Brides of Prairie Gold (53 page)

"Hmmm," she said drowsily, burrowing deeper in his arms.

For the last hour, they had been trying to say good night to each other, but couldn't bear to part. Farther down the line of wagons he heard the soft murmur of the night watch, playing cards and talking quietly near the arms wagon. The rest of the camp had been asleep for hours.

Neither of them stirred, though the sun would rise soon. They had talked the night away, opening their hearts. Never again would they mention Ellen or Joseph Boyd. From now on, they would look forward, toward the future and each other.

"Cody?" She kissed his jaw, then looked back at the faint orange glow in the fire pit. "I'm eager for us to begin our life together, but part of me will be sorry when we roll into Clampet Falls. Can you understand that?"

"Perhaps."

"While I was in Quinton's cave, I thought about all of it. How it began Lucy Hastings, Winnie Larson, Jane Munger, and those boys we buried. I thought about Mem and Augusta, and all of us. I thought about the Great Whiskey Debacle and the poison oak and everything we've ail endured together."

"Are you crying?"

"I love you, Cody Snow. Someday, I'm going to tell our grandchildren how I crossed a continent and found you."

Gently turning her in his arms, he kissed her, deeply, tenderly, trying to tell her with lips and body that which words were not powerful enough to convey. "You're trembling," he said softly against her mouth.

Perrin gazed into the blue eyes she loved so much. "I'm cold."

He kissed her forehead, then her eyelids. "It's probably warmer in my tent. But of course I wouldn't suggest anything improper, Mrs. Waverly."

"It's probably even warmer in your bedroll, Mr. Snow," she whispered, smiling.

Pulling back, he blinked at her. "Perrin, I was jesting. I don't want to do anything that would embarrass you before the others or lead them to"

She placed a finger across his lips. "I have friends now," she said softly, her huge dark eyes glowing with love for him and with affection for the women with whom she had forged lifelong bonds. "And I think my friends would understand." The truth of what she said made her smile through a shine of happy tears.

"If they catch us, that is," he said in a thick teasing voice before he stood and swept her up in his arms. "Which I'll make sure they don't."

It was only a few steps to his tent.

As one journey drew to an end, another began.

Perrin Waverly married Cody Snow in Clampet Falls, Oregon, on September 23, 1852. The Snows settled on a one-hundred-and-twenty-acre horse farm in the Willamette Valley and eventually had five children, one of whom was elected governor of Oregon. Perrin Snow was respected and much loved for her generosity and work in the community. Cody Snow died in 1881 while assisting in the rescue of travelers stranded in the Cascade Mountains. Mrs. Snow did not remarry. She died of natural causes in 1894.

Mem Grant and Webb Coate, Lord Albany, repeated their marriage vows on June 12,1853, in Devonshire, England. Lord and Lady Albany and their four children traveled extensively during the 1800s. Between jaunts to Africa, Brazil, and the Orient, Lady Albany founded the Devonshire School for Curious Young Ladies. Lord Albany was shot and killed by an outlaw during a return trip to the American West in 1880. Lady Albany lived to celebrate the turn of the century.

Augusta Boyd married Owen Clampet, mill owner, in Clampet Falls, Oregon, on September 23, 1852. No children resulted from the marriage. Until the end of her life, Mrs. Clampet maintained a close friendship with Perrin Snow (nee Waverly), Cora White (nee Thorp), and Hilda Hacket (nee Clum). Mrs. Clampet died of a self-inflicted gunshot in 1868 after her husband's mill burned to the ground, leaving the Clampets in financial ruin.

Hilda Chun married Orry Hacket, a farmer, in Clampet Falls, Oregon, on September 23, 1852. Mrs. Hacket was the second schoolteacher in the Willamette Valley and taught for twenty-nine years, her students including her own six children. One of her daughters published an account of Mrs. Hacket's journey from Chastity, Missouri, to Clampet Falls, Oregon. Mrs. Hacket died of natural causes in 1882, following the death of her husband shortly before.

Bootie Glover accompanied her sister, Lady Albany, to England, where she married Sir Eugene Wickett in December 1855. Lady Eugene was lauded for her soirees and her whist tournaments. The Wicketts had one daughter. Lady Wickett died in 1871 as a result of a carriage accident.

Sarah Jennings married Frederick Pirn, a baker, in Qampet Falls, Oregon, on September 23,1852. The Pirns moved to San Francisco, California, in 1854, where they established a boardinghouse and later a prosperous hotel. The hotel, under the ownership of the Pirns' eldest son, was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Mrs. Pirn died of pneumonia in 1892.

Cora Thorp married Willard White, a farmer, in Clampet Falls, Oregon, on September 23, 1852. The Whites had three children. After Mr. White's death in 1860, Mrs. White married Albert Sparrow, with whom she had four children, one of whom served in the United States Senate. Mrs. Sparrow was a lifelong advocate for women's education. She died of tuberculosis in 1879.

Thea Reeves married Luther Frost, a furniture maker, in Clampet Falls, Oregon, on September 23, 1852. In 1853, the Frosts returned to St. Joseph, Missouri, where Mrs. Frost became a local celebrity after publishing a book of drawings depicting scenes along the Oregon Trail. Mrs. Frost died in childbirth in 1858.

Jane Munger , a.k.a. Alice Berringer, never remarried. Mrs. Berringer drifted through the West, never settling into a permanent home. Legend suggests she had a daughter with Kid Johnny, an outlaw living in Fort Worth, Texas, but this information cannot be confirmed. Mrs. Berringer died from a gunshot wound in 1862 after a brawl erupted in the saloon where she was working.

Winnie Larson died of an opiate overdose following a miscarriage that occurred ten days out of Chastity, Missouri, on her return trip.

The remarkable women of the Oregon Trail are not forgotten. Their names can be found carved on the Chimney Rock and Independence Rock, on old grave markers along fading wheel ruts. Their courage, their spirit, and their stories survive to inspire and lift the hearts of all women toward valor, determination, and pride. That is their legacy to those who continue to follow them west.