Ride with the Enemy

RIDE WITH

THE ENEMY

JAMES WHALEY

iUniverse LLC

Bloomington

RIDE WITH THE ENEMY

Copyright © 2013 by James Whaley.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Certain characters in this work are historical figures, and certain events portrayed did take place. However, this is a work of fiction. All of the other characters, names, and events as well as all places, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-9958-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-9959-4 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 07/24/2013

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

TRAVIS

CHAPTER 2

LIZZIE

CHAPTER 3

JOSH

CHAPTER 4

THE RANCH

CHAPTER 5

SARA

CHAPTER 6

THANKSGIVING

CHAPTER 7

THE DECISION

CHAPTER 8

LEAVING MARYVILLE

CHAPTER 9

JOINING UP

CHAPTER 10

TRAVIS AND TRACE

CHAPTER 11

GENERAL LYON

CHAPTER 12

JOSH IN VICTORY

CHAPTER 13

THE SHERMAN RANCH

CHAPTER 14

JOSH, TRAVIS AND TRACE

CHAPTER 15

JOSH

CHAPTER 16

JOSH GOES TO WAR

CHAPTER 17

CAVE CITY

CHAPTER 18

JOSH AND STEVEN

CHAPTER 19

TRAVIS AND TRACE

CHAPTER 20

MARSHALL JOSH

CHAPTER 21

MELVIN

CHAPTER 22

TRAVIS, TRACE, JOSH

CHAPTER 23

TRAVIS AT PEACE

CHAPTER 24

THE RETURN OF SUSAN SCHMIDT

DEDICATION

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED

TO A PAIR OF FAITHFUL READERS:

RICHARD AND LOIS ANN BRAND

OF NODAWAY COUNTY.

PREFACE

Although Travis and his friends are all fictions, the military personal and the military engagements are actual combat situations that occurred in the conflict between the north and south in the war between the states as it is called in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri.

The Hundred and Two River along with Nodaway County, and the towns mentioned in it are also real. However, I may have taken liberty in the placing of landforms within the county.

CHAPTER 1

TRAVIS

Travis has a problem; one the husky dark haired thirteen-year-old did not know how to solve. Beside him on an old log that once stood as a mighty oak sat two girls, one on each side. Gloria, on his left offered him a freshly peeled apple, it looked delicious. Anna, on his right held out two English walnuts she had unwrapped from her lunch pail.

The noon sun shone bright and high over the Grady Star School, on this early April day. Travis had attended all eight grades at Grady Star, and later this month he would take the maturation test given by the county to test those prepared to graduate.

Here, Travis, take the apple, it’s very sweet, said Gloria.

No, no, Travis, cried Anna, try the walnuts. They’re fresh from Cooper’s store.

Oh boy, what am I to do? Thought Travis. I don’t want to hurt the feelings of either girl, How can I get out of this predicament?

Hey, Travis, called his best friend Roy Calverton, Come on, let’s get up a game of Red Rover.

Sounds like fun Travis called back. He jumped up and ran to a group of younger kids, leaving two pouting girls glaring at each other. The teams were quickly formed and Travis was chosen to be It He called out, Red Rover, Red Rover, send Roy right over.

Here I come, Roy yelled, and raced to the other side. Yea, yea, you can’t catch me.

Travis picked an angle and caught up with Roy about half way over. He patted Roy on the shoulder and said, You’re it.

As Roy took his spot and called out the name of a girl, Travis allowed his thoughts to wander back to the earlier days and the stories his mother had told him about the bad times. Lizzie Singer, his mother, was born and raised in Kentucky. She never talked about her childhood years and no one in Sedalia could get the girl to answer the questions about her parents. She came to Sedalia at the age of sixteen with Rufus, an older man whom she introduced as her uncle. Rufus liked to visit the saloons and play the cards. He was a likeable fellow until he had too much to drink. Then he could be mean. He never raised a hand to me, she told Travis, but to anyone else he was a dangerous man.

It didn’t take long for Rufus to get himself into trouble. At a card game in one of Sedalia’s sleazier saloons, he accused one of the players of cheating. The accused was a big man, but when he threw a punch at Rufus, he misjudged the quickness of Lizzie’s uncle and was caught with a blow to the belly. Rufus drew a hunting knife he carried in his belt and slashed the big man across the face. The man stopped but Rufus didn’t. He drew the knife back and thrust it into the man’s shoulder. By that time some of the spectators moved in to subdue Rufus. The fight was over. But the big man had lost a lot of blood and needed attention of a doctor. When the sheriff appeared it was determined that the big man had not cheated but that Rufus was upset that he had lost a lot of money in the last hand. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and sent to the state prison for five years. A tall, slim, attractive girl, Lizzie was on her own with a wagon load of young Sedalia admirers. At times she would invite one to the cabin for a meal but rejected all of them when they proposed marriage and believed her uncle’s claim that he was the victim of a set up. Two years after arriving in Sedalia, Travis was born on June 13, 1846.

Lizzie was eighteen at the time and Travis’s father promised marriage but left town before the birth of his son. Lizzie, still unmarried, lived in her Uncle Rufus’ run-down cabin on the edge of Sedalia. She heard the whispers about her, even before her baby was born, but she never let it interfere with the love she had for Travis. Determined to provide for her son, she worked as a seamstress at Millie’s Boutique a popular women’s clothing store. Millie admired her skill with needle and thread, but some of the women who visited the boutique objected to Millie allowing Lizzie to work on their dresses, calling her an unclean woman. When the talk increased, Millie was forced to let Lizzie go, the young mother showed her resourcefulness. There had been talk at the boutique about a well-known rancher, a Mr. Darius Stanley. The gossip was that he had sold a small herd to a rancher and was planning a cattle drive to Nodaway County in northwest Missouri. He was looking for hands to work the drive and one of the hands would need to be a cook. Shorty Corbett his regular cook had joined the forty-niners and left Stanley’s ranch for the gold fields in California. Lizzie knew Darius Stanley, a man in his middle fifties and a member of the Sedalia Cattleman’s Association. Stanley spent many mornings checking on activity at the Sedalia Cattleman’s Association meeting room in the Tiro Hotel.

When Mr. Stanley arrived the following morning, Lizzie was waiting for him in the lobby.

Though at the time, some women, and most men would think it improper, Lizzie approached him and introduced herself, I am applying for the position of being your cook. You are invited to my home this morning to sample my cooking. Will you accept? He was so impressed with her straight forwardness that he accepted and was treated to a delicious meal at her cabin. She got the job. A few weeks later she left the gossip behind her and headed for the more remote area of Nodaway County, Missouri. At the age of four Travis Singer took the first of his many travels across the prairie. Travis enjoyed the trip and spent much of his time riding in the cook’s wagon, which did not stay with the cattle herd, but took a more direct line to the next camp site. The cook’s wagon was the responsibility of his mother who was determined to do the job correctly.

Often, Travis was assigned the task of filling the possum belly of the wagon. The possum belly was a leather sling under the wagon box. It had to be filled after every meal. The first day Travis asked his mother, What do I fill it with? She answered with the same answer she had been given when a youngster and moving from Kentucky to Sedalia.

Fill it with anything that will burn. Wood, cow chips, buffalo chips, grass twists. Or abandoned furniture found along the trail.

I have a full crew with two extra drovers, said Mr. Stanley, as he sat by the cook’s fire, after a hearty meal of beef stew. It’s time to be on the trail, if only this blasted rain would let up. The rancher wanted to leave the first of May, but three days of steady rain caused him to change his plans and the cattle drive didn’t get under way until May the fifteenth. Travis did not waste the extra time. It was 1849 and Travis listened with wide eyes and the ears of an adventurous four-year-old to the talk around the campfire of gold that they just pick it up off the ground in California. He wanted to find his own gold. He told his mother that he was going to set some limb lines on the river. In reality he was more interested in exploring the country side looking for gold waiting to be found under a log or in a rock.

The cattle drive finally got underway, Mr. Stanley estimated that with no delays due to high water, it would take two weeks. Travis was excited and enjoyed the freedom of the trail. Much to the anguish of Lizzie, Darius Stanley often put him on a trusted saddle horse and let him ride herd. Darius reassured Lizzie that the boy was a natural and he would watch over him as if his own son. The drovers admired the fearlessness of the boy and took him under their wing also. Travis loved the attention and learned to ride and rope like a true cow hand.

When they arrived in Nodaway County they had no place to stay, so Mr. Stanley allowed Lizzie the use of the wagon for a home. I reckon I owe you something for the delay in Sedalia, and the rate for a hand is twenty five a month. So we’ll call it one month. He handed her five, five dollar gold pieces. He also presented her with a horse and a cow as a bonus for the terrific job she did on the trail. The horse is more of a work horse than a saddle horse, but you can ride her.

One afternoon a drover came into Lizzie’s camp with two mixed breed dogs that he had found half-starved at an abandoned homestead and offered them to the boy. Lizzie said no. We can’t take on anything that doesn’t pay its way. But Travis learned that the dogs could be his, and immediately begged his mother for permission to keep the animals. Lizzie held her ground until the tears came to his eyes, and she saw how the dogs were taken to the boy, she relented. You have to help more around the camp. You need the dogs, I need you. Can you understand that Travis? The boy nodded and gave his mother a hug.

While you’re here you could help me fix a makeshift tent beside the wagon. She said to the drover. Together they strung a rope between two trees and the chuck wagon. Then they draped a blanket over it and formed a tent. When staked out at the end the base of the tent was tight.

You might want to take a look at the cabin where I found the dogs. It might be better than living in a wagon, said the drover. Two days later, Lizzie inspected the deserted homestead situated on a high bank of the 102 river. The first thing Lizzie did was walk slowly around the outside of the cabin, she was deathly afraid of snakes and she wanted to make sure there were no holes to allow one to enter the cabin. On the back side stacked against the wall of the cabin, was a collection of tools. I wonder why they didn’t take their tools with them when they left. She thought. Wouldn’t they need them wherever they went? Satisfied that the outside was secure, Lizzie opened the door and got a surprise. There was a layer of dust everywhere but everything was still there. The table was on its side, and two of the three chairs were overturned, but there were dishes on the shelf, pots and pans around the fireplace, and bedding on the bed. It was as if the people who lived there just walked out as if they planned to return. I wonder what happened to them. Maybe they are coming back. But it wouldn’t hurt to live here until that happened. I don’t think he is coming back, the drover said, as if he could read her mind. I found a grave down by the river with a board and the name ‘Anna’ on it. My guess is that something happened to her and he left for parts unknown, probably California.

I don’t believe they had been here long because there are no flower beds. Lizzie added. Lizzie noticed there was no outhouse or any other out buildings for that matter. It was suitable for living, her son loved the crude cabin, and the dogs had plopped down one on each side of the door as if on guard duty. Lizzie was glad to have a sturdy roof over her head but decided it needed to be situated on a slight rise next to a grove of pin oaks about fifty feet to the north. There were no neighbors to call upon, except for the drovers who were standing watch over the herd until the cattle learned to stay in one place, as no fences had yet been constructed. Lizzie asked some of the cattle drovers if they would tie ropes to the cabin after put it on skids, and pull it to a spot higher up the slope. Lizzie and Travis had everything out of the cabin and stacked in a pile. I want to clean every item before it goes back inside, she informed Travis. You are in charge of all the dishes and pots and pans. Do a good job cleaning them because you will have to eat off of them.

Five cowboys came to the homestead on a Sunday morning and moved the cabin in a couple of hours. After the cabin was in place they took turns digging with the only shovel found at the homestead and dug a pit while others fashioned an outhouse from some of the saplings in the grove. While the men were busy, Lizzie and Travis hunted along the river and with the help of the two dogs, bagged a number of rabbits, and an arm load of prairie chicken. That evening they treated the drovers to a platter of fried rabbit, roasted prairie chicken along with a helping of sweet potatoes, and collard greens. Lizzie found the potatoes and greens growing in what appeared to be a garden bed near the original location of the cabin.

You say you’re on the hundred and two? The old man asked with a tone of doubt in his voice.

Yes, said Lizzie, On the east bank of the river, a few miles north of Pickering. She glanced at Travis, with a dog on each side, sitting patiently on a nearby bench.

That would probably still be in Union Township, the old man said. Lizzie being much taller, looked over his shoulder, as he was bent over a map of little squares and lots of numbers.

There was a man and his wife on section 36 three miles north of Pickering, name was Walters, haven’t heard from him since he took out the claim a year ago. The man straightened and almost knocked Lizzie backwards.

There aren’t any homesteads between me and Pickering, but it seems like more than three miles. Lizzie stepped back as the man turned to look at a larger map on the land office wall.

Well, that’s my guess, we can make a note to put in the book and go ahead with the claim, if you want.

With Travis and the dogs in tow, Lizzie had made a trip to the land office in Maryville to Register as the new owners of the homestead they had already improved by building the out house.

Be sure to put down the improvements we have made on the claim in that note.

The old man seemed doubtful. What kind of improvements? he asked. She told him.

Well, I guess that’s an improvement alright. I’ll add it to the note. He wrote something in a big book and then scribbled some words on a blank sheet of paper. There you go, Madam. This paper says you have a legal claim to the southwest quarter of section 36 of Union Township. There’s already a deposit been paid on the land, no since charging you again. That’ll be one dollar registration fee. She dug out one of the coins Darius Stanley had given her.

I want the change in coin, no paper money, she said firmly. The old man grinned and gave her four silver dollars. When they were outside, Travis looked around and said, Look at all these people, I never knew there were so many people.

We had lots of people in Sedalia; you’ve just been on the trail so long that it seems like more people. Look at you; it’s time we did something about those toes sticking out of your shoes.

A half hour later, Travis beamed, as he strutted down the walk in his new boots. I never had a pair of boots before, these are just like the grownups wear. Thanks, Mom.

Well, I guess you earned them with all your help on the trail, Lizzie said smiling. We’ll stop at the mercantile store and purchase some supplies and then head home.

Home! Thought Lizzie, We really have our own home. She glanced down at the sack that contained the sheet of paper the old man had given her. It’s still there; Travis and I have our own home, and no one to say bad things about us. We have a new start and we’ll build a good life for ourselves. People will learn that we are respectable and will be proud to call us neighbors.

CHAPTER 2

LIZZIE

The following spring brought two new neighbors to Lizzie. One family with a two year old boy and a new born son built a cabin across the river and a half mile downstream. They constructed a ford by the placing of flat stones so that they could cross the river when the water was low. The other young couple constructed a cabin about a mile upstream and on Lizzie’s side of the river.

The wife, Clara Hingham, was about Lizzie’s age and both Lizzie and Travis took a liking to her. Lizzie admired her knowledge about life on the frontier. Clara had lived on a farm as a youngster and had experiences and solutions to situations Lizzie did not. Clara offered her experience when Lizzie asked, but otherwise let her neighbor learn by trial and error. Travis loved to go to Clara’s cabin to look over the many knick-knacks, but even more exciting was the collection of books she owned. He was allowed to look at them, but Lizzie insisted he wash his hands and turn the pages carefully. Clara, along with her husband Harry, became fast friends with Lizzie and watched out for each other. Travis learned books were precious even before he could read one.

A year later Travis started school at Grady Star only a mile away. Though much younger than his classmates, he enjoyed school and was a quick learner. As soon as he learned to read he walked the mile to Clara’s house to spend an entire afternoon reading. Clara became use to being interrupted from her work with Travis asking, Clara, what’s this word? As the years passed and Travis and Lizzie were better known, several of their neighbors would hire one or the other to do work for them. They were usually paid in barter, and through that system Lizzie acquired a sewing machine, and used her seamstress skills to acquire other necessary items. One summer, Travis earned a saddle horse for a summer’s work of pulling rye out of a neighbor’s field of seed wheat. Lizzie proved a good neighbor and was devoted to Travis. He grew into a fine young man and as he entered his teens, Lizzie taught him to honor women, be trustworthy and to display proper manners.

As Travis grew, and time passed, Lizzie was able to improve the living conditions around the cabin. A well was sunk just outside the door so she no longer had to depend on Travis to fetch water from the l02. Also they bartered some of the timber on their quarter to a nearby community of Amish in trade for the construction of a small barn for all the animals that were starting to collect around the farm. With Travis’s help, she managed to fence in the homestead farm yard with a rail fence. Two other out buildings were constructed, as well.

During the eighth grade, the year’s course of study was aimed at being prepared to pass the county maturation test, which all potential graduates had to take. Travis spent much of his time on the issues of the country. On one occasion, his teacher, Miss Stevens explained to her class some of the differences of opinion that existed between the southern and northern states.

One of the problems is the tariff question. In addition the issue of State’s Rights and finally but certainly not least is the issue of slavery.

I know about slavery, there were slaves in Sedalia. I remember them as people who had to do whatever their owner said.

Yes, I imagine even a four-year-old would notice that, said Miss Stevens.

I suppose the tariff was talked about too, but didn’t mean anything to you. Since Sedalia is a trade center, they would not like the tariff there. It would cause the price of the goods they bought to go up. A frown came across Travis’s face. He felt that there was a great deal of things he did not know about. He was aware that his world had been centered along the One Hundred and Two River and only for a few miles in both directions. Either upstream or downstream, it was the river that he knew. But his questions continued to pop into his head.

If it is bad, and makes things cost more why do we have it? Travis asked her.

Well it protects the young factories in the north from the European factories. The European factory can produce goods cheaper than the American factory so we tax those goods to make the European price higher when the people buy it. That way people buy the American products first.

But what happens to the money collected in taxes?

Good question. Miss Stevens said with a smile, as she was impressed with the curiosity that the young student had of things that would seem to be rhetorical to most eighth graders.

It goes to the government, and they spend it to build roads and canals.

Do we have roads and canals? Travis asked.

No, they are built in the Northeast where the factories are.

That doesn’t seem fair, we pay more and they get the roads and canals.

That’s why some folks believe in State’s Rights. That’s the right of a state to decide for itself. whether a law passed by the government in Washington D. C. is good for that state or not. If the law is not a good law, then they can decide to ignore it in that state.

That sounds fair, but what about the Constitution? Doesn’t it say we are a union?

Yes, but it also says that laws cannot be passed that helps one state and hurts another.

I think I agree with the people who are against the tariff and for state’s rights. But I don’t like slavery.

But if you agree with state’s rights, you have to let the state decide if it wants slavery, don’t you?

It seems so. But I still don’t like slavery, Travis said.

But who would take care of the Negro if we did away with slavery? Asked Miss Stevens.

"I guess it’s like any worker, you work for the boss and the boss gives you money to live