Chapter 50

Thursday, June 1, 1848

Ed: Day 29 - On the Oregon Trail

"How's it going, Mark?" I asked after I had caught up with him.

"Not too bad, Ed. I think we'll reach the Brule Crossing today. How is everything going with you?"

"Some good, some bad," I said. "I was asked by a young lady yesterday how a couple goes about getting married while they're on a wagon train. Evidently we don't have a minister with us."

"No, we don't have. That's an easy question to answer, though. You marry them."

"Me? I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Well, it's one of the Captain's duties. I have a prayer book that has the marriage ceremony in it. All you have to do is read the ceremony and ask the questions, then you pronounce them to be man and wife."

"Damn! I should have Tina skin you alive for getting me into this Captain thing."

Mark laughed and said, "I'd think Cassie would be the one to skin someone alive."

"Cassie talks mean, but she's not half as mean as she lets on. I do have another problem, though."

"What's that?"

"Since I met Cindi, her mom, and Jason on the trail, Cindi has been in love with me, then Billy, then Jon Vencille, then Gunter Gunderson. Now she has her heart set on Jesse Cooper. The problem is, Jesse and Ilsa Gunderson are the ones wanting to get married."

"Is she causing them problems?"

"Yeah, a few nights ago, Ilsa and Cindi got into a big fight over Jesse. Yesterday, Cindi was trying to talk Jesse into watching her take a bath. I've talked with Cindi both times, but it hasn't done any good."

"This is a hard one, Ed. If it was a man, we'd probably banish him from the wagon train. Since it's a young girl, we can't do that. Has her mother talked to her?"

"She's tried, but Cindi refuses to talk about it. She told her mother to go to hell."

"Do you think she's like... Swived any of them?"

It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about, then it hit me. "I don't think so, Mark. One of the things I fear is that she'll come on to one of these rough cowboys and that he'll rape her. I don't think she realizes what a strain she's putting on these men."

"Well, it's only going to be a couple of more days until we get to Ash Hollow. Let's try to figure something out before then."

It was another beautiful day for traveling. We had been very lucky so far. We had been on the trail for almost a month and we had only had a few days of rain during the whole time. The only thing that worried me was that we needed grass and water for all of the animals. Without some rain, we might run into problems.

We did, in fact make it to the Brule Crossing of the South Platte. It was getting close to evening when we got there, so we decided to wait until morning before we tried to cross. I rode across the ford with Mark and it didn't look like we'd even get the hubs wet on the wagons.

We had a tense evening around our campfire. Sally made Cindi stay in camp and Cindi wasn't at all happy about it. She wasn't outright insulting, but she was surly and pouted all evening. At least we knew she wasn't getting into trouble.

Friday, June 2, 1848

Ed: Day 30 - On the Oregon Trail

We made one of the easiest crossings of the South Platte that had ever been made. The water was so shallow that we didn't even have any problems with the calves. We did notice something strange though. As the morning progressed, the river seemed to be rising. I asked Mark about it, and he said they must be getting a lot of rain off to the west.

We decided to push on after the crossing and see how far we could get before evening. Mark said we'd be going down Windlass Hill tomorrow and it'd be a very hard day.

Sally kept Cindi close to her all day and made her stay in camp in the evening. Cindi's mood got even worse as the day progressed.

Saturday, June 3, 1848

Ed: Day 31 - On the Oregon Trail

The cattle didn't have much of a problem with Windlass Hill, but the wagons made up for it. This is the steepest grade on the Oregon Trail and many wagons were lost there over the years. We ended up losing one of our freight wagons and two of the oxen that were pulling it.

We took the cattle herd down first, and the cowboys took it on down to Ash Hollow and got them spread out to graze. Stu brought most of the cowboys back to help with the wagons and that was appreciated.

The method that was used by most travelers was to lock all four wheels of the wagon. This was done by putting poles through between the spokes of the wheels, or by chaining the wheels so they wouldn't turn. Even then, a wagon would sometimes get away and go flying down the hill, running over the animals that were pulling it.

Ropes were tied to the back of the wagons, and men and animals would hold on against the pull of the wagon as it tried to get away.

We sent the coach down first. All of the passengers got out and walked down. We didn't have a bit of a problem with the coach or the first two freight wagons. It was the third wagon that gave us the problem and it probably served to make us all more cautious with the rest of the wagons.

I don't know if it was because the wagon was so heavily laden, or if we just got careless. Whatever the reason, it got away from us. It killed two of the oxen pulling it as it ran over them. The wheels came off next, as it made it's uncontrolled descent. It slid along on it's bottom for a while, then it evidently caught on something and it flipped. It tumbled over and over, losing barrels and kegs as it went. It finally came to rest, off the side of the trail near the bottom.

We were lucky that it was one of the freight wagons that we lost. We were also lucky that we had depleted the load of some of our other wagons. We set a crew of men salvaging what they could and loading it into the other wagons, while the rest of us worked on getting the remaining wagons down the hill.

The cooper in Dayton, Ohio had done a very good job on the barrels. We only lost two barrels of flour and one keg of molasses. It could have been a lot worse.

Ash Hollow was an oasis in the desert. There was some of the best water we had found on the trail, plenty of grass, and a nice stand of ash trees for firewood. It was a perfect place to lay over for a day. Since tomorrow is Sunday, even Mrs. Hankins will be happy.

Sunday, June 4, 1848

Ed: Day 32 - On the Oregon Trail

Our layover day proved to be a nice day, indeed. We all checked our wagons over, while the cattle and horses grazed on the waist high grass. We did a lot of relaxing and a lot of talking during the day and a lot of cuddling in the evening.

Mindy, Mandy and Tizzy were our entertainment during most of the day. I'm afraid M&M have corrupted Tizzy. At least she's opened up a lot now and isn't so shy. At one point during the afternoon, she came over to where Sam and I were cuddled together and flopped down on my lap. She looked up at me with those big, soulful, brown eyes and said, "Hi."

"Hi, Tizzy," I grinned.

"You know I love you, don't you?" Tizzy asked.

"That's good," I said, "because I love you too."

Tizzy grinned from ear to ear and snuggled in. Before long she was asleep. I looked at Sam and said, "I think we've gained her trust."

"Yes, and I think you've gained another admirer," Sam grinned. "She's come a long way, hasn't she?"

"Yes, and I'm glad of it. She won't have nearly as hard a transition to make as Jeb and Zeb have. I've talked to them a bit and they seem to be making a lot of progress, too."

I held Tizzy until M&M came around and woke her up.

I wasn't comfortable with it, but Jesse Cooper insisted, so I performed the wedding ceremony for Ilsa Gunderson and Jesse Cooper. I think everyone on the wagon train attended. Ilsa looked like an angel, clutching a bouquet of wild flowers as she repeated her vows. Jesse Cooper was as proud as any man could be.

Sally let Cindi leave our camp and walk around for a while. Cindi promised her she wouldn't do any flirting. None of us were sure if it was the right thing to do, but we figured we couldn't keep her under our thumb all of the time.

Monday, June 5, 1848

Ed: Day 33 - On the Oregon Trail

We were all well rested and we got a good early start this morning. We picked up the North Platte River a couple of hours after we got moving. Mark say's we'll follow it for around three hundred miles. That's over three weeks of travel.

We let Cindi ride by herself today. She seemed as happy as a five year old with a new toy. I hope she finds someone she really loves soon. We kind of kept our eyes on her and we didn't see her bothering anyone. She did ride beside the chuck wagon and talk with Leonard Burton for a while. Sam said she was going to talk with Cindi about Burton later on. She said she'd always had a bad feeling about him.

In the last few days, the North Platte had risen several feet in depth. We weren't getting any rain here, but we must be getting a lot of it to the west of us. We have a long ways to go before we have to cross, so we don't see it as being a problem.

Tuesday, June 6, 1848

Ed: Day 34 - On the Oregon Trail

We woke up to a light drizzle this morning. We had enough dry wood in our freight wagons that we managed to get a fire started under a tarp. At least we managed to make coffee and make some bacon and johnnycake.

The rain wasn't bad enough to effect travel, but it did drive almost everyone who didn't have to be out into the wagons and coach. I noticed that Billy and Hilda Gunderson were walking, while Billy led his horse behind the Gunderson wagon.

Sam and I talked about that a little later and we both agreed they made a nice couple. Sam said she believed there was another young couple forming. She said she'd seen Jon Vencille and Joanna Stevenson talking several times.

I didn't really know Joanna, although I had seen her around. I think Jon is the salt of the earth, so I wish them well. I was in the coach as I thought all of the new loves being found, and I broke out laughing. Sam asked me what was so funny, do I asked, "Do you remember an old TV show called 'The Love Boat'?"

"I've seen reruns of it."

"I was just thinking that this wagon train is like that. We bring people together and they fall in love."

"I don't remember anyone in that show who had six wives," Sam grinned.

"I talked with Cindi about Burton," Sam told me later.