I looked across the trail, about 25 feet away and there she was, rested on her beautiful tan pony. She was smiling, wondering when I was going to catch up, so we could ride together over the ridge. We have been moving through the Black Hills most of the day. And so, we were near the Cheyenne River, at the south end of the Black Hills. Moving a little bit north and a little bit west towards the Wyoming border.
Watching the clouds dance over the horizon, Miss Tillie asked – Hollywood, are you enjoying the view on the Cheyenne River Valley?
Hollywood replied – Oh yes, as he was looking at her…
As they roamed, every once in a while, they could hear the cry of an eagle, telling Miss Tillie all about dinner, scurrying to safety. That eagle was deciding if she was going to bring dinner home to her kids or let that little creature move on for another day. Sometimes, the shadow of that eagle would get really, really close to dinner, but then that dinner would bolt to the left or bolt to the right and slip away from the eagle. We would watch and just smile; then the Eagle would move on. There is always another rabbit in the foothills.
Miss Tillie and I kept riding and just enjoying ourselves, talking about life, talking about things that had happened in her classroom, and talking about all manner of stuff around the ranch. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little bit of smoke. I did not remember a cabin out in this area. Maybe we had better go over and take a look and see what that’s smoke is all about. So, Miss Tillie and I nudged our horses towards the smoke. It took us a while to get there. We were a fair distance away from the smoke.
As we got closer, I wondered what we were going to encounter. I reached down to my side and made sure I had my 45 unstrapped. I felt my back to be sure I had ammunition in my belt from the last time. I glanced at the side of my horse and saw my 30-30 Winchester; I unstrapped the rifle. Quietly, I checked Miss Tillie’s horse and saw that she also was carrying her 30-30. I did not say much, but I felt comfortable — we were fine and in a good position to defend ourselves if needed.
We drifted towards the smoke, looking, and wondering. As we got closer, I realized it was a campfire. And it was not any normal campfire, it was exceptionally large so that it could be easily seen in the daytime. I knew people did not do this sort of thing without reason. It is not wise to bring attention to yourself when you are out in the wild. So, we inched closer – I felt no immediate danger. However, at this point, I suggested to Miss Tillie we should both check and be sure that our 30-30’s were loaded. I was not expecting trouble, but just in case trouble was looking for us, I did not want us to be unprepared.
Finally, we got close to the fire and I could see there was a family there, but they were not moving. The man looked and waved his hand as if he wanted to get my attention.
So, we rode closer and I called out — your fire is exceptionally large. Do you need help??
The man said — Yes, we are extremely sick. All of us have something wrong. We do not know what it is. None of us can move far safely, so all I could do was gather wood, build a fire, and hope somebody saw the fire. God sent you to us. We are incredibly grateful that you came by. We need a doctor. We need help.
No one else in the family could even speak. Miss Tillie hopped off her horse and immediately checked the children. And she looked at me and I saw the look in her eyes. She knew these children were extremely ill. She said they have a temperature, their color is not right, and they have no energy whatsoever. This is serious, whatever it is.
So, I looked at the man and I said — we are going for help. We are going to leave water with you. We will leave our blankets. Do you have a weapon?
The man said – no I do not.
I Said — I will leave you my 30-30, do you know how to use it?
The man said – yes, I do.
I Said — OK. Do you have a lot of firewood??
The man said — I think so.
I looked at his wood pile and I said — Is that all you have?
The man said — No, there is more behind that tree.
I told him – I will move the firewood close to him so he could feed that fire into the evening. We might not get back before the sun goes down and need to keep that fire going so, we can find you. Plus, the fire will help to reduce problems with wolves. We are going to get help. Our horses are swift. We have not been riding them hard. We can move. We promise to return.
Miss Tillie looked as the mom moved her hand ever so slightly. The Mom tried to smile and she mouthed the words thank you.
Miss Tillie said — maybe I need to stay with them.
I looked at her and said – No. You need to ride with me. If something happens when we are riding, one of us can still get through to the Doc.
Miss Tillie said — OK, I understand.
We turned our horses, planned the best route to travel, and off we went. We started pushing our horses to get to where we needed to be. I was sure we had about 30 miles, maybe 35 miles to cover immediately.
I knew it would not be very safe at night if that fire burned down. We started riding, hats pulled tight, focused on the destination. We watched where we were going. We made sure that the horses were taking the safest route possible, but the most direct route. It was as if we were racing. First, I was up front, then Miss Tillie was up front, then I was up front, but we were determined to get to where we needed to be. We were riding for somebody’s life.
Finally, we got to the town, we found the Doc just as he was locking up his office. We told him what we had seen, asked him if he could ride. He did not have a riding pony. I went and rented a pony for him and put him on the horse. I rented two more fresh ponies for me and Miss Tillie. We picked up medical supplies, warm blankets, food, everything we thought this family might need.
We headed back with the Doc as the sun dropped low, it was getting hard to find our way, but fortunately we had left some markers on the trail. We looked for our markers and we kept pushing ahead hoping that he kept that fire alive. Eventually, as the wind died down, we could smell the smoke. We knew that we were close, we kept riding, then, we could see them. We could see the fire, but it seemed so far away. We kept riding.
The Doc turned out to be a good rider, he kept up with us. Finally, we got back to their camp. The Doc looked them over and started pulling things out of his black bag to help them. He pulled out some medicine. He gave each of them a shot, and he settled down and he said — I think I will spend the night here with you guys. I will make sure they are OK before I leave.
So, I asked him — what is wrong with them?
Doc said — they have a strong fever and Pneumonia. But you found me in time and we can help them recover.
Miss Tillie and I started praying for them and we just stayed in prayer even as we helped keep them comfortable. A couple of days later, they started moving around a little bit. They started healing up. The doc had left medicine with us to give to them. We kept giving them the medicine. We just stayed with them. We made broth to help them get stronger.
Miss Tillie showed me a song that she had written while looking after the family. This is what it said —
I remember a time of deep trouble, on the bank of the Cheyenne Creek,
Found a family down with fever, so sick they could not speak.
We headed out for the Doctor; I knew you would not let me fail,
We swam the wild Cheyenne, we pushed hard on the ole trail.
We pushed across the prairie, racing the antelope in play,
The smell of rain in the air, thunder chasing us all the way,
Found the doctor in our town got him on a horse in time.
We rode back to the family, because of You, God, they were fine.
And gradually, bit by bit, this family came back alive. It was a remarkable thing to watch. Eventually we looked over the area and found their horses grazing a few miles upstream. This family was fortunate that God had kept the horses near. Eventually we got them back on their horses and got them on their way. We followed them for a long time till they were safe in the village with the doctor. And then we headed back to our house. We stayed in contact with that family for years. The oldest daughter became a schoolteacher.
Luke 10:30-37 — Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denariiand gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Jesus asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Please note: In 1956 a cowboy poet, Jim Jennings, published a short book about his experience working at ‘dude’ ranches in the west. My Great grandmother, Goldie Livingston, obtained a first edition copy of Jim’s self-published book in the fall of 1956. The poetry in this story is adapted from Jim’s book.
Shalom Talk 