Love & Death In El Paso, Part One: Love & Death In El Paso, #1

By Bill C Jensen

Embark on an unforgettable journey through the untamed heart of the Wild West in Love & Death in El Paso: Part One.  In this gripping Western novel, author Bill C. Jensen invites you to saddle up and embark on an epic saga that spans the remarkable life of James Austin, a young boy turned hardened man, whose fate is intertwined with the sprawling plains of Texas.  Brace yourself for a relentless adventure as James navigates a treacherous world of high-stakes gambling, frontier justice, and ruthless outlaws. Witness the trials and triumphs of a young man seeking his place in a harsh and unforgiving land. Alongside him, a diverse cast of characters breathes life into this captivating tale of American frontier fiction.  Ride alongside James through perilous cattle drives, exhilarating shootouts, and heart-wrenching moments as you are transported to late 1800's Texas, where honor, justice, and loyalty were as treasured as gold nuggets.  So, grab your Stetson, holster your six-shooter, and prepare to be swept away on a riveting adventure that will leave you yearning for one more sunset ride into the untamed frontier of the Old West. Prepare for an adrenaline-fueled ride, where one man's legend will be written in bullets and blood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bill C Jensen
• Release date: Feb 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798224697182

Book preview

Introduction

Isn't it funny how life's journey can take you in so many different directions?  I am in technology sales and consulting today, but I have not always done what I do now.  I was a broadcasting major in college. Within one year of graduation, I was out of radio and voiceover work altogether.  I met my Christina, and we raised three sons and a daughter together. They are all my inspiration for starting this new adventure in writing.  The pandemic brought so many changes to our lives.  With travel no longer possible in my work, it has caused me to reflect and hold on to the essential things and let go of the things that do not matter in the big picture. So, letting go of fear and excuses, I set out to write a story that I have been telling my kids and their mother for the past twenty years.

I have always been fascinated by fictional and factual stories of the old west era of American history, from the time immediately following the Civil War to the new century's turn.  The cowboy was at his prime, and the six-shooter was his trusted companion.  There were outlaws, hired gunmen, opportunists looking to make a name for themselves, and those lawmen who tried to tame the very wild, Wild West.  If you love an old western, then you love John Wayne.  I mean, he is synonymous with the great American cowboy and western lawman.  One of my favorite quotes that typify how hired guns became lawmen comes from the movie Rio Bravo.  Wayne's character, John T. Chance, is the Sheriff of Rio Bravo. It is asked by Angie Dickinson's character, Feathers, how a man becomes sheriff. John replies, Gets lazy. He gets tired of selling his gun all over. Decides to sell it in one place. Many stories have been written—some true, others not so much—but this was often the old West case.  Sometimes the legend became the story that everyone hears, just like the Shinbone Star editor said in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. From stories about Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and the infamous gunfight in Tombstone, legends of the old West were not always embracing the truth but filled with drama and sensationalism. Unfortunately, it is those stories we often hear today.

Besides my kids, what else inspires my stories?  Sometimes it is a song, sometimes a movie.  I grew up reading the books of Louis L 'Amour and watching John Wayne movies with my dad.  When I first tossed an idea for a book to my sons, we had just listened to the three songs by singer Marty Robbins that told the story of a gunman, a girl, and a stranger in the town of El Paso.  The song El Paso introduces the listener to a gunfighter who shoots a man who looks at his girl out of jealousy.  In the song Feleena, Marty tells the listener the story's side from the woman's perspective.  In the trilogy's final song, El Paso City, he recalls the story of that fateful night, the fallout, and perhaps his connection to the events in a possible past life.  I cannot think of a single music artist who captivated the old West's short stories better than Marty Robbins, and he was indeed one of a kind.

I wondered how many stories like this could have happened in almost every town, from Dodge City, Kansas to Virginia City, Nevada.  I came up with the idea for a story of a young man, good with a gun. A great gambler who, on one fateful night, makes a choice to kill that would have repercussions spanning multiple generations, and that’s where my story of love and death in El Paso begins.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Katy's Place

Barely able to keep his eyes open.  Every breath became more challenging than the last.  He just had to see his love one last time. He had been on the run ever since that terrible night—one single act of jealousy that changed his life and set him on the course to this inevitable day.  He spent most of his time traveling all over New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado.  Playing cards would keep him fed, but he would miss and yearn to return to his love, Isabella de La Vega Montez.  Under the assurances of a safe return from his friend and sheriff, he thought he might be able to escape his own demise.  James felt it was worth it. She—Bella, as he lovingly called her—was indeed worth the risk, and two years was a long time on the run in the old west.

Struggling to breathe, he kept moving forward.  With the most recent rifle blast to his chest, he could not stay on his horse.  James fell to the ground, determined to see her one last time.  Breathing was becoming shallow while his heart still pumped hard to keep him alive.  He, at last, saw Bella.  She was running to him, but he knew his end was near. He laid there in the middle of the street just down from Katy’s Cantina where the mess all started two years ago.   One breath, then a long pause, and then another, his vision began to fade. Blood continued to gush out of his chest and mouth. He fell ever so slowly over to his right and exhaled one last time. His friend and Sherriff leaned in as James whispered something into his ear before closing his eyes and falling limp.  Bella let out a wail as her love was gone.  Katy arrived at the scene in shock and tried desperately to console her.  There they stood over James’ lifeless body—his love, Bella, his best friend, John, and his mentor and oldest friend, Katy.  But there was one more person there who, although he wanted, he never got to meet.

The year was 1876, the Centennial of the birth of the nation. Katy's Place stood just at the edge of town. The wood floors had captured the dust off the boot of every gambler, swindler, farmer, and lawman to have ever walked the streets of Laredo for the past twelve years.  The stories they could tell would fill the books in the whole library of Congress of the United States two times over.  One such story was that of its owner and sole proprietor, Katy Baker.  These days, not many women owned land, let alone a business.  Katy was a woman with grit, determination, and a gift for accomplishing whatever she set her mind to.  Katy's Place always smelled of whiskey and tobacco, filling every corner with a thick haze that made any lighting dim, even on the brightest of days. In the center of the main area, you could hear old Joe Fingers Willis playing an old upright piano from dusk till dawn, all while Katy served drinks.  However, this story was about a boy who became a man, a great gambler, a gunman, and an eventual outlaw and his relationship with two important women.  To learn, we must go back to how it all began.

Katheryn Josephine Baker moved to Laredo, Texas, in 1874, almost eleven years after losing her husband to the War of Northern Aggression, as she often called it. Katy was born to a woman who worked for a southern aristocrat outside of Atlanta.  She was the personal secretary to a southern gentleman. He was, however, not so gentle and had very little discretion. Katy's mother made mistakes and gave in to the politician's demands for more personal attention.  When she became pregnant, he sent Katy's mother, Eunice Virginia Vaughn, south to Macon.  Sending her away would shelter him from shame on his well-known family. In Macon, Katy was born in the spring, and her mother worked hard to make sure that Katy was never without her needs or desires. Life in Macon as the daughter of a single mother was not as hard as one might think.  Katy loved her summer trips as Savannah was by the ocean, and she loved the water.  Her uncle was a gunsmith, and one of Katy's chores was to help keep his shop and the weapons cleaned.  He was a fine marksman and would spend time with Katy, teaching her how to use a rifle and the six-shooter.  She was fond of her uncle and the lessons she learned.  She quickly picked up any task he gave her, which was a characteristic she would need later in life.  Katy was excellent in school, made good grades, and by age sixteen, she was married to a young man who lived on a plantation just outside of town

Katy and her husband, John Baker, married in 1860 and settled into his family farm.  They worked the farm and were selling cotton.  Before she was twenty, the war came to Georgia, and her young husband went off to fight for the southern cause. Before 1863, there had been very few battles in Georgia.  Most Georgians were joined with other battalions in Virginia. At the same time, a smaller number of men served in Alabama and Tennessee regimens.  John enlisted in the Confederacy in late 1862. Because of his experience with horses and explosives, he joined a small group of Cavalry corps under Major General Joseph Wheeler's command.  It was January of 1864 when word came. Her husband had lost his life the previous November in the Battle at Buck Head Creek. Katy’s husband was shot attempting to destroy part of the railroad near Briar Creek.  General William Tecumseh Sherman often used this railway to get supplies to his troops marching through Georgia.  Katy was heartbroken but would not let this keep her down.  She continued working their small farm, doing her best to keep things going.  If only Katy knew it was in vain as it would not be long before her farm would be lost as General Sherman and his army scourged the state.  She had to leave her home not far from where her loving mother was buried having died from complications with pneumonia just six months prior.  Now twenty years old, with only the clothes on her back and a small pouch of gold her husband gave her the day he left to fight, Katy decided to head west for New Orleans.

Upon her arrival, she met Joseph Santini while coming out of the Jewel Coffeehouse.  In the 1860s, coffee houses were not what we think of today. They were saloons or bars.  Santini himself was often mistaken as a Spanish gentleman; however, he was Italian.  His place was known for great adult concoctions, relaxed ambiance, and great music.  Santini’s drink creation, The Crusta, was believed to be the drink for which the Margarita, Daiquiri, Whiskey Sour, and even the modern Cosmopolitan were based upon.  Katy seemed to catch Santini's eye, and he asked her if she ever worked a saloon.  Katy said no, but that she was an adaptive learner and desperately needed a job.  He liked her enough to take a chance on her.  A decision Santini would not regret until selling the place in 1869.  He would learn that Katy Baker could easily handle any drunkard or card shark. 

One night, three men and a woman came into the Jewel and were causing quite a stir in the place. They made patrons get up from their table in the corner and demanded drinks and steaks.  The Jewel served many drinks but not much food other than cakes and some sweets.  Nevertheless, they were a persistent bunch.  Katy wiped off her hands with a towel.  She then asked her fellow bartender, Mike Pierce, to watch the counter and proceeded to the corner where the foursome was sitting and asked what they wanted. The first man smacked Katy across the face and demanded her to stay with him for the evening. Without missing a step, Katy took the blow, grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him out of the establishment. Silence filled the place. One could hardly hear themselves think just a moment ago, and now you could hear a pin drop. She told the band to return to their playing and shouted, Drinks on the house.  Everyone knew from then on that Katy was not one to trifle with as she could handle herself without the need for a weapon.  Even though she knew how to use a gun, she chose a more peaceful yet forceful approach to persuade patrons to mind themselves while having a good time.

Santini owned several businesses in New Orleans on the block on Gravier Street—two cigar shops, the Jewel, and another bar called The Parlor.  He spent a lot of time between his businesses, so he needed people he could trust.  Katy proved herself in short order. He eventually gave her complete autonomy to run the Jewel as she saw fit if he turned a profit.  She made the Jewel the most profitable of his businesses because those seeking to cause trouble stayed away after word got around town that Katy would throw you out. Instead, people would come and go all day because they knew they could enjoy a drink, have a good time with card games like Farrow, Blackjack, or Stud, and hear great music.  New Orleans was often regarded as the birthplace of jazz music. Most believed jazz had its roots in the drumming and rituals performed in Congo Square in downtown before the Civil War.  In contrast, most historians would say it did not come about till ten or eleven years after Katy would leave New Orleans.  In any case, the Jewel was the place to be nightly in New Orleans. Katy made people want to come by to wet their whistles, enjoy the company of friends, and forget the world outside for a while.  She learned the business, knowing one day she would finally have a place of her own.  Five years had passed before Katy knew it since leaving her beloved home and farm in Georgia, and by chance, bumped into Joseph Santini. Eventually, Santini sold the Jewel to a local businessman but assured Katy that she would still have a job. Unfortunately, it would be five long years before Katy would see her dream come true with a place of her own. George Ittman was the new owner. With that, Katy lost the freedom and autonomy that she enjoyed working for Santini.  She saw her position dwindling until she was only tending the bar three times per week in the middle of the day where very few people came in, and the tips were not worth her time.  Loyal to a fault, Katy saw her nest egg disappearing to the point that she finally knew it was time to move on.  So, she packed her things, slipped out in the middle of the night with the horse she had bought when times were better, and headed west again. 

When Katy arrived in Laredo, she had just one hundred and seventy-five dollars to her name.  It was just enough, so she bought the Johnson Saloon on the edge of town and renamed it Katy’s Place. The cost of the run-down place was eighty dollars, leaving her just enough to buy some glasses and a month's supply of whiskey.  A month later, she was ready to open.  She had a dozen drink glasses, three tables, and some oil lamps to light the place in the evening.  She finally turned it into a profitable enterprise with hard work, grit, and intelligent business practices.

Chapter 2: Down by The River

John and Mary gave birth to James Madison Austin on January 17, 1872. John's favorite U.S. President and one of the founding fathers of this great nation was James Madison, so he naturally picked this name for his new son. James’ parents had moved to Laredo in the spring of 1868 from war-torn southern Georgia. John Austin’s family had owned a peanut plantation just outside Augusta since 1742. His grandparents had immigrated from Ireland, landing in New York before moving south to the colony in Georgia. The Civil War had affected the once-prosperous state of Georgia, and the Austin farm did not escape financial ruin.  John, Mary, and their two-year-old son, John Jr., headed west for Laredo, Texas, in a full wagon with as many of their belongings as would fit.

John had always been good with his hands and a diligent worker, so when they came to Laredo, he began working at the Jackson Sawmill to provide for his young family. They had a small two-bedroom cottage near the heart of downtown. Mary began teaching in the local school, and life started anew in Laredo. After James was born, it was harder for Mary to balance her time teaching and raising her boys. James grew up so fast that he walked, ran, and climbed everywhere throughout Laredo by age three. A curious boy who was the center of Mary’s world. She quit teaching and devoted her time entirely to raising James and his older brother, John Jr., or Jack as he preferred to be called. 

James, now eight years old, and Jack, fifteen and just a few months till his sixteenth birthday, often liked to play with their cousins, Bobby and Billy.  By nearly nine years, Bobby was younger than his brother and always got into trouble, struggling in school. He preferred being outside, loved to fight, and seemed to get stronger the more he fought others.  Billy was tough, never got caught doing anything wrong, and all the boys in town knew Billy was not one to confront.  He was highly protective of the younger Bobby.

One day, the four boys were down by the river skipping stones and minding their business when Billy attempted to skip a rock across the river.  He then let go of the projectile too early and hit young James in the back of his head. Jack immediately rushed to his younger brother’s side.  Seeing the massive cut on James’ head, he removed his shirt and wrapped it around his younger brother's head to stop the bleeding. Once James was secure, Jack went after Bobby. Billy saw the commotion and came to Bobby’s rescue.  He began beating Jack over and over until his face was almost unrecognizable. Covered in blood, the Jackson brothers rinsed off in the river, then left James and Jack and headed back to town. Billy told the townspeople to hurry down to the river.  Bobby continued saying that some Mexicans had jumped the Austin brothers from across the Rio Grande. Then they ran home, awaiting the outcome. Little did young James know how much this one event would put these two families at odds with each other for years to come and would end with deadly consequences. 

Three months had passed since the incident at the river. Jack had not woken up from the beating he took. James tried to tell John and Mary what happened. Still, young James was always getting into trouble, so they dismissed it as having happened just as Billy Jackson told the townspeople. Finally, the day came, and Jack woke up. Still, much to everyone’s surprise, Jack had no memory of what happened. When Mary told him what Billy and Bobby told them, Jack didn’t even know who they were or ever remembered being at the river. Jack was never the same after that beating, and James would never forget who was responsible. Bobby and Billy would get what they had coming to them—James vowed never to forget what they did that day by the river. Their fun turned to tragedy, and James felt that a part of his hero, friend, and brother died that day. Jack continued to get worse until the day came when he no longer recognized anyone around him. He was sixteen years old and no longer knew his mother, father, and, more importantly, James. Jack left, never to be seen or heard from again. James looked to Jack as his hero, protector, and friend, and now he was gone. James was eleven, and he knew three things—Jack was gone, he needed to learn how to make lots of money so that he didn’t need anyone, and lastly, he needed to learn how to handle a gun.

Chapter 3: The King Comes to Town

In 1883, a young cattle rustler turned lawman from Uvalde County, Texas, came to town on business. John King Fisher was a well-known outlaw up and down the Rio Grande. He and his gang looted and raided farms and villages in Mexico border towns. He had turned away from this period of his life after spending some time in jail for horse theft.  He was now on the right side of the law working on county business, chasing two stagecoach robbers, and had found his way down to this border town of Laredo.  Back in his cattle rustling days, he was known in these parts just as King.  Many local cattle ranchers remembered him well and might not care that he had become a lawman.  He