The Mohave Gambler Story

Chapter 1

Growing up in Missouri

Robert Lang was born on a small farm near Warrensburg, Missouri in the summer of 1847.  As the oldest of three boys, he was no stranger to hard work as he tended to his younger brothers while both parents worked the soil of the family farm.  By the age of ten, Robert was working the horses to pull plows.  Life on the farm was tough and his constant companion was a filly that had been foaled when Robert was five.  He had fond memories of working with his father to help train Sissie to do chores around the farm. 

Robert was fourteen in 1861 when the War Between the States began. He continued working on the farm as the war raged around him.  He occasionally saw union troops patrolling around and through the farm.  He would occasionally encounter a few heavily armed men as they stopped for food or water.  Shots were occasionally heard in the distance and sometimes sounded as if they could have been a small battle.

Robert considered the farm to be a safe place from the war even though his father had forbade him from riding Sissie out into certain areas.  The rolling hills along the bank of a nearby river were one of the areas he was not allowed to venture into.  It was more heavily wooded than the rest of the farm and even hunting was forbidden despite the appearance of game.  No explanation was ever given and Robert stayed away.

Everything changed one afternoon late in the winter of sixty-two.  Young Robert was riding Sissie near the forbidden woods when the area began rumbling with gunfire.  He heard only a few shots at first, but soon the sound was constant.  Then there were only a few shots.  Fearing for his life, he headed Sissie into a heavily wooded wash and remained until the fighting was over.  Not knowing what had happened, he remained amongst the trees of the wash until he was sure it was safe to return to the house.

He rode cautiously at first trying to stay off the knolls of the rolling hills.  He cleared the hills and rode down onto the fields where he could see smoke rising where his house had been.  As he approached the area of the house, two riders in Yankee blue uniforms rode alongside.  One of them swung a rifle and the blow knocked him from atop Sissie and onto the hard ground.  The fall broke four of the young man’s ribs and he was left lying in the field to die.  He laid in excruciating pain as he tried to take a breath.  Breathing was difficult and the slightest movement was painful and made him pant to breathe.  It took nearly two days for him to walk and crawl the hundred yards to the remains of the house.  He could move only a few feet before having to stop and rest.  Sissie returned after the soldiers left and grazed nearby as he recovered from his injuries.

Robert's uncle James arrived a few days later to visit, but foind young Robert laying in a bed of grass under a tree near the house.  Uncle James dug graves and buried Robert's parents and brothers.  They had all been killed by the Yankee raiders while young Robert had been out riding.  His uncle took he and Sissie to his home in Kansas until Robert could get back on his feet. 

Three months passed before Robert was able to get back on his horse and ride.  James made his living as a gunsmith.  He operated his shop out in a building in the back of his house.  As Robert's ribs healed, he would wander out to the shop and watch his uncle work on guns.  The war had brought a lot of damaged guns to his uncle's shop and it was Robert's job to sort them by make, take them apart, sort the good parts, and clean everything up.  James spent his days assembling new guns from the parts in the bins. 

James taught Robert how to identify the quality of the parts, how to assemble a new gun from the parts, and how to tune the gun to work correctly.  He set aside two of each part so he could build a brace of 1851 Colt Navy revolvers.  It was also his job to cast the lead balls that were sent out with the new guns.  Robert spent many evenings stoking the fire to melt the lead he used to cast the bullets.  It was dangerous and unforgiving work that taught him to be cautious.

Robert was curious about his uncle's customers.  Instead of riding to the shop with a gun for repair, a wagon would occasionally arrive at night with a load of guns to be repaired.  Guns made from parts were loaded into the wagon and the burly men would leave. 

One evening, as he was completing his recovery and able to ride with comfort, a wagon arrived and about fifty men remained and camped near the river about a quarter mile from the house.  This time the men waited for the guns to be repaired.  Robert was introduced to one of his uncle's friends; a man named William Quantrill, who lead the men camping down by the river.