Chapter Fourteen

The Buttermans’ land on Calder Creek, Iowa Territory, May 19, 1834

Mr. Butterman and Nate spent most of April and May cutting down trees on the Buttermans’ land. Sometimes they helped Mr. Sweeney, too. Mr. Butterman wanted to plant corn and vegetables as soon as possible. And for that they needed open land.

“I think the growing season here is short. If we plant now, we might get something before September,” he told Nate. They cut trees all the way up to Mr. Sweeney’s land. They cut trees all the way in the other direction down to the Calders’ land. “Next year we can cut the trees up on the top of the bluffs there,” Mr. Butterman pointed. He owned the land up there, too.

Mr. and Mrs. Butterman, Penny, Nate, and Aunt Sunday went out onto the newly cleared land. They used sticks to push holes into the ground. Into each hole they put three precious corn seeds. “One seed for me, one seed for you, one seed for the hole,” said Nate. It wasn’t the best way to plant corn. But they didn’t have many tools. Penny said they ought to plant sweet potatoes. They had some sweet potatoes from last year. They could cut them up and plant them in the ground. Then they would have sweet potatoes to eat in August or September.

“Why sweet potatoes?” asked Mrs. Butterman.

“Sweet potatoes can help with summer fevers,” said Penny. “You know, that fever from mosquitoes?”

“Yes ma’am,” said Aunt Sunday. “There’s nothing better than sweet potatoes for mosquito fever.”

“Alright then,” said Ella Butterman. “Let’s plant them over there.” She pointed to a sunny spot near Calder Creek.

Key City grew quickly after the warm weather came in. Mr. Butterman visited the small town once a week. He came back with reports. The winter was hard on people, he said. There were at least one hundred more people. But they were mostly lead miners. They were tough, rough men. They only brought their own supplies. They didn’t have families. They just wanted to mine lead and take it back to Leadville to sell.

After one of those visits to Key City, Mr. Butterman talked with his wife about buying some more land. He wanted to build a house in Key City. “I know a good piece of land north of town. It’s a lot closer to Key City than our land here on Calder Creek,” he said.

“Why do you want to live in town?” said Ella Butterman. “There are so many mines. So many rough men. All that whiskey. Don’t you remember the trouble we had with the Ginns? What if there are more like them?”

Surprised, Mr. Butterman looked at Mrs. Butterman. She went on. “Penny, Nate, and Aunt Sunday might have a hard time. I don’t think anyone really knows what is going to happen to . . . people like them . . . to people who were slaves. Is Iowa going to be free? Or is it going to have slaves?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I think we ought to live in town. We can’t live being afraid of people like the Ginn brothers. And Penny and the others are free. They have papers. They can go where they like. We can give them money to go back to Illinois if they don’t like it here.”

Mrs. Butterman looked sad, but she said, “You’re right.”