The Legend of Eli CrowChapter 47
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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 loaded cattle until dark and got the first two trains loaded with fifteen cattle cars each. The trains pulled out a little after sundown, one right behind the other, their steam whistles screaming into the night sky until they were out of hearing range.
During the night, four locomotives rolled into Little Tree and parked on the long sidetrack. Two were connected to fifteen empty cattle cars, two backed in first and each one hooked onto fifteen of the cars already parked there.
The town of Little Tree, Texas, was jumping with customers at the hotel and the stores. Don had already told his men to stay away from the saloon until they had the cattle all loaded.
Eli rented nine rooms in the ten room hotel. They all took baths out back where they had heavy canvas curtains separating the men’s side from the womens side. They had to carry their own water from the pump next to the wooden platform, and there was no hot water.
Sissy and Miranda, with Clara and Martha’s help, bathed the girls. Then they helped each other carry water as they got their baths. The men’s side had three tubs and the boys all got their baths two at a time in the long tin tubs.
Howard Claymore was bathed and dressed in clean clothes before the others, and took the boys into the hotel dining room to start ordering enough food for the whole crew.
He was told that the tall Indian Marshal had come in earlier in the day and told them to have supper ready. They had a big crew of trail hands that were gonna be tired and hungry.
After they’d eaten plates of roast beef and gravy over biscuits and drank coffee until they had their fill, Cookie and the ranch hands went to the stable. They said they’d never be able to sleep bunched up in a room together.
That left plenty of rooms for the rest of the crew. Miranda saw Sissy bent over talking to Little Eli and every now and then they would look over at her. She was hoping the two of them were making plans for their daddy.
The boys were in one room, the four girls in another. Don Cowden and Clara slipped off to a room together as soon as they’d eaten. Martha Wharton had a room and their uncle and cousin had a room. Ben and George had a room, Joe and Sissy went to their room. Miranda held Eli’s hand as he talked to Howard Claymore and Moses in the hallway. Howard and Moses went to their room, both smiling as they saw Eli and Miranda slip into the last room.
“Eli?” Miranda spoke as she still held his hand.
“Miranda?”
“Eli, am I going to have to take your clothes off for you? Can’t you see that I’ve already fallen in love with you and I want you to love me so bad?”
“Miranda, I can see that when you look at me. I can feel you when we sleep next to each other in the bedrolls. I reckon I want the same thing, Miranda. I just don’t know how to say the words you want to hear.”
“Eli, look at me and tell me you want me to be your woman.”
“Miranda, I want you to be my wife, not just my woman, can we do that? Can you love me, with a houseful of young’uns already, and more women back home?”
“Eli, did you just ask me to marry you? Please ask me again, and say it so I’ll know.”
“Miranda, will you marry me and be my wife and love my young’uns and love my women too?”
“OH GOD YES I’LL MARRY YOU, ELI. Can I take your clothes off now?”
“Can I take yours off, Miranda? I’d like to see you before we turn the lamp off.”
“Eli, let’s leave the light on, can we?”
“Miranda, have you ever done this before?”
“No I haven’t and I want to remember each and every second of the first time we make love. I’m so glad you asked me to marry you. OH Eli, you’re such a pretty man. Can I ask my parents to come to Tulsa when we get married? Did you know Sissy, Little Eli, and the girls already wanted us to be married?” Miranda was so excited, she couldn’t stop talking.
“I’m glad Little Eli, Sissy, and my girls like you already, it means a lot to me. It would mean a lot to me if your parents come to see us get married too.
“Miranda, I like looking at you naked.”
“OH Eli, love me and I’ll never hurt you. I’ll never let anyone else hurt you either. Get in bed, Eli. I need to hold you.”
“I love you, Miranda. You’ve made it easy for me to love you. I’ll never hurt you, have no worry about that. I do have a bad temper, but only when I get cussed or somebody comes after my family. Lay with me, Miranda, I’m going to love you for a long time to come,” Eli said. He sat on the side of the bed and pulled her down with him, as he lay back.
Miranda and Eli were sitting in the small hotel dining room when the ten young’uns came bounding down the stairs the next morning. The four girls looked at Miranda - she smiled at them and winked. The six boys looked at Eli and smiled when they saw him looking at Miranda. They knew then, it was a done deal.
Lee Yu ran around the table to sit next to her daddy as the others found chairs.
“Daddy, you and Miss Miranda are smiling, are both of you happy about something?” she asked.
“Yes we are, Lee Yu. Your daddy and I are getting married when we get back to Tulsa. I hope all of you will help me be a good wife to him and a good Momma to all of you.”
“We will, Miss Miranda. Thank you for loving our daddy, we already love you,” Kia told her, as they all grinned at them.
When the others came down for breakfast and the men came from the barn, the news about Eli and Miss Miranda quickly spread all around.
At first light, the loading began again. The railroad crews were trying to keep four engines running down to the small Texas town of Little Tree. Some days they loaded four, but most days they loaded two trains, pulling fifteen cars each.
They had a few delays waiting for a train during the next six days, and one day no trains at all showed up. Still, they loaded the eleven thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one head of cattle in eight days.
“Mr. Howard, how many head did we have down here?” Little Eli asked as they sat on the fence rail, watching the last train pull out.
“Near as I can add up on my tally sheet, we had eleven thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one head move through here at an average of eight hundred and fifty-two pounds each. Not a bad haul, I’d say. What do you think?”
“I’d say that was a really good haul. You must own half the money in the world to pay that much out to Crow Lands Cattle Company.”
“I’ll never have that kind of money, Eli. The packing company advanced me half the money before I left Tulsa. They’ll send the other half when the last of the cattle are delivered to the holding pens at the packing houses. Your daddy will have all his money soon after we get back to Tulsa.”
“Are you going to pay Spotted Owl and White Elk before we go back? Daddy said they needed money and food.”
“I have enough to pay both the Chickasaw and the Cheyenne, as well as Don Cowden, their parts. Your daddy and I will settle up before I go back to Kansas City. I hope you and your brothers have learned a little about the cattle business and will keep growing good, healthy cattle. I like doing business with Crow Ridge Cattle Company.”
“We’ve already talked about it; we want to learn how to grow big cattle like we saw in Kansas. We have some big bulls at Tulsa and a few down here. We want all big cattle though, even bigger than these down here.”
“Good for you. You boys need to start studying about breeding. Always breed the best bulls to the best cows and cull out the weaker ones, to build your herds.”
“We will do just that. Miss Miranda said her daddy was a professor at the college in Kansas and he knows all about that stuff. We’ll get him to teach us how it’s done.”
“Eli, which of you won the prize for guessing the closest number of cattle down here?” Howard asked.
“I’m pretty sure it was Caleb, he guessed eleven thousand eight hundred and twenty. The rest of us guessed way higher.”
“I’ll have to pay up then, I guessed a little lower than that,” Howard said.
Howard Claymore paid Don Cowden his fourth of the money directly to him as Eli watched him count it out in his hotel room.
“Eli, this is too much. I never even heard of this much money. Are you sure you want me to take all this?” Don asked.
“We had us a handshake deal, Don. You run this ranch and you ‘n your men worked hard for this. You deserve all you’re gettin’. I’ll leave it up to you what to pay your men, but if it was me, I’d pay them good wages and hold back the rest for ‘em til later.”
“I already made plans to do that, Eli. They’re like me, they can’t even count high enough to count all this money,” Don said.
“Just be on the lookout for some more good cattle, we’ll need some more Longhorn cows we can breed to our Shorthorn bulls. They made some good crosses.”
“I’ll put the word out, Eli. I reckon all of you will be headin’ back soon?”
“Yup, we need to get on back. We’ll be back this fall to start gathering up pecans though, so we’ll see you then.”
“Howard, it’s been good doing business with you. I hope Eli and me can have another big herd in a year or two,” Don told Howard as they shook hands.
“You build that herd back up and I’ll be back to see you again. Are you not riding back with us?”
“I reckon me and Clara will spend a few days here in Little Tree, so we can watch over my men. I’ve asked her if she’d marry me and looks like we’ll be getting hitched before we head back. Cookie, Martha, her uncle and cousin, and one of the other hands will ride back over there with you.”
“Take care, Don. I’m happy to have you as my partner. I’m happy you got a good woman too, you needed a family down here,” Eli told him as they shook hands.
“Thanks, Eli. Good luck to you and Miranda too. You needed some help with that herd of young’uns you got.”
They left Little Tree, Texas, early the next morning, riding slow beside the wagons so Cookie and Ben wouldn’t be left behind. The next morning, they rode onto Cheyenne lands.
“I see White Elk, Daddy,” Lee Yu said as she pointed over to the Indians riding toward them.
“Look what he’s leading, Lee Yu,” Pike said as they all rode toward the Cheyenne.
“Is she mine?” she yelled as they rode closer and she saw the tall, black and white Paint filly.
“She sure is, what do you think?” Eli asked.
“I like her already, she’s tall like Joe and Sissy’s horses. Can I ride her home?”
“Yep, she’s yours. We’ll have to get your saddle out of the wagon.”
While Moses and George saddled Lee Yu’s new horse, Eli and Howard spread a blanket on the ground and sat with White Elk and his men.
Howard counted out one hundred seventeen thousand, one hundred and fifty dollars on the blanket as White Elk and his men looked on, smiling at the many stacks of money.
“Eli Crow, you are a good brother to my people. You would make a great Cheyenne Warrior. We will now have food and white man dollars to purchase all our needs. Mr. Howard, you will be a friend of the Cheyenne people until the sun falls from the sky,” White Elk spoke to both of them, as they stood and shook hands.
White Elk and his people rode with them over to the corner of the unassigned lands, where they saw Spotted Owl and his men waiting for the Crow family and the cattlemen to come back from Little Tree, Texas.
The greetings of friends were met with smiles from all, as Eli once more took a blanket and spread it on the ground. As they sat cross legged on the blanket, Howard counted out another one hundred seventeen thousand, one hundred and fifty dollars on the blanket, as Spotted Owl and his men smiled at their fortune.
“Eli Crow, you have made the Chickasaw a happy people. We were without food, and you gave us plenty. We had no horses and you gave us horses. We had no guns to hunt with and now we have guns. We have all of these things and we have white man dollars to buy our children books to read and clothes for winter. May the Great Spirit watch over you and your family forever,” Spotted Owl stood and put his arms around Eli and the two men shared a bond of friendship as the others watched.
“Mr. Howard, you are a good friend of Eli Crow, you are now a friend and brother to Spotted Owl and all Chickasaw People. Come this way again and we will have a pow wow in your honor.”
“Spotted Owl, I have met many friends in my life, but none as kind and brotherly as Spotted Owl and White Elk. I am already honored to call you both my friends. I will come back with my friend Eli Crow one day and we will all talk of the Little Tree, Texas cattle drive once more,” Howard shook the tall Chickasaw Indian’s hand as each man looked deep into the eyes of the other and smiled.
Miranda had been beside Sissy and Joe the whole time Eli was paying White Elk and Spotted Owl, and saying goodbye to the Cheyenne and Chickasaw people. This was another part of the man she’d fallen in love with, his need to help the people of the plains. As she watched and listened to their conversations, she was moved by their heartfelt friendships and their warm, moving expressions of brotherly love.
When they arrived at the ranch, Cookie set about unloading all his cooking utensils and boxes and sacks of grub. The Crow kids offered to help, but he told them he would do this, they had done enough. He told each of them goodbye, remembering their names as they all smiled and wiped tears at the same time.
Martha Wharton and her kin, Nate and Newt Whelan, stayed with the men at the ranch. Martha knew Clara and Don would be home in a few days, married and happy.
They left the ranch early in the afternoon, wanting to make as many miles as they could on their trip back to Tulsa. When they came to the burned out wagon of the Boomers they turned further south, not wanting any more skirmishes with the cavalry. Eli knew he was going to make a trip down to see Judge Parker as soon as he got a chance. This problem with the cavalry was out of hand. He and his family had been made the target of someone’s revenge.
When they turned their horses back northeast toward the railroad, Moses yelled out for Eli to come to the front in a hurry.
“Joe, you, Sissy, and Miranda watch the rear, kill anyone who comes at us from behind,” he yelled as he saw mounted soldiers riding toward them in a column of two’s.
Eli turned to look at Howard, tossing him one of his shotguns.
Eli rode hard to where Moses had stopped, then they both rode out to meet the column.
Eli had heard about the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’, the black cavalrymen at Fort Reno, Fort Sill, and Camp Russell. He’d never run upon any of them, and rode with his double barrel shotgun resting across his upper thigh, held by his left hand. His right hand was resting on the butt of his .45, ready to draw. His reins lay draped loosely across his saddle horn.
“I know that sergeant, Eli. He was a friend when I was at Fort Supply,” Moses spoke as they rode slowly toward the column of twenty men.
“Sergeant Willis! Moses Kidd here, Deputy United States Marshal riding in with United States Marshal Eli Crow. We are not hostile,” Moses said loudly as they continued to ride closer.
“Moses Kidd, you son-of-a-gun. I heard you was a U. S. Marshal now. What are you doing down here?” The sergeant said loudly as he raised his hand, stopping his column.
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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...
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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...
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“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...