Jedadiah's Mail Order Bride (8 page)

* * *

Jed was sitting in his chair watching John Lucas play with a toy when Sarah came in and sat in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, “Jedadiah, I don’t think I’ve told you how much I appreciate you.” And then she gave him a big kiss on the lips.

“What brought this on?” he asked.

“I have just been thinking how much I have and it is all due to your hard work and sacrifice, and now you’re talking about building a new house. You’re always giving and getting nothing in return.”

“I disagree with you there. I seem to be getting an awful lot of love from you and John Lucas.”

“We do love you, but I want you to know I appreciate you too,” she said.

At dinner that evening, he told her about the mining company and what they were doing. “This doesn’t mean you’re going off mining does it?”

“Oh no. I’ve done that bit before and have no desire to try it again. I do want to talk to Lucas about it and see what he thinks.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” she said. “Why don’t we ride over and see them tomorrow?”

“Let’s do that. Now can we get back to the love and appreciation bit.”

“Wait until I put the baby down for his nap and we can talk it out,” she said.

After putting John Lucas down, she came back and sat in his lap and exchanged kisses, When Jed’s hands began exploring her body, she stood and said in a husky voice, “I believe we can talk better in the bedroom, don’t you?”

After a pleasant interlude filled with expressions of love, a lot of touching and feeling, they made love. Afterward, Jed said, “Sarah, I don’t think I ever get enough of you.”

“It’s all there and yours for the taking,” she replied. He took some more…

"It's good to see you," Clara exclaimed.  "Let me hold that big boy."  She eyed Sarah curiously as they walked into the house.  You're expecting aren't you?"  When Sarah nodded agreement, Clara said, "I see the pregnant lady walk.  Every expectant mother has it.  When?"

"About seven months is what I calculate," Sarah said.

"You're going to run out of room, here if you're not careful," Clara said.

"Well, we've talked about building a larger house and using the cabin as a bunkhouse," Sarah said.

Meanwhile...

Jed had gone out to the barn to see Luke.  He found him at one of the cattle pens where he was looking at the carcass of a cow.  "What's happening?" he asked.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," Luke said.  Some of the cattle are showing signs of hoof and mouth disease."

"What can you do about it, Luke?"

"About the only thing you can do is put them down and burn the carcasses.  Then you have to check all the others.  I'm going to isolate the group this one was in and then keep an eye on the rest in this pen.  If they show any signs, I'll have to put them down.  It can spread through a herd pretty quick.  I've actually seen it completely wipe out a herd.  Hogs too."

"Can you show me what to look for and I'll check mine."

Luke, using a shovel as a prod, he showed Jed the mouth of the infected cow.  It had large blisters that had ruptured.  One of the hooves also had blisters.  "Not all that get infected die from it, but you have to keep them away from the rest of the herd so it doesn't spread.  This is the 15th one we've found infected.  We've burned the carcasses of those and we'll burn this one this afternoon."

"I sure hope it doesn't get into my herd.  It could wipe me out.  Right now, the boys have split them up and are in different pastures.

What we came over for, was I wanted to talk to you about was the mining companies."

"What about them?" Luke asked.

"They're leasing land and prospecting for silver.  I don't suppose you've talked to them have you?"

Luke said, "No, I hadn't heard about it.  Where'd you hear it?"

"Sarah and I went to Laramie for her to see the doctor.  She's expecting again.  While we were there I talked to the lumber mill owner about building us a bigger house.  He's the one that told me.  He said they found silver in the Medicine Bow Mountains.  He suggested I talk to Clayton Calhoun.  He's an attorney who’s been working with some of the land owners.  I think I'm going to stop in and see him when I'm in Laramie next time."

"Sounds like a smart thing to do.  And congratulations on the new baby.  Sarah's all right isn't she?"

"Oh yes, the doc said she's in perfect health.  Since we are adding another baby, more room would be nice.  I'd better hold off until I see how the herd is.  I was planning to sell off some to build the house," Jed said.

"I'll tell you my feelings, Jed.  I would never sell part of a producing herd for something like that.  It cuts back on your growth rate.  You need the heifers to drop calves.  Selling them hurts you in the long run."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you about it.  What's your feelings on the mining bit?"

"I'll have to give it some thought.  First cut though, it would depend on what they offer.  I would also insist they leave the land the way they found it."

"I think I'll get Sarah and get back and start inspecting the cattle.  I'll get the two boys and tell them what to look for.  We should be able to check them all in a couple of days."

"How are Trace and Cale working out for you?," Luke asked.

"Really well.  It's the best thing I've done.  I'm making the garden bigger, they help with that and they also do a lot of the work with the herd."

"I'm glad it's working for you."

The two of them went into the house where they found their wives talking about babies and pregnancies.  "Sarah, I think we'd better get back.  I need to check the herd.  Some of Luke's cattle have come down with hoof and mouth and it can wipe out an entire herd."

Clara said, "It is so sad to have to shoot the cattle, but you can't take the chance.  We're hoping it stays contained but Luke says it can spread like wildfire.  By the way, Luke, what about the other ranches?"

"I'm going to send a couple of hands to those close and see what they have.  It could be an indicator of what's to come, and it could give them an early warning," he said.

Clara said, "I'm sorry you have to cut your visit short, but you have to do what you have to do.  Anyway, I'm happy for you two, so be careful and let me know if I can help."

Sarah embraced her and said, "It's always good to see you.  You're like a sister to me."

They rode home, Sarah went into the house and Jed went to find Trace and Cale.  He explained the situation to them and they got started on the cattle in the pen closest to the ranch house.  They were able to check all of them in the first pen and didn't find any signs of the disease.  However, Jed did find one of the hogs with blisters on two of its hooves.  Using his rifle, he put it down and they dragged it off to burn the carcass.  Now they would have to keep a close watch on the rest of the hogs.

The next morning, he and his two ranch hands checked one of his pastures.  Here they found signs of blisters in five of the cattle, one of which was in an advanced stage.  Unwilling to assign the unpleasant task to the hands, he put them down and dragged them into a pile and started a blaze.  They continued their examination but found no more signs.

Within a week's time, over half of Jed's cattle were dead.  He had methodically shot the sick cattle.  The only ones spared were those in a pasture that was somewhat isolated.  He knew he would have to keep an eye on them, knowing they could be wiped out within a week's time.  It was a severe blow to his financial situation.

When he returned home that evening, Sarah  could see he was distressed. 
“How bad is it?" she asked.

"It's bad.  It's real bad.  We've lost over half the herd and could lose the rest of them.  I'm telling you, that's the toughest day of my whole life.  It's set us back two years and wiped out any hopes of building a new house.  Right now, that's the least of my worries.  I'm sorry, Sarah, I really wanted it for you."

"Jedadiah, you stop that.  Don't you feel sorry for something you had no control over.  We'll just have to work harder.  We're in this together.  I'm with you and don't you ever forget it.

Did it get all of the bulls?" she asked.

"In that pasture, it did.  We still have some in the other pasture, but they could be gone in a week.  I'm afraid we'll have to let the hands go too.  If we don't have any cows to sell to the army, we can't pay them.

I'm not worried about me.  I ate beans every day for two years and I can do it again if I have to.  It's you and John Lucas I'm worried about."

"We can eat beans too if it comes down to it," she said.  "I hope it doesn't, but as long as I have you I'll be fine and so will John Lucas."

"You're incredible.  It was my lucky day when you saw my advertisement and I saw yours.  We were made for each other and it took the mail and The Matrimonial News to make it happen.”

The next week saw no signs of further infections, so the outbreak was considered to be at an end.  Jed and Sarah's loss had been 153 head. Luke and Clara Hastings had lost over 500 head.  There were quite a few ranchers wiped out and several businesses in Laramie closed.  While regretting the misfortune that had befallen their neighbors, both the Hastings and the Barnettes acquired additional land at a good price.  Some of their neighbors had given up and were moving out.

By now, an experienced farmer as well as a rancher, Jed had doubled the size of his farming area.  He had staged the planting so that he had crops ready for market the entire growing season and with few other farmers in the area as competition, the income from his crops continued to grow.  The cows and bulls did their part also and the herd slowly began to replenish.

Sarah's pregnancy proceeded without incident and delivered a dark haired little girl that showed promise of being as beautiful as her mother.

* * *

After much discussion between them, Jed and Sarah decided to continue with the new house.  With the expanded vegetable crop and the resurgence of their herd, their financial impact was minimized.  The house was finished just before Sarah Catherine Barnette was born.

After he finished talking with the man who was going to build their new home, Jed went to Clayton Calhoun's office and introduced himself. 

Calhoun warned him, “Some of the mining companies are cheating ranchers by offering little or no money for leasing land, paying only royalties.  In some cases, they found other minerals and mined them without informing the owner and avoided paying royalties on the new discovery.  Before you sign anything with them, read it carefully.  I have had quite a few dealings with them in negotiating leases and royalties.  I suggest you allow them to prospect, and then let me negotiate the terms of the contract.  I won't leave any loopholes and you'll find my services saves you from being cheated."

Jed got together with Luke and decided to hire Calhoun to represent them, agreeing having an attorney was a good idea.  Through Calhoun, both Jed and Luke gave the Halliday Consolidated Gold and Copper Mining Company permission to prospect on their land for silver and any other minerals that might be found below the surface in exchange for the first option for a five year mining rights privilege and the right to renegotiate the contract at the end of the lease.  Their exclusive rights to prospect lasted for 120 days and then expired.  Should minerals of sufficient quantity be found, each would be paid a fixed lease price in addition to a royalty based on any extracted minerals.  If minerals other than silver were found, the royalties for those would be negotiated with Pierce having first rights.  The contract was drawn with the help of the young lawyer, Clayton Calhoun, in Laramie.

* * *

The next spring  saw the J-Bar-B ranch with a nice yield of calves and after a summer of fattening on the lush grass of the pastures, they were able to ship 100 head off to the Army.

At church with John and Grace Carruthers one Sunday, Jed asked,  "John will you help me with a prayer of thanks for all He has provided for my family and the good fortune bestowed upon us?  Also, we would like for you to baptize John Lucas and Sarah Catherine."

"Jed, I would be most happy to do that.  He has been good to us also.  Grace is now with child."

"You're kidding, right?  After all this time?"  He pounded John on the back and shook his hand heartily.  “Congratulations.  Sarah will be pleased too when I tell her."

"I suspect Grace will beat you to it."

Just then, Sarah came from the house, smiling, "Jedadiah, John and Grace...

"Are going to have a baby," he finished her sentence for her.  "Isn't it wonderful?"