Original Work The Stuarts of Texas

Arriving back at camp, Dave dismounted and used the lariat to drag the condemned scum of a scout back to a tree and secured him there so he’d be easy to watch.

‘Well, at least supper wasn’t disturbed by any varmints.” Said Dave as he glanced at the skillet of salt port kept warm on the edge of the fire. “You know, this ain’t bad living right now. We’ve got hot pork, biscuits, and coffee, real coffee and it ain’t cold and raining or snowing, and we have a tarp to keep the morning dew off us” Dave said with a smile.

“Boy, it don’t take too much to keep you happy does it?” Asked Al

“Nope, and I’ll be even better off when I can get some of my Mama’s cooking inside me. Them dried apples, spices, and sugar is gonna make for some fine pies once we got home.” Stated Dave.

“Home huh” said Al quietly while looking down at his feet.

“It’s gonna be home for you too Al. You’ll love it there, nice and quiet when we ain’t tussling with the Comanche. And if you prefer farming to cattle, we’ve got the space for it. How are you at gardening?”

“Pretty damned good if I do say so myself. It really ain’t that much work compared to some of the stuff I’ve had to do. How many people are they to feed there?”

“No more than 20 people of so. It’s a pretty big spread an everybody keeps busy most of the time so one or two concentrating on the garden would be a good thing. Better n beans, and cornbread all the time.”

”Hummm, might not be too bad if the ground and tools are right. I’ll need to see the site and we could go from there.”

The prisoner started moaning, rolling around and kicking against his bonds. Dave walked over and used a foot to put him on his back. “OK stupid, this is your last chance. You lay still and quiet or else I’ll take some wood from the fire and burn your pizzel off with it. I don’t care how thirsty you are, or how badly you foul yourself, if you cause any more trouble, you’re gonna die screaming. Now shut up!” Dave said as he delivered a kick to his thigh. The man glared pure hatred at Dave but made no further sounds or movement.

DOING A COMPLETE REWRITE FOR THIS LOWER SECTION as what I had intended would not have been logical for their current situation.

Walking back to the fire, Dave said to Al; “Ok, we have a decision to make. He has to die, but do we want to be the ones to do it? I personally don’t have the stomach for what he deserves, but he has to receive at least some sort of justice for his crimes, and I know someone that is more than willing to handle the problem for us.

Looking doubtful Al asked “Who”

“The Comanche replied Dave. All we have to do is send the invite and they will come running while we get away in the dark. It ain’t fool proof, but it should work.

Al paled and looked back and forth from their prisoner and Dave. “Son, that is a mighty foul deed. I know what the Indians did back in my Grand Pappy’s day, and I hear they don’t rate much against these Texas Comanche. That is some serious stuff!”

“I agree with you, but given what we’re dealing with we either have to kill him or leave him for the Comanche.”

“Son, I can’t do it, and will be disappointed in you if you can. You’ve shown a lot of decency on our trip, and this will ruin you. Please don’t do it.” Al pleaded.

Looking at the old man pleading for a show of mercy Dave’s heart softened. He did care what Al thought of him and did not want to spoil their friendship, so he relented. “Ok, you win, but he IS going to hang, and I’ll do the deed. Let’s eat while we have the time.”

The two men attacked their supper and finished the coffee.

“We still have some daylight so we can get in a few miles before we make a dry camp. This is how we will have to travel until we reach our ranch. Even the Comanche don’t track in the dark for the most part, so we will have at least a couple of miles head start every day. That and we’ll be changing direction a lot so they don’t get ahead of us and wait for us to walk right into their lap.”

“Sounds like you’ve done this a time or two youngun.”

“Yup! Let’s saddle up and get ready to go.”

“What about him?” Asked Al indicating their prisoner.

“He won’t be going with us, and we can use the extra horse.” Replied Dave.

The two men saddled their horses, and used the Yankee’s horse as a pack animal keeping anything useful from the Yankee’s pack and leaving the rest.

“Them boots are almost new, and look to be almost your size. He won’t be needing them in any case.” Said Dave.

Al shuddered and shook his head no, so Dave removed the boots and belt and stored them one the pack horse.

Jerking the condemned man to his feet Dave began to drag him toward a nearby Live-oak tree with a handy branch. The man began thrashing and fighting back as best he could until Dave drew his sap and smacked him behind the ear felling him with a thud. Moving swiftly, Dave removed the lariat that had been used as a restraint then dabbed the loop over the unconscious man’s head and threw the remainder over the limb and secured it to another smaller limb. “There, now all we have to do is wait for him to revive for the last time and stand him on his feet.”

After about 10 minutes Al said. “We’re losing daylight.”

Dave walked to his horse and removed a canteen. Then moving to the prostrate Yankee, he poured a small amount into his face. Nothing, so Dave poured again and the man sputtered awake. “Get him up.” Said Dave and both men hauled the condemned to his feet. While Al held him upright, Dave moved over to the rope and took up the slack until the man stood flat on his bare feet. “Al, go ahead and mount up and move the horses into the brush and I’ll be right along shortly.” Said Dave.

Al did as requested and Dave turned to the groggy criminal. “At an official hanging, the rope is moved to the side of the head to painlessly snap the neck of the condemned. You ain’t that lucky. When we hang regular rustlers, murderers, and the like, we pull the horse out from under them and they dance on the end of the rope. But, in consideration of your past and future crimes, you still ain’t that lucky. I’m going to bring you up on the tips of your toes so you can relieve the pressure on your neck somewhat. You’ll live as long as you can manage to stand like that. For your crimes, I wanted to signal the Comanche and let them have you, but my friend has too delicate of a stomach for that, so this is what you get. Again, I’d rather let you die screaming, but I like the guy so you get this mercy.”

Stepping away to the branch tied rope, Dave hauled the condemned man up on the balls of his feet and then secured the rope. Taking up a stick, he scratched a few symbols into the dirt then tossed the stick. Then walking away Dave commented, “I sure hate wasting a good lariat on a snake like you.”

Dave walked into the cedar brush quickly finding Al then mounted up and rode away intending on adding at least another two to three miles before they slept for the night.

Raging Bull had sat hidden in the brush about fifty yards away viewing the proceedings of the white men. They were acting very strangely even for whites, it was a most curious thing. Once the two men had disappeared into the brush, Raging Bull sat for a while listening to see if this was some sort of trap. Circling the camp and finding none he returned to the Blue Coat tied to the tree. The man was fully conscious and terrified at the sight of the Comanche war chief. Shaking, crying, and wetting himself like a child Raging Bull considered him a total coward. Disgusting!!! Moving around to the side where one of the whites had been scratching in the ground he found the message that had been left in Comanche sign. Murder, thief, rapist of children, coward, and a clan sign that the whites marked their cattle with - G. Ah, he is one of the clan having a treaty with The People. That is one white man that spoke the truth. Thought Raging Bull. With the Gray Riders gone the Blue Coats are what we have to look forward to.

Walking over to the camp fire Raging Bull nodded with approval. It was hidden from observation and what little smoke generated was dispersed by the tree branches overhead. And from a short distance the location of the fire would go unnoticed. This man was experienced in the wild. Everything he did indicated that. I will abide by his wishes, even though I think some cactus pads under his feet would be interesting. Thought Raging Bull.

Looking at the blubbering man on the rope, Raging Bull spat in his face and then turned and disappeared into the woods. This area needs to be burned off by next year or the water guzzling juniper would turn the place into a desert.

 

It had been dark for nearly two hours when Al and Dave silently made camp in a small grove of cedar trees, after having avoided nicer looking places that the oak trees had provided because of the ticks that would shower down on them.

“Which watch to you prefer?” Asked Dave.

“I’ll take the second one since I never sleep the whole night thru anyways.” Replied Al

“Ok, wake me in three hours, and I’ll take over.” Dave then spread out his canvas tarp and laid down asleep in just a few minutes.

The watches passed uneventfully, and at daylight, the men ate the last of the eggs and biscuits, saddled up and continued their journey thru the western part of Texas. There had been plenty of rain the previous two years, and the land was filled with wildlife of all sorts, deer, quail, turkey, unlimited rabbits, along with some bison, bear, and mountain lions. Small creeks had plenty of fish and provided an abundance of water for men, horses and wildlife. Al marveled at the natural beauty and bounty of the area, understanding why so many people wanted to come here, and why the Indians defended it so fiercely. I would too. thought Al.

“Boy, this is some beautiful country! I figured most of the stories I’d heard were hogwash, but this is far better than I was told. This is a paradise this side of Heaven. Is y’alls ranch land like this?”

“Pretty much, a little drier in the summer, and it has a little less Comanche traffic than this area here. A 12 year old could easily survive here is he had sense enough to prepare for winter. It does get cold at times.”

 

“From here out, we’d best keep the shotguns handy for close work. We’ll have more time to let them drop on their tethers and draw the rifles than the other way around. We are nowhere near our ranch so we don’t enjoy the safety of our agreement with the Comanche. Besides, they move around a lot, and if we run into a band that we hold no agreement with, we will have a serious fight on our hands. Best to avoid killing any if it can be avoided, as they have long memories and will want to avenge the death of relatives and friends, even if they are the ones that started the fight.”

“So y’all’s agreement only holds with a certain group and not the tribe as a whole?” Asked Al.

“Yeah, that is pretty much it. There are probably close to 30,000 Comanche in Texas and on the Great Plains, and they migrate over 1,000 miles twice a year following the buffalo herds, which are their primary means of survival. They get everything they need from the buffalo, and trade or raid for anything else including honor, prestige, and captives. They are extremely tough, cunning, and relentless warriors, and are very difficult to kill. Best avoided whenever possible.”

“Do they ever want to talk?” Asked Al.

“Yes, on occasion.”

“How do you know what they’re gonna do?”

“They will let you know with either an arrow or attack, if they wish to talk, they will show themselves and we will proceed cautiously. They’re notional, and you don’t always know what they’ll do until they do it.”

Both men rode with their heads on a swivel, paying close attention to their surroundings both near and far. Two days further out, Dave spotted smoke signals on a bluff about 10 miles away. Three series of three puffs of smoke. A warning, and maybe a come here quickly signal. Hard to tell as so many signals were decided just prior to any sort of raid or action. With a worried look Al turned to Dave for direction. Dave sat still on his horse for another moment looking South, West, and East. After a short time he swore and told Al. “We will have to swing at least 20 to 40 miles north. I saw mirror signals from the East and the west just about where we would have been heading.”

“How much danger are we in?” Al asked.

“Maybe some, maybe a lot. We won’t know until a bit further on. Keep your guns handy as we will be heading thru the heavier brush north of here before we turn west. I know of a couple of caves that we can hold up in for a short while and keep out of site. I’m sure the Comanche know of them too, and they will check if they are seriously hunting us or someone else. We will move slowly and not raise any dust, and do some night traveling as before only now we have to be even more careful at it.”

“Well at least we won’t run into any of them at night since they are afraid to fight at night.” Said Al.

“Them eastern tribes may be afraid to fight at night, but you can bet your life that the Comanche are not. They will fight any time and anywhere they feel like it. Let’s get moving.”

Meanwhile, on the Houston docks.

Union soldiers, and longshoremen watched the French ship towed into it’s berth at the dock and begin to unload cargo and a rather stuffy looking French family that babbled constantly while looking rapidly about pointing out things of interest. One man that carried a travel trunk clumsily was awarded a kick in the pants by the oldest child, a boy and a tirade of French beratement. The family laughed as did the captain Jean Pierre who added in his bit commentary. Unbeknown to the Yankee officials the man was in on the act and had been paid a couple of Francs for his trouble.

The Stuarts had arrived safely in Texas, and would soon be traveling westward to New Braunfels hopefully to arrange a meeting with the German settlers and soon after the Comanche Indians.

 

The Germans!? Why would Col. Stuart want to meet with the Germans? They weren't the most enthusiastic or loyal of Confederates. I guess we'll find out soon.