The Making of a Lawman

By Dave Stevens

Some men lead, some follow.  For Matt Landry, there was no choice.  To serve and protect is his destiny.  Matt Landry was born to wear a star on his chest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dave Stevens
• Release date: Oct 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536513240

Dave Stevens

Dave was raised as a cowhand, working cattle, mixing feed in a mill, rodeoing, and driving mules in a covered wagon on trail rides.  He spent twenty years in the military and also retired as a deputy sheriff.  His life has been dedicated to helping others and protecting this nation.  This all lead to his writing career, as he has an unquinchable thirst for western history and stories from those who live the life and remember.  Dave's desire is to put his readers into the story and let them become the characters and enjoy a time in history that was only once and will never be again.

Book preview

For those special men who tamed the West

TO BE A MAN OF LAW AND ORDER

IS A TRUST OF SACRED HOLD

IT IS A PLACE OF HONOR

NO ONE CAN BUY WITH GOLD

THE PAIN OUR NEIGHBORS BARE

IN TIMES OF GREAT DESPAIR

BRINGS OUT THE VERY BEST

IN THE MAN WITH A STAR ON HIS CHEST

Dave Stevens

Retired Deputy Sheriff

ONE

Blue Ridge Colorado never was much of a town.  It started, as a lot of western towns started, with hopes of wealth and visions of a solid future.  But, as with most towns dependent on silver or gold, success wasn’t very likely.  Blue Ridge had a short life.  However, it wasn’t due entirely to a lack of minerals.

As Jake Landry rode into Blue Ridge, he felt an erie quiet.  Something was wrong.  There should have been the usual ring of the blacksmith’s hammer and tin-panny music from the Farmer’s Daughter.  What could make a whole town be so silent?

After the initial rush to capture wealth and all the things dreams are made of, the little town quieted down to a drab existence and a meager population of a few diehard miners and an ambitious rancher or two.

The first problem had been a lack of silver, in abundance. There was silver, just not enough to be profitable. And, although grass for cattle was plentiful, the White Mountain Apache was far from what you might call neighborly.  Yes, the clock in the life of Blue Ridge was ticking away.  Only, the few residents hadn’t realized it yet...

First, Jake noticed the arrow.  A bright red feather caught his attention.  That was it, then.  Wasaki and his dog soldiers had been here.  The dog soldier Apache had taken a death vow to kill every white eye in their territory.  It was going to get very bloody now.  He had tried to warn Washington.  He had done all one man could; but who was he, anyway, just Jake Landry, former statesman, now just an ordinary cowhand.

Those bureaucrats could only see that a few hundred savages didn’t stand a chance against the entire US Calvary.  Of course, they were safe and snug in Washington.  They didn’t have to witness the brutality and horrible deaths Wasaki would inflict.  The truth of the matter was, though the Apaches were severely out numbered, poorly mounted, and half starved, they were doing very well.  One of the best guerrilla fighters in the world and a master of deception, the Apache warrior, armed with any type weapon, was a force to be reconded with. 

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Now, it looked as though the town of Blue Ridge had paid the price of Washington’s neglect.  Jake began to notice the bodies, horribly mutilated.  And though he missed very little, his real attention was captured by the faint cry of a woman.  As he rode past the bank, Jake came upon the young woman.  She was lying near the door of her home.

That she was alive at all was a miracle.  She had two arrows in her chest and had been scalped.  As he examined her closer, Jake was astonished to find she was starting to deliver a child.  Now, for the first time in his life, Jake Landry was at a loss.  Cattleman, buffalo hunter, frontiersman (all admirable skills), he felt useless in this situation.  He had no experience in birthing.  It was obvious the woman was beyond help but perhaps he could save the child. 

Jake moved the woman inside the house and made her as comfortable as he could.  Next, he started a fire and put water on to boil.  He figured he could at least keep things clean.  It wasn’t much but it was something, anyway.

The woman opened her eyes then and smiled weakly at him.  It was her way of thanking him.  Jake marveled at her will.  Nations were born through such strength.  Later, as evening approached, the miracle of life arrived.  It was an exhausting experience for Jake and the woman, as well.  The result was a big, curly-headed boy.  The woman lived long enough to do what women long for.  She saw her son and knew life would go on.  She died then, holding her son to her bosom.

Jake buried the woman by the creek so she could hear the water gently running over the rocks.  He bowed his head and then said, I didn’t know this lady but she kept a clean house and she birthed a fine little boy.  That’s enough to say about any woman.  I leave her to you now.  Watch over her and let her rest in peace.  I’ll take good care of the boy; always wanted a son. Maybe this is how it should be.  No woman could put up with my roaming ways for very long.  Good-bye mam, and thanks.  With that Jake went back to the house and slept.  There was little chance Wasaki would return and Jake desperately needed sleep.  What happened after that he would handle.

There were two problems as Jake saw it; how to care for the child and secondly, escape.  If they could slip past Wasaki, they stood a fair chance of making it to Fort Dix.  Never before had life meant more to Jake Landry.  For the first time in many years, Jake had more than himself to consider.  It was clearly his responsibility to care for the child and he took that responsibility to heart. 

After rummaging through the mercantile store, Jake located canned milk and a bottle.  He also gathered a few supplies he would need; coffee, a side of bacon, some dried apples, and he smiled when he located a hundred rounds of 44’s.  Wasaki must have been in an awful hurry.

Jake figured caring for the boy shouldn’t be much harder than handling an orphaned calf.  He decided to call the child Matt, after his own father, Senator Matthew Landry.  After all, he had no idea who the woman was.  And he thought she would be pleased.  Together he and little Matt would need lots of luck and all his frontier skills to get past Wasaki.

Jake and his new partner started out just past midnight.  The Apache does not like to fight at night.  He worries his spirit will forever wonder in darkness should he fail.  That does not mean, however, that an occasional brave lad wouldn’t try to slip into an enemy’s camp and take a scalp.  Jake wasn’t about to risk the chance.

Wanting to leave as quietly as possible, he used an old trick the Apaches had perfected.  He tied some old sacks onto his horse’s hooves.  Then, he mounted while holding the child and they rode out of town.  Jake hoped