Spirit Valley (Ben Blue Book 7) by Bradshaw Lou

Author:Bradshaw, Lou [Bradshaw, Lou]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2015-08-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Two days later, we were rounding the south side of Mesa Verdi. There were stories of more and grander cliff dwellings in the area. No one knew where those people had come from or where they had gone when they left… if they left. Some thought they were chased out by such as the Apaches and Navajo. Others felt they were overwhelmed and killed off or absorbed. If there were any Indians who could stand in the middle of a campfire and carried the scent of pines hanging around, I wasn’t interested in meeting them. Although, I have to admit I’d like to see those grand houses.

We’d received information from the few travelers we’d encountered along the way that there was a town of sorts on the western side of the mesa. The following day, we rode into the unlikely town of Ulla Mea.

It was a sure enough town of about thirty or so citizens, none of which could be called a skilled carpenter… or even adequate. But the buildings that were there seemed to be held together by some force of nature that defied all reason. There were too many other things for me to worry about without wondering why the whole place didn’t fall under its own weight. There were four ramshackle frame buildings and maybe eight adobes scattered around in the brush choked lots that bordered the one street.

Of course, the first place we stopped was the town’s only saloon and eating house. The food was better than what we had back at the crossing of the San Juan and was served by a slightly prettier waitress. She was a gal who’d seen some hard times along the way, but she didn’t complain. She took the orders and went back to dish it up, and then she served it with a smile.

When we had finished, she came to gather the dishes and clear the table in case we had some drinking to do. I asked her, “Ma’am, would you be the Ulla Mea this town was named in honor of?”

“Lord in Heavens no.” She laughed. “I’m Sarrie… Ulla Mea was old Gus’s mail order bride from Saint Louie.”

Lowering her voice she went on, “Old Gus had staked out this town sight, him figurin’ the silver boom would move out this way, an’ he’d git rich. Then he sent off for a bride. He’d already given the town her name. She was here less than a month when she lit out with a down and out gambler…. Gus said it weren’t worth changing the sign, so he didn’t.”

“I figure they ought to call the place Turn Back ‘cause that’s what the smart ones does. They take one look and head back down the trail… I’m surprised you fellas stuck around this long.”

“So the mining boom never came down from Silverton and there abouts?”

“Oh there’s enough of them pokin’ around up there in the hills, an some of them do all right, and there’s a few cattle and sheep spreads around.

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