Other Brother: The Wild American Odyssey Continues

By Don McComber

This is the grand adventure of a family, forcibly separated for years, that endures hardship and heartbreak as they struggle for survival and cross the American frontier to find each other. Every page contributes to the story; there is no filler material. It‘s dripping with drama, and loaded with hair raising escapes. Hang on tight as the adventure pulls you through emotional and geographical extremes.

It is the second book of a series about one American family. These stories are fast moving action packed, contain numerous near death conflicts, and traverse staggering amounts of geography. They fit perfectly into major events in history, incorporate deep emotion, have strong female characters, and have killer endings that will leave you saying, “WOW!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Apr 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781698700816

Don McComber

He was born and raised in a tiny prairie town, had a career as a scientist, traveled the world and developed a deep respect for American Heritage. He writes about those exceptional people who risked everything to come to this land of freedom and promise. These are the people who gave their lives to create a new country called America.

Book preview

OTHER

BROTHER

The Wild American Odyssey Continues

SECOND EDITION

DON MCCOMBER

©

Copyright 2020 Don McComber.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-6987-0082-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6987-0081-6 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Trafford rev. 04/20/2020

22970.png www.trafford.com

North America & international

toll-free: 1 888 232 4444 (USA & Canada)

fax: [phone]

CONTENTS

Preface

Scientific Theme

Eastward

Paths Apart

Northwest

Apache

Lipan, Blackfeet

Willamette

A Decade Apart

California

Sutter

Jm Farewell?

Levi’s Odyssey

The Voyage

Civil War

Railroad

Utah Winter

Westward

Silver City

Home Again

Reunite?

Epilogue

THE FAMILY LINE

Main Characters

(Those in this story are bold)

Sarah - William Augustus

Son: Macum- Giles McCumber, b.1746

Cousins: Adie (Adolphus), Doig

Son: Harmon McCumber, b. 1800 m. Lydia,

Friend: Harmon

            Brothers: Kanti, Donnal, Joseph b.1796

            m. Rebecca,

      Son: Levi b.1848 m. Marcia,

      Son: Levi Junior

Son: Giles (Mack) McComber, b.1850, m. Fanny,

Brothers: Adolphus, William

Son: Robert Giles McComber, b.1913, m. Fern

Brothers in law: Myron & Francis Bateman

Son: Donald McComber, b.1939 (Author)

Children: Kristine, Michael, Diana

PREFACE

I n the book Confluence , most of the story for the Line of McComber was told. The American girl Sarah Macomber, who had gone to England for education, had the misfortune of being in Culloden, Scotland during the battle of Culloden. As part of the English miscegenation of the Scottish blood, the victorious Duke of Cumberland impregnated Sarah. The resulting boy, Macum, then Giles McCumberland, then Giles McCumber and his two bastard cousins, Adie and Doig, found their way to the new America as indentured men at age 16.

After, they escaped the English in Scotland, and were arrested by the French at mid ocean. The adventure started in Nova Scotia where they were taken for imprisonment, then took them up the Chesapeake Peninsula and across wild country to what is now western Pennsylvania where they lived with the Oneida Indians for a decade. Two lived through the Revolutionary war, and became successful merchants, but Giles (the first) dreamed of going west. He ended up in St Louis with four sons, one who was half Oneida, and a daughter. They helped pioneer the west fighting slavers, Indians, thieves and road bandits for their lives. They endured blizzards and dust storms and one of the brothers, Harmon went back east to finish his life in New York. He fathered thirteen children two of which fought in the Civil War and the youngest, Giles (the second) again went west. There he married twice, had two separate families, struggled for a living and for his life. He finally made his home in western Nebraska where more generations followed. Several men fought in WWII and others in Vietnam; they endured dust storms, abductions, and a turkey fight. All the main characters were real people, and their births, deaths and locations accurate. Their love of singing, their life’s ethos and a simple recipe for sweet and spicy pickles connected all the generations.

Confluence recounted tales about three of the original Giles McComber’s four sons. This story is about the Other Brother Joseph, his wife Rebecca and their youngest son Levi. They were barely mentioned in Confluence, because their adventure was so grand, it fills a complete book. The exploits and escapes of the other brother Joseph and Rebecca, Levi and his wife Marcia are the basis of this story and provide us with a continuation of the quest of the west held by his father. This is a saga of exploration, gripping drama and love that continues on west to Oregon and California. It then moves onto the good ship White Goose, the Civil War, the Transcontinental Railroad, flight from a Mormon posse, then sorrow in Montana and Oregon.

SCIENTIFIC THEME

A n underlying theme of this series of books is the exceptional nature of the people that endured the risk and danger of migrating to America for the simple promise of a better life. Then once here, why did some continue on across the vast and dangerous breadth of the continent? How is it, that one person is willing to risk health and life on a chance of betterment, when their neighbor is not? Why is it that some people are more willing to take risks, are more innovative and creative, and are more adventurous than others?

The answer lies deep within our genome makeup. Approximately 20% of the several billion people that populate the earth today have within them a variant of a gene called DRD4-7R or -2R. It helps regulate dopamine, a chemical in the brain that is important to learning and reward. The theory is this gene is prevalent in those people who were the explorers and adventurers throughout history. It drives people to see what’s over the next hill, and it drives society to try to better itself. The Neanderthal didn’t have it. They didn’t migrate or invent for two hundred thousand years, and they died out. Many Homo sapiens did have it and when they left Africa, it took half that time to cover the entire earth. The studies on this are controversial and tainted with math and method problems, but the fact remains that some of us have within us an unconscious drive to explore or a compulsion to improve that others do not. It is not my contention that my ancestors exclusively carried these genes; it is my contention though, that most Americans do, and that is the primary reason why our country is exceptional.

EASTWARD

T he flat boat kept to the center of the river going downstream and whenever it was driven into shallower water, the crew would use long poles to force it into the current. Joseph was concerned about Rebecca because every morning the last several weeks, she felt sick to the point of vomiting. The Mississippi that time of year was low, and most of the river traffic was taking place in the space of about six months. Keel boats were sticking to the sides where the current was slower, but they were more vulnerable to thieves enticing them to the bank where the passengers could be robbed and usually killed. Joseph was glad they were in the middle of the river and sat back and enjoyed the trip, because it wouldn’t be long before they would be faced with the slow upriver grind of the Ohio.

While his father and brothers were exploring the west and sharing in daring exploits up and down the trails of promise, Joseph stuck to the store in St Louis and helped his Mom run things. He spoke with every traveler that would take the time, searching for information about his brothers upriver in the wilds of the prairie and beyond. He listened intently to the mountain men especially as they told the wildest tales of Indians and gold hidden in the mountains. Once in a while one of these grizzled men would show him a poke of gold flakes and nuggets and spin tales of rich and verdant mountain valleys and beautiful Indian maidens. Slowly, Joseph had built up the internal desire to go west himself and seek his fortune, but then he and Rebecca crossed paths; his life was changed, and he suppressed the desire for adventure.

In the very early 1800’s, courtships in the west had to be quick affairs. Young men and women crossed paths briefly and if they felt an attraction, they had to act, for tomorrow they may be gone forever. Rebecca’s folks had come down the Ohio and up the Mississippi just like thousands of souls before them in search of a better life in the west. When they hit St Louis though, the Mother decided she’d had enough of the narrow escapes from death, sleeping on the ground, and the rough men with their suggestive talk, and wanted to turn around a go back to Vermont. This was not unusual as nearly half of the people that started for the west turned back at some point. But, her Father and older brothers were not going to turn back and the family split over the issue. In the space of two days, Joseph and Rebecca married and her Mother took enough money for the trip and started back to the east. Her Father and brothers headed upriver to Independence and intended to go west on one of the pack trains. Neither would make it. They would be part of the thousands waylaid and left to die or became lost in the west during that period. A few months later, Rebecca also felt the need to return to the east, so Joseph uprooted and left with her. His Mother Ilse was surprised and somewhat relieved when he told her of his plans to go east as she had enough to worry about with the wild adventures of her husband Giles and sons Kanti (a stepson), Donnal and Harmon.

But now, here he was leaving all he had ever known and loved behind. He was also leaving his dream of exploring the west and discovering mountain valleys speckled with gold and flowing with clear water and beautiful Indian maidens. Then when he looked at Rebecca, his heart fluttered and he knew it was all worth it. He was inexperienced in the affairs of the heart. She was his first love and he was willing to do anything or go anywhere for her, and she knew it. He was simply unaware of the price.

They approached the little settlement at the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi and the captain of the flat boat began yelling at his helpers to push this way or that so they could guide the raft onto the shallow part of the river that served as a dock. Several keel boat owners and their crews were patiently waiting for customers for the trip upriver. They looked to be a motley lot, unkempt and unshaven, giving the young couple menacing looks. Had Joseph and Rebecca known their intentions, they would have waited for more reputable keel boaters. But they were in a bit of a hurry and gave the first keel boater a handful of coins for the trip up the Ohio.

The American west at that time was loaded with all sorts of thieves, crooks and scam artists that had been driven from the more civilized parts in the east. Fortunately, Joseph was the largest son of the family with broad shoulders, long arms and big strong hands. He carried a huge, menacing bowie knife in a scabbard on his waist, and knew how to use it. His half brother Kanti, who was half Oneida Indian, was nearly his size but didn’t have the arm or hand strength of Joseph. His other brothers Harmon and Donnal were somewhat smaller, but more aware of the ways of the west and the hazards that existed. He knew all three of his brothers had fought for their lives at one time or the other, but Joseph had not …yet. He and Rebecca found a place in which they could wait for several days so the captain of the boat could accumulate more passengers for the upriver trip. Several other couples and four tough looking men also signed onto the boat for the trip up to Louisville where they would have to change boats for the trip to Pittsburg. This made our young couple feel much safer.

The keel boat was of shallow draft, about 50 feet long and 15 wide, with crude board paths built close to the water line on each side from which the polers could walk back and forth. It had a makeshift shelter built into the middle for protection from both the sun and rain. Other than that it was crude and dirty with the leavings of hundreds of previous passengers. Each person was responsible for their own food, but the boat had a number of stops along the way from which they could purchase, at a highly inflated price, what they needed.

Everything went well until one evening when a crisp breeze came up out of the north and one of the crew pulled out a shawl and put it around his shoulders. Immediately Rebecca recognized it as belonging to her Mother. She was aghast, but didn’t say anything aloud. Joseph noticed it too and at first thought it a strange coincidence. Then he realized it had to be stolen as it was a hand-made, one-of-a-kind shawl. The next day, when they were stopped at a supply store, he confronted the crewman that had the shawl, on the way to the latrine where nobody else could hear him. He pulled out his knife and held it to the man’s chest and was willingly told that the woman was raped, robbed and killed several months ago. Her body had been thrown up on the bank where it would be consumed by animals. Joseph pressed him for more information on exactly who had been involved and the crewman fingered the captain, but no more as the rest of the crew was nearly new. At that point the rage welled up in him and he thrust the knife into the man’s stomach to the hilt, which was about 15 inches and held it there for a moment before he twisted it then pulled it out with a slurp. He felt light headed as he dragged the man over to a deep ravine and rolled his body down into the covering brush. He carefully cleaned the blade and returned it to its scabbard. He was incredulous at what he had just done. He couldn’t believe he had taken another man’s life without a twitch, blink or second thought. Rebecca could tell that something was wrong with Joseph when she saw him, but he put his finger up to his lips indicating she should keep quiet for the time being. When the time came for the boat to shove off and continue upriver, the captain didn’t hesitate to leave without finding the dead crewman. But, Joseph knew he had one more man to kill and looked at the captain in a new light. The feeling of wanting to kill another man was foreign to him. Within a day, the rest of the crew eagerly split the missing man’s belongings among them with the captain taking the first pick.

One of the tough looking men took the place of the lost crewman in return for a reduction in fare. Joseph remained wary looking for a chance to take care of the captain. Both he and Rebecca had kept quiet about the shawl and the dead man; so the days slipped by and slowly they approached the falls at Louisville where they would have to change boats. Joseph knew he could not let the murder of his mother-in-law stand, but was getting concerned that he would not find an opportunity to revenge her. The captain seemed to sense the danger he was in and always had several of his cronies around him. Joseph was thinking he would have to take care of all of them. This could get him hung. One evening, the captain announced they would be at the falls the next day, and Joseph felt desperate, so he went over and sat down with several of the tough looking men. He then told them the story of what he had discovered when the crewman used the shawl, the one-of-a-kind shawl of his mother-in-law and the confession of the crewman that he and the captain had raped, robbed and killed her. They told him it was none of their business, but if he wanted to kill the captain, they would prevent the rest of the crew from interfering. The next morning with the falls in sight, Joseph told the captain to stand up because; he was going to kill him.

But, the captain struck first and hit Joseph in the knee with a three foot stick. Down Joseph went with a severely injured knee, his knife still in the scabbard. The captain was on him in a flash pounding away with the stick trying to hit him in the head, but Joseph was able to fend off most of the blows and slowly gathered his wits. He pulled out his knife and in one swipe cut the stick in two. The captain backed off and frantically looked for another weapon. Joseph regained his feet and couldn’t put much weight on his injured leg, but slowly advanced on the captain. The captain screamed obscenities at him and shouted at the rest of the crew to intervene, but there was no response. Joseph kept advancing on the now cowardly captain who was screaming for mercy. In a calm voice, Joseph asked him, Did you rape and kill the woman that owned that shawl?

The captain yelled, She wanted it. And, She accidentally fell overboard.

Joseph now had him cornered; he could back up no further. The captain contemplated jumping overboard, but instead dove at Joseph’s injured leg. Joseph stabbed down with his bowie knife and sank it to the hilt in the captain’s back just as he sidestepped and withdrew the knife simultaneously. The captain, instantly stricken, spoke without sound and fell into the river. The crew cheered as they hated the man and knew him to be malfeasant.

Within the hour they were at the landing and disembarked, Joseph limping heavily, shaking the hands of both the crew and the four tough men. They stayed at the sizable settlement of a couple thousand for several days, which had been named Louisville for over a decade. News of the demise of the hated captain drifted around town and several offers of employment were forthcoming for Joseph. Everywhere the young couple went, people wanted to hear the gory details of the captain’s demise, and they ate grandly at the best places in town. Joseph tried to persuade Rebecca to stay and make a home there where he had his pick of a half dozen jobs, but she would not. For the first time, Joseph was wondering if he had made a mistake. But the next day they were on another keel boat going upriver.

This boat captain seemed to be professional and a man of probity, so the youngsters sat and held hands and watched the riverbanks slowly slip by. Rebecca realized finally that she was pregnant and this put a new sense of urgency on their trip and the need to reach their destination before the birth. Now Joseph had something else to worry about. The trip to Pittsburg was uneventful. They secured a spot to sit in the back of a freight wagon with a pile of beaver pelts. It was uncomfortable but about the only way they could ride to Philadelphia. The first evening out, they stopped at a small settlement that catered to travelers headed west. There were dozens of folks there with wagons loaded to the hilt with goods and belongings of all kinds. There were families with small children and small groups of men traveling alone and everyone was going west. They were one of the few going east.

Their wagon master wanted to get an early start so they were up before dawn. Rebecca had all their things rolled up into packs for the trip and went into the woods to the small outhouse to prepare for the long morning’s ride. As she came out, someone hit her on the head and the last thing she remembered was her legs going numb; the ground rushed up and hit her in the face. Two men quickly picked her up, tied and gagged her and put her into a large burlap sack and slid her into one of the westward wagons. Joseph and the wagon master waited patiently for Rebecca to return; she never did. Joseph went looking for her about the time all the other wagons headed up and started west. He went to the outhouse and called her name, but another woman answered. He saw a faint trail leading off into the trees and imagined that she must have wanted a short walk and wandered away, so he followed it. Meantime, their wagon master tossed their packs off the wagon and started east on his own. Joseph continued to follow the faint trail off into the woods, as it continued to wander back and forth then headed straight down hill toward the small river. He was sure he was following Rebecca’s path and began to trot and called her name. But there was no answer. He got to the small river and could see where something had crossed and left a wet trail on the rocks on the other side. So he crossed too. He became frantic and screamed her name; it was quiet. He ran back through the shallow river and up to the settlement only to find his packs setting in the weeds next to the road. He asked the people around if they had seen his wife, but none had. It didn’t dawn on him that she’d been abducted and he picked up their packs and retraced his steps past the outhouse and down to the river. He followed what turned out to be a game trail across the river and into the forest beyond for several miles before it petered out.

The wagon that carried Rebecca had set out a few minutes before the rest that morning and was travelling faster, so the distance between it and the remainder of the wagons grew steadily throughout the day. The main group of wagons hadn’t seen the first wagon leave and was unaware that it was ahead. Rebecca’s abductors traveled steadily until the middle of the afternoon and stopped at a stream to water the horses and eat some lunch. The main wagon group would have stopped two or three times during the day. The two rugged men pulled the bag holding Rebecca out from under their other trap and let her out, but kept her gagged and bound. She was thankful to get some fresh air and was about half dizzy from re-breathing the air in the bag. They continued to bounce along the road going several miles an hour faster than the other wagons leaving them hopelessly behind. When they met wagons going the other way, one of the men would pull a deer hide over Rebecca to hide her. Her two abductors were large, lean men, both well groomed and clean shaven; they were actually quite handsome. When they stopped for the night, one of them, the blue eyed one, gently untied Rebecca and set her down beside the small fire on which their pot of stew was heating. It was then; the dark eyed one softly explained to her that he and his brother had lost their wives and when they saw her, they both were attracted to her beauty and grace and knew if they didn’t take her, they would lose her. He explained they would not abuse or harm her and she would be treated with dignity and care and they expected that, in time, she would fall in love with one of them. His story was so compelling; Rebecca felt her heart opening slightly to his plea. But, then it slammed shut, and she explained that she would never fall in love with either of them, and at the first chance, would bolt.

Joseph found that a freight wagon had come through the settlement going east in the minutes before Rebecca went missing, and struck out on foot carrying only his knife in an effort to catch it. He thought if he ran, he could catch the wagon; but it was futile. He was going the wrong direction. He ran and took short cuts until he was totally exhausted. Tears were streaming down his face as he struggled to catch the wagons that, on occasion, he could glimpse in the distance. He was not getting closer, so he thought if he ran through the night he could catch them. Finally late that evening, he caught up to the wagon on which he and Rebecca had been riding. The wagon master told him there was a wagon several miles ahead that had maintained a good pace all day. This gave Joseph false hope. In another hour, he quietly approached a campfire in the darkness. Two older men both with gray in their beards were sitting by the glowing coals and sharing a gallon jug of hooch. They were quietly discussing the weather and the condition of the road. Joseph slowly circled the camp looking for any sign of Rebecca; there was none. The two wagon wranglers finally started to doze off and Joseph spoke to them and asked to come into their fire. One of them grabbed his musket, cocked it and said to come on in. He asked them if he could search their trap for a woman he was looking for and they agreed. She was not there. They had seen no woman. Joseph asked if he could have a swig off their jug and sat down and cried openly. The two men tried to console him, but he wouldn’t have any of it and in several minutes was gone back to the west where he struggled westward in the darkness without food or water. At that point his quest seemed sisyphean, but he continued until he could walk no more and lay down beside the road and slept.

Her two abductors gave her the choice of either being tied and gagged or sitting quietly in the wagon. Rebecca took the latter. They continued on to the west and it wasn’t long before she found herself on a large log raft floating down the Ohio River with other pioneer families following their dreams. Her two abductors prevented her from contact with other women of the group, but by this time she knew it was futile to complain and had pretty much accepted the fact that Joseph would never find her. She was more concerned about the baby growing in her belly. Then they stopped for the falls at Louisville. Several people in the town recognized Rebecca and wondered why she was with two quite handsome, strange men. But she seemed to go along willingly and nothing was said. The next stop was the Mississippi River.

Joseph had just enough money left to get to Louisville. He knew not what he would do then, but preferred not to think about it. He was morose and acerbic in his dealings with the people around him, and several times got into arguments with other men and women. He didn’t sleep much and skipped meals because he had no appetite. He began to look drawn and unkempt, and had dark circles under his eyes. The thoughts of what was happening to Rebecca just killed him and he thought he was going crazy thinking about it. But he persevered, and when he arrived at Louisville, he looked up some of the people he had met on the previous trip and pled with them to help him. All they could do was loan him money to continue his trip, but how did he know what direction Rebecca had gone? What made him think that she continued on down the Ohio and where would she go once the Mississippi was reached? There were a plethora of small settlements along the way and she could get off at any of them. Maybe she had gone south on the road from Louisville as hundreds of other folks did. He was distraught; he finally sat down and wept. He could not be consoled. He was losing his mind and couldn’t stop it. Days went by and he became more frustrated with his inability to take action. Finally someone told him about a woman who looked like Rebecca in the company of two well groomed men that embarked on a southbound barge. Had she run away with some handsome stranger? He put that thought out of his mind. But he was encouraged, and he thought about buying a horse and trying to catch them. But, when he told his friends, they explained that no horse could catch a fast moving barge heading downstream. And he was gone on the next barge; destination, the Mississippi River.

Rebecca was slowly settling into her fate and she was actually starting to feel comfortable around her abductors. They finally reached the Mississippi and hired a keel boat to take them up to Independence. The men, were planning on going west on one of the pack trains all the way to the ocean. She had started conversing with them and let them know in no uncertain terms that she was not happy going west and if they would turn around and go to the civilized east, she would marry one of them. This was, of course, a ruse; they suspected as much and remained unmoved. The upstream travel of the keel boat was slow and Rebecca knew that a good horse and rider could catch up with them before they reached Independence. If only Joseph could know which way to go. He would have to be guided by God to find her in this gigantic, turbulent country. How would he be so lucky to choose the exact route she had taken? She hoped to see him any day now; actually he was falling farther and farther behind.

When Joseph reached the Mississippi, he had a decision to make. Fully one third of the travelers proceeded on down the river to New Orleans and he had determined that was the way he should go. He suspected that the two reasonably well dressed, clean shaven men had to be dandies of some sort and New Orleans was far more attractive to that sort than the open west. As a result of this decision, made on a tiny fragment of faulty information, he and Rebecca would be separated for nearly a decade.

PATHS APART

R ebecca was a little surprised that she was now willingly going along with the brothers and participated in conversations on subjects of all kinds. The brothers were educated and seemed to be quite religious, but what in the world made them think they could just take a woman and make her their own? Many conversations ended with that question, and the brothers apologized repeatedly, but stuck to the belief that Rebecca would eventually come to love them and the end justified the means. When they arrived at St Louis, Rebecca was sure she could get away but the brothers were wary and whisked her off on another keel boat to Independence. She cried often thinking she and her unborn child would certainly perish in the uncivilized west, without proper food or shelter. She cried at sundown and at sunup. She cried whenever she saw a young couple together and realized that she and Joseph were now separated forever, and she needed to get over it. Determined to make the best of it, she began to openly show her admiration for the brothers. Within the month, she was astraddle a cantankerous and stubborn horse trailing several pack mules loaded with their supplies, and talking openly with the brothers, who had now become her friends and protectors. Her pregnancy was starting to show and she was going to have to tell the brothers she was pregnant.

The trip south to New Orleans was a quick one for Joseph. He signed on as a hand in return for the cost of his passage on a large log barge. He helped carrying all the provisions of the various passengers on and off along with keeping the peace between some of the more belligerent men. His bowie knife, strapped in plain view, spoke for him in most situations and they had little real trouble. He had devised a plan that once he made it to New Orleans, he would find a job to pay for his room and food at one of the mercantile stores; a line of work with which he was familiar. Then he would slowly go to every saloon, store and dive looking for Rebecca. When he had exhausted his search, he would return to St Louis and go back to the McCumber store again and wait. That was the only place he could think of that Rebecca would go if she got away from her abductors. It was a plan Joseph would quickly find unworkable.

New Orleans at the time was growing by leaps and bounds and was a city of nearly 20,000. Most of the buildings were made of brick as a result of the terrible fires some thirty years earlier. He was overwhelmed by the city and the hucksters and was quickly caught up in his own existence, but never forgot his purpose. Slowly over the next year, he went to every store, saloon and house of ill repute and asked questions. On numerous occasions, he thought he saw Rebecca only to be disappointed when the woman turned around. He received a hundred tips on a woman that looked like her going here or there, leaving on a ship, or going to Houston or Santa Fe on a wagon. Slowly he became confused and gave up. He was in a fog of despondence and disappointment but slowly saved enough money to buy his way north, upriver back to St Louis.

The northbound keelboat was the largest he had seen. It had both oars and poles to propel it up the shallow water away from the center of the river. One group of pioneers had horses and pack mules with them and they were going to get off at the Red River junction and make their way up to the Palo Duro, then on to Santa Fe. The Red River itself was not navigable because of the number of large trees that had fallen into it and caused periodic, impassable dams. From Santa Fe, they planned to split up and some were going up into the mountains of what is now New Mexico and Colorado in search of gold. He suddenly realized this was his original dream and listening to them talk of the gleaming mountains in the west and the riches one could find there convinced him to abandon his search for Rebecca. He had a good oiled poncho, a musket, several sets of wool clothing, good boots, a metal canteen, the bowie knife and a bed roll and there was absolutely no reason he shouldn’t go up the Red. His ties with both St Louis and Rebecca were now broken and it was time for him to pursue his dream.

Many groups like this set out to the west with good intentions and little knowledge of what was ahead. This group would have to pass through Wichita, Kiowa, Comanche, and finally Apache territory to get to Santa Fe. Nobody had warned them about the Llano Estacado desert and it would be there, the group would lose most of its members. Undaunted, the group of eleven grown men and several boys of teen age set out to follow their dreams of riches in the west. Their first goal was to make it to the Palo Duro for the winter. They had seven good horses and nine mules between them. Two of the men would ride ahead and scout for trouble as well as places to camp, while the remainder jogged and led the animals. Almost from the first day, they were under surveillance of the Wichita who followed them waiting for a chance to pick off a straggler or scout and take their horse.

The trip started smoothly as most do, but soon they encountered dust storms, then thunder storms and torrential rains. The footing was so treacherous, at times they had to stop and hole up until it stopped raining, and all the time the Indians watched and waited. At that time, horses were rare among the Wichita and their goal was to steal all they could from the travelers. They didn’t want to have a face to face battle with the white men, because someone would get hurt or killed, but if they were patient, they could get the horses without injury; and they did. The group was moving fast as they stayed up out of the river valley where the ground was smoother and the arroyos gentler. Every evening several of the group would take the horses and mules down to the river and give them a chance to fill up on water and eat the fresh grass. This became a pattern of which the Indians would take advantage.

The days blended together until they forgot which day of the week it was. Joseph was settling