Stampede by Tim Washburn

Author:Tim Washburn [Washburn, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2021-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 34

As they approached another Indian camp, a tingle of fear started at the base of Pearl O’Sullivan’s neck and raced down her spine when she saw a group of armed Indian men sitting on their horses, watching as the wagons rolled by. It was clear by the looks on their faces, they weren’t there as a welcoming party, so Pearl leaned down and lifted Levi’s shotgun from under the seat and settled it onto her lap.

“They won’t attack,” Levi said.

“How do you know?”

“They’re outnumbered and they know it.”

Pearl locked eyes with an older Indian man as they drove by and it chilled her to the bone. Although having grown up in Chicago she’d had zero interactions with the Indians, she could feel the man’s visceral hatred and she had little doubt he’d kill her in a heartbeat if given the chance. Pearl looked away first when she turned to Levi. “They hate us, don’t they?”

Levi nodded and said, “I reckon they do. Can’t say I blame ’em, though.”

“You got a soft spot for the Indians?”

“Maybe. If you traced how the Indians ended up here, you’d find nothin’ but a trail of broken promises. And that’s for both sides. I don’t know all the details about who signed what, but the treaties they signed with the federal government were basically worthless before the ink was dry. And here we are, on our way to stake a claim on land that once belonged to them. They’re not stupid. They know what’s happenin’ and there’s not a damn thing they can do to stop it.”

Pearl pointed to one of the teepees ahead and said, “But they can’t live like that forever. The world’s changing.”

“They know that, too. I reckon it’s hard to change when you’ve lived your entire life one way, and somebody comes along and says you can’t do it that way no more.”

“What other choice do they have?”

“None, I reckon, but I still don’t like how they been treated,” Levi said. “’Course, they ain’t never killed any of my kinfolk and I ain’t never had to go to war against them, so maybe I am being too soft on them.”

“I’m tired of talkin’ about the Indians,” Pearl said. “Tell me what kind of land you’re looking for.”

“I’d like to have a nice creek bottom so I could put in some crops. Be nice to have a few shade trees, but there can’t be too many. You?”

“I want a piece of land that has a view, a place where I could set on the back porch and watch the sunsets. My problem is, I can’t quite envision how big a hundred and sixty acres is.”

“There are four hundred-and-sixty-acre parcels in a square mile so a hundred and sixty acres would be a half a mile long and a half a mile wide.”

“I get all that,” Pearl said, “I guess I just can’t wrap my head around it. I grew up counting city blocks and out here there ain’t nothin’ you can use for a reference.

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