I'm starting to feel like it was fun choosing a horse for Arthur in this rewrite. On my previous playthrough, I used some sort of glitch for Arthur to have the best horses in the game, the Silver Dapple Pinto Missouri Fox Trotter.
And it paid off last month on my previous playthrough, and on my current playthrough, I'm riding the Thoroughbred with the same name I gave her. The reason my final decision is the Thoroughbred is that I heard that the two breeds, The Arabian and the Turkoman are the two foundational breeds to the Thoroughbreds, Dutch and Hosea raised Arthur, and they both ride the Arabian, (The Count) and the Turkoman, (Silver Dollar) and for the boah himself, a Black Chestnut Thoroughbred, (Marcella)
Enjoy reading!
After returning to camp, what Arthur didn't expect that there's a big black shire horse hitched in between Hosea's silver Turkoman, Silver Dollar, and the Tennesse Walker. He decided to give the horse a few pats but the black shire flinched for a bit because of his presence, so he decided against it. He went over to Dutch's tent to find him sitting on his bed, reading a book.
"So, a feller in town recognize me from Blackwater," Arthur warned him.
Dutch closed his book, "That's not good," he said.
"Don't worry, he's dealt with," Arthur replied, although it's a lie, he hoped Jimmy Brooks must keep his mouth shut.
"Good," Dutch nodded. "Just keep your head down."
So Arthur walks out and sees Hosea sitting on a rock, cleaning his Rolling Back Rifle with some Gun Oil. He walked over to the old man and Hosea just noticed him approaching.
"Hey Arthur," Hosea called him.
"Hosea," Arthur replied.
"Wanna go hunting?" Hosea asked him.
"What are you hunting?" Arthur asked as he grabs the rifle and examines it. "An elephant?"
Hosea laughed. "I wish. No, I saw a huge bear. One of the biggest I ever saw. I reckon nearly a thousand pounds."
"My god," Arthur awed as he gives back the rifle. "What you need me to come with you?"
"Of course, let's go," Hosea replied as he starts packing a bit.
"Well, where we heading exactly?" Arthur asked him.
"Up near the Dakota River," Hosea explained. "Might take a day or two."
"I could do with a break from this place," Arthur suggested.
"Oh, me too," Hosea agreed as he stood up. "It's been a rough couple of weeks. You need anything?"
"I don't think so," Arthur replied. "I got all I need."
"Let's go then," Hosea said as he gives Arthur the saddlebag and head to the horses. "So, you still ain't replaced, Boadicea?"
Arthur saddened a bit, Boadicea is his most faithful steed, the Tiger Stripe Bay Mustang. 10 years ago, during his first visit to New Austin, his old Morgan horse is getting old and he needs a new one, and the desert is where he found and tamed the mare. Boadicea is a piece of work when he got her but over the next few days, she's turning into quite a horse, all those 10 years, he loved that horse. She, unfortunately, got killed at Blackwater by the Pinkertons before he even got a chance to ride her to escape, he'll never forget what had happened to her.
"No, I miss her, she was quite a horse," Arthur said somberly and gestures to the Tennesse Walker. "This one's okay, but ain't no Boadicea." He went to Silver Dollar and place the saddlebag on him.
"I been meaning to offload this big shire horse for a while now. Unruly Bastard!" Hosea said.
Arthur went to the black shire, "Where'd you get him?" he asked as he patted the horse, hopefully, he'll not flinch like earlier.
"Some big loud-mouthed bastard tried to rob me when I was out riding so I," Hosea explains. "well, you know how it is."
"I can see that," Arthur replied, checking over the Tennesse Walker.
Hosea looks at the black shire, thinking of what to do with him until he finally got an idea. "Let's take him to Valentine. It's on the way, sort of. There's a decent dealer there. We'll unload him, you can buy yourself a new horse. Put your saddle on him, let's get going."
"Okay, but I do kind of like this horse," Arthur said as he removed the saddle off of the Tennesse Walker.
"There's nothing wrong with two horses," Hosea told him. "And the stables always have the best ones."
"I guess your right..." Arthur said as he put the saddle on the black shire. "He won't throw me?"
"No, he's an angel," Hosea protested. "If I'm near him..."
Once Arthur mounted up, he followed Hosea to Valentine, on the way there, they recalled that one time that Mac went crazy, he even threatened to kill the whole town, and Davey passed out, drunk, and then the next morning, he woke up, and start drinking again. Remembering all those times they had with the Callander boys makes Arthur missed them so much, same for Lenny to Jenny. Lenny always likes her, and seeing her get killed in front of him in Blackwater may haunt him forever. Hosea hasn't sold the bonds they stole from Cornwall but he has some other leads he's looking into. As they arrived at Valentine, and because of Arthur's presence, the horse started to agitate.
"Don't let that big bastard get the better of you, Arthur," Hosea told him.
Arthur patted the shire until he's calm down, "He's alright," he replied as they finally arrived at the stables.
"Alright, go sell that big brute and go buy yourself a horse," Hosea told him. "I'm going off to the general store, and get a few things to lure that bear out. Meet me back here in a bit."
So, Arthur rides the horse into the stables, and dismounts, there he sees some decent horses. The Stable Owner just noticed him entering.
"Hey, how can I help you?" The owner asked.
"I'm in the market for a new horse," Arthur answered. "Something strong and fast."
"You're in the right place," The owner told him. "I've got some beauties in at the moment." He notices the black shire and he approached the horse. "Yeah... and what about this one here?" He rubs the crooked stripe on his forehead. "You looking to sell?"
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to selling him away and get a new horse," Arthur replied.
"You got papers?" The owner asks him.
"No, no papers," Arthur said.
"Well, of course, that's gonna affect what I can pay but your lucks in," The Owner explained. "I got a feller who's been looking for a decent workhorse like this for a while. He'll pay a good price. Here, take a look."
Arthur sold the black shire for $65 and then he begins choosing a horse that suits his standards. three horses are on sale, the gray Hungarian half-bred, chocolate roan Dutch Warmblood, and a black American Standardbred. Unfortunately, these horses are quite expensive for him that he can't afford any of them, he turned around only to find a red bay filly.
"What about that one?" He pointed at the filly.
"Oh, that?" The owner replied, walking over to the horse and rubs her forehead. "A week ago, there's this rancher who owns a farm, caught this one snooping about, he'd figure he'd make some good money by selling this horse. it's $26 and she's yours."
Arthur looked at the filly again, and he can analyze that it's actually a Black Chestnut Thoroughbred, her coat is all black chestnut, she's big and tall compared to the Dutch Warmblood and the Hungarian Half-Bred, and her wild eyes look meaner than the black shire. She's perfect for Arthur.
"$26 dollars ain't no chicken feed but sure, I'll take her!" Arthur said eagerly as he handed the owner the money.
"Excellent choice!" The owner replied as he and his partners were ready to get her settled. "Oh, and friend, during this week alone, we're giving away all Horse Tacks for free! So go get one right now before the week is up!"
"Thanks, mister," Arthur said gratefully.
Now that Arthur doesn't need to worry about, spending all of this money, he took a bit of time until he decided to buy the improved white, Kneller Dakota Sadler, improved brown saddlebags that seems a bit bigger than the ordinary one, grey wooden bedroll, Tapaderos Stirrup, and a Redemption Sindewinder Horn. and Arthur has to come up with a name for the mare, so, out of the blue, he said, "Marcella,". The horse doesn't seem to disagree and instead, tosses her head as if she's saying yes. The Stable Owner can tell that as well.
"Alright partner," The owner said as his partner led the filly to Arthur. "you got yourself a deal, and a fine new horse."
"I hope so," Arthur replied.
"Well, I don't sell anything other than good animals," The owner told him. "You have my word on that."
The owner went to the table as his partner led the black shire into the stable while Arthur checks on his new horse. Then the owner came back with the papers.
"Here are your papers," he told him, handing him the papers. "and on me, a new grooming brush and some treats." He gives the brush and treats to Arthur.
"Appreciate it," Arthur said gratefully.
The owner walked to the filly, "Alright you," he said to the Thoroughbred. "you treat this feller well. I know he's gonna look after you just fine."
So Arthur led the Black Chestnut Thoroughbred now named, Marcella, out of the stables. Hosea was already outside, waiting for him.
"Interesting choice," Hosea commented. "She a Thoroughbred?"
"Yep," Arthur nodded, he stopped leading and places the reigns over her head and on the horn. "I believe she's what I want with a horse. I called her Marcella, the name came out of the blue but she really likes it."
"Well, if she likes the name, then I don't see why not," Hosea replied.
"Okay, I bet she can outrun Silver Dollar and The Count," Arthur bragged.
Hosea scoff, "We'll see about that," he told him. "Anyway, mount up. We got quite a ride ahead of us."
"Okay girl..." Arthur said softly to Marcella as he slowly mounted her up and give her a few pats on the back, Hosea leads the way out of town. "So... what's this lake we're heading for?"
"It's called O'Creagh's Run," Hosea explains as they started to gallop out of town. "up in the mountains east of Cumberland Falls. I just hope I can remember how to get there."
"Back into the mountains," Arthur complained. "I sure didn't figure on that."
"But this time we're doing the chasing," Hosea told him.
So they ride up to the hills and out of town, they continued their way to the lake.
"So how are things with you and John?" Hosea asked him.
"Fine," Arthur grumbled, he was still not in the mood to interact with John for leaving them for a whole year.
"Ain't about time you let it go now?" He asked him.
"It was a year, Hosea," Arthur exaggerated. "He ditched us for a goddamn year."
"I've spoken to him many times," Hosea told him. "he knows he did wrong. He just wanted to put it behind him."
"I'm sure he does," Arthur said warily. "Running off on those kids is one thing, but there's a code and he knows that. He ain't Trelawny. Dutch and you pretty much raised him."
"I know," Hosea replied. "but it's done, has been for a while now."
Arthur sighs and decides not to talk more about it, for now, he's still angry about what John did a few years ago. They didn't talk for the rest of the trip, they continued through the mountains, and they eventually passed by Moonstone Pond, as Hosea remembered. They continued from the pond and ride up the mountains, being careful not to fall to their deaths. As they keep riding, Arthur asks about Sean, who may still be alive or is already long dead since they left Blackwater, Hosea doesn't know it, but he hoped that Sean must still be alive, if he is, they better try rescuing him from Blackwater.
As they ride down the mountains, Hosea saw a batch of rabbits running around. "Look there, rabbits," Hosea said quietly as the rabbits quickly scattered. "Maybe we should catch one to cook."
Hearing that, Arthur instantly draws out his revolver and shoot 2 to 3 rabbits dead. So they stopped, and Arthur dismount Lucia and picked up the dead rabbits, and goes to Hosea.
"Alright, it's getting late," Hosea told him. "Reckon we should camp here."
Hosea's right, the sun is nearly setting and it would be too risky to hunt the bear at nighttime. So they prepare their things to set up camp, Hosea dismounts and helps him to set up their small camp. in a few hours, it's already night, their small camp was already set up, they prepared two tents and one campfire in the middle of the woods.
Arthur yawned and he sat down on a small chair. "I'm famished," he said.
"Cook that rabbit then," Hosea ordered as he sat down as well. "They're delicious on an open fire like this."
"Fine by me," he replied, as he draws out his knife, brings out one piece of game meat of the rabbit, he inserts the knife into the meat, and uses the campfire to cook it. When it's fully cooked, he took a few bites of the meat. "You want some of this?" he offered.
"No, I'm fine," Hosea protested. "I don't like eating this late."
"Okay, after all that," he replied as he finished eating the meat.
"Well..." Hosea said as he stood up, stretching his arms. "Better get some rest. I wanna be up at first light to find this monster."
So the two went in their own tents and drifted to sleep. It's going to be a long day to catch this bear that has been waiting to be captured for so long.
The next morning, they're now ready to hunt this bear. First, Arthur has to mix the fish with the berries Hosea bought yesterday, when that's done, the two begin cleaning everything and pack their things. When that's done, they mount up their horses and continued their journey.
"Well' try our luck down by the water," Hosea suggested. "that's where I saw him last."
"Okay," Arthur agreed as they ride down the hill and to the water.
"And how's Marcella treating you?" he asked.
"So far, so good," Arthur replied. He was beginning to like the Thoroughbred, he can't wait to spend more time with her after this.
"You know, I was in this area with Bessie, years ago," Hosea told him.
Bessie Mathews is Hosea's lover, they've been together for so long, that Hosea decided to leave the gang with her, but the gang life is just too good for him so he and Bessie came back a year after that. And that one day, she died by natural causes.
"Really?" Arthur replied. "I didn't know that. I imagine you still miss her."
"Every day," Hosea said.
"Did you two ever thinking about getting out of the life?"
"We did briefly, you don't remember?" Hosea answered. "Guess you were still young. Didn't last long." The both of them turned left and continued downhill to the water. "I drifted back into it. She understood... she knew what I was."
"I remember you not being around for a while, but things were looser back then," Arthur said.
"Truth is, there's never really any getting out, and staying in," Hosea told him. "It's hard, you know that, but Bessie and I made it work. Why, you thinking about getting out?"
"Me?" Arthur protested. "No, of course not."
"Listen," Hosea explained. "If Dutch's grand plans work, and we can make enough money to go someplace new, really new, maybe we can all have a new start. Let's look by the water and see if he's been fishing again recently."
So they ride up to the water for a bit and decided to dismount their horses.
"Look for tracks, dungs, bones... any sign of him," Hosea told him.
So they look around the area, Arthur searched carefully until he eventually found something on the ground next to the big rock. He knelt down and inspect the clue. "There's some paw marks here," Arthur said, inspecting the paw marks. "they sure look big enough." He looked to his right and can clearly see the trail leading them to the mountains. "This way."
Arthur followed the trail as Hosea follows him behind, they decided to leave their horses since it's too dangerous for them to near the bear, the trail continued across the road into the path that leads to the mountains. When they found it, all they find is a half-eaten fish. The trail continues from there, so they followed it until they come across bear manure, it looks fresh, so that means they're getting close. They continued until the trail ended 10 feet away from the manure.
"Damn it," Arthur said, "looks like the trail ends here. We lost him?"
"For now," Hosea answered. "a little optimism, Arthur."
"Well, what do you think?" Arthur asked him.
"I think we split up and each look," Hosea told him.
"Either that or, we could place bait here," Arthur added.
"That could work," Hosea said. "Which you think?"
Arthur thought for a moment, sure they can split up but Hosea is at an old age, if they split up and the bear might possibly be spotted Hosea, may not be fast enough to outrun him. So, placing the bait should be a good idea.
"Let's bait here," Arthur decided.
So the two went to the large rocks, the two set up the bait, making sure it's perfectly settled, they quickly head back into the rocks and hide behind it for cover. After two minutes of waiting, the bear didn't show up, curious, there might be something wrong with the bait.
Hosea decided to double-check and he stood up. "Let's just take a look at that bait," he suggested.
They head back to the bait to make sure it's perfectly fine, "We only just set it, Hosea," Arthur told him.
"I know but we need to do this right," Hosea replied.
So the two inspect the bait again, as they try to fix it, they hear loud footsteps and loud growling coming to them, they look up to see the humungous bear as Hosea saw it before. It looks so big than an ordinary grizzly bear, the bait actually works. They slowly stand up, not wanting to anger him, but the bear is already mad with hunger so he charged towards them but Arthur was quick enough to draw out his gun and shot the bear a few times until it has enough and runs away. As the bear runs away, Arthur checks on Hosea who just retreated back to the rock, he was sitting down.
"You're fine, old man," Arthur told him.
"Of course I'm fine," Hosea said. "It's nothing," Arthur lends him a hand to stand up and Hosea calls for their horses.
"Thank you," Arthur said, picking up the sniper. "I think. That was fun," he gave Hosea his rifle.
"You know what, Arthur Morgan?" Hosea told him. "I'm a little old and beaten up to be after the biggest game," he grabs something from his pocket and gave it to Arthur. "You can have this."
"What is it?" He asked as he took the thing and it turns out it was a map.
"It's a map," Hosea responded. "A man in a bar gave it to me, well I stole it from him but that's another story. He said it told him where to find some real big animals."
Real big animals, now Arthur needs to keep that in mind the next he goes hunting. "Thank you," he said gratefully.
"It's a pleasure, you saved my life, Arthur," Hosea told him as Lucia and Silver Dollar came to them. "I think I'm going back to camp to lick my wounds," he went to Silver Dollar and placed his rifle there. "You coming or you're gonna track down this monster?"
So Arthur thought about this for a second, sure he can down that monster but surely he's not fully prepared to hunt him down, so he decided to ride back with Hosea.
So, the two of them ride back to camp, Arthur even challenged him a race to Valentine, which in the end, Marcella can outrun Silver Dollar but Dutch's Albino Arabian, The Count is the fastest out of all of them, maybe he can challenge Dutch a race against his new horse. So, they let their horses rest for a moment, and then slowly head back to camp.
As they returned, Hosea announced to Arthur that he has something going on at Emerald Ranch, and thanking him again for saving his life. So the two dismount their horses next to the hitching post and tether their horses and decided to take a break from hunting. But Arthur couldn't wait to spend more time with the Thoroughbred.