Chapter 39

Indian Territory October 5, 1884:

As the light of dawn began to spread across the plains, they harnessed the mules and hitched the teams to the wagons. They were all ready to meet the others at Pecan Ridge Cattle Company and start the pecan harvest. They saw how the nearby trees were loaded with pecans and knew this pecan crop was going to be a big one.

Eli and Moses had been out before dawn, riding the western perimeter. Duncan and Joe had also been riding the eastern perimeter behind them. When there was light enough to see, they looked for recent signs of horses in the dry dirt.

“I’ve not seen nor heard anything since we came out, Eli. Have you?” Moses said as he rode up to meet Eli before heading back toward the wagon train.

“No, but I got this bad feeling ... and it won’t go away, Moses.”

“Do you think we need to ride on out a ways to be sure?”

“Let’s ride back to the wagons first, Moses. Just to make sure there’s no problems back there. Then we’ll get the Bucks on their horses and split up to ride out a ways from the wagon train on either side. We’ll check with Joe and Duncan and if there’s nothing back there, we’ll ride out west of here a ways further. We’re not far from Pecan Ridge and maybe I’m just jumpy with all our family out here together like this ... but I just got this feeling, Moses.”

“Eli, I can ride back and check out everything. Then I’ll get the Bucks on their horses and line up outriders a ways from the wagon train, if you want to stay up here and keep an eye out.”

“Go, Moses. Get back there and check it out. If I see or hear anything, you’ll hear me shoot. I don’t aim to get caught like I did when Lee Yu got her horse shot from under her. If there’s shootin’ up here, you make sure them Young Bucks, Duncan, and Joe stay back on that side, we could be hit from both ways.”

“Eli, you be careful out here. Them young soldiers would love to get you down, if that’s who it is out there.”

Moses raked his moccasins across his horse’s flanks and leaned forward in his saddle as he rode hard back toward the wagons. He knew Eli well, and if he had bad feelings about this, there was something bad lurking ahead.

Eli raised himself up and stood in his saddle as he looked over the short brush and through the trees along the edge of the tall pecan grove. He didn’t see anything at first, then he saw a flash of light, like a reflection in the early light of the sun. He watched that place intently, then looked all around for anything. Seeing nothing he wondered if he had seen it, or was he so jumpy, he just thought he’d seen a flash.

When he dropped to his saddle, he stepped to the ground and grabbed his Winchester from the rifle boot. Draping his reins over his horse’s neck, he patted him lightly. When he turned to walk slowly toward the west, his horse followed.

Eli heard a sound. The sound of a horse stomping its hoof on the ground. He froze in his tracks and reached back to touch his horse. With his hand on his horse’s nose, Eli turned his head and pulled him back as he pushed him to his knees slowly. His horse was big but he lay in the dirt as Eli hunkered beside him and patted his neck.

Eli knew his horse wouldn’t stay on the ground long, before he felt the need to stand. With another pat on his neck, he crouched low and ran into the brush, carrying his Winchester in his left hand. He ran close to twenty yards, looking all around as he ran, ever watchful of any movement. He smelled coffee and heard talking as he slowed and crept closer to the sounds of men talking in low voices.

He saw their cavalry mounts tied on a picketline with their saddles on the ground nearby. He saw the men as they huddled around the glowing embers of a campfire, drinking coffee from tin cups. Eli quickly counted the horses and men. There were two extra horses and saddles which meant two men were posted out from camp. But where?

Backing away from their camp, Eli circled them slowly, looking for anything blue, or even a black soldier’s boot. He almost passed the sentry, then caught sight of him hunkered down next to a pecan tree. The young man’s head was down on his chest as he rested back against the tree. His rifle was across his knees, pointed toward the ground. Eli knew the young man was asleep.

He slipped around to where he could come up behind him and leaned his rifle against the tree. Before the young cavalryman knew what happened, Eli had his knife against his throat.

“You move, or make a sound and I’ll kill you right here. I’m Eli Crow, United States Marshall and you’re on my private land. If you want to live, you better tell me now what you’re doing here and how many of you are out here.”

Without moving his head the least bit, the young cavalryman spoke softly.

“There’s forty of us. We split up in four patrols to wait for the Boomers to come. We were told they were on their way here and we’ve been ordered to stop them.”

“Where are the other patrols camped out?”

“One south of here, one north of here and two back east and south of here a ways in the pecan trees. You’re not gonna kill me are you, Marshal? I’ve heard of you and all the trouble that’s been going on out here. Please don’t kill me; I tried to get Sergeant Willis to let me desert and go with him and his men when they left. I wish I had now, I just knew we’d get in trouble way down here away from unassigned lands like this.”

“Who’s in charge of all this?”

“Lieutenant DeBona, out of Fort Reno. I think he hates the Boomers and I know he hates you, Marshal.”

“Where is the Lieutenant? Which patrol is he with?”

“He’s back east of here, out in the pecan trees to the south. He said he wanted to be back there when the Boomers came traipsing out this way. I’m not sure exactly where he is.”

“Where’s the other guard in your patrol?”

“How’d you know there was just one?”

“Never mind how, where’s he at?”

“He’s supposed to be on the other side, north of camp. He got mad when I came this way, he wanted to be out here so he could eat pecans.”

“What’s your name soldier?”

“They call me Carter.”

“Carter, I’m gonna tie you up and gag you. I’m taking your rifle and pistol with me. If you try to get loose to warn the others, I’ll hunt you down and take your scalp while you’re still alive.”

“I’ll be here, Marshal. You’ll not forget about me out here, will you? I know you’re about to go kill half the others and I don’t want to be left here to die all alone and tied up.”

“I’ll be back to get you.”

“Tie me up, Marshal. You ain’t got to worry about me none, I’ll be here.”

Eli gagged the young soldier and pulled him over to a tall pecan sapling. He tied his hands and feet together behind him, around the sapling so he couldn’t roll over.

“You’ll be alright here, just be quiet and I’ll come back.”

The young soldier never knew when Eli left.

Skirting around the camp to the west, Eli hurried to find the other guard. He knew his horse would be getting restless lying on the ground and he wanted to be back there before the other cavalrymen discovered him.

Eli knew he was north of the camp, he just wasn’t sure how close or how far out the other man was. He was about to make his way back south when he saw the man crawling through the bushes. He was barefoot and he didn’t have his rifle. As Eli watched, the young man stopped and squatted on his haunches to crack a pecan and eat it. Eli knew he’d crawled all the way out to the pecan grove to fill his pockets with pecans!

While the cavalryman was still hunkered down cracking and eating pecans, he suddenly felt the blade of a big knife slide across his throat. The young cavalryman puked his pecans up. He just knew he was going to die.

“Don’t make a sound or you’ll die and rot here on the ground.”

“Please don’t kill me.”

“What’s your name soldier?”

“They call me Otis.”

“How many men are in your patrol, Otis?”

“Ten is all.”

“How many guards are posted out here?”

“Just me and Carter, please don’t kill me.”

“Are there any more cavalrymen out here besides the ten of you?”

“There’s forty of us in all not countin’ Lieutenant DeBona. I don’t know where the others are though.”

“I’m gonna tie you up and gag you. If you try to get loose or try to warn the others in any way, I’ll hunt you down and take your scalp while you’re still alive.”

“You’re Marshal Eli Crow, ain’t you? I’ve heard about you. Please don’t kill me, I’ll be right here. You wouldn’t even have to tie me up and I’d still be laying right here when you come back, Marshal.”

“I’m almost tempted to try you, Otis. But I got my family back there and I can’t be testing a man with them at risk.”

“Tie me up, Marshal, and please don’t forget about me, I’d hate to die out here all alone and tied up.”

Eli tied the young cavalryman up, using the last of his braided rawhide ropes.

“I’ll be back or send someone else to get you. When this is done, you need to get a better life. You young cavalrymen are gonna keep on and there’ll come a time when I’ll kill every damn one of you as soon as I set eyes on you.”

“Marshal, just let me get out of this and I’ll be gone from this mess. I never wanted to hunt people down and hurt them or kill them. I just wanted to come out west and be a horse soldier.” The young man said, just before Eli gagged him.

Eli made his way back to where his horse stood. He saw him perk his ears and look toward him. Eli sure was glad his horse was safe, he’d hate to lose another horse and this one was already attached to him like the other one had been.

With his reins over his neck, his horse followed Eli right into the cavalry patrol camp before the men even heard a sound.

“You men rest real easy and won’t none of you get killed. If any one of you makes a move to get a gun, you’ll all die,” Eli spoke just loud enough for them to hear.

“I’d know that voice anywhere. Please don’t kill us, Marshal.” A corporal spoke, never looking over his shoulder. The young men on his right and left glanced up to see Eli standing there with his rifle in the crook of his left arm, his Colt pulled and pointed right at them.

“Where’s your sentries? I know you got some out there somewhere.”

“One’s north of camp, one’s south. You ain’t gonna kill us are you, Marshal?”

“It’s up to all of you if you live or not. If one man makes a move, I’ll kill every last one of you and take your scalps before you die.”

“Just don’t kill us, Marshal. We’ll not make any trouble for you.” Another young cavalryman spoke.

“Get up on your feet and take them boots off. Then I want you to take them blue britches off too.”

“Marshal?” The corporal spoke.

“Boy! You want the others to see you lose your scalp, then die?”

“No Sir. You men get them boots and britches off like the Marshal said. I ain’t gonna die out here in the wrong like this for nobody.”

When the eight young cavalrymen were down to their union suits and bare feet, Eli lined them up and headed them back east. He was worried about the family more than ever now, but he couldn’t leave these men and he didn’t have anything to tie them up with. He’d thought about their wide belts, but knew he’d never get them doubled up enough to use a belt. He’d just have to walk them out.

When Eli had the men out in the pecan grove, the walking was easier and they made better time. He heard horses coming and before he could even pull up, he saw Moses, Pike, Little Eli and Isaac riding toward him.

“Eli, I see you caught a patrol too, we got another ten man patrol tied up and throwed over in one of the tall wagons,” Moses said as they rode up.

“There’s two more patrols out here Moses. Help me get these men back to the wagons and we’ll go get the others rounded up.

“Eli, you and Isaac ride back there a ways and you’ll see their horses. Take two of them and ride south of the camp a ways. You’ll spot a young man tied around a sapling just inside the big tree line. Get him on a horse, then ride due north of the camp about a hundred yards and you’ll come upon another one out in the brush. Bring them back with this bunch to meet the wagons after you gather the rest of the horses.”

As soon as Eli was through talking, Little Eli and Isaac were off at a fast gallop.

“Pike, you pull that Colt and walk these young men back to the wagons, if one makes a move to run or tries to come at you, kill all eight of them and leave them for the buzzards,” Eli told Pike as he rode up beside Moses.

“Moses, we got two more patrols back there. Where did you jump the patrol you captured?”

“I run upon them just north of where you and me split, Eli. Do you know which way the others are?”

“These men told me there was two, ten man patrols south of here and Lieutenant DeBona was with one of them. Let’s go find them before they hear the wagons and attack them, thinking they’re Boomers.”

“Pike, you do what Eli said, if any of these men make a move, kill ‘em all,” Moses said.

Pike pulled his Winchester and held it across his right thigh as he rode slowly behind the line of young cavalrymen.

When he’d walked the men a few yards, one of the cavalrymen in back of the line spoke up loudly, not even looking back.

“Pike, you’re that black Half-Breed deputy’s boy, ain’tcha?”

“Yeah, I am. You say another word or move one step out of line and I’ll shoot you in the back of your head and kill every damn last one of the others too. Then I’ll take your scalps while you’re still kicking.”

By the time Pike had walked the men another two hundred yards, he looked back to see Little Eli and Isaac coming up hard behind him. Isaac was leading the cavalry horses with the men pulled down forward on them and tied. Little Eli was leading the other cavalry horses.

“Pike, where’d my daddy and your daddy get off to?” Little Eli asked as they pulled up beside him.

“They rode hard to the south, your daddy told my daddy there were two more patrols out there in the pecan trees and they took off.”

The eight young men were still walking, scared to even make a misstep, look back or wobble as they walked.

“We need to get these men to the wagons and get them tied and thrown into that tall wagon. We’ll get Joe and Duncan and head down there to help our daddies,” Little Eli told them.

“You men, stay in line and start a slow run. When you hear me holler, you speed up. Any of you try to run off and we’ll take all your scalps while you’re still alive, then cut your nuts out. Now RUN, Damn you!” Pike yelled and the men started running faster.

They looked up to see the long wagon train coming right at them and the Bucks felt a relief that they were all still safe.

“Keep running right past the first wagons, I’ll tell you when to stop ... then if you don’t stop, I’ll kill you,” Pike yelled as they came to the first wagon where Jefferson had pulled his mules to a stop.

“Keep going west, Jefferson. We’ll dump these in with the others back there. There’s two more patrols south of here and we need to keep moving,” Little Eli told them as they rode by.

Jefferson spanked his mules on the rump with his reins and the wagon train moved out slowly.

Duncan and Joe saw the Bucks coming with the men in their long underwear and rode up to help them. Micah, Ezra and Caleb rode in from the north and south to help too.

Kia and Michi were in the last wagon, with another tall wagon and mule team tied behind theirs. One drove while the other stood in the rear of the wagon with a shotgun pointed back over the team of mules.

They watched as the men and boys tied the ten men’s hands and made them climb in the wagon with the others. Miranda and Sissy had stepped off the wagon they were on and stepped up into the wagon with Kia and Michi as their wagon passed. Both of them wore their Colts and handed their shotguns up to Kia as they climbed aboard.

“Joe, you and the others go help Daddy and Moses, we’ll take care of the wagons,” Sissy said as Joe rode up beside her.

“Sissy, if they even stick their heads up over them sideboards, kill’em,” Joe told her.

Isaac and Little Eli rode hard to catch the wagons Kit and Ruby were driving. Little Eli reached out to take a sack from Kit as she held it out for him. He swung from his saddle over onto the wagon seat, bent down and kissed her as the wagons kept rolling west.

“Get your guns and kill any man that comes after these wagons, we’ll be back,” he told her, then leaped back on his horse. He and the other Young Bucks rode hard to catch Joe and Duncan.

Isaac had the sack with fuses ... the caps having already been crimped at the right place. Eli carried the sack with six sticks of dynamite.

The Halloran sisters had showed them how to use the caps, fuse and dynamite, using sticks of wood instead of dynamite.

The two redhead sisters looked from one wagon to the other, grinning at each other as the boys rode off, wishing they could be there when the Young Bucks used dynamite for the first time.

Eli and Moses had located one of the patrols and were hunkered down, trying to figure out a way to capture them without having to use gunfire. The cavalrymen were breaking camp and saddling their horses; their rifles still standing, leaned together in a circle near the dying coals and smoking ashes of the campfire.