Welton Novels
Novels about the Indian Territory of Oklahoma in the 1800's
Harmon Bell “Texas Ranger”
ISBN: 1-60836-287-6
Found at Publishamerica.com
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble book stores.
Harm had been working for
the railroad from the time he was fifteen until he was laid off at the ripe age
of twenty. Harm and a friend, he worked with on the railroad, decide to move
west in Indian Territory of Oklahoma and take up homesteading. A simple move for
him and his friends wagon ended up with a wagon train of folks moving with them.
A man he helped in a time the man was hurt. Turned out to be an Ex Texas Ranger.
Also the Ex Ranger had two friends that lived near him decided to go with Harm
to the west. With a lot of problems along the way. The rescue of two women that
had been taken by outlaws and the old Texas Rangers had
rescued.
Harm made friends with a
Comanche Indian, on the trail west, who has taken his family from the
reservation at Fort Sill. Harm latter married one of the women from the stage
holdup. Along the way Harm made friends with other Rangers and when Harms wife
was killed, during a bank robbery, he took the trail to get vengeance. Some of
his Ranger friends caught up with Harm and TA Noaks, swore the two men in as
Rangers to up hold the law. Latter Harmon Bell and Tanner Oaks (Ta Noaks a full
blood Comanche Indian) were sworn in to carry both the Texas Ranger Badge and
The Deputy U.S. Marshals badge.
Harm and Ta Noaks followed
the Wilson gang to the last man. He was asked to take the honor of being a
member of the White Bear Clan by two of the oldest members of the clan, Lem Dew
and John O�Leary.
Harm married an Irish girl
and became one of the largest land holders in Texas at the time. He raised
horses and let the Comanche Indians, which were called hold outs because the
slipped off the reservations, live in peace on his land. Indians were starving,
on the reservation, from either bad food or no food.
Introduction and how the novel came about.
In the American west of the late 1800’s and early 1900,s many law
men wore more than one badge to up hold justice. This is the story of
such men that had a badge given to him by the Texas Rangers and one
by the U.S. Marshals, which had his name engraved on the back of the
badge.
In 1974 I the honor to be able to see a case containing the two of the
badges mentioned in this novel. The original owner was long since
dead and his granddaughter had them in her possession. She told me the
stories of her grandfather and a friend of his, who also give a set of
badges, which wore the badges during their life time and died with
distinction and honors.
The names changed of the men mentioned in the novel but I
personally saw one set of badges presented to another man, told in the
book Harmon Bell Texas Ranger, who was a friend of Tanner Oaks.
These badges presented on the same day to both men. Taken from a
good source they were in the White Bear Clan. I have tried to keep the
story as close to the facts as possible but have added some to make the
novel more interesting to read.
FROM THE BOOK
The next evening the men caught up all the horses and put the ones
that need to be back on a led line. It was getting close to supper time
when two men came walking up from the woods near the creek. One of
the men was carrying a rifle in the crook of his arm and the other man
had his hand on the pistol, which was in a holster with his hand on the
pistol grip. Everyone waited for one of the men to speak when from
down the creek came Jess with that sack, he always was going off with,
and two men that had pistols out walking behind Jess.
As they neared the campfire the man that had his hand on his gun
said, “John pick the best four horses and run the others off.”
Harm bucked up and replied in a cool voice. “Them are my horses
and who said you could have four of them?”
“We’re taking them. Woman sack us up some grub for the trail that
we don’t have to cook.”
Jess, Jim Bob, Frank and Simon had been quite until now and Jess
replied in a low voice, “You talk big when you have guns in your
hands.”
“Old man how about you dump that sack out on the ground and let’s
see what’s so important for you to have to carry it around with you.”
The one that had been doing the talking said.
Jess hesitated but he pulled the draw strings open on the sack and
instead of dumping the contents on the ground he slid the pistol belt
with a gun in a holster into his hand. “Old man it seems you think you’re
maybe a gun slinger? Why don’t you strap that gun on and let’s see how
fast you really are.”
“Jess don’t do it just let it go and drop that damn pistol.” Jim Bob said.
Jess walked around the campfire, so no one would be behind him,
as he was strapping the gun around his waist. He tied the leather that
was on the bottom of the holster around his leg as he settled the holster
against his leg. “What’s the matter? You think its going to take all you
boys with your irons out to take an old timer like me?”
The talker smiled and said, “You boys stay out of this because I’m
going to shut this old man down. Ya’ll put your guns up and old man
you start the ball whenever you want.”
The other outlaws put their weapons up and as the last one did there
were four shots that rang out so close together it sounded like thunder.
Jess stepped over to the other side of the campfire so he could see the
four men lying on the ground because of the gun smoke being too thick
in front of him for him to see through. Everyone else was dumb struck
and hadn’t moved. Jim Bob walked calmly over to his wagon and took
a quart jar of whiskey from under the tarp.
Jess had reloaded his pistol as Jim Bob walked over to him and
handed Jess the jar of whiskey. Frank had a pistol out and started
checking the men on the ground. Jess took the lid off the jar and had
drank about half of the contents when horses could be heard coming at
a fast run toward the camp.
Jim Bob, Frank, and Jess had pulled weapons and were facing the
riders as they pulled up about a fifty yards from the camp. One man
rode forward a few feet and hollered out, “I’m Sheriff Jackman from
Okmulgee, You folks having trouble?”
Jess, Jim Bob and Frank put their guns away and Frank hollered
back, “Come on in Perky the trouble is over and you can clean up the
mess.”
The posse rode forward and as they neared the campfire the Sheriff
grinned and shook his head. “I hope you three old reprobates ain’t
going back on the trail again. Hell you’re getting to old for this kind of
stuff.”
“What brings you out this far from town?” Frank Bracken asked as
he poured some coffee from the big pot which Purdy had set by the side
of the fire before the trouble started.
“Those owl hoots robbed the bank yesterday at closing time and we
been after them. We were a couple of miles out when we heard the
shooting. One of their horses had been ridden into the ground and we
figured they would be trying to find fresh mounts.”
Purdy spoke up and said, “Sheriff why don’t you men get down and
come eat a good meal after you drag the scum away from the fire.” She
turned and set the two Dutch ovens from the fire on the tail gate of the
cook wagon.
It didn’t take long for the posse to move the outlaws and one man
had ridden a circle to bring in the outlaws horses. While everyone was
eating the Sheriff asked, “Could we borrow four horses to carry the
outlaws on because their horses need to rest for a long while?”
“Sure and we’ll bring the outlaws horses in tomorrow and pick ours
up.” Harm answered as he got him another cup of coffee.
“Perky how about you passing the word that we’re coming in with
some good horses and will stop over a few days to hold a horse sale?”
Jess said as he was eating the dried apple cobbler that Purdy had thrown
together.
Perky set there eating some of the cobbler and finally he replied,
“You know that Saturday would be the best day for the horse sale. How
about you folks hanging around for three days and I’ll get riders out to
let people know and we might have a good visit.”
“You still married to that woman that can raise hell and put a chunk
under it?” Frank asked with a grin on his face.
“Yauaha I’m still married to your sister and you gona have to spend
some time talking to her before you get away from town. At least you’re
going to stay a day or so to give me a rest.”