MY FIRST LESSON IN COW PUNCHING.
The next day after arriving in town, Mr. Faldien sent me out to his
ranch, twenty miles, on Big Boggy. I rode out on the "grub" wagon with
the colored cook. That night, after arriving at the ranch, there being
several men already there, we went out wild boar hunting. We got back
about midnight very tired and almost used up. Such a hunt was very
different from the coon hunts Billy and I used to have at the
"Settlement." Our dogs were badly gashed up by the boars, and it was a
wonder some of us hadn't been served the same way.
In a few days Mr. Faldien came out to the ranch, bringing with him
several men. After spending a few days gathering up the cow-ponies,
which hadn't been used since the fall before, we started for Lake
Austin--a place noted for wild cattle.
During the summer I was taken sick and had to go home. I was laid up for
two months with typhoid fever. Every one thought I would die.
That fall, about October, mother married a man by the name of Carrier,
who hailed from Yankeedom. He claimed that he owned a farm in Michigan,
besides lots of other property.
He was very anxious to get back to his farm, so persuaded mother to sell
out lock, stock and barrel and go with him.
She had hard work to find a buyer as money was very scarce, but finally
she got Mr. George Burkheart, a merchant in Matagorda, to set his own
price on things and take them.
The house and one hundred and seventy-five acres of land only brought
one hundred and seventy-five dollars. The sixty head of cattle that we
had succeeded in getting back from the mainland went at one dollar a
head and all others that still remained on the mainland--thrown in for
good measure.
At last everything for sale was disposed of and we got "Chris" Zipprian
to take us to Indianola in his schooner. We bade farewell to the old
homestead with tears in our eyes. I hated more than anything else to
leave old "Browny" behind for she had been a friend in need as well as a
friend indeed. Often when I would be hungry and afraid to go home for
fear of mother and the mush stick, she would let me go up to her on the
prairie calf fashion and get my milk. She was nearly as old as myself.
At Indianola we took the Steamship "Crescent City" for New Orleans. The
first night out we ran into a large Brig and came very near going under.
The folks on the Brig were nearly starved to death, having been drifting
about for thirty days without a rudder. We took them in tow, after
getting our ship in trim again, and landed them safely in Galveston.
There was a bar-room on our ship, and our new lord and master, Mr.
Carrier, put in his spare time drinking whisky and gambling; I do not
think he drew a sober breath from the time we left Indianola until we
landed in New Orleans, by that time he had squandered every cent
received for the homestead and cattle, so mother had to go down into her
stocking and bring out the little pile of gold which she had saved up
before the war for "hard times," as she used to say. With this money she
now bought our tickets to Saint Louis. We took passage, I think, on the
"Grand Republic." There was also a bar-room on this boat, and after
wheedling mother out of the remainder of her funds, he drank whisky and
gambled as before, so we landed in Saint Louis without a cent.
Mother had to pawn her feather mattress and pillows for a month's rent
in an old delapidated frame building on one of the back streets. It
contained only four rooms, two up stairs and two down; the lower rooms
were occupied by the stingy old landlord and family; we lived in one of
the upper rooms, while a Mr. Socks, whose wife was an invalid, occupied
the other.
The next day after getting established in our new quarters, the "old
man," as I called him, struck out to find a job; he found one at a
dollar a day shoveling coal.
At first he brought home a dollar every night, then a half and finally a
quarter. At last he got to coming home drunk without a nickel in his
pocket. He finally came up missing; we didn't know what had become of
him. Mother was sick in bed at the time from worrying. I went out
several times hunting work but no one would even give me a word of
encouragement, with the exception of an old Jew who said he was sorry
for me.
A little circumstance happened, shortly after the "old man" pulled his
trifling carcass for parts unknown, which made me a better boy and no
doubt a better man than I should have been had it never happened.
Everything was white without, for it had been snowing for the past two
days. It was about five o'clock in the evening and the cold piercing
north wind was whistling through the unceiled walls of our room. Mother
was sound asleep, while sister and I sat shivering over an old, broken
stove, which was almost cold, there being no fuel in the house.
Sister began crying and wondered why the Lord let us suffer so? I
answered that may be it was because we quit saying our prayers. Up to
the time we left Texas mother used to make us kneel down by the bed-side
and repeat the Lord's prayer every night before retiring. Since then she
had, from worrying, lost all interest in Heavenly affairs.
"Let us say our prayers now, then, brother!" said sister drying the
tears from her eyes.
We both knelt down against the old, rusty stove and commenced. About the
time we had finished the door opened and in stepped Mr. Socks with a
bundle under his arm. "Here children, is a loaf of bread and some
butter and I will bring you up a bucket of coal in a few moments, for I
suppose from the looks of the stove you are cold," said the good man,
who had just returned from his day's work.
Was ever a prayer so quickly heard? We enjoyed the bread and butter, for
we hadn't tasted food since the morning before.
The next day was a nice sunny one, and I struck out up town to try and
get a job shoveling snow from the sidewalks.
The first place I tackled was a large stone front on Pine street. The
kind lady of the establishment said she would give me twenty-five cents
if I would do a good job cleaning the sidewalk in front of the house.
After an hour's hard work I finished, and, after paying me, the lady
told me to call next day and she would give me a job shoveling coal down
in the cellar, as I had done an extra good job on the sidewalk. This was
encouraging and I put in the whole day shoveling snow, but never found
any more twenty-five cent jobs; most I received for one whole hour's
work was ten cents, and then the old fat fellow kicked like a bay steer,
about the d----d snow being such an expense, etc.
From that time on I made a few dimes each day sawing wood or shoveling
coal and therefore got along splendid.
I forgot to mention my first evening in Saint Louis. I was going home
from the bakery when I noticed a large crowd gathered in front of a
corner grocery; I went up to see what they were doing. Two of the boys
had just gotten through fighting when I got there; the store-keeper and
four or five other men were standing in the door looking on at the crowd
of boys who were trying to cap another fight.
As I walked up, hands shoved clear to the bottom of my pockets, the
store-keeper called out, pointing at me, "there's a country Jake that
I'll bet can lick any two boys of his size in the crowd."
Of course all eyes were then turned onto me, which, no doubt, made me
look sheepish. One of the men asked me where I was from; when I told
him, the store-keeper exclaimed, "by gum, if he is from Texas I'll bet
two to one that he can clean out any two boys of his size in the crowd."
One of the other men took him up and they made a sham bet of ten
dollars, just to get me to fight. The two boys were then picked out;
one was just about my size and the other considerably smaller. They
never asked me if I would take a hand in the fight until everything was
ready. Of course I hated to crawl out, for fear they might think I was a
coward.
Everything being ready the store-keeper called out, "dive in boys!"
We had it up and down for quite a while, finally I got the largest one
down, and was putting it to him in good shape, when the other one picked
up a piece of brick-bat and began pounding me on the back of the head
with it. I looked up to see what he was doing and he struck me over one
eye with the bat. I jumped up and the little fellow took to his heels,
but I soon overtook him and blackened both of his eyes up in good shape,
before the other boy, who was coming at full tilt could get there to
help him. I then chased the other boy back to the crowd. That ended the
fight and I received two ginger-snaps, from the big hearted storekeeper,
for my trouble. I wore the nick-name of "Tex" from that time on, during
my stay in that neighborhood; and also wore a black eye, where the
little fellow struck me with the bat, for several days afterwards.
About the middle of January mother received a letter from the "old man,"
with ten dollars enclosed, and begging her to come right on without
delay as he had a good job and was doing well, etc. He was at Lebanon,
Ill., twenty-five miles from the city. The sight of ten dollars and the
inducements he held out made us hope that we would meet with better luck
there, so we packed up our few traps and started on the Ohio and
Mississippi railroad.
On arriving in Lebanon about nine o'clock at night we found the "old
man" there waiting for us.
The next morning we all struck out on foot, through the deep snow, for
Moore's ranch where the "old man" had a job chopping cord wood. A tramp
of seven miles brought us to the little old log cabin which was to be
our future home. A few rods from our cabin stood a white frame house in
which lived Mr. Moore and family.
Everything went on lovely for the first week, notwithstanding that the
cold winds whistled through the cracks in our little cabin, and we had
nothing to eat but corn bread, black coffee and old salt pork that Moore
could not find a market for.
The first Saturday after getting established in our new home the "old
man" went to town and got on a glorious drunk, squandered every nickel
he could rake and scrape; from that time on his visits to town were more
frequent than his trips to the woods, to work. At last I was compelled
to go to work for Moore at eight dollars a month, to help keep the wolf
from our door, and don't you forget it, I earned eight dollars a month,
working out in the cold without gloves and only half clothed.
Towards spring the "old man" got so mean and good-for-nothing that the
neighbors had to run him out of the country. A crowd of them surrounded
the house one night, took the old fellow out and preached him a sermon;
then they gave him until morning to either skip or be hung. You bet he
didn't wait until morning.
A short while afterwards mother took sister and went to town to hunt
work. She left her household goods with one of the near neighbors, a Mr.
Muck, where they still remain I suppose, if not worn out. But there was
nothing worth hauling off except the dishes. I must say the table ware
was good; we had gotten them from a Spanish vessel wrecked on the Gulf
beach during the war.
Mother found work in a private boarding house, and sister with a Mrs.
Bell, a miller's wife, while I still remained with Moore at the same
old wages.
Along in June sometime I quit Moore on account of having the ague. I
thought I should have money enough to take a rest until I got well, but
bless you I only had ninety cents to my credit, Moore had deducted
thirty-five dollars the "old man" owed him out of my earnings. I pulled
for town as mad as an old setting hen. But I soon found work again, with
an old fellow by the name of John Sargent, who was to give me eight
dollars a month, board and clothes and pay my doctor bills.
About the first of September mother and sister went to Saint Louis where
they thought wages would be higher. They bade me good bye, promising to
find me a place in the city, so I could be with them; also promised to
write.
Shortly afterwards I quit Mr. Sargent with only one dollar to my credit;
and that I havn't got yet. He charged me up with everything I got in the
shape of clothes, doctor bills, medicine, etc.
I then went to work for a carpenter, to learn the trade, for my board,
clothes, etc. I was to remain with him three years. My first day's work
was turning a big heavy stone for him to grind a lot of old, rusty tools
on. That night after supper I broke my contract, as I concluded that I
knew just as much about the carpenter's trade as I wished to know, and
skipped for the country, by moonlight.
I landed up at a Mr. Jacobs' farm twelve miles from town and got a job
of work at twelve dollars a month. I didn't remain there long though, as
I had a chill every other day regular, and therefore couldn't work much.
I made up my mind then to pull for Saint Louis and hunt mother and
sister. I had never heard a word from them since they left. After buying
a small satchel to put my clothes in and paying for a ticket to the
city, I had only twenty-five cents left and part of that I spent for
dinner that day.
I arrived in East Saint Louis about midnight with only ten cents left. I
wanted to buy a ginger-cake or something, as I was very hungry, but
hated to as I needed the dime to pay my way across the river next
morning. I wasn't very well posted then, in regard to the ways of
getting on in the world, or I would have spent the dime for something to
eat, and then beat my way across the river.