Chapter 9: Triple trouble

The walk to my tent had me thinking what I could do for bride prices for the two new women. I didn’t have another Sharps well I did have the knock off so that was one. The current trapdoor carbine was the standard issue rifle for calvary it also used 45-70. I had to look through my stuff again and see what I could come up with. The trouble was first not offering a bride price equal to what I have given for White Hawk and at the same time not giving something more and hurt White Hawks feelings. Also, I didn’t want to give Black Bear more than I have given White Eagle and cause a problem between them or me. What a frustrating situation.

Golden Hawk scratched at my tent door and after I invited her in began to explain some facts I had not considered. First neither Pretty Woman or Dark Moon had living parents or relatives. So, a bride price was really not necessary, she did understand that I did not want to belittle or shame either of the two or White Hawk. She suggested a Sharps for Black Bear and maybe a carbine like hers for Butterfly and something for the entire tribe like a cooking pot or two and maybe a coffee pot (I thought OH SHIT my coffee supply). I thanked her for explaining things better to me and she left smiling.

The next morning, I asked where the nearest town was and found that it was only a few miles past the fort. It made sense to have the fort close to the town for protection. White Hawk asked to join me for my trip to the town which I found was call Stanton named after the two brothers that started the town a few years ago. I laughed when I found out that the fort was also called Fort Stanton since it was next to the town Stanton.

White Eagle was against White Hawk accompanying me to town but agreed when Golden Hawk pointed out she was now my wife and my responsibility, even though she was still his daughter she was no longer his responsibility. I promised to protect her and got slapped on the back when I added, ‘and try to keep her out of trouble’. White Eagle laughed and Golden Hawk just huffed giving me a serious scowl.

We made it to Stanton in time for lunch. There were two choices, the hotel dining parlor or a shop between the general store and the butcher shop. I was curious as to who thought up this idea. Obviously we chose the shop and found that the butcher’s wife had partnered with the general store owner’s wife and sister to open the eatery with the idea of three meals a day and sandwiches and soup kept ready throughout the rest of the day.

Breakfast was choice of two eggs fried or scrambled with two slices of bread and a slice of meat. Coffee, milk or water came with the meal and juice was extra as it was very hard to come by. Lunch was a choice of the sandwiches and soup or a meat and vegetable with bread. Dinner was a baked potato and some other vegetable with a choice of fowl that was either chicken, grouse, or quail, or meat that was either cow, antelope, sheep, or pig and sometimes fish was available. Any leftovers were available until 10pm when the eatery closed.

We had just sat down when two men at the table next to us turned and said, ‘Get that filthy, nasty, smelling, animal out of here!’

I smiled and said, ‘our clean appearance must have triggered your sense of smell and registered how foul and nasty you both are.’

‘Lets step outside where I can use the water trough to clean you both off enough to return without offending yourselves or any of the rest of us inside.’

One of the two stood and started to pull his pistol. I kicked his knee hyperextending it backward and forcing him to drop his pistol as he fell to the floor. The other guy drew his pistol and as it cleared the top of the table White Hawk shot him in the chest knocking him backward onto the floor as his pistol fired upward toward the ceiling.

As it would happen the sheriff Wil Riker was having his breakfast a few tables away and saw the whole thing. Regardless of how he or any others felt it was a clear case of self-defense as the guy had his pistol drawn before he was shot. The sheriff did however demand that an Indian even worse a squaw NOT have a pistol on their person.

SGM Gordon and his wife Sarah happened to be in the back corner table and upon hearing and seeing everything. SGM Gordon spoke loud and clear as any military non-commissioned officer could saying, ‘COL McBride has given that gentleman, Two Names a letter of introduction and vouges for him. So, sheriff you need to consider him an Army Envoy and since the woman with him is his wife it would be in anyone’s best interest not to offend her as she obviously can take care of herself and then you would have to deal with Two Names as well and I can guarantee nobody around here would give him any trouble. Then he put the correct amount of coins to pay for Sarah and his breakfast and slowly walked out greeting Two Names and White Hawk as they past by.

The guy on the floor started to reach for his pistol and Sarah turned toward him saying, if you touch that pistol you will probably get shot by either or most likely both Two Names and White Hawk. Just so you know. And she smiled as she walked out the door.

The sheriff hurried over and picked up the pistol before helping the guy to his feet. When the guy started to fight the sheriff whacked him on the head hard enough to get his attention but not hard enough to do serious damage. Reluctantly the guy walked away with the sheriff.

A young girl in her mid-teens came over to get our order and apologize for the ruckus; after taking our order she brought us coffee. The meal was delicious we both had lamb and carrots with bread. I paid for our meal and asked where the gunsmith was located. The young girl introduced herself as Danella said there were two, the closest was only three buildings away on the same side of the main street. The other was at the far end of town and again on the same side of the main street. She added that this store only sold ammunition not guns. White Hawk thanked her and gave her a hug.

The closest gunsmith happened to also be a general store. White Hawk asked to look around while I talked to the gunsmith. Thomas Hawthorne was the gunsmith and store owner, his wife Margret their daughter Annette and son Theodore worked the store. Thomas lead me to the back wall where her had several rifles on display up on the wall and in a racks on both sides of the wall display. He also had pistols in a display case in front of the rifles.

There were two Sharps, the top one seemed a little larger than the one below it. The barrel was 4” longer too and when I asked Thomas said that it was a 45-100 the lower one was a 45-70 so the top Sharps had a slightly thicker barrel to contain the additional charge. I also saw he had three of the Trap-door Carbines also in 45-70. There were several percussion rifles in various calibers from .36 to .54 and different lengths from 20” trappers to 38” Kentucky rifles and a few Civil War .58 caliber. He also had a Henry and 2 Spencer lever-actions. There were a few shotguns as well, mostly double barreled and a few single barreled almost all of them were percussion cap black powder models.

He had several pistols in .36 and .44 caliber cap and ball, and only five revolvers that used the new metal cartridges. Two were .36 caliber, Two were .44 caliber and one was .45 caliber.

He did have two double-barreled that took shells which were all metal like the pistol and rifle cartridges. I asked to see one along with the shells it fired and both Sharps along with both .36 and the .45 revolvers. I asked if he had any .32 revolvers like the .36 caliber.

Thomas asked what I was looking for since he had a few items still in crates not on display. I repeated .32 revolvers. He laughed and said they were available but he did not have any at this time. I said that if he could get some I would be interested. He asked what I meant by some. I told him 4 – 6 but if he could get more than that I would have to know what the cost would be. He shook his head and then asked if I was serious. I told him I preferred the .32 over the .36, .44, or .45. and wanted my wives to have the same caliber for all of us.