A Dream for Tomorrow (34 page)

“I’ve been looking,” Asa told her. “It’s slim pickin’s around here.”

“Which brings me to my idea,” Matthew said. “A long trip floating down the river doesn’t really appeal to me. Especially knowing it will be followed by an ocean voyage. Just thinking about all that confinement makes me feel restless already.”

“I’m actually looking forward to it,” Clara said wistfully. “To simply sit and watch the world float by…without all the backbreaking bumps…or the dust.”

He gave her a tolerant smile. “I’m glad for you, Ma. But I reckon we’re different. So anyway I got to wondering…what if I decided to go by horseback instead of by river? And while I was at it, how about if I drove our livestock along with me?”

“What?” Elizabeth felt alarmed at the idea of her younger brother out in the wilderness by himself.

“That way we can be sure of two things,” he continued. “Our animals will make a safe journey, and we’ll get them there on time to be shipped with us as planned.”

Elizabeth glanced nervously at Jess, but she seemed perfectly at ease with this new plan as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

“I already told Jess my idea, and she agreed,” Matthew confessed.

“Can I go too, Ma?” JT’s eyes lit up. “Please say I can. It would be a grand adventure with Uncle Matthew. Just like being a real cowboy. I’d even write about it in my journal. Please, Ma?”

“I don’t think that’s—”

“Come on, Lizzie,” Matthew implored, “why not let JT come with me? He’s good on a horse and good company too.”

“And we can take Flax with us,” JT said eagerly. “Flax is a good herder and watchdog.”

“And if ’n you don’t mind, ma’am, I’d like to go too.” Brady looked up from his whittling. “Bein’ I can’t swim, I ain’t too keen on all that river travel myself.”

“You really want to come with me?” Matthew looked hopefully at him. “I’d be pleased to have you along, Brady, but are you sure you’re—”

“Wait, wait, just a minute…” Elizabeth held up her hands. “Next thing you know, you’ll have everyone going by land with you.” She turned to Asa. “What do you think of all this?”

“I think it’s a fine idea. Our animals will be in excellent hands. Truth is I was tempted to go along with them myself, ’ceptin’ I feel responsible for our unit while they’re on the river. Can’t be in two places at once.”

“You really think it’s a fine idea?” Elizabeth frowned at him. “The three of them and Flax, setting off like that without a scout or guide or anything to get them to where they need—”

“Elizabeth,” Matthew said with impatience. “All we do is follow the river. It’s not that hard.”

“But I’ve heard it’s a terribly rough trail,” she reminded him.

“Sure it’s rough and slow going when you’re taking a wagon, but not so rough and not so slow when you’re on a horse. And you do want your livestock safely delivered, don’t you?”

Elizabeth was torn. She did want her animals to make it in one piece. “I want my son safely delivered too,” she told him.

“I promise you, Lizzie, I will guard JT with my life.”

JT snickered. “And I’ll guard Uncle Matthew with my life.”

“And I’ll guard both of them for you,” Brady added with a twinkle in his eye. “And the dog too.”

Now they all laughed.

Elizabeth looked to her mother. “What do you think of this?”

“I think they’re going to have a good adventure together.”

“What about Indians?” Elizabeth ventured.

“Look, Lizzie.” Matthew glanced over at Jess. “I don’t like saying this, but you folks on the raft…well, you’re in more danger of an Indian attack than we are. We’ve got brush and rocks to hide behind. But you’ll be out there floating in the river with nothing to hide behind.”

“But don’t you worry,” Asa said quickly. “We’ll arrange our wagons so that we have a space between them to take cover if needed. And by my tally, we’ve got at least a dozen adults who know how to shoot. That’s like a small infantry. We’ll have regular guard duty and keep our guns ready to defend ourselves if necessary. However, according to the captain, that is unlikely.”

Elizabeth looked longingly at JT. “It’ll be hard to part ways.”

JT stood and came over to her. Taking her hand in his, he looked into her eyes. “But we’ll be together again, Ma. I promise we will.”

Her boy looked so much like a man that she felt her eyes getting misty. And she knew she had no more argument. “Well, I guess there’s nothing left to do but agree.”

JT hugged her. “Thanks, Ma. I won’t let you down.”

Just like that, Matthew gathered Brady and JT and immediately began making lists of supplies they’d need. They agreed to leave as soon as possible in the morning.

“When can
we
leave?” Elizabeth asked Asa.

“Not for a few days,” Asa said.

“A few days?” Suddenly she felt impatient. “Why the delay?”

“That’s the soonest the men in charge of the raft will be ready to leave,” he explained. “They need to shore up the raft. I promised to make it worth their while to do their best job. Trust me, it’ll be time well spent. Once we’re on that river, we want the raft to be as strong as can be.”

“I’m grateful for the time,” Clara said. “We’ll do some laundering and other preparations for the river trip.”

“I suppose we’ll have time to gather berries and such,” Elizabeth said.

“And I’ll take some of the men hunting,” Asa told them. “We’ll have plenty of time to get some game smoked for the river trip.”

They all continued to talk with enthusiasm, making plans for all that needed to be done in preparation for parting ways and for the next couple weeks of their journey.

Elizabeth got up early the next morning. She wanted to do everything she could to ensure that JT had everything he would need for his “grand adventure.” She still had reservations about this plan, but she knew he was determined. And Matthew’s words about having no place to hide on the river had been sobering. She realized that no one on this journey was truly safe. In the middle of the night, she decided that the best they could do was to be wise and to trust God.

JT was down on his knees, rolling up his bedroll, when she saw a couple of large holes in the soles of his boots. “JT…” She knelt down to look more closely. “These boots are really worn out.”

“I know, Ma.” He stood with the bedroll in his arms. “But I already wore out the other ones.” He stuck out a dusty boot. “These will just have to make it the rest of the way.”

“Unless…” She remembered packing some of James’ things for when JT grew bigger. “Wait here.” She climbed back into the wagon, relieved to see that Mrs. Taylor was already awake. “I need to get into a box beneath the bed,” she told her. Together they struggled to move and shift things, finally unearthing the box Elizabeth wanted. She pried open the top and then dug down until she found a pair of boots, holding them up in victory. “Just what we need,” she proclaimed as she hurried back down to JT. “Try them on,” she told him, and to her delight they were only a bit too big.

“And my feet might grow while I’m helping Uncle Matthew,” JT assured her with boy-like faith.

Elizabeth chuckled. “I have no doubt of that.” Next she reviewed the list Matthew had made for him, adding a few things she thought would be necessary. Then finally, she pulled out her canteen—the one Eli had swapped and never swapped back—and handed it to JT. “This looks like a cowboy canteen.”

“Really, Ma?” His eyes lit up. “You want me to take Eli’s canteen?”

“Yes. I’ll keep yours with me, and we can trade back in Fort Vancouver.”

He held up his Bowie knife. “Remember when Eli gave me this?”

She nodded, feeling a lump growing in her throat. She told herself it was because of JT leaving like this, but she knew it was partly due to Eli as well.

“Matthew said there won’t be room for my guitar. But Brady and I are both taking our harmonicas.”

“That’s good.” She put her arm around his shoulders. “I know you’ll be all right out there, son. But I’ll be praying for you—all of you—just the same.”

“I know you will. I’ll be praying for you too.”

“Let’s go over to Grandma’s now…see what we need to pack in the way of food stuff.”

Clara and Jess were already at work, measuring out enough rations of food to get the three of them to Fort Vancouver.

“And don’t forget we’ll hunt along the way,” JT assured them. “I’ll bet we’ll be eating better than you folks stuck on the river raft.”

“We can catch fish,” Jess reminded him.

“I have good news,” Matthew said as he and Brady led some of their horses into camp in order to load them. “We’ve picked up a couple more cowhands.”

“What?” Elizabeth felt hopeful. “Does that mean JT won’t need to go?”

“
Ma?
” His voice was laced with pleading.

Matthew came over to stand by JT. “JT is my right-hand man. You can’t take him away from me just because Jeremiah and Julius have thrown their hats in the ring.”

“Really?” Elizabeth was surprised. “Jeremiah and Julius are going with you?”

“Their families were going to leave their teams behind in the hopes they could replace them in Empire City or Coos Bay, which might not be likely. So when they heard we were doing this, they asked to come along with us.”

“Perhaps there will be safety in numbers,” Elizabeth conceded, and JT looked relieved. And really, it was some comfort to think that the Bramfords and Prescotts were willing to send their sons on a trek like this. Before long, everything was gathered and bundled and loaded onto the horses and mules, and Matthew announced it was time to leave.

“Who knows…” he said as they were climbing into their saddles. “We might even reach Fort Vancouver before you river folks.”

“Well, if that happens, you know what to do,” Asa told him.

Matthew patted his vest pocket. “I’ve got all the instructions you copied down for me right here, Pa.”

Before the livestock drivers left, their family members all gathered round them, and Asa said a brief prayer for their safety and Godspeed. Elizabeth tried to hide her tears as she called out her farewells. She knew that these fellows—in fact, all of the pioneers—were in God’s hands. It was futile to surrender herself to worry and fear. Even so, it was hard to watch them go. But JT sat tall in his saddle, and before they were out of sight, he removed his hat to give her one last wave.

Chapter Twenty-Three

A
fter a successful hunting trip, Asa and the other men in their unit set up a large makeshift smoker with canvas and evergreen branches, and it was Mrs. Taylor’s job to keep the smoldering fire burning throughout the day—and to make sure no one pilfered the smoked meat. Clara and Elizabeth washed clothing in the river. They also shook dust out of all the bedding and gave their wagons a thorough cleaning. Then they organized the food and kitchen supplies so that it would be easier to prepare food on the river.

“Why don’t we invite Lavinia and Matilda to combine their food stuff with ours,” Elizabeth suggested. “That way we can do all the cooking together, and everyone can help out.”

Clara nodded. “Many hands make light work.”

The other women were relieved to combine their kitchens, although Matilda was concerned that her meager provisions were unworthy. “I’m worried we might not even have enough beans to make it all the way to Fort Vancouver.”