Chapter Seventeen

Plans for a New House

Chad rode over to the Indian reservation to arrange for the men to return to work. They came early the next morning to begin digging the foundation for their new house. Manda had already approved the spot that was chosen on which to build it.

“There’s a good bit of shade along that row of cottonwood trees,” she said to Polly. “We can have a springhouse right at the corner near the kitchen.”

“What kind of house is that?” Alice asked.

“You know where the spring is that keeps our milk and meat cold? The men will build a little house around it that it can be used as a cooler for the food. That’s where our drinking water comes from too.”

It seemed that all but the littlest children had ideas for the new house.

“I want my kitchen facin’ east,” Polly said. “It’s more cheerful in the mornin’, and the hot afternoon sun won’t beat through the windows when I’m gettin’ supper.”

“I’ll need a parlor, Papa,” Frances said. “You can’t put an organ in just any room. Besides, we need a nice place to entertain visitors.”

“There ain’t no one within entertainin’ distance of this place,” Polly told her. “But havin’ a few extra rooms so as people can spread out and get out from under my feet won’t be a bad idea.”

Henry and Luke thought that the bunkhouse where they now slept would do nicely for them. “A little more paddin’ to keep the cold out come winter is all we’ll need. It’s up to Ethan whether he wants to stay or not.”

“I do,” Ethan said. “I like my corner.”

“I want to stay out there too!” Simon decided.

“Will is going to need someone to share his room,” Manda said. “He’s not used to being alone at night. You’re the next biggest boy we have to take care of him.”

“I guess I’ll have to stay in the house, then. Will you mind, Ethan?”

Ethan assured him that he wouldn’t. “It’s not like we’ll be living in different places. I’ll just be sleeping out there.”

“Seems to me like Chad is mighty agreeable to everything we ask for,” Polly remarked when she and Manda were working alone in the soddy. “That ain’t like him.”

Manda nodded. “The same thought came to me. But for the life of me, I don’t know what he’s up to. It’s as if he doesn’t want to get into a discussion about the house for fear we’ll find out something he’s keeping from us.”

The two women went to work in the garden, and for a few moments, they watched the men pouring the foundation. Ethan carried water to mix with the sand and gravel for cement. Men with hoes spread the mixture evenly over the area that had been laid out for a concrete slab. There seemed to be nothing out of line, and Manda shook her head as she bent to her weeding. She was being too suspicious, she thought.

Finally the foundation was finished, and the Indians didn’t appear in the morning to work. By the time Manda noticed that there was no activity around the place, Chad had disappeared to the four corners of the property.

Polly had another observation. “Nothin’ out there to work with. How come we ain’t seen no lumber to start the frame?”

Manda lost no time approaching Chad on that subject when he returned for supper. “Chad, when is the lumber being delivered for the house? They’ve finished the cement work. You’ve ordered it, haven’t you?”

Chad didn’t look up from his plate. “That foundation needs time to dry and cure before a house is put on it. We don’t want cracks in there before we’ve gone through one winter. Everything will be done in good time.”

With that Manda had to be content.

However, when another week went by with no apparent progress, she became annoyed. “What in the world is holding them up? At this rate we won’t be out of this soddy until next summer.”

“Can’t be the cement,” Polly said. “The sun’s so hot, it’s already baked the dirt. The foundation’s got to be set by now.”

So once again Manda questioned Chad. “Did something happen that you can’t get the lumber? How long ago did you order it?”

Chad cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “Well, actually, I haven’t.”

“Chad! Why ever not? You know how long it takes anything to get out here by train! What are you waiting for?”

“I guess you might as well know, Manda. I don’t intend to order any lumber.” He pulled out his handkerchief and mopped his face. “We ... uh ... we already have a house.”

Manda turned pale and stared at Chad in alarm. “Have you been in the sun too long? There’s no house out there!”

“I’ve heard of them there ‘merges,’” Polly muttered.

“Mirages,” Manda clarified. Then a terrible thought occurred to her. “Chad, have you decided to let us continue living in this soddy?”

“No, of course not,” Chad replied. “I told you … We have a house.”

“And just when might we be able to see it?”

“Now Manda, don’t lose your temper. Just let me explain. A family was homesteading a mile or so up the creek, and they decided to give up and go back south.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Manda snapped.

“I can,” Polly put in.

“Do you want to hear this or not? They built a good house on the place, and we can have it if we move it off the land.”

Manda leaned back in her chair. “Move it?” she said suspiciously. “You’re going to take it apart and bring the lumber down here and put it up again?”

“Don’t have to do that. We’ll move the house just as it stands and put it on our own foundation. The Indians will jack up the corners and put logs under them, then use their oxen to pull it down here. You don’t know how fortunate we were to get this place.”

“No, I guess I don’t. Instead of living in my own home, I’ll have a secondhand house.”

“You haven’t even seen it yet. You’ll be pleased. We’ll put on a new roof, and it’ll need new windows. You can have whatever color paint you want.”

Manda said no more but went to her sewing machine and began treading furiously as she ran up the seams on the sheets she had turned. Chad seemed to be searching for something more to say, but finally he turned and left.

Polly splashed water into the dishpan and banged the pots and pans on the table. “When I was about six years old, Ma took apart Pa’s old overcoat and cut one out for me. She told me I could have any buttons on it that I could find in her basket. That was s’posed to make it just like new.” Polly paused with her hands in soapy water. “Come to think of it, that coat did keep me warm for a couple winters. I reckon that house will shelter us even if it ain’t your first choice.”

Manda had to agree, but she was disappointed. “I admit that we may be able to get into it sooner. It just wasn’t what I had in mind.”

About the middle of July, Chad announced that he would be going to town again to pick up supplies. Both Manda and Polly sat down that very afternoon with pen and paper.

“The first thing on here is gonna be oilcloth,” said Polly. “I’m tired of tryin’ to wash dust off these rough wooden shelves. This table could use a little color too. The brightest you can find.”

“We’re going to need lightweight fabrics for shirts and dresses,” Manda added. “As hot as it is now, Chad says the real summer heat hasn’t even started.”

As Polly checked the cupboards and continued her list, Manda wrote a letter to her friend Lydia so Chad could send it for her.

It would not be possible to describe to you all that is here and all that has happened in the months since we arrived in South Dakota. I will do the best I can.

The soddy in which we live is spacious enough, since almost everything save sleeping is done outside. Chad built bunkbeds for Frances and Alice and the two younger boys. This conserves much space. Ethan sleeps in the bunkhouse with the men.

I thank the Lord that it is cool inside, for the sun is relentless, and one’s strength is gone before midday. The children are as brown as the Indians and growing at an astonishing speed. Simon turned six before we left, you know, and Will was five in June. Alice will be eight this month. Ethan will not be eleven until November, but already he works alongside the men.

The Indians who helped with the soddy are going to work with Chad on the house. They are friendly people and have been a great help to us. Silver Wing even showed me how to make ink! When the men sharpened the tools, we gathered the filings made and dissolved them in vinegar. Maple bark was boiled and added to provide tannic acid. It gives the ink its color and makes it last longer, Silver Wing told us. The Indians are remarkably wise in the ways of nature.

Frances takes great comfort in her organ. I’m glad we prevailed upon Chad to bring it. We have found that Simon is uncommonly talented in music. He can not only sing any tune he hears but is able to pick it out on the organ. All the children have learned hymns, and as a congregation of ten on Sunday mornings, we do quite well. Lessons will not begin until winter forces us to spend more time inside.

I miss my comfortable home, but I must admit that there is something about the prairie that draws one. The sky looks like a bowl turned over the earth, and there is nothing between us and sunsets. Even Polly stops her chores to admire the wonder of God’s handiwork. Luke has studied the heavens and pointed out the constellations to the children. The nights are so clear that the stars seem ready to drop on us. Indeed, we see them shooting across the skies nightly, much to the delight of us all.

I will be glad when cooler weather comes. I don’t tolerate the heat as well as the others do. Polly has her usual boundless energy, and the children are thriving.

Chad and Henry will go to town tomorrow, and our letters will be posted. Please write when you can. This is lonely country.

As ever,

Manda

“We have our lists of errands ready for you,” Manda told Chad at suppertime.

Chad’s eyes widened. “Errands? We aren’t going to have time for errands tomorrow. I have business at the bank and land office, and Henry is going to pick up some pigs and feed and paint for the house. The new roofing should be here, and the windows will be ready. We’re not going to have any extra time.” He focused back on his plate of food.

“You have a family to provide for too,” Manda reminded him. “But you can take us all with you, if you’d like.”

Chad looked up from his plate in alarm.

“I’ll go, Papa,” Frances said quickly. “I can shop for the dress goods and things like that.”

Chad was relieved. “Yes, I guess you can. But we won’t have time for any playing around. It will be a busy day.”

Manda didn’t continue the conversation, and everyone present knew why. Chad’s mention of paint for the house reminded them all that Manda was still less than enthusiastic about their soon-to-be house on the prairie.