She was a
beautiful Baby. Samantha was born with a full head of the brightest, most
beautiful red hair anybody in north eastern Alabama had ever seen. Her deeply-set
dimples, destined to later just drive men wild when she smiled, showed up at a
very early age. Samantha was born in 1847.
Samantha was fortunate to be born into a
very nice family, with an older sister and brother. She was born with a smile
on her face, and in her early years she maintained that smile most of the time.
Her brother and sister simply cherished Samantha. Her parents did too. She
never seemed to be in a foul mood, and nobody remembered seeing Samantha
cry.
*
The Dudley clan had lived in the hills
near Talladega, Alabama for generations. Nobody seemed to know how long, for
sure. They were not good neighbors, of that most everyone in that part of the
country was sure. Actually, nobody seemed to know much at all about the Dudleys.
They kept to themselves, except for occasional trips into town for supplies.
They always seemed to have plenty of money, though where it came from, nobody
knew. The Dudleys never seemed to be trouble makers when they showed up in town.
Just take care of business, buy their supplies, and leave. They never spoke
unnecessary words to others, and they never smiled.
In each generation, according to stories
circulating around Talladega County, a few unfortunate beings had been overcome
with curiosity, and set out to investigate the hills of the Dudley clan. Word
had it none had ever returned, according to the stories. But it happened so
seldom, nobody could really put their finger on whether this was really
happening as a pattern, or was this just fodder for campfire stories? It could
well be that these curious ones had simply gotten lost in those brush covered
hills, and never been found. But by now everyone had heard these stories, and
nobody wished to be the next poor soul to disappear into the hills of the
Dudley clan. So, few alive knew anything at all about the Dudley Hills. Except
for the Dudley’s.
As time went on, with all the scary
stories about the Dudley clan, fewer and fewer brave souls wished to risk a
trip into those hills. Fear overcame
curiosity. And, since the Dudley’s never
seemed to harm anybody in Talladega County, what was the point? They obviously wished
to be left alone, so Talladega County obliged them.
One thing that had been noticed, and
talked and gossiped about a great deal by the old men setting out in front of
the hardware store, whittlin’ and
spittin.’ One never saw a Dudley man who was not carrying a .50 caliber buffalo
gun. They never seemed to have a pistol strapped on, as was very common at that
time. And they all bought a lot of ammunition for that gun. But the few
neighbors of the Dudley’s who lived close enough to hear a report from the big
gun, claimed they almost never heard a shot. Just an occasional deer hunter, or
the like. But soon a Dudley would be back in at the store, buying another four
boxes of .50 caliber ammo. Where were the Dudley’s doing all that shooting?
By far, the single most notable thing
about the Dudley’s was, they were almost all red heads. Persons who knew about
such things just explained that away with “Well, they been inbreedin’ up in
them hills fer generations. Most all th’ first families to move in up thare
musta been redheads.” And, nobody knew of an outsider who had ever married into
the clan. But if constant inbreeding was the answer, why were the Dudley’s so
big, strong, and healthy looking? Everybody knows, constant inbreeding takes a
heavy toll, after a while.
In
the 1850’s the study of genetics, the study of inherited traits, was just
beginning. Gregor Mendel, the father of
genetics, was hard at work growing his pea plants, cross breeding, and
recording the results. His work was first published in 1866.
We now know that red hair is a recessive
trait. So, both the father and mother must carry that gene, in order to produce
children with red hair. But if even one of the parents carries a dominant hair
color gene of another sort, it could be generations before red hair shows up
again. So, in a given population, red hair is relatively rare. But in the
Dudley clan, there seemed to be as many, or maybe more, redheads maintained as
other hair colors. Relatively intellectual men had noticed. “That ain’t normal.
It just ain’t how things are supposed to work,” one had already proclaimed.
But, very few even understood what this man was trying to say. Of course, they
all understood that the situation with the Dudley’s was different, somehow. But
nobody worried too much about it, as long as the Dudley’s kept minding their
own business like they had always done in Talladega County.
*
Great
grandpa Will and his wife Serenity had first brought their family to Talladega
County many years ago. He was the mastermind. He laid out his plan for the
future of the clan they would establish. Both Will and Serenity were redheads,
and this trait had been passed on to three of their four children. He was a
highly educated man. He had a high teaching position at a respected institution
of higher learning in the East, but he had been dismissed when it became common
knowledge that he had a tendency to do things not acceptable for one placed in
such a high station in life. He was forced to gather up his family and move
west, out of the state. This had to be done quickly, as the rumors were spreading
that a farewell party was being planned for him involving tar, feathers, and a
rail.
Once a very remote, untraveled plot of
land was obtained and a cabin was built, he laid out a plan for the future of
his Clan. His rules:
1. Travel at least two days away from Talladega.
Find a lonely farm with no close
neighbors to be disturbed by the clan’s activities. Using a long ranged buffalo
gun, ambush the men from hiding.
2. Quickly go in and kill any
survivors; leave no one to tell the tale.
3. Gather up valuables and money, and take
the most valuable livestock and farm equipment, if it was relatively new and
valuable.
4. Quickly make the pre-planned getaway
back to Talladega County, using a round-about way to provide the most cover.
5. One man of the clan was trained as a
likable, good natured traveling peddler, selling what they did not need, far
away from the hapless farmer it was stolen from. (Over the years, as the Clan
grew, more peddlers were trained.)
Will was a wise man. He realized that his
children and future offspring would need a mate. But marrying an outsider
increased the chances of clan activities being found out. But if they
intermarried, inbreeding would eventually affect the health of the entire clan.
On the other hand, if they selected young children from among their victims,
too young to realize what was going on and integrated them into the clan, it
would be possible to avoid inbreeding. To this end, no children over six years
old were ever taken into the clan. Four years old was considered ideal. Large
enough to ride a horse in the escape, yet easily brainwashed into the ways of
the clan. Also, each marriage within the clan was arranged by the leader. An
excess of young girls would be ideal, to reward the young men who best fitted
the clan’s business needs with an extra wife. Or maybe two. It was understood
that any man who rose to the position of Clan Leader had conjugal rights with
any non-related female, married or unmarried, over the age of fourteen.
Will was a prideful man. He desired a
legacy. He and his wife were red heads. He desired to produce a clan of Fightin,’ Flamin’, and Fearsome Redheads, never bothering their neighbors in
Talladega County, yet staying aloof from all around them, never accepting any visitors.
“If we leave Talladega County alone, they will leave us alone.” All business of
the clan would be conducted far from Talladega County. A plan born in Hell for
the Dudley’s and their unfortunate victims.
To facilitate
Will’s desires to produce a clan of mostly redheads, he decreed that any child
of any of their victims who was fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to have red
hair and was under six years old, would never be injured in any way, and
treated like the treasures they were. They would be returned to the clan to be
brainwashed, then integrated into the clan. Red hair is a recessive trait, Will
knew, and his businessmen may have to travel far and wide to find suitable
children to maintain the next generation of redheads.
*
Years Later -
“Get your
gear together. Dawkins. Just got back from a little scoutin’ trip up into th’ Northwestern
part uv th’ state. Found two prime customers fer ya to pay a little visit to. Both
are remote farms, seem ta be doin’ well. Nice hosses, nobody livin’ near to
hear or see anything. Plenty of cover to shoot from.
“Th’ big farm by the river is uv special
interest to me. Three kids, youngest about four, a purty little redhead. Brightest
red hair you will ever see. Just what Dolly’s been wantin’ fer a long time.
Young enough that she won’t remember much of anything. Kill all th’ others, but
let me remind you, once again, if you damage that chile, or touch it
improperly, Dolly will know. I’ll hang ya out ta dry.
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