Mail Order Gold Rush

by Montana West

  Cora went to sleep with a smile on her face, all anger at Michael passed, and this was evidenced by the tight hug she gave her brother the next morning just before breakfast.

  “You are the best brother in the whole world,” she said, a big smile on her face, ignoring Henry who was protesting.

  “What about me?” He grinned, ruffling her hair and she squealed at him.

  “You are messing up my hair and it took me all of twenty minutes to get it right,” she pulled her bonnet back on though it would not stay on for long.

  “You said I was the best brother in the whole world,” Henry grumbled.

  Cora looked at him, standing hands akimbo and with an exasperated expression. “That was last week, dear brother. The tide changes every day.”

  The cordiality was short-lived, however, because on their way home from church Cora was once again quite angry at Michael. She clenched and unclenched her small hands and Henry looked on in amusement. If their parents had not been in the carriage, Cora would probably have jumped on Michael and he would have had to be the peacemaker. Cora and Michael fought a lot and Henry the middle child was always the one who calmed them down.

  Cora was really angry. A new family had joined the church the previous Sunday and the eldest son was about twenty one years old. He was handsome and tall, and Cora had noticed him giving her an interested eye.

  Franklin Washington’s family had just moved to Akron from New York when his father came to work in the town as an attorney. They seemed to be a good Christian family and Cora returned Franklin’s interest. He had blue eyes and blond hair. He also looked strong and was about Michael’s age.

  When the church service was over Cora had approached him and introduced herself, and because she was a very outgoing girl, the two were soon chatting like long-time friends. In the middle of their lively discussion, Cora was called away by her mother so she could help carry the empty trays back to their carriage. As she walked towards her parents’ large carriage she happened to turn back to wave at Franklin and was just in time to see Michael leading the younger man to the back of the church.

  Cora had frowned and waited for the two men and when Franklin emerged she had hurried over to him, intending to find out what he and Michael had been discussing. But immediately Franklin spotted her he avoided her gaze and hurried off in the opposite direction.

  Now she sat glaring at her brother but was careful not to draw her parents’ attention to herself. She could not wait to get home and attack her interfering brother. She however held her peace all through lunch but got her chance when her parents retired to their room for their Sunday afternoon nap.

  Michael and Henry were at the back of the house and even though the Richards did not labor on Sundays, the boys still had to water and feed the animals in the barn. Cora headed to the barn and flew at Michael, trying to flay him with her small fists.

  “Michael how could you?” She hit him and he tried to hold her at arms’ length but she was quite agile and twisted around such that he had a hard time subduing her. She passed under his arm and jumped onto his back.

  It was Henry who got her off their brother’s back and held her gently but firmly.

  “You are the worst brother in the whole world,” she screamed at him, safe in the knowledge that her voice could not carry in the big barn.

  “Oh! I am the best brother, you said it yourself this morning,” he mocked and got a glare from the angry girl.

  “The worst I say,” Cora hissed, trying to struggle out of Henry’s hands but failing. “Let me at this big bully, Henry, let me at him.” She threw out her fists.

  “That is quite enough Cora,” Henry said, carrying her kicking and hissing out of the barn. “Go to the house and calm down before Mama sees you and tells Papa. Let me talk to Michael.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

  Just to take Him at His Word,

  Just to lean upon His promise,

  Just to know, thus says the Lord.

  Jesus, Jesus how I love Thee,

  How I’ve proved Thee o’er and o’er,

  Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus,

  Oh for grace to love Thee more.”

  Louis Albert felt a warmth spreading through him as he joined the other congregants in singing the beautiful hymn. The thirty-year-old man had his hands clasped tightly at his chest, his eyes closed and he let the words of the hymn soak into his spirit, into his soul.

  He loved coming to church and he loved singing the hymns which his mother had taught him as he grew up.

  “If you have Jesus in your life, Louis, you are rich beyond human comprehension,” his mother would tell him over and over again. “True riches and wealth are not in money nor in material things, my son, true wealth is knowing God’s love and accepting the special gift He sent us by opening your heart to Christ to be your Savior and Lord. Nothing else matters, nothing else.”

  And now as he sang he felt the tears roll down his cheeks. He missed his mother deeply.

  Anna Albert had been a small woman, so full of life and she had run her family with a firm but loving hand. Her six children, all boys, had grown up with a strong Christian foundation.

  However, the joy that had been in the Albert household had been abruptly cut short when two years before the outbreak of war, his mother had suddenly fallen ill and before the doctor could be summoned she had died, a beautiful and peaceful smile on her face. The doctor said her heart had given out and just stopped beating.

  Louis had been shattered. He was the last born child and the only one as yet unmarried, and he had been very close to his mother. At the time of her death he had been in the process of proposing to a lovely girl, Helen Bridges, the only daughter of a merchant in their home town of Philadelphia.

  When Anna died, her husband and sons had mourned her, but six months later George Albert met and married a widow who had two daughters. Louis did not mind that someone had taken his mother’s place because Matilda Simmons was a very kind and gentle woman and his father needed the companionship. Louis, twenty three at the time, had been prepared to accept his new step mother and step sisters who were twenty and twenty two years old. However, he realized that Salome, the youngest girl, had developed a strange attachment to him, and while they were not related by blood, he nevertheless considered her as his sister and so did all he could to make Salome get over her infatuation with him.

  But he had not counted on Salome’s fury when he repulsed her attentions. She became very rude and insulting to Helen when she found out that the latter was the recipient of Louis’s interest. She made up a very nasty story about her relationship with Louis, and Helen, who was very sensitive, chose to break off with Louis and no matter how much he begged her she would not reconsider.

  When Louis realized that Salome’s obsession was getting out of hand he decided to leave home. He had avoided the war entirely, instead going West to become a gold miner. He had taken his savings and set out for California, but wound up diverting to Montana when he heard rumors of rich mines.

  Life in Last Chance was tough and many times he thought of giving up and going back home, but again, thoughts of returning as a failure to face his family were quite daunting and he chose to stick it out. Besides, there would still be the problem of Salome who had married only to become a widow and return home.

  A miner’s life was hard because very many people believed they would strike gold and anywhere a man might chip or pan was already filled with dozens of other prospectors. Once in a while Louis would find some gold nuggets or gold particles and these were just enough to sustain him. He was able to pay for his boarding at a small but clean house run by a widow who charged three dollars a week for board and a breakfast of coarse whole meal bread and watery milk tea for which he was always grateful. Many days he went without lunch and dinner but always looked forward to the breakfast that Mrs. Willows served.

  Because he only had small amounts of gold at a time he was
not able to fetch a fair price for his findings. The brokers who bought the gold from small time miners such as himself insisted on fifty-fifty sharing, often leaving the miners bereft.

  It was a tough life but he would hear his mother’s voice urging him not to quit.

  “Just like salvation, there is no honest work that is easy, Louis. If you put your hand to the plough and then turn back, you are not a man of substance. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your heart and just know that one day your hard work will be rewarded.”

  When the service ended, Louis joined the other congregants as they flocked out of the sanctuary. Pastor William Willoughby stood by the door shaking everyone’s hands..

  The tall jolly man with a kind heart and his wife Lillian were the reason Louis had decided to join The Last Chance Baptist Church. The couple did not discriminate against anyone, rich or poor, believing that all were equals in the eyes of Christ. Every Sunday after the service, Lillian and a few other ladies served lunch and for Louis it was a Godsend.

  Sunday lunch at the church was the only wholesome meal that he got every week, and Lillian always ensured that his plate was piled high.

  He reached the door and shook Reverend William’s hand.

  “Louis, it is good to see you.”

  “Thank you, Reverend. I love being here.”

  “Good, good,” the older man nodded. “I would like to speak with you. Could you come and see me in my office once you are done with your lunch?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As Louis ate his lunch he wondered why the pastor wanted to see him. He had been a member of the congregation for close to two years now and in all that time, apart from a brief word here and there, the pastor had never singled him out for a one-on-one meeting.

  “I hope there is nothing wrong,” he whispered to himself. “Maybe the Reverend wants to admonish me for my clothes,” he looked at himself and sighed. He preferred to sit alone under a big oak that was at the center of the church compound because he felt uncomfortable sitting with other young men who were better dressed than himself. Most of them were kind and polite to him, but one or two went out of their way to make him know that he did not belong with them even though they did this quite subtly. To avoid all friction he was always the last one to leave the church and once he was served he would take himself away from the crowd.

  His mother had instilled in him the importance of being clean and neat, and unlike many of his friends who were miners like himself, he took a bath every single day in the stream which was a short distance away from the boarding house. He also washed his clothes frequently.

  “Well, I will just have to wait and see what it is all about,” he wiped his plate clean, grateful for the meal. “One day,” he thought to himself, “I will have all the food I can eat, and then some.”

  Reverend William had finished his lunch and was getting ready to start on his dessert when Louis knocked on his door, which was slightly ajar.

  “Come in, Louis,” William motioned for him to take a seat. “Excuse me while I just enjoy this wonderful dessert. Have some, Louis, there is plenty.” William pointed at the mountain of cake that was on the side of his large oak desk. He served himself a thin slice which he soon devoured and then pushed his plate away.

  “No thank you, sir,” Louis said. “Mrs. Lillian as usual served me a very large amount of food and I am quite full.” Much as he loved cake, gluttony was a vice his mother had often warned him against.

  He heard her voice once again. “Louis, once you have eaten and are full, remain that way until your stomach is empty again. Do not get into the habit of over eating because gluttony shows lack of self-control and it can lead you to stealing other folks’ property.”

  Reverend William looked at the young man seated before him. He loved all the members of his congregation and did all he could to make their lives better in this new land that could be very tough. Louis Albert had first come to his attention when they were constructing the large building that served as the Sunday School and which was also used for serving Sunday lunches as well as holding functions such as weddings.

  Louis Albert would always be first on site and the last to leave, working alone and rarely joking or jesting with the other workmen. From time to time, however, William would notice a smile on the man’s lips and he would know that though the man did not contribute by speaking, he was a keen listener. Louis never left the building site until all the work for the day had been completed and even though the pay was not much he never grumbled, just receiving his pay packet with gratitude.

  William knew this was a man with a good heart and could be counted on to keep his word.

  “Louis?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “There is nothing to be worried about,” he reassured the younger man. “I can see that you seem anxious. I just wanted to share a little time with you,” William looked keenly at Louis, who nodded. “You have been a member of this church for about two years now but we have not had a chance to really get to know each other, and I am sorry that I have not made time for that.”

  “You have a very busy schedule, sir,” Louis pointed out.

  William leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach. “These lunches,” he sighed. “Be that as it may, I should have sought you out a while ago but now is as good a time as any. I seem to remember you mentioning that you are from Philadelphia.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Are your folks still alive?”

  “My mother died five years ago but my father is still alive. I had five brothers. Two died in the war,” Louis took a breath. It was painful to think about, though his brothers died for the cause of the Union, they had still died. “The other two are married. My father also remarried and so have another two sisters.”

  “Do you write often to your family?”

  “I do my best.” It was difficult as he barely had enough money to keep himself clothed and fed let alone for postage, but he wouldn’t complain. “I haven’t heard of a marriage for either of my sisters.”

  “Mmmh!” William grunted. He was feeling quite sleepy. He sat up to keep awake. “What made you decide to come to Last Chance? It is almost a world away from Philadelphia, and looking at you I can see that you are an educated young man. Could you not find work back at home?”

  Louis smiled. “It is true that I got a good education, my mother made sure of that. However, there is something of a wanderer in me and I felt that it would be good to see something of the world before I finally settle down.”

  “What skills do you possess?”

  “Apart from being good with accounts I can also do a bit of carpentry work. My mother often said that a man needs brains as well as brawn skills so that regardless of where one lands in life, they can always make a living.”

  “Wise woman your mother,” William smiled, hiding a burp behind his large hands. “Have you found good work here in Last Chance?”

  Louis shook his head. “I am trying my hand at mining and I am hopeful of eventually striking it rich just like others have.”

  “And that is the dream of hundreds of other men and women who have come from the East. I believe by now you have seen just how hard a miner’s life can be.”

  “Yes, sir, but I do not mind the hard work at all. It will eventually pay for me.”

  “Good, good, that is the right attitude young man,” once more the older man leaned back in his seat. “Hard work eventually pays.” He sighed and leaned forward once again. “Louis?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Back home in Philadelphia, do you have a young woman waiting for you there?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Why not? I would think that a young man as handsome and strong as yourself would have many interested ladies holding out their bonnets to him.”

  “Well...” Louis hesitated, looking at William whose eyes urged him on. “There was a girl but she chose to end our courtship just before I came West.”

  “Was th
at the reason you decided to come to Last Chance? Are you perhaps nursing a broken heart?”

  “Initially yes, but after I got here and decided to stay, I realized it was all for the best. Helen is genteel born and would not have survived in a place like this, maybe in ten years time, but not right now as it is,” Louis shook his head. “It would have been very unfair of me to bring her out here and expect her to cope with these harsh conditions.”

  “Many a genteel woman has come West and is doing just fine. Perhaps you did not give her a chance, she may have surprised you.”

  Louis ran his hands through his thick hair and then sighed. “Helen is the kind of woman who needs a man’s full attention, and I am afraid that is not quite possible here, not with me being a miner. Sometimes I am gone for days on end. She would have become very lonely and miserable in the long run.”

  “And since you have been here for the past two years haven’t you found a suitable girl among our own? There are many young single ladies in the congregation and I have not seen you approach any of them.”

  “Sir, my current station in life is not favorable enough. What I make in the mines is barely enough to sustain me, how would I support a wife and children when they come?”

  William nodded in understanding. “That may be true, Louis, but if a woman loves you she can put up with lack and work side by side with you until you make it.”

  “I would not want to make any woman suffer. My mother worked hard, too hard and eventually her heart gave out on her. And she always told me that the only way a man can prove that he is a man is by being able to sustain and support his wife and children. Even if it will not be in a comfortable lifestyle I should at least be able to provide my wife with the basic necessities of life such as a good house where she will be safe, a few good clothes, three meals a day and once in a while, be able to give her a luxurious gift.” Louis smiled sadly. “At this point in my life I can do none of those things.”

  “Your reasoning is quite sound, but it is important to also remember that not all women are as weak and feeble as you think. Look at the women in this congregation, starting with my own dear wife Lillian. Many of them are farmers’ wives and daughters, and they are coping quite well. Have you considered farming? The government is giving one hundred and sixty acres of land to every able bodied man above the age of twenty-one who is able to farm. And if you have a wife she is also entitled to one hundred and sixty acres. You can then both become successful farmers. The land around here is very fertile and would yield much for you.”