Mattie's Pledge

by Jan Drexler

  Mattie stood with Johanna and Naomi across the way, listening to the conversation. It didn’t matter how hard he needed to toil, it would be worth the work to make a home for Mattie and their family. She lifted her eyes and met his, then a smile spread, starting at the corners of her mouth.

  It would all be worth it.

  The next morning, Jacob, Josef, and Andrew left the camp in the Bontragers’ spring wagon. While the rest of the families were content to lay by for a day after their long journey, Jacob was anxious to start hunting for his land, and so were the others.

  “Remember,” Josef said as they started out, “Christian wants our farms to be close together.”

  “Ja, I remember.” Jacob, sitting in the front seat of the open buggy, scanned the land on either side of the road as the horse walked south on the rutted wagon trail, winding between huge tree stumps. Lower stumps, cut close to the ground to allow wagons to pass over them, dotted the trail.The woods were dense, and the early summer morning was filled with birdsong. Mattie had longed for open prairies. “I’d like to find some land where the trees aren’t so thick.”

  “You’ll only find that in marshy meadows.” Andrew snorted from the backseat. “It’s either drain the swampland, or cut down the trees as you go. I’m not sure which one means more work.”

  “Which would you rather do?” Jacob twisted around in his seat to look at his friend. Andrew had Solomon Plank’s map unrolled across his knees.

  “I’d rather take the trees. A man can use the timber to build a house, or a barn, or whatever he needs. When you drain the swamp, all you do is dig ditches.”

  Jacob settled back into his seat. “Didn’t Solomon say there was higher ground somewhere? Toward Clinton Township?”

  “I think he said something about the Elkhart Prairie, but that land was too expensive for him.” Andrew studied the map. “It’s farther west too. Quite a distance from the settlement.”

  A whiff of wood smoke signaled that they were approaching another farm. It was on a corner, and Josef turned right, heading southwest. This road was well traveled and he urged the horse to a trot.

  Andrew leaned forward and tapped Josef on the shoulder. “Do you have any idea where you’re going?”

  Josef shrugged. “Solomon said most of the land near his farm was already purchased. I thought if we went south a bit, toward Hawpatch, we’d find those unsold parcels that Solomon pointed out to us last night.”

  “I think I’d like to look at Elkhart County.” Andrew sat back and lifted the map to examine it more closely. “Solomon said the folks over that way were more progressive.”

  “You’d want to live among the change-minded group?”

  “Why not? Their ideas might be worth listening to.”

  Jacob exchanged glances with Josef, but didn’t say anything. He saw nothing good out of taking new ideas seriously, especially not after the church leaders had already discussed and rejected them. Their decisions had been final, and the Amish held a firm stance against the ideas that had been proposed. But it appeared that Andrew was sympathetic to the change-minded faction back in Pennsylvania. Or perhaps all of the Bontragers felt this way.

  As they went farther south, the trees thinned, until there were open acres along the roadside. Josef slowed the horse.

  “This area looks like what your daed was looking for, Jacob.”

  Jacob twisted around in the seat. Andrew had his finger following a line on Solomon’s map. “Can you find where we are?”

  “I think we’re about here.” Andrew’s finger stopped. “Some of the land that Solomon marked as being for sale is to our west about a half mile.”

  Ahead was another wagon road, and Josef turned west. Before they had gone very far, they came to a house along the roadside. A middle-aged man came out of it as they stopped.

  “Step down, boys, and help yourselves to the well. I don’t get many visitors.”

  Jacob leaned forward. “We heard that you might have some land for sale.”

  “I sure do.” With that, Jacob stepped out of the spring wagon. The man reached out to shake his hand. “I’m Slayton.”

  After introductions were made, and Josef explained the kind of land they were looking for, Mr. Slayton led them farther down the lane, pointing out the features of the land. He owned an entire section, having received the land grant twelve years earlier.

  “I’m ready to move on, though.” Mr. Slayton ran his thumbs along his suspenders. Jacob had already discovered that the man always had a smile on his face, and his jovial manner was infectious. “Too many people settling in this part of the country, and I’m not a farmer. It’s time for me to move on west where the game is still plentiful and a man has room to stretch.”

  They spent the rest of the morning exploring the land, then stopped with Mr. Slayton for a simple meal of dried meat and sourdough bread. Over lunch outside the cabin, they came to an agreement over the terms of the sale.

  “My neighbor to the west has a half-section to sell, as well, if the others in your party are interested.” Mr. Slayton eased back on his stool and leaned against the wall of the log house. “And meanwhile, I’ll meet you in LaGrange tomorrow morning to transfer the deeds.”

  As they took their leave, Jacob couldn’t keep the grin off his face. He had found the perfect piece of land, and he couldn’t wait to show it to Mattie.

  The next morning, Mattie busied herself helping Mamm with the laundry. Daed and the other men had gone with Solomon to look at land for sale, while Jacob, Josef, and Andrew had gone the other direction in the second spring wagon. They hadn’t said what errand they were running, though.

  “I will be glad when we’re finally settled again, and we can get back into our routine,” Mamm said. She lifted one of Henry’s white shirts and clucked her tongue at the stains on it. “This doing laundry whenever we’re stopped for more than a day doesn’t keep the clothes very clean.”

  “As soon as Daed finds the farm to buy, at least we’ll be camping in one spot until he builds the cabin.”

  Mamm sighed. “When we moved to the Conestoga Creek, we bought a house and farm from a family that was moving out. We did the same when we moved to Brothers Valley. But here we’ll have to start from scratch.” She dropped some trousers onto a pile with the other dark clothes.

  “We’re building something out of the untamed wilderness. Don’t you think that’s exciting?”

  “Exciting, maybe. But it’s also a lot of work. I’m glad your daed still has Henry at home to help him.”

  “Isaac and Noah will buy farms near ours, won’t they?”

  “I hope so.” Mamm dropped the last pair of socks onto the pile of dark clothes. “Would you see if Naomi has the water hot yet? I’ll check on Henry. He was supposed to be getting the washtub out for us.”

  Naomi stood next to the fire where a full pot of water was heating. When Mattie joined her, she smiled and pointed toward the children playing a game between the tree stumps. “Look at that Davey. He’s fitting in well, now that he feels better.”

  The little boy followed Mose and Menno as they jumped from one stump to another. “He is, for sure.”

  “And he’s learning to speak Deitsch so quickly. The other children are helping him.”

  “Mamm wants to know if the water is hot enough yet.”

  Naomi turned toward the fire. “You probably thought I had forgotten all about it.” She lifted the lid of the pot slightly and steam escaped into the air.

  “You did seem preoccupied with Davey.”

  “You’re right.” Naomi glanced over her shoulder at the children again. “I know he’s only been with us for a few days, but already I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t have him to care for.”

  Mattie saw a familiar look in her sister’s eyes. “I think you’ve fallen in love with him.” Naomi raised her eyebrows, and Mattie went on. “You look like Annie did when her little Levi was born. Like you see the future in his face.”

&
nbsp; “Ja,” Naomi said, drawing the word. “Ja, I think you’re right. I heard Mamm say once that children are God’s promise for the future. Davey is all that and more.”

  Mamm, Lydia Schrock, and the others set up their washtubs on the benches near the fire, and while Henry hauled water from the nearby stream, Mattie helped pour water from the big pot over the fire into each tub. Mamm started soaking her white pieces first, using her washing bat to agitate the water and the clothes.

  Hannah had set up her tub near Mamm’s but was soon done with the few clothes that she and Josef needed.

  “If you give me some of your dark clothes, I’ll wash them for you.”

  Mamm smiled at her. “That is kind of you, Hannah.” She nodded toward the pile at her feet. “Take as many as you wish.” She swirled the clothes again and bent to scrub Henry’s shirt with the soap. “I’ve wondered how your mamm is doing. You’ll be anxious to see them at the end of the summer, won’t you?”

  “Ja, for sure.” Hannah lifted a pair of trousers with her bat and plunged them into the water again. “I try to trust in the Lord for her safety, but I can’t help worrying.”

  “Will you and Josef go back to Ohio at the end of the summer to help them move?”

  Hannah shook her head. “Only Jacob will, after we’re settled on the farms and get the garden planted. Josef and I will stay here to continue getting things ready for them.”

  Mattie listened to the conversation with her heart sinking. She had forgotten that Jacob would be leaving in the autumn, but he had promised he would go back to Ohio. His family needed him to help continue their journey to Indiana.

  At noon the women and children ate a cold dinner. Afterward, Mattie and Hannah were taking clothes from where they had been spread to dry on the bushes and folding them when the young men returned.

  Jacob met Mattie’s gaze. “We thought we’d take you girls for a ride this afternoon.”

  His face became bright red, but Andrew finished for him.

  “We’d like to take Johanna and Hannah too, of course. We’ll be back before dark.”

  “There’s so much work to do—”

  Mamm laid her hand on Mattie’s arm. “You girls have been working hard,” she said in her quiet voice. “You should go for a ride. Naomi and I will have our turns when your daed comes back.”

  With that decided, they were off. Josef kept the horse walking down the narrow dirt road as they headed south.

  “What is the mystery? Have you found farms to buy?” Johanna asked. The girls sat in the backseat together while the men were in the front.

  “Nothing doing,” Andrew said. “We want to surprise you.”

  They had traveled several miles, the last few on an improved road, when Josef turned into a narrow lane. Before they had gone very far, Josef pulled the wagon to a halt. “This is your stop, Andrew.”

  Andrew jumped down from the wagon and gave Johanna his hand to help her out of the open wagon.

  “We’ll be back in a little while.” Josef clucked to the horse and they sped away.

  “We’re going to leave them there in the woods?” Mattie turned in her seat, but Andrew and Johanna had already left the road.

  “Andrew is showing her the parcel he found.” Jacob turned in his seat to watch her. “Our turn is next.”

  Josef continued down the lane, past a log house on the right, then drew to a halt at the side of the road. Ahead of them a hundred yards or so, a stream crossed the lane.

  Jacob jumped down from the wagon and reached for Mattie’s hand while Josef tied the horse to a small tree.

  “Are we here?” Mattie saw only trees and more trees, until the canopy thinned out near the stream in the distance. She saw nothing that made this piece of land any different from the surrounding area.

  “This is it.” Jacob didn’t release her hand, but pulled her close to him. “There are three lots here, each of them one hundred sixty acres.” He pointed across the road and behind them. “That’s the best one, the one with the log house. The land is more level, and we thought that would be good for the folks.” He turned to the trees at their left, along the south side of the road. “This one will be ours.” He squeezed her hand and she felt her face heat up. Hannah smiled at her as Josef helped her down from the spring wagon.

  “And over here is ours.” Josef walked with Hannah toward the stream, pulling her hand into the crook of his arm.

  Jacob tugged at Mattie’s hand. “Come on, I want to show you what I found.”

  Threading their way through the trees, Jacob led her into the woods a short distance until he came to a steep bank. “This is one of the best features of our land. With this spring, we’ll have fresh water without having to dig a well.”

  Mattie stepped closer to the circle of green at the base of the bank with the pool of water in the center. Moss-covered rocks surrounded the spring and followed the water as it formed a small runlet flowing downhill toward the larger stream she had seen earlier.

  “We can build our cabin here.” Jacob walked to a small rise a short distance from the spring.

  “And someday a house?” Mattie closed her eyes and again saw the farm in Ohio, with the wife standing at the Dutch door and the little girl feeding the chickens. “A white frame house with a Dutch door?”

  Her eyes still closed, she felt Jacob’s arms encircle her waist from behind as he laid his chin on her shoulder. “And a springhouse made of limestone to keep the milk cool in the summer.”

  Mattie could feel his breath on her ear as he spoke, sending goose bumps down her spine.

  “But I haven’t shown you the best part.” He took her hand. “Come with me.”

  He led her up a slope, into the trees.

  “You’re sure we won’t get lost?”

  “Trust me.”

  As they climbed, the trees thinned, then suddenly they stepped out into an open meadow.

  “This is a knob, rising a bit above the surrounding land.” He took her shoulders and turned her so that she was looking southwest. Prairie land fell away below their feet, a vast open meadow.

  “But how—”

  “It’s a natural prairie. It’s yours, Mattie, as if the Good Lord knew we would find this land and had planned it as a special gift for you.”

  She drank in the open sky above her, the woods around, and the hazy blue horizon to her west, her heart nearly bursting with thankfulness.

  “What do you think?” he asked. “Could you be content here with me in this pleasant prairie?”

  She turned in his arms and clasped her hands behind his neck. “Always, Jacob. Always and forever.”

  Epilogue

  September brought bright blue mornings that turned crisp as the month waned toward October. Mattie straightened her back, stiff from bending to pick the last of the summer’s cabbages from the garden. The trees at the edge of the clearing glowed, as if the yellow, red, and orange leaves were drawing the last of the summer sun into the roots.

  Jacob had been gone for a month. At the end of August, when the leaves were still green and the days were sultry hot, he had saddled the bay gelding and headed back to Ohio. The time since then had been busy with harvesting and drying the vegetables to get the settlement through the winter. Mattie had spent as much time helping Mamm prepare as she had at Hannah and Josef’s, putting up the produce from the garden they had planted for themselves and Jacob’s family.

  Mattie cut three more cabbages loose from their stalks before Henry returned with the stone boat. They had used the sledge to pick rocks from the garden after they cleared and plowed it, and now it worked even better to carry the produce to the cabin and the root cellar Daed had built below it.

  “You’re almost to the end of the row.” Henry pulled the stone boat to the pile and started transferring the cabbages over.

  “We have plenty of heads. They did well this summer, even though some of them split in the heat last month.”

  “More sauerkraut for me.” Henry grinned and
rubbed his stomach.

  “I’ve never seen anyone who loves sauerkraut as much as you do.”

  “Does Jacob like it?”

  Mattie felt her face heating. She turned away so Henry wouldn’t see and tease her for it. “I have no idea. We’ve never talked about things like sauerkraut.”

  “Then what did you talk about every evening this summer when he came over?”

  “Things.” Mattie couldn’t keep a smile from spreading. The long summer evenings were just a taste of the sweet companionship they would enjoy for the rest of their lives.

  “Shouldn’t he be getting back from Ohio soon? He’s been gone forever.”

  Mattie sighed. “He should be here any day. Don’t forget, they have the sheep to bring with them, and the little children might not travel well.” She continued the list of reasons for his delay in her mind: the rivers might have been too high to cross, or they might have been delayed by rain. She refused to consider that anything might have gone wrong.

  After Henry filled the stone boat, he dragged it back to the cabin. Daed, with Henry’s help, had cleared an acre of ground before helping Noah, and then Isaac. Davey had worked as hard as any of the men, even though Naomi had protested.

  “Let him be,” Mamm had said. “He’s old enough to be a good helper, and he wants to fit in.”

  Mattie smiled as she cut the last cabbage. She stood, looking around the small farm for Davey. She spied him at the edge of the clearing, cutting away the underbrush. Always busy, that one. At least he stayed out of mischief. She remembered Henry at that age. Isaac and Noah had called him a pest because he was always underfoot.