Westward Hearts

by Melody Carlson

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Some of the emigrants were clearly disappointed in Fort Kearney. “Why, it’s not even a real fort,” Lavinia declared as several of the women entered the small village of adobe and wood buildings together. “There’s not even a wall around it.” Now she pointed at an earthen dwelling. “And I do believe that house is made of dirt.”

  “It’s called a soddy,” Clara informed her. “Not uncommon in some parts of the frontier.”

  “I’ve heard they’re actually quite warm in the winter,” Elizabeth added.

  “That’s fine if you’re a groundhog,” Lavinia shot back. “But I should not care to live in a dirt house. Can you imagine the mud when it rained?”

  “Please, let’s not speak of mud,” Clara told her. “I’m still sad that my favorite white petticoat is now a dirty shade of gray.” They’d finally been able to do some laundry yesterday, but the results had been disappointing. That previous week of mud had taken its toll on a lot of their clothing.

  “And washing our clothes in the river…” Lavinia shook her head in a dismal way. “How would you expect anything to ever be clean again?”

  “Let’s just hope they get dry before it’s time to leave in the morning,” Elizabeth suggested as they made their way down the busy road. Emigrants from other wagon trains, Indians, soldiers, and all sorts of people were coming and going. Fort Kearney might have disappointed Lavinia, but it was clearly a bustling place, especially considering that it was in the middle of nowhere.

  “I like Fort Kearney,” Ruth said happily to Elizabeth. “It’s exciting!”

  There was no denying that there was festivity in the air in this place. With vendors here and there, colorfully dressed Indians, and a group of musicians playing on a corner, it was quite a change from their previous days of traveling over the barren prairie. And for those emigrants who’d already run short on supplies or needed to replace items, there were a number of stocked establishments ready and willing to help out—for a price, of course. Elizabeth and Clara were both relieved that their wagons were still in good, sturdy shape and relatively well stocked for the remainder of the journey. Not only that, but their men had experienced some successes with hunting and fishing, so they had enjoyed some variation in their menu.

  However, Elizabeth knew that was not the situation with all of the emigrants. And although her family tried to share and help others, she knew that everyone had to stand on their own feet. Asa had taken the role of strongly encouraging some of their fellow travelers to stock themselves more adequately at the forts they’d be stopping at along the way. The problem was that a few of the families wouldn’t be able to afford it.

  “Can we look at the Indian things?” Ruth pointed hopefully over to where some blankets and skins were laid out with items to purchase arranged on them.

  “I don’t see why not,” Elizabeth told her.

  “Not for us,” Lavinia said to her girls. “We need to get supplies. Now, you all have your lists. Let’s hurry and see what we can find.”

  “I want to do some looking in the mercantile too,” Clara told Elizabeth. “I misplaced a large spool of black darning wool. I hope it’s not back there on the mud somewhere. But I do hope to find some more. Asa’s socks need mending.”

  So it was only Ruth and Elizabeth who wandered over to where the Indians had arranged what looked like a small outdoor market alongside the edge of the settlement. Ruth smiled and politely said hello to the native vendors, and to Elizabeth’s pleased surprise, some of the Indian women smiled and said hello back to her.

  “Look, Mama,” Ruth pointed at some buckskin moccasins. “These are like Eli’s, only smaller.”

  One of the older women got up and came over, showing Ruth and Elizabeth the pairs of moccasins that she thought would fit them. Of course, Elizabeth had no intention of buying Indian moccasins, but the woman continued to jabber at her in a foreign tongue, showing how well the footwear were made and the intricate beading and how they would fit. She was so intent and persistent that Elizabeth began to feel sorry for her. Perhaps this poor old woman really needed some money.

  “How much?” Elizabeth finally asked. When the woman named her price, Elizabeth shook her head. “Too much.” But then the woman lowered the price, and Elizabeth suddenly felt caught. It actually seemed a fair price for a pair of moccasins—if a person wanted to purchase a pair of moccasins. And she did not. However, she felt a bit guilty because she’d been the one to inquire about price. Yet at the same time, she felt such a purchase was wasteful, especially considering that some of her fellow travelers were feeling so strapped for cash and supplies.

  “Please, Mama?”

  Elizabeth turned the child-sized pair over, examining them carefully. They did appear to be sturdy and about Ruth’s size. Even if they were only used as house slippers once they got settled in Oregon, they were probably well worth the money. Besides, Ruth seemed to love them so, and the young girl had been so helpful and uncomplaining these past several weeks. Didn’t she deserve them?

  “They’re so pretty,” Ruth said quietly.

  “Yes.” Elizabeth nodded to the old woman as she reached into the small coin bag tied to her wrist. She removed the right amount and counted the coins into the woman’s dirty palm.

  But to her surprise, the woman now handed her both pairs of moccasins—the child’s and the woman’s sizes. Elizabeth was confused. “Two pairs?” she questioned, holding up two fingers then pointed toward the coins in the woman’s hand. “For this?”

  The woman nodded eagerly, pushing both pairs toward Elizabeth.

  “But did I pay for two pairs?” Elizabeth patted her small purse with uncertainty, wondering if she now owed the woman more money and feeling as if she’d been hoodwinked. But the woman simply shook her head and held up her hands as if to show that Elizabeth had already paid enough. Then she giggled and stepped away.

  “That seems too little for two pairs,” Elizabeth said quietly to Ruth. But her daughter was oblivious as she happily admired her new moccasins, running her finger over the delicate beadwork of white flowers and green stems. “What do you think, Ruthie?”

  “I don’t know, Mama.” She shrugged, holding the moccasins close to her chest. “But thank you!”

  Elizabeth reached into her little handbag again, insisting the old woman take another nickel and dime. The woman didn’t refuse, but she seemed slightly embarrassed by this gesture. Then she simply smiled, revealing some broken teeth, and nodding happily, she hurried over to where her friends were sitting on a blanket. They’d been chattering among themselves while witnessing the awkward transaction, and now they all laughed as if it were a good joke.

  Elizabeth wasn’t even sure what had transpired. Perhaps she really had been tricked. Yet the moccasins seemed well made, and Ruth was delighted. As they walked away, Elizabeth admired the red beaded roses on her own new pair of footwear. “They truly are pretty,” she told Ruth as they headed back toward the busy settlement. “That was a good idea you had.”

  The settlement seemed to be getting busier, and Elizabeth held tightly to Ruth’s hand as they pressed through the crowded street, making their way to an adobe building that housed the post office as well as a bank. As they walked, she occasionally spied people from their wagon train and waved. Mostly they seemed to be strangers, and she hoped that her father and brother were keeping close tabs on JT. Brady had declined the invitation to join them here, claiming that he preferred the quiet of the camp and tending to the livestock. However, she wondered if he was worried that he might run into strangers who would question his freedom. She hoped it would become simpler when they reached the Oregon Territory.

  Just outside the post office, they found Clara with a full market basket and a flushed face.

  “Let me help you,” Elizabeth offered as Clara showed off some of her finds, including black darning yarn, a dozen eggs, a ham bone, and a bundle of fresh spring asparagus.

  “The asparagus was a s
plurge,” she admitted to Elizabeth. “But I think it’ll be worth it. Imagine, fresh vegetables out here in the middle of nowhere!”

  “Someone must have a nice garden in these parts,” Elizabeth commented as she eyed the good-sized green stems.

  “A wife of one of the officers,” Clara explained. Now she lowered her voice and whispered in Elizabeth’s ear. “Speaking of officers’ wives, I have a bit of interesting news for you…later.”

  “You two wait here while I go and inquire about the mail,” Elizabeth told her. She navigated her way through the crowd, waiting in line to finally ask the clerk if there was possibly a letter for her.

  “Sorry, ma’am,” he said after looking through the boxes behind him. “I don’t see anything with your name.”

  She thanked him, hoping that perhaps a letter would be waiting at their next stop. However, that wouldn’t be until Fort Laramie in Wyoming Country. It seemed quite plausible that Malinda would have had sufficient time to have received Elizabeth’s posts and replied by now. Certainly she’d have sensed the urgency in Elizabeth’s correspondence, written more than four months ago. And surely Malinda would have appreciated the need to hear some sort of response—even a short note saying all was well. Elizabeth didn’t want to worry or grow anxious about what they would discover once they reached their final destination in the far West. But until she heard from Malinda and John, there was that uneasiness that came with not knowing. She hoped nothing had gone wrong with the relatives in Oregon. Not that it would change anything. For better or for worse, they were on their way. No turning back now.

  While still in the crowded post office area, Elizabeth removed her carefully folded stationery from her handbag. She’d tucked it there in the hopes of needing to answer a letter from Malinda. Despite the lack of a letter, she wrote a quick note with a pencil, explaining where they were on their journey and how they were all well and how they hoped to reunite with their relatives in September. Hastily addressing and sealing this, she returned to the counter to purchase the necessary postage, and while standing in line, she silently prayed that her letter would reach Malinda and John quickly.

  “Did you get a letter?” Clara asked when Elizabeth returned.

  She shook her head. “But I sent Malinda a note.”

  “No doubt we will hear from her soon,” Clara said. “And now I think we should head back to camp. “It’s time to get supper started.”

  “Are all these people from our wagon train?” Ruth asked as they pressed through the busy settlement.

  “Many emigrants pass through this fort,” Elizabeth explained.

  “That’s right,” Clara told her. “Your grandpa said that some days there are as many as a thousand travelers stopping here in Fort Kearney.”

  “There’s Tillie!” Ruth pointed to a group walking ahead of them, and she called out to her friend. Flo Flanders and her children stopped and waited, and soon Ruth and Tillie were walking hand in hand while Ruth told her all about the moccasins.

  “Did you hear the news?” Flo asked them.

  “About Evangeline?” Clara said quietly.

  “Yes.” Flo nodded eagerly. “I heard she…” Flo glanced around to see her teenage daughters listening attentively.

  Clara cleared her throat. “I heard that Evangeline has decided to, well, she plans to marry a soldier. An army officer. Anyway, that’s what Ruby told me.”

  “She’s going to marry an officer?” Elizabeth couldn’t believe her ears. “How did this happen so quickly?”

  Mahala giggled. “It hasn’t happened. Not yet. She just thinks it’s going to happen. You should have seen her all gussied up and—”

  “Hush now.” Flo glanced at Ruth and Tillie, just out of earshot ahead of them and then at her middle daughter, Hannah, who was only thirteen but all ears.

  “Anyway, it seems that Evangeline has decided not to continue with the wagon train,” Clara filled in.

  Elizabeth was stunned. “Just like that?”

  “I heard that she told Ruby to set her trunk out beside the wagon when we leave in the morning,” Mahala confided, “and that she’ll get her man friend to help her pick it up.”

  “For the wedding,” Flo said a bit loudly.

  Elizabeth studied her friend’s face. “So there will really be a wedding?”

  “Oh, Ma!” Mahala laughed. “We all know that there’s not going to be any—”

  “I think it’s a fine idea for Evangeline to marry an officer in the army,” Clara declared. “It will be a new beginning for her. Imagine her in a brand-new life out here on the frontier. Perhaps she’ll raise asparagus and chickens.” Clara pointed to the market basket hooked over Elizabeth’s arm and began telling everyone about her good finds in the marketplace. And soon the conversation shifted from Evangeline’s strange decision to depart from the wagon train, to food and supplies and what everyone was fixing for supper.

  As they walked back to their nearby camp, Elizabeth felt a small wave of relief. Of all the members of the Morris party, Evangeline had been the one of most concern. Not just because she was the prettiest of the bunch—well, not counting Jessica—but also because Evangeline had continued to experience bouts of “sickness” that Asa had decided might simply be the result of “too much moonshine.” Plus, according to some, including grumpy Gertie, Evangeline was reputed to being “overly friendly” with the menfolk. Perhaps they would all be much better off if Evangeline did remain in Fort Kearney to “marry” an officer. One could only hope…and pray. And that’s what Elizabeth decided she would do.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  It only took a couple of days for tongues to stop wagging about Evangeline’s absence, and unless it was Elizabeth’s imagination, it seemed to have quieted Gertie down as well. And now the train seemed to fall into a somewhat predictable routine, soundly moving forward at a good pace of fifteen to twenty miles a day. Everyone, including the livestock, seemed to understand their roles now. Occasional breakdowns kept Bert Flanders busy and provided food for his family because he usually traded his blacksmithing for supplies. But aside from these, everything seemed to be working fairly smoothly and efficiently. Even the weather was congenial.

  “We’ve enjoyed some good days of travel this week,” Asa said on their fourth morning out of Fort Kearney. They had just finished breakfast and were loaded and ready to go. “But today will come with its own challenges. Let’s bow our heads and ask God to bless and protect us as we cross the river.”

  Elizabeth squeezed both of her children’s hands as her father said amen. She was somewhat reassured knowing that both JT and Ruth were able to swim. Worried that they could fall in the creek behind their farm, James had insisted on teaching them when they were still small. But even a good swimmer could drown in such a cold, fast-moving river. Elizabeth wanted to take no chances today.

  They’d camped along the fork of the North and South Platte Rivers the night before, and everyone knew they would spend most of the day crossing the south river today. It wouldn’t be their first time to cross water, but it was expected to be the most perilous crossing so far. And a lot of the emigrants, including poor Lavinia, were understandably worried. Unfortunately, since unit five was the last unit in the train once again, Lavinia had most of the day to work her fretting into something of a frenzy. By the afternoon, when they were finally taking their place to cross over, Lavinia was quite worked up.

  “At least we’re fortunate enough to afford the ferry to get our wagons across,” Elizabeth reminded her as they stood on the east side of the river, watching anxiously as other wagons from their unit were getting prepared to be rope-towed across the water. Everything had to be secured inside the wagons and then, one by one, they would be pulled by a rope across the water—and with any luck, they would stay afloat. Elizabeth wouldn’t admit it, but it all looked rather frightening.

  By now, all of the livestock and most of the teams had already been herded across the river and were waiting on the other side. Th
at alone had been a disturbing scene to witness. Elizabeth had almost been afraid to breathe as she’d watched her beloved horses, Beau and Bella and Molly, bravely swimming against the current with the other animals. She and Ruth had cheered and danced when they saw the horses safely emerge on the other side, where JT and a couple of the older boys were waiting to attend to them.

  Now they simply had to wait for their turn on the ferry. But the waiting felt nearly as nerve-racking as she imagined the actual crossing would be. She wondered how many rivers they would cross like this before they reached their final destination. And what if the rivers were wider and wilder than this one? That’s when she remembered what Asa had reminded them of the previous night. “Our Lord told us not to be anxious or worried about what tomorrow may bring,” he’d told them. “Each day has enough troubles for itself, so why go borrowing troubles from a day that’s not even here yet?”

  But today was here now, and Elizabeth could tell that many of the travelers were worried and anxious. Particularly Lavinia.

  “What if their wagons leak?” Lavinia said nervously.

  With a concerned expression, Ruth pointed to where the first wagon from their unit was being towed to the edge of the rapidly running water. “What if it does leak, Mama? What if their wagon sinks? Do you think Paddy and Fiona know how to swim?”

  “You know that everyone was supposed to waterproof their wagons,” Elizabeth calmly told her. “Just like your uncle did to our wagon. Surely they will float just fine.”

  “I hope everyone did as good a job as Matthew did,” Clara said uneasily.