True Grit page 1

 True Grit page 1 by ric gustafson

At the age of 14, Papa was shot down in Fort Smith Arkansas. The man who killed Papa took his horse, $150 dollars in cash and two California gold pieces.

My family had 480 acres of good bottom land on the south bank of the Arkansas River. This was in Yell County Arkansas. The man who killed Papa was a tenant named Tom Chaney. This Chaney showed up one day. Papa took pity on him. He gave him a job and a place to live. This Chaney was a short man with cruel features. 

In November, Papa decided to go to Fort Smith and buy some ponies. In Fort Smith, a stock trader named Colonel Stonehill had bought some cow ponies from Texas. Stonehill did not want to feed them over the winter. Papa was going to go to Fort Smith alone. Tom Chaney convinced Papa to let him go with him.

research help: ' True Grit' by Charles Portis

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric