Chapter 8

That day we went on our way and made good time. Swan hunted from Fireball's back while I led the pack stock.

She killed a rabbit with her bow. She shot a bow oddly to my way of thinking. When I was taught to shoot a bow, it was held vertically and the string was held with three fingers. Swan held the bow horizontally in front of her and pulled the string with her thumb. She was a good shot, but didn't hold the string drawn and aim. She pulled it back and released it quickly.

Her bow was short enough to carry in the quiver with her arrows, and her arrows were small also, as were the points. I asked how she would kill a buffalo with the small arrows. She said that several arrows could kill a large animal, but large animals were usually killed with a spear or a rifle.

Swan and I really made a quick trip. Brownie and Fireball had a fast walk and the mules were tall enough that they kept up very well. We moved fast all day and loved and slept at night.

Swan fixed food for dinner at breakfast and we ate at a short nooning. She fixed a good supper every night while I took care of the stock. She was a good hunter and killed small game of some sort, most days for our supper.

I thanked her for taking such good care of me. "Husband, taking care of you is why I live now. My wives would skin me if they thought I had neglected you on this trip," she told me.

"I love you Swan," I said, and kissed her gently.

As we passed near the river, I asked Swan if she wanted to learn to shoot the shotgun. "It is a very good gun for hunting small game, and birds," I told her. "It is also very good for fighting if it is loaded with buckshot."

I let her shoot it. The one we had was too big for her. She made a valiant effort, and could hit what she shot at, but it was troublesome for her.

She said, "This gun is too big for me to shoot it comfortably, I need a smaller one."

"I will look for a smaller one for you in Fort Smith," I told her. "I need to find you a bride present."

The shotguns we had were 10-gauge muzzleloaders. They shot a normal 1 and a quarter ounce load of shot, which would be a modern 12-gauge load. They shot a dozen #00 buckshot, also a modern 12-gauge load. I thought I would look for a 20-gauge for Swan and have the stock and barrels cut down. Muzzleloaders don't usually have much choke anyway.

We made the trip in 15 days on our good horses. We camped where we had camped before. It was protected from the wind and had water close and a place for the stock to graze.

I managed to kill a prairie chicken that day and we had a good meal for supper.

The next morning, we went to see the judge and explained what the tribe had in mind for their law enforcement agency, and presented him the formal request. He said, "It seems what you have in mind is a constabulary to keep the peace, but you want me to be the judge for any felonious offenders."

"That is correct Judge. The tribal judges will handle any misdemeanors, and let you handle any hanging offenses to keep down feelings of resentment for Indians hanging White men. We would like to get a signed memorandum of understanding from you which will be copied and signed by the council chairman," I told him.

"Son you would make a good lawyer," he chuckled as he looked it over.

"I will agree to this. Who are to be the Constables?" He asked me.

"I will be one. There will be three more Constables, and 4 Deputy Constables. We foresee it as a part-time job, but I intend to train them in some techniques used to capture prisoners. My father taught me how the law works," I told him, "and we don't intend to simply shoot offenders, unless they give us no choice."

"How will you identify yourselves," the judge asked.

"I am going to get some badges struck, and I am going to buy some law enforcement supplies and weapons," I told him.

"It seems you have thought this through. I will have the memorandum of understanding drawn up and sign two copies. You have the copies signed and bring one back on your next trip to town," He said.

"Judge is there an Attorney in town that is familiar with property rights and rules," I asked him.

He recommended a man named Jordan Adkins.

Swan and I went to Mr. Adkins office and met with him regarding marking and posting the treaty boundaries. "This is a large undertaking, Mr. Adams."

"I roughly figured it could be accomplished in less than a year," I said, "and we are prepared to pay the surveyors a fair wage for their work and provide a rotating two man team to help them with the marking. The Council also is prepared to pay you a $60.00 retainer, and pay you for the time you spend on a quarterly basis. A Cherokee Constable will bring you a payment during the first month of each quarter that the work is going on."

"That is very satisfactory Mr. Adams," Mr. Adkins said.

"Is there a surveyor here that is dependable that you have worked with before?" I asked.

"Yes, Mr. Edwin Edwards, has just retired from the Army, and should be able, if he is willing, to handle this project," he said. "He lives just north of town."

Mr. Adkins directed me to Mr. Edwards' house. I counted out $60.00 in the Yankee paper money, and Mr. Adkins and I shook hands to seal the deal.

Swan fed me while we were on the way to meet with Mr. Edwards; she took her job very seriously.

"I introduced Swan and myself to Mr. Edwards. I told him I was representing the Cherokee tribal council and would like to hire him to survey and mark the lands granted in this treaty," I said, and handed it to him to look over.

After he had taken time to read it over, he said, "This is a big job, it probably will take nine months to survey."

"The council proposes to pay you on a monthly basis and provide you with a team of men to mark the surveyed boundary. I am prepared to offer you $70.00 per month for you and your crew, with two months paid in advance," I said.

"That is a fair offer and I will tell you now that I will take it," he told me extending his hand.

We shook and I counted out the $140.00 in paper money. We agreed to have him contact me at my ranch on Wildcat Branch before he started work so I could arrange for the marking crew to accompany him.

We went back to Mr. Adkins' office, and arranged for him to disburse the payments to Mr. Edwards in a timely manner. I left him with $700.00 to make those payments.

I went to the general store and asked if they could get badges made. The proprietor said that there was a jeweler in town who could probably make them for me. While we were there I asked Swan to look around for something for a present for our wives.

I looked at what he had in the way of firearms while she did that. He had several muzzle loader rifles, and a couple of shotguns. He did have one Greener double barrel in 16 gauge. He also had a Remington .31 caliber revolver. I had the shotgun cut down to fit Swan. An inch and a half off the stock and the barrels cut down to twenty -two inches and re-soldered. I got some caps, powder, packing, 25 pounds of #6 birdshot, and 25 pounds of #0 buckshot. The shotgun would shoot 8 of the buckshot and it was the caliber for her pistol to shoot also. I got her a shoulder holster for her pistol. I paid $65.00 for these items.

I arranged to pick her things up the next day.

I also bought four Remington .36 caliber revolvers, accessories and holsters. I also bought caps, powder and lead for the constables.

Swan had found some brushes and combs. I bought three of each one, and bought some nice smelling soap, as well as regular soap.

We went back to camp then and found that none of our things had been bothered. I was glad, as I had been concerned. I rubbed the stock down and gave them a good measure of grain. The mules needed the rest. They had been pressed hard to keep up with the horses.

Swan told me she was very proud of me for handling tribal business in such a quick and good way.

I held her close to me that night. In the morning, she fixed a good breakfast and we went back to town to finish up our business.

I went to the jeweler and asked if he could make some badges for the Cherokee Constable force. "What do you have in mind," he asked.

I would like a shield with, Constable at the edge on top and Cherokee Tribal Police along the bottom edge, in English. In the center I would like the sign of the Cherokee Tribe.

I had Swan draw the sign and I placed the wording like I wanted it. I would like eight of them; I also need for you to keep the mold in case we need s few more as we go along.

"What metal would you like them struck in," he asked.

"What do you suggest would make a good badge without going to a precious metal?" I asked.

I suggest tin so the mold will fill out well with a bit of antimony for hardness. How much will they cost, and when can you have them for me?" I asked him.

I can have the mold made this morning and strike the badges this afternoon. I should be able to do that for $3.00 each," he said.

I counted out $25.00 in paper money. He made my change in coins. "I will see you this afternoon late," I said.

We went to the judge's office and picked up the memorandums of understanding, and took them to Mr. Adkins to read over. He said he would have them finished by noon. That was two hours from now.

I took Swan back to the general store and got her bride presents. I didn't unroll the cloth from around them and didn't tell her what they were. We went back to the camp, and I gave her the gifts then. She was smiling so big I thought her face would crack. "Thank you husband, these will help me be a good wife, and provide for our family."

I almost laughed. She was so funny when she acted all formal. It was like a kid trying to be a grown-up.

I showed her how to load the shotgun. She decided that she wanted one barrel with buckshot and one barrel with birdshot. I guess that would let it be more utilitarian, I didn't think that way.

She took off my holster and gave it back to me and loaded her new pistol and put the holster on.

She then went and tried out the shotgun. It was a perfect fit, and she could really shoot it well. At twenty-five paces she could tear up a small log with the buckshot, and the birdshot had a good pattern out to twenty yards. "It shoots so much farther than a bow," she said.

Her pistol actually shot better than my Colt, but I liked the Colt better because of the position of the hammer spur.

We ate our quick dinner on the way back to Mr. Adkins' office. Swan handed me the 10-gauge and put her gun in Fireball's scabbard. I just held it, since I already had a rifle in my scabbard.

Mr. Adkins said the agreement looked fine. I paid him $3.00 for looking it over, and I stored it in a waterproof bag.

I went to the newspaper and asked if they did job printing. They did, so I had them print up 500 signs that read Entering Cherokee Tribal Lands. I had them printed on very good quality pasteboard. They cost a quarter each. I told them Mr. Edwin Edwards would pick them up.

I remembered something and went back by the general store on the way to pick up the badges. I got two hammers and two post hole diggers. I gave a boy a quarter to take a note to Mr. Edwards asking him to pick the signs up next week. He took off running.

We got the badges, they looked good and had a pin molded in the back that held it in the correct orientation when it was pinned on.

I put mine on and Swan said I looked very important with my badge of office. I hugged her, and she hissed in Cherokee, "Husband, don't embarrass me."

I kissed her cheek and let her go. She was as red as an apple.