Boys Become Men: Book Three ~ Mountain Ranch

Doc looked the newcomers over and applied creams to some of the children who seemed to have bug bites and poison oak rash. He pulled a couple of teeth for the teens and told the new teen mothers to go see Miz Emma, that they were to eat plenty of good food and drink lots of milk. John was already pulling parts off the wagon and tinkering with metal pieces, muttering to himself. Nora had to come out and get him, so that he could get some rest. He tried to protest, but she was adamant and dragged him into the kitchen for a light supper before he hit the shower. It would not be many weeks before everyone heard the whistle on the old boiler down at the sawmill screech and, suddenly, the lights came on!

With the generator now working, the well pump and pressure tank could be used. The younger boys collected downed limbs and trim ends from the saw mill to keep the boiler pressure up during the day and early evening.

Tommie again took over keeping the generator on-line and the boiler fuel bin filled and he was frequently seen chunking log ends into the firebox. Despite his handicap, Tommie was a hard worker and had developed strong arms and an even stronger determination. The generator never idled to a stop for lack of steam.

They found that they could fuel up the boiler and set the dampers so the fire would keep the steam up for several hours at a time, unless they were pulling hard on the generator using the shop machinery on a heavy repair job.

The days went by and it was evident that John and Nora were deeply in love. There was no pastor at the ranch, but they knew that Mr. Carl and Mr. Jim were a couple, so John sat down with them one day and asked, "Is there any way Nora an' me kin get hitched, she's gonna have my baby? I don't want our child to be called a bastard!"

Jim replied, "There will be NO bastards here and George Yellowbush is the leader of his people and speaks for The All Father, The Great Spirit. He would marry you, if you will allow it."

John stood immediately and went in search of Chief Yellowbush. It didn't take the two men long to work out the details and Nora was rushed off by the Indian women so they could make her bridal dress.

Two weeks later, a blushing pair stood before Chief George Yellowbush and The Great Spirit, promising to love one another for the remainder of all time. The young Braves of the Village, with some help from the young Cowboys of the Ranch, created a wedding bower in the forest and filled it with supplies to last a week. They guarded the path leading to the spring and bower, allowing no one to disturb the new couple. No one even tried to disturb their "Honeymoon"!

The only person to ever hear about their adventure was their son, whom they named James. He would learn their story on his twelfth birthday, the age the local Indians counted as Manhood Day.

The crops came in heavy and, it was a good thing with all the new mouths being fed on the ranch. All the apartments were filled and all but two small cottages were occupied. The ranch population had grown to be over two hundred people!

The next ranch over belonged to old Mr. Paul Lyman and he came one day to speak to Jim and Carl. He sat down on the porch with some of Miz Emma's "special" lemonade. She had slipped some rum in with the lemonade as she knew the old man loved it and it seemed to help his "arthritics".

Paul said, "Boys, I cain't ranch or farm no more, I's gotten too damned old n' me joints is all glued up. I got no sons to take over fer me. Iffin y'all will let me live out my life in my old house, I'll give ya my place free n' clear. Ya gots a passel of fine youngins here an' theys needs a place ta' live."

Jim and Carl agreed, only if Mr. Paul would allow them to supply all his needs and food for the rest of his life. Paul beamed and agreed, so he signed the deed he already had in his pocket and Red Mountain Ranch was increased by seventy thousand acres and five thousand head of beef cattle! They weren't sure what they were going to do with the beef herd, there was no market anymore, but the flat land that adjoined their own lower pasture was ideal for corn and row vegetables.

Paul had, years earlier, dammed up a small all year creek to provide irrigation water and there was still time to put in a crop.

Work began the next morning!

Both Jim and Carl were over at what they were calling, "New Farm", helping the farm crew plant row corn and vegetables when they heard the steam whistle go off at the sawmill.

They wondered what the emergency could be, but they both jumped on their horses and headed for Red Mountain Ranch at a gallop. Their horses were all lathered up as the two men jumped from their saddle and ran for the house. They spotted what looked like Army horses and a group of men in uniform standing on the porch, speaking with Miz Emma.

They rushed up and demanded what was going on.

A young Army Captain saluted Jim and Carl and said, "Sirs, I am Captain Donald Matson and I represent Colonel Ben Marks, Military Governor of the District of Nevada and Utah...."

Both Carl and George stood open mouthed and stammered, "AaaaaaAAmerican Army?"

The young Army Officer smiled and replied, "Yes sir, I have my headquarters over in Flagstaff, but there is nothing there, not even any people. You folks are the only folks between Flagstaff and St. George, Utah!"

Jim laughed and said, "Well then, why is your headquarters in Flag?"

They invited Captain Matson to bring his soldiers over to Red Mountain and they would assist them in building Army Barracks and a Company Headquarters for the officer's command.

Captain Don Matson stood there with his mouth moving, but no sound was coming out, finally, his Sergeant, Sergeant Bill Chase pushed a chair over to his young Commanding Officer and then explained to Jim and Carl that the troopers were to maintain order in the new District and that the civilians were being asked to form a civil government, with a Council to administer and advise Captain Matson. He stressed that it would be a civilian government, NOT a military one, the Army was there only to assist in maintaining order and do all the paperwork.

He looked around and said, "Sirs, it looks to me like you already got yer civil government workin' here. Hell, they ain't even got electric lights in the District Capital at St. George!"

The Company of soldiers were shown where to put their horses up in the barn and, until they could get a barracks built, they could bunk down in the old sheep herders' quarters upstairs in the barn. The herders were out with the sheep right now and would not be back until fall when the sheep were brought in for the winter.

The soldiers were delighted, they had been sleeping on the ground ever since they had departed from St. Louis and had not seen running water since that time. Carl asked, "How about hot water?"

Sergeant Chase did not have the heart to hold the men in ranks, he dismissed them and all forty of the soldiers went screaming into the showers, tearing their clothing off and grabbing bars of homemade soap that Tommie was holding out to them!

Tommie had told his boys to stoke up the boiler real good, the demand was gonna be heavy! Carl and Jim couldn't help but laugh when Captain Matson and his Sergeant ran, joining the crowd at the shower room door! They noticed that neither the Captain or the Sergeant "pulled rank" to get to the showers first'

Over the next several days, Sergeant Chase set up an orderly room and asked if he could connect the batteries for the radio to the electric system to charge them up.

That same afternoon, they had both key and voice communication with the District Headquarters in St. George!

Two days later, they had enough logs cut to start up the sawmill and they saw soldiers, stripped to their waist, catching planks off the green chain and stacking them on the dry kiln carts to be dried.

The soldiers figured that, if they helped these gracious hosts, their barracks would get built faster. Not that they minded, but the sheepherders' room smelled of sheep! But, like Sarge said, "Sheeps is a helluva lot better than rocks fer a mattress!"

So it was that Red Mountain Ranch became the headquarters for Company A, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah Military District and the Capitol of Northern Arizona!

When the American Flag was raised, there were only six bars on it, Captain Matson explained that everything east of the Mississippi had been bombed back to Neanderthal Days, there were no civilized beings living there. It was a fire-ravaged land that would require many whole generations to become habitable again!

He told them that the whole land, all the way to the eastern ocean, glowed at night, and strange creatures inhabited the land.

This worried both Carl and Jim, but, before they could say anything, Captain Matson pulled out his orders and showed them that the Constitution of The United States of America was still in force and was the "Law of the Land" and that he was to choose certain people from among the civilian population to set up a civilian government and civilian courts as soon as possible.

He turned to Jim and Carl and asked, "Who wants to be Governor?" as he put his hand on Carl's shoulder. At the same time, he added, "And you, Jim, are to be the Chief Justice of the State Court!"

He continued, "Now, you guys pick a District Sheriff, Officers of the Government and the Courts. Let Corporal Jenkins know, so he can radio their names to Colonel Marks in St. George."

It would be several days before Jim and Carl could catch their breath, radio messages were pouring out of St. George. They decided they needed an Office Manager and the only person who could not run fast enough was Tommie! Carl threatened to nail his wooden foot to the floor, so he couldn't run away!

George Yellowbush became the Sheriff for the Northern Arizona District, and Johnny Bash was appointed District Attorney. The Chief Justice's Court had little to do yet, but Billy found himself appointed to the Criminal Court Bench and Tall Bear was appointed as Civil Justice. Both Jim and Carl were determined that their new state was NOT going to become a military dictatorship.

They need not have been concerned, both Captain Matson and Colonel Marks were just as determined as they were that the government was going to be a Civil Authority, not Military!

Between setting up a new government and planting sufficient crops to feed everyone, the adults of Red Mountain Ranch were operating at a dead run. The older girls and the women decided their men needed them, and they marched on Carl, telling him that they were ready to serve.

In less time than the telling, the women found themselves heads of departments and told to cast their own nets for those to help them! By the end of the week, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah had a barely functioning civilian government. They were the first area of Old North America to regain civil authority and to create an army to protect their people. They were the first people to have electric lights and running water, too!

The men AND the women who had "volunteered", would soon have saddle sores, traveling from village to village, making their new government function. Wherever they could, they appointed local people to act as their assistants and advisors. But, they were determined that it was going to be a working government. If someone did not have a job, they were released to work for the roads department and later, the railroad.

Many of those local people were Indians, but District Governor Carl Redmond Bates made it state policy to back up the local officials and there was no mention in any document, what the race of the officeholder was.

The local Indians all knew Mr. Jim and Mr. Carl and trusted them both, Indian officials and those further distant soon learned that both young men had earned their reputations the hard way, with honesty and total fairness to everyone!

By winter, the crops had all been gotten in and, before the snows hit, the soldiers were in their new barracks and soldiers stationed at other posts were doing everything they could think of, to get themselves transferred to Red Mountain Ranch Barracks, where there was heat, hot and cold running water, flushing toilets and ELECTRIC lighting!

The district was lightly populated, and problems were few, until they discovered that Colonel Matson had plans on bringing homeless folk to live in the old town of Flagstaff.

Carl and Jim traveled to St. George to convince the Colonel that Flagstaff was a poor choice, the water supply was inadequate and without the railroad, there was no way to get in or out of the town, except in the dead of summer.

Carl told him that there was no need for a large central state government, the business areas of the old state were bombed out pits of radioactivity and it would be generations before they could even be explored and many more years before they could be made safe for people to live there. Of course, there were always a few who would tempt fate, but they were crazy to begin with and a whole lot more crazy when they returned from their "expeditions".

Carl said, "They were a state of cattle and sheep ranches, with a few farms and the state would remain that way in the foreseeable future. Why not administer the ranching state out of Red Mountain Ranch?"

After taking a trip as close to Phoenix as he dared, Colonel Matson agreed with them. Both Carl and Jim would be elderly men before they got shed of their civil duties!

They decided to build the town of Red Mountain away from the ranch and place it down on the flat land, near the old highway that ran from Flagstaff to Marble Canyon. The road ended at Cameron now, since the earthquakes had destroyed the bridge.

There was a small airstrip nearby and the Army had a few small planes they could call upon and it was less than a day's ride from the ranch.

With the Army ramrodding construction, a capitol building and necessary offices went up rapidly. The nice thing was, "If it wasn't necessary, you go on a waiting list!" It would be many years before there would be offices for the department in charge of the care and shaping of fingernails!

The first office that Carl set up as Governor, was the Department of Child Safety. His mandate was that it was NOT a welfare agency, it was to govern the safety of ALL children in the state and, not by chance, the man he wanted as the agency head was married, to another man! He wondered what kind of ruckus THAT would raise, but not a word was said as Billy became the Head of the Child Safety Agency!

Almost immediately, Billy was swamped with pleas for help, children were coming "out of the woodwork", seeking help and care. He first tried to house the children in his new office building, but it was the first building erected and stood alone on the plain that would become the town of Red Mountain.

When he spotted unsavory men hanging around, he called for Captain Matson and his soldiers. They arrived just in time, the creeps were trying to break the door down to get at the children inside.

Captain Matson had already been told by both Carl and Jim, to shoot anyone who threatened harm to the children. The soldiers laid out forty bodies for mass burial and the children were trucked up to Red Mountain Ranch for protection until more of the capitol could be built.

Many of the older boys they had saved immediately after the collapse were men now and Billy hired them, and some of the girls who were now adult women, as Child Protection Officers. They had been through the "ropes" and knew what frightened children needed.

The agency was an instant success and became the model to be copied elsewhere. John and Nora were appointed caretakers of the small children and they were installed in the sheep herders' rooms until a new building could be erected on the Ranch property, they were going to block all access to the children by thieves, rogues and molesters!

Nora nearly fainted when she learned she had just become Mamma to sixty children all under the age of ten! She gathered a group of her new friends among the Indians, mostly young mothers themselves, to assist her in caring for the children.

It was a wild time, but, but by the time the first snows of winter had covered the soil, the new government was just beginning to function.

Supplies were tight that first winter, with all the extra people to feed and clothe, but nobody went hungry or lacked sufficient clothing to stay warm. No one was sleeping on the floor, there were beds and blankets for every child AND every adult they brought in.

John wanted to start a school for the younger children and he rounded up a few books, boxes of paper and created temporary chalkboards by painting finished door slabs with flat black house paint.

When the rest of the children heard about school, he was forced to set up classes in the rodeo barn. He was inundated with over a hundred youngsters, all saying, "Learn me writin' n' readin"!"

He had the words, "LEARN ME" painted on a big sign and it became his Department Logo!

It was not all school work, John, Nora and their assistants saw to it that the children had plenty of time for fun activities and there were always a couple of off-duty soldiers to help the older boys and girls learn about skiing and snow hiking. It was during this time that Sergeant McAllister saw teen boys and a few girls watching his soldiers with envy written plainly all over their faces. They were practically drooling each morning when he held muster.

He spoke with Captain Matson before they both went to Carl and Jim, asking if they could start a group of Cadets among the children living at Red Mountain. Neither Jim nor Carl had a problem with that, they both had been JROTC Cadets in their own high school days. Sergeant McAllister was put in charge, and like sergeants in any Army, he had contacts that resulted in uniforms for "his kids"!

The new cadets set about building their unit. Then they chose to be guardians of the younger children. The Cadets established an "orderly room" in the sleeping area and there was always a cadet on duty during the night, watching over the younger children.

They disrupted several attempts of break-ins and were the first on the scene when little Jaime Collins developed a case of acute appendicitis.

Cadet Corporal Paul Fischer held the little boy while another Cadet went running for Doc. It was emergency surgery time, Doc saw the child was in the acute stage and needed that appendix out immediately.

The Cadets had already placed an ice pak over the appendix to keep it from rupturing and were holding his hands as he was carried to surgery by two older cadets manning the stretcher.

Cadet Corporal Paul Fischer sat with the child after the surgery and was right there when the boy awoke. Paul had several hours sitting there beside the bed of the sleeping boy.

Paul was seventeen years old and taller than most of his year mates. He wanted to be a builder, he had already drawn plans for several cottages on the property and other Cadets both liked and respected him. When he was building a cottage, he had no problems getting other boys to assist him and his last cottage was built in less than three weeks!

He sat there all night, thinking and asking himself, "Should I?" "Could I?" "Would they let me?" As soon as he was relieved, a bleary-eyed young man went to Sergeant McAllister and asked, "If I wanted to be a Poppa, who would I need to go talk to?"

Nate McAllister had not just fallen off the turnip truck that same morning, he had seen the young man caring for the sick child and had a pretty good idea what the young man was up to. He said, "Go see Governor Carl Redmond Bates right away, before he gets busy this morning, he is at breakfast right now."

Paul Fischer ran upstairs and saw Carl just sitting down to his breakfast, "He stammered,, SIR, eeer sir,...."

Carl smiled and said, "Slow down son, Sergeant McAllister just called me, my answer is yes, so sit and have breakfast with us before we go see Judge Yellowbush."

Before the day was out, little Jaime Collins had become Jaime Collins Fischer and Paul Fischer had become a man! A man among other men and was appointed Builder/Architect of the town of Red Mountain.

Paul Fischer designed and built the first block of houses in the Town of Red Mountain and people came from out of nowhere with trade goods to purchase a new house. Paul had forty builders working on houses and they could not keep up with the demand.

By the first snows of the next year, there were over two hundred residents living in the new town and Paul had built a store to Tommie's specifications. Tommie opened his new store, carrying food stuffs and clothing made by the Indian women living at Red Mountain Ranch. Everything was by barter, they had no cash money and Tommie was kept busy exchanging the barter items for more goods and foodstuffs to stock his store.

Tommie had finally found his "calling" both he and his store thrived. He still had his wooden foot carved by his own Daddy, and he could be heard "stomping" around on the wooden floor of the store, arranging stock and waiting on customers and everyone knew exactly where he was by the tramping sound his foot made on the wooden floors.

As business increased, the more frantic were Tommie's movements and, one morning, there were two teen boys waiting for him as he opened the store for business. Tommie thought they were customers until one boy got out the broom and began sweeping the floor, while the other boy started arranging stock.

Tommie smelled a "rat", he asked, "OK, guys, who sent ya'?"

The boys grinned, and both replied, "Mr. Paul sent us over." They continued cleaning up, arranging stock and waited on customers as they came looking for their day's needs. By the end of the week, Tommie decided he could not do without the boys' help, and he hired them as permanent staff, with living quarters in the back of the shop.

He had already suspected the two boys were a couple, and when he noticed that only one bed had been slept in, he grinned, but never said a word. The two boys would stay with him for their entire lives, always working and living together, even when "Tommy's Stores" branched out to other communities as the state grew.

Tommie hired two more of the High School Cadets, Gordon Lee and Lion Wild Bear. Both boys had been orphaned and had grown up with John and Nora's help.

Tommie had purchased a small wagon and a horse for the two new boys and he set them up as traders. They were to go out to the small outlaying farms and communities, trading food stuffs and dry goods for whatever the ranchers and villagers were willing to trade.

The two new boys proved to be a good choice, they drove a hard bargain, but they proved to be intensely honest and diligent in their trades, they developed a reputation for honest and fair dealing with their customers and Tommie's Stores grew by leaps and bounds. They dealt on the "side" occasionally, when a family was in trouble, knowing that they would be paid double the next time they came through.

As their travels increased, they would carry messages from one farm to the next and were even known to carry people needing transportation. It was not uncommon for them to bring someone needing to see Doc and take them home on the next day. They even carried messages from one homestead to the next, free of any charge.

It was a turning point when they brought three boys they had discovered hiding out at Willow Hill. The boys had been beaten and abused horribly, Gordon and Lion had galloped their poor horse into a lather as they raced back to the Ranch. Doc worked for hours in saving those boys' lives and another two boys had become men! Gordon and Lion also became Fathers that same day!

The area of Northern Arizona is slowly returning to civilization and its ills are returning also. Will those ills be nipped in the "bud" or will they become overwhelming problems?