one thing, and the earth of lighter color. One day heavy fog enveloped us, but burned off by ten in the morning. We spent four days reaching our destination.

We had to go beyond the Don Pedro de Castillo Hacienda to get to the abandoned mission and presidio. Berta and Charley were ensconced in apartments where priests had lived and prayed. The servants from the house had descended on this the day before the wagons arrival, cleaning and dusting under Berta, Charley, and Elena’s direction.

Jack and Sarah were to take up an apartment in the big house at the Hacienda until a small cottage could be constructed for them. Hank and Elena would live in the main house as soon as they were married which was planned for next week. This was made possible when Don Pedro was assured that funds would be provided to feed the friends and guests he wanted to invite for his daughter’s wedding. He wanted this to be in the old manner when he was a rich landowner instead of one who was virtually bankrupt.

The plans were for the morning of the wedding. Before the wedding ceremony, attorneys would be there to change the ownership of the grant to his only heir, his daughter, Elena and her husband, Henry. The only restriction was that every bit of the land in the grant would always be referred to as part of the de Castillo Grant. The Don asked that Hank take the name Castillo so the name wouldn’t pass into history. Hank would relinquish the name Horshack for the one of de Castillo.

Within the week after a short honeymoon, a meeting would be held with the newlyweds and the Americanos. With funds now, how to make the land grant profitable again would be discussed.

It was up to us to figure this out. We all had money, although unequal in amounts. We all had strengths and we hoped to build on these. Hank, with the help of Elena while waiting for us to arrive, had secured a ninety-nine-year lease to the abandoned mission and presidio from the nearest church that had retained control of it.

Here again, Hank agreed to a restriction by the church, that, if occupied, any persons of any station in life who came to the door asking for food they would be fed. I saw a flaw in this, but didn’t say anything and the deal was already recorded and done. Would riff-raff or Indians take advantage of this?

We unloaded the beds and we were a family again under a roof that we could call our own. That is if we wanted to decide to make the apartments in the old mission a permanent home. Charley and Pete were in different quarters in the same building. Harry and Tom would be living on the grounds in the former soldier barracks near the stables. This was a few yards separate from the mission itself.

While the preparation for the wedding was going forward in the capable hands of our women and the raft of servants who inhabited Don Pedro’s house, we headed for the upper reaches to explore some of the grant. I wanted to look at the water situation to see if there was some way we could get water flowing into the old lakebed. Hank assured me that the land that had been watered from the lake still had the irrigation systems in place. These ditches would need to be cleaned and some small repairs made to irrigate several hundred acres of land again.

“Hank, we came over and through mountains where construction was difficult. This doesn’t look that difficult to me. Construction in one form or another is taking place with new roads and rail lines continuing all throughout the country as it becomes more populated. We can hire one of the companies to do the job and they won’t have to travel far to do it. I guess Tom and Jack, along with Harry would be the ones to search for an outfit to do this. Agreed?”

It was. “Now for workers, the missions used the Indians to do their work and I imagine this grant was worked the same way. I don’t know if there are that many Indians still around, but we can check with the house servants that have been kept on. They would know. If not, we might use the Chinese.”

“Brady, we can’t afford them. They get a dollar a day.”

“I know they do, but what if we provide shelter and their own plot of ground to raise chickens and goats and ask if they want their families to join their men? I’ll bet they would work for a lot less and be much happier. We’ll look for the Indians first.”

“Where will they be living anyway? It should be close to where we need them.”

“Pete, we can start villages, although they may have some not far away. We’ll dig some wells and wherever we find water that’s where we’ll put one. Berta and I have always freighted and Pete has bought several wagons already. We’ll need more as time goes on when produce comes in. Maybe Charley can go to the coast and look at prospects about shipping goods that way. When we get a load of vegetables we’ll send them up to San Francisco; they’ll be sold in hours of when a boat docks.”

“What if we run out of money for all of this?”

“We could Pete, but don’t be surprised if our banker shows up here. He wants a change. All we need is one year of profitable crops and he’ll carry us in the lean times.”

Hank spoke up, “You know if we grow something that can be stored; the mission has some deep cool cellars that can be used. That’s one reason I worked so hard to get it into our hands.”

“We’ll explore these when we get back.”

“Are you going to grow fruits as well as vegetables? This is great wine country. Those were the first thing grown when the Spaniards showed up here. They had to have holy wine and they grew a lot of it.”

“And yes they drank a lot of it, too. I’ve heard that some of the soldiers drank to excess and more of them were killed when drunk during fights over a woman than against the enemy.”

“I’ve heard that too. Okay we have enough to do. We have a few things we can do before Hank goes off and makes his girl a woman.” Hank smiled when I said this. We’ll ride back to Don Pedro’s a different way. We haven’t seen but little of what we have here yet. Someday I want to ride up into the hills and see what it is like in the mountains. I’d like a venison steak occasionally.”

I had been here three days and hadn’t met Don Pedro yet. Tonight, all of us gwere invited to meet the Don. Elena would translate for us. Berta said she had a good command of the English language, although her written hand left much to be desired.

Don Pedro was a small man standing ramrod straight. His eyes twinkled when he shook my hand. A few words came forth, “So you are the one who rescued my daughter’s fiancé on the trail and helped make him the man he is? I congratulate you.” This was repeated to me in the English I could understand by Elena.

I was quite taken with the woman Hank was to marry in two days. She was lovely and young, a year younger than Hank. She took my arm and guided me to a seat.

“I pray we may sit and talk and hear about your exciting life someday. I was so happy that you and your friends have decided to join Henry here. The project that he has taken to make the grant great again is more than one person should attempt. He said you were such a success at owning the freight line. He and I are willing to share with his friends especially when they have the funds to put the grant back into the shape my Papa’s father had in the past.

“All my life, the de Castillo family has had to go without in so many ways. I despaired of having a lovely wedding before we were turned out of our home. My Papa is a proud man and he would have died if that had come about. I assure you we have learned to do without for so long it won’t take much to see him happy now that the grant is safe.”

“We are glad to be here. You will be married to Henry and we are certainly going to make sure the grant remains in the de Castillo hands. In the meantime we are planning on building a good life for ourselves. You may not be clothed in gold, but you will definitely be comfortable.”

“Thank you, Mr. Boyd.”

“Please call me Brady as well as friend.”

“I will. Would you like to tour our house while you wait for dinner? I will assign my house keeper to guide you.”

“Has Berta and Charley had the tour?””

“Yes and Mrs. Abram has as well.”

“I would love to.” Elena signaled to a woman who came to my side and spoke quickly. This woman was some years older than I, and her bearing indicated that that she was more than a lowly servant. “Delores, this is Mr. Boyd. He would like to view our apartments and the rest of the house. It will be nearly an hour before we are seated for dinner.”

“Please follow me, sir. Would you like to have your wife come with you?”

“I would and then we can discuss what we see at our leisure.”

I beckoned to Berta. Delores said while we were waiting for Berta to cross the room to us, “You may wonder why I am able to converse in English. I was originally from the state of Connecticut. My husband and I came around the horn ten years ago. I made it but he didn’t. I was employed at first to an Americano who was in business. When Elena’s mother passed, the Don asked me to come and be a companion to his daughter. We both have enjoyed the association.”

“I am sorry for your loss. I’m sad for Elena as well. I suppose my parents may still be alive. I am unaware because I left home at sixteen and have always made my own way since that time.”

“I’m sure they have missed you.” I didn’t answer because this fact did bother me more than I let on. Was I being selfish by not contacting my parents? Probably.

The building was of adobe. Much had been done to dress it up with wall hangings and bright window treatments. The windows were small and some of the rooms seemed dark. It was cool and I understood as the evening progressed the windows would be open to let the cooler air from the outside in to keep the temperature down at this time of year. I mentioned to Berta that I would see that she had material to do the same at the mission where we were now living.

We returned to the main room. My children were glad to see their father and mother return for this was all strange to them. Robby sat on a divan with his two sisters huddled close. Charley sat on the same seat holding her young one, Daniele. Hank smiled at me when I came in. He was proud of the change in his status. It was a lot different than living in the bunkhouse or in a cow camp.

There was chicken served for dinner. There was a thick red sauce that was spooned over the meat. I questioned what it was. “It is a vegetable named tomato. It has been known for centuries by the Indians in the southern part of this world. It grows on an upright plant. There are fruit of two colors ... red and yellow. The red has a stronger flavor.