Mountain Man

Summer of 1969 or late spring 1970

It was stifling in the courthouse and I couldn't wait to get out to the riverbank. I had smiled and cajoled and swallowed complaints all morning as I rang up the fees for license plates on the old cash register. The air was fresh and clean out along the Snake and the water going over the falls sent out a fine mist, cooling the parks that ran along both banks. I grabbed my lunch and book as soon I heard the noon whistle blow and went across the street to the river side as fast as I could go in a skirt and heels. I settled into a bench and just sat for a minute, taking in the sound of the water crashing over the rocks and the fresh blue sky. I was younger by at least 10 years than all the other "gals" I worked with. It was good to have a little time to myself. I opened my sandwich and my book at the same time and soon I was lost to the world around me.


I didn't hear him walk up, or feel him sit at the other end of the bench. I just somehow became aware that I was not alone. When I turned and saw him, it was all I could do to stay where I was. He was wearing buckskins, honest to goodness fringed buckskins that were dark and grimy with wear. He had a beard and long hair, so dirty the color was uncertain. The beard looked like it had been trimmed with a knife in big chunks. His fingernails were ragged and rimmed with black dirt all the way around. He was staring at me, looking me up and down like I was game he was trapping.


"I come inta town fer a wife." His eyes were very blue and they bored into me as he spoke. His voice was gravelly and rough, like it hadn't been used much. The creases on his face were deep, filled with oily grime. "Are ya married? I had me a squaw, but I got a hankerin' fer a white woman. Someone to cook and keep camp fer me. Ya look like ye'll do. Are ya married?" One more look from those piercing eyes and he dropped them, brought out a bowie knife and started working on his fingernails.


"I have a boyfriend." The words sounded stilted and false, even though I did have a boyfriend. I gathered my lunch things and picked up my book. I left him there sitting on the bench at the side of the river. I never looked back.

Rinda Fullmer
Copyright 2006