The Legend of Eli CrowChapter 47
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Union Station Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania June 19, 1885
Eli had been on the train for four days when he arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They had an hour layover there, one of many layovers they’d had on his long train ride from Indian Territory. After he’d found the toilets to relieve himself, he sat inside the huge train station and watched the hundreds of people coming and going. He’d never seen this many people in one place ever before, not even in Kansas City at the ballpark.
He kept hearing parts of a loud conversation between two men behind him and turned sideways on the long bench seat to listen and watch what was happening. The men were in a heated argument about the loss of a business contract and it sounded to Eli as if the two were brothers.
When the attendant came through announcing the departure of a train heading to Chicago, the larger and older of the two brothers stood up to leave.
Eli was standing by the windows looking out at all the trains parked down below on the tracks, waiting to load or unload passengers on what looked like hundreds of cars. These were all passenger cars. There wasn’t a freight car in sight.
“Izzell Rupert Gilboney! God Damn it, I’ve told you time and time again, you must have signed contracts before we can ship that equipment. This is the last time I’m going to stand for your sorry-ass, slip-shod way of doing business. You carry the contracts with you, now get them signed in the future or we won’t ship them. I suppose you know that we now have eleven complete ice plants in the warehouse there in Washington, just because of you losing those last three units to our competitors. Our father would roll over in his grave at the way you carry on your sloppy business dealings. He taught us better and you know it!”
“Benyamin Amrun Gilboney! Stop this loud cursing me in public. I explained to you that the man’s son assured me we’d get the sale of those three units, then when his father returned from Chicago, he’d already made a deal with Standard Ice Company for the equipment.
“This other sale was for one more ice plant to be delivered to Mr. Merkel in Cincinnati. He already has two units installed that we sold him. We know he’s good for the money!” The little man said in his defense.
“I apologize, Izzy. Damn it all, you have to understand though, we are on the verge of going under and we need all the sales we can get this month or we’ll have to shut down our manufacturing operations. When that happens we’ll lose all our experienced employees. We’ll never get back on our feet again if that happens and we’ll lose all that our father left us. The bank told me just last week that if we failed to make a payment again the first of this month, they would foreclose!”
“We’ll make it, Benyamin. I - I’ll come up with someone to buy our complete inventory of ice plants and we’ll get the money. You just need to have a little more faith, you’ll see.”
“Izzy, who in hell is going to buy eleven damn complete ice plants in time for us to make a payment and keep our doors open? I’m on my way to Chicago now to try and get a second mortgage on our personal property and the warehouses. My home and yours too is at stake, Izzy. Do you not understand the seriousness of all this?”
The man again yelled at his younger brother, then stomped off to board his train.
Eli had heard each and every word in the last part of this loud conversation, as did most of the people sitting anywhere near the men. Eli’s mind locked on that one statement Benyamin Gilboney had made about their business.
Ice plants.
When Izzy Gilboney turned to walk out toward the loading platform and board his train to D.C., his head was down in despair. He walked right up to the biggest pair of leather moccasins he’d ever seen, and slowly looked up. There stood the tallest man he’d ever faced. He looked up at the man to see he was Indian and he was dressed in buckskins with a U.S. Marshal’s badge pinned to his shirt. The man wore a huge gun strapped on his hip, yet he was smiling down at him.
Izzy just knew this was it. The bankers had already sent the marshals after him and now they had chased him down! He wanted to throw down his satchel and run.
Izzy felt like this was the end as he slowly extended his hands, expecting the marshal to put the cuffs on him.
“Mr. Gilboney, I’m Eli Crow, United States Marshal out of Tulsa, down in Indian Territory. I want to buy all the ice plants you have now and can build for the next year or so!”
Izzy Gilboney’s knees grew weak – then buckled as he sank to the floor.
Eli grabbed the little man before he hit the floor, holding him up by his upper arms as the man looked at him with his eyes wide. He was barely breathing and he was staring up into Eli’s face, wide eyed with a blank look as he tried to move his lips to speak.
“W-w-would y-y-ou r-repeat t-t-that? I-I’m af-afraid I d-d-didn’t u-u-understand what y-you s-said.” He finally stammered.
“I’m U.S. Marshal Eli Crow and I want to buy all your ice plants you have in inventory plus a lot more. Then hire you to set them up for me.”
“M-Marshal C-Crow, w-will y-you excuse m-me while I run get my b-brother, B-B-Benya-ya-min off that t-train to Chi-Chicago? P-Please don’t leave, I’ll be r-right b-back!” The small, frail man stuttered, already walking away from Eli while looking back at him.
“I’ll be here. I’m going to Washington also,” Eli told him.
He watched the man dodge through the crowds, dart down the two flights of stairs, then through the revolving door, almost tripping, before running out onto the loading docks.
Izzy had been gone for quite a while and Eli was now walking toward the line to board his train to Washington. He felt a slight tug at his sleeve and looked back to see Izzy and his brother standing behind him.
“Marshal Crow, this is my brother, Benyamin. Would you please tell him what you wanted from us? He doesn’t believe me, and I can hardly believe it myself!” Izzy Gilboney gushed his words out.
“Benyamin Gilboney, I want to buy all the ice plants you have now and possibly all you can build for a year. That is if your brother Izzy can come to Indian Territory and set them up for me.”
“Marshal Crow, you are a God-Send!” Benyamin Gilboney all but shouted as he and his brother laughed, hooked arms together, and danced in a circle.
“I couldn’t believe my brother when he came and practically dragged me off my train. Where will you be staying in D.C.? Perhaps we can all have dinner and discuss this. Would you like to look over our basic contract as we ride the train to D.C.?”
“How far is it to D.C. from here? Maybe we can meet in the diner car? I’ll buy you and Izzy a big steak if they cook them on this train.”
“Marshal Crow, we’ll meet you in the diner car in a few minutes, it will take us a bit to arrange passage for me since I just walked off the train to Chicago and have no ticket.”
“There’s a ticket window, let’s get that ticket now and I’ll follow you and Izzy to the diner, since I’m not that familiar with these new type trains.”
Eli was already walking toward the ticket window where there was only one other customer in line. He stepped right up to the window as soon as it was vacant and purchased one ticket to Washington, D.C.
Once the two Gilboney brothers became friends with Eli, the three men spent the entire trip together, from Pittsburgh to Washington. They laughed and told tales about their lives like old friends.
Neither of the Gilboney brothers had ever known an Indian before today. They were shocked to know he had no education, except for what he’d learned from his ma, his sister, and his wife Miranda, who was herself a school teacher there in Tulsa.
The time it took for them to agree upon a deal for all of their ice plants to be delivered and accompanied by Izzy, was only a few of the two hundred and forty miles they traveled on the train together.
Not only did Eli sign the contract for the eleven complete ice plants, when they were stopped at one town for coal and water, Eli sent Jon David a telegraph message to have the money sent to the Gilboney’s bank directly, to be deposited into their account.
One more thing Eli did was offer to purchase half interest in their business, since he saw a huge opportunity for the future growth of ice plants, not only in Indian Territory, but all over the new frontier that was being settled and populated.
Langham Hotel Washington, D.C. June 19, 1885
Upon their arrival in Washington, D.C. the Gilboney brothers were happy to escort Eli to his hotel, since he had no idea how to get there. They even showed him the carriages that operated as a taxi service, much like the ones in Kansas City that he was familiar with.
“Marshal, all you have to do, is tell your driver to take you to the U.S. Marshal’s Service office and they will deliver you there promptly,” Izzy told him as he and Benyamin left Eli with his traveling bag at the front desk of the Langham Hotel.
The three men had made plans for both the Gilboney brothers to come to Tulsa with the first delivery of ice plants and bring their entire set of company books. He and Jon David exchanged many telegraph messages while Eli was there at the hotel.
Jon David was to have Jefferson and Howard begin traveling to all the towns in Indian Territory that already had rail service, buying land for the construction of a coal house and an ice plant to be built side by side near the railroads. He could see the need for coal and ice in those towns and the two businesses would work well together, making money year round!
The first morning in Washington, D.C. Eli was up early. When he went down to the lobby from his fourth floor room at 5:00 am, there was only one person there, and he was asleep.
“Mister, do they make coffee in this hotel in the mornings?” He asked the man, after shaking him awake.
“The dining room will open for breakfast at 6:30, Marshal. But if you want a cup of coffee now, I can take you back to the kitchen and you can drink coffee until they start serving breakfast.”
By 7:00, Eli was through with his breakfast and on his way back to his room for his daily constitutional, before his meeting at 8:30 at the marshal’s service
United States Marshals Service Pennsylvania, Avenue Washington, D.C. June 20, 1885
Eli waved for a carriage at 7:30 and was delivered to his destination forty-five minutes before his appointment. The doors opened at 8:00 and Eli walked inside to look around the huge building and get directions.
“Marshal Crow, I see in this letter that you came up here from Indian Territory. Is that place still as wild and untamed as it once was?” The young deputy marshal asked as he escorted Eli to the waiting room near the offices where his first meeting was to take place.
“Well, it’s not as bad as it once was, but we still have a few that don’t like living under the law.”
“I was raised in Fort Smith and came here five years ago, with a letter of recommendation from Judge Parker. I suppose you’re still working under him now?”
“Yes, I count Judge Parker as one of the best friends I’ve ever had. He’s been good to me and my family.”
“Tell me about that scuffle you had with those black cats up in the Kiamichi Mountains, Marshal. I read this article about that in the local papers, back there at Fort Smith. I’ll never forget that story as long as I live. I’ve already told my two young sons about you and that story.” The deputy said as he held up the three long, narrow newspaper clippings in front of him.
“That story may have been just a little more polished than the real events of the day it happened,” Eli said with a slight grin.
“I would venture to say, you still wear those scars, right?”
“I reckon I do have a few scars that look like they could’ve been made by a big cat’s teeth,” Eli said, picking up the clippings when the deputy laid them on his desk. Eli was reading the story Clarissa had published in the Fort Smith paper years ago, smiling as he remembered the incident.
The Exploits of a U S Marshal in Indian Territory The first in a three part Series
By: CWLillian
I’ve had the good fortune to interview two allies and traveling companions of the man I’ll write about in this series. In order to protect the protagonist and his allies, I’ll not reveal the last names of either men, in relating to you these events that have been described to me in detail. I can assure you, these accounts of bravery and bravado by a man of these times, is true, though some-what embellished with the words of a woman who knows Marshal Eli personally.
In the spring of 1875, the southernmost portions of Indian Territory had either been blessed or cursed, as the case may have been, with plentiful rainfall. It was during this time that U S Marshal Eli, and his two fellow Marshals, Moses and Duncan were sent on a mission that took them into the piney-woods of southeast Indian Territory. Thus begins this adventure, the details of which I am about to divulge.
So as to forewarn those of a more gentle and reserved nature, I’ll inform you beforehand that the accounts of this story may not be suitable for any readers who may be faint of heart!
Marshal Eli and his closest friends, his fellow Marshals, had crossed the Poteau River south of Fort Smith and journeyed on south to come upon the Poteau River Trading Post.
Just to inform those who may not be aware, Poteau translates to post from the French language and reflects the history of this part of the country before it was purchased from France in 1803, for the net sum of less than three cents per acre. Enough of this history lesson about the Louisiana Purchase, and on to my adventurous friends, The U. S. Marshals of Indian Territory.
Stopping long enough to purchase jerky and more double-aught buckshot, the Marshals unexpectedly cleared the front porch on the trading post of visitors, when the loungers and loafers saw the shiny silver stars pinned to the three men’s buckskin shirts.
Upon leaving the trading post, the Marshals took note of a family that was loading into a wagon headed south. They took special note of the two small babies wrapped in blankets and held by an older woman while the man and younger woman climbed onto the wagon seat.
Leaving the trading post at some time after the family who rode before them, they never saw the wagon or family again until the next day when they were nearing the mouth of a small tributary creek on the Kiamichi River, by the name of Bear Track Creek.
Deputy Moses had scouted for the cavalry before becoming a Deputy U. S. Marshal and had twice before traveled this region of Indian Territory. He was relating his knowledge of the area as to where the best places to camp for the night would be when he happened to speak of the cavalry patrol being stalked by what he described as a black panther, while camped on Buck Creek. This brought about a lot of discussion into the possibility of black panthers actually still roaming these piney-woods. Deputy Moses told them of hearing the squall during the night of an animal he knew to be that of a black panther!
With darkening shadows of the Kiamichi Mountains to the west of the wagon road, tall pines lining both sides of the rutted and rough trail, overcast skies, along with darkness setting in, they finally made camp on Bear Track Creek - with much apprehension of the third Marshal; Duncan. Just the name of the creek was enough to cause alarm in a such a wild and remote place as this.
Before morning, all the nearby dry limbs and branches had been piled upon the campfire to keep the area lit. Marshal Duncan was being extremely cautious.
Needless to say, the three Marshals survived the night on Bear Track Creek and awoke to heavy clouds and threatening skies as they broke camp and struck out to the south once more on the rutted logging road.
The threat of rain proved not just an idle threat, as the skies opened and the rain came down before dark. Stopping to put their slickers on, Marshal Duncan asked Deputy Moses if he thought they would make Buck Creek by nightfall - hoping all the time his answer would be - no way! Buck Creek was where Deputy Moses said he had heard the squall of a panther in the night.
Before they made Buck Creek, they came upon a loose team of horses still in harness, with blood on them. One horse had a place on its mane that looked to be a cut. The other horse had blood on its back. Not the blood of a horse.
The three Marshals determined, after a thorough examination, that one horse had been shot across its mane and the other horse wore the blood of a person.
Gathering the harnessed horses, they rode south at an even faster gallop in the muddy, rutted wagon road.
They were nearing the mouth of Buck Creek, at the point it empties into the Kiamichi River when they noticed a wagon, with the bodies of two women lying in the mud nearby.
As Marshal Eli hurried to the women, he saw right away, one was indeed dead and the other was near death. She opened her eyes and saw Marshal Eli, remembering his face at the trading post. She immediately began to plead with him to save her two babies who had been kidnapped. As she pled with dying breaths, she told Marshal Eli she knew by his eyes, he was a good and gentle man and would rescue her two babies from the two despicable men who took them. With her last gasp, she named the two men as Devil Jack Slocum and Slewfoot Jackson, two horribly wicked men who lived on Kiamichi Mountain.
The terrain was becoming rougher than they’d experienced so far. The fifty miles took them almost two days, as the trail twisted and turned, and back tracked through the jagged rocks of the first foot hills as they came closer to the Southern Rockies. By the mid-afternoon of the second day, they had ridden down into a big grassland that covered most of the valley. The horses were hungry for fresh grass and they stopped to let them graze near a cool, clear river. Juni and Tin Yu were naked...
Sissy and Joe came home while they were still sitting around the table. Joe was wearing a Deputy United States Marshal’s badge, grinning that crooked grin, and Sissy was hanging on him like she was shackled to him as she came in grinning. “We’re married, Daddy. I’m a wife now and I love my husband. Judge Parker married us and he cried, he was so happy that we let him. He told us not to worry about that trouble over in unassigned lands, he would take care of it.” “Momma, I’m taking my man...
Fort Smith, Arkansas October 12, 1883 When Eli, Duncan and Moses rode into Fort Smith, they went straight to the courthouse to tell Judge Parker about the flash flood, and finding no rustlers. Before they even got upstairs to his chambers, they were met by Jefferson, and told of a jailbreak. “Eli, it was that Larry Parkins kid, the one who hit Duncan. He was in the cell with L.W. Ward and Clyde Pickens, the ones you brought in from down toward Fort Towson when we got Kia, Michi, Lorene...
“Sundy, you put this shirt on and slide over here on my horse with me. We’re going up there and scout this trading post,” Eli said as he unlocked her shackles and pulled a buckskin shirt out of his saddlebag. “Marshal, you be watchful of Sundy if there’s shootin. We’ve took a liking to her and want to see her do good, now that her kin have been arrested,” Jessie said. “I’ll be alright, I know Marshal Eli will keep me safe,” she said as she hugged her thin body to his back. “Duncan, I’m...
“This big horse wants to run, Duncan. You want to make some time?” “Let him run, Eli. We have almost 700 miles due west to ride and I’m ready. It’ll take us over 2 days hard riding to get to Tulsey Town, over on the Arkansas River.” The two deputies rode hard for over an hour and then slowed their spirited horses to a long easy lope as they talked and laughed as friends, starting a partnership that would be remembered in Indian Territory and surrounding states for years to come. The...
Fort Smith, Arkansas November 2, 1875 Before Duncan had completely recovered from the injury to his head, he was laid up with pneumonia. He’d gotten caught in a heavy downpour and arrived home wet and chilled. He spent two weeks recovering, with the first week spent in bed the whole time. Eli and Moses were split up again, since they were short-handed. “Eli, which way you headed this time? It looks like I’m headed up toward Kansas where you ‘n Duncan come from when he got whacked on his...
Oklahoma Territory Crow Ridge Cattle Company August 4, 1889 Jon David, Amanda, Sissy, and Analisa told Eli yesterday that they needed to be at the office early this morning. They let Chane and Jon Jr. spend the night with Shawn, Karly Jo, Clara, and Maryanne. Eli stepped out on the front porch earlier than usual that morning since he had all his Little Bucks here for the day. He drank the last of the coffee from his mug and stood looking down at the river before turning to look over toward...
Doctor Harrod came out just a few minutes after Eli and Jefferson walked into the lobby and sat down. They both jumped up as soon as he came through the door, hurrying to meet him. “Doc?” Eli said as he looked at the young doctor. “Duncan is fine. He’s sleeping now and you’ll both be able to see him in a few hours. I drained the wound where the injury had become infected. There was a bone fragment just as I thought. It was wedged in a clump of hair that had pushed into the tiny skull...
Indian Territory June 15, 1884: “Eli, look at all them dark clouds down yonder south of here. I sure hope we don’t run into any bad weather on the way home,” Duncan said as they rode on into the late afternoon after getting Joe patched up. “I’ve been watching them too, Duncan. I hope they’re between us and home, I’d hate to know our place was being hammered by storms.” By nightfall, the dark storm clouds had moved east of where they were heading, but the air was still damp and heavy like...
With the arraignments and hearings coming up for the criminals that Eli, Duncan and Moses had arrested in the past weeks, they were all required to be in the courthouse most of each day for a week. After that, they were told by Judge Parker they needed to be on call for another week as the prosecutors, lawyers, and public defenders obtained information from them. Though this was a rough two weeks for the three of them, who were used to being out in the open. They did enjoy their time at...
The next morning early, the three had ridden no more than half a mile from camp, when Eli pulled his horse back. “We got riders coming in, hold up and get your guns ready,” he told them. They were suddenly surrounded by sixteen members of a cavalry patrol, handguns drawn and hammers backed. “Stand your position men, United States Cavalry here. You’re trespassing on government property,” a big sergeant in front of the troop yelled. “Mister, you best put them pistols away before we shoot...
As the three rode back to the courthouse, they felt good about the girls going to learn about nursing. They felt good about getting to ride out together again too. Jefferson had their warrants, since Judge Parker was already in court for the day. “Eli, this big horse wants to run some, let’s get stretched out and make some miles. It sure does feel good to be out here again,” Duncan said. They poked their horses up to a good hard gallop and let them run for miles before they pulled them...
They left the courthouse and headed straight home to see the family. Duncan, Moses, and Eli could hardly wait to see their kids. Moses was extremely proud of his and Suh’s boy. They’d named him Pike Longfeather Kidd in honor of Moses’ father. Duncan and Eli’s young’uns were seven, and the two marshals could hardly wait to get home from a trip. Pike was about six months younger than the other boys, but he felt he could do anything the others could – the other boys expected as much of...
It took another hour to get from the high knoll over to the far side of Fayetteville, but they were at the old trading post at last. Eli helped both women to the ground. They were about frozen from being on the trail most of five days. He tied their horses to the hitching rail and rapped on the solid wood door. “ELI IS HERE,” he heard a scream and the door swung wide as Tin Yu, Catt and Eva ran out to him, nearly knocking him over backwards as they grabbed him in a hug, jumping up and...
The next morning, when Rose and Mary came down to the kitchen to start breakfast, Jefferson already had a warm fire built in the cookstove. As they filled the big coffee pot with coffee and water, they heard a noise on the back porch. Jefferson stepped to the back door to see the two nannies and the two kids on the porch, with the billy standing in the yard, looking up at them. Corinne and Lorene were next down the stairs, carrying the two babies, since they had taken it upon themselves to...
The three marshals rode for two more days, pushing their horses, keeping them fed and watered, as they made their way toward the Cherokee Outlet, known all over this part of Indian Territory as no man’s land. The third day on the trail after they’d met the cavalry patrol at the mouth of the Chikaskia where it emptied into the Salt Fork of the Arkansas, they met another patrol headed east. Abraham Walker was the scout. “Marshal Moses Kidd, you have made good time. Lieutenant Carpenter is...
The trip back to Fort Smith took three days longer than the trip over to the Panhandle. Twice along the way, Eli killed a small deer late in the day, so they could cook it all night and be gone at daylight, eating the cooked meat along the way. The rest of the time, they only stopped long enough to feed and water the horses and relieve themselves. The prisoners were left to their own devices, as for relieving themselves. While riding on the boards of the rough, bouncing wagon bed, they...
The travelers broke camp at daybreak after an early breakfast. They were still most of a day’s travel from Pecan Ridge and the MacEagle brothers wanted their new friends to visit the Cheyenne Village and meet their grandfather on the way. The Young Bucks and the Crow girls knew White Elk and they were excited about going to the Cheyenne village to meet with him again. They were even more excited to be there when he welcomed his grandsons home after they’d graduated from the private boarding...
Saturday, May 3, 1884 Cherokee Lands Indian Territory Iron Hammer’s Lodge “Eli Crow, I see you have returned and now you bring all the marshals and little Crows to see me. I see my own brothers, the Barkleys, with you. How am I so honored this day?” “Iron Hammer, I came with my friends and young’uns to tell you of a cattle deal we made in Kansas City this week. My little Crows have gifts for your little Hammers and me and my friends are always happy to sit with Iron Hammer and his brothers...
Tulsa, Indian Territory Crow Ridge Cattle Company June 2, 1884 The big house on the hill was full of happy talk as they gathered in the kitchen to talk and catch up on the latest trip into the Territory. Clarissa was typing on her typewriter as fast as she could to keep up with all that was said. She was getting faster at typing and this was the first time she didn’t make notes to type from later. They let the ten youngest travelers talk first, each of them telling their version of the...
A week after the marshals returned from their last trip, Eli rode across the river to Tulsa with Little Eli and the other boys and girls. The young’uns thought they were almost grown now, getting to ride the big high stepping horses all the way across the river with him and going to the post office at Perryman’s. He gave them enough money to buy some candy and even some gum, for the first time in their lives. The boys saw some baseball bats, gloves, and balls and each of them wanted baseball...
December 27, 1884 Tulsa Depot Tulsa, Indian Territory Jon David and Joe were at the train depot when the train pulled in from Kansas City. Jon David had gotten a telegraph message that there would be twenty-one, young Negro women aboard the train arriving on the twenty-seventh. There were only two Pullman cars and a caboose connected to that train. The preacher from the Negro church in Kansas City had made the trip down to Tulsa, escorting the young women personally, since the young women...
Indian Territory October 5, 1884: As the light of dawn began to spread across the plains, they harnessed the mules and hitched the teams to the wagons. They were all ready to meet the others at Pecan Ridge Cattle Company and start the pecan harvest. They saw how the nearby trees were loaded with pecans and knew this pecan crop was going to be a big one. Eli and Moses had been out before dawn, riding the western perimeter. Duncan and Joe had also been riding the eastern perimeter behind...
They did make that trip in September. Eli wanted the family to visit their hotel in Santa Fe then come back through Albuquerque on their week-long trip. They even made it down to Las Cruces to stay two nights at that hotel before heading back home. Eli knew the women would be having babies in the spring and he was already planning trips to Kansas City after the babies were born. In April of 1890, Eli took his Cherokee brothers, Iron Hammer, Iron Hand and Iron Eyes, with their families for a...
Tulsa, Indian Territory Sunday, July 28, 1889 While Moses, Isaac and Little Eli were loading the horses, the engineer yelled and waved to Eli again just as he stepped down from the Pullman carrying Little Eli’s traveling bag. “Marshal, if we’re gonna make a fast run down to Abilene like you want, the fireman will need some help from your bunch to keep up the steam,” he yelled above the noise of the locomotive. “We’ll ride up here with you. I want to keep this this thing red hot and smoking...
Miranda turned and sat sideways on the top rail as she watched Little Eli run over to get on his horse. Lee Yu, Lilly Beth, Kia, and Michi were all waiting for him. They all waved to her when they saw her looking. She felt like getting off the fence right then and grabbing Eli Crow. She was so in love with him and his family. No matter if it was right in the middle of the cattle pens, and right in front of all the men, she could have thrown him to the ground and loved him right here. They...
Across the small hotel dining room, there were three well-dressed men wearing tall white hats, drinking coffee and smoking fat cigars. One of them moved closer to sit at the table nearest the Young Bucks. “Excuse me please, but did I hear you say you have an exceptionally fast horse bred from Cheyenne horse blood?” The man asked from behind Eli. Eli turned to look back at the man, “Yes Sir, we sure do. He’s never been beaten in about thirty races,” he told the man. “We’re here to meet the...
After their meal, they rounded the young’uns up and headed them back upstairs. The elevator had to make two trips to get them all to the top floor. By the time they had the younger ones settled and into bed, it was after ten o’clock and they had a busy day planned for tomorrow. The baseball game started at one o’clock and they were scheduled to play two games before dark. The grownups talked for another hour before heading off to their separate rooms and to bed. They still wanted to spend...
“Trapper, there are at least two dozen turkey-buzzards circling overhead back west of here,” Micah told him as they rode north. Trapper and the others turned their horses to look back to where Micah was pointing. “Looks like we could have a fresh one for you men to check out. Let’s get on over there,” Trapper said and spanked his horse with his reins. They topped a small rise to see at least two dozen more buzzards on the ground tearing into a dead calf. When they rode up, the buzzards...
After their performance on their first assignment in Colorado back in October of 1896, the six Young Bucks’ names became well known at the Western District U.S. Marshal’s Service office in Kansas City. During the next two years they were called upon time and time again to settle disputes. They were sent to the Missouri border town of Fort Scott, Kansas, to help settle a railroad union dispute that had already gotten out of hand with clashes of violence by the time they arrived. With strong...
“We’ve never been up this way before, Daddy. Where are we going?” Little Eli asked. “We’re going up the Arkansas to the rough country where the Pawnee and Osage Tribes join lands. We’ll camp on the Arkansas and we’ll have our own school for you boys out here.” They had crossed the Arkansas River in a northwesterly direction, then followed along the west side of the river until mid-day. The boys were told to bring nothing but jerky in their grub bags, they were going to survive on what the...
Kansas City, Missouri July 21, 1889 Eli and Isaac were up and dressed, after washing up from a wild time the night before when they’d had champagne sprayed all over them and made love on the balcony. They were sitting out on the balcony again, looking down on the sprawling city below as people began to stir and fill the streets. The girls came out laughing and talking about the fun, crazy time they’d had last night. They were bathed, dressed and ready for a day of shopping and sightseeing...
Upon their return to Tulsa from racing Cheyenne at Vinita, Little Eli had met with Bill and Jack Robertson that day, asking them about making a lightweight saddle just for Cheyenne. After measuring and fitting him with the special built saddletree and pad, they made a saddle with no high pommel and no saddle horn. There were no fenders, just leather straps that supported the small brass stirrups. This saddle was half the weight of the working and pleasure saddles they used on the ranch. As...
October 1, 1881 While Eli was getting his latest prisoners turned over to the jailers, Jefferson left the courthouse through the back door and ran out to saddle his horse. He rode hard up the back way, cutting across an open lot and through someones yard as he raced home. He didn’t take time to put his horse in the barn, he knew Eli would see it anyway. He jerked the saddle off and turned his horse in the cow pen. When Eli rode into the yard later, it was almost sundown and there was no one...
When they arrived in Durant, the sun had been up a few hours and Eli herded them to the hotel. The fireman and engineer went with them as the local railroad workers filled the reservoirs with water and oiled the locomotive for them. This was the first chance Eli had for more than a few words with his Bucks since they’d boarded the caboose in Abilene. Eli and Moses sat across the table from them in the dining room and looked at each of them as they talked to their brothers and their...
“Kit, would you and Ruby want to wear buckskins like we do?” Caleb asked as they all talked, ate, and became friends. “We sure do. Marshal Eli told us we could, and said he’d even give us our own horse,” Kit answered. “We’ll have to round up our horses in the morning and see how many we have now. Daddy may have to get more horses from our friend, Iron Hammer. He’s the main man in the Cherokee Tribe that owns all the lands around us,” Little Eli said. “Momma told me we could all go down to...
Crow Ridge Cattle Company Tulsa, Indian Territory Thanksgiving Day November 27,1884: “Here come the Buffalo Soldiers, they’re crossing the river now!” Isaac yelled as he jumped off the back porch, headed toward the barn where the men, the girls, and the rest of the Bucks were gathered. The women had run the men and younger ones from the house so they could finish cooking and get the dinner ready. This was to be the biggest feast and biggest celebration they’d had to date. The men, the...
When they finished unloading the flatcar, they headed back to the house. Smitty, Leon, James, and Albert were on the wagon and Eli drove. “Smitty, I need to have a talk with you. Want to walk down to the river with me?” Eli asked. “Sure Eli, let me get a drink from the pump and I’ll be ready.” “I’ll meet you out front.” Eli went through the house and into the kitchen where the women were fixing supper. “Corinne, come go with me,” Eli said. “Eli, I’m not sure about this now. Can we wait...
After an early start in the cold hours of morning, they rode hard and steady all day, stopping to relieve themselves twice and eat from the grub sack. They made Kansas City, Missouri late in the day as the sun was sinking behind the cold flat horizon, across the river in Kansas. They stopped at a big fancy hotel and registered as Eli and Rose Crow. The desk man was hesitant at first to let the two Half-Breeds stay in his hotel, but saw the Deputy U.S. Marshal badge and the Indian Police...
“ELI! You’re back. Did you get the last one? Dal said you thought there was a woman with them too,” Sam Connor greeted his grandson when he came through the back door, stomping the mud off his feet. Eli was soaked, his buckskins wet and clinging to his body, his moccasins filled with mud and water. He hadn’t even put his long coat on when he left Young’s Store. The back of his coat was shot out anyway. “They’re all taken care of, Grandpa. How’s Grandma? She alright after all this?” He...
When they reached the river’s edge, Kit laid the fuses and caps on a stump. Ruby handed Kit a stick of dynamite and picked up a cap and a short fuse. Eli and the others watched as she inserted the end of a fuse into the open end of the blasting cap, then put her fingers about an inch from the end of the brass. She stuck this short end of the exposed brass into her mouth with the extra fuse trailing down her chin. They could see her straining her jaws as she bit down on the brass, clamping it...
Eli had planned their trip himself and since he wanted them to stay a few days in Boones Crossing without being in a rush, he decided to take his dad’s advice and travel to Kansas City first then come back to Boones Crossing. Though he and Isaac didn’t wear their guns, they did have their knives on their hips, with their guns packed in their traveling bags. Both were dressed in buckskins and their girls dressed in finery like the other women traveling on the train. They ate one meal in the...
Saturday October 3, 1896 Crow Valley, Oklahoma Territory “Let me see that map again, Deuce,” Ezra said. He stood next to Eli and Isaac as they looked at the map. They had just gotten their first orders as Deputy United States Marshals two days ago, and the six of them were excited as they saddled up. They’d packed the night before and already had their two packsaddles loaded with tents, food and supplies for at least a two-week stay once they reached their destination. They were being sent...
Dal Hopkins had been half asleep, half-awake as he worried about his town. He heard a man whisper something behind him in the cell. Was he dreaming? Could it really be? HE KNEW THAT VOICE... He’d know that voice in the middle of a windstorm on the plains or in a howling snowstorm on top of a mountain. No matter where on earth he was, he would know that voice... Eli was here. He knew it was him! How – he didn’t know, but that was Eli Crow behind him, he’d bet his life on it. “Marshal,...
Eli knew he had a battle on his hands convincing the mommas of his sons and daughters that his plan was the best way to keep the Bucks, the Crow girls and the rest of them from having babies and still let them spend time with their friends. He figured the best way to handle this was to get them all at once and get it over with. Miranda, Clarissa, Tin Yu, Catt, Eva, Rose, Sissy, Suh, Juni, and Grandma were gathered together out away from the others. Eli wanted all of them to listen to what he...
Boones Crossing, Kansas July 23, 1889 Little Eli, Kit, Ruby, and Isaac arrived in Boones Crossing early, making the short trip from Kansas City in only a matter of two hours. They had accompanied their friends to the train station the evening before and watched as they boarded the train to Colorado. This was a tearful parting of new friends with all of them vowing to meet again soon. The McInnis sisters especially took it hard, sobbing as they sat on the train and waved out the window to...
Crow Ridge September 1, 1896 “Come on in, Ezra. Your dad and I wanted to talk to you before you head back to Crow Valley,” Rose told her son. Jefferson was sitting up in bed with the covers pulled to his waist. “Dad, are you feeling any better?” Ezra asked as he walked over to sit at his bedside and lay his hand on top Jefferson’s right hand. “I feel better today, Son. This has actually been one of my better days in the past few months. “Dad, I suppose I’ve always taken for granted that...
When the Buffalo Soldiers rolled in from Little Tree with empty wagons, all of them jumped in and loaded them as quickly as possible. There were fifteen more loads to ship after they held back the last three loaded wagons to take to Tulsa. Willis turned fifteen of his men right back around, telling them to get on back so they could all head over to Tulsa and start learning to be oil well drillers. The next morning early, Eli and Jon David were sitting by the fire outside, drinking coffee...
Eli knew he had to get over to the women as soon as he could. He saw them laughing and talking with Analisa, pointing now and then toward where he stood. Even Sissy, Miranda, and Grandmother were huddled with the young Mexican woman, whispering and laughing. When Catt and Eva pulled her aside, they were laughing aloud and Eli knew it was time to go. “I see all of you have met Analisa. I hope you’ll make her welcome. I’ve asked her to work for us when we get back to Tulsa,” Eli told them when...
Two weeks earlier, when Duncan and Eli had split as they arrived in Tulsa, Duncan felt alone as he rode north toward Kansas. Though he’d been a deputy marshal for over two years when he met Eli, he’d grown to like hid friend so well that he missed his company and the friendship they shared together on their trips into the Territory. He rode into southern Kansas two days later, after riding late like he and Eli often did when they first met. He wanted to hurry and do his law business, then...
The men of Crow Ridge Cattle Company loaded the second trainload of cattle bound for Kansas City and knew there wasn’t time to load another fifteen cars before dark. The first trainload would have to make it to the next sidetrack, near the Kansas state line, before the two empty trains could travel on down to Tulsa. They made plans to start loading at daylight the next day. The empty trains would arrive during the night and have to lay over. They gathered around after the first day of...
The Waco Kid never raised his head as he reached out to pick up a stick and thrash it across the bedroll nearest him. “Get your asses up, we got a score to settle this morning and I’m ready to get started!” he said loudly. The other men began to stir in their bedrolls and The Waco Kid rolled over to sit up. He had yet to look up as he pulled his boots on, then picked up his two pistols and shoved them down in his holsters. He stretched his arms over his head, wincing at the pain in his ribs,...
Crow Ridge March 29, 1889 The family was up before dawn to see the Crow girls and the Young Bucks off. Even their younger brothers and sisters were up. Eli cornered Little Eli and Ezra as soon as they came downstairs and pulled them aside. “I need to give you men something. I’ve been wanting to tell you about this, but never felt like it was the right time until now. “Eli, back when you told me that you Bucks wanted to have a place of your own and still wanted it to be near each other, I...
“This is absolutely beautiful. I just love the way the houses and barns look with all the pecan trees around,” Miranda said. “It does look good and shady back in them trees. We need to plant some pecan trees over at the other place to shade it a little, I reckon,” Eli agreed. “You boys get you some clean buckskins and go back behind the barn and get a bath,” Eli told the six boys. “Miranda, would you help Sissy get the girls back there and get them bathed?” “I will, but first we’re going...
There were snow flurries blowing in the wind, with a light blanket already covering the ground when the Bucks started out the next morning after saying their goodbyes to the family. They were dressed in their buckskins with their union suits underneath and heavy boiler overalls over their buckskins. Each had a leather fur-lined cap pulled down over their head and ears. They wore wool scarves backed with flannel over their faces, leaving only a slit with their eyes exposed as they rode...
Eli and Duncan headed out of town with their wagon load of prisoners. Bud Parkins drove the wagon, Duncan and Eli rode their horses. “Eli, I already like this horse pretty good. He’s as tall and long legged as that big stud you got.” “Yep, you got a good’un, Duncan.” They turned south at the creek crossing, and rode right by Noonan’s ranch. “You could at least let me see my wife before you take me back,” Noonan said. “I’ll go see if she wants to see you... “Duncan, you keep them headed...
“What can I do for you, Mister? You look to be part Indian. Are you?” The man behind the window at the train station said as Eli walked up to the window to send a telegraph message back to Little Tree. “I need to send a message over to Little Tree, Texas. Can you do that for me?” Eli said, ignoring the man’s remark. “I sure can. Who is it for and what name do you want on it?” “Put my name on it, Marshal Eli Crow. Send it to Hoke at the livery. Tell him I need him to get word to my folks at...
“Son, that was some race. We heard what Parkman’s jockey said. You did the right thing holding Cheyenne back, then letting him run away with the race after they’d tried to run him down like that. You’d think Sam Parkman would know better by now,” Eli said as he and Joe stood beside Little Eli when their picture was made. “Did you win big again, Dad?” Little Eli asked, knowing by his smile that he did. “We all won big on that race. I already have another big bet placed on the last race...