Chapter 5

Early the next morning Marty and his group of fellow settlers left the little town in which they arrived and received their small amount of onsite training. The trip to the valley they intended to settle was mostly unremarkable, it being the third time in a week that most of them rode on the same route. The only exception to that statement might have been learning how to drive their teams, and moving slower with the wagons than they had previously when they were on horseback. Thankfully, Marty had a small amount of experience as an equestrian and with teams because of his deceased wife’s passion for horses. This being so, he could help the others somewhat. Of course, they all obtained the same brief training session in the town but it was not enough to do more than familiarize them with the procedure for hitching, unhitching and basic driving of the wagons and saddling and caring for the horses. Mistakes were made and it took way too long to hitch and unhitch the teams but they managed, becoming more proficient daily.

When they crested the last rise and saw their valley spread out before them, they all stopped just like they had before. The newcomers all stood or sat, staring at their new home in awe. The Carters and Marty looked at the land spread out before them in pride and appreciation, each person paying particular attention to their part of the valley. Finally, Josh said, “It sure looks pretty. Where are the property boundaries? We want to find our place and get to the city so we can file before we lose out on this.”

Marty walked over beside the two new families and began pointing out the approximate boundaries and corners. Jim wandered over beside the small group and assisted him. They each gave an approximate location for their planned homesites as well. Jim also said, “I don’t know how you all feel about it, but I think it would be a good idea to build our homes and outbuildings as close to each other’s places as possible so we can help faster in case of an emergency. Marty and my family plan to stake out our future homes, outbuildings and fences and begin building in the next day or two. By the time you’re back from the city after filing you can see where we are and decide where you want to build. I suggest we do as the old settlers did in our time and help each other build and maybe even help get the first crop and gardens planted.”

They all agreed that was a good idea and moved back to their wagons to go the final miles to their selected homes. The Stiles and Talleys followed along with Marty because they were going to leave their wagons and belongings with him when they went to file on their land. After the teams were unhitched and cared for Marty and the men rode to Jim’s place. The four men then rode the boundaries of the Carter’s and Marty’s land that would bound the Stiles’s and Talley’s potential land. After the newcomer’s were familiar with the boundary between Marty’s and the carter’s homesteads they split, Marty and Jim heading for their places and the other two riding off to choose their future homestead and tentatively locate their homesites, assuming the land was still unclaimed when they arrived at the land office.

About sunset everyone who was out and about met back at Marty’s place where the women were preparing supper and setting up a temporary camp. Jim’s family met him there and they all had a quick meal. While everyone was relaxing after the meal Harvey said, “You sure found the perfect place here. I really like your homesite and the waterfall over there. The bluff should protect you from all the worst winds from the north and many of them from the southwest the way the stream curves. I sure wish I had found this place first. I’m not complaining, we found a great place over yonder. You just have a nicer one here.”

After a little socialization, the Carter’s returned to their future home, and the others headed for their wagons to get a much-needed rest. Everyone knew morning would come far sooner than they really wanted it to in one way and not soon enough in others.

After an early breakfast the next morning the Talleys and Stiless took off to file on their new property. They were riding out just as dawn was breaking. Marty headed for the Carter’s to help them begin laying out and building their small cabin. After it was completed, they would build one for Callie then work on one of the other cabins.

Marty intended to build as large a barn as he could before he built his house. He would move most of his tools and farm items into it and live in his Conex (the ocean shipping container) for at least the first year, while he built a more elaborate home near the small waterfall coming over the 25-foot bluff nearby. There was a nice pool of water below the fall that he intended to use for a fish pond and to swim in. He would use some pipes to pipe water from the fall downhill to his home so he could have running water. His barn and cattle operation would be lower so the animal waste didn’t affect his potable water.

He wasn’t sure but he thought there was plenty of water and a good enough fall to put in a waterwheel for power. He wanted to convert his gasoline generators to water power so he could have electricity for a few tools and his welder. He even had thoughts about building a water powered grist mill or sawmill (or both).

Marty had enough bottom land to have some great cropland and good pasture for his animals. His first order of business was to plow and get a good-sized garden started. According to Jones, it was still early May here and they could grow most full season crops if they could keep the wild animals and native grass and weeds out of it. He didn’t think he really wanted to become a farmer here since he would have to use horse drawn implements but he definitely would need to grow enough crops for his own needs. Ranching was an option too. He admitted to himself he didn’t want to work as hard as farmers did in this time.

When he arrived at the Carter’s they were finished with their breakfast and working on laying out their small cabin. After greeting everyone Marty asked, “What’s first on the list Jim?”

“I think we need to take the wagon over to your bluff if you don’t mind and find some rocks for our foundation. After that we set it up then find smaller rock to mix with clay and lime for the floor inside the foundation. It won’t be concrete by a long shot but it’ll be better than a plain dirt floor.

“I’m still trying to decide whether to spend a wad of money for lumber or build with logs. Logs would be cheaper and faster but there’s something about a house built with boards that looks more successful. I believe I still have enough gasoline and saw oil for my chainsaw to cut all the logs I’ll need. I’m surprised they didn’t take our gasoline and small engines like they did our vehicles and tractors.”

“I’m surprised about them letting us have the gasoline engines and gasoline powered tools but not so much about the gasoline itself. This time period uses kerosene or coal oil already and the gasoline isn’t that much different. It’s just a slightly different distillate. I was wondering the same thing about our buildings though. I’m leaning toward a log and rock place for myself. I like the look and it will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer than an uninsulated board building. Besides, if built and landscaped correctly logs and rock will look really great here with the bluff and waterfall beside it.”

“Yeah, I agree for you. For us, we can just go to building with logs instead of finding a sawmill and hauling the lumber in. The main drawback with using logs is the shrinkage when they dry out if we build using green ones. I don’t want to wait for a year or two before building so I suppose we’re stuck with lumber or building a small temporary cabin from logs then rebuilding after logs we cut have cured and we can take the bark off them.”

“Yep. That’s one reason I intend to live in the conex for a year or so. It’ll give my logs time to dry and give me time to do other things I think are more important. Besides, I can build at a more leisurely pace doing it like that.”

The men were working digging the trench Jim planned to put his footing and foundation in as they talked but finally the work became tiring enough the conversation withered. All at once Marty stood with an oath and said, “Hey Jim. We’re a couple of dumb asses. Why are we working so hard digging this by hand when we can hook up a team and plow the first part of the footing. We’ll still have to shovel and dig quite a bit but it’ll be easier than having to do it all by hand.”

Jim laughed and said, “You got me there. Let me go get a team and we’ll do what we can with the plow.” With the help of the team they had a small cabin’s footing dug just before the women called them for lunch.

While they were eating Jim said, “If you don’t mind can we go pick up rocks on your bluff this afternoon? I would like to get the foundation and floor done as quickly as possible then I’ll plow a plot for what little we’re going to plant this spring and get the garden and some grain out for the animals. After that I’ll ride into town and see if I can buy some lumber for delivery.”

“Sure, no problem. As soon as we get the heavy rocks in place, I need to do some field work myself.”

Those who remained in the valley worked, as they say, from can, to can’t (can see to can’t see or dawn to dusk for you city slickers) for the next three days. The women helped where they could and kept the men in food and water besides. At supper the third evening Jim said, “I’m sort of worried about the Stiless and Talleys. They should have been back by now unless they ran into some trouble.”

Marty said, “Yeah, I agree but maybe they did some shopping before they left. You know it’s a little over a day’s ride to town, and the same back. If they spent a whole day or little over doing business, this evening is the earliest they could be back. I won’t start worrying too much until day after tomorrow.”

By the next evening they were done with the pending work on the floor and foundation of the Carter’s home and had most of the posts cut for the small amount of fencing they intended to do for corrals (they hoped they didn’t have to fence the garden and cropland). They even had a few trees cut for the log barn Jim intended to build and had set some rocks every so far on its perimeter to keep the bottom course of logs off the dirt.

The ladies had supper earlier than was the norm. It was still light when they all finished eating. Marty looked around and said, “I think I’ll head on home now. Unless you need me, I plan to do some work there over the next few days.”

Marty looked over at Callie and said, “Callie, I’ll be back the first of next week to help with your place if that’s OK. I have several things I really need to finish at home before we start. Do you intend to build a larger cabin or a small one to meet the minimum for the homesteading requirements?”

Callie smiled and said, “A small one for now. I’m not sure just what I’ll want in the way of buildings. Obviously, I want to meet the letter of the law but right now I only want to build the bare minimum to meet those requirements. I just don’t know whether I’ll be living on my claim long or not. I’m mostly filing on the place so either you or Dad can buy it from me if I marry and move off. Of course, if I do get married and my husband wanted to live there, we’d keep the place and build a better house then.”

Marty smiled and said, “I can see that. I think that’s a good idea. Well, see ya all in a few days.”

When he got home, Marty saw neither the Stiles nor the Talleys, and became a little worried. They hadn’t said anything about delaying their return and he now began to believe something might have happened to them. Finally, he uneasily went to bed after deciding there was nothing he could do about them at that time. He did put his bedroll down well away from the wagons in a protected location for safety’s sake but that was more from habit than any other reason. He didn’t sleep in the same location twice in a row when he was outside like he now was.

Marty was working in the fields the next day when, about mid-morning, he heard the jingle of a wagon approaching. He looked toward the sound and saw a small farm wagon with three people in it and two horses tied on behind. He stopped his team and headed toward his wagons where he met the wagon and its occupants. He saw Harvey and Joan on the seat and Mary was in the back. He wondered where Joshua was and became worried once again.

When he got closer to the wagon, he finally saw Josh laying on a mattress in the bed of the wagon. He was squeezed in beside several sacks and boxes or barrels of goods while Mary tended to him.

After greetings were exchanged Marty noticed both men were bruised and Mary had bruises on her arms. He said, “You look as if you ran into some kind of trouble. Are you all ok?”

Harvey tied the reins of the team to the brake lever and slowly, painfully, climbed down from the seat. He reached up to help Joan down and started to help Mary but Marty beat him to it. When he saw that, he said, “Yeah, I think we’re going to be OK now. There for a while I wasn’t too sure. We had just finished filing for the land when three men pushed us out of the way in the land office. They were the three men you warned us about. We were that close to losing out on the land.

“Anyway, we went ahead and left the office, planning to buy a few things, have lunch, and leave that afternoon like you said you all did. We weren’t even across the street heading for the cafe when we heard running feet and a man yelling curse words at us. We turned just in time for those three to slam into us.

“The older one, Tom, I think his name was, knocked me down and started yelling. He said, he ‘told that son of a bitch that valley you filed on was ours.’ He asked if he was in on this too or if it was just us trying to take their land? Then he said it didn’t matter. He said we needed to march our asses back into the office right then and transfer the land we filed on to Randy and Davey. He kept on ranting and said if he found out someone else had filed on their land they were going to pay. One of the other men grabbed Mary and held her while he tried to feel her up.

“Well, Josh let his temper get the best of him, not that I blame him, and mouthed off. Hell, I wouldn’t let anyone talk to me like that or manhandle my wife either. He said we filed fair and square and if we could prove up on the ground it was our valley not theirs. He also told the man to get his hands off his wife and threw a punch at him. The punch knocked him away from Mary or he let her go to fight. I don’t know which. One of the brothers beat him to Josh, threw a punch and knocked Josh down then all hell broke loose. The two of us were getting the worse of it when Mary pulled her pistol and shot one of the brothers that had pulled a knife. She held the other two at gunpoint while we caught our breath.

“By then there was quite a crowd gathered to watch the fight and the sheriff showed up when she shot Davey. The two of us were banged up pretty bad but we decided to leave when the sheriff released us. He ruled the killing justified when he saw Mary’s arm and the knife laying where Davey dropped it.

“Well, we weren’t much more than out of town when someone shot Josh. We didn’t see who it was, but I think it was probably the Goosetrees or one of them. We all shot back toward the men shooting at us while Mary saw to Josh. After a few shots they stopped firing and headed their horses back toward town. We didn’t try to catch the men but it looked like we winged at least one of them. There was a large pool of blood where they were shooting from and drops from there toward town. One of them was swaying in the saddle as they rode off. I don’t read sign like some of the old movies talk about but after they got out of sight it looked as if they left the trail.

“Anyway, after we checked to be sure the shooters actually left, we took Josh back to town to see the doctor. The doctor didn’t want us to leave for a week or ten days but we decided we’d leave the next morning if Josh thought he could handle it. We nearly beat him to death getting here in two days in the wagon but we made it. Well, I suppose it was two and a half days if you count today. Josh’s wound isn’t too serious if we can keep it from getting infected. It was through the meaty part of his side and didn’t hit anything vital as far as the doctor could tell.”

“Well shit,” muttered Marty. “I was afraid we’d have trouble with those three. Now we have to be extra careful around here. I suppose someone needs to ride over and warn Jim about this too although we’ve been keeping sort of an eye out already. At least, with Davy dead we only have two to worry about.”

“Hey, it’s not our fault!”

“No, no, I know it isn’t. I didn’t mean to sound like I thought it was. I’m just pissed we’re going to have trouble with those assholes and I’m worried about our safety. Why don’t you all settle in here while I ride over to warn Jim. I’ll be back as soon as I can and we’ll make some plans. Be sure to keep a sharp eye out and stay under cover as much as you can until we get this settled. It wouldn’t hurt to set a sentry up on the bluff if one of you feel up to it.”

Marty and the Carters were back in a little less than an hour. They even brought the Carter’s wagons for safety. Marty told everyone, “Jim and I decided it would be safer if we forted up here until we see what the Goosetrees are going to do. We’ll talk about it over supper and see what we can come up with. I know we all need to work our places so be thinking how we can do that and still keep everyone safe.”

Not much more was accomplished that day. They made a few plans for safety and rearranged the campsite for more protection. They ate the evening meal the women prepared and set a watch schedule. Everyone went to bed at full dark.

The men were drinking coffee and waiting on breakfast the next morning after they had cared for the animals when Callie, who was on watch, yelled, “Riders coming fast from downstream.”

Everyone put their cups down and the women moved the cooking breakfast off the fire. They hadn’t much more than picked up weapons when a group of men rode into camp in a cloud of dust. One of the men had a bloody bandage on his head and another had a bandage on an arm. It was the remaining two Goosetree brothers and two other men they didn’t recognize.

Tom pulled his pistol and shouted, “Hold it right there. I want the bitch that killed Davey and those assholes that shot us up the other day then the rest of you can get the hell off our land or you can die on it. Your choice.” He looked at Marty and continued, “I told you once this is our valley back home and we intend to make it ours here too. I’m not going to warn you again. Now move.”

Marty could tell none of the men were too ready for trouble. It was almost as if they thought just being there would be enough. They all held pistols but none of them were really pointing at the group of friends.