people I have known

[doodlebug]

Back to Rex. He got his name from being in a wreck on his bicycle real close to Conner. At the time he was on a road trip from San Jose,Cali. to Missoula,Montana with some other bicycle enthusiast that worked at the same microchip factory.He didn't do a thing wrong. Some old guy in a motor home that barely fit on that road just ran hisass over.Messed him up horribly. On top of getting smashed he landed in the river to boot! He had to be undrownded on top of his many other injuries. The guy survived against all the odds.He was in the hospital for months and in a care housing unit for a little after that. While he hadn't lost his entire brain,he did lose some. His motor skills left much to be desired for a while but he was still able to think partially right.By the time he was able to take control of his life he had convinced himself that he should live in Montana,in the Bitteroots,in a tee pee. That part of the mountains get 50-60 blow zero so everyone tried to talk him out of it. His thinking was if Indians use to do it he could. He was almost right. He didn't take in to account that they found sheltered valleys,had huge buffalo hides and weren't always wanting to get out in it,for starters. He secured a twenty acre parcel of land bordering my friends land on the Bitteroot River. He had a good settlement that included so much a year,by the month.His money was handled by a trust his sister in San Jose handled for him.Rex could do most everything without help. He had to have help raising his tee pee and cutting the lodge pole pine for the frame. Several people pitched in that first winter and cut him about 10 cords of wood. He had water until the river froze solid in late November. After that he walked down to Travelers Rest or over to Dennis' place with jugs. At that time anyone would help some one in need as long as they were trying and willing to work as much as they could. There are a lot of real good people down through that valley. The huge Holt ranch was across the highway and old man Holt would give Rex things to do in exchange for beef,dried beans and rice. That worked well for his food supply. He,at first,wouldn't kill anything. Didn't believe in it and gave a lecture on the subject every so often. Wouldn't even kill mosquito. He came in to Travelers one afternoon with a rattlesnake skin hatband on his Stetson. Some one asked where he got the snake.He said it was by his fire pit inside the lodge and he killed it and skinned it and ate it. He said it was not bad."uh,I thought you didn't believe in killing things." He said matter of factly,"I've seen the light. Some things are your responsibility to kill." After that,he fished and hunted rabbits and grouse. We all figured that it must be his job.

[doodlebug]

He learned to smoke fish and make jerky from Rachael the closest person to him on his side of the river.She was a guide for over 40 years and knew anything you needed to know about living in that area. By law you can't waste meat that is harvested on guided hunts so she had a lot of meat in three freezers. Many times over a certain weight made it ridiculous for say, a man from New York, to take back home. She had a nice big smoker and lots of spare time in the summer so she got Rex setting well with meat and fish.He split wood for her cook stove and hot water heater and filled her covered porch all the way up. That was a helluva good trade for the two of them.Cook stove wood is small (around 1.5 inches square and 12 inches long)and tedious to make a big pile of, yet you need it every day.Her water heater took the same kind of dimensions. He also helped her render fat from a bear for her lard. She made the flakiest ,best tasting biscuits and pie crusts I ever ate. She said one bear gave her plenty of lard for a year for those items. She taught him a lot about tracking animals and the proper way to process different critters. The more of her cooking he had the more blood thirsty he became. Pretty soon he was an all out predator. He also learned to cook enough to take his turns at Travelers. We all took our turn. As a person just visiting a few weeks every year I thought I was immune.Turns out I wasn't. If you hung around much you'd get drafted to cook ,at least a breakfast shift. You got paid in food and drinks from the bar if you chose.
You see, Dave, the owner,didn't like to cook at all and really hated breakfast with a passion. If it weren't for his business sense he would have never offered breakfast. As a result it was the duty of everyone within two miles and certain visitors to help Dave out with what they could. He had a regular hired hand every now and then but mostly just during hunting season.There wasn't a breakfast menu. The cook on duty served as waitstaff as well, He would ask you "what do you want for breakfast." Kinda like at home.You'd answer and it was so much for an egg ,strip of bacon,toast or biscuits and gravy.If you were lucky Rachael had made the gravy with home made sausage she'd sneak in with her. A good average breakfast cost about four bucks. you could get a short stack of pancakes for two dollars. The cook on duty set the price in reality. Most learned that if you kept the meal cheap you might get a tip,which you got to keep. It was common for the phone to ring a lot in the mornings until every one knew who was cooking.

[doodlebug]

I missed duty the first year but another not so good tradition started.Travelers was across this field from Denny's house.So,we walked over every now and then to shoot the bull and have a drink.That was my limit.Then I'd go back to coffee. One afternoon there was an informal birthday party going on and Denny mentioned that I knew how to play guitar and Lori,his wife,happened to have one. It even had all six strings.So I got drafted to be the entertainment. It was a warm afternoon and when you're doing a lot of strumming and singing you get dry. My one tequila sunrise stayed full no matter how hard I tried to get it drunk up. Old man Holt had given orders for Shirley to keep my glass full as long as I was able to keep going.Long nite made short..I got blind drunk. When I couldn't function any longer they put me on the back of a four wheeler trailer and drove me over to Denny's house where I had the guest quarters,a Korean war era officers tent he kept set up all summer. I was very hungry though so Lori got me a big bowl of hot elk stew which I got one bite of before the world went into spin cycle and I became unwell. I crashed on the sleeping bag with two feet of nice soft straw underneath me and rode the ride. The next morning it was cool and and very cloudy. I couldn't open my eyes without sunglasses on and was still kinda high stepping around,mostly to the out house. I'm not proud to say that that got repeated one time in every trip after wards.I watched for it too. still, they always got me. If I was too shy they'd call in their reinforcements. That was Shirley. She could make anyone do anything with her charms.The only immune one was Dave. kinda.Not that he didn't fall for her tricks in the beginning. She's the one that nabbed him at a rodeo in Cheyenne several years before and talked him into moving in with her in Darby. She was a former rodeo queen who was addicted to barrel racing and expensive horses for the purpose. He was a retired 48 year old man with a nice pot of money inherited from his father. They had spent a night and one day together when he knew she was the girl for him. After a while in Darby he got kinda bored and when the former owner of Travelers said he should buy him out and move to Conner he did it. Shirley kept her place in Darby for a while but it got to be too much to keep up with two places so she moved her horse and Blue Healer down with him. She was one tough lady and did a better job of bouncer than anyone.If she didn't sweet talk you into behaving she'd throw you out the door.It was your choice which way it went. She was full of sincerity when she needed to be and easy to like. Winter times she was a mountain woman/barkeep and summers she was still the sweetheart of the rodeo, running around in a Winnebago pulling a one horse trailer.Shirley knew how to wear her fancy boots or her Tony Llama packers. Sequined flashy blouse or insulated coveralls. I liked to see her in her Wranglers.Oh Lord!

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Keep it coming, doodlebug. I'm fascinated by the tales and the people. I feel I've 'gotten to know' a few of them from what you've told so far.

[doodlebug]

I'm so glad you're getting something outa this Scottish-Lassie!

[doodlebug]

Since Rex had been learning from Rachael ,he thought he was up for a challenge that got started with some one joking around about starting fires in bad weather over at Travelers.At the time it was pouring down rain and the wind was howling. Denny and Rex got into a fire building contest. The rules were "no gasoline or any other liquid help" and the fire had to be going well enough to heat rocks for the sauna on the river behind Denny's house. We all piled up over on the river to watch and hopefully get a spot in the sauna when it was time. While Rex had some basic instructions in his head he had never tried to build a fire in the open,in the rain. Denny won easily and we had a good sweat. Rex told me though that he won because his payment was to change over the wheels on Denny's truck.However,that gave him a reason to be there early enough to have a good breakfast from Lori's kitchen.He was a little damaged but he wasn't stupid.

[doodlebug]

That first winter was something most of us will never face. It got 52 below zero and stayed there for two weeks straight. A little further down the road in Sula it got 60 below and pipes 4 feet under ground froze solid.The rest of the time it was just cold.
Inside a canvas shelter with an open fire for heat proved to be pure survival. At first Rex played with his tracking.That's when the snow was a few inches.When it got knee deep,using snow shoes was a new craft to be learned. Even after he got the hang of it he finally burned out with trying to go out much and stay nourished for it. He weakened a bit and unfortunately caught the flu. After a week and a half of not seeing Rex ,Denny and Lee went over to check on him. There was no smoke coming out of the lodge and they worried that he was dead. He wasn't.He was alive and holed up underneath everything he had that could go over his body.He was dehydrated and his eyes were sunk in and dark.His Rachael training showed through when as he opened the flap he asked"Have you boys ate yet?" Denny insisted he come home with him and Lee and take a break until his system could catch up. Rex flatly stated "No,I've got it whipped." Hard to argue with a sick person.They built him a fire and sat a few hours seeing to it that he ate and was truly o.k. They left him there and went home.
A little after they opened the next morning Rex showed up at Travelers ready to order breakfast. Shirley hauled him into the house and made him take a bath and drink some chicken broth. Then she told him he was staying over at Lees house until she gave him clearance to go home. If he chose to not cooperate she would call Rachael. That was enough, and he spent two weeks swapping between Lees couch and Denny's. Looking through Lees books he found some photographs of Indian camps in winter. That changed his ways as far as how he set up for winter.He built two rows of wind breaks around the tee pee and piped air to his fire after he sealed the bottom of the lodge with straw. He had an increase of mice early in fall but by full winter they disappeared. He learned the importance of adjusting the smoke flaps often instead of suffering with poor draft.

[doodlebug]

Spring comes late to the Bitteroots. In April Rex moved into the bunkhouse over at Rachael's ,at her insistence. He vowed to be ready before next winter and set in talking with Denny and Lee and Dave about cabin building.He had plenty of trees on his place to put up a few walls without it taking too much out. They pointed out the importance of clearing around the immediate area for a fire break.Once that clearing was established he should have enough on the ground to build a place. He had decided n the "one room,unimproved cabin" typical of early settlers. He poured through every ones books and checked out a few from the library in Hamilton. Lee is a saw filer for a lumber mill and taught him how to keep tools sharp so your work is easier and less dangerous. Dull tools make for accidents and waste. The guys helped him drop his trees and left the limbing and clean up to Rex. Soon though,Rex got a partner. Sugar. Her real name is Thandra. Of course she told people her name was suppose to be Sandra but her dad had a hair lip and pronounced it Thandra. A total lie but always brought a funny look.

[moxie]

Her real name is Thandra. Of course she told people her name was suppose to be Sandra but her dad had a hair lip and pronounced it Thandra. A total lie but always brought a funny look.

Ha!! Love it! Night, doodle.

[doodlebug]

Sugar showed up in Conner ,walking with a burro. She had walked from Southern California. Her and biscuit,her burro partner. She had been on the trip sixteen months. Her previous winter spent in Southern Oregon she had resumed her walk in April. Rex met her on the river where she was camped out for a break in the walk. She knew how many pounds both she and Biscuit lost per day of walking and was careful to keep under control. Fortunately a burro can eat and will eat damn near anything.The partnership was a good one.Biscuit was a good guard dog and didn't require a lot of special treatment.Her load was light as Sugar learned to live light and to not accept the gifts different people tried to saddle her with. She had a few newspaper clippings about her and Biscuit that came about in almost every town she went through on the walk.Human interest stories with a picture.The pictures really were a nice journal for her as she learned from day to day how to enjoy an odd life choice.
My first meeting with her was something I won't forget.I hope.

[doodlebug]

Denny and I walked to Rex's place after fishing up the river with his dog Manu. That dog would tell you where the fish were. You could walk along the river and he would stop and bark at the water. The only problem was he would grab the fish when you pulled it out of the water and that was a pain. Several times he ended up with a hook stuck in him somewhere.
Denny wanted to go by Rex's place before we went back to his house to check on a tool he had loaned him.It had been too long since the need for it had passed in his mind.
When we got close you could hear music playing. Tommy James was doing" Draggin the line..beep beep.." When we could see the clearing there was Rex,long blond hair and full beard,with his Stetson hanging on his back from the tie down string with the fringe of his elk skin shirt swaying as he was dancing with his face towards the sky like Snoopy,from Peanuts.
Sugar was more animated and the sun shone off of her long brown hair that fell over her naked breasts and almost reached the top of her full length skirt of paisley print cotton.Her skin was extremely tanned and had a slight leathery look to it. Up close the wrinkles showed at the corner of her deep brown eyes and she had a great collection of freckles. Sugar was 42 that year and eight years Rex's senior. We both just stood there until the couple finished their song and noticed they had company.

[doodlebug]

Sugar looked over at us and waved. "hey there neighbor! Who ya got following you around?"
Denny introduced us and while Sugar slipped into the blouse she picked off of a wild rose bush we joined them by the cabin. Rex shook my hand and said"Nice to see you again,buddy."
I was impressed with the job they'd done on the cabin. It is 16' by 14' with a steep roof and covered porch on two sides. Metal chimney with a clean out access through the bottom by way of removable bottom. Very good idea. Inside the room it's open and arranged with kitchen table as the central spot for most everything. Ladder up to the sleeping loft,a common thing in cold country as heat rises. He had book shelves ,floor to ceiling, on one wall. One small window in each side with bright curtains and double paned glass. The back wall has a long rod for hanging clothes with boxes piled underneath. Denny had built their stove,a combination heat and cook stove. All of Sugars baking was done in Dutch ovens and I learned she had mastered this system well.All in all I'd say their place was cozy and felt good all round.

[doodlebug]

Being a collector of cast iron cookware I admired the group she had gathered,some house warming gifts from Rachael and other older ladies. I could tell by the things laying around that Sugar had already won the respect of the locals and had plenty of help setting up a place to live as comfortable as anyone else. At that time it wasn't hard to do. All you had to do was do what you say you'll do, never say no to anyone in a spot that needed help and keep your opinions that were offensive to yourself. No one cared about where you came from or what you did before you showed up in the area.At the same time it was rude to ask anyone about those things and something you just didn't do. Understanding that the east fork of the river was an outlaw haven for a hundred years or more explains a lot. I liked the attitude over there.
No one messes with anyone elses stuff and most disagreements were settled between the two parties and others were left out of the equation ,especially the "law". It was a good system I've seen in three places I've lived or visited a lot. In at least two of those the old system is passed away. It is too bad because the new way doesn't benefit anyone but the lawyers and jailers. Civil people can rule themselves. It is usually just finding the middle ground where everyone is allowed to keep standing. you know,reaching a consensus. Something each can live with. Maybe not LIKE so much, but still,"I can live with that."

[doodlebug]

Sugar got some water going for the coffee on a one burner Coleman backpack stove. "No point in getting Le chateau hot with the stove this early in the day." I said," wow Sugar, you polyvoo some frenchy?"
"hell no, but I wish I could.You want a cookie?"" she smiled.
Denny said he could wait till coffee was ready and I agreed.
Rex got up and got a tin off of a chair and set it on the table."whenever you want 'em. I wouldn't eat more than one 'till you get use to 'em."
"why is that Rex,"Denny asked.
"Let's just say they are medicinal and take away the desire to do anything at all." Then he started laughing. All I know is ,one cookie and you might want to dance some but it won't last long.It'll put you in your chair."
Denny says,"I better pass then." I said I'll stick with one. I AM after all feeling pekid." Sugar grinned and says,"I'm a good doctor.You'll be fine." Her eyes made me believe her.

[doodlebug]

After coffee and a cookie that tasted nice but kind of green I felt very relaxed and we talked for quite a while. Rex and Sugar told us about every critter in the immediate area and it was like some one talking about their family.I understood this language. There were funny things and behaviors and some not so funny.There are critters to deal with if you live in the middle of their world.Mice,pack rats and chipmunks can make a mess of things and ruin a lot of food and blankets ,etc. Whatever their little teeth can chew up will get chewed up if unprotected or stored improperly. There are bears that raid and wolverines that seem to enjoy making messes. Then you have your cutesy critters that don't bother much and are fine entertainment. It isn't hard to keep up with your local birds ,their nests and the results of their nesting. It is all part of whats going on around your yard. By the time Denny was trying to pull me up and out to head home I felt like I knew their spot well. We figured to get together for some fishing up the road at Crazy Creek the next day and get us some good trout for smoking. We'd have a pic nic. Denny said what time to walk over and he would haul us all in the one ton.

[doodlebug]

Crazy Creek is a small creek. Most places you can jump across it. There are a couple of wide spots where beavers have built ponds and the creek wanders a little. The cool thing is it doesn't get fished much and is plum full of 14 -16 inch trout.Every now and then larger. They're quite easy to catch and it doesn't take long for four people to get enough fish to fill up a good sized smoker. There is also a large population of deer and a good place to pick up some camp meat if you like your meat nice young and plump. The beaver ponds are fun to fish if you don't mind doing a little wading around.The water is chilly though, but not as bad as around where I am now. We were working our way through one of those ponds with a high bank on our left as we went upstream. Out of no where we first,hear a shot ,then saw where the bullet hit the water between Denny and Rex.Then another. By the second shot my brain registered the sound and sight and I started to holler something but Sugar was ahead of me ,diving over and grabbing Rex and pushing him under the cover of the bank.Denny and I were right behind her with Denny yelling out"HEY,There's people down here!" Pretty soon a teen aged boy looks through the brush above us all red faced and sorta frightened."I'm sorry guys,I didn't know." You could tell he was in the middle of realizing what could have just happened. "what are you shooting at ,Kid?" Rex was red in the face.
"A can."
"oh? Are they good to eat?"
The kid said,"Not really. I really am sorry."
Sugar waved him off and told him "Be careful of what you can't see when you're shooting.You should know that at your age. Right?"
"Yes,I should."
Later I remarked to Sugar,"You're quick,lady!"
She said,"I'm lightnin' that's been quickened!"
We all laughed at that and went about shaking off the "almost getting blasted" syndrome.
When we went back to the truck the kid was there with an older man beside a car ,loading gear.He gave us a look that read"ohshit!" None of us said anything but we did smile and wave.There were no tattle tales among us. He learned from his error I'm sure.

[doodlebug]

Back at Denny's we got the dish ready for the smoker.Denny had a sumac/cayenne pepper mix he dusted the inside of each trout with.Lightly.
While we were working I commented," I hear you two met at the Medicine tree" and pointed across the road. The Medicine Tree,a huge Ponderosa Pine, sat on the side of the road and was visited by many people a year.Any Indian that came through this way stopped and usually left a small gift, some money, beads,small bags of tobacco and what have you. On their way back they'd stop again and repeat this.Sadly the tree was smacked by a semi truck later and they had to choose another Ponderosa to be the tree. The new one is off of the road a bit further.
Both Rex and Sugar grinned and she said,"yeah,it was quite entertaining."
"come on,Sugar."Rex was looking at the ground. The he laughed and said,"Oh man,you see,I had spaced on taking my "head pills" for a few days.I guess I thought after the first couple of days maybe I didn't even need them. If I did,I was wrong. HA! So, my mind drifted away and I sort of got lost for a bit. I couldn't figure anything out no matter how long I tried to think on it. I was getting desperate to grab onto anything real. I was over there at the tree and knew that was my only hope. I felt safe. I put everything I had left into praying.It was like a dream. Then she showed up."
Sugar laughed and said,"yeah, me and biscuit.We're walking along ,minding our own business.I was headed to Victor.Actually a little between Missoula and Victor.I'd met a lady in Oregon who has a small farm where she raises sheep and weaves.She said if I made it this far by October she'd haul us over to another friends place in Westport, Washington where I meant to spend winter. Some what rainy over there but warm. She was taking a rig over any how to pick up some sheep towards the middle of the month so we wouldn't be inconveniencing her.I was making perfect time at that point. I'm walking by the tree and I hear this pleading voice. At first I thought it was just another voice like you hear when you're alone a lot.This was too insistent to ignore and I got to looking around. I saw feet sticking out from behind the tree .Some one is sitting there,Biscuit,I said.Well I take a peek and there is Rex all cross eyed and filthy. I was going to just walk away and go tell some one about this but just as I started backing away he looked right at me and said,"An angel!" Now, that made me smile and I thought to myself,no ones called you an angel in a long old time.This guy needs help. I tried to communicate with him but was getting no where. Seemed I couldn't calm him down enough to get things going well. So, I sat down beside him and pulled his head over onto my shoulder and wrapped my arm around him. Biscuit lay down and just watched me. After a while Rex went to sleep and his body kind of went to jelly. I slipped out from under him as gently as I could and went over to Travelers to see if anyone was around that might know this guy. Of course,the rest is history. Same old story you hear all the time," Boy meets Burro and girl,Burro and girl meets boy..burro decides to live with boy...girl comes along...you know how it goes."
"It was the second luckiest day of my life."Rex was shaking his head like he just saw a double rainbow.
"what was the first,Rex?" I was curios.
" Getting hit on my bike.It started life for me. Without that happening I'd be sitting in San Jose behind a desk thinking about being outside,every damn day! Plus I would have never met Biscuit.Oh,and Sugar" he added.
"jesus,Rex! That's horrible.But true."
Sugar continued,"I canceled my plans for Westport and told Rex I'd give this a try.I told him that as long as I wasn't bored,I'd hang around.He said that was fair and here we are. Heck,we're three peas in a pod."
Rex was smiling ear to ear,"I make sure it is never boring. Just my nature."
Denny spoke up,"and you make a dandy pod,kids! I can't wait for this fish!"

[doodlebug]

While we were all washing up a 3/4 ton Ford with dualies on the back started down Denny's driveway.
Looking up Denny said,"It isn't that all Californians are sunsabiches but it does seem that all the sunsabiches come from there. No offense meant,Rex."Rex laughed and said,"None taken brother."
I said,"what's up,Denny?"
He said, "wait and we'll talk about it in a bit.Let me deal with this."and he pointed at the truck.He went into his shop and came back out with a trailer hitch.
The guy in the truck, a "Mr. Smith" we'll call him,gave Denny some cash after putting the hitch in back of his rig and got back in and drove away.He didn't have the decency to drive slow as to not raise a dust storm. Maybe he just didn't notice. I do know he didn't acknowledge any of us in the least. That in my mind was kinda rude and unusual.
After he left Sugar says,"Now there goes a real funny piece of work. I don't mean ha ha funny either."
But Denny and Rex both laughed.
I got the story then. "smith" was a California native who bought the Medicine Hot Springs resort down at the bottom of Crazy Creek. He got off on the wrong foot right off the bat by not allowing locals,and we're only talking maybe 15 people, use the spring in the winter when they normally use it.He wouldn't just leave the gate open like the previous owners had.There are no tourist in winter so there was never an issue. Then when hunting season came around it got worse for him. He had a Doberman that pretty much ran loose all the time and no one minded as it never caused problems. When elk season came on Lee went over to Smiths place and told him he would have meat hanging hopefully in the next few days and he'd appreciate it if he kept his dog home until he could chill and cut up his meat. He told him that it would be his meat for the winter and he didn't want it ruined by a dog.
Lee got his elk two days later and hung it by the house. When he came home from work the Dobbie had a front leg in his mouth and was tugging on the elk and was about to get it on the ground. Lee chased him off and went to Smiths house.He told him what was going on. He said there was no damage yet but he had to keep the dog home for at least two days.He even threw in a "please" for luck.
The next day Lee came home and his elk was on the ground and the Dobbie was laying there just having a regular pic nic. Lee stepped out of his truck and shot him dead,picked him up and drove him home. He tossed the dog in the yard and left. He saw Smith look out the window so he waved. He went home and found very little to salvage from his elk.
An hour and a half later a deputy sheriff pulls into Lees with Smith in the car with him.
They got out and the cop says,"Mr. Smith here says you shot his dog,Lee. Killed him dead. whats the story?"
Lee told him calmly exactly what had happened and why he shot the dog.
The sheriff turns to Mr.Smith and asked him if Lee was telling the truth. Smith said "yes, you heard right.He shot my dog.That was an expensive dog. I want to press charges."
The deputy asked him,"Do you know your animal took Lees winter meat? What's he suppose to feed his family now? Looks to me like you owe him a freezer full of good meat."We don't put dogs having fun above people eating in Montana.You sir, have wasted my time. Find your own way home." He turned to Lee and said,"I'm sorry about the loss and your luck with the new neighbors." Then he left. Smith just stood there and looked angry. Lee said,"You need to get home."then he turned and went inside leaving him in the driveway. Smith stomped across the field to Travelers and went in the bar and reported the events to Dave, for some reason thinking he was still right. After a long rant Dave looked at him and said"they should have arrested you. Wanna drink?"
A little later on that Sheriffs deputy called Lee and asked if he wanted an elk.One had just been hit by a truck on the road between Darby and Conner.Most of the meat would be good as it was a head shot. Lee got his meat.

[doodlebug]

Sugar said,mostly to me,"Not everyone approved of that action. I felt sorry for the dog.He should have been kept home. Sure,the incident probably ruined the dog for living in the mountains but death is terribly final!"
"Yeah, but he would have been an elk killer after that for sure and I doubt Smith would have kept him home.It is a tragedy but what can you do?"
'I'm just saying if that had of been Biscuit I don't think I would have appreciated it."
"Does Biscuit have a bad habit of eating elk?"
"no,don't be silly,I just mean there are other ways of dealing with problems.Let's drop it."
I was glad to.
It is hard to say what is right sometimes.It is also hard to pass judgment in some cases.

[doodlebug]

The following year was the bad year for Rex. His brain started acting up.Sugar said he was "off his feed for a while." He got confused easily which some of the time got so bad he became completely lost. Other times he was plum goofy. Sugar said,"You'd think he was trying to be funny in a goofyass way but that was just him at that point. I found him sitting in the snow,naked,one time and when I walked over to him he looked up and asked me to get him some iced tea. Hell, he don't even drink the stuff."
Naturally his doctors weren't sure the whys of it all and were left with experimenting with pharmaceuticals. There wasn't a lot of good results and a few made him oddly violent. Sugar decided his brain just needed stimulation. "He hasn't used it enough to get it all exercised." Taking matters in her own hands she kept the one pill that helped keep pain away and minimized the confusion best, and tossed the rest. She got a set of encyclopedias from the Salvation Army in Hamilton and began a regimen of she and him taking turns reading aloud. The first thing that happened with that was they both got frustrated with the lack of information on most subject. It was Rex who said ."Lets continue. At least we'll know a tiny bit about everything." So they did. After the morning 'reading' they'd walk and discuss any of it that sounded like it might need exploring or having a second look at. She would decide on a spot to reach then they'd get Biscuit and go there. On the return they had a game of "name that." The object being to identify the plant,bird,moth,etc by the scientific name. Both had some of the information stored in their heads so it was all about recall. Anything neither could name was researched back at the cabin. There was a rumor going around that they might have electricity coming. It had basically been blocked by the land owner whose acreage was first coming off of the high way and everyone that bought in there was well aware there would be no lines run in. However Mr. NO electric" was headed down hill fast and in Hospice. All of the other land owners were all for the wires. If that happened there would be a P.C. in their place and the answers would come without so much thumbing through pages. It was exciting to think about.(Later on when that happened and everyone had phones and electricity they did get their computer.The dial up was so slow Rex quit trying as it made his head hurt and went back to buying books. Because of available space they had to make a rule that for each book that came in ,one had to leave. "At least until we could build a library."
The acupuncture lady in Hamilton and Sugar experimented on Rex's head,giving him some kind of tiny shocks on the end of the needles. The noticeable results were that he got to where he had no pain. None. After a month of that, she took him off of his one pill. Noticeable within another month was a quicker recall in his memory to the point of seeming almost like a miracle.
Meanwhile Sugar fed Rex as many brain foods as she could get her hands on and got him back into Yogi Bear exercises. Most call it Yoga but Rex didn't.
By the time I saw him in late June he was doing better than I had expected from the communications I'd had with Denny. The first thing I noticed was the face. He usually had a "person with bad headache" look to him ,even when laughing. His eyes were relaxed and his face skin hung right. He also joined in discussions more readily,maybe because he's learned a little about everything. I'm not sure.

[doodlebug]

Sugar and Shirley were both cooking for fire fighters in August of 2000 in a camp just outside of Darby. The ram rod of the crew told Sugar and Shirley to get home as the fire had turned and was headed in the direction of Conner. It was moving by it's own created winds and everyone was being pulled out from the path and all homes evacuated by the Sheriffs Department all the way down to Sula.
Sugar found Rachael standing on her porch arguing with Dave about leaving. She couldn't help in any way convince Rachael it was time to get a bag and get out. She then got up to her and Rex's place and found him loading Biscuit in a trailer behind Lees 3/4 ton. He pointed to the porch at some boxes and bags and told her,"let's go.I don't like this." They pulled back down the drive and stopped when they got back to Rachael's. The smoke was becoming visible on top of the mountain above. The sky above the smoke was red and yellow. Rachael couldn't be budged. A quick conference between Dave and Lee took place and they walked back to the porch and grabbed Rachael and pushed her into the cab screaming. It is probably 500 yards to the highway from Rachael's front yard. As they turned East onto the road the fire came down the hill. When it hit the cabin it didn't burn,it exploded. The 110 year old log home Rachael's grandfather built turned to ash before the group was out of sight. Inside was 110 years of gifts given from all over the world to three generations of guides for "the wonderful experience" and the "perfect hunt." 350,000 acres burned in that fire. The loss in animals will never be known though there are numbers out there that are actually,to me,horrendous. Today the elk and deer population is tiny by comparison to pre 2000 fire. Everyone in the general surrounding area of Travelers was burned out. The toll it took on lives still bothers me.My pard Denny left the bitterroot forever. Rex and Sugar moved to the mountains in northwest Montana.Neither could stand to stay.A local rancher bought out everyone on that side of the River except Rachael, and turned it back into open grazing land. Her spirit demanded that she rebuild. Her new house was of 8" logs and a real nice replacement,if there could be one. She passed away in 2006 just going to sleep and not waking up. Dave and Shirley also rebuilt. The business never picked back up though as the money from hunting season and the summer campers disappeared. It just wasn't a pretty place to visit at that point. They moved up to Darby and played with raising sheep,and Alpacas and kept plugging away at barrel racing ,Shirley taking on students and doing less competition herself. Last we talked ,Dave is once again bored.Paying bar prices for drinks rubs him the wrong way and he sits in the back yard and pours his own if he is serious about getting very drunk. I hear he throws some good parties if you like bar- b que- sheeps.
I lost track of Rex when they moved. They left no forwarding address. Dave said his last talk with the couple left him rather cloudy as to what their plan was.He did say that they shouldn't be hard to find over there. Not that many people have a guard Burro.

[doodlebug]

Side notes: sadly Rachael was never the same after the fire.If you could have seen the place,especially the interior you could understand.It was literally a museum,not only of an early time in Montana history but in the expensive and different items sent to the guides over the years.I had the pleasure of eating at her table many fine meals and the flakiest pie crust the world ever saw.I've bathed in her tub with the wood fired water heater on it's stand above the tub. Her rule was water gets heated once a day. If you needed hot water there was just that one time you had to make it by! Typically, the routine was,go up to the house,hit the woodpile and split stove wood and stack it by the door on the porch. You did this until she came out and told you it was time to clean up for the table. Payment would be what ever game animal you wanted for dinner and the use of her tub.When you're camped out it always nice to get really clean without freezing yourass off in the river.
the 2000 fire was truly devastating to so many people but the animals took the brunt.One of the oddest pictures I saw from the fire was one passed around in the Forest Service world and shown to me by the volcano expert,Shawn Jones. It was a large print showing a herd of elk standing in the river with the whole background being an inferno. While the picture is beautiful in color the next thought is "they all died".And they did. When I started visiting that area you could not drive from Missoula to Conner without seeing black tail, White tail and mule deer and elk.Some time a moose. Every trip you saw them all. Behind Travelers was a mountain goat and big horn sheep haven. Nothing survived. My Godson Josh tells me the animals still haven't come back and hardly any hunting goes on in that part of Ravali county.
I talked to at least 5 people that went through that fire and everyone has a different story.All of the stories will bring a tear. Maybe because of being close to the victims and having so many good times with them all they hit me a bit deeper.It is a dark shadow on an otherwise group of great memories.

[Jaguar]

[doodlebug]

Sugilite,I've got another story coming up. I've just been trying to get some old correspondances read so maybe I can keep my mind striaght on dates.Not that it maters much to anyone but I am enjoying rereading some old letters and christmas cards I have stashed in a book.

[doodlebug]

For three years I took care of the maintainence of my friend Karls' bar/hotel/restraunt. I went to work at 9:00 p.m. and was there until about 4:00 a.m. It was an easy job and I had a lot of time to play pool in between cleaning up the cafe part and then the bar after 2:30 and closing time came around. I got pretty good at stick and had a lot of fun. this story is one that came from that period of time.

[doodlebug]

Bill, from Tacoma,came back to the pool table with a couple of beers and a nasty look on his face.
"that barmaid is a bich" he says and hands the extra beer to his buddy. He's tried all night to impress her with his best lines and it just isn't working. I could save him some time and effort but what for? Jenny needs the tips he's been trying to bribe her with. Now,instead of admitting defeat,he's trying to lay the blame on "the bich". This scene is so familiar it almost makes me sick. Men up here"elk hunting" from the city. Road hunters.Nice big 4 wheel drive trucks with chrome rims and fancy paint jobs driving the roads,drinking whiskey for a week.They could buy a nice beef for what they spend on gas and drinking and tipping the help in hopes of cheating on their "old ladies" and we'd all be safer.The boss likes the business though so most of the time a person has to ignore the rude ones.Bill is pushing it though.
Jenny walked through the door one night about two years before while I was cleaning the floors.I forgot to lock up behind myself when I hauled the garbage and cardboard out.It surprised me to turn around and find some one standing there.It was late November and the rain was trying to turn onto snow.There is absolutely nothing open in this town at 4:00a.m. and I think I'm one of three people awake.Billy Jean is over at the post office messing with mail and Phil is getting ready to deliver the paper from Seattle.

[doodlebug]

Jenny stands 5'6"in her wet Nikes and looks like an animal caught in a steel trap waiting to be dispatched. Her dark hair is glued to her face and her face is filthy.I can smell her from 10 feet away. There is a raggedyass army coat wrapped around her that is way too big and a pair of nasty looking gray sweatpants covering her legs. I'm just standing there looking into her huge brown eyes with dark circles underneath them.From the look I'm getting in return I'm thinking I scared her with my appearance than she did me.
"can I help you?"I asked.
"please mister." She shivered and started to cry.I couldn't help noticing that her skin was about the same color as the door frame. Pale gray.I told her"close that door and push the lock button." when she did I took my hand off of the little .380 in my pocket and led her to the big fireplace.
"You look hungry,girl. What would you like to eat?"
"Anything will do,thank you."
I'm feeling generous with the bosses inventory and can cook anything on on the menu so I hand her one and say"You decide."
Jenny settles on a club sandwich. I pointed her towards the restrooms and headed for the kitchen. When I return with her sandwich she's still shaking but her face and hands are clean. she starts out eating slow and polite but soon is wolfing it down. A couple of minutes later she jumps up and heads back towards the ladies room and almost makes it before she pukes all over the carpet and her shoes. Then shes dry heaving over the toilet with me holding back her hair and trying not to be sick myself. I have a weak gut when it comes to these things. I can gut a salmon or a deer o.k. but stuff that comes out of people gets me real bad. She finally quit heaving and at the same time quit supporting her own weight so I drag her back out to the fireplace and lay her n the floor. She was out cold and I was worried.
Helen James is our local vet and one half of the EMT team for the volunteer fire department.She is also handy as she lives directly across the street.I give her a call and she's there in about two minutes. After a quick look see she calls Mike to bring the ambulance.She tells me Jenny has at least two broken ribs and a possible concussion.She's also hypothermic and apparently half starved. They make the ride down the valley to Morton Hospital in 43 minutes.She held her own and came through like a real trooper.Turns out she'd been raped and beaten badly four days and sixty miles ago.She had been walking under the cover of the brush and trees ever since,afraid to be seen.

[doodlebug]

Barb Jennings left her old Airstream next to my shack three years before when she left for Kodiak to fish the king salmon season.She was one of fifteen people who died in the sea that year.One time she told me she would fish until either she was too old or went to rest on the bottom. A storm sucked her tender away.
I kept the trailer clean and in livable condition for that occasional visitor that needs a place to rest or hole up. When Jenny was released from the hospital she moved in there. For weeks we would have dinner or watch the sun sink behind the mountains but she never had much to say.Once she got her strength back she would help me a couple of nights a week.She watched the bar tenders real close until she knew how to pour a drink and run the pull tabs.
I keep all the change I find on the floor in coffee cans scattered around my place. I had Jenny wrap up a whole bunch of quarters one day and took her to town. We got her some nice clothes at the Goodwill and some new shoes and under garments at the Sears store.The we stopped in at my friend,T-Bones place and bought her a Smith and Wesson .38 Special for a reasonable price and he threw in some reloaded wad cutter ammo.In the time following I taught her to shoot and Susan Delaney drilled her in hand to hand combat. Susan is great at that and every now and then we get a free demonstration when some jerk tries to get too close to her without her permission. After Jenny went to work full time for Karl in the bar she got her a little apartment next door to the post office and I must say she was a more dangerous person than anyone would ever imagine. While we practiced with the .38 she slowly opened up and told me her story.

[NancysSummerSip]

Doodlebug, so glad you've resumed your stories. I look forward to them.

[doodlebug]