Chapter 78

The travelers broke camp at daybreak after an early breakfast. They were still most of a day’s travel from Pecan Ridge and the MacEagle brothers wanted their new friends to visit the Cheyenne Village and meet their grandfather on the way.

The Young Bucks and the Crow girls knew White Elk and they were excited about going to the Cheyenne village to meet with him again. They were even more excited to be there when he welcomed his grandsons home after they’d graduated from the private boarding school they had attended.

Since The Dawes Act was enacted in 1887, the Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho were destined to live on 160 acre allotments for each head of a family. Though some treaties with the U. S. Government were never enforced and others were broken, the Southern Cheyenne Tribal Government was granted ten thousand acres of trust lands. This trust land was in addition to the more than seventy thousand acres owned by individual Cheyenne Tribal members under The Dawes Act.

The present day Oklahoma towns of Hammon, Clinton, Thomas, Seiling, Longdale, Watonga, Calumet, and Kingfisher, were all founded on former Cheyenne Camps of the mid to late 1880’s.

Cheyenne Indian Village
Indian Territory
April 8, 1889

As the two Cheyenne brothers led their group of friends across the plains toward their peoples’ camp, each of them related parts of the traditional Cheyenne legends that had been passed down to them from the elders before they were sent off to school.

The more the Young Bucks, the Crow girls, and the Blasingame families learned of the two young men and their tribal history, the more they were impressed with the knowledge and respect the brothers have of their elders and their ancestors.

They came upon a long wide valley on the South Canadian River and stopped to look down at the hundreds of teepees scattered out below them. Smoke drifted lazily from the many cook fires, children ran and played around the teepees, horses grazed on the slopes of the valley – setting a scene of peace and serenity among a people who once roamed freely over the plains.

“That is so beautiful and so peaceful,” Michi said as she looked out over the valley below.

“Yes, our people are a proud, peace loving people. Though our histories with the U. S. Government and Cavalry have not been the best of stories, we have survived, and now we’ve come to this point in our lives. We must learn to live on the these last lands we are allowed to call our own. We must now grow our own food and provide for our people. We can no longer depend upon the charity of the U. S. Government.

“We are a proud nation whose loyalty lies in our people. My brother and I will use the knowledge of our education to help our people, and we will prosper,” Jere Joe told her.

“Come, I see our people looking up and waving to us. We must not keep them waiting. I am excited that I’m bringing my new friend, Michi Crow to meet my grandfather.

“There, I see Grandfather standing in front of his lodge, pointing this way,” Jonny Bill said as he pointed down to the Cheyenne Village.

Eli rode his horse up to stop between Kia and Michi, then looked from one to the other, “Go with them. This is important to them and already, both of you know this is what you want. Go share this moment with them, show them your support,” he encouraged them.

“Thank you, Eli. Yes, this IS what we want. We want to help our new friends help their people, just as Dad has helped them and others too. Come, Michi, our new life and our dreams for tomorrow begin in front of that lodge where White Elk stands,” Kia said, looking from her brother to her sister with a smile on her face.

Eli reached out to swat each of their horses on their rumps, making them leap forward. The two sisters were laughing as they raced down the slope with the two Cheyenne brothers yelping and laughing, riding hard to keep up.

“They are so happy. I know they will follow their hearts and fall in love with those Cheyenne brothers,” Lilly Beth said as they watched them ride away.

“I agree, Lilly Beth. Now let’s ride down and meet their people. We still have miles to travel before sundown,” Eli said as they began to ride after them.

The celebration and reunion of the grandsons and their grandfather lasted for only a few hours, with each of the visitors being welcomed into the village and treated as special guests.

Time quickly came for them to leave in order to make Pecan Ridge before nightfall. Kia and Michi led their newfound friends aside to say their goodbyes.

“We will be expecting both of you at Pecan Ridge early tomorrow,” Kia said as she stood before Jere Joe. He held both her hands in his as each of them looked into the eyes of the other.

“We will be there. Thank you, Kia, for making my grandfather feel that he is special to you. This means a lot to him, that you have accepted Jonny and myself as your friends. It means a lot to him that you told him he has two handsome grandsons also. He now feels that he has done a great deed asking his friend, Marshal Eli Crow to let his daughters meet us,” he smiled and kissed her cheek.

“Your grandfather has done a great deed and I wanted him to know it. When Dad comes here, you will meet him and he will accept you, just as your grandfather has accepted Michi and me. I will tell him in front of you, that I wish him to let us spend time together. Lots of time as we become close friends. If you will let me, and will let me go slow, I want to fall in love with you, Jere Jo.”

“Then I will go slow with you. I want you to be a part of me and a part of my people. I have one thing to ask you, before you leave,” he said and smiled.

“What?” she looked at him puzzled.

“How far is it to the ranch lands where you and Michi will live beside your brothers and sisters?”

“Just over a day and a half by horseback. Not far at all for us to travel to visit our people of the Cheyenne Nation, with Kia and Jonny Bill,” she said as she embraced him one last time.

When the group had ridden to the east and topped the rim of the valley, they turned back to wave one last time. They could see the people of the Cheyenne camp, still waving as they turned their horses once more toward Pecan Ridge.

Pecan Ridge Cattle Company
Indian Territory
April 8, 1889

“Mr. Don, looks like we got travelers coming in from the west. I’m pretty sure some of them are the ones you let borrow your horses, and your wagon and team last week. Sure is a lot of them though,” Lane McClanahan said as he and his brother Ladd rode up to the ranch house.

“We were expecting them back today. If you boys will, go help them tend the horses and get their belongings inside the house,” Don told them.

Martha and Clara heard them talking and ran to the door.

“Don, are they here?” Clara asked excitedly as she stood beside him and wrapped her arm around his waist.

“Yep. I see them now. Where’s Jud?”

“He’s out back, I’ll go get him. I know he’ll want to see his brothers’ reactions when they meet Eli’s daughters,” Martha told them as she started back through the house.

“Clara, are you sure this is what Eli wanted to happen?” Don asked as he looked at the smiling face of his wife.

“Jud and Eli made this up, Don. They wanted Jud’s brothers to meet those two youngest daughters of Eli’s. The ones who look so much like Rose, though Lee Yu is Tin Yu’s daughter and Lilly Beth is Clarissa’s daughter by Eli,” she told him.

“Then I’ll just stay out of it. If all of you turn out to be wrong, at least one of us will still be around to take care of this big place,” he told her with a straight face.

Jud and Martha came around the side of the house and walked out into the front yard as the wagon and horses pulled up to the barn.

“There’s Ward, Wade, Donna, and Deanne Blasingame. Come meet them, Clara, you’ll like them. They’re good people,” Don told his wife and pulled her with him out to the wagon.

“Hell fire. Would you look at those girls of theirs, they’re as grown up as Eli’s girls and boys. No wonder they’re all meeting down here,” Don said.

“Don, are you sure they’ll like me? I mean, well, you were their kin at one time,” she said as he pulled her along.

“They’ll love you, Clara. I told you they’re good people. All of that was in the past, now come on and meet them. You’ll see.”

As Don Cowden introduced his wife, Clara and her sister, Martha to the Blasingame women and girls, Jud McClanahan was met by Eli and Ezra. They wanted to meet his brothers, and let Jud know they were aware of his and their Dad’s plans.

“Eli, it’s good to see all of you again. I see you’ve brought the other guests here from down in Abilene,” Jud said as he shook hands with Eli and Ezra.

“Yep, they arrived day before yesterday and we stayed that night at Little Tree, then left just before noon yesterday,” Eli said, then looked around to see if there were others close by.

“Before we left Tulsa, Dad told us about your younger brothers coming here to claim some land too. Ezra and I would like to meet them. We haven’t told Lilly Beth and Lee Yu about them yet. Dad wanted them to meet without knowing that you and he set them up like this,” Eli said as he looked around.

“Come over here then, I’ll introduce you to my brothers. They’ve been worried there wouldn’t be any girls their age out here in Indian Territory. They did see all of you on the wagon road to Little Tree when you left here the other day. They asked Don and me both who all of you were and what were you doing here,” Jud told them.

“Did you tell them?” Ezra asked as they walked toward the wagon and team where Jud’s brothers were already helping the other Bucks unhitch the team and take the harnesses off them.

“Don can keep a straight face, no matter what tall tale he’s telling, so I let him tell Ladd and Lane about all of you. He told them that all of you were engaged to be married and no matter what, they were NOT to even talk to the two youngest daughters of Eli Crow, the two dark haired girls,” Jud told them, laughing again about the lie Don had told his younger brothers.

“So, how do you want to handle this now? When they meet our sisters, they’ll know Mr. Don was joking,” Eli said. He and Ezra were still laughing at the way this was being set up.

“We’ll just let them find out for themselves. I hope you Young Bucks will like my brothers, they’re just plain folks like me and they like to ride and hunt. Their biggest fear is that they’ll never meet a girl way out here.”

Jud waved to his brothers as they came out of the barn with Caleb, Micah, Pike and Isaac.

“Ladd, Lane, come over here. I see you’ve met four of the Young Bucks, I want you to meet two more of Marshal Crow’s sons. This is Ezra and this is Eli Junior.

“Ezra, Eli, this is my brothers, Ladd and Lane. They’re here for the Land Run too.”

Though the two younger McClanahan brothers were a few years older than Eli and the other Young Bucks, they were all close in size and height. The four of them were smiling as they shook hands and greeted one another. The six Young Bucks took an instant liking to the younger McClanahan brothers, since all of them knew Jud’s brothers were here for reasons other than claiming a quarter section of land each.