Crossing The Missouri River

The wagons had started to cross the river one by one. The travelers for the most part walked beside their wagons because the wagons were full of things to begin their new lives on the prairie. Nell's friend, Ethel, had been driving the wagon, but had been convinced when they got closer to the river that a strong man would be driving it through the flood waters. There had been a really bad storm a few days ago and had filled the river over the banks with water making it difficult to see a good place for the oxen and horses to make a safe crossing.

Men that had crossed months before had made rafts for the people to ride on. They were left on the banks of the river on the other side so brave men had to cross the river and float them across the river for the next pioneers to use. The rafts were made from logs that were cut in half. The logs were tied together. Then horses were connected to the rafts by leather tack and heavy ropes that would hopefully be strong enough to carry the weight of so many people. Some rafts were large enough to carry a wagon or two at the most. The wheels were taken off so the wagons would be more stable and not so apt to topple over.

There were some accidents during the crossing. Nell could hear shouts of fear and anger from people as well of screams from the horses. The water was fast and furious. It looked like boiling thin mud it was so dirty looking. Some wagons were lost as well as people. These were dangerous times. She was sure that she would never make it. As she got on the raft the water was lapping up onto her shoes and the bottom of her dress. It was so cold. She clung onto her friend for dear life. She just knew she would never make it to safety. She put her hand to her chest and could feel the thin picture of her mother she held to her heart. "Oh mama, what have I done? I should have stayed in St. Louis. I should never have answered that ad for a bride." She felt the raft tip and her wagon was on the verge of falling in the river. She screamed and attempted to hang on to the wagon. Her friend and some of the men said, "Let it go! Save yourself from falling in. You are much more important than the things in the wagon. Our friends will help and hopefully soon your new husband will replace your things. Do you know how to swim? We may have to jump in if the raft sinks.

Back in Iowa, Marlee Ada was wondering where her new ma was. Pa was always so busy with the fields and the animals she didn't get to see him much. She was lonely and hot. Pa didn't even have time to take her fishing or a picnic by the pond. She looked around and thought, "I can make my own little pond. My ma used to make her own pond."

"I can make my own pond too. Pa won't mind. Oh this bucket is really heavy..."

Nell Learns How To Cook

Ethel had watched and listened to Nell during their time together on the trail. She had found out several things about her. She was traveling to Iowa to marry a man that she had never met. She was going to have four children to care for, cook for, sew for. She was going to live on a farm which she had never done. She also had to store food to eat during the winter months. After hearing Nell's story she found that Nell didn't know how to cook! She was an only child so she didn't have any knowledge of caring for children, and she certainly didn't know how to preserve food from the garden nor how to cure meat. So she decided that she would do as much teaching as she could along the trail, which was very limited. The first thing that she was going to do is teach her how to make bread on a bonfire in her Dutch Oven.

The pioneers did not have yeast that makes bread rise or get bigger like we are used to. They had something called saleratus. It was a bit like our baking soda. They mixed some of that with cream of tartar and water. It was very precious to them because bread was the most important staple food they could make. Then they added enough flour to make a stiff dough. Their flour wasn't white either. They had only very coarse flour on the trail. The dough was put in a Dutch Oven on hot coals in the fire. Then the ladies covered the complete Dutch Oven with more red hot coals. The heat was very hot so they had to watch it carefully so it didn't burn. Sometimes if they were camping for a long time they would hang the Dutch Oven over a fire. That would take longer, but wasn't as quick to burn the bread dough.

The folks on the wagon train were very inventive. Sometimes they dug a big hole and put rocks in the fire. Then they could actually cook on the rocks. The thing was, Nell didn't like to cook or bake. She was all thumbs. She was getting dirty, breaking fingernails, and her attempts at cooking was dismal. Ethel continued to encourage her, but thought to herself, "Oh dear. What is her new husband going to think." So she did the only thing she could do. She got together with other ladies and younger women more like Nell's age. They all decided that they would "teach" her by doing. They would all get together when they could and pick a dish to cook. They laughed at each other's mistakes and eventually everyone learned from the older ladies. So Nell learned how to poke a sharp stick through a deer steak and cook it good enough to eat. She learned how to pick berries along the trail. mix a tiny bit of sugar with them and cook them on the fire for jam. She was feeling good about herself. She could serve her new husband, bread and jam and a piece of meat. He wouldn't starve.
"They had traveled several days and had reached the place where they needed to cross the Missouri River. The river was not quiet. It had very high places called bluffs on each side. It was way too dangerous to cross in Nell's opinion. She was very nervous when the trail boss came riding back and told them they had no other place to cross. They were going to cross the river that day or days however long it took to reach the other side. If they did not do it they may not make it to Iowa before the harsh winter was upon them. They needed to be brave and hope for the best.
Grandma Lu had a book that she had found with some pictures of the covered wagons crossing the river.

All of a sudden hands went up and there was lots of talking! Marlee said, "I wouldn't be afraid. I go swimming all the time with my sister, and mama and daddy. I even had my birthday party at a swimming pool. It was lots of fun." Kaysyn said, "I love swimming too. Sometimes I get dirty." Everyone laughed with her.  Charlie said, "My nana has a house on the lake. I get to go swimming there all the time. I have lots of fun. Bella, Adrian, and Jax all laughed and said, "We have a big pond and a swimming pool. We aren't afraid of water because we all know how to swim and we never swim alone."

Grandma Lu grinned at all of their stories and said, "Well, the most important thing is that you never go swimming alone, always have a buddy and if you don't know how to swim stay safely away from the water or wear life jackets or water wings. The thing is Nell didn't have any of those things did she? Hopefully her wagon will stay safe. Let's see what happens."

Green Coffee Beans And Hard Tack

Grandma B said, "I saw a coffee grinder in that picture of the covered wagon. I actually have an old coffee grinder as well as a churn." Grandma Lu grinned at her friend and said, "You know, B, there was no McDonalds coffee for you on those wagon trains. Everyone chuckled because they knew that Grandma B loved her McCaf'e coffee.

Grandma Lu said, "I had fun doing some research on what those folks took on their wagons. Mercy sakes. We are so spoiled! I just don't know if we could do it nowadays. In the story Nell said that they were running out of water. That happened a lot in those days. When that happened they had to do what they called dry camping. They would eat hardtack. All it was was flour and water. They cut it into small pieces and baked it. It would last for years. They would have to soak it in coffee for any flavor at all. They also chewed on dried meat called jerky."
"Getting back to coffee, B, they only took green coffee beans on the wagons. Then when they were able to stop they would fry those coffee beans in a cast iron skillet called a spider. When they were cooled they ground them and put some of the grounds in boiling water over the campfire.

"I think I heard you say one time that  your grandma drank her coffee from a saucer. My grandfather did too, then he would suck the coffee out of his mustache. It fascinated me when I was a little girl. But I was not allowed to ask him why he did that, of course. (There were strict rules about children talking at the table in those days.)  In those early days the grounds would settle to the bottom but when they poured their coffee the coffee grounds would come to the top so if they poured it in a saucer then they could blow it cool and slurp it gently so that they didn't get any coffee grounds in their mouths."
"When I was just a little girl my mother would have what she called "club." She and her friends would take turns having it at their homes. She would make what she called egg coffee. She mixed the coffee grounds with the beaten egg and dump it into boiling water into her great big blue speckled coffee pot. All the grounds stuck to the egg. Well, I'm here to tell you that egg coffee is clear as a bell and just delicious. I have used it while we were camping and during power outages."
Margaret said, "I love these stories, but what did they do for drinking if they ran out of water? I love my coffee too."

"From what I have read and heard they often had to ration their drinking water as Nell says in her story. However, they also had milk cows that many folks took along. They would hang their churns on the side of the wagon. The wagons had no springs of course, so the rocking would automatically churn the butter on their way down the trail. They did have milk to drink, but there was no washing clothes or taking baths when they were so short of water."

Marlee was listening and said, "What did the kids do?"
Grandma Lu said, "They had chores to do just like you do. One of the main things they did was tend to the animals and take care of the little kids. They also would scare up firewood if they found any dead trees or broken limbs. It was really hard work, but at night they often would have music and story sharing.

There was one more thing that was in the big wagon trains and that was the Chuck Wagon. The cooks on that wagon did a lot of the big cooking. The men would hunt rabbits, and deer and many other wild animals and the Chuck Wagon cooks would often do the cooking then would save the leftover food for the trail. People got very tired of eating beans and rice and bacon. The cooks would fry out the bacon then pack it in bran. Bran is part of wheat or corn and is very dry, but still sometimes bugs got into the bacon. I can't even imagine, can you?"
"We have talked so much about the wagon train that Nell was on, but does anyone remember what she could not do? She was afraid to tell Nathan that she couldn't cook. Remember? Well, let's see what happens. She should be getting closer to Iowa pretty soon."

Quilting Stories At Marleewood

In a long story like the Mail Order Bride story she was telling, Grandma Lu knew that there would be lots of questions. She had shown them a picture of what the covered wagon that Nell and Ethel were riding in looked like. It had so many things loaded in it. The wagons in those days were called Prairie Schooners. They were about four feet wide and ten feet long. They could actually hold about twenty five hundred pounds of food and farming equipment. "In the picture I showed you of a covered wagon I asked if you could think of anything that was missing." Marjorie said, "I noticed that there were no quilts or pillows or space left for the people to sleep."

"That's right, said Grandma Lu. The people had to sleep in tents or on blankets or quilts under the stars at night."
It seemed that the mention of quilts on the trail gave way for so many stories about quilts that they had made or had family members that made quilts. Marjorie shared a story of she and her sister, Barb and her mother's grandkids all came down to her mother's home for a weekend and actually quilted six quilts; one for each grandchild. One of which was Marlee's papa, Jamie. She even had an old
picture that she shared with the group. She chuckled and said, "That little boy there is in his 60's now. We had such a good time that weekend. Such great memories."

Marlee's Grandma B told all about her Grandmother Taylor and her sister, Dova and a friend Mrs. Clampett decided that they would start a quilting club. They would go out to the Rosebud one room schoolhouse. They would have their quilting frame set up and had folding chairs all set up around the huge wooden frame. They would take out food, have lunch and of course, discuss any news in the neighborhood. She said they made a day of it and had a really good time. They sold some of the quilts for upkeep of the schoolhouse. She said that her Grandmother often would win blue ribbons on her quilts. Grandma B said, "Even the binding was hand stitched. None of the quilts they made were made by sewing machines. Grandma Taylor and Grandma Chaney have their pictures in the Humansville Centennial Book. I think that there is a copy of it in the Sitting Room. I put some pictures of the Rosebud school house in there too if you want to take a look. Some of them Matt took and sent for you. See the water pump? They had to pump their own water and carry it in the school for drinking and washing up."
"I would certainly like to know the history of that old school house. I wonder how old it is?" asked Grandma Lu. Sharon said, "I will look to see if I can find you a number to call the Polk County Genealogical Society. I think they may have some information for you."

Grandma Lu had her own story to tell about quilts. She said that her mother didn't have a sewing machine and hand stitched quilts also. "I have only one quilt left that my mother made. The picture of it is in my big old photo album. You are welcome to look at it. I enjoy it every day. I have it hanging on my bedroom wall. I can't even imagine how she got all of her stitches so even. She chuckled and said, "Mom always told the story of when she and my father first got married. She had bought some material and was cutting it up into squares and then sewed it up again. He said, "Why would you cut up perfectly good material just to sew it up again?" Her stories were always fun to listen to. Kathie said, "That pattern is called Grandmother's flower garden. I'm am just going to start making a small one similar to that one."

                   
 Marlee had fallen asleep at the table while Grandma Lu was telling her story. She had been catnapping and had heard part of the story. It was a little confusing and really really long so she went to the back of the room and started listening with her little sister, Whitlee. "I wonder why Grandma Lu is telling a story about a little girl named Marlee Ada? I am Marlee Ada. Oh I bet she is having me on another adventure again. Listen, Whitlee, I bet you are in this story too. I think I heard Grandma Lu say your name once. You are old enough now, I bet anything you will be on an adventure soon."