Jedadiah's Mail Order Bride

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  "Yes, let's," she said. "Were you serious last night talking about inviting our parents for a visit, or were you just trying to entice me into your bed?"

  "I didn't know I had to resort to tactics such as that to entice you into my bed," he said.

  "You don't, but it would work if you tried. Now, please answer my question. Were you serious?"

  "Yes, I was serious. Write the letter and we'll get it posted our next trip into Laramie."

  She leaned over and nibbled an ear, then said, "That is the nicest thing you could do for me."

  "As nice as getting indoor water?" he asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "They're coming today to install a pump right over the basin there."

  "You're kidding. Jedadiah, please tell me you're not kidding."

  "I'm not. They're coming out today with the pump."

  "I can't believe all the good things that are happening for us," she said.

  "You deserve it, honey," Jed said. "It was supposed to be done before they finished the house but the pump was not available and just came in."

  Just then, John Lucas came into the kitchen and walked over to his mother and buried his head in the folds of her robe. "Are you hungry, little man?" she asked. “Would you like for your mama to fix you some breakfast?" Just then another cry came from back in the house. "Jedadiah, would you get Sarah Catherine, please? I'll take care of her as soon as I get some food before my little guy."

  Jed got up, went into the bedroom and returned with his sleepy daughter in his arms. Sarah finished John Lucas's breakfast and took the baby. She took out a breast and began feeding her hungry daughter. "If I was a painter, that is a picture I would paint," he said.

  "Would you hand me a towel so I can cover myself?" she asked.

  "Why bother?" he asked. “I saw it all last night."

  Sarah blushed and said, "Yes, you did, didn't you?"

  "It doesn't get any better than this," Jed opined. "John Lucas, why don't you come help me with the stock?" He picked up his son and hoisted him to his shoulder. Ducking his head so John wouldn't bump his, they went out the door and headed for the barn.

  Jed wrote his letter to his parents, choosing not to tell them of their good fortune yet, If they couldn't come, then there would be time enough. His letter said, in part:

  “Sarah and I would like to have you come visit us. We have moved into our new home and have plenty of room. We think it's time for our children to know their grandparents. I know I haven't been diligent enough in my communications with you and by way of making it up to you, we would like to pay your way to visit. Let us know if you can come and when and we will send you the funds by return post. I think you'll love John Lucas and Sarah Catherine. Everyone loves Sarah so that's a given. Please come. Your loving son, Jed."

  Sarah's letter was much the same as Jed's but she had communicated with her mother regularly and her letter was more intimate than Jed’s. It ended with a special plea... “Please mother, say you'll come. I do so want you to meet my wonderful husband and of course your grand children. I anxiously await your affirmative reply."

  The waiting began. Meanwhile, Sarah reveled in the luxury of having water close at hand. After their windfall, they had begun to furnish their house with furniture, replacing the items Jed had made. They now had bedrooms and a nursery in the ranch house.

  The answers came three weeks later. Their offers were accepted to the extreme joy of the young couple. Unfortunately, they were unable to come at the same time. Checking with the stationmaster at the depot, Jed determined the fares for first class travel from Lebanon, Pennsylvania and Owego, New York. He then went to the bank and obtained drafts for the fares with a generous addition for expenses. They then composed their separate letters.

  Sarah told her mother, they should get first class fares and they would be comfortable. They were to eat in the dining car where the food was "quite good", Sarah told her mother. "Mother, we have been well blessed and can afford your trip easily. Please don't try to be frugal. Enjoy it. It will be the trip of your lifetime as mine was when I came. We will meet you at the Laramie train station. I simply cannot tell you how excited I am. By the way, this was Jedadiah's original idea. That's the kind of man he is. I just know you'll love him as much as I do. Your loving daughter, Sarah."

  Jed's mother was a very frugal person. She hated to spend money, especially on herself. Having lived on a farm her entire life, she realized just how hard and tenuous the life of a farmer could be, and she regarded Jed as a farmer. She could not conceive of someone with over 2,500 acres and over 1,000 head of cattle as Jed reported having now. She didn't know about the royalties and would not be told. At least, not yet.

  "Mother, the enclosed bank draft is more than adequate to cover your fares. When you purchase the ticket, tell the agent you have reservations for a drawing room. You should eat in the dining car. Sarah tells me the food was very good when she came out for our marriage. The porter will take care of your space. You don't even have to turn down the bed. He will do all the cleaning of your accommodations. All you need to do is sit back and enjoy the trip. We want you to arrive as rested as possible. For once in your life, Mother, don't think of yourself. Use the money. Sarah and I have been blessed in more ways than I can count. We so look forward to seeing you. I can hardly wait for you to meet my Sarah and our children. She is truly a wonderful person and the love of my life. We will meet you at the train station. Your loving son, Jed."

  The letters were put in the mail. There was nothing left to do but wait.

  Sarah’s Parents Arrive

  The train was thirty minutes late when it pulled into the Laramie station. Among the crowd waiting for the passengers to disembark was the Barnette family, Sarah, Jed, John Lucas and Sarah Catherine. They were anxiously waiting for Sarah's parents. "I hope they didn't miss the train," said Jed.

  Sarah said, "That will never happen with my father. He is always early. He would rather be an hour early than two minutes late. "There! There they are!" A gray haired man and a short gray haired woman had gotten off the train and were looking around. Sarah ran to them.

  "Ma! Pa! I can't believe you're actually here. I can't believe it." She hugged her mother fiercely, then hugged her again. She turned to her father and hugged him. He stood there stiffly, then lifted his arms placed one of them around her shoulders. She pulled him firmly to her and gave him a decent hug. "Ma, Pa, this is my very special husband, my Jedadiah. Jedadiah, my mother, Catherine, and my father, Jacob.

  Jed walked to Sarah's mother and hugged her. “Welcome to Laramie, Mrs. Harding. We're so glad you could come. Sarah has been hopping around like crazy since we asked you to come."

  "Thank you Jedadiah, we're glad we're here and to finally meet you."

  "Mr. Harding, welcome to Wyoming. I think you'll love it here." He extended his hand and Mr. Barnette shook it heartily.

  "Thank you for taking such good care of our daughter, Jedadiah."

  "Call me Jed, please. Sarah is the only one that calls me Jedadiah and that's all she has called me from the first day.

  Ma, Pa, this handsome guy is John Lucas, and this is Sarah Catherine. Kids, this is your grandma and grandpa. Tell your grandparents hello, children."

  "Hello grandmagrandpa," John Lucas said. Sarah Catherine turned her head into her mother's shoulder and peeked out occasionally.

  "If you'll point out your baggage. I'll pull the wagon over to the platform and we'll get you loaded and head out to the J-Bar-B. It's about an hour drive, maybe a little longer, so would you rather stretch your legs with a walk?"

  Sarah said, "Let's walk over to the church and introduce them to John and Grace. That will accomplish two things at the same time."

  "Good idea, Sarah. You go on ahead and I'll pull the wagon over," Jed said.

  On the way to the church, Sarah said, "John is the preacher and his wife Grace does the music. John married us and Grace played the piano."

  When they went b
ack to the house in back of the church, Sarah knocked at the door, which was answered by a young woman, whose skin fairly glowed with good health. She was large with child. "Ma, Pa, this is Grace Carruthers. She is my best friend here in Laramie."

  Grace opened her arms and hugged Catherine, "It is my great pleasure to meet you. I'm so glad you were able to come. You have a really special daughter, Mrs. Barnette. She is one of the most gracious women I have ever known. That reflects well on you as a parent."

  "Thank you for being such a good friend to my daughter. She has mentioned you in her letters."

  "Grace, this is my father, Jacob. Pa, Grace Carruthers." Jacob mumbled something and gently shook Grace's extended hand.

  “Is John at the church?" Sarah asked.

  "Where else," laughed Grace. “He'll come back when Jed gets here."

  "We just walked over to let Ma and Pa get their legs stretched out, then we're going to go on to the ranch."

  Just then, John and Jed came walking back. Sarah did the introductions again. Jed said, "Grace, you're looking really good."

  "Isn't she, just?" asked John. This being pregnant agrees with her. We should have tried it before now." The young couples all had a good laugh out of this. Being from the northeast, Sarah's parents were not accustomed to the openness of the Wyoming residents.

  "Jedadiah, let's load the wagon and get on out to the ranch."

  An little longer than an hour later with the two mountains that framed the J-Bar-B looming larger, Sarah's mother remarked on the natural beauty of the area. "How much further to your home," she asked.

  "We've been on our property for the past twenty minutes," Jed said. "It's 10 maybe 15 minutes more."

  "You mean all this land is yours?"

  "Yes, ma'am. We'll be coming up on our vegetable acreage in just a minute. That's our cash crop. It's what kept us afloat when the herd came down with hoof and mouth. We keep all we need and sell the rest to the general store in Laramie."

  "There, Ma, that's the turnoff to our ranch. The house will be in sight in just a minute."

  "My land, I can't get over how open everything is," Catherine said.

  "Our neighbors, Luke and Clara's ranch is about 3 miles past the turnoff. Clara delivered both our babies. She's my other best friend. Luke taught Jed about being a rancher. Clara was a mail order bride too. She helped me a lot in the beginning. You'll meet them in the next few days. We'll be having them to dinner after you get settled in. There's our house."

  "My, it looks big," Catherine remarked.

  "I guess it is sort of big but when Sarah Catherine came along, we decided we needed more space. We were living in a house, Jedadiah calls it a cabin, that he built from stones gathered on the ranch. Luke and a couple of his hands and some men from the church helped put the roof on, but Jedadiah did the rest. We were very comfortable there. We're using it as a bunk house for the hands now."

  "You have men helping with the ranch, Jedadiah," asked Jacob.

  "Yes sir. We have six cowboys now and Sarah has help for the house."

  "You have a large operation here don't you?" Jacob observed.

  "Yes sir, we've been fortunate. Our neighbor, Luke's operation is much larger. He has several times as many head of cattle as we do, but our farming operation is much larger."

  "You may have been fortunate, but I can see a lot of hard work here. Sarah told us in one of her letters, that you went to the gold fields from Pennsylvania. What did you do in Pennsylvania?"

  Jed said, "My father has a large farm. It's funny in a way. I ran away from the farm that would have been mine some day and now, I guess you could call me a farmer."

  "I'm just glad you and Sarah found each other. It's almost as if you were predestined for each other."

  "Yes sir. Sarah and I have talked about it a great deal. We see a divine hand in our lives," said Jed. “Are you still working in the bank?"

  "I suspect I'll drop dead at my desk,” Jacob said.

  "Well, I hope it isn't any time soon. We want you to get to know your grandchildren."

  * * *

  Sarah and her mother talk...

  "You have a nice home, Sarah. I'm really impressed with Jedadiah. You have done well."

  "Thank you, mother. I think I have too."

  "We didn't spend all of the money you sent. We know Jedadiah has worked hard, so we tried to save some of it for you."

  Sarah laughed. "I did the same thing when I came out to meet him and get married. Mother, I don't know how to put it, but we are well off. We no longer have to watch our pennies. I think we are set for the rest of our lives."

  "That's wonderful, Sarah. I know your sisters will be happy for you. Martha worried about you for months after you left."

  "I tried to tell her in my letters everything was fine and she shouldn't worry."

  That evening, Jed told Jacob and Catherine, "Luke and Clara Hastings will be coming for dinner tomorrow. They are a remarkable couple. Not long after they were married, on their way to Laramie, they were attacked by a raiding party of Sioux. Clara shot two of them, and one of their ranch hands was killed. Luke was shot in the chest and they took him to the doctor in Laramie. With one of their cowboys driving the wagon, Clara sat in the back of the wagon with Luke, compressing his wound with her hand. The doctor said she had saved his life doing that.

  We're sort of partners in a copper mining venture."

  "You're in mining too?" asked Jacob.

  "In a way. We contracted with a mining company to prospect some of our land for silver. They found some but not enough for them to mine. They discovered a large vein of copper that extends onto Luke and Clara's ranch. We've both leased the land to them and we get royalties off the copper. They have a five year lease, subject to renewal. That's why we are doing so well. We don't have to ranch or farm if we don't want to."

  "That's why you said you're well off?" Catherine said to Sarah.

  "Yes, Mama. We're pretty well set for life. Hoof and mouth hit our herd and we lost half of our cattle. So did Luke and Clara. The money from our vegetables kept us going. It was then Jedadiah and I went to see the mining company and they made the discovery. We had just gotten started on the house when this happened."

  "My, my. I had no idea your life was so interesting. You never said anything in your letters."

  "We didn't want to worry you, Mama," Sarah said.

  "Remarkable. Just remarkable," said Catherine.

  "Where did the Indians go?" asked Jacob.

  "They are still around. Some come here occasionally and Jedadiah will give them a beef, but they don't bother us."

  "My gracious, it's dangerous then."

  "A treaty was signed back in 1868 but it could be dangerous if they went on the warpath," said Jed. “As long as Sitting Bull is around, he's a threat."

  John Lucas had climbed onto his grandpa's knees and was being bounced up and down. Peals of laughter were coming forth as he rode the knees. "Ride'em horsey, ride to town," sang his grandpa. "Watch out horsey, don't fall down." He parted his knees and John Lucas slid between them, laughing so hard tears came to his eyes.

  Jed leaned over to Sarah and whispered, "That's what I wanted them to experience. Knowing their grandparents."

  Sarah's eyes were moist as she said, "It's priceless. I never knew Pa to be good with kids but he is with John Lucas. He's enjoying this just as much as John."

  Later, after the kids were in bed and it was quiet, Jacob said, "Jedadiah, thank you again for having us out. I don't have the words to tell you how much this means."

  "Amen to that," said Catherine.

  The next evening...

  Luke and Clara came over in the late afternoon with their children, who immediately began playing happily with John Lucas. Sarah did the introductions again, emphasizing how dear the Hastings were to them.

  Jacob said to Luke, "I've heard so much about you, I could hardly wait to meet you. You have led an exciting life. Best of all, you have been a good friend to
our daughter and her husband."

  "Yes, well Jed and Sarah have been good friends to us. You have a marvelous daughter, Jacob."

  Catherine said, "Clara, Sarah was telling me about your dash into town when Luke was hurt. You are a brave lady. On top of that you delivered our grandchildren."

  "Out here on the frontier, frequently there is no one to fall back on so you learn pretty fast to do what has to be done. Having Sarah so close takes some of the pressure off."

  It was a pleasant afternoon for all. Sarah and her mother had prepared a delicious meal, with Catherine doing a large part of it. Clara said, “I can see why Sarah is a good cook, Mrs. Harding. That was delicious. She's been trying to teach me about herbs. I even have my own herb garden now."