Westward Hearts (19 page)

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Asa told him, taking a moment to introduce the rest of his family. “We were just speaking of you.”

The captain chuckled. “Not sure I care to hear what you were saying. I know that many of the emigrants are growing impatient. But I come with good news.”

“Would you like some coffee?” Asa offered.

“Or some breakfast?” Clara added. “We have eggs and sausage.”

His brows arched.
“Eggs and sausage?”

“And hotcakes with jam and butter,” Ruth said eagerly.

“And grits too.” Elizabeth held up what was left in the pan.

“Well, well….” He rubbed his gray beard thoughtfully.

“I’ll fix you a plate,” Clara said as Asa offered him a chair.

“I’m making my rounds with all the wagons this morning,” the captain explained. “Meeting everyone and letting them know that we’ll leave at dawn two days from today. It’s nearly two weeks earlier than last year. And that’s right providential. An early start is always a good sign. My scout assures me the prairie grass will be ready by then.”

“We heard that some trains have already left,” Matthew said.

“That’s true.” The captain nodded as he chewed a bite.

“I was just assuring my son that you’re experienced at these expeditions,” Asa said somewhat apologetically. “I’m sure you know the best time to depart, Captain.”

“I like to think so. If a party leaves too early, the stock suffers from too little food. Believe me, all sorts of trouble can result from malnourished animals by the end of the journey. Timing is everything in a successful overland trip.”

Asa gave Matthew a knowing look. “Well, we’re farmers, Captain, so we do understand the importance of caring for our livestock.”

“I noticed you have some fine-looking animals.” The captain forked into a piece of sausage. “And I can see you’ve taken care in preparing your wagons.”

“Matthew was in charge of outfitting the wagons,” Elizabeth told him.

“Nice work, son.”

“Thank you.”

He ate the last bite of his hotcake and then smiled at Clara. “Thank you for the fine breakfast, ma’am.” Now he turned back to Asa. “As head of this family, I commend you. I wish all the emigrants were as well prepared as you. Unfortunately, that never happens.”

“We saw a lot of folks scrambling to get wagons and teams in Kansas City this week.” Asa shook his head. “I just hope they make it all the way out West.”

“I do everything I can to ensure they do, but it’s a rugged trip.” He stood. “And that reminds me. A family wishes to join our party. They say they met you on the river. Flanders is the name.”

“Oh, yes,” Asa told them. “The blacksmith and his family.”

“We can always use another smithy.” Captain Brownlee’s brow creased. “So, you recommend them?”

Asa looked conflicted. “Well, I barely know them, but they seem like good folks. And as you said, another blacksmith would probably be handy.”

He nodded. “There will be a meeting today at four o’clock. Up on the knoll by the creek. If you don’t know the time, just listen for the bell clanging. I expect all the travelers to attend.” He tipped his faded brown hat and went on his way.

“Well, I reckon that answers your questions,” Asa said to Matthew.

“I like the captain,” Jamie declared.

“He does instill confidence.” Clara picked up his empty plate.

“Two days from today,” Elizabeth said happily. “And we’ll be on our way.”

Suddenly there seemed much to do, and everyone went about doing it. By three thirty, according to Elizabeth’s watch, they all headed up to the knoll.

“I tied Flax to your wagon,” Jamie told Matthew as they walked. “To be the watchdog.”

“Good thinking,” Matthew told him.

Although they arrived early, several dozen others were already congregated on the knoll. A short man banged on an iron triangle to make a loud clanging sound, and more families joined them. Most of the families looked to have children the ages of Jamie and Ruth…and older. To Elizabeth’s surprise, there were a few couples who appeared much older than her parents. Some families looked well-off, and others seemed a bit down on their luck. It was quite an assortment.

Eventually the captain arrived, placing himself on the top of the knoll so that everyone could see him. By now Elizabeth estimated there were around three hundred people gathered. Quite a crowd, but they quieted down when they saw the captain was ready to speak. First he welcomed them. Then he went over the rules of the wagon train, which were not much different from the laws of the land, except that instead of a court of law, the wagon council would be the enforcer, and the punishment would be executed promptly. Most of the rules, especially in regard to carrying adequate supplies and firearms and care of draft animals, were familiar and simply common sense. But Elizabeth was glad that the crowd listened attentively.

“We will average fifteen miles a day except for Sundays, when we only travel for half a day. We water our animals when we stop to eat. Every man eighteen or older will take turns at guard duty. If a guard falls asleep, he will walk behind the wagons for a day.” He paused. “Now I have mentioned the wagon council to you. I run my train like I run a regiment. I am the captain, but because we have more than sixty wagons on this train, with a total of two hundred eighty-seven people, I have divided the train into units. Each unit has about twelve wagons, and I will appoint one councilman to oversee each unit. My council is as follows.”

He now proceeded to read the names of five men, and to Elizabeth’s surprise, her father’s name was among them. “These five council members will each have a list of about twelve wagons. These will be your traveling units for the duration of the trip. Councilmen can be changed only by my approval and a democratic vote of the unit. The units are numbered and will proceed in numerical order, which will rotate every Sunday.”

The captain held up some pages. “Will all the councilmen please come forward?” After the men joined him on top of the knoll, the captain asked if any of them wished to decline this responsibility. After none refused, the captain made them raise their right hands and proceeded to swear them in. Elizabeth could see the pride and pleasure in her father’s face as he vowed to do his duty as a councilman. Now the captain handed the newly appointed councilmen lists of names, and one by one they read them. Elizabeth listened closely as her father read. None of the names sounded familiar except for the Flanders.

“It will be up to the heads of the families to locate their councilman and introduce themselves,” the captain told them. “Find your councilman’s campsite before the day is over, and he will inform you as to where your unit will be gathering. Then I want all the units assembled in camp together before sundown tomorrow. That’ll give you a chance to get acquainted.” Then he thanked everyone for their patience, asked a blessing on their upcoming journey, and asked for the councilmen to remain afterward to meet with him for further instructions.

“Can you believe it?” Elizabeth said to her mother as they walked back to camp. “Father is a councilman.”

“Asa will be a good councilman.” Clara smiled. “He is a natural leader.”

“Did you hear that the Flanders are in our group?” Matthew said. “That means we’ll have a blacksmith close by.”

“And Tillie,” Ruth said happily.

“I’m gonna gather up some kindling.” Brady pointed to an area where someone had been chopping wood but had left smaller pieces scattered all about. “I saw it there this morning,” he said. “If’n no one wants it, we can put it to use.”

“Good idea,” Matthew told him. “I’ll bring back something to carry it with.”

“I like that we’re in units of twelve wagons,” Clara said as they neared their camp. “It will make it easier to get acquainted.”

“If each wagon had four people, that would be forty-eight total,” Jamie said.

Elizabeth patted his back. “Good multiplication.”

“If there were six in each family, it would be seventy-two,” he said.

“How does he do that so fast?” Ruth asked.

“Because he’s older.” Elizabeth reached for Ruth’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

“And I made a decision,” Jamie told her. “About my name.”

“About your name?” Elizabeth turned to look at him.

“I’m too old to be called Jamie,” he said. “That sounds like a baby.”

“Oh…” She just nodded.

“And James is a good name, but it sounds like Pa’s name to me.”

“It was your father’s name.”

“I want to be called JT,” he proclaimed.

“For James Theodore,” Ruth said. “JT. I like it.”

“JT,” Elizabeth said slowly. “It sounds very grown-up.”

“It’s a good name,” Matthew said. “I’m pleased to call you JT.”

“Is that all right with you?” Jamie asked his mother.

She smiled. “Will you be upset if I sometimes forget and call you Jamie?”

He seemed to consider this. “Nah, mothers are allowed to make mistakes like that.”

Clara laughed as they came to their wagons. “How about grandmothers?”

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I’ll still come if you call me Jamie.”

“Come on,
JT,”
Matthew called. “Let’s grab some buckets and go give Brady a hand.”

The women were just starting in on supper when Asa returned. He was all smiles. “I’m honored to be picked a councilman,” he told them as he sat down by the table. “But it’s a fair amount of work too.”

“Do you want to decline?” Elizabeth asked.

“No. Not at all. I just don’t want to let anyone down.” He glanced around their campground. “Where are the fellas?”

Elizabeth explained about Brady and the kindling.

Asa frowned. “I would have thought I’d seen them on my way.”

“I’m sure they’ll be along—”

Just then they heard Jamie yell, “Grandpa! Come quick! Uncle Matthew needs you!”

Asa got up and took off.

“Ruth, you stay with Grandma,” Elizabeth called as she ran after them. Passing her father, she was nearly catching Jamie when she saw a group gathered up ahead.

“This n----r stole my wood!” a red-faced man was yelling.

“Like I just told you, the wood is for everyone,” Matthew yelled back. “It was left behind. We were just picking it up.”

“I told my boy to come back and get that.”

“It’s been lying there all day,” Matthew told him.

Elizabeth pushed her way through the onlookers, seeing that Brady was being held with his arms pinned behind his back by a young pimply-faced man. “What’s going on here?” she demanded.

“You stay outta this,” the red-faced man yelled at her. “Nonna your business.”

Elizabeth walked over to Brady, looking the young man directly in the eyes. “You release him right now!”

“Pa?” the kid said.

“You hold tight!”

“You heard the woman,” Asa huffed. “Let that man go.”

“Pa?” the kid said again.

“Let him go,” Asa said more firmly.

“Hey, that’s one of the councilmen,” someone said.

“Let him go!
Now!”
Elizabeth yelled right into the kid’s face. The kid let him go, stepping back like he was worried Elizabeth was going to hit him.

“Is he your slave?” The red-faced man pointed a finger at her.

“Brady is
not
a slave,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear. “He is a free man. And he’s traveling to the Oregon Territory with my family and me.”

“Where’s his papers?” the red-faced man demanded.

“His papers are in a safe place,” Asa told him in a calm but firm tone.

“I’ll bet he’s a runaway,” the man said. “I’ll bet we can turn him in for a reward.”

Now Matthew stepped closer, glaring at him. “Brady is a free man. And you and your boy better keep your hands off of him. You hear?”

“He was stealing my wood!”

“That wood was there for the taking and you know it. You and your lazy boy left a mess behind, and it was up for grabs. The truth of the matter is that you were just spoiling for a fight, weren’t you?” Matthew shook a fist in his face. “But if you want a fight, don’t go picking on an old man.”

Elizabeth was ready to intervene but knew that would only aggravate her brother, and he seemed aggravated enough. She glanced at Asa, but he tossed her a warning look and just watched as the two men glared at each other.

“All right,” Asa finally said with authority. “I think you folks have seen all there is to see, and I’m sure you have better things to do. Brady here is a free man, and we have papers to prove it.” He pointed at the still angry man. “Now I don’t want to have to report you to the captain before we’ve even hit the trail, but I know he don’t take kindly to this kind of behavior.”

The man said a foul word, and now Asa stepped up and, backed by Matthew, grabbed the man by the arm. “Seems to me you weren’t listening to the rules today.” He looked at the onlookers. “Anyone else listen to the rules? You all recall any rules prohibiting the use of coarse language or cussing in this community?”