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Nervous Charlie Story Continues

  Most of his friends at  Pine Ridge  knew that something terrible had been bothering Charlie for months.  He had been quiet , looking off toward the south, and fingering this solid silver Concho he carried in his right pocket.   His closest  friends respected his privacy, never asking what was wrong, only telling him that they valued his friendship, and offered their help if it was needed.

  One day in early spring,  he packed his saddle bags, strapped the bedroll on his saddle, slid the Winchester into the scabbard, said a short goodbye and rode out.  He had been at Pine Ridge for less then a year, but something from his past was preying on him;  he knew what it was but wouldn’t talk to anyone about it.

  As he road south toward Texas, his thoughts were as clear as the day he had left the mountains where he had searched for two long years for the apache woman that he loved.

   This past year Charlie had thought through every event that had happened after he and James L. Wade had rode south toward Fort Stockton to build the ranch.  During the war, one of Charlie’s friends father had fought for Texas Independence from Mexico, and had told about the Lipan Apache who were allies to the Texans.  They were fierce fighters who hated the Mexicans.   In 1844,the Republic of Texas had signed a treaty with the Lipan Apache tribes.

   The first apaches Charlie had seen was a woman and two children who had come into a small trading post just west of Fort Stockton to trade for some supplies and a blanket.

  Charlie had always loved children, and the two youngsters were perhaps five and eight years old, very quiet and well disciplined; they had smiled at him and he nodded back.  The woman noticed his grey coat from the war, and understood that he was another of those men who had been defeated and were here to forget those memories of a dreadful war. 

    Charlie had taken a bullet which he still carried in his body, and it became infected occasionally, and he knew that some day, it would have to be taken out.

   When Charlie was on the western edge of the ranch, there were times when he would see one or two apaches quite a ways out but they never gave him any cause to worry.  There were still occasional raids by Comanche & Kiowa, but no trouble from the Lipan. Most of them lived in the  area of the Glass mountains east of the ranch or the Apache mountain west of there, but they kept to themselves, causing no one any trouble.

   One cold spring day when he was riding far west looking for stray cattle, the daylight was fading and he had camped for the night, when a  sudden snow storm struck.  The temperature dropped rapidly and although  he had built a fire, there was very little wood to keep it going, and before long, it was out.  By sun up he had developed a fever, partly because the old wound had become infected again, and now the bone-chilling cold was working on him also.  As he swung into the saddle, he knew it was ten to twelve miles back to the ranch, so he looked for a place to get in out of this weather, and being in the elevated area of the mountains, he did find a small cave but it was occupied by an old apache grandfather and his grand daughter Tai Shay.  The old man knew it was his time to die, and he had ask her to come with him to sing the death song, and hold his hand while he traveled to the High Road.

  They both brought Charlie into the cave with its warm fire, and his fever got worst, and he became delirious, talking out of his head until he fell unconscious.  As they could smell the old wound, they took off his cloths to look at how bad it was, and the old grandfather told Tai Shay that he had seen this type infection before, and that a bullet had caused it, and it would have to be taken out.  With his instructions, she heated a very sharp knife in the fire, and with the skilled hands of a girl who had known how to cut up many animals, she dug out the bullet, and with some herbs she carried with her, applied a poultice, and covered it with her solid silver concho which would kill infection.

  Charlie was losing strength rapidly  and shivering almost uncontrollably..  Tai Shay put a blanket around him, and crawled in with him to give him her body heat.  If it had not been for her, Charlie would have died that night.   The old grandfather crossed over that next day, with Tai Shay holding his hand  He had told her how happy he was to have a grand daughter to comfort him, and wished her a good life, with children to comfort her in her late years.  He had also said that the Grey Coat was a mighty warrior, and looking at Charlie’s hands, he told her that “this man is mighty but gentle, and can be trusted”.      He also told her before he died, that the Great Spirit had led the Grey Coat to that cave to be saved by her.

  She then prayed to the Great Spirit that her grand father spirit would find peace on the High Road.  She then washed his face, dressed him in his finest clothing, and pulled him to the front of the cave, and covered him with snow to preserve him until the storm passed.

  Charlie was in and out of consciousness all that next day, and Tai Shay kept him warm with her body heat all she could to keep him alive,  She made a broth of water, and deer jerky, with some herbs, which she forced Charlie to swallow by sips when he was conscious.  By the third day, the fever had broken, and he was conscious enough to realize that if it had not been for the young woman, he would have died.

    That forth day, she told him she would leave to find the village, and bring help, so she left on Charlie’s horse, and was gone several hours but returned with two men from her village,  With their help, they made a scaffold for the old grand father, and took Charlie higher into the mountains to the village of several  lodges, and perhaps thirty people.

   Tai Shay’s father Costilietos was the chief of this band of Lipan Apache and they took Charlie into his lodge where Tai Shay continued her excellent care, feeding him as often as he would take nourishment.

  When Charlie had not returned to the ranch, James L. had sent out several riders to try and find him, but with this kind of mountainous area, it would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack.  After a week, they had given up,

   With a few more days of Tai Shay’s care, Charlie was up walking, and through broken English that the apache knew, and some sign language that he knew, they did communicate.  As soon as he was well enough to ride, Charlie told Costilietos that he must return to the ranch.  He thanked him for helping to save him, and holding Tai Shay close, Charlie told her that he would never forget what she had done for him, and that in several days, he would return with some gifts of his appreciation.

    James L. couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Charlie ride in, and was surprised at the tale of how he had almost lost his life.  Charlie told James L. that it would be smart to keep these Lipan Apache as close friends and allies.  He also asked if he could take a couple head of cattle and a few other things as gifts which James agreed to.

  About four weeks later, Charlie rode out toward the Apache mountains, with a pack horse, and driving two fine, fat cows.  He had bought several pots for cooking, some sugar, coffee, salt, candy, several blankets, and a beautiful, bright colored blouse and skirt as a special gift for Tai Shay.  Costilietos was glad to see him, and from what Charlie could make out in their language, he was being called “the quiet warrior, Grey Coat”.

    Charlie’s heart melted when he saw Tai Shay come out to greet him.  She was truly a beautiful young woman, of perhaps seventeen, with long, black hair and totally dark eyes, and a wonderful smile.  Her hands were soft and warm, as she took his hands, and led him into her father’s lodge, to sit, and ask how he was feeling.  After a short talk with Costilietos, they walked around the village, giving pots, and blankets to every lodge, and the children were especially happy to get candy.  Charlie had wrapped Tai Shay’s gift up in a bundle, and her face brightened when she un-wrapped her special gift.  She could tell by the way Charlie looked at her, that he considered her as a very special person, and possibly one he might ask to court if he had known the apache ways.  Charlie spent that day and night there in Costilietos lodge, and before riding out that next morning, he spoke to Costilietos.  He wanted to know if it was possible to court Tai Shay, what is the custom.?   The chief said that she was very special to him, and that where there had been many who had tried to bring horses & gifts to persuade him , he had not allowed it, kind of knowing that some day, a special one would come along, and Tai Shay had told her father that she had special feelings for the quiet warrior, Grey Coat.

   Charlie turned to Tai Shay, and gave her the solid silver concho that she had put on his wound, but she gave it back to him, holding his hand with the concho to her heart, to show him that she considered him very special to her.  The chief told Charlie to come often, and he would allow a courtship .

  As Charlie rode out that morning he felt warm all over.  He had never been in love before, but if his heart told him right, this was certainly what love must be and he felt like he floated back to the ranch.

   When Charlie got back to the ranch, they were in the process of the spring round-up, so there was going to be several weeks of very hard work, with branding of new born calves, and the cattle being made ready for a drive to market.  James L. and Charlie were in Fort Stockton to get supplies for the cattle drive, when news was heard that a Colonel Mackenzie was heading south of the border into Mexico with 400 soldiers to destroy a Lipan village there.  Mackenzie had made several raids on Comanche & Kiowa villages this past year, and now it seemed he would make war against Charlie’s friends too. This enraged Charlie.

 He immediately went to see this Col Mackenzie, and told him that it was a terrible mistake to make war on the Lipan Apache, since they had been allies of the Texans during the Mexican war.  Mackenzie was a arrogant hot head, thinking only of  killing Indians in any war where he might earn a reputation  and better his career.

 Charlie warned Mackenzie that he valued the Lipan as friends, and that if any harm came to any that he knew, that he would personally kill him.  Many hot words followed, but Charlie was unable to persuade Col. Mackenzie from his search for glory.

  James L. hired several drovers to help drive the herd to market, and arranged to leave Charlie, and four others to watch the ranch while he was gone.

  It was just about three hours ride from the ranch to Costilietos village, and even that seemed long to a man in love.  Over the next three months Charlie spent every available time that he could in courting Tai Shay, finally bringing ten very fine horses to her father and asking to marry her.  Costilietos said “these are the finest horses I have ever seen, and yes, you may marry Tai Shay”.   The village had heard about the dangerous Mackenzie, and what Charlie had said to him.  They all respected the Grey Coat, and knew that he was a man of his word.  Tai Shay had also told everyone of what her Grand Father had said about how the Great Spirit had led Grey Coat to that exact cave during that storm, so everyone knew that he was a special chosen one.

   The ceremony was joyous, with the women & children singing apache folk songs of happy times, and there was the sound of flute music.  Costilietos held Tai Shay and Grey Coats hands as he blessed them, and ask the great spirit to grant them safety and children to warm their love for many years.  Then he put Tai Shay’s hand into Charlie’s hand and said, “take your wife to your new lodge which she has built”.

  As Charlie held Tai Shay for the first time as his wife, and the love between them became a bond of passion and commitment, he had never been happier, and the scars of that old war melted away from his heart as she loved him with all of her being.

  The love making lasted for two days, with some wondering if they would ever come out of the courting lodge but on the evening of the second day, they   together, hand in hand, exited to door to look at the setting sun, and to find something to eat.

  Since Charlie had not as yet made a place of his own, and by apache custom, the woman built the lodge, and they both lived there, he still made frequent trips back to the ranch until James L. returned from the trail drive with the news that the cattle had brought an excellent price, and Charlie was to share in their profit.  He told James about his marriage to Tai Shay and that he would be spending time with her until he might possibly build a ranch of his own south of the Wade ranch.    The time was August 1873, and word came that Mackenzie had made the raid into Mexico as he had said.

   When Charlie rode into the village, the Lipan knew about Mackenzie’s raid and everyone was worried as to what he intended toward them here in these mountains .

  Tai Shay held and kissed Charlie, and with great joy, she told him that she was the happiest she had ever been, and that she was with his  child. 

  There is no greater joy  then this news, and Charlie felt that the earth and heavens greatest gift was given to him .  He stayed with her for several days, but had to leave to do duty at the ranch.  He asked James L. if he would ride with him south about twenty miles to an area that he could select to settle.  They rode out that next day, and after looking around for the next few days, both agreed that it would make a suitable ranch location, and that James would help Charlie to build a home there.

  From Charlie’s greatest happiness, tragedy struck.  While Charlie and James were gone, Mackenzie made another raid into the Apache mountains, and destroyed the village of Costilietos and Tai Shay.  When Charlie returned to the village, it was burned and completely destroyed, with twenty dead bodies there, but he couldn’t find Tai Shay or her father.  With rage and grief racking his poor body, and the uncertainty of what had happened to his wife Tai Shay, Charlie spent the next two days burying the dead.

  Then he set out to find her, again, an almost impossible task.  Can anyone imagine thousands of square miles of mountain area, and the endless search to find one or two people in this area.   And that is what he had done, endless searching, until he was almost dead himself, worn into an almost insanity, with countless tears.  He had almost driven himself mad in wondering what he could have done to stop Mackenzie from this terrible act.   He had to return to the ranch many times to get a fresh mount, and get food & supplies.  James L. told Charlie that he had put his share of the cattle profits in the bank at Fort Stockton, in Charlie’s name, so that at any time, he might need it, the cash was there.  He also promised his friendship and help, and wished him luck in finding Tai Shay.

   But he had stayed at the search for almost  two years in hopes of finding her.  But there was no trace, no one knew if anyone had survived that raid. 

   When Charlie tried to find Mackenzie, he learned that the Col. had gone north toward Palo Duro Canyon, and attacked the Comanche there.  He also learned that Mackenzie had killed 1100 horses of the Comanche, and Charlie being one who loved these animals, it was just another reason to hate him.   As Charlie pushed north toward Palo Duro, he joined a trail herd being driven to market,  but by this time, Mackenzie was far from there, and Charlie went on to Abilene, and on to Pine Ridge.

   The short time he had been at Pine Ridge, there had been no healing of his heart wound, so now he was headed south to find out for sure, if she might still be alive somewhere.

    The horse he rode was, as usual, a far superior mount, which he was accustomed to.  He rode into Ft. Supply, Oklahoma to get some much needed food & supplies, bacon, coffee, and feed for his mount.  >From there he rode south to cross the Canadian River and on toward Amarillo , staying west of Palo Duro, but this was open plains, that you could see or be seen for miles.  He knew that crossing this open country was a dangerous move, but necessary to save time.   Although there were not many Comanche who had survived Mackenzie’s fight at Palo Duro,  Charlie saw a small war party at a distance, and they gave chase, hoping to avenge and count coup on this white man.

    Charlie knew that their horses were no match for his, so he just kept about a quarter of a mile ahead of them, and let his mount do the easy running while they whipped their mounts to catch him, and they all wore out after several miles and dropped off.

    He kept heading straight south, looking for any small settlement where he might find any news of isolated bands of apache.  He crossed another river, traveling now on a well traveled road, but had not even seen a rider since the Indians chase.

   One day later he met up with a small herd being driven toward Amarillo.  The drovers told him that they had heard of very small bands of apache that had been driven west by the raiding Army, and that some of these bands had joined the Mescaleros in the mountains of New Mexico   There was an area just north of the Apache mountains in New Mexico that Charlie had not searched so as he headed south, he looked for a trail that might head west.  Two days later he came upon a well marked trail that ran east toward Lamesa, Texas and west toward Hobbs, New Mexico.  He knew that this would lead toward Carlsbad and the mountain range just southeast of there.

   As Charlie rode toward his destination, he prayed silently within himself, “Father in Heaven, as I have walked this life, trying to always give far more then I have received, and deceiving no one, but always willing to share of my gifts from you, Please open a rode ahead of me to help me find this one that I love, that my life can reflect thy goodness and mercy forever.”

 As his supplies were nearly exhausted, luck was with him, for ahead he saw a small town near the state line.  There was a general store there, and he bought some jerky, beans, coffee, bacon, and feed for the horse.  He took the saddle off his mount, and rubbed down this very fine animal who had saved his life, to give him a well earned rest for the day, then he leaned against the livery building in the shade to rest himself.

    A young boy of twelve was sweeping off the board porch of the general store, and he asked Charlie how far he had ridden and where he was headed.  Charlie told him that he had come from far north of Oklahoma, and was headed into the mountain area southeast of Carlsbad and he asked the boy if he knew of any apache in that area.

   The boy said that his father had heard a rumor about an old apache woman and a young boy of twelve or so who had came into a trading post just east of Carlsbad about two years ago, and bought some supplies & blankets using Mexican silver to pay for it.  They went out of the post heading southeast, but disappeared just like always.  No one knows for sure if the story is true or not.

   Early the next morning, Charlie was heading out to see if anything could be found, just like those searched he had done before.  Heading southwest off the main trail, as if he were being pulled in that direction by some unknown force, he rode searching for any sign.

   He remembered something that his father had taught him about tracking.   Look for something that is supposed to be there but isn’t, and also look for something that is there, but is not supposed to be.   He also remembered that the apache were almost like ghost, being expert at the art of camouflage, using dirt, rocks, twigs to blend into the landscape as if the were not there.   He had watched one young warrior hide so well, that the man had killed a deer with a knife.

   Charlie used every one of his senses as keen as any animal.  He listened  for even the slightest sound of man, and also used his sense of smell.  He had seen some movement far out at a distance, but it did not appear again.  He kept riding, but very slowly now, observing everything that he could to find even the slightest sign left by man.   He also had a keen notion that he was being watched. 

   His sense of smell is what tipped him off that there was a village very near, because he smelled rabbit stew meat cooking.

   He was in a elevation of several thousand feet above sea level, but not in very high mountains.   There was a slight breeze coming directly from the west, so he headed into the wind, following the smell and the farther he went, the stronger the smell.

   He suddenly saw two apache warriors with Springfield rifles, half hidden among the rocks.  He knew that if they had not wanted him to see them,  they would have never been seen, but for some reason they didn’t approach him, nor shoot, but let him pass.

   In less then a mile, he entered a small village, where there were several other armed warriors but again, they let him pass.   Inside the main lodges of the village, stood two older men, and they motioned for him to dismount and talk in sign language.

    They said that their scouts had been watching him for days, and they knew who he was.  He was the grey coat that didn’t like Mackenzie.  Everyone had heard of him.  He was asked to enter their lodge, and take food with them.  He was seated at the place of honor.

    Charlie asked them if they knew of the Mackenzie raid of the village in the Apache mountains two years before, and they said that they knew of the killings .  He asked them if there had been any survivors, and they said yes, there were some that had fled on good horses and escaped.  Some had joined the Mescaleros and others had fled south.  They asked him to rest there the night, and give his horse rest, and in the morning, they would ride out with him to point toward a possible camp higher in the mountains.

   Charlie didn’t sleep much that night.  He felt excitement by any possibility that he could find his wife Tai Shay.  Could he be lucky enough to find her after all these years.  In his memory, he could still see her beautiful face, and he even imagined the smell of her hair.  He thanked God that time does heal all wounds, and that the path had truly been opened.

   Early in the morning when he came out of the lodge, a young warrior of sixteen was there holding the bridle of his horse.  He had also filled Charlie’s canteen, and saddled the mount.  The older men had asked this warrior to take Charlie into the mountains where the encampment was located, so they mounted and headed out toward the south.

   There was a slightly used trail that worked its way down one slope, around small canyon sides, up another elevation, and mile after mile deeper into the mountains,  They only stopped once to rest the mounts, camped that evening, then on the next morning very early, just as the sun came up.  The young warrior was quiet, well disciplined, and respectful, offering Charlie some parched corn and jerky as they rode. 

   The afternoon of the second day they came upon what remained of an old campsite, but it had probably been abandoned for a year or more and from its size, the village was built for perhaps twenty apache.

    The young warrior told Charlie that his name was Taza, and that these camps were moved frequently to keep the whites from finding them.  They found a suitable place to make camp just before sunset, and Taza made a fire.   He found a rattle snake, killed it, skinned it and cut it up to cook over the fire.  It had a good taste, kind of like white chicken meat, yet much stronger.  Taza could communicate very little in English, and along with what Charlie knew of apache and sign language, they did talk a small bit. 

     Taza asked Charlie about the silver Concho, and Charlie told him about how Tai Shay had saved his life.  Taza said that story was legend among the mountain apache, and that they all had great respect for the Grey Coat warrior.  He also said that the Great Spirit would lead them to the village tomorrow.

   They were up again before sun rise, saddled, and moving south.  For an untrained eye, you wouldn’t even know there was a trail, but to Charlie, he was seeing many signs now of man.  Far out in their distance, he caught the gleam of light on either a mirror, or some shiny metal.   They pressed on, around large rock formations, and somewhat flat area almost like a plateau between two peaks, working their way now on a southwest direction.

   It was near mid-afternoon when Charlie began to smell the cooking meat again, and knew that the village was near.  Again, he saw two half hidden warriors with Springfield Rifles, and again they let them pass on toward the village.

   As they came into the village, there were quite a few on lookers who signaled to Taza, and he signed back.  Near the center of the lodges stood Costilietos with a big smile on his face.  Charlie dismounted, and ran to his father-in-law, and took his great weathered hand, to shake it and say how good it was to find him, when Charlie heard a cry of joy off to his left.   Turning toward the sound, he saw Tai Shay, running toward him; she threw her arms around his neck, crying with tears of joy and kissed him again and again.  She was almost sobbing and her arms were around him tightly.  Charlie threw his arms around her, and with great joy, kissed her.  It seemed that moment would stand still, for his search had finally come to an end, and within himself, he promised to never let her go away.

   When she finally pulled herself down from his neck and looked into his eyes, she said, “Sha-lee, I knew that you would come for us, we have been waiting, I knew that you would search forever until you found us”.

    And as her eyes pulled down off of his face, she looked down toward Charlie’s right side.    He pulled her hands down in front of him, and turning toward his right side, there stood a boy of two years old, with his same blue eyes.

   Tai Shay said, “ this is our son, Cha-ta “.    “Cha-ta, my son, this is your father, Sha-lee, the great warrior, Grey Coat.”  Now we can be a complete family.

Copyright 2010  Jim Wade    alias “Nervous Charlie Beaumont” SASS 67555

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Last modified: 08/21/10