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Show LEE NELSON'S I - , delirium, the rescue by the loggers. As I was finishing the story, Caroline joined us and Peter Weaselhead brought some breakfast-boiled beef, bread, butter, dill pickles and apple cider. I was really real-ly hungry. It felt great, sitting at that little table with Pat and Caroline, Caro-line, eating and talking. "DO YOU want the whole story?" responded Pat when I asked him what he was. doing in Koekuk. "Sure," said Caroline enthu-. siastically, "Peter says the next upstream boat won't be here until the day after tomorrow." PAT LEANED forward, placing both forearms on the table, his usual jovial manner suddenly disappearing. dis-appearing. "It all began the day you two went to the hanging. Ebenezer McConklin asked Sarah to come over to his office." "WHO'S HE?" I asked. "President of the Nauvoo free schools," explained Caroline. "Hires and fires us school teachers. Also a member of the Council of Fifty." THE MOST influential men in Nauvoo belonged to the Council of Fifty. Brigham Young was head of the council, but not all of its members mem-bers were Mormons. The Council made and carried out political, economic eco-nomic and even religious decisions. deci-sions. "What did he want with her?" I asked. "FIRST HE talked about school business to kind of warm things up. You know Sarah. Nice, polite lass. Just sat and listened, like he was saying something important. She's nice to everybody." Pat stopped talking and started stabbing a piece of meat with his fork, giving the impression that it was hard to say the next part. "GO ON," Caroline urged. "This McConklin guy is old I enough to be my pop, and he just I leans across the desk and tells Continued on next page : i The three burly loggers were standing on the shore of the island cursing their bad luck at having jammed their huge log raft onto the upper tip of our island when Caroline Caro-line stepped out from behind a tree and greeted them with a friendly smile. THEIR SURPRISE was complete, com-plete, as indicated by the sudden halt of their cursing and arguing, and the long silence as they looked upon Caroline in astonishment. In I845, one didn't expect to stumble onto a beautiful woman on uninhabited uninha-bited Mississippi River islands. The men had been on the river several weeks, guiding and coaxing their huge pine log raft towards the St. Louis sawmills. The logs had been cut and dumped into the river in the pine country far to the north. THE THREE loggers did their best to keep the raft in midstream where the current was swiftest. There was a platform with a tent and a cooking pit in the middle of the raft where the men slept and cooked their meals. There was also a little boat tied to one side which the men used to get to and from shore when necessary. Had the raft hit the tip of our island to the right or left of center, the momentum would have spun it around to one side, allowing the powerful current of the Mississippi to carry it down either side of the island. AS IT was, the raft hit the tip of the island dead center and ground to a complete halt, pushing a good number of the logs upon the rocky shore. The raft was forgotten, however, at the sight of Caroline, at least for join their unexpected guests and get supper started. We learned that we weren't very many miles above Keokuk, the half-breed town near the Boggs plantation. The loggers agreed to row us to shore when we reached Keokuk. They said it would be sometime during the night. CAROLINE TOLD me about the half-breed Peter Weaselhead, the store owner who had been so helpful help-ful to her when she had first come up the river. She was sure he would put us up until we could catch a river boat back to Nauvoo. Exhausted from the walk to the raft, I crawled to the back of the tent to get some rest while the loggers log-gers gathered around Caroline, falling over themselves to satisfy her every need bringing her things to eat and drink, a more comfortable comfort-able stool, shading her from the late afternoon sun. YOU WOULD think the Queen of England had come aboard their boat. Caroline seemed to enjoy the extra attention, and I rested peacefully, peace-fully, feeling relieved that we had been rescued from the island. But as I dropped off to sleep, I felt a little sad that a good time for Caroline Caro-line and me had ended. .It was almost daylight when we knocked on Peter Weaselhead's door. There was a pistol in the half-breed half-breed ' s hand when he finally greeted us. He recognized Caroline immediately and invited us in. Having been awake most of the night, we were anxious to get some rest. He showed us to the storage room, where he spread out a couple cou-ple of bufalo robes over some sacks of grain. Soon we were fast asleep. I AWAKENED to the sound of a familiar voice. A number of vertical vertic-al shafts of sunlight shining through tiny holes in the shingled roof told me the sun was high in the sky. I looked over at Caroline who was still breathing deeply, her eyes closed. The buffalo robe had slipped slip-ped from her shoulders. Gently, I pulled it back over her. She didn't stir. Again I heard the familiar voice. It was coming through the partially opened door, and had an unmistakable unmistak-able Irish accent. It had to be Pat O'Riley, or his twin. I rolled out from under my buffalo robes, quietly slipped into my boots, and headed for the door. My body felt much stronger. And from the intense in-tense itching, I knew the hand was healing. THE FACE matched the voice. It was Pat, and he was busy at the counter buying a huge pile of merchandise-cooking utensils, garden tools, rope, candles, whitewash and food staples. "Pat," I called. WHEN HE looked in my direction, direc-tion, a look of total astonishment covered his face. He dropped what he was doing and rushed towards me. "The ferryman said you drowned when the boat sank. Where's Caroline?" I POINTED towards the back of the room and seated ourselves at a small plank table. 1 told Pat about the narrow escape from Boggs and his friends the storm, the horses plunging overboard when Boggs started firing at us, the crash landing land-ing on the island in the middle of the night, the eel bite, the fever and tne moment, sne was tne nrst to speak. "WHERE ARE you gentlemen headed?" They just glanced at each other in astonishment as Caroline explained ex-plained how we had been marooned on the island. A FEW minutes later, two of the men were helping me towards the raft. I was still too weak to walk by myself. Once Caroline and I were comfortably situated in the open-ended open-ended tent, they began to work the raft free by moving sections of logs from one side to the other until the force of the current was sufficient to turn the raft out into the main current. As soon as the raft was floating again, the three loggers came to J LEE NELSON'S L " "DO YOU know who lives over by those hills?" she asked, looking across the fence to the south. "No," said Pat. "Do you?" "DICK BOGGS," she said, still looking to the south. "The man who shot our boat full of holes." I remembered her telling me how she had visited the Boggs place on her way to Nauvoo, at the request of a mutual friend in Philadelphia. There was an empty feeling in my stomach, knowing that if Boggs knew 1 was here he would come to kill me. No doubt about it. It is a terrible feeling knowing someone will kill you if given half a chance. "I'LL BET this Boggs and me are buddies within a year," boasted Pat, undaunted in his cheerfulness. : "Be careful, Pat," I warned. "He's a snake. He castrates his sfaves. He's raped Mormon women. He's burned Mormon himes. If he gives you any trouble, lett me know." i "AND WHAT will you do?" Pat asked, still smiling. "I'll kill him." . A SOBER, silent mood prevailed as we turned our horses around and headed back to town. "Do you think the Mormon-eaters Mormon-eaters will leave you alone?" I asked. "I NEVER had any trouble getting get-ting along with gentiles. Used to be one myself. Never met one that could stay with me drink for drink in the pub. Figure I'll get alongjust fine once they discover I'm not pious, that I'm not trying to shove Mormonism down their throats."- Later in the day we borrowed three of Peter Weaselhead's saddle horses and a pack mule and rode out to Pat's new farm, taking along all the new supplies. TO MY surprise, Pat's enthusiasm enthu-siasm was not exaggerated. Over 40 acres were already planted in wheat and corn. The cabin was sturdy, built from fat, 12 to 16-inch diameter pine logs, about twice as big as Pat's cabin in Nauvoo. There was a new log barn, and most of the land was already fenced with split rails and poles, i he previous owner own-er had put a lot of sweat into the place before abandoning it for the safety of Nauvoo. Pat and I were riding through the tall grass along the south boundary, bound-ary, a little ways ahead of Caroline, when I noticed that she had not been sharing our enthusiasm for the new farm. In fact, she had been keeping pretty much to herself and had spoken hardly a word since arriving at the farm. Pat and I pulled pul-led in our horses, and as Caroline caught up with us, I asked her if anything was wrong. "HAVE YOU met any of your neighbors yet?" she asked Pat, her tone deadly earnest. "Be plenty of time for that after we get settled in," he responded. gets a chance to be married by the Prophet. We said we would." ''THAT'S GREAT!" I said. When s the big day?" "Brigham Young doesn't beat around the bush. He called in a couple of witnesses and married us right there on the spot." "YOU'RE kidding!" exclaimed Caroline, speaking for the first time since Pat began his story. Pat just shook his head and smiled. He was serious, all right. "Congratulations," I said, reaching across the table to shake his hand. "WHERE'S THE bride?" asked Caroline, and before she could answer, I broke in with another question, "What are you doing here, buying all those supplies?" PAT SAT back, stretching out his suspenders with his thumbs, grinning from ear to ear, looking as proud as a man could look. "We're moving to Keokuk. Got us a ranch." WITH ENTHUSIASM Pat explained ex-plained the fantastic deal he had made, trading his one acre lot and cabin in Nauvoo for a 160-acre farm west of Keokuk. "How did you ever make a deal like that?" I asked. "THE GOOD brother was tired of living among the gentiles. Afraid of persecution, I suppose. Wanted to move to Nauvoo. Felt he and the wife would be safer in the middle of the Saints. Couldn't find a buyer for his place, so he was tickled to trade me straight across." Pat leaned forward, a serious look coming across his face. "DO YOU know how much land 160 acres is? My daddy worked his whole life on six acres. There were 1 1 kids. Seldom enough to eat. Never any money to spend. My older brother got the six acres for his family, and I got pushed out of the nest with nothing but the shirt on my back, and it had four patches. "I know how much 160 acres is," Pat continued. "It's enough to make a man a king. It'll feed all our kids and grandkids for a hundred years, and produce big cash crops, too. It's only a few miles from the Keokuk landing where boats can pick up my crops and carry them to the best-paying markets. A FEW good harvests and I might even pick up another 160 acres. If my daddy could only see me now. He would know how much 160 acres is. He would drop to his knees, dig his fingers into that soft, black soil and cry out his happiness." jpt from previous page f hat God and the leaders of (jiurch want her to be his third Lrj'RENOT serious," I said, the might be setting us up for 'kind of joke. Caroline didn't i Wrung, but I noticed she lid chewing right in the mid-Lbite. mid-Lbite. waiting for Pat to con-it con-it i, fKo The old bugger really did 4 1 iotd her he had had strong L about her ever since she j teaching at the school. He he had taken the matter before ord and had received the con-. con-. ion that Sarah should be his dial mate. He added that her Brigham had approved the I 'j STOPPED again, probably Lnng the theological pros and , of plural marriage. lnd what did Sarah say?" I iHE DECIDED to quit being so and told the old goat she was I jed to marry the only man she ' jme, Pat O'Riley. McConk-dn'tgive McConk-dn'tgive up easily. He told her I Abraham, David and Solo-having Solo-having many wives, that poly-iwas poly-iwas God's eternal law. jahsaid she had heard the law been restored, and that she lid give serious consideration .tiling Pat take a second wife, Sarah Lange was going to be tot. AS I said, the old goat was per-jnt. per-jnt. He asked her if she wanted jfl pto Hellif she understood the equences of going against God ithe prophet. The lass couldn't jit any longer. Got up and ran ! Came straight to the temple (Orel was working." at stopped again, this time tak-i tak-i bile of bread and chewing Ightfully. After swallowing, he Etinued, I- AFTER SHE told me the whole Q yand 1 kissed away the tears, I red there was two things I Iddo. 1 could march over to this )(!nezer's house and bust his fe. Or, I could h;ad over to jjier Brigham' s and try to find what in hell was going on. Or I )Udoboth." noticed that Pat's fists were ched, his face red, and that the jjlsand sinews were bulging on sides of his neck. tVE HEADED over to Brother i tarn's house. It was closer f McConklin's place. Brother , ham was home, and seeing I mad, invited both of us into his f ateofficeand shut the door. He sat there, not saying a single (J, as Sarah told him the whole r When she was finished, Iter Brigham said he remem-$ remem-$ Brother McConklin asking l her, but nothing had been about the engagement to Pat. didn't know if Brother pklin knew about it either." THEN BROTHER Brigham N forward, looked Sarah right Me and said, "What Brother i -mui Miu aoout tne restora-1 restora-1 of celestial marriage is true, i Ming lady, you don't have to i someone you don't love." W'swhen I felt a lot better, I didn't need to punch some-Ul'iT'The some-Ul'iT'The Prophet said he would ' Brother McConklin and see u"trewas no more trouble. WERE getting up to leave , asked us when we were M to marry. I said it would "about a week, that our bishop 8ln8 to do it, just a private wny because neither of us nil S5 family in Nauvoo. w you like me to marry V "e asked. Not everybody |