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Fiction |
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Off To See The Wild West Show Part 1, Chapter 17
(3/3)
By Frank Beill
1886: Hull, Yorkshire
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(1/3),
(2/3),
(3/3).
Part 1
Chapter 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20.
Part 2
Prologue,
Chapter 1,
2,
3.
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'Well, cat my dogs!' This was Buffalo Bill's favourite expression when taken by surprise and a new young member of his troupe turning up unexpectedly in mid Atlantic was certainly that.
Here we were - face to face - but it was not under the circumstances I'd always imagined it would happen. Our first meeting was going to be some grand occasion, probably out on the prairie fighting the pesky Redskins. But here I was in front of him, pretending to be a 'pesky Redskin.'
Close up he was even taller than I'd imagined him to be or was it that in my dreams I was
always of equal size?
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The famous long hair was still light brown, although I could see the odd trace of silver beginning to appear. The moustache and goatee beard were full, though carefully trimmed. As always his suit was made of smooth buckskin and of far better quality than my rough clothing.
The court of enquiry was being held in his saloon. Although the cabin was more spacious than any other on board, it was filled it to capacity by interested parties. Counsel for the defence consisted of Red Shirt, Dog That Stands and Laughing Waters. My sister was there for translation purposes only because such a tribunal was deemed to be men's work by the Lakota. Although John Nelson - well regarded by the Lakota as he'd married into the tribe - was also there to translate, he was still a white man.
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Miss Arta was present too. I discovered why she looked so familiar. She was Miss Arta Cody, the daughter of Buffalo Bill himself. The Americans - as I was to learn - took a more emancipated view of their womenfolk than the English, let alone the Lakota. I guessed she was part of what I supposed to be the opposition. It also included another man who I learned later was Nate Salsbury, Colonel Cody's business partner. Nate was dressed in a smart dark blue business suit and like Bill wore a well-trimmed beard, although his was more full and his hair was dark. He was a dapper man who only just made it up to my hero's shoulders.
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I was unsure exactly what Bill's role was to be: judge? jury? executioner? He sat cross-legged listening keenly to all that was said on a chair covered with animal skins. He'd shot every one of their original owners. The whole room was festooned with his hunting trophies. He stroked his beard thoughtfully and listened without comment to each side's case.
Nate, the businessman, could see the legal implications: the probability of Captain Bristow being fined when we landed in New York and even the possibility of criminal proceedings against Red Shirt, the Sioux nation, the Wild West Show or even Bill himself for the kidnap of a British subject ... and there was all the bad publicity that would go along with it.
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Red Shirt and Dog That Stands looked on stoically, listening to both my sister and John Nelson translating the words. The chief's words spoke not of laws written down in books but of the natural laws governing how human beings should behave towards one another. He said how unnatural it was for children to be placed in prisons when they had committed no crime and how I was cut off from my native people, forced to live with strangers who could not and would not accept me as one of their own. These white people didn't want me but the Lakota accepted me - and the family of Dog That Stands wanted me as their son. Laughing Waters nodded vigorously in agreement with this last statement.
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'Well, that's given me a big, old bone to chew on.' Bill deliberated, patting his mouth with the fingers of his right hand. 'There ain't no rush to reach a decision. We don't get to New York for a few days yet.' He looked thoughtful for a few moments before speaking to me for the first time.
'Well, young man what do you want to do?' His blue eyes were piercing. 'Do you want to go back to England?'
I shook my head vigorously, although I've got to admit I thought about George and Sal for a moment. They were the only good things I associated with my homeland.
'Do you want to live out on the prairie with the Lakota?'
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For a moment his words reminded me of the many sermons delivered by the Master asking us rhetorically whether we wanted to go to Heaven or Hell? I made my choice.
'I want to stay with my new family, sir.' The one thing I'd never wanted to happen in front of my hero did happen. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
'The poor lamb!' Miss Arta spoke for the first time in the debate. She rushed across to me, pulling a handkerchief from her cuff. I swear I saw a tear in her eye too. 'Papa, let the boy stay.'
'I'll have to think on it.' Bill nodded.
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'What are we gonna do with the child?' John Nelson said, opting out of his translating role.
'Let him stay with Dog That Stands and his family while I give it some thought.' Bill nodded sagely. 'He ain't gonna run nowhere ... but don't let anyone outside this cabin know what's happened. If Captain Bristow finds out then there'll be no choice in the matter!'
Everyone agreed and the meeting was over. I could see Nate Salsbury was going to have much more to say to Bill on the subject, but Miss Arta Cody seemed to have defected to my side.
* * *
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Copyright © Frank Beill 2006
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