Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove

"I didn't come all this way just to drown in the last dern river," Jasper said.

"It ain't the last," Augustus said. "Montana don't stop at the Yellowstone. The Missouri's up there somewhere, and it's a whale of a river."

"Well, I don't aim to cross it," Jasper said. It seemed to him he had spent half the trip imagining how it would be to be sucked down into a deep river, and he wanted it understood that he was only willing to take so many chances.

"I guess you'll cross it if the Captain wants to keep going," Dish said. Jasper's river fears grated on everybody's nerves. Nobody liked crossing rivers, but it didn't help to talk about the dangers constantly for three thousand miles.

"Well, Jake talked of a Milk River, and one called the Marais," Augustus said.

"Looks like you'd be satisfied," Jasper said. "Ain't we traveled enough? I'd like to step into a saloon in good old Fort Worth, myself. I'd like to see my home again while my folks are still alive."

"Why, that ain't the plan," Augustus said. "We're up here to start a ranch. Home and hearth don't interest us. We hired you men for life. You ought to have said goodbye to the old folks before you left."

"What are we going to do, now that we're here?" Lippy asked. The question was on everyone's minds. Usually when a cattle drive ended the men just turned around and went back to Texas, but then most drives stopped in Kansas, which seemed close to home compared to where they were now. Many of them harbored secret doubts about their ability to navigate a successful return to Texas. Of course, they knew the direction, but they would have to make the trip in winter, and the Indians that hadn't been troublesome on the way north might want to fight as they went south.

"I like a town," Lippy added. "It don't have to be St. Louis, just a town. As long as it has a saloon or two I can get by. But I wasn't meant to live out in the open during the winter."

Call knew the men were wondering, but he wasn't ready to stop. Jake had said some of the most beautiful land was far to the north, near Canada. It would be a pity to stop and make a choice before they had looked around thoroughly.

He contemplated leaving the men and going on a long look around himself, north of Yellowstone, but decided against it, mainly because of Indians. Things looked peaceful, but that didn't mean they would stay peaceful. There could easily be a bad fight, and he didn't want to be gone if one came.

Finally he decided to send Augustus. "I hate to give you the first look, but somebody's got to look," he said. "Would you want to go?"

"Oh, sure," Augustus said. "I'd be happy to get away from all this tedious conversation. Maybe I'll trot through this Miles City community and see if anyone stocks champagne."

"Take the look around first, if you can be bothered," Call said. "I doubt the main street of Miles Cty would make a good ranch, and I doubt you'll get any farther, once you spot a saloon. We need to find a place and get some shelters built before winter hits. Take a man with you, in case you get into trouble," Call suggested.

"I can get myself out of trouble," Augustus said. "But if I have to lead some quaking spirit like Jasper Fant it'll slow me down. None of these cowpokes is exactly wilderness hands. We buried the last reliable man down on the Powder, remember?"

"I remember," Call said.

"You don't want to make too many mistakes in this part of the country," Augustus said. "You'll end up bearshit."

"Take Pea," Call said. "Pea can follow orders."

"Yes, that's what he can do," Augustus said. "I guess I'll take him, though he won't provide much conversation."

Pea Eye was not enthusiastic about going on a scout with Gus, but since the Captain told him to, he tied his bedroll on his saddle and got ready. Other than securing his bedroll, his preparations consisted mainly of sharpening his knife. One thing Pea Eye firmly believed was that it was foolish to start on a trip without a sharp knife. Inevitably on a trip there were things that needed cutting or skinning or trimming. Once his knife was sharp, Pea Eye was ready, more or less. He knew he wouldn't get much relaxation on the trip because he was traveling with Gus, and Gus talked all the time. It was hard to relax when he had to be constantly listening. Besides, Gus was always asking questions which were hard to understand, much less answer.

It was a breezy morning when they started out-a dark cloud bank had formed in the northwest, and the men were talking of snow.

"I said way back in Lonesome Dove we'd be crossing the dern Yellowstone on the ice if we didn't get started," Jasper reminded them. "Now all this time has passed, and I may be right."

"Even if you was right, you'd be wrong, Jasper," Augustus said, as he stuffed an extra box or two of ammunition into his saddlebags.

"I'd like to know why, Gus," Jasper said, annoyed that Gus was always singling him out for criticism.

"I'll explain it when I get back," Augustus said. "Come on, Pea, let's go see if we can find Canada."

They loped off, watched by the whole camp. The crew had been made melancholy by the approaching clouds. Po Campo had wandered off looking for roots.

Augustus and Pea Eye passed him nearly a mile from camp. "Po, you're a rambler," Augustus said. "What do you expect to find on this old plain?"

"Wild onions," Po Campo said. "I'd like an onion."

"I'd like a jug of bourbon whiskey, myself," Augustus said. "I wonder which one of us will get his wish."

" Adios ," Po Campo said.

A day and a half later the two scouts rode over a grassy bluff and saw the Yellowstone River, a few miles away. Fifty or sixty buffalo were watering when they rode up. At the sight of the horsemen the buffalo scattered. The cloud bank had blown away and the blue sky was clear for as far as one could see. The river was swift but not deep-Augustus paused in his crossing and leaned down, drinking from his cupped hands. The water was cold.

"Sweet water, but it don't compare with bourbon whiskey," he said.

"Jasper won't need them floats," Pea Eye remarked.

"He might," Augustus said. "He might fall off his horse if he gets real nervous. Let's chase the buffalo for a while."

"Why?" Pea asked. Po Campo had packed them plenty of meat. He couldn't imagine why Gus would bother with buffalo. They were cumbersome to skin, and he and Gus had no need for so much meat.

Nonetheless, it was follow or be left, for Augustus had loped off after the buffalo, who had only run about a mile. He soon put them to flight again and raced along beside them, riding close to the herd. Pea Eye, caught by surprise, was left far behind in the race. He kept expecting to hear Gus's big rifle, but he didn't, and after a run of about two miles came upon Gus sitting peacefully on a little rise. The buffalo were still running, two or three miles ahead.

"Kill any?" Pea asked.

"No, I wasn't hunting," Augustus said.

"Did you just want to run 'em off, or what?" Pea asked. As usual, Gus's behavior was a complete puzzle.

"Pea, you ain't got your grip on the point," Augustus said. "I just wanted to chase a buffalo once more. I won't have the chance much longer, and nobody else will either, because there won't be no buffalo to chase. It's a grand sport too."

"Them bulls can hook you," Pea Eye reminded him. "Remember old Barlow? A buffalo bull hooked his horse and the horse fell on Barlow and broke his hip."

"Barlow was a slow thinker," Augustus observed. "He just loped along and got hooked."

"A slow walker, too, once his hip got broke," Pea Eye said. "I wonder what happened to Barlow."

"I think he migrated to Seguin, or somewhere over in there," Augustus said. "Married a fat widow and had a passel of offspring. You ought to have done the same, but here you are in Montana."