This chapter is far from complete, but I see I have a few followers. So, I wanted to get some more of the story out there. My chapters are not short so it will take me a couple of days to finish each chapter. But here is the first part of chapter 3. It starts with Jane at age seven.

This chapter has some violence and a rather nasty rape. I'm sorry but it is necessary to my storyline. By the way, I apologize to those who have found my first two chapters to be too involved with unnecessary facts. I apologize because I will not change a word of that. I wanted a plausible history for my characters and I hate stories that assume you know your character's history. I'm a retired teacher, so I guess I can't stop teaching.

Chapter 3: The Making of Iron Women

Jane was seven years old when she heard her parents arguing. Her papa was trying to be even tempered, "È il momento. Angela, e lei lo sa. Essa deve imparare a diventare un cowboy. Non abbiamo nessun altro. SO che aspettarsi di avere più figli, ma ora come ora, è la nostra unica figlia. Ha da imparare." It's time. Angela, you know it is. She has to learn to become a rancher. We have no one else. I know you expet to have more children, but right now, she is our only child. She has to learn.

She heard her mother reply more forcefully, "Ma, Francesco, ha solo cinque. È ancora un bambino. Perché vuoi rush. SO CHE hanno concordato di dare la sua maggiore responsabilità. Ma ho inteso come alimentare i polli o avendo cura di nuovo cucciolo." But, Francesco, she is only five. She's still a baby. Why do you want to rush her. I know I agreed to give her more responsibility. But I meant like feeding the chickens or taking care of the new puppies.

Big Frank countered, "Momma, alimentando un pochi polli non eseguirà un ranch. Ha per imparare a cavalcare, funi e disputare. Lei deve imparare come mangimi per il bestiame e come vengono allevati dei cavalli. Ha da imparare e ci vorranno anni. Quindi, inizia ora." Momma, feeding a few chickens will not run a ranch. She has to learn to ride, rope and wrangle. She must learn how cattle feed and how horses are raised. She has to learn and it will take years. So, it has to start now.

Jane could contain herself no longer, she burst in on the argument and said, "Momma, I can do it. I can do anything any boy could do. I know I can."

Angela stooped down to get to eye level with her little girl and reasoned, "I know you can, Baby, but you are not a boy. You are a young girl. You may never be strong enough to do what a man does."

Francesco started to intervene, but Angela raised her hand to counter it. But Jane didn't need any help. She reassured her mother, "Momma, I am already taller than any boy around. I know I can do this. I know I can take care of a colt."

Her mother sighed. She could not beat both her husband and her daughter. As far as she knew no one had ever been able to prevent her daughter from doing something she put her mind to. Angela recalled when her daughter was barely two, she had wanted a cookie. And so Angela to prevent her from getting one, put the cookie jar on a top cabinet in the kitchen.

Jane was not to be deterred. Using furniture and containers from the kitchen, the young brunette constructed a sort of staircase to the cookies. Her mother caught her before she started on her second cookie. Jane was put to bed without supper, but she did have a cookie.

Angela knew she was defeated and agreed to let her daughter have the next colt born to the ranch. However, there had to be a clear understanding that Jane, not one of the seasoned hands. Jane had to raise and take care of the colt for the rest of its life.

In early September of 1843, Jane was given charge of a new born colt. The colt was a mare with a generally grey coat with white and black patches about its rump and hind legs. She named her colt, Grey.

For a year, Jane had full care of the colt. After the mare was weaned, Jane would feed her hay and oats every day. She made sure she had plenty of water and would currycomb her coat to a shine.

But the colt was only one of many lessons that Korsak would give her in that year. The mustanger would take the youngster away from the ranch houses into the wild. He showed her plants and told her of their properties, which ones were food and which were poison. Korsak showed her how to read trial and how to feel the world around her. He would say, "Thar ain't much out here that caint keel ya. But iffin ya hear wit more than your ears, ya gotta chance,"

Jane was shown had to clean watering holes, so the cattle could get good drinking water. She cut hay and baled it. She worked with the rope twice every day. Until by the end of the year, the young girl could rope a moving rabbit with her leather lariat.

After being shown how to braid a reata, she quickly made several of the leather ropes. On her eighth birthday, she was given a Warren and Steele rifle of .36 caliber. Jane was drilled on how to load the barrel, but wasn't given any of the percussion caps necessary to fire the rifle.

After a month of practice, loading and cleaning the rifle, she was taught how to shoot. The young girl was given two of the precious caps a day to practice. Korsak or her father would go with her into the brush and select a target. At first the targets were tree, then they were reduced to knot holes. It took three weeks of practice before the recoil of the rifle didn't pain her shoulder.

When Korsak was satisfied she could shoot he took the girl hunting. For the same outfit, hunting was still necessary to their survival. Jane's first target was a roe buck deer. Jane eased back the hammer and took aim at the grazing deer. Suddenly, a slight gust of wind rowed over Jane's back toward the deer. She knew she had only moments before her scent scared the deer into action. So, she shot more quickly than she planned.

Her bullet didn't hit the deer's heart, but shattered its right foreleg. The deer went down unable to run, but was screaming in agony. Korsak shook his head and signal the frightened child to the spot where the deer was writhing in pain. The mustanger quickly slit the deer's throat, ending its agony. He made her watch as he dress the carcass. He removed everything, even the bone was necessary to their existence.

The experienced hunter simply said, "Janie, y'all gotta hit the heart. A wounded deer can run fer miles, in agony with every step. God's creatures dee-serve a clean keel. Next time y'all do the butchery."

Jane never missed again.

In October of 1844 with the wind blowing and the temperature dropping, Janie and Korsak starting preparing Grey for the saddle. The year she spent befriending the colt paid off in trust. Grey trusted Jane and didn't mind the blanket she tied around her every day for a week. Then the bridal and bit were uncomfortable, but Jane wouldn't let anything hurt her. And her reassuring words and cubes of sugar made everything all right. So, when the saddle weight was placed on his back another week later, she didn't even fuss. After all, there was Jane with cooing words and cubes of sugar. Then after another week and after the blanket, bridal, bit and saddle were placed on her, she didn't fuss, because she was used to it.

Jane approached her horse, Korsak assured her all she had to do was show Grey that she was still her friend. So Jane cooed to her mare, "Easy, girl, ain't nobody agoin' ta hirt ya. I's just agoin' to get in that thar saddle fer a bit. Easy, now."

Jane carefully put her left foot in the stirrup and cooed, "I don't weigh much, girl. Y'all hardly even know I'm thar."

With that Jane pulled herself into the saddle and held the reins firmly. The young colt shied a bit by walking backwards a couple steps. But Jane, patted her on her flank and neighed fake horse talk. After, Grey seemed to settle down and accept her weight, Jane dismounted and petted her horse on her neck and fed her a cube of sugar.

Then taking the reins, she remounted her mare. This time Grey didn't even shy. Jane gave the young mare a tap on her flanks and Grey started trotting forward. She felt the bridal pull her to the left, so she went left. Then she felt the bridal pull her to the right, so she started going right. After a short trot, she felt bridal pull her chin down, so the yearling colt stopped.

Jane was beaming in front of the main house atop her new mount. Jane called to mother, while her father approached them from the barn. The eight year old dismounted her yearling colt and went to her mother and said, "See, I told ya maw, I could do it."

Angela grabbed her daughter and hugged her tightly. No matter how hard she hugged her daughter, she could not keep her from growing up.

It was plain getting cold. The snow was spotty, but it only being October and snowing was a bad sign for an easy winter. They had both put on their heavy colts and had their buffalo collars raised against the wind,

They rode in silence, not wanting to waste energy with idle chit chat. Though never of them was known for their chit chat. In fact, Korsak had not spoken to anyone other than the people on the ranch for over a year. What made that easy was the fact he never went to town. He never left the ranch, except to hunt.

I'll have more tomorrow.