The Nagyvradi Brothers

by Laszlo Endrody

  When we got to the other ranch the farmer told us about, the rancher there told us that no one used that trail anymore, so he sent a rider with us to show us where the trail we needed to take was. We were able to follow that trail all the way to the Trinity. The hunting was good the entire way. We didn’t go very fast, but we didn’t really care. We figured that Hungary looked something like this when the first Hungarians rode in from the east.

  I used my shotgun on prairie chickens with a light load and got a lot of them. It was a good change after all of the deer meat we had been eating.

  7

  When we got to the Trinity, we heard a whistle downstream and headed towards it. We found a steamboat stuck on a sandbar. The steamboat captain had come ashore to talk to us. He spoke French and was from New Orleans. He told us that he had brought a cargo to the town south of us and they told him that upriver was a good place to turn around but he got stuck. He was wondering if we could help pull him out from the other side. We asked him how we were going to get across.

  He said, “Just swim the horses across. I will have my men bring the harnesses across in the boat.” We told him that we would try. He asked us where we were headed and we told him New Orleans. He told us that if we helped him he would take us there.

  We had to wait for high tide. We swam the horses over behind the boat two at a time. Two big Negros were on the oars. When we were over on the other side, the Negros watched our horses and we let them graze a bit. The black and the Arab were hobbled on some good grass. The captain invited us onboard and we ate on the boat with him. The captain was optimistic about being able to free the boat.

  We went ashore and hitched up the six horses. The Negros brought a big rope ashore and we tied it to the last double tree. We watched the captain for directions and we pulled the stern around into the stream. The boat’s paddle wheels started turning but she did not move. The boat came ashore with another rope that was made fast on the bow. The captain’s daughter was in the boat and she explained what we should do. She spoke French too. We pulled and the captain started working the engine astern at the same time. We gave it our best and the boat started coming. He stopped her engine while we were still pulling and then he waved for us to give him the rope. The boat was barely moving midstream. The Negros came ashore again to take us back to the boat.

  We hitched up and started after the boat, keeping up with the row boat. We shot a big deer along the way and put him on the wagon. When we arrived, she was alongside the dock. There were some buildings with some soldiers up on high ground. They didn’t come down. They laid down some planks and we drove the wagon onto the boat. We then took down the canvas cover and pushed the wagon under the house where his men made it fast with some chain. The horses went along the side on the inside, all eight in a row. He asked us how much feed we had and we told him that we had three sacks of corn. He told us that he needed to take on some logs in Galveston for his boilers and we could go ashore and get some grain there.

  The next morning we cast off and went downstream pretty fast. We were docked in Galveston by 2:00 p.m. We went ashore and bought ten sacks of corn at the nearest livery stable. They had everything else that we would need on the boat. We were still at the livery stable when a boy came by. He was selling fresh eggs. I told him that I would buy all that he had. He had about 50 eggs total in his basket. I gave him one dollar and told him to bring them to the boat, which he did. I took the eggs into the cook and gave the basket back to the boy.

  The cook was cutting up the deer we had shot for stew. He was grumbling that he wanted to go ashore and get some things. I told him to go and I would finish cutting up the deer, so he took off. I made a big pot of goulash and fed everybody that night. The captain wanted to know where his cook was. I told him that he had gone ashore. He then told the mate to take a couple of his men and bring the cook back. When then found the cook, he was a drunken mess. He was so plastered he couldn’t walk, so they had to carry him onto the boat.

  The rest of the men finished loading the boat by about 10:00 p.m. and we sailed for Galveston the next morning. We went out to sea a ways and then steamed close to the coast. We fished most of the time and caught fish the whole time. The cook baked the fish and we ate well.

  The captain’s daughter held English classes for us. I went up to the wheelhouse a lot and steered the ship when they let me. Luke and I cleaned up the wagon and rearranged everything. We even cleaned all of our guns. I looked at the long rifle that the Comanche chief had. It was a beautiful rifle. It had silver inlay and beautiful wood, especially after I cleaned it up and oiled it. The mate told me that it was a Kentucky rifle. All of my bullets were too big for it and my .44 pistol bullets were too small. The mate told me that it was probably a .52. He said the gunsmith in New Orleans would be able to fix me up with the right bullets. There were some eagle feathers tied to the barrel and I left them there. I also cleaned up the chief’s shirt with the help of the captain’s daughter. The doe skin was almost white.

  Day after day we plowed on making a steady six knots, the captain told us. Then the wind blew up and Captain Chowan headed in behind Marsh Island. There, the boat was relatively steady. We lay there for four days. The fishing was real good and we ate well.

  When the wind died down, we headed out again. I tried to help and so did Luke. We hosed down the deck around the horses daily. In the evenings Luke and the captain’s daughter, Katharine, would sing. She had a guitar and would pay and Luke would sing in Hungarian while she strummed her guitar. Luke had a very nice voice and everyone loved to listen to him sing.

  Captain Chowan headed out to sea aiming for the entrance of the Mississippi River. We were all hoping for good weather. This was a really nice river craft and not an open sea boat.

  When we finally reached the river, we needed the tide to make better time. When the tide came in, we moved right along. Then as the tide turned, we almost came to a stop. The captain put her alongside a dock and told us that it would be a good place to offload us in the morning. He would send the mate to town in the morning with us and wait for orders.

  That next morning we unloaded, hitched up and said our goodbyes. We then headed into town. The mate drove the wagon for me. I rode black to give him some exercise and Luke rode his Arab. Two hours later, Luke and I came around a curve and saw four mounted men shooting down three men in a buggy and a wagon. They then drug a very pretty young woman out of the carriage. They didn’t see us, so we pulled our carbines out and shot the two closest to the girl. We then pulled out our six guns, kicked our horses in the sides, and started firing. In about four shots, we downed the other two men. We asked the girl if she was all right and she thanked us for saving her life.

  She said, “Three of my men are dead.”

  “We will load them on the wagon,” I assured her. She had an unarmed man, a Negro, who helped us load them.

  She introduced herself as Michelle Le Brun, and then I introduced myself and Luke did too. She asked me if we would work for her. She told us that she feared for her safety. Luke and I agreed to accompany her. She stated that she didn’t want a scandal and that we must make the attack look like a robbery. She directed her Negro to take all of the men’s guns and money and leave the men lying where they were.

  I asked her, “What about the horses?” She wanted to know if they were branded and two of them were.

  She then stated, “We can tie the other two behind the wagon.”

  One of the mates wanted to know if he could take one of the branded horses and ride into town. We told him that would be fine but then he would have to turn it loose. The horse would most likely make its way back home. As he rode off, I took a fine saddle off the other horse and put it in the wagon. Michelle then handed me the money belt from one of the men and it was full of coins. I put it away. She got in her buggy, turned it around and asked us to follow her.

  We had gone about a mile and cam
e upon two big mansions. We drove into the yard of one of them and several Negros came out, along with several creoles holding guns. She asked if Luke and I would accompany her on her business trip and told us that she would pay us. I told her that we would but before we could accompany her we had to find a place to stay.

  She said, “Well my place will be as good as any. My men will put your horses in the corral and you can ride along with me. Nobody will touch any of your things.”

  Her men unloaded the dead from the wagon and the Negro wanted to know what he should do with the guns. She told him to put them in my wagon. She got one of the creoles to drive her buggy and the other Negro followed with the wagon. She asked me to tie my horses in the back and to sit by her. She kept asking me questions.

  As we drove off we ended up driving right by the dead men that we had left in the road, but she paid them no mind. She told me that she had a good scare with all that had gone on.

  I asked her, “Why were those men after you?”

  “There are a bunch of white slaves around here and they sell young woman in Brazil as prostitutes. I know one of them personally,” she answered.

  When we arrived at our destination, I helped her out of the buggy.

  She said, “Have your brother come with us.” So Luke tied his Arab to the buggy and we both accompanied her. We went through two doors and inside were about 15 men, some greeted her and she greeted them back. She then went over to a list that was hanging on a wall and started to look it over. It was in English so I wasn’t able to read it.

  I asked her, “So what kind of place is this, exactly?”

  “It’s an auction, a slave auction,” she answered.

  “Where are all the salves?” I inquired.

  “They keep them next door. Under this place is a dungeon and they keep some of them in there too.”

  A man got up on the stage and banged a gavel on a pulpit a couple of times.

  He then said, “You all know the procedure. We will start with some French females.”

  They opened a side door and a very pretty, almost white, girl was pushed through. A big man holding a short riding crop stood next to her. The man told the girl, “Take off that sack you’re wearing.” She did and she stood there in the nude. A couple of buyers went up to her and checked her over. One of the men even felt her back for welts.

  The bidding started; one of the men yelled, “Five hundred!” and another yelled, “Seven fifty!” She was sold to the man who bid 750 dollars. She put her sack back on and was told to sit against the wall.

  The next girl was pushed in and she took her sack off before she was told to. Michelle grabbed my hand and took me up to the stage where she looked the girl over. She also felt around for any welts and gave the girl a thorough inspection. She then whispered to me, “Bid 500,” so I did. A gentleman from the back of the room called out, “Six hundred.” Then a fat gent bid 650. Michelle then bid 675 and won.

  Michelle told the girl to put her sack dress back on. She then told Luke to take the girl out to her Negro, Ralph. She told him, “Tell Ralph to put her in the wagon.” Luke did as he was told and then came back in.

  They brought four more girls out and Michelle ended up buying one more. Then they brought in some young men and went through the exact same procedure as the girls. Two of them were gelded. I asked Michelle what gelded meant and she told me. She didn’t bid on any of them. The auctioneer then announced to the audience that the auction was over and they would have more slaves in next week.

  Michelle then went over to a fat man standing in front of a door. Michelle called him Louis. She talked to him for a minute and then he opened up the door and the three of us went through, with him accompanying us. Louis asked Michelle who we were and she told him, “These are my men.”

  She then told Louis, “I heard through the grapevine that you have three specials.”

  “How did you hear about that?” asked Louis.

  “Oh, I have my sources. I would like to take a look at them, please.”

  “They should have been paid for and picked up by now. I agreed to hold them for a week and Jack is still not here. I am starting to worry a little,” Louis stated.

  Michelle then said, “He may not be coming. I heard that his mate is dead.”

  Louis went over to a door and opened it up. Inside was a very pretty woman, around 25. Louis said, “You can name her whatever you want. She sold herself into slavery.”

  Michelle told her to take off her things so that she could inspect her. Michelle then asked her if she had had any children. She told Michelle, “I gave birth once.” Michelle then told her to put her things back on and the woman did as she was told.

  “I will give you 1,000 dollars for her,” Michelle told Louis.

  “Let me bring in the other two, then we can talk money” Louis replied.

  He had his men bring in two more girls. They were both around 18. One had red hair and the other had blonde hair. Michelle had them take their sacks off and she inspected them.

  “Their backs are pretty well cut up, Louis.”

  “They should be healed by the time they get to Brazil” he stated.

  Michelle pointed to one of the girls and said, “What is the lowest you’ll go on these three, plus the other two girls I bought?”

  Louis said, “I can go 4,000 for all five.”

  Michelle wrote him a promissory note for all five girls. Louis looked out the door to make sure all of the men were gone. He went to the other door and looked out of that one too. Then he came back and told us that the coast was clear. Michelle then motioned to the girls to follow her. The blonde spoke French and started crying. Louis picked up a short whip and was going to hit her, but I stepped in front of him. I told the girl that she was not going to Brazil and I led her out.

  Michelle told Ralph, “Fasten and gag them.” Then she told me, “I am having Ralph do this is because this is against the law. The only reason I took them is because that bastard, Jack, tried to nab me today. One of the men you shot was his mate and he handles these girls.”

  Michelle told the older girl to get in the buggy. She got in and so did I. Then she told her to reach in a box and take out a shackle and put it on her ankles. The girl did as she was told. Once we started moving, Michelle asked the girl what she knew about the others.

  The girl said, “The redhead is from Kentucky and the blonde is from Canada. They came by way of riverboat. That’s all I know, ma’am.”

  When we arrived at Michelle’s mansion, I looked in on my horses and saw that my wagon had been pushed into a wagon shed. Everything thing looked fine.

  Luke and I started to unhook Michelle’s horses from the buggy, then a Negro came over and finished the job. Luke and I went in the house and followed Michelle up the stairs to the third floor. The girl from the buggy was with us. Michelle showed us two bedrooms and told us that we could use those.

  We went back downstairs and Michelle showed us around her house. A black slave girl then came up to Michelle and Michelle told her that she would be taking a bath after dinner. Another slave girl was setting the table for dinner and she asked Michelle how many would be eating; she told her four. The slave girl then asked us what we would like, steak or fish. Luke and I both ordered steak. She then asked me what the slave girl would be eating and I told her “fish.” The girl smiled at me.

  I asked Michelle what business she was in. She told me that she ran a whore house. She said that she inherited it from her uncle and been running it on her own ever since he passed away. She said, “We have a dining room downstairs and a saloon for the girls upstairs. I live upstairs with special guests.” One of the black slave girls brought in a big bathtub and another brought in the food.

  Once we had all finished our dinner, Michelle told the new slave girl to take off her clothes and get in the tub. Luke could not keep his eyes off th
e girl. Michelle noticed this, and asked him, “Luke, what do you think about this girl?”

  “She is very beautiful” he replied.

  She then asked him, “What do you think about me?”

  He told her, “You are very beautiful too.”

  Michelle then leaned over and gave Luke a kiss. She whispered to him, “You can undress me later and give me a bath.”

  She then started to speak to us in French. I told her that Luke didn’t speak French. She asked him what he spoke and he told her Hungarian, Spanish, and some English. She then started to speak to him in Spanish.

  After the meal was finished, she told us to relax and have some more wine. Then she went over to the bathtub and tested the water. She asked Luke if he was going to unbutton her, so Luke went to help her. Once she had undressed, she stepped into the bathtub and asked Luke to wash her back. When he had finished with that she then asked him to wash her front. The new slave girl sitting next to me kissed me on the ear and I poured us some more wine. I was enjoying myself. Luke was getting soaked, so he took his shirt off. No question about it, Michelle was a devil.

  When she was finished, she stood up and stepped out of the tub. One of her black slave girls came in with a warm towel for her and then left. Luke helped dry her off.

  Michelle asked me if I had thought of a name to give the new slave girl yet. I told her that I hadn’t but I would come up with one soon. Michelle then ordered one of the colored girls to take the bathtub to my room so that I could take a bath later.

  As soon as she brought the bathtub to my room, I got in the tub to clean up. The slave girl took my clothing and washed them. She told me she would have them ready by morning.

  After I was finished washing up, the new slave girl came into my room.