Canyon Diablo
by Atonia
Part 8
They were twelve days into their journey when they arrived at the settlement which was little more than a trading post and a few outlying dwellings. Still in Navajo country they approached with caution. It was decided to send East and Jincy to the trading post for much needed supplies. Ben, Cort and Egan waited nearby concealed within a rock formation.
A white woman was rare in these parts, Jincy stuck close to East.
“Just don’t look at ‘em, Jincy.”
“Let’s hurry up and get out of here.” She walked with him into the trading post feeling very dirty and trail worn.
East bought two rifles and ammunition Jincy bought food and a hat for herself, having lost hers in the wind crossing a canyon. Extra blankets and some Indian corn, she’d become quite adept at grinding now and had also learned to ration food, many times she’d regretted the big meals she’d cooked the first few days on the trail.
East loaded up the pack mule and they headed out toward the butte.
“Did you catch what that Indian was sayin’?”
“No…what?”
“The Mormon Road is east of here this trail leads right to it. Otherwise we’d have to back track the last fifty miles or so to meet up with the other trail to Lees Crossing, that’ll get us across the Colorado.”
“We can’t go back…”
“I know…once we get on the road we can make better time.”
“No more canyons to climb in and out of.”
“I don’t know but at least there will be a road.”
They arrived back at the butte to see Egan and Ben climbing down the rocks. Jincy sat on her horse waiting for news.
Ben dusted his hands off, “They just keep on comin’; less than a day behind us now.”
“If we get back on the trail it takes us to the Mormon road, bout a half day’s ride.”
“We ain’t got no choice in the matter.”
“Don’t we have time to eat…I got food now?” They’d had nothing since the morning before except for watery coffee.
“Ain’t got time for nothin’, Jincy.” Ben mounted up.
They rode fast along the trail bordering a deep canyon. It was nearly dark by the time they reached the road ,the only difference being that it was wider and hard packed sand filled the crevices in the rock bed. The canyon they’d been riding along now yawned before them, however they were not alone on the road, they’d passed several wagons before dipping down into the canyon. Finding a place to camp for the night away from fellow travelers was proving to be a problem so they continued on through the darkness across the canyon floor, a wash this time and not a river to ford. A winding steep road up the other side brought them up to open country. A butte outlined in the darkness looked to be the only refuge and they rode toward it.
East and Egan tended the horses and Ben and Cort built a fire. Jincy gathered the food and began grinding out corn for bread.
“I bought some jerky, I thought it might come in handy; too bad I didn’t think to give some out before we took off…something we could eat on the run.”
“Good thinkin’, Jincy cause we’re gonna be on the run now, once O’Neill hits this road out here it’s gonna be flat out, no stoppin except for the horses, so anything you can fix up to take with us will be ‘preciated.”
“Those wagons back there…I think Jincy should join in with them, give her safe passage outta here.” Cort suggested.
“That’s up to Jincy, she ain’t slowin’ us down none.” Ben said quietly.
“It ain’t the slowin’ down it’s what’s comin’, you know it and I know it…no matter how much distance we put between us; and O’Neill he ain’t gonna stop, Ben.”
Ben looked at him a minute, “I ain’t quitin’; as long as I can damn well ride I’m goin’…time comes we’ll make a stand at a place of our choosin’.”
“I ain’t quitin’ either. I made my choice I was just thinkin’ of Jincy.”
“Well we’ll put it to her let her decide, it don’t matter to me one way or the other.”
It was put to her over their meal. Jincy was quiet for a while and looked up at her companions busily eating the meal she’d prepared.
“I thank you for thinking about me, but if it’s all right I’d like to stay with you all. I could probably get on one of them wagons and go to Utah and then they’d marry me off to some old man with two or three wives already. I don’t know what’s coming for any of us, but day by day we’re getting by. I’m living more now than I’ve ever lived in my life, pushing myself finding out what I’m capable of…what I’m made of. But if you don’t want me around anymore or think I’m holding you back…then I’ll go.”
“It’s not that at all, Jincy; it’s your safety we’re worried about.” Cort said.
“I can shoot, my father taught me to shoot bottles off a stump.”
“This ain’t bottles that’s after us, Jincy…they shoot back.” East said.
“If she wants to stay…let her stay.” Ben looked over at the rest of them.
“Okay with me,” East finished up his meal and put his tin plate down.
Egan looked at her for a long time and turned his head away saying nothing.
The next morning the sky was leaden and gray when they set out. Before noon it was snowing, the almost warm days in the sun were over for awhile, it was April 3 and they’d been on the run since March 21. By the end of the day their pace had slowed considerably; out in the open with no shelter in sight they trudged on with the wind sometimes blowing the snow sideways. They passed wagons loaded with children, men and women with grim countenances standing around them bogged down in the snow. After a while there were no more ruts in the snow covered road to follow and unknowingly they left the road at some point and were headed toward the painted desert.
Snow banked up against strange rock formations gave a ghostly look to the white landscape lit now only by moonlight, the snow clouds had dissipated. It was behind one of these formations that they finally took shelter out of the wind for the night. There was no fire and no cooked meal, they munched the flat bread and jerky that Jincy provided for them.
The next morning the sun was out and they realized their costly mistake and retraced their tracks in the snow back toward the road.
“Which way does the road go?” East asked once they made it back from where they started from.
“It goes north,” Ben answered.
“Which way is north?”
“It’s up that away,” Ben gestured.
“You don’t know do ya, you don’t know where in bloody hell we are or where we’re goin’”
Ben glared at him “You wanna lead…you know where you’re goin’, East?”
“You know I ain’t never been up in these parts before…no I don’t want to lead.”
“Well I ain’t been around here before either…everybody we’ve asked said this road goes to Utah, it’s the damn Mormon road they ain’t likely to be goin’ to California. And I don’t know how long it is or what’s up ahead of us, but I do know what’s behind us and I doubt he took off in the desert last night.”
“There was no way to tell where the bloody road was.” East had been in the lead the night before when they left the road.
“Well it’s done…we lost time we got to make up.” Ben turned in the saddle one of the wagons was in sight slowly moving along. He looked again at the mule and turned his horse up what he hoped was the road. The mule was going to have to be let go and soon.
Cort looked over at East, the young man’s frustration was showing, he’d never heard him address Ben that way. For himself he was on a death march, he couldn’t go back to the life he’d planned at St. Sebastian and there was nothing forward for him but death or prison; at this point in time he preferred death. But still he prayed for their safe passage, he prayed for Jincy too who didn’t deserve this, and damned himself for leading her on during that long train trip they had together. He’d noticed the signs in her and flattered he hadn’t put a stop to it. He had enjoyed her company and still her spirit lifted him out here in the midst of nowhere.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked her as he mounted his horse.
Jincy grinned, “Like a piece of toast all warm from the oven…I’m beginning to dream about food.”
They rode single file up the road now following faint ruts in the snow left by a wagon somewhere ahead. Ben led with East behind him, Jincy, Cort and Egan bringing up the rear leading the mule.
Part 9
Ben had never felt so weary in his life; it had been a hell of a run but ahead lay Lee’s Crossing, and once over that according to people they’d passed on the road, Utah was only ten miles ahead. Nearly three weeks over some of the most isolated, inhospitable territory imaginable they had traveled six hundred miles.
Lee’s Ferry lies in a rocky but comparatively open valley, just upstream of where the Paria River empties into the Colorado River. The Echo Cliffs to the east, rise nearly 2000 feet above the valley floor. The Paria Plateau, to the west rises nearly 3000 feet. The deeply entrenched Glen Canyon lies upstream, on the Colorado. Marble Canyon lies downstream, channeling the Colorado River’s surging waters into the Grand Canyon. With the canyons on either side standing as impassable barriers, early travelers knew that they had to cross the Colorado River in the vicinity of the Lee’s Ferry valley, or they had to trek hundreds of miles up or down stream to find another ford.
Lee’s Ferry was operated by the Mormons, and a small settlement of about twenty-five buildings had over the years sprung up in the valley. Roads on either side of the river consisted of bone-jarring, wagon-breaking rock, bereft of any soil. At the river’s edge, travelers faced muddy banks, a fluctuating, sediment-filled, dangerous river, and a ferryboat that had been involved in several accidents.
As they stood on the banks they all felt it, freedom just the other side of the river, ten more miles was nothing to them now.
“First thing I’m gonna do is find me a bed to sleep in,” East said looking across the river, “and a bottle of whiskey to take with me.”
“You reckon Mormon’s drink whiskey?” Ben looked around at him.
“They can’t all be Mormon’s.” East’s brow furrowed. “Can they?”
Ben laughed a little, “I reckon there’s a man or two over there that drinks whiskey ain’t natural if they don’t.”
Jincy came up beside him, “I’m gonna have me a bath, a deep hot tub with soap and a clean dress to wear. What are you gonna have, Ben?”
“I ain’t rightly sure yet,” he turned and looked at her, “but a bath and a bottle sounds mighty good to me.” The smile on his face faded when he saw Egan and Cort racing to the landing. They’d gone into the settlement to trade the mule for a few provisions.
“They’re here,” Egan looked at Ben, “Saw ‘em as we’s coming out of the trading post.”
“God damn it,” Ben looked back across the river, the ferry had just made it to the other side.
“Which way are we going, Ben?” Cort asked.
“Upstream,” he sprinted toward his horse with East and Jincy following close behind. All dreams of freedom just at hand vanished.
They raced along the canyon wall with no hope of crossing now. Due to the rocky terrain they slowed their pace after awhile. Ben had had enough; it was time to make a stand and he began looking for a place they could get to that would allow them a look out.
It finally presented itself on the edge of Wahweep Canyon.
Ben rubbed his eyes, even the damn rocks were beginning to move below he turned around and called out.
“Got any coffee made yet?”
Jincy hurriedly poured out a tin cup of coffee and took it to him, “Do you want some too, East, Egan?”
“I’ll take some,” Egan replied.
She was trying to make herself useful as she poured out the coffee, her eyes flicked over to Cort who was loading weapons.
“There’s gonna be a fight…” she stated.
“I’m afraid so,” Cort looked up at her, “this is the last stand…we ain’t runnin’ no more.”
Jincy swallowed hard, “Well then, load up that shotgun for me.” She had been surprised that Ben let her light a fire but now she understood, he wanted them to know where they were.
Later East rubbed his eyes and focused again, “Here they come…see ‘em,” he exclaimed excitedly.
“I see ‘em.” Ben moved over and looked down. He turned back, “Throw somethin’ on that fire that’ll smoke.”
Jincy began gathering dried up leaves, shrubby sticks and tossed them on until it was smoking good.
“They’ve spotted it…let’s load up and get outta here.”
She barely had time to dump the coffee pot and mounted her horse with it in her hand. As fast as they could they moved a little farther along the ridge and waited.
They positioned themselves around in the rocks Jincy sat on the ground with her shotgun. Ben and Cort had been talking.
“Jincy,” Ben said, “when the shootin’ starts get over here in this crevice and stay there, it’s about the safest place up here. If one of us falls you don’t move, ya hear?”
“Yes.”
“We ain’t plannin’ on fallin’ now.” He smiled a little.
“If we all go down, however it happens tell ‘em you was abducted, we took you as a hostage.”
“How am I gonna tell them that I’ll be cryin’ too hard, Father Cort. Nobody’s gonna die up here…nobody.” Tears welled up in her eyes. Through all the hardships she’d been through she’d never shed a tear until the thought of one of them getting killed settled on her.
Nobody slept that night they kept a watchful vigil until dawn when the first bullet pinged off the rock near East. During the night the posse had worked its way up behind them and caught them by surprise.