The Legend of Eli CrowChapter 47
- 2 years ago
- 23
- 0
The trail was bone dry and dusty, the early morning air was already hot with no wind stirring as the thundering herd ran at a long, ground-eating lope. Two of the vaqueros kept them moving through the thick clouds of dust, cracking their braided leather whips over the heads of the stragglers at the back of the herd.
Jubal rode lead, with Jeno and one of the vaqueros riding near the front on either side to keep the line of cattle from spreading.
Jeno whistled loudly, then pointed to the west when Jubal looked back. They saw Eli and the others coming toward them at an angle. Clouds of dust were flying up from their horses’ hooves as they raced to catch them.
When they met, they slowed their horses, yet kept the cattle moving until they began to weary after the long hard run from the border.
“Turn them to the west, and we’ll take them over to the Rio Grande so they can get water. Then we’ll follow the river up to Las Cruces,” Eli yelled to them as they helped turn the herd.
“Did you men have any trouble getting the herd across the river?” Eli asked as he rode over to where Jubal and Jeno were letting their horses drink.
“Marshal, all we did was what the Mexicans told us. Those vaqueros sure know how to handle a big herd of cattle,” Jeno told him.
“Marshal, I wasn’t a bit scared of that big ol’ bull when the vaquero first lassoed him and threw his lariat to me. But when that herd came out of the river and started running on dry ground, it sounded like I was tangled up in the middle of a Kansas cyclone, it was so loud. I think that big ol’ boy was like me, he was scared and just trying to outrun them, instead of lead them,” Jubal said, laughing about it now that they’d stopped.
“You men did a good job,” Eli told them, then turned to ride toward Albert and Martinez who still had the women riding double with them.
“Albert, you and Martinez bring the women over here toward the river. I’ll get one of my buckskin shirts out and Moses can get one of his out for them to wear. They need to be covered better than that,” Eli said as he saw the young women with the blankets slipping from their shoulders.
“Si, Marshal. We thank you again and again so many times for saving Rosa and her friend. That was a noble thing you did,” Martinez told him as they rode next to one another.
“You and the rest of them did it, Martinez. It wasn’t just me.
“Stop over here here by these bushes and get the women covered,” Eli told him then stopped his horse.
He pulled his bedroll from his saddle and rolled it out. Taking a buckskin shirt out, he held it out to the tall slender, Mexican girl who stood naked nearby, smiling down at him.
“Gracias, Marshal Eli,” she spoke in near perfect English.
“How did you know my name?” he asked as she stretched her arms over her head and let the buckskin shirt slowly slide down past her shoulders and over her large breasts. She was shaking her body as the shirt settled to just below her brown bottom.
She smiled at Eli when she saw him watching her.
“Martinez has already told me all about you and Alberto as we rode. He said you saved him and his family and now you have come to rescue Rosa and me. I am so grateful to you, Marshal,” she told him, smiling as she held out her arms and walked toward him.
“What’s your name?” Eli asked as she pressed her warm body against him and held him tightly. He felt her sobbing and pulled her closer.
“I am Analisa Estela Vasquez,” she told him, still holding onto him as she cried.
“How old are you, Analisa?”
“I am twenty one, same as Rosa. I am so happy you brought me with you. They made us walk naked in front of the guards and the household help when the Patron was not there. His wicked son is the one who wanted Rosa to marry him and he also wanted me to share his bed.”
“How did you come to be at that place, Analisa?”
“My Papâ worked for the Patron all his life. I was very young when he died and I was all alone, and they made me stay with them. Patron paid for me to attend the private university to be schooled and that was when I met Rosa. When I became older the Patron wanted me to be his woman and sleep in his bed. I told him never, that I wanted a young man and have a family.
“I tried to slip away many, many times but they always came after me.
“When they brought Rosa there to stay, she told me she had been kidnapped and her brother, Martinez would come rescue her one day and I could leave with her. Rosa and I tried to run away so many times, they made us chew the buttons of the pêyotê cactus and drink the bad tea. Only for maybe one hour or two hours out of a day were we able to talk with reason.”
“Did they rape either of you?”
“No Marshal! They never raped Rosa nor me. Patron told his son that we had to give permission for him to have our bodies or he would kill him.”
“You’ll be alright now, Analisa. We have a big family back where we live and they’ll help you forget the bad days at that place.”
“Martinez told me you were a good man. He told me that I owed you my life. Thank you again, Marshal. Will you let me stay close to you? I am still so afraid they will come after us even now.”
“You can ride your horse next to me, Analisa, but you need to stay close to Rosa and help her too,” Eli told her as he tried to push her back.
She clung to him tighter as Eli looked around at the others.
Rosa was stretching her arms overhead, then struggling to pull Moses’ shirt over her large breasts as she looked at Albert and smiled. When she had herself covered, she opened her arms and rushed the big man.
“We need to keep the cattle moving or they’ll spread out. Lets head them out again, we need to make as many miles as we can today. We’ll be in Las Cruces day after tomorrow in plenty of time to start loading if we’re lucky,” Eli said as Analisa held onto him with her arms around his waist. Finally he was able to lead her to one of the other horses and help her mount.
When the others were mounted once too, they began to move the cattle out of the river and back onto the trail. The cows were slow to leave the water and even slower to join the others as they started a fast walk north.
“Martinez, you have some fine cattle. They’re fat and they don’t have many ticks. Are you sure you only had about ten thousand? This sure is a lot of cattle we got there,” Eli told him as they rode next to each other with Analisa between them.
“Si. We have plenty of fine grass on our lands for our big herd before the Federâles come to take them. They put too many cattle and sheep on the land and soon there was no grass for any of them. They have forever taken the cattle from the landowners, and all the sheep too.”
“You know the Federâles as well as anyone here, will they come after the women and the cattle?” Eli asked.
“Only if the Minister of the Governor pays them, they will. If they come, there will be many and they will surround us, killing cattle, horses, and all of us. That was his youngest son you shot when he came into the garden alone. But they may not come now that he is dead.”
“Then we’ll set up guards tonight and watch for them. If we can make it as far as Las Cruces, they’ll not go that far,” Eli told him.
“How many days will it take to load the cattle, Marshal?” Martinez asked.
“If we can get them loaded like we were able to back home, we can load four trainloads a day at seven hundred and fifty head a trainload.”
“Then you will load all of them in only four days?” Analisa asked.
He looked at her and smiled. Eli liked a woman who could figure fast in her head like that.
“Yes, if they can switch the loaded cars and get them pulled out from down here as fast as we load.
“You’re very good with numbers, Analisa.”
“Yes, I was in the university with Rosa for three years until I graduated last year.
“It was when she visited me at the Patron’s hacienda that she met the Patron’s evil son.
“Then when he kidnapped her and brought her there, both of us lived like prisoners until you rescued us this morning,” she said, smiling at him.
“We have a lot of businesses back in Tulsa. We could use someone like you with a head for numbers. That is if you have a mind to travel back there.”
“You live in Tulsa?”
“Yes, with my wife, and my family and friends.”
“You would really let me work for you? Where would I live if I traveled that far to have a job?”
“You would live with us. We have plenty of room and my boys and girls are about grown. They’ll be getting married and moving out in a few years.”
“What would your wife say if I lived there?” she asked and smiled when he looked at her with a strange look.
“You’ll get to meet her and my sister and the other women who live there, when we get back to the ranch in Indian Territory where we left Martinez’ family.”
“Your wife and sister and family will accept me? They know nothing of me.”
“Just smile and show them how smart and pretty you are, they’ll welcome you to to the family and to Tulsa,” Eli told her and felt his face warm up when she smiled at him.
“You think I am pretty, Marshal?”
“Analisa, I think you know full well that you’re a pretty woman. You smile and you flash your dark eyes and you know the ways a woman can be pretty without trying. No wonder the Patron and his son wanted you.”
“Thank you Marshal. I accept the job offer and the offer to live with you,” Analisa said as she flashed her dark eyes and smiled.
“Analisa, I wasn’t asking you to live with me. I’m not like the Mexicans we just killed while rescuing you. I meant that you would have a place to stay at my house.”
“I know what you meant, Marshal. I was being flirty. I have not had many chances to do so since I graduated from the university. I like seeing you smile too, Marshal. I hope your wife and family do like me. I will be a lady in front of them and I will control my flirts with you.”
“You’d better or they’ll tear you apart,” Eli said, poking his horse to ride on ahead of them.
As he slowed his horse, Analisa, Rosa, and Martinez rode up beside him. They were all smiling.
“Analisa, you and Rosa ride lead with Albert. Martinez and I have some cattle to drive to Las Cruces,” Eli told them and watched as both women rode ahead to join Albert.
“Martinez, you didn’t tell me Rosa and Analisa were schoolmates at the university.”
“I forgot that one little thing, Marshal. They are both smart and pretty women. No?”
“Yes, they are.
“Now lets get as many miles as we can today. We got a good jump this morning, and I figure we’ve already made a good eight to ten miles by running the herd to begin with. We should make well over twenty miles before dark if we don’t run into trouble.”
The long line of cattle strung out for close to five miles from the lead bull back to the stragglers. The thirteen men rode back and forth along both sides, not prodding the cattle, but keeping them moving and keeping them in line.
At mid-day, the men stopped one at a time to saddle another horse. They knew they’d need fresh horses just to keep up with a herd this big if they spooked and broke into an all out stampede.
As the sun began to settle toward the horizon, they came to a wide plain with a boundary of large boulders on the east side of the river. There would barely be enough grass for one day with this big herd. They turned the cattle toward the river to let them drink, then as the lead cattle began moving toward the grassy plain, they let them move out on their own. By nightfall the cattle had walked into the Rio Grande, watered and moved out to find grass.
There was no wind stirring and the heat was all but unbearable. The men could see flashes of heat lightning in the night skies all around them and it worried them.
“We need to keep riding a line back and forth out here between the river and the cattle tonight. Rest in your saddles, but stay on your horses. If we get a lightning strike close by or a loud clap of thunder, we’ll lose half the herd when they stampede across that river,” Eli told them as they gathered at the river to water their horses.
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...