The Winemakers Reckoning

By Toby Lewis

A friend once told me that the Emancipation Proclamation was written by a person with blinders on. I asked him why he thought that was, and his answer was that the author of the document left out the part that excluded the Native Americans and the black people.

Negro men and red men both fought side by side with their white counterparts in the American Revolution and the bloody Civil War. More Americans, black and white, died in the Civil War than any other war in American history.

“All men are created equal except for the black man and the red man” is the way my friend said it. It should have been written for good ole Honest Abe.

The Winemakers Reckoning is what became of some of history’s survivors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984557827

Toby Lewis

Toby Lewis, a born and bred true Texan is a former journalism student who loves the telling of a good story, be it written or spoken. A lifelong weight-lifter who spent the majority of his adult life working in the night club industry working as a bouncer, bartender, and manager. That career has fortunately allowed him the privilege to live and work all over the country as well as to spend a couple of summers as a roadie for a not so famous rock and roll band. I don’t fancy myself as the most polished of writers, but I think I’m a damn good storyteller, I’ve been told that I write like I talk. I’ll take that.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Paddrick Mills was as tough and as Irish as they come, only thing was, he had extremely dark skin and very thick black curly hair. His father had been a wealthy ship captain in the mid eighteenth century who had partnered up with a rich Portuguese landowner to ferry purchased human flesh from the Ivory Coast to the Portugal docks. His mother was a part of that cargo of flesh, the great African king Mzelekazi sold her to him for two bundles of silk cloth from China. She was a captive from his last tribal conquest of the Nkozie, where all the women and children were spared only to be slaves of the conquering tribe or sold to the white men who came on the big ships, with their shiny beads and intoxicating liquors. Though he had a beautiful wife and two children back home in his native Ireland, the burly sea captain could not resist the intoxicating beauty of the Nubian princess; he just had to have her. By the time the ship docked in Portugal the girl was seven months along with the child of Captain Paddy Mills, the girl spent almost the entire voyage stowed away in the captain’s cabin.

During that time, he also snapped back to reality, the reality of arriving home with his African concubine carrying his child, the shame it would bring to his family mattered little to him, it was the scorn of his wife that terrified him most. His wife Selene a devout catholic would not be easily swayed, in the end he felt it better to just face the fire head on. The good captain knowing he could not insult his wife and family by coming home with the Negro mistress and a bastard child, knew he had some decisions to make. The child was born with the green eyes of his father, no hair and very light skin color and the resemblance to the captain was undeniable.

Goats for milk were brought on board, a nanny was hired, and the baby’s mother was sold into slavery with the rest of the human cargo, the good Catholic in the captain would not let him sell his own flesh and blood. The captain’s wife who was a truly spiritual and very religious Catholic, after a few months forgave her husband and not blaming a child for his father’s sins, accepted baby Paddrick into the household.

Captain Mill’s gave the boy his name so as people would all know, he was a Mills by blood no matter what his origin. The wealth of the Mills family allowed them to ignore the whispers subtly mentioned around the town about the new child suddenly in the Mills mansion. His physical resemblance to his father made it obvious as to who his father was, so it was a normal childhood for him as his half-sister and two older brothers treated him with no indifference whatsoever. He had an extra special attachment to his middle brother Ryan who was three years his senior, the two of them were the most like their father, not only physically but also in personality and character. They both idolized the famous sea captain and did everything they could to always be in his presence, so Paddy got to witness some of the abuse his father had to take from the British royalty. Ireland’s nobles had all accepted the fact being a Commonwealth of the United Kingdom meant you did as Parliament demanded or suffer the consequences. Paddrick knew that this infuriated his father and that anger bled right down to the sons.

As a man years later, if a British soldier or constable encountered Paddy in a bar or on the street, there was usually a fight or confrontation of some sort. It seems he always had a large chip on his shoulder, one night in a bar a loud mouth drunk made a remark about Paddrick being half nigger. The remark cost the man his life and two days later Paddrick Mills was smuggled onto one of the family ships bound for Galveston, Texas in the United States of America.

In the late 1800s Galveston Texas was the main port of call for all immigrants arriving in America and the town of which Paddrick Henry Mills life would start anew. What a place for a half black half white man to end up, he knew about slavery and was aware of his own origins, but slavery as it had been was never really a part of the Irish history. In Ireland he was protected by British laws against slavery of any type or repression of Blacks, here in the deep South of the United States no such civil decency existed. In Ireland he passed as being someone maybe of Spanish or Asian descent, here in Texas Paddrick was a mulatto and was treated as such, despite of the abolishment of slavery twenty years prior to his arrival on US shores. Back home he mostly existed safely under his family’s wealth and social power, even those who knew of his origin had granted him some degree of respect. Negro people as slaves, though having been emancipated for 20 years still suffered great deals of racism and violent repression Paddrick was quite taken aback by the boldness of signs around the island restricting services to people of color, and at that time after all these years Paddy thought of his mother and what her life must’ve become and if somewhere in this vast new land, could she be here.

While drinking in a bar on the Galveston strand one-night Paddy was befriended by a big Negro named Jimmy Vaughn, who came to his aid against two sailors who were planning to rob him and kill him, after they observed him paying for his drinks from a pouch of gold coins.

Except something my friend, Jimmy said to the big Irishman, where you come from people probably can’t tell what color you really is but over here these white boys can see that you got some Negro in you, okay. So, you got to be real careful about where you go and what you say, or you could end up dead real quick. See there are plenty of mixed breeds in this country and the white folk don’t care no more about them than they do a full colored, you what they call a mulatto over here, and down here in the South to them you Negro, the large black man told Paddrick.

Just hearing these statements enraged the Irishman and he blurted out, I’ll kill any man who pushes my honor the wrong way Jimmy, you have my solemn oath on that.

Paddrick my friend this country is only about twenty-two years past being a slave nation, hell we even got that new electricity stuff now, the world is changing in leaps and bounds, and these evil ass rednecks just don’t get it. The Lord is telling me to keep an eye on you for a while to help you find your way through the hell that the world over here is going to be for you.

Paddrick now realizing that he had never really known a black person, even though his father had sat him down at the age of twelve and told him how he came to be. He really loved his stepmother, she had never treated him with any indifference from her other children and these thoughts had told him to accept the offer of friendship from this enormous black man.

The two men would become inseparable friends over the following months, though coming from two separate worlds, Jimmy a hard-working longshoreman and Paddrick the wealthy son of a rich shipping merchant, to see them together no one would have ever known the difference. Paddrick eventually began to understand the cruelty and intricate horror of racism and how it separated American society. Though they feared no man the two friends avoided the brothels and bars that refused service to men of color, at times when drunk and feeling rowdy they would enter them just for a good fight. That notoriety and fierceness soon became well-known along Galveston’s waterfront strand, and many who knew them steered clear of the two, especially when they were drunk and together.

On one of their especially mischievous days the two friends walked boldly into one of the Strands saloons notorious for its refusal to serve people of color. A few seconds after ordering a round of beers, Jimmy and Paddrick were surrounded by the gaggle of whites already in the place. The small mob immediately launched into a verbal assault on the pair of friends.

Jimmy and his new partner quickly began administering a thorough beating to the gang of racist, standing back to back the two men were undefeatable, no matter the odds.

The bartender sent a waitress out to the street with instructions to find someone with a badge to come to his aide, a minute after the woman ran thru the swinging wooden doors a tall man wearing the badge of a Texas Ranger walked into the melee of furniture breaking and bodies flying. The Ranger drew a Colt forty-five revolver from his holster and fired off one loud round into the ceiling. The loud blast of the gun prompted every person in the room to freeze in place and all eyes turned to the tall man holding the large pistol overhead, a white stream of smoke emanating from its barrel.

You, holding the man over your head, the tall lawman commanded a sweating Jimmy Vaughn, put that fella down and step back away from him.

Jimmy without hesitation slammed the squirming man head first down to the floor and gingerly took a step back from his now lifeless body, his hands raised in the surrender gesture.

The man wearing the badge took a hard irritated frowning look in Jimmy’s direction for a quick few seconds before stepping over to the bartender and asking, what got all this breaking of the furniture started?

It was them two colored boys Ranger, the bartender blurted out, they know we don’t serve they kind in here.

The darkly tanned ranger slowly scanned the disheveled saloon in search of the other Negro the bartender spoke of and then asked the man, what two colored boys, I don’t see but one Negro in here?

That one right in front of you Ranger, the damn mullato with the black curly head of hair, he just looks more white than colored but he’s a nigger alright.

No need for that kind of talk mister, just tell me who started this fracas and the truth this time.

Texas Ranger Edward James Ketchum was a serious lawman who never showed preference to any man just because he was white. He was a little shocked at the appearance of Paddrick, the man could easily pass for white, yet here he was standing back to back with his large bald Negro friend wiping up the floor with a room full of racist white men. Ketchum had seen plenty mulattos during his lifetime, but never one like Paddrick Mills. The Ranger himself was many shades darker than Paddrick, only his skin color was accredited to many long days in the Texas sun.

Okay, said Ketchum, this time addressing Paddrick, you tell me what’s going on here.

That bartender is a liar Constable, me and my friend walked up to the bar and ordered two beers, and before another word was said, these fella’s here attacked us. Me and my friend were only defending ourselves against some insurmountable odds.

What I need now is for you and your friend to get out of this saloon and wait for me out by my horse, the big gray Bay.

Jimmy stepped over the lifeless figure on the floor in front of him and he and Paddrick walked out of the saloon. A minute later the Texas Ranger stepped through the swinging doors and out to the hitching post.

You boys should probably avoid this place in the future, said Ketchum, they is a couple of men in there talking about putting a bullet in y’all.

They can try if they want to, them fellas ain’t the only ones with a gun, expressed Jimmy.

I’ve heard stories about you two from others in town, he looked Paddrick in the eyes and you got to be the big Irishman folks speak of, I’m certain.

The names Paddrick Mills Constable and my friend here is Jimmy Vaughn, it’s true, I do hail from the northern region of Ireland.

Texas Ranger Ed Ketchum boys, the man answered while extending a friendly hand. My job is to keep the hard cases in this part of the state from getting out of hand.

We ain’t troublemakers Ranger, we just don’t cotton too well to men who think they can push us just cause we colored, stated Jimmy.

I respect what you saying mister but them boys inside out numbered y’all twelve to two and I ain’t counting the bartender, who I’m sure got a firearm stashed behind that bar.

To be honest with you Constable, we purposely walked through those doors because of the sign in the window that says, We Don’t Serve Niggers."

Those men we beat up are all gutless cowards who deserved what beating we administered to them before you intervened, added Paddrick.

Ketchum turned to have a look at the sign Paddrick spoke of and let go a hearty chuckle, I tend to agree with you on that one my friend. How does a fella from the emerald isle end up here on Galveston Island a thousand miles away, the Ranger curiously questioned?

"For basically the same reason you just broke up that brawl, some racist white men goading me into a fight by spitting out disparaging remarks about my racial lineage. The outcome for those men ended in a tragedy which prompted my father and uncles to put me on one of our company vessels bound for America. My family has an export-import business based here in Galveston that’s managed by family associates. If not for the efforts of my large bald friend here, my time here on earth could’ve ended months ago.

Jimmy’s been a staunch ally since the night he saved my life, when men as horrible as those inside made me their prey."

You couldn’t have picked a tougher cuss to pal up with on this island, I pretty regularly get complaints from men who made the mistake of crossing him and getting a good ass whipping for that indiscretion. Jimmy Vaughn here is a known man along the strand. Since your arrival on the island, his legend has grown tremendously, you two men together have become the topic of many a barroom conversation.

Over the following months, Paddrick, Jimmy and the Texas Ranger bonded as friends and hunting buddies. The love the three men shared for the sport of wild game hunting led to many long forays into the wooded areas of South East Texas. The treasure of that friendship was the trip arranged by Paddricks father and uncles for the three men to meet them on the African coast for a month long big game hunting safari. Paddrick suggested they not bring any weapons with them on the sail to Africa, he took great pride in bragging of his families arsenal of large caliber rifles. Ed and Jimmy both bagged large black rhinoceros and lions on the trip and both men declaring the experience to be the greatest adventure of their lives.

Jimmy was surprised to find Paddrick shared the same name as his father who other than skin tone, were the mirror image of one another. When he questioned his friend about the one difference between Paddrick, his brothers and father, Paddrick showed no hesitation in sharing the story of his racial origin.

Even though my father committed the sin that led to my conception, he never hid the fact he was my father, he gave me his name, he told me, so people would know that I was his son.

"Your people all call you Paddy, I know they do so you and your daddy would know which one of y’all, they talking to, which makes good sense. You don’t mind if I call you Paddy too, do you my friend?

Paddrick sounds way too formal to folks for Texas", added Jimmy.

That will do just fine Jimmy, you’re my friend, it doesn’t matter which one you use, said Paddrick.

Upon their return to Texas, Ranger Ketchum was summoned to Houston to quell the efforts of some of the hold over lawbreakers from before the turn of the century to reignite the crime of bank robbery. Ketchum was notorious for his dogged pursuit of bank robbers, he said his farewells to his new friends and left for Houston the day after they arrived back to Galveston. The three had promised not to let their friendship wain by losing contact with each other and over the years to follow, they’d maintained that friendship through letters and occasional get-togethers at area rodeos. Jimmy went back to his work as a longshoremen and before long Paddrick grew weary of spending his days as a rich man’s son existing on a life of frivolous sexual encounters and getting drunk. A letter he received from his father one day set the stage for the new path his life was about to take.

Jimmy may I ask you about something that might sound a little odd? inquired Paddrick.

Fire away and fallback my friend, responded Jimmy to Paddricks question.

In Ireland we always read and hear about the wild Indians in the American West, in this city I see different races of people from every point in the world, Jimmy where are the Indians?

Paddrick you got a lot to learn still about this country the white folk in Washington signed a piece of paper just after the war saying it was okay to kill any Indians whose land you felt you might want, something called eminent domain. It’s strange ain’t it Paddrick, one president signed a piece of paper outlawing the slavery and killing of the black man, and then another president signed a piece of paper saying it’s okay to kill the red man to take what’s his. There are still some tribes up North a ways but they mostly on reservations the government set up, once the law wasn’t paying money for the scalps of Indians no more. They is a couple of them reservations here in Texas, the only way you going to get to see a real Indian is to visit one of them, and that’s gonna take some traveling.

Paddrick was intrigued at Jimmy’s remarks about the red man, the British have been hard and at times cruel to the Irish but never to the point of passing a legal bill okaying the killing of its indigenous people.

I’d like to visit those people Jimmy, you think you and I can go to see them, every letter I get from my relatives, they ask if I’ve seen any Indians yet?

I wish I could help you Paddy, but I ain’t got no rich family to lean on, I can’t up and quit working to go on no adventure, I’d lose everything. Don’t forget, I’ve got a couple of children here in Galveston to support.

Paddrick looked out over the Galveston Bay for a few seconds and after a bit turned to his friend and said, "my father has grown weary of me just living here and enjoying the so-called life of Riley, he has business partners that pretty much handle the shipping business here. He has suggested I seek a way to procure some farming goods to ship back home, hopefully something that doesn’t grow in Ireland. How about you and I both work for my father, you mainly as my guide and interpreter, I’ll see to it that you receive a generous wage for your efforts."

Now it was Jimmy’s turn to look out across the bay in a trance of thought for a few seconds, before saying you know Paddy I never really been nowhere except Galveston and some of the little towns up north, hell I was born right here on this island on this very bay. That trip to Africa was the first time I ever traveled more than fifty miles away from this island, now tell me what else you got on your mind Paddy, my friend?

Paddy’s response to his declarations was, sometimes you just got to say the hell with it and take a leap of faith, we sometimes have to create our own destiny, Jimmy.

Well shit, when you put it like that, I guess I ain’t got no other choice but to accept your offer, plus somebody got to watch your back and keep the rednecks from hanging your ass, Jimmy laughingly replied.

The two men spent the next few weeks arranging and organizing the route north they would take and getting together a wagon load of supplies.

Do we need to carry weapons? Paddrick asked Jimmy.

Damn right man, he answered, the country we going into is still pretty wild, I’m sure most of the men will still be wearing side arms or carrying a shotgun or rifle, we should prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. You pass okay down here but up north of here is where slavery was worse and they gonna know you breed on site, they is plenty of half breeds in the land of slavery. We still hear stories about lynching and burnings north of here, we’ll most likely run into a few scrapes. You always been a free man and I’ve come to know from personal experience you ain’t to be pushed. Can you afford to get us a couple of them new Henry rifles? They would come in handy if we get into a mess where we greatly outnumbered.

Consider it done my friend, I knew that your joining me would be an invaluable asset, my family will be greatly relieved that you’ve chosen to accompany me on my journey into the unknown.

The following morning just before sunrise, the two adventurers each seated at the reigns of brand new buckboards looked over at each other and after exchanging smiles, Paddrick asked, Where to first Jimmy my brother?

We gonna head over to County Road number three, it’s the only road that will take us north first, there are a few little settlements in between here and a larger town called Houston farther on. Houston has a seaport that tries to compete with Galveston for shipping business, only thing is Paddy my friend, they got plenty of good Christians but no whorehouses and no saloons, so the sailors don’t really like stopping there. The people who settled there killed or run off all the Indians and few Mexicans that lived on the land a long time ago, the population is mostly white farmers and a handful of former slaves. We’ll have to go a little farther north on road seventy-five to get to the reservation if you want to go where the Indians are.

The two travelers rolled right through the settlement of Houston and on into a vast wooded part of Texas called the big thicket.

I’ve never seen such enormous trees, said Paddrick.

Me neither, replied Jimmy to his friend.

Paddricks father requested of him to seek out some farm land where they would be able to grow a raw product that could be shipped back to Ireland on one of their own vessels.

A farmer along the way had told them to go north on road seventy-five until they come to a town named Conroe. Turn west at the crossroads, forty miles on y’all be at a town called Montgomery, somebody there tell y’all where to find another little settlement where a small tribe of Coushatta Indians and former slaves still live.

The town of Montgomery was settled by mostly cotton farmers and cattle ranchers, it only took Jimmy one encounter with a Negro man sitting on the porch of the general store to set he and Paddrick straight on where they were.

They don’t allow no colored to live here in Montgomery, the old man said, all the colored and Indians live over in Bobbin, bout five miles further down this road.

Why you out here, if the whites don’t want no colored in Montgomery? questioned Jimmy.

I works here in the store, the sweat drenched black man said, I unload the delivery wagons and do some cleaning for the Buckelew’s what own this place. I be back in Bobbin before dark mister, colored ain’t safe in Montgomery after daylight gone, added the man with a tinge of fear in his voice.

Upon their eventual arrival to the community of Bobbin, the two travelers were astonished at the beauty of the terrain and how green and full of giant pine trees there were.

I get a good feeling about this place Jimmy, something tells me this town of Bobbin is the right place for us to put down our stake.

This may sound strange to you my mullato friend, but I’m getting the same feeling, I think maybe we might be in the right place, lamented Jimmy.

Bobbin was a good land to settle on and after getting the go-ahead from his father, Paddrick made the purchase of twenty-four hundred acres of mostly swampy land that could also be used to raise a few head of cattle. The two men had become such good friends that Paddrick allotted ten acres of that property to his friend Jimmy. It was the first time such kindness had been bestowed upon him and Jimmy knew for a fact that he and his half white friend would be pals for life. The two eventually hired former slaves to help build themselves substantial houses and barns, and to clear the land for the first years planting. The success was almost immediate, due to the fact that most of the white landowners were very cruel to the Negroes who worked for them or worked as sharecroppers. It was very easy to get the best of the field workers and builders to work for Paddrick and his friend Jimmy Vaughn.

They paid fair wages and shared the bounty of the land with everyone in the tiny community. It wasn’t long before word of the two new negro businessmen spread through the neighboring all white town of Montgomery.

Paddrick and Jimmy took immediate notice of the separation of the races and from the start found ways to work that to their advantage. They showed the people how to take pride in living separate from a community that only saw them as fodder to be cheated and talked down to. The men who worked the cattle and the fields for the wealthy whites all eventually ended up on the Mills-Vaughn payroll, the ones who didn’t were suddenly receiving fair wages from the white landowners they worked for. Not all the whites lived separate of their negro neighbors, there were white families who lived in Bobbin but historically those families were all true Christians. The kind of people who never saw being white as some form of entitlement, those people treated their fellow man with respect and were given respect in return. The prosperity the township shared included those families as well as that of the Negro families, both races even attended the same community church. The little township existed as a cove of humanity and harmony despite the erratic world beyond its borders.

The Mills family knew all the ingredients for substantial and successful business ventures, the ability to use money to make money was taught to their children early in life. Paddrick wasted no time in passing that knowledge on to his close friend Jimmy Vaughn and any of the landowners living in Bobbin, black or white. Paddricks family advanced him the start up capital, which after five years was all placed back into the family coffers. He and Jimmy never wavered in their efforts to build up the small township they now called home. Paddricks father and brothers along with his uncles all came to Bobbin for a one month stay, the pride they showed and felt at all that he and Jimmy had built was enormous. Paddrick senior picked up right off the closeness Jimmy felt to his son when they’d come with their friend the Texas Ranger on the family hunting trip to Africa. He was glad his son was befriended by a negro in a land where the black man was so heavily oppressed, every man needs someone they trust to watch their back. Paddrick senior felt his son was in good hands with Jimmy at his side.

Paddricks father had shown him and his brothers how to dig trenches and use dynamite to drain the water off low lying terrain. Paddrick made the time to show the other landowners in Bobbin the technique for utilizing the plentiful wet properties.

Over the years Paddrick and Jimmy became pillars of the tiny farming community, they paid fair wages to their employees and shared their prosperity with the Negro community of the little township called Bobbin. The first school for Negro children was financed and built by Paddrick and Jimmy. The racist white land owners harbored much resentment for the two men, especially after they realized that Paddrick was half Negro and that Jimmy himself was the son of a former slave. The Ku Klux Klan eventually made the decision as the grand Dragon put it at one of their rallies, we need to put them two uppity niggers in their place.

What the racist white men failed to realize was these two men were as tough as they come, each attack from the klan was met with equal or more viciousness from Paddrick, Jimmy, and their equally loyal friends, by the turn of the century the klan had realized that these two were not to be pushed and the bloodletting stopped. By now the two men were married with fine strong sons growing up in a community where being Negro was an issue for envious whites only, Paddrick had also grown to accept being considered a Negro, only thing was, he was one of the richest men in the county. Paddrick had taken a wife from the Negro community he now called his own, her name was Celita Hicks. Ms. Celita was the daughter of a former slave who had been granted the twenty acre plot adjoining the property owned by Paddrick and Jimmy. She was the most beautiful woman in town, black or white, she had the same skin color as Paddrick and the most beautiful green eyes. Her parents were dark skinned people, though when questioned by strangers about the difference, her father told how his grandmother had been the favorite sex toy of her owner and as they say the genes sometimes skip a generation. Celita and Paddrick both sharing the similar origins seemed to draw the two together and the compatibility was also enormous chemical wise, it seems as though they were madly in love with each other from the moment they first met, and it was a deep, passionate love.

Even the white men in the area found it difficult to keep their eyes off her, Celitas beauty was legendary and a few white men took serious beatings from Paddrick for their unwarranted advances toward his woman. Paddrick was despised by the white citizens, not only because of his beautiful wife but for his success as a businessman and the respect he garnered from the citizens of the small Negro community. Bobbin was a very tight knit town which was ninety-five percent Negro, it was the area inhabited by the Negro slaves after emancipation. No one got the forty acres and a mule promised by the federal government but those with decent owners were allowed to purchase land from their owners and some were even given a few acres by the more Christian owners who possessed some form of human conscience. Though the klan violence had rescinded some, the resentment of the Negroes was still intense, especially from the whites considered to be what the Negro people referred to as poor white trash. These were the mostly uneducated whites who worked for the wealthy land owners for meager wages doing the work the slaves once did for nothing. The world was changing, and the poor white trash was being left behind, they chose to blame all their woes on the Negro people.

CHAPTER TWO

The Negro community thrived, mainly because they were united as one people with the goal of bettering the collective as a whole. It was risky for the Negroes to be away from the area alone because of the poor white trash, so no one ever went anywhere outside the community alone. Taking cattle and crops to the railhead down in Conroe for sale was always done as a group. The families would caravan the wagons and herds of cattle down County Road one-o-five together, do their business and all head back home together. The people had heard too many stories about the mistreatment of Negroes in other communities around the country, mainly the story of the town of Rosewood Florida particularly made the people of Bobbin uneasy. A white woman who had been raped by one of her husband’s relatives lied and told the local sheriff that a Negro had raped her. The Sheriff, his friends and the local klan went into the Negro town nearby and raped, lynched and murdered over half of its inhabitants, the rest were scattered to the open country and forbidden to ever return. This incident changed everything for the Negroes in the South, it proved that even the law cannot protect them, the people of Bobbin cut off all contact with the whites. Though his partner was white Paddrick opened a general store to service the Negro town, they already had a school and a nice church, so it was easy to live without white inclusion, everyone pitched in to keep the little town going and growing.

The years passed without much incident, mainly because of World War I, the great majority of the men and boys went off to fight the Germans, even Paddricks two sons Lonnie and Robert along with Jimmy’s son Tyler. While the boys were away Paddrick and Jimmy decided to open up their own beer joint, they wanted the boys to have a peaceful place to hang out when they got home from the war.

They won’t be boys anymore when they come home, Paddy was telling Jimmy while they sat under an oak tree sharing a bottle of moonshine whiskey from their very own still. The joint was right across the road from the General Mercantile owned by Paddy and his white partner, Mark Andrews. Pretty soon another family opened up an eating café on the same road then a blacksmith shop that was now needed in the growing farming community, suddenly Bobbin became a real town and the destination point for black people from all the surrounding Negro settlements. It seemed as though everything Paddy and Jimmy touched turned to gold, the saloon had live music on Friday and Saturday night, pretty soon some of the whites from the surrounding towns started to show up to drink and dance. Things were mostly peaceful due to the fact that the whites who showed up were decent with the Negro people, they mainly were children of former slave owners who had accepted the worlds changes. The low point in all the good that was happening with the Mills, Vaughn families and the people of Bobbin was the death of young Robert Mills who got trapped in a trench during a poison gas attack. The entire town was present at the funeral, Jimmy’s son Tyler, accompanied Lonnie home when he brought his brothers body home. Tyler and Lonnie were as much brothers as Robert and Lonnie were, the two were born three days apart and had been inseparable their entire lives, after the funeral they both returned to their postings in France. Celita and Clara the mothers of the two men held regular prayer vigils with each other in hopes that Robert’s death would be the only price the war would cost the families who had now become one.

Every now and then the rednecks would stop in just to make trouble, these were the emotional holdovers from the old days who could not accept change in the world. The fighting when it would happen was pretty violent and the white man usually took a serious beating, the law would always find some reason to blame whatever Negro who happened to be involved. No one white was ever arrested, Paddy and Jimmy would always pay the fine it took to get their neighbor out of jail and that really infuriated the white law man.

Paddy closed the joint for a week, so he and Jimmy could repair damage to the building and winter proof the place for the coming cold months. Jimmy had promised his wife that he would be home for supper, hate to leave you working alone Paddy but I promised the woman that I get home to have supper with her and the children tonight, won’t we finish up with them table repairs tomorrow?

Actually, old friend, I thought we could take tomorrow off, hang around here, drink a few cold beers, play some cards and just be lazy. There are only about four more tables to fix, I’ll stay here and finish that, you just meet me here about noon tomorrow and the first round is on you. Now get on home and give my love to Clara and the children, and don’t forget to, because she’ll be cursing me when you drag in drunk tomorrow night, I love you brother. The two friends hugged and gave each other hearty pats on the back and bed each other farewell. Three hours later Paddy put the tools and lumber away in the storage shed outback and saddled his horse for the ride home thinking how thick the dark of the night was this evening, there wasn’t even a moon in the sky tonight. The ride home was near three miles down one road and another half-mile up a hill that led to the Mills property, what he did not notice as he rode past the blacksmith shop, was the local sheriff and two of his klan buddies parked in the field across the road sharing a jug of moonshine. One of the klan boys Billy Hardcastle had once got into it with Paddy when he made a disparaging remark about Ms. Celita that was overheard by Paddy and that remark cost Hardcastle one of the worst beatings of his life, two of his friends came to his aid but Jimmy discarded them like so much trash.

Well lookee here, said Hardcastle to the other men with him, there’s that uppity nigger Mills. He ain’t with that big bastard he pals around with, we should kick his ass sheriff.

Even though the conflict between the redneck and Paddrick had been more than five years ago, his scorn for Paddrick was deep and long-lasting.

Let’s get that half breed son of a bitch Jeb, growled Hardcastle. The drunk law man put the car into gear and began to slowly follow Paddy down the long dirt road. About a mile past the little business crossroads the cars headlights popped on behind Paddy and doing the neighborly thing, moving over and obliging the throughway to the approaching vehicle. The car sped past the horse and stopped about 50 yards ahead, out of the car climbed Billy Hardcastle and his klan buddy Roy Reese both brandishing 12gauge shotguns. In the darkness Paddy could not recognize the men but the silhouette of the two brandishing firearms was clearly obvious, he reigned in his horse and asked the men, what’s the problem fellows?

On those words Hardcastle let fly a blast of buckshot over Paddy’s head and then yelled, you the problem you half breed uppity nigger, now get your ass down off the horse.

Being unarmed and clearly at a disadvantage with two shotguns pointed at him and possibly a third weapon behind those two, Paddrick slowly climbed down from his horse and raised his hands in surrender. The men approached Paddy, guns aimed at his torso with Hardcastle screaming verbal obscenities at Paddrick, once they were closer Paddy recognized the voice of Hardcastle and realized the situation was possibly critical.

What’s the problem Billy Hardcastle? Questioned Paddy.

Hardcastle responded, oh you remember who I am breed, too bad you ain’t got your black ass shadow with you, that big son of a bitch Jimmy Vaughn, well one day he’s going to get his too. But tonight, I get to square shit up between you and me.

There is nothing between you and me, you showed great disrespect to my wife, we settled it like men, you lost and that was it, that was six years ago almost you should be over it by now, remarked Paddrick.

With rage in his voice Hardcastle screamed, um a far damn cry from being over it, and as he said it he drew back and slammed the butt of the twelve gauge into Paddricks temple, knocking him unconscious.

What now Billy? asked Reese.

Give me that rope out the backseat of the sheriff’s car and tell him to back the car up over here close to this nigga`, we going to drag his ass home to that woman he so damn proud of, see how she likes that.

The sheriff though being the law in the county was the lower ranked man on the klan totem pole, did as he was instructed. To speak up against this violent act could result in his being persecuted by the klan himself, the rope was tied to Paddricks ankles and the other end to the bumper of the sheriff’s automobile.

Paddrick awoke still in darkness but having his mouth full of the taste of dirt and gravel, thankfully he was on his back because he was being dragged down the middle of the road, his legs tied to the bumper of a car. He had no idea how long he had been dragged but he thought, thank God I’m on a dirt road and am wearing my work overalls, then his focus went to keeping his body in a position that kept his backside in the dirt and his uncovered flesh from touching the gravel. After a few minutes the tension from the bumpers edge against the rope cut it and Paddrick rolled free to the side of the road. He laid still as if still unconscious, his only chance of survival now is if the men came back to finish him off was to catch them off guard and maybe manage to wrestle one of the guns away from one of his assailants.

Being a bit uneasy and nervous because he was the law and all the sheriff looked in the rearview mirror and not seeing any movement from Paddrick said, he’s gotta be dead boys, what say we get the hell out of here before somebody comes along to see us.

Okay Jeb let’s go back to Montgomery and tell the rest of the boys what we done to that uppity bastard, they should get a good laugh out of this, long live the klan, and they pulled the cork on the jug of whiskey and drove down the road laughing about what they’d done to Paddy Mills.

Paddrick was in a lot worse shape from the dragging than he first thought, after taking a few steps towards his home he collapsed to the ground. The later it got the more Ms. Celita worried about where her husband might be, after all he had told her that he would be home before eight o’clock, it was now well after ten and Paddy never broke his word to the woman whom he loved dearly. She called out to her youngest son little Jim, the son they chose to name after their father’s faithful friend Jimmy Vaughn. Fourteen-year-old Jimmy came to his mother’s beckoning, yes mother little Jim answered.

Um a little concerned that your father hasn’t come home yet, would you be a good boy and ride down to your uncle Jimmy’s to see if he’s there?

"Yes, ma’am, I’ll be back