The Month the Babies Cry, a western series by Rickey Pittman. Chapter Two: Shreveport The next morning, Micah and Elbert saddled their horses and rode to where two Louisiana infantrymen were standing guard at the road with two-dozen Federal prisoners. Micah showed the corporal his orders and the pair moved on. A pile of rolled blankets and tin cups had been dumped on the edge of the road. “They’re a sorry looking lot, ain’t they?” Elbert said. He pointed to one. “What’s your unit?” “The 23^rd Massachusetts Cavalry,” he replied. Micah said, “You boys eaten?” “Just some hardtack we had left in our haversacks,” one replied. “Well, maybe that will do you. Pick up a blanket and cup and let’s get going.” Ezekiel rode up to them, leading their pack mule that carried their food and camp gear. He carried a Springfield across his saddle and two revolvers thrust into his belt. A large Bowie knife protruded from his boot. “I didn’t think they armed their Negroes,” one said. “Is the slave yours?” another asked. “No, he ain’t,” Micah said. “Ezekiel’s going to cook for you boys, so I’d be polite if I were you. albion gold He’s proven himself to be a good Yankee killer when he rode with us, so don’t irritate him neither. He might want to cut your head off with that big Bowie knife of his. We’ll get along fine if you don’t run your mouth, and don’t try to run away from us. When you’re on death’s doorstep, you better watch where you put your feet.” “Are you going to tie us?” a young one asked. New Balance buty dziecięce “Not unless we have to,” Elbert said. “We’ll make better time if you’re free. I know you’re not in a hurry, but we’re anxious to get to Texas.” “Well,” Micah said, “We’ve got some walking to do. I know you were cavalry, and I wish I could put you on horses or in a wagon, but I can’t.” He looked at their feet. “Before we’re done walking, you’ll wish you had brogans instead of those shiny boots. Air Jordan 14 (XIV) Just follow the road yonder. I want a good pace, but I don’t want to walk you to death neither. We’ll stop now and then and let you rest some.” “Where are you taking us?” one Federal asked. “They got a prison camp set up for you boys in Tyler, Texas.” “How far is that?” “About a 150 miles, best I can calculate. Now get those sky-blue pants of yours to moving. If we’re lucky, you’ll catch good weather. nike chaussures pas cher buy albion gold Ain’t nothin’ finer than Texas weather this time of year.” An hour after, it began to rain.

* * *

The Texans and their dozen prisoners marched on. The rain stopped just before dark. They made camp and boiled dry peas with hardtack for supper. After they ate, the exhausted prisoners lay down on the clay ground. Elbert posted himself as guard until midnight, then Micah relieved him until dawn. Ezekiel was given no guard duty. Outside of Shreveport, late on their third day of travel, they were hailed by a vidette. He walked out to the road and met Micah. Micah saw a horse tied to a hickory tree just off the road. The soldier’s two-band Enfield was cradled in his arm. sac à dos kanken fjallraven pas cher “How you boys doing?” the picket asked. “Alright,” Micah said. “And how might you be?” He looked back at the prisoners. NIKE AIR MAX 2017 PAS CHER buy albion gold “You boys can set yourselves down a minute if you want.” The sentry rested his musket butt on the top of his brogan. “Better now that my heart has settled down some. The nerve-racking part of vidette duty is having to decide ever time I see someone if I should hightail it back to the picket post, shoot the ones coming my way, or wait for them on the road and see what their business is.” “Much obliged for not shooting,” Elbert said. “Yes, sir, but since I saw three riders and a bunch of blue men on foot and I figured it was more prisoners.

I’ve been seeing a host of prisoners coming this way. You taking them to Camp Ford?” “I reckon so,” Micah said. “Got papers?” Micah handed him his orders. “How far are we from Shreveport?” The guard handed Micah back his papers. “When you reach the picket post, you’ll be one mile out from Shreveport.” “Is there anywhere I can deposit these prisoners for a while once we get to Shreveport? Elbert and I would like to get a drink.” “I’d take them to the provost marshal. He might relieve you a spell. lunette de soleil ray ban If he can’t, you might go to Army Headquarters. It’s on Commerce Street if they ain’t moved it again. As far as drinkin’—there’s a mess of saloons to choose from. We Louisiana folks are fond of our spirits.” He looked at Ezekiel. “Who is the Negro?” “Ezekiel is Captain Allison’s manservant. He’s riding back to Texas with us.” The sentry nodded. “I’ll let you boys be on your way. Try not to startle the picket. They’ve got a couple of youngsters who are the nervous sort.” A half-hour later, Micah could see the picket’s campfire. He hollered, “Picket! Texas troops with prisoners coming your way!” One of the soldiers met him at the road. He wore a floppy, felt hat that had seen better days, and his Arkansas frock coat was buttoned only at the top button. He slipped on a pair of reading glasses and pondered Micah’s orders. “What is your destination?” he asked. Micah noticed the man held the letter upside down. “Camp Ford at Tyler, Texas.” “What’s your commander’s name? I can’t quite make it out.” “Captain Allison, 23^rd Texas Cavalry.” Three other soldiers lounged about the fire. One called out, “It’d be easier to just shoot them Federals. buy albion silver By the time you walk them to Texas, they’ll wish you had.” “Shut up, Jacob. Wouldn’t be right to shoot them prisoners without cause and you know it. Nike Air Max Goedkoop Every time you drink whiskey you yak like a durn magpie.” “Can you spare a drink?” Elbert asked. “I’ll pay you.” One of the soldiers staggered over to him and held up a gourd jug. “Take a drink, but you can keep your money. You boys watch yourself in town.” Elbert uncorked the gourd and took two swallows. “Much obliged. I’ll not forget the favor. That’s good whiskey,” he said. “Smooth. No bite to it at all.” “My cousins made it. They do know how to make good moonshine in Arkansas.” “I’ve drank mescal and whiskey in Texas that would scald your insides it tasted so bad.” Elbert offered the jug to Micah. Sac À Dos Fjallraven Kanken Micah shook his head. “I’ll drink some later in town.” “I’d like a drink,” one of the Federals said. Canotte Indiana Pacers Maglie Boston Celtics Elbert edged his horse near the man and kicked the man’s shoulder. “You best shut your mouth.” “Any more Federal prisoners coming this way?” the sentry asked. “Not that I can tell,” Micah said. “But hell, we keep chasing them and catching them. Wish they would have all just surrendered at once. Federal prisoners are becoming a damn nuisance. Cleveland Cavaliers We best get on our way. You boys don’t get too drunk out here.” After they passed the picket, Micah said, “Don’t that beat all. Ever one of those men on picket duty was half-drunk. You’d think they and their commanders didn’t know there was a war going on.” “Picket duty is boring work. Ain’t much war going on in these parts since Banks’ army got turned back. Justin Hunter Titans Jerseys Things will tighten up if the Yankees decide to quit running south. cheap albion gold And I hear that Steele’s troops in Arkansas are getting thrashed too. I’m glad they were drinking though,” Elbert said. Nike Pas Cher “That sure was good whiskey.” As they neared Shreveport’s southern line of defense, they used a plank causeway to cross a boggy marsh called Silver Lake. Micah could see batteries spaced along the Red River and on a riverbank hilltop, Fort Turnbull. goedkoop nike air max 2017 The fort bristled with the Quaker guns Micah had heard of—false cannon hewed from fire-blackened tree trunks and mounted on wagon wheels. “Damnation,” one of the prisoners said. Boston Celtics “Porter’s gunboats could never have reached Shreveport anyway. I bet those cannon would have blasted him out of the water before he could make the turn in the bend.” “Banks has probably retreated his way back to New Orleans now. I wonder how this campaign got so disastrous and convoluted,” another Federal soldier said. goedkope nike air max “Cotton,” Micah said. “What?” the soldier asked. “Banks was counting on getting rich by taking Southern cotton. What did you think all those empty wagons you had with you were for?” One of the Federal soldiers sang a little ditty: General Banks wants to be president So says the Boston Gazette, But making blunder after blunder, He’ll lose this war for us yet! “Maybe Lincoln should have picked someone else for this campaign,” said another. “Don’t let it worry you none,” Micah said. “We got our share of commanders like Banks in our own army.” * * * Micah deposited the prisoners at a holding pen used by the provost marshal for Federal prisoners. It was a simple cattle stall, on the edge of a stockyard by the railroad. Micah swung open the board gate. “You boys get inside. This is where you’re sleeping tonight.” “I ain’t never had to sleep in a cattle pen before,” one said. “It’s better than that pigpen of a house you were raised in,” said another. albion silver Two soldiers assigned to guard the Federals joined them, sat down outside the pen and began a game of checkers. While Ezekiel saw to the horses and made camp outside the pen, Micah and Elbert walked into downtown Shreveport. They entered the first saloon they came to. Once inside, Micah and Elbert sat with glasses of watered-down whiskey and a bucket of flat, warm beer that they drank with their own tin cups. One of the saloon girls caught Micah’s eye. She had raven hair and wore a modest blue calico day dress. Three dusty drovers surrounded her. Two were Anglos, and the third a Tejano, and they wore leather chaparreras. Such men were skilled riders and their tanned skins were toughened by sun and wind and work. Micah thought they would have made fine cavalrymen, but tonight they seemed indifferent to the soldiers about them, to the talk of war filling the room, to even the importance of their own work to the cause of the Confederacy. The South was hungrier with every year of the war, and Texas cattle were an important source of food. The girl laughed at something one of the drovers said and tossed her hair. She caught Micah looking her way and smiled bashfully. “Damnation,” Micah said. “She sure is a pretty thing.” “I think she cottons to you, Micah,” Elbert said. “She’s a hussy. She’d cotton to anyone who would pay her.” “You going to pay her?” “Likely not. I’ve got Erin to think about. I swore to her that I’d behave myself around other women.” Elbert drained the glass of whiskey and chased it down with a sip of beer. “I’m married too, but it ain’t going to stop me from going to that whorehouse next door. Doing without a woman makes a man not think right.” One of the soldiers called out for the girl to sing “Lorena.” She was young, and yet when she sang, Micah detected a voice that held years of passion and suffering beyond her age. She got some of the notes wrong, but Micah received some comfort from her voice anyway. Elbert set down his cup of beer and stood up. “Well, I reckon I’ll see you sometime before morning.” He lifted the tin bucket of beer. cheap albion gold “You done with this?” Without waiting for Micah’s reply, he went to the cowhands and set it on their table. “You boys look thirsty. Can’t abide the thought of seeing a fellow Texan thirsty.” “Much obliged,” one of the cowhands said. Elbert motioned the girl over with his hand. “My lonely friend over yonder and I liked your singing. Micah said he would pay you if you’d come over and sit with him a bit. He’s a timid sort or he would have asked you himself. I think he needs some cheering up. Canotta NBA How about some whiskey, boys! Then we’ll go next door to the bawdy house and sample their wares.” “I think we’ll take you up on that. It’s been a long trip. We’re dry,” one of the drovers said. “Days and days of looking at nothing but these ornery cows makes a man thirsty for whiskey and women.” The girl left the cowboys and walked to Micah’s table. They sat together and drank and talked a while then she led him into a back room. After they undressed, he held her tightly to himself, savoring the warmth and softness of the slender body next to him. cheap albion silver Her skin was clean and smelled of rosewater. As he kissed and touched her, his mind moved to the tents of the camp followers that he had occasionally visited during the war, to thoughts of a spring three years ago and a field of bluebonnets and the girl with the bluebonnet eyes. He whispered, “Erin, you are so beautiful . adidas neo 10k męskie . . ” “My name is Mary,” the girl whispered, “but tonight I’ll be anyone you want me to be.” Micah woke from his reverie and pushed the girl away. “I don’t want you to be nobody for me.” He reached for his haversack, dug into it, and pitched her a dollar. “Get dressed and get your skinny ass out of here.” “This is my room,” Mary said.

Chapter Sixteen: Takes White Horses

Takes White Horses, the Kiowa leading the war party, stopped his horse and looked back on their trail, searching for the presence he felt. His eyes followed the trail of their horses’ hoof prints until the sign faded. Nike Air Max 90 Donna Grigie

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He touched the amulet around his neck and quirted his horse forward. He understood such men. He felt it had to be someone whose destiny was connected to the woman. While the others had already taken her, he could not—could not because she wore the face of death. But whose? Her own? His? The two drunken ones riding with him? All of them?

He knew that the hunter on their trail would wear the ghost face too. He knew instinctively that he would be the kind of man who even in the spirit world remains a hunter and returns to the world when it is dark as a malevolent or vengeful spirit. Such men never rest. Not in this world, nor in the next. He thought about abandoning the two with him and riding west, to leave the woman with the two and leave them all to their fate. He cursed himself for letting them take the bottles of the white man’s fool-water. They had already drunk two jugs, and there was no sign of the empty bottles. Evidently they had cast them aside on their trail, just as certainly their own bodies would be discarded if this hunter finds them. He slowed and watched them as they leered at the girl. Yeezy 350 Boost

They were already talking of stopping and taking her again. They would not understand his insight into the hunter following them. Even as they rode, they tormented and abused the girl, laughing at her cries. Both were too drunk to listen to him. They would not be able to travel the whole night as they should if they wanted to reach the Arbuckles and the safety of the tribe, but if they did not stop soon, the two would be falling off their horses. They would have to stop and he would have to watch as these two warriors spent their strength on the girl and more liquor.

Again frustration ate into him. He had planned to take a long journey to Mexico, to kill, plunder, and return home a rich man, but after the message from the holder of the taime, the warriors he had wanted refused to go with him. The Kiowa priest with the taime had warned him to not come on this trip. He said a ghost-man would search for him. This ghost was not yet in the spirit world, when sinews no longer knit flesh and bones together, but his soul was already in the ghost world. Though Takes Whites’ Horses feared the spirit-man following them, he also hated him for being proof of the taime’s words. Takes Whites Horses had sought guidance by chewing seni, peyote, and danced for six days before leaving, sharing the favors of the women, making a vow to go on a raid. He had cut the flesh on his own breast to demonstrate to the others his courage and toughness. His hand touched the scar the cut had left. nike air max 90 hombre

Looking at the two with him, he regretted allowing his pride get the best of him. Maglia Blake Griffin There would have been no shame in postponing his path of war until a more fortuitous time. These two were willing to go with him under his leadership, but he could plainly see they lacked the judgment and discipline warriors need. Tonight, he had suggested they raid other ranches, but they both wanted to return to the tribe with the girl and the three scalps and two horses and guns they had taken from the one ranch.

The girl wobbled on the horse like she was falling asleep. He struck her bare back with his quirt. He sharply warned her to not fall from her horse.

“Frederick, can we stop?” she said. The girl looked blankly at him.

Takes Horses looked at her. buy albion silver

He lashed her back again and repeated himself in Spanish. adidas alphabounce hombre “No dormir.”

One of the other riders laughed. “The girl is crazy now, Takes Whites Horses.”

“I’m going to tell Erin you hit me again.” She laughed, leaned down and wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck. “Can’t we stop and make a fire? I’m cold.”

Takes Horses realized he had made a mistake in bringing her this far. Her mind had already cracked. Texan women were beautiful, but they were fragile and weak. They lacked the toughness and will of Kiowa women, and even that of the Mexicans. She had not been treated that roughly. Scarpe Air More Uptempo Not in comparison with some. This woman would not even make a fit slave. He thought of dumping her to the ground and letting those following have her. They would likely give up their pursuit. He decided to carry her on and give her to the camp upon his return as a trophy. The Kiowa women could use her as they willed, to revenge themselves upon the whites for the members of the tribe lost to their diseases and guns. The other members of the band had no doubt reached the camp in the Wichita Mountains with the other booty, and the camp would be preparing a celebration for his return.

He guided the war party toward the harder ground. We will see, he thought, if the spirit-man can read small sign. Air Max 2017 Goedkoop He resolved to wait outside the camp tonight for the spirit-man hunting them. In the dark, where spirits meet and fight. NIKE AIR ZOOM STRUCTURE 20

The taime was wrong. Takes White Horses feared no ghost man, and his hate for the white man was greater than his fear that the taime’s words were truth. The war party had scalps, a captive, and two horses laden with goods they had taken from the white family. It had been a good raid. Tonight they would cross the river the white Texans would not cross.

* * *

With his rifle scope, Micah made out the Indians as they crossed the Red River. The naked Garrison girl sat on a horse led by one of the warriors, her hands tied in front of her. Nike Air Max 2016 Dames Zwart “Well, there they are. The girl is naked. Fjallraven Kanken Big UK Looks like she’s had a hard time of it. What do you want to do, Ramon? I can pick off the one in front if you want.” Micah was half-afraid Chavez would tell him to shoot the girl.

“No. They’ll kill the girl if we try to do anything now. Let’s go to the edge of the Red, make sure they see us, and turn around. The moon is full tonight. We’ll circle back and get them later.”

They paused at the edge of the banks of the Red River. When they turned their horses around, the Kiowas began to whoop and taunt them.

“What are they saying, Ramon?”

“I don’t know. I speak Comanche, but not Kiowa. Their tongue is a lot like Apache, but I am certain that they insult us.”

They rode until they were sure they were out of sight, then they circled around and crossed the river downstream from where Ramon thought they would be camped. Micah picketed the horses in a thicket of blackjack oaks, and dumped all the grain they had left on the ground so the horses could forage. They crept slowly along the banks of the river until they were close enough to hear the girl’s cries and the slaps and rutting that occasioned her grief. Another Kiowa was puking from the liquor, and in the moonlight Micah could see him on his hands and knees. Micah started to move forward.

Ramon touched his arm and whispered, “I only hear two, where’s the third one? He could be already passed out, or he could be watching for us. Keep your eyes open and listen.”

They eased closer until they could make out the shadow forms of two of the Kiowas. Micah could see the white skin of the young girl on the ground. Her moans were delirious and incoherent. Micah counted the horses. buy albion gold Five. Three small Indian ponies and two from the Garrison place. That meant the third Indian was still with the group somewhere. It troubled him that he could not detect him. He hoped they would find him drunk asleep on the ground.

Ramon leaned and whispered into his ear, “You stay here. albion gold Watch for the third one.”

Ramon walked into their fireless camp, a revolver in each hand, a Nagas-like demon who had come to claim souls and bathe in bloody moonlight. One Kiowa was still kneeling and retching, the other was on the girl. He shot the puking Kiowa twice in the face, and Micah heard skin and blood splatter the girl and the other Kiowa. The other rose shakily to his feet and stumbled toward his weapons, but Ramon shot him three times in the back before he could reach them. Ramon holstered the empty pistol and swapped his second one to his right hand as he backed into the shadow of a hickory. “Micah, where is the third one?”

A shadow streaked past Micah, striking him on his shoulder with a war club. The shadow whooped and ran on. Micah fell to the ground. He felt the muscles of his arm convulse and tighten. The shadow had reached the horses. With his left hand Micah raised his shotgun and fired each barrel, but he knew as soon as he had fired that he had missed, and the whooping Kiowa mounted a horse and rode off into the darkness.

Ramon knelt over the girl. He raised her and wrapped her in one of the Kiowa’s blankets. New Balance 999 męskie Canotte New Orleans Pelicans cheap albion gold “Come, niña. Air Jordan 11 Donna We must go home. Can you ride?”

The girl didn’t answer, but pointed at one of the dead Kiowas.

“I know, niña.

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Micah walked over to them. “Sorry, Ramon, I missed him. He clubbed me afore I could see him.”

“Well, two of them are dead anyway. Nike Air Max Thea Heren

Are you alright? Nothing broken?”

“My arm will be stove up a while, but I’m alright. How’s the girl?”

“She will be fine, I think.” Ramon broke open his pistol and loaded another cylinder. “Let’s gather up the horses and girl and get away from here. The Indian horses have halters, and the Garrison horses still have their bridles in their mouths. One of them has a lariat we can use to tie the horses together.”

“What about the other Kiowa?”

“He’s long gone. If he goes back to his camp, he’ll make up some story to explain himself. My guess is that he will try to hook up with another band somewhere, bragging about he made coup on some armed white man in the dark.”

When they reached their own horses, Ramon used their lariats to connect the halters of the captured and recovered horses. “Are we going to take the girl into Jacksboro?”

“No. I think most of her family moved to Forth Worth when the Indian raids started, but she has a cousin who lives along the Trinity, right outside of Jacksboro. She married Frederick O’Connor. Not long after you left, Frederick went up to Kansas and signed on with the Yankee Cavalry where his brother was. He hasn’t returned yet. Maybe you or one of your friends killed him.”

“If he was a Yankee, and I pointed my gun at him, I killed him. But he ain’t dead. Goedkoop Nike Schoenen I saw him in Camp Ford. albion silver He was a prisoner. ”

Ramon pulled a shirt from his saddlebag and pitched it to Micah. NIKE AIR JORDAN 1 RETRO “You better put this on her if she’ll put it on.”

He held the shirt out to Ruthie. “Okay, Ruthie, you want to put this on?”

She shrunk away and tightened up into a ball. “No. No. No.”

“I ain’t gonna hurt you, girl. Put on the damn shirt. She ain’t making no sense, Ramon. She don’t want to put on the shirt, and I don’t feel right sitting looking at her like this.”

“She’s probably lost her mind over what she’s been through. Calm her as you would a horse.”

“I ain’t never been good with horses like you were. Now you hold still, crazy girl.” Micah took one of her arms and inserted it into the sleeve of the shirt. He did the same with the other, then poked her head through the opening. Grasping her by the wrists, he lifted her arms so that Ramon’s huge shirt slipped down her body. The shirt seemed to have a calming influence on her. new balance 1300 acquisto

Micah hoisted her up to Ramon. “She’s too crazy for me to ride with, and I don’t think she can ride on her own. You tote her on your horse till we’re sure she will be all right. I’ll try to herd these no-good Kiowa horses along.”

The sun rose just as they crossed the Red River. Ruthie rode between Chavez and Micah. She stopped her horse. cheap albion gold Micah drew alongside side of her. “What’s wrong, Ruthie?”

“I got blood on my face.” She laughed. “You do too. Injun blood. See?”

Micah looked down into the water at his own bloody reflection.

I subscribe to Texas Music Magazine and on this summer’s CD there was a song I really liked and as I couldn’t find the lyrics posted anywhere on the Web, I decided to share them on my blog. adidas yeezy heren The song is “Hello, Webb County,” by Bo Depeña. nike air max buy albion gold As I work so much in the Rio Grande Valley, from Laredo to Brownsville, and hoping soon to expand to the upper Rio Grande Valley, I love to discover songs about South Texas and the border country. albion gold I hope to add this song to my show, Songs & Stories of the Rio Grande Valley. Adidas schoenen cheap albion silver Bo Depeña’s website is HERE: Here are the lyrics for this great song: “Hello, Webb County” by Bo Depeña V. buy albion gold 1 I was born in San Anton, But I never did pay it no mind. air max 2017 rosa donna

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Ann Coulter on the French Revolution I have to confess–my first thoughtful reading touching the French Revolution, the time when I really understood the horror of period in French history, was when I taught my gifted reading students, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. ZOOM ALL OUT

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I’ve never forgotten that first reading and today I still consider it one of Dickens’ best novels. New Balance 1300 hombre nike air max 2016 goedkope Air Max 87 buy albion gold Now, many years later, I came into possession of Ann Coulter’s Demonic: How the Liberal Mob is Endangering America. Nike Store Italia Two chapters in that fine read deal specifically with the French Revolution, and one chapter contrasts our own American Revolution with the French. Los Angeles Lakers Coulter’s two chapters dealing with the French Revolution were so powerful and affected me so deeply that I had to read them twice. Joe Panik Jersey Asics Gel Lyte 3 Donna Rosa

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4. Lawful authorities (law enforcement of the French society) were targeted. The mob had no fear of punishment, so the mobs ran wild.
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8. Anyone who questioned the excesses and course of events was deemed unpatriotic and paid the price.
9. The French Revolution was nothing like ours.
   

Chapter One: A Comanche Moon The 23^rd Texas Cavalry bivouacked along El Camino Real, near the banks of the Red River outside Natchitoches. It was an old road, haunted by the ghosts of French and Spanish soldiers and traders who had long ago trod upon its wagon rutted clay. Many obedient soldiers or greed-driven adventurers had died along that road, from disease or from the arrows of savages. As the curtain of this Louisiana night fell, campfires and candle lanterns flickered, speckling the sloping ground like sad giant fireflies. cheap albion gold Gray plumes of smoke spiraled and swirled into the darkness. Those soldiers without duties were settling in for the night, attending to gear or cooking what food they had. These soldiers had fought every day since the Red River campaign had begun, and all were weary. Some had already collapsed in sleep. Micah and Elbert sat near their own small fire, their eyes fixed on the flames. Shaking himself from his reverie, Micah set a tin coffeepot on the fire, then untied and opened a small sack of coffee taken from the black-tarred haversack of a dead Yankee. With his Bowie knife, he split the end of a stick and slipped it over the lip of a tin plate. He poured the beans into the plate and roasted them, stirring them with a wooden spoon and shaking them back and forth. When the beans began to crackle and reached the dark color he liked, Micah poured the beans back into the sack and pounded them with the Bowie’s pommel. He dumped the grounds into the coffeepot’s boiling water and set it back on the coals. After the coffee boiled again, Micah set it aside to let the grounds settle. A few minutes later, he filled their tin cups, and they slowly and deliberately sipped the brew. After pouring a second cup, Elbert reached for a hunk of salt-cured bacon wrapped in cheesecloth, and they cut and speared hunks with Yankee bayonets and held the meat over the flames. Sergeant Adams, the quartermaster, had issued the Texans a canvas tent, but it lay on the ground where it had been dropped. There would be no rain, so Micah and Elbert would sleep that night as they had when they were Texas Rangers on patrol—their blankets spread on the ground under a naked sky, their heads resting on their saddles. Weapons, tacking and accoutrements of all sorts were stacked and piled about them, recent spoils of war cast aside by the Federal soldiers in another panicked retreat after the company of Texas cavalrymen had broken their battle line at Mansfield. The Federal commanders had clung to the established belief that lines of infantry could repel attacking cavalry.

The Yankee commanders learned they were wrong. One of the many harsh lessons of war tutored to the men on both sides in this campaign. In the most recent battle, after secessionist artillery had softened the Federals, the 23^rd attacked the Yankee flank head-on, but then Comanche style, suddenly wheeled to the side. Some cavalrymen clung to the side of their horse and aimed their firearms over the saddle as they had seen the savages do. The wild riders from Texas emptied their buckshot-laden double-barreled shotguns and the rain of lead tore great holes in the blue formation. Now, only a few feet away from the infantrymen, the riders hung the short empty shotguns on saddle horns and drew revolvers from saddle holsters. Spurring and quirting their mustangs, they whooped and roared like berserk Norsemen as they plunged their horses into the Federals and their pistols spewed death. When the saddle guns were empty, they drew the smaller caliber pistols they wore high on their waist. The Texan’s pistols were a collage of Colts—five-pound Patersons, Walkers, Dragoon and Navy models, pistols that the Rangers or their fathers had used to kill Comanches and Kiowas and Mexican bandits in former years. The Federal men who remained standing suddenly realized their vulnerability. Nike Jordan 11 Future Their line broke and they ran for their lives, sprinting into the woods behind them toward a creek as Rebel horses trod corpse, wounded and fleeing. Many Federals tossed their Springfield muskets into the creek so they could claw their way up the steep bank. Plunging into briar thickets, they cast aside their belts, cartridge boxes and canteens. Scratched and bleeding, the Yankees fled till they could no longer hear the demonic caterwauls of the hellhounds in pursuit. Two Louisiana soldiers herded another group of Yankee prisoners past Micah’s fire. The men in blue, wearied from battle or flight, trudged along slowly with downcast countenance. “Damn,” Elbert said. “We sure captured a passel of prisoners today. Wonder what they’ll do with them all?” “Send them to Camp Ford at Tyler to be with the others, I reckon,” Micah replied. Micah looked up at the full moon. During his three years with the Texas 23^rd he had watched the moon wax and wane, much like the Confederate armies he had fought with. It hung in the sky like a harbinger of death. He had listened to the Louisiana soldiers talk of the moon’s beauty, heard one quote a poem about it, but Micah hated the moon. The full moon was a reminder, a terror. In his mind, he saw his house in Jack County bathed in its blue light, Erin inside sewing or reading or cleaning. He saw his twins, Skye and Benjamin, playing together near the fireplace. Outside, this same Comanche moon would be illuminating the garden, the neglected fields, and the surrounding buttes. He tried not to imagine dark savage eyes in the darkness spying on his family. Micah said, “I know a tracker by the name of Chicolithe. He works at Camp Ford tracking down escaped prisoners. He said he saw a Comanche outside of Tyler once.” “I wondered how long you could go without talking about Comanches or Kiowas,” Elbert said. buy albion gold “You’re eaten up with worry, and you ain’t going to rest until I’m the same way.” He tossed his cup’s coffee grounds into the fire and it made an angry hissing noise. Micah saw Isaac, a cavalryman in the 2^nd Partisan Rangers, walking to them. “Micah, Elbert,” Isaac said. buy albion gold He sat at their fire. Chicago Bulls

“Coffee, Isaac?” Micah asked. “I’ll take a spot. Thank you kindly.” Micah filled his own cup and handed it to him. “I heard they’re thinking of making your unit dismounted cavalry.” “Much obliged for the coffee,” Isaac said. nike tn requin He sat down on a log. “They’s talk of sending our horses home, but that’s all it is so far. Listen. adidas zx 750 donna I brung some news. Comanches and Kiowas have been coming down the corridor something fierce. Burning, raping, stealing children, killing. Jacksboro’s become a ghost town. cheap albion gold None of the ranches can keep cattle. The Indians have been selling them to the Yankees in Indian territory or to the Comancheros.” “Any folks we know hurt?” Elbert asked. “Yep.” “Well, who, dammit!” Micah said. “Well, in Parker County—William Youngblood and John Killen were killed. fjällräven kånken big Hugh Blackwell, well, they kilt him, took his little boy, then took the Sullivan girl. John Reasnor, he’s dead. You know that Mrs. Brown who lived on Grindstone Creek? The Indians killed her, took her twins . . cheap albion silver .” Micah’s stomach rolled when he heard the word twin. “I’d just as soon not hear any more. I reckon we get the idea.” The four sat together, lost in silence, in the swirl of thoughts that chased thoughts, thoughts that churned their insides. Instead of feeling their earlier patriotism for the war, an unspoken but poignant guilt filled them. Elbert lived in Parker County, where nine companies of eighty men each had left with the start of the war. Jack County, Micah’s home, had actually voted against secession, but experienced a similar loss of men and they joined the Confederate Army in droves—though some in Jacksoboro, like Micah’s friend Frederick, had signed on with the Union. As Micah understood the war and its issues, Lincoln and the North resembled England and Longshanks too much to claim his loyalty. Micah picked up the coffeepot and emptied the grounds into the fire. “You don’t bring us the best of news, Isaac.” Micah stuffed the coffeepot into his saddlebag that rested on top of his saddle. “Damn this war,” Elbert said. “Damn this Comanche moon. And damn me for not being in Texas with my family.” Isaac stood up and looked west. “When my enlistment time is up, I’m going home. This here campaign has gone better than most, but I still wonder if Generals Taylor and Smith know what they’re doing. I hear General Taylor is most unhappy with Kirby Smith. albion gold Guess they don’t see things eye to eye. Goodnight to you, Micah, Elbert. I need to find a couple of other boys from our area and let them know what I’ve heard.” “Much obliged for the news, Isaac,” Micah said. Isaac nodded and walked toward the fire of Company F, about fifty yards away. Elbert cut a sliver from a tobacco plug, chewed it, and spat a stream of the brown juice into the fire. “You’re thinking the same thing I’m thinking, ain’t you, Micah.” Micah didn’t answer right away. Isaac’s silhouette was visible in the light of Company F’s fire. He listened to Isaac’s voice relate the same and other stories. He would likely spend much of the night going from fire to fire. He knew Isaac wouldn’t think it right to not tell what he knew. Jordan 4 Sale “You know I am.” “Isaac’s likely to have half of the Twenty-third leaving for Texas if he keeps talking. The Comanche and Kiowa were making things bad even before we left, Micah. It was insane for us to join up and leave our homes undefended.” “We were told they’d be plenty of men to watch the area. Elbert.” “They sure changed their minds on that one. Ain’t no men there hardly.

I hate like the devil being away from my family. Makes me want to quit soldiering and go home.” Elbert spat again into the fire. “I been dreaming crazy, Micah, and worrying so that I can’t sleep.” “Well, hell, let’s go home. Air Jordan 12 Retro Other rangers have been drifting away. We might as well go too. I’d rather risk hanging for deserting than to put my wife and little ones into the hands of the Comanches.” Micah spread out his bedding and stretched out on the ground. He rested his head on his hands behind his head. “Better get some sleep, Elbert. We’ll talk about what we’re going to do tomorrow. I’m supposed to see the captain first thing in the morning.” “Why?” “I don’t know. Goedkoop Nike Air Max 2016 I do know that every time an officer wants to see you it’s generally because you did something he’s unhappy with or he’s got something he wants you to do.” Micah closed his eyes and listened to the snores and coughs of men, and looked up at the Comanche moon until he slipped into sleep. He rose at first light and found the captain sitting outside his tent on a canvass stool, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He was reading a book. “Where’s Elbert?” the captain asked. “Still asleep.” “Did Isaac come by your camp last night?” “Yes, sir.” The captain turned a page in his book, never lifting his eyes from the page. “Are you a reading man, Micah?” “Not much. My wife reads a good bit.” He held up the book. “Macaria. A wonderful piece of literature. Notice the pages. I do believe the leaves are made of wallpaper.” “Sometimes we have to make do with what we got,” Micah said. “Yes, a good book. ray ban femme pas cher Pure propaganda though. Chris Snee Nike Air Max 2016 Italia Every idea the South has espoused to justify this conflict, every rumor that has been spread or whispered about us in the north is addressed in its pages. Yes, it’s propaganda, but effective propaganda. So effective that the Yankees have banned the book. Like our black servants, this book is now what they classify as contraband. They’ve ordered it to be burned whenever it’s captured.” “Yankees seem to be fond of burning things.” “It’s a savage man who doesn’t respect a book,” the captain said. “My father told me of a shield he took off a dead Comanche. He said it had been stuffed with the pages of some book called Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.” “Interesting choice the warrior made. Kanken Big Baratas A barbarian trying to protect himself with the words of civilized people. Back to the Yankees. Would you destroy a book, Micah, just because you disagree with what it says?” “I never thought much about books. Never had any of my own, and I’ve only seen a few.” “I’ve always been fond of Ms. Nike Air Presto albion silver Evans’ writing. Ever since I discovered Inez: A Tale of the Alamo. In Macaria, Miss Augusta Jane Evans argues that women should be more independent and serve the war effort just like the men do.” “Makes sense,” Micah said. “It does if you’re talking about spoiled, pampered, soft plantation belles. I don’t think she knows many frontier women. She sure doesn’t know how hard life already is for them. I never realized how tough our Texan women were until I came here. And I also didn’t realize until recently how wrong it was for us to leave them. We should have known that the savages would take advantage of our absence.” Micah squatted down and stabbed the ground with his Bowie knife. “What’s on your mind, Captain?” “I was ordered to choose some men to escort some newly captured Federal soldiers to Camp Ford at Tyler. I chose you and Elbert. After you deposit the prisoners, I’m giving you a furlough.” “Sir?” “I want you to go back to Jack County and check on our families. With any luck, the war will be over before you have to return to duty. I hear it’s not going well at all in the East.” “How long is the furlough?” “Usual furlough is thirty days, but since each of you recruited someone, I can extend it to forty days.” “What if I don’t come back in time?” “I’ll report you as captured.” “I’m much obliged, Captain,” Micah said. adidas messi astro “I’ll stay if you want me to.” “No, I don’t want you to stay. My motives aren’t entirely pure. Los Angeles Lakers

I want you to check on my family now and then and help them any way you can. I’m also going to send my servant, Ezekiel, with you. He can cook for you on the way. You’ll have twenty or more prisoners, so you’ll have your hands full with guard duty. Ezekiel’s a crack shot and a good hunter. buy albion silver He’ll keep you supplied with fresh meat. Go to the quartermaster and tell him to find Ezekiel a captured rifle and a brace of pistols.” “Yes, sir. Why did you choose us?” “After what Isaac told us, I was half afraid you would desert and go back anyway.” “You were right about that.” Captain Allison handed Micah a slip of paper. “Here are your orders and notice of furlough. Try not to lose your orders or your prisoners.” He stood and held out his hand. “I’d let all the men go if I could, would go myself, but a captain can’t hardly leave his unit, can he? Wouldn’t be proper. So, I’m counting on you, Micah. God bless.” Micah stood, saluted him, then shook the captain’s hand, and walked back to his camp. Elbert was still asleep. adidas yeezy boost 550 męskie Micah kicked the mound of blankets covering him. “Get up, Elbert. Gather your gear. We’ve been given orders.” “Where are we going?” “Texas.

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Chapter Four: The Sign of the Snake

As they left Shreveport in the predawn darkness, small specks of light from fireplaces, candles, and lanterns, sparked, sprouted, and glittered in houses and stores behind them. Micah, Elbert and Ezekiel rode behind the Federal soldiers who shuffled and stumbled forward on the rutted Shreveport Road they would follow to Jefferson, then to Marshal, and then to Tyler. The waning moon hung low in the horizon. Nike SB Check Mockingbirds fussed and sang, and a woodpecker hammered out secret bird-heart desires on a clapboard house. new balance u420 femme rose “My head’s about to split open,” Elbert said. Canotte Atlanta Hawks “I came back to the saloon, but you were gone. Did that little songbird find you?” “Ain’t nothin’ to talk about there.” “She sure was a pretty thing. I’m trying to conjure up the face of the woman I was with, but I can’t seem to do it.” “I saw her. She was as ugly as a fencepost.” “You did no such thing. God almighty, what a night. air max pas cher homme I do love to visit the sporting women.” One of the prisoners said, “It’s too dark to even see good yet. It’s bad enough to be prisoners of war without having to get up so early.” “There’s enough moonlight to see the road. Just stay on it,” Micah said. “I think this here mule’s moon blind. She keeps trying to stray off the road.” Ezekiel jerked the rope leading the mule. “Come on, jenny. Don’t you be ornery.” He pulled again at the mule. Micah slowed his horse so he could ride beside Ezekiel. “You gentlemen had a late night,” Ezekiel said. “You’re sporting a new rifle, I see.” “Yeah, a man gave it to me last night.” Micah saw Ezekiel’s white teeth in a smile. “You don’t ever seem to have a bad disposition, Ezekiel.” “It don’t help nothin’ to be worrying all the time. Besides, I’ve got a lot to smile about. I’m in good health, the captain’s well, and I’m going home to Texas. I’ll see my wife and young’uns, and life will be fine.” An hour out of Shreveport, the sun rose and the heavy dew glistened in the morning light. Horses and men exuded clouds of frosty breath, and wordless they trudged on. They passed fallow fields and meadows starting to fill with bluebonnets and prairie fire paintbrush. “Nothing’s as beautiful as a Texas morning,” Ezekiel said. “Wish the captain could see this morning with us. Sacramento Kings

I surely hope he manages to come home soon.” The day turned hot, and the travelers stopped midday. One of the Federals left the road and ducked behind some bushes to empty his bowels. When he violently began cursing, Micah walked to his horse and pulled his shotgun from its scabbard. The prisoner staggered from the bushes with his pants still halfway up his legs. “Jesus Christ, I’ve been snakebit!” “Sit yourself down and let me have a look,” Micah said. The snake had struck his thigh, just above the top of his boot. “Durn if it didn’t catch a vein. That means the poison will spread fast.” Micah cut a leather thong from his Bowie sheath and pitched the knife and thong to one of the prisoners. Bo Scarbrough Jersey “See if you can’t get the poison out.” “How do I do that?” the prisoner said. “Lord have mercy, you are an ignorant one. adidas zx flux leopard print Bind his legs above the bite. CORTEZ Then slice the marks and suck the poison out.” The man’s knee had already swelled. Air Jordan 3 Retro “Durn, his knee’s already swolled up like a melon,” one of the prisoners said. “And it’s turning black.” “Don’t this beat all,” Elbert said. “Getting snakebit this time of year. I thought they’d still be denned up. What are we going to do with him? You don’t reckon he’ll die on us do you?” “I don’t know,” Micah said. “I don’t know what else we can do to help him besides try to get some of the poison out.” The snakebit soldier’s eyes were dilated. Beads of cold sweat dripped from his face. “I don’t feel so good,” he said. He turned to the side and puked. “I need to stand up.” He rose, but staggered as he tried to walk. One of the Yankees caught him before he could fall and helped lower him back to the ground. “Keep him sitting down till we get him tended to,” Micah said. nike pas cher “He needs a poultice,” Ezekiel said. “That always works better than trying to suck the poison out. I’ll fix him one. With the bite that high on his leg, I think he’s done for anyway, but you can’t never tell.” “I suppose so, Ezekiel,” Micah said. Micah heard the rattle of the snake in the bushes. He rode over to it and killed it with the shotgun. Nike Air Huarache damskie One of the Federal soldiers picked it up by the tail and raised it till its head came off the ground. “Lord, what a snake. Must be six feet long.” Ezekiel found some prickly pear and pulled up two stalks of a peculiar plant. He brushed the dirt from the roots, snapped off the stalks and handed the roots to the Federal soldier. “You best chew on this,” he said. “It’s snakeroot. I call it, Black Sampson flower. Comanches use it for snakebite. nike air max 90 hombre Works better as a tea, but I ain’t got time to make no tea. air max 1 femme The poultice will keep it from swelling so.” Ezekiel opened a pocketknife and began to skin the pears. “Now move aside so I can apply this dressing.” Ezekiel pressed the poultice to the bite. NIKE AIR MORE UPTEMPO

“One of you Yankee gentlemen give me some cloth.” One handed him a scarf, and Ezekiel bound the poultice to the bite. “He won’t be able to walk, Mr. Evans,” Ezekiel said. Micah pointed to one of the Federal soldiers and pitched him his knife. “You take my Bowie and go to that thicket yonder and cut a couple of poles. We’ll have to make a skid for your friend to ride on.” “We don’t have a horse to hook the litter to, Micah,” Elbert said. “His friends can drag him along. He shouldn’t have let himself get bit.” Micah said. “He’ll slow us down,” Elbert said. “That can’t be helped, I guess.” Micah watched the Yankee turn to his side and puke again. “He sure is sick.” The two Federals returned with two pine trees. Micah directed two Yankees to remove their canvas suspenders and used them to lash the poles in a V shape to a supporting mesquite branch bar that extended out enough for each of them to put an end on their shoulders. Micah stretched the soldier’s blanket across the poles and tied it down. The travois would have worked better with a horse, but Micah had no intention of walking, and he didn’t think the moon-blind mule could have handled the extra load. “Keep him propped up. You don’t want the poison to get to his heart easy,” Micah said. “Get him on the skid and let’s be on our way.” None of the soldiers moved. Micah spat. “It don’t matter to me. I’d just as soon leave him here. If there’s a leader in this sorry bunch, why don’t he tell two men to do it. It’s not a hard decision. I think even you Yankees can figure out some sort of rotation system for dragging him along. Hell, don’t the man have a friend here?” “Come on, Bartholomew,” one said. “Let’s you and me take the first shift.” The pair laid him on the stretcher, and then each grabbed an end of the sidebar and hoisted him up. “Would you really have left him here?” the one called Bartholomew asked. new balance 530 homme encap “One less Yankee to fool with don’t bother me none. You two go in front.” That night they camped by a creek. Ezekiel took Micah’s shotgun and returned with four jackrabbits that he boiled. When they were done, he added some flour and dried wild onions. As Ezekiel filled their tin cups, Micah said to the prisoners, “You boys best enjoy this stew. I’m not sure you’ll be getting much fresh meat where you’re going.” After the Federals had lain down for the night, Micah, Elbert, and Ezekiel sat together by the fire. The snakebit soldier moaned. “He has fever,” Ezekiel said. “I think his leg is infected.” “Might be,” Elbert said. “I’m sure there’s a doctor at Camp Ford. He can be tended to there. Be a shame if he lost his leg thought, just from being careless about where he shat.” Ezekiel drew slowly from his clay pipe and blew out a cloud of smoke. “The Captain always said that when a man is on death’s doorstep, he best watch where he puts his feet.” They rose at sunrise and gave the Yankees hardtack and water for breakfast. solde adidas chaussures pas cher Micah, Elbert, and Ezekiel had the same, but with coffee. After walking for two hours, they came upon a wagon had broken down in the road. It was loaded to overflowing with chests, boxes, and burlap sacks. A woman and two young girls sat in the shade of a nearby oak. A large black woman hovered behind them. A black man squatted on the road with a wrench and a wagon wheel. He looked up at Micah, took off his hat and wiped his forehead with a sleeve. “You folks alright?” Micah asked. “Broke another spoke on this wheel is all. I’ll have it fixed directly.” Micah rode over to the women. “Ladies,” he said. “Can we be of assistance?” The two girls smiled and tittered behind their fans. One woman said, “No, thank you. It’s just a spoke on the wagon. AIR FOOTSCAPE Daniel has already repaired this wheel three times. I suppose I should buy another wheel when we reach Jefferson.” “Where you folks from?” Micah said. “I am Kate Stone from the Brokenburn Plantation and traveling to Tyler.” She sighed. Nike Air Max 2016 Heren grijs “I have family there. I regret leaving our home, but between the Yankee bummers and jayhawkers, it was no longer safe in Madison Parish. I’ve never seen the like of thieves and lawless men. Negroes are running wild too. Zapatillas Yeezy 350 Boost I have my daughters to think of. We live in desperate times, sir.” The woman eyed the Federal soldiers. “They are your prisoners?” “Yes, ma’am.” “Good.” “The only Yankees you’ll see in this part of Texas will be prisoners. Dexter McCluster Titans Jerseys We’re going to Tyler ourselves. You’re welcome to travel with us.” “Thank you, but no. I don’t think I could stand the sight of those blue uniforms. Our journey has been difficult enough. Daniel will repair this wheel and we’ll be on our way soon enough. We’ll likely meet up with others coming this way.” Micah’s caravan moved on. They made camp just outside of Jefferson. Ezekiel boiled white beans for their supper. The prisoners laid down in a row along the road and went to sleep quickly. Ezekiel set another pot of beans on the fire to soak and simmer for their breakfast. “I’ll get us some fresh meat soon. I don’t care much for these white beans, so we might as well let these Yankees eat them up.” Micah cut a sliver of tobacco and chewed it slowly, then spat a stream into the fire. “How about some coffee, Ezekiel?” “We’re running low on coffee, Mr. Evans. We need to save it for the morning.” Micah nodded. “I suppose you’re right.” “I can ride into Jefferson and get some,” Elbert said. ROSHE LD-1000 QS “You just want to go and get drunk,” Micah said. “It entered my mind that I might find us some whiskey while I was there.” “You got any money left?” Micah said. “No.” “Get a dollar or two out of my saddlebag. adidas zx Get us as much coffee as you can and get yourself a drink too if you have any left.” Elbert returned close to midnight. He was singing “Rose of Alabamy.” Micah watched him wobble unsteadily as he unsaddled his horse and hobbled her for the night. “I take it you found you some whiskey. You find some coffee too?” “It’s in my saddlebag. Found a pound, but the price was dear. Didn’t leave me much to drink on. You want me to take over guard duty?” “Naw. You ain’t in no condition to guard anyone. I’ll take your watch tonight. You can take mine tomorrow.” “You’re a true friend, Micah.” “Go on to sleep, you drunken fool.” Micah thought about tying up the prisoners so he could sleep too, but he decided to just forego sleep tonight. He looked up at the stars and listened to the coyotes cutting up nearby. He said a prayer to whatever god was listening that Erin and the twins would be safe. He fed the fire a mesquite stick, stared at the flames, then the embers, then dropped in another stick. He did this throughout the night. At first light, Ezekiel rose and set the coffeepot on the coals. Micah opened his watch and saw that it was just shy of four. Ezekiel sat down next to him. “As soon as you and I have some coffee, Mister Evans, I’ll wake them all up and we’ll eat those beans that been simmering all night.” The coffeepot lid began to bounce from the boiling water. With a rag on his hand, Ezekiel picked it up by the handle, set it on the ground, threw in a handful of coffee, then returned it to the fire. Micah went to the mule’s pack and dug around until he found three tin cups. Fjällräven Kånken Ryggsäck Sverige “You make good coffee, Ezekiel.” “I do, for a fact. The Captain likes his coffee, but he don’t want no camp coffee like most soldiers drink—so strong it will float a horseshoe or even dissolve it. He wants some flavor with it, and a little milk and sugar when we could find it. Back in Louisiana, I was talking with a Negro cook who had been out east, with the armies fightin’ with Robert E. Lee. He said they didn’t have no coffee at all, other than some sweet potato coffee.” Ezekiel shook his head. “That sure would be hard on the Captain. He enjoys his books and he enjoys his coffee.” “It’s probably hard on him to not have you with him now,” Micah said. “No, sir. The Captain’s a tough man. He can get by without a manservant, but he couldn’t keep on living and worrying about our families so. He’ll sleep better knowing I’m back where I can help them and protect them.” After Elbert drank a cup of coffee, he walked over to the row of sleeping Federals and called for them to get up. They rose and filed by the fire with their tin cups for the bean breakfast. Nike Air Max Très pas cher Nike Archive 83.M One Federal remained on the ground. Cursing, Elbert walked over and jerked off the sleeping man’s blanket. The snakebit soldier had died during the night. His mouth had frozen into a jester’s smile. His skin was splotched in places where the blood had pooled, and his arms and torso had twisted in a bizarre pose of rigor mortis. His sunken eyes were open, so Elbert thought he must have passed on while still awake. Elbert shook out the blanket. Just as he was about to drape it over the dead soldier’s face, a pair of rattlesnakes crawled out from between the soldier’s legs and slithered into the dark. “Don’t that beat all I ever saw,” Elbert said. “What’s wrong, Elbert?” Micah called out. “The snakebit boy died on us, Micah. And then I saw the durndest thing. air max chaussures Two more rattlesnakes bedded up with him last night. Snakes sure seem to take a liking to this fellow.” “Two more what?” Micah said. “I didn’t quite hear you.” Elbert made the hand sign of the Comanche. “Snakes.

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For some years now, I’ve taught college level freshman composition. All Black Jordan Shoes Since I received my M.A. in English from Abilene Christian University, I’ve seen many changes. albion silver I waded my way into the computer age, perhaps a bit slower than others, I’ve seen the Internet go from mail exchanges with limited and inconsistent knowledge in sites to its present status where knowledge can be instant, and one can find virtually any information he or she wants or needs and can find answers to most any question or problem and discover how to do, make, or analyze anything desired. Fjallraven Kanken Mini In the past, finding and obtaining sources or copies of specific valuable information might require two weeks or more, now can be obtained in just a few minutes or days at most. One would think students today would appreciate this quick and easy access to unbelievable knowledge. Here is their chance to become experts in almost any field of study. asics femme pas cher Yet, for so many students, that hasn’t happened. Because it so so easy to obtain so much information, every semester I find several students who plagiarize, using the Internet not to increase their knowledge and develop their own creative skills and thinking, but as a quick and easy tool tool to avoid their own work and thought and get a grade. buy albion gold The Internet feeds their laziness and apathy.

Every semester, I catch them, often right after we have just studied plagiarism. buy albion gold Many colleges these days allow students caught plagiarizing to redo the work. I don’t think that would have happened a few years ago. cheap albion silver I remember any plagiarizing being ruthlessly punished. Indiana Pacers

I don’t mind them using sources, in fact I encourage it, but I want them to go to the trouble to give proper credit to their sources by quotation, paraphrase and summary and to do so in good form. new balance 1500 bordeaux femme (One college I work with uses MLA, another APA). Do they really think I won’t catch them? I once taught a high school theatre class in Dallas that was assigned to write a short one-act play. UA ClutchFit Drive 2 One student I liked turned in a brilliant short play. cheap albion gold I loved it! I took the precaution of googling a few sentences and found he had turned in an award-winning play in its entirety. Because the boy’s parents pitched such a fit, the school would not let me fail him, so he turned in another, but it was poorly written, and since Dallas at that time would not allow you to give a grade lower than 50, he passed the class.

To emphasize the seriousness of plagiarism, I use a case study, perhaps spurred on by the recent movie version of Roots. Not long after Haley’s book was published, Haley was taken to court. Scarpe adidas Ultra Boost

Nike KD Trey 5 III It seems Alex Haley plagiarized his supposed family history from white author Harold Courlander’s novel, The African. Haley admitted his plagiarism and was found guilty of this plagiarism and paid a $600,000 settlement to Courlander. Nike Sneakers A black journalist, Stanley Crouch, wrote a scathing expose of Haley in this article, The ‘Roots’ of huckster Haley’s Great Fraud, published in the Jewish World Review. I hope you will read it. Air Jordan Pas cher Here’s the website where you can read Crouch’s thoughts: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/crouch011802.asp

The reaction of my students to the news and evidence that the Pulitzer Prize winning Roots, the supposed nonfiction book, was plagiarized in large parts from a fictional novel varied from heartbreak, to disgust, to denial. Air Jordan 9 (IX) buy albion silver Some students rationalized that the book did so much good in the country that the issue of plagiarism shouldn’t be pushed against Haley and it happened so long ago that it should be dropped. It is this last example of rationalization that both angers and frightens me. This must be an example of the end justifies the means mentality–probably the same mentality they have when they steal words from others that they give to me as their own. cheap albion gold Perhaps, they’ve worked all day, are tired, the paper is due soon, so they slop through it, looking for an easy and quick way to get the assignment done and copy the work of others, often errors and all. I try to take my students through stages of writing that will help them avoid the temptation to plagiarize. Kånken Laptop 15 Nebraska Cornhuskers For example, I instruct them to not use sources at all for their first draft, but I can be sure that Ask.com or Wikipedia will be in some of those first drafts–and without even giving that credit.

What can I do with students who refuse to study, to think on their own, to thoughtfully read something, to memorize and follow proven steps, patterns and methods I present that will help them be good writers? A line from the Three Stooges comes to mind. Curly once said, “I’m trying to think, but nothing happens.” Bless their hearts! They have no idea of the good writings they can create if they will only dig deep into themselves, be observant and pay Father Time his dues.

I believe that freshman composition is designed to prepare students to write essays for their future classes, using a varieties of strategies. I do have many students who excel, who are driven to learn, who appreciate the college experience, and who love to read and write. NIKE AIR MAX TAILWIND 8

However, they live and work in an apathetic generation who may never know what good original writing is and how it is produced.

Here’s a funny poem I wrote in 1995. AIR PRESTO Flyknit Ultra

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I Get the Dumb Ass

I get the dumb ass now and then, Just to prove that I still can, I’ll bite on trees, max the MasterCard, Stick my fingers in the fan. ADIDAS ULTRA BOOST

buy albion gold I get the dumb ass now and then, Just to prove that I’m alive, I’ll drink all day and work all night, And somehow still survive. adidas sale uk albion silver I get the dumb ass easily Most any time or place, With my weakness for the wilder side, The flirting eye and face. ROSHE RUN cheap albion gold I get the dumb ass day or night, When it’s more than I can stand, I’ll give the finger to the rednecks From my psychedelic van. Nike Solarsoft albion gold I’ll charge a bull, jump off cliffs, Slam dance into walls, Piss on your shoes, Start pit bull petting zoos, It’s not trouble for me at all. Air Jordan 7 (VII) buy albion silver Read a dumb ass history, I’ll be on every page, Yelling out obscenities, Like a madman in a cage. new balance 999 homme noir cheap albion gold I hear that it’s contagious, So you better stay away, Or soon you’ll be a dumb ass too, And an awful price you’ll pay. Nike Air Bw

There’s no cure for my condition, And I always make it worse, And with these dumb ass thoughts in mind, I’ll leave you with my verse.

Chapter Eight: Skye The twins chased each other around the junipers in front of the house. Benjamin said, “I don’t want to be the mule.” “You’re the mule.” Skye raised her stick again and grabbed the back of his collar.

“Go on, mule.” He raised his leg and kicked back at her. albion gold “Hee haw!” Then he ran. She chased him. He scooped up a pebble and threw it at her. “Mama, Benjamin’s throwing rocks at me again!” Erin stepped outside. Out of habit, she fixed her eyes on the twins, then counted their cows and horses. buy albion silver “Benjamin! You quit tormenting your sister.” Skye grinned at Benjamin. “I got you in trouble. I hope you get a whippin’. If I was Mama, I’d whip you every day. You’re still a donkey. My brother, the donkey!” “Skye, get the bucket and you and your brother pull some turnips for supper.” “Yes, ma’am.” While the twins were in the garden, Erin milked their cow. buy albion gold Her uncle’s almanac said the moon would be full tonight. cheap albion silver She reminded herself to check the shotgun to make sure it was primed and loaded. She swung the gate shut and looped the rawhide thong over its post, making her way to the house with the milk. Skye walked to her with her bucket of greens. cheap albion gold “Mama, is this enough turnips?” “That will be plenty for us.” “When’s daddy coming home?” “I don’t know, darling. I hope soon. Go play with your brother while I fix our supper.” Skye asked the same question every day. Benjamin set a row of bois d’arc apples on a large flat rock and was knocking them off with rocks. “That’s six dead Yankees. You want to play, Skye?” Skye studied the strewn apples and the one remaining on the top. “You sure can’t throw a rock worth a durn.” She picked up a rock, bounced it in her hand, then hurled it so hard that its point buried itself in the green apple. It rolled off, bleeding white juice. She dusted her hands and said, “That’s how you throw a rock, Benjamin.” “That ain’t nothin’. Just a lucky throw. You’re just a girl. Chicago Bulls What do you know?” “Mi hermano, el gusano!” “Mama! Skye called me a worm!” Benjamin went on to play soldiers under the walnut tree. He gathered hulls into two piles, and laid them out in battle lines. The round ones were one army, and the flat ones another. Benjamin looked over at Skye. “Bruja!” “I might really be a witch, Benjamin. And you best not forget it.” She wiggled her fingers at him. cheap albion gold “I might really turn you into a donkey or a worm!” Benjamin ignored her and returned his thoughts to his walnut soldiers.

Skye circled him, playing her own war game. In this imaginary world, she was Sgathaich, warrior-priestess queen of the Isle of Skye.

buy albion gold She acted out the stories her mother told her at night—of Sgathaich building Dunscaith Castle with the help of a witch in a single night, training Cu Chulain in the arts of war in her military academy, predicting the future for pilgrims who had come to her from Ireland and Gaul. “I am Skye MacDonald!” she cried. Nike Air Max 1 Pas Cher “That’s Mama’s family!” Benjamin said. “We’re Evans!” “You hush.

I can use Mama’s last name if I want to.” She ran to Epona, her white mare, and stroked her neck. Adidas buty dziecięce Jumping, she wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck and pulled herself up in one fluid motion. Epona tossed her head and neighed. albion silver When her mother called her for dinner, Skye nodded to her imaginary students, and left her stone castle with its seven ramparts and pits of snakes and beaked toads, and jumped twice crossing the imaginary magical bridge leading to Dunscaith that threw off any who required more than two strides. Nike Internationalist At the cabin, she noticed their dog was looking at the treeline, growling, and pawing the ground.