The Crown Brand

Laszlo Endrody

The Crown Brand

Print ISBN: 978-1-54392-111-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-54392-112-0

© 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Laszlo Endrody

P.O. Box 1083

Cedar City, UT 84720

435-572-5605

CaptainsBooks@yahoo.com

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER 1

I woke up when the sun’s rays came through a crack in the curtain or it may have been from the steamboat’s whistle. The world outside was wakening but everyone in the ward was still sleeping. This was going to be just another day for them but not for me. The surgeon in charge signed my discharge papers last night. To be out of the hospital with all the misery left over from the war would be a relief. I sat up and stretched and reached for my new peg leg and laced it up. I still could not put much weight on my stub and needed my crutches. I went and washed my face then I shaved. One of the ladies cleaned up my uniform yesterday. It was all folded nice and neat. When I put it on, I realized how much weight I had lost. The only thing that still fit me was my campaign hat. I had been in the hospital for eight months; the war had ended six months ago. East of Mobile Alabama, a rifleman had nailed me with one of those Confederate 56 caliber rounds and it shattered about 3 inches of bone. The doctor had no choice, he had to take part of my leg off; thank God I still had my knee. It took two more operations before they got all the bone chips and pieces of lead out. The last operation was here in Memphis, after which I started to come back to the living. All I wanted to do now was see my home in Kentucky, to see the farm and the horses, and my friends, if I had any left.

Thank God my brother made it back. It had been almost 3 years since I was home last. It was right after I received my commission. The Army jumped me from first sergeant to lieutenant. I went home on a short leave, mainly to pick up two of my horses. I wish now that I had left the horses home. They were both champion thoroughbreds; we owned the King thoroughbred farm. It was one of the leading thoroughbred farms in Kentucky and I had raised those two horses from colts.

At least I got to see my father before he passed away. He asked me to read his will as he had just finished with it. I noticed that he left me 51% of all our property. He wanted me to be the senior partner. When I questioned him about this, he told me that I was more stable and that I was the one that truly loved the horses. My brother was away. He joined the Confederate forces as a Captain serving under Lee. This was a big disappointment to me. But ours was not the first family in Kentucky that had sons fighting on opposite sides. My father designated the big house on the farm to me. Our house in Jackson, where we were sitting and discussing things, was designated to my brother. While we were there, my father showed me a section of wall that could be moved with the bookcase. A small closet was behind it. He showed me some of the old deeds, land titles and his rifle there as well. My grandfather Ferguson’s rifle was there along with the saddle my father used during the Mexican war; along with its saddle holsters and his old cavalry pistols. I asked him what his saddle was doing in the closet. He told me that he had $200 in gold sewed into the saddle during the Mexican war. He never opened the saddle up again to take it out. He showed me his strongbox where he kept some ready cash. We talked about the war and both agreed that it could not last much longer. We talked about the farm and the horses. We were down to forty broodmares and two studs, primarily due to war demands. I will always remember that evening talking to him and how much I enjoyed the conversation. I found out how close our thinking was on almost every subject. In parting, he gave me a box with two beautiful Colt navy pistols with silver inlay. He told me that he had three pairs made up; we both loved fine guns.

When I got back to my unit, my horses created some envy. My friend, Captain Stone, had a brother out in Arizona and he wanted to go out there to start a horse ranch. He was continuously talking to me about a partnership and he desperately wanted my stud. I got very tired of it all. He did however, arrange for several breedings with my stud, Thunder. It gave me a little income on the side.

One of the sergeants from home was helping me with my horses. It was he who came to visit me after I got shot. He told me that my father came to pick up my horses and my belongings. I asked him if he had talked to my father. He told me, Captain Stone took care of everything. My father had already passed away three months before I got wounded. Stone had my horses, pistols, and my saddle bag with my savings. I was very sick at the time and unable to do anything. Now that I was back with the living, I planned to go and visit Captain Stone and try to recover my property. I had thirteen months of back-pay coming and a ticket home. I asked an orderly to send a wire from me to my brother. He was to meet me in Lexington with a wagon. We had corresponded before. He sent me some tax deferment papers that I had to sign as a veteran giving us some additional time to pay our taxes. He wrote and told me that he had gotten married but he did not mention to whom. I said my goodbyes to the fellows in the ward, the doctors, and the ladies.

One of the doctors volunteered his carriage and driver to take me to the train station. The ride home was very tiring but I did not let it bother me. I had one change to make in Louisville. When I arrived in Lexington, my brother was waiting for me in his fine Confederate uniform jacket. It kind of rubbed me wrong. Then I found out that he married Mary Cook, my old girlfriend. That also rubbed me wrong, although she had stopped writing me a while back and I knew that it was over. Then my brother told me that he had moved into the big house on the farm. He said that the townhouse suited me better because it was closer to the doctors. I asked him if we made any money since he had been back. He told me that we had made some, but it was all spent. He claimed that things had become very expensive since the war. Then he told me that we had only six horses left.

He said, We had to pay some bills.

What bills? I demanded.

When we finally arrived home in Jackson, we went inside and I saw the change in the house right away. Anything good in the way of furnishings was removed. All my things were dumped in one room. Dave was in a hurry to get home he told me. He said he’d look in on me once in a while.

He asked, You don’t have any money that you can loan me do you, Jake?

I told him, No.

I also told him to go rent a horse and said, I will need the buckboard here in town.

He told me that he could not do that but it was too bad that I needed it. There was no food in the house and I needed to do a lot around town to catch up.

I told him, I will come out to the farm to check things out. Borrow a nag and go home.

My neighbor, Mr. Donley, saw me stumbling around and he came over to welcome me home. He was my father’s attorney and a good friend. We talked for a while and I asked him if there were any servants to be had. He suggested that he could send over a girl when I got back from the store to help fix me up. He told me that his boy Duke could unharness the horses for me.

At the store, I bought me some of everything that I might need including some bacon. I decided to get me some meat for tomorrow or shoot something.

The next morning, I went to see Doc Bowlen who told me to put on some weight. On the way back from the doctor, I ran into John Tracy, an old friend and neighbor. He did not recognize me at first. He said that he recognized the wagon but not the driver. His wife and boy were with him. I was going over to the hotel to get something to eat and I invited them to come with me so he could bring me up to date. He was in gray with sergeant stripes. During lunch he told me that he was going to lose his place if he didn’t pay his taxes by the thirty-first. I asked him how much his taxes were. He told me it was eighty-two dollars for the last four years. He said that he only had twelve dollars. I told John I could help him out with his taxes if he could pay me back by farming some of my land. He told me that he didn’t have a team but he would do anything to keep his home for his family. I asked him where I could buy a hog. He said that he had some hogs at his farm. I told John that after lunch we had better pay his taxes and then we could ride out to the farm together.

CHAPTER 2

When we arrived at the farm, I saw the empty pastures. I went into the house and my brother greeted me with, What is it Jake?

I told him I want my hunting rifle, Dave. Where would that be?

I am sorry, Jake; I gave your rifle to my father-in-law for a present.

I told him, Oh, I see.

Then I saw a beautiful cabinet with some guns inside. Dave’s rifle was in there and it was similar to my own.

I told him, "I’ll just take this one