Week 3 Story: The Wild, Wild...East?

On July 18, 1849 a man by the name of William McCoy was elected the first mayor of Independence, Missouri. At the time, Independence was beginning to boom - it was the gateway to the West and had a rapidly growing population that had finally surpassed 1,000 citizens and economy. As a man looking to set up a family in the West, William prayed for a son to carry on the family. William's prayer was answered - William eventually had a total of four sons, though each was with a different wife. With his wife Katherine, he had a son named Remi. 

Remi was quite the extraordinary young man. He learned exceptionally well from any book he could find, and he was as good of a shot with a rifle as anyone in Independence had ever seen. Remi would regularly venture out into the wilderness to bring home a deer or squirrels for his family to eat. As soon as he entered manhood, Remi was given the office of Independence Sherriff. 

One day, a man named Victor that owned a trading post in the town of Council Bluffs, Iowa, went to Remi's sherriff quarters to report that his trading post has been vandalized frequently by outlaws. Remi volunteered to help stop the outlaws and went with Victor to Council Bluffs. However, Remi wanted to bring along his brother, Larry. Victor was eternally grateful for the young men to help, and he paid them with guns that seemed straight out of the heavens; the guns were powerful and shot straighter than Remi or Larry had imagined guns could shoot. Sure enough, Remi and Larry made short work of the outlaws, capturing or winning gunfights against each outlaw. After dealing with the outlaws, curiosity caught up with Remi and Larry and they wanted to experience more of Council Bluffs.

The young men decided to talk a walk through Council Bluffs to see what they could find. While touring the young city, the men happened upon the mayor's house. The house was the biggest that either brother had ever seen, and was decorated perfectly. The yard was filled with flowers of all types - from the soft pink wild rose to the vibrant yellow goldenrod. While walking around the mayor's yard taking in the beautiful botany, the mayor's daughters happened to walk outside. Remi caught a glimpse of the mayor's daughter named Sally and instantly fell in love. Sally was beautiful, and she took a quick liking to Remi as well. Remi approached Sally and confessed his feelings, and Sally let him know that the feeling was mutual. After a month of meeting up daily, Remi asked for Sally's hand in marriage. Sally was happy, but the mayor was not yet convinced that Remi was the right man. To convince the mayor, Remi would have to capture a bison. However, the mayor greatly underestimated Remi's strength, courage, and intelligence and when Remi returned with a buffalo, the mayor happily let Remi have Sally's hand in marriage.

Remi and Larry with the celestial weapons given to them by
Vishvamitra. Image from Pinterest

Author's Note:

This story was derived from the Part A readings from the Public Domain Edition Ramayana. These readings start by telling the story of how Rama ventured into the jungles with his brother, Lakshmana, to help Vishvamitra rid of the rakshasas terrorizing his hermitage. Vishvamitra gifted the young men with celestial weapons, and Rama and Lakshmana slew all of the rakshasas. While helping Vishvamitra with the rakshasas, the young men ventured into the town and went to the king's palace to pick flowers. The king was named Janaka, and he was the father of Sita. While there, Rama met Sita and they instantly fell in love. The king told Rama that he could only have Sita's hand in marriage if he could string Shiva's bow. Sure enough, Rama attempts to string the bow and does so well that he actually breaks Shiva's bow. The king is then convinced to let Rama have Sita's hand in marriage.

Bibliography: 

Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie