Book 2, Chapter 2

Red orange streaks colored the dawn. White wisps of clouds high in the stratosphere indicated a beautiful day in the saddle, as Bob pulled his lanky frame out of the tent. He strode purposefully over to the designated tree and emptied his full bladder. About then, Rob hauled out of his tent. Andy dragged into camp about the same time.

"Go get some rest," Bob told Andy. "We'll be here about four hours yet, so get some sleep. It was a quiet night so you must have done some good, son."

As Andy got in the tent, Dana exited the adult tent. She had a radiant smile, and her hair was a tousled mess. It was a remnant of last night's wrestling match. She was trying to pull a hairbrush through her unruly hair. The activity in the camp soon had the three girls up and moving. In a short time, the camp was a bustle of activity. Bob reminded them that Andy was asleep, and the general din of the morning chores lessened quite a bit. Stephanie cooked a breakfast of oatmeal and eggs, while Jackie cleaned and pared the apples. Rob and Bob took the horses off the picket line and out to graze some more.

It was a beautiful morning. The birds and other woodland animals were scurrying around and making their presence known. The babbling of the creek added to the cacophony of sounds. Dana sat on her rock, stirring her oatmeal and apples as she took in the beauty of the natural setting.

'This is really nice, ' she thought. 'It must be like it was back when the Indians lived here, without the white man. I can see why they so fiercely fought to protect it. I wonder what it was really like, then.'

Bob was busy cleaning up the cooking tools ... it was his turn. He was over at the creek scrubbing the pans. He used the loose sand to scrub the pot but only wiped out the cast iron skillet. As he scrubbed he looked down. There was a glint of metal in the shallow pan. He pulled it out of the water and examined the bottom of the pan. There it was, in the bottom of the pan, shining yellow in the morning sun. A lump about the size of a pea it might be, but it was shiny and pure. Gold!

'Oh my God!' he thought. 'French Creek isn't tapped out, yet! It's what Custer's men found in 1874 that started the Black Hills gold rush. I wonder how much is left. It sure would have been great to be here before the gold rush started. I think I remember that the big mine was north of here on oh what was it, yeah, Deadwood creek. Now what was the name of the mine? The Homestake! That's it: The Homestake Mine. [Note: It produced 10% of the world's gold, somewhere around 40 million ounces. It closed in 2001, after 120 some years of mining.] It was just outside of Deadwood, so we should take a good look at it, after the gather.'

Bob shoved the little nugget into his buckskin's pocket, and continued to clean the dishes. He did pay closer attention as he worked, and found seven more little nuggets, which also found their way into his pocket. He had over an ounce of gold, now, and was grinning from ear to ear as he washed.

"What are you so happy about, Daddy?" Rebecca said as she brought him the last of the dirty dishes.

"Nothing, pumpkin, just happy to be out here in the forest with my best girls!" he said. "It's about time to get on the trail. We have about twenty miles to go. I see we have all the tents and stuff packed with the exception of Andrew's stuff. Let's get these pans packed, and then get him up. We can be on the trail in fifteen minutes."

True to his word, the family headed out, about fifteen minutes later. Rob had started a little earlier, promising to leave the orange tag markers showing the way. Everyone knew what to look for and they would collect them as the family rode past. No sense littering ... and besides, they were reusable that way.

Around noon, the family caught up to Rob. He was waiting at a bend in the creek. There was an old man sitting on a log by a small campfire. His mule was tied to the tree behind him. He was sipping on a cup, and talking to Rob. Rob was listening attentively to the old man. He looked like he'd lived out in the woods his entire life. He had a bearded face and wore a broken down hat, checkered shirt, vest and jeans. His boots looked as old as he did.

"Dad," Rob spoke as they approached, "this man here is George Hayes. He's been telling me all about the gold rush back in the 1800's. He's a miner and has been prospecting the hills since he was a kid my age. His great grandfather was also a miner, during the Black Hills Gold Rush. He had the same name and everything. He's shown me some of the gold he's found this trip. It's really neat. You should come take a look."

Rob was all excited about his new friend. The family took the time to hobble the horses, and give them their heads to graze a bit while they ate the energy bars they'd planned for lunch.

"I gots some coffee iff'n you wants some," he said in a curious accent. "It's not all that good, but it's available."

"Thank you, Mr. Hayes," Dana responded, smiling sweetly. "That's so nice of you to share with us, being strangers and all."

"Gosh, Ma'am, twern't nothin'," he replied. "An' you can just call me Gabby, if you want."

"Well, Gabby," Bob joined in, "How's the prospecting going?"

"Darn good. Now that the price is back up high agin, I do right well. Here, let me show you."

With that, Gabby pulled a small black velvet pouch out of his pocket. He smoothed it down carefully and then pulled open the strings. He took Jackie's hand and held it forward, telling her to hold it out flat with fingers closed. Excitedly, Jackie complied with his request. He then tipped it up and four pea-sized gold nuggets poured out of the small sack into her hand.

"Now hold still, girl. You don't want to be jostlin' those around. You're lookin' at about a thousand dollars worth of gold, there. Those pieces are ones I found this week. Pretty, ain't they?" Gabby asked no one in particular.

"Ooh, yes" Stephanie exclaimed. "Very pretty! Are there more? Where did you find them? Can anyone get them?"

Questions then started pouring out from every quadrant. Bob just kept quiet. He'd get Hayes aside later. The rest of the family excitedly learned that they could pan or dig for gold anywhere except where someone else had posted a claim. He showed all the kids how to pan for gold, and while they were panning, Jackie discovered a flake. Gabby gave her a small vial with a cap, to put it into.

"Pretty little thing like you, ought to have somethin' nice," he said with a smile.

Jackie looked at the vial in awe. She now owned a real piece of gold. She made sure her siblings got a good look at the small flake of gold as she showed it around. She'd just finished when Andrew let out a whoop. Everyone crowded around him as he pushed his way toward Mr. Hayes.

"Well?" he asked breathlessly as he held his hand forward.

Gabby Hayes reached forward and picked up the chunk of rock. It was the size of a school 'gum' eraser and was richly veined with golden striations. He examined the piece for a few moments, and then started chuckling. The chuckle turned to a full-blown laugh. He tossed the rock back to Andrew.

"Sorry, Son," he said. "Seems you found a piece of iron pyrite. 'Just pretty pieces of rock with yellow color. Worthless, but pretty. You might save that and give it to your girlfriend. She might think it's pretty."

"Aw, shit" he said "Just when I had..."

"Hey, young man, watch the language," Dana interrupted. "Just because you weren't as lucky as your sister, doesn't give you a license to have a foul mouth."

"Sorry," he told her contritely.

He didn't want to get guard duty again, tonight. He was still a little tired from last night. Instead of arguing, he took himself back to the stream with the pan, and scooped up another bit of sand from the crook in the stream he'd been working. He gently sloshed the water and sand around watching for the glint of color. He worked the spot for about fifteen minutes and found nothing, so he quit.

The others were busy trying their luck in the creek, and Dana was busy with repacking the mules. Bob took the opportunity to talk to Hayes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the biggest of the gold bits.

"Mr. Hayes, what do you think about this?" he asked as he stretched forth his open hand with the gold bit on top. Hayes took the gold piece, took out a pocket magnifying glass and looked close. With a glint in his eye and a smile crossing his face, he handed the piece back.

"Where ever you found that, don't tell anyone. It's a good find. I'd place it at about two ounces, about a thousand dollars worth of gold," he told Bob. "You'd need to know the map coordinates of the location, to check if there is a claim there. If there isn't, you can get a claim patent on the place and then start working it. You can have that piece assayed but I can tell you, it's the real thing."

They talked for a little longer, and then Bob gathered the family up. They headed north, waving to Gabby as they left. Friday night was spent camping a couple of miles south of Lead, South Dakota, along the Deadwood Creek. They were about a mile from the Homestake Mine. Looking at the creek, you could tell it had been panned over and over. The family set up their campsite near the creek in a grove of trees. The horses were hobbled, and were happily chowing down on the grasses there.

The guys put up all the tents, as the ladies got the cooking started. Dana pulled out the stops. She used some of the freeze-dried stores of beef chunks and vegetables, to make a camp version of her famous beef stew. The smell of the food was wafting through the grove.

"Dinner!" Dana finally called out.

The stampede of feet started and everyone was in line waiting for the food to be dished out. She had made stew and bread, with some corn on the cob she'd picked up from the general store. In no time at all the food was gone, and everyone's appetite was sated. Cleanup was easy. Everyone wanted to wash their own plate, while they tried their luck in the creek. As the sun was setting, Bob called everyone back to camp to sleep.

Soon after sundown everyone was in their own tents. Rob had drawn guard duty, and was out wandering around the area. He had brought the horses and mules back, and had picketed them. They were contentedly munching on the COB in their nosebags. He'd check them again in a while, and remove the feedbags for the night. Now, he was circling around the perimeter of the camp.

He looked down when he reached the creek at the south end of his circuit. There were stones across the stream that he could use as stepping-stones. He agilely skipped across to the other side. Just as he got to the bank on the other side of the creek, he stepped wrongly. His ankle twisted slightly. It was just enough for him to fall to his side. He sat up, and rubbed the ache in his ankle.

He was looking down at his ankle, when he saw a glint in the moonlight, in the water of the creek. He held his breath as he rolled over onto his chest. He reached into the pool, and closed his hand around a baseball size chunk of rock.

Holding his breath, he slowly extracted the chunk from the standing water. As he brought it into the moonlight, it glittered with the glint of gold. It didn't look like the piece of pyrite Andrew had found. It was different. It had to be a real piece of gold. It was heavy, too. He guessed it was a couple of pounds, as he hefted it in his hand. His ankle was temporarily forgotten.

He sat there looking at it for a while, but the ankle's ache came back. He took off his boot and sock, and stuck his foot in the stream. The stream was cold, and he soon felt better. It wasn't as cold as an ice pack, but it was cold enough to do the trick.

After soaking for about a half hour, the pain and the slight swelling were gone. He dried off his foot on his other pant leg, replaced his sock, and put the boot back on. He tried walking on it, and discovered he could move with only a little twinge or two. He crossed over the creek once more, and continued on his patrol.

'Meanwhile, back at the ranch, ' Bob and Dana were at it again. They were acting like newlyweds. Dana had even put on her purple teddy. It was completely see-through and didn't really cover anything. She liked it because it made Bob really randy, and that made her horny. Dana could tell he was, too, based on his condition. If they had needed a tent pole to hold up the canvas, he could have supplied one.

Dana was hot and ready as she slid down his pole. Then she slid up, and down again. She was so wet with her own lubrication that it went in easily.

They rolled over and Dana closed her legs, trapping his cock inside. He continued to stroke and her orgasm built. She came closer and closer as his member stroked in and out. On each stroke in, his pubic bone mashed against her clitoris. The stimulation quickly put her over the edge. Her body quivered as she shuddered through her orgasm.

"Ooh!" she said as the orgasm quit.

She had always said if you can make them go 'Ooh', you have them forever! The first time he'd made her go 'Ooh', she'd been just sixteen. She'd gone 'Ooh', and had taken him seriously. He'd thought he was just poking for fun. When the pregnancy test came back positive, they'd gotten married, and had been happy ever since. Five children later, he still was able to make her go 'Ooh'.

In the girl's tent, the three were in a daisy chain, each one lip locked on her sister's labia. They were licking clits, and in general were having a really nice time. Each one had a very nice orgasm before they slipped off into dreamland.

Andrew had made sure his tent was set up so he could watch from the darkness of the canvas. He had been stroking through three ejaculations and was working on his fourth. He was ambidextrous and able to sustain the attack on his meat by switching off hands.

He recognized Stephanie's orgasmic gasping and that put him over as he spewed forth once more. He used his boot to scuff dirt over the sperm, and then tucked himself in for the night.

Rob sat with his back against the tree that overlooked the campsite. In his hands was the baseball sized rock. It was heavier than any rock of that size he'd ever held. He turned it over and over in the moonlight. The yellow clumps and streaks in the rock were hard and smooth. He just knew he would be able to buy the Harley Fat Boy he'd wanted. He nodded off while looking at it.

He fell over, after a time, and that woke him. Looking up he noticed the stars were fading in brilliance. He knew he would soon be in the light of the false dawn. Stiffly he rose and worked out the kinks in his legs.

His ankle didn't even twinge when he placed his weight on it, but his other foot was asleep. It tingled as the blood supply was restored.

He looked out across the small meadow and saw some deer. A stag was standing on the rise with his hooves on a fallen tree. Three does with young were just getting up. They stood and shook off their sleep stiffness. Suddenly, the stag went on alert, and the does skittishly jumped, ready to flee. A moment later they were gone, off into the woods at a run.

Rob stood up and saw them. Coyotes. It was a small pack, just five or six, but they were still dangerous. Rob cautiously moved to place himself between the threat and the camp. The coyotes sniffed around the downed tree and were yipping. They recognized the smell of game, and knew they were too late.

Rob slowly backed toward the camp, not taking his eyes off the carnivores. His hands were out from his side for balance as he carefully stepped backwards. When he reached the line of horses, several nickered. They were spooked because they could smell the predators.

He reached the packs and pulled out a Henry rifle. He moved forward ahead of the picket line to a prospective tree. It had a low limb that he was able to get to. He hauled himself up, and watched the pack. They were sniffing the air as the light breeze changed directions. That's when they caught the scent of the horses and the humans.

They gathered together and started towards the camp. They were originally more than a hundred yards out. Now they had closed the distance to about eighty yards. Rob silently cocked the rifle and started to take aim.

A hand closed around his calf, half startling him. He had the presence of mind to not make a sound. Below him Bob was standing with the Winchester. He was also wearing his Colts. He had heard the horses, which had woken him. He'd seen Rob take out the Henry, and had known something was up.

Rob used their hand signal system to tell Bob where and how many. Bob returned the signals to tell Rob he was moving over to the left to the next tree and to wait until he fired.

As he looked out from his position, Bob could see the six coyotes were in 'hunt mode.' They were probably in 'starvation mode' as well, to be so close to a human campsite. Bob indicated he'd take the three on the left, and had Rob take the other three. He did a hand countdown and they both fired at the same time. The first two went down immediately. The other four turned tail and had taken a couple steps while both shooters levered another round into the chamber. Two more shots rang out simultaneously, followed by two more, with the Winchester firing before the Henry. Bob nodded to Rob as he drew his .45's. Rob jumped the short distance to the ground, and stepped forward.

The first two were dead where they fell. Rob's second shot hadn't completely finished the job but Bob's Colt did. He also had to use it on his third one. Rob's shot had been true and his coyote was dead. They cut off the tails and ears, to turn them in for the bounty. Rob policed up the brass by the trees as the girls and Dana rushed up.

He noted with interest the bouncing his sisters were exhibiting with their braless chests as they ran. His cock strained against his jeans in tribute.

Since they were up, they got an early start on breakfast and an equally early start on the trail. By eight o'clock they were riding into the gather site. They registered and were quartered near the corral, which was in a grove of trees. It really was a nice place, considering the many people that were there. Everyone was given their weapons with the requisite blanks for loads. Jackie also got the Hawken, the powder horn, and the 'possibles' bag with caps, lead and patches. Bob exchanged the big colts for his fast draw rig.

They registered for the contests, and then the shopping began. Dana took the Visa card and the girls. They made the rounds of all the vendors. Dana picked up another set of buckskins, a squaw set with short skirt to show off her gorgeous legs. She also picked up three pioneer dresses, two of which had low scoop necklines. They would show off her enticing cleavage to the best advantage. She knew it would make Bob horny!

Each of the girls got three more dresses also. Each of the boys got two more cowboy outfits and one dealer had authentic 1870's suits. She got one for each of the men.

Bob was busy transacting business, also. He picked up more black powder, and found a dealer that catered to the Sharps rifle crowd. He had a case of the .45-120 shells that he'd been having trouble selling. Bob dickered him down until he was satisfied with the price, then he bought the whole case. He also picked up a .45/ .410 Colt derringer. Actually, he bought two. The dealer was about to tell him about the registration requirement, when Bob handed him a copy of his FFL. The guy smiled, crossed through the price on the bill of sale, and reduced the price of each by $20.

"Courtesy discount as I don't have to worry about all the extra paperwork," he said as he made the appropriate entry in his firearms binder. He transferred the ownership to Bob's FFL number, and was done. As Bob turned to leave, he added, "Thanks for the business."

Bob went back to the ammunition dealer and purchased 5 boxes of .410 shells. He took those purchases back to the camp area. Dana was there with her purchases and, of course, she had to model them for Bob.

He really liked the squaw set, and told her she needed to wear that the rest of the day. The best part, was when she sat on his lap. His roving had found out she wasn't wearing anything under that short skirt. His fingers got a little sticky before she shuddered a bit and made him quit. She did take the opportunity to lick his fingers off, though.

The kids were holding their own in the youth competitions that they were going to, in the morning. Rob had won his age grouping for the 25-yard black powder pistol targets. He was using the family's custom-made Paterson .36 caliber revolver, using the brass cartridge black powder shell. Since the cartridge was a commercial black powder load, it was eligible for use in the contest. It was much more consistent than a cylinder loaded black powder gun.

Rob won with a score of 288 out of 300. The judges checked his gun twice and even broke down two random shells to confirm their manufacture. They hadn't seen shooting that good in his age group, EVER!

Rebecca was entered in the novice division for her age group. She had fun but didn't finish in the top ten and so she got to watch the finals. There were some real good girl shooters there and she picked up some pointers. Stephanie fared a little better. She had the other pair of Paterson's. She shot a 255 and earned the third place ribbon.