Montana

By Vernon B. Bushway, Jr

Ben Sage left Buckhorn Texas for the Montana Territory after his families ranch had been burned to the ground, all his family killed, and the cattle and stock run off by raiders. The only family member left was his twin Brother, who was missing in action in the Civil War. Ben finally ended up in a gold mining town of Sutters Creek where he found his new life, gold, cattle ranch and romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vernon B. Bushway, Jr
• Release date: Feb 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463551547

Book preview

Chapter One:

Montana Territory June 1864:

I rode out of the setting sun, on a cool early spring afternoon, with the high snow covered mountain peaks behind me, into the mining town of Sutters Creek in the new Montana Territory.

The United States Congress had created this new territory out of existing Idaho, Territory and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 26, 1864.

I had left Buckhorn Texas after my families ranch had been burned to the ground; all of my family killed, the cattle, and stock ran off by raiders out of Oklahoma. The only family member left besides myself is my twin brother Rusty, who is missing in action and believed dead. Rusty had resigned his Commission, after graduating from West Point to join the Texas Volunteers as a Captain, to fight against the North in the Civil War.

Sutters Creek had been nothing but a stage stop on the way to Cheyenne Wyoming, and had sprung up into more than a stage stop, after the big gold strike in Bear Canyon. Hundreds of hungry men looking for fast money and willing to perform hard work panning and mining for gold, flooded in to the area. Of course with all this gold dust in their pockets to spend, it allowed for the building of four saloons, where most of the gold dust was spent, one hotel, and two restaurants, one dry goods store, livery stable, a Wells Fargo Bank, and a land office.

I was looking for a new life, and a riding job on a cattle ranch, since was nothing available in Texas and our ranch devastated. I had no stomach for staying on, and trying to rebuild the ranch, where there was so much heartache and death. I might as well go elsewhere and start over. I heard from a friend, riding jobs might be available in Montana plus available land.

I left the family gutted ranch, after I buried my Mother, Father, and two Sisters in the family cemetery and struck out for Montana and a new life. When I rode into Sutters Creek, I had not eaten since early that morning at my last campsite. So after packing up my bedroll, saddling my horse Charlie, and riding all day in the sun, I was ready for a decent meal.

There were only two restaurants in town, one named Georges Fine Foods, and the other Dolly’s Home Cooked Meals. I decided a home cooked meal sounded good to me! I stopped in front of the restaurant, stepped down out of the saddle into the dusty dirt street, removed my Winchester rifle, and tied the reins of my horse Charlie to the hitching rail.

I stepped out of the dusty street onto a weather worn wooded planked boardwalk, in front of Dolly’s and noticed the window on the front door of the restaurant was covered with pink curtains, something my Mother had done on our windows at home.

I opened the door, and walked into the restaurant that was pleasantly warm, and was crowded with people enjoying their supper. I observed one table was unoccupied at the back of the room. I walked over to the table removed my hat and placed it on one of the empty chairs, and my rifle in the corner next to the table and sat down to rest my weary bones. As I sat waiting to order, I began to think of my twin brother Rusty, who is twenty-four, exactly six minutes older, who is six feet tall, broad shoulders, a thin waist and flaming red hair, my exact identical twin. My Mother told me, when we were both born, she picked out our names do to our full heads of red hair at birth, why Ben with red hair, I could not figure out. In fact, at home our friends kept mixing us up, which made great fun when we were young boys.

I was brought out of my daydreaming, when an older good looking waitress with streaks of grey in her black hair, walked up to the table and said,

How my I help you Cowboy?

I would like a cup of hot coffee, a rare beef steak for supper and a slice of apple pie to top off the supper!

I believe that can be arranged. I take it by what clothes you’re wearing you not in the market for gold digging.

No Mam, looking for a ridding job if one is in the area, and land to start a ranch!

Well son, you might try the Circle-O Ranch for a job, and the land office for available land.

How would I find the Circle-O Ranch?

Ride due north out of town past the bank, and in about a mile, you will come to a trail on the right. Take that trail and you cannot miss the entrance to the Circle-O in about five miles. Ask for the Forman Ken Bodine.

Thanks for the info! By the way my name is Ben Sage from Texas.

Your welcome Ben and your coffee will be right up.

As waited for the coffee, I reviewed my plan; a job first, then look for land to start my cattle ranch.

Here’s your coffee Cowboy, along with the rare steak, enjoy!

Thanks, since I haven’t had a decent meal in weeks, I am sure I will enjoy this meal.

I dug right into the steak, which was very tasty, sipping the hot black coffee between bites. When I finished eating the hot apple pie suddenly appeared and more coffee to top off the fine meal.

When I stepped out of Dolly’s Restaurant, it was twilight and the saloons were already seeing action with noise drifting out of the various saloons. I observed a livery stable down the street next to the Ox-Bow Saloon, so I walked Charlie down to the stable, where the owner Jeff, charged me one dollar to rub Charlie down, feed him oats, and put him in a stall for the night.

My next move was to find lodgings for the night and a soft bed, no more hard ground for a while.

By the way Jeff, what hotel would you recommend for a night’s stay?

I would try the Sutter Creek Hotel, since it’s the only hotel in town. It’s usually quiet, and the beds are clean and soft.

Thanks, I will give it a try!

I left the stable and walked down to the hotel, checked in and had a good night’s sleep.

Chapter Two:

Sutters Creek Montana Territory:

I woke up in the morning totally refreshed, shaved for the first time in days, dressed, strapped on my gun belt, and headed out for Dolly’s Restaurant and breakfast.

I walked into Dolly’s, sat at the same table in the back of the restaurant and the same waitress I had for supper last night walked up and said,

Good morning Cowboy, you’re up bright and early.

Yes Mam, early bird gets the worm I’m told.

What would you like for breakfast this morning?

How about ham and eggs, more of your great coffee and some flapjacks,

That can be arranged, and she walked away back toward the kitchen.

The coffee came first, steaming hot, and then the balance of the meal which was mouthwatering. When I was finishing up breakfast, the waitress come over to the table and said,

By the way Cowboy my name is Dolly, and when and if you hit the Circle-O for a job, tell them Dolly sent you.

That I will do thanks, by the way, my name again is Ben Sage out of Texas.

You’re a long way from home Ben. Good luck with the job hunting,

and with that statement, she turned and slowly walked back to the

kitchen.

I left Dolly’s and walked down to the livery stable to retrieve Charlie, and make my way out of town to find the Circle O Ranch and possibly a riding job. I walked into the stable, said hello to Jeff, the owner, and good morning to my horse and placed my saddle blanket on his back, then the saddle, and tightened the cinch, mounted up and rode out.

When passing the Wells Fargo Bank, I noticed the land office was next door and had an open sign hanging in the window. I stopped in front of the building, tied Charlie’s reins to the hitching rail in front, and walked into the office.

A tall thin man with brown hair dressed in jeans a plaid shirt and a gun belt around his waist was sitting behind a wooden desk. On top of the desk was a nameplate, indicating the brown bushy headed man’s name was Jim Sloan, who said,

Good morning, what may I do for you?

Mr. Sloan, I am looking for available land to start a cattle ranch.

Not for gold?

No a cattle ranch.

There is a lot of government land available for the filing. Most of the land in this general area is not suited for cattle ranching, but if you ride about twenty miles to the west there is a valley that would be perfect for cattle ranching. Since I am from Texas, I have an eye for good ranching areas.

That sounds great, could I put a hold on that property until I see it?

Sure, I can hold the property for a couple of days. There is not much interest in cattle ranching in this area, just gold! I need your name and home location for the application.

Ben Sage is the name, from Buckhorn Texas.

Okay Ben, Lonesome Valley is yours for the filing.

Thanks, I’ll ride out there right now and check it out!

That’s a good idea. Since things a so slow around here, I’ll ride along with you, so you won’t have any problems finding exactly where the valley is located.

I thanked Mr. Sloan for his information and we both walked out of his office. I climbed aboard Charlie and Sloan mounted his horse, which also was tied to the same hitching rail next to Charlie, and we headed out for Lonesome Valley.

The ride to the valley took about four hours, through rolling hills covered with Lodge Pole and Ponderosa Pines and scrub brush. My first glimpse of Lonesome Valley was when we rode through a narrow pass that ended on a high knoll, that over looked a long wide valley, with a narrow river running through its center.

Jim the valley is magnificent, what is the name of the river in the valley?

It’s almost the headwaters of the Powder River, and is called the Upper Powder and it flows into the Dakotas.

Jim let’s get back to town so I can file on land before someone else does.

"Don’t worry Ben, you have a hold on the valley, plus I am here. The office is closed until I return to Sutters Creek. So, why don’t we ride down into the valley, water the horses look the place over, set up a camp for the night, and return in the morning.

We rode down off the high knoll into the valley through the trees with deer, antelope, and buffalo that were grazing on the thick green grass covering the valley floor. We set up a campsite next to a bend in the river, under tall pines. The valley was amazing, approximately two miles wide and about eight to ten miles long, gently sloping upward toward the high bluff that stretches across the end of the valley floor.

Jim, why on earth is this land available and not already taken?

Well Ben, it’s like this; no one is interested in land except for gold mining. The only other ranch in the area is the Circle O, which has been around for the past twenty years. The Circle O is owned by the Murphy family, which consists of old man Murphy, his wife Dolly, and their only daughter who is a real beauty.

How large is the Circle-O Jim?

Oh, I would say it’s at least twenty thousand acres, about twice the size of this valley, which is around twelve thousand acres.

Well twelve thousand is enough land for me I would say! By the way, what is the filing fee going to be for the valley?

Well the fee is two cents an acre, so my estimate is the valley consists of about 12,000 acres, so the fee would be $240.00 dollars.

Fantastic, I have about five hundred in cash to my name, so I can handle the fee okay.

Jim, why don’t you dig up some wood for a fire, and I’ll go out and find some food for supper.

Sounds like a good plan Ben. and I rode out on Charlie to secure the meal.

It wasn’t difficult to find our supper, for after a short ride, I came upon a herd of deer. I stepped down from the saddle, pulled out my Winchester, knelt down on my right knee, took aim, and dropped a small size buck that would feed us for a few days. After struggling to lift the buck across Charlies back, in front of my saddle, I headed back to camp to dress him out.

Once back in camp, Jim helped me hang the buck from one of the pine tree limbs, so I could dress him out and take care of our suppers, breakfast, and dinners for the next few days. Jim had a good fire going and I cut off a large slab of meat from the deer, and as I was roasting the meat over the fire, I said,

Jim why don’t we explore the valley tomorrow and head back to Sutters Creek the following day.

That’s okay by me, it’s very boring sitting in the land office all day.

Chapter Three:

Lonesome Valley Montana Territory:

The next morning after breakfast of venison steak and hot coffee, we set out to explore my valley. It was a wondrous sight, the tall waving lush green grass, Aspen and Pines covering the edge of the valley floor and the towering mountain peaks on each side of the valley, along with the crystal clear river and blue sky encompassing the entire valley.

We rode for slowly for about two hours when we finally reach the high bluff rising out of the valley floor with a cascading waterfall that flowed into the river. The bluff rose from the valley floor to about thousand feet high. The face of the bluff was beautiful, marbled with various layers of earth tone colors of orange, gray, copper, and gold colored earth layers.

"Jim, there is nothing more you could ask for in building a fine cattle ranch, best I have ever seen. I could set up ranch headquarters right