I put all the mares in a pasture with our Hungarian stud. I wanted them all pregnant, including the two I got from Wilson. I planned on keeping the black in a different pasture for me to ride, Luke’s Polish Arabian for him to ride, and both of Nighthorse’s for him to ride.
We had four geldings to pull the big Conestoga into town to try and sell it or trade it for some mares. We would also trade our geldings for some mares. I told Luke that it was my turn, so I went into Independence with a pair pulling the Conestoga and a pair pulling the small wagon. I was approached by a man who wanted the Conestoga in trade, but he was only willing to give me two mares for it, so I turned him down. Soon after, I was approached by another man who gave me 100 dollars for the Conestoga. I also traded my three geldings for three nice mares.
I checked on the ship schedules going down river. I had an idea. I figured we could go to Cairo and then into Kentucky and buy some mares and bring them home. I went home and talked to Luke about my plan and he agreed. We decided that whoever went would go to Independence with just their saddles and get on the ship. When they arrived, they would buy four mares and then ride into Kentucky and buy more mares for 20 dollars or less. They would then come back cross country with 16 mares. We would see how our plan would work out soon enough. Luke volunteered to go and so did Nighthorse.
Nighthorse’s squaw had their room in the barn all fixed up. They had a stove, some shelves, a bench, table, and some pots and pans. We offered them some mattresses, but they preferred to sleep on some skins.
Sampson, Luke, and Nighthorse left two weeks later. Sampson drove the wagon and Nighthorse rode one of his geldings and had his other one tied in the back of the wagon. Luke rode his horse too. They got on the steamer and Luke got them a room. The three of them were deck passengers. Going down river was fast. They averaged 12 to 14 miles per hour.
When they got to St. Louis, they changed boats and got off in Cairo. In Cairo, they were able to buy five mares, which ended up costing 110 dollars. They picked up some supplies and took the ferry across into Kentucky. They went on to Paducah and bought a nice Morgan mare with a horse colt that was about 4 months old for 30 dollars. They now had two packhorses. One fellow told them that they could get some thoroughbred mares in Mayfield for cheap. They rode to Mayfield and the best they could get them for was 50 dollars. They were bred mares. The real fancy stock was running around 100 dollars. Luke rode one of the mares and Nighthorse rode the other.
From Mayfield, they went to Murray and bought two fillies from a farmer that were two years old and bought another mare with a colt in Murray for 20 dollars. From there, they went to Fulton and they bought a one and a half year old horse colt for 10 dollars.
They decided to start back home and on the way bought two young fillies from a farmer. They were around two years old and had just been broke to lead. When they got up to Bardwell, they bought three mares for 60 dollars. This gave them 17 head and two colts. They were now riding for Cairo. They had to cross over into Missouri. To keep costs down, they did not buy grain they just grazed the horses.
Five weeks later, the men were back home with the horses. Luke suggested that when it was my turn to go that I stop in St. Louis and ride east from there to see what could be done. He thought that it might be a faster trip. I figured that I would make a trip and be back by the time the girls had their babies and then I would stay home for the rest of the year.
On the next trip, I went. We went into Independence with Sampson. The four of us then went down river to St. Louis. Here, I bought four mares and a pack mule. We went to Highland and bought two more mares, both Morgans. From there, we went to Edwardsville and bought a filly on the way for 15 dollars and got three more when we got into town. We went to Alton and bought three nice mares for 80 dollars that had been bred to a thoroughbred stud. From there, we went up to Jerseyville and bought two mares, one had a filly colt. We then headed back to St. Louis and on the way back we rode through Alton and checked at the livery stable again. We were able to pick up another mare from there. We crossed the river into St. Louis and headed home.
We made it back home in three weeks and one day. Two weeks later Cindy had her little boy. They named him Luke. Then three weeks later Betty had our little boy and we named him Paul. We were one big happy family.
The boys were now after wood. They would cut down dead trees along the Kansas River and bring it home. We piled up enough wood to last us two winters.
Nighthorse went back to hunting. He kept going further west each time he would hunt. He got to know the country real well.
We started building pastures along the river. We knew that eventually we would need 10 to 12 pastures with 40 mares in each pasture.
Just as soon as I had some fillies from the Hungarian stud that were old enough, they would go in with the Arab stud. We worked out a system where we would get us a thoroughbred and a Morgan stud so we would have a five-stud rotation with the females. We would keep the full-blood horse colt that we got out of my Hungarian mare. He was very promising. Just as soon as we had our own geldings for sale, we would pair them with the mares we were buying. We planned on selling them in pairs. We planned on doing this until everything that we sold would be from our own breeding.
We planned on making three more runs east of St. Louis to buy more mares. After that, we were thinking of buying some geldings to sell if we started to show a profit.
We had a total of 14 colts before winter set in, not counting the mule. Everything was coming along real well. We cut enough hay to make it through the winter for the cattle and horses both.
11
Just before the holidays we had a visitor. Nighthorse went hunting and spotted a man trying to make camp. He was hurt and half frozen. He had been shot in the leg. It must have happened several days prior to when Nighthorse found him. His pants were all caked in old blood and he was only half conscious. The man’s horse was a big stud. Nighthorse figured that he had better bring the man back to the house. Nighthorse made a fire and some coffee. He revived the young man somewhat and got him back in the saddle. Three hours later, they rode in to the ranch. Nighthorse was leading the big stud with the man slumped in his saddle. Sampson saw them coming and called in the house for Luke and I to come out.
I ran outside and called for Luke as I went. I saw that Nighthorse was leading a horse with an injured man in the saddle. As the pair reached the house, Luke and I went over to help the man. We could see that he had been shot and we helped him off the horse. We couldn’t help but notice what a magnificent animal his horse was. We helped the man into the house and laid him down on the big couch that Cindy had put an old blanket down on. We undressed him down to his long-johns so that we could see what exactly we were dealing with, wound-wise. I told Betty to get some hot water. I cut his long-johns above the wound on his leg and tore them open to expose the area. He had an ugly bullet wound above the knee. The bullet was still in his leg and we had to get the lead out or he would lose his leg. His leg had already started to turn black. I had seen enough gunshot wounds to know that if the lead stayed in, it would poison him.
Nighthorse brought the man’s saddlebag in and put it next to him on the side of the couch. He told us that he had put the man’s horse in the barn. He was holding the man’s blanket roll and carbine and I told him to put them down in the corner.
I put a bunch of rags around the leg to help soak up the blood. We had some scissors that had narrow, thin blades. I washed them real good and put them in the bullet hole. About half way in I felt the bullet. I opened the scissors just wide enough to grab the end of the bullet, then pushed them in a little and squeezed the blades together. Once I had ahold of the lead, I worked it out real slow. We had some sulfur so I packed the wound and bandaged his leg up. After that, I cleaned up all the blood from off his leg and threw the bloodied rags onto the fire in the fireplace.
The next day he came around a little
and the girls fed him some chicken broth. I asked him what had happed. He said, “I got ambushed by some horse thieves.”
Luke and I looked his horse over. We were amazed at what a fine animal it was. The horse was a Roan with a big patch of white on his rump. We had two thoroughbred mares that had their foals and had not been bred back yet. We also had three fillies that had not been bred. We were going to wait until April with them, but I turned this stud in with the five mares hoping to get a horse colt out of him.
The man had been with us for three days when four men came riding in. Nighthorse had seen them coming and alerted us. He said, “Four men come. One man ride horse like wounded man.”
The wounded man heard what Nighthorse had told us and said, “One of the men is riding my packhorse.”
Luke strapped on his gun and I got put my gun belt on too. Nighthorse told us that he would be at the barn door. We put our jackets on but left them unbuttoned. We saw from the window that the four men were coming into the yard. They were real dirty-looking men.
I said to Luke, “Let’s leave the one on the right for Nighthorse.” One of the men called out “hello” towards the house. Luke stepped out and I stayed right behind him.
Luke asked, “What can we do for you gentlemen?”
One of the men said, “Stupid foreigners” to one of his buddies and they all laughed.
Their leader told us, “We are after a horse thief that stole one of our horses.”
I asked him, “What kind of horse did he steal?”
“One like that one,” as he pointed to a mare that one of his men was riding.
“Was the stolen horse a mare also?” I asked.
“No, he was a gelding,” he answered. “Have you seen him?”
“Yah, he’s here and the man that was riding it is too, but he’s been shot and isn’t able to come out to greet you gentleman properly,” I replied.
“Well, I’ll just drag him out and teach him not to steal any more horses,” he stated.
“All right then,” I replied.
As the man started to lift his leg over the saddle, we open fired on them. Luke and I shot at about the same time and so did Nighthorse. We had both shot for the fellow that was getting off his horse. Duke, Blue, and Sampson came running out to see what was going on and I told them to get the men’s horses. They got them and tied them up in the corral. I told them to go through their pockets and get all of their guns and bring everything into the house. Luke told Blue to bring in their saddlebags and blanket rolls too. I went to check to see if any of them had on money belts but they didn’t.
I went in and helped Betty and Cindy pick up our guest. He had almost made it to the door. We put him back on the couch. I told him not to worry and that we would have the men’s funeral in the spring. He then passed out. I saw that his bandage was full of black blood.
I went outside and told Sampson to keep any of the men’s good clothes or anything else that could be washed out. I also told him that we would be burying the bodies when the grown thawed in the spring.
Our wounded friend’s attempt to make it to the door resulted in him falling and busting his wound open again. I cleaned him up and put some more sulfur on his wound. Five days later he was able to sit up and was starting to come around. He told us that his name was Jerimiah Stewart and he was a wagon train guide. He wanted to take a train west in the spring. He lived in Idaho with some Indian friends. He told us that his horses were appaloosas that had been bred by a stud that belonged to the Nez Perce Indians.
Jerimiah was planning on buying two wagons, loading them down with merchandise and then taking them west to a trading post. He said that he did this every year. He said that he goes to St. Louis to buy the things he needs there and then comes back up river with his wagons, usually picking up his customers in Independence. His wagon train usually starts out the last week in April or a little later, depending on the weather.
I asked him how I could get some appaloosas like the ones he had. He told me that his stud horse was not for sale but assured me that he would bring me an appaloosa stud and a couple of mares the following year when he came back through with his wagon train. He told me that he would trade me his mare for a gelding if he could buy one more horse, so that way he could go up river with two less horses.
Jerimiah was with us for two more weeks and then he went on to St. Louis. We told him to leave his horse with us and when he came back that following spring, all of his horses would be ready to go. When he left, we sent Sampson with him in a wagon. Sampson had to pick up some items for us at the store.
Luke went into town and looked around for some mares that we could put in with the appaloosa. He picked up three at 55 dollars apiece. We had four very early colts and we put all of the mares in with the appaloosa hoping he would breed them all before Jerimiah came back to pick him up.
While talking to Jerimiah, we realized that we could buy our supplies in St. Louis and have them shipped up river and then take them home in a wagon. We decided to have Luke go down river and do a lot of shopping. He was able to get a few mares and the supplies we needed.
Jerimiah came back in early April and picked up all of his horses. He told us that so far he had six customers for the trip. He had contracted with them to come up river. He said that he would sign up more before it was dry enough to start for Gardner. Sampson reshod all of his horses for his journey. I told Jerimiah to come in as early as he could so he could spend some time with us. He promised that he would.
After Jerimiah left, I went downriver with Nighthorse and two boys. Sampson stayed home with Luke. Again, we went east into Illinois and started to buy mares and fillies. We went as far as Mt. Vernon where we bought ten nice mares for 200 dollars. I told the man that I bought them from that I wanted ten more and that I would send my brother back for them. He told me that he’d get them ready. We rode for St. Louis to cross the river to go back home. When we got home, we put the mares in with the Arab.
Next, Luke went after the horses. He picked up five in St. Louis and from there rode directly to Mt. Vernon. The man there had 12 mares for him. Four were fine Morgans. He wanted 250 dollars for them and Luke paid him. He then told the man that we wanted to buy more from him and that I would be picking them up. The man, once again, agreed to have them ready.
Luke and I continued to go after horses and were farming too. After we had finished with our horse buying, we started cutting prairie hay. Nighthorse had come across a good spot to cut, so we cut and dried it, and then brought it home.
The last week in November Jerimiah came to the ranch. He had a young Indian boy with him. They had three mares and a beautiful appaloosa stud with them. I had eight appaloosa colts on the ground and was hoping for some more. Jerimiah wanted three teams in exchange for them. They were fine horses. He left his stud with us again and after the holidays he went to St. Louis. He left the Indian boy with us too.
We had plenty of help and ran 30 steers in to Independence. We sold them to the local butcher there, and he ended up selling some of them further east.
That winter two Mexicans rode in to the ranch looking for food. They were down on their luck. They had come up from Santa Fe with some wagons and had wasted their money away on whisky, women, and gambling. They seemed to be good horsemen, so I put them in charge of training our colts. We had quite a few on the way. Jose and Pedro settled in and ended up being a lot of help. Luke and I were able to spend quite a bit more time with the boys and our wives.
The following spring I went shopping in St. Louis and took Betty with me. Cindy took care of both boys while we were gone. I let Betty do a lot of shopping for herself and the kids. I bought a wagon and loaded it down. I also bought two beautiful Arab mares for 50 dollars each. We were in St. Louis for two weeks and visited every kind of shop that they had. When we got to Independence, I had to borrow a team to get home since our load was so big. On
ce I got home, I sent the team back with Sampson.
Jerimiah came by, took his teams, and went to organize his wagon train. He wanted to know if we wanted him to bring more horses. I told him to bring some exceptionally good mares.
That fall we had 12 fillies from our Hungarian mares that we had put in with the Arab stud. We had eight horse colts that were old enough to take to the vet to get gelded. The vet told us that if we had a room for him to stay in, he could come out to the ranch and geld the colts so that we didn’t have to bring all of our animals to him.
A week later the vet came out and gelded eight males for us. After they were healed up enough, we started to ride them. I wanted to sell them the following spring and we broke them to ride.
When Jerimiah came back, he brought us four beautiful buckskin mares. He told me that if I didn’t want them he would break them to pull a wagon. I wanted them all right. I had four mares that I wanted to cut out of the herd, so Jerimiah took them. He also took two geldings that I had too. We made the trade and I put the four fillies in with my Hungarian.
When it came time for our annual shopping trip to St. Louis, it was Luke and Cindy’s turn to go. Cindy asked if they could go in to Kentucky so that she could visit her parents. I told Luke while he was there to look around and see if he could find anyone that raised any good thoroughbreds. Since we didn’t have a lot of cash on hand, I told him to just scout out the places that sold them and then when we could, we would go back and buy some thoroughbreds. Cindy had been unable to correspond with her parents since she had left home because neither one of her parents could read or write. They had a nice visit and on the way back they shopped in St. Louis and took the steamer home.
The Nagyvradi Brothers Page 11