Coming Home

The rain was pouring down, and I rode of to the southwest, headed for  Tahlequah, my home away from home as I saw it.  I rode in on a sunny day and pulled up at the marshall's office and stepped down.  I was made welcome, the marshall saying he was pleasantly surprised to see me alive.  I gave him a brief on what I'd been up to, and he cackled and slapped his knee.  When he said, "You are a oner," I felt embarrassed, but I smiled and nodded.  I mean what can you say?   I asked about the bummers that had fled, and he told me that most had left after the cavalry had cleared them out.  It seems that the one who had tried to have me shot had gotten in a fire-fight and lost his life, to no ones regret.  I had to agree.  Anyway, I asked about any business I needed to tend to.  He said he had none, but I should check in with Ft. Smith, and there was a telegraph office now available.

 This was something I wasn't used to, but I immediately took advantage of it and sent my first official report of my activities.   It wasn't long before I had a reply and a new bunch of duties. It seems there's no chance of  being off the hook.  I read through the flimsies and set myself up for my next duties.  It seemed there was a bunch of hooraws depredating this territory, and they needed taking down.  According to my orders it was up to me.  Oh, well. 

I bade goodbye to the marshall and rode out on the west road just to look around.  Pretty soon I met an old friend if I could call him that.  It was Jim Crow.  I saluted him and asked how he was doing.  He said he had changed his name, said he'd learned Jim Crow was a bad term, so he decided to change.  "So who are you now?"" I am Adam Crow," he avowed.  "Pleased to meet you, Adam," I said, and he seemed to accept my recognition.  We rode on together companionally until we smelled smoke.  It was coming from a small farm house up ahead.  I jumped down and ran in, but there was nothing I could do.  When I came out I told Adam there were three bodies in there, a family it looked like, and they'd all been shot.  We left it burning and rode on, following the hoof tracks that led away from the scene.

Soon we came upon another farm, but this one wasn't afire.  Instead a man with a shotgun stood his ground in front of his door and wanted to know what we wanted.  I told him I wanted to know what had been going on, and told him about what had happened to his neighbors.  He shook his head and said,"It was the sound of shooting that alerted us, so when they got here I was ready.  I peppered them with one barrel, and they took off. They headed off up the hill there, if you're trying to catch them."

We were headed of when he hollered, "Is that an indian with you?"  I said '"so what/?  He said, "just keep an eye on him."  I pulled Piaono around and gave him the eye  saying, "you are living in Charokee territory You might show a little respect."  Then we rode on, and Adam Crow said no word.

It wasn't hard to follow the trail of the murderers up through the brush, and soon we looked down on a campsite below.  I told Adam to cover me as I intended to ride down into them.  I slung my rifle in place and headed down.

They didn't show any back-up as I approached, and I was on my guard.  I came up to them and told them I intended to arrest them as per the warrants I had and for the murders they had done.  A couple of them laughed, and gave me some lip which I wasn't surprised at, but the most seemed to be inclined to be reasonable, when it all went nuts.  That was when with a wild war-whoop Adam Crow came riding down on them.  Well they scattered and went to shooting, and I fired my rifle into one and let it hang, pulling out my 45 and firing right and left.  Getting a moment I pulled out my Schofield and began to shoot for effect.  Soon they were all down.  Looking around I saw Adam's horse standing with his head down.  I rode over and found him on the ground.

I jumped off Piano and ran to his side. It was obvious he'd been shot through the middle, and he grimaced at me, saying "they got me , take their hair for me."  I just looked at him and shook my head.  He smiled and said, "You owe me."  I nodded and he coughed and passed with a smile still on his lips.  I thought, "You old son of a bitch, you got me back for denying you those Sioux scalps before."

Without any thoght or hesitation I scalped the dead men laying about, except for the bald headed one which would have been insulting in many ways.  Then I went up on a nearby hill and dug a grave, and I carried Adam up there and put him in it with his scalps.  Then I covered him over and drove in a stob at the head of his grave so I could find it again.  Then, although I was worn out, I went down and found a gulley with an over-hanging bank and tumbled the rest of the bodies down and caved it in on them.

Down that valley I found a decent camp, made a fire, fed my mounts, and made some bacon and beans for me and Boot.  Then I rolled up in my blanket and slept like the dead.

When I awoke next morning I made coffee and packed up.  I set off for Tahlequah and on arrival there discovered the town marshall had retired, so I didn't know anybody.  I telegraphed Ft. Smith with my news and also to the fort where I'd first met Jim Crow letting the captain there know about Adam's honorable end.  All that being done, I rode out on the road to Ft. Smith. 



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