47 - Samantha

Sorry for the delay. I've been doing a stint in prison - Prison Ministry with Kairos Prison Ministry. In  prisons where Kairos is present, the rate at which prisoners released  return to prison is cut in half, according to a recent survey. We work with the leaders, (good and bad) and some of them become missionaries in a very dark place.

     Sam’s big gun roared, and the pistol exploded in the man’s hand; he was rolling on the ground, screaming. As more shots were being fired, Samantha grabbed Tenny, pulling her to the floor.

     Many shots were being fired now, and continued for about five minutes. Once it was over, the casualty list did not speak well for the accuracy of either side. Only a few soldiers were wounded. The man who aimed at Jeff Rowe lost his trigger finger. An old man, watching the show from an upper window, was shot and killed. A chambermaid jumped from a window on Samantha’s floor, and was injured. Another old man, trying to get out of the way of moving soldiers, jumped through a glass door in spectacular fashion.

     At that very moment, a large number of US soldiers were moving in, and mostly controlled the situation. After consultations between Jeff Rowe and Baxter, White was ordered to load his men up and move them out to Pine Bluff. White, always spoiling for a fight, marched his men across town, singing, “We’ll hang Joe Brooks from a sour apple tree.”

     Hercules King Cannon White went on to serve six years as Mayor of Pine Bluff.

     The two sides were mostly separated, but small battles went on, mostly on the river, for some time, resulting in the death of a good many men.

     Meanwhile, things were happening in Washington. The legislature convened in emergency session, and the President issued a proclamation declaring Baxter the winner and stating the men must disband and return to their homes within ten days. The leaders met and established terms requiring the return of all arms to the State, protection for the losers, and free transportation home for the participants.

     Once things settled down and the men were returning to the fields, the repercussions of the war were evident in politics. The State Republican Party had suffered a blow they never recovered from until after 2012. In 1874, the Democrats took over. Only Joe Brooks actually gained anything. President Grant appointed him Postmaster.

     But there was more irony to come. Because the Negro Militia was called on to fight for two feuding white Republican candidates, against each other, and because The Reconstruction ended at about that time, Blacks were eliminated as a political force in Arkansas. The Jim Crow Laws were about to take over politics in Arkansas.

     Samantha was devastated. She had always sworn that her skill would never be used to hurt anyone. She had worked so hard to develop that skill to avoid having to do that. Now, she had shot off a man’s trigger finger. She could not stop crying. Tenny did all she could to console her. But she mostly cried throughout the night. Jeff came by as soon as he could. Sam never told him what she did to save his life. She just attributed her state to the fighting in general.

     The next day, things were settling down to where a telegram could be sent to James. The result of that was, James told Tenny to stay with Samantha, where she could be safe, until he could book passage on a stage, then he could come get her. The stages were all tied up right now, hauling the participants back to the fields.