DOTT Letter to Mrs Farnsworth Ft L

A letter from Kara Trout to Mrs. Farnsworth

DISCLAIMER: I do not own either A Song of Ice and Fire or A Game of Thrones. Nor do I own Daria Morgendorffer. This story is set on the real Oregon Trail during the Summer of 1860 and is based on my research, not on the computer game of the same name.

This story is written for fun and for ego gratification. I neither expect nor deserve any sort of financial compensation for this work of fiction.

Daria On the Trail*Daria On the Trail*Daria On the Trail

Author's Notes: Orrick Trout has and his wife mailed letters from Fort Laramie. Who were they to and where did they go? Here is one which Kara Trout sent to Mrs. Farnsworth, a farm widow ling near St. Louis, Missouri with whom the Trouts boarded from late August, 1859 to April 1860.

Dear Mrs. Farnsworth,

Greetings from Fort Laramie! We arrived at the fort two days ago and are in good health—all of us—me, Orrick, Kennard, Jilla, and Minti. So is Cousin Willem, who joined us at Westport.

I don't believe that you met Cousin Willem. Willem is kin to my husband. His farm was attacked by raiders from the Westlands and his family was slaughtered. Willem fled through the Arch and made his way to Westport. By some miracle my husband spotted him and hired to help us with our wagon. He has traveled hundreds of miles across this continent's sea of grass. Willem is not sure as to what he is about: he may travel west to Oregon with us or he may choose to travel to the gold fields of California and try his luck there. We shall see.

We left Westport in late May. Kennard hurt his arm before we left and we waited for several weeks for his arm to heal. Our stay gave us a chance to meet the folk waiting to travel west as well to prepare for our journey ahead. What an extraordinary collection of folk they were! Most of them were Americans like you, of course, but there were others from places like Europe and Britain. Most of the folk seeking farmland are families while those bound for California are a mixture of families and young men seeking their fortunes. Few of them had come from the Riverlands when we left, although I suspect that many more are coming as the Lords Paramount's wars ravage the Trident and other places.

As to our own wagon train, as you would call it: most of us are Americans; Orrick, myself, and his and my kind being exceptions. Most of the men have five and twenty years and more, although most of the women are younger. Most of us have children, the children being toddlers with two name days to their teens like Jilla. A couple of the women in our Company are expecting children: I worry as to how they will fare as we journey westwards.

The journey here has been extraordinary. This is so unlike the Riverlands. I have never before seen such grasslands in my life. The Great Plains, as the Americans call it, are covered with grass. The grasslands spread out in all directions, the winds rippling the stems like the it ripples the waves of the ocean and I feel very small under these strange stars and moon. We have yet to see any buffalo. I am told that game is scarce along this trail, although I have seen a few deer in the distance. They flee when approached.

Cooking has been a challenge. I have been cooking out in the open these last few weeks. There is no wood along the banks of the Platte River and I have been forced to cook using animal dung or, sometimes, the scraps of some wrecked cart or wagon. Our meals have been unrelenting fare of bacon and bread for breakfast, cold bacon and bread at noontide, and bacon and bread again for dinner.

We have recently obtained a new traveling companion, a Yankee girl calling herself Daria Morgendorffer. She prefers not to talk about herself much, but to my surprise she is very fluent in Andal and is helping me with the children and with household chores. She also know much about the Overland Trail and is helping Orrick and Kennard learn about the hazards facing us ahead and how to deal with them when the time comes. She also has a talent for scrounging. She discovered some foodstuffs dumped by another Company near the Fort and we have been eating beans and cabbage. Plain fare, to be sure, but a welcome relief from bacon and bread.

My children are thriving on this trip. Kennard is doing what he can to do a man's work, although he is yet a boy. Kara and Minti help me with chores like washing and gathering fluel. They have made some friends among the other children of our Company, although it isn't easy: they are still learning English. I have had Daria tutor them when she can: they are better at reading and working with numbers. All three of my children see this as a great adventure, which I suppose it is.

I forgot to tell you that Orrick has become our Company's new Captain. The previous leader, a man named Thomas Ridge, was removed by a vote of our company and Orrick took his place. I think it is a good choice: Orrick helped with caravans to and from Dorne in his youth and worked with wagons during King Robert's Rebellion. He has relearned his old skills and is learning new ones.

We will remain here at Fort Laramie for a few more days. Some of our wagons are undergoing repairs that should have been done earlier when that fool Ridge was Captain.

Minti and Jilla say they mis you. All of us, myself, Jilla, Kennard, Minti, Orrick, and Willem send their greetings. We have months and many miles of travel ahead of us.

Pray for us. I hope your Saint Christopher helps us on our travels.

With love,

Kara Trout

A further note concerning Mrs. Farnsworth: one of her neighbors was the well-to-do Dent family, who owned a plantation with 30 slaves. One of the Dent daughters married a young US Army officer named Ulysses Simpson Grant.