Boone ~ The Early Years ~
Ernest Bywater
Boone
~ The Early Years ~
All rights reserved and copyright © 2016
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. All rights are reserved by the author, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
Product names, brands, and other trademarks referred to within this book are the property of their respective trademark holders. Unless otherwise specified there is no association between the author and any trademark holder is expressed or implied. Nor does it express any endorsement by them, or of them. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, service mark, or registered trademark.
Cover Art
The images are Original Henry.jpg from Henry Repeating Arms (is used with their permission), CoachGun.jpg by Commander Zulu (is used with his permission), and Convertremwib.jpg by Michael E. Cumpston (placed in the public domain by him). The adding of text, manipulation, and merging is done by Ernest Bywater.
23 April 2022 version
Published by Ernest Bywater
E-book ISBN: 978-1-387-27568-7
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Note: Due to the main character and the narrator being US citizens US English is used in this story.
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The title styles in use are a chapter, a sub-chapter, and a section.
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Foreword
This story is a bit different to what I usually write. It's written in US English spelling because all of the characters, and thus the narrator too, are US born characters. It's set in the mid 1800s, but I'm not going to use the slang and speech style of the period, mainly due to the story covering a number of dialect areas where I've not the knowledge or the experience to get them all correct. Rather than get most of it wrong I think it's better to just write it using today's English and to warn you all about it first.
There is one chapter I expect some people will be upset about what I have to say in it. A large part of it is from the information in original source documents of the time, and part of it is from the analysis of the source records by later historians. Some parts are a rephrasing of the opinions of people from that time, or later, as stated in the documents written by them. There are a few straight forward facts, and they're presented as facts in some of the story dialogue of those discussing the events of the time. Over the years these facts have been interpreted in many ways by a lot of different people, usually their interpretation is biased toward their personal belief. The way I present them is my opinion of how they should be interpreted, and it is as valid as any other interpretation. So, please, if you disagree with some of the points made about the old politics in the story don't send me an email claiming I'm wrong. Just accept it's my opinion and you disagree with it.
The reason for including the political discussion is to provide a solid background for how some of the characters think and act in a way different to how some people would expect them to. It's there to tell you why some act one way and some act another, due to the depth of their feelings about the differences of their opinions on those matters. It's also there because the politics shaped the way events happened at that time.
The story starts in Lexington, Virginia, USA, and it stays there until they move to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, while on the way to go west. Then the story moves west. I've made a point to include the states when I mention most towns because one of my editors had some confusion as to what states the characters were in due to towns of similar names in a number of different states, so the state is in the narrative with the town.
Cowboys and Guns
There's a lot of authenticated information about how people lived and worked in what most people call the 'Old West' and the 'Wild West,' the names for the states and territories between the USA Rocky Mountain and Appalachian Mountain ranges during the nineteenth century. But most people only know what's in the books and films about the era.
The majority of what you see in the Hollywood shows and films on Cowboys and the Wild West relates to a couple of episodes in limited areas and small time-frames of the nineteenth century USA. There were some hired guns and fast guns, but not many. Violence did occur from time to time, usually with robbers attacking travelers, stagecoaches, and the local small town banks - not the government recognized big banks in cities. In the towns and cities few people wore guns, and outside of them most people had guns handy. People were armed with knives, shotguns, or rifles for use against dangerous animals and bandits. A lot of the people who spent most of their time on horseback did carry handguns, usually it was in a holster on the saddle in the same way a rifle is carried. Thus the rider was able to quickly draw the handgun to shoot something nearby while on horseback when attacked by wildlife, the main reason for having the gun. Usually it's an older revolver because older guns were much cheaper than new ones, and all guns were expensive. A rifle for hunting was where the people spent the most money on new guns. Some towns had local laws against people wearing handguns within the town limits, and most of the people obeyed the laws. Thus the shootouts we see in books and films were very rare in real life while roadside robberies were much more common events. A lot of law officers of the era carried shotguns to intimidate people, which they did. The few people who wore a handgun in a belt holster were most often criminals or lawmen or hired guards, because few honest men had a reason to carry a handgun on them all of the time. A few people did go armed for their own protection, and many such men had previously worked as hired guards or lawmen, but not all of them. Most people of wealth also went armed, but they usually carried a smaller caliber concealed handgun or a knife.
This story unfolds against this background and not the Hollywood version of the era. Here most armed crime happens outside of towns.
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Disaster
Kenneth 'Ken' Nichols has a good farm in Virginia that's doing well. However, a very strong thunderstorm in the summer of 1848 changes everything for Ken and his family. Lightning starts a fire on the edge of the next property, but the strong wind blows toward Ken's farm and sets his crops on fire. Most of the good crops he started harvesting a few days before are now a blazing ruin. The whole family and all of the neighbors are out working to contain the fire to save what they can of the crops, but it's too late for most of Ken's crops before they can get ready to properly fight the fire. For five hours they fight the fire, grudgingly giving up the ground when the strong winds blow burning debris past them and they have to pull back further or risk being trapped and killed by the fire.
Into the night they continue to fight the blaze with little effect on the fire. However, a couple of hours after sunset the wind dies down and a heavy rain starts. The rain extinguishes the fire, so most of the people go home. Ken and his three oldest sons stay out in the rain walking the fields to make sure all of the fire is out before they go home for a meal.
The full extent of the damage is known the next day. One neighbor lost half of the field the fire started in, two others lost part of their first fields beside the Nichols farm when the fire spread sideways. The bulk of the damage is to the Nichols farm with most of the crop fields destroyed, except for the two fields already harvested and the one field beside them. Not all is lost, but far more is lost than the farm can afford to lose. All they can get from the harvest will see them get through the winter, but they'll not have grain to use for next year's planting. Just when Ken was able to put a little aside from last year's crops the fire destroys the farm.
Plans
The next day Ken and his family work hard to harvest what they've got left of their crop. When they finish the harvesting they work on the burnt out fields to plow the ashes under while hoping something will grow in what's left of the season to provide some grazing or fodder for their few animals. Although the farm is mostly a crop farm they do have a few cattle as well as the horses and mules they use to work the farm.
While he works Ken thinks about his situation. To plant crops next year he'll need seed, and to buy seed he'll need to borrow money from the bank in Lexington, Virginia. Once he does that any other problem will likely see them lose the farm. It's a bleak future he sees. Then he remembers a talk with Mr James, the owner of the mercantile store. Mr James spoke about the new lands being opened up in the west and he said something about 'free land' for new settlers who go there. Ken didn't think much of it at the time, but he now thinks it's worth looking into.
On the Wednesday two weeks after the fire Ken is in town to get some supplies. When he pays for them from his small savings he asks, “Mister James, do you still have the newspaper articles about the land in the west you spoke about last month?”
Mr James smiles as he replies, “Yes, I do, Mister Nichols. I kept the articles aside when I used the rest of the papers. I'll get them for you.”
A few minutes later Ken is reading about being able to claim six hundred and forty acres of land in the Oregon Territory just by going there. Reading further into the article he sees his eldest son can also claim the same amount of land. Between them they'll have about triple the land they currently own and work. Another article tells about the Oregon Trail with some of the problems in getting to the west from the east. From the article it's clear the trip isn't impossible, but you do have to be prepared for it and be ready to work hard to get there. It also makes it clear you need to leave early in the spring to make the trip with safety.
Ken thanks Mr James when he hands the articles back. That night Ken talks to his family about moving to Oregon. It's a long evening of talking about the idea of moving to Oregon and the troubles in traveling there.
Preparations
There's very little to do on the farm now there's no crops to harvest, so Ken and his boys get out the timber Ken stored in the back of the barn to build extensions on the house and barn. The trees he cleared two years ago are properly dried out and seasoned to be of use too. First is to cut the wood into the sizes needed to build some decent wagons strong enough to make the trip to Oregon. Ken was taught how to build wagons by his grandfather and father, so he knows what to do. He left where he grew up to become a farmer because he wasn't needed in the family wagon building business run by his three oldest uncles and their sons.
Although the wagons aren't exactly the Conestoga style they're close enough to be called Conestoga Wagons. The wagons are built in the same manner with the same basic shape and sizes, but they've a few changes: a driver's seat at the wagon's front, they're a little wider, have a hitch at the back to pull another wagon, while the more upright back has less of an angle on it, plus the four wheels are all the same size and are a lot wider than usual. When Ken finishes the two new wagons he works on the two farm wagons to make them stronger and more suited for the long journey. He attaches high arched bows to put a cover on each of the wagons and he changes the tongues of the farm wagons to attach to the rear of the new wagons. This way he can have four wagons pulled by two slightly larger than normal mule teams. All four of the wagons are well caulked and tarred to make them as waterproof as they can be.
The last task to ready the wagons is to make the canvas covers for all four of them. Most people make a cover of single layer of canvas for each wagon, but Ken knows, from the articles he read, he needs to be ready for any weather that can occur. So he spends some of his savings to buy materials to make multi-layered covers for all of the wagons. A canvas layer is measured, cut to fit, and sewn together. Then a cover of cotton boiled in linseed oil is made of the same size, but with the seams at different points to the canvas cover. Last is another canvas cover of the same size with the seams in a third spot, and the three are sewn together along their edges. A set of front and back covers of overlapping sections are made in the same way for each wagon. Once placed on the wagons each wagon is very waterproof with flaps people can slip through when they need to, and the flaps have cords to tie them together against the weather when they need to.
Ken and all his sons work on the wagons during the day, while in the evenings the whole family is involved in many talks about what to take. The plan is for the two large wagons to be loaded with the heavy items then left that way for the full length of the trip while the two light wagons will be loaded with their clothes, food, water, and other lighter items. Extra guns and munitions are the first items on the list of items to purchase, due to the many listed dangers on the trail. But first they finish making a list of everything they're taking from the farm.
Once they work out what they're taking they start to load the bulk of the gear they're taking from the farm into the wagons. At that point Ken decides to make cover boards for the front and back of the new wagons, and the back of one of the converted farm wagons. By putting boards in they can stack things better and higher in the new wagons, they just have to make sure what goes up high isn't heavy. They start by packing the farm equipment and tools into the lower part of the two new wagons, tie them down well, and pack around them with whatever they can to fill the gaps to minimize the chances of anything shifting. Winter is nearly over when that's done, and now they need to wait until the weather improves before they pack any more of their gear and supplies.
While waiting for the weather to improve Ken visits his neighbors to sell most of his stock and to buy other stock he needs for the journey, as well as asking if anyone wants to buy his farm. Deals are made, and soon all of the stock he has left is sixteen mules with four horses. He only needs twelve mules at six for each wagon pair, but he thinks having two more mules for each wagon will make the work easier on them while giving him a few extras if there's any trouble on the trail. The neighbor where the fire started buys the farm and remaining gear from him at a fair price.
Ken uses the money from the sale of the farm to start buying the extra things they'll need for the journey, or at the other end of it. Most of the journey use items go into the back of the first farm wagon. Now the only things left to buy are the extra food items then they can load the remaining furniture they're taking and the last of their personal gear.
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More Trouble
Right near the end of winter there's a sudden late heavy rain. Ken's youngest son, six-year-old Boone, is caught out in it while away from the house. He gets home, dries off, and puts on clean dry clothes. The next day he isn't feeling well, and that night he has a high fever. The following morning his mother, Martha, takes Boone in to see the doctor.
Not sure what the illness is the doctor advises bed rest and fluids until he's better. When asked, he's unable to say how long the fever will last or even if Boone will survive the illness.
For the next three days Boone lies in his bed tossing and turning in the fever. While his grandmother, Mary White, tends to Boone the rest of the family is busy packing the furniture and other household items into the four wagons. When a wagon is fully loaded with everything in it and tied down the canvas cover is put on then tied down very tight as well.
A week after the rainstorm all is ready for them to leave, except Boone is still in a raging fever and any movement hurts him. Ken and Mary are in a quandary as this is the day they have to leave to travel the Oregon Trail in good weather but they can't, due to Boone's illness. The matter comes to a head when the doctor calls to see Boone.
After his examination the doctor tells the parents, “I don't know what's wrong with the boy. I've no idea how long the fever will last or if he'll live through it.” All who hear him are shocked and saddened by the last part. “I've not heard of anyone being in a high fever this long and living through it. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for him.”
After the doctor leaves Mary says, “Ken, you need to get the family on the road. Help me get my bags and Boone's bag out of the wagon. I'll stay and nurse him. Send me a letter to tell me where you end up, and we'll be along after he recovers enough to travel. When you go through town buy me supplies for two weeks and have someone bring them out to me.” They talk for a few minutes more, but end up doing as Mary tells them to. A little later Mary's three bags and Boone's single bag are sitting on the floor in the main room with two beds, two plates, two cups, two forks, two knives, two spoons, a skillet, a pot, a cooking spoon, and an ax.
Mary sees the family off then she goes inside to sort things out. Both of the remaining beds, the worst two of them, are set in front of the fire in the main room with their things beside them. The rest of the house is an empty shell, even the nice cook stove is packed on one of the wagons. Mary will have to do their cooking over the fire in the fireplace.
Four hours later Mr Davis, the new owner, arrives at the farm with the supplies from town Ken bought for Mary and Boone. Mr Davis was buying his own supplies when Ken went through town and told him about the situation, so Mr Davis brought the purchases for Mary out to her. He says, “Mary, I don't need this house yet. But I will by the time spring ends because I need to get it ready for my Jim and his Betty for their wedding in June. I'll let you stay here until then.”
While taking the box of supplies from him Mary says, “Thank you, Mister Davis. One way or the other, we should be out of here well before then. By then Boone will either be dead or he'll have recovered enough for us to go somewhere else.”
“I know he isn't contagious, or so the doctor said, but why didn't you just load him up and take him in the wagon?”
“Every time he moves he screams in pain.” She walks over to lift the blanket covering the boy and she points at his legs, “See how his legs are all tied up in knots! Whatever is wrong with him makes it too painful to shift him, let alone ride in a wagon all day long.”
“Damn! Poor mite. I'll have someone drop around to check with you every day or two. If you need them to go and get you supplies just tell them what you want and give them the money. I can spare them for a few hours to get the supplies for you.”
“Thank you, Mister Davis. We should be right for the next two weeks. There should be enough here in what you brought, and there's enough cut wood out the back to last that long. It should all be over, one way or the other, before we run out of either.” Mr Davis nods his agreement then he takes his leave of the pair.
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Passing Time
For several more days Boone lies in the bed with the high fever, and Mary spoons broth into him whenever she can. She keeps the pot on the side of the fire so she has it warm for him whenever she feels it's safe to give him some. Mr Davis, or one of his workers, visits every other day to see how Mary and Boone are. Their supplies are almost finished when Mr Davis and his daughter-in-law to be arrive to look at the house. Betty soon has her future father-in-law going to town with the money and list of supplies Mary has ready, then the young woman asks Mary about the house. By the time Mr Davis is back Mary is hired by Betty to give the house a very thorough cleaning and to help make some curtains for the windows from the cloth Betty will supply.
The days pass and the fever finally breaks, then Boone's health starts to improve. Two weeks after the fever breaks he's able to get up and move about well enough to help with scrubbing all of the floors during the day as part of the cleaning of the house. In the evening he helps with the sewing of the curtains, after Mary teaches him how to sew properly.
During spring letters arrive from Martha telling Mary where they are and how the journey has gone so far. They receive a letter about every other week, at first. Then they get fewer with longer gaps due to the distances between places where they can post letters.
The day before the wedding of Jim and Betty the house is ready with everything set up for them. Mary and Boone turn to look at the house for one last time. They're sitting in a wagon on loan from Mr Davis to move their few things to the house they'll be living in from now on. Mary has a job helping to cook and clean at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia, and part of the arrangement is to share a house with one of the other ladies who helps with the cooking and cleaning at VMI.
Boone's health continues to improve after the fever passes, but he's left with a mild limp due to the damage done to his left leg muscles while he was in the fever. He exercises and works hard to build up his strength and stamina. At VMI he does work around the house they live in, like chopping firewood and helping to clean the house. When Boone gets older he does paid work running errands for the staff at VMI.
Life Moves On
Martha's letters turn up at times, and, from the contents, Mary knows some letters have gone astray on their way east due to Martha touching on things told in earlier letters not in the letters they received. At first the mail is forwarded to them by Betty. After Martha, Ken, and Boone's five siblings get to Oregon and choose land to settle on they're able to give Mary the address of the store in the nearest town as a place to send mail for them. So Mary sends them the new address for Boone and herself. Ken and Martha are able to claim land for themselves and both of their eldest sons when they reached Oregon. They're lucky to be some of the last few to claim land under the old local system because the system is reported to be changing soon. They now have three of the six hundred and forty acre claims to work. Working as a team they're able to prove all three of the claims and to quickly obtain the full titles to all of the land.
It's a few years before Mary declares Boone to be well enough to go on the trip to Oregon, but now neither wants to go. So they write to his parents with their decision to stay in Virginia. Both households send a letter each way every month or two as they settle into their new lives on both sides of the continent.
Boone continues to grow healthier and stronger while learning a lot of things from Mary and Heidi, the other cook / cleaner they share the house with. Both of the ladies teach Boone how to cook, make and mend clothes, and everything else they can think of, like speaking German.
After Mary teaches Boone how to read he's allowed to read the books in the VMI library. Whenever he has spare time from other tasks Boone is allowed to sit in the back of the classrooms to listen to what's being taught. However, he's to remain silent while in the classrooms and he isn't allowed to speak, nor to ask questions. Although he gets no formal recognition of what he learns he does learn a lot on a wide range of general subjects and the military training they give to the official students. Between the classes, the library reading, plus hearing what the students and staff talk about Boone gets to know the subjects well as he's there for many years - more than double the years of the cadets!
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Other Work
During the break between one scholastic year ending and the next one starting there are a few things to be done around the Institute to get ready. However, most of the work is in the two weeks just prior to the new school year, thus there are many weeks in the break when Boone has no work at VMI. Mary and Heidi still work to cook and clean for the staff who stay at the Institute, but Boone has no work and no pay at VMI.
From when he's ten years of age Boone finds extra paid work at the horse ranch of Mr Gray. Some of the best horses in the state are raised at the ranch, many people say some of the best horses in the country. Much of the work Boone does is the same sort of fetch and carry of items he does at VMI. However, with Boone doing a lot of that work it means an adult doesn't have to do it, so they can do something more demanding. The work conditions and the daily pay of a dollar are the same, but it's still better than no pay at all; although he does have to live on the ranch while he works there. In later years Boone does some weekend work at the Gray Ranch when he's not needed at VMI. So he earns more money at those times and he can put more into his savings for the future.
The summer when Boone is twelve years old he's working at the ranch when some new horses are delivered. One of them is a fourteen and a half hands high chestnut Morgan stallion. The horse looks to be a perfect example of the breed. However, once the horses are put into the corral beside the barn no one can get near the stallion. One by one all of the other new horses are brought out, shoes checked, and released into another field. But whenever anyone goes near the chestnut stallion the horse becomes wild and attacks them. So they leave him there by himself.
Everyone at the ranch is standing outside the fence looking at the Morgan horse when Mr Gray says, “I was warned this horse would be a handful, but they never said he'd be this hard to handle. They call him 'Brownie.' He'll be a good stud horse, if we can tame him.”
Boone looks at the horse, glances over at the empty water trough in the corral, then asks, “Are you going to leave him in the corral for a while, Mister Gray?” Mr Gray gives a nod, so Boone adds, “Then I best put water in the trough for him.” A nod, so Boone turns and walks away.
A minute later Boone is back with a bucket of water in each hand. He says, “Open the gate, please, Mister Jim.”
The ranch hand asked is nearest to the gate, so he opens it to let Boone into the corral while saying, “Aren't you afraid Brownie will attack you, Boone? He's had a go at everyone else.”
“Everyone else has tried to catch him. I'm just walking over to put water out for him. Also, I'm a lot smaller than you lot and he'll see me as less of a threat to him.”
Boone pours the water into the trough and turns to get more. There once was a well and pump to feed this trough, but it dried up years ago and there's been no need to dig a new well because they no longer keep any animals in this corral for long. This means Boone has a job to get the water from the well and pump on the other side of the barn and to carry it here. When Boone gets to the gate he finds two full buckets of water waiting because one of the other hands brought them over. Boone hands over the empty buckets, picks up the full ones, and goes back to the trough to pour these two buckets into it. The horse stands on the other side of the corral watching Boone walk back and forth with the buckets.
It takes a lot of buckets of water to fill an empty trough, so Boone is still going back and forth ten minutes later when Brownie moves to the far end of the trough to have a drink. When Boone approaches him the horse watches Boone with wary eyes, but all Boone does is to pour the water in, turn around, and go back for the new buckets of water. For the next few trips the horse drinks while Boone goes back and forth with the buckets, but Boone doesn't directly approach the horse at all.
After twenty minutes of bucket work Boone returns one pair to get the next two while asking, “Can someone please get me a wheelbarrow load of hay for the hay rack and a large bucket of grain?” Two of the hands nod to him, turn, and walk toward the barn. A little later he returns with the two empty buckets to see a wheelbarrow of hay and a bucket of grain are just inside the gate, waiting for him. Boone puts the buckets down, walks to the barrow, lifts it by the handles, and pushes it over to the hay rack on the other side of the water trough, a little past the horse.
Brownie watches Boone while he takes a wide path around the horse to come up to the hay rack without getting close enough to scare the horse. After a few minutes of work the hay is in the rack ready for the horse to eat, then Boone takes the wheelbarrow back to the gate. When he turns to take the grain over to the hook on the wall Brownie is at the hay rack. Boone shrugs, picks up the bucket of grain, and slowly walks over to where he has to hang it. Brownie turns to face Boone when he gets to about ten feet from the horse. Boone speaks softly as he says, “I've only got some grain here for you. Let me hang this up and get out of the way.”
There's only three feet between them when Boone hangs the bucket of grain on the large hook set in the wall. He turns and walks away to get the full water buckets. For the next several minutes Boone is carrying water again. Once he has the trough full he asks for an apple, and when Mr Gray gives him one cut into quarters Boone places the apple bits on the trough end nearest to Brownie before he leaves the corral.
Over the next few days Boone spends a lot of time carting water and feed into the corral for Brownie. On the fourth day Boone is surprised to be nudged on the shoulder by Brownie so the horse can get at the hay Boone is putting in the rack. While shaking his head Boone walks away to get the grain to refill the grain bucket on the wall. Once he has the grain and the water refilled Boone goes back to putting hay in the rack while Brownie is still there eating the hay. At one point the horse stops to give Boone's hand a good sniff, so Boone holds still for a moment.
While Brownie is checking Boone out Boone is giving Brownie a close look over. Boone decides to try something, so he goes to get an apple, cuts it into quarters, but instead of leaving it on the side of the trough the way he usually does he holds out his hand with an apple quarter on it. Brownie turns to look at Boone for a moment, snorts, reaches over, takes the apple, and eats it. After Boone feeds him all the bits of apple Boone says, “I'll be back to check on you, Brownie.” The horse turns, looks at Boone, then nods his head up and down.
Mrs Gray is watching all this, and when Boone nears the gate she says, “It looks like you've tamed him, Boone.”
After letting out a long sigh Boone says, “No, Ma'am, I've not tamed him. But I have made friends with him. You can't see it from here, but when I'm right up close to him I can see where some mangy cur has abused the heck out that fine horse. Scars on scars on scars. They've been at his flanks with large spurs and whips. No wonder he hates people!” Mrs Gray's eyes go very wide. Boone adds, “I think you can still use him as a good stud stallion, but you'll have to do it his way. Set up a good sized field with some open shelter without any doors, just three walls and a roof, but it'll have to be large so he knows you can't sneak up on him. It'll have to have it's own water supply plus a way to feed in the hay and grain without going near him. That way he can be fed and watered and he can take shelter from the weather. When a mare is ready bring her to his field, let her in, and collect her later. There's no way you'll be able to take him to a mare the way you do with the other stallions. Just leave them alone in his field and he'll get the job done for you.” Boone starts to turn away, then he turns back, “Also, whoever you have feeding him better not be all that big. I'm sure the only reason he accepts me is because I'm a lot smaller than those who abused him.”
The next day Olive Gray, a daughter of Mr Gray who's a year younger than Boone, is helping him feed and water Brownie. Within a week Brownie is accepting apples from her and letting her near the rack while he's at it. However, Brownie still won't let either of them touch him or reach toward him. All contact has to be started and made by Brownie.
Three weeks after Brownie arrived at the ranch Boone is given the task of moving him to his new field. It's larger than most of the fields because once he's in it they won't be moving him out of it. There's a big barn without an end on it with the open end facing the direction the wind rarely comes from. There's also a small stream through the field.
Boone walks over with a cut up apple and feeds Brownie the apple while saying, “Right, Brownie. I hope you're feeling friendly today. I've got to get you shifted to better quarters, so please work with me on it.” Boone takes the grain bucket off the wall, turns, holds the bucket over his right shoulder, and slowly walks to the gate. Olive opens the gate and steps away from the gateway. The only other gate open is the one to the new field as all of the other gateways are blocked. Brownie stands and watches Boone for a moment, then he slowly follows Boone out the gate.
It takes several slow minutes for the two to walk the two hundred feet out of one gate, into the other, and over to the shelter. Boone pours the grain into the grain trough beside the hay rack while Brownie watches him from outside the shelter. Boone walks out of the shelter and he points to the grain while saying, “There's the grain and hay for you. We can fill it from outside and not bother you. You can see the stream runs through the shelter and out into this nice large field you can run in. There's not a thing for you to be afraid of here.”
Brownie watches while Boone moves out into the middle of the field before the horse goes in to have a look at the shelter, sniff everything, and taste the water. Brownie walks out, looks across the field, and races across to the far side before racing back. Brownie walks up to Boone, nudges his shoulder, and nods his head. Boone smiles, gets out an apple, cuts it up, and feeds it to Brownie while saying, “I've got other work to do, so I won't be seeing you every day from now on. Olive will be looking after you, but I'll visit when I can.” Boone walks out of the gate and shuts it behind him. Brownie comes over to the gate and accepts some apple quarters from Olive before racing off across the field again.
Two days later Olive leads one of the in-season mares into the field and leaves her there. Three days after that she collects the mare and leaves another one for Brownie to visit with. Over the years Brownie sires many good horses for the Gray Ranch. Olive and Boone are the only people Brownie will let anywhere near him.
Friendships
Over the years Boone sees a lot of the Gray family, especially Olive and her next elder sister, Nellie, who's a year older than Boone. Olive and Boone become very close friends and he thinks about courting her, but they're so far apart on the social ladder he doesn't even ask if he can. He just enjoys the time they have together on the ranch. Often it's time down at Brownie's field. Boone also becomes good friends with Nellie Gray while doing other work around the ranch, and he has similar thoughts about her. Both are nice girls and both have a good sense of humor very similar to his. Boone likes them both and he enjoys his time with them.
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Politics!
The paid work Boone does around the Virginia Military Institute is mostly running errands for the staff: collecting or delivering things from or to other parts of VMI, or to places in Lexington, Virginia. Thus he spends a lot of time with the staff and he listens to what they have to say about current affairs. He also gets to read the newspapers the staff buy, read, and then leave on the side tables. Thus Boone is well versed in the political and current affairs, much more so than most people of his age.
In the late summer of 1859 Boone is working with some of the staff on a few tasks preparing the school for the incoming students due soon. While they work seventeen year old Boone listens to them discussing a range of topics of concern to many of them. A few days later he's doing a task for a teacher from the state of Maine and Boone asks him, “Excuse me, Sir, why are so many of the teachers arguing about the tariffs? I can see how low tariffs make things cheaper to buy, so why are some for higher tariffs and some are so much against them?”
The teacher smiles as he turns to Boone to say, “Boone, one of the things to keep in mind when people discuss political issues is where the person comes from, and another is to remember what their family does for a living. The tariffs apply to goods bought from overseas and those sold to overseas. But the main issue is the goods shipped in. In Europe and Great Britain they've a thriving set of manufacturing industries that have been going for some time. They also have more people they can sell their goods to. This means the items are cheaper than those made in this country. A high tariff will result in increased sales of the local goods.”
“Oh, I get it! The people who make the goods locally want to sell them and they've trouble selling them due to the cheaper foreign ones while the people who buy them just want the lowest price possible. Now what about the goods going out?”
“Most of what we sell overseas are plantation crop products from the Southern States, cotton and tobacco being the two major ones. A tariff on them forces the overseas price up and they're harder to sell. The other aspect is the monies raised from the tariffs go to the federal government, not to the state governments. By restricting the tariffs they also starve the federal government of funds to do things and they've a tighter control of it. So the whole thing comes down to profits for the sellers, low prices for the buyers, and control of funds for political activities.” Boone thinks for a moment, then nods his head in agreement. “I'm sure you've heard a lot of talk about politics around here, mostly with a slant toward the needs of the Southern States over those of the Northern States. Keep in the front of your mind most of the people saying that are from families dependent on the plantation profits for their fancy living and power. All things to do with politics comes down to two things. First is who has the power to do what, and make more money from it. The second is to do with those who make money, and how they can get more power out of it. Power equals money, and money equals power. They'll talk about everything under the sun, but it all boils down to those two sets of actions.”
“I'm not sure I understand all that, Sir. How does it apply to the new states being accepted to the Union? That seems to be a big issue right now, and it has been an issue for as long as I can remember.”
“That's a good question, Boone. It isn't about having new states or their borders, as such. But it's about the question of slavery and how the new states may change the balance of power in the federal government. This is a very old issue that hasn't been resolved. Without going into the issue of slavery being right or wrong, is there any doubt in your mind the large plantations are making a good profit because they use slaves?”
“No doubt, Sir. A few years back I wondered about it because a couple of the young gentlemen were arguing it wasn't profitable to work the land using slaves. They said it was cheaper to hire workers.”
“Yes, I remember that discussion. It came up in a couple of classes. I believe it was resolved along the lines of it not being economical to work a small farm with slaves, but when you get to a large labor intensive plantation using hundreds of people to do the work it becomes cheaper to use slaves than to hire people. I know some of the staff did the work and figuring to show it was so.”
“I never did fully understand the figuring they did on that, Sir. But I looked at how the cotton plantations use a much larger group of people to harvest the crop than my Pa did to bring in the wheat and corn. So I thought it came back to the number of workers and how much it cost you to have them around.”
“That's the major part of the issue about using slaves. Take the costs of a worker like a slave. You need clothes, housing, and food for them. However, when you buy clothes for a hundred people the cost for each set is a lot lower than if you buy only one set. Also, you can save more if they can't argue about the low quality of the clothing being less than they want. Making a large stew to feed a hundred people will cost you about the same as what it costs to feed ten people a normal meal, and if you use poor quality food you save more. The same is true for housing as the cost of a big barracks housing fifty to a hundred people is about double the cost of a house for one person. For close to what you pay for six to ten paid people you can do the same for a hundred slaves. That's why it makes sense for the plantation owners to use slaves, but not for the small farmers. If the plantation owners have to pay for farm workers the costs to produce the cotton and tobacco will go up a lot and they'll make a lot less money from the crops. So they want things to stay the way they are.” Boone nods his agreement on seeing that aspect. “Now the bit about the new states comes down to the federal government making laws for or against slavery. There's a lot of conflicting opinion on it. The only sure fact is in July seventeen eighty-seven the federal government made a law to exclude slavery in the Northwest Territory, but the law wasn't binding on the states they would become. Since then a series of compromises has kept the number of states for slavery balanced with those against slavery. Now many claim it's up to the people in the new states to say if they'll allow slavery or not. If the balance goes too far against slavery the ones who have slaves are worried it will end with federal laws doing away with slavery and it'll cost the slave owners a lot of money.”
“Thank you, Sir. I now understand a lot more about why the new states coming into the Union is such an issue for some. What's your understanding of the laws on slavery at the federal level, Sir?”
The teacher turns to Boone and says, “This is strictly between you and me, Boone. It's my belief the federal government doesn't have the constitutional right to make laws for or against slavery for the country as a whole. The way the constitution and laws are written I'm sure they see it that way as well. The Northwest Territory Ordinance codified the right for the federal government to make laws on slavery for the federal territory, but not the states. They left the decision up to the states to do. At this point the decision for or against slavery is up to each state and the federal government can't do a thing about changing it within a state. Nor does anyone at the federal level want to go about upsetting the way things are. However, if some pro or anti-slavery people push things too far I expect others in the federal government will push back, and part of the push back will be to find a way to give them the power to make laws on slavery in a way to make them binding on all of the states. The extremists on both sides of the question don't agree with me. That's why the concern about new states not being balanced. I don't think they need to be balanced, but others worry what the outcomes will be if they aren't balanced. However, the bigger issue, for some, is they wish to expand their plantations by obtaining large tracts of land in the new territories or states and then set up to operate how they do here with lots of slaves. It's this group that's the biggest concern for me. They insist no federal government or other state has the right to tell them not to own slaves, but they insist they have the right to tell the other states they have to permit them to have slaves within their state. That sort of blind holding to a single point of view without any give or acceptance of the other to have an opinion different to yours will only lead to major trouble. The same problem exists with those who have the exact opposite view on slavery.”
While they continue with the work they're doing the two talk on the issues raised for a lot longer. Boone has a lot to think about when he goes home that night. He talks about the content of the discussion with both Mary and Heidi, but he doesn't say who he talked with. He's a bit surprised when both of the ladies not only agree with what he was told, but they expand on it from what they've seen during their long lives.
Constitutional Concerns
Some months later, on a cold snowy day in mid December 1859, Boone is stacking wood beside the fireplace in one of the rooms used by the teaching staff when the staff start a discussion about the recent calls for secession from some of the political leaders in the Southern States. One of the teachers claims it is possible for them to secede because it has been done twice before in the War of Independence and again in 1786 when the Constitution of the USA replaced the Articles of Confederation.
A senior professor stands up to say, “Before you go too far along this path of discussing secession you need to be fully aware of the two events you claim as a precedence. In the first case our ancestors declared their total independence from the government of the day due to not having any representation in the government, they boldly set out on a rebellion. Make no bones about that, Gentlemen, they rebelled against their lawful government of the day. They had just cause to do so, then won the war. But it was a bloody and costly war. Today we have representation in the government in Washington, so that is not a valid reason to go against the current government. After the rebellion the colonial governments created a document they called the 'Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Between the States of ...' and then listed all of the colonies now states. That document was an agreement between the governments of the new states created from the former colonies. Keep that in mind, Gentlemen, an agreement between all of the colonial state governments. A new document was written and each state government put it to the people of their state in a convention to choose to accept the new document and to be part of the new government body being created by the 'Constitution of the United States of America.' The state governments chose to leave one agreement and to put the other to their citizens.”
He's interrupted by a younger member of staff saying, “And that's why we can step away from this constitution to make a new one!”
The senior professor says, “You are wrong, Sir, very wrong. Go read the preamble, then think about how it was accepted. The citizens of each state had to vote to accept the new constitution, and they did so. In doing that they became part of a larger body than their state.”
Again he's interrupted by a staff member with a book open as he reads from it, “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” He emphasizes the first two phrases and the last phrase of what he reads.
The senior professor says, “Exactly, Sir. We the people of the United States do ordain and establish this Constitution. The people created the new government, not the thirteen states. The only way for the Union to be lawfully dissolved would be for every citizen to vote to have the Union dissolved, and that, Sir, is never likely to happen. Those in state governments may think their predecessors created the Union, but they didn't, the people did. So make no mistake. This is not secession you're talking about, but outright rebellion and treason, bloody war against your lawful government where you have representation. I suggest you read Article One, Section Ten of the Constitution on treason by a state as well. Then keep all that in mind when you push for action to take place. Be clear about what you propose to have happen before you ask for it, Gentlemen.” Having emphasized the important points while saying what's on his mind he turns and leaves the room.
Boone finishes stacking the wood while he thinks on what he just heard. Adding this talk to the other talk on the territories gives him cause to worry about what lies ahead for his country, and himself. It's good to be proud of your state and to support it, but is it right to support your state when those in charge are doing something wrong? From what he heard said he knows some of the people at VMI believe they should support the state government in anything they do, while others feel they should support the side who's right. But who is right? That's the big question he can't answer, and this is a tough question for anyone to wrestle with.
He has much to discuss with Mary and Heidi that night. None of them like the way things appear to be heading, so they start planning on how to escape any trouble that may arise in the near future.
More Concerns
A few days later Boone has an opportunity to speak with the teacher from Maine he likes, Mr Chambers, about the discussion the staff had on the Constitution. When Boone asks about it Mr Chambers says, “I knew you'd have more to ask about that loud discussion, Boone. I know this may not be easy for you to see, right now, but the current tensions have been growing for over a hundred years. They mostly revolve around two contentious issues that many of those in power choose not to address.”
When Boone frowns Mr Chambers adds, “The two issues are slavery and the sovereign rights of states to control and manage themselves. At different times one or the other comes to the fore. In the seventeen seventies the issue of the colonial governments' sovereign rights was the big issue so it led to the revolution and independence from Great Britain. At that time those in power refused to deal with the issue of slavery because they felt it would have destroyed the fledgling nation. So the slavery issue has been sitting around gaining pressure since then. Every now and then it looks like it may blow out of control then a major compromise is arranged to keep the lid on everyone's tempers. Although the majority of the people who are pro-slavery or anti-slavery are happy to stay with the way things are now, many others on both sides of the slavery issue have been getting a lot more vocal and violent in pushing their cause. Both sides are recruiting people to push things along many fronts, which is why we have the events with non-resident voters and fights over state officials that happened in Kansas. The whole issue is on the way to getting out of hand. Those fearing federal laws against slavery are getting more and more desperate, and those fearing federal laws to expand slavery are also getting very desperate. Neither side wants any sort of compromise. They'll only accept the total capitulation of the other side. In both cases it's only a small percentage of the whole, but it's a case of the tail wagging the dog because it's the most vocal and powerful of both groups who are providing the most push. With some pushing the right to own slaves as a State's Rights issue they'll get a lot more support, and I see no good coming out of it. Just a violent future.”
They talk a bit longer before Boone leaves. Over their dinner that night Boone also has a lot to talk about with Heidi and Mary.
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Time and Tide
Following the talks in December 1859 Mary, Heidi, and Boone start their preparations to leave Virginia. Materials and things are bought and put aside, for now. The tensions and troubles increase with each passing month of 1860. Mary, Heidi, and Boone become more worried with each rise in the tensions between the two major political forces.
Boone starts to build a wagon like his father made using his father's drawings which Mary has. They don't have a farm wagon so he builds two of the large wagons since it's easier to do it twice than to design a smaller version. It's also cheaper to build them himself than to have a custom wagon built by another person. Each night the three of them work on the covers for the wagons so they'll be ready too. They make them in the same three-layer style as Ken did, for the same reasons. But their covers are shorter on the sides due to having higher wagon sides.
There are a few changes Boone makes so the wagons better suit their needs, but the changes are very easy to do after he builds the wagons. They buy four water barrels three feet high and put them in the back corners of the wagons, one on each side, then Boone builds a four foot high frame to hold them in place with a cabinet between them to store things they'll need on the trail most days, such as the cooking gear, and axes, etc. These will be accessed by opening the wagon's tailgate. They won't fill these barrels with water until they're about to leave. Due to the cost of steel bows Boone spends the extra time and work to make curved wood bows for the wagon tops. He also buys extra boards to extend the side-boards for a full coverage of the wagon sides as extra protection. He makes a raised floor for their beds in both of the wagons as well.
In May of 1860 Mr Chambers, the teacher Boone likes, comes to visit Boone at the house to tell him, “Boone, I don't like how things are going on the political scene. Way too many rich and powerful men in the Southern States have got their reputations too tied up in pushing an agenda of federal approval and expansion of slavery. Both they and the ones who oppose them are getting more stubborn each day. With all of the classes over for the year I'm going home to Maine. So this is goodbye, my young friend. I've enjoyed our many talks over the years. Take care, and try to stay alive if things get as bad I think they will.”
They chat for a little while before Boone says, “I've enjoyed our talks too. I've one last favor to ask of you. We're preparing to leave to go to Oregon next year and we know we'll need guns. But we don't know what are the best guns for us to get. Can you please advise us, Sir?”
“Not right now. I don't know too much about them, myself. But I've a cousin who's a gunsmith in New Haven, Connecticut. I have to go by there to reach home in Portland, Maine, so I'll ask him, then I'll write you with what he tells me.” Boone agrees, and they soon part company. In the next few months they exchange a few letters, but never see each other again; many years later Boone learns he died in the war, at Gettysburg.
A month later a letter arrives for Boone from Connecticut with some information about the new revolvers and rifles available, the latest gun developments, plus their prices and the prices of 12 gauge coach-guns.
The talk that night is of guns, more about how many of what they should get than which guns. They asked for expert advice so they accept it. Mary writes back to the gunsmith in New Haven to ask how much to buy three Greener 12 gauge eighteen inch barrel coach-guns, three of the new lever-action 1860 Henry Repeating Rifles in .44 caliber Henry Rimfire, seven of the latest of the Remington Model 1858 Revolvers in .44 caliber Henry Rimfire cartridges converted to use the 1855 Rollin White rear loading system plus the 1856 Beaumont-Adams double action, seven extra cylinders for the guns, plus two cases of ammunition for the guns. To minimize the ammunition to buy and carry they want the rifles and handguns to use the same ammunition.
A month later they receive his reply with the costs to buy and ship it all to them. The final total is staggering to Boone, but Mary and Heidi just sigh and start talking about organizing the money to be sent north. It's a good thing all three have been saving most of their money for over ten years, because this one purchase is taking a lot of their money. Three quarters of their savings are spent on the purchases to date, with the guns and the wagons being the two most expensive ones, in that order.
After the guns arrive another of their preparation activities is to practice shooting accurately with them. One of the VMI staff who sees Boone practicing with the pistol says to him, “Boone, I've a cousin who lives in Texas, and one of the things he told me about was the need to be fast and accurate when shooting a revolver at something close, like a mountain lion in the rocks. He told me how he uses a saddle-gun because he got used to it while in the cavalry fighting the Mexicans. For him the important thing was by the time it was out of the holster it was level and already being pulled across to shoot at what's in front of him.”
Boone nods his understanding and responds, “That makes sense, Sir, but not much use on foot or on the seat of a wagon.”
The man smiles as he adds, “When I was in the Army few officers had a handgun, and most of those who did had it in a holster on their right hip with their sword on their left hip. I did see a few who had a gun in a holster on their left hip in front of where they carried their sword. They had it with the handle to the right and the gun angled so it was a lot easier to grab by reaching across their stomach. When I asked them about it most of them told me it was a lot easier to draw while on a horse. You can do something similar and get used to drawing it in all situations.”
“Thank you, Sir. I'll have to see how I can practice that to see how it goes.” They talk about guns for a little longer while they practice their shooting, then they both go their own ways for the rest of the day.
Later Boone speaks to Mary and Heidi about the talk at the range, and they agree it needs to be looked at. Two days later Heidi hands an old cavalry holster to Boone to experiment with. The leather is old and rotting, which is probably why she got it cheap or free; she doesn't say.
The Remington doesn't fit into the holster due to it being a different size. So the first change is to cut the flap off, along with a cut-away for the cylinder of the gun because the cylinder is a lot bigger than the cylinder of the gun the holster was made for. Once he has it so the gun can slide in and out easily Boone cuts two slots in the back to feed a belt through at a different angle to the belt-loops already on the holster. Boone soon finds the new angle makes the gun easier to draw from his left side with his right hand. He cuts more slots for the belt to have the gun held at different angles. After two weeks of experimenting he has the holster holding the gun with the barrel just a little below level and the handle is close to the center of his stomach. This means once the gun is out of the holster he can turn his wrist to have it level and aimed at anything in front of him real fast. So he starts to practice shooting at targets at close range with the pistols held at his waist. One odd aspect to arise from the practice is Boone finds when holding a gun at his waist he's very accurate with both of his hands when shooting a pistol at close range.
Two weeks later Mary hands Boone a gun holster while saying, “Try this one, Boone.” He looks it over then he slips a Remington into it. The bulk of the gun fits in the holster with the trigger guard going into a slot in the holster and the hand-grip is left outside of the holster. There's a strip of leather Mary shows him how to put on the small hook on the holster near the hammer. The strip goes behind the hammer to help hold the gun in place. He feeds his belt through the belt-loops to hang the gun from his belt. The gun sits with the hammer just above the top of his belt and the front of the barrel is just below his belt. He slips the leather strap off and he finds the gun sits there. Mary says, “Make sure you have that strap on when you move around or it may fall out. Also, take the strap off if you think there may be trouble. It shouldn't slow you down to undo it when you need to, but you never know.”
Boone tries a few draws with it, then he smiles while saying, “Thanks, Gran. This feels just right. I'll try it out today.” He does find the holster much easier to carry and to draw from. But he does discuss one more change with his grandmother. So she makes another one for his left hand with the strip of leather cut away from the top of the holster above the gun so only the end inch or so of the gun's barrel is in the holster. This means once Boone starts to draw it back he can lift it up and start to turn it a lot sooner so he'll be faster to get on target.
After some practice with the new left-hand holster they notice it starts to lose its shape, so they talk to a saddler in town. He shows them how to use a little shaped steel to help the leather keep its shape. A piece of steel is added to the holsters as part of the belt-loop and placed just in front of the trigger guard. The steel looks like a warped 'X' with a hook. There's a hook over the belt as part of the belt loop which goes down to bend up to hold the gun just in front of the cylinder with two strips coming off this to run just under the cylinder. The steel takes the bulk of the weight of the gun and transfers it to the belt via the steel belt-loop section.
After a bit of practice with both guns on the belt at once Boone moves the two guns to the center of his waist so they have their hand-grips just in front of his hips with the two barrels almost touching in front of his stomach to move each one closer to the hand to use it. He's soon very fast at slipping the loops off then drawing the guns and to turn them as soon as the barrel tips clear the holster. When firing a Remington from the hip Boone is very accurate with either hand up to about twenty yards.
The next week Mary has another holster for Boone to try using. The main part of the holster is the same as his current two, but the belt loops have it hang low on his right thigh with the hand-grip tipped back at a slight angle. It has a tie to go around his leg just above his knee to hold the bottom of the holster and gun in place when he moves and a front flap to make it look like other holsters. He always wondered why they got seven guns instead of just six for two each, and now he knows they want him to carry three guns. After some practice Boone is fast with the thigh gun, but not as fast as he is with the two guns at his waist.
Mary, Heidi, and Boone work faster on their arrangements for leaving Virginia when the political trouble and tensions increase a lot during the Presidential Election. While loading the wagons they focus on food for the trip as well as things they can sell along the way and at the other end. They don't intend to carry much in the way of money, but to buy things in the east they can sell or trade for a lot more later. Mary is sure they'll get more for manufactured goods as barter than they will for gold coins. So they plan to go north to buy the manufactured goods before they go west. In Virginia they buy the long-lasting food items they can buy at low prices and they'll buy the manufactured goods to sell when they reach Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They know it's out of their way, but it is a major center where they know they can buy a lot of manufactured goods at low prices. Anyway, the trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a simple journey up the Shenandoah Valley before they go west to Columbus, Ohio, where they plan to buy a lot of salt. From there to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to join the Oregon Trail for the way west. With mules to pull the wagons ten to fifteen miles a day and weather delays they figure on over a year of traveling to get to Oregon due to the detour. So they'll have to stop to winter over somewhere for one winter, or maybe two winters. A lot will depend on the weather and the terrain they go through.
After the November 1860 Presidential Election the tempo speeds up. For much of December all three are practicing how fast they can draw a gun. The ladies now have a waist gun-holster for their right hand made the same as the one Boone has. While his are on display both ladies have a holster hidden by their dress with a flap of cloth over it so no one can see she's armed, but they can still get at it and draw it very quickly.
For Christmas that year Boone is given a strong leather harness that goes over his shoulders with straps in an 'X' across his back, a belt across his chest, a belt around his waist, and holders for four extra cylinders. Low on each side of his chest is a holster for a pistol at a slight angle so he can draw them with either hand and start to raise it soon after he grabs it. The belt loops of the other three holsters fit the harness well and it has ties to hold them in place. Once he puts the other holsters on the harness he simply slips his arms into it, shrugs it into place, then does up the chest and waist straps. It's very quick and easy to put on and take off.
Another present he's given is a tan travel coat. It comes down to his upper thighs and covers the waist guns, even while seated. It has flaps in the sides that overlap while looking like a seam, but they give him free and fast access to all of his guns. A few well placed weights at chest level have it hanging nicely while two small magnets at his mid-chest keep the top closed. With this on the only visible gun is the one low on his thigh while he has fast access to them all, and the light coat doesn't hinder his use of the guns at all. The coat is two layers of light linen with the outer layer boiled in linseed oil to make it waterproof. Both Mary and Heidi feel a lot happier with Boone being well armed, but not obviously so.
Unexpected Additions
Boone needs a good horse to ride for hunting and scouting so he starts looking to buy a horse. Mrs Gray, a local breeder of quality horses and a good friend he often works for in the summer, asks him to visit her ranch. Boone visits her out of respect for her, despite not being able to afford to buy one of the horses Mrs Gray breeds. She's been running the ranch since her husband died a year ago. Boone knows all of her many children. Also, her eldest son graduated from VMI three years ago and the next eldest is in the senior class due to graduate this spring.
Mid-week of the first week of January Boone walks over to visit Mrs Gray. When he arrives there she takes him down to the corral where all of the three year-old horses are and says, “Boone, I hear you're heading north to Pennsylvania before you go to Oregon soon. Is that true?”
He wonders why she's asking as he nods while saying, “We're going to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to buy manufactured goods to take west because we think they'll be better to bargain with than gold coin when we get on the Oregon Trail.”
“Good. I want you to take our best breeding stock and the rest of my family to my brother-in-law who lives just outside of Harrisburg. If I can sell the ranch before you leave I'll go with you. Otherwise I'll follow you. I want the family and the best stock away from here as soon as possible. Like you, I've concerns about the extremists on the issues of State's Rights and slavery. I can't pay you much in cash, but I am prepared to pay you with a good colt. If you'll agree to do this you can select any of these horses and stay here for a few weeks to work with the colt.” He turns to look at her because the horses are worth much more than what the work she's asked for is worth. “I want you mounted on a good horse while you look after my children and their future livelihood.”
Boone slowly nods his understanding while he thinks, and then says, “I need to talk to Gran and Heidi before I can give you an answer.”
Mrs Gray smiles as she replies, “Select a colt and take him for a ride so you can see if you like him. Riding over to speak to them will be a lot faster than walking over and back.”
A smiling Boone nods his agreement while he climbs through the corral fence. He slowly makes his way to the twenty colts. The horses are standing in a group in the middle of the corral so he walks up to them while he speaks softly. He stops to let each horse sniff his hand then he strokes their neck while he looks them over. He really likes the look of the fifth colt, but he turns away to check the next one while thinking, It'll need to be a dang good horse to be better than this one. However, he doesn't get to look at the sixth horse because the fifth horse moves over to nudge him aside then it stands between him and the next horse. Boone is a bit surprised so he turns to face the horse. The colt bumps Boone on the chest with his head. Boone looks the horse in the eyes and says, “If you want me to take you then you best follow me back to the gate.” He turns, walks back to the gate to the corral, and stops. The colt stops just beside him, making Boone smile. He looks at Mrs Gray and says, “I do believe this smart fellow wants me to take him with me.”
Mrs Gray grins as she says, “That's Morgan, and he's as smart as his sire, Brownie, and as fast as any horse I ever saw at his age. His dam is Wind Rider, the fastest mare we've seen in this area. He's a good choice, especially since he likes you. I've been working with him and he's fully trained. He'll ground tie and is trained to respond to voice commands as well as knee pressure. With him I use a bridle without a bit that's more of a halter with reins on it. He's also trained to not shy away at gunfire.” She turns and talks to one of her workers, the man nods and goes to the tack room.
When the man returns with the tack Boone can see what she means about the bridle. It looks like a halter with no tie ring at the bottom, but with a tie ring on each side where the reins are attached. It only takes a moment for Boone to have the harness and a saddle on Morgan. Acting on an impulse Boone places the reins on Morgan's neck, says, “Follow me, Morgan,” before he opens the gate. He walks through it and Morgan walks out behind him. When Boone turns to close the gate Morgan stops and stands still. The ranch hand stands there slowly shaking his head at how Morgan responds to Boone. In a moment Boone is astride Morgan and riding off to talk to his grandmother and Heidi about taking the extra people and horses going with them to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They agree, and all is soon arranged for the expanded group to travel north.
Due to having done some work with all of the horses in the past Boone knows them, but he does spend two weeks living on the ranch and working with all of the horses there so they'll know him better and they'll respond well on the trip north. He does spend more time with Morgan than any other horse so they get to know each other better. Boone also learns a lot more about the care and training of horses on top of all he's learned while working there over the summers for some years. Plus he trains Morgan to respond to some extra commands, but he uses German words for the commands so Morgan won't confuse them with normal words in a conversation because they're words that can come up in a conversation. This is the first time Boone has found the German he was taught by Heidi to be useful to him.
Boone also becomes reacquainted with the Gray children, especially Olive and Nellie. It seems like one or the other or both of them are right behind him every time he turns around. He finds it a little disconcerting, most of the time. One odd thing he notices is when he asks Nellie to do something she won't always do it, but when he orders her to do it she smiles and does it right away. He wonders why this is.
Mrs Gray is also happy to use Boone's knowledge and experience from packing their wagons in getting her own wagons ready to travel. She has four wagons to carry her goods, feed for the horses, and family as well as a chuck wagon to feed the staff going with her. Some of her staff want to go north while some want to leave to go south, and a few will stay with the new owner. Thus, only those wanting to go to the North with them will be working the stock on their move to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
They plan to leave Lexington, Virginia, in early June. By late March all is ready to go, except for the final loading of personal effects and some food items. Many large quantities of food stuffs they want for trade and use are already purchased and loaded because they're long lasting foods like coffee, flour, and sugar. Both groups are now at the point they can finish their loading in a few days, if they need to leave in a rush.
Boone will wear his five gun harness every day after they leave VMI.
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Wait for No Man
Within a few days of Fort Sumter being attacked on April 12th, 1861 the group of travelers decides it's time to leave before things get a lot worse. Mary, Heidi, and Boone speak with the Commandant of the Virginia Military Institute and they're given permission to leave as of the first of May. Mrs Gray quickly settles the sale of her ranch with over half her stock by accepting the last offer made to her. All of the people going with them hasten to finish their arrangements. They arrange to meet on the road a few miles north of the town by mid-morning on May 1st.
The VMI trio wake up early on the first of May, have breakfast, and quickly pack the last few items not packed the day before. When they mount up to leave they're joined by one of the staff with over a dozen of the students who are also going to the North. They leave VMI with Boone riding point position to lead the way.
A little later they meet up with Mrs Gray. Her wagons are lined up on the side of the road with her herd of horses in a field nearby. Boone is surprised to see a dozen or so other families with pack-horses as well as four more families with wagons, all waiting to go to the North with them.
When the ten mules pulling Boone's double wagons pass by Mrs Gray leads her wagons onto the road behind them and they're followed by the other wagons. The people on horses with pack-horses join the line, and last to move out is the herd of Mrs Gray's horses. It's a lot smaller than it once was because the sale included more than half of the mature horses, but she has the main breeding stock with the colts and fillies.
Mary and Heidi both have a hard time suppressing their laughter at the expression on Boone's face when he realizes he's the wagon-master and trail boss of this motley crew at nineteen years of age. The shock for him is most of them are older than he is, but they now defer to him on this trip because he's the one who arranged the core group while they just tacked themselves onto the end. They only make about twelve miles on the first day because Boone wants them to get used to making camp in daylight before they have to make camp in the dark, so he stops when he finds a big enough place to stop for the night with water close to hand.
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On the Road to Harrisburg
They don't rush, but they do move fast to make Staunton, Virginia, in three days. The next day they're slow getting going due to having to arrange to pay the toll to use the Valley Pike. The delay is caused by the toll collector who is slow in calculating everyone's toll. There is another road they can use, but the quality of the Valley Pike means they can travel a lot faster along it. A quicker trip saves time and trail food.
They pass by, or go through, the towns and villages along the way without slowing down, not even when they leave the Valley Pike where it ends at Martinsburg, Virginia. After twelve days on the road Boone stops the column in the early afternoon to camp outside of Hagerstown, Maryland, because a few of the late additions need to make repairs to their wagons and some others need more supplies. They make camp just north of the town. Boone is very happy to get this ragtag mob this far north so fast, in spite of the delay in Staunton, Virginia.
A few people go into the town for various reason. The first ones back to the camp pass along the word of the short fight at Gloucester Point, Virginia, a few days earlier. The spread of the fighting worries Boone and a lot of other people. So do all of the troops they've seen around. After hearing of the fighting and the rumors of troop movements Boone is glad they made good time along the Valley Pike, despite the costs. If they'd taken the other road they'd still be a few days down the road.
They have to stay over a day to finish the repairs on two wagons. A few people want to leave them, but Boone refuses to go, so they all stay.
On the morning of May 14th Boone has his little wagon-train ready to move out. He's a little surprised the hotheads who wanted to go the other day stayed the extra day and night, and they move out with the rest of the wagon-train or column, whichever you wish to call the mixed group of people he has with him. A couple of hours later they leave Maryland to enter Pennsylvania, and many of the people give a sigh of relief.
Trouble in the Trees
Just before noon of the second day out of Hagerstown, Maryland, the wagon-train is passing through some farms with Boone out as point scout, as usual, when he spots movement in the trees beside the creek marking the far edge of the fields on his left. He turns and rides the mile back to the wagons to tell them all, “Close up and get your guns handy. Armed men are in the trees up ahead.” He passes the same basic message to everyone, then he adds to those with pack-horses instead of wagons, “Move your family and pack animals up along the east side of the wagons.” To Mrs Gray he says, “Have Olive take Brownie and the stock up the east side of the wagons. Up ahead we've got armed men on the left.” She simply nods and gets on with following his orders.