Lieutenant John Holbrook, Sergeant John Wheeler

by Laszlo Endrody

  “I don’t care. You can stand on your head, as long as you ask. One more thing, don’t forget to tell me that you care for me.”

  “I guess your husband is going to have to plow up this farm,” Mason stated.

  “We could get an orphan boy to do that, we have a plow. But first we have to finish fencing Betty’s farm, there’s only five and a half more miles to go,” Milly stated.

  “Then you will probably want this place fenced,” Mason stated.

  “That depends on our neighbors. If they stay on their property, we will stay on ours. If that doesn’t work, we will fence him out. In the meantime, we work for Sergeant Wheeler and Betty. Go feed the horses and go to bed. I will fix breakfast tomorrow morning. How many eggs do you men want?”

  “Four,” Mason answered.

  “Okay. Go ahead and give the horses some hay,” Milly instructed him.

  Milly then went to make some biscuits and put them in the oven. She added two pieces of wood to the fire in the stove, got the coffee water ready, and lay down on the couch. The men both went to their rooms upstairs.

  The next morning, they went to feed the horses again and ate breakfast; biscuits, bacon, and four eggs. They would have to get more chickens. Milly was in her jeans, ready to go to work. After breakfast the girls took over in the kitchen. They were to fix lunch and clean up the kitchen.

  The Amish grocer would soon be bringing out a cow, and Milly told the girls to make sure they put her and her calf in the small corral, and to also make sure no one messed with the horses. She also told them that her Kentucky rifle was next to window, loaded.

  Milly and the two men then hitched up to the buckboard and went to work and the girls started cooking. The storeroom was full of food. They were so excited to be living with Milly.

  The three arrived at the big farm and went in for a cup of coffee. Mason stayed to harness two big horses and hitch them up to the big wagon. As soon as he was ready, Milly grabbed the Spencer and Henry, and she and Mason went in to town. They got two men and four boys; then they went to get four girls to help too. They were all bundled up because it was very cold in the mornings. Mason went for buns and Milly got the names of everybody working for Betty. She would make sure they all got paid.

  Sergeant Wells took the buckboard up to the fence and got the gang all ready. They stretched five wires and then went to dig the post holes. It was cold, but by ten o’clock it warmed up; they also had coffee to keep themselves warm. The fencing went on all day. Late in the afternoon, the big wagon came up with posts that needed to be laid out. All of the boys went to help. They left the girls in town and unloaded the firewood, since all they had left was to lay out the posts. After that, they unhooked the horses and hung the harnesses in the barn and threw the horses some hay. The horses had oats out on the job. Milly and the two men had a bite and then headed home hoping the girls had made some food.

  The girls had a leg from a deer to make a stew with. When they got home, the girls had made some baked beans, bacon and rice, along with some peas. It was a fine dinner. When they turned the horses in, there was a lot of hay. Then they went to the house and ate and talked about their day.

  Sergeant Wells pulled out a deck of cards. He shuffled them up real good and dealt everyone a hand. Wells won, he drew a ten and Mason got a three.

  Sergeant Wells told Milly that he liked her a lot and wanted to marry her. “The priest will be happy, and so will I. You can move in with me,” she told him.

  Milly was happy that she had a man again. She could try and have a son. But if Wells decided to go west, he would be going alone. She wasn’t about to leave her new home. She decided that she would let him know this just in case he decided to go west anyway. She would rather stay home and take care of the farm and livestock.

  “It is important that we help Betty fence her pasture,” Milly told Wells. “We will have dry cows, calves and colts to put in there, all branded of course.”

  “Let’s go to bed. I am sleepy. Take your things off so that I can see all of you,” Wells instructed her.

  She took her dress off and had only her bloomers on. She took those off too, and went to the bed and lay down. Wells took his clothes off too and lay down next to her. “I guess we are meant to be a team,” he told her.

  In the morning, the girls cooked breakfast for them. After that, Mason went and harnessed her team and they took her buckboard and went to work at the big farm. First thing, they got a cup of coffee and then went to the fence. One of the men was bringing the other buckboard with the tools. The first thing they did was roll out the wire and stretch it, then the same thing to the next roll. Milly made some more coffee, it was very cold outside.

  I got the word that another 200 fence posts had arrived, so I got a team and harnessed them up and went with two boys to pick the posts up. After we got back with the posts, it started to snow, and it snowed hard. The crew all came in, they could not work on the fence. When everybody came in to the house, the girls served coffee and I told everybody that on Christmas day we would have a party for all of the workers. We would butcher a cow and have a big dinner. Everyone was invited, including Father Martin, and the girls and boys from the town house. It would be a very nice Christmas party.

  Milly told me that she and Sergeant Wells were getting married next Sunday. “We will tell Father Martin that we will pick him up and bring him out with the girls,” she suggested.

  I told everyone that we would finally have a winter, “According to Milly, we finally almost have a mile finished on that fence. I have two hundred steel posts on the wagon, but we won’t lay them out in the snow. I hope it will clear up again so we can work. But it will probably be winter for a while.”

  Everyone went home. Milly, Wells, and Mason helped fix a big dinner. They had deer meat for a big stew and milk to put in the coffee. The men grained the horses and came in. Mason went to take a nap. He was kind of disappointed that work had stopped on the fence. “We can’t win them all,” he thought to himself.

  Then a one of the boys that worked for us rode in and told Sergeant Wells that he saw the ex-sheriff riding a black horse out at the fence line; the Quaker boys had spotted him. I figured he was probably looking for Milly.

  Dinner was ready, so we invited the boy stay and eat with us. The boy sure liked that. He had two helpings of stew and milk, he sure ate well.

  Later on, the men were out feeding the horses when a man rode in on a black horse. He carried a Henry and he pointed it at them. The sergeant asked him what business he had at with them.

  The sheriff told him, “I am Milly’s friend and I need to speak with her.”

  The sergeant told him, “She’s inside. Why don’t you get off your horse and go on in and talk to her. She’s working in the kitchen.”

  “I have a peg leg and it is difficult for me to get back on the horse. It would be easier if she came out here,” the sheriff replied.

  “I will go in and get her,” Wells assured him.

  “Thank you,” the sheriff stated.

  Wells went in and told Milly that he needed her Henry. He cocked the gun, opened the door a bit, and shot the ex-sheriff off of his horse. He then went over to him and picked up his rifle and handed it to Mason. The ex-sheriff had a .44 in his belt, and he handed that to Mason too. The horse was not branded, so he took off the saddle and turned the horse in to the corral. The girls were in the barn room and they came out and wanted to know what had happened. Wells was going through the sheriff’s pockets and found 60 dollars in gold. He handed a 20 dollar gold piece to each girl and put the other 20 in his own pocket. One girl told him that now she would be able to buy herself some shoes. The ex-sheriff didn’t have a money belt.

  “Let’s hitch up to the other buckboard and drop this fellow off in town so we don’t have to dig in the frozen ground,” Mason suggested.

  It was dark now, and there were a lot of lights on in town. They went by the jail but there weren�
��t any light on. They dropped the sheriff off and headed back to the farm. The black horse was not branded, so they just kept it in the corral. Mason felt that it might be someone’s horse that the sheriff had borrowed.

  Chapter Eight

  Mason bought himself a buckboard. The wagon maker was very nice to everyone since we gave him a lot of business. Mason told the wagon maker that he would need a big wagon for when he goes west, as well as a girl to go with him. He wanted to buy 640 acres. After he bought his acreage, he would marry the girl he took with him.

  “What else do you need beside the wagon?” the wagon maker asked Mason.

  “I will need six horses, as well as a riding horse, so seven horses total. I will also need three smoked hogs, big ones, or four smaller hogs. Then I will buy all the sacked items, as well as ammunition and oats for the horses, at least thirty sacks. I will have to fix the wagon with a canvas top and a couple of barrels on the side for water. I will tow my own buckboard,” Mason told him.

  “When will you go west?”

  “I am not in a hurry. I want to make sure I have everything I need, then I’ll go when I’m ready. I still need to find a girl that can get six hundred and forty acres and wants to get married again. I have most of the food and cash that I need. I will go and see the butcher and get a pregnant sow, so she will have a bunch of pigs. I had a corporal that was from Wyoming and he told me all about the wagon trains and how the people who didn’t have good wagons or enough horses struggled. I am planning on taking seven horses, one stud, three mares, and two geldings broke to ride. When I get to Wyoming, I can go wild horse hunting for mares and hobble the mares and let them raise a colt. As soon as the colt is old enough, I’ll take the hobbles off of the mare and let her go. Then I will train the colts and sell them. I also plan on buying some calves and a Hereford bull,” Mason explained to the wagon maker.

  “You’re going to have to build a house, a barn, and corrals for your stud and all of the young horses. Making sure you’re 100 percent ready before you leave is the smart way to go. Too many people are in such a hurry to leave that they aren’t prepared when they go, and that’s a guaranteed way to run in to trouble.” the wagon maker stated.

  Mason went home and asked Milly where he would be able to build a pig pen. Milly told him he could build it next to the barn. “If I can get some sows, I will get you one too,” Mason told her.

  “First, we need a cow for milking,” Milly replied. “Ask that Amish grocer to get you one. He knows where to get them. I am going to buy the girls some winter shoes and warm clothes, along with a couple pairs of jeans for working, and warm jackets too. How is the snow out there? Can we make it to town?” Milly inquired of Mason.

  “I think with two horses you’ll have no problem,” he assured her.

  Wells told Milly he would go with her. The two went to harness Milly’s horses and hitched them up to the buckboard. Milly told the girls they were taking them shopping. The two girls wrapped a blanket around their shoulders and got in the back of the buckboard. Wells had the reigns, and they started in to town.

  On the way, they met a neighbor who was stuck with their wagon loaded full of wheat sacks. They stopped and helped the Amish farmer get out of a small ditch his wagon had fallen into. The Amish fellow thanked them.

  They went in to town and stopped at the Amish store and asked the grocer if he had any milk cows for sale. He told Milly that he had one out back with a nice bull calf; it was a half Hereford white faced calf. She asked him how much he wanted for it, he told her 18 dollars. She told him that they would take them home on the way back, but first she had to get winter shoes and jeans for the girls. The grocer told her that he had some jeans.

  “They will need underwear too, and a warm shirt,” he suggested. “Let me get my wife. She’s better at this kind of stuff than I am.”

  Milly brought the girls in and closed the door. The Amish lady gave them men’s underwear and measured their waists and got them both a pair of jeans that fit perfectly. She also gave them two warm shirts apiece, as well as a warm jacket. Milly told them that all they needed now was to get some shoes and head for home with the cows. She paid the bill and went to the shoemaker. He found two pairs of shoes that fit the girls. One was more of a summer shoe, so he ordered a winter work-shoe for them. The girls threw away the old ratty shoes that they came in with and put on their brand-new shoes. The shoemaker told them to come back in five days and he’d have the winter shoes ready by then. Milly assured him that they would be back for them.

  They went back to the grocers and picked up the cow and calf. They put the calf in the back and the cow on a line and started for home. When they got home, they put the cow in the small corral next to the barn. They filled the water trough and gave the cow some hay; the calf went to suck and everything was okay. They let the horses in the corral and threw them some hay and then went in the house where it was nice and warm. They sure lucked out with that firewood. They had enough to last until early spring.

  Mason told Wells that he would be ordering his big wagon soon and said, “I need to bum a ride into town so that I can order the wagon. We can use it for firewood and haying until I head west. The wagon maker will be happy that he will have some work this winter. I hope he has the white oak for parts, I want wide wheels.”

  “You may have to wait for wheels,” Milly told him.

  “I can wait. On the way home, let’s get a couple of sows. We can put them in the barn, in the pen right behind the girl’s room. I will get some cracked corn for them and something to hold water. The Amish store has all kinds of tubs for watering,” Mason stated.

  They all went in to town to order the wagon and went by the butchers and bought two sows. Then they stopped by the Amish store and got a tub for water. Mason bought two sacks of corn, and Wells bought two sacks too. Then they headed home.

  They finished off the stew meat that evening and then went to bed. That next morning, Mason went to check the hogs and saw that they were fighting over a snake. He saw that it was a copperhead and went in the house and told Milly that the girls would have to have a room in the house because the hogs were fighting over a copperhead.

  He told her, “If they got that copperhead in there, it would be easy for a snake to get in to the girl’s room, especially if the room is heated.”

  Milly rearranged the rooms upstairs and both girls got a room for themselves. They closed the door to the room in the barn. Later on, Wells got some rat traps that he found in the kitchen and set five up in the barn room. It worked! He caught a small snake and he threw it to the hogs. They devoured it within a couple of minutes. They did not know how to get rid of the snakes, but they were determined to find out. They knew about rattlers, but knew nothing about copperheads.

  They asked at the store owner if he knew how to get rid of copperheads and told him that they had some in their barn. The owner told them to open the big door and leave it open and the snakes would go underground. They went home and tried the method, and it worked. No snakes. They pulled out the hay and found holes in the ground, so they decided to get some cement and make a cement floor in the barn. They got a builder out there to do the job. As soon as he was done, they closed the big door and waited for spring before they opened it back up.

  A month later, Mason got his big wagon. For Christmas they went to the big farm to have their party. All of the help received an envelope with 20 dollars gold inside. Little Maggy sure loved Christmas. She got some dolls and some new dresses. She was so happy. Both Maggy and Betty were pregnant; Milly was also pregnant, but she kept it to herself for as long as she could. Then Wells felt her stomach, it was getting bigger.

  He asked her, “Are you pregnant?”

  “You did a fine job,” she told him. “I hope it’s a boy.”

  “How come you didn’t tell me?” he asked her.

  “I did not know for sure,” Milly assured him.

  They had no snow in March, so they wer
e able to go after firewood with the big wagon with four-in-hand. They cut some posts too. Milly shot four deer and cleaned them out, and they went on top. They left one in town for the girls, and took four over to the big farm. They took the big buck home; they would have meat for four days. Milly could keep the meat out on the porch, it was cold enough.

  They unloaded the fence posts over at the big farm for Betty’s fence. I decided that all four wagons would go out for fence posts and everybody would work. Milly was the only one that did not go, she felt sick and she did not want to lose the baby.

  Milly was looking out her window and saw four men ride in; then they started roping her horses. She went upstairs and grabbed her Henry. She opened one of the upstairs bedroom windows and one by one took out all four men. They didn’t know what hit them. The men were in the corral and the gate was closed, so she just left them there until the men got back home.

  Four hours later, the men came home and found four bearded men lying dead in the corral. Wells went to check their horses and one of them was branded, so he turned it loose. The other three were not branded, so he kept them. The three men had a lot of money. Wells took all of the money in and put it on the table. All three had money belts as well. They waited for dark and then took the four men in to town and dumped them off in front of the jail. Nobody was around, so they got home and went to bed.

  As it turned out, the branded horse was staying around instead of traveling. They decided to take it in to the sheriff and he figured out that it was an Ohio brand.

  They started work at Milly’s farm, and their neighbor to the south started plowing over on their side. Milly called out the county surveyor to decide where the property bordered. Wells and Mason put up several fence posts in and painted them white. They told the neighbor that they did not want any more plowing on their side, and that they would plow it themselves. He told Wells that it was his land and not theirs. Mason went and got the sheriff. He called the surveyor out again and they told the neighbor to plow his own land because that land was not his. While all of that was going on, Milly had a little boy. The two girls helped her. When the men returned, the little boy had his first milk. Milly did not know how much he got, but he went to sleep. When the men got back with the sheriff, she was told that it was all settled.