Chapter 2

When we got up the next morning, mom told me to go out and kill a hog. "Which one?" I asked.

"Kill the one that's about half grown," she said. "We don't have time to cure one that's bigger."

I just nodded. "Do you want me to butcher him?"

"No, just hang him with the block and tackle. I'll butcher him. Tess is gonna work on the jerky today and I'd like for you to start grinding corn."

"Is one barrel full gonna be enough?" I asked.

Mom nodded.

I went out and got a hand full of corn and pap's short handled sledge hammer. I managed to entice the critter away from the others and outside the pen by showing it the corn. Once he was outside, I poured the corn on the ground, then hit him between the eyes with the sledge when he had eaten it.

I got Tess to help me drag him over to the butchering tree, then I hoisted him up with the block and tackle. I cut his throat and left him to bleed out.

I told mom he was hanging and she said she'd take it from there. I started in, grinding corn. It's not my favorite occupation, but I knew it had to be done. Tess came out at lunch time and brought me a slab of meat between two pieces of johnny cake. She brought a large cup of milk to wash it down and sat down to talk with me for a few minutes while I ate.

"Do you have any idea what it's gonna be like out there in Oregon, Jase?"

"I expect you've heard all the same stories I have, Sis. Some of the land is hilly like it is around here. Some is level. There are some mountains from what I hear. I don't expect there are many roads and there's not nearly as many people."

"It's probably gonna be lonesome, huh."

"I reckon so. Caleb says he's gonna start up a horse ranch. I don't know what pap plans to do. I imagine he'll keep on trading."

"What would you like to do after you leave home?"

"I know what I want to do. I'll probably do some hunting and trapping till I get some money put away, then I might start a cattle ranch. Someday there's gonna be as many people in Oregon as there are back east. They're all gonna need meat. Maybe I'll be the one who supplies it."

"Raising cattle wouldn't be a bad life. Maybe I'll come and stay with you and Millie once you're settled."

"You'll probably be married up before that, Sis."

"There sure ain't nobody around here I'd marry up with," Tess said.

"What about Millie's brothers. They're both nice guys."

"They're nice guys, but Bob only takes a bath about once a year and he stinks. Millie also says he drinks too much. Sam is a lot cleaner, but he hasn't got sense enough to come in out of the rain."

"Maybe standing out in the rain is why he's cleaner," I said, trying to hide my smile.

Tess hit me on the arm then said, "Millie is the only smart one of that whole bunch of kids."

I finished grinding the corn meal by the middle of the afternoon. Once I had the barrel full, I hammered in the lid and then sealed it with pitch. I rolled the barrel of meal to the shed out back and got it put away.

I went in the house when I was finished and mom was making the stuff she uses to cure meat. "Come with me," she said.

We went back out to where the hog was hanging. "I'm gonna cut the front half of it off. You catch it and hang it in the smoke house. Then come and get the back half and hang it in there too."

I nodded and grabbed hold of the front half of the hog while mom neatly cut it loose from the back half. I carried it in and hung it in the smoke house. Mom was already back in the house when I came back for the other half.

I went back in the house and asked mom about the curing. "The meat needs to chill before we start curing it. I'll cut it up in the morning and put on the cure. You need to bring in some hickory wood for the smoking."

"How long does it have to cure, Mom?"

"The bacon needs about a day and a half for each pound in a piece. The hams need about two days for each pound."

Mom continued working as we talked, so I asked, "Are you happy about us moving to Oregon?"

"Yes, Son, I'm happy. I am Cherokee. Seven years ago the soldiers moved all of the Cherokee people out of the state of Georgia. I think it is just a matter of time before they do it here."

"Mom, I'm proud to be a half-breed. I'm proud to be part Cherokee."

"Half-breed is a bad word in the white man's talk and in the Indian's. I have thought much about how you and your sister will live with that."

"Mom, Millie knows Tess and I are half Cherokee. It doesn't bother her. When Tess finds the right man, it won't bother him either."

Mom just smiled, so I told her I was going out to cut some hickory. I worked at that until Tess called me for supper.

I went over again to see Millie after supper. We walked down by the creek and when we got to our fallen tree, we sat down. This time I put my arm around her waist and she snuggled in close.

"Have you thought about what you want to do when we get to Oregon," she asked.

"Yeah, Tess and I were talking about that this afternoon. I figure pap is going to keep on trading like he does here. I think I'd like to start a cattle ranch."

"It'll take some time to get a ranch going to where it'll pay for itself. What are you going to do until then?"

"I figure I can do enough hunting and trapping to support myself and my wife," I said.

"Oh... Did you have someone in mind for your wife?"

"Yep," I said, then I leaned down and kissed her.

"Is that an indication that you might be considering me?" she asked with a shy little smile.

"Yep," I said, then I leaned down and kissed her again.

"Don't you think you should ask me and see how I feel about it?"

"Yep," I said, then I leaned down and kissed her for a third time.

"Well?"

"Millie, for most of my life I loved you like I love my sister. A few years ago I realized I love you like I'd love my wife. Will you marry me when we get to Oregon?"

"Yes... I'd marry you tomorrow, Jase, but mam and pap will be happier if we wait until we get to Oregon. I love you too. I have for years."

We kissed again. This time there was a lot more fire in it than there had been before. We snuggled together for a while, then started back for the cabin. "Let's not tell anyone until we're on the trail," Millie said as we walked along with an arm around each other.

"Okay, but I have to tell Tess."

"That's okay. Just tell her to keep her mouth shut."

"She says she might want to come and live with us after we're on our own. What would you think about that?"

"It'd be pretty lonely for her, living with your mam and pap if she doesn't get married right away. She's like my sister too, so I wouldn't mind."

"She says there's no one around here she'd marry up with and she thinks it'll be even worse in Oregon."

"She's not interested in my stinky brother, Bob, or my dumb brother, Sam?"

I had to laugh. "That's the way she described them."

Millie giggled. "Yeah, we've talked about them. I have to agree with Tess. I wouldn't want either one of them."

After we got back to the cabin, Caleb pretty much took over the conversation. He started telling me about what he was doing to get ready to go. "Would you have some time you could come over tomorrow and help me with something?" he asked.

"I'll have to ask mom, but I'm sure it'll be alright."

"I have to put a new axle on the farm wagon. I could do it by myself, but it'd be a lot easier if I had some help."

"Sure, Caleb, I'd be glad to."

"Why don't you come over in the middle of the afternoon and then stay for supper?"

"That sounds good," I said with a smile. Sally looked over at me and winked.

Our kiss before I started home left us both breathless.

When I got up the next morning, mom said she was going to need my help in the smokehouse for a while. "Caleb would like for me to come over this afternoon and help him with his wagon. Would that be okay," I asked.

Mom nodded. "They asked me to stay for supper."

She nodded again, then said, "Eat some breakfast then come out. It won't take long."

Tess started fixing breakfast for me. This time she was frying eggs as well as what I'd had yesterday. When mom had gone out I said, "Tess, there's something I need to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else."

"Not even Millie?" she asked with a little smile.

"Millie already knows about it, so you can talk to her."

"Okay, then I promise."

"I asked Millie to marry me when we get to Oregon and she agreed."

"I figured that was coming."

"I also asked if you could live with us after we get a home set up and she agreed to that too."

Tess sighed. "Thank you, Jase. It'll sure be better than living with mom and pap. Mom never says nothing and pap's always gone. It'd be almost like I was living alone."

"I know. I love mom, but she sure isn't much company."

I helped mom out with the butchering, then went to the tool shed and started cleaning up our tools and taking an inventory of what we had and what we might need. I was sure pap wouldn't have any idea of what we were going to need. I tried to make sure we had at least two of everything.