by Clay, Verna
The next afternoon, amidst many tears, Pastor Pittance was laid to rest at Clover Creek with the words, "Beloved Husband, Father, and Pastor," crudely etched into the rock that would stand guard over his grave. Mrs. Pittance, her face ragged with sorrow, was surrounded by a compassionate congregation.
Chapter 28: Heart to Heart at Shoshone Falls
A contemplative atmosphere hovered over the wagons as they departed Clover Creek and headed toward their next notable landmark. During the two days it took to reach Soda Springs, Hallie didn't see Mrs. Pittance. However, she was heartened to see members of her church often entering her wagon.
Everyone’s mood lightened when they camped at the springs. Captain Jones said it was one of the major attractions on the Oregon Trail and Hallie could certainly understand why with hot springs and erupting geysers marking the landscape. The emigrants captured the water in barrels, marveling over its wonderful taste. According to the captain more than one hundred springs dotted the area.
Hallie laughed when several of the emigrants cheerfully announced that the water was quite stimulating, producing an almost intoxicating effect if imbibed in abundance.
At their evening gathering Captain Jones announced, "Although I don't encourage it, I have an obligation to let ya'll know that a few miles away is the Hudspeth's Cutoff that heads toward California. If anyone has a mind to go in that direction, I'll draw a map and tell ya everything I know about it, but like I said, I don't encourage anyone to leave the group; leastwise not by themselves. So, is anyone thinkin' 'bout turnin' toward Cali?"
There was a murmuring among the gathering, but no one voiced any intent to leave the train.
Captain Jones smiled. "Good. Now movin' on to other matters, in a few days we'll reach Fort Hall and replenish supplies as best we can. Unless the fort has changed, it's not very well stocked. However, this would be a good time to make sure your wagons are in top condition. We've traveled a long ways and they've takin' a beating. Your wagon breakin' down on the trail, when it's something you could have averted with common sense, not only hinders you, but everyone else."
A couple of days later, with the whitewashed walls of Fort Hall seen glistening in the distance, everyone picked up the pace, anxious to meet other folks from other trains and compare experiences. Many of the emigrants kept diaries, including Hallie, who had jotted her experiences to be relived throughout the years.
A voice behind her startled her. "Mrs. Wells, may I speak with you?" It was Mrs. Pittance.
Hallie turned and said, "Of course."
She glanced at Tim, who said without her prompting, "Can I go walk with the Livermans' boys?"
"Yes. But don't stay more than an hour."
"Okay, Ma."
Cooper turned at the sound of Mrs. Pittance's voice, but merely nodded a greeting and turned back around.
Mrs. Pittance kept pace with Hallie for several minutes before speaking, a tremor in her voice, "My husband's death was a complete surprise and it…it made me rethink my life and purpose."
Hallie glanced sideways at the contrite woman and marveled at the change in her attitude. She probably hadn't reached the age of fifty, and whereas she had appeared much older when Hallie first met her, she now appeared much younger. The disapproving scowl was gone and with her face relaxed and her hair combed less severely, she was almost pretty. In fact, Hallie would bet her bottom dollar that the woman had once been a beauty. Rather than reply, she waited for Mrs. Pittance to continue.
"I know that I can never repay you for the kindness you have shown me, but I want to tell you how sorry I am for treating you the way I did. Y-you heard my confession of sin, but if the truth be told, I will never regret the birth of my girls. Pastor Pittance and I were childless, and after the girls came, he forgave me and loved them like his own." She inhaled a ragged breath. "We actually became a happy family, but when the girls died within days of each other, I believed it was punishment for my act of weakness with a drifter just passing through our community." She hesitated and finished with, "And a sweet-talker. I never saw him again and he never knew about his daughters."
Several minutes passed before Mrs. Pittance continued. "Anyway, you heard what the pastor said about me trying to make everyone sinless. I figured it was my calling…but I was wrong. Seeing your kindness to others has shown me that." A little sob escaped. "It took my dear husband's death to make me see the truth."
Hallie reached to hold Mrs. Pittance's hand and asked, "May I call you Prudence?"
The sad woman nodded through tears.
"And you must call me Hallie."
"Thank you, Hallie."
Thus began a newfound friendship.
* * *
Captain Jones pressed the emigrants to continue forward at a more rapid pace and finally Fort Hall was reached. The tired group did little more than prepare supper and care for their animals before falling exhausted into bed.
The next morning Cooper escorted Hallie and Tim to the reality of Fort Hall, a rather pitiful encampment with scanty supplies. The only bright spot was that emigrants from two other trains were also there. Soon folks were mingling and sharing stories.
Cooper lazed against the outside wall of the blacksmith's, watching the goings-on around him while having work done on some wagon parts. Across the road, Hallie was engaged in animated conversation with a young woman holding a baby, and when the woman handed the baby to Hallie, Cooper inhaled sharply at the expression on her face. She definitely needed more children, and when an unguarded thought escaped that he should be the father of those children, he literally shook his head to dislodge the idea.
With his gaze still on Hallie, he watched her lift the baby to kiss its cheek and her eyes met his. Quickly, she looked away, but not before he saw her longing. His heart also burned with desire and he knew the attraction between them was not going to disappear. The sooner they arrived in Oregon and he got her settled, the sooner he could leave. An Oregonian farmer would probably have her married and bedded before another year passed. The thought of another man bedding Hallie and being the recipient of her kisses and caresses made him groan. It seemed no matter the direction of his thoughts, they always returned to her.
* * *
Whereas the train had followed Bear River up to Soda Springs, after leaving Fort Hall they followed the Snake River. Captain Jones said they would soon reach a landmark called Gate of Death, a narrow passage through massive rocks. He alerted the pioneers to the fact that there were occasional skirmishes with Indians in the area and that a deadly one had erupted in 1862. Although an encounter was unlikely, he advised everyone to stay alert and keep their guns handy. A tense atmosphere hovered until they had traveled well beyond the area.
They reached the next trading post, Rock Creek Stage Station, ten days after leaving Fort Hall. Being an intersection for a stage route and another trail, the Kelton Road from Utah, the post proved to be well stocked. After their exhausting journey across the parched Snake River Plain, the abundant water and grass at the station brightened everyone's spirits.
Captain Jones announced that they'd be staying at this stop longer than he'd first intended so man and beast could recoup before beginning the next leg of their journey. On the third day, much conversation buzzed about a marvelous site residents of the fort described as the Niagara Falls of the West—Shoshone Falls. When a group decided to trek the few miles to the falls, Hallie wanted to join them, and when Cooper said, "Come on, get Tim, and let's go," she didn't hesitate. That is, until she realized their only horse was Sweet Pea."
Cooper seemed to read her mind. "You and Tim will ride Sweet Pea while I guide her."
"Then we must take turns so you don't have to walk the entire way."
Cooper only smiled and Hallie knew he would be a gentleman and not allow her to walk. Not surprising, the five miles to the falls seemed minuscule compared to what they had accomplished over the past weeks.
Long before they reached the falls, a roar of such magnitud
e arose that the emigrants nervously eyed each other.
Hallie's first sight of the cascading water literally took her breath away and Tim, seated behind her on Sweet Pea, said, "Oh, Ma, I never thought to see the likes of anything so grand in my life."
From a safe vantage point, the twenty emigrants who had banded together to travel to the falls, dismounted their horses, laid out blankets, and unpacked lunches. Tim joined up with the Liverman boys playing tag and climbing trees.
Hallie sat alone on her blanket and unpacked hardtack and fried chicken and surprised Cooper with some dried fruit. He accepted the plate she handed him and returned to the tree he had been leaning against. She nibbled a piece of apricot because her stomach was flip-flopping at being alone with Cooper. From beneath her lashes, she saw him watching her. The expression he wore was so sad it made her frown. After a moment's hesitation, she summoned her courage and said, "You had another nightmare last night, didn't you?"
"I'm sorry I woke you."
She fingered a fold on the blanket. "I was about to wake you, but you got up and walked out of camp."
Cooper didn't respond, but kept looking at her.
Summoning more courage she said, "I want to relate something Tim said shortly after we left the Shawnee Mission."
"Okay."
Hallie's heart pounded so hard she wondered if Cooper could see the pulse in her neck. "He told me that when he talks to me about his father's death, he feels better." She inhaled slowly to calm herself. "He said that he sees sadness in your eyes and he thinks that if you talked about whatever it is that's bothering you, maybe you would feel better, too."
Unable to meet Cooper's gaze, Hallie studied the fold in the blanket. Finally, the suspense was so unbearable she lifted her eyes to his. He watched her with an intensity that took her breath away. Her heart pounded at her boldness.
Cooper shifted his gaze to the sky, the same color as his eyes, and then back to her. "I have a fifteen-year-old son whom I haven't seen since he was three."
Hallie waited and prayed that he would continue.
"I told you once that I was married and divorced. Well, the child was born from that marriage. My wife was a good woman, but she longed for what I couldn't give her—family life. During our marriage, I was absent more than I was present. I had the run in me." He shifted his stance to pull out a smoke and Hallie continued to play with the fold in the blanket while he rolled it.
He struck his match on his boot and lit his cigarette. "I found my wife in bed with the local banker and almost killed them both."
It took all of Hallie's willpower not to gasp, although her eyes widened.
"At the last minute, I realized what a sorry-ass excuse for a man I was and gave her what she'd wanted for over a year—a divorce."
Hallie attempted to speak, but her voice cracked. She tried again. "Twelve years is a long time. Maybe your boy wants to see you as much as you want to see him."
"And maybe he doesn't. Maybe he never wants to see me."
"But you'll never know if you don't try."
Cooper blew smoke into the air. "I don't have the courage to see him or my ex-wife."
"I don't believe that."
A slight smile creased Cooper's face. "You know I want to bed you, don't you?"
Hallie's eyes rounded at the change in their conversation.
Cooper took a draw on his cigarette and then released the smoke. "There's an attraction between us that we both keep denying."
Rather than acknowledge the truth of what he'd said, Hallie slid her gaze from his.
"Hallie, I'm not the marrying kind. If I was, I'd make you my wife in a heartbeat."
She swallowed against the lump in her throat.
Cooper said tenderly, "Like I promised, I won't act on my desires. You're an honorable woman and you deserve an honorable husband. In fact, if I was a betting man, and I once was, I'd bet you're married to a fine gentleman within a year or two."
Cooper tossed his cigarette and stepped on it. Gazing back at her, he said, "I'm just not that man."
Chapter 29: Showdown at Fort Boise
Hallie walked beside Mrs. Pittance as they traveled toward Thousand Springs, a place Captain Jones assured the emigrants they would never forget. They caught up with the Snake River again and followed the winding trail as it turned north, west, and then north again.
Hallie had discovered a wonderful friend in Mrs. Pittance and wished it hadn't taken the death of Pastor Pittance to breathe new life into the woman. She sighed, resigning herself to the fact that life was sometimes discovered in death.
Mrs. Pittance said, "Hallie, are you feeling all right? You haven't seemed yourself for several days."
Hallie wanted to confide in Prudence, but confessing her feelings for Cooper would only entrench her heartbreak more deeply.
"I'm fine. I think I'm just succumbing to the walking blues." She chuckled. "We've only been walking for three months."
Prudence patted her hand. "Dear, maybe you should stop fighting your feelings for Cooper."
Hallie fingered a tear. "I try and I try, but what Clarissa told me once is so true—the heart does what the heart wants. Besides, he's made it clear that as soon as he has me and Tim settled in Oregon, he's returning to Missouri." Hallie's voice caught on a little sob, "And I'll never see him again."
Prudence placed her arm around Hallie's shoulder. "Honey, as sure as I am that the Good Lord hears our prayers, I know that Cooper has feelings for you."
Hallie glanced a few wagons ahead at Cooper leading the oxen and felt such love her heart wanted to burst. No longer did she silently apologize to her dead husband for loving another man. The love she felt for Cooper could never be wrong.
After a few more descending zigzags in the trail, Thousand Springs came into view. The phenomenal vista of water gushing from black rocks seemed surreal. For a moment, Hallie forgot her heartache as she absorbed the scene. It was as if everything good and beautiful and honorable existed in those fleeting seconds, and when Cooper turned around and met her gaze, even at a distance, that goodness, beauty, and honorableness became a living thing between them.
After he turned back around, Prudence leaned in and whispered, "He loves you, Hallie."
The rest of the day was spent traveling through what Captain Jones said was the Hagerman Valley, a place of pristine beauty.
The next day, Captain Jones led them to an area called Three Island Ford and called his leaders together. After an hour's meeting, the men returned to their designated sections of the train and explained what Captain Jones had decided would be best.
To the group gathered around him, Cooper said, "We're going to ford the river here because the water is low and we’ll save time. If the water were high, we'd be forced to continue along the trail to another crossing upstream, but Captain Jones says it's more difficult there. After we leave the river we'll cross some more plains, and then we'll enter the beautiful Boise River Valley where Fort Boise is located." He winked. "And we're going to see trees again."
Although the emigrants appeared apprehensive about the river crossing, his last statement brought smiles to everyone.
Clarissa said, "What I wouldn't give to lay under the shade of a tree."
One of the Liverman boys called out, "And I want to climb one."
After a few more comments that lightened the atmosphere, Cooper gave instructions for preparing for the crossing. Whereas most of their crossings had been by ferry or bridge, or easily accomplished on small streams, this one would be their most daunting.
Before the group disbanded to attend to their wagons, Cooper said, "Now ya'll know after traveling with me that I'm a cautious man. I'm hopin' my words will comfort you. The water's not so deep that we have to lash the wagons together or swim the animals across. The river's wide, I'll grant you that, but we'll make it over just fine."
Cooper's smile and words of encouragement were just what the pioneers needed and spirits lifted.
As the fir
st wagons began crossing with Captain Jones in the lead, the water reached high on the wheels and even floated some wagon beds. But the pioneers, having traveled so far, faced the task of fording the river with courage and determination.
Under the sharp tongue of Mrs. Pittance, Stubby's cart was lashed to her own wagon to ensure its safe crossing. Walking alongside Mrs. Pittance's oxen, and up to his chest in water, Stubby appeared more fearful of the preacher woman than he did of the deepening river as she sang high praises to the Lord from her perch.
Standing on the bank, Hallie laughed at the sight. Prudence seemed determined to make Stubby a believer.
Before the day was over, all the wagons had crossed the Snake River and a shout arose among the pioneers.
At Bonneville Point three days later, an even greater shout arose than the one after crossing the river, for a verdant valley lay before them with trees!
Two days after that they camped beside the Boise River and Captain Jones boomed at their meeting, "Folks, we're over fourteen hundred miles from Westport! That's almost three quarters of the way to Oregon!
* * *
Cooper kicked back with Captain Jones and Emmett at a saloon in Fort Boise and listened to an old-timer share the fort's history with anyone who would listen. Seems this was the latter of two forts with the same name. The first one, fifty miles northwest, had been pioneered in the 1830s by the Hudson's Bay Company and abandoned in the 1850s. This newest fort built by the Union Army during the War of the States boasted a sawmill, lime kiln, and sandstone quarry. The fort’s location was outstanding for water, grass, wood, and stone. In fact, it was a popular place for travel weary emigrants to stay and make their homes there.
Captain Jones confirmed this. "This is a right nice place and some of the families in our train have let me know they'll not be movin' on."
Cooper was curious. "Which families might that be?"
"The Ludlows, for one, and the McAllisters, for another. I kinda got my suspicion that a few more might join them."