Journey of Hope: A Novel of Triumph and Heartbreak on the Oregon Trail in 1852 (18 page)

Later, Michael came around from the back of the wagon and noticed one pie was missing.

“What happened to the second pie?” he asked.

“I gave it away,” Kate replied shortly.

“You gave it away?”

“Yes, I did.” Kate looked at him defiantly. Michael walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Ah, Katie, I’ll never be angry with your generosity. That’s one of the things I love about you the most.”

“Is that right, Michael,” Kate asked coyly, arching her brows. “And what are the other things you love about me?”

Michael squeezed her tightly. “After dinner and chores, when everyone is asleep, I intend to show you.”

To Michael’s delight, Kate blushed deeply.

New Life

Chapter Fifteen

Salmon Falls
August 14, 1852
Mile 1372

A muffled cry came from the Benson wagon in the late evening, contrasting with the soft and steady rain. Ruth Benson had spent the day in labor and was now delivering her seventh child.

The wagon train had stopped near Salmon Falls for the night, and the roar of the eighteen-foot drop could be heard throughout the camp. It had been rough going. The terrain was unforgiving, and the only vegetation was sagebrush and thickset licorice plants. The falls were beautiful even through the rain. Many Indians were camped close to the river where they were catching and drying salmon. Most of the overlanders had traded with these Indians for fresh and dried fish. For many, it was their first taste of salmon.

“How much longer, Dad?” Mary asked her father nervously as another cry came from within the wagon. Her freckles stood out against her pale face. She hated hearing her mother in distress. She remembered Annie’s birth almost two years earlier. It hadn’t seemed to take as long. Today had dragged on forever as her mother labored to bring the new little one into the world.

“It’s hard to say, Mary. Annie was pretty quick. Deborah took a lot longer.” They were sitting next to the wagon. Thomas had rigged a makeshift tarp to shield them from the rain. Still, they were all in various stages of wet. On hearing her name, Deborah looked up from the intricate but unidentifiable drawing she was creating with a stick pencil in the mud. Her blue eyes were round.

“Is Mommy crying?”

Thomas shifted a sleeping Annie in his arms. “No, Deborah, she’s just pushing the baby out. It won’t be much longer.”

“Can I go in the wagon?” the four-year-old pleaded.

“Not yet. There’s no room for us in there.”

Rebecca was in the cramped wagon with Ruth, and Kate Flannigan had been checking in every hour during the evening since they had made camp. Tommy and Sam were doing the evening chores, happy to be away from the drama playing out inside the wagon.

“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” Mary asked.

“I want a baby brother,” Deborah said petulantly. She still hadn’t gotten over Annie’s birth and all the attention her little sister had stolen from her.

“Your mother thinks it will be a girl, and she’s been right every time.”

“How does she know?” Mary queried.

Thomas yawned. “I have no idea. Women’s intuition I guess.”

“What’s into….into…?” Deborah asked.

“Intuition,” Thomas replied. “Hmm…it’s when you know something without having the facts that tell you that it’s true, and then it turns out to be true later.”

“Like a mystery that solves itself?” Mary asked.

“No, not a mystery. It’s like when you have a feeling something’s going to happen and then your feeling is correct.”

There was another cry from inside the wagon. They could hear Rebecca’s voice gently encouraging.

“Like when I had a feeling I was going to be sick and then I was,” Mary pronounced.

“No, it’s not a physical feeling. It’s a feeling in your head— your mind. Remember a couple of weeks ago when Tommy had a feeling about the rocks we were camped close to? He felt they weren’t safe to climb on, and later the Harmon boy was bit by a rattlesnake?”

“Yes! I wanted to play on those rocks and Tommy wouldn’t let me!”

“That’s right, Mary. He had a feeling—an intuition—that something was wrong.”

“But Tommy isn’t a woman. How does he have intuition?”

Thomas chuckled. “Everybody has it sometimes. Women just listen to it more often.”

Mary frowned. “They listen? Does it have a voice?”

“Shhh!” Deborah said. Her earnest mud-smeared face looked at them seriously. “I hear it. It’s whispering.”

Mary giggled. Her little sister looked so intense. “What’s whispering, Deborah?”

“Into-ishen. It’s telling me something. Shhh!” Her finger went to her lips to silence them.

A prolonged low cry came from the wagon followed by a lusty baby’s protest mingled with Rebecca’s excited voice. “It’s a girl, Ma. Oh, she’s beautiful!”

Thomas rested the back of his head against the wagon and closed his eyes.

“Thanks be to God for this healthy baby, and thank you Lord for taking care of Ruth.”

“Can we see her now, Dad?” Mary asked excitedly.

“In a few minutes. Rebecca and your mother still have some work to do.”

“What kind of work?”

“They have to get the baby and your ma cleaned up and ready for company.”

At that moment, Kate Flannigan walked into camp. “Well, I guess I’m not needed here.” The baby was crying lustily.

“It’s a girl,” Deborah said half-heartedly, her attention on her mud drawing again.

“Aren’t you excited about your new little sister, Deborah?” Kate asked teasingly.

“I already have a little sister. I wanted a little brother. I don’t have one of those yet.” They all chuckled, relieved that Ruth’s long labor was over.

“Thomas, let me take Annie to my camp. She can spend the night with us and it will be one less thing you’ll have to worry about.”

“Thank you, Kate.” Thomas gratefully handed the sleeping child over.

“And Mary, you come too after you visit the new sister. Annie will be more comfortable if you are with her, and you can visit with Brenna and Conor.” Kate turned to leave and paused. “Have you named the baby yet?”

“Mattie,” Deborah said absently, applying finishing touches to her drawing.

Kate looked to Thomas for confirmation. “What a lovely name!”

Thomas shrugged and looked at the four-year-old. “Where did you hear that name, Deborah?”

Deborah stopped her drawing and put down her stick pencil. “My into-ishen told me,” she replied solemnly.

Mary laughed along with Kate and Thomas. “I’m going to go and find Tommy and Sam. They’ll want to see Mattie,” Mary said giggling, and she skipped off in the light drizzle.

“Who wants to see the baby?” Rebecca called. Thomas jumped up and picked up Deborah. He, Deborah, and Kate, who was holding a sleeping Annie, looked through the canvas opening at mother and baby. The small and very pink newborn was quietly nursing.

“She’s tiny but strong,” Ruth said, smiling tenderly at the new little life.

“Her lungs are really strong,” Thomas replied.

“Look at all of that lovely hair!” Kate exclaimed.

“She took a while to get here,” Rebecca said, “but she’s healthy and hungry!”

Thomas watched his wife gently cradling the new little baby. Rebecca leaned over and stroked the tiny head. “You were a big help, Rebecca,” he said.

“I didn’t really do anything. Ma did it all!”

Tommy, Sam, and Mary ran into camp, and Thomas and Kate stepped aside so they could see.

“Is it over? Are you okay, Ma?” Tommy asked breathlessly.

“Yes, son, everyone is fine.”

“Please tell me it’s a boy. There are too many girls around here,” he said playfully with a sidelong look at Mary.

“You’re outnumbered again, Tommy. It’s a girl!” Mary said triumphantly.

Tommy didn’t look too disappointed as he watched his newest little sister drifting off to sleep.

“What’s her name, Ma?” Sam asked reverently.

“I’m going to name her Martha after my mother,” Ruth said. “We’ll call her Mattie.”

Thomas and Kate looked from Ruth to Deborah incredulously.

“How? What?” Thomas blubbered.

“Don’t ask, Dad,” Mary said sagely, patting his shoulder indulgently. “It’s just that old intuition at work again!”

Thomas laughed until tears ran down his cheeks. He felt like he had been holding his breath all day, and laughter was a welcomed release. Kate and Mary laughed with him while the others looked at each other, puzzled. Little Mattie was happily oblivious. The day, nearly over, seemed to cheer up too, and a soft rumble of distant thunder announced the end of the rain.

Wedding Day

Chapter Sixteen

The next day was a lay-by. Another wagon train had been following theirs, and mid-day it pulled in. There was a lot of visiting and storytelling between the two camps. Travelers traded with each other for supplies that were getting low. Captain Wyatt and Captain Burnett were old friends and they were happy to see each other.

“It’s been a while, David.”

“Yes it has.” Captain Wyatt clapped his friend on the back. “I thought you were done with leading trains west, Joe.”

“Well, I thought so too. Turns out my niece and her husband are on this train, and she begged me to captain it. I’ve always been partial to her, so I agreed.”

“Do you think you’ll stay in Oregon for a while, Joe?”

“No, I don’t think so. I have a practice in St. Joseph, so I believe I’ll head back next spring.”

“Joe, I wonder if you would have a little time to spare this evening.”

“What’s on your mind, David?”

After they talked for a while, Captain Wyatt went in search of Reverend Mueller. He and John had become good friends, and they had spent more than a few evenings together talking around the campfire.

“John, Captain Burnett is an old friend of mine. He’s a man of many talents. Besides leading wagon trains, he’s been a farmer, a surveyor, a lawyer, and a judge. In fact, he still practices law and holds court in the states. I asked him if he would be willing to take the time to marry a couple of my people and he agreed. Now you go tell Miss Nellie, and this evening we’ll have a quiet ceremony.”

John stared at Captain Wyatt. “David, I don’t know what to say!” he exclaimed excitedly.

“Don’t say anything, John. Go tell your bride!” John was overjoyed! He and Nellie had confided in Captain Wyatt when John had asked Nellie to be his wife a couple of weeks ago. They had thought they would have to wait until they arrived in Oregon City. He could hardly believe sweet Nellie would be his bride tonight! He went to the Hintons’ camp and found her busy with some mending. She saw him approaching and stood up, wondering what the look on his face could mean. He took her hands in his.

“Nellie, will you be my wife?”

She looked at John closely. Was he suffering from the heat? “John, I answered you two weeks ago. Do you remember?” Her face showed concern.