Harvest of Thorns

by Paul E. Wootten

  Levi didn’t wait for a reply before storming out of the house. He was mad at Cora, mad at the boy, but mostly he was mad at himself for letting them go to church in the first place.

  ELEVEN

  Levi’s rage continued into the next day. Leaving the farm work to Grover, he spent Monday driving across Saxon County, catching his fellow Knights in their fields and shops. All had heard about the incident at church. A few were reluctant to move forward, but most thought it was more important than ever. Lowell Surratt was most adamant.

  “You want to spend your life living on Nigra Island? That’s what they’re gonna call it if we don’t do something.”

  Surratt gave him cash to help pay for supplies, and Levi assumed that meant he wanted to join them to carry out their plans. He declined, however, saying it was too far a drive so late at night. That was okay with Levi. He didn’t want to share too much of the glory. Even after Philetus Birch backed out, that still left Knox Bradshaw and Gib Reese. Those old houses were wood tinderboxes. It wouldn’t be hard to set one ablaze.

  It was eleven on Wednesday night when Bradshaw and Reese showed up. Levi had lanterns burning in the barn and had readied the supplies they would need. They talked about burning a cross to send a message like the Klan did, but being a man short, they decided to concentrate on the house.

  The house they chose had belonged to Norris Markley’s son, Trapper. It was the closest to Levi’s place. They would take the island road east, allowing them to avoid the bridge, Grebey Township, and the other Nigra houses.

  At eleven thirty they climbed into Levi’s truck and headed out. The sky was clear and dark, with only a sliver of moon to guide the way. The headlights were still busted, but it didn’t matter. Behind them, a glow in the sky illuminated Adair to the southwest, where electric streetlights were recently installed. To their right lurked the inky Mississippi, beyond which were the lights of the Southern Illinois Penitentiary, home to two thousand prisoners.

  Levi and Bradshaw rode up front. Gib Reese sat in the back, steadying the gas cans on the bumpy road.

  “Let’s stop short of the house and walk the rest of the way,” Levi said. The knowledge that people were likely in the house both excited and scared him. Would any of them get out alive? Maybe, but if not that was okay too.

  Knox Bradshaw pointed to a wide area in the road that had been a homestead before the 1877 flood sent the owners seeking higher ground. Levi shut off the engine, allowing the truck to roll to a stop. A sudden last minute jerk of the wheel brought a stream of curses from the back.

  “Sorry Gib, just turning around so we can get out quick.”

  They grabbed the gas cans and several matchboxes, and started walking the two hundred yards to the house.

  “You go to the north side,” Bradshaw whispered, nodding at Reese. “Levi you go around back. I’ll take the closest corner. Remember, don’t strike your matches until we’re back together. No need for one of us to burn up with ‘em.”

  “What if somebody sees us?” Levi’s fear was rearing up as they got closer.

  “You ever know a coon to be up past nine?” Bradshaw scoffed. “C’mon. Let’s get this done.”

  ###

  Levi was nervous as a cat. So much so, that the first splashes of gasoline wound up on his pants before he got a grip on himself and aimed higher. They had agreed to spread the gasoline and regroup in two minutes. The house was dark. If it was like most farmhouses, the bedrooms were on the second floor, meaning it would be almost impossible for the coons to get out alive once the fire was raging.

  After spreading the last drops from his can, Levi stepped away from the house, almost getting run over by Gib Reese. Their gas cans made contact, emitting a loud hollow clang.

  “Watch it,” Reese whispered loudly, shoving Levi out of his way. Levi followed him around the house to the agreed-upon meeting point. Knox Bradshaw was already there.

  “Okay boys. Let’s torch it and get out before anybody knows what hit ‘em.” Bradshaw said.

  “You guys are gonna have to light it,” Levi said. “I got gas all over my pants.”

  Even in the dark Levi could see their irritated looks.

  “Don’t send a boy to do a man’s job,” Bradshaw hissed, eliciting a snort from Reese. Levi felt his face redden.

  “Look, I didn’t—”

  Bradshaw shushed him.

  “Gib you stay on this side. I’ll go around back. Start counting to twenty then drop the match. Levi, you stay out of the way. Are we ready?”

  Reese started counting as Bradshaw darted off into the darkness. With nothing better to do, Levi found a large rock, took aim at a second floor window, and let fly. The throw was on line and should have hit just as the flames started to climb.

  But there were no flames.

  Almost a minute passed. Nothing.

  Levi returned to where he’d left Gib Reese.

  Reese was still there. Bradshaw was with him.

  So were two men in uniform; one pointing a thirty-caliber rifle at Levi’s head.

  “Missouri Highway Patrol, Manning. Put your hands in the air.”

  TWELVE

  SAXON COUNTY WEEKLY TELEGRAPH

  September 12, 1934

  THREE IN JAIL FOLLOWING ARSON ATTEMPT

  Your Reporter: Richland Rice, Editor

  Three local men are being held in connection to an arson attempt on Grebey Island last week.

  Adair businessman Knox Bradshaw, 45, and Saxon County farmers Gilbert “Gib” Reese, 35, and Leviticus Manning, 32, are in the Saxon County Jail after being apprehended by officers of the Missouri State Highway Patrol just before midnight on September 5.

  According to a report prepared by Highway Patrol Superintendent B. Marvin Casteel, the Patrol received information of a plan to burn the house of a Negro family newly relocated to Grebey Island. Colonel Casteel assigned four Highway Patrolmen, two from Troop E in Sikeston and two from Troop C in Kirkwood, to perform surveillance on Grebey Island the evening the arson attempt was to be carried out.

  According to Casteel’s report, an unidentified person knowledgeable about the threesome’s attempt had covertly mixed large amounts of water with the gasoline in the suspects’ cans, eliminating the chance of combustion. Still, to ensure the safety of the Negro family, the house was vacated and all family members were safely housed with other Negro families on the island.

  In a telephone call with Your Reporter, Colonel Casteel stated that arson attempts against Negroes are increasingly common in Missouri, something that the Highway Patrol will not tolerate.

  “The Highway Patrol is working closely with local law enforcement and judiciaries to make sure incidents like these are handled seriously,” Casteel said.

  Evidence of that cooperation became clear when Circuit Court Judge Wilbert Sayre ordered the suspects held without bail pending a trial to be held posthaste.

  Manning is the Grand Knight of the Saxon County Knights, a group formed earlier in the year with a goal of keeping our county racially pure. Bradshaw was also identified as a Saxon County Knight in an earlier story. Your Reporter could not confirm if Reese is associated with the group.

  THIRTEEN

  Saxon County Knights

  Meeting Minutes – September 12, 1934

  Called to order by Knight Lowell Surratt at 8:30 p.m. in the barn of Knight Ben Ingram. Twelve of twenty-eight Knights in attendance. Knights Bradshaw and Reese, and Grand Knight Manning were counted as present while being held in the Saxon County Jail.

  Knight Surratt read letters from Knights Spencer Axthelm, Samuel Melville, Richard Thomas, and Lucius Watkins asking that their names be removed from the roster. Their requests were approved.

  Jack Young came forth to request membership. His request was approved, bringing total membership to 25.

  A collection was taken by Knight Arthur Comstock to help pay legal bills for the three Knights being held in jail. A total of $24.40 was collected. Knight Ben Ingram offered to
pay visits to those Knights not in attendance to see if further money could be raised.

  The next meeting will be scheduled after the trial of Knights Bradshaw, Reese, and Grand Knight Manning.

  The meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer.

  Respectfully submitted,

  Carter Kaley

  FOURTEEN

  “Earl, you licked your plate clean!”

  “It’s fun eating out here, Mama.”

  Earl gently put his plate aside and relaxed in the rocker. They’d eaten supper on the front porch the past three nights. Earl thought the food tasted better.

  It had been the best week of his life, and it was only Thursday. Monday was the first day of school, and it was everything he had hoped school would be. The bus ride into Adair was noisy, but Miss Elsie, the bus driver, didn’t care. His teacher, Miss Sharperson, was young and pretty. It was her first day of school, too. She had moved to Saxon County after graduating from the Kirksville teachers’ college. Already they were learning how to read and add numbers.

  Each day when Miss Elsie dropped him off, Mama was waiting with a glass of cold milk and sugar cookies right out of the oven. She would ask him about school and he would tell her about the things they did and about how nice Miss Sharperson was.

  Mama was different. Earl noticed and understood why. He was different too. It was easier to smile and be nice. Best of all, they never talked about Levi. Earl would never say it, but he hoped that judge kept him in jail for a long time, maybe forever.

  Kids at school asked about Levi a few times. Usually Miss Sharperson would tell them they were being impolite. At recess, Dick Emmendorfer said his daddy hoped them nigras got what was coming to them. Earl told him that he didn’t want to see them get hurt, and that most of them, especially Mary Dobson, were his friends. He asked Mama if they could sit with Mary’s family at church. She started to say yes, but changed her mind. “We got our usual place to sit,” she said. Mary waved at him when her family came in, and he’d waved back. It was easier to see Mary than it was the first time she came to church. A lot of people weren’t coming anymore.

  Cora and Earl sat on the porch until the sun sank behind the trees. Evenings were getting cooler, which was okay by Earl. Sleeping was a lot easier.

  “Can I get a dog sometime?”

  “Your daddy don’t like dogs, Earl.”

  “Did you ever have a dog?”

  Mama’s smile lit up the dark porch.

  “I sure did. Her name was Lady.” Mama talked about the things she and Lady used to do, making Earl wish even more than he had a dog of his own.

  Soon, it was time to go inside. Mama sent him up to get his bath.

  “I’ll come kiss you and say good night.” She had been doing that all week, coming upstairs after he had his bath, giving him a hug and a kiss, and telling him good night. When Daddy was here there wasn’t much hugging. Earl liked it better this way.

  ###

  “They saying the trial’s gonna happen before the end of September,” Aldus Dobson said. All the men except Granville were gathered on the porch. Granville had recently returned to Memphis, looking for work. Harvester wasn’t disappointed. Granville had continued to exhibit strange behavior.

  “White man’s justice moves quick for a white man,” Herbert Cornish said. “Any of us woulda sat in that jail ‘til we died of old age.”

  “Or was dragged out and lynched,” Dee added, drawing nods from the others.

  “That state trooper said nobody found out who told ‘em about the fire,” Aldus Dobson said. “They ain’t even trusting the lawyer prosecuting the case to know.”

  “I am sort of worried for Mr. Mueller,” Lincoln Stanley said. “Sooner or later they gonna try to connect him to getting the Highway Patrol up here.”

  “Maybe not,” Herbert Cornish replied. “He wasn’t at that meeting, right Harvester?”

  Harvester nodded.

  “I hope it’s all over soon,” Lincoln Stanley said. “I’m getting worried about sending my boy into the midst of ‘em.”

  The men grew quiet. A slight breeze kicked up from the southwest, teasing them with a hint of approaching autumn.

  Harvester said, “I’m glad I got to help.”

  “We’re proud of you, boy.” Mr. Cornish’s comment was affirmed by the others.

  “You did a man’s job.”

  “Proved you have a lot of courage.”

  Harvester heard several yawns in the darkness. It was close to bedtime for this hardworking group.

  “What do you think will happen?” They all knew what Dee was referring to.

  “Highway Patrol don’t think they can get a jury in Saxon County to find ‘em guilty.”

  Harvester found this troubling. Eyewitnesses, gas cans, matches, and still they might be found innocent.

  What would happen then?

  ###

  The words, sharply spoken from the next room, roused Earl from a deep sleep.

  “You ain’t got no say in it, Cora, so you might as well shut up.”

  Still groggy, Earl thought it was his daddy’s voice. But how?

  “I’ll tell ‘em what you done.” Mama sounded scared.

  “And I’ll say you made it up. Ain’t no way Levi’s gonna believe you. Probably just smack you a good one.”

  Grover Petty?

  In Mama and Daddy’s bedroom?

  Earl pressed his ear to the wall, straining to hear.

  “I’m gonna stay here until Levi gets out. Somebody’s gotta run the farm and watch out for you and the boy.”

  “We don’t want you here, Grover. You got no right.”

  The sounds were unmistakable; he had heard them many times before. The smack, Mama’s muffled cry. Usually he stayed out of the way, praying it would end quickly.

  Not tonight.

  He crept to his bedroom door and opened it slowly, making sure it didn’t squeak, then tiptoed down the hallway. Mama’s bedroom door was open and a lamp was burning. He peeked inside.

  Grover Petty was looking directly at him. He wasn’t wearing a shirt.

  “Well if it ain’t little Earl,” he teased, rising from the bed.

  “You leave him alone,” Mama warned. She was lying on her side, a trembling hand covering her cheek.

  “Ain’t gonna be no trouble here, Cora, long as Earl gets back to his room and keeps his mouth shut. You can do that, can’t you boy?”

  “I’ll tell everybody. I’ll tell my teacher. I’ll tell the Highway Patrol. They’re coming back, you know!” Earl knew he didn’t stand a chance against Grover Petty, but he felt brave, even as Grover moved toward him. He didn’t see the jab that struck him hard in the right eye, knocking him back into the hallway. By the time he’d regained his senses, the bedroom door was closed.

  FIFTEEN

  Being a local celebrity was everything Levi hoped it would be.

  For three days.

  But now he and the others were into their second week in the dingy and cramped Saxon County Jail. Sheriff Les Belanger was sympathetic to the Knights’ cause and rarely bothered to lock their cell doors, allowing them to move to and from the toilet. Guests were plentiful the first week, but there’d been nobody since last Wednesday. Levi missed telling and retelling the story of their adventure, embellishments added of course.

  Being denied bail was the last thing they’d expected. Who would have thought the Highway Patrol would get involved? The patrol had only been in existence for three years, and was rarely seen in Saxon County. Sheriff Belanger thought Levi and the others were being made an example of. “They’re using your hides to prove Missouri needs the Patrol,” he had said.

  And there was still the question of how they found out. Bradshaw insisted it had to be Levi who slipped, but Levi knew he hadn’t. Archie Mueller wasn’t at the meeting, but Levi suspected he had something to do with it. Sheriff Belanger saw two of the Patrolmen stop at Archie’s house as they were leaving the island. The longer he thought about it
, the more certain Levi was that Archie was responsible. Grover thought so too. When he came by the jail Sunday evening, he said word around Adair was that Archie was going to start growing cantaloupes and melons, throwing in with the coons. Anything for a buck, that Archie.

  Levi was also worried about the trial. He’d never seen anything move so fast. All three men were going to use the same lawyer: Brett Baines from Cape Girardeau. Baines didn’t sit around and gossip with the Saxon County lawyers; he had nothing against going in and tearing Dwayne Scales to pieces. Scales, the Saxon County prosecuting attorney, usually worried more about the lunch special at Frannie’s Cafe than whether or not he was ready for court. Still, Baines promised he’d be prepared. Knox Bradshaw thought they’d have no problem finding enough jurors who hated nigras as much as the Knights did. Shoot, the chance there was a Knight or two on the jury wasn’t out of the question. But still, Levi was nervous. If things didn’t go like Knox thought they would, they might get ten years in jail. That hadn’t crossed his mind when they were planning things out.

  At least he didn’t have to worry about the farm. Grover had promised to watch over the place just like it was his. Said he’d look in on Cora and the boy. Levi decided that he would do something special for Grover when he got out. The boy was just like kin.

  ###

  It got so bad that Earl hoped Levi would get out of jail. At least with him they knew what to expect.

  Grover hadn’t hit Mama anymore. She had stopped sassing him and just went along with what he said. At least a half-dozen times over the last three days Grover would tell Earl to get out of the house, that he and Mama had grown-up stuff to do. As he was heading to the barn or the river, he’d see Grover shoving Mama up the stairs. Mama looked like she hated it, and Earl certainly understood. Why would anybody want to go up to bed in the middle of the day? He knew Grover was hurting her somehow, but he was powerless to help. At first he’d objected, but Mama told him to just go on, that they’d be done in ten or fifteen minutes. She looked so sad.