THE LEGACY CONTINUES
After Ox Muldoon kicked-the-bucket, from 1822 until his boy Bernard shows up again, many things came to pass. Just a few bein’ the Missouri Compromise took place, Andrew Jackson finally got elected to the Presidency, and Fort Union was built on the Missouri River with the much needed aid of the American Fur Company.
Between the middle 1820’s and the late 1840’s, of the hundred thousand or so Injuns who were persuaded off their lands, through deception or by force of arms by the government, nearly 33,000 died as a result of the white man’s greed durin’ the prevailing times.
President Jackson, or Old Hickory as some took to callin’ him, was the first to lay claim to bein’ born in a log cabin and comin’ from a poor upbringing. Jackson accomplished many good things during his presidency. When he came to the White House the United States flag had only 25 stars on it.
Other such events came into bein’ such as Stagecoaches, even though they had been around in one form or another since 1786, the one most recognized was from the Abbott-Downing Company of Concord, a fair sized town in New Hampshire. They built the American coaches which started bein’ used around the year of 1826 or thereabouts.
Their Stages cost between $1000.00 and $1500.00 depending on how many horse’s (four or six) were used and the like. An average size coach totaled around 2,450 pounds not countin’ the weight of the passengers. Most travelers’ would agree a trip by stagecoach was an unpleasant experience, or as some of the more bold passengers would say it was a down right miserable way to travel. Dust, cramped quarters, and nothin’ to absorb the hard pounding crossing the vast desert landscape didn’t save many from a sore backside.
In the early 1920’s most all companies stopped makin’ coaches; other new and fancier contraptions came along and put’em out of business.
By the early 1830’s there were over two million people of color, countin’ both those who were slaves and those who were born free and the like. As the colored folk’s population grew, so did their will to join together and to thrive in this fast growing new nation. Later on America would have to make laws and legislation to protect the colored people’s rights from the greedy whites who treated them like property; somethin’ to be bought and sold like cattle and such.
Religion for the colored folk would play a great role in bringing all to freedom in later times. It opened the door to political and industrial well bein’ as they fought back the dark clouds of white racism and bigotry which dogged them every step of their way to total and complete freedom.
The Bible Belt came in to bein’ in the 1830’s after the second Great Awakening came marching across the South. The South had more churches per township than any other region in the nation. Whites and Blacks now began to see common ground in their religious beliefs, and many now saw the truth that God loves all his many colored children spread all over the earth or at least it was a start.
The ‘Penny Paper’ which was founded by Benjamin H. Day in 1833 gave the ‘New York Sun’ newspaper the braggin rights that they alone had the largest circulation in the world at that time; that of 31,329 penny papers per copy.
The Oberlin Collegiate Institute was the first to allow boys and girls to attend classes together in 1833 and that caused quite a ruckus for a short time. How dare they be so bold and reckless to allow those silly girls to be seated side by side with the up and comin’ leaders of the next generation!
Bernard Douglas Muldoon (Buckaroo Horace Muldoon’s Daddy) surfaced in 1835 at the age of twenty-two. Stood around six foot and weighed in at one hundred sixty pounds give or take. Had long brown hair just past his ears, with a slight growth of beard and sportin’ long sideburns. As Texans were fightin’ their way toward freedom from the Mexicans, Bernard was just gettin’ his feet wet workin’ along the western route farther north called the Oregon Trail.
The trail ran from Independence Missouri all the way to the fertile valleys of the Oregon territory, a tad over 1900 miles, takin’ about five months or so for the basic journey. Crossin’ over the Great grassy Plains and then makin' their way to the Great Rocky Mountains, then pushin' on through the Great desert basin before reachin’ their final destination.
Around 1848 or so, many ventured forth on the trail headin’ for California to seek their fortune in the new found gold rush, but few would arrive in time to share in the riches that were discovered. The gold rush was over long before most folks got the news and started packin’ up for the trek west.
The trail itself was packed with settlers, farmers, ranchers and the like all headin’ to make better lives for themselves, or so they thought. Tales of murderin’ Injun’s at every turn were just tall tales to sell to the city slickers back east who loved to hear of such ilk. Nary but a few desperate Injun’s dared attack a wagon train; most folks died from disease, mainly smallpox and some outbreaks of cholera here and there. More from fools not workin’ their guns in proper fashion, shootin’ off their own limbs and dyin’ from infection and gangrene later on down the road. With no doctors to be found and no towns nearby the women folk took up the task of fixin’ and mendin’ cuts, bruises, simple broken bones and the like.
Bernard unknowingly followed in his father’s wanderings as a scout and wagon train guide in his early youth. Yet settled down for a spell marryin’ a Scottish lass by the name of Victoria Elizabeth O’Reily; who bore him four children. She’d live a short life before followin’ the glory road which leads to the pearly gates of heaven.
A handsome woman, she had long black hair which was usually rolled up into a stylish bun. Blue eyes and cream colored skin gave her a regale look. She had a small frame, yet with very bold and imposing features for a female of five feet two inches.
Bernard's first born was a lad they named Butler Douglas Muldoon, born just after sundown on May 17, 1839. Little Butler lived to be only twelve years old and would die at the hands of his father. Bernard wasn’t a very likeable fellow when drinkin’ and when his eldest boy, who was born with a club-foot, didn't move fast enough to one of his drunkin’ commands, he threw the boy head first into a fence post without blinkin' an eye.
The resultin’ trauma through little Butler into a coma of sorts, the boy had a strong constitution and lasted twenty-two days before dyin’ from the resultin’ head trauma. Bernard told Victoria, who wasn't home durin’ the horrid event that the unconscious boy had fallen off the roof of their small barn, taking that lie to his grave. Victoria bein’ none the wiser always continued to love her remaining family and always seemed to over look Bernard’s unfavorable ways.
Born in 1842 on the 14th day of December the Muldoon’s brought forth a beautiful little girl named Catherine Gayle Muldoon. She would live only to the age of ten, yet she wouldn’t die at the hands of her father. Her shallow life would succumb to smallpox.
On July 7th of 1844, once again would the Muldoon’s produce another wonderful lass named Emily Heather Muldoon. Like her older sister, she too would die young, just a year before her older sister and just a few months from her brothers’ death. At only seven years of age the young girl passed quickly from a high fever, her parents never quite sure what disease she manifested.
So many horrendous deaths in such a short time would have driven many a mother insane, but after a short depression Victoria came to terms with her grief and sorrows and moved on with her life.
November the 22nd of 1848 brought fourth the last child Victoria would give birth too. Another boy, which she named Horace Douglas Muldoon who would one day, be known as ‘Buckaroo Muldoon.’