Chapter 5: More Adventure

Mar 2, 1857

I met the three eager families at the docks just before dawn. I’d warned the captain about them last night, guaranteeing their passage, so he still had room for their wagons. Along with their passage, I paid for them to have a hot breakfast and a hot supper each day. The captain expected the trip to take three days. He reviewed the cargo I had aboard and checked to make sure they had secured everything. They had.

I told him where our warehouse was, and that “Lucky J” should be painted on it, visible from the docks. I also told the three families how to find our camp north of town, and to ask for Carl Reynolds, my father, when they arrived. They should warn him about how much cargo I was sending to the warehouse.

They all had tears in their eyes when they boarded, and I felt good about being able to help them. I hoped the plumber could do what he promised.

Today I ordered nearly all the lumber available in town from three different lumber mills. I paid each to ship an additional ten thousand board feet April 1, April 15, and May 1. I bought all the hardware that I could find before the women found cases of window glass. I hadn’t even thought about windows. The glass, lumber, and hardware would all be aboard the steamer Lettie Sue before dark and would leave tomorrow morning. When I stopped in a plumbing store in a wealthier part of downtown, I discovered what a water closet looked like. They had one for sale. Actually, it was more of a curiosity item to draw customers in to look at it, hoping they would buy something. I did, I bought the water closet. I also bought all the plumbing and hardware supplies that he had in stock.

We had to buy another wagon when the girls saw canning jars in one of the stores. Then, we retraced our steps to each of the mercantile stores and filled a wagon with crates of jars, lids, and beeswax.

My almost final purchase was unexpected. A stack of red bricks on the sidewalk in front of a store caught my eye. The owner had ten thousand of them, minus two hundred that he sold yesterday. He made me a great deal, since the deposit paid for half of the cost before the man who ordered them left town without telling anyone. He said it would take two days to get them aboard a boat but promised to get them shipped as quickly as possible.

Seeing a wagon traveling down the street with a chicken cage like the one I built for our trip reminded me of something else. We spent the rest of the day getting suggestions from the banks and stores about the best people to contact.

Mar 3 and 4

Today we rented horses and rode out of town to visit farmers who had been recommended to us yesterday. By the end of the second day, we had purchased two hundred head of cattle, four dairy cows, twenty sows, and a hundred hens. Two of the farmers selling the cattle were selling off everything so I had to buy the bulls and steers as well as the cows. I did talk two of their sons into helping us. They would split the chore of riding herd on the cattle (figuratively) on the steamboat trip to Omaha. The steamboats had a corral on the deck of a barge to hold livestock.

Mar 5

Minutes after the Beauty Judy steamed off to the north with much of our cargo and livestock, the Iowa Dream steamed to the south with us aboard. I had withdrawn another three thousand dollars from the bank right before it closed yesterday, not knowing what we’d find in Kansas City/Independence.

Four hours out of St. Joseph, we heard a rifle shot from the bow of the boat. Grabbing our weapons, we ran to help. From the railing of the second deck, we saw several men climbing over the railing of the main deck with revolvers drawn. Almost as one, we raised our rifles and began firing, dropping the men back overboard. Several fell onto the deck as the sheer number of men almost overwhelmed even our repeating rifles. Just as we stopped the assault from the port side, more men began climbing aboard from the starboard side.

We took turns reloading so there was continuous firing coming from our position, forcing the pirates to stay low. We were fortunate that the pirates were near the bow, far enough away from us that their revolvers were inaccurate--dangerous, but inaccurate. Emma and I both ended up with flesh wounds, grazed by a bullet, mine on the shoulder and hers on the upper arm.

When the attack was over, the crew credited us for twenty-three of the twenty-nine kills that ended up on the deck, and gave us the men’s belongings, even the four boats the men had used to row out to meet us. The other pirates had fallen back into the river. During the attack, the attackers killed two unfortunate deck passengers. I was appalled when the crew simply tossed the bodies of the two dead passengers overboard along with those of the attackers. Emma and I quickly doctored our flesh wounds with the herbs Dawn sent with us and then wrapped them.

Captain Roberts agreed to land, allowing me a chance to gather the men’s horses, as well as to see if there were more men hiding. While my wives remained on guard on the upper deck of the steamboat, I crept ashore, easily tracking the men back to their horses. Forty men leave quite a trail through the brush. They only left one man to hold their horses, and he hardly qualified as a man. When I questioned him after his capture, Melvin admitted to being twelve years old. He knew where the farmhouse they used for their headquarters was and agreed to show me. I tied him securely to one of the forty-one horses I herded aboard the steamboat.

Captain Roberts refunded our fares, thanking us for everything we did to save his boat. He guessed, and Melvin confirmed that the pirates were pro-slavery raiders from Kansas trying to capture the boat to rob the passengers and the purser; the boat carried thousands of dollars.

When the captain asked about the three women with me who wore buckskins and were as competent with a rifle as any man he’d seen, I hesitated. “I hope this doesn’t offend you, but all three are my wives,” I replied.

“Are you Mormon?” he asked.

“Nope, just lucky,” Emma interjected.

“Very lucky,” Flo added.

“Very, very lucky,” Madison threw in.

“You’re from Omaha?” he asked.

“Just got there a few days ago from Virginia,” I answered.

“I’m really only married to Emma,” I explained when his brow furrowed.

“Oh?” he asked, his interest piqued. “It’s legal in the territories to have more than one wife. Since we’re in Kansas, and I’m the Captain, I could perform the marriage if you want.

The room lit up with the smiles from Flo and Madison. Half an hour later, we were officially man and wives.

“I heard that you sent a lot of construction supplies from St. Joseph to Omaha,” he commented.

“We just bought a hundred thousand acres north of Omaha, and are building barns, a warehouse, and homes for everyone in our group. With the people I just sent from St. Joseph, I’m sure we’ll need almost fifty houses,” I explained.

“Do you need any additional help?” he asked.

“If they know their way around a hammer and saw, sure,” I replied.

“My brother lives in New Orleans and builds houses for a living. Last summer, building almost stopped, with many of the houses not even complete. He’s desperate for work, and probably willing to move to Omaha for a job. He might even get the five men who worked for him to come along,” he suggested.

“If he wants to move to Omaha, we’d love to have him join us. I expect that we’ll have at least two hundred people working there before we’re through. If they can get there, I’ll refund the cost of their fare,” I promised.

“I can put him and his men on the crew for the trip north if he wants to go,” he promised.

I gave the Captain directions to find us. “Just go north out of town or find the lumber mill in Omaha and follow their delivery wagon.”

Originally, Captain Roberts only planned a brief stop in Leavenworth to pick up passengers and cargo. Instead, as soon as we docked, the captain led my wives and me off what was almost a drawbridge at the bow of the boat. We rode five of the captured horses and led Melvin’s since we had covered his head with a hood. That way, nobody would recognize him and warn the remaining pirates. The rest of our luggage was loaded on the other horses that we led off the boat in case we stayed here. The boat would wait to leave until Captain Roberts returned.

Captain Roberts was stunned when he saw how many weapons we were carrying. We each carried a repeating rifle and had a shotgun and an Enfield in rifle scabbards. Two Navy Colt revolvers in hip holsters and an S&W revolver in a cross-draw holster completed our armament. He couldn’t see it, but our saddlebags were stuffed with ammunition, mostly for the repeating rifle and the shotgun.

We rode north briskly for almost a mile before reaching the gates of Fort Leavenworth. Recognizing Captain Roberts, who vouched for us, the guards let us enter, and escorted Captain Roberts and me to see Captain Scott, commander of the garrison.

Captain Scott paled visibly when Captain Roberts explained about the attempted piracy of his boat. He then explained about our involvement in foiling the attack and told Captain Scott what our prisoner told us. The boy had talked nearly nonstop since boarding the boat.

Captain Scott agreed that a raid on the house was in order but hesitated at my offer to enter the house alone after dark. “Melvin told us about a series of underground bunkers and tunnels at the house. Any of the pirates in the house could escape if the Army attacks. In addition, there are nearly a hundred Negroes shackled in underground cellars. They were free men and women who were kidnapped in Missouri and Kansas and brought here,” I explained.

“The steamboat Black Night stops once a month to buy however many they have captured and sells them to slave markets along the Mississippi River. Besides the Negroes, the pirates are holding nearly twenty female captives in the house. They captured the women in raids against anti-slavery homes and farms and force them into bed with them every night. If the army attacks, many or all of the women and Negroes could be killed.”

“How do you plan on capturing the house by yourself?” Captain Scott asked me derisively.

“By sneaking up on them after dark, killing their sentries, and sneaking into the house,” I replied. “Once I’m inside the house, I’ll kill as many men as possible using a knife because if I’m discovered, I have only fifteen shots in my revolvers and seven more in my rifle for eighteen men. I may not be able to save all the captives, but I can save most of them once I’m inside,” I explained.

Motioning for us to follow, Captain Scott led us outside, telling one of his men to bring Grey Fox. The Captain was gawking at my three heavily armed wives dressed in buckskins when I sensed something behind me and spun.

“Grey Fox, I’ve told you not to do that! I might accidentally shoot you,” Captain Scott complained after Grey Fox counted coup on him just after I spun to see who was behind me.

“That’s part of the game, Sir,” I replied.

“Game?” he gasped while Grey Fox grinned at me.

“How can someone play a game that might get them killed?” he asked rhetorically.

“They play for the same reason that young white men show off and brag about their deeds. It gains them honor,” I explained.

“Not if they’re dead,” he grumbled.

“How much more prestigious would it be to count coup on your enemy and live to tell about it than some of the things you did and bragged about when you were younger?” I asked. The captain just shook his head. Grey Fox noted my “medicine bag” and held out his hand, silently asking to see it. Once he noted the contents, he nodded appreciatively and handed it back.

When he agreed to accompany me on the raid tonight, Captain Scott and I devised a plan. Soldiers would surround the house with men on each side, along with one of my wives on three sides. “A mule?” Captain Scott questioned my suggestion that the men on each side of the house take a mule with them.

“Yes, Sir, mules make the best sentries. If anyone or anything is moving around in the dark, a mule will let you know,” I explained.

“He’s right, Sir,” an older sergeant with leathery skin on his face, arms, and hands agreed.

“Fine, we’ll stop a mile from the house tonight and let you proceed. An hour after you leave, we’ll move to within two hundred yards,” Captain Scott agreed, waving at us dismissively. I could tell he didn’t like my plan. Somehow, though, I knew it would work.

Captain Roberts bid us farewell, again thanking us profusely for thwarting the attack. He sent his assistant purser into town to locate and buy any repeating rifles he could find for his crew. If they didn’t have enough, he would look in every city until he found enough. I decided to add a second one to my repertoire. It would have been helpful during the attack.

Grey Fox had me try his bow. It was different enough from mine that it took me six arrows before I was accurate and six more before I was confident. Captain Scott expected me to use the bow tonight instead of Grey Fox, at least on the sentries. Grey Fox explained once we were away from the soldiers that they were nervous that he would “revert to being a savage” if he killed too many white men. He and I had a good laugh.

After that, we ate and then slept most of the afternoon. We were awakened in time to eat supper and get ready to leave. The house was only a ten-minute ride west of the fort.

For once, I was grateful for the light mist that began falling as we rode to the house. The clouds also hid the moon, which would still be more than half-full.

Grey Fox and I were in position just minutes before the guards changed, allowing us to see where all four men were stationed. It also gave us the maximum time to eliminate them before the next guard change.

The sentries were each huddled beneath a tree, more worried about staying warm and dry than they were about standing watch. I’m sure they figured that someone would have to be a fool to be out in this weather. I don’t remember ever correcting anyone who called me a fool.

An hour later, Grey Fox gave me a smile, a soft grunt, and a nod of approval worthy of Dawn when I killed the last sentry and handed his bow back. We crept to the house, entering through the back door. Melvin had drawn us a diagram of the layout of the house, one diagram for the ground floor, one for the second story, and one for the cellar. We had already checked what appeared to be a bunkhouse. It was empty, just like Melvin told us it would be. Except for the leader, the men rotated who slept in the bunkhouse and who slept inside with the women.

Since eighteen men was the most that could be at the house, and four were dead outside, that left only fourteen more to deal with inside. The pirates had converted two rooms on the ground floor into bedrooms; the bigger of the two was for the group’s leader. We made sure the two kerosene lamps that they kept on low in the house were out before proceeding.

I borrowed Grey Fox’s bow again as we approached the leader’s room. The sounds coming from inside were ones frequently coming from my bed at night. With my arrow nocked and drawn, Grey Fox quietly opened the door for me. The leader died silently, the woman beneath him not aware for several seconds that he was dead. By then, I had my hand over her mouth.

“We’re here with the Army to rescue everyone,” I whispered, receiving a nod confirming that she understood. Her eyes were still as big as saucers, though.

“There aren’t any guards in the cellar tonight,” she whispered. “Too many of their men are off trying to capture a steamboat.”

“We know; we were on the steamboat. We killed all those men except for the boy. The boy led us here,” I answered.

“Oh, thank God,” she sighed. “Polly was terrified that her son would be hurt. He was forced to help the men,” she explained in a whisper.

“Can you get into the cellar quietly, and start freeing the slaves there?” I asked.

“I can do that,” she replied, pushing the man off her and then removing the key he had on a leather thong around his neck. She was unfazed about being naked in front of us.

“It’s cold outside, you might want to put on clothes,” I reminded her.

“We don’t have any clothes,” she explained as she slid on the man’s pants and cinched his suspenders tight. She slipped into his shirt and jacket, and then carried his boots with her. She let us know that two men were in the next room. I told her to lock or block the door to the cellar if she could, so none of the men could escape that way, or hurt anyone in the cellar. I told her about the soldiers outside, probably only two hundred yards from the house by now.

Taking the arrow from the man’s body, we turned out the lamp in the room. Once my night vision returned, we prepared to enter the next room. It was as noisy as this one had been. Grey Fox readied his revolver as he slowly opened the door. I held an arrow in my mouth so I could reach it faster on the outside chance that I would be able to kill both men with arrows. I was in luck as one man appeared to be passed out on his bed, draped over the naked woman beneath him. Her eyes grew huge when she saw us, and I motioned for her to stay quiet.

The man who was awake died seconds later. Grey Fox moved to cover the mouth of the woman beneath him while I used my knife on the man who was unconscious. Once again, I explained that we were here to rescue them, and that soldiers were waiting outside the house. The women dressed in the men’s clothing and tiptoed out the back door, making sure their long, flowing hair was visible, albeit slightly messy.

Now we had to go upstairs to face the remaining eleven men in six rooms and I knew my luck couldn’t continue forever. It held through the first room at the top of the stairs. Both the man and the woman were asleep. I used a knife on the man while keeping the woman silent. She insisted on staying to help and took the man’s revolver after she dressed in his clothing. She lay on the floor in the open doorway with the gun aimed down the hallway in case any of the men came out into the hall. When I checked to see if she knew how to use it, she cocked the hammer, pointed the gun down the hall, and grinned sadistically.

One of the two men in the room across the hall succumbed easily. The other awoke and managed a quiet cry of surprise before I could slit his throat. Grey Fox hurried to guard the open door in case someone heard the minor commotion. Many long seconds later, we breathed again when nobody raised an alarm. Both women in this room also insisted on helping, taking the men’s revolvers once they were dressed and lying on the floor in the open doorway opposite from the first room. They waved giddily, albeit silently, to the woman across the hall.

Now, we were down to eight men in four rooms, and I again wondered how long our luck would hold out. It ended in the next room. One of the men died silently, but the second managed a loud warning shout before dying. That left six men for us to face. I heard footsteps running next door to us, and a door opening. Someone fired a single shot and a man cried out. I heard his body fall and his revolver clatter on the floor of the hallway.