 CHAPTER XI. Zebi's Story. September 1, 1910. Dear Mrs. Coney, it was just a few days after the birthday party, and Mrs. O'Shaughnessy was with me again. We were down at the barn looking at some new pigs. When we heard the big corral gates swing shut. So we hastened out to see who it could be so late in the day. It was Zebi. He had come on the stage to burnt fork, and the driver had brought him on here. There was so much to tell, and he whispered he had something to tell me privately, but that he was too tired then. So, after supper, I hustled him off to bed. Next morning the men went off to their work, and Zebi and I were left to tell secrets. When he was sure we were alone, he took from his trunk a long, flat box. Inside was the most wonderful shirt I have ever seen. It looked like a cross between a night shirt and a shirt waist. It was a home-spun linen. The bosom was ruffled and tucked, all done by hand. Such tiny stitches, such patience and skill. Then he handed me an old daguerreotype. I unfastened the little golden hook, and inside was a face good to see and to remember. It was dim yet clear and outline, just as if she were looking out from the mellow twilight of long ago. The sweet elusive smile. I couldn't tell where it was, whether it was the mouth or the beautiful eyes that were smiling. All that was visible of her dress was the Dutch collar, just like what is being worn now. It was pinned with an ugly old brooch which Zebi said was a breast-pin he had given her. Under the glass on the other side was a strand of faded hair and a slip of paper. The writing on the paper was so faded it was scarcely readable, but it said, Pauline Goorley, age twenty-two, eighteen sixty. Next he showed me a note written by Pauline, simply worded, but it held a world of meaning for Zebi. It said, I spun and wove this cloth at adelines, enough for me a dress and you a shirt which I made. It is for the wedding, else to be buried in. Yours, Pauline. The shirt, the picture, and the note had waited for him all these years in Mothy's care. And now I will tell you the story. Long, long ago someone did something to someone else and started a feud. Unfortunately the Gorleys were on one side and the Parkers on the other. That it all happened before either Zebi or Pauline was born made no difference. A Gorle must hate a Parker always, as also a Parker must hate a Gorle. Pauline was the only girl and she had a regiment of big brothers who gloried in the warfare and wanted only the slightest pretext to shoot a Parker. So they grew up and Zebi often met Pauline at the quiltings and other gatherings at the homes of nonpartisans. He remembers her so perfectly and describes her so plainly that I can picture her easily. She had brown eyes and hair. She used to ride about on her sorrel paltry with her nigger boy Caesar on behind to open and shut plantation gates. She wore a pink calico sun bonnet and Zebi says she was just like the pink hollyhocks that grew by mother's window. Isn't that a sweet picture? Her mother and father were both dead and she and her brothers lived on their plantation. Zebi had never dared speak to her until one day he had driven over with his mother and sisters to a dinner given on a neighboring plantation. He was standing outside near the wall when someone dropped a spray of apple blossoms down upon him from an upper window. He looked up and Pauline was leaning out smiling at him. After that he made it a point to frequent places where he might expect her and things went so well that presently Caesar was left at home lest he should tell the brothers. She was a loyal little soul and would not desert although he urged her to, even promising to go away, plumb away, clean to Scott County if she would go. She told him that her brothers would go even as far as that to kill him so that they must wait and hope. Finally Zebi got tired of waiting and one day he boldly rode up to the gorely home and formally asked for Pauline's hand. The bullet he got for his presumption kept him from going to the war with his father and brother when they marched away. Some time later George gorely was shot and killed from ambush and although Zebi had not yet left his bed the gorelies believed he did it and one night Pauline came through a heavy rainstorm with only Caesar to warn Zebi and to beg him for her sake to get away as fast as he could that night. She pleaded that she could not live if he were killed and could never marry him if he killed her brothers so she persuaded him to go while they were all innocent. Well he did as she wished and they never saw each other again. He never went home again until last Thanksgiving and dear little Pauline had been dead for years. She herself had taken her little gifts for Zebi to Mothie to keep for him. Some years later she died and was buried in the dress she mentioned. It was woven at Adeline Carter's one of the bitterest enemies of the gorelies but the sacrifice of her pride did her no good because she was long at rest before Zebi knew. He had been greatly grieved because no stone marked her grave, only a tangle of rosebriars. So he bought a stone and in the night before decoration day he and two of Uncle Buck's grandsons went to the gorely burying ground and raised it to the memory of sweet Pauline. Some of the gorelies still lived there, so he came home at once, fearing if they should find out who placed the stone above their sister they would take vengeance on his poor frail body. After he had finished telling me his story I felt just as I used to when grandmother opened the big chest to air her wedding clothes and the dress each of her baby's wore when baptized. It seemed almost like smelling the lavender and rose leaves and it was with reverent fingers that I folded the shirt, the work of love, yellow with age, and laid it in the box. Well Mrs. O'Shaughnessy returned and early one morning we started with the wagon and a bulging mess box for Zebi's home. We were going a new and longer route in order to take the wagon. Dandelions spread a carpet of gold. Larkspur grew waist high with its long spikes of blue. The service bushes and the wild cherries were a mass of white beauty. Metalarks and robins and bluebirds twittered and sang from every branch it almost seemed. A sky of tenderest blue bent over us and fleecy little clouds drifted lazily across. Soon we came to the pineries where we traveled up deep gorges and canyons. The sun shot arrows of gold through the pines down upon us and we gathered our arms full of columbines. The little black squirrels barked and chattered saucily as we passed along and we were all children together. We forgot all about feuds and partings, death and hard times. All we remembered was that God is good and the world is wide and beautiful. We plotted along all day. Next morning there was a blue haze that Zebi said meant there would be a high wind so we hurried to reach his home that evening. The sun was hanging like a great red fall in the smoky haze when we entered the long canyon in which is Zebi's cabin. Already it was dusky in the canyons below but not a breath of air stirred. A more delighted man than Zebi I never saw when we finally drove up to his low comfortable cabin. Smoke was slowly rising from the chimney and Javau the man in charge rushed out and the hound set up a joyful marking. Javau is a Frenchman and he was all smiles and gesticulations as he said welcome welcome today I am rejoiced you have come yesterday I am despair if you have come because I am scrub but today behold I am delight I have heard of clean people but Javau is the cleanest man I ever saw the cabin floor was so white I hated to step upon it the windows shone and at each there was a calico curtain blue and white check unironed but newly washed in one window was an old brown pitcher cracked and nicked filled with thistles I never thought them pretty before but the pearly pink and the silvery green were so pretty and looked so clean that they had a new beauty above the fireplace was a great black eagle which Javau had killed the wings outspread and a bunch of arrows in the claws in one corner near the fire was a wash stand and behind it hung the fishing tackle above one door was a gun rack on which lay the rifle and shotgun and over the other door was a pair of deer antlers in the center of the room stood the square homemade table every inch scrubbed in the side room which is the bedroom was a wide bunk made of pine plank that had also been scrubbed then filled with fresh sweet pine boughs and over them was spread a piece of canvas that had once been a wagon sheet but Javau had washed it and boiled and pounded it until it was clean and sweet that served for a sheet Zevi was beside himself with joy the hounds sprang upon him and expressed their joy unmistakably he went at once to the corrals to see the critters and every one of them was safely pinned for the night old sim and old ram goodness knows how old promptly butted him over but he just beamed with pleasure sim knows me dinged if he don't was his happy exclamation we went into the cabin and left him fondling the critters Javau did himself proud getting supper we had trout and the most delicious biscuit each of us had a crisp tender head of lettuce with a spoonful of potato salad in the center we had preserves made from canned peaches and the firmest yellow butter soon it was quite dark and we had a tiny brass lamp which gave but a feeble light but it was quite cool so we had a blazing fire which made it light enough when supper was over Zevi called us out and asked us if we could hear anything we could hear the most peculiar long drawn sighing whale that steadily grew louder and nearer I was really frightened but he said it was the forerunner of the windstorm that would soon strike us he said it was wind coming down crag canyon and in just a few minutes it struck us like a cold wave and rushed sighing on down the canyon we could hear it after it had passed us and it was perfectly still around the cabin soon we heard the deep roaring of the coming storm and Zevi called the hounds in and secured the door the sparks began to fly up the chimney jareen lay on a bare skin before the fire and mrs. O'Shaughnessy and I sat on the old blue settle at one side javau lay on the other side of the fire on the floor his hands under his head Zevi got out his beloved old fiddle tuned up and began playing outside the storm was raging growing worse all the time Zevi played and played the worst the tumult the harder the storm the harder he played I remember I was holding my breath expecting the house to be blown away every moment and Zevi was playing what he called bonaparte's retreat it all seemed to flash before me I could see those poor suffering soldiers staggering along in the snow sacrifices to one man's unholy ambition I verily believed we were all bewitched I shouldn't have been surprised to have seen witches and gnomes come tumbling down the chimney or flying in at the door riding on the crest of the storm I glanced at mrs. O'Shaughnessy she sat with her chin in her hand gazing with unseeing eyes into the fire Zevi seemed possessed he couldn't tire it seemed like hours had passed and the tumult had not diminished I felt like shrieking but I gathered jareen up into my arms and carried her into bed mrs. O'Shaughnessy came with us she touched my elbow and said child don't look toward the window the banshees are out tonight we knelt together beside the bed and set our beads then without undressing save pulling off our shoes we crawled under our blankets and lay on the sweet clean pine we were both perfectly worn out but we could not sleep there seemed to be hundreds of different noises of the storm but there are so many canyons so many crooks and turns and the great forest too the wind was shrieking howling and roaring all at once a deep boom announced the fall of some giant of the forest I finally dozed off even in that terrible den but Zevi was not so frenzied as he had been he was playing Annie Laurie and that song has always been a favorite of mine the storm began gradually to die away and Annie Laurie sounded so beautiful I was thinking of Pauline and I know to Zevi Annie Laurie and Pauline gorely are one and the same I knew no more until I heard Zevi call out oh you sleepy heads it's day mrs. O'Shaughnessy turned over and said she was still sleepy my former visit had taught me what beauty the early morning would spread before me so I dressed hastily and went outdoors Zevi called me to go for a little walk the amber light of the new day was chasing the violet and amethyst shadows down the canyons it was all more beautiful than I can tell you on one side the canyon walls were almost straight up it looked as if we might step off into a very world of mountains soon old Baldi wore a crown of gleaming gold the sun was up we walked on and soon came to a brook we were washing our faces in its icy waters when we heard twigs breaking so we stood perfectly still from out the undergrowth of birch and willows came a deer with two fawns they stopped to drink and nibbled the bushes but soon they scented strangers and looking about with their beautiful startled eyes they saw us in a way they went like the wind we saw many great trees up torn by the storm high up on the cliffs Zevi showed me where the eagles built every year we turned homeward and sat down upon the trunk of a fallen pine to rest and take another look at the magnificent view Zevi was silent but presently he threw a handful of pebbles down the canyon wall I am not sorry Pauline is dead I have never shed a tear I know you think that is odd but I have never wanted to mourn I am glad that it is as it is I am happy and at peace because I know she is mine the little breeze is Pauline's own voice she had a little caressing way just like the gentlest breeze when it sturs your hair there is something in everything that brings back Pauline the beauty of the morning the song of a bird or the flash of its wings the flowers look like she did so I have not lost her she is mine more than ever I have always felt so but was never quite sure until I went back and saw where they laid her I know people think I am crazy but I don't care for that I shall not hate to die when you get to be as old as I am child everything will have a new meaning to you at last we slowly walked back to the cabin and at breakfast Zevi told of the damage the storm had done he was so common place that no one ever would have guessed his strange fancy I shall never forget Zevi as I last saw him it was the morning we started home after we left the bench that Zevi lives on I rode wound down into a deeper canyon Zevi had followed us to where a turn in the canyon should hide us from view I looked back and saw him standing on the cliffs high above us the early morning sun turning his snowy hair to gold the breeze fingers of Pauline tossing the scanty locks I shall always remember him so a living monument to a dead past Eleanor Stuart end of chapter 11 chapter 12 of letters of a woman homesteader this LibriVox recording is in the public domain letters of a woman homesteader by Eleanor Pruitt Stuart chapter 12 a contented couple October 6 1911 dear mrs. Coney I once heard Cedell Yelaine telling some of her experiences and she said she surreptitiously stole along one day when I thought the coast was clear I was surreptitiously examining the contents of the tool chest with a view towards securing to myself such hammers saws and what else I might need in doing some carpentry work I had planned the tool chest is kept in the granary both it and the granary are usually kept locked now the Goodman has an idea that a woman needs no tools and the use and misuse of his tools have led to numbers of inter household wars I was gloating over my opportunity and also making the best of it when a medley of burying scotch voices brought me to a quick realization that discretion is the better part of valor so I went into seclusion behind a tall oak bin it seemed that two neighbors whom I had never seen were preparing to go to town and had come to get some tools and to see if the Stuart would lend them each a team now mr. Stuart must be very righteous because he's certainly regarded as his beast although he doesn't always love his neighbor as himself he was willing however for friends Tam Campbell and Archie McKettrick to use his teams but he himself would take a lighter rig and go along so asked to see that his horses were properly cared for and to help out in case of need they made their plans set the day and went their ways as soon as I could I made myself scarce about the granary and very busy about the house and like Josiah Allen I was in a very happy fide state of mind there is nothing mr. Stuart likes better than to catch me unprepared for something I had been wanting to go to town and he had said I might go with him next time he went if I was ready when he was I knew I would not hear one word about the proposed trip but that only added to the fun I had plenty of time to make all preparations so the day before they were to start found me with all in readiness it was quite early in the spring and the evenings were quite chilly we had just finished supper when we heard a great rumbling and I knew neighbors Campbell and McKettrick had arrived on their way to town so I began to prepare supper for them I hadn't expected a woman and was surprised when I saw the largest most ungainly person I have ever met come shambling toward me she was Aggie McKettrick she is tall and raw-boned she walks with her toes turned out she has a most peculiar lurching gate like a camel's she has skin the color of a new saddle and the oddest straggly straw colored hair she never wears corsets and never makes her wastes long enough so there is always a streak of gray undershirt visible about her waist her skirts are never long enough either and she knits her own stockings those inclined can always get a good glimpse of blue and white striped hose she said I guess you are the missus and that was every word she said until I had supper on the table the men were busy with the teams and she sat with her feet in my oven eyeing my every movement I told her we had just had our supper but she waited until I had theirs ready before she announced that neither she nor Archie ate hot biscuits or steak that they didn't take tea for supper preferred coffee and that neither of them could eat peaches or honey so all of my supper was ruled off except the butter and cream she went down to their wagons and brought up what she wanted so Tam Campbell was the only one who ate my honey and biscuit Tam is just a scot with an amazingly closed fist and he is very absent minded I had met Annie his wife and their six children she told me of his absent mindedness her remedy for his trouble when it came to household needs was to repeat the article two or three times in the list people out like we are by a year's supply at a time so a list of needed things is made up and sent into town Tam always managed to forget a great many things well bedtime came I offered to show them to their room but Aggie said will nay sleep in your bed we'll just bite in the kitchen I could not persuade her to change her mind Tam slept at the barn in order to see after the beasties should they need attention during the night as I was preparing for bed Aggie thrust her head into my room and announced that she would be up at three o'clock I am not an early bird so I thought I would let Aggie get her own breakfast and I told her she would find everything in the pantry as long as I was awake I could hear Archie and Aggie talking but I could not imagine what about I didn't know their habits so well as I came to later next morning the rumbling of their wagons awakened me but I turned over and slept until after six there are always so many things to do before leaving that it was nine o'clock before we got started we had only gotten about two miles when Mr. Stewart remembered he had not locked the granary so back we trotted we knew only a few miles from home we knew we could not catch the wagons before camping time unless we drove very hard so Mr. Stewart said we would go by the Edmundsons and spend the night there I enjoy even the memory of that drive through the short spring afternoon the warm red sand of the desert the wind river mountains wrapped in the blue veil of distance the sparse gray green sage ugly in itself but making complete a beautiful picture the occasional glimpse we had of shy beautiful wild creatures so much happiness can be crowded into so short a time I was glad though when Corabelle's home became a part of our beautiful picture it is situated among great red buttes and there is a blue lake back of the house around the lake is a fringe of willows their house is a low rambling affair with a long low porch and a red clay roof before the house is a cottonwood tree it's gnarled storm twisted branches making it seem to have the room it is there is a hop vine at one end of the porch it had not come out when we were there but the dead vine clung hopelessly to its supports little corabelle just bubbled with delight and her grandparents were scarcely better than she spring house cleaning was just finished and they have company so seldom that they made us feel that we were doing them a favor by stopping poor old paw hobbled out to help put the team away and when they came back corabelle asked me to help prepare supper so I left mr. Stewart with granny and paw to listen to their recitals and to taste their many medicines corabelle is really an excellent housekeeper her cooking would surprise many people her bread was delicious and I am sure I never tasted anything better than the roasted leg of lamb she gave us for supper I am ashamed to tell you how much I ate of her carrot jam from where I sat I had a splendid view of the sunset across the lake speaking of things singly Wyoming has nothing beautiful to offer taken all together it is grandly beautiful and at sunrise and sunset the heavens declare his glory corabelle is so animated and so straightforward so entirely clean and all her thoughts and actions that she commands love and respect at one and the same time after supper her grandfather asked her to sing and play for us goodness only knows where they got the funny little old organ that corabelle thinks so much of it has spots all over it of medicine that has been spilled at different times and it has as corabelle said lost its voice in spots but that doesn't set back corabelle at all she plays away just as if it was all right some of the keys keep up a mournful whining and groaning entirely outside of the tomb corabelle says they play themselves after several pieces had been endured pa said play my piece corabelle so we had bingen on the rhyme played and sung from a to isard dear old pa his pain twisted old face just beamed with pride I doubt if heaven will have for him any sweeter music than his baby's voice granny squeaky trembling old voice trailed in after corabelle's always a word or two behind tell my friends and companions when they need and screwed you around that is the way they sang it but no one would have cared for that if they had noticed with what happy eagerness the two sang together the grandparents would like to have sat up all night singing and telling of things that happened in bygone days but poor tired little corabelle began to nod so we retired as we were preparing for bed it suddenly occurred to mr stewart that I had not been surprised when going to town was mentioned so he said woman how did it happen that you were ready when I was to gay to the tune oh I said I knew you were going who tell it ye a little bird twas some fool woman may have I didn't feel it necessary to enlighten him and I think he is still wondering how I knew next morning we were off early but we didn't come up with the wagons until almost camping time the great heavily loaded wagons were creaking along over the heavy sands the mechatrics were behind aggy's big frame swaying and lurching with every jolt of the wagon they never travel without their german socks they are great thick things to wear on the outside of their shoes as we came up behind them we could see aggy's big socks dangling and bobbing beside archies from where they were tied on the back part of the wagon we could hear them talking and see them gesticulating when we came nearer we found they were quarreling and they kept at it as long as I was awake that night after the men had disposed of their loads they and mr steward were going out of town to where a new coal mine was being opened I intended to go on the train to rock springs to do some shopping aggy said she was going also I suggested that we get a room together as we would have to wait several hours for the train but she was suspicious of my motives she is greatly afraid of being done so she told me to get my own room and pay for it we got into town about three o'clock in the afternoon and the train left at midnight I had gone to my room and jureen and myself were enjoying a good rest after our fatiguing drive when my door was thrown open and a very angry aggy strode in they asked us 50 cents each for our rooms aggy paid hers under protest and afterward got to wondering how long she was entitled to its use she had gone back to the clerk about it and he had told her for that night only she argued that she should have her room for a quarter as she would only use it until midnight when that failed she asked for her money back but the clerk was out of patience and refused her that aggy was angry all through she vowed she was being robbed after she had berated me soundly for submitting so tamely she flounced back to her own room declaring she would get even with the robbers I had to hurry like everything that night to get myself and jureen ready for the train so I could spare no time for aggy she was not at the depot and jureen and I had to go on to rock springs without her it is only a couple of hours from green river to rock springs so I had a good nap and a late breakfast I did my shopping and was back at green river at two that afternoon the first person I saw was aggy she sat in the depot glowering at everybody she had a basket of eggs and a pail of butter which she had been trying to sell she was waiting for the night train the only one she could get to rock springs I asked her had she overslept no I did not she replied then she proceeded to tell me that as she had paid for a whole night's use of a room she had stayed to get its use that it had made her plans miscarry didn't seem to count after all our business was attended to we started for home the wagons were half a day ahead of us when we came in sight we could see aggy fanning the air with her long arms and we knew they were quarreling I remarked that I could not understand how persons who hated each other so could live together Clyde told me I had much to learn and said that really he knew of no other couple who were actually so devoted he said to prove it I should ask aggy into the buggy with me and he would get in with Archie and afterwards we would compare notes he drove up alongside of them and aggy seemed glad to make the exchange as we had the buggy we drove ahead of the wagons it seems that Archie and aggy are each jealous of the other Archie is as ugly a little monkey as it would be possible to imagine she bemeaned him until at last I asked her why she didn't leave him and added that I would not stand such crankiness for one moment then she poured out the vials of her wrath upon my head only I don't think they were vials but barrels about sundown we made it to where we intended to camp and found that Mrs. O'Shaughnessy had established a sheep camp there and was out with her herd herself having only Manny a Mexican boy she had brought up herself for a herder she welcomed us cordially and began supper for our entire bunch soon the wagons came and all was confusion for a few minutes getting the horses put away for the night aggy went to her wagon as soon as it stopped and made secure her butter and eggs against a possible raid by Mrs. O'Shaughnessy having asked too high a price for them she had failed to sell them and was taking them back after supper we were sitting around the fire Tam going over his account and lamenting that because of his absent-mindedness he had bought a whole hundred pounds of sugar more than he had intended aggy and archie silent for once pouting I suspect Clyde smiled across the campfire at me and said again you had such a lass as I hey you might blither again you had such a mon as mine I began but Mrs. O'Shaughnessy said again you had such a mon as I hey then we all three laughed for we had each heard the same thing and we knew the maquitrix wouldn't fight each other they suspected us of laughing at them for Archie said to aggy aggy less is it sport they are making of our love to his death they be Archie lad we'll name mine their blither she arose and shambled across to Archie and hunkered her big self down beside him we went to bed and left them peaceable for once I am really ashamed of the way I have treated you but I know you will forgive me I am not strong yet and my eyes are still bothering me but I hope to be all right soon now and I promise you a better letter next time Jareen is very proud of her necklace I think they are so nice for children I can remember how proud I was of mine when I was a child please give your brother our thanks and tell him his little gift made my little girl very happy I'm afraid this letter will seem rather jumbled I still want the address of your friend in Salem or any other I shall find time to write and I am not going to let my baby prevent me from having many enjoyable outings we call our boy Henry Clyde for his father he is a dear little thing but he is a lusty yeller for baby's rights with much love Jareen and her mama end of chapter 12 chapter 13 of letters of a woman homesteader this LibriVox recording is in the public domain letters of a woman homesteader by Eleanor Pruitt Stewart chapter 13 proving up October 14th 1911 dear Mrs. Coney I think you must be expecting an answer to your letter by now so I will try to answer as many of your questions as I remember your letter has been mislaid we have been very much rushed all this week we had the thresher crew two days I was busy cooking for them two days before they came and have been busy ever since cleaning up after them Clyde has taken the thresher on up the valley to thresh for the neighbors and all the men have gone along so the children and I are alone no I shall not lose my land although it will be over two years before I can get a deed to it the five years in which I am required to prove up will have passed by then I couldn't have held my homestead if Clyde had also been proving up but he had accomplished that years ago and has his deed so I am allowed my homestead also I have not yet used my desert right so I am still entitled to 160 acres more I shall file on that much someday when I have sufficient money of my own earning the law requires a cash payment of 25 cents per acre at the filing and $1 more per acre when final proof is made I should not have married if Clyde had not promised I should meet all my land difficulties unaided I wanted the fun and the experience for that reason I want to earn every cent that goes into my own land and improvements myself sometimes I almost have a brainstorm wondering how I am going to do it but I know I shall succeed other women have succeeded I know of several who are now where they can laugh at past trials do you know I am a firm believer in laughter I am real superstitious about it I think if bad luck came along he would take to his heels if someone laughed right loudly I think Jareen must be born for the law she always threshes out questions that arise to her own satisfaction if to no one else's she prayed for a long time for her brother also she prayed for some puppies the puppies came but we didn't let her know they were here until they were able to walk one morning she saw them following their mother so she danced for joy when her little brother came she was plainly disappointed mama she said did god really make the baby yes dear then he hasn't treated us fairly and I should like to know why the puppies could walk when he finished them the calves can too the pigs can and the cold and even the chickens what is the use of giving us a half finished baby he has no hair and no teeth he can't walk or talk nor do anything else but squall and sleep after many days she got the question settled she began right where she left off I know mama why god gave us such a half finished baby so he could learn our ways and no one else's since he must live with us and so we could learn to love him every time I stand beside his buggy he laughs and then I love him but I don't love Stella nor Marvin because they laugh so that is one perhaps that is the reason Zebys can folk have come and taken him back to Yale County I should not be surprised if he never returned the lanes and the Patterson's leave shortly for Idaho where our Bobby has made some large investments I hope to hear from you soon and that you are enjoying every minute with much love your friend Eleanor Stewart end of chapter 13 chapter 14 of letters of a woman homesteader this LibriVox recording is in the public domain letters of a woman homesteader by Eleanor Pruitt Stewart chapter 14 the new house December 1st 1911 dear Mrs. Coney I feel just like visiting tonight so I am going to play like you have come it is so good to have you to chat with please be seated in this low rocker it is a present to me from the Patterson's and I am very proud of it I am just back from the Patterson ranch and they have a dear little boy who came the 20th of November and they call him Robert Lane I am sure this room must look familiar to you for there is so much in it that was once yours I have two rooms each 15 by 15 but this one on the south is my really room and in it are my treasures my house faces east and is built up against a side hill or should I say hillside anyway they had to excavate quite a lot I had them dump the dirt right before the house and terrace it smoothly I have sewn my terrace to California poppies and around my porch which is six feet wide and 30 long I have planted wild cucumbers every log in my house is as straight as a pine can grow each room has a window and a door on the east side and the south room has two windows on the south with space between for my heater which is one of those with a great front so I can see the fire burn it is almost as good as a fireplace the logs are unhued outside because I like the rough finish but inside the walls are perfectly square and smooth the cracks in the walls are snugly filled with dobbing and then the walls are covered with heavy gray building paper which makes the room very warm and I really like the appearance I had two rolls of wallpaper with a bold rose pattern by being very careful I was able to cut out enough of the roses which are divided in their choice of color as to whether they should be red yellow or pink to make a border about 18 inches from the ceiling they brighten up the wall and the gray paper is fine to hang pictures upon those you have sent us make our room very attractive the woodwork is stained a walnut brown oil finish and the floor is stained and oiled just like it in the corners by the stove and before the windows we take our comfort from some broken bamboo fishing rods I made frames for two screens these I painted black with some paint that was left from the buggy and Javau fixed the screens so they will stay balanced and put in casters for me I had a piece of blue curtain calico and with brass headed tacks I put it on the frame of Jareen's screen then I mixed some paste and let her decorate it to suit herself on the side that should be next to her corner she used the cards you sent her some of the people have a suspiciously tottering appearance perhaps not so very artistic but they all mean something to a little girl who small fingers worked patiently to attain satisfactory results she has a set of shelves on which her treasures of china are arranged on the floor is a rug made of two goat skins dyed black a present from Javau who heard her admiring zebby's bear skin she has a tiny red rocking chair which she has outgrown but her rather dilapidated family of dolls use it for an automobile for a seat for herself she has a small hasock that you gave me and behind the blue screen is a world apart my screen is made just like Jareen's except that the cover is cream material with sprays of wild roses over it in my corner I have a cot made up like a couch one of my pillows is covered with some checked gingham that daisy cross stitched for me I have a cabinet bookcase made from an old walnut bedstead that was a relic of the mountain meadow massacre Javau made it for me in it I have my few books some odds and ends of china all gifts and a few fossil curios for a floor covering I have a braided rug of blue and white made from old sheets and Jareen's old dresses in the center of my room is a square table made of pine and stained brown over it is a table cover that you gave me against the wall near my bed is my dresser it is a box with shelves and is covered with the same material as my screen above it I have a mirror but it makes ugly faces at me every time I look into it upon the wall nearby is a match holder that you gave me it is the heads of two fisher folk the man has lost his nose but the old lady still thrusts out her tongue the material on my screen and dresser I bought for curtains then decided to use some white crossbar I had but I wish I had not for every time I look at them I think of poor little mary and parker I'm going to make you a cup of tea and wonder if you will see anything familiar about the teapot you should I think for it is another of your many gifts to me now I feel that you have a fairly good idea of what my house looks like on the inside anyway the magazines and Jareen's cards and mother goose book came long ago and Jareen and I were both made happy I wish I could do nice things for you but all I can do is to love you your sincere friend Eleanor Rupert end of chapter 14 chapter 15 of letters of a woman homesteader this LibriVox recording is in the public domain letters of a woman homesteader by Eleanor Pruitt Stewart chapter 15 the stocking leg dinner February 1912 dear Mrs. Coney this time I want to tell you about a stocking leg dinner which I attended not long ago it doesn't sound very respectable but it was one of the happiest events I ever remember Mrs. Lauterer was here visiting us and one afternoon we were all in the kitchen when Javo came skimming along on the first pair of snowshoes I ever saw we have had lots of snow this winter and many of the hollows and gullies are packed full Javo had no difficulty in coming and he had come for the mail and to invite us to a feast of zihos I could not think what kind of a dinner it could be and I did not believe that Mr. Stewart would go but after Javo had explained how much easier it was now than at any other time because the hard packed snow made it possible to go with bobsleds I knew he would go I can't say I really wanted to go but Mrs. Lauterer took it for granted that it would be delightful so she and Mr. Stewart did the planning next morning Javo met Mrs. O'Shaughnessy and invited her then taking the mail he went on ahead to blaze a trail we should follow with the sleds we were to start two days later they planned we could easily make the trip in a day as with the gulches filled with snow shortcuts were possible and we could travel at a good pace as we would have a strong team to me it seemed dangerous but dinner parties have not been so plenty that I could miss one so when the day came on which we were to start we were up be times and had a mess box packed and Mr. Stewart had a big pile of rocks hot we all wore our warmest clothes and the rest carried out hot rocks and blankets while I put the kitchen in such order that the men left to feed the stock would have no trouble in getting their meals Mr. Stewart carried out the mess box and presently we were off we had a wagon box on bobsleds and the box was filled with hay and hot rocks with blankets on top and more to cover us Mr. Stewart had two big bags of grain in front feed for the horses and he sat on them it was a beautiful day and we jogged along merrily we had lots of fun and as we went a new way there was much that was new to Mrs. O'Shaughnessy and myself and it was all new to the rest Chavaux had told us where we should noon and we reached the place shortly after 12 Mr. Stewart went to lift out the mess box but he had forgotten to put it in oh dear we were a disappointed lot I don't think I was ever so hungry but there was nothing for it but to grin and bear it it did me some good though to remember how a man misses his dinner the horses had to be fed so we walked about while they were eating we went up a canyon that had high cliffs on one side and came to a place where high up on the rock wall in great black letters was this legend dick fell off of this here cliff and died I should think there would be no question that anyone who fell from that place onto the boulders below would die soon we started again and if not quite so jolly as we were before at least we looked forward to our supper with a keen relish and the horses were urged faster than they otherwise would have been the beautiful snow is rather depressing however when there is snow everywhere the afternoon passed swiftly and the horses were becoming jaded at four o'clock it was almost dark we had been going up a deep canyon and came upon an appalling sight there had been a snow slide and the canyon was half filled with snow rock and broken trees the whole way was blocked and what to do we didn't know for the horses could hardly be gotten along and we could not pass the snow slide we were 25 miles from home night was almost upon us and we were almost starved but we were afraid to stay in that canyon lest more snow should slide in various so sadly we turned back to find as comfortable a place as we could to spend the night the prospects were very discouraging and I am afraid we were all near tears when suddenly there came upon the cold air a clear blast from a horn mrs. Lauderer cried derevally once I heard a lecturer tell of climbing the matter horn and the calls we heard brought his story to mind no music could have been so beautiful it soon became apparent that we were being signaled so we drove in the direction of the sound and found ourselves going up a wide canyon we had passed the mouth of it shortly before we had come to the slide even the tired horses took new courage and every few moments a sweet clear call put new heart into us soon we saw a light we had to drive very slowly and in places barely crept the bugler changed his notes and we knew he was wondering if we were coming so mr. stewart hello at once we had an answer and after that we were steadily guided by the horn many times we could not see the light but we drove in the right direction because we could hear the horn at last when it was quite dark and the horses could go no farther we drew up before the fire that had been our beacon light it was a bonfire built out upon a point of rock at the end of the canyon back from it among the pines was a dobby house a dried up mummy of a man advanced from the fire to meet us explaining that he had seen us through his field glasses and knowing about the snow slide had ventured to attract us to his poor place carlotta Juanita was within prepared for the senoras if they would but walk in if they would more dead than alive we scrambled out cold stiffened and hungry carlotta Juanita threw open the low wide door and we stumbled into comfort she hastened to help us off with our wraps piled more wood on the open fire and busied herself to make us welcome and comfortable poor carlotta Juanita perhaps you think she was some slender limpid eyed olive cheeked beauty she was fat and 40 but not fair she had the biggest wad of hair that i ever saw and her face was so fat that her eyes looked beady she wore an old heelless pair of slippers or sandals that would hardly stay on and at every step they made the most exasperating sliding noise but she was all kindness and made us feel very welcome the floor was of dirt and they had the largest fireplace i have ever seen with the widest cleanest hearth which was where they did their cooking all their furniture was homemade and on a low bench near the door were three water jars which i am sure were handmade a way back in a corner they had a small altar on which was a little statue of mary and the child before it suspended by a wire from the rafters was a cow's horn in which a piece of punk was burning just as the incense is kept burning in churches supper was already prepared and was simmering and smoking on the hearth as soon as the men came in carlotta Juanita put it on the table which was bare of cloth i can't say that i really like mexican bread but they certainly know how to cook meat they had a most wonderful pot roast with potatoes and corn dumplings that were delicious the roast had been slashed in places and small bits of garlic pepper bacon and i think parsley inserted after it and the potatoes and the dumplings were done carlotta had poured in a can of tomatoes you may not think that was good but i can assure you it was and that we did ample justice to it after we had eaten until we were hardly able to swallow carlotta Juanita served a queer mexican pie it was made of dried buffalo berries stewed and made very sweet a layer of batter had been poured into a deep baking dish then the berries and then more batter then it was baked and served hot with plenty of hard sauce and it was powerful good too she had very peculiar coffee with goat's milk in it i took mine without the milk but i couldn't make up my mind that i liked the coffee we sat around the fire drinking it when Manuel Pedro Felipe told us it was some he had brought from mexico i didn't know they raised it there but he told us many interesting things about it he and carlotta Juanita both spoke fairly good english they had lived for many years in their present home and had some sheep a few goats a cow or two a few pigs and chickens and turkeys they had a small patch of land that carlotta Juanita tilled and on which was raised the squaw corn that hung in bunches from the rafters down where we live we can't get sweet corn to mature but here so much higher up they have a sheltered little nook where they are able to raise many things upon a long shelf above the fire was an ugly old stone image the bottom broken off and some plaster applied to make it set level the ugly thing they had brought with them from some old ruined temple in mexico we were also very tired that soon carlotta Juanita brought out an armful of the thickest brightest rugs and spread them over the floor for us to sleep on the men retired to a lean-to room where they slept but not before Manuel Pedro Felipe and carlotta had knelt before their altar for their devotions mrs. O'Shaughnessy and myself and Jareen knowing the rosary surprised them by kneeling with them it is good to meet with kindred faith away off in the mountains it seems there could not possibly be a mistake when people so far away from creeds and doctrines hold to the faith of their childhood and find the practice a pleasure after so many years the men made us good night and we lost no time in settling ourselves to rest luckily we had plenty of blankets away in the night i was awakened by a noise that frightened me all was still but instantly there flashed through my mind tales of murdered travelers and i was almost paralyzed with fear when again i heard that stealthy sliding noise just like carlotta Juanita's old slippers the fire had burned down but just then the moon came from behind a cloud and shone through the window upon carlotta Juanita who was asleep with her mouth open i could also see a pine bell which was scraping against the wall outside which was perhaps making the noise i turned over and saw the punk burning which cast a dim light over the serene face of the blessed virgin so all fear vanished and i slept as long as they would let me in the morning after a breakfast of tortillas cheese and rancid butter and some more of a coffee we started again for the stocking leg dinner carlotta Juanita stood in the door waving to us as long as we could see her and manwell p f sat with mr stewart to guide us around the snow slide under one arm he carried the horn with which he had called us to him it came from some long horned cow in mexico was beautifully polished and had a fancy rim of silver i should like to own it but i could not make it produce a sound when we were safe on our way our guide left us and our spirits ran high again the horses were feeling good also so it was a merry laughing party that drew up before zebby's two hours later long before i had lent javau a set of the leather stocking tails which he had read aloud to zebby together they had planned a leather stocking dinner at which should be served as many of the vions mentioned in the tails as possible we stayed two days and it was one long feast we had venison served in half a dozen different ways we had antelope we had porcupine or hedgehog as pathfinder called it and also we had beaver tail which he found toothsome but which i did not we had grouse and sage hen they broke the ice and snared a lot of trout in their cellar they had a barrel of trout prepared exactly like mackerel and they were more delicious than mackerel because they were finer grained i had been a little disappointed in zebby after his return from home it seemed to me that pauline had spoiled him i guess i was jealous this time he was the same little old zebby i had first seen he seemed to thoroughly enjoy our visit and i am sure we each had the time of our lives we made it home without mishap the same day we started all of us sure life held something new and enjoyable after all if nothing happens there are some more good times in store for me this summer chavo once worked under professor marzden when he was out here getting fossils for the smithsonian institution and he is very interesting to listen to he has invited us to go with him out to the badland hills in the summer to search for fossils the hills are only a few miles from here and i look forward to a splendid time end of chapter 15 chapter 16 of letters of a woman homesteader this libra vox recording is in the public domain letters of a woman homesteader by elinor pruitt stewart chapter 16 the horse thieves undated letter dear mrs coney i am so afraid that you will get an overdose of culture from your visit to the hub and i'm sending you an antidote of our sage sand and sunshine mrs louderer had come over to see our boy together we had prepared supper and were waiting for clad who had gone to the post office soon he came and after the usual friendly wrangling between him and mrs louderer we had supper then they began their inevitable game of cribbage while i sat near the fire with baby on my lap clad was telling us of a raid on a ranch about 75 miles away in which the thieves had driven off 30 head of fine horses there were only two of the thieves and the sheriff with a large posse was pursuing them and forcing every man they came across into the chase and a regular manhunt was on it was interesting only because one of the thieves was a noted outlaw then out on parole and known to be desperate we were in no way alarmed the trouble was all in the next county and somehow that always seemed so far away we knew if the men ever came together there would be a pitched battle with bloodshed and death but there seemed little chance that the sheriff would ever overtake the men i remember i was feeling sorry for the poor fellows with a price on their heads the little pink man on my lap had softened my heart wonderfully jareen was enjoying the pictures in a paper illustrating early days on the range while scenes of roping and branding i had remarked that i didn't believe there were any more such times when mrs louderer replied dot just shows how much it is you do not know you shall come to mine house and when away you come it shall be wiser as when you let i had kept at home very closely all summer and a little trip seemed the most desirable thing i could think of particularly as the baby would be in no way endangered but long ago i learned that the quickest way to get what i want is not to want it outwardly at least so i assumed an indifference that was not very real the result was that next morning everyone was in a hurry to get me started Clyde greasing the little old wagon that looks like a twin to corabelles and mrs louderer who thinks no baby can be properly brought up without goose grease busy greasing the baby so as he shall not some cold take yet mrs louderer had ridden over so her saddle was laid in the wagon and her pony Bismarck was hitched in with chubb the laziest horse in all wyoming i knew Clyde could manage very well while i should be gone and there wasn't a worry to interfere with the pleasure of my outing we jogged along right merrily mrs louderer devoting her entire attention to trying to make chubb pull even with Bismarck jureen and myself enjoying the ever-changing views i wish i could lay it all before you summer was departing with reluctant feet unafraid of winter's messengers the chill winds that day was especially beautiful the gleaming snow peaks and heavy forest south and at our back west north and east long broken lines of the distant mountains with their blue haze pilot butte to the north 100 miles away stood out clear and distinct as though we could drive there in an hour or two the dull neutral colored badland hills near us are interesting only because we know they are full of the fossil remains of strange creatures long since extinct for a distance our way lay up Henry's fork valley prosperous little ranches dotted the view ripening grain rustled pleasantly in the warm morning sunshine and closely cut alfalfa fields made bright spots of emerald against the done landscape the quaking aspens were just beginning to turn yellow everywhere purple asters were a blaze of glory except where the rabbit bush grew in clumps waving its feathery plumes of gold over it all the sky was so deeply blue with little airy white clouds drifting lazily along every breeze brought scents of cedar pine and sage at this point the road wound along the base of cedar hills some magpies were holding a noisy caucus among the trees a pair of blue birds twittered excitedly upon a fence and high overhead a great black eagle sword all was so peaceful that horse thieves and desperate men seemed too remote to think about presently we crossed the creek and headed our course due north toward the desert and the buttes I saw that we were not going right to reach Mrs. Louderer's ranch so I asked where we were supposed to be going we is going to the mouth of dry creek by where it goes black's fork into dare mine punchers holds 500 steers we shall decamp visit and you shall come back wiser as when you went well we both came away wiser I had thought we were going only to the Louderer ranch so I put up no lunch and there was nothing for the horses either but it was too beautiful a time to let such things annoy us anyway we expected to reach camp just after noon so a little delay about dinner didn't seem so bad we had entered the desert by noon the warm red sands fell away from the wheels with soft hissing sounds occasionally a little horned toad sped panting along before us suddenly darting aside to watch with bright cunning eyes as we passed someone had placed a buffalo skull beside a big bunch of sage and on the sage a splendid pair of elks allars we saw many such scattered over the sands grim reminders of a past forever gone about three o'clock we reached our destination but no camp was there we were more disappointed than I can tell you but Mrs. Louderer merely went down to the river a few yards away and cut an armful of willow sticks wherewith to coax chubb to a little brisker pace and then we took the trail of the departed mess wagon shortly we topped a low range of hills and beyond in a cup-like valley was the herd of sleek beauties feeding contentedly on the lush green grass I suppose it sounds odd to hear desert and river in the same breath but within a few feet of the river the desert begins where nothing grows but sage and greasewood in oasis like spots will be found plenty of grass where the soil is nearer the surface and where sub irrigation keeps the roots watered in one of these spots the herd was being held when the grass became short they would be moved to another such place it required altogether 15 men to take care of the herd because many of the cattle had been bought in different places some in utah and these were always trying to run away and work back toward home so they required constant herding soon we caught the glimmer of white canvas and knew it was the cover of the mess wagon so we headed that way the camp was quite near the river so asked to be handy to water and to have the willows for wood not a soul was at camp the fire was out and even the ashes had blown away the mess box was locked and mrs. lateral's loud calls brought only echoes from the high rock walls across the river however there was nothing to do but to make the best of it so we tethered the horses and went down to the river to relieve ourselves of the dust that seemed determined to unite with the dust that we were made of mrs. lateral declared she was so mad at knottings and would fire dot herman so soon as she could see him already presently we saw the most grotesque figure approaching the camp it was herman the fat cook on hunks a gaunt ugly old horse whose days of usefulness under the saddle were passed and who had degenerated into a workhorse the disgrace of it seemed to be driving him into a decline but he stumbled along bravely under his heavy load a string of a dozen sage chickens swung on one side and across the saddle in front of herman lay a young antelope a volley of german abuse was hurled at poor herman wound up in as plain american as mrs. lateral could speak and who is going to pay the game warden define of dot antelope what you have shot and how is it that we have come to camp by and so starved as we is hungry and no cook and no food is that for why you is paid herman was some dutch himself however how is it he demanded that you have not so much sense as you have tongue how have you lived so long as always in the west and don't know enough to hunt a bean hole when you reach your own camp pay mrs. lateral was very properly subdued and i delighted when he removed the stones from where the fire had been exposing a pit from which with a pair of pot hooks he lifted pots and ovens of the most delicious meat beans and potatoes from the mess box he brought bread and apricot pie from a nearby spring he brought us a bright new pail full of clear sparkling water but mrs. lateral insisted upon tea and in a short time he had it ready for us the tarpaulin was spread on the ground for us to eat from and soon we were showing an astonished cook just how much food two women and a child could get away with i ate a good deal of ashes with my roast beef and we all ate more or less sand but fastidiousness about food is a good thing to get rid of when you come west to camp when the regular supper time arrived the punchers began to gather in and the boss who had been to town about some business came in and brought back the news of the manhunt the punchers sat about the fire eating hungrily from their tin plates and eagerly listening to the recital two of the boys were tender feet one from tennessee called daisy bell because he whistled that tune so much and because he had nosebleed so much couldn't even write a bronco but his nose would bleed for hours afterwards and the other new york so called from his native state new york was a great boaster said he wasn't afraid of no dirnd outlaw said his father had waited in bloody gore up to his neck and that he was a chip off the old block rather hoped the chase would come our way so he could try his marksmanship the air began to grow chill and the sky was becoming overcast preparations for the night busied everybody fresh ponies were being saddled for the night relief the hard ridden tired ones that had been used that day being turned loose to graze some poles were set up and a tarpaulian arranged for mrs. lauderer and me to sleep under mrs. lauderer and jureen laid down on some blankets and i enrolled some more which i was glad to notice were clean for baby and myself i can't remember ever being more tired and sleepy but i couldn't go to sleep i could hear the boss giving orders and quick decisive tones i could hear the punchers discussing the raid finally each of them telling exploits of his favorite heroes of outlawry i could hear herman busy among his pots and pans then he mounted the tongue of the mess wagon and called out we have for breakfast cackleberries first what is come is served and those what is sleep late gets nuttings i had never before heard of cackleberries and asked sleepy mrs. lauderer what they were they tend to morning and you shall see was all the information that i received soon a gentle drizzling rain began and the punchers hurriedly made their bed as they did so tweeting new york about making his between our tent and the fire you're dead right part i heard one of them say to make your bed there for if them outlaws comes this way they'll think you are one of the women and they won't shoot you just us men are in danger confound your full tongues how they're going to know there's any women here i tell you fellas my old man waited in bloody gore up to his neck and i'm just like you they kept up this friendly parlaying until i dozed off to sleep but i couldn't stay asleep i don't think i was afraid but i certainly was nervous the river was making a sad moaning sound the rain fell gently like tears all nature seemed to be mourning about something happened or going to happen down by the river and al hooted dismally half a mile away the night herders were riding round and round the herd one of them was singing faint but distinct came his song bury me not on the lone prairie over and over again he sang it after a short interval of silence he began again this time it was i'm thinking of my dear old mother 10 000 miles away two punchers stirred uneasily and began talking blast that text i heard one of them say he certainly has it bad tonight what the deuce makes him sing so much i feel like balling like a kid i wish he'd shut up he's homesick i guess we all are too but they ain't no use staying awake and letting it soak in shake the water off the tarp you are letting water catch on your side and it's running into my ear that is the last i heard for a long time i must have slept i remember that the baby stirred and i spoke to him it seemed to me that something struck against the guy rope that held our topolion taught but i wasn't sure i was in that dozy state half asleep when nothing is quite clear it seemed as though i had been listening to the tramp of feet for hours and that a whole army must be filing past when i was brought suddenly into keen consciousness by a loud voice demanding hello whose outfit is this this is the seven up louderers the boss called back what's wanted is that you met this is wards posse we've been after meeks and murdoch all night it's so darn dark we can't see but we got to keep going their horses are about played we changed at headless but we ain't had a bite to eat and we got to search your camp sure thing the boss answered roll off and take a look hi there you herm get out of there and fix these fellers something to eat we were surrounded i could hear the clanking of spurs and the sound of the wet tired horses shaking themselves and rattling the saddles on every side who's in the wiki up i heard the sheriff ask some women and kids mrs. louder and a friend in an incredibly short time herman had a fire coaxed into a blaze and matt watson and the sheriff went from bed to bed with a lantern they searched the mess wagon even although herman had been sleeping there the sheriff unceremoniously flung out the wood and kindling the cook had stored there he threw back the flap of our tent and flashed the lantern about he could see plainly enough that there were about the four of us but i wondered how they saw outside where the rain made it worse the lantern was so dirty yes i heard the sheriff say we've been pushing them hard they're headed north evidently intend to hit the railroad but they'll never make it every forward on the river is guarded except right along here and there's five parties ranging on the other side my party's split a bunch has gone on to the bridge if they find anything there to fire a volley same with us i knew they couldn't cross the river nowhere but at the bridge or here the men had gathered about the fire and were gulping hot coffee and cold beef and bread the rain ran off their slickers and little rivulets i was sorry the fire was not better because some of the men had on only ordinary coats and the drizzling rain seemed determined that the fire should not blaze high before they had finished eating we heard a shot followed by a regular medley of dull booms the men were in their saddles and gone and less time than it takes to tell it the firing had ceased save for a few sharp reports from the revolvers like a coyote's spiteful snapping the pounding of the horse's hoofs grew fainter and soon all was still i kept my ears strained for the slightest sound the cook and the boss the only men up hurried back to bed watson had risen so hurriedly that he had not been careful about his tarp and water had run into his bed but that wouldn't disconcert anybody but a tender foot i kept waiting intense silence to hear them come back with dead or wounded but there was not a sound the rain had stopped mrs. louder struck a match and said it was three o'clock soon she was asleep through a rift in the clouds a star peeped out i could smell the wet sage in the sand a little breeze came by bringing texas song once more oh it matters not so i've been told how the body lies when a heart grows cold oh dear the world seems so full of sadness i kissed my baby's little downy head and went to sleep it seems that cowboys are rather sleepyheaded in the morning and it is part of the cook's job to get them up the next i knew herman had a tin pan on which he was beating a vigorous tattoo all the time hollering we have cackle berries and antelope steak for breakfast the baby was startled by the noise so i attended to him and then dressed myself for breakfast i went down to the little spring to wash my face the morning was lowering and gray but a wind had sprung up and the clouds were parting there are times when anticipation is a great deal better than realization never having seen a cackleberry my imagination pictured them as some very luscious wild fruit and i was so afraid none would be left that i couldn't wait until the men should eat and be gone so i surprised them by joining the very earliest about the fire herman began serving breakfast i held out my tin plate and received some of the steak an egg and two delicious biscuits we had our coffee in big enameled cups without sugar or cream but it was piping hot and so good i had finished my egg and steak and so i told herman i was ready for my cackleberries listen to her now will you he asked and then indignantly how many cackleberries does you want you have had so many as i have cooked for you why herman i haven't had a single berry i said then such a roar of laughter herman gazed at me in astonishment and mr. watson gently explained to me that eggs and cackleberries were one and the same new york was not yet up so herman walked over to his bed kicked him a few times and told him he would scald him if he didn't turn out it was quite light by then new york joined us in a few minutes what the deuce was you fillers kicking up such a rumpus fur last night he asked you blamed blockhead don't you know the boss answered why the sheriff searched this camp last night they had a battle down at the bridge afterwards and either they are all killed or else no one is hurt they would have been here otherwise ward took a shot at them once yesterday but i guess he didn't hit the men got away anyway and during your sleepy head you just lay there and snored well i'll be damned words failed him his wonder and disgust were so great new york turned to get his breakfast his light shirt was bloodstained in the back seemed to be soaked what's the matter with your shirt it's soaked with blood someone asked then that darn daisy bell has been crawling in with me that's all he said blame his bleeding snoot i'll punch it and give it something to bleed for then mr. watson said daisy ain't been in all night he took jesse's place when he went to town after supper that started an inquiry and search which speedily showed that someone with a bleeding wound had gotten in with new york it also developed that mr. watson's splendid horse and saddle were gone the rope that the horse had been picketed with lying just as it had been cut from his neck now all was bustle and excitement it was plainly evident that one of the outlaws had lain hidden on new york's bed while the sheriff was there and that afterwards he had saddled the horse and made his escape his own horse was found in the willows the saddle cut loose and the bridle off but the poor jaded thing had never moved by sunup the search party returned all to worn out with 24 hours in the saddle to continue the hunt they were even too worn out to eat but flung themselves down for a few hours rest the chase was hopeless anyway for the search party had gone north in the night the wounded outlaw had doubtless heard the sheriff talking and the coast being clear to the southward had got the fresh horse and was by that time probably safe in the heavy forests and mountains of utah his getting in with new york had been a daring ruse but a successful one where his partner was no one could guess but by that time all the camp accepting herman and mrs. lauderer were so panicky that we couldn't have made a rational suggestion new york white around his mouth approached mrs. lauderer i want to quit he said well she said calmly sipping her coffee you have done it i'm sick he stammered i know you is she said i have before now seen men get sick when they is scared to death my old daddy he began yes i know he waited the creek vaughn time and you is had cold feet ever since poor fellow i felt sorry for him i had cold feet myself just then and i was powerfully anxious to warm them by my own fire where a pair of calm blue eyes would reassure me i didn't get to see the branding that was to have taken place on the range that day the boss insisted on taking the trail of his valued horse he was very angry he thought there was a traitor among the posse who started the firing at the bridge no one knew and watson said openly that it was done to get the sheriff away from camp my own home looked mighty good to me when we drove up that evening i don't want any more wildlife on the range not for a while anyway your ex-washlady elinor rupert steward end of chapter 16 chapter 17 of letters of a woman homesteader this liberalx recording is in the public domain letters of a woman homesteader by elinor pruitt steward chapter 17 at javos camp november 16 1912 my dear friend at last i can write you as i want to i am afraid you think i am going to wait until the bairns are grown up before writing to my friends but indeed i shall not i fully intend to gather roses while i may since god has given me two blessings children and friends i shall enjoy them both as i go along i must tell you why i have not written as i should have done all summer long my eyes were so strained and painful that i had to let all reading and writing go and i have suffered terribly with my back but now i am able to be about again do most of my own work and my eyes are much better so now i shall not treat you so badly again if you could only know how kind everyone is to me you would know that even ill health has its compensations out here dear mrs louder with her goose grease her bread and her delicious kookins mrs oshaughnessy with her cheery ways her tireless friendship and willing capable hands chavo even with his tidbits of game and fish dear little corabelle came often to see me sometimes bringing me a little of grandpa's latest cure which i received on faith for of course i could not really swallow any of it zebby's nephew parker carter came out spent the summer with him and they have now gone back to yell county leaving chavo in charge again chavo had a most interesting and prosperous summer he was commissioned by a wealthy easterner to procure some fossils i had had such a confined summer that clad took me out to chavo's camp as soon as i was able to sit up and be driven we found him a way over in the badlands camped in a fine little grove he's a charming man to visit at any time and we found him in a particularly happy mood he had just begun to quarry a gigantic fine he had piles of specimens he had packed and shipped some rare specimens of fossil plants but his big find came later and he was jubilant to dig fossils successfully requires great care and knowledge but it is a work in which chavo excels he is a splendid cook i almost believe he can make a johnny rib like codfish and that night we had a delicious supper and all the time listening to a learned discourse about prehistoric things i enjoyed the meal and i enjoyed the talk but i could not sleep peacefully for being chased in my dreams by pterodactyls dinosaurs and iguanodons besides a great many horrible creatures whose names i have forgotten of course when the ground begins to freeze and snow comes fossil mining is done for until summer comes so java tends the critters and traps this winter i shall not get to go to the mountains this winter the babies are too small but there is always some happy and interesting thing happening and i shall have two pleasures each time my own enjoyment and getting to tell you of them end of chapter 17 chapter 18 of letters of a woman homesteader this libra vox recording is in the public domain letters of a woman homesteader by elinor pruitt stewart chapter 18 the homesteaders marriage and a little funeral december 2nd 1912 dear mrs coney every time i get a new letter from you i get a new inspiration and i am always glad to hear from you i have often wished i might tell you all about my Clyde but have not because of two things one is i could not even begin without telling you what a good man he is and i didn't want you to think i could do nothing but brag the other reason is the haste i married in i am ashamed of that i am afraid you will think me a becky sharp of a person but although i'm married in haste i have no cause to repent that is very fortunate because i have never had one bit of leisure to repent in so i am lucky all around the engagement was powerfully short because both agreed that the trend of events and ranch work seemed to require that we be married first and do our sparking afterward you see we had to chink in the wedding between times that is between planting the oats and other work that must be done early or not at all in wyoming ranchers can scarcely take time even to be married in the springtime that having been settled the license was sent for by mail and as soon as it came mr steward saddled chubb and went down to the house of mr pierce the justice of the peace and a friend of longstanding i had never met any of the family and naturally rather dreaded to have them come but mr steward was firm and wanting to be married at home so he told mr pierce and he wanted him and his family to come up the following wednesday and serve papers on the woman either host they were astonished of course but being such good friends they promised him all the assistance they could render they are quite the dearest most interesting family i have since learned to love them as my own well there was no time to make wedding clothes so i had to do up what i did have isn't it queer how sometimes do what you can work will keep getting in the way until you can't get anything done that is how it was with me those few days before the wedding so much so that when wednesday dawned everything was topsy turvy and i had a very strong desire to run away but i always did hate a piker so i stood pat well i had most of the dinner cooked but it kept me hustling to get the house into anything like decent order before the old dog barked and i knew my moments of liberty were limited it was blowing a perfect hurricane and snowing like midwinter i had bought a beautiful pair shoes to wear on that day but my vanity had squeezed my feet a little so while i was so busy at work i had kept on a worn old pair intending to put on the new ones later but when the piercings drove up all i thought about was getting them into the house where there was fire so i forgot all about the old shoes and the apron i wore i had only been here six weeks then and was a stranger that is why i had no one to help me and was so confused and hurried as soon as the newcomers were warm mr stewart told me i had better come over by him and stand up it was a large room i had to cross and how i did it before all those strange eyes i never knew all i can remember very distinctly is hearing mr stewart saying i will and myself chiming in that i would too happened into glance down i saw that i had forgotten to take off my apron or my old shoes but just then mr piercings pronounced us man and wife and as i had dinner to serve right away i had no time to worry over my odd toilet anyway the shoes were comfortable in the apron white so i suppose it could have been worse and i don't think it has ever made any difference with piercings for i numbered them all among my most esteemed friends it is customary here for newly weds to give a dance and supper at the hall but as i was a stranger i preferred not to and so it was a long time before i became acquainted with all my neighbors i had not thought i should ever marry again jareem was always such a dear little pal and i wanted to just knock about footloose and free to see life as a gypsy sees it i had planned to see the cliff dwellers home to live right there until i caught the spirit of the surroundings enough to live over their lives in imagination anyway i had planned to see the old missions and to go to alaska to hunt in canada i even dreamed of honolulu life stretched out before me one long happy jaunt i aimed to see all the world i could but to travel unknown by paths to do it but first i wanted to try homesteading but for my having the grip i should never have come to wyoming mrs saroyce who was a nurse at the institution for nurses in denver while i was housekeeper there had worked one summer at saratoga wyoming it was she who told me of the pine forests i had never seen a pine until i came to colorado so the idea of a home among the pines fascinated me at that time i was hoping to pass the civil service examination with no very definite idea as to what i would do but just to be improving my time and opportunity i never went to a public school a day in my life in my childhood days there was no such thing in the indian territory part of oklahoma where we lived so i have had to try hard to keep learning before the time came for the examination i was so discouraged because of the grip that nothing but the mountains the pines and the clean fresh air seemed worthwhile so it all came about just as i have written you so you see i was very deceitful do you remember i wrote you of a little baby boy dying that was my own little jamie our first little son for a long time my heart was crushed he was such a sweet beautiful boy i wanted him so much he died of ericipilus i held him in my arms till the last agony was over then i dressed the beautiful little body for the grave clad is a carpenter so i wanted him to make the little coffin he did it every bit and i lined and padded it trimmed and covered it not that we couldn't afford to buy one or that our neighbors were not all that was kind and willing but because it was a sad pleasure to do everything for our little firstborn ourselves as there had been no physician to help so there was no minister to comfort and i could not bear to let our baby leave the world without leaving any message to a community that sadly needed it his little message to us had been love so i selected a chapter from john and we had a funeral service at which all our neighbors for 30 miles around were present so you see our union is sealed by love and welded by a great sorrow little jamie was the first little steward god has given me two more precious little sons the old sorrow is not so keen now i can bear to tell you about it but i never could before when you think of me you must think of me as one who is truly happy it is true i want a great many things i haven't got but i don't want them enough to be discontented and not enjoy the many blessings that are mine i have my home among the blue mountains my healthy well-formed children my clean honest husband my kind gentle milk cows my garden which i make myself i have loads and loads of flowers which i tend myself there are lots of chickens turkeys and pigs which are my own special care i have some slow old gentle horses and an old wagon i can load up the kitties and go where i please anytime i have the best kindest neighbors and i have my dear absent friends do you wonder i am so happy when i think of it all i wonder how i can crowd all my joy into one short life i don't want you to think for one moment that you are bothering me when i write you it is a real pleasure to do so you're always so good to let me tell you everything i am only afraid of trying your patience too far even in this long letter i can't tell you all i want to so i shall write you again soon jarene will write too just now she has very sore fingers she has been picking gooseberries and they have been pretty severe on her brown little paws with much love to you i am honest and truly yours elinor rupert steward end of chapter 18