Since there was a pack of wild dogs in the area where we lived on GBI, I felt we needed a weapon. Guns were illegal, so I kept a set of clubs and a hunting bow and arrow set. Billie and I practiced and became fairly proficient with the bow and arrows.
We had an older local gentleman, who came over every few months and did yard work around our place cleaning up the brush or whatever else we needed. One time he brought a younger man along to him. The younger man scared Billie because he would stop working and stare at her when she went outside.
When I came home, she told me. I picked up the bow and arrow set and went outside to do some target shooting. My yard man came over, looked at the set and said that he had shot a bow and arrow when he was a little boy. He wanted to try it.
He pulled the bowstring back a little and the arrow fell a few feet in front of him. He did not expect the strong pull on the bow. The young man was also watching. I handed the set to Billie and she began pumping arrows into the bullseye about 20 yards away.
When the yard man asked what we used the bow and arrow for, I told him for protection. I told him that my wife was part Indian and since I worked at night part of the time, she kept the bow and arrow for protection when I was not home. I said that if anyone ever came prowling around our place at night, she would put arrows through them.
I asked the yard man why he brought someone else to help. He said that he was paying the younger man and just felt it would help him get everything done in one day. He was trying to save me money. I told him that I would prefer him to come by himself, even if it took more than one day. I would just pay him for the additional days he worked.
Some of the local people prowled around other contractor’s houses at night and “stole” whatever they could find out. The word spread rapidly among the locals about my wife being part Indian and her prowess with the bow and arrow set. We never had any prowlers around our place.
Later, a friend and I began keeping 50-gallon barrels of gasoline near my place. The closest service station was 30 miles. We would take three or four barrels to the station 30 miles away and fill them. Then we stored the barrels near my place.
We and others could fill our cars with gasoline without driving the 30 miles to the service station. The friend also smuggled a shotgun onto the island and took it into a local bar. He showed everyone in the bar.
He then reminded them that they knew how good my Indian wife was with the bow and arrow. He said that if anyone came around, she would have the shotgun and she was better with it. Again, we never had any prowlers.
Copyright © Jerry Blackerby 2009