Contest I: Stoolies

Overview: Stoolies is a cowboy bar in a north Texas small town. It is in an old building in the neighborhood that dates back to the Civil War and has always been the corner for saloons and bawdy houses. It is populated by old cowboys and fascinating characters, but strange things happen in a town that's greatest claim to fame is the largest lynching series every to occur in American history. The past seems to morph into the present and the spirits of hard working whores and mis-understood patriots occasionally interact with the beer-swilling horse-breeders and truck-driving red-necks.

From the work:

The Mailman

It was still hot in September. It seemed like summer never wanted to end in the area around Gainesville. Jonas McCurley was dog tired, dusty and dry. He’d been on the road for two days hauling mail between Denton and Gainesville, working from dawn until dusk and it was time for a little bit peace and quiet. The bar, just off the square seemed like a good place to shake the dust off the outside and wash it down on the inside. The open doors beckoned and the flicker of the kerosene lanterns promised a bit of comfort. He walked in, looked around and took a seat at a table in a dark corner. He simply wanted to sit down, have a few drinks, relax after the long day and then get a good night’s rest.

McCurley asked the inn-keeper for a glass of water and maybe three fingers of rye. He’d been working the mail route for a couple of years now so the innkeeper knew him well. At forty-eight, McCurley was beyond the age for conscription at least so far and the mail job helped him stretch the income from his small farm outside of town. It was going to be a quiet night until Ephraim Chiles walked in, saw him and came over to claim a seat at the table. Although he preferred his own company, Jonas didn’t object and the two men shared a couple of drinks. Chiles, a young local farmer, was about twenty years younger than McCurley. He struck up a conversation about what news McCurley might be hearing as he moved from town to town on his courier duties.

It was hard not to talk about the war. Everyone had some interest in it. The big farmers and ranchers certainly cared about it because it was going to impact their business. The young men were concerned because folks were fighting and dying in great numbers and they might be called up next. Families were concerned because their futures hung in the balance. Would their homesteads be secure? Could they raise their children safely? Whichever way it turned out, there was going to be a lot of change. The conversation in Gainesville was always about the war these days. The community was deeply split.

Most of the folks in Cooke County had been unhappy with the decision. Nearby Grayson, Denton, Wise and Montague counties had all been opposed, but the choice to secede had carried the state and if they were to remain part of Texas they would have to go along. But, that didn’t mean that their minds were changed or that they had to like it. The big money families in the area had their way, and now they also had control of the local militia forces. Trouble could erupt at any moment and Chiles and McCurley inevitably were going to talk about it.

The question was a simple one. The answer was not. Chiles eyed McCurley and asked it somewhat circuitously, “You look like a Union man.” He watched for a response. McCurley hesitated. The wrong answer could lead to a lot of problems.

The reply was cautious and equally circuitous, “I was.” It left hanging the question of current allegiance and loyalty. It was simply a statement. When Texas was in the Union, Jonas was a Union man. What he was now that Texas had seceded remained unstated and intentionally unclear.

Chiles was much less cautious. He began to discuss the dissatisfaction he saw in the community. Whiskey might lead to indiscretion and clearly Chiles was being indiscreet. He began to whisper and leaned across the table to confide details to McCurley. There was a group around that was preparing to deal with the problem. No good was coming of this war and people were tired of being driven by the big property owners and their control of things. There were friends up north in Kansas that were going to help the local folks make things right again. They knew how to get supplies and take control back. It might not be too late to get a big chunk of the region back into the Union and avoid having the war rage through the area. What it would take would be some men of conviction. There was a secret society and it looked to him like McCurley would be a good candidate for membership. Was he interested?