Murder at the Corners by G B Ray

Author:G B Ray [Ray, G B]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
ISBN: 9781681790886
Google: -dlGMQAACAAJ
Publisher: Wild Horse Media Group LLC
Published: 2017-01-04T00:41:37+00:00

C H A P T E R 6

1869

Attack From Ambush

The reward notice gnawed hungrily at the cupidity of both citizens and soldiers; it tantalized bushwhackers, scalawags, and Red Legs, and was even purported to be weakening the loyalties of some Lee followers. One thousand dollars was a fortune in the lean and lawless year of 1869. Little else was talked about or thought about at any place.

There was no visible evidence of weakening by Lee forces, and statements to that effect were regarded as mere braggings of the Peacock party. The loyal Lees, on their part, countered with the authentic rumor that Lee’s men would never surrender and that the Military would never take Captain Bob. But in all truth it had to be admitted that it was becoming harder and harder to keep that pledge. Lee’s party was on the defensive. The thousand dollar reward now applied not only to their leader, but to any of his followers as well. It was dangerous now to ride abroad in daytime. Women of the party had to be constantly on the alert to protect their men. Theirs were the ears that caught and carried messages to the men in hiding.

On May 6, The Sherman Courier reported that Officer Goode and his special posse had captured William Beard in the Indian Nation, and had got back to Sherman with the prisoner. Beard was reported by them as being a member of Bob Lee’s party and was to be sent under heavy guard to Greenville, for possible claim of the reward money. Another newspaper of the area reported that Beard was being taken to McKinney. With that, William Beard vanished from the scene. There is no record that he ever reached either town; nor was any money claimed for his delivery to the Military. If he did belong to Lee’s party, it is quite plausible to believe that members of the clan waylaid the guard, freed their prisoner, and went their own way.

It was just at this time, in early spring, that the flames of the feud flashed higher with a triple killing at the edge of the Lee land. Three Red Legs, fresh from Kansas, had drifted into Pilot Grove the day before, avid for a chance at the reward money. They had a conference with Peacock and other Unionists in the village. By means of the super-intelligence system of the Lee Clan, the news reached Wildcat Thicket within an hour. Road barriers were thrown up around the Thicket and the approaches to Lee land; all was done under cover of darkness.

When daylight came the scene appeared serene, yet the quiet of the countryside was oppressive. In the kitchen of Bob Lee’s home, Dorinda Pierce and Melinda Lee were chatting about the day ahead at the Lee School. Dorinda was the teacher and was boarding at the Lee home. Her pony was saddled and waiting at the gate for her take-off, when the stillness was shattered by the sound of shots. Melinda wilted like a flower in the summer sun and whispered: “I’m afraid they’ve got Bob.

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