Rifles for Watie

Jeff decides to travel south toward Texas in order to defy expectation. He knows that he needs to find a horse. Jeff manages to bypass rebel sentries and take off into the night. He thinks about Lucy, longing to see her and knowing that it would be a long time until he does, if he does not die first. Clardy will have undoubtedly told Watie about the warning Jeff sent with Leemon Jones, and they would be determined to catch and punish him. He keeps carrying the heavy bridle in hopes of finding a horse, taking the opportunity to walk through the creek and obscure his scent for the dogs who would certainly be after him by morning. Before dawn, he finds a place to sleep, determined to travel by night and sleep during the day. Hungry, Jeff dreams about Heifer’s cooking. When he awakes, it is raining. He waits for nightfall before setting off again, eating from his meager supply of corn.

Jeff hides again before sunrise but hears hoofbeats. For a moment he hopes it might be a horse he can take, then suddenly realizes that the sound is of the men who are after him. They have dogs, which sniff around for him, and one man calls out that he sees Jeff and that if Jeff doesn’t come out, he’ll shoot. Jeff freezes, and the men move on, complaining about dogs that “don’t trail worth a hoot” (366). The other man reminds him that in two days, they’ll have a well-trained bloodhound that Sam Fields has gone to get from Texas. This particular dog is known for having hunted down a murderer all the way across the state. The men ride off, and Jeff runs. He walks through a creek again in order to hide his trail.

For the rest of the day, Jeff hurries, starving and exhausted, until he stops by a river and falls asleep. When he wakes up, the sun is out, and he feels better. But he hears someone on the bank behind him and sees the men who have been chasing him. Luckily, they can’t see him from his vantage point. Carefully, Jeff submerges himself in the water with his nose above the surface so that he can breathe. All day, he waits as a team of men searches the area. Jeff hasn’t had anything to eat in three days, and he can smell their food, which is torture. Finally, they leave. After dark, Jeff sets out again. He’s starving, imagining the food that Heifer would be serving back at Boggy Depot. He finds some grapes, but they barely dent his hunger.

Jeff begins to feel delirious, and he comes upon a small home where a woman is cooking. Two armed soldiers approach the woman, and Jeff restrains himself from rushing to the house and taking the food. He moves on, becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, Jeff comes upon a deserted town and decides that it’s a decent place to die. He tries to sleep in an empty building but hears wolves outside. They are tearing apart a hog which they have just killed. Jeff shoos them away and butchers some of the hog. Back in the building, he finds two matches. Jeff starts a fire and cooks the ham. He stays in the house for three days, eating and resting, until he is ready to walk again. Eventually, recognizing his surroundings, Jeff realizes that he is only about 20 miles from Fort Gibson.

Just as Jeff is feeling optimistic, he hears a hound baying and knows that the rebels are near. He despairs, knowing that this is likely the end, when an ugly dog appears, running up to Jeff and sniffing him. His tag says “Sully,” which is the name of the bloodhound from Texas. But the dog’s handlers are nowhere to be found. Realizing that they would be unable to track him without their dog, Jeff calls Sully and gives him some ham. Sully goes with him. The next morning, Jeff approaches Fort Gibson with Sully in tow. He tells the officer on guard his name and that he is “fourteen months overdue on a scout” (378). Jeff informs the guard that he has important information and needs to see General Blunt right away. The guard responds that Blunt was reassigned to Kansas and that Colonel Wattles is in charge. Hearing the guard’s voice, Jeff recognizes Lieutenant Orff and reminds Orff who he is. Suddenly, a cavalryman sweeps Jeff up onto his horse, and says, “Howdy, youngster. […] Where ya been all this time?” (379). Gratefully, Jeff embraces Noah Babbitt. He tells Babbitt to make sure that the dog stays with them as “he wouldn’t dare go back to Texas now. They’d stand him up before a firing squad and shoot him full of holes” (379).

The war is over, and Jeff is on his way home. It has been four years since Jeff left. He rides back toward Kansas with Bill Earle, David Gardner, and John Chadwick. Along the way, they spend the night at the home of Earle’s Aunt Phoebe in Missouri. Bill refers to her as his “Confederate Aunt” because her slaves remained with her even though she offered them freedom. Jeff is disturbed by the damage to the country as they pass burned-out and vacant homes, some with families beginning the rebuilding process. He thinks about the Jackmans, hoping that their home survived the war. The rebel Cherokee refugee families must wait for the signing of the peace treaty before they can go back to their homes. Jeff feels compassion for the rebels. Although, “he thought the South had been wrong to start the war, […] now that it was over and the Union restored, he didn’t want to see the rebels punished unreasonably. He hoped the country would be united again, bigger and stronger than ever, North and South” (382).

When the approach Earle’s aunt’s home, a black servant greets them with shears, towels, and soap. Before they can enter Aunt Phoebe’s home, they must be bathed and their hair shorn in order to avoid bringing lice into the house. The servant recognizes Sully from stories that had spread about the famous dog who had been charmed by the Union soldier he was meant to pursue. Jeff is a sergeant, promoted in his absence as soon as Blunt received his message through Leemon Jones. Jeff thinks about how he enlisted when he was only 16, “wanting to be a soldier, to see battle and savor adventure” (384), and everything he has seen and experienced, beginning in the infantry, rising into the cavalry, working as a spy, surviving illness and near-starvation, and falling in love. Jeff muses how “few men in either army had lived the war so fully” (385).

Bathed and deloused with their animals fed, Jeff and his friends meet Aunt Phoebe in the house. They eat a delicious meal. Afterward, Earle sings for them. When he sings “Amazing Grace,” Jeff thinks about Heifer and feels a rush of sadness. The next morning, Jeff says goodbye to Earle who promises to visit. Jeff feels a well of emotion as he leaves with Gardner and Chadwick. He felt similarly when he had to say goodbye to Babbitt, as “it was hard to leave a comrade you had eaten with, bunked with, and fought with so long” (387). Babbitt also promised to visit but told Jeff that he’ll be riding his horse instead of walking. Both Jeff and Babbitt purchased their horses from the government. Jeff also sought out Leemon Jones, who was injured fighting for the Union, and planned to move to Kansas. Clardy had never been seen again. Once Jeff reported his treachery, the rifle trade was stopped and Clardy’s name was broadcast to Leavenworth, Washington, and St. Louis. After Jeff didn’t come back to Fort Gibson as expected, General Blunt sent his things as well as his Medal of Honor along with a letter to Jeff’s family. When Jeff resurfaced, he wrote another letter commending Jeff for “the important service he had rendered the nation” (387).

Crossing the border into Kansas, Jeff, Gardner, and Chadwick reach Gardner’s home first. The farm is in much better shape than when Gardner left. His mother and sisters embrace him happily, and Gardner’s mother introduces him to his new stepfather. As they approach the Chadwick farm, Chadwick wonders if his family will be angry that he left four years ago without saying goodbye. Instead, they greet him happily. Jeff continues alone, tempted to push his horse to move faster but knowing that she is tired. Excited, he nears his family’s farm. A dog approaches, sniffing the bloodhound. Jeff calls to Ring, and Ring recognizes his voice, leaping excitedly at his owner. Jeff sees one of his sisters, not surprised to see how much she has grown. She runs to him, and Jeff hugs her, asking: “How are you, Bess?” (392). Surprised, the girl laughs, “Why, Jeff, don’t you know me? I’m Mary. Bess is married. She lives over by the trading post with her husband” (392). Jeff gapes at her.

That night, Jeff helps with the chores and tells his family about his experiences. His mother gives him a letter, which he is ecstatic to see is from Lucy. Lucy tells him how worried she has been and that they heard so many different stories about what became of him. Once she learned that Jeff was being pursued, she went to her father. Mr. Washbourne was aware of the rifle trade, and Clardy had arranged for a rebel soldier to sing a specific song across the water in order to indicate that Watie was ready to purchase. Lucy and her father listened for news, and finally, she was grateful to learn that he had escaped. The Washbourne family is still living near Boggy Depot and waiting to be able to go home once the peace treaty is signed. Lucy tells Jeff that she saw Hooley Pogue, who told her to tell Jeff to keep the bloodhound, since Sam Fields “will have him court-martialed” (394) if he comes back. Pogue is still grateful to Jeff for saving his life by holding him on his horse. Hooley introduced the Washbournes to Heifer, who brought Jeff’s horse, Flea Bite, to Patricia Jackman.

Mrs. Washbourne has decided to start a boarding-house near Fort Gibson and host Union officers, since her experience hosting “that polite Wisconsin major” (395) has led her to determine that some of the Union officers are decent. Lucy goes on to say that Clardy is dead, having been found stabbed and robbed after the rebels discovered that Clardy was the one who sentenced Lee Washbourne to die. Lucy reminds Jeff of his promise to return for her, noting that she has rejected three proposals over the past two weeks. The family is still taking care of Dixie and have come to love her. Lucy asks him to write quickly, although it isn’t safe for him to visit until the family moves to Fort Gibson. Jeff wishes he could leave right away to go and see her, a bit worried that she might meet someone else at Fort Gibson. Jeff thinks again about how long they will have to wait to go and rebuild their homes, and of Heifer, and “his regret came like pain” (397). Alone in his bed, Jeff tries unsuccessfully to sleep. Finally, he crawls outside through his window and lays down in the grass, as “sleeping outdoors on the ground was a habit he would have for many years” (397). He feels Ring as the dog curls up beside him, and Jeff finally sleeps.