William arrived for Christmas supper but didn’t have an opportunity to talk to Ella before they were called to the dining room to eat. He had been staying for the past few weeks at his apartment in New York City after working all autumn at Pine Knot.
The four family members gathered at the table. The first course was a consommé, followed by trout, and then roast duck. They ate in eerie silence, the only sounds coming from the kitchen as the staff prepared and presented each course.
Eventually, Hannah made an attempt at conversation.
“Wonderful sermon at church tonight wasn’t it?”
“Yes, Mother, it was, wasn’t it? Pastor Brown did a wonderful job raising everyone’s spirits for the holiday,” Ella said, throwing her a conversational bone. Ella and William stole glances at each other from across the table, both impatient for the dinner to be over so they could talk in private. Dr. Durant, quietly consuming his food, spoke up at the mention of church.
“Yes, speaking of church, William, I have been discussing the idea with Francis Stott of building an Episcopalian chapel on Raquette.”
“Good idea, Father. Maybe we should also consider a Catholic chapel for the workmen and their families?”
“If you think it would keep them happy,” Dr. Durant said. “I’ve already selected a site on the lake and have commissioned Josiah Cady’s firm in New York to draw up the plans. Construction on that property should start this summer.”
His intonation stopped conversation as everyone guessed what was coming next. When Mrs. McFarland brought out the dessert — Dobosh torte —Dr. Durant leaned back in his chair. The time had come to pepper William with questions.
“So tell me, William, how is the progress on the buildings coming along?”
“Very well,” William said. “It will take more time but we will have a few dwellings ready for the summer.”
“What does that mean exactly? How many cabins are you building? We only need one for the family and guests,” Dr. Durant said.
“It means I know exactly what needs to be done. Some buildings, the icehouse for example, are complete and we will start construction on the second floor of the main lodge right after the first thaw.”
Ella and Mrs. Durant fiddled with the torte, their appetite suppressed by the palpable tension compressing the air. Mrs. McFarland swept into the room.
“Is there anything else I can get you all on this lovely Christmas evening?” Her perfectly timed entrance briefly squelched the brewing storm.
“No, thank you Mrs. McFarland.” Dr. Durant waved her away. “You may clear things up and then please enjoy the rest of the evening with your husband.”
“Why thank you, Doctor Durant. I think we will.”
Mrs. McFarland cleared the dessert plates and came back with a new pot of coffee, which she placed on the table in front of him. “Merry Christmas, all of you.”
“Merry Christmas,” the Durants replied in unison.
“I don’t understand, William,” Dr. Durant continued when Mrs. McFarland had left the room. “You’ve been in the woods for the past three months. You must have something to show me, some bloody drawing of the house we are to live in.”
William’s expression was a mixture of trepidation and determination. “I’m not building you a large house or mansion. Pine Knot isn’t Newport or the Hamptons. The landscape in the Adirondacks is unique and requires a different approach for the construction of buildings, unless you want to cut all of the trees that make the site so attractive in the first place.”
“If you have to cut some trees to make the place habitable, cut some damn trees. It’s not as if there aren’t more where they came from,” Dr. Durant retorted.
Ella studied William. His hands were trembling as he picked up his coffee cup before continuing.
“I am making separate sleeping quarters for you and mother, and a hall for socializing that will also have bedrooms for guests. There will be a few small cottages for Ella and me. I plan to enclose the dining hall in glass.”
“Confound it, William!” Dr. Durant shouted, pounding his fist on the table, causing the glasses on the table to shake. “This all sounds grand indeed, but when will it be finished?”
Ella shrank in her seat. Mrs. Durant let out a small cry.
“Pet, it’s Christmas, can’t this wait?” she beseeched her husband.
“Ella, Hannah, leave us at once,” Dr. Durant said, looking stonily at William.
Ella rose from her seat and glared at her father who paid no attention. She put her hand on William’s shoulder as she parted.
“Listen to me,” Dr. Durant said evenly once the women had departed. “I’ve seen the bills for the labor. You’re spending a fortune on Pine Knot. You don’t need to hand pick and carve every tree for heaven’s sake. And it would be cheaper to get your lumber delivered from one of the local mills. What we need to focus on is bringing in prospective investors. I have the company attorneys trying to purchase another 20,000 acres from the state in Township 40. If they succeed we will own much of the land around Raquette. This area will be the hub of our transportation system. Once this is done, we can turn our energy to the railroad through the interior.”
“I understand your anxiety, Father. But I assure you—”
“I don’t want your assurances. I want a place to bring investors which will showcase all that the Adirondacks has to offer in sport and leisure.” Dr. Durant cast a steely glare down the table at his son. “When you go back to Pine Knot in February, keep out of that Lawrence girl’s tent and get busy.”
William’s head shot up to meet his father’s gaze.
Dr. Durant smiled grimly. “I’m neither blind nor stupid.” He rose from his seat, pulled the hem of his vest down over his trousers, and strode toward the door. He turned before leaving. “If you don’t get on with it, you’ll find that your credit at the Union Club is delinquent, and the Fifth Avenue Hotel will no longer take your reservation.” With that he exited, leaving William sitting alone in the large dining room looking down at his coffee cup.
“She’s not in a tent, she’s staying in your hunting cabin Father, and it has a front porch now,” William said to the empty room.
Dr. Durant knocked gently then entered Hannah’s bedchamber. She was sitting at her vanity table brushing out her long brown hair. He came up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her lightly on the neck.
“Merry Christmas, Hannah.”
She stiffened. “Your affection is ill-timed, Thomas.”
He peered at her reflection in the mirror. She slammed her brush down on the vanity and walked away from him to take off her robe.
“My dear, let’s not argue tonight,” he said.
“A bit late for that isn’t it?”
“Don’t be sore with me, Hannah, not on Christmas. You know how William annoys me at times. I can’t help it if I show my aggravation.”
“Haven’t I told you time and time again that all the wealth you have accumulated will cease to matter if you don’t have your family’s love?” Hannah slipped her robe off and climbed into her bed. She arranged the covers over her legs and stared at her husband.
“Let’s not discuss this now. You are the one that asked me to send you and the children abroad to be with your family while I built the Transcontinental. You are the one that said you couldn’t raise them in the midst of a civil war.”
“Yes, and you did everything a good husband would do by providing for us. But your absence was felt severely. And even though William is a disappointment to you, I raised him to be a gentleman.”
Dr. Durant sat down on Hannah’s fainting couch and sighed.
“A gentleman, I agree. But he idles away his time. Why is it that both our children consider themselves above the positions I intend for them?”
“Don’t you dare blame me for that!” Hannah took hold of her long mane and tossed it off her chest.
“I would agree that Ella has never been sensible,” she said. “But William is another thing. What good was it to have expensive tutors teaching him German, French and Italian, when you were not around to teach him how to carry out family business in the clubs of New York where people can barely speak proper English?”
Dr. Durant was about to protest but she stopped him before he could say anything. “Besides,” she said rearranging the covers so that they came up to her neck, “William is a meticulous planner, you would know that if you had spent more time with us. You should have seen the itinerary he put together for the British Consuls in Egypt for the Fete at Karnak.”
“Oh I saw it alright, you forget that I paid for that extravagance. Rockets, fireworks and colored lights. Enough food and beverages to entertain a legion. I still can’t figure out how much he paid Sheik Abdallah of Karnak to access the temple.”
She stopped fussing with her blankets and aimed her penetrating eyes at his. “I heard it was a brilliant affair. Your son knows how to entertain. His attention to detail is just what you need to accomplish your enterprise in the Adirondacks. You may have no confidence in your son, but I trust him to do what is needed for Pine Knot.”
Dr. Durant came up to the bed and sat down next to Hannah. “Let’s talk about something else shall we?” He put his hand on her cheek, trying to console her and end the debate.
Hannah removed it and reached to dim the oil lamp next to the bed. “Good night, Thomas.”
He stood up. He would never force himself on her. Besides, he knew Hannah well enough to know when she was this cold there was no warming up the bed.
The next evening William and Ella were sitting in the drawing room by the fire. Dinner that evening had been uneventful. Their parents had gone to the neighbors to socialize.
Ella looked at her brother, his legs crossed, staring forlornly into the fire, and waited until he was ready to speak.
“Your muse from Malden-on-the-Hudson gave me this letter.” William reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a sealed envelope. He handed it to Ella.
Her heart skipped a beat. She was eager to open it but didn’t want to do so in front of William. “When did you see Poultney?”
“Last week, at the Union Club. I had dinner with him and his father John.”
“Don’t tell father or he’ll have a fit! I send correspondence to Poultney but he never replies because he knows his letters are intercepted.”
“Well, the Erie Canal Ring scandal has died down. So I went ahead and invited Poultney to visit us this summer at Pine Knot.”
Ella’s spirits lifted. If William extended the invitation it would be conventional, maybe then her father wouldn’t object.
“I told him he had better come on some pretense other than to visit you. I suggested he bring a companion with him as well, and then it would not be so obvious you were the object of his journey. ”
“Thank you, William!” Ella leapt up from her chair and hugged her brother. “I’m so sorry father was cruel to you on Christmas! He’s been a tyrant lately. He has forbidden me from visiting my friends in New York City without you to accompany me. I have been stuck here at North Creek since we left Pine Knot in August. I can’t begin to tell you how happy this news makes me. I can wait for Poultney as long as I know he is thinking of me as I am thinking of him.”
William hugged her back, before moving her to arm’s length and studying her face. “One word of caution, Ella. Don’t hold your hopes out for Poultney. He has other would-be maidens waiting in the wings for his advances.”
Ella didn’t ask for details. She wasn’t naïve but she also wanted her feelings spared.
When she got back to her room she tore open the envelope and read his letter.
My Dear Ella,
How is my swarthy debutante faring? I am working hard at Yale, trying to concentrate on my studies and looking forward to the holidays. As you know I am also Captain of the crew team and the practices are exhausting. I cannot wait until we can get out on the River Thames. No, not the Thames you are used to dear girl, this one is in Connecticut. We Americans like to copy the British I suppose by naming our rivers after theirs.
You must know by now that William has invited me to escort Mrs. Leonowens to your famous Pine Knot camp this summer. I look forward to our adventures in the Northern Woods. William tells me he has grand plans for the site.
Perhaps you might show off your marksmanship to me? I hear you are quite the shot – or so your brother brags.
I already know you are going to be a famous writer one day. So tell me, what are your other talents? Or maybe it would be wiser not to tell me, as my imagination is running amok!
I have to run, one of my chums is calling me to dinner. Until we meet again!
Yours affectionately,
Poultney Bigelow
New Year’s Eve was humming with the arrival of Dr. Durant’s brother Charles, his wife Margaret, daughter Estelle and three sons: Charles Jr., Frederick and Howard. The excitement over their arrival, along with neighbors and the family lawyer, John Barbour and his wife, was a welcome change from the pall Dr. Durant had managed to cast over the household since Christmas dinner. The cousins had taken the overnight train from New York City to Saratoga and on to the North Creek station on the railroad built by Dr. Durant. He made sure his personal sleigh was at the station as the roads, covered with snow and ice, were impassable by coach.
The guests stepped into the entranceway, and the servants helped each out of their coats. William and Ella welcomed their guests and led them to the drawing room.
“The train ride was a much needed improvement over the stage I must say,” cousin Frederick said as he shook his uncle’s hand. “All told it took us close to fifteen hours. I’m sure it has cut the time in half at least.”
“That’s what I do, Frederick, make life easier for people. Now tell me, how are the plans for the Prospect House on Blue Mountain? Has Edison signed on to build us a dynamo generator for the lighting?” Dr. Durant got right down to business.
William and Ella helped carry the gifts of chocolate, fruit baskets and cakes to the front parlor where the decorated tree was standing. Cousin Charles sought out William.
“William you look splendid, the months away from the city have done wonders.”
“Thank you,” William said.
“And how is Pine Knot coming along?”
“We’ll have accommodations for guests by summer.”
“Good to hear it. Tell me, did you see much of Alvah this fall?”
“He’s been busy guiding,” William responded. “So, no I haven’t seen much of him. He did occasionally stop by the camp to talk with the other guides but he stays clear of me. I don’t think he considers me a ‘friend’.”
“Humph, friend indeed. He’ll not negotiate with me about Osprey Island and he’ll not give it up. I’m not sure what the devil he wants. He could up and leave and, with the money I’d pay him, build another squatter’s camp on any of the land nearby.”
“Yes, he’d be in good company wouldn’t he?” William said dryly.
“I’m not sure if you’ve heard yet,” Charles Jr. leaned in to talk so that he wouldn’t be overheard. “But the Adirondack Railroad Company hasn’t had much luck with the state over that land purchase in Township 40, that 20,000 acres your father wants around Raquette.”
“Where did you hear this?”
Charles Jr. shrugged. “Rumors at the social clubs, that’s all. It could be meaningless.”
“Charles, Uncle Thomas wants to speak with you,” Charles’ mother came over to where they were standing.
“Excuse me,” he said to William, and strolled over to chat with his uncle.
The New Year’s Eve meal consisted of shallot soup, fried perch, filet de bouef, and petit onions in cream sauce. And for the beverage, wine from the Rhine Valley. “Nothing compares to this fine dinner you’ve served here brother!” Charles Sr. raved. “Mrs. McFarland, you have outdone yourself again!”
After dessert the ladies went to the parlor, and the men retreated to Dr. Durant’s private study to smoke cigars and drink the Nordhäuser whiskey he had acquired for the occasion.
The men sat around in their smoking jackets surrounded by the deep aroma of the imported cigars. Dr. Durant asked his brother how his sugar refinery business was doing in the city and then turned to William.
“William, Frederick will be following you to Blue Mountain this February. He has business to attend to at Prospect Point.”
William turned his attention to Frederick. “You’re serious about building this hotel then?”
“Why, yes. And I need to meet with some local lumbermen about setting up a mill. I’ll need all of the wood cut locally for the building. This hotel will rival all others, including Paul Smith’s on the Lower St. Regis. I plan to build a hotel to accommodate five hundred guests.”
“At Blue Mountain?” William said. “Frederick, you do realize it’s still a rugged outpost.”
“Just the reason to build William,” Dr. Durant interrupted. “Your cousin has a vision.”
William was not convinced it was the best vision for the area. But he wouldn’t intervene in his cousin’s plans, not when his father was behind them.
“It’s close to midnight, why don’t we join the ladies in the parlor?” William suggested.
The men reluctantly replaced their smoking jackets with frock coats and found the women waiting, champagne in hand, to toast the coming New Year.
“William, cousin Estelle has a wonderful idea,” Ella said when they entered. “Let’s all go tobogganing tomorrow at father’s mill!”
“At the mill? Why the mill?” Hannah asked.
“Haven’t you noticed? People in town sled at the base of the mountain.”
“I’m not sure I like the idea,” Dr. Durant said.
“It’ll be fine, Father,” William assured him. “We have enough toboggans, and we can load them on the sleighs after lunch tomorrow. Some fresh air would do us all good.”
“Yes, besides, Thomas, I wouldn’t mind racing you,” Charles Sr. said.
Dr. Durant laughed. “You were never able to outrun me on a sled when we were boys, what makes you think anything has changed?” It brightened everyone’s mood to see him enjoy talking about something other than his grand schemes. They raised their champagne flutes and toasted in the new year.
The sky was bright when the Durant families rode in the sleigh to the edge of town where the mill was located. They passed small buildings, shanties put up by the mill workers and prospectors working at the garnet mines.
Dr. Durant pointed to a sign, Barton Mines as they passed it. “They plan to mine the garnet and crush it for making sandpaper and other abrasives.”
“Who owns it?” Charles was curious.
“A man from Philadelphia. Haven’t met him yet.”
The brothers admired the growing town, and the opportunities it afforded entrepreneurial-minded men like themselves. Besides the shanties and small houses that were springing up everywhere, there was a bank, a hotel, and Episcopal, Baptist and Catholic churches. North Creek had a ways to go before it was anywhere near the size of some of the smaller cities like Saratoga, and for Ella and Mrs. Durant, it was a far cry from their life in London. Settlement was for the pioneering spirits only. But as a base of operations, it was an ideal location for Dr. Durant to be near his investments in the Adirondacks.
The horses stopped at the mill. It was stationed along North Creek river at the base of Gore Mountain. The location allowed for easy access to the forest and to the waters of the river — the transportation system for the milled logs to float en masse to the Hudson River and then Erie Canal to be dropped off at the hamlets and cities along the way that were eager for the wood.
“You’ve really developed the mill, Thomas,” Charles Sr. said.
Children from the settlements were making the most of the holiday and the snowy hills behind the mill. Large swaths appeared where the loggers had made paths for their horse-drawn sledges to gain access to the forest. The loggers would cut trees and stack the logs on the horse-drawn sledges to be brought down the mountain to the mill. These logger trails provided a perfect runway for the toboggans.
Ella and Estelle were first to reach the summit along the ridge. The view was far-reaching, the air crisply devoid of moisture. North Creek appeared a fraction of its true size from up here. The North Creek river, jammed with ice, had a few logs that had not made it out to the Hudson and were tossing about in the current.
The cousins maneuvered into the toboggan carefully so as not to let it slide out from under them. Ella was in front with Estelle behind, holding on to her waist. They pushed at the snow with their hands and let fly. Once at the bottom, they leaned over to get off the sled before it hit any of the people milling about.
“That was fun, let’s do it again!” Estelle said. She was flushed from the cold and excitement.
Her brother Howard grabbed the rope. “My turn with William.” And the two men climbed the hill. Their mothers stayed in the sleigh with heavy wool blankets over their laps, watching the action and drinking tea Mrs. McFarland had prepared. Doctor Durant and his brother forgot how daring they had been in their youth and only climbed partway up the hill. Ella and Estelle waited patiently, and as soon as William and Howard landed, wrested the toboggan away to ascend the hill once more.
When they got to the top they saw a group of boys off to the side, away from the rest of the crowd and heading in a different direction with their toboggans. Ella was curious.
“Let’s see where those boys are off to.” She didn’t wait for Estelle to respond, took hold of the rope and dragged the sled along to follow the trail of the ragamuffins.
They were walking along the ridge of the mountain and it made Estelle nervous to be following them.
“Maybe we should head back? Our brothers will be looking for us at the bottom and wondering where the devil we went.”
Ella ignored her pleas and kept trudging through the deep snow. Although the boys were making a path, it was not as worn down as the sledding hill. Wherever they were going was not often trodden. This intrigued Ella. Estelle however was miserable. Ella had warned her cousin she was wearing the wrong footwear for the deep snow. With each step the snow came over the tops of Estelle’s boots and slid down her stockinged feet where it landed on the ball of her foot and melted. “My feet feel cold, wet and clammy feeling,” Estelle complained. “Ella, please stop, I’m barely keeping up in this snow!”
This was not the first time Ella had dragged her cousin along with her mischief. Ella recalled one of their rare visits to the States while living abroad, when her mother, her mother’s companion Miss Molineaux visited the cousins in New York City. Their families went for a picnic in Central Park. Dr. Durant of course was absent — out west working on completion of the transcontinental railroad.
Ella talked Estelle into taking off her shoes and stockings and wading into a pond to capture the swans. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Their parents were not paying any attention to them, and the boys were off flying kites. But the fun came to a screeching halt when Miss Molineaux discovered where they were and shouted at them to get out of the pond, causing such a ruckus that her mother and aunt came running over to see what was going on.
Estelle had been severely punished when she got home. Her father had taken the strap to her. Ella was barely reprimanded. Her mother chastised her and wouldn’t allow her to attend the theater that evening.
“Shush, Estelle,” Ella turned to her. “I want to see where these boys are going. You can turn back if you like.”
Estelle knew it was no use trying to persuade Ella to change her mind but she was not about to leave her tracking down unfamiliar pubescent boys alone. The lads stopped suddenly and were pointing into the woods down the hill.
“What are you all up to?” Ella said as they came upon them.
The boys were startled that they had been followed.
“We’re going sledding, is all,” a round-faced, ruddy-cheeked one said.
Ella looked at where they were heading with their sleds. It was a small path in the woods, very steep and very narrow — at most six feet wide. It was a deer path, worn away by cloven feet, the undergrowth eaten so there were no saplings growing along the run. The trail, however, was lined with very old, very big trees.
“Why on earth would you want to sled down that path?” Estelle said.
“Why not?” a tall boy answered for the rest.
“We call it suicide hill,” another said.
“Yes, no wonder,” Estelle smirked. “You’re not going down that hill boys, that would be crazy.”
“We’ve done it before, haven’t we fellas?” the tall one remarked. They all nodded in agreement.
“It’s a ritual, every time we come we go down at least once.”
“Let’s try it, Estelle!” Ella was entranced.
“You aren’t serious? You’re not going down that hill! Just look at it! There are trees all around, one slip up and you would head right into one of them.”
“Nah, it’s not like that. You go pretty fast and as long as you stay steady you make it ok to the bottom. We’ve never had a problem, have we boys?” the ruddy complexioned one was convinced.
Estelle was not. “Ella, let’s get out of here. If these boys want to commit suicide let them.” She tugged at her cousin’s arm.
“No,” Ella said.
“Yes!” Estelle answered, and she snatched the rope of the toboggan from Ella and started to walk away. “Are you coming or not?” She turned around to make sure Ella would follow.
Ella looked at her, then down the hill, and then at the boys.
“Can I use your sled?” she asked the tall one.
He handed her his rope.
“Ella, no!” Estelle shouted.
It was too late.