A fictional story by Junior Johnson

As the riverboat docked in Natchitoches, it had been three long days since Aiden and Dylan, along with their mother and traveling party, had left their home in Mississippi.

They had encountered no danger along the way, but were looking forward to the final leg of their journey to Cloutierville, where they would be safe with relatives in the CoCo Bed Community.

While Reverend Cryer and the two Deputies secured the wagon, horses, and supplies for their overland journey, Mrs. Johnson and her boys were guests of the Riverboat Captain at an elegant dinner with some of his friends.

The meal consisted of the most delicious pies they had ever eaten; however, they were not pies in the traditional sense. These delicious morsels were filled with meat and spices, and everyone agreed this was the best meal they’d ever eaten.

After saying their goodbyes to the Captain, Aiden and Dylan joined their mother and Reverend Cryer on the loaded wagon, and followed the Deputies out of town on the road to Cloutierville.

Meanwhile, Captain John Winston and his group of thugs were making plans of their own. They had decided to travel overland from Baton Rouge to Monett’s Ferry, which was near Cloutierville. Winston had served under Nathaniel Banks there in 1864 when the Union army defeated the Confederate forces in a fiercely fought battle. He still knew people in the area.

Captain Winston had correctly guessed that the Johnson family would continue their journey by water to Natchitoches, and then travel to Cloutierville by land. He would have ample time to arrive before them and set his evil plans in motion.

As Aiden and Dylan began their day long journey to Cloutierville, their young eyes beheld the destruction left behind from the Union Army as it advanced from Alexandria during the Red River Campaign.

Even though two years had passed since the end of the War of Northern Aggression, the land was still ravaged from the plunder of the Yankee soldiers. They had not seen poverty such as this before.

Mrs. Johnson tried to comfort her boys as best she could, but could still see the hurt in their eyes. They knew that their father Daniel had died not far from here three years earlier at the Battle of Mansfield.

As the Johnson’s were departing Natchitoches, Captain John Winston and his band of hoodlums were arriving at Monett’s Ferry.

He had already sent word ahead and there was a party of lowlifes anxiously awaiting his arrival. They knew that his pockets would be filled with gold and they were ready and able to do his bidding.

If murdering a widow and her two young children was what Captain John Winston wanted them to do, they were more than willing.