MOUNTAINS IN WINTER
The posse that had been chasing them for the past three days had finally relented to the storm after Curry and Heyes decided they had no choice but to to ride to the higher elevations of the Sierra Mountains. The snow, wind and fog they encountered during their ascent above the tree line quickly turned to blizzard conditions. Both men pulled the collars of their coats up around their ears and buried their faces up to their eyes in their jackets. Their horses struggled for safe footing in the blowing snow that was already two feet deep.
Heyes, riding lead was the first to spy the concave area in the side of the mountain not three hundred feet in the distance. Turning in his saddle to look at Kid, and knowing in the howling winds his voice would not carry back to his partner, Heyes raised his hand in the air and pointed to the cave. Kid looked in the direction Heyes was pointing and nodded his understanding. Both med pulled hard on their reins and led the horses to the meager shelter from the storm.
When they reached the small cave, both men dismounted and trudged through the knee high snow, pulling their horses behind them and leading them into the cave. Both men stomped the snow from their boots and brushed snow from their pants. Both horses snorted, grateful to be out of the wind and snow.
"Looks like we might be here a while," Kid said. "I'll go see if I can find any wood for a fire."
"Don't venture out too far, Kid. You might not be able to find your way back."
Kid nodded and pulled the collar of his coat up around his ears again, and wiggled his bandanna up over his mouth and nose. Then he headed out into the blizzard on foot.
Heyes moved the horses further into the cave and then hobbled them, although he suspected they were both smart enough to stay in the cave and out of the treacherous elements. He untied his and Kid's bed rolls and dug into his saddlebags for some jerky, coffee, coffee pot, and a can of beans, plate and forks, and an iron pan.
An hour later Kid returned with an armful of broken branches, and a few logs that he dropped in a pile in the center of the enclosure. His teeth chattered as he set to work building a fire.
Heyes cut open the can of beans, poured them into the pan, and set the pan in the embers to warm. He stepped out of the cave just far enough to pack the coffeepot with snow. Once back in the cave, he put the coffeepot in the embers to melt the snow before adding the coffee.
Kid dug his spare long johns and Henley from his saddlebags and laid them near the fire to warm. "I'm adding layers before I try to sleep," he explained. Heyes saw the logic in this and did the same.
"We should probably huddle tonight, share two blankets instead of each having one," Heyes said and Kid just nodded.
"At least we know that posse has given up. They're probably all in nice warm houses, eating nice hot meals before crawling into nice warm beds," Kid said.
Heyes smiled. "The thought of that just warms your heart, doesn't it?"
"Not particularly," Kid replied.
In the short time for the coffee and food to warm, daylight had given way to the night. Outside the cave, the snow continued to fall and the winds continued to bluster. But Heyes and Curry were relatively warm inside the small confines of the cave.
"How long you think we'll be here?" Kid asked as he ate a mouthful of beans.
"Couple of days at least, I expect."
"Do we have enough food for that?"
"Yea, but not much longer."
"I'll see if I can't shoot some meat tomorrow. Might just be rabbit again."
"As long as whatever we're eating is hot, I don't much care what it is," Heyes replied.
Kid poured the last of the coffee into their tin cups. He held his cup between his hands to warm them. When he was done with his coffee, he moved their two blankets as well as the horse blankets next to the fire to warm. Then he stood and as quickly as he could, he removed his coat, shirt, and pants and pulled on the extra long johns and Henley and quickly put his shirt, pants and coat back on.
"Now I'm starting to feel a little less frozen."
"That good, uh?"
Heyes did the same and Kid took the warmed horse blankets over to the horses and laid one across the back of each horse. Both gave a snort of appreciation.
When Heyes was dressed again and had stoked the fire, Kid took the two warmed blankets over to the bed rolls and both men laid down for the night, draping the two warmed blankets across them both. They slept back to back, sharing their body warmth.
Heyes woke well before dawn. He could feel Kid shivering in his sleep beside him. He got up and folded his part of the blankets over Kid and went over to the fire to add some of the remaining logs. Then he picked up the coffee pot and walked to the cave entrance and found the snow had stopped during the night and the wind had eased considerably. He shivered as he packed the coffee pot with snow and moved further into the cave to the warmth of the fire.
Kid woke to the smell of coffee. He grunted and pulled a blanket around his shoulders as he lifted himself from the bedroll and joined Heyes near the fire.
"Snow has stopped and wind's died down," Heyes told his partner
"Think we'd be able to head down the mountain this morning? Sure would be nice to sleep in a nice warm bed tonight."
"We'll see what it's really like out there when the sun comes up. Maybe head toward Donner Pass and the Truckee."
Kid set his coffee cup on the ground and went over and removed the blankets from the horses and laid them near the fire again to warm.
"If we stay here tonight we're going to need more wood. Wasn't easy finding what I got yesterday."
"You want beans for breakfast?"
Kid shook his head. "Just keep the coffee coming. Even your coffee has some merit in this weather."
Heyes smiled. "Coffee is the one supply we've got plenty of, Kid."
Kid took the last gulp of his coffee and filled his cup. "Heyes," Kid said with a sigh. "Do you really think this is ever going to stop?"
"You mean the snow or the running?"
"The running."
Heyes heard the deep seeded fatigue in Kid's voice. "Sure it will, Kid. Once we get amnesty..."
"That's what I wonder about most. These governors seem to be just keep stringing us along. Sometimes I don't think it's ever coming."
"I wonder about that myself sometimes, Kid. But I try to stay..."
"He said a year, Heyes. It's been three!" Kid interrupted.
"I try to stay optimistic," Heyes said, finishing his sentence.
"I just keep wondering how long our luck will hold before one of those posses catches us and we can't escape. Lom's influence can only go so far, you know."
"So what would you suggest we do, Kid?"
Kid stared into his coffee. "I don't know, Heyes. I just know I can't keep doing this much longer, hiding in a cave in a blizzard, near froze, rationing food. Even prison would give us a cot and a meal every day, not that I think that's a good option, cause I don't."
"Glad to hear you say that. Tell you what, when we get to the next town, I'll wire Lom and see if there's been any progress."
"And the reply is going to be one word."No," Kid said. He finished his coffee and carried the warmed blankets back to the horses. Heyes watched him, wishing he had a solution.
When the sun finally rose both men ventured out of the cave to collect more wood for the fire. The snow was nearly three feet deep and powdery so their feet and legs sunk deep into the snow with each step. When they returned to the cave, each with an armful of branches, tinder and logs, they dropped their bundles in one pile near the fire and sat down to let the fire dry the legs of their pants. Both men removed their boots and shook the snow out of them.
"You happen to see any animal tracks out there," Kid asked.
Heyes shook his head. "Not a one."
"Animals are probably all buried under the snow," Kid said in gist. He picked up the coffee pot and went out to pack it with snow to melt for the horses.
Mid morning Kid decided to go in search of a meat supply.
"Remember, don't be gone more than an hour, even if you have to come back empty handed. If you got hurt out there, I don't know if I'd be able to find you before you froze to death," Heyes cautioned.
"What? The Cham-peen tracker of Utah wouldn't be able to follow knee high tracks in the snow?" Kid asked with a grin.
Heyes smiled and shook his head. "I'm only good with two day old tracks, Kid. In two days time, you'd be froze stiff."
"Then I guess you'd have a meat supply."
"You're way too grisly, Kid."
In the course of the next hour, Heyes heard three shots fired and hoped Kid was successful at least once. When Kid returned, he had his hand wrapped around three dead rabbits. "I kilt em. You skin em," Kid announced, grinning broadly.
"It's a deal," Heyes replied. "So what do you think about starting down the mountain?"
Kid shook his head. "The snow's too powdery and there's still enough wind to keep the snow blowing around a lot. Hell, I was worried my shots might start an avalanche. Think we'd better hold up here another night."
"That's what I was afraid you were going to say."
"Well, we're going to have to get the horses to lower ground in the next couple of days. There's nothing for them to eat up here."
"When we do get off the mountain, let's head to Arizona. Nice warm winters in Arizona."
Heyes skinned the rabbits and skewered them over the fire to cook.
The day passed slowly. They ate a lunch of grilled rabbit, took naps, played poker, and stoked the fire. For supper they ate another can of beans. Kid warmed all the blankets near the fire, melted snow again for the horses to drink, and at nightfall, they huddled again in their bedrolls, trying to stay warm, a task that was accomplished a little easier than the previous night because the wind had ceased.
It was daylight when Heyes woke. He got up, draped his side of the blanket over the still sleeping Kid, picked up the coffee pot and made his way outside to answer nature's call and to pack the coffee pot with snow.
For the second morning, Kid woke to the smell of coffee, and for the second morning, he draped a blanket around his shoulders as he scooted close to the fire and a cup of coffee.
"The wind's picked up again," Heyes said as Kid poured himself a cup of coffee.
Kid glanced out the entrance of the cave. "I can see that. I'll go out this morning and try to get us some more meat. Might be a little harder to do today since the wind will be covering tracks."
"The snow and wind can't last forever," Heyes said
"What is this, January? Likely won't last more than four or five more months at this elevation," Kid replied sarcastically.
"That's what I like about you, Kid. Eternal optimism."
Kid laid his less than clean, but dry change of clothing near the fire so he would have dry and warm clothing to change into when he returned. He took a dozen cartridges from the now half empty box of rifle cartridges and dropped them in his coat pocket. He pulled two more from the box to load the rifle.
"Might take more than an hour. I'm not going to stray too far from the cave cause I might not have tracks to follow to get back," Kid said.
"Three rapid shots if you run into trouble," Heyes said and Kid nodded as he slipped into his gloves, grabbed the rifle, and headed outside.
Heyes pulled his pocket watch from his vest and checked the time. Ten-twenty.
Over the course of the next hour, Heyes heard two shots that were not in rapid succession. He smiled, knowing Kid had at least spotted some game. He hoped Kid had actually shot some game.
But Heyes didn't hear any more shots and by noon he was worried. He checked his gun to be sure it was fully loaded, put on his gloves, and ventured out of the cave to look for any sign of his partner. He saw Kid's tracks leading west from the cave and followed them for about a quarter of a mile. Out in the open the tracks were becoming less and less evident as the wind blew the snows in great swirls, slowly filling the indentations of Kid's footsteps. Heyes shouted Kid's name and listened for a response, but the wind was howling fiercely, and Heyes heard no response.
Heyes pulled his gun from his holster and fired one shot into the air, hoping Kid would hear it and respond. He waited... and waited.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Three shots were fired in return.
Heyes plodded as quickly as he could through the deep snow. About a half mile from the cave, he stopped suddenly. In the distance, he could see two figures on the ground. Heyes pushed on until he reached the spot where Kid and the dead cougar lay in pools of red snow.
Heyes fell to his knees next to Kid whose breathing was rapid and shallow. Heyes could see deep scratches on Kid's face and a deeply torn wound above Kid's right knee. Kid was awake, which in itself was a miracle in the frozen temperatures.
"Did I get him?" Kid whispered.
Heyes glanced at the dead animal ten feet away. "Yeah, you got him," Heyes confirmed.
"Can we get him back to the cave?"
"We gotta get you back first," Heyes said as he tied his bandanna around Kid's right thigh. "Can you walk?"
Kid continued to pant rapid, shallow breaths. "No," he whispered.
"Can you stand so I can get you across my back?"
"I can try,"
It took nearly ten minutes to get Kid to his feet. He felt dizzy and nauseous. Heyes backed himself up against Kid, bent his knees, and draped Kid's arms over his shoulders. Then, giving himself a hard hoist, Heyes lifted him onto his back. Kid winced and moaned.
"This is going to take us a while, Kid. Can't move very fast in this snow."
Kid's head drooped, coming to rest on his shoulder as he passed out.
It was nearly dark when Heyes reached the cave, exhausted and sore, Heyes carried Kid inside and eased him onto the bedroll. Kid had not regained consciousness, but he was still breathing. The bleeding of the leg wound had stopped, maybe from the constriction of the bandanna, or maybe from the freezing cold. Either way, Heyes was thankful the wound was not bleeding. He quickly covered Kid with the blankets.
The fire had burned out, so Heyes' first action was to get a sizable fire going to warm the cave as best he could. He chose a spot nearer to Kid to build the fire. Once he had a fire burning again, Heyes grabbed a metal pot from his saddle bags and packed it with snow to melt in the fire so he could clean Kid's wounds.
As Kid's body began to thaw, the pain in the right thigh found new life, radiating down Kid's leg. The pain was severe enough to waken Kid and his hand grabbed the wound and he pressed hard against his thigh. "Oh, God," Kid moaned.
Heyes set to work removing Kid's pants and long johns and cleaning the wound with the warmed water and clean bandanna he pulled from Kid's saddle bags. The wound was nearly three inches long and half an inch deep of shredded skin and tissue.
"Kid, I'm going to have to stitch this," Heyes said.
With great effort, Kid pulled himself up on his elbows and looked down at the wound. He nodded and tried to scoot himself back so as to lean against the wall of the cave. Heyes moved and put his arms under Kids armpits to pull him and help Kid reposition.
Heyes pulled a sewing Kit from his saddle backs and threaded a needle.
"Don't have to tell you this is going to hurt," Heyes said and Kid nodded, panting heavily.
"I'm sorry, Heyes. I didn't mean to complicate things."
"Did you intentionally provoke that cat into a fight, Kid?"
"No,"
"Then it's not your fault, so quit worrying about it. Now, hold still."
Kid's back arched and an agonizing sound escaped him as Heyes sewed the wound closed.
Heyes used the last clean bandanna as a dressing to the wound and secured it with a used bandanna.
"Now, let's get these warm clothes on you," Heyes said, reaching for the long johns and jeans that had warmed by the fire.
Kid winced several times as Heyes got the clothing over Kid's right foot and pulled them up above Kid's knees. "Lift you butt," Heyes instructed and when Kid did so, Heyes got the long johns and jeans pulled up to Kid's waist.
"Feel better?"
"Warmer. Thanks."
"Let's get those scratches on your face cleaned up," Heyes said and dipped the wet bandanna into the now lukewarm water.
"We're going to have to get you to a doctor, soon, Kid. Might have to start out in the morning no matter what the weather is."
"We'll see," Kid replied. "Wish we could have brought that cat back with us. That was a lot of trouble all for naught."
"If we stay here tomorrow, I'll go back. If no animal gets to it, it's frozen by now so we could still use it."
Heyes made coffee and opened one of two remaining cans of beans that he warmed in a pan in the embers of the fire. Kid fell asleep, warmed by the fire and the two blankets that covered him. He slept through supper and well into the night.
"Heyes?" Kid said just before coughing.
"You alright, Kid?" Heyes mumbled.
"Could use some water."
"Left a canteen beside you," Heyes replied.
Kid looked about him and located the canteen. He uncorked it and took a couple of swallows. He replaced the cork and tried in vain to shimmy into a comfortable position. His hand brushed over the spot where his pants covered the wound. The pants felt dry. He lay awake watching the flickering shadows cast on the cave walls by the fire. Kid wondered if or when they would finally be able to leave the cave and get to a town and a doctor to treat the leg wound. He knew if they couldn't leave soon, an infection would likely develop.
Kid was again asleep when Heyes woke in the morning. He got up, feeling stiff from the cold night, and stumbled his way out of the cave to relieve himself. Thick gray clouds blanketed the sky and he knew they were in for more snow. Returning to the cave, Heyes put last night's coffee pot in the embers to warm and added more wood to the fire.
Heyes watched his sleeping partner as he sat by the fire drinking coffee. When he was finished, he took Kid's hunting knife from his saddlebags and ventured outside in search of suitable branches. He didn't go far from the cave entrance so it took him several hours to collect the necessary branches and haul them inside the cave.
Kid was still asleep so Heyes filled the coffee pot with snow to make a fresh pot of coffee. Next he took their lassos and several of the branches and sat down on the ground near the fire where he set to work making a travois.
Kid woke at the smell of coffee brewing and pulled himself up. Heyes poured Kid a cup of coffee and settled back down to his work.
"You making a travois?" Kid asked.
"Uh-uh."
"It won't be comfortable but I can ride, Heyes," Kid replied.
"Thought I'd use it to haul that cat back here," Heyes explained.
"Ah, good idea."
By early afternoon, Heyes had completed his project.
"The wind quit in the night and it looks like the tracks are still visible. I'm going to go get that cat and haul it back here."
Kid nodded. "You be careful, Heyes. I don't think I can hike out there after you."
It was nearly dark when Heyes returned.
"Where's the travois?" Kid asked.
"Its gonna get too dark to work on that cat tonight, and we don't want it thawing out in here during the night and attracting a bear, so I left it all out outside. We'll set to work on it in the morning. How's your leg feeling?"
"Hurts like the dickens, but I've been using one of your left over sticks as a walking stick and have been getting around pretty good."
"Yeah, I saw that."
"Saw what?"
"The patch of yellow snow."
Kid laughed. "Well, I can't venture too far out in this deep of snow, Heyes."
"Maybe we should change that dressing."
"Yeah, probably. There's a pot of warm water in the fire and I think there's a couple more bandannas in my saddlebags," Kid replied and, using the walking stick for support, stood himself up and slid his pants down to reveal the old dressing that he untied and removed.
The stitches were holding nicely and drainage on the removed bandanna was minimal. Heyes retrieved a new bandanna and dipped one small end of it in the warmed water to wipe the wound clean. Then he placed the new bandanna over the wound and used the wet corner as one of the ends to tie it in place. Kid then quickly pulled his pants back up and fastened them.
The next morning revealed clear blue cloudless skies and they decided they had best take advantage of the weather and head down the mountain.
"We should have brought that cat in the cave last night. We would have some meat to carry with us for supper tonight," Kid commented as they packed their saddlebags and saddled their horses. "Instead, all I got out of that cat was a hole in my leg."
"Quit grumbling, Kid. Rabbit ain't the worst food in the world."
"A week of it is."
Heyes just shook his head. "Come on, let's get started. It's gonna take us a couple of days."
Travel was slow in the deep snow but they did manage to descend below the tree line by mid afternoon.
"Heyes,"
Yeah?"
"I think we'd better be stopping soon."
"You alright?" Heyes asked, turning around in his saddle.
"Yeah, but I think some stitches broke loose from riding all day, and the legs getting pretty stiff."
"Okay. Start looking for a place to make camp."
It was nearly a hour before Heyes found a thickly wooded area with far less snow accumulation and a large natural rock buttress that would block the wind from one side. Heyes dismounted and immediately began gathering wood for a strong fire. Kid eased himself slowly out of the saddle and gripped the saddle horn tightly to support himself as he cautiously put weight on his injured leg. Limping significantly, Kid gathered the horse's reins and led them near the spot where they would be making camp. With some effort, Kid got the saddles and other necessities off the horses. He sat down and examined the blood stain on his pants.
Heyes got a fire started and put water on to warm.
"You doing okay, Kid?"
Kid nodded. "Don't think I'm up to getting us a rabbit, though."
"I can. When the water's warmed up we'll take a look at your leg."
Kid nodded and leaned his head back against the buttress and closed his eyes.
"I think the Truckee River is down there about five miles away. We'll head there tomorrow, then follow it to the nearest town. We should be in nice warm hotel beds tomorrow night."
"Kay," Kid said as the warmth of the fire slowly lulled him to sleep.
Two hours later Kid woke to the smell of something that was definitely not rabbit.
"What are you cooking, Heyes?"
Heyes smiled as he rotated the skewer over the fire. I came upon a bouquet of pheasant. Thought that might be more appealing to you than rabbit."
Kid smiled. "It smells a might better."
"Well, let's get that leg taken care of before supper."
Heyes cleaned Kid's wound and saw that three or four stitches had broken. But the stain on Kid's pants looked worse than the actual amount of active bleeding.
"I think if I bind it good, and you're careful and we get to a town and a doctor tomorrow, then I probably don't need to stitch it back up again now. It actually still looks pretty good."
"That's a lot of ifs, Heyes. But I'm willing to take the risk."
"Just don't go falling off your horse," Heyes teased.
"Damn, I had a big fall all planned for tomorrow, Heyes,"
Heyes finished bandaging Kid's leg and they sat near the fire and ate their fill of wild pheasant.
They traveled a little more slowly the next day but were able to reach the small community of Truckee in the early afternoon. They got a hotel room and boarded the horses before seeking out the town doctor.
"A wild cat, you say?" the doctor asked.
"Yeah, that's right," Kid replied.
"Well, you both did a good job keeping the wound clean. Are you staying in town for a day or two or moving on right away?"
"We'll stay in town a while," Heyes replied.
"Then I don't think it needs more stitches, as long as you're not traveling. I do want you to take it easy, don't over use the leg."
"Only planned on using it for walking," Kid said and gave Heyes a wink.
After the doctor had cleaned and bandaged the leg, Kid and Heyes headed to the cafe and then spent the evening at the saloon, both very much enjoying the comforts of a town.
'Heyes," Kid said as he settled into the nice soft bed and positioned a pillow under his wounded thigh.
"Yeah Kid?"
"You know how you and me always say bad things happen when we split up?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm beginning to think the same is true every time we travel through the mountains in winter. I think we should try to avoid doing that from now on."
"If you remember, Kid, a posse was chasing us. I don't think we had a whole lot of options this time."
"Well, yeah... but when we do have the option, Heyes, let's make it a rule to stay out of the mountains in winter."
"Okay, rule number one is never split up. Rule number two is stay out of the mountains in winter. Maybe you'd better start writing all these rules down, Kid. If we add too many more, we're not going to be able to keep track of them all."
"We can take care of that easy with rule number three."
"What's rule number three?"
"Never forget the rules."
Heyes smiled and turned out the light.
"Good night, Kid."