Jake Read online

  JAKE

  C.J. PETIT

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  EPILOGUE

  Copyright © 2021 by C.J. Petit

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2021

  PROLOGUE

  July 19, 1881

  4 Miles North of Fort Buford

  Dakota Territory

  Private Jake Elliott was riding in the middle of the right column as they escorted Chief Sitting Bull to the fort. When they arrived, he would surrender himself and his 168 followers, including his entire family. His company had been sent by Major Brotherton to meet the Sioux when they received word that he was leaving Canada to surrender.

  Jake walked his chocolate brown gelding alongside the dispirited warriors. He never had to engage any of the Plains tribes since he enlisted and as he looked at the remnants of Sitting Bull’s once powerful fighting force, he felt saddened. He also had an underlying sense of shame. He didn’t know why, but it was there.

  He’d grown up in Montana Territory about five hundred miles west of Fort Buford on his father’s ranch. One of the first ranch hands his father hired had been a trapper named Injun Joe Tamarind. He had to give up his way of life as the demand and the supply of beaver pelts dwindled. Jake learned his tracking skills and how to speak the Lakota and other tribes’ languages from Joe. It was why the major had selected his company to escort Sitting Bull to the fort.

  Jake understood that it was the way of the world and that the Plains Indians had been defeated by a more numerous and more powerful tribe with much better weapons. But that didn’t make him feel any better.

  _____

  Two hours later, after a ceremony in the command building where Sitting Bull and his chiefs formalized the surrender, the fort settled back into routine. Jake hadn’t been one of the few soldiers to attend the event, so he’d just taken the time to care for his horse before he returned to the barracks.

  He had just folded his heavy blouse and was laying it in his foot locker when Corporal Templeton strode into the barracks and marched towards him. The corporal had been promoted just six months ago and thoroughly enjoyed his new authority. He hadn’t been well liked when he was a private, either. The other troopers saw him as little more than an apple polisher trying to earn that next stripe.

  Jake hadn’t even paid attention to the newly christened NCO as he hadn’t done anything wrong and expected him to pass behind him. But when he stopped just three feet away, Jake knew that he was the about to become the focus of the corporal’s unwelcome attention.

  “Elliott, the major wants to see you in his office. Now!”

  Jake was sure that Corporal Templeton expected him to pop to attention and say, “Yes, sir!” but wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction.

  He replied, “Alright,” then unfolded his blouse and slid his left arm through the sleeve.

  The corporal glared at him before doing a sloppy about face and marching out of the barracks.

  Jake snickered as he buttoned his blouse then picked up his hat and slowly walked to the open door. As he exited the barracks and pulled on his blue cavalry topper, he wondered why the major would want to see him. He suspected that he was going to be asked to go along with the troopers who would escort Sitting Bull and his band to the reservation. He was the only soldier on the fort who could speak the Lakota language and had acted as the translator when his company had met the chief. It turned out that he hadn’t been needed as the chief could speak English better than some of his fellow cavalrymen.

  He took a winding path to the command building across the busy parade grounds.

  Once he entered, he removed his hat and approached the orderly’s desk.

  “Corporal Templeton said the major wanted to see me, Teddy.”

  Private Ted Wilkerson nodded as he said, “Go on in, Jake.”

  Jake glanced at Teddy’s face. He undoubtably knew why the major had summoned him and whatever it was seemed to bother his orderly.

  Jake approached the commanding officer’s open door and tapped on the door jamb. Jake was sure that Major Brotherton had heard him talking to Teddy, but the major continued reading a paper lying on his desk until he heard Jake’s light rapping.

  Major Brotherton said, “Come in and close the door behind you, Jake.”

  Jake was startled that he had used his Christian name which also added to his anxiety. He entered, closed the door then stepped before the desk, came to attention and saluted.

  Major Brotherton returned his salute, then said, “Have a seat, Jake.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Jake lowered himself to one of the two chairs before the desk and sat rigidly upright with his hat on his lap as he waited to hear the reason for the major’s unexpected summons.

  Major Brotherton glanced at the paper before him before he looked at Jake and said, “Jake, you’re one of the best soldiers in my command. In another two years, you would probably earn your next stripe. Your record is exemplary and your knowledge of the Sioux and your skills as a tracker made you even more valuable.”

  The praise might have made him proud if he didn’t suspect that it was just the sugar before the bitter medicine. He wasn’t wrong.

  “That being said, you’ll be leaving us tomorrow. Your mustering out paperwork is with the paymaster.”

  Jake was stunned and interrupted the major when he exclaimed, “But my enlistment isn’t up for another three months!”

  “I’m aware of that and I’m also sure that you intended to reenlist. But while you were escorting Chief Sitting Bull’s party, I received a telegram from Choteau County Sheriff Zendt. I assume you know him.”

  Jake felt sick as he nodded and replied, “Yes, sir.”

  When the major seemed reluctant to reveal the telegram’s contents, Jake was even more alarmed. Major Brotherton had seen men die in horrible numbers yet seemed troubled by what he was about to tell him.

  “The reason that you’re being mustered out is that you need to return to your family ranch. I’m sorry to tell you that your mother died on the second of July.”

  Jake closed his eyes and fought to avoid shedding tears in front of his commanding officer. He loved his mother dearly and couldn’t understand why she had been so abruptly taken from him. She had always seemed almost invulnerable to the many diseases that claimed others.

  Jake recovered enough to wonder why her death would make the army prematurely end his enlistment, so he opened his eyes and quietly asked, “Did the sheriff say how she died, sir?”

  The major slowly replied, “She was murdered, Jake.”

  Jake was so stunned that he ignored his military training as he burst to his feet and shouted, “She was murdered?”

  Before the major could answer, Jake said, “I’m sorry, sir,” then returned to his seat.

  “Your reaction was understandable, Jake.”

  Jake then asked, “But why do I have to leave the army? My father can handle everything. He always has.”

  Major Brotherton sighed then said, “Because your father is no longer on the ranch. He was seen riding away after she had been killed and hasn’t been found since. It was your father who
murdered your mother.”

  The revelation of his mother’s death was bad enough but hearing that his father was the one to commit the heinous act shook Jake to his core. He sat in stunned silence trying to understand how that could have happened.

  His commander didn’t say another word but just sat watching Jake. Having to deliver the horrendous news was bad enough, but he couldn’t imagine how horrible it would have been to receive it.

  After he’d recovered from the shocking revelation, Jake asked, “Sir, why did it take so long for them to send the telegram?”

  “The sheriff didn’t seem to know where you were. He sent it to the War Department where it was forwarded to a few other departments before it was retransmitted to us.”

  Jake nodded in acceptance as the major said, “I’m really sorry for your loss and its horrible implications. It’s a long way to Fort Benton. How do you plan to get there? If you want to ride, you can take your horse. We have more horses than men right now.”

  Jake shook his head as he answered, “No, sir. I’ll just take the next riverboat. I’ll get there sooner. We have plenty of horses on the ranch.”

  Major Brotherton didn’t ask what Jake planned to do when he reached home. He expected that he’d just take over the operation of the family’s large ranch.

  Jake needed to think and knew that he wouldn’t be able to make any kind of decision while sitting before his commanding officer.

  He asked, “Is that all, sir?”

  The major slid the rerouted telegram across his desk then replied, “Go see Sgt. Hammersmith in the payroll office. He’ll have you fill out the mustering out paperwork. Tell him you’re taking a steamboat and he’ll give you a voucher. If you need any help before you leave, just tell Private Wilkerson and he’ll take care of it.”

  Jake took the telegram, folded it, then slowly rose.

  He said, “Thank you, sir,” then saluted, did a sharp about face and marched out of Major Brotherton’s office.

  He didn’t glance at Teddy as he passed and almost forgot to pull his hat back on as he left the building. Once outside, he stepped to the side of the door and read the telegram. He had hoped that it might provide more details, but it didn’t. He slipped it into his pocket then turned to the right to walk to the paymaster office. He knew that Sergeant Hammersmith was expecting him and wondered how many others knew of the telegram before he did. He expected that outside of his company, the entire population of the fort heard the rumor.

  Jake entered the office, and just as he removed his hat, a solemn Sgt. Alfred Hammersmith waved him into his smaller back office. He followed the sergeant and after he entered, Sgt. Hammersmith closed the door.

  “Have a seat, Jake.”

  Jake nodded and sat down while the payroll NCO walked around his desk and took his seat. Jake was able to read the upside-down papers on his desk and wasn’t surprised that they were his mustering out forms.

  His discharge paperwork was completed in just ten minutes and his release from his enlistment would be effective tomorrow. He collected his mustering out pay of $62.40 and his voucher to pay for his passage back to Fort Benton before Sgt. Hammersmith slid all of the papers into a thick brown envelope and handed it to him.

  _____

  After he’d returned to the barracks to prepare for his departure, other soldiers in his company approached him in waves to offer their sympathy. Whether it was heartfelt or just a courtesy didn’t matter to him. When they returned to their own bunks, he set his duffle on the floor before he laid atop his well-made bed and stared at the beams above his head.

  He’d read the telegram three more times hoping that some of the letters might have been misinterpreted by the telegrapher. But as much as he might wish that something had been garbled in transmission, he knew in his heart that all of it was accurate.

  He was still shaken by the news but felt a measure of guilt as well. He hadn’t written to his mother in almost four months. He’d received four letters from her during that time and hadn’t bothered to reply. He thought that she would always be there. Now he’d never receive another letter from his precious mother. Nor would never hear her strong, yet still gentle voice or her soothing, soft laugh.

  While he and his father rarely saw eye-to-eye on almost anything, Jake still found it impossible to believe that his father was capable of such an act. His father was a hard and unforgiving man, but Jake couldn’t imagine him as a murderer. Those traits were what made him persevere and turn his fledgling Elk Ranch into the largest and most productive spread in the northeastern quarter of Montana Territory. Yet those same qualities which made him into a powerful ranch owner didn’t translate well as a father.

  Jake was his firstborn and Chester James Elliott was determined, almost before he was weaned, that Jake needed to be as hard as the man who had sired him. His younger brothers might have deflected some of his father’s attention, but neither lived to see his first birthday. His second brother’s birth had almost taken his mother’s life. She had survived but had never conceived again. Jake was only three when Mack died but was five when Sam was born and died that same day. He didn’t understand what was happening at the time, but vividly remembered bawling like a baby when he thought he might lose his mother.

  When his father saw his flood of tears, he was hardly sympathetic. Jake still recalled his seeing his father’s fierce eyes and hearing his growling voice telling the five-year-old that he needed to behave like a man.

  Jake hadn’t challenged his father in his early years and had been determined to make his father proud. He learned everything he could about ranching and the other skills he’d need to survive in the dangerous environment. But it seemed that no matter how well he did, it was never good enough for Chet Elliott.

  Jake’s efforts been praised by all of the other ranch hands, as well as the other employees on the spread, but he never received a smile or even a nod of appreciation from his father.

  The foreman, Dave Forrest, was just a couple of years younger than his father. He’d been hired when Jake was thirteen and had quickly filled a void created by his father’s stern treatment. Dave made him laugh and constantly complimented him on his performance.

  But it was his mother who was the focus of his life. She was smart, compassionate, and had a great sense of humor. She told him stories and made him believe that he could do anything he wanted in life. His father’s goal of turning Jake into a tough, cold man was more than offset by Rose Elliott’s gentle guidance. She whispered that he wouldn’t have to be a rancher just to please his father.

  While he didn’t attend school past the third grade, his mother was his teacher before he even entered his first year. Then once he began spending his days with the herds, her invaluable hours of expanding his world of knowledge continued each evening.

  Jake had been surprised that his father hadn’t ordered her to stop his lessons. It was only when he was around ten that he realized how much reading, writing and arithmetic was necessary to run the ranch. But his mother’s instruction included much, much more. He doubted if college professors knew as much as his mother.

  It was when he was almost thirteen that Jake and his father began to seriously butt heads. Jake had visited a nearby Sioux village to deliver a couple of steers as insurance against raids. He stayed too long after he met a pretty Lakota maiden. As he already spoke their language, he was able to do more than just smile at her.

  When he returned four hours late, his father had accused him of laziness and denied him supper.

  When he’d snapped back at his father, essentially telling him that he’d eat what and when he damned well pleased, he expected his father to strike him with his gloved fist. But even then, his father hadn’t resorted to physical punishment. He used his terrifying face and dominating voice to try to cower Jake. But this time, Jake was determined not to show any fear and just glared back at his father. For just a fleeting moment, Jake thought he saw a measure of pride in his father’s gray eyes before
he turned and stalked away.

  Jake didn’t go to the chow house as he normally did but walked to the ranch house where he told his mother what had happened. He didn’t want her to suffer from any of his father’s deflected anger. As she fixed him his dinner, he said that he didn’t understand why he was suddenly so rebellious. She asked him why he had spent so long at the Indian village, and after he confessed the reason for the delay, she smiled. She explained that it was just part of becoming a man. That led into the boy-girl discussion which put him into an almost permanent scarlet state, even as he ate his steak and potatoes.

  After that first incident, the confrontations with his father became almost routine. But no matter how vehement they became; his father had never even swatted his behind.

  It was the last, and most explosive face-off that drove him to enlist just four days after his eighteenth birthday. Not surprisingly, it was caused by his interest in a girl. He’d met Kay Smith in Fort Benton when he’d gone to town in June of ’78 to buy a new Winchester ’76. Her father had just bought Aubrey Jenkins’ feed and grain and she was leaving the store after bringing her father’s lunch. Jake had almost run her down as he stepped quickly along the boardwalk. He stumbled awkwardly to a stop just a foot in front of her and apologized before he found her looking up at him and smiling.

  She had light, sandy brown hair with sparkling light blue eyes. Jake was smitten before he could even return her smile. He forgot about the Winchester after they entered into a pleasant conversation.

  After that first meeting, Jake managed to sneak off to Fort Benton as often as possible to see her again. He’d told his mother how he felt, and she was happy for him. For almost two years, he and Kay had arranged for secret, brief, but ever more passionate rendezvous.

  The budding romance ended when his father discovered his secret in mid-August of ’78 and ordered him to break it off. It wasn’t that he didn’t approve of Kay. It was because he had been friends with Aubrey Jenkins and believed that Kay’s father had cheated Aubrey when he bought the store. Jake’s arguments had no effect on his father’s decision to ban him from seeing her again. After his father stormed out of his bedroom, Jake decided to empty his bank account and ask her to elope.