Alone on the Oregon Trail (7 page)

I stood with my hand encircled with his and it felt so warm to be touched by someone again. He had just leaned over and was about to kiss my cheek when Mattie came running into the room, so he pulled back with surprise. To his amazement, the girls lifted from behind their backs what they had toiled away at for a couple months.

His eyes closed waiting to hear “Open your eyes daddy”, and he managed to sneak a peek at me and I winked at him assuring him that he would like what it was. Meredith carefully handed it to Mattie and she lifted it in the air as far as she could, which brought Meredith to her side to help her.

The two girls had made a sign for him to hang on our gate way up high that read “Loves’ Landing” and written below that was “For Those Who Love the Lord”. It was a beautiful sign and it was made from oak and was very heavy and sturdy, and I knew that oak would hold up through all kinds of weather. The girls had worked hard on the lettering and then we took it to a neighbor who then engraved the lovely words into the wood.

He then handed it back to the girls and they toiled away at staining and preserving the wood. I don’t believe Grayson could have received anything he would have loved more and watching him as the tears ran down his face, I began to see Grayson for what he truly had proven to be, a man of God who truly loved the Lord and loved his children.

From that day forward I began falling in love with this wonderful man, hoping that I someday could become a wife worthy of him. It was a turning point for me in my life with my faith in God. Day after day I would read God’s Word and I would begin to pray to Him differently than I had been in a very long time.

I had grown to realize that I was forgetting all about the Lord in the good times and I was only calling on Him in tragic events. After we presented Grayson his gift, it began to change me as I watched his devotion and love for the Lord.

I began having daily communication with God and this helped bring me back closer to Him and was certainly the beginning of my heart being healed of bitterness over Nathaniel’s passing.

What a glorious God we have that He could show me so much mercy and grace until I was ready to let go of the pain I was suffering.

We all sat down to a remarkable meal that the two girls had prepared for Grayson and I, and I could not believe that they could make such tasty meatloaf. It was covered in a special gravy that Meredith has not shared with me to this day and we had mashed potatoes, fresh garden vegetables, homemade biscuits and slices of Meredith’s baked bread, and they topped us off with blackberry pie for our desert.

It was a marvelous meal and afterwards they would not allow either of us to help them with cleaning up the mess, so we both took ourselves out to the back porch that Grayson had built special for times like this and we sat and talked of our blessings. We grew very close that day and by the next day, I knew that I was falling in love with Grayson; now that I had already fallen in love with his daughters.

I did not allow myself to tell him of course and I kept things the way they were, but we did spend more time in sweet conversations.

That night as I curled up in my bed and listened as the birds were settling into their nests, I could hear the critters in the night as they scurried about getting their families all tucked in. It was truly a blessing to have been given this gift of this family and I began from that day on, thanking God for every day’s blessings.

Chapter Nine

(Prairie Farms)

The prairies do not come without their downside as well as their ups. Farming could be one of those downs. Grayson came in one morning and announced that the crops were suffering, not only from not enough rain, but from insects that had been devouring them the last couple months.

He had tried to keep up with the destruction, but it was taking its toll. I could see the worried look on his face and I knew that it must be fairly serious for his face to look that worried. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help out and he only answered “Just pray, and pray and believe.”

So, that is what I did. For a few more weeks the crops began to plummet into a downward spiral. It looked like we would lose nearly all the crops and we had begun preparing for great losses. Grayson had been gathering everything he could think of that he could sell and he had also gathered up a great number of hogs and cattle so that he could take them to the market to raise some immediate cash.

He would not be able to provide his family with enough food to last the winter and that was serious considering that farmers all around depended on Grayson for their winter food as well. This year was critically affected by the lack of rain and we were now seeing the last minute effects of the damage.

Grayson’s farm was not the only farm that was in danger of being destroyed by drought, for many farmers all around had the same problem. Many of the farmers got together one week to discuss what they could do about their losses and how they would help each other survive through the winter.

Our neighbors happened to be God fearing people and we knew that we would be fine with them, but there were many people miles around that were not so Christian and the fears began creeping into everyone’s minds what would happen when people began starving. Many of the neighbors near us had decided that if we all had to, we would all gather in our barn and live in a group so that we could help one another.

We also agreed that we would limit the number of people who could join us. Grayson said that this would cause future problems, but we would have to deal with them when they would arise.

It was decided that if things escalated to taking extreme measures then would be the time that local neighbors who had agreed, would come together and our home was chosen because of the large barn that was capable of holding everyone and keeping them warm through the winter months.

People would stay together and work together and would be able to survive and help one another out. Other farms would be left to sitting and waiting out the winter, and all animals would be taken care, some of them being herded to our land and some being left where they were and they would be tended to weekly.

Everyone began the task of gathering up all the food and water supplies, as well as medical and bedding supplies and they would have them ready to bring to our home. Grayson and some other men got together and prepared the barn and the pastures to hold the people and the animals that might be coming to love there through the winter. We would of course, live in our home and for special occasions or people with any special needs; they would live in the house while everyone else would live in the barn.

All babies born would be inside the home as well. Grayson and the men who had been helping him began building partitions inside the barn to separate the women and daughters from the men and the sons.

Things were coming along beautifully when we received some visitors who had caught wind of the plans and they had come to question us about our plans, demanding to know what they were supposed to do when things got seriously dangerous.

This is the problem that Grayson had talked about earlier and as he stayed close to his shotgun just inside the house, he explained to them that they would not be invited and that we could not take everyone and if they were wise they would draw nigh to God and begin to prepare for the trials ahead.

He finished his statements and then slowly closed the door. After closing the door we heard the men say, “Well, we will just have to deal with you later then, Mr. Love.” On hearing that it sent chills up and down my spine and Grayson knew that trouble was ahead of us. He called a meeting the same day with our friends and their plans sprung forward ahead of time, bringing families together to prepare for anything that would begin happening.

Grayson fully expected homes to be burnt and ransacked, and there would be no stopping them all. All agreed that the main concern now was the safety of the people and keeping our farm safe.

The prairie farms had fallen short this year for our crops and there was nothing we could do about it by this time. They had tried some new irrigational techniques, but since the damage from the twisters and hail storms this year, there was no more hope left to save the crops. Prairie farms could bring blessings one year and curses the next.

Following the visit from the strangers we knew that we had to keep our eyes wide open for the rest of the year and we never left the house alone at any given time. Men also began staying at our home as well if Grayson was not going to be around. We began moving the older people over to our home as well and we started out with letting them live in the house.

They would be moved to the barn if we had sick people or expectant mothers come along. Meredith began growing up very quickly once all this started and she would ride into town with her pa and get supplies, sell objects we were selling and she would help her pa with selling what hogs and cattle they could.

Along the way she met a young boy who had volunteered to help Grayson. His grandmother and grandfather were raising the boy since his ma and pa had died from yellow fever, and he was one year older than Meredith. They were able to visit and became very close friends while they worked together and it made her feel much safer when her pa was gone to have him near.

His name was Cambell Ferry and he was a very tall boy, leaving Meredith coming to about his shoulder. I was glad to see that she had met such a fine young man and allowed them quite a bit of freedom through trusting them and the Lord. On certain days if I had to go and visit someone sick or help a woman give birth, he would come and stay with the girls for me and he knew how to work a shotgun.

Meredith was growing into a stunning beauty, with light brown hair entwined with loads of waves falling down her back. Her eyes were deep brown and looked like velvet. I do believe that boy fell down into them every time he looked at her.

You could see his body lean forward as he would try to stand near to her and carry on a conversation.

Mattie was very fond of Cambell and spent much of her time near him as well and she was coming along nicely with her little heart beginning to heal. She had become much help to me in everything I had to do and finally the family had come together and hearts were filled with tenderness.

One weekend after our blessing of the Sabbath, Grayson told us that a large majority of people were arriving the next day and that we had best see what last minute chores needed to be done to be ready to welcome our guests. We spent the rest of the day getting everything set for about thirteen families.

Those thirteen families had anywhere from six children to ten children, so we were looking at possibly one hundred to one hundred thirty people who would be living at our place. We often wondered if we had taken on more than we could chew, but as we went down the list, we could not find it in our hearts to exclude any of these people.

We prayed about it and decided that the Lord would provide, and then we took a deep breath.

Mattie had calmed down so much by this time that it seemed like she was a different child. It was helping to have her feel like she had so many important things to do, and her infatuation with Cambell didn’t hurt things either.

She liked to show off for him and as grown as he was, she knew she could not act like a little girl to get his approval, so she began to grow up as well. I have to say that I do not believe that Grayson and I could have gotten things ready if it were not for the children.

They had more energy than we could ever dream of having and many days when our energy well had run dry, they kicked in and came through.

The Lord’s Sabbath ended and Sunday morning came and the people began arriving one by one. As each family entered the barn, they thanked us for our kindness and we just told them that we all were helping each other out and they did not have to thank us. We planned to be spending the entire winter months together and I believed that everyone needed to understand that this was teamwork right from the beginning.

This would keep anyone from becoming too big headed for one thing, and another thing, if we all looked at it as team work from the start then we all would understand that it will only go smooth if we all work together, leaving no one to slack behind. Chores and hard times will go much smoother when everyone carries their own weight.

When the people began to arrive I asked Mattie to sit by the gate and to get every person’s name as they came through the gate. Having a roll call would help us to keep track of every person and would help us to know who was who.

I asked Cambell to also sit at the gate with Mattie so that he could watch out for any stragglers that may be trying to sneak in. He had a fairly good idea what to look for and he knew what the men looked like that had come to our house as well.

It was a very long day by the time the day was through, and we had only gotten half way through our list. Half of our guests had arrived in one day and they had begun to settle down inside our barn. Everyone worked together marvelously as they unloaded their food, water and supplies and worked side by side organizing everything in its places.

We had an abundance of food and supplies when they were through and everything was put away neatly. Before we all retired for the night, we had a meeting and were able to introduce ourselves to everyone with an enjoyable evening meal followed by a bible reading.

Then we all went to our quarters and turned in for the night and as I listened I could hear children saying good night to their parents and little babies as they would coo into the night. The next day we would welcome more guests and within a few days’ time we should have everyone walk through the gate that was on our list.

Morning comes early on the farm and many animals had to be tended to, so chore time started two hours earlier than usual. As many older children gathered, Meredith and Mattie joined as well and the chores went smoothly and we then began welcoming our next arrivals.

By day’s end, they all had arrived and we ended up with one hundred and twenty-two people. I was beginning to worry about who could be in the house and who could not. It was hard to decide and I did not like the task of choosing.

As Grayson said to me “You will be the main one that has to deal with the people in our home, so it should be you that chooses, and choose wisely.” At first I chose those women who were expecting babies, but there were so many that there would not be room enough, so many had to stay in the barn.

It was not that the barn would be unfit for them or anyone, but I felt that pregnant women, if anyone, should be in the house. I was able to justify leaving Meredith and Mattie in the house with me and they took up no room because they slept with me. I wanted them to be always near me in case any emergencies come up.

I had hoped that Grayson would be able to stay in the house, but for the first few weeks, he stayed in the barn with the other men. He assured me that he would be coming in and checking on us very often and I felt much better.

It was decided that each woman and young girl who was old enough to cook would all take turns and we had a schedule made so no one would get confused on when it was their turn. This took much pressure off of me, because I had enough to do with caring for all the pregnant women in the house.

The younger girls who could wash clothes and dishes spent their time doing these chores and the young boys tended to the small farm animals, while the older boys and men tended to the larger stock. Everyone had their chores daily and things were running quite smoothly.

When it was time for ladies to bathe and since there were so many, the men would leave the barn for a time and would visit in the pastures while the ladies would all bathe on the same day.

This seemed to work out well, and the men did the same while the women hung around outside the barn. The women were able to stay in the barn to wash clothes as well because we saw no sense in us having to face the bitter cold when we could wash clothes inside the barn.

Days passed and the operation was running very smoothly, but we were about to deliver a baby. One of the younger women that was expecting went into labor early and we had no choice but to deliver her newborn. Everything went splendid with her delivery and we welcomed a sweet little girl named Martha Anne into the world.

She looked just like her mama with coal black thick hair and little bright eyes and we cleaned her all up and laid her in her mommy’s arms. I watched closely to see if this might affect Mattie in a negative way as I laid the baby with her mother, but Mattie’s eyes lit up and she seemed to be fine.

I praised God for everything going so smoothly, even with Mattie.