was pretty cool on the porch even on a typical summer day in Arkansas. All of the bedrooms and the living area had windows that let a lot of air blow throughout the house. The breeze-way also siphoned the air through the other parts of the house. Bass loved to sit on the porch in the afternoon and watch the sun setting over the Indian Territory to the west. He imagined he could see all the way to the dead line.
When it came time for supper, Jennie told him that she had invited his mother and sister and her husband to eat with them. Bass had bought a giant bison roast in Fort Smith and she had been cooking it for hours, along with fresh vegetables from her garden, including black-eyed peas, cabbage and fresh sliced tomatoes. She had baked a big slab of the bison in a big metal pot along with fresh potatoes and carrots and onions. Bass was drooling at the prospect of such a meal. While they were on the trail, they pretty much ate whatever they could kill. Bass and his family were extremely religious and they always said prayers for the meal and his safe return before every meal, whether he was there or not. If he was there, they would thank God for his safe return. In the sitting area of the kitchen, they had several large tables with chairs to seat all 13 of them when they scooted all of the tables together.
While they were eating, Bass decided to conduct some business and told his brother-in-law, Green Saunders, that he had brought back enough money to add some more fine horses to their stables.
“Green,” Bass began, “after adding to our savings account, I think we have enough extra money to add another 10 really good horses to the herd. You may want to check and see where we could get some really good ones. I’d be willing to pay $100 each for the best ones you can find.”
“I’ll check around and see where I can find what you’re looking for. Maybe we can buy some thoroughbred stock out of Texas. I’ve seen some real nice herds brought through Fort Smith on their way to different places, but wasn’t sure if we were going to buy or sell at this point,” Green replied.
“I trust your judgement,” Bass continued. “Just remember, I might be running for my life on one of these horses, so only buy horses you’d trust with your life.”
“I understand.” Green said.
Green started to think about where he might go to find some really good horses. Even the army was not as picky about horses as Bass was. Every one in Arkansas knew the herd they were raising included the finest horses available. Most of the other marshals bought their horses from Bass. They didn’t want to be outran either. Most were willing to pay up to $150 for one of his horses and several had tried to buy horses that Bass kept for himself, but were told they were not for sale.
After supper, Jennie gave Bass a pipe she had bought for him in Fort Smith, along with some fancy imported tobacco. It was one of those pipes that was shaped kind of like an “S”, with the burning part dropping below his chin. He thought he looked like a detective when he smoked it. Jennie thought it made him look distinguished. He enjoyed sitting on the porch and smoking it while Jennie and the girls finished cleaning up the table. Jennie had also bought him a nice oversized rocking chair that was considered to be his that no other person sat in. He was a big man and was thankful for the big rocking chair.
All of the children had their own chores to do. Sallie, who was 21 and the oldest, was now more than old enough to be married and needed to learn all of her mother’s cooking skills. Bass’s sister Jane, who did all of the sewing on the ranch, including all of his clothing, was also teaching Sallie to sew.
His oldest son, Robert, now 19 and Newland, now 12, worked for Green, taking care of the horses. The best horses were still kept at the stables on Mount Vista. These stables were some of the nicest and cleanest stables you would find anywhere. The horses that Bass kept for his own personal use were kept in stables all by themselves. Each had a separate stall where they were groomed and shoed.
Green was teaching the oldest boys what to feed the horses and how to keep them well groomed. He was teaching Robert how to be a blacksmith, which was a skill he and Bass both shared. Robert was old enough to go out on his own or become a marshal himself, but so far had been happy to stay on the family farm and Bass was happy to have him there. He loved all of his kids and hated to see the moment when they might leave.
He thought Sallie would be married and gone by now, but was happy to have her stay. She was a big help to Jennie and helped take care of Pearlalee, his mother, who was getting to be about 65 years old by now. In fact, Sallie had moved into the house that Bass had built for Pearlalee so that she could see after her more closely. There was enough work on the ranch for everyone and all of the kids did their fair share.
While Jennie was finishing up in the kitchen, Bass decided to walk Sallie and Pearlalee back to their house. He had something on his mind he wanted to ask his mother and wanted to get her alone. She was getting old so he wanted to get as much family history from her as he could. She was pretty good about sitting with the children and telling them stories about Bass as a child. According to her, his father was a freedman who crossed her path while she was a servant for the Reeves family in Texas. However, he had heard otherwise and intended to confront her before she got too old to remember. After asking Sallie to give them some privacy, Bass asked his mother, “Who did you say my father was?”
“I’ve told you who your father was,” she responded, slightly angry at her son’s tone.
“Well, as you know, I spent a lot of time growing up with our master, Colonel George Reeves and even went with him into the Civil War when he fought for the Confederacy where I learned to shoot and ride well enough to survive myself and to help protect him. We got to be very close and I considered him to be my friend. One night, we were drinking in a bar and playing cards when he called me son. I looked him straight in the eye and said ‘you’re not my father, why’re you calling me son?’ He said, ‘you are my son’. I was so mad that I jumped up and hit him and that’s when I ran off to the Indian Territory. Nobody ever came looking for me. He never put a bounty on me like most other runaway slaves. Why would he say something like that?”
Pearlalee looked at him with tears in her eyes and said “I hoped you would never find out. You know we lived in his house and I loved his wife and didn’t want to do what he wanted to do, but couldn’t do anything about it. That’s why he showed you off like he did. He was really proud of you, but I didn’t think he’d ever admit to bein’ your father. That’s why he taught you to be a blacksmith and why he taught you to take care of his horses. You know his wife couldn’t bear him any children and the longer he was around you the more he came to realize you were his. He bragged to me about you all of the time. He was going to leave all his horses to you.”
“I didn’t want any of his damn horses!” Bass responded angrily, “I have my own horses! I can’t believe he did that to you. It makes me want to go find him and kill him.”
“Son,” Pearlalee said, looking him in the eye, “God doesn’t want you to feel that way about your father, even if he became your father against my will.
Your father was a great man, in spite of what he did to me. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives for the State of Texas and Reeves County in Texas was named for him. You shouldn’t hate him. His greatness is in you. Even when you were a child, everyone knew you weren’t an ordinary child. I love the greatness in you that he gave you. For that reason, I forgave him for what he did to me.
He wanted children of his own and he got you. If you ever do see him again, you should learn to love him like your children love you, even though you are a much better father than he was. He taught you how to shoot and ride horses. You make a good living doing that. I never loved him but he loved you and loved the part of you that was him. Can’t you forgive him like I did?”
“Maybe,” Reeves said. He knew his mother
