The Legend of Eli CrowChapter 47
- 2 years ago
- 24
- 0
As his sisters and brothers sat around in a circle in the barn, Eli told them each detail, each thought and each incident that happened on his trip. They asked many questions and he took the time to answer and explain it to them.
The Young Bucks and the six Crow girls laughed as he told them about his Grandma and how she helped him take out the kidnappers. They knew too, as they watched their brother talk; this was what had changed him. He had killed four men and a woman.
Then he told them about his Grandma dying and what his Grandpa told him about her waking him in the night and what he’d heard her say. The Bucks and the girls cried when they heard that part of his story, of how he lost his Grandma.
“I’ve brought this book out here for one reason and I think you know what it is. We’ve all read this book of tribal lore taken from two tribes of Northern Plains Indians; even you girls have read this book until we’ve worn the cover bare. It’s the story of two sets of brothers from different tribes who become close friends. Their love for one another becoming so strong, they want to become blood brothers.
“Today, I want us to become blood brothers, just as it is described in this book.”
“Eli, are y’all really going to do this?” Kit asked, excited by what was about to happen as the six girls and six Young Bucks sat in the barn.
“Yes, we’ve all read this book Grandmother ordered for us from the Kansas City library about the six young men of one tribe becoming blood brothers with six brothers from another tribe. Today, we’re going to become Blood Brothers, even though some of us are already blood brothers from our Dad.
“I was so alone at times on my trip and I missed my brothers and sisters being near me for the first time in my life. I want us to be even closer now that we’ve told each other of our love for one another.”
“Eli, we want to be blood sisters too!” Lee Yu said as the girls gathered around when Eli knelt in a circle with the other boys, each with their knife in hand.
“Isaac, what do you, Ezra, Micah, Caleb, and Pike think about them becoming blood sisters?”
“Eli, I think they should. Two are already blood sisters by birth, two were adopted and Kit and Ruby were told by your dad that they could call him dad also,” Isaac answered.
“I agree, Eli. They deserve to be blood sisters just as much as we deserve to be blood brothers,” Pike said.
“You know this will burn like hell when you make the cut on your wrist, don’t you?” Eli asked the girls.
“We can take a small cut to become blood sisters. We already know we will not only be best friends, but blood sisters forever and we want to swear to the same oath you Bucks swear to,” Lilly Beth told him firmly.
“Isaac and I will go first. I’ll make a small cut high on my right wrist and he will make one on his. We’ll clasp each other’s arms above our wrists, letting our cuts come together and our blood mix. I will put my fingers on his medicine chain and he will put his on mine. His blood will flow through my veins just as my blood will flow through his.
“The rest of you brothers will make a small cut high on your wrists and each of us will clasp arms in the circle as our blood mingles, one with the other, each time touching the medicine chain of your brother as you do.
“We have all read the oath. We will recite the oath at the beginning, then each time we clasp arms we’ll repeat, “We Are One” over and over until all six of us have clasped our arms together in a show of Brotherhood. From this day forward, we will be even closer, sworn to protect each other with our lives if necessary. If one of us should ever be killed or even wounded, the rest of us will have revenge upon those who harmed our brother or sister. Does everyone know what this means and agree to live our lives being bound by blood, even closer than the family of brothers and sisters we are now?” Eli spoke and held his clenched fist out to the center of the circle where the six Young Bucks knelt.
“We are one!” The six Young Bucks chanted six times, once for each of them, as they put their knuckles together then raised their fists above the circle.
The six girls gathered quickly and knelt in a circle near the Young Bucks, each with her knife ready. Lee Yu and Lilly Beth were across from each other, as were Isaac and Eli.
The girls put their fists in the circle and pressed their knuckles together, chanting,
“WE ARE ONE!”
“Let us swear to this oath together. Sisters, you’ll make your own cut, and you’ll recite the same oath we do, substituting sisters for brothers in the oath. Remember we chant, “We Are One“ at the beginning, then again each time we clasp wrists until the end. Is everyone ready?”
“WE ARE ONE!” The twelve chanted.
“Hear me call out to you, O Spirits of my ancestors resting in the Earth, the Rivers, and the Skies—bear witness this day as I let the blood of my body flow through my heart to mix with the blood of my brothers. Let it be known to all creatures here on earth and in the heavens above: From this day until the end of time—we are one—Sworn by Oath—Bound by the blood our Spirits—Blood Brothers Forever.”
The six Crow Girls and the six Young Bucks chanted the oath in unison as they clasped their bleeding wrists one against the other around the circle in somber concentration.
“WE ARE ONE!” They each chanted as they clasped wrists around the circle, one after the other.
“I feel like I’m about to fly off into the sky, my body is so excited. Do any of you feel that way?” Lee Yu said as she looked at the others with tears in her eyes.
“I feel the same way. That was very powerful, what we just did. I feel so different and my belly is fluttering I feel so good,” Michi told them.
“My belly is fluttering too and I feel really good all over. Was that a magic chant we just did?” Ruby said.
“It’s called euphoric stimulation,” Eli told them as they all stood now.
“I’ve read those words, but I’ve forgotten what they mean,” Lilly Beth said.
“It means a feeling of complete control and confidence, in extreme happiness and even in the face of extreme danger,” Eli told them.
“How did you know that?” Kit asked.
“Aunt Clarissa explained it to me.”
“I feel like I did when we swam naked together in the river. It was like I loved being naked outdoors, but didn’t want to be seen naked, yet I was wishing I was being seen. Does that make sense?” Lee Yu told them.
“Lee Yu, that is exactly the way I felt that day at the river, and I feel the same way now. Like you, I felt that way the first time we all agreed to swim naked and made a pact that we’d respect each other before we did. I was so happy to be naked, even if I was in the water and no one could see me. I was even wondering if adults ever swim naked when they love each other,” Kia told them.
“I think we may be growing up and some of those feelings are a part of what adults feel. Sometimes when Kit and I are together, we have to make ourselves stop and walk away from each other, the feelings are so strong,” Eli told them as they all looked at him.
“Eli, sometimes you seem to know a lot more than the rest of us, and how to express your feelings better. How do you know so much about what adults feel?” Michi asked as she grinned at her brother.
“I have seen and heard some things that have helped me understand it all better.
“I was in that hay barn over on the river by the Barkley brothers’ place one day last winter throwing some hay down for the cows when I heard a man and woman laughing and talking outside. I stopped throwing hay down and stepped over to look down and see who it was when the door opened.”
“Who was it?” Lilly Beth asked quickly, as they all gathered closer in front of him while he talked.
“It was Smitty and Corinne. They were laughing as she ran into the little barn in front of him. She was already taking her clothes off, throwing her blouse in the hay when she entered. She was giggling and acting silly like you girls did when you were younger. It was cold and there were cows milling all around the back of the barn where I had been throwing hay down into the hay racks.”
“I bet they did it right there in the hay, didn’t they?” Lee Yu asked excitedly, and they laughed at her.
“They did, and I couldn’t get out of the barn without being seen. I didn’t want to embarrass them so I stayed hid up there.”
“You watched them do it, didn’t you?” Kit asked, grinning at him.
“Yes, and there’s not a one of you here that wouldn’t have watched if it had been you. At least I told you about it and owned up to watching them frolicking naked together.”
“Are you saying they were frolicking with euphoric stimulation?” Kia asked and they laughed at the way she put it.
“They were very euphorically stimulated while they frolicked in the hay and they kept telling each other how they felt so naughty, sneaking off to play naked in the hay barn in the cold of winter.”
“But they did more than play, right?” Ruby asked.
“Yes and I know all of you girls have peeked on Dad and the others too, you can’t tell me you haven’t.”
“We have and we felt the same way, Eli. We didn’t want to be seen, but we wanted to see them love each other, yet we were SO scared that we were peeking,” Lilly Beth answered.
“Isaac told me he saw his dad and momma naked in bed one day when they thought he was gone. Didn’t you, Isaac?” Ruby said, hooking her arm in his to pull him close as he blushed.
“Yeah, I felt like I was doing wrong by watching, but I couldn’t leave without them seeing me and I couldn’t look away either when I stayed.”
“Micah–Pike–Ezra–Caleb?” Lilly Beth looked around at them.
Each of them smiled with red faces as they looked at the others.
“So, we’ve all seen the adults being adults and loving each other. I know how I felt when I saw Dad and Momma. I felt just like I do now. My knees were shaking and my belly was acting so crazy, I raised my shirt to see what was wrong with it. I felt like I could just fly off and sail high into the sky,” Lee Yu told them as she raised her arms, making her hands like birds, swooping them overhead.
“Let’s saddle up and take a long ride. It’s been over a week since I’ve been in a saddle and I need to get out in the open again. Maybe that will make us feel like we’re flying and we can stop talking about the grownups getting euphorically stimulated while naked,” Eli told them.
The next morning when Little Eli came down stairs, his dad was sitting at the table.
“Well, Son. I reckon you got a good night’s sleep in your own bed after being gone a week.”
“I sure did, Dad. I was asleep by the time I laid my head on my pillow.”
“Let’s go saddle up. I know you want tell me about your trip and I want to know all about it.”
They were in the saddle in a matter of minutes, and both father and son felt good about being together.
“I sure am glad I got to go up there when I did, but there were a lot of things happened that I never would have expected, Dad.”
“Like what, Eli?”
“Well by the time the train arrived at Vinita, I had already seen two young men being suspicious and later my suspicions were proven to be right. I saw a man there in Vinita who I recognized, or thought I did at the time anyway. He and three other younger men were together with his niece and they came to Boones Crossing the second day I was there.
“I was watching them on the train the whole time like you taught us and made note of the red leather traveling bag the young woman was carrying. She tried to get me to talk and after I wouldn’t, she left me alone the rest of the way to Parsons.”
“Do I know them? Were they after you because of me?”
“Yes. It was Ol’ Turkey and his kin, Dad. I really think it just happened that they saw me, they sure didn’t know I’d be on that train.”
“You killed him, didn’t you, Eli?” Eli asked his son.
“Him, his youngest son who was castrated, two of his nephews and his niece.”
“Eli! You killed five of them? The woman too? How did all that happen?” Eli asked as he pulled his horse closer to hear his son’s story.
“We had a big thunderstorm building up in the west the first night I was there and Grandpa and I got up early the next morning. The back door was blown open by the wind actually, and it woke us up. We stayed up and drank coffee and talked until I went over to the hotel to meet Marshal Hopkins for breakfast.
“He and I sat and talked as we ate, and he told me the story of how he first met you. He sure thinks a lot of you, Dad.”
“He’s a good man, Eli. I reckon you found that out yourself.”
“I sure did. He told me a lot of things he remembered about you. He talked some about his son who was killed. He told me that he felt like he had done for me, what he did for you years ago. Like he would have done for his own son - if he had lived. Like you said, Dad, he’s a good man.
“When I left him at the hotel, I went back to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s store.
“Grandpa was standing behind the counter looking down and I knew something was different. He never turned around when I came in. I looked toward the doorway to the storeroom and living quarters and there was that red leather traveling bag I told you about, on the floor by the curtains. I knew right then that my suspicions were right, and the people on the train had caught up to me.
“Turkey was hidden behind the counter where Grandpa stood. He was waiting for me to come back. I knew there was someone there from the way Grandpa was acting. I grabbed a glass jar of pickles off the counter and threw it right where the opening is at the end of the counter. As soon as I did, I leaped over the counter and saw Turkey.
“He yelled at me like he thought I was you, Dad; asking me how in the hell I got up there.”
“You killed him right there, didn’t you, Son?” Eli asked, his voice filled with both excitement and emotion at his son’s story.
“I did and I knew the others had Grandma in the back rooms too. I told Grandpa to take Turkey’s shotgun and shoot whoever came through those curtains.”
“You went in after them right then, didn’t you?” Eli asked. He already knew he did. His son was that much like him.
“Yes. I ran right at the curtain and dived into the room. As I rolled over and saw the oldest nephew and the niece in a corner. I killed the boy and shot the girl in her hand.
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...
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...
“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...