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Episode 20

Lars Wolf
Jul 25, 2020
6 min read

Charleston, Arizona Territory

Francis Oury and Hank Hanson are riding to Charleston so Oury is able to get an impression of the city. Hanson grew up there and since Oury asked Hanson to organize a meeting with Gifford at his ranch, they will both stay in Charleston and ride together to Gifford from here.

Fancy Finley plays poker with Tilmothy Meade and Ernest Barbey. He loves this game and the annual poker tournament will also take place at the Molinette Hotel in Benson in a few weeks. Randolph McLaren will participate and Finley is also interested in participating. In the background you can see Micho Cruz, who works for McLaren in one of the mines in Black Diamond.

Oury and Hanson are welcomed by Marshal Walt Rowland. Hanson is an acquaintance of the Fisher family and is their guest when he is in Charleston. Hanson has a good relationship with the boy Hank Fisher and always spends a lot of time with him.

In Charleston, Mayor Randolph McLaren is in charge of everything. He is also called the "King of Copper" because he has made a name for himself especially by mining copper and has thus made a great fortune.

People in Cochise County rarely see him, and no one knows exactly where he came from, as the stories diverge so much that some think he was one of the leading figures at Comstock Lode, others say he was there when there was found gold at Sutter's Mill and others claim that he led incoming settlers through the Oregon Trail and protected them from the dangers. There are many of these stories and one seems more absurd than the other. Fact is that he owns a lot of mines in Cochise County and the Charleston residents are happy that he guarantees them safety.

He introduced that the inhabitants gather during lunchtime and food is prepared together by them. Charleston has a marshal, but it doesn't have the usual function of a marshal. It only has a representative function. Since McLaren was there for Rowland when he was young and was a kind of father substitute, their relationship with each other is good, and McLaren assured him that one day he could become a Marshal if he founded a city.

The actual men of the law are the men of the McLaren gang who have their own laws. For a long time, nobody at the Marshals' house noticed that the “Marshal Office” was standing. That alone says a lot. Still, Walt Rowland is very committed to hunting outlaws.

Charleston is also the place Fancy Finley calls home. For this reason alone, many are afraid to visit the place.

Hanson, Oury and Rowland talk about what's happening in the county. Rowland says that criminals like Spencer Price are devastating the whole county and should therefore be hunted. There were far too many of these bounty hunters who came to the county just because of the high reward personally issued by Gifford. "We formed a group of law enforcement officers and rode to Hereford. Then we caught a criminal who is responsible for numerous crimes and has the best relationship with Gifford. Isn't that weird? So isn't it crazy? We formed a group with all available lawmen of Cochise County. Everybody takes part. Everyone was afraid of Lawrence and we were alone in the saloon and overwhelmed him. The newspapers only talk about the two bounty hunters, who are themselves only criminals. We did the work there! "

Hanson and Oury know the real story and know how to evaluate the story.

Oury replies: “Yes, unfortunately it is often the case that stories and the real happening diverge. There are too many people who tell too much and are already thinking about what new elements their story could get during the next telling. '

In conclusion, Rowland wishes Hanson and Oury much success and shakes hands with both.

Shortly thereafter, the two make their way to Gifford's Esobaria Ranch.

Hanson and Oury are at the entrance to the Escobaria Ranch.

Hanson tells Oury that he shouldn't be surprised that the ranch is so well guarded. Some say it resembles a military fort, but security is very important to Gifford because his entire family lives on the ranch, which includes his closest employees.

Charles Gifford rarely invits people to his ranch because he is usually not interested to get visitors. When it comes to appointments that have something to do with his cattle breeding or political talks, these talks take place in the Crystal Palace Saloon in Bisbee.

One of Giffords men tells Oury to unbuckle his gunbelt. Hanson can keep his gun, he says, but not Oury. "Even when your Mexican friend is not there, we'd better be careful with you, my friend."

Lorne and Arleigh Frush, Stanley Hodges and Josiah Foster welcome Charles Gifford Oury and Hanson to the ranch. These are Gifford's most important employees.

Gifford apologizes for letting Oury walking around unarmed on his ranch. I have nothing against you, absolutely nothing. I'm actually really glad, we get to know each other and I'm glad, you are apparently the only one here who wants to understand what's really going on in the county.

Speaking to Gifford Oury says, he was very surprised, there were people who suspected him of being responsible for the stagecoach robbery. There are so many things that seem realistic to him, but this is a scenario that Oury can completely exclude from the feeling alone. "There are no facts anyway," says Oury .. Gifford replies that there are generally no facts, which makes the situation so difficult. Nor could he imagine, it was one of his men. Lawrence had promised not to do any nonsense in the county. "He looked me in the eyes and promised it!" I have no idea what got into him and what happened at Hereford. "I think he felt like he had no more value when I hired Spencer Price. Price is simply the best, but Lawrence couldn't separate the private and the professional. He's like a son to me, you know? One of my men, Zachary Pine, has never come back since. I think he influenced Lawrence. Well, what I actually wanted to tell you is, I can look at you and promising having nothing to do with the robbery."

Gifford says to Oury: “I am not a friend of you riding with a Mexican, but I think beeing a team and trusting each other is a great thing for sure. Find the one who is responsible for all this! McLaren is afraid of you and I hope you respect him and his men and be very careful. If you need help when you are in the north of the county I will tell you having my friend Henry Chadwick on his ranch there and I will contact him to help you if you need help. Take care of Hanson and bring Price back to me if you’d see him.”

Mitch Meanor is also looking for information. He was told in Tombstone, if he wanted information about those wanted men, he absolutely had to ride to Charleston. Meanor doesn't have much experience as a bounty hunter, but the amount of the reward was more than appealing to him. Already on arrival, Meanor looked a bit naive and is also poorly prepared because he only inquired roughly about the area and furthermore his information about the events is extremely thin. But driven by the events in Hereford, Meanor believes, he is one of the bounty hunters who could bring some peace quiet back into a population ,he actually doesn't know about.

"I'm looking for Keogh and Stubbs and I'm sure, Charleston is the right place!",says Meanor to Randolph McLaren, who then hits his fist in the face with full force. Meanwhile, Marshal Rowland has returned to his office to drink a cup of coffee.

Ernest Barbey and Fancy Finley telling Meanor they didn't think anyone could be that stupid and looking for trouble here in Charleston. McLaren says Meanor: “Now this is what will happen: You take your horse, ride back to Tombstone and take the next stagecoach to the place you came from. If my men see you here somewhere again tomorrow, it is your end. "