Chapter 2

"Why would bandits attack a wagon load of vegetables? There are only two possible reasons. The less likely one is that 'if it is a wagon hauling freight to market, it must be worth stealing.' The more likely one is 'I want to drive James York into bankruptcy; therefore, I will attack all ways that he has of earning money.'"

Catherine remarked, "You can probably ignore the first reason and try to fathom the second reason. Since we have no obvious enemies, it must be enmity from some hidden source. Who could we have injured without realizing that we have done so? So far as I know, we have always been on friendly terms with our neighbors. Isn't that correct, Sam?"

"Absolutely, Miss Catherine!" Sam answered, emphatically.

I stated, "The only people that I, or we, have injured, even metaphorically, have been the KKK. We have fought against them with every legal tactic we could muster. Could they be the ones who are trying to harm us, in retaliation?"

Sam scratched his head and said, "I can't think of anybody else who could want to harm us. Mexican bandits or Indians are not stupid enough to attack a wagon so clearly carrying farm produce. Bullets are too expensive to waste on a wagon load of turnips!"

I proposed, "Let's try this. The next time we send a load of produce into Julesburg, Sam, please assign two guards to ride along with it. Is that OK with you, Jesus?"

"Si, James. My drivers don't like being shot at any more that anybody else does."

"OK, then. We'll try a simple guard detail with each shipment of produce. If that works, then we will just have to plan on it as a regular cost of doing business.

"Jesus, when will you be sending in another load of produce?" I asked.

"I'd like to send a load of cabbage into Julesburg on Friday, James. Will that be fine with you, Sam?"

"Fine with me. I'll get some people notified today so they will be ready for Friday. Will two guards be enough?"

We all agreed that two guards should be sufficient.

"Sam, the next question in my mind is whether or not we need more guards around the horses?" Catherine asked, "Do you think that the current guard we mount against rustling is sufficient, or do we need more men there?"

I chimed in with, "That's a good question, Sam. Most of our income is from horses and everybody knows it. We could really be hurt if our horse business were attacked."

"I'll look into that. I'll ask the guards what they think. They might have a better idea than we do. Besides, they'll like knowing that they're an important part of the decision process."

Sam walked into the bunkhouse that evening after supper and shouted, "Arturo and Julio, I have a special assignment for you. Step outside with me, please."

Julio groused, "Now what? I just got off patrol."

Arturo, grinning, said, "Come on, Julio. You know what they say, 'No rest for the wicked!'"

Julio laughed and said, "That's easy for you to say, you're captain of the guard."

Outside, Sam told them, "You two can take a break from other duties until Friday. Then I want you to escort the produce wagon to and from Julesburg. I know that sounds like a stupid job for experienced guards like you, but we need information as much as we do a couple of guns. I know that I can depend on you two to pay attention to the job and not spend the whole time like two gossipy old women.

"There have been too many attacks on our wagons going into Julesburg and we need to know how to stop them. Remember that those drivers are our friends and we don't want them to be shot if we can help it! We need to know if two guards per wagon is the right number. Should they both be mounted, or should one ride with the driver. In other words, while you are guarding on Friday, look for ways you could be doing an even better job. As usual, Arturo is in charge. Senor York and I are depending on you to be our eyes and ears.

"Now go on back to your friends. Brag, if you want to, about being specially selected hotshot guards for a bunch of turnips."

Arturo and Julio laughed and went back inside.

They left for Julesburg bright and early on Friday morning. Until they left the ranch property, Arturo and Julio rode behind the wagon, but Julio moved to point position and Arturo dropped back to drag as soon as they got to the main road.

Everything went well until they reached a place with a few cottonwoods to the eastern side of the road. A shot rang out and Esteban, the driver, felt a pull in his sleeve just past his right elbow. Both Arturo and Julio had been caught completely by surprise, because the early morning ride was so pleasant that they weren't nearly as alert as they imagined. Neither guard needed more than the sound of the shot to grab his full attention.

They both turned toward the place where the sound seemed to originate, but the low sun blinded them too much to get a good view of their attacker. Never the less, they pulled their rifles and rode toward the shooter. There was some dense brush in the way, so they were not able to reach him before he made his escape.

The rest of the trip into Julesburg and the whole return trip were uneventful. Arturo and Julio reported to Sam when they returned. They passed along their recommendations and Sam asked for a meeting of the "Executive Council" for that evening after supper.

The meeting didn't last very long. Sam reported that the guards thought that two were enough for one or two wagons, but more would be needed for longer wagon trains. They had pointed out the added danger of early morning and late afternoon trips because of the problem of the blinding sun. The guards has also commented that there were few trees along the route, but it would be a good idea to halt or, at least, slow down the wagon while the guards had a chance to sweep for ambushers.

They had one more recommendation, seconded by the driver, that a canvass cover be placed high over the wagon, so that the load was covered. This cover should extend far enough forward that it would hide the driver from the sides and provide a sunshade. If the driver were hidden by the canvass, he would not present such an easy or tempting target. This cover would also hide any riflemen lurking in the wagon waiting to ambush the ambushers.

A short discussion resulted in unanimous acceptance of the recommendations, and a request for Sam to pass along to the guards a sincere "thank you" for their job. Starting tomorrow, Sam would get the wagon covers prepared and set up a guard rotation for the trips into Julesburg.

Catherine's love for horses and riding them never waned. She went riding almost every day and came to appreciate the virtues of the "Western" saddle over the "English" saddle (the US Army's abysmal McClellan saddle was never discussed in polite company!). Catherine became quite familiar with the whole ranch and took James with her to the more beautiful and interesting parts.

There was one place she particularly loved to visit with James and it was quite near the ranch house. It was a beautiful valley with its own river and waterfall. It was the nearest to the house of a series of parallel valleys which all ran with water during the time when the snow was melting in the nearby mountains. But the nearest valley had a stream the year round. This stream was a full scale river during the peak of the runoff season.

James immediately noticed that this valley and its river could be an excellent source of water for the whole ranch, if they ever needed it. He never mentioned his idea to Catherine, because he did not want to upset her with the idea of "spoiling HER valley."

They often rode to the valley for picnics, and sometimes stayed for extended visits. To give them the maximum possible privacy, no one else came around while they were there. In fact, the area was so private that they sometimes engaged in naughty behavior, even sex, under the trees!

One night in October, there was a raid on the York ranch by a large party. The attackers swept in on the horse barns and corrals with little opposition. Fires were started in two of the barns and many horses were driven from the corrals. The barns set on fire were not ones holding horses; these were barns containing winter feed stores.

There was a fierce gun battle with the attackers, but, fortunately, few injuries. There was absolute chaos in the dark; therefore, little opportunity for aimed shots. Mostly, it was just a lot of noise. Two ranch workers were wounded by bullets, but several had broken bones and burns suffered while fighting the fires. Injuries to the attackers were unknown; they may have escaped with none.