There Were Four Men At The Rear Of The Wagons, And The Posting Of
These Rear And Advance Guards, And
Placing men on either side of the
wagons, had been done without one order from Faye, so my dismounting
must
Have been the signal for the sergeant to carry out the orders
Faye had given him the night before. Not by one turn of the head did
those outlaws show that they noticed those changes.
In that way we crossed the range. We met a dozen or more men of the
very roughest type, each one heavily armed. They were in parties of
two and three, and Faye thinks that a signal was passed between one of
them and the "pal." But there was no attack as had been predicted!
What might have taken place, however, if Faye had not been prepared,
no one can tell. Certainly part of Junot's story had been carried
out - the horse thief came to the tent and came with us to Maginnis,
and it was not because he wanted the protection of the troops. Faye
insists that an attack was never thought of, but as he was responsible
for government property, including the animals, he had to make
preparation to protect them. Of course those men wanted only the
animals. We passed many places on the divide that were ideal for an
ambush - bluffs, huge boulders, and precipices - everything perfect for
a successful hold up.
The men came on to the post with us, and were in camp two nights with
the soldiers. The second day from the Judith, we stopped for luncheon
near a small stream where there were a great many choke-cherry bushes,
and "Buckskin Joe"* - that was his name - brought large bunches of the
cherries to me. His manner showed refinement, and I saw that his
wonderful eyes could be tender as well as steely. Perhaps he had
sisters at the old home, and perhaps, too, I was the first woman he
had seen in months to remind him of them. I shall always believe that
he is from good people some place East, that his "dare-devil" nature
got him into some kind of trouble there, and that he came to this wild
country to hide from Justice. The very morning after we got here, not
long after our breakfast, he appeared at our tent with a fine young
deer slung across the back of his horse, which he presented to us. He
had just killed it. It was most acceptable, as there was no fresh meat
in camp. He and his "pal" stayed around that day and night, and then
quietly disappeared. Not one of the soldiers, even, saw them go.
*About six years after this occurrence, there was a graphic account in
the Western papers of the horrible death of "Buckskin Joe," who was
known as one of the most daring and slippery horse thieves in the
Territory. After evading arrest many times, he was finally hunted down
by a sheriff's posse, when his fiendish fighting excited the
admiration of those who were killing him.
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