Spirit Horses (27 page)

A few minutes later, Tashawa, without saying a word,
mounted her horse and started riding toward the steep slope that would be their
next challenge on this trip.

“I guess that’s our cue,” Shane said, as he and Tara
scrambled down the rock. They quickly mounted their own horses and soon caught
up with her. The ride down this part of the ridge was much more difficult than
the area where he had ridden in with Hawk and JB. Had it not been for Tashawa,
knowing exactly where to go and how to zigzag her way from point to point, they
would have found themselves in a precarious situation. Now Shane understood why
she was so concerned about the packhorse having to carry the extra ten pounds
of dog food.

The dogs had made their way to the top of the ridge
on their own while staying out of sight. Shane knew from past experience that
they liked to follow him in the shadows. He figured it was only natural for
them to lurk hidden on the outskirts of the trail because they were half wolf.
The two dogs did not know Tashawa at all or Tara very well. This made them even
more cautious. For some reason, during this part of the trip, which involved
some very narrow steep trails, the dogs decided to show themselves and stick
close to Shane and the packhorse. He was glad he had brought them along. Shane
understood that he was in their world now. Knowing he could count on them gave
him some added peace of mind.

About three-quarters of the way down the ridge, the
ride became less dangerous and the trail began to level out. Shane looked down
to check on Butch and Jessie, only to realize the two had once again vanished.
Tashawa had also noticed the dogs, sneaking in and out of sight, so suddenly
she turned back toward Tara. “You tell your boyfriend to keep those two away
from me! Leave it up to a
Tahotay
to make
friends with those strange creatures!” Tashawa, calling him this, took Shane by
surprise.

Tara chuckled at this comment. “He’s not my
boyfriend, and he can hear you just fine.”
       

When they finally reached the valley, Tashawa
climbed off her horse and sat next to a large oak. Shane appreciated the
woman’s consideration for the horses. It had been a slow, strenuous ride down
the ridge, and it was still a three-mile ride from here to the river. Shane
knew the horses and dogs would be ready for a drink when they got there. For
now, they were resting at the edge of a forest near one of the many grassy
meadows that were scattered all over this part of the valley.

The thought of a place like this being congested
with oil wells made Shane cringe. For reasons he could not explain, he was
feeling a growing need to try to keep this from happening. He knew if there was
oil in the valley, the Shoshone should be the ones to gain from it. He felt
certain they would not rape the land and the scenery to get to it. Shane could
only hope there would be a way for this wilderness to coexist with any profit
that could be made here. The one thing he was sure of is the control must be
left in the hands of the people who would see the greater value in this land as
it was now.

Shane had called home before leaving on this trip,
and had received the news from Terry that much of the property around his farm
in Tennessee had been sold to a developer. The hills and fields he’d spent many
years riding his young horses through would soon be disappearing for all time.
Maybe finding this out had something to do with his growing desire to try to
help keep this place from changing. Perhaps it was also the need to feel
responsible for something more than just himself. After all, it wasn’t long ago
when he was consumed with a sense of duty to the other people in his life. He
decided it was probably a combination of things that had him focusing so much
on this new purpose. Whatever the reasons, this intention now went beyond his
promise to his son to set Sloppy free.

He and the women sat on the edge of the grassy field
not speaking a word. It was easy to see how content these two natives were out
here in their ancient homeland.

The Shoshone, who had lived and died here since
before
Columbus, were a vital part of this unique country. Without them still here,
this valley would certainly be like a puzzle without all its pieces.

Shane noticed some motion a short way up the tree
line. It was Butch and Jessie, crouched down, stalking a rabbit. Using their
instinctive, coordinated hunting skills, they made short work of killing and
devouring it. Watching the two dogs eat, Shane was reminded that as beautiful
as this country was, it was also a harsh, survival-of- the-fittest environment.
He knew and accepted this as the way things are supposed to be. Without this
balance of nature, life would cease to exist in this wilderness.

Finally, Tashawa stood up and
stretched her back like she usually did before mounting her horse. Shane and
Tara followed, and the three rode on with the packhorse in tow. When they
arrived at the river’s edge, Tashawa made it a point to direct everyone over to
a
particular spot where they could let the horses drink. “Why is she so worried
about where the horses get their water?” Shane asked Tara
.

“My grandfather doesn’t want us to leave any tracks
around the river. This place has hard rocky ground so we won’t leave any
obvious signs. The herd sometimes comes over to this area. As you know, Tigee doesn’t
want anyone who may be tracking them, including our own tribe members, to know
we’re out here. The herd rarely goes as far as Shadow Creek where we will be
staying. So, we won’t have to worry about leaving tracks there.”

As they rode along the wooded tree line toward the
cabin, the river remained in plain view. Tara pointed ahead to a moose that was
swimming across the river.

“I’ll be damned!” Shane exclaimed as he stopped to
take a picture. During the remainder of the ride they saw some mule deer,
antelope, and even a small herd of mountain goats.

It was five p.m. when they finally reached the
Shadow Creek cabin. It had been a long, tiresome ride.

Shane didn’t get his first glimpse of the camp until
they were only several yards away. It was well concealed behind a thick patch
of trees, between a couple of high rock ledges, which made a natural corral on
two sides. The rest of the corral was made of log fences that appeared to be in
fairly good shape.

The dwelling was small with only two rooms and a
fireplace. The rooms were barely separated by a five-foot-high wall, open at
the top, to let the heat from the fireplace circulate freely through the
building. There were two old fold-up cots in each room.
Someone had sure gone to a lot of
trouble to pack this bedding so far back into this isolated country
, he
thought.

Tara looked around, with a reminiscing glimmer in
her eye. “Tashawa and I have a lot of good memories of times spent here with my
brothers and our grandfathers.”

Shane could see that they had made the place homey
and surprisingly comfortable.

After a quick inspection and some minor repairs on
the corral log fences, Shane and the women fetched some water for the horses
and fed them. The canned stew they ate for dinner was a welcome meal after the
long day on horseback. The two dogs showed up when they smelled the stew
cooking on the fire, so Shane gave them a good helping of the dry food he’d
brought.

Tara and Tashawa told Shane about a clear pool
around a bend only seventy-five yards downstream. The two women grabbed some
clean towels and a bar of soap and Tashawa took her rifle. “When we get back,
you can go clean up,” Tara remarked. “No offense, but you look kind of cruddy.”

“You ladies look a little dusty, yourselves. You
sure you don’t want some help?”

Tara smiled at his joke, but Tashawa gave him a
dirty look and commanded, “You stay here!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled.

When the two women returned, Shane walked down to
the pool with the dogs following at a distance. He cleaned up and then lay
there, letting the cool water soak on his tired body. After a few minutes, he
told Butch and Jessie it was time to head back to the cabin.

Tomorrow they would ride over to the north border to
try to spot the oil crew’s base camp. Hopefully, Tashawa would be able to find
it early in the day. Then, it would just be a matter of watching their activity
to see what they were up to.

At eight p.m., Shane made a radio call to Tigee to
let him know they were at the cabin.

“Did you have a good ride in?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” Shane answered. “The weather was perfect
and the scenery incredible. We are all pretty beat, and ready to turn in. I’ll
check in with you at eight a.m., over. Oh, sir�—�”

“Go ahead,” the old man replied.

“Tommy’s going to be riding the two colts out on the
trail this week by himself. I would appreciate it if you’d check to see that he
makes it home in one piece every day, over.”

The old man’s voice came back over the radio, “Yes,
Tommy has already told me. I’ll be waiting for your morning call.”

Before collapsing on his cot for the night Shane
cracked his window open and the sound of the nearby creek soon lulled him to
sleep.

He woke in the morning to the sounds of the bubbling
stream, and the smell of fresh, clean mountain air. He walked down to the
creek, splashed some water on his face, and sat to watch the sunrise. As he
relaxed while admiring the peaceful surroundings, his mind slowly drifted to a
recollection of Jen.

It was an old memory from before the kids were born
and just the two of them had gone on a camping trip up in the mountains, not
too far from their home in Tennessee. It was this same time of the summer, but
some twelve years ago. He remembered they’d had their first real argument the
afternoon before. Shane couldn’t even remember what it was about. They had gone
to bed still upset with each other.

Shane remembered waking early the next morning,
going down to the lake, and sitting in an old camp chair. He felt badly about the
fight and knew he’d overreacted. Now, he recalled the warm feeling that came
over him when he felt Jen’s hand on his shoulder while whispering in his ear,
“I love you so much, and I never want to argue like that again.” Then she moved
around, sat in his lap, and the two stayed there a while, with their arms
around each other, not saying a word.

Interrupting his memories, he heard a voice behind
him, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

He looked up to see Tara standing near. “Yeah, I
did.”

As she sat next to him, Shane couldn’t help but
notice how fresh and beautiful she looked.

“What were you thinking about?” she asked. Shane
just shrugged his shoulders. They sat for a minute longer not talking, then
Tara continued, “I’ve seen you before in this place you drift away to. You seem
to be caught up in a strange combination of happy and sad. Mostly, you seem
sad. I can’t help but wonder why those old memories haunt you the way they do.”

“You have no idea,” Shane replied, as he forced a
smile and stood.
     

Tara also stood and looked at him with her deep blue
eyes, cocked her head to one side, and told him in a quiet voice, “I would
never ask you what it is that bothers you so much, but if you ever want to
talk, I’m a pretty good listener.” Shane glanced down at the creek for a moment
before slowly lifting his head to face her. He reached in his pocket, pulled
out his wallet, and handed her a picture. In the photo, Shane was holding Tina
in his left arm with his right arm around Jen while Jacob stood in front of
them. The picture had been taken in front of a Christmas tree, with all of them
smiling from ear to ear.

Tara didn’t know what to say at first, then after a
few seconds, asked, “You have a family?”

Shane looked down at the water again before he took
a deep breath to help him keep his composure. During this awkward moment of
silence, he assumed she was thinking he had broken up with his wife and was
having trouble dealing with it.
 

“They’re beautiful kids,” she said. “Where are they
now?”
      

Shane took another breath and
swallowed the lump in his throat. “It was a car accident. One moment, we were a
close, happy family on top of the world; the next minute, they were gone.” He
pointed at each of them, in the picture. “That’s my little girl, Tina; my son,
Jacob; and my wife, Jen. I lost them a couple years ago. I’m okay now, and I’ve
learned to accept it, but sometimes I still miss them real bad
.”

Tara’s hand began to tremble, so she quickly gave
him back the irreplaceable photo for fear she might drop it in the creek. Then,
she raised both her hands up to her quivering mouth as her eyes swelled with a
surge of emotions. “I didn’t have any idea, Shane. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have
pried.”