“Harness up a mule and two horses,” I instructed Moses.
“Don’t leave me here alone,” Mary said.
I told Moses to saddle three horses. When we got there, the horse stunk terribly. Moses put a rope on the saddle and pulled it loose. It was a McClellan saddle that was in good shape, so we took it down to the creek and washed it off and put it on the mule and then went home. All we needed were two more sacks. Moses found them, so now we were practically equipped to travel. The two pigs they had were big enough to butcher; but we needed some salt, sugar, and curing salt. If there was any around, we could butcher and smoke them.
“Maybe the Indians have some salt,” Moses suggested. “There is a village about an hour from here, a Chickasaw village.”
I told Moses that I would go look. I had him saddle the two mules. I told him to put the McClellan saddle on one and my Texas saddle on the other. I put the saddle pistols over on my saddle and they fit, then I got one of the rifles and some ammo and tied it on the saddle. I rode in the direction that Moses told me and came to a clearing and saw two Indian boys creeping up on a big four-pointer buck. Both boys missed with their arrows and the buck took off right in my direction. Before he spotted me, I dropped him with a pistol shot. I waved the boys over and told them to load the buck on to the mule and I took it down to their village. Their chief spoke some English and I asked him if he had any salt. He said he didn’t have much but he could get me some.
“Can you get sugar and curing salt?” I asked him.
“In town,” he stated.
I asked him if he had any packsaddles and he motioned me to go with him. He showed me two, but only one looked like it was worth anything.
“What do you want for it?” I inquired.
“Gun,” he pointed to my rifle.
“Okay, take rifle,” I agreed.
I had a package with ammunition in my saddle bag, so I gave him that too. I told him I wanted 15 pounds of salt, 10 pounds of sugar, and a small bag of curing salt. I instructed him to bring it to my house and I would give him another rifle.
“We bring,” he stated.
He then removed the saddle from the mule and put it on the packsaddle and put the other one on top. I got home and two days later they came by with the salt, sugar, pepper, a small sack of garlic, and a half pound of curing salt. I gave them the other Confederate rifle and they went home happy.
I now had everything we needed and all we had to do was kill the pigs and make the smokehouse work. I asked Moses if he had ever used the smokehouse behind the barn and he said no. I told him to fire it up, so he built a small fire in the bottom. It would not hold smoke so we had to get some boards from the barn and close up all of the cracks. After we killed one of the pigs, Moses skinned it out because we didn’t have a tub to get the hair off of the skin; it was faster this way. The same day we got the bacon, shoulders and hams in the brine I made up. I kept the meat in the brine for two days and then we started to smoke the bacon. We kept the hams in the brine. We cleaned some of the guts and chopped up some meat and made sausage with a lot of garlic and we put that in the smoker. We all worked. I had to keep a fire going on the outside and once I had some good coals, I would put the ham in the smoker, putting some wet woodchips on top. Then when the bacon was ready, we hung the shoulders and hams inside. We tried the sausage. It was a little salty, but tasty. We could use it for seasoning other dishes.
Moses then killed the other pig and split it with the axe, same as the other. This time we put the loins in the brine too and kept the smoker going day and night. We kept some of the guts and cleaned them up for some sausage. We hung the sausage it in the smoker until it was full. We still had a lot of meat left from the first pig, so I put all four spare ribs in the brine and kept the smoking going. We hung everything up in the barn as it was ready and started to plan out how we were going to carry it all. We washed out all of the rags that we had so we could wrap most of the meat; we even washed the sacks.
One day we had a visitor. Mary came in and woke me; I was taking a nap. The man was wearing gray and rode in on a plow horse. It was a wide animal, too big for the saddle that he had on it. He had two pistols in his belt. Mary met him as he rode up to the house. He asked her if she had any food and told her that hunting had been poor.
“I will get you some meat, but we don’t have anything else,” she told him.
“Where is your daddy?” he asked.
“He is hunting in the woods,” she fibbed.
“Maybe I better look and see what else I need,” he told her as he pushed his way through the door and right into my gun. The damn fool pulled his gun and folded right there on our doorstep.
I told Moses to get the man’s horse. He was still alive and trying to say something. I bent down so that I could hear what he was struggling to say. After a minute or two he finally got it out and said, “The war is over.” And he died. Moses tied his horse up. He then came inside and told me that the man’s mare would foal by tonight. I told him that he had better take off that saddle and put her in the barn. The only decent item of clothing the man had on was a good hat. Later on I also found a nice big canteen. We went through his pockets. He had two dollars in silver change; that put my total wealth up to 72 dollars and I put it in my money belt. Moses kept the man’s overcoat and blanket; I kept his belt, ammunition and two pistols, both Colt .44 army. We buried him. I wanted to get moving as soon as we could.
I told Mary from now on we were partners and we shook hands on that. I told her that we would talk everything over before we made any major decisions. I also told her to call me Uncle Dave whenever we met any decent people.
We started to pack up and it took us two days to pack everything. Mary had a leather bag for her clothes, she really had very little. She only had one decent dress and a coat for winter. The rest of her bag held some children’s knick-knacks and a little mirror. I asked for her mirror and looked at myself hoping to remember who I was, but it didn’t work. I looked like I needed a shave, but too young to be a sergeant. I looked like I was around 20 years old. Then I remembered the way I stepped out with my gun and shot down the three men that killed Grandpa; I figured maybe that was why I was a sergeant. I also remembered what the man I just recently shot said, the war was over. I was hoping that it was; I really didn’t want to shoot anyone if I didn’t have to, but I must protect my own.
I was wondering why I took up little Mary, did I need her? I told myself yes, but I liked her too and I could not leave her on her own with Moses. Moses was not a young man, he was at least 60, but he was strong.
Once we had all the packs set, the mare had her foal. It was a little filly, and Mary just loved her. We waited for five days and then we started out. I led out and Moses brought up the rear. We were going north. After four hours I figured we had better stop, the little filly needed to rest. We found a creek bed with a lot of trees around so we made camp. The best thing that could have happened to Mary was that little colt. She was so happy having it around. It occupied her mind and kept her busy most of the time. We hobbled the horses but kept one saddled in camp for emergencies. I wished many a time that we had a wagon and could travel on the road, but it was impossible and not safe. We had four riding horses and a lot of old enemies that would kill for them.
The next day we traveled five hours and stopped in a cove of trees. The creek was running just outside the tree line so we had to take the horses down one at a time to drink. Later on, we heard somebody coming. He must have smelled our fire. I got my gun and went behind a tree and he hailed us.
“Hello, can I come in the camp?” he asked.
“Come on in,” I welcomed.
He wore blue; he was a Lieutenant. He rode up and offered to make the coffee.
“That’s all I have,” he said.
“That’s fine; we can spare you some food,” I told him.
We were ha
ving ham and some pan bread, so we sliced him two big slices and he wolfed it down pretty quickly. He asked me where I was coming from. I told him that I was a prisoner and they had just turned me loose from the hospital that they had me in.
“I guess the war was not too kind to you, Sergeant,” he sympathized. “But I see that you are making out okay.”
“I am taking my niece up north with me where we will try to make a new start. My brother was killed in the war and my dad was murdered, so we packed up and are going north. Where are you coming from?” I asked.
“Mobile,” he stated.
“I see that your mare is tired out.”
“She sure does need a rest,” he agreed.
“Ride one of my horses for a day and I’ll have Mary ride yours to let her rest up,” I told him.
“Well that would be nice, Sergeant. I will take you up on that. I have a long way to go still.”
His mare was a nice red Morgan, like a twin to the horse that Moses was riding. We rode for six hours the next day and then stopped and made camp. I invited the lieutenant to have a bite with. I then told him that if he wanted to go on, he could probably get in another four hours. His mare was still tired and it needed more of a rest than the weight difference made. After I looked his mare over, I decided to offer him a trade. I told him I would give him the horse that he was riding for the mare and he took me up on it. I wrote him a bill of sale and signed my name as Sergeant B. Tucker. He wrote me one and signed his name as Lieutenant K. Baker and attached his receipt from the Seventh Calvary where he paid 12 dollars for it at separation. I gave him what was left of the ham and he left us.
The next day we stayed in camp until about ten and then we started out. Four hours later, we stopped again and hobbled the mare on some good grass to build her up again. We put half of our beans in some water to soak while we fried some bacon. That evening we put on the beans and cooked them all night, putting some pieces of another ham in to cook with it to give it some flavor. I wanted to use up all the ham first, since the bacon had a better smoke than the hams. We ate well and then got underway again.
That day we met up with a major who was traveling like us. We had just made camp. He asked me if I would sell him a horse and I told him no, I had plans to farm with all of my stock. He asked me what outfit I was with and I told him the Seventh, but I came from a rebel prison hospital. I told him I was going north with my niece to make a new start.
“I am the only one she has, and Moses,” I told him.
“I have a lot of respect for southern families fighting with the union,” he said.
I could see that he did not have much food, so I asked him if he had any flour, coffee, or sugar to trade for some ham. He said no, but he would give me two dollars for a ham, so I sold him one. I put the two dollars with my small horde. I told Mary that maybe we could buy a nice dress with that once we got up north, she liked that idea. I knew that she needed clothes before fall and sooner or later we would have to decide where we would stay for winter. At the rate we were going we probably would not get to Pennsylvania before it snowed. It was August, according to the major.
We met up with some Cree Indians next and I gave them some skins that I had saved. They thanked me and asked if I would swap for something. They needed a rifle. I had three carbines and Mary’s Grandpa’s rifle. I told them I would give them a rifle for a nice doe skin dress for a girl, and pointed to Mary, and a shirt for Moses. They told me to come to their village. I went down and made a temporary camp next to their village.
The chief came over and told me that his squaw was making a dress for the girl and a shirt for Moses; they wanted to see her. I told Moses to walk down with Mary and they did; when they came back Mary was excited. She said it would be a nice dress. Moses already had a buckskin shirt and he was pleased with it. The chief came up and I showed him a carbine, but he kept pointing to Grandpa’s rifle; it was an old Kentucky rifle. I asked Mary what she thought about the rifle, it was hers. She said to let them have it, but I did not think that was right. The chief then told me they would make moccasins for her too, so I gave him the rifle and the bullet mold, along with a little powder that Grandpa had and some caps. The chief went away happy.
We waited and waited and finally made camp. We did not hobble the horses because we were afraid they would be too much of a temptation to the Indians. Moses walked around with them letting them crop some grass. Finally that evening, they brought up Mary’s dress and her moccasins and gave her a small braided leather halter for the little horse. Later, Mary put the little halter on the filly and she was happy.
We left very early in the morning. Some Indians were up and they waved to us. After we traveled four hours, we stopped and had a snack. Then we went on for a couple more hours. We made camp for the rest of the day and night.
We met a fellow the next day. He said he was hunting for bear. He showed me some bear tracks he was following, so I kept going a ways before making camp. We tied the horses up close to us. All three of us walked them around for a while to crop some grass, then we had a meal and rested. Later, I sat up and stayed on watch until I dozed off. In the morning, we went on for four more hours.
Chapter Three
We came out of a clearing and there was a nice little farm in the meadow. We rode on, but the farmer saw us and came over to the fence. I stopped and asked how everything was in his part of the country.
“Rough,” he replied.
“Same down south,” I said.
“It can’t possibly be if one man can have that many horses,” he said to me.
“I paid for these. What outfit did you fight with?” I asked.
“I was with the Georgia volunteers. Can I trade you for a horse? I need to get some grain in.”
“What do you have to trade?” I asked.
“I have some goats and sheep, that is all I have.”
“You know, I often wondered if one sheep would give you enough skin to make a winter coat” I stated.
“Yes it would, for a small person, or a short coat for a man,” he replied.
“How many acres would I have to plow for you for a sheep?”
“I don’t know, but I can figure it out on a piece of paper,” he answered.
“Well, how many acres do you want to plow?”
“One hundred and twenty.”
“That’s worth more than just the three sheep that we need for winter coats. How are you fixed for flour, potatoes and things like that? We can get meat, but it is hard to get the other things that we need,” I told him.
“I only have a little flour that I could spare.”
“Do you have a wife?” I asked him.
“I do, and two kids.”
“Do you think that while we are plowing your wife could make Mary here a nice dress?”
“What will we use for cloth?” he asked.
“I will figure that out later,” I told him. “How many plows do you have and what kind of harness do you have?”
“I have a set of harnesses but only one plow.”
“Do you think you could borrow one from a neighbor?”
“I probably could,” he stated.
“Where would we live while we’re plowing?” I asked.
“That’s a problem, but we could close in the porch somewhat and put your man in the barn,” he replied.
“I guess we could plow one hundred and twenty acres in two weeks, what do you think Moses?”
“How are you going to plow with one arm Master Dave Sir?” Moses asked me.
“Good question Moses. I keep forgetting I lost my arm,” I stated. “What is your name, partner?” I asked the farmer.
“Carl Smith.”
“David Tucker,” I replied, “Seventh Calvary.”
“Come on down to the house and sit down for a while,” Carl stated.
We went down and his wife came out and looked us over. They had a nice garden, so I thought maybe we could improve our food at least while we were here. I asked Moses if he thought the Morgan would work with the big mare. Moses thought that it would be hard to find a harness for the big mare. Carl said he had some old harnesses that would probably fit her. I said that I didn’t know how we were going to team up the horses but I wanted to plow with two teams, so I could get up to Ohio or somewhere and send Mary to school. I asked Carl if he had a wagon; he told me that he did.
“How far is town?” I asked.
“Five miles,” he stated.
“Do they have a blacksmith?”
“They do.”
Both of our mules needed shoes. We made camp on the porch in the corner. I had a big piece of canvas that we hung up to separate us from the rest of the porch. Carl’s wife brought Mary a glass of buttermilk and she drank it down. I asked Carl where his cow was. He laughed and told me he only had goats.
“You should try our goat cheese,” he suggested.
“Mrs. Smith, will you cook for us too?” I asked Carl’s wife. “I have some sausage that needs to be used up.”
“We can put some sausage in the green beans tonight,” she stated.
I dug out some sausage and gave it to her. We had a can of lard that I took in as well. That next morning, I took in a whole ham. After breakfast I told Moses to try out the two reds to see if they would work together. I hung around to see if they would pull the plow alright, and they did. Those two reds worked like they were twins.
Then I got our two mules and told Carl that I would like to borrow his wagon and go to town to see what was available. He told me if I didn’t mind, he would like to come with me and pick up another plow. I asked him if it was safe to leave the place with both of us gone. He said that since they were off the beaten path they didn’t have too many visitors.
Sheriff Tucker Page 2