After being run out of Canada by the Mounties for being wrongly accused of being a couple of horse thieves, John Henry and Jack Long, found comfort high in the upper Plains of Montana to settle into a well desired rest from the trail.
Now that we had some time to reflex on the past few weeks that brought us here, I had time to think about our time together. I met John on a Cattle Drive that brought him to Oklahoma, then on the return tripI ran into him in a Saloon know for the gathering of many cowhands just off the trail from their recent roundups. It certainly lent it's name to the Rowdy and Reckless, men that often come off the trail to shed dust off themselves and drink enough to help satisfy the over whelming thirst that they gathered on the trail. I noticed one man that stood out on his own, looked as if he was savoring his drink not wanting anything else but to be alone. It didn't take long for one of them drunkin' cowboys to fall into his direction, practically landing on John. The man then commenced to shove and push him aside, telling him to get out of his way. No sooner did the drunk get straighten up, then John took one good swing to drop him to his knees, then turned back to the bar to finish his drink. Well that 'ol drunk wouldn't take that to lightly and thought he had the upper hand. As he rose back up to the bar, he slid his hand down along his side to grip his pistol. John, as it turned out was no stranger to these situations, and already had his Pearl Handled Colt half drawn, and before you could say..'son of a bitch'...John had his gun tucked ever so tightly up against the mans ear. At that point the man seemed to sober up rather fast and backed slowly away.
It wasn't until years later after getting to know Henry...I called him Henry..he called me 'Jack-ass'...that at any other time that 'ol drunk would have been another resident in Boot Hill.
So there stood Henry, back enjoying his drink. Well I thought, shit I could use a guy like that to partner-up on some of my Trail riding jobs. They consisted of dealing with rounding up wild Horses, to herding a few hundred head of cattle to Auction, to guiding Wagon Trains West from points East where hungry immigrants, were wantoned to start a new life.
I started to walk toward him, ever so slowly, since I could detect that he was not a fan to strangers, and after what I saw, I pretty much knew that already. Sure enough I didn't get two feet away when I saw his right hand side slowly down toward his Holster. I stopped abruptly I just turn to the bar and asked the bartender to set me and my friend here...motioning to Henry on my left...a couple of drinks. For a minute there you could hear a pin drop, but then all of a sudden, Henry broke out in huge laughter, and said, who the Fuck are you calling friend..?!!
Well I thought at that point I sorta had broken the ice of communication, and proceeded to introduce myself by extending my hand to show no harm and to show him I was pretty much harmless. Henry with his long white beard & Silver hair flowing over his shoulder, brushed it back, and asked who the Hell did I think I was coming over here to interrupt him while he was not only drinking, but that..didn't I just witness what happen to the last guy....I apologized, and commenced to explain to him why I took that chance. That alone must have convinced him to have a drink with me, since he didn't say another word until I finished and he had drank almost a half a bottle of Whiskey.
When he finally spoke, all he said was when do we leave, not a mention of pay or where the Hell we were going, we both just turned around and walked out the door, jumped on our Horses, and never looked back. That was ten or so years ago, and we've been on a few good jobs and a few bad ones, but none of them ever waiver our friendship.
Now here we are on top of some Mountain, ready to start another job with no doubt some adventure thrown in the mix. No time to think about the last job, just to move on to the next, knowing all too well as long as Henry is by my side, as a friend that he has been, it will get done.
