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Doc Ch. 01

By: kingkey



The judge slammed his gavel down. "Case dismissed due to lack of evidence." 

I stared, open-mouthed, incredulous at such a miscarriage of justice. Even though I had done everything by the book, they were letting my prisoner go on a technicality. Because my main witness was too scared of the gang the prisoner was a member of to show up in court, he walked.

Once more I left the Seattle courthouse in a pissed off mood.

As I walked out, I was surrounded by the press, all seeming to ask questions at the same time: "Officer Thomas how do you feel about the Judge throwing out the case?" "What will happen now?" "Are you worried about the parents suing you for False arrest?"

"What is this world coming to when four punk kids can drive by, shoot and kill three young girls walking down a street and nobody tries to stop it? This is not why I became a King County Sheriff's Deputy." I had joined the Sheriff's Office five years ago when I was medically retired from the Marines due to injuries after spending six years in Force Recon.

"These kids act like a bunch of rabid dogs! You don't coddle a rabid animal. You put it down, HARD!"

"But these are just kids, the oldest just 17 and the youngest only 14!"

"Billy the Kid killed his first man when he was 13. These kids were old enough to know right from wrong, yet they still picked up guns and killed some girls who were doing nothing but going home."

"But what about these boys' families? Are you saying that they should get the death penalty or serve life in prison?"

"Are you saying that they shouldn't be punished? The oldest has already been in and out of Juvenile Hall four times!

"And what about the victims' families? Their daughters did nothing wrong and they will never go home! Three innocent young girls are dead! What of them? Did they deserve to die?" I exclaimed, walking away from them. I knew that I would be hearing about this later, but damn! What did they expect?

I got into my car and headed back to the Burien station. Burien was a small town just south of Seattle, too small to have their own police, so the job fell to us of the King County Sheriff's Office.

I slammed the door on the way in and sat at my desk, still pissed.

"What the hell's the matter now, Clay?" asked Dave, my partner for the last 4 years.

"Them bastards walked! I don't know why we even bother! It should be like it was a hundred years ago -- if they got caught, they hung. Now they scare the witnesses so bad that they are afraid to testify in court; or if we do get a conviction, they're under 18 so they just barely get a slap on the wrist! I've about had it!"

"What can you do? We don't make the rules; we just try to enforce them, but our hands are tied."

"Well for two cents, I'd tell the boss where to shove this job!" I said.

"Don't do that," Dave said. "Why don't you just take some time off? You have about 6 weeks vacation coming."

"Can you imagine when I get back? This place would really be a mess. We are all ready 5 men short. I just can't take off. This place is already a zoo."

"You can't keep this up, you'll burn out."

"I almost feel burnt out now"

"What about that fair you were talking about?"

"You mean Pioneer Days, back home?" I grew up in Hill City South Dakota, just a few miles South of Deadwood. Pioneer Day's is a big festival for all the surrounding area.

"Yeah that's it. Didn't you used to enter in some of the events?" asked Dave.

"Yup! Saddle Bronc, Wild Cow Milking, Rifle & Pistol, and Quick Draw; but I'm awful rusty."

"Bullshit! You've held the record in marksmanship here for the last 5 years."

"But this is different! Folks come from all over for these competitions. I don't think I'm still good enough."

"How do you know, unless you try? How did you used to do?"

"I was always in the top ten and won the Quick Draw the last time, but it has been awhile -- years, even."

"Well Clay, if you don't do something you're going to lose it and shoot someone, so take the time off."

"I'll think about it."

"You do that, you need it."

Just then we heard the Sheriff holler, "THOMAS! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"

"Your bellowed, oh great leader?" I said.

"Just what the fuck happened in court?" demanded the Sheriff.

"The same shit as always! We make a clean bust and the witnesses are too scared to testify, or the court just gives them a slap on the wrist because they are underage and let's them go."

"I have been on the phone all morning. What's this about you telling the press they are just a bunch of rabid dogs?"

"I said if they are going to act like a bunch of rabid dogs, they should be treated like them. If they're going out and killing someone, then they should expect the same treatment in return, no matter their age. They are old enough to know right from wrong."

"For Christ sake you can't say that to reporters. The County Commissioners have been on the phone all morning trying to defuse this. They want your badge. They say you are some kind of loose cannon."

"FUCK THEM! They can have it! I quit! They are the first ones that complain that something needs to be done, but then they won't let us do it."

"Wait a minute! Don't be hasty. I don't want to lose you. Think this over before you quit."

"I don't know. The way our hands are tied by the courts and the press, it just don't seem worth it anymore! It should be like the old days when the law was respected."

"Well I don't want to lose you, but the Mayor wants you gone till this cools off."

"Dave thinks I should take some time off and go back home to South Dakota. I'll tell you what, why don't I do that and see if I still feel like quitting when I get back."

"That's a great idea! How long do you need?"

"Well I've got 5 weeks on the books. I'll take that and then we'll see if I'm coming back, but I must warn you: I may be looking for a better offer."

"OK, but try to make sure you come back. You're a natural born lawman -- it's in your blood."

What he said had a lot of sense to it. My great-grandfather was a U.S. Marshal, my grandfather and father were both Sheriffs, and assorted other relatives were lawmen. But what was really in it for me? I'm 32, single, 6'2", and been told I'm not bad looking, but with putting the job first I can't seem to keep a girlfriend and don't seem to find happiness out there. I just wish I were back in simpler times.

I got to thinking after I got home to my apartment. What was really keeping me here? I missed being back home on Grandpa's ranch and thought going home in time for the Pioneer Day's celebration might be a good way to get my head back on straight.

So the next day I called work, let them know that I was leaving for the next month, packed my guns and clothes in my old Dodge Power Wagon and headed back to the Black Hills.

*

I would like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice Wolf they make my scribbling worth reading.  

Doc Ch. 02



CHAPTER 2

I had been driving for about 3 days when the weather really turned nasty with a lot of thunder and many close lightning strikes. Thank God I was almost home. I had just turned north out of Hill City toward the old ghost town of Silver City on Highway 385 when a particularly bright flash lit up the front of my truck, causing me to swerve off the road into a gully. The next thing I knew, everything went black!

It must have been some hours later when I woke because it looked like the sun was just coming out and the sky was clear. I was up against the driver's door with my truck wrapped part way around a pine tree where the passenger door would be.

I had to force the driver's door open. It was relatively undamaged but the angle the truck was leaning and the brush made it difficult. I struggled out of my seat, climbed out and examined my truck. I could see that it was totaled. When I swerved off the road down into that gully, it ended up half embedded in a big-assed pine tree after knocking down several others on the way down the bank. Damn! It looked like I'd be walking out.

I went around back to the camper and checked myself out in what was left of the mirror. I had a real nasty cut on my head and the makings of one hell of a shiner.

I got back to my feet a little unsteadily and searched for my first-aid kit. I had a pretty well laid out kit that I had been adding to for years -- ever since I was the medic for my Marine Recon Squad. You never know what you might need -- or when.

After cleaning and bandaging that nasty gash in my forehead, I looked around, and figured I might as well head on home, as it was closer than trying to walk back to the highway and on into town. That decided, I slung my first aid pack over my shoulder and groaned at the thought of walking several miles with a headache and all the aches and pains of being thrown about in the wreck -- I'd thought I was done with all that ground-pounding while beat-up when I left the Marines. I struck off up the dirt road toward my family home.

Three hours later I was just coming onto our ranch land and things started to really look wrong. I had been noticing little things that weren't quite right all along, but put them down to things changing because I had been away from home so long, but what I was seeing now ... this ... was just ... wrong.

I had come to the crossing of Blanched Creek, but where was the bridge that my dad and uncles built when I was just 10? There was no sign it had been washed away in a flood. In fact, it looked like it had never even been there in the first place. The road just headed straight into the ford. And... now that I was paying closer attention, where were all the fences that I had spent so much time as a kid repairing? Well, maybe the bridge had been washed out and the fences fallen down to disrepair, but none of my family had ever mentioned the place being in this kind of shape and I had been over that bridge not all that long ago on one of my infrequent visits home.

Thinking the folks at home probably had a simple answer, I figured I would leave the road and take a short cut through the old homestead to the main house. There, I'd see if any of my family could give me a ride back to my truck to get my things. 

I struck out to do just that and about 20 minutes later I was just within sight of the old place. I saw someone coming out of the old barn. What the hell! No one had lived there for ages! Sure, we used to have hunters coming around wanting to stay there, but after the first horse was shot, we put a quick stop to that.

As I got closer I was really in a state of shock because the only times I had ever seen this man before was in pictures. Here was my great grandfather, who died in 1893. I called out as I walked up and he turned white as a ghost, obviously as shocked as me.

"Clay? Clay? Is that you?" he asked.

"Well my mama did name me Clayton, but I don't think I'm who y'all mean." I told him.

"Sure you are. You look a little older but pretty much the same. They told us you was killed down at Fort Laramie, though I don't know why you wanted to become a Army Doctor after you finished that fancy doctor school back east." Now the reason for his shock was obvious -- he thought he was seeing a ghost returned from the dead!

I stared at him in amazement. "But Grandpa Henry, that wasn't me! That was my Great Uncle Clay that was a doctor at Fort Laramie. My dad said I took after him as far as he remembered."

"Who's your pa's folks?" he asked

"Jake and Storm Song"

"But Jake's only 4 years old!" he exclaimed

"Well he was 35 when he had dad."

"This sure is a might confusing! Maybe we should keep most of this to ourself's for now and let everyone think you are Clay. To bad though... we could sure use a doctor 'round these parts. Best we got is a horse doctor."

"Well I do have some medical training. I was a medic in the military, but I suppose I know more about being a doctor them most of the doctors around here." I didn't know for sure, but with the other weird things, meeting what appeared to be my great grandfather obviously living on what should have been an abandonedhomestead, I was beginning to have an idea. And yes, if what I thought was true, then I did indeed have more medical training than any doctors around there.

"I still say you look and act like Clay. Too bad he really was killed.

"That damn Custer broke the treaty they signed back in 68 at Fort Laramie giving all the Black Hills to the Lakota. When one of his men done found gold over there in French Creek and blabbed about it, now the whole damn area is flooded by Fools trying to get rich. It's got them Lakota up in a rage, and they're killin' everything in sight."

"What about you here, all by yourselves? They bothering you?"

"Nah... since I'm married to Red Cloud's youngest wife's sister they pretty much leave us alone. Every once in a while some young bucks come around trying to start trouble, but Red Cloud keep's them pretty much on a short rope. Last time they started something I peppered their asses with rock salt. Plus, we have always treated them right in trading and if they are hungry we let them cut out a couple of steers. But away from here you'd better be armed."

"Grandpa Henry, what date is it anyway?" The more Grandpa Henry talked, the more I felt my suspicion was right, impossible as it seemed. If he answered the way I thought, then I would be certain.

"I think it's July, Year of Our Lord, 1876. I know it's 1876, but I'm not sure if it's July -- could be June. A body kinda loses track o' time out here."

Despite what I'd already figured out, the shock of having it confirmed must have shown on my face and in my body language. I think I muttered, "1876... then it really is Grandpa Henry... how...?"

Grandpa Henry may have heard me, but I'm sure he saw my reaction. He paled a bit then seemed to get a grip and took control. From the way he did, it was evident he too had figured out my oddities where time-based. I was at a loss to understand why he accepted it so easily. Maybe after thinking I was the real Clay come back from the dead, the time thing wasn't much stranger. "I think maybe you should call me Uncle Henry rather than Grandpa or folks will look at us both funny, being as with your looks they are going to think you are my brother's boy, Clay. Another thing -- those are some odd looking clothes you're wearing -- we need to do something about that. I think I still got all of Clay's stuff in the barn. Why don't we get ya looking natural? What year are you from?" The last was asked almost too casually as I followed him into the barn.

"Yesterday when I woke up it was July 7, 2009."

He stopped dead in his tracks.

*

Author's Note: In most Marine outfits the medics are Navy Corpsmen, but in the Force Recon outfits the medics also fight so they are made up of the actual Combat Marines. Everyone has to multi-task.

I would like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice Wolf they make my scribbling worth reading.



Doc Ch. 03



Grandpa Henry shook his head then grinned at me. "Believin' it in yer head, but not quite in yer heart, then hearin' it made real does shake a body up. Now I know why y'all looked so odd when I told you the date. Still, after some of the stuff I've seen them Lakota medicine men do, I guess this ain't a hell of a lot more strange. " 

He waved me toward the barn. "We still hafta find you some decent clothes and things." 

After our mutual revelations, we walked on into the barn and over near the tack room. Grandpa started rummaging around in a stack of wooden boxes, pulling one out to the side every now and then. Soon he had three setting side by side.

"Here we go ... this is all the stuff the army sent back. It ain't much – not for the six years you've been gone. Well there's a small mercy –– at least they didn't steal your guns or books. They even threw in your doctoring bag. Everything is here. 

"You musta been well respected and liked for them to return everything you owned. Usually all that gets sent back to the family when a soldier is killed is the worst of the clothes. Troopers are not well paid and often come from poor circumstances. They rob their own dead, not just the fallen enemy. I saw a lot o' that when I was a lawman workin' out of the forts. 

"Now then, the clothes look a might big but if we boil them and you wear them wet they should shrink a mite."

"You mean Clay's things don't you, gram – oops – I mean... Uncle Henry. Damn this is confusing."

"It sure is. You just look so much like Clay would have, if he had lived, and ... you're even a doctor."

"Well I'm not really a doctor. I just had a bunch of training in what I would call Battlefield or Combat First Aid, but compared to what they get now, probably as much or more than most of them around here. I've patched up wounds, removed bullets, sewn them up, treated sickness ... Hell, I've even delivered a couple babies."

"Shit, Son, that makes you about the best doctor in 200 miles, if not one of the only ones – there ain't many. And of those there are, you're prob'ly the only one with any real schoolin'. Some o' these quacks just bought a mail-order doctor's bag and hung out their shingle."

"Be that as it may, I'm still not really a doctor! Where I come from I'm actually a deputy sheriff and I thought, a good one."

"That's even better! This country can use more good lawmen. Since this damn gold rush, these hills'r full of no-goods, robbers, gamblers, renegades and murderers. Things are just getting worse with the Indians, too. A year ago there was about 800 white men in the Black Hills. The Indians didn't like it, but most of those whites were considerate and didn't cause much problems. Now we got more then 10,000, and more pouring in everyday thinkin' they will strike it rich. Damn fools! Most of them will either starve to death or be killed! Can't they see the main ones to get rich are the ones selling to the miners – the storekeepers, saloon owners, gamblers, and whore houses?"

"Speaking of gold, I know where some can be found right here on this land. When I was ten, I went poking around in a old mine and found a small nugget. Dad found out and took a pine switch to my ass. I couldn't sit right for a week."

"Just leave that alone! We work for our money here and we don't need the trouble it would bring. Your Pa was right. Sounds like he knowed the trouble gold could bring and tried to stop it from happening."

"Well, how can I make a living here then?" I asked.

"Hell, you're a doctor and you seem to know your way around the ranch pretty well."

"I was born here and lived here till I joined the military. Except for a couple real short visits, here and gone the same day, this is the first time I've really been back since."

"What! This is family land! Why didn't you ever come back?"

"I got tired of people calling me a half-breed, dirty injun and other names like that. It seemed like my whole childhood was one fight after another. Hell I'm proud of being part Indian and especially being Lakota, but even the Indians don't like breeds – at least in my time."

"Well we got some stupid people now too, but if Red Cloud has any say about it, that will change."

I had to hang my head in shame. 

Grandpa uh, Uncle Henry, noticed and asked "What's wrong, boy."

"Custer's whole command was wiped out June 25, 1876 at the Little Big Horn River. Custer was a fool! He didn't listen to his advisers and split his command so he didn't have the troops he should've where he should've when he more-or-less walked into a trap. 

"In less then 20 minutes over 200 soldiers were killed to the last man, including Custer himself. That set the American government off on revenge. The Sioux nation will be defeated in the next year and moved to reservations. In my time, on many reservations, there is violence, drunkenness, apathy and despair. School drop-outs rates range from 45 to 62 percent. Suicide among the indigenous people is twice the US national average and unemployment runs around 80 percent."

"That just can't be! They were promised this land! They have a treaty!"

"It's the gold and the greed. If there's anything worth any value, the government is going to take it no matter who they have to step on. In my time, in 1980 the Sioux won a Supreme Court case against the U.S. Government for 17 and a half million dollars plus five percent a year, totally over 105 million, going all the way back to 1877, when the government seized the Black Hills because the Sioux supposedly broke the Treaty because they defended their land against the gold miners. 

"The Lakota refused to accept the money and instead demanded the return of their territory from the United States. In my time, it still hasn't been settled. The money is being held in a trust account. Some Indians want to take the money and some want to hold out for the return of the land. The bastards stole the land and still haven't given it back. Prob'ly never will. To the government it's all about money – everything can be bought. They can't understand to the Sioux it's all about the Paha Sapa, the Sacred Land." 

"Can't we do anything about it?"

"I don't think so think so it's a big part of history so I don't think there's much hope of us changing it."

"But you know what's going to happen! Surely something can be done to warn them or something."

"I don't think so. In my time, they think if you could go back in time and make major changes it can destroy the future. I think if something was meant to happen it will still happen."

"But Clay, what about you being here? Won't that change the future?"

"I don't think so. I think we might be able to make minor changes that don't affect the future too bad, but I think fate will stop us from making major changes. What's meant to happen still will, probably, just with minor differences. For instance we may save one man from dying but the major event will still take place – there's no changing that. 

"Maybe I'm meant to be here now. Look at the things that are going on. I started to tick them off on my finger. Firstly, Clay was killed and I look just like him. Secondly, He was a doctor and I've had enough training to be one in this time period. Third, I should have been killed in the accident I was in when I was put here instead.

"I don't know if there is a god or not but there's just too many things to be a accident. Something wants me here." 

"Maybe you're right but I'd still like to do something for them. Shit! You 'resurrecting' my Clay has already changed the future, I think. An' rescuing a man who should have died, well, Hell – think! If he has children and they have children, and so on, and they all do something that the future didn't have before, then it all changes – like a big ol' snowball runnin' down a mountainside, the farther it goes, the bigger it gets, and the way we're playing it, you're that man who should have died but didn't. We gotta talk about this more when we got the time, because I think we can do something to help the People. Hell, they're family!"

To myself, I was thinking there was a whole lot more to Grandpa than first appeared. He was a lot smarter than he let on. He mentioned the Sioux medicine men, and seemed like he had more knowledge and experience of them than he really should. I really DID need to think about what he said. 

"You're right, we hafta talk more when we have the time, and I'll think about it some more, OK? But ... for now, we'll just do what we can. Speaking of family – where is everyone?"

"It being Saturday, most went to town to get supplies and blow off some steam. Dove went to Red Cloud's camp. He's not there. Running Deer fell and broke her arm. She's real sick – they don't know if she'll make it."

"Then I'd better get changed. We'll head out there and see what we can do." 

Looking in the doctor's bag from Uncle Clay, I cringed at the primitive (to me) medical supplies. It contained a bottle of whisky, a bottle of laudanum, a couple small knives, a couple probes, a pair of pliers, an ear trumpet and some dusty looking bandages. The bandages were more dangerous than useful, and the rest had limited usefulness. The whiskey might be more useful to soothe a nervous doctor than anything else. The laudanum was of debatable use because there was no label indicating the concentration of opium or other constituents. If I used it at all, it would be very sparingly.

"This stuff is mostly junk. We better swing by my Power Wagon to get some more medical stuff to add to the simple things in my First Aid pack here." 

"Ok get changed from those weird clothes and I'll saddle a couple horses. Make sure to bring your guns. This is still dangerous country."

"I will, but I don't have any here; they're all in my Power Wagon."

"Use Clay's there in that box there. I guess they're yours now."

Looking in the box, I found two .44 caliber cap-and-ball Remington army pistols with two extra cylinders, each in a holster on a single gun belt, set up in a cross draw. There was also a Greener sawed-off 10 gauge shotgun and at the bottom of the box, a new Winchester Model 1873 in 44-40. 

As I strapped on the gun belt, Grandpa hollered from where he was saddling two horses. "Can you hit anything with those?"

Pulling the cross draw, I started firing at an old pine tree. When it was empty I did a Road agent switch, pulled the other pistol and continued firing, hitting a pine cone with every shot. 

"Damn, boy, I ain't never seen anyone shoot like that!" Grandpa exclaimed as I was reloading.

"I used to practice a lot, shooting at that same tree."

Uncle Henry led two saddled horses over to me. "We better get going then. Where is this 'Power Wagon' of yours? Can you ride too?" 

"Only since I was four. I also used to ride saddle bronc at the county rodeos."

"Don't know what this rodeo is, but I know what a bronc is."

I mounted up. "Well I'm ready, let's get going."

I would like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice Wolf they make my scribbling worth reading. 



Doc Ch. 04



As we rode out Grandpa said "I thought you were going to change out of those funny clothes?"

"I was, but since we need to go to my Power Wagon anyway for the medical kit, I thought I would change there and grab some of my things. I've got clothes there that will look right. Also I have a pair of these Army Remingtons that were converted to take a cartridge. Hell, they might be these same pistols. Dad gave them to me when I was fourteen when I thought I wanted to be a marshal like you. I also have my reloading stuff so I can convert them to smokeless powder so I can still see what I'm shooting at after the first few shots." 

"Sounds like a lot of things to carry. We only brought one pack horse."

"We'll just get what we need for now and get the rest later." "I spoke about you being a lawman; why'd you quit?"

"Just got tired of it I guess – the long days on the trail, the loneliness and the constant danger. You never knew from one day to another where ya'd be or if ya'd still be alive. Wasn't any way to live and sure weren't no way to start a family. So I just quit, came here, found this place and settled down ta raise kids 'n' steers."

"Talking about family – who's Dove?"

Looking at me funny, Grandpa said, "Morning Dove is your great grandma but she looks a lot younger'n me. Why, she don't look a whole lot older then you do – maybe 5 or 6 years."

"I feel stupid, but I don't remember ever hearing her name – she was always Grandma or 'your great grandma'. How'd you two meet?"

He grinned. "Hell, I bought her! Traded two horses, three knives, a old musket and 2 blankets for her ... and that was a bargain! You never meet a finer woman. Besides being a good wife and mother, she's a great cook and house keeper. She runs the place with a iron hand – you don't want to make her mad she has a temper worse than a bear with a bad tooth." 

"Sounds like quite a woman." I could plainly see the love in his eyes.

"Oh she is. She definitely is." 

"Tell me about where we are going."

"Well as you know, the Sioux are nomads following where the hunting is, but we shouldn't have any trouble finding them as they came an' got Dove just yesterday. They are proud and with all the trouble going on and what you say about Custer, I'm not real sure about our welcome, but if Red Cloud is there we should be safe. You – I mean Clay – was with them a lot when he was younger, so I better warn ya that Running Deer and Little Doe, her sister, have been chasing after Clay since they were all just young pups."

We came to the top of the hill and I pointed down the gorge to my truck. "There it is."

"What kind of wagon is that? Where's the horse go?"

"It don't need horses. It goes by itself."

"Things are sure strange were you come from." 

We continued on down to the bottom and to my truck, where I started pulling out stuff we would need. I'd had my basic First Aid bag with me, but because Grandpa had said the girl was real sick as well as a broken arm, I figured I needed some heavy 'fire power' so I also got out my SEAL Corpsman bag. It would cover just about any field trauma imaginable. 

I had also, over the years, added to and modified the contents so it was even more comprehensive than the already very good off-the-shelf bag. I had added more over the counter pain killers as well as some morphine packs I had 'liberated' while in the Service. I had also added some oral antibiotics and had acquired some veterinary –use pharmaceuticals as well. The nice thing about the vet stuff – it was usually if better quality than the human medical variety, and if you had stock, it was basically over-the-counter from the vet.

"I guess I'm ready." I called from inside the camper as I stomped on an old pair of Justin boots, having changed into a pair of jeans and a flannel work shirt. On my way out, I grabbed my old Stetson hat.

"Well I guess you look a bit more normal even if those pants still look a mite tight. DAMN! I forgot to grab some presents and trading goods."

"What kind of things do we need?"

"Maybe a couple knives, some cooking gear, blankets, salt and especially tobacco."

"I got all that stuff here except the tobacco – I don't smoke... Wait a minute ... a guy I worked with, his wife just had a baby girl. He bought a bunch of cigars but he had 3 boxes saying 'It's a Boy!' so he gave them to me. They might be starting to dry out, but they should be good."

"Boy, they are a gold mine as trading goods – them and the salt."

So, digging back into my camper, I started pulling out things for trading as well as the medical stuff I'd already dug out to, the reason we stopped by here in the first place.

"If you got any guns in there, you better get them too. They ain't safe out here."

Opening the gun safe, I switched the Remingtons for the converted ones. I also grabbed a small Glock for a hideout, dropping it into my medical bag. Closing the door and spinning the lock, I indicated, "I think they should be safe in there."

"Yup, that looks tougher than most banks got. Let's get moving, we still got a fair piece of ground to cover."

We remounted after loading everything we didn't need directly at hand onto the pack horse and started heading south. Five hours later, we entered a grassy plain where we could see Red Cloud's camp not too far ahead. Some riders rushed up to us, and suddenly we were surrounded by eight young braves all pointing weapons at us.

"Whatever you do, don't touch your guns." Grandpa whispered 

Then I heard someone shout, "STOP!"

I would like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice wolf they make my scribbling worth reading.



Doc Ch. 05



We were surrounded by eight young braves, all pointing weapons at us.

"Whatever you do, don't touch your guns." Grandpa whispered.

Right after Grandpa whispered that, I heard someone shout, "STOP!"

Thinking 'now we've had it', I had scenes of Indian torture from old movies replaying in my head.

The young braves backed up a step, but didn't lower their weapons, all the while glaring at us with eyes full of hate. When this older Indian walked up, you could tell he was some kind of leader by the way he gave the young braves hell in their own language. 

"What do you want here, Hawk?" He asked.

"What's happening here, Red Cloud? Is this any way to welcome family? I've been your friend for over twenty seasons!"

"Why you bring stranger? This troubled time. Strangers not welcome!"

"He's not a stranger! He's family! This is Clay – you called him Dirty Hand when he was just a boy."

"I remember Dirty Hand. Always dirty when play with other boys. What he doing here now?"

"We heard Running Deer was hurt so we come to help."

"Dove is here. She is helping Running Deer."

"Clay is white man's doctor."

"Not see Dirty Hand since boy. How he doctor?"

"He has been in Army and was an Army doctor. He just got home today."

Hearing this caused the braves to get restless once again and they started toward me with malice. Once again Red Cloud started giving them hell in their own language.

"I take you to Dove. You know about trouble with Army?" He asked Grandpa.

"I've heard. We need to talk later."

As we followed him, I quietly asked, "He hasn't said a word to me yet, and why's he call you Hawk?"

"Around these parts, everyone but family calls me 'Hank', but to him it sounds like 'Hawk'. He won't talk to you. You've never given him a present in friendship or traded with him, so by custom you are a stranger. Since he is Chief of all Sioux, he doesn't talk to strangers – it's beneath his dignity."

"But he claimed he knew me as a boy."

"That was as a man to a boy, not as a Chief to a stranger." 

"Is that why we brought the trading goods?"

"No, you always bring stuff for presents and to trade. That's just good manners. Also, if you're offered something to eat or as a gift, take it, even if you don't want it, otherwise it's an insult. We don't want the people mad at us, especially now after Custer."

"Anything else I need to know before I get to work?"

"Lots – but for now, just remember I warned ya that the girl that was hurt, Running Deer, and her sister Little Doe, have been chasing Clay since they were kids, claiming someday they would be his wives."

"We better watch out then. I ain't ready to get married anytime soon."

"You could do a lot worse. Marriage was the best thing that ever happened to me," he laughed.

As we followed Red Cloud into a large skin lodge, Grandpa announced, "Dove, do you know who this is?"

A woman in a buckskin dress looked up, puzzled for a few seconds then cried, "CLAY! Is that really you? They told us you were dead!"

"Well, as you can see, I'm not. As I read somewhere, Aunty Dove, 'reports of my demise are premature'." 

As we greeted each other, I studied my great grandmother quite closely. She stood about five-foot-six, with a figure that most women in my time would have spent a fortune on cosmetic surgery and all their time in a gym to achieve. I knew she was quite a lot younger than my great grandfather Henry, but she still appeared to be somewhere around thirty-five to forty, probably closer to thirty five, much younger than the forty to forty-five I knew her to be. With long black hair flowing to the bottom of her back with just a bit of gray starting to streak here and there, an amazingly clear complexion and startling, compassionate dark eyes, she was a strikingly beautiful mature woman. 

"I'm glad you're here! You remember Running Deer and Little Doe? Running Deer fell and broke her arm real bad and is running a fever. I don't know if she will live, and if she doesn't die, her arm will be crooked and useless."

"Let me see what can be done. Uncle Henry would you get my bag?"

"Sure! Be right back."

While waiting, I looked at the two sisters. 'I'll be damned! TWINS!' I thought. 

They were both just tiny things, about an even five foot, probably not weighing even a hundred pounds soaking wet. Running Deer looked sick, her face flushed with fever and her eyes dull with pain. Her sister was obviously worried, her face drawn with care. Still, despite their obvious pain, they were exquisite. Their long black hair, framing angelic heart-shaped faces, hung in gleaming ebony braids more than six inches below their shoulders. From what little I could actually see of their bodies, shrouded in loose buckskin shifts, these exquisite little beauties were perfectly proportioned for their size. What little skin I could see was baby smooth and flawless. Not immune to the attractions of beautiful women, I felt parts of my body lurch at the delightful double vision they presented. Oddly enough, I also felt a tug on my heart. 

Grandpa came hurrying back in with the big Corpsman's bag. "Here ya go, Clay!"

"Thanks, Uncle Henry." I start to exam Running Deer.

"This is going to hurt. Bite down on this," I told Running Deer as I gave her a piece of leather to bite down on.

Wishing I had an x-ray, I had to do this the hard way and hope my sense of touch would be enough. I palpated her swollen and extremely painful right forearm, and could feel that her right ulna, the biggest bone in the forearm, was broken. Luck was with me, at least as it felt like a clean break. For it to be such a clean break, she must have wacked her arm across a branch or rock as she fell and she was lucky she didn't break the radius as well. It might be cracked, but at least it was aligned. If not it would be a compound fracture, requiring more sophisticated treatment than I could offer. 

The break itself should not be causing her fever. I checked closer and found where she had also scraped her hand as she fell. Red and hot, although not bleeding, it looked like it was infected. Thorough cleaning of the wound and treatment with antibiotics was the only effective treatment, even in my time, except she would be in a hospital getting massive doses of antibiotic by IV. I would have to make do with my limited supplies.

As I completed my examination of her injuries, I turned to Grandpa and said, "I need some wet rawhide thongs to tie on a splint – they will shrink as they dry, holding it in place. I also need four sticks about three-quarters of an inch across and about a foot long for the splint itself. Have someone bring me some clay mud. I'm going to set her arm and try to make a cast to keep it straight and to cover and protect it. I also need someone to boil some water so I can wash that scrape. That's where the fever is coming from."

While waiting for Grandpa to fetch the splint materials, I gave her an amoxicillin tablet and half an aspirin from my bag. I had cut it in half, not knowing if she would have a reaction to it or not. The whole amoxicillin should be OK for her, as it was actually a children's antibiotic and should work well for her, given her size and that she and her people had never been exposed to modern drugs. I knew I would have to keep a close watch on her for awhile, but I risked the dosages I gave her because I had to get the infection under control and her fever broken. 

Soon, an older man entered, bringing me the items I had asked for.

"Here is the mud-that-dries-hard," he said.

Expecting him to leave, I noticed with surprise that he just stepped back to watch. I raised an eyebrow to Grandpa and he said. "This is Spotted Owl. He is the girls' father."

"Is he going to be trouble?"

"No, he's just worried. He loves his daughters very much."

Turning to Running Deer, I said "I'm sorry Little One, but this is going to hurt very badly, but I'll do it as fast as I can. Don't be ashamed to cry out if it hurts too much."

Recruiting the others in the lodge with us as my helpers, I said, "I need you all to help hold her down tightly so I can set her arm so it will be straight."

I instructed them on where I wanted them and how to hold the patient. Then, once they were in position, I slipped off my boots and braced myself by placing my foot in her armpit and pulled her arm straight at a steady pace till I felt the two bone ends slip back in place. You could almost hear them click together, and the obvious distortion disappeared, although her arm was still swollen. 

I gently wrapped her arm tightly using gauze from my kit then tied the sticks for the splint in place with the rawhide to keep it straight. With the splint secured, I covered the whole thing with a thick layer of clay to protect it, making a crude cast. During all this she hadn't let out a sound. Looking down at her I saw why – she had passed out.

Taking advantage of her being passed out, to avoid causing her further conscious pain, I quickly thoroughly scrubbed the scrape on her hand using the hot water and some anti-bacterial surgical soap from my kit. I rinsed the injury thoroughly, dried it with sterile gauze and applied a generous daub of antibiotic cream (Polysporin). I loosely taped a gauze pad over it then checked the blood flow to her hand by squeezing her fingernails. I was concerned that the rawhide thongs securing her splint might cut off circulation. 

Knowing that the pain would ease now that it was immobilized, I told her father, "Now we just need to let her rest and watch that she doesn't damage the cast while it dries."

"She will need to be watched, and she'll need more medicine." I showed Grandma, as Spotted Owl and another woman watched and listened carefully, how to check the circulation in the injured arm, and what to look for at the scrape if the infection started to spread. I left several amoxicillin tablets and some ibuprofens and explained how often to give them to Deer. "I don't care about the little brown pills. They're for pain and fever, like willow bark tea, but the big pink ones are for the fever, and she must take them until they're ALL gone. I'll check on her before I leave and probably be back a couple times to check on her." 

Grandma Dove came over and gave me a big hug. "If she doesn't die from the fever, she should have a good arm in a couple of months. That sure was some good work you done!"

Grandpa turned to me. "Now we need to do some trading, so's ya can stop being a stranger." 

"Ok, how do we do that?"

"First we'll go out and set with Red Cloud while I jaw with him. They will probably feed us, so whatever you do, eat what they give you. We don't want them to be insulted. Then after a bit, the trading will start, but remember these people won't be rushed."

We left the lodge and saw Red Cloud setting with some of the older braves, so we went over and he motioned us to sit. We did and he started asking Grandpa about the girl and if she would live, still ignoring me. 

Soon an older woman I had seen earlier in the lodge with Spotted Owl brought me some food on a piece of birch bark. I smiled and said, "Thank You." She just smiled and left without saying a word.

Grandpa saw her and said, "That's Rain, the girls' mother."

"I recognized her from inside. Doesn't she speak English?"

"She speaks American probably better than I do."

"Then why didn't she say anything?"

"Here, it's not the woman's place to speak to a man that is not family; but once they are family, you can't get them to shut up!" he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"I heard that!" called Grandma from inside the lodge.

Soon it was time for the trading to start as Grandpa showed me how the trade items were usually laid out on a blanket. He said, "Now the way this works is, you put out what you have to trade in small piles and then they will inspect what you have. If they want to barter, they will put a pile of stuff that they want to trade next to yours. If it's not enough, you either pull part away or add to it. Sometimes, you just split it. Remember, we are here to make friends, not skin these people. Try to make a fair deal but don't let them get the best of you, because then they will lose respect for you."

"OK, sounds easy enough."

"It ain't too hard. Just watch what you are doing. First, why don't you take a box of those cigars over and give them to Red Cloud? Tobacco is hard for them to get, so it makes for good trade goods and is a valuable friendship gift."

I picked up a box and took it over to Red Cloud. As he accepted it, he just nodded and smiled at me.

I went back to my place and said to Grandpa, "He still didn't speak to me – he just smiled and nodded."

"Remember, he's still the Chief of the Sioux and he has to show pride to his people. The nod meant he was seeing you no longer as a stranger and the smile meant he was very pleased with your gift."

We had been trading for a while when Spotted Owl came up leading a fine chestnut mare and handed me the lead rope. Thinking he was trying to make a trade, I picked up the last box of cigars and handed it to him. He thought for a minute, then taking my arm, led me back into the lodge and pointed at his daughters. Believing he was asking if Running Deer was going to be OK, I just nodded to him.

Having followed us, Grandpa busted out laughing. I just looked at him like he'd lost his mind, then I demanded, "What's the hell's so funny?"

It took him a minute to stop laughing long enough to barely catch his breath and gasped, "Hee! Hee! Hell boy, you just bought yourself two wives!" then started cackling again hard enough to lay an egg.

I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, shocked out of my britches.




I would like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice Wolf they make my scribbling worth reading.



Doc Ch. 06



I just stood there gasping like a fish out of water, with Grandpa still laughing his ass off. Spotted Owl was just looking back and forth between us, puzzled as to what was going on and starting to look a little annoyed. Grandpa noticed this and struggling to get his laughter under control, hurried to reassure him that he was not laughing at him and that I wasn't touched in the head. 

"Spotted Owl he's just astonished that you would accept such a small amount for your two beautiful daughters."

"Other brave no want. Think too small. Think not able do hard work and too small to bring strong sons." He explained

"I'm sure they're wrong. I've seen those girls work! They may be small but they work as hard as any woman. They are very clean and are good cooks. I think between the two of them they will have enough strong sons and beautiful daughters to make any man proud and keep his lodge happy."

"But...But..." I stammered, not quite grasping the situation.

"Later, Boy!" Grandpa snapped.

"He good man?" asked Spotted Owl. 

"I think so. He's family, a brave warrior, a good hunter, and a medicine man – he'll make a good husband and father to many strong sons."

"Is good! Need many strong sons."

Seeing that I was still in a state of shock, Grandpa asked, "How's Running Deer doing? Don't you think you better go check on her?"

Going over to her I saw she was now awake and doing a lot better. The fever seemed to be breaking. Both she and Little Doe had big smiles on their cute pixie faces, making me even more nervous. 

"How are you feeling? Still hurting real bad or is it better?" I asked Running Deer while I felt the mud cast to see if it was drying correctly.

"Still hurts but much better. More like bad ache now. Sickness is much better. Not sweat now." She answered.

"That's good. You will be better in no time. You just be real still while you cast dries. Your arm should stop hurting in a couple of days, but the cast must dry hard before you can move it. We will keep a close eye on you for the next day or so."

"When we go to your lodge? Make you good wives." she asked, with both of them smiling even bigger and making me even more nervous.

Grandpa saw us and started laughing at me again. "Come on boy, I think we need to go have a private talk."

By this time, I was starting to get pissed. Grandpa seemed to be having too much of a good time laughing at me. Everyone else was looking at me like I was dropped on my head as a baby or was simple minded. The twins just kept smiling at me all the time like a starving man looks at a big steak dinner. 

"OK, what's going on? How did I trade for the girls to be my wives?" I demanded in frustration.

"When you handed Spotted Owl the box of cigars, he didn't have anything worth enough to trade for them. Remember I told you tobacco is a good trading stock, being so rare? When he took you into the lodge and pointed to the girls, and you just nodded, he thought you accepted the trade."

"But... But... I thought we were trading for the horse and he wanted to know if his daughter was OK!" I exclaimed.

"The horse was a gift to you for saving his daughter. He truly loves those two girls of his."

"But I don't want to get married. He can keep the cigars as a gift!" Even to me, I sounded like I was whining.

"YOU DAMN FOOL! Are you trying to get us all kill't, insulting these people like that? You were warned to watch what you were doing. You could've asked what to do, but you just rammed ahead anyway. Besides, he wants them to be married and have lots of grandsons. He thinks it's long past time they found a husband, but they had all the young bucks around here scare't that they were a pair of shrews.

"Maybe they don't want me." I said

"Are you blind as well as stupid? Those two adore you, as anyone with eyes and an ounce of sense can plainly see! I keep tellin' ya – them two have had their sights set on you since you were all kids! How many times do you have to be told somethin' before it sinks in?" Grandpa was clearly frustrated with me, but then he started laughing at me again.

"But it's the other Clay they are in love with – not me!"

"As far as anyone else is concerned, YOU ARE CLAY! And don't you go forget'n I'm your Uncle Henry, or Hank – not Grandpa!'

"So when is this wedding going to take place anyway?" I grumbled, resigning myself to my fate with ill grace.

"Stop sulking like a child! This will be the best thing for you. They will make you very good wives. Actually they are already your property and you can do as you like with them, but it will be much better all around if you wait for White Calf Woman to get here, though." 

"White Calf Woman? Who is she – a relative? How does she know about this?"

"Nope. She's a Sioux Holy Woman. She will be performing the marriage ceremony. Red Cloud told me while you were checking on Running Deer that he had sent a fast messenger to her asking her to come. She's with one of the other villages. She moves around among them all.

"Now, although the girls are already yours since you traded for them, it'll be a lot better if they become your true wives in the eyes of the Lakota. That's why Red Cloud sent for the Holy Woman. Which reminds me – you better get back to your trading – you need two buffalo robes to give her for the ceremony. That shows that you will be a good provider."

"But they will know that I didn't kill the buffalo myself."

"That don't matter none. They will know you could get what was needed. But if you want, we could go hunting. They will need meat for the wedding feast and we can get the robes you need. It might even be better to do it that way."

"So how long do we have to get all this done before she gets here; and how much longer are we going to be here anyway?" 

"Red Cloud said it will probably take about three days for her to get the message then come here. The ceremony only takes a short while, then the feast, then the wedding night... I figure we'll be here about five more days."

"What about the ranch? Who's going to take care of the stock if we are here for another five days?"

"Your aunts and uncle and the two hired hands, that is, if the damn fools ain't run off looking for gold yet."

When we went back in to check on Running Deer, I explained to them that we were going to hunt for the wedding feast and the buffalo robes for White Calf Woman. Both girls were smiling real big till they heard the holy woman's name then they gasped and looked worried. 

Seeing their reaction, I asked, "What're they acting so worried about?"

"White Calf Woman is one of their greatest holy women. It is a great honor for her to be performing the ceremony." Grandpa explained. Then turning to Little Doe, he asked, "Don't you think you should be getting your and Running Deer's wedding dresses made and the marriage lodge put up?"

"That sounds like a lot of work. How will they be able to get all that done in time? " I asked.

"Hell, Boy, they've probably already had them made for a long time, just waiting for the right husband. If not, all the other women will help."

We went out and found Red Cloud. We explained that we were going to hunt. He said, "Other hunters already hunt, but more meat always good."

Our plans made and announced, we each made a travois, one for the pack horse and one for the horse Spotted Owl had given me. Although it was getting late in the day, once we were ready, we set out for where we thought the buffalo might be found.



ould like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice Wolf they make my scribbling worth reading.



Doc Ch. 07



As we rode toward the buffalo hunting ground, I asked, "What's going to happen at the marriage ceremony?"

"Well, usually the night before, you would go into a sweat lodge to try to have a vision. While you are in there, the vapors given off by many herbs and other plants will help you have your vision."

I grunted skeptically, "That's just great – they're going to get me stoned so I'll start seeing things."

Grandpa, picking up on my cynical attitude, demanded, "What is this 'stoned'?"

"It's a term from my time for being drunk or under the influence of other substances. Sometimes when people get really stoned, they have hallucinations and act crazy."

"I see," Grandpa said. "No it won't be like that for you; the vapors are more to help you relax so you can let go and let the vision happen, and there's always someone nearby in case the vision is too intense and you need help finding your way back. Usually, it seems like the person just has a real good sweat and comes out feeling a whole lot better, after sweating all the dirt out of their hide.

"Mind you, I have seen some mighty strange things happen to some of these Holy Ones – some of their visions seem to show what the future may bring. But, for most others, they just answer questions or provide a solution to a problem. Like I said, I've seen what can happen, so don't be making fun of what you don't understand."

Still somewhat skeptical, despite his reassurances, I said, "Ok. I'll try to keep an open mind, but I'm not convinced anything will happen. If it don't, what do I do then – make something up?"

"NO! Whatever you do, don't lie to them! They will know and never trust you again! If you don't have a vision, just tell them so, but chances are you will see something. Whether it makes sense to you or not, the Holy Ones will help you try to understand it."

"OK, I think I understand that part. Now, what happens on the wedding day itself?" 

"First, after you talk to the Holy Woman, the girls' father will take you to the river to clean up. Then he will talk with you in private explaining his daughters to you, and he will answer any questions you may have about the facts of life."

I started to laugh. "I've pretty much known about the facts of life since I was about fourteen."

Grandpa looked at me like I was an idiot. "Not sex! I'm talking about how to treat his daughters and make a good husband to them! Any damn fool knows about sex by your age."

"Sorry." I said sheepishly. 

"OK then – after you and him talk, you will be presented to both Red Cloud and White Calf Woman. You will formally ask them permission for the girls to become your true wives. At that time, Red Cloud will give you his permission and White Calf Woman will also give her blessing. And ... then – you are married."

"Is that all there is to it?" I asked, thinking I had missed something.

"Nope! Almost, but not quite! After the formalities with Red Cloud and the Holy Woman, the actual celebration starts. First, there is a big feast and much dancing. After a while, when it is polite to do so, you and the girls will slip off to a special lodge built just for the wedding night. When you come out in the morning, then the girls will be your True Wives in the eyes of the tribe."

As we rode along looking for sign of buffalo, we saw some buzzards circling in the distance. Curious, we rode over to investigate and found two dead prospectors. 

At first glance, it looked like they had been killed by Indians but as lawmen, something just didn't seem right! On closer examination, we discovered that they had been shot and mutilated. Then, where the bullets had entered the bodies, arrows had been pushed into the holes. 

Thanks to Grandpa's knowledge of the local tribes, when we examined the arrows, we found the black and blue markings of the Crow, not the red and yellow bands of the Lakota Sioux they should have been, as we were IN Lakota territory and a long way from Crow country. 

We also discovered that the prospectors had been robbed of all gold, money and other things of value – very unusual, as the Indians had little or no use for money or gold. 

Realizing the implications, I declared, "I think we had better report this to the law." 

"Ain't no law except miners' court. The closest real law is at Fort Laramie and that's 200 miles from here. Besides, the miner's court would just start more trouble for the Indians. I say lets search them for anything that might identify who they are; then we can try to see if'n they have any family to contact."

Despite it getting late in the day, we took the time to properly bury them, leaving a small pile of stones to mark their graves, in case there was anyone who might want to find their bodies. Then, with nothing else we could do, we went on our way.

A short while later we came upon a small herd of buffalo consisting of an alpha Bull, two younger bulls, and six cows with young calves.

Grandpa pointed and said, "You're pretty handy with them pistols, now let's see how you are with that rifle – shoot the two young bulls."

I dismounted, got into a comfortable shooting position, got a good sight picture, squeezed the trigger, and dropped the first bull. Before he finished falling, I swung the rifle, acquired the second bull in my sights and hit him cleanly with a shot to his lower chest, dropping him in his tracks.

"That's mighty good shootin'." Grandpa said

"Wouldn't it have been better to take the old bull and one of cows?"

"Nope. Those young bulls were almost the age that they would soon have challenged the old bull for his place as the alpha male. He's still healthy and looks to throw good calves, so we let him be. 'Sides that, the meat from younger animals is better – more tender."

We dressed out the kills and loaded them on the travois and started back, although by now it was getting very late in the day, with not much daylight left. We didn't like traveling so late, but we knew we would have trouble with predators attracted by the smell of the meat if we tried camping on the open prairie, so we traveled straight through.

By pushing our horses as much as we dared with the heavily loaded travois, we managed to arrive back at Red Cloud's camp just shortly after dark. Despite the late hour, the whole camp turned out to help with the kills. The men unloaded the horses then the women attacked those two buffalo like a swarm of ants. In no time they had them both skinned, the meat cut up and the hides stretched on frames for scraping and tanning.

When that frantic activity had settled down, I told Grandpa "We need to find out where we are sleeping. You do that and I will check on Running Deer."

When I entered their lodge, I found Running Deer sleeping soundly with Little Doe watching her. Trying not to wake her unnecessarily, I carefully checked Running Deer's condition. She was showing definite signs of improvement with no sign of having a fever still. Her cast was almost dried hard and squeezing her fingertips indicated good circulation. Encouraged by these positive signs, I told Little Doe everything looked OK for now, and for her to get some rest – my little sweetie (where did that come from?) looked exhausted. I would check on her sister again in the morning.

We said good night then I went out to find Grandpa. He was sitting by the fire talking to Grandma Dove. 

"Uncle Henry, did you find out where we are sleeping?"

Hesitating, hemming and hawing kinda like he was gonna beat around the bush, he finally allowed, "They gave use a small lodge over by Red Cloud's." 

From the way he hesitated and from the look on his face, I could see that he really wanted to spend some private time with Dove. Letting him off the hook, I said, "It looks like it's going to be a nice night. Maybe I should just bed down out here by the fire in case they need me in the night."

Looking relieved, he said, "That might be a good idea. See ya in the morning." and suiting his actions to my words, they walked off.

After quickly checking Running Deer again and that Little Doe had indeed gone to bed, I spread my bedroll out away from any traffic. I didn't want to be in the way or to be stepped on in the middle of the night.

I awoke the next morning to something tickling my nose and ear, and the sound of laughter. Opening my eyes, I found Little Doe tickling my nose and ears with a long stemmed weed while about a dozen kids watched and laughed. Turn-about being fair play, I grabbed her and started tickling her back. She started screaming and laughing, "Stop! Stop! We not your wives yet! Need check on Deer. She wants to get up and work on wedding lodge. Mud hard on arm but I say wait until you check, say ok. She say Holy Woman be here soon – she need get up."

"OK, I'll be right there. You could have just shook me awake."

"No fun that. Children enjoy the teasing."

"I see that." Then I growled at them like a big bear. They scattered, laughing loudly.

After going into the trees to answer the call of nature, I went to check on Running Deer. Seeing her trying to get up, I helped her and asked, "How you feeling today, Little One?"

"Feel good. Hurt almost gone. Need to get up. Much to do before Holy Woman get here." She turned to go and stumbled, putting out her bad arm.

"Whoa there, Running Deer." I cautioned as I steadied her on her feet. "You must not use that arm yet – it is still broken. The cast is helping you heal, but you must be very careful of it and not do anything to stop it from healing right. I will let you go with Little Doe, but you must promise not to work. You can only advise for now. Promise me you will do as I say – I don't want my wife to be crippled or have a crooked arm."

"I promise." She said as she and Little Doe left the lodge.

As I followed them out of the lodge, there was a sense of excitement in the air. I found Grandpa sitting with Red Cloud and asked what was going on. 

He said, "White Calf Woman is almost here already. She will be here in a few minutes."

Surprised, I wondered aloud, "I thought she wasn't supposed to be here for two or three days yet? How'd she get here so fast?"

In another surprise, addressing me directly, Red Cloud answered instead of Grandpa. "Not sure. Maybe camp was closer than we thought. Maybe she already on way here when meet scout. Sometimes Holy Woman know things. Maybe she know you get married and come fast before scout leave here."

Refreshed by a night's sleep and the fun with Little Doe earlier, I was in much better shape than yesterday to digest strange news. Still, I sat down to wait for the Holy Woman with the other two and pondered all that had happened since I woke up in my wrecked truck yesterday morning at sunrise. 

As we were waiting, Spotted Owl approached in a hurry, carrying two buffalo robes. He pointed at the two buffalo skins that we got in the hunt yesterday stretched on the drying racks, then pointed at himself. Next, he pointed at the two robes that he was carrying and pointed to me. I could see that he was worried the skins would not be ready, and had brought two good robes to trade. I nodded, smiled and thanked him. 

Satisfied we had avoided a social blunder, he asked Grandpa to watch over the two robes then took my arm and said, "Come, let us walk down by the river."

As we walked, he started to explain about his daughters. "They small, but very hard workers. They bring much happiness if remember that are still young and headstrong. You must listen and no get mad. Good advice – always remember to respect and they respect you. Never go to sleep mad. If mad – talk – then mad go away. You protect them, they protect you. They cook, clean, be good mothers and advisers. You be gentle, caring and show trust, they make good wifes long time." 

As I listened to him, I realized this was some of the best advice I ever heard.

When we returned, I was introduced to White Calf Woman who had arrived while Spotted Owl and I were having our talk. She nodded to me, obviously a person of few words, then said, "Come. You must have your spirit cleansed."

With that, she led me to a hut I realized was the sweat lodge. There, she showed me how to pour a mixture of water and herbs from a bowl with a small ladle onto a pile of stones perched on a bed of red-hot coals, so as not to smother the coals. I asked how often I should add them. 

She just said mysteriously, "You will know." Then she had me strip to my underwear and enter the small hut. As she left me alone, she said, "Relax. Try to let your mind go ... and ... try to remember what you see."

Damn, it was hot in there! I added a ladle of the water-herb mixture and sat back, trying to relax. In my own time, I had been in saunas, so I expected it to be similar. Every so often I'd add some more. About an hour or so after I entered, I started to get dizzy from the heat so I drank some of the water-herb mixture. Not long after that, I must have fallen asleep. I dreamed I saw a great Hawk. Somehow I knew it was the Great Spirit. He showed me that I was there to help keep the peace between the Indian and the white people. He said that I should help both the whites and Indians with my skills in medicine and also help to protect them using my skills with guns. 

I asked about causing a rift in my own time by changing history. The Spirit Hawk told me that time was like a tree – the changes I made would just cause the tree to branch off into a whole new destiny, without harming the future that I came from, which was a huge relief to my mind. The Spirit Hawk went on to tell me that I should try my best to make sure that the people got a fair deal as that was now my destiny. 

When I woke, the coals were black and the stones cool. I knew that it was time to leave, so I wearily crawled out to face my destiny. When I came out White Calf Woman was waiting and just smiled at me, nodding knowingly. Grandpa then came for me. He gave me a small drink of sweetened water then guided me to a small lodge to sleep. 



I would like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice Wolf they make my scribbling worth reading.



Doc Ch. 08



When I awoke, I was still disoriented. Had what I seen in the sweat lodge been right, or was I just dreaming? I'm not religious, but whatever it was I had seen, it seemed to answer most of my questions about what I was doing here. I went to find Grandpa and found him sitting with Red Cloud. 

I approached them and asked, "Uncle Henry, can we walk and talk some?"

Getting up, he followed me down by the river. I tried to ask him about what I had seen in the sweat lodge and found that I couldn't say anything about it. Puzzled as he saw me apparently fumble for words, he asked, "What's wrong?"

I replied, "I was going to ask about the things I saw in my dream, but somehow I can't ask anything."

"There's something about spirit dreams. They are personal and can't be shared. To each person they are described to, the images mean different things. Now, without telling me what was actually in the dream, describe to me what you think it means to you."

"What I understood is that I was brought here to help both the Indians and the white man with my medicine, and by bringing justice, using my law enforcement background. I also gathered that I don't need to worry about changing the future because as we make changes, reality will branch and leave the future I came from safe.'' 

Grandpa looked thoughtful. "Hmmm ... We weren't so far off after all. Based on what we already talked about, that sounds about right."

I would have liked to talk about it in more detail, but about that time we heard a commotion back in camp and went to see what was going on. When we got there we saw that a fairly large group of about 35 warriors had ridden up in front of Red Cloud. Somehow, I just knew their leader was Crazy Horse.

We were moving closer to see what was going on when some of the braves noticed us and started to advance toward us menacingly.

Red Cloud shouted, "STOP! You don't treat a guest that way!"

Crazy Horse replied, "Guest? Since when is the white eyes the guest of the Lakota? I see Hawk, but who is this other white eyes you call guest?"

Red Cloud explained, "That is Dirty Hand. You played with him as a boy."

Crazy Horse replied, "That was a long time ago. He is not a boy now. Where has he been?"

"He has been in army and now is white man's medicine man. He helped Running Deer when she broke her arm."

"What is he still doing here?"

"He is marrying Running Deer and Little Doe today."

This caused quite a commotion amongst the new arrivals and one brave suddenly ran off, away from the others. In a few minutes I saw him dragging Little Doe away from the lodge she shared with Running Deer. 

Angered that he would treat any woman like that, and especially one of mine, I didn't think, I just reacted. I ran over to him and spun him to the ground. As he fell he released Little Doe, allowing her to scamper to safety. 

My new enemy jumped back up and pulled a knife on me, but I was ready for him. I waited for his first lunge then batted it away, and stepped inside his reach. Following through, I hit him straight in the nose, breaking it. The resulting blurring of his vision made it hard for him to see. Then, still holding his knife arm, I levered it forcing him to either drop the knife or I would break that arm. 

He dropped the knife, but I kept the hold on him, only releasing it, and him, when a visibly angry Red Cloud shouted, "ENOUGH!"

Speaking directly to the brave, he demanded, "Why you dishonor my camp this way?" 

"Little Doe belong to me. Want her for my wife." 

"Little Doe don't want to marry you. She tell you no many times.

"Little Doe and Running Deer belong to Dirty Hand. Him traded fair for them and take as true wives today."

"I fight for them."

"Did fight. Lost." 

"Not let her marry white eyes. Will die first. We fight for her!"

Red Cloud was obviously very angry, but after a slight pause where I could almost see the wheels turning, he frowned and nodded. I suddenly realized there was more politics to being a Chief than most people ever imagined.

I was pretty sure I understood what was happening, but I looked at Grandpa for an explanation anyway. 

He shrugged and said, "Looks like you're going to have to fight him. He has already lost face so he has to try to kill you. See if you can't give him a sound whipping without killing him, but remember – he will be trying his best to kill you – so, if you have to kill him to stay alive, do it – no one here will hold it against you, and actually expect it."

Without any further discussion, the two of us were manhandled unceremoniously to a large area where we were surrounded by all the braves in camp, their bodies acting as the barriers of our 'ring'. We were prepared for our fight by having our left arms joined by a 6-foot piece of rawhide leather tied to our wrists. Then we were each handed a knife. 

I quickly checked the balance and 'feel' of the knife in my hand and settled into a 'ready' position, prepared to fight for my life. My opponent did likewise.

Red Cloud checked to ensure we were indeed both ready, then shouted, "Start!" 

Almost by unspoken agreement, we each drew up some slack in our tether until we were just barely within arm's reach then we started to slowly circle each other, flicking our knives at each other, thrusting and parrying – testing – trying to feel out the other's weaknesses. 

My opponent didn't just rush in, like last time – this was for keeps this time, and he was very aware of that fact. Neither of us wanted this to drag out, but neither did either of us want to make a fatal mistake by moving too quickly, either. With that in mind, hoping to use his arrogance against him, I suddenly took a quicker step, and faked a stumble. 

In his conceit, thinking he was so much better than a mere 'White Eyes', the fool fell for it, and thinking to end me quickly, rushed in, trying to catch me while I was still off-balance. Surprise! He had done exactly as I wanted and expected, so I was prepared and waiting. 

As he committed to his lunging attack, I countered by stepping to the side and sharply swung my elbow up hard into his nose. Already broken from our first encounter, it started to bleed profusely again, blurring his vision again. Trying to put a quick end to it, I then swung around behind him, using the mechanical advantage of the rawhide thong and secured us together by wrapping it tightly around his neck, cutting off his wind. I completed the move by bringing my knife to his throat, holding it there and drawing a thin trickle of blood to emphasize that he was thoroughly defeated.

I looked over to Red Cloud as he watched my antagonist's total defeat. He made a slashing motion across his throat and, obviously disgusted, declared, "Finish it!" 

I held my prisoner for a minute then, as I moved my knife away from his exposed flesh, I said, "I give you back your life." 

I cut the rawhide thong joining us from my wrist and turning, started to walk away. I had only taken a few steps when I heard the sound of footsteps running toward me, then a gun shot. When I stopped and turned around to look, I saw Crazy Horse standing there, holding a smoking rifle and the brave I had just fought lay dead on the ground.

I gave Crazy Horse a questioning look. He shrugged and said, "He coward with no honor. After surrender, he try to stab in back."

I thanked him but he just shrugged again and turned away. I understood that although he didn't like the white man he was still a man of honor, and expected his braves to also behave with honor.

I went over to join Grandpa and Red Cloud and asked if I could speak with all of them. Red Cloud beckoned Crazy Horse to join us, and when he had, I said, "I know what happened to Custer, and although he may have been a fool to lose his whole command the way he did in a great victory for the People, the White Man's government is still going to want revenge for what happened. They will not care if he might have been stupid or that Sitting Bull was acting in self defense."

Crazy Horse replied, "Then we fight them like we did Custer!"

"Crazy Horse, you have powerful medicine, but the White Government has many more soldiers than all the people in all the tribes of the Sioux. They will keep coming till there are no more Sioux."

"We must fight! White government give Paha Sapa to Sioux people! Now white eyes keep coming to look for yellow iron and trespass on Sacred Land."

"They will keep coming too. The yellow iron has great value to the white men. They will kill for it and will send the army to take Paha Sapa away from Sioux people. You need to run and let them chase you until they are not so bent on revenge. 

Red Cloud complained, "What can do? Many are old or women. They cannot travel fast or far."

Grandpa offered, "Bring them to my place till some of this blows over. We will help them with food and help keep them safe. We can cut out a few head of cattle to help tide them over and Clay here can help them with any medicine they might need."

They sat and talked among themselves for a while. They decided they would leave a few braves to help watch over the women, children and old people at Grandpa's ranch while Crazy Horse and the rest led the army on a long wild goose chase. Meanwhile, Red Cloud would stay and speak for his people. 

Regardless of the need to work out a strategy for dealing with the White Government in light of Custer's defeat, there were other important matters on the agenda – such as, a wedding! All too soon (for me, the reluctant groom, anyway), it was time to get ready for the wedding. Dove came and got me and Grandpa for us to cleanup and for me to change into a set of bleached white buckskins that were left for me but which I had no idea where or who they came from. 

When she decided I was presentable, Dove, escorted by Grandpa, then led me to meet the twins. When I saw them, I was taken aback by their beauty, especially now, when they were all dolled up for our wedding. In short, they were absolutely ravishing, and I felt a lurch in my heart, and maybe some other places, too... 

My sweeties (There I go again – where is it coming from?) were dressed in matching white doeskin dresses, trimmed with red and yellow beads. Those dresses, although not tight, were still quite form-fitting, showing off their very feminine curves to their best advantage without being trashy – the perfect advertisement of my blushing brides to their increasingly happy groom. And ... blushing brides they were, their sweet elfin faces a blaze of color as they tried unsuccessfully to hide their eager smiles while trying to look properly solemn.

Despite my earlier misgivings about getting married and my objections to Grandpa, when the time came, I felt as proud as could be, when we were led – me with an adorable twin on either arm – in front of Red Cloud to ask his permission for us to marry. 

Looking Red Cloud directly in the eye, I made my case. "I, once known to the People as Dirty Hand, have traded fairly with Spotted Owl for his two daughters, and they are mine. Now, I ask permission of the tribe to take them as my True Wives."

Red Cloud regarded me seriously for a moment then smiled and said, "You have shown yourself to be a good friend of the Sioux, but Dirty Hand is a boy's name, not a man's. From this day forwards, the Sioux will know you as Two Lives, for while you have lived the Life of the white man but now will also live that of the Sioux. You may take these girls who are your women as your true wives to keep your lodge and bring you many strong sons."

Next, we were led to White Calf Woman. I said, "The Chief, Red Cloud, has given us the permission of the tribe for us to marry. I can provide well for my wives and ask that you bless our union." Then I presented her with the buffalo robes as proof that I could provide for my family. 

White Calf Woman accepted the robes with a smile, and had the three of us join our right hands which she then tied together and intoned, "The Great Spirit is in all things, even in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us ... that which we put into the ground she returns to us. My Son, you are now flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. By this ceremony, performed here this day, by taking these two as your True Wives, every drop of white blood has been washed from your veins and you have been taken into and become part of the Sioux Nation."

Wow! I just KNEW that now I was part of something huge and worthwhile! In my own time, I had often felt like a second-class citizen because of my Native American blood, and all the teasing I got over it. I had hated it so much that I denied it to myself, and refused to learn anything of my heritage. 

Today, by marrying these two lovely sweethearts, and from what both Red Cloud and White Calf Woman had told me, I was no longer apart, and could now accept my heritage because it had accepted ME! I felt my spirit lift toward the sky and my heart felt like it might burst. Two Lives indeed! I would need both just to contain my happy spirit!

Thus, my sweeties and I were wed, and I had come into my heritage. After the ceremony there was a great feast with lots of food and dancing. As we sat and watched the festivities, other members of the tribe came to give their best wishes on our marriage. 

The feasting and dancing went on till well after dark. Then, at some unknown signal it was over, and I was led to the wedding lodge by my two brides. 

Upon entering, the three of us regarded each other nervously for a few seconds, then acting on some silent cue, we began to shyly undress. I managed to get my own rig off without too much fuss, seeing as how nervous I was. I had faced down gunmen and gone into battle, and never felt this nervous! 

The girls helped each other. Running Deer especially needed help from Little Doe because of her cast. Regardless of the difficulty over Deer's cast, they put on an incredibly sensual and pleasing-to-the-eye display. As their wondrous charms were gradually revealed, I sat and marveled at my two lovely ladies. Finally, after all my whining and doubts, I had accepted and realized the full value of the treasures I had just won. And ... with that realization, I wondered, not for the last time, just what exactly I had done to be so lucky. 

Quickly overcoming our mutual shyness, we came together in a group hug which evolved into passion as we started kissing and petting on each other. Our passion and desire for each other grew and fed upon itself until we reached the natural conclusion and we made love. Running Deer was the first to enthusiastically and noisily lose her virginity, then an equally loud and energetic Little Doe.

At first I was concerned about the noise but it didn't seem to bother them and in fact, it seemed like they were actually trying to outdo each other. Finally, after I don't know how long, fully sated and feeling our mutual love, we fell asleep in each others' arms. I felt like a king with my beautiful wives snuggled cozily on either side of me. 



I would like to thank my great editors Eviltwin and Ice Wolf . They make my scribbling worth reading.



Doc Ch. 09



I awoke the next morning to find myself being caressed and kissed by my two new wives. I could quickly become happily addicted to that kind of treatment as a morning wakeup call. Kissing them both back, I said, "We need to get up and get ready to go home." 

As we left the wedding lodge, we heard quiet snickers and hushed comments about the noise coming from our lodge the previous night, accompanied by other remarks about lack of sleep. I blushed about three shades of red, while the twins acted as if they were actually proud of the racket they'd made. Thus, they just smiled as they went about getting breakfast ready and packing for an early start home. I swear if they'd have been cats, they would've had feathers sticking out of their mouths... 

However, it wasn't long before I found out that other events and actions would intrude upon our lives so that an early departure for home just was not meant to be... While I waited for breakfast, I had gone over to join the men at Red Cloud's fire where I heard Grandpa as he announced, "Two Lives ......Red Cloud and Crazy Horse have a request for you – they have three braves that are badly wounded. They would like you to take a look at them and see if you can help them."

I was disappointed at not being able to get my sweeties home as soon as I wanted, but there were injured people who needed my help. I put on my 'doctor' face. "Sure. Where are they?"

Grandpa waved toward the lodge where I had worked on Deer. "Two of them are in the same lodge that Running Deer was in – they are her cousins. The third is in the next lodge, but he refuses to be seen by a white eyes. "

Little Doe had been heading my way, presumably to call me to breakfast. When she overheard Grandpa tell me that her cousins were injured, Little Doe followed me into the lodge, leaving Deer to tend to the food. As I entered, I quickly assessed my patients and noted that one had been shot in the thigh, while the other had a nasty head wound. 

I went over to examine the one that had been shot more closely. I quickly determined that the bullet was still in the wound. It was also infected, causing him to run a high fever. 

When I checked my other patient, I saw that he had a large gash in the temple. Upon examining his eyes, I discovered one pupil larger than the other, which indicated at the very least a serious concussion, and possibly worse – a true brain injury. He was conscious and responsive, but slow. 

There was little I could do for a serious head injury other than clean and dress any open wounds, make the patient comfortable and then watch over them for at least 48 hours – the standard treatment for concussion. 

I asked Little Doe if she had paid attention when I cleaned up Deer's scrapes yesterday. She showed me she had, as, without direction, she retrieved the bandages and anti-bacterial soap from my pack which I had left in the lodge. Confident she knew what to do, I had Doe clean and wrap the head wound and instructed her to keep a watch on him while I tended to the other injured brave. We could only hope that the injury wasn't as serious as it looked and that nature would take its course, allowing him a full recovery without any neurological impairments. 

While Doe tended to the head injury, I had the bullet-wounded warrior carried outside where there was better light. As they moved my patient, I followed behind, bringing my large pack with all my surgical gear. Moving the injured man outside also meant I could use my ether mask and ether safely with little risk of gassing everyone in the closed space of the lodge. 

Ether may be a primitive anesthetic, but it works, and I had included it in my medical kit because, in my time it was readily available almost anywhere in the world, which made it ideal for field conditions. Coincidentally and fortunately, it was also readily available in this time period and had seen growing use as an anesthetic since Dr. C.W. Long first demonstrated its use in 1842.

Once I had the patient situated for the best possible light, I set out my equipment and asked to have lots of water boiled and handy while I worked, explaining how to keep it covered as it cooled so it remained sterile. Next, using my ether rig, I anesthetized him. I don't care how tough even the strongest warrior thinks he is, having a gunshot wound cleaned, probed and cleaned again is extremely painful, and is far better done with the patient knocked out. It certainly makes the surgeon's job much easier if he doesn't have to deal with a patient thrashing about in agony... 

As soon as my patient was under, I cleaned and irrigated the wound thoroughly with antibacterial soap and lots of clean water until it was bleeding freely and all evidence of puss had disappeared. Next, using a surgical probe, I carefully felt in the wound track for the bullet and any other foreign bodies that might be impacted into the wound. 

I soon located the bullet, which appeared to be in one piece, not too surprising, as the large caliber low-velocity bullets in use at this time rarely fragmented unless they struck bone. Then, using a small hemostat, I extracted the bullet then thoroughly washed out the wound again. Gently probing the wound track again, I found and removed a small piece of cloth that roughly matched the hole in his pants where the bullet had struck him. After irrigating and flushing the wound one more time, I probed the wound once more, finding no other foreign objects. 

Satisfied the wound was as clear of foreign objects and dirt as I could get it, I did a last thorough cleaning of the wound track with soap and water then flushed it with lots of clean water. I packed the wound track with antibiotic cream, applied a sterile dressing and secured it in place by wrapping his leg with a clean bandage. I gave him a shot of penicillin to help fight the infection and had him moved back into the lodge. 

When he woke up from the ether, he threw up. He was embarrassed, but I explained it was normal because of the ether. When his nausea settled, I gave him a whole amoxicillin and left a few with Little Doe and the others who had been tending him and his mate. I instructed them on when to give the gunshot victim his meds, and to keep a close watch on both patients, knowing that with my sweetie as their nurse, they had the very best of care. Then, after packing my kit for moving, I slung it over my shoulder and went next door with Red Cloud and Crazy Horse to check the third injured brave.

As soon as we stepped into the lodge, I could tell that this brave hated the white man, as he just sat there glaring at me. He shouted at us in his own language till Red Cloud angrily barked something back, whereupon he quieted right down. He did sit still long enough for me to examine him. I discovered a large cut on his right thigh but he wouldn't let me touch it. I gave Red Cloud a look and after he again spoke harshly to the brave, told me to go ahead. 

With Red Cloud's go-ahead, I checked the injury closer. Although it looked messy, it didn't appear to be infected yet, but would still need a thorough cleaning. There didn't appear to be any major muscle damage, although the cut was long and deep, probably from a knife or saber, and would require several stitches to close so it would heal properly. I figured it hadn't become septic because of the steady bleeding. It wasn't a gusher, but he would still weaken from loss of blood if it was left untreated. 

I tried to give him a local for the pain but he refused it so I handed him a piece of leather to bite down, on telling him it was going to hurt like hell. Despite my obvious attempt to help him, he continued to glare at me. Deciding the best course of action was just to get on with it, I asked to have more sterile water brought in and when it arrived, began his treatment. Using more of the antibacterial soap, I cleaned the wound thoroughly then commenced to suture him up. 

I put in 35 stitches and he never made a sound the whole time, just continuing to glare at me with hatred. After applying the antibacterial ointment and a sterile dressing, I wrapped his leg with clean bandages. I instructed him to keep it clean but could see that he wouldn't listen to me. I told Red Cloud that if he didn't do as I instructed, he would die or lose the leg. Red Cloud told me that someone would keep an eye on him and make sure he kept the wound clean. I knew that many Native poultices and ointments for wounds were very effective at preventing infection. Now that I had cleaned it and stitched it closed, they were ahead of the game and the Indian healers could take over with every hope of complete healing and recovery. 

When I left the lodge, I found both my wives and let them know that we would be staying at least one more day while we kept our patients under observation and medical supervision.

After that, I went to talk with Grandpa. I found him with Red Cloud and some of the older men of the tribe, discussing what they would do next.

As I approached, I heard Grandpa saying, "Red Cloud, you are chief of the Sioux Nation. You need to speak to the government about the problems caused by the white men invading the Paha Sapa. You must convince them that the trouble really is caused by these trespassers, that it just isn't worth the bother, and they must leave. 

"If you do it right, then the government will actually force the yellow iron hunters to leave – you must make it so the White Man's greed works for you and against them. But ... if you can't get them to understand, the gold hunters will keep coming and they will make all kinds of trouble. The White government won't let you punish the trouble makers and if you do, the government will take the Paha Sapa away. 

"Meanwhile, the other chiefs, like Crazy Horse, should lead the army away till they grow tired of chasing them. Otherwise, if you continue to fight like this last time, it will just make them more determined to wipe out the Sioux completely. While the warriors are leading the army around by the nose, the women and children, and the sick and old can stay at my place – they're mostly family and friends anyway. But please ... make sure you send the trouble makers and hotheads with Crazy Horse and his warriors so they're not here to stir up more trouble. There's enough of that already after the Custer fight and the gold miners stirring the kettle."

Red Cloud seemed to be having difficulty with what Grandpa was saying. "OK, I see how we can make the yellow iron hunters leave if make government mad at them, but, what about white eyes that live here already? You and the other white eyes like you not cause any trouble, but how can we let you stay, and not others?"

Grandpa thought about it for a minute then suggested, "Why don't we make out leases for those that the Sioux say are OK to stay? That way, you show the government that the Sioux are fair to any white man that wants to live and work here honestly, but you want nothing to do with those that just want to take the gold and steal your land."

"What this lease mean?

"It means that you will let the ones with leases stay and use the land like they have been for as long as the lease says, which you and them agree on, but the land stays belonging to the Sioux – you are just letting them use it."

"But why we do that?"

"It is an agreement between the Sioux and the settlers on what land they use, how much they can use, what they can use it for, and how much, if anything, they pay the Sioux to use it. It will say that we give you so much to use the land for so long, but the land stays yours."

Red Cloud was still trying to wrap his head around this new White man's idea. "But you already use land."

"I know, but it's like we make a trade to use the land. The lease just says we got Sioux permission to use their land.

"What is real good about this is that it is a way of using land that the white man knows and uses all the time. The government people will understand right away that the Sioux own the land and where they will break a treaty in a heartbeat, they will not break a lease or allow trespassers – which helps get rid of the gold hunters, especially the real bad ones who are nothing but thieves and robbers."

From his next words, I could see Grandpa was on a role, and just getting warmed up to his idea and how to handle it. I figured if the Sioux let him do this for them, the white government would never know what hit them. I had a sudden vision of the Sioux of the future managing one of the largest corporations in the world, based mostly on land management principles laid down now.

Grandpa rolled on, oblivious to me, trying to make his point with Red Cloud, "To make it look even better, if you let me draw up the leases, by the clever use of their own words, I will make it look like we, the whites, are getting the better deal. 

"The government people are mostly cheats, so they will think that's a good way to put one over on the Indians. But... by being smarter than them, and using their own greedy methods, we can make the words look like they say one thing and have them mean something else. The real meaning will mean that you, the Sioux, will know that we, the people taking the leases, give the Sioux whatever they need and so you know we are bound by law to help when needed. We would do all that anyway, but this would put it in a form that their government people and lawyers understand and will not break or let us break."

Red Cloud's head was almost visibly spinning, but he also seemed to be slowly grasping what for him was a totally, culturally foreign concept. He gave Grandpa his tacit approval. "Is confusing, but trust Hawk. Hawk always good friend."

I spoke up then and said "Uncle Henry, can we take a walk and talk?"

"Sure lets go check your patients while we talk."

I said, "Grandpa, I hate to take you away from Red Cloud right now. I know what you're talking about is important and could help save the People, but I got to thinking. We have another problem that needs sorting out fairly quickly – we need to do something with my truck. I'm worried someone will find it, and then the questions will start."

Grandpa nodded in agreement. "You're right, boy. We need to hide it." He sighed sadly. "I just wish there was some way to get it out of that gully."

I tried to reassure Grandpa that it was doable, "There might be. There's a heavy duty winch on the front. If I can get the truck started, then we can run a snatch block, hook onto a chain hooked to some trees and use the winch so that the truck pulls itself out."

"I don't know anything about that, but if you think it will work, we can give it a try. Once we get it out, after dark we can hide it in the old barn. Then we can be back here first thing in the morning. When we leave, we'll tell everyone we need to go check on the ranch but we'll be back early tomorrow."

While he was letting Red Cloud Know, I went to check to see how my wives were doing. I let them know Grandpa and I were leaving for a little while and probably wouldn't be back till morning. They didn't seem to like it much, but I said I needed to do something and I needed for them to watch the wounded braves for me. Then I gave them instructions on what to do. Once I explained I had to leave and they had important work here, they seemed to understand with no further discussion, unlike women of my time that would have just kept arguing. I think I prefer it in this time... 

So, grandpa and I saddled up, kissed our wives goodbye, and set off back to the ranch to see about getting my Power Wagon out and hiding it. Riding straight across country, unlike the wandering trail we took to get to Red Cloud's camp, it only took a little over an hour to make it back to my truck. 

Looking it over, we saw that most of the right side was caved in and the radiator was busted although it wasn't jammed back into the fan, which allowed the motor to turn over. The battery was OK, and despite the damage, it did start right up. 

With that major worry resolved, I shut it back down to save fuel and prevent overheating while we got the truck ready to move. We were able to pry the fenders away from the wheels then we filled the radiator with water from the stream using a bucket from the camper. 

Using the winch, a come-along, and a couple of logging chains, it still took several hours to get it out. With that and having to keep filling the radiator, it was almost midnight before we made it the three miles to the ranch. 

After we stashed the truck in the barn, hidden behind some boxes and old equipment, it was time to get some sleep, as we had to up early to be back the next morning. Wondering where I was going to sleep tonight caused me to think of something else. "Grandpa, where am I supposed to live with the two girls? The house here looks pretty much full right now and I can't bring them to the camper on my truck."

He replied, "You can have my brother, John's cabin. It's the one on the end, down by the spring shed. It's a ways to the privy, but it has a pump inside for water. Clay's mother made John put it in – she liked things modern."

This was the first thing I'd actually heard Grandpa say about Clay's folks, so I was curious. "What ever happened to Clay's parents?"

Grandpa had tears in his eyes as he said, "They were killed down in Denver. They told me there was a runaway wagon headed for Martha. When John tried to pull her out of way, it hit and killed them both." 

"It sounds like you were close."

"John wasn't just my big brother – he was also my best friend – and Martha was the most giving woman I ever met."

Grandpa's pain was real, and I regretted disturbing the past, "Sorry to bring up such sad memories."

"Clay, much as it hurts me to remember because I miss them so much, your family and you need to know these things. Being as they're supposed to be your parents, their cabin should be yours, but it's probably a mess. Ain't no one been in it since they were killed – I just couldn't bring myself to disturb it or let anyone else."

Still cautious of hurting this generous man who had essentially adopted me, I enquired, "Won't it bother you – me using it?" 

Grandpa brightened and stood a little straighter. He declared, "Nope! For some reason it just seems right."

He directed me out of the barn and toward the main house as he admonished, "We better get some sleep. We need to be back early, and in the morning before we leave, you still need to meet the rest of the family." He pulled a pocket watch out and squinted at it in the poor light. "Seeing that it's almost 2:00 already, we are only going to get a couple hours sleep."

We entered the main house, being quiet so as not to wake everyone. Grandpa found some bedding. He made a pallet by the fireplace for me to sleep on then he went to his own room for the night. I fell asleep almost as soon as I lay down. It had been quite a long day.



Doc Ch. 10



When I woke up the next morning, I could hear a commotion coming from the kitchen. I got up and went to see what was going on. When I entered the kitchen, I found Grandpa and some other people talking. Grandpa noticed me and said, "There you are Clay, come on in and get some breakfast." As I pulled out a chair and sat down, Grandpa continued, "Do you remember your cousins Don and his wife Sue; Ed and his wife Sally; and Rose and her husband Larry?"

Before I could reply, Rose, seeing the bandage on my head and my shiner as she placed a plate full of food before me, exclaimed, "Clay, what happened to your head?"

"It's nothing," I demurred as I sipped my coffee. "I just had a minor accident but it's alright now – looks worse than it is." I looked around, trying to remember what names went with what faces from Grandpa's introduction. "It's great to see all of you again." 

We all started to exchange 'Nice to see/meet you', except Rose who was quick to point out, "But you've never met Sally or Larry." 

Realizing that I had screwed up, I covered as well as I could. "I was meaning you, Sue, Ed, and Don."

"Oh. Anyway, I do want you to meet my new husband, Larry, and this is Sally – Ed married her about 3 years ago."

I greeted them, "Pleased to meet you both." 

Just then I heard a baby start crying. Sally left the room and when she returned, she brought in a baby boy about 6 months old. She said, "This is little Ed, named after his daddy." Then she excused herself to go feed her baby.

Rose asked, "What about you, Clay? When are you going to settle down and start a family?" Her question caused Grandpa to laugh so hard that he slipped off his chair and made me choke on my food and turn beet red.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, glaring at both of us.

Grandpa stopped laughing for a minute. "He got married at Red Cloud's camp yesterday – to the twins."

"Really? Which one?" Rose asked.

This got Grandpa laughing again. He gasped, "You weren't listening! Both of them – he thought he was trading for a horse!"

"It's not that damn funny! Anyone could have made that mistake!" I declared indignantly.

Rose and the others grinned while she continued her inquisition. "I see you still jump before looking – don't you? – Clay. I thought you would have grown out of that in that fancy doctor school and the army."

"I did learn to think first. It was just a misunderstanding, but everything will work out, I'm sure." My disclaimer even sounded lame to me.

Grandpa was still snickering over my peccadillo – he was having entirely too much fun with this. Changing the subject, I drawled, "Sorry to throw a wet blanket on your party, Uncle Henry, but don't you think we should be getting back? I need to check my patients, and then bring the girls back here."

Reminded of what we had laid out for the day, Grandpa stopped snickering and started barking orders to the others. "Rose, Clay will be moving into John's old cabin. Will you open it up to let it air out some before they move in?"

"Sure, Dad! I didn't think you were ever going to let anyone live in it."

Sally had just returned from feeding the baby and hearing that John's cabin was being opened again, looked wistful as she volunteered, " I wish I'd have known! I would have asked long ago, so the baby wouldn't bother everyone in the night."

Concerned that any of his children feared that their children might be causing a disruption in the household, Grandpa moved to dispel those fears. "Honey, Little Ed is no bother at all. Besides, your mom is crazy about him just like she is Don's two boys, Davy and Brad. Children are always welcome here, so your being here with yours is no bother at all, and we hope you all will grant us old folks even more grandchildren. " 

As he concluded, he glanced rather pointedly in my direction, making me nervous. Feeling pressured, I declared, "Whoa there, Uncle Henry! Don't look at me for awhile yet; I've only been married one day!"

Grandpa grinned unrepentantly. "I know that! Just lettin' you know that I like a lot of kids around."

Despite his softer words that grin somehow didn't make me feel much better. "Your making me feel like I should have them both pregnant already." 

Grandpa teased, "Well, those girls SHOULD be pregnant, from all the noise they made last night!"

He saw my face get red and as I opened my mouth for an unkind retort, he apologized, "Sorry! I didn't mean to embarrass you or make you feel guilty, but like I said – I like kids, and those girls sure did sound happy!"

Still adjusting to the thought of being married and not yet ready to even think about kids, let alone seriously consider them, I warned, "Well, let's just not go putting the wagon ahead of the horse!" which caused everyone else but me to laugh. Knowing I could never beat the teasing, I wisely bit back any other bitter replies.

But the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that the twins could very well actually be pregnant already. At that time, the women folk often scheduled weddings to coincide with the bride's most fertile period. Although our wedding was very spur-of-the-moment, so that level of planning wasn't a factor, I did have unprotected sex with both of them. There was still a pretty good chance, they had caught, especially when in my time it had been observed that a woman's orgasm is often the most intense at the time of impregnation – and those two had certainly had intense orgasms!

Grandpa shook his head and rolled his eyes at me as if I had just proven that I was a real tenderfoot, then he got back to the business at hand. "Don, you and Ed take Hector and Lou and start digging some privies out in the big east field. We'll need a bunch – Red Cloud will be moving his camp there shortly and I imagine they're going to be here for quite a spell."

My two great uncles replied together, "Sure thing, Dad – we'll get right on it."

By the time Grandpa had us all organized, I had finished my breakfast. The two of us got our things ready and prepared to leave to return to the Camp. As we saddled up, I saw two small boys come out of the barn carrying milk buckets, going toward the spring house to put the milk away. Watching them, my mind wandered as I remembered doing that very same thing when I was a boy. 

I was jarred from daydreaming about my childhood when Grandpa called to them, "Brad! Davy! Come over here and say hello to your Cousin Clay!"

As they approached with obvious curiosity, Grandpa explained, "He's my brother's son. He will be staying here for awhile."

The one Grandpa had identified as Brad, and from his size the older of the two, sounded a little stand-offish as he greeted me and in the direct nature of children, challenged me. "Hi Clay. Why haven't you been here before? I didn't know I had any cousins except little Ed, and he's just a baby."

Using the background information Grandpa had been giving me since we first met, I was able to respond naturally. "Well Brad, last time I saw you, you were just a baby yourself, so I'm not surprised you don't remember me, and Davy hadn't been born yet. Give Little Ed time – he'll grow fast enough."

"So where have you been all this time?" demanded Davy, the smaller one.

"I went back east to go to school; then I joined the army." I explained.

"WOW! Was you a soldier and fight Indians?" Davy exclaimed, with all the naïve excitement of the very young. I didn't like his tone on the word 'Indians'.

Given our family's real roots, I thought it was time and past to let these young ones knew how wars were really fought, and about their heritage. "No, I was a doctor in the army. I didn't do the fighting, I just patched up young men who got hurt just doing what they were told was their duty by foolish and greedy leaders, against other young men who were also doing their duty, protecting their homes and families. Despite what you may have heard, the Indians are not bad people – they're just trying to protect themselves. If you don't believe me, just look right here at home and how nice your grandma is."

"But she's Grandma – not an Indian – she's just Grandma, ain't she?" Even as he uttered the words, Davy's closing on a question showed some uncertainty. 

I wondered how it could be that these boys were not aware of their Indian heritage, especially when they lived in the same house as their grandmother who was intensely proud of her people. I didn't think Henry, Dove, or Henry's sons would allow that to happen, so could it had to be something else. Maybe it was something as simple as kids missing the connection as kids are wont to do, such that while they absorbed Dove's teaching and were proud of their heritage, they had come to think her people were Sioux, but not Indians? From Davy's overly romantic ideas of the Army and Indian fighting, his inability to distinguish Grandma from anything other than she was Grandma, and my own memories of childhood, I thought this was likely the case.

Following that thought, I drove my point home. "Yes, Davy, she is your grandma, but she's also an Indian – a Sioux Indian – and very proud of it."

I knew I'd hit the mark when both boys' eyes got big as saucers and I could almost see the light bulb come on over their heads as they both let out a long "Oh-h-h..."

That subject dealt with, Brad changed direction with that suddenness that only kids can, leaving us mere adults' heads spinning, as he looked confused and asked, "How can Clay be our cousin, and be so old and Jake be our uncle and be younger than us?"

Grandpa, looking relieved at the change of subject, fielded that one. "That's because Clay is my older brother's son. And although Jake was born a long time after your dad, and after you, he is still your dad's brother – his little brother to be sure – which makes him your uncle."

And seemingly right on cue, a four year old came running from the house and threw himself into Grandpa's arms shouting, "Daddy!"

Grandpa scooped the small boy up into a warm hug then indicating me with a nod of his head, said, "Jake, say hello to your cousin Clay."

From the way he shrunk back into Grandpa's arms, I could tell he was shy around strangers. Still, I held my hand out for him to shake as I greeted him. "Hello Jake, pleased to meet you. I'm Clay."

Obviously a little nervous, young Jake gave me a shy smile as he took my hand. As I shook hands with the dark haired young boy, I studied him, barely able to contain my excitement as the reality of my situation in time truly came crashing in upon me.

It was hard to believe that this was actually my own grandfather, who taught me to hunt and fish and later, after my parents died in a car accident, taught me how to be a man. This was the man that raised me most of my life, and here he was now – just a boy! My head was spinning!

Grandpa's voice penetrated the fog in my mind as he asked Jake, "Where have you been Jake? I haven't seen you all morning."

The small boy forgot about me as he addressed his father. His eyes sparkling with childish delight, he explained, "I was over by the creek. There's some big fish in there! Can we go fishing, Daddy? You said you'd teach me..."

To young Jake's disappointment, Grandpa apologized, "Sorry, son, we can't today. I need to go back to Red Cloud's camp and fetch your mother and Clay's wives home. You remember Running Deer and Little Doe don't you? They're married to Clay now, and they're all coming here to live with us, but we have to go and get them today."

Jake's disappointment disappeared as he saw another possibility. "Can I go too? I like to play with the other boys there. We are all going to be Hunters and Braves."

"Not this time, son. We'll just be going, and coming straight back, without any time for you to play. But ... your friends will all be moving over here in a few days, and you'll be able to play with them all the time then. For today, why don't you get Brad and Davy to go riding on your ponies? Then how 'bout we go fishing in a few days after we get all the new folks settled in?"

Jake brightened up at Grandpa's news that his friends would be living close by, and then he held Grandpa to his word about fishing. "You promise?"

Grandpa hugged the small boy as he set him back down declaring, "Sure! We'll all go – even Davy and Brad."

The boys then disappeared to do boy things and we went to the barn. After we saddled up my horse and hitched up a wagon to bring all the girls' things back with us, Grandpa and I set out for Red Cloud's camp.

As we rode back we chatted. I told him, "You know, it was quite a shock seeing Jake. He took me in when I was seven, after my folks were killed in a car accident. It was him that taught me how to shoot, hunt and fish. He was more of a father to me than a grandfather. I really miss him."

"What's a car? Is it like your Power Wagon? And what caused the accident?"

"Yeah, a car is sorta like my truck, only smaller. They're more for passengers than carrying stuff like my truck. Four people at a time can ride comfortably in them, but you can't carry as much. Their car was hit head-on by a drunk driver going 60 miles an hour, killing them both." As I said it, I was struck by the similarity in the way the Clay of this time and I lost our parents – mine had been killed by a runaway car driven by a drunk, and his had been killed by a runaway wagon. Hmmm...

"Them things go that fast?" I could see he was amazed by this, as in this time, only trains were anywhere close to being that fast.

I astounded Grandpa even more when I explained. "Most cars can go a lot faster than that even, but it's not safe. At those speeds, things just happen too quick."

"Your truck doesn't go that fast?"

"Right now it can't because of the accident coming here, when it got broken. But, if it was fixed and on a good road like we have in my time, I could go a lot faster than 60." The rest of the ride to Camp, Grandpa was quiet except for the odd muttering to himself or the occasional question to me for clarification as he ruminated on what I had told him about vehicles and speed in my time. 

When we got back to Red Cloud's camp it was like an ant hill, what with all the bustling activity as people got the camp ready to move in the next couple of days. After a short search, we soon found Red Cloud. He was talking with a woman and a boy about ten years old.

"Two Lives, this Dawn. She come live with you and wives. She cook, clean, and help wives. Make up for honor lost by son, Two Knives. This her other son, Standing Bear. He come too."

I started to say, "But, she don't owe..." but before I could finish, Grandpa nudged me, not too gently, in the ribs, which told me to shut up.

I knew the people in my life were just trying to look out for me and keep me from making a fool of myself, or worse, but regardless, I was starting to get a little irritated that it seemed I had no control over my life anymore. I wasn't going to put up with it much longer, so instead of keeping my mouth shut, I shook my head at Grandpa and said, "Red Cloud, she doesn't owe me a debt of honor at all. Two Knife paid that with his life."

Red Cloud nodded. "That is true, but this is her idea. Feel ashamed of what Two Knife did. Besides she is a widow. Without Two Knife, she has no one to look after her and Standing Bear." 

I think Grandpa understood my feelings, but I could see by the smile on his face he was also enjoying my discomfort as I realized I was going to get a readymade family, whether I wanted one or not. I understood completely what was going on – Dawn needed a family to support her and for her to care for, but did not want charity. However, she could have what she needed by paying what she considered to be her own debt of honor. Even cynical old me knew that this was no scam – she utterly believed what she was doing was right – I might not be happy about it, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to understand that type of dynamic.

Despite knowing my fate was pretty well sealed, I still had misgivings and went looking for my wives to see what they thought I should do. I found them getting things ready to move. After warm greetings and even warmer hugs and kisses, I had them show me our patients so they could report and I could check on how they were healing. 

When I asked their opinion on having Dawn with us, they were all for it. Confused, I asked why, and they told me that in camp all the women work together to make the jobs easy, so having her with us would make their jobs easier. Besides, they liked Dawn and they claimed Standing Bear needed someone to teach him how to be a man. It was Two Knife that they never liked and he was gone now... They were very pragmatic about it and could not grasp why I might have doubts. I was learning that my twenty-first century urban social baggage was out of place in this more communal society.

When we went to examine our patients, I learned that they were all doing fine except for the one with the sabre wound. When I discovered that he had removed the bandages and the stitches I had put in so carefully, I sent Little Doe to get Red Cloud, who arrived fairly quickly. 

When Red Cloud got there, I explained that if the leg became infected, the idiot could die or lose the leg. When Red Cloud lit into him in his own language, I could tell from his tone that he was mad. After tearing the brave a new one, Red Cloud asked me to fix the leg one more time, but if he did it again, to just let him die. 

So I fixed the fool's leg again, again with no local for the pain, putting the stitches back in and applying a fresh bandage. Then I gave him some more ampicillin. I was becoming concerned at how quickly I was using up my meager supplies with no way to replace them. 

When I finished up, I left some clean bandages and left instructions to have someone keep checking the wound. I also instructed the patient to stay off the leg and to keep it clean. If he behaved himself, the stitches could come out in about ten days, but it would still be sore for a while.

I turned to my young wives and asked, "Are you all packed and ready to go to our new home? It's dusty and needs a good cleaning, but it should be big enough for now."

Running Deer said, "Little Doe has us packed and all we need to do is to load it; but Dawn will need some help gathering all her things and taking down her lodge."

It sounded like they had everything well in hand except for Dawn's stuff. I told them, "Just have her gather up all her things and put them with your things in the wagon we brought. She won't need her lodge. She and Standing Bear can stay in the house with us. There's plenty of room for her. Have her give the lodge to someone that needs it."

Deer nodded in understanding then said, "I think she wants to keep it for Standing Bear."

"Ok. We can strip off just the coverings. If we leave the poles, it should fit in the wagon. If it doesn't, I'll make a travois using the poles and pull it with my horse. Let's go check with her now and see how many things she needs help with. But remember, Deer, you don't work with that arm. Let's do it and you can supervise."

Although they both answered, "Yes, Clay.", somehow I got the feeling that just like any married man, I was no longer the one I charge.

With that, the three of us went over to see Dawn and let her know that she would be living in the house with us. We also told her that we would put everything she wanted to keep in the wagon, and I would haul any extra on a travois if necessary, but we wanted to leave as soon as possible. Then right away the girls started to help her pack. I started to help, but they said it was woman's work and for me to go be with the men.




Doc Ch. 10



I watched them for awhile then I finally took the hint I was in the way and went to find Grandpa. When I caught up with him, he was discussing the lease with Red Cloud and the other tribal elders. Apparently they had finally grasped what he had been describing, and now they were getting into 'the fine print'. 

Grandpa had written out what he thought was a good lease for everyone concerned, which he explained to them, then asked for any changes they wanted. When they appeared to be in agreement, he said he'd have to check with the courthouse in Hill City to make sure it was a proper legal document and if it was, then he would file it with them. After that he would get his neighbors to do the same thing. That way, all the local ranchers and other legitimate settlers could show they had the Sioux's permission to be on this land and that the others were trespassing and unwelcome. He said if he had to, he would make the trip to the army in Fort Laramie where the treaty had been signed, but doubted it would be necessary because the actual law was here. 

When it looked like they were about done, I asked Grandpa, "Uncle Henry, the girls and Dawn are almost packed and ready to go. Are you going to be much longer?"

Grandpa replied, "No, we're about done here for now. We were just going back over some things and are just shooting the breeze now. I'm ready whenever they are. Let's go to check on them; if they're ready, maybe we can get back early and get you set up before dark."

When we got to where the girls had been packing, I sensed tension in the air and saw that Running Deer was staring daggers at her sister and Dawn. "So what's going on here?" I demanded. 

Running Deer wouldn't answer me right away, so I asked Little Doe. "She insists on helping even though you say no. So we don't let her. Now she mad at us."

I turned back to Deer. "Running Deer, what do you have to say for yourself?"

She stood erect and proud. "I can help! Arm don't hurt now. I'm not helpless!"

I shook my head in exasperation then tried to motivate her. "No, Running Deer, you're not helpless, and although you don't feel pain anymore, you are still hurt. I don't want you to hurt your arm worse than it already is, and I sure don't want you crippled! That's why I made you promise. Is this the way a Lakota woman treats her husband when he orders her to do something – to shame him that his words are not to be listened to?"

Before I could say anything else, Running Deer ran to me crying, "Please Clay, don't send me away! Beat me for being bad, but let me stay! I will listen and do as you say!" Little Doe and Dawn looked on nervously, afraid of what might happen.

I held the sobbing, terrified girl in my arms while I comforted her, and explained how I did things. "Nobody is going to send you away, but you must do as I say. I don't do things without a good reason, but if you don't agree then talk to me, and I'll try to explain it better."

The other two got back to work and finished our packing. Dawn's lodge, minus the poles, fit on the wagon with the girls' things, with room to spare. A little while later, just as the loading was finished, Grandma Dove and Standing Bear joined us. With everyone present, we mounted up and headed for home with the women talking quietly in the wagon. Grandpa drove the wagon with the four women and Standing Bear rode next to me on Grandma Dove's horse. I had the gift horse from the girls' father on a lead, loaded with my medical pack and the other supplies Grandpa and I had brought out with us that first day. 

While I kind of pitied Grandpa being alone with all the women chattering away to each other, my riding partner and I were very quiet, as so far, I hadn't heard Standing Bear speak a word. Wondering about that, I asked, "Uncle Henry, don't Standing Bear speak English?"

He replied, "He speaks American just fine. He's just shy and don't know you yet. You'll have to make friends with him and let him get used to you." After that, I did try to engage Bear, but he was so shy, all I got was an occasional shy smile, nod, or shake in answer to questions. He wasn't ready to open up yet, but from his posture by the time we got to the ranch, he was at least relaxing with me.

We were back at the ranch by mid afternoon. Grandpa gave us the tour of the house, showing the women their new home. During the tour, they decided which rooms were for Dawn and Standing Bear. As soon as they could, Little Doe and Dawn jumped right in cleaning the place, while Running Deer watched, longing to help. I saw how much she wanted to be a part of it, so I said ok, she could help as long as she was careful and promised not to use her bad arm. She squealed with joy and rushed to help. Soon, it wasn't safe to be near them – if it didn't move it got cleaned.

Once they were organized, the women shooed all us males out of there, telling us to go do something else, that this was woman's work. That got me to wondering if everything was woman's work. 

As we left, I asked Grandpa, "What should we do now?"

Looking pointedly at Standing Bear, he said, "This young man needs some friends; he looks kind of lost here. I promised Jake I'd take him fishing in a few days after the rest of the camp moved, but seems to me, we got the time right now. Let's go get Jake and the other two boys and see if Ed and Don want to join us. I'm sure we can scrounge up enough poles for all of us."

Fishing was fun. I helped Standing Bear learn to fish like the white man does, with a pole, line and hook. After awhile he started to relax some and loosen up. Before long we had a stringer full of fish and had a ball catching them.

Too soon it seemed, it was time to head back to the house for chores and supper. When we brought the fish in, Dawn took them from us and told us go get cleaned up while she got the fish ready to fry. I said I would clean the fish for her, but she just gave me a strange look as if I'd said something wrong, almost as if a man couldn't be trusted to prepare food right. Hmmm... more 'woman's work'?

While the food was being prepared and cooked, I took Standing Bear out with me to check on the stock. I got him to help Brad and Davy do their evening chores of feeding the chickens and the milking. 

With him and the other boys productively occupied, and the other adults busy about the ranch with their own chores, I had some time of my own without others around me. Quickly glancing around to make sure no one saw what I was doing, I slipped into the shed where my truck was hidden to check if anyone had found it. While I was checking, I also wanted to get some things from the camper. I had left some tell-tales to let me know if the truck had been disturbed, but everything was fine when I looked. 

I knew Grandpa and I couldn't keep it secret from the rest of the family, especially my wives, forever – it simply wasn't fair to them – but I wasn't, and they certainly weren't, ready for that information to be shared yet. With careful preparation, I would be able to let them in on it. I knew no one in the family would blab, but I didn't want to scare them either. 

Working quickly, I cleaned all the canned goods out of the camper's cupboards and also set out the rest of my guns to be stored in the house. Thinking they might come in handy later, if I was actually going to be a doctor, I also grabbed all my medical books, especially my old Medic Manuals from the Service. While I was at it, I decided I needed my reloading equipment and all the dies. 

After packing everything except the long guns in some wooden boxes I found in the shed, I carried it all to the house. It took several trips, but I got it done while everyone else was busy with the evening ranch chores. If anyone saw me, they probably thought I was just doing the heavy fetching for the women and keeping Deer from using her bad arm.

Just as I finished putting stuff away, Standing Bear came in with the other boys, who wanted to say good night. The boys were getting along well together and Bear appeared to have been accepted. The way they acted together, I figured they would all soon become friends. The boys said their goodbyes for the day and Grandpa led them out to go to their own supper with their families at the big house. 

The women called me and Bear to supper, where we were served some of the best fish I had ever had. After eating, we sat and talked for a bit while the ladies sewed. Within this scene of domestic tranquility, I was very pleased to note that it hadn't taken them long to adjust from living in a lodge to living in a house. Even Bear seemed to be adapting and adjusting quickly, asking more questions and opening up with me. When I thought about it, while the structures were different, the point of having a weatherproof dwelling wasn't.

Soon it was time for bed, and after saying our goodnights, we went to our own rooms. It seemed the door was no sooner closed than the twins attacked me... Later, after much vigorous and enthusiastic lovemaking, I was drifted off to sleep cuddled between my two sweeties, I thought maybe being married wasn't such a bad thing after all.



Doc Ch. 11



I awoke the next morning feeling just so warm and snuggly with the twins cuddled up on either side of me. I felt like just staying in bed with my two lovelies, but the call of nature was too strong and if I didn't get up we were going to have a wet bed. That unpleasant thought forced me to move. I untangled myself from the twins and made my way to the outhouse. 

Damn! It was cold out here this morning! As I shivered in the early morning chill, I wondered, 'if this was only July, what would it be like come winter?' This was one thing I'd have to do something about, because I did not relish the idea of using smelly, tippy, chamber pots all winter. And, I certainly did not look forward to freezing my butt on a drafty, frosty privy seat with the frigid South Dakota wind blowing up my ass. 

I knew that in this time, some of the more well-to-do homes in some of the bigger cities had inside privies. Maybe we could order something from the Montgomery Ward catalog? Hmmm... even if we could just get or manufacture a toilet seat, I thought I could rig up a chemical toilet. I had a couple five gallon buckets in the camper... 

Regardless, I figured I could come up with something that kept delicate skin off frozen boards without a lot of stink. And, I just knew that regardless of their cultural beginnings, the women folk would quickly adapt and be VERY appreciative of such a thoughtful amenity... 

When I finished my morning ritual, I went back in to wake the girls so we could all go to breakfast with the rest of the family, but everyone was already stirring. While I waited for them to get ready, I noticed that Dawn kept glancing at me with a shy smile. 

I thought, 'Oh no, I guess we were too noisy again. I'll have to tell the girls that we need to be quieter in our lovemaking.' So, as I kissed and hugged my sweeties good morning, I quietly mentioned, "I think we made too much noise last night – we need to try to be quieter" I nodded my head in her direction. "Dawn looks embarrassed this morning." 

Instead of smiling or blushing in embarrassment, Running Deer became very serious as she observed, "She's not embarrassed – she wants the same. She's been a widow for too long. Maybe you should make her your wife too, and Standing Bear needs a father anyway." As she spoke, Little Doe was nodding in agreement.

Taken aback, I dissembled, trying to collect my thoughts. "I'll think about it. I just married the two of you and I don't think I need any more wives. Won't you be jealous of another wife?"

My sweeties were absolute dolls, and Dawn, as well as being a good worker, was very likeable, and more importantly for this discussion, was VERY attractive – any man would be proud to have the raven-haired beauty in his bed. I sure didn't want the green-eyed monster rearing its ugly head just because I acted rashly – something I had a bit of a reputation for, it seemed, and based on recent events, it was deserved.

The twins looked at me like a child who was slow with his lessons. You know – the schoolmarm annoyed-but-patient one... Running Deer sounded almost exasperated. "Not be jealous! Much status! Man should have as many wives as he can provide for and who can give him lots of children to help him. Big family! Family VERY important to Sioux people!" 

Talk about your culture shock! This was sure different from my time, where women were so insecure in their relationships they would kill you if you even brought up the subject of another woman. To suggest adding another to the relationship... well... let's just say it would be a slow and painful death. Here and now, at least with these two, they not only seemed comfortable with the thought of introducing another woman into the relationship – it was THEIR idea!

We were just about to the main house, so I pulled my two close and told them, "I said I would think about it. Now give me some time to get used to the idea. We will talk later, and we should talk to Dawn, too. I don't know for sure what she wants – just what you two say she wants."

As I reached for the door to let us in, Deer and Doe looked at each other then at Dawn, who had been standing by the doorstep waiting for us to catch up, and together, mouthed, "Later..." With me temporarily off the hook, we went in to meet the family and eat.

Before we sat down to breakfast with the rest of the family, I introduced the girls, Dawn, and Standing Bear to the family. Rose, who seemed to be the family spokesman (I DO NOT buy into that PC feminist crap! 'Spokesman' was good enough for hundreds of years. It's still good enough...) for the family, said "We've known the twins all their lives but it is good to meet you, too, Dawn and Standing Bear. Welcome to the family, everyone." 

All my kin greeted the girls and Dawn with smiles and hugs. Bear got handshakes from the men and hugs from the women. The poor kid just about died of embarrassment at all the open affection and attention from the women.

Over a huge country breakfast, we discussed what we were going to do today. Grandpa said, "We should go into town today. I need to go to the courthouse and see Judge Mitchell about those leases. We also need to tell him about those murdered miners we found and how it was made to look like Indians done it. 

"And you, Clay, have a bunch of things you should do. Among others, you should let people know there is a new doctor in the area. You may want to bring your bag with you just in case you get some business while we're there. If he's around, maybe you should make the Marshal's acquaintance, too, and offer him your services as a deputy. I haven't met the new man yet, but I hear he's a fair hand. Also, you might want to get a few things for your new wives while we're there." That last got smiles from ALL the women. When I allowed as that was a good idea, the smiles got even bigger. 

After breakfast, we got ready to go to town. Ed, Don and Larry were going to stay and continue to get things ready on the ranch for Red Cloud's camp to move in. All the ladies wanted to go with us (some things are the same in all time periods, like women and shopping...). When the boys found out we were heading to town, they wanted to come too, which prompted me to ask if there was going to be enough room for all of us.

Grandpa explained, "Most of us will ride our horses, but Sally and the baby will ride up front with me in the wagon. The wagon is too uncomfortable for most. Only the driver's seat is on springs, so nobody likes riding in the back, but we'll throw in some hay and a blanket for the two youngest boys, Davy and Jake, to ride back there." 

I didn't really need Grandpa's explanation. If I'd been thinking half-way straight, I'd have remembered about farm wagons because we still had some around the ranch when I was growing up. However, it got me thinking if there was a way to make my truck into a wagon. It would take a lot of work. I'd made utility trailers out of old pickups before, but without the tools I had the use of then, it would be much more work. Here and now all I had was the toolbox I carried in the truck. The only cutting tools I had in it were some chisels and a hacksaw with only a few blades for it. I also had a cordless drill, but no way of charging it, so it wasn't going to be a lot of help. This was going to take much thought, and if I did it at all, it was going to be a lot of work

After we saddled up and hitched the wagon, we mounted up as Grandpa had described. Once we were all moving, I motioned to Grandpa and we dropped behind a bit. I checked that we were out of ear-shot of everyone else and asked Grandpa, "What about money? I don't have any from this time."

Grandpa looked thoughtful, then said, "That could be a problem, but I still got the money that the army sent with Clay's belongings. It was to cover three months' back pay. That's rightfully yours – almost $150. When we get to town, I'll give it to you. If you need any more, I'll loan it to you, but you are probably going to be doing some doctoring while we're there, so you will be making a little anyhow. We should figure out a way you can be in each of the local towns a couple of days a month. Hill City, Silver City, and Deadwood are all close. Deadwood's the farthest from the ranch, a little under 10 miles."

The thought of traveling from town to town as a doctor made me think more seriously about using my truck – or at least parts of it – as a wagon. Maybe I could also use my camper as a mobile house between the towns, so I didn't have to travel so much back and forth.

The rest were still ahead of us and everyone was so busy talking and carrying on with their neighbor that they probably couldn't hear us anyway. Regardless, I kept Grandpa back a bit because I still wanted to talk with him in confidence. Then I told him about the twins thinking, no – insisting – that I should also take Dawn as my wife and of course therefore making Standing Bear my Son.

Grandpa took a few seconds to answer, and I appreciated the thoughtfulness of his reply, which included some very reasonable caveats: "Dawn's not much older than you – maybe a year or two. Two Knives was actually her stepson. Her first husband, his father, was killed in a hunting accident. She's still a real looker and would make a fine wife." I nodded and grinned enthusiastically, much to his amusement. 

"Dawn is a proud woman. I have no idea how she might feel about it, though. You'll just have to ask her if you decide it's not such a bad idea. However, I think you should consider this: Standing Bear is a good boy (I nodded agreement.) but he really needs a father and a good role model now that his big brother is gone. Two Knives might have been stupid as far as the twins were concerned, but he was good to his little brother. Poor Standing Bear is having a hard time now, since his brother shamed the family honor. To the Lakota, that was the act of a coward."

I had been thinking about this a bit, and I wasn't so sure. I thought he acted more foolishly angry than cowardly. "He was no coward – just crazy from his desire for Little Doe. When he saw how things were between us, he probably thought that if he killed me, then as the winner, the twins would be his. And... he wanted Little Doe so much he was not willing to lose. To him, there were no other options. He wasn't my enemy – he was just a contender for the girls who got lost in his frustration and it cost him." 

Grandpa gave me a look filled with affection and pride as he said, "You're right, and it puts Two Knives in a lot better light for the rest of his family. You need to tell Standing Bear what you just told me. I know it's only been a couple days since it happened, but I can see that he is already a troubled young man over it. He really looked up to his older brother before all this, and now he looks up to you, too. It will make it a lot easier for him to accept his brother's actions and start holding his own head up if you tell him you don't think his brother was a coward."

As we rode, I continued to watch the family as they rode or drove ahead of us. I assured Grandpa I'd take his suggestion and I had some more questions. "That's a good idea Uncle Henry. If it will help make him feel better about himself, I'll talk to him and explain what I think. Now, back to Dawn, what do you think about me taking her for a wife also? I like her a lot, and I agree about Bear, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea. Where and when I come from, the women would try to kill me if I even suggested such a thing. Here and now, they not only seem happy about it, they're the ones actually making the suggestion."

Grandpa tried to hide his grin at my discomfort and confusion, but his tone was serious when he told me, "Don't forget – they were raised in a different society than the white man. Most white women now would act like the ones where you come from, although with the Mormons in the country, a lot of people are adopting to their ways even if they don't take the religion. 

"As for the Sioux and many other tribes, although most men only take one wife, it is not uncommon for a man to have more. The people think it's OK as long as he can provide for them. Sitting Bull is actually typical, as he has only ever had one wife and is devoted to her. Often, a man ends up with more than one wife for just the same reason you may take Dawn – her man is killed and another takes her into his family to provide for her and raise her kids. It will only happen though if his existing wife (or wives) says it's OK – if they don't, then it's a deal breaker. Jealousy isn't just for white folks, y'know... 

"Remember, with the Sioux, kin, or otakuye, is everything. What we think of as a village or local tribe is actually one large, extended family, or tiyospe. That's why Red Cloud didn't make any fuss when I suggested the village, except for those braves leading the army away, stay with us on the ranch. Remember I said they were family? Well, through Dove, they are my family, and by extension, yours. And now, you have made it even more so by marrying the twins and adding Dawn and Bear, which brings me back to it. Yes, I think it would be a good idea, and not just for you, but for everyone." 

"Well, if it's such a good idea, why didn't you take more than one then?" I asked, although I suspected he'd already hinted at the reason he was monogamous.

"Didn't need more than one. Besides, Dove would kill me. Remember, I said jealousy isn't exclusive to the whites." He smirked

"Yet you think I need a whole house full. Why?" I asked

Grandpa chuckled, "Your case starts out special because of the twins. They came as a package deal. They're already used to sharing with each other, so it's easy for them to share with another woman. Because they think that way, they consider it a real status symbol. So they actually want you to take Dawn as a wife and in the doing, adopt Bear. It doesn't hurt either, that those three have always been close friends.

"But I have my own very selfish reason for wanting it: I need as many kids around the place as possible – keeps me young, and with you having three wives, I think you'll be making lots of little ones for me. Besides, after I spoil them, I can send them home to you." Then he started laughing like hell at me.

Seems the idea of 'grandparents' revenge' is not a concept peculiar to my time... "Thanks a lot. You keep up that cackling, we'll have to check to see if you laid an egg." I grumbled as I pulled a face, which only made him laugh harder.

After that I just rode quietly, listening to the women chat with each other, getting better acquainted. I figured if I said anything else in the next little while it would just set Grandpa off laughing at me again. After awhile, when he had settled down and I had cooled off, I asked him what the plan was when we did get to town. 

He said, "First, we'll drop the women and the boys off at the general store. The women know what supplies we need at home, and can shop very well without us looking over their shoulders. Standing Bear and the other boys can keep each other company and do the stepping and fetching for the women while you and I go to the court house and talk to Judge Mitchell.

"When we're finished talking with the Judge, I want to go over to the assay office and discuss an idea I have that might help Red Cloud's people. And, while we're about it, we'll introduce you to all the people along the way and maybe stop at a couple of the larger saloons to let people know we have a doctor in the area. Once people know who you are, you should be able to make some money."

It wasn't much longer before town came into sight and then we were there. We headed straight for the General Store, where we parked the wagon and tied up our mounts. Before the women headed into the store, Grandpa handed me the cash he said was mine, and I promptly handed most of it over to the ladies, less a few bucks for my own use. 

I told them to get whatever they needed, but also to be careful, as it was all we had for now. The twins and Dawn weren't very familiar with money, but Grandma Dove was, and assured me she would look out for them. She appropriated the cash herself and promised that she would make it stretch. As Grandpa and I headed off toward the courthouse, we told the boys to stay with the women to help with the lifting, and also to keep an eye out for any trouble. 

We were in the court house talking with the Judge when Jake ran in, yelling for us to come quick. As we rushed out of the courthouse, we could hear yelling coming from the direction of the store. When we got closer, I saw a crowd of people standing around, but they were blocking the view so we couldn't see what was actually going on. When we managed to push our way to the front, I saw a half-drunk miner was holding Dawn by the arm, trying to drag her into a dark alley. However, Standing Bear was blocking the way, his knife out and threatening. Half his face was turning black and blue and one eye looked to be close to swelling shut – he had obviously been struck very hard in the face. 

I quickly drew my cross-draw pistol and put a round between the drunk's feet. I shouted, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"

The crowd, like any in a Western town at the time, quickly drew back at the sound of gunfire, mindful of what could happen to bystanders when there was gunplay. Startled by the noise and the impact of the bullet tearing up the boardwalk between his boots, the miner released his grip on Dawn then slurred drunkenly, "I was just going to get a little of this squaw, and that Injun kid got in my way so I swatted him." 

I couldn't help but think that not only was this idiot drunk, but be was also incredibly stupid, when he couldn't or wouldn't recognize a son trying to defend his mother. Then I realized that he was also a typical-for the-times anti-Indian bigot, who thought he could do whatever he pleased with an Indian woman with no consequences. That realization only made me angrier than I already was. 

My eyes narrowed and I fixed him with a frigid stare. In a deadly cold voice that should have frozen Hell, I told the dumbass, "That lady is my wife and that boy is her son. You touch either of them again and I'll kill you where you stand, understand? Hell, I'd just as soon shoot you right now, or let my boy at you with his knife, but if you lived over it, then I'd just have to patch you back up."

The drunk backed away from the immediate threat of my drawn weapon and Bear's still purposefully waving knife as he offered, "Don't want no trouble, Mister, you c'n have her – I'll just take one of these other squaws then."

The drunken fool still didn't get it. He thought I was just keeping Dawn for myself, but the other women were still fair game to his bigoted lust. Sorely tempted to put the sorry excuse for a man down anyway, I deliberately pointed my gun at him. "No, you won't be taking any women against their will today." I indicated Running Deer, Little Doe, and Dove. "Those two are also my wives and that one is my aunt, and this here is my uncle, her husband. Touch any of them, and you're a dead man."

Now even surlier at being thwarted in his unwanted attentions toward the ladies, the fool lurched threateningly toward me. "What are you, a Mormon or something? It ain't right you having three women all to yerself, and the rest of us having none."

Becoming increasingly annoyed with this idiot as he got too close, I warned him, "One more step, and I'll shoot."

The fool looked around and waved his arm to indicate several other men in the crowd, some of whom moved toward the front, and bragged, "You can't shoot us all!"

I smiled menacingly, "That may be, but you'll never know, because you'll be the first to die."




Doc Ch. 11



Still being stupidly belligerent, he claimed, "You shoot me, they'll hang you."

I'd about had enough of this dumbass – he was breathing air that decent people could put to much better use, and wasting my time. I'd figured it was about time to take out the trash, and was getting ready to fire when another shot rang out. A man with a US Marshal's badge stepped out of the crowd and ordered, "Hold it right there! You!" Indicating me, "Put up your weapon! And you," pointing at the drunk, "Stand away! Son, put your knife away, please. I think your mama is safe now. Now, somebody tell me what's going on here."

The dumbass who started it all, pointed drunkenly at me and declared, "This guy here is hogging all the women – said they're all his wives. 'T'ain't right! Why should he get all the women! They're just squaws anyway."

The marshal flinched and looked angry at the description of the women as 'just squaws', but he had to ask (and he looked impressed...), "Is that right? Are you married to all these women?"

Before I could answer, Grandpa spoke up. "That's right, Jack. Clay is married to those three and this one is my wife, Morning Dove. This dumbass tried to rape one of Clay's women, and when her young son tried to stop him, he beat the boy up. My boy here," he pointed at Jake, "came and fetched Clay and me. We found this idiot tryin' to make off with Dawn. Clay pulled his gun and fired at his feet to stop him. If it had been me, I think I would've just killed the jackass and asked questions later! I don't hold with rape, regardless of who the woman is, where she comes from, or who her people are, and neither do any of these decent folk. When he found out he couldn't have Dawn, the fool wanted the twins or MY wife. Clay had about enough and if you hadn't stopped it, he would have shot this fool dead like he deserves, and I'd have backed him all the way."

When the marshal heard Grandpa speak, it was obvious he recognized the voice. He looked more closely and queried, "Hank? Is that you? What are you doing in these parts? What's it been – 25 years?"

Grandpa grinned at his old friend, "Hello, Jack! Yup, it's me! I guess it must be about that long since I was a marshal. Don't seem like it, though. Heard there was a new marshal, but didn't know it was you." 

The marshal interrupted, "Before we get too busy catchin' up Hank, I think I'd better finish this business first." Grandpa nodded agreement and waved as if to say, 'go ahead.' Then Jack spoke to the crowd. "Anyone here see what happened?" 

A well dressed middle-aged lady spoke up, "Yes, most of us saw it from the start. Hank told it just like it happened. We all know Hank and his family and we know they are good people. That... that man there," her voice filled with loathing and disgust as she pointed at the drunken miner, "started the whole thing." She huffed as only a good Victorian lady could. "It's getting so a decent lady cannot step outside her own house without being accosted by rowdies, ruffians and drunkards! They should be ashamed of themselves! This used to be a nice town before that lot came after the gold. It seems all they do is drink and make trouble, though!"

Several people in the crowd nodded and their voices could be heard agreeing and urging the Law to take tighter control of the town. The mood of the crowd was decidedly against them, so the miners, who were in a minority, wisely decided to slip quietly away, leaving the original troublemaker to face the marshal and the crowd on his own. When he saw all his so-called friends had disappeared, he became much less belligerent.

The marshal got right in his face. "You're lucky to be alive, ya damn fool! If I'd have caught you messing with my wife, I'm like Hank – I would have killed you before asking any questions at all! We don't need your kind of troublemaking in these parts! You and your raping kind have already stirred up enough trouble and there's no place for you in my town!! Now git! I see you again, I'll lock you up and call Hank to shoot you!" Finally realizing he was in big trouble, the drunk turned and staggered away.

Jack turned to the crowd. "Thank you for your help, folks. Now, please move along about your business and let the dust settle. I'll make sure there's no more trouble." 

The crowd dispersed quietly after that, and after Grandpa shook Jack's hand, he took up his tale to Jack as if there had been no interruption at all... "Good to see you after all these years, Jack. Let's see... After I quit the marshals, I joined up with my brother John and we started a ranch together about 6 miles north of here. Meet Clay – he's my brother's son. He just returned home a couple of days ago."

The marshal turned to me and as we shook hands, he observed, "You're pretty good with that pistol, but you also showed you wouldn't be suckered into shooting in cold blood. Were you ever a lawman like Hank was?"

I explained a little of my 'history', with just enough truth from my own time to make the story now plausible. "I was a deputy back east for awhile while I went to school. Then I joined the army medical corps. I just got out. Now I'm just a doctor looking to set up a practice hereabouts."

Jack had smiled almost happily when I told him I'd been a deputy once upon a time. Now, upon hearing I was a doctor, the smile faded a little as he looked thoughtful. "Hmmm... A doctor, huh? Hmmm..." Then he turned to Grandpa. "Hank, is there someplace we can all go to talk that's a little more private? I just started covering this area, and I don't know where everything is yet."

Grandpa told Jack, "Before that idiot went after our women folk and cuffed his boy around, Clay and I were just getting ready to go have a beer. I'm not sure how private we can be in a bar, but the one I was heading for is pretty good. I know the barkeep real well, and he'll make sure we're not disturbed. It sure beats standing out here on the sidewalk. If you want to join us, I'm buyin'."

Jack laughed and said, "Lead on, boys! I never turn down a free drink."

As the two old friends turned away, already catching up on the years they had missed together, I called after them, "You go on ahead. I'm going to check in with the women and make sure they're all right. I'll catch up with you. Where will you be?"

Grandpa replied, "Sounds like a plan, Clay – you look to your family. We'll be at Sam's place when you're ready. That's the second saloon down this way on the right." He shook his head and clucked his tongue in disbelieving disgust. "I can't believe how a town of less than three hundred can have 10 saloons now – there used to be only Sam's place. It's all these damn gold miners. The place is going to hell fast."

Grandpa and Jack strolled off talking together and from Grandpa's gestures I could tell he was still wound up over the number of saloons and all the problems that came with them and their drunken clientele. 

Meanwhile, I turned back to my own affairs. I escorted the women back into the store and checked Standing Bear's injuries to make sure that they were no worse than bad bruises and that he was otherwise alright. To help bring the swelling down, I had Dawn place a damp cloth on his cheek and eye. 

As I showed her how to treat Bear's bruises, Dawn nervously asked, "Why did you tell those men I was one of your wives and Standing Bear was your son?"

As I answered, my heart spoke for me, "This morning, the twins said I should ask you to marry me. They had some very good reasons why they thought it was a good idea, but I told them I had to think on it. When I saw you were in trouble, I didn't need to think anymore – my family was being attacked, it made me mad and I just spoke what I felt was the truth. I saw you being dragged away and it 'bout broke my heart. 

"Then I saw Standing Bear all beat up, still trying to stop that ape, and I felt so proud of him, just as if he was my own son. In a flash, I realized how much I've come to care for you two, and that the twins were right! Standing Bear is a good boy but he still needs a father and you're a wonderful, beautiful woman who needs a family to support and care for her. So, seeing as how I already claimed you were in public, will you be my wife and Standing Bear my son?"

Dawn seemed dubious and unsure of herself. "But you have two wives already! I'm not as young and pretty as they are, and I still have shame for what Two Knives did to you."

As I listened to her, I was convinced even more that I was doing the right thing. "What are you talking about? I already said you were beautiful, and I don't say things like that lightly. I'll say it one more time, and then I don't want to hear any more about it. You're very pretty, beautiful, even. You don't think that dumbass grabbed you first because you were ugly, do you? He tried for the best looking one.

"Not only are you still pretty, but you have experience raising sons and running a household that you can only get by being older. You will make a good wife to me and be like an older sister to the twins, teaching all of us about life and love. 

"As for Two Knives – what he did was a mistake that cost him dearly and he paid the price with his life. There is no shame in that for you. He did it because he was in love with Little Doe and he could not stand the thought of losing her. I didn't want to kill him because I understood why he was doing it, but he couldn't stand it. I'm sure when he attacked me from behind he knew that he would die before he ever got to me. He was young, headstrong and maybe foolish, but I'm sure he never intended to dishonor his family. 

"Please believe me when I say both you and Bear will be welcome as full members of our family. If you're still not sure, talk to the twins. They'll tell you exactly the same thing. After all, it was them that mentioned it to me in the first place. Anyway, think about what I've said." 

As I wound down, Dawn looked quite relieved. I think I had soothed most of her concerns. She smiled wanly then said. "I accept if the other wives tell me it is OK." I grinned because I knew what the twins thought already. As far as I was concerned, it was a done deal.

The boys had all been watching and listening quietly while I talked to Dawn. When I finished, I turned to them and praised them. "You boys did real well protecting the family and coming to get me when you did. I'm proud of you all. Now let's try to relax a bit after all the fuss. Here's a dime to buy some candy. Brad, you're the oldest, so you look after the money. Remember, it's for all of you so I expect you to share it evenly." Brad took the coin and assured me he'd do like I said. 

Then I addressed Standing Bear directly, "I told you earlier, and you heard what I told your mama just now: Two Knives was not a coward. He just made a mistake and let his heart rule his head. You made me very proud, the way you protected your mother and the other ladies against someone so much bigger than you! Even though you were hurt, you still stood your ground. If you will have me, I'd be very proud to be your father." I could see his young body swell with pride at my praise. He finally understood that his brother was not a coward and that he and his mother had been accepted. I knew he would be alright now.

I left the family happily shopping and walked down to meet Grandpa and the marshal in the saloon. I ordered a beer at the bar and then carried it over to join them. As I sat at the table where he and Jack were sipping their mugs of beer and quietly talking, I heard him telling his friend about us finding the dead prospectors. "Jack, they were killed to make it look like Indians did it, but the arrows were Crow, not Sioux, and they were robbed! Now, Indians would have taken their weapons, horses and some of their gear, but they would have little use for their money or gold. These men were all fully dressed and still had their guns, but their valuables were gone. Even more importantly, all the tracks were made by boots. Do you know very many war parties that all wear boots? It's obvious, to me and Clay anyway, that someone is trying to stir up the Indians or make them look bad so the government takes away their land." 

Jack had listened patiently, sipping his beer and looking troubled. "I can see that Hank, and you, Clay and me, ain't the only ones who think so. That's why I'm here. I was sent from Fort Laramie to try to stop the trouble brewing in the Black Hills and try to keep another Indian War from starting. Are you aware of what happened to Custer?" 

I answered, "I was one of the doctors at Fort Laramie until a few weeks ago. The news broke just before I left."

Jack sat up. "I thought I recognized you. But... I was told you were dead..."

I shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I was out of the fort treating a case of typhoid. By the time I got it under control, we had lost four men. When it took so long and they hadn't heard from me, but heard we'd lost that many, they just thought I was one of the casualties. By the time I got back, they thought I was dead and since my enlistment was up anyway, I just processed out and returned home. I guess they just didn't get the paper work right, 'cause all my belongings and back pay were shipped home to Uncle Hank as my last kin." 

"Damn government types never could get anything right!" Jack grunted; then said very seriously, "Clay, you could be a big help to me. I have a lot of area to cover – and no help. You know the people here, and from what Hank tells me, you're on good terms with Red Cloud too. As a doctor, you're going to be in all the different towns around here and getting to know more of the people. Folks will talk to you easier than they would to me.

"What I'm sayin' is, I would like you to be one of my deputies. Hank tells me you need some money coming in. The pay is $50 a month, which gives you a regular income you can count on. You might make more doctoring, but there ain't no guarantee it will be very regular, and lots of folks won't be able to pay much, if anything." 

I was getting uncomfortable. I wouldn't mind being a deputy, but I had my heart set on the doctoring. Jack saw the conflict in my face and hurried to reassure me. "Don't misunderstand me, Clay – you can keep up your doctoring as well. Either job has you moving around the country, and while you're doing one, you can be doing the other. You can help a lot of people and at the same time help to keep the peace.

"We don't need this to be another war zone. Custer was a fool, but what happened to him is going to be held against the Indians. Regardless of how it happened, the fact he was massacred has put fear into Washington. I really like this lease idea for the settlers already here that your uncle has been telling me about and especially the inspiration of leasing the gold claims. If Hank can pull it off, that should really help Washington understand how to deal with the greed of the miners. I agree with you fellers, they will enforce a written contract a lot better than they ever would a treaty. In theory, they're very similar concepts, but in practice, I guess there's a difference between dealing with a business rather than a people. Don't make sense, but that's how it is."

Just then I spotted Jake peeking in the saloon doors. I drew Grandpa's attention to it, and he called out, "Come here, Jake. What is it?"

Hearing his father call him in, Jake lost his shyness and raced in. "There's a whole bunch of people over at store looking for Clay. Mama sent me over to get him."

My first thought was more trouble from dumbasses, and demanded, "Are they causing more trouble? Are the women OK?"

Jake didn't seem very upset and I breathed a sigh of relief at his reply. "I think so. The people are just asking to see the Doctor."

I thought the women hadn't wasted any time in putting out the word there was now a doctor in town. I started to get up to leave and said, "Seems the word is out. Looks like I need to go to work." 

Jack held up his hand to stop me and said, "Just a minute, Clay. We ain't finished yet. You never said for sure about being a deputy. Will You? Sorry to rush you, but I won't be in town for long, and you're going to be busy, looks like."

I had already decided when Jack told me I could do both at the same time, and even a dummy like me understood the good I could do for folks. "I'm sorry, Jack, I thought you understood it was OK with me. Yes, I'll be glad to be your deputy." 

Jack became the official Marshall as be directed me, "Hold up your right hand. Do you swear to uphold the constitution of the United States and the laws of the territories, so help you God?"

I did as he said, and with my right hand up, I solemnly declared, "I do."

Reaching into his pocket, Jack handed me a badge. He said, "Congratulations! You're now a Deputy US Marshal."

"So what do I do now?" 

Jack's instructions were simple. "You've been a lawman before, so I don't have to tell you all the fine details of how to do your job. Keep your ears open. Try to defuse any trouble, and uphold the law to the best of your ability. If you need me, you can contact me at Fort Laramie, but basically you're on your own. From what I saw of you in action today, I'm sure I can trust your good judgment."

"Should I wear the badge all the time?" 

Jack couldn't resist a little gallows humor, "Might give them something to aim at. Seriously, though, I'd say just put it on when you need it. Those that want or need to know that you're the Law will find out soon enough."

With nothing else holding me there, I left Sam's place and walked back to the store. When I got there, I found several people waiting. It seemed that just like any other small town, the store was the place to gather and discuss business, trade goods or just to socialize with their neighbors. There were four people there to actually see me as the doctor. 

Before I saw any patients, though, I first went to see Mr. Miller the storekeeper and asked if there was any place I could examine the patients privately. He told me he had a few cabins around back. He said each cabin had a small kitchen area and a separate bedroom. 

I asked how much to rent two of them, as it looked like some days I would be staying in town. He told me he would rent them to me for $5 a month. I figured they probably needed a good cleaning before I used them, and Mr. Miller agreed to let me use the back room of the store for today.

Next, I asked to see what he had on hand for medicine. When he showed me, I was surprised at the amount of patent medicine on his shelf. Upon looking through them, I saw that while most was just junk, there were some powders, ointments, salves, liniments and clean linen bandages – all extremely useful. I realized that this store was probably typical, and I would be able to get most of my everyday supplies easily, allowing me to keep my personal kit stocked up, and making the use of some of my specialized supplies for mundane tasks unnecessary, thus keeping them for their intended use.

I fetched my bag in from the wagon and got set up to see my first patients. My wives would help me with the patients while Grandma watched the boys.

The first man I saw what appeared to be an insect bite on his hand. When I asked how long ago it had happened, he said he had been stung by a bee three days before. It was quite swollen and he said it was very painful. He was right to seek help. Usually a simple bee sting stops hurting and the swelling goes away after a few hours. For it to last this long indicated another problem. 

Using a small scalpel, I opened the swollen sting, and once I had wiped off the pus, I found the stinger still stuck in the wound. I removed it with a pair of tweezers. I gave Little Doe some money and had her buy me some straight grain alcohol and bandages from the storekeeper. I used the alcohol to wash out and disinfect the wound and wrapped with a linen bandage. I told him to keep it clean and wrapped for a few days. It should be fine after that, but if it got worse to send for me. I charged him two dollars.




Doc Ch. 11



My next patient was an older man who was suffering from arthritis in his hands. I told him there wasn't much I could do to help him, but also explained that if he kept his hands warm and stayed out of drafts as much as possible, it would help. Then I took him out front and showed him a willow bark based headache powder which I told him would help with the swelling and ease the pain. I only charged him $1 for the advice. I wouldn't have charged anything, but I knew that if I didn't, he wouldn't take the advice, figuring it was worth just what he would have paid – nothing.

My third patient was a little girl with a burnt hand. I carefully drained the blisters and cleaned the area then cut a leaf off an Aloe Vera plant I saw by the window. I applied a generous amount of the clear Aloe juice to the burn then carefully wrapped the girl's hand with a clean dry bandage. I told her mother to make sure she kept it clean and dry. I also instructed her to bring the child to see me in a few days, when I was back in town.

When I was finished, the mother told me they didn't have much money and asked if I would take 3 chickens which she would deliver to me when I returned. I told her that one would be enough, then took the little girl out to the store and bought her a candy stick. Thinking it over, I bought candy to give everyone and to keep some on hand for patients.

The last patient I saw was a miner, who for some reason wouldn't talk to me until I sent the girls out of the room. After they left, he loosened up and complained that his 'member' hurt. He also said that it hurt terribly to urinate. My suspicions were aroused and I asked if there was any pus seeping from it. He said there was, so I had him drop his pants. When he did, I could plainly see that he had a case of Cupid's Revenge.

I told him. "You have the clap. I can cure it once if you follow my instructions. I can give you a shot that will help it, but you must not have any sexual contact for the next three months. You also need to tell me where you caught it from so I can try to stop anyone else from catching this. You can't drink any alcohol for the next 90 days either, as that will stop the medicine from working." 

The man's shoulders slumped and he whined, "All that just to fix it, Doc? How bad a disease is it?"

"It's a bad one. You could go blind, lose your mind, or even die," I told him, hoping that would frighten him enough so he would listen to me. "Who have you been with lately? I need to know where you caught it so I can find them and stop any more spread."

"I must have got it off one of those whores at the Oasis Saloon up in Deadwood last week." 

"Have you been with anybody since?" 

"That's the first time I've been with a woman since I came out here. I only had enough money for the once, and I haven't been with anyone since then, neither, Doc."

"Good, at least you haven't spread it further yourself." Although this man hadn't spread it around, I knew I'd have to go to Deadwood soon and try to keep this from becoming an epidemic. I feared I was already too late.

I prepared to give him a shot from my very limited stock of penicillin. Although it was intended for veterinary use on horses, it worked fine on people. Unfortunately, however, I only had six horse-size vials, which although they were quite large, would have to last me. Not for the last time would I wish I could make a brief return back home to get supplies. Veterinary penicillin and tetracycline were available over the counter without a prescription in horse country, and I could stock up fairly cheaply. 

"This is a very rare medicine and I can't get more, so if you don't do as I tell you, I won't waste the cure on you again," I admonished as I cleaned the injection site with alcohol.

The man sounded scared. "It sounds expensive. I ain't got no money or a grub stake, but I got this pistol I can give you."

I looked at it. What I saw was a 'Baby Lemat', a very rare pistol that had belonged to a very senior Confederate officer. Any original Lemats were rare, but the 'Baby' was extremely rare, both in my time, and now, as there had only been about a hundred of them originally. It was a nine shot .32. caliber percussion pistol, with a center .41 caliber shotgun barrel. The barrel was only 4 1/4 inches long. It was in excellent condition. Just looking at it practically had me drooling. I knew I wanted it. 

I was curious where he got it. "Was this yours in the war?"

He snorted. "Naw! I took it off a dead Reb general. I got another pistol now that's better for longer shots, so you can have that one, if it's enough, for the cure."

We were both happy with the deal. I accepted the pistol, which included all the fixings for loading and cleaning. I gave him his shot of penicillin and reminded him of the conditions of the cure – no sex and no booze for 90 days.

After he left, and seeing there no more patients, I went back to the front of the store where I found Grandpa had finished his visit with Jack and had rejoined the family. I showed him my new pistol and told him I rented two of the cabins out back so we didn't need to go home after dark. 

Mt news about the cabins seemed to piss him off. He said, "Boy, me and your pa built those cabins for us to use when we're in town. Miller here, just rents them out when we're not using them."

Miller said, "Hank, you know I have been keeping them up for you. I deserve something for my trouble!"

Grandpa looked like he was about to explode. "You've been able to keep all the money you take in when we're not using them, without us asking for a penny of it. Now give Clay back his money before I really get mad! Hell, you should be paying him because of all the new customers he's bringing in by having his doctoring practice right here – not to mention being able to sell all that patent medicine you got stuck with."

"Now Hank, a man's got to make a living..." Miller still defended his actions, but I didn't think he'd get much sympathy from Grandpa. 

And no, Grandpa wasn't buying it, as he continued his rant, "You are a greedy bastard! Ever since this gold rush started, you've been making money hand over fist. I heard tell you been renting the cabins out to six or seven miners at a time, and making them hot bunk so you could collect more! I don't like the miners, but I won't see them robbed, either! That is going to stop now!"

Miller didn't know enough to quit when he was ahead. "But Hank! With Clay using two of the cabins full time, that just leaves me with one to rent!"

"That does it! You can just stop renting any of them! If you want to be in the hotel business, build your own!" Miller wasn't happy about that development at all, but he had no one to blame but himself. If he'd kept quiet, he'd still have a quite lucrative business renting out beds to itinerant miners at no cost to himself. Not only that, but his greed might have cost him an old friend.

With Grandpa's last words, we left a worried Miller behind and headed down the street to get something to eat. I could tell grandpa was still steamed. We got to the restaurant Grandpa had recommended, and when we sat down, the waiter said with a sneer, "We don't serve no stinking Indians in here."

This set Grandpa off again, and he started yelling, "BILL!! BILL!! You'd better get your ass out here right now!!"

A fat man came rushing out of the kitchen saying, "What's going on out here? What's all the yelling about?" He saw Grandpa and greeted him, "Oh, hello, Hank. Is there a problem?"

Grandpa was fuming. "We came in and this here feller, he tells us you won't serve us."

Trying to soothe his old friend, Bill tried to explain, "Sorry, Hank. The miners, they got together and passed an ordinance that we can't serve Indians. It's the law."

I spoke up then. "Did the people of this town elect those miners to council? Is one of them the mayor? Did they invite the rest of the townspeople to their meeting?" 

Bill was agitated, but he allowed as no, they hadn't been elected, and no, none of them was the mayor, and for sure no, none of the town folk had been invited.

"Well then, there ain't no such law because the people of this town did not pass it. A bunch of drunks who are mostly passing through are NOT citizens of the town. Any so-called ordinance they passed is a fraud, and you can bet I'll be looking into that!" I declared loudly. "You will serve us and" I indicated the mouthy waiter, "if anyone calls my family a bunch of dirty stinking Indians again, they better be ready to back it up." 

Bill looked like he agreed, but he had a business to think of. "Hank, who is this? If I serve you, just on his say-so that their law is no good, they will close me down!"

Grandpa reassured his friend. "Ain't anybody going to close you down, Bill. This is my nephew Clay. He's the new doctor in these parts. But most importantly for what we're talking about now, he's also a deputy marshal, which means not only does he know the law, he IS the law!" To prove it, he had me produce my badge and show it to everyone in the room.

Bill still wasn't too happy, fearing reprisals from the miners. "Sorry, we'll serve you because I respect the Law, the lawful Law, but they threatened to burn out anyone that broke their rules. I can't help but worry."

I understood exactly what Bill's problem was, and to a certain extent, sympathized. He was a law abiding citizen, and wanted to be, but despite that, some bullies had appropriated the lawful procedures in the town, their threats still carried weight. It was time for my first act as a lawman. 

"Uncle Henry, it looks like I need to stay in town for a few days. It's time to get this mess straightened out. This looks like some more of the stupid things they are doing, trying to kick off a war. This is just the sort of thing we talked about and that Jack hired me for." 

True to his word, Bill served us an excellent meal. He served it himself so we didn't have to put up with his nasty waiter. I had a notion that once I got things straightened out, that that parson would be looking for a new job. 

After we ate, it was getting late, so we retired back to the cabins. Grandpa and Dawn took one end and we took the other end. Sally, Rose, the baby and the boys got the middle cabin. I hoped they weren't too crowded. I was all set to settle in for a quiet evening with my ladies, but the first thing I knew, the girls all, just right in and started cleaning the cabins. An hour later all three cabins were spotless, and only then did we retire for the night. 

I was surprised when Dawn joined us in our bed. I grinned and asked, "I guess the twins said it was OK, eh? Don't we need to get the Chief's and the Holy Woman's permission?"

She punched me playfully in the arm. "You knew already! I just did not want it to be too easy for you. Getting the elders' permission is only for maidens, like when you married the twins. Since I am widowed, and no longer a maiden, we don't need all the ceremonies. When you announced I was your wife to everyone that was it. In fact, we were actually married before you even asked – we were as soon as you told that bad man I was your wife."

What could I say to top that? I wisely kept my mouth shut and allowed my wives to control the evening activities. The twins conceded first place honors to Dawn as the new wife. She and I were as perfect a match together as either of the twins and I. And so it came to pass that after much enthusiastic and yes, noisy, loving, I finally bid goodnight to all my wives with a tender kiss. With three warm bodies cuddled around me, I drifted off to sleep, exhausted.



Doc Ch. 12



I awoke to someone pounding on the door of the cabin. Dawn got up and slipped into her dress to answer the door. Upon opening it, she discovered the storekeeper and two other men. One of the other two was hurt, with an arrow protruding from his shoulder.

I heard Mr. Miller ask, "Is the Doc here? We have a wounded man here. There was an Indian attack at his claim. Him and his partner here managed to run them off before they could do much, but he got shot with an arrow." 

I went to the door and quickly checked the injured man. I looked out toward next door and saw that Rose and Sally already had the boys up and out, getting ready to return to the ranch. Seeing that the cabin I normally would use as my office was therefore free, I told the men to take the injured man to the next cabin, and that I'd be right there.

As soon as I was dressed, I went next door to examine my patient. I noted that the arrow in his shoulder was the same as those we'd seen stuck in the two dead prospectors Grandpa and I found. Like those, it had the black and blue bands of the Crow, not the red and yellow bands that marked those the Sioux used. I asked him if he had seen anyone, but he said it was dark and they were gone quickly once he and his friend started shooting back. He thought there were only three or four of them, though. 

As I worked at removing the arrow, I told the injured man, "I don't think you were attacked by Indians. The arrow that hit you in the shoulder was Crow, not Sioux. The colors are all wrong – the Crow use black and blue and the Sioux use yellow and red. The Crow are enemies of the Sioux. They would hardly ever be found around these parts, especially a small party. From this, and some other similar attacks I've heard of, I suspect that it was white men that attacked you, trying to make it look like it was Indians. 

"The Crow are normally found in Montana, or near the border, not around here. Do you know of any prospectors near here from Montana? If there are, then there's a good chance that's where the arrows came from."

He frowned in thought for a few minutes then he remembered something, "Now that I think of it, there's the Baxter brothers – they're from Miles City. They must've struck it big because they always seem to have lots of money. It seems like they're always over at the Lucky Lady Saloon. I think they live in one of the rooms upstairs. But, what's so odd, they never seem to be at their claim, and they haven't been here all that long to have made a big strike."

His friend spoke up. "Funny you should mention the Baxters,Pete Now I think of it, the first robbery and killin' happened about the same time they first got here."

The conversation had distracted the man enough that I got the arrow out without too much fuss. Once it was out, I cleaned and sutured the wound, using about eight stitches to close it properly. After bandaging it, I told him how to tend for his wound properly, emphasizing cleanliness, and instructed him to come back in 10 days to have the stitches removed. I charged him $12 and told him the follow-up was covered by that.

As the men were getting ready to leave, I pinned on my badge to some very surprised looks. I said, "Guess the word hasn't gotten around that as of yesterday there's now a regular lawman for the area. I'm fair, but I think you also know from what happened yesterday that I don't take any guff either. Right, Mr. Miller?" That worthy just nodded. 

I checked my guns and flexed my hands. I smiled coldly and drawled, "Now then, why don't we all just head on over to the Lucky Lady where you can point out the Baxter Brothers. Someone's trying to stir up Indian trouble by making people believe that it's the Indians doing all the killing, when in fact it is actually white men, who then make it look like it was Indians. 

"Whoever it is, did the robberies and then killed the prospectors and planted those arrows to hide their identities because they think dead men can't tell. I'm here to tell you that to a trained lawman though, who knows what to look for, dead men do tell. From what you've told me of the Baxters, and what I have learned about how these crimes are being committed, I have a feeling that it's them who are responsible."

We were all quiet, lost in our own thoughts as we walked together down to the Lucky Lady, which was about three doors down from Sam's saloon. When we entered, we found it to be a dingy, disreputable place, just the stereotypical type of bar where you would expect to find outlaws and other people of low character – a place right out of a B-western. I half expected to see Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach facing each other down at the long, dirty bar.

However, real life wasn't quite that dramatic, at least not this early in the morning. Still, for as early as it was, there were several patrons in various stages of inebriation. I asked the men with me to look around. Did they see any of the Baxter brothers there? They said they didn't.

I approached the bartender and asked if the Baxter brothers lived there, and if so, where they might be. At first the barkeep was of the attitude 'who wants to know?', but paled as he looked at my badge and checked out how I wore my guns. Deciding he didn't need the kind of trouble I represented, he allowed as how they did in fact rent a room there, and yes, they were presently in residence... 

Gathering my witnesses together, we went up to the room the barman had indicated. I knocked politely on the door. Shortly a man opened it, looking and smelling as if he hadn't bathed in a very long time. It was apparent he was a real slob. What I could see of the room behind him reinforced my opinion, as it looked like a pigsty. 

The slob tensed when he saw the badge on my shirt, but kept any rude remarks he may have been contemplating to himself. Stepping out into the hall with us, he asked what we wanted.

I remained polite as I asked, "Sorry to barge in, but we're looking for someone. Would you mind telling me your name, please?"

"Joshua Baxter, Marshal. Anything else?" the man replied, responding favorably to my polite enquiry.

"Yeah, sorry to be such a bother, but is there anyone else in here?" I asked, still maintaining the polite façade.

"Yup, my brothers. I'll get them for you." How obliging could he get? Before I could say anything else, he turned and called out, "Hey guys, c'mere! There's some people here looking for somebody!"

In response to his call, I heard some grumbling from deeper in the room, then the squeak of bedsprings being relieved of weight. Presently, two men, equally as scruffy as their brother, joined us in the hallway. One of the two was obviously the oldest of the three.

When they were all out and clear of easy cover, I simply said, "Baxters, you're all under arrest for robbery and murder." 

The oldest one immediately went for his gun. I never hesitated, despite this being my first real gunfight. I instinctively drew my cross-draw and shot him, center-of-mass, in the chest, dropping him in his tracks. 

The second brother still reached for his gun. 

"Drop it! Or join your brother on the floor!"

When you look into the business end of a .44, it looks like a cannon. He obliged. 

I had the men that were with me start to search the room. 

"You men search the room while I keep Josh and his brother covered. Now don't you boys try anything stupid. I'm a little jumpy right now..."

It didn't take long before my companions found several pouches of gold and many other valuables. The most telling find, though was a small bow and about a dozen Crow arrows. 

"You fellers have done a fine job. Looks like that's about all we're going to find here. Mr. Miller, you take that rope over there and tie Josh and his brother's hands behind them. No need to be gentle. Now my friends, let's take these clowns over and introduce them to Judge Mitchell. I think he'll be very interested in what they have been doing for a living." 

I herded the Baxters out of the saloon and up the street to the courthouse. When I passed the bar on the way out, I handed the barkeep two dollars and told him to arrange for the dead man to be buried. We formed quite a parade to the courthouse.

When we entered the courthouse, I introduced myself to Judge Mitchell.

"Good morning, Judge. We met yesterday – I'm Clay Thomas. My Uncle Henry and I were in to see you about leasing some land." 

"Good morning, Mr. Thomas. Last I heard, you were the new doctor in town. Now I see you wearing a badge. I've heard some rumors, and Jack left before I could talk to him. Now I'd like to hear it from you."

"Clay, Your Honor, just Clay – Mr. Thomas was my father. As you know, Uncle Henry and me got called away just as we finished up. We went to help our women folk get rid of a drunk. There was a bit of a dustup and the Marshal got involved. He liked how I handled myself and made me a deputy. I'm still the doctor, though. My rounds through the local area will let me do both at the same time."

"I'm glad to hear Jack got himself another deputy. He's stretched too thin by himself to do the job that needs doing. With you covering part of his territory, we'll be able to keep trouble under better control. Speaking of trouble, why have you brought these men here all trussed up like Christmas turkeys?"

"Judge, remember we told you yesterday about finding those prospectors dead and that it looked odd? Whoever did it, made the attack look like it was Indians, but they were sloppy."

"I recall. Go on. Consider this an official report. Don't stop until you're done."

"Well, from evidence we collected today, it is apparent these men are responsible for that and several other attacks. They have robbed and killed at least six men, and they attacked this man's claim last night. He was lucky and survived with just an arrow in the shoulder. In each case they tried to make it look like an Indian attack, but goofed and left clues behind that it wasn't.

"The Baxters are stupid, and even with that, might have gotten away with it, but they really caught a bad break when Uncle Henry and me stumbled on that one massacre. They're amateurs, where we are both trained, experienced lawmen and investigators. 

"These guys – these Baxters – made a bunch of brainless mistakes. They left boot tracks instead of moccasin tracks. Their horses were shod. They robbed their victims of things white folk consider valuable – money, gold, jewelry. They left behind things Indians value – clothing, weapons and horses. Riderless horses returning to the stable was the first sign of trouble, but they shouldn't have come back. Indians would have caught them and kept them. 

"But if the killers were trying to blame the local Indians, they totally screwed up by using Crow arrows. Like I told these men here, the Crow mark their arrows with blue and black bands while the Sioux mark theirs with red and yellow bands. The massacred prospectors, and our wounded friend here, all had Crow arrows stuck in them. But even without the arrows, we already knew it was done by white men.

"Judge, anyone who's lived in these parts for very long knows that the Crow and Sioux are enemies. So, you would hardly ever find Crow in known Sioux territory. The Crow territories are in southern Montana and northern Wyoming – not here. 

"Once I figured out white men were the killers, I asked if anyone had recently arrived from Montana where they could easily acquire Crow Arrows. The only ones were the Baxter Brothers, from Miles City, which made them suspects. Even more damning was that they arrived at about the same time the robberies and killings started. 

"We went to see them this morning and they convicted themselves by their actions. One is dead because he pulled a gun on me, and here are the other two, under arrest for robbery and murder. When we searched their room we found gold and other valuables. Some of the jewelry can be linked to the dead miners. We also found a small bow and several arrows with Crow markings.

"That's the whole story, Your Honor. We have 'em dead-to-rights. They're guilty as Hell. What do we do with them now?"

Through my whole report, the Judge had sat impassively, just nodding his head at certain points. When I finished, he looked at all of us then asked the injured man and his friend if everything I had said was right.

Pete declared, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

His partner and Mr. Miller agreed.

The Judge regarded the Baxters under beetling eyebrows. "You boys are in a heap of trouble. You didn't stand a chance when Hank Thomas and his nephew here got on your trail."

The two so-called bad-asses where strangely quiet.

The Judge turned to me. 

"Now, on to more practical things. We don't really have a jail here in Hill City to keep the likes of them. The best we can do is a couple of storerooms in the basement here where we more normally throw the drunks and rowdies to sleep it off. I'll arrange for some extra guards. We can keep them there until we can have a trial. After that, I won't matter much because it'll be a short one. With the evidence you have collected, they will most likely hang. Justice is swift out here. They won't be using their room for long..."

I was skeptical of the incarceration plans, but what else could we do? We had no options short of taking them all the way to the stockade at Fort Laramie. And then they'd have to be brought back for the trial. Besides taking for ever, and keeping me away from other more important work, it allowed too many chances for them to escape. No, keeping them here, while not ideal, was still the best plan.

"I guess that will have to do. At least I can get on with other things that need doing right away. I have urgent medical business in Deadwood, as I find that I am also the only doctor in the area. I should take a quick trip around the local area both as a marshal and as a doctor. Plus, I have a lot of work to do back at the ranch."

The Judge grimaced. "Sounds like you're gonna be busy, Son. How long you figure you'll be gone? I want you here for the trial for your evidence, but I can't wait too long, either. When they hear we caught the killers, some people are going to demand quick justice. The sooner we have a legal trial, the less likely we are to have a lynching."

"I understand, Sir. The most urgent thing is the call to Deadwood. That shouldn't take long. Regardless, I will be back in a few days just to check on my patients here. I'll be using two of the cabins behind the general store as my doctor's office and as a place to stay with my wives when I'm in town. You can always leave a message there for me. I'll get it no matter what time of day or night I roll in."

"That's good, Marshall. I won't hold you any longer from your rounds. Lock these fools up and be on your way."

After I locked the Baxter Brothers in one of the storerooms and made sure they were secure, I thanked Mr. Miller and the two miners for their help. 

I told the man with the wounded shoulder, "I should be back in a few days for the trial, Pete. Come back and see me in 10 days. If everything is Ok, I will take the stitches out then. Now remember what I told you about keeping it and the bandages clean. That will prevent it from getting infected. OK? Thanks again for your help, fellers."

I left the courthouse and returned to the cabin and my wives. Grandpa and the rest of the family had already left for home. I thought Standing Bear would be going back to the ranch to be with the other boys, but he was with his mothers when I returned. I advised new family to get ready to head out. 

"Get ready to hit the trail. Good, Standing Bear, you'll be a big help with the stock. We need to head up to Deadwood. I have to check out the Oasis Saloon. One of their girls has a disease that she gave to one of my patients. While we're up there, I also want to let everyone know there's now a doctor in the area. And while I'm at it, I want to check if anyone around there is trying to stir up trouble with the Indians too."

It had been just coming daylight when I was rousted out to treat Pete's arrow wound. Although a lot had happened since then, it was still quite early. Seeing as we hadn't had breakfast yet, we decided to eat before we headed out. 

We walked down to the same restaurant where we had supper the night before. When we entered, we discovered the same waiter as last night. This time when we ordered, he seemed slightly more cordial to me, but still acted pissed off that he had to serve Indians. As he grudgingly delivered our food, his surly attitude grated on me. 

"Hey, bud! You don't seem to like us much, even though we've never met before last night. Just what is your problem?"

"We shouldn't have to serve any dirty stinking Indians in here. T'isn't right making white men eat with Indians. They should just wipe them all out."

"What makes you think that? This is their land! It was theirs long before the white man arrived. They hunted the buffalo here for hundreds of years until we came. After we stole most of their land, this part was given to the Sioux by treaty at Fort Laramie in 1868. Technically, all the white men in these parts are trespassing on Sioux land. They own it. Period."

"Those dirty Sioux don't need any stinking land! All they do is roam around! They don't build anything! They don't even bother picking up the gold, just roam around! When white men come here and try to build something for themselves or pan for gold, they go on the warpath and start killing everyone! It's not right! If all they want to do is follow the buffalo, they can do that anywhere. They don't need this land."

I'd about had enough. First it was the drunk yesterday, then this asshole, and now, here he was ranting at me again. I could see Standing Bear was getting agitated by the man's attitude, but he wisely held his tongue. Good Boy!

"I'll tell you this once more. This is their land. If they don't want you on it, then they have the right to drive you off, same as if you ran someone off your place back east. Now, I warned you yesterday, and I'll warn you again, but this is the last. If I ever hear you call one of my family a stinking Indian again, you better be able to back it up with more than your mouth."

The jerk carried on as if I hadn't said a word. This idiot did not hear or want to hear what I was saying. His bigoted mind was made up and don't confuse him with facts.

"Why don't you just go someplace else? We don't need your Injun lovin' kind around here stirring up trouble, siding with all those dirty Indians. Why don't you just take your squaws and leave town?"

"I have a home, a family, and a couple important jobs here. I'm afraid that I'm going to be around here a lot, whether you like it or not. This is my home. You and those like you are only here long enough to make a strike or go bust. You don't live here. 

"My wives will be around here too. Get used to it! You will treat them with respect! If you don't, maybe you had better leave town. How dare you and your kind come in here and tell me to leave my home where I was born and raised because you don't like Indians!" 

"It ain't right a man having more than one wife; and you got three! What are you, some kind of damn Mormon?"

"No, I'm not no Mormon! I just happen to have three wives, not that it's any business of yours."

I felt myself falling into the trap of a schoolyard argument – 'Is so!' – 'No it's not!' – 'Is too!' – ad infinitum, until it breaks down in name calling. At this rate, we'd be here all day. In the end, nothing would be changed. He'd still be a bigot. I'd still be pissed. Our food would get cold, and we'd be late leaving for Deadwood. Even Standing Bear was acting more mature! Time to wind it up.




Doc Ch. 12



"I still say it ain't right, you having three wives, when most around here don't even have one. There's not enough women in these parts to go around."

Sour grapes over too few women – that was the basis for almost all of his bigotry. I'd heard it yesterday, too, from the drunk.

"That's not my problem. This is Indian land by treaty! You have no right to anything without their permission, whether it's prospecting for gold, settling a ranch or taking up with their women! If you want a wife of your own, you should go find one. Don't be giving me any backtalk about mine." 

"I don't want any squaw and end up with a bunch of half breed kids. It just isn't fair that there ain't no white women that will come around these parts."

"If you feel that way why do you stay? Still, I'm not surprised! If all the men around here are like you, no decent woman, no matter what race she is, would want to have anything to do with mean-spirited jerks like you."

Insults rolled off him like water off a duck's back.

"This is where the gold is. I mean to make my fortune and head back east before the snow flies." 

"And you think you're going to do that by working in a restaurant?"

"I'm just doing this to give me a grub stake. Then I plan to go out and stake a claim."

"Well good luck on that. Most come back broke; but many die, too. Some try to stay out over the winter and end up freezing to death from the cold because they have no idea how to live out in the open. 

"Then there is always trouble with the Indians. You and the other prospectors have got the Sioux stirred up. You come on their land uninvited, start tearing it up, killing off all the game and then you get mad at them because they try to protect what is theirs. 

"If that ain't enough, then there's the outlaws that always seem to follow wherever there are prospectors and rob them for their poke. If you're going to go out, then you had better be prepared to be killed by either Indians or bandits."

I couldn't believe how naïve this fool was! He didn't have a clue! He was full of the greenhorn's bravado and braggadocio, but he had no better idea of how to survive in the goldfields than I did at understanding women!

"I'm not scared of either. They come around me, I'll blow their stinking heads off. I'm going out well armed, so they had best beware of me. I had two friends that went out last week and no one has seen or heard of them since. We suspect they might have been killed by Indians. That's why they passed along that Indians can't be served in any place here in town."

"Was one of your friends tall with brown hair and the other thin with sandy hair?"

"That sounds like them. Have you seen them anywhere?"

"I buried them. The Baxter brothers robbed and murdered them and then tried to make it look like it was done by Indians." 

"How do you know it wasn't done by Indians?"

"After they robbed them, they shot them with arrows with Crow markings, not Sioux. They're under arrest at the courthouse right now. I just came from there. The men who searched their room found things that had belonged to all the missing miners and a bow with Crow arrows."

"Those dirty bastards! They should just hang them from the nearest tree!"

"I know those two dead men were friends of yours, but everyone needs a fair trial. Even if we did find enough evidence that the Baxters will most likely hang, it has to done legally. They won't be lynched."

"But we got no law here – just a US Marshal that covers all the way down to Fort Laramie and a circuit judge. They are both away more often than they're here." 

I showed the waiter my badge.

"I'm the law here now, and there will be no lynching as long as I'm around. I will be on a regular patrol around the local area from now on. Judge Mitchell will be around a lot more too. He's in town now, and he will be staying at least until the Baxters have been tried.

"No matter how guilty they are, those men are entitled to a fair trial by a jury of their peers. If they're found guilty, then the sentence will be carried out legally. I find anybody trying to take the law into their own hands, they will be the ones that hang.

"Judge Mitchell and I represent the Law around here, and that Law says everyone is to be treated fairly. That includes the Indians. If you treat them fair, I'll leave you alone. If you don't, I'll run you out of town, and have the Law on my side. I'll say it again: be they white man or Indian, everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. Forget it at your peril."

"I thought you were the new doctor, not the marshal? Does that mean that you will be here all the time?"

"Not all the time. I will be traveling from town to town, but I will not be far away and should be back at least every other week, maybe sooner. Seeing as I'm the only doctor and lawman in this area, I will need to keep moving around."

My family had long since finished eating and were waiting for me. Strangely enough, I had managed to eat while I talked. I placed my fork on my empty plate and stood up. The waiter seemed a lot less antagonistic now. I guess all he needed was someone to vent his frustrations on.

"Now, since we're done eating, I need to get to Deadwood to check on some medical problems there. I should be back in a few days. You might want to put the word out to the rest of the miners that there better not be any thoughts of a lynching. Judge Mitchell will be looking for a jury, too."

My family and I left the restaurant and walked over to the stable where we had put up our horses. The livery people helped us saddle up. Standing Bear proved his worth. He did not need to be told to help. He just pitched in. Many hands make light work and soon we were ready to leave. We mounted up and started the long ride to Deadwood. 

We made good time and arrived in the early afternoon. We stabled our horses and asked for directions to the general store. When we reached the store, I introduced myself and my family to the storekeeper. 

"I am the new doctor in the area. I'm also a deputy US marshal. I'll be making rounds of all the local towns doing both. I'm most concerned that people get to know there's a doctor in these parts now. Is there any way that the word can be spread that I am a doctor and that I will be in the area every couple weeks?"

The storekeeper was more than happy to put the word out.

"Pretty nearly everyone in town and the local ranches is in here at least once a week. I'll tell everyone who comes in. Tell the man at the livery stable and between us, we'll soon spread the word around. It's good to have a doctor nearby again. I'll spread it around that you're a marshal, too. We've needed a regular lawman for a long time." 

"Thanks, that'll help a lot. While I'm here, what do you have in the way for medical supplies? If I can get them from you, it cuts down on how much I have to carry with me, and lets me get more locally if I run out." 

He did not have near as much on hand as the storekeeper in Hill City. He did carry all the usual supplies, though – grain alcohol, rolled bandages, and an assortment of patent medicines such as headache powders, salves and ointments. 

"Do you have a room you can let me use or rent to me where I can see patients?"

"I'm sorry, Doc. I really don't have any extra rooms. You might try at the Grand Central Hotel. It just opened and they might have a room they'll rent as a doctor's office." 

"That's OK. Do you mind if I leave my ladies and my boy here to browse around? Don't be afraid to put the boy to work. He's young, but he's a good worker.

Standing Bear's chest puffed out proudly when I said he was a good worker. Dawn fairly beamed when I praised her – uh, OUR son.

"I have to see someone at the Oasis Saloon on a medical matter, and I don't want to take them into a place like that. A saloon is no place for a young boy or gentle ladies. When I get back, we'll check out the hotel."

"No problem, Doc. They're welcome any time. I'll put the young lad to work if I need him." He ruffled Bear's hair playfully and handed him a stick of candy. He might not work Bear very hard, but I bet he'd spoil him... 

I got directions to the saloon from the friendly storekeeper. Carrying my small medical bag and looking every inch the 19th century doctor, I walked down to the Oasis Saloon. I stepped up to the bar and spoke to the bartender.

"I'm looking for the owner. Is that you?"

The man's phony smile would have done a used car salesman proud.

"Yes, I am. What can I do for you? You're new here aren't you?"

"I'm the new doctor in the area. I treated a man down in Hill City for a social disease – the clap. He said the only one he had sexual contact with was one of your girls."

"It can't be one of my girls! My girls are all clean."

"I'm afraid I have to check them to make sure. We can't have them spreading disease throughout the territory." 

"You can go check them out, but it's going to cost you two dollars each." 

I showed him my badge then looked thoughtful. 

"I wonder... What would happen if the miners around here found out that all your girls were diseased?"

The man paled as his smile dissolved into a worried frown.

"Marshal it isn't right! I'm just trying to make a living. Ever since that damn Charlie Utter's wagon train brought Hickok, Calamity Jane, and those two whores Madam Dirty Em and Madam Mustachio, business has been terrible."

I told him. "I'm sorry to hear how bad business is, but I can't let somebody who's sick spread disease throughout the territory. I really do need to check your girls. I will show them how to check their customers so that this does not happen again. If one of your girls is sick like I figure, she will not be able to have customers again for at least 90 days. She won't be able to drink alcohol for 90 days either, because it will neutralize the medication. If that happens, it won't heal her affliction!"

"Ninety days! That's impossible! There is no way a working girl can afford to live in this town for 90 days without working!" he exclaimed. 

"This place is pretty crowded. You can have her wait tables and hustle drinks. She just cannot have any sex, and she cannot take a drink herself. If I find out that she is still working and spreading this disease, I will have this place closed down and I'll also make sure the miners know why."

"Marshal that will cut way down on my profits! Isn't there some other way? I'm just barely making any profit as it is! There's got to be some other way. If you tell the miners they'll lynch me." 

His whining about lost revenue didn't cut it with me. 

"As crowded as this place is, I find it hard to believe that you're not making a decent profit. I happen to know that in the gold camps it's not the miners who make all the money. It's the storekeepers, saloons, and the whorehouses that make all the money, gouging it out of the miners with inflated prices and watered-down booze. Very few miners actually strike it rich, but anyone who opens a saloon or brothel does. So don't give me any bullshit about you starving and just barely getting by. I can see different."

Still acting as if I was taking the food right out of his mouth by treating his sick whore, he grudgingly led me upstairs. He pointed me into a room and returned to the bar. 'His girls' turned out to be just one woman who worked for him 'servicing' the miners. 

She was a very plain woman. She looked to be in her late 40's or early 50's and was about 40 pounds overweight. How this woman ever made a living as a whore was beyond me. Then again, from some of the photos I had seen from this period, she wasn't all that unusual. The miners outnumbered women by hundreds to one. Like the sailor said, 'Any port in a storm...' 

I told her. "Hello, my name is Clay Thomas. I am a doctor. I am here to examine you. It has been reported to me that you may have a sexual disease, and could be spreading it." 

She seemed really scared by the news, and cried, "Doc I can't have a disease! I only came to work here because my husband died. I didn't have any money to take care of myself or feed my children. Around here a woman has no choice. You either turn to whoring, or you starve. If I have to quit, my children will die."

Despite her claim she was OK, she allowed me to examine her. Unfortunately, I discovered she did have gonorrhea. Although I was sure I'd find it, it still hurt to break the news to her, and I couldn't sugar coat it. 

"You do indeed have the clap, but the good news is, I have a cure. It is rare, and I don't have a lot of it. To make sure it works properly and to make the best use of what little I have, you will have to follow my instructions exactly. I will give you this shot. It will cure the clap, but for it to work, you must abstain from sex for 90 days. You can't drink any alcohol at all for the next 90 days either. 

"I can't emphasize this enough! If you do exactly as I say, you will be cured. If you have sex or drink alcohol before the 90 days is up, it will neutralize the medicine so it won't have any effect. And, if you keep having sex without it being cured, the disease will continue to spread."

The poor woman was distraught. 

"But Doc, if I don't work, there's no money! What am I going to do to take care of myself and feed my children? I have to work!"

After I gave her the shot, I showed her how to check her customers for symptoms so she could avoid anyone who was obviously diseased. I also explained that she should insist her clients use French letters. But the best way to avoid the clap was to get out of the business by finding another job. 

"I talked to the owner before I came to see you. He will continue having you work, but only waiting tables or hustling drinks until the cure is finished. You may not make as much as you do now, but there will be at least something coming in."

She looked panic-stricken and sobbed loudly.

"But I'm only making four dollars a day now! The prices around here, there's no way I can survive on any less!"

I was incensed! I knew the brothel owners took a huge portion of the girls' earnings, usually about 40 percent, but this poor woman was being exploited to the point of slavery! Even if she only had four clients a day, she should be making half as much again. I knew she probably serviced twice that many. She should be making a fairly decent living instead of just scraping by!

"I will talk to the owner to see about getting you more money. I'm sure I can convince him that it would be in his best interest to pay you more than what he does now!"

I left the unhappy woman and returned downstairs to confront the bartender. 

"You tried to charge me two dollars just to see your girl without any sex. I'm sure you charge more than that for her regular services. Even if you do charge only two dollars, at those prices she'd be going steady all day. Yet you only pay her four dollars a day? You're robbing that girl! You need to pay her more for her work! You should pay her at least five dollars a day just for waiting tables and a commission on top of that if she hustles drinks for you, too! With these other places around here, when she's cured, she should be able to find good paying work easy! If you don't start paying her decently, I will see about shutting you down."

"I thought you came here as a doctor, not a marshal?"

"I did, but your attitude and your greed really sucks! You're making big money and so long as she continues to make you more, it doesn't matter to you that one of your employees is sick. Well, I have news for YOU! She got the clap from making money for you. Now that she's sick, it's your responsibility to make sure that she continues to have money to live on."

"Okay Doc. You made your point. I'll have her doing small things around her until she's well, and I'll make sure she's better paid."

"OK, I'll be watching. If you hear of anyone that needs me, I'll be over at the new hotel seeing if there's anyone else that needs my services. By the way, that will be $25 for the treatment of the girl upstairs."

"Twenty-five dollars! That's outrageous! I'm not the one that was sick!" 

"No, but you're her employer. You're the one that made the money from her services, so you should pay for my services."

He griped the whole time he was counting out the bills, but pay me he did. The threat of shutting him down and exposing him to the miners for spreading the clap was real. If he stepped out of line even once, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Threatening his extortionate income was the only thing his type understood.

I left the Oasis Saloon and went back to the store to rejoin my family. When I met up with them, I asked if they were hungry. They said they were, although I was sure Bear was full of candy. After thanking the friendly storekeeper for all his help, and making sure Bear thanked him separately for the sweets we left for the hotel restaurant. 

We reached the restaurant and found a table. Once we were seated, an older black lady greeted us with a huge, friendly smile and a cheerful voice. 

"Howdy, folks! Welcome to the Grand Central! I'm the chief cook and bottle washer of this here restaurant. Most everyone calls me Aunt Lou. What can I get you?"

"Hello, Aunt Lou. We'll have the special. Let me introduce us. I'm Clay Thomas, and these three lovely ladies are my wives, Running Deer, Little Doe, and Dawn. The little guy over there is my main sidekick Standing Bear. I'm a new doctor in the area just starting my practice. I'll be making my rounds among the local towns, and I'll be spending a few days each month in each of them. Would you happen to know of a place where I could see patients when I'm here?" 

Aunt Lou beamed. "Your wives are truly lovely, Doctor. And your son is a real gentleman! He'll be a fine man when he grows up. I'm sure. We really need a doctor in these parts. I think you could probably use one of the hotel's rooms. Ask at the front desk. They'll be able to help you out, I'm sure. And, I'll make sure to spread the word that we have a new doctor in town."

We finished the meal of flapjacks, bacon, and beans. Bear did himself proud – I don't know where such a small boy could pack so much food. I was surprised when I was told that it cost us one dollar each for that simple meal. Mind you, the biscuits, which Aunt Lou claimed were her own recipe, were probably the best I have ever eaten – anywhere or any time. That alone made the price worth it. Still, I could tell from the prices here that I was not charging nearly enough for my own services. 

After we ate, I went out to the front desk and asked to speak with the owner. The desk clerk said that he was the owner. I offered my hand and introduced myself. I couldn't resist a little tease of Bear – he was trying so hard impress me, he looked as serious as a heart attack.

"I'm Clay Thomas, and these gentle ladies are my wives. The stern-looking individual there is my main man, Standing Bear. He's decided that today is not a smile day. I am a new doctor in the area. I'll be in town for a few days each month as I make my rounds of all the local towns to see patients. When I'm here in Deadwood, I'll need a place for my family and I to stay, and where I can also examine and treat patients. My wives will be acting as my nurses and office assistants. The lady in the restaurant said you might be able to help me out with a room here."

The man's smile was sincere and his greeting to my family friendly. When he shook my hand, his grip was firm.

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Thomas; Ladies; Mr. Thomas Jr. I'm Charles Wagner, the owner of this fine establishment. We need a doctor in these parts. I hope we can be of assistance to you. We normally get $10 a night for our rooms, but seeing as you will be a steady customer, I can knock that down to five dollars a night, or $50 a month, whichever is better for you."




Doc Ch. 12



Mr. Wagner seemed like a reasonable type, so I tried a little dickering. 

"I don't mean to insult you, but is that the best you can do? You do realize that some of my patients may need to rent a room for the night if it gets too late to return to their homes. There may be others that might be too sick or hurt to travel who will also need rooms. I don't think it is a great stretch to see that my seeing my patients here should be good for your business."

Mr. Wagner proved he was a good business man. He only took a few seconds to decide. 

"I can see that, Doctor. Maybe I can go as low as three dollars a night or $30 a month."

"Well, seeing as I will probably only be here six or seven days a month I think I'll have to go with the three dollars a day for the first while. If things work out as good as I think they will, maybe later I'll be able to take it by the month. I'll just pay for tonight for now. We have to get back home to Hill City tomorrow, but we'll be back later this month, once I get my schedule set up."

I paid for one night. When we were finished with the paperwork, I enquired, "I'm going to be in town the rest of the day and probably part of tomorrow. I can see a few patients while I'm here. Is there anyway you could spread the word?" 

"Sure, I can do that. I'll also tell Lou to let people in the restaurant know. She will make sure to spread the word." 

I didn't have the heart to tell him Lou had already offered to spread the word to her customers.

I left my wives in the lobby, visiting with Mr. Wagner while Bear and I went back to the stables to retrieve my main medical kit. When we returned to the hotel, I went back by the front desk and picked up my key. Mr. Wagner directed us to our room, which I was pleased to discover was actually a corner suite of two rooms with its own outside entrance. I was so pleased with this room that I decided maybe I should take it on a permanent basis, as it would make a good medical office. Taking it on a monthly basis would ensure I got the same suite all the time.

When we entered the suite, we discovered a patient already waiting. As I observed him, I saw a man in his late 30s of medium height, wearing dark glasses. He sported a pair of Navy Colts tucked into a sash tied around his waist. He introduced himself, although I had already figured out who he most likely was.

"Hello doctor. I'm James Hickok, but most call me Wild Bill. I have something I need to talk to you about in private."

I looked at my wives, but they had already taken the hint and were in the process of disappearing into the other room, hustling Bear ahead of them. 

When we were finally alone, I enquired, "Okay, Mr. Hickok, we're in private now. What can I do for you?"

"Doctor, what I have to say to you must be kept in the strictest confidence."

"That comes under the heading of patient-doctor confidentiality, Mr. Hickok. You have my word as a doctor and a gentleman that whatever you tell me will stay with me."

"Thank you, Doctor. That is very reassuring. It's my eyes – I seem to be losing my sight. If people, especially the wrong people, found out, I'd be a dead man! Now you understand why I am so concerned about confidentiality."

If I remembered my history right, Bill Hickok was going blind due to an untreated case of syphilis. I told him. "Yes, I do understand. Blindness can be caused by a lot of things. In order to determine what is causing yours, I need to give you a thorough examination. Let's start by getting some history."

"Alright. You're the doc. Ask your questions. I'll try to be as truthful as I can."

I started by asking Wild Bill about his health history, making notes of his answers. When I finished with the interview portion of the examination, I had him remove his clothing in order to perform the physical part of the examination.

After the physical exam, and from the answers to my questions, I was able to determine that the history books were right about the state of Wild Bill's health. It's always hard to be the bearer of bad news.

"I hate to tell you this Mr. Hickok, but you have syphilis, and it's in the final stages. It is causing the blindness and later may cause madness. There is no real cure for it at this time. I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do except to tell you to rest and relax. You should be especially careful with alcohol. If I could've gotten to you sooner I might have been able to treat it, but there's nothing that can be done at this late date."

"That's what the doctors down in Denver told me. I just needed to get a second opinion." 

"I'm sorry that I'm the one that had to give you the bad news. If there's anything I can do, let me know. I should be here every few days once I get a schedule set up. I do need to ask you to do something though. Please make sure that everyone you know you had sexual contact with comes to see me. Syphilis is very contagious. We need to catch it before it spreads much farther."

Hickok looked relieved that I offered some palliative help at least.

"Thanks, Doc, if I need anything, I'll do that. As far as having any sexual contacts, I haven't had any since I was diagnosed a year ago. I was told before that there was no cure, but a person can never stop hoping. I just hoped that in the past year something might have changed and by now there might be something you could do to help. I found out that nothing has changed after all. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. How much do I owe you?"

"I'm not going to charge you anything because at this late date there's really nothing I can do for you." 

"That's nonsense! Nothing in this world is free. Your time and your knowledge are worth something. Examining me as thoroughly as you did made much use of both today. You undervalue yourself if you don't charge for them. This is for the examination." 

As he left my office, Wild Bill Hickok handed me two double eagles. I never saw him alive again. 

I spent the rest of the day treating patients as they came into the office. There were no real emergencies, just simple burns, cuts, and bruises. My wives worked hard helping me with the treatments and collecting the patients' personal information for my files. I kept Bear busy running to the store for odds and ends I didn't have in my kit. For a first day, with no advance billing, we were quite busy. Word sure got around fast.

I think many people came in just to satisfy their curiosity. Regardless, it was still a profitable afternoon with almost $98 in receipts. All told, counting the $40 from Wild Bill, the $25 from the Oasis Saloon, the $98 from this afternoon's business, what was left of the $150 Grandpa gave me, my first months pay that Jack had paid me in advance, and the money I made in Hill City, we had just under $350. And that was after expenses – supplies for home, new cloths for my family, eating in restaurants and livery fees for the last two days. After the last patient left, I went to Mr. Wagner, the hotel owner. 

"Sir, that corner suite was perfect for use as a doctor's office. With the two rooms we can have a private examination area and a waiting room. Because of that and the number of people who came in today, I've been forced to reconsider. I'll rent it monthly after all, if the offer is still open."

"Dr. Thomas, I thought you would like that suite. When we built the hotel, we designed that suite with a professional in mind. Yes, the offer is still open. If you like, I can arrange for our sign painter to make up something for over the outside door. Would you like to pay in advance or when you return?"

"Thanks, Mr. Wagner. I'll pay one month in advance for now. Thank you for looking after a sign for me. Please add it to next month's bill. And, thank you for the patient referral earlier. I don't think the gentleman would have known of me that quickly without your reference."

"You're welcome, Sir. I'm sure we'll have a long and mutually satisfactory association."

"Well, after a long day of toiling, I think I would be advised to allow the ladies to distract themselves with the local merchants. Thank you again. Good day, Mr. Wagner."

"Good day, Doctor." 

Being a man of my word, I then escorted all three of my wives back to the general store to do a little shopping. I was going to treat them each to a new dress or something – whatever they wanted – for all their hard work today. Bear? Well Bear, he'd just get more sweets. No big deal. Yeah, right!

We never did buy anything, as they claimed they didn't need anything just yet, and poor Bear was informed in no uncertain terms he had had way more sweets already than was good for him. He must not spoil his supper. I think the storekeeper managed to slip him a small piece anyway. Both of them looked far too innocent when the ladies gave them the gimlet eye. 

Still, the girls did seem to enjoy the shopping. Except for lapsing into Lakota as they discussed the merits of an item among themselves, they were indistinguishable from any other woman in any store anywhere. I guess in many ways some things never change, regardless of the time or period in history. Women have loved shopping since time immemorial. It is an immutable fact of life. 

When they decided they'd had enough of oo-ing and ah-ing over fabrics, trinkets and gewgaws, we wandered back to the hotel restaurant for some supper. We ate a delicious meal prepared by Aunt Lou. Bear once again showed that he was truly mystical, as he seemed to be able to contain more food than his small body should reasonably hold. 

After supper, we strolled around town for a while, marveling at all the construction. Deadwood was like a mushroom, almost popping into existence where a very short time ago there was only a canyon lined with dead trees. 

When it stated to get late we returned to the hotel. Deadwood was still a rip-roaring mining town, and for ladies or children to be on the streets after dark was to invite trouble. I had already decided we would return to the ranch the next afternoon after seeing patients in the morning. That meant an early and long day ahead of us. We needed our rest.

We returned to our rooms at the Grand Central and locked ourselves in. We bedded Bear down on the settee in the front room. It may sound trite, but he was a tired little 'teddy bear' and was almost instantly asleep when his head touched the pillow. After he was tucked in, we moved to the main bedroom and pushed the two beds together. We ended an eventful and productive day with a little cuddling, some tender lovemaking and finally sleep. 



Doc Ch. 13



When I woke up the next morning my wives were snuggled warmly about me. I just lay there like a sultan of Araby, soaking it up. I drowsily considered the most cost effective way to do my work. If I continued to stay in hotels as I made my rounds, it was soon going to get very expensive. 

Even if every hotel gave me the same type of excellent discount Mr. Wagner had here, just the rent would exceed what I made as a deputy marshal, leaving me and mine prey to the vagaries of the medical profession. With the added expense of eating in restaurants the cost of doing business quickly becomes prohibitive. I would have to come up with something more economical. 

If I could manage to use my camper as a mobile clinic, and traveling home, I'd save a lot of money. With its modern bunks it would be more comfortable than these rooms. The formica and metal surfaces were a lot cleaner and easier to keep that way. All I had to do was figure out a way to use the thing without it drawing a whole lot of attention. 

My bladder did its usual morning insistence that I rise and drain it. Thus, I got up and went out back to the privy to attend to my morning ritual. When I returned from communing with nature, I found my wives were up and dressed. 

Standing Bear, that walking appetite I loosely but still proudly called a son, declared they were all ready to go eat. I suspect he said that to divert attention from himself... 

I washed my hands and face from my trip to the facilities in the basin provided by the hotel. Then my family and I moved from our rooms into the dining room. I ordered breakfast of bacon, biscuits, and rice for all of us. The biscuits were Aunt Lou's special, and I have no idea who consumed the most, Bear or me. I figured those biscuits should be required to be licensed – they were so good they were addictive. 

As we ate, I told the girls, "I will see patients until about noon. Then we'll head back to the ranch. We have a lot to do back there."

When I had to pay out $10 for our breakfast, I was even more convinced to figure out a way to use my camper. I had already decided that using it would save us a lot of money for a place to sleep and receive patients. The price of restaurant food drove home to me just how much additional savings could be had if we cooked our own meals. But, not only would we be saving a lot of money on accommodation and food, we would have the added convenience of being able to stay where ever we might stop – no rushing to get to town – no worrying if they had room, etc.

When we left the restaurant, I took my family back to the general store. I gave them some money to do some shopping and reminded them we would be returning to the ranch that afternoon. I also told them they should buy whatever we would need to set up housekeeping. They should also pick up whatever they felt might help Red Cloud's people in relocating their camp to the ranch. Then I left them busy in the store and went back to the office to receive today's patients. 

When I arrived, I found a dapper little man waiting. He reminded me of some kind of dude dressed up to play cowboy. This gentleman wore a spotless suit of buckskin with two nickel plated revolvers belted about his waist. His head was adorned with a huge hat. In my time we would've called such a fancy dresser a 'goat roper'. 

This apparition introduced himself as Charlie Utter, the man who led the wagon train that brought Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane to Deadwood. As I talked with him, I determined that Charlie was not a 'dude', but likely suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder. He was deathly afraid of getting sick by being dirty or being touched. He said he bathed at least twice a day, but was still afraid of sickness. His excessively neat and meticulous appearance was just another symptom of his condition.

Charlie was aware his obsession and subsequent compulsions were not 'normal', but that still didn't help him with his anxiety. More than any other in this time period, I realized that despite his irrational fear of dirt and disease, his compulsion for cleanliness could very well save his life. Therefore, I was careful in how I addressed his fears.

"Charlie, I know you're concerned that your fears are irrational, and to an extent they are, but I also know that keeping clean is still the best way to avoid disease. There's nothing I can do at this time to help with your anxiety. However at the same time, I think that while your behavior may seem odd or crazy to others, as long as you can continue to function more-or-less normally, it is still a safe practice. Therefore, I suggest you continue what you have been doing – stay clean and avoid contact with sick people."

Charlie looked relieved when I finished my little speech. He appeared to be about to say something more, then abruptly changed the subject. "Do you have time to look at something? I think you may be interested in what I have to show you."

Just the way he said it, and from his slight smile, I was intrigued. I knew from history that Charlie Utter was an honest man. After all, he had been Bill Hickok's best friend. I had no fear of him leading me into an ambush or the like, so I figured he must be offering me some sort of business proposition.

There were no other patients waiting, and no one had appeared and left while I talked with Mr. Utter. I told him it looked OK, but I should check. I excused myself and went out to the lobby where I checked with the desk clerk. He had not had any enquiries today either. I advised him then that I would be leaving and had no idea when I would return. I returned to the office.

"I am at your disposal, Mr. Utter. Lead on."

The dapper gent then led me to where his wagon train was camped, about a mile north of town. He pointed out a couple of wooden wagons.

"These belonged to a snake oil salesman who got caught messing with another man's woman. He did not survive the encounter. Because they were part of my train, and still owed trail fees, I seized them against the debt. Would you be interested in them? I'm selling the whole rig." 

Would I? Even from this distance, if they were even close to what I thought they might be, they could answer my dilemma about using my camper. It almost seemed as if there was some Force guiding me at every step so I could make a difference in this timeline. I tried to conceal my excitement – for the sake of negotiation, I should try not to look overly interested.

"Hmmm... if they can be suitably modified, they might fit into an idea I have been kicking around. Mind if I take a look at them?"

"Be my guest! You won't know if they are suitable unless you check them out. Here, I'll give you the tour."

As we approached them, I examined the two wagons more closely. They appeared to be set up like gypsy caravans. As we stepped up into the first one, Charlie pointed out that it was set up like a doctor's office. There was a lot of medical equipment. Although crude compared to my time it was the top of the line for now. There was even a small laboratory set up at the front. Too bad the previous owner had been such a cad and charlatan – he had some good ideas. 

After poking around in the medical van, we moved over to the second wagon. It was set up as living quarters. It also was quite fancy for the times, but like the first one, was in serious need of a good cleaning. Dust covered everything. It was obvious that neither caravan had been looked after.

"They're pretty dusty. They'll need a thorough cleaning." I observed.

"Yes, well a few weeks on the trail will do that, Doc, if there's no one to keep them clean. Normally we would have left them behind and just taken the stock, but they looked like they might have some value. The drivers were paid up and agreed to stay on because they had already promised to get them here, but that was all they did. As soon as we got here though, they lit a shuck for the gold fields." 

Charlie Utter looked to be taking exception to my observation, given his obsession with personal cleanliness. Before he could take umbrage, I explained my position.

"I understand, Charlie. I wasn't saying anything about you or your people as housekeepers. I was just making an observation from a professional viewpoint. You know, of course that even if they were clean enough to satisfy either you or me, my womenfolk would still want to clean them."

I must have said the right thing to ease the tension because Charlie smiled and commented, "Of course, Doc! Women can be a holy terror when it comes to cleaning! I remember my Ma... well, let's not go there, and just say I probably come by it honestly..."

I waved my arm toward the two vans. "You don't know the half of it, Charlie, until you have three wives. But, like you said, let's not go there. Anyway, yes, I'm very interested in them, but I don't have the tack or the stock to move them."

"Oh! They come with eight strong mules and tack. When I said 'the whole rig' that's what I meant – the whole kit and caboodle – tack, stock, the works. I thought you would understand that. I was wondering when you were going to ask to see the stock."

I had to cover my ignorance of the way a package deal was described in this time. If he'd said 'kit-and-caboodle' I might have understood, but I missed on 'the whole rig'. Sometimes I could be so dense! I should have known that in this time, wagons and stock from wagon trains, when sold, were usually disposed of as a unit. I grew up on those stories... 

"Charlie, I might have grown up on a ranch, but I was never directly involved in any of the horse trading before I went off to medical school. Then I went straight into the army. I certainly never dealt with wagon masters selling off surplus equipment, either. Please forgive my ignorance. Now, we've established just what the package includes and that I'm interested. How much do you want for 'the whole rig'?"

In the tradition of all good salesmen and horse traders, Charlie Utter went into his spiel and started the bargaining/haggling dance.

"Well... let's see... I have the outstanding trail fees, the feed charges here for the mules and... a man should make a bit too, don't you think? I gotta have $250 for the whole lot."

I thought about it for a minute but realized that $250 would make a serious dent in my reserves. I also had no idea how big a bill the girls were running up at the store. That storekeeper was quickly becoming a friend who wouldn't gouge us, but this was a boom town after all, with the prices to match. If I paid Utter's asking price, I would have just under $100 left – not much of a grub stake. 

I made my opening counter offer. "$150 for the lot."

He thought for a while, hemmed and hawed, then declared, "Let's split the difference. Final offer. $200." 

I couldn't explain why he was doing it, but I sensed that Charlie was giving in far too easily, and that I really was getting one hell of a deal. I can be very dense at times, but even I knew that at this time and in this place, eight strong mules were probably very valuable. I remembered reading somewhere that the price of mules was relatively steady at between $100 and $125 each all through the last quarter of the nineteenth century. You do the math for the animals alone – no rolling stock and no tack.

Regardless, Charlie must also salvage his pride and make it look like he bartered well. Whereupon, in the spirit of the game, I did my own requisite hemming and hawing. At length, trying to sound defeated instead of elated (and a little confused at his generosity), I groaned, "OK, Charlie, you're killing me here, but it's a deal. $200 for wagons, mules and tack."

Mr. Utter said, "Done!" 

We shook hands and I counted out $200 in cash to him. No paperwork. No lawyers. Just a handshake and our word to each other. After the legal shenanigans I left behind, man! Did that ever feel good!

I was quite convinced that not only did I get the best of the deal, but that Mr. Utter had manipulated it so. However, he did it in such a way it made him look like a businessman. From the grin that threatened to wrap all the way around his head, I suspected that I was right in my assumption, and for whatever reason, Charlie Utter indeed thought he had made out the best. 

No matter, the deal was made and I had other, more pressing, things to consider. Among them, I would have to make arrangements to pick them up or have them stored at the stable.

With the deal closed by a handshake and the money paid, I thought it was safe to enquire, "Charlie, don't get me wrong. I think this is going to work out really well for me. Still, you seemed to be in a bit of a rush to sell this rig. How come?" 

"I had thought I might keep the living quarters for myself, but I thought the other members of the train might think I was trying to take unfair advantage, so I decided to sell them quickly for whatever I could get. Then I discovered there was a doctor in town that planned on making regular rounds through the local area. I thought you might be able to make good use of them. 

"That snake oil feller was a shyster, but he had the right idea with his equipment. I figured you might be able to make better use of his idea, so I approached you. I liked your professional manner and felt that you really care about your patients. I decided I was right to sell them to you if we could make a deal that didn't break you completely and didn't make me look a total fool as a business man."

"I thought I got a better deal than I should have. But I'm not one to look a gift horse – or mule – in the mouth. Thank you, Charlie. You're a good man." 

Charlie laughed. "You might not think you got off light when you hear the rest of why I did it. You realize I also expect to be able to come to see you for any doctoring I might need, don't you?"

"Of course, Charlie! Sounds fair to me, but I would have done it anyway for a friend. I hope you can stay in good health for a few more days though. It'll be that long before I get back this way. Oh, I don't suppose I can ask your help to get them over to the stable?"

"Glad to help a new friend."

Charlie had a couple of his teamsters help me hitch up two teams to the wagons. The extras were fitted with their tack for easy carrying then two were secured to the back of each wagon by their lead ropes as spares. It was highly unlikely we would have to change them out, but if we did, we were ready. 

I wasn't familiar with mules, so the men spent a few minutes showing me the differences, which were relatively minor, between driving mules and horses. I learned straightaway that mules are a LOT smarter, stronger and more durable than horses. They were the perfect dray animal for what I had in mind. 

When all was ready, Charlie himself tied his personal mount to the back, then mounted the driver's seat of the living-quarters wagon and followed me as I drove the medical van, to the stable. When we arrived at the stable, Charlie and I parted company with a warm handshake. Like his 'pard' Bill Hickok, I thought I had made a real friend.

After saying goodbye to Charlie, I asked the stable master to inspect the wagons and mules. I wanted to make sure that the wheels were sound and that the animals were properly shod. I didn't want any breakdowns or animals fetching up lame, even on the relatively short trip home. 

I left him with instructions to repair any deficiencies he found, but to keep a list as I would be checking before I paid the bill. I told him I wanted all the repairs done today if possible, but I might not be leaving before tomorrow because I needed to arrange for another driver. I appreciated the man's integrity when he observed that both doors on each wagon were equipped with a hasp that could and in this town, should be locked. 

Thinking he gave good advice, I diverted to the general store to get my family and buy four padlocks to secure the doors. When they heard what I had acquired, and why, the ladies became very excited and wanted to see the wagons straightaway. So much for finding a driver today...

When we returned to the stable, the livery man hadn't removed the tack from the mules yet. But, he had finished his inspection. I was pleasantly surprised when he said that both wagons were in excellent condition but we should replace all the shoes on all the mules at five dollars each. They were tight, but worn out from the long trail they just came off. I told him to go ahead. While a very interested Bear watched the smith get started, I showed the girls the wagons.

My wives climbed over and through everything, inspecting the whole set up closely. They thought after a thorough cleaning and a "few small changes" (sic) it would indeed make a very nice home and office for when we were away from the ranch. As the girls finished their inspection and praised me for a wise decision with toe-curling kisses, I lamented the fact we either needed to leave a wagon behind and come for it tomorrow, or hire a driver. The ladies looked at me like a slow child. Dawn became their spokesman. 

"We can drive a team. You just need to show us how mules are different."

"You sure? If you are, I'll hitch up one of the wagons. You can show me what you know and I can show you how mules are a little different."

They assured me they could, so I hitched a team to the living-quarters wagon. I showed them all the slight differences between mules and horse teams, and emphasized how smart a mule really was. I also told them if a mule displayed the stubbornness they were infamous for, they had better look around. A mule was usually only stubborn when it sensed danger.

We spent an hour or so in the livery yard driving around, getting the girls used to the mules. Periodically, as the smith finished shoeing a team, we would them switch out. By the time we were finished, the girls had driven all four teams and all four were freshly shod. 

Dawn had no trouble handling the team once I showed her how. Running Deer and Little Doe were just too small to drive a team by themselves and Deer was handicapped by her broken arm, but working as a team themselves they could handle it just fine. 

Of course Standing Bear wanted to give it a try too. However, being even smaller than the girls, he just wasn't strong enough to handle the big team. The poor kid was very let down that he couldn't drive so I told him I had a much more important job for him. He would be my hostler. His job would be to help me take care of the animals by feeding, watering, and brushing them down. He would also help with the hitching and unhitching. When we were on the road, he would ride his horse and lead the string of spare mules and extra riding horses. We had acquired quite a ramada. 

The girls had proved their competence as teamsters and Standing Bear was set up to handle the spares. I was satisfied we could get home OK, and that we would also be able to make our rounds. That meant I wouldn't have the additional expense of hiring a driver. Even better... Things were coming together. We were ready to head home.

I paid the livery man the $40 for his work plus our livery bill since yesterday for the horses. I thanked him for his excellent treatment of all our stock. He helped us saddle our mounts while Dawn and I hitched a team to the medical van. Bear mounted up and took control of the string he was to lead. We got moving. 

Our way out of town took us past the general store. We stopped and the storekeeper helped us load the ladies' purchases. There were some larger items that would not fit in the vans. I told the storekeeper I would be back as soon as possible to pick up the rest of our load.

With as much as we could carry, we took our leave of our new friend. The ladies all gave him a hug and Bear solemnly shook his hand. The storekeeper affectionately tousled Bears hair one last time and handed him a bag of hard candy. A final check on the tack, and we mounted up for the journey home. Because our day had started early, it was still relatively early in the day when we got away. 




Doc Ch. 13



As we rode out, I heard the storekeeper call out to Bear. "Make sure you share that with your cousins!"

The journey back to the ranch was uneventful. The wagons and teams performed flawlessly. Of course, the mules had many miles on them, having pulled their loads all the way from Georgetown, Colorado as part of Charlie Utter's famous wagon train to Deadwood. With those long-legged critters stepping out, we made excellent time and arrived home well before three that afternoon. 

When we got settled in, I looked around but couldn't find Grandpa anywhere. I finally found Don. 

"Do you know where Uncle Henry is?"

"I think he's in the East pasture where Red Cloud is setting up his camp."

Don and Dawn took charge of a couple ranch hands and got them unhitching the mules which they then turned out in a paddock by the main barn. While they did that, I headed over to the East pasture to look for Grandpa.

I found him sitting on his horse, smiling and laughing merrily as he watched a bunch of kids play. We greeted each other warmly.

"What's got you all happy and smiling?"

He just pointed and said, "Look at that bunch of wild Indians over there." 

I took a closer look at the playing kids. Brad, Davy, and Little Jake were all playing and roughhousing with about a dozen other children. They looked to be having a wonderful time, free spirits like all kids.

I called over to them. It took two or three tries before they finally heard me and stopped to listen. 

"Hey, you fellers! We're home now! Standing Bear is at the cabin! Why don't you all run on over there and fetch him! He's worked real hard today! I betcha he'd just love to be playing here with his friends!"

Our bunch said something to the other kids. They must have gotten agreement on something because the three of them let out a wild yell and jumped on their ponies which had been picketed nearby. Whooping and hollering, off they tore, racing to see who could get there first. 

Grandpa slapped his hat on his knee in delight and let out a happy little yip himself as he watched the antics of those young boys. His happy grin looked like it was about to wrap all the way around his head. He had told me before how much he enjoyed having a large group of children around. I had taken it almost as a joke then. Not now! Here was visual proof – this was a man who really, unequivocally, loved and enjoyed kids.

As the lads roared away hooting, in a cloud of dust, I asked him how the move was coming. 

Grandpa shrugged. "It's pretty much done, now. There's still a few problems, but it's coming. Don and the boys dug all those privies for them but they're not used to them. It's been a bit of a struggle to teach and convince them to use the outhouses instead of going off into the woods. Still, I think everyone is settling in OK. It gets better every day. Red Cloud seems to have a handle on everything so it's been going pretty smooth."

Grandpa continued to bring me up to date on the happenings around the ranch. I told him about our trip to Deadwood and the friends we had made there. I finished my tale by telling him about the new wagons.

"Grandpa, these are going to work out fantastically. There's no way we need a two-team hitch on those wagons, so we ended up with two extra teams of big strong Missouri mules. With a single team on each one, the girls can drive them with no problem. The roads and trails around here ain't bad enough to need any more, 'cept maybe in the spring mud.

"So that went fine, but the girls bought more than we could carry in them vans. I have to go back tomorrow to get it."

Grandpa shrugged. "Why don't we take our wagon and go now? Today's already shot, so let's do it and save you a trip tomorrow. If we were to leave right now, we should be able to make it back before dark, easy. We should be able to make a round-trip in about four and a half hours as long as we don't have any problems."

"OK, let's go. I saw your team was already harnessed when I left the house. I hope they still are. I'll hafta let the women folk know what's going on, too."

"They should be. We usually keep a team ready to go." 

We turned our mounts and galloped up to the barn. Dawn and Don were still grooming the new mules. Grandpa's team was still harnessed. As we hitched them to the ranch wagon, we explained that we were on our way back to Deadwood to pick up the stuff we hadn't been able to bring. We should be back in a few hours. 

We threw our saddle bags in the wagon and left, setting the team into an easy, mile-eating trot. With an empty wagon and the good road, we reckoned we could make the 12 miles to Deadwood in just over two hours.

We made even better time than we thought, and the horses didn't seem particularly tired, either. When we reached Deadwood, we went directly to the general store where I introduced Grandpa to my friend the storekeeper. We loaded the goods we had left behind earlier, then checked what else we might need for the new wagons. 

We bought several new kerosene lanterns, a small cot for the medical wagon and two new mattresses for the living-quarters wagon. We also bought various sundries to make living under the stars that much easier 

As I looked over stuff we had already bought, wondering what else we needed, I started to think. Many of the things in my wrecked camper would fit in the vans quite easily. My camper really wasn't in that bad a shape. But... the right side where it met the tree was pretty well smashed up. I decided to think of a way to use the sink, icebox, stove, oven, and various other things in the living-quarters wagon. I would make it into the kind of mobile home in which I could make a circuit of all the small towns the area in comfort.

Grandpa interrupted my reverie by suggesting, "You should maybe get some paint, too. You don't want people thinking you're just another snake oil salesman." 

When he mentioned it, I realized they were quite bright – painted to look like a traveling road show. 

Grandpa laughed. "They're so bright they could be mistaken for a mobile cathouse." 

Shaking my head at the image Grandpa's remark conjured up, I went back into the store to see what kind of paint he had. The selection wasn't too good. Well, what did I expect – 'Color Your World'? I found 3 gallons of white, 1 gallon of yellow and a gallon of dark green. 

I thought, "If I mix the white and yellow together, it should turn out a very light yellow... Use that for the bodies. Then paint the trim dark green... and they should look pretty good... Hmmm... Not a bad idea." 

With that, I bought the paint. We loaded everything. We said another goodbye to my friend the storekeeper who sent another small bag of candy for Bear and the other boys, and headed back to the ranch.

While the load we had wasn't very heavy, it did slow the team down a bit. Still, we made it back to the ranch about an hour before dark, taking about two and a half hours to travel the 12 miles back. By being on the road, we figured we'd miss supper, but we each carried trail food in our saddle bags, so we didn't go hungry. That's why we brought them with us. 

The women had waited for us to return, and when we did, they were all for getting started, cleaning and painting the wagons right then. However, it was too late in the day to start what I knew would be a big job. Besides, I wanted to wait until bright daylight so we could see what was really there. Then we could determine what we could pitch and what we could use. 

The women wouldn't hear of it that we ate on the trail. Determined they were going to do something tonight, they went into the cabin to start making supper. While they did that, Grandpa and I went to check with Red Cloud to see if he needed anything or any help setting up the new camp.

When we arrived at the East pasture, we found that most people were pretty much done. Red Cloud was sitting with several other Elders. Grandpa asked if everything was almost done and if they needed anything. They said everything was under control and had everything they needed for now. 

I asked Red Cloud about the three wounded men and if I could check them.

Red Cloud replied. "All three men left with Crazy Horse to let soldiers chase them. We thought only two would go, but Young Dog, the brave with the saber wound, him followed after them."

I couldn't believe the stupidity of such an act. "But... he was hurt too badly to go with Crazy Horse! Riding will tear the stitches and open the wound! He'll either bleed to death or it will become infected. He could die or lose the leg!"

Red Cloud agreed, "He is stupid. We told him not to go – to stay at camp and rest. If he dies, it is not your fault. You did what you could."

I just shook my head and kept quiet, biting my tongue. Red Cloud could see I was upset so to help change the subject he asked, "How are wives? Is everything okay? Are Dawn and Standing Bear helping them and the rest of the family?"

"Everyone is good. I am going to take Dawn as a wife and Standing Bear as my son. We all want it, so it will work out OK."

"Is a good thing you do, Two Lives. Dawn is a good woman and Standing Bear will be a strong brave when he is older." 

"He is a good boy now. I am very proud of him. Are there any problems with the People, now that I have three wives of the People?"

"No, you are family and friend to the people. There will be no problems. Some of the young Braves, they resent that you are white. But since you are Hawk's family, you are of the people also." Red Cloud reassured.

With the family and small talk out of the way, I felt it was time to put my cards on the table. "If anyone is sick or hurt send for me. I will either be at the ranch or in one of the towns nearby. I'll always be close enough they can send for me. 

"If there is trouble with the white eyes, have someone send a message for me as quick as you can. I will come as fast as I can and see what I can do to stop it. But please... don't try to fight the white eyes alone. It will just hurt what we are trying to do and cause more trouble than we are already trying to avoid." 

I showed him my badge. "I am now the law around here. Because of that, I can help stop many problems that might come up. However, if you pick a fight with the white eyes, the government will send in the army and there is nothing I can do to stop that."

"We will try it your way Two Lives. However, if they attack, we will fight back. We will try it your way as long as we can and not start something first." Red Cloud said.

"Thank you, Red Cloud. I can ask no more than that. Now, it's been a long day for me. My wives were getting a meal ready when we left. It should be about ready now, so I think we should head back now. C'mon, Uncle Henry! Supper and bed are waiting for us."

Grandpa finished up his conversation with the other Elders. We said our good nights, mounted up and headed back to the ranch. A ranch hand was waiting to take our horses. We dismounted and went for supper. The girls had a lovely meal ready.

Grandma Dove was there, too. "You boys timed that just about right. Set you down. The food is just on the table."

The day was finally catching up to me. I hardly had enough energy to eat, and I don't think I did their excellent cooking any justice that night. I almost fell asleep in my pie. The women took pity and bundled me off to bed. The last thing I remembered was the feeling the soft warm feminine curves snuggling up to me.

The next morning, I awoke later than usual to find myself alone in bed. An overfull bladder sent me dashing for the privy. When I returned to the house from performing my morning duties, I found my wives and the rest of the ladies of my family standing on the porch waiting impatiently for me. They demanded the keys to the wagons, so they could start cleaning them.

I don't do well in the mornings without coffee. That may be why I was a little short with them. "Couldn't this have waited a few more minutes until I've had a chance to get some coffee and maybe a little solid food into me? You ladies can just damn well wait to clean those wagons! There's a whole lot of changes and modifications I want to do to them first!"

My ladies looked a little chagrined. Little Doe apologized, "We're sorry, Clay. Your breakfast is in the warmer waiting for you, and there is a fresh pot of coffee on the stove."

Coffee! I started for the kitchen. Rose, the spokesman as usual, spoke up. "Sorry to keep you from your breakfast, Clay. But by letting you sleep late, we're losing time we could be putting to good use cleaning those wagons."

I started to remind her about my plans for those units. She waved me off. "You always were a grump in the morning, even when we were kids. We understand you may want to make changes. However, there are linens, glassware, dishes, silverware, bedding and other things that still need to be washed if they are ever to be used. And, all that stuff has to be moved out before you can do what you want! You need to be able to see how they're put together so you can plan whatever changes you want to make. So give us the keys, Buster."

There was no way I would win this one. I don't know why I balked in the first place. Put it down to being a morning grump like Rose said. Rose's argument was absolutely correct. All the stuff she listed would just be in the way of what I wanted to do, and risked being damaged if left in place while I did it. 

"I guess you're right." I grumped and gave up the keys.

Needing coffee even more, I headed in for breakfast. Dawn got my plate out of the warmer and poured me a coffee. I think I inhaled that first cup. Assured I was OK on my own now, she and my other wives hurried after the others as they traipsed over to the wagons. 

As I leisurely ate a delicious breakfast and sipped my second coffee, I watched them out the window. Those women swarmed over both wagons like ants on an anthill. Grandpa wandered in just as I finished eating. He joined me for coffee and to watch the ladies. 

It soon became apparent that they were totally emptying the wagons. I had no idea these wagons could or would have that much stuff in them. Before long, the ladies had a small mountain of goods stacked in the yard. When I looked closer, all that seemed to be left of the Gypsy Caravan style wagons was just bare shell.

Grandpa and I watched in amazement as the women went about their task with military precision. When everything had been removed from the caravans, the ladies turned on the boys who had been watching the whole operation and ordered them to help carry everything into my cabin so they could start cleaning it.

With the ladies busy inside, I had Grandpa follow me to the shed where my truck was hidden. I inspected the damage to my camper and discovered the side above the door, where the top bunk was, had been hit by the tree. It was caved in about 3 feet wide and about 2 feet deep.

Grandpa remarked, "This thing's pretty beat up." 

I replied, "I had been thinking about trying to fix it up and somehow use it as a mobile clinic, but now I have those wagons. They can be made into much more comfortable living quarters and office if we can use some of the things from here. It'll be a whole lot easier, too."

Grandpa was interested in what I thought we could use. "Show me what's in this thing you think will work in the wagons." 

So I showed him. There was a small two-sided sink with a pump style faucet and a three-burner camp stove, both set into a formica counter top. Built in under that was a 15 gallon water tank that was pressurized by the faucet, an oven and an icebox. The whole setup could easily be installed in the caravan. 

The stove and oven burned white gas. I had a full five gallon can of fuel, but that wouldn't last very long. When that was gone, I thought I might be able to use diesel or kerosene as fuel if I couldn't get more white gas locally. I knew white gas or 'naptha' was available at this time, but I wasn't sure just how available. I'd have to check with the general store. 

If I couldn't get naptha, then modifying the stove and oven burners to use kerosene, the common fuel for lamps, was the best alternative. The truck had twin 50 gallon fuel tanks that were about three quarters full of diesel at the time of the crash, but it was a lot harder and dirtier to use than kerosene. 

Once I finished setting up the wagons, I thought there might be a way to use some of the other parts of the truck to our advantage since it would probably never be made to run again.

Grandpa was suitably impressed. We started emptying out the camper. When everything we thought was usable was out, we would try to figure out what all we could actually use. After we had been at it for several hours, I found we had salvaged many things that could make our lives much more comfortable.

Once we got everything unloaded we took my toolbox and moved on to the caravans to measure and survey what we had to work with. These wagons were 12 foot long with a six-foot wide wheelbase. They looked like they might have originally been prairie schooner wagons, but the overall construction was too light. They may have been based on the ubiquitous conestoga, but upon inspection, revealed themselves to be purpose-built – the American version of a showman's wagon or a gypsy caravan.

The roof was a hard top with a slight peak in the center to shed rain. The sides were built out to six-foot wide, covering the tops of the wheels. One wall was solid. The other had two small windows quite high up. Both were about seven feet high, with extra headroom provided by the open ceiling. The lower part of the box, between the wheels, was 4 foot wide, the same as my pickup. The back was closed in with a large Dutch door. The steps to the back door were removable. There was a storage box mounted between and behind the rear wheels. The wheels were sturdy and tall, good for rough roads and fording creeks. The rear wheels were somewhat larger than the front.

The front had what could only be described as a covered porch. There were two well padded seats to either side of the door. Either position could be used as a driver's seat, as both boasted a foot pedal for the mechanical wheel-chock brakes. There was also a Dutch door at this end. The removable steps would be stored on the floor just inside the door. In use, they mounted to the side of the wagon tongue after the team was unhitched.

Inside, there were shelves and cupboards everywhere, maximizing the internal storage. The designers and builders of these wagons gave away nothing to the camper builders of my time. As a matter of fact, from a couple things I noted, they could have taught some things to their twenty-first century counterparts. It would take a very small modification to fit in the 'modern' kitchen fixtures. The builders may even have been marine builders, from the use of every available nook and cranny like in a sailing yacht, to the thoughtful way shelves and drawers were padded and protected against spillage and breakage.

Both units had a small wood stove with a cook top on the solid wall at the mid point with a chimney directly through the roof. The exposure to the wall at the back of the stove was protected by some brickwork that only went as high as the stove. I thought this was a good place to use some flat sheet metal from the camper to install a proper heat shield all the way to the ceiling. The aluminum of the camper shell would be relatively easy to work with.

While similar on the outside, the two were laid out differently inside. The similarities in efficient use of space and heating were there, but one could determine their relative usage quite easily. 

What I referred to as the medical van was set up more like an office or store. There were open shelves obviously meant to display one's wares, but also made them handier. Work benches and a built-in desk replaced beds. It would require the least alteration, as it was already set up more-or-less like a doctor's consulting room of the time. All it lacked was an examination table or bed. The cot Grandpa and I bought yesterday could be adapted quite nicely.




Doc Ch. 13



The biggest changes would be made to the 'living-quarters' van. One of the major variances I noted from what I remembered of true Gypsy caravans was the doors in both ends. I could understand the design for the office van. It allowed clients to walk through or for quick business stops with the team still hitched – ideal for a traveling salesman but impractical for a living unit, except a single person. A couple would need the full width of the unit somewhere for their bed. The back end was the logical place.

My planning, therefore, started there. Remove the existing bunks, which were located at the rear, thank goodness, and build a king-size bed across the whole end. I would permanently close the Dutch door by securing it from the inside. It would still be useful as an emergency escape, but would no longer be used as an entrance. The top half provided fresh air and a window.

As we measured, examined and planned, Grandpa and I discussed what changes would be most beneficial. We figured out the most efficient use of my 'high tech' camping gear without exposing its origins. For instance, I wanted to use the high density foam mattresses from my camper. Grandpa suggested it was OK, but they should be sewn into a conventional tic. We worked well together. 

It wasn't long before the boys discovered us. They came running over to see what we were doing. We told them that we were just checking the wagons over to determine what changes would make them more comfortable for living and working on the road.

Naturally, this got the boys, already wound up by all the activity around them, even more excited. They were very noisy and boisterous in their enthusiasm to help. I guess all the racket from the boys attracted the curiosity of my wives, as the next thing I knew, they were there too, trying to see what was going on. 

From comments and observations they made, I could tell that if I didn't do something fast I would lose all control. The women would try to take over what I considered to be my own project. I was only half joking when I interrupted their chatter. 

"Ladies! This is men's work! I will let you help plan how the living-quarters wagon will be set up. But! All the construction will be done by us men. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

They quieted down for a minute, but then Running Deer piped up, "The lodges have always been the women's domain. We are just trying to be good wives." 

Then they turned on the hurt look, like they thought I didn't want them anymore. What is it with women? Regardless, I immediately sensed this was a genuine concern for them, and realized just how much they feared rejection. I was quick to re-assure them as I drew them into a group hug.

"Ladies... ladies... What's with all the long faces? I still need you, and even more, I want you in my life! I said you were more than welcome to help with the planning. However, the actual construction can be dangerous. I just don't want to see any of you hurt, not even a little bit!" I kissed each of their tear-streaked faces on the tip of the nose. They seemed to cheer up then.

I left them talking with Grandpa for a few minutes while I went back into the shed to get paper and pen from the cab of my pickup. (Doesn't it seem funny somehow, that cars and trucks always seem to accumulate pens and pencils that are always in the way – until you really need them?) When I came back out we started going over the measurements and making plans on how we wanted the wagons set up.

Just as we got going good, a boy of about 14 galloped up, hollering, "Doc! Doc! Come quick! There's trouble in town! One man's already been shot! Please come quick!" 

I sent Running Deer to fetch my doctor bag while Grandpa and I started saddling our horses and a fresh mount for the boy that brought the news. It took us no time at all to get ready. As soon as we were, we took off at a gallop toward town. I had no idea what I was riding into – like any trained first responder, I was just answering a call for help.



Doc Ch. 14



As we headed off toward town, I tried to think of what might have happened. We soon had to slow to an easy lope as the light was failing. We didn't want the horses to be injured by stumbling in the near dark. That would make it just that much longer getting there.

The arrival of dusk took me by surprise. Where had the day gone? I knew the girls had let me sleep late to start with. Then I became so absorbed in what I was doing, I guess I never noticed the passage of time. I only vaguely remembered stopping to eat. I realized it must have been well after supper when the kid showed up.

Instead of ruminating on how time flies when you're busy, I had other concerns. As we rode, I put the questions to the messenger boy.

"Who was shot? What happened? How did they get shot?" I demanded.

"The judge -- but it's not bad -- just a crease!"

"Do you know who shot him, or why?"

"A bunch of miners got all drunked up and was tryin' to break out the Baxter brothers. The claimed they had been put in jail for nothing. There was a big argument. Suddenly there was a shot and the judge was hit in the right arm."

As the boy finished his tale, we came to the edge of town. In the distance we could see torches around the courthouse steps. We rode closer. In the half light of dusk and flickering torchlight I was able to make out about 20 miners. They were shouting abuse at a man standing on the courthouse stairs holding a shotgun. Seeing the nature of the mob, who as yet seemed unaware of our arrival, I spoke to the boy.

"Thanks for coming to get us, Son, but you should maybe stay back now. It could get real ugly. Besides, I might need a messenger again, and you wouldn't do me any good if you was in the thick of things gettin' hurt."

The boy hesitated, then as he reined in his mount he called out. "You're welcome Marshal! If you need me again, just holler for Jimmy!"

Grandpa and I rode on until we came to the mob. Without a second thought, I spurred my horse into the surging mass of men, forcing them to part like the Red Sea to allow us passage. I didn't need to look behind to know that Grandpa was with me. We forced our horses to the front of the crowd. The sudden appearance of mounted men in their midst startled the crowd. There was a brief lull in the racket. I vaulted off my horse and onto the courthouse steps.

I spun to face them and roared, "Just what the hell is going on here!"

"They got our pals, the Baxter brothers, locked up in there for no reason, and we want them out!" claimed the largest and dirtiest of the miners.

"It was me that arrested your so-called pals and locked them up for robbery and murder! They're the ones that have been robbing and killing and making it look like Indians did it!" I declared.

"What makes you think it was them and not some dirty stinking Indian?" He responded.

I was really did not feel like explaining the how and the why of the Baxters' crimes. And I certainly resented explaining myself to a mob of drunks, especially this bigoted fat slob. However, for the sake of justice and law and order, I persevered.

"That's really quite simple when you know what to look for, or know what you're looking at when you see it." I explained as if to a slow child. The sarcasm was obviously lost on him, but I continued with my more-or-less patient exposition.

"First, they used Crow arrows instead of Sioux. Crow arrows are marked with black and blue bands. Sioux arrows are marked with red and yellow bands. Because the Crow and Sioux are enemies, the Crow would not be found around these parts, as the Sioux would immediately attack them.

"Secondly, the bodies were found robbed of all their gold and other valuables, stuff Indians would not take. They don't have any use for money or gold. Indians would've wanted their horses and guns. They were even dumb enough to leave boot tracks instead of moccasin tracks!

"Thirdly, when I arrested them, and told them why, the oldest brother tried to draw on me -- I had to kill the dumbass. He didn't declare his innocence or demand why they had been accused. He just started to draw. If he was innocent, why did he do that?

"Finally, after I arrested the other two, we searched their rooms. We found the evidence we needed -- a small bow with about a dozen Crow arrows, several pokes of gold, money and other valuables that can be traced to the dead miners.

"With all that evidence, I'm sure that your so-called pals are the ones what have been doing all this robbing and killing around here. I was sure enough then that I locked them up, and still am, and they're gonna stay locked up until their trial. Didn't it seem even a little strange to any of you that they seemed to have all this money for their drinking and partying, yet they hardly ever went out to their claim, let alone work it?"

I hated having to justify my actions to these jackasses. The more I told them, the more angry and bitter I got. Because of that, I ended my tale more like a rant than a reasoned, detailed description of events and evidence.

However, what I said must have gotten through a little, because the shouting to free the Baxters died down as the miners stopped to consider my words for a few minutes. However, the mob was not to be denied their entertainment. If they couldn't free their friends, then they were going to have an old fashioned lynching! How fickle the mob mentality! The rabble started hollering a different tune.

The big guy that had been doing most of the talking started it by shouting, "We need to string them up! We can't let someone get away with killing and robbing us!"

With his words, the crowd of miners' voices rose in anger and they surged toward the front steps of the courthouse again. I quickly pulled my cross-draw revolver and fired two shots into the ground in front of them.

"There is NOT going to be a lynching here tonight! Those men are locked up and will stay locked up! No matter what we think of them, they are going to get a fair trial! Any man that tries to take them from the law will either be shot or be arrested and stand trial himself!"

The big miner who was the spokesman for the crowd cried, "What law? We are the law around these parts! Only other law around here is a circuit judge that comes around every couple weeks! I say we hang them!"

I pinned on my badge so they could all see it, then I roared, "I'm the law around here! I'm the new deputy US marshal! And this is my area to cover! I. AM. THE LAW! Not a bunch of drunken miners! There will be NO lynching in my area!

"And while I'm at it -- you men are not citizens of this town! You can't just go passing ordinances on you own! You don't have the right! If you think you want to have the right to pass ordinances, become tax-paying citizens and then run for Mayor or City Council! If I hear of any of you causing trouble for the local businesses, I'll lock you up so fast that your heads will spin!

"No more of this new so-called law that you made, that forces the local businesses not to serve Indians or anyone else you don't like under threat of being burned out! NO! MORE! I even hear the tiniest whisper that any of you might be thinking about burning out someone, I'll have you behind bars for conspiracy to commit arson and murder so fast you won't know what hit you!"

I was mad! The more I thought about it, the madder I got. I stopped to catch my breath and cool down a bit before I said something really stupid. Thankfully, someone else managed to change the tone and get me off that particular rant.

"I thought you were the new doctor not a deputy." One of the miners observed.

"I am the new doctor, but I'm also a deputy US marshal. Seeing as I'll be traveling between the local towns anyway as the doctor, it was decided that I could do both jobs because they both cover the same general area." I explained.

"Okay, I say let the law have them, but those Baxter brothers better get what's coming to them! They can't get away with all the robbing and killing that's been done around here! I still think a lot of it was those dirty stinking Indians! They're forever giving us problems around here!" another miner declared.

There was a general rumbling of agreement from the crowd. I had almost had my temper under control, but this idiot set me off again!

"I've had about enough of that kind of talk! I happen to be married to three Indians and have an Indian son. Dirty Indians indeed! I'll tell you right now, that they're ALL a lot cleaner and smell better than you do! You want dirty and stinky? Don't ever stand downwind of yourselves!

"And for causing 'problems'? YOU are the ones causing problems! By trespassing on their land! This land was given to the Indians by a treaty signed at Fort Laramie back in '68! It is still theirs! They turned down selling out last year because the land is sacred! They can't sell it!

"But! Even though they can't sell it because it is holy ground, they can still use it. Under the right circumstances, they can let others use it too. With that in mind we are trying to work something out with the Indians that will let you stay and work at your gold claims in peace. Regardless, you still can't just come onto their land and start cutting down all the timber and killing off all the game -- because this is their land, not yours!"

"But you can't stop us! We got rights too! We're just here trying to get the gold that you say the Indians have no use for anyway!"

"You still don't get it, do you? While they may not have any use for the gold, they certainly do have a use for the trees and the game -- resources that you seem to want to strip away or slaughter with absolutely no thought to what you are doing or who you might be endangering! They have every right to be angry and try to defend themselves and their land!

"Now, I'm getting tired of arguing with you people. I told you who the robbers and murderers are, and I told you the Indians are working on a way so you can use the land legally, but... you... won't... listen!

"Break it up and go on home and sleep it off! Mayhap you'll understand better when your brains ain't fogged with drink! I've got an injured man in there to treat, and you have delayed me long enough! Go on home and let me do my job!"

There was grumbling and a slow movement away from the courthouse, but most of them still seemed to be hanging around for something to happen. The mob still hadn't satisfied its thirst for violence. They needed something else to focus that energy on. I glared at the crowd and let my rage and frustration go.

"If I find out who fired that shot, I'll track him to the ends of the earth and when I catch him, which I will, he'll hang for the attempted murder of a Federal Judge! And if you ALL don't break it up RIGHT NOW, I'll make sure the rest of you go to prison for a very long time as accessories and for conspiracy to commit murder of a federal official! Do I make myself clear? Now GIT!"

The ones at the front, the leaders, paled when they saw the rage and determination on my face. The threat to arrest and convict them all of fancy-sounding crimes that sounded suspiciously like treason had its desired effect. The yelling and rude remarks turned into fearful murmuring as they finally seemed to get the message. The fact that I held a loaded pistol on them, and Grandpa and the original guard backed me up with big ol' Greeners, both barrels cocked, and wearing evil grins, might have influenced them a little, too...

Some at the rear had already started to wander away slowly, but those at the front who could see and hear me clearly, now turned quickly and hustled away. In their rush to get away from a foaming-at-the-mouth deputy, and a maniacal shotgun-wielding Grandpa, they pushed their slower fellows before them. In a very short time all that remained of the mob were a few torches sputtering out on the ground.

I shook my head in disgust. I wondered to myself how the human race had managed to survive as long as it had! If these idiots were typical of the race, then our survival had been pure dumb luck! I grabbed my medical bag from my saddle and went in to check how badly the judge was wounded. After all, that was what I was summoned for in the first place!

I found the Judge in his office, resting comfortably. When I examined him, I discovered that the bullet wound was just a very small crease. It probably hurt like Hell, but it would not need stitches -- just a good cleaning and a small bandage.

When I finished the treatment, I advised the Judge, "You will likely be left with a small scar, Sir. There shouldn't be any permanent physical damage as long as you keep it clean until it heals."

"Thank you, Marshal. I heard what you told those fools out there, and I agree. If you need to arrest them like you threatened, I'll back you 100 percent. Don't worry about this little scratch. My missus will make sure I follow your orders. Like any wise man, I'm more afraid of my wife's reaction than any mob!"

"Well, it's getting' late, Your Honor. I don't feel much like traveling home in the dark. It might be best if I stayed here tonight, anyway. Those damn miners are just stupid enough to get all liquored up again and start causing more trouble."

"Good thinking, Son. I'll probably be seeing you tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, Judge. Uncle Henry, can you make sure the judge gets home? I'll meet you after I tend to the horses."

I left the judge with Grandpa. They were talking animatedly as they strolled away. I figured I'd probably end up looking for Grandpa. The Judge and he would be sure to get into some long conversation, and forget the lateness of the hour.

After I dropped the horses off at the stable and made sure they were set for the night, I headed over to the general store then on back to the cabins. As I approached them, there were lights in the windows and noise coming from all three. I went to the first one and knocked on the door. One of the miners who was in the crowd earlier answered my knock.

Already confident of the answer, I asked anyway, "What are you doing here?"

He answered politely enough, "We rented it for the night. Sorry, Marshal, if you're lookin' fer a place ta bunk, there ain't the room for even one more. I think the other cabins are full too."

I stifled my rising anger, because despite the mob scene earlier, these men had done nothing wrong. They rented the cabins in good faith.

"These cabins were supposed to be empty. Who did you rent from? And how much did he charge?" I demanded, just barely controlling myself.

"We rented them from Mr. Miller, just like we always do. He puts five of us in each cabin and charges us each three dollars a night." He replied.

"I think I had better go have a talk with Mr. Miller! The owner of these cabins told him three days ago he wasn't to rent them out anymore because they were not his to rent. They were supposed to remain empty so they would be available for the proper owners' use." I griped.

The poor guy was really worried. "Who's the owner? You? Will you be kicking us out? We got no place to go tonight. It's too late to head out to our claims and camp there."

"Yup! That's me and my Uncle Henry. But don't worry none. It's not your fault. You paid your money in good faith. I won't turn you or your friends out in the middle of the night. Go on back to bed and have a good night's sleep. I'll tend to this and find someplace else for us to bunk for tonight. Good night." I made sure the man knew he was OK for tonight then took my leave of him.

"G'night, Marshal. Hope you get it sorted out."

I knew Miller lived upstairs from his store so I went around to the front door and banged on it loudly. Before long I could hear him thumping down the stairs and complaining, "Alright! Alright! I hear ya! I'm comin'! Keep yer pants on! Keep the racket down! No need ta wake up the whole neighborhood!"

I heard the lock being drawn, then a disheveled Miller in a rumpled flannel nightshirt jerked the door open, still muttering away about being disturbed by such an ungodly racket. Upon seeing me, he jerked to a stuttering halt in mid-rant.

He paled. His sleepy look vanished as he struggled to get a grip and he stammered, "Wh-what a-are y-you doing here? What d-do y-you want?"

I was fuming! "Miller, I was there when Uncle Henry very distinctly told you not to rent the cabins out any more. I just came from there, and they're all full, with at least five miners in each! You have literally stolen Uncle Henry's cabins and used them for your own profit! I should just lock you up and let you face Judge Mitchell."

Miller almost fainted when I suggested locking him up. I wasn't finished though. I let him think that although I was mad, he might just get off. Then I twisted the knife...

"I talked to the miners. They told me you charged them each three dollars a night and put five men in each cabin. Now, although I could charge you and lock you up, after talking to them, I think I've come up with a better way to handle this situation..."

Miller breathed an audible sigh of relief when I claimed to have a better solution. Just as I had planned, he was beginning to think I was relenting. His relief would be short-lived. Now the knife would stab and twist where he would really hurt. As I contemplated the true impact upon Miller, I could scarcely refrain from an evil 'broo-ha-ha-ha' laugh.

"Let's see, you've been charging three dollars a night per person, putting five in a cabin, and there are three cabins. That tallies to $45 a night. Since we've been gone three nights at $45 per night, that comes to a total of $135. You, Sir, owe Uncle Henry and me -- as joint owners -- one hundred and thirty-five dollars!"

With the emphasis on those last few syllables, it dawned upon Miller that my alternative to locking him up was far more painful... His sigh of relief turned into a gasp of pain as he felt the knife stab straight into where he lived -- his wallet. In realization, he started to gulp like a fish out of water, his Adam's apple bobbing like a cork in his panic. When I saw I had achieved the desired affect, I slowly twisted my metaphorical knife for maximum pain, my voice low and dripping ice.

"And... seein' as you obtained this money unlawfully by renting out something that was not yours, I fine you an additional $50 for illegal trespass. That brings the grand total to $185! You can either pay that, or I'm sure the judge will be more than happy to sentence you to six months in jail.

"I hate to think what Uncle Hank is gonna do when I tell him about this. He's visiting with the Judge right now. You better hope I can get him out of town to cool off..."

"But, but... $185! That's more money than I took in! They were just sitting empty... Hank let me rent them out before! I know he said you needed them, but I thought with you out of town that he would change his mind. We've been friends for a long time! He's been mad before, but he's always gotten over it." Miller pleaded as his true greedy nature was fully revealed. He couldn't understand that we wanted and needed those cabins ready for our own use on a moment's notice, just as we had told him.

I couldn't resist. I twisted it even harder. I briefly wondered if I wasn't enjoying his discomfort just a tad much. Naw!

"Of course, like I said, if you don't pay, the Judge will have you sent to prison. You might be safe from Uncle Henry though. Mind you, while you're locked up, your store will be closed. All your customers will still need supplies. I imagine some will shift to the store in Deadwood. Then again, some enterprising soul will probably take advantage of your store being closed and open another right here in Hill City. You'll be able to open again when you get out, but I doubt if anyone will want to deal with a convicted felon..."




Doc Ch. 14



Miller groaned in defeat. "I figured Hank would get mad, but he's always gotten over it pretty quick before when I did something he didn't like. Why all the fuss tonight? Please don't send me to jail, Marshal."

"Well I don't think he will get over it very fast this time. There's a limit on how much even the very best of friends can take. Knowing Uncle Hank, you've pushed it too far this time. He may get over his mad, but I doubt he'll ever trust you again. You were there when we made plans so we could use the cabins any time, and to use one as a doctor's office. You saw my wives and Aunt Dove cleaning them out so we could use them that way. He told you straight up he didn't want you renting them out anymore because of that, and yet as soon as we were out of town, you did just that!

"We had to ride into town tonight because a bunch of the same miners you rented to, were causing trouble over at the courthouse and shot the Judge. When we finished over there, we needed to use one of the cabins overnight, which was the general idea of Uncle Henry and my Pa building the cabins in the first place.

"So now we have to ride back to the ranch in the dark instead of staying. Uncle Henry just let you rent them out because you were a friend of his, but I see that you're just greedy. A friend tried to give you a hand, but instead you bit that hand. Now, what's it going to be -- are you going to pay the $185 or am I going to march over to the jail? Make your mind up quick, I don't have all night! I still gotta get home to my bed sometime tonight, seeing as I can't sleep here, no thanks to you!"

Why do I end up on these long-winded rants anymore? I used to be a man of few words. I guess my frustration with the unfairness and miscarriage of justice up-time hit me deeper than I realized. Now, with no requirement to be politically correct, I don't hesitate to say what I think, and sometimes I get carried away... I held out my hand.

Miller paid, grumbling as he did so, that the cabins were not being used. "I was keeping an eye on them. According to my agreement with Henry, I should be able to rent them out."

His whiny attitude started to really piss me off. He obviously didn't get it. I told him, "By the original agreement, you were supposed to keep one free at all times, just for situations like tonight. Your greed blinded you to that, so you broke the deal, not us! I'll let Uncle Henry know that tomorrow. I won't tell him tonight or he'll be over here to shoot you, probably. When I do tell him, he will probably ride straight in from the ranch and put padlocks on and shut the cabins up for good! If I find out that you let anyone else use them without our permission after tonight, you will be going to jail. And I'll still collect the rent, too. No second chances, understand?"

After I finished dealing with Mr. Miller and listening to more of his greedy whining, I went to the stables and saddled our horses. I hadn't met Grandpa on the street so I figured he was still jawing with the judge. In order to avoid telling him about Miller, I decided I'd just head us toward home as if it was the most natural thing to do.

I rode around by the judge's place leading Grandpa's horse. I dreaded telling Grandpa about Miller. I hoped I could pull this off and avoid that until tomorrow. As I rode up to them, I deliberately acted distracted.

"C'mon Uncle Henry! Time to go. Judge, I should be back in a few days. Now, remember to keep that arm clean and dry. I'll check it again when I get back."

As Grandpa mounted up, I appeared to be deep in thought. Actually, I was. I didn't have to 'act' very much. Grandpa noticed and kept quiet, as I absently pointed us toward home and led off.

Finally, about halfway home, Grandpa couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Clay! Why are we riding home? We could have stayed in one of the cabins."

I started at his sudden outburst and looked around. "Oh shit, Grandpa! I guess I just headed home without thinking. I've got a lot on my mind. We can turn back if you want."

I actually had been lost in thought, wondering if maybe I should've charged George Miller more for the cabins not being available. It seemed the only way to get through to him was to hit him hard in his pocket book.

Grandpa, his mind somewhere else entirely, teased, "Yup! An' I know what's on your mind. Who wouldn't with three new young wives keeping your bed warm at home? I'd hurry home to that, too. I know I did for Dove when I was a lot younger. Hell! I still do! Besides, we're over halfway now. Let's keep going. The sooner we're snuggled up with our honeys, the better!"

And of course, as he always did when he teased me, Grandpa almost fell off his horse as he let loose with that cackling laugh of his. That laugh always made me wonder if I should check him for eggs. And... as usual, I blushed. I'm sure he could see it in the dark.

However, I had diverted his attention from Miller without telling a single lie. Grandpa's own desires and his vivid imagination had been all I needed. To tell the truth, even though it meant a short night, I wasn't all that unhappy to be going home to a warm bed with my sweeties...

It was quite dark with just a sliver of a moon making it slow going back to the ranch. The apparent slowness was made even worse by the warm anticipation of the delights that awaited me.

After what seemed like hours and hours, we finally arrived. It was well past midnight and into the wee smalls. As was to be expected at that ungodly hour, all the houses were totally dark. Grandpa and I dismounted at the barn and tied our horses to the hitch rail. We loosened their cinches and left them. They would be fine until morning. The hands responsible for the stables would be out about daybreak and would tend to them then. Grandpa and I said goodnight to each other, and headed to our respective houses.

I took my boots off on the porch so I would be quiet walking through the house. Getting through what was still a relatively strange house without stumbling and making a racket was a challenge, but I thought I made it. In our room, I undressed as quietly as I could. Thinking I had achieved total stealth, I tried to quietly slip into bed without disturbing any of my girls.

Apparently it didn't work. Little Doe was suddenly noisily awake and her happy squeal woke the other two. Suddenly, I was attacked by three naked women, hugging and kissing me, glad that I was back. All this attention by squirming, delightfully naked females led to a marathon round of lovemaking and cuddling. Sated and exhausted, I finally slipped off to sleep some indeterminate but long time later, basking in the love of my three wonderful nymphs.



Doc Ch. 15



When I got up the next morning just as daylight was starting to lighten the eastern skyline, I was anxious to get started on the two gypsy caravans. However, my ladies quickly let me know that they had other plans for me. 

As I was about to sit down to breakfast, Running Deer said, "We will need meat for the coming winter. You need to hunt so we can stock up. We also need skins and furs for winter. You should also take Standing Bear with you, to show him how to hunt."

"I was planning on working on the wagons today. There's lots to do to get them ready to use on the road, and I don't want to waste any time getting it done." 

Even to me, it sounded like I was whining... I gave myself a mental shake and bucked up. There had to be an efficient way to handle both priorities. In almost the same thought, the obvious answer made me feel stupid.

"Still, hunting for winter is just as important. I think we can do both -- we'll hunt in the morning, which is the best time anyway. Then I can work on the wagons in the afternoon and evening while you ladies do your thing with the carcasses. What do you think?"

The women folk allowed as how that might just work when they realized it would also allow them to attend to their other chores and household duties without rushing them.

With a plan firmly in place, Bear and I quickly finished breakfast then went to find Grandpa to see if he would like to go hunting with us. He was at the main house with the others, just finishing his own breakfast. I considered myself an early riser, but these folks were usually up and doing well ahead of me. 

I said, "Uncle Henry, the girls say we need to stock up on meat for winter. I guess they're not used to the way that the white men eat yet, plus they don't seem to care much for beef; they would rather have Buffalo, venison, or any other wild meat. So... looks like I need to go hunting. Do you want to come along?"

"Sure! Sounds better than hanging around here all day." Grandpa grinned.

"They want me to bring Standing Bear with us, too. They say he needs to learn the ways of the forest and how to hunt. I thought he might be too young, but they were really insistent. Do you think maybe we should take the other boys with us also?"

Grandpa shrugged, then smiled broadly. He explained his thoughts on the matter, which jived nicely with my own. 

"Well, by our standards the boys are a mite young, but by Indian standards, they're well past the age where they would begin learning their hunting skills. All of them would already have been taught some of the basics by now -- especially the two older ones. By their age, Bear and Brad would already have taken small game, and maybe gone with the older hunters for the bigger animals. So, with that in mind it won't hurt a thing to take them along. 

"They might be a bit young yet to try and shoot large game by themselves, but they can sure watch and learn. I think the two older boys might be able to try a couple of shots, as long as we supervise them."

I could see Grandpa's enthusiasm grow as he warmed to the subject. As I listened, I got into the spirit of it, too. This could be a fun experience, and of course, if we managed it properly, would just add to the bonding that Bear and I already seemed to be enjoying.

"Yeah! That should work! I think I might have just the rifle for them to start with. It's not big enough to be used on large game, but it's perfect for rabbits and prairie chickens. It's the Model 39 Marlin .22 Lever, a very good gun for somebody to learn to shoot with. Matter of fact, I have two of them." 

Grandpa raised an eyebrow when I mentioned the name 'Marlin' and rattled off a bunch of questions: "Is that a gun by John Marlin? I heard about him. I thought he only made revolvers and hideout guns. If it's one of his, then it'll be good because John Marlin makes nothing but the best. I didn't know he made .22's. The only .22 I knew of until now was the Smith and Wesson .22 long. It's only been out for a few years."

"Yep, it's a John Marlin rifle, but it's actually based on his model 1893 from my time. Still it looks enough like a '73 Winchester, unless you look too close, that it should be fine for the boys. I'd forgotten about the Smith and Wesson round. That's good. My rifles are .22 Long Rifle, but will handle a .22 Long just fine, so if we ever run out of my ammunition, we'll still be able to get some. It should be a long time, though, if we're careful, because I have several thousand rounds. One of the stores from my time had a big sale and I bought several bricks." 

The 'big store' was Walmart, but I wasn't going to explain that particular up-time concept to Grandpa. Maybe, I mused in a pipe dream, if we twisted this timeline just right, the depredation of small town shopping and small business by the chain box stores and Sam Walton's in particular, could be avoided. I did explain to Grandpa that a 'brick' was a box of 20 boxes of 50 rounds. He understood right away. 

"Well, that sounds like just the ticket for Standing Bear and Brad as a starter. They sound like fun rifles. I'm gonna have to try one of them varmints out myself. We can take Davy and Jake along too -- they can hold the horses. This should really make for a fun hunt." 

I didn't know if Grandpa's enthusiasm stemmed more from the idea of the hunt, the chance to try out an up-time weapon, being with the boys, or a combination of all. I suspected all, but heavily weighted on the being with the boys. After all, kids were his biggest single joy. 

Now that we had that out of the way, and Grandpa fully on board, I began to plan the details. "So, how do you want to do this? Will we take the wagon or just a couple of pack horses?"

Grandpa replied, "I think it might be faster if we're all mounted and just take a couple pack horses with us. That way we won't have to stick to any roads like we would have to with a wagon because some places around here the trees are awful thick. We might not be able to carry as much but at least we won't need to worry about the wagon making it through the bush."

"You're probably right. We can always make travois like we did before if we get a lot of meat. We also need to let everyone know the general area where we're going. Bear, why don't you run off and gather up the other boys so we can get started?" 

I returned my attention to Grandpa. "I'll ask the women to get us a lunch ready in case we're out past lunch. While they're doing that, we need to set the boys down and explain a bit of firearm safety before we take them into the woods. There is no way I want any of the boys to be hurt. A .22 might be a small round, but it can kill just as easy as a .44."

While we waited for the boys, I told Grandpa about Miller still renting out the cabins. I could see it was really starting to piss him off. Grandpa's face darkened with rage and his voice came out deadly cold.

"That dirty, rotten, greedy son of a bitch! Next time I see him, I'm going to kick his ass!" 

I was glad I had managed to get Grandpa out of town last night before he found out. His anger today was bad enough -- I shuddered to imagine what might have happened if he'd been with me when I confronted Miller last night...

After I managed to get him calmed down a bit, I told him the whole story. "After I left you with the Judge, I dropped the horses off at the stable, then I went over to open one of the cabins so we could use it for the night. When I got there, they were all full, and one of the men told me that Miller had rented all of them out -- five miners per cabin, for three dollars a night each.

"I was mad and got Miller out of bed. Just like you now, I was ready to kick his butt, too. He admitted that he had rented them even after you and I had both clearly told him not to. He also admitted that he had charged $3 per man or $15 per cabin, and that he had rented out all three. That came to $45 a night that he was bringing in for the rental of the cabins. 

"I told him that since we had been gone three days, and that he had probably rented them out each day we were gone that he owed us the rent. He didn't deny that he had rented them all three nights, so I charged him $185 -- $135 rent plus $50 fine for renting them without our permission." 

I laughed, "You should have heard him bitch when I gave him the choice of either paying up or go to jail!"

The word picture I drew of Miller fussing over the money he lost really got Grandpa laughing. For once, that cackling laugh of his was directed at someone else's misadventures and not me.

"It serves that greedy bastard right! There ain't no better way to fix a greedy bastard like that than to take his money! I still think I'll kick his ass next time I see him, though." Grandpa gloated. 

When Bear returned with the other boys in tow, we rounded them all up and took them to my cabin where we sat them down by the gun rack. These boys, including Standing Bear, had grown up with guns as part of their culture. Regardless, although they already knew they weren't toys and you didn't fool with them, weapon safety is a lesson that cannot be driven home too often.

The boys, knowing the importance of the message, listened attentively as I explained the proper way to handle firearms, always stressing safety first. I took each gun out of the rack and demonstrated the proper ways of handling each. Then I concentrated on the Model 39's and had each boy, including young Jake, handle each and show me what they had learned. Jake needed help to actually hold the relatively heavy weapon (for him, that is — he was only four!), but like the man he was to become, he soon proved competent, as did all the others. 

As I walked them through their lesson, I realized I was uttering almost word for word the lessons that my Grandpa Jake had taught me. Then, when I watched the young Jake sit down with a huge grin after his turn showing what he had learned, the strangeness of what I was doing really hit me! Here I was, teaching the boy that became the man that had taught me when I was a boy! I thanked whatever Power it was that had brought me here for the opportunity in my original time to learn these lessons so I could share them with these boys in this time.

Given their background, all the boys learned quickly and soon we were ready to leave. As Grandpa and I had already discussed, we took two pack horses to carry any kills. We packed the lunch my ladies had done up for us, and the six of us mounted up. 

As we settled into the routine of riding, I got to thinking. I don't know why I got onto that particular subject really, but I realized I had been spending money as fast as I could make it. I guess maybe the constant concern of making ends meet and being a good provider for my family was always at the back of my mind. With that in mind, I decided to head us over to where I knew there was a large pocket of gold. 

I thought if we had a small amount of gold, it would supplement my income as a doctor and marshal, and we could use it to trade for some of supplies that we would need. However, first I needed to make sure that it was where I thought it was. So far in this time, I hadn't found any physical differences, but I still wanted to be sure I could find it. 

There were problems concerning any gold we might take from the ranch. Not the least of which, I knew how Grandpa felt about gold miners. I thought that to him, for us to mine gold would seem like a betrayal of his principles. However, I knew of a possible solution that might help him see things from a different perspective, which would allow him to change his mind. 

I just needed to make him understand that the gold actually belonged to the Indians. Any gold recovered from land leased from them -- meaning our ranch -- could and should be used for their benefit. The upheaval of moving their camp to the ranch meant less gathering and Crazy Horse's expedition to lead the army away meant less hunting. 

Therefore, the people were going to need to actually trade for, i.e. buy, more supplies from the white man than they normally would, just to help get them through the winter. The People didn't have any money, and normally eschewed it, but they would need it or its equivalent, just to survive. Enter the gold that we could mine right here on the ranch... 

But, the sudden appearance of quantities of gold in the local market was a problem all by itself. We did not need or want another gold stampede in the Black Hills area, and especially around our ranch. Thus, any gold I used for trade must just be in small quantities that I would explain as having been taken in as fees from my doctoring of the miners. We certainly did NOT want people to even begin to think I might have made a new strike locally. 

Noticing that I was lost in my thoughts, Grandpa asked, "What are you thinking so hard about Clay? You're sure not acting like it's hunting. Your mind seems to be about 5 miles away."

I looked over to the boys to see if they were paying much attention to us. Seeing that they weren't, I explained, "I was just thinking about how expensive everything was around here because of the gold rush. And the People probably won't have enough supplies for the winter between moving and the hunters being away with Crazy Horse. Enough supplies to see them through the winter will cost a lot of money. They sure don't have it, so it's up to us; but that's going to be more than what we have right now. 

"It's been bothering me in the back of my mind for awhile now, but as we've been riding, I really started to ponder on it. I was almost to the point where I thought it was hopeless when I remembered that pocket of gold I told you about when I first arrived."

Grandpa sat upright and gave me a sharp look. He was about to say something, but I waved him off before he could get started. 

"Now, before you start in, I do know how you feel about gold miners. But... regardless of that, we need to do something, otherwise many of our people will starve well before winter is done. So, I thought if we used that pocket of gold, we would have enough money to buy the extra supplies we will need." 

Grandpa was quick to voice his fear of what using that gold would produce. "Yes, we could buy some supplies, but as soon as them idiots heard we had gold, they would just start another damn fool gold rush. Only this time, they would be on our land, making another damn mess, just like they do everywhere else they look for gold!"

"Not if we just spend a small amount at a time. Then we could claim that the gold was just payment for my doctor services." I explained.

"That might work if we didn't try to spend too much at once, but what happens when we have to make large purchases for the whole tribe? As soon as we pay with that much gold, no one will believe it was for simple doctoring, and the rush will be on again!" He spat as he found the major weakness in my argument to use the gold for the good of the People.

"That, I'm not sure of." I admitted, but even as I did, another idea occurred to me. 

If it worked, it would help solve several issues: It would draw the gold hunters away after a red herring. It would allow the Indians themselves to develop and appreciate a legitimate use for the white eyes' money within the 'all-for-one' structure of their culture. And with that, it would establish the Indians as people who understood the value of money in the greater society, thus legitimizing in the minds of their white adversaries their business dealings as 'landlords' of the Paha Sapa -- after all, money 'talks'.

"Here's an idea, Uncle Henry! If it worked, it would drive the miners nuts! Suppose we could get Red Cloud to waltz right into the assay office with a good sized poke of that gold... And ... just also suppose he claimed that some of his braves found the gold some place else other than around here... Wouldn't that let us have enough gold to do what we need, and also get the miners out of our hair by starting a gold rush someplace else -- preferably someplace that no one, white or Indian, has any other use for? Maybe he should claim that he found it in the Badlands?"

"Now that is an idea! Them poor dumb sons o' bitches could be wandering around there for months and if they ever did find their way back to these parts, they'd like as not be halfway starved to death. All the ones who haven't found anything here and that's most of 'em, would go running off there if they heard gold had been found in the Badlands." Grandpa's cackling laugh as he contemplated it was purely evil.

"Well, whatever might happen, at least they'd be out of our hair for a while and not causing any trouble around here. I don't normally wish ill upon anybody, but if they were to fall upon some very hard times out there, it might serve some of those idiots right. And... who knows? Maybe there really is gold out there, and some lucky S.O.B. will find it. 

"If THAT happens, then I can almost guarantee the only miners left here will be the ones with working mines now. There never were that many. The only mine that survived into my time that I know of was the Homestake, over at Lead. We're just looking to hurry that along!" I laughed as I contemplated the sweet irony of the Indians deliberately starting a gold rush as the ultimate weapon in their war against white expansionism and greed.

Grandpa's grin threatened to wrap right around his head as he declared. "I love it! Let's do it! Show me where that pocket is Two Lives!"

Grandpa's use of my Sioux name was not lost on me. My plan to help the people and tame the local gold rush put me firmly in the Indian camp, and for the first time I could remember, I was truly proud of my Indian heritage and could put aside the memories of the teasing and bigotry I had experienced growing up.

"Yessir! Follow me!" I picked the pace up to a canter and led my party toward the pocket of gold. It wasn't really very far. In my time there were indications that it had been worked a bit, but never seriously. The physical evidence also suggested it had been long after the gold rush of this period.

When we got to the general area where I remembered the pocket of gold being, we had to look around for it because everything was different from when I found it. Like I had suspected when I first found it, there was no sign that it had been found and worked. At this time, it was just a pocket of gold waiting to be discovered. 

I remembered it being in a dry wash. In my time, a flood had washed away a tree, exposing the pocket. Someone had found it and worked it a little, then abandoned it. I figured at this time, that tree was still standing and if I could remember accurately where it was, we would find the gold. 

I explained what I was looking for, and then we all looked around at the trees that were close to the edge of the dry wash. Finally after about 15 minutes of searching, we found a tree that looked familiar to me. It was already leaning, and would succumb to the next flood. The trees on either side were smaller than I remembered, but I was sure I recognized their general shapes. 

We confirmed we had found the pocket when we scratched at the dirt below the base of the tree and found some shiny nuggets embedded in the side of the wash. We had started out on a hunting trip, so we didn't have any shovels with us, but we soon found a couple strong branches that served as crude mattocks. It was hard digging, but after about an hour we had found enough high grade nuggets to fill our saddlebags.

"Damn that was a lot of work! However, it looks like we got enough to get everybody through the winter with extra for spare." Grandpa declared in satisfaction.

"Yep! There's enough there to back up Red Cloud's claim that they found it in the Bad Lands. And, we can always come back if we need more. I hope he goes along with it."




Doc Ch. 15



Grandpa cackled again, "Oh, I can almost guarantee he will! Like me, he'll think it is just the perfect joke to play on the White Eyes! He might not claim he found it in the Bad Lands, but you can be damn sure he'll say they found it in some place that he considers totally useless and at the same time make the miners work their butts off getting there. Hee! Hee! I love it! I pure-dee love it!" 

I could see that the boys were pretty excited over finding all that gold. I mentioned it to Grandpa, and we acted quickly to prevent the boys from telling about the gold in their enthusiasm. 

"Listen up, boys. You all can't tell anybody about this, understand? If the news gets out that we found gold on our land, it will soon be overrun with miners, cutthroats, and thieves. They would take over our ranch no matter how much we tried to stop them. You don't want the bad men like we saw in town out here trying to hurt your mothers, do you? We must keep the gold a secret so the bad guys don't come here and hurt us or the ones we love. We will only use it to buy supplies for our Indian family and friends."

Four frightened lads looked at us with big eyes when we described what would happen if they told. They all shook their heads no when I asked them if they wanted the bad men to hurt their mothers. They all remembered what happened in town just a few days ago. They all, even four-year-old Jake, seemed to understand the importance of secrecy and what would happen if word got out. They gave their word of honor that it would remain a secret, even from the rest of the family. 

Standing Bear spoke for all of them, and my heart fairly burst with pride at his words. "The sons of Hawk and Two Lives and our cousins give our word as warriors we will never tell of this thing."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and closed the subject. I diverted talk to our original purpose.

"Good! That's settled! Now! We need to do a little hunting. That's what we came out here for in the first place! Uncle Henry, what do you suggest we go for?" 

"Well, around here there's quite a selection. There's quite a few white tail deer. I've also run across a few elk. And occasionally there's a bear or two. However, since we have the boys with us, I don't think we should go for bear. It's too hard to hunt them without bait or hounds and someone may get hurt."

Grandpa winked at me to indicate he was never serious about hunting bears today. I had already figured he had been shining the boys on to give them something to talk about their first day out.

He finished his spiel with, "I'd say let's see if we can bag a couple deer or maybe an elk. It shouldn't take us too long. On the other side of that hill yonder is a pasture that the last time I was here was just full of rabbits. We can let the boys have a little fun while they get some practice with the rifles."

"That sounds good to me, Uncle Hank. Let's leave the boys here with the horses while we check just over that rise to see if we can spot a deer or two. When I was a young lad just starting to hunt, that was always a good spot for deer."

I turned to the boys and instructed them, "If you hear us shoot, then three shots close together, that means that we need you. That's when you need to bring the horses to us." 

We left the boys holding the horses while Grandpa and I moved cautiously toward the little rise I had indicated. We hadn't gone 200 yards when Grandpa got my attention. He had spotted two young bucks with eight young does. 

We snuck up as close as we dared, then we quietly laid down. Each of us selected one of the two larger does and took aim. We selected the does for harvesting because of the large local doe population and it was late in the season so we wouldn't be orphaning any fawns. When we were both ready, Grandpa nodded his head. We fired almost simultaneously, dropping both deer. 

We were still close enough to the boys that we didn't need to fire the three shots for help. I just turned around and yelled. Soon the boys were there with the horses. Then it was lesson time again. This time it was how to dress out wild game to keep from spoiling the meat. When that was done, the carcasses had to be loaded on the pack horses. 

We could tell that the boys really weren't having a whole lot of fun. For young boys, holding the horses while the elders did the actual hunting, and then the grunt work of field dressing and loading the carcasses was more work than fun. They may be necessary skills to learn, but young people also need something engaging to hold their interest.

It was the boys' turn now. After all, the purpose for hunting today was not only to teach them the required skills, but to give them an opportunity to practice those skills. We headed over the next hill to that pasture Grandpa had mentioned so the boys could try their luck at shooting a few rabbits. When we got there it was plain that Grandpa was right -- the rabbits were just as thick as he claimed. 

By this time, the boys were getting very anxious to try out the rifles. Grandpa and I each took one of the older boys and started to teach them how to shoot. We showed them how to aim, let most of the air out of their lungs then hold their breath to steady their aim, and then slowly squeeze the trigger. They both missed on their first shot, but surprisingly Standing Bear shot one in the neck on his second shot and Brad killed one on his third. They were both very excited that they'd made their first kill.

After we retrieved their kills, we showed them how to skin and clean them. They were all ready to try again, but we could see that Davy and Jake were so anxious to try to shoot a rabbit they were practically begging. So I said it was their turn. 

They were both kind of small so Grandpa and I had to help them. The rifles were a little heavy for their small bodies to hold up by themselves. With our help, they both hit a rabbit on their first try. Of course, this got them real excited. They insisted that they were big enough to help clean those rabbits. After all, I had said, "If you shoot it, you clean it."

We stayed there for another couple hours while the boys had a blast seeing who could kill the most rabbits. Grandpa and I kept a close eye on the boys, ensuring they acted safely so they didn't get hurt or shoot each other. 

As the boys were having their fun, I remembered the Baby LeMat pistol still in my medical bag hanging from one of the pack horses. Thinking to have some fun of my own, I fetched the pistol and the ammo that came with it. I thought I would give it a try to see how it worked with all nine rounds of the cylinder plus the center shotgun barrel loaded. 

I aimed at a rabbit about 30 feet away and let go with a shotgun barrel. Needless to say there wasn't much left of that rabbit but some bloody chunks of fur. Talk about a little overkill! I took careful aim at another rabbit about 40 feet away and fired one of the main rounds. I hit it in the head, blowing it clear off. 

It was obvious this was not meant as a hunting weapon. Rather than destroy and waste more meat, I fired the remaining eight rounds into a stump from about 40 feet. I killed the inoffensive stump quite dead all eight times... I was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy of the weapon.

Seeing as it was starting to get late, we decided to head back to the ranch. Unfortunately for my plans, the day was pretty well shot. I might not have got started on the wagons like I planned, but we had still accomplished a lot. 

We had mined enough gold to easily keep Red Cloud's camp well supplied for the winter and also divert the gold rush from here to some other less useful location. The boys had learned the basics of hunting and shooting and how to properly care for their kills. And Grandpa and I had spent some quality time with those boys doing that thing that was the butt of many pc jokes in my own time -- male bonding. 

It was almost supper time by the time we got back. We had just enough time to hang the two deer and the boys' rabbits in one of the sheds, and get washed up before dinner was ready. After dinner, we sat around and talked about our day. 

Most of the talk was Standing Bear describing to his mother how he was becoming a hunter. He bragged to her how he killed a large rabbit the second time he ever shot a rifle and assured her he was becoming a better shot all the time. I was delighted to finally see this shy young boy finally talking animatedly.

After a couple hours, everybody was starting to yawn and stretch. It had been a long hard day for all of us. It was time for bed. Nobody was in the mood for much lovemaking. All my ladies just seemed to want to cuddle up to me and fall asleep using me for a pillow. How could I find fault with that arrangement? I felt like a sultan of araby as I drifted off to dreamless sleep with my honeys all cuddled warmly about me.



Doc Ch. 16



The next morning we had breakfast with Grandpa. Just as we were almost finished, I asked him, "So what are the plans for today? I was figuring on working on the two new wagons to get them ready to use for my next rounds of all the nearby towns. Staying in hotels and eating in restaurants is getting too expensive."

Grandpa became grim as he spoke, "I thought I would work with you most of this morning. Then this afternoon I'm going to ride into Hill City for a little talk with Miller -- he'll think twice about renting out our cabins after I'm finished with him. He maybe didn't understand last time, but it will be crystal clear to him after today, that when I say 'no', it means 'HELL, NO!'!" 

I had been thinking on my own actions, and reaching into my pocket, I drew out the cash I had collected from Miller. I handed it to a surprised Grandpa.

"Uncle Henry, I want you to give Judge Mitchell this money that I got from Miller. I think it would be best used if it was put into a fund for civic projects. If I kept it I would feel corrupt and there's enough of that going around already. I know Miller deserved what he got, but somehow, knowing the underhanded way he made the money makes me feel just as underhanded taking and keeping it." 

Grandpa accepted the money hesitantly and asked, "I suppose we could do that. Are you sure you don't want to keep part of it at least, seeing as it was our cabins he was renting?"

Even just handing the money to Grandpa had made me feel 'cleaner'. I declared, "I'm sure! With the gold we found yesterday, and our normal sources of income, between us we don't need this money. However, I am sure that there are, and will always be, things the town needs extra money for. This can be used to set up a fund to help the people of the town -- like when someone gets hurt or sick and unable to work. These funds could help get them by until they're on their feet again."

Grandpa looked thoughtful, then smiled as he warmed to the idea. His enthusiasm grew as he expanded on the idea. It was always a treat to see Grandpa do that -- I, or someone else, would start with an idea or notion, then Grandpa would flesh it out into something even bigger and more worthwhile. 

He did it with my original idea to change this timeline. He did it with my idea on how the Sioux could capitalize on being landlords. He did it with my idea of the gold, and now he was doing it with my idea of a -- for lack of a better term -- 'Community Chest'.

"I think you're right. I may just add a little of my own to go with it, and I'm sure once word gets around, everyone else will, too." 

Grandpa actually rubbed his hands together in glee as he contemplated being able to help his fellow citizens. "The more I think about it, Clay, the better I like your idea! We've always helped our neighbors in time of trouble, but this lets the whole community get involved, and will keep us prepared to deal with people's emergencies without the delay of waiting while we pass the hat. We can help our friends without straining anyone's pocket, especially if it's at a time when the whole community is stressed. We'll be able help more than one family or person at a time, too! People can and will still help the old way, like they always have, but this will give us a head start."

Like I said, give Grandpa an idea or an outline, and he'd run with it. He'd give it form and substance as he made it bigger, better, smoother. Then he'd turn to the person with the original vague notion, and give them all the credit for a complete concept that he did all the actual brain and often the leg work for! I might have brought my 21st Century idealism and my romantic notions of what I'd like to see here in the 19th Century back with me, but he -- Great Grandpa Henry Thomas -- he made them real and, more importantly, workable!

Grandpa and I talked a bit more about what we would be doing that day. The conversation gradually wound down into plain ol' small talk as we finished our breakfast and morning coffees. When we were done, we headed out to the new wagons with my notes and sketches from the other day to decide what part of the job to get started on first. 

All the boys were already outside waiting for us. They wanted to help. We didn't want to hurt their feelings or wreck their genuine enthusiasm to help, but at this point, we didn't need four rambunctious youngsters under foot, either. We solved that dilemma temporarily by telling them that the best way for them to help right now was for them to do their chores. We would work out more for them to do when they were done that. 

They were a little disappointed at first, but with the assurance that we would have lots for them to do later, they ran off to get started on their regular morning chores. As the boys ran off to do our bidding, Grandpa and I entered the shed where we had hidden my truck. It was time to decide which parts we could use to make the new wagons better. 

I told Grandpa about my ideas of possibly using the windows and skylights, tarred around the edges to seal them. Then I showed him some of the other features, in particular the electric lights. I told him I would like to be able to use them in the vans, especially the medical one because of the better quality light. He grasped that concept immediately, and was especially impressed with the brightness of the headlights. Grandpa instinctively understood the importance of good lighting and visibility for a doctor, especially when treating injuries. 

When he asked how they worked, I explained how they ran off the two batteries. However, I also explained there was a major problem in that the batteries would eventually go dead because we had no way to recharge them. 

"How do you charge them now?" Grandpa enquired.

I raised the hood of the truck and showed him the alternator. Then I explained how it worked with show-and-tell. 

"When the engine's running, it spins the alternator -- this machine right here -- through these belts. They connect this pulley here on the alternator to the big one down there on the crankshaft. Turning that alternator produces the electricity that charges the batteries." 

Grandpa seemed to think for a minute then he did it again -- took my half-baked idea and turned it into something real. "Why can't we use the windmill crank to turn a large pulley wheel to spin that alternator to recharge the batteries? That wouldn't be too hard, I don't think. These batteries need to charge all the time or just when they're getting low?"

I was beginning to wonder what was wrong with me -- I was a fair hand as a jackleg mechanic, but it seemed I couldn't quite think out of the box like Grandpa. Hell, I'd always done my own vehicle repairs, and could rewire a vehicle quite handily, but for some reason, I hadn't made the intuitive leap he just did to utilize the alternator any other way than where it sat. Now, with his latest stunner still rattling around in my head I remembered all the home-grown wind generators I had read about that did just exactly what he was describing. 

Why couldn't I think of it? After all, I thought of electric lights using the batteries -- why then couldn't I follow the next logical step to power the alternator using sources of mechanical energy available to me now? I gave myself a mental kick and decided that with everything else going on, I probably just had too much on my mind to think of everything. Glad that at least someone had made the connection, I replied to Grandpa's query enthusiastically.

"That's a great idea, Uncle Henry! No, the batteries don't have to charge all the time. Normally, when the engine is running, there's a little gizmo called a 'regulator' that keeps them charged just right without letting them overcharge and wear out. Properly maintained batteries should last for many years.

"Without any load on them, the batteries will hold a charge for quite some time. A little of their charge leaks out over time and they have to be recharged, but in normal use, they should last almost indefinitely except they will run down the more they're used. 

"We can mount one battery in each wagon with a couple lights and a switch to turn them on an off. By putting a battery in each wagon we will have light to use quickly if we need it. We'll still use the kerosene lamps normally, but the electric lights will be handy if we need light quickly or for just a few minutes where lighting the oil lamp would be just too much bother. 

"The electric lights will be really useful when we need extra light for a patient. We'll have to be careful, though, because those headlights use a lot more electricity and will run their battery down much sooner. Mind you, in an emergency, we can always switch batteries if one gets down."

Grandpa indicated he understood. Now he just needed me to point him in the direction I wanted to go right now.

"OK! So where do we start?"

"Let's start by taking the cabinets out of the camper. Then we'll remove the windows from both the truck and camper. Before we do though, let's remove the camper from the back of the truck. That will make them both a lot easier to work on." I decided.

"That big thing looks too heavy for us to lift. How are we going to get it off the back of your truck without busting it and us?" Grandpa wanted to know.

"First, we undo these turnbuckles... yeah, like that. Then we swing down these leveling jacks and crank them up so the camper lifts off the truck... like so... Then all we have to do is pull the truck out from under it. When the truck is clear, we just crank the jacks down and lower the camper onto some blocks. Simple!" I explained with more show-and-tell.

Grandpa was his usual quick study, and soon we had the truck out from under the camper. Just as we finished setting the camper on blocks, Don and Ed showed up to see what we were doing. They wanted to know if they could help. When they saw the truck they stopped dead in their tracks, their mouths hanging open in surprise. 

Don was the first to recover. "What the hell is that thing and where did you get it?" he gasped in wonder. 

Ed recovered his wits almost as soon as Don. "It looks like some sort of strange wagon! Is it yours, Clay?" he observed. 

I look at Grandpa, he looked back at me and we seemed to reach silent agreement. Then with a straight face, Grandpa wove a tale that was part fiction and part fact. It was a masterpiece of disinformation.

"Yup, Clay brought it from back East. It's one of those newfangled inventions. He was bringing it home when the horses spooked and took off. In the runaway, he lost control and it rolled into a gorge. In the wreck it got halfway smashed to pieces. It's too hard to fix it up so we're going to use parts of it on the new wagons. Go on, check it out."

While Ed and Don looked over the camper and the Power Wagon, Grandpa took me off to the side. While I still had my head up my butt wondering how to cover it, Grandpa had already sized up the situation and come up with a game plan. Man! I wished I was as quick on my feet! Quietly, so as not to draw the men's attention, he explained how we would handle this new development.

"They're family, Son. We can't keep everything a secret from them. You knew sooner or later someone of them was going to stumble across your machine. How well can we hide something that big in a shed that everyone uses? So, we have to let them in on some of it. You know damn well they're going to tell the rest of the family, and don't you for a minute think you wives won't be curious about all the fancy gadgets you want to put in the wagons!

"So, rather than tell the whole truth, we only tell enough of it to just spin it in such a way as to make it believable. We're all the time hearing about the wonders from back East. I sometimes think it's somebody's imagination or right out of a penny dreadful. Whatever, for these boys, to hear you brought all this from back East is plausible, and that's ALL we need to tell them -- just enough to satisfy them. 

"They're both good men -- they are my own sons after all -- so if we ask them to keep it a secret, they will. The women folk, both at the main house, and your own, will find out soon enough on their own, but we don't have to broadcast it either."

Ed and Don had satisfied their curiosity for the moment and came back over to us. Their faces showed their wonderment.

"Clay, these things are amazing! Too bad that they were damaged so badly." Don marveled. 

"Yeah! That's a pretty amazing wagon you have there! Are you sure that the damage can't be fixed?" Ed exclaimed.

Despite my original thoughts of resurrecting the truck and camper as a horse-drawn conveyance, I was glad now I hadn't. I didn't need to draw any more attention than I already had. From my uncles' reaction, I realized I had dodged that bullet and lucked out when Charlie sold me those gypsy caravans. Thus, it was in my own best interests to make sure Ed and Don believed they were wrecked beyond repair.

"Naw, I'm sure it's too badly damaged to use. However, I do think many of the things on the camper and the power wagon could be used on the new wagons to make them much better for use. 

"First thing we need to do is to remove the cabinets, counters, tables and benches from here." 

I showed them the camper interior, pointing out the items I named. 

"I want to use most of this stuff in the living-quarters wagon. With them, it will be a lot easier to live comfortably in the wagon and cook our own meals. Right now we have to live in hotels when they are available and eat in restaurants. That's becoming a major expense, especially with the gold rush causing prices to go up. I'm hoping that the wagons will help us remedy that." I explained.

"You're right about things being expensive! Ever since Custer discovered gold, all the prices around here have tripled several times over. Now you pay at least a dollar for a meal you could've got for a nickel before!" Grandpa opined.

Ed and Don nodded their agreement.

"That's what I thought! I can't remember what it cost for a meal before I left for school, but I was sure it was helluva lot cheaper than now! Anyway, not only will it be cheaper to do it like this, it should make it a lot more convenient, too. We'll have everything set up just the way we want it, ready to use, all the time. 

"We can stock the doctor's wagon with supplies and have it on hand, no matter what towns we come to. That way I won't have to worry about supplies being more available in one town than another. I'll even be able to treat people out on the road or go to them, when they can't come to me. And, like I said, we can set up the other wagon to be comfortable enough to be a home away from home. However, it's going to take a lot of work to get things done just the way we want them." 

As I told them what I wanted to do, I could see that Ed and Don liked what they were hearing. 

"Sounds like a helluva plan to me! So where do you want us to start?" Don asked, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.

I went over to my toolbox and got out my tools. As I assigned them their tasks, I showed each of them what I wanted. 

"Don, can you start removing the windows? I don't think it'll be all that hard -- just be gentle and try not to break them. Ed, will you start removing the interior cabinets and counters, please? While you fellers are busy at those jobs, Uncle Henry and I will start on the power wagon, unbolting the parts we need from it."

Both men were glad to help and like everyone else in the family, were quick studies. Once I got them equipped with tools and started on their individual tasks, Grandpa and I started on the truck. I explained to him that I wanted to take the back window and the four side windows. 

I wanted to try mounting them on the roofs of the wagons to let sunlight in during the daylight hours. Normally we would have had to use the kerosene lamps in both wagons even during the day and in the medical van, use the electric lights for examining patients. 

With good light from above, we would only have to rig up the headlights in the medical wagon for emergencies or in low light. This would allow us to save the demand on our batteries whenever possible. As there was only the pair of them, we had to ensure they lasted as long as possible between chargings. 

We all worked at our various jobs for several hours until around lunchtime, when the women showed up bearing food. Naturally, when we took a break to eat, we had to show them around and explain what we were doing. 

I was expecting my wives to ask embarrassing questions about the truck and camper, but they didn't, even though they were obviously awed by the almost magical equipment I showed them. They just seemed to take it all in stride -- almost as if they expected no less from me. It seemed all it really did was get them planning among themselves how they wanted everything to be in the wagon we would use as our living quarters. 

In the camper I showed them how the main bed was built. I also showed them how the table would lay across the benches of the booth and how the cushions would then be laid on it to form another bed. They thought this was great, and started to tell me about a few of their ideas.

"Ok, My Loves, you have some wonderful ideas, and we'll try to use as many of them as we can as we go along. However, first we need to finish dismantling the power wagon and the camper. When we get everything we want out of them, then we'll start working on the wagons. That's when I'll want to hear your ideas. Now, let us get back to work. The sooner we're done here, the sooner we'll get at the wagons."

After we ate, the girls left us to our labors and Grandpa headed into town to confront Miller and set up the community fund with Judge Mitchell. Ed, Don and I, and the boys finished out the day stripping everything useful from the truck and camper.

The next day, Grandpa and I hunted in the morning with the boys. I hadn't seen Grandpa since he went to town yesterday. He didn't tell me how his meetings had gone, but he did look mighty pleased with himself. Ed and Don looked after the ranch chores the boys would normally have done so they could go hunting with Grandpa and me. Then in the afternoon we all worked on the wagons while the women tended to the meat and tanned the hides. When the ladies needed a break, they would come check on us and give us the benefit of their wisdom.

And, that's the way it went for the rest of the week -- hunt in the morning and work on the wagons in the afternoon and evening, just like we had originally planned. By Friday, I was pretty happy with the results of our joint efforts. The wagons were done, we had built up our larder, and the boys were becoming proficient hunters and decent marksmen. And I was content that Standing Bear and I had completed our bonding -- he was my son now.

We had extended the front decks of both wagons three feet and installed the seats from the power wagon. We had to be careful when we built them not to extend too far or we would interfere with the team when they were hitched to the wagon. Our intent was to use the extension as a porch on the living wagon and a waiting room on the medical wagon. We also extended the existing roof overhang with a small canvas awning for shade and rain protection. 

In the medical van, the rear side and the back windows made excellent skylights, just as I had hoped. We also used two of the four skylight/vents rescued from the camper to let in more light and improve the ventilation, although with the top half of both Dutch doors open, the air flow was already excellent. We rigged the cot we bought in Deadwood as an examining/operating table, with the headlights from the truck suspended over it. I also mounted the dome and cargo lights above each door to provide auxiliary or emergency lighting. 




Doc Ch. 16



In the living wagon, we mounted the kitchen counter with the water tank under it and plumbed it so that the sink would drain into a bucket underneath the wagon. The built-in stove, oven, and icebox looked and worked just like they had in the camper they came out of. We also were able to install the camper table that converted to a bed, although slightly modified to make the table bigger so we could seat our whole family for a meal. This was Bear's bed, and he was very pleased with it. 

I also installed all the interior lighting from the camper in the living wagon. Fortunately I was able to salvage the entire wiring harness that went with it, which included area switches. I had to extend the length of a few wires because the wagon was longer than the camper, but I always kept a couple rolls of automotive wire and some electrical tape in my toolbox, so it was no hardship. 

I used the two remaining side windows and skylight/vents in the living wagon to improve daylight lighting and ventilation. Like in the med van, with the top halves of the two Dutch doors open, there was plenty of air movement. 

We installed all the corner jacks from the camper onto the living wagon. When the horses were unhitched, it became very easy to level, making choosing a campsite less critical. It was also very stable when we were inside, moving around. The benefit of this added stability became particularly apparent when we were in bed. 

I had followed my original plan and built a full king-size bed across the back end. The ladies even sewed the foam mattresses into a single large cover so it resembled but was more comfortable than a conventional feather tick. Being able to sleep with my ladies without the wagon being rocked into rolling away was a major relief... 

We replaced all the side windows in both vans with the side windows from the camper. Oddly enough, they were almost the same size, so it was a very easy conversion. The camper windows were a major improvement over the originals for a couple reasons -- they were lexan and therefore almost unbreakable (valuable because of rough roads) and their louver design allowed them to be cranked open. With the addition of the vents and the skylights on the roof, both wagons became very bright and airy.

In addition to the windows in both vans, we also improved the area around the original wood stoves. We cut large sections of sheet aluminum out of the camper walls which we mounted behind each stove. Each shield reached from the top of the brick firewall already in place to the roof. Each was fastened to the wall using large nuts as standoffs so air could move behind the metal shields. It was a simple and effective safety measure that also incidentally brightened the interiors because of their high gloss white baked finish.

To put the ribbon on our project, the ladies took paint brush in hand and painted both in the colors I had bought in Deadwood. Rose even contributed, revealing an artistic side, when she hand lettered the med van with my name.

That Friday afternoon as I gazed upon the finished product, I was filled with a sense of accomplishment and was proud of my family for their contributions to the project. The side of the medical van proudly displayed this lovely hand lettered logo:

Clay Thomas, esq.

Visiting Physician &

Deputy U.S. Marshal

No Appointment Required

I thought we were about as ready to hit the road as we would ever be. My camper was now pretty well stripped, just a bare skeleton, with nothing more to contribute to the project. I had moved my gun safe to the doctor's wagon so we could secure the medicine and any money that we would need while on the road. 

Grandpa and I had secretly divided a small portion of the gold we found into small amounts so we wouldn't raise people's curiosity as to where it came from when I used it as cash. It went into the safe too, in a small compartment we built especially for the purpose. Grandpa still held the rest of the gold, the larger share. Red Cloud would take it into the assay office like we planned and claim he and his braves found it over in the Badlands. Hopefully when that story broke, it would draw the bulk of the gold seekers away on another mad rush for riches.

I spent the rest of the day teaching my wives more about driving the wagons and getting things ready to go to town the next day. By dark everyone was ready for a good rest. We knew that we would be leaving early so planned on an equally early night. 

The plan was for Grandpa and the rest of the family to ride into Hill City with us, but they would be returning to the ranch like always. My family and I would start making a circuit of all the towns and camps around the area. We would be gone for most of the next week. I had left my planned schedule with Grandpa and Red Cloud. In case anything happened that they needed me for, they would know where to find me and would be able to send a messenger to get me.

After dinner that night we all went straight to bed. My ladies and I were just too tired for any lovemaking and settled for just cuddling together. An excellent day drew to a similar close as I snuggled with my sweeties and we all drifted into a well-deserved sleep.



Doc Ch. 17



Waking the next morning, I was feeling lazy. I didn't really feel like getting out of bed, but my ladies were having none of that! They were telling me to get up, that I had a lot to do before we left for town, and get up now breakfast was ready.

After breakfast, I went to find Grandpa. He had just finished his own breakfast, so we went out to the wagons, making sure everything was ready. We were hitching the mules to both new wagons, and saddling up the horses. We were taking Grandpa, hitched up his farm wagon, to carry back the ranch supplies, also. 

We were ready to go. This time, the whole family was going to town. We started going over my schedule for the next couple weeks. It was decided that we would spend two days in Hill City, then three days in Deadwood, being as it was now a bigger town due to the Gold Rush. Then we would spend a day or two each, in Lead and Spearfish. Finally, there would be a day in Silver City, then back to the ranch. That should get us back in about ten days, if there were no problems.

After double-checking everything, we set off to Hill City. An hour later, Grandpa was driving his farm wagon. I was driving the doctors' wagon, and trailing a pair of saddle horses. Dawn and the twins were in the living quarters' wagon, and trailing an extra team of mules. We seem to be making great time. The mules were stronger than the horses, and had no trouble pulling the wagons up and down the hills heading for town. We arrived about an hour after we left the ranch.

We parked the wagons beside the cabins behind the general store, and took the livestock to the stable. Upon entering the general store, Miller saw us and just glared, I decided to try mending a few fences walking up to him. 

He said, "What do you want, now? You already robbed me for the money from the cabins, plus a $50 fine! Now you walk in here as if nothing had happened?"

"Come off it, Miller. You knew those cabins were not supposed to be rented out anymore, but you just got greedy and did it anyway. As far as the fine... if you check with Judge Mitchell, you'll find that I gave all the money to him to be used to help the community. We came in here to give you quite a lot of business, if you're interested. Otherwise I could just take my business to store up in Deadwood. I am sure the extra business would be greatly appreciated, there,." I told him.

"What kind of supplies will you need? Miller asked.

"Uncle Henry will be in here, in a few minutes. He needs supplies for the ranch. I brought two wagons in. I need to set one up as a living quarter's wagon. I'll need blankets, lamps, kerosene, and etcetera. My wives will need other things, such as: cooking supplies, extra clothing, and food staples. 

"The other wagon is being set up as an office. For it, I will need most of the patent medicines that you have. I'll also need all the bandages, willow bark tea, and laudanum that you have on hand., I'll need you to order other medical supplies, too," I said.

"Are you out of any medicines? I've got quite a bit more in the back," Miller said. 

I did see the look of greed on his face, as he thought he was going to be able to recoup some of the money that he had lost. 

"From the looks of what I saw last time I was here, I'll take a lot of what you've got. But, some of it is just junk; and some of it is downright, out and out, dangerous! Like those packets of heroin. I know that during the war heroin was supposed to be the wunderkind painkiller, but it is so badly addictive! It's out and out dangerous to use. I thought that laudanum was dangerous, but heroin is a hundred times as dangerous. However, I will buy what you have, just to keep it from harming others. Then I will destroy it," I told Miller.

"What about the other stuff I have? The stuff you said is no good, but is not dangerous?" Miller said.

"Keep it, some them. Maybe some idiot will buy it. When it doesn't work as advertised, or if they start having problems, have them get in touch with me immediately. Mostly the stuff is just alcohol and is potentially harmless. I'll look through everything you have, and make sure that none of it is harmful. If it is harmful, it will have to be destroyed," I said.

"But what about all the money I will be losing? Are you going to pay for that stuff too?" Miller asked.

"Don't push it, Miller! You're already going to be making a big profit on the stuff you're selling me, now. I'm paying for the heroin, just to make sure that no one uses it. The other stuff is your responsibility. If someone is poisoned and dies, because you sold them bad medicine,. what do you think would happen to you? Now you need to get out your catalogs where you order this stuff, so we can go through it, and place a large order," I said.

About this time, I heard a large commotion going on outside, in the street. Jake came running in saying that his dad sent him to git me, fast!

Running out into the street I saw the same miner that I had trouble with last time with Dawn, assaulting a young Chinese girl. I ran over to him spinning him away from her and knocking him to the ground. 

"Just what the hell is going on out here?" I yelled.

"This is not your business, Doc! I bought this girl. She's mine, and I can do what I want with her. I told her to do something, and she just sat and stared at me! So now I'm teaching her lesson!" the miner yelled.

"What do you think the war that we just fought was all about? You can't buy or sell people, any more!

Slavery is illegal! I ought to just lock you up, and be done with it! You're becoming quite a pain in the ass, lately. Now, who did you buy her from, and how much did you pay? I see you're some sort of 'big man' that can beat up on little girl. What is she, fifteen? How about I hit you, and see how well you like it? Did you even check to see if she spoke English?" I asked.

"I paid her uncle twenty dollars for her. He told me that she spoke English, some, and that she was nineteen years old. Look, Marshal, I paid good money for her. She isn't a white woman. She's just a Chinese whore, not any kinda decent woman. Her uncle told me that Chinese women were of no value, and were bought and sold all the time," he whined.

I then handed him a double eagle and said,. "Here's your money back. Where can I find this uncle, that thinks so little of his family, that he's willing to sell it to the likes of you? I need to have a little talk with him. AND, if I have any more problems with you, you are going to be taking a walk down to the jail! Then you're going to be having a talk with Judge Mitchell," I said.

"He runs the laundry in the Chinese section, back behind the oasis saloon. He seems to be a big shot with all the Chinks, and pretty much runs things in that part of town. Twenty dollars is not enough, but that's what I paid for her. She's worth a lot more than that!" the miner exclaimed.

"Are you really that stupid? You're really starting to piss me off again one more word, and you're going to jail. I gave you back your money, out of my own pocket. I'll get it back from her uncle maybe. You can just take the twenty, and be happy about it, or you and me are going to go round and round! I guarantee you won't be happy with the outcome. What are you doing always hanging around town, anyway? Don't you have a gold claim to work? I suggest you go out and work at it, and stop making such a nuisance of yourself. If I have any more trouble with you I will make sure that you get at least thirty days for causing a civil disturbance! Now git!" I said. 

He walked away, mumbling to himself. I started over to the Chinese district, to find this 'so called' uncle. Grandpa soon caught up to me, and asked what I was about to do. I told him. 

"I'm going to find her 'uncle', and find out what the hell is going on with these people! I thought slavery ended with the Civil War! But, apparently out here, nobody's ever heard of it."

Grandpa said, "Maybe you need to slow down a little, and talk to the girl, first. That damned idiot miner said that she spoke some English. I don't want you to go off half-cocked. Maybe you should talk to her, and see if she wants to go back to her uncle."

Turning back, I said, "Maybe you're right. Let's go back and speak to the girl. We'll find out what she wants done. If she wants to go back to her uncle, I will take her. If she doesn't,. we'll try and help her any way we can. All I know is you don't go and buy and sell people, any more. A lot of good men lost their lives to wipe out slavery. I'll be damn if I am going to let something like this happen, now."

Returning to where the girl was, I found her gone. Brad saw us, and came over. He said that Running Deer and Little Doe took her back around to the cabins, to check her over and make sure she was all right.

Going around to the first cabin, I found the young girl with my ladies. Checking her over, I discovered that she was not injured badly. She just had a few bruises and minor abrasions. She would be sore for a while, but no lasting harm was done. 

I then asked for her name, and she said, "Sun Myung Moon." 

I asked about the sale of her, that her uncle made. 

She said, "Selling off the extra women in the family is a common practice in China. Women have no real value. They were just extra mouths to feed. Men are the only ones with any value." 

She said that some female babies were actually thrown out on the trash heaps to die, right after they were born, as some families were too poor to support them."

This was starting to piss me off even more, so I asked, "That's terrible that an uncle would do that to another family member. Is your uncle so poor that he can't afford to feed you or cloth you properly? And do you want to return to him?"

"If I returned to him, he will just sell me again! No, he's not poor, is one of the richest men in the Chinese district. When my parents died, he had to take me in, but he was not very happy about it. He's a greedy and a resentful man. The laundry was my parent's business, but when they died, he took it over as he was the only living male relative," she said.

I had already decided that she was not going back to her uncle, although I was still going to have a few choice words with the man. Leaving her with my wives, I asked Grandpa if he wanted to come along to talk to her uncle. He said he did, so off we went.

It didn't take us very long to find the laundry and pinning on my badge. We went in to confront the uncle. Talking to the lady at the counter we ask about the uncle, and she went into the back to get him. 

Coming out, he looked at us and saw my badge. He started to get a little nervous. I asked him about Sun. He looked at me in a kind of puzzled way. He said, waving his arm to the rest of his family, that they were all part of the family: Sun? 

So I asked about Sun Myung Moon, and why did he sell her? 

He said, "Moon is female child. In China, extra female child is usually sold. Extra money is used to help rest of family. It is no big deal."

"It is a BIG deal, here! We just fought a major war to stop slavery. Selling people is against the law, especially selling a family member! I took Moon away from the miner that bought her and gave him back his money. I then talked to Moon. She said that she did not want to come back to her family, because you would just sell her again. She also told me that this laundry was her family's business. When her parents died, you just took it!"

He said, "Is Chinese custom. Females cannot own property. As the oldest male family member, all property and businesses are owned by the oldest male, as head of the family. I have read your history, and I know that it is done this way in America, too."

"It may be, but we don't sell our family members, especially the females," I said.

"You don't? And what is this, I hear about dowries that long-standing custom here in America not just China," he said.

I could see we were getting nowhere. This old Chinese man was very cagey. 

I told him, "Selling your females is still against the law, and is considered slavery in this country. If I find you doing it again, you will go to jail. Moon said that she did not want to come back, as you would just sell her again. She will be staying with my family for a while, until she finds someplace that she wants to be."

"It's no problem. You bought her from miner. She is yours, now," he said.

I got to thinking that this was not what I needed. Another woman wasn't going to happen, this time. I was going to put my foot down. I would try to help her get back on her feet, but three wives was enough! I did not need a fourth! I looked over at Grandpa. 

I saw him start to grin and said, "Don't even think about it! I've already got three! I don't need another. Maybe I should talk to Dove to see if maybe you need another wife!"

He said, "Oh no you don't! Dove would kill me. Besides I'm too old while you're just a young whippersnapper!" 

He then grinned even broader.

I said, "Oh, no you don't! That dog won't hunt! I've got enough wives, and don't need any more. If you think that she needs to be married so bad, you marry her, or Don marries her... but I have enough wives, now, as it is!" 

"Ed and Don are both married now and I don't think they could handle a second wife. Dove would get too jealous, and I know I can't handle a second wife so that just leaves you," Grandpa said.

"That ain't going to happen! I don't mind helping her out till she's on her feet again, but I'm not going to marry her!" I exclaimed.

"That's fine, if you feel so strongly about it. But she will still need a place to stay, and you're the one with the most extra room. So how about it? Can she stay with you?" Grandpa asked.

"Sure. I have no problems with that. I'm not going to throw her out in the street. I'm just not going to marry her," I said. 

We headed back to the cabin, Grandpa with his big shit-eating grin. As we walked back to the cabin, I started to get this feeling of impending doom.

Getting back to the cabin, I found Moon and said, "I talked to your uncle. He told me that as he had already sold you, that you did not belong with that family any longer. So if you would like, you can stay with my family until you find somewhere you would rather be."

She told me that she would be happy staying with my family and me. She would help out all that she could, to earn her way. I told her that everyone just worked together, and that she was more than welcome to stay as long as she needed to.

I then went into the general store and talked to Miller, to see what all he had in his catalogs, that we might need. 

As soon as I walked into the store, I noticed the little girl with the burned hand, and her mother. They were in the store browsing while Miller was waiting on me. Going up to them, I said hello to the mother. I examined the little girl's burns, after unwrapping her hand. I saw that they were healing quite nicely. 

I explained to her mother that the burns were healing well, and they didn't need to be covered anymore. I told her that she should keep coating the burns with the lotion I gave her, so the skin would stay soft. This would allow the burns to fully heal, and would prevent scarring. 

As I was finishing up, Pete (the man who had received a shoulder wound from the Baxter Brothers) walked into the store. 

Seeing me, he came over and said, "I heard you are back in town and came over to see if you would examine me, and remove the stitches?" 

I checked his wound and saw that the wound had closed quite nicely so I removed the stitches. 

"Your wound looks like it's almost healed, but it's going to be stiff, weak, and tender for a while. You should 'baby' it, for a while. If it starts getting sore or tender, just stop whatever you are doing, and relax for a while. You should be fine. What about the Baxter Brothers that did this to you? I haven't had a chance to talk to the judge, yet. When are they going to have the trial?"

"We already had the trial. They were found guilty and were hung the other day. With all the evidence that you found against them, the jury was out just fifteen minutes before coming in with the guilty verdict," he explained. 

This kind of puzzled me as I wasn't called to testify or anything. I walked over to see Judge Mitchell, and asked about the trial. I asked why I wasn't called to testify.

"There was so much evidence that your testimony was not needed. If we thought that the jury would bring in anything but a guilty verdict, we would've held up the trial until you came to town, or I would have sent someone to fetch you," he explained. 

Things sure went a lot faster in this day and age. In my time, it could be months or even years before the trial could be held, and longer before a conviction could be made and the guilty party executed. Here, they didn't mess around!

I went back to the general store, and found several people waiting on me. I asked Miller if I could borrow his catalogs until the next day, and place my order then. Then I told the people that if they were waiting for me as a doctor, they should come around back to the medical wagon. I would start seeing them. Dawn and Running Deer came over to assist me, while the others got the cabin ready to occupy.

I saw patients for the next few hours. There wasn't anything unusual just the usual cuts, scrapes, and minor ailments. I could not believe how nice this wagon was working as an examining room. My old truck seats were working as a bench for the 'waiting room', which was outdoors. I was just finishing up the last patient when Little Doe sent Standing Bear to tell me supper was ready.

The women had cooked supper in the other wagon, saying how nice and convenient it was to cook with everything so handy. They did say that the stove and oven were a little small. However, they liked the way that after the tank for the store was pressurized, the heat was so much more easily controlled, than cooking on a wood stove. It is normally too hot to cook inside a wagon. But when it was covered with the top half of the doors open, and the windows and vents open, the wagon actually stayed cooler than their normal kitchens. As we were eating, I noticed a large pot on the stove, boiling water. I asked about it. They told me that it was for doing the dishes afterwards. It was just so convenient, that way. They did not have to carry too many dishes at one time.

After dinner we sat around the table, and browsed through Miller's catalogs, seeing what all we wanted him to order for us. He had explained to me that most of the stuff that we would order would be coming through Cheyenne and would take about three to four weeks to arrive after the companies had received orders. It would normally take about three months to get our orders back, once we sent our orders in. If we paid extra and telegraphed the orders in, we should be able to get them within three to four weeks.

I could see the girls were having a lot of fun going through the catalogs and dreaming about what they wanted but were afraid to ask me to buy it for them. I did see something. I decided that I would go ahead and order it for my ladies, along with the rest of the order. 

As I was going through these catalogs, I discovered the Montgomery Ward catalog included the entire plumbing supplies and steel pipes and fittings to build inside toilets. I decided that we would order enough fixtures, pipes, and other supplies to make bathrooms in both grandpa's and our houses at the ranch.

After a few hours of this it was time for bed when I discovered our next problem. With Moon staying with us, and all the cabins full with Grandpa's family, we were a bit short of beds. I didn't think Moon would want sleep with Standing Bear... 

Then I had an idea and said, "Standing Bear, since Moon needs to sleep in your bed. How about doing me a favor? You sleep in the other wagon, to keep an eye on things, and help protect the wagon." 




Doc Ch. 17



I knew that there would probably be no problems, since the other wagon was parked about three feet away from this one. But my question to Standing Bear seemed just the right thing to say, for I could see his chest swell with pride that I would think he was enough of a man to be given this responsibility.

We converted the table and benches into a bed and pulled the curtain separating our bit from the rest of the wagon, so everyone could go to bed. After we went to bed and undressed I found that my wives were very frisky and wanted a lot of lovemaking. 

I swear that those girls did not know how to make love quietly. I was wondering what Moon thought of their loud lovemaking noises. Oh well, if it got too bad for her, she could always go and sleep in the other wagon.

The next morning we got up, and while I converted the booths back from being beds, the women started getting breakfast ready. Little Doe went to wake the rest of the family and Standing Bear to let them know that breakfast would soon be ready.

After breakfast, everybody seemed to go their own way. First we went into the store to have Miller place the order for us. After he totaled up everything, it came to $467.32, including shipping. It would cost us another twelve dollars to have the order telegraphed to his suppliers.

"That's a pretty big order, Clay. Are you sure you don't want to trim it a mite? How are you going to pay that much?" Miller asked.

"That's okay. I've made quite a little bit of gold in the last few weeks, plus I had quite a little bit of savings built up," I handed him six large Pokes of gold for him to weigh and to pay for everything that we had bought and ordered.

I could just see the greed in his eyes, when I laid all the gold on the counter. 

He said, "Let's see... gold is selling for eighteen dollars an ounce..." 

I picked gold back up and said, "Miller you're a greedy bastard, we both know the right now gold is selling for between twenty-two and twenty-five dollars an ounce. Now all you're going to pay us is $18 an ounce you can just forget the order. I'm heading over to Deadwood, next, anyway. Maybe old Johnson, the storekeeper there, would appreciate my business more. I am getting a little tired of you playing these games. We both know that you're making a big enough profit on selling these goods to us so let's quit playing games!"

"No... No... I'll match what they're paying for gold in Deadwood, and take your order," Miller pleaded.

"Okay you can have the order, but if you don't quit playing these games, I will take our business elsewhere.

About this time people started showing up to see the doctor, so it was time to go to work. I spent the rest of the day seeing patients. It was a pretty busy day. I let the people know that I should be coming through town every two to three weeks. This made people happy to know that there would be regular medical service in the area. 

I stayed very busy all day, taking few breaks, and only when things would slack off. Suddenly around five o'clock a rider came through town telling everyone he saw that wild Bill Hickok had been shot and killed in Nuttal & Mann's Saloon Number Ten', while playing poker last night in Deadwood.

I was pretty shocked to hear this news, since I had first met the man only a few days ago, when he showed up at the office I had rented in the Grand Central Hotel. I cornered the man and started asking questions. I remembered a lot from my history books and from what I remembered from visiting the town of Deadwood during my 'ahead time'. 

He told me, "Hickok was playing poker when Jack McCall walked up behind him and shot him in the back of the head from close range. He was holding a pretty good hand to. Two pairs: aces and eights, with the queen kicker."

"What did they do to Jack McCall? I suppose they got them locked up, huh?" I asked.

"Well, they grabbed McCall, and locked him up in a back room. Then they convened a 'miner's court', to give him a trial before they hung him. However, during the trial Jack McCall said that Hickok had killed his brother in Abilene, so they let him go, but told him to get out of town," he explained.

During all this Judge Mitchell came into the store to talk to me, and to ask what I could do about this mess. 

I told him, "I'm going to head to Deadwood, first thing in the morning. I'm getting pretty tired of these miners thinking that they are the law. Jack McCall should have been held for a real trial, and then probably hung for the cowardly way that he shot Hickok from behind. I'm not sure if I can catch him, but if I can, I'll bring him to you for a real trial."

I then turned to the man that brought the message and ask if he had any idea where McCall may be headed?

"I think he said something about headed for Fort Laramie," he said.

This corresponded with what I remembered from history. Jack McCall was going to Fort Laramie and bragging about being the man that killed wild Bill Hickok. After angering the people there he was arrested, retried and hung for the murder of wild Bill Hickok.

I turned to the judge, and said we need to telegraph Fort Laramie. We needed to let them know what had happened, and that Jack McCall was headed their way. That could end up saving me a hundred and fifty mile ride.

I didn't realize it would affect me so hard. I got to thinking. Normally, Hickok sat with his back to the wall, to prevent someone from back shooting him. I was wondering if the news I had given him about his disease, the eventual blindness, and the madness, might have caused him to sit where someone could come up behind him and shoot him in the back? 

I sat there thinking about this for most of the evening. I told my wives that we would be heading for Deadwood, first thing in the morning. 

It was soon time to go to bed with my lovelies. After we went to bed, my ladies knew that something was weighing heavily on my mind. The last thing I felt like doing was making love, and they sensed that. 

They just held me until I drifted off to sleep. 

Edited By TeNderLoin



Doc Ch. 18



Early the next morning we had breakfast with Grandpa, and the rest of the family. Judge Mitchell showed up at the stables as we were hitching the mules to the wagons. 

"Clay, I need to speak to you before you leave. Do you have a minute?" he asked.

Going over to him, I said, "Sure, Judge. We was just getting ready to go. What can I do for you this morning?"

"The telegraph we sent to Fort Laramie hasn't had any results as of yet, so here is a warrant for Jack McCall. I'm also giving you ten blank warrants, to use as needed, to get to the bottom of why he was not brought in for a proper trial," Judge Mitchell said.

"Thanks, Judge. These will help. I'll be back as soon as I can. Please keep me informed by telegraph if you hear anything," I said.

Then he handed me a dozen extra badges and said, "Be careful, Clay, most of these camps do not have any law so you may have to deputize some help but since you are a deputy marshal yourself. You only have the power to temporarily deputize someone. Try to urge the camps to appoint some marshals or constables to try and keep the law, and to try to get them to vote for a sheriff. 

"Since this is a territory and not a state, yet, everything falls under federal jurisdiction. This is just too big of an area for one man to cover. Also, use your own judgment if you see someone that may make another good deputy marshal. Temporarily deputize them, until the regular marshal... or myself... can make it official. Let them know that the pay is sixty dollars a month, and found. If you need to form a posse, the pay for that is two dollars a day, per man." 

After he left, I grabbed my medical bag and was tying it to the back of my horse, after adding extra ammunition. 

I was putting a little food into my saddlebags when Grandpa said, "Looks like you're about to head out. You need me to come with you, to back you up?"

"No. I shouldn't have much trouble. Jack McCall was a coward so if he's still around, I'll bring him back here for trial. There should not be any problems that I would need back-up on. Judge Mitchell was just talking to me and gave me power to deputize any help I would need, locally. You just go ahead and take the family back home, while I ride ahead. I'm not taking the wagons with me. I need to move fast if I'm going to try to catch him before he can leave the area," I said.

I then kissed all my wives goodbye, mounted my horse, and headed for Deadwood. I made it in about two and a half hours, not wanting to push my mount too hard. 

Upon arriving, it seemed like the whole town had turned into a madhouse. People were lining up at the undertaker's, and paying six bits a head to view Hickok's body. They were also lined up to enter the Number Ten saloon, to view the bloodstained table and the chair where Hickok was killed. They were acting as if the circus had come to town. 

The 'straw that broke the camel's back', though, was when I saw the infamous Soapy Smith selling pieces of an Indian's scalp. I knew that if I didn't stop this really quickly, it could start an Indian massacre. 

Going up to him, I grabbed him and said, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Trying to start a massacre? We're trying to stop all the Indian fighting, and you go out and murder an Indian, and try to sell bits of his scalp! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you for murder, right now?"

"Marshal, I didn't kill anyone. A couple of days ago this Mexican comes riding in with a head of the young Buck Indian. He was bragging about how he was attacked, and was getting free drinks in all the saloons. I didn't do anything but scalp an already dead head, and try to sell pieces of it."

"Is everybody around here a fool? Don't they know how the Indians will react to this news? Some other damn fool will go out and try to collect himself a head, and start another damn Indian war? Where is this Mexican now?" I asked.

"He was bragging all over town 'till he went into the restaurant. Aunt Lou took a frying pan to his head, and ran him out of town," he claimed. 

"I'm starting to think that Aunt Lou is the only one in this whole damn town with a lick of sense! Now I'll tell you what, Soapy. I know all about your different scams. I even know the scam named 'soapy', where you sell bars of soap for a dollar each. The people are told to find the bars of soap with a ten-dollar bill wrapped in them, and just enough bars with one-dollar bills to keep the marks interested. I also know that the one that gets the ten, in the first few bars, is your confederate. 

"So being as that may, I want you out of the Black Hills within the next twenty-four hours, or I will arrest you... or maybe I'll just turn you over to the miners you cheated," I said.

"Marshal, that's not enough time! It will take me longer than that to get out of here, 'cause the nearest large town is Cheyenne, and that's over a hundred miles away!" Soapy cried.

"Then you'd better get your ass in gear. I see you after that twenty-four hour period, and you'll find your ass in jail," I said.

I then headed over to the undertaker's to find out what was going on. The man at the door tried to bar my way saying I had to pay to go in. I slammed him into the wall and asked, "Do you think you can make me?" Walking in I saw the undertaker had propped Hickok up as if on display, and was charging people to see him. This really pissed me, off. 

I grabbed him and shouted, "Just what the hell is going on here? This was a great man, not some carnival freak. Why hasn't he been buried already?"

"Just trying to make a dollar Marshal was no harm done!" he said. 

"Didn't he have enough money to pay for his burial? I ask.

About this time, the door slammed open, and Charlie Utter and a large plain looking woman entered looking very mad and shouting at the undertaker, Seeing that I had a hold of the undertaker, they quieted down. 

Turning to them while still holding onto the undertaker's arm I asked, "Charlie, what's going on around here, and who's your companion?"

"Doc it's good to see you again. Let me introduce you to miss Jane Canary, otherwise known as Calamity Jane. She was also a good friend of Bill's, and we just came to see about putting an end to this mockery," Charlie explained. 

Giving the undertaker a shake I said, "I asked you a question! Didn't Bill have enough money to pay for his own funeral?" 

Charlie said, "When Bill was killed, he had over two hundred dollars on a table in front of him. He had plenty of money but this greedy bastard is trying to make money from Bill's dead body. Look he even stole his guns and his boots. Bill has a young widow back East, and we mean to see that she gets his belongings!"

I slammed the undertaker against the wall and shouted, "Is this right? Besides putting him on display you robbed him, and stole his belongings?" 

The undertaker started stuttering, "But his boots and guns are worth a small fortune, and he isn't going to need them, now."

"You get his boots on him now! And give Charlie Utter all the rest of his belongings including his money, so he can send them to his widow. Then you can put him in your best coffin and give him a deluxe funeral at sundown, tonight. You can also include a marble stone with his name, and the dates of his birth and death. You can get the dates from Charlie, here. He will also tell you what else to put on the stone. And you're going to do all this out of your own greedy little pocket. If not you can plan on spending the next few years in prison for grave robbery," I explained while shaking him the whole time.

"But... But... That's going to cost me a small fortune," he sputtered.

"You should have thought of that before you got greedy," I said. Turning to Charlie, I asked, "Can you stick around here and make sure he gets all this done right? I have a few other things I need to get done, but I'll see you at sundown for Bill's services."

Charlie and Jane both uttered their thanks to me and told me they would see me then.

My next stop was the Number Ten Saloon going in I found a place crowded seeing that they had roped off the bloodstained table with the blood splattered cards a pair of black eight's with a pair of black aces and the queen of hearts tacked to the wall was assigned underneath proclaiming it as a dead man's hand. Look around I spotted a man that was obviously in charge going up to him, I introduce myself and asked, "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

He introduced himself as Dave Mann one of the owners and said, "It was about eight o'clock when Bill Hickok came in. Charlie Rich was seated in Bill's normal spot with his back to the wall when Bill came in. Since Charlie was on a winning streak, he didn't want to move. He was used to changing seats, but Bill just shrugged his shoulders and took the empty seat with his back to the door. 

The night before, Bill had cleaned out Jack McCall for everything he had. But he gave him a dollar so that he would have enough to get something to eat this seemed to insult Jack McCall that Hickok would give him charity. So that night, while Bill had his back to the door, McCall walked up behind him. Before we knew it, he had shot Bill in the back of the head."

"So why wasn't Jack McCall brought in front of the territorial judge, down in Hill City?" I asked.

"It happened here, so after we grabbed him, we formed a miner's court. We tried him right here. I was one of the judges. When it came out that Hickok had killed his older brother in Abilene, in an accidental shooting, the court deemed it not to be murder. He was let go and told to get out of town." he explained.

"When are you people going to learn? You have no legal rights to hold a trial! If you want to be able to hold trials, get the older businessmen and permanent residents to elect a town Council, and a Mayor. Then appoint a town sheriff of your own. 

"But quit taking matters into your own hands. Jack McCall should have been brought in front of the territorial judge, in Hill City. It is less than ten miles away! As it stands right now, I need to track him down and bring him before a real judge. Did you even wire Abilene, and check his story out?" I asked.

At this time, a young boy of about fourteen entered the saloon and gave me a telegram. It is said that Jack McCall had been apprehended in Fort Laramie, when he had started bragging about killing Wild Bill Hickok. After checking to find out if he had a brother killed in Abilene or any other place (which he did not, as he had no brothers); he was then re-tried, found guilty, and hung by the neck until dead. I showed Mann this telegram, and he started to look real sheepish. 

"See? Justice has been done, and your so-called kangaroo court almost let a guilty man go free! Remember what I said about a town council, and the appointed town lawman." 

About this time, I started to hear a small commotion on the street. Going out the door I was just in time to see both my wagons coming down the street and parking next to the hotel in the vacant lot. I wondered what my ladies were doing here. I went over to see them, to find out why they weren't at the ranch with the rest of family. 

Seeing Dawn and Moon driving my doctor's wagon, and Running Deer, Little Doe and Standing Bear in the living wagon I asked, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with Uncle Henry and the rest of the family at the ranch?"

"We are your wives. We go where you go. You here we here, so when you come here, we follow you," Dawn explained.

"You should not have followed me. It might have been dangerous. I'm glad you're here but next time, ask. Why is Moon with you, she should have gone back to the ranch with Uncle Henry?" I asked.

"She your wife too! You buy her," Dawn said.

"You are my wife and Running Deer and a Little Doe or both my wives but Moon is not my wife," I tried explaining getting a sinking feeling in my gut.

"You buy Running Deer and a Little Doe and make them wives. You buy Moon, too. That make her wife, also," Dawn said firmly.

"It's not the same thing I gave the man back his money for Moon so as she was not a slave to him and her uncle refused to take her back so I asked her to join the family until she found somewhere else to be," I tried to explain. 

"You ask her to join the family, she now wife! We talked to her, and she wants to be your wife also!" she said firmly.

I could tell that this was an argument that I had already lost, so I said, "Okay, I'll have a talk with her, and see if she wants to become a wife. I will not have any of you pressuring her to become a wife. I already feel I have enough wives with the three of you, but I will talk with her, to see what she wants. 

"I'm supposed to be the man, the head of this family. You two girls keep making decisions without even consulting me. This stops right now! If you girls want to keep making all the decisions on your own, then I don't see where you need me. I'll just leave."

My ladies then rushed up to me, crying and asking me not to go. I looked over and saw Moon standing by herself, looking miserable, and crying. 

Going over to her, I hugged her and asked, "What's the matter? Why are you so upset?"

She said, "You no want me! Nobody wants me! I don't know where to go! Unless maybe I go to saloon, become a whore."

"I didn't say I didn't want you, honey. I don't know you, little one. We had just met when I had to come here. What I'm so upset about is the fact that they are telling me what to do, and not asking me what I want. I told you that you are welcome with my family as long as you wanted to stay. I don't even know if you want to become one of my wives." I explained. 

"I want to be wife, like others. I can be big help. My father was Herb doctor back in China. I help him when I was younger. Still remember lot of things to do to help sick people," she said.

I could tell I lost this argument, and would have a fourth wife. As soon as Grandpa heard this he would be laughing his ass off at me again. After helping unhitched the wagons and taking the mules and my horse to the stables while Standing Bear lowered the leveling jacks on the living wagon. I told my ladies to go into the general store and see about getting dark dresses because we had this funeral to attend at sundown.

Going into 'doctor mode', I saw patients for the rest of the day. Most of them were just the usual broken bones, bumps, and bruises. 

Toward the end of the day a young man came and wanted to know if I could go to his cabin to check on his little girl. He said that she was real sick and was breaking out with blisters all over her body. My mouth suddenly went dry as I remembered another thing from the history of this town. 

SMALLPOX! 

*

Edited By TeNderLoin

And IceWolf



Doc Ch. 19



Smallpox! 

Just the sound of the word sent chills up my spine. Remembering the history of Deadwood from my past gave a real feeling of dread. From what I remembered, Deadwood lost almost half its people due to the smallpox epidemic in August of 1876. This was something that sent fear all through my mind as to what I could do about it. I wasn't worried about myself, since I had been vaccinated as a child. However, I was very worried about my family.

Turning to the young man I told him. "I don't mean to worry you but from what you describe it sounds pretty much like she has caught smallpox, but I won't know for sure until we get there, and I can examine her. Before we leave the town I need to make some arrangements in case this is smallpox. I need to get the town prepared in case of an outbreak so it's going to take about an hour before we can leave.

I could see that this really scared the young father and he became more worried about his daughter. I then asked him how he was feeling in case he had come down with the disease also. He insisted that he felt fine, and that it had killed most of his family, that he had lost both parents a brother and three sisters to it, and he was worried that he would lose his daughter also. 

I told him that we would do everything we could for her and asked if he could drive a wagon. He assured me he could. I asked if he could take my wagon to get his daughter and bring her back to just outside the north end of town where I would try to have a small camp set up to bring the sick people to, and try and stop the spread of the disease. 

Walking over to the hotel I first went to the front desk and asked for the owner. The desk clerk knocked on the door to the left of the front desk and asked the owner to step out and speak to me. The owner came out to ask what the problem was, so I told him about my suspicion of smallpox and asked if he could get the other leading citizens of Deadwood and find out if anyone else in town was sick, and also to find out who had had smallpox already and survived it as if it became an epidemic I would need all the help I could get. I finally said that I needed some tents set up just outside the north end of town where I could keep my patients separate from the rest of the town to keep the disease from spreading.

He said, "Smallpox... Smallpox... are you sure? I've never had it but I've heard that there's a vaccine for it!" 

"Yes there is a vaccine, although I don't have any of the vaccine with me! I need to get on the telegraph and wire Cheyenne and Fort Laramie and have them give me the vaccine as soon as possible although it is a week's hard ride to each of these towns so can you round up the town's leaders and main businessmen to meetwith me as soon as possible?"

"Sure, while you are sending your telegram, I'll round of the others and meet you back here as soon as you're done."

Leaving him I went to the telegraph office to start sending off telegrams letting people know about a possible outbreak of smallpox in the Deadwood area. I sent telegrams to Cheyenne and Fort Laramie to let them know about a possible outbreak of smallpox and what I was doing to try and contain it, asking that they send all the vaccine that they could.

Finishing sending out the telegrams I then went to search for my ladies. I found them in the restaurant of the hotel talking with Aunt Lou. Pulling them aside I explained about the smallpox, and that I wanted them to return to the ranch where they would be safe. This caused a major argument among my wives, insisting that they stay there and help me. I then explained how one out of two died of smallpox unless they were vaccinated first or had already survived the disease and as I did not want to lose any of them, they needed to return to the ranch where they would be safe. Just then Moon spoke up and lifted her blouse to show me the scars and said that she had had smallpox as a child and could not get it again so she would be staying to help me.

Turning to Dawn I said. "Okay Moon can stay since she cannot catch this disease again, and I will need all the help I can get. I want to rest of you to go back to the ranch and stay there until I send for you. I've already wired for the vaccine, but it still takes 10 days after vaccinating for it to take effect."

I could tell that my wives were unhappy with me about this but after seeing that I was firm in my resolution they started to get ready to take the wagon back to the ranch as I said.

Turning to Moon, I asked. "How old were you when you had smallpox? And how much did you remember of it?"

"I was only 10 years old when my family caught smallpox. My mother, sister, and two brothers died at it, leaving only my father and I. My father was a doctor of herbal medicine but after coming to this country, he could find no patients but other poor China immigrants and could not make a living at that, so he joined with some other relatives and opened the laundry." Moon said.

Taking her with me, we went to the front of the hotel to speak with some of the town's businessmen and leaders about the possible outbreak of smallpox in the area. Getting to the front desk, I saw the hotel owner with about a dozen other men there waiting for me.

Going up to these men I said, "Thank you all for coming. I don't know what you've all heard but I've had a man come up to me and tell me that his little girl was sick and from the description he gave me, it sounds like smallpox. As you know a smallpox epidemic is very contagious and spreads quickly, unless treated properly. What I need from you are some tents and cots set up just north of town by that stream. I'm not worried about the water since it's downstream from the town. I also need for you to find out how many people we have in this town who are already survivors of smallpox, since they cannot catch it again. This means that they can help with the patients and can go to each cabin and mine claim to check to see if there any more cases, and if they are to bring them in for treatment. I have sent the father to get his daughter and meet me just north of town trying to get this set up as fast as possible. As you may have heard I've already wired Cheyenne and Fort Laramie for the vaccines, and once they get here we will start vaccinating everyone. However, once vaccinated it still takes about 10 days to take effect. So with everyone's help hopefully we can get through this without too many deaths."

Turning to Moon, I said, "This is going to be a lot of hard work until the vaccine gets here. About all you can do is to treat them for their fever and try to keep them as comfortable as possible. There isn't much that can be done other than to let the disease run its course. If we can keep the fever down to a lot of them will have a good chance of surviving." 

Moon then turned to me and said, "My father taught me a lot about herbs and potions that may help to keep the fevers and other symptoms from becoming too bad. I think I can get a lot of these over in the Chinese section of town." 

Giving Moon some money to purchase some of these remedies and herbs that she needed, I headed outside the north end of town to wait for my wagon that the girl's father had driven to get his daughter.

As I approached the clearing just past the north edge of town I saw my wagon approaching and directed him to park next to the creek. Luckily the creek was downstream from the town so I did not have to worry about the water spreading the disease back to the town.

As soon as we got parked, I went inside to examine the girl and discovered my fears were right, it was smallpox. Although I had never seen the disease since in my time smallpox has almost been totally wiped out, I was positive that my diagnosis was right. Turning to her father I asked if he had ever had smallpox. After him saying that he hadn't I suggested that since he was exposed, he needed to clean himself well in the creek and to wait still north of town but away from his daughter. I told him that there was a chance he may have caught the disease, but that I had no vaccine on hand and it would be coming soon and then I could vaccinate him. He told me that he would not leave his daughter and would stay to help get her well. This kind of put me in a dilemma. I already had one patient and knew that I soon would have a lot more. Without a vaccine I knew that sooner or later the girl's father would come down with the disease. I thought for a few minutes and remembered reading somewhere that if I could take some of the pus from under some of the blisters and dilute it, it might work as a vaccine. Chances were this would still give the man smallpox but probably not as severe a case. I let him know that this was a large risk and that chances were he would still come down with smallpox itself, but I hoped that it would not be a real severe case.

About this time, I heard a commotion outside. Going out, I found a dozen men and three women with a wagon load of tents, cots, and other supplies. Going up to the man who seemed to be the leader, I introduced myself, and he said, "My name's Rev. Jonathan Smith. I was a surgeon's assistant back during the war before I heard the calling. I and these other fine people are here to help all that we can. We are all survivors of smallpox, so we should be immune to it. Just let us know what needs to be done."

"I'm glad you're here. So far, I have just one young girl but it is definitely smallpox. So, we need to be ready. First off, let's get some tents and cots set up for incoming patients. We also need to get a couple of teams of men to go to all the out-lying cabins and search for other sick individuals and bring them in for treatment. I know that all of you are immune to smallpox but to keep from spreading the disease after each time you are exposed you need to clean yourself and your clothes to the best of your ability, so we can try and keep some control over the spread of this disease."

About then I saw someone approaching with three Chinese women carrying several packages each. Stopping them before they got too close I asked. "I'm glad you're back Moon, who are these women you have with you?"

"These Chinese women come to help. Have already been sick and survived. We bring lots of herbs and remedies to help keep patients clean and comfortable. They think you good man take Chinese woman as wife and not make slave so they come to help. They don't speak English well, but I can translate for you." 

I then thanked the women for their help. Turning to Rev. Smith I asked if he could help get the camp set up and a couple of teams going around the area looking for other sick people.

Well, everyone pitched in to get everything set up. I stopped for a minute and asked Moon, "I think we are starting to get everything together but one other thing I hadn't thought of is how are we going to feed all these people?" Giving her some of the gold that we had found I had her take the other women with her and go back to town to buy pots and pans and enough food to last us for several days.

Going back into my wagon to check on the young girl and her father, I told him, "I have a lot of help now to help take care of your daughter and other patients if you want to scrub up in the creek and camp away from her, we can take care of your daughter for you to help keep you from being exposed too badly and possibly keep you from catching the disease."

"I'm staying here to help take care of Becky. You said that you had a possible way of vaccinating me, so I wouldn't get too sick. I'm willing to take that chance but either way I won't abandon my daughter. She is all that I have left since her mother died in childbirth a year ago."

I opened two of the blisters on her stomach, making sure to choose two where the scars would not show and gently removed the pus from the blisters, then moved to the laboratory section of the wagon. I placed the pus into a small test tube and added about 10 mL of distilled water, shaking at and hoping that it was good enough. I then proceeded to take a pin that I kept dipping in the solution and pricking his arm just under the skin for about an inch in diameter patch, hoping that this would take effect. I then asked who she may have come in contact with to catch this disease? The father told me that the only one he could think of was this cowboy they came by and asked for some water for his horse and to see if he could him a meal. "I could tell at the time that the Cowboy was not feeling well. He looked sick and when I asked him he just said that he thought he might have caught the flu somewhere, but that he would be fine."

After this I went out of the wagon to see what progress had been made. Seeing that all the tents were up and most of the cots were set up in them at around six to a tent and all that was left were small things such as bedding and lamps for the tents, I told the men that we were pretty much done with the set up and have them split up into two man teams and search the town and all the surrounding area for others that were sick.

As the men were getting ready to leave. I saw a wagon coming toward our small camp as it got closer I saw Moon sitting in the front seat with the storekeeper driving. As soon as he pulled up the other women jumped out of the back and started unloading the wagon. Seeing the amount of things that they had bought, I had them put everything into the last tent thinking that this would make a good place for the women to sleep and to keep the supplies.

Moon then got off to the wagon and she and the storekeeper came up to me and Rev. Smith. I introduced moon to the Rev. as my wife and went to introduce the storekeeper but the Rev. said he already knew him. The storekeeper told me, "I didn't have enough cash on hand to cover the gold that you sent with your wife to purchase supplies a you need. However, since you will probably be needing a lot more supplies before this epidemic is over, I created you an account in which you still have $283 credit for your gold."

"I didn't plan on paying for everything out of my own pocket. The townspeople can pay their fair share, but while you're here I will need other things such as, I need all of your willow bark tea and most of your patent medicines such as headache powders plus we'll need fresh food and vegetables sent out every few days. If the man whom you send out with the supplies has not had smallpox, I need him to leave the supplies by that tree about 50 yards yonder."

All this seemed to make the storekeeper happy, and he asked when we wanted the next load of supplies. I told him that he needed to check with the other businessmen of town about taking up a collection to help pay for the supplies here because I was not going to foot the whole bill myself. I said we had probably enough fresh fruit and vegetables to last this week and bring another load in about every six days so as we did not run out totally. Then thinking about it. I asked the storekeeper if he had a supply of soft cloth rags or even better yet baby diapers and told him that I would take all that he had been on hand, plus I needed disinfectant, soap, and other cleaning supplies that he had on hand. Furthermore, I wanted the least 2 to 3 changes of clothes for everyone working here. I could see the dollar signs in his eyes as he thought about this order. So I told him to make sure to get with the other businesses in town about donations to pay for all the supplies.

After he had left I got with Moon and all the other ladies to see how things were coming along. After I saw that they were almost finished I asked if they could make some soup for dinner, since I had a feeling would be busy shortly and I wanted to keep the supplies ready at all times.

Going back into my wagon I turned to Dave, Becky's father and said we were about ready to move her into the first tent, and that he could sleep in the second to last tent until it was needed or could pitch his bedroll under a wagon. However, we'd need to move her now as I had a feeling that I'd have a lot of patients soon.

As we were moving her some of the team started coming back in with other sick people. 

First was a widow Brown. She was about 80 years old and supported herself with the large garden selling produce throughout the area.

Next was the Abbott family. They had a large farm about 2 miles from town and said that the same cowboy had come by their place asking for water and that they had found him two days later dead in the woods just outside their place. They were.

Tom Abbott age 38

Mary Abbott age 37

Tom Junior age 12

Nancy Abbott age 8

We put them in the first tent with Becky and started trying to bring their fevers down and to make them as comfortable as possible. They seemed pretty sick, especially the women. Unfortunately there was not much we could do. I had Moon to make up some willow bark tea and tried to get them to drink it along with some soup to try to ease their pain and build up some of their stamina as I knew that if they did not eat something their bodies' resistance would start to fail.

As the others were getting ready to go out and check some more I had them hold a moment and asked Becky's father where their cabin was located. After he told me I told them to start around his cabin and work their way around it a couple of miles each way heading toward the Abbott's cabin, telling them that more than likely they would find the sick in between and could have some of the others search the outlying areas, but I wanted to get as many sick to us as soon as possible because the sooner they saw us the more likely they were to survive.

After they left, I got the Rev. Smith and told him it looked like we were in for a long haul and that I had sent to Cheyenne and Fort Laramie for the vaccine, but even after they got here with it would still take 10 days after everyone was vaccinated for it to take effect so we were looking at probably 6 to eight weeks before we were in the clear. So, everyone was going to be extremely tired before this was over and we should start now breaking the people that were going to be treating the wounded into shifts so some would get some rest while they could.

I then went to my wagon, got out my cleaning supplies and proceeded to scrub the interior of my wagon until everything was cleaned and disinfected. As I was doing this Moon came in and started taking over the cleaning telling me to go to check on the patients and get something to eat.

I went and got myself a bowl of stew that the women had made and was sitting on the back porch when three of the teams arrived with nine more of the sick, placing them in the next couple of tents and making them as comfortable as possible before heading out for more. This went on for the rest of the day and by the time the day was over, we had 38 sick people and that was just the first day.

The next few days were more or less same except on the second day the widow Brown and both Abbott parents passed away. We lost 20 others in the first week and 87 more brought in. This overflowed the tents we had set up so we had to give up the supply tent and the tent we were sleeping in plus the two beds that were available in my wagon for patients. I had to warn Rev. Smith several times not to give the patients a long sermon while trying to treat them. Most of the treatments were just willow bark tea to help them relax and cold damp cloths to help try to control their fevers. We also tried to encase their hands in socks or clothes to keep them from scratching and causing more scarring than was absolutely necessary.

We were barely holding our own when on day 15, I saw three wagons coming toward the camp thinking 'Oh no, not more people', then as they got closer I discovered the first wagon was driven by Grandpa and the next ones were driven by Dawn and Standing Bear while Running Dear and Little Doe drove the last one. They parked the wagons near the trees where the supplies were dropped off. Seeing my wives brought mixed emotions. I was glad to see them yet at the same time I was mad that they would come back into danger. Going to them, I said to Grandpa, "Uncle Henry just what the hell are you doing here? Ddon't you know that this is smallpox and it's very contagious? I sent the women back to where they would be safe and now you just brought them back into danger?" 




Doc Ch. 19



"Hold it there son. I have done brought you more tents and other supplies along with the vaccine from Fort Laramie. It came with its own doctor. He's in the town right now vaccinating the townsmen and should be here soon. I thought I should ride ahead to warn you that he says he knew a doctor Clay Thomas at Fort Laramie and was sure that he was dead, so he came with the vaccine to make sure of you, since he said he was a good friend of Clay's. I came ahead with the supplies to fill you in before he surprised you. First his name is Dave Timmons, and he said that you both went to school together in Philadelphia and joined the Army together, stationed at Fort Laramie. He's about 5 foot 10 with sandy brown hair and a huge handlebar mustache but seems to be a very nice guy."

"That's good news but why did you bring the girls back with you? You know that this is still very contagious and doubly so to Indians?"

"They were all vaccinated along with the rest of the family three days ago we also vaccinated everyone in Hill city and left instructions with Judge Miller and taught Rose and Sally how to give vaccinations to the rest of the people in the area. When they heard that I was coming up here there was no way that your wives were going to be left behind. It was either bring them or leave them hogtied on the ranch, knowing that as soon as they got loose they would follow anyway." 

"Three days are not long enough. It takes 10 days for the vaccinating to take full effect. So they'll just have to go back with you!"

"I'm afraid you're stuck with us. We're going to pitch camp right here with one of these tents we brought. The only way I could get them to let me leave was to drag them all the way up here; they kept telling me that their place was with you. So while we wait the next seven days we will be going around with the doctor to make sure everyone has been vaccinated."

"Okay, but before you go to any claim or cabin you have two of my men checking out to see if anyone is sick there first. I don't want any of you to be exposed unnecessarily." 

"We can do that. I don't want to catch smallpox either especially when I only have seven days left before I'm immune to it." 

While they were setting up their small camp I drove the other supply wagons back to our camp so that when the men came in they could start setting up more tents and cots.

After I got back to our camp, Rev. Smith came up to me and asked who the people were. When I told him that was my uncle Henry and the three women with him or my wives and the boy was my adopted son, he said. "I thought the Chinese woman Moon was your wife. I told him she was but the other three were also my wives. This really set him off, and he started preaching and calling me a sinner for having more than one wife and started quoting Scripture wrongly to me, telling me that all my wives were harlots and I was going straight to hell. This really pissed me off. I got right up into his face and yelled, "You say one more word about my wives and it'll be the last you ever say. They are all good women with hearts of gold to go out of their way to help anyone. And I won't have you badmouth them."

He quieted down but it seemed like every time I looked his way he was glaring at me. I wasn't sure how much longer I would put up with this. Sure he was a hard worker but it seemed he didn't learn anything about medicine being a surgeon's assistant. Of course most surgeons during the war didn't know hardly anything about medicine and were at best butchers.

A couple of days later I met Dr. Timmons. He looked at me strangely and said, "Clay, is that really you? Everyone told us you were dead from that cholera epidemic. How'd you get here?" 

"Yup it's me Dave. Sorry to disappoint you about me not being dead but that was the town doctor that died. I had just finished and reported back to the Fort. I told them that my enlistment was up the week before, and then I was headed back to Hill City to my home and family."

"It's great to see you again Clay. I'm glad to hear that you're still alive. So you're the doctor in these parts now?"

"I'm a little more than just a doctor." I showed him my badge. "I'm also a deputy US marshal for this area."

"I remember you working as a police officer in Philadelphia while going through med school, but I thought you had all that lawman business out of your system by the time we graduated."

"Nope, I guess it runs in the blood. You know, the last three generations of my family were all lawmen, and it seems that I am carrying on the family tradition."

"So how do you work that out and still be a doctor at the same time?" 

"Actually it works out pretty good since all the towns around here are small. I'm making a circuit of them all anyway so I can work as both a law man and a doctor quite conveniently. The federal judge back home in Hill City has given me the power to deputize men in each town to help me so basically I'm just the one in command."

"That don't seem like the loner Clay that I know so well asking for help. Just how many men have you deputized so far?" 

I kind waited a minute and said. "Well let's see so far... None!"

He started to laugh and said. "Yup, same old Clay!" 

"Well, you know I've been kind of busy lately," I said. 

"No shit, I can tell you been busy as hell. What is the status of your patients now?" he asked.

"So far I've had 426 patients and lost 53 adults and 21 children. It's the children who hurt the worst to lose!"

"You only had about 20% fatalities? That's amazing you having so few fatalities with no real medicine to use! How did you do it?" He asked.

As we planned to examine the patients, I said, "There really wasn't much I could do but try to keep their fevers as much under control as I could by keeping them covered with damp cloths until their fevers broke. I also used willow bark tea a lot to help keep them comfortable. We also made sure that they ate and tried to keep their strength and stamina up as much as possible. It seemed as if we caught them in the early stages they would survive. Most of the fatalities were from those that we didn't catch any time, and their bodies were so weak."

"That's still truly amazing but why do you have their hands wrapped in Muslim cloth or socks?

"I'm hoping that by doing that I can try to limit some of the scars commonly received from smallpox. If I can keep them from busting the blisters, there is a good chance of limiting the scars." I told him.

"I never would have thought of that! However, seeing is believing and I'm truly amazed at the job you have done here. I have orders from the Fort to stay and assist you until his epidemic is under control."

"That's great Dave, I can always use the help. To tell the truth I'm running on coffee and adrenaline right now."

He laughed and said. "I guess you know that I traveled out here with your family. Your uncle Henry is quite a character. And is it true that all three of those girls are your wives? You never struck me as a lady's man before, you always seemed kind of quiet and shy around women."

I laughed back and pointed at Moon and said. "See that little Chinese girl over there? She is also my wife. I have four wives now!"

This really started him laughing at me, and he asked. "Four wives! You were always so shy. How did that happen?"

Still laughing I said. "It all kind of snuck up on me. First I was at Red Cloud's camp and was treating Running Deer for a broken arm when her father brought up that pretty pony over there and handed me the reins. Thinking that I was trading for the horse I handed him a box of cigars and the next thing I know I found out that I traded for both the twins. Then Red Cloud brought over Dawn and her son Standing Bear and told me it was to help out with my lodge the next thing I know the twins had invited her to be wife number three so besides marrying her, I also adopted her son. Then about six weeks ago I was in Hill City just before Hickok died and this miner, who had hassled my wife Dawn about three weeks before, was dragging Moon through the street when I confronted him. He told me that he had bought her from her uncle for $20 gold. Since we just fought that war for slavery I gave him back his $20 gold and went to confront her uncle. Her uncle told me that selling young female family members was a common practice in his culture and refused to return the money stating that since I paid for her she was now mine to do with as I wished. I tried just write off the money and let her go, but she said that she did not want to go back to her uncle. I told her, that since she had nowhere else to go, she could stay with my family until she got back on her feet but the next day as I was heading out for here they informed me that she should be a wife also since she wanted to be my wife. I tried to refuse this, but it seemed that my other wives would not take no for an answer. So when his epidemic broke out. She informed me that she had had smallpox as a child and was therefore, immune. Furthermore, her father was a doctor of herbal medicine in China and had taught her a lot of what he knew. So when I sent the others home, she stayed with me to help me with this epidemic and a lot of the herbs and remedies came from her."

"Poor Clay, I don't know whether to cry for you or laugh at you. From talking to your wives, I can tell that they all adore you. You've got to be one of the luckiest men alive. Maybe if I hang around you some of that let me rub off before his epidemic is over, and I have to go back to Fort Laramie."

"Join the club. Uncle Henry over there every time I see him start talking about the way I'm accumulating wives he starts cackling like some hen sitting on a nest full of eggs. What the hell, another person laughing at me is no big deal anymore."

"Wow Clay! You have been sure mellowed since last time I saw you. If anyone had laughed at you back then they would be picking their sorry asses off the ground before they knew it." 

"I guess I have mellowed some. Maybe it's married life or do you think it's just exhaustion?" 

As we continued to examine the patients, I saw Rev. Smith sidle up to Dr. Timmins to try to get him to take over as he still saw me as a heathen and not fit to treat decent people.

Dave turned and glared at the Reverend and said. "What the hell are you talking about? Dr. Thomas is one of the best doctors I've ever known. You know that the normal fatality rate of smallpox is it between 60% and 75%? Dr. Thomas treating these people with common sense and herbal remedies has got a fatality rate of less than 20%. And you think he should be replaced? Are you out of your God damned mind?"

"You don't have to take our Lord's name in vain! Look at him, the man has four wives, against the teachings of the Bible. He is going straight to hell and is contaminating all these people in his care." 

"What the hell do you mean contaminating them? Don't you know without Dr. Thomas most of them would be dead right now? I swear I'm starting to think you don't have the sense enough to pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel! Just get the hell out of my sight!"

"Maybe they were better off dead than have their souls contaminated by associating with such a sinner." 

"That does it you have about five minutes to get your ass out of this camp before I shoot you myself! Go along, get!"

"You can't throw me out of this camp. These people need my spiritual guidance. If it wasn't for me praying over them and trying to help pave their way to heaven through my sermons there would be a lot more dead."

"Now I've heard it all. You are taking credit for all the hard work everyone else had done. These people don't need some fool preacher lecturing them and giving a sermon while they're sick and their loved ones are dying. They need comforting and proper medical attention."

"I was helping with giving him proper medical attention I'll have you know I was a surgeon's assistant during the last war!" 

" A surgeon's assistant? That's not even the equivalent of a bad nurse! During the last war most surgeons were nothing but a bunch of butchers with no or little medical training themselves. Being a surgeon's assistant during the war is nothing to brag about. Basically you were just an orderly and clean up boy. Now I told you to get your ass out of here and let somebody that knows what they're doing try to help these people.

After watching him slink away I went up and asked Dave what the problem was?

"Idiots like that just seem to rub me the wrong way again that they are all holier than thou. That one is more dangerous than the rest, he's all up on his high horse just because you have more than one wife. It just burns my ass when someone like that has the gall to try to take credit for all the lives that you have saved thinking it is his prayers and sermons that kept them all alive and not your medical skills."

I just laughed at him and said. "Face it, as old Dr. Jenkins our professor at medical school used to be so fond of saying. You can't fix stupid!" I said, remembering my grandpa Jake telling me about his father quoting his uncle Clay's favorite story about medical school.

This started Dave laughing. "I haven't thought of Dr. Jenkins in years but face it, that saying that he was so fond of is still as true today as it was then!" 

That night our search crews, after scouring the outlying areas for the past few weeks only brought in two more sick people. Maybe things were going to start slowing down due to the quarantine that we placed on people traveling to neighbors and other towns. I showed Dr. Timmins the way we had been treating the people coming in, saying that if we caught this early enough their chances of survival were a lot higher since most of our fatalities had come from people being brought in when they were almost dead and too far gone to save.

The night after that we only had one person come in. Then the third night we had six more. We thought it was almost over and to have six come in one night was very depressing. We got set to work the next two weeks but after about a week they really started tapering off with only one person every few nights. After the third week, we had more sick showing up in the patients whom we had were almost well but only four more deaths. After the last person had recovered, and we hadn't had any more come in after a week of vigorous searching, we decided that the epidemic was over.

Thank God it was finally over. I was exhausted. Looking over at all my wives with Moon I was wondering how such a little thing could still have so much energy left in her. It seemed like she was everywhere at once with energy to spare. After all this time working with her, just watching her, I discovered I loved her just as much is the other wives. All I could think of right now must go home with all my loved ones and sleep for a week. 



Doc Ch. 20



They spent the rest of the week at the ranch doing minor chores and basically just resting up, after their long ordeal. Then the weekend rolled around, and it was time to go to town for supplies.

While the women were shopping, I decided to check in with Judge Mitchell. After going to the courthouse, I was told that the judge was over at the restaurant, having breakfast. 

Walking into the restaurant I immediately spotted the judge. After I went to the table, he invited me to join him. 

"I thought I should stop in and report to you on the status in Deadwood."

"I received ongoing reports from the townspeople of Deadwood. That was a great job you did there. The only negative report I got, was that some of them were concerned that you were a little pushy about the Hickok assassination."

"When I got there, they had Hickok's body set up as a sideshow, while that film-flam man, Soapy Smith, was selling pieces of an Indian scalp. I ran Soapy Smith out of town, letting people know that selling what was claimed to be an Indian scalp, was a good way to start another Indian war. Furthermore, I made sure that Hickok had a proper burial. 

"I also met with the town leaders, about that so-called miner's court that they had on Jack McCall. I told them that these kangaroo courts were illegal. He should have been held for a proper trial and transported here in front of you."

"That's great! Did you get a chance to talk to them about setting up a Town Marshal, and a proper City Council?" 

"I did mention it, but I hadn't gotten too far into it when I discovered a little girl that had a case of smallpox. That took precedence. I was immediately just too busy trying to keep it from becoming a full-blown epidemic, to worry about politics." 

"Well, I can't really blame you, there. Like I said, you did an outstanding job. After speaking with Dr. Timmins and the townspeople there, I was very surprised that there weren't a lot more fatalities than there were."

"Thank you, Sir. We did the best we could. However, I am still awful tired. I'd like to see patients here, for the next couple of days, just to rest up. Then we'll head out again. I still haven't gotten to most of the towns and camps around the area. I'm sure that if I'm not needed as a lawman, I will be as a doctor."

"Don't push yourself too hard, Clay. The last thing we need is for you to come down sick or injured, because you're too tired. Just make a slow circuit of the camps without pushing yourself too hard. Come back safe."

"I will, I was planning on just taking it easy. I'll see a few patients here for the next couple of days, until it slows down. Then we'll move on up to Deadwood for a couple of days, doing the same thing. After that; we'll hit Lead, Silver City, Spearfish, and maybe even Sturgis. Just to let you know, I'm also going to be checking on the Indian camps in the area. I'm not sure how long this circuit will take, but I should be back within three weeks to a month."

"That's fine. You can check in with me by telegraph if any of the towns or camps are connected to the telegraph system." 

"I'll try to do that," I said. 

I finished my meal, and went to the front counter to pay. 

After leaving the judge, I headed back behind the general store to find my ladies, there, surrounded by angry townsfolk. 

I shouted, "Just what the hell is going on, here? "

An elderly, heavyset, prune faced woman, was standing beside a small mousy man. 

"We just came through Deadwood! The preacher there said that you were heathens and the spawn of the devil. He said that if any of us good God-fearing Christians had anything to do with you, we would condemn our souls straight to hell. We don't think you should be allowed in our town."

This seemed to anger most of the other people waiting to be seen as patients. 

"The preacher in Deadwood is a fool! There was an outbreak of smallpox in Deadwood. One of my wives and I treated the patients. We were there for nearly two months straight. We had a fatality rate of less than twenty percent. That same preacher was there, also trying to help. He told me that he was a surgeon's assistant during the last war. I found out that about all he was good for was cleaning the dead bodies out. 

"He was of the opinion that the people survived because of his sermons and his praying over them. Mostly, he was just in the way. We seemed to get along okay until he found out, just before the end, that I have more than one wife. That's when he got all high and mighty and started denouncing me as doing the work of the devil. I don't know how much you know about smallpox, but the normal fatality rate is over seventy percent! So, I actually don't feel that we did such a bad job, there."

This seemed to calm most of the people, although that same woman and her husband stomped off. 

"If all the ruckus is over, and if you still want to see me as a doctor, I'll start seeing patients in about an hour. If you still see me as a heretic spawn of the devil, then like I told you before, that same preacher up in Deadwood was a surgeon's assistant. So if you'd rather see him, be my guest, although I wouldn't recommend it."

My wife and I, after checking to see that things were ready to start seeing patients, went into the general store. I wanted to talk to the storekeeper, to find out what had been going on in the area while we had been busy. 

Upon entering, Mr. Miller the storekeeper came over and said. "I'm glad you're back. Most of your orders came in about three days ago. I had them stacked in a back room for you. I heard about the great job you did in Deadwood, with that small smallpox epidemic. I'm sure glad that you were there before it got out of hand otherwise, it could've wiped out most of the towns around here."

He then took us to his back room, and showed us a pile of crates. 

I thought, 'Where are we going to store all this stuff?' 

The pile of crates was larger than the inside of the medical wagon.

After getting help carrying everything outside next to the wagons, I hired a couple of teenage boys to help uncrate, and carefully unpack everything, so that we could put everything away.

I was surprised that we got everything to fit, until Mr. Miller told us that the rest of the things we ordered should arrive in a week or so. I told him that after we left we'd probably be gone for at least a month, and he should just put anything else we received in the cabin. We'd get to it after we got back. 

I spent the next three days seeing patients, and just relaxing. There weren't quite as many patients as I thought that there would be. I was guessing that some of the people were staying away, because of what that fool preacher was saying. Others may have been staying away because they thought that their ailments were minor, and that they were saving money.

After three days, we packed up, and headed back to Deadwood. Just after we arrived and started setting up the wagons next to the office that I had rented at the grand Hotel, I heard a ruckus. Looking out and saw the preacher standing on a crate preaching once again that I was the spawn of the devil and that my wives were just a bunch of Heathen Whores. 

This was the last straw I walked up to him and promptly knocked him on his ass. 

"I really don't care what you think of me. However, when you start calling my wives whores, or mean-mouthing them, you had better be ready to back it up with either your fists or guns! It doesn't matter much, which, to me. In addition, your preaching to these people about not seeing me for medical advice is going to get somebody killed. 

"These are all God's children! I will not have my flock consorting with someone who goes against the teachings in the Bible!"

"What the hell are you talking about?  Just where did I go against any of the Bible's teachings?" 

"You have more than one wife! That goes against God's teachings!" 

"Against God's teachings? I ask you, have you ever read the Bible? The Old Testament? It states right in there, Abraham, David, and several others had multiple wives. Not to mention the fact that it says that King Solomon had over three hundred wives. Look it up! It's in that same Bible that you keep on preaching about. I suggest you read it, sometime." 

"It's still against good moral values. A man should only have one wife."

"There is no law against having more than one wife, as long as he can support them. However, there is a law against manslaughter. That is basically what you're doing, by trying to prevent these people from seeking medical help when it is available, by your own prejudiced views."

"I'm not hurting them in any way by telling them not to see you. You forget I was a surgeon's assistant during the war, so I do have some medical experience! Besides I heard that there was a new Doctor in Spearfish!"

"Until you produce a medical license, I suggest you quit giving medical advice! A surgeon's assistant was little more than an orderly! You were a cleanup boy! You have little or no medical training at all!" 

"I'll have you know I worked closely with the surgeons will they were treating the wounded!" 

"And what did you do for the surgeons besides clean up after?" 

"I helped bring in and out the patients, got the surgeons their instruments and supplies, and assisted in keeping the patients comfortable!"

"Those are all the duties of an orderly. An orderly has no medical training, and is not allowed to treat patients. So my advice to you is to stop giving medical advice before you end up killing someone!" 

"And if I don't?" 

"If you don't, I'll arrest you and have you run out of town as being a public nuisance! And another thing... if I hear one more word about you talking bad about any of my wives, I will beat the shit right of you!"

"You can't talk that way to me! I'm a man of God! You will rot in hell!" 

Hearing all this, the crowd started drifting away, but some still stayed close enough to hear. "You're a man of God? Just what church do you represent? Do you have any papers that say you have the right to represent their interests?"

"I got my calling, while among all the pain and suffering during the war. I received a sign from God that I should go out spread his holy word." 

"That's a fine thing to do. To go out and spread God's word. However, don't you think it would be a good idea to read the Bible to find out what God's word is, before you try to spread it to others, instead of just spreading your own opinions?"

After seeing that the crowd had left, the Rev. Smith just glared at me and left himself. 

I then went into the general store where my wives were shopping, to see what the storekeeper had in stock. After buying a bolt of muslin cloth to use for bandages and a few things that my wives had picked out, we went to the front counter so it could be tallied up.

After he tallied it, he said, "That will be $7.50 added to your previous balance of $126.35. That will be $133.85."

"$133.85? Just what the hell are you talking about? Last I heard I had a $283 balance here! What happened to all it? "

"It went for all those supplies that you ordered, while providing for the sick." 

"I paid for the first load, only. You were supposed to get the rest of the money from the town merchants and leaders."

"I tried, but they didn't seem to want to contribute. So, since you had that balance, I went ahead and took it from that."

"So you thought that since I paid for the first load and was contributing my time and effort to try and save all these people, that I should have to foot the bill, too? I'll tell you what... First you put all my money back into my account, before I arrest you as a thief. Then you go out, and you round up all those merchants and civic leaders. You have them here in one hour, or I will make it one of the sorriest days of their lives!"

"Okay, Doc, I'll get them and be back as soon as possible."

"Before you go, I have another question. That total bill adds up to almost $400. I know this is a gold camp and everything, but it still sounds a little high. Just how much did you contribute?"

"I figured since no one else was contributing, why should I? As for the $400, that is the price that I would sell those items for. Otherwise why would I be in business?

"Why, you little skunk! Besides being a cheap son of a bitch, what do you think these other business owners are going to think after they find out that besides not contributing, you made big profits out of their sicknesses? I'll be surprised if they don't tar and feather you, before they run you out of town! The least you could have done for your contribution, was to be providing supplies at cost."

After the hour was up to, I returned to find the general store was crowded with the other town merchants and leaders. 

"I've had you called here for a couple of reasons. First I'm very happy that so many people lived through the smallpox epidemic. I really don't think it's fair, though. It's not enough that you expect me to donate my time and trouble fighting this epidemic, oh, no! It seems that you expect me to pay for everything by myself, as well!"

It seemed to confuse most of the people, and one man... obviously the leader... said, "What are you talking about, Doc? No one approached us to help pay for anything? No one even approached us to help take up a collection to pay for your services, let alone any supplies?" 

I turned and glared at the storekeeper and said, "I paid for the first load of supplies and the tents as they would need to be destroyed after the smallpox epidemic was over... to keep it from reoccurring. I paid the storekeeper, here. After selecting a few items that I needed, today, he presented me with this huge bill. I found it that he expects me to pay for this whole epidemic, out of my own pocket, while he makes a huge profit on the items sold. 

"Also it seems that the preacher has convinced all you 'God-fearing souls' that I must be the spawn of the devil, since I have more than one wife, and that I should not be allowed to practice here. Now, if this is the way that the town feels about things, maybe I should just stay away from Deadwood, entirely! "

"No, Doc... Don't do that... I will personally see about going around taking up a collection to not only pay for all the supplies, but also to pay your fee. As far as the preacher is concerned, we will see about making him shut up about all the rumors he's trying to spread about you. Just don't leave us without a doctor! You've done a fantastic job, since you came. We know that if you had not been here, many more of us would've died of the smallpox."

"I kind of figured it was like that. I think the storekeeper just got lazy about trying to collect from all of you. Since I had so much credit was on the books, he just thought he would take everything out of that. I'm not even sure if he had the tents and bedding destroyed. I would appreciate it if you would make sure that they are destroyed. 

"I am planning on continuing my circuit through the area. Unless something occurs, I'll continue coming to Deadwood. Another thing you need to consider is that I'm only one man. You need to find someone to act as town marshal and another as deputy. I talked with Judge Mitchell, and he said to try and get the towns to hold elections for mayor, city council, and to try to appoint town marshals."

"We'll do that, Doc. We need to have some law around this area. That's a good idea. How long are you planning to be in town this time?" 

"I should be here three or four days, depending on the needs. Then I am going to Lead, Spearfish, and circle through Sturgis and Silver City, before I head home to Hill City. I will probably come back through here every three to four weeks, depending on the needs. In an emergency, you can always send a rider after me." 

"That's great, Doc, as long as you keep coming back through."

I spent the next three days treating patients for minor accidents and illnesses. It seemed like a lot of people just stopped by to thank me for treating a member of their family. Most of them brought a little something to show their appreciation: a couple of cookies, or pies, etc. A few of these people that came around had lost a loved one. They still told me that they appreciated the effort that we had gone to, to save their loved ones.

Just before we were getting ready to leave, the spokesman of the town merchants approached me, along with another man. 

He handed me several gold double eagles and said, "This is what was left over from the collection, after we paid for the supplies. We'd like you to accept it as your fee. We had an election, as you said. I was elected mayor. This gentleman beside me is Dave Tucker. He was elected town marshal, but we don't know what to do. Does he have authority outside the city limits?"

"That's easy. Dave, raise your right hand and say after me: 'I swear to uphold the laws of the United States of America, and the laws of this territory, so help me God.'" 

After he had said that, I congratulated him. I went to my saddlebags get a badge. 

I told him, "I hope you make a good marshal for this town. If you have any trouble, you know where Judge Mitchell is, in Hill City. He will get back to you. Or, you just get ahold of me. Just be careful. Mostly, just use common sense."

"I'll do that, Doc. I'll be seeing you in around a month." 

After that we headed out for Lead. Lead wasn't much more than just a gold camp. However, I knew from history that as soon as they discovered the Homestead Mine, which would turn out to become the richest gold mine in the world, the town would grow.

After spending a couple of days there we went on to Spearfish. There I met with the man that the preacher had referred to as being a doctor. I found that he was a veterinarian, and only treated humans in cases of emergency. 

While in Sturgis, Running Deer and Little Doe were both nauseous the first thing in the morning. Thinking it was just a small case of the flu, I had them relax. But, when on the second day, Dawn and Moon both were nauseous, also, I started to get concerned about all four wives being sick. I knew that both the Chinese and Indians had little resistance to disease, so I cut my trip short. We headed for Silver City. After spending just one day in Silver city, we headed back to the ranch. 

Dawn approached me and asked. "What is wrong, Clay? What is it that has you acting so worried?"

"I'm just worried about all you girls being sick, every morning. Though none of you are running a fever, or even seem very sick, you're still having nausea."

"That's because we are not sick!"

"What do you mean you're not sick? You all throw up every morning!"

She started laughing really hard.

"And you call yourself a doctor! We throw up in the mornings, not because we are sick, but because we are all having babies! "

I just stared at her, with my mouth hanging open. 

Babies! All four of them pregnant at once! 

I knew then, that grandpa would never let me hear the end of it.

*

Edited By TeNderLoin

And

The OLD FART



Doc Ch. 21



The following morning I awoke, still feeling tired and lazy, thinking I would just llay there and cuddle with my wives.

Suddenly, I heard the front door slam open, and what seemed like a stampede to the front of the house awaking all of my wives. Immediately they all turned pale and rushed out of the house to be sick. 

I thought 'Well, there go my idea of some early morning playtime.'

Getting dressed, I went out to see what all the racket was. 

Finding the boys out in the front room watching my wives be sick among the bushes and looking very concerned I said, "It's nothing to be real worried about, the girls aren't really sick they have what is called morning sickness because they're all going to have babies.

Standing Bear looked at his mother and said, "Mom are you okay? Are you really going to have another baby?"

"Yes, Standing Bear, we should all have babies in the coming spring."

I then checked, "Are all of you ladies okay?"

"We will be okay. Just give the few minutes to get over the nausea than we should be okay to make breakfast soon because you have a long day ahead of you." 

"Is that so. Just what plans do you ladies have for me today?" 

"Winter will soon be here. You, and other men need to hunt and help stockpile meat and other foods for the winter, when it is hard to hunt. You should also get with Red Cloud to make sure everything is okay at the Indian camp for winter. Red Cloud may also want to send out hunting parties to make sure everything is ready for winter," Dawn said.

"You're probably right. After breakfast, I'll go up to the Main House and talk with uncle Henry to find out how things have been.  We have been gone most of the last couple months, so there's bound to be a lot of things to do. I'm just dreading the ribbing he's going to give me about all you ladies being pregnant at once." 

She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "You're not happy to have babies in the spring?" 

Quickly pulling her into a hug I said, "No I'm very happy that you're all going to have babies. The thing I will not been happy about, is the teasing I'll receive from Uncle Henry. He keeps telling me about wanting to have a lot of kids running around the place."

Giggling she said, "Then you need to tease him right back. I'm not sure she's told him yet, but Morning Dove is also going to have another baby in the spring."

I couldn't help it and just started laughing thinking that this was a chance to get a little payback on Grandpa. Pretty soon all the girls were looking at me funny with puzzled expressions so I stopped and explained how much he had laughed at me each time I had gotten married and thought it was up to me to repopulate the ranch. Now it was time for me to give him a dose of his own medicine.

I was still chuckling as we left the cabin and walked toward the Main House. After going in we discovered the family just finishing breakfast, so we stayed to have a cup of coffee with them. 

I decided to bait Grandpa a bit so I said, "Guess what, Uncle Henry, coming spring I am about to become a father!"

He started laughing and said, "That's great, which one is the lucky mother?" 

I looked at him and said, "All of them!" 

This started him laughing so hard that he fell off his chair, so I turned to my grandmother and said, "Aunt Dove don't you have something you want to tell him?"

She looked at me and smiled and said, "Stop laughing, you old fool, Clay's not the only one is going to become a father in the spring."  

This sobered Grandpa right up, his laughing suddenly stopped, and he looked at Morning Dove and said, "You mean you're going to have another baby?"

"Yup. Sometime in April little Jacob will no longer be the baby of the family. I think you'll probably have a little brother."

Right after she said this Rose, Sally and my wives all gathered around her and started making plans for the new babies. 

So I turned to Grandpa and said, "Congratulations! I see I'm not the only one who is going to be populating the ranch."

He chuckled and said, "She really surprised me, this time. I thought Jake would be my last one. I'm getting up there in age you know." 

"Oh you're not so old. What are you now fifty-three, fifty-four? And Aunt Dove, she's only in her late thirties, right?"

"I'm a little older than you thought. I'll be sixty in May, and Dove just turned forty-two last month."

"Wow, neither of you look it. It must be all that good food and all the exercise you get working on the ranch." 

Then I told him that instead of going out on another circuit through the towns the girls had told me that I needed to go do some hunting for the winter. Furthermore, that I should check to see how Red Cloud's coming along and make sure they had no problems there.

"You know I had thought of that? The Indians don't really care that much for beef. They would much rather have wild game. I know that Red Cloud hasn't sent out many hunting parties due to the trouble after Custer. I just thought I would help supplement them with a few Steers. It might be a good idea to see if Red Cloud might want to come with us with a few of his braves hunting."

Seeing that all the women were still talking excitedly we let them know where we were going and left them do their planning.

Shortly after riding into the camp, we found Red Cloud sitting around the fire with several of the other older braves discussing things. After we greeted him. He invited us to sit and join the discussion. We sat and listened for a few minutes not wanting to just raise the suggestion about hunting right away knowing how the Indians hated to be rushed and that any decision should be discussed in detail first. Finally, after things calmed down, we told him that we were going to go hunting for a few days and invited him and some of his braves to come along.

Red Cloud said, "It is a good idea. I have been trying to hold off on sending out hunting parties because of the white man's attitude after the Custer massacre. We don't want to have them think that we are a raiding party have them calling the Army to wipe us out. We do need to hunt meat for the winter. So it is a good idea for us hunt with you then we no have problems with white eyes." 

While preparations were being made for our hunt, I decided to look through the camp and see if anyone needed medical help. While doing this Spotted Owl, the twins' father, walked up and to me. 

"Greetings, Two Lives, I want to ask about daughters. Are they okay? Can you have them come visit? Their mother, and I would like to see them more often? Rain miss them very much."

"Hello Spotted Owl it's good to see that you are well. I'm sorry it's been so long since your daughters have come to visit. We have been away helping sick people, but that is no excuse. I will tell the girls to come see their mother more often. I think that they will be out to see her today, to let her know the good news."

"Good news? What is good news?"

"I probably should not tell you but if you can keep a secret and act surprised when the girls tell you, they are both pregnant and should have babies in the spring." 

"Is good news! Rain will be very excited to hear of new grandbabies. I will make sure to act surprised."

"If you or she are ever lonely to see them, you are always welcome to come for a visit."

"Is good. Rain misses them, and would be very happy to visit."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to see their mother, too. You know I also took Dawn as a wife, and adopted Standing Bear as my son, didn't you? What you may not know is that I've also taken a fourth wife named Moon. All four of them will be having babies in the spring," I told him, worried about how he would react.

"Is good. I hope you have many strong sons. You good man, Two Lives. I know you be good father."

"It's good that you think so. I will try to be a good husband and father."

About that time, I saw Grandpa and Red Cloud gathered with about thirty braves leading ten or so extra horses. As we got to them, I noticed that ten of them looked like young teenage boys. 

I looked at Grandpa questioningly, and he said, "Once we get to where we are camping, we will split into small hunting parties. The boys will be used two at a time to ferry the kills from the hunting camp back to here."

Just as we were about to leave Jake came racing up on his pony shouting, "Dad, Clay, there's a messenger at the cabin for Clay from Deadwood, he says that Reverend Smith had three other men were ambushed on the road outside Deadwood. They say it looks like Indians did it." 

Turning to Red Cloud and Grandpa I said, "It looks like I'm not going to be able to go hunting with you. I'm going to have to leave for Deadwood as soon as possible to see about catching whoever did this. Red Cloud would it be possible to borrow a couple of your best trackers?"

"I know is not any of our people who did this. I will send Spotted Owl and four of my best trackers with you to help catch and punish these people."

I had not realized that my father, Spotted Owl, was a sub-chief of the Lakota tribe. Spotted Owl immediately left the hunting party, and sent one of the boys to gather the other men who would be doing most of the tracking. As this was going on I came up to him and said, "Spotted Owl do you think that Rain might like to go and stay in my Cabin with the girls? That will give her a good chance to visit, and get reacquainted with them."

"Is good idea. Rain can talk with daughters, and help them understand more about being a mother and raising babies."

Another of the boys was then sent to go get Rain. As this was happening the other boy came back with four men. I started talking to them when I noticed two of them were looking very puzzled. It seemed that we may have a problem. I turned to Spotted Owl and said, "I don't think they understand quite what I'm saying. Do they all speak English?"

Spotted Owl started talking to them rapidly in their own language then turned to me and said, "Soaring Hawk does not speak your language, but is best tracker in camp. Tall Elk understands some of your language, but not well. Puma and Small Horse speak your language very well, and will help me translate. I can get others who speak your language but are not as good at tracking.

"No, I am sure they will do very well as long as we keep each of them with someone who does speak my language. I'm sure that I'm going to make a lot of people very angry, but I think that before we go, I need to swear you all in as deputies."

"What that mean? Swear in as deputies? 

"It means that I need them to give their word that they will follow orders and help me uphold the laws of the white man's government," knowing that once a Lakota brave gave his personal word, nothing could make him break it.

Spotted Owl said, "Red Cloud already told them you in charge, they no disobey chiefs orders."

"I know that is the way of the Lakota. However, white man's rules say that I need their personal oath that they will follow the white man's laws. So could you explain it to them?"

"Seems unnecessary but I will do it." He then started speaking to the men rapidly in their own tongue than said, "They say that they promise to do as you say."

After giving them each a badge, and making sure that they were armed, we stopped off at the cabin to let the women know where we were going, as we might be gone several days. I had them pack some food as I tied my bedroll and medicine bag to my saddle. Finally we were off, headed towards Deadwood. 

Edited by The Old Fart

Final Edit by TeNderLoin



Doc Ch. 22



CHAPTER 22

As we rode into Hill City, we caused quite a stir. The men started gathering around as we pulled up in front of the courthouse. There seemed to be a lot more weapons showing than normal from what I could see. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one man starting to level a shotgun toward us. I quickly palmed my cross-draw pistol and fired. I hit the stock of the shotgun, sending splinters into the man's arm and face. It seemed to be quite an amazing shot to everyone, so I kept quiet that I'd been trying for his arm. 

I yelled out to everyone to stand down, that the Indians were not a threat. They were, in fact, working for me. The next person to try to harm them would answer to me. 

While all this was going on, Judge Mitchell came out of the courthouse to see what all the commotion was. Seeing me, he came up and asked what was going on.

"Judge! I was just coming to see you. A messenger came to our ranch this morning, and said that the Reverend Smith and party was ambushed outside Deadwood, and it looked like Indians had done it. I was talking with Red Cloud at the time, and he suggested I take some Indian trackers with me to help me catch the guilty parties. Since you are the federal judge of this territory, and it's officially Indian lands, I would like you to swear in these Braves as my deputies."

"I don't know, Clay, this could really stir-up a lot of trouble. Having an Indian as a lawman might really rub some of these people the wrong way. That older Indian looks like Spotted Owl, one of Red Cloud's main war chiefs. He has led a lot of war parties through this area over the years. Are you sure he can be trusted not to start the next Indian war?"

"You're right, that is Spotted Owl. Red Cloud sent him along to help keep tabs on the others. I was unaware that he was a sub chief, although I know he can be trusted. You see, besides being a sub chief he is also my father. He is Running Deer and Little Doe's father."

"Are you sure you want them sworn in as permanent deputies? You could swear the men yourself as temporary deputies without causing so much fuss."

"I'm sure. Uncle Henry rode as a US marshal in the Oklahoma territory for years, with five Osage deputies. It worked quite well for him, it being officially Indian land. I think that since the treaties signed in Fort Laramie deed the Black Hills to the Lakota it is only right to have some of the Lakota help in keeping law and order on their land. 

"Since you and I represent the federal law for the area, these Lakota working for me in upholding the law will be answering to us. However, with these young braves helping us to track outlaws and renegades. It will also show Red Cloud we are upholding justice no matter the outlaws' race, whether white or red. This may help stop any further uprisings."

"Okay, if you're sure. Oh, and that shot I heard just before I came out here?"

"One of your heroic townsfolk was going to try shooting the Indians with a shotgun, most likely hitting us, too. He would probably have wounded half of the men in the town with a blast from that shotgun. I fired and shattered the stock. It looks like we're done, here. 

"It's going to take me about an hour to remove all the splinters from the idiot. Then I plan on arresting in him as a public nuisance. If he had fired, he would have probably started a new Indian war that none of us wants."

"You can do that but there's not a lot I can do to him besides a large fine and a lecture about what he almost caused." 

"You do that. I plan on giving him a piece of my mind to while removing those splinters... which must be stinging like hell by now. You might also remind him of the penalties for pointing a weapon at a federal officer. If you can, scare the hell out of him." 

The judge got a thoughtful look on his face, then chuckled as he said, "That I can do. I'll make sure he and his friends think twice about doing something like that, again."

"Judge, I just thought of something else the larger towns and cities need. This new thing will lessen jail time for a lot of minor crimes. They've come up with a new punishment. They call it 'community service'. I know a lot of people we end up locking up really haven't broken any major laws. A lot of them are just minor infractions. 

"Instead of putting them in jail, just give them so many days of work to do, to help improve their communities... such as digging a well, or painting something, or even just picking up trash. Sometimes that's a lot more beneficial to the community than giving someone jail time."

"I can see your point, there. It will also save having to feed them and will get a lot of the minor jobs around town done. This is something I need to think about! I can see that it wouldn't work with any of the major criminals, without posting a heavy guard on them; but for minor infractions, it should work quite well."

"I'd better go and get those splinters removed. I'll bring you your first candidate for the community service. Maybe you could fine him, and sentence him to a couple of days work for stupidity and being a public nuisance."

After taking him to the first cabin behind the general store and removing about a dozen splinters that were embedded in the man's arm and cheek, I turned him over to the judge. We continued towards Deadwood, arriving a few hours later. 

Upon arriving, we were greeted much the same as in Hill city with hostile looks and a lot of well armed citizens until I pulled my gun and fired into the air to get everyone's attention. 

I said, "All right, quiet down, everyone. These men are here to help me track down the killers who ambushed Reverend Smith."

"How do we know you're not just going through the motions? We all know that Reverend Smith and you did not get along," one miner yelled out.

"You're right I didn't like Reverend Smith. I thought he was a blowhard and a troublemaker. However, I was sworn to do my duty. I thought I had proven that to you people during the smallpox epidemic. However, if this is how you feel, then we'll say we have caught these killers. 

"I'll just cross Deadwood off my list of towns to visit, unless it's legal business I have here. Hell, it's almost winter, anyway. I won't be able to make my rounds much longer."

"Now wait just a minute, Doc! That asshole doesn't speak for all of us! We know how hard you and your wife worked to keep so many alive during the smallpox outbreak. Without you, it would have been much worse. We need you to keep coming through our town! In fact, we were worried about the winter and what we will do for medical care during it. Would you consider moving to Deadwood?"

"No, I don't think so. So far I've had nothing but trouble most times I visited your town. I don't think I'd want to live here. I already spend too much time just traveling a circuit through the towns of the area. I'll tell you what, find someone that wants to learn something about medicine and send them to our ranch and send word to the other camps and towns in the area to see if they have anyone they would like to send. We only have about two and a half months until winter really sets in. When that happens, no one will be traveling until spring, unless it's an emergency. This will also free up a lot of my time, so I'm not constantly traveling."

"Would you consider teaching women, too, Doc?" one lady in the back yelled out.

Recognizing her as one of the women who helped during the smallpox outbreak I said, "Yes! Helen, it's good to see you again. Anyone that wants to learn is welcome, but only if they want to learn. I don't have any extra time for someone who isn't that interested in learning, like the late Reverend."

"Well, I'm interested! When you want me to be there?" she replied. 

"As soon as we catch these killers I'll be heading back toward home. I don't how long that'll take, probably a couple of days to a week. If you'd like, I can come back through here and you can ride back with us. Just make sure that the other camps and towns are informed, so that they can send representatives, too."

Once that was taken care of, I said, "We need someone to show us where Reverend Smith and his party were attacked, so that we can find the trail of whoever did it."

That same miner said, "We all know how you felt about Reverend Smith, and how well you think of the Indians. How do we know that you won't be just going through the motions?"

"Look, asshole, I gave my word to uphold the law no matter what I thought about Reverend Smith or how I treat the Indians. I will do my duty. If any of you are afraid that justice won't be served, you're more than welcome to ride along. However, you will follow my orders, or you will be arrested for obstructing justice. Now, I need someone to show me the site where the ambush took place. I will deputize as temporary US marshals any that want to come along. Pay is one dollar a day and found."

I soon had a half a dozen men volunteering to ride along, including the loudmouth miner. 

Pointing to him I said, "Not, you. I can tell right now you would be more of a hindrance than a help. This could be trouble enough, without you causing more." 

About an hour later we were at the ambush site. Spotted Owl started our trackers searching the area. Soon they came to me and said that they found the trail. It looked as if about ten men, both Indians and white men had done the ambush. We started trailing them and about an hour later we saw where the outlaws met up with about twenty others, and headed the same direction. 

I saw that this was more than our small group could handle easily. By the tracks, it looked as if the majority were Indians. 

I turned to Spotted Owl and said, "It looks as though we have a group of renegades and whites trying to stir up a war. Can you send two of the men back to Red Cloud's camp for reinforcements and I'll have two of the others go to the nearest town, I guess that would be Silver City. I'll try and get us some reinforcements from there, also. I'll stress that they are to keep the peace and avoid conflicts as much as possible. The rest of us will continue to trail them, and try to find where their camp is."

As we continued following their trail, I worried about the men from the nearby towns. They would be working with a Lakota war party, to bring justice to a bunch of outlaws and renegade Indians. It would be either a blessing, or the start of a new Indian war. 

*

Edited by Old Fart

Final Edit By TeNderLoin 



Doc Ch. 23



Soon after, we sent for reinforcements. We set out again, tracking the renegades and outlaws. We doubled our flank guards, to keep us fully warned in case of an ambush. We knew that it would be at least several hours before help could arrive. 

As we were following the tracks of the outlaws I dropped back to speak with Spotted Owl. "This seems to be a large party of mixed white men and Indians. How do you think we should handle this?" 

"We need to follow and watch. See how ambushers act. Decide then best way to kill them." 

"I think we need to try to get some prisoners. To find out if this is just one bunch or part of a conspiracy." 

"Is good idea. Take prisoners. Make prisoners talk before kill them." 

"That's going to be a problem. We can't just kill them. Those that we capture will have to have a fair trial and if found guilty will probably hang. The main problem is an uneasy balance between the white men and the Indians. If we just slaughter the prisoners, then in reality, we are no better than they are. So they will need to have a trial, and that leads up to another problem. Since there is a mix of both white men and Indians, and we may have a problem with fairness. That may spark off a new uprising, if it is seen that we are harsher with the Indians, than we are with our own people."

"Is not problem. White man's law judge white men. I am sub-chief Lakota nation. Red Cloud and the other to sub chiefs judge Indian people. Then no problem." 

"There is still a problem if it is seen that one race is harsher than the other that could still cause problems."

"Maybe it better if white judge all, and Indian judge all. Then it cannot be said not fair." 

"That's a good idea. We'll take all the prisoners to Hill City since Judge Mitchell is the federal judge for this territory. Do you think Red Cloud would consent to be the judge for the Indian people, since he is chief of the Lakota nation?"

"Yes, Red Cloud will want to judge. Renegades go against his orders not to start trouble."

"So if they are found guilty of murdering Reverend Smith, what will be the penalty? If it is not strong enough punishment than the white men will think justice is not done." 

"Is not problem. Penalty for disobeying Chiefs' orders is banishment or death. Since others were killed also, penalty will be death."

"That's not going to make it easy to capture them. They'll think that they have nothing to lose by continuing to fight." 

"True. They will fight to the death. I don't think many will be captured alive." 

At this time the forward scouts came up quickly. They reported to Spotted Owl rapidly in Lakota. 

He turned to me and said, "They have found the camp, ahead. There are eight white men and twenty-three renegade Lakota."

He then said something else in Lakota to the scout. After a short exchange, he turned back to me. 

"It looks like the white men and Lakota don't trust each other. Many arguments." Just then the scout said something else and Spotted Owl translated. "Leader of the Lakota renegades is Red Dog."

"Red Dog? I don't think of ever heard of him?" 

"Him brave that you fix leg for. Have strong hate for white man."

"If he hates white men so bad, what's he doing with these?"

"I think him just using them. Soon him kill them."

"I think so, too. It will probably take until the day after tomorrow before reinforcements are here. In the meantime we have a lot of enemies against us. I think it may benefit us to try to get them fighting among themselves, to pare the numbers down a little before we have to fight them."

"How we do this? Need to keep us being here as surprise." 

"What I think we need to do is get them fighting among themselves. After dark, do you think we could sneak a couple of scouts into their camp, and cause a little trouble. Such as take, something from one group that's valuable to that person, and include it among the other group's things. When they awaken to find their valuables among the other group's belongings, it should cause a lot of resentment. Furthermore, if we can locate any of the valuables from the robberies they have with them, we should take them, too. That way they are when they discover that the loot is gone, and they are unable to find it, that should really cause them to start fighting among themselves."

"That can work. But what about guards? If they are alert, it will be much hard to sneak into camp." 

"You're right... let's see... I know! How many guards do they have?"

Spotted Owl to spoke with one of the scouts and then said, "They have seen only two guards." 

"I have an idea but I'm not sure that will work? How hard would it be to make it look as if one guard killed the other than robbed the rest of the camp, and then disappeared?

"If careful, it could be done easily. One guard is white man the other is Lakota. If it made to look like Indian killed the white guard and stole weapons and horses from the others, it should cause many distrusts and cause fighting among them."

"That could work. However, also since it does not look as if the two groups really mix together much. While we are waiting for reinforcements why don't we stir up a little more trouble? We can let them catch glimpses of us stirring up trouble for the other group, causing unrest, and hopefully start them fighting more among themselves. That would whittle down the odds."

That night the raid on the camp seemed to go off like clockwork. The sentries were easily taken out. Forward scouts slipped into camp and made off with several weapons and most of the horses. While unable to eliminate most of the outlaws, it was hoped that the result could cause distrust amongst them. 

Early the next morning, as we were planning our next move, we heard horses approaching us from the other direction. Quickly, we concealed ourselves. We soon saw that it was the reinforcements from Silver City. Included among them, was Doc Williams, the veterinarian from Spearfish. He was probably the only other person in the area with any knowledge of medicine. 

I quickly appraised them of the situation in the enemy camp, only a couple of miles down the road. They were at what appeared to be an abandoned mining site. Some of the reinforcements were all for attacking at once, until I explained that there were over forty of them. By attacking now, we would basically be committing suicide. It seemed to stop some of the haste in their attack plans. I then explained that reinforcements were coming from Hill City, and that they should arrive by the afternoon.

When asked how many reinforcements, I explained that I was not sure, but that Red Cloud would be sending a war party to help support us, since the majority of the enemy were renegade warriors. 

This caused quite a stir amongst them. They would be fighting alongside and in support of their traditional enemies for years. I explained that the renegades were going against Red Clouds orders against stirring up trouble. I also explained that he would also be sitting in all judgments against all the people.

"How do we know he won't turn of murdering Indians loose to go out and murder more white men? They have been murdering us for years and should have all but wiped out years ago," one loudmouth shouted from the rear of the group.

"I'm sure they'd rather be judged by white man's law. However, Red Cloud will be also judging them. Besides being guilty of the white man's laws, they are guilty of disobeying the chief's orders. On a minor offense, punishment would be banishment. However, since this is a major offense, the punishment is a very painful death. That is a much more severe punishment than any white man's court would sentence them to. To the Lakota, disobeying the chief's order is a much worse crime."

"That's a much worse crime than robbery and murder?" one man called out. 

"It is to them. I believe that the reason in the renegades joined the other thieves, is to start a new Indian war. Their leader is well known for his hatred of the white man. It is Red Clouds wish not to promote a war that he knows would be harmful to his people."

"So what is so different about this time? How do we know that he won't just attack us and break his word? Now we received word that he wants us to pay to use the land we already have. That is land that we have already had for the last five years!" 

"He is trying his best to be peaceful. But the land you're working was given to the Lakota, in the Laramie Treaty of 1868. You were actually on his land. If you had read the terms of the lease, you would find they are quite reasonable. Instead of trying to just kick you off, he is asking for a minimal payment, and the ability to have a say in the use of the land. He does not want to land to be over-hunted, nor would he want to have all the trees stripped from an area, and be used as mine supports. 

"He doesn't say that NO hunting and logging should be allowed, just that it not be overdone. He wants the land to last for future generations. Take, for instance, my family's land. Our lease calls for the equivalent of one head of cattle, for each quarter section, per year. That's to help feed the tribes during the winter. I don't know about you, but I feel that is reasonable. It's certainly not worth killing or being killed over. As I said before, according to government treaties, this is their land."

Another man called out. "How do we know that they won't break their word to us? It seems like every time there is a treaty. They break it!"

"I think if you will look back in history, that you will find that EVERY broken treaty made to the Indians, was broken by the white man, and not by the Indians. The Lakota people take special pride in their word. To them, it is totally reprehensible to break your promise. I would trust the word of a Lakota, long before I would trust the word of most."

"It still feels odd to be fighting alongside the Indians instead of against them."

"If it's any compensation, there are still about thirty renegades mixed with the other outlaws. You'll be fighting them, as soon as the other reinforcements get here. In the meantime, here's what we are doing while we wait." 

I laid out our plans on causing disharmony among the outlaws and renegades. Over the next few hours, we proceeded with our plan. We didn't want to just cause a massacre, so in a different direction from where our camp was, we caused several incidents to happen. After observing the results of the night's raid on the enemy's camp, we observed several arguments and fights taking place. 

In one such case, after a fistfight between one of the white men and one of the Indians, the white man was put on guard duty. I had one of our scouts shoot him in the leg with an arrow. Besides having one wounded man taken out of the fight, this created quite a rift between the two groups, causing more major distrust. 

Furthermore, I caused their scouts to get a brief glimpse of one of our scouts, dressed as the other group, spying on him from between him and their camp. This caused much more distrust. 

Throughout the day, we saw numerous fights between them, resulting in several killings. While the Indians outnumbered them, the white men were much better armed.

Early in the afternoon, a large war party of about forty braves showed up, and reported directly to Spotted Owl. After much discussion, Spotted Owl brought the brave who seemed to be the leader, over to meet with me. 

"This is Tall Bear. He has brought forty braves, as ordered by Red Cloud. However, he and three of the other braves do not wish to be in the fight because some of the renegades are of their family. It is not right for family to war against each other."

Turning to Tall Bear I said, "That is very understandable. I cannot hold it against anyone who does not want to fight because of family or personal reasons. We are going to try to capture as many as we can. However, undoubtedly, there will be bloodshed. If you wish, the others may either return to Red Clouds' camp, or wait here for us to return." 

"Red Cloud said we are to fight and stop renegades. We will fight with you , just understand we will not turn weapons on family and friends. Red Cloud is the leader of the Lakota nation. We do as he says. However, we asked they not order us to kill family or friends."

"That is very understandable. I would never ask anyone to do anything that was dishonorable." 

After a battle plan session with the others, it was decided that we would attack just before sundown, while the enemy was distracted by eating supper. 

Things started out as we had planned. We easily overtook the guards, and surrounded the camp. Unfortunately, the outlaws had a lot of cover readily available. This was not going to be an easy fight. 

I had seen to it that all extra weapons were distributed as evenly as possible. Our best shots would open the attack by taking out many of the enemy as possible, in the opening seconds of the attack. 

Things were going quite well until I felt a burning pain in my lower back. Then, suddenly, everything went black.



Edited By TeNderLoin & The Old Fart



Doc Ch. 24



As I was slowly regaining consciousness, I tried to look around, but it seemed as if every little movement was a new experience in pain. Giving it up as a bad idea, I quickly drifted off to sleep, again. 

The next time I regained consciousness, I noticed a woman whom I did not recognize. I tried to call out, but what came out of my mouth, was more of a dry croaking sound. At least it got her attention. She rushed out of the room. A few moments later, Doc Williams came rushing, in with the woman on his heels. 

"Damn, I'm glad to see you back with the living, Doc. You have been unconscious for the last three days. I was starting to get worried a mite."

I tried to ask him what had happened, but again, all that would come out was a croaking sound. Hearing this, the woman brought me a cup of water. Putting it to my lips, she gave me several small sips. I finally thought I could form words.

"Doc Williams, what happened? All I can remember was it seemed we were winning, when it felt like I was kicked in the back by a mule."

"We were winning. Then suddenly, this big Indian rose up from behind a stack of supplies, and shot you in the back. We learned later that his name was Red Dog, and that he was the leader of the renegades."

"Damn! Did he get away?"

"Nope! Right after he shot you, this other Indian... the one that brought the reinforcements, Tall Bear, I think his name was... shot him! Then, as soon as the fight was over, Tall Bear went off by himself and started wailing. It turns out this Red Dog was his brother."

"Damn, I promised him that the braves would not have to fight their family. Nevertheless, he killed his own brother, and probably saved my life by doing it."

"Spotted Owl said Tall Bear wanted to talk to you, if you lived."

"That makes me nervous. I wonder if he's going to want to fight me for breaking my word about him having to fight family, and kill his own brother? I may owe him an honor debt. 

"What about the others? Were any others wounded or killed? And how many prisoners are there and where are they?"

"They didn't seem too mad at you, not even Tall Bear. We had five wounded, and you are the worst. Two of the Indians were killed. I think it was because their weapons were so poor in quality. They don't seem to know about the upkeep of them. They were surprised when we told them that we needed to clean our guns. 

"We didn't take many Indian prisoners, but the white men? About half of them gave up when it was clear we were winning, and they couldn't get away. The renegade Indians kept trying to fight, to the last man. We only took four of them prisoner, and that was only because they were too badly injured to keep fighting." 

"That's understandable. They know Red Cloud will have them put to a very painful death, for disobeying his orders, and endangering the tribe." 

"I guess that would stop them from surrendering. Spotted Owl and some of the men from Silver City escorted the prisoners to Hill City. I got them patched up, using some of your medical instruments. 

"Speaking of those, they are the best instruments I've ever seen. Where can I order some?" 

Trying to cover up that my instruments were from a different time, I said, "I had the lot of them made for me by this fellow from Germany, while I was back east in school. I don't know how to find him, anymore, or even if he's still alive. I think if we can find someone that can copy them, we might be able to get you some. I don't know how he did it, but they are plated, somehow, to keep them from corroding. I just ordered a lot of new stuff in the Montgomery Ward catalogue, too. Speaking of my doctoring stuff how badly hurt am I? I can tell you I seem to hurt all over?" 

"You were lucky. The bullet, as far as I can tell, missed all your vital organs, but it did a lot of muscle damage, and you're going to be sore for a long time. What concerns me is even though I'm pretty sure I got the wound cleaned well, and got all foreign substances out, you are showing some signs of an infection. I'm just not sure how to fight it. I'm a horse doctor. I do pretty well with cattle, too. I can patch up people in a pinch, but I just don't know enough."

"Sounds like you did a pretty good job. If you'll get my bag, I think I have something in it that will help get rid of the infection."

After he got my bag, I had him give me a quarter of the normal dose of laudanum. You had to use laudanum carefully, because of the high chance of becoming addicted. However, for this time period it was the best painkiller available. 

I had him take some hydrogen peroxide and a small cleaning brush, and thoroughly clean the wound. I told him to keep at it, until it stopped bubbling. That let me know that most of the infection had been cleaned away. 

I took my syringe, and filled it with five milliliters of penicillin. I didn't at the time remember that my penicillin was from a veterinary supply. It was actually penicillin used on horses and livestock, and said so on the label.  

"What's this? It says it's for horses?" 

Thinking fast, I said, "It's something new I brought from back east. It's not really on the market yet, because they're still testing it. I found that it works very well combating infection. The only supply I could find was for horses, because it hasn't been fully tested for human use, yet. However, as long as they're not allergic to it, small doses can be used on humans. It's actually quite easy to make, which is what I'll have to do when my supply runs out. It's made from the blue-green mold that's found growing on citrus fruits and bread molds."

"That's amazing! If this works out well at combating infections, you'll have to show me how it's made. You say it can be used on humans as well as animals?"

"Yes, although some humans are allergic to it. So if they have never had before you need to watch them closely the first time. They may have a severe reaction."  

"Okay, I can see where that might be a problem. Just, really, if it prevents infections, it may be worth the risk. Infections seem to be the main problems. They cause deaths or having to amputate."

"Yes. This also works for other things, such as helping fight diseases. But you must use it sparingly, as the patient may develop immunity to it. Then it is worthless."

I then went on to tell him of the story of the saloonkeeper in Deadwood, and the 'room girl' at work for him. She was spreading the clap. I had charged him for the penicillin to cure her. I told him of making the saloonkeeper pay the girl until she was disease-free. 

He said he knew the guy. He thought it was funnier than hell that the guy had paid me so much money. He said that the guy was one of the cheapest bastards he knew. 

While we were chatting, I couldn't help but notice the woman buzzing about the room trying to make everything more comfortable. Noticing me glancing at her, Doc Williams spoke up. 

"Where are my manners? Clay this is my sister, Elizabeth Starr. This is her house in Silver city. She has been assisting me in trying to doctor you back to health. She seems to have a real flair for it, and would like to become a doctor herself, except that she knows no one would come to a woman doctor."

"I don't know about that. Times are changing. I think the new standard is women have a good chance of being accepted as doctors, if they are good enough. Did you ever think of sending her back east to a good medical school?"

"As you know, I'm just a horse doctor, but Liz seems to have a real flair for medicine. What she really lacks, is the confidence. She's not sure she is good enough to learn to be a doctor. Is there any chance you might teach her some to prove that she can learn medicine?"

"You know, it takes years to learn to be a doctor. However, I was thinking that with winter setting in, I could teach some of the people in the various areas first-aid. It would never be as good as actually having a doctor available, but it may save some lives to be able to help them until a doctor can be fetched for them. I can teach her that in about a month, and we can see if she has the confidence to actually attend medical school. 

It won't be easy for her to become a female doctor, or to gain a patient's confidence in being treated by a woman, but it can be done."

"That's a great idea, Clay. That would let her learn some medicine, and find out if it's right for her. When would you be able to do this?"

"Well, you know I'm going to be laid up for a while with this wound... Why don't you spread the word to the outlying towns? Find out if anyone else is interested in some 'first-aid' training. I think we can handle maybe eight people. 

"Have them come to me at our ranch, where I can give them about thirty days of instruction. This should let us finish, and they can still return home a few weeks before winter sets in. This could help save a lot of lives, when people are snowed in. Also, I'll have some sort of medical help, if needed. One thing you might point out, is that midwives would be really good prospects for this training."

We sat around chatting about these ideas for a while, and then heard the knocking coming from the front door. Elizabeth went to answer it, and then we heard some excited voices coming from the front room. 

"Oh, no! It's going to hit the fan, now!" I said, recognizing the voices of my wives coming from the front room. 



Edited by TeNderLoin & The Old Fart



Doc Ch. 25



Now I had four women surrounding me, all trying to talk all at once. Suddenly, Dawn stopped, and slapped me right across the face. Then she stepped back with a look of horror on her face. The others just stared at her, also in shock. Suddenly she was in my arms, crying and begging me to forgive her. She said that she was so scared of me dying, that something inside her just snapped. She said she hadn't meant to slap me.

I just wrapped her in my arms, trying to ignore the pain of my side. I was whispering in her ear that everything would be okay, while trying to comfort her until she stopped crying. After several minutes she finally started to settle down. Looking up at my other wives, I noticed that all three of them were glaring at me. 

Finally, I asked them, with tears in my eyes, "What did I do? All of you seem to be angry at me, but I don't think I've done anything wrong! Are you tired of being my wives? Are you going to leave me?"

The next thing I knew I had all four of them crying and trying to hug me at once. 

"No! We were just afraid you were going to die. We were afraid we would be widows before we even became mothers." 

Moon then glanced up to my face and noticed me trying not to show the pain I was obviously having. 

Turning to the others she said, "Clay! You should say we give you pain!" 

On hearing that, all my wives turned me loose. They pulled back a step, so as to keep from hurting me any more. Seeing the looks on their faces, from having hurt me, I quickly pulled them close again. I ignored any slight twinges of pain, so as not to cause them any more distress. I assured them that I was okay; that I was very sore, but should be able to go home in a day or two.

After that, we sat and tried visiting. It was a chore just trying to keep them from fussing over me. It seemed like every time I tried to do something, one of them was there trying to do it for me. I finally got tired of it.

"Girls, you've got to let me try to do things for myself. I'm not helpless. The sooner I start to do things for myself, again, the sooner I'll be better." 

I could see that this didn't set well with them, but I was getting a little fed up with them trying to pamper me. 

After that, things started to settle down a little bit. 

I asked, "How did you get here, and where are y'all going to stay, while you are here? I should be able to go home a couple days, if we can work out how to get there."

Running Deer spoke up then and said, "When we found out you were hurt, we loaded everything into the wagons, and came here as fast as we could. We have Doctor Wagon, and House Wagon, parked outside."

I was surprised that they had brought both of the wagons so I asked," I understand you bringing the wagon that we live in, but why you did you bring my doctor's wagon?"

"Knew you were hurt. We thought you might need Doctor things."

I thought for a minute, and concluded that maybe they were right. There were many items in the wagon that might make things easier for my recovery. There were also many more medical supplies then I normally have in my first aid kit. 

I said, "Maybe you're right. There are things in that wagon that we may need. I should be ready to travel home in the next couple of days, but I doubt I will be able to drive, right away. One of you will have to do the driving for me."

"Is okay. Running Deer and Little Doe drive House wagon. Dawn and Moon drive Doctor wagon," Moon said.

"Yes, that will work. However, right now, I don't think I can handle being bounced around too much. We'll see how things are in a day or so."

We continued to talk for a few hours. 

Doctor Williams' sister came in, with a bowl of chicken soup. She said that it was time to eat. Turning to my wives, she said that she had food for everyone in the kitchen. She would feed me, while they were in the kitchen eating. Then she said I needed to rest. This started all my wives saying how they would help take care of me. 

Seeing that my wives were ready to argue about this, I butted in. I said how Doctor Williams had told me about his sister wanting to study medicine, and how this would be good experience for her. This seemed to calm them down, some; but I could still see they were anxious to take care of me, themselves.

After we had eaten we sat around with the women fussing over me. Doc Williams came in with another man that I'd seen before, but never met. 

He said, "Clay, I'd like you to meet Clem Aldrich, our local blacksmith. I know most blacksmiths just do rough metal work, but Clem is kind of an artist. I was wondering if you would let Clem take a look at your instruments, and see if he could possibly copy them." 

This got me kind of interested. If Clem could copy them, then possibly I could have a spare set, and Doctor Williams could have a set of his own. Moon then ran outside and brought back my Doctor's bag from the wagon. I set about showing what my instruments were, and how they worked. This got Clem excited, and he brought out a couple of sheets of paper. He started to draw how my instruments looked, and how they worked. 

After a minute he asked, "These are great tools but wouldn't some of them be better if they were smaller?"

"Yes, the smaller the better for some, but they still have to work the same. Are you able to do such precision work?"

"Yes. I was originally trained as a gunsmith but there's not enough work of that kind to make a living, so what I mostly do is blacksmithing. I still got all my gunsmith tools, though, and I can do precision work with them."

This got me really excited! If he could make these tools, and another set of some of them at about half the size; it would make things a lot easier, since I didn't have everything thought I needed. I had Dawn bring me some paper and a pencil, from the wagon. I started to sketch out more instruments, to see if Clem could make them.

As I was sketching a couple of clamps and hemostats I wanted; I noticed Doctor Williams and Clem, both, staring at me. I stopped and asked them what they were looking at. 

Clem said, "I've seen pencils before, but never one that could write such a fine line. Where did you get something like that?" 

He held up the pencil he was using. It looked like something a kindergartner or a carpenter would use. It was about half an inch across, and very bulky. 

I thought fast and said, "I got a bunch of these back East. I've got a couple I'll give you. They are good for sketching, because they make such a fine line." 

I was just glad that I wasn't using a ball point pen. I wasn't sure how I would explain that!

Clem studied what I had drawn and said, "I'm pretty sure I can make those. Do you want them in different sizes? 

"If you can but like another set just like these and two sets about half the size of this one. How long do you think it will take you to make them?"

"You should be able to have them in two or three weeks."

Doctor Williams then asked, "Clay, he won't be able to make them shiny like these. How can he stop them from rusting? If you use oil it would poison whatever you use them on."

Thinking about this I said, "You have to use mineral oil to protect them from rust. Then you boil them and clean them with alcohol, before you use them."

"That might work. We do have to keep an eye on our patients for infection, but that 'horse stuff' you have should work. Think you can get more of that for me?"

"I'll leave you some of what I have. I think I have the instructions on how to make more, in one of my books. I know it is actually made from the mold that you can find on some fruits. I'll have to look through my books, and do some experimenting, before I'm sure."

I paid Clem for instruments he would be making, and he grinned.

He told me, "I think I might make a lot of extra copies of some of these. It will be something to do while we're snowed in this winter. I can see a lot of other uses for some of these. Especially the one that clamps shut," he added, pointing to the hemostats.

"Yes, those are very handy for a lot of things. But remember to use good steel to make them. Spring steel works best. That's what these are made of. Then, these are plated to prevent corrosion."

Clem thought for a minute then said, "I've done some electoral plating on guns with gold and silver. But it is very slow and expensive to do. Would that help?"

"They would both work great. However, gold is soft, and would wear off faster. If you use silver it would last a lot longer. On most things you would not have to plate them. But for medical instruments, if they were plated with silver, there would be less chance of infection." 

I was the glad I had paid the extra money to have the ones that Shoemaker had made, plated with silver.

After receiving the extra money for the plating, Clem left, anxious to get started. We sat and visited with Doc Williams and his sister, about possible medical school for her, and the first aid training I would give everyone in the coming month. 

Doc Williams said, "I know of several people in the area who could benefit from some medical training. Three are midwives. I know they would find any extra training really useful. Hell, I think I'll join the class myself! The extra training will help me, as well."

I was starting to get really tired now. I told Doc Williams and his sister Helen good night, as they would be heading home early in the morning. I expected my wives to go outside, to sleep in the House wagon, but they started carrying in bedding. They made a huge pallet on the floor of my room. 

I asked, "What are you doing? Wouldn't you be more comfortable in the wagons?"

"No. We sleep here in case you need something in the night," Little Doe said.

Seeing that I would get nowhere arguing with them, I said, "Okay. Well, get to sleep. I want to leave here, first thing in the morning. I'm not looking forward to how bumpy the ride is going to be. It's over twenty-five miles, so it's going to take all day." 

I fell asleep thinking of the upcoming bumpy ride. I decided that one of my first priorities was going to be to copy the springs and shocks from my Dodge Power Wagon, for both the House wagon, and the Doctor wagon.

*

Edited By TeNderLoin and The Old Fart



Doc Ch. 26



We were up at first light and getting ready for the trip home. I was starting to get a little fed up with the way my women were fussing over me, and treating me like I was an invalid. I could take just so much! Finally I went outside, to see about getting things ready to move. That's when the shit really hit the fan. They all came over and started raising hell with me, that I was going to injure myself worse. 

Finally I yelled, "That's enough! I'm not some two-year-old child you can boss around. If I think I might hurt myself, I'll stop."

I could see this was a big mistake, because all four of them started tearing up. I was really starting to feel like a heel, so I pulled them all close, and cuddled them. I let them know that I still loved them, but that I was not a total invalid. I was capable of doing, and thinking, for myself.

After finally getting them settled down, I got into my medical wagon and grabbed one of the extra bottles of penicillin. I headed back towards the house. 

Doc Williams met me at the door. He said that his sister Liz had breakfast almost ready, and that we should come in and wash up. I gave him the bottle of penicillin. Once more I cautioned him to use a small amount, at first, and to keep an eye on the patient for any allergic reaction.

"What kind of reaction should I watch for?" He asked.

"Well, the most common allergic reactions are going into shock, shortness of breath, stopping breathing, and/or convulsions."

He got a scared look on his face and said, "Those sound pretty serious what do I do if they have one of those reactions?"

I explained, "If they start going into shock you treat them by keeping them warm and elevating their legs just like any other shock patient. Convulsions, just make sure that they are safe and do not bite or swallowed their tongue. If they stop breathing, or their heart stops, you can perform artificial respiration and CPR."

Judging by the confused look on his face, I could tell he didn't understand much of anything I had just told him. Rather than confuse him even more I told him. 

"Maybe we should wait another day before we leave. I will teach you how to do all these things." 

That brought a look of relief to his face. I told him that maybe after breakfast he could round up some of the others who might be interested. I would hold a general first aid class. He got so excited that he was ready to rush off and start gathering the others, right then. I told him there would be plenty of time after breakfast to get a class going, and if we didn't get it all today, an extra day wouldn't hurt anything. It would even give me an extra day to heal. 

After we finished eating Doc Williams rushed off to gather the others who might be interested in learning a little first aid. While he was gone, I had my ladies help me assemble some supplies from the medical wagon. I would need them to teach the 'students' some basic first aid, and CPR. 

As soon as we finished gathering the supplies, we went into both of the wagons, to see what we could do about making them more comfortable. 

At first we rigged a hammock, of a sort, to make it more comfortable for the long ride home. That didn't work. As soon as I lay down in it, it felt like I was being folded in half. This caused a lot of pain. It took both Dawn and Running Deer, to help me get out of it. We tried using two mattresses. This didn't seem to help much, either. Little Doe had the idea of trying a couple of feather mattresses, which she could get from the general store. That helped some, but I could tell it was going to be awful warm lying on feather mattresses that tended to conform all around me, as I settled into them. Once again, I had to have help getting back out and was wondering how much cushioning they would provide once we started going down the road and the mattress started settling in upon itself. This was getting very frustrating. 

Finally I said, "This is becoming more of a hassle than I think it's worth. I think I'll be more comfortable riding up on the front seat most of the time. If all else fails, I can get out and walk beside the wagon. If we get an early enough start we should be able to make it before it gets dark.

While we were trying to decide all this Doc Williams returned with two older women, and one teenage girl. Next a man I had never met, showed up. Doc Williams turned to the man and introduced him as the town's barber, explaining that the barber had been known to have to sew up wounds, and set broken bones, when he (Doc Williams) wasn't available. He thought some of the training would be beneficial for him, also.

I welcomed them all. I said I would be teaching them some basic first aid. My wife Moon would be teaching them some of the uses of homeopathic medicines: such as Willow bark tea as a mild pain reliever, fever root to help bring down a fever, and other natural medicines.

We started with some of the basic first aid such as how to set a broken bone, and splint it, so it would not move. Then we went on to bandaging a wound, and applying pressure to help slow down or stop bleeding. I also showed them how to tie a tourniquet, and when to loosen the tourniquet so that the blood flow would not be cut off for too long, because the loss of circulation may cause the patient to lose that limb where the tourniquet was applied.

We worked on this for most of the rest of the morning. There were questions asked about what to do in specific cases, which I tried to answer as best I could, explaining that this was just basic first aid. For the more complicated cases, they would need more advanced training. 

We broke for lunch, while the midwives questioned me on complications regarding helping with birthing a baby. I explained that while most births were straightforward, there were some (such as a breach birth) where there really wasn't much that they could do besides trying to turn the baby and making sure that the cord wasn't wrapped around its neck. There were other ways to remove the baby, such as an operation called Caesarean section, though this was a 'last resort' option.

After lunch we carried on teaching artificial respiration, which was basically breathing for the patient, if necessary. Basic treatment for shock intensified after I explained that if a patient went into shock, it could kill the patient just as easily as the wound itself. It was something to be watched for, in almost every case. The thing that shocked them the most, was teaching them how to perform CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation). Basically, that is restarting the heart, which is performed in conjunction with artificial respiration, to keep them breathing. 

This shook them up when one of the midwives claimed it was against the Bible bringing someone back from the dead. I explained that they weren't really dead, yet. The human body could go three to five minutes without a heartbeat or breathing, before it was truly dead. Any time much more than a few minutes would cause brain damage, or death. But CPR, or artificial respiration, could help save their lives, whereas by doing nothing they would surely die. 

I wasn't sure I was getting through, though, because the one midwife kept crossing herself and mumbling something about the Bible. I have nothing against people's religious beliefs, but they shouldn't let them get in the way of helping save someone's life. I tried explaining to her the ways the Bible said to cherish life, but I could tell I wasn't getting through to her. We spent the remainder of the afternoon practicing on each other. I had to explain to them to not use as much force practicing CPR, as what you would normally use, since you didn't need to cave in each other's chest using full pressure. After about an hour of practice, a man came to the door of Elizabeth's house. He was holding a telegram addressed to me. I read it, quickly.

Deputy Sheriff Thomas stop Prisoners delivered to Hill City jail by band of Sioux Indians led by Sub Chief Spotted Owl stop Citizens of Hill City and surrounding area are in an uproar about the treatment of the prisoners by the Indians stop Afraid of possible violence stop Return as soon as possible stop

Judge Mitchell

After reading this, I decided we needed to leave immediately. We said our goodbyes to Doc Williams and his sister, and made arrangements for them to meet us at uncle Henry's ranch in two weeks. He was to bring or notify anyone else interested in learning first aid, to meet us there at that time.

We hitched up both wagons, and started off immediately. I was sitting on the front seat of my doctor's wagon, with Dawn driving it. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, since the seats was well padded, and was also sprung. It was the front bench seat out of my Power Wagon! 

We made pretty good time, until we were about a mile outside of town. I heard gunshots coming from the town. Much to my ladies' objections I climbed aboard my horse, and took off at a dead run to town. Upon arrival I saw mob outside of City Hall, the building where the courtroom and town jail were both located. Pulling my pistol I fired into the air getting the mob's attention. 

"Just what the hell is going on here? This looks like you people are trying to take the law into your own hands! I'm telling you as long as I'm the law, here, there will be NO mob rule!" I screamed at them. "I want all of you to disperse and go home! The first one of you that tries to take the law into your own hands, will either be locked up, or lying dead in the street!" 

My side was really hurting, now, and was starting to bleed again. That just pissed me off more. 

"I thought I said 'GIT!' And don't y'all even think about heading to one of those saloons or taverns! As soon as I have things settled here, I'm going around to make sure all of them close up for the night!"

With a bunch of grumbling they started to make their way away from the jail. After they dispersed, I went inside to see what the situation was. I was surprised to find the prisoners all locked into one cell, and the Indians that had escorted them, in the other. This pissed me off, again! I turned to Judge Mitchell and the Jailer and asked just what the hell was the meaning of locking up the Indians?

Judge Mitchell stammered for a few seconds and then said, "The mob was all set to lynch all of the Indians! We were afraid that would cause a new Indian war. So we decided to put the Indians in a cell for their own protection. If you care to look you'll find that the cell door is not locked." 

I was still pissed off and said, "So is it becoming standard practice to lock up your deputies?" 

Judge Mitchell looked at me funny and said, "Deputies?"

"Yes! I deputized these Indians to return the prisoners to the jail, since I was wounded and unable to bring them in, myself."

"Wounded! No one told us anything about you being wounded!" 

Finally, he looked down and saw the blood soaking through my shirt.

"Did anyone even give them a chance to explain what happened? The one Indian, Tall Bear, saved my life by killing his own brother. These Indians deserve a hell of a lot better treatment than this!"

"We didn't know, these Indians just rode in holding guns on all of these white men. And we didn't know what was going on."

"You realize most of them do not speak English. I know that some of them do, such as my father Spotted Owl. Hell since He's a sub chief of the Lakota Nation, directly under Chief Red Cloud by not considering his opinion it could be taken as an insult to the Lakota people. I'm trying to avert having a new Indian uprising by having the Lakota work to uphold the laws in this area. And it seems visit every time I turn around someone's trying to throw a monkey wrench into the works. You know, according to the Laramie treaty, all this land legally belongs to them. Having them help uphold the law could be a real good thing letting them have some say will make him feel a part of the process instead of as an outsider looking in."

Judge Mitchell thought for a moment and then said, "I'm just not sure, Clay. Having the Indians enforce the law isn't going to set well with most of the white folks in the area. There may be a lot of resentment, and possible violence."

"I don't give a damn how much they resent it. If they cause any trouble they're going to find their asses locked up, and coming before you on the bench. These Indians are people, and they deserve the same respect that any other person gets. If someone shoots at them, or causes any other trouble, I expect they will have the same punishments as if it had been done to a white person."

The judge was starting to get pissed off about my attitude and said. "Just who the hell do you think you are? I am the law, here, not you. You're just here to uphold the law not set policies!"

I took off my badge and slammed it down on his desk and said, "If you are the law, then you can just get out there and do the enforcing of the law yourself! If you are going to just look the other way, and enforce the law only for a select few white bigots, then I quit. But like it or not, if these Lakota are not treated fairly, you can plan on them doing things their own way. I promised them that if they worked with the white man, in the white man's way, they would be treated fairly."

I then got all of the Indians out of the cell, to take them back to the ranch. Unfortunately, at that time, both my wagons rolled into town. My ladies jumped down, and rushed over to me. Upon seeing that my wound had opened, they started fussing over me again, and raising hell.

'Some days you just can't win for losing' as the saying goes.

Edited By TeNderLoin, the Old Fart, and PC Bondsman



Doc Ch. 27



I was totally pissed off! 

'To hell with them,' I thought. 

I'd been doing a good job with the Marshal's service but if this is the way that they wanted to treat me, my people, and my work, then they could take that star and stick it where the sun don't shine!

I stomped out. Tying my horse to the back of the medical wagon I told my wives climb on, as I'd had enough of this damn place. Climbing up into the seat, Moon and Dawn started fussing over me, trying to get me to calm down. 

Finally, after a minute of this I told them, "Girls, I just need to relax and calm down. All this fussing is just going to make me more mad than I am now."

Both of them sat back in their seats, and got real quiet. I could tell that I'd hurt their feelings by being abrupt with them. 

I said, "I didn't mean to snap at you, ladies. I just need to sit back and think things through without any distractions. I know you're just trying to help but I just need to think about how things took place and the effects they're going to have on the Lakota tribes. I can't believe that damn judge locked them up when they were just doing their jobs! Something like this could set them back on the warpath, and everything we've accomplished would go to hell in a hand basket."

Dawn replied, "I'm not sure Red Cloud will go on the warpath. He has been looking ahead, and sees that if things continue to go the way they have been, the long knives will come and wipe out the Lakota Nation. Then our people will be no more!"

"I'm sure he's right. I'm doing everything I can, to try and help the Lakota people. The US Government has a lousy record of breaking their treaties, and too many of the people in the Indian Bureau and the regular Government get greedy. Now that they know that there is gold here in the Black Hills, they're going to want to take it away from the Lakota, any way they can, and move the Lakota Nation to some piece of worthless wasteland where they can be easily controlled. One thing I found is that the government feels as if it needs to have its finger stuck in everything. They are just a bunch of control freaks."

"Clay, isn't there anything you can do? You were helping Red Cloud change things. A lot of the young Braves are still anxious to try and prove themselves. The way you showed them that you trust them by making them law men gave them a sense of pride and purpose."

"Well there's not much I can do now without my badge! It was really beginning to look like a job that could matter. I thought I was doing a lot of good for the people around here, but I guess that's over with, now. I'll keep on doing the doctoring, plus Helen should be here in a week or so. Along with the others, she can teach more than basic first aid. She seems to be pretty knowledgeable and would make a fantastic nurse or midwife. What I would like to see her do, is go to medical school. All those things will be hard because it's very hard for other people to accept that a woman can do the job just as well as a man."

Dawn said, "I like her. The way she nursed you after you had been shot just shows that she would make a great medicine woman."

I'd started to calm down as I was talking with Dawn, so I said, "Let's go home. I'm tired and just wanted cuddle with all you soon-to-be mothers."

As we leisurely rolled for home, I became lost in my thoughts. What would they do now that I'm no longer a Deputy Marshal, and no longer had the power I would need to force people to make changes for the better? What could I do now to help the Lakota? This was just getting me agitated again. 

I was trying to plan what I could do to help train more people to do basic first aid for the people in their area. Winter would be upon us in a little over a month and once the snow started it would be very hard to get to the people in case of a medical emergency. 

Blizzards were not uncommon in this area. People have been known to freeze to death within fifty yards of their front door. White outs were not uncommon either. The wind would start blowing so bad that you could not even see your hand in front of your face, let alone your house. 

I had a plan to use the springs of my power wagon to mount runners on my medical wagon, using it as a sled. I just needed to figure out how I could do this for the winter months and change it back to a wagon the rest of the year. The other wagon that we normally lived in, I would leave parked for the winter. We'd just use the one, with a few minor modifications. 

I just knew that when I told my wives about that, I was going to catch all kinds of hell about not taking them with me if I had to go anywhere. I figured the medical wagon's interior shouldn't need too many changes to make it usable. It already had a small Franklin stove I could use for heat and cooking a small meal. 

The wagon was pretty much sealed so I could stay out of the weather, at least at night. I'd have to think of something for the driver's box, as it was wide open. I might be able to build some sort of windbreak to make it a little warmer. Hell as far as that goes, the Aladdin lamps I used, because they were so much brighter than the normal kerosene lantern, put out enough heat by themselves at keeping the wagon warm. I'd probably have to crack open a window or something. While doing all this thinking I looked out and found we were pulling into the ranch yard. The seven miles from town had flown by.

After putting the wagons and the horses away, I headed for the house hoping for a hot meal, and a good night's sleep cuddling with all my wives. Uncle Henry met me in the barn to help care for the horses. After brushing down and feeding all the horses, we turned them loose in the pasture next to the barn that we used for the horses and mules we used the most.

"So, Clay, I thought you knew better than to go getting in front of someone shooting at you. Don't you know getting shot hurts?" Uncle Henry said with a smile. "The girls said you aren't the Marshal, anymore, and that you are in a bad mood. What's that all about?" 

I said, "Damn Judge Mitchell! We had been to Hill City, and I sent some prisoners ahead with some Indians I had deputized. That damn judge locked up the Lakota that I deputized because I was shot and couldn't bring the prisoners in myself. I would imagine that they are very pissed off about it, and I don't blame them. He was threatening to fire me anyway so I took off my badge, slammed it down on the desk, and told them where he could shove it."

"He can't do that, Clay! Judge Mitchell is a Territorial Judge! He has no power over a US Deputy Marshal. The nearest Federal Judge is in Fort Laramie. He's the only one you really answer to. You need to go back, tomorrow, and take back your badge. I'll go with you. I'll have a few choice words for Judge Mitchell, myself. He's normally a good man to have on your side. I'm not sure what's going on, but I have a good idea he's getting a lot of pressure from Washington about the way things are going around here, especially your idea of having the Indians lease the land to the people using it, in a legal contract. I have a feeling that some of the greedy bastards in Washington were just counting the ways of how to get some of the gold that is coming out of these hills."

"You're probably right about that. If the politicians in Washington have their way, the Indians will be screwed out of everything. That's the way it was in my former time. If I have any choices, it's going to be different, this time!"

"I knew it! I knew there had to be some reason that you were so passionate about finding a way to help the Lakota. So, the government did come in and take the Black Hills from the Lakota and break the treaty again, in your time. Where did they finally put the Sioux Nation in your time? Red Cloud is kind of curious about why you as a white man would want to help the Lakota so much. He realizes you are half Lakota yourself but you live the white man's way. Most white men either want to kill or cheat Indians . But he can see the way you are trying to help them and your actions puzzle him."

"They put them on one of the most worthless pieces of wasteland that they could find around here. A place called Wounded Knee close to the Badlands. If things weren't bad enough they shorted them on rations and took away all their dignity and pride. In my time what few Lakota were left, were living in poverty. The US Government has a lot to answer for! They have never once honored any treaty that they made with the Sioux! All of this land belongs to the Souix, and those greedy bastards just stole it from them!"

"Tomorrow, I want you to go back and get your badge. Clay, you are one of the only ones that can do anything to stop that from happening, again."

"Grandpa, the way things are right now, I'm not sure I can change things. It seems like whatever I do, things just seem to go to straight down the shitter!"

"You told me Jake practically raised you, and I know that since I taught him his values about never giving up that he would've passed them on to you! You don't strike me as some sort of quitter Clay. So if your first plan didn't work, then it's time to make new plans!"

"What if it turns out that I can't change history? It seems as if any small changes I make, fate or whatever just seems to change it back."

"There's got to be some way you can change things. You said the smallpox epidemic that hit Deadwood wiped out three quarters of the population. Just look at the changes in the death rate that we had during the epidemic! You can't tell me that you didn't change history by saving those people! So you see history can be changed! It doesn't form some sort of paradox. It's possible your idea that this may be a different timeline than the one you are from is right."

"Grandpa, that's a lot to think about and right now I'm so tired I just want to go eat and crawl into bed."

"Sally figured that you would be in this evening so she kept supper warm for you. Come over to the house and eat before you go to bed. You're wives are already over there."

"Grandpa that's great! I am so tired I feel as if I'm about ready to drop. After all that bullshit with Judge Mitchell I am so pissed off I can't even think straight. I just want to crawl into bed and cuddle with my wives and just forget about the whole situation for tonight."

"Let's go eat then Clay. After a good night's sleep things may look different in the morning. We should head into Hill City, get back your badge and confront Judge Mitchell about what the hell is going on. At least he didn't turn loose your prisoners. We will talk with Red Cloud tomorrow also and try to calm the braves who were locked up. That's all we need, a bunch of hotheaded braves thinking about the way they were treated, and ready to go back on the warpath."

When we went in I saw that my wives were already eating. Sally gave me a plate of her fantastic beef stew. Sitting at the table it seemed that the whole family wanted to know about my wound, and what had me so pissed off. I explained what happened and that I had calmed down quite little bit after talking with Uncle Henry. After eating we said our goodbyes, and headed home for bed.

After finally climbing in bed all I wanted to do was cuddle and go to sleep, but it seemed my wives had other ideas. I don't know what it is with pregnant women, but for some reason they were all very randy! It was a good two hours later, before I was finally able to get some sleep.

The next morning I was in a much better mood. I was whistling as I walked up to Grandpa. He looked at me surprised. 

"Clay, what's got you in such good mood this morning?"

"My wives know how to solve my stress. Let's go talk to Red Cloud, and try to smooth things over before we head into Hill City." 

We went to get fresh horses, and headed to where Red Cloud's people were camped.

Upon arrival, the first person we came across was Spotted Owl. Coming up to him, we asked to speak with Red Cloud. After going over to the fire where Red Cloud was sitting, I walked up to him and said."Chief Red Cloud, I came to apologize for the way your braves were treated after taking the prisoners to Hill City. It was totally unfair and wrong to lock them up! I only hope that they can find it in their hearts to forgive me, especially Spotted Owl and Tall Bear. I also need to speak with the families of the two braves that were killed to see if there is anything I can do to help them."

"There is nothing to apologize for. You did nothing wrong. You friend to Lakota. Braves were mad at first until told white man was changing the way he treats Lakota. In time all will change."

"I still need to speak with Tall Bear and thank him for saving my life. If he hadn't shot that man, I would be dead."

"The brave Tall Bear killed was his brother. Tall Bear wants to ask you if you will become brother to him."

That got me to really thinking. He killed his own brother to save me! 

"He wants me to become his brother? I would think he would hate me for causing him to kill his own brother." 

I looked at grandpa. "Uncle Henry I'm not sure what to do. Here is a man who killed his own brother to save another man. Then he honors me by asking me to become his brother. What do I do?"

"You honor his request!"

"I need to talk to Tall Bear about doing this. I still need to check with the families of the two braves that were killed to see if there was anything I can do to help them."

Red Cloud spoke up. "Both men were unmarried so families are good. If you hunt, many families can use more meat. Many braves were killed at Greasy Grass."

"We should've thought of that. Red Cloud I can have a few head of cattle sent here."

"Cattle animal not good meat. Rather have a deer, or elk, or even bear."

"Okay, I guess we should hunt. It is going to be a long winter so extra meat should come in handy. Red Cloud, I was told that two braves that were killed because their weapons were in poor shape. I cannot legally provide you with weapons, although some may tend to be misplaced near here. Maybe you should look around the area tomorrow." Grandpa gave me a funny look as I said this.

I then turned to Spotted Owl. "Will you take me to see Tall Bear? I need to thank him for saving my life and find out about him wanting me to become his brother and what it entails."

Spotted Owl led me to the lodge of Tall Bear. As we were walking, I asked, "Spotted Owl, I want to know when it would be a good time for your family to come visit with my family. I know Running Deer and Little Doe would like to see their family more often."

"I thought daughters were living as White Women. Their mother would enjoy seeing more of daughters as would I."

"Spotted Owl, I know Running Deer and Little Doe need to see more of you and their mother. I know since we've been married that we haven't been around much, what with me trying to be the doctor for the area and trying to uphold the law. However, the girls still need their families and their people. This is a unique way they can embrace both their Lakota heritage and learn the white man's ways. I believe if more people would take the time to learn other people's ways we wouldn't have so much trouble with each other."

Tall Bear was sitting outside his lodge when we arrived. We clasped forearms arms in their traditional way of greeting and I said, "I'm sorry about you having to kill your own brother Tall Bear. Red Cloud tells me that since you lost your brother you would like me to become brothers with you. What does that all mean?"

"There is a ceremony, White Calf Woman is in camp now and can perform ceremony."

He then called over one of the young boys, said a few things in their native language to him and the boy took off running. We sat and talked for a few minutes while waiting. Soon we heard a commotion and looked up as Red Cloud, White Calf Woman, and several of the tribal elders came up to us. Tall Bear explained to everyone what was going on, and that I had consented to become his brother."

White Calf Woman turned to me and asked, "Dirty Hand, is this correct? You have consented to become Tall Bear's brother? This is something that is not done without Total commitment."

"Yes! Tall Bear's brother was going to shoot me in the back, and that made Tall Bear kill his own brother. It is only right that Tall Bear asks me that, in his place, I become his brother."

White Calf Woman then took a piece of rawhide from her pouch and then with a small belt knife she sliced Tall Bear's and my right hand, on the ball of our thumbs, just deep enough to start us both bleeding without causing any real damage. Taking a strip of rawhide, she bound both of our hands together. 

She said, "Dirty Hand and Tall Bear have consented to become brothers, as their blood now mixes with each other's let all know that Dirty Hand and Tall Bear are now brothers in all ways except birth. Should one require help the other will always come. Should one sorrow the other will always comfort. Should one anger the other will always support. Let it be known that Dirty Hand and Tall Bear are now brothers! "

Tall Bear walked with us back to our horses, as we got there, he pulled his knife. 

Handing it to me, he said, "A gift to my new brother." 

In return, I reached into my saddle scabbard, and pulled out my Winchester. 

I handed it to him, saying, "A gift to my new brother, may he use it wisely."

Just as Grandpa and I were getting ready to ride for Hill City, Jake and Standing Bear came running up to us to see what was going on. Since Standing Bear had become a part of my family, he and Jake had become inseparable. Grandpa told me that they were both often in Red Cloud's camp learning from the others the ways of the Sioux and were both becoming quite skilled at it. We talked to them a few minutes and explained that we needed to go into Hill City and asked if they both would like to come along. Tall Bear decided that he would come with us also so we set out for town.

Upon arriving in Hill City I found the judge in his chambers and asked for my badge. 

"Clay, I see you changed your mind, although you're a little late. I gave your job to another man."

Grandpa then exploded and said, "What the hell do you mean you gave Clay's job to another man? You have no authority to do that. Clay is a US Deputy Marshal and the only judge that can accept his resignation is in Fort Laramie. You are a territorial judge not a federal judge so give him back his badge now!"

"Hank, I no longer have his badge. I gave it to the man from Washington. He's here about the Indians. His name is George Manypenny and he was sent here from Congress concerning the Indians, and the way they are making the White Men lease the land around here. He says this is not right since the Indians are not using the land anyway and that we should be able to just take it, and not have to give the Indians anything."

I said angrily. "Just where is this son of a bitch? This land was given to the Sioux Nation in the Fort Laramie Treaty! It is their land! I'm the one that suggested that the Lakota grant leases to the people in the area, preventing an all-out Indian war from starting!"

"He's over in the café was a bunch of his people. He gave your badge to one of his men saying this would make his job so much easier."

All of us went straight to the Café. Seeing a group in the corner we marched over to them and I said. "Which one are you is Manypenny? I'm Clay Thomas and I understand you have my badge, and I've come to get it back. "

"I am George Manypenny. I was under the understanding you quit so I appointed Charlie here is the new Marshall. I guess you're just a little too late."

"Just who the hell do you think you are? I was appointed a US Deputy Marshal, and the job and badge belongs to me until my superiors in Fort Laramie say differently."




Doc Ch. 27



"I was sent here by Congress to look into the Indian situation. They feel after the Custer Massacre at the Little Bighorn something needs to be done about the Indians once and for all!"

As this was going on Charlie stood up and started throwing his weight around like a typical bully so I pulled my pistol on him and said. "I think you have something that belongs to me!"

"Mr. Manypenny appointed me Marshall now since you quit!"

"He doesn't have the authority to make such an appointment."

Manypenny then said "I was sent here by Congress so I do have the authority to appoint Charlie as a Marshal so he is the law, not you!"

"US Deputy Marshal's are appointed by the Justice Department not Congress. I have a good mind to throw you in jail for impersonating a Deputy Marshal. Since you have no authority to wear that badge. Manypenny can join you, there, as he had no authority to give you my badge. 

"As for as the Indians here you'll find that what happened to Custer was his own fault. He exceeded his authority in attacking the way he did. General Terry was in charge, not Colonel Custer. He went off on his own and attacked the Indians when General Terry was charged with putting down an uprising. General Terry was more known for his diplomatic skills in dealing with the Indians and he was one of the signers of the original Fort Laramie Treaty. So I say again, hand back my badge, now!"

Reluctantly, Charlie unpinned my badge and handed it back to me. Manypenny was still blustering about it. 

He said "That doesn't change things. I was sent by Congress to do something about the Indians. Congress feels that because of the Little Bighorn massacre that the Sioux should be moved to a reservation and the Laramie Treaty is no longer in effect."

"That's the biggest bunch of bullshit I ever heard. It seems they're just trying another way of stealing the Indian's land. Just how do you propose to do this, and force them to give up their land and move to some barren wasteland that no one wants?"

"They won't have much choice. If they don't move to a reservation, the Army will be forced to bring in troops. All supplies that are currently allowed as per the Laramie Treaty will be stopped, forcing them to either comply or starve. As I see it, you will have no choice but to comply."

I could tell history was trying to repeat itself here. I was going to do my best not to let that happen. 

"All I can see this is a bunch of greedy bastards from Washington trying to steal the land that was legally granted to the Souix. This has nothing to do with Custer, that is just an excuse to steal their land, since gold was discovered, here. A bunch of greedy rich bastards are trying to get richer by stealing what is not theirs. I think you will find that the leases are legal, due to the fact that the Indians own this land according to the Treaty that was signed before the leases were granted. What you are doing Sir will start an Indian uprising that will turn this land into a bloodbath. Eventually, you may crush the Sioux. But how many lives will be lost? The way things are right now, the White Man and the Indian are coexisting."

Charlie spoke up and said. "I can tell you're just some kind of Indian lover! I see you even have Indians with you now."

"Yes, I do! I'm married to three Indians and one Chinese, Tall Bear here is my adopted brother and Standing Bear is the son of one of my Lakota wives. I can tell you right now that all of them have more honor in their little toe, than all of you people, combined."

Manypenny stood and said. "I don't need to sit here and be insulted! Congress appointed me to get things done. The Sioux will be moved to a reservation, and guarded by a troop of cavalry. Congress wants to open the Black Hills and the Lakota are in the way."

"You, sir, are being a pompous ass! Right now the Treaty stands as written. As far as I'm concerned that is the law. If you so much as attempt to break that law you will find your ass in jail. I will not have you starting a war that will cause people to lose their lives while your 'good friends' sit on their fat asses, back in Washington. 

"So far the US government has broken every single Treaty ever written with the Sioux Nation, because some greedy politicians decided that some of their friends need more money than they already have, at the cost of someone else.

"Using the Little Bighorn battle as an excuse, is ludicrous, as Colonel Custer was a fool in the way he conducted himself and his troops. When he sent Lieutenant Reno to attack the Indian encampment, Reno and one hundred and seventy-five of his men dismounted and fired into the Indian camp. They killed women and children, almost exclusively. How were the Indian supposed to react? It was just like kicking a hornet's nest! It's no wonder Custer was wiped out to the last man. 

"Now you're here to punish the Sioux by stealing their land. Little Bighorn was not just the Sioux Nation! It was also the Northern Cheyenne and the Arapaho, too . Are you trying to steal their land, also? Of course, gold was not discovered on their land, was it? As far as I'm concerned you're just a bunch of thieves!" Turning back to Grandpa and the others I said. "Come on, let's get out of here. If I stay much longer I might just decide to shoot this bunch of thieves."

We left there and headed straight to the Mercantile, to see what they had in the way of used rifles and shotguns to sell to the Lakota, so they would at least have reliable weapons for hunting.

Grandpa turned me and said "Clay, do you really think it is a good idea arming the Lakota?"

"I'll have a talk with Chief Red Cloud to make sure that the weapons are used only for hunting or self-defense. I'm sure he will give his word that they will not use them to start trouble."

"What's this about the guns being 'misplaced around the area?'"

"You know, legally, I gave you the guns for the Lakota. However, there is no law against being absent-minded about where I may have left my rifle or shotgun."

We were able to purchase six used rifles and three shotguns along with several boxes of shells for each. Soon we were on our way back to the ranch.

Edited By TeNderLoin, PCbondsman, and The Old Fart