A Dream for Tomorrow (19 page)

“Robert Stone seemed a bit confused,” the captain explained to them yesterday morning after he took the two of them aside for an update. “All the boy remembers was crossing the river with all the livestock and Brady and JT. After that, he’s unclear. I suspect that his pa has filled his head with his own stories and now Robert isn’t quite sure what actually happened.”

“Would it help if we spoke to him?” Eli offered. “Elizabeth and I could testify to him regarding what we saw that day.”

“I suggested that very thing. But Stone claims his boy isn’t ready for that. Says he’s still getting over the blow to his head.”

“I think Mr. Stone’s the one who’s not ready for that,” Elizabeth said. “He doesn’t want to know the truth.”

“I did give Stone a stern warning,” the captain told her. “If he goes around starting rumors or stirring up trouble against Brady, he will have me to answer to.”

Elizabeth just nodded. However, she knew that it was impossible for the captain to be in all places at all times. And this was a big wagon train. Just the same, she thanked him for his help.

After the captain continued on his way, Eli remained. “If I get a chance to speak to Abner Stone, I will have no problem attempting to set him straight in regard to what happened to Robert that day.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. And I’m sure Brady would too, although he’s unaware of Abner Stone’s attempts to sully his name.”

“That’s probably good.” He tipped his hat. “Please give Brady my best. Tell him I look forward to making music together again.”

She smiled. “I’ll be sure to let him know.”

“Today we’ll make it to Devil’s Gate,” Asa told everyone over breakfast.

“Devil’s Gate?” Ruth got a worried look, and Elizabeth understood her concerns.

“I hope it’s nothing like Devil’s Backbone,” Elizabeth said quickly.

Asa just laughed. “Don’t fret, girls. Devil’s Gate is just a big ol’ rock. Nothing to get worked up about.”

But as she stood there at the end of the day, looking up at the giant arched piece of stone with the sun behind it, she knew it was more than just a big ol’ rock. “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly.

“How did they make it?” Ruth asked.

“Nobody made it,” JT told her. “It just happened.”

“How did it happen?” Ruth asked. “What made the big hole?”

“The river,” Elizabeth explained. “See how it flows right through? Hundreds of years of the powerful water have worn away at the stone, carving a hole right through it.”

“Why didn’t the river just go around it?” JT asked. “Wouldn’t that have been easier?”

“That’s a good question,” Elizabeth pointed out. “I’m not sure myself. I think rivers normally do go around things like this.”

“But I’m glad it didn’t,” Ruth said happily. “I like it just how it is. I think it’s very pretty.”

“So do I,” Elizabeth agreed. “And it reminds me of us.”

“Of us?” JT looked confused.

“How?” Ruth asked.

“We wanted to go west,” Elizabeth began. “Some people said it was too hard. But we really wanted to go…so we just pressed onward. We have pressed on and on, just like this river. And like this river, we’re carving our own way through the wilderness.”

“I wish they’d change the name of this rock,” Ruth said suddenly. “Instead of calling it Devil’s Gate, they should call it God’s Gate.”

“I agree.” Elizabeth nodded. “Much better.”

“Because God is getting us to the West,” Ruth proclaimed. “And this is like his gate.”

So the three of them agreed, from that point on, they would refer to it as God’s Gate. And that night, when Elizabeth insisted they all write in their journals, she described God’s Gate in detail. And JT drew a nice picture of it. And Ruth wrote a sweet little poem.

“We should make it to Split Rock tomorrow afternoon,” Eli announced a few days later. It was the first day that Brady had felt well enough to walk for most of the day—and the family and Eli were celebrating his recovery with a little music. Asa had let others in the unit know it would only be a small gathering. And when Matthew noticed Brady getting winded on the harmonica, he suggested they take a break. Now Clara was insisting that Brady drink some tea and honey.

“Is Split Rock like God’s Gate?” Ruth asked Eli.

“
God’s Gate?
” Eli tipped his head to one side.

“We renamed Devil’s Gate,” Elizabeth explained. “After suffering Devil’s Backbone, we were weary of the ‘devil’ name.” She laughed. “God’s Gate just seemed more appropriate.”

“I have to agree with you on that.” He chuckled. “Well, Split Rock isn’t nearly as spectacular as Devil’s—I mean
God’s
Gate. But it is interesting for other reasons.”

“What is it?” JT asked.

“It’s a notched rock in the Rattlesnake Range.”

“Are there lots of rattlesnakes up there?” Ruth looked concerned.

“Not any more than most places. Do you remember my warning about rattlers, Ruth?”

She nodded soberly. “Watch out around rocky places. And they like shady holes on hot days. And if you hear a rattler, don’t scream or jump. Just slowly move away.”

“Very good.” He nodded.

“So what’s special about Split Rock?” JT asked him.

Eli held his fingers like a V then peered through it. “It has a notch kind of like this, and if you look out of it just right, you will have South Pass in your sights.”

“South Pass?” JT’s brow creased. “Isn’t that in the middle of the Great Continental Divide?”

“Sounds like someone’s been doing his geography.” Eli winked.

“Mama makes us,” he told him.

“Yes. South Pass is in the easiest place to cross the Great Divide.”

“Does that mean we’ll be in Oregon then?” Ruth eyes grew wide.

Eli nodded. “We will officially enter Oregon Territory soon.”

“But it’s still a long way to where we plan to settle,” Elizabeth reminded her. “You’ve seen the place on the map—near the Pacific Ocean.”

“But we will be in Oregon.” Ruth danced with excitement now. “Really truly in Oregon. Will it be beautiful there like Malinda wrote us?”

“I better warn you,” Eli told her. “South Pass is not nearly as pretty as some of the territory we’ve just gone through. It’ll be mostly flat barren land, with some sagebrush, bunchgrass, and lots and lots of sky. Although it can be a good place to hunt sometimes.”

“Oh.” Ruth nodded, trying to take this in.

“Also, there’s a town up there.”

“A real town?” Elizabeth felt hopeful. “Not a fort?”

“South Pass City is a real frontier town. They discovered gold in those parts a dozen or so years ago,” Eli explained. “Naturally a town sprouted up.” He frowned. “To be honest, it’s not the best sort of town. And they’ve had their share of troubles.” He went on to explain how the mining was said to have ruined the river and how that had angered the Indians. “As a result there’s been plenty of skirmishes round those parts.”

“Is it dangerous?” Elizabeth asked.

“I don’t reckon you need to worry much. But just to be sure, I’ll be scouting around for the next few days. Want to make sure the Indians are acting friendly to emigrants.”

“The best news about South Pass,” Asa told them, “is that it’s considerably flat up there. We’ll still be at high elevation, but it’ll be fairly easy traveling for the next week or so. We should be able to make good time.”

The next day, they began their ascent into Rattlesnake Range, and late in the day, they stopped at Split Rock, where just as Eli had said, similar to a big stone gun sight, they could spot South Pass right through the notch. They all took turns looking and then, eager to make camp, continued on their way.

During the first couple of days traveling over South Pass, Elizabeth tried to hide her disappointment for the sake of her children. As Eli had said, this country was not nearly as attractive as along the Sweetwater River. Though they were now in Oregon Country, which was often referred to as the Promised Land, everything for as far as she could see looked bleak and dry and hot. Certainly, it was not as bad as Devil’s Backbone, and there was water to be had at regular intervals, but other than the flatness, which made for smoother traveling, it was not very enjoyable.

However, by the third day, she began to see this place differently. She began to appreciate the vastness of the sky, the formations of the constantly changing clouds, and the occasional herd of buffalo or antelope moving across the land. She decided that in its own way, this landscape was beautiful too. However, she was extremely thankful that she and her family were not settling in this part of the country.

As usual, Elizabeth either walked or rode Molly in the cooler part of the morning. Today, she was walking with several other women friends again. Up ahead of their group, Jess was walking with Fiona and, it seemed, enjoying an animated conversation. It was nice seeing those two young wives forming a friendship. And Paddy and Matthew seemed to get along as well. So much so that Elizabeth secretly hoped the McIntires might consider settling along the southern Oregon coast too. But as usual, she wasn’t going to mention this. Everyone needed to make their own decisions.

“Look at those rugged looking mountains.” Flo pointed toward the northwest.

“That’s the Wind River Range,” Elizabeth told them. “Father was just talking about them at breakfast.”

“But just look at all that snow,” Flo continued. “It must be frightfully cold up there. Just like winter.”

“What does that mean?” Lavinia frowned up at the mountains. “Is winter coming early? Are we in danger of being snowed in? I’ve heard stories about—”

“No, no,” Elizabeth assured her. “It’s not like that at all. My father said that snow is perfectly normal. He said that some mountains out West have snow on them year-round.”

“Oh, my.” Flo sighed. “It makes me cold just to think of it.”

“I certainly hope I’ll be able to purchase a few more blankets and things in South Pass City,” Lavinia said. “To make up for the ones I left on the other side.” She shook her head. “What a foolish thing that was.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Elizabeth told her. “That extra weight could have meant the difference between a serious breakdown and being here right now.”

“Yes, don’t forget Mr. Taylor,” Flo reminded her.

“And a number of other unfortunates,” Elizabeth said.

“Hugh told me that more than a dozen emigrants have been laid to rest on our journey so far.”

Already aware that the death toll had just reached fifteen, Elizabeth simply nodded.

“Hopefully, the worst is behind us now,” Flo said with optimism. “Bert said we have lots of downhill traveling ahead. I reckon that’ll be much easier on everyone.”

“Not necessarily,” Elizabeth warned. “Going downhill can be hard on a team, and it requires great concentration and expertise on the part of the driver. I’m not sure I’ll allow JT or even Brady to do much of the driving when we start going down.”

“I didn’t realize that,” Lavinia admitted. “I do hope that Hugh and Will grasp this. Our boys have been doing a fair amount of driving too. But they have no experience going down a mountain range such as this.”

“I’m sure my father will give our unit a good lesson before we begin our descent,” Elizabeth told them.