Authors: Nancy Radke
I dug out my ring, put it on my finger, and said, “You had your
gun. Why didn’t you shoot him?”
“I would have if he’d have threatened you. But a gunfight in an
enclosed boxcar might end up in you or Phyllis getting shot. Or Sir Galahad.”
“Oh.” I looked at the bull. “I didn’t think…”
He laughed. “You’re more concerned with that bull than you are
with yourself. But a stray bullet can kill as well as an aimed one. Money is
not worth getting killed for.”
“At least he took your explanation that we were workers.”
“If you’d been wearing your fancy Baltimore clothes, he would’ve
searched further and found your cash.”
“So I have this dress to thank for not being robbed?”
“That’s right. You don’t look like you have more than a dollar
to your name.”
About ten minutes later, the train started up again, and soon
pulled into Soda Springs, which wasn’t much more than a few scattered buildings
and a place for the train to take on more wood and water.
I fed Sir Galahad his breakfast, then joined Phyllis and Shorty
for breakfast in the dining car. There weren’t as many people there. I wondered
aloud what had happened.
“The thieves took their money,” Shorty said. “They can’t pay for
food now. So they aren’t here. You’re seeing the people who hid their money, or
at least hung onto some of it.”
We finished and went into the day cars. Everyone was talking
about the robbery. One man had lost his gold watch and looked extremely bitter,
while another had had his life savings taken from him. That man just sat there
shaking his head. “Guess I’ll just go earn some more,” he said. “Only next time
I’ll spend it on my family. I’ve been frugal all my life, then some stranger
takes what should have been my children’s inheritance. Doesn’t seem right.”
Shorty’s cowboy friends had stuffed what money they had with
them in their boots. They told the robbers they had been to the big city, spent
all their money there, and were going home broke. The fact was that Shorty had
made them give most of their money to him before going out on the town, so they
had their pay from the cattle drive with them.
With them, but not on them. Shorty was their bank. He had
dropped his money belt under Sir Galahad’s manger and kicked straw over it
while we were hiding our things.
The train continued on to the next stop where Shorty and his
friends got off to take another train to Virginia City. We were there for
almost an hour as people unloaded from one train and loaded onto the other.
Shorty got off with a quick, “So long.”
I wanted to thank him, but he was gone before I could get out a
word.
I stepped outside to watch the goings on. Our train was a long
one, and the number of people milling about would have populated a small town.
I noticed we had three engines attached at the front, and asked the steward
about it. He said it usually took two to get us over the Rockies, but they had
put three on because we were carrying a lot of weight this time.
People had ordered farming equipment, stoves and heavy objects
they weren’t able to bring out on the wagons. Now that the trains were opening
up the country, folks were growing crops and planting orchards. Their produce
was taken to the towns in the east and the money spent on fixing up their farms
and homes.
I had just turned away from talking to him, when Shorty ran up
to me.
“Brynn. There you are.”
“Shorty. I wanted to say goodbye. And to thank you.”
“I ran over to the store to get you this,” he said, and held up
a woman’s comb.
I was so happy, I threw my arms around him and kissed him. I
don’t know who was more surprised.
“Thank you. Thank you. I must repay you for all your kindness,”
I said.
“You just did,” he said with a gallant bow. “I can wear that the
rest of my life.”
“All aboard,” the calls came.
“I gotta go. Our trains are leaving,” he said.
“Goodbye, Shorty. Thank you for rescuing me.”
“My pleasure, Ma’am.”
I watched him sprint for his train, and hastily climbed back
onto mine. The trip was going to be a lot longer without Shorty’s cheerful
self.
I stopped to see how Henry’s family had fared during the
robbery.
“Better than some, worse than others,” his father replied. “We
were busy with the children and didn’t realize the train had not stopped at a
regular stop. They took my wife’s wedding ring and all our money except for
what Henry had earned. They didn’t think he would have any, so didn’t bother
him. But I had picked up a load of farm equipment while we were visiting our
family back in Michigan. I planned on using some and selling the rest. So I
still have that.”
“And we can use my money for food until we get there,” Henry
said, proudly.
“How did you fare?” his father asked.
“I would have lost everything, except Shorty had us hide it
before the robber got to our car. We were with Sir Galahad, and hid it in his
straw. I’d like to give you some money, if it will help. At least enough for
meals.”
“No, thank you,” his father said.
“Yes. Please,” his mother said. She looked at her husband. “It’s
all right for us to go without, but the babies don’t understand. She turned to
me. “I’ll take enough to feed my three little ones here, if you don’t mind.
Otherwise they will be crying and fussing the next two days.”
I handed her a ten-dollar gold piece. She started to refuse that
much, but I told her I was lucky, and didn’t mind sharing the luck. “I could
easily be sitting here hungry with you. And since I don’t like eating alone,
I’ll share your table, if that’s all right.”
“That’s more than all right. Thank you.”
“Now Shorty bought me a comb, and I’m going to find a mirror and
use it. I feel like I’ve still got straw in my hair.”
“I’ll go take care of Sir Galahad,” said Henry.
“Yes. I’ll join you shortly. He should have finished his
breakfast by now. Then we can all go to the dining car. I just realized you
weren’t there this morning.”
“We’ll get the children ready and meet you there,” said Henry’s
mother.
“I’m Brynn Porter,” I told her.
“I’m Annabelle Parker.” She named off her children, but there
were ten of them, including two sets of twins, and I lost the names as she went
through.
We had an enjoyable meal together. I decided I was
actually having a better time than I had the first part of the trip, where I
had stayed isolated in my private car, hesitant to meet these folks who did not
live up to my mother’s dress standard. I’d got my hair untangled, and all the
straw out and felt ready to take on the world.
Mother had said I needed to broaden my horizons. I don’t think
she had this in mind. I think she wanted me to look around, find out how
wonderful life was back home, and return as soon as I could.
I gazed outside at the marvelous scenery and realized how
immense and beautiful this land was. I could see from horizon to horizon,
carried safely though the wilderness by the train. It was an experience I would
never forget.
I helped Annabelle feed the youngest babies. I had never done
this before, and found myself having to learn a few tricks to get a baby to
eat.
“They might be hungry, but they still want their way,” she said.
“The youngest is a year old, and I had just stopped nursing him before we took
this trip. It was a little sooner that I’d like, but he was handling the solid
food, so we came. It’s almost impossible to nurse a baby in the day coach.”
“How do you care for them all?”
“The older children help. At first it was pretty rough, but each
child has his own responsibilities. Henry is our oldest, and he now helps his
father exclusively with the farm work. Mary Beth is next,” she smiled at her
eldest daughter who looked a year younger than me, “and she is my right hand.
She can fix a meal, make preserves, and run a house as well as any woman.”
Better than me
,
I thought. Our cook had never allowed me in our kitchen. It was
one reason I’d helped with the bulls. It was the only place I could mess things
up and not be criticized for it.
The children ate a lot, and I was glad I had given them the ten
dollars. I could see that the money would not last long.
“How do you manage to feed and clothe them?” I asked.
“We stay away from town,” she said with a smile. “We’ll probably
never make this trip again, at least not with the children. Maybe after they
are all married and gone.”
“Mary Beth won’t last long,” I said. “Any girl as skilled as she
is, should find a husband out here, very soon.”
“Yes. She has several suitors already. There are about twenty
men to every woman right now. That’s changing swiftly, with the railroads
making it easier for women to come out. It wasn’t that way when we came. We
used a small cart pulled by two oxen. But we came and survived and look at us
now.”
“Where do you live?”
“Just outside Dayton. It’s rich farmland, and the people grow
way more than they can use. We have a train that just carries fresh fruits and
vegetables back east. They can do it in less than six days, because they don’t
have to stop and load people on and off. It has made our town a boomtown of
sorts. Ours, and Walla Walla, and the land around Umatilla. We feed a lot of
people.”
“That’s where I’m taking my bull. Walla Walla. What’s it like?”
“The first settlers brought seeds in their wagons. Apple seeds.
Oak and maple and elm seeds. The town is covered with shade trees, many of them
twenty years old by now, so it is a very pleasant place to live. I’m sure
you’ll like it there.”
Her description was at odds with Lizzie’s, who had written of
bare plains and dust.
Was I going to the same place?
The steward stopped us as we left the dining car, to tell me he
had a sleeper car for me. “I got it from the train we just passed. It took me a
while to get it cleaned up for you.”
I only had two more nights, but it sounded wonderful. I said
goodbye to the family and followed him to the car.
It wasn’t as nice as the one I had had, but it did have a small
washbasin.
“Thank you,” I told him. “This will make my trip much easier.”
He nodded, pleased, and left me.
The first thing I did was get clean. I still would have to put
on my dirty dress, but it felt wonderful to wash my hair and have my skin clean
again. It made me think of Annabelle and her littlest ones. They had grime in
the creases of their skin. I looked at the basin. I shouldn’t have used so much
water, but I still had enough that we could wash down those three, the twins
and the baby.
I combed my hair, got my dress on again, and walked through the
cars to where they were sitting.
Annabelle had just gotten them to sleep, so didn’t want to wake
them. I told her the number on my door, and left them to go see Sir Galahad.
He was in tip top shape, with Henry standing there grooming him.
“Just don’t feed him the special grains,” I said. “I’ll do that.
That way I’ll know what he’s eaten. Go ahead and give him hay.”
“He sure is a friendly fellow.”
“He’s been handled all his life. He’s never even been out in a
large pasture.”
I wondered if Mr. Trahern had hay to feed him. Would he keep Sir
Galahad in a stable, or put him out on the range? I had no idea.
On the way back to my car, I passed Phyllis, the elderly lady
who had spent the night in the straw with me.
“I have a sleeping car now,” I told her.
“Wonderful. You must be happy.”
“Yes. Would you like to join me tonight? It has two bunks in
it.”
“Would you? You don’t have to, you know.”
“I know. But someone might as well sleep there. I can’t sleep in
both bunks.” It made me remember that when we pulled out of Cincinnati, I had
four bunks available. At that time I wasn’t inviting anyone to join me. I
didn’t even think of it.
Annabelle came with Mary Beth and the little ones. We had fun
washing the babies and getting them dry. I let them play on the bed, as they
had been sitting for hours, squirming and fussing on their mother’s and
sister’s laps. I noticed that their father took often two at a time and walked
them up and down the train aisle to sooth them.
Annabelle thanked me profusely. It helped so much to be able to
let the children play, where it was clean and they were clean. We sat and
watched them, and I enjoyed it as much as they, I think.
We switched to a different train at Baker City. I made sure both
Sir Galahad and I made the switch together.
Later the train stopped in Walla Walla and I said goodbye to
Henry’s family as the trainmen opened the doors for Sir Galahad and me to walk
off.
I took his halter chain, slipped the end through one side ring
on his halter, under his chin and snapped it to the ring on the other side.