A True Pioneer;My GGF, Madison Payne

This is an account of my great Grand Madison Payne’s life. He encounters a freak accident that left him without memory. However, he would not disclose the how of the accident, even to his parents. That part of the story is patchwork by the author. A doctor solicits a surgeon and gets him on the way to recovery. What follows is a trip from Norfolk, Virginia to Payne Know, West Virginia. In between, many fascinating events occur, including talking to mules, involvement in the Civil War. He meets many people, some good and evil; some outstanding and some horrible. He meets his first wife and learns the trade of blacksmithing. He skirmishes with an army soldier that has kidnapped an Indian woman. Madison intervenes in a rape, and he kills the soldier. The woman becomes his third wife. A wounded bear is rescued, but the bear is responsible for the death of pack peddlers in the end. Some of the reputations of his life were a bit outlandish. One such account of a black bear as a pet is made factual, and the death of traveling salesmen.