“Can I use the rifle?”
“What is it used for?”
“Let’s go buffalo hunting.”
“Alone? Have you ever done it before?”
“…… No. This is my first time.”
Mary looked dumbfounded.
“It’s dangerous. If you provoke it and attack it, it will attack you with its horns. Do you think that’s all?
“There are many wolves near the buffalo.”
But I still have to eat meat.
“There is a way.”
“What method?”
“There is, there is something like that···.”
“Oh! You’re finally eating meat?! Even Max couldn’t resist!”
When Max showed his confidence, Cornel clapped her hands in delight.
Mary looked at her husband, James.
When he nodded, I handed him the rifle.
It’s already been a month since I started spending time with them.
Now, we’ve reached a point where we even lend each other guns.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“…… sure.”
Without a doubt, Mary also took five paper cartridges and a percussion cap, which was the trigger.
Although she didn’t know it, her eyes were also filled with a desire for meat.
‘Meat is the truth.’
Max took the gun and broke away from the group.
After walking about 2km, we finally saw a herd of buffalo grazing.
It’s hard to believe that buffalo, which are so common on the plains, are now endangered.
‘For now, I don’t see any wolves.’
Max looked around, got off his horse, and examined his rifle.
The model is a Sharps rifle from 1852.
A musket rifle with a rifled barrel, a rear-loading barrel, and a Miniature bullet with a screw-like groove at the bottom.
And the charging is···.
“······!”
Max, his eyes narrowed, fiddled around with the trigger guard before pulling it down.
The drop block at the back of the barrel descends, opening the chamber where the bullets are loaded. Inside are oiled paper cartridge bullets.
“So this is how it was supposed to be.”
Crunch.
When you put the trigger guard back in its original position, the drop block will rise.
The hammer was cocked back, and the percussion cap was fitted onto the cock leading to the chamber.
Max took aim at a buffalo grazing alone, away from the herd.
The distance is approximately 200m.
He rests the buttstock on his shoulder and catches his breath.
The target is the buffalo’s chest.
I pulled the trigger with my right index finger.
Taaaaang!
Heavy recoil.
The distinctive smell and smoke of black gunpowder.
The sound of gunfire echoes across the plains.
And the buffalo still grazing.
“······”
Max looked up at the sky for a moment.
“Eating meat is so hard.”
He muttered a self-deprecating remark and pulled the trigger again, putting the bullet in.
This task also took a long time.
Crunch.
After finishing the second charge, I aimed for the buffalo.
A good sniper never blames his equipment.
Max’s excellent shooting sense from his previous life must still be alive and breathing in his body.
‘The new union of the gun, I am the gun, and the gun is me.’
I place my index finger on the trigger and take a deep breath, mumbling the words like a spell.
Then the trigger.
Taaaaang!
dump.
The bullet pierced the buffalo’s chest.
“Is it just something you’re born with?”
I briefly indulge myself in self-indulgence, wondering what this is.
Now that he had already caught the sights, it was a shame to just turn back. Instead of the buffalo, Max practiced his shooting at a cactus that was quite far away.
So I used up all six feet.
Max smiled contentedly.
He approached the fallen buffalo and tied it with a rope.
And he dragged it along, tied to a horse.
In the buffalo massacre that occurred ten years later, one person killed more than a hundred buffalo in one day.
According to records from that time, buffaloes were surprisingly unresponsive to gunfire, and this was exactly the case.
The buffaloes, like enlightened monks, continued to graze even after their fellows were killed and dragged away.
*
Taaaaang!
“That was the sixth time, right?”
Mary crossed her arms and snorted.
Not far from Max, she was counting the number of gunshots.
And at the sound of the last sixth step, she let go of her remaining hope.
“Ugh, I guess I won’t be able to eat meat today.”
Cornel made a sullen expression, and James, who was servicing the carriage, scratched his head.
“Max doesn’t seem to be very good with guns. If it comes down to it, I’ll go hunting tomorrow.”
“It’s dangerous. And you have to guard the carriage, where are you going?”
There are several advantages to having migrants form groups.
The beasts, Indian raids, and hunting were hard work for the James family alone.
Mary pouted, took out a can of black powder, and made a bullet.
‘You can’t even afford to pay for a meal and you’re firing six bullets!’
The bullets were filled with anger.
Mary was convinced that Max would fail.
And after a while.
Max appeared with his back to the sunset.
Mary stared at the object, her eyes filling with air, while Corny focused on the dust rising behind it. As the distance grew closer, the object being dragged by the horse became clearer.
“Ooooh, that’s a buffalo!”
Cornel let out a gasp, Mary blinked, and James hunched over.
He opened it and looked at Max.
The sight of him dragging a buffalo while carrying a rifle on his shoulder is truly heroic.
“I need to prepare dinner.”
Mary hummed as she prepared the pot and knife.
The settlers nearby whispered among themselves that the coolies had been hunting buffalo.
*
As usual, there were carriages fenced off along the trail, and groups of people gathered together to eat.
Max butchered the buffalo, sliced some of the meat into thin strips, and salted them with sugar, pepper, and salt.
Then they tied them with strings and hung them on the side of the carriage to make jerky.
‘This is emergency food.’
Cheeeeek.
A chunk of meat dripping with fat on a campfire will soon be in your stomach.
Max, who was grilling meat on a skewer, was more sincere than ever.
“salt.”
“Old story!”
“pepper.”
“Old story!”
When Max held out his hand, Cornille placed spices on it.
Mary and James watched the scene with delight.
But at this time.
“It looks like a lot for four people.”
Three Mexican men approached the campfire like hyenas.
Max’s gaze quickly scanned them.
A man wearing a wide-brimmed sombrero hat, a poncho, and a rifle slung over his shoulder.
A man who opened his coat and glared at the pistol on his waistband.
and.
“We just ran out of food. I was wondering if you could do us a favor.”
A guy who takes off his hat and greets Mary as if he were a gentleman…
James’ expression hardened, and Mary held out a piece of meat so as not to cause trouble.
“This will be enough. Take it with you.”
“Your Majesty is very generous. But when will we ever get to eat this? We don’t have a woman like you.”
‘If there were no women, what would I have eaten and lived until now?’
Mary frowned. To make matters worse, the bastards even sat down among the family.
“A meal is only meaningful when we all eat together. How could I refuse a dinner invitation from a pretty woman?”
‘Comment please.’
As the meat shriveled, Max’s hands and feet shriveled too.
Mary was shaking with anger,
James put his hand on the gun.
At that moment.
Taang! Taang!
Two gunshots rang out into the sky.
One of them aimed his smoking gun at James’ head.
Then he raised his voice so that everyone around him could hear.
“If you mess with us, you’ll watch your family die a horrible death. We’re not that forgiving.”
James groaned and his face twisted.
The sound of nearby immigrants arming themselves could be heard, fearing that sparks might fly.
But it was hard to expect justice from anyone here in the West, as they were only protecting themselves.
They will never help.
It was just a problem for the James family and Max.
Cornel hid behind James’ back, and Max looked at his leader with a strange expression.
Three Mexican outlaws wearing ponchos.
‘Where have I seen it…’
For a moment, Max’s eyes sparkled.
‘Five Joaquin’s Gang.’
Appeared, the lotto of the wilderness.
Those guys with huge bounties!
I’ve even seen pictures of them in California museums and books.
A gang that committed theft, killing dozens of Chinese workers and even white people indiscriminately.
They were quite the big shot, as they even created the Rangers in California to catch them.
‘That guy is the leader, Joaquin Murrieta.’
Max chose a leader among the three.
He has curly hair, round eyes and a moustache.
The guy wearing the poncho was the leader of the gang.
‘Did you end up here, being chased by the California Rangers?’
As Max was going over their histories in his head, he made eye contact with one of the gangsters.
“Huh? What is this?”
It seems strange to see an Asian living among a white family. The guy tilted his head at Max.
It’s a moonfish
Five Joaquin’s Gang.
Dinner was ruined by the appearance of notorious guys from California and Nevada.
“A coolie grilling meat among white people?”
“It’s a bizarre sight, one I’ve never seen even in California.”
The two men look at Max and laugh.
Murrieta, the leader, showed only interest in Mary.
When he sat down next to her and grabbed her waist with his arm, Mary was startled and pushed away.
“Hey, aren’t you going to let this go?”
“These guys···!”
“You are shutting up.”
puck!
One of the men kicked James and knocked him down.
“dad!”
One of them kicked Cornel as he tried to go to the fallen James.
Mary’s face was contorted with anger.
“These bad kids!”
“I didn’t see it that way, but your wife has a temper. What if we’re rude?”
Murrieta lifts Mary’s chin with one hand.
“Do you want to experience it in front of your husband and son?”
“Ugh···, , , let go of this!”
Murrieta stared at Mary, who was trembling.
He brought the knife gently to her face.
“The night is just beginning. Look forward to it.”
The snickering man roughly removed his hand from Mary’s face.
‘I think Murrieta was a famous gunslinger.’
Max’s head was filled with simulations of various situations.
The first priority for attack is the leader Murrieta.
Beyond the campfire, the distance between me and the guy is about 1m.
Max’s eyes sank as he noticed the location of the other two men.
As the plan is set, tension and excitement spread through Max’s body.
As each cell awakened, my heart rate increased and my breathing quickened.
But Murrieta was no ordinary guy.
Whether it was an instinctive sense or a feeling of life, the gaze of the man turned towards Max.
Then he raised one corner of his mouth and said:
“Want to give it a try?”
As if he was expecting it, the bastard wiggled his right finger toward the holster.
And at this time.
