MANNYSMOKE: The Lost Episode 3A Part 2
The Onliest Thing you Get From Straddling a Fence is a Sore Backside.
Jesse stood in the doorway watching Miss Bauer walk down the street. He scratched his head and snapped his galooses again. Then it hit him. Sometimes these women beat all get out. The schoolteacher had the same exact reaction the Marshall had yesterday when Jesse mentioned the teacher to him.
Yep, these two could be potential sparkers. Jesse tried to think as he dug a fork into the cherry pie. The problem was he reasoned that both of them were too darned proud to ever come half a ways around the pig poke and meet each other square in the eye. Maybe he could do something about it. This was going to take some thinking, yep, two pies worth of thinking and he dug his fork into the other pie, "Hmmm huckleberry, the Marshall's favorite."
Her attempts to see the Marshall stopped at midstream (Oh Lord she thought I am starting to think like that deputy), Michelle decided to go to the dry goods store to check on a few items she neglected to bring from St. Louis.
She walked into the store and introduced herself to the shopkeeper. His name was Buzz "Morris Collar" Cooper.
Buzz was a great guy, all the ladies thought so, he had special days just for them when they could come in and shop without any of the men around, except for Buzz of course. Buzz just buzzed around his little bees he said and would not bother them at all unless he was needed. He even served tea and cakes. Still Michelle thought she smelled something other than honey in this store. After a few pleasantries, Michelle started pointing out the high costs of the goods Buzz Cooper was pawning off on his customers.
"You will not find any lower prices than mine in this town missy," Buzz said.
"That may be sir, because your shop is the only establishment in town to sell these kinds of items. I doubt if even the drummers coming through town would try these mark-ups. Look at this catalog, you've marked everything up 20% from the list price."
This little lady had spunk. He smiled back at her. If there was one thing Buzz "Morris Collar" Cooper disliked more in the world than someone with spunk, well he didn't know what it was. This one was a real pistol. Buzz hated this business, hated the huge mark-ups always wondered why he spent so much time at the store when he could be back on his ranch with the hired hands doing a man's job. If his daddy knew that he was busy selling ladies undergarments and ordering fine linens through the catalogs, why he would turn over in his still. Buzz saw Mrs. Selena Davis enter the store and bend down to pick up a roll of material. He smiled, that was the reason he spent so much time in town at his store. No ranch hands looked like Mrs. Davis, no ma'am.
He thought about the new schoolteachers comments. She was right partly. Nevertheless, Buzz had a plan and if a few people had less coin in their pockets well that was the law of the land. His plan was to save his money, continue investing and retire from this flea bitten town with a million dollars. Towards that end, Buzz spent a lot of his saved money in 1872 and 1873 investing in a new mail order catalog company called Montgomery Ward. If this Chicago based Mail Order Company hit the big time, he could leave this little burg for the city of his dreams, a little place called Springfield Illinois. If Ward's company failed then well, he would owe his ranch and 2000+ acres of prime pasture land to Ben Warren's Bank. They did not call it Savings R Us for nothing.
Buzz's way out of this town was his investments in Montgomery Ward's catalog business. Sure Ward had some far out ideas of offering the catalog to the customers directly but for now, Buzz Cooper knew a good deal when he saw one. He would retire from this town one-way or another. Yep, he was going to be a millionaire when he left this town or his name wasn't, well, that is a different story.
Michelle checked her pocket watch as she noticed that it was dark outside, it was almost 6 PM and she would miss dinner at this rate. She walked towards the door then ducked back in suddenly. "Did you forget something, Miss Bauer, some boots or shoes perhaps? There was one thing Buzz Cooper knew and that was when someone was trying to hide from something or someone. He did not mind not as long as he could take advantage of the situation. Miss Bauer bought a pair of alabaster prairie lace-up boots and started looking at one of the catalogs. Buzz sniffed the air, yep, he could smell something was up and he did not think it was honey.
In a few minutes, the Marshall walked into the store. Cooper ever solicitous of the Marshall at least while he was in town, offered to assist him in the selection of a gift for his sister's birthday in December. Miss Bauer took this opportunity to slowly creep out of the store. Buzz noticed this and called out just as she was out the door, "Goodbye Miss Bauer, you come back now real soon."
Michelle ran most of the way back to Eleni's boarding house. She was almost there, when she heard his voice then his gloved hand on hers. He stopped her and pulled her into a rarely used side entryway. She wondered what irritating thing he would say to her today.
"Miss Bauer, I just wanted to say that my deputy really enjoyed the food you brought him today. Yes, do not deny it. You really surprise me flirting like that in broad daylight with Jesse Blue. Then I see you go in Buzz Cooper's store and spend over two hours with him alone. What are you trying to do line up a row of potential husbands? You know there will be an election dance next week, the entire regiment of Fort Dodge is coming over, perhaps you can add onto your dance card then."
She could not believe her ears. This man, he had all the gall to insinuate that she was after a man for marriage or for anything else, after he himself had taken such liberties with her.
She started to speak but no words came out. He had even taken the time and effort to set his hat back on his head as if to make a point during his little speech.
"Cat got your tongue Miss Bauer? Well, I will say goodnight to you then," he smirked.
Somewhere Michelle summoned up the courage to respond to him, "Marshall Santos, I just wanted to tell you that I think you are the most pig headed, cruel insensitive beast that I have ever had the misfortune to know in my lifetime. I know that you think you are God's gift to women but you have another thought coming if you think that I am after those two men in this town, or any man in this town for that matter. I am here because this is where my brother lives and it is a place for me to begin my teaching career."
Danny Santos stared down at her face lit by the street torch lamp. She looked good when she was mad, somewhat saucy and her lips when she spoke, her lips, well. He reached over to her and pulled her closer. She looked up at him and tilted her head, obviously thinking of another come back. Danny decided to just kiss her one more time; just this time to be sure his memories served him correctly.
She pursed her lips and wet them, she was ready in fact to say something else to the Marshall but saw that he was going to kiss her again. Well, I suppose that point can wait she thought and she closed her eyes as he swept his mouth down to hers. She parted her lips under his tender pressuring and as his tongue entered her mouth, she felt a little faint. She leaned against him and responded to his kiss by following his tongue with her own. As the kiss intensified and became two then three embraces, her breath became ragged. She noticed that he was breathing heavily too and she allowed herself to be carried away by the feeling aroused by this shared intimacy. Michelle raised her leg up against his and his knee buckled a bit in response. They broke from the kiss and stared intently at one another trying to catch their breaths. He smiled down at her and lowered his mouth to claim another kiss.
The spell was broken by the sound of Eleni screeching at the top of her lungs, "Get out of here you loser and don't come back" I have had it with you. How long has it been since you came to see your child or me? Months! And tonight you show up with some flowers and think I will lay with you? Get out now." They both stepped away from the door when Frank Cooper, Jr., barreling out the door followed swiftly by Eleni who was hitting Frank over the head with a bunch of flowers. The fighting couple looked surprised to see the Marshall and the schoolteacher and stopped their bickering for about 30 seconds.
Danny said, "Well, I'd better go check up on Jesse Blue, it was nice talking to you again Miss Bauer."
Michelle should have thrown something at him. His sly smile made her realize he was teasing her. She looked up at the night sky; it was a beautiful evening, the sky was full of stars. It was a night full of magical chances; anything might be possible.
Deputy Marshall Blue stood in the doorway to the office. From where he stood, he could see the boarding house side entrance perfectly. It was nice to see the Marshall interested in a woman again. About time, he thought. He rubbed his belly, those pies were delicious, he could use some dinner about now, which saloon should he go to tonight? Over at Selena's it was chowder night and up at the Towers it was chili and beans night, always a good choice. Of course, Mrs. Kitty never served food, she did not have too. He sauntered off down the street.
Miss Michelle Bauer's Lessons for the Day
Lesson 1
Branding your cattle is the most important way to identify which head of cattle you own. It was crucial in a place like Kansas in the 1870s where many cattle were allowed to range free over vast acreage. Branding is hard on both the cattle and the men or women doing the work. It is a cruel and intensely concentrated job, this marring of a cow's flesh. You smell the sizzle as the branding iron sears into the animal's skin. You know that the animal is in unbearable pain and you as the brander are either holding the iron down into the animal's flesh or you are holding the cow down with all your might to keep it from hurting you, your branding partner or mutilating itself.
Ranches are usually named after the owner's branding symbol. In olden days it was accepted that you did not put your animal through the pain of a long named brand on its hide. Ranch names were usually short like Rio, Lobo, and Grand etc. A rancher like Spaulding as he is depicted in this fiction would not be respected by other ranchers for naming the ranch something like Rancherino, because that is the name that would be branded on his herd, a long pain inflicting name.
Cattle are typically brought off range for branding. The herd can smell fear in an instant and you do not want your herd uncontained when you are branding or rimming. You want everyone calm and unconcerned in his or her own little paddock areas. There is no need to start a stampede when all you are doing is trying to protect your herd from poaching. You lasso and rope a cow to brand it, as a rancher, you reason it out that you have to do this to protect yourself and the animal.
Of course, branding is still done today; indeed more of it is done now than say 20 years ago. In addition, branders are using a rimming iron again, deemed illegal just 10 years ago. A rimming iron is more painful to the animal but it gets the job done faster.
The next time you buy a purse think about this lesson, especially if the purse has a fancy logo, trademark, or brand on it. Think about how the name brand got its name.
Lesson 2
Aaron Montgomery Ward was born in 1844. As he traveled across the United States, he made his way as a salesperson. Reaching Chicago in the early 1860s, he went to work for a series of dry good houses before becoming a drummer or salesperson in the south. This work solidified his desire to charge decent prices for his goods and offer the consumer a choice in goods. Beset by financial problems, he needed backing and appealed to retailers to invest in his ideas. Finally, after a series of monumental disasters, including the great Chicago fire of 1871, Ward successfully got the business off the ground with about $1000 of personal funding and untold backing by other small retailers who believed in his mission.
By 1873, Montgomery Ward's "Wish Book" was distributed to small dry goods retailers all across western America and to individual homes upon request back east. Eastern retailers hated the book but those in the west loved it the first few years. It made their business simpler and allowed them to still take a small mark-up on the goods.
In 1946, The Montgomery Ward catalog's place in history was guaranteed when the Grolier Club (a New York society of book lovers which started meeting this same year) exhibited the catalog along with Webster's Dictionary as one of the 100 American Books chosen for their influence on life and culture of the people.
"The mail order catalog has been perhaps the greatest single influence in increasing the standards of American middle-class living (paraphrased from Grolier Club dedication).
Beyond his dedication and concern for the everyman and every woman of our society, he was also a devout man who spent much of his time on environmental conservation efforts.
Much of Chicago's public land now set aside for the enjoyment of its residents are due in part to Ward's initial efforts."
Contrary to popular opinion, Sears and J.C. Penney did not come onto the mail order scene until 1886 and 1902 respectively. Sears did not become a major competitor until 1890 and Sears did not become a major player until around 1910. For more information about the history of Montgomery Ward, visit the web page where this information was obtained at
http://www.wards.com/HTML/AaronHistory.html
