Spirit Horses (25 page)

Vince handed Barry the results of the tests and
watched his eyes light up.

“Holy shit!” Barry said. “Look at the bright spot on
this readout. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen paperwork this promising.”

Barry went on to explain, “Most of the oil in this
part of the country is not concentrated in large enough reservoirs to make it
feasible to reach. These results are showing a big pool of viscous crude that
is contained within very porous and permeable rock. This will make it fairly
easy to pump out, at least in the first stages.”

“So, what’s our next move?” Rasolli asked.

“Let me take some time to explain the situation in
that valley,” Nethers said. “There are two tribes that control the Wind River
Valley.” Vince motioned to one of the young maids to bring out an easel with a
large map of the area’s terrain. “We’ll need representatives of both tribes to
sign a lease. The Arapahos have no significant ties to the area. They were
moved here by the U.S. government in the late 1800s, against their will. I
don’t see any real problems persuading them to sign.

Now the Shoshone are a different situation
altogether. They have a deep-seated connection to this land that goes back
hundreds of years. This particular area, where we want to drill, is especially
important to them. It’s actually in the middle of their ancestral hunting
grounds. To them this land is sacred. The Shoshone also have a large herd of
horses that live and run free in the valley.”

John Rasolli looked puzzled and asked, “What the
hell do wild horses have to do with this?”

“This is the only part of the reservation where the
horses can survive year around.”

Vince explained to the group how long the Shoshone
had watched over the mustangs and how important the herd is to the tribe. “As
long as these horses are in the valley, there’s no way we could con these
Indians into signing a lease. They just won’t do it.”

“So what are our options?” Barry asked.

Vince poured himself another cognac and continued.
”First, we need to keep them from finding out about the crude. Next, we need to
get the horses out of the picture. Then, in time, as long as the Arapahos help
to push it through, we should be able to buy into a lease. I’ll tell them it is
to run cattle on or to use as a hunting preserve. In the fine print of the
lease, we will give ourselves enough leeway to do whatever we want out there.”

“Sounds like a lot of things are going to have to
happen, for this to work,” said John. “If plan A doesn’t work, what is plan B?”

Vince slowly took a sip of his drink and said,
“First, we will try to reason with them by offering more money, but if that
doesn’t work, things could start to get real ugly. The Shoshone’s largest
source of income is their cattle. Since I am the biggest cattleman in the area,
I can put quite a financial squeeze on them. I can use my connections in the
cattle industry to discreetly blackball their sales. With my political
connections, I can get some of their government funding held up for a while.
Between the loss of cattle money and the delay of their government funds, they
would be hurting pretty bad. Now if it did come down to a worst case scenario,
it would probably require John to get real creative with some strong-arm
persuasion.”

“What if they find out about the oil?” Barry asked.

John Rasolli stood up and leaned across the table.
“Hey, I’ve ‘persuaded’ many an unwilling company to become partners with me�—�once
they found out it was in their own best interest to do so.”

Vince raised his glass to John and said loudly,
“John, my man, that’s why you’re here. One way or another we’re going to get a
big piece of this fortune, and personally, I don’t give a damn what we have to
do to make it happen!”

Barry, looking a little confused, asked one more
question. “Why don’t we just go to the Shoshone and try to work something out
with them? I mean, without the financial resources that you and John can
provide, along with my equipment and expertise, that crude might as well be on
the moon as far as those Indians are concerned.”

Vince smiled sarcastically, “For one thing, there
are plenty of other investors they could get interested in something like this.
And like I told you before, this land is sacred to them. Even if we could work
out a deal, they would definitely want to take control of the drilling. That
would mean operating in a way that wouldn’t harm the land or bother those damn
horses, and that could severely limit our profits. I estimate, with the right
money and people in control, we could set up at least twenty times the number
of drilling rigs than they would allow. If the Shoshone were in control, they
would never put that kind of impact on the land. I look at it like this: it’s a
matter of making some decent money over time, or getting an unlimited amount of
money and power almost overnight.”

John Rasolli, after thinking for a minute about what
he was hearing, looked up. “So, I guess the first thing to do is to get rid of
the horses. How are you planning to do that without causing any suspicions from
the Shoshone?”

Vince grinned. “It just so happens there has been an
ongoing feud. It’s been a kind of a game with the young men from town, to try
to steal as many mustangs as they can. The boys usually sell them to the
ranches around the area or to the slaughterhouse for quick cash. But, the real
fun has always been just pissing off the Indians and, of course, the challenge
of catching the wild things.

“There’s been a lot of trouble between some of the
braves and the boys from town recently. There have been some fist fights and
mean threats made by both sides. This all makes for a perfect time to eliminate
these horses from the equation. It will come across as just a cruel act to get
even. I pretty much have the local law in my hip pocket around here. I don’t
think killing the mustangs is going to open any eyes in terms of what we are
really after. As a matter of fact, we’ve already shot some of their horses.

“Actually, I thought it was rather ingenious of me
to use the hunt as the diversion when we slipped across the property line onto
the reservation and did the first round of our seismic testing. We have more to
do in some other areas, but the initial phase went like clockwork. The Shoshone
were so wrapped up in those dead mustangs, they never knew what was going on,
and we were just a few miles away with the equipment. The Arapaho guides stayed
behind to cover up any tracks or signs the oil crew left. We had a good rain
later that night that also helped cover things up. So far, everything seems to
be working just as I hoped. As soon as we’re sure they aren’t watching for us,
my boys will go back in and kill the rest of the mustangs. This time, I’m
sending the two Arapaho guides to help with the job. These Indians are expert
hunters and trackers and know the country like the back of their hands. With
them involved, we’ll make short work of eliminating the herd. Once the horses
are out of the way, we’ll wait a while and then make our offer on the lease. If
that doesn’t work, we’ll move full force ahead with plan B.”

John Rasolli spoke up, “I think we should do
whatever we can, now, to screw up this tribe’s income. If you have a way to
hurt them with their cattle business, let’s start the process. The hungrier
they are when we’re ready to make our move, the more likely they will be to
deal with us. In the meantime, I’ll look into whatever else I can be doing to
mess up their income as well as any investments they may have. By the time we
make them an offer on that land, they’ll be in the palm of our hands.”

“That sounds good to me,” Vince said. “I’ll want
Barry to begin setting wells up in there, as soon as we get the papers signed.”

“Yes, sir,” Barry answered, “I’ll be ready to start
moving the minute you give me the word. It won’t take me long to have oil rigs
out there as far as the eye can see. If these test results are accurate, we can
set up as many as two pumps per acre on every bit of level ground we can get
onto. Within a year’s time, we could be pumping up to five thousand barrels of
crude a day out of that valley.”

Vince poured all three a fresh drink, then made a
toast, “To our future wealth and power, let nothing stand in our way!”

Chapter 17

Shane had run out of ideas on how to gather evidence. It was time to
talk to Tigee and see if he could get a guide to take him into this remote part
of the reservation with the hope of catching these crooked guys searching on
Shoshone land. There were an awful lot of unknowns in this little adventure.
What he knew for sure was the young Shoshone men would fight to the death to
protect their land and horses. He guessed that Nethers and his bunch weren’t
the type to back down from a scrap either. Since Nethers had the law in his
pocket, Shane had no idea what to do with any evidence that he did come up
with. He felt confident, though, that Tigee was a peaceful man and would want
to keep a lid on the violence while they carefully thought through their next
move.
 

It was three in the afternoon when Shane returned to
the ranch. Most of the Indians were out baling hay so the compound was almost
vacant. Tigee was sitting on his porch. Shane had never seen him look so
somber. The situation in the valley was taking its toll on the old man. Shane
parked his truck in front of his small ranch house, then took a deep breath and
headed over.

“How are you today, sir?”

Tigee forced a smile.

“I need to talk to you about the situation down at
the river.”

The old Indian questioned, “What’s on your mind? Why
don’t you sit so we can talk?”

“Sir, before I start, I need you to know that what
I’m telling you is only a theory. I need you to promise me you’ll keep this
between us until we’re sure I’m right. I want you to know how much I
appreciated your confidentiality concerning the loss of my family. I know,
because of this, I can count on your word. Once we have some proof, you can do
what you want with the information. Until then, I’m afraid, it would only stir
up more tension and trouble.”

“I’ll keep quiet,” the old man assured.

“I think these guys are after a lot more than your
horses in the valley. What’s the one thing that drives most of the world,
outside this reservation?”

Tigee looked confused, “I don’t understand.”

Shane answered his own question. “Greed.”

“How can anyone profit from killing our horses?”
Tigee asked.

“I think the herd is just in the way of what they’re
really after. I’m talking about your valley and what is underneath it.”

Tigee, squinted his eyes and asked, “What’s under
our valley?”

“Sir, I think there may be oil there.”

“Oil!” the Indian said. “What makes you think that?”

“I know for a fact that a man named Nethers has been
testing just north of the valley.”

Tigee nodded his head. “Yes, I knew they were
looking out there last year. I also know the tests showed there was not a high
enough concentration to make it worth drilling.”

“Yes, sir,” Shane said, “but I do think they’ve
found there is a strong possibility of a much larger reserve, south of where
they were looking. This would put the oil right smack-dab in the middle of your
valley.”

The old man looked Shane in the eye. “What has led
you to
believe this?”

Shane told him everything he knew.

Tigee sat quietly, pondering on what he had just
heard. “How can we find out for sure?”

“Vince Nethers has equipment and crews out on his
land right now. If we can catch them sneaking over and testing on the
reservation, then we’ll know I’m right.”

Tigee hesitated. “There is a big difference between thinking
the oil is there and actually finding it. Why would they feel the need to get
rid of our mustangs, if they don’t know for sure?”

Shane shrugged his shoulders. “I think ole Vince is
pretty certain it’s down there. I also suspect he needs to pull in some
investors. If that’s the case he’ll need to be one hundred percent sure. That’s
probably why he’s brought in more testing equipment under the cover story that
he is looking on his own land.”

The old man again took his time before he replied,
“There is another reason why we should keep quiet about this. Not only could we
aggravate an already tense situation that could get some of our young men hurt
or in trouble, but I also have to consider there are members of my tribe who
would sell out our horses and our land. After all, we’re talking about a lot of
money. If there really is oil in the valley, I fear our ancestral territory is
in grave danger of being desecrated. If we can prove they’ve been testing on
the reservation, then I would need to think long and hard about how I should
handle this.”