Will grabbed Allie’s hand with his usual tenderness. “Come on, Allie,” he said. “I will take you to Lucy.”
T.J. picked up his rifle, which was leaning on the cave wall, and Trick pulled up his big catfish from the floor. Neither said a word. As they headed south, both boys turned back for a moment at the first bend, waved, and then continued on the footpath that headed down the Pecatonica.
Aaron and Jenny were the last to leave the wigwam. They ducked their heads under the holly bushes, which were still dripping from the mist. The red and white color of the flower buds contrasted beautifully with the thorny dark-green leaves. A red cardinal darted through the branches without a chirp. The beauty and silence added to the serenity of the moment. Aaron grabbed Jenny’s tiny hand.
“Let’s go home, Jenny. I will take you back to Freeport.”
Chapter 14
John E. Smith Home
Galena
June 14, 1860
The flame in the oil lamp by the piano dipped once, twice, and then vanished.
John E. noticed the flickering from his desk by the window. Placing his quill pen in the inkwell, he reached over and pulled the candle closer to his pages. The glow reflected throughout the parlor, obscuring his view of High Street. Below on Main Street he could hear the assembly of a large crowd. It was the Wide Awakes who were in full support of Lincoln’s nomination, and so-called because they championed him in night gatherings, causing such a stir that all of the citizenry would join the clamor on the streets or view the spectacle from their upstairs windows. John E. was proud to be named commander of the Wide Awakes, who carried large wooden axes, promoting Honest Abe and his rural roots, alternating with oil lamp torches that together looked like a moving, roaring mass of fire.
Looking at the parlor window again, with the candle now in its proper place, he thought it best to write Washburne a quick note appraising him of the Galena crowd before stepping outside.
He reached for the quill, drew ink from his inkwell, and began writing in a slow cursive style.
Galena June 14th 1860
Hon E. B. Washburne
Dear Sir & Friend
Mr. Head of Vinegar Hill desires me to enclose two letters from his Council at LaCrosse, the Contents of which will inform you of their proceedings there in the matter, Mr.
Head is very anxious to have this matter settled and I know it is not necessary to urge your attention as you will do all you can.
Hurrah for Lincoln. Trusting we shall soon see you in good Health & Spirits for the campaign,
I remain yours,
Respectfully,
John E. Smith
Commander in Chief of the Wide Awakes 3
Making two horizontal folds on the letter, he folded it once again lengthwise and slipped it snugly into an envelope. Grabbing the quill, he addressed the envelope: “Congressman E. B. Washburne, Washington.” After blowing gently on the ink to dry it, he placed the envelope on his desk and dropped the quill back into the inkwell. He pulled his pocket watch out of his vest pocket and held it up to the candlelight. It was midnight. He returned the watch to his vest and stared out the window.
“Father!”
John E. jumped from his chair.
“Father! Father! Do you hear them?” Ben cried out from the top of the stairs.
“Son, come down here!” John E. replied with a stern tone. “You about knocked me out of my chair! Come down here now!”
The heels of Ben’s boots clunked as he took slow and cautious steps down the wooden staircase.
“Ben, what are you doing all dressed up at this hour?” John E. said reprovingly.
Ben couldn’t hardly get the words out. “Father, it’s the Wide Awakes! I can see them from my bedroom upstairs. They are forming down the hill on Main Street!” He gasped for air and then continued. “I can see torches from up there. Open the door. You can hear the echoes!”
“Hold on, son. Get your breath. You are not going down to Main Street tonight. So get back up to your bed!”
“But, Father, I’m fourteen now. You said last week that I should start acting like a man. I want to help Mr. Lincoln, too.”
“Can I come, too?” cried a voice from the top of the staircase.
John E. glanced quickly to Ben. “Now, you see. The whole house is awake!”
Ben looked around and smiled. “We are all Wide Awakes, aren’t we?” He looked up the stairs to Adelaide. “Can I be a Wide Awake for Mr. Lincoln, just tonight?” he pleaded.
“All right, Ben, we will see how it works out tonight. But, Adelaide, young ladies are not permitted on the streets at night.” John E. turned to grab his cloak. Ben had it already in hand. He grabbed the cloak and then looked up the staircase. In a calm, loving tone he said, “Adelaide, some day you will understand these things. The Wide Awake marches are not for ladies. We will see you in the morning.”
The shuffle of his little girl’s slippers could be heard across the ceiling. Then there was the familiar creak of the bed ropes.
Ben turned to John E. and beamed, “Thank you, Father…I mean, Commander.”
John E. pulled his cloak around his shoulders. The June midnight air was crisp. As they approached the rocky stairs that would take them one hundred feet below to Main Street, the strong scent of oil lamps lingered in the air.
They crossed to the handrail. The magnificence before them caused them to stop. Hundreds of torches bobbed down below like signal lamps on a ship bow. Up and down they went. Cries and shouts mingled, the echoes climbing up to High Street and continuing to the lead mine above. Wavelike white banners with Lincoln slogans swirled and snaked as if floating above the crowd.
John E. turned to Ben. “Somewhere down there we will find Mr. Parker and Mr. Grant. Do your best, son, to stay with me as much as you can. If we separate, stay by our friends, and I will find you back here.” John E. placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder, and they proceeded down the circuitous stairway.
Ben felt truly like a man now. His pride swelled in his breast. The smelly oil lamps and the confused chants kept him on the course of the Wide Awakes. Though he heard his father’s cautions, he couldn’t care less about anything but his newfound pride. He was, of course, the son of the commander of the Wide Awakes. At the halfway point of the stairs, Ben paused and looked back at their house as his father continued the long march down the stairs.
The young Wide Awake could clearly see the upper level of the Smith home. He looked at the little windows a few feet to the right of his bedroom. There was a white face pressed against the glass.
Ben raised his arm slowly and waved. Adelaide waved back. He turned and continued his trek down the stairs. He paused again to look back, and his sister was gone. Looking at the grand crowd forming in front of him, he knew he had finally come of age.
Copy of the Original June 14, 1860, Letter from John E. Smith to Elihu Washburne
Chapter 15
Wigwam
Pecatonica River
Spring, 1861
With the weather now getting warm, the friends could be found by the wigwam most days. The boys were almost fully grown now. Jenny and Allie had blossomed, too.
The news in town was that southern rebels had fired on Ft. Sumter Island off Charleston, South Carolina, and that Abraham Lincoln was preparing for war. The sounds of southern cannons could not be heard in the heartland, and in their youth the friends could only wonder what impact a war would have on them.
As always, the waters of the Pecatonica flowed slowly south. Trick had his fishing line in a deep hole downstream from the wigwam where T.J. crouched with his rifle on one knee and eyes scanning the treetops. Supper was still hours away, and the boys from Buda still had hours to bring in a catch. They were silent as they crouched at the muddy shore.
Aaron and Will were farther up, north of the wigwam, so as not to disturb their vigilant friends. Chuckles occasionally echoed toward the cave as each of them skipped flat stones across the watery plain. As they
gripped the gray prairie stones between their forefinger and thumb, the blue veins on their forearms would pop up before each stone was tossed across the swirls.
Jenny and Allie sat on a fallen tree trunk by the Indian oak, which was now leafing out after a cruel winter season. With each passing spring, the Indian oak bowed just a little more toward the water. Though still a strong and healthy tree, the exposed roots were too close to the water. One day it would make its final bow and would be pulled into the murky waters of the Pecatonica, eventually disappearing many miles south of the wigwam.
Allie picked up a twig by the stump, drew a heart in the mud, and scratched a “J” near its center.
“Oh, Jenny, do you still have a hankerin’ for Aaron?”
The two sat side by side on the stump, and Allie grinned and raised an eyebrow.
Jenny blushed. In contrast to her britches-clad friend, she sat on the stump in her Freeport finest. The hem of her skirt was laced, and she sat ladylike, poised back with one arm on the tree stump.
“Yes, I do,” she replied, “but you shouldn’t embarrass me so.” She looked down at the heart shape.
Allie placed the tip of the stick inside the heart and added a plus symbol after the “J.” She then quickly scribbled an “A,” smiled at Jenny, and then gracefully flicked the stick with a whipping noise into the Pecatonica. “Well, when Aaron sees this, he may just give you a kiss in the wigwam. You might call him here quick ’cause the boys from Buda will sure be comin’ upriver soon.”
Jenny blushed and smiled again.
“Allie, you shouldn’t talk so.”
Boom! The report of T.J.’s rifle echoed past the wigwam, causing the girls to flinch and Aaron and Will to pause in midmotion.
Everyone knew that dead-eye T.J. had hit his mark again and that the boys from Buda would now be heading to the wigwam with quarry in hand. Aaron and Will began sprinting to the cave. Within minutes all arrived together.
“Howdy, Trick,” Allie announced. “I ’spect T.J. got the bead on dinner?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Trick replied. “He dropped it on the other side of the river and should be crossin’ back about now. He’ll be here rightly sure.” Trick took a spot on the stump, plopping himself between the girls. Placing one hand on his hip, he held his fishing pole erect. He turned to each of them and smiled and then looked down when something caught his eye.
“Well, jiminy…lookee here! There’s a heart in the riverbank. Right sure, and it looks like a T and an A! Allie, I didn’t quite think you had the hankers for me. Well, mighty lordy…hee, hee, hee!”
Jenny’s jaw dropped and she was at full blush when Allie stood up and turned to face Trick. With hands on her hips, she leaned down until her eyes were level with Trick’s. He grinned from ear to ear, his fishing pole in both hands.
“Trick, you better git downriver before I grab you and pull you by your big floppy ears!” she said angrily.
Trick grabbed his wide-brimmed hat and dog-eared the brim on both sides snugly over his ears.
Allie pouted and continued, “You shoulda spent more time in the schoolhouse down the river…’cause you can’t right read! That heart has a J and an A in it…not a T! There’s a tail on the T that makes it a J! Don’t you see it, now? Jenny loves Aaron!”
Trick grinned. “You wanna say that again a li’l louder, Miss Allie, so Aaron can hear it? Hee! Hee! Hee!”
Jenny and Allie turned and looked up the river. Will and Aaron stood just ten feet away in stunned silence.
“I was just joshin’ you, Allie. Just to get your gander,” replied Trick as he stood up and stepped over the stump.
“Well, I’ll have your ears yet, Trick,” replied Allie as she jumped up like a cat and stood erect on the stump. “You better git movin’ back to Buda, and don’t come back!”
Trick grinned. “Well, come on now. It was only a trick! I do apologize to you.”
“Well, don’t be speakin’ to me ’cause I ain’t listenin’. You should rightly save your apologies for Jen.”
Jenny said nothing. She was embarrassed. She looked at Aaron and then back at Trick.
Aaron then broke the awkward silence. “Trick was only joshin’ as he always does, Jenny.”
“Why, I do apologize, Miss Jenny,” interjected Trick sincerely. “I cross my heart—I will never trick you again.” He looked at Jenny. She smiled.
“Hey, friends, have you heard the news?” announced T.J., as he approached the wigwam and dropped the squirrel he had shot onto the ground.
“Hello, old friend, nice hit!” Will replied.
“Looks like you got the bead on him good,” Aaron added.
Allie turned to T.J. and said, “Looks like your floppy-eared friend here came up short on his pole. Why, I coulda grabbed a big fat cat in this river with my bare hands!”
T.J. rested the butt of his Sharps rifle on the ground and, placing his hands on its muzzle, leaned on it as if it were a walking stick. He then calmly announced, “We are going to war, my friends. That is the news from Buda.”
The group paused, silently absorbing the news.
“Have you heard about Elmer?” he asked.
“You mean Elmer Ellsworth? My river rat friend from Rockford?” Allie replied. “You mean Old Mr. Fancy who wears that red baggy-pants uniform and marches with the boys?”
“Yes, that’s him,” Jenny replied. “He was with T.J., Aaron, and Will when they saved the horses and put out the fire in Freeport.”
“She’s right,” replied Aaron.
“We wouldn’t have had the gander to save the last horse if it wasn’t for Elmer,” Will added. Aaron nodded.
“That’s true,” replied T.J. “I saw it all. Fire Marshal Putnam, Jenny’s dad, wanted to put that colt out of its misery. Alfred Smith from Galena was home from West Point. He was there and was about to shoot him when Will and Aaron stepped in, but it all started with Elmer Ellsworth savin’ the older horses.”
“Well, what is Elmer doing now?” asked Jenny. She glanced at Allie who looked solemn.
“The war has been declared by President Lincoln,” T.J. said. “Elmer is camped near the White House green. His regiment is eleven hundred strong now, and he is colonel. He went to New York City to look for a regiment and found one. He was the first to muster a Union regiment under the Washington Monument. It’s the Eleventh New York Volunteer Infantry, and they are called the New York Fire Zouaves.”
Everyone leaned toward him, more focused than before.
“Well, is he just a marchin’ around that big White House?” Allie asked.
“No, Allie,” Will said. “He is there to help put down the rebellion. His men are carrying bigger muskets now. They march to the drums. They will go to the fight…wherever it is.”
“I don’t want Elmer killed!” Allie stated. Her voice began to crack a little. “He’s my friend and brother. He taught me how to fish and trap muskrats. He should be comin’ back home. I don’t want him to be hurt!” Her eyes began to tear up.
“Don’t worry, dear Allie,” Aaron replied. “Elmer is strong, and he has good men. I would not want to be a rebel fighting against him. I am quite sure that Mr. Lincoln and his generals will give him good orders. The war should be over by the time the summer heats up around here. Those rebels will probably give up without a fight when they see old Elmer dressed up and leading his men!”
Allie stared at the heart shape in the mud and then one by one into the eyes of her friends. There was a look of deep sadness in her blue eyes. She smiled softly at Trick. He was forgiven for his prank. The incident was trivial compared to the news of Elmer.
“Do you think I oughta fetch an oak leaf for Elmer? You know that Indian maiden planted this tree for her brave who got shot. Gramma Lucy says the oak leaf stands for courage. Maybe Ol’ Elmer can put an oak leaf in his cap for me. Should help, I imagine.” Allie looked up, a little confused, and continued. “I could send it in a package by rail to the White House. Jenny, could you rightly hel
p me with the writin’?”
“Sure I will,” replied Jenny smiling.
“Well, I ’spect I best climb the tree to get that oak leaf,” Allie said in a softer tone now. She stepped up over the trunk again and headed to the Indian oak and began to scale the ruddy trunk.
“Allie, hold on there now,” Trick said. “A lady shouldn’t be climbin’ trees.”
“I’ve been climbin’ trees for quite a spell with Elmer. He taught me how to hold on,” replied Allie who continued to shimmy up the trunk in her britches.
“Now, Miss Allie, let me do you the favor. After all, I’d like to make things right…so you don’t pull on my ears!” said Trick in earnest.
The friends chuckled.
“Well, I accept your apology for Jenny and me. I s’pose I’m a lady now and shouldn’t be climbin’ so much.”
Allie looked at Jenny for approval. Jenny nodded her head gracefully as if approving a gentleman’s hand before a waltz.
Trick then broke the silence, stating loudly, “Hee, hee, let me climb this big oak like a cat with claws as big as spikes!” He started toward the tree. “This ol’ oak ain’t seen the likes of a Buda boy, I ’magine. I s’pose if I git my gut on the grain, it’ll be right good.” He stopped and turned to the friends, dropping his fishing pole to the ground.
Rubbing his hands like a master about to begin his work, he hugged the tree, pushing his floppy hat back up on his brow so as not to obstruct his view. His legs were curled outward, almost bowed, to each side of the trunk so that his boots could dig into the rough surface. His boots moved quickly and rhythmically, crunching bark off the tree. Trick grinned as he hugged the big oak.
“You gotta move on up if you’re gonna make it,” shouted T.J.
“Hee, hee.” Trick grunted. “Maybe if I move these brogan boots faster, like a chicken on the run, I can set this trunk on fire!”
The boys laughed. Jenny and Allie giggled with glee.
“Tell you what, Trick,” T.J. announced, smiling, “we’ll give you a boost. We sure don’t want that tree to catch fire and fall into the river.”
FRIENDS OF THE WIGWAM: A Civil War Story Page 11
