Tom Tobin - Mountain Man vs The West's First Serial Killers

By John J. Law

"Good day, I'm Marshal George Austin from the US army and we're here because we would like to recruit you and your brother, Vivian." he said in as cordial a tone as he could muster.
Another man stepped forward beside Felipe. He was just as tall, but not as well-built. He did resemble Felipe, and also had the same intimidating presence about him. This was clearly his brother, Jose Vivian.
"What's going on here, Felipe?" Vivian asked.
"The marshal over here wants to recruit us for the war. You're here to recruit us. Isn't that right, gringo?" Felipe said.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Dec 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223382010

Book preview

One: The Recruitment Drive

It was on the bright and sunny day of March 10, in 1862 when US marshal George Austin and sixteen soldiers paid a visit to the Espinosas’ family cabin in San Rafael in the San Luis Valley. They were not there to pay the Espinosas a social call.

For US Marshal George Austin, this trip was a nuisance that he wanted to get over with. It was clear that he didn’t want to be here, and wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

I’m glad we finally got to this god forsaken cabin in the middle of nowhere. I’m sure none of you want this to drag on any longer than it should too. he said.

Sure don’t want none of that Sir. Permission to speak, I do believe this will be over within a matter of a few moments.

It was Corporal Gabe Santos. Santos was half-Mexican, and had proven to be a fairly reliable, but untested soldier. Santos was young and raw, and was eager to prove himself in any capacity. There was a war raging on, and like his superior officer, Santos felt that going out here was a menial errand at best. This was the general consensus of the 16-man group that had come down upon the Espinosa cabin on that bright and sunny day in 1862.

None of us want to be out here in the middle of nowhere chasing down these errant bandits. If Father McMillan didn’t run that trading post in New Mexico and wasn’t chummy with General Carleton, it wouldn’t have mattered. But the priest has strings to pull with the general and that trading post’s pretty essential. So when these boys robbed his supply wagon the higher ups took notice. And here we are. All that being said, I think I can get this all to end quick so we can all get out of here and focus on some real work. Austin said.

How will you do that, Sir? Santos said.

Austin nodded and smiled. Just watch and learn, Corporal.

Marshal Austin marched towards the small cabin with much confidence. He had an idea that would hopefully nip this situation in the bud before it became serious. From what he had heard about these men, Austin didn’t really take any of this seriously. After all, how could they possibly stand up to 16 men from the US Army?

Marshal Austin knocked at the cabin door a few times. It didn’t take long before the door opened and a fairly well-built Male Mexican opened the door. He had long, curly hair that was ragged and messy with several chains hanging from neck. His tall frame along with his solid muscle made him look fairly intimidating. This was Felipe Espinosa.

Espinosa was eldest of his three brothers and was known as the one with the least patience and a temper to boot. He took a quick look around at the scene in front of