Chapter 1
"And Roy has asked that we...four...consider taking on the task. Now...we all know how busy spring can be, and it's already been difficult with Hoss injured. Roy says there are eight wagons and eight teams. Add in our own wagons and supplies. It would be a ten wagon train. Some of the young ladies and young men are old enough to drive their own wagons. At least one of us will need to stay behind to run the ranch, and the other three can select a man each to go along. Six men should be able to handle the train well enough to..to Oregon."
"Pa.."
"Adam...I'm not finished. There's a $5000 payment to be issued when the children get to Oregon and that would be split among you boys evenly. I would see fit to carry over your regular ranch wages for that time as well."
"Pa.."
"Adam...please, son." Ben continued pacing. "Most of the wagons are well supplied already, according to Sheriff Coffey, and the shipping company is prepared to pay an additional $1000 dollars for expenses. I would chip in as much to make sure you boys, whoever goes, are well prepared. Now, I think we'll do this as fairly as we can. Draw straws, like we normally would-"
"Pa." Adam said, "Joe and I want to go."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah!" Joe squeaked, already grinning. "I've never seen Oregon, and to be honest, I'll do anything to get out of spring round up this year. Happy to do it, Pa."
Ben smiled softly, noting the many, many, many things that could go wrong on such a trip, none of which Joseph seemed to be taking into consideration. He could see that Adam was thinking about those things, and was grateful that his eldest son had volunteered.
"Hoss…?" Ben asked, looking to his middle son.
"I'm game. So long as they take it easy on me. Ain't like my legs is broke, just my arm."
Ben felt the unease start to settle into his bones, making him once again feel far too old. Sending all three of his boys on a trip of this nature, having them gone for two months or longer, with so many dangerous factors. Every part of his father's heart went against the idea. Yet the fact remained, one of them needed to be at the Ponderosa. As trusted as Ben's foreman and ranch-hands were, none but one of the Cartwrights could make the legal decisions that tended to crop up when they were least expected.
His boys were capable. They could handle cattle drives and long winters, cougar hunts, climb mountains and ford rivers. He knew they could handle the job. He didn't think he could trust the rest of the world to let his sons do so in peace and good health.
Adam was watching him closely and stood. He drew close to his father and put a hand on his shoulder. "Roy made a good point, Pa. How would you feel if you sent anyone else, and something happened to those kids?"
"Miserable, guilty. Devastated."
"But...with six of your top hands on the job, and three of them the sons of a man who...conquered the ocean, crossed the United States, built the biggest ranch in Nevada, defeated highwaymen and indians, confidence men, entire battalions of soldiers...and tamed the Widow Hawkins."
Ben had started to smile bashfully at the praise, but he lifted a finger in warning at the last bit. Joe and Hoss were laughing affectionately, and Ben fought the pang in his heart that tried to convince him this would be the last time he'd hear their laughter.
"You raised us well, Pa. Maybe, out on that trail, some of that teachin'll rub off and they'll be thirty more adopted Cartwrights in the world, ready to make it better." Hoss said.
Leave it to Hoss to bring up how the trip would affect the kids. Leave it to Adam to inspire confidence in his son's abilities.
"Besides, you'll have us out of your hair for two whole months." Joe added.
And leave it to Joseph to think of the benefits for Ben.
"I will most certainly be looking forward to that, Joseph." Ben said, forcing some of the enthusiasm. "I'll also miss you three, greatly. And...worry about you. I'll expect regular contact from you."
"Yes, Pa." Adam said.
"You're to do everything in your power to avoid trouble."
"Yes, Pa." Adam and Hoss said.
"And see that not a hair is harmed on the heads of any of my sons."
"Yes, Pa." Said all three.
His heart sank a little as Ben recognized resolution in his own mind. "Do you boys have an idea of who you'll bring along with you?"
"I'd like to bring someone that I think you would rather do without." Adam said.
"Yes, please take Bucky with you." Ben said, smiling softly.
"That feller that came up with us from Texas, Wilson. I'd like to bring him along. He talks about the west coast like he thinks it's a fairyland." Hoss said.
"That new kid, Fovey. He's still a little green when it comes to horse breaking and fence post hole digging, but he came out this way on a wagon train when he was twelve or thirteen. Seems he's already broken for the trail. And he could certainly use regular pay, plus a split of five-thousand dollars." Joe added.
"And with horses, I don't see why we would need two wagons for the six of us." Adam added. "Especially if the only livestock will be the teams pulling the wagons. That'll save some of the supply money for food and emergencies."
"Sounds like you boys have a plan."
"When did Roy want us to start?"
"As soon as you can, I expect." Ben said.
"Probably take a week to get supplies ready and the wagons loaded." Adam said.
"Why don't the four of us ride into town tomorrow? We'll settle the details." Ben suggested.
Much as he would have liked that week to last forever, it seemed to fly. His boys, and the hands they had invited to join them, were giddy with excitement at the trip, pouring over maps each night, plotting their route. They were introduced to each of the thirty children, aged from 17 to just over a year old, on several occasions. The wagons were checked, supplies secured, teams looked over and tended to. With Ben and Adam's memories of the wagon train of the past, Ben was able to give his son some advice, a list of supplies that they had sorely missed because they had been overlooked before hitting the trail, and one final gift.
This he gave to Adam the night before they would ride out of Virginia City. "I'm sure you...remember the journal I was writing when we came out with Hoss' mother."
Ben handed his eldest the heavy book that he had loosely wrapped in linen. It was bound in dark, tooled and quilted leather with crisp, heavy pages inside. The book could be secured with a thong that had been sewn to the binding, and the overhanging edges of the cover would protect the pages from water damage.
"Perhaps you and brothers will find a thing or two to write about." Ben suggested.
Adam was beaming at the workmanship when he shook his father's hand and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sure they'll be plenty to write about. Whether or not we'll have time for it…"
Ben laughed with his son, hugging him again tightly before letting him go.
When the wagons rolled out of Virginia City it was April 24th. Plenty of time for them to get through the mountains before any danger of snow. Plenty of good, warm days ahead. Ben began praying the moment the last wagon turned out of sight, knowing he wouldn't stop until the day his sons returned to the Ponderosa.
April 26 - Halfway between Geiger Lookout and Reno, Nevada
Adam rode next to the lead wagon, driven by one of the two eldest children in the train, Sewell Johansson. The boy was 17, blonde and pale, and constantly either burned or freckled, but never tanned. His twin brothers and sister were the same way.
Maudie Johansson usually wore her bonnet and her sleeves rolled down, no matter how warm the day got, just to protect her skin from the sun. Maudie was 16 and a little too frightened of the mule team pulling the wagon to be willing to handle them. Adam had offered a few times to teach her, thinking the wagon, with its Conestoga-style canvas, might offer her a reprieve from the sun. Maudie always politely declined.
Her twin brothers, Hamish and Harley, were almost too eager to learn and one of them was always on the wagon seat with Sewell, begging to be given the chance to take over the reins. The children, despite being immigrants from Sweden, had a fair grasp of English. Sewell and Maudie could read it as well, but Hamish and Harley were less than enthusiastic about learning the language, and would generally disappear when their sister came at them with a book or piece of paper.
They were most pleased when Maudie's hands were busy with baby Hope. Maudie had told Adam that the infant was probably a year-and-a-half by now. She remembered the night the baby had been born, on board the sailing vessel that had gone down. Her mother had made fast friends with Hope's mother during their journey to the new world, and when Maudie had learned that Hope's mother had died, she had been quick to lay claim to the infant. The siblings considered Hope a part of the family, most of the time. When the child kept them up wailing at night, Hamish and Harley tried disowning her.
Maudie was a gentle and loving older sister to the infant, and never complained about the long hours spent walking by the wagon with the baby tucked into a sling. Sewell was protective enough of his sister that he could be relied on to urge Maudie onto the wagon seat when she began to tire. It was this combination of factors that had lead Adam to put their family at the head of the train. Sewell was a calming presence with the animals and set a good pace.
There were other infants in the train, with older siblings caring for them, and Maudie's pace was just as important to making a good average of mileage every day.
Adam, Bucky, Wilson, Fovey, Joe and Hoss had decided on a rotation of trail bossing, night guard and drag after the first day on the trail. Getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of each of the families was an important part of that rotation. Unlike a cattle drive, Adam could talk to this herd, and the wealth of stories had begun to fill the book his father had given him already.
"There will be many cities?" Sewell asked from the wagon seat.
"Sometimes we'll see a new town or village every day. Other times...might be three or four days between them. We won't take the wagons into the towns, but if we need to, we'll visit."
"Why would we not go into the towns?" Sewell asked, every word dancing in the peculiar way of the Swedes.
"Well…" Adam thought for a moment, his face crinkling on the one side. "You'll understand it best once you've settled somewhere for a while. You tend to become possessive of the land. Consider it your own. You see strangers in a different way, and strangers that are coming after land, usually in big trains like ours, might just upset people. Once they know we're passing through they'll be a might more welcome, but we'll save time, money and trouble, staying out of them."
"There is so much land, Adam." Sewell said, staring ahead at a long flat trail of nothing but the stuff. "More than enough to go around."
Adam chuckled. "After you've been in Oregon for a year or so, after you marry and settle and start your own family, send me a telegram and tell me if I wasn't right. Deal?"
Sewell had begun to blush at the mention of a wife and Adam suspected he knew why. The other seventeen year old in the train was an attractive, strong willed, fiery young lady that he suspected Sewell was sweet on. Adam didn't know that a romance between them would ever work, for Sewell and Martha Washington were complete polar opposites in every way. However, if the two someday decided they loved each other, he would pledge himself their benefactor for the rest of his borne days. After giving a nervous laugh Sewell said, "Deal."
Adam turned in his saddle to check on the wagons and Little Joe, got waves of confirmation from each of the drivers and said, "I'm going to ride ahead and find a place for lunch. Keep 'em movin'."
Joe watched his brother ride ahead from where he was on foot by the Pickwick wagon, fourth in the train and by far the most lively. The Pickwick siblings numbered 5, plus little Comfort, who had been adopted by Jane Pickwick, just as Hope had been adopted by the Johanssons. Joe had been told that Comfort, like Hope, had been born on the boat ride over, then orphaned without knowing his parents. Like Hope, Jane Pickwick and her brother Albertus had been close friends with Comfort's siblings. When the whole family was lost, but for baby Comfort, Jane had been quick to take the infant to her breast. At 16, with firey red hair, freckled skin and vibrant green eyes, Jane was a force to be reckoned with. She was fierce with her siblings, reminding Joe of a certain teacher with whom he always seemed to butt heads when he was young.
Albertus, who was 14 but already as tall as Joe, could easily lord over his younger siblings and some of the younger children on the train. He was also a bit of a ring leader with the other boys, but when Jane spoke, Albertus jumped. It was to Jane's advantage that most of the other boys in the train were equally as frightened of her temper, making Jane very much the matron of the group.
Jane was regularly the one to drive their wagon, tying Comfort to her hip with her shawl to keep him in the wagon seat. Henrietta, Gaston and Magnus rounded out the rest of the group who trailed after the wagon, taking turns on the seat with Jane. Magnus, who was 6, was the youngest. The children were from Wales, and Magnus had not only the Welsh accent but a lisp as well. The combination of carrot orange hair, pouting lips, missing teeth and freckles had made him Joe's favorite in an instant. When Jane would let him, Magnus begged Joe to be allowed to ride on Cochise. The boy could barely say the horse's name, but he talked to her and petted her, telling Cochise that he loved her and wished he could keep her.
Joe had thought about giving Magnus Cochise' first colt, if he ever bred her, but knew better than to mention it to the boy.
Gaston, who was 12 was the one to talk to humans. He had a constant string of questions from morning to evening and since Joe, Bucky, Adam and Hoss were the only ones willing to answer them, they were the targets.
"What about indians? Have you seen one?" Gaston asked, holding one of Cochise's reins while Joe held the other.
"Course I have. I've had indians as neighbors before. Some of my best friends are indians." Joe said.
"But aren't they dangerous?" Gaston asked. He struggled a little with his 's' sounds like Magnus did, but had grown out of it some.
"Some of them can be...but all people can be dangerous. They're just..different." Joe said.
"Like the Washingtons?" Gaston asked.
Joe glanced over his shoulder at the wagon directly behind theirs. Martha Washington sat on the driver box looking bored, squinting at the backs of the mules from under her bonnet.
"I guess...but I think Martha's a lot more like you than the indians. See...indians not only look different, but they dress different, and talk different. They believe in different gods and have different customs. For example, you and your siblings, you celebrate Christmas right?"
Gaston nodded.
"Well...I'm sure Martha and Philappa and Miles do too. But the indians, they don't. Only some of them have even heard about Jesus. See...the indians they give gifts, and have feasts and dances for other things. Like….full moons and harvest season. They dance different too. Not...not with each other like we do, but in a big circle. With a fire."
"Don't they get burnt?" Gaston asked. From the wagon seat Jane barked a laugh.
"They dance around the fire, Gaston, not huggin' it." She said.
Joe laughed. "Hey, what do you know about indians?"
"I worked at Barnum's museum." Jane announced happily.
Joe's eyes lit up. "I heard about him. What was he like?"
"Barnum was a hoot. Given to yarns and tales that would make your toes curl. When he was about. Most of the time he was off finding new things to put in the museum and new ways to bring folks through the doors. I wouldn't let Albertus or the youngin's near the place for the shameful things they might see and hear, but…" Jane's eyes danced wickedly. "I learned a thing or two."
Joe laughed, then laughed all the harder when he caught the clouded look from Gaston. Joe lifted the boy's hat, ruffled his hair, then plunked it back down on the pile of wild curls.
"Hey Joe!"
Joe stepped in front of Cochise to stop the animal, then reached up for Magnus. The boy pouted but let himself be taken from the saddle and scampered after the wagon and Gaston. Joe walked slowly back towards the approaching wagon on which his brother Hoss sat.
"I suppose you're getting tired of all that bumpin' and knockin'" Joe called up.
Hoss' face was a little peaked and he gave his brother a glare. "You promised me you'd take over after lunch. I'm just makin' sure you ain't changed your mind."
"I'll take over. Never fear, brother."
Hoss gave a mistrustful grumble and Joe laughed. He tipped his hat to the eight-year-old girl clinging to the seat beside Hoss and she smiled at him shyly. "Howdy, Alma."
"How-ty." Alma said, grinning at him.
Joe's face lit up. "Hey, you remembered!" He said grinning and waving as the wagon continued on past him. He stepped up into the saddle and rode down the line of creaking wheels and stomping hooves to the final wagon in the train. Bucky sat behind the reins on the Cartwright wagon, one hand on the reins, while he blew air through a harmonica with the other.
Bucky had proven himself to be a talented enough player, but what he was doing at the moment sounded more like a pair of mules in heat. Joe made a face then wheeled Cochise to check on the string of horses tied to the back of the wagon. Behind the train and the horses, there was nothing but empty trail, a cloud of dust and miles of familiar road. Joe felt something thrill in his chest when he realized that he would eventually look back on the way they had come, and it would be a sight he'd only seen once before.
Like a half-broke horse released into a pasture, Joe let out a woop and charged to the front of the train, getting laughs and cheers from the kids all along the line.