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| Kettle Creek by © jwindwalker Page 4 Chapter 11 August came to us with drought and famine. It was a very bad time all over. We heard that it was bad from Atlanta to Birmingham. It weren’t to bad for us since we had built the pond and made the drainage ditches for the crops. That was my idea. We had done this at Phil’s too.The sun was so hot you couldn’t even sweat in the hottest part of the day. Dust blew into everything. You could taste and smell it.You couldn’t get away from it. No matter how you might try to. We worked hard all month just hauling water from the creek to keep the stock watered. It was rough on Jan too. Bless her heart, she tried very hard to keep the dust out of the house but every time we opened the door it just boiled right in behind us as though it belonged there. We thought that drought would never end for us. It did it ended on September 4th. I could smell the rain in the air. About noon the sky began to darken and the wind picked up. The drops were just a few to start with and the dry earth drank them thirstily away. After about 15 minutes they stopped altogether. Our hearts fell, as we feared our hopes might be in vain. I began to feel something strange in the air It almost made your skin tingle and the air took on a very unusual smell. The sky took on a reddish hue and the clouds began to boil. As they changed to an ugly green I took Jan and Little Jake down to the shelter I had dug. I had seen this kind of weather before. We secured the door and prepared to wait out the storm. We had been in there the best part of an hour when we heard the distant roar. It grew steadily louder until it was deafening. Jan and Little Jake both clung to me for comfort and I wish that I could say I wasn’t afraid but I was. I wasn’t real sure what was going on out there but I had a pretty Good idea. It only lasted a matter of seconds but it seemed like forever. When we were sure that it had gone we left the shelter We had been real lucky. The Twister had pretty well missed us. But we could see off to the East that the weather was still pretty rough for others. We didn’t sleep much that night. Jan and I sat at the table drinking coffee while Little Jake slept on a pallet on the floor. We were ready to run to the shelter in a moments notice. At sun-up we walked out side to survey the damage. There was a path cut through the trees close to a half mile wide headed due East. Strait toward the Gabriel farm. I must have turned kind of pale. Jan squeezed my hand and said, "You hitch the wagon I’ll get some bandages, blankets and other things that we’ll need ." We loaded the wagon and headed out. We were less than a mile from the Gabriel farm when I knew that it was going to be really be bad. As we rode into the yard it was hard to tell just where everything had originally been. The barn was gone completely and there wasn't much left of the house. I didn't see anyone anywhere. I went over to the collapsed roof and began searching the rubble. I had given up and was about to tell Jan it was no use. The sound sounded as though it came from far away. At first I could not make it out but as I strained to listen I could tell that it was someone yelling for help. I began to search for the source. It was coming from under the heap of wreckage. I began to move the trash as quickly and as carefully as I could. I didn't even hear the other wagons come into the yard. It kind of startled me when Phil said, "Brother-in-law you better let me help you with that." I said," I think there is someone under there. I hear them yelling." We soon had the mess cleared out enough to tell that it was coming from under the floor boards. Tim saw the trap door and lifted it up and looked down into the darkness. From down in the hole we heard a voice say, "We sure are much obliged Jake, but have ya'll seen Paw ?" A cold knot took hold of my stomach. I knew that if Paw Gabriel weren't in that shelter then we may never see him alive again. I just said, "No ma'am we ain't seen him." Phil called one of his hired hands, Dave Pearl and told him to get everyone that he could and look along to the East. We got every body out of the hole. There were nine in there all together. Not one more person could get in there. That is why Paw Gabriel had not been in there. I went over to a big rock next to where the barn had been and sat down. I started asking myself where I would have gone in his situation. Phil must have figured out what I was thinking pretty quick. He said," If it'd been me Jake, I would have tried to get to that rock pile over on the North ridge. It's nearly a quarter mile but if a feller was real lucky he just might make it." I thought about it and had to agree. It was about the only chance he would have had. I got up and unhitched the Black from the one - horse wagon. Jan and the other ladies were already cooking. It was plain that every body was hungry and it was looking like a long day. Phil went around the right side of the rock formation and I went around to the left side. It was mighty humid and the air felt like it was too thick to even breath. It was a large formation and it would take a while to cover it all. I heard Phil calling and fear welled up in my chest. I ran toward where he was and as I came around the end of the formation, I saw Paw Gabriel laying there on the ground. He had blood all over the front of his shirt and one sleeve. I looked at Phil. He smiled and said," He ain't got much of a chance but he does have a chance. We got the shirt off and discovered that all that blood had come from the broken arm. We got a bandage on it and stopped the bleeding. He had sure lost a lot of blood. He had a big knot on his head too. We washed him down with water from our canteens. I built a liter from some pine boughs and some vines. We carried him down to the horses and Phil shot off three rounds. Within minutes some of the others showed up with a buckboard. We got Paw on it and headed to my Maw and Paw's place. I sent word to Jan and told them to head over there. We also sent Dave Pearl for Doc. If we could keep him alive till Doc could get there then he just might have a chance. All we could do for now was try. The old man was plenty tough. He was sixty years old and had worked hard for about that many years. Doc said that it was a wonder that he was alive at all. As it was he lived two more days. Doc said that he was all broke up inside and he could not stop all of the bleeding. We buried Paw Gabriel out by the barn where he had spent so much time. I guess he would have liked it that way. Chapter 12 As the Autumn started turning the leaves a multitude of breathtaking colors I could feel the change in me too. If you ain't ever seen the Autumn come to the mountains then you owe it to yourself to see it at least once in your life. The rich reds, the amber hues of gold. millions of colors that would be out of place except on the branches of the many different kinds of trees that make up the canopy of the Eastern woodlands. This is a very moody time of year for me. Soon it will be time to start the hunt for the Winters meat supply. It is also time to say goodbye to the luscious greens of summer. Often I just like to just get somewhere high up and sit and look down at the valley below and appreciate the artistic handy work that the Creator has displayed in His Autumn forest. It was on one of these times that I happened to be sitting up high when I noticed that there was a small line of dust in the distance. It seemed to fascinate me. It was as though the dust was just coming right up out of the ground. I could tell that the dust was moving in my direction. It was a full hour before I could tell that it was horses that were making that dust. I went over to where I had that Black horse tied and got out my looking glasses. I went back over to the rock and sat down. It looked like we were about to have company. I had better ride down and tell Jan so she could put on some lunch. I raised the glasses to see who it was and as I focused on the riders my hair stood up on my neck. I hadn't ever seen too many Clanton's but the one that was riding that big chestnut gelding I had seen. I would bet my eye teeth that them other four fellers with him were Clanton's too. I slipped the glasses back into my saddle bags and mounted up. I rode hard to get to the house and get Jan out. I got the buggy hitched and Jan got Little Jake and headed out to my Paws house. I got my Greener and my rifle and headed out to meet up with them Clanton's. Now we don't like trouble if we can help it but if it rides toward us then it won't have to ride fast. I came around the hill and into the road. I found their tracks. There were five riders and they had taken the fork that headed straight to Phil's place. I didn't know if by chance or by fashion but they had taken the right road. Dave Pearl was headed for the barn when he saw me coming across the creek bottom lickety split. He stood there and waited for me. I yelled out for him to get every one out of sight, Right now ! That was all it took. He flew into action and in a minute everyone was in the yard. I didn't even get down. I just looked down at Phil and said, "Five Clantons are coming". He told Cathy to go get what she needed. Brandon went to the barn to saddle Phil’s Black horse by Phil’s orders. Cathy was on her way to my Paws place in less than two minutes. Ten minutes later them Clantons came riding into the yard. There were only three of them and they were trying to be real calm. The one I knew as Slim looked at Phil and asked if they could water their horses. Phil looked at Dave Pearl and Dave walked off toward the barn. He Called and three men came out of the barn. He gave orders and one went up to the loft, the other walked off towards the bunkhouse. Phil looked at Slim and said, "Normally I wouldn’t mind a feller watering his horses, but you and them four fellers with you ain’t gonna be here that long." Slim turned real red and his chin dropped way down. He snapped his mouth closed so hard that you could hear his teeth snap all across the yard. Slim knew that the hand had been played and he had been caught dealing off the bottom of the deck. He went for his gun and Phil shot out his two front teeth along with the most of the back of his head. Them other two fellers died before they could even get their guns clear. The two surprise riders came out of the trees just as Slim got his. One turned and ran but the other was knocked out of the saddle by the hand in the barn. We got them fellers all laid out in the yard and the one that Gary had shot from the barn was still breathing. He opene! d his eyes and looked at Phil. He was spitting pink foamy blood. He said to Phil," I told Slim this wouldn’t work. All hell’s gonna bust loose now." The feller started coughing and died. Phil looked down at the dead man and said, " For you it already has. You can say hello to the rest of them bastards, cause as soon as they get here we’ll send them on their way. Then you can all burn in hell together. " I Just looked at Phil with my mouth hanging open. It was rare that Phil ever cussed. It was a sure bet that he was very angry. I asked him why he was so mad. He just said because that damn Slim had died so fast. I said," did you ever see a man with his head shot off die slow "? Phil grinned a little at that and I knew that he was starting to unwind. Later he explained what had transpired between him and this bunch of hard cases. Bobby Clanton had been a corporal in Phil’s command. On the march to Vicksburg, Phil’s company had come across a large farm. Phil had given his word that none of the folks would be harmed. There were only women on the farm. All of the men were gone off to war. Bobby had gone off into the darkness and broken into the house. He had beat and was about to rape a young woman. Phil had seen him sneak out of camp and had followed him. He had lost him in the darkness but had heard the sound of a scream and had rushed into the house just as Bobby had ripped the woman’s nightdress off and shoved her onto the bed. Phil had shoved Bobby onto the floor. Bobby stood and went for his gun. Phil let him get it out and shot him in the face. He then turned and walked from the room back to the camp. He sent a detail back to get the body. He filed a report and informed the First Sergeant of the incident. Bobby Clanton had a cousin named Billy Ray who was in Phil’s outfit. Come morning he had deserted. Billy Ray was also known as Slim, Phil had not seen him again until he had killed him. It was a sure bet that there would be more of them coming to cause trouble. And that was a sure bet. We decided to keep the women out of the line of fire so we rode over to Pops and told them what had happened at Phil’s place. Pop sent out Toby to bring all of the hands in. He sent Lenny around to all of the farms and called in all of the family. I told him that I didn’t think that would be necessary but Pop had other ideas. He said," Boys, as long as I am head of this family I’ll call the shots. There ain’t no hard cases gonna ride in here and Put this family on the defense. They would have been better off if they rode into hell and took the devil’s footstool." Phil looked at me and smiled. He said to Pop, "A few of em did just that." Pop had all of the hands move into the bunkhouse. It would soon be dark and Pop ordered guards to stand a one-hour watch changing every hour. We set about securing the house. It was a huge log house, but there were only four windows on the ground level. Upstairs there were four windows on every side of the house. Pop had built this to defend. There were rifle slots in the downstairs walls as well as the upstairs walls. The roof was made of large hewn beams covered with poles. Pop had covered this with sod. He had watered that roof just like some folks I had seen in New Orleans doing to their lawns during the war. It would be almost impossible to set this house on fire even if they could get past the army outside the walls. During the preparations Phil had sent one of the hands over to his place to get the hands that had been left there. By dark, there were sixty-seven armed men on the farm. Phil and me took a walk over to the bunkhouse. As we were walking I asked Phil how long before they would be here. After some thought he figured that it would be at least five days. When we got to the bunkhouse I called my man Billy over and Pops hand Lenny. I told them to get four men each and take all of the wagons in Pops shed. They were to go to my place and to Phils, load all of the food, ammo, blankets and other supplies that they could find. They were also to bring back all horses and mules. We had a bunch of folks to feed and we would need more supplies. Phil called all of the bunk cooks together and had them set up a kitchen in the smokehouse. We would take all of the shingles off of it the next day so that it wouldn't get so hot in there. We set all of the foremen down and asked them to make sure that if there was any man here who did not want to fight that he had our blessings to leave and come back after it was over. We assured them that this was our fight and there would be no hard feelings if anyone wanted to set this one out. Dave Pearl who had rode in after darkness had set in, just laughed. He said,"Lieutenant, I rode half way across hell with Phil. I haven’t got no home to go home to and it's that way with most of us. We got no homes and no families. This is our home now just much as it is yours and your families are ours. I guess you are stuck with us no matter what happens. I don't know a single one of these men who would ride out and leave his family to fight with out him. Phil and me just looked at each other. We had expressed the same feelings to each other many times about these very men. I guess they were stuck with us too. Morning broke with no tension in the air. It was strange to me. Usually men started to prepare themselves mentally before a battle. There would be little talk and almost no horseplay. Not so here. These men were acting as though this was just a fall harvest and nothing out of the ordinary was about to take place. Before noon Phil and I made sure that every man knew that he had the option to take a paid vacation. Not one single man rode out. For the next few days Phil and I stuck pretty close together. I sure liked being close to that feller in a fight. I knew that Phil felt the same way about me. We knew what to expect from each other. I knew that I could depend on him and he knew he could depend on me. I guess we sort of felt that if we were together, then we could overcome any odds. We could too. And we did, many times. We had settled in to a regular routine. On the sixth day news came. Carter Simms rode in and tossed his reins over the hitch post. He walked very casually over to where Phil and I were standing. He said," well bosses, I guess we can get ready to fight. There's forty or so of em heading this way. Should be here around noon." Pop was sitting on the porch in a rocking chair. He told ma to make sure that all of the women and children were in the house. He stepped down off of the porch and walked over to me and Phil. He said," Boys, by the time this day is done, there will be and end to all of t! his trouble. It will be news far and wide that this family ain't one to trifle with. I don't spect we will ever have to go through this again. We can finally put this war to rest. And about fine time as far as I'm concerned. I'm too derned old for all this hoohaw." We spread the word to all of the men. Them Clantons could be here soon, but they might set out there and look us over first. If it was me that is what I would have done. And so would any other smart man. But there was one thing you could depend on a Clanton for and that was for being stupid. Not only did they not look us over. They just charged up that valley like they were going to a family picnic. We opened fire as soon as they were in range. Almost half of them went down with our first volley. Dead or wounded, they were sure surprised. The rest of them broke for cover. They weren't even expecting to find a fight here. They were figuring to have to ride a couple more miles to get to us. They should have done the! ir homework. We were in a very good position. The sun was to our backs and in their eyes. We also had them out numbered drastically. Especially since they had lost so many men already. The next move would be theirs. At least as far as they could tell. They had fallen back to the tree line. Rusty Bard would be bringing twenty men up behind them in a few minutes and then we would see which way they would run. It wouldn't matter. No matter which way they ran, it would be into trouble. All we could do now was to wait on Rusty. We didn't have long to wait. Rusty and his men had been hiding in a gully that was grown over with vines. When them Clantons come riding through, Rusty had brought his men out and divided them into two groups. They had set up what would prove to be a very effective cross fire. Ten men on each side. Placed at fifteen feet apart. The men on the opposite side were staggered to face the two men across from them, so that they would have an open field of fire. No one was to move from their post for any reason. To do so could be suicide. Rusty opened fire as soon as the Clantons were well into the trap. It was a very devastating fire zone. The Clantons could not effect an escape and so they ran right back into our guns. It ended as quickly as it had started. A roaring silence filled with gun smoke, dust and blood. All counted we buried fifty-three men. Not one of them was ours. Those fellers had rode into a hundred and thirty - five screaming guns. They all died for their trouble. All they would have needed to do to stay alive would have been to stay at home. We all began to collect around the porch. Pa was sitting there smoking his pipe. He looked down at me and Phil. I could tell that he was deep into thought. He said, "Phil, I been talking to your Pa. We both feel the same way. My land and Jakes is only separated by one piece of land. That belonged to Jakes Grand - Pa. I just bought it. Your Pa joins me and you join him on the other side. We figure if you and Jake control all of that, You will not have to worry about anything like this ever again. We are asking the two of you to join together and work as though you were brothers." I looked at Phil and he looked at me. Phil said, "Well Pa Littlehorse, I thought that was already understood." We all laughed at that. Later that night in Mississippi Vernon Glade sat beside a camp fire. He held a broken mirror in his hand and by the fire light examined an old scar that ran the whole length of the right side of his face.He said to the darkness and to no - one in particular, " Someday I will meet up with Dave Pearl again and when I do he will pay for this." THE END |
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