Chapter 88: End of the Road

 

October 15, 1847. This morning we leave Foster’s farm. Tonight in Oregon City.

 

Mac called the wagons into line one more time. “Oregon City or bust!” he yelled as he waved his hat to signal the start. The faces around him mirrored the excitement he felt.

He walked Valiente next to Jenny on Poulette. “Our last day,” she said. “Did you think we’d get here?”

“Of course.” Mac grinned. “Never a doubt. Well, except when I was laid low by cholera. And maybe at Laurel Hill.”

“I worried the whole time. The whole six months.”

“I told you I’d get you here.”

“We lost so many along the way.” Jenny sighed. “We are blessed to have survived.”

They splashed across the Clackamas River and climbed its west bank, then wound through hills and forded small creeks. In midafternoon Mac sat on Valiente on a bluff above a river churning in a wide cascade.

Below them—a town! Not large, smaller than Independence. About like Arrow Rock, Mac thought. Three streets ran north to south, and several side streets crossed in between. Their long journey was over.

“Oregon City!” Mac shouted. He dismounted and helped Jenny and William off Poulette. They stood on the hilltop staring at the Willamette valley.

Jenny had tearstains on her cheeks. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“It’s real,” she said, wiping her hand across her face. “We’re here. We’re safe.”

“Happy?” Mac asked.

She nodded through her tears.

After they camped in a field north of town, Mac led Jenny and William along the muddy main street, past a Catholic church, a few scattered houses and stores, a jail, and a Methodist church. They reached a ferry and a grist mill beside the falls. The river dropped thirty-five feet between boulders to a pool below the mill.

“It’s lovely,” Jenny said, gesturing at the river view. “And a watermill. No wonder the flour at Mr. Foster’s farm was so fine.”

The town had not impressed Mac until he saw it through Jenny’s eyes. The streets were muddy, the wood buildings small and ramshackle, the noise of the falls unceasing. It wasn’t Boston.

“Do you like the town?” he asked.

Jenny smiled. “It’s more than we’ve seen since we left Missouri. People are making homes here.”

Franklin Pershing walked over to them as they surveyed the falls. “Zeke and I are looking at land outside of town tomorrow. Abercrombie and his sons, too. And Doc. You want to come?” he asked Mac.

Mac looked at Jenny. She nodded, beaming. “All right,” he told Pershing, then turned back to Jenny. “We’ll find a place near the others.” Her face brightened even more.

Mac and Jenny returned to the wagons, stopping along the way to inspect a few places with “Room to Let” signs. Mac couldn’t see the three of them spending the winter in a dark cramped room. He would have to find a house, build one in town, or file a land claim and build there. If he filed a claim now, what would happen when he left? Could Jenny maintain a homestead?

As they ate supper, Mac asked, “How will you manage if you’re on a claim by yourself outside of town? You’ve never run a farm.”

She stuck her chin out as she did when she was being stubborn. He had learned so many of her ways in the past six months. “I lived on a farm in Missouri. I’ll hire a man to work for me.”

“Most men want their own places. They came to Oregon for free land.”

“What about Tanner? Negroes can’t file claims.”

That might work, Mac thought. He’d feel better if Jenny had good people like the Tanners living with her. “Let me see what land is available, and I’ll talk to Tanner. He might want to set up a shop in town. For carpentry and blacksmithing.”

After supper they sat a while, William on a blanket between them, until the sky darkened and a fiddle started a lively tune. Esther and Daniel walked past. Esther called over her shoulder. “Come on. There’s music.”

Mac pulled Jenny to her feet and picked up William. “Let’s celebrate,” he said with a smile.

They strolled to a grassy field where a bonfire blazed. A fiddle and a banjo played, and couples danced. Zeke twirled his little sister Rachel in a country jig. Esther and Daniel passed by also. And to Mac’s surprise, Franklin Pershing escorted the widow Mrs. Purcell out to the field. Even Tanner and his wife danced on the fringe of the crowd.

“Shall we?” Mac asked Jenny, offering his hand.

“I can’t. I have William.”

Mac saw the Tullers near the fire. “Mrs. Tuller might hold him.”

Jenny handed her son to Mrs. Tuller and put a hand on Mac’s shoulder. He took her other hand, and they reeled about the field. Jenny’s face shone in the firelight and she smiled up at him.

“You’ve grown,” Mac said to her.

“No, I haven’t. I’m as short as always.”

“I mean inside,” Mac said. “You wouldn’t dance with me early in the trip. You were scared of your own shadow.”

“I was scared all the way here.”

“And now you’re brave enough to live by yourself.”

“I have William. I have to take care of him.”

Mac looked down at Jenny’s determined face. “You’ll do fine. You know you will.”

She nodded. “I don’t have a choice.”

Jenny knew what she had to do and put her mind to doing it, Mac reflected as he spun her around.

And what about him? He’d begun the journey by running from his problems in Boston. He’d taken on responsibilities reluctantly, but found confidence and self-assurance in helping Jenny and in leading the wagon company. He took real pride in getting them all safely to Oregon.

His last task now was to find a place for Jenny and William to live. He would stay in Oregon if Jenny needed him, but she didn’t. She didn’t want marriage. She had people who cared for her. She would make her way without him. It seemed odd, seeing Jenny more settled than he was—she was so young.

When Mac left Oregon, his challenge would be to find a home of his own in the world. He hoped to find a place where he could exercise freedom and authority as he had on the trail. Probably Boston, but perhaps he’d find another use for his talents. Somewhere his father could not interfere.

He had the winter to think. Come spring, surely he’d know what to do.

The dance ended, and they returned to get William. Mac cradled the infant in one arm and held Jenny close with the other, smiling down at her. He didn’t know what the next few months would bring. But for the moment, he was content.

 

 

THE END