In The Desert of Northern Arizona

by Helen Rose Davis Hawkins Endnote


Red Endnote told me the story this way:

 


    “The novel Grapes of Wrath described how life was for us on the desert of Northern Arizona. The family made money by rounding up wild horses for the dog food factories. Johnny Endnote shot the heifer. When Blackie Endnote saw the sheriff posse coming over the top of the hill, he turned to Johnny and said ‘Give me the gun’.”


 

 

Before Johnny had time to think, he handed the gun to Blackie. There was no thought in either Blackie nor Johnny’s mind about the consequences of this action. Blackie figured that he would be fined and that there may be a few problems with the law but nothing that he could not easily handle. His little sister was going to have a baby and he did not want her husband having troubles with the law.

 

 

 

Neither man knew that in the area there was a well organized gang of rustlers. The sheriff believed that Blackie was part of that gang. Hoping to get information that would lead to the arrest of the rustlers, he prosecuted Blackie to the full extent of the law.

 

 Blackie was sentenced to seven years in Florence Prison for cattle rustling.

 

 

Taking Red and Guy Endnote with them, Johnny and Alice went back to the dust bowl of Oklahoma.

 

 

Rowena Endnote went to Phoenix to continue working for the release of her son.

 

 

Blackie spent eighteen months in prison. He said that the worst two weeks of his life were the two weeks he spent behind the prison walls. It didn’t take long for the prison officials to recognize Blackie’s skills as a cowboy. He was released from the prison walls to work as a prison trustee. Working with prison guards and other trustees, his job was to ride the range in order to round-up unmarked cattle and calves and brand them with the prison brand.