Range War Along the Pecos, by John Theron Crow

Range War Along the Pecos

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

 
Before leaving town, the banker, Simon Greenbaum, had inquired around as to how many men Fogg had, and who they were. All told, including Captain Fogg, there were nine of them--in town. However, most of the men here were well aware of the Fogg raiders, and knew that the rest of Fogg's men must be close at hand. As if that were not enough, Murdoch, his sons and some of his hands were in town as well. Some of the gunmen were beginning to have questions concerning Morgan Tanner's sanity. Besides the men with him at that moment, Tanner had another thirty-five gunhands he could have assembled had he chosen to send for them, and at least another twenty genuine cowhands who could at least, shoot a rifle with a reasonable degree of accuracy. The latter group in fact, were all posted on the land Fogg was now claiming.
Most of the gunfighters, were performing various chores around the ranch rounding up and branding (or re-branding) stolen cattle in preparation for a short drive into New Mexico where Tanner had found an unscrupulous buyer. They were to be led by Duke Collins, perhaps the foremost gunman of Tanner's riders. Others, were attempting to make certain that those activities remained unobserved. Most of the gunmen riding with Tanner would have preferred that Tanner had sent for Collins and those extra gunmen, and had waited for their arrival before striking out for Olsen's Falls and a possible showdown.
Captain Fogg had at least fifteen more men, and at that point, those men were unaccounted for. Should they arrive to reinforce Fogg, Tanner's group would be at a serious disadvantage numerically, and up against men who were equally proficient with firearms. Should Murdoch's men (the ones in town) join in on Fogg's side as well, the situation for the Tanner faction would be similar to that held by the defenders of the Alamo--hopeless.
Morgan Tanner however, was unconcerned on that score. He was aware of his gunmens' worries, but felt he had an ace up his sleeve (which his men were presently unaware of). Greenbaum had also informed Tanner of Lieutenant Scott McCormick's arrival in Olsen's Falls, and his purpose for being there. Greenbaum, sensing the trouble that might break out should Tanner arrive, had managed to convince McCormick that a man who worked for Tanner was a friend of Johnny Lancer's and probably was aware of his whereabouts. Greenbaum then informed the Lieutenant that he was going out to Tanner's ranch and would be happy to tell Tanner about McCormick and his present mission. Greenbaum added that he was certain that Tanner would find that man and bring him with him to town later that day or early the next.
All of this Greenbaum had done with the express purpose of insuring that the soldiers from Fort Stockton, would remain in town and await Tanner's arrival, rather than go off searching for the elusive Lancer after failing to find him in Olsen's Falls. Tanner had thanked Greenbaum sincerely for his foresight and promised him a substantial reward for the excellent use of his intelligence, something Tanner rarely noticed in the men under his employ (other than Collins).
As Tanner saw it, there probably would be some gunplay. But there would be no long drawn-out shooting fight. The army would see to that. Although Fort Davis procured its beef from Murdoch, and was on excellent terms with him, Fort Stockton was not.
The commander of the garrison at Fort Stockton was Colonel William Foley. Colonel Foley had obtained his rank in the Civil War, in service of the Union. After the war however, many who had obtained high rank, were demoted as their positions no longer needed due to the downsizing of the military. (The famous General Custer was one of these in fact.) Tanner had known and been friends with Foley during the war and even before, back in their days at the West Point Military Academy. Through Tanner's (and his family's) machinations, he had managed to secure Major Foley's promotion back to the rank of Colonel. Tanner had then used his influence to assure that Foley was appointed as commanding officer of garrison stationed at Fort Stockton, and thus, had the complete support of the garrison.
Tanner had assured Colonel Foley that when he retired, Tanner would secure for him a high position somewhere in the empire he was setting out to build for himself. To top that off, Tanner had been paying for the schooling of Foley's son back east. Foley, was in Tanner's pocket securely, and would never back Murdoch unless ordered directly from a much higher authority to do so.
At the present, the highest ranking officer at nearby Fort Davis, was only a Major. Thus, Tanner was not concerned about possible interference coming from that source. On top of that, the Commanding Officer at Fort Davis was black, as were most of the soldiers.
Fort Davis had been abandoned on April 13, 1861 after Texas had seceded from the Union. Fifteen months later in August, 1862, the Texans who occupied the fort pulled out as well. The Apache had then burned it to the ground. Charred wood and skeletal walls greeted troops of the 9th U.S. Cavalry and the 24th Infantry Negro Regiments who reactivated the fort on July 1 1867. Although these were seasoned men, the fact that they were black was a source of deep resentment amongst the Texas Southerners of the area. It was virtually a slap in the face, a fact that Tanner intended to take full advantage of.
Thus, should the Commanding Officer at Fort Davis complain of, or call into question Foley's or Tanner's activities, it was unlikely that he would be believed. Foley and Tanner both had impeccable reputations earned in service to the Union. Their's would be the only voices given credence by the military out in that part of the country.
Tanner had neglected to inform any of the men riding with him these things before their departure in order to test both their loyalty and their mettle. Those who balked, he planned to let go or place in dangerous positions at a later date. None of them had, although a few, such as Peaceful Jones, were visibly nervous. As they neared the town, he explained to them his reasoning behind refusing so send for, and await the arrival of the bulk of his gunmen before going to Olsen's Falls. Murdoch, he assured them, would not fight against the army, and had no reason as of yet, to fight against the MT. It was far more probable that he would sit back on the side and watch as Tanner and Fogg fought it out.
He then ordered them not to precipitate a full scale gun battle with the Fogg faction even if there were only nine of them present. He also ordered them in no uncertain terms, not to fight with Bolton or any of his men even if provoked. What he did desire however, was for some of his gunmen to attempt to catch Fogg's men when they were not together all at once, and attempt to provoke a few personal gunfights having little to do with the brand, if possible. He did want to whittle down their number somewhat while they were in town, as well as to force Lieutenant McCormick to step in and openly side with Tanner. That would give Tanner the edge right from the start regardless of what kind of legal papers happened to be in Fogg's possession.
However, should the rest of Fogg's men be either in town, or found to be nearby, they were to avoid trouble. He had no intention of placing his own best men up against insurmountable odds. He needed only a small, but decisive victory here to get the immediate upper hand on Fogg. If they were lucky, both Fogg and his son Billy, would be killed that night in personal gun brawls, and Tanner would once again hold the only claim to the land encompassing the Glass and Woods Hollow Mountains. Failing that, hopefully, his men would kill a few of Fogg's.
After being made aware of Tanner's reasoning, Tanner's men began talking and the mood became somewhat lighter. Some of them however, were still worried. Dain was one of the most feared gunmen in the west, and it was well known that Billy Fogg, being Dain's pupil, was probably equally fast. A few of Tanner's men made a point with themselves to avoid either of them, while others, such as Ballard and Duane, hoped they'd get a chance at one or both. Jake Barlow however, cared nothing about any of it. He was completely oblivious to the possibility of his own demise, and cared little about whom he faced or how many.
Just before Tanner's riders reached Olsen's Falls, two Mexican bandits who often rode with the Esperanza gang, rode up and began speaking to Tanner rapidly in Spanish. At the moment, the two worked for Tanner. He had paid them to keep an eye on any buildup or gathering of gunmen by the Murdoch faction anywhere near or below the town of Olsen's Falls. Chico Portalis interpreted their message. It turned out that there were few of Murdoch's hands in that area, but they had seen Fogg's. Fogg had left the bulk of his men guarding his own herd well below the Glass Mountains. Apparently he feared trouble with some of Tanner's men down there more than he did in Olsen's Falls.
Tanner was unaware that only a couple of days previous, Fogg's men had had a shooting scrape with the Esperanza gang, which was the primary reason Fogg had left the majority of his men to guard his herd. Emillio Esperanza had purposefully neglected to give Tanner that information or to inform him that the Foggs were encroaching upon his land, and the spies relating the information to Tanner offered no information concerning the skirmish themselves.
As far as Esperanza had been concerned, that was Tanner's problem, not his. Besides, he had retreated rather quickly after his men had had a taste of Fogg's style of fighting from the back of a horse. That was somewhat of an embarrassment even though he had reasons other than fear for so doing. Fogg's men were deadly pistol fighters from horseback and immediately killed four of the Esperanza gang without any of them receiving so much as a scratch. Esperanza was not yet ready to tackle them head on, until he knew the odds were in his favor and he had a good reason. Easier by far, to rustle and run. Anyhow, should Tanner later decide that he wanted the Esperanza gang's help in eliminating the Fogg's, he would have to pay dearly, and the Esperanza gang would attack Fogg from ambush and take him totally by surprise, or so Esperanza had reasoned at the time. * * *
After finishing meals that could have fed an average family for nearly a week, Lance Nighthawk and Brazos Murdoch bid each other good evening and went their separate ways. They had spoken little about their upcoming fight other than to agree that if they were going to do it, they ought to at least come out of it with as much money as they could. However, Nighthawk had more pressing matters on his mind. Brazos, headed over to The Miners Paradise, halfway in the mood for a brawl, while Nighthawk headed over to the Boar's Head where Captain Fogg and his men were now gathered.
Nighthawk approached the table where Captain Fogg was sitting playing poker with Tyler Dain and Dancing Jack Haylock. Mad Dog Morely had been sitting outside the saloon smoking and watching for the arrival of Tanner and his men. The Zale brothers were busy buying drinks for some of the soiled doves who worked out of the saloon, and Billy Fogg was nowhere in sight. "Where's Billy?" Nighthawk asked.
"Hell, all he's been able ta think about since he got in ta town is pokin' that pretty puta he met here earlier." Dain said.
Nighthawk frowned and looked at Captain Fogg and said, "You'd better get him down pretty quick. Tanner's bunch is liable to be here at any minute."
"I'll roust him out soon as Morely gives the word that Tanner's here. I wanted him to get it out of his system. Anyhow, I don't want an all out fight with Tanner unless he really gets under my skin. The army's in town, and I don't want to get on their bad side right off. I aim to stay here fer good this time. But I intend to take that damned Yankee apart piece by piece with my bare hands tonight, if he's got the balls ta fight me. If his men decide to start somethin' after that or during, we'll finish it, and it will be a fair fight that they started, and the army won't be able to do a damn thing about it." Fogg said.
"Well, we don't have to worry about the Murdochs. I talked to Moose himself a bit earlier and he said that it was none of his affair." Nighthawk said.
"You believe him?" Fogg asked.
"Yes, I do. Right now he's only interested in makin' sure Joe Bolton isn't hurt, and can bury his son in peace tomorrow. We don't bother him, he won't take a hand. Besides, he hates Tanner's guts." Nighthawk said.
"Hell Cap'n, I don't much like the setup. I Figure it'd be better if we just provoked them into a fight and settled the whole thing tonight. I'll make damn sure Tanner's the first one to go down." Dain said darkly.
"What the hell do ya think I intend to do? When I whup the britches off of Tanner tonight, he'll be humiliated in front of a whole town that thinks he's a big man. After that, he'll try something, and we'll be waiting for it. However, when they do, you make sure that a stray bullet DOES accidentally hit Mr. Tanner. Save a lot of trouble later." Fogg said.
"What if he won't fight you?" Haylock asked adding, "Most of them Yankees I've seen were yellow scumbellied cowards. You 'member how they always ran from us durin' the war, an hell, they usually outnumbered us two ta one!"
"That's cause most of them didn't know beans about pistol fighting from the back of a horse and they only had single shot rifles." Nighthawk interjected.
"I know his reputation, and I'll make it personal. He'll have to fight with either fists or guns, and if he chooses guns, so much the better." Fogg said.
"Well I think..." Tyler Dain was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Mad Dog Morely at the door.
"They're here." he said sullenly.
"Haylock, go tell Billy I said fer 'em ta put his pecker away, and get his randy little ass down here now." Captain Fogg ordered.
"Yes sir, Captain." Haylock said as he bounded up the stairs.
Tyler Dain stretched back in his chair and smiling broadly said, "Well boys, looks like the party's bout ta begin. Let's see how long it takes them pisswillies ta get here."

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