Trafford Publishing: Going Down River: Kids One

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Going Down River: Kids One

by John Wiskus

329 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0557; ISBN 1-55369-744-8; US$26.50, C$30.87, EUR22.00, £15.50

An adventure story, with Witches, Indians, Ghosts, Rustlers, and robbers, etc. which takes place during the 1850's on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, for kids and adults of all ages.

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about the book about the author sample excerpts catalogue info

About the Book

"This is a delightful book for all age groups. It tells of a time when America was just beginning to expand its horizons into the western part of the United States. The book shows the hardships of paddle wheelers and other people on the river. Thanks John Wiskus for a book that has appropriate language. I hope everyone enjoys it, as I did."
-Becky Messer, Wishek, North Dakota
This story starts in the spring of 1849 with the four graves and then when a small woman with "strong features and calming blue eyes" decides to moved what was left of the two families from Iowa out to Montana. It tells of their family adventures on the Mississippi River, life and a winter in Missouri. Adventures up the Ohio River to find a 13 year old blind girl. Lois Agne tried to start a new life in 1849 and recorded their day by day adventures, as others did, of her kids finding wanted poster men and Indians along the rivers, the prairies and the Lewis and Clark Trail: This is the first book of the series tale of the kids "Going Down River." Next the "River Kid Detectives" and they end up kid-napped. To endure life's tragedies and love in an adventure story for teens, adults, and grandchildren from age 8 years of age on up to folks at the young age of 108 years young and also for the little kid in all of us.
After the mystery case of the spooks, the kids get a long interview by Mr Leo Brown of the St. Louis Star Newspaper. The kids get on with their adventure by winning over many of the stern paddle wheel steam boat captains and later the young blind girl. The boy's trail cross again later with the river captain who gave the boys their first five, $5 gold coins. The boys had pulled his ship off the river sandbar with their two-wagon teams. The boys get a visit from the ghostwriter, Mr Long. The kids get a visit from a sheriff and some information on the Ohio bank robber. The kids get to visit a robbed Wells Fargo Bank in Ohio. The kids will soon have 57 new wanted posters and is it he, that feller in the card game, on board the stern steamship 'The Boyer I,' is he a twin?
This is all gleaned from a collection of some spotted, faded, parts un-readable, I think that is peanut-butter and jelly sticking those three pages together through thirty-nine journals now molded into the kid's first of the series of storybooks. About the kids hiding in the trees, finding bank robbers, robbers of Army guns - gunrunners, and the kids with a 13-year-old blind girl, who became blind at age 9, and many folks enjoying Jail Bird food. Later finding a gang of the Army payroll {in GOLD} paddle-wheeler steamboat robbers. Lois, the mother, from her journals and journals written by the kids, who are, Bobby age 13, John age 13, Jerry age 12, and Kathy age 11, almost. From the journals of John's Uncle James West and the stern steam paddle wheeler Captain John Fourbears Tipton Duffy. The stories about this family have been passed on down for over seven generations about the family and kids' real life and adventure along the great Lewis and Clark lower Ohio River, the Mississippi River, and up the Missouri River trail. Their personal lives, the people whom they crossed paths and where their lives path crossed in life with some folks, many times. Many journal entries are now flowing into this story. I am sure you all will be able to personally relate to the story of the people and their forthcoming choices and then stop, and may explain things to children, or just sit back in deep thought (for a while), and then you may decide. So much was recorded that it took three books (about 980 pages) just to cover part of the details of the last nine months of 1849. Some words, spellings, word use, etc. were all gleaned right from the real entries. This book has so many good little few day's short stories; you are bound to enjoy some of them.
Please be on notice that some of those hotels, café's, and places are still open for business today. Also today that some descendants of the people, who have written the journals back in 1849 into 1855, still live in Forsyth, MT; St. Louis, MO; St. Charles, MO; Fort Madison, Iowa; Columbus Junction, Iowa; Tipton, Iowa; and in many other river towns and areas in the books. The following story series is based on and tries to follows the journals, as a guide, after the 4 GRAVES, on their new adventure down to and up along the Lewis and Clark trail going up the great Missouri River. Because some descendants are still living today and because of the large inheritances many have received, I have been requested to change some of the actual names of the people, who wrote in the journals, in this story.
This book is classed as fiction, while it still retains the general integrity and historical setting of the 1850's and the author's personally owned journals as a story guide. However any references to any specific time, dates, letter and e-mailed items from the last 12 years of research request received of any towns, events, photos, images, real people, or real places are intended only to give the story a true historical reality. Any names, characters, and incidents are the product of the author's interpretation and were used fictitiously. Any resemblance, if any, to any real life fashions, places, any actual recorded court file or person is purely coincidental, with out any intended malaise.

About the Author

John A. Wiskus was born and raised in a small town in Iowa. He attended grade school in Iowa and completed the last two years of high school in Texas. Each summer he worked with heavy equipment and custom farming. While in high school in Texas he also attended Amarillo Jr. College before joining the Air Force and attended more college.
His USAF military career was spent in aircraft in-air refueling, teaching aircraft electronics, two trips to Vietnam, and three years in Japan with the Security Service. His last few years were teaching active duty, Guard, and Reserve Disaster Preparedness. He traveled all around the world for most of his twenty years with the Air Force before returning to civilian life. Then he worked for one year for the US Navy ET School, three years electronics for the US Army, and then back to special electronics project for the US Air Force. In 1988 he turned his attention to the faded, spotted, spots stuck together 'Journals' and researched the Old West. He has studied them and listened to stories, the Indians, river ships, and hardships the settlers of the 1850's had to endure.
He now enjoys retirement and 12 years of writing about the kids. He lives in the beautiful Beaver Valley, on a farm by a lake in south central North Dakota. He is surrounded by the prairie animals and loves the lakes of the western prairies of our great land. John won't talk much about his military years. He has 4 grown children and 8 grandchildren. He simply puts it that the kids' stories are his work of love. This is John's first full-length story, and he is finishing more kids' books.
He now has had the privilege of sharing the lives of each one of the kids; folks next to them, crying with them and feeling emotionally touched by them. To write about the kids, and the men and women brave enough to face up to the challenges that dared them to take them to the next step, is a emotional and pleasant experience. Their daily hard life, which would be hardships to us, just rolled right off of them. He had to cry, love, and laugh with the kids' affected people.
He laughed a lot with Kathy as he related her as to his own daughter, and with his three boys of his four children. The story tells how folks had to endure life's tragedies and leap for joy over their victories. John wrote the story series for young adults and grand parents to read to the young and old. As in real life, some folks die, but the others must go on. They must go on with their own dreams of love and if they persisted with the defiance of evil, will bring us all back together.

Sample Excerpts

CHAPTER 13 - NO LANTERN SAVES the WITCH
Day 49. Sunday, June 13, 1849. After breakfast Lois and the kids joined the others and went to the church service, there was over 80 folks at the service. The church had so many visitors the last two Sundays the preacher didn't try to introduce all the folks, because only about 50 belonged to his church and many didn't come now because the folks had to stand up during the service. The kids heard about a trial and asked if the boys could go Monday? The boys were very happy that any folks could go. The boys wanted to know how folks picked up from a reward poster really went before the Judge.
Day 50. The next day in the court room, after a while. Judge Falkers, "Are you done Mr Petersen?" Mr Petersen, "No, your honor, I have witnesses to call forward in this case." The Judge, "Thank you. Please sit down, I have a few cases yet and I have a full book for tomorrow morning. This case will reconvene the day after tomorrow, in the afternoon a 2:00 PM."
The Judge looked about the room. "I'm very, very honored to have the Musketeer Detectives here in my courtroom. Would you please all stand." Bobby, John, Jerry, and Kathy stood. The Judge, "You are the Musketeer Detectives all of the folks are talking about?" Bobby, "Yes, your honor, we are "The Musketeer Detectives." We are just doing our duty to find some bad men on posters. Your honor." The Judge, "Who is this young lady with you?" Kathy speaks up, "The 'Musketeer Detective's Banker,' your honor, sir." Judge Falkers was very touched by the kids, Bill smiled and was very pleased, it was something Bill didn't get to do in his courtroom, "I see. I've heard about their 'Banker.' Bailiff, anytime these young folks come into my court room, make room for them on the front row, even if you have to move someone." The bailiff nodded. Judge Bill Falkers, "I would like to have you and your mother be my guest for dinner at the High Water Cafe, one time soon. Will you give me that honor?" Before the boys could answer Kathy jumped in, "Yes sir. And we will have Jail Bird Cake with Carmel sauce, for dessert." Judge Falkers, "Fine, tomorrow night at 7:00 PM, be sure to let your mother know," and then Judge Falkers pounded the little hammer down on his desk and stood, all the folks stood, and he left the courtroom.
The kids filed out, Kathy ran off to tell mom the news, and they went to the back of the High Water Hotel. The boys had a bad feeling about this case, but they couldn't put a finger on just what it was. The boys were talking it over behind the hotel when two local boys came up, Willy and Chuck, "You boys any good at mysteries?" Jerry says, "Sure, we never got one we didn't work out, what you got?" Willy, "We want yeah to tell us how he does it and what he does with'em?" Bobby, "Who and what are you talking about?" Willy, "He does it in the dark and I'm not going out there." John adds, "Tell us all about it and start at the front of the story."
Chuck, "We heard that he gets the bodies out of the cemetery and the little people help him." Willy cuts in, "He don't get the bodies, just their ghost, the little Leprechauns, the little folks help and do it with him." Chuck, "I'm getting to that part. Willy and me went out to old man MacFee's, it was at night, this feller had just died and it's always fellers, not women. The men put him in the cemetery that afternoon. Right after dark, we went out to MacFee's. Past the cemetery, we hid in the weeds, we saw'em and it was cold. But it really got cold; old man MacFee was going along on the other side of the pond, the little people was going along behind him. He was playing his bag toot'er, the ghost came up right out of the pond, we seen'em, we ran home as fast as we could run, and we didn't want any ghost to get a hold of us. What's he do with all them ghost?"
Bobby, "Where does all this happen at?" Chuck pointing, "Over two blocks, the big church, go out the road about a mile to the cemetery. Just past it is MacFee and his ghost." Willy, "The men are putting a feller in the cemetery right now." Jerry, "It's day light, take us out and show us." The boys agreed and they all went over to the church and walked out the road. The boy's saw some folks in the cemetery, walked on by, they show'em the weeds the boys had hid in between the cemetery and the pond. Across the pond was Mr. MacFee's house. There was no ghost in the pond, it wasn't scary at all, the boys would come back tonight after supper. Willy and Chuck told'em that the boys could come by themselves, that they weren't coming out there at night anymore. They went back to the hotel, and told Chuck and Willy that they would have it worked out in a few days and the boys left. Their talk went back to the case in court, the lady had called up a ghost and it came right out of the pot or was it that the ghost came out of the fire." Jerry, "We was camping along the river, I dropped my bacon in the fire, John you said it looked like a fine ghost." The boys agreed that any good detective could re-do the crime, the boys should re-do the ghost. John went to get some bacon and cast iron pot from the café.
Bobby and Jerry started a fire in the cooking ring of rocks at the back of the Hotel. The boys fried up the bacon, Jerry dropped one into the fire and the boys all backed off some. Bobby called them over by him, looking toward the sun the smoke went up and then out one way. It looked like a one armed ghost, John noticed the day was cooling off, the other warm smoke arm from the fire went out, as it cooled off and drifted down toward the ground. The moving air totally stopped, their ghost now had two arms, one long one and one regular one. John, "The Judge needs to see this." Bobby kept an eye on the fire and moved the pot off, John and Jerry went for the Judge. At the courtroom the folks were coming out, the boys ran back in, the bailiff, told them that Judge Bill was in his office room, the bailiff would tell him the boys need to see him right away. The bailiff let them in, Judge Falkers says he would see it tomorrow.
John, "No, not many afternoon's that there is no wind, it would only take a few minutes, right behind the Hotel, the boys had it all set up." Bill agreed to go look for a few minutes. The boys stood him on the East Side, looking west, Jerry put the bacon into the fire and the smoke came up and made a good ghost. The Judge told them, that the men saw her late at night, the sun was down, there was only one light, and the fire and the Judge had the boys. The boys walked around the fire five times, they could only see the ghost with the sun behind it. Now the boys had a new problem to work out, Judge Falkers said the boys did make a good smoke ghost, thanked them and left. Kathy came to the door, and called them in for supper.
Lois, Joanne, and Kathy did all the talking; the boys were in deep thought, they said very little and after dinner the boys left. It was really dark when the boys got into the weeds. Bobby told them to look at the trees. Jerry, "So what?" John, "Look through the trees, the moon was coming up, the trees looked spooky." Jerry, "Look at the pond. The water smoke is coming up, look there comes the arms." John told him it wasn't water smoke, it's pond steam, the pond was warmer than the air. The boys heard the toots; it was a bagpipe. MacFee played the bagpipe. Bobby, "Look the little people." The boys could see two small heads, over the weeds behind MacFee, they could only see the heads and pointy ears.
The boys moved back to the road, went up the road some, for a better view, the pond ghost really looked good in the moonlight. There was a space in the weeds, MacFee looked like he was cut out of thick paper and put up to a light, the boys saw the little people's heads, then they came into the space, now they could see, they were his two dogs, not little people. MacFee turned and went back toward his house and there went MacFee. The little people turned into two dogs following him, past the weed opening the dogs turned back into little people and the boys had this case worked out. The boys sat on the side on the road, enjoying the pond ghost and working over the case of the woman in the court, covering all the parts of the court trial. The boys were covering it in great detail, talking over every point, so far. Bobby asked if there was a moon that night at about midnight? None of the boys knew. "Hello boys." The boys all three about jumped out of their skins. Andy, "I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to say hello. Are you enjoying my pond ghosts?"
John, "Yeah, they are good ones, all the kids in town are scared to death of them." Andy laughed, "That has been going on for years. I'm Andrew MacFee, you boys can call me Andy, and who might you boys be?" (Andy knew but wanted to see what the boys said.) The boys told him that they were the detectives. Andy had heard about them in town and told them he had got a newspaper clipping cut out of the newspaper and sent to him by a friend, Andy, "Come over to my house. I'll give you some cookies and I want to hear about the ghost stories." The boys went over, had milk and cookies, Andy had tea and cookies, smoked his pipe and the boys enjoyed telling the story of Miss Sue's ghosts. The boys told him about the two boys and the little people. Andy had heard about the folk's remarks about little people, but had never worked it out where folks got that idea, so it's my two dogs. Andy laughed, and asked them not to tell because he could have a lot of fun with that. Over the next two hours the boys told him about the rewards, Andy liked that, then the case in court with the woman, at 2:00 PM tomorrow. The boys would tell Judge Bill before that time about the moon. The boys got back home at the Hotel at bedtime, all very happy that the boys had worked out two cases today. This day closed.
Day 51. After breakfast the boys had a lot of time, there was a lot of action going on at the docks, two big steamers had just docked. The dock crews had unloaded some cargo and five wagons with teams. The folks were going on up the Missouri about some 400 miles, up river on the east side, most of the men had beards and tall black hats, all of them were dressed in black, the women even had black bonnets and all the women and girls had white aprons. The folks looked all alike, but a lot different than most folks and trappers in buckskins around here. Going to the courthouse, they wanted to talk to the Judge Falkers and there were some folks outside. The boys went in, the bailiff wanted to seat them, but the boys needed to see Judge Falkers, the bailiff checked and the boys were led into Judge Bill Falkers' office. The boys all put in some of the story and that the moon must have been out. Bill now understood if there was a moon that may have a big effect on the case. Bill would wait and see if it came out in the case, if not Judge Bill could not use it.
Judge bill thanked them and the boys were off to find a new case, they would be back in the courtroom at 2:00. Bill asked them not to say anything to anyone, Bill would take care of it. The boys went back to the dock to keep an eye out for a new case. And work on what the boys were going to tell Willy and Chuck, on their spook case. The boys had done worked out two cases, but no reward for them; they needed a new case, one that had a big reward with it. The boys looked at each man, around the dock; none of them looked like anyone on any posters. Just one feller came up in a wagon from the west river trail road and pulled up by the cargo. Bobby asked if the other boys thought that that feller could get all that cargo into one wagon. They were looking it over when the man got off the wagon and walked with a limp, over on the dock, right past the cargo, the man was looking all over the place, like the man was looking for someone. He came back and got on the wagon and went on down the East River trail road. One of the ships backed out and went east, must be going to St. Louis. The boys heard the toots; in a few minutes another ship came in and docked. More men came to the dock from town. Bobby saw him, the same feller with the limp, he was coming back, he's walking, but no wagon, the man wasn't gone very long. The man was still looking for someone; the man was really upset that the he couldn't find who he was looking for. The man had his back toward the boys. A feller went by the boys, from town and went up to the feller. The boys were too far away to hear what was said but the one with the limp was upset the other man wasn't there before. The men walked back down the river trail road, the boys could all feel it, the men were up to something, and some thing bad and the boys would follow and see just what it was.
A ways down the road, the boys went around a bend; there was the team and wagon, the team was enjoying the grass along the road. The two men had turned at the wagon and went toward the river. The boys went off the road on the river side, through the trees, their Indian style, sneaking along real quite like, they found a deer trail, it went along the river in the trees, and they followed on the deer trail real quite. They must be almost to the wagon by now, they stopped, they heard no walking, no talking, and took a few more quite steps. John saw them and pointed, the men were sitting on a log, looking at the river, and not saying anything, just looking. The one with the limp got something out of his pocket. The boys couldn't see what it was; he looked at it, and then looked back at the river. The one with the limp, "It's past 11:00 o'clock, the men should be here by now." And put his hand back into his pocket, they all knew, the man with the limp had checked the time. It was really quite, the boys could hear the water along the bank, the rustle of leaves overhead in the breeze, it was almost to quite. The boys sat down on the trail to wait, Bobby elbowed John, then motioned down the trail, John leaned back to look; two deer were working their way along the trail.
John elbowed Jerry and motioned toward the trail, Jerry leaned back just as the first deer looked up ahead and the deer saw Jerry's looking movement. The doe deer snorted, broke left on a fast run, the second doe deer was three jumps behind, trying to catch up and make it just two jumps. The boys all raised up an inch or so, the deer was going to run right up the backs of the men. The deer scared the men out of their skin, the men both let out a screaming yell. The boys busted into a soft laugh, trying to hold it quite or the men would know they were there. The men were on their feet, both say'en a lot of bad words. One said that the team and wagon must have spooked the deer. For the next five minutes both of the men were trying to get their hearts to calm back down to normal and then they sat back on the log.
It must have been fifteen minutes, but it seemed like an hour, the boys heard men talking coming across the water, but couldn't make out what was being said. A boat was coming close, must be three or four men in the boat, John whispers, "The men are going to load something into the wagon, we need to move back by the trees." The boys crawled back down the trail, got off the trail and kneeled down, each by a tree; the boys could peek around and see what was going on. Five men got out of the boat, one seemed to be the boss, the man talked real soft to the one with the limp, the other four got two boxes, one man on each end and followed the other man to the wagon. Both boxes were the same size, about 10 inches wide, 8 inches high, and 4 feet long and the boxes were heavy. The boys minds were a going, what was in the boxes and why didn't the men unload them at the dock? Ten boxes in all, then two kegs, not real heavy and one smaller keg that was really heavy. The one with the limp told the boss, "Yea, Yea, we can unload the wagon. Yea, same place, same time, right here in two days." The five men left in the boat, the two men left and went to the wagon, covered up the boxes with canvas, got on and drove off. The boys needed to get back to town; they didn't want to miss the court hearing, they were talking over what might be in the boxes, John, "shhhh, get down." The boys sat down on the trail, a wagon was on the road, it was the men, the men had gone down the road, had turned around and now was going back west to the town dock.
The men gave no notice to the side of the road as the men went by, the boys walked up to the road and followed them to town, and they wanted to go to town anyway. The boys went right by the dock; the wagon went on out the river road the way the wagon had came in. As the boys passed the dock they heard someone call out that it was 12:00 o'clock, they had two hours, it just may be the wagon wasn't going far. The boys would follow for an hour, then to go see Judge Falkers in action, lunch could be missed if need be. Not far out of town, maybe a half a mile, the wagon ahead turned off the road and up a wagon track, it hadn't been used much, if you weren't really looking for it you could miss it easy.
The boys very fast agreed that the men were up to no good. The men didn't want to pass the dock in the boat and they were hiding some thing. At the top of a small hill lane the boys saw where a house once stood, it had burnt down years ago. The wagon was over by an old small barn, the barn looked like it was ready to fall down, but no men. The men must have carried a box inside; one man came out and got the small heavy keg and went back inside. The sun, trees, and shadows were just right the boys could go along in the trees and get a lot closer, but don't spook any deer. The boys got up close, so they could hear, but there was no talking, soon the men got the ten boxes in the barn. On the last box the men were in there a long time, the boys need to get back to town, the men came out, the one man with the limp, "In two days and you had better be at the dock waiting for me." The man nodded and then the men got up on the wagon and they drove off, through the trees and down the hill. The boys would look in the barn and then would get back to town. The boys were careful to step only where the men did; there was a half an inch of dust on the floor.
The boys saw some tree branches inside, the tracks went so far and were gone and no boxes, Bobby spotted them, "Look, over next to the wall, the boxes with a canvas over them, there must be twenty boxes and with straw to help cover them up. If you don't look real close, I'd think it was just some old straw. The men used the tree branches to dust out the tracks and to put dust on the straw. The men are good but not as good as we detectives are. Now let's get to town." The boys ran back down the small hill and most of the way to town, they saw the wagon stopped by the saloon, he let the man off and he went inside. The other man, with the limp, went on up the street. The last of the folks were moving into the courtroom.
The bailiff waved them to the front. Behind Kathy, on the back of the seat, were two little signs, "RESERVED" the bailiff seated them there. The few minutes were moving slow. Jerry, "I seen one, in the mercantile, over in hardware, guns, I think." Both Bobby and John, "Shhhh." As Jerry looks at each one, the boys both nodded, yes. The boys all got both messages. The bailiff, "All rise, the Honorable Judge William Falkers, presiding. Court is open. Take you seats."
The Judge, "Mr Bill O'Be, for the defense, do you have any questions for the first witness, I'll call her back in?" Mr O'Be, "No, your honor." The Judge, "Are you going to ask any of the witnesses any questions?" Mr O'Be, "No. Ah. Yes. Your honor, maybe later." The Judge, "Mr Glenn Petersen, the plaintiff's prosecuting attorney, call your next witness." Mr Petersen, "I request Mr Auther Kolh to be called as my next witness." The bailiff got him forward, sworn in, and seated in the witness chair. Mr Petersen, "Mr Kolh tell the court in your own words what you saw on the night in question?"
Mr Auther Kolh, "Yea, see, Jerry, Bob, and I were going over to a friends house about midnight on the night in question. We seen the light of the fire, this woman was cooking up some witches brew in her pot. The woman worked up a spell and pulled a witches spirit right up out of the pot. Right there before our eyes, it was the best spook ever, right out of her pot, she did, the best spook that I ever did see, it had a body, arms, and a head. It was a spooky spirit, we could see the trees looking right through it, we didn't stay long with her being a witch and all, Yea know. We got out of there. That's about it. Your honor."
Mr Petersen, "I'm done with this witness. Your honor." Mr Bill O'Be, just sat there.
The Judge, "Mr O'Be, do you have any questions for the last witness?" Mr O'Be, "No. Your honor."
The Judge, "Mr Petersen, call your next witness."

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