Soaring Eagle

by Stephanie Grace Whitson

  Their private celebration was over, and Sarah hastened downstairs to begin preparing her first elaborate Christmas morning breakfast. Tom followed her into the kitchen. In no time he had folded newspaper into a hat into which he stuck the eagle feathers. When the Braddocks and their guests descended for breakfast, Tom was running up and down the drive, pretending to be an Indian.

  The grand entrance into the parlor after breakfast presented a breathtaking sight of the tree ablaze with candles, just as David had promised. For the next hour, gifts were given and received with appropriate Philadelphian restraint, until LisBeth opened her gift from Abigail and David Braddock. Abigail presented the gift with an apology. “I hope you won’t think us too familiar, dear, but—” Not knowing what else to say, she sat down and watched while LisBeth unwrapped the most elegant black gown she had ever seen. Everything was there—the yards of silk, the black jet buttons, the heavy beading—everything she had described to David that day in the library. Her eyes shone with pleasure and then clouded with tears as she remembered just why the dress had to be black. Still, there was no bitterness in the tears, and LisBeth realized at that moment that time was, indeed, healing the wounds of the past.

  Every gift had been opened and breakfast served when the doorbell rang. David had given his butler the day off and answered the bell himself. A very hurried delivery boy tipped his hat and charged up the street without waiting for a tip.

  David brought the package to the table. “It’s for you, LisBeth.”

  LisBeth saw the return address and excused herself, leaving everyone at the table to wonder. Retreating to the library, she sat down and carefully unwrapped it. When David opened the door to check on her, she was absentmindedly looking out the window. In her lap was a mound of calico. Turkey red calico. Just a few yards.

  Chapter 34

  Cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.

  Joshua 23:8

  On Christmas Eve day, a half-frozen farmer rode into Lincoln and climbed stiffly down from his horse in front of Freeman’s Livery. He slid back the main door of the stable and made himself at home, unsaddling his horse and rubbing him down before walking to the back of the stable and pounding on Joseph Freeman’s door. When there was no answer, Jim Callaway went in and stoked the fire in the small stove in the corner of the room. Removing his boots, he sat on a chair and stretched out his legs, wriggling his toes and waiting for his socks to dry before he pulled his boots back on and went out to break the ice in the water buckets that hung in each stall.

  As Jim got to the last water bucket, a familiar voice called from the back door, “You the new stable hand?”

  Jim turned around and grinned at Joseph. “Hey, Joseph. Merry Christmas.”

  Joseph shivered. “Saw the smoke from the stove. Thought Asa Green done got sick of his Mama raggin’ at him and come back to work. I gave him today and tomorrow off ’cause I don’t expect much business. Things are slow in town.”

  Jim picked up a pitchfork and began to muck out an empty stall. “I just came in to check on things.” He deliberately turned his back on Joseph and tried to ask nonchalantly, “Anything new in town?”

  “She ain’t wrote since she left. Haven’t heard a thing, Jim. Guess that means there’s no engagement—leastways, not yet.”

  The knot in Jim’s stomach relaxed a little, and he grinned at Joseph. “All right, I confess. I couldn’t stand it out at the homestead—alone—thinking—”

  “Trust in the Lord, Jim, trust in the Lord.”

  “I’m trying. I know the right verses to read, and I’ve been reading them too—at all hours of the night, since I’m not sleeping too well.” Jim took a deep breath and stabbed at the straw at his feet. “It’s hard to trust the Lord about some things. I can trust him fine about the crops and the animals and even about the finances for the homestead. But trusting him to bring LisBeth back to me after she’s seen all that fancy living,” Jim shook his head, “there’s not a woman alive wouldn’t want a life like that.”

  “There’s not a woman alive wouldn’t want a fine man like you to share her life with, son,” Joseph reassured him. “ ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.’”

  “I’m trying, Joseph.”

  Joseph smiled wisely. “You know, the Bible says that ‘the just shall live by faith.’ Look at it this way. The Lord is just giving you a chance to live by faith. He’s growing you up a little while he makes you wait.”

  “Then I got some powerful growing pains. I haven’t been able to eat a decent meal since the day she left. I made a grand speech about how I wanted her to go, how I wanted her to have no regrets.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I wish I’d run to that train the day they left and made a fool of myself begging her to stay here.”

  Joseph laughed. “You got it bad, boy.”

  Jim smiled. “You got that right.”

  “Well, come on back here and let’s get out the checkerboard. You can blabber on about it as much as you like—as long as you let me beat you a few times.”

  The two men retreated to Joseph’s room where they played checkers until hunger rumbled in the quiet room. Joseph brought out the fixings for a supper of cold cheese sandwiches and beans. When the church bells began ringing to announce the Christmas Eve services, Jim looked up and asked, “You goin’ to church tonight, Joseph?”

  “I thought about it.”

  Jim asked, “Mind if I come along?”

  “To my church? Why don’t you go on over to the Congregational Church with the other white folks.”

  “That mean you don’t want me in your church?”

  Joseph shook his head. “ ’Course not, Jim. It just ain’t usual, that’s all. Truth is, there ain’t never been a white man inside, unless you count Joe Heiner, the undertaker. He come in once to claim old Keefer Douglas—dropped cold stone dead one morning while he was takin’ the offering. Caused quite a stir.”

  The two men shared a hearty laugh before Jim sobered up and said, “Well, it’s like this. It just seems like I ought to be in church tonight. And if Lizzie and Mrs. Hathaway were here, I’d be right beside them over there at the Congregational Church. But I came into town to get away from being alone.”

  “Then come on, son.” Joseph slapped Jim on the back and shook his head. “Gonna be some heads turnin’ at the A.M.E. Church tonight.” Joseph chuckled. “Can’t wait to see Reverend Field’s face!”

  The service at the Congregational Church that night was just as LisBeth pictured it from Philadelphia. There were candles aglow, and evergreen boughs, and Agnes Bond’s uncertain soprano voice sounding above the choir in a sincere but decidedly off-pitch descant. However, her vision of Jim sliding into the back pew didn’t come true. Jim Callaway was at the A.M.E. Church a few blocks away, standing in a pew with Joseph Freeman. The A.M.E. choir members sang familiar carols in unfamiliar rhythms. Jim watched them, fascinated. They in turn kept an eye on the white boy who stood next to Joseph, self-consciously trying to join in the service. When Reverend Field rose to give his Christmas message, he invited the congregation to rise and join him in prayer. Jim closed his eyes and began to pray for his Lizzie. All around him sounded “Yes, Lord” and “Amen.” He heard the voices praising God and, in his loneliness, was comforted.

  Christmas, 1877, was especially significant for three people.

  Jim Callaway realized that the fellowship of believers could reach over the artificial barriers that society created and soothe a man’s soul.

  LisBeth King Baird realized that an uncut piece of turkey red cotton meant more to her than a finely tailored silk dress.

  And a wild Lakota named Soaring Eagle realized that what Carrie Brown had said was true—Jesus loved him.

  Chapter 35

  O Lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

  Isa
iah 25:1

  David Braddock kept his promise. The entire time that LisBeth and Augusta were guests at the Braddock mansion in Philadelphia, he didn’t press LisBeth about marriage. He wisely resisted the urge to put an expensive ring under the Christmas tree and waited until his guests’ trunks were packed and being loaded into a wagon to be trundled to the railroad station.

  Only when Sarah and Tom Biddle had said their good-byes and stepped onto the porch to hug Augusta did he finally catch LisBeth by the hand and lead her into the library.

  LisBeth was wearing the exquisite black gown Abigail Braddock had had made for her.

  “You look lovely, LisBeth. I’m going to miss you.”

  “Thank you, David.”

  “Will you miss me?”

  “Abigail said you’d be coming early in the spring to open the house in Lincoln.”

  “Will you miss me?”

  “I hope you’ll stay in touch. Please write.”

  “That’s not what I asked you. Will you miss me?”

  LisBeth looked down at clenched hands and whispered, “Yes. I will miss you.”

  There was relief in his voice. “I promised not to press you.”

  “Yes, you did. Please keep that promise.”

  “I just wanted to make sure that you know I haven’t said anything because of that promise, not because I’ve changed. Nothing’s changed, LisBeth. I still want the same things I mentioned before.”

  LisBeth blushed and took a deep breath as David hurried to finish. “May I kiss you good-bye?”

  LisBeth raised her eyes to David’s and wished they were gray-green. Quickly she kissed him on the cheek. “Good-bye, David,” she whispered and fled.

  Augusta and LisBeth had arranged to spend a few days in St. Louis before returning to Lincoln. David Braddock had recommended an architect there who specialized in hotel design, and LisBeth was eager to visit Carrie Brown. The two women easily made their way through the melee in Union Station and arrived at the Choteau Hotel with time and energy for a walk along the riverfront.

  Augusta had arranged for a meeting with Davisson Kennedy at his office the very next day. In spite of the cold, LisBeth hired an open carriage and admired the old cathedral and other fine buildings along the waterfront as the carriage made its way to Carrie’s new home.

  As the door to the Jennings’s modest home opened, two bright blue eyes peeked out from behind her grandmother’s skirts and smiled a welcome. At sight of LisBeth, Carrie stepped from behind her grandmother and held out her hand solemnly. “Thank you for coming, LisBeth.” Carrie turned immediately to her grandmother. “Mrs. Baird told me to call her LisBeth a long time ago, Grandmother. It’s still all right, isn’t it?”

  Lucy Jennings nodded her head. “Of course it is, Carrie.” Turning to LisBeth she added, “Thank you for taking time to see Carrie, Mrs. Baird. She’s talked of nothing else since you wrote to say you would come.”

  Carrie wasted no time in pursuing her agenda. “Well. It’s like this, LisBeth. God called my Mama to heaven, so I can’t go back to Santee now. I have to finish school first. Then I’ll go back.” Carrie reached up and removed the cross and chain from about her neck. She held it out to LisBeth. “Now I have to grow up before I go back, and I promised Mr. Soaring Eagle that I’d give this back to him in the spring. Since I can’t go back yet, I need a grown-up to take this back to him. I promised. Mama said we always have to keep our promises.”

  LisBeth fingered the cross and chain and said, “Yes, Carrie. We do have to keep our promises.”

  “Now, Mr. Soaring Eagle has Ida May. And you can tell him to keep her for me. Ida May’s a prairie doll, and she might not like it here in St. Louis. I figure if I tell Mr. Soaring Eagle to keep Ida May until I come back, then he’ll know I’m going to keep my promise and come back. But I’m just a little girl. I shouldn’t keep his gold necklace, do you think?”

  LisBeth thought for a moment. “I think that if you kept it, Soaring Eagle would understand. But if you want me to give it back to him, I will. I told Miss Charity that I would come back with more clothing for the children in the spring. As soon as the weather breaks, I’m going to do that.”

  “Are you going to see Mr. Soaring Eagle, then?”

  “Yes, I am, if he will see me.”

  “Is he really your brother?”

  “Yes, I think so.” Then LisBeth asked, “Are you certain that it’s my picture in that locket he wears?”

  “It sure is.”

  “Did he say he took it from my husband himself?”

  “Yes, ma’am. He said it like he was real sad about it.”

  LisBeth took a deep breath and looked at Lucy Jennings, who was inspecting her ceiling in a vain attempt to hide the amazement at the conversation she was hearing.

  “What is Soaring Eagle like?”

  “Well, at first he acted mean—no, that’s not right—he was just real serious and quiet, and all the grown-ups thought he was mean. But I knew he wasn’t.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Oh,” Carrie shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. I saw him look at me, and when I just walked up and said hello, his eyes smiled. He didn’t smile on the outside, but I could see that he was smiling inside. I decided he wasn’t mean. He was just lonesome. Sometimes when folks are quiet, other folks get scared. Especially when it’s an Indian. Reverend Riggs says that people will always think the Indians are savages as long as they dress like Indians. That’s why they have to cut their hair and wear uniforms at the school—so folks will pay attention to what they say and do and not always think they are savages. Well, anyway—Soaring Eagle is quiet and he still dresses like an Indian. But he’s pretty, LisBeth, like you. There’s feathers and beads—he’s got a whole row of thimbles hanging from the fringe across his shirt. And locks of hair. But he said they aren’t scalps. He said it’s hair from people he loves. Even from his favorite horses.”

  “What else has he told you about?”

  “Gosh. There’s lots of things. Can you stay for lunch?”

  LisBeth hesitated, but Lucy Jennings was not about to miss out on the unbelievable story unfolding before her. “Please, Mrs. Baird. Stay. We’d be happy to have you.”

  Carrie willingly chattered the afternoon away, telling LisBeth everything she could remember about Soaring Eagle. LisBeth drank in every detail and asked questions until even Carrie was worn out. Finally, late in the afternoon, LisBeth reached over to pat Carrie’s hand and said with emotion, “Carrie, I don’t know how I will ever thank you for the gift you have given me today. You may not understand this now, but someday you will. My mama died last year and my husband too. I thought I was all alone in the world. I knew I had a brother named Soaring Eagle somewhere, but I thought it was impossible that I would ever know him. Now, you have given me my brother.” LisBeth paused before asking, “Do you think he is at all like me?”

  Carrie thought hard. “I think he’s confused about things.” Her face brightened. “But he’ll be okay by springtime. I been praying for him, and once he knows about Jesus, I think he’ll be okay. Then he’ll be like you. As long as you know Jesus too.” Carrie looked up at LisBeth. “You do know Jesus, don’t you, LisBeth?”

  Lucy broke in. “Carrie Brown—what a question!”

  Carrie was unabashed. “Well, Grandma, if she don’t know Jesus, then she ought to go with us to hear Mr. Moody preach. You been inviting all sorts of people. Why don’t you invite LisBeth?”

  Lucy Jennings laughed and shook her head, turning to LisBeth to apologize. “Walter and I have been helping in one of the inquiry rooms at the meetings. Have you heard Mr. Moody speak, Mrs. Baird?”

  When LisBeth said no, Lucy explained briefly. “He’s a great evangelist, and he’s been here in St. Louis conducting meetings for a few weeks. The results have been wonderful. God has truly blessed. Walter and I have often regretted that we did not give ourselves to mission work in our youth. Although it surprised us, Rachel’s commitment was alway
s something we rejoiced in. Now we have had an opportunity to serve the Lord right here in our own city. If you would be at all interested, we’d be honored to have you go with us this evening.”

  LisBeth accepted. “I’d love to go. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m sure Augusta will want to go as well. She never misses an opportunity for a new experience. Is this the same Mr. Moody who conducted services in Philadelphia before the Centennial? The gentleman that even President Grant and his cabinet made time to hear?”

  “The same. He conducts a very dignified service. There have been amazing results, but he allows none of the hysteria that sometimes accompanies revival meetings. He’s a most powerful speaker, quite eloquent. And yet, the subject—which is always the gospel—quite covers up the speaker. I think you’ll find it to be one of the happiest meetings you have ever attended. There is warmth and, well, a feeling of sunlight in every meeting. The preaching begins at eight o’clock. We’ll be around for you and Mrs. Hathaway about seven o’clock—every chair in the hall is usually filled by half past seven.”

  Carrie interrupted. “You won’t forget about taking the necklace back to Mr. Soaring Eagle, will you, LisBeth?”

  LisBeth knelt down and clutched the necklace over her heart. “I won’t forget. I promise you that if Soaring Eagle will see me, the very first thing that I will do will be to give him back this necklace. And if he doesn’t want to see me, I’ll leave it with Charity Bond.”

  “He’ll want to see you.”

  “How can you be so certain?”

  Carrie looked at LisBeth as if she were a simpleton. “ ’Cause you’re his sister. You’re family. When Mother told me I would be living with Gram and Gramps, she explained it. Families ought to be together.”

  LisBeth and Augusta rode with the Jennings to Moody’s meeting and were astounded by the turnout. Augusta commented, “I haven’t seen an acre of people in one place since the Centennial!”