Storiesonline.net ------- Wagons Ho! by Lazlong Copyright© 2005 by Lazlong ------- Description: This is the story of a young man and his family as they move west along the Oregon Trail. It is also the story of young love and young lovers. Codes: mf ff Mult slow rom teen cons bi het group exhib voy ------- ------- Preface I haven't been able to write much lately due to health problems. I have a couple of stories that are awaiting new chapters and as soon as I'm able to sit at the computer for an extended period, I'll get back to them. In the mean time, this is a completed story that I wrote some time ago. I'd like to write a sequel to this at some time, continuing the lives of the main characters. In 1847 James Madison Coon joined a wagon train that followed the Oregon Trail from Mercer County, Illinois to Clackamas County, Oregon. Mr. Coon kept a diary of his travels and although it was very sketchy, it inspired me to write this account of a young man, Jase Tackett, who made a similar journey. This is a work of fiction. As such, I have taken some liberties as far as dates and the topography of the land goes. Many of the towns mentioned by Mr. Coon no longer exist, so finding information about their history is difficult. The route taken by the wagon train in my story is as nearly the same as was traveled by Mr. Coon as I was able to make it, from the time they left St Joseph, MO until they crossed the present Oregon border. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Lazlong ------- Chapter 1 Early February, 1845 I stood quietly in a hazelnut thicket, waiting patiently. The sky was turning purple and an early morning haze made everything seem slightly unreal. I was waiting for a deer. I had seen a large buck in the little clearing in front of me several mornings in the last couple of weeks, but the buck had always seen or heard me first. I'm Jase, Jase Tackett, by the way. I turned sixteen last July, and now, in early February in the year of our Lord, 1845, I considered myself very much a man. Heck, I'd been providing most of the meat for my family since I was twelve. Pap is a good, honest, man, but he ain't worth a whole lot when it comes to providing food for the family. He calls himself a trader and he does a lot trading all over Lawrence County Kentucky, but he does a lot more flapping of his jaw than anything else. My mom is a Cherokee Indian and I've learned a lot more from her than I ever learned from Pap. She taught me how to skin a deer and how to tan its hide. She taught me a lot by example too. Like the patience I needed to stand here unmoving, waiting for this big buck to show up. She also taught me to keep my mouth shut, unless I had something important to say. I saw a movement in the edge of the tree line and I froze completely. It was the buck. He had stopped before he was all the way into the clearing and was looking all around. He sniffed the air and then, satisfied that nothing was amiss, he stepped all the way into the open and began grazing on the wild clover in the field. I checked to see that the cap was firmly seated on the nipple of my Kentucky Rifle, then as I watched the deer start to graze, I slowly lifted the rifle to firing position. I carefully pulled back the hammer, muffling any sound with my hand. The deer must have heard something anyway because he looked up. He was staring straight at me when I gently squeezed the trigger. The deer never stood a chance. He fell before I even started to lower my rifle. The deer hadn't been more than fifty yards away and I could put ten shots in a circle the size of a hen's egg at that distance. I reloaded my rifle before I went to the deer. This area is pretty tame now. In fact it was almost too tame, but mom had also taught me to be cautious. The buck looked to be in pretty good shape for it being late winter. This winter had been mild and the forage had been good. I quickly bled the buck and then gutted him and removed his scent glands. His body was huge, but he only had three points on his antlers, so I knew he was young and the meat would be tender and tasty. It took me a while to get the carcass home. It was almost a quarter of a mile through some pretty rough country. When I finally brought him into the yard, mom came out and looked him over. She smiled and nodded, then went off to get her skinning and butchering knives. My sister, Tess, is not nearly as reticent as Mom. In fact, I think she took after pap in that respect. She took one look at the buck, then she ran and threw her arms around me. "That's a big one, Jase. Where'd you get him?" "In that little meadow going over toward Liam's place," I said. "That's going to be some really good eating. Come on inside and I'll fix you some breakfast while Mom skins him out." I followed her in and sat down at the table. I watched Tess as she mixed up a batch of johnny cake and fried a slice of smoked pork. I had to smile when I saw she put some dried apples she'd had soaking on to fry. Tess took good care of me and I Ioved her for it. "Did Pap say anything about when he might be back from this trip?" I asked. "Not really. He's been gone almost a week though and he doesn't usually stay much longer than that. What do you think about all this talk he's been doing about moving to Oregon?" "Might be good. I hear there's good land to be had for free." "Yeah, but I hear it takes six months to get there. It'd be a hard trip and you know Pap." "Yep. Pap's a good starter, but not much of a finisher." "Mom said I could go over to see Millie Lawson this morning. Would you like to go with me?" I thought for a minute before I answered. Millie was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. She had red hair and blue eyes and a smile that lighted up my whole world. I was in love with her in the worst way, but with Pap talking about moving to Oregon, I was afraid to get too close to her. Still... "Yeah, I'll go," I heard myself saying. "Caleb told me he had some new horses that I'd like to take a look at." Caleb is Millie's pap. "That's not all you want to look at," Tess teased. I know I was blushing three shades of red. If my sister only knew just what I wanted to look at, she'd have been blushing too. I finished eating and we told mom we were going over to the Lawson's. Tess kept up a running commentary as we walked the two miles over to their place. I'd have been vexed if it had been anyone else talking so much, but I couldn't ever be mad at Tess. Millie came running out when she saw us walking into their yard. She was wearing a homespun dress and even it couldn't hide her shape completely. Her red hair hung in waves to just below her shoulders and she wasn't wearing a bonnet. She was so pretty, I'll swear my heart stopped. Millie is Tess' age, which is just one year younger than me. In this part of the country, she's definitely marrying age. I'd been thinking last fall about asking her pap if I could court her, but then my pap started all of this talk about moving to Oregon. "Hi, Tess," she almost yelled, then the two young women hugged each other. Then she turned to me and lowered her eyelashes. "Hi, Jase," she said softly. "Hi, Millie," I said. I'm usually very shy, but I added, "You're looking mighty pretty this morning." Millie blushed and said, "Thank you, Jase. Hey, would you guys like some cold cider? We keep a jug down in the creek to keep it cool." "I'd like some, but I want to talk to Caleb first. Could I get some after I talk to him?" "Sure. He's out behind the barn cutting some wood." I left the girls chatting away and went to find Millie's pap. It looked like he had finished with his splitting and was carrying the wood to his back porch and stacking it. I nodded at him and picked up an armload. I just put it on the porch and went back for another load as he stacked it. When we had moved all of the wood to the porch, Caleb stuck out his hand and we shook. "I wanted to take a look at those horses you were telling me about," I said. Caleb smiled and said, "Come on." I followed him back to his corral. He did have some fine looking horses. There had to be a dozen nice looking mares and one of the most beautiful stallions I had ever seen. Off in a separate corral was another stallion. He had to be one of the ugliest horses I had ever came in contact with. He was almost as big as a plow horse. He was light grey, dappled with black. That wouldn't have been so bad, but his head looked like it was too big for his body and his ears looked more like the ears of a jackass. "This stallion is named Thunder because his hooves sound like thunder when he's runnin'," Caleb said. "He's a beautiful animal. That's a good name for him," I said. "What's the other stallion's name?" Caleb grinned. "His name is Sin, because he's as ugly as sin." I had to laugh. "He might be ugly, but I'll bet he could carry you all day and be as fresh as when he started out." "I'll make you a good deal on him if you want him," Caleb said. "He's as strong as a bull and he handles real well. As ugly as he is, I just don't want him mounting any of my mares. I wouldn't have bought him, but the feller who sold me the rest of them threw him in for cheap." "I just might," I said. "Pap is talking about moving to Oregon this spring. I could use a good horse on the trail." "Yeah, Jeb and I have been talking about that. It's not just talk though, Son. We're going to do it." "You're going too?" My heart was in my throat as I waited for him to answer. "Yep. I figure Oregon would be a good place to start a horse ranch. Your pap, my sons, Sam and Bob, and Silas Johnson are up in Wheeling right now buying wagons. We figure we're going to have to leave here by the first of March if we're going to make it to St. Louis, Missouri in time to join a wagon train." "Pap hasn't told us nothing about it," I said. "There's a lot to get done before we take off." "Well, we just decided last week. He took off for Wheeling right after we talked. He had that old pack mule of his'n loaded down with peltries. Sam and Bob and Silas Johnson had loaded mules too." I thought for a minute then figured it was as good a time as any to ask. "Caleb, I'd like to ask your permission to court Millie." Caleb nodded and said, "I was wonderin' when you was gonna get around to askin." "Pap's been talkin about Oregon for almost a year now and he's been real serious for six months or so. I didn't think it was right to start courting Millie if we were gonna to be leavin." "You've got a good head on your shoulders, Jase. You've got my permission." "Thanks, Caleb. You won't regret it." "No, I don't suppose I will." ------- I went back around the house and found Millie and Tess. They were talking away, as usual. I sat down on a stump and listened to them for a few minutes, then Millie asked, "Would you like that cider now." "That sounds fine, Millie," I said. When she went off to get me a cup of cider, I said, "Tess, I'd like to talk to Millie for a minute in private if I could." Tess grinned. "I'll bet I know what about." My sister is a scamp. I knew that she had long ago figured out how I felt about Millie. "Yep, you probably do. Did she tell you they're moving to Oregon too?" "Yeah, I figured that's what was holding you back. She feels the same way about you, you know." "No, I didn't know, but I'm glad you told me. I was scared to death to ask her." "You've got no need to be scared, Jase. She'd wed you tomorrow if you'd ask." Millie came back with the cider and I drank it slowly as the girls talked. Their conversation was mostly about what they'd want to take with them to Oregon. When I finished my cider I asked, "Millie, would you take a little walk with me? There's something I need to talk to you about." "Sure, Jase," she said. We walked side by side down along the stream while Tess went in to talk with Millie's mom. I didn't know exactly how to go about bringing up what I wanted to ask her, but finally, I just plunged in. "Millie, we've known each other all of our lives. I've come to care about you a lot and I think you might care about me as well. I asked Caleb for his permission to court you. If I've mistaken how you feel, tell me now and I'll not bother you about it any more." Millie was blushing as she reached over and took my hand. "No, Jase, you haven't mistaken how I feel. I do care about you. I was hoping you'd ask." I didn't feel ten feet tall, I felt twenty feet tall and strong enough to wrestle a bear. We walked on, holding hands for a while, then I said, "I'd have asked you sooner, but pap has been talking about going to Oregon for a year now I didn't know your family was going too." "I'd have gone with you," Millie said quietly. When we got back to the house we were both smiling so big, people would have thought we were plumb fools. I think Millie's mom, Sally, was smiling as big as we were. Obviously my little sister had told her what was going on. Sally asked us if we'd like to stay for lunch, but I told her we'd better get home and let mom know what was going on. I went around to tell Caleb goodbye and I asked what he'd want for Sin. We dickered for a while and came up with a price in pelts that I was able to pay. He said he'd let Sin stay with him until we were ready to leave or until I needed him. Before we left, I asked Millie if it would be okay if I called on her that evening. She blushingly agreed. ------- Since mom is an Indian, she has two names. Her Indian name means Babbling Brook and her white man's name is Maggie. I said before that mom is a quiet woman, but after we'd told her what pap was planning, she sounded more like her Indian name than she ever had before. Mostly it was instructions to Tess and me on what to do to start preparing for our move. We had around twenty barrels that were about three feet tall and about a foot and a half across. I think they were originally whiskey barrels that pap had traded for somewhere. She had me get out several of the best ones, wash them out, and seal the outsides with pine pitch. She had Tess start going through our food stores to see how much we had of what, and she started making jerky out of the deer I'd killed that morning. We still had one ham and some bacon left over from a hog we'd killed last fall. We also had half a dozen hogs so mom said she thought we'd have time to butcher one and have it cured before we left. We'd take the others with us. We ground our own corn meal with a hand cranked grinder. Mom said she wanted to fill one of the barrels with corn meal and that I should start working on that as soon as I could. "We'll need to buy some flour, some saleratus (baking soda), salt, pepper, and spices," mom told us. "Yer pap still has quite a few peltries out in the shed, so we can pay fer what we get." "Which barrel do you want me to use for the meal?" I asked. "It don't matter. Save the two best ones fer water barrels though." I picked out the two best barrels and cleaned them out thoroughly. After I'd sealed the outsides of the barrels, Tess said she was going to melt some bee's wax and seal the insides with that. It sounded like a good idea to me. ------- After supper I washed up and put on my good set of buckskins. Most men around where we lived wore clothes made out of home spun cloth. Mom was very good at tanning and sewing leather, so she always made mine and pap's clothes out of buckskin. I much preferred the buckskin. Homespun itches. Buckskin clothes pretty much last forever. I had one set I wore every day and another I kept for special occasions. I thought my first date with Millie was definitely a special occasion. I told mom where I was going and she gave me a big smile. Millie was waiting on the porch for me when I walked into her yard. She stepped down off her porch and shyly offered me her hand. I took it and she asked, "Would you like to take a walk along the creek?" Now, I had just walked two miles to get to her place, but there was no way I was going to turn her down. We walked a ways without saying anything, then Millie looked up at me and said, "I'm glad you came." "So am I," I said as I blushed. I don't know which of us was more shy. I suspect it was me though. When you grow up out in the country like we did, you learn about breeding livestock and things early on. You even learn about people having sex. Tess and I slept in the same room with mom and pap until I was six years old. Even when they moved us up into the loft, it opened out on the room they were sleeping in. Many families had the wife's sister or an aunt staying with them and the grown ups would all sleep in the same bed. I know the husband and wife didn't do without sex just because the wife's sister was in bed with them. Hell, the Jenkins family had five kids after Mrs. Jenkins' sister moved in. Some said two of the kids belonged to the sister. We knew about sex, it's just that nobody talked about it. Mom would answer any question Tess or I had about it, but we never honestly even thought about it that much. Now, here I was, walking along, holding hands with the prettiest girl in Lawrence County and I was thinking about it a lot. After a while we came to a deadfall, and we sat down for a spell. "Did you guys start getting ready for the trip when you got home?" Millie asked. "Yeah, I got some barrels fixed up for flour, corn meal and water," I told her. "Tess started going through our foodstuffs to see what we had left over from the winter. I killed a deer before I came over here this morning, so mom started making that into jerky. I don't know what type of wagon pap's gonna get, so I don't know how much we can take." "I heard them talking before your pap left for Wheeling," Millie said. "They're going to try to get them big covered wagons the Dutchmen make over in Pennsylvania. I think they're called Conestogas." "That'd be great. They're pretty big from what I hear." "Yeah, pap says they're about four feet by ten feet inside and that a growed man can stand up in them. We've heard stories about whole wagon trains where the people all starved to death, so mam says she wants to take all the food we can cram in. Pap has even been talking about taking our farm wagon." "That'd make sense. You know we're all going to have more than we can get into one wagon. Maybe we could all share the farm wagon." "I think pap would like that. He's just not sure we'd have enough to fill it and it will cost extra for an extra wagon." "It's startin' to get dark. I'd better walk you back before your pap comes looking for us with that rifle of his. He's almost as good a shot as I am." Millie giggled. "Don't let him hear you say that. He thinks he's the best in the county." When we stood up, Millie took both of my hands and looked up at me expectantly. I leaned down and we shared a very warm, loving kiss. I almost passed out, and I think Millie was as strongly affected as I was. We both sighed and started walking back toward the cabin. "That was my first kiss," Millie said as she squeezed my hand. "Mine too," I admitted. We went in and sat with the family for a while. I asked Caleb about his plans to take his farm wagon. "I'd sure like to," he said. "I just don't know if we have enough stuff to take to justify it." "How about we share it?" I asked. "Even with a Conestoga, we're gonna have a lot more stuff than we have room for. We could help with the driving and we could help with the cost of getting it there." "That'd work," Caleb said. "I'd better run it by Jeb though. He gets frazzled if he thinks someone is goin behind his back on something." "Don't I know it," I said. We all talked a while about the move. Caleb had some good ideas about what all we should take. Actually Millie and her mom did too. Millie's younger brother and sister, Matthew and Liz, didn't add much except noise. After a while I said I should be getting home. Caleb told me to come back any time. Millie walked out with me to say goodbye on the porch. We shared another sweet kiss and I told her I'd see her tomorrow, then I just kinda floated home. ------- Chapter 2 When we got up the next morning, mom told me to go out and kill a hog. "Which one?" I asked. "Kill the one that's about half grown," she said. "We don't have time to cure one that's bigger." I just nodded. "Do you want me to butcher him?" "No, just hang him with the block and tackle. I'll butcher him. Tess is gonna work on the jerky today and I'd like for you to start grinding corn." "Is one barrel full gonna be enough?" I asked. Mom nodded. I went out and got a hand full of corn and pap's short handled sledge hammer. I managed to entice the critter away from the others and outside the pen by showing it the corn. Once he was outside, I poured the corn on the ground, then hit him between the eyes with the sledge when he had eaten it. I got Tess to help me drag him over to the butchering tree, then I hoisted him up with the block and tackle. I cut his throat and left him to bleed out. I told mom he was hanging and she said she'd take it from there. I started in, grinding corn. It's not my favorite occupation, but I knew it had to be done. Tess came out at lunch time and brought me a slab of meat between two pieces of johnny cake. She brought a large cup of milk to wash it down and sat down to talk with me for a few minutes while I ate. "Do you have any idea what it's gonna be like out there in Oregon, Jase?" "I expect you've heard all the same stories I have, Sis. Some of the land is hilly like it is around here. Some is level. There are some mountains from what I hear. I don't expect there are many roads and there's not nearly as many people." "It's probably gonna be lonesome, huh." "I reckon so. Caleb says he's gonna start up a horse ranch. I don't know what pap plans to do. I imagine he'll keep on trading." "What would you like to do after you leave home?" "I know what I want to do. I'll probably do some hunting and trapping till I get some money put away, then I might start a cattle ranch. Someday there's gonna be as many people in Oregon as there are back east. They're all gonna need meat. Maybe I'll be the one who supplies it." "Raising cattle wouldn't be a bad life. Maybe I'll come and stay with you and Millie once you're settled." "You'll probably be married up before that, Sis." "There sure ain't nobody around here I'd marry up with," Tess said. "What about Millie's brothers. They're both nice guys." "They're nice guys, but Bob only takes a bath about once a year and he stinks. Millie also says he drinks too much. Sam is a lot cleaner, but he hasn't got sense enough to come in out of the rain." "Maybe standing out in the rain is why he's cleaner," I said, trying to hide my smile. Tess hit me on the arm then said, "Millie is the only smart one of that whole bunch of kids." ------- I finished grinding the corn meal by the middle of the afternoon. Once I had the barrel full, I hammered in the lid and then sealed it with pitch. I rolled the barrel of meal to the shed out back and got it put away. I went in the house when I was finished and mom was making the stuff she uses to cure meat. "Come with me," she said. We went back out to where the hog was hanging. "I'm gonna cut the front half of it off. You catch it and hang it in the smoke house. Then come and get the back half and hang it in there too." I nodded and grabbed hold of the front half of the hog while mom neatly cut it loose from the back half. I carried it in and hung it in the smoke house. Mom was already back in the house when I came back for the other half. I went back in the house and asked mom about the curing. "The meat needs to chill before we start curing it. I'll cut it up in the morning and put on the cure. You need to bring in some hickory wood for the smoking." "How long does it have to cure, Mom?" "The bacon needs about a day and a half for each pound in a piece. The hams need about two days for each pound." Mom continued working as we talked, so I asked, "Are you happy about us moving to Oregon?" "Yes, Son, I'm happy. I am Cherokee. Seven years ago the soldiers moved all of the Cherokee people out of the state of Georgia. I think it is just a matter of time before they do it here." "Mom, I'm proud to be a half-breed. I'm proud to be part Cherokee." "Half-breed is a bad word in the white man's talk and in the Indian's. I have thought much about how you and your sister will live with that." "Mom, Millie knows Tess and I are half Cherokee. It doesn't bother her. When Tess finds the right man, it won't bother him either." Mom just smiled, so I told her I was going out to cut some hickory. I worked at that until Tess called me for supper. ------- I went over again to see Millie after supper. We walked down by the creek and when we got to our fallen tree, we sat down. This time I put my arm around her waist and she snuggled in close. "Have you thought about what you want to do when we get to Oregon," she asked. "Yeah, Tess and I were talking about that this afternoon. I figure pap is going to keep on trading like he does here. I think I'd like to start a cattle ranch." "It'll take some time to get a ranch going to where it'll pay for itself. What are you going to do until then?" "I figure I can do enough hunting and trapping to support myself and my wife," I said. "Oh... Did you have someone in mind for your wife?" "Yep," I said, then I leaned down and kissed her. "Is that an indication that you might be considering me?" she asked with a shy little smile. "Yep," I said, then I leaned down and kissed her again. "Don't you think you should ask me and see how I feel about it?" "Yep," I said, then I leaned down and kissed her for a third time. "Well?" "Millie, for most of my life I loved you like I love my sister. A few years ago I realized I love you like I'd love my wife. Will you marry me when we get to Oregon?" "Yes... I'd marry you tomorrow, Jase, but mam and pap will be happier if we wait until we get to Oregon. I love you too. I have for years." We kissed again. This time there was a lot more fire in it than there had been before. We snuggled together for a while, then started back for the cabin. "Let's not tell anyone until we're on the trail," Millie said as we walked along with an arm around each other. "Okay, but I have to tell Tess." "That's okay. Just tell her to keep her mouth shut." "She says she might want to come and live with us after we're on our own. What would you think about that?" "It'd be pretty lonely for her, living with your mam and pap if she doesn't get married right away. She's like my sister too, so I wouldn't mind." "She says there's no one around here she'd marry up with and she thinks it'll be even worse in Oregon." "She's not interested in my stinky brother, Bob, or my dumb brother, Sam?" I had to laugh. "That's the way she described them." Millie giggled. "Yeah, we've talked about them. I have to agree with Tess. I wouldn't want either one of them." ------- After we got back to the cabin, Caleb pretty much took over the conversation. He started telling me about what he was doing to get ready to go. "Would you have some time you could come over tomorrow and help me with something?" he asked. "I'll have to ask mom, but I'm sure it'll be alright." "I have to put a new axle on the farm wagon. I could do it by myself, but it'd be a lot easier if I had some help." "Sure, Caleb, I'd be glad to." "Why don't you come over in the middle of the afternoon and then stay for supper?" "That sounds good," I said with a smile. Sally looked over at me and winked. Our kiss before I started home left us both breathless. ------- When I got up the next morning, mom said she was going to need my help in the smokehouse for a while. "Caleb would like for me to come over this afternoon and help him with his wagon. Would that be okay," I asked. Mom nodded. "They asked me to stay for supper." She nodded again, then said, "Eat some breakfast then come out. It won't take long." Tess started fixing breakfast for me. This time she was frying eggs as well as what I'd had yesterday. When mom had gone out I said, "Tess, there's something I need to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else." "Not even Millie?" she asked with a little smile. "Millie already knows about it, so you can talk to her." "Okay, then I promise." "I asked Millie to marry me when we get to Oregon and she agreed." "I figured that was coming." "I also asked if you could live with us after we get a home set up and she agreed to that too." Tess sighed. "Thank you, Jase. It'll sure be better than living with mom and pap. Mom never says nothing and pap's always gone. It'd be almost like I was living alone." "I know. I love mom, but she sure isn't much company." I helped mom out with the butchering, then went to the tool shed and started cleaning up our tools and taking an inventory of what we had and what we might need. I was sure pap wouldn't have any idea of what we were going to need. I tried to make sure we had at least two of everything. I complain a lot about pap, and he ain't a practical man, but he is a good trader. We were probably better off than almost anyone in the county when it came to tools and things. Pap would trade for anything, whether he had a need for it or not. I guess he figured he could always trade it for something else. I started setting the two best tools of each kind aside to take with us. By the time Tess called me for lunch, I had quite a few things set aside. After lunch, I worked for a while longer on the tools then told mom I was going over to help Caleb. The two miles to Millie's house seemed shorter now. ------- Millie ran out and gave me a kiss when I walked into her yard. I saw Sally peeking out the window at us, but when she saw me looking at her, she just waved. Millie said Caleb was around, back of the house, so I went looking for him. He was under the wagon when I went around, so I took a chance to look it over. "Howdy, Caleb," I said. "I'll be out in a minute, Jase. I was just loosening the bolts that hold the axle." "No hurry, Caleb. It looks like you've done a lot of work on this wagon." "Well, I changed the bed out last fall and put on a new singletree. I'll put on a new doubletree, tongue, and neck yolk when I put it back together. The wheels are good and I've got a couple of extras I'll take along. I'm thinkin about adding another course of boards around the top," he said as he crawled out from under the wagon. "That'd put it up to just about three feet high." "From what I hear about the trail we should probably tar the outside too," I said. "Folks say there's a passel of rivers to ford. Most folks want their wagons to be able to float." "I've heard say," Caleb said. "This is a pretty big wagon, Caleb. We could haul quite a bit in it." "Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. What I needed your help for, Jase, was to get this thing lifted up so I can put something under it to hold it up while I take out the old skein (axle) and put in a new one." I looked the wagon over again. He already had the singletree, the doubletree, and the tongue taken off. "That thing looks awful heavy, Caleb, Can the two of us lift it?" "We might, but we don't have to. Help me roll it over toward this big rock and I'll show you what I mean." We rolled the wagon over until the front was about four feet from the rock. The rock was huge and had to be at least three and a half feet high. Caleb went over by the barn and picked up two poles. One was about seven feet long and the other was about twelve feet. Both were about three inches through. He put the shorter one behind the rear wheels of the wagon and wedged it in so the wagon couldn't roll backwards. Caleb put one end of the longer pole under the front of the wagon and laid it across the big rock. "All you have to do is pull down on this pole while I slip the sawhorse under the front of the wagon," he said. I was a little skeptical, but I tried pulling down on the pole and the front of the wagon lifted easily. I just held it there while he got his sawhorse and placed it exactly where he wanted it. When he told me to, I let up on the pole and the wagon settled itself on the sawhorse. We pushed and pulled and shook on the wagon, but it seemed firmly in place. "This is pretty much a one man job until I'm ready to let it down, Jase. Why don't you go around and visit with Millie until I holler for you?" I protested a little, but went ahead and did what he said. Of course Millie was happy to see me back so soon. We sat in the kitchen and talked with Sally for a few minutes. "How are you folks fixed for corn meal?" I asked. "We're probably going to have to buy some," Sally said. "We didn't have a good corn crop last year. I reckon we can just buy the corn. Those lazy boys of mine can grind it." "We might be able to fix you up, Sally. I just ground all of the meal we're going to take and there must be ten or twelve bushels of corn left. I'll talk to pap when he gets back, but I figure we're probably just gonna leave it." "That would be great, Jase. Lord knows we could use the money we'd save. What with all them horses Caleb bought, we're running kinda short." "Jase, why don't we take a walk while we're waiting for pap? He's gonna be at least an hour or two." I got up and held out my hand to her. "Is it okay if we go for a walk, Sally?" I asked. "That's fine, Jase. If Caleb yells before you get back, I'll just tell him you're out sparkin." Millie and I could hear her mom laughing as we went out the door. We started out along the creek again and Millie said, "I sure hope there's a nice creek like this wherever we end up." "It is a pretty creek. Are there any good swimming holes close?" "Yeah, there's a nice one just passed the dead tree. I used to go swimming there all the time with my brothers. I don't any more though." "Why not?" "Well... We don't wear no clothes when we're swimming. After I started growing into a woman, my brothers would stare at me. I didn't mind them looking, but I didn't like for them to stare." "Honey, if you went swimming with me, I'd stare too." Millie hit me on the shoulder then said, "I'd expect you to. You've got a right. You're going to be my husband. They're just my brothers." "Tess and me used to go swimming naked too. All of a sudden she stopped going. I don't think I stared at her though." "She said you never did. Your pap yelled at her about it is why she quit." "Yeah, that's pap. He'd gag at a gnat and swallow a camel. I've heard that he had a thing going with the widow Kent for a while, but he'd yell at Tess for something that was completely innocent." "That's just the opposite of mam. I told her about the boys staring and she said they were just curious and I shouldn't let it bother me." "What did you say about that?" "I told her if it shouldn't bother me, she should get naked and let them stare at her." I cracked up laughing and I know they could hear me all the way back at the cabin. When I got myself under control I pulled Millie into a big hug. "I'll bet that went over good," I said. Millie giggled and said, "She just said, 'never you mind, young lady' and she blushed worse than I do." "Maybe we'll find a place where we can go swimming along the trail." "You just want to see me naked," Millie laughed. "Yep," I said with a big grin. We sat on our dead tree for a while and cuddled and kissed. Finally, we decided we'd better get back to see if Caleb was ready for me. He was just crawling our from under the wagon when Millie and I walked up. I helped him get it down while Millie watched. Dinner was your typical farm fare. Sally had made a venison roast with all the trimmings. We all ate heartily. I think Sally is as good of a cook as mom is and that gives me hopes that Millie will be too. ------- The next five or six days went by quickly. I spent a lot of time working on the tools I thought we should take with us. I'd take them down to the creek and use sand to remove any rust. After they'd dried off, I'd coat the metal parts with tallow. I made a couple of trips down to Louisa to the general store for mom. I rode Sin both times and he was an amazing animal if you could get passed his looks. The first trip, I took Tess with me. She rode behind me on Sin and we led a pack mule. Mom wanted two fifty pound sacks of beans and she said to get fifty or sixty pounds of coffee. While we were in the store I saw a knife that took my breath away. It was huge. The blade was about a foot long. It was straight and about two inches wide for about eight inches starting from the hilt, where the bottom started to curve up toward the point. At about three inches from the point, the top of the blade made an inward curve down to the point. This inward curve was sharpened too. I picked the knife up and tried it on the hairs on my forearm. It shaved me as slick as any razor. The store owner said it was a Bowie Knife and that it was used. He said that I could have it for two dollars. I didn't leave without it. I was never sorry I bought it. We met and talked with Silas Vencil while we were at the store. Silas said he had a fine young bull he was wanting to sell and that he had a few beef cows he'd sell as well. I told him I'd stop by tomorrow and take a look at them. I had maybe five hundred pelts I had trapped over the last five years. I figured if I could trade for the bull and a few cows, it would be a good start for our ranch. When we got home, I asked mom if she could make me a sheath for my new knife. She looked it over and nodded. She tested the blade and smiled. "This is a very good knife," she said. This was the highest praise I'd ever heard her give anything. She kept the knife and said she'd have it ready by tomorrow or the next day. ------- Chapter 3 When I went over to Millie's to pick up Sin the next day, of course Millie came out to say hello. I asked her if she'd like to go with me and you'd have thought I offered her the moon. She ran inside to ask Sally if she could go and was back before I had Sin saddled. It was a very pleasant ride down to Silas' place. Millie kept her arms around me all the way there. I'll swear the little vixen was intentionally rubbing her breasts against my back. Silas was right. The young bull was a fine one. We dickered on the bull and six cows for a while. I had brought a raccoon and a muskrat pelt with me to show him what he was bargaining for. I actually ended up getting the lot of them for far less than I thought it would cost me. I found out later that part of the reason was because he and Caleb were cousins. I told him I'd be back the next day to pick them up and that I'd bring the pelts with me. The ride back was just as pleasant as the ride down had been. We stopped for a while in a little clearing and kissed and cuddled. "This is the start of our ranch," I told Millie. "I know," she beamed. "They look like good cattle. Are you going to get more when we get to Oregon?" "Probably. These cost us a lot of the pelts we have. I'll do some trapping after we get there and we'll see what's available." "Are we gonna get married as soon as we get there?" "I'd like to, but we'll have to see what your mam and pap say." "Are you gonna let me go with you to pick out the land for our ranch?" "Yep. I wouldn't have it any other way." Millie squeezed me then asked, "You don't believe women shouldn't have a say in things then?" "Honey, you have as much say in things as I do. I want you to be comfortable and happy. You wouldn't be happy if I forced things on you." "Yeah, but most men around here don't think that way. Most men think that women are only good for growing a garden; cooking food; and having babies." "Well, I like the thought of us having babies, at least the thought of us making them." Millie giggled. "From the way mam sounds when her and pap are going at it, it must be fun." "Yeah, even mom sometimes gets noisy when her and pap are messing around. I guess someday we'll find out just how good it is." ------- When I went over to pick up Sin the next day, Millie was waiting to go with me. I had a pack mule with me and she said she'd lead the mule so I only had to worry about the cattle. When Silas and I had made our trade and we started driving the cattle back to pap's place, I got a very good surprise. Someone had trained Sin to work cattle. About all I had to do was give him his head and he did all the work. We made the drive back a lot quicker than I thought we would, mostly because of Sin. We put the new cattle in a pen and went in to talk with mom and Tess for a while. Tess asked Millie if she'd like to have dinner with us. We looked over at mom and she nodded. "I'll need to go home and let them know," Millie said. We rode over on Sin. When we got there I went to talk with Caleb while Millie went inside to ask Sally if she could eat with us. Caleb gave me a big smile when he saw me. "Howdy, Caleb," I said. "Howdy. How'd your new horse do?" "I think you made a mistake in selling him to me as cheap as you did. Someone has trained him to work cattle." Caleb raised his eyebrows. "Really? The guy I got him off of told me that, but I didn't believe him." "All I had to do was point him in the right direction and give him his head. If any of the cattle got out of line, he brought them back in without me having to do a thing. That was with us riding double and leading a mule." "Maybe we'd better talk about that deal," Caleb laughed. "Too late. I wouldn't give him up for ten times what I paid for him." Caleb showed me what he had been doing on his farm wagon. He had put another course of boards around the top and it was now over three feet deep. He had also tarred the outside of the body and I had no doubt it would float if it wasn't overloaded. Millie came running back around the house and said she could eat with us. "I think I'm going to start keeping Sin over at our place," I told Caleb. "I'm making trips somewhere every day and I'm coming over here almost every day, so it only makes sense." Caleb agreed and then he said, "Your saddle looks like it's seen it's better days. Would you be interested in a new one, if the price was right?" "Yeah, I've been thinking about getting a new one. If I'm going to be ranching in Oregon, I'll need it." "Abner Greely bought a new saddle for his son just before he was killed in that accident at the mine last fall. I saw him at the store the other day and he asked me if I was interested in buying it. He says it has a scabbard that's big enough for a Kentucky Rifle and a pair of saddlebags with it." "I'll go down and take a look at it tomorrow. Would you like to go with me, Millie?" "Sure, if pap says it's okay." Caleb just grinned and nodded. We rode back over home and I told mom I was going to be keeping Sin over here from now on. She just nodded. Millie, Tess and I decided we'd take a little walk. Once we were out, away from the house, Tess said, "So, you two are going to get hitched." "Yep," Millie grinned. "That means you're going to be my sister." We teased around for a while then went back to the house. After dinner, I took Millie home. We stopped short of their yard so we could kiss goodnight without an audience. ------- Millie and I took along two pack mules when we went to Ab's the next day, since we were going on from there to the general store. The saddle was a nice one. It wasn't fancy, but it was comfortable and the saddle bags and scabbard were top quality. I traded him three beaver pelts for the lot. Mom wanted me to pick up 200 pounds of sugar, a hundred pounds of salt, two pounds of saleratus, and five pounds of pepper at the store. It's a good thing the pack mules I took were young and strong. We were still unloading the pack mules when pap pulled into the yard on one of the biggest wagons I'd ever seen, pulled by eight good looking oxen. He was acting like a little kid as he showed it off to us. I could tell that this was going to be pap's big adventure, at least until the going got rough. "This here's bigger than most Conestogas," he said with a satisfied look. "It's twelve feet long instead of ten." "How could you afford something like this?" I asked. "I sold the farm to a city slicker in Wheeling," he said. "He paid me five hundred dollars for it. I got some other stuff inside the wagon." We looked inside and I was knocked over. He had six, hundred pound sacks of flour and about a hundred pounds of coffee. There were also a bunch of packages. "What's all that?" Tess asked, pointing toward the packages. "Just some stuff I got for you guys," he said. He picked out three of the packages and handed them to me. "These are for you, Jase." I took the packages over to the porch and sat down with Millie to open them. I opened the heaviest one first. It was a .36 caliber Patterson Colt Revolver. I'd heard about them, but I'd never seen one. It was pretty simple to figure out how to use it though. The second package contained a pistol belt and holster. The third had a bullet mold, a sprue cutter and a powder measure. "This stuff cost a fortune," I told Millie. "This revolver costs $40 or $50. My new saddle didn't cost more than five dollars brand new." Millie was as surprised as I was. "He's never given you much of anything," she told me. "Just thank him and take it. Maybe he's trying to make things up to you now." I did go over and thank pap for the revolver and the other things. He showed me what the salesman had told him about how to load and fire it. ------- After dinner that evening I told him Caleb and I had been talking about sharing Caleb's farm wagon. "You'd have a lot more room to take trade goods," I told him. "There might also be room for you and mom to sleep in the wagon that way." He readily agreed. Before we went to bed, he had to tell us all about his adventures in Wheeling. He said we were all going to be traveling by flatboat from Catlettsburg to Evansville, Indiana. "It'll cost us five dollars a wagon, but it'll save us almost two weeks of traveling." I told him Caleb was a little short of money and he said he'd pay for Caleb's wagons. That's one thing you could say about pap, if he had money, he was generous with it. March 2, 1845 Well, I never thought it was going to happen, but the day we were going to leave finally came, March 2nd, 1845. We had to be at Shorts Landing in Catlettsburg, Kentucky, in three days. It's only about twenty miles, so I knew it wasn't going to be a problem. We had quite a collection of people, wagons, and animals as we left from Caleb's place. There were eleven people, twenty-two horses, twenty-four oxen, eight mules, twenty cattle, twelve hogs, twenty chickens, five cats, three wagons and two dogs. The Johnson's were going to meet us at the landing. Sin proved his worth within the first mile. He helped keep the cattle, horses, mules, and pigs moving in the right direction. Caleb was riding his stallion, so there wasn't a problem there. I had no doubt who'd come out on top if Sin and Thunder got into it, but I didn't want to see either one of them hurt. Caleb's dog, Bullet, was also a big help with the livestock. Millie started out riding on their wagon, but after about a mile, she jumped off and motioned me over. "Would you mind if I rode with you for a while?" she asked. Of course I didn't, so I helped her up behind me. "Jase, Tess tells me that your mom made her three or four buckskin outfits with pants instead of a skirt. Would you mind if I wore one of them?" "Not if you don't mind me staring at your limbs," I teased. Millie blushed and said, "No, I don't mind that. I'd claw another man's eyes out if he did it, though." "You wouldn't have to, Honey. Just point him out and I'll take care of him for you." Millie giggled, "I know you would. Let's ride back to your wagon and get the outfit." Pap was driving our wagon, so when we pulled up beside him I asked, "How's it riding, Pap." "It's riding real good. Your ma gave me a cushion to set on and it's just fine." Tess peeked out to see who was talking, so Millie asked her for the outfit they'd been talking about. "Are you gonna put it on right now?" Tess asked when she passed it out. "Yeah, as soon as Jase takes me back to our wagon." "Good. I'll change too." After she had changed, Millie waved me down again. God, she looked good in those buckskins. She jumped down again and I helped her up behind me. "What do you think?" she asked. "I think I wish we'd got married before we left," I said, only half teasing. Millie giggled and said, "Yeah, me too." "You know you could probably ride one of your pap's mares, don't you? My old saddle is in your farm wagon. You could use that." "Don't you like me riding behind you?" Millie asked with a fake pout. "You know I do, Honey. I just want you to be comfortable." "Oh, I am comfortable," Millie said, then she squeezed herself to me. We rode on up to where Caleb was keeping the livestock in line. He was fuming and fussing. "I'll swear I'm going to butcher every one of these blamed hogs before we get to Evansville," he said as he was trying to get one of the boars to move. I just laughed. "You just need the right horse," I said. "Move off to the side and watch what Sin does." Caleb went off to the other side and I let Sin's reins go slack then touched him with my heel. He charged toward the boar, but the critter didn't budge. When Sin got up to him, he lowered his head and nipped the boar on the flank. You'd have thought the boar had heard there was free food up ahead by the way he took off. "See what I mean, Caleb?" I teased. "Yeah, I see a young whippersnapper who cheated me out of my best horse and is now stealing my daughter right out from under my nose." If anyone else had said something like that, it would have meant a fight. Caleb was like my uncle or something, so I knew he was just funning. Millie got a big laugh out of it too. I think we made around twelve miles that day. For this being our first day on the trail, I didn't think it was too bad. We found a nice little clearing beside a creek to camp in for the night. Caleb hobbled all of the horses except the stallions and we put them on long tethers so they couldn't get at each other. We didn't think the cattle would roam far as there was plenty of grass and water for them. The hogs were another matter. We kept watch on them as best we could and fed them our table scraps after we'd eaten, but we just didn't know what else to do with them. We were all a little concerned about what would happen to them. The four adults ended up sleeping in their wagons. Bob and Sam slept under Caleb's wagon along with Matthew and Liz. Millie said it was too crowded under there for her to sleep there too, so she came over and slept under our wagon with Tess and me. We all pretended to keep a respectable distance between us, but Millie and I went to sleep holding hands. March 3, 1845 We were all up before the sun the next morning. The women fixed breakfast while the men started trying to round up the hogs and cattle. The cattle were not a problem. They were all still in the little meadow. Two of the hogs were missing though. We spent an hour looking for them, but never saw hide nor hair of them. We knew today was going to be an easy day. We only had eight miles to go to get to the landing. I asked Caleb if I could saddle up one of his mares for Millie and Tess to ride and he was agreeable. "I imagine Tess will ride her, but I'd be surprised if I could pry that daughter of mine away from you," he laughed. "I can't say as I mind it all that much, Caleb." "So, when are you going to ask for her hand?" he asked. "Well, I'll ask you right now. Caleb would you allow Millie and me to get married when we get to Oregon?" Caleb held up for a minute before he said anything. "Have you two talked this over?" "Yes, Sir. We both agreed it'd be best if we waited until we get to Oregon." "Well, I agree with you, but will you tell me why you think it's a good idea to wait?" "It's nigh on 2600 miles from here to Oregon. From the tales I've heard, a lot of it is rough goin. I don't want Millie to be a widow when she's fifteen years old." Caleb nodded. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, Jase. Neither one of my boys is worth a shit. Bob is drunk half the time and always getting into fights. I've heard tell that he's slept with every whore in Ashland. Sam means well, and he doesn't hardly drink at all, but he just ain't too bright." "I know Sam and I like him. I really don't know Bob all that well though. He's not around a lot." "No, he's not. Millie is my first kid that's had a good brain and is a good kid to boot. I want what's best for her, Jase." "I know that and I'll try to make her happy." Caleb nodded. "I've been watching you since you was a little kid, Jase. You were hunting and trapping by the time you were ten. I'll bet Jeb hasn't put any meat on the table since you were what, maybe twelve?" "About that." "You're a fine young man, Jase. I don't think Millie could do any better. You have my permission." "Thanks, Caleb. Did she tell you I'm thinking about starting up a cattle ranch when we get there?" "No, but I kind of figured that's what you were doing. Them are some fine beef cattle you bought from Silas. They'll be a good start on a herd." "I figure I'll have to do some hunting and trapping until I get the ranch going well. It'll probably take a few years." "Yeah. I have no doubt you can support my daughter though. Just take good care of her, Jase." "I will, Caleb, or I'll die trying." ------- Caleb told me which mare to saddle for the girls and I got her ready to ride. I led the mare and Sin over to where the girls were putting away the last of the breakfast things. "Would either of you young ladies like to ride Caleb's mare today?" I asked. "I would," Tess said. "That wagon don't have any springs. My butt is so sore I can hardly walk this morning." "I'll just ride with you, if you don't mind," Millie told me. "Caleb said I wouldn't be able to pry you off with a crowbar," I laughed. Millie looked like she was gonna clabber up and get mad, so I said, "I told him I wouldn't have it any other way." Millie smiled, so I mounted up. I removed my foot from the stirrup and offered her a hand up. She swung up behind me and put her arms around me. I leaned back and whispered, "Maybe I should ride behind you. You've got a lot more interesting things to hold on to." Millie blushed and hit me on the shoulder. "When I was talking to Caleb a while ago, he asked me when I was going to ask him for your hand in marriage." "What did you tell him?" "I asked for his permission for us to get married when we get to Oregon." Millie waited a few minutes then she asked, "Well, what did he say?" "He said he thought it was a good idea for us to wait until we get to Oregon, but that we have his permission when we get there." Millie let out a big sigh. "I was afraid he'd say no. He's awfully disappointed in Bob and Sam. I was afraid he'd want to keep me around a while longer." "He loves you, Millie, and he thinks you're smart. He wants you to be happy though and he knows you're growing up." "I love him too. He's been a good pap. Mam's been good to me too." ------- We pulled in to Short's Landing in the early afternoon. They had pens for the horses, cattle, oxen, and hogs. They told us there'd be pens on the flatboat as well. The man that worked there looked over everything we had and said it'd cost us thirty dollars to haul everything to Evansville. Pap paid it like he was the King of England or something. It's nearly 400 miles from Catlettsburg to Evansville, so I guess that wasn't too bad. The man said it would take two to three days. Then he said that for another five dollars they'd provide food for all the animals until we reached Evansville. Pap paid him again. That's something we hadn't thought about. We went to a nice little meadow just out of town that the man at the landing had told us about to camp for the night. The man told us to be back by ten o'clock sharp or we'd miss the boat. It was kind of nice not having to worry about the animals. All we had with us was the three riding horses and the oxen. We just hobbled the horses and let them loose to graze. We didn't even have to watch the oxen. After we had set up camp, Millie and Tess wanted me to teach them to shoot my revolver. I took them off by ourselves and showed them how to load the powder, patch, and ball into each chamber and how to use the attached loading lever to seat the ball against the powder. I let them load all five chambers and then I fired the first round. They were amazed at how the trigger dropped out when you cocked the revolver. Neither of them could hit the side of a cabin with it, but I promised I'd let them practice until they could. The Johnsons came in late in the afternoon. Silas and Edna were a lot younger than mine and Millie's parents. They had three kids, all under ten years old. I hadn't been around them much, but Albert, Jeff, and Annie seemed like good kids. After all of the commotion calmed down, I went over to talk with pap for a few minutes. "Pap, how much gunpowder and lead do we have with us?" I asked. "I was wondering when you were gonna think about that," he said. "We've got about fifty pounds of each. That's enough to start a small war." "I didn't figure you'd miss something like that. I've been practicing with that new revolver. It's a lot more accurate than I thought it would be." "Keep practicing. I want you to be real good by the time we get to St. Louis." ------- Sleeping arrangements were the same as the night before. I had laid a big tarpaulin on the ground and then had doubled up a blanket to go under me. I had a blanket for a cover as well. It was a lot colder here along the river than it had been last night. I started feeling cold almost as soon as I laid down. "I'm freezing," Millie said after a few minutes. "To hell with what people think. Jase, could I put my blanket on top of yours and snuggle up with you?" "Sure. I'm freezing too." "Tess, why don't you put your blanket on top of ours and snuggle up to the other side of Jase?" Tess was moving before Millie even stopped talking. I laid on my back and put an arm around each of them. With the three blankets on top of us and all of us cuddled up, we were warm in no time. ------- Chapter 4 March 4, 1845 I woke up the same way I had gone to sleep, with one arm around Millie and the other arm around Tess. When I opened my eyes, there was Sally, standing, looking down at us. "Good morning, Sally," I said. "Mornin, Jase. You guys must have gotten cold in the night." "We all thought we were gonna freeze to death. After we put our blankets together and snuggled up, we were fine." "Well, it's time you give 'em a shake and wake 'em up. They need to help with breakfast." I told Sally I would and she went over to where Caleb was building a cooking fire. I looked at Millie and her eyes were open. "Mornin, Love," I said. "Mornin. I think we should start a tradition. I think that any time we sleep snuggled up like this, you should give me a kiss before we get up." "I like that idea, " said as I pulled her closer and kissed her. I started to get up, but Tess said, "Hey! What about me? Don't I get a kiss?" I kissed Tess too, but not nearly as well as I kissed Millie. "Well, I guess that was sorta like a kiss," Tess grumbled as she got up. Millie and I both laughed. ------- Getting all of the animals on the flatboat was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The men who work the boat were used to getting the animals on and off, so they just told us to stand back and let them do it. There were no accommodations for passengers on the boat. It was really more of a raft than a boat. Timber was cut up river and lashed together to form a large raft. Sometimes, like on the one we were on, planks were laid on top of the logs. When the raft reached it's destination, it would be dismantled and the logs and planks would be sold. The men would then make their way back up river to ride down again on another raft. Sleeping arrangements were the same as when we were on the trail. We started out fascinated by the shoreline that was moving by us, but we soon became bored. Two whole days of watching trees and hills go by had us wishing to be back in our wagons. At least then there was something to do, even if it was just chasing hogs. We all did a lot of talking during the ride. That is really different for a bunch of Kentucky hillbillies. Most of us, pap not included, were a quiet lot. Millie and Tess had a way of bringing me out and making me talk. The three of us talked about how big of a ranch we'd like to have and how big of a house we'd like to build. Millie said she wanted to be sure the ranch had a nice stream with a good swimming hole on it. "Tess, Millie tells me you stopped swimming with me because pap yelled at you about it. Why didn't you tell me about him yelling at you?" I asked. "I was too embarrassed about it," she said, looking down at her lap. "He said some things that just weren't nice and I was afraid that if I told you, you'd pop him one." "I probably still would. Maybe what he said is best left not told." "Yeah, you're probably right. Pap can be awful stupid at times." ------- March 6, 1845 Getting off the flatboat was as easy as getting on had been. We got everything lined up and had started to pull out when something hit me. "Caleb, did you bring any oats for the horses?" I asked. "No, Jase, I couldn't afford any. The horses won't really need them. I'd have liked to have some for the stallion because I'll be riding him every day, but we'll make out without them." Pap was talking to some man when I rode over. The man was saying, "Just head out to the northwest. You can follow the tracks of the other wagons that have been through here. You'll be crossing the Wabash river at New Harmonie. That's about twenty-five miles from here." Pap thanked him and I said, "I'll catch up with you on the trail, Pap. There's something I need to pick up in town." Pap just nodded, so I went over to the farm wagon and pulled out a few pelts. I kissed Millie and told her I'd see her in a few minutes, then I rode off to find some oats. I ended up getting a hundred pound sack of oats and a pound of stick candy for Millie and Tess. Tess loved the stuff, but it was way too sweet for me. The girls were appreciative when I caught up with them. Millie immediately wanted up behind me, so I put the oats in the farm wagon and let her up. She'd been riding behind Tess until I got there. It was almost noon so we stopped shortly after we got out of town and had something to eat. It was a cold meal, but we figured we'd make up for it that night. We were about ten miles out of Evansville when we found a place to camp. From the looks of things we weren't the first to camp there. I'd been a little concerned about finding a place. We were going through some marshy areas and even when we were going through what looked like regular grass, the animals kicked up water. The place we stopped was on a little hillock. The women got the cook fires started while the men hobbled the horses and unhitched the oxen. By the time we were finished, it was starting to get dark. Sam and I went off to gather firewood while it was still light enough to see. We managed to find enough to get us through until bedtime and to get the fires started in the morning. We learned quickly on the trail that you go to bed as soon as it's dark and you get up when it's light enough to see. When I started laying out the tarpaulin for us to bed down on, Millie came over to help me. I started to fold a blanket to lay on, but Millie shook her head. She helped me to stretch all six of our blankets on top of each other, then she folded the top two down. When it was getting too dark for us to see to move around, Tess came over and we all snuggled up under the top two blankets. This became our standard sleeping arrangement until warm weather forced us a little farther apart. ------- March 7, 1845 Traveling through the marshy ground all of the next day was hard on us and on the animals. The oxen just plodded along as usual, but the hogs had a hard time of it. Their feet just weren't shaped right for walking on the soft ground and they kept sinking in. We finally made it to the Wabash river about an hour before sunset. Some enterprising fellow had set up a ferry across the river. He told us we'd have to travel about thirty miles up river before we could find a place to ford it. We took him at his word and pap paid him a dollar a wagon and another dollar for the animals. The sun had gone down by the time we got across, but the man said there was a place to camp about a half a mile ahead. At least on that he wasn't lying to us. I left Millie riding Sin and got off and started throwing any dry wood I could find on the farm wagon as we went. By the time we got to the camping spot, we had enough for the night. ------- March 8, 1845 We made better time the next day. It was a little hilly when we started out, but soon we were into flatter country. We had also left the marshy areas behind us. The wagons that had gone before us over the last few years had left a trace that was easily followed. We were having a lot less trouble with the animals now. Even the hogs were doing better. I guess they were all getting used to the traveling. Tess was riding Bell, Caleb's mare, every day now and Millie was riding behind me on Sin. That horse was so big and strong, he didn't seem to mind the extra load. Most of the time Tess and I rode stirrup to stirrup and Tess and Millie carried on a running conversation. They included me in it more often than I was comfortable with. I was getting used to it though. We made about fifteen miles that day, before we pulled in beside a little stream and stopped for the day. It was a perfect place to stop. There was plenty of firewood around and the water in the stream was clear. Caleb came around after I had finished gathering firewood and wanted to talk for a minute. "We're all running a little shy on fresh meat, Jase. The other men and me were talking and we wondered if you'd be willing to hunt for all of us?" "Sure, I can do that, Caleb. I'll go out in the morning. I'll keep Sin and one of the pack mules and I'll catch up with you on the trail." "Do you have a mule that ain't skittish of fresh killed meat?" "Yep. We call him Jughead. I've used him plenty of times." "Okay, if you'll do this for us, we'll make it worth your while when we get to Oregon." "You don't have to do that, Caleb. I've gotta eat too." "Yeah, but a good hunter is worth his wages. There's sixteen of us now and we'll go through a deer pretty quick. You'll have to be hunting ever three or four days. That's a lot more than you'd have to do for just yourself or your family." "That's fine with me. I like to hunt and I'll swear Tess and Millie could talk your ear right off if you're around them all the time." Caleb laughed, "It's just the newness of them being together all the time. They'll calm down in a week or two." "I sure hope so," I laughed. "I don't know where I'd find a new set of ears around here." I told Millie what I was going to be doing and she seemed like she was gonna bust with pride. She was a little upset when I told her she couldn't come with me, but she calmed down when I said she could come with me in a few days. She decided she'd ride with Tess until I caught up with them. I wondered what the girls were gonna do about riding on a rainy day. We refilled out water barrels from the stream before we went to bed. ------- March 9, 1845 I was up before it was even light enough to move around much the next morning. Millie got up with me and she whispered that she'd save me some breakfast. I managed to get the saddle on Sin and the packsaddle on Jughead and I moved out at first light after kissing Millie goodbye. We'd passed a meadow yesterday a couple of miles back that I just knew had to be a grazing place for deer. The grass had been beaten down in a couple of places and it looked like they might even bed down there. I rode Sin until I figured I was about a quarter of a mile from it, then I tethered him and Jughead and started walking toward the meadow. I came on it quicker than I thought I would and I was almost surprised to see at least ten deer moving around. None of them were as big as the deer in Kentucky, but I wasn't worried about that. I couldn't get a shot at the buck, but there was a nice looking doe about seventy yards from me. I carefully took aim and put her down. Of course the rest of the heard were gone in an instant. I reloaded and walked over to where she had fallen. I slit her throat so she'd bleed out, then I gutted her. I left her laying there while I went back for the horses. Sin didn't like the smell of blood, so I tied him to a bush about fifty yards from the deer. I walked Jughead over and loaded the deer on him. When I had it tied on well, I walked Jughead back over to Sin. I approached him slowly, talking to him as I went. It took a while, but I finally got up to him, with Jughead trailing behind. I petted Sin and told him what a good boy he was. He finally calmed down and I mounted him. I was afraid he'd start bucking, but my familiar presence on him seemed to calm him even more. The wagons hadn't been gone from the camp site more than half an hour when I passed it. I caught up with it in another fifteen minutes. When I rode up beside our wagon, mom looked out and smiled at the deer. I tied Jughead to the back of our wagon and fell in beside Millie and Tess. Millie had a smile as big as Kentucky and Tess' wasn't far behind it. "Are you hungry, Jase?" Millie asked. "I could eat a horse," I told her. Millie reached into their saddlebags and pulled out my breakfast. Millie had fried some really thick slices of bacon and had put them between two thin pieces of johnny cake. It tasted so good I wished I'd had more. When I was finished eating, Millie wanted to ride behind me, so we stopped and let her move over. I turned around far enough I could kiss her when she was behind me and I thanked her for a great breakfast. Millie blushed and said she'd made it herself. I told her it was the best johnny cake I'd ever tasted. When I saw Tess start to pout, I told Millie her johnny cake was every bit as good as Tess made. It was another beautiful day for traveling. So far we had been really lucky. We'd been traveling for a week and it hadn't rained once. We nooned at a nice little stream. The water was as cold as ice, but I took off my shirt and washed up. I got behind some bushes and washed my lower half as well. I remembered how the girls had talked about Bob and I didn't want them thinking the same thing about me. We made real good time that day. We figured we'd come twenty miles or more and we still stopped an hour before dark. The women got together and butchered the deer and divided it up. I was glad to see Tess and Millie helping out. I knew Tess knew most anything she'd need to know about keeping a house, but I didn't know how much Millie knew. I needn't have even given it a thought. After supper, Silas got out his fiddle and we all sang songs around the campfire for a while. Everything seemed right. ------- March 10, 1845 We woke up to rain. It wasn't a gully washer or anything. It was just a slow, cold rain. If it had been just a might colder it'd have been snow. I asked the girls if they were going to ride in the wagons today. Tess said she was, but Millie wanted to ride with me. I enjoyed it too, so I wasn't going to argue with her. We broke our fast on cold leftovers from last night and got moving as soon as we could. We made good time, but it was a miserable day. Millie snuggled up close behind me. We had on our rain slickers and I wrapped a tarpaulin around us. It didn't keep all the rain off, but it did help. Millie's body heat helped to keep me warm. We didn't even stop at noon, but kept on until a couple of hours before dark. The rain had stopped and we all felt we needed to warm up and get a good meal. Caleb had stored some dry wood under the tarpaulin that covered the farm wagon. We used that to get a fire started. All of the women pitched in and cooked at one fire. They filled this giant kettle with meat chunks and vegetables. When it was nearly done, they added flour to make a nice stew. It went down easy and warmed our whole bodies. Our buckskin clothes were still wet when it was time for bed. Tess and Millie made up our bed and I was trying to figure out what to do when Millie said, "Okay, Jase, outa them wet clothes. Tess, will you hang our wet clothes on the wagon wheels for us?" Tess said she would, so Millie pulled me around to the far side of the wagon and started to undress. It was dark enough you couldn't see clearly, but I could sure make out Millie's beautiful breasts as she pulled her tunic over her head. She stopped with her tunic in her hand and said, "Come on, Jase. Get naked." I pulled off my own tunic and handed it to Tess. Millie dropped her pants and then pulled off her drawers. I was a little hesitant, but she just stared at me until I followed her example. We stood there looking at each other while Tess hung up our wet clothes. "You are absolutely beautiful," I said with reverence. Millie smiled and held out her hand to me. We quickly got under the covers. I was afraid to touch her, but Millie snuggled up beside me and pressed her breasts into my side. "Hold me, Jase," she whispered as I felt Tess get in on the other side of me. I put my arm around Millie and held her close as I kissed her. I slid my hand up and cupped one of her beautiful breasts. She moaned into my ear as I felt Tess press her naked breasts against the other side of me. "Woah," I whispered. "Your clothes didn't get wet." Tess and Millie both giggled. I put my other arm around Tess and hugged her too. ------- March 11, 1845 I woke up when Tess started to pull away from me just before daylight. I hugged her back against me and gave her a soft loving kiss. "Thank you, Jase," she said, then she scampered out of bed and started to get dressed. I turned on my side and put both arms around Millie. She smiled at me as I moved my head to kiss her. It was the most passionate kiss I had ever experienced. I could feel her nipples boring into my chest and my member was trapped between us, poking against her belly. "It'll be great waking up like this when we're married," Millie said. "It's great waking up like this now," I told her. "Yeah, but when we're married, you can just roll over on top of me and..." I kissed her again and we ground our bodies against each other. "Come on, you two," Tess said in a loud whisper. "People are gonna be getting up. You don't want anyone to see you like that." She was right. We gave each other another tender kiss and crawled out from under the covers. I couldn't take my eyes off of Millie as she got dressed and she was watching me just as closely. We kissed once more, then separated to take care of our morning necessities. Our clothing had dried during the night, but it was still cold. We were a little later getting started this morning. I think that was probably because it had been so miserable yesterday. The country we were traveling through was rough and the going was a lot slower than it had been. Some of the little streams we had to cross were running bank full from the rain we had yesterday. On one crossing it was deep enough we had to tie ropes around the hogs and drag them across one by one. I'd guess we only made twelve to fifteen miles before we had to call it a day. At least we didn't have any trouble with firewood today. It seemed like that task had fallen on Sam and me every day. I don't know what Bob did, but sure wasn't much. He drove a wagon every day, just like Sam did, but when we got to camp he just disappeared. He didn't even take supper with his family that often. When everything had settled down and we were all getting ready for bed, the three of us pitched in to make up a bed. I started to crawl in, but Millie pulled me around behind the wagon again. "I really enjoyed the way we slept last night," she said with a shy smile. "Could we sleep that way again?" "I reckon," I said with a big smile as I pulled my tunic over my head. I climbed into bed and I watched as Millie folded our clothes then brought them under the covers with us. "They'll stay warm that way," she told me. Tess crawled in on the other side of me and I wasn't too surprised to find that she was naked too. I put my arms around both girls then said, "You know, if Sally comes to wake us up and finds us like this, she's gonna pitch a fit." "I don't think she would," Millie said, "but if she did, there ain't much she could do about it." "Yeah, but I want your mom to like me," I said. "Don't worry. She does. I'd be a lot more worried about your pap." "Pap is always gonna be the last one up," I said. "I guess you're right. Either him or Bob has been the last one up ever mornin." "Pap always has been that way. I think he talks so much he wears himself out." "Well, I know why Bob is always late getting up. His head always hurts from drinking so much the night before." "How's he drinking now? We ain't nowhere he can buy any whiskey." "He has a whole keg of moonshine in the farm wagon. Pap don't know it. He's got a flask he fills up every morning." "That's dangerous, Millie. He could get some of us killed if he's drunk while we're trying to get the wagon he's driving over a river or something. You really should tell Caleb." "I haven't wanted to tell on him, but I guess I should. I mean, I guess it would be dangerous for everyone. Would you go with me if I tell pap in the morning?" "Yeah, I'll go with you. Remember, Millie, you don't have to face anything alone any more." "I'll go with you too," Tess said. "I've seen him filling his flask, but I thought it was water." We all snuggled up and we were as warm as a fresh cooked johnny cake in no time. I was asleep right after that. ------- March 12, 1845 When the women started breakfast the next morning, Tess and Millie told their moms they needed to talk with Caleb about something. They came by and got me then went off to the edge of the clearing we were in. I went over to get Caleb. "Mornin, Caleb," I said as I walked up to where he was brushing Thunder. "Tess and Millie have something they want to talk to us about. Would you mind taking a walk with us?" "Mornin, Jase. No I don't mind. I don't get to see much of Millie now-a-days unless I see her on the back of your horse." "What's this about, Jase?" Caleb asked when we were away from the wagons. "I've only heard about this second hand, so I think Millie should be the one to tell you." Caleb nodded and we went on over to the girls. "What's going on, Daughter?" he asked. Millie reached out and took my hand before she spoke. "Did you know Bob has a keg of moonshine in the farm wagon?" she asked. "No," I didn't know that, Caleb said quietly. "He has a flask he fills up every morning before we start out. I told Jase about it last night and he's afraid Bob might get someone hurt if he's drinking too much." Caleb looked over at me and nodded. "Yes, Millie, I think Jase is right. Don't worry about it. I'll do something about it." "I'm sorry, papa," Millie said. "Yeah, I am too, Honey." "It's the keg in the right rear corner," Tess said. "I've seen him in it several times." "Is it the one he told me was an extra keg of molasses?" Caleb asked Millie. Millie just nodded, so Caleb took off for the farm wagon. Millie, Tess, and I followed at a slower pace. We stopped about twenty feet away and watched while Caleb took the tarpaulin loose and pulled it back to expose the keg. He shook his head and started to lift it out of the farm wagon when Bob came out from under Caleb's wagon, where he had been sleeping. "Hey!" Bob yelled. Caleb just looked at him and shook his head. "That keg is mine. Leave it be." Bob yelled again. "Bob, you are not going to put us all in danger because you're drunk when you should be tending to your driving. The keg goes," Caleb said, his voice as hard as steel. Bob's hands were shaking as he pulled his single shot pistol out of the waistband of his trousers where he kept it. He was so focused on Caleb and the keg that he didn't even see me pull my revolver. "Put the keg down, Pap. If you don't, I'll kill you right now." Caleb looked back at Bob and was surprised to see the pistol. He stood there with the keg balanced on the end rail of the wagon and watched as Bob started pulling the hammer back on the pistol. I already had the hammer back on mine and as I saw his thumb start to move, I fired. The pistol flew from his hand and Bob let out a scream of pain. He grabbed his right hand in his left and started cursing something terrible. I put my revolver back in its holster and walked over to him to see how bad he was hurt. Bob tried to hit me with his left hand, so I stepped back as he swung, then stepped in and hit him once on the point of his chin. He went down like the buck I had shot. "Sally, you need to look at his hand," I said in a loud voice. "I think I might have hit his finger." Sally came over and looked at Bob's hand. "It's just a cut and it ain't bad. I think his finger might be broken though." I breathed a sigh of relief. "I was afraid I mighta hit his hand by accident," I said. Caleb finally dropped the keg on the ground and then got an axe out of the wagon and destroyed the keg. The whole camp smelled like bad whiskey. Caleb walked over to where Sally and I were standing over Bob. "Thank you, Jase," Sally said. "I could see him pulling the hammer back on his pistol and I just knew he was gonna shoot Caleb." "I thought I had to do it Sally. I didn't want to kill him and I knew I might miss, but I thought that even if I missed he might turn toward me." "I want to thank you too, Jase," Caleb said. "I heard stories about him, but I never seen him like this. I think he mighta killed me over that damned whiskey." Millie and Tess had been strangely quiet, but now they came over and got on either side of me. Each of them put an arm around me and leaned against me, shivering. I put my arms around them and just comforted them. "I ain't never seen shooting like that in my life," pap said. "It weren't nothing, Pap. He wasn't more than twenty-five feet away." "It's the best damned shooting I've ever seen. We gotta see if we can get you in a contest when we get to St Louis," pap kept on. "It ain't gonna happen, Pap. I don't want to get no reputation. Just leave it be." "Let it go, Jeb," Caleb said. "He's right about getting a reputation." ------- Chapter 5 Bob came around in a few minutes and Sally tended to his hand. Caleb looked him in the eye and said, "You've got two choices, Bob. The whiskey is busted up. There ain't no more of it. You can either promise me you'll not try to hurt anyone here and ride on into St Louis with us, or we'll give you a mule and you can leave now. Either way, St Louis is as far as you go with us." "Pap, I ain't gonna make no promises about not hurting anyone. Jase shot me and he's gonna pay for it." "No, he's not, Bob. If you make one move toward Jase, I'll kill you myself." Caleb turned to Sally and said, "Make him up a pack of some food and get that old water skin out of the wagon. He can take his rifle, his powder horn and his shot pouch." Sally went off to make up a pack for Bob and Bob made like he was gonna follow her. "No, Caleb said. You go over and sit against that wagon wheel while I get you a mule." I think Bob was totally cowed because he did what his pap told him to. Caleb came back in a few minutes with a mule. He then got Bob's rifle and fired it into the air. "I don't want to see you loading that while you're within sight of this camp," he said. "Remember that Jase could knock you offa that mule at two hundred yards if he wanted to." "But, Pap..." "Don't you 'but pap' me. You were gonna shoot me over that damned whiskey. I don't ever want to see you again." Caleb turned and walked off. Sally brought out a pack of food and his clothes and handed them to Bob. "Mam..." Bob started to say, but Sally cut him off. "You heard what your pap said. There ain't none of us that ever want to see you again. Now get on that mule and get." Millie, Tess and I watched until Bob had ridden out of sight in the direction we had come from. "Thank you, Jase," Millie said. "I don't know what I'd have done if he had shot pap." "Pap was right," Tess said with a giggle. "That was the best damned shooting I've ever seen." Millie started giggling too. It was all I could do to keep from laughing with them. What with everything that happened, we got a late start that day. We even talked about not traveling at all, but we decided that any distance we made would be better than none. There wasn't much happened the rest of the day. We were still going through hilly country and the going was a little slow. We ended up only making ten miles. Caleb had to end up driving his wagon. Millie and Tess both mounted up and helped with the livestock. I was surprised at how well they did. March 13, 1845 I had to go hunting again today. It took me a little longer but I got another deer. It was almost noon when I caught up to the wagons. At least the weather was pleasant. Mam skinned the deer when we nooned and cut it up into quarters. Millie and me went off for a bit so we could kiss and cuddle. "Jase, have you thought about housekeeping stuff for us when we're married?" Millie asked me. "No, I can't say that I have." "Could we afford to buy a few things in St Louis for setting up house?" "Yeah, I've still got quite a few pelts left. What did you have in mind? Do you have any idea how much it will all cost?" "It's just the normal kitchen stuff, plus a wash tub and a couple of blankets. It could run as much as twenty dollars for everything." I had to smile. I probably had at least a hundred dollars worth of pelts left. "We can do that, Love. If there's anything else that'd make life a little easier, we could get that too." "Mam and pap will give me a lot of stuff. I expect yours will too. I just want some of our stuff to be ours alone." I had a big smile on my face as I pulled her into a kiss. I loved this girl more every day and every day I was more impressed with her. March 14, 1845 The next morning started out fine and clear. It was even a little warmer than it had been. Caleb complained about a sore ass from sitting on the wagon seat all day yesterday, so I told him pap was sitting on a cushion. He got a big smile and said maybe that'd help. We made good time until it was time for nooning. We turned the oxen loose so they could graze and we fed ourselves. Millie, Tess and me were sitting, leaned back against a wagon wheel when I saw buzzards circling off to the northeast of us. I always was a little more curious than was good for me, so I told Millie I was going to ride over and see what had attracted the buzzards' attention. It was a little over a quarter of a mile to the center of their circle. What I found there turned my stomach. The young man who was lying, dead, beside a little stream couldn't have been any older than I was. He had on homespun clothes, but his boots or shoes were missing. He was laying on his back and his chest was covered in blood. He didn't have a gun of any kind and there wasn't anything on him that told who he was. About twenty feet away from him was a pretty little bay filly. She was saddled and was quietly cropping grass. I walked slowly over to her speaking softly to her as I went. She didn't shy away or flinch when I laid my hand on her. I took hold of her reins and led her over by Sin. I tied her reins off to a bush and looked her over carefully. From the looks of the man, he'd been dead two or three days. That meant this little lady had been wearing that saddle all of that time. I opened the saddlebag on her right side and found some jerky and a couple of stale biscuits. I went around to her left side and opened that bag. There were some gold coins in the bag, but nothing that would identify the owner. I took the coins out and counted them. There was $822.00 mostly in gold eagles. I know my mouth had to fall open. I transferred the money to my saddlebags and mounted Sin. I took the filly's reins and headed back to the wagons. They were just getting ready to move out. I waved Caleb down and when he saw the filly, he got down from his wagon. Millie and Tess came running up as I got down from Sin. "Where'd you get the filly?" Caleb asked. By now, pap and Silas had come over as well. "There's a young man laying dead over yonder. This filly was grazing close to him. He's been shot in the chest. I figure someone shot him and the filly ran away. Hell, whoever shot him even took his boots, so I know they'd have taken this pretty little filly." "Do you know who he was?" "No, there weren't nothing on him or on the horse that says who he was. It looks like he's been dead two or three days." "Well, we oughta bury him, It looks like you got yourself a filly, Jase," Caleb said. The other men nodded. "No, Caleb. It looks like Millie's got herself a filly," I said. Millie grabbed me and hugged me right in front of everyone. "Honey, you need to get this saddle off of her and rub her down," I said. "She's had the saddle on for at least two or three days. Put a lead rope on her and hitch her to the farm wagon. She may not want to follow along at first." Millie and Tess led the filly away and Caleb said, "Let me saddle Thunder and I'll help you bury him. Sally, can you drive the wagon for a spell, until we get this young feller buried?" "Yeah, go ahead Caleb. We'll leave as soon as Millie gets her new horse taken care of." Caleb saddled Thunder and we started toward where I'd left the man. "Caleb, there was some money in the saddle bags. Do you think I should keep it?" "I don't know what else you'd do with it, Jase. Unless you want to bury it with the guy." "It just don't seem right somehow, but I guess you're right. There weren't nothing on him that'd let us know who his next of kin is." "I'm not going to ask you how much, but from the way you're acting it is more than a couple of dollars. Could that have been why he was killed?" "I expect it was." "I wouldn't tell anyone else about the money, Jase. I know Silas is honest and so is your pap, but either one of them could let something slip to someone who ain't honest." "Yeah, I expect you're right. Sometimes pap talks way too much." "I'm not saying you shouldn't tell Millie. You'd do that whatever I told you," he grinned. I had to grin too. Neither one of us were grinning by the time we got the man buried. ------- When we stopped for the night, Millie dragged me over to show me the filly. Surprisingly enough, she didn't show any signs that wearing the saddle for as long as she had, had done any damage to her. I smoothed my hand over where the saddle would have fit and she didn't flinch. "I think you should give her one more day of being led and then you can start riding her," I said. Millie agreed. I think Tess was just as proud of the filly as Millie was. Later on, after we had gone to bed, I told the girls I had something to tell them. "Before I tell you this, I need you to promise you won't tell anyone else about it. Not your mams or pap, or anyone." Both of them promised. "There was some money in the saddlebags of the horse when I found the man today," I told them. "How much money?" Millie asked. "There was $822.00," I said. "Oh, my Lord in Heaven!" Millie said. "That's a lot of money, Jase," Tess said almost reverently. "Yep. It's enough to get the three of us set up real well." "I can see why you don't want to let anyone know about it," Millie said. "I'm afraid that's why he was killed. He probably let it slip to the wrong person that he was carrying a lot of money." March 15, 1845 We started off with another bright, clear morning, but it clouded up before our nooning. It didn't start to rain though, so I guess we couldn't complain. We made good time and I'd guess we got in around twenty miles. Tess asked me that evening if I knew anything about St Louis. I told her I didn't, but that I'd expect we'd have some time to explore it before we left on the trail. March 16, 1845 We were all excited that morning. We figured it was only going to be a day or two before we got to St Louis. We had a quick breakfast and took off. The sky was overcast, but I didn't believe there was going to be any rain. Millie was riding her new filly, which she had named Princess, because she was so pretty. When Millie brought her around, she was already saddled. I stood by as Millie mounted because I didn't know how she was going to react to a new rider. I needn't have worried. I adjusted her stirrups for her, then mounted Sin. Millie touched her with her heel and Princess moved out. I'll swear that little filly pranced as she walked. I pretty much rode beside Millie all morning. Her horse seemed well behaved, but I just wanted to be sure nothing happened to Millie. We had gone nine or ten miles when we saw the Mississippi stretched out below us. Off to the north, we could see smoke rising, so we decided that after our nooning we'd head in that direction. Tess said she'd watch the animals, so Millie and I rode on ahead. When we got to where we could cross the river, the man said it'd be tomorrow before they could get us across. He showed us where we could camp for the night and when we asked he said when we got across, we should get on the main street and follow it all the way to the west side of town. He said there were some meadows that people camped in until they could hook up with a wagon train. We got the wagons to the area where the man said we could camp and set up for the night. It had been three days since I'd made a kill, but we were still in good shape on meat, so we figured we could wait a couple of more days before we had to think about that. March 17, 1845 We were all up early the next morning and were across the river by 9:00 AM. Within a couple of hours we were setting up a semi-permanent camp in a meadow west of St. Louis. After we had our noon meal, Millie and Tess wanted to go into town and look around. I agreed to go with them to keep them out of trouble. St Louis was amazing to us. None of us had ever been in a big city. When we had crossed the river we had seen all kinds of wharves and docks and warehouses. The street we rode back into town on was wide and well kept. Many of the stores had marble fronts on them and were a sight to behold. I think what impressed us most was how fast everyone was moving. It looked like everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere. We rode down a side street for a ways and we saw a couple of guys looking over some nice looking horses in a corral. We stopped and watched the horses for a bit. One of the guys looked around at us and asked if he could help us. "Are any of these horses for sale?" I asked. "They're all for sale. Which one did you have in mind?" "Tess, which one of those ponies do you like the best?" I asked. Tess' mouth fell open and Millie was smiling from ear to ear. "Really?" Tess asked. "Yep." "I really like that gray mare over there. She's about as pretty as Millie's filly." She was a nice looking horse. I'd say she was maybe two years old. I went over for a closer look. Her legs were clean and she had a nice deep chest. I asked the man if I could ride her and he agreed, so we saddled her and I rode her down the street and back. She handled well and seemed gentle. "How much do you want for her?" I asked when I got back. He started off at $75, but I got him down to $40, then I asked him if he'd trade for furs. "No. At that price it has to be cash. There's a fur trading company one street over that'll buy all of your furs from you though." I fished in my pocket and pulled out four gold eagles. I handed them to the man and told him we'd take the mare with us. "Thanks for the information about the trading company. We'll sure look them up before we leave town." The man seemed pleased and wrote us out a Bill of Sale for the filly. He told us where we could find a saddlery so we went to find it to get Tess a saddle. We actually bought a saddle and saddlebags and everything else she'd need. Total cost was $9. We saddled up the filly and I adjusted the stirrups for Tess. She took off down the street, then was back before Millie and I were even mounted. She had a smile on her face that made my insides go soft when she pulled up. We saw a general merchandise store that had the kind of things that Millie wanted for our house when we built it. She wanted to go in and look around, so we did. We didn't buy anything, because I said we'd have to bring back a pack mule for what she wanted. I saw her looking at a set of china dishes, so I got the proprietor off by himself and asked him how much they were. He said they were $10.00 and he said they were packed so they would stand the trip to Oregon. I told him we'd be back tomorrow for the things my wife wanted, but I wanted to buy a set of the dishes separately, so it would be a surprise for her. He said he'd have them all packed up and he'd just slip them in with the rest of the things. It was getting to be late afternoon, so we rode back out to the camp. Tess had to show her new horse off to everyone. Pap got me off by myself and said, "You shouldn't have bought that horse for her, Boy." "Yes, I should have, Pap. Tess and I are going to start a cattle ranch out in Oregon as soon as Millie and I are married. She'll need a good horse to help with the ranch." "I never heard you and Millie were gonna get hitched. Don't you think you should have asked me about that first?" "No. I figure when we get to Oregon I'm going to be on my own." Pap nodded. "You growed up awful quick, Son. It seems like just yesterday I was teaching you how to shoot a gun. Hell, the first time you couldn't hardly hold it up." "I appreciate all you've taught me, Pap. You even taught me things you didn't know you were teaching me at the time, like how to trade. The guy who sold us the horse started out wanting $75. I got him all the way down to $40." Pap grinned. "That was pretty good, Son." "I may want to buy some things from you when we get to Oregon. I put in some extra tools and stuff that you had traded for." "Jase, I'd have just left them things. Just consider them yours for keeping the family fed over the last few years." "Thank you, Pap. There's quite a passel of stuff." "That's okay. I'd have just left it for the idiot who bought our farm." "That's twice you've called him an idiot, pap. Why is that?" "I never owned that farm, Jase. When your mom and I got married, we just moved onto that land and built us a cabin." ------- Supper that night was almost like a party. We were all excited about being in St Louis and Tess was excited about her new horse. Millie was excited about buying things for our home. I was excited by just watching everyone else. Especially Millie. She was so pretty it almost hurt my eyes to look at her. Pap and Caleb had been talking to a guy who said there was a Captain Abner Smith looking to guide a wagon train to Oregon. He said Smith would be back in a day or two to talk with anyone who was wanting to go. "Did the guy say how much this Captain Smith was gonna charge to guide us?" I asked. "He said Smith will take up to fifty families for $200.00. More than that and the price goes up," Caleb said. "That ain't bad. That's only four dollars a family if there are fifty families," I said. "Well, this guy says that the last count they had there are only around twenty families including us that want to go. Smith wants to leave within the week, so there might not be that many more come in," Pap said. "I'm sure we can come up with the money, Pap. I've got some more pelts that I'm going to take in tomorrow and sell. I can help out if I need to." ------- When Millie, Tess and me crawled into bed that night, Tess pulled me to her and gave me a kiss that left me gasping for breath. "Thank you for Lady Gray," she said. "So, that's what you're naming her. It's a good name, Tess." "I'll call her Lady, but that's her name. She's so pretty. She almost looks like pewter." Millie pulled me over and gave an even bigger kiss than Tess had given me. "Thank you for making your sister happy," she said. "Woah, ladies. I got you them horses for a reason." "What's that?" Tess asked. "I got them so you could help me work our ranch." "Our ranch?" Tess asked. "I told pap today that the three of us are equal partners in the ranch we're gonna start." "Do you really mean that?" Tess asked. "As long as the two of you agree I do." I was hugged and kissed from both sides at once. I think Millie was as happy with the idea as Tess was. March 18, 1845 When everyone was up and moving around the next morning, I went to the farm wagon and got out my bundle of pelts. I pretty much knew what was there so I didn't have to go through them. I found pap and told him I was going to take Jughead in to town after breakfast to carry my pelts and to bring back some things Millie and I were going to need in Oregon. I wasn't a bit surprised that Tess wanted to go with us. We went to the fur trader's place first. I went in and told the man what I had. "Sure, bring them in, young man," the trader said. "That's our business." I brought the bundle in and Millie and Tess followed me. I figured I had about a hundred dollars worth of furs left and I wanted to know what the trader would offer. We opened the bundle and the trader sorted the pelts out by what kind of animal they were from. He carefully looked over a few pelts from each pile and nodded. "These are very good pelts. You do a good job preparing them." I thanked him and he went on. "If you had these pelts back east in Boston or New York, they'd be worth a lot more than they are here in St Louis. Let me make a tally and we'll see what we come up with." The trader counted each type of pelt and wrote down the number on a piece of paper. Then he sat down and started cyphering. After a few minutes he said, "Well, Mr. Tackett, I come up with a figure of $137.15. Does that sound satisfactory to you?" "Yes, sir. That sounds about right." "Just give me a minute and I'll be right back with your money," he said as he went into a back room. He came back in a few minutes and counted out the money on the same table where he had examined the furs. I watched him count it, then I scooped it up and put it in my pocket. I thanked him and we went back outside to the horses. "Did you get as much as you expected?" Millie asked. "Honey, I got about thirty-seven dollars more than I expected. I think George Brent, down at the store in Louisa has been cheating me. It almost makes me want to go back and speak to him." Tess laughed. "That'd be a long way to go, Jase." "Yeah, I know, but if we ever go back there, I'll definitely have words with him." ------- Chapter 6 We found the place where we'd been looking at the stuff for Millie and went in. The proprietor remembered us from the day before and he helped us stack up our purchases on the counter. Millie and Tess did most of the selecting but did ask my opinion on a few things. They bought a coffee grinder and coffee pot, two iron skillets, a Dutch oven, two sizes of kettles, a couple of butcher knives, tin table settings, eating utensils, things like big spoons and flap jack turners, two buckets, a wash tub and a washboard, some bread pans, and five dozen candles. While they were gathering all of this up, I asked the store keeper if he had the china dishes ready and he told me he did. He put them in the bottom of the washtub and we set some other things in on top of them. Everything ended up costing a lot more than what Millie had originally estimated, but I didn't mind at all. Getting everything packed on Jughead was another problem. We were all pretty good at packing mules though, so we finally got everything fixed so Jughead could carry them and so that nothing would spook him. When we got back to camp I told Millie she should get her mother so she could show her what she'd bought. Of course Tess ran off with her. I pulled the china dishes out and took them over to mom. "Mom, would you hide these in our wagon for me?" I asked. "Present?" she asked. "Yep." She smiled and took the dishes away. The girls brought Sally over and started excitedly showing her everything we'd gotten. "You need a butter churn, Girl," Sally said. She came up with a few other things before she was through. I told Millie we'd go back and get them tomorrow, after I made a hunt. Pap, Caleb, and Si were talking to a young man over by Caleb's wagon, so I wandered over to see what was going on. They introduced me to Jonathan Ware. Jonathan looked to be around twenty years old. He said he was wanting to go to Oregon, but all he had were a few traps, his rifle and single shot pistol, and a couple of horses. "I'd be willing to work for anyone, or drive a wagon or anything else. All I'd want in return is my board." We all talked for a few minutes and I found myself really liking this guy. He had a way about him that just said he was honest and a hard worker. He wanted to go to Oregon to do some trapping and build himself up a stake. I motioned for Caleb to follow me and we went over toward the farm wagon. "He seems like a nice guy, Caleb," I said. "Yeah, I'm thinking about asking him to drive our wagon. I think we have enough extra to feed him on the trip and he would be a big help. Besides, it'd get me off that damned wagon seat." I had to laugh at that. Even sitting on a cushion, Caleb hated riding on the wagon. "He'd be a big help if we have any Indian problems too." "I'm gonna talk to Sally about it right now," Caleb said. "If there's any supplies you need, just let me know, Caleb. Millie and I will buy them for you." "Thank you, Jase. I might have to take you up on that. If I do, you'll be paid back when we get to Oregon." I just nodded. ------- Tess and Millie decided they'd like to start cooking for the three of us, using our new things. I asked them how that was going to be fair, since there were two of us from one family and one from the other. "We talked it over with our moms," Millie told me. "We'll get the food to cook from my mom one night and from yours the next two. That makes it fair and it makes us more like a family." I knew Tess was a good cook and now I found out that Millie is just as good. I really kind of enjoyed sitting around our own campfire, eating our own meal. Somehow, it made us feel closer. March 18, 1845 I got up before daylight the next morning and got ready to go hunting. John (Jonathan) had told me the night before that he'd had some luck about five miles north of where we were camping, so I decided to head in that direction. I was a little surprised when Millie and Tess saddled their horses to go with me. I didn't even try to argue them out of it. We came out on top of a little hill near where John said he'd hunted, and I saw some wooded areas and some meadows below us. I told the girls to wait there with the horses and to bring them down when they heard a shot. I went down the hill, then stayed in the edge of the wooded areas as I worked my way around the meadows. I was probably a quarter mile away from the girls when I saw a big buck about a hundred yards ahead of me. I'd have liked to have worked my way closer, but with the wind the way it was and being in unfamiliar territory, I decided to take the shot from where I was standing. The buck was standing sideways to me and was cropping on some grass. I took a rest against a tree and lined up on him. I gently squeezed the trigger. He went down and never even moved. I reloaded my rifle and walked over to where he laid. He was a fine big buck and I knew he was going to be some good eating. I bled him then gutted him and removed his scent glands, then I sat back and waited for the girls. With Millie and Tess helping to lift the buck onto Jughead, it wasn't long before we were headed back toward camp. When we got there we turned him over to mom for butchering. We decided to wait until after our nooning to go into town and I'm glad we did. Captain Abner Smith showed up just as we were starting to eat. Caleb asked him to join us and he did. Smith told us he wanted to get rolling west within the next few days because he wanted to spend the winter trapping in the Columbia River area. "We have 27 families right now, which would make the cost at just over seven dollars per family," he said. "Everyone I've talked to says they can come up with that much." We agreed we could too. "It's March 19th now. Would you folks be ready if we left on the 22nd?" Pap told him we were ready today and he said some of the other families needed to pick up some stuff before they'd be ready. He seemed to know what he was doing and he knew the route. I was sure we were going to be satisfied with him as our guide. Smith left right after we finished eating, so I told Caleb I'd like to take his farm wagon into town and pick up a few things. He agreed, so we hitched up the wagon and headed into town. We ended up buying the butter churn and the other things Sally said we needed, and then bought a barrel of pickles and a hundred pounds of onions. We added to that a couple of guidebooks that told of the route to Oregon and the rivers we'd have to cross. We also spent a little time just going through the shops in the area. We didn't buy anything, but we knew this was the last big city we'd be in for years to come. We didn't get back to camp until just before supper time. March 19, 1845 The next two days went by quickly. We were busy making sure everything was just right with the wagons and with the animals. Si had been a blacksmith, and he checked the shoes of the horses and the oxen. Caleb and I greased all of the axles of the wagons and touched them up with tar where they needed it. We were to leave on Wednesday, so I went hunting again the day before we left. I brought back another deer. March 22, 1845 Captain Smith wanted to get an early start on Wednesday, March 22, 1845, but it wasn't to be. Our wagons and animals were ready to go when Captain Smith was, but I don't think some of the people going with us had ever seen a team of mules or oxen before, let alone harnessed them. It looked like a bunch of kids chasing a litter of half growed hogs. It was after nine before Captain Smith had all of the wagons lined up and ready to roll out. Our wagons started six places back from the front of the train. After they were all rolling, things went smoothly for a while. Captain Smith was dressed in buckskins much like Millie, Tess and I were. After a while he came back and pulled up beside me as we were moving our livestock along. "You look like you know what you're doing," he said. "Well, we've come a ways already," I told him. "Where'd you start out from?" "We're from Lawrence County, Kentucky," I said. "It's over on the eastern end. We came down the river on a flatboat to Evansville, Indiana, and we've come overland since then." "I figured you'd been at it for a while. There's one wagon a ways back where the woman is driving the wagon and the man and his two growed sons are chasing a bunch of hogs all over the state of Missouri." "Yeah, hogs are the worst. We lost two the first night we were on the trail. They just wandered away in the night. Since then we've been lucky." "Those are some fine looking beef cattle you have there. Are your parents gonna start a ranch in Oregon?" "No, them are mine and Millie's and Tess' cattle. We're gonna be starting the ranch. Millie and I are gonna get married when we get to Oregon. Tess is my sister." "Well, you may have a chance to add to your herd before you even get to Oregon. There are several people on this train who have good beef stock, but don't know one thing about herding them. The last time I took out a train, several people sold their cattle for nearly nothing." "Thanks, Captain Smith. I'll keep that in mind." "Just call me Ab. I'm not a Captain any more. I couldn't take the buffalo dung they kept trying to make us swallow in the army." "Okay, Ab. I'm Jase." We shook hands and he said he'd better check to see that the lead wagon wasn't headed for Boston. Millie rode over after Smith left and asked, "What did Smith want?" "He just wanted me to tell you he thinks you have a cute butt," I said with a straight face. Millie gasped, then she realized I was funning her so she hit me on the shoulder. "You'd better watch out or you won't get to snuggle up to that butt tonight." "Oh, I've been watching alright," I said. Millie shook her head and rode back to the herd. ------- We ended up with 31 wagons in the train. Ab wanted us to practice circling the wagons for our nooning, so he gave the order. I'd never seen the like in all of my born days. He had spent a lot of time yesterday going over just how to do things, but some people just don't listen. The first ten wagons went just fine, then the yahoo behind us couldn't figure out what to do so he went straight instead of turning. The guy after him knew he was supposed to follow the wagon in front of him, so he followed the yahoo. The guy behind him did the same, then the wagoner behind him realized what was going on, so he made the turn and started following us. The jughead behind him couldn't make up his mind and ended up making a bigger circle than the rest of us. Millie, Tess and me just sat there on our horses with our mouths open watching. Ab came riding up and said, "Ain't that a sight to see? I sure am glad we weren't being attacked by hostile Indians." "I don't know, Ab. They might have all fallen off their horses from laughing. We could have just walked around and shot them all in our own good time." Ab's belly laugh scared the hogs and Millie and Tess had to ride off and round them up. We watched them work the hogs, then Ab asked, "Most folks get buckskin outfits like you all are wearing by trading with the Indians. Is that where you got yours?" "No, mom is a Cherokee Indian. She's always made mine and Tess' clothes. Millie liked the way they felt when she was riding a horse, so mom made her a couple of outfits too." "I didn't want to be nosey. It's just that most people out west who wear buckskins are savvy people who know what they're doing. That's why I started watching you guys. I wondered if you were savvy or if you were just some worthless easterners who had bought some decent clothes. I decided you're all savvy." "Thanks Ab. When I was a little feller it was pretty wild around where we grew up. Tess and I learned a lot from mom. Millie's pap is Caleb. He's a good man too and he taught us all a lot." Ab nodded. "I could tell that." The girls got the hogs under control and rode back over. We all talked for a few minutes while we watched the wagon drivers try to sort things out, then Ab said he'd better go help. Ab finally got them straightened out, then he let everyone have their meal. Afterwards he got us on the road again. Twice more that afternoon he called for them to circle the wagons. The first time they almost got it right. The second was a little better still. When we stopped for the night, they managed to get the wagons circled without too much difficulty. We only made twelve miles and camped outside the village of St Peters, Missouri. ------- Before we went to bed, Ab called everyone together and told them that if they weren't ready to pull out by 7:00 AM, they'd be left behind. There was some grumbling, but he explained to them the importance of getting through the mountains before winter and that it wasn't fair to put everyone in danger because they couldn't get out of bed or get moving. John started sleeping under Caleb's wagon with Sam and the kids. I didn't envy him. He came over and sat and talked with us for a spell before bedtime. March 23, 1845 The people in the other wagons made more of an effort this morning than they had before. We didn't leave at seven, but it was only shortly afterwards when we heard Ab call out, "Wagons Ho!" The first night on the trail, everyone kind of stayed with their own families. That would change before long. Six months is a long time to be traveling with a group of people. Before long you get to know all of them. Caleb had spent our first day of travel with the train riding the wagon. I guess he was wanting to see how John was going to do with it. This morning, he was riding with us, helping with the livestock. This gave us all a little more freedom. We left Tess to help Caleb and then Millie and I rode back along the train to say howdy to people. The guy who had messed up the first wagon circle yesterday was the first one to wave us down. "Howdy," I said as we slowed and turned to ride beside his wagon. "Howdy, folks. I'm Abe Wilkes. Do you know what's goin on up front?" "I'm Jase Tackett and this is Millie Lawson," I said. "There's nothing going on that I know of." "I just worry. I don't like being here in the back like this. I'm used to being up in the front." As he spoke I was looking at three little faces peeking under the cover of the wagon. I thought there were two girls and a boy, but at that age I couldn't tell for sure. "Mr. Wilkes, you're in the first third of the train. We're the next people in front of you." "I'd still like to be up front. That's what I'm used to." I could tell this guy didn't have a full charge of powder, so I said, "Well, I sure wouldn't want to be clear in the front. When the Indians attack, they're the ones that'll get attacked first." "Lord, nobody said nothing about no Injuns," Wilkes said. "Are we gonna run into Injuns?" "Could be, Mr. Wilkes. That's why Captain Smith wants us to be able to circle up the wagons like we did yesterday. If Indians attack, we'll be inside the circle and it won't be as easy to shoot us." "Are you sure about that, young man." "I'm sure, but you should ask Captain Smith about it tonight." "I'll do that." "You take care, Mr. Wilkes. We're headed toward the back of the train." Millie an me rode off then she said, "That wasn't very nice, Jase Tackett. That poor man is gonna fret about that all day." "He needs to fret, Honey. He's the one who went straight when they circled the wagons yesterday." Millie started giggling and I didn't think I was gonna get her to stop. ------- After a while Tess came back and joined us. She said Caleb had everything under control. We met a few other people as we rode back along the line and we saw a lot of good beef cattle. We stopped and helped a couple of boys who were having a lot of trouble with strays getting away from their herd. We stopped and talked with them after we had their cows moving in the right direction again. The oldest boy said his name was Gil Jacobs and that he was thirteen. His brother was Paul and looked to be a couple of years younger. "I'm Jase Tackett and this is my future wife Millie and my sister Tess," I said. "It's nice to meet you folks," Gil said. "Those are some real nice horses you've got there. They really help with the cattle." "Yeah. I wouldn't want to try to drive this many cattle on foot. What have you got? Around twenty head?" "Nineteen, actually. We had a bull, but he got drowned as we were fording a river in Illinois." "That's a real shame, Gil. We've got a good bull, but we've only got six cows. I'd like to have more, but that's all we could get a hold of before we left Kentucky." "Pa might sell you some of these if you're interested. He says he's about sick of them." "We're up ahead of you guys a ways. Tell your Pa to stop by and see us if he wants to sell any. We might be able to work something out." Gil said he would and we rode on. "Do you think they might sell us some of those cattle?" Millie asked after we were out of hearing. "I don't know, Honey. Maybe. I don't know if their pa knows how hard it is on those boys, trying to drive the cattle without horses." "Maybe we could work out a deal where they could mix their cattle with ours. We could help with the driving for some of the cows when we get to Oregon," Tess said. "That's a smart idea, Sis," I said. "That way we wouldn't have to spend any money." We rode on back up to our livestock and gave Caleb a break. It wasn't long after that when Ab called for a nooning. ------- The afternoon went pretty well. Ab said we'd be traveling between two rivers, but that we wouldn't have to cross either one of then. That suited us just fine. Most of the little streams we had to cross weren't too bad. We stopped along the banks of one of them for the night. Millie and Tess were really getting into cooking for the three of us. I'll swear we were eating better than when we had been at home. Ben Jacobs came by just after we'd finished supper. Gill introduced all of us then sat quietly listening to the conversation. "I hear you might be interested in buying some cattle," Ben said after we had talked a little while. "I might be," I said. "Were you thinking about starting a ranch when we get to Oregon?" "I'd thought about it. I'm not sure I'm cut out for it, though. I was a school teacher back in Ohio and I don't think I know enough about cattle to make a go of it. We lost our bull in Illinois and that pretty much killed any thought of a ranch." "Not necessarily," I said. "It depends on where you plan to settle. If you were close to us, we'd let you use our bull until you had one of your own." "Well, I've just about given up on them anyway. The boys are running themselves to death trying to keep them moving. I can't help because I have to drive the wagon. I've been thinking of starting killing them off for food." "Don't do that, Ben. I'm sure we can work something out. My sister, Tess, was saying earlier that we might be able to work out a trade of some kind. Are you running short of meat?" "Yeah. What with driving the wagon I don't have much time to hunt. Gill is a fairly good shot, but he's tied up with the cattle." "Why don't we do this. Why don't we put your cattle with ours? You could paint a big 'J' on the side of each of them with tar. Let one of your boys help us drive them. We'll put him on a horse so it's easier for him. When we get to Oregon, you give us a third of what we have left when we get there." "That sounds reasonable," Ben said. "I'll take Gil with me every time I go hunting. I hunt for four families now. I'll guarantee we'll bring back meat for you." "Okay, but if you're helping to supply meat, you get half of the cattle when we get to Oregon." "Fair enough," I said. We talked for a while longer and Millie told Ben she didn't think he should give up teaching completely. "There are going to be a lot of kids born in Oregon in the next ten years," she said. "We're going to need teachers." "I've been thinking about that too. That's part of the reason I'm not too concerned about the cattle." March 24, 1845 It is really nice waking up between my future wife and my sister. We hadn't been sleeping naked since before we got to St Louis, but knowing you're between two people who love you is an experience better than any I've ever had before. We talked to Caleb before the Jacobs boys came over and made sure it was okay for them to use two of his horses. "We'll pay you for the use of your horses, Caleb," I said. "We're going to be getting extra cattle out of this, so we should be giving you something for their use." "No, Jase. You're supplying us with meat. Even swap as far as I can see it. I'll even teach the boys how to work the livestock if you'd like." "I'd appreciate that. I've never taught anyone and I never had anyone teach me. I just kind of picked it up on my own." When Gil and Paul came over, Caleb pretty well took them over. Caleb is a natural teacher. He made them feel at ease as he learned what riding experience they had and started teaching them what they needed to know. As we watched them, it became apparent that Gil was the more talkative of the two boys, probably because he was older. Paul was a much better rider than his older brother though. When Paul was in the saddle, it seemed like he was part of the horse. By the time Ab stopped us for nooning, both boys were working the cattle and even the hogs like they were born to it. The boys went back to eat with their folks. "They did a good job," Caleb told me as Millie and Tess were fixing us some lunch. "By tomorrow, we could probably leave them alone with the herd and they'd be fine." "I need to hunt tomorrow. We're running short and I promised meat to Ben Jacobs. I'd like to scout ahead this afternoon if you think you and the boys can handle things. I know Millie and Tess are going to want to go with me." Caleb laughed. "Yeah, you and Millie kind of seem like you're joined at the hip. Go ahead and take them. We'll be okay." After we ate, I asked the girls if they'd like to take a ride. "Sure, where to?" Millie asked. "I need to hunt tomorrow. I thought me might take a look at some places I might find deer, close to where we'll camp." "Do you know where we're going to camp?" Tess asked. "No, but we can get an idea from Ab before we leave." "Have you been watching the Wilkes at all?" Millie asked. "No. Can't say that I have. Why?" "He's being a real butt hole to his wife. She fixed him a nice lunch and all he could do was complain about it. Then the kids started fussing a bit and he said, 'keep them damned kids quiet'." "We'll keep an eye on him. If it gets too bad, we'll report it to Ab. They're an odd couple anyway. He looks like he's older than Caleb and she's not much older than us." "Yeah, we noticed that too," Tess said. "If he was someone like Caleb, I could understand it. Not Abe Wilkes though." ------- Chapter 7 We mounted up and rode over to where Ab was getting ready to start the wagons moving again. "Howdy, Ab," I said as we pulled up. "Howdy. I see you've got a couple of new wranglers over your way," he said. "Yeah, they were having a hard time with their herd, so we worked out a deal where, we'd mix the two herds together and one or both of the boys would help with the herding." Ab smiled real big. "And for that, you get part of their herd, right?" "Yep. I also agreed to hunt for them as well. I'm hunting for five families now." "I'm impressed. Can you supply enough meat for five families?" "I think so. Actually, that's why we stopped by. We're going to ride ahead and scout out a place to hunt. We were wondering if you had any idea where we were going to stop for the night. I'd like to find a place close to there if I can." Ab looked thoughtful and said, "I'm thinking we'll make another ten miles today if someone's wagon don't break down or something. If I remember right, there's a nice stream about ten miles out that's a good camping place. It's straight ahead in the direction we're going now." "That sounds good," I said. "We may just wait for you there." "Okay, I'm gonna get these people moving. Be careful." We assured him we would and took off to the northwest. ------- We talked as we rode along. Millie and Tess were both indignant about how Becky Wilkes was being treated. "You're not going to be like that, are you, Jase?" Millie asked. "There's no way he would," Tess said before I could even open my mouth. "When I was learning to cook, I made some awful messes. Jase ate every one of them and didn't say a word." I had to laugh. "Some of them were pretty hard to swallow, Tess." Tess started giggling. "I know. Remember that sweet potato pie I made. I couldn't even eat it. Jase just took one piece, but he got it down." "Yeah, I worried about keeping it down though." "I've had some things turn out really bad too. Pap was always good about them, but Bob and Sam gave me a rough time." "Oh, Jase would give me a little dig once in a while. He'd say something like remember that sweet potato pie we had last week? When I said I did, he'd say, 'Let's not have that again for a spell'." Millie giggled. "Bob would have said, 'This is the worst piece of shit I've ever tasted'. He'd have gone on until I was crying." "I should have kicked his ass before he left," I said. "You broke his finger. That'll work." ------- We must have been eight or nine miles ahead of the wagons when we pulled up in this grassy valley to get a drink from our canteens. "I'm sure we're on the right track," I told Millie and Tess. "This is about the only way the wagons could come." "I think you're right," Millie said. "We should be coming to the creek Ab was talking about before long." Why don't you ladies wait right here for a minute?" I asked. "I'm going to ride up onto that hill on our right. I might be able to see the creek from here." Both girls agreed they could use a break, so they sat talking as I rode up the hill. Just before I reached the crest of the hill, I heard a noise on the other side. I stopped Sin and dismounted. I quietly pulled my rifle out of its scabbard and walked slowly until I could see over the top. I still couldn't see anything, so I moved up a little farther. I glanced back over my shoulder at Millie and Tess and I saw they were watching me intently. I finally reached a point where I could see over into the next valley. What I saw nearly caused me to stop breathing. I knew the animal below me had to be a bull elk. I'd never seen one, but I'd heard them described. The animal was huge. It had to be at least twice the size of the big buck I had shot shortly before we left Kentucky. I eased myself down to the ground and crawled forward until I could rest on my elbows and sight him with my rifle. I took careful aim as I watched him graze. Finally, everything was as I wanted it, so I squeezed the trigger. The big .50 caliber bullet hit him like a sledge hammer. Even so, he took a couple of steps before he fell. I waved to the girls and motioned for them to come to me. Then I reloaded my rifle and waited for them. I had remounted Sin when they got to me. "What was that?" Millie asked. "Elk, I think." We rode on over the top and Tess let out a gasp when they saw the huge animal. He was laying on the near slope and even from where we were he looked huge. When we got down to him, the girls helped me to get him turned so his head was downhill, then I slit his throat to bleed him out. "Yeah, I think that is an elk," Millie said. "Pap used to talk about seeing them up north. I had no idea they were so big though." "Well, it don't look like I'm going to have to hunt tomorrow," I said. Millie laughed. "I don't think you're gonna have to hunt for a week." ------- We gutted the elk out then put the heart and the liver back into the body cavity to save. We talked about whether to go back and meet the wagons, or to wait for them to come up to us. I figured we had about three or four mules worth of meat. I didn't want to leave it for the scavengers and I was against splitting up. We sat on the top of the hill and watched back the way we had come. We had been sitting there for a while when I asked Tess, "You didn't like Bob or Sam for a suitor. What do you think of John Ware?" Tess thought for a minute before she answered. "He seems like a nice guy and he is good looking. There's something strange about him though." "Strange in what way?" I asked. "I don't know what it is. There's just something about him that makes me feel weird when I talk to him or when he looks at me." "Are you afraid of him, Hon?" I asked. "No... Not afraid. Have you noticed anything, Millie?" "There's something there. I didn't want to say anything because I thought it might be just my imagination. I can't put my finger on it either." "Well... It makes me want to keep an eye on him. I'll mention it to Caleb too. Maybe he'll have noticed something." We sat talking for a while then I said, "Why don't we walk around and talk with some of the other families after supper? I'd like to get to know some of the people we're traveling with." "That sounds like a good idea," Millie said. "So far, the only people we've really met outside our families are the Wilkes and the Jacobs." "Yeah, and Abe Wilkes is a complete loss," Tess said. ------- Sitting near the top of the hill I'd climbed when I shot the elk, we could see the wagons coming long before they reached us. We mounted up and rode to meet them. Ab was out in front, as usual. He rode on ahead when he saw us. "Did you find the creek?" he asked. "We never really got there," I said. "I spotted an elk back over that hill there and I put him down. Tess, why don't you go back and get mom. Tell Caleb we need a pack saddle on Jughead." "I'll go with her," Millie said. When they were gone, I asked Ab, "Do you handle problems with people or families?" "Well, usually a wagon train elects a Captain who takes care of domestic problems. We've only been on the trial a couple of days, so I hadn't suggested it yet." "Well, there were a couple of people Millie and Tess were wondering about. I guess it'll keep until we elect a captain." "If there's something bothering any of you, let me know. I need to be aware of anything that's going on." "Well... There's really nothing that's a big problem so far. Abe Wilkes seems to be being awfully harsh with his wife. The girls are all riled up about it, but Mrs. Wilkes hasn't complained. The other thing is, do you know anything about John Ware?" "I wasn't aware of Wilkes, but I'll keep an eye on him. He's the jackass that screwed up circling the wagons the first time we did it. I thought Ware was part of your family group. Leastwise that's what he told me." "No, we never met him until we got to St Louis. He said he wanted to go to Oregon to do some trapping and that he'd drive a wagon for his food." "Now that's strange. I wonder why he told me something different. Was there something that he did that got you wondering?" "Not me. He's easy to talk to and I kinda like him. Tess says he makes her feel weird when he looks at her or talks to her. I know that don't sound like much, but Tess isn't one to have the vapors over nothing." "Well, add that to the fact that he told us different stories and it's something worth looking into. Keep your eye on him for me, would you Jase." "Sure, no problem. Caleb's around him more than me, so I'll ask him to keep his eyes open too. Now, I see mom coming. I'd better get so I can help her butcher that elk." ------- We had elk steaks for supper and boy were they good. Millie put salt, pepper and garlic on them before she grilled them over the fire. I felt like I could have eaten that whole elk. Tess teased me that I was going to get fat, but I wasn't too worried about that. It seemed like everything I'd eaten during the last year had gone to making me taller. At sixteen years old I was just over six feet tall and weighed around 185 pounds. I ate so much I didn't want to move, but Millie and Tess wanted to go introduce ourselves to some of our neighbors like we had talked about. They could pretty much talk me into anything, so we went visiting. We said howdy to Abe Wilkes as we went by, but didn't stop to talk. The next family after them was George and Ines Kent. We all introduced ourselves and said our 'Howdies' then Ines brought out each of her five kids and introduced them as well. Both of the Kents were under thirty and their kids ranged in age from a two year old to a nine year old. The kids were Jack, Alice, Mary, Bob, and the baby was Julie. We talked for a while about what we had done before we left for Oregon and about what we wanted to do when we got there. They had been farmers in Pennsylvania and they wanted to farm in Oregon. "Our place back in Penn was just too small and the ground wasn't that good," George said. "We figure we'll get a place that'll be big enough to grow everything we need and some to sell as well." George had to show us his horses. They were his pride and joy. We'd seen them as we rode by and had commented on them to each other. "They're from the Clyde valley in Scotland," George said as we stood beside what had to be the biggest horses I'd ever seen. "They're called Clydesdales. My pap had the first ones brought over from Scotland about twenty years ago. They're the best draft horses in the world." George literally glowed with pride over his animals. I could understand why. They were so big they made Sin look like a pony. George seemed like a nice enough guy and although Ines was relatively quiet, she seemed happy and contented. We talked so long with the Kents, we decided we'd best get back and get our bed made up before it got too dark to see. Abe Wilkes stopped us on our way back through. "I talked to Captain Smith about the Injuns," he said. "He says we won't be in Injun country until after we pass St Jo." "I didn't say we were in Indian country now, Mr. Wilkes. All I said was that I wouldn't want to be in the first few wagons when we got to Indian country." "I think you misled me, young man, and I'm going to be keeping my eye on you." "That's fine, Mr. Wilkes. You sleep well now," I said as we started to walk off. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. I just shook my head and went on. There's just no way of pleasing some people. March 25, 1845 Ben came by after we'd had breakfast and thanked us for the elk meat. He said it was some of the best meat he'd ever eaten and that they had enough to last at least a week. It started raining right after we pulled out. It wasn't a heavy rain, just a cold drizzle. Everyone was wrapped up in something as we moved along. Surprisingly enough, we made pretty good time. We only had a couple of small creeks to cross all day and that helped. After supper, no one felt like visiting, so we just sat huddled together under our wagon. Darkness came early because of the overcast skies and we were just as happy it did. Since it was still raining, we couldn't hang our clothes on the wagon wheels to dry out, so we hung them under the wagon instead. All three of us got naked and climbed under the covers. Millie and I kissed and I rubbed her butt. She whispered to me that I could touch her wherever I wanted. Tess heard her and said in a whisper, "I heard that Millie. You are a shameless woman." Then she giggled. "Maybe so, Tess, but I really want to feel his hands on me. It lets me know we belong together." Tess sighed. "I know, Millie. I was just teasing. It surprises me you haven't you know... Done it yet." Millie giggled. "I wish we had." While they were talking, I was rubbing Millie's butt. Now, I kissed her and brought my hand up and cupped her beautiful breast. She gasped into my mouth when I started rolling her nipple between my thumb and first finger. "Millie, my love," I said when we broke the kiss. "If we don't stop this now, we're going to have to start looking for a minister in the morning." Tess and Millie both giggled, but I turned on my back and put my arms around both of them. Millie pulled my hand back to her breast and sighed when I gently squeezed it. We drifted off to sleep that way. March 26, 1845 I awoke with a breast in each hand. One of Millie's and one of Tess'. "Oh shit!" I thought. I started to gently remove my hand from Tess' breast, but she put her hand over mine and said, "It's okay, Jase. I've been awake for a while and that feels good." I squeezed her breast and then pulled my hand away. "Sometimes I wish you weren't my brother," Tess said. "Millie and I would be fighting over you." "Yeah, but I'd win," Millie said from the other side of me. "I'm quicker and meaner than you are." "Yeah, but I fight dirty, Sis," Tess said and then broke out into giggles. Millie started giggling too, and before long I was laughing with them. We got up and put our still damp and very cold clothes on. It had stopped raining sometime during the night, but nothing had dried out. We got a fire going and huddled around it. When everyone else started getting up, Millie and Tess started breakfast. Abe Wilkes walked by and glared at me. It looked like he was heading toward Ab's tent. He glared at me again as he went back through a little later. Ab managed to get the wagons moving early. Paul and Gil were enthusiastic about working the cattle and hogs, so Caleb just kind of let them do it while he watched. Millie, Tess, and I didn't have anything to do, so we rode up front to talk with Ab for a while. "Mornin, folks," Ab said as we rode up beside him. We all told him good morning. "What's Wilkes all fired up about this morning?" he asked. "I don't rightly know," I said. "He went by our cooking fire twice this morning and if looks could kill, you'd be burying me right now." "He came by this morning and said that you were trying to scare him off so he'd turn back." "I was talking to him the other day and he said he wanted to be in the front wagon. I know it's none of my business, but I could just imagine him in the front wagon when you called for circling the wagons." Ab laughed and I went on. "I told him I wouldn't want to be in the front wagon when we got to Indian territory. I said they'd be the first ones attacked." "Ah, now I see. I didn't set any store in it anyway. He also told me that the guy next to him has these devil horses and he just knows the guy is gonna sick them on him." "Ab, the guy next to him is George Kent. He's a real nice man. He was a farmer in Pennsylvania before they left for Oregon. His horses are draft horses. Biggest ones I've ever seen, but as gentle as a babe." "I've seen those horses. They are big. They're beautiful animals." "We got a close look at them last night," Tess said. "When I was standing beside them, the top of my head just come up to the top of their backs." "Maybe one of them would do you some damage if he stepped on you, accidently, but they'd never hurt you any other way. They're certainly not devil horses," I said. "I'm afraid we're going to have some problems with Mr. Wilkes," Ab said. "It seems like he thinks everyone is out to get him." I just nodded. We rode on beside Ab for a ways. He said the going should be good again today and that we should make quite a few miles. Finally, the girls and I decided to go back and see how Ben's boys were doing. ------- Ab was right. We made twenty miles that day. We talked with him again after we had made camp for the night. He had told us we'd be spending a day near Huntsville, Missouri in a couple of days. "It's a small town, but they do have a blacksmith. I usually stop there for one day to let people have a chance to make repairs on their wagons." At least we had a dry camp that night. Our clothes were even dry. March 27, 1845 It was misty all day today. We still managed to get in 19 miles. Not much happened except we got to meet the Hamiltons. Clifford and Abigail were a nice young couple. They weren't much older than we were. They had one little girl named Pauline, who was less than a year old. March 28, 1845 Today seemed like a long day. Ab had said we should be getting into Huntsville today and I guess that's what made it seem so long. Huntsville, itself, was a letdown when we got there. There were only a couple of hundred people in the town. There was a general store, so the girls planned for me to take them to it tomorrow. We snuggled up after we went to bed. We weren't in any hurry to fall asleep as we knew we could sleep late in the morning. Millie and I started kissing. Usually we just have one kiss and quit for a while. Tonight, one kiss went right into the next one. After a while, I slid my hand up under her tunic and cupped her breast. She moaned in my mouth as I started playing with her nipple. After a while I felt Millie's hand slide tentatively down between us. Soon, she made contact with my cock. She wrapped her hand around it through my britches and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. That was the first time anyone had ever touched me in a sexual way. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I had felt Tess moving around and now I realized she had propped herself up on one elbow and was watching us. I pulled away from our kiss and Millie's hand came back up on my hip. Millie realized Tess was watching us so she looked her in the eye and asked, "Are you enjoying the show?" Tess giggled. "Yeah, I just wish there was more light so I could see better," she teased. That got Millie and I laughing too. It's probably a good thing as we might have gone too far if we'd have kept up. I turned on my back and put my arm around Tess too. We soon drifted off to sleep. ------- Chapter 8 March 29, 1845 We did manage to stay in bed until after daylight. It was mom, moving around, getting her cooking fire burning that awakened me. Tess stirred shortly afterwards and when I hugged her she leaned over and gave me a kiss. "I hope you know I love you, Jase," she said. "I love you too, Tess." "What about me?" Millie asked. "Tess loves you too, Millie," I said with a grin. Millie started to hit me so I said, "I adore you." Millie's kiss would have started a prairie fire. "We're going to have to do something, Millie. I don't know how long I can stand us firing each other up like this." Tess giggled. "The obvious solution is to either get married or to say the hell with it and get married when Millie starts to get big." "Tess!" Millie exclaimed. "Well, just think about it, Sis. Every night you two go at it. Every night he rubs your butt or plays with your tits. Every night you moan and groan like you was coming down with the ague or something. Face it, something is going to happen. It's just a matter of time." "You know she's right, Millie. There was a church in Huntsville when we passed through. That means there should be a parson. Maybe we should just go ahead and get married." Millie thought for a few minutes then said, "Let's go talk to pap." I wasn't looking forward to it, but I went along. We were holding hands as we walked up to him. "Pap," Millie said when we got there. "It's awful hard being close to Jase all the time, feeling the way we do, and not being married." Caleb looked at her then grinned. That's easy to fix, girl, from now on, you can start sleeping in the wagon with me and your ma." "That ain't gonna happen, Pap. Jase and I are as good as married now. That ain't gonna change. There's a church here in town and if they have a parson, Jase and I would like to get married today." Caleb looked at me and asked, "What do you say about this, Jase?" "Caleb, I love your daughter with all of my heart. I just want what's best for her and I think us getting married now may be what's best." "What about what you said about not wanting to make Millie a fifteen year old widow?" "We've talked about that some, Caleb. I guess I'll just have to be especially careful." "Your mind's set on this, Daughter?" "Yes it is, Pap." "I'll tell your ma. You should see if you have a pretty dress to wear. I don't want you getting married in buckskins." Millie threw her arms around Caleb and hugged him until I thought the stuffings were gonna come out. When her and Tess ran off to their wagon to look for a dress, Caleb said, "Take good care of her, Son." "I'll do my best, Caleb. I'd cut off my right arm before I'd hurt her." We shook hands and I went to mom and pap's wagon to get my good buckskins. ------- I told mom and pap what we were doing and they said they wanted to come with us. I changed into my good buckskins and went over to Caleb's wagon. Caleb and Sally were standing outside. Sally came running to me and gave me a big hug. "You're making my daughter very happy," she told me. "She's been in love with you for at least five years." "Well, Sally, I feel the same way. It was about that time that I realized I was in love with Millie." "How are we gonna get all this bunch into town?" Caleb asked. I was just going to answer him when Ab came walking up. "What's going on?" he asked. "Millie and I decided we were going to see if there is a parson in town. We'd like to go ahead and get married instead of waiting until we get to Oregon." "You don't have to go into town to get married," Ab said. "We have a minister right here on our wagon train." I looked at Caleb and then at Sally. Both of them nodded. "That makes sense to me," I said. "I'll have to ask Millie what she thinks though." Caleb laughed and said to Ab, "At least he's learned something about women already." Both men got a good laugh out of that. When Millie came back out, she looked the prettiest I'd ever seen her. I didn't think I could even talk. She came over to me and took my hand. "Are you ready to go to town?" she asked. I still couldn't get my mouth to work, so Caleb spoke up. "Daughter, Ab says there's a minister right here on the wagon train. Would you rather have our minister do it or would you rather see if there's a minister in town?" Millie thought for a minute then said, "Pap, I think I'd rather have the minister from the train do it. It seems more like family that way." We all nodded our agreement then Ab said, "I'll walk around to his wagon and see if he's willing to perform the ceremony." Ab walked off and Millie, Tess, and I walked a little ways off so we could talk in private. We didn't really have a lot to say, but we did want to be alone. Before long, we saw Ab coming back with a man dressed in the typical black parson's robes. We had all seen him a few times over the last week although he was not dressed as he was now. I hadn't really talked to him yet as he was toward the back of the wagon train. He introduced himself as the Reverend Nathaniel Green. "So, you young folks are ready to tie the knot. I suppose you've given this some thought?" "Yes, Sir," I said. "Millie and I have been in love for years. We were going to wait until we got to Oregon to get married, but we've decided it would be better if we went ahead and did it now." "Well, um, yes. Okay, let's get set up over by the wagon there," he said, pointing. He arranged everyone the way he wanted us then proceeded with the ceremony. He started out with a long prayer and then a long sermon. I was almost ready for lunch when he finally got around to the part about getting us married. When he got to the questions, we were ready for him and answered them the way they were supposed to be answered. Finally, the Reverend Green said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife." I grabbed Millie and kissed her. She kissed back as well as she received. While the preacher was speaking, there must have been twenty or thirty people who gathered around to watch. When Millie and I kissed, they all started clapping their hands. When we finally broke apart, almost everyone there had to come up and shake our hands and wish us luck. It seemed like these people all felt like family. We hadn't even met some of them yet, but there was a closeness there that I'd never felt with outsiders before. I slipped the minister a gold eagle before he left. He looked at it and gave me a big smile. ------- When all of the hubbub had died down, Millie and I changed back into our regular clothes. We kissed and I asked Millie how it felt to be a married lady. "It feels right, Jase. It feels like this is the way it should be." I had to agree. When we got out of the wagon, Caleb was waiting for us. "How would you folks like your own wagon?" he asked. "That'd be nice, Caleb," I said and looked at Millie. She nodded and smiled. "Well, I was thinking. Ab says there's a place in town where we could buy bows like hold up the cover on our wagons. He says the guy also has sail cloth for a covering. If we could put a cover on the farm wagon, it'd be just about as good as one of the Conestogas and it's even bigger than they are. It's a foot wider and just as long." "Are you saying you'd sell us the farm wagon, Caleb?" "No, I'm saying it can be yours and Millie's wedding present." Millie was smiling and gripping my arm like she was trying to squeeze it in two. "Well, we thank you kindly. Do you think the bows would fit a wider wagon?" "Yeah, they'll bend some. Why don't we go in and see the guy? Ab says he's the blacksmith. We could take the farm wagon with us and he can tell us if everything would fit." "Okay, I think we should take our horses too. We may need to leave the wagon." We got our horses saddled and the oxen hitched to the farm wagon. We were only about a mile out of town, so the trip in didn't take long. Caleb and I went into the blacksmith's shop to talk with him. I explained to him what we needed while he chewed on a plug of tobacco. The blacksmith spit out a stream of juice that almost hit a bucket he had for the purpose and said, "Let's take a look at her." He walked around the wagon and looked it over carefully. Then he looked underneath. "We can do it," he said. "The wagon looks to be in really good shape." "Could you do it by tomorrow morning and how much is it going to cost?" "Getting it done by tomorrow morning won't be a problem. I've a couple of growed boys that do all my carpenter work. It will cost a bit though. A regular wagon takes five bows. This'n 'll take six so the bows will cost you $4.00. The cover will cost you ten dollars. It's made out of sail cloth and is stitched all around the outsides. I'd say another five dollars for putting it all together. That'd be nineteen dollars all told." I looked at Millie and she smiled and nodded. "Let's do it," I said. "Do you want the money in advance?" "No, I know Ab Smith. He wouldn't have sent you in if you couldn't be trusted. You can pick her up right after sunup in the morning." We thanked him and mounted up. "He seems like a good man," Caleb said as we rode back to camp. "When we get the wagon back, tomorrow, we'll shuffle some stuff around to give you some more room. There's a couple of barrels and a few other things we can move over to our wagon. Your pap says there's some stuff of his we can move too." "We don't want to put you guys out, Caleb. We can just move some of the stuff around." "It won't be putting us out, Son. Besides that, we'll be moving all of Millie's stuff over here and all of your stuff out of your pap's wagon." ------- When we got back to camp, I asked Millie and Tess if there was anything they could think of that we'd need if we were going to be totally on our own. "I can think of a few things we should get at the general store," Millie said. "Yeah, I'd like to look around too," Tess said. "Sometimes you don't remember you need something until you've seen it." "You mean when you see something you decide you want it?" I teased. Tess grinned and said, "That too." We ate some lunch and were just getting ready to go back into town when Ab came by. "I was wanting to talk to you," I said. "We're getting the farm wagon converted into a covered wagon. The blacksmith says we can pick it up right after sunup in the morning. Is that going to hold anything up?" "No. We probably won't be leaving until around noon anyway. Some of the people here have a lot more to do to be ready. I didn't realize how bad a shape a couple of the wagons were in." "Well we just didn't want to hold you up. We're gonna go back in town and do some shopping at the general store. Is there anything we can pick up for you?" "No, but you might want to get yourself a good coil of rope while you're in there. One thing I've learned is that you can never have enough rope when you're on the trail." "We'll do that, Ab." I said. We shook hands and then we put a packsaddle on Jughead and headed for town. ------- I hadn't counted our money, but even after paying for the changes to the wagon, I figured we had another twenty-five dollars or so we could spend before we started using the money I'd found on the dead man's horse. It's a good thing we had money. If you turn two young women loose in a store, it's amazing what they'll find to buy. I can't say they bought anything they didn't think we really needed though. They found some metal cans in sizes from as small as a pint up to five gallons. All of them had lids, so they would be very good to store stuff. They also bought forty pounds of salt, two pounds of pepper, forty pounds of rice, two pounds of saleratus, and some dried peaches. I told them mom had all of that stuff, but Tess said she had dried apples, but no peaches. "Besides, this is ours," Millie said. I got a one-hundred foot coil of three-quarter inch hemp rope. I also got an iron grate for putting over our fire for cooking. It had legs that brought it the right height above the fire for cooking. You could also lay steaks right on the grate and cook them without using any pans. ------- Caleb came around after supper and told us that Sam would still be driving his wagon and that John Ware would still be driving our wagon. "We all agreed we'd help feed him before we left and that hasn't changed either," Caleb said. After he'd left, Millie asked, "Jase, would it be okay if we waited to make love until tomorrow night? When we're sleeping under the wagon, it just seems like there's too many people who could go by and see us." I told her that would be fine. March 30, 1845 We picked up the wagon early and the blacksmith had done a very good job on it. While we were in town, I picked up enough eight foot planks to cover the width of the wagon. I figured we could lay these on top of the barrels and make our bed on top of that. We spent the morning moving things around from wagon to wagon. When we were through, there was enough space in all three wagons for people to sleep. We had everything in our wagon tied in and I felt sure nothing was going to move around even in the worst of conditions. One of the things we had purchased yesterday was a corn shuck mattress. It wasn't the best in the world, but it sure beat sleeping on the ground. We pulled out around noon and we made good time the rest of the day. I'd say we went ten or eleven miles before Ab called for us to circle the wagons. Supper was almost like a party for us. We enjoyed the food and we enjoyed each other. It wasn't long after we had finished eating that it started to rain. Millie, Tess and I quickly got everything put away and got into our wagon. We sat and talked until it started to get dark. Millie and I had kissed some and cuddled a lot as we were talking. Finally, Tess said, "Well, I know you two want to be alone. I'll get my blankets and get under the wagon." "Wait, Tess," Millie said. "You're going to be around when we're making love sometime anyway. Jase, would it be okay if Tess stayed, but just turned her back to us?" "If it don't bother you, I don't think it'll bother me," I said. Millie and I undressed each other and out of the corner of my eye I watched Tess get undressed as well. Tess got under the blanket and turned her back to us. The thought of making love to Millie was the most exciting thing I had ever thought about. Seeing her naked and knowing we were married and going to actually make love brought me to heights of excitement I couldn't have even imagined before. We laid down, facing each other and with our arms around each other we hugged ourselves together. Millie's breasts were trying to punch holes in my chest as we started kissing. I let my hand start to roam up and down her back and soon I was caressing her butt. Normally, this is as far as we would have gone. This time, Millie pulled her lower body back away from me and her hand went down my body. She moaned in my mouth as her hand closed around my cock. I'm sure I moaned as well. I let my fingers separate her butt cheeks and slid them up and down her crack. When Millie realized what I was doing, she raised her upper leg and put her knee on my hip. This opened her up to me completely. I let my fingers slide forward, and came in contact with her pussy from behind. Millie's pussy was warm and wet. I moved my fingers back and forth across it and her little bottom started hunching against my fingers. I continued stroking her most private of places and let one of my fingers separate the lips of her pussy. Millie moaned again. I was feeling Millie's hand move on my cock as my fingers were moving on her pussy. I adjusted my movements so they matched hers. We continued, kissing and petting for a few minutes, then Millie pulled her lips from mine and said, "I want you inside me, Jase." I heard Tess moan and when I looked over at her, her right arm was under the blanket and it was moving rapidly. I looked at Millie and nodded toward Tess. Millie rolled over on her back and she watched Tess as I positioned myself between her legs. She looked back at me and winked. We weren't aware of anything or anyone but ourselves as I moved forward and the head of my cock came in contact with Millie's pussy. Millie took hold of my cock and guided me to her opening. When she had me positioned to her satisfaction, she nodded and I pressed forward. I had never in my life felt anything as good as it felt when the head of my cock popped into her. I stopped immediately and watched her face. I had always heard that the first time was always painful for a woman, but the look on Millie's face showed anything but pain. I slowly slid in another inch and watched her as I did. Millie smiled and nodded, so I pulled out a little way and slid in again, a little farther this time. I got another smile and a moan this time from my sweet wife. I continued this way, going in a little farther each time until I felt my body come in contact with Millie's. I stopped and looked deeply into Millie's eyes as she ground her body against mine. Her body started quaking like she was going into a convulsion. I just held still as she rubbed herself against me. I was so close to shooting my load that I didn't dare move. Finally, Millie's body stopped shaking and she looked up at me and smiled as she said, "God, that was good. I'd never felt anything like that in my life, Jase." "I'm glad it felt good to you, Love. I'm afraid I'm not going to last long. Just being inside your wonderful body has me on edge." Tess moaned again and Millie giggled. "Don't worry about me, Jase. I was even quicker than you." I started moving as slowly as I could. Millie moved against me each time I went in. After less than a minute, I heard Millie moan again. I could feel myself building fast. "Oh, God, Millie," I said. Millie moaned and Tess moaned again. "I started pumping my seed into her and Millie went wild. It was like trying to ride a bucking horse. Her body was quaking and she was moaning as I felt like I was pumping my whole body into her. Finally, we both collapsed and I rolled off of her. I pulled Millie to me and she cuddled up close. I think Millie and I both sighed at the same instant. Tess rolled over toward me and asked, "Are you guys through now?" "Yeah," Millie giggled. "For the moment." I put my arm around Tess and she moved against me. We drifted off to sleep, contented and happy. March 31, 1845 I woke up smiling. Millie was now my wife in all ways. I looked at her sleeping beside me and thought of how much she looked like an angel. Then I looked over at Tess. My heart glowed like the sun when I thought of how lucky I was to have a sister like Tess. I was still looking at Tess when her eyelids fluttered open. She smiled at me, so I leaned over and kissed her on the end of her nose. "I hope you know how much I love you, Sis," I said. "Yeah, it's probably just about as much as I love you," she grinned. "Well, I love you both," Millie said as she put her arms around me and pressed her beautiful naked breasts into my side. "Did our lovemaking embarrass you last night, Tess?" "No. Someday you're gonna have to do it in the daylight so I can get a better look," she teased. Millie giggled. "You're a strange woman, Tess Tackett." "Jase and I used to peek down from the loft and watch mom and pap go at it. It was interesting, but we couldn't see much because they always did it after dark." "Maybe someday we will," Millie said as she stretched. "Right now, I've gotta go pee." Millie stood up, unashamed of her nakedness. She stepped over me to get to our clothes and then she looked at me and smiled. "Do you see anything you like?" she asked. I had to laugh. "I see a lot and I like it all." Millie and Tess both giggled, then Tess got up, just as naked as Millie. She did a complete turn around then asked, "Do you see anything you like?" "I see everything and I like everything I see," I said, trying to keep as straight a face as I could. I got up and started to get dressed too. Both girls were watching me, but it just didn't seem to matter. ------- The rain had stopped sometime during the night, but any place that wasn't grassy was muddy. Our travel was slower than normal and we only made about fifteen miles that day. We passed by the town of Keytesville, but we didn't stop. After supper we went over by the Kents and the Hamiltons and said hello. They all wished us good luck in our marriage. We went on to the next campfire and introduced ourselves to the Goodsons. Henry Goodson was a large, robust man who was a blacksmith back east. "When the third smithy opened up in our town, I figured it was time for us to move on," he said. "Actually he's always had the wanderlust," Thelma Goodson said. "He's been talking about moving west for at least ten years." "Do you have any children?" Millie asked them. "We've got one son, Matthew. He's eighteen years old and he's out courtin. He met a young lady, oh, about six or seven wagons behind us the first day we were on the trail. They've been sparking ever since." We talked for a while then decided to go back to our wagon. I needed to hunt tomorrow and I wanted to get an early start. We all undressed and got in bed as is it was the most natural thing in the world. We snuggled in and then Millie asked, "Jase, would you mind if we didn't make love tonight? I'm a little sore down there." I assured her I wouldn't mind. April 1, 1845 Tess woke me very early. Millie was still asleep as I got dressed. I kissed Tess goodbye, then went over and kissed Millie. She stirred but didn't waken. Tess said she'd tell Millie I had kissed her goodbye. I stopped by the Jacobs' camp and picked up Gil. I had told him last night I'd take him with me and he was up and ready. We saddled our horses and put a packsaddle on Jughead. The sky was just gray enough for us to make out where we were going when we took off. We were just starting to crest a little rise about a half mile from camp when I saw movement ahead. I stopped and Gil stopped immediately. We dismounted and I whispered to him that I'd seen movement. We each pulled our rifles from their scabbards and crept forward until we could see over the rise. A buck and six does were grazing in the meadow below us. I took a step back and signaled Gil to do the same. "We'll crawl back to the top of the rise, just to the point we have a good shot. When you're ready, nod your head. You shoot the buck and I'll shoot one of the does," I whispered. Gil nodded then checked his rifle. He had a nice .36 caliber Hawken. When he was ready, he nodded and we crawled back to the top. To be honest, I was paying more attention to Gil than I was to the deer. When he was in position and was comfortable, he nodded again. I waited until he fired, then I fired immediately. Both animals dropped. Gil started to go on down, but I stopped him while I reloaded. When he saw what I was doing, he did the same. "Always reload immediately," I told him. "There might be a big old bear just waiting for you to come out." Gil nodded and when we had reloaded, we walked down to the deer. After we had bled and field dressed the deer. We loaded the buck onto Jughead and I told him to take it down to pap's wagon, then come back for the doe. He was back inside half an hour and we loaded the doe and started back again. "That was some good shooting, Gil," I said. "Thanks, Jase. You didn't do bad yourself." "Yeah, but I've been doing the hunting for the family for five years. Everyone gets better with practice." "Why did you start hunting so young?" "Well, pap is a trader and he's gone a lot. Mom can hunt, but she has enough to do without having to hunt too. I just sorta took it on." "Do you like to hunt?" "Yeah, not as much as I used to though. Now, it's more like something that has to be done. I'll have to admit, I did get a big thrill when I got that elk last week." When we got back to camp, they were just getting ready to leave. We turned the doe over to mom and unsaddled Jughead. Millie came with me as I washed up in the creek. ------- We stopped at Brunswick for the night. We didn't want to try to cross the Grand River before dark. We only made fourteen miles for the day. Ab and I rode our horses across the ford. There wasn't any place where the water was more than two feet deep. It looked like it would be an easy crossing. I don't know who is in charge of fixing supper at our campfire. Millie and Tess work together as if they'd been fixing meals together all of their lives. It's a joy to watch them. Supper was great again. I told them so and they both beamed. Sometimes I think if you were an outsider you wouldn't know which of them I'm married to. That night, when Millie and I made love, I looked over at Tess. She was lying with her back to us. Her hand was moving rapidly under the blankets. ------- Chapter 9 April 2, 1845 It took us some time to cross the Grand River the next morning. There weren't any real problems, but we did have to drag the hogs across. We had one hog drown, so we butchered him. It took us so long we only made thirteen miles for the day. After supper, we went to bed early. I was so tired I almost drifted off as soon as I laid down, but Millie and Tess wanted to talk. I was lying there, on my back, with an arm around each of them. I think I was really drifting in and out of sleep. Then, I was wide awake quickly. "Millie, your husband is rubbing my butt," Tess said. I jerked my hand away like I had just picked up a hot skillet. I didn't even know I was doing it. Millie started to giggle. "I'm sorry, girls. I was half asleep and I didn't realize I was doing that," I said. Jase, it's okay. I knew it was an unconscious thing and I was just teasing you." "I'm not worried about it either. We see each other naked and we sleep cuddled up at night. Jase touching you or you touching Jase is going to happen," Millie said. "Ladies," I said. "I think we need to talk about this. I'm confused. It isn't right for a man to see his sister naked. It isn't right for a man to touch his sister on the butt or on the breast. I've done all of these things and neither my sister nor my wife seem to think there's anything wrong with it." "Jase, are you comfortable seeing your sister naked?" Millie asked. I had to think for a minute. "Well, I reckon I'm pretty comfortable with that. It's still not right though." "Was it right for you to see each other naked when you were three or four years old?" "Yes." "How about when you were eight or nine?" "I guess." "When did it stop being okay? Was it when she grew tits, or was it when your cock started getting hard when you thought about her being naked?" "I don't know, Millie," I said. "Our bodies change, Jase, but we're still the same person inside. You react to me when you see me naked because you think I'm a pretty woman. You react to Tess when you see her naked because you think she's a pretty woman. What's the difference?" "I don't know. For one thing, we're married. I shouldn't have thoughts about any other woman." "We all have thoughts. No one can help that. Just because Tess is your sister doesn't mean she's not a desirable woman. As far as anything else goes, the bible is full of stories about kings and such that had hundreds of wives. Why should it be different now?" "Are you saying Tess should be my wife too?" "No, I'm not saying that. I hope Tess can find someone for herself. Someone she can love as much as I love you. If that doesn't happen, then who knows what will happen in the years to come. Whatever it is, we'll all learn to live with it, because we love each other." I was confused, but I could see the sense in what Millie was saying. I didn't know what to say, so I just kept quiet. April 3, 1845 I awoke with my arms still around Millie and Tess. I just laid there for several minutes, thinking about all that was said the night before. If I was just being selfish about it, I'd certainly want Tess for a wife too. She's beautiful and I love her for who she is. I watched her for a while as she slept. Tess is a good woman. There isn't a mean bone in her body. She's also smart and is a good cook and housekeeper. I know she loves me too. I looked over at Millie and I saw her eyes were open. She smiled at me and then we kissed. "Tess is a pretty woman, isn't she?" she said. "Yes, she's pretty. That isn't the problem at all. The problem is, she's my sister and I'm married to you." "Oh, so now being married to me is a problem?" "No, my love. You know what I mean." "Look, Jase, if my living with you guys is a problem, maybe I should go back and live with mom and pap," Tess said. "Your living with us is not a problem, Tess. "Maybe the problem is all in my head." "You've always had a problem with your head, big brother." Millie giggled and said we'd better get up and get breakfast going. ------- It seemed like we were moving slower since we left Huntsville. I had no idea why that was so I asked Ab about it. "Ab," I said after I had ridden up to where he was riding ahead of the wagon train, "Why do we seem to be moving slower since we left Huntsville?" "I've got about three families that are driving me nuts. The people in the third wagon back are the Stuarts. They're nice people, but they are trying to pull their wagon with four mules. They should have at least six. They're slowing everyone down. Then there is Abe Wilkes. He's not slowing us down, but he keeps coming to me with tales about everyone being out to get him." I had to laugh about Wilkes. "I haven't talked to him since Millie and I got married. At least he shouldn't be telling any tales about me." "Oh, but he is," Ab laughed. "He says there are weird things going on in your wagon at night. He says he's heard strange noises coming out of there. He thinks you're performing satanic rites." Ok, so that cracked me up. "What did you tell him?" "I told him you were just married and that was probably the reason for the noises. He said he'd been married for four years and his wife had never made any sounds like that. I told him he must be doing something wrong then." I was laughing until I had tears running out of my eyes. Finally I got myself to the point I could talk again so I said, "I don't know if I should tell Millie about that. She might get all embarrassed and cut me off." Now it was Ab's turn to break up laughing. I waited until he had calmed down, then I said, "You said there were three families." "Oh, yeah. Toward the back of the train there is a family named Calvin. I have no idea why they ever decided to go to Oregon. They must be pretty wealthy. They have two big wagons, about thirty head of beef cattle, a couple of milk cows, maybe twenty hogs, and more chickens than you could shake a stick at. They have three hired hands. Two of them drive the wagons and the other one is supposed to be herding all of the animals." "Ab, I've got a great horse. He does most of the work of herding. I still wouldn't want to try to drive that many animals by myself." "That's one of the problems. The hired hand is having a hard time keeping them all moving in the right direction. Mr. Calvin doesn't do anything to help. He rides along on his big black horse and yells at the hired hand." "You're right, Ab. There's gonna be problems there. If Calvin yells at the hired man too much, he's just gonna quit and then there will be some real problems." "Don't I know it. If I'd have known Calvin wasn't gonna do anything, I probably wouldn't have allowed them to join us." "I might be able to help you with the Stuart's problem, Ab. We've got eight mules that aren't doing a thing. I'll have to talk to pap and to Caleb, but I don't see why we couldn't loan them a couple." "That would be a big help. I don't think we're gonna move any faster because of it, but I would feel better about the Stuarts. They're good people. Have you been keeping an eye on John Ware?" "Yes. Caleb and pap have too. We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it's just a problem of Tess being too sensitive." "Well, I hope so. Maybe you should have a talk with him some time. It'd clear the air if we knew why he told us different stories." "Yeah, I think I'll do that." ------- Even though the weather was great, we only made fifteen miles today. I talked with pap and Caleb about loaning the Stuarts a couple of mules and they agreed. Pap said he'd go and talk to them about it after supper. I told Millie and Tess about the Stuarts and the Calvins while we were eating supper. "Did Ab say what Mrs. Calvin is like?" Tess asked. "No, Hon, he didn't say. I'm afraid they're gonna cause him problems though. I guess Abe Wilkes is driving him crazy too. Wilkes keeps telling Ab about all of these people who are out to get him." After we had gone into our wagon for the night I told Millie and Tess what else Wilkes had been saying about us. "Satanic Rites!" Millie almost screamed. "I'll satanic rites him." Tess was laughing and so was I. "We should really put on a show for him if we ever know he's listening," Tess said. "No, we shouldn't," I said, trying to be reasonable. "The more we do, the more he'll run his mouth. We should just try to ignore him." I finally got the girls calmed down. It was a cold night and it felt good to snuggle between them. I think Tess was deliberately rubbing her breasts against my side. April 4, 1845 I thought it was cold when we went to bed last night, but this morning it was freezing. I pulled the covers up over my head and I would have been content to lay there between the girls' warm bodies until July. Millie stirred beside me, so I pulled the cover up over her head and kissed her. I gently squeezed her breast and rolled her nipple between my fingers as we kissed. Millie gasped and then moaned. I felt Tess moving, so I turned my head toward her and said, "Good morning." "Good morning, Jase. Good morning, Millie." "Damn, it's cold this morning," Millie said. "Yeah, but my boobies are nice and warm, snuggled up against your husband, Millie." "Tess, you are a strumpet and a jade. You can't be messing around like this in the morning. We have to get up and get breakfast." Tess groaned. "Doesn't it say in the bible that a woman doesn't have to get up and fix breakfast when it's cold?" "No, it doesn't say that at all," Millie said. "It says that the sister has to get up and fix breakfast while the wife snuggles with her husband in the nice warm bed." "I think I did read that, but what it says is that the wife must get up while the sister takes comfort from her brother." Well, I could see this might go on for hours, so I stood up and took the covers with me. Both girls shrieked and jumped up. They made a mad scramble for their clothes, as I did. I think we were all dressed in record time. Millie stuck her tongue out at me as she put on her coat and climbed out of the wagon. Tess put her arms around me and kissed me. "I love you, Jase," she said. "Even if you are mean and evil." ------- We had been on the trail for a couple of hours when Millie, Tess, and I decided to go up and talk with Ab for a while. As we were passing the third wagon back, someone yelled, "Hey!" We looked over and saw a man who appeared to be in his early thirties. We reined in to the pace of his wagon and he asked, "You're Jase Tackett aren't you?" "Yeah, I'm Jase." "I'm Sam Stuart. I just wanted to thank you for setting things up so I could borrow a couple of mules." "That's okay, Sam. I'm glad we could help. This is my wife, Millie, and my sister, Tess." "I'm pleased to meet you two ladies," Sam said. "I'd introduce you to my wife and younguns, but they're lying down in the wagon. They're all feeling kind of poorly." "That's okay, Sam. Maybe we'll get to meet them another time. Right now, we need to talk to Ab about something." We said our goodbyes and rode on forward. Ab was his usual friendly self. After we had said our hellos and he had complimented the ladies, I said, "We got to meet Sam Stuart a while ago. He thanked us for the loan of the mules." "Sam's a good guy. I'm worried about his family though. He told me last night that his wife and kids are all sick." "Yeah, he told us the same thing." "There's been a lot of cases of cholera and smallpox over the last few months. I sure hope it's nothing like that." "Either one of those can kill you, can't they?" Millie asked. "That's right. Something like that can wipe out a whole wagon train." "My mom knows something about medicine," I said. "She could take a look at them if they'd like." "I'll talk to Sam this evening and see what he says. I'm sure he'd want to know." "That sounds good, Ab." "Hey, I was meaning to tell you the latest about Abe Wilkes. He came around a while ago and told me he is now sure that you guys are devil worshipers. He said he heard you all making fun of the bible this morning." "Ab, it was so cold this morning that Tess and I were teasing about who had to get up first and start breakfast. I told her it said in the bible that the sister had to get out of bed and make breakfast. She said that what she remembered reading in the bible was that it was the wife that had to get up." Ab started laughing. "I'd hardly call that making fun of the bible." "Ab, they were in bed in our wagon when that conversation took place. Would you tell Wilkes that if I catch him skulking around our wagon, I'm going to shoot his sorry ass." I was boiling mad and I knew if I went to confront Wilkes I'd drag him off his wagon and give him a good thrashing. "You need to calm down, Jase. I'll talk to him, but I don't want to hear any talk about shooting." "Okay, then tell him I'll thrash him to within an inch of his life." "Now that I'd like to see. He is becoming a real bother. He was complaining about them devil horses again too." "Ab, I'm just afraid he's telling these stories to everyone else. I don't really care what he says about me, but he'd better keep his mouth shut about my wife and my sister." "I don't think you have to worry about him telling anyone else. He seems to think everyone is out to get him. I don't think he talks to anyone but me." "Ab, I'm not usually a violent man, but Wilkes could make me into one. You have a talk with him. If he leaves us alone I'll leave him alone. If he comes sneaking around our wagon again, I'll thrash his ass." ------- We rode back to our wagons and I asked mom when I'd need to hunt again. She told me two more days, so I knew I didn't have to worry about that. Millie, Tess and I made it a point to avoid Wilkes' wagon that day. We did go back and meet the Calvins. At least we met Frank Calvin, although he never introduced himself. I didn't intend to speak to him, but when we were riding past, four hogs in their herd broke out in three different directions at once. I turned Sin loose and said, "Get them, boy." Sin took off like a scalded skunk. Millie and Tess just sat and watched. Sin had three of the hogs back in the herd before the hired hand could get one back. The hired hand looked at me and said, "Thanks. That's some horse." "Yep, he's a good one." About that time I heard Calvin yell. I looked over at him and he was motioning me over. Millie and Tess headed in his direction as well. When we got there he said, "That's a pretty fast hog horse you've got there, boy." "He's not a hog horse," I said in a calm voice. "He was trained to work cattle, but he's smart enough to work about any critter you tell him to." "He's an ugly son-of-a-bitch ain't he?" "Sir, there are ladies present. I'd prefer you didn't use that kind of language." He ignored me and went on. "Have you ever raced him?" "No, I've never raced him." "Would you care to race him against my stallion here?" "Not particularly." "Awh, come on, boy. A nice race with a friendly side wager always gets my blood pumping." "Excuse me, but my name isn't boy. It's Jase Tackett. I don't appreciate being called boy." Calvin looked at me appraisingly. "You're a might touchy for someone so young. You're the one up near the front of the train that has the beef cattle aren't you?" "That's right." "I'll tell you what. You race your horse against mine and we'll wager five beef cattle each. Winner takes all." "That just ain't gonna happen, Sir." "Okay, how about coming to work for me then? Thirty dollars a month while we're on the trail." "I'm sorry, but we have our own cattle to look after. I think we'd better be moving along. You have a good day." The three of us rode off before he could say anything else. "I can see why Ab don't like him," Tess said. "That bastard thinks he owns the world." "Tess there are ladies present. I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that kind of language," Millie said. "At least there's one lady present." "Thanks for realizing I'm a lady," Tess said. "Girls, I'm going to paddle two pretty bottoms if you don't watch out." I said, laughing. ------- I could have been in a bad mood over Wilkes. I could have been in a bad mood because of Calvin. I wasn't. Millie and Tess have a way of putting me in a good mood, even when things are going wrong. I went over and told mom about the Stuarts while she was fixing supper. I told her Ab would let us know if they wanted her to look at the family. Mom just nodded. We went to bed not long after we finished supper. It was still cold and snuggling under the covers was a lot more comfortable than anything else. Millie let me know right away that she wanted more than a kiss and a cuddle. I rolled on my side, facing her and played with her breasts for a while. Then I moved my hand down and started caressing her pussy as I sucked on one of her nipples. I could see that Tess hadn't rolled away from us as she had before. She was lying on her back and she was peeking over at us. I didn't let it bother me, but just continued to please Millie. Millie was bouncing her little bottom against my hand. This went on a couple of minutes, then Millie grasped my cock and said, "I want you in me, Jase." I rolled on top of her and got between her legs. Millie grabbed my cock to guide me in and I felt Tess move closer. As I slid into my wife, I could see Tess move her hand down under the covers to pleasure herself. As I started moving in and out, I could see Tess' hand moving the blanket. All of this was too much for me. I knew I wasn't going to last long and I told Millie so. This must have been just enough to push Millie over the edge. Her pussy started to flutter and that brought me over the edge as well. Tess moaned and gasped just after we did. I collapsed on top of Millie and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Then I put an arm around Tess and kissed her too. We laid there for a while then Tess said, "That was nice." "Yep, better than nice," I said. "Much better than nice," Millie grinned. I rolled over on my back and both girls snuggled up to me. I put my arms around them then kissed both of them goodnight. We drifted off to sleep soon after. April 5, 1845 It was chilly this morning when we woke up, but it wasn't the bone chilling cold we had yesterday. Millie was already awake when I awoke. She leaned over and gave me a kiss, which I eagerly returned. "How do you feel about what happened last night?" she asked me. "I'm not sure, love. While it was happening, it was great. Seeing Tess play with herself while we made love was very exciting. Then when I came inside you, it was more than I could stand. I still have this nagging little feeling that what we're doing isn't right though." Tess said, "Tell that little feeling of yours that it's not wanted around here." Millie and Tess both giggled and I had to smile. As sweet and sexy as Tess was, I certainly didn't want that feeling either. ------- We didn't hear anything from Wilkes and when I checked around the wagon when we got up, I didn't see any sign that he'd been around it. We had a nice breakfast and got ready to get on the trail. We caught up to Ab as he was watching everyone ford the Crooked River. "They're getting better," he said after we had all said hello. "Even a week ago they'd have had a lot more trouble." "I can understand that," I said. "Everyone gets better when they practice something." "Almost everyone. Wilkes had a hell of a time crossing and it'll be even worse when Calvin starts to cross." "Speaking of Calvin. We met him yesterday." "What did you think of him?" "Well, he insulted my horse. He insulted me. He used foul language in front of Millie and Tess. Then he insisted I race Sin against his stallion. He wanted to bet five beef cattle his horse would win." Ab laughed. "That sounds like him. You didn't want to race him?" "I didn't know how fast his horse really is and I didn't want to lose five head of cattle. Heck, I don't know how fast Sin really is either." "Well, I've seen Calvin's horse race. He's extremely fast over the first quarter mile. He's very fast over the next quarter mile. He's fast up to a mile. Over that and he starts to fade. My horse is pretty fast. I think I could take him on a mile run. Over a mile and I know I could." "You never raced him though?" "No. I take it you've never run your horse either?" "No. I got him just before we left home. I know he has strength and stamina. He's worked our herd all day with Millie and me riding double." "Okay, what do you say we see how fast he is? You see that big tree way down there that looks like it had it's top blown off by lightening?" "Yeah." "Let's race down to that tree and see which of our horses is faster." Both of us were grinning like idiots. I looked over at Millie and Tess. They were smiling and slowly shaking their heads. "You're on," I said. We lined up, side by side and then Ab asked, "Millie, would you say, ready, set, and go for us?" Millie grinned and nodded. "Ready... Get Set... Go!" she yelled. Ab's horse took off like a shot. I touched Sin with my heel and he took off after him. I had never raced Sin, but it was like he knew exactly what we were doing. At a hundred yards Ab was still in the lead. We passed him shortly after that. I leaned forward and held on. When we got to the big tree, we were almost a hundred feet ahead of him. I reined in and waited for Ab to catch up. He pulled in beside me and said, "My God, that horse can run. He doesn't look like he's even winded." "He doesn't appear to be," I said as I rubbed Sin's neck. "If Calvin wants to race you again, you should do it. He'd just be donating cattle for your herd," Ab said. "I'd guess we ran about three quarters of a mile. Just be sure if you do race him you make it for a mile or more." We rode back toward the front of the wagon train in companionable silence for a while. Finally, Ab said, "I had a talk with Wilkes last night. I made it clear to him that he was in serious danger if you caught him sneaking around your wagon. I don't think he'll be any more bother to you. He almost peed his pants when I was telling him what you were going to do to him." "I don't want any trouble with him, Ab. I just want him to leave us alone." "I can understand that. Now, I'm worried about who he's going to be haunted by next. He could get himself killed if he bothers the wrong person." ------- Chapter 10 "Did you talk to Stuart last night?" I asked Ab. "Yeah, your mom went over and looked at them this morning. She says the kids just have colds, but that she thinks Mrs. Stuart might have pneumonia. She's worried about her." "That's too bad. There was a man I knew down in Louisa. He got that pneumonia stuff last year and he died." "Unfortunately, that happens a lot. It's one of those diseases that they don't know what causes it and they don't know how to cure it. Sometimes the person gets better and other times they die." When we got back to the girls, Millie asked, "Well, who won?" "It wasn't even close," Ab said. "He was at least a hundred feet ahead of me at the end. I think he'd have beaten me if you'd have been on that horse with him." Millie and Tess were grinning as big as I was. ------- Even though we had a river crossing we made good time that day. We had gone around sixteen miles when we pulled up into a circle for the day. The weather was clear, but it was still chilly, so I huddled around the campfire while Millie and Tess fixed our supper. We went to bed right after supper. None of us were all that sleepy, but the cold drove us undercover. We did not have a repeat of last night, although I think the thought was in all of our minds. Millie fondled my member for a while as I kissed her and rubbed her butt. We didn't make use of the erection I sprouted. April 6, 1845 When we awoke, I kissed both of the girls and we got up to start our day. It wasn't nearly as cold this morning and we didn't even mind to get out of bed. I saw mom coming back from the direction of the Stuarts wagon, so I went over and asked if she'd been to see them. "Yes," she said. "Are they doing any better?" "Children getting well. Mother not getting well." "Is there anything you can do for her?" "Her chest sounds bad. I made a poultice, but I don't think it will help." "Why?" "She's too far gone." I slowly shook my head as I looked into mom's eyes. I could see the pain there. I knew how badly it hurt her when someone she was caring for died. I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She nodded once and went to make their own breakfast. I went back over to our fire and told Millie and Tess what mom had said. "Maybe we should tell Ab that this morning," Tess said. "Mom won't tell anyone anything unless you pry it out of her." I had to smile. I loved mom and respected her, but the little nod she gave me after I'd kissed her cheek was about the height of her showing her emotions. ------- The sky was overcast and a little threatening, but I didn't think it was going to rain. After breakfast we went up and talked to Ab. We told him what mom had said about Mrs. Stuart. "That's a real shame," he said. "She seemed like a very nice lady. It's gonna be hard on Sam, what with them three kids to raise." "How old are the kids?" Tess asked. "The oldest one is a girl. I think she's around twelve or thirteen. She has two brothers one of them about a year younger and the other about two years younger." "The girl should be a big help," Tess said. "Jase was doing all the hunting for the family when he was twelve and I was doing a lot of the cooking when I was that age." We talked for a while longer then we went back to help with the herd. We were in rough country so we didn't make good time that day. In fact, we only made about twelve miles. We actually went by two towns during the day. Richmond and Elkhorn. It's odd to see two towns in one day this far west. We didn't stop at either of them. We had supper and went to bed early again. We weren't really sleepy, so we just laid there and talked while the light outside the wagon got dimmer and dimmer. It was such a nice feeling lying there between Millie and Tess that I was totally relaxed. In fact, I might have been dozing a little when we heard some yelling and then a shot. "That had to be close," I told the girls as I jumped up and started putting on my clothes. "You girls stay here." I said it, but they were getting dressed as I climbed out of the wagon. I buckled on my revolver and headed toward the Kent wagon. Mrs. Wilkes was looking out of their wagon as I went by, but I didn't see any sign of Abe. Ben Jacobs was climbing out of his wagon as I got there. "Did you hear where the shot came from?" I asked. "I think it was at the Kent wagon," he said. "It sounded like it was right next door." I kept on going and he fell in beside me. When we got to the Kent wagon, I could see where the shot came from. George Kent was standing there with his single shot pistol in his hand. It was pointed down at the ground. Kent looked like he'd been hit with a sledge hammer. Abe Wilkes was lying on the ground in front of George. There was a double bitted axe laying under his right hand. Wilkes was as dead as yesterday's campfire. "What happened, George?" I asked as Ab came running up. "I was nearly asleep when my horses started cutting a ruckus. I thought maybe there was some animal attacking them, so I grabbed my pistol and went out to see what was going on." He stopped for a minute then shook his head like a dog shakes off water. "As I was climbing out of the wagon I heard Wilkes yelling something about devil horses. When I saw him, he had that axe drawn back and was getting ready to chop Jud's head off." Again, he shook himself. "I yelled at him and when he turned to look at me, he had the wildest look in his eye that I'd ever seen a man have. He yelled something about killing me and then he ran at me waving that axe around over his head. I thought for sure he was going to kill me, so I shot him." "Someone has to tell his wife," Ab said. "We'll do it," Millie said, reluctantly. Millie and Tess slowly walked off to tell Mrs. Wilkes what had happened. "Did anyone else see it happen?" Ab asked. "I heard Wilkes yelling," Cliff Hamilton said. "He was yelling that he was going to kill those devil horses. Then I heard George yell for Wilkes to stop. Wilkes then yelled, 'I'll kill you for bringing those devil horses to plague me.' Then he let out a scream that would have waked the dead just before I heard the shot." "Well, that about ties it up," Ab said. "I don't see how you could have done anything else, George." "That's the first time I ever had to kill a man, Ab. I feel all empty inside." "It's not easy to take a man's life, George, but Abe was crazy. He thought everyone on the wagon train was out to get him. He even accused Jase of trying to scare him off the train." "It's his wife and kids I'm worried about," I said. "Yeah, I'll get one of the Lewis boys to drive for her for a few days until she decides what she wants to do. She may want to drop out at the next town we pass. That would be Plattsburg. We'll be going through there in a couple of days." "What if she wants to go ahead with the train?" I asked. "Then we'll find someone who'll drive for her permanently. She's one of us and we'll take care of her." ------- Millie and Tess told me later that Becky Wilkes and cried at first, then she had calmed down and had talked rationally. "I always suspected something like this would happen. Abe wasn't just right in the head," Becky told them. "Didn't you know that before you married him?" Tess asked her. "I did, but he gave pa a hundred dollars for me so I had to do it." "You mean your pa sold you to Wilkes?" Millie asked. "Yeah, didn't your pa sell you to your husband?" "No, Jase and I are in love. We have been for years. I'd never even heard of anyone selling their daughter." "That's the way it's done where I come from in Virginia." "Becky, are you going to be okay by yourself tonight?" Tess asked. "Yeah, I'll be just fine. Do I have to do anything like with the body or anything? Back home, if a man died, his wife had to clean up his body and dress him in his good clothes so they could bury him. She had to sit up with him all night before the funeral." "No, Becky, someone else will take care of that. You just take care of yourself and your kids. Tess and I are going to go back and make sure my husband is okay." They said their goodbyes and Tess and Millie headed for our wagon. They got there just before I did. We got naked and got into bed. They told me about their conversation with Becky, then we drifted off to sleep. April 7, 1845 We kissed and cuddled for a bit before we got up and got ready for another day. I saw mom coming back from the Stuarts so I went over to ask how they were. "The kids are getting better. Mrs. Stuart died," she said. "Awh shit," I said. Mom shook her finger at me, letting me know she wasn't pleased with my language. "Does Ab know?" I asked. Mom nodded. I went back to our fire and told Millie and Tess about Mrs. Stuart. We were a quiet bunch as we had our breakfast. Afterwards I went over to talk to Ab while Millie and Tess went to see if they could help Becky. Sam Stuart was there when I got to Ab's tent. "Sam, I just wanted to tell you how sorry we are about Martha," I said. Sam and I shook hands and he turned back to Ab. "I just don't want Martha to share a funeral with that crazy Wilkes person," Sam said. "I'm sorry, Sam, but I just don't see hauling her body for a day before we bury her. I don't feel like it's showing her the proper respect. I already talked to Mrs. Wilkes and she doesn't want to haul her husband's body either." "Sam, how would it be if we had two separate funerals?" I asked. Sam thought for a minute then said, "I suppose that would be okay." "Could we do that, Ab? Have one funeral right after the other?" I asked. "Yeah. I think we could do that. I'll try to tone the Reverend Green down a little on the length of his sermons." ------- If Ab managed to tone the Reverend Nathaniel Green down any, I couldn't see it. Somehow we all managed to stand through two funerals. We didn't get on the trail until almost noon. Everyone grabbed a quick lunch before we left, so we traveled right on until time to stop for the night. We still made twelve miles that day. After supper, Millie and Tess visited with Becky for a while, then they went over and checked on Ellen Stuart, Sam's daughter. They told me later that Ellen seemed to be taking things well and that Sam had been bragging on the great meal she had fixed for them. April 8, 1845 Millie and Tess were in a fine mood this morning. They wanted to tickle and play. If we had been staying in camp today, I might have never gotten up. As it was, we finally roused ourselves and prepared for our day. Eventually we got moving, so I rode up to talk with Ab. We exchanged greetings and then Ab said, "We should be passing by Plattsburg today. I asked Mrs. Wilkes if she'd like to leave the wagon train there and she told me she'd like to go on to Oregon with us." "That doesn't surprise me, Ab. Millie and Tess have talked to her a couple of times since Abe got himself shot. Her father sold her to Abe. If she went back home, he'd just sell her again." "Damn, I didn't know that, Jase. I tried to talk her out of going on with us. If I'd have known that, I'd have just tried to have worked something out." "We'll keep an eye on her," I said. "Is the boy who's driving for her willing to keep it up for a while?" "Yeah, there's no problem there. Worrying about her is still going to be easier than worrying about that crazy husband of hers." I had to agree with that, then Ab said, "We're going to be in St Jo in a couple of days. After we leave there, the country's going to be a lot wilder. I was wondering if you'd be willing to do some scouting when we leave St Jo. I couldn't pay you much, but I think we'd all feel a lot safer if someone scouted ahead." "I could do that, Ab. I wouldn't need any pay for it. I have a family to protect too." "I'd really appreciate it. I'm going to call a meeting while we're in St Jo. We need to elect a Captain for the wagon train. I'd put you in for it, but I'm sure some people would object because of your age." I had to laugh. "I wouldn't want that job. I'd hate to have to try to work out everyone's fiddling little problems." "Yeah, me too. That's why we need a Captain." ------- We made thirteen miles that day. It had been an easy day for the girls and me. There really wasn't much to do at night except visit the neighbors and none of us felt like doing that, so Millie suggested we go in the wagon and snuggle until we got sleepy. After we had undressed and gotten into bed, Millie said, "Mama has told me a lot of things a man and woman can do beside just swiving. I was wondering if you'd be willing to try some of them?" "I don't know. Like what?" "For one thing, she said a woman can suck on a man's member. For another, she says some men like to kiss and lick on a woman's pussy." "Well... I guess we could try that. If we didn't like it we could always stop." "Oh, goody," Millie giggled. "Let me do you first." I laid back and Millie pulled the covers off of me. It was still light enough we could see clearly. Millie got down by my waist and Tess laid down on the other side of me, close to where the action was gonna be. Millie took my cock in her hand and looked at it closely. This was probably the first time she'd ever seen a cock up close. Finally, she leaned forward and licked the tip of the head, just once. She drew her tongue in and tasted me for the first time. By this time, I was leaking fluid, so I know she got a good taste. Millie played with me for a minute then she sucked the head of my cock into her mouth. She applied a gentle suction and started running her tongue around the head. All I could do was groan. In less than a minute I could feel the pressure building up. "Millie, if you don't stop, I'm going to shoot my stuff." Millie pulled her head back and said, "Oh, not yet." I let her go on for a minute then told her to quit or she was going to get a mouth full. She just smiled and told me she didn't mind. "I do mind though," I told her. "I want to shoot in your pussy. Millie grinned and said, "We'll see. Now it's your turn to lick me." Millie laid on her back and spread her legs wide apart. I got down between her legs and got my first close-up look at a pussy. I pulled her lips apart and looked closely. Millie pointed out her little love button to me and told me to lick it and suck it, but to be gentle. I dived in like I was in a pie eating contest. The taste wasn't bad. I loved the feel of the lips and tender areas on my tongue. I sucked Millie's little love button into my mouth and started running my tongue back and forth across it as fast as I could. Millie came apart within seconds. Her legs clamped around my head and I thought she was going to pinch it off. When her legs relaxed enough for me to move, I went up beside her and kissed her. Millie kissed me back, passionately. During the entire time I was playing with Millie and she was playing with me, Tess was playing with herself. If the quaking of her body was any indication, she had to have cum at least three times. Afterwards, the three of us laid there together. After a while I said, "You know, I'm the only one here who hasn't gotten off. Millie, do you think we could... ?" "I think so," she said. April 9, 1845 We made sixteen miles today, even with crossing the Little Platt. The weather was really nice. It seemed like spring was in the air. I had two very happy women on my hands and I wasn't feeling too bad myself. The only thing I know of note that happened was that Mr. Calvin lost three hogs in crossing the Little Platt. April 10, 1845 Twelve miles of travel brought us to St Joseph, Missouri in the middle of the afternoon. Five and a half weeks of travel had brought us almost nine hundred miles. Many people considered St Joseph to be the start of the Oregon Trail. So, I figured we traveled five and a half weeks just to get to the start. I guess that should have been depressing, but it wasn't. At least for the three people in my family, it was exciting. Millie and Tess were excited about one final chance to go shopping. I'll admit I was a little excited about becoming a scout for the wagon train. Ab had told me that we would follow the Missouri River to the Big Nemaha, then we would cross the Missouri. We'd then follow the Big Nemaha to it's headwaters, where we'd cut over to the Big Blue, and follow it's west fork to the Platte River. We'd follow the Platte for a long ways, clear into the mountains. It was the mountains that had us all worried. We had left early enough that we should easily make it through the mountains before winter, but if accidents or hard traveling delayed us long enough, snows would close the mountain passes and we'd be stuck until spring. I could just imagine eating all of our cattle, all of our oxen, all of our hogs, and all of our horses. What would we do then? I had no idea. I never mentioned this to the girls. They had enough that they knew about that worried them. The three of us went into town later to pick up some supplies. The talk of the town was that St Joseph was becoming a town. I wasn't sure from the talk if it had become a town or was going to become one soon. In either case I couldn't see why they thought it was such a much. We stocked up on some more foodstuff while we were in town and Millie and Tess found a few more things they just had to have. We also found a couple of good quality knives that would be good for skinning and butchering. As they were loading things onto Jughead, I bought five one pound bags of candy for them and hid them away in my saddlebags. I figured I'd give them to them one at a time when things were going bad or they were down. We got things put away in our wagon, then Millie and Tess started supper. As they were cooking, another wagon train passed by us going to another campsite a little further on. It was impressive to watch them go by. I counted 53 wagons. April 11, 1845 We all woke up shortly before sunrise the next morning. Since we weren't going to be traveling, I said, "Let's sleep a little more." Both girls grinned and we snuggled in and went back to sleep. We hadn't been asleep much more than half an hour when Sally banged on the side of the wagon and yelled, "Are you guys okay in there?" I was awake instantly. "We were until you woke us up," I said. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you all wanted to be slug-a-beds this morning. You all go back to sleep." "Too late for that, Sally. You scared the pee out of me. Now I have to get up and relieve myself." I could hear her laughing as she went back to her fire. When we had gotten dressed and gotten out of the wagon, I could see Sally and mom talking together. Mom was grinning as big as Sally was. As the girls were fixing breakfast, Millie waved me over to them. "Mom thought she was going to catch us doing something," she grinned. "It's too bad she didn't let us wake up naturally," I said. "She might have." Millie and Tess giggled. Breakfast was great as usual, then after cleaning up, we just went around and talked to folks. It was just before noon when Ab called us all together for a meeting. "Folks," Ab said after everyone had gathered around. "I think it's time we elected a Captain for our wagon train. Does everyone know what the Captain of a wagon train does?" "I don't," some little short guy I'd never met said. "Well, the Captain of the train takes care of any problems that might come up between people. He also arranges for people to get help if they're having problems." "I thought you did all of that," the guy said. "I have been, but that was while we were going through Missouri. Missouri is pretty tame and I haven't had much to do other than ride herd on you all. Now, we're getting into wilder country. I'm going to have to devote my time to making sure the wagon train gets to where we're going." "Okay, how do we do this?" Sam Stuart asked. "We need some nominations as to who we think should be Captain, then we'll all vote on it." "I nominate Jase Tackett," Sam said. "Sorry, Sam. It can't be Jase. From this point on, Jase is going to be my scout. He's going to be just as busy as I am." One of Calvin's hired men said, "I nominate Mr. Calvin." "Okay, we have one nomination. Do I hear any more?" "I nominate Caleb Lawson," I said. There was a general murmur of approval. "Are there any more nominations?" Ab asked. He waited a couple of minutes then said, "Okay, I have two nominations. When I call out one of the candidates names, raise your hand if you want to vote for him. Keep your hand up until I've counted you." Ab gave them a moment then said, "All those voting for Frank Calvin, please raise your hand." A very few hands went up and Ab dutifully counted them. "I have eleven votes for Frank Calvin." Ab paused again and said, "All those voting for Caleb Lawson, please raise your hand." You could tell at once that Caleb had more votes, but Ab counted them anyway. "I have 46 votes for Caleb Lawson. Caleb, you're our new Captain." Caleb looked at me like he was going to chew me up and spit me out. I just smiled back at him. ------- Chapter 11 Later that afternoon, Ab came around and told us Calvin was leaving our wagon train. "He said he couldn't possibly travel with a group that had a yokel for a Captain and a boy for a scout. He demanded his money back, but I told him to forget that." I had to laugh at that. "You know he's got a point, Ab. Caleb could be called a yokel. He'd never been much of anywhere until we started this trip. He's one of the smartest, most honest men I've ever met though. As for me, a lot of people would call me a boy. I won't turn seventeen until July." "You might be young, but you're not a boy. You're a married man and a skilled hunter. Your pap told me about all the trapping you've done and that you have supplied all of the meat for your family for almost five years. He also told me about what happened with Caleb's son and how you handled it." I couldn't argue with him and it did feel good to know that at least some people thought of me as a man. April 12, 1845 It was difficult getting out of bed this morning. Yesterday had spoiled us. We kissed and cuddled for a few minutes, then forced ourselves to get up. We had a quick breakfast, then I went to talk to Ab before I left for my scouting duties. "So, Ab." I said after we had exchanged greetings, "What should I be doing when I'm scouting?" "Well, the first thing you need to think about are Indians. Most of the Indians we meet will be friendly. However, we need to try to find out for sure what the intentions are of any you meet. Your mama didn't teach you any of the Indian languages, did she?" "Only Cherokee, but she did teach Tess and me both sign language. That's pretty much used by all of the tribes." "Good. Like I said, most of them will be friendly. The next thing you need to do as a scout is to make sure we have a good place to camp every night. Ride out anywhere from twelve to twenty miles, depending on the terrain and pick a spot to camp. The third thing you need to do is to find the best route to get to the campsite and to mark the trail for me to follow." We discussed different ways I'd mark the route then I asked, "How long until we're in Indian territory?" "You might see some at any time, but you shouldn't have to worry about them for at least a week." "In that case, I think I'll let the girls ride along with me today. They've been pestering me to go." Ab laughed. I've never seen a feistier pair than your wife and your sister. By all means take them. Maybe they'll get it out of their systems before we get into any dangerous territory." ------- Millie and Tess were thrilled to find out they could go with me. They threw together some things for us to eat for lunch, then they saddled up and we got on our way just before the wagons pulled out. The going was relatively easy when we first started out. As we got a little farther ahead of the wagons we started checking out different routes. Then we'd come back and mark the best one. We marked possible camp sites at ten, twelve and sixteen miles. After that, we pretty much had the rest of the day to ourselves. We had beautiful weather for a change. The temperature was mild and the sun was shining. The campsite at sixteen miles had a real nice little stream. The water wasn't much more than knee deep, but it was clear and pure. It was also cold. When I told Millie and Tess we had reached the end of the trail for a day's travel, they got out our lunch and we ate it with relish. Tess untied a blanket she had behind her saddle and we spread it out to relax on while we ate. After we finished eating, Millie went over and pulled a bar of soap out of her saddlebags and waved it in front of us. "I think this would be a perfect time for the three of us to take a bath," Millie said. "Honey, that water is awful cold," I complained. "Yeah, but think of how good you'll feel afterwards lying here on this blanket with two naked women while the sun dries us." I couldn't argue with that, so I just groaned and got to my feet. I took Tess's hand and pulled her to her feet as well. We all held hands as we walked over to the creek. We all watched each other as we undressed and hung our clothes on bushes. I walked into the stream to just above my knees and started splashing water up on my body. Millie brought the soap over to me and rubbed it between her hands to get a good lather. She handed the soap to Tess and started rubbing her soapy hands over my body. Tess saw what Millie was doing, so she decided she'd like to help. She got her hands all lathery and handed the soap to me and started running her hands over my body as well. I was in heaven. I just stood there and let them wash me. When they had covered every part of my body, I lathered up my hands and handed the soap back to Tess. I started running my hands over Millie's body, paying special attention to her more interesting places. Soon, Tess was helping me. After we finished with Millie, she and I washed Tess. She had some very interesting places that needed special attention too. After we were all soapy, I started splashing water up onto my body to rinse off. Millie threw the soap up onto the grass and both girls tackled me. We ended up with all three of us wrestling around in the water. God, it was cold, but I guess we did do a better job of getting all of the soap off that way. When we couldn't stand the cold water any more we got out and laid on the blanket. The sun really did feel nice, but the breeze that was blowing nearly froze us. It didn't take long for us to dry and then the breeze didn't feel nearly as cold. Millie said she had always wanted to make love out in the open. Tess said she'd like a close up look in the daylight. So, Millie and I put on a little show for Tess. ------- When the wagons arrived, we were of course fully clothed and squeaky clean. I talked to Ab and he said the markings we left were just fine. We were just sitting around the fire, after dinner when Sam Stuart and his daughter, Ellen, came over. "I just wanted to thank you again for all that you and your mother have done for us," Sam said. "I'm afraid we weren't much help, Sam. I just wish mom could have done more for Martha." "A doctor couldn't have done any more, Jase. Let your mom know we appreciate her trying." "I'll do that, Sam. How are you guys making out?" "We're doing okay. Ellen is a good cook and the younger ones are helping out." "You guys just got married, didn't you?" Ellen asked Millie. "Yep, just two weeks ago, in Huntsville," Millie told her. "I had to leave my boyfriend in Harrisburg," Ellen said. "Why did you guys decide to go to Oregon, Sam?" I asked. "Well, we had a store back in Harrisburg. About two years ago things started going down hill. We couldn't get outta things what we'd paid for them. Martha and I talked and talked about what to do about it, but we just weren't seeing any way we were gonna make it. Then this guy came along and made us an offer for the store." "So you sold the store. Why did you decide on Oregon?" "We'd been hearing good things about it. Neither one of us had any family left, so we spent everything we got for the store and outfitted ourselves for the trip." We told them about pap talking for a long time about Oregon and how I'd held off courting Millie because I was afraid we'd leave and she'd stay in Kentucky. I told them that as soon as I found out they were going too I asked Caleb if I could court her. Ellen sighed and said, "That's so romantic." "Ellen," Tess asked, "Do you know all you need to know about cooking and everything?" "Pretty much, I think. There are some things I'd like to talk to a woman about though." "Why don't you come over after supper tomorrow? We'll run Jase off and the three of us can have a good conversation." Ellen said she thought that would be just fine. April 13, 1845 We got an earlier start than yesterday. The sky was overcast, but it was warm and it wasn't raining. Millie and Tess decided they wanted to go scouting with me again. I was getting used to having someone with me all the time, so I didn't complain. We marked the trail and picked out a campsite about seventeen miles out. Knowing that we were going to want to hunt tomorrow, we scouted out the next five miles of the trail before we called it a day. We'd been lucky so far in finding campsites where there was good water and good grazing for the livestock. When the wagons arrived, Millie and Tess didn't waste any time in getting a cooking fire built or in getting dinner ready. We ate supper early, then waited for Ellen to show up. When she arrived, I said I'd make myself scarce. "That's okay, Jase. You can stay if you'd like," Ellen said. "I need to talk to Gil Jacobs anyway, Ellen," I said. "I'd like for him to go scouting with me tomorrow so we can do some hunting." "You just go ahead, Jase," Millie said. "That'll give us some time for some woman talk." ------- Gil was very anxious to go scouting with me and his father had no objections. We talked about it for a while and he asked if Tess was going with us. I may not be the brightest person in the world, but I could hear the almost worshipful tone in his voice when he said my sister's name. "Very interesting," I thought. "It's too bad he's a couple of years younger than her." After we'd talked with his parents for a while, Gil walked back over to our wagon with us. Ellen was still there, so Millie introduced her to Gil. ------- After the kids had left, Millie said, "Boy does Ellen have a big crush on you." "Why do you say that?" I asked. "While you were gone it was Jase this and Jase that, She asked if we thought you'd be back before she had to go. Every time she mentioned your name, her eyes were dreamy," Millie said. "She's right, Jase. The girl has it bad for you," Tess said. "And you, my dear sister, have an admirer too. All Gil can talk about is the lovely Tess." "Ah, gee, ain't that sweet?" Tess said. "Gil is a cute kid. If he was three or four years older I might consider him as a suitor." "So, what are we going to do about those two?" I asked. "Why, get them together of course," Millie said. Sometime during the evening, Millie and Tess got their heads together and decided how they were going to get Ellen and Gil to like each other. I just wanted to stay out of it. April 14, 1845 Gil and I took off before first light. We were starting to become used to hunting with each other and we worked together well. By 9:00 AM, Jughead was carrying a good sized doe back to catch up with the wagon train. Millie and Tess joined me when I went out to scout again. We came to the Missouri river crossing at about seventeen miles from our last camp. We saw tracks from where other wagons had crossed at this point, but the ford looked like it was going to be harder to cross than any we had attempted yet. We rode up river for a couple of miles and then went down river below the ford looking for a different place to cross, but we didn't find anything that looked any better. ------- When Ab arrived with the wagons, I told him of my misgivings. "I know what you're saying, Jase, but this is the only ford for several miles in either direction. We'll just have to be especially careful. I'll give everyone directions tonight and again just before they cross in the morning." "What bothers me most is that the bottom is rough," I told him. "I rode Sin across and it was almost like he was walking on big rocks or something. Just below the crossing point, the water gets pretty deep." 'Yeah, the current's a bit fast too. We'll just have to do the best we can." We set up camp on the eastern side of the river and left the crossing for tomorrow when we'd all be fresh. April 15, 1845 Things didn't start out too badly the next morning. The first ten wagons went across without a hitch. Then came the Wilkes wagon. The young man driving it seemed to be confident enough, but about half way across the singletree broke and the wagon was left sitting in the middle of the river. Ab yelled for some of us to get ropes around the front axle on both sides. I grabbed my rope from our wagon and rode out to the Wilkes wagon. Sin was as calm as if we'd been on a Sunday morning stroll. I tied him off to the wagon wheel then jumped down into the water. I had just managed to get a big loop tied around the left side of the axle when I saw Caleb tying one on to the right side. Ab had managed to get the Wilkes team of oxen brought up to within about fifty feet of the front of the wagon. Ab and Sam Stuart were holding the oxen in place and when Caleb and I rode up, Sam took our ropes and tied them to the hitch for the oxen. Sam then walked the oxen out of the river, pulling the Wilkes wagon behind them. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we had the wagon on solid ground again. Sam pulled the wagon off to the side and made some temporary repairs so we could pull the wagon into our next camp. One person lost a cow and someone else lost two hogs during the crossing. We made camp about four or five miles passed the river. ------- Ab came by after dinner and said we were going to stay in camp tomorrow because of getting wagons repaired. "There's at least five or six that need repair before we can go on," he said. We thanked him and dreamed about sleeping in. I didn't think mom or Sally would let us though. We turned in early. At least we could get a little extra sleep that way. April 16, 1845 They did let us sleep a little late the next morning. After we got up and had breakfast, we inspected our wagon carefully. None of us could find any damage. Caleb had done a good job on the wagon before we left Kentucky. Millie, Tess and I walked back to the Wilkes' wagon to see how Becky was doing. When we got close, we could see Sam Stuart putting a new singletree on the wagon. Becky was standing fairly close to him and they seemed to be in a deep conversation. We'd just about decided not to interrupt their talk when Ellen came up beside us. "They've been doing that a lot over the last couple of days," Ellen said. "I guess they've got a lot in common," Tess told Ellen. "Your pap lost his wife and Becky lost her husband." "Yeah, from what pa says, Wilkes wasn't much of a husband to her. Did you know that her pa sold her to Wilkes?" "We did know that, Ellen. We just didn't feel it was our place to be telling anyone about it." All of a sudden it seemed to hit Ellen that she'd been talking out of turn. She blushed bright red and started to say she was going back to their wagon when Tess stopped her. "Ellen, we were going to walk on over and say hello to the Jacobs family. Would you like to go with us?" Ellen readily agreed, and we just said howdy to Sam and Becky as we went by. ------- We had a nice little talk with Ben and Alice. It was interesting to see that Ellen and Gil had started to interact a little. Of course I had to tell Ben about how well Gil was doing with his hunting in front of Ellen. Millie told me later that what I told Ben was perfect. Women are devious creatures. We did stop to say hello to Sam and Becky on the way back. Becky was friendly and maybe even a little bubbly. It was nice to see her that way. Ellen hung around with us for a while, talking with Millie and Tess. I didn't pay much attention to the conversation, but I did hear Gil's name mentioned a few times. I saw John Ware off by himself, so I thought this might be a good time to talk with him. I went over to where he was and after we had said hello, I asked him to take a walk with me. When we were well away from everyone else, I said, "John, when we first met you, I decided I liked you. Then a couple of things have come up that have me a little worried." "Well, I decided I liked your whole family right off," John said. "What's bothering you?" "The first thing might sound a little weird, but Tess says she gets a funny feeling every time you look at her or talk to her. The other is that Ab says you told him you are a member of our family. I'd just like to know what is going on with you and why you told Ab what you did." John hesitated for a minute before he said anything. Finally he let out a big sigh and said, "I was married where I lived back in Pennsylvania. My wife and I both worked for a guy by the name of Clete Johnson. My wife was a cook and I was a wrangler on his ranch. We were trying to save our money so we could move to Oregon and start our own ranch. We didn't have any kids, but Jenny was expecting our first." I just nodded, so he went on. "One day I had to come back to the ranch house for something and I saw Clete's brother Ron coming out of the house where Jenny and I lived. I wondered what was going on, so I rode over to our house and went inside." "Okay," I said. "Jenny was lying dead in our bedroom. She had been raped then strangled. I knew it had to be Ron, so I went up to the big house to talk to Clete. He said it couldn't have been Ron, because Ron had been in the house with him all morning." "Oh, shit!" "Yeah. It only gets worse. I went to see the sheriff and he went out to talk to Clete and Ron. He listened to their story then came to me and told me he believed Clete because Clete was one of the most upstanding men in the county." Again John hesitated before he went on. "I went back out to the house and got a few of my things together. Then I went up to the big house and killed Ron and shot Clete in the shoulder. I stole a horse and saddle from them and lit out." "John, I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing." "I'm wanted for murder in the state of Pennsylvania. I'm on the run from the law." "John, we're not in the state of Pennsylvania. We're not even in the United States. This isn't even a territory, so you aren't wanted by the law here. Nothing you did makes me think any less of you." "Thanks, Jase. That means a lot to me." "I will have to tell Ab about this. He won't think any less of you for it either. I will also tell Tess and Millie, but that's as far as it will go." "Ab seems like a fine man. I hope it doesn't bother him. Can we still be friends, Jase?" "Most definitely." "I hope it doesn't bother Tess or Millie too much either. I think a lot of those two young women. Probably what bothers Tess about me looking at her is that I think she is the most beautiful young woman I've ever seen." I couldn't argue with him about that. ------- After we went back to the wagons, I found Millie and Tess. We went around and offered to help several people who were working on their wagons. We did get a chance to meet one family we hadn't met before. John and Eve Simpson were a nice couple in their mid-twenties. They had a little girl, Sue, and a boy, Tim, who was just starting to toddle around on his own. When I offered to help, John told me he had everything under control. "It's really not as bad as it looks," he told me. "The wagon wheel must have slipped off of a rock or something and the side smashed into another rock. Another guy had a couple of boards that he gave me. I'm going to just nail them over the hole for right now." We talked for a while as John worked. They had been farmers in New York before they left. "We decided to leave because we were having so much trouble with Eve's family," he said. "What about my family?" Eve asked. "I was just telling Jase that they're the reason we're moving to Oregon," John said. Eve laughed. "And how," she said. "They were against John and me getting married. "They said he wasn't 'good enough' for me. They never seemed to realize that I was in love with him and he was in love with me." "I was just a farmer," John laughed. "Eve's father was into politics. He thought a poor farmer was beneath them." "They like to have had a fit when we told them we were moving to Oregon," Eve said. "They told me we were all going to be killed by those 'nasty Indians'. For being so smart about some things, dad is sure dumb about others. He seems to think that there is one big tribe of Indians that inhabit the entire country from Ohio to the Pacific ocean." "Well, I don't know if your pap's attitude has carried over, but I should tell you that Tess and I are half Cherokee Indian. Mom is a full blooded Cherokee." Eve has a wonderful laugh. "There's no carryover, Jase. I'd like to meet your mother some time." "Mom is a very quiet woman," Tess said. "Some days I'll bet she doesn't say ten words all day. That's just her nature." "That and the fact that pap talks enough for ten people," I said. ------- Chapter 12 After supper, I told Millie and Tess about my conversation with John. As I predicted, both of them thought he had done the right thing. April 17, 1845 We started out following the Big Nemaha River today and we'd follow it almost to its headwaters. Ab said we'd cross over to the West Fork of the Big Blue river at that point. Ab and I talked it over and decided to only shoot for ten or twelve miles for the day. I also met my first plains Indian today. I was probably seven or eight miles ahead of the wagon train and was by myself. The country was of rolling hills and I had just come to the top of one when I saw four Indians riding toward me, not two hundred feet away. I think they were as surprised to see me as I was to see them. The leader of the group rode right up to me and we exchanged greetings in sign language. He said they were from the Oto and I told him I was Cherokee. He asked what I was doing here, so I told him I was the scout for a wagon train of whites that were going through to the big waters far to the west. He didn't seem thrilled that we were going through the Oto territory, but I didn't detect any hostility either. All in all I didn't feel badly about my first encounter with these people. Before he left, he told me that there was a good camping site four of five miles ahead and said it was okay for us to camp there for the night. ------- If I thought Ab had a hundred questions when I rode back to the wagon train to tell him about meeting the Indians, Millie and Tess had a thousand. Most of the questions from all of them boiled down to "Did the Indians seem friendly" and "Did I think they were a threat." I told them that I honestly didn't know, but that I didn't think they were going to be a problem. Ab thought we should be especially watchful that night and I agreed. We ended up camping at the spot that the Indians suggested. It was a very nice camping spot and we didn't see anything of the natives. April 18, 1845 It would have been nice to have slept in this morning, but there was no way I could do it. Then I had an argument with Millie and Tess. They wanted to go scouting with me, but I refused. I had no idea how Indians would react to white women being out riding with a scout and I wasn't about to find out the hard way. Actually, today we wouldn't have really needed to scout our route anyway. We were moving through rolling, grassy hills all day. We made eighteen miles. The girls were over their mad by the time I rejoined the wagons. They rode one on each side of me as if they were trying to make up. Of course I let them. Supper was great, then afterwards, Millie surprised me with a peach cobbler. Both girls kept touching me as we ate and they suggested we retire for the evening right after I finished my second helping of cobbler. I made love to Millie that night while Tess watched. April 19, 1845 We had another good day of travel today. The weather was nice, although it started clouding up before we stopped for the night. We made 17 miles for the day. April 20, 1845 It was a rainy, cold, and miserable day. We only made 14 miles due mostly to mud. Everyone was worn out when we camped for the night. We didn't do any visiting and I doubt many people did. April 21, 1845 Well, today started out like many others had. We pulled ourselves out of bed and put on our still damp clothes. The rain had stopped sometime during the night, but it was still cold and miserable. We managed to get a fire going and Millie and Tess fixed me a nice breakfast before I took off to scout ahead. We were still going through rolling hills and they weren't much of a challenge for the oxen and mules pulling our wagons. The only problem we had on a day after the rain was the muddy spots. What would look like a small mud puddle could instantly put you axle deep in the mire. Today, it was John Simpson's turn to fall into one of these traps. I wasn't around when it happened, nor even when several of the men were working to get the wheel back on that John had lost. Millie and Tess said it was like a comedy to watch. I got back to the train just about the time we'd do our nooning and they had just finished getting the wheel back on. Caleb, Sam, Ab, John Simpson and John Ware all looked like they'd been in a wrestling match in the mud. I'd have joshed them about it, but none of them looked like they were in the mood. When we camped that night, we saw Eve Simpson, Ellen, and Sally washing out their menfolks' clothes in the river. We didn't think it was wise to josh them either. Sam Stuart and Ellen came over later to talk for a spell. Sam wasn't saying much and was looking very thoughtful. Finally he came out with what was bothering him. "Jase, Martha and me had a real good marriage. We fell in love when we were about your age. We got married and had three great kids." Ellen smiled and gave him a hug, then he went on. "Since Martha died, Ellen has been having to do all of the duties of keeping our wagon and cooking our meals. Becky Wilkes is in about the same shape we are. I don't think Abe did much except drive their wagon, but at least she had someone." I just waited without saying anything. I knew where he was going. Millie, Tess, and I had talked about it. I just wanted to see how he was going to get there. "Becky and I have talked a lot about it and it just seems to us to make sense for us to get married." He paused and waited for me to say something. "Well, Sam, if you're just going to get married for convenience sake, then I don't think it's a good idea. Do you have feelings for Becky?" "Well... Yes, I do have feelings for her. They're not like the feelings I had for Martha, but I do think I love her." "How does she feel about you?" "I don't really know. I know she likes me and likes to talk to me." "Maybe you should find out how she feels." "Jase, I know pa loves Becky. She's all he can talk about. I think he's just denying how he feels because he thinks it is being unfaithful to ma." "I expect you're right, Ellen. I just think they should get their feelings out in the open before they get married. Before Millie and I started courting, I tried to stay away from her. I loved her so much it hurt me to see her and not let her know how I felt." "That's amazing, Jase," Ellen said. "Why didn't you just tell her how you felt?" "Pap had been talking about moving to Oregon for over a year. I didn't know Caleb was thinking of moving too. I didn't want to start courting and then get pulled away with me in Oregon and her in Kentucky." "I think you're right, Jase," Sam said. "Ellen, Honey, why don't you go back to the wagon. I'm going to talk to Becky right now." "If you don't mind, Pa, I'm gonna walk over to the Jacobs. Gil wanted to show me the antlers of that buck he killed." Father and daughter took off and the three of us just smiled at each other. Soon we went into the wagon. April 22, 1845 Today we made good time and made up for some of what we lost yesterday. Ab says we are getting close to the headwaters of the Big Nemaha River and we should be turning west soon. He also says we're entering Pawnee country. From what I've heard, the Pawnees have been very good about letting wagons pass as long as they know we're just passing through. Sam came around after supper and told us about his talk with Becky. He was all smiles when he said, "Well, it seems like Becky was doing like I was and hiding her feelings too. She says I'm the first man she's ever had feelings for. We're still going to get married, but now we're doing it for the right reasons." "We're happy for you, Sam. How do your kids feel about it?" "Ellen is happy about it. I think Cole and Lem are too. All of them like Becky and I'm pretty sure Cole has a crush on her. Ellen just loves Becky's kids." Millie and Tess were feeling pretty smug when Sam left. For some reason they felt like they had something to do with Sam and Becky getting together. April 23, 1845 Today we turned west toward the Big Blue River. We didn't see any Pawnees, but we did see smoke far off to our north. We're still traveling through rolling hills, but there were no streams to cross, at least not any with water in them. We had our first dry camp after traveling twenty miles. We weren't hurting for water, as we'd filled all of our barrels the night before. We did have to water all of the livestock from our barrels though. Millie, Tess and I had made it a habit to take a couple of buckets of water into the wagon at night and if the temperature wasn't freezing, we'd give ourselves a nice wash before going to bed. I think we missed that more than we did anything else. April 24, 1845 We crossed a nice stream about two hours after breaking camp this morning. We unhitched all of the oxen and gave every animal a good drink. We also refilled all of our water barrels. This slowed us down a little, but we still made eighteen miles for the day. Ab says we should hit the Big Blue River tomorrow. I hope he's right because that will mean we'll be following a river again and won't have to worry about water for a while. April 25. 1845 Today was certainly an exciting day. Ab was right. We reached the Big Blue before our nooning. We decided to noon before we attempted to cross the river. We found the ford okay, but the water was higher than we expected. We thought we had taken all of the safety precautions we could, but I guess we should have done more. The first fifteen wagons had gone through just fine. We had to use ropes, but we had all of the livestock across as well. Then John Simpson started across. We had a rope tied to his wagon and had a second team of oxen pulling against the rope. We had done this with all of the wagons and it had worked well so far. Unfortunately John's wagon lost a wheel. It was the same wheel that had come off before. This time, since it was on the downstream side and since the current was fairly strong, it turned over on its side. Millie, Tess and I were on the eastern shore when it happened. We had all three been back and forth across the river several times, helping to get the livestock across and helping with some of the wagons. At first I just froze. The current turned the overturned wagon until it's back was pointed downstream. Simpson's oxen and those pulling against the rope were valiantly trying to hold the wagon and keep it from floating on down stream. Everything inside the wagon that would float was floating away. Then I saw little Sue Simpson come floating out. Someone told me later that Sue was only four years old. She grabbed onto the top of the wagon and held on, but I could see the current was going to pull her loose. I gave a yell and kicked Sin in the side. The wagon was about a hundred feet from where we entered the water. By the time we were getting close, Sue had been pulled loose and was going down stream. She was flailing at the water, but obviously couldn't swim. The water below the ford was much deeper, but when I turned Sin toward the girl, you'd have thought he was a duck. We gained on her quickly, and by the time she'd gone under for the second time, we were close enough for me to grab her by her hair. I held her head out of the water by her hair until I could grab her dress. I heaved her up in front of me. She was coughing and crying and then she threw up all over me. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I held her tightly as I turned Sin toward the bank. We went up the bank a couple of hundred yards downstream from where the wagon had overturned. "Are you okay, Honey?" I asked. Sue just nodded, her eyes wide. "I'm Jase and I've got you now. I'll take you back to your mommy." I'll give her credit. The little girl tried to smile. I turned Sin upstream and we galloped back to the wagon. Ab, Caleb, and Sam had managed to get Mrs. Simpson and the baby out of the wagon, but they had to cut the wagon loose from the oxen. It had gone on down the river taking everything the Simpson family had. Mr. And Mrs. Simpson didn't care a thing for all they'd lost at the moment. All they cared about was the little girl mounted on the big ugly horse. When they saw us coming they both broke into tears. Mrs. Simpson came running toward us and when she got close, I handed Sue down to her. I didn't think they were ever going to stop thanking me. I told them that it was Sin who had done all of the work, that I was just along for the ride. Millie and Tess both hugged and kissed me, even though I was covered in vomit. I was wet anyway, so I just jumped in the river, clothes and all and washed myself and my clothes at the same time. When I came out, mom handed me a new set of buckskins she had been working on as we traveled. Normally the buckskins mom makes are pretty plain. These were fringed and beaded and looked like a million dollars. I started to put them away and get out my other set of good buckskins to wear, but mom said, "You will be meeting Indians from many different tribes as you are scouting. I want you wearing these when you meet them." I guess I could see her point. I liked them so well I was easily talked into wearing them. ------- Several other wagons were damaged slightly in the crossing, so Ab said we would stay in camp tomorrow and make repairs. Sam and Becky came around after supper. "We've talked with the Reverend Green and he's going to marry us first thing after breakfast in the morning," Sam said. "We'd like for you guys to be there." "Oh, we'll be there," Millie said as she went over and hugged Becky. Tess gave her a hug too. "We're also going to return your two mules. John Simpson and his wife managed to save their oxen when their wagon floated away. We're going to give them Becky's wagon and we'll be using her oxen to pull our wagon." "That's awfully generous of you, Sam," I said. "The good Lord has seen fit to give Becky and me a second chance at happiness. I just feel it's our duty to give the Simpsons a second chance as well." "Besides that," Becky said. "That wagon belonged to Abe. I was married to him only because my pap sold me to him. I'd just as soon not have anything around that reminded me of him." It made sense to me. April 26, 1845 The Reverend Nathaniel Green was just as long winded as ever. Finally the service was over. Becky Wilkes was now Becky Stuart. Millie and Tess got our breakfast fire going again. They said they were going to make us an apple cobbler for lunch. I was just kind of sitting around watching them when I saw the Simpson family coming toward us. When Sue saw me, she came running on her little short legs with a smile as big as Kentucky. Sue threw her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I see you've made a conquest," John laughed as he walked up. "Looks like it," I said, hugging Sue as hard as she was hugging me. "You're all she could talk about last night. She calls you 'Chase' though." "Well, Chase is just fine with me. You have a very sweet little girl here, John." "We think so too. I don't know what we'd have done if we'd lost her." Where are you guys heading when you get to Oregon?" I asked, changing the subject. "We're not sure, but we've been hearing good things about the Willamette Valley. If it's anything like they're saying, we might just settle there." "I've heard of the Willamette Valley too. It sounds almost too good to be true. The problem is, I want to have a cattle ranch. The Willamette Valley is going to be full of farms. The two don't mix. What are you guys planning to do?" "I guess we're going to start out doing a little trapping and farming. Eventually I'd like to set up a carpenter shop as more people come in to the area. I love to build furniture. I know there'd not going to be any need for fine furniture for a few years, but eventually that is my dream." "Where are you guys from?" "Philadelphia, we both grew up there. I worked for my father until he died last year. When he died, his creditors took everything he had. Mom lived with us until she died three months ago. I just don't think she wanted to live after dad died." "Is that what caused you to want to move to Oregon?" "Pretty much. Things aren't really great back east right now. They haven't been for a couple of years. I don't know anything about economy or whatever they call it. I just know that we couldn't live as well as we had before. I figure that in Oregon we won't have to worry as much about what other people are doing. We'll be more dependent on ourselves." "We're backwoods people anyway," Millie said. "It won't be as different for us as it will for you. Jase and Tess were our nearest neighbors growing up and they lived two miles away. Is it going to bother you not being around a lot of people?" "I don't think so," Eve said. "It seemed like all our neighbors could talk about was each other. I don't like that kind of thing, so I didn't mix in much. I do wonder what life is going to be like for Sue and Tim though. You said you were backwoods people. Where were you from?" "Eastern Kentucky," Tess said. "Pap is a trader. He was mostly gone while Jase and I was growing up. Mom and I raised a big garden every year and Jase supplied the meat." "Were you lonely growing up?" Eve asked. "No. I don't think Jase or I ever felt lonely. We were each other's best friend growing up. Then when we got big enough we'd visit with Millie." "I've got three brothers and one sister," Millie said. "I was probably more lonely than Tess or Jase were. Two of my brothers are older than me. They're not like Jase and I couldn't talk with them much. My other brother and sister are much younger. So much younger I had to be a mother to them rather than a friend." I put my arm around Millie and hugged her. "She's not lonely any more," I said. Millie smiled a mile wide smile. "No, I'm not," she said. After supper, Sam came by and told us they'd given the wagon and most of its contents to the Simpsons. They hadn't known when they were talking with us and I hadn't brought it up. April 27, 1845 This morning we started out following the south side of the west fork of the Big Blue River. According to Ab, we'd be following this for about five or six days. At that point we'd be about one day's travel from the Platte. Millie and Tess both insisted on going with me while I scouted today. I enjoyed their company, so I didn't argue too much. We made fifteen miles, which I thought was good for it being the first day after laying off a day for repairs. We should definitely be in Pawnee country now, but we still haven't seen any of them. We made camp near a nice little stream. Millie, Tess, and I made use of it for a bath before the wagons arrived. I felt good. Probably the best I'd ever felt. We turned in early after supper and Millie and I made love. April 28, 1845 We made another sixteen miles today. It looked like fifteen or sixteen miles a day was what we were going to be averaging from now on. We had a couple of hours of daylight left when we made camp, but there wasn't another good camping spot within five miles. When the girls called me to supper, I was a little surprised to see John Ware there. It was nice having him eat with us though. He was closer to our age than most people on the wagon train and was an interesting person to talk with. I found out later that Tess had invited him to eat with us. When we were all snuggled in for the night, I asked her, "So, do you still feel uncomfortable around John?" "No. That's why I invited him. I wanted to see how I'd feel around him after I knew what his story is. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all." "Good," I said. "I've always liked John and I hope we can be friends with him. How do you feel about him now, Millie?" "I'm okay with him. What you told us explains the strangeness. I don't fault him for what he did." "Honey, if someone did that to you or Tess, I wouldn't just kill them. I'd cut them up in little pieces and feed them to the hogs." April 29, 1845 I talked with Ab this morning about John Ware. When I told him John's story, he nodded gravely. "I kind of figured it was something like that," he said. "Do you think he was telling you the truth?" "I think so, Ab. He seemed sincere and he got all choked up when he was talking about his wife." "Well, we won't hold it against him then. Tell him to come and talk to me when he gets a chance." I told him I'd do that and then left to do my scouting. ------- Today we reached the headwaters of the Big Blue River. Ab says it will take a day or a little more to reach the Platte River. We made around fifteen miles. We had just finished supper when we saw our first Pawnees. A band of about twenty of them came riding up to our wagons. I went with Ab to talk with them. The Chief, whose name was Running Buffalo, said we were traveling through his country. He didn't seem too upset by it, but he did want us to pay him for the privilege of passing through his territory. He claimed the entire country, all the way to the big waters was Pawnee country. I wanted to ask him if some of that country didn't belong to the Sioux and the Cheyenne, but I didn't want to insult him. "So, what do we do?" I asked Ab. "Well, if he doesn't try to hold us up too badly, it might be better just to pay him. Find out what he wants." I dickered with the Chief for quite some time. We finally reached what I thought was a reasonable price, so I told him I'd have to clear it with our chief. "The Chief says we can pass through his country if we'll give them two blankets. To me that seems reasonable. What do you think?" Ab let out a sigh of relief. "I was afraid they were going to want whiskey or guns. Two blankets sounds reasonable. Does your pap have any extra ones in his trade goods?" "Yeah, I think so. Why don't you go and ask him while I keep the Chief busy." Ab was back in a few minutes with two new blankets. The Chief looked them over carefully, then nodded. He said something to his braves and they all wheeled their horses and took off. "He thinks he got the better end of the deal," Ab said. "Your pap says we owe him two dollars for the blankets. He says that's what he paid for them." I had to laugh. "That's pap," I said. "At least he gave us a good price. They'd have been $2.50 each in the general store." Of course, everyone was all a twitter over the Indians coming to our camp. John came over for a while and we all talked about the Indians and about where we were going from here. Even with the shakeup, it was a pleasant evening. ------- Chapter 13 April 30, 1845 Today was an interesting day for two reasons. First, I killed a buffalo. Second, we reached the Platte River. The buffalo was easy. I think I could have ridden right up to them. It was in a very small herd, I was to find out later. There were probably a couple of hundred animals. Ab told me they were probably stragglers from a much larger herd. We camped within sight of the Platte River. The area around the river was marshy, so we couldn't camp right next to it. The little stream we camped on emptied into the Platte though and it provided water for the animals and for refilling our water barrels. John came over to visit right after supper. The four of us had a nice talk. I noticed that John and Tess seemed to be doing a lot of talking and I teased her about it later. May 1, 1845 Today, we headed west along the south shore of the Platte. The trail I scouted kept us far enough away from the river that we avoided the marshy and swampy areas close to the river. It wasn't too much more difficult traveling that way and it insured we weren't going to get bogged down in the soft ground along the river. I was probably five or six miles in front of the wagons when I saw three beef cattle, contentedly grazing near the trail I was laying out. I rode up until I was fairly close to them and saw they were branded with the letters "FC". "Frank Calvin," I thought. I knew that the Calvins had hitched up with the train that had passed us in St Jo and I figured they were about a day ahead of us. I rode to the top of the next rise and looked in all directions. I didn't see anyone, but there were signs that a wagon train had passed this way closer down to the river when I rode down that way. This was the first sign I'd seen of them since we'd left St Jo, so they must have taken a different route to get to this point. I figured there was nothing I could do but take the cattle back and mix them with our herd until we ran into Calvin again. I helped Sin get them started, then relaxed while he drove them. ------- When I got back to the wagons, I turned the cattle over to Caleb and told him where I'd found them, then I went off to find Ab. Ab had been near the back of the train when I got there, and I met him as he was riding toward the front. "Howdy, Ab," I said as I turned and fell in beside him. "Howdy, Jase. Is anything wrong?" "Not that I know of. I was five or six miles out when I ran into three cattle grazing beside the trail. I looked around but didn't see anyone or any wagons. There had been a lot of wagons go through the area within the last couple of days though." "It's probably that train we saw in St Jo. The one Frank Calvin joined up with." "Yeah, that's what I figure. The cattle have an FC brand. I mixed them in with mine and I'll give them back to Calvin when we see him again." "You know, legally those cattle are yours. They were turned loose or abandoned on the open range. You really don't have to give them back." "Legal or not, that wouldn't seem right. When we see him I'll turn them over to him." Ab just smiled and nodded. I explained to Ab what I was doing about sticking to higher ground and he agreed. "The wagons that passed closer to the river were sinking in at least three inches deep," I told him. "Yeah, and that makes it harder on the animals that are pulling them. You're doing the smart thing, Jase. If anyone says anything, I'll back you up." ------- John came over after supper and we all talked about the cattle I'd found. "The only thing I can figure," I said, "Is that they just got to be too much for the hired man and he just let them go." "Calvin would have had a fit," Tess said. "He didn't strike me as the kind of guy who'd just let his cattle go." "Yeah, there is that. I guess we'll never know for sure unless we catch up with them." "I talked with the guy who drove their cattle a few times," John said. "His name was Sal Washington. He said Calvin was driving him crazy and that he had a mind to just ride off some night after they were passed the point where Calvin could hire anyone else." "Maybe that's what happened. Did he say anything else about Calvin?" "There's a lot of what he said that I couldn't repeat in front of these ladies. He did say that Mrs. Calvin is a very nice young woman. He said Calvin is almost as mean to her as he is to the hired men." "Do they have any kids?" Millie asked. "He didn't say." May 2, 1845 Okay, something is wrong, but I don't know what it is. I found two more cattle and three hogs today. All of them had Calvin's brand on them. I brought them back and mixed them with our herd, then I went to talk with Ab. I told him about finding the animals then he said, "This isn't good, Jase. Something is happening with Calvin. Something bad. There's not much we can do about it except keep our eyes open." "I expect you're right. John told me one of Calvin's men was thinking of lighting a shuck when they were out where Calvin couldn't find anyone to replace him. That may be what's happened." "Could be. If Calvin was having to drive his own critters, he just might be losing some and not even know it." May 3, 1845 Well, I didn't find any animals today, but I found something that was even more ominous. The last couple of days, when I headed back for our wagons, I'd ridden back along the trail the other wagon train had left. Just after I started back, I saw a wagon bogged down in the marshy ground close to the river. It had sunk until the bottom of the wagon was on the ground. I pulled up and went over to it. I was sinking in even just walking on the ground, but I did make it to the wagon. It looked like someone had tried to get some stuff out, but it was still loaded to the gills. There were barrels of flour, corn meal, sugar, and molasses. There were also some tools and even an anvil. The wagon was never gonna come out of there. All of the undercarriage was under what passed for the ground. If the wagon hadn't been water tight, it'd have probably sunk as well. I rode on back to the wagon train and when I got there, I fell in beside Ab. "Well, I didn't find any critters, Ab, but I found one of Calvin's wagons." "What?" "It was down by the river, sunk in the muck all the way to the bed. There's no way it could ever be pulled out." "Where is it?" "It's almost to where we're gonna camp, but like I said, it's down by the river. It's a shame. It has a lot of stuff left in it that Millie and I could have used." "What's the place like where we're going to camp?" "It's on a creek. There's good grazing and plenty of firewood." "It's been over a week since we've taken a day to rest and work on the wagons. If we lay over for a day, do you think you could salvage anything from the wagon?" I know I must have been grinning from ear to ear when I said, "Sure could. There may be some wagon parts that could be salvaged too. Might have to dig down for them, but if anyone needs anything it wouldn't hurt for us to try to get it for them." ------- I rode back and told Caleb, Millie, and Tess about what was going on. I think they were as excited as I was. May 4, 1845 Ab must have talked to everyone in camp about what we were going to do. I had so many volunteers to help that I didn't know what to do with them all. We all got dressed in our oldest clothes and had a good breakfast before we started down to where the wagon was. We took our wagon and an extra pair of oxen. John Simpson made us a kind of a sled out of a couple of planks and some cross pieces. We hitched the oxen to that, then we backed them down as close to the soft area as we dared. We would carry the sled over to the sunken wagon and load a barrel onto it, then we's have the oxen pull it out to firm ground. We ended up emptying the entire wagon that way. Then, we stripped off the canvas cover and removed the bows. John Simpson drilled some holes down through the bottom of the wagon on the side away from, us. We threaded ropes through the holes then hooked them up to the six oxen that pulled our wagon. We ended up pulling the wagon over on its top and then dragging the whole thing out. The axles were ruined, but we saved two wheels, the tongue, the singletree and the doubletree. I don't know who ended up with what from what we salvaged, but I think everyone who helped got something. All in all, it was a worthwhile day. May 5, 1845 We got an early start this morning. I think everyone was anxious to get moving again after a day in camp. I was twelve or thirteen miles ahead of the wagons when I saw a rider coming toward me. At first I thought it was an Indian, but as he got closer I could see he was wearing white man's clothes. I pulled up and waited for him when he got within yelling distance. When he reined in I said, Howdy. I'm Jase Tackett. You work for Frank Calvin, don't you?" "Howdy, I'm Jeb Howe. I did work for Calvin, but I quit yesterday. I'm heading back to St Jo." "It looks like Calvin has been having some bad luck. We've found some of his animals and we found a wagon he'd abandoned." "Yep. I'd call it stupidity instead of bad luck though." "What happened?" "Well, first off, Sal quit. Sal was the guy who had been driving Calvin's herd. Calvin had been jawing at him since we left St Louis and Sal finally decided he didn't want to take any more of it." "Yeah, John Ware said Sal had been talking about quitting." "John's a good man. Anyway, after Sal quit, it slowed us down considerable. The wagon master told Calvin that if we didn't keep up he was going to leave us. Calvin told him he could go straight to hell and that we didn't need his damned wagon train anyway." "That sounds like Calvin." "Anyway, the next morning, the wagon train took off without us. Calvin was trying to drive the stock, but he kept losing animals. Somehow, he blamed that on me and the other driver. Then Wes got his wagon bogged down in the mud. We tried everything we could do, but we couldn't get it out." "We found the wagon. There was nothing anyone could have done to have gotten it out in one piece." "After that, he told me he wanted me to start driving the livestock. I wasn't about to have him jawing on me like he had on Sal, so I told him to go to hell and I left." "Are his wife and kids okay?" "His wife is just fine, but they don't have no kids. She's such a pretty young thing and she has the sweetest disposition of any woman I've ever met. I don't know how she ever got hooked up with someone like Calvin." "I've never met her. I don't think I've ever even seen her." "Well, she's a real trooper. I've never heard her complain about anything. I just hope that jackass doesn't get her killed." "So, what's he gonna do now?" "I don't know and I don't care. I imagine Calvin is gonna be driving the livestock again and Wes will be driving his wagon. I'm gonna head on out, Jase. It was nice meeting you." "It was nice meeting you too, Jeb. Good luck to you." ------- When I got back to our wagon train, I filled Ab in on what I'd learned then went to find Millie and Tess. They were riding beside our wagon talking with John so I told them all at the same time. "Calvin better watch his mouth," John said when I finished. "If he starts yelling at the wrong person out here he can get killed. He might get away with things back east, but there isn't any law out here." "Jase and Millie and I heard him yelling at that Sal guy. If he'd have been yelling at me like that and if I'd have been a man, I'd have dragged him off of that fancy horse of his and thrashed him," Tess said. I looked over at John and said, "That's my sweet innocent little sister." John laughed and said, "That's the way my Jenny was. She could chew up a crosstie and spit out toothpicks." ------- When we were all snuggled in for the night, Tess asked, "Jase, what you said earlier has me thinking. Don't you think I should stand up for myself?" "I was just teasing you, Tess. Of course I want you and Millie both to stand up for yourselves. Did I tell you what Jeb said about Mrs. Calvin?" "No," Millie answered before Tess had a chance. "Well, first off she's very young. Jeb says she's pretty and has a sweet disposition. They don't have any kids." "I wonder how young she is," Tess said. "Jeb didn't say, but I got the impression she might be as young as we are." I fell asleep as we were thinking about how someone that young could get hooked up with someone like Calvin. May 6, 1845 "Well, I wonder what I'll find today," I said to Millie and Tess as I was eating my breakfast. As it turned out, I didn't find anything. We made eighteen miles yesterday and we made another sixteen today. I was seeing more and more buffalo as we went along. I saw one herd that had to be a couple of miles long. Ab said that was still a small herd. I didn't know if he was just funning me or if there were larger herds. From what Ab said, we were lucky to be coming through this early in the spring. He said that even a month later and we'd be having a lot of dry camps. We were starting to have trouble finding firewood for our cook fires. When I got back from my scouting, Millie told me she wanted to talk with me, so we rode off a ways by ourselves. "Jase, would it make you mad if I told you that Tess is falling in love with John Ware?" she asked after she'd gotten up her courage. "It'd make me killing mad," I said, not meaning a word of it. Millie looked at me like I'd slapped her. I couldn't help it. I broke out laughing. When she realized I'd been funning her, Millie said, "I ought to shoot you for that, Jase Tackett. We've been worried about how you'd feel about that." "Millie, my love, it would simplify our lives considerable. I love Tess with all of my heart, but we've all been getting too close. I still say it ain't right for her to be part of our love making like she is." "Well, be that as it may, John is going to have supper with us tonight and he's going to ask you if he can court Tess." "So, John has feelings for her too?" "Since long before Tess felt anything for him. After she found out what had happened with John's wife, Tess realized that part of how he was looking at her was because he was interested in her." "I'd think he should be asking pap for permission to court Tess. I'm not her father." "No, but you're more of a father to her than her pap is. If you give your permission, you should tell your mam and pap, but not ask them. She's been living with us since we left Lawrence County, so it's your word that counts." "Well, it's okay with me. I like John. I'll be damned if he's moving into our wagon if they get married though." Millie laughed then she asked if she could ride behind me on Sin for a while. We hadn't done that in a long time, so I readily agreed. When she got up behind me, she rubbed her breasts back and forth across my back a few times then asked if that felt good. I told her it felt so good that we should ride in the wagon for a while. That got us both giggling. ------- John had supper with us and the girls had gone all out. They had made a peach cobbler for dessert and that went down real well. Afterwards, I knew John was trying to get up his courage so I said, "John, Millie tells me that you have something you want to ask me." John blushed and then he said, "Jase, I told you about killing the guy that killed my wife. I'm not ashamed of it and I'd do it again if everything was the same. I hope that hasn't made you feel badly, because I have something very important to ask you." "No, I don't feel badly toward you, John. I told Millie and Tess that if someone had raped and killed them I'd have cut him up in little pieces and fed him to the hogs." "Tess and I have been talking a lot lately and we find we have feelings for each other. I was wondering if I could have your permission to court Tess." I'll have to give him credit. He looked me right in the eye as he said this. I nodded my head gravely and said, "I think that would be a fine idea, John. I've been wondering how I could get rid of her." Tess gasped then she must have seen something in my eyes because she tackled me and started hitting me on the chest as she sat on top of me. I looked over at John and said, "She's such a lady." We all started laughing and when she realized what she'd been doing, Tess blushed twelve shades of red and got off me. She held out her hand to John and said, "Come on, John. Let's take a walk and get away from this... this barbarian." Millie and I had already gone to bed when Tess finally came in. She got undressed and snuggled up to me. I put my arm around her and held her until we both went to sleep. May 7, 1845 I teased Tess for a while at breakfast about her boyfriend. She told me he was a man, not a boy. I had to agree with her. After we had eaten, Millie and I went over and told mom and pap that Tess and John were courting. "Don't you think they should have come to me about that?" pap asked. "No, Pap. Tess has been living with Millie and me for a couple of months now. I guess she figured and John figures that I'm the one they should ask." I looked over at mom and she smiled and nodded. Mom reached into their wagon and pulled out a new pair of moccasins and handed them to me. "You need," she said as she pointed down at my old ones that had seen better days. "Thank you, Mom," I said. She gave me a big smile and started cleaning up after their breakfast. ------- I don't care what anybody tells you, the country we were traveling through was boring. There were rolling hills with tall grass and very few trees. There was a fringe of trees along the river, mostly willows, but the hills were mostly bare except for grass. I was killing more buffalo than we really needed, so hunting wasn't a problem. Millie, Tess, and Sally were passing out the excess buffalo meat to other families on the train, so it wasn't going to waste. The route I was scouting was fairly close to the river. It wasn't down in the marshy area, but it almost seemed like God had carved out a natural road around the base of the hills. The wagoners were going to love it. I was about fourteen miles from where we had camped this morning and had just rounded a small hill when I saw the burned out wagon. I stopped Sin and looked carefully around. The fire in the wagon had been dead for probably close to a day, but I didn't want to take any chances. When I had satisfied myself that no one was lurking about, I rode on up to the wagon. There were two dead men about twenty feet apart. I went to the first one. It was Frank Calvin. He looked like someone had hit him in the head with an axe. The other man was Wes. He had been shot in the chest. I was standing there, pondering what had happened, when a woman's voice asked, "Would you help me?" I looked around and saw one of the prettiest young women I had ever seen. She had hair the color of honey and blue-gray eyes. "Yes, ma'am, I surely will. What happened here?" I got down off of Sin and she walked out of the bushes she had been hiding in. "I'm Lettie Calvin. Frank there was my husband." "I'm Jase Tackett. I met Frank when you were with the first wagon train." "I thought I recognized you. I was in the wagon when you were talking to Frank that day. Anyway, we were having a run of bad luck, or at least I guess you could call it that. First, one of the men quit. Then our other wagon got bogged down in the mud and we had to abandon it. Then another one of the men quit." "Yeah, I talked to one of the men who quit a couple of days ago. Who killed your husband?" "An Indian killed him. Frank and Wes had gotten into an awful argument. We had spent the night here and I was fixing breakfast. They were yelling at each other. Wes wanted to go back and see if we could find your wagon train. Frank said we didn't need any dam... any wagon train." "Lettie, I think it would have been perfectly acceptable for you to have said the word." At least I got a smile out of her. "Wes said that if we didn't try to find your wagon train he was going to quit. I'd never seen Frank as mad as he was then. It scared me, so I ran off and hid in the bushes. Wes started to get his things together and Frank pulled his pistol and shot Wes." Lettie started sobbing. So I put my arms around her and held her until she calmed down. "Frank still had the pistol in his hand when four Indians rode up, driving one of Franks cows. Frank hadn't reloaded, but he pointed his pistol at one of the Indians anyway. The Indian threw this hatchet like thing and hit Frank right in the forehead. I sneaked further back into the bushes and hid there." She was shivering, so I held her close and rubbed her back. "Did the Indians burn your wagon?" "Yes. They went through it and took a few things. Then they set it on fire. They took the horses but didn't bother with the cattle or the oxen. I guess they all wandered off during the night." "Lettie," I said as I tilted her head up so she was looking into my eyes. "I don't think we're safe here right now. We need to get back to the wagon train. We'll bury Frank and Wes when the wagons get here." "As far as I'm concerned, you don't ever have to bury Frank. This is all his fault anyway. If he hadn't yelled at the men, the wouldn't have quit. If he hadn't been insulting to the wagon master, they wouldn't have left us behind." "Well, we'll bury them anyway when the wagons get here. Can you ride behind me? It's probably ten or twelve miles back to the wagons." "I'm not a shrinking violet, Jase. I can ride." I got on Sin then helped her up behind me. Lettie put her arms around me and leaned against my back. "Have you had anything to eat?" I asked. "Not since yesterday morning." "There's some jerky in my right hand saddle bag. Help yourself." Lettie started chewing on some jerky as we rode. After a while she asked if I had any water. I gave her my canteen and she drank deeply. "You're the one who got married between St Louis and St Joseph aren't you?" "That's right. Millie and I had been in love for years. We started courting just before we left home." Lettie didn't say anything. She just sighed and leaned against me again. ------- Chapter 14 When we got back to the wagons, we went to see Ab first. Lettie told him everything that had happened. "Do you have friends you can stay with, Lettie?" Ab asked. "I don't know anyone on the train. Frank made me stay inside the wagon all of the time." "She can stay with us tonight, Ab. I'm sure that Millie and Tess will know where she can stay permanently," I said. "That'd be great, Jase. The next place I know of where she could leave the train if she wanted to is the trading post at Laramie. That's a couple of weeks travel ahead." "I'm not going to leave the train unless you force me to," Lettie said. "We wouldn't force you. Think about it before you get there though. Oregon is gonna be a very rough place for a woman by herself." We rode on back and found Millie and Tess next to our wagon again, talking with John. "Guys, this is Lettie Calvin," I said. "Lettie, this is my wife, Millie, my sister, Tess, and Tess' boyfriend, John." Everyone said hello, then I asked, "Millie, would it be okay if Lettie stayed with us tonight. Her husband was killed and she doesn't have anywhere to go." Millie smiled at Lettie, then looked serious. "I'm sorry to hear about your husband, Lettie. You're welcome to stay with us for as long as you want." "You have to realize, we're not city people," Tess said. "If our ways seem strange to you, then I'll apologize, but we probably won't change." "I was brought up on a farm, Tess. It's not likely that your ways are much different than the way I was brought up." "If you're a farm girl, how did you end up getting married to Calvin? He looked and acted like he had a lot of money." "He did. His father owns half of the county where I grew up. My father owed his father a lot of money. His father said he'd cancel my father's debt if I'd marry Frank. Dad said no, but I said yes. Dad was going to lose everything if I didn't." "It's too bad you had to do that, Lettie," I said. "Jeb Howe said Frank treated you pretty bad." "Some bad, I guess. He was afraid to go too far though. I knew something about him he didn't want to get out. Maybe I'll tell you all about it after I know you better." "I need to get back out and do some more scouting. Could one of you let Lettie ride behind you, or find her a place in the wagon?" "Sure, Jase," Millie said. "We'll take care of her." We made a switch and I went back up to tell Ab I was heading out again. "How far out is the place where this happened?" Ab asked. "I'd say it's another five or six miles." "Is it a good place for us to camp for the night?" "Yeah. There's water and wood." "We might as well stop there for the night then. It'll take a while to bury the two men." "Okay, that sounds good to me. I'm going to ride on ahead and see if I can find any of Lettie's livestock. Without that, she doesn't have anything." "Okay, why don't you take Gil Jacobs with you if his pa doesn't mind? He'd probably be a big help." ------- I did take Gil with me and he was a big help. We rounded up fifteen cattle and all six of their oxen. We had them in the meadow where I'd found the burned out wagon. I went through what was left of the wagon while Gil looked for more animals. I did find one thing of interest. There was a metal box shoved off in one corner of the wagon. It had a padlock on it and so it roused my curiosity. It took me a while to get the box open, but I was glad I did. I didn't count it, but there had to be two thousand dollars worth of gold coins in the box. I was grinning from ear to ear as I transferred the coins to my saddle bags. "At least Lettie isn't destitute," I thought. ------- John had supper with us again. That made five of us at the evening meal. I watched as Lettie helped Millie and Tess and I was impressed. It looked like she knew what she was doing. After we finished eating, Tess and John decided they wanted to take a walk. When they were gone, Millie said, "They're going to be gone a while and I'm a little chilly. Why don't we go in the wagon and lie down under the covers? I think we'd all be more comfortable." Lettie agreed, reluctantly. Once we were inside and bundled up she seemed to relax. We all kept our clothes on in deference to our guest. "Ladies," I said as I put my arm around Millie, "This is something we have to keep quiet, but I found something in Lettie's burned out wagon." "What did you find?" Lettie asked. "I found a metal box with money in it. I didn't count the money, but I did move it to my saddle bags. It looks like there's quite a lot." "I had no idea he had any money with us. You could have taken it and I'd have never known about it," Lettie said. "No, Jase couldn't have taken it," Millie said. "Jase is the most honest person I've ever met." "What do you want to do with your life now?" I asked to change the subject. "You could go back east, or you could go on to Oregon." "I don't know," Lettie said then paused. "I don't think I could really go back east. Frank's dad would hound me until the day I died. He knows I know Frank's secret. If it ever got out, his dad is afraid it would reflect on him." "That must be some secret," Millie said. "Well... I guess I might as well tell you." Lettie stopped and sighed then she went on. "Frank didn't like girls. He liked little boys instead." "You mean he... ?" Millie started. "Yes, I mean he... I guess legally I wasn't really married to him. Our marriage was never consummated. I'm still a virgin." "But, with little boys?" "Oh, yeah. If I had been a boy our marriage would have been consummated. I caught him with one right after we were married." "His father wanted him to get married so he'd look normal," I said. "That's right. Even dad didn't know. I never told him. I wouldn't have known either if I hadn't caught him. I'd have thought he just didn't like me." We were all quiet for a few minutes then Millie said, "Lettie, you can stay with us as long as you like, as long as our ways don't bother you." "Your ways seem just fine to me, Millie." "Oh, you haven't seen all of our ways yet," Millie laughed. "Jase and I haven't been married long. We love each other. I like boys and he likes girls, so we consummate our marriage frequently. We usually sleep naked and if Tess is sleeping in the wagon when we decide to do a little consummating, she usually just turns her back." Lettie laughed. "That's what I dreamed my marriage would be like when I was growing up. I'd watch mom and dad every chance I got and they weren't shy about it. Then I got married and it was to a man who liked boys." Millie and I both laughed. "Tess and I used to watch mom and pap too. We were always disappointed though because they only did it at night." "Mam and pap never did it where any of us could see them," Millie said. "After Bob and Sam were born, I don't know how they ever managed to have the rest of us." We all giggled about that, then Lettie got serious. "Millie, I don't want to put you guys out. I'm a stranger to you guys. You've got no call to try to be helping me like you are." "Where we came from, people made friends quickly. They made enemies just as quick. From the minute we saw Frank, we knew we didn't like him. From the minute we saw you, we knew we did. If our ways don't bother you, then you're welcome to live with us at least until we get to Oregon," Millie said. "There's something else you should know about Tess and me. We're half Cherokee Indian. Mom is a full blooded Indian. That bothers some people. If it bothers you, just let us know and we'll find someone else you can stay with." "Why in the world would that bother me," Lettie asked incredulously. "It does some folks," I said. "It's just like in the south, if you're 1/16th Negro then you're a Negro. Most people in our country consider Indians to be less than Negroes." "Well, I'm not one of them, Jase. You are a handsome man. Tess is absolutely beautiful. You both have better manners than my husband did. You saved my life and now you're offering me the hospitality of your wagon for the next several months. I'd have to be crazy to think less of you because you have Indian blood." "Lettie, you seem very mature, but you look awfully young. How old are you?" Millie asked. "I could say the same thing about you. I'd guess I'm about your age. I just turned seventeen." Millie broke out laughing. "Jase is almost seventeen. I won't be sixteen for another month. Tess is my age." "So I'm the old woman of the bunch. Well, I'll just have to try to set a good example for you youngsters," Lettie giggled. Millie and I laughed too. Tess came in soon after that and snuggled down with the rest of us. Four people in that wagon was a tight fit, but no one complained. May 8, 1845 I awoke with Millie cuddled to one side of me and Tess cuddled to the other, just like always. Only, it wasn't Tess. The girl whose head was on my left shoulder was Lettie. I had an arm around Millie and Lettie. When my eyes fluttered open, I saw Tess peeking over Lettie's shoulder at me. "Morning, Sis," I said. "Morning, Jase. Did you sleep okay?" "Yep. I felt like the middle puppy in a pile of puppies, but I slept okay. It is a mite crowded in here, but we'll survive." "Well, I still had my man to cuddle against, so I slept just fine," Millie said. "The only thing I didn't like about it was that we still had our clothes on." Millie and I kissed, then when I glanced back over at Lettie, I saw her eyes were open. Millie must have noticed too, because she asked, "Did you sleep okay, Lettie?" "I slept better than I have in months," Lettie said. "Frank would never let me cuddle up to him. In fact, most of the time he slept in one wagon and I slept in the other. I could hear the men tease about it, but they never knew the real reason." "So, you like cuddling up to a man when you sleep?" "Millie, I'd have liked to have cuddled up to a dog when I slept. You can't even imagine how lonely I've been." "Yeah, I guess you're right. Come on, Girls, it's time we stirred our lazy butts and get breakfast going. Jase has to go out scouting." ------- The natural road I mentioned yesterday continued for several more miles and we made good time while on it. We made a total of eighteen miles today. I hadn't gone more than half a mile from camp when I found three more cows. I took them back and turned them over to Caleb, then went about my business. We seemed to be getting out of the marshy area and travel down closer to the river seemed possible. I still didn't quite trust it though, so I made our trail as far from the river as possible while keeping to more easily traversed areas. John ate supper with us again. I just assumed this was going to be a natural thing from now on. We sat and talked while the women fixed the meal. "You said that you and your wife had planned on ranching in Oregon," I said. "Is that what you're planning to do now?" "Well, I hope so. I've heard that beef cattle are very expensive in Oregon, so I'll have to spend a few years trapping before I have much of a herd." "How expensive are they?" "Well, one of the people I was talking with before Jenny got killed said that they run about five times what they cost back east. He said a cow from a good breed could run as much as a hundred dollars." "Did I hear you right?" Lettie asked. "A hundred dollars a head?" "That's what I hear," John said. "They say you can buy Mexican longhorns for around eight or nine dollars a head, but cattle of a recognized breed go for much more." "It won't always be that way," I said. "Once people see that the longhorns are just as good to eat as the standard breeds, the prices of the standard breeds will drop. I think ranching is still going to be profitable over the years though." "How many of Frank's cattle have you found, Jase?" Lettie asked. "Twenty-three so far. We may find more as we go along, but I kind of doubt it now. I never did find his bull." "How many cattle do you have?" "Right now, we have fifteen cows and a very good young bull. I hope to add some more before we get to Oregon." Lettie didn't say anything more, but she was looking very thoughtful. Supper was great as usual. Afterwards, Tess and John wandered off, so Millie suggested we take a walk up the creek we were camped near. Lettie was going to stay with the wagon, but Millie insisted she come with us. "So," Millie said when we were away from camp. "You looked very interested when John and Jase were talking about ranching, Lettie. Are you thinking about something along those lines yourself?" "I don't know. I'd like to, but what could a woman do by herself? I doubt that I'm going to find someone I'd like to spend my life with in Oregon. You and Jase and Tess are the only friends I have." Millie looked at me and I knew what she was thinking. I nodded and she said, "This is just something to think about, Lettie. We are going to start a ranch when we get to Oregon. Tess is supposed to be our partner and since she and John are getting together, I'd assume that he is going to be included as well. If you're interested, we could always use another partner." Lettie thought for a few minutes before she answered. "Millie, so far, the people in your partnership are all family. I'd be an outsider." "We've just known you for a little over a day, Lettie, but you already seem like family to us. Besides, we could use your cattle and if you were our partner, we wouldn't have to pay for them," Millie said with a laugh. Lettie smiled and said, "It is tempting. I really like you guys and I do feel like we all fit in well together. Let's all think about it for a while. In a week you may be wanting to get rid of me. If we still feel like this when we get to Oregon, I don't see why not." "I still have your money in my saddlebags, Lettie. What would you like for me to do with it?" I asked. "Well, I guess we should hide it somewhere." "We have a little money hidden away ourselves. Mom made us a drawstring bag to keep it in. I'll check to see if she has one you can have." "Jase, also ask her if she has any more of the buckskin outfits she made for me and Tess. Lettie was saying today that something like that was just what she needed." "I'd like to help with the herding or anything else I can do," Lettie said. "I practically grew up in the saddle." We had been walking the whole time we were talking and now, we must have been a good quarter of a mile from camp. I noticed that Millie had been keeping a close eye on the creek. "This looks like a good spot for a swim and a bath," Millie said. "Are you guys up for that?" "Oh... I don't know about that, Millie," Lettie said. "Lettie, at some point in time, you are going to see Jase naked and Jase is going to see you naked. Now is as good of a time as any." Lettie thought for a minute then said, "I used to go swimming with my brothers. I guess it won't be too much different from that." Millie laughed and pulled a bar of soap out of her pocket. "Jase and I like to keep clean for each other. I had a brother, Bob, who thought taking a bath twice a year was enough. He stunk. We don't want to be like that." "I don't blame you," Lettie said. "I like to feel clean myself." I tried not to stare at Lettie as we all got undressed, but she is a beautiful woman. After she got over her initial shyness, she entered into the spirit of the thing and splashed us and played like a little kid. We had a lot of fun and we were all clean by the time we headed back to the wagon. It was starting to get dark and Tess still wasn't back when we got there. We went into the wagon and Millie started to undress so I did too. Lettie hesitated just a little before joining us. Ah, back between two naked women. Life couldn't get any better than this. May 9, 1845 Tess had come in not long after we had gotten in bed last night. When she saw we were naked, she removed her clothes as well. Now, I woke up with three naked women. Millie and Lettie each had their head on one of my shoulders and their breasts digging into my sides. They must have been awake for a while, because they were whispering to each other, their heads not six inches apart. When Millie saw I was awake, she gave me a kiss that would have set a snow drift on fire. Of course, my pecker got hard immediately. I was a little embarrassed by it and was even more so when Millie reached down and took hold of it. "He's got a hardon," she said with a giggle. I smacked her on the bottom and told her to behave herself. After we were up, I went over and asked mom about a buckskin outfit for Lettie and about a drawstring bag while the girls were making breakfast. She had one more outfit and she said she'd make some more. She had a bag that would work just fine as well. Lettie went into the wagon and put her new outfit on as soon as I brought it over. I think she looked as good in her new clothes as Millie did. I got her off to herself and told her we'd move her money into the bag and hide it this evening. ------- The weather was nice and we made seventeen miles for the day. By the end of the day we were within fifty miles of where Ab said we'd be crossing the South Platte. I kept my eye on the river as I scouted. The spring runoff had about finished and it was looking like it would for most of the summer. The weather had been getting warmer, day by day. There was a definite chill in the air this evening though and Tess put on a heavier coat before her evening walk with John. As soon as the girls had cleaned up after supper, Millie, Lettie and I took my saddlebags into the wagon. We all sat cross-legged on the mattress and I dumped the gold coins out on the blanket. We started stacking them up in hundred dollar stacks. I saw right away that I had been badly mistaken as to how much money was there. There were thirty-three full stacks and one partial stack. "Wow!" Millie said. "I thought we had a lot of money put away." "It was enough to get a man killed." I said. Lettie looked puzzled so Millie told her how we had come by our money. "I think you guys are entitled to part of this money," Lettie said. "Just think about the partnership we offered," Millie said. "Don't feel like you owe it to us to become our partner. If you'd like to join us then that's fine. If you'd like to go off on your own, that's fine too. Either way, I think we'll always be friends." Lettie promised she would definitely think about it. May 10, 1845 Traveling wasn't as easy today. I had to move our trail back away from the river again, mostly due to willow thickets running back from the edge of the river to the base of the hills. We only made fifteen miles for the day. I got back to the wagons just after they'd finished their nooning. Millie had saved me some food, so I ate it as I rode and talked with them. After I had finished eating, Millie said, "John, we need to talk to Jase for a minute." Then she turned to me and said, "Come on." When we were a little ways away from the wagons, we all reined in. "What's up?" I asked. "Well, apparently Tess and I did a better job of getting Ellen to like Gil than we had planned on," Millie said. "I'll say," Tess agreed. "We all decided to take a little walk after we had finished our lunch," Millie continued. "We heard some noises in some bushes, so we walked over to see what was going on. Gil was on top of Ellen and they were swiving." I know my mouth had to be hanging open. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Jase, I know what swiving is. They were swiving." "Oh, shit," I said. "Did you talk to them?" "No. I started to yell at them, but I realized that wasn't going to do any good, so I just told them both to come to our wagon after supper. I told them you'd talk to them then." "Thanks a lot. What am I going to say to them?" "Jase, you're a lot smarter than we are," all of them giggled at that. "Besides, they both look up to you. I'm sure you'll think of the perfect thing to say to them." ------- All too soon, supper was over. We sat around discussing what I could say to the young people, but we never really decided on anything. Ellen showed up first. Her eyes were downcast, but her body was defiant. "Millie said you wanted to talk to me," she said. "No, I don't want to, but I feel I have to. Let's wait until Gil gets here so I can talk to both of you at once." Gil showed up shortly thereafter. He didn't seem nearly as defiant as Ellen had. "Millie says she found the two of you rogering during the nooning today," I said to open things up. "I don't really think that's any of your business, Jase," Ellen said. "Maybe you're right, Ellen. Maybe we should just go and tell your pa what Millie saw you doing. It certainly is his business." Ellen gasped and turned pale. "Please don't do that, Jase." "I think he's going to have to know about it, Ellen. I thought you were mature enough to be trusted, but evidently I was wrong. Your pa felt the same way I did. Maybe if he realizes you can't be trusted he can do something to insure that you behave as you should, whether you want to or not." "What could he do besides yell at me?" "Well, he could never let you out of his sight. He could watch you or have you watched, even when you go off in the bushes to take care of your personals." Ellen gasped, then she started crying. "All we wanted to do was to get married, Jase. We asked pa and he said we'd have to wait another three years." "And you thought that if you went ahead and got pregnant he'd have to let you get married sooner?" Ellen sniffed and nodded. "What if instead of doing that he got his gun and killed Gil? No one on the wagon train would fault him." "Pa wouldn't do that." "Sam might not, but if a daughter of mine went out and got herself pregnant just so I'd have to let her get married, I might kill the bastard who got her that way." "Didn't you and Millie fool around before you got married?" Ellen asked. "No, we did not. At least not that way. Millie was a virgin on our wedding night. Besides, we were older and we'd been in love for at least five years before we got married. You've just met Gil." Gil had been quiet up until now, but finally he spoke up. "Jase, we are in love with each other. We're afraid that Ellen's family will move one place and my family will move another. We're afraid we'll ever see each other again after we get to Oregon." "Have either one of you talked to your families about that?" Both of them admitted that they hadn't so I told them that's the first thing they need to do. I also told them I thought they should tell their parents what they had been doing when they were caught. Neither of them liked that much, but both said they would. "You see," said Millie as we were snuggled in, getting ready for sleep. "I told you, you'd know just exactly what to say to Ellen and Gil." "I don't know about that," I said. "I don't know if I said anything right or not." "I think you did," Lettie said. Tess agreed. ------- Chapter 15 May 11, 1845 We made another fifteen miles today. We should be getting close to the South Platte crossing. Ab and I have talked about what I need to be looking for to find it. We didn't hear anything from or about Ellen and Gill today. If we don't hear anything tomorrow, I'll talk to them again. May 12, 1845 I woke up between two beautiful naked women again today. One of them was NOT Tess. In fact, Tess wasn't even in the wagon. Both Millie and Lettie were snuggled up to me and I had an arm around each of them. I was watching Millie when her eyelids started to flutter. When her eyes came fully open, she smiled at me and I kissed her softly. "Good morning, Love," I said. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" "I slept like a baby. How about you?" "I slept very well. It looks like Lettie did too." "Looks like," I said. "I did," Lettie said, then she stretched and her breasts pushed even tighter into my side. "Is Tess up already?" Millie asked. "I don't know. She wasn't here when I woke up," I said. " I had a hard time falling asleep last night," Lettie said. "I've got so many things running through my mind, they kept me awake until late. Tess hadn't come in when I finally did fall asleep." Millie was grinning from ear to ear when she said, "I'll bet the lovely Tess was bundling with John last night." "I hope that's all she was doing," I said. "Pap would be pulling out his shotgun if they're into anything else." "I'll find out what went on today and let you know this evening," Millie said. "By the way, are you aware you have your arm around a naked lady who isn't your wife?" "Yep." "Okay, just so you're aware of it. Now, I need a kiss before we get up and fix breakfast." I kissed Millie with all of the love I had to give. ------- Fourteen miles that day brought us to the Brule Crossing of the South Platte. The river at this point looked to be a mile wide, but the channel wasn't more than a couple of hundred feet wide. People who had crossed prior to us had marked the sandbars that would support a wagon. It didn't look like the crossing would be too bad, but you can never tell until you get into it. I rode Sin across following the marked passage and I didn't even get my moccasins wet. Gil was working the livestock when I came back, so I rode over beside him. "Have you told your folks about what Millie caught you and Ellen doing?" I asked him so no one else could hear. "Not yet, Jase. I was just kind of waiting for the right time." "Well, you need to be sure you find the right time this evening," I told him. "If you don't then I'll find the right time to tell them in the morning. Would you pass that on to Ellen too, please?" Gil gulped, but didn't say anything. He just nodded and went after one of the hogs that had strayed too far. ------- After supper, I told Millie and Lettie what I had told Gil. They both got a laugh out of it. Tess and John disappeared soon afterwards, so Millie filled us in on what she had learned about Tess. "If we can believe her, they were just bundling. She said they slept with all of their clothes on. She says that Ab told them we are going to spend a couple of days resting up at a place called Ash Hollow. I think they're planning on getting married then." "Well, it's probably for the best," I said. "I never felt right about her sleeping with us and watching us make love." "Does it bother you that Lettie is sleeping with us?" I looked over at Lettie and she looked like she was afraid of what my answer would be. "Not really," I said. "Does it bother you?" "No. There must be something wrong with me, Jase. It's kind of exciting for Lettie to be there." "How do you feel about sleeping in the same bed with us, Lettie?" I asked. "I may make you guys mad at me, but I'm going to tell you the truth. For the most part, I like it very much. I really liked you having your arm around me this morning, Jase. I liked the way my breasts felt pressing against your side. When the two of you were making love the other night, I wanted to turn over and watch. I wanted to yell out 'I'm next'." "What don't you like about it?" Millie asked. "What I don't like is that I'm an outsider. Even if I yelled that I was next, it wouldn't do any good. I'd still be an outsider." "Lettie, we've only known you for five days, but I feel as close to you as I would my sister. If you wanted to turn over and watch, it wouldn't bother me and I don't think it would bother Jase. If you yelled, 'I'm next' I'm not sure how either one of us would react right now. You'd better be careful though because Jase just might take you up on it." ------- Okay, so when we went to bed, I was feeling a little confused. What Millie had said hadn't really bothered me that much. I had grown close to Lettie over the last five days too. I mean, when I had woke up this morning, we were both naked and I had my arm around her. It didn't embarrass me and I had definitely responded to her body. Yes, Lettie is a beautiful woman and is very sexy. I guess I had just been thinking of her more as a sister than I had as a potential lover. I was in love with Millie. Period. I resolved to talk to Millie about it tomorrow. May 13. 1845 I awoke between two lovely naked women again. I had an arm around each of them and each had her head on one of my shoulders. When Millie woke up, we shared a good morning kiss, then she laid there watching Lettie as she slept. After a while, she whispered, "She is very pretty, isn't she?" "Yes she is. I love you, Millie. Please don't forget that." "How could I?" she asked. "You show me every day." "You and I need to talk later," I said. "Yes, I guess we do," she smiled. Millie reached across me and ran her fingers over Lettie's face. Lettie's eyes popped open immediately. "Good morning," she said and then stretched. Her left arm was across my chest just below Millie's. She hugged me and said, "This feels so good, I hate to get up." I kissed her on the end of her nose and said, "Get up, woman. You've got breakfast to cook and we've got a river to cross." Millie giggled, then said, "This is his caveman personality, Lettie. Just ignore him and he'll be back to normal as soon as he realizes he's not impressing us." Both women laughed, so I hugged them both at the same time, then extricated myself so I could get up. ------- I knew we weren't going to get in a lot of miles today, so I didn't even bother to go out on scout. I found Ab and we talked about the best way to get across. We rode across the river following the same trail I had used yesterday. "You're right, Jase. It doesn't seem that bad. The trail must have been marked recently. Otherwise, I'm sure the sandbars would have changed." "I'd say it was probably the wagon train that Calvin joined. They're probably two or three days ahead of us now from the signs I've seen. They seem to be pushing pretty hard." "I was thinking the same thing. You know, pushing too hard can be dangerous." "That's what I was thinking," I said. "I'm feeling pretty good about our progress. We got a nice early start out of St Jo and we haven't had any major holdups since. If things keep up the way they have been, we'll be through the mountains well before the snow flies." Of course things didn't go as well as we'd hoped. We had one yahoo who got off the marked trail by no more than twenty feet. He had sunk in to the axles before he realized his error. It took almost three hours to get him out. When it came time for lunch, our wagon was already across. Lettie, Millie, Tess, and I were sitting on our horses watching everyone cross. "Lettie, would you and Tess mind fixing us up some food?" I asked. "Millie and I need to talk for a few minutes." Both of them agreed and they went back to our wagon to get it started. "You want to talk about what I said to Lettie last night, don't you?" Millie asked with a smile. "Yep. That's pretty much it." "Do you disagree with me?" "I don't disagree that Lettie is a nice person. I've come to like her a lot in just a week too. I guess I just didn't understand completely what you were saying." Millie has a beautiful laugh and she used it now. "I'm not sure I understood what I was saying either. Frank Calvin was a worthless piece of shit. Lettie deserves a good man and I just don't see any of them walking around." "Millie, I'm not very bright. Could you spell it out for me?" Millie laughed again. "Jase, you are the smartest person I know. Okay, how's this for making myself clear? We've asked Lettie to be a partner in our ranch. How would you feel about making her a partner in our marriage as well?" "That's where I thought you were headed," I said. "That's an awfully big step, Millie. Aren't you afraid she'll come to mean more to me than you do?" "No. I expect she'll come to mean as much though. Jase, you and I have loved each other for years. There's nothing in the world that's going to change how we feel about each other." "What about the sex thing? Doesn't it bother you that I might have sex with her?" "I don't think there's any doubt that you ARE going to have sex with her. Does it bother me? No. I think the three of us could have something very special, Jase. I know there has to have been other people who have done this. We just don't hear about them." "Okay, I'll admit, I am very attracted to Lettie. I think I could easily fall in love with her, in fact I may have already fallen in love with her. That's what scares me, Millie. I don't ever want to do anything that would hurt you." "If we did start having a closer relationship with Lettie and it started to bother me, would you quit?" "Of course. In an instant." "See what I mean? I don't have anything to worry about." ------- Gil came around right after that and said that he and Ellen had both told their parents about what they'd been doing. He said that both sets of parents wanted to talk with me when we got to Ash Hollow. We managed to get everyone across during the afternoon. We only made about three miles, total, for the day. That was okay, because Ab said we were going to stay in camp tomorrow for wagon repair and to rest up after the crossing. We had been on the trail for almost two months and everyone was tired out. Ab said we'd reach Ash Hollow in a couple of days and that we were going to spend two days there, just resting up. He also told me about this big hill we'd have to go down before we got there. He said it is the steepest hill on the trail and that he'd be surprised if someone didn't lose a wagon there. As we were eating supper, John told me that him and Tess would like to get married when we got to Ash Hollow. He seemed to be very sincere, so I decided not to tease them about it. After we finished, Millie and I went over and told mom and pap. Pap wasn't thrilled, but mom smiled at me and nodded, so I knew she was okay with it. When we got back to the wagon, Tess and John had gone off somewhere. Lettie was sitting there by the fire, looking lonely. Millie and I went over and sat on either side of her. We both put an arm around her and pulled ourselves against her. We just held her close for a few minutes, then I asked her, "Lettie, last night you said you were an outsider. Does that mean you'd like to be something more than an outsider to Millie and me?" "I wish more than anything in the world that I could be, Jase. You saved my life when you found me at the old wagon. Then you found a lot of money and instead of just hiding it for yourself, you gave it to me. You've treated me with respect since I met you. Then you brought me back to meet your wife and she welcomed me into your family like I was her sister. I love you both." "We both realized today that we love you too, Lettie. I know it isn't the best situation for you, but if you'd like to be a part of our family, a part of our marriage, we'd certainly like to have you." "You said a part of your marriage. Do you mean in all ways?" "In all ways, or in any way you're comfortable with," Millie said. "Would that include the sexual part?" "It would if that's what you wanted. If you didn't want that, then we sure wouldn't force you." "Oh, I want it all right. I've wanted Jase since I got up behind him on that big ugly horse of his. I just never thought that it would happen." "Nothing is going to happen for a few days," I said. "I want us all to be very sure about this before we do something we might regret. Once we make that decision, I don't want it to be something we hide like we're ashamed of it." "What do you mean?" Millie asked. "Well, we don't have to go telling everyone we have a strange marriage," I said and the girls laughed. "But, if I want to put my arm around Lettie while we're in public, I don't think there is anything wrong with it." Both women agreed. Soon, we went in to bed. Lettie openly watched as Millie and I made love. Afterwards, I put my arm around Lettie and gave her a serious kiss. All three of us sighed afterwards. May 14, 1845 Well, today was going to be a day of rest for us again. I talked to Caleb for a while and thanked him for the great job he had done in fixing up the farm wagon. We hadn't had a bit of trouble with it. Millie, Lettie and I went over to see if Sam Stuart needed any help with his wagon. "No, thank you, Jase. Everything came through just fine on that crossing." "That's good to hear, Sam. How are you and your new wife getting along?" Sam grinned and said, "It couldn't be better. Becky is a fine woman. I'm afraid her and me getting hitched is what caused the problem with Ellen though. She came to us right after we got married and said she wanted to get married to Gil Jacobs. I know Gil is a fine boy, but they are only thirteen. I told her to wait a couple of years and we'd consider it." "Yeah, Gil told me later that the reason they were doing what they were doing was to force the issue so you'd have to let them get married now. He says they're afraid that their families will settle in different places in Oregon and that they'll never see each other again." "Ah... I didn't know why. They never told us. I guess I should have a talk with Ben Jacobs about this." "Yeah, and I'd do it when Gil and Ellen aren't around. I think those two young idiots have it in their heads that all of the grownups are against them or something." "I guess I have to ask you this because Ellen wouldn't give me any details. Were they actually doing the whole thing?" "They were actually doing the whole thing, Sam," Millie said. "You know," Sam said as he shook his head, "The little snot didn't even seem to be embarrassed about being caught. I wonder if she even knows how serious it is." "I talked to her about it," Millie said. "So did Jase. I'll agree, she did seem more defiant than concerned. Maybe Becky could talk some sense into her." "Becky is gonna talk to her, but I wanted to talk to Ben before she does. I think I'll go over and see him this afternoon." "We're heading that way now," I said. "I'll tell him you're gonna come over later. Ben's a good guy, Sam. He's smart and fair and reasonable. I'm sure he's as upset about this as you are." "I know that, Jase. I'm not gonna cause him or Gil any problems about it. I just want to be sure we're all playing with the same deck of cards." "That makes sense to me, Sam. Don't be too hard on Ellen either. She's really a good kid. They just picked the wrong way to work out their problem." "Yeah, that's the way I figure it too. Thanks for being understanding about this, folks, and thanks for making them come to us about it." We told him that it wasn't a problem and that we really liked both kids. Then we excused ourselves to visit the Jacobs. ------- Ben Jacobs was renewing the tar on the bottom of his wagon when we got there. We introduced him to Lettie since they had never met, then Millie and Lettie went off to introduce her to Alice. "We were just over at Sam Stuart's wagon," I told him. "Sam says he's going to come over and talk with you later." "Oh, shit. I hope he's not bringing a weapon," he said. I had to laugh. "No, he's not bringing a weapon. He blames Ellen as much as he blames Gil. Did Gil tell you why they rushed into this like they did?" "Just that they wanted to force us to let them get married at thirteen years old." "Yeah, but the reason behind that is that they thought they'd be separated when we get to Oregon and that they'd never see each other again." "He never told us that and I'd never thought about it. Why couldn't they have just told us that? Damned kids." Ben looked around to see if anyone else was within hearing distance then said, "Did Millie say if they were actually swiving?" I just nodded, then Ben shook his head. "I was afraid of that. Well, I guess there's nothing for it but to talk to Sam about it." "Don't be too hard on them, Ben. They're both good kids. I have to agree with Gil, that he is almost a man. A good man at that." ------- After we had our nooning, Millie, Lettie and I took a walk so we could be away from everyone else. "What were you thinking about when you were watching us last night, Lettie?" Millie asked. "I was thinking that maybe I could be next," Lettie said, her eyes downcast. "Lettie, my love, my grandfather used to say, be careful what you wish for because you might get it. If that's what you really want and what you really wish for then when we get to Ash Hollow in two days, that's what you'll get," I said. Lettie's smile would have lit up Kentucky. Millie smiled and squeezed my hand. I put my arms around both girls and they each put an arm around me. We walked on that way for a while then we ran into Tess and John. The three of us held on to each other as we talked to them. "You know, Tess, we don't have a wagon for you, but I know pap has a pretty good sized tent in his trade goods. If he won't give it to you, we'll buy it from him so you guys can have some privacy when you get married." "You mean you don't want to try to fit all five of us in the wagon?" Tess teased. We all got a laugh out of that, then Tess said she'd like to talk to me and asked if I would walk with her for a ways. When we were away from everyone, she asked, "Lettie has been sleeping in the wagon with you guys every night. Then when we saw you just now, you all had your arms around each other. What's going on?" I had to laugh. "You sure don't hold back, do you, Sis?" Tess grinned and admitted she didn't. "You know I love you, don't you, Tess?" "Yes. I love you too, Jase, but I love Millie too. I don't want to see her hurt." "Lettie has several cows and some money, but she didn't know what she wanted to do when she got to Oregon. The other night we suggested she could go in partners in the ranch with us." "Okay." "I don't know what it is with Millie, but she wants Lettie to be a part of our marriage as well." "I think Millie likes to have someone watch her having sex," Tess said. "As long as it was me watching, I didn't worry about it. Does it bother you?" "As long as it was you watching, it didn't bother me a bit." I grinned and Tess squeezed my hand. "I was a little worried about Lettie watching at first, but now I'm not. Lettie loves Millie and me and we both love her. We haven't done anything sexual with her as yet, but I'm sure we will soon." "Okay, if Lettie is going to be your partner, where does that leave me?" I stopped and put my arms around her. I pulled her in close and kissed her on the end of her nose. "It leaves you where you've always been. You're my sister and my partner and Millie's best friend. I hope you'll make the effort to get to know Lettie. I think you'll find she's a good friend too." "I'll do that, Jase. When John and I get married, are you going to want him on our ranch as well?" "Most definitely. John probably has more experience working with cattle than all of the rest of us put together." "He's worried about not having anything to contribute. He does have a chance to buy some cattle though and he says he has the money to do it. Should he go ahead and buy them and mix them in with the rest of our stock?" "I'd say so. I think we need to get him off the wagon and have him working with the Jacobs boys on the cattle. I can't drive the wagon because I've committed to doing the scouting. Maybe we could hire the boy Ab had driving Becky's wagon to drive ours." "That'd make sense, Jase. Can we afford to hire him?" "I don't think that's going to be a problem," I told her. "How many cattle is John going to be able to buy?" "He said the people are willing to sell him twelve cows at twenty dollars a head. He has the money to do it, but we won't have much left afterwards." "Would John mind if I talked to them? I was always pretty good at dickering." "I don't think he'd mind. I'll ask him after while." "Tess, you don't have to worry about money. I still have all of that money I found on Millie's horse and Lettie has more than I do. We're all family, so we'll all take care of each other." We held hands as we walked back to find our loved ones. ------- Later, Millie wanted to know what Tess had wanted, so I told her and Lettie about our conversation. Lettie blushed prettily, but Millie just laughed. After we had gone to bed for the night, Millie decided she wanted to play cowgirl, so she mounted me and started riding. I put my arm around Lettie and pulled her close. She laid her head on my shoulder and I stroked her butt as she watched our coupling. ------- Chapter 16 May 15, 1845 We spent a big part of the day climbing onto a plateau. I was scouting ahead and Millie and Lettie decided they were going with me today. We went ahead to the steep downgrade Ab had told me about. It had to be the steepest I had ever even heard of a wagon going down. Fortunately, the hill wasn't as long as I imagined it would be. Ab had mentioned wagons putting poles through all four wheels, but he said that even then the wagons sometimes pushed the oxen or mules pulling it to the point the animals would lose their footing and the animals, wagon and all would go tumbling to the bottom. We looked it over for a long while and we rode to the bottom to see if we could see any way to make it easier from that angle. There were trees along one side of the slope that I thought might do us some good. We also found the remains of three wagons that hadn't made it. When we got back to the wagons, we talked to Ab about what we'd seen. "I was thinking we might be able to make use of the trees down the right side of the slope," I told him. "If we tied two ropes to the rear axle of a wagon, we could take two or three passes around a tree with one rope and do the same to another tree further down the slope with another. When we'd let the wagon down as far as we could with the rope closest to the top of the hill, we'd move it down to a tree below the one the other rope was snubbed off to." "That might be a big help," Ab said thoughtfully. "It's worth a try anyway." Millie said they wanted to talk to Tess, so her and Lettie took off. "Ab, it was Phil Lewis that drove Becky's wagon for her before she married Sam, wasn't it?" "Yeah, he's a nice young man and was really good with his driving." "I'm thinking about seeing if I could hire him to drive our wagon for us after we leave Ash Hollow. Do you think he'd be interested?" "Yeah, he probably would. Don't offer him more than fifteen dollars a month. He might even do it for ten." "Okay, I'll remember that." "Isn't John going to be driving your wagon from now on?" "No, he's buying some cattle and he's going to be helping with the herding after we leave Ash Hollow. Since Tess was already a partner in our ranch, that brings John in when they get married." "Ah, I see. I don't mean to be nosey, but are you guys looking for a permanent place for Mrs. Calvin?" "No, Lettie and Millie get along just fine, so she's going to be staying with us. She may even become a partner in our ranch." I left shortly after that. Ab has a tendency to get very personal with his questions and I didn't want to have to explain our relationship to him or anyone else right now. ------- The five of us had dinner together again. As we were eating, I said, "Tess, when you guys are married, I hope you still plan on eating with us. I really enjoy having both of you around." "We've talked about that some. I think we're gonna have to for at least a while since we don't have any dishes or anything of our own. We both enjoy being around you guys too, so it isn't a problem." "Have you thought about what I suggested about getting a tent from pap?" "Yeah, I think we will. Sleeping under a wagon is okay if you aren't a young married couple. Then, it's a little exposed for some of us." "Ab tells me there are a couple of trading posts we'll be passing. Maybe we can pick up a few things there," I said. "If we're all going to be living on a ranch together, how are we going to work things?" Tess asked. "Are we going to have separate houses, or are we going to have one big house for all of us?" "Lettie and I have been talking about that," Millie said. "We'd just as soon have one big house if everyone was comfortable with that." "What would you think about that, John?" Tess asked. "I think I could live with that," John said. "As long as there were enough bedrooms for some privacy." "The first winter may be a little cozy," I told them. "There's no way we're going to be able to find the land for a ranch and build a house before the snow flies. We may all of us end up in a one room soddy for the first winter." John nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking about that. Maybe we could at least make it a two room soddy." Millie laughed. "What's the matter, John? Are you shy?" "Yep," he said. After supper, John and I went around to talk with Albert Samuels about the cattle they had that they wanted to sell. Neither Albert or his wife, Nellie looked like farmers. Albert was short and slight of build. Nellie was even smaller. Albert showed us their cattle and I liked the way they looked. "Why are you wanting to sell them?" I asked. "We hired Matt Goodson to drive them for us, but they're ending up costing us more than they're worth. Ben Jacobs said he'd buy the bull, but he's not interested in the cows." "Ben's a good man. They lost their bull before they even got to St Louis. Is twenty dollars a head the least you'd take for them?" "Well, I don't know. I'd have to give it some thought." "We'd offer you fifteen dollars a head paid in gold tonight if you're interested. I just don't think we'd be able to go any higher than that. There's too much of a chance of losing some of them before we get to Oregon." "I just don't know. I'd like to think on it a day or two." "Think all you'd like, Albert. If one of them breaks a leg going down that big hill tomorrow, you're the one who loses. You'll also be paying Matt for every day you think about it." "I guess you've got a point there, Jase. Okay, we'll take fifteen dollars a head." "If there's twelve head, that would be $180.00. Do you have that much on you, John?" "I sure do," John said as he started counting it out. "I think we'll leave them where they are for the night, Albert. We'll mix them in with our herd in the morning." Albert said that would be fine. His eyes were glowing as he took the money from John. As we were walking back to the wagon, John said, "You just saved me sixty dollars, Jase. That is really appreciated." ------- I decided to put off talking to Phil Lewis until we were in Ash Hollow. Millie, Lettie and I went to bed not long after John and I got back. May 16, 1845 Well, getting down the hill was as bad as Ab said it was going to be and as bad as I feared it was going to be. It took us until late in the afternoon to get all of the wagons down. We didn't lose any, but we did have a couple that were damaged. All in all, I thought we did a good job. Our biggest surprise came when we got to Ash Hollow. This is a beautiful place. It has a creek that is fed by a natural spring. There is a nice grove of ash trees surrounding the spring and the creek. There is also plenty of firewood in the area, which had been becoming a big problem for all of us. Some of us had even been using dried buffalo dung for cooking. The problem with that is that it burns so fast you need a ton of it to cook a meal. Millie, Lettie and I had ridden on ahead when we got the last wagon down. There was a wagon sitting in the clearing close to the spring when we got there. It wasn't one of ours. There was a man and a little girl, who had to be about three or four years old, sitting outside the wagon. They didn't seem nearly as surprised to see us as we were to see them. "Howdy," I said as we reined in. "Howdy, folks. I'm Clem Cardhill and this here's my daughter Elsie." We introduced ourselves then I asked, "Did you get left behind?" "You might say that. My wife died right after we got here with the train that's about four days ahead of you. I don't think Oregon is a place for me to bring up Elsie by myself. I tried to sell my wagon and oxen to anyone on the other train, but no one was interested. I need to get my daughter back east so I have my family to help take care of her." "We might have someone who'd be interested," I said. "What are you asking for it?" "Mister, if I could get fifty dollars and a good horse and saddle, I'd be tickled to death." "That's for the wagon, the oxen, and everything in the wagon?" "Yeah, I just have to get my little girl back to civilization. I know it's worth a lot more than that, but if we can't sell it, I'll have to abandon it and try to ride one of the oxen back." "You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Cardhill. My sister is getting married tomorrow. They were going to live in a tent for the rest of the trip, but I'm sure they'd rather have your wagon. My brother-in-law has a good horse and saddle I'm sure he'd be willing to trade." "If that's the case, we'll take off in the morning, Sir. And I'll thank you all kindly before I go." "You said the train you were on is four or five days ahead of us. They must be pushing pretty hard. They left St Jo the day before we did." "Yeah, I think the wagon master is crazy. He says they should be able to average twenty miles a day and he's determined to do that even if it kills every animal they have." "What's his hurry?" "He won't say and he gets real vexed if someone asks him. I've heard him talking about how far ahead of you guys he is though. It's almost like he thinks it's a race." "Well, I'm glad we're not with him. Our wagon master is a real nice guy and he knows the trail really well." We saw the first wagons approaching about then and when Ab saw the wagon, he came riding on ahead. I introduced him and Clem and then said I needed to go and talk with my sister. We got to our wagon when it was still about a half a mile out. Of course, Tess was riding beside our wagon. "How would you guys like your own wagon?" I asked as we pulled in beside them. "I'd like that just fine," Tess said. "Why? Are you thinking of giving us this one?" We got a laugh out of that, then we told them about the guy waiting at Ash Hollow. Before they could say anything, Lettie said, "We'll put in the fifty dollars as our wedding present to you guys, if you can come up with a horse and saddle." Millie scooted Princess in beside Lettie and gave her a big hug. "Well, I do have an extra horse," John said. "I don't have an extra saddle though." "We can give him Jase's old saddle. Lettie can ride behind Jase or me until we get somewhere we can buy a saddle," Millie said. "Lettie, I'm going to buy you the best horse and the best saddle west of the Mississippi River for this. There's only one problem though. If I'm driving a wagon, I'm not going to be able to help with the livestock." "Well, if Matt Goodson is out of a job, maybe he'd be willing to drive the wagon," I said. "The only problem is, I can't afford to hire him," John said. "Lettie and Millie, can I talk with you for a minute?" I asked. Both of them nodded and we rode off a ways. "This concerns you the most, Lettie. Maybe I'm being a little premature here. If I am, I'd like for either one of you to tell me so. How are the two of you feeling about what we talked about. About the three of us sharing in a marriage?" "I'm still for it," Millie said. "I can't see myself changing either. Every day we're together I feel closer to Lettie." "I love both of you more every day I'm around you," Lettie said. "It would break my heart if we backed out now." "I feel about the same way, Lettie. Now, my next question is, when we go into partners on the ranch, do we all throw in everything we have and share equally in the ranch, or do those of us who have more hold some of it back for ourselves?" "I say we all throw in everything we have and then share equally," Lettie said. "Are you sure about that, Lettie? You'd be putting in more than any of the rest of us." "Yes, I'm sure, Jase." "What do you think, Millie?" "That's the way it has to be, Jase. It does seem a little unfair to Lettie though." "It's really not, Millie," Lettie said. "Jase and John are going to be doing a lot more hard labor than the females are. I don't mind throwing in the extra money, especially since it belonged to Calvin." We all got a laugh out of that. "Okay, then, ladies. I'm going to declare that the partnership is now in effect. That way we all pay for the drivers and anything else we need. Does that make sense?" They both agreed that it did, so we rode back over by our wagon. "Even though we don't have the land as yet," I said. "I am now declaring the Tackett-Ware ranch partnership is now in effect. Each of the five of us have an equal partnership in the ranch. Each of the five of us are agreed that we will put everything we have into the partnership. Does anyone disagree with that?" "Well, yeah, I guess I do, Jase. All I've got to put into this is twelve cattle and a horse. I know you guys are gonna be putting in a lot more." "It doesn't matter, John. You're putting in all you have and we are each putting in all we have. That seems pretty equal to me." "I have a problem with the name of the ranch," Tess said. "Tackett-Ware doesn't give Lettie any credit in the name." "Can I tell them everything?" I asked Millie and Lettie. Both of them nodded, so I said. "From now on, Lettie is going to be known as Lettie Tackett. Lettie, Millie and I are all married to each other." Tess grinned real big, but John looked like someone had hit him with a hammer. "Are you okay with that, John?" I asked. "Well... Yeah... I guess. If you are all okay with it then I guess I am too." "The first thing I think we should do is elect a treasurer. We should all give our money to the treasurer and he or she will give it out as it's needed. Does anyone have any ideas who would make a good treasurer?" "I think it should be Lettie," Millie said. "I agree," Tess smiled. "I sure don't want to be responsible for all of our money." "I think we're just along for the ride, John," I said. "I'll agree that Lettie would make a good treasurer." By now, Ab was circling up the wagons. "I only have around eighty-five dollars," John said. "I'll give it to you, Lettie, when we stop." "Ours is in the wagon," I said. "So is Lettie's. Let's just do this after we get the wagon bought. The guy that's selling it is going to take off in the morning, so you can take it over then." ------- All five of us went over to look over the wagon and oxen. Clem told the women to go on inside the wagon and check everything out. The oxen were grazing not too far away and we went over to look at them. They appeared to be in good health. "Well, sir, we'll take it," John said. He counted out fifty dollars to Clem. "John, the saddle is the one Lettie has been using," I said. "You might as well give them to him now as well." John went off to get his spare horse and the saddle. When he had gone I handed Clem another fifty dollars. "What's this for?" he asked. "Clem, I want you to take good care of that little girl," I said. "The wagon and oxen by themselves are worth a lot more than we're paying you, so I'm not cheating myself. Maybe with the extra money you can make the trip a little easier on Elsie." "I surely thank you, Jase. It will make things easier. The trip's going to be hard on her." "No thanks are needed. Just don't tell anyone I gave you the extra," I said. When John came back, he told Clem he could feel free to stay in the wagon tonight. Clem thanked him and we tore the girls out of the wagon to go back to ours. John and I left the girls making supper and went to talk to Matt Goodson first. We caught him before he got away to see his girlfriend. We introduced ourselves, then I said, "We hear you were riding herd on some cattle for Albert Samuels," I said. ""Yeah, but he told me this morning he didn't need me any more. He said he sold his cattle to you guys." "That's right. We knew you were out of a job, so we thought we'd offer you another one. Can you drive a team of oxen? John is in need of someone to drive his wagon." "Yeah, I wouldn't have any problem with it. I drive dad's wagon when I'm not working. What are you paying?" "Well, we can't afford a lot. How much was Albert paying you to herd his cattle?" "He was paying me ten dollars a month." "Okay, we'll give you twelve dollars a month to drive the wagon. Does that sound fair?" "That's more than fair, Jase. Driving the wagon isn't going to be as hard as herding those cattle." "Could you start for us when we leave Ash Hollow in a couple of days?" "Sure thing. Dad will be tickled we still have extra money coming in." As we were walking over to the Lewis wagon, John said, "He seems like a nice kid." I had to laugh then John asked me what was so funny. "He's almost two years older than me and almost three years older than the woman who is going to become your wife tomorrow. Do me and Tess seem like kids to you too?" "No... I guess Tess and me never talked about age. Both of you seem a lot older than you are." ------- Phil Lewis was anxious to work for us as well. We offered him the same as we offered Matt and he was tickled to death. He assured us he'd be there when we ready to leave Ash Hollow. After supper, Millie, Lettie and I retired to the wagon early. John turned over his money to Lettie at supper and we wanted to get it all together and counted. When we had it all counted out, we found that we had $4,161.00. All of us thought this was a king's ransom. "Since we're all going to be in camp for the next two days, we should inventory what we have in the wagons as well," I said. "How many cattle do we have now?" Lettie asked. "Well, we're putting in fifteen, you're putting in twenty-three, and John is putting in twelve. That makes fifty cows and one bull." "One very happy bull," Millie laughed. "I just have one more question before we knock off for the day," Lettie said. "When are we going to make me happy?" We decided that right then was a very good time to do that. After we got undressed, we got into bed. Lettie was on her back and I was on my side beside her, Millie was on the other side of Lettie and I could see her caressing Lettie's arm. I started kissing her cheeks then nibbled on her earlobes and kissed her neck and throat. I paid homage to her wonderful breasts for several minutes, kissing, licking, and nibbling then I started to kiss my way down her belly. Lettie grabbed me by the ears and when I looked into her eyes she said, "Not tonight, Jase. I want you inside me, now! I don't want an argument and I don't want to wait." I smiled from ear to ear and asked, "I've heard it is easier if the woman is on top the first time. Would you like to be on top?" "No, I want you on top. I don't think they'll be any problems." There weren't. She welcomed me between her legs and I supported myself on my elbows while I let the head of my cock explore her nether lips. She was already as wet as I've ever seen a woman get. I could feel it as my cock found her opening and I paused for a second. Lettie's eyes were big as she felt it too. I raised my eyebrows and she nodded. I started moving my hips so the head of my cock would just start to enter her, then I'd back out and repeat the process again. I kept this up for a couple of minutes while Lettie moaned and tried to get me in further. Then I started letting just a little more of myself enter her on each cycle. When the entire head of my cock popped inside her hot, wet channel for the first time, I froze in place and watched her reaction. She had a look of amazement on her face, but I couldn't see any pain at all, then when I started to move farther in, I felt her barrier. I didn't know what to do, so I just froze. Lettie made up my mind for me by grabbing my butt with both hands and pulling hard. I felt myself break through and I heard Lettie gasp. I didn't move until I saw the pain start to leave Lettie's pretty face. She nodded, so I continued. I started rocking my hips again, not really moving any further in or out, but putting a slight pressure in each direction as I moved. Eventually, I started letting more of myself go in with each thrust. It must have taken at least ten minutes before I felt our pubic hair mesh together. Lettie and I kissed gently, then passionately, then Millie leaned and kissed each of us in turn. I started moving in and out in a rhythm as old as time. I moved with short strokes at first, then increased the length until just my head was inside her on the out stroke and I was buried completely on the in stroke. It wasn't long before Lettie was moaning and rolling her head back and forth, so I increased the speed of our movement. I had never before seen a woman roll her head back and forth like that, with a look of rapture on her face. It was one of the most erotic things I'd ever seen. When you added the visual stimulation I was receiving to the wonderful massaging my cock was getting from her spasming pussy, I knew I couldn't last long. Luckily, Lettie couldn't last long either. Her moaning became a shriek then her shriek became a scream. Millie was giggling and she kissed Lettie again to shut her up. Lettie's pussy was gripping and releasing me so fast, it sent me over the edge as well. Afterwards, all three of us laid in a pile. I felt closer to these two women than I had ever felt to anyone. ------- Chapter 17 May 17, 1845 Neither Millie nor Lettie could walk by me this morning without touching me on the hand or the arm or the chest. We were all feeling very happy and all feeling very loving. Before John and Tess showed up, I asked, "So, how do each of you feel about what we did last night?" "Jase, I feel good about it," Millie said. "I don't feel like it hurt our marriage at all. In fact, I think it may have brought us even closer together." "Okay, how about you, Lettie? Any regrets?" "Not a one," Lettie smiled. "I feel loved and I feel very close to both of you." "Do you still feel like an outsider?" "No way. I feel like the three of us are one." "That's just the way I feel," Millie said. "How about you, Jase?" "I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I have the two most beautiful women in the world for my wives." That got me a kiss from both of them just before John and Tess walked up. I gave my sister a big hug then asked, "So, when is the ceremony?" "Reverend Green says at nine o'clock. I guess that makes sense." "Have you been over by your new wagon yet?" Lettie asked. "Yeah, we caught Clem just before he took off. I almost feel like we cheated him on the wagon," John said. "You ladies went through it yesterday. Did it have pretty much everything that is going to be needed?" I asked. "Pretty much," Tess said. "Clem's wife had everything well organized. There's everything you'd expect them to have been taking on a trip like this." "We put all of the money together last night. We have quite a pile. Ab says we're going to be going by a trading post or two before we hit the mountains, so if there's anything you need, let's get it before we get to Oregon. We don't even know what we can buy there." "How much money do we have?" Tess asked. I looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear before I answered, and even then I lowered my voice. "A little over four thousand dollars," I said. Tess' mouth fell open and John choked on his coffee. "That's a fortune," Tess finally managed to get out. "Pretty much," I said. "We have to keep that quiet. That much money could get us all killed." "That's for sure," John said. "I've heard of people being robbed and killed when they had less than a hundred dollars." "That's why we have to keep it quiet. It seems like a lot of money, but we're going to need quite a few things for the ranch too. We're going to have to buy at least six horses. We should each have a spare for working the cattle." "Should we buy more cattle if they are available?" John asked. "I think so," I said. "We can't get too many or we'll never be able to herd them through the mountains. We figured out last night that we have fifty cows right now and one bull." "One very happy bull," Tess said. "Sis, you think just like Millie. Those were her exact word." This got all three women giggling. "The only reason Lettie didn't say it is that I beat her to it," Millie said. Lettie blushed and said, "Yeah, probably so." ------- The Reverend Green was as long winded for Tess' wedding as he had been for the others he had performed. We stood through it with good graces though. Tess seemed very happy and we were happy for her. Millie, Lettie and I walked around to talk with Caleb and Sally after the ceremony. "So, how's your job as Captain coming?" I asked Caleb. "You young pup. I aught to skin you for getting me into that. It's surprising how many growed men act like little kids. They come to me to settle disputes that four year olds shouldn't have." "I'm sorry Caleb. I just wanted to make sure Calvin wasn't elected Captain. He'd have been right in there fighting with the rest of the four year olds." "Jase, you shouldn't bad mouth a dead man, especially when his widow is standing there beside you." "Caleb, I probably knew Frank's faults better than anyone. Jase isn't going to offend me with anything he says about Frank." "It's still not right to speak bad about the dead, Mrs. Calvin." "Since Jase and Millie have asked me to be their partner, I've decided to use the last name of Tackett from now on, Caleb." "But... Does that mean..." "Don't worry about it, Pap. It was my idea," Millie said. "I'll bet Jase is a very happy man," Sally laughed. "Yes, and I'm a very happy woman, Mom," Millie rejoined. Sally cracked up. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime, Daughter." "I think we're too old to hear about something like that, Sally," Caleb said. "I don't think our hearts could take it." I had been afraid of how Sally and Caleb would react, but after the initial shock, they seemed to be doing okay. "Just think of Lettie as the daughter you never knew you had, Pap," Millie said. We talked for a while and we were telling them about the wagon we had bought for Tess and John. After a while, Caleb said, "So you don't have a saddle now, Lettie?" "No. They traded it off for the wagon. We're gonna get one when we come to a trading post that has them." "We still have Bob's saddle," Caleb said. "You're welcome to use it if you'd like." "Would you be willing to sell it, Caleb?" I asked. "Well, I suppose we would," Caleb said as he looked over at Sally. Sally nodded so he said, "Yeah, we'd sell it." "What would you want for it?" "Would five dollars be too much? It's almost new." "I'll tell you what. We'll give you seven dollars if you'll throw in the saddle blanket, saddlebags and the bridle." "Sold," Caleb smiled. Caleb pulled the saddle out of his wagon and I carried it back to ours. "Let's go see Ab," I suggested. We walked over to his tent, but he wasn't there. I knew he hadn't gone far because his horse was grazing nearby. We walked around until we found him. He was talking with Sam Stuart when we found him. We went over and said howdy to both of them. "I want to talk with you a little later," Sam told me. I figured it had to be about Ellen. "Any time, Sam. We're just out visiting. If we're not at our wagon, just come find us." Sam nodded and said he'd better get back and help Becky tar their wagon. "So, how are you doing, Ab?" I asked. "I'm doing okay. I'm going to disappear and have me some private time in a little bit. How are you doing, Mrs. Calvin?" "Please don't call me that, Mr. Smith. I'm Lettie Tackett now. You can call me Lettie." "Okay..." "We've adopted her," Millie said. "Ah, but..." "Don't ask, Ab," Millie said. "Okay. None of my business anyway. So how are you doing, Lettie?" "I'm doing just great," Lettie said. "We're accumulating cattle for our ranch. Do you have any suggestions as to where would be a good place to set up a ranch in Oregon?" "Well, folks, most of the people on the wagon train are probably going to end up in the Willamette Valley. If it were me though and I was gonna start a cattle or a horse ranch, I know of three or four little valleys that would be perfect." "Would you be willing to show us where they are, Ab?" I asked. "Sure. There's one of them I've staked out for myself. All of them are in this same range of hills. They're way off the trails, so I'm sure no one has claimed them yet. They're sheltered from the worst weather and all of them have streams and they're just loaded with fur bearing animals. I plan to be trapping in one of them this winter." "They sound ideal, Ab," Millie said. "You wouldn't mind having us for neighbors?" "We'd be neighbors, but not very close neighbors," Ab said. "There's probably ten miles between each of the valleys, but no, I wouldn't mind having you for neighbors." "Jase and I were next door neighbors in Kentucky, Ab. We were two miles apart. We're used to houses being few and far between." "That's good, Millie. Some of the people on this train are going to have a hard time getting used to not having neighbors within spitting distance. I know you folks will do fine." "Well, Ab, there are five of us who are partnered in this ranch, so we'll always have people close." "That's the three of you plus John and Tess?" "That's right. We're all sort of one big family." "You folks know there's gonna be a lot of work for the first few years, don't you?" "Yeah. There'll be work building a house, work with the cattle, we'll be doing some farming, and John and I will be doing a lot of trapping at least during the first few years. None of us are afraid of work though." "No, I don't suppose you are." "We need to let you get off for your personal time and we need to go see Ben Jacobs. He said he wanted to talk with us this morning." "You guys enjoy your days of rest then folks. I'll saddle up and get away from these people for a while." ------- We stopped at our wagon and fixed up some lunch before we went on over to the Jacobs' wagon. While we were eating Lettie asked, "Do you guys mind that I told Ab and Millie's parents about me being Lettie Tackett now?" Millie started giggling. "I thought pap was gonna swallow his tongue," she said. "I knew mom wouldn't have a problem with it. Actually pap did a lot better than I thought he would." "Well, I thank you for telling them it was your idea, Millie. I know your pap was probably thinking that I was trying to take Jase away from you." "Yeah, he probably was. He always called me his little angel. I wonder what he thinks of me now." "If he's thinking wrong, Sally will get him straightened out," I said. "I've learned that women run the family." "Just you remember that," Millie laughed. ------- Ben Jacobs was happy to see us. "I was just thinking about walking over to see you," he said. "How are things going, Ben?" I asked. "Well, we sure don't have anything figured out as yet, but Sam and I are talking about it. One thing Sam and I both agree on is that we don't want Ellen pregnant at thirteen. We also agree they're pretty serious so we don't think it's a good idea to separate them when we get to Oregon." "I'm more worried about what they're gonna be doing now than I am about when they get to Oregon," I said. "It'll be a lot easier to keep track of them after you're settled." "That little Ellen is a feisty one, ain't she? After Sam and I had talked we got the two kids together and talked with them. I asked them just what the hell they thought they were doing. Ellen said they knew just exactly what they were doing and they had been doing it quite well if it was any of my business." I couldn't help it. I cracked up. Between my laughing and Millie's and Lettie's giggling you'd have thought someone was telling jokes. As we started to calm down, Sam said, "You've got to give the girl credit. She's got spunk." "Yeah, a lot of spunk and a thirteen year old brain," Millie said. "Maybe Lettie and I can have a talk with her. It might do more good since we're closer to her age." Ben thought that was a fine idea. The three of us spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other. We did a lot of walking around, usually with our arms around each other. Tess and John joined us for supper. Tess said they'd spent the day arranging things in their new wagon, but she was glowing, so I knew they'd been up to something else too. May 19, 1845 Before we went to bed last night, Millie went to Sally and told her that if she woke us up this morning, I was gonna stake her out on an ant hill. She didn't say anything to Tess though. I guess she figured that with Tess being newly married, they'd be sleeping late too. That wasn't the case though. The weather had been nice and warm and we had kicked all of the covers off during the night. Tess was standing inside the wagon looking down at us when something caused me to wake up. "Now if that ain't just the most interesting thing I've ever seen," Tess said. This woke Millie and Lettie up too. Tess had seen us all naked before, so we weren't worried about it, but then Tess said in a loud voice, "John, you gotta come in here and take a look at this." Lettie squeaked and started trying to grab for the covers, but Tess laughed and pulled them away. "Sis, if that husband of yours comes in here, we're gonna roast you over a slow fire," Millie said. Tess just giggled, then she said, "Don't worry guys. John is off checking on the animals." I grabbed her hand and pulled Tess in between Millie and me. The three of us tickled her until she swore she was gonna pee on herself if we didn't stop. ------- John showed up before the girls had breakfast finished. Sally came over while we were eating and said, "I thought you said you all wanted to sleep late, Millie." "We did, Mom. Jase's dumb little sister decided she just had to wake us up." "Well, it's not good for you to sleep too long anyway. What have you guys got planned for the day?" "Nothing really, Mom. We may help Tess rearrange her wagon a little. She claimed her and John spent all day in their wagon yesterday rearranging things." "I wonder what they were rearranging," Sally said with a laugh. John and Tess both blushed. "Caleb and I were wondering if all of you would come over and have supper with us tonight. The Simmons boy killed a bunch of turkeys yesterday. He sold two of them to Caleb and he has them roasting in a pit. Your mam and pap are going to be there too, Jase." Millie looked at all of us then told her mom we'd love to. She asked if there was anything we could bring and her mom told her to make enough peach cobbler for all of us. ------- In some ways it was a wonderful day. If it hadn't been for Millie and Lettie, I'd have been bored to death though. We didn't have anything to do on the wagon so we were totally free to do whatever we wanted. I teased the girls something terrible that afternoon. It finally got to a point where they got on either side of me and whispered that they'd be wearing clothes to bed for the next week if I didn't stop. I stopped. Sally had laid on a really good spread and I ate until I couldn't wiggle. Caleb got out his fiddle and started playing, so the girls made me get up and dance. They took revenge on me for all the teasing I did in the afternoon. Millie would make me dance with her for a while, then when she started getting tired, Lettie would take over and make me dance with her. Okay, so we had a great time. May 20, 1845 Well, we are truly on the great plains. From what I could see, we were all going to be using buffalo dung for our cooking for a while. It was wide open spaces with no trees in sight. Ash Hollow isn't more than a mile and a half south of the North Platte River. Ab said I should take off to the northwest and it was nearly three miles before I came to the river. I scouted about twenty miles ahead and didn't see anything that looked any better than anywhere else as far as a place to camp went. I finally decided on camping at a little creek that Ab told me later was called Spring Creek. When I got back to the wagons, Millie was fuming. When I asked her what was the matter, she said, "I tried to talk to Ellen this morning." "What do you mean, you tried?" "That little snip told me to go to hell. She said she was going to swive Gil whenever she wanted and wherever she wanted. She said if everyone didn't quit fashing her about it, she'd put on a show and they'd do it in front of the whole camp." Okay, I guess it was stupid of me to laugh, because that got Millie mad at me. When I looked over at Lettie, she definitely had a little smile too. At least she was smart enough not to laugh out loud. After I got Millie calmed down a little, I said, "Maybe I should talk to Gil. He may have more sense than Ellen does." "Maybe that would be a good idea. If I have to talk to that little snip again, I'll probably end up whipping her ass." I rode over to where they were driving the cattle and asked John if he could spare Gil for a few minutes. He agreed that wouldn't be a problem, so I asked Gil to ride a ways with me. "Gil," I said. "We really have a problem. Sam asked Millie to talk with Ellen again and she tried to do that today. Ellen told her to go to hell. She said she was going to swive you whenever she wanted. She also said if people didn't leave her alone she was going to fuck you in front of the whole camp." "Oh, shit, Jase. I'm sorry. Please tell Millie I'm sorry." "You can't control what Ellen says, Gil." "Jase, I don't know what to do with her. Ever since we did it the first time, it's been like she's crazy for it. She's even tried to get me to sneak off from driving the cattle so we could do it during the day." "What does she do if you tell her no?" "She gets really mad, but it don't last long. Before I know it, she's wanting to do it again. I'll admit, I really like doing it. It's the best feeling in the world, but I don't want us to screw up our lives because of it." "It sounds like you're at least thinking, Gil. Do you know of anything we could do to try to calm her down a little?" "No, I wish you could. I love Ellen and I want to marry her, but I don't like the way she's acting." "Okay, Gil. We'll think of something. Why don't you get back to the critters. I'll give it some thought." When we got back over to the livestock, I asked Caleb if he'd ride with me for a few minutes. "I don't get to see much of you any more," he told me. I agreed that was the case then I told him of the problem with Ellen and Gil. "You can't blame Gill too much, Jase. If a woman's willing, a man's gonna." "Yeah, but she's only thirteen. That's a little too young for her to be making that kind of decision on her own. Millie tried to talk to her today and she told Millie to go to hell. She also said she was gonna fuck Gil in front of the whole camp." "Wouldn't the Reverend Green love that," Caleb laughed. "Do you have any suggestions as to what we can do with her?" I just watched Caleb as he thought for a few minutes. Finally, he sighed and said, "I can only think of one thing, Jase. The problem is, Sam may not like it and there's no guarantee it'll even work. Ellen is acting like a child. She should be treated like a misbehaving child. She should be spanked." "You think that would help?" "I don't think the spanking itself would do much. However, if she were spanked in front of an audience, including Gil, it might be humiliating enough that she would think twice about what she's doing." "I hate to think about doing something like that to her, but you may be right. Nothing else we've tried has worked. I'll talk to Sam about it." ------- Luckily, Millie had calmed down by the time we camped for the night. We had a nice quiet supper then I told Millie I was going over to talk with Sam. She wanted to go with me, but I said no. I explained to her that I had to talk with him about something that he'd be embarrassed about if she were there. I got Sam away from his family and told him about Millie's conversation with Ellen and her threats. I then told him Caleb's suggestion as to a possible solution. "Jase, before she started this crap, I'd have totally refused to even consider spanking Ellen. Now, I worry that I might get carried away and do her harm. She has me so mad about how she's acting that I've thought about chaining her in the wagon." "Sam, if you decide to do this, Caleb thinks you should have some people there to witness it. He says that the humiliation is going to do more toward making her think than the pain from the spanking. He says Gil should be one of the people to witness it." "Let me talk to Becky about this. If we do it, we'll do it after supper tomorrow." ------- We didn't make love that night. I think Millie was still upset from her conversation with Ellen and with the fact I wouldn't let her go with me to see Sam. May 21, 1845 Millie still wasn't in a good mood when we woke up. Lettie was though. Since Millie was being such a grump, I focused my attentions on Lettie. A few minutes of watching Lettie and me kiss and caress made Millie rethink her attitude. She started loving on me so I returned her loving. I think I could have stayed there all day. The weather made me wish I could have stayed there all day. There was a light drizzle falling that promised to make our day miserable. We had a quick breakfast and I got on the road. There were times I was glad I had the scouting job as it got me away from everyone. About fifteen miles out I found a perfect place to camp. Ab told me later it was called Three Bluff Springs. I figured that with the rain, this was about as far as we'd want to travel in a day. It was still raining when we made camp that evening and still raining when we went to bed. ------- Chapter 18 May 22, 1845 We had been seeing this weird rock formation ahead of us for the last couple of days. Ab said it was called Chimney Rock. To me, it looked more like a haystack with a pole sticking out of the top of it. Ab also said that Chimney Rock marked the end of the prairie. He said from that point on, the traveling would be more rugged. The place I picked for us to camp that night was about sixteen miles out and was within about five miles of Chimney Rock. It was within sight of Chimney rock that Ellen got her spanking. Sam invited Ab, me, Millie, Lettie, John, and Tess over to witness it. He also asked Ben, Alice, and Gil Jacobs to be there. Sam hadn't told Ellen what was going on until we were all there. When he did, she tried to run. Ab caught her arm as she tried to run passed him. Sam took her arm and held it as he stood her in front of us. "Ellen, you have been acting like a child," he said. "Since you are acting like a child, I'm going to treat you like one. Today, you are going to get a spanking in front of these people. If you continue acting like a child, you will get another spanking tomorrow in front of more people. We will continue with the spankings if front of more and more people until you decide you are going to act like an adult." By now, Ellen was jerking her arm and trying to get away from Sam, but he held on tight. He sat down on a powder keg and asked me if I'd help. "What do you want me to do?" I asked. "Hold her hands as I pull her across my lap," he said. I got down on one knee and grabbed Ellen's hands. I pulled on her hands as Sam pulled her across his knees. When he had her in place, he lifted her dress up over her back and got hold of her drawers. "No!" Ellen practically screamed. "Yes," Sam said calmly as he pulled down her drawers, exposing her naked butt. By the time Sam had administered ten hearty smacks to her reddening backside, Ellen was crying. I think she was crying more from the humiliation than from the pain. Sam let her up and she stood with her head down as she pulled up her drawers and adjusted her dress. Sam put his arm around her and said, "I love you, Ellen, but you are going to start acting like a lady." Ellen turned her head to him and sobbed into his chest. ------- Later as we were snuggling in bed, I asked Millie and Lettie if they thought that had done any good. "We'll see," Millie said. "I know I wouldn't want that happening to me." "I wouldn't either." Lettie agreed. "Well, I know how to keep my wives in line then," I teased. Millie giggled, but Lettie looked serious. After a minute she asked, "Do you consider me your wife then?" "I know what I think," I laughed. "Do we consider her our wife, Millie?" "I think we definitely consider her our wife," Millie said. Then she did something that turned my world upside down. Millie leaned across me and kissed Lettie lovingly and lingeringly on the lips. It wasn't a sisterly kiss. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. May 23, 1845 I kissed and cuddled with both Millie and Lettie this morning, but we didn't say much. Breakfast was also quiet, but when I was getting ready to go on scout, Millie asked if they could ride with me. I knew we had to talk about what happened last night, so I agreed. We weren't more than a couple of miles from camp when Millie said, "We have to talk." "Yep," I said. Lettie just nodded. "Are you two uncomfortable about me kissing Lettie last night?" Millie asked. "I'm not," I said. Lettie just shook her head. "Come on, guys. You have to talk to me. What did you think about it, Jase?" "I thought it was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen," I said. "Lettie?" Millie asked. "It was sexy." "It was sexy once, but never again, or it was sexy and I hope it happens again?" I asked. "The latter, I think," Lettie said. "Millie, I don't know if you intended it to, but it turned me on." "Of course I intended it to. It turned me on too," Millie giggled. "Did it make your little pussies wet?" I asked. Both girls smiled and nodded. "So, where do we go from here?" I asked. "Well, Jase, you haven't licked Lettie's pussy yet," Millie said. "I think you should do that tonight. It might give Lettie some of the same ideas I have." I was stunned. You know, it's difficult to ride a horse when your cock is as hard as an iron bar. ------- We made eighteen miles and camped near Scotts Bluff. Just after we finished our supper, Ellen came by. Her head was bowed when she said, "Millie, I came by to apologize to you for telling you to go to hell and for the other things I said to you." Millie got up and hugged her, then Ellen cried on her shoulder for a while. Finally, she got herself under control and asked if she could talk with us. Millie asked if she'd like to talk to all of us, or just certain ones. "Could you and Jase take a walk with me?" she asked. "How about me and Jase and Lettie?" Millie asked. Ellen agreed that would be just fine. When we were away from camp, Ellen said, "I don't know what's come over me. After Gil and I had sex the first time, that's all I've wanted to do. Sometimes it seems like I can't even think of anything else. I don't know what I can do. Dad and Gil's dad have said that they will make sure Gil and I aren't separated when we get to Oregon, so that isn't a problem any more. Did you guys have that kind of problem after you did it the first time?" "To some extent," Millie said. "I don't think it was as bad as with you, because I was married to Jase. I knew we could do it every night if we wanted to." "I've kind of had the same problem," Lettie said. "How do you stand it, now that your husband was killed?" Ellen asked. Lettie looked at Millie and me and asked, "Should I tell her?" Both of us nodded so she said, "Ellen, you have to promise me you're not going to tell anyone what I tell you. Will you do that?" Ellen nodded. "I never had sex with my husband. He liked boys. The first time I had sex was with Jase." Ellen's mouth was hanging open when Millie said, "I'm okay with it, Ellen. Jase and I both feel like Lettie is part of our marriage. It was my idea that they have sex." "Ellen, with us it isn't like we're just having sex with each other. It's like we're making love with each other," I said. Millie and Lettie both nodded. "Ellen, you can pleasure yourself, you know," Millie said. "How would I do that?" Ellen asked. "Jase, why don't you walk back to camp while I explain to Ellen how she can pleasure herself?" Millie asked. "I think I'll go with him," Lettie said as she took my hand. "Something like that is better told without an audience." ------- Millie and I did teach Lettie some things that evening. I must say Lettie is an apt pupil. Other than kissing each other good night, Millie and Lettie didn't have any more contact, but I knew that before too long, they would. May 24, 1845 Although Ab had said the going would be rougher after we passed Chimney Rock, we made twenty miles and camped on Horse Creek. Ellen came around again after we were in camp and after she had set with us for a spell, she told Millie she had tried what Millie had suggested. "It's not as good, but it does help," she said with a blush. May 25, 1845 We only made three miles today, but not because of the terrain. George Kent's wagon broke an axle. It didn't take all day to fix it, but Ab said everyone should check their wagons. After John and I had checked over our wagons, the ranch partners got together and talked for a while. "Ab was telling me we'll be at Fort John in a couple of days," I said. "He says there are two forts, Fort John and Fort Platte within a mile of each other and that there's a big trading post there." "I suppose we should go through our wagons and see what we might need," Millie said. "I think that'd be a good idea. Things are going to cost more here than they did back east, but they'll still be a lot cheaper than they will be in Oregon," I said. "I wonder if they have horses," John said. "Ab was telling me that horses are very expensive in Oregon." "I hope so," I said. "We need a horse for Lettie. If they have them, we might as well get spares while we're at it, if they aren't too expensive." "Why don't you ladies make an inventory of everything in our two wagons," John said. "That way we can look it over and decide what else we might need. If we've got room for it, we might even think of getting some things we'll need to get us through next winter." "I think that's a good idea," Tess said. "Does anyone have pen and paper?" "We don't," Millie said, "but I think mam does. I'll go ask her." Millie, Lettie and I had been sitting close, with me in the middle. I put my arm around Lettie and she leaned against me. Tess looked at me with a smirk on her face, so I just winked at her. While we were waiting for Millie to come back, Caleb and Ab stopped by. "We wanted to get you to come with us for a few minutes," Caleb said. "We've got a couple of young men toward the back of the train who are about to go at each other. We'd like for you to help us try to smooth over the problem." I gave Lettie a squeeze then go to my feet. "Sure. Let's go. What are they mad about?" I asked as we started walking rapidly toward the end of the wagon train. "It's their wives got it started," Ab said. "Winnie Wilson accused Nancy Mayhew of stealing her firewood. They later found out it was a kid from several wagons away who was playing a prank." "So, that didn't calm everything down?" I asked. "No, because Mrs. Mayhew demanded an apology and Mrs. Wilson refuses to apologize," Ab said. "To make it worse," Caleb added, "Mrs. Wilson said in front of Chad Mayhew that she knows Nancy has stolen other things from her and that she will be damned before she apologizes." "So, what's going on now?" "Chad and Jeff are yelling at each other. At least I hope it hasn't gotten passed yelling." By now, we were approaching the area where the two families were camped. The two men were just standing there glaring at each other. "What's going on, Fellas?" Caleb asked. I moved around behind Wilson and Ab moved behind Mayhew. "What's going on is that Wilson needs to get that bitch wife of his under control," Chad said. "Why you, son-of-a-bitch," Jeff yelled. "You can't call my wife a bitch." He lunged forward, but I was expecting it. I grabbed him from behind and pinned his arms down to his sides. Mayhew drew his right fist back and started forward. Ab grabbed his right hand and said, "Hold on, Chad. There are not going to be any punches thrown here today unless I throw them." The two men just stood there glaring at each other, so Caleb asked, "What got this started between the two of you anyway?" "Mrs. Wilson accused my wife of stealing her firewood. We found out a kid had done it as a prank. Instead of apologizing, Mrs. Wilson said she knew of other things my wife had stolen from her. That's a pure lie." Jeff Wilson growled and tried to lunge forward. It was all I could do to hold him. Caleb said, "Wilson, get your wife out here. I want to know what she thinks Mrs. Mayhew stole from her." Wilson looked like he was going to refuse, but then he gave in. He yelled for his wife to come out and in a couple of minutes she did. "Mrs. Wilson," Caleb said, "I want to know what you think Mrs. Mayhew stole from you and I want to know why you think it was her that did it." Mrs. Wilson looked uncomfortable and for a minute I thought she was going to tell Caleb to go to hell. Finally, she said, "I'm missing some corn meal and I had this beautiful tortoise shell mirror that had been my grandmother's that's missing too." "Why do you think Mrs. Mayhew took these things?" "Well, just before the mirror turned up missing, she was admiring it. She said she'd give anything for a mirror like that." Jeff looked stunned. "Winnie, Mrs. Kent came over the other day while you were taking care of your personals. She wanted to borrow a gallon of cornmeal until we get to Fort John. I loaned it to her." "That still leaves the mirror," Mrs. Wilson said. "I'm afraid not," Jeff said. "Your mirror was laying out the other day and I was afraid the kids were gonna break it. I wrapped it up in your mother's quilt." "Well, it looks to me like you were wrong. Would you apologize to Mrs. Mayhew now?" "No. I still don't like her." "Why not?" Ab just had to ask. "I think she's flirting with my husband." "Winnie, Honey, she's not flirting with me," Jeff said. "Jeff Wilson, you wouldn't know a woman was flirting with you if she bared her bosom in front of you." "Mrs. Wilson, you have two choices. Either you can apologize to Mrs. Mayhew and try to get along for the rest of the trip, or we can leave you people here when we leave tomorrow. The choice is yours." "Winnie, you will apologize to Mrs. Mayhew right now," Jeff said. "But, Jeff..." "Don't you but Jeff me. Apologize right now, or I swear to God, Abby and I will leave you right here." We all watched as Mrs. Wilson made a grudging apology. Jeff and Chad shook hands and when both families went back to their wagons, we left for ours. "I'm afraid Mrs. Wilson is going to cause us more problems before we're through," Caleb said. Ab and I just nodded. ------- The inventory list my partners made up proved very helpful in planning for our ranch. For one thing, it showed us everything we were going to need. We spent some time talking with Sally and with Ab about the things we'd need to build a house and get a ranch going. We even had a short, for pap, conversation with him. It took us several weeks to come up with the following lists: Tools for Building a House Tool Qty Purpose Fro 1 Splitting wood Crosscut Saw 1 Felling trees Buck Saw 1 Trimming and cutting trees to length Adze 1 Squaring logs for roof beams Auger and Bits 1 Used for making holes Hammer 2 Mallet 2 Driving in wooden pegs Planes 2 Smoothing wood Drawing Knife 1 Shaping wood Hatchet 2 Axe 2 Shovel 2 Pick 1 Mattock 1 Trowel 2 Chisel 4 Need wood and rock chisels Long Handled Sledge Hammer 1 Short Handled Sledge Hammer 1 Spoke Shave 1 Making handles for other tools Block and Tackle 1 Lifting logs, butchering Broad Axe 1 Hewing logs We knew there were probably things we were missing, but we figured we'd add them as we went along or as we thought of them. Ab said there was a lumber mill on the Columbia River and that we could buy boards for flooring and for the roof there. That would be a lot easier than making them ourselves. One Year's Food for Five People Item Qty Comments Flour 750 lbs Cornmeal 100 lbs Bacon 250 lbs Sugar 200 lbs Coffee 100 lbs Dried Apples 120 lbs Dried Peaches 120 lbs Salt 25 lbs This doesn't include salt for curing hides or preserving meat Baking Soda 5 lbs Tea 20 lbs Rice 50 lbs Beans 150 lbs Vinegar 25 gals Lard 30 lbs Pepper 5 lbs Molasses 50 gals The list of food would be the bare minimum. This would feed us at about the same level as we were eating on the trail. We would need to kill game for most of our meat supply and we'd need to buy a few hogs for pork. It would be a year and a half or so before we had any steers that were big enough to butcher for beef. We would also need sugar, salt, vinegar and spices for making pickles and for preserving food. There would be various types of berries available next spring for making jellies, jams, and preserves, but they would require sugar. Farming Tools Tool Qty Use Plow 1 Two horse (Can use mules or oxen) Teeth for Harrow 40 We can build the Harrow if we have the teeth Scythe 1 For cutting grain or hay Cradle 1 Harvesting grain Hoe 5 Cutting weeds Shovel 2 Can use same ones as for building Pitchfork 2 For hay and for digging potatoes Baskets 4 Harvesting vegetables Harness 2 For pulling plow Farm Wagon 1 Convert our wagon back Most of the tools for building and for farming we already had from what pap had traded for. John and I both had all of our traps so we wouldn't be needing any for a while. We were going to be ranchers instead of farmers, but we'd still be growing most of our food. We'd probably be buying our flour, but we would need to grow hay for our animals. May 26, 1845 We had a very good day for traveling and the terrain was nice. We made eighteen miles for the day and camped on a little stream with nice grass and plenty of wood. May 27, 1845 Today was just as good for traveling as yesterday. By the middle of the afternoon, we'd made twelve miles and had reached Fort John (Later known as Fort Laramie). Fort John was located at the mouth of the Laramie River. About one mile away on the North Platte was Fort Platte. Both forts had trading posts and between them a Sioux village had sprung up. Of course the women wanted to go to both trading posts and to the Indian village. We decided to go to Fort John this afternoon and to the other fort and the village tomorrow, since we weren't going to be traveling. The prices we found in the trading post were higher than we'd seen in St Louis or St Joseph, probably twice as high, but they weren't nearly as high as we'd been told they would be in Oregon. The proprietor of the trading post said the prices would be lower still, but that everything had to come in by wagon. He said they'd tried every type of boat imaginable, but they just couldn't get them up the Platte. The guy from the trading post also said the Indians did a lot of trading in their village, so Millie decided we should go there before supper. Four of the five of us were dressed in buckskins when we went into the village. We saw that several of the Sioux women were selling buckskin clothes. We looked at them and decided we'd bring mom back in the morning to see if she could get us a good deal on some outfits. The thing that interested us the most in the village also surprised the hell out of all of us. One Indian had ten horses in a pen. They were Frank Calvin's horses. "Isn't that Frank's stallion?" I asked Lettie. "Yeah and I recognize that one filly. She's the only one I was ever allowed to ride. She's a real sweetheart." "It seems a shame to buy your own horses, but I guess they became the Indian's horses when they ran them off. We'll see if mom can make a deal on them for us in the morning too." Lettie squeezed my arm and said, "I'd really like that, Jase. I just loved that filly. Her name is Duchess." While the women were fixing supper, I went over to talk to mom. "Mom, would you go to the Sioux village with us in the morning? There are some things we'd like to trade for." Mom nodded. "Do you know any of the Sioux language?" Another nod. "They have some nice buckskin clothes and they have some horses that used to belong to Frank Calvin." "They will want things, not gold," mom said. "We'll buy whatever they want from either pap or the trading post," I said. Mom nodded. "Just how much do you reckon to pay me for what you buy from me?" pap asked. "Pap, we'll give you what the going price is in the trading post," I said. His eyes lit up, then he asked, "In gold?" "Yep." "Sold." Tess had a good laugh when I told her about my conversation with pap. "He's an old skinflint," she said. "Mom would give you the shirt off her back if she thought you needed it. Pap wouldn't give anything away." ------- Chapter 19 I hadn't much more than climbed into our wagon after supper than I was attacked by Lettie. She was all over me, pulling my clothes off and pulling her clothes off. Millie started giggling and started removing her clothes as well. When we were naked, Lettie tackled me onto the bed. Millie piled on top of us and we were a mass of laughing, giggling, squirming lovers. I have no idea of who was touching who. I didn't care and I don't think anyone else did either. We ended up with me on my back and Lettie riding me like I was a horse. Millie was kissing me and then she was kissing Lettie. Before long, I saw Millie draw Lettie's nipple into her mouth and start nursing on it like she was Lettie's baby. It didn't take long for Lettie and me to reach our climax. We must have been a little loud, because Tess came over and banged on the side of the wagon. "Quiet down in there," she said and then she started giggling. May 28, 1845 Lettie was already awake when I woke up. I kissed her like she was my wife, then when I felt Millie stir, I kissed her the same way. "So, Lettie, did it bother you when Millie was nursing you last night?" I asked. "Not in the least, Jase," she said, then she leaned across me and kissed Millie with passion. "It turned me on something fierce. That's what made me get off so quick and so loud." Millie giggled. "I got off when you guys did," Millie said. "I wasn't even touching myself when I did." "Maybe we'll have to try that with you riding on Jase and me nursing on you," Lettie said. "Oh God," Millie moaned. ------- Mom came over right after breakfast and we headed for the Sioux village. We looked around at all of the different people selling buckskins before mom decided which she thought were best. She felt of the skins and smelled them before she decided. Lettie asked me why she was smelling them. "If a hide is cured right, the last step in curing it is to smoke it so it doesn't get stiff if it gets wet. Mom is smelling for the smoke. If the first part of the tanning isn't done right, she'll smell some rot," I told her. We ended up getting two sets each for me, Millie, Lettie, and Tess. We got three sets for John as he said he thought he'd like them better than his homespuns. We also got two pairs of moccasins for each of us. Then, we went over to the man who had the horses. Mom started dickering with him and it went on for some time. Mom acted like she was getting mad at one point, and the Indian did the same at another time. I couldn't follow the conversation, so I was getting a little frustrated, not knowing what was going on. Finally, mom turned to me and said, "The best I can do is going to cost you about twenty dollars a head. How many of them do you want at that price?" "That's a great price, Mom. We'll take all of them." Mom nodded and turned back to the Sioux. They started arguing again and a few minutes later they both nodded. Mom said we should go back by camp and get a couple of pack mules. We did, then headed out to the trading post. Lettie went into the wagon before we left and got two hundred dollars in gold. At the trading post, mom started pointing out things and telling us how many of each we'd need. There was one happy man behind the counter at the trading post. He said it was the biggest single sale he'd ever made. When he got through totaling everything up, it came to $153.00. I raised my eyebrows at mom, but she just nodded. Lettie paid the man and we loaded everything on the pack mules. We went back over to the village and when the man with the horses saw the two loaded pack mules, his eyes got big. Mom talked with him for a couple of minutes, then she motioned for us to unload the mules. The guy started looking through things, then he nodded. Mom went over and opened the pen where the horses were so I rode into the pen and drove the horses out. We drove them back over to the camp and hobbled them before turning them loose. "Guys," I said. "We don't have any need for that stallion and I'm afraid he'll cause problems with Sin. Would anyone have any objections to me trading him to pap for Jughead and another mule?" No one objected, so we led the stallion over to pap's camp. When we got there, pap was leaning back against a wagon wheel, smoking his pipe. He took one look at the stallion and got to his feet. He walked around the stallion, rubbing his hand down the horse's flank, then stroking his neck. He pulled the horse's lips back and looked at his teeth. "This is a fine piece of horseflesh," he said. "How'd you like to have him, Pap," I asked. "I'd like that just fine," he said. "We're gonna need about twenty dollars worth of your trade goods to pay for some clothes we're buying from the Sioux," I said. "We'll let you have him for the trade goods, Jughead, and one other mule." Pap looked like he was going to start to dicker, but then he changed his mind. "We can do that," he said. Pap was brushing his new stallion while we loaded the trade goods on Jughead. We took the stuff back over to the village and traded it for all of the clothes. ------- We ate a quick lunch, then we went to the other trading post. The girls had a good time looking around and we did find some things we needed. I had no idea when we'd be able to buy anything else, so I encouraged them to get anything they thought we'd want. We spent a little time that afternoon rearranging the wagons to include our new stuff. Later Millie, Lettie and I decided we'd like to take a walk. We were near the Laramie River, so we decided we'd walk up it for a ways. For some reason, it always seems like we can talk better when we're walking. When we're in the wagon, we never know if someone is right outside. Even when we're sitting around the fire, we never know if someone is coming up behind us when we're talking. When we're out on a walk, we know no one else can hear what we're saying. Today was no exception. After we had walked a ways, Lettie said, "You know I really do love both of you. I never thought I'd say that to another woman and mean it like I do when I say it to you, Millie." "I know what you mean, Lettie. I love Tess and I have for ages, but it is more like the love I have for my sister. The love I feel for you is different." "So, neither one of you ladies are having any problems with what's been going on between us?" "Not even a little bit. I feel as close to you as I ever did and I feel as close to Lettie as I thought I would." "How about you, Lettie," I asked. "How could it be causing me any problems? I feel like I've died and gone to heaven. This is the first loving relationship I've ever been in and if I have my way, it'll be my last and it will keep on until I die." "Well, just so you'll know, I feel just about the same way Lettie does. I am very happy with and very much in love with both of you lovely ladies." We went into a group hug and then I kissed each of my ladies. We walked on with our arms around each other. ------- When the three of us were snuggled in bed, after supper, Millie whispered to me, "Lick her pussy, Jase." I was never one to turn down a request from a lovely lady, so I started by kissing Lettie with all of the love that I felt for her. I moved down and started kissing and nibbling and sucking on her very erect nipple. I could feel Millie move over to the other side of Lettie. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew it was going to be interesting. Pretty soon, I could see Millie start playing with Lettie's other breast. I continued feasting on her lovely nipple and I watched Millie doing the same on her other one. Lettie was gasping like a fish out of water. I moved down until I was between Lettie's legs and started licking her like she was a piece of stick candy. Lettie's little pussy was soon bouncing off the bed like she was trying to throw me off. After a bit, she went into a heart stopping climax and I eased up a bit. Millie moved down beside me and whispered, "Do me from behind." As I started moving behind Millie, she moved into position and lowered her head to Lettie's pussy. She took up licking and sucking where I left off. All three of us were moaning as I slid into Millie. I think it took Lettie a minute or two to realize it was Millie sucking her pussy. When she did, she raised up and looked, then she said, "Oh my God," and her head slumped back onto the bed. It didn't take but a minute or two after that until we all came nearly together. Millie was first, but she didn't let her orgasm slow down her work on Lettie's pussy. She did moan loudly as she came and I think that's what pushed Lettie over the edge. For me, it was the spasming of Millie's pussy and watching Lettie come. May 29, 1845 We all awoke to the sound of a light rain falling on the cover of our wagon. We cuddled for a while, dreading the thought of getting out of bed and into the rain. As we were lying there, Millie said, "I won't ask if everyone enjoyed what we did last light. That was pretty obvious. I will ask if anyone is having any second thoughts this morning." "No way," Lettie said. "Every time Jase pounded into you, it pushed your mouth tighter against me. It was the most fantastic thing I've ever felt." "I think that watching you lick Lettie's pussy was the sexiest thing I've ever seen," I said. "Would you still think it was sexy if you were pounding into me and I was licking Millie's pussy?" Lettie asked. "Oh GOD yes," I said. "Are you saying you'd do that?" Millie asked. "I'd like to at least try it once," Lettie admitted. ------- Even though it was raining and we couldn't get a fire started; even though we had to breakfast on jerky; we all had a glow to us this morning. It was a miserable day for traveling. The only good thing I can say about it is that the rain was a lot warmer than it had been a month ago. We only made eleven miles that day and I felt lucky we made that. Some areas I had to carefully mark to be avoided as a wagon would have sunk to the axles if it had attempted to cross it. At one point I did find some relatively dry wood under a deadfall. I went back to the wagons and got Jughead. I loaded him down with all of the dry wood I could find and covered it with a tarpaulin. It was enough to get quite a few fires started so that by sharing fires most of the train had at least some kind of a warm meal for supper. We all retired to our wagons shortly after we ate. May 30, 1845 We awoke this morning to bright sunshine. I must say we were all thankful. We had another cold breakfast, because what wood was around was still wet. We did have a good travel day. We made eighteen miles even though we had an extra long nooning so that people could have a hot meal. We camped that night on Horseshoe Creek. Browse for the animals was sparse as it had been yesterday. Ab said that if we'd have been a month later coming through, we'd have been without any grass at all for the last two days. We had just finished supper when Caleb came running by. He yelled, "Come with me!" as he passed. I caught up to him right away and he said, "It's those two damned women again. From what I hear, they're fighting." As we got close to the Mayhew wagon, we could see about twenty people gathered around. We could hear the women before we could see them. They were cursing at each other, using language that would make a sailor blush. We pushed through the crowd and could see the two women rolling around on the ground. They were hitting, biting, pulling hair, and screaming. Jeff Wilson and Chad Mayhew were making feeble attempts to break the women up. Chad's hands were bloody where one of the women had scratched him. Both women's bodices were torn and their skirts were rucked up around their waists. Caleb made one attempt at breaking them apart, but he had to retreat before he received serious harm. No one seemed to know what to do. I saw a bucket of water sitting there that someone had recently brought up from the creek. I picked up the bucket and threw the water onto the two women. Both women screamed and they were on their feet instantly. They saw me standing there with the bucket still in my hands and both of them started toward me. Luckily their husbands grabbed them from behind before they could do me any damage. Caleb stepped in front of them and yelled, "Stop it right now, or I'm going to tie you, naked, to your wagon wheels!" The women stopped instantly. "Now, what started this?" Caleb asked. Both women started screaming out their versions of what happened at the same time. "Shut up!" Caleb yelled. Both women stopped, so Caleb pointed at Winnie Wilson and said, "You first." "This slut was flirting with my husband," Winnie said. "For God's sake, Winnie. She was not," Jeff said. "I was there too, Winnie," Chad said. "I didn't see Nancy doing any flirting." "What did she do that made you think she was flirting?" Caleb asked. "Chad was walking by with his slut wife when she said, 'Hi, Jeff, ' then she started twitching her ass at him." "Winnie, if you don't stop using this foul language, I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap," Jeff said. "Both of you, stop it," Caleb said. "Nancy, what do you have to say about this?" "Chad and I both said hi to Jeff. I wasn't twitching my butt though." Caleb looked thoughtful for a minute then he said, "Winnie, I think you're the problem here. The next time something like this happens, I'm going to tie you naked to your wagon wheel for two hours. What do you think about that, Jeff?" "You have my permission, Caleb. I'll even help you tie her. This has to stop." People started filing away, muttering to each other. I saw Ab standing toward what had been the back of the group. He had a little smile on his face, so I made my way over to him. "Howdy, Ab," I said. "Why the smile?" "Well, it's partly because I think Caleb is doing a fine job and I'm glad it's him doing it instead of me." "And the rest of the reason?" "I was thinking that Winnie Wilson is a fine looking woman and I wouldn't mind seeing her tied naked to the wagon wheel." I couldn't help myself and I burst out laughing. Millie, Tess, and Lettie had come up behind Ab as he was saying this. Tess just couldn't resist teasing, so she said, "Why Abner Smith. I'm surprised at you." Ab went through every shade of red in the book, then he said, I'm... I'm... I'm sorry, Tess. I didn't mean for you to hear that." "I'm sure you didn't," Tess said, then she started laughing her pretty butt off. Millie and Lettie had their arms around each other and around Tess. They laughed until they had tears running down their beautiful faces. "Are you laughing at us?" Winnie asked in a very angry voice. "No, we're laughing at Ab," Millie said. "He said he wouldn't mind seeing you tied naked to a wagon wheel." It was funny at the time, watching Ab turn all shades of red again. We had no idea what problems her remark would cause in the future though. May 31, 1845 The last day of May! We had now been traveling for three months. In some ways it seemed like we had just left yesterday and in others it seemed like we had been on the move forever. Millie and I had both grown up a lot in the last three months. We had also outgrown our shyness. I kissed my wives good morning and we were just lying there enjoying each other when Millie asked, "Do you realize we've been traveling for three months, Jase?" "I was just thinking about that, love, and thinking about how much you and I have changed over the past three months." "I'll bet that three months ago you never imagined yourself lying here with two naked women in your arms, did you?" "No, but I did imagine lying here with you naked in my arms. God, Millie, I've been imagining what you looked like naked since you were twelve years old. I always thought you were so pretty I'd be struck blind if I ever saw you without your clothes." Millie giggled then said, "You know, Jase, if you had asked me any time since I was twelve years old to let you see me naked, I'd have just started shucking my clothes." Lettie sighed and said, "I don't know what I'd have done if I had been in love with someone for that long and had not been able to do anything about it. I was lucky. I fell in love with you guys and within a few days we were making love." "You know we're pretty lucky too," Millie said as she reached over and stroked Lettie's arm. "None of us ever knew three people could share a love like we do. I wonder if there have been others, in the past, who have shared a love like ours." "I'm sure there have been," I said. "I wonder if this is the kind of relationship the Jenkins family had." "Who are the Jenkins family?" Lettie asked. "Mr. And Mrs Jenkins had been married and had one kid when Mrs. Jenkins' sister moved in with them. There was only one bed in the house and all three adults slept in it. At the last count they had six kids. The rumor is that two of the kids belonged to the sister," Millie said. "Ah, is that what we're gonna do? Tell everyone all of our kids are Millie's?" Lettie asked. "If that's what it takes to make you ladies happy, then we will," I said. "I'd rather we didn't though. I'm not ashamed of the relationship the three of us have." "I'm not ashamed of it either," Millie said. "I don't mind if people know that Jase and I are making babies. I don't care either if they know that you and Jase are making babies." Lettie had tears running out of her eyes when she said, "Thank you. I've always wanted to hear a little voice calling me mommy. I don't care if the whole world knows I'm making babies with Jase." The glow you get from shared love is even better than the glow you get from good sex. ------- We had another good travel day and made seventeen miles. The campsite I selected was on a large creek that we'd have to cross in the morning. I found a decent ford just upstream from the campsite, so I didn't think it would present much of a problem. Ab came around just before we were getting ready for bed and asked if I'd walk with him. After we were away from camp, he said, "Jase, I think I have a problem." "What's that, Ab?" "I think Winnie Wilson was flirting with me this morning." "What makes you think that?" "She walked by my tent and said, "Hi, Ab." She stretched the 'Hi" out until it was about three miles long. When I looked up, she was walking away from me, looking back over her shoulder. Her butt looked like two cats fighting in a flour sack." I burst out laughing, but I could see that Ab was seriously disturbed by this. "Why do you think she'd start flirting now?" "I think it may be because of Millie's remark last night about me wanting to see her naked." "Oh shit, Ab. I'm sorry. Millie was just having fun and didn't mean anything by it." "I know that, Jase. Even Jeff realized that. Evidently Winnie didn't though." "So, what can I do, Ab?" "Well, I'm pretty embarrassed about this. Would you tell Caleb what's going on?" "Sure. I'll tell him. I'm also going to kick Millie's butt for making the remark she did." "Don't do that. Millie was just teasing. Winnie should be able to tell when someone is just playing around." "I'll still talk with her about it," I said as we started walking back to camp. ------- After we were naked and all snuggled in, I told my wives about my conversation with Ab. "I'm so sorry," Millie said. "I'll apologize to him tomorrow." "No, don't do that, love. He's pretty embarrassed about it. He even asked me to tell Caleb about it for him." We didn't make love, but we did do a lot of cuddling and petting. Just before we went to sleep, Millie said, "You have to make love to me tomorrow. My monthly visitor is due to show up in the next couple of days. I'd like for you to make love to me one more time before it gets here." I couldn't argue with that. ------- Chapter 20 June 1, 1845 Nothing exciting happened on the trail today. We had a few more hills than yesterday and we only made sixteen miles. Our camp was on a little stream that barely had enough water flowing to satisfy our animals. We'd all started the day with full water barrels so that was all that was really needed. I stopped by to see Ab before I left on scout. The told me that Winnie had done it again today. This time, she stood and talked to him for a minute before moving on. June 2, 1845 I found a large creek today about ten miles out. It had plenty of water and more grass than we'd seen since leaving Fort John. There was also a plentiful supply of wood for fires. I decided that even though it would be a short day of travel, it would be a nice stop and it would allow the animals to recuperate from their lack of food the last few days. When I came back and told Ab about my decision, he agreed. We were camped by mid afternoon. Millie, Lettie and I walked almost half a mile upstream and found a nice place to swim and bathe. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and each other. Millie and I made love on the grassy bank while Lettie kept watch for us. When we got back to camp, our hair was still wet. The first person we ran into was Ab. He asked if we had been swimming and we told him about the nice pool we'd found. He said he just might go up there and take a bath himself a little later. We didn't know at the time that Winnie Wilson had heard us too. ------- When we got back to our wagon, Caleb was there waiting for us. We sat down and talked for a while then Tess and John came over. The three women started fixing supper after a while. While they were busy, Caleb said, "I was wondering if you guys were going to be keeping all of those horses you bought." "Well, I'm not sure, Caleb. We ended up with three more than we actually figure we need." "I was wondering if we might be able to work out a deal on any you don't want to keep." "I'm sure we could, Caleb," John said. "What did you have in mind?" "I'm not sure, John. I am a little short on cash, but I do have some things I might be willing to trade for them. I was also thinking that since I'm gonna be trapping all this winter, I might be willing to trade you some peltries for them." "Don't worry too much about it, Caleb," I said. "We'll work something out. We might even have to trade working for each other to get a place ready to live in this winter. Why don't we all just see where we think we are and who owes who before we decide? You've been doing most of the herding since we left St Louis. That's gotta be worth something." "That sounds good to me. Have you guys given any thought as to where you are gonna end up?" "Yeah, we were talking to Ab about it and he says he knows where there are three or four little valleys that would be perfect for a horse or a cattle ranch. He says he's already staked one of them out for himself. We're going to take a look at them before we look anywhere else." "Maybe I'll have to look there too," Caleb said as Ab came walking up. We all said our howdies and then Ab asked if Caleb and would take a walk with him. When we were away from the camp Ab said, "Jase told you that I thought Winnie Wilson was flirting with me, didn't he?" Caleb agreed that I had. "This afternoon, Jase and Millie were telling me about this great place up the river where they had taken a bath." Caleb and I both nodded. "Winnie must have heard you telling me, or she just followed me. I went up there not long after I had talked to you, Jase. I stripped off and got into the water. I was in just about waist deep when Winnie came walking out of the bushes." I thought I knew where this was going, but I was listening intently. "She walked over to the bank and said, 'It sure is a nice day for taking a bath.' I didn't know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut. I know my mouth had to fall open when she started removing her clothes and hanging them on a bush. I told her to get her clothes back on and get out of there until I finished. She just laughed and continued undressing." "Oh shit," Caleb said. "Oh shit is right. When she was completely naked, she just stood there on the bank for a few minutes. I kept trying to talk her into getting dressed, but she just ignored me. Finally, as she started into the water, she told me she'd like to wash me and she'd like for me to wash her." "What did you do?" "I waited until she was in the water almost as far as I was and I got out of there as quickly as I could. I grabbed up my clothes and boots and ran off about a hundred yards before I stopped to put them on." Caleb and I broke out laughing and when Ab started to look a little angry, I said, "Ab, we're not laughing at the situation. We're laughing because we're picturing you running, naked as a jay bird, clutching your clothes." Ab had to smile. "Okay, so what do we do about this?" he asked. "You're the wagon master," Caleb said. "What do you think we should do about this?" "Caleb, I don't have a clue as to what we should do. I guess the first thing we should do is tell Jeff Wilson." "I agree," Caleb said. "I don't know how he's going to react, but we have to tell him. After that, I don't know either. A lot depends on what he wants to do." We talked for a while longer, but we couldn't come up with anything else we could do until we had told Jeff. Ab decided that tomorrow was going to be a day of rest and said that he hoped we'd get something worked out before we had to be traveling again. Caleb went off to find Jeff. Ab didn't think he should show up around Jeff's camp until after Jeff had been told and I wanted to get back to my wives. ------- After we were snuggled in bed, I told Millie and Lettie about what had happened when Ab went to take his bath. Both of my beauties took a giggling fit that I thought was going to go on all night. When they'd get themselves calmed down, one of them would start thinking of Ab running away and she'd start giggling again. That would get the other one going as well. June 3, 1845 We were still sound asleep when Caleb banged on the side of our wagon the next morning. I roused myself enough to ask who it was. "Get up and get dressed, Jase," he said. "I need you to witness something and I need you right now." I was getting dressed before he had finished speaking. When I got outside, I asked him what was going on. "You, me, and Jeff are going to be inside Ab's tent when Winnie comes by this morning. We're going to listen as Ab talks to her about what happened yesterday." I figured that made sense. "When I told Jeff about this last night, it seemed like he wasn't sure he believed me. I had the feeling he thought Ab might have been making it up, so I suggested this." "Okay. Do you think she'll come by?" "I think so and Ab thinks so. I hope so, because it's going to be hard to convince Jeff if she doesn't." Jeff was very grim faced when he joined us. He probably didn't say five words before we were all inside Ab's tent where we had to be quiet. Ab got his cook fire going and was sipping on his first cup of coffee when Winnie came by. "Good morning, Ab," she said. "Good morning, Winnie. Could I talk to you for a minute?" "Sure. Is this about yesterday?" she asked as she walked over beside him. "Yes. Winnie, I wanted to apologize for running away from you. I was afraid that if I let you get too close to me, with both of us naked, I wouldn't be able to control myself." "I didn't want you to control yourself, Ab." "But, you're a married woman." "The man I'm married to isn't worth the powder and lead it'd take to shoot him. Jeff doesn't know how to take care of a woman. I think you do. Besides that, your equipment looks much better than Jeff's." I felt Jeff stiffen beside me, so I laid my hand on his shoulder. When he looked at me I just shook my head. "Well, in that case, I'm very sorry I ran away from you yesterday." "If we're staying in camp today, we could try it again," Winnie said. "That might be fun," Ab said. "Why don't you meet me back at the same place at nine o'clock. I really would like for you to wash me all over." "Okay, Winnie. I'll see you then." "You'll see every bit of me," she said with a giggle as she walked off. When she was gone, Ab opened the tent flap and we all got out. "Well, do you believe Ab now?" Caleb asked Jeff. "Yeah, I believe him. What should we do now?" "I think we should catch her in the act of trying to seduce Ab," Caleb said. "I think we should hide out and see what she does when Ab comes up. Right now, she could say she was just teasing and you'd never know for sure." We all agreed we'd meet at the pool at 8:30 and be in hiding when Winnie showed up. "Jase, I think you should bring Millie, Lettie, and Tess along. I think we need some women for witnesses as well," Caleb said. ------- When I got back to our wagon, the women were fixing breakfast. I let Millie, Lettie and Tess know what was going on and told them we'd like for them to go with us as witnesses. All of them agreed. The women and I actually got to the swimming hole around eight o'clock. We looked around until we found a place all of us could hide where we could see and hear everything that was going on. Jeff and Caleb showed up right at 8:30 and we all went into the hiding place. Winnie showed up just before nine and she quickly stripped and went into the water. She soaped herself and had just finished rinsing herself off when Ab came and stood on the bank. "Hi, Ab," Winnie said. "Get naked and get in the water, Honey." "I thought you might like to undress me," Ab said. "I think I would like that," Winnie said with a grin. She got out of the water, as naked as the day she was born. When she started undoing the laces on Ab's tunic, we all stood up and walked out into the open. Winnie screamed, then she said, "Oh, Jeff, I'm so glad you showed up. I think he was going to rape me." "Get your clothes on, Winnie. We've been hiding in the bushes here since before you got into the water." Winnie was crying as she got dressed. She was still crying as Jeff gripped her upper arm and led her off to their wagon. ------- So, what happens now?" Lettie asked as we were heading back for our wagon. "I have no idea," I said. "If you were Jeff, what would you do?" "First off, let me say that what we're doing is nothing like what Winnie was doing," Millie said. "Winnie was cheating on her husband. The three of us decided together that we wanted a three way marriage. None of us are cheating because we are all in agreement that this is what we want." Lettie and I both agreed. "I don't know what I'd do with her if I was Jeff. I know I'd never be able to trust her again." "So, what are Jeff's options?" I asked. "Well, he can tell her to go to hell and leave her at the next settlement or trading post," Lettie said. "Do they have any kids?" Millie asked. "I think they have one little girl," I said. "Ab said she's around nine or ten." "So, what happens to the little girl if Jeff leaves Winnie?" Millie asked. "Well, I suppose Jeff would raise her," I said. ------- When we got back to the wagon, John was waiting for us. Tess filled him in on everything that had gone on. We sat around and talked for a while. I was really enjoying it, because I had an arm around Millie and my other arm around Lettie. The girls were getting ready to start lunch when we heard a shot, far off in the distance. "Well, someone bagged some game," John said. A few minutes later, there was another shot. I think I mentioned before that I am curious by nature. I sat there for a few minutes then I said, "John, let's go and see what they were shooting at." John was agreeable, so we got up and took off in the direction the shots came from. We were about a half a mile from camp and I was beginning to think whoever had shot had already gone, when we saw the bodies lying at the foot of the hill we were climbing. It was Jeff and Winnie Wilson. From the looks of things, Jeff had shot Winnie in the head. He then calmly reloaded his single shot pistol and shot himself in the same place. "Oh shit," John said. "Oh shit is right," I said. "John, will you stay here while I go and get Caleb and Ab?" John nodded, so I took off back toward camp. I went to our wagon first and told the girls what had happened. "Would you go and see if you can find the Wilson girl?" I asked. "I don't want her to see them bringing the bodies in." All three of them agreed, so I took off to find Caleb and Ab. Caleb had his tar brush out and was going over his wagon when I came up. "Caleb, we have a problem," I said in a quiet voice. "It looks like Jeff Wilson shot Winnie and then himself. They're both dead." "Awh, no," Caleb said. "I never thought he'd do that." "None of us did, Caleb. None of us are to blame for what Jeff did." We went off and found Ab. Ab was just as disbelieving as Caleb had been when we told him what had happened. "Where's their little girl," Ab asked. "Millie, Tess and Lettie are taking her off somewhere," I told him. "I didn't want her to have to see the bodies being brought in. They'll tell her what happened and take care of her as long as she needs them." We took a couple of pack mules with us when we went back out to the bodies. When we had them back in camp, Caleb went off to find the Reverend Green and Ab went around to all of the wagons and told everyone to go to his tent so he could make an announcement. I looked all over camp and couldn't find any of my women, so I thought they might have taken the little girl to the swimming hole. When I got there, I found I had been right. They were all sitting on the bank of the river when I got there. The little girl, Abby, was softly crying. I motioned for Millie to come to me and I asked what they had told the little girl. "We just told her that her mother and father are dead," she said. "We really didn't know if we should tell her how it happened or not. She does seem very mature for her age though." "Well, I think she has a right to know what happened. Let's go over and talk to her." "Okay, honey. Her name is Abby." We went back over and sat down. "Hi, Abby. I'm Jase," I said. "Hi Jase. I've seen you before," she sniffled as she talked. "Did these ladies tell you what happened?" "They told me that ma and pa are dead. They didn't tell me what happened." "Do you want to know, Abby?" "I think I probably do know. Did pa kill ma and then kill himself?" "Yes, Abby, it looks like that's what happened." "Ma has been awful mean to pa and me ever since we left for Oregon. I was afraid something like this was gonna happen." "How was she mean to you, honey?" "She'd yell at me and hit me. She'd yell at pa and call him awful names. It got so I was afraid of her." "Was your pa good to you?" "Yeah, pa was good to me. They were both gone somewhere this morning. When they came back, pa was really mad at ma. He told me to go play someplace away from the wagon and when I left, they started yelling at each other." "Do you have any other family on the wagon train?" Lettie asked. "No. I don't have anyone." "Is there another family you'd like to stay with now?" Millie asked. "No," Abby said in a small voice. Millie looked at me. I knew what she wanted, so I just nodded. Lettie must have been thinking the same thing because she looked at Millie and nodded too. "Would you like to stay with us, at least for a while?" Millie asked her. "I guess that'd be okay," Abby said. "Why don't we go back to our wagon?" Lettie asked. "We were just starting to make lunch when Jase told us what had happened." Abby nodded and we all got up and started back. Millie and Lettie were each holding one of Abby's hands. Tess reached over and took mine. ------- Abby helped while the women fixed lunch. John came back and we introduced him to Abby. As we were eating lunch, Abby asked, "Do all of you live together?" "No, honey," Millie said. "Tess and John live in that wagon there. Lettie, Jase, and I live in this wagon." "Am I going to live with you, Millie?" "At least until you decide where you want to live permanently you are," Millie said. "Good. Is there gonna be a funeral for pa and ma?" "I'm sure there will be," I said. "Let's go and talk to Ab after we've eaten. He'll be able to tell us when it's gonna be." When we had finished eating, Abby came over to me and asked if we were going to see about the funeral. "Sure," I said as I got up. "Are you ladies going with us?" "No, we're going to go ahead and clean things up," Millie said. She told me later she wanted Abby to get a chance to know me. We went to see Caleb first. I introduced him and Sally to Abby and Sally made a big fuss over her. I told them that Abby was going to be living with us until she found somewhere else she wanted to live. Caleb told us the funeral was going to be in one hour. "Caleb, do you know of anyone we could get to drive the Wilson's wagon for us?" I asked. He thought for a minute and then said, "Marty Wilcox has a son who is around fifteen or sixteen. You should talk to them." "I've never met them," I said. "Do you know where their wagon is?" "I do," Abby spoke up. "Pa and Mr. Wilcox were friends." "Can you take me there?" I asked her. Abby took hold of my hand and tugged. "Come on," she said. I gave Caleb a wink and let myself be led away. Abby held on to my hand until we got to the Wilcox's wagon and she didn't let go when we got there. Abby introduced me to Marty Wilcox, then I said, "Abby is going to be staying with us, at least for a while. Our problem is, we don't have anyone who can drive her wagon. Caleb said you might have a son who would like to earn some extra money." "I'm sure he would," Marty said. "He's good with oxen or mules like the Wilsons have too. Fred, come over here for a minute." Fred came over and I liked him immediately. He was nearly as old as me and he reminded me of myself. "Fred, Jase here needs someone to drive the Wilson's wagon until we get to Oregon. Would you be interested?" "Sure, I'll do it," Fred said. "We don't want you to do it for free, Fred. We have two other guys driving for us. We're paying them twelve dollars a month. Would you do it for that?" "Definitely. Would you want me to start tomorrow?" "Yeah. That would be fine. You'll also have to hitch the mules and take care of them." Fred nodded. "That's part of the job." "Does anyone know if the Wilsons had any livestock?" I felt a tug on my hand and when I looked down at Abby, she said, "We have a milk cow with a calf, two horses and four hogs, then there's the mules. There's eight of them." "Thank you, Abby. We'll mix them with ours so they're easier to drive, if you don't mind," I said. Abby said that'd be fine. Before long, we headed back to our wagon. Abby was holding my hand the whole time. ------- You'd think the Reverend Green was being paid by the hour for his sermons. The funeral service he had for Mr. and Mrs. Wilson was no exception. The sermon dragged on and on and every prayer was the length of a sermon, with the good Reverend reminding God of his own words. Abby was standing between me and Millie. She was holding on to each of our hands. She was starting to get fidgety, so I leaned down and told her that I had some stick candy if she could just manage to get through the sermon. She gave me a little smile and squeezed my hand. She stood like a statue through the rest of the funeral. When we got back to the wagon, she looked at me expectantly. I climbed into the wagon and retrieved one of my two bags of candy I had left. When I got out, I gave it to her. Millie asked me where I had found that so I told her it was none of her business. We spent most of the afternoon getting to know Abby. For the most part, she talked with us like she was an adult. We found out that she was almost nine years and that she liked meat and potatoes, but she hated carrots. She told us that she couldn't eat turnips at all because they made her want to throw up. She asked us a lot of questions too. At one point she asked me if I was married to Millie or to Lettie. I didn't know how to answer her, but Millie spoke up and said, "He's married to both of us, Abby." Abby just said, "Okay," then went on to something else. At some point during the afternoon, she decided that my lap was the best place to sit. She spent a lot of time there before supper. She had been sitting on me for some time, when she leaned in against me and laid her head on my shoulder. "I'm gonna miss pa something terrible, Jase," she said. I put my arms around her and hugged her then she went on. "I'm even gonna miss ma. Before we started to Oregon, she was good to us. After that she went all crazy." "Didn't she want to go to Oregon?" I asked. "She said she did. I think it was her idea to go in the first place. Before we got to St Louis, her and pa started fighting. Then she started treating me mean." "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, Honey," I said. I hugged her tight and kissed her on the forehead. "Can I stay with you guys as long as I want?" she asked. I looked over at Millie and Lettie. Both of them nodded. "Yes, you can stay with us as long as you want," I said. "Even if I want to stay with you until I get married?" I looked at my wives again and again they nodded. "If you want to stay with us until you get married, then that's where you'll stay." "Can I call you papa and can I call Millie and Lettie, Mama Millie and Mama Lettie?" I looked at my girls and they were grinning from ear to ear as they nodded. "I think that would be just fine, Abby. Can we tell people you're our little girl?" She nodded against my chest. ------- As we were eating supper, Millie asked, "Abby, where did you usually sleep?" "Since we started to Oregon, we all slept in the wagon." "Oh," Millie said. Abby must have caught the disappointment in Millie's voice, because she said, "Don't worry about it if you're thinking about the sex stuff. Ma and pa always just waited until they thought I was asleep. Sometimes I'd just pretend to be asleep so I could watch them." "Oh shit," I said. "You said a bad word," Abby informed me. "Bad word, bad word, bad word," Lettie said. Millie giggled and said, "Well, you can sleep in the wagon with us tonight, but we're gonna have to think about the future." ------- When we went into the wagon, I took my tunic off, but kept my pants on. Millie and Lettie kept their clothes on as well. My wives and I snuggled in and Abby tried to worm her way in between Millie and me. Millie told he she had to sleep on the other side of her. I awoke during the night with my left arm around Lettie, my right arm around Millie, and a sweet little naked girl lying on top of me. I didn't even try to get her to move. I figured that after yesterday she needed the close contact. ------- Chapter 21 June 4, 1845 I awoke with Abby still lying on top of me and a very amused Millie on one side of me. Lettie was still asleep. "It looks like you've won another little girl's heart," Millie whispered. "Yeah," I grinned. "She is a cutey, isn't she?" "She certainly is. It makes me feel kind of funny that she's calling me Mama Millie when I'm only six years older than her. It does feel right though." "I agree. I feel like her papa. You know, if she doesn't decide to go live with someone else, we have our first child." "That's fine with me," Lettie whispered in my other ear. I hugged Millie and Lettie closer. Our movement must have awakened Abby. I felt her stirring and we were all three looking at her when she opened her eyes. "Good morning, Abby," I said. "Good morning. I'm sorry I'm on top of you, papa. I got lonely during the night." "That's okay. Are you hungry? Are you ready for some breakfast?" "Yeah, I didn't feel much like eating yesterday. I'm hungry this morning though." "Good. You get to help Millie, Lettie, and Tess fix breakfast." Abby giggled and got up. She was as unselfconscious about being naked as Millie and I were when just the three of us were together. As she was getting dressed, Abby asked Millie, "Do you have any clothes like yours that would fit me?" Millie told her she didn't, but I told her I'd check with mom and see if she brought any of Tess' old clothes. After breakfast, I took off to scout ahead. I didn't know how far we'd make it that day because of crossing the big creek we had camped on. I was only about four miles from camp when I met up with a group of men heading in the other direction. There were six men in the party. Between them they must have had twenty pack mules, most of them loaded with pelts. They stopped to talk for a few minutes and the leader told me they were heading to St Louis to sell their furs. He said they'd spent last winter trapping in the Columbia river area. I asked him about the condition of the trail ahead and he said there was nothing really to worry about. I asked him to stop and talk with Ab for a few minutes and he said he would. I didn't know how hard the creek crossing was going to be, so I ended up selecting a campsite that was only eight miles from where we had camped the night before. It was a good thing I did, because even that was almost more than we could do. ------- Abby was looking a little down as the women were fixing supper, so I asked her if she'd like to sit on my lap. She came over and snuggled in, so I put my arms around her and held her. "Were you thinking about your ma and pa?" I asked. "Yeah. I miss them. Being with you guys helps though." "Well, we like having you with us." "I've heard you all talking about me going to live with someone else. Are you going to make me live with someone else?" "No, sweety. You can live with us for as long as you like. I would love to be your papa if you'll have me and Millie and Lettie would love to be your mamas." "I'd like that, papa. I'd like to live with you for the rest of my life." "Then that's where you'll live. Did you know we're gonna start a cattle ranch when we get to Oregon?" "No. Is that where you raise lots of cattle?" "Yep, and we'll let you ride a horse to help take care of the cattle." "I like riding a horse. I rode behind Mama Millie all day today. Tomorrow I'll ride behind Mama Lettie." "Before long, we'll let you have your own horse. Then you can ride by yourself." "Really?" "Yep. Really." ------- After dinner, Millie got me off to myself and said, "My monthly visitor finally arrived. I was thinking I could sleep under the wagon with Abby tonight. That way, you and Lettie could enjoy yourselves." "You know you don't have to do that, don't you?" "Yeah, but I'm sure Lettie will do the same for me when I'm capable again." I pulled Millie close and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Lettie and I made good use of our time alone. I missed being cuddled between my two naked lovlies, but cuddling with one naked beauty was almost as good. This was the first time Lettie and I had even been alone together. June 5, 1845 Lettie and I awoke at almost the same time. We kissed and told each other how much we loved each other. It was a very warm night and we were lying on top of the covers. Lettie had an arm and a leg draped over me and I was stroking her back and butt when we heard a giggle coming from the wagon box. We looked up and there was Abby. "Good morning, Papa. Good morning, Mama Lettie," she said when she saw she had been discovered. I didn't see any reason to panic and apparently Lettie didn't either. We both told her good morning. "Is Millie up?" I asked. "She was still asleep a minute ago," Abby said. "Why don't you wake her up, so you all can get breakfast started?" Abby scurried down off the wagon box. Lettie and I looked at each other then started laughing. "Even when we have privacy, we don't have privacy," I said. "She was bound to see us naked sometime, Love, so don't let it bother you," she said. "I'm not. At least I didn't have a hardon." "I could give you one really quick," Lettie said as she fondled my member. "You certainly could, you little minx," I said before I pulled her into an earth shattering kiss. When we finally broke the kiss, we decided we'd better get up before our new daughter decided to see what was taking us so long. ------- We only made ten miles for the day, but we camped on the other side of the Platte. We reached the crossing just after our nooning and Ab decided that there would be plenty of time to cross before we made camp. He was right. This was one of the easiest crossings we made. I was told years later that the channel had deepened at this crossing and that wagons had to be floated across. One man told me that it had taken them three days to get all of their wagons across. Abby claimed my lap while the women were fixing supper again. She didn't have much to say. She just wanted held. That was fine with me. Millie and Abby slept under the wagon again. June 6, 1845 Today was a pretty good for travel, although it did rain for a while. We made sixteen miles. Since it was raining when we had finished supper, we all retired inside the wagon. We talked and cuddled until bedtime, then all of us slept in the wagon. June 7, 1845 I passed Poison Springs early and I figured the wagons would be passing there around noon. Someone had put up a sign that said, "Poison Springs." I wasn't sure if the water was really poison, but I wouldn't let Sin drink there. Ab told me later that the water was good if it was settled, but if the mud on the bottom was stirred up, anything drinking from it would die. I ended up selecting a place Ab told me was called Soap Springs for our camp. The ground around the spring was marshy, but otherwise it wasn't so bad. There was a nice grove of cottonwood trees, so we had plenty of firewood. I hadn't seen any buffalo dung since we crossed the Platte, so I assumed we were coming out of buffalo country. Ab later confirmed that. I guess that meant I'd have to start hunting again. The country we were going through since we crossed the Platte has been very dry. The only water to be found was at the springs. Grass was also scarce. So far we had found enough that the animals weren't suffering. June 8, 1845 We reached the Sweetwater River not long before noon. At this point, the Sweetwater is only about a hundred feet wide and not more than two or three feet deep. About a mile farther along, we came to Independence Rock. We nooned there. Independence Rock is an oval outcrop of rock, that is a third of a mile long and about 700 feet wide. It stands well over a hundred feet high and is very smooth. I had never seen so many names in one place. It seemed like everyone who had ever come through here had painted or carved their names in the rock. I got a chisel and a short handled sledge hammer out of the wagon and we carved our names in deep. I carved Jase Tackett, Millie Tackett, Lettie Tackett and Abby... Before I could carve in Abby's last name, she asked, "Jase, am I a Tackett now?" "Do you want to be a Tackett?" I asked. "Yes, I'd like that, Jase." "Then Abby Tackett is what you'll be," I said, then I proceeded to carve it in the stone to make it official. Abby was grinning from ear to ear as she watched me carve it in. After lunch, we went on about a mile and crossed the Sweetwater. The water here was about two feet deep at the deepest. Even with the long nooning and the river crossing, we made seventeen miles for the day. Ab said we'd follow the Sweetwater all the way into south pass. Ab said that many people called Independence Rock the half way point on the trail to Oregon. He also said that if you got to Independence rock by the 4th of July you'd make it through the mountains before there was snow. ------- While the women were fixing supper, Abby came over and sat on my lap. She put her arms around me and leaned her head on my shoulder. I hugged her back and waited to see what she needed. Abby was quiet for several minutes, then she said, "Papa, Bobby Lewis said that pa was a murderer because he shot ma and then shot himself. He said ma was a slut. What is a slut?" I didn't know how to answer her, but I didn't want to lie to her. Finally, I just said, "A slut is a woman who does bad things." "I can almost understand why pa shot ma. She's been awfully mean to us for a while. Why would he shoot himself, Papa. Didn't he think about me? He didn't know you were gonna take me in. Did he want me to die too?" "Abby, sometimes people do things without thinking. I'm sure your pa didn't think about what would happen to him or to you when he shot your ma. He did it because he was mad about the way she was treating you and about some other things that had just come up." "Bobby says she was trying to get Mr. Smith to have sex with her." Oh God! Now what did I say? I decided that if I were Abby, I'd want people to be honest with me. "Yes, she was, Abby. Your pa found out about it and he was really mad." "But, why did he shoot himself?" "I'm sure that after he shot your ma, he realized he'd done a really stupid thing. He would have realized he would be punished for what he did." I paused for a moment and Abby looked up at me with wide eyes, so I went on. "I'm not saying what he did was right, Honey. I can understand it though. If he had had to stand trial, a lot of attention would have fallen on you. More people would have known what happened." "I think everyone knows what happened now," she said. "Bobby wasn't very nice about how he was telling me what had happened. Then he started calling pa a murderer and some other words that I don't know what they mean." "I'll talk to his parents about it, Honey. I'm sure they'll make him stop." "I don't think he's gonna say any more anyway, Papa. When he started calling pa names, I gave him a bloody nose. I was gonna do what pa said I should do and kick him in the ballocks, but he started crying and ran off." Okay, I was trying to keep from laughing, but then Lettie, Millie, and Tess cracked up. I held off as long as I could, then I burst out too. John joined us and our whole family was laughing until the tears were running out of our eyes. I kissed Abby on both cheeks, her forehead, and then the end of her nose. "I love you, Abby," I said when I could speak again. After we had all calmed down, Abby said, "I miss pa something terrible, but you make a good papa." My heart melted. I don't care what would have happened or who might have been against it. Abby was ours now. June 9, 1845 Ab says that during the spring runoff, the Sweetwater is so muddy that one man said he didn't know whether to swim it or plow it. At this time of year it was clear and tasted great. It was a little warmer than the Platte had been, but the Platte is muddy year round and it was only in the creeks that feed it that we could get drinking water. Ab also said we'd be following the Sweetwater all the way into the South Pass, which was our route through the mountains. Mom had kept a couple of Tess' old outfits. She had been going to use them for making bags or similar small items since the leather was still good and was very soft from Tess wearing them. Now, she gave them to Abby and promised her a new outfit as soon as she could get it finished. Abby was as cute as a button. She was standing in her new (Tess' old) outfit petting Sin as I was getting ready to go on scout. Sin was nuzzling her neck and she would giggle when he hit a sensitive spot. Millie, Lettie, and Abby decided they were going scouting with me this morning. I couldn't think of any reason they shouldn't and I was happy for the company. We stopped to talk with Ab before we left the camp. He said we should be on the lookout for Devil's Gate and that we should camp within a mile or two of that. I asked him what it looked like and he said I'd know it when I saw it. He was certainly right about that. We saw what had to be Devil's Gate about ten miles out from camp. Ab said the trail ran south of the gate, so we went around in that direction. We found a nice camping spot a couple of miles further on. It was a cold day for it being in June, but Millie said it was time for a bath for all of us. She got a cake of soap out of her saddlebags and told us all to strip. I was a little hesitant about stripping in front of Abby, but then I remembered she'd seen us naked a few days ago. The water was nice and warm. We had a lot of fun splashing and dunking each other. I realized after a while that the nudity didn't really bother any of us, especially Abby. After we had all dried off, we went back and checked out Devil's Gate. Devil's Gate is a narrow cut carved by the Sweetwater River through a ridge called the Sweetwater Rocks. It must be close to 400 feet deep at it's deepest point and there are places where it isn't over fifty feet wide. It is over a quarter of a mile through the cut and it is a very impressive sight. We explored it as well as we could, but it was actually the most impressive when you were outside it, looking in. I think almost everyone from the wagon train made the trip to look it over that evening. I said the day was cold, but the night looked like it was going to be freezing. All of us slept in the wagon that night. We all snuggled under the blankets to share our body heat. June 10, 1845 I awoke with Lettie snuggled to my left side, Millie snuggled to my right side and Abby lying on top of me. Damn, I was glad she was as little as she was or I'd have probably suffocated. Millie and Lettie were both awake when I woke up. I got a kiss from each of them and then we just kind of watched Abby for a while. Finally, I whispered, "Other than the three of us getting together, Abby may be the best thing that has ever happened to us." "She's a little angel, Jase. I love her with all of my heart," Lettie said. "So do I," Millie said. "She's the most precious little girl I've ever seen." I could feel Abby's body starting to shake on top of me. I didn't know why until she burst out giggling. She started to calm down, so I asked, "You've been awake this whole time, haven't you?" Abby nodded and burst out giggling again. "Do you know what we did to Tess the other day when she was teasing us?" Millie asked her. Abby shook her head, so Lettie said, "We tickled her until she almost peed on herself." Abby started to try to scurry away, but I grabbed her and held her. "You won't let them tickle me, will you, Papa?" "No," I said with an evil grin. "I'll help them though." Abby let out a shriek that I would have thought would have brought all of the neighbors running, so I let her go. She jumped up and started pulling on her clothes with amazing speed. When she was dressed, she stuck her tongue out at us and scrambled out of the wagon. All of us cracked up. "Now, that one's got spunk," I laughed. Millie and Lettie both agreed. ------- We were traveling over broken, sandy ground today. It was sandy enough that it made a heavier load on the teams pulling the wagons. I also had to be careful to pick a route where one of our poorer drivers didn't get an oxen or a wagon wheel in some kind of cut. Toward the end of the day, the ground started to smooth out some. We ended up making fifteen miles for the day. Abby seemed a lot more cheerful while they were fixing supper, but she still came over and claimed my lap for a while. She seemed to have her own way of snuggling in and I was getting used to it. After she had herself positioned the way she wanted, she looked up at me and asked, "Papa, is Grandma Tackett an Indian?" "Yes, Abby, she is a Cherokee Indian. That makes me and Tess half Indian." "Grandma Tackett is nice. She gave me some clothes to wear and she made me a doll." "I think she's pretty nice too. She don't talk much, but she shows you she loves you by giving you things. She does the same to me and Tess." "I was playing with Lelah Arnold when we were nooning and her brother Timmy was bothering us. He said Grandma Tackett is a dirty squaw." "Some people don't like Indians, Honey. I guess Timmy's parents don't either. Indians are a proud people. I, personally, think they're just as good as whites. My mom is a good person and I love her dearly." I noticed that Tess had quit helping with supper preparations. She was standing, listening intently. I'm sure Millie and Lettie were listening as well. Abby was nodding. "I love her too. Uh... You're probably going to hear about this. I... I kinda beat up on Timmy." It was all I could do to keep from breaking out laughing. Millie and Lettie had big smiles. Tess was still too angry to see the humor in this. "How old is Timmy?" I asked. I was picturing a six or seven year old. "He's ten I think. He's older than Lelah and she's a little older than me." "You said you beat up on him. What did you do?" "Well, he's gotta busted lip and a black eye. I also kicked him in the ballocks like pa told me to do if I ever got in a fight with a boy. Does it really hurt if you kick someone in the ballocks?" "Yes, it really hurts if you kick someone there. Abby, from now on, you have my permission to fight if someone hits you. If they just say something to you, I think you should ask me or Millie or Lettie or Tess before you go beating them up." "Okay, papa. What about if they pinch me?" "I think that'd be okay." "What about if they spit on me?" "Enough, Abby," I said as I started to tickle her. She started giggling and squirming. Millie said supper was ready, so I quit. After we finished eating, I asked Tess if she'd keep Abby close to the wagon while Millie, Lettie and I went over to see Caleb. Tess is quick on the uptake, so she agreed. Caleb and Sally were sitting side by side with their shoulders pressed against each other when we got there. Caleb motioned for us to have a seat, then he said, "Would you introduce me to these two lovely young ladies, Jase? I don't think I've met either one of them." Millie giggled and said, "It's not that bad, pap. I see you every time we're all working the cattle." "Yeah, I guess so. I just miss our talks." "I know. We'll start trying to come over more often. You all could come over to our wagon too, you know." "Yeah, I know. We'll start doing that too. To what do we owe this visit this evening?" "We came to see you in your official capacity as Wagon Train Captain," I said. Caleb nodded. "I don't know if we have a problem or not. You knew we took in Abby Wilson, didn't you?" "Yeah, is she going to be with you long, Jase?" "You might as well consider her your granddaughter, Pap. It looks like she's going to be with us permanently," Millie said. Caleb nodded again, so I went on. "Abby was playing with the Arnold girl today at lunch and the older Arnold boy told Abby that mom is a dirty squaw. Abby beat him up." I could see Caleb and Sally both trying to hold back smiles. "This is really serious, Jase. Two kids get into a fight. The younger girl beats up on the older boy. We might have to take her out and hang her." "At the very least we should flog her," Sally said. Then, she couldn't hold it in any longer and she burst into waves of giggles. Unfortunately Millie and Lettie joined her. Caleb and I just shook our heads and waited for them to calm down. "The problems I could see would be if the father got angry about his son getting beat up. The kid obviously picked up the dirty squaw comment from someone, probably his parents. If he got it from them, they obviously don't like Indians, which means they like half-breeds even less." "Okay, I can see that, Jase." "I just wanted to warn you that there was some potential for friction between me and Mr. Arnold." "I understand, Jase. If he comes around and hassles you at all, let me know. Don't get into it with him." "I don't plan to, but I'm not going to run from him either. Tess is a lot more likely to get into it with him anyway. She was ready to go scalp the bastard when Abby was telling us about it." Caleb laughed. "I wouldn't want Tess mad at me." ------- We didn't hear anything from the Arnolds before we went to bed and I was very pleased by that. We all slept inside the wagon again. June 11, 1845 It must be because we are climbing in altitude, but the days have been getting cooler for a while now, and the nights are as cold as they were when we first left home. It makes for some nice snuggling weather, but we can't do anything else because of our new daughter. I asked Lettie and Millie to make sure Abby stayed around our wagon today, or stayed with them. Lettie suggested they go with me today. That seemed like a reasonable request, so the girls made extra of everything so we could have it for lunch. Abby wanted to ride behind me on Sin, so I let her. I think she likes my horse almost as much as I do. I didn't have to do much to earn my keep today. The route we took seemed natural. As we were riding along, Millie asked, "Abby, would it be okay for us to look through your wagon tonight?" Abby never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes her logic is better than an adult. "Mama Millie, that wagon belongs to my family. You're my family now, so the wagon belongs to you just as much as it belongs to me." I broke in before Millie had a chance to answer. "Abby, I've been thinking about this and if it's okay with you, here's what I think we should do. We'll figure out what the wagon and everything in it are worth. The whole family will use everything in it. When you decide you want to get married, if I don't decide to kill the boy you want to marry, we'll give you the value of the wagon and every thing in it as your dowery." "Why would you want to kill the boy I'd want to marry?" "Because you're my special little girl. I love you very much and I wouldn't want you to marry just anyone. Besides, I might think the boy was just trying to steal you away from me." Abby giggled. "So you'd have to approve any boy I wanted to marry?" "Yep. If I thought he was worthy of you then I'd say okay. If not, then it's bang... right between the eyes." "What if he's a better shot than you?" Abby giggled. "Abby, there are no better shots than your papa. He's the best in the country," Millie said. Abby got serious. "You wouldn't really shoot someone I wanted to marry would you?" "No, Honey, but I might want to. We all love you very much, Abby. We all want what's best for you." Abby hugged me and leaned her face against my back. ------- Chapter 22 We made good time today and we got in eighteen miles. We had just finished supper and were leaning back letting it digest when Sam Arnold and his son came around. He introduced himself then got right to the point. "I came here to talk to you about Abby Wilson," he said. Abby wiggled her way in between me and Lettie. "She's Abby Tackett now," I said. "We've adopted her." "Well, whatever you're calling her, she needs to be punished. She attacked my boy for no reason. First, she kicked him in the ballocks, then while he was lying on the ground, she hit him in the mouth and in the eye." "Abby, did you kick him in the ballocks first?" "No, Papa. I hit him in the mouth first because he said Grandma Tackett is a dirty squaw." "Mr. Arnold, I think calling my mother a dirty squaw is a pretty good reason to provoke a fight. If your son is going to say things like that, he has to expect he'll need to defend himself." "Your mother is a dirty squaw and you're a filthy half-breed," Arnold said as he balled up his fists. "Get your pap," I whispered to Millie just before I started getting up. I got to my feet slowly. I didn't really want to fight this bastard. He was several inches taller than me and probably outweighed me by fifty pounds. "I'm pretty proud of being a half-breed. I figure I got the best of both races. From my Indian side I got my even temper, my honesty and my integrity. From my white side... Tess, what do you think we got from our white side?" "Well, I told mom a lie once. I'm bothered by a touch of greed now and then. I also thought about stealing some candy a few years ago," Tess said as she got up too. "Bitch," Arnold said. Tess launched herself at Arnold like a puma pouncing on it's prey. She was hitting and scratching and biting like a wild thing. Arnold managed to slap her once before I could get to them. John was on his feet now and was trying, unsuccessfully, to pull Tess off of Arnold. I managed to get between them just as Arnold unleashed a roundhouse swing that would have taken Tess' head off. It nearly took mine off. He caught me on the left side of my face and I thought for a moment I was going down. Now, I didn't mind so much that he had hit me. That punch had been aimed at my little sister though. I hit him in the stomach with all of my strength. I'd never hit anyone that hard before and I hope I never do again. He went down like he'd been pole axed. He was lying on the ground, curled up in a ball, retching, when Caleb came up. "What's going on here," Caleb asked as Millie came up with Ab in tow. "Well, Mr. Arnold here came over to complain that Abby had beaten up on his son. While he was here, he called mom a dirty squaw. He called me a filthy half-breed, and he called Tess a bitch. Tess took exception to all of this and attacked him." Caleb was shaking his head, but I went on. "He managed to slap Tess once, and he threw a haymaker at her that might have killed her if I hadn't got in the way. He hit me instead, so I hit him once in the stomach." "Is that what happened, Mr. Arnold?" Caleb asked. Arnold was coming around now. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and said, "These filthy Indians and half-breeds shouldn't be allowed to be on this wagon train. I demand you throw them off immediately." "Who is or isn't on this wagon train isn't up to you, Mr. Arnold," Ab said. "That's up to me. You're not in any position to demand anything." "I should have known you'd side with them," Arnold said. "Are you getting some on the side here from the half-breed bitch?" John looked at Arnold, his eyes filled with hate. "Get on your feet, you bastard," he said. "That's my wife you're talking about." "Easy, John," Ab said. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Ab asked him. "You don't talk about a man's wife that way." "He ain't much of a man if he married a half-breed," Arnold said. "I'd just as soon marry a nigger." Arnold was still sitting on the ground when he said this. Okay, so maybe I could have gotten in between John and Arnold. Maybe I should have. John stepped over and caught Arnold in the face with his knee. Arnold flopped onto his back and was out cold. At some time during the fight, Timmy ran off. Not long after John put Arnold out, Priscilla Arnold came running up. "What's going on?" she asked. She glanced down at her husband, but didn't check to see if he was okay. "Well, Mrs. Arnold, It seems that your husband was making remarks about dirty squaws and filthy half-breeds to Jase and his family. He tried to hit Tess and Jase knocked him down. He said John wasn't much of a man because marrying a half-breed was as bad as marrying a nigger. John knocked him out." "I figured it was something like that," she said. "Excuse my language folks, but Sam is a dumb son-of-a-bitch. He has this thing about Indians. I don't know where it came from, but his pa is the same way. I don't ask for you to forgive him, but I do apologize for his actions." "It's not your fault, Ma'am. We wouldn't hold you responsible for what your husband said." "Thank you. You're Jase Tackett aren't you? The wagon train scout?" "Yes, Ma'am." "I know I'm not responsible for what he says, but I feel shamed by it. He's trying to teach our kids to be the same way. I guess Timmy said something to some young woman and she beat him up for it." I pulled Abby forward. "This is the young woman who beat him up, Ma'am." Mrs. Arnold burst out laughing. "I'll swear to God he's making Timmy into a mirror image of himself. They told me it was a growed woman. Thank God, I've managed to keep him from ruining the girls too." "She's got a lot of growing to do before she becomes a woman," I said as I hugged Abby. "She's only nine years old." "Well, I'd better get this lout back to our wagon. Do you have a bucket of water handy?" "No, Ma'am, but I'll fetch you one," I said. I got a bucket and went down to the river and filled it. When I came back, I handed it to Mrs. Arnold. She started slowly pouring water on Mr. Arnold's head and shoulders. When he started sputtering and trying to get up, she dumped the whole thing on him. Mrs. Arnold was reading him out as she herded him back toward their wagon. After they were gone, Ab said, "We're going to have a layover day after tomorrow. Until then, I want all of you to try to figure out how we can defuse this. In the mean time, I want all of you to stay away from them." We all agreed that would be a good idea. ------- The days were getting longer and it was still quite light when the four of us piled into our wagon. We all snuggled together and Abby said, "Papa, I'm sorry I got all of this started." "Don't worry about it, little love. It wasn't you that got it started. It was Timmy Arnold." Abby crawled over on top of me and I hugged her and rubbed her back. June 12, 1845 I thought it best if the women went with me again. Of course I got no arguments from them. Even with all of the hassle with the Arnolds we had a good time. We were very particular in picking out a camp site as we knew we were going to be laying over there for another day. The site we picked had plenty of wood and the best grass we'd seen for a while. We even managed to get in a nice bath before the wagons joined us after traveling eighteen miles. We were now and had been for some time in high desert country. It was still early enough in the year that although grass was sometimes scarce, we always seemed to be able to find enough to feed our animals. Ab said that was not going to be the case for the next few days. After supper, Millie wanted to inventory Abby's wagon. She got Tess, Lettie, and Abby to go with her. John and I stayed with our wagon. They had only been gone a few minutes when Abby and Tess came running back. "That damned Timmy Arnold was in Abby's wagon when we got there," Tess said as she was trying to catch her breath. "John, would you go get Caleb and Ab? We'd like for Jase to come back with us." John took off and we started walking back to Abby's wagon. "What did he do?" I asked. "He just ran away. We don't know what he'd gotten into though. Millie found a pistol inside the wagon and loaded it before we left. She's standing guard." Millie was standing guard alright. She was striding back and forth outside the wagon with the single shot pistol in her hand. She looked like the picture of the Warrior Princess we had seen in a book pap had traded for when Tess and I were kids. As we came up, Millie said, "Well, we know at least part of what he was into. He poured a bucket of water down into one of their flour barrels." "John went to get Caleb and Ab," I said. "We don't do anything until they get here." "Papa," Abby whispered to me. "Ma and pa kept their money in a tin box in the other flour barrel. Should I get it out?" "Please do, Honey. We'll protect it for you." "Where's Lettie?" I asked. "She's in the wagon trying to find out what else he might have gotten into. What are we going to do about this, Jase?" "I don't know, Honey. Let's talk to your pap and Ab first. They are wiser men than I am. Right now, I'd like to go around and shoot the bastards." Millie held up the pistol and said, "I'll help." We both started laughing. Before long, Lettie stuck her head out of the wagon and asked what we thought was so funny. When I told her, she started laughing too. Before long, John came up with Ab and Caleb. Lettie came out of the wagon when she heard them. She had a little book in her hand and when I raised my eyebrows at her, she just said, "Later." Ab and Caleb wanted to know what had happened. Millie told them, then they wanted to go in and look over the wagon. When they came back out, Caleb asked, "Are you sure it was Timmy Arnold, Millie?" "All three of us saw him, Pap. We're all sure it was him." Caleb let out a big sigh. Ab looked at me and said, "You did the right thing calling for us, Jase. It would have been an easy thing to have gone after his pap." "Yeah, the thought crossed my mind," I said with a smile. "What do we do now?" "Caleb and I will go and have a talk with his pap. We'll talk to the people in the wagons on either side of this one and see if anyone else saw him. We'll let you know what happens when we've talked to him." "Ok, Ab, we can do that. I'm gonna move this wagon up next to mine though. That way we can at least keep an eye on it." "That's not a bad idea, Jase. I wish we'd have thought of it before." "John, will you go over and ask Fred Wilcox if he'll bring this wagon over and put it between ours? I'll get the womenfolk back to our wagons if you will." John agreed that he would and Tess decided she was going with him. On the way back to our wagons, Lettie said, "The book is a diary, Jase." ------- We sent Abby to bed not long after Fred brought the Wilson wagon over. She protested, but finally gave in when she saw it wasn't doing her any good. Caleb and Ab were gone quite a while. When they finally showed up, Millie got them both a cup of coffee. "There were people on both sides of Abby's wagon that saw the Arnold boy getting out of the wagon when you guys came up," Caleb said. "When we told Sam Arnold what had happened, he said it was a damned lie. He said Timmy had been with him all day. Mrs. Arnold was there, but she didn't say anything." "Did you tell him you had witnesses?" I asked. "Yeah, and he said they must all be liars. Jase, we talked to him for an hour and it didn't do any good. I told him since he wouldn't accept the responsibility for what his son did, we'd have a trial tomorrow," Caleb said. "Can you do that?" I asked. "Oh, we can do it. The only punishment we could give him is to kick him off the wagon train though. We're not gonna do that because of his wife and kids." "Then what good is it to have a trial?" "The only good thing is that it brings it out in the open. It'll set everyone to watching them. It won't punish them for what the boy did, but it might prevent them from doing anything else." Caleb and Ab finished off their coffee and headed for their home fires. Pretty soon, John and Tess took off as well. When we were alone, I asked, "Did you read any of the diary?" I asked Lettie. "Enough to know that Winnie Wilson was a real loser. She was having an affair with a married guy back where they came from. She thought she was pregnant by him, then his wife found out about the whole thing." "That's what made her want to go to Oregon?" I asked. "Yeah, then after they were on the road, she found out she wasn't pregnant. For some reason, she started blaming Jeff for them moving and for her losing the 'Love of her Life'. I have no idea why she'd blame him and what she wrote doesn't make it clear either." "I think she was about as crazy as Abe Wilkes," Millie said. Lettie and I had to agree. June 13, 1845 Lettie was the first one out of the wagon the next morning. She had only been out a few seconds when she said, "Jase, you need to get out here." I was outside in an instant. I saw right away what the problem was. Someone had taken a one and a half inch auger bit and had put a hole in our water barrel right near the bottom. Okay. I was pissed off. I mean I was really pissed off. What I felt didn't hold a candle to the way Millie reacted though. When Tess came up and saw what had been done, she was even worse than Millie. John and I had to grab our wives and hold them to keep them from going after the Arnolds. "Lettie, Honey, could you go and get Caleb and Ab please?" I asked as calmly as I could manage. Lettie told me later that she was very proud of how I had controlled myself. We managed to get Millie and Tess calmed down enough that they started breakfast before Lettie got back. We showed Caleb and Ab what had been done, and they took off to see Arnold again. Before they left, I said, "We never saw who did this, guys. We can't swear it was either of the Arnolds." "Yeah, but we know it was," Millie butted in. "We'll take care of it, Millie," Caleb said. "Right now, I think you women need to feed these hungry men." Millie knew he was trying to distract her, but she also knew he was right. Millie, Tess, and Lettie went back to fixing breakfast. Caleb and Ab were back before we finished eating. They sat down and had a cup of coffee with us. "Sam and Timmy have taken off," Caleb said. "They were gone when Mrs. Arnold got up this morning. Sam had left her a note saying they were heading back east." "So, what are she and the girls going to do?" I asked. "She says she's going on to Oregon. Jase, the lady has spunk," Ab said. "I could see that last night. She seems like a good woman." "That she does. In the mean time, there's nothing much we can do about the flour and the water barrel. I'd suggest you feed the flour to your oxen. They're going to have some lean days until we get passed the desert we're coming up to." "I was meaning to ask you about that. How big is this desert?" "If you go straight across it, you have forty-five miles between water. That's forty-five miles of sand and alkali. The trail is marked, so there's not much chance of getting lost. Most people cross it without stopping. From what I've heard, it takes from 25 to 30 hours to get across if nothing breaks down. The other option is to go around it. That takes three to four days." "Neither one sounds pleasant. What do you think we should do?" "All of the wagons are in good shape now. I don't think we'd have any breakdowns getting across. I think what we should do is camp on the Big Sandy River, just before the desert and lay up for the rest of the day. Let the animals eat and drink their fill. Then, I think we should take off in the middle of the afternoon." I thought for a minute and said, "That'd put us a long ways out before daybreak. I imagine it'd be easier on the animals traveling at night." "Yeah, we should take all of the water we can with us. We should give the animals a little water every couple of hours starting just after sunrise." "Yeah, that'd work. It'd make for a long hard day, but we could do it. Are you gonna put it up for a vote as to which way we go?" "No. I'll make the decision. I just wanted to see what you and Caleb thought before we did anything." ------- We all talked about it after Ab had left. We decided that Millie, Lettie and Tess could help to spell the boys driving the animals, and that John and I could spell the boys driving the wagons. We figured we'd all be worn out by the time we got to the Green River. After we had lunch, Millie said she thought we should go for a swim and a bath. Lettie and I were all for it, and I think Abby is part fish. Tess surprised us all by asking if her and John could come with us. Before I could say anything, Millie said she thought that would be fine. I looked at Lettie and she just shrugged. I guess in things like that, Lettie and I had decided that Millie is the boss, or at least the leader. Of course, Abby couldn't have cared less. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. John was a little embarrassed and so was Lettie. I think Millie has been taking brazen pills. It didn't bother her or Tess even a little. Abby made it a lot easier on all of us. She was naked, in the water, and splashing us before the rest of us had even started getting undressed. Abby is definitely a joy to be around. Nothing much happened the rest of the day. We did stop by and see Mrs. Arnold after supper. She said she'd have no problem with their wagon. She did have some livestock, so we offered to put them with ours and take care of them for her. She readily accepted. June 14, 1845 I was getting ready to go out on scout and in the process of saddling Sin when John came riding over. "You've got to see this, Jase," he said. I didn't ask him any questions, but mounted up and followed him over to where our cattle were grazing. One of the cows with the FC brand was lying dead. I got down and looked at her, but it was obvious what had killed her. All of our cattle had become accustomed to close contact with humans. You could walk right up to any one of them. Someone had walked right up to this cow and had cut her throat. I told John to stay with her while I got Ab and Caleb. As they were looking her over, I told them I needed to get out on scout. Ab agreed to delay leaving while mom and the rest of my clan butchered the unfortunate beast. I was a couple of miles out when I saw the dust in front of Sin kick up. This was followed immediately by the sound of a shot. I'll have to give Sin credit. He stopped dead in his tracks, but he didn't buck or cause any problem. I didn't know if the shooter had another rifle ready to shoot, so I kicked Sin in the side and rode into a ravine that was close to where I had been riding. I was off of Sin and had my rifle out of its scabbard before I had Sin fully stopped. We had been traveling on the north side of the Sweetwater, so the ground fell off to my left until it reached the river. That meant the shot had to come from the north. There was a small hill about two hundred yards away, so I figured that's where the shooter had been. It takes a very good shot to hit a man at two hundred yards even if he's standing still, so I started running toward the hill, kind of zigzagging as I went. No more shots rang out, so I figured the shooter had already gone, but I didn't take any chances. When I got to the hill, I found where the shooter had shot from. There had been two people there actually. I couldn't tell anything from the tracks, other than that there had been two people and two horses. I figured it had to be the Arnolds. ------- Ab was just getting ready to head them out when I got back to the wagons. I told him what had happened so he said, "Jase, I want you here with the wagons protecting your family and your livestock. I'll get Caleb to lead the wagons and I'll ride scout." I tried to protest, but he wouldn't hear of it. Millie, Lettie, Tess and Abby were with John, helping with the livestock. "I want Abby riding inside our wagon," I said. "But, Papa..." "I don't want to hear it, Abby. I want you safe. I'm going to ride off to the north a couple of hundred yards. I'll be just a little ahead of you guys." "I want John to go with you, Jase," Tess said. "I think that's a good idea, Jase. I'll ride about fifty yards behind you. That way, if someone shoots at you, I'll be in a position to get them before they can reload or get away," John said. It made sense, so I agreed. ------- Our efforts turned out to be a waste of time. We didn't see any more of the Arnolds all day. It was a good day for travel though and we made eighteen miles, even with the delays in getting started. When we finished supper, I asked John and Tess if they'd sleep under our wagon tonight. They agreed, then Millie asked, "Why do you want them to sleep under our wagon?" "Because I'm going to be staying with the livestock tonight," I answered. "Then I'm staying with you," Millie said. "No, you're not. If you were out there with me we'd be paying more attention to each other than to what is going on around us. If I'm by myself, I'll be a lot safer." "But..." "Don't argue with me about this Millie, or I'll swear to God I'm going to spank you right here in front of everyone." Millie didn't like it, but finally she let it go. I checked out the area where our cattle were grazing and found a nice place where I'd be at least partially concealed. I went back to our wagon and cuddled with Millie and Lettie until after it was fully dark. I went back to the place I was going to wait, took my revolver out of its holster, and laid it on my lap. I don't know how long I waited, but it had to be several hours before I saw anything. I think I must have dozed off. I don't know what awakened me, but I was wide awake instantly. I listened carefully, but didn't hear anything, then I saw a man move across between me and a campfire. I sat there for a minute, watching him. He appeared to be moving quietly toward our herd. I thought the best way to rouse everyone and get help would be to fire my revolver. I pointed it into the air and fired one shot. The man whirled around toward me and said, loudly, "I've got you now, you filthy half-breed." ------- Chapter 23 "Stop where you are, Arnold," I shouted. "Right, and give you a chance to reload?" Arnold was coming steadily toward me, so I stood up to meet him. When he saw me, he changed directions slightly so he was coming straight at me. "You are one dead Indian, Tackett," he said. "I don't want to have to kill you, Arnold. Stop where you are and put down your gun." Arnold was within about twenty feet of me now. I was just standing there, my revolver hanging from my right hand. When he started raising his single shot pistol to point at me, I didn't know what else to do, so I shot him. I just shot once. My slug hit him in the center of his chest and he fell forward onto his face. The camp had roused from the time I had fired my first shot. I could see people running out from camp, so I holstered my revolver and walked over beside Arnold's body. John was the first person to come running up. When he saw it was me standing over Arnold, he holstered his pistol and came on more slowly. Ab and Caleb weren't too far behind John. I don't know what I looked like, but I had that empty feeling that George Kent had described when he shot Abe Wilkes. I explained to everyone what had happened. Ab looked at the pistol, still clutched in Arnold's dead hand, and said he thought it was obvious I was telling the truth. Everyone agreed. Millie and Lettie had come up right after the main group of men. They said they'd go and tell Mrs. Arnold. "Tell her Timmy wasn't with him and that he's probably okay," I told them. Millie told me later that Mrs. Arnold didn't seem too upset by the death of her husband and that she said she figured Timmy would show up by morning. She was right on that. After all of the hubbub had died down, we snuggled together in our wagon. I laid awake for a while. Arnold was the first man I ever killed and I hoped he would be the last. Eventually exhaustion overcame me and I slept. June 15, 1845 When I awoke, I almost panicked. I was lying between Millie and Lettie, but there was no sign of Abby. I started to get up, then I heard her laughing and talking with Tess, outside our wagon. Millie and Lettie both grabbed me and pulled me back down, where they did a right nice job of kissing me. I'll admit I was kissing back. The only thing I regretted about Abby being with us was that I didn't have as much time to spend alone with my wives. Ab came around before we had even started eating breakfast. "I've been talking with Mrs. Arnold," he said. "She says her husband doesn't deserve a funeral, but we're going to have a short one anyway. I had a talk with the Reverend Green and I told him if the ceremony lasted more than fifteen minutes, we'd start burying Arnold whether he was finished or not. Hopefully that will help." "Since I'm the one who killed him, I don't feel it would be appropriate for me to attend," I told him. Ab nodded. "Would you tell Mrs. Arnold I feel very bad about this?" "Yeah, I'll tell her. I think she'll understand, Jase." ------- Pris was right about Timmy. He came riding in during the funeral, riding one horse and leading another one. Ab told me later that Timmy had heard the shots last night and that when his father didn't come back, he knew his father had been killed. I took off before the funeral even started to scout the trail ahead. The route for the day was an easy one. I reached the headwaters of the Sweetwater and headed for the Little Sandy River. Grass was very scarce and I ended up having to go farther than I normally would have before I found a suitable place to camp for the night. It was a long day, but we made twenty-two miles and camped at a place Ab told me was called Pacific Spring. Pris brought Timmy around after supper and made him apologize for the name calling and for all him and his father had done. Lettie slept under the wagon with Abby and Millie and I made sweet, gentle love. June 16, 1845 While the women were fixing breakfast, Abby came over and sat on my lap. "I heard you and Mama Millie last night after you went to bed," she whispered to me. "Oh, you did?" I asked. "Yeah, you were quieter than normal, but I still heard you." "Maybe we should pour wax in your ears so you can't hear as well," I teased. Abby giggled then said, "I like it when I hear you. It lets me know that you love each other." "That we do, Abby. You know we all love you too, don't you?" "I know that," she said and then she kissed me on the cheek. "Losing pa and ma was hard, but knowing you all love me has made it easier." I hugged her close and just held her until Millie called us to breakfast. ------- We had another good travel day and made eighteen miles. This took us to the Little Sandy River. I found us a good spot to camp with plenty of grass, wood, and water. Millie invited Ab to have supper with us that evening and we talked a while about the desert area we were coming up to. After supper, Pris came over again. I really like this lady. She's really a nice person. "So, what are your plans now?" Millie asked Pris as the rest of us listened. "Well, we're certainly not going back east," she said. "All of my family are dead. If we went back close to Sam's family, they'd want to get involved in our lives and I don't want that. They're all worse than Sam was." "Do you have any idea of what you want to do in Oregon?" Millie asked. "Not really. Sam wanted to start a farm. I'm not into farming and a woman couldn't do much on her own at farming anyway. I could teach school and that's what I may end up doing." Millie told Pris about the ranch we were starting, then she asked Ab what he was planning to do in the long run. "Well, like I told you guys before, I have a little valley all staked out for my own. I plan to raise horses and cattle after I settle down. I figure with two more years of trapping, I'll have enough money to buy the stock I'll need to get started." "How old are you, Ab?" Millie asked. "I'm twenty eight." "Do you have a girlfriend?" Ab laughed and said, "No, and I don't need your help in finding one, young lady." We all got a laugh out of that. Lettie and Abby slept under the wagon again. June 17, 1845 We only had to travel six miles to reach the Big Sandy River. Since that was the jumping off place for our trip across the desert, we camped there. When I rode back to meet the wagons, Ab was out front as usual. Riding beside him was Timmy. I pulled in beside them to tell Ab that the Big Sandy was just a few miles ahead. As I was getting ready to go find my wives, Timmy said, "I really am sorry for everything I said before and for everything pa did, Mr. Tackett." "I can understand it, Timmy. We all tend to think how our parents teach us to think. It must have been hard on you with your pa trying to teach you to think one way and your ma trying to teach you a different way." "I guess sometimes it was, Mr. Tackett. I loved my pa, but I know he didn't give you a choice in what you did." "Please call me Jase. I'm not that much older than you. No, he really didn't give me a choice. I'm still sorry it happened though." "He told me he was gonna kill you, but he wanted to kill your wife first. He said that'd make you suffer." I didn't tell Timmy, but now I was glad I had killed the bastard. Ab said we wouldn't be moving again until the next afternoon, so we made the most of our leisure time. Millie said she wanted a bath and Lettie and Tess agreed, so we all took off upstream to see if we could find a suitable spot. The river was low and in most places not more than eighteen inches deep. We finally found a place that was almost four feet deep, so we stripped and got into the water. We had all soaped ourselves up and were just enjoying the feel of the water, when something hit me in the back and knocked me under. I came up with a laughing, shrieking little girl clinging to my back. I managed to pull her around in front of me, then I threw her as far as I could. I'll swear the girl is part fish. She burst out of the water and started toward me like a ship under full sail. At the last minute, she went under water, and the next thing we knew, she had pulled Millie under with her. This started an all out water fight. We all had a ball. ------- We moved our livestock several times that day and the next morning to give them the best graze possible. Most people did the same. We also spent some time filling all of the water barrels. Pris and Timmy came around again that evening. All Timmy could talk about was Ab. I noticed him and Abby talking. She told me later that he had apologized for what he had said to her. "He said that Ab told him that Grandma Tackett is a very smart woman and that she knows a lot about medicine," Abby told me. We talked with Pris for a while, but she left before long. She said she was going to thank Ab for talking with Timmy. I think we were all feeling the need for closeness. We all slept together in the wagon and cuddled together like a litter of puppies. June 18, 1845 Well, the day started off well, with me snuggled with my two lovely wives and Abby cuddling with all of us. I would always remember this as the longest day of my life though. We got up as we normally would and the women fixed breakfast. I would be staying with the wagons today as Ab said the route through the desert was well marked. We all talked for a while about the ranch and about the day ahead of us. Abby sat on my lap and Millie and Lettie snuggled to either side of me. I was worried about getting our livestock across the desert. We now had half a dozen hogs, 49 cows and as Millie liked to remind me, one very happy bull, fifteen horses, twenty-four oxen, ten mules and one milk cow with a calf. "Has anyone noticed if the bull has been mounting any of the cows?" I asked. "Yes, big time," Millie said. "I've seen him mount at least six of them." "I've noticed more than that," John said. "Then we should have calves being born not long after we get to Oregon," I said. "Well, I think a cow takes around ten months after breeding," John said. "Hogs, on the other hand, only take around four months. If one of the sows Lettie or Abby had was bred right after we left Missouri, it's quite possible we'll have one or more litters of pigs before we reach Oregon." "Let's hope not," I said. "I'd hate to think what we'd have to do if we had a litter while we were still traveling." "But, Papa, little piggies are so cute." "They are cute, but how would you like to give up your bed so the little piggies and their mama could travel in the wagon." Abby looked thoughtful, then shook her head. We all decided we'd have a late lunch, so we could have a hot meal just before we started out. Ab said we'd be leaving around 3:00 PM, so we figured on lunch about an hour before we were going to leave. Some time around mid-morning, Millie put some blankets under our wagon and Millie, Lettie, and I laid down to try to take a nap. I guess we all dozed off and on until John woke me around one and said we should take all of the animals to the river and see if they would drink. We also topped off our water barrels and even filled all of our buckets and canteens while the women fixed lunch. Ab made the rounds from wagon to wagon checking to see if everything was ready. I asked him if Mrs. Arnold was going to need any help with her driving and he told me it was taken care of. I found out later that he drove most of the way across the desert for her himself. It is impossible to describe an alkali desert to anyone who hasn't experienced one. The dust kicked up by the draft animals gets into your eyes and into your throat and lungs. Your eyes burn and turn red and you cough like you've got the pneumonia. All of us ended up putting kerchiefs over our noses and mouths to try to filter out the dust before we breathed it. We weren't but a few miles into it before we saw the first dead mule. Just a mile or two later and we saw a dead oxen. The desert was sprinkled with the bones and carcases of dead animals. I counted four wagons that had broken down and had been abandoned. Millie said she had seen six. Lettie said she was too miserable to count. Abby rode behind each of us for a while and then decided the wagon was the place she should be riding. I told Millie and Lettie they should be in the wagon too, but they just stared at me as if I had gone crazy. We stopped and watered all of the animals just before dark and again at daybreak. Ab said the Green River was at the other end of the crossing, so we didn't spare the water. June 19, 1845 Sometime during the night, Millie, Lettie and I rode back to check on Pris Arnold. When we got there, Ab was driving. "How long have you been driving?" I asked. "Oh, for quite a spell now," he said. I told him to go back in the wagon and take a nap while I drove for a while. He protested a little, but ended up doing as I said. Millie told me to come back up front when Ab awoke and then they took off. It wasn't long before Pris came up and joined me on the wagon box. "You are a good man, Jase Tackett," she said. "Thank you, Pris. I just try to treat people the way I'd want them to treat me." "Well, you do a pretty good job of it. I think Ab is one of the good guys too. He'd been driving since we left the Big Sandy. I told him I could hire someone to drive for me part time, but he wouldn't hear of it." "I agree with you about Ab. I think he is one of the finest men I've ever met. I saw Timmy riding with him yesterday. I think your son may have a serious case of hero worship for him." Pris laughed. "He could do worse than Ab for a hero to worship." "Timmy told me he understood that I didn't have any choice in shooting Sam. He said Sam was planning to kill me, but that he wanted to kill Millie first, so I'd suffer." "Jase, you know that neither the kids nor me knew anything about that, don't you?" "Yeah, I know that. Pris, I don't know what it is with Millie and me, but when we meet someone, we know almost instantly if we're going to like them or not. When we met you, we knew we were gonna like you." "Thank you, Jase. How old are you?" I had to laugh. "Everyone asks me that. I think people worry about age too much. Let's see. I've done all of the hunting for my family for five years. I'm the scout for this wagon train. I've been married for a couple of months. We own fifty cattle and over a dozen horses. I have three wagons in the wagon train. I have a little girl who calls me papa. She's nine years old. Just how old do you think I am?" "Jase Tackett, I should kick your butt for turning my question around on me. Let me think. I know Abby isn't your daughter, so her age has nothing to do with it. Okay, I'll guess twenty-one." "I'll be seventeen next month, Pris." "I guess age doesn't mean much. I'm impressed." "You shouldn't be, Pris. I started hunting young because pap is a trader and he was never home. Mom can hunt, but with everything else she had to do I didn't think it was right for her to have to do it. I started trapping about the same time and I was successful enough to buy a few things we needed." "Can I ask you something personal?" "I suppose." "You're married to Millie, right?" "Yes, Millie and I have been in love for years. We planned to wait until we got to Oregon to get married, but one thing led to another and we decided to get married before we got there." "What's Lettie to you guys?" I broke out laughing. "I knew that was going to be your question. Lettie's husband was killed by an Indian. I basically saved her life. Millie and I, along with my sister, Tess, had been planning to start a cattle ranch in Oregon. Lettie had some cattle, so Millie asked her if she'd like to go in partners on the ranch." "So, she's just your partner." "Please don't be offended by what I'm about to tell you. Before I do, I'd ask that you don't pass it around." "I won't be offended and I don't gossip." "Okay. Millie and I found we really liked Lettie. In fact, we both discovered we love her. We talked with her about it and we found she felt the same way about us. Millie asked Lettie if she'd like to be a partner in our marriage as well as in our ranch. Lettie said she would, but we decided to wait a week before we did any more, just to see how all of us felt about it. After a week, we found that all of us had even stronger feelings than before." "So, you have a three way marriage. Interesting. I can see where that would be great for you, but how do Millie and Lettie feel about it?" "I'd rather not go into details, but suffice it to say that Millie and Lettie are happy, even when I'm not around." "Oh, my," Pris said, then she giggled. "Oh, my. Are you sure you don't want to go into details? This sounds very interesting." "Pris you surprise me. With kids as old as yours, I'd have thought you would be offended." "I may be older, but I'm not dead. Maybe I'll have to see if I can get Millie and Lettie to give me all the details." "You know, you remind me of Ab in a way. If he's curious about something, he doesn't hesitate to ask." "I guess I'm a little too curious sometimes. It puts some people off. I'm glad you're not put off by it. Could I ask you one more question?" "Fire away." "First off, let me say that I have absolutely nothing against Indians. I think President Jackson should be shot for what he allowed to be done to the Cherokee. I just wondered what it had been like, growing up as a half Indian." "Mom is a Cherokee. She agrees with you about Jackson. For the most part, it wasn't any different than if I had been all white. We were country people. Millie's family were our nearest neighbors and they didn't care one way or the other. I'm sure there were some in the area who looked down on us, but I really couldn't say who they might have been. Most people in that part of the country just mind their own business." "Like I'm not," Pris laughed. "What was your mother like as a mother?" "Mom doesn't say much. Some days I'll bet she doesn't say a word from sunup to sundown. She's also not much for showing affection. Mom's greatest display of affection is usually a smile and a nod, or a gentle touch on the face. Pap was always the hugger in our family and he quit that when we were five or six years old." "Were you and Tess demonstrative while you were growing up?" "Oh, yes," I smiled. "Tess and I were always quick to hug each other or to hold hands if we were walking somewhere together." I don't know what more she would have asked, but Ab popped his head out of the wagon. He let out a big yawn and chided me for letting him sleep so long. I hadn't even realized it, but three hours had gone by. ------- When I got back up to our wagons, I found Millie driving our wagon; Lettie driving Abby's wagon; and Tess driving their wagon. I asked how long they had been driving and Millie told me that they started right after I started driving the Arnold wagon. We gave the regular drivers a few more minutes of rest, then awakened them. Millie, Lettie and I wanted to get a short nap before the sun came up, so we got into our wagon and moved Abby over so we'd have room. We were all wiped out and were asleep before we knew it. It was the wagon stopping that awakened us. Ab had called a halt to water the animals. This took about half an hour, then we were moving again. We were wide awake now, so we rode to the front of the column to see if Ab had any idea how far along we were. Caleb was leading the train. He said he'd just started leading again and that Ab had spelled him so he could take a nap. We rode over to talk to John and Tess for a few minutes and found that they and their crew had been rotating shifts so all of them could get some rest. We went back to the Arnold wagon and sure enough, Ab was driving again. Pris was sitting on the wagon seat beside him. "They make a nice looking couple," Millie said as we were riding up. "Stay out of it, Love," I said. "Who, me? I'd never think of butting in." Lettie and I both got a good laugh out of that one. "Good morning guys," Ab said as we rode up. "We're making a lot better time than I thought we would. I'll bet we're at the Green by noon or a little after." "Great!" I said with enthusiasm. "Are we going to camp on the Green?" "Probably, but we'll probably cross it before we make camp. There's always better graze on the other side of the river." "Do you know if anyone has lost any animals?" "Yeah, Sam Stuart said they'd had a mule die and Si Johnson said they'd lost a couple of hogs. We've been pretty lucky so far. None of the mules or oxen that are pulling the wagons have died." "Let's just hope our good luck holds up," Lettie said. ------- Chapter 24 As Ab had predicted, we reached the Green River before noon. He and I checked out the crossing and found the water was no more than a foot deep at the ford and the sandbars were firm. We crossed the river as easily as if we were traveling across the prairie and set up camp on the other side. The women started building a fire so they could fix us all a hot meal while all of the men saw to watering the animals. Then we turned the animals loose to graze. After we finished our meal, we just sat back and relaxed. Ab said we'd camp here for the rest of the day, then we'd find a better campsite a few miles farther on. Millie, Lettie and I were cuddled together and Abby was sitting on my lap when Lelah and Timmy Arnold came over. They wanted to play, so Abby was off of my lap in a flash. The rest of us watched the kids for a while. They were in some kind of elaborate game that seemed to involve a lot of running and screaming. "Do you ever wonder what it would have been like growing up playing like that, Tess?" I asked. "Yeah, we never did much playing. When we did, we were pretending we were hunting or I was pretending I was taking care of babies. We did do a lot of running though." "Yeah, I remember racing each other. You were faster than me until I was around eleven, then I started having to give you a head start." "I think growing up the way we did made us mature earlier," Millie said. "Abby is a little love, but she won't be as mature as we are when she's our age." "I grew up on a farm too," Lettie said. "I can remember playing with dolls as I grew up, but as far back as I can remember, I had my chores too. My brothers weren't like Jase. They'd never play with me. I pretty much grew up alone." "I'll play with you, Honey," I said and pulled her into a loving kiss. "I didn't mean that kind of play," Lettie giggled. "I hope not," I said with as straight a face as I could manage. "I think that's called incest." Our whole family cracked up. Pris came up while we were still laughing. Millie offered her a cup of coffee and she said that'd be nice. "I just came over to get my two hellions," she told us. "I see Timmy and Abby seem to be getting along now." "They've been playing some kind of game for a couple of hours now," I said. "We were just talking about how different we might have turned out if we had grown up being able to play like they are." "I think play time is important for a kid," Pris said. "I also think they need to be taught about responsibilities early on. I don't have a worry in the world about Wanda or Lelah. I do worry about Timmy though. A boy tends to look up to his father and Sam was never a good father for him to look up to." Pris stayed and talked for over an hour. At some point, the kids ended their game and Abby came over and jumped on my lap. Timmy and Lelah sat by their mother. I won't say Ab was the main topic of conversation, but Pris and Timmy both seemed to mention his name often. ------- Supper was a nice meal. Afterwards it seemed like I was surrounded by females. Lettie was on my left; Millie was on my right; and Abby was on my lap. I didn't mind at all. We had a nice family evening. John was becoming more of a family member as every day passed. He tended to offer his opinion more now than he had before, and he was more demonstrative in his feelings toward Tess. Tess seemed as happy as any young woman had a right to be. Millie, Lettie, Abby and I all snuggled close in the wagon. I think we all had a need for the close contact. June 20, 1845 Ab told me there was a creek ahead about five or six miles where he wanted to camp. We both agreed that after the two previous days, a short travel day would be welcomed by all. Since yesterday afternoon was almost like a layover, and since we went such a short distance today, the afternoon was kind of boring. The creek we camped on had beautiful water, but we didn't find anyplace that was over a foot deep. We put off our plans for a nice bath and washed off the alkali dust as best we could with what we had. Ab said we should hit the Bear River in two or three days. June 21, 1845 The valley we were traveling through was the highest altitude of anyplace on the trail. Our climb to reach here had been so gradual that we hardly noticed it. The biggest difference we would see from here on was that up until now, we had been hitting a river and traveling toward its headwaters. From now on, we'd hit a river and travel toward its mouth. We took it easy today and still made fifteen miles. We camped on a small creek that had plenty of water, grass and firewood. Ellen came by after supper and asked Millie if she could talk with her for a minute. They walked off together and before long, Millie came back and went into our wagon. She came out with a bottle of something and handed it to Ellen. Ellen blushed and took off. Later on, I asked Millie what Ellen had wanted. "You know I told her how to masturbate," Millie said with a big smile. "Evidently she's been doing it to the point where she's very sore. I loaned her some mineral oil to help her out." Luckily, Ellen had gone some time before and did not hear us laughing. June 22, 1845 We made thirteen miles today and camped at a nice spring. Ab says we're close to the Bear River. He came over right after supper. Caleb and Sally came over just after Ab did. It wasn't ten minutes later when Pris showed up as well. "If I'd have known there were going to be this many people here, I'd have brought my fiddle," Caleb said. "You know, tomorrow night we'll be camped on the Bear River. That'll be the first river we've been on that flows west. We should all get together and have a party," Ab said. Of course the women in our group were all for that. They started talking about making a special supper. Then they started talking about Caleb playing his fiddle and all of us dancing. John and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. We knew we were in deep trouble. June 23, 1845 Okay, so Ab wanted to stop early so we could have a party. We still made fifteen miles for the day. I found us a nice campsite on the Bear River. For some reason, when I saw the river, my heart soared. I guess it was just knowing that the water from this river eventually ended up in the Pacific Ocean. We made camp early and all of the women started cooking their favorite dishes. By late afternoon, people started gathering in an area Ab had designated as the place we were going to party. Abby was as excited as any of us. People rolled out barrels and laid planks across them and then started loading dishes of food on the planks. I don't know what all kinds of meat were served, but I tried several of them. There were also beans of different types and greens that had been gathered fresh today. There were several dishes made from corn and a couple made with potatoes. The primary things that every woman there had seemed to concentrate on were the deserts. There was sweet potato pie, and dried apple pie. There were apple and peach cobblers. There was one dish made with sweetened rice and dried blackberries that I had never tried before. There were custards and puddings and too many other things to mention. I don't know how in the world women expect a man to dance when he's eaten like I did, but as soon as Caleb fired up his fiddle and Sam Stuart had started accompanying him on his harmonica, all of the women wanted to dance. I was lying on my back, hoping Millie and Lettie would let me rest for a few minutes, when Sally came over. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. "I get the first dance," she said. She looked over at Caleb and nodded, so he started playing a slow song. Sally laid her head on my shoulder and said, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad you're my son-in-law, Jase. You've made Millie very happy." "Well, Millie has made me very happy too," I said. "You have to remember that I've known Millie all of her life," she said. "She'd be way too much for most men. I'm glad you're able to handle her." "I'm not sure if I'm handling her or she's handling me," I laughed. "Well, she does kind of take charge. The thing is, I'll bet you go along with her as long as you agree, but if you don't, I'll bet you stand your ground even if she gets mad about it." I had to laugh at just how true that was. "It's happened," I said. "She usually gets over her mad within a few hours." "She's told me all about your relationship with Lettie. It kind of threw me off for a little bit, but I'm used to the idea now and it doesn't bother me. She told me she kind of worked you into the idea slowly." "Yeah, I guess she did. Your daughter can be very persuasive." Sally laughed. "Yes, she can. She also told me you're quite a stallion." "Now, that's something I don't feel comfortable talking with you about, Sally," I said. Sally giggled and squeezed me tight just before the song ended. She told me she was going to dance with me again since Caleb was playing and couldn't dance with her. Millie grabbed my hand as Caleb struck up a Virginia Reel. We danced to that, then Lettie wanted a turn. Next I danced with Abby, who I had seen dancing with Timmy Arnold earlier. I managed to sit out one dance with Lettie and Tess, while Millie danced with John. Both women leaned against me, so I put my arms around both of them. "You guys seem happy," Tess said. "We are," I said. "Ecstatically happy," Lettie said. "You're not having any problems with having three people in a marriage?" Tess asked. "None," I said. "Millie has been telling me about it," Tess said. "I don't know if I'd be able to handle something like that." "It was all Millie's idea," I said. "She's kind of shocked me a few times," Lettie said. "I can't say I haven't enjoyed everything we've done, though." "Even when you and Millie are doing things to each other?" Lettie blushed, but answered, "Even then." "Wow," Tess said. "I love Millie, but I don't know if I'd have been able to do things with her." "You mean you could have made love to your brother, but you don't know if you could have with Millie?" Lettie giggled. "Do you want me to be honest?" Tess asked. "Absolutely," Lettie said. "I'd have made love to Jase any time he would have asked. I think I still would, even though I love John with all of my heart." "Wow," Lettie said. The song ended and Caleb started another slow song. Tess grabbed my hand and said, "Let's dance." I saw John take Lettie's hand and lead her back to the dancing. Tess snuggled in close and asked, "Did I shock you with what I said?" "No, sweet sister, you didn't shock me. We grew up being so close that I've had the same feelings for you. I love you much more that most guys love their sisters." "Why didn't you do anything about it then?" "I didn't want to cheat you or shortchange you, Sis. If we'd have gotten involved sexually, you might have passed up a chance to have found someone you'd have wanted to marry. I wanted you, but I wanted your long term happiness more." "I hope you know just how much I love you, Jase." "I do, Sis, and I love you just as much. I'm glad that you and John are going to be living with us. I don't ever want to be away from you for very long." "So am I, Jase." We had been watching Ab and Pris all evening. Millie and Lettie had been commenting on them dancing together so much. Finally, Millie couldn't take it any longer and she told me she wanted to dance the next slow dance with Ab and she wanted me to dance it with Pris. I just sighed and agreed. When Pris and I started to dance, she looked at me with a twinkle in her eye and asked, "Millie wanted you to dance with me, didn't she?" "Well... Yes, she did. You are a very pretty lady though, Pris. I never mind dancing with a pretty lady." Pris has a pretty laugh as well. "Oh, you are a charmer. It's no wonder you have two wives. I'm sure she's going to ask you what we talked about, so I'll save you the trouble of trying to weasel anything out of me. Yes, Ab and I have danced together all evening. Yes, Ab drove my wagon most of the time while we were crossing the desert. Yes, I think Ab is a fine man and evidently he thinks I'm a fine woman. Am I in love with him? Maybe. I'm not quite sure yet. Is he in love with me? Maybe, but he hasn't said so." I had to laugh. "You know Millie well, for only having known her for as long as you have. You could do worse, you know." Pris used her pretty laugh again. "I did worse the first time. Timmy just loves Ab. He's a good role model for Timmy. The girls like him too. I think Lelah has a crush on him." "You should have Ab make her day and ask her to dance." "That's a great idea. Maybe you should ask her and Wanda too." "I'll do that. I have one other person I want to dance with first. Mom hasn't danced all evening. I know pap has asked her, but she's shy. Maybe I can talk her into it." When the dance was over, Caleb went into another slow song. I went over to mom and asked her to dance. She just shook her head, but I grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her up. I led her over to where they were dancing and held her in the dancer's position. Mom looked up at me and winked. "Mom, I love you," I said. "You should really dance with pap." "Hasn't asked," mom said. "Then he's a fool," I said. Mom smiled and said, "He forgets me." "I've been thinking about something. When we get to Oregon, pap is going to be off trading most of the time. He told me he was thinking about setting up a trading post. I doubt that he'll be around to run it though. Is he planning on you running it?" Mom just nodded. "Ab was telling us about some valleys where he says it would be perfect to start a ranch. He says they're off the trail, so they wouldn't be good for a trading post. Would you try to talk pap into setting up his trading post as close to our valley as you can?" Mom nodded again. "I'd like to have you as close to Tess and me as possible." Mom nodded again and said, "I love you and Tess both, Jase." "I know mom. Will you be too lonely if pap leaves you in the trading post for long periods of time? Mom shook her head. "I don't get lonely. I know I'm strange, Jase." "Not strange, Mom, just different. Do you know that Abby has fallen in love with you? She calls you Grandma Tackett." Mom nodded and smiled. "She's a sweet child." The dance ended and I led mom back over to where pap was sitting. Mom reached and took his hand. She pulled him up and they headed back to the dancing. ------- Before the evening was over, I did dance with Wanda and with Lelah. Both girls tried to act very grown up, but when their dances were over, they were both giggling with their friends. I also danced once with Ellen Stuart. She had been kind of avoiding us since her spanking, but she was ready to talk now. In fact, she babbled on most of the time we were dancing. Later, the four of us snuggled together in our wagon. The temperature had been dropping all evening and by the time we went to bed, it was downright cold. June 24, 1845 We awoke to a very cold morning. We had been seeing snow on the peaks around us for days. Today it seemed even lower on the peaks. The women fixed breakfast and I took off on scout. I was around ten miles out when Something made me want to go back to the wagons. I don't know what it was, but I wanted to check on my loved ones. I had just gotten back to the wagon train and had pulled in beside Ab when we heard a gun go off somewhere behind us. Ab yelled for the first wagon to stop and we both took off toward where the shot was fired. We'd had four people die from guns already and we were both concerned. We found out it wasn't a gun that caused the problem this time. Al Samuels had fired it to get everyone to stop. When we got there, my family was already there. Millie yelled for me to get my mom, so I wheeled Sin around and headed back to pap's wagon. Mom had already gotten down from the wagon, so I reined in beside her and held down my hand. She was up behind me in an instant. "What?" she asked. "I don't know, Mom. It was something around the Samuels wagon. Millie yelled to get you." When we got there, I could see it was Beth Samuels that was the problem. She was lying on the ground and her left leg was at an odd angle. Mom got down and examined her leg carefully. "Get four straight sticks, this big around," Mom told me, making a circle of her thumb and forefinger. "This long," again she used her hands to indicate how long. "Hurry." Millie jumped up behind me and we took off for a cottonwood thicket that was off to our right and ahead of us. I used my Bowie Knife to chop off four young trees and to trim them smooth. We were back in the saddle within minutes. When we got back to the group, mom was talking soothingly to the girl. When she saw us ride up, I heard her say, "Hold her, Mr. Samuels. This is gonna hurt bad." The girl screamed and passed out before mom even started straightening her leg. Mom nodded and said, "Is better." Mom put one foot in the girl's crotch, then pulled on the leg with both hands. You could see when the bone popped back into alignment. Mom held out her hand and I handed her the splints. She arranged them around the girl's leg then reached her hand out to Lettie. Lettie handed her some strips of buckskin and she started tying the splints tightly around the girl's leg. It wasn't long before Beth started to come around. Someone told me later that she was only four years old, but when she woke up, she seemed much older. "How did you do that?" I asked her. "I was looking outa the wagon when papa hit a bump. I fell." "She's lucky she isn't dead," Al Samuels said. "If she'd have rolled the other direction, I'd have run over her with the wagon before I could have stopped it." "Well, maybe we should start calling her lucky instead of Beth," I teased. She tried to smile, but she was in a lot of pain. I guess Ab could see that because he asked, "Is there anyplace around close that we could camp?" "Yeah, there's a nice spring less than a mile ahead." "We'll stop there for the night. Maybe by tomorrow she won't be hurting as bad." "I'll make her some tea for the pain," mom said. ------- I know it was pure torture for the little girl for us to even go the half mile or so before we stopped for the day. None of the wagons had springs, except in the driver's box, so anyone riding in the wagon felt every bump. When we had made camp, mom brewed up some kind of tea and talked Beth into drinking it. Before long, she was asleep. When we asked mom about the tea she said, "Will make sleep, ease pain." She brewed up enough to last a couple of days and gave it to the Samuels. I went to talk to Ab for a while about our route for the next couple of days. He said if we could make good time tomorrow, we would probably make the Portneuf River. "That empties into the Snake River, which is one of the major western rivers," he said. He seemed excited by it, so some of that excitement rubbed off on me. My excitement was short lived though. When I got back to our wagon, Millie and Lettie seemed very cold to each other. I didn't notice it at first, but as the afternoon progressed, it became more evident. Ab had told me that there was going to be some rough country coming up before long. John and I were talking about that and how it would affect our animals when Tess asked me to take a walk with her. As we were walking away from camp, Tess took my arm and smiled up at me. "I just thought you might be interested in why your wives are fighting," she told me. "Yes, I certainly am," I said. "They've hardly spoken a word to each other all afternoon." "It's silly really. While you were off talking to Ab, we were all fixing lunch. I don't know what got into Millie, but she was being very bossy. She was telling me what to do and telling Lettie what to do and acting like we didn't have a brain in our heads. Lettie finally told her she didn't remember us electing her as our boss." I'm glad Millie wasn't there because I burst out laughing. Tess squeezed my arm and giggled. "Her bossing you around didn't bother you?" "Not really. Millie and I have been friends for a long time. I know her moods. By tomorrow, she'll be fine. I can see where it would bother Lettie though." "Well, I'm going to see if they can work it out themselves. I'll be loving to both of them and pretend I don't know anything is going on." Tess giggled. "That'll drive Millie crazy, you know." "That's what I'm hoping," I smiled. "You are a devious bastard, brother of mine. I don't know if that's one of the reasons I love you or if I love you in spite of it." "As long as you love me, I don't care why," I said as I steered us so we were walking back toward the wagons. "How are you and John getting along?" "We're doing just fine. John is a good man. He's jealous of you, you know." "Jealous of me? Why?" "He sees everything you've accomplished and you're not even seventeen yet. He thinks he should have been able to have done more." "Tess, most of what I've accomplished has been by pure dumb luck. You need to try to tell him that." "I've talked to him about it. I don't agree that everything you've accomplished is by dumb luck, but I've tried to convince him of that. It's nothing to worry about, but maybe you could ask his advice more often." I nodded, "I can do that. I should be asking more people for advice anyway. Sometimes I just tend to plunge ahead." "That'll help. There is one other reason he's jealous of you and I'm afraid that's my fault." "What's that?" "John knows I was a virgin when we got married. We were talking one night about you and Millie and Lettie all being together. John was a little bit scandalized by it. He asked me if I'd ever consider something like that. I don't know if he was considering adding another woman to our marriage or what, so I told him that if you had asked me to be part of yours and Millie's marriage, I'd have done it in a minute. I also told him to not even think of adding another woman to our marriage." "Tess, my love, that was a dumb thing to say to your husband. The part about me, not the part about adding another woman to your marriage." "I know it, but that's they way I feel. I love John, but you would have been my first choice." ------- Chapter 25 Abby was her normal playful self that afternoon. She is always a joy to be around. Millie and Lettie were not. Both of them talked to me and both seemed to go out of their way to touch me or smile at me, but they probably didn't speak five words to each other all afternoon. When bedtime rolled around, we all went into the wagon. I picked up some blankets and a tarp and told them Abby and I were going to sleep under the wagon tonight. "But..." Millie started to say, but I cut her off. "I don't want to hear it. When the two of you get your differences worked out, I'll consider sleeping in the wagon again." "I'm sleeping under the wagon with you then," Millie said. "No, you're not. I'd prefer to sleep under our wagon, but If I have to go out and hide in the woods to get away from the two of you, then I will." Abby was thrilled to be sleeping with her papa. I just wish I was half as happy as she was. June 25, 1845 Sally was evidently the first one up the next morning and she saw Abby and me sleeping under the wagon. She came over and shook me awake. "What's going on, Jase?" she asked. "Millie and Lettie are fighting," I said. "Tess tells me that Millie was bossing everyone around yesterday and I guess Lettie said something to her about it. Now, they're hardly speaking." "Oh, Jase," Sally said and then she squeezed the stuffings out of me. I put my arms around her and hugged her back. "I know what's wrong with Millie," she said with a smirk. "What would that be?" "She's pregnant." "What makes you say that?" "I got that way with each of my kids. The first couple of weeks after I got pregnant, I was a pure bitch. When I was first pregnant with Bob, I was so bad Caleb threatened to leave me. After that, when I realized what was happening each time, I managed to control myself to the point Caleb didn't threaten to leave. He did threaten me with a spanking more than once though." I hugged her and said, "I can't imagine you ever being a bitch, Sally." "Well, I was," she laughed. "The bad part was, I knew I was being a bitch, but it was very difficult to stop being that way." "Well, I wonder how my little bitch liked sleeping without me last night," I said as I walked over and peeked into the wagon. I motioned Sally to come over and look. Millie and Lettie were both fully clothed and you could have driven a team of horses between them. "I'll talk to Millie later," Sally said. "Right now I'm gonna grab something to eat and get out of here before they get up," I said. Sally took me by the arm and led me over to their fire. She made me up a bacon sandwich. I thanked her and went out on scout. ------- I picked a campsite about eighteen miles from the last one. Ab was right, we made the Portneuf River today. There was plenty of water, grass and firewood at the site I picked. Normally, I would find where I thought we would want to camp for the night and then I'd rejoin the wagons. Today, I decided to wait at the site for the wagons to arrive. Sally did have a conversation with Millie. Both of them told me about it later and the best I can piece out, this is how it went. "I hear you've been acting like the boss lady," Sally said. "Where did you hear that?" "Jase told me." "I knew he'd take her side in this." "He's not taking anyone's side in this, Millie. Jase is in a bad position here. The two people he loves the most are fighting and he's in the middle." "Obviously SHE has been telling him HER side of it." "No, Jase said he hasn't talked to either one of you about it." "Then it has to be Tess. I thought she was my friend." "It really doesn't matter how Jase heard. He's ready to paddle both of you if you don't straighten up." "He wouldn't dare. I don't know why everyone's against me on this." "Millie, no one is against you. I do think you are acting weird. I also think I know why." "And why would that be, Mom?" "I think you're pregnant. You're acting just the way I did when I was pregnant with Bob." Sally said Millie looked like someone had hit her in the face with a hammer. She just stood there for a minute, stunned, then she said, "But..." "But nothing. Don't you even try to tell me the two of you haven't been practicing making babies. I've seen your wagon rocking and I've heard the sounds coming out of it. From the sound of things you enjoy the practicing quite well." Millie had to grin. "Yeah, I do like the practicing. Do you think I might really be pregnant?" "I'd bet my last copper on it, daughter of mine." "But, I had a period about three weeks ago." "How long have you been feeling like you're the only one who knows anything? How long have you been feeling that everyone is out to get you?" "Uh... Just a few days." "Then I'd say you caught just a few days ago. If you're like me, this'll last about two weeks. During that time, you have to be very careful about what you say and do so that you don't offend the people who you love and who love you." "I think I owe someone an apology, Mom. Thanks for telling me about how you felt." ------- I had unsaddled Sin and was letting him graze when the wagons caught up to me. Millie and Lettie were riding up front with Ab and when they saw me they lit out like their horses tails were on fire. Their horses were at a full gallop and they came to a sliding stop and were running toward me faster than I thought possible. All of a sudden I had two young women hugging me and kissing me. They each had an arm around me, and I was pleased to see their other arms were around each other. "I'm sorry, Jase," Millie said. "Mom says the reason I'm acting this way is that I may be pregnant." I kissed Millie thoroughly then said, "She told me the same thing. That's the only reason I didn't blister your pretty bottom." Millie giggled. "You can't do that if I'm pregnant. I could get by with anything." "Ah, but I could cut you off from making love. I think that'd hurt worse than a spanking." Millie hit me on the chest, then gave me a fire starting kiss. "I don't think you could cut me off," she smirked. I had to agree. ------- Mom asked Abby to sleep over in her wagon that night. Millie admitted later she had asked mom to take her. I made love to both women and then they made love to each other. I was in heaven. June 26, 1845 The weather was good, the terrain was good, and no one had any breakdowns. In other words, it was a great day for travel. We made twenty miles and camped at Good Springs. I was in a great mood. My wives were no longer fighting, and Millie might be pregnant. I knew the pregnancy might present some problems. We wouldn't be living in our permanent house as yet and since she wouldn't be due until March, she'd be spending most of the winter, pregnant and living in a temporary shelter. We all talked about that as the women fixed supper. "We're going to be getting into the area where we're going to be living by the middle of September at the latest," I said. "Do you think there's a chance we could get up a one or two room log house before it got too cold to live in the wagons?" "You know, I think we could," John said. "Ab says we can buy the boards for the roof. That'll help a lot. We have all of the oxen and mules we could possible need to drag in logs." "Millie, Tess, and I can do all of the chinking and daubing," Lettie said. "You know it takes a lot of time to split out the shingles for the roof. If we have the boards on, we could cover them with the canvas from the wagons for the first winter," John said. "Depending on how much time we have, we might have to live on a dirt floor that first winter too," I said. All of the women said that wouldn't be a problem either. "We're going to need to find a source of clay for chinking and for building a chimney," I said. "That'll probably be one of the first things the women need to do when we decide on a place for the house. John and I will clear the land first, then start cutting trees and dragging them in." "Millie, Lettie and I can lead an oxen," Tess said. "There's no reason we can't drag the trees to the place we're gonna build the house." "We're gonna have to buy a log chain," I said. "No. There's a pretty good sized one in our wagon," John said. We talked on how we were going to build our new home until bed time. I knew there was going to be a lot of work involved, but just talking about it made me so excited I felt like I could do it all myself. June 27, 1845 The wagons nooned today at Soda Springs and we ended up camping at Soda Pool, which is about seven miles further on. It was a fairly good day for traveling and we made seventeen miles. For some reason it seemed like we had been making more miles the last few days. I suspect that is at least partly because we feel like since we've gone over the divide, we're on our way home. Millie and Lettie had been keeping check on Beth Samuels. I got a daily report from them as to how she was feeling. After supper, I decided I wanted to see for myself. We went over to their camp and after saying hello to Al and Nellie, I talked to Beth for a few minutes. "So, Al," I said after I rejoined the adults. "What are you guys planning to do when you get to Oregon?" "Mostly, we're gonna be farming," he said. "Nellie and I both grew up on farms and it's a life we like. I'm hearing that seeds sprout before they've hardly hit the ground in that Willamette Valley. I'm young, but I'm smart enough to not believe everything I hear." "From what Ab tells me it is a great place for farmers. He also says it's huge. He says the valley itself is about a third the size of the state of Rhode Island. You shouldn't have any problem with finding some good land to claim." "I didn't realize it was that big. What are you guys planning to do?" "We're going to be starting a ranch. Ranching and farming don't mix, so we're gonna be looking somewhere other than the Willamette Valley." "I hear tell there's everything from desert to fertile farmland. Ranching takes more room than farming, so you'll need a bigger place." We talked on for a while, but we didn't seem to have much in common with them. They seemed like nice people, but for some reason we just didn't seem to connect. Millie and Lettie said they felt the same way. June 28, 1845 Abby woke me up by tickling my nose with a piece of string. Her giggling, when I grabbed her, woke Millie and Lettie up. We all had a group hug and cuddle, then the women got up to fix breakfast. Lettie was especially loving for some reason this morning. It just seemed like she couldn't get close enough. I really hated to leave her when I went on scout. We covered sixteen miles today and camped on the Portneuf River. We were really into mountainous country now and although we were making quite a few miles a day, it took a lot of scouting to find the best route through some of the areas. Supper was nice and Lettie was still in loving mood. After we had eaten, I was bracketed by Millie and Lettie, then Abby came over and claimed my lap. She snuggled in with us for a few minutes then she asked, "Papa, does God really kill people with thunder and lightning?" "Not that I know of, Honey. Thunder is just a big noise. It couldn't possibly kill anyone. I guess lightning could, but I've never heard of it happening to anyone." "Are you and Mama Lettie and Mama Millie living in sin?" "We don't think so, Honey. What gave you these ideas?" "Charity Wattley said you were living in sin and that God was going to kill you with thunder and lightning. She said that if I was too close to you it might kill me too." "Well, I think Charity Wattley is full of buffalo poop," I said. "You don't have to worry about any of us getting hit by lightning." Abby giggled, then said, "I didn't think so either and I told her so. I was gonna beat her up, then I remembered what you said, so I didn't." "Thank you, Abby. I'm proud of you." "Uh... I did call her a prune faced little weasel though." Okay, I know we shouldn't have, but Millie, Lettie, and I all cracked up. We were laughing until the tears ran out of our eyes. I finally got myself under control and said, "It's not nice to call someone a prune faced little weasel, Honey." "I know, but it's not nice to say God is gonna kill my mamas and papa either," Abby said. I couldn't argue with that. ------- Later, Millie said that she and Abby were going to sleep under the wagon. After Lettie and I had stripped down, I asked her why she was feeling so loving. "I'm not really sure, Jase. Maybe it's just that time of the month for me. You know, women's moods do change as they go through their monthly cycle." "I've never noticed that with either you or Millie, although I have heard of it." "I had an aunt who was a real bitch for several days just before she started her courses every month. I think her husband came awfully close to leaving her a few times." "I'll never leave you, Lover. I might spank your pretty bottom if you get too bad, but I'll never leave." Lettie kissed me like there was no tomorrow, then she said, "I love you, Jase." "You know, before Millie and I approached you about being part of our marriage, I asked Millie if she wasn't afraid I'd come to love you more than I love her. She said no, but she expected me to come to love you as much as I love her. At the time, I loved you, but not nearly as much as I love Millie. Now, I love you both equally." "Oh God, Jase. I didn't think I could ever love anyone as much as I love you and Millie," Lettie said with tears running from her pretty eyes. I hugged her and kissed her and comforted her, then I made gentle love to her. June 29, 1845 Another sixteen miles today. We're traveling up a big valley, surrounded by mountains. A lot of the mountains are snow capped, even here at the end of June. This is very rough country, but at least so far I've been able to find a route through that the wagons can traverse. I found a nice creek with good graze and enough wood at sixteen miles, so I didn't try to push any farther. I rejoined the wagons in the middle of the afternoon and Millie passed me a sandwich she had saved for me from their nooning. We managed to get supper started early and we were looking forward to a nice relaxing evening for the six of us. Abby had taken off to play with some friends as soon as the wagons stopped and when supper was ready, Tess had gone off to find her. When they came back, Abby had been crying and Tess was stomping mad. "What's wrong, Sis?" I asked. "That God damned bitch. That whore. She had Abby backed up against a wagon and was preaching to her. She had Abby so scared she was crying her eyes out." "Which whore is this, Sis?" "Don't you make fun of me, Jason Tackett. I'll slap you silly. It's that God damned Wattley bitch." "I'm not making fun of you, Love. I didn't know who you were talking about and neither did anyone else." "Tess called Mrs. Wattley some really bad names," Abby said. "I don't know what some of them mean." "It's okay, Abby. Why was Mrs. Wattley preaching at you?" "She was mad at me because I called her daughter a prune faced little weasel yesterday, then she started about you all living in sin. Papa, what's a trollop?" I looked up at Tess and she just shrugged her shoulders. "Honey, a trollop is a woman who sells sex to a man." "Does Mrs. Wattley sell sex?" "I don't think so, Honey. Tess was just mad." "What does re-pew... Re-pew-date mean?" "Do you mean repudiate?" "Yeah, that's it." "It means to admit that something is bad and say you won't have anything to do with it again." "Mrs. Wattley said I should re-pew-de-ate you and Mama Millie and Mama Lettie because you're sinners and are going to hell." "I'm going to rip her tits off," Lettie said. "She can't talk to our daughter like that." I'd never seen Lettie lose her cool before. Yes, she had been mad at Millie, but she'd never lost control like she had now. I had Abby on my lap so I was tied down. I saw that John had realized how angry she was too, because he moved closer to her. "Lettie, my love, calm down. Don't let her get to you or she's won before you even start. Abby, could you run over and get grandpa Caleb and ask him to come over please?" Abby was off my lap like a shot. I got up and put an arm around Lettie and my other one around Millie. Millie had been strangely quiet and it scared me. Millie looked up at me and said, quietly, "Jase, I've never in my life wanted to kill someone until now. I wanted to scratch Arnolds' eyes out, but I didn't want to kill him." "Take it easy, Honey," I said. "Do you have any idea how badly she scared Abby? Abby's parents have died and now this woman is wanting her to say she doesn't want to live with the people who love her. She had to be terrified." "She has a small mind, Millie. We'll get something done about this." "Something had better be done. I'm not going to let this strumpet ruin our lives." I was saved from answering by Caleb coming up. I told him I was sorry to be hitting him with another dispute, but that we really couldn't help it. Then I told him what had been going on. "This is one I can't handle, Jase," he said. "If I go over and talk to these people, I'll probably kick some ass. I've never hit a woman, but I think I could make an exception in this case. That's my little girl she's talking about." "Okay, let's see if Ab will talk with them. John, could you find Ab and ask him to come by?" John said he would and he took off to find him. While he was gone, Millie served up some supper before it went completely to ruin. Caleb went back to his fire to finish his. He said he'd be back when he saw Ab go by. When John brought Ab back, Pris was with him. We saw Caleb coming and Sally, mom, and pap were with him. We waited until everyone got there before we told what had happened again. Pap started to leave so I asked, "Where are you going, Pap?" "I'm goin to get my pistol," he said. I grabbed his arm and said, "This is no time for that, Pap. I appreciate the thought, but we have to keep a level head here." "He's right, Jeb," Ab said. "I don't know how to handle this, but I know violence is not the way." "I can't go and talk to them, Ab," Caleb said. "If I do, I know I'm gonna lose control and hit someone." "Okay, I can understand that, Caleb. I'd go and talk with her, but I'm afraid I'll be accused of coming down on her too hard." "Why don't I do it?" Pris asked. "She can't accuse me of being biased." "That makes sense, Pris. Just tell her that we want her and her kids to leave Abby alone. We won't do anything if she agrees to that. You might also tell her that I don't appreciate comments about Millie or Lettie," I said. Everyone agreed that Pris was the best person for the job, so we all sat down and waited for her to come back. None of us said much as we sat there. I think we were all stewing in our own juices. I know I was angry. First off I was angry that a grown woman came down on my daughter for calling another kid a name, especially since the other kid provoked it. Then I was angry because she had been preaching to Abby about me and my wives living in sin. Thirdly I was angry because she had tried to turn Abby against us. I held Abby on my lap and stroked her hair and her back as we waited. I had no problem with Mrs. Wattley having the religious beliefs she has. My problem is her trying to force those beliefs on me and my daughter. When Pris finally came back, she was a mess. About half of her hair, which she had tied back in a bun was pulled loose. Her dress was torn, and she had an angry scratch down the side of her face. Millie ran to her and pulled her into a hug while Pris cried on her shoulder. Finally Pris raised her head and said, "I'll give the bitch credit. She can fight." Everyone started asking her what had happened, but she waved us off until she had sat down. Ab sat beside her and put his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder then said, "I tried to be as nice as I could when I went over there. They had just finished eating and were sitting around their fire." Lettie handed her a cup of coffee and she took a sip and thanked Lettie before she continued. "I told her that you were all angry and explained to her that it was because she had scared Abby to the point that she was crying. I also told her that you were angry because she told Abby you were living in sin. She wouldn't let me finish, but she broke in and said that the devil always gets angry when God points out his sins." She took another sip of coffee. "She said she had an obligation to teach Abby God's way since she was being raised by a family of heathens. I told her that calling people heathens or saying they are living in sin won't bring people to God, that it just makes people angry." She looked around at all of us, then said, "Now comes the part that got me into trouble. She said she might have known I'd take Jase's side. I asked her why she said that and she said she figured I'd paid Jase to kill my husband so I could be with Ab. I called her a lying bitch and she asked if I didn't pay Jase, did I give him sexual favors." She looked at each of us again and then said, "I'm sorry. I was supposed to be the diplomat. I guess I went a little crazy. It took three men to pull me off of her. I was holding her down with one hand on her throat and I was hitting her in the stomach with my other hand." Ab pulled her close and held her. "They're off the train," he said in a low menacing voice. "There's no way they're traveling any farther with us." "You can't do that, Ab. Not here. Didn't you say we'd be reaching Fort Hall in a couple of days?" I said. "That's right," he let out a big sigh. "They can travel with us to Fort Hall, then that's it." "Someone needs to talk with them and let them know," I said. "It obviously can't be any of us. Does anyone have any ideas?" "How about Sam Stuart?" Caleb suggested. "I think Sam is too closely tied to Jase," Ab said. "I think if Sam thought someone was saying something bad about Jase, he'd end up the same way Pris did." "We're kind of financially tied to the Jacobs with the deal we have about their cattle, so they're kind of out too," Millie said. "How about George Kent?" Ab asked. Everyone agreed that George would be a likely go between, so we left it at that. It wasn't long after that when everyone started drifting off to their own fires. ------- Chapter 26 June 30, 1845 Today we made 18 miles and camped on the Snake River. Ab says we can't be more than ten or fifteen miles from Fort Hall. I rode with Ab for a while when I rejoined the wagons after scouting out our route. The first thing I did was apologize for all of the trouble we had been causing him. "Jase, just shut that up," he said. "There isn't a thing that's happened that's your fault." "If I didn't have two wives, Mrs. Wattley wouldn't have had anything to get onto Abby about," I said. "We're not in the United States any more, Jase. We're not even in a territory. There are no marriage laws here, so it is perfectly legal for you to have as many wives as you want. In a way it's kind of funny. Pris says Mrs. Wattley is just jealous." "Jealous," I laughed. "What's she got to be jealous about?" "Have you met her?" "Yeah." "How old would you say she is?" "I don't know. Maybe forty-five or so?" "From her looks I'd say that was a pretty good guess. She's actually in her early thirties. Millie and Lettie are two of the most beautiful young women I've ever met. Mrs. Wattley has nine kids and she looks like a worn out old wreck." "Okay, I guess she could be jealous of Millie and Lettie's good looks." "Pris says that's only part of it. She says these two beautiful young women want you and have you so she wants you too." "Oh shit. I don't believe that for a minute." "Pris is a pretty sharp woman, Jase. I admire her a lot." "Well, yeah. I admire her too. So, when are you going to ask her to marry you?" "I already did. I asked her last night as I was walking her back to her camp. She said yes." I know I had to be grinning from ear to ear when I stuck out my hand to shake his. "So, when is the big day?" "We're not sure. We want to make sure the kids are all okay with it." "You said you might need to trap a couple of more years before you had enough of a stake to start your ranch. I'd have to talk it over with the rest of our group, but we might be able to loan you what you need." "I appreciate the offer, Jase, but I don't think we're going to need it. I have some money and Pris has some. I think we may have enough for what we need. I am thinking of something weird though. I'm thinking about going back east next spring or the one after that and getting a herd of cattle together." "That might be interesting, Ab. It shouldn't be nearly as hard as being wagon master." "Think about it, Jase. It might be a good way for you to increase your herd as well." "I will, Ab. Can I tell the girls about you and Pris?" "Pris wants to come around after supper and tell them herself. Is that okay with you?" "Sure. Women are funny about things like that. We're gonna see a bunch of hugging and crying," I laughed. "You can laugh now, but you'd better not laugh at them." "Amen," I said. ------- When the wagons stopped for the day, Abby asked if she could go and play with her friends. "Honey, I don't think it's a good idea tonight. Tomorrow we'll be at Fort Hall and from then on you can play every night with them. Tonight, I'm afraid you might run into Mrs. Wattley again." Mrs. Wattley must have scared Abby pretty badly because she didn't put up much of a fuss. Ab was true to his word. He and Pris showed up right after we finished eating. Tess offered them some coffee and they both accepted. After they had taken their first sips, Pris said, "Ab and I are getting married." Millie, Tess and Lettie shrieked and ran to hug Pris. Ab and I just smiled and stood back to watch the show. After a while, Millie looked around at me and asked, "Why aren't you excited about this, Jase?" I looked over at Ab and winked. "Oh, I am excited about it, Honey. I've been excited about it all afternoon." "You've known about this and didn't tell us?" "Of course. I didn't think you'd be interested." Three women tackled me and I ended up on my back on the ground, trying to fight them off. Ab and Pris just stood back and laughed. ------- Our fun was cut short when Mrs. Wattley showed up. She marched over in front of Ab and said, "George Kent told us this evening that you are going to throw us off the train at Fort Hall. I'm not going to allow you to do that, Mr. Smith. We paid our money to be taken to Oregon and that's where you're going to take us." "Paying your money didn't give you the right to say bad things about my future wife or about the Tacketts. It certainly didn't give you the right to terrorize a little girl." "I'm just spreading God's word." "Did God call my future wife a slut?" "God told us of the behavior of a slut. God told us about what is to be done in a marriage. If you behave like a slut, then you are a slut. If you live with two women then you are a womanizer and an adulterer. If two women are living with one man then they are both whores." I put my arms around both of my wives and held on to them. I saw John doing the same with Tess. "Mrs. Wattley, didn't King David have a lot of wives? Didn't Solomon? Can you show me anywhere in the Bible where it says a man can have only one wife or that a woman can have only one husband?" I asked. "I will not discuss the bible with you Mr. Tackett. The Righteous do not discuss the holy word with heathens. By your own birth you are damned to hell. By the way you choose to live, you are double damned. God will punish you for your birth and for your actions." "Mrs. Wattley, you will leave this wagon train at Fort Hall. I will not have you disrupting the entire train." "We'll see about that, Mr. Smith. A lot of the people on this wagon train will support me. How many do you think will support Mr. Tackett?" "When it comes right down to it, Mrs. Wattley, Jase only needs the support of one person, me." ------- "You know, Ab," I said after we had all calmed down a little after Mrs. Wattley had left. "Maybe it should be us that's leaving the wagon train. Obviously the way we've chosen to live is definitely causing you problems." "I couldn't afford to have you leave the train, Jase. Number one, you are my scout. There's no one else I'd trust to do that. Number two, how many people do you think would be left with the train if you decided to leave?" "What do you mean?" "Well, you have two wagons yourself. I'm sure John and Tess would go with you. Then there are your parents and Millie's parents. Silas Johnson and Sam Stuart would almost for sure be going with you. You and Jacobs have a deal on cattle, so I'm pretty sure he'd follow you. You saved John Simpson's little girl, so I'll bet they'd be going with you. You have three young men working for you. I'll bet they'd follow you." "Don't forget me," Pris said. "If Jase leaves, so do I. I'll just meet you in Oregon, Ab." "You see, Jase. There's no way I could let you leave." My heart felt as big as Kentucky as I sat there and thought about all of my friends and family. July 1, 1845 It was only ten miles until we came to Fort Hall. The trading post had been here for six or seven years, so it was well established. We went straight on through to Fort Hall and took our nooning there. It wasn't long after we had finished eating when Ab came by and asked all of us to come by his tent. He said Mrs. Wattley had called for a general meeting of the wagon train. After everyone was gathered at Ab's tent, he got up and spoke. "The Wattley family has been asked to leave the wagon train at this point due to behavior that is upsetting several people. The Reverend Nathaniel Green has asked to speak to all of you in defense of the Wattleys." The Reverend Green got up and walked up in front of the group. He was dressed in his parson's robes, which I thought was inappropriate. "Folks, I think we should start this gathering off with a prayer," he said and then he went into one of his long winded prayers. He asked God to give everyone here the ability to see God's will and the courage to stand against authority to do what needed to be done. He asked God to show everyone what a fine, upstanding woman Mrs. Wattley was and to guide them in their judgement. He asked God to bring down his wrath on the murderers and whoremongers and adulterers. He asked Got to smite the wicked heathens who disgraced this group of people. When he finally wound down, I think everyone there knew just exactly where he stood. "Folks, there is an adulterer among us who I was unfortunate enough to join in matrimony. This person has disgraced himself and his wife by taking on a second wife. On top of that, he has driven one poor unfortunate soul insane with his stories of Indian attacks. He murdered another man over a dispute over the man calling him a heathen, which he most definitely is. He is half Indian and I am told that he and his family mock the bible and Gods word." The Reverend paused to let all of this sink in. "This sinner is now causing the Wattleys, who are a good, God fearing family, to be expelled from this wagon train. Why is he doing this? Because Mrs. Wattley tried to teach a little girl God's word. This little girl is a ward of this evil man. She came to be his ward under very suspicious circumstances." He paused again and Sam Stuart spoke up, "Reverend, who are you talking about here?" I know Sam knew exactly who the Reverend was talking about but he wanted it out in the open. "I'm talking about Jase Tackett. He has done all of these things and more. It is my belief and I believe it is the will of God that Jase Tackett should be the one expelled from this wagon train. Before he goes, I believe his ward should be taken from them so she can be raised in God's way." Before he could go any further, Sam broke in. "Just a damned minute here, Reverend. I'd like to address a couple of the things you're accusing him of. First off, my wife was married to Abe Wilkes when he went insane. She says he had been insane for some time before they even joined the wagon train, but he just didn't show it. It was Abe who accused Jase's family of making fun of the bible. My wife says this stemmed from him listening outside their wagon one morning and hearing Jase's wife and sister teasing each other over who had to get up and make breakfast." "It is of no importance whether Mr. Wilkes had problems before he came on the wagon train. Jase Tackett is the one who drove him over the edge." "Reverend," Pris said. "It was my husband who you are accusing Jase of murdering. I assume it was Mrs. Wattley who told you Jase did it because my husband called him a heathen. Just for your information, she accused me of giving Jase sexual favors so Jase would kill him. I think she should at least get her stories straight, don't you? Jase killed my husband only after Sam had damaged his water barrel, shot at him and killed one of his cattle. Jase was guarding his cattle when Sam came at him with a loaded gun and was preparing to blow Jase's head off. That's not murder. That's just defending yourself." Now it was Ab's turn to say something. "Folks, I think you all know Jase. He's probably helped every one of you at one time or another. He saved one little girl from drowning. When Abby's father killed her mother and then himself, Jase and his wives took her in without question and without hesitation. He has done more for this wagon train than any other single person among you." "When Mrs. Wattley was telling Abby God's word," Caleb said, "she had her backed up into a corner preaching at her. The little girl was crying and was scared to death, but Mrs. Wattley wouldn't back off. Jase's sister stepped in and got her away from the woman. I don't believe God would want a grown woman to terrorize a little child." "I'd like to talk about the adultery issue," Millie said. "Jase and I met Lettie when he saved her life. Over a period of time we found we both love her and that she loves us. We've done a lot of soul searching over this. King Solomon had a lot of wives. Was he an adulterer? Was King David? He had a lot of wives too. Good men are hard to find and Jase is a good man. Both Lettie and I are proud to be his wives." Now, something happened that shook me to my roots. My mother stepped forward. "I am a Cherokee Indian. Jase is my son. He was raised as a Christian. He is a good man." This was probably more than mom had said in a week and I was very touched by it. "If Jase has to leave the train, my family will be going with him," Sam Stuart said. "Same here," John Simpson added. There was a general murmur of approval to that sentiment. Two more yahoos got up and spoke in agreement with the Reverend Green. Then Ab got up again. "I don't know what you folks expect me to do. If you think I'm going to throw one of the finest young men I've ever met off of this train, then you're crazy. The Wattleys are leaving the train here at Fort Hall. Reverend Green, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Gates are welcome to join them if they want." People started milling around and then in a few minutes, they started to leave. Ab came over by me and said, "Jase, I'd watch Abby closely while we're here at the fort. The Wattleys may try to grab her." "I was already planning on it, Ab. Thanks for everything." "Hey, Jase, if I threw you out I'd have to get out and scout myself. I'm just protecting my own interests." "Besides that, you wouldn't have the lovely Mrs. Arnold around," I laughed. "That's true," Ab said as he went to find Pris. ------- Our group spent most of the afternoon and evening sitting around our campfire. Abby spent most of her time on my lap or Millie's or Lettie's. I guess we were all a little disturbed that Mrs. Wattley had found any supporters at all and that the Reverend Green was one of them. Millie and I and even John and Tess made sure we were very supportive of Lettie. I was afraid she was going to start blaming herself for the people who were against us. During the afternoon and evening there had to be at least ten families besides ours that came around to talk with us. When the Simpsons came by, little Sue came running to me yelling "Chase, Chase." That alone lightened my mood. Every one who came by addressed both Millie and Lettie as Mrs. Tackett. Almost every one of the women hugged both of my wives before they left. This was a show of support that none of us had expected. July 2, 1845 While the women were fixing breakfast the next morning, Abby came over and sat on my lap. I hadn't thought she had really understood what had been going on the day before, but she quickly showed me how wrong I had been. "Papa, was that man yesterday saying they wanted to take me away from you and Mama Lettie and Mama Millie?" she asked. "Well, yes, Abby. He doesn't think we're the right people to raise you. He thinks Mrs. Wattley should raise you." "You're not going to let that happen are you, Papa?" "No, Honey. We've got a lot of friends here on the wagon train and every one of them would fight to see you get to stay with us." "Good. I don't want to live with Mrs. Wattley, or Reverend Green and his wife either. You're my papa now and I want to live with you." "That's where you're going to live, Honey. I think for today you should stay close to us. I'll see if Pris will bring her kids over to play with you a little later." Abby is a smart little girl. She agreed with no fuss. ------- Our first order of business was to go to the trading post. If three women and a little girl want to go to the trading post, all you can do is stay out of the way so you don't get trampled. We didn't buy much, just stocked up on a few things we were running short of. The women did have a good time looking around at everything though. This trading post didn't have nearly as much as the one at Fort John. It was kind of a lazy day all around. John and I did spend a little time checking our wagons, but we really didn't have a lot to do to them. We greased every thing that needed it and touched up the tar on the wagon beds. We didn't hear anything from the Wattleys or from Reverend Green, although Ab did tell us that the Andersons had decided they were leaving the wagon train along with the Wattleys. When I asked him about it, Ab said that we shouldn't worry about any of them. He said there'd be other wagon trains through here within the month. July 3, 1845 I didn't want to make a big fuss about anything, but I decided I wanted Millie, Lettie, and Abby with me when I went on scout. Millie and Lettie fixed us up a nice lunch to take with us and we got an early start. I had worried a little that the Wattleys might try to ambush us or something, but as we approached noon, I began to relax. We found a nice place to camp about sixteen miles out. It was near what Ab told me later was the American Falls on the Snake River. The scenery in this area was beautiful. There were snow capped mountains off in the distance. The trees were the greenest I'd ever seen. For the most part, grazing was good at the campsites for the animals. When the wagons caught up with us, the women started supper while John and I made sure our animals were in a good grazing area. We didn't hear anything about the Wattleys all day, which suited us just fine. We were just getting ready to go in the wagon to go to bed, when John Simpson came by. We all said our howdies then John said, "I'm sorry to come by so late, but there's something I think you need to know. The Reverend Green must have had his wife driving his wagon today. He spent almost the entire day going from wagon to wagon trying to talk people into forcing you to give up Abby into his care." "I suspected he'd try something like that," I said. "I'm really not too worried about him. We've come to love Abby like she was our real daughter. No one is going to take her away from us." "I wouldn't write him off too quickly, Jase. He has a lot of influence, being a parson. The way he's trying to fire people up, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd even resort to violence, or at least encourage others to use violence." "Okay. We'll be on guard. I didn't realize it until a couple of day ago, but I have a lot of friends on this wagon train. I'm sure they'll help us watch out for him." "I won't just help you watch out, Jase. I don't intend to let anything bad happen to the guy who saved my daughter's life." July 4, 1845 Today is Independence Day. Being on the trail, there aren't any plans for any kind of celebration. My family went with me on scout again. What John told me last night had me a little worried. We're going through some fairly rugged country, so we only made twelve miles for the day. We ended up camping on Fall Creek. I went to see John while the girls were fixing supper. He said that Reverend Green was at it again today. I thanked him for the news and asked if he'd continue to pass anything on that he heard. Ab and Pris came around right after we'd finished eating. I told him what John had said about the Reverend Green. "Yeah, he tried to give us a big harangue about you today too. Pris and I went to see him today at our nooning. We wanted to go ahead and get married." "The bastard refused to marry us until we have 'seen the light'," Pris said, then she giggled like a little girl. "We've decided to go ahead and live in sin until we find a parson who will marry us." I broke out laughing and had a hard time getting control of myself. "Pris, you don't hold a lot back, do you?" I asked. "Not among friends, I don't," she said. "Jase, I don't know what it is with this guy. He's breaking one of the ten commandments every time he opens his mouth. He's bearing false witness against you. I can't just shut him up because people will wonder if what he was saying is true." "I don't know what to do about him either. I really am sorry about all of this, Ab." "Damn you, Jase Tackett," Pris said. "Quit blaming yourself for this. The damned Wattley woman started it and that bastard Green is keeping it going. It's not your fault." "Thanks, Pris. I guess I just need a friend to yell at me now and then," I said. At least we could all laugh. July 5, 1845 While we were eating breakfast, Millie said, "You know, I think mam may be right." "How's that?" I asked. "I think I may be pregnant. My courses should have started three or four days ago and they haven't." I grabbed her and hugged her and kissed her like I really meant it. When we broke apart, Millie started giggling. "You don't seem to be too upset that we may be having an addition to our family." "No way I'm upset. I love you, Millie." "Good. I love you too." I took my family on scout with me again. We were going through some very rough country again, so we only made eight miles for the day and we camped on the Raft River. At least we had a good camping spot. Ab and Pris came around and talked for a while. Ab said he'd heard that the Reverend Green hadn't been quite as vocal today and I hoped that was a good sign. Lettie slept under the wagon with Abby and Millie and I made love gently to celebrate the fact that she might be pregnant. ------- Chapter 27 July 6, 1845 We made fifteen miles today and camped on Swamp Creek. There was some marshy ground not too far from where we camped, but we didn't see any swamp. The camp was a good one and our animals got their fill. The Reverend Green was driving his own wagon today, so there wasn't any riding up and down, talking to the wagon drivers as they drove. I did hear that he had held a prayer meeting while we were eating supper. Not many people showed up from what I heard. Lettie had been a little withdrawn for the last couple of days, but she seemed to be coming out of it now. Millie whispered to me while they were making supper that she'd sleep with Abby tonight and that I should make Lettie feel loved. I think I did. July 7, 1845 Gil and I needed to go hunting, so we went this morning. We both had a thrill as we both killed an antelope. This was a first for both of us. I'd seen several of them before, but was never close enough to take a shot. We camped on the Goose River after traveling for sixteen miles. Just after supper, a light rain started to fall, so most everyone turned in early. My family was starting to get excited. We knew we were three quarters of the way to our goal or more. We talked for quite some time before we fell asleep. It must have been nearly midnight when we were awakened by gunshots and screams. Guns were still going off when I was dressed and climbing out of the wagon. I told Millie and Lettie to load the single shot pistol and the shotgun we had and to protect Abby. For once they listened to me. I ran toward the sound of the shots, but they had stopped by the time I got there. Several men were gathered around three bodies. One was a white man. His name was Jason Galbraith. I knew him and had talked with him on many occasions. He had been a quiet man of around twenty. I knew he was married, but I had only seen his wife a couple of times and had never talked to her. The other two bodies belonged to Indians. Ab said they were from the Nez Perce tribe. Several people were trying to talk at once, but Caleb finally shut them up. He pointed at Ben Crank and said, "You first." "Me and Jason were on night watch. We was settin under one of the wagons, talkin, when we heard a commotion among the horses. We went to see what was fashing them and we saw five or six Indians trying to steal them. Jason raised his rifle and shot that one. The other one there shot Jason with an arrow and I shot him with my pistol. The other ones ran away." "Did anyone see which way they went?" Ab asked. Ben pointed off to the north and said, "That way." Caleb had been kneeling over Jason. Now, he stood up and said, "It looks like he's done for." "God damned Indians," Ben said. "I think we should shoot ever one of them." "If it had been a white man that shot another white man, do you think we should shoot all white folks?" Caleb asked. "It ain't the same," Ben said. "Ever one knows that Indians are a bunch of lying, cheating, thieving heathens. Just ask Reverend Green." "Everybody doesn't know any such thing," Caleb said. "My son-in-law is half Indian. He's one of the finest young men I've ever met." Ben turned around and glared at me. "He should be shot just like the rest of them. Reverend Green says this wagon train won't be safe until we kill ever one of them." "Ben, if I hear any more talk like that, you won't be on this wagon train any more," Ab said. "I shoulda known you'd take up for them, Ab. Thank God this trip is almost over." Ben whirled and walked away. I had to tell my wives about what had happened when I got back to the wagon. Both of them were upset when I told them what Ben had said about Indians. It took us a long while to get to sleep. July 8, 1845 Before I left on scout I told John what Ben had said about killing Indians. He said he'd be very careful and keep a close watch on Tess. I took Millie, Lettie, and Abby with me. We were in better traveling country now, but we were also in an area where there was very little grass. I finally found a dry branch that had plenty of good water in pools and good grass. We made twenty-two miles for the day. Nothing happened that day or evening, for which I was thankful. We went to bed early and our sleep was undisturbed. July 9, 1845 Today looked like it was going to be another good day for travel. The camp we chose was seventeen miles out from our last one. We didn't make it there that day though. We headed back to meet up with the train after we had marked the campsite. It was well after noon when we got back to them and they were still stopped for nooning. We knew something had to be wrong, so we broke into a gallop. I didn't see Ab so we rode on back toward our wagon. There was a group of people at pap's wagon, so we reined in. Mom was lying on the ground beside our wagon and Pris and Tess were kneeling beside her. I was off of Sin in an instant and ran over to her. "I'm okay, Son," she said before I could even ask. "What happened?" I asked of anyone who could give me an answer. "Someone shot mom," Tess said and then she sobbed. "I'm going to kill them, Jase. Don't try to stop me." "Who did it?" I asked, a cold ball was in my stomach. "We don't know yet, Jase," Pris said. "We were all cooking our noon meal when someone shot your mom in the shoulder. Ab and I cleaned it up." "Where were Ben Crank and the Reverend Green when this happened?" "I know that's who you suspect, but we don't know for sure who it was, Jase," Ab said. "We're going to find out though." "Damned straight I'm going to find out," I said as I got to my feet. Ab stepped in front of me and said, "Don't do it, Jase." "Get out of my way, Ab. Someone's going to die over this." "Yeah, but we don't want it to be you, Jase," Caleb said as he stepped beside Ab. "We're going to find out who did this and then it'll be taken care of, proper like." "Listen to them, Son," mom said. Millie and Lettie came over on either side of me and put an arm around me. Abby slid in between me and Ab and threw her arms around my hips. I couldn't help it. I started to cry. I know it wasn't manly. I know it wasn't how my Indian ancestors would have reacted. I allowed my wives to lead me over to our wagon and I sat against a wagon wheel and silently let out my grief. Abby climbed on my lap and put her arms around my neck. I buried my face against her shoulder and allowed my grief to run its course. After I had calmed some, Millie whispered, "I told John to keep an eye on Tess. She might start shooting people and not stop until she gets tired of loading." "That's good thinking, Honey. Could you check on mom please?" Millie said she would and she took off toward mom and pap's wagon. "Does anyone know where pap is?" I asked Lettie. "I'll find out," Lettie said. That left just me and Abby. "Papa, it's not right to kill people, is it?" "No, Sweetheart. It isn't right. Caleb and Ab are right. We'll find out who did it, then I'll let Ab take care of what needs to be done." "Thank you, Papa. I don't want to lose you," she said as she gave me a big hug. Millie and Lettie came back together. They were smiling, so I knew mom was going to be alright. "My mom is taking care of your mom," Millie said. "The bullet went through the meaty part just under the arm. No bones were hit and the bullet went all the way through." "Your mom told Sally what to put into a poultice so that it won't become infected. She also had Sally brewing some kind of tea that will ease her pain," Lettie said. "Did you find out where pap is?" I asked. Both of my wives started giggling. "Your pap is tied up in his wagon. He about went crazy from what John and Ab were telling us. Maybe you should go and talk with him after a while. He wants to kill half the wagon train," Lettie said. "I can't say as I blame him. I promised Abby we're going to find out who did this and then I'm going to let Caleb and Ab handle it. Abby says she don't want to lose me." ------- By supper time, pap had calmed down to the point they could untie him. Mom had talked to him and I'm sure that helped a lot. We ended up not going any farther that day. The place they had stopped for our nooning was on Rock Creek. There was good water, but the grass was poor. I knew our animals would be hungry tomorrow. Ab, Caleb, Pris, and Sally came by after supper. Sally said that mom was sleeping and that pap was watching over her. "I'd pity anyone besides family that tried to get close to her," Sally said with a laugh. "Jase, we've talked to a lot of people today," Caleb said. "We think we know who did this, but we're not absolutely sure, so we're not going to tell you yet. No one actually saw the shot fired, but one man and one woman saw someone walking in that direction with a pistol in their hand just before it happened." "Seeing someone walking that way with a pistol in their hand is enough for me, Caleb," I said. "It would be for us too, Jase," Ab said. "Unfortunately, the man says it was one guy. The woman says it could have been that guy, but it could have been another guy." "Okay," I said. "I can see where you'd want to be sure. How are you going to find out?" "Tomorrow, we're going to talk to some other people and find out where both of these men were when the shooting happened," Caleb said. "Until then, just let it ride, Jase." "I can do that, Caleb. My lovely wives and daughter have talked some sense into me. Until you find out, I'm going to be extra careful to protect me and my family though. I won't go out looking for anyone, but if someone shows up here with a gun in their hand, God help them because you can't." Caleb and Ab both nodded. I'm sure both of them were thinking the same thing. Shortly after they left, someone else came to our camp. I was a little surprised when a pretty young woman came up to me and asked if she could talk to us for a while. "I'm Emma Galbraith," she said. "I was wondering if I could talk with you all for a few minutes." "Have a seat, Emma," Millie said. "We were all sorry to hear about your husband." "I have to admit, it's hit me kind of hard. Jason and I were very close and very happily married. We had only been married about six months before we left for Oregon." "I knew Jason," I said. "At first, I think we started talking with each other because our names were the same. Then I realized he was a really nice guy." Emma smiled and said, "He really was a nice guy. He thought a lot of you, too. I heard what Ben Crank said and I wanted to apologize for that. Ben and Jason were best friends. I know Ben can be a little hot headed, but I don't think he was the one who shot your mom." "Well, we don't know who did it, yet," Millie said, "but, we will find out." "Emma," Lettie said. "My first husband was killed by an Indian too. It doesn't bother me that it was an Indian that killed my husband and that Jase is half Indian. How do you feel about it?" "I'm half Indian myself," Emma said. "If I disliked Jase because he's half Indian, I'd have to dislike myself as well." "Does Ben know you have Indian blood?" I asked. Emma shook her head and said, "I guess I've never been as straight forward as you guys have been. I'm not ashamed of my Indian blood, but so many people look down on you if they know, that I've just never mentioned it." "In the area we grew up in, it was never an issue," I said. "I guess most people around there knew that Mom is a Cherokee, but no one ever made a big deal about it. I guess that's why me and Tess are a little more open." "I'd like to meet your sister," Emma said. "I've seen her around, but I've never talked to her." "Abby, would you go over and bang on the side of Tess' wagon? Tell her to get out of bed. There's someone here we'd like for her to meet." Abby giggled and took off. "You didn't have to disturb her," Emma said shyly. "She takes great joy in disturbing us when we're sharing our marital bed," Lettie said. "It's time we pay her back a little." Emma blushed and said, "Reverend Green says you guys are living in sin because both of you are married to Jase. I don't think it's sinful at all." "Thank you, Emma," Lettie said. "We don't think it's sinful either." Abby came back giggling. "She said it'd be a minute. I think they were doing... You know." I think this was the first time I really laughed since mom had been shot. "Ah, newlyweds," I said. We all got a laugh out of that. When Tess came over a few minutes later, she said, "This had better be important, Jase Tackett." We all cracked up again, then I said, " I just wanted to introduce you to another half breed. Tess, this is Emma Galbraith. Emma, this is my sister, Tess Ware." They said hello to each other then Tess said, "I was sorry about your husband, Emma. What are you going to do now?" "I'm not sure yet, Tess. We're so close to Oregon now that I'll finish the trip. After that, I just don't know." "Do you have any livestock that needs looked after?" Tess asked. "Just a couple of milk cows, our oxen, a couple of horses, and some chickens. Ben is looking after the animals, and his brother is driving my wagon." "Well, if you ever need any help, just let us know," Tess said. "We have over fifty cattle between us and it wouldn't put us out any to take care of yours along with ours." "Fifty cattle! That's a lot." "Well, there are five of us who are starting a ranch together. There's me and Jase and my husband, John, and Millie and Lettie. We're also taking care of the Jacobs' cattle as well." "That sounds like a big job." "Fair sized. John and I work them most days. Millie's dad and the Jacobs boys help also. We've got some good cattle horses which make it a lot easier." We all talked on for a while. Emma seemed like a really nice young woman. Millie invited her to come back any time she'd like. When she left, we all turned in for the night. July 10, 1845 Ab said he didn't want to go very far today. He said we needed to get our animals fed and I agreed. We found a nice camp site about seven miles out and we decided to stop there for the night. There was plenty of water, grass, and firewood at the site. The animals were in hog heaven. Ab and Caleb spent a lot of time that afternoon, talking to people. When they came around that afternoon, they were more confused than when they started. "Okay, Jase, here's how it came down," Caleb said. "George Kent said he thought it was Reverend Green who walked by with the gun. Alice Jacobs says it could have been Green, but she thinks it was Ben Crank. Now, Henry Goodson says he's sure it was Jasper Province. All three of these men have people who say they were at their own campfires when they heard the shot." "So, what do we do now?" I asked. "I think all we can do is keep our eyes open and see if one of them tries again. I know this isn't good, Jase, but we just don't know what else to do." I told them I could understand that and that we'd just be very vigilant. "If I see someone skulking around with a gun, I'm going to shoot first," I said. Both of them said they understood that. ------- Millie, Lettie and Tess were fixing supper and Abby was bouncing back and forth between helping them and sitting on my lap when Emma came around again. "Folks, is that offer still open to help with my livestock?" she asked. "It certainly is," Tess said without even bothering to ask the rest of us. "Well, I have a problem. Ben was spouting off this afternoon about them God Damned Indians on the wagon train. I got fed up with it and told him I am half Indian too." "Awh, Emma, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do," I said. "God made me honest, not smart," she said with a little grin. "Anyway, Ben looked like I'd hit him with a shovel. Then he told me I'd have to find someone else to take care of my livestock and to drive my wagon." Tess came over and put her arm around Emma. "Do you think you're in any danger from him or the Reverend Green?" Millie asked. "I just don't know, Millie. This morning I'd have said I'd never have been in any danger from him." "Emma, why don't you have supper with us, then if you wouldn't mind, Jase and John could move your wagon up by ours. I'd like to see anyone get passed Jase or John," Millie said. "I probably would feel a lot safer," Emma said. "Besides if I have supper with you guys, I won't have to cook." "Careful lady," Tess teased. "We might make you clean up afterwards." We had a nice meal, then I went over to see Ab. I asked if he'd mind if we moved Emma's wagon and told him why. He readily agreed. I went back by our camp site and got John and Emma. Emma helped us pick out her animals and showed us where the harnesses and everything were kept. It didn't take long to get harnessed up. I drove the wagon around with Emma as a passenger while John brought her animals around and put them with ours. I didn't say anything to John or Emma, but Ben Crank was glaring at us the whole time we were at Emma's old camp site. July 11, 1845 Mom was feeling a little better this morning. I went over and held her hand for a while before I took off scouting. Although I wanted Millie, Lettie, and Abby with me, Millie said they were going to stay with Emma. I asked her why, and she lifted up her tunic and showed me our single shot pistol. "Protection," she said. I took my revolver off and handed it to her. "Let's trade," I said. "I've got my rifle too, so I won't need more than the single shot. Load up the shotgun too. Give it to Tess." Millie nodded and handed me the pistol. "I'm going to ride the wagon with Emma. Lettie and Abby are going to ride beside it." "Okay, that sounds good." "Jase, after today, I think we should hire the other Lewis boy to drive Emma's wagon for her. Driving a wagon like this is awfully hard on a woman." "Okay, I'll talk to Ted tonight and see if he thinks the boy could handle it." Millie gave me a big kiss and I took off. We only made twelve miles for the day, but we camped at the only good camping spot for miles around. Grass was a little sparse even there. When we circled the wagons for the day, Emma's wagon was right between ours and Abby's. I caught Phil Lewis' attention and asked him if he thought his brother, Paul, could handle driving a wagon. ""Yeah, he could handle it," he said with a big smile. "He's been kind of jealous that I've been doing it and he couldn't." "Would you talk to your dad and see if he'd allow Paul to drive for Emma Galbraith? Wages would be the same as you're getting." "Yeah, I'll talk to pap. I'm sure it'll be alright though." After Phil had left, I told the women we now had a driver for Emma. She started to protest, but Millie cut her off. I asked Tess later if she and John would mind if we paid for the driver. Of course she didn't mind. ------- Ab and Pris came over after supper and sat a spell. We got to talking about how much farther it was and Ab surprised us all. "Folks, it's only about three more weeks until we get to my valley," he said. "I figure we'll stop the wagons for a couple of days and I'll show you the other valleys I'm talking about. You guys may be building a house in less than a month." I was floored. "That's still a long ways from the ocean, isn't it?" "Yeah, it's another four hundred miles or so to the ocean. Like I said before it's pretty isolated." "After what we've seen over the last few weeks, I sure won't mind to be isolated," Millie said. "Yeah, me either," Tess chimed in. "As long as Jase is there, I don't care where we live," Lettie said as she gave me a big hug. I could see Emma was feeling a little left out, so I said, "Where are you thinking about settling, Emma?" "I... I don't know, Jase. Jason was thinking he wanted to start a farm in the Willamette Valley, but I don't want to try to start a farm by myself." "As pretty as you are, you wouldn't have any trouble finding another husband," Tess said. "I don't know about that, Tess. Jason and I had something really special. We really loved each other. I've heard tell that some men slap their wives around and things like that. It scares me to think I might end up in a marriage like that." "I guess you're right," Millie said. "I knew Jase all my life and Tess was always my best friend. I knew what to expect from Jase before I ever married him. I knew he'd never hit me." "I might spank you if I get the chance," I said as I leered at her. "Not with me pregnant you won't," Millie giggled. "I'm nine days late for my courses now, so it's almost a sure thing." I know I had a grin that was a mile wide. "I'd only known Millie and Jase a few days when they invited me into their marriage," Lettie said. "I knew Jase by reputation though and I figured Millie would tell me if he had been abusive. I haven't been sorry I married them for one single minute." Pris said they needed to get back to check on her kids, so her and Ab left. "Is it okay if I ask you a question or two about your marriage?" Emma asked Millie. Millie grinned and said, "Sure, Emma. Everyone is curious, but most are afraid to ask. You might be shocked by what you hear though." Emma grinned. "I doubt that, Millie. I grew up next door to a Mormon family. There was one man and he had four wives. They must have had sixteen or seventeen kids between them." "Well, what did you want to know, Emma?" "Well, I guess I wanted to know if you ever got jealous of each other." "Well, no, we've never really been jealous. Lettie and I got into a little fight a couple of weeks ago, but we were over it in a day, but that wasn't about jealousy though." Millie looked around at Tess and said, "Tess, would you and John mind taking Abby for a walk? There are some things a nine year old just shouldn't hear." Abby protested some, but Tess can be very persuasive. When they were gone, Millie said, "This might be what shocks you, Emma. Our favorite way of making love is if all three of us make love to each other at the same time." "You mean you and Lettie touch each other and stuff?" "We touch each other and all kinds of stuff," Millie grinned. "Well... It does kind of surprise me, but it doesn't shock me. This one friend of mine and I used to kiss some and touch each other some when we were kids. We kind of figured we were practicing for when we had a boyfriend. It did feel good though." "There are other things two girls can do together that feel even better than a little kissing and a little touching," Lettie said. Emma blushed. "I can only imagine." "Maybe we'll tell you about them some time," Millie grinned. "We haven't been able to really enjoy each other since we took Abby in. I don't begrudge taking her in. We love her like she was our own. We just don't feel like we want her to watch while we're doing it." Emma laughed. "I can understand that. I used to sneak and try to watch ma and pa going at it, but I never had much luck at it. I saw them going at it a few times, but it was dark and I couldn't see much." "I think all kids do that, Emma. I know Tess and I did. We were like you though and never did see much." Before she went off to bed, Emma told us that any time the three of us wanted some time alone together, she'd let Abby sleep over with her. We agreed we'd take her up on that. ------- Chapter 28 July 12, 1845 We made it to Salmon Falls today. There was an Indian village there with around twenty lodges. The Indians catch the salmon as they were going up the falls. They had plenty of the fish and were willing to trade for almost anything. The leader pointed out a nice field to me that was near the water and knee deep in grass. He said we were welcome to camp there, so I agreed. Ab was pleased I had chosen this spot. I think everyone on the wagon train was pleased with the salmon. Millie, Lettie, Tess, and Emma grilled ours over the fire with butter and dill weed. It was a very nice change in our diet. All along the trail, when we were camping along a river or a stream, people who had the time would try their luck at fishing. We had a few times ourselves, but our luck had never been that good. Ab decided this was such a nice place and the grass was so plentiful we should lay over for a day. I'm sure that those of us who hated Indians weren't pleased by this, but they never said anything. July 13, 1845 We just rested for most of the day today. We did do a lot of talking about the house we were going to build, and tried to make plans of how we were going to attack the building of it. Millie said she'd like the house up enough off of the valley floor that we wouldn't have to worry about it flooding. She also said she'd like it to be close enough to water that we didn't have to carry it a half a mile. I had to agree with her. Everything was quiet with Reverend Green's crew and we were all thankful for that. Emma asked Abby if she's like to sleep over with her to keep her company. Abby thought that was just great. Millie, Lettie and I had more good sex as a threesome than we had since Abby had joined us. July 14, 1845 We made a good distance today, twenty miles. I even found us a good place to camp. We were on a nice stream that emptied into the Snake. There was plenty of grass for the animals. Emma joined us for supper again. All of us were becoming comfortable with having her around. I think we were all forgetting about our troubles, because Emma was even laughing and joking with us. After supper, I saw Millie pick up a bar of soap and slip it in her pocket. A few minutes later she asked if any of us would like to take a walk up stream. Of course Lettie, Abby and I were for it. Emma said she'd come along. I'm sure she hadn't seen Millie pick up the soap. We were probably a quarter of a mile up stream when Millie found a place that suited her. She pulled out the soap and waved it in the air. "Everybody strip," she said. "We're gonna have ourselves a bath." Abby squealed and started throwing her clothes off. Millie wasn't far behind her. Emma was just kind of standing there with her mouth hanging open when Lettie and I smiled at each other and started undressing. Emma stood there, undecided, for a moment longer, then she smiled and started undressing too. Emma is a pretty woman. She has the face of an angel and her body is as pretty as any young woman's has a right to be. She has high, firm breasts and womanly hips. Her dark hair is a nice contrast to her pail complexion. The four adults stood in water almost up to our waists and passed the soap around as we cleaned ourselves. Abby was everywhere, splashing us and herself. Finally Millie made her stop long enough to use the soap on herself. "I had a brother who only took a bath about twice a year," Millie told Emma. "He didn't smell good. We like to keep ourselves clean for each other." "Yeah," I said, "And Abby is part fish. It's hard for us to keep her out of the water." Abby giggled and splashed water on me. Emma seemed almost as comfortable in her nudity as we were. "I used to go skinny dipping with my brothers," she told us. "Mom and dad were always pretty casual about being dressed too." "Yeah, I used to skinny dip with my brothers too, until they started staring at me," Millie said. "I can't blame them for that," I said. "You are a very beautiful young woman, Millie, even if you are pregnant." "Just wait a few months," Millie giggled. "I'll look like a cow." "I think pregnant women are beautiful," I said. "They seem to glow." "That's because they're remembering all of the good sex that got them that way," Millie laughed. All of the women got a laugh out of that. We hadn't thought to bring anything to dry off with, so we just laid on the grassy bank and let the air dry us. "How old are you, Emma?" I asked. "I just turned seventeen, Jase. How old are all of you?" "Well, let's see. Lettie has been seventeen for a while now. Millie will be sixteen shortly. I'll be seventeen the day after tomorrow." "I'd have thought you were all a lot older," Emma said. "Back in Pennsylvania where I come from, the girls usually get married when they're around seventeen. The guys don't usually get married until they're in their twenties." "Well, with Millie and me it was a special case. We were next door neighbors and I'd been in love with her since I was a little kid. We didn't plan on getting married until we got to Oregon, but living so close, we decided we'd better go ahead and get married when we did." All three women laughed at that. "I always thought Millie was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen when we were growing up. I thought that I'd probably go blind if I ever saw her naked. Now, here I am, looking at the three most beautiful women I've ever seen and I still haven't gone blind." The girls all laughed then Emma asked, "Are you flirting with me, Jase Tackett?" "No, just stating a fact." Abby climbed up and sat on my chest. She looked down at me and asked, "Am I beautiful too, Papa?" "You are the most beautiful of all, my little princess. Someday you are going to make the boys' hearts stop every time they see you." Abby laid down on me and hugged me. I hugged her back and kissed her on the top of her head. "How did you guys get with Lettie?" Emma asked. "Jase saved my life," Lettie said. "My husband was killed by an Indian, then the Indians burned my wagon. I was hiding in some bushes when Jase came along and found me." "We fell in love with her almost immediately," Millie said. "Within a week or so she was our wife and Jase made a woman out of her." "But you said you were married. Surely you were already a woman." "My husband liked little boys," Lettie laughed. "I was still a virgin when I got with Millie and Jase." "You have to be kidding. My husband and I..." she looked around at Abby, who was listening intently. "Uh... Let's just say we enjoyed being married." Abby looked at Emma as if she weren't very bright, then she said, "I know all about sex. I used to watch ma and pa when they thought I was asleep." I winked at Emma and let it go. July 15, 1845 We made twenty-one miles today and reached the Snake River crossing. We camped on the near shore since it was too late to try to cross. Mom was feeling better today and Sally said that her wound looked clean and appeared to be healing. Pap has been like a terrier watching a rat hole. I'd hate to see what would happen to anyone other than family that approached their wagon. Besides that, he's been very attentive to mom, fetching and carrying to her like she was the Queen of England or something. I think her getting shot may have woke him up. Millie, Lettie, and Tess rode guard for Emma today. I was now glad I'd wasted all of that powder and shot teaching them how to shoot. I have no doubt they'd be as formidable as pap if someone tried to get to one of them. We had another nice day without hearing anything from the Reverend Green crowd. Ab and Pris and Pris' kids came around after supper. The kids, along with Abby started some kind of game. I reminded Abby she wasn't to leave the area and she stuck her tongue out at me as she joined the other kids. "That's a feisty one," Pris said. "Yeah, but we love her," Millie told her. I asked Ab if he could tell us anything about the valleys we would probably be settling in. "Well," he said. "There are three valleys that are fairly close together. I chose the one I did because it is the first one you come to. All three have good sized streams running through them. The valley floors are mostly clear and grassy. There is a lot of timber in the foothills. Mostly live oak, mountain mahogany, and a couple of different kinds of pine." "That sounds like just what we're looking for," I said. "There is a lot of game in these valleys. There are rabbits and quail and geese and ducks. There are also mule deer, elk, and antelope. Around the creeks you'll find just about any kind of fur bearing animal you can imagine." "These sound like ideal places, Ab," Emma said. "What are the differences between the valleys?" "Well, the one I picked is the first one we'll come to. It's about the middle one in size. The next one is the biggest. It would certainly make a nice cattle ranch. The last one is the smallest, but it is still bigger than any ranch I've ever seen. I think Caleb would be real happy with it for a horse ranch." "I envy you guys," Emma said. "If Jason hadn't gotten himself killed, we'd have been looking forward to something like that." There were tears leaking out of her eyes as she said this. My wives got up and sat on either side of her. Each of them put an arm around her and Emma buried her head on Millie's shoulder and cried herself out. I always feel so helpless when a woman cries. July 16, 1845 My birthday. I'm seventeen years old today. All of us slept in the wagon last night and Millie awakened me with a big kiss. Lettie followed with a big kiss of her own. I even got a nice hug and kiss from Abby. There wasn't going to be any scouting today, as we figured it'd take nearly all day to get across the ford. Ab and I had checked it out and found it was deep enough we were going to have to float the wagons across. Getting the wagons and animals across the river was back breaking labor. Millie got a little fashed at me because I wouldn't let her help. I told her I didn't want to take any chance of hurting the baby, but she said she wasn't an invalid. I still wouldn't let her. After supper, I think half the people on the wagon train came around to wish me a happy birthday. I don't know how they heard about it, but I suspect Millie had something to do with it. I think she was paying me back for not letting her help today. Abby slept with Emma again and both of my wives gave me the best birthday presents I could have possible asked for. July 17, 1845 - July 18, 1845 Well, it looks like the next several days are going to be as hard as yesterday. I hadn't gotten much more than a mile from the ford until I had run into a solid wall of trees. I scouted around for a while, trying to find the best way through, then I rode back to the wagons. Ab just nodded when I told him about the trees. "I scouted this route when I went back east last spring," he said. "I know it ain't going to be easy, Jase. I was hoping to have a lot more people on the wagon train than we do. We're gonna have three or four days of cutting our way through." There was a nice stream with plenty of grass surrounding it just before we got to the tree line. We set up camp there, then several men teamed up with crosscut saws and started felling timber. Others hitched up teams of oxen and started dragging the trees out of the way. John and I spent the rest of that day cutting trees. Most of them we managed to cut close enough to the ground that our wagons could ride right over them. The ones we couldn't cut low enough, we had to chop out. This is backbreaking work. The second day, we hitched up a team of oxen and dragged out trees that others had cut. It was still hard work, but not nearly as bad as pulling that crosscut saw or swinging an axe. During the time we were working on both days, Millie, Lettie, Tess, and Emma would bring us out something to eat or drink ever so often. They always came in pairs and both of them were always armed. It's a shame that people have to be more afraid of other people than they do of wild animals. We broke through in the middle of the afternoon of the second day. Everyone was so tired, we didn't even think of moving the wagons. John and I had worked so hard and I had sweated so much, I could smell myself. When we got back to camp and got our tools and oxen taken care of, I told Millie I needed a bath. She pulled a bar of soap out of her pocket and said, "I expected you would." We had quite a group as we walked upstream looking for a good place to take a bath. There was me, Millie, Lettie, John, Tess, Emma, and of course Abby. We found a good spot and John and Tess said they were going to stand guard while the rest of us were in the water, then we could do the same for them. Abby was in the water before John stopped talking. I almost didn't have the strength to get undressed, but I was inspired by three beautiful young women getting naked. I followed three of the prettiest butts I would ever see into the water. I'll have to admit, the water felt good. I just stood there for a minute, enjoying the feeling of the water on my tired body. Then I felt Millie's soapy hands start washing my back. I sighed then I felt Lettie's soapy hands start washing my front. I was in heaven. When I felt another set of hands washing my arm, my eyes popped open. Emma gave me a big smile as she continued to clean up my arms and underarms. I didn't complain. I just stood there, enjoying the feeling. I don't know whose hands touched my cock first, but I think all three women touched it before they were through. When they were through washing me, I plunged in and rinsed off. I'd have liked to have returned the favor, but I was just too tired. I got out on the bank and told John and Tess I'd take over the guard duties. Tess gave me a big kiss before they went into the water. Before long, Millie, Lettie, and Emma joined me on the bank. Abby stayed in as long as John and Tess were in the water. John and I just kind of laid around and watched as the women fixed supper. Afterwards, me, my wives and my daughter went to bed early. July 19, 1845 It felt good to be scouting ahead again. Sin hadn't had a workout in a couple of days and he was feeling his oats. After we were through the wooded area I let him out and let him run for a while. We only made ten miles for the day, but after spending the last two days cutting timber, it seemed like a lot. We had a good camp with plenty of everything we needed. After supper, Millie and Lettie asked me if I would take a walk with them. Of course I agreed. When we were well away from the wagons, Millie said, "Jase, Lettie and me have been doing a lot of talking with Emma over the last several days. We really like her and we hate the thought of losing her when we head off to our valley and she continues on with the wagon train." "Yeah, I'm going to kind of miss her too," I said. "She's a brave young woman and I have a lot of respect for her." "Well, Lettie and I were wondering what you'd think of asking her to join us." "You mean like as a partner in the ranch?" "That, or as a partner in our marriage," Lettie said. I was dumbfounded. I didn't know what to say. I had to stop and examine how I felt about her. She was pretty and sexy and smart and a good worker. "Are you saying you love her?" I asked. "Yeah, I think we are," Lettie said. "We at least like her enough that I'm sure we will love her if we don't already." "I guess I feel about the same way as you do. She's as pretty as the two of you are. We all seem to get along well. Do you have any idea how she'd feel about something like that?" "No. She's asked us a million questions about our marriage and she doesn't see anything wrong with it. We haven't come right out and asked her how she'd feel because we wanted to talk to you first," Millie said. "According to Ab, we may be leaving the wagon train in less than two weeks. We wouldn't want to wait until the last minute," Lettie said. "Well, if that's what you guys want, I wouldn't object," I said. Both of them hugged me and kissed me, although we were in plain site of the wagons. I guess if it didn't bother them, it shouldn't bother me. ------- When we got back to camp, I went and sat down and Abby jumped on my lap. I cuddled her and asked her how her day had gone. While she was answering me, I saw Millie and Lettie take Emma away on a walk. They were gone almost an hour. I was beginning to wonder if they had missjudged how Emma thought about us when I saw them coming back. Emma walked straight over to me, and said, "Now, it's our turn for a walk." I got up and we walked away, side by side, but not touching. "I suppose you know what Millie and Lettie asked me." "I know what they said they were going to ask you." "How do you feel about that?" "Emma, I don't know if I've fallen in love with you or not. I know I like you a lot and I respect you even more. If something had happened to either Millie or Lettie, I don't think I could have held together nearly as well as you have." Emma nodded, so I went on. "The way I feel about you right now is with a lot of respect; a sincere like, and more than a little lust. You are a very beautiful woman." Emma blushed. "I think there is probably more than a little bit of love there as well, Emma. It seems like every day I've known you, I've felt closer to you. Recently, I've been reluctant to go to bed at night, because I know I won't see you again until the next day. Us going one way and you going another in a couple of weeks isn't something I even want to think about." "I know. I don't like that thought either." "How do you feel about what they asked you?" "I guess the main thing that bothers me is that it just hasn't been long enough since Jason died for me to be over him. I loved Jason and he loved me. We had a good marriage, both physically and emotionally. In some ways I feel like the better part of me died along with him." "I can guarantee you, the best part of you is still here, Emma. You know, you are never going to get over Jason, don't you? We wouldn't want you to. Thirty years from now, you are still going to love him. You're still going to remember the good times you had together." "That wouldn't bother you?" "Of course not. If I can love Millie and Lettie and... you, why would it bother me if you loved Millie and Lettie and Jason and me?" "I hadn't thought of it that way," Emma said as she took my hand. We walked on a ways, holding hands, then she asked, "If I did join your marriage, would I be expected to have sex with Millie and Lettie as well?" "You wouldn't be expected to and you definitely wouldn't be forced to. I'll bet that after living with us for a while you'd want to though. Millie and Lettie are very lovable women. Sex is just another way of expressing that love." "I really do have strong feelings for all three of you. When Jason was killed, I thought my world had ended. Then, the three of you stepped in and helped me. You didn't ask anything in return. I thought at first it was because I'm half Indian, like you are. Now, I realize that wasn't even a consideration." "No, it wasn't. We helped you because you needed help. We really didn't even know you at the time. We've helped others and we've made some good friends because of it. We weren't expecting anything from you other than your friendship. What we feel for you now just grew from being around you." Emma squeezed my hand, then she said, "I think the feelings are pretty well mutual, Jase. Could I think about things for a day or two before I give you an answer?" "Most definitely. Take as long as you like." "There's one thing I'd like, if you're willing," Emma said with a blush. "What's that?" "Could you kiss me once?" "With pleasure," I said. The kiss we shared was filled with love and longing. I knew after the kiss what Emma's answer was going to be. ------- Chapter 29 July 20, 1845 We made fifteen miles today and we camped back on the river. We had a nice camp with plenty of wood and grass for a change. My family was starting to get excited about nearing the end of our journey. We were all laughing and joking as the women fixed supper. Our good mood continued on through supper, but ended shortly thereafter. The Reverend Green and a group of his followers showed up at our campsite. They didn't say a word as they grouped into lines and started singing a hymn. The group consisted of the Reverend Green, his wife and their five kids; Ben Crank, his wife and two kids; and Jasper Province, his wife and three kids. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I whispered to Millie and asked her if she'd go and get Caleb and Ab. She nodded and took off. When they finished the hymn, the Reverend Green stepped forward and started a long, drawn out prayer. He prayed that God would show us how we were living in sin. He prayed that God would forgive us for being born as heathens and would accept us into his glory. He prayed that if we couldn't be redeemed that God would strike us down with his lightning. I was watching Tess the whole time this was going on and I could see she was ready to snap. I said, "John," in a loud voice. When he looked at me, I nodded toward Tess. He understood immediately and put his arm around her. I don't know if that calmed her or not, but I felt better because he was in a better position to restrain her if the need arose. When he started praying that me and the two fallen women I was living with would ask God for forgiveness, I thought I was going to have to restrain Lettie. I could see Ab and Caleb coming, along with Millie and their wives when the Reverend started praying that our unholy union would not be blessed with offsprings. Lettie had had enough. "Reverend Green," she shouted. He stopped and looked at her. "You and your wife have five kids. You must really enjoy swiving." There was a gasp from all of the people he had brought with him. "Young woman," Green said. "My wife and I are married. What we do is none of your business. We are carrying out Gods word by multiplying like he told us to do. I don't appreciate the language you are using." "Jase and I like to swive too, Mr. Green, or should I say we like to fuck? You're a little too late with your prayer. Millie is already in a family way and I'm hoping to be soon." "That's Reverend Green." "Well, Mr. Green, I don't revere you. I don't respect you. Actually, I despise you. You call Jase and Tess heathens because they are half Indian. Let me tell you, Sir, they are far better people than you will ever be. At one time or another, they have helped nearly everyone on this wagon train. They haven't done it because they were looking for a reward. They've done it because they are good people." "They are heathens, young woman. By their very birth, they are heathens." "Are you a Jew, Mr. Green?" "I am a Christian." "Then, you too, are a heathen. God's chosen people are the Jews, at least that's what my bible says." Ab laid his hand on Green's shoulder and said, "I think it's time you left, Reverend Green." "I have a perfect right to be here Mr. Smith. I can preach God's word at any time and any place." "I'm afraid you're wrong about that. As long as Jase and his family are camped here, this is their home. You have no right to go into anyone's home, uninvited and preach at them." "Mr. Green," I said, picking up Lettie's manner of address. "If this is my home, maybe I should just put a bullet through you, like you or one of your followers did to my mother. That way I wouldn't have to listen to you at all." "My follower, as you put it, was probably a little over zealous in following God's plan. He has since repented." "He hasn't said anything to me. It's probably better that he doesn't. If I find out who it was, I'll follow my heathen nature and stake him out naked on an ant hill, smeared with honey. How long do you think he'd last?" "Reverend Green, if you know who shot Mrs. Tackett and refuse to tell us, you are just as guilty as he is," Ab said. "He has made his peace with God, Mr. Smith. That's good enough for me." "Maybe I should just stake you out on an ant hill. I'll bet you'd tell us who did it before the sun went down the first time," I said. "God will strike you down for the threats you are making against a man of the cloth," Green said. Emma had been quiet until now, but she just couldn't hold it in any longer. "Man of the cloth, my ass," she said. "If you were truly a man of the cloth, a man of God, you'd be trying to help us, even if you thought we were sinners. Instead, you come around berating us because of our race, while you protect someone who tried to kill one of us. You are a hypocrite of the worst kind. I hope you rot in hell for how you are treating us." Jasper Province jumped forward and acted like he was going to hit Emma. I grabbed his wrist and squeezed. "You touch her and you are a dead man," I said. "That goes for all of you. If any one of you approaches any of my family, I will kill you where you stand." "I think that is about enough folks. You people get out of here. If I ever find you've been back around Jase or his family, or if I ever find out any of you have tried to harm them, I'll throw you off the wagon train no matter where we are at the time." Green's group mumbled and grumbled, but they left. Ab acted like he wanted to say something to me, but thought better of it. July 21, 1845 I went to talk with Ab while the women were fixing breakfast. I asked him if there was anything special I should be looking for and he said that there was nothing special, but that if he remembered right, the country would be a little rough. "Jase, I just want you to be careful about what you say," he told me. "After what you said to Green last night, if anything happens to him, even if it's an accident, people are going to think you had something to do with it." "Yeah, I know, Ab. I figured I had to step in and say something though. There were four women there who were ready to cut him up and make jerky. I figured if I didn't say something, they would." "I can see that, Jase. Just be careful." I assured him I would, then I went back and had breakfast. Millie, Lettie, Emma, and Abby informed me they were going scouting with me today. As we were getting ready to leave, Tess rode up and said she was going too. We made quite a procession. Ab was right about it being rough traveling. We made fifteen miles for the day and I felt very good about making that many. We didn't hear anything from Green during the day and we were all thankful for that. After supper, we were sitting around, talking about our future ranch. We hadn't even mentioned Green or his cohorts. I think all of us were thinking about him though. It was getting a little late and we were thinking of heading to bed when we heard the same voices we had heard the night before start up a hymn. They were about a hundred feet out from the wagons, singing at the top of their voices. Somehow, it struck me as funny, so I broke out laughing. Tess had started looking angry, but when I started laughing, I could see the corners of her mouth start to twitch and before long she started to laugh with me. The rest of my family soon joined us. The singers broke off before they had finished the hymn, so I know they must have heard us. I don't know about them, but if I'd heard someone laughing at me, it would have hurt me more than if they had been cursing at me. July 22, 1845 Millie and Emma went scouting with me today. Lettie and Abby stayed with Tess and John. I knew something must be up, but I didn't say anything. We were still in rough country and we only made thirteen miles for the day. We started an easy conversation not long after we started out. Emma was asking questions about Millie and me growing up and about how we had come to fall in love. Them Millie asked Emma about her childhood. "Well, I think I told you I was born and raised in western Pennsylvania. My mother was a Shawnee Indian and my father had come over from Germany. I don't know how mom and dad met, but they were very happy together. Mom was a lot more talkative than your mom, Jase. She told me a lot about the Shawnee traditions and about the 'grandmother' who created and watched over the Shawnee people." "Actually, when mom was teaching Tess and me the Cherokee language and traditions, she talked a lot more than she does now," I said. "Mom talked a lot more all of the time. She was a beautiful woman with long, straight, black hair. Her skin was a little darker than dad's was, but when she was wearing white man's clothes, as she did most of the time, you couldn't have told she was an Indian. I don't think anyone around where we lived knew she wasn't white." "Are your parents still living in Pennsylvania?" Millie asked. "Mom and dad both died of cholera not long before Jason and I got married. We'd been talking about it anyway, so when they passed on, we just went ahead and got married." "I'm sorry to hear about your parents, Emma. You didn't come down with the cholera?" I asked. "No, and I don't know why. I took care of mom and dad both when they had it. I thought sure I'd get it too." We were all quiet for a few minutes. I know I was thinking about how strange it was that one person would get a disease and the person closest to them would never get it. "I wish Lettie was with us today too," Emma said. "She already knows what I'm going to tell you though, so she volunteered to stay with Abby. If the offer is still open, I'd like very much to become part of your marriage." "The offer is still open," Millie said, then she looked around at me and I nodded. "We'd like very much to have you as part of our marriage and as part of our lives." "Emma, my love for you has grown a lot over the last few days. I really appreciate how you have stood up for us during this fight with Reverend Green," I said. "My love for all of you has grown too, Jase. I'm really proud of the integrity you've all shown." Millie giggled. "Lettie kind of lost it with them the other night. I've never heard her use language like that before." We all laughed and I said, "Millie's right. Lettie is usually the calm one of the bunch. Normally, she wouldn't say shit if her mouth was full of it. I guess the parson just got to her." "So how do we go about this?" Emma asked. "Emma, it might be best for you if no one found out about us marrying you until we leave the wagon train," I said. "Actually, it might be better for all of us. I'm afraid this might just stir up more trouble," I said. "I'm not ashamed of it, Jase. I don't care who knows," Emma said. "I'm not ashamed of it either, Emma. In fact, just before we leave the wagon train, I'll be happy to announce it to everyone. I just don't want to put you or any of the rest of us in more danger than we already are." "I think Jase might be right, Emma. I'm not ashamed of it either, but these people are going crazy as it is. It's hard to tell what they might do if we stirred the pot even more," Millie said. "Okay, I guess, but I'd really like to start sleeping with you guys," Emma said with a pretty blush. "We'd like to start sleeping with you too," I said with an exaggerated leer. Millie and Emma both giggled, then I said, "Let's just see how it plays out. Maybe they'll just forget about all of us now." "Yeah, right," Millie snorted. ------- After supper, I asked Tess to take a walk with me. When we were away from camp, I told her that we were adding Emma to our marriage. "It really doesn't surprise me," She said as she took hold of my hand. "Emma is a beautiful woman and she's part Indian. I think I probably like her as much as I like Millie and Lettie." "We're not going to let anyone else know until we leave the wagon train," I said. "That's probably smart. These bastards are really scaring me, Jase. Ab told me today it probably wouldn't be much more than a week until we branch off. It can't be too soon for me." We held hands all the way back to camp. July 23, 1845 We had a rather uneventful day. We made eighteen miles, but the only camp site I could find had good water and wood, but the grass was scarce. It was all we could do, so we managed with what we had. Ab and Pris came around after supper and Ab said he wanted to talk about us leaving the wagon train. "We'll be hitting the Malheur River in a week or less," he said. "That's where we head north to the valleys I was telling you about." "Can you give us directions as to how to find them?" I asked. "I'm going to do better than that," Ab said. "Pris doesn't want to stay with the train either. I'm going to tell everyone they are going to be laying over for three or four days, until I can get back. They're not going to like it, but they don't have much choice." "Pris, do you think it's safe for you to stay at Ab's place all alone?" I asked. "That's one of the things we wanted to talk with you about," Pris said. "You guys are going to be building a place to live for the winter. I'm sure you're going to need all the help you can get. Would you mind if me and my kids lived in our wagon and helped you get a place built while Ab takes the rest of these people on to the Willamette Valley?" "We'd like that just fine, Pris," Millie said. "We're hoping to build like a two room log cabin to spend the winter in, then add on to it next spring." "That brings me to my question," Ab said. "Are you planning to leave your wagons and stock here until you've looked things over, or are you going to take them with you when you go?" I looked around at my wives and at Emma. All of them gave me a nod that said it was up to me. "I think we'll take them with us," I said. "I'll go around to our drivers and see if they'll help us get everything to where we're going, then come back with you." "You know you may not like the area when you get there?" Ab asked. "I know that, but from the way you describe it, it's just what we want. Besides, if we left our stuff with the wagon train, we'd have to leave someone to guard it. I wouldn't trust Green's bunch to leave it alone." "I can see that. It's really what I expected you to decide. My valley is one good day's travel by wagon from where we'll leave the wagon train. The second valley is about ten miles passed that." "That doesn't sound too bad. That way we could be at even the farthest valley in two days. Maybe you should tell the people you'll be four or five days." Ab laughed. "No, if I'm a day or two longer, I'm not going to worry about it. If they leave without me, I'll catch up before long." We talked on for a while, then Ab said they'd better get to bed. "Before you go," I said, "We should tell you that Emma is going to be going with us." Pris started laughing. "That doesn't surprise me a bit," she said when she could get control of herself. She and Ab went off laughing and shaking their heads. July 24, 1845 We had another good day of travel. I found a good place to camp with good grass and water about sixteen miles out. We weren't bothered by the Green crew at all today. After supper, John and I went around and talked with all of our drivers and their parents. All of them agreed the boys could come with us and return with Ab. We even arranged to borrow some horses for the boys to ride back on. We asked all of them to keep it quiet that we were leaving. July 25, 1845 We made another sixteen miles today and found another good camp. We had been really lucky on the trip. There were very few days when the stock was short on food. We also had very few days when we had to make a dry camp. Ab says it would have been a lot different if we had left a month later. After dinner, we all sneaked off for a good bath. This time I watched Emma a lot more closely as she undressed and while she was bathing. I was rewarded with a big smile from her when she saw me watching her. July 26, 1845 We passed two hot springs today while making fifteen miles. The first one smelled like sulphur and I knew it had to be a hot spring before I even got off of Sin. The second one looked and smelled like a normal spring. When I got close, I could feel the heat coming off of the water though. It was much too hot to drink and I have no doubt it would have cooked the meat right off of my bones if I had stuck my hand in it. My whole family was getting excited about the end of the journey being close. There was a lot of laughing and joking going on during supper. Afterwards Millie and I went over and talked with Caleb and Sally for a while. We told them of our plans and they said Ab had already been talking with them about it. July 27, 1845 Ab told me this morning that he thought it was only going to be a couple of more days until we reached the Malheur River. It couldn't come too quick for my family. We were anxious to get away from the Greens, but we were even more anxious to start building our home. It was a great day for traveling and we made twenty miles. July 28, 1845 We only traveled a little over eight miles today. I reached the Owyhee River in mid-morning and saw that the crossing wasn't going to be easy. It took us the rest of the day to get all of the wagons and animals across. A couple of months ago, it would have taken us at least two days. We camped on the other side of the ford. July 29, 1845 Ab told me it was about twenty miles to the Malheur River and that I should push to reach it today. The ground we had to cross wasn't bad and we made it without a problem. I looked over the grass along the river and I could see that by moving camp slightly a couple of times, it should last for at least a week. Millie, Lettie, Emma, Abby, John, Tess, and I walked around to the camps of our special friends after supper and told them goodbye. We told all of them that we were going to make a short announcement in the morning but that we'd appreciate them not saying anything tonight. Several of them were broken up over the fact that we weren't going to be closer to where they were going to be settling. I think Sam Stuart took it hardest of all. When we got back to our camp, Tess asked Abby if she'd like to sleep with her and John. Abby didn't have a clue as to why, so she accepted immediately. After they had gone off to bed, Emma asked, "What was that all about?" "I think Tess is just trying to be nice to us and our new wife," I said. "Oh, goody," Emma laughed. We put out our fire and went into the wagon. There was enough light left that we could watch each other undress. July 30, 1845 Ab called a general meeting of the wagon train the first thing in the morning. When everyone had gathered, he said, "You people are going to be camping here for the next few days. I am taking a group of seven wagons to the north of here. Once I have these people settled in their new home, I'll be back to lead the rest of you on to the Willamette Valley." Of course there were questions. The first was, who was going. Ab gave them a list of the wagons that would be departing. The Reverend Green immediately protested and demanded that Abby be taken away from us before we leave. None of us even bothered to answer him. While we were at the meeting, our drivers hitched all of the teams and got all of our wagons ready to leave. Gil and Paul had even started our livestock moving north. "Sam Stuart, you're in charge while I'm gone," Ab shouted over Green and his crew. "If anyone gives you any trouble, just tell me and I'll take care of them when I get back." "I'm not as nice as you, Ab," Sam shouted back. "I might just shoot the bastards." Ab was laughing as he mounted up. He stayed with us as everyone got to the wagons and he gave the signal for us to move out. Ab had said we didn't need to do any scouting. He said he'd been through here several times, so he drove Pris' wagon in the lead. Caleb, John, and the Jacobs boys brought the livestock along behind the wagons. There wasn't really much my family needed to do, so we mainly just enjoyed being together and the fact that we were getting close to what would be our home. Even with the late start caused by the meeting, we arrived at Ab's valley by late afternoon. The valley was beautiful. We looked it over, then checked out the temporary house Ab had built before he knew he was getting married. We could have probably pushed on toward our valley, but we all agreed that spending the night here would make more sense. August 1, 1845 We got an early start this morning and long before time for a nooning, we saw Ab turn left into what looked like a narrow canyon. There was a large stream flowing out of the canyon and there was probably not more than fifty feet of level ground on either side of it. About a quarter of a mile up the canyon, it started to widen out. The valley we were coming into quickly widened to almost a mile in width. We hadn't explored it yet, but Ab said it was almost ten miles in length. The main valley was mostly clear, although there were trees along the creek. The creek itself ran very close to the left or west side of the valley. Ab said there were several smaller creeks in the valley that emptied into the main stream. There were several side canyons that branched off of both sides of the valley. All of them were heavily wooded. As we rode close to the main stream, Millie pointed to a little rise on the west side of the creek and said, "That's where our house is going to be." The whole family agreed that this is where we wanted to be. "It's perfect," Tess said. We walked up onto the rise where Millie said the house should be and just stood and looked out over the valley. "Welcome to the Tackett-Ware ranch," I said. ------- Author's Note: Between 1841 and 1866, more than 350,000 emigrants moved west across the Oregon trail. There were several jumping off points along the Missouri River, but the two major ones were Independence, MO and St Joseph, MO. The trip along the trail took nearly six months and it was fraught with danger. The only alternative at that time was to go by boat around Cape Horn. This was almost as dangerous as the trail and it took nearly twice as long to reach your destination. Traveling the Oregon Trail wasn't an easy trip and there were many who died before reaching Oregon. It is estimated that nearly one in ten died on the trail. Cholera and Smallpox were two of the primary causes of death. There were also many accidental deaths. Accidents every wagon train could expect to experience included accidental shootings, drownings, and falls. Oxen were preferred for pulling the wagons. They could pull heavier loads than mules and they could live on the sparse prairie grass. They were, however, much slower than mules. If you're interested in a bit of history, look up the "Oregon Trail" on the Internet. Other things of interest that can be found on the Internet are Independence Rock, Chimney Rock, Devil's Gate, Fort Laramie, Fort John, Fort Platte, Fort Hall, Ash Hollow, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail. Writing "Wagons Ho!" was a labor of love for me. The ending is a little weak, but it is that way because I fully intend to write at least one follow up story if my health permits. From the feedback I've gotten, I think a follow up would be welcomed. I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for all of the great feedback. Lazlong ------- The End ------- Posted: 2005-03-28 Last Modified: 2005-04-25 / 11:20:45 am ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------