Chapter 6

I was a mite perplexed when we received a visit from a Mormon Church elder from Salt Lake City way asking me all kinds of questions about the Book of Mormon and my opinion on politics in the Western regions.

I tried to answer him as honestly as possible because I knew these old guys could spot a lie faster than a stepped on rattlesnake with a nasty attitude.

Eventually, he came around to the purpose of his visit which was to sanction our little church as a new temple of the church and ask us to relocate further west into the Northern California area to establish a new region for the Mormon Church in the west. Now, those two Mormon sisters were all aglow with the spirit of the Lord just thinking about the honor of establishing a new branch of the Salt Lake City church in California. The rest of us were conflicted because we were just using our Mormon connection to ease our way in a harsh environment.

The more I thought about the offer, the more attractive I found the details. I knew that each of my three wives would make a better preacher than I but I felt that I would be able to stumble my way through the sermons with their assistance. The little ones were no problem, they would enjoy being anywhere we decided to go as long as there was a place to play their silly little games and there were plenty of snacks to keep them fat and happy. The Indian side of our household was also inclined to go with the flow and they were more nomadic in nature than any of the rest of us. The decline of the buffalo herds was a signal that it was time for them to move on and the only directions they could head on were either west to the coastline or north to the lands of the Queen. A lot of their relatives had already headed up to Canada but they had heard rumors of ill treatment by the white settlers angry at the encroachment on their lands.

Our little wagon train had no less than three wagons and we had plenty of supplies.

The widow Mason was none too happy about our exodus west as she was quite content in our peaceful valley where everyone was safe and life was almost boring from lack of drama.

I had managed to convince on the basis of our safety being only temporary as we were under the protection of the Mormon Church and if they wanted us to relocate, we had better follow their wishes because they had plenty of reasons to find fault with our family structure.

There was little doubt in my mind that once we were established in California, we would be able to split from the church with ease because they were not as much in control out there as where we were in the middle of their western kingdom.

We encountered a rather large group of Indians trekking out of the territory but it was obvious to me that they were more searching for survival rather than on the warpath or anything of a hostile nature which most white folks would suspect as a matter of course.

I gifted them one of our cows as a supplement to their meagre diet as the last buffalo in this region had been slaughtered years ago.

Wife number one, the widow Mason was incensed at my largesse but I considered it the better part of valor because I knew for a fact that hunger was responsible for a lot of the violence out west mostly from the indigenous tribes too proud to admit they were on the verge of starvation. The broken white man’s promises were shameful to most Christian settlers but most of them were too wary of the Indians to offer any help because their sense of danger was too close to home for comfort.

One wagon had Joshua and Rains between Legs in charge and they also had Night Noises as a passenger. It must have been hard on her watching Joshua and Rains between Legs constantly humping at night and her without a man to take care of her. Black Pony was an outrider watching over the livestock and he would visit her under the wagon often because he had taken a shine to her despite her moody attitude that came close to depression more often than not.

My wagon had all three of my wives in it along with the four little ones. With all the people inside we didn’t have much room for gear and we used a pull along wagon behind to carry our portion of the supplies for the new destination. Of course, the widow Mason had the right of first refusal on my husbandly duties and the other two took up the slack when she was not in the mood or feeling poorly. The poor woman was worn to a frazzle lately with the move and all and she was not in the mood quite a bit more these days much to my chagrin. I would have to admit that Clementine was my primary go to female for wifely duties of late and we had forged a bond that was both exciting and joyful to me because she never hesitated to give her all in any situation.

The third wagon was the largest wagon of the super Conestoga variety and it was driven by the three young survivors from a massacre of Mormon settlers by a wide-ranging band of Apache renegades. There were two girls and one boy. They were all in their late teens and the boy was a full grown man with muscles of steel and built for stamina and long distance running. The two girls were like peas in a pod both with blonde hair and blue eyes and an unbroken spirit about them that made them lots of fun to spend time with.