Woodcutter's Revival, page 4
“I began to notice myself laughing nervously when he told me to do something. I did not know how to direct his commands, which should have been requests. He began to take greater efforts to impress others. He spent so much money on things we did not need, but things that would make him look or feel good. He liked new horses, exotic guns, gold ornaments and trips. No matter how much we produced, he was never satisfied. He was also getting pretty heavy into gambling and drinking. I think he was under pressure financially, too. He was using his money to build his town in his own image.
“I was able to stand it because he was gone more than half of the time. I also had my trips to get the silver to the depot in Junction. He would go to Wellspring or back to Denver, gambling – betting on horses and playing the cards. He also liked to impress naive young men who thought if they came out to work for him they might experience the same fortunes.
“He finally sent for his wife, Patricia and their daughter Victoria. That was when he really went overboard. He built them a new house and included a lot of things that were not necessary for the survival of their workers and their families. He wanted them anyway. Patricia was not demanding and did not require fancy things.
“I think he felt he needed to impress her. He built the church and went overboard, not so much out of reverence, but to gain her approval. There was no need for such a fancy cathedral way up here. He might have been attempting to buy his way into heaven. I always knew he did not really know her or other people. Most of all, he did not know himself.
“He wanted too much too fast. The longer I think about the ordeal, the more I realize he wanted the town to be a monument to himself, the town in the mountain wilderness he built with his own two hands.
“History was being written and he wanted to be part of it. The more powerful he became the more self-respect he attempted to demonstrate. It occurred to me, if a person truly has self-respect, he does not have to use all his energy to convince himself.
Stewart agreed, “That is true. I had never thought about it that way.”
“He was beginning to look at me with suspicion. I think he could perceive that I saw through his act. After he brought Patricia, he stayed around all the time. I decided to get some space between us, so I went and joined Teddy and the Roughriders. I’ll tell you more about that later.
“Before I left, we had an agreement. Since I had some equity in the smelter and built my own house, I would not lose any of the partnership. He tried to please Patricia, but love must have been blind. She either could not see his major flaws or refused to face the facts. She also kept out of the business, so she did not see how he treated people or managed the money. While I was gone, he lost Patricia to the flu that went around that winter. He sent Victoria back east to live with Patricia’s sister Whitney and go to finishing school.
“When I returned, it became unbearable to be around him. He had to decide while I was gone whether he wanted to continue being a prospector or find an investor and become a miner. We would have to upgrade my wood-fired smelter to coal. That would require capital and a connection to the railroad. Both had their advantages, but he had to decide whether to remain autonomous and pick at the earth or get an investor and harvest the rich ore. He found an investor in Wellspring.
“I think he did not like the fact that anybody else owned even a small portion of the town. He and his investor were more like-mined than he and I. He thought he could someday buy out his investor. He could also perceive that I was not as easily impressed by his power trip, and after the war, I was less dependent than before.
“We had a shipment that needed to go to Junction. The railroad was not connected to town, so I was still taking shipments by wagon. On the way, I had a breakdown. My wagon wheel broke under the weight of the silver. While I was trying to fix it some highwaymen came by and pistol-whipped me. They took all the silver they could carry on their horses and the mules from the wagon.
“I lay there for three days, unconscious. A couple of hikers came through and found me. They said a deer was standing over me licking the wounds. It appeared that maggots had begun eating the infection on my scalp. The deer then licked the maggots off.
Stewart said, “Wow! You have been saved on the trail twice. The first time men put you there and nature saved you. This time, nature put you there and a man found you.”
“That’s true. I hid the remaining silver in the woods and tried to cover the broken wagon. Since I was closer to Junction, I walked in. When I got there, I wired my brother to get some money to pay my doctor bills, find a wagon and some mules, and get some supplies to return. His response was, ‘That is not my problem. You were responsible for the silver.’
“I don’t know if he thought I cheated him and kept his share of the money or if he was simply looking for a way to legally eliminate me as a partner. I had to find work in Junction as a contractor to get enough money to eat and obtain lodging. My expenses and doctor bills took everything I made for about three months.
Stewart sat listening, totally absorbed in the story. As Michael took a moment to rest and organize his thoughts, Stewart asked, “You don’t think he sent the highwaymen to sabotage you, do you?”
“I have thought that myself, but I still choose to believe he didn’t.”
“Did you get back to the town? What town was it?”
“The town was Discovery. I had written several times to reason with him, so he had my address. He even sent me a bill for his sixty percent of the silver shipment. I reasoned that if we suffered a loss, there were no profits and we were supposed to both take the loss. He sent one other letter, stating, ‘Your services are no longer needed.’
“Finally, I was able to get enough supplies for my return trip and pay the doctor’s bills. I was able to buy Clementine. I just wanted to get back and claim what was mine, so I gave up on replacing the wagon and getting a second mule. I wanted to talk to him when I returned. I was still willing to forgive him and work with him if he could explain his attitude.
“When I returned, he had repossessed my house and told people I had abandoned him with a shipment of silver. He was conveniently out of town and would return in a few days. The cheating, I could forgive. The lying to me and about me, I could forgive. The fact that he would not reason with me was more than I could bear. I felt my nostrils flare. My fists clinched. I could think of nothing else. I seemed obsessed with what I was about to do.
“I remember waiting. Revenge was the only thing that kept me alive. I lived to kill him. It was dark. I was in the office. I heard his footsteps and hid behind the door. I felt the handle of the pick and lifted it. He saw me. I swung and scored only a glancing below. Then, sweet vengeance, he was alive and able to beg. I now had the final say. I lifted the pick and sent it and him home for good.
“Why did you say earlier you were never concerned about being found out? Didn’t anybody see you when you were in town? Couldn’t somebody piece the clues together? Were there more people who had as much reason to kill him as you did?”
Michael smiled, “Slow down, boy. You ought to be a detective. I could not be detected because the willful, premeditated murder took place only in my mind. In the two days I waited for him, I felt so disgraced by the rumors, I could not explain the real story to anybody. I figured I could always come back and actually do what I had envisioned.
“Then it struck me. It is easier to commit the act and deal with it than to rationalize it. I remembered my readings: ‘But I say unto you everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court.’
“I bought some supplies with the money I had been saving. Clementine and I lit out. The only direction I had not traveled from Discovery was up into the mountains, so that is where I headed. After two days walk, I found this cabin. There was a note on the door which said, ‘Gone to Wellspring. I hope to return in the spring. If you move in, please take care of it. If I get back, I will want it back. God bless all who enter with a pure heart.’
“I came in but I knew my heart was not pure. At first I was shocked I could have thought of such an act, even committed it in my mind. I then began to thank God for not allowing me to carry it out. It took some time, but I finally was able to forgive Edward. I hadn’t even thought about the situation for several years. At least now, when I remember it – because you brought it up – I feel no animosity toward him.
“I have even come to realize that all things happen for a purpose – even the things which seem evil. God can use it to shape and mold the victim. Whenever I get too proud of my piety, God can remind me of the potential evil in my mind. I only hope I get the chance, while I am alive to tell Edward I forgive him.
Stewart asked, “Have you had a chance to relate this story to anybody else?”
“Nobody has stayed this long before. Besides, whenever any other people have come through we always stayed busy. I guess I am on a self-imposed hiatus.”
“What about the missing silver? Did you ever go after it?”
Michael answered, “Let’s say, it is accounted for.”
Stewart was attempting to comprehend the magnitude of this entire interlude. He could not shake the thought that the situation had been arranged by hands greater than his own.
“Michael, I feel you have taught me so much. I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
“Hold on a minute! I have not taught you anything. I don’t believe any man truly teaches us. It seems more like others help us confirm or rethink our own values. Now those values are probably planted by our parents and other significant people along the way. But they have to grow in fertile soil. Besides, I am the one who is beholden to you.”
Stewart wondered if Michael was really in a self-imposed exile or if he just liked life better up here. He asked, “After all you have been through, how do you remain so peaceful and happy?”
“It seems we do not grow as people unless we have gone through some adversity. About peace, I am not torn by the doubt of whether I should be some other place or doing something else. Happiness to most people is either the hope they hold for the future or pleasant memories of the past. True happiness can only come from living in the present.”
Stewart reluctantly had to excuse himself to begin supper. He had plenty to think about while he was preparing the meal. Somehow, he knew these thoughts would be like a star on which he would guide the course of his future. He would never be able to reach out and touch the star, but most of the time, he would be able to look up and see if he was going in the right direction toward it.
Chapter Five
RAYMOND IN
DISCOVERY
Back in Discovery, Raymond had been working in the mines for almost three weeks. Although he did not like the work, every time he entered the mine shaft he felt less assured that he would ever leave Discovery. Even though he had sincerely planned to travel on to Wellspring he could not dismiss the haunting feeling that these mountains would be his home.
The miners worked five days for approximately ten hours a day, while working only six hours on Saturday. They rarely thought of their lack of free time. There was not much to do in Discovery. If there was anything to do, there was no money to do it.
All their clothes and supplies were purchased at the general store owned by Mr. Thomas. The people did not use real money. They used what was called the “scrip” system. Mr. Thomas had minted tokens of silver that were of about eighty percent of the volume of silver compared to the actual government coins that were in circulation at the time. That way, there were fewer temptations to take the silver tokens to Wellspring to convert into actual purchasing power.
Thomas owned all the housing in town. People paid rent with the silver tokens. This arrangement did not seem bad because, in town the tokens had enough purchasing power to live comfortably – just comfortably enough to not have time or energy to think about moving on. There was no comforting for the sickness – the malady from breathing the damp air filled with dust.
Oh, mountain air was clean and dry, but the air inside the cool caverns created humidity. The humidity was also a byproduct of men breathing and sweating in an enclosed area. The air was also filled with dust – the particles that were kicked up from blasting, digging and moving granite and quartz laden with metallic mineral deposits. The dust was a cloud that choked breathing at the worst times and stuck to a sweaty body at the best times.
There was also the sickness of the soul that hung over the miner. When he was not in the mine, he still could not get the dread out of his mind – the dread of going back into the living grave and not knowing if the narrow tunnel would become an actual grave.
As Raymond worked, he wondered when he would be able to catch a glimpse of Victoria again. He had not been around women much in his young life, except for his mother and his sister. Neither of Stewart’s sisters, Margaret nor Kathryn, was close enough in age for there to be mutual interest. This was the first time he felt this strange aching feeling. While feeling the pain, he wondered why the thought of her also brought so much exhilaration, as he always caught himself smiling when day dreaming about her.
Most of the miners were family men. During the early prospecting days, almost all the miners were single men, hoping to send money back to their families so they could make their way out west to join them. As the mines became more settled in the process of recovering and smelting silver, the town became a little more family oriented and stable.
Thomas had an economic restriction on the ability to leave as the railroad would not take the silver tokens at face value. Unless silver prices were down, the miners had to earn about twenty percent more to convert the tokens into actual silver value.
Beside the reduced value of the silver tokens, the overall economy of Discovery ensured the miners’ need to stay and work. Housing was provided and deducted from wages. After purchasing food and fuel, and they were able to save back a few tokens, there would be a need to purchase more coal or wood for the winter, or a new pair of shoes, work jacket or overalls. Thomas even hired some of the older boys to cut wood to sell to miners, as they had no time or energy to cut their own wood.
There was rumor of one enterprise created to keep the men occupied and interested in “civic affairs” when the gambling and liquor would not dull the pain or provide sufficient distraction. This type of enterprise was neither sanctioned nor prohibited by Mr. Thomas or the local church. It temporarily provided for companionship and comfort for the minors. Although everybody worked and did what they could, the only person who could accumulate wealth was Edward Thomas.
There was still the need to hire drifters who would work long enough to save money for train fair. Most of the people passing through were in search of something greater than spending their lives on the side of a mountain and working for somebody else. They were headed for Wellspring, which was just beyond the mountain range and down the river valley which flowed from north to south. Those who could afford the fare caught the train down. The spur line had been connected from Junction to end at Discovery. Those who could not afford train fare endured the walk down.
Raymond was beginning to wrestle with a decision to board at the inn, or move to the boarding house. He could also opt to rent a small house from Mr. Thomas. He did not like the idea of sharing a room with strangers, which might be included in the reduced price at the boarding house. He could still eat two of his meals each day at the inn, included in the price of his board, if he opted for the inn’s monthly rate.
Renting would also mean paying extra for his third meal each day, skipping a meal, or doing some cooking on weekends, as he packed his lunch every day he worked. He was not quite convinced he was ready for that. There was also Daryl to consider in the mix, but he was not sure how long he could count on Daryl staying in town. Why had he been so easily swayed from his earlier determination to stay in Discovery for only a short time?
He decided he would ask Daryl if he wanted to share a room and split the costs at the inn. He found himself wondering how he had gotten so close to Daryl in such a short time. It seemed they had so many similarities such as background, age, temperaments and interests. He would ask him at supper.
After his shift ended for the day, Raymond returned to his room and washed his face and hands as best he could. Even after washing in the basin there was a residue of a mixture of granite and quartz dust, and silver ore that clung around his nostrils and gave his face a blackened appearance. The towel he used, although white, had black streaks and smears.
He was hungry tonight, more so than usual. The physical labor was beginning to catch up with him. The energy of his youth enabled him to find a reserve to recover during the first few weekends, and he was in good condition from farm work and the walk up. Any stored energy he was able to find was depleted with five and one-half long days of work with insufficient intervals of rest. His joints ached, too. He wished it were Saturday night so a hot bath would help soothe the pain and he would have an additional day of rest to partially restore his energy level.
As he found a table in the dining room he glanced, with hopeful expectation over to the alcove. Daryl was already seated and said, “Don’t worry. I saved the best seat in the house for you.”
Raymond, again, subconsciously glanced over to the alcove. Most evenings Victoria and Mr. Thomas dined earlier than the end of the shift. Tonight, though, there she sat. He gave his best effort to appear as if he did not notice her. He would sneak sly glances in her direction that would not be noticed as glances if she were not looking. He found that as he sat there, the glances became more frequent and longer in duration.
Either way, he felt himself blushing and anyone in the room would be able to perceive the reason. At one point he was able to, very nonchalantly, glance out of the corner of his eye. It was difficult to determine through his peripheral vision, but from Mr. Thomas’ posture, he was sure they were discussing him. He wished he could have been invisible so he could go near and eavesdrop on their conversation.
