“Now here is a piece of land you may like, Mr. MacCallister,” the clerk said. “It is quite near the town of Chugwater. The land is situated between the Little Bear and Bear Creeks, starting at the confluence of the two creeks and extending for three quarters of a mile to the west, bordered on the north by the Bear and on the south by the Little Bear.”
“Do the creeks have water year around?” Duff asked.
“Very good question, Mr. MacCallister, and the answer is, yes, they do. And the land between the two streams is gently rolling grassland, so it is ideal for farming or ranching. You can homestead six hundred and forty acres of federal land and two thousand acres of Wyoming territorial land. And, as it is free range there with no adjacent claims, it means you will have an additional ten thousand acres of grazing land available to you.”
“What do I have to do to make this come about?” Duff asked.
“Just sign these forms, then occupy and improve the land,” the clerk replied. “It is vital that you improve it.”
“And that means?”
“You must build and occupy a structure.”
“I shall be in need of a horse,” Duff said as he signed the papers the clerk put before him. “Have you any suggestions?”
“Beeman’s Barn sells horses,” the clerk said. “You might start there.”
The clerk took the application form from Duff, examined it, then pulled a pre-printed form from his desk. He signed it with a flourish, then picked up a stamp, inked it, and pressed the stamp onto the form. Then he pulled out a second form and did the same thing.
“This is a provisional deed to the six hundred and forty federal acres,” he said. He handed the second form to him. “And this is a provisional deed to the two thousand acres of Wyoming Territory land.”
“Provisional?”
“The land is yours in all respects,” the clerk said. “Provisional just means that if you abandon the land in the first five years, it reverts back to the government. But if you occupy it for that whole time, it is yours without reservation.”
Duff took the documents, looked at them, then smiled at Falcon. “How quickly I have improved my lot from pauper to landowner,” he said.
“Welcome to America.”
“I believe I am going to like my new country.”
“My name is Depro. Dennis Depro. If you have any questions about your land, feel free to call on me,” the clerk said.
“Mr. Depro, ye have my gratitude, sir,” Duff said.
Chapter Seventeen
Falcon had brought his horse on the train to Cheyenne, but Duff was without a mount. Since the only way to the land he had just claimed was by horseback, it was necessary for him to buy one. Taking the land clerk’s advice, Duff walked down to Beeman’s Barn, a large livery that sat at the end of the street. The two men stepped inside the barn through the big, open, double doors. It was considerably darker inside the barn as it was illuminated only by the sun that spilled in through the doors, or slashed down through the cracks between the wide, unpainted boards. There were little bits and pieces of hay drifting down from the overhead loft, and the barn was redolent with the pungent aroma of hay and horseflesh and horse droppings.
“Yes, sir, can I do somethin’ for you gents?” a man asked, coming toward them from the back of the barn. He was wearing bibbed coveralls over a red flannel shirt and had the stump of a pipe clenched between his teeth.
“Are you Mr. Beeman?”
“I am.”
“Mr. Beeman, I should like to make the purchase of a horse,” Duff said.
“You are a foreigner, ain’t you?”
“Have you an ordinance against selling horses to foreigners?”
Beeman laughed. “No, sir, none at all. Your money is as good as anyone else’s money.” Suddenly the expression on his face changed. “I mean, you will be using American money, won’t you?”
“I thought I might effect the purchase with Japanese yen.”
“Say what?”
“I am teasing you, Mr. Beeman. Of course I will use American money.”
Beeman’s smile returned. “Then in that case I reckon we can do business. I have a horse that you might be interested in. Wait here and I’ll bring him to you.”
Beeman walked out into the corral and Falcon called out to Duff, “He has saddles and rigging here. You might take a look.”
“Aye, it’s for sure I’ll be needing such,” Duff said.
Duff picked out a saddle, saddle blanket, saddlebags, and bridle and had them pushed to one side when Beeman came back in, leading a horse.
“I think you’ll like this one,” Beeman said.
