(Not every day along the trek was eventful. Some just caused a bit of irritating inconvenience).
The Path to Floriston
The steep walls of stone lined the twisting narrow path of the Truckee River Canyon that few dared to brave. The Central Pacific Railroad had forged a line through the far less rugged Dog Valley route but Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes often took a route less traveled as it offered less chance of recognition.
The distance from Truckee to Floriston was a mere seventeen miles as the crow flies, but the Truckee River Canyon was both steep and narrow and in some parts outright treacherous. The white waters of the Truckee River ran in full force and crossing the river on horseback was dangerous both for horse and rider.
Still early October the colors of the fall foliage were vibrant, but winters came early in the Sierra Mountains and by October, the possibility of a heavy snow was always a concern to those traveling through the wilderness. Having gotten a late start in the day, they knew they would not make it to Floriston, so two hours into their journey, they began looking for a place to make camp, a cave or an alcove in the rocks to block any wind.
The Truckee River Canyon Pass was so steep and narrow, they knew the possibility of an abandoned shack or cabin was out of the question. While small gold nuggets had in fact been found in the Truckee River, the kind of finds to make a man wealthy lay elsewhere and the canyon remained desolate.
Heyes pointed out a spot about half a mile below where they now rode. The rocks formed a sort of alcove with a wide bridge overhang above to provide some shelter and was located within walking distance to the river, so fresh fish could likely be caught for supper. Kid nodded his agreement and slowly guided his horse down the path that Heyes' sorrel created.
"Heyes, a griz has been around here in the past couple of days," Kid commented as they passed a tree with a large scat pile near the base.
"You sure it looks old?"
Kid nodded. "At least a couple of days. I don't see any more around."
"Well, if we keep a good fire going, I doubt we're in any danger."
Kid nodded. The excrement did appear to be old.
Once they had made camp with a warm fire started, Heyes grabbed a cooking pot and headed down to the river to fish for supper while Kid pulled a pick from his saddle bags and began cleaning the horse's hooves. Both horses were a tad skiddish, but both settled down when given food and water.
"I cleaned em down by the river, just in case that bear is still around," Heyes said when he returned with several cleaned fish in the pot. Kid set the grate across the fire, balancing the ends on two rocks and Heyes laid the fish out to cook.
"I made coffee," Kid said with a nod of his head in the direction of the flames.
By the time they finished eating, it was nearly dark. Heyes checked the horses a final time while Kid cleaned the plates and disposed of the fish bones. Then they both settled in for a good night's sleep.
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It was late on that moonless night when they were both awakened by the nervous squeals of their horses and both men jumped to their feet and moved swiftly toward the entrance of the alcove. While standing at the entrance, guns in hand, they heard the low growl of a bear.
"One of us should go out there," Heyes said softly.
"With what? Ain't no moon and I can't see ten feet in front of me."
"Maybe if we was to fire a few shots in the air we could scare him off."
The horses continued to squeal and kick their hind legs in the air in response to an instinctive and protective fear of the predator.
With no better suggestion, Kid nodded and they both fired several shots into the air.
Suddenly all was silent. Even the horses were completely quiet.
"Maybe it worked. Maybe we scared that grizzly off," Heyes suggested.
"More likely we scared the horses off," Kid replied as he turned and headed back to his bedroll.
"Aren't you going to go check on the horses Kid?" Heyes asked.
"Be my guest. Just remember that bear might still be out there and there ain't no moon for light."
"I'll flip you to see who goes out there to check on em?"
"No you won't, cause I ain't going."
"Kid, one of us should go out there," Heyes prodded.
"Heyes, if the horses are gone and one of us should get attacked by a bear, how are we gonna get the injured one to a doctor? Now I'll look for them horses in the morning, though I 'spect we've seen the last of them."
Heyes sighed. "It's got to be another twelve to fifteen miles to Floriston."
"Then I suggest you get some sleep so you got the energy for a nice long hike in the mountains."
The next morning Kid went out to see if he could locate the horses. Heyes stayed behind and made breakfast. Kid returned within the hour.
"Did you find them?" Heyes asked eagerly and handed Kid a plate of bacon and a cup of coffee.
"Apparently the shooting worked. There's bear tracks that lead off to the north. Unfortunately, the horse went south and straight into the river. There ain't no way to follow them tracks. Maybe we'll get lucky and find them or their tracks downstream a ways."
"So we walk?"
Kid sat down near the fire to eat. "Afraid so, Heyes."
"Carrying everything, our bedrolls, rifles, saddles..."
"I get the picture, Heyes. We can leave things here and come back for em if you want, but we'll just lose more time and that will set us back two or three days."
Kid popped a thick slice of bacon in his mouth, then set the plate and the coffee on the ground a proceeded to pull off his boots."
"You planning on walking barefooted?"
Kid reached into his saddle bags and found a second pair of socks that he proceeded to put on.
"I'm walking sock-footed. I don't plan to have feet covered in blisters when we get to Floriston."
Heyes saw some logic in this and proceeded to do the same.
An hour later they were packed up and weighted down with their belongings.
"Might as well follow the river on the outside chance we can pick up our horse tracks," Kid said and stepped out of the alcove, his right shoulder slightly stooped from the weight of his saddle that rested against his back. "You coming?"
"Right behind you," Heyes replied.
Two hours later and five miles from where they had camped, Heyes stepped on yet another sharp twig.
"Ouch," Heyes exclaimed, raising his poked foot and hopping several steps on his other foot. "I thought you said this didn't hurt as much as wearing boots," he grumbled.
"It don't so long as you're watching where you're stepping," Kid replied and didn't so much as pause to wait for Heyes to catch up.
"Will you wait!" Heyes shouted and Kid stopped and waited for him to catch up.
"I ain't seen any sign of the horses coming back up this side of the bank. If they went ashore it must have been on the other side."
"You think they drowned?"
"No. They're good swimmers given free reign. I just think they got out of the water on the other side somewhere and we ain't gonna see em again. We still got eight or ten miles to go, Heyes. Still plenty of time to get to Floriston in daylight... Provided you start watching where you put your feet."
"Sound advice coming from a man who once fell from a tree because a cat mewed."
"Heyes, you want to stand here and discuss each other's flaws, or do you want to get to a nice hotel and a hot bath before the sun goes down?"
Heyes conceded. Kid had a valid point. He shifted the weight of the saddle that laid heavily on his back and moved ahead of Kid. "You coming?"
"Right behind you," Kid growled.
A couple of more miles down the pass Heyes stopped abruptly. "Kid, look!" he exclaimed as he pointed to the other side of the river where his sorrel stood at the water's edge taking a long drink.
Both men dropped their saddles and gear and walked to the edge of the river and stared at the horse, one with elation and one with exasperation.
"Flip a coin?" Heyes asked.
"For the last time Heyes, I ain't flipping no coin. That's your horse and you can be the one to go after her."
They both studied the river which did not appear too deep or too fast flowing at that spot. Heyes sighed, knowing he would not be able to convince Kid to wade or swim across the river.
"Look around for mine while you're over there," Kid told him.
Heyes sat down on the ground and removed his socks and laid them in a pile on the ground. Then he stood and cautiously stepped into the cold water.
"You sure you don't wand to reconsider, Kid? Wading into the cold river didn't seem to bother you the other day."
"That was an emergency, and if that was my horse just standing pretty like that, I'd consider it an emergency. But it ain't my horse, and I ain't the one that checked the tethers."
Heyes stopped shin deep in the water. "Are you saying it's my fault the horses got loose?"
"You want to stand in that water and argue the point Heyes or do you want to go get your horse?"
Heyes shook his head and turned and slowly waded further into the river. By the time he was chest deep he had reached the deepest point and the level began to drop as he edged his way toward the opposite shore.
Kid stood with his arms folded across his chest and watched Heyes reach the river bank and slowly approach the sorrel until he could reach out for the reins and tether the horse to a tree branch. Then Heyes moved further away from the river until he had disappeared into the woods. Twenty minutes later Heyes returned to the sorrel and, with reins in hand, jumped onto the horse's back and led her into the water.
"No sign of the chestnut," Heyes said when he rode up onto the shore. "And I should have kept a pair of socks on for hiking around over there."
"Well, at least we can load the saddles and gear on the sorrel. It should only be a few miles to Floriston now. It'll feel like a walk in the park," Kid replied as Heyes slid off the horse and hunted for dry clothes in his saddlebags.
Kid saddled the sorrel, then added the second saddle and all the gear while Heyes changed into dry clothes. Without all that weight to carry, they walked side by side, leading the horse behind them.
"Heyes, if there's a stage out of Floriston to Verdi, maybe we ought to use it to travel that stretch of this trip."
"You getting soft Kid?"
"Well, so far this trip ain't exactly been leisurely you gotta admit. I mean we have both been chest high in that cold river, we've been hiking barefoot for ten, maybe twelve miles today, we've lost a horse, and found a body. I'm starting to think we just might be jinxed."
"Ah Kid, with everything that's happened, the odds for an easy trip from here on in are in our favor."
"I hate it when you say things like that cause I always know it's the exact opposite that's true."
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"There a stage to Verdi?' Kid asked as they registered for a room at the Floriston Hotel.
"Day after tomorrow. Leaves at noon," the clerk told them
They signed the register and headed up the stairs amid the curious stares of both the clerk and the two guests in the lobby, all three wondering why the feet of these two cowboys were clad only in dirty wool socks.
Floriston, Calif could not even be called a small town. It reminded Heyes and Curry of Apache Springs, although the tumbleweed was missing. The hotel lobby shared its space with the adjacent saloon which consisted of a six foot long mahogany bar and three round tables as this area also served as the cafe or hotel dining room, the decision belonged to the observer. The livery was simply a beat up old barn with a beat up old proprietor, and choice of stock was limited to an aging mare and two mules.
It was the perfect location for two former outlaws trying to go straight as the population was fewer than thirty people. According to the hotel clerk however, an impending boom in population was anticipated because of rumors of a large paper mill to be built along the Truckee River that would employ "several hundred people." The building of a train route and an ice company were also included in the speculation.
Despite the time of year, Heyes and Curry decide to spend a couple of nights in Floriston, allowing their tired and sore feet to mend from their long walk. It was also decided that Kid would buy the aging mare as they would not possibly get a decent price for the sorrel and saddles in this one horse town.
"What do people do for excitement in town?" Heyes asked the bartender/waiter over breakfast the following morning.
"Ranch hands come into town on Saturday nights. We actually have to add a couple of tables in here to accommodate everybody."
"So about thirty-five people, imagine that," Heyes replied after a quick calculation of five tables and seven poker players at each table.
"Probably closer to fifteen or twenty but you put enough whiskey in those men and things can get pretty lively."
"Sorry we'll miss that," Kid said dryly.
"Well, you fellas stop back in a year. Once that paper mill is built things will start booming."
"So we've heard," Heyes replied.
"I don't know about you, Heyes, but I'm thinking we might as well move on to Verdi. I'm guessing Saturday night there might be a bit more entertaining."
"You mean today?"
Kid shrugged. "I 'spect I can rest my feet in a stirrup as easy as on the porch rail, and you might even be able to get some poker in tonight."
That thought did appeal to Heyes and he smiled. "I suppose you're right, Kid."
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Author's note: Some liberties were taken as to just when Floriston, Calif was first established (all for the sake of the story).