Horrible Harvest

After retrieving the horses, and saddling them up, we heard the fumbling footsteps of Douglas approaching.

“So, I’m guessing we ain’t gonna rest up before we hit the trail.”

Neither Tate nor I answered.

“What’s wrong with you two? What’s our next step? Trail or bed. There’s a church down the way. Saw the belltower on my trip to the privy. They’d put us up – If they’s good Christians – Which I got no reason to believe they ain’t.”

I give consideration to his question before saying, “Trail. We’ll get provisions first.”

“He’s right,” Tate added. “We should get to it.”

“Well, that’s no surprise. You two agreeing – Not giving a care about my old beaten bones.”

“I told you not to come.”

He give a sigh. “That you did – And you ain’t changed a bit. Still bossing everyone around – Only difference now is that you got some size to go with all your barking.”

He grumbled and groused as we rode from the train station to the general store. He complained to the proprietor and his wife about our devilish natures.

The store owner listened attentively as we piled supply after supply onto his counter. He even had a pen at the back of the building with various livestock that included a mule – The final item of our sizeable purchase.

“Where you boys headed?” he asked.

“The Black Hills,” Douglas answered.

He looked muddled and concerned. “Well, that ain’t a place you want to go – Rest or no rest.”

Tate said, “Nevertheless, it’s where we’re headed. You know a man by the name of Cameron Miller?”

He looked to his wife and then back to us. “You fellas with the Federals?”

Douglas give a laugh. “Not hardly.”

“You ain’t with the Cheyenne Agency?”

“Got no idea what that is.”

“It’s about as close to The Black Hills as a body wants to get. You wonder into Sioux territory – The Lakota’s will cut you down quicker than a sneeze.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What question was that?”

“Do you know Cameron Miller?”

He turnt to his wife and directed her to tend to the livestock out back. Once she’d left the room, he give a heavy sigh before saying, “The man’s a lunatic. You got business with him – you’re better served to cut your losses and head back to where you come from.”

“But he’s in The Black Hills, right?”

“He ain’t in it. He’s close enough to it to unnerve the Federals and the Sioux. He’s testing the merits of the current treaty and neither side is happy about it. ‘Course, the Federals ain’t as concerned as the Sioux.”

“This all hearsay or do you know for a fact he’s what he is and where he is?” Tate asked.

“I know for a fact. His boys conduct raids as far East as Saint Paul. They come through here, there, and everywhere. Run off with goods and women. Any law that goes after them comes back in pine boxes. They’ve buried plenty of Sioux, too.”

“Heard he’s got some school he’s running,” Douglas said.

“It’s more militia than school. The boys in it were either bought or stolen – They wrong you fellas in some way?”

“You could say that,” Douglas answered. “You say he’s not set up in the Black Hills area?”

“No white man is. No living white man is. Sioux’ve been promised that land. It’s sacred to them. Now, your Cameron Miller ain’t much in the way of honoring promises and ain’t nothing sacred to him, so rumor is he’s run hell up into the Black Hills on an occasion or two in an attempt to scare the Sioux out of there, but Sioux don’t scare.

“If you’re really looking for Miller, you’ll find him just south of Fort Thompson – Set up along the Missouri. Every now and then, he chips a little deeper into Sioux territory and makes a claim. He’ll tell you all the land between the White and Niobrara rivers is all his. It ain’t – Not by law – Sioux or Fed. But he’s made claim to it.

“The Sioux – Well, they’ll complain and ask the Federals to deal with him – Shoot him, arrest him – Hell, even have a sit down with him and disavow him of any notion that any part of that land belongs to him, but the Federals – They don’t care all that much. Signing the treaty was the beginning and end of their involvement in Sioux affairs. They give a small damn, but not by much. They are of the mind it ain’t their problem to protect Sioux land. They may say otherwise in political talk or say the opposite – Depending on what ear they’re bending, but you can be assured what comes of the Sioux matters not to the Federal government.

“Word is, Sitting Bull – You heard of him?”

“I have.”

“Well, he’s not to be trifled with, and I hear tell he wants Miller’s head, and secretly, the Federals want him to have it. That way they can work with Red Cloud – You know who he is?”

“I do.”

“Well, if Sitting Bull moves on Miller, the Federals figure Red Cloud will help bring him in and take care of his nonsense once and for all – Sitting Bull ain’t a fan of the current treaty – Any treaty, truth be told.”

He leaned in close to Douglas and only half-whispered, “I don’t think you wanna to take your colored friend anywhere near Miller or his men. They got a special hate for blacks. They string at least one up and burn’em near every raid they undertake. They go out of their way to do so.”

“I can handle myself,” Tate said.

The proprietor eyed him. “Miller has got him a gaggle of murderers and thieves in his ranks. It ain’t just him you gotta handle.”

“We’ve got us murderers and thieves in our ranks, too,” I said.

“Well, suit yourself. I’ve done all the jawing I can do on the topic. You leave your names and those of your next of kin with me. I’ll let them know what’s come of you once word of your demise reaches my ears. You boys need anything else?”

“A scout,” I said.

“A what? A scout? I don’t carry those.”

“Who knows the territory between here and The Black Hills?”

“No one you want to associate with.”

“Mister, we were all brought up low. Fought a war with the same sort. We ain’t the type most people want to associate with.”

He give a shrug. “Got nothing against low folks. Fact is, Piney ain’t high enough to be low.”

“Piney?”

“Edward Pines. Piney. Fur trader. He don’t mix well with people, so you won’t find him in town. You ride out-of-town due west you’ll come across the shack he calls home just inside the territory. Although he’ll most likely find you first. You’ll smell him before you see him. Man’s never seen a bath. Shits himself on the regular. You wanna associate with that. You go on ahead. I was just trying to save you the odor.”

We settled up, packed the mule with our goods and headed due west as instructed.