This story is based on true events that took place in the town Canyon Diablo, Arizona in the late 1800’s. I have loosely used these facts to incorporate our Russell characters: Ben Wade, Cort, East Driscoll and Egan. It is a work of fiction.

Canyon Diablo

by Atonia

Part 1

Cort boarded the train in Tucson, AZ after leaving the Mission of St. Sebastian where he’d been staying and taking instructions for the Priesthood for six months. He found a seat and fingered the white collar that now circled his neck. The car was filling up fast and yet the seat next to him remained empty until a woman stopped and asked if she might sit next to him.

“Yes of course,” he stood and let her sit next to the window.

“Thank you, Father.” She sat down and adjusted her skirts.

Cort smiled and sat down next to her, “Are you traveling alone?”

“Yes, I wasn’t supposed to be but Maria came down with some mysterious illness at the last minute and I was not to be deterred any longer. You see I’m traveling to Ft. Yuma to meet with my fiancé, we’re to be married at last.”

“How wonderful for you.”

“I think so,” she grinned, “I’m Jincy Shumpert.” She held out her hand.

“Pleased to meet you ma’am, Cort Corbin.”

“Father Cort…that has an unusual sound to it doesn’t it?”

“I suppose so but that’s all I got.”

The train began to pull out of the station and Jincy opened the bag she carried and took out a book and pen. “I’m going to record our journey,” she explained and quickly sketched the fading train station from memory and checked the little clock she had pinned to her blouse and recorded the time.

“You draw very well,” Cort observed over her shoulder.

“Thank you, I left piles of books at home; I think the first one I began drawing in I was about six years old.”

“You have a God given talent.”

The day passed in quiet conversation, observations on the passing scenery or lack thereof. Jincy was awfully glad to have found him on the train she felt she was in safe company for her journey. She shared her fried chicken and biscuits with him, as he’d brought no food on board to see him through to the next stop.

“I’ve heard the food is not always the best at these little towns so I brought my own and I’ve enough to share so don’t feel bad about joining me.”

Cort found out she was alone now, her family having succumbed to typhoid during the autumn.

“Maria,” she said between bites, “looked after us, cooked some and helped around the house. I hated to leave her behind but I got a letter from Captain Frank Pearson, my fiancé and he said he’d made arrangements for us to get married if I could get there…so I’m getting there.”

Cort chuckled, “You didn’t waste any time did you?”

“No, only two weeks to get my trousseau finished. I’ve been sewing on it for a year now.”

It was later in the day that the train stopped to take on wood. Some of the passengers got out to stretch their legs, Cort was one of those, walking toward the engine he saw a cloud of dust ahead; shouts came from the fireman as he jumped back on board and Cort turned back to the dust cloud that now cleared enough for him to see four mounted horsemen riding fast toward the stopped train. The whistle began to blow and the engine was beginning to fire up. Cort began running back toward his car.

Already word was spreading and shouts of ‘Train Robbers’ was filling the air. Three masked men came into the car and began robbing the passengers, Cort tried to get some of the women off the car including Jincy but his efforts were in vain, he was taken by one of the bandits, an arm around his neck and a gun in his side as a deterrent to any who might think themselves a hero today.

Bill Ormand backed out of the car with Cort while East Driscoll loaded the saddlebags on the horses. What he determined to be the leader rode up giving orders and Cort was told to mount up behind Bill. They circled around a couple of times and shots were fired from the train, a shouted order and they took off. One robber hit the dirt, his riderless horse running with the rest.

It happened so quickly he barely had time to grab the saddle when Bill Ormand’s head exploded in front of him. Cort moved up onto the saddle and looked at the other two who were ahead of him, he only hesitated a moment before bearing off to his right breaking away from the robbers. He was riding hard toward the next town to alert the authorities about the robbery. He was completely unaware of the saddlebags or when they disappeared.

The train arrived in Canyon Diablo and word of the robbery spread fast. The railroad construction crew had already gathered at the station in anticipation of payday. Word that their pay had been stolen created a furious mob.

It was this scene in progress that greeted Cort when he rode into town. The train engineer was the first to spot him. “There’s one of ‘em now,” he shouted pointing at the man on horseback who had just ridden up by the station.

It took a few minutes for Cort to figure out the men who came around the train shouting at him were not in a mood to listen to him. Some were already mounted and Cort assessed the situation and turned his horse around and ran. Less than two miles from town they caught up with him.

“You don’t understand I’m not one of the robbers, I’m a priest I was taken hostage and forced to ride with them.”

“Where’s the saddlebags?” It was the fireman from the train.

“I…I don’t have any saddlebags.” Cort answered.

“Had ‘em when you took off, what’d ya do with ‘em?”

“I didn’t do anything with saddlebags, the outlaw was shot off the horse in front of me I just moved up to the saddle and rode.”

“All right you show us where you rode then.” A big burly looking crew member spat on the ground.

Cort looked at the crew and turned his horse back the way he’d rode into town, he really had no idea exactly what part of the ground he’d covered but he rode all the way back to the wood yard with the posse. No saddlebags were found.

Outraged now the crew decided to execute a little justice of their own and producing a rope they commenced to hang Cort from a pine tree next to the wood yard. The noose was around his neck, his hands tied behind his back and as his executioner swatted the horse’s rump lightening struck the tree limb and it fell to the ground dragging Cort from the saddle.

The rowdy posse went completely silent.

Cort was still praying when he hit the ground and he opened his eyes all the men had gathered around him. Some took off their hats.

“That’s God’s work,” one of the men said

“Yer right, God said we wusn’t to hang this feller.”

“What are we gonna do with him?”

“Take him back to Canyon Diablo and throw him in jail, let the Pinkerton’s have at ‘em”

Busy as they were with the hanging and discussion about the divine intervention they hadn’t noticed the two men who’d quietly ridden up to the wood yard.

Ben Wade drew the Hand of God and shot the rope that was still attached to the tree limb thus freeing Cort who sat up on the ground looking up at him as he rode up close to the men.

“That’s Ben Wade,” somebody said.

“What you want here Wade?” the RR Fireman asked.

“Well, well,” he looked over the motley crew, “Southern Pacific can’t do a damn thing right, can’t even hang a man. Reckon you’ll ever get that bridge built?” he smirked. He was referring to the bridge across the canyon, it had arrived from the manufacturer too short for the span and so only the lip was hanging over the canyon. He held his gun pointed at the big burly crew member.

East walked his horse up to Ben’s side, gun drawn. “Get up,” he said to Cort.

Cort stood up, his hands still tied behind him and the noose hanging from his neck.

“Untie his hands,” Ben said to the fireman.

Released from his bonds he pulled the noose from his neck, not sure whether he should thank Ben Wade or not, he waited to see what would happen next.

“He stole the payroll…” one of the crew said, “and lost it.”

East looked at Ben, “Mount him up?” He brought the horse he’d been leading around to Cort.

“You boys better get on back to town, there ain’t gonna be no hangin’ here today. This feller belongs to me.” Ben said. He waited until Cort was mounted and a quick nod to East sent the two of them away.

“Any o’ya’ll got a problem with that?”

“Naw, you kin have him,” The burly guy said.

The RR fireman spat on the ground, “Ya damn fool, Ben Wade is the one that robbed the train, that feller was just one of his gang.”

Ben sat his horse until the crew had ridden back toward town and then he turned and rode after East and Cort.

Part 2

“All right preacher, you wanna show me where you put them saddlebags?” Ben rode up beside Cort.

“I don’t know where they are I didn’t even know there was saddlebags.”

“Well you better start thinkin’ on it Preacher while you’re retracin’ your steps. I lost two men today I’d hate to think it was all for nothin’”

“I’m sorry but I have no idea; I was tryin’ not to get shot for somethin’ I didn’t do.”

“Last time I looked back he was ridin’ alone, right along here.” East added.

Ben crossed his hands on the pommel and looked directly at Cort, “Then what did you do?”

“I followed a ways and then went west toward town.”

“I believe I know you, what’s your name?”

“Cort…Cort Corbin.”

Ben smiled a little, “What you doin’ all dressed up in that rig?”

“I’ve renounced violence, taken a different path. “

“Well you took the wrong one today, boy…you best be finding them saddlebags”

Cort set out in front of them riding slowly looking from side to side with no hope of finding anything.

“You know him, Ben?” East came up on Ben’s right.

“Yeah, I seen him he used to ride with Herod, I reckon they had a fallin’ out…Cort killed him and blowed up a town called Redemption. Disappeared for a while after that. Looks like he’s hidin’ out in the church now. He’s a shooter.”

Cort was only half looking for the saddlebags his mind was on the young woman Jincy, who was alone in that town he’d rode through. It was a rough looking place and no place for a lady.

 Canyon Diablo sprung up to serve the railroad men. With a population of around 2,000 mostly outlaws, prostitutes, gamblers, miners, cowboys and railroad crews waiting on the bridge span to arrive.

The town was laid out along one bedrock main street called Hell Street and consisted of a grocery store, two eateries, a dry goods store and the rest were four brothels, two dance halls, fourteen saloons , ten gambling houses all which ran 24 hours a day. The longest a lawman had lasted in Canyon Diablo was one month and he was laid out on “Boot Hill” with his predecessors.

“It’s getting’ too dark to see,” Cort stopped and turned in the saddle. “I was escortin’ a lady to Ft. Yuma, I‘d like to continue on with that, this town up here ain’t no place for a lady.”

East laughed, “There ain’t no ladies around here but there’s plenty of women.”

“You ain’t goin’ nowhere till you come up with them saddlebags. But you’re right it’s too dark out here to see anything tonight. We’ll come back in the mornin. Meanwhile you’ll be my guest in town tonight.”

“You’re goin’ back into Diablo after robbin’ the train?”

“Yeah.” Ben looked at Cort and pulled away picking up the pace.

“They were goin’ to hang me today…”

“Ain’t nobody gonna mess with you now, you belong to Ben Wade.” East settled his hat down low over his forehead.

Cort rode between them telling himself he belonged to no man, he belonged to God and God had seen fit to save him from hanging today. He had a purpose for him yet to be discovered. He hoped part of that purpose included escorting Jincy Shumpert out of Canyon Diablo. As they entered the town riding three abreast the debauchery was evident at every turn.  Drunks passed out on the street, others urinating on them. Loose women hanging in the doorways.

He turned to Ben, “I’d like to find Miss Shumpert and make sure she’s safe for the night, maybe get her on a stagecoach for Yuma.”

“Two days a ‘fore a stage coach comes through here.” Ben cocked a brow, “You might try over there at Loon’s; most respectable place in town they serve a good meal. You’re on your own tonight Cort but in the mornin’ come sunrise you be right here in front of Miss Elda’s or I’ll find you…got that?”

Cort got it, “Yeah I’ll be here.”

Ben tied his horse up in front of one of the better looking brothels on the street. A young boy came out and got his horse to tend to for the night. Ben strode inside to be tended to for the night himself.

“You can get a room over the saloon down by Loon’s if ya want, there ain’t no hotels here.”  East hopped off his horse.

“Thanks, East.”  Cort gazed at him a moment and looked back down the street and turned his horse around.

Jincy was trying to make the best of a bad situation. The old Indian woman, Loon, had reluctantly given her a room upstairs over the eatery. She was now down in the dining room waiting for her meal to arrive busily sketching in her book.

Cort came into the dining room and spotted her alone at a table and walked over.

“I see you made it, may I?”

“Oh, Father Cort please sit down, I’ve been so worried about you, I tried to tell the Engineer you were abducted but no one would listen to me.”

“And you…have you…”

“I’m very well I have a room upstairs and am glad for it.” She smiled a little, “Quite an experience walking down the street. I don’t think I will venture out again. I hear there’s a stage that will take me to Yuma and Captain Pearson can come for me there.”

“Two days, the stage comes in two days. I’m glad you found a decent place to stay. I hope I can accompany you to Yuma it may depend on what I can find tomorrow.”

“What are you looking for?” she sat back while her plate was put before her.

“Well when I was taken by the outlaws the one that I was ridin’ double with had the saddlebags with the money in it, he was shot and killed right in front of me and somehow the saddlebags fell off the horse between there and town. We looked for ‘em tonight but didn’t find nothin’. I got to go out again in the mornin’ and try to find ‘em. I reckon when we do they’ll let me go.”

“That was a very brave thing you did, trying to get the women off the train and away from those outlaws. I’m glad you’re okay; they could have killed you.”

“Probably would have except for the saddlebags. I’m not afraid though, God is with me.” He smiled.

“Do you think you’ll be able to find the bags?”

“I don’t know but if it’s meant to be I’ll find them. I’m not worried, how’s your dinner?”

“It’s very good.” Jincy was busy in her plate when Cort’s plate was put in front of him. She stopped eating chastising herself for not thinking. He had closed his eyes and bowed his head.

“Sorry, I forgot.” She gave him a crooked smile.

Cort smiled back, “That’s okay, I figured I’d better thank Him for my good fortune.”

“I’m not sure you’d call today a good fortune, Father.”

“I’m alive and I’m having dinner with you that is my fortune.”

East was having a drink at the Silver Dollar saloon leaning on the bar the men made room for him knowing who he was, that he rode with Ben Wade. Down the bar two well dressed men had ordered a drink and turned looking over the gambling tables. Glancing at each other they walked over to a table stacked high with silver coins, pulled their guns and collected the money off the table and backed out of the saloon guns at the ready.

It wasn’t long until the men at the table were up pulling their own gun belts back around their waists and ran out of the door. East downed his drink and followed them.

“Look here they’re dropping coins,” some of the men began gathering up coins left as a trail it seemed toward the train tracks.”

East looked toward the old trading post at the end of the street and walked quickly in that direction. The six men had now spread out across the street looking for the two robbers. Working his way down the street and keeping to the shadows as best he could he reached the last building and in the darkness beyond a flash of something caught his eye. Quietly he reached the back of the trading post and saw the two horses tethered to a post. Whatever his intentions they were interrupted by the sound of gunfire. It lasted about thirty seconds and rounding the building he saw one man lying dead in the street and another limping back toward him. The hapless gamblers were still firing in his direction but the man made it to the back of the building and encountered East.

“I’ll take that,” East said quietly holding his hand out for the bag of coins and pointing his gun at the man.

He hesitated knowing if he fired the men in the street would be back there in a second and yet he wasn’t about to give up the bag of coins, “I’ll split it with ya.”

“You ain’t in no position to bargain, mister.”

“Neither are you, one shot and they’ll all be back here…hear ‘em they’re still firing at nothing.”

“You’re Australian…”

“Yeah how ya doin’ mate?”

East glanced back toward the end of the building, “Better than you, let’s get out of here. Can ya ride?”

“Yeah, I can ride.”

“Softly now…” East looked at him and walked the horses back toward the line of buildings on Hell Street. He worked his way behind the buildings until he came to the saloon where he had rooms. He went in the back entrance and motioned for the man to follow him and then he helped him up the back stairs.

Once in his room he lit the oil lamp and turned to get a look at the feller he’d brought with him. “Who are ya anyway?”

“Egan, just Egan.”

“All right just Egan let’s have the bag.”

“I didn’t get shot up for nothin’”

“I coulda turned you over to ‘em and you’d be dead like your mate.”

“His name was John Shill and he was a mate come all the way with me…from home.”

“You shoulda had a better mate. What’s happened with your foot?”

Egan looked down at his boot there was a hole in it and the inside felt sticky and wet, “Shot I reckon.”

“Well take the boot off there’s a doc downstairs if he ain’t too drunk yet I’ll get him to take a look at it.”

“Hey…why are you doin’ all this for me?”

“Boss lost two men today, I reckon I need ya.”

“For what?”

“You ever rob a train?”

Egan lost all expression on his face, “No.”

“Get over it…I’ll see if the doc’s around.”

Part 3

Early the next morning Ben mounted his black and met East in front of Miss Elda’s. “I told him sunrise.” Ben said narrowing his eyes.

“He’s comin’ I see him. I found another fella for ya last night.”

“Since when do you find people for me, East?”

“Just happened on him, he’d stole a gambler’s take, turned out to be about $450 in silver coins. I divided it up.”

“Where is this feller?”

“Back at the Horseshoe saloon still in bed. He took a bullet in his foot doc cleaned him up last night.”

“I really need a feller with a bullet hole in his foot, yeah that’ll do me some good that will. You’re late preacher.”

Cort rode up and they took off out of town. Cort was making an effort to find the saddlebags this time, he really wanted to be rid of these two men. He was trying to remember anything around him; he’d rode so fast with one thought in his mind he hadn’t paid attention to the terrain. By noon they’d reached the wood yard and still no saddlebags.

East was getting tired of the hunt, “How much you reckon was in them bags, Ben?”

“We won’t never know will we? Railroad crew payroll couldn’t been more’n $1500, it don’t matter how much was in it.” He was watching Cort as he rode along the tracks where he’d mounted behind Bill.”

“Stagecoach be along tomorrow.” East looked over at him.

“There’s a train comin’ too, word is they got bridge spans on it as well as a strongbox. The manufactuer of this here railroad bridge had to pay for the men’s time…compensation for the work they couldn’t do for the railroad. Some high hats comin’ along and bringin’ their wives out here to this hell hole.”

“Heh, I wouldn’t be bringing my wife out here.”

“You ain’t gotta wife so you ain’t got nothin’ to worry about.”

“You thinking about the train again?”

“I’m thinking.”

“There ain’t gonna be but three of us, I reckon Egan can ride tomorrow.”

“There’ll be four,” Ben looked over at him.

“Who? You think that preacher is gonna ride with us?”

“I know he will and be glad to do it,” Ben smiled.

Cort rode back and stopped a few feet away, “I don’t see it nowhere could be some cowboy come along and picked it up.”

“You better hope that didn’t happen, Cort…head on out the way you rode off yesterday with Bill.”

They spread out combing the ground. Ben came up on Bill’s body and looked down at it for a moment and rode on. He’d been a mouthy son of a bitch it didn’t bother him none to see him dead.

Cort wiped his brow by now everything looked like a saddlebag, every clump of shrubby growth, every pile of rocks. He was weary of this. He looked up and saw a building sitting off in a distance the large cross on the roofline marked it he rode in that direction. He dismounted throwing the reins over a post out front. It looked fairly new and in good shape though it was abandoned by man. Cort opened the doors and went inside, large clean space empty…

Ben and East rode up and looked around before going inside.

“Is this where you stashed the saddlebags?” Ben asked strolling across the floor.

“No, I never saw it yesterday…it’s a mission a new one by the looks of it but there’s nobody here.”

“Yeah well I reckon even God don’t like Canyon Diablo…can’t say as I blame Him. No souls to save here they’ve all gone over to the Devil. He was too late…” Ben looked at Cort. “I reckon it’s a good a place as any to hide out though…that’s what you’re doin’ ain’t it, hiding behind that collar.”

Cort licked his lips, “No, I’m not hiding. God knows what I’ve done. I’ve given it up; Ben…renounced the violence that was my life. I’ve got a mission to go to, a new life waitin’ on me to get there.”

“New life, heh, I don’t reckon we got but one it’s all packed up nice and tight inside of you, carry it with you everywhere you go. It’s what makes us who we are the good breaks and the bad ones. I heard about what you did in Redemption that story traveled far and wide…is it all true you killed Herod?”

“I shot him but it wasn’t my bullet that killed him,” Cort looked down at the shadows on the floor.

“You blow up the town?”

“That wasn’t me either.”

“Well sounds like you got a reputation to live up to”

“No…no I don’t; I got one to live down.  I’m tryin’ to do that…to do some good with what life I got left.”

“I reckon you can do me some good.”

“Your soul cryin’ out at night?”

“No, my soul’s just fine it’s all locked up tight inside here with the rest of me. I need a little help tomorrow and you’re just the man I need.”

“I can’t help you, Wade.”

“Oh I think you can, I hear you can handle a gun with the best of ‘em.”

“I don’t carry anymore.”

Ben smiled, “We’ll see about that…East you ready to ride?”

East walked over, “I’m ready, past ready.”

“Let’s get outta here I don’t like empty places like this.”

“It’s not empty…God’s here.”

“God ain’t here, Cort he give up and left out of here with the padre about a month ago. He left his cross on top to show where he’d been but he ain’t here no more. Get on your horse you got saddlebags to find.”

It was a fruitless search that took them over the ground back into town. Cort rode up to Loon’s and dismounted intending to check on Jincy. Ben and East also dismounted. Cort looked over at Ben.

“I…I was going to check on the young lady.”

“Fine you go ahead, me an’ East is hungry ain’t that right East?”

“Yeah, they got good stew and biscuits here.” East bounded over the hitching post and walked inside. Ben followed with Cort between them.

Ben and East found a table and Cort went over to the table where Loon sat counting out money. “I wanted to check on the young lady, Miss Shumpert.”

“She be down directly.”

“She’s all right then?”

“How would I know I don’t see her all day except for coffee since breakfast? She up in her room and I don’t let outlaw’s go upstairs.” She fixed him with a look.

“I’m not an outlaw I’m a priest and a friend.”

“You come in with outlaws…that make you outlaw.”

“No…it doesn’t…” Cort stood there a minute and turned back to the dining room his stomach was making noises. Already Ben and East had a bowl of stew in front of them. He found a table by himself.

“He don’t want to eat with us, why do you reckon that is East?”

“Maybe he don’t like our company.”

“He thinks he’s too good for the likes of us, puts on a collar and thinks he’s God Almighty Himself.  But he was trained up to be a shooter and a shooter he is. See how he sits, back to the wall, heh, heh he’s a shooter even if he ain’t got a gun.”

Ben’s voice carried over the near empty room. Cort cut him a look but he tried to ignore him as he buttered his biscuit. Nothing had been said about the saddlebags but he had a feeling it wasn’t over with Ben, hints about helping him out tomorrow, helping to do what he didn’t know and didn’t care. All he wanted to do was get Jincy on the stagecoach to Yuma. Whether or not he’d be allowed to accompany her was still up in the air…still up to Ben. He dipped into his stew, Herod was dead and gone, he didn’t need another one to take his place. He wouldn’t allow it…he couldn’t.

“Well, well…lookee here,” Ben sat back in his chair looking toward the dining room door. “I reckon that’s Cort’s young lady.”

East turned around and stared at her, long time since he’d seen a real lady. “Fine lookin’ woman.”

Jincy’s face broke into a wide smile, “Father Cort,” she came over to his table and he stood up and held a chair for her. “

“Sorry I couldn’t wait; my stomach was talkin’ to me.”

She waved her hand at him, “No bother, did you find it the saddlebag?”

“No,” he glanced over at Ben. “I think the ground must have swallowed it up.”

“I am sorry…I found out the stage will be here at 10:00 in the morning do you think you’ll be traveling with me?”

“I…I’m not sure yet I sure hope so, that’s a long ride over some treacherous ground.”

“I hope so too I’ve heard some stories here in the dining room. I almost wish I’d waited for Marie to get well. Although I’m not sure how much use she’d be against outlaws intent on robbing trains or stagecoaches. That’s why I’m hoping you’ll be able to travel with me.” Her meal was put before her and she lay her sketch book down.

Ben and East had finished eating; Ben was sipping a cup of coffee watching the exchange between Cort and Jincy, taking in the look on his face and hers. He got up slowly and sauntered over tipping his hat to Jincy.

“Good afternoon ma’am I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Um no we haven’t.” she smiled up at him.

“Ben…” Cort said in warning.

“Pay no mind to your companion, I’m Ben Wade and this here’s my partner East Driscoll.”

“I’m Jincy Shumpert, pleased to meet…you.” Her smile faded she recognized East from the train robbery. “Oh…” her hand went to her mouth.

“Oh don’t worry about him, he’s a gentleman when it’s required, and it is required.” He looked over at East who removed his hat. “I understand you find our little town here a bit on the rough side, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you while you’re here. You stay close to Cort here, he’ll look after you.”

“Yes…thank you.” She smiled a little at Ben.

“Cort…have a nice evening I’ll see you in the morning…sunrise.” He smiled tipped his hat again and left.

TBC

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