Chapter Six

~ Supply Run ~

 

Lorrie was glad to see that the store had plenty of supplies. “Most of the trains have gone now, and we’ve been stocking up for the next ones,” the sutler explained. “Look around; I’ll be out back if you need me.”

“We should have brought the wagon,” Lorrie said, looking around at the full shelves. There was sugar, salt, rice, tobacco, and more.

“We’ll bring it tomorrow before more customers come, but we can load some sacks on the horses now.”

“How can we scout for livestock while buying supplies, and how can we guard them?” Then Lorrie remembered how she’d used locals before, and she went outside. There were Indians, trappers, and probably some local folk. How to find them. There were only adults here to buy supplies too. She and Star decided to buy what they could and head back to the farm.

The wagon sat under a shade tree, with Sunny and Lightning in the corral. They unloaded the horses and turned them into the corral, too, before going up to the house to see if it was time for supper. It was, and the table was full of chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, gravy, hot rolls, and Lorrie smelled what she was sure was apple pie. She smiled happily at Star. And then a flood of children swarmed in.

By the time Lorrie had decided that she’d better join the crowd, the table was full of eager appetites. Mrs. Hanson bustled in with another plate of chicken and shoved it among the other brimming dishes. “Now we all sit down,” and she gestured at two empty chairs at the far end. “You girls sit yourselves down too and join us in grace.” She looked around to be sure everyone’s hands were in their laps and not sneaking a forkful of food before squeezing herself onto a stool between two of the youngest. “For family, for friends, for food, and, of course, for the strangers among us, we thank thee, Father.”

Even when she’d finished, everyone sat still and waited. Lorrie heard a man singing in the back of the house, and Mr. Hanson joined them. “You’re late,” but Mrs. Hanson said it gently, and Mr. Hanson held up his clean hands for her inspection.

“One must be clean, and I got dirty in the new field. Fencing is not an easy task.”

“Did you finish, Father?” asked one of the older boys. “I can help you tomorrow.”

He looked at his wife. “Have they finished harvesting the potatoes?”

“Oh, yes, and they weeded and started picking the beans,” she said proudly. “Elmer and Norman can help with the fence tomorrow, if you need them. We’ll start shelling the beans tomorrow night.”

Mr. Hanson smiled. “I’d hoped to finish today, but that fence wire was just as determined not to let me. Having the boys hold it will be appreciated.” He looked now at his guests. “Harvesting comes first; the winters are long and hard. Soon she will start the canning, one of her favorite chores.” Everyone joined in the laughter, so Lorrie knew it was a family joke.

After supper everyone went off to do the evening chores, and Lorrie and Star asked if they could help. Immediately Star was helping the oldest girl do the dishes, and Lorrie went out with little Billy to put the chickens up for the night. She couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.

“Are you always busy with chores?” she asked the boy as she held the gate to the coop, and he led the chickens in with a scattering of feed.

“Most always, but we’re not as busy in winter and we play games and sing and Mother reads to us.”

“The thing is, Star and I need help with our chores, which is finding supplies for our settlement. Do you think your mother would let us hire you to help?”

Billy contemplated her with sudden hope. “Real money in coins, not paper?”

“Yes. It’s not hard work like in the garden or making fence, but riding around to the outlying farms and seeing if they have what we need, and then bringing it to our wagon here. They’d have to bring the animals and food unless you could use your wagon. I wanted to ask you first because you know or could ask your siblings what they know.”

“Where would I find a sibling?”

“I’m sorry. I should have said. A sibling is your brother or sister. It’s quicker than saying your brothers and sisters.”

Billy rolled the word around on his tongue with a new found happiness. “Sibling. So I have lots of siblings.”

“I think so. Are they all here?’

“Not all. Some are working at the fort or guarding one of the wagon trains.”

“I see. That is a lot of siblings.”

“I can ride to the fort by myself,” he told her. “And Melanie visits her friend at the Jensens sometimes. We can help. Let’s ask Mother right now if we can do it.”

When they went into the house, Mrs. Hanson was singing a song in a language Lorrie didn’t recognize while she mended socks. Trousers and shirts were waiting for her attention. “The chickens are snug?” she asked.

“Yes, Mama, and Lorrie wants to hire us siblings to help her with her chores.”

Mrs. Hanson turned a sock inside out and looked at the neatly mended toe while she considered what her offspring had said. “What kind of chores? They are young; I will not let them work hard after their own chores are done.”

“I must apologize. I meant only for them to do errands for us because we have so little time to get everything done and then get back home before winter. I do need their help—or someone’s help.”

“Why can’t I help, Mama?” Billy asked plaintively. “And Melanie. We can use the horses that aren’t working.”

“We will ask your papa. I think he will agree with me that our children can help others. It is a good thing to learn.”

“I apologize again, Mrs. Hanson, but I wish to pay them for their work. I’m sure they have learned to be generous from their parents.”

“You are paying us for your keep,” Mrs. Hanson said firmly. “I do not know why you speak of our generosity.”

“You and your family have made us feel welcome. You can’t buy that, and we both know that you need money to meet the needs of a large family, though you work hard to take care of them.” Lorrie didn’t mention the sons working and probably supporting their family. She’d only now thought about why they weren’t working on the farm.

“My children do like earning money and helping out, and you need to get back home. Winters are hard here. Will this be your first winter out west?”

“Yes. I have been warned, but the weather has been warm, and the leaves haven’t started turning yet. Well, I saw a few.”

“It likes to sneak up on you, so Billy, tell your father what the ladies want, so he can make his mind up on the way back from the barn. Off with you now.” Billy was through the door before she’d finished the last syllable.

“The children are safe out here?” Lorrie began to worry about that. The Indians at the fort didn’t look threatening, but like winter they could sneak up on you, she thought.

“We’re near the fort,” was all Mrs. Hanson said.

The next morning Billy and Melanie galloped off in different directions after making their final plans; Lorrie heard them discussing routes before they left. Now she looked after them anxiously. “Should they be running the horses like that?” she asked their mother.

“They know how to take care of the horses; they should settle down to a more practical pace soon. And their father will check the horses when they return. Before and after they groom them.”

The next few days found people appearing at the Hanson farm with all manner of livestock and food and even cats and dogs. Star and Lorrie had to turn a number of old and sickly animals away, too. Lorrie was tempted by a calico kitten. ‘I think Carrol would love it,” she told Star. “But is it practical now? When we don’t know how much food we’ll need?”

Star shook her head. “It might be too early. The cabins are small, and they would be prey. They do like to roam, and they might kill the chicks.” Lorrie agreed and reluctantly sent the little girl away with her kitten. The locals were happy to have the chance to make money whenever they could.

The wagon was filling up with basics, cheese, potatoes, bacon and sausage, honey, dried beans, seed corn, and Lorrie even bought a few flowering plants in little pots. Then she bought a baby lilac bush, bread to eat along the way (it wouldn’t keep), and two apple tree cuttings. They began turning away more people and livestock; three cows and four pigs should be enough for now. Two days before they planned to leave, they said, “Enough Now!” and began thinking about how to load the pack horse.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough room for the hay they needed. “Is there any hay for sale?” she asked Mr. Hanson at supper one night. They’d be leaving soon, but she needed to know.

“Lem Jorgeson raises hay for the fort. I don’t know what he has. We raise our own.”

“Maybe Billy or someone could ask him what he has available. And do you know anyone who could use a yoke or two of oxen? We’re going to be short of feed this winter for sure, and we can get along without them. We have a lot of horses.”

“I’ll ask about the hay and oxen and have word for you if you return, but it’s getting late for that,” he warned her.

Lorrie was moving bags and barrels again in the wagon trying to make room for everything when a boy rode up on a big black mule. He slid off, hugged the mule’s neck and then led it forward. “This is Jake,” he announced. “He’s not just big and can carry a lot of your supplies, even that crate of chickens, but he’s smart. Smarter than most horses, and he’s gentle enough to ride.”

Lorrie didn’t like the way the boy looked so eager and so forlorn. “We’d about decided not to take any more livestock. Too many mouths to feed now.” The boy flinched at that.

Star climbed out of the wagon and sat on the seat above them. “You need money really bad, huh?”

Lorrie looked closer at the boy. She hadn’t got that. His clothes were clean and mended. Frequently, she saw. “So, how much are you asking?”

“Pa said that twenty five dollars would be a good deal for a mule as good as Jake. He’s not just a pack train mule. But I think he’s worth at least thirty.”

“And your pa’s expecting just twenty-five.”

The boy got the insinuation before Lorrie did. “I wouldn’t lie to my pa. Our family needs that money!” He stood straight and defiant, but his lower lip quivered. The mule moved forward and nuzzled his neck, then looked suspiciously at the two women.

“Maybe he wouldn’t be happy with us,” Lorrie said softly. “He’d probably run away back to you, and we don’t have time to keep that from happening, plus he’d probably spill all the packs when he took off.” She shook her head.

“Oh, no,” the boy said, shocked. “He’d never do that after I told him not to.”

“Quite a paragon,” Lorrie said, approaching them both cautiously. “So, what’s your name? We could use him, if you can guarantee his behavior. And maybe some time in the future you could buy him back…”

The boy shook his head violently. “No, we’re moving back east. Ma says we can’t have a mule in town. That he’d be happier out here. She just said that to make me feel better, I know, but maybe it’s true. Anyways, my name’s Thomas Jamison. You can call me Tommy, and Pa said I should get a receipt.”

“Of course, I’ll get you your money and make you out a receipt. I’ve paper and a pencil in my purse. It’s too hard to carry pen and ink on the trail. But first you’d better introduce us so that Jake can decide if he wants to stay with us.”

The boy nodded. “Yes, I’ll have to explain it to him. I didn’t before because I didn’t know if I’d have to.” He was relieved and sorry. “We’ll just go over by the other end of the wagon and talk while you get the money—and the receipt.”

“What do you think, Star, at least thirty dollars?”

“You’ve spent a lot here, and you still don’t have anywhere near enough feed,” Star told her.

Lorrie wasn’t happy at the dent all that buying had put in her money belt, but she still had enough for the future, she decided; maybe Jake would be worth thirty. They definitely could use another pack animal.

It was only a few minutes before Tommy came back with Jake close behind him. “I told him that you needed him worse than I did.” He looked at the mule, and added, “I’ve never lied to him.” He swallowed, “and we’ve said our good-byes.”

“We do need him, Tommy, as you can see, and we’ll take care of him,” Star said gently.

“And we’ll try to make him happy,” Lorrie said. Then she wondered if that sounded silly.

Tommy nodded. “I know. Jake said that you’re good people.” He swallowed again and walked away with saying anything else, but his head was bent and soon he was running.

Lorrie looked after him. Boys hid their emotions, she’d learned, and so did men, she suspected. “I wouldn’t have thought that Jake had known us long enough to think that,” she said to Star, and then Jake gave her a firm nudge in her back and when she turned, startled, he nuzzled her hair. “I guess we’re going to get along just fine then, huh,” and she looked at Star, who was watching them both.

Star giggled, and said to Jake, “Are you ready to be packed?”

The mule moved over to the supplies still sitting on the ground and sniffed them, then looked back at the two women. “Okay, no point dawdling,” Lorrie said.

Star packed Jake; she had more experience than Lorrie, and she kept an eye on the mule as she piled more on his back, including a crate of chickens and a smaller crate with a lone duck. Finally, Jake shook his head and stamped a foot, and she shifted the load, removing the duck, which went in the wagon. “I think he’s fine with the load now,” Star said, and she helped Lorrie finish redistributing the load in the wagon. They tied Lightning and Jake on long lines to the back of the wagon. Star would ride Swift and keep an eye on the wagon and the pack animals. Lorrie didn’t notice the troubled glance Star gave her as they packed.