Chapter One

After Kirby Smith’s surrender at the end of the Civil war, I was discharged from the army in Austin, Texas. I had two horses, two Texas saddles, and four saddlebags, as well as a scabbard for my Sharps rifle and a lot of ammunition that I wanted to save. I also had a double-barrel shotgun. I fastened a sack with all of my extra gear and five blankets on the extra saddle, tied it down good, and then fastened my shotgun on top. My friend, Sergeant Mason, and I were going to travel north together. Mason bought an army horse from the army and he also had a bunch of food that he was going to bring. We fastened his food sack on the extra horse. Once we both received our discharge and our final payoff, we said all of our goodbye’s and wished our friends good luck.

We left Austin, heading north on the stage road, to Fort Worth. Mason had a .36 Navy Colt in his belt that he could quickly use should we run in to some bandits. The country was overrun with deserters turned bandits. I had a saddle holster with two Colt .44’s in the front with a blanket covering it; so if needed, I could get those guns fast. Traveling the stage roads was fine and most of the time we could buy a good meal at some of the stage stops. When we stopped at the stage stops we would water our horses and get a bowl of stew. At one of the stations, we were also able to buy a Texas hat and some nice red shirts so we could put our army shirts away. They also had an open holster for sale, so we both bought a belt and holster. We were able to buy a half sack of oats and three nose bags to grain the horses.

After we paid and left the station, we found a place to stop for the night and rest up. We were able to make coffee and walk our horses around for a while to let them graze on some good grass. Then we tied the horses up near us. Mason went to sleep; I just sat there, leaning against a tree, dozing off at times. A corporal came by on a horse and asked me if he could stop with us. We had a creek going by behind us; it was a real good place to camp. I invited him in to our camp so that he could rest up some. He was leading a mule with a sack of oats on an old saddle. I figured it might suit us well if he stayed with us a while. He got his blanket roll out, took the saddles of his horses, gave them some oats, and then sat down on his blankets. I asked him where he was from, he told me San Antonio. He was in the first and his mare was branded CSA; the army sold the horse to him. He had a cup of coffee and we talked for a while. Then he got up and went over to the sergeant, grabbed a snake, and tossed it in the water. He said, “That snake was trying to get warm.” The sergeant didn’t even wake up. When I told him about it the next morning, he didn’t believe that he almost had a pet rattler.

That morning, I warmed up some bread and sliced three big pieces of bacon and fried them in my skillet for breakfast. I made some fresh coffee but we only two cups, so I after the corporal finished drinking his coffee, I drank mine. We saddled up and then fed the horses some oats; after the horses had a nice drink, we started out.

We got to a stage stop close to noon and I asked a young woman what was cooking.

She said, “Deer stew.”

“Do you have enough to feed us?” I asked her.

“Yes,” she replied. “It’ll be ready in about half an hour.”

We walked our horses around to let them eat some green. Thirty minutes later we went back to the stage stop and sat down. The woman poured us some coffee; I put a dollar on the table, the sergeant put fifty cents next to it, and the corporal put down a Confederate ten-dollar piece of paper. The girl picked up the silver and put it in her apron pocket. The manager came in and picked up the Confederate ten dollars. He then said there were some riders coming. The woman looked out the window and told us the riders were bandits. They had been there before and had taken all of their guns.

“They will try to take your horses too,” she warned us.

“I don’t think so,” I declared.

The corporal got up and went out to get his rifle and left it by the door. He said there were four of them; three on horses and one on a mule. I asked if there were any packhorses; he said there wasn’t. The manager told us that he was going out to the stable and that two horses could go out in the corral.

“Sell me the mule and I will go with you,” the girl pleaded, “I have got to get out of here.”

“I don’t know who will end up with the mule,” I told her.

I grabbed my field glasses out of my saddlebag and studied the bandits and their horses. I put the field glasses back and then laid my rifle next to the corporal’s rifle, a Kentucky piece. When the bandits came in closer, we would handle them. We finished eating and then got ready for the bandits. The sergeant suggested we let them come in to short gun range, so we let them come.

The girl opened the window so that I could get the rider on the mule, and maybe even the guy next to him with my .44. The sergeant went to the door and said he had the one on the opposite side, and the corporal was going to get the guy in the middle. A few minutes later, the corporal shot the man he was aiming for and he fell off of his horse. I shot the one with the mule and the guy next to him, and the sergeant shot the one on his side. All four were down.

We went out to men and took all of their guns and money belts. We also took their wallets that were stuffed with U.S. gold certificates, Confederate paper, and quite a few pesos. You could spend pesos in Texas. Between the two that I shot, I ended up with over 600 U.S. dollars and a lot of pesos.

The girl came out and wanted to know if I would sell her the mule; I told her that it wasn’t for sale, but she could have it. The bandit had on a black pair of pants that were in fair shape. She went over to him and pulled them off then she ran off to water her mule. My horse was a mare, a nice horse with a Texas saddle.

The girl went in the store and put on a red shirt and a vest. She came out and I handed her the gun belt with the two .44’s, and she strapped it on. She looked like a bad pistolero. She got herself a Texas hat and some big Mexican spurs. She said she needed to buy some boots. She asked if she could ride with us, and I told her that we could use a cook. When she got on her mule, the manager came out and demanded that she get off of the mule. She pulled her gun and told him to come and make her. He did not want to get shot, so he backed off. To smooth things over some, I told him that he could have the Confederate rifle if he dug a hole for the four dead bandits. That made him somewhat happy.

Before we left town, I got a sack of oats and gave the manager some Confederate money. I also pulled a bunch of ammunition out of my new saddlebag and gave it to him. I had two Geldings and a nice Mare with a sack of oats. We then watered our horses and headed out of town.

After we were out of sight of the stage station, we stopped and fed our new horses and Elsy’s mule. We walked the others around to get some grass. After the four had finished walking around, we fed them some oats. That night, I told the crew that we would stand watches and cook some beans with bacon for breakfast. Elsy was the first watch. I told her to soak the beans, and the midnight watch would add four pieces of bacon and an onion. I instructed everyone to keep the fire burning all night and to not let any snakes come in to the camp or go over by the horses. The sergeant had the midnight watch, and the corporal’s watch was at four o’clock. Everybody was to be up at seven to feed the horses and have breakfast. We let all of the animals drink while we ate, and then we went on our way.

We came in to Temple a couple of hours later, and stopped at a cantina. We decided to have a second breakfast with eggs, sausage, and some more coffee. We would skip lunch. There were two horses and a packhorse outside the cantina and we parked our horses next to them. We went in and noticed two U.S. Marshals having coffee at a table. We sat down at a big table and Elsy ordered some eggs, sausage, toast with butter and coffee in Spanish. The sergeant told her to make his coffee a beer, so she ordered him a beer. There were four rooms upstairs, and a man was coming down the stairs. One of the rangers said that the man’s name was Nolan, and he was wanted dead or alive.

“Nolan, freeze!” commanded the ranger.

Nolan whirled around and shot the ranger in the shoulder. Then three men came out of a room and started shooting. I started firing at the men and hit two. The sergeant shot one, and the man’s dead body slid down the steps. We over to two of the men; they were bleeding and could not get up. Both had been shot through the lower body. I kicked their six-guns away from them and picked up two Henry’s. Nolan was down too. He had been shot in the right leg and in his chest. He still had a gun in his hand. As we came down the steps, he tried to fire at us. I shot and broke his arm.

The serving girl went for a doctor; when he came in, I told him to go to the U.S. Marshals first. He did and then told me that both marshals would have to go to his office to be worked on. He put temporary bandages on them and told them that they needed to go to his office. The doctor said that Nolan would have to go to his office too and he put some simple bandages on him to stop the bleeding. He looked at the other two men upstairs and put bandages on them as well; he would work on them later.

The local sheriff came in and hollered at the marshals and told them to get out of his town, “I don’t want any stupid Yankee bastard’s in my town shooting up the place,” ranted the sheriff. The marshal told the sheriff that he was under arrest, and the sheriff pulled out his gun. I chopped down on his head with my gun and he collapsed onto the floor. The marshal asked me to put handcuffs on him, so I did. I twisted his arms back and handcuffed him.

Then two Texas Rangers came in and went over to the marshals to talk to them; they had heard that Nolan was wanted and was under arrest, and his gang had also gotten shot up. I told the rangers that I was Lieutenant James Williams, and I was assisting the marshals. I told them that the local sheriff had just been arrested for interfering with U.S. Marshals and threatening them with a gun.

“Did you shoot him?” one of the rangers asked.

“No, just tapped him on the head and handcuffed him,” I answered. “We have to take the marshals to the doctor though; they each have a bullet that needs to be taken out.”

“We can help you with that,” one of the rangers stated.

“All of the other wounded men are going to go to jail. The doctor will help them as soon as he can find the time,” I informed the rangers.

“Nolan is wanted dead or alive for murder, robbery, and grand theft. I don’t know how much he is worth, but he is going to jail,” said one of the marshals. “Lieutenant Williams, please take my badge and put it on. You are now a deputy U.S. Marshal, and so is your sergeant. You two can take over the jail.”

“What about the sheriff?” I asked.

“He will be there too,” the marshal replied, “In one of the cells, that is.”

We and I put the sheriff on a horse, one that we figured was his, and then we mounted up on our horses. The Texas Rangers took the three wounded outlaws on a horse that was in the back. They had six horses in back there. I paid with a hundred peso note, and a girl brought back my change. I took all of the change and put it in her apron pocket. The ranger said that I gave her a month’s pay. She then ran to tell the ranger everything in Spanish. The owner was also talking to them in Spanish. I asked the ranger to tell him that Nolan was a murderer. The owner said that Nolan and his gang had been there for four days and they owed him a lot of money. Mason had a big wallet, so I pulled it out and saw that it was full of pesos. I gave six 100 pesos to the girl and she gave it to the owner. I guess it was enough to cover the outlaw’s stay.

The ranger led us to the jail and we put the wounded in the cells. They had six cells, so we spread them out; they would use three, and we would use three. The U.S. Marshals were with the doctor, so I sent Elsy over to see if he needed any help. I told Mason that we were now U.S. Marshals and were back in the army.

The Texas Rangers took care of the dead bandit; they took his money belt and wallet and they also wanted two of the bandits’ horses. I told them to take whatever they wanted. The rangers then went back to the cantina and found another Henry. They told me that they needed good guns. I talked to Mason and he said to let them take the Henry that they found and he would give them the Spencer .56. We had my Sharps for long shots and the Henry’s for short range shots; we were in good shape. All of the short guns that they picked up were Confederate .36 six-guns. We went through all of the saddlebags and gathered all of the ammunition for the Henry’s; we gave five boxes to the rangers, along with the Spencer, and all of the Spencer ammo that we had. The rangers were happy and so were we.

Sergeant Mason had 14 years in the army. They got rid of him because of an old wound that made him limp a little. If he could retire after 30 years it would be good. In the marshal service he did not even have to wear a uniform. We were all three in uniform.

I went over to the doctors to talk to the ranger. He told me who to wire, and to tell them that he gave me his badge; also that I had three prisoners and a sheriff locked up. He told me to give them the story about the arrest and to ask for a federal judge if one was available. “If a local judge sticks his nose into things, tell him that this is all federal, out of his jurisdiction,” he instructed. The Texas Rangers told me where I could make the call; they had Morse service for law enforcement. He wanted to make sure that I told them that I had Nolan since he was wanted.

I did all that I was asked. The lieutenant colonel came on the line and asked for my service number and my last assignment. I told him that I had been a company commander in the First Calvary. They wanted to know about everything and wanted to know about Sergeant Mason. I told him that he had 14 years in the Calvary, “He was a fine soldier and still is. He did good in the fight. We got the four that tried to kill us from above and two of them are dead,” I explained.

“How about this Nolan?” asked the lieutenant colonel.

“He has three holes in him. The major got him in the chest, the captain got him in the leg, and I got him in the right arm. They were shooting from upstairs and both marshals fell. The sergeant, the corporal and I kept firing; and now they are in a cell waiting for a doctor. The Texas Rangers are handling the two dead men. They will get a free burial. The rangers were very helpful and still are. We have a girl, Elsy, riding with us. She does the cooking. She is with the doctor helping look after the two marshals. She will probably make soup for them. She is doing all she can. After they are cleared from the doctor, I can get a room at the cantina. Elsy can speak Spanish and can look after them. I will get a wagon to travel with after the doc says they can travel,” I replied.

They asked me to get the sergeant’s service number and I told them that I would. I told Mason that we were back in the army; we were both Deputy U.S. Marshals. I asked Mason to go downtown to see if there were any wagons for sale so we could travel with the marshals sitting in a wagon instead of on the back of a horse. When Mason came back, he told me that there was a wagon for sale that was four-in-hand. There was also a buckboard for a pair of mules, or we could throw away the mule harness and use two horses instead.

“How about a harness for the four-in-hand?” I asked Mason.

“They have a set for fifty dollars, and they want three hundred pesos for the wagon. Do we have four horses that take harness?” he asked.

“My horse will take harness and so will my mare,” I answered. “I just need two more. Is there a mare with the bandits’ horses?”

“There is one,” he answered.

“We will try her. How about a horse to go with her?”

“There is one that we can try out,” Mason proposed.

The corporal chimed in, “Do you think Elsy would sell her mule?”

“Go ask her,” I told him.

“How much is that buckboard?” the corporal asked Mason.

“Sixty dollars, with new wheels. The wagon also has new wheels, thick iron tires,” Mason replied.

“Tomorrow, go and get the harness and I will give you the money,” I told Mason.

Elsy came by the jail and asked me if I could go over to the doctor’s place because the major wanted to talk to me. I went over and told him that I had been hired to be deputy marshal and she had the sergeant. The doctor wanted to know how the prisoners were doing; I told him that they weren’t bleeding, but they were hurting pretty bad. I explained that I gave the prisoners coffee and paid the girls from the cantina to bring them sandwiches.

I asked the marshals when they would be able to leave. I let them know that once they were discharged from the doctor’s care, we would be getting them a room over at the cantina and Elsy would be helping them out since she could speak Spanish and could translate for them. We would pay for everything with all of the pesos we got. I told the marshals that I was going to buy a wagon to travel once the marshals received a clean bill of health from the doctor. I also informed them that we wanted to bring in a federal judge to hear the case against the bandits and the Confederate sheriff.

“We will all be fine if the judge comes,” one of the marshals stated. “We will have to be at the hearing; otherwise, we’ll have to take the prisoners with us. Tell the colonel that we have to know one way or the other. The captain is very weak and has lost a lot of blood. It’s going to take a while before we’ll be able to move him.”

“Can he stay at the doctors?” I asked. “You could stay at the cantina and Elsy could stay with the captain as long as he needs to stay. The doctor can come to the jail tomorrow and operate on the three men and take the bullets out of them.”