need is fourteen hundred dollars to outfit the family.â
Jenniferâs father shook his head. âIâm sorry Walt, not for thisâ¦â
âTwelve hundredâ¦â
âNo, no, I canât.â
âA thousand! Lend me a thousand dollarsâ¦â
âWalter, I just wonât do it.â
Jennifer let the two men talk on. Her father seemed firm and, besides, there was no reason to assume Walter would pursue this plan any more strenuously than he pursued the others.
Indeed, when Walter returned home from the army for good, and to a new baby girl, he talked a lot on the subject but did little else. Years passed that way.
But then, shortly before his fortieth birthday, Walter took a serious turn. While cleaning the house, Jennifer came across several books in a chest. One, with the profile of a buffalo on it, was entitled, The National Wagon Road Guide. And there were several others, all guidebooks for the would-be settler.
Once more, Jennifer felt obligated to challenge Walter, this time rallying her two small children to her side by filling their heads with all sorts of ideas.
âI donât like Indians!â Peter cried to his father.
âI donât like the desert!â wailed Emma.
Walter, glaring at his smug wife, took his children aside and told them not to worry. He even bribed them with stories of his own; that there were no schools out that way, that theyâd have plenty of friends to play with, and that theyâd each have a horse.
All this did the trick. âHooray for Kansas!â shouted Peter.
âHorray for Kansas!â repeated his little sister.
This left Jennifer virtually speechless, but she was still convinced that Walter would take no further action.
But he did. Week after week, Walter went about his preparations for leaving Ohio. He added to his meager savings by working constantly at various jobs, mostly as a handyman, and as he made his money, he purchased and stacked in the corner of the parlor those things he would need for the journey: a shovel, hoe, campstool, blankets, ropes, bandages, tool box, and so forthâincluding even his wifeâs own baggage, which he had taken the liberty to pack.
And, if there was still any doubt about his intentions, he soon put that to rest. One warm spring morning, he rode up to the house in an honest-to-God prairie schooner pulled by two yokes of oxen, just like the wagons Jennifer had seen in her Harperâs Weekly. The schoonerâs arching top scraped the laneâs overhanging tulip tree branches. The children from the neighborhood came running and climbed all over the wagon. Peter and Emma were very proud.
âWalter, I canât believe you actually â¦â started Jennifer as she emerged from the house and stood on the porch.
Walter just sat way up there on the seat, reins in hand, and glared silently down at his wife as if to say, âBelieve it.â
Jennifer descended the two planks from the porch and slowly walked around the wagon to inspect it. Soon, neighbors were stepping outside their houses for a look. A few approached the wagon. âSay, Walt, I guess youâre serious about leaving,â said one of them, puffing on a long, slender pipe while standing back and sizing up the schooner.
âI guess I am, Charley,â said Walter, following Jennifer with his eyes as she walked around the front of the oxen, who were snorting through black, runny nostrils. âWeâre heading out in a couple of weeks.â
Upon hearing this, Jennifer headed for the porch again, quickening her pace to reach the house before she burst into tears.
From that night on, Jennifer pleaded with her husband to change his mind. Her father, too, sat down with Walter several times to discuss the matter. Jennifer counted on her father. At least he wouldnât start crying if he became too frustrated. And Walter respected his opinion.
Unfortunately, Walter, this time, was
Jenniferâs father shook his head. âIâm sorry Walt, not for thisâ¦â
âTwelve hundredâ¦â
âNo, no, I canât.â
âA thousand! Lend me a thousand dollarsâ¦â
âWalter, I just wonât do it.â
Jennifer let the two men talk on. Her father seemed firm and, besides, there was no reason to assume Walter would pursue this plan any more strenuously than he pursued the others.
Indeed, when Walter returned home from the army for good, and to a new baby girl, he talked a lot on the subject but did little else. Years passed that way.
But then, shortly before his fortieth birthday, Walter took a serious turn. While cleaning the house, Jennifer came across several books in a chest. One, with the profile of a buffalo on it, was entitled, The National Wagon Road Guide. And there were several others, all guidebooks for the would-be settler.
Once more, Jennifer felt obligated to challenge Walter, this time rallying her two small children to her side by filling their heads with all sorts of ideas.
âI donât like Indians!â Peter cried to his father.
âI donât like the desert!â wailed Emma.
Walter, glaring at his smug wife, took his children aside and told them not to worry. He even bribed them with stories of his own; that there were no schools out that way, that theyâd have plenty of friends to play with, and that theyâd each have a horse.
All this did the trick. âHooray for Kansas!â shouted Peter.
âHorray for Kansas!â repeated his little sister.
This left Jennifer virtually speechless, but she was still convinced that Walter would take no further action.
But he did. Week after week, Walter went about his preparations for leaving Ohio. He added to his meager savings by working constantly at various jobs, mostly as a handyman, and as he made his money, he purchased and stacked in the corner of the parlor those things he would need for the journey: a shovel, hoe, campstool, blankets, ropes, bandages, tool box, and so forthâincluding even his wifeâs own baggage, which he had taken the liberty to pack.
And, if there was still any doubt about his intentions, he soon put that to rest. One warm spring morning, he rode up to the house in an honest-to-God prairie schooner pulled by two yokes of oxen, just like the wagons Jennifer had seen in her Harperâs Weekly. The schoonerâs arching top scraped the laneâs overhanging tulip tree branches. The children from the neighborhood came running and climbed all over the wagon. Peter and Emma were very proud.
âWalter, I canât believe you actually â¦â started Jennifer as she emerged from the house and stood on the porch.
Walter just sat way up there on the seat, reins in hand, and glared silently down at his wife as if to say, âBelieve it.â
Jennifer descended the two planks from the porch and slowly walked around the wagon to inspect it. Soon, neighbors were stepping outside their houses for a look. A few approached the wagon. âSay, Walt, I guess youâre serious about leaving,â said one of them, puffing on a long, slender pipe while standing back and sizing up the schooner.
âI guess I am, Charley,â said Walter, following Jennifer with his eyes as she walked around the front of the oxen, who were snorting through black, runny nostrils. âWeâre heading out in a couple of weeks.â
Upon hearing this, Jennifer headed for the porch again, quickening her pace to reach the house before she burst into tears.
From that night on, Jennifer pleaded with her husband to change his mind. Her father, too, sat down with Walter several times to discuss the matter. Jennifer counted on her father. At least he wouldnât start crying if he became too frustrated. And Walter respected his opinion.
Unfortunately, Walter, this time, was
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