Chapter 24

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.