The Legend of Eli CrowChapter 47
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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 upstairs and if all of you hear him holler for help, just make out like you didn’t hear him. I’m gonna make him my man while he makes me his woman and we’re going to have us some fun like Catt and Eva and Rose and Clarissa told me all about,” Sissy was laughing and pulling Joe toward the stairs as she hung to him like a second set of buckskins.
“Go get that man broke in right, Sissy. You can tell us women all about it when we travel to Tulsa,” Rose said, joining her in her happiness.
“Eli, you reckon that boy will ever be able to handle that girl? I told you she was just like you and look what she’s done to him already,” Duncan said.
“I hand-picked that boy for my girl. He’ll have her followin’ him around like she’s a little puppy by the time we load up and move up to Tulsa,” Eli told him and all the grownups laughed as the kids grinned and snickered, like they knew what he meant.
They started loading wagons the next morning after breakfast, backing two wagons at a time up to the back porch, so they could pick what went where as they loaded. Bill and Jack came over and helped them load ... and by noon, they were down to clothes and their tack in the barn. When the women had all their bed clothes and other clothes loaded, Eli pulled the wagon out to the barn and loaded all but five saddles.
“Daddy, where did all these saddles come from? There’s a whole room full,” Little Eli said as they just kept on bringing saddles out, all the same, all black and shiny new.
“You little fellers can’t be gettin’ new horses without gettin’ new saddles.”
“You mean these are ours?” Lilly Beth asked as she jumped over on a saddle and sat atop it as they stacked them in the wagon.
“Yep, these are all your new saddles. Jack and Bill made special stirrups for ‘em that we can take off when your legs get longer.”
“OH DADDY, we love you so much,” Lee Yu said as she bounced on her new saddle beside Lilly Beth.
“Eli, we still have a half of one wagon empty, are we forgetting something to load?” Catt asked as the women stood on the ground and looked inside the wagon.
“We’re going by the undertakers tomorrow on our way out. We’re takin’ Little Duck with us. She wanted to go up there with us, and I aim to make it happen,” Eli said, his eyes full of tears.
“Eli, we love you so much.” Catt and Eva hugged each other and all the other women came over to hug them.
Just before dark, when the chickens and turkeys went to roost, they caught most of the chickens and turkeys and put them in coops they hung underneath the wagons, leaving a half dozen chickens and a rooster, along with three turkey hens and a gobbler. Eli told them the old nanny was about to have babies and he hoped she made it to Tulsa before she did.
Doc, Lettie, Hadalee, and Nadalee came over to say farewell to the family. They promised to meet them soon at the new ranch across the river from Tulsa. Jessie, Sundy, Cadalee and Adalee were all there with their husbands as the family ate their last meal together for what may be months to come.
Fort Smith, Arkansas October 15, 1883
Eli, Duncan, and Moses left early with the wagon to get Little Duck’s coffin loaded. They told the women to have the kids up and fed by the time they returned.
With food cooked and packed in pots, pans, and baskets, the kids jumping and screaming and laughing, the women singing songs, the goats running and jumping and kicking up their heels, the five wagons pulled out of Fort Smith.
They headed west into Indian Territory with Joe driving the lead wagon, Rose and Clarissa riding on the seat with him. Moses drove the next one, with Suh beside him, followed by Eva with Tin Yu on the seat next to her. Catt drove the next wagon with Mary on the seat with her. Duncan drove the last wagon with Juni beside him, and Little Duck’s coffin tied down with ropes in back. The family was moving west to start a new part of their lives on their new ranch.
Eli and Sissy rode their horses, with the other saddle horses tied behind the wagons, saddled and ready in case of trouble. They were taking no chances with their family, carrying rifles and shotguns in the wagon with the drivers.
Moses and Duncan had helped Eli load all his cast iron boxes in the wagon Duncan was driving. They smiled at Eli as they lifted the big strongboxes, some loaded heavily with gold, others full of paper money, all of them locked with padlocks.
Eli and Sissy were constantly riding from front to back of the small wagon train, ever watchful of anything that would mean trouble for the family. Eli had told all of them, if there was trouble, kill whoever came at them and they’d worry about right and wrong after it was over. He was taking no chances with his family out here in Indian Territory.
The women were constantly looking and watching, keeping an eye on the young’uns, the trees, brush, and surroundings as they rode on the wagon seats. All the boys and girls took turns driving a wagon team each of the next three days on the trip to Tulsa.
Sissy had her rifle in her saddle boot, a shotgun hooked on her saddle horn and her big Colt strapped on her hip. She was excited but she wasn’t nervous ... she was ready for whatever may come.
They only made twenty miles the first day, after a somewhat late start, but they knew three more days of good travel time and they’d be at their new home. When dark came, they circled the five wagons and built a big fire inside the circle. The women prepared food and tended to the young’uns as the men scouted for miles in all directions for any sign of trouble.
When they had eaten and the food was put away for the night, the men helped bed the younger ones down, then posted up on the perimeter with their horses close by. Sissy and Joe rode out on the trail ahead a ways and bedded down near the trail. Sissy slept curled up against Joe as he sat with his rifle in his hands, his eyes and ears looking and listening for any sounds or movements. They were taking no chances with their family out here on the trail.
Though they met a few travelers, they were never in fear of being approached in a menacing manner. Those they met were questioned by Eli, until he was sure they were no threat.
The fourth day out of Fort Smith, they crossed the K-T Railroad and rode on northeast alongside the tracks until they came to the river.
This was exciting for the youngsters as the wagons forded the river, splashing water on the wagon beds – the horses and mules knee deep in water. Eli was riding behind the wagons, making sure there was nothing lost or dropped into the water. Sissy was riding lead and she yelled and pointed to all the big houses on the top of the ridge ahead.
The women and kids all jumped up to get a better look at the new homestead. There were cheers and yells and laughter from the wagons as they neared the homestead.
Eli rode to the front and saw Ben, George, and William Barkley riding toward them down the slope, waving and smiling as they realized Marshal Eli was moving his family here to live.
“Marshal Eli, are you here to stay with your family?” William asked as he rode alongside Eli, smiling.
“We’re here to stay, William, how’s it all been going?”
“Been going good, Marshal, we’re all livin’ over there in that far house, I hope that’s alright. We can move out so you ‘n your folks can move in though.”
“You stay where you are, if we need more room, we’ll build another house up here. Who are the three Cherokee girls? Did Iron Hammer match you and the brothers up with some wives?” Eli asked, grinning.
“He sure did and we’re the happiest we’ve ever been in our lives, Marshal.”
“When we get the wagons backed up to the houses, I’ll have you meet my family and we’ll get our goods unloaded.”
“Yes sir, Marshal, we sure are proud to see all of you. It feels good to see all of you move up here like you told us you would.”
When they had all the wagons unloaded at the house they were meant for, the wagons parked behind the barns and the teams turned into the corrals, they all gathered near the one big tree on top of the ridge.
The men took up shovels, taking turns as they dug the grave for Little Duck. While they dug the grave, the kids gathered wildflowers, then sat and watched as they lowered the coffin into the ground with two ropes.
Though they all knew she was dead, and they had brought her all the way to Tulsa in the wagon, they still cried and comforted one another as they covered her grave. The kids put their wildflowers on the fresh dirt and cried as they remembered the little woman who loved them so much and always had time for them, no matter what she was doing.
The one thing that could get the young’uns away from Little Duck’s grave and make them stop hurting... happened at just the right time.
“I hear nanny, I bet she’s having the babies. Let’s go,” Kia yelled and they ran to the barn where the two younger goats and the billy were jumping and bucking in the front door.
Sure enough, when they reached the barn, there stood two pure white kid goats on wobbly legs as they tried to walk. The nanny was licking them, cleaning them after they were born. The girls took sacks and wiped the little white goats down and showed them where they could get some milk from their momma.
By the time the two kid goats had eaten their first meal, they had their legs under them and were ready to run and play.
Play they did too. The Crow kids, with Pike and Isaac, ran and played on the hillside, as the two kid goats ran and played with them.
Clarissa sat in a wide porch swing on the front porch, looking out over the Arkansas River Valley and wrote in her tablet until she filled that one and got another one. She’d made sure she had plenty before they left. She knew there wouldn’t be many places to buy tablets up here.
She had a lot of catching up to do, as she wrote all about the bad men that came and tried to kidnap Kia and Michi, then the Indian that had taken Sissy into the woods.
Clarissa was putting her story together as she made notes and wrote the story out. She wanted to write about what had happened and why the men had been in jail.
She got the whole story from Sissy, about how Eli came after the man and how she was about to give up hope after Joe had been shot, then she heard her Daddy and she knew she was alright. Sissy even told her about watching as her Daddy scalped the man while he smiled down at him.
Clarissa finally got Moses to tell her the truth about what happened to the Indian, who he was and why he was there. He even told her what they had done with him later and the reason no one knew about him.
Corinne and Lorene had already told her about the men that Eli and Moses had captured down in the piney woods and she got the rest of the story from Duncan about the men and how they had been chained around a tree when he first saw them. Duncan had told her all he remembered about his time up near the Kansas border, the time he was hit on the head.
Jefferson had told her all about their trip down to Little Rock with Duncan to see Doc Harrod. He laughed as he told her about the incident in the diner car in Little Rock. Clarissa could just picture Eli as he lost his temper and stormed over to talk to a table full of men that had never seen a mad Indian Marshal before.
Before dark, she had Ben Barkley cornered with his Cherokee wife and got the story of how they came to know Eli, Moses, and Duncan. Clarissa was inspired by being out here in this wide open land, living in a new house on top of the ridge, looking down on the Arkansas River. With the Crow kids and the goat kids running and playing on the hillside in front of her, she smiled, This has to be heaven on earth, Clarissa thought. She was still smiling as she wrote that thought down before closing her tablets for the day. She rubbed her eyes, then dried her fingers where the tears had wet them.
In the coming weeks, one of the four, if not all four of the men would go by the post office and the telegraph office twice a week to check for a message from the family in Fort Smith, Jefferson or Judge Parker himself.
Jefferson would check the scheduled departures and arrivals of the steamboats, and when he could, he would come up and stay a few days and leave when the boat went back down. Of course, this was only when the river was high enough to allow traffic. Other times, he would ride back to Tulsa with Eli and the others and stay a few days, then catch a freight wagon or any trustworthy person or persons headed back that way and ride with them for safety.
Eli made a deal, cows for horses, with Iron Hammer and got two dozen Paint horses, all black and white, like Joe and Sissy had. The times the men were home, they spent the days on their horses with the young’uns. When they were on a trip, Sissy would take the younger ones for a ride and go see Iron Hammer and his large family at their lodges. The Crow kids loved going there and playing with the Cherokee kids. They all wore buckskins too and were hard to tell apart.
Lee Yu, Lilly Beth, Kia, and Michi had girls to play with and the Cherokee girls even gave them dolls made by their Cherokee grandmothers. The Crow girls took them two hens and a rooster to start their own flock of chickens. They took them some turkey eggs too, so they could hatch some turkeys under the hens.
Three days a week, Iron Hammer and his brothers would gather up all their young ones and take them to the Crow house to be taught how to read and write the white man words by Rose and Clarissa.
Mary’s belly continued to swell after the move to Tulsa and she just knew she was going to give birth to twins any day now. Then in the days ahead, she became sickly and lost a lot of weight and strength. She was still determined to have these babies, though she was bedridden.
Jefferson came up to the new ranch at Tulsa a few weeks after the move. When he returned to Fort Smith he told Doc and Lettie about Mary and within three days, they both made a special trip to Tulsa to see her. When Doc Harrod examined her, he knew she wasn’t with child.
Mary had a large tumor.
The women had heard of tumors, the men had no idea what that meant. Doc took Eli out to the barn and tried as best he could to explain what it meant and what was going to happen.
“Eli, Mary is sick ... really sick and as bad as I want to help her, there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry that I didn’t catch this before all of you moved up here.”
“Doc, Mary’s gonna die, ain’t she?” Eli sobbed, grabbing Doc to held on.
“Eli, I would give my own life to save her, but this has taken over her body and she’s too weak to travel. She would never make it to Fort Smith or even make it through the surgery if she were already there.”
“Then I want her to be here with us when she goes. Have you told her and the others?”
“Yes, the women know. Mary knows too and she’s comfortable with it. She wants to see you alone, then with Little Eli and Kia, Michi, and Sissy.”
“What do I say to her, Doc?”
“Just talk to her and love her like you have since you met her. She knows it’s hard on you. The younger ones don’t know yet. She wants you to be with her when she tells them. She wants you to be strong for them. They will need you, Eli, more than ever now.”
“Doc, I don’t know if I can do this, you got to tell me how,” Eli sobbed, and cried openly.
“Eli, you wouldn’t be a man if you didn’t hurt when you lose a loved one. If it was you, just think of how strong Mary would be for your kids, then you be as strong as she would be, and love them as much as you and her both...
“It will hurt them to know their momma is going to die, it will hurt them when she dies. It will hurt them even more when they help bury her. They will depend on you and the others to help them understand and get through this. Just don’t let any of them go unloved.”
“I won’t, Doc. I’m goin’ up to see Mary now,” Eli said, taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes on his sleeves.
Eli went up to their room and opened the door slowly. Rose was with Mary, she got up when Eli came in. She didn’t speak, she reached out and touched Eli’s hand, then walked out and closed the door.
He sat on the side of the bed, looking down at his wife. Tears were in her eyes ... he was crying too.
“Eli, I wanted Doc to tell you. I don’t think I could have. I hope that was alright. I just love you too much to hurt you like this. I’m sorry, Eli. I wanted us to grow old together, but God had other plans. Rose is going to write Mother and Daddy a letter and tell them. I wish you would take Little Eli and the other kids up there to to Boones Crossing to see them one day, before they are too old to enjoy them...
“I know you’ll be strong for the kids, Eli. You have always been the strong one in the family and everyone looks up to you. Just keep being Eli Crow and look to God when you need strength, Eli. He’ll help you. You’ll have Rose, Clarissa, Eva, Catt, and Tin Yu. You be really strong for Tin Yu, Eli. She will need you now, just like she did when her momma and daddy died.”
“Mary, how’re you able to be so strong and accept this? It’s all I can do to see you like this. I want to get mad and go kill somebody ... but there’s nobody at fault. I feel like I did when I lost my Ma...
“I guess I loved you when I first saw you, Mary. I just never let myself feel it, until I went to tell you goodbye and saw that you liked me too. All I thought about those next three years was makin’ a man of myself that you’d be proud of, then goin’ back and gettin’ Rose and you and bringing you home to live with me...
“I know I had other women, but I never set out to have ‘em. They just kinda needed me and I couldn’t say no to ‘em. Now I love ‘em and you and all our kids and ... I’m losing you. It’s hard to think about, Mary, and it’s hard to talk about too. I asked Doc to tell me how to get through this, he just told me to love you and love the kids, it was the only way.”
“He told you right, Eli. I guess the hardest part will be when we tell the girls. It seems like girls take these things the hardest, then they turn right around and become the strongest. You’ll have to watch Little Eli, though. Make sure you love him even more special now, he’ll need all you got, Eli.”
“I will, Mary, you know that. I’ll love ‘em all, like you was inside me, helpin me love ‘em.”
“I know you will, Eli, you’re a strong man and I’ve loved you just the way I always dreamed I would love my man. You’ve been my man and you have been my rock to lean on. You need to love the women too, Eli. They’ll need you and they’ll want to make you feel better. Let them, Eli. They will be hurt if you shut them out of your life, even for a day.
“Eli, I want you to marry again soon, while you’re young, don’t just be alone the rest of your life.”
“Mary, you’re the best I ever could have loved, you always was so smart and knew everything. I’ll take the kids on the train to see your Ma and Pa after we’ve taken care of things here and they’re ready.”
“Thank you, Eli. Will you go bring them in now? I’ll tell them, you just help me explain if they don’t understand.”
“I’ll do my best, Mary, but I’ll never be as strong as you.”
“Yes you will. When it comes to our kids, you’ll be strong. They need you, Eli, just remember that.”
“I’ll go get them now, Mary.”
“Eli, we don’t have long and I don’t want them in here when I go.”
“Mary, I’ll be here for you.”
“I know, Eli, thank you. Now go get them wild ass Crow kids and bring them in here.”
When Eli went out the door, all the kids were lined up against the wall, with Rose, Clarissa, Tin Yu, Eva, Catt, and Sissy.
Eli wanted to just take his kids in, but couldn’t tell the others to stay out.
“Momma is very sick and she wants to see all of you. I want each of you to tell her that you love her. She has something to tell all of you and I want you to listen close to what she says and be strong for her.”
“Daddy, is Momma gonna be with Little Duck?” Little Eli sobbed, his big eyes full of tears as he looked up.
“Let’s all go in and she can tell you, she’s waiting for you now,” Eli told them. He didn’t know how he was going to get through this. He looked at his women and his sister and they were crying. Sissy was trying to be brave for the younger kids, but she was crying too.
“Well hello to all my Crow kids, come over here and gather around my bed. I have something to tell you and I’m glad all of you came in here. Pike, Caleb, Micah, Isaac, Ezra, all of you come over here on this side. I love all of you like you were my birth babies.
“You all know I’ve been sick in bed for a few weeks and we all thought I was going to have a baby. Doc Harrod and Lettie came up and he told me I wasn’t with child, and that I have a tumor. I know you don’t know what a tumor is, but I’m sure Doc will explain it to you later.
“What it means is, that I’m going to be with Little Duck and the nanny goat in heaven and I want all of you to be brave and help each other when I’m gone.”
“Momma, we don’t want you to go,” Little Eli said and started crying. When he started, all the others cried and sobbed until they looked at Mary and saw her smiling.
“I want you to remember the good times we’ve had together. Kia, Michi, you two are big enough now to help the women of the family take care of your brothers and sisters. Sissy, I know you’ll be strong for them and help your daddy too.
“Don’t be mad and don’t be afraid, I’ll always be watching over you and I’ll always love you from heaven.”
“Momma?” Kia said.
“Yes, Kia.”
“When you get to heaven, will you look up our first momma and daddy? We never knew them and we want them to know we’re alright. If you see nanny, she’ll remember you and you can let her know we all still love her too,” Kia sobbed as she talked.
“I’ll do that first thing when I get there, all of you be strong for me and be strong for Eli. He’s a big old tough man, but he needs your love more than ever now. All of you will be alright, you’ll never be alone and you’ll always have each other.”
“Aunt Mary?” Lee Yu said.
“Yes, Lee Yu.”
“Will you find my Momma’s daddy and momma? They are there too. I want them to know about me and know that Momma and me are so happy to be Crow girls.”
“I sure will, Lee Yu, and I know they’re already so proud of you and all the Crow kids.
“Come give me a hug and tell me you love me. I need to see the womenfolk of the family now. I love all my wild ass Crow kids.”
Each of the kids came to the bedside and reached out to hug her as they cried. Sissy hugged Mary and told her she would be a Crow woman and help raise the kids and keep them from being too wild. She and her Momma smiled at each other.
Little Eli hugged his Momma and told her he loved her as she kissed his face. Isaac, Pike, Ezra, Caleb, and Micah all came to hug their Aunt Mary, each of them crying as they told her they loved her.
“Sissy, take them out to see Doc and he’ll answer their questions if he can. Eli, please send Rose and the others in, I need to see them ... hurry.”
Rose, Catt, Eva, Clarissa, and Tin Yu, each hugged Eli as they went through the door. Eli pulled the door closed and heard them laugh inside the room. He stood and smiled, then heard them start crying. Eli went back in and they were all around Mary. He went to her side once more and took her hand as she smiled up at him. She reached up and touched his medicine chain, then closed her eyes. Her hand was still, no longer gripping his. He leaned over and kissed her lips, then left the room.
As he walked out to the barn where Doc and Lettie were with the kids, he heard the singing from the bedroom window upstairs.
When their voices came to the barn, all the kids, Doc, Lettie, and Sissy knew Mary was gone. The women sang ‘Blessed Assurance’, Mary’s favorite song.
Joe, Moses, and Duncan sat on the bench inside the barn, their heads down, crying for Mary and the kids. They had heard Doc tell Eli about her and had stayed out in the barn. They knew they’d be no good inside the house.
Eli went to the lumber yard and had Williams cut some wide cedar boards, two inches thick, to build her coffin with. He took them back to the barn and he, the boys, and the men sawed and fitted and nailed the boards, then made the top to fit across the box when they were ready to close it and nail it down tight. They carried it up to the bedroom.
The women had given Mary a bath, brushed her long hair and dressed her in her favorite white dress, then wrapped her in a white bedspread. The men brought the coffin down and out to the big Oak tree, where Little Duck was buried. There they dug Mary Connor Crow’s grave. William, Ben, and George were there with their women, and helped dig the grave.
When they had covered the grave, and spread dried wildflowers all over, Rose stood and walked to the grave. Eli had made a cross for Mary’s grave with two wide boards.
Mary Connor Crow Loving Wife, Mother, and Friend May 1, 1856 – December 23, 1883
“Lord, watch over Mary Crow, she was a good woman here on earth. You’ll be proud to have her in Heaven, help us be strong for her. Thank You, Lord.”
One more time, they sang ‘Blessed Assurance’ and walked back to the house.
Eli looked over to the east and saw Iron Hammer and his brothers, as they sat on their horses, watching as he buried his wife.
On the way back to the house, Tin Yu reached out to touch Rose’s hand.
“Is it time?”
“Yes Rose, baby come soon.”
The women hurried in the house with Tin Yu. They knew when she said baby come soon, she meant right now. The baby girl was born an hour after they buried Mary. Eli was with her and he cried as his baby girl came in the world screaming.
“Eli, we name her after Mary, call her Maryanne Crow?”
“Yes Tin Yu, we call her Maryanne Crow. Mary would have loved that name for our baby girl.”
Early spring 1884:
George, Ben, and William had been plowing the bottom lands since the soil had firmed up after winter. They’d brought six of the sulky double bottom breaking plows back with them from Kansas when they’d made their trip up there early last fall.
Three of the sulkies sat idle at the barn, waiting for them to hire someone to plow with them.
“William, hitch a team to each of them three plows, I’ll show my boys how to plow with them. They can plow as many acres in a day as you three can and we’ll be ready for planting alfalfa seed on time,” Eli told them.
He knew he could take the six boys over there and let them swap up driving the three plows since all they had to do was sit on the seat and guide the team right down the furrow following the Barkley brothers.
“Eli, all you boys come over here. I’m going to put you to work so I won’t have to be looking for you,” he told them and they ran to him.
“What’re we going to be doing, Daddy?” Little Eli asked as the boys looked at the three plows with horses hitched to them.
“I’ve got all your horses saddled, but I want you, Ezra, and Caleb to get on these plows. Micah, Pike, and Isaac y’all get your horses and lead the other three. Follow me, you boys are going to be farm hands until we get the bottom land plowed and harrowed off so we can plant some alfalfa hay for the cows and horses this winter.”
By the time he had stopped talking, the three boys were sitting on the metal seat with the leather reins in their hands. The other three were mounted and leading a horse as they came out of the barn.
With Eli leading the way, they rode the plows to the break of the long ridge where the land sloped off into the Arkansas River bottom. They had been back here before, watching the Barkley brothers plow the land. They had talked about how easy it looked to just sit on that seat and drive the horses through the long field, then turn around and drive them back. This wasn’t work for them, this was going to be fun!
When they reached the end of the plowed field where the three Barkley brothers had just started for the day, Eli stepped to the ground and led Eli’s team over to line them up with the furrow made by the last plow.
“Eli, all you got to do is let this horse walk in the furrow, they’ll know what to do. I’ll help you lower your plows this time and show you where to set them, but after that, you’ll have to raise them yourself to turn at the end. If you raise your plow while the horses are still walking, they’ll come right out of the ground. You’ll have to raise one, then the other. Don’t worry about plowing all the way out to the end like William and his brothers; they can plow across the ends when we get this big field plowed.
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...
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“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...
“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...