Mary's Musket by Kirsten Osbourne

Author:Kirsten Osbourne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unlimited Dreams
Published: 2020-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

THEY STARTED EARLY the following morning and went later than expected. By the time they reached the Little Blue, they were all exhausted. All Mary wanted to do was collapse in a heap on the ground, but instead, she returned the children with her to their various families, and then she fetched water from the river for the buffalo stew her mother was planning.

That evening, everyone worked together on meals, instead of having separate family meals as they usually did. While Ma got the water boiling, Margaret chopped up some of the buffalo for their meal. Hannah peeled carrots and potatoes and chopped them into small pieces. The Henderson children sat quietly waiting for their food while their father helped with setting up the camp.

All of the unmarried men came to eat out of Ma’s stew pot as well. The help of so many hands made the work light, which thrilled them all.

Mary went over to get two bowls of stew when it was done, fully aware that it would be her job to help with the dishes. She sat beside Bob, ready to go to sleep immediately that evening. She was too tired to do anything else.

She had just finished eating when she heard the doctor say something to her ma, and she knew immediately it wouldn’t go over well. “Thank you for the delicious meal, Mrs. Mitchell. The next time one of your children is injured, I’ll take extra good care of them.”

Mary hurried over and added some cool water to the dishwater Ma had been boiling while they ate. “It’s going to be all right, Ma. There won’t be any more injuries.”

Ma glared at Mary. “You know as well as I do there will be many more injuries. They need to stop calling this the Oregon Trail and start calling it the Death March. No one in their right mind should be bringing children on this trail. It’s going to be a miracle if anyone reaches Oregon alive!”

Mary rested her head on her ma’s shoulder for a minute. “I know this is frightening for you, Ma. I love you.”

As angry as her ma was, she never once raised her voice. “We never should have brought the babies. Never! I spent years pregnant with your siblings and you. Years! And all of those years are going to be lost with a six-month trek through hell.”

“I’ll get better about watching the little ones,” Mary promised. “I won’t take my eyes off them.”

“Of course, you will. You’re a newly married young woman, and you love nothing better than to hunt.” Ma shook her head, waving Mary away with her hand. “Go. Do something else. I’ll handle the dishes, or Hannah can do them with me. Don’t spend your last minutes on this earth washing dishes, when there is no woman alive who hates women’s work as much as you do.”

Mary walked away, well aware that Bob followed her out of the circle of wagons to behind them. When he reached for her, she slapped his hand away.

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