"Stand and deliver!" I heard again. This didn't mean anything to me but Claire and Elizabeth reacted to it with squeals of fright. There standing in front of the wagon was a man in a mask holding a pistol, and from behind I heard someone or ones approaching. By now, of course, I had figured out we were being robbed. This time having a quick draw wasn't going to help me. Especially when the first thing they did was take my pistol from my holster.
The man behind didn't say a word just started looking for any other weapons on me and when he was finished searching me the next thing I felt was something striking my head. As I lay dazed on the ground I wasn't certain if what I thought happened really did. Two men came up and began to search Claire and Elizabeth while Louise was dragged off by another man out of my sight. Suddenly I heard from the direction Louise went, the sound of a body hitting the ground and a shout followed by a crunching sound. At the same time Claire struck the man searching her with an open hand under his chin, while Elizabeth used her favorite blow of a knee to the genitals. While both men were on the ground the women used their feet to kick the men in their throats and upper bodies. Elizabeth removed their weapons while Claire came over and with Louise, who had appeared from behind me, leaned me against the wagon. Elizabeth took one of the horse sand rode toward Fort Vancouver seeking help. As I faded into black I remember trying to say something to my wives but I don't remember what it was.
When I awoke I was back at Fort Vancouver in the dispensary with my wives around me and a doctor wrapping my head with a somewhat dirty bandage cloth. I grabbed his arm and removed the bandage. Looking at Claire, I told her to bring my saddlebag. Turning to the doctor I asked, "Do you have any whiskey?"
When he started to tell me that I didn't need to drink Louise spoke up, "Alex doesn't want it to drink. He uses it to bathe wounds before he covers them." The doctor turned to Louise and told her he was the doctor and he would do the treatments needed. By this time I was getting scared. This unlettered butcher wanted to "treat me"? No thanks!
I turned to the doctor and told him, "I no longer require your services. My wives will treat me." With an upset look he left, protesting all the way as he was leaving. I had Elizabeth get a bottle of whiskey and had Louise clean the wound made by the gun and wrap my head.
As I lay there with my head throbbing and my vision blurred, I tried to ask what had happened during the robbery and where the robbers were. Elizabeth looked me in the eye and told me, "Don't you remember? Before they managed to get you down, you killed all three with your hands!" After hearing this amazing statement I blacked out.
September 18, 1847
When I next awoke it was early morning and the chief clerk, Mr Grahame, was there. He was apologetic telling me that the men who had attempted to rob me were known to one of his clerks who may have told them about my spending spree. He gave me a strange look and told me, "We had heard that you were a dangerous man in a gun battle, but no one expected you to be able to kill three men with your bare hands while they had guns." I knew that this had never happened. I had been on the ground trying to stay conscious while they were robbing me. I wondered why my wives had said nothing about what they did. Mr. Grahame apologized again and assured me the clerk in question would be discharged and sent back to England for speaking about Company matters. He then turned and left.
I saw Louise come in with a cup of willow bark tea. Making a grimace I swallowed the bitter tasting brew and eventually felt it begin to take effect. Managing to sit up in the bed, I looked around to see my wives clustered around. Giving them all a glare I asked, "What is going on here? Why did you say I killed them?"
Elizabeth, as ever the spokesman, said, "You told us not to tell anyone about learning how to fight! We were just doing what you told us." I groaned to myself. At this rate I'll be tagged as a killer. I now have no chance to enter politics except from behind the scenes as a deal maker. I would almost rather have given them the money.
I turned to Elizabeth, "How long do I have to stay here?" thinking that we needed to let the wagon train know about the delay.
Claire spoke up, "Mr. Simeroth was here today looking for you, something about trouble with the land claims."
"Did he say anything else?"
In a sarcastic voice she said, "Only that we women needn't worry about it and the men would handle it." She looked at me, "Alex, you forget that to all other men, women are only to be heeded when it comes to morals and manners. Everything else is the man's job, even though the women may do the work." She turned to Elizabeth and Louise, "Did you learn anything else?"
Louise spoke up, "I heard them talking about having to look at the claims before the clerk would approve the land grants."
Elizabeth contributed, "I heard that they needed to hire a lawyer to clear the matter up." I started to get out of bed then fell back with a groan. I suddenly had a splitting headache and felt nauseous.
"Are any of them here right now?" I asked.
"Just Johan. He is trying to get credit to buy seed for his farm."
"Could one of you ask him to join me so we can talk?" Louise left and I looked at my other two wives, "You know a reputation as a dangerous man can hurt as well as help. I don't want to scare people from seeing me or avoiding us. Couldn't you have just thrown their bodies in the river or something?"
Elizabeth looked down to avoid looking me in the eye, "We were worried about you and didn't think about it. Next time we'll be sure no one knows what happened to them."
"I hope there's never a next time that you need to remember that."
Johan came in then and that put an end to the conversation. He told me that the clerk in the courthouse had refused to register the claims saying that he needed proof that they did not infringe on the six square miles claimed by the missions based in Salem. As I listened to him it seemed to me that the clerk was hinting that he wanted a bribe. I was thinking that in this case we needed either a good lawyer or a small bribe. I talked to Johan and offered to buy his seed for his farm if he would have one of his boys drive the farm wagon back to the wagon train and then on to the settlement. He accepted and I laid back down on the bed and reluctantly drank another cup of willow bark tea. I was determined that I would be ready to leave tomorrow. I wanted to see that clerk!
I managed to eat some soup and raised bread and then went to sleep. Hopefully when I woke up this would be over with and we could go to our claims.
September 19, 1847
I woke up this morning feeling much better wrapped up in the arms of Louise and Claire with Elizabeth on top of us. Squirming around I managed to leave Elizabeth in my place and got out to use the jakes. As I walked back to the dispensary, I saw a Beagle bitch with a litter of pups walking by one of the Company officers. I approached him and introducing myself, asked if he had any of the pups for sale. He looked at me and gave a price of one pound for all of them. I pulled a pound coin out of my pocket and handed it to him. He informed me the pups were weaned and I could take them whenever I desired. Seeing a small wooden box near by I picked it up and put the pups in the box. There were five pups and I had in mind letting each of my wives pick their favorite and giving the other two away.
I returned to the room with the pups and found my wives beginning to stir. Seeing me carrying a box Elizabeth came over and looked in. With a squeal of delight, she grabbed a puppy and hugged him to her breast, "Claire, look at what Alex brought in!" Claire and Louise came over and were as enchanted by the puppies as Elizabeth. Pulling them from the box they sat on the floor and soon were a swirl of playing puppies and laughing women. After collecting the puppies again we prepared to go back to Oregon City.
After almost being robbed I thought I needed another weapon. In the Company store I found an 1847 Colt Walker .44 revolver that had been picked up by one of the sailors when he was in Mexico and traded to the store. I managed to buy it for 3 pounds and felt glad to have it. I purchased shot, caps and powder to go with it at the same time.
We saddled our horses and began our return to the wagon train. The ladies insisted on taking the puppies on the horses with them. Elizabeth and Claire each had two and Louise had the remaining puppy. Between the puppies and my wives's laughter, the trip to the ferry went quickly. When we arrived at the ferry I noticed that we had an area around us that no one came into and I noticed that I was getting looks from the corners of eyes. Men seemed reluctant to look at me directly and women would look and then whisper to each other. I noticed this bubble of space remained open during the entire trip. I resigned myself to having gained an even more outlandish reputation.
When we got back to the wagon train I found that I had another problem. Where to put the pups for the night. My wives wanted to bring them into the wagon with us, but here I would not be moved! Dogs belonged outside! I borrowed a wooden box for them and put it under the wagon. I made sure they had water and some food with a small piece of torn up cloth in the corner for a toy. Then we went to bed.
I was tired and was about to fall asleep when it began. There was a small whine that started to get louder. Soon another began to join the first and a third soon followed. I gave up then and told my wives they could bring the puppies into the wagon. After the puppies joined us my wives each gave me a kiss and I finally was able to go asleep.
September 20, 1847
I woke up the next morning and found myself covered with puppies and wives. And remembered why I did not like small dogs in the house. There were small accidents and a hole in my moccasins from puppy teeth. I crawled out of bed trying to avoid both the puppies and the mess they left. Grabbing another pair of moccasins from the chest, I dressed and quickly left, leaving my wives and the puppies sleeping in the wagon behind me. I walked over to the Simeroth wagon and found Willy sitting at the fire being served breakfast by Ola. He offered me a cup of coffee which I willingly accepted. We sat enjoying the coffee and making small talk until we finished the first cup.
"Willy, what can you tell me about this clerk who won't certify our claims?"
"He's looking for a bribe to do his job, if you ask me. There ain't a house or church within 5 miles of the spot we picked."
"Has anyone talked to the lawyer yet?"
"Yep. He wants 25 dollars to argue with him and more if we go to the court about it."
"I think I'll go see the clerk this morning."
He looked at me from under his hat rim, "I heard you killed some men around Fort Vancouver."
"That's what they say."
"Don't want to get a reputation as a killer unless you want to be a sheriff."
"No interest in either the reputation or in being a sheriff."
He stopped to pour another cup of coffee., "Need to walk small for a while; let things settle down."
"Yep."
I got up and went back to my campfire after thanking Ola for the coffee. I found Louise and Claire up and making breakfast. Squatting by the fire I asked if the coffee was ready. Pouring myself a cup, I looked at the women, "Just got warned by Willy that I need to keep out of trouble for a while. I'm making people nervous because of the killings."
Claire looked down, "We're sorry. We were so concerned about you we didn't think about what impression it would make on everybody."
I looked at her, "Just remember if anything like that happens again, to think about afterwards."
Elizabeth came out of the wagon about then holding a moccasin with a puppy hanging from it. She put the puppy still attached to the moccasin (Mine, I noticed!) and began to lift the other four from the wagon, one at a time. As they came down they began to explore their surroundings and making messes around the wagon. I just looked at Elizabeth and got the scoop out.
By the time I finally got the last of the messes cleaned up, breakfast was ready. I don't know which wife was worse about feeding the puppies, but by the time breakfast was finished, we had five very stuffed dogs laying around the wagon. I left them to the mercy of my wives and headed toward the courthouse. Claire came with me and told me that she needed to talk to Mrs. N.M. Thornton, who had just started a female school here, to find out just what she needed to have for her school.
On our way to the courthouse I met the sheriff again. He looked at me and commented about the problems I had at Fort Vancouver, "Heard there was some killing over there."
"We were held up on the way back and managed to defend ourselves."
"Make sure that's all that happens around here. You're trouble I don't need."
"As soon as we get our land claims approved we'll be gone."
"What's the problem?"
"For some reason the clerk won't approve our claims."
"Follow me�", he said and led us to the court house and the clerk's office. �I hear you are not approving the land claims of these folks. Why?"
The clerk, who was dressed like he was in downtown Boston, pulled out the paperwork, "I need to find out if it is in the area claimed by the missions."
The sheriff reached out and took the descriptions of the plats from the clerk's hand, "I know this area and there isn't anything around there. Approve these claims and let's get these people on their way. Do I make myself clear?"
Grumbling, the clerk made up the paperwork approving the claims and handed it to the sheriff. Turning to me, the sheriff asked, "How many days do you need to finish up your business in town?"
"We need to buy enough provisions to last us until the next harvest and pick up some more livestock, so about 5 or 6 days."
"I want you out of town on the seventh day."
"Sheriff, I'm a peaceful man. All I want to do is to get to our claim and start building."
"Just as long as you're gone on the seventh day." With that statement the sheriff turned and walked out the building. I picked up the claims and started to examine them to ensure they were properly made out. The clerk looked annoyed and began to come to the counter when he was grabbed by another clerk who whispered something in his ear. The clerk turned pale and went back to his desk. I finished the paperwork and motioned to the clerk, who approached with some reluctance. I pointed out where he had neglected to stamp some of the forms and had not signed others. He hurried back to his desk and quickly stamped and signed the paperwork. Thanking him politely, I left the building to return to the wagon train. I felt like jumping for joy. This reputation was turning out to be an asset after all!
I got to the wagon train and handed the claim approvals to the captain. Extracting mine and Willy's I headed back to the wagon. I found Ola, her mother and my wives talking about wedding dresses and whether she needed to get married here or if there was a Methodist church in Salem. I beat a hasty retreat, but not before they gave me the puppies to watch, and went over to the Simeroth wagon. There I found Willy and Johan drinking ale and looking morose.
Looking at both, I handed each a Beagle pup and sat down. Johan handed me a mug and poured it full from a bucket he had next to him. We shared glances like I'm sure men have given each other since the institution of marriage was invented. Reaching in my shirt, I pulled out Willy's claim approval and handed it to him.
Turning to Johan, I apologized for not bringing his as well and told him the wagon captain had them. With a whoop of joy he sprang up and gave the pup to Willy, calling out that the claims were here as he headed toward the captain's wagon. Petting the pups in my lap, I asked, "Feeling a little left out by the women?"
"Yep."
"You learn to live with it."
"Yep, expect I will."
With that we sat back and drank our ale, refilling it every so often. After a while I resumed our conversation, "Got told by the sheriff to be out of town in 7 days."
"Not surprised. Expected something like that when I heard about Fort Vancouver."
I finished my mug, got up and thanked Willy for the ale and returned to our wagon with the dogs. There I found Elizabeth making dinner by herself. The rest were off buying wedding clothes. Putting the pups in their box, I rescued my moccasin and sat down behind Elizabeth. I watched her trim ass as she moved around the fire, enjoying the difference her dress made to the movement. As she came close I reached out and grabbed her arm and swung her into my lap. She gave me a look of exasperation that lasted until I kissed her. Putting her arms around my neck she kissed me back. Holding her around the waist, I asked, "Ever wish we had been married in a church wedding?"
She looked at me, "Sometimes. Every girl dreams of her wedding and thinks about how it will be. I feel just as married to you as if we had been married in Philadelphia. I know Claire and Louise feel the same way."
I kissed her again and we sat quietly, until with a small shriek, she said, "The biscuits!", and ran over to the fire. I watched her running about and thought about how she had changed over the last four months. When I first met Elizabeth, I had thought of her as a little feather head with more emotions than brains. Now she was being the rock of the family, making decisions and acting as the spokesman for the wives. I enjoyed the sight of her slightly pregnant body as she darted from pot to pot checking the contents.
A small girl ran over to the wagon. Out of breath, she gasped, "Claire! Pferd! Komm!"
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