Chapter 1, part 2 of 2 - Barn Burner

continued........

Judge:  You then tried to put out the fire with apparently no success?

Ezra:  No, this time we did do what came naturally, we ran.

Judge: Then?

Ezra:  Well, after we reached Crisp Water Landing, Samuel got this strange kind of smile on his face and started laughing like J.T. Williams did right before they hauled him off to that place up north.

Judge:  Yes, sad, that was very sad, then?

Ezra:  He laughed for a while, then he cried for awhile.  Then he noticed the jugs Zeak and I had left behind when we went off chasing Samuel.  He grabbed them in his arms started running toward the burning barn and threw the jugs into the flames and all the time shouting “demon rum, demon rum!”

Judge:  That is strange, real strange.

Ezra:  It sure was, Judge, we were not even drinking rum.

Judge:  Hmm, do you concur with Ezra, Zeak?

Zeak:  Do I what?

Judge:  Concur, did Ezra tell the truth?

Zeak:  (inaudible reply – cr)

Judge:  I didn’t hear you Zeak, what?

Zeak:  Yes, yes!

Judge:  Okay, okay, Zeak, no need to yell.  Samuel, what do you have to say for yourself?

Samuel:  Not much, nothing really.  Gee, your honor, I don’t remember nothing except waking up on the river bank with the Sheriff standing over me.

Judge:  River bank?

Ezra:  Yeah, I mean, yes, Judge.  After Samuel yelled demon rum a few times, he ran back to the river bank and passed out.

Judge:  Samuel, I under stand from Homer, the city jailer, that you spend a lot of time there.

Samuel:  Well, yes, I do your honor, it is sort of like home.

Judge:  Well, I’m going to see to it you become a real homebody.  You are a disgrace to every drinking man in the county.  I know you have had problems in the past, but so has everyone else.  Every man is, or a least should be made to be responsible for his actions.  This is not the first time you have been in this courtroom because of something you did while under the influence.  I am going to make a example of you, Mr. Horn (clearing throat- cr) I sentence you to ….

Zeak:  No!

Judge:  No? No, what.

Ezra:  Shut up, you fool.

Judge:  What?!

Ezra:  Not you, Judge, I mean the other fool!

Judge:  What?  Hey, Ezra, get you hands off Zeak’s throat!

Bailiff:  Hey, you guys break it up, Sheriff help me.

Ezra:  I’m gona kill you!

Zeak:  (making choking sound – cr)

Bailiff:  Judge, grab his feet, Sheriff get one arm there, I got his neck.

Judge:  Look out! (crash – cr) There, now get a rope.  Sheriff, tie this man up.  There now, order in the court.  What in blue blazes is this all about Thurman.  Wait until I get behind the bench, Okay, now go ahead, what is this all about?

Ezra:  You dirty, rotten feather headed skunk, I’ll kill you.

Judge:  Sheriff, gag that man.

Zeak:  (in a shaky voice –cr)  Brown is a no good deceiving liar.  He don’t know how to tell the truth.  I was going along but I just couldn’t let another man pay for what another done.

Judge:  Well then, why don’t you tell me what happened.

Zeak:  Ezra’s right about Samuel getting drunk.  But he didn’t burn no barn.  Ezra done it.  After Samuel passed out, Ezra and I kept drinking and, of course, talking.  The more we drank, the drunker we got and the more we talked about things that we probably wouldn’t have talked about.  I asked Ezra about the horse he bought from Branson (farmer –cr) and Ezra went into a rage.  He said that the horse was a no good plug and he had been cheated  And to top things off the horse had died and so on and so on.  He really got madder and madder.  The madder he got, the more he drank, and the more he drank, the drunker he got and the drunker he got, the more he talked and the more he talked and the more he talked the madder he got and the madder he got…

Judge:  Yes, yes, I think I get the picture.

Ezra:  Well, then, he goes to feeling sorry for himself.  I tried to tell him that Branson wouldn’t cheat nobody on purpose, but he was way beyond listening to reason.  He said it were folks like Branson that had made his life bad.  He said everyone in the county has always been against him because he did not have a father anyone ever knew about.  He said he was the only one in the county that people whispered about because of a situation like that. Then he drank some more and the more he drank the sorrier he felt for himself and the sorrier he felt for himself the madder he got at Branson.  Then all of a sudden, Ezra said with a strange look on his face that he was going to show everybody and do the most terrible think imaginable to Branson.  I told him to do what he wanted, I didn’t care.  You see, I thought Ezra was just talking.  I do remember telling him though not to burn Branson’s barn, that would be inhuman.  No man burns another man’s barn, not for whatever reason.

Judge:  But he did burn the barn anyway, right?

Zeak:  Yes, and it was all my fault, He said he hadn’t thought of that and besides he made me give him my matches.

Judge:  Did you help him?

Zeak:  No.

Judge:  Did you try to stop him?

Zeak:  I told him it would be inhuman.

Judge:  But did you try to physically try to stop him?

Zeak:  No, I just sat on the river bank next to Samuel.

Judge:  So, I take it that Ezra, after burning the bar returns to where you were waiting and then did what?

Zeak:  Nothing at first.  He just stared at the river for a long time and then at Samuel there passed out and all.  Then he turned to me and said how I should have tried to help him stop Samuel from burning down the barn.  He told me not to worry none though, because he would tell how I had helped him even though I hadn’t, stopped Samuel, that is.

Judge:  Now wait. Are you saying that Ezra burnt the barn, then decided to make it look like poor old drunk Samuel did it and tried to blackmail you into saying Samuel did it?  Why did you go along with the story?

Zeak:  Yes, I was afraid you would believe Ezra and not me, and I was sort of scared of Ezra, he can be violent you know.

Judge:  Take the gag off Ezra, Sheriff.  Let’s see what he has to say.

Ezra:  Pig, liar!  Blast you all!  Okay, I did it .  Branson deserved it, the whole county deserved it, I’ll burn the whole county down.  I ….

Judge:  Order, order in the court!

Ezra:  (obscenity – cr)  I’ll burn the whole court down.  You (obscenity – cr) have been against me all my life.  All my life, even since my dear ole mother had me and never said who my Papa was, and didn’t leave town.  Wouldn’t go to one of those places.  You, you, and you are to blame.  I’ll kill my pop when I find out, it might have been you, or you, or you.  I’ll start with killing Zeak.  (Noise, lunging, kicking screaming – cr)

Judge:  Order, I demand order!  Gag him again. Tie him up.  There, good, finally.  This court will be conducted with dignity.  Zeak stop that crying.  I can’t conduct a trial in this atmosphere.  Court is recessed for fifteen minutes.

Fifteen Minutes later.

Bailiff:  All rise, Court is now in session again.

Judge:  Alright, be seated.  Bailiff, are the three defendants ready for sentencing?

Bailiff:  They are your honor.

Judge:  Samuel, you go home and I never want to see you back in this courtroom under any condition that might resemble the using of alcohol.  Zeak, you get yourself over to Steven Branson’s house, the farmer, help him rebuild his barn and anything else he needs help with for one month.   Now, for you Ezra,  no matter how a person’s past has been, or no matter how many hardships he has endured, each and everyone must be responsible for his own actions.  No amount of blame and no amount of accusing can take away the God given right of each of us to behave in a manner that is acceptable in a polite and civilized society.  You have proven to this court, more than once, I might add, that you are deceitful, cannot be trusted, and a liar.  It is my duty to remove you from our society in this beloved county for once and for all.  I hereby sentence you to one year in the Doodenville City Jail and after release I think it would be to everyone’s benefit for you to leave this county once and for all.  It is hoped that by paying your debt to society and embarking on a new life, you may find it within you to start anew.  Sheriff, escort this… barn burner … to the City Jail.  Court dismissed.

Bailiff:  All rise.

                                    Officially Submitted,   C.W. Flowers, Court Reporter (cr)

Chapter I, part 1 of 2, Barn Burner

Continued ........

(Cover Letter)

To: Dr. J. Simpson

From:   C. Stone McAnally

Subject:           Final Report on Village Dig 639

The attached report is based on interviews, original documentation, and prime source material.  Some of the information helps validate field finds and interpretations of site research.  I have used a rural narrative form and not the academic MLS format so as not to lose the flavor of the period.

_____________________________

Chapter I

Barn Burner

The County Caller - The Newspaper of County News

Editor, Publisher, Reporter – C.W. Flowers

Barn Burners Arrested

Doodenville – Yesterday, three men were taken into custody by the sheriff for setting fire to Steve Branson’s barn.  Steve Branson, the farmer who owns the barn (or what is left of it) should not be confused with Steve Branson the County Engineer.  They are second cousins, however.

Ezra Brown, Samuel Horn, and Zeak Thurman were arrested for allegedly setting fire to the barn after Mr. Branson, the Engineer, said he saw all three men drinking and acting peculiar near his second cousin’s place next to Lake River.

According to Sheriff Lenzi, all three men have refused comment, but Ezra Brown told this reporter that he is innocent and will tell all he knows at the court trial which is scheduled next week here in Doodenville.

The three men are being held in the Doodenville City Jail without bond because they don’t have any money anyway.  Steve Branson (farmer) told this reporter earlier today, “I hope the boys didn’t do it.  I’ve known them all their lives.  I’d hate to think they’d treat me like this.  Why, I've even had business dealings with Ezra”.

As usual soft drinks and candied apples will be provided prior to the trial.

Official Court Transcript

Bailiff:   All rise.  Here ye, hear ye, hear ye. This court is now in session.  The Honorable James Johns presiding.

Judge:  Take your seats.  Bailiff, the docket, please.

Bailiff:  The County versus Ezra Brown, Samuel Horn, and Zeak Thurman.

Judge:  Read the charges, Bailiff.

Bailiff:  On July 21 of this year, ones Ezra Brown, Samuel Horn and Zeak Thurman maliciously and willfully set fire to Steve Branson’s barn.

Judge:  For the record, which Steve Branson?

Bailiff:  The farmer, your honor, not the engineer, but they are…

Judge:  Yes, yes, I know, they are second cousins.

Bailiff:  For the record, sir.

Judge:  Yes, for the record.  Do you boys have anything to say for yourselves?

Defendants:  Yes, yes, yes. (Order of response unknown-cr)

Judge:  Are you boys represented by counsel?

Ezra:  By what?

Judge:  By counsel, a lawyer.  Do you have a lawyer to plead you case”.

Defendants:  No! (In unison – cr)

Judge:  Do you want one?

Samuel:  Judge, we decided that we would have Ezra here speak for us.

Judge:  Well, this is mighty unusual.  I assume it is all right with you, Samuel, how about you, Zeak?  Zeak?

Zeak:  I…I guess so.

(noise in the back of the court room – cr)

Judge:  What in tarnation?  What’s going on back there?  Order in the court!

Crazy Jimmy:  It’s just me, your honor.  I dropped my tray of carmeled apples.

Judge:  Sheriff, get him out of here along with his carmeled apples.  I won’t stand for these disruptions.  This court will be conducted with dignity, even if I have to come out there and whip somebody.  Now how do you boys plead?  Guilty or not guilty?

Ezra:  We don’t know, Judge.

Judge: What do you mean you don’t know?  You know if you did it or not.  If you did, you are guilty and if you didn’t you are not guilty.  Guilty or not guilty, what is your plea?

Ezra:  Yes, I mean, we know if we did or didn’t, but we don’t know if we are or aren’t.  We don’t know nothing about the … , I guess you could say, the law.  Can we, or me, I guess, just tell you what happened and then let you decide if we did, or didn’t, or are or aren’t?  We know you are a fair and honest man.

Judge:  Uh, well yes, why yes, most certainly.  This is a little irregular, but yes, yes, my boy go ahead, now take you time, just relax.

Ezra:  Well, Judge, we was just doing a little drinking down around Lake River near Crisp Water Landing.  As usual, Samuel Horn here got all drunkard up but instead of passing out or running along over to the Doodenville City Jail, he started dancing and whooping it up just like Crazy Jimmy does every so often.

Judge:  Is what Ezra says the truth, Samuel?

Samuel:  I reckon.

Judge: What do you mean, you reckon?  Did you or did you not behave in a manner consistent with the testimony so far presented by Mr. Brown?

Samuel:  I reckon I understand what you just said and I reckon I did what Ezra says I did but I was drunk and don’t remember.

Judge:  Has Ezra related the story correctly so far, Zeak?

Zeak:  I …I guess.

Judge: I guess?

Zeak:  I mean, yes, that is what happened.

Judge:  Well, then let’s see if I have this correct up to now.  Samuel is acting crazy because of the alcohol, then what?

Ezra:  Well, he, Samuel, starts running for Steve Branson’s place and…

Judge:  Excuse me for a moment, Ezra.  Mr. Flowers, for the record have the court report indicate that this is Steve Branson, the farmer, not the engineer.  Excuse me again, Ezra, you may continue.

Ezra:  They are second cousins you know, Judge.

Judge:  Yes, yes, I know, now get on with it, Ezra.

Ezra:  Well, like I was saying, Samuel goes running towards Branson’s place, his barn to be exact, and he runs inside the barn and closes the door.  He must have locked it because Zeak and I keep yelling for Samuel to come out but it didn’t do no good.  It is then we noticed smoke coming out from under the door.  Well, we did what does not come naturally when there is a fire type situation.  Instead of running in a panic, we stood our ground.  We yelled and kept hollering and trying to break down the door to rescue poor Samuel, and of course, put out the fire.

Judge:  Well, you must have succeeded in rescuing Samuel.  He’s here.

Ezra:  Well, not really, I mean Samuel just opened the door and walked out.

Judge:  You then tried to put out the fire with apparently no success?

....to be continued.

The County - Prologue

Prologue:

It was several years ago that I enrolled in a new sort of archaeology class at what is now my almamater.  It was a different kind of archaeological dig in the respect that we were not looking for dinosaur bones or Indian relics or those types of things that Indiana Jones and his ilk seek.  (I did buy a fedora though.)  No, this was what Professor Simpson called Village Archaeology.

The Prof had located a site near central Missouri not far from the campus that he felt was just right for his fledgling class of archaeologist wannabes.  Our mission was to comb a mile square area among the ruins of an old village and find out what we could about the former inhabitants and see if we could determine the “flavor of the times” as he called it.  Most of the class found little glass vials, old hammers, part of a wagon, ice tongs, some horseshoes now and then and even part of a vintage airplane.  I, on the other hand, found nothing.  Nothing that is until one day when visiting my grandfather in the old folks home I mentioned my recent college adventure and what miserable luck I was having finding anything of importance.

“You ain’t looking in the right place”, he told me.  “No kidding”, was my reply.

“Now, where is this place again?”, he asked.  I gave him the general location and he said, “Well, I know all about that place, got wiped out by a tornado years ago and the damage was so complete they never rebuilt the place.  People just went other places.  Later, if you remember your history, they also had a big earthquake in these parts and it just flattened what was left there, which wasn’t much, along with the surrounding area.  In fact a friend of mine use to be what you’d call the chronicler of the place, sort of the town historian, reporter, and poet laureate, also the city jailer”.

“Gee”, I said, “he would have been a great guy to talk to”.

“Well, why don’t you?  He lives just down the hall”.

Mr. Homer I Storebeck was old, a lot older than Grandpa, but how old I was never really able to determine.  He was more than happy to discuss the old days and the history that surrounded the village.  While my classmates were exploring and digging in the July Missouri heat I whiled away my time drinking iced tea and listening to his yarns in air-conditioning.  This was far more palatable to my archaeological taste.

After several days of note taking and recording, he asked me what I was going to do with all the information he was giving me.  I told him I was going to compile the information into a term paper and present it to Professor Simpson and hope I got an A for the course.

He asked if original documents would help me out.  I perked up because I had always heard that original documents or primary sources were much better than second hand accounts or broken pieces of pottery.

He then reached into an old trunk and pulled out a bunch of papers.  “Think these might help."

.....To be continued

My Subterranean Dwelling - Alaska

This was a mass email I put out on Thur, 13 March which has been edited a little.

Dear Friends,

Excuse the impersionaless of this letter but I did not want to write it several times.  I get questions every now and then about two things, one my so called subterranean dwelling and the other about Hooper Bay itself.  I have told some of you some things, some of you other things but none of you everything,  so....this will be the first part of what perhaps will be a two part letter, but who knows, I get very verbose now and then and it could be a three part letter rolled into one or I might not write another one at all.  Regardless if you get tired of reading this ditty just send it to cyber space but don't tell me.

We live in the basement of the school, but the school is build on a large mound (use to be a cemetery which could account for the strange noise we hear at night sometimes, but that is another story) so part of where we live does have an outside entrance.  The north side of our place looks out over one of the prettiest maintenance sheds one could ever hope to see.  I have often gazed at the the edifice and wished Shannon or Meghan could be here to paint a mural of a desert or tropical scene on the rustic plywood covering.  If you look to the right at eye level you See a just as pretty passage way to the trailer behind us and to the right.  Those who live in the trailer, George my teaching partner and his friend.  They really do have a good view once you look past the graveyard and junkyard, not to mention a bulk oil storage plant.  My magnificent maintenance shed saves me from such grandeur.

If you look over the passage way, which would be to the east, you can see the vast tundra and small mountains which are 40 miles away.  My adventures have not taken me there yet and I look at them with longing.  Between the maintenance shed and my backdoor is a small grass area I call the court yard.  You would not want to spend anytime there though but could sun bathe without being bothered if one had the mind to do so.

To leave or arrive by the above described door, at what I refer to fondly as my subterranean dwelling, you have to walk under two pipes, over one, turn right past the maintenance shed and then walk out onto the tundra, which of course you then immediately see the graveyard, junkyard etc.  Leaving by that rout is not altogether that difficult during the non snowing months, which means June to September, but during the winter months the snow piles up so much that you cannot get under the pipes unless you crawl because they are still to high to climb over, which at 55 I  am not really inclined to do anyway.

So that leaves the rear entrance.  When you leave by the rear entrance you go out through the room containing the washer, dryer and stand up freezer.  You go down a hallway that is twenty feet long, turn right to go down another plywood hallway a little longer and then turn left through a door into the boiler room.  There are pipes all along the path and because of cracks in the sides of the walls it is not unusual for snow to have drifted in.  It is like walking through a freezer.  The boiler room is an OK boiler room as far as boiler rooms go.  You have  your usual leaky pipes and strange noises, with strange looking tools about resting on the floor which you take care to step over, and different chemical products that must be dumped some where I guess.

You maneuver over some more pipes and odd looking wires, hoping they are not connected to the electrical system, through a door on the right and you feel relief at last.  You open the door and start up the flight of stairs.  Immediately before traipsing up the steps you look left and decide if you need any school supplies, note book, pencils because that is where the school supply room is kept.  You walk up 27 steps go out the door on the right and you are in the main school hallway.

The inside of our dwelling has been described in some stories I have written.  For those of you that have not gotten you copy yet let it suffice to say that we have 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom, informal dining room, utiltiy room and a mud room.  My moose head is hanging over the stone fireplace with a polar bear rug in front of the fire place just like the movies, which is just standard fair for this part of Alaska.

PS:  To my good friend Karen, please send this one back to me also.  Some of you remember Karen Shuttleworth.  She now lives in Tennessee.

The Interviewing of Mrs. Henrietta Naneng - Alaska

This interview was first published in Whispering Wind.  American Indian: Past and Present
Vol. 33  No. 6

Arctic Circle.  Native Life and Culture in Alaska

"The Interviewing of Mrs. Henrietta Naneng"

Two of my better students were given an assignment to interview a village elder.  The two girls were, Florence Naukusuk and May Lola Joe.  What follows is an edited version of the paper they submitted.

"A log time ago in the sprig time we use to put the fresh seal blubber in a can and boil it.  We would then put it in clean snow and and chew it like you do gum today.  It was much better for our teeth than the chewing gum you use today.

"We would play outside all day log.  We did not have insulated boots like you do but our mukluks were much warmer than yours I bet.

"When the men would catch a seal the wives would cut the seal up and yell 'UKUKIKIA'!

"Our mud houses were very warm and the windows were covered by intestines from the walrus and seal.

"In the summer we would camp near the ocean.  We dug for clams and watched for whales.  Some people would get a lot of clams because they were easy to find but not everyone got a whale.  It was a big celebration when we did and the whole village shared in the kill."

Mrs Naneng was married on August 2, 1953 to Mr. Walter Naneng.  She said he was a good hunter and that their house never went without food.  He was especially good at hunting and killing seal.  He was always able to catch a lot of black fish. 

She told us that the people were not mischief or mean, they were always friendly to one another. 

They did not use any primer stoves.  They would use seal oil laps but only at night time.  They did not have any toys.  They made Eskimo dolls to play with.  They made a family of dolls.  Some people use to tell stores by drawing in the mud with long knives.  They walked around the tundra for cranberries, black berries and salmon berries.

"Life was hard but good,"  Mrs. Naneng said.  "It still is."

Hooper Bay fire

A few years ago after I left Hooper Bay some children were playing with matches next to the old Hooper Bay School and living quarters for many of the teachers.  The grass caught fire and the wind took over.  The school and most of the teacher housing was destroyed.  It was a complete loss.  Fortunately no one was severely injured and school was not in session.

Old School and teacher housing

New School and teacher housing

Panama Pictures

Some pictures but not nearly all of Portebelo, Fort Sherman, Camp Thomas, Nombre de Dios

The Black Jesus in Portobelo

The Conga Queen

Church and Plaza in Nombre de Dios

Part of Camp Thomas

Nombre de Dios Lagoon

Beach at Nombre de Dios

Portobelo fort

Portobelo

Fort Sherman

I have found out that the Spanish use to ship gold and silver out of Nombre de Dios but it was ransacked and destroyed by pirates.  Portobelo was then used and to make sure that would never happen again the Spanish built a large fort.   Pirates such as Henry Morgan and Francis Drake were no stranger to the area.

Also a few years later I started  reading a book I picked up at a yard sale.  It was called "Gold."  I was about half way through the book when it mentioned Nombre de Dios and Portobelo.  I started paying closer attention.  It was written in the 1920s and by who I do not recall, but it was a prequel to Treasure Island.  I thought that very interesting.  I had always wondered how Long John Silver new there was buried treasure on that island.