(NOTE: This is the seventh part in a serial-type story about the origin of the Lone Ranger. In the last part, Tonto was recalling how he first met John Reid when they were boys.)
Tonto (continued)
“Wait! Stop!” John Reid shouted at his brother, Dan, and friend, Butch Cavendish.
The two either didn’t hear or else they ignored him as they pursued the fleeing Indians into the woods. John took off after them, pushing his horse hard and shouting for his brother and friend to stop. He finally caught up to them in a clearing where they had a man and his son cornered by an impassable thicket of brush. The Indian was brandishing a large knife and shouting something at the white men. He held his son behind him. Both had a look of fear and rage about them.
Dan and Butch got off their mounts and cocked their guns as they closed in on their captives.
“Dan, Butch, NO!” John shouted. “They’re not the ones. They didn’t do it!”
Dan stopped and turned his head to look at his brother. It was a near fatal mistake. The Indian charged him with his knife and Butch shot him in the chest, stopping him just short of Dan. The son let out a loud cry and began to charge at Butch.
Cavendish cocked his pistol and pointed it at the boy, who appeared to be only a year or two older than he was. He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. That caused the boy to hesitate and Butch tried two more times to fire the gun, but it didn’t go off.
Dan was about to fire, but John arrived in time to pull back his arm and point the firearm into the air.
“What did you do that for?” demanded Dan.
At that moment, Butch bent over and picked up the knife the dead Indian had dropped. He and the Indian boy went after each other. John threw himself between the two, knocking the unarmed Indian back and taking Butch’s blade in his side. The wound was superficial. It was enough, however, to get Dan and Butch to turn their attention to him and leave the boy to escape back into the woods. As Dan patched his little brother’s wound, Butch apologized profusely and then got on John’s case for getting in the way and letting the Indian escape.
Several days later, John rode his horse back to the place where the encounter happened. This time he was alone. What was left of the small band had moved on. As he stroll through the clearing, recalling the events of the day, a movement in the trees caught his eye. He stood there and watched as the same Indian boy emerged from the woods and approached him.
“I had hoped you would come back,” he said to John. “I wanted to know why you saved my life after you attacked us.”
“The attack was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened,” John said. “Our homes were attacked by Indians and we were seeking revenge when we found your tribe. My brother and friend attacked, but I realized your people were not the ones we were after. I tried to stop them. I’m sorry I was too late.”
The two spoke for a while, coming to terms and trying to understand one another. Finally, as it came time to part, John extended his hand.
“My name is John Reid and I am proud to be your friend,” he said.
The Indian took the hand and they shook.
“I am called Tonto,” he said.
Tonto took off one of his necklaces and placed it around John’s neck. It was a simple leather string with an intricately carved amulet on it.
“You are ‘Kemosabe’ and with this I will always know you,” he said.
“Kemosabe?” John said. “What does that mean?”
“It means ‘trusty scout.’ You are my trusted friend and this will help protect you on your trail in life,” Tonto said.
John turned to his horse and came back with a sheathed hunting knife. He handed it to Tonto.
“This is for you. I pray that you never have to use it against another human being,” he said.
Over the years the boys would encounter each other several more times. Dan and John eventually joined the Texas Rangers. Dan did so to become an Indian fighter. John was more interested in preserving justice and peace between the whites and Indians. It was that balance that made them a formidable team. Butch struggled to take on the man’s role in his family and saw his childhood come to an abrupt end when his father and brother died.
In the present time, Tonto looked up from the canyon floor and watched as the Lone Ranger and Butch Cavendish fought on almost the exact same spot where the ambush occurred 13 years earlier.
Stay tuned next week for the deadly conclusion of this Lone Ranger story.
(Copyright 2010, Joe Southern)
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