Sam Stone: Hunter

A tale of the old west.

Sam Stone

Hunter

Sam Stone rode alone over a desolate land wandering west toward Santa Fe. A girl held his heart on a string. She made it from an old cloth she found on a dead man. He'd been shot down dead by some rogue raiding party. Most likely they were part of the Pueblo or Tanoan tribe. The whole incident occurred somewhere near the Texas Panhandle.

The wild west was not a hospitable place for anyone traveling west in those days.

Around 1869 the US completed the Trans Continental Railroad. With the railroads came the whites, blacks, and others, looking to grab up what land they could. Together they managed to wiped out many of the native tribes. Not only that, but they decimated the American bison.

The consequences of their behavior were dire indeed.

Buffalo were the main source of just about everything.

Aside from being an important food source, the American buffalo provided much more.

Every part of the animal was used in some form or fashion.

It's little wonder the American Indians were not happy. Not only was the land beneath their feet being taken from them, but their very livelihood was being wiped out. Soon there would be nothing left. It seemed war was inevitable.

Before European colonization the Santa Fe area was occupied by the Tewa and Navajo peoples. This was somewhere around 900 AD. A group of Tewa natives later built a cluster of dwellings.

The early settlement spread for half a mile from the south and west. The village became known as Ogah' P 'O' oge in the language of the Tewa.

Some of the first Europeans to arrive were the Spanish.

With bible in hand and the blessing of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, they set out to civilize the peoples they called savages.

In the beginning they met with minimal success, but as time passed, a strong Catholic presence made itself known to the area.

It is safe to say Santa Fe was a place steeped in ancient culture and history, much of which will never be known.

 The definition of Santa Fe is Holy Faith, however, it is doubtful there was much holy about the place.

A traveler heading through the area in 1849 once wrote,

“I can hardly imagine how Santa Fe is supported. The country around is barren. At the north stands a snow-capped mountain while the valley in which the village is situated is drab and sandy. The streets are narrow...A Mexican will walk around town all day to sell a bundle of grass worth about a dime. They are the poorest looking people I ever saw. They subsist mainly on mutton, onions, and red peppers.”

Stone rode his horse at a leisurely pace drawing ever closer to his destination.

His prey was a red haired beauty, a demon woman of unparalleled cunning. She had worked nearly every saloon from west of the Mississippi to her current locale near Santa Fe. Behind her she had left a long trail of broken hearts.

Men who had wanted to possess her found themselves either dead, or wishing they were dead. Her magical spell held its captors in her grasp. Stone soon discovered he was not much different. He was just another notch in her belt.

Stone was a strong man, but he was no matched for her beguiling ways. He put up a gallant fight in the beginning, but with time found himself weakened by her magic.

He, however, had been the only one to have challenged her. This fact made it even more alluring for her as she worked her way into his heart, and yes, even his very soul.

When she left he was a broken man.

For most men this would have been a death knell, a place where no man returns.

But, as stated before, Sam was a strong man.

With time he recovered most of his senses.

One year and three days passed. In that time he would become a lawman/deputy of a large territory which stretched from Texas all the way through Santa Fe and beyond.

Sam kept a constant ear out for news from far and near. The lawlessness of the wild west kept him plenty busy.

He was on the move constantly.

He sought and captured the worst kind of criminals.

Recently he had heard rumor of a red headed lady near Santa Fe who had killed a man for no apparent reason.

Sam knew right off who that lady was, except, in his mind, she was no lady.

He knew that someday his job might lead him to this. Sooner or later he would have to face her.

And so he sat atop his horse looking down upon the town of Santa Fe.

Did the girl still hold his heart on a string? Would he be able to face her down? Was he strong enough pull the trigger of that old 45 strapped to his left hip?

Only time would provide the answer.

Author's Note

Hopefully this will end up as chapter one.
This is a fictional tale of the old west. Most of the historical details fairly accurate. I used several different sources including Wikipedia.