Cane Longbow Range Detective

Introduction

This novel in no way reflects on the living or dead when using names. Even if the names might sound to some of your kinfolks or mine. They are used factiously.

Towns and places named in Welton Novels were all there at one time. Now they might have the names changed or only be the remembrance of some of the old folks like me. A lot of the towns are underwater, some towns moved to the lakes shore, from the numerous lakes the Corps of Engineers has created.

This is novel and others that follow of stories told from over fifty years ago. I added some things to make the reading more enjoyable and at times added several of the stories into one book. One of the men who told some of the stories fought under the only Indian General, Stan Waite of the Cherokee in the Civil War between the States. Other members of my family have delivered food and supplies to Robbers Cave in Oklahoma, as late as 1915 until the Officers of the Law knew about the cave. In addition, they delivered to other places near the cave until the 1930s to what people of the time called the modern day outlaws.

Range Detectives

There beginning was from the old time Stock Detective that was a person that was hired by the cattle man or stock buyers to check the brand on the cattle to ensure the rightful owner got paid for what was sold. At cattle round up, where cattle strayed, because of the Open Range Law, cattle men would appoint an honest rider that was agreed by all the brands represented in the gather of the herd at the branding. The branding would start in the spring and at times last all through the summer months into the fall, depending on the territory that had to be covered.

Most of the Range Detectives worked alone and when possible would get help from the rancher to catch the rustlers when he had located them in the act of stealing cattle. The Range Detective, at times took justice into his own hands and eliminated the problem him self.

A lot of time the Range Detective also was a bounty hunter to ascertain more to his income. Even thought some of the rustlers had bounties out for other crimes there were bounties paid by the cattle men for each rustler dead. Usually the Range Detective was paid a monthly salary but at times it was just the cattle men that paid per rustler that was brought to justice.

In the old west there were a lot of criminals that the bounty was Dead or Alive. But in today’s society the person is to be brought back alive. By common rights the Bounty Hunter and the Range Detective had the right to confiscate the horses and belongings of the man they brought in to the law whether Dead or Alive.

Bounty Hunters

Bounty hunters have existed since the days of the old west, right up to the present day. When a bounty was placed on someone that had committed a crime, and that person had eluded the justice system. The same job, same rules, for a fee to bring the person back for the law.

The bounty hunter is not a sworn officer or even deputized in law enforcement. They are citizens doing a job for the justice system for a fee.

In Taylor v. Taintor (1873) the Supreme Court set broad parameters for bounty hunters. When bail is given the principle is regarded as delivered to the custody of the bail bonds as a continuance of imprisonment

Chapter I

Cane had been going through the garbage behind the buildings in town trying to find something to eat. Cane was hearing a lot of gunfire happening in the street out front of the General Store. A gangly twelve year old boy with no family had to fend for himself the best he could. Coming around the store, Cane could see several people standing in the street in front of the bank. He could also hear several people talking about and saying the bank had just been robbed.

Cane walked over, with his reddish-brown hair, swaying as he walked, and hanging in curls to his shoulders. He stopped near where the short fat weasel faced Banker and the tall gangly looking Sheriff, with his long arms across his chest, was standing. The Banker was saying, I had almost a hundred thousand in the vault and they took all of it. I’ll give a five thousand dollars reward to get the money back. The man was shouting and looking for someone to take him up on his offer but no one made a move toward their horses.

Mister Banker you got that much money on ya now? Cane asked in a serious voice.

Sure I’ve still got that much. Now just go away kid this is grown up business.

Hand it to the Sheriff and I’ll go get your money if’n you’ll loan me a horse and a rifle.

You serious Kid or just making a brag?

Yes sir I’m serious.

I’ll give you the money when you get back with mine. Take that horse over at the tie rail for I see a rifle in the gun boot. The Banker answered.

The Sheriff holds the money or I don’t go because the last bank I saw robbed the man claimed he had fifty thousand in the bank. The outlaws ran into a U.S. Marshal three miles from town and they only had twenty thousand on them. So I don’t trust you bankers. Cane said in reply.

You heard the kid and I agree with him so now hand the money over to me Jackson or no one will go after the outlaws. The Sheriff told the Banker and held out his hand. It seems you ain’t going to get anyone else to hit the trail of the robbers.

Uh, uh, ah, No trust in this world anymore. Here’s the money. The banker said as he pulled a thick leather wallet from his inside coat pocket and handed a sheaf of bills from his wallet to the Sheriff.

The Sheriff counted it, perceptively, and turning to the kid said, It’s all here so hit the trail and be careful. You better watch out for those men might kill you for trailing them.

Cole ran over to the horse, untying the reins he climbed up the saddle skirts into the saddle. Being only four feet and a little over tall made it hard to mount a horse any other way, which was as tall as this one. He had to keep kicking the horse in the ribs, flanks, with his bare feet, to get the jug headed horse to run, and Cane headed the horse down the street after the robbers.

Sheriff Jones you think the kid is gona get my money back or he just wanted to steal a good horse? Jackson the banker asked.

Don’t know but I think he is serious and will be back some day if he doesn’t get himself killed first. Jed Jones replied and turned going back over towards the saloon because he had a big thirst and wanted a beer.

As the horse was finally running at a good pace, Cane check the rifle out, which was in a saddle boot, and found it had a round in the chamber. When he had a chance he would unload the Winchester to find out how much ammunition was in the magazine. He had been showed about a Winchester such as this one by a cowboy last month when they shared a camp one night. The cowboy had shown him about the colt pistol on how to clean it and the rifle also. Cane remembered he would have got to shoot them but the cowboy only had three bullets for his pistol and two for the rifle.

Cane slowed down because he could see that there were no tracks in the road of horses heading east at a run. Stopping and looking carefully he could see a lot of tracks coming toward him but the only ones heading east were at least several days old and the animals were at a walk. Turning the horse around he back tracked until he could see where the horse tracks had left the road. Turning from the road Cane followed the tracks through the gullies and brush. He had to slow the horse down at times to a walk because it was such rough terrain. Some of the gullies were deep and the horse slid down the bank on one side and had to buck jump to get up on the other side of the gulley. At time there was timber and scrub Oak and the outlaws wove into them several times along trails. The outlaws weren’t just running they knew the country side because of the way they were traveling.

It was getting too dark to see the tracks anymore. The horse, Cane was riding, smelled water and was trying to go to it so Cane let him have his head, for they could always come back to the trail, until they came to a small creek. Sliding from the horse and both of them getting there fill of water. Cane moved under a large Oak tree, Cane pulled the saddle from the horse. He tied the horse on a rope that had been tied on the saddle to let the horse graze and roll some to get the sweat off him. After the horse had rolled good Cane tied him to a bush amongst the tall grass. He went back to the saddle and turned it wool side up and spread the horse blanket over a bush to dry the sweat.

Going through the saddle bags, Cane found some jerky and several biscuits that were almost hard as a rock. Tied in a small sack he found there was also a box of 30-30 shells for the Winchester rifle. Which reminded him to unload the weapon and finding it was fully loaded. Cane gnawed one of the biscuits and finally got the thing down with the help of some more creek water. Cane rolled over on the grass and went to sleep.

It was about midnight that the moon light woke Cane up. He set up and stretched. Then he dragged the saddle over to the high side of a low place, in the ground, went and got the horse and leaded the horse over into the low place. Cane was able to swing the saddle up onto the horses back and cinch the girth up tight as he could. Climbing up into the saddle he started the horse along where the grass was bent down and he could occasionally see the imprint of a horse shoe. The moon being full and no clouds in the sky helped in tracking at night. It was chilly tonight and Cane put on his list of things he wanted was a good coat. Maybe he could get these outlaws and then he might be able to buy what he wanted instead of having to find it in peoples throw away trash.

At times it was good being raised at the Cheyenne Village and learn the ways of the people. Being half white and half Cheyenne was good only in the wilderness. His mother had been captured in a raid and taken as a wife to Ten Men Long Bow, Canes father. It had been a good life to Cane by learning his mother’s language and also his fathers. He had also learned to track and hunt while growing up and at ten summers old is when the living with the people ended. For then came the Blue Coats and killed almost all of the people. Cane had a light brown skin, as if he had a tan from being outside too much, and spoke good English, which the Blue Coats thought him to be a white captive.

At the Blue Coat Fort, after his leg healed up from being wounded during the battle, the Blue Coats had given Cane to a settler to take care of him. The man only wanted a slave, he was always beating Cane, not giving him enough to eat, and spouting from the bible calling him Cane. The settlers wife had been kind a nice for she had not beaten him but she had two other children that were girls that were smaller than Cane.

Then one day the settler and his wife went to town with the only horse. Cane had been told to weed the garden or he wouldn’t get anything to eat for three days. That was the last straw for as the settler went out of sight Cane went to the house. Cane took the bacon and ham hanging in the kitchen, putting them in a sack with the kitchen knife. He also took a blanket that he tied the ends with leather strings which had held the ham and he left heading west. He had never looked back and never regretted leaving the settler.

That had been a year ago and Cane had no regrets. He just needed a stake of money because he was tired of begging for food or having to steal it just to survive. All he had was the clothes on his back and the butcher knife that he had taken from the settler, which was a small knife now because of having to sharpen it so many times. He was determined to change that situation. This might get him killed or maybe some money too so he could live proper.

The first rays of sunlight were breaking over the horizon when the smell of smoke came to Cane. Cane turned the horse in that direction and went north until the smell of smoke diminished. Then he turned back to the east. He didn’t want his mount to smell the outlaw’s horses and didn’t want them to smell his horse or they would go to neighing.

Cane rode the horse at a walk until he could smell the smoke again and stronger. He tied the horse in a low place, pulling the rifle before he slid to the ground from the saddle and easing through the bushes as he headed toward the smoke smell. Going as a shadow would across the ground for almost two hundred yards. Cane could see the camp down in a draw that would be a dangerous place if it started raining because he could see the high water marks of drift wood was about ten feet from the floor of the draw.

Cane slipped as close as he could and found where the outlaws had tied their horses down the draw by a seep hole of water. Cane moved until he was between the outlaws and the horses. He eased down behind a tree trunk where the tree had fallen from a storm of long ago. He knew if he gave the outlaws a chance they would just kill him and have a new Winchester and another horse and saddle. However, it just wasn’t in Cane to not give them some kind a chance.

Cane drew a bead on the man, about a hundred feet from him and which was facing him. He yelled out, Throw your hands in the air. There was a second or two passed when the man facing Cane drew his pistol. Cane put a round in the man’s chest and swings the rifle over to one of the other outlaws that had picked up a rifle and was turning toward Cane.

As Cane was jacking another round of ammunition into the firing chamber, Cane put a round into the man's chest and the last outlaw was firing at Cane with a pistol and the bullets were taking chunks of wood from the downed tree. Cane ducked down behind the tree trunk, ran into the brush circling around to the high side of the gulley coming to a stop where he was behind a small tree, and could see into the camp.

Two men were down and the third man was no where in sight. Cane listened and all he could hear was the frighten horses moving around down behind him in the gulley. Finally the horses settled down. Cane was trying to hear where the man had gone and he could hear nothing. Cane was watching all around and after a few minutes he could hear a horse running back in the direction where he had left that jug head he had been ridding.

Cane was torn between leaving these horses unguarded and going to see if the man had made off with his mount and staying quiet. The mount might have torn loose from where he was tied and the horse had just headed back home, but then it might have been taken by the outlaw. It had been about five minutes since the horse he heard had been running and he couldn’t hear anything else moving around. He got up and slipped back through the brush until he could see where he had tied the horse. All that was there was a set of boot tracks and the horse’s prints. Cane knew the outlaw was the one that had taken his horse.

Going back to the two outlaws in the gulley, Cane checked the two bodies out very carefully and found that both men were dead. Cane went down the draw and brought the horses back to camp. After a lot of trouble and it taking quite some time, he finally got the three horses saddled. He then took the bandana from each man and going through the dead men’s pockets, he wrapped each of their things that they had in separate bandanas.

He stuffed the bandanas into one of the saddle bags and loaded everything else in camp. The pistols, the one that was on the pot bellied dead men he put into the saddle bag and the smallest pistol belt he wrapped around his waist. By taking a two bladed jack knife, which had belonged to one of the outlaws, he cut some more holes in the belt until he could get the belt tight enough to stay up without it falling down. Mounting up, Cane started trailing of the other outlaw.

Chapter II

The front door of the Sheriffs Office flew open and a big man came barreling into the office.

What the hell you let that boy take my horse and new Winchester for? Jim Making yelled at the Sheriff who was setting with his feet propped up on his desk.

You want to take a posse and get the banks money back? The Sheriff said in a serious tone of voice.

Hell no because I don’t keep any of my money in that blood sucking cut throats bank.

That kid was my posse and besides Jackson the banker told him to take the horse. If’n the kid doesn’t come back with your horse and rifle then you needs to get your money out of Jackson.

Hell that kid will just get himself killed and it would be like getting blood out of a turnip to get the money from Jackson. Making said with a huff in his voice.

Who is that kid? Making asked.

Don’t know but I seen the kid around town a few times and when I’d get close to him, he would break and run. I’ve asked around and hadn’t found anyone that knows the kid or anything about him. At the bank was the first time anyone heard the kid talk. The Sheriff replied.

Sheriff Jed Jones went over to the coffee pot on the stove as Makings stomped around some. The pot was still warm so he poured a cup of coffee and went back to set at the desk. Jim Makings left the office and in a few minutes Jackman the banker came sashaying into the office.

It’s been almost a day and that kid ain’t coming back, Jed. So I’ll take the money your holding. Jackson said holding his hand out.

Nope. The Sheriff replied as he sipped his coffee.

Hell if the kid found the outlaws he’s dead by now. So give me the money.

I’ll hang onto the money for two weeks. By then I’ll figure the kid ain’t coming back and he made off with your money. So you just go on back to your bank and suck some money from someone else.

Jackson stood there a few minutes and finally dropped his hand down to his side. He then turned and going through the door he slammed it as hard as he could.

Jed pulled open a draw in the desk and took out a wad of wanted posters. He had got a good look at the outlaws and the thought had been nagging on him that he had seen the description of one of them on a poster. Going through the posters he came to the one that he was looking for. Then he would take each one of the posters and try to match a poster up with the other two outlaws. Later in the day he thought he might have found four possibilities of who the outlaw were.