The Tales of Chavez, Part One

Chapter One

Tunstall

It was always a day’s ride to Lincoln, and I enjoyed it for the most part, (the ride that is). That day would come and I would be ready. I would have the two mules packed, my gun was loaded, my knife was sharpened, and my brother made sure I had a list of the things we would be needing. Once a month I would get sent down to the mercantile to get a few supplies in trade for some of the meats and skins we would have, and on occasion, they would get an extra buckskin and meat.
There were two stores in Lincoln, but only one would treat us fair, that being John Tunstall’s General Store. The other one was not so kind to us, and I learned not to trade there, hell I wouldn’t even go by there unless I was wanting to fight. And then I would have to explain why I was bruised up and short on the supplies! No thank you, I would come from the west side of town.
Mr. Tunstall was of Scottish descent, being from the United Kingdom and all. He was very intelligent and always glad to see us because he liked to trade, (and hunt and fish) with us. He knew we were honest, and we knew he respected our ways. He always spoke in a manner that would command attention, whether you liked him or not. We liked him and he knew he had found a trading partner in us that he couldn’t get with the other ranchers, the ones in the valley. He also worked with McSween, a local lawyer who had a beautiful wife, who on occasion would go to the school at Mescalero and teach the children vocabulary, and also she would play the piano for kids. They loved her.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the Dolan’s and the Murphy’s, and their stupid ways of trying to be a powerful bunch. But I am also sure you don’t know of the majority of the things we did to even out the sides a little bit, in our own way. They had money, and they were in control of the local law. They also had a contract with the U.S. Government, to supply the army with beef and horses. A lot of people liked to work and trade with them for their money, from skinny white rancheros, to fat white politicos. We on the other hand liked helping them lose their money, from lifting a few dollars from drunk sleeping Caballero’s on roundups, to helping a few of those fat cows find their way to Santa Teresa!
On occasion I would be witness to the threats that would be put on Mr. Tunstall, mostly by Deputy Bob. You see, Deputy Bob was a stout burly man, who was loud and obnoxious. But mostly, when he drank, which was a lot, he would always be rude in his dealings with us or the Tunstall’s. That being said, he was never smart enough to figure out the insults that were given to him or his horse. We loved to see the smirk Tunstall would give as Deputy Bob would try and figure out what was just said to him. They really did not like each other and things was always getting worse.
Several times I would go to Tunstall’s ranch north of town, and have a few days of fun. Riding, roping, and hanging out with the rest of his ranch hands. There was a handful of them, from Dick to Henry, to the rest, we always had fun. And we respected each other, but didn’t always liking each other. But after a day of work or fun, we always sat down and ate. This was good because we were always hungry, and also Mr. Tunstall made sure we did this so we would have a trust for each other. Another way he would try and teach us respect.
I remember this one day, clear as the sky, that showed me why my people, my family, respected Mr. Tunstall. This day was the one day I don’t like to remember, but I always will. It was a Friday. My mother was feeling bad, very sick. She was coughing, choking, had a bad fever, and was talking as if she were in a dream. The medicine man on the creek was doing what he thought was good for her, trying every herb and chanting prayers, other elders were also chanting and praying. But for two weeks now she had been feverish and not getting better. The Chief of my people decided we had better go to Lincoln and trade for some medicine, or at the least get something from the doctor. Of course I wanted to go right then and there, but my brother said he would go because he had a fast horse. No one argued with him, but I wasn’t going to let him go by himself. Of course I was going.
First off, it had been raining very hard all day and I knew snow would be falling by night. And second, I could show him the way through Rio Alto. This way, through Alto was a very treacherous way. Steep slopes, thick brush, and might be slick due to being wet. My brother only knew the way from the Rio Hondo. And since we were up in the Mescalero Territory, we needed to get there faster, albeit a much harder ride.
“Pinche Cabron, why did you take us this way?” My brother said this as we were staring down at the edge of the trail and the drop off disappeared on both sides. He was right to cuss. This was a very bad trail.
I just laughed and hollered “HEEYAWEY” as I whipped his horse on the rear. I laughed, but I knew the seriousness of the day, the long hard fast ride, the danger of one bad slip. Hell, one bad fall and the both of us would need the Medicine Man. It was early in the day as we started and we were in a hurry to get back, because of the urgent need to help my mother. I really wanted to get back before dark, but that wasn’t going to happen today!
As we were coming down off the mountain, the clouds were letting up a little ahead of us, but not behind us. Back there they were getting darker, and louder. We had just come into the foothills above the plains and I knew the Pony Soldiers wouldn’t be riding today, but instead would be staying inside, warm at Fort Stanton. So no problems there, and all we had to do was go to Lincoln, get some medicine, and ride back. No problem.
The streets were muddy, but the store was open. Unfortunately, it was Murphy’s Exchange and Livery. Tunstall was gone to his ranch. Damn! I told my brother he had better go inside and do the talking, because the last time I was over here, they ended up missing two horses and they might blame me. The look he gave me, he just stared at me with a scowl on his face, told me that he knew this and was not very happy with me about it. So he dismounted and went into the Murphy Store, but it seemed that he wasn’t in there for very long. I had already guessed what they told him, but all he would say was they were out of the medicine stock, and they didn’t know when they would get any in. They were liars and I knew it. He said he saw four bottles of elixirs, a few bandage kits, and some new thing called ‘Aspirin’.
Hmmm, I never heard of it, but we were set on getting something. So I thought I would try. My brother decided to try one more time first. Brave, but dumb. He soon came back outside with a wry smile, and said, “These Pendejos, Pinche Madres, they want our money, and they want those two horses you took and two more horses for the trouble you caused, before we can have that medicine. How well do you know this Tunstall?”
“Shit” I said, as I looked at him, “Them two horses are in Mesilla, and even if I could borrow two horses, we would have to walk back. Shit, come on, let’s go to Mr. John’s then!” It was midday and I wanted to get there as soon as we could.
I knew Mr. Tunstall would try and help us in any way he could, but I needed to be totally honest with him and tell him why we needed his help. I told him about how sick my mother was, and that we were trying to get some medicine, but his store was closed. So we had to go to the other store, but they were asking for some horses, ours included, and I knew trouble would ensue, so we rode here instead. That’s the truth as I saw it, but only my brother knew the other part of the truth.