Welton Novels

  

Cane Longbow

Range Detective

 

           Range Detectives

 There beginning was from the old time Stock Detective that was a person that was hired by the cattle man or stock buyers to check the brand on the cattle to ensure the rightful owner got paid for what was sold. At cattle round up, where cattle strayed, because of the Open Range Law, cattle men would appoint an honest rider that was agreed by all the brands represented in the gather of the herd at the branding. The branding would start in the spring and at times last all through the summer months into the fall, depending on the territory that had to be covered.

Most of the Range Detectives worked alone and when possible would get help from the rancher to catch the rustlers when he had located them in the act of stealing cattle. The Range Detective, at times took justice into his own hands and eliminated the problem him self.

A lot of time the Range Detective also was a bounty hunter to ascertain more to his income. Even thought some of the rustlers had bounties out for other crimes there were bounties paid by the cattle men for each rustler dead. Usually the Range Detective was paid a monthly salary but at times it was just the cattle men that paid per rustler that was brought to justice.

In the old west there were a lot of criminals that the bounty was Dead or Alive. But in today’s society the person is to be brought back alive. By common rights the Bounty Hunter and the Range Detective had the right to confiscate the horses and belongings of the man they brought in to the law. Whether Dead or Alive.

                                                     Bounty Hunters

 

Bounty hunters have existed since the days of the old west, right up to the present day. When a bounty was placed on someone that had committed a crime and had eluded the justice system. The same job, same rules, a fee to bring the person back for the law.

The bounty hunter is not a sworn officer or even deputized in law enforcement. They are citizens doing a job for the justice system for a fee.

  In Taylor v. Taintor (1873) the Supreme Court set broad parameters for bounty hunters. When bail is given "the principle is regarded as delivered to the custody of the bail bonds as a continuance of imprisonment"

 From the novel

 

 

Cane had been going through the garbage behind the buildings in town trying to find something to eat. Cane was hearing a lot of gunfire happening in the street out front of the General Store. A gangly twelve year old boy with no family had to fend for himself the best he could. Coming around the store, Cane could see several people standing in the street in front of the bank. He could also hear several people talking about and saying the bank had just been robbed.

Cane walked over, with his reddish-brown hair, swaying as he walked, and hanging in curls to his shoulders. He stopped near where the short fat weasel faced Banker and the tall gangly looking Sheriff, with his long arms across his chest, was standing. The Banker was saying, “I had almost a hundred thousand in the vault and they took all of it. I’ll give a five thousand dollars reward to get the money back.” The man was shouting and looking for someone to take him up on his offer but no one made a move toward their horses.

“Mister Banker you got that much money on ya now?” Cane asked in a serious voice.

“Sure I’ve still got that much. Now just go away kid this is grown up business.”

“Hand it to the Sheriff and I’ll go get your money if’n you’ll loan me a horse and a rifle.”

“You serious Kid or just making a brag?”

“Yes sir I’m serious.”

“I’ll give you the money when you get back with mine. Take that horse over at the tie rail for I see a rifle in the gun boot.” The Banker answered.

“The Sheriff holds the money or I don’t go because the last bank I saw robbed the man claimed he had fifty thousand in the bank. The outlaws ran into a U.S. Marshal three miles from town and they only had twenty thousand on them. So I don’t trust you bankers.” Cane said in reply.

“You heard the kid and I agree with him so now hand the money over to me Jackson or no one will go after the outlaws.” The Sheriff told the Banker and held out his hand. “It seems you ain’t going to get anyone else to hit the trail of the robbers.”

“Uh, uh, ah, No trust in this world anymore. Here’s the money.” The banker said as he pulled a thick leather wallet from his inside coat pocket and handed a sheaf of bills from his wallet to the Sheriff.

The Sheriff counted it, perceptively, and turning to the kid said, “It’s all here so hit the trail and be careful. You better watch out for those men might kill you for trailing them.”

Cole ran over to the horse, untying the reins he climbed up the saddle skirts into the saddle. Being only four feet and a little over tall made it hard to mount a horse any other way, which was as tall as this one. He had to keep kicking the horse in the ribs, flanks, with his bare feet, to get the jug headed horse to run, and Cane headed the horse down the street after the robbers.

“Sheriff Jones you think the kid is gona get my money back or he just wanted to steal a good horse?” Jackson the banker asked.

“Don’t know but I think he is serious and will be back some day if he doesn’t get himself killed first.” Jed Jones replied and turned going back over towards the saloon because he had a big thirst and wanted a beer.

 

As the horse was finally running at a good pace, Cane check the rifle out, which was in a saddle boot, and found it had a round in the chamber. When he had a chance he would unload the Winchester to find out how much ammunition was in the magazine. He had been showed about a Winchester such as this one by a cowboy last month when they shared a camp one night. The cowboy had shown him about the colt pistol on how to clean it and the rifle also. Cane remembered he would have got to shoot them but the cowboy only had three bullets for his pistol and two for the rifle.

Cane slowed down because he could see that there were no tracks in the road of horses heading east at a run. Stopping and looking carefully he could see a lot of tracks coming toward him but the only ones heading east were at least several days old and the animals were at a walk. Turning the horse around he back tracked until he could see where the horse tracks had left the road. Turning from the road Cane followed the tracks through the gullies and brush. He had to slow the horse down at times to a walk because it was such rough terrain. Some of the gullies were deep and the horse slid down the bank on one side and had to buck jump to get up on the other side of the gulley. At time there was timber and scrub Oak and the outlaws wove into them several times along trails. The outlaws weren’t just running they knew the country side because of the way they were traveling.

It was getting too dark to see the tracks anymore. The horse, Cane was riding, smelled water and was trying to go to it so Cane let him have his head, for they could always come back to the trail, until they came to a small creek. Sliding from the horse and both of them getting there fill of water. Cane moved under a large Oak tree, Cane pulled the saddle from the horse. He tied the horse on a rope that had been tied on the saddle to let the horse graze and roll some to get the sweat off him. After the horse had rolled good Cane tied him to a bush amongst the tall grass. He went back to the saddle and turned it wool side up and spread the horse blanket over a bush to dry the sweat.

Going through the saddle bags, Cane found some jerky and several biscuits that were almost hard as a rock. Tied in a small sack he found there was also a box of 30-30 shells for the Winchester rifle. Which reminded him to unload the weapon and finding it was fully loaded. Cane gnawed one of the biscuits and finally got the thing down with the help of some more creek water. Cane rolled over on the grass and went to sleep.

It was about midnight that the moon light woke Cane up. He set up and stretched. Then he drug the saddle over to the high side of a low place, in the ground, went and got the horse. Leading the horse over into the low place. Cane was able to swing the saddle up onto the horses back and cinch the girth up tight as he could. Climbing up into the saddle he started the horse along where the grass was bent down and he could occasionally see the imprint of a horse shoe. The moon being full and no clouds in the sky helped in tracking at night. It was chilly tonight and Cane put on his list of things he wanted was a good coat. Maybe he could get these outlaws and then he might be able to buy what he wanted instead of having to find it in peoples throw away trash.

At times it was good being raised at the Cheyenne Village and learn the ways of the people. Being half white and half Cheyenne was good only in the wilderness. His mother had been captured in a raid and taken as a wife to Ten Men Long Bow, Canes father. It had been a good life to Cane by learning his mother’s language and also his fathers. He had also learned to track and hunt while growing up and at ten summers old is when the living with the people ended. For then came the Blue Coats and killed almost all of the people. Cane had a light brown skin, as if he had a tan from being outside too much, and spoke good English, which the Blue Coats thought him to be a white captive.

At the Blue Coat Fort, after his leg healed up from being wounded during the battle, the Blue Coats had given Cane to a settler to take care of him. The man only wanted a slave, he was always beating Cane, not giving him enough to eat, and spouting from the bible calling him Cane. The settlers wife had been kind a nice for she had not beaten him but she had two other children that were girls that were smaller than Cane.

Then one day the settler and his wife went to town with the only horse. Cane had been told to weed the garden or he wouldn’t get anything to eat for three days. That was the last straw for as the settler went out of sight Cane went to the house. Cane took the bacon and ham hanging in the kitchen, putting them in a sack with the kitchen knife. He also took a blanket that he tied the ends with leather strings which had held the ham and he left heading west. He had never looked back and never regretted leaving the settler.

That had been a year ago and Cane had no regrets. He just needed a stake of money because he was tired of begging for food or having to steal it just to survive. All he had was the clothes on his back and the butcher knife that he had taken from the settler, which was a small knife now because of having to sharpen it so many times. He was determined to change that situation. This might get him killed or maybe some money too so he could live proper.