The Lady Train (Brides of the West Book 16)

by Rita Hestand

  The women made a big meal of it and the men gorged on beef and a few vegetables the women were able to scrounge up, although vegetables were almost gone now. Their meals consisted of fresh meat killed that day, or a butchered cow.

  The last pregnant woman went into labor as they camped there. But she was having a hard time, it was her first, she was very young, and very scared. Abby went into the wagon to comfort her. But her screams rang out over the valley. A so-called preacher who had remained anonymous until this time was called upon to be there for the woman.

  "You have need of me, brethren," the preacher asked.

  "She might."

  "Oh, why so?"

  "Her baby is breech, and I haven't the tools to help her birth it. I will try to do it by hand, but I doubt the baby will survive." The doc said.

  The two doctors conferred, and both agreed.

  The preacher was on stand by to say good words to the woman and pray for the baby.

  The next day, she still hadn't delivered her child and they had a steep incline to go over. Cully didn't like it. The woman was in hard labor and they needed her out of the wagon to lighten it. So, he rigged up a place under a shade tree and they set her there. It was a crude place to be birthing a baby, but the men turned their heads as they passed them and all of them prayed for the young mother.

  There was no privacy, but as much pain as she was in, it didn't seem to matter. Everyone uttered prayers for her as they passed, some of the women knew what she was going through and knew the baby wouldn't survive.

  As wagons were lifted over the steep incline, the doctor, Abby and Mrs. Summers remained behind. Cully built a travois to carry her over the countryside afterwards, but sadly her baby died in childbirth. It was a breech birth; and they found the cord wrapped around its neck. It had taken too long, and the baby died in the process. The woman was so distraught she refused to eat, and she was alone, for her husband waited for her in California. She was traveling with her parents. Two days later the woman died, and the entire train stopped to bury her next to her child. Everyone agreed that she died of pure grief. All the women cried, and even the men looked affected by her death. She was a young and beautiful woman.

  They buried the woman and child side by side. Just the site of the graves made people cry for them.

  It was a sad day for the train.

  Abby went off to be by herself. She didn't want to call attention to herself, but she needed some time and space.

  Cully found her later, she was staring out at the vast valley below and crying silently. He took her into his arms and held her a long time. He didn't say a word, just gave her a shoulder to cry on.

  "I shouldn't be crying," she backed away suddenly.

  "Everyone cries sometime." He said softly.

  "Do they?" She asked.

  "Yeah…they do." He smiled.

  "She was so young, so looking forward to her first child. It makes you wonder if it's all worth it. I mean, that could have been any one of us…"

  "Abby, the baby came out all wrong with the cord wrapped around his neck. He couldn't have been saved. It was just too much for her. She couldn't live with it."

  "How do we know it won't happen to any of the rest of us?"

  Now he stared at her and something told him she was trying to say something important. "Tell me what happened Abby… I know there is more to your story than you're telling."

  She turned away. "I lost my baby too…"

  "How, what happened?" Cully asked feeling more pulled to her by the moment.

  "My husband happened." She blurted. Then after a long pause she explained. "He slapped me, hard, I fell, and I lost the child. I wasn't very far along. He never even knew…."

  "Abby…" Cully reached to pull her against him and let her cry now. She needed to grieve for her child, and the sadness that filled him confused him. "That's why you killed him…isn't it?"

  "Yes," She cried aloud.

  "I knew there had to be a bigger reason. You're no killer."

  "I swore I'd never go through that again. I waited until he fell asleep, and I shot him twice."

  Cully kissed her hair and held her tight.

  "I've never told anyone about the baby," she whispered.

  "I'm glad you told me." He whispered. "It won't happen again Abby. He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore."

  "I guess not," she didn't hesitate to say. Then she looked at him.

  "Do you want more children Abby?" He asked in a husky voice.

  She glanced up at him, "Of course I do. I think every woman does. But this sure isn't the place to be having them, now is it?"

  "No, I reckon it isn't. But she had to come, her husband was waiting for her. Look, we don't know what the future brings a lot of the time. Maybe that's best. But she made the attempt to get to her husband and we can tell him that when we see him."

  "Yes, and now she won't be there, nor his child. How can you possibly tell someone something like that?"

  "It's hard, real hard, but it's something I'll have to tend to."

  "I don't envy you." After he was silent a while she looked at him again. "Do you want children, someday?"

  He looked at the ground, "Well, if that right lady comes along I do."

  She shot him a bashful smile, "She will."

  Then his gaze met hers and locked on her. "Maybe she already has," he said softly looking straight at her.

  Abby licked her lips and moved away, "I better get back now."

  "Yeah," He nodded, and the smile faded from his lips, "I guess you better."

  From then on, he tried his best to keep his mind on his business. But from what she'd told him, it was hard. He realized how frightened she must have been, and how alone. And the feeling of protecting her surged through him.

  He had a lot of work to do, before this trip was over, though. The Sierra Mountains would be harder and worse than all the rest of the trip put together. He knew that, and he had to keep his mind clear. But her admission had struck a chord in him he couldn't shake. And while he worked so hard to get them through, his mind was on Abby and how hard it must have been for her.

  He'd never been in love before, he knew that. He didn't know what the future might bring either. But one thing stood out in his mind, he wasn't sure he could let Abby marry a gold miner. No matter how Abby felt about him, he had to see to her happiness, somehow.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  They passed a cold stream at the Murphy Cabin site, the rock that had been part of the cabin showed signs of people being there at one time. It haunted everyone that passed that way. People stared in unbelievable silence.

  They passed the Roller-Cold Stream Donner Passes, and everyone stood still for a moment, some saying a prayer.

  They headed westward through Roller Pass, and the Cold Stream Canyon. They saw signs where the Donner Party left names and directions. It was like following a ghost party. Donner Stream Pass was rocky and treacherous looking. They tried to hurry through the Donner Stream Pass, feeling the spirits of the party still around them. It was superstition, but it made all of them want to get out of there, even Cully. Hobby said there were spirits about.

  There had been a meadow at Roller Pass and they had camped there for the night. With so many wagons though some of them were still on the trail it was impossible to circle the wagons in this part of the mountains.

  The lip of Roller Pass was steep, and chains were used to ensure the wagons weren't lost on the incline. It took time to chain each wagon, as it went downward, but it had to be done. Men worked hard through the mountainous slopes, but safety was of the most importance. For the first time the two trains really worked hard together, and Cully felt they had all come together for the good of all.

  When they finally came to Soda Springs, some of the tension and hard work let up. Cully let the train celebrate making it down one of the worst cliffs. They deserved it.

  "We'll be there before too long now. You'll have to direct me to the mining place you are
to meet up with the men at." Cully told Abby.

  "We're supposed to go to the Trinity Church at Nevada City. Then we'll stay there a while and move on to where ever they are working or close to it." She told him.

  Cully nodded. He didn't say anymore, as his heart was heavy. How could he let her go to one of those miners? How could she ever do better for herself in places like that?

  And yet, she hadn't once given him any indication she didn't want to go. Instead, she kept her mind on her destination.

  He reckoned she'd have to see it for herself.

  He envied Johnny and Rebecca.

  Pushing ever onward, they passed Pahatsi Road, filled with huge rocks and scattered timber. It was full of rocks and treacherous fields. Granite was welded into the earth's core and going over it was a challenge for all the wagons.

  One woman totally gave out trying to keep her team of oxen steady, and after Cully got on the wagon, he took it over the rough terrain for her.

  When they got to a stopping point he suggested they camp. The woman was near fainting.

  Cully looked at all the people, "We have done well, and kept moving. We've kept the wagons moving and we've hauled the debris from the trails. But I think we all deserve some rest, so we'll camp here for two days and then move on."

  It had been a mistake because a storm blew up that night and lightning hit some of the trees, knocking them down and one came down on a wagon, killing the man and injuring the children. The man was a widow and the children were now orphans.

  The men worked forever to get the tree off the wagon and rescued a dog that was inside it.

  Slug had been at Cully's side all the way and only once found his own danger, as he stumbled upon a prairie rattler. But Slug knew his enemies and didn't choose to fight the snake.

  The dog in the wagon was injured and the doc from Cully's train treated it. He was quite fond of dogs and had been caught feeding Slug scraps several times.

  Slug stayed with the injured dog though until he was well enough to walk on his own.

  The children had minor scrapes and cuts. Still, losing their one and only parent was hard on them.

  Myrtle Wilkins, the woman with the children on Cully's train offered to take care of them.

  "But ma'am, don't you think you have enough children?" Cully asked.

  She shot him a scowl, "You men, you'll never understand the heart of a woman, you never have too many children."

  Cully smiled at her, "Alright Myrtle, it's very generous of you."

  They gave their pa a funeral and buried him on the trail. The kids cried, especially the little ones, but when Myrtle took them into her wagon, they seemed glad to join her small brood of kids too.

  It took three days to get the tree off, the wagon, it was beyond repair, so they took what supplies it offered and put them on another wagon. They used the supply wagon, there was no room inside, but at least one or two could ride up front during the day.

  Cully was anxious to get the train moving again. He figured the sadness that surrounded them might be better left there.

  At the Cascade Lakes they found Charles Stanton's grave and it again reminded them where they were. But the lake was a welcome reprieve too, and everyone jumped in the clear water as it was so inviting.

  When Cully refused to join them Abby and Rebecca came to drag him in too. With Johnny's help, they got him to the water's edge, then Johnny hauled him up and tossed him in. They splashed water all over him.

  "It is time you had a bath," Abby told him with a smile.

  "I'll pick my time to bath, ma'am." He told her.

  "I think it's time we picked it," Abby challenged. "In fact, I think we just did."

  With Johnny's help they tossed him in.

  With a frown, Cully washed up a bit, then made sure the oxen and few mules they had left didn't balk at crossing the river.

  Cully pointed out the Devil's Mountain and everyone stood staring at the rock. It stood majestically in the distance.

  "Why do they call it that?" One woman asked.

  Hobby stared at the mountain, "There are many stories about the mountain, mainly that it is haunted by spirits of the past. Some say it is evil spirits about gold miners taking gold from it. Others say it is about a war between the Indians and the Spanish. No one knows for sure, but most consider it a devil mountain, that is for sure."

  Around the Big Bend Rainbow, they encountered a lot of granite, sunk deep into the mountain. They could not be dug up, and the wagons had to cross them. This is where things began to slow down. If there hadn't been so many wagons, it might have been easier, but they spent a week getting all the wagons over the granite and had three more wagons split their wheels and pound the iron into the granite.

  The huge rocks seemed to go on forever, and it was a pure struggle getting the wagons to keep rolling. One wagon had to be emptied before it would go over the huge rock formations.

  Hot, back-breaking work, made the men need a break after working over the trail for four days. But the granite rocks were everywhere, and the trail seemed more rock than dirt. Like battling the impossible.

  They came to the Yuba river and between the rocks and the trees it was hard to tell where the trail was. They found a couple of cabins near the river and they were abandoned.

  They just got past some of the huge obstacles in their way, only to find more as they came upon Crystal Lake Road. Littered with fallen trees and huge rocks that had broken away from the mountains, it was a task keeping the path clear.

  The men were weary from the work.

  Finally reaching the Yuga Gap, they camped.

  Johnson's train was really griping now. Weeks of moving rocks, and huge branches from the trees made everyone restless and begin to think they'd never get out of the Sierra's.

  The first night they camped, no one played music, no one danced. They were all too tired.

  The food was growing scarce, so Cully sent out some of the men to hunt for meat.

  What no one expected was for the men to come back with bear meat. It seemed two of the men had run into a friendly tribe of Indians and they offered them a couple of roasts. The men didn't turn it down and were happy to have meat for the fire.

  The women were overjoyed to get it too.

  Several men came back with fish, and another bunch had found, wild turkey and rabbits. So, meat would be cooked and last them a few days.

  Rebecca came up to Cully one evening as they were camped at the Yuga Gap for a couple of days. She rarely spoke to him, so he stopped and paid attention.

  Passing a few miners on the trail, Rebecca thought it was time for someone to speak up. "Are you gonna let Abby marry one of those filthy miners?"

  Cully stood staring at her in shock. "Well ma'am. I hadn't given that much thought. I mean, that's why we are headed to California, isn't it?"

  "Maybe it was, but I'd hate to see her end up there." Rebecca said softly.

  "Well, what do you think I can do about that?" Cully asked.

  "It's really simple. And you men sometimes need a guide yourself. You tell her how you feel, and marry up with her, that's what you do!"

  "It's not that simple. She's given no indication that she wants me to ask her." Cully excused himself from the conversation.

  Rebecca followed him though. "She's in love with you, but she doesn't know it, yet."

  Cully shook his head. "I don't think so."

  "My goodness does a mountain have to fall on top of you to see it?" She almost screamed. Then touched her mouth as though she'd said too much. "I'm sorry, I'm just very concerned for my friend. And anyone with two eyes can see how you feel about her. The looks you give her."

  "Look, right now, there's little I can do. I have trouble enough, just getting us through these dang mountains, ma'am."

  "Yes, you do. And I'm sorry I said anything." Rebecca walked off.

  Johnny saw her and headed for Cully, "What was that all about?"

  "Nothing, nothing for you to worry
about."

  "I know she's got it in her head that you and Miss Abby are in love. Women!" Johnny chuckled.

  "Yeah, I guess so," Cully agreed with a slight smile.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  There was a steep decline from Yuga Gap to Bear Valley. Down below it looked inviting, there was sparse grasses and more level land.

  Working tirelessly together, they made a slow descent of it. Only one wagon, toward the end of the train lost its step and went crashing down. The driver managed to jump free before the crash and was unhurt.

  Bear Valley was flatter, and easier to cross. They crossed at the smallest part of Bear River. Mule Springs was where the Donner Rescue Party camped and again reminded them of what they had managed to accomplish.

  Since traveling was easier now, they came down Mount Olive Rd, to Dog Bar, then down Wheatland to Sacramento Valley.

  They passed several mines and the men came to gather around them at the Last Chance mine, wanting to know where they were headed. They noticed the women and all the men took off their hats off and smiled.

  By the time they reached the Central House and Missouri Bar, they had to tie their cattle to the back of the wagons, because there was no feed for them. Slim had informed Cully that the cattle couldn't feed in this forest as there was much poison oak.

  Finally moving on down into the valley they ran into a newly built church, The Trinity Episcopal Church and Abby rushed to inform Cully that it was the meeting place for the brides.

  Cully sighed with resignation.

  "Are you sure?"

  "That's it, they informed us that they were building a new church and that we could be married there." She told him.

  Cully nodded, wondering what her rush was to get married, she hadn't met anyone yet. They camped out and around the church.

  "When are you to meet up with the people here?" He asked her.

  "What day is it?"

  "September, but I'm not sure what day." Cully told her.

  She suddenly reached to hug him, and it shocked him. After a minute she pulled away and explained, "Thanks for getting us here."

  Cully nodded. The last thing he expected was to see her jubilance.