Beloved Physician (14 page)

Rex returned quietly and moved back up beside his wife.

When Dr. Dane finished bandaging the wound, he sighed and looked at Dora. “Okay. All done. You can remove the cloth now. Jack will probably be under the influence of the chloroform for a couple of hours before he is really awake.”

Rex let out a sigh. “So he will live, Doctor?”

“Oh yes. But if the slug had been three inches lower, and about that same distance closer to the center of his chest, it would have killed him.” He looked at Dora. “Or if you hadn’t done such a good job keeping the blood flow from the wound to a minimum while you were waiting for your husband to ride to town and bring me back with him, Jack would have died.”

Dora smiled. “I’m just glad I could be of help.” She ran her gaze between the men. “I’m sure we could all use a hot cup of coffee. Wanda always kept coffee on hand. How about if I go to the kitchen, light a fire in the stove, and heat up some coffee?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Rex. “How about you, Doctor?”

“Sure. I want to go over this Indian problem with you before I go, anyway. You no doubt know a lot more about it than I do.”

“Okay. Go on, sweetheart. We’ll talk about the Indians while you make us some coffee.”

“All right,” said Dora. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

Dr. Dane took a look at his patient, making sure he was resting
comfortably; then both men sat down on wooden chairs next to the bed.

The doctor set steady eyes on Rex. “So you’re sure those were Utes, and not some other tribe who shot this family down and took their cattle?”

“Yep. Everyone in these parts knows a Ute warrior when we see one. There are some Arapahoes farther south and east of here, but the Arapahoes and Utes dress differently. They’re easy to tell apart.”

“I see. Well, what I wanted to discuss with you are the treaties that I’ve heard about. It has been my understanding that both the Utes and the Arapahoes were supposed to be at peace with the whites here in Colorado.”

Rex pulled at an earlobe. “Basically they are, Doctor, but there are some renegades in both tribes who have not really submitted to the treaties signed by their tribal leaders.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm. It is these renegades who are stealing stock from ranchers and often killing them in the process, and who are attacking wagon trains, stagecoaches, and other travelers. Most of this theft and violence is taking place in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, especially by the Utes.”

Dr. Dane glanced at his patient, then looked back to Rex. “How long has this treaty breaking been going on?”

“Well, back in 1863, when the Utes lived on the east side of the Rockies, they often fought whites side by side with the Arapahoes.”

“So they are comrades, I take it.”

“You might say that. Anyway, early in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln became concerned about the battles going on out here in Colorado between the whites and the Indians, especially the Utes, who were by far the fiercest. The army was building forts as fast as they could and establishing military outposts,
but still, much blood of the white people was being shed. President Lincoln authorized some federal officials to come here immediately and see if they could make peace with the Utes. He felt if peace could be made with the Utes, the Arapahoes would settle down too. Those appointed officials of the United States government called for a council with the Ute leaders to convince them to move their villages west of the Continental Divide.”

Dr. Dane snapped his fingers. “Oh yes. That’s when they met with the Uncompahgre Ute chief, Ouray. I recall reading about it, now that you bring it up.”

“That’s it. Chief Ouray was chosen by nearly all the Ute leaders to be their spokesman.”

“He’s a peaceable man, from what I recall.”

“Yes. He saw the picture and realized that white people were moving out West by the thousands and bringing their military with them. He was wise enough to know that the Indians were quickly being outnumbered, and that to make war with them would also get a lot of Indians killed.”

“So how did the council with Chief Ouray go?”

“Well, it actually took five years for Ouray to convince the bulk of his Ute brothers to go along with the government officials, but in 1868, the Utes agreed to move to the west side of the Continental Divide, providing that all of Colorado Territory west of the Divide—mountains and flat land—was reserved for them.”

Dr. Dane’s eyebrows arched. “Hmm. That’s a lot of territory.”

“Yep. But in order to stop the bloodshed in Colorado, the government officials under President Andrew Johnson’s authority agreed, and a treaty was made. However, the treaty was broken by the whites shortly thereafter when gold was discovered in the San Juan Mountains. You know where they are, I presume.”

“Yes, in southwest Colorado.”

“Right. The white men who discovered the gold weren’t supposed to be in the San Juans, nor west of the Divide in Colorado,
anyway. But some of them hurried back to their families and friends to let them know of their gold strike, and this brought more greedy miners flooding into the area.”

Dr. Dane shook his head. “So they didn’t care if they broke the treaty with Chief Ouray and his people.”

“Not at all. They wanted the gold bad enough to chance being attacked by the Utes. They ignored the treaty.”

“And I’m sure the Utes attacked.”

“They sure did. There was a fierce onslaught by the Utes. The army had to come in and fight off the Indians to protect the miners. This brought more bloodshed.”

“I can well imagine.”

“As you said, Doctor, Ouray is a peaceful man. Still wanting peace, in 1877 he asked to meet with the government officials again. President Rutherford B. Hayes agreed and there was another meeting. The government officials came to an agreement that the Utes could maintain their land in western Colorado
except
for the San Juan Mountains. This infuriated some of the Ute chiefs, and though Chief Ouray pled with them to stay at peace with the whites, a few of them still wanted to shed blood. They still feel that way today and are regarded by the bulk of the Utes as renegades. They are the ones who still attack white travelers and steal stock from ranchers here in the mountains and from farmers on the western side of the state. So often in stealing, there are gun battles, and both white men and Indians are wounded or killed.”

Dr. Dane shook his head. “Too bad this has to go on.”

“Mm-hmm. When Chief Ouray signed the latest treaty, he was also influential in getting most of the Arapaho leaders to sign a treaty, too. However, there are still renegades in both tribes. The Ute renegades are found mostly among the Weminuche Ute tribe, who call themselves the Ute Mountain Tribe. The most adamant chief among the Ute Mountain Tribe is Tando, who has a large village in the mountains some twenty miles southwest of Central City.”

Dr. Dane looked surprised. “That close?”

“Mm-hmm. Chief Tando has been known sometimes to send some of his subchiefs east to communicate with the Arapaho chiefs who have not gone along with the treaties their tribal spokesmen have made with the government.”

“I see. So Tando keeps company with the renegade Arapaho chiefs to maintain comradeship with them.”

“That’s it.”

Dr. Dane looked at his patient again. Jack was moving his body a little, but was still under the anesthetic. He set his gaze on Rex once more. “You told me as we rode here that you thought Jack might have shot one of the Indians who were stealing his cattle.”

“Yes. I saw fresh blood on the ground near the gate where the Indians were driving the cattle out of the corral. Must have just wounded him, though, because Dora and I saw the bunch of them as they were driving the cattle away, and every Indian horse had a rider.”

“How many were there?”

“Eight. I know that Chief Tando has a son who is around twenty years old, and he is especially vicious against white people. His name is Latawga. I figure it might have been Latawga who was leading this bunch of cattle thieves who killed the rest of the Bates family. They all looked quite young to me.”

“The incident should be reported to the commandant at Fort Junction.”

“Yes, it should.”

“What’s the commandant’s name?”

“Colonel Perry Smith. I saw him one time, but didn’t get to meet him.”

At that moment, Dora came in carrying a tray bearing three steaming cups of coffee. She let the men pick up their cups from the tray, then set it on the dresser, and took her cup in hand. As she
headed for a third wooden chair, she glanced at Jack. “Still out, I see.”

Dr. Dane nodded. “He was moving his body a little a few minutes ago. That’s a good sign, but he’s still out.”

While the three of them were enjoying their coffee, they discussed the care Jack was going to need.

Dora sipped from her cup and said to Rex, “The best thing would be for us to take Jack home with us so we can watch over him.”

Rex nodded. “That’s what we’ll do, honey. We’ll take him in our wagon.”

Dr. Dane drained his cup. “I’ll give you instructions on how to care for his wound; then I’d better be going. I’ll ride to Fort Junction right now and report this horrible incident to Colonel Perry Smith. My wife and I are leaving Monday morning for Denver, but I’ll have Dr. Fraser come to your place and check on Jack in a few days.”

Dora smiled. “That will be good, Doctor.”

Dr. Dane rose from the chair and stood over Jack Bates. The Wilsons moved up beside him, and he gave them instructions on how to care for Jack’s wound and the bandage. He gave them a bottle of laudanum, told them how much and how often they should give it to him to take the edge off his pain.

“We’ll take care of him, Doctor,” said Dora.

“I’m sure you will. Don’t move Jack until he’s fully awake. Do you have a neighbor who can help you get him in and out of the wagon?”

Rex nodded. “Sure do. I’ll go and fetch him after Jack wakes up.”

Dr. Dane pulled down the sheet that covered Jack Bates and looked him over again.

Rex said, “So you have no doubt the wound will heal up okay.”

“I’m sure the wound in his flesh will heal nicely, Rex. But the
wounds in his heart from the loss of his family will not heal so easily.”

Dr. Dane’s heart was aching over this man’s tragedy. What if it were Tharyn lying before me dead? How would I ever get past the pain of her loss?

A still, small voice echoed in his mind: “I can do
all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Drawing a ragged breath, the doctor looked at Jack Bates’s two kind neighbors. “Are you ready to tell Jack he has lost his entire family? It will be a very difficult task. Are you up to it?”

Rex put an arm around Dora. “It’s going to be hard, but we’ll handle it all right, Doctor.”

“I wish I could stay and help you with it, but I’ve got to make that ride to Fort Junction then head for my office. Tharyn is alone there, and I need to get back as soon as I can.”

Dora reached out and touched his arm. “We understand, Dr. Logan. Rex and I will take care of breaking the news to Jack. We’ll help him in every way possible.”

“This world needs more friends like you,” said the doctor as he drew the sheet back up and took his medical bag in hand. “I’m sure Jack will appreciate everything you do for him.”

The Wilsons walked the doctor out to his horse. As he was tying his medical bag to the back of the saddle, he said, “Please don’t hesitate to come and get me if you deem it necessary between now and when Tharyn and I leave for Denver. Otherwise, as I said, Dr. Fraser will be by your place to look at him in a few days.”

Rex said, “Doctor, we’ll pay you for what you’ve done for Jack. How much do we owe you?”

“Nothing. In this case, my services are free of charge.”

Rex and Dora looked at each other as if they had heard wrong.

Dr. Dane saw it and smiled. “Just tell Jack I’m glad I could remove the slug and bandage him up. I’ll be out to see him when we return from Denver.”

Rex extended his hand and Dr. Dane gripped it. “We’re mighty glad you’re the one who took over Dr. Fraser’s practice. Thank you for everything.”

Dr. Dane swung up and settled in the saddle.

Rex said, “Tell Colonel Smith that I am positive it was Utes who shot down the Bates family and stole the cattle, and that I feel sure it was one of Chief Tando’s renegade bands who did it.”

“I’ll tell him.”

The Wilsons watched the doctor gallop away. When he passed from view, Dora looked up at her husband. “I very much like this young doctor.”

Rex grinned. “I do, too.”

A
s Dr. Dane Logan rode north along the natural trail that followed a bubbling creek, he let his gaze roam about him and took in the majesty of Gods creation in the Rockies. The pines, cedars, aspens, and white-barked birch trees waved in the breeze on every side, pointing to the azure sky overhead.

He gazed up into the brilliant canopy of blue and marveled at how the jagged, lofty mountain peaks off to the west boldly took their sharp uneven bite out of the firmament. He reached down and patted the back of his horse’s neck where the long mane tossed in the breeze. “How about this country, Pal? Isn’t it gorgeous?”