Kentucky Sky

by R. David Anderson

  I was prepared to leave on a moment’s notice if the men emerged from the hotel. I planned to watch them like a hawk and follow their movements everywhere they went.

  Katherine lived in a boarding house not far from my hotel. I sent a messenger there with a note explaining my situation and asking for her help. We had remained close friends since our orphanage days. I knew that I could count on her.

  She arrived about an hour later with a large handbag stuffed with provisions. She wore a simple cotton summer dress. I was happy and relieved to see her. I needed someone that could give me support and confidence. Katherine was the type of person that I could always count on in times of need. I told her about the soldiers and my intentions concerning them.

  I pushed a table and chairs over by the window so that we could sit down and watch the hotel down the street.

  We dined on some chicken that I had in my ice box, with some cold tea. We talked about our days at the orphanage. The time passed quickly. Now it was beginning to get dark outside.

  There was a knock at the door. I opened it. Pelina stood there wearing a beautiful pink calico dress.

  So much had happened that I had completely forgotten that we had planned a girl’s night out this evening.

  “Pelina! I forgot that this is Saturday night!”

  I told her about the events of the day. She was very understanding and very willing to offer her assistance in tracking the soldiers.

  I set out a bowl of fruit and lemonade. We chatted and joked around for quite some time, when Katherine suddenly pointed out the window and shouted, “I think that’s them!”

  The sarge and the soldiers had just left the hotel and they walked towards Fourth Street on the wide sidewalk.

  “Yes! That’s them!” I exclaimed. “Let’s go and follow behind and see where they are going!”

  We walked briskly to the stairs and descended to the hotel lobby. We made our way past the clerk’s desk and exited the building. Looking up the street we saw sarge and his soldier friends walking slowly down the sidewalk. They were undoubtedly headed for the taverns and card rooms along Fourth Street and Main.

  By now it was completely dark. The lamplighter was coming up the wide street, lighting the gas street lights with his long pole. The city became very lively as the gas lamps lit up the night. Taverns and card rooms were filling up fast with patrons.

  We stopped at the corner of Fourth and Main and watched as the sarge and his buddies went into one of the larger taverns with one of the most notorious card rooms in Louisville. We crossed the street and stood in front of the tavern, trying to muster enough courage to enter. It was crowded out front, and even more so within the establishment. The sounds of music and laughter became louder every time someone opened the door.

  We slowly inched our way into the tavern. The sarge and his men were at one of the tables in the card room. I started to panic. If the sarge saw us he would recognize me immediately from the stagecoach encounter a few days past.

  We rushed into the ladies’ powder room. I told Pelina and Katherine about my fear of being seen by the sarge. Pelina said that she could disguise me with makeup.

  She pulled a small makeup case from her purse. Pelina layered dark red lipstick on my mouth and rouge on my cheeks. Then she applied white face powder and black liner to my lashes and brows. Next, she tied my hair back off my shoulders. I did not even recognize myself in the mirror when she was finished.

  Pelina and Katherine also put on some makeup in moderation. They did not need a disguise. The thick layers of makeup caked on my face made me very uncomfortable.

  Once we returned to the bar area we were swooped upon by scores of men asking us to dance. I refused as I wanted to keep an eye on sarge. Katherine and Pelina were soon out on the dance floor, dancing with several partners.

  I was abashed when men came towards me offering money. I must have told a dozen or so men “no” before I realized what was happening. Some men started to laugh and shouted, “How much does this wench want?” Then another man yelled “She must be one of them high class saloon girls. Better win a few rounds of poker to get the likes of her!” There was more laughter. I was embarrassed and humiliated. I ran to the ladies’ powder room and washed off all the makeup.

  I stood there looking at myself in the mirror. My eyes were watering. I took some deep breaths, wishing that the night was over and done with. I had to face my fears and my enemy. They were out there gambling and drinking. I was consumed with a hatred for these wretched men. I knew that I needed to be strong.

  I walked back out to the bar room floor. Pelina and Katherine were there looking for me. Katherine and Pelina were also having problems with advances from unscrupulous men. Wearing makeup in a tavern was not a good idea. You were seen as being a loose woman for doing so. A girl could not get much respect by visiting such establishments in the first place; and the makeup only made it worse.

  We moved closer to the cloak room, away from the most annoying men. We couldn’t see the card room very well from there, but we were able to see the sarge and his men in one of the bar room mirrors.

  A table became available not far from where we were standing. We quickly went to the table and sat down. A waiter brought us some popcorn, peanuts, and pretzels, saying that it was on the house.

  I sat facing away from the card room so the sarge couldn’t see me We ordered some hard cider to wash down the tid-bits.

  I started to feel better. It seemed more like a girl’s night out on the town. We were having a good time, laughing and making good conversation. The tavern was becoming more crowded and noisy as the night wore on, and the piano, fiddles and banjos sounded out the music endlessly as partners danced to the rhythm.

  We noticed that sarge and his buddies were playing poker with many of the tavern patrons, and after cleaning them out, they challenged others to join in the game. They cleaned out more than a dozen men. It was obvious that they had a free dealing racket going on, and they were raking in the money fast.

  There was a loud argument. I turned around to watch as several men were yelling at sarge and his friends. Their free wheeling and dealing tactics had been exposed. I heard accusations leveled of “stacked deck!”

  Sarge and his buddies were seasoned fighters. Soon several men were laying on the floor in pools of blood.

  They bullied their way out of the card room, walking toward our table. I tried to cover my face quickly with a Chinese hand fan, but it was too late. Sarge saw me.

  Danger!

  Sarge stopped in his tracks and pointed at me. “It’s her!” He shouted. “There she is, boys! That’s Ginny Chamberlain!”

  Sarge lunged towards me, knocking over several chairs. He grabbed me by the hair. “I’ll show you, you little vixen! Look at my arm! See what you did with the horse whip? You’re going to get it now!”

  “Leave me alone!” I cried.

  Katherine threw the pitcher of cider in his face. Pelina hit him on the head with a chair. Several men came to help us, and there were punches thrown as a great melee broke out.

  I ran from the tavern, followed by Katherine and Pelina.

  “They’re getting away!” I heard Sarge shout as we ran to the street.

  “Let’s get out of here!” I screamed. “Run!”

  We ran down the street, weaving around several carriages. Sarge and the soldiers chased us towards Market Street. The street was well lit on both sides and was busy with bargain seekers waiting for the produce stands to close and barter off their remaining food stock. When we got to Floyd Street we stopped, out of breath. We looked up Market towards Third. Sarge and the soldiers were in hot pursuit.

  We ran up Floyd Street and turned down an alley. It was very dark there with plenty of places to hide on either side.

  It was very difficult to see anything in the alley. We stopped behind a market where there were high stacks of burlap bags and barrels lined up in several rows. A few cats went scurrying as we wedged ourselves within th
e stock piles. There was a gap between the barrels where we could peer through. We saw sarge and his men stop at the head of the alley. A gas street lamp lit the area where they were standing. We got a good look at their faces.

  “Where did they go?” Sarge yelled in an angry voice.

  “They could have gone up that alley,” bellowed one of the men.

  “Alright, Josh. You and Flynt check the alley. Me and Gus will go around the block and meet you at the other end.”

  Flynt and the other soldier started to move slowly up the alley. Flynt held a bowie knife.

  Sarge turned and glanced up the alley at them. “If you find those girls I want them in one piece. We can always have a little fun now, boys! The night’s still young!”

  The men laughed and hooted loudly as they split up to widen their search.

  We cowered in dread behind the barrels. If we were caught we knew what these evil men were capable of doing, they were war criminals and they would not hesitate to inflict indescribable indignities on us and then slit our throats.

  The men started to search the stock piles. They pushed a stack of barrels over, making a loud crash. We were ready to run when a shop door opened, and a burly looking man stepped into the alley holding a shot gun.

  “Who’s there?” He shouted. He saw the two soldiers holding the knife next to the fallen barrels.

  “Get outta’ here or I’ll blow your brains out!” He yelled. He aimed the gun and fired a warning shot down low. Both men ran back to the street, one of them limping; apparently, he was grazed in the foot, and he was crying out in agony.

  “Let’s make a run for it!” Pelina exclaimed, motioning for us to follow. We ran to the next cross street. Sarge and Gus were waiting there for us. He pulled his knife out quickly and pointed it at my chest, then let out a disgusting laugh. Katherine jumped on his back and got a choke hold on him. Gus stood there in a daze, undoubtedly intoxicated. Pelina and I grabbed sarge’s arm and pushed the knife away from me. The three of us were overpowering him.

  “Gus! Help me!” He cried.

  Gus tried to get Katherine off his back, but he couldn’t. I jabbed my nails deep into the festering sore on the sarge’s arm. He screamed in agony. The whole time Katherine was beating him in the head. Somehow, his holster belt became unfastened and it fell to the sidewalk. I quickly reached down and grabbed the belt and drew the gun from the holster.

  When sarge and Gus saw me holding the gun, they immediately ran up the dark alley. I pulled the trigger back and fired two shots as they fled. Thankfully, Walter had showed me how to fire a gun.

  I was not very good at firing, and I was shaking when I shot at the fleeing men. Regardless, I heard a scream, so perhaps I did hit somebody. Katherine bent down and picked up something that was at her feet. It was a big money roll. Apparently, it had fallen from sarge’s pockets during the scuffle. We now had the poker winnings from the night.

  I was still shaking as we made our way back to the hotel. We were wary as we walked the streets, looking in every direction to make sure that the men were not following us. We entered our hotel through the back way.

  Pelina and Katherine spent the night. I was completely worn out after the scuffle and slept soundly.

  July 7, 1867

  Sunday breakfast was delivered by room service. It was ham and eggs, waffles, and hot coffee.

  We continued to watch the hotel across the street. A little past ten in the morning, we saw the sarge and his companions walking slowly past our hotel. Gus walked with a limp and his lower leg was bandaged. Sarge’s arm was also bandaged. It turned out that I wasn’t such a terrible shot after all. I had wounded one of them. We got a good look at the men as they walked slowly down the street, and now we could match their names to their faces.

  I placed the gun on the table and studied it, then picked it up and turned the cylinder. There were four shots remaining in the chambers.

  “What are you going to do with the gun?” Katherine asked.

  Pelina giggled. “She could wear it on her waist. Think that it will fit her?”

  I stood up and tried the holster on for size. I put it around my waist and threaded the belt through the buckle and pulled it tight. I fastened the prong through the last hole, then placed the gun in its holster.

  “It does fit her,” Katherine observed.

  Pelina seemed intrigued. “Are you going to go out like that, Ginny?”

  “Don’t you think I look good, Pelina?” I joked.

  “Sure, you do, Ginny. Sure as shootin!”

  We all laughed. I looked dead serious wearing a gun holster. We needed protection, but a lady carries a gun in her purse, not on a gun belt. That’s where I put the gun. We were involved in a dangerous undertaking and a loaded gun was certainly a good precaution.

  We continued to observe the hotel across the street for the men. When they did not leave by early afternoon, I decided that we needed to go over and eavesdrop at their door again. I knew that this was risky business, because if they saw us we probably would be dead, but I had to find out more information about their plans.

  “May I help you lovely ladies?” The desk clerk at the Garmin Hotel asked as we entered the lobby.

  “We are here to visit relatives,” I explained.

  The clerk smiled and nodded. I am sure that he saw through my fib right away and likely thought that we were just some loose girls there for some quick cash. We climbed the stairs and walked quietly down the second-floor corridor to room number 24. It was quiet inside the room for a while, then we heard the sarge talking.

  “Okay, I will be in Newport next week, on Thursday, drivin’ the freight wagon. Meet me at the Newport Inn about one in the afternoon.”

  “Got it sarge,” replied one of the men.

  Sarge continued. “This is a huge haul of this loot from Georgia, the largest ever.”

  “I just want this done, sarge. We have been sitting on this too long!”

  “Don’t worry, Flynt,” sarge replied. “We will have a handsome reward in the Cincinnati markets. The loot I’m bringin’ in that old wagon is worth a fortune; diamonds, gold, and silver. We’re going to be rich, fellas!”

  “So… you’re bringing the loot in from Frankfort, sarge?”

  “Yeah, like I told ya’ the other day, that’s where the loot is now. I handle that end of the deal. No worries, boys.”

  There was a long pause.

  “So, what’s our cut, sarge?”

  “Sixty percent!”

  “How do we know that, sarge? How do we know if you’re not cheating us? I mean, you already come up short here on that money we won last night at the tavern.”

  Sarge sounded angry. “I have always been on the level with you fellas!”

  There was a heated argument and it sounded like it could become violent. We decided that it would be best to leave before heads started to roll.

  I had gathered enough information to plan my next move. Back at my room, we discussed everything we had heard.

  “They are part of a smuggling ring,” Pelina said. “Their contacts are in Frankfort and they’re bringing stolen goods north to sell in the black market in Newport.”

  “They are thieves and murderers,” I added. “They stole my father’s horses and killed my parents. I haven’t any doubt that they have murdered many other innocent people and stolen their property in the Civil War. Now they are selling it and collecting a lot of dirty money.”

  Katherine pulled out the money roll which she had found last night. “I do not want this!” She exclaimed with disdain. “I’ll have nothing to do with dirty money!”

  “We may have to use that money, Katherine.” I said. “Sometimes when you’re desperate you have to do whatever you can. We have to use that money to get to Newport and stop them.”

  “How are we going to do that?” Katherine asked.

  “I am going to go to the army post in Newport and report them there so that they will be investigated and jailed. Pelina, Kath
erine, I need your help. So, are you with me in this?”

  There was a long silence.

  Pelina broke the silence first. “Well, I will have to tell my Ma first. I’ll tell her that we’re going there for entertainment. Are we getting there by rail or riverboat?”

  I thought about it before giving an answer. “I have always wanted to ride on a riverboat, so that would be my first choice.”

  “Your man friend is on the boat?” Pelina asked.

  I shook my head. “No. He’s headed to New Orleans and won’t be back for many days.”

  Katherine thought for a moment. “Why don’t we take the riverboat there and return on the train?” She suggested.

  “How much money is in that roll, Katherine?” I asked. “Did you count it?”

  “Not yet…let’s count it now and see if we have enough money for the trip.”

  We counted the money. There were all one-dollar bills in the roll, fifty dollars total. That was more than enough for fare charges, hotels and meals.

  We went down to the Cincinnati-Louisville Mail Line ticket office near the landings and purchased our tickets. We bought three cabin fares for ten dollars and fifty cents. We booked on the riverboat steamer The United States, a side wheeler.

  We would depart at three o’clock on Tuesday and arrive in Newport on Wednesday morning. This would give me ample time to pay a visit to the provost officer at the Newport Army Barracks.

  The Mail Line

  July 9, 1867

  The steamer United States was a fine stately riverboat. Katherine, Pelina and I carried our baggage to the boarding area at the Third Street wharf and waited in line. The big side wheeler, painted all white, was fairly new, and it glistened like a gem in the brilliant mid-afternoon sunshine. Black fumes rose from the two towering smoke stacks in front of the pilot house. We watched as hundreds of barrels of bourbon and gunny sacks of grain were loaded onto the freight deck of the packet boat.