Sapphic Cowboi

by K'Anne Meinel

  Maggie gazed around proudly, she had, she thought, improved the farm since her father’s death, keeping the long tall pines back from their hard won fight with the encroaching woods. Forestry was big in this section of the south but with no one working, no one was building the houses that needed such large trees and such industry in this section of the state had come to a screeching halt. Their own farm, hidden among the deep woods in North West Alabama was a blessing to a horse breeder and farmer who wanted to stay remote, unknown, and independent. They had always raised enough to sustain themselves, pay their taxes, and remain the way they always had been but with the Depression only getting worse Maggie knew that having this many horses would be unfeasible, with people changing over to automobiles from horses it would only be a matter of time before she would have to get rid of more and more of them. Meanwhile she would do what she had to, to prevent losing what she did have.

  She was sad as she turned to leave the farm not knowing when she would return. She had never been gone from the farm for more than a few days and never so far from it. She knew her family friend Peter would look after things as well as her dog who had looked sadly at her when told to stay. The horses going with her were excited the others calling from the barns where she had locked them to prevent any from trying to jump any fences. O’Malley fences were taller than most for this very reason. She trotted down through the back roads, avoiding the one into town as well as the town itself as she headed north to Jackson. She kept to a fast pace knowing she could make in one day if she wanted but planning on stopping and resting with her family of horses before arriving in the noisy town.

  The day passed pleasantly as she jogged along riding one of her favorite horses appropriately named Ebony. She tried not to play favorites especially with this many horses whose jealousies could cause problems but Ebony had been one of the first horses that she herself had trained. Only four of the horses with her had been trained by her father, the rest had all of Maggie O’Malley’s style of training on them as well as the dog who trotted obediently along with them trying to stay at Maggie’s right near her stirrup. She kept their lead ropes loose so they could move their proud heads and trot or jog along at their own pace, she hated having to keep them tied but didn’t indicate it by any action. At noon she stopped in the shade of some trees along a creek and let the horses drink and eat at will keeping an eye out for plants that would upset their stomach, plants that grew mainly along creeks.

  Maggie was pleased that she didn’t see too many people as she made her way north, taking back roads she knew and had used before. Only occasionally did she come across farms that like hers were tucked away on these back roads in the middle of nowhere, deep in the woods, or hidden among the hills. She was saddened to see how many abandoned places she saw as well, the owners unable or unwilling to try and outlast the financial hardships that came in a poor community trying to survive in these times. She realized she had had it better than most on her family farm as she saw the poor, overgrown, and neglected farms she passed. Few if any had people living on them and they peeked from behind their fences, their curtains, or their buildings at the intruder who passed with all those horses but kept on going. She saw dirty children playing in the dust of Alabama, she saw sad looking houses housing even poorer looking families, she saw the forests taking back the once open fields slowly and surely. Mother Nature could be cruel at times but she was relentless in taking back the fields from neglected farms and pastures, trees springing up in the oddest of places and if not kept up, taking over.

  That night she stopped early enough in a natural glen among the towering trees. She could have been in Jackson within a half an hour but wanted to stay out this one last night. She made a fire early and cooked some soup fixings she had brought along before dousing the flame. She checked each of the horses to be sure they hadn’t picked up a stone in their hooves and were fine with the long march they had had that day. Each of them exchanged affection with their human, rubbing their muzzles along her as she patted and rubbed them. She smiled as she returned the affection often hugging them out of sheer exuberance for the massive beasts. Finally they were all settled and she lay on her bedroll with Feathers, her dog beside her. The horses were loosely around her chosen spot, sentinels guarding their human. Between Feathers and the horses she was certain any intruder intent on mayhem would be intimidated. Watching the stars up in the cloudless night she fell asleep wondering what their future would bring.

  Perhaps it was the remoteness of the glen she was in, perhaps it was just fate, but she was lucky she wasn’t discovered that night, men and women, desperately hungry and out of work roamed all over America in this time of need. Her valuable horses, her small amount of provisions, any of it would have been gleefully stolen. Her very person would have been used to satisfy some hunger that some needed to appease. They wouldn’t have cared that she was a woman wearing dungarees or her hair cut too short, they wouldn’t have cared about the dog or the horses, she was a woman alone and as such fair game. Some men thought they had the right to victimize those they felt were put there in their paths for whatever they meted out, some men didn’t care about others, some were just as desperate to feel something, anything at this horrible time in history. If not the remoteness of the glen, the black of the night, the black of her animals, or the fact that she had put out her fire early, she might have been seen, she might have been found, she might have been hurt.

  Early in the morning as the sun was barely over the horizon Maggie was up and taking the horses to a creek she had found. She started her small fire and quickly heated up the last of the soup before washing out the small pot she had brought along and drying it to pack it among her things. She fed Feathers some dried food she had brought along specifically for him. In no time at all it was as though no one had been in the glen except for the horse dung and the cropped grasses. Checking the halters and ropes on the horses she was soon on her way heading for Jackson and the depot. She created quite a stir in the early morning as she rode down the main street with her herd and dog. People stopped to stare at the site of a dozen perfectly matched black horses, their manes and tails streaming behind them trotting briskly along the avenue, a dog a the heels of the woman, and they weren’t certain it was a woman, sitting straight in the saddle on one of the beasts. She stopped in front of the depot and dismounted. The horses ranged out as far as their ropes would allow them as she tied off Sampson, the one she had chosen to ride today. “Stay” she said to Feathers who watched her with his deep dark black eyes. He sat to acknowledge the command as two of the horses leaned down to snuffle at his feathery fur.

  As she walked into the depot she saw it was deserted except for a sleepy eyed clerk. His eyes widened at her manly attire and long strides realizing this was a woman! “Can I help you?” he asked automatically.

  She smiled which further surprised him at the beauty revealed “hello, I’m supposed to give you this” she handed him a piece of paper Peter had explained to her that identified her as an employee of Bigelow Circus and was supposed to get her onto the rail cars.

  He took and read it in surprise looking up at the ‘woman’ who had given it to him. They had been expecting a horse trainer, a man and this woman was definitely not what they had expected; besides she was early, days early. He swallowed thinking rapidly. They had some time and an empty car for her before the next train was due. “Yes …” he hesitated “ma’am, we have your car for you if you want to bring …” he swallowed “your horses around” he indicated the back of the depot where a car stood on the side track.

  “There were supposed to be two cars made available for my horses” she told him wondering at his hesitations and figuring they were some sort of speech impediment, perhaps he was nervous around women.

  “Yes ma’am but we weren’t expecting you for a couple more days and we only have the one” he swallowed nervously wondering if she was going to get angry.

  Maggie was annoyed wondering if one would be
enough for her babies. “What about hay, feed, and water for them?” she asked trying to think about their comfort.

  He promised that both would be delivered if she wanted to inspect the car as he gestured in back of the depot and headed there grabbing his coat to escort her out to it.

  Maggie was surprised at the sheer size of a railroad car. The horses would fit inside she could see and she was glad they hadn’t sectioned it off into individual stalls, the horses could lie down too if they needed. At the moment and in the newness of this type of travel perhaps it was better that they didn’t have a second car where she would have to be constantly climbing from one to the other to check on her babies. The car had opened slats to allow air to flow freely and a trough for food and another for water which the attendant assured her would be filled from a reservoir in the floor of the car. The trip was expected to take two days.

  “This isn’t like a regular stock car” he told her nervously waiting for the explosion he was sure would come over the missing second car. “The Mather’s” he told her as though she should know what that was “only can carry six steers, this is a Burton” he told her proudly, again assuming she knew what that was.

  She was only concerned that there was room for her babies to move around, they weren’t confined to small stalls and unable to keep their balance as the train pulled their car along. She nodded to acknowledge what he was saying but knew nothing about Mather’s or Burton’s, styles of railroad stock cars that were used. “How soon can you deliver the hay, feed, and water and when should I load them up?”

  They discussed what she needed, she declined to wait for a second car unsure of where she could hide the horses while she waited for that second car and knowing she would be stretching her luck on that idea. He agreed to get the hay and feed right away and signaled to another clerk to arrange the filling of the reservoir under the floor as they lowered the ramp to the side of the car, he was surprised as the woman helped to do a man’s job as naturally as any man would.

  The horses hadn’t been left unnoticed, a small crowd was gathered behind them and Feathers was sitting where she had left him but looking uneasily over his shoulder at the growing number of strange people. She looked just as curiously at the people who were talking about the magnificent horses and she caught the surprise of some as she untied Sampson and swung up into the saddle to lead the horses around the depot.

  “Do you want help loading them up?” the clerk called as he watched her leading the blacks.

  “Nope, I got it” she called back and pointed Sampson to the ramp who only hesitated a second before mounting it followed by two of the others immediately. She ducked her head and got off the saddle in a flash to push the horses and call to the others that had stopped at the ramp. At her reassuring voice two more mounted and then another two. “Cmon Ashes, get up here” she said in an exasperated voice to one of the horses that hesitated. At her voice the horse looked up and immediately mounted the platform followed by two more. The final two followed easily just waiting for the others to move inside. Feathers sat at the door waiting for Maggie’s command and watched the horses inside. It was crowded with the milling horses in the empty car but Maggie quickly removed the ropes from their halters as she reassured them in this new environment talking to them, petting them, and calming them. She backed a couple of them up to line them along the wall of the car and make some room. She removed her saddle from Sampson and dumped it near the door with her bags and gear and looked up as someone began to mount the ramp and Feathers growled warningly.

  “Hi there, you need some hay” the man called cheerfully as he eyed the dog in the doorway and the horses that he could see beyond in the rail road car.

  “Yep, you got some?” she asked in return.

  He indicated some bales he had on a cart and Maggie went down to help him haul them into the car and stack along the wall near the door.

  “Is this it?” she asked as they finished with the few bales.

  “No ma’am, but I thought you’d want to make a bed for these beauties” he admired the fine horse flesh and wondered where they were shipping them, he’d been surprised when one of the clerks from the depot had come running up and breathlessly told him to haul the hay he had to the depot, that someone had shown up early and they needed it now.

  She nodded to show she had heard him as she looked at the horses looking at him curiously and suspiciously by degrees. Feathers growl had been to alert her. “Are you bringing the feed too?” she asked.

  “Yes ma’am, I’ll have both here shortly after I get it loaded” he assured her wondering who she was and where these horses were going, if she owned them, and a few other curious things he would have liked to ask but didn’t.

  Maggie nodded again not saying much as she watched him hurry back to his cart and with his broad shoulders effortlessly lift the end and hurry off with it away from the car. He had been surprised when she took the bales effortlessly on her own shoulders one at a time and carried them up the ramp into the car. She turned to start taking apart the hay bales and make beds for her beautiful babies who snuffled at the hay and began nibbling at it as she spread it around.

  The man did return with many more bales and sacks of feed. The clerk filled the reservoir beneath the car and she filled a trough with fresh water. Somewhere a pitchfork was found to clean up after the horses that didn’t seem to care where they were when they needed to rid themselves of their manure or water and Maggie made a pile in the corner of the car.

  “You can toss that out on the siding when they stop to fill the train with water” the clerk assured her when he saw her neatly piling the manure and hay in the corner. He didn’t tell her that she could throw it on their own siding because he knew he would be the one to clean it up if she did. “I’ll be sure to tell the conductor to have them fill the reservoir on the trip” he promised her.

  “What about my own food?” she asked unsure if she had enough for another two day trip and wondering if she should go into town to buy some to tide her over.

  “You can eat in the cars when they come up” he glanced at her attire “we can provide you with a sleeping berth…” he began and she shook her head.

  “No, I’ll sleep in here” she said indicating the hay bales she had spread for her own bed, her bedroll on top.

  “But your tickets paid for that” he began and she looked at him curiously wondering why he was arguing.

  “Just refund the difference to me and I’ll make sure the money gets back to the circus” she told him. “I just want to make sure I get some food, I don’t need a berth.”

  He reluctantly gave her the difference of the berth on her ticket and changed it to food only, most who traveled like that would end up sleeping upright in their seats but since she was riding with the livestock he had to admit she would probably be more comfortable in there and certainly would have a lot more privacy. He watched as she shoved the difference deep in the pocket of her dungarees. “The train should arrive about 10 o’clock and will hook up to yours then” he assured her. She nodded as she looked at the clock; she had an hour yet to kill and thought maybe she should get some food despite his assurances that she could get some with her ticket. Besides she would need treats for the horses and food for Feathers. He directed her to the nearest General Mercantile and watched curiously as she walked off in that direction.

  As he tried to remove the ramp from the car though he ran into a problem, the dog began growling threateningly and the horses within began to crowd around curiously at the open doorway where the woman had shoved a board across but left open the main sliding door. That board wouldn’t halt a determined horse or the dog that was watching him warningly from under it. He decided to leave the ramp until the woman returned and went back inside to work.

  Maggie quickly made her purchases surprised at the higher prices here in the big city and made her way back towards the depot. She would have liked to see more of Jackson but people were looking at her attire curious
ly and her short black hair like she was an oddity. She put her purchases with her gear, Feathers nosing at the packages with a knowing wag of his tail. She looked out the door waiting for the sound of the train approaching as she looked into town as far as she could see with the depot in the way. When the clerk approached she hopped down to help him remove the ramp.

  “You’ll want to keep that door closed” he indicated the side of the rail road car. “It invites tramps and thieves to take free rides” he advised.

  Maggie nodded not saying much as she effortlessly climbed back up into the car from the ground. He watched as the manly dungarees hugged her behind and then flushed at seeing such an intimate part of a woman’s anatomy. He turned away to return to his duties. Maggie sat on one of her hay bales as she looked at the horses who stood around in the car with her nibbling at the hay and watching her to see if she wanted anything their tails swishing at the flies that had followed them into the stock car to occasionally bite painfully. Feathers came close to put his head on her leg and offer her the comfort of his presence. A horse or two leaned down as she petted each of them in mutual comfort. All of them jumped at the sound of the train coming, its whistle piercing the air and announcing its arrival to the town.

  Maggie looked out the car to look down the track as the train came rushing in, noisy and huge, scaring the woman as it rushed by and the people looking out the windows of the train car surprised to see her there looking back at them. It stopped with a great screeching of noise as brakes were applied and came to a halt in front of her, it’s length obscured on one end by the steam that rose from it, the other end not that far beyond her and clear in the morning air. Maggie wiped the sweat from her brow, using her sleeve as she nervously watched through the windows of the car in front of her as people stood up and left on the other side. A child in one of the cars stared curiously at the woman standing in the doorway of the stock car as she looked just as curiously into the windowed passenger car.