He dreamt of times long past, when he was young. Early spring, 1872.
It was a reoccurring dream, taking place well before he knew Wiggins when he was a stubborn 16-year-old boy who dreamt of doing it all and seeing it all. At this particular moment in time, it was surviving, alone, in the wild. With reluctant permission from his father, he made plans to travel southeast of Denver to set up a temporary homestead.
Most of the mountain men and trappers he had seen were grizzled men. Elias could barley grow a beard but he had read the stories and to him such a lifestyle didn’t seem difficult. It was frontier adventure to his young eyes. His father let him do pretty much anything he wanted. His dad was proud of him and his many interests. Too many interests to count. Elias never stood still and never quit learning.
To prepare, Elias and his father visited the dusty streets of the Denver business district for supplies. The two and three-story brick, stone and frame buildings, some with wood false fronts, were filled with people doing business. Horse-drawn covered delivery wagons, buggies and carriages were parked along the boardwalk. Business signs read from the simple to the bizarre: "Market," "Hats, Caps, Furnishing Goods & More,” "Proper Groceries & Tourist Supplies," "His Boots & Shoes," "Bathe Water House," "American Warehouse & Native Jewelry," "Candy Lodge" and “Cigars, Bathtub Gins & Kentucky Whiskies: Come!” Elias loved Denver.
His father purchased all the provisions Elias would need from Dobson’s General Store and Post Office on the corner of Fifteenth and Blake Streets. Fully supplied, Elias walked through the streets of Denver wearing a particularly non-handsome new deerskin coat, which was lavishly ornamented with semi-quilted brown, tan and red floral motifs and extensive fringing. The wool-lined hunting coat had flapped pockets and two rows of cartridge or shotshell holders over each breast. What caught his fancy most about the coat was its hideousness and striking elk-tooth buttons. It was a damn fine coat that cost much more than a typical 16-year-old could afford. It was one of a kind. His father hated it.
Elias needn’t worry about money. The Calhoun family struck it rich during the Gold Rush when he was a boy and his dad invested in Denver’s 5280 Water Works, a very profitable venture. His dad didn’t run the company, but he was a shrewd water baron nonetheless and made many major business decisions.
Elias walked with a youthful swagger whilst wearing the ugly coat, feeling free and powerful. Clive, his new pack mule, seemed to swagger along with each step. The new coat looked as though it repelled the dirt and dust from the hectic streets.
In his new saddlebags Elias had a sturdy supply of flour, meal, cracked corn, bacon, beans, salt and raisins. He would hunt and trap for the rest of his food. There was an abundant amount of fur-bearing game where he planned on going. He could sell the pelts from a season of trapping back in Denver to earn his keep. He enjoyed working for what he had and wanted to survive on his own, without help from the caches of money in the vaults of the prestigious banks in the city. Elias would make do without money. Who needed money when you had a repulsive coat to keep you warm?
He would make do with what nature provided him and what he learned from his father, the Indians and books.
He had several guns for hunting. He purchased two .44 caliber plum-colored Remington handguns with matching leather holsters, a sturdy stag-handled Bowie knife with 8 1/2-inch spear-point blade and a “Yellow Boy” Winchester rifle. The rifle fired 13, .44 caliber rimfire rounds from the tubular magazine underneath the barrel. He had ample ammunition.
He was excited to get moving. He was even more excited to get his hunt on. There would be plenty to hunt: antelope, bison, deer, bear, bobcat, mountain lion, wolf, coyote, raccoon, skunk, badger, muskrat, mink and weasel. The game, plus his provisions, would let him survive comfortably well into winter. If he decided to stay that long. Elias’ varied interests meant he wanted to experience everything life had to offer, which destined him getting tired of things rather quickly. With quail, prairie chicken, turkey, dove, swan and geese, there was plenty to eat if he could catch it. And catch it he would, with his bare hands if he had too. He had no misgivings about strangling a prairie chicken to death if it provided a good meal.
Posted by RAD at December 23, 2007 6:48 AM