December 16th, 1854
Texas had a wide variety of frontierswomen who were either strikingly beautiful or very plain. Some of them made a reputation with the town they resided in. Like Jolene. Jolene was every man's dream gal. Other frontierswomen disliked her and was jealous because their husbands wouldn't stop talking about her. As they huddle in groups as she walks by, they'd say: "Better watch over your man. If you even turn your cheek for a second, he ain't yours anymore." They'd snicker. Jolene was one of those frontierswoman who was strikingly beautiful. She had long, curly Auburn hair with green eyes that were hard to not look at. Now, Jolene had no intention to steal any hearts around Texas. She couldn't help being so beautiful. It's the male population that can't control themselves. Lots of men try to flirt with her. Married and unmarried. Unbelievably, she's not taken. No husband. No lover, surprisingly. Just Jolene and herself.
On a cold day in Texas, Jolene was standing in her front porch as she put a shawl around her to keep warm. "What a cold day it is today." She said as she held her hands together. She went back inside her house. She started a fire in the firewood she had picked out earlier and sat down by it hovering her hands over it to keep warm. She looked out her window. Snow fell from the sky. A distant gun shot was made and she immediately got up from the ground and looked out her window. No one was there. Another gunshot was made. Frightened, she locked her door and closed the curtains over her windows and ran into her bedroom and closed the door. Not making a sound. She was afraid. Another gunshot was fired. She curled into a ball in the corner fearing for her life. She was afraid whoever made the shot would barge inside and shoot her. She covered her ears. Another shot was made except now, she heard a scream from outside. She ran to open her bedroom door and peaked from behind her window's curtain. She saw a body lying on the snow. In a puddle of blood. She backed away from the window with her hands cupped around her mouth gasping. Her eyes widened. "Oh my." She said making the sign of the cross. "Lord, what do I do?" She said grabbing her Bible. She held it close to her heart hoping God would protect her. She then heard voices outside of her house and then a loud knock on her door. She cupped her hands over her mouth trying not to make a sound. "Open up!" The voice demanded. She crawled to the corner. She huddled herself. Another knock was made but even louder. "Open this door! We know you're in there!" Next thing you know, the door was kicked down. Jolene screamed. It was an outlaw gang of about 7 men who were badly dressed and looked vicious. She got up fast and ran into her room. "Go after her!" One of the outlaws said pointing at her. "I'll take whatever I can grab here." One of them started stealing whatever they could get their hands on as one outlaw went after Jolene. Jolene, frightened, had no where else to turn. She was in a dead end and couldn't hide anywhere else. She turned around as an outlaw barged inside and grabbed her. He dragged her outside. "Got you!" Jolene screamed. "Let go of me! Please!" He cupped his hand over her mouth. "Shut it!" He said as he dragged her out. He threw her to the snowy ground. She began to cry. The gang left the house with whatever they could obtain. "What do we do with her?" "We have to ask the leader first. Hey, Butch!" The Cavendish gang had raided Jolene's house and Butch was the leader. He came out last out of the house with a bag full of stolen goods from Jolene's house. "What?" He said. "What do we do with her? Shoot her?" "Don't shoot her. We're taking her with us." "Why?" Butch looked at his gang member for a long time. "Does it matter? Just get her on the damn horse!" Butch said as he got on his horse. "Now hurry up before we get caught by the damn rangers!" The gang all got on their horses. Jolene got tied up and put onto one of the horses with a gang member. She didn't know what would happen to her. Whether she would get shot or become an outlaw. Either way, she would rather be hanged.
Through the cold snow, the gang rode for an hour. They finally got to their destination. With no fire, but a place to sleep. Frank got Jolene down from the horse and proceeded to untie her. "You got a pretty dress, ma'am." Jolene noticed that Frank admired women's clothing. Frightened, she did not reply to him. She held herself close. She was cold. The whole gang stared at her as she was shivering in the cold. She didn't say a word. Although, she wanted to know why they took her so she spoke. "I wanna go back home." She said as her teeth chattered together. Butch laughed. "Why did you take me? All you wanted was my goods." Nobody replied back as to why they took her. "I demand an answer!" She said furiously. Butch stared at her and he took out his knife and pointed it at her. "Hey! Shut it!" "That's no way to speak to a lady!" She said angered. Butch smiled sarcastically. "You ain't no lady." Butch's gang laughed. Appalled by his remark, she slapped his face. Butch, angered, grabbed her neck in one hand and with a knife in the other holding it next to her neck. "Do that again. See what will happen." He let go of her. She held onto her neck. Butch squeezed her neck too tight, it hurt her. She couldn't stop staring at his lip. She was scared to question him about it. Maybe he'd cut her neck if she asked. So she refrained from asking.