Chapter 30

Monday, February 21, 1848

One of the things we had gotten for Christmas was a bed that was big enough for all five of us. I don't know what time it was when Sam awakened me, but it was early, or late if you want to look at it that way.

Sam shook my shoulder and when I started to wake up, she said, "Ed, I think I'm going into labor."

"Oh, shit," I said. I was immediately awake.

"It's a little too late to be saying, oh shit," Sam said. I couldn't tell if she was angry or teasing. I found out quickly.

"Get your ass out of bed and do something," Sam growled.

I jumped up as the rest of my wives awakened. I threw on some pants and ran out to the bunkhouse. I slipped in without waking anyone else and made my way to Jud and Mina's room.

"Mina," I said, trying not to disturb Jud.

"Um," Mina said.

"Mina, Sam's in labor."

Mina was on her feet in a second. "Get out of here and let me get dressed," she said. I was proud of how she had progressed from being a slave to being her own woman.

I ran back to the house and found it in a turmoil. All of my wives were up and milling around. Kate had awakened Maddy and she shooed me out of my bedroom before I could do more than kiss Sam on the forehead. She smiled and squeezed my hand before Maddy made me leave.

Sam had a relatively short labor. When you're an expectant father, six hours can seem like a week though. Sarah Beth and Delia and Dalia made breakfast for the rest of us. I don't think Cassie, Kate, Mina or Maddy even ate. They stayed with Sam the whole time. They let me in a couple of times to hold Sam's hand for a few minutes, but Maddy and Mina said that birthing was a woman's thing and they wouldn't let me stay.

It was a little after ten o'clock when we heard the lusty cry of an infant. A couple of minutes later, Cassie came out holding a red faced, crying little bundle and handed it to me. She was smiling from ear to ear as she said, "She's a beautiful little girl, Ed."

"She is beautiful," I said, looking at the wrinkled up little face. I held her to me and rocked back and forth. She stopped crying almost immediately and I leaned down and kissed her precious little forehead.

"Another daddy's girl, I see," Cassie giggled.

I put my arm around Cassie and pulled her against me. "Is Sam okay?" I asked.

"Sam is fine. You'll be able to go in to see her in a couple of minutes."

Those couple of minutes seemed like hours. Cassie took the baby back in to Sam and eventually, Delia came out for me. All of the other women, except for Delia and Cassie had left the room before I was let in.

Our newest addition was fixed to one of Sam's lovely breasts when I walked in. She looked up at me with a wonderful little smile on her face and asked, "Isn't she beautiful?"

I leaned over and kissed her, then said, "That she is, but not half as beautiful as her mama."

Sam smiled and said, "I know I have to look like shit. I feel like I was run over by a truck."

"I've never seen you more beautiful," I said, meaning every word of it. "You glow."

Delia giggled and said, "You do have a glow about you, Sam. "I think all new mothers have it."

"So, what are we going to name this beautiful little addition to our family?" I asked.

"I was thinking of a really old fashioned name, love," Sam said. "What would you think about Rebecca Jane? We could call her Becky."

"I love it," I said. "It's a good name and fitting for the time period. I would also love calling her Becky."

"I'd let you hold her, but she's a hungry little beast right now."

"Lucky baby," I said with an evil grin. "Do I get her leftovers?"

Sam smiled and said, "Oh, you might get a taste."

"I'd like a taste too," Cassie said seriously.

"I think that can be arranged," Sam said. "Just call me Sam, the Borden cow."

Cassie and I got a giggle out of that, but Delia and Kate, who had come into the room didn't get the joke of course.

Later that afternoon, Cassie, Delia, and Kate took me by the hand and led me into the bedroom. I wondered what was going on, but I went along quietly. Once our family was all together, Cassie said, "Delia has something to tell you."

I looked at Delia and she cast her eyes downward. "Massa, dis here nigger done got herself pregnant wif a white man's baby."

It took a minute for what she was saying to sink in, but when it did, I grabbed her and kissed her silly. She had a grin that was a mile wide when she said, "I'm over a month late, Ed. I hope you're as happy about it as I am."

"Honey, I'm tickled to death. It works out perfectly too. You won't deliver until after we're in Oregon."

"Massa," Cassie said, giving a good imitation of Delia's slave drawl, "I'm not a slave, but you are definitely master of my heart. I'm two weeks late for my period too."

After I had kissed her until we were both breathless, I said, "I guess you and Delia can commiserate with each other through this. The last part of the trip is going to be hard on both of you, especially Delia."

"Yeah, we talked about that this morning. We may have that buckboard packed with pregnant women before we get there."

"Well, I could think of worse things," I said. "In addition to you two, we could have Kate, Dalia, Sarah Beth, and Angie pregnant. I guess it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that Mina could even get pregnant.

Delia giggled and said, "If she does, I'll tell her she's just trying to copy me."

Becky certainly seemed like a healthy baby. Her eyes would focus almost from the start and she'd instinctively grip your finger. All of the females in our family wanted to hold her, even M&M. Cassie and Kate said that since they were leaving with me in a few days, they should have priority.

All of the men started making serious arrangements for getting under way. Cassie, Kate and I decided we'd leave all of the money we had, except for fifty dollars, with Sam. When Andy, Stu, and Rawhide heard that Sam was keeping all of our money, they insisted she keep theirs also. That made Sam the treasurer of our family.

Tuesday, February 22, 1848

I cuddled with Sam, Becky and Delia this morning while Sam was feeding our latest arrival. Sam even let me taste ambrosia. The milk that came from her beautiful breast was sweet and thin... it tasted wonderful.

After we got up, we all discussed what all we owed money for and how much we had. It looked like we were going to have plenty to cover all we had contracted for when we added in what Andy, Stu, and Rawhide had.

Andy and I decided we were going to town to talk with the man who was making our wagons. He seemed pleased to see us and had to show us the special wagon. It was finished, except for a final coat of paint and it looked like a million dollars. Andy and I both bounced around on the seats for a while and they felt like they would hold the ladies nicely.

"So, are all of them going to be ready by the first?" I asked.

"They're all ready now, except for a final coat of paint on this one."

"Okay. We have to check to see if our oxen are available, but as soon as they are, we'll pay you for them and start taking them out to our ranch."

He agreed that sounded just fine, so we went to see the guy about the oxen. He said he could have them in the corral in two days, if we wanted them now, so I told him to bring them on and that Andy and some other men would come to get them.

"When are you planning on leaving?" Andy asked as we headed home.

"Well, a lot depends on what we find out in the next couple of days. Ab knows of four guys he says we can hire for the trip. Since we have four now, with the two who wandered in during the winter, that'll give us eight hired men. I figure we'll need about eight more than that to start with, then when we're in St Louis or St Joseph, we'll need to pick up a wagon master and a scout. If we can pick up enough men to drive the wagons and to move Rawhide's herd, you can leave at any time that Sam is ready to travel."

"Ed. I think you can take off whenever you want. Rawhide, Stu, and I can handle hiring the other men and buying everything else we need."

"I know you can, Andy. I'll tell you what. If Sam and the baby are okay, Kate, Cassie and I will take off on Friday."

"That sounds good. You had originally said to wait for you in Lafayette, Indiana, but I think we should push on toward St Louis or even St Jo if we get there before you do. I'm worried about getting through the mountains if we get a late start."

"I could live with that." I said. "It does make sense. Go from here to Lafayette, then to St Louis, then on to St Joseph. We can catch you on the road somewhere."

Andy nodded and said. "Okay. Every time I get a chance I'll blaze an arrow on a tree after we pass Lafayette. That way you'll know you're following the same route we took."

Andy is a smart guy and I knew they'd make themselves as easy to find as possible. "Rawhide has between five and six hundred cattle. We should try to buy some more in St Louis or St Jo. We might as well spend some of this money we're going after. I wouldn't mind having a herd of horses to take with us too."

When we got home, I called all of my wives into the bedroom and told them what Andy and I had been talking about. "How long do you think it'll be before you catch up with us?" Sam asked.

"I'd say about two or two and a half months. It's a little over seven hundred miles from here to Boston as the crow flies. Probably closer to eight hundred for us. Then from Boston to St. Louis it's about a thousand miles. Eighteen hundred miles is going to take around sixty days."

"Ed, I was looking at some of the maps we had when we got bumped back in time. It looks to me like St Joseph is almost due west of here. Wouldn't it make more sense for us to head straight to St. Joseph?" Sam asked.

"Well... You know, you're probably right. It'd also make more sense on our returning from Boston straight to St Joseph. It'd probably cut off a couple of hundred miles. Let's talk to Andy tonight."

"How many horses and how many mules are you planning to take?" Sam asked.

"I figured on two horses each, and two or three mules."

"Make that four mules and I'll agree with you. If you divide the load up, they'll be able to move faster. You said there's about sixty pounds of gold, didn't you?"

"Yeah, about that."

"Pack it in saddlebags. That way you can carry it into a tavern with you. Cassie and Kate can each carry fifteen pounds and you can carry thirty. I'd like for you to stay in taverns as much as possible. You'll eat and sleep better and you'll be able to ride faster and farther."

"Okay, Sam, that makes sense," I said.

Sam handed me another hundred dollars and said, "I want you to take this for your trip to Boston. With ten horses and mules your stable bills are going to be higher. We have plenty to cover everything here."

Wednesday, February 23, 1848

God, I was going to miss waking up beside my sweet Sam. It had been almost a year since I hadn't been beside her sweet body when I awoke. During that year I had come to love her more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I was also a little worried about her. The Cliftons almost had to know we were making preparations to leave.

I finally rolled out of bed and was followed almost immediately by Cassie, Delia and Kate. We all made our trips to the outhouse and by the time we were back in, Mina had coffee ready.

"You know," Cassie said. "Leaving right now might not be such a bad thing. Being woke up at two o'clock in the morning by a baby crying for a tit isn't my most favorite thing."

I had to laugh. "You're right, love. She does have a lusty little cry, doesn't she."

"I feel sorry for Sam," Delia said.

"Yeah, it's Sam who has to present her nipple for the little beast to chew on," Cassie said.

"Well, at least it isn't so bad right now," I said.

"What do you mean?" Delia asked.

"Becky doesn't have any teeth yet," I said with a grin.

Mina laughed and said, "I thought Delia was going to chew my nipple off when she started getting teeth."