Beginning Again by Mary Beacock Fryer

Author:Mary Beacock Fryer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn

Chapter 8

Tryst on the Hudson

At home we found everyone but Papa and Cade, who were upriver on our land. “Papa wants you and Sam to leave as soon as you can, with the filly so he can school her more,” Mama told us. “He's worried that he may not have enough logs cut before the spring work interferes.”

“Don't you need one of us here, Mama?” Sam asked her.

“We've been managing very well so far,” she answered. “Uncle is very good at showing Smith and Stephen what needs to be done.”

“Tell us about the cow,” I asked next.

“We can thank Uncle, and also Captain Meyers, who stopped in his boat at our estate before we left for home,” she replied. “He has been bringing cattle in from Oswego. William went to the Bay of Quinte with him and brought the cow on the next brigade coming east. She'll have a calf in the spring so we'll have fresh milk again next year.”

That winter of 1791-1792 all our efforts went towards having enough logs for the great timber raft. While Sam and I had been away with Reuben, Papa and Cade had been busy erecting sheds on our land so we could store enough grain and hay for the horses. The grain was from our own stump-strewn fields, and the Mallorys had used our bateau to carry most of the hay from Coleman's Corners or their own farm. Samuel and Levius Sherwood and their father spent a night in our cabin on their way to Kingston. Everyone but Cade walked home on showshoes for Christmas. He stayed to look after the horses. The rest of the time was sheer drudgery, as we chopped, sawed and hauled logs close to the shore, and burned brush ready to make potash. We did not work the mare too hard, for she was again in foal.

With the spring, Papa sent the mare home with Sam. He would attend to her when she dropped her foal, and also to the cow when her calf came. I stayed until nearly the end of May, then I left to help dig and plant the garden at Coleman's Corners. Meanwhile, the mare had outdone herself by dropping twin fillies, and the cow had a fine bull calf. After the planting was nearly finished on our land, Papa returned, and Uncle William began making suggestions as to when he should leave for Long Island. One evening, as Papa and Uncle sat at the butternut table, lighting their pipes, Papa made a startling suggestion.

“William, how would you like to have Martha go home with you for a visit?”

“You know I would,” William said promptly.

Mama, seated by the hearth doing some mending, looked up. “I can't leave. There's too much work to do here.”

“Oh yes you can,” Elizabeth joined in. “The rest of us can do what needs to be done here. I think it would be lovely for you to have a holiday, Mama. Sarah's more use these days. Now that Margaret's weaned, there's nothing we can't do without you.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.