A Dream Unfolding (44 page)

Charging with the rest of the men, Will loaded his rifle and fired at the Indians.
 
Ben was to his left taking similar action.
 
On the other side of Ben, Whitten and Pedro joined the fight.
 
Smoke from the weapons fire permeated the air.
 
The war cries of the Apaches echoed off the canyon walls as Will and his men advanced.

As they pressed further into the canyon, the Apaches fled directly into the path of C Company.
 
Caught between the canyon walls and two companies, the Indians were at a disadvantage.
 
Whitten hit one of the Apaches in the leg as he dove for cover.
 
Both Pedro and Ben hit one Indian each killing them on contact.
 
As the Indians began to scatter, several more were shot down by C Company.
 
The battle lasted a half hour before a large number of the Apaches found escape.
 
Will counted at least fourteen dead and several more injured.

Not to be easily deterred, Woolsey sent a few men off to rendezvous with A Company, while the remaining men pursued the fleeing savages for a few more days.
 
The volunteers’ provisions were running low, so they finally gave up chasing the Indians and returned home.

Riding over the mountain towards home, Will thought of what they had done.
 
He found it a difficult experience to forget.
 
He knew that as long as the Apache attacks were left unanswered, the settlers would never be safe.
 
Yet, General Carleton’s “extermination” order and Woolsey’s blood thirst for the Apaches seemed extreme.
 
There was no perfect solution.
 
If both sides refused to meet halfway, the killing would continue until one side came out the victor.
 
He suspected in the end the Apaches would be the ones to suffer the most.

One thing Will knew for certain, he would keep his focus on ranching.
 
No longer would he participate in Woolsey’s raids, nor would he fight the Apaches except in self defense.
 
He had no taste for killing.

Chapter
23

Hannah reached up to wipe the sweat from her brow.
 
Though the temperature was pleasant, the sun beat down on her and the two Mexican women from the mess tent as they packed crates of food and supplies.
 

Upon the governor’s return from Tucson, he announced the Granite Creek area would become the official territorial capital, to be named at a town meeting at the end of the month.
 
Since the military provided protection for the settlers, Major Willis ordered the temporary fort moved to just one mile northeast of the town, instead of the current twenty-five miles.
 
The entire fort was a flurry of chaotic activity.

For the past few days, Hannah and her coworkers prepared extra bread and other cold fare for the soldiers, cavalry, and civilians to pack on the two day move.
 
The midday meal today would be the last hot meal prepared until they unpacked at the new fort location.

Stirring the beans over the fire, Hannah looked around at the emptying mess tent.
 
Several soldiers made quick work of loading the crude tables and benches into one of the two wagons designated for the mess hall.
 
Hannah doubted they would be able to fit all the furniture, tents, supplies, food, and dishes into just two wagons.
 
Hopefully these men were very skilled at packing a wagon to overflowing.

Right on schedule, men formed a line for the midday meal.
 
Hannah left the other two women to continue their packing while she went about serving the men.
 
She instructed the hungry patrons to grab their own coffee—it would be self-service today—while she heaped food onto waiting plates.
 
She kept her chatter with the men to a minimum, hoping to speed the line along.
 
Since the furniture was half packed, most of the men stood to scarf down the simple meal.
 
After an hour, everyone was served and the tent cleared out.

Hannah carried several buckets of water to the empty dirty pots.
 
After filling them with the water, she shaved off a few bits of soap and let them soak.
 
She started washing the plates and mugs in the dish pan she filled with warm water and soap.
 
One of her coworkers joined Hannah with towel in hand, drying as Hannah blazed through the washing.
 
For some reason she had twice the energy today as any normal day.
 
Maybe it was because she had twice as much work and the deadline to have everything packed approached rapidly.
 
When the dishes were done, Hannah set about scrubbing the large pots clean.
 
She attacked the job with the same super human energy, finishing in record time.
 
Once the pots were dried, she used them to pack smaller pots and other kitchen goods, acutely aware of the limited wagon space.

Two men started dismantling the tent from around them, stealing the last of the cool shade.
 
The rest of the packing would be done in the bright afternoon sun.
 
Hannah ran her dress sleeve across her forehead, mopping up the newly formed beads of sweat.
 
Oh, for a gentle breeze!

Stretching her sore back, Hannah looked around at what was left of the mess tent.
 
Movement caught her attention.
 
Lieutenant Harrison passed by, grunting under the heavy weight of the crate he carried.
 
Martha waved from across the way after securing several bundles in a trunk.
 
The newspaper publisher had his printing press loaded and ready to go.
 
Not a soul was idle at the fort today.

As the sun faded from the sky, Hannah took one last look around the mess tent area.
 
Two overloaded wagons were the only thing in sight.

Having worked most of the day preparing the mess operations for the move, Hannah worked late into the evening on her own things.
 
She secured the remaining crates and trunks of her belongings.
 
She left a few small items she needed for the morning in her carpet bag.
 
Besides the bag, her bedroll, and tent, everything was loaded and ready to go.

The move closer to town excited Hannah.
 
She missed Betty Lancaster’s company.
 
She had not seen her friend since they arrived at the fort four months ago.
 
With Betty setting up her boardinghouse in town, twenty-five miles away, the distance made it difficult to visit, as did Hannah’s job.
 
But, once the fort relocated, she could easily make it there and back on her half day off each week.
 
She hoped to make her first visit to Betty as soon as possible.
 
Other than convincing Lieutenant Harrison to ride in one quick note to Betty, she had no contact for months.
 
And that had been a brief tear streaked missive to let her friend know she lost her baby.
 
Sighing, she retired for the night, grateful that she would be reunited with her dear friend soon.

 
The next morning, Hannah hurried to get ready.
 
She rolled up her bedding and set it aside with her carpet bag.
 
She tried to take down the tent, but struggled to do so alone.
 
A soldier passing by stopped to help, making quick work of the task.
 
She supervised the loading of her things into a wagon so she would know where to find them upon their arrival.
 
Then she arrived where the mess tent used to stand to pass out the bread, biscuits, and dried meat prepared the day before.

Shortly after the morning meal, the last items were loaded and the fort became mobile.
 
Hannah always thought of a fort as a stationary post until now.
 
The cavalry split into two groups, one leading the train of wagons, the other bringing up the rear.
 
Most of the civilian wagons were interspersed with military supply wagons, while many of the soldiers walked the twenty-five miles on foot.

For the first time since arriving in the Arizona Territory, she soaked in its beauty.
 
The sky was wide and deep azure blue before them.
 
The wagons jostled over rolling grassy hills skirting the forests of tall pine trees.
 
The mountains to the southwest had odd rocky, almost boulder-like shapes peeking out between the trees.
 
Hannah had never seen such chalky gray-white mountains before.
 
The color sharply contrasted against the brightness of the sky and the dark green pines, causing her to squint at the sight.
 
The dry air carried a heavy fragrance of pine.
 
As the sun dropped behind the mountains, deep reds and streaks of light made a beautifully colored back drop for the now shadowed rocks.

As the wagon pulled to a stop, Hannah climbed down.
 
Walking around to the back, she dug around in her carpet bag for some paper, and took off towards the forest.
 
The edge of the forest nearest the campsite offered sparse cover, so she walked several more yards until coming to a boulder.
 
She crouched down, quickly taking care of business.
 
When she stood and smoothed out the skirt of her dress, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.
 
Taking a cautious step, she looked around the forest in the dimming light.
 
Not seeing what caught her attention earlier, she turned back towards camp.

Stopping short, she let out a high pitched scream with all her might.

---

Joshua finished unsaddling his horse when he heard a woman’s terrified scream.
 
Dropping the saddle to the ground, he grabbed both his carbine and Dragoon revolver.
 
Then he took off, with Bixley close by his side, towards the screams still echoing through the air.
 
Dodging the tall ponderosa pines, he skirted a large boulder and that is when he saw her.

Hannah knelt on the ground, screaming like she was touched.
 
She had her hands over her eyes so she did not see him approach.
 
Joshua looked around to find the source of her fear, but only saw the two Pima guides for the army standing nearby.
 
They must have come running to lend aid.
 
Bixley walked over to question the two Pima guides as Joshua knelt beside the hysterical woman.

“Hannah,” Joshua said as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

She tensed and shrunk from his touch before dropping her hands to her sides.

“Whatever is the matter?” he asked.

Her face was pale and her breath came in short puffs.
 
Slowly she turned her head towards him.
 
The fear in her eyes scared him enough that he took another look around to make sure they were safe.
 
Seeing nothing, he looked back into those beautiful blue eyes.

As he lifted his hand to push a strand of hair from her face, Joshua said, “Tell me what has you so frightened, Hannah.”

Her eyes darted away towards Bixley.
 
Instantly she tensed.
 
“Those Indians…” She stammered.

“Those are the army’s Pima guides.
 
Is that what frightened you?”
 
Joshua said as he wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

She nodded.

“They are quite harmless.
 
Good friends.”

“I thought they were Apaches,” she said as Joshua helped her to her feet.

Her foot caught on a rock and she lost her balance, falling towards him.
 
Instinct propelled his arms forward, around her, to steady her.
 
She was so close he could smell the sweet fragrance of her hair.
 
Unwilling to let go, Joshua held her close.
 
His breathing went shallow and his heart picked up pace.
 
What would it be like to kiss her?
 
He thought as he parted his lips.