A Land Remembered, Volume 1, page 10
“You want me to unhitch from the wagon and ride herd with you and Zech?”
“You best do that till we see what this storm is going to do. We might need your help. Are you all right, Emma?”
“I’m fine. I’ll stay with the wagon till it blows past. Then we can make camp and have supper.”
Soon the sky overhead was black too, and the winds increased to a steady howl, bending the prairie grass flat against the ground and filling the air with dead fronds from palm trees. Skillit rode up to Tobias and said, “Just look at that, Mistuh Tobias. I ain’t never seen anything like it, and I sho’ don’t like the looks of it.”
Droves of small animals—foxes, rabbits, raccoons—were running together, enemies no longer, moving rapidly westward; and deer bounded across the land, leaping bushes as they rushed past the smaller animals and disappeared.
They rode around and around the herd, trying to hold in the frightened cattle, and even the horses became skittish and whinnied nervously. Nip and Tuck worked full speed as they went for cow after cow that broke free and tried to run away.
The first pelts of wind-driven rain stung like bees as they slashed into Tobias’ face. All light was vanishing rapidly, giving the prairie the yellowish look of late sundown.
Tobias turned one cow with his whip as Skillit galloped up to him and said, “What we goin’ to do, Mistuh Tobias? We can’t hold the cows no longer. There just ain’t no way we can do it.”
“We got to try,” Tobias said. “They’ll be ready to start to Punta Rassa by next week. If they run now as scared as they are, they’ll be scattered all over come morning. Tell Zech to go and see to Emma. Me and you and the dogs will try.”
As Skillit rode off, the rain came in a blinding sheet, obscuring cows, hammocks and sky. Tobias rode back in the direction of the wagon, groping slowly, feeling the wind knock the horse sideways and cause it to stumble.
When he finally found the wagon, both Skillit and Zech were there. The dogs were tied to a wheel and were huddled beneath the wagon floor, whimpering. The tarpaulin top popped constantly, sounding louder than cracking whips.
Skillit came close to Tobias and said, “This marsh is the lowest land we been on since we started the drive. There ain’t no place for the water to run off. If it keeps on rainin’ like this the whole place goin’ turn to a lake.”
“I know,” Tobias agreed. “But we can’t turn back now. It’s too late. It’s ten miles back to higher ground, and we’d never make it.”
Skillit pointed south and said, “Yesterday afternoon when I scouted ahead I seen a Indian mound, right over yonder. We go there, we be out of the water. It’s only a mile. We can look for the cows tomorrow.”
“Hitch Ishmael to the wagon too and we’ll make a run for it. You take my horse and lead the way. I’ll throw the dogs in there with Emma and Zech.”
Both horses strained to their limit as the wagon inched slowly across the soggy ground. Wind gusts hitting the tarp almost turned the wagon over before they took it off; then all protection for Emma and Zech was gone.
The mound loomed above them just before they became engulfed in total darkness. A few minutes more and it would have blended black into black and become impossible to find. They tried to drive the wagon up the slope but the horses slipped and fell backward. Finally they unhitched them and led them upward to the flat top.
The mound was fifty feet across and covered with dwarf cypress. They tied the horses and dogs and then huddled together, linking their arms and bracing themselves against the runty trees. By now the rain was not rain but solid water, tons of wind-driven water that felt like a river rushing over them. It poured into their eyes and noses, almost suffocating them, causing them to gasp for breath and hold their hands against their faces in hope of relief.
The storm raged unabated for eight hours; three hours before dawn it returned from solid water to a torrential downpour. When a faint light finally broke the darkness, the rain still came down with such force as to limit vision to less than fifty yards.
Tobias felt around him and touched flesh; then he said, “Emma. Are you all right, Emma? Zech? Skillit? Is everybody here?” He opened his eyes but his sight was blurred by the night of pounding water.
Emma said feebly, “I’m not sure. I’ve never been so soaked. I feel like my skin is washed off.”
“I’m fine, Pappa,” Zech said. “But I need to check on Ishmael. I hope he ain’t floated off.”
Skillit stirred and said, “I knows now how it feels to be a ole catfish. That storm must a went right up the coast. If we’d been in the center of it, it would of blowed us off here like leaves.”
“It was bad enough,” Tobias said, pushing himself to his feet. He walked to the edge of the mound and looked downward, seeing solid water. Only the tip of the wagon seat was visible.
In another hour the rain slackened to a drizzle, and they all looked out over a vast lake stretching as far as they could see. The water had come eight feet up the side of the mound.
Emma said, “The wagon, Tobias. Everything in it is gone. It’s all ruined. The salt and the flour and the coffee and the lard. Everything.”
“The cows too,” Tobias said. “Ain’t no way they could have got out of that alive. They done all ended up as buzzard meat.”
“Maybe the Lord didn’t mean for us to own them,” Emma said, brushing her eyes. “Maybe He means for them to be wild and free, like the deer and the birds.”
“This ain’t the Lord’s doing,” Tobias said. “It was only a storm. We’ll start again, but I will not spend another year popping cows out of swamps one at a time. This time we’ll find a better way to do it.”
“The horses is O.K., Pappa,” Zech said. “And the dogs too. But they seem to be powerful hungry.”
“We’re all going to be hungry before we get out of this. Our bellies has rumbled before and we got through it, and we’ll do it again. Soon as the water goes down we’ll start out of here. It’s going to take more than a storm to keep me from Punta Rassa. And that’s the God’s truth, so help me. We’re going to see Punta Rassa.”
Tobias then turned to Skillit and said, “Are you still with us, Skillit? You want to try again, or have you had enough by now?”
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere but with you, Mistuh Tobias. This is the onliest family I ever had, and ain’t no storm goin’ take it away from me. I’m ready whenever you are.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Spring 1868
Tobias stood by the corral gate, listening to the popping of whips far in the distance. Then came a faint sound like the drone of bees, and he felt a trembling in the ground. He watch intensely as the tiny black specks grew larger and formed a small herd of cows thundering straight toward him. When he could see their horns point upward he opened the gate and moved off hurriedly to the side of the corral.
Zech turned at the last possible moment and just missed crashing headlong into the rails; then Ishmael started bucking and kicking, as if to show the cows who had won the race. Nip and Tuck ran around in circles, and then they plopped to the ground, panting.
Tobias came back and closed the gate. Zech and Skillit calmed their horses and dismounted. Skillit said, “Mistuh Zech, you don’t quit runnin’ that little hoss flat-out like that, you gone go right over a cow’s back one of these days.”
“He wasn’t wide open,” Zech said. “I let him go, he’d be a mile out in front of the cows. He just likes to run in real close and bite their hind legs, like Nip and Tuck.”
Tobias was busy counting. He said, “This sure beats one-on-one in the swamp. Must be over thirty in that bunch. It pains me just to think about how we used to spend a whole day trying to catch one cow, and then most likely he’d get away. We got all we can handle now. Soon’s this bunch is marked we’ll round up the whole herd and pen them for a final count. Then we’ll get started.”
“How long you figure it take us to drive all them cows to Punta Rassa?” Skillit asked.
“Don’t rightly know, but we’ll do it like we done with the herd we lost, go real slow and let ’em graze on the way. Time we get there, they ought to be fattened up and in good shape.”
“Well, I sho’ hope we make it there this time. I get a little something to spend, I needs a new pair of britches real bad. These I got about to fall apart. They done got patches on patches, and they ain’t nothing more Missus Emma can do for them. And they’s something else I need to see about too.”
“What’s that?” Tobias asked, mildly curious.
“Best not say,” Skillit replied, grinning. “They might not have none, so it best I wait and see.”
“What I want is a pair of boots,” Tobias said. “We sell the cows, everbody gets boots. And a Dutch oven for Emma. Or maybe one of them spank-new wood cook stoves. She ain’t never had one of them. What you want, Zech?”
Zech thought for a moment, and then he said, “A sack of apples for me and Ishmael. You reckon they got apples over there, Pappa?”
“I reckon. But is that all you want?”
“Well, maybe a brush too. Then I could brush Ishmael down and make him look real shiny. He’s never had a chance to look his best, and I know it would feel good to him.”
“We’ll do it!” Tobias said, slapping Zech on the shoulder. “We’ll get it all. Britches, boots, oven, apples, and brushes. And maybe whatever else it is that Skillit’s got in mind. But right now we best stop spending money we ain’t got and get on with the branding. And we got a few calves with this bunch. We need to get them back to the right mammy so’s they can suck.”
“Let’s get them cows marked and them calves mammied-up!” Skillit shouted enthusiastically. “These old britches might not hold up till we gets to Punta Rassa. Then I’d be in a worse fix than what the ole ’gator done to me. I’d have to stay hid in the woods and miss all the fun. And I sho’ wouldn’t like that.”
***
When they reached the homestead later that afternoon, Zech and Skillit took a bundle of raccoon hides down to the river to hail one of the boats. Another stern-wheeler had been put into service, the Osceola, and they had sold the boatmen enough venison and hides to purchase supplies for the trip to Punta Rassa.
Emma was at the cooking pot when Tobias came inside and sat at the table. He said to her, “You figure we got enough of everything to make the trip? We done branded the last bunch, so we’ll be ready to leave soon.”
“We can make do. You’ll have to shoot meat along the way. It’s getting too hot to carry along much meat, even if it’s smoked. How long have the supplies got to last?”
“A few weeks. That time I helped drive the cows for the Confederates we went a far piece in two weeks, and this ought not be much further.”
Emma put down the spoon and sat at the table. “That’s what worries me, Tobias. When you went on that drive you were with men who had been there before. They knew where they were going and how long it would take. Now you don’t. And there were a lot more men. Zech’s not a man, Tobias. I know he tries to act like one instead of a boy. But he is a boy. It’s really just you and Skillit.”
Tobias remained silent for a moment, and then he said, “You’re right, Emma, and I know it. It worries me too. We got over seven hundred cows, and that’s more than we herded for the army with seven men. Lord, what would the three of us do if we run into something like that pack of wolves? But I don’t know what else to do. We just got to sell the cows. It’s our only chance.”
“Why don’t you find some help? There must be a lot of men somewhere who need work. Didn’t Mister Thompson tell you there’s men everywhere who are hungry and looking for anything to do? You could try to get help up at Kissimmee. That’s the closest place.”
“He did say that. But I ain’t got no money to pay drovers, and nobody works for free.”
“Pay them at the end of the drive. That would make them want to get the herd there as much as you. If we lose the herd with just the three of you, we end up with nothing again. Seems to me that paying a few wages is better than risking nothing at all.”
Tobias smiled. “You know, Emma, you got a heap more sense than me. This family would fall apart without you. It just might work. I can promise to pay them when I sell the cattle, and feed them along the way. If a man’s hungry enough he’ll go for it. It’s worth a try.”
Emma was pleased that he agreed. “I just fear for the three of you trying it alone. Zech would kill himself for you if need be, but he’s still just a boy.”
“I’ll go to Kissimmee at daybreak tomorrow. I ain’t never been there but I can find it. All I got to do is follow the river. And soon as I come back with some help we’ll be on our way.” He took her hands in his and said, “You’re the only MacIvey with brains, Emma. Except Zech. Just you and Zech. Me, I’m a dumb ole coot and I know it. I’m as dumb as that army horse, running in a straight line full speed ahead without looking where I’m going. It could get me busted wide open, and all of you too.”
“That ain’t so, Tobias,” she said gently. “Hadn’t been for you we’d still be up in Georgia, probably starved by now. Wouldn’t many men strike out like you did. And like you always say, we’re going to make it. Somehow. Now you just go on and look for them drovers.”
***
Tobias followed the river hammocks until he came to Lake Kissimmee. Here he skirted the east shore and then headed through a marsh area, soon coming to two more lakes. Late in the afternoon he met a family traveling south by ox cart, and they told him it was just a few more miles into the village. He decided to make camp for the night and continue at daybreak.
The next morning he ate a sparse breakfast of smoked beef and a biscuit, saving most of his food for the drovers on the return trip. Then after a short ride he approached Kissimmee along a dirt road deeply embedded by cows’ hooves.
The main street extended for two blocks and was lined with unpainted clapboard buildings containing two general stores, a small café, a blacksmith shop, and three saloons. Wooden benches bordered the sidewalk in front of each store, and vacant lots separating the buildings were overgrown with weeds.
Tobias first rode all the way through town and into the residential section containing a half dozen frame houses with small front porches and drawn window shades. A dog ran from one yard and barked as he passed, and in another, chickens pecked at the bare ground. This was the most houses he had seen in years, and he observed carefully the details of each, comparing them with his own homemade cabin.
When he came back into the business section, loud curses were coming from one of the saloons. He watched curiously as a lone rider rode up to a window cut into the side of the building, was handed a filled glass in exchange for a coin, drank it in one gulp and sauntered off, never dismounting his horse.
Just then a man crashed through the swinging doors and landed flat on his back in the street. He got up painfully, brushed dirt from his pants, then walked down to one of the stores and sat on a bench.
Tobias rode by slowly, studying the man out of the corner of his eye. He was around thirty, six feet tall and thin as a cypress pole, with a bushy black beard. On top of his head was a huge black felt hat covered with dust. He stared dejectedly at the ground and paid no heed as the horse passed.
At the next store Tobias dismounted, tied his horse to a rail and walked back to the man. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to make the approach, and then he said bluntly, “You looking for work?”
The man glanced up, “Doing what?”
“Brush popping.”
“What’s that?”
“Working cows. Herding.”
“What do it pay?”
“Fifty cents a day plus keep. But I can’t pay till I sell the cows. You got a horse?”
“Piece of one. I rode him in the army.”
“Which army?”
“Reb. Do I smell like a Federal?”
“Nope. More like a skunk. When’s the last time you went down to a creek and washed?”
“Don’t rightly remember. Must ’a been sometime back in sixty-five.”
Tobias shifted his feet and said, “You want the job or not? I got a herd to move to Punta Rassa and I ain’t got time to stand here jawing with you.”
“One thing for sure. I ain’t had a dollar on me in over three years. And I’ve et so many possums I feel like I could hang by my tail from a tree limb. When do I start?”
“I’m riding out of here just as soon as I can. I’m Tobias MacIvey. What’s your name?”
“Frog”
“Frog? Frog what?”
“Just Frog. That’s all the name I need. I got a buddy down the street. Can he go too?”
“Yes. I need two drovers. What’s his name?”
“Bonzo.”
“Lordy me,” Tobias said, shaking his head. “Frog and Bonzo. This going to be some cattle crew. Go and tell him we’ll leave from right here in a half hour. And both of you better be on time.”
“Could I have fifty cents in advance?” Frog asked. “What for?”
“I done been throwed out of ever saloon betwix here and Tallahassee, and I’d like to just one time have a drink and pay cash for it. That way I wouldn’t end up flat on my back in the street.”
“No!” Tobias replied harshly. “I ain’t paying my hard-earned money to put whiskey in your gut! Now you go on and fetch your buddy back here!”
“It was just a thought,” Frog said, turning and walking away.
