Chapter 106

Lee Yu and Lilly Beth were the first to reach the visitors. They slid their horses to a stop and hit the ground running.

As both girls hugged their mommas, they were so happy they were laughing and crying too.

Lee Yu looked up to see her dad standing behind Tin Yu and she screamed again as she turned her momma loose to run to him.

“Dad, we’re so glad to see all of you. We didn’t expect this when we started this way.

“Dad, did you really buy your own train?”

“Jon David, Amanda, Sissy and Analisa put this deal together and surprised all of us with the train. Just wait until you see inside the Pullmans. They’re fixed up with all the latest furnishings and finest fixtures money can buy.”

“You mean you and the others can now travel all over America in your own train?”

“WE can, Lilly Beth. We’ll plan a trip soon and we’ll all head out and go see places we’ve only heard about. The whole family will go.”

“Oh Dad, this is all so special. Just wait until you see all of our houses going up. Our house is all but complete and Lilly Beth’s is too.”

“Are you happy, Lee Yu?”

“Dad, I am so happy. I wake up each morning and feel like I am living in a dream world. Dad, I love Lane so much I can just look at him and my heart beats faster. He’s so smart and there’s nothing he can’t do. We have so much fun just being together each day.”

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be, Lee Yu.

“Let me go see my other girls and my Bucks. We’ll be here for a few days and we’ll get to see each of your new homes,” Eli told her as he reached for Lilly Beth.

Though it had been less than two weeks, Eli was eager to see each of them as he made his way around the group. He paid special attention to the McClanahan brothers and the MacEagle brothers. He saw how happy his four daughters were and this made him proud of the boys he’d chosen for them.

When he caught up with the boys, they were all on the loading dock, opening the door to the boxcar. As Eli walked up, they slid the door wide open to reveal boxes and bundles of clothing, plus fishing rods fastened to the sides of the boxcar with long strips of lumber, spaced to keep from damaging the bamboo rods in transit.

“What have we got here?” he asked as he stepped inside the boxcar and looked around.

“We spent some of the money you gave us, Dad,” Little Eli told him.

“Do you know how to use all this fancy fishing equipment?”

“We’ve had a lesson or two and we figure we can learn the rest as we fish.”

“You sure do have a lot of fishing poles here.”

“They’re called rods and we have reels that go with them to wind the line up on. We have lures of all sorts too and we’re excited about trying all of this new fishing gear out on that lake up there,” Little Eli told him.

They were carrying rods out to one wagon as fast as he and Isaac could take them loose from the walls where they’d been secured.

“I’d like to try using some of those rods if it’s not too complicated. I’ve seen pictures in magazines of men using them, but I’ve never even seen a fishing rod up close.”

“Then let’s all plan to go up to the lake early tomorrow and try these out. McKenzie’s and McKenna’s dad fly fishes and writes articles for a magazine. They know all about using these rods and reels. We’ll get them to go with us and make sure we’re doing it right.”

“That sounds like a fun day, Eli. We’ll take the women and the Little Bucks with us. We can cook fish and have a big picnic while we’re there.”

“Tell us about your train, Dad,” Micah said while they were still loading fishing gear onto the wagon.

“It’s not my train, it belongs to Crow Oil and Crow Oil belongs to all of us. While we’re here, we’ll plan a trip west to Pecan Ridge. Maybe even on into Texas if they have the rails laid as far as Little Tree. We’ll all go. We have plenty of room and we need to travel some before winter.”

“That really sounds like fun. Let’s go out to New Mexico Territory to see the hotels you bought out there. We’d love to see that country,” Caleb told him.

“We’ll plan this first trip while we’re here and get Jon David to set it up with the railroad. He’s already talked to them about how we’ll travel and not run head-on into another train coming toward us.

“I already have it in my head to take Iron Hammer and his brothers up to Kansas City and spend a night or two at The Wyandotte. They’ve never been any place like that and I owe them a lot for helping us get started out here,” Eli told them as they worked.

“Dad, that would be a trip of a lifetime for them,” Ezra told him.

“I’d like to take White Elk on a trip like that one day too. Maybe we can see him when we travel west on our first trip.”

“Marshal, that would really be a special trip for our grandfather. He thinks a lot of you as a friend and I know he’d enjoy a ride on the Crow Oil Limited,” Jere Joe told him.

“Then we’ll plan to take him and some of his people on a trip. Maybe we could talk him into going to St. Louis and you men could go and tell him all about the place.”

“We would like to see our grandfather take a trip like that. It would be an honor for us to travel with him on his first train ride,” Jonny Bill told him, as he smiled.

“Look over here, Dad. Have you ever seen one of these Winchester .22 rifles with the slide pump action? We bought two dozen and plenty of .22 ammunition,” Little Eli said as he held out one of the rifles for him to look over.

“I like this little rifle, have you shot one yet?”

“No, we only saw one of them in the store where we bought the fishing gear. We asked the man if he could order more for us. We’re just glad they came this soon. You can keep that one and get plenty of .22 cartridges to take back. We have enough for all the men to have one and for all of us out here to have one also.

“We have something else to show you that Isaac and I bought. Look at these laminated, recurve bows we brought back. We have enough for all of us to have one and learn to shoot,” Little Eli told his dad.

“Do you have any arrows? I’ve shot a bow and arrow plenty of times over the years, but I never owned a real one of my own. When I was a kid, Ma showed me how to make a bow out of a green sapling and I cut every cane around our place making arrows. I got pretty good at it, but never hunted with it. Pa told me it wasn’t strong enough to even kill a rabbit if I happened to hit one.”

“We have plenty of target arrows and plenty of hunting arrows too. You’ll have to show us how to shoot them so we don’t waste our arrows.”

While the men were unloading the fishing gear, bows and arrows, and the guns, the girls were carrying the boxes and bundles of clothing out onto the loading dock. Pretty soon they had them all sorted and began to hand out clothes, coats, hats and shoes to all the women, and especially the young Mexican girls who were excited to have new clothes.

McKenna and McKenzie were busy helping the Little Bucks with the gifts that Kit and Ruby brought back for them. Maryanne and Clara were excited to have even more attention as the McInnis sisters took time to help them try on clothes and shoes.

Kit and Ruby uncovered the two boxes from the camera shop and started handing out the new Eastman handheld film cameras to the women, their sisters and the Texas girls.

When they demonstrated how easy they were to operate, the women started taking pictures of each other, then of the men and boys as they worked.

The women took pictures of each young couple as they posed in front of the Crow Oil Limited.

They took pictures of Willis, Big Eddy, Hat and Oaty as they stood beside the locomotive, and of Big Eddy and Hat as they stood inside the cab of the locomotive and waved out the window.

Inside the Pullman cars, the women and Crow girls made pictures of the others standing in groups and sitting in the fine leather chairs.

The grandpas and Grandmother had their pictures made with the Little Bucks and each of the young couples. Then they wanted their pictures taken with Eli before they loaded up the buggies and wagons to head north up the valley.

Since their homes were spaced so far apart, they decided to travel up to Lilly Beth and Lane’s home where the group would split up, part of them staying there for the first night, the others traveling on to Lee Yu and Ladd’s home. They knew they would spend each day together.

After they’d showed Moses and Suh their home, Pike Cecily, Suh and Moses went north with them.

Since it was closest to the railroad, the group decided they would all come back here to spend the last night of their visit with Pike and Cecily at their house before leaving Crow Valley the following day.

They made plans for all of them to meet at Lee Yu’s and Ladd’s the next morning then travel on up the valley to see each of the homes as they made their way north.

The men and boys were anxious to make it all the way up to the big lake and try out the fishing rods and lures.

When the family and friends had toured the home of Lilly Beth and Lane, Maryanne asked Tin Yu if she could stay with Clara as the others made their way to Lee Yu and Ladd’s home. Karly Jo then asked to stay with Maryanne and Clara, and Rose agreed to let her since Howard, Lorene and Lori were staying too.

The four girls immediately set in on McKenzie and McKenna to stay with them.

The four younger girls were already attached to the new friends of the family and they wanted to spend more time with them.

“Girls, McKenzie and McKenna may want to go with Kit and Ruby and be near them. We’ll see them tomorrow,” Clarissa tried to reason with them.

“Aunt Clarissa, we’ll stay with them. We want them to grow up to be just like the older Crow Girls and we want to be here to help them,” McKenzie told her.

“If you’re sure about this, then please do. These young girls feel lost now that their older sisters and aunts are gone from Tulsa.”

“Thanks Aunt Clarissa. McKenzie and McKenna have already told us they would bathe with us and teach us to swim,” Maryanne told her.

“Then all of us girls will swim and bathe in the river before sundown,” Clarissa agreed as she, Lorene and Lilly Beth laughed at the younger girls.

The next morning, the men were up early and while they waited for the other group to make their way there, they took bows and arrows out. Eli showed them how to string their bows by stepping inside the curve, then bending the bow down over their leg until they could slip the loop of the bowstring over the top and into the notch.

“It’s going to take a lot to pull these bows, but with these long arrows you’ll be able to shoot at targets a long distance,” he told them as he pulled the bowstring back and eased it forward.

“The first thing to remember about a bow is to never pull it back and let your bowstring go without an arrow in it. You’ll snap your bowstring and maybe even break your bow.”

Out beside the barn, they took a leftover bat of wool and canvas insulation, folded it and placed it in front of a pile of straw. When they finished, they had a target two foot wide and three foot tall.

While the others were doing this, Caleb, Micah and Isaac took ten leather quivers out and put six target arrows in each of them.

Eli picked up one of the quivers and slung the strap over his shoulder, then began to count off steps toward the back of the house. He stopped at twenty-five steps and turned to look back at their target.

“That’s about seventy-five feet and a really good shot for a bow since we’re just learning. I’ve shot a few bows over the years made by men from different tribes and once you get a feel for a good bow, you’ll be able to pick up a good bow like these and shoot it with accuracy pretty quick.

“The only lessons I ever had were from my ma and she was telling me from memory of seeing her pa and others shoot their bows. The things she told me to do, she made me remember each time I shot an arrow.

“Always start out with your shoulders relaxed and bent forward as you nock your arrow and place it on the arrow rest. When you hold your bow, just relax your grip and let the bow pull back when you lock your thumb around the grip. Hold your bowstring with two fingers, one on top, one under the nock. Hold the string loosely with it inside your first knuckle. Don’t try to grip your string when you pull.

“When you raise your bow, start your draw by pushing your bow out toward your target while you draw the string back with your other hand. Draw it back until your hand is next to your cheek, looking down the arrow and lining up with the target. Since we don’t have any marks, we’ll just try to hit the target and as close to center as we can.”

“Show us, Dad,” Little Eli said as they stood to the side and behind him and watched as he demonstrated how to hold the bow and the arrow too.

“It’s been a while, but I like this bow and it feels good when I draw the arrow back. I may not even hit the target,” he talked as he drew the arrow, sighting down the shaft all in one smooth motion.

When he let the bowstring loose, his hand came back beside his neck and his bow was still moving toward the target.

The arrow hit just inches to the right of center, midways from top and bottom.

“Dad! That was some shot,” Little Eli said as Eli turned to grin at all of them.

“That was just a lucky shot. It’s been a long time since I shot a bow made this well with arrows as straight and solid as these.”

“Do that again, Dad,” Micah said and they all agreed that he needed to take another shot so they could watch once more.

“Just remember to relax your grips, sight down your arrow shaft, let the string loose by relaxing your fingers and don’t jerk your hand. It’s just like shooting your gun, if you pull your gun off, your shot will be off,” he said as he nocked another arrow and with his arrow pointing down, started his draw as he raised his bow. All in one smooth motion, he drew the bowstring, sighted down the shaft and let the arrow fly.

“WHOA, you hit right next to the first arrow, Dad!” Caleb shouted.

“Caleb, you step up here and try it. Just remember what I told you about relaxing. If your muscles are tight, you’ll pull your arrow off your target.”

Caleb was grinning as he stepped out in front and bent forward to nock his arrow with it pointed to the ground. With his fingers loosely gripping his bowstring, he raised his bow and began his draw. Just as his dad had done, he made his shot in one smooth motion, letting his arrow fly when it was pointed right at the two arrows.

His arrow struck high and to the right about six inches and he was proud to have even hit the target.

“Caleb, that was a good first shot. You’ll get a lot better the more you practice. Remember how it was when you men learned how to shoot your Colts and your Winchesters. It took lots of practice while remembering just how you were taught.”

“Shoot again, Caleb. This time, look right at where you want your arrow to hit,” Ezra told him and Caleb was grinning as he nocked his next arrow.

His next shot struck just inches from his first one and he was pleased as his brothers bragged on his shooting.

While the other men watched, the Young Bucks stepped up to shoot their bows and arrows for the first time. Isaac was next, followed by Pike, then Micah and Ezra. Little Eli waited until last; he wanted to see how good his brothers could shoot.

Ezra stuck his two arrows next to his dad’s two. The others had been on the target, but all over it.

Ezra turned to his brother and grinned, “Eli, stick your arrows between Dad’s two. I got a feeling you already have this figured out after watching all of us.”

“I hope I do. If that target was a deer, any of the shots all of you made would’ve put him down. I want all of us to be good at this, I mean really good,” he said as he stepped up and nocked his first arrow.

Just as he’d seen his dad and his brothers do, he raised his bow as he began his draw. When his arrow tip was on the target, he let it fly.

“Damn, Eli. You did hit right between Dad’s two arrows,” Caleb said as he and his brothers bragged on his first shot.

“Shoot again, Eli. This time, stick it right next to that one,” Ezra said and slapped him on his back.

With a quick glance over at his dad, Little Eli saw him smiling as he watched. Just as smoothly as before, he raised his bow and let the arrow fly. He stuck it so close to his first one, it moved when the second arrow slid in beside it.

“You men make me proud. I want you to practice as much as you can. Take your bows with you when you ride and learn to feel your shots, just like you did when you learned to shoot your guns.”

After the others arrived, they ate and loaded up the wagons and buggies to head north for the day. Even the women were excited about getting to see the men and the girls learn to use the new fishing rods.

They packed the three largest skillets Lee Yu had and enough lard to cook fish. They packed cornmeal, flour, onions, salt and pepper and enough tin plates to feed the whole bunch.

As they made their way north, they came to Michi and Jere Joe’s home. Theirs was finished and Michi proudly showed their home to the family.

Further north, they came to Kia and Jonny Bill’s home and theirs too was finished. The girls were delighted to show the family their new homes. The women especially were excited about seeing the girls so happy and proud of their new homes.

Except for Pike, none of the Young Bucks or their girls had seen their homes. The carpenter crews were already at work when they came to Caleb and Abigail’s home. They were finishing the inside walls as John L. and his men finished the wiring. There were even men building the porches as the family stopped in front and watched.

Next was Micah and Belinda’s home. Theirs too was close to being finished. The carpenters were waiting for the electricians so they could finish the interior walls.

They were all hoping to be moved in long before winter set in.

Ezra and Samantha’s home was completely built and the men were building the barns and sheds out back.

As soon as Ezra walked inside, he noticed the push-button light switches. When he pushed the top button, the bottom button popped out. The lights came on and Samantha screamed as she hugged him.

The women from Crow Ridge had yet to have electric wiring installed in their homes and this was as exciting for them as it was for Samantha.

Though some of the other homes down the valley were completed and wired, John L. and his men had yet to connect the electricity.

With the men urging the women on, they left for Isaac and Ruby’s home. By the time they could see it in the distance, Ruby was so thrilled by the sight of it that she began to cry. Their barns, corrals and sheds were all completed. The men had already cleaned up the boards and scrap roofing from around the place and it looked just like the big houses on Crow Ridge and Pecan Ridge.

Their furnishings and stoves were in the rooms, but not set up. With promises to stop back by and set the stoves up and put the furnishings in place, the men once again urged them on.

“LOOK KIT!” Ruby yelled when she first got a glimpse of Kit and Little Eli’s home.

It too was complete, with the outside area cleaned and the barns and corrals finished.

Kit and Little Eli leaped from their horses and ran up the steps to the tall porch. They opened the front door to see all their furnishings and their stoves sitting in the rooms.

Kit reached out and gingerly pushed the top button on the light switch, then jumped back and screamed when the lights overhead came on.

Little Eli walked through the house and stepped out onto the back porch to look at the barns and corrals. The whole place looked just like back home at Crow Ridge, except for the long rise of the western slope of the valley behind the house.

When Little Eli turned to go back inside, Kit, McKenna, Alba and Lupe were standing on the porch with him. Eli reached for Kit, who was smiling at him with tears in her eyes as she held McKenna’s hand and she pulled her close.