The Riflemen

By William Post

The Riflemen, in one way, is a love story about two boys, Jake Garrett and Johnny Grubbs and their childhood sweethearts. They meet their wives in the first grade, who are identical twin. The story takes Jake and Johnny through the horrific Civil War. Their stories tell some of the historical parts of the war and shows much of the struggles each boy endures during the war.

After the war, they come home to find their parents have disappeared and their ranches in the hands of a ruthless cattle baron, Gardner Ware and his wife Emma, who frame them for murder.

Not able to clear their name they are on the run. They do marry their childhood sweethearts and their new struggle is shared with them. The go to Wyoming where they make a grubstake by guarding payrolls for the mines. This leads to collecting a large reward for bringing down a gang of train robbers and collecting the bounty. Only knowing ranching they use the money to buy land along the Yuba River in California so they can sell cattle and mules to the miners.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496936318

William Post

William Post is the author of 19 novels with a variety of genres. the flagship of his novels is a trilogy starting with The Mystery of Table Mountain. Post’s descriptions of the scenery and weather makes the reader feel he is experiencing what the characters are enduring. The characters come alive as their emotions are displayed in a manner that makes the reader become part of the story. Post was reared in West Texas. He was educated at Texas A. & M. and served in the U. S. Navy. After his service, he became a surveyor for the Southern Pacific RR which took him to the wilds of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, where he immersed himself in the lore of those areas. This becomes apparent as he describes some of his experiences in his novels. Post is a professional engineer and land surveyor. Taking an early retirement as chief engineer of the Long Beach Water Dept., he moved to Northern California and started his writing career. Post is an Evangelic Christian and the thread of his beliefs can be seen throughout his novels. Post now lives in Las Vegas, NV with his extended family.

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© 2014 William Post. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 9/24/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3632-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3631-8 (e)

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1   The Haak Twins

Chapter 2   Going To War

Chapter 3   The Prison

Chapter 4   Johnny’s War

Chapter 5   The Long Road Home

Chapter 6   Who Owns The Ranches

Chapter 6   New Jobs And New Troubles

Chapter 7   On The Outlaw Trail

Chapter 8   Life On The Run

Chapter 9   Life In California

Chapter 10 Back To New Mexico

Chapter 11 The Trip To Mexico

Chapter 12 The Trip Back To California

Chapter 13 A Trip Of Trouble

Chapter 15 Looking For A Ranch

Chapter 16 Paco Demos’ History

Epilog

PREFACE

This is a book about the Civil War and how it effected the people of this story. Two boys, who were friends from childhood, are engaged in the many battles of this war. Although starting off together, they are separated and don’t meet again until after the war. It takes them through their trials during and after the war.

The historical facts are part of this story although the central characters are fictional, and have no ties to anyone living or dead. The horror that faced the men of that war stayed with them. It changed their lives dramatically. Some men could live with it, but some could not.

The two central characters were fortunate to have two loving women to come home to. These women helped ease the hardness that each of them developed just to stay alive.

The war affected nearly every home in America as so many lives were lost. The war had to be fought, as the South held with slavery which is forbidden by the Constitution. President Lincoln was responsible for a great many deaths as he had his generals push hard and sometimes unnecessarily. He knew he must show the nation that the North could win the war or his opponent in the 1864 election, George McClellan, would win the presidency.

George McClellan, ran on a platform to negotiate a peace with the South. This may have brought the war to an end, but it would not have stopped slavery and could have split the nation into two countries. Lincoln knew this. He faced grave decisions that ordered Grant and his generals to keep pushing his troops to the point of charging them into hails of bullets. The Union soldiers were losing two men to every one of the Rebels. However, the Union had three times as many soldiers and the war was won by attrition.

CHAPTER 1

THE HAAK TWINS

Years before the Civil War in America, a man who lived in East Prussia was becoming dissatisfied with Germany. The government was broke and commerce was very poor. Klaus Haak had learned his trade by working with his father in a leather shop. Now his father had fallen into poor health and had to turn his business over to Klaus.

The shops next to theirs was owned by a Jewish man, who had sent his son to America to see if things were better there than in East Prussia. The whole of Germany was going through a depression with many men out of work. Food was becoming scarce and business was poor.

When the Jewish man’s son returned, Klaus was invited over to hear what the son had to say about America. Klaus was eager to hear what America was like.

The son said, "The first thing I noticed was the abundance of food. Most of the country can be planted and they produce as much food as anyone could ever use. The seas are full of fish and the countryside is full of farm animals. It has a temperate climate without the cruel winters we have.

"Father had me travel all over the country and I cannot tell you the prosperity I witnessed in that country. The second thing that stood out so vividly, was the lack of a class system to hold anyone back. A man is judged solely on his ability and not what station his family has.

"Everywhere I went, I was treated with hospitality and invited to stay there. No one asked if I were a Jew as no one seemed to care. The only prejudice that I observed was toward the black people. Most people referred to them as ‘niggers,’ which I felt was a slang term for Negroes. The people in the southern part of America have huge farms, which they call plantations. All the areas there are occupied, as it is here in Germany. However, there is land abundant if one goes west. That land is so big it seems to go on forever.

"I went west to the middle of their country and saw a river so wide it made our rivers look like streams. I was told in the city of St. Louis, which is on the bank of that mighty river, that land across the river can be taken by just settling and improving on it.

"The only drawback I saw was that the northern part of the country objects to the Southern part using Negroes for slaves to farm their land. Many people from the North don’t like this, but there is nothing they can do. The people to the west don’t seem to get into that argument.

"I met another man who was from a place called the New Mexico Territory. He said there were vast unsettled parts of that land where huge cattle ranches exist. There are no fences and no boundaries. The cattle just roam at will. There are millions of cattle out there. That ought to interest you Klaus, as ranches need a lot of leather goods.

"There is some trouble with the original owners of the land. They are called Indians. Why the name, I have no clue, as they certainly don’t resemble anyone I ever saw from India. However, they were beaten from the land and are kept in camps called reservations. Some of the young Indian men don’t want to live there and have left and still carry on a war with the settlers. The army has many men who pursue these hostiles, and either kill them or take them back to the camps.

There is no trouble with hostiles in the villages as every man carries a firearm of some kind. I have never seen the amount of weapons as I did there. Most men from the West wear a pistol on their side in what is called a scabbard. Then turning to Klaus again said, That, too, is made from leather. It seems leather is used in nearly every endeavor as its source is so plentiful with the millions of cows that are in the West.

Did it appear there was a need for people who worked the leather and made the many leather goods? Klaus asked.

Yes, Klaus. I was forever thinking of you when I was there, as I have great respect for your skill and asked about that. The answer is, that they need skilled people to produce the leather products as the demand for them is high and most of the leather shops are back East.

That night Klaus thought about moving. He was tired of being dictated to by a government that only wanted to tax them higher each year. He had saved nearly half of what he had made through the years, and decided that he would take his family to America, and then on to the place that needed the most leather goods.

When he announced the move to his wife, Erna, she was flabbergasted. She couldn’t contemplate such a move. Halfway around the world to a strange land, strange people and a strange language. It was just too much for her and she began to cry. They had waited to have a family because Klaus said they weren’t ready for such a responsibility. At least they would not be dragging their children halfway around the world.

However, several years back Klaus had seen two boys who he wanted to hire. They were only twelve and thirteen. Karns was the older one. His father would not educate Karns because he had a club foot. His father thought it a waste of time and money. However, Klaus saw something in Karns that his father had never recognized and that was Karns’s hands. He was adroit and picked up on things fast when he worked with his hands.

Karns’ younger brother, Hans, had a mental problem. He couldn’t learn like the other children, but Klaus also saw that he too was good with his hands. Klaus went to their father and said, I would like to take your two boys as apprentices for a year, and then I will consider giving them compensation, depending on their ability to learn the leather trade. He further added that Karns and Hans would live with his family and he would be responsible for them from then on.

The boy’s father was elated and gladly assented to the move. The boy’s father had a large family and getting rid of two, especially the ones who would never earn their keep or leave the family, was a gift.

The boy’s mother felt the same way. She had to spend much of her time with these two boys which took away time from the other children.

Klaus just knew the boys would become good at his trade. He patiently taught the boys how to work leather. They both loved the attention Klaus gave them and worked diligently working the leather into many items. The boys excelled at what they did and it took only three or four months until they were good enough to be on their own. This took a load off Klaus, so he could market his wares.

Erna schooled them even when they were working. She taught them to read and write. She taught them grammar and arithmetic. The boys caught on and through the years became educated. It seemed that Hans was much brighter than his father thought. He just didn’t pay attention when he was in the classroom. When he had something to do that he liked, he was just as smart or smarter than anyone.

Mutual love developed between Klaus, Erna and the boys who now thought of Klaus and Erna as their mom and dad. When the move came, Klaus told the boy’s father that he was moving his business. Their father didn’t even ask where they were moving, and Klaus didn’t volunteer the information. After he sold his business, the four just left.

It was a thrill to be on a large ocean liner. Even Erna became excited. During the voyage to America, Erna became pregnant.

They reached New York, and Klaus bought train tickets to St. Louis. He thought this would be the best place to start his business, at the edge of civilization.

He started small, but orders for leather products were coming in faster than they could make the leather items. Klaus and even Erna had to work long hours with the boys to keep up with the orders.

As Klaus was delivering some goods one day, he saw two young Indian women trying to sell beads and small leather patches with beads sewn onto them. He watched them awhile and their hands worked like magic. An idea popped into his mind. If he could persuade these two Indians to work for him, he could double his work force and double his profits.

Although his English was not too good, and neither was the English of the two Indians, he final got his point over to them, that he wanted to hire them. He told them he would house and feed them. Both were still young, but had lost their husbands. They had left the tribe as they had no one to provide for them. They knew how to work with beads and barely eked out a living selling their wares. They lived in a makeshift hut and had a miserable existence, so they took the chance and went with Klaus.

Klaus had built an addition to this shop to house both boys and he could add another room to house the Indian girls. Meanwhile. he would put the Indian women up in a storage shed he had. It was much better than where they had lived, and they both thought it was nice.

The new addition didn’t take long, as he hired a carpenter to do the work. Erna furnished their new room and the girls were elated.

Erna served the meals so that the four employees had nothing to do but work leather. The women took to the work like they were born to it. Both boys took particular pains with teaching them They were kind to the women and the women had never known a man to be kind to them.

Earn picked up the English language quicker than any of them and began teaching the boys and Indian girls English while they worked. It became a game and made the work go easier.

It wasn’t a year before Karns came to Klaus and said, Mr. Haak, Hans and I want to marry Listrania and Halvinata. We are becoming close and we want to marry before we sin.

Klaus said, Do you love them, Karns?

Enough, I suppose. I know Hans does. He is crazy about Halvinata. I’m alright with Listrania and I know she loves me.

So, the two couples wed. By this time Klaus’s leather goods were becoming known as the best. He could not fill all the orders, so he looked for more employees He decided to stick with hiring Indian women as they seemed to have the knack for working leather and most were poor. He wanted women who had no husbands and really needed the work.

Klaus needed a delivery man or two, also. He hired two men who were older and were out of work. He hired two more Indian women and their daughters. They worked skillfully and silently. He had found a house near his shop and bought it for Karns, Hans and their wives. The new women took over the old quarters of the shop. Things couldn’t have been better.

Erna had twin girls that year who they named Dulce and Dana. they were the prettiest girls anyone had ever seen. By the time they were four, Klaus had brought Karns into the office and made him a manager. Karns was good at his new job and loved it. Hans was made the shop foreman and spent his time, assigning work, teaching and helping when someone needed it.

Klaus began to notice that the air in St. Louis was filled with smoke most of the time as many factories saw St Louis as the best place for manufacturing, because it had the railroad and the Mississippi River to transport their goods. He also knew that the streets were filled with drunken men and rowdies.

One day he said, Erna, I’m going to start a branch office out West. Karns runs the shop better than I do. He was born to be a business man. I want to raise our precious little girls in a clean and fresh place. I have studied a map that has most of the cattle ranches located on it. I found that Santa Rosa, in the New Mexico territory, is a central location. It will be a good change, and our girls will be raised in a clean and quiet place. What do you say?

I was against the first move, but it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us. I will miss Karns and Hans as they are my boys now. Their children are our grandchildren. However, I see your point. St. Louis is no place to raise our girls.

The move was not made until Klaus had established a clientele, built a shop and a house for his family in Santa Rosa. The girls were now six and nearly ready for school. Both girls were exceptionally bright as they had listened to Erna as she taught the Indian women. They were both excited about the move, but both cried when they said goodbye to Karns, Hans, their wives and children. They thought of them as part of their family.

Thinking of Santa Rosa was exciting to the girls. It was the Wild West that they had heard many stories about. When they arrived, they found a peaceful, sleepy little town that was very civilized. However, they were about to enter the first grade and were plenty excited about that.

The first day at school, Dulce pointed to two boys who had just ridden in on horses. They were handsome boys who wore smiles that pierced both Dulce’s and Dana’s hearts. Dana said, Those will be our husbands, Dulce.

Dulce said, Don’t tell them right away, Dana, they may be shy.

However, the boys weren’t shy. The minute they saw the two girls they walked right to them. Not a word was spoken. Both girls and boys just looked at one another and both were fascinated. The bell rang and they walked together into the classroom and sat near each other.

At recess they learned each other’s names and just talked. The boys told how they lived on ranches and the girls told how they had just moved from St. Louis.

When the girls came home that day, Erna was waiting to hear about their first day in school. Dulce said, We met our husbands today, Mother.

Erna laughed and said, Now how would you know that?

Dana said, The minute we saw them we knew. We haven’t told them yet, but we will soon. Their names are Johnny Grubbs and Jake Garrett. They’re cowboys and ride to school on their horses.

How old are they? Erna asked.

The same age as us, but a month older. Jake is seven days older that Johnny. Mother, they are the most handsome boys in the world and they like us. We spent all of the recesses and lunchtime with them.

So it went through the years. The boys spent as much time as they could with Dulce and Dana. After only a month, Dana and Dulce told the boys that they were going to marry them. The boys laughed, but as they were riding home that evening, Jake said, I think they meant it, Johnny. Johnny knew just what Jake was talking about and said, I know they did, Jake, and I kind of like the idea.

Jake said, I do too, but which is which?

Johnny said, It doesn’t matter. I can’t tell them apart, can you?

"No, I don’t think anyone but their folks can. That is alright