Chapter 1 - cont'd
Tommy’s Father
Bob Sharp had no equal in his knowledge of the wilderness. Some said that he could actually "speak" to animals. In fact, it was often told how he had once escaped death in quicksand, on the banks of the Ohio, by somehow luring a wild buck near enough to secure a grip on it’s antlers and be pulled to safety! There was no creature, in God’s creation, that Bob couldn’t track through virtually any terrain or conditions. As a matter of fact, there were many occasions when law-enforcement officials would enlist Bob to employ his talents to capture felons who had otherwise avoided capture. Bob’s record of success at these endeavors was unblemished!
Bob had been born Robert Sharp, somewhere in the Tennessee mountains. Noone ever knew where or when, but it was rumored that it was shortly after the turn of the century, during the Thomas Jefferson Administration. He lived on the frontier, with his folks, until he turned twenty-one in Ohio. That was when he decided to seek his fortune as a trapper. He trapped the Rockies with Joe Meek, William Cody, the Hudson’s Bay Company men and many other famous and infamous figures. Each year he would bring his furs to the Rendezvous and then travel back to Ohio to see that his Mother was provided for. For health reasons she had been forced to remain behind when Bob’s father moved on with the frontier. Bob’s Father was not a bad man, he just couldn’t stand living in a place where the nearest neighbor was less than a two-day ride away!
The fifth Spring of Bob’s trapping, 1825, he returned to the Ohio after receiving word that his Mother was near death. He had no idea that his life would never be the same again! Two weeks after arriving home, his mother died. Her last request was that he marry and settle in the Oregon Territory. One of the last letters that she had ever received from Bob’s Dad was from there, telling how wonderful Oregon was, and how much he wished the family could be together again in that wonderful land.
"The valley of the Willamette" wrote Bob’s father, "is a paradise for any with the strength of mind, body, and spirit to settle here. I’ve built a cabin at the foot of an old volcano cinder cone. It overlooks a beautiful meadow filled with wildflowers in the Spring and Summer, and has a grand view of the Mountain called Hood. It’s not big, but big enough, and a hard day’s ride from those infernal English and church folk at Fort Vancouver and Oregon City!" Less than two months after the date of the letter Bob’s family had been notified that his father had drowned somewhere near the falls of the Willamette!
Oddly enough, while selling the family holdings, he was approached by the authorities to help apprehend a fugitive from Massachusetts. The officials knew only that it was some woman accused of murdering a man under very unusual circumstances, and then burning his house to the ground! Bob had never been enlisted to track a woman, and was somehow impressed that a "mere girl" was capable of both murder and eluding apprehension for over a year!
Noone ever accompanied Bob when he was tracking, for they only slowed him down. Nearly running, most of the time he was tracking a fugitive, it took him a mere forty-eight hours to cover the distance it had taken this woman the better part of a week to travel. Although Bob was a great deal faster he was, nevertheless, quite impressed by the woman’s speed and stamina! He realized that he was developing a certain admiration for her.
The fourth day out he overtook her. She was apparently not aware of his presence when he first caught sight of her. He couldn’t believe his eyes! He’d never beheld such loveliness! He was smitten! How could such beauty ever belong to a murderess?
Her hair was black and shining as Obsidian and hung, like icicles, to her waist. Her eyes were not unlike a cat’s, and were an almost iridescent turquoise in color. Her complexion was olive, and her lips were drawn from months of anxious flight, but still glistened like ripe cherries. Her figure was full, and all the more breathtaking with the leanness of vigorous physical application.
Bob had been stealthily approaching her when she finally caught sight of him. For one electric moment their eyes met and they both froze in their tracks! It was as if some spiritual transmission was exchanged. Like some power that transcended any they knew had been guiding their paths, all their lives, to this very second and at last they knew why! Bob remembered, with a start, why he was there and cautiously, almost whispering, asked "Are you Beth?" It was almost as if he were in the presence of some beautiful forest creature that may take flight at any moment if he spoke to loudly or harshly!
Hearing Bob’s voice snapped Beth back to consciousness of her situation. She was annoyed with herself for letting this man creep so close without detection. Taking her frustration out on herself she replied impertinently, "Who wants to know?" Although she sensed that Bob was reluctant to approach her, their deep spiritual sensitivity to one another was overshadowed by the intensity of the moment. It seemed like an invasion of privacy and a downright nuisance!
"Lady, I’ve been trackin’ you for four days now and, if you kilt a man like they say, you better be answerin’ and not askin’!" Beth’s impertinence had irritated Bob, and his tone reflected his reluctance to permit any disrespect. He was annoyed and wanted Beth to have no doubt about who was in charge of this situation. He was about twice Beth’s one hundred ten pounds, and knew that he could easily subdue her. Beth knew that he wouldn’t as long as she played her cards right.
"Yes, I’m Beth Natas," Beth began to sob uncontrollably. "but I never killed a living thing in my life!" The months of living in fear of apprehension must have taken it’s toll, and whether planned or not, all Beth’s defenses were down. Suddenly Bob found himself holding her in his muscular arms, patting her gently on the back, and telling her soothingly "Now, now, little lady. There’s nothin’ to be gettin’ yerself all distressed about!" Somehow he believed her when she pronounced her innocence, and told her so. After he’d helped Beth regain her composure enough to talk intelligibly, he asked her to tell him what had happened. She told him the story, as it had actually happened, and soon they were amazed to find themselves laughing and chatting as though they’d known one another for years! Bob suddenly knew that he had to somehow help this beautiful woman in her distress! But how?
"Beth," bob began to speak confidently, as if he’d come to a decision of some sort. However, his voice began to sound a little less confident as he realized how preposterous his scheme seemed. "I want you to come with me. As my wife. Nobody will be looking for a couple. They’ll be looking for just you! I won’t turn you in, and we can go to Oregon. My Father built a cabin in the Willamette Valley, before he died, and we can live there. If things don’t work out, I reckon we’ll just have to deal with it then. I’m bettin’ that ain’t gonna happen! Well? What d’you say?"
"I’m probably just as crazy as you are, but I think I can trust you with my life. Actually I may not have any other choice. So when do we leave?" That was all there was to it. Bob and Beth were bonded from that time forward and few, if any, have ever known a more deep and mutually supportive and accepting kind of relationship. There may be those who might believe Bob to have been "bewitched" by Beth. Maybe she really was a witch! It really didn’t matter though, for the rest is history. Beth and Bob’s life together was a strange and turbulent adventure. From the moment their eyes first met!
Tommy
Far back in the dim past, Portland, Oregon was nothing more than a small cluster of ramshackle buildings surrounded by the many stumps that were all that remained of the trees which had been cut to build the structures. Built on the land that gradually sloped up to the hills west of the river, it was a very serene community. Certainly not anything to write home about. It wasn’t even Oregon then, but Oregon Territory, and Portland was called "Stumptown" in profound observation of the abundance of these features. "Stumptown" was about eighteen miles, or a hard day’s ride, north of Oregon City. It was about the same distance south of Fort Vancouver.
The east side of the river was forested, with the exception of a meadow here and there. One such meadow was on the east side of an extinct volcano cinder cone a couple miles east of the river. This was where Bob’s father had built his cabin. High enough on the slope that it overlooked the meadow, and provided a clear view of Mt. Hood, to the east. Beth and Bob Sharp had moved into this cabin in November of 1825. The cabin had been built just a few years earlier by Bob’s father, who drowned near the falls of the Willamette, a short time later. Some said that the cabin had an evil spirit because of the old Indian burial site the cabin was built over.
It was a memorable occasion at the birth of Beth and Bob’s son, Tommy, for it was the same day that the "Smoking Mountain" began to belch great billowing clouds of smoke and ash miles into the sky! On clear days, for the weeks that followed, the mountain northwest of the area was really an exciting site to behold! It was May 31, 1831...nearly five years after Beth and Bob had arrived at their cabin, and five years to the day after they had married on the trail between Ohio and Oregon Territory.
It had taken several years for Beth and Bob to have children, and it’s said that the only reason that Beth ever conceived at all was due to the medicine of the Great Spirit given them by a local Multnomah Indian Medicineman! According to the story, the Medicineman mixed Beth’s blood with the blood of a Timber Wolf, Bear, Salmon, and Eagle. He put this concoction in an amulet with the tooth of a so-called "Spirit Dog", Wah-te-jah, and instructed Beth to wear this over her belly from one full moon to the next. Whether or not it was the amulet which caused her to conceive, or just coincidence, is hard to say, but nevertheless she became pregnant while she was wearing it, and gave birth to Tommy. She never had another child before Tommy’s father mysteriously disappeared one stormy night, never to be seen again!
Joe
A few weeks after Tommy’s birth, Bob had to go up to Fort Vancouver to trade some furs and farm goods. While he was checking over the items that were available for trade he spotted a furry little black pup as it played at the feet of an old Indian. Solid black from the tip of it’s tail to the tip of it’s nose, he looked for all the world like a Wolf cub! The pup frolicked in the sun with boundless energy, but even as he tumbled and rolled in the dust he seemed to be aware of every sound and activity in the busy trading post!
What an amazing animal, Bob thought, as he walked toward the Indian holding the buckskin lease tied around the pups neck. Bob thought about what a wonderful gift this would be for his newborn son, Tommy! The pup’s alert, beady black eyes, followed Bob’s every move as he approached.
"How much for this little varmint?" Bob said. "I’ll give you two beaver pelt."
"This Big Medicine dog," the Indian scowled. "worth six hides!"
"No dogs worth that much," Bob scoffed. "what makes him such a `Big Medicine’ dog?"
The Indian slowly raised the pups left hind leg to reveal an odd deformity. "See five toed paw? This is Wah-te-jah’s own son!" Bob remembered hearing the name "Wah-te-jah" somewhere before, but couldn’t remember where at the moment. "Wah-te-jah have no other offspring! Only Wah-te-jah have five toes on left hind leg!"
"So who, or what’s Wah-te-jah?" asked Bob with a little annoyance in his voice.
"Wah-te-jah is sacred Wolf who live in Smoking Mountain with Great Spirit! Him Chief of all animals like Great Spirit Chief of all spirits. Great Spirit give Wah-te-jah jaws like stone, teeth sharp like knife, hard like rifle barrel, and wisdom great, like Great Spirit!"
"How do you know so much about this Wah-te-jah?" bob asked with skepticism. He grew impatient with the apparent arrogance of this know-it-all Indian, but it suddenly occurred to him that it was allegedly a tooth of this Wah-te-jah which was in Beth's conception amulet!
"I am Medicineman! Know ways of spirits! Know Great Spirit in small pup. See how he watch and know all that is said?" The Indian pointed to the pup and he really did seem to be aware of all that was being said. His mouth hung open with his little pink tongue hanging out, looking for all the world as if her were smiling!
"Yeah, he does seem to know that we’re talkin’ about him." Bob muttered in amazement. "Alright, here’s the six skins!" Bob handed the Indian the six Beaver pelt and took the black pup. He noticed how the little pup seemed to be smiling, and smiled as he remarked "Hope the mutt’s worth it! By the way, how old is he?"
"Him born last time Smoking Mountain spit fire."
"Hey! He was born the same day as my boy, Tommy!"
"That good juju!" the Indian muttered.
"Did you say his name is Joe? Tommy and Joe! What a fine pair they’re gonna make!" Bob could never have known how prophetic his words would prove to be!
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