Chapter 12

When we arrived at Oregon City I contacted the people to whom the Sheriff had written letters and answered their questions. I learned that my wives weren't the only ones who had gone missing. There had been reports of several other women who were missing in the Oregon City/Portland/Fort Vancouver area. No one had been able to find any of them and there had been no clue as to what had happened to them. My information was the first that they had received of a possible slavery ring operating in Oregon. This caused a sensation among the people when it was shared and some wanted to immediately make an attack on the Huntly to rescue the women.

The Sheriff of Oregon City and I argued against this. We finally convinced the others involved that an attempt without suitable preparation could let the Huntly slip away and we would never see them or the kidnapped women again. We needed a plan that would allow us to make repeated attempts to halt the Huntly if the first attempt failed. We also needed some way to protect the women from being used as hostages by the crew of the Huntly. This was going to require that we either provide weapons to the women before we made the raid or had people in place to protect them as soon as the raid started.

Most of all we needed information about how the Huntly was laid out. From the information that the Sheriff and Customs had, we knew that the Huntly was a three-masted clipper ship that had been involved in the Triangular Trade in the Atlantic hauling molasses, rum and slaves. It had had been switched over to the Pacific trade after the British Navy started seriously enforcing the ban on slavery after 1833 when they freed the slaves in the British Empire. Since then it had been involved in hauling low-volume/high-value cargoes between Macau and the west coast of the Americas. It was suspected of being involved in smuggling and there had been reports that it may have engaged in some pirate attacks but there had never been enough proof to take action. The crew was composed of men who had never been convicted of serious crimes in America but have been in enough trouble to have been banned in Canada and Mazatlan in Mexico. They had very little to lose and might be involved in kidnapping.

After a lot of arguing we finally decided on a series of steps we could take. First we needed to prove they were involved with the kidnapping of the women. Here I was able to offer the plan the help of Corrie's 'group'. They had five young women coming to Oregon City who could play the part of kidnapped women if the Sheriff could find three men who looked similar to the men we had captured around Dallas. The other agencies wanted to refuse their help at first, but I was finally able to argue them into agreeing to use it. Like many agencies and men of the period, the idea that women could do anything but bear children and do housework was completely foreign. They only agreed to do it if the women would be able to take down and shoot as well as any of the deputies who would be taking part in the raid. I'm sure that all of the men thought that this would be impossible, and to be honest I was just hoping the women Corrie had picked could do it.

We needed to have someone who could be there to protect the women who had been kidnapped from the crew while the decoys were coming on board. I volunteered Josh and myself for that job. Willy would be going with us to the nearest shore and cover everyone with the Hawken Plains .54 rifles if needed. The Sheriff's deputies would be on that nearest shore as well. As soon as the women were on board so we had proof of their involvement, the deputies would launch their boats to carry out the raid. Downstream the Customs cutter would be moving toward the Huntly to board her if necessary.

As we were going to have to coordinate the raid I suggested that we practice using a similar sized ship for the purpose. This was something that they had never considered as it was not normal for various agencies to coordinate with each other. Their operations almost never intersected except at the courts, so this was virgin territory for many of them. They argued against this as it might give the raid away. I argued back pointing out places where an error on someone's part could mess everything up. Finally I had to refuse to give them the password I had obtained from the Bosun unless they did. This made me very unpopular with everyone else, but having no choice they agreed.

While I was involved with the various agencies, Willy and Josh were trying to get more information about the Huntly and its location. They asked around the docks in Portland and were unable to find out anything about the ship except that the crew was unfriendly and no one from the port was allowed to get on board, with the exception of the pilot. When they asked about the pilot they were directed to a seedy house on the edge of the docks where he might be found, otherwise he would be propping up a stool in one of the saloons in Portland or Oregon City. They were lucky for when they went to the house; they found the pilot in his bed holding a bottle of whiskey, passed out.

Picking the pilot up they brought him to the sheriff's office where he was thrown in the horse trough and woken up. He was reluctant to speak until the sheriff threatened to either hold him as an accessory to kidnapping or pay him $20 for his information, "The Huntley was a slave ship. You know how you get used to a smell until you no longer can smell it? I think that's what happened on the Huntly. They got so used to the smell that they are no longer aware of how it smells. I didn't hear anyone in the hold or I would have told someone, I swear! And if they're slavers somewhere else, than it doesn't involve me!" We picked his brain on everything he had seen on the Huntly, the number of the crew, 30; the weapons he had seen, mostly hangers and pistols, and the layout of the ship. We found out the ship was still steered using rudder ropes, so I suggested that we cut them immediately when the women came on board. This was going to require someone to use a boarding ax to do it as the ropes were at least 2 inches around. The hold had port holes that could be opened from the inside for air circulation. So if we could get them opened and the women weren't chained too tightly we might be able to smuggle in weapons to them.

The pilot was placed in the jail and held until the plan either succeeded or failed. We called it a day then and went to our respective hotels or homes. Josh was ready to make an attack on the Huntly that night and Willy and I had to restrain him until we got him to understand that without coordination we might never see Elizabeth, Claire or Louise again. Finally he agreed, unhappily, that Willy and I knew what we were talking about.

November 23, 1849

To keep Josh busy and out of trouble, I asked Willy to take him to Astoria and see if they could find out where the Huntly was anchored. They could explore and find the best places for launching the attack as well as finding a good spot for shooting at the Huntly. They also might be able to see if there were any prisoners on the Huntly right now, especially my wives.

Corrie and her women arrived today and I told her of the conditions the sheriff and Customs had placed on their participation. She just smiled and told me not to worry. When I took the women to the meeting, the sheriff snorted and asked, "These are the girls you want to take the ship with? They're just little things who couldn't take down any of my men."

Corrie asked the sheriff to test them before he come to a conclusion. He agreed and sent for several of his men to see what the women could do. Corrie had them grab the women as if they were going to take them somewhere against their will. In less than 20 seconds the men were on the floor holding their crotches or with a woman on top of them with their arms locked up and the woman's hands ready to use a hold that would knock them unconscious. One man didn't stop struggling until the woman did knock him out with a sleeper hold.

This shocked all the men with the exception of the men who had come from our town. For the first time the women were demonstrating some of the training they now used for self protection. Next the sheriff took them to a place where they could show how they could shoot a pistol. I was surprised myself when they pulled out their holsters and I saw they were patterned on the quick draw holster I wore. I was even more surprised when I saw them draw the pistols as fast or even faster than I ever had and hit the target with all their shots. They managed to shoot all six rounds in less than a minute and hit within the kill zone of the target dummy he had placed downrange. After that they pulled out the knife from the back sheath and threw it at the dummy from 15 feet away and managed to sink it to the hilt in the target's belly.

After they had demonstrated their skills I was the only one who was comfortable around the women. The other men weren't too sure how to react to women who were deadlier than the men they were next to. This did end any objections to them participating in the raid. The sheriff provided three men who matched the description I had given them for the sailors. The sheriff had sent his deputies out to all the shore side stables and had found the stable from which the sailors had rented the horses. They had left their boat there to be picked up on their return.

The Customs office had a ship we could use to practice with. They had seized a two-masted sloop for a customs violation earlier and we decided it could be used for the practice. When we attempted to do everything the first time it was a disaster. The sheriff's deputies failed to launch immediately and by the time they got there it was ten minutes after the women were on board. I had tried to find a boarding ax and couldn't so I was unable to cut the rudder ropes. I tried with my knife and it wouldn't cut very fast. The customs ship never did come toward us as we had failed to set up a signal for them to start.

We got together and agreed that Willy would shoot twice at something on the ship when he saw the women all on the deck. This would be the signal for the deputies to launch their boat and the Customs ship to move upstream as well as cause a distraction that would let the women act. I got a hanger from the cutter and used that to cut the ropes to the rudder. The second time it was better and by the fourth time it went like clockwork. We agreed that we would start the raid at daybreak.

November 24, 1849

We left for the location of the Huntly last night and are now waiting for the beginning of daybreak to start the raid. We can see the light on the helm of the Huntly but have not heard anything moving. We floated out to the ship very early and Josh and I have been hiding against the hull of the ship next to the rudder. As soon as we hear the shots from Willy, Josh and I are to cut the rudder ropes and make our way on deck. While the women and men from the decoy are keeping their attention on that end we are to rush the hold cover and get into the hold to protect the kidnapped women. I have been hoping to hear something from the women we are sure are inside the ship, but I haven't heard anything. I hope we are right about this.

I heard the signal and Josh and I cut the rudder ropes. We have used our grapnels and are on board. One of the sailors rushed toward us with a hanger and I shot him. As he fell, I kicked him in the head to insure that he didn't interfere. We arrived at the hold cover and I found it had been barred closed. Telling Josh to unbar the cover I looked around to see how the fight was going between the women and the crew. I saw that the first of the deputies were coming on board and most of the crew was either on the deck or raising their hands. There was a small group of men starting forward from the main cabin. Suddenly there was a shot and the leading man dropped. Willy had shot from the shore and killed the captain. I pointed my pistol toward the others and told them to put their hands up. One tried to raise a pistol and was hit by my shot and Willy's at the same time. The rest gave up then. By this time Josh had raised the hold cover and dropped down into the hold.

"MOM! MOM!" I heard him call at the same time as I began to become aware of the sounds coming from young girls and women in the hold. I saw one girl try to come up and I had to tell her to remain where she was. Suddenly I heard a shot coming from the hold of the ship. Giving my pistol to the girl I pulled her up and told her to kill the first man who moved in the group I showed her. I dropped down into the hold and rushed back to the area where I heard the shot.

Josh was sitting down holding his leg while a man stood over him with a hanger. I shot as he was about to swing, hitting him in the shoulder. He turned toward me and I shot again. He took a step toward me and I shot a third time. He tried to take another step and finally crumbled to the deck. I rushed to Josh and looked at his wound. He had been cut on the upper leg with the edge of the hanger. I tied the wound closed and helped him stand.

"Did you find your mothers?" He shook his head. I told one of the women to watch him and began to search myself. Finally I gave up after I searched through the entire hold. I found the women helping Josh up the ladder and went up myself. I went toward the group of men on the deck and grabbed the first one, "Where are my wives? I screamed in his face. He gibbered something before I hit him and knocked him into the side of the cabin. I grabbed the next one and began to choke him before I was pulled off by the deputies.

They held me until I calmed down enough to be somewhat rational. Finally I was stable enough to be able to go to the group and ask about my wives. I described them and I saw one man start when he heard my description. Grabbing him by the arm I pulled him from the group. One of the deputies moved as if to stop me when I looked at him. He stopped and turned around. Using a nerve point on the sailor's arm I asked what he knew. He refused to say anything. I pulled him into the cabin from which they had emerged and saw a table full of papers including my authorization to use my credit account at the HBC. Grabbing the letter I showed it to him and asked again, "Where are my wives?" He looked around and I took out my knife and put it to his throat, "You have a choice, either you tell me where my wives are or you die right here." I must have looked serious because he began to shake.

"They were sold!"

"Where and to whom?"

"I don't know!" I began to press the knife into his neck. "I don't know the name! He met with the first mate and the captain."

"Show me the first mate", I said as I dragged him outside.

"The one wearing the blue coat."

I grabbed the first mate and pulled him into the cabin. Corrie followed me. "Are you sure you want to be here?" I asked.

"I want to know where they are as much as you do."

I pushed the first mate into the chair, "Where are my wives?" He didn't say anything. I put my knife to his throat and gave him the same choice as the other man. He still refused to answer. I began to slit his throat in my rage and grief. Corrie grabbed my arm and told me to wait outside for a while.