Chapter II
Ludie made up her mind that she would go into the village alone after breakfast.
She didn’t know what she would do, but she would go alone and decide later. The girls and Mother were surprised when Ludie came out dressed in her best and announced she would be away for the day. They said not a word thinking it had to do with Pappy’s death. The boys asked a few questions as they saddled the mule, but they were not answered.
She didn’t know what she would do, but she would go alone and decide later. The girls and Mother were surprised when Ludie came out dressed in her best and announced she would be away for the day. They said not a word thinking it had to do with Pappy’s death. The boys asked a few questions as they saddled the mule, but they were not answered.
As Ludie rode along the path to the main road everything seemed so unreal. She wondered if she were in her right mind.
As she came into the village, Ludie thought of the nice man in the Post Office and decided to talk to him. She was glad to see he wasn’t busy as she came in. She asked about the mail and then told him about her father. The old man assured her that there were many more people just like her who had no word about their kin. He asked her why she didn’t go to work for someone. Ludie said she had come into town with just that thought in mind and she would like to very much. Her took her outside and pointed out a house where a well-to-do lady with a little boy was looking for some help. He also suggested the furniture factory. They needed help making chairs.
Ludie thanked the Postmaster and went at once to the house he had pointed out. She rapped lightly on the door, and it was opened by a pretty woman about her own age, or maybe a little older. “Are you looking for someone to help you?” Ludie inquired.
“Yes, I am,” Mrs. Hood smiled.
“I am Miss Little. The man at the post office sent me.”
“Come in,” said Mrs. Hood, “And tell me what you can do.” She thought for a minute and said, “What do you want me to do?”
“Are you handy with children?” Mrs. Hood asked. Ludie was at the end of her wits. She had six brothers and sisters, but they were not children. This she told Mrs. Hood, who said with a smile, “I want someone to take my boy to school every day and get him in the evening. He will not go alone; he doesn’t like school. I would also like you to help with the housework between school trips.”
“I am sure I can do that,” Ludie nodded.
“Then I will expect you tomorrow.”
“I will be here,” Ludie affirmed as she rose to leave.
Ludie next went to the chair factory and asked for work for Lucy Ann. She was tall and strong and a good worker. Caroline and Betsey Jane were the dainty type; they could stay home with Mother. The man at the factory told Ludie to bring her sister in. They would try her for one day to see if she could do the work.
At home that afternoon, Ludie told everyone about her morning in Asheboro. Lucy Ann couldn’t believe she was going to work in a factory. She was so upset she couldn’t eat her supper. She had never been any further than the main road where the path led off by the river to the cabin. “Oh, surely you won’t leave me there alone,” she sobbed. Mother felt sorry for her, but she didn’t dare say so. She could see that Ludie meant to go through with her plans, and maybe it was for the best.
Ludie took Lucy Ann to the river that afternoon to wash her hair. Lucy Ann had such long thick hair that there didn’t seem to be a pan or bucket big enough to rinse out the soap, and, anyway, why carry so much water. There was a shallow place in the river just below the cabin that was a fine place for such a task. When their clean clothes were ready for the morning, Ludie sat on the porch to rest. Lucy Ann went to her room and laid on the bed and cried. Mother advised, “Leave her alone. A cry will do her good. She is just scared.”
The next morning when the girls left for Asheboro, arrangements were made for Bob to ride the mule and go after Lucy Ann at the factory. Ludie had to stay all week at her work. She could go home Saturday night.
When Ludie and Lucy Ann reached the main road, Lucy Ann started holding tightly onto Ludie. She was so scared she could hardly breathe. The farther they went, the harder she held on. At last Ludie stopped in the middle of the road and said, “Look what you are doing. You have got me half undressed. See how you have my skirt pulled away from my waist. Don’t hold onto my skirt. I will take you by the hand and I won’t let anyone hurt you. Do you believe me?” After a minute’s thought Lucy Ann agreed to go on more quietly.
At the factory Ludie had to take Lucy Ann through the door by force, but once inside she was calm and answered the necessary questions easily.
When Bob met her that evening he was surprised to find Lucy Ann acting like a human being. On the way home she was very talkative and gay. She liked the work and her boss, an elderly lady who had her daughter working there. Mother, Betsey Jane and Caroline had supper waiting and listened eagerly to Lucy Ann as she told how everything had gone at the factory. She was happy that she could do the work. “Shux,” she said tossing her head smartly, “Pappy taught me to do that cane weaving when I was little.”
Ludie’s first day taking care of the little Hood boy was a trying one. They both made up their minds to win. Ludie was the biggest so she had the advantage over the little boy, but he was just as determined he wasn’t going to school. Ludie decided at breakfast time to try kindness to win him, but she saw immediately that would do no good. It must be force. When he was ready at last, she opened the door and took his hand in hers. They started out. He held onto the door and everything else that came near, so she just pulled him along part way, dragged him mostly, and sometimes they ran. By the time they were halfway to school, he was half undressed.
All the neighbors were peeking out of their windows to see how this new girl was doing. As they came in sight of the schoolhouse, conditions got worse. Buttons were flying and so were the tears. Although Ludie’s arm felt like it was broken, she held on and pulled forward. By this time they were both so angry and upset they didn’t notice they had reached the door. Ludie said she never really knew which one of them kicked it open. The door flew open and hit the back wall with a bang. There they stood. Her hair was all deranged, sweat covered her brow, her skirt was crooked, and her face was flushed with embarrassment. As Mr. Fowler rose and came to greet her, she couldn’t say a single word.
The schoolmaster was Mr. William S. Fowler, a small man who was very handsome with his black curly hair and pink complexion. He was neat as a pin and very dignified. Mr. Fowler didn’t have much patience with the Hood boy, who was hard to manage and took up so much of his time. But the little schoolmaster was dead set on being the boss, and he did not intend to give up. Each night he sent a note home to the boy’s mother telling whether the day had been a good one or a bad one.
Ludie thought Mr. Fowler was the most wonderful man she had ever seen, although she was half a head taller than he and wore the same size shoes. She found herself talking a lot about the schoolmaster to Mrs. Hood.
Every Saturday afternoon Ludie went home to stay until Sunday evening. She had learned many new things from Mrs. Hood. She found out that things didn’t go to well at home while she was away. From the time she came into the house Saturday until Sunday evening she was after the boys to get this and that done. She swept the backyard and dug out some new steps to the spring where some of the rocks were sliding away. She had some new clothes herself and Mrs. Hood had given her some to make over for her mother. They were black clothes and some were silk and slightly worn. Ludie was very good with the needle and Mother was only half as big as Mrs. Hood so the worn places could be taken out very nicely.
Ludie was saving her money to buy a stove to cook on. She told her mother about the new stove with the little tin box where the ashes fell. “You don’t need to take them out with the shovel at all,” she reported. “And there is an oven that you just open the door and put the bread in.”
“Land sakes, child, who ever thought of such a nice idea?” Mother said.
“Oh, nearly everyone has a stove like that now,” Ludie answered.
So the weeks and the months passed. Lucy Ann liked her work at the furniture factory and now there was a little money to do with. Caroline was married to a man just home from the war. Her husband, Albert L. Dowde, was wounded and was not well. He was a tobacco tester sent out by a tobacco factory to tell the good from the bad before it was bought.
One weekend as Ludie came into the house, Mother approached her saying, “I am so glad you are home, child. It seems like I am so alone now with you gone and Lucy Ann away all day and now Caroline has left. The boys are clearing some of that bottom land so we can have more tobacco next year.”
Mother perked up as she told Ludie she had a letter from David and he was doing well in Indiana. Pappy had told him when he went away to war that he had a brother and some cousins in Indiana and if he got that far north to go and see them. David had done just that. In his letter he said they were fine people and he was having such a good time. They were not poor at all like Pappy had said they might be. He was staying at the house of his cousin Ed, who had married a rich farmer’s daughter. David said he was in love with her sister Hannah and was to be married soon. He also said he was never coming south again.
“I suppose he wants us to come north,” Ludie said.
“Yes,” Mother looked surprised, “How did you guess?
“Oh, I have read some of the letters he has been writing. If you listen to him, milk and honey are flowing in the rivers and money grows on trees.”
“Yes,” Mother nodded complacently, “He said the folks have money.”
As Ludie was helping Mother get supper ready, she asked why Betsey Jane wasn’t more help around the house. Mother shook her head, “Oh, I don’t know. She daydreams all day. Spends most of her time swinging. . . One wouldn’t think she was right bright if you didn’t know her. She is lost since Caroline left. I don’t’ scold much; I feel sorry for her. If I do give her something to do like scrubbing the porch or kitchen it takes her hours. She goes over the same place so many times. And she pins her skirts up to her neck. I am always afraid someone will see her. She wants to go north too,” Mother ended.
“Yes, yes, that’s all we ever hear anymore is North,” Ludie said flatly.
Mother thought Ludie looked well and didn’t talk every minute about Pappy and that was good. “Mrs. Hood must be a wonderful lady to be so nice to you. Did you say she is helping you to get the stove?” Ludie didn’t answer.
That evening as they sat on the porch, Ludie thought she would tell her mother about the schoolmaster. As she was about to say he liked her, she thought better of it and said instead, “Mr. Fowler is such a smart man. He just knows everything. I told him about David and where he is living and he showed the place to me on the map. He says there are a lot of people going to Indiana to live. He also told me it will be many years before the South gets on its feet again.”
The following Monday Mrs. Hood decided she would take her son to school so she could talk to the teacher about the boy’s poor reading. Ludie felt crushed and kept asking herself why. She decided she must be in love. When she went for the boy in the evening, Mr. Fowler told her he had missed her in the morning and said he looked forward each day to her sweet smile. She could feel her face burn even though she was happy to know he liked her too.
As the weeks passed the schoolmaster would slip a little note for Ludie in with the one he gave her for Mrs. Hood. Somehow these notes telling her sweet little nothings and how beautiful he thought she was seemed to life her up out of her sad world. She could forget Pappy for a time and instead of crying herself to sleep every night, she could go to sleep thinking about Mr. Fowler.
One day when she came in with a note for Mrs. Hood, Ludie got mixed up and gave her the wrong one. When Mrs. Hood began to smile she knew what she had done. It was so embarrassing, but Mrs. Hood said she had thought as much and was glad. She added gently, “You were such a sad girl when you first came and too often had swollen eyes. I know he will be good for you. He is a very intelligent man and from a good family”.
The following weekend Mrs. Hood was sick so Ludie sent word to Mother that she couldn’t come home. Mother hated to hear this as she was bursting with news. Caroline had an eight pound red-headed boy whom they were calling Addison Lee. Bob and John were happy that Ludie was not coming home on this particular Sunday. They didn’t want to be checked up on as she always did. They had made arrangements with an old man back along the river to help him make whiskey. They were surprised when he told them he could make just as good a whiskey as anyone. He seemed like a nice old man and when Bob had asked what he would pay to help, he had promised them money.
Mrs. Hood was sick a long time and it had been weeks since Ludie went home. Mother missed her so much. “Are you going to tell Ludie about the boys and the old man?” Lucy Ann asked Mother.
“I must,” Mother answered. “We must stop this some way.” John was drinking too much whiskey. He came home every Sunday night sick and as cross as a bear. She had pleaded with Bob to stay away and to keep John away from the old man that made that poison stuff. Bob always said yes, but they went back the next Sunday. Mother worried and kept silent deciding to say no more about it until Ludie came home.
The clearing was going like wildfire since the boys had a jug of whiskey apiece behind the sump. They thought Mother didn’t know about it, but she had sent Lucy Ann to look about while the boys were eating dinner. When she knew this to be true she just couldn’t brag to them about how happy she was they were working so well. She took no more interest in the clearing and the boys couldn’t understand why. John complained, “We don’t get any credit for anything we do around here. All we hear about is the bad things we do.”
Ludie came home happy to be with her family after her long absence. She was anxious to see Caroline’s new baby and she had so much to tell about herself. They talked for hours. Mother kept putting off the bad news about the boys, but when Sunday came she knew she must tell. “Where are the boys today?” Ludie wondered.
Mother took her by the arm and led her to the porch. Motioning to a chair she said, “I have something I must tell you.”
Ludie looked surprised. “What is it, Mother? Are the boys in trouble?”
“Yes,” Mother sighed wearily. “They are drinking whiskey.” Then she told the long story about how it all happened.
“That dirty skunk,” muttered Ludie as she rose from her chair. “I’ll teach him a lesson.” She tied her head up in the white square rag as she always did when she had a headache. She grabbed Pappy’s gun and black snake whip and started briskly down the river paying no attention to Mother’s cautioning, “Be careful. Use your tongue instead.”
Ludie walked so fast she could hardly breathe. AS she walked along she kicked every rock in her path and sent them tumbling in all directions. The more rocks she kicked the madder she got. As she came closer she could smell the brew and hear the talking.
She wanted to come upon them by surprise, so she sneaked quietly from one tree to another until she was standing besides the old man who was giving the orders. Then she bellowed in a loud voice, not a bit ladylike but just like Pappy would have done, “I want to know who the dirty puke is that is making drunkards out of my brothers.”
The old man’s mouth dropped open and he could not say a word. John and Bob looked up white as a sheet. “Well, don’t’ stand there,” Ludie shouted as she cracked the whip around the old man’s legs. “Start talking and quick.” The old man finally got his voice back, although he thought it had left him for good. He pleaded that he had meant no harm. The boys were working for him every Sunday and if they got drunk he couldn’t help that.
“They are not working for you another minute, and if I ever see them here again I will shoot that peanut head right off your shoulders.” Then Ludie turned on the boys, “Get home as fast as you can.”
As the three walked home the boys argued that they were making money and no one was drunk so why did she have to spoil everything. The old man was going to give them half of what he sold because they were such good workers. When they came home Mother was waiting fearfully, not knowing whether to expect three corpses or what. “What happened?” she asked anxiously.
“Oh, nothing. I just broke up a big business arrangement,” Ludie sneered. “We were soon to be millionaires, and my biggest surprise was to hear what good workers my brothers are.”
As Ludie was getting ready to leave after supper, Mother approached her saying, “I have been thinking a lot about going away to where David is. Maybe he could help with the boys.”
“Oh, you have been thinking that too?” Ludie said.
“Yes,” Mother went on. “If Pappy were only here it would be so different. But they are too much for me to handle. I know it seems like an impossible undertaking with such a big family and so far to go, but maybe you could speak to Mr. Fowler about it and he could help us. You said he is a learned man. He can find out how to go about it.”
“Yes,” Ludie agreed. “I will.” As she kissed her mother goodbye she urged, “Don’t worry. Where there is a will there is a way.”
The following Saturday afternoon Ludie arrived home in a blustering of excitement. She was going to give the house a good cleaning and make preparations for a good dinner Sunday. Mr. Fowler was coming to dinner to talk to Mother. Ludie was glad they had the new stove and Mother agreed it was nice they could cook the first dinner on it Sunday.
Bob and John couldn’t understand how one man could cause so much excitement, even if he was a schoolmaster. They made a lot of uncomplimentary remarks about him. Ludie wondered why they were so much against him when they hadn’t even seen him yet. She supposed it must be because he was educated and they were not. They were afraid of him and could not be themselves when he was there. She knew they would be ill at ease, so she planned to have an early dinner for the four children, something simple that they liked. Then she and Mother and Mr. Fowler would eat later. Mother agreed that was a fine idea.
Ludie planned a lovely dinner, everything that she liked herself and hoped that Mr. Fowler would like too. She roasted a possum nice and brown and baked sweet potatoes in the oven. They also had cornbread and peas cooked in the pods and gooseberry steamed pudding with milk and sugar dip. Ludie served dip with all of her puddings. She used one teaspoon of sugar to every cup of milk and stirred it in a pitcher and kept it real cold. Mr. Fowler thought the dinner was the best he had ever eaten, especially the gooseberry pudding.
Mother liked the schoolmaster very much and he also liked her. They sat at the table all afternoon talking. He told them about how land sold so low at this time one could hardly believe it. Just no one seemed to have any ready cash. Mother knew that was true. She had sold a couple of little tracts, one for as low as twelve dollars. Mr. Fowler also pointed out that the railroad fare would not be so much, but when they got to Indiana there would be the expense of getting started.
All the time Mr. Fowler and Mother were talking, Ludie could hear John and Bob commenting saucily for her benefit about sparking the little banter rooster. One would shout, “Oh, no,” very loudly, “No. No, not that.” Then they would laugh. They moved in closer to the house as the afternoon went on. Just before Mr. Fowler was ready to leave, they were under the kitchen window whispering and laughing about his fancy vest. Ludie was getting angrier by the minute. Mother and Mr. Fowler paid no attention. He told Mother he would find out about the fare on the train and all about everything and come back the next Sunday evening to take Ludie to Mrs. Hood’s.
Ludie said goodbye to Mr. Fowler by the window, and Mother walked out with him to the front door. The boys didn’t know he had left. John was all set standing on a rock to make him a little taller so he could stick his head out in front of the window, say something smart, and move his head out of sight quickly. But Ludie was waiting for him. As his head darted in the window for a second, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him halfway into the room. John, with his seat dangling, screamed at the top of his voice. Ludie slapped him with her free hand as hard as she could. Just then her eyes fell on the heavy pitcher with the dip. John was holding onto the window with his hands, and Ludie banged his hand with the bottom of the pitcher until he had to let go. John was left dangling from the collar. Then she poured the dip all over his face and down his neck while he begged for mercy. She finally dropped him to the ground, a very sorry boy.
“What on earth is all the screaming about?” Mother asked when she returned. “I was so embarrassed trying to talk to Mr. Fowler. He sensed my feelings and almost ran out.”
Ludie replied smugly, “I just gave John a good slap.”
“Well, you must have.” Mother was somewhat provoked by Ludie. “Can’t we at least have peace when we have company?” She looked up just in time to see John running at top speed toward the river. The ground under the kitchen window was red clay and, of course, Mother didn’t know about the milk that Ludie had dumped on John’s face and head. She just saw a flash of red as he passed and thought it was blood. Mother never got upset about anything, it seemed, but now she ran out of the house calling after John, “John, John, where are you going? Come here to me.” John ran on and jumped into the river with all his clothes on. Mother began urging Bob, “Oh, come quick and get him out. He is hurt and might drown.”
Ludie walked slowly down to the river. Just as she stood behind Mother, John came to the top and stuck a clean head out of the river. Mother saw there was no blood and chided, “John, come out of there. With all your clothes on you could drown.”
“No such good luck,” Ludie remarked smartly.
“What are you doing in there anyway?” Mother asked.
John came out now with tears of anger in his eyes. “That old Indian witch, old crow almost killed me,” he said pointing at Ludie. Ludie turned and went back to the house while John told Mother all about it. When Mother came back to the house she said not a word to Ludie, which surprised her a little, but she was glad she got even with John.
Some time passed before all the plans could be made to leave. The land had to be sold and they had to take such a big loss that it made them sick. Ludie lamented, “Poor, Pappy. If he only knew.” And as she talked about it, Pappy’s sacrifice seemed so much worse.
Mr. Fowler came to Mrs. Hood’s house one day to talk to Ludie. He told her to say goodbye to Mrs. Hood and get things in readiness at home. Everything was arranged for them to leave in two weeks time. He had himself written David about all the plans and when to expect them. Caroline’s husband had died from his wounds in the second year of their marriage. So, of course, she and her two small boys were going to Indiana too.
Mr. Fowler made several trips to the Little cabin while he was taking care of arrangements for the trip. John decided he wasn’t so bad if he could make it possible for them to go north, for that had become the most important thing in his life. He wanted some excitement. He felt if something didn’t change he would just die; he was so bored with life. Mr. Fowler had mentioned the fact that the train ferried across the river. This scared John. He just couldn’t believe he was hearing right. Surely a big heavy engine and a lot of cars could not stay afloat on a ferry boat. It sounded scary, but they would just have to face it.
Mother and Ludie were getting all the clothes ready. They had bought valises, but they would have to take a lot of boxes too. Ludie was wondering how many they could take so she asked Mr. Fowler to find out.
As they were packing the clothes, Mother opened the drawer where Pappy’s clothes were kept and stopped for a minute to look at them. Her knees seemed weak so she sat down in a chair as she took the clothes out one by one and laid them across her lap. What would she do with them she wondered? It seemed to her when she thought about going away from this house that Pappy would be left here. She knew, of course, that was not true but it seemed that way. Pappy had lived all of his life, except the years he was fighting in the war, in this house. He had been born here, as were his seven children. Pappy’s father had built it just before he was married. Mother called Ludie to come to her and asked as she approached, “Child, what will we do with these things?” Mother called Ludie to come to her and asked as she approached, “Child, what will we do with these things?”
Ludie sat down in silence. At last she said decisively, “I think we should leave them here.”
“Yes,” Mother agreed, “But if someone lives here after we are gone, where will we put them?”
“I know of a place we can hide them,” Ludie answered.
“Why don’t we put them in Pappy’s old trunk and make a false closet in the loft. There is room for the trunk under the eaves where the little jump-off is. Closed in with some boards that are not new, it would be completely out of sight.”
Mother gave her consent so Ludie called the boys. She showed them what had to be done and then left the house. As she passed the bedroom window she called to Mother, “Can you and the boys do this alone?”
Mother looked up and saw the head rag in place. “Yes,” she replied, “Go out awhile, child.”
“I’m going down in the woods by the river. I don’t want to hear the pounding,” Ludie said as she walked sadly toward Deep River.
Mr. Fowler came the next day with the final arrangements and an answer to their question about how many boxes they could take. He told them the man at the railroad station was very cross and grumpy about the boxes and said they should use a little judgment. “What did you say to that?” Ludie asked.
“Sez I, ‘Mister, I don’t think you have much to say about it, after thinking it over. If there is any complaining over it, the conductor on the train would do it, and I’m sure a certain amount can be taken on each ticket.” So they decided to take as much as each one could carry.
They were to be all ready by five o’clock in the morning. A man would pick them up in a wagon. “Now, let me see,” Mr. Fowler said. “This is Tuesday. Don’t get mixed up. You be there five A. M. come Saturday.” Ludie assured him they all understood and walked to the main road with him.
On the way to the road, Mr. Fowler told Ludie he had loved her from the first day she came into the schoolhouse, and he hated to see her leave. As soon as he could get his affairs in order he promised to follow her to Indiana and they would be married. Ludie was sad as he talked; she was silent. She didn’t believe he would ever come to Indiana. She loved him too and didn’t want to act like she didn’t believe him. She said, “Whether you ever come to me or not, you will never know how much you have helped us. I appreciate it more than I can put into words.”
“Yes, I know,” he said. “Will you write to me?”
“Why, yes, of course,” Ludie replied quickly.
“You don’t believe a word I’m saying,” he said sadly.
Ludie paused and then said, “I do believe you, but I am so mixed up in my own mind.” He kissed her gently and they walked off in different directions.
On the way back to the cabin, Ludie sat on a log and had a good cry. She felt more like jumping into the river just then than anything else she could think of.
The following three days were hectic. John and Bob had new outfits and were very excited about them. They had never had a suit with matching pants and coat before. They never could get two things at one time; if they got new pants their shoes were old. Now they felt like millionaires. John was so proud of his new gaiters he spent half of his time looking at them and trying them on. He was sure he would look like a real gentleman when he got all dressed up.
Friday the boys went hunting for the last time in the woods. They went for two reasons, for old time sake and to get a wild turkey to roast for sandwiches for the trip. Mother packed the lunches in a big white box with a tight lid. She boiled four dozen eggs and packed in lots of bread and cheese. When she had the lunch all packed Friday night, it was a big one.
Mother decided it would be best for the girls to get all dressed, except for their outside dresses and shoes, before going to bed at night. She told them to lie down across the bed on their backs to sleep so they would not get all mussed up. They couldn’t all get ready at the last minute Saturday and Caroline had to get her two little boys ready in the morning.
After the packing was completed and everyone had settled down for the night, Mother and Ludie walked out in the moonlight down by the spring. As they strolled along, Ludie turned to Mother asking, “How do you feel, Mother?” Are you real tired?”
“No,” Mother answered. “I am not as tired as I thought I would be after such a day.”
“Then you won’t mind walking down the path by the river a little way?” Ludie said.
“No, I would like to,” Mother replied. They walked alone in silence for a little while. Mother commented, “Isn’t the moon beautiful tonight?”
“Yes,” Ludie agreed and she went on, “Just think, Mother, you and I will never walk this path again in our lifetime. This is our last night here. I have never called any place home but this and I just can’t imagine what it will be like to live someplace else.”
Mother said slowly, “I hope we are not making a mistake. I love this place too. I came here as a bride.”
Ludie took her mother by the hand and said, “Sit on this log with me. I want to tell you how I feel about Pappy; I know you will understand. I just keep thinking we are leaving him here, running away from him and leaving him here all alone. Of course, I know he is not here and we are going north in the direction where he is buried, but it seems like he is in these woods and I think it will always seem that way.”
“Yes, I know,” Mother said, “I feel the same way. I have felt so sad all day today and I don’t feel any better tonight. I will be glad when morning comes.”
“Maybe the excitement will help a little,” Ludie said comfortingly as they started back.
The backyard looked so unfamiliar with the big black kettle put away in the woodshed. It had always stood in the same place as long as she could remember; only the white rocks that it stood on were left. They settled in the rocking chairs on the porch.
Above is the Marriage Bond
Between Green Little and Mima Davidson
Dated April 29th, 1840
The Marriage Cost Green 500 Pounds (Current Money)
At dawn they rose and went into the kitchen to put on the mush for breakfast. Mother picked up one of the split bottom chairs and looked closely at the weaving of the cane. She said in a low voice, “Pappy made these chairs and they are still good.” They were going to leave all the furniture as it was. They would need it until the last minute and, besides, no one had any money to buy it that would want it. So, when they were gone, anyone could have it. Mother said, “All they need is strength to carry it away.”
The big adventure went off without a hitch. They were on time at the station and the train man was real nice about the luggage. The girls all looked lovely in their full skirts and matching poke bonnets. John worried a little as they rode along in the train[i], still wondering about the ferry boat, but when they came to it, he wasn’t as scared as he thought he would be.
[i] I had always imagined that the family had made the trip from North Carolina by wagon. Moving north from North Carolina to meet up with the “National Road” to move westward to Indiana (The “Road” actually connected Cumberland, MD with Vandalia, IL). I also never knew whether Jemima “May” Little had made the journey. In reading this story I learned for the first time that the journey had actually been by train.
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