Chapter 33

Bonners General Mdse. the big sign read over the front of the store. Tom was familiar with these stores, he had been in many of them since he made his way down from The Dakotas. There was a familiarity with them that reminded him of his days in Eagle Creek Trading Post. A man could just about find anything he needed in one of these big stores that sold everything from food to clothing to farm and ranch tools. He could buy a gun and ammunition, a heavy coat for winter, or a pair of boots.

The women could buy staples such as sugar, salt, flour, corn meal, pots and pans and dishes. She could also buy cloth from a bolt of material and needles along with thread of all colors and sizes to make shirts and dresses for the family.

Malcolm Bonner was behind the front counter waiting on a woman and her two daughters as they bought food staples, then asked for a few yards of material they had picked out for dresses.

He looked up as a tall Indian walked in his store followed by another tall young man. They both wore badges of the law and looked very formidable with their handguns strapped low on their legs.

Malcolm Bonner’s eyes locked for an instant with the tall Indian’s eyes and he gave a silent sigh of relief when he saw the smile come across the Indian’s face as he nodded toward Mr. Bonner.

Mr. Bonner looked down at the three boys that had followed the two lawmen into his store. They were dressed in britches and shirts that had been outgrown and were ripped and ragged from being worn every day, and from being torn on barbed wire, from the looks of some of the rips. Their shoes were worn out and he could even see a part of the youngest boy’s foot through a hole in the side.

“Mildred, we have more customers, can you come attend to their needs?” He yelled as he turned to the back of the store.

Mr. Bonner walked over to where the woman was pointing to the bolt of material that was stacked with many other round bolts. He took the roll of material and slipped a wooden dowel rod through the core and mounted it on a frame that would let it roll the cloth out as he measured it.

As Mr. Bonner was measuring out her material for the girls, the woman looked over at the three young boys that were dressed in such ragged clothes. Her heart went out to them and she felt a lump in her throat as she looked. She and her husband had always wanted a son to help with the ranch chores, but the Lord just hadn’t seen fit for it to be. She was about past child bearing age now and she had almost died at the birth their youngest daughter almost twelve years ago.

Now she looked at these boys with their ragged cloth hats in their hands, their faces red in embarrassment as Mrs. Bonner fitted them with new clothes. She looked down at her daughters and they too were looking at the boys as they were being fitted.

Her oldest daughter Willa and her youngest Bobbie, were wondering if these new boys were gonna be here to go to school in the fall and would they be going to church on Sunday’s.

Without even discussing it, they each picked out the one they liked the best of the three. Bobbie liked the youngest one, he was a bit skinny for his age, but he was cute and she liked his sun-bleached hair that was almost white and hung down on his shoulders.

Willa had eyes for the middle boy, he was about her age and tall and rangy for his age, his face and arms were dark from working in the Kansas sun and he looked so cute when he teased his younger brother and laughed about it. She just knew that if they ever met, they would get along real good, they thought alike, as she liked to tease her sister the same way.

Mr. Bonner was measuring the material when the three of them turned back from watching the boys get fitted. He picked up the loose end by one corner of the material and held it up to his nose, then he stretched out his arm to full length as the material slid through his fingers. This was one yard, when he had measured the first yard, he took the material where he had pinched it then held that mark to his nose as he measured another yard.

When Mildred Bonner had come from the back of the store through a curtain and walked out to meet the five new customers with a big smile. She saw the ragged young boys hanging back to one side. They each had a cloth hat in their hands and were wadding and twisting them as they looked uncertain of where they were and what they were doing here.

“What can I do for you young men today?” She had asked as she walked out from behind the long wooden counter in back of the store.

“Well Ma’am, we’ve come to outfit these three brothers with some good tough ranch clothes and a nice Sunday set for each of them too,” Tom said.

“We have just the thing these young wranglers need. These new waist overalls just arrived this month from a clothing maker in San Francisco, California. They’re made of a heavy fabric that’ll stand up to hard wear and hard work and even bob wire,” she said, pointing to a pile of blue colored britches on the far end of the counter.

“You boys come on over here and let’s see what we can come up with that’ will fit each of you.”

Cole, Ray and Tag walked out from behind Tom and over to where the woman stood holding a pair of dark blue, heavy made britches.

Mrs. Bonner held a pair up to Cole’s waist.

“This is just about your size, they may be just a little big on you at first, but they’ll draw up some when they’re washed the first coupla times, it’ll take a few washin’s to get the new washed out of ‘em anyway.

“Besides that, you three young’uns need to put some meat on them bones too, then you’ll fill’em out just fine,” She smiled.

Ray reached out and pushed his younger brother Tag forward to be next in line for the fitting of the new britches. Tag stumbled forward and nearly fell before Mrs. Bonner grabbed his arm.

Tag looked over his shoulder and gave a mean look at his brother who was snickering, with his hand over his mouth.

“Well, young’un we’ll have to dig down to find a pair of these that’ll be small enough for you, I reckon.” She pulled up the pile from the back and thumbed through them looking for a smaller size.

“Here we are, these’ll be just a bit big on you, like your brother, but like I said, they’re gonna draw up some when they get washed the first few times. You fellers will just have to roll up the long pants legs to make a cuff, cause they gonna be a little long on you too,” She held the stiff waist overalls up to Tag’s waist to measure how they would fit.

Tag held his new waist overalls up in front of him and smiled over the top of them at Tom. Tom was pleased to see the brothers finally get something to be proud of after what they’d been through all the years of their young lives. Ray was next and soon they each had new britches.

“They’re gonna need shirts, underwear, boots, a hat and a belt, too,” Tom said. “And don’t forget the Sunday duds, they’ll each need a full set of them.”

“We’ll get them all fixed up just fine, you boys step over here and let’s see what we can find for shirts that’ll fit,” Mrs. Bonner told them.

The brothers were beginning to like the idea of getting new clothes, none of them ever had store bought clothes in their lives and this was a special time for them.

Mrs. Bonner kept sorting through the clothes she had that were even close to what the boys could wear.

She was pleased that she had come as close as she could to fit them all in new clothes. She had each of them holding their own clothes as she went from one to the other finding them underwear and a belt that could cinch up the stiff new waist overalls.

She kept up a steady line of talk, asking all about them, where they were from, where they were going, how long they’d be here. By the time they were through buying new duds, she knew almost as much about them, as they knew about themselves.

Cole looked on the back of his new pair of heavy made waist overalls and saw the square leather label stitched there with these words branded.

Levi Strauss & Co.

San Francisco, California.

{ In later years, the new ‘waist overalls’ would come to be known as ‘Blue Jeans’ and this particular style would be known as the original ‘Levi’s 501 Jeans’ }

The seams had a brass rivet at the bottom of the button up front flap, with a heavy brass button at the waist band too, as well as brass rivets on the corners of the pockets front and back. There was even a small pocket for a man’s watch, that is if he owned one.

“Can we wear them Tom?” Tag asked.

“Sure you can Tag, they’re yours and we bought’em for you to wear.”

When Mrs. Bonner heard Tag ask if they could wear the new clothes, she pointed to the back.

“You fellers just go back there through that curtain and get them new duds on so’s we can get a look at you and see how they fit.”

The brothers were smiling as they hurried to the back to put their new store bought clothes on, they also had tears in their eyes and none of them knew why.

The woman and her daughter’s were just about through picking out material, the two girls were watching the young boys as they ran to the back room to put their new clothes on.

“I hope we get to see them with all them new duds on, don’t you?” Bobbi asked her older sister.

“Yeah, and I hope they’re gonna be from around here for a while too, don’t you?” Willa said.

“Yeah.”

“Mrs. Bonner, you reckon you got some of them new waist overalls that’ll fit me as tall and skinny as I am?” Cal asked as he stood running his hands over the heavy blue material and examining the brass rivets that held the seams along with the three lines of stitching that were sewn into the seams and hems.

“You bet we do, come here and let me measure you around the waist then we can find some with the legs long enough for you.”

Mrs. Bonner wrapped a tape around his waist and then began digging through the pile of clothes again.

“Ah ha, here we go, these’ll fit you just fine,” she said as she handed Cal the new dark blue colored britches.

Cal smiled and walked back through the curtain where the brothers were already changing into their new clothes with their old duds scattered all over the floor.

Ray was teasing Tag about the way his new underwear was bagging in the straddle and in the seat where the trap door was, then he put his on, and his too were baggy. They were all laughing and Cal couldn’t help but be drawn into the fun. He shucked his old breeches off and pulled the new ones up. He buttoned them and put his old leather belt through the loops around his waist to cinch them tight. Then he strapped his Colt back on and tied it on his leg.

Cole helped Ray and Tag roll the pants legs up into big cuffs like Mrs. Bonner had told them, the underside of the new pants was a lighter color and looked odd to them at first.

But with the new britches on, they just didn’t care that much about how the bottoms looked.

The brothers walked back through the curtain into the store, their legs spread apart and walking straight-legged as the heavy material was stiff and didn’t bend good when they tried to walk.

They looked around the store to see if there was anyone here to see them in their new duds and saw the woman and her two daughters at the counter with Mr. Bonner.

Willa and Bobbi looked up to see the boys looking their way and gave them a big smile. The oldest boy didn’t even notice them, but the two they liked the best anyway, smiled back and ducked their heads and turned away.

Willa and Bobbi looked at each other and giggled with their hands over their mouths.

“Don’t you worry none, these new britches will loosen up after you wash’em, then when you wear them a few times, they’ll be a lot easier on your body too,” Mrs. Bonner told the boys as they walked stiff legged out to where she was.

“Indian, don’t you want to trade in your buckskins for some of these new waist overalls?”

“No Ma’am, I reckon I’ll keep wearing what I got for a while longer,” Tom grinned as he saw Cal walk stiffly into the room too.

“You fellers come over here and let’s get you some boots that’ll fit, then we’ll find you a nice new hat,” Mrs. Bonner told them, as she led them through a door into a room that had long wooden tables with new boots paired up all over the table tops.

Tom and Cal followed them into the boot room and looked around, there must have been at least thirty or forty pair of boots and the smell of new leather was heavy in the room.

“This is Oliver Bonner, Malcolm’s brother. He’s the boot maker in the family, if you don’t find what you need, he can measure you and have you some new boots in a day or so,” Mrs. Bonner said, introducing them to the man sitting at his big machine, sewing the leather foot to the thick layered leather sole of a boot he was making.

All of them stood looking at how this man could put the leather under the machine and have a boot when he got through sewing. His feet were working the heavy cast iron pedal as he worked and twisted the heavy leather through the sewing head with his hands.

Cal saw a pair of black boots he really liked and tried to put one on. It was too small and Oliver saw him look it over good.

“I can make you a pair like that by closing time tomorrow, if you’re gonna be here that long.”

“Yes’sir, we’ll be here.”

Oliver stood up and motioned for Cal to walk over to his work table.

“Put your foot up here and let me get a good drawing of it.”

When he had that foot drawn out, Cal put his other one up there and Oliver drew the outline of it too.

“How tall do you want’em?” Oliver asked.

“I reckon about like these I was looking at, would be good for me,” Cal answered.

“I’ll have them ready for you then, they’ll cost you seven dollars special built like this.”

“I’ll check back with you tomorrow, we got to get these boys shod now, they’re just about to walk plum out of the shoes they got on,” Cal told him.

The three brothers all found boots they liked on the ready made table, they were just a bit long on their foot, but fit good on the sides.

“You’re feet are gonna be growin’ all the time, so these’ll have room for your foot to grow into,” Mrs. Bonner told the boys as she mashed down on the tips of the boots to find where their toes were.

“Here, I’m gonna give you boys all a pair of socks to wear with them new boots, you all done spent a bunch on these new duds, it’s the least I can do,” Mrs. Bonner handed them all a pair of new gray wool socks to put on. The socks were too long, so she showed them how to fold the toe of the sock down under their foot before they pulled the boots on.

Tom had walked back into the other part of the general store where he saw some hats over in one corner of the store. He was looking through them for something that might fit the brothers when he noticed a big brown hat made like his, on a shelf behind the counter. He stepped around and took the hat down, then looked inside.

There, branded into the smooth leather of the inside band was:

“Mathew Richards, Hatter of Sky, Eagle Boy of the Dakotas”.

Tom looked long and hard at the name in the hat he held in his hands, then he placed it back on the shelf and walked over to where Mr. Bonner was just finishing up with the woman and handed each of her daughters a stick of liquorish.

From behind him he heard Mrs. Bonner speak to the woman before they left.

“Roberta, we’ll see you and the family in church on Sunday, you be careful getting home now, bye girls,” She said as the woman and her daughters carried their purchases out the door.

“I noticed the names in the hats over there, do you order your hats from the hat maker?” Tom asked Mr. Bonner.

“He comes by here every so often and we get together on what we want and he makes them while he’s here. Did you see any that you liked? I have one back there that looks almost like the one you have on, did you see it?” Mr. Bonner said, looking up at Tom’s big black hat.

“Yes sir, I did,” Tom said and looked around to see the boys all looking at hats.

Tom was walking over to where they were, when he saw Cal walk back and pick the brown hat off the shelf and look it over good. Then he placed it on his head and tugged it down tight. He took it off again and looked it over good again as Tom walked up.

“Tom, this hat is made a lot like yours, did you see that? I think I’ll get me this hat, I always liked yours the way it was made anyhow. It even has the braided leather strap like yours that hangs under your chin.”

“It looks good on you Cal,” Tom said, not knowing what else to say.

Ray and Cole picked out brown hats and Tag picked out a big black hat that was made exactly like Tom’s.

“Look Tom, I got me a hat like yours now,” He smiled as he looked up at Tom.

“Yep, they’ll be thinkin you’re me now,” Tom smiled at him.

“Well, I reckon we need to get over here and settle up with Mr. Bonner, if you fellers are about done,” Tom said.

Mrs. Bonner had bundled up the three bundles of Sunday clothes she had picked out for the boys and wrapped a string around them then tied it, they all had decided they just wanted another pair of the new waist overalls and a new white shirt for Sunday.

She and her husband were adding up all the new clothes with pencil and paper, making sure they didn’t cheat the newcomers.

Cole saw a wooden rack of small paper back books and walked over to get a better look. He was thumbing through them and reading the titles when he looked up to see the others about ready to leave. He sure wanted to come back and maybe buy one or two when he started making his own money, since they were only a dime apiece.

“Looks like we gonna set you fellers back about thirty nine dollars and that includes Cal’s new boots that Oliver’s building.”

Cal counted out forty dollars and laid it on the counter, Tom pushed it back and laid his money out there.

Mr. Bonner looked from one to the other, then took twenty from Cal and twenty from Tom and smiled as he pushed the rest back to each of them.

They shook hands with Mr. Bonner when he gave them their change. Mrs. Bonner gave the three boys a liquorish stick, then bent down and hugged the three boys as their faces turned blood red.

They had never been hugged by anyone, let alone a strange woman, they didn’t even know her before today.

The five of them walked out of the General store and walked their horses down the street to the livery stables. Tom spent some time alone with his horse before they walked over to the hotel, he knew this was gonna be hard on both of them, a night away from each other.

He had promised the brothers a meal in the hotel dining room and a night in a fancy hotel room, he wasn’t gonna back out on them now.

Tom stood in front of the desk in the Beeson Hotel.

“We need two rooms for the night,” he stated.

The hotel manager looked the bunch of them over real good, then looked up at Tom.

“Are you Tom Cooper?”

“Yes sir, but how did you know that?” Tom was just about to walk away, thinking the man was gonna refuse to let them stay here because he was part Sioux.

“Tom, welcome to Hays, Kansas and the Beeson Hotel. I’m Carl Beeson and I own the hotel. My family and I run it ourselves.”

“You have rooms reserved by Mr. Gale Fortenberry, we have the master rooms on the top floor ready for your group.”

“He never told us he was gonna do this, besides how did you know us?” Tom asked, still puzzled.

“Indian, we don’t get many of your kind through here, and to be honest we don’t normally cater to Indians, but when Mr. Fortenberry put his stamp on it, that was good enough for me. He described you and told me that I would know you as soon as I saw you.

“I did.”