Journey of Hope: A Novel of Triumph and Heartbreak on the Oregon Trail in 1852 (34 page)

Molly the mare pulled Thomas’s wagon and Rascal, her colt, followed behind. They traveled a few miles out of town with most of the children in William’s wagon bed.

The house was a clapboard two-story painted white with a shingled roof. There was a broad porch at the front. A huge tree shaded the west side, and a lonely swing hung from a sturdy branch. Mary ran over to the swing and jumped on. Soon she was swinging high above the ground. A sparsely wooded glade stretched out in back behind a small barn.

“I think this should work out until you claim your land and build your new home,” William said.

Thomas put his arm around William’s shoulders. “Thank you, William. I think we’ll be very comfortable here.”

The children, with the adults following, ran up the three steps to the porch and entered through the front door. There was a short hallway with stairs leading to the second story. Tommy and Sam took the stairs two at a time. To the right of the hallway was the parlor with a small fireplace, and to the left, the kitchen with a white enamel sink and a cook stove. A small pie safe stood against one wall. At the back of the house were two small bedrooms.

“Mom, come up here!” Tommy shouted. Mary ran up the stairs, and Ruth and the others followed. Upstairs there were two small bedrooms. Each had a window that looked out over the landscape. The west window opened to branches from the large tree.

“I want this room so I can climb out to the tree,” Tommy said.

“Don’t give it to him, Ma. He’ll fall out and crack his head,” Mary said, looking down from the window to the ground.

“Will not,” Tommy said indignantly.

Ruth laughed. “We’ll sort out who sleeps where later. Let’s go down and look at the barn.

The barn was two hundred yards behind the house. It was sturdily built and painted red. Inside, there were two stalls and a tool shed. Behind that was a room with a wide door for a buggy or carriage.

“Mom! Dad! Look at this!” Sam yelled from outside. They walked behind the barn and saw Sam standing beside a creek. “There’s fish in here!”

“There’s a pump house and the outhouse on the other side,” William indicated, pointing to the east side of the house.

Ruth turned to William and Dorothy. “This is real nice.” She smiled broadly. “It feels good to finally be home.”

Reverend John, Nellie, and Mrs. Mueller breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived in Oregon City. The trip down the Columbia River had been harrowing, but surprisingly, Mrs. Mueller had found it exciting. “I’ve never had such a ride!” she exclaimed when they arrived at Fort Vancouver. She spent little time making the acquaintance of many of the older women who had settled with their families near the fort, and when they found out that John was a minister, they arranged for him to conduct a service the following morning. It was widely attended by the overlanders and the residents.

After the service, a plump gray-haired woman came up to John and handed him an envelope that had GEORGE WEISS printed in neat block letters on the front. She said, “This is the name of my nephew. He runs a dry goods store in Oregon City. He’ll make sure you get settled in. Please give him this letter from me.”

In Oregon City, they found WEISS DRY GOODS and introduced themselves to George Weiss, a robust man with a handlebar moustache. They gave him the letter. He read it through and smiled wistfully. “My aunt is a good woman with a heart of gold. She helped me get started when I came from Pennsylvania three years ago.” He looked at John. “This town needs a minister, Reverend Mueller. We’ve had a few preachers come through but no one who has stayed. I hope you’ll like it here.”

“Thank you, George. We intend to make this our home,” John replied.

“I don’t know if you have made arrangements for lodgings yet, but I have a couple of rooms above the store that you’re welcome to use until you find something else. I used to live up there until recently. I’ve just built a little house a short distance from here. I won’t charge you rent if you will help out in the store. What with all the wagons coming in, I get pretty busy.”

“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Weiss.” John looked for approval to Nellie and his mother. “We’ll take you up on your generous offer.”

They quickly settled in to their new lodgings. Mrs. Mueller’s room was small, but it had a bright east-facing window. John and Nellie’s room was larger, and their window looked out at the hustle and bustle of Main Street. They stood with their arms around each other gazing outside.

“I have a good feeling about this town, Nellie.”

“I do also, John. I think we’re going to fit in here.”

The Flannigans set up camp in a clearing where other overlanders were camped.

“This is temporary until I claim our land. Then we’ll move to the farm and begin building our new home,” Michael said.

“When will you do that, Da?” Conor asked.

“As soon as I can, Conor. I’m going to talk to folks and visit the land office and find out where available land is located, and we can rent a buggy and drive around and take a look. How does that sound?”

Kate hugged Michael and smiled. “We’re here! I can hardly believe it!”

“We did it, Kate. We left Ireland and came across the Atlantic Ocean. We traveled three thousand miles from New York to Oregon over this vast country, and here we are near the Pacific Ocean in our new home. I couldn’t have done it without you.” He bent and kissed Kate soundly.

Brenna smiled at her parents, delighted with their happiness. She looked across the meadow at Ben Hansson and his father setting up their camp. Soon, she and Ben would be married. She hadn’t forgotten his promise, and she reminded him of it frequently. It was only seven years since her family had left Ireland. Where would she be in the next seven years? She could hardly wait to find out.

Later at dinner, Abel and Emily were deep in conversation.

“I intend to make my claim for our land quickly,” Abel said as he cut into his steak.

“What will we do with the land, Mr. Brown? I don’t see you as a farmer.”

“No, I will never be a farmer!” he said contemptuously. “I will hire some hands to clear some of it and plant something profitable and easy to grow. After it’s harvested, I will use the money for another planting.”

“And will we live on this land?”

“Yes, after the house is built. My house will be the biggest around, a large colonial with a barn for the horses.”

“It sounds like you’re becoming respectable, Mr. Brown.”

He smiled cynically. “As far as appearances go, my dear, I will be very respectable. Money talks in a boomtown, and I intend to exert every effort to promote myself—with your help, of course. You will be my leading lady, and you will play your part to perfection.”

“You must be planning to give up poker then.”

“Not necessarily. There’s nothing wrong with a gentlemen’s game now and then. It’s a very civilized game—or it can be. Is something wrong with your food?”

Emily had barely touched her dinner. “I’m not hungry.”

“Eat, Emily. You’re too thin.”

A few days later, Abel took Emily and made his claim for three hundred twenty acres of land a couple of miles out of town. It was heavily wooded, which was why it was still available so close to town. Farmers would rather have meadowland even if it were farther out.

“I’ll have the land cleared and sell the timber. I already talked to a man who wants to work for me. He’ll hire a crew, and I won’t have to do anything except count the money,” he said with a satisfied smile.

“You’re fortunate that you have the capital to hire help, Mr. Brown. Most of these farmers have little to nothing left.”

“They’re simple dirt farmers. Next year, I’ll buy their land from them for a fraction of what it’s worth, and they’ll be happy to get rid of it.”

Emily regarded Abel Brown’s smug expression. She made no comment, but she wondered how long his hiatus would last. “What goes up must come down,” her daddy used to say.
When will you come down, Mr. Brown?
she wondered.

The Card Game

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Oregon City
November, 1852

It had been over a month since they had arrived in Oregon City, and Abel Brown had been busy. He had not only secured his and Emily’s three hundred twenty acres, but he had called in his I.O.U.s and was now in possession of an additional one thousand ten acres. The ones who were flat broke had claimed their land and signed the deeds over to him. Others had been able to borrow the money they owed from friends or relatives to pay him off. He laughed when he remembered the look of fury on Mrs. Warren’s face when her husband deeded his land to Abel.

“You’re a monster, Mr. Brown!”

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, Mrs. Warren.”

“What are we supposed to do now, after traveling all this way?”

“That is none of my concern,” he replied, and turned and walked away. What did these people expect? He hadn’t twisted anyone’s arm when they joined his poker game. They came of their own free will. Now they had to pay the piper. He believed in consequences, and they simply had to face theirs. He gloated to Emily, who didn’t share in his satisfaction.

“You’ve taken these people’s hopes and dreams, Mr. Brown. How will they survive?”

“Come on, Emily, you don’t think for one moment that they would make it farming, do you? You can’t be that naïve.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’ve studied people, Emily. I know how they think and why they do the things they do. I know what motivates them. I’ve found that people are really very selfish.”

“And I suppose you’re not?”

“Oh, I’m selfish, but at least I know that about myself. Most people are deluded. They want to believe they have high moral standards, but when it comes down to it, they’re just as low as the rest of us. These people thought they were going to get something for nothing. Now they have what they deserve—nothing!” He laughed at his joke.

Emily stared at him. He was despicable. She liked nothing about him. She remembered a time when she thought he was handsome. Now that she saw who he truly was, there was nothing attractive about him.

“Emily, the logging on our property is turning a profit already. Some of the settlers who have claimed their land are buying timber from me to build their homes.”

“What about the ones who have no money?”

“If the bank won’t lend them the money, I’m lending it to them—for a price, of course.”

“What kind of a price?”

“If they haven’t paid it back within two years, they forfeit their deed to me. That’s more than fair, I think.”

“Two years! That’s hardly time for them to plant a decent crop. How can you expect them to repay you in two short years?”

“They haven’t thought as far ahead as you have, Emily. They’re only thinking about getting a roof over their heads.”

Later, they rented a buggy and drove out to their property. They watched the logging for a while, and then Abel drove her over to the site where the house would be built.

“The construction on our home will commence soon. No simple log home for us; I’ve had plans drawn up for a colonial style house. I expect it will be grander than your house was in Ohio.”

Emily thought back to the home where she had grown up. It was a beautiful house with six bedrooms, a dining room, a library that was also a study, a sitting room, a parlor, an enclosed sun porch on the back, and a wraparound porch in the front. The large kitchen at the back of the house was her favorite room. Mrs. Harris the cook was always baking something delicious, and she always let Emily help her. Emily sighed. She most likely would never see her home again.

Abel looked out proudly at his land. By this time next year, he would be wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. He already had amassed a huge fortune in land and cash.

“This is indeed the land of milk and honey,” he reflected.

Captain Wyatt looked at his cards. It was a good hand, but he wasn’t sure it would be good enough.

“Call,” he said. Jack Thompson looked at him from across the table and smiled. The others had folded, and it was just the two of them. Jack laid his cards on the table: a full house. Captain Wyatt looked at Jack for a moment and then placed his cards face up: two pair. Everyone laughed, and Jack scooped up the pot from the center of the table.