Chapter III
They were a weary lot when they finally arrived in Indiana but happy that all had gone so well. They were glad indeed to see David. He had changed so much, Mother thought. He had rented a house for them near his and had everything ready to go into at once. David’s wife, Hannah, and her two sisters were at the house and had dinner ready when they came in. The Little family liked Hannah at once. Mother was so tired she went to bed for a little rest before she talked to anyone. Of course, she kissed her new daughter and welcomed her into the family first.
The rest of the day was spent visiting. David wanted to know about Pappy’s death, so they told him as much as they knew.
Bob and John were making eyes at Hannah’s sisters before the day was over. Hannah had introduced them as Jane and Mary. John kept wondering what their last name was. He couldn’t’ remember what David had said in his letter. At last he got up enough nerve to ask Mary. She said, “Maris”.
“You mean your name is Mary Maris?” and he burst into laughter. “Why don’t you just call yourself Mary Mary?”
That made Mary very angry. “I am proud of my name,” she retorted. “That was the name of Jesus’ mother.”
“Oh, I know,” John said. “I was just laughing because the two names are so much alike.”
David made arrangements with Mr. Maris to give the boys work. Within three months after the family’s arrival, Bob and Jane Maris were married. They went to live with David and Hannah until they could find a suitable place for themselves. The two sisters got along together very nicely and were happy with this arrangement.
Mr. Maris knew he was in for trouble with two Southern boys to train. Farming to them was like pulling teeth. They couldn’t take much of it at one time; they were always so sleepy and tired. With lots of patience, the summer went by without anyone getting killed, but when corn gathering came, things were different. Mr. Maris would take four rows and John and Bob two rows. No matter how high the side boards on the wagon were, the boys would miss with about every three or four ears of corn they tossed. They hit everything but the wagon. One day John hit one of the horses on the head with an ear of corn and they had a runaway and upset the wagon. Mr. Maris was so angry he sent John home and told him not to come back again. Now Mother had no income, so David was called in. He didn’t know what he could do, but he promised Mother he would think of something. In a few days he went to see Mr. Maris to ask for a loan to help his mother. After a little thought, Mr. Maris decided to let John come back on Monday to try again.
Robert “Bob” Little
(Son of Green Little and Jemima “May” Davidson)
Jane (Maris) Little
(Daughter of John Maris and Rebecca Lindley)
Caroline and Betsey Jane were enjoying all the new friends they had met and going to church and to all the parties they were invited to. Caroline was engaged to a nice young man, Charles Turner. He was an easygoing sort of a fellow, full of fun, and he never seemed to get upset about anything. He liked her two boys very much. The girls teased her one day saying, “Gee, we don’t see how he can like you when you are so cross all the time. You never say anything nice to him.”
“Never mind,” Caroline said smugly, “This is my second husband, dear sisters, and if you aren’t careful you will be left hanging on the willow, just a couple of old maids.”
“Yes, I guess you are right,” said Betsey Jane. “You were blessed with beauty and we have the brains.” Lucy Ann said if she ever got married she would like an older man who had accumulated something; she was tired of being poor.
Ludie was always silent when they talked of marriage. She had had no word from Mr. Fowler, but she had not given up hope. She was so interested in Mother and in Caroline’s children that the days and months flew by.
Mother was not well. As the weather got colder she had a cold all the time. All the family was half frozen most of the time. They just couldn’t seem to get used to the cold nights. They would take turns staying up to keep the fire going. They talked so much about the cold that it got to be a joke about “the cold Little’s” and in fun someone sent them a poem written by a Southerner.
“I am ready to go, cried the plump young wren.
From this hateful home of the Northern man.
My throat is sore, and my feet are turning blue,
And I am afraid I have the consumption too.”
The next twenty years were uneventful. The girls were all married and had families of their own. John and Mary Maris were married also, so Mr. Maris had a third son-in-law from the Little family. Two had seemed too much, but the third one seemed almost more than he could take. He sickened and passed away the following year leaving the three sons-in-laws with all the farmland to do with as they pleased.
Mr. Fowler came from the South and he and Ludie were married. They lived in a small town called Quaker, Indiana, a Quaker settlement. Mr. Fowler found out soon after his arrival that a school teacher’s salary was too small to live on. Most of the people who taught school were farmers who taught as a side line. Mr. Fowler took up house painting and sold books in the wintertime.
Ludie loved flowers and her yard was a showplace of beautiful flowers and weeping willow trees. She carried humus from woods for her flowers as she had always done at her home in North Carolina.
During this time Caroline’s red-haired son, Addison Lee, had grown to manhood and was a very handsome young man. He was very devoted to his mother and Ludie. Through hard work and good management he had been able to buy a new home for his mother, but misfortune struck Caroline and she had to be brought into the new home in a wheelchair. She was afflicted with inflammatory rheumatism. Her husband, Charles, proved to be a very devoted husband and both of Caroline’s boys loved him. He was kept busy all day doing the housework and waiting on his wife, which left the matter of income to Addison.
The farming didn’t worry Addison half so much as the hired girl problem. They almost met one another going and coming. Addison was so disgusted with girls, he was sure he would never marry. In the spring he needed Charley in the field, so on a rainy day in April he started out to search once more for a girl. Someone told him about Lila Jones whose father had just died. Her grandfather Shane said she could work at housework if the people met with his approval. Addison asked the directions to the Shane farm and was on his way, but with a faint heart. The men at the store who spent their time loafing and talking had said old Silas Jones, Lila’s father, was a rich farmer and a mean one; and Grandpa Shane made his living in his old days loaning money at high interest and there was no telling what the old man would want for her wages. As he rode along, Addison tried to figure out how much he could afford to pay her.
After about three hours of rough roads and cold winds, he rapped on the door of the Shane home. To his surprise, a pleasant, white-haired, old gentleman opened the door. Addison stated his business at once. He was invited in and given the third degree. What kind of a house? What is wrong with your mother? Will there be a stove in the girl’s room? Do you set a good table? Not a word was said about money.
Mr. Shane excused himself and left the room. He returned in a few minutes and asked Addison to stay for dinner. Then he called one of the boys and told him to take care of the horses. When dinner was ready and they went into the dining room he introduced his wife Mary, who was only a few years older than his granddaughter. He passed over the children at the table lightly and they sat down. Everyone bowed their head and Thanks for the daily bread was said. Addison wondered where the sixteen-year-old girl could be. In a matter of minutes the kitchen door opened and Lila came in with a large plate of biscuits in her hand.
Addison’s heart seemed to jump to his throat. He was so shaky; he didn’t hear Mr. Shane say, “This is the girl we are going to let you try out as a housekeeper.” He thought he had never seen a girl so beautiful and so frail. Oh my, oh my, she would never do, he thought. As he sat silently wishing he had not come, Mr. Shane said, “She is a good worker and a good girl, and I don’t want you to forget that.” Addison kept thinking more and more she wouldn’t do and his mother would be furious.
After dinner the two men went in to sit before the fire. While Addison was trying to think of some way to change things, Lila came and stood before him, baggage and all. He just couldn’t get his mouth open to say a word, so he picked up the valise and walked out the door. Lila followed him after kissing Mary and Grandfather Shane goodbye. He helped her into the buggy and tucked the robe around her. They drove off in silence.
Lila broke the silence at last as she began talking about Mary and all the children. She hoped her younger sister would be some help to her. She thought Mary was an angel, if there were any on earth. Addison heard only a word now and then. His mind was troubled about what his mother would say. He thought about the bare kitchen floor to scrub and the wood to bring in if he was too far away from the house all day. He was about to console himself with the thought that he could help at night and in the morning, when he looked down at the small white hand lying on top of the robe. Panic struck him again and he sighed out loud.
“Oh, what is the trouble?” Lila asked. “You seem upset.”
“I am,” he said. “I am so afraid you won’t do. The work at our house is hard. My mother is so hard to please and you don’t look like you ever even washed a dish.”
“Don’t worry about that. Let’s not cross bridges until we come to them,” she said. “Why have you been having so much trouble with girls?” she asked.
“Oh, my mother finds so much fault with the cooking and the cleaning.” He told her of several incidents. The last one was over such a little thing as a baked apple. One word brought on another and his mother slapped the girl who immediately packed and left. The house was left standing on its ear and Ludie and Lucy Ann had to be called in to set things right.
“Don’t worry,” Lila said reassuringly. “I won’t slap back and I will remember your mother is sick.” His fears lifted and they talked of other things. She told him Mary was expecting a baby in December and she would like to go home for a week or two then.
When they reached home at last, Addison was surprised at how good he felt and how well-acquainted he seemed to be with this girl he had known only three hours. As he opened the door to the house, his mother’s voice thundered out, “Addison, is that you? Where have you been all day?” She caught sight of Lila, “Oh, a girl so soon?” He introduced Lila and the first thing his mother asked was, “Child, how old are you?” Lila smiled and did not answer. Addison took the girl to her room and told her supper would be ready in twenty minutes.
Addison had spoken to Charley as they went through the kitchen. When he came downstairs he stopped to set the table for supper and pretended to be very busy so his mother could not bombard him with questions. He was glad she was in bed instead of the wheel chair or she would be right in the kitchen. After supper the men washed the dishes and Addison did some late milking. Lila sat in the living room with Caroline and listened to all the orders that were to be carried out the next day.
The first year of Lila’s stay went smoothly. In the second year, Caroline’s fears were confirmed. Addison came in one day and sat on the bed as he always did when he had something of importance to talk about. As he was about to speak, she interrupted saying, “I know what you are going to say. You are in love.” Addison nodded. “And you think I am going to cry and act silly, but I am not,” his mother continued. “I have known this for a long time and I think it is the best thing that ever happened to you. You are twenty-nine years old and all your life you have been worrying over me. Charley can take care of me if you can pay the bills, and with Lila’s farm I know you can do that. I will miss you both though.”
“Oh, we are not leaving at once,” Addison told her. “We need a house on the land and Lila’s Grandpa Shane is going to give her the money to build one.” Caroline was pleased to hear that.
Money had not been talked about in the year and two months Lila had worked for Addison. He had asked her about it the first month she was there, but she had put him off saying, “I will see when I leave.” Now she was thinking about some new clothes, something to be married in, but she just couldn’t make herself say anything about money. A day in August had been set for the wedding and some dressmakers were so slow she knew she should be out already shopping for goods and ribbons and such things. She decided to write to Grandpa Shane. A return letter brought a check and a question, “What did you do with all the money for your work?” Lila had never cashed a check and she wondered what she would do. It seemed just like paper. She announced she was going to town to see a dressmaker and buy her wedding dress.
“Why, of course,” Addison said. “I was wondering why you didn’t get started on such an important task.” He said Charley would take care of her there after noon. He went to the cigar box in his drawer and took out some bills asking Lila if it would be enough.
“I don’t need it,” Lila said. “I have a check from Grandpa Shane.”
Addison was horrified and said angrily, “Don’t tell me you wrote to him for money.”
“Yes,” Lila answered.
“Why did you do it? Why didn’t you ask me?”
“I have never asked anyone for money but Grandpa in my life,” she said tearfully.
So the fuss went on. The door opened and out into the kitchen flew the wheelchair. “Stop it, Addison, at once,” Caroline commanded. “It was my fault. I just didn’t think of it or of the late date. Give her the money and tear up the check. Now be on your way.” So the tears were kissed away by Lila’s mother-to-be who never kissed anyone.
The following year a baby girl came to bring much joy to the complaining old lady who could no longer get out of bed. She spent many hours making rag dolls and rocking the cradle with her cane, which she no longer used to open doors and close windows. The baby was named Caroline Lee.
Just before the arrival of their second daughter, Florence, in September, they moved into the new house on the prairie and farming began in earnest. The days were lonesome for Lila; she had never been alone before. Addison was fall plowing and was away from the house all day. The crops were good the first year and they were very happy.
They had company often. All the kinfolk liked them. Lila’s Aunt Lila, whom she was named after, came to visit, but not often enough to please Lila. She loved her mother’s sister very much and Aunt Lila’s son Alfred was so much fun. He drove for his mother as she was afraid of horses. He always brought his violin with him and played for them.
They liked all the cousins on the Little side of the family. Addison’s cousins were all boys. Bob Little had three; David, two; Betsey Jane, two; and Lucy Ann, one. Lila liked them all except Joe Ross, Betsey Jane’s oldest boy. Joe was very handsome, but he never could keep steady work. “He is just lazy,” Lila would always say when he left for home. Addison would always take Joe’s side and blame the other fellow.
Lila was very peculiar in many ways. If she was displeased she would pout for days. Addison thought this one thing would drive him crazy. He would console himself with the thought that it didn’t happen often, but it seemed that each time it lasted longer. He couldn’t understand why didn’t rave or break a few dishes and get her way.
One time in late fall of the second year that they had lived on the prairie; Joe Ross came and stayed all week. Lila wondered why but didn’t ask; she just quit talking. Addison noticed it at once and sent Joe on his way but not before he had signed a note for him. Days went by and ran into weeks and still Lila was silent. Addison tried to think of something to break the silence. He thought of going to his mothers’ for a few days but decided it would do no good. Then he thought of Grandfather Shane. He knew Lila loved to go there. As the thought struck him, he dropped what he was doing and went to a neighbor to make arrangements to feed the stock for two days. Then he flew into the house like a madman and announced, “We are going to Grandpa’s this P.M. Come, I will help you get the children ready.” Lila said not a word but did as she was told and soon they were on their way. As they rode along in silence Addison wondered how she could get ready, get the children ready, pack the clothes for overnight, and still ride along in silence, for he knew she was glad they were going. Then he got angry with himself and decided he would make her say “don’t” anyway. He looked down to see that the oldest child, Caroline, was tucked in between them in the buggy seat and Lila was holding Baby Florence under the robe. Then he started to whip the horses and they began to run over the rough frozen country roads. Lila just held on tight to the side of the buggy with one hand and to the baby with the other and never said a word. He thought the buggy would fall to pieces, so he finally gave up and put the whip in the whip socket and rode along.
When they reached Grandpa’s and went into the house no one knew anything was wrong. Everyone talked to each other, but Lila didn’t say anything directly to Addison. When they started for home the next afternoon she was laughing and happy as she said goodbye to Mary and to Grandpa Shane. To his surprise as they started down the road she said, “I had such a good time.”
As they approached home Addison said, “This has been a terrible two weeks. I can never stand another time like this. Promise me now you will never do it again.”
Lila said nothing for a minute. Then she said, “I am sorry. I hate to blame the way I feel, but I am sick, I know. I have a fever every afternoon anted I am so tired all the time I just don’t care what I do. I asked you this fall when the corn sold to buy that red mohair couch I told you about and a new carpet. I asked you last fall, too. You came home with a new range and a sewing machine, and I can’t even sew. Now you sign a note for your good-for-nothing cousin Joe and you know you will pay it and where is the couch? Still in the store,” she answered flatly.
“My dear, I will get the couch and order the carpet when I go to town Saturday,” Addison conceded willingly.
Addison Doude Delilah
Florence Caroline Lee
Late in October Addison was shocked by the sudden death of his mother. It seemed he couldn’t think of anything else. For days he kept busy and tried to be alone with his thoughts. He didn’t notice how sick Lila was until one night he couldn’t’ sleep for her coughing. “How did you get such a cold,” he asked her.
“I have had it for weeks,” she said. The doctor came and gave her some tablets and cough syrup. He took Addison outside and told him she had consumption. Addison was upset by such a remark and said he knew the doctor didn’t know what he was saying. Lila stayed in bed. He got a girl to do the work and Ludie came each day to see that the children were taken care of properly.
On a wintery night the first week in December, Addison stood by her bedside and said goodbye to Lila. He kept saying over and over, “Five happy years is all.” Not a thing seemed real, not even the room. He went into the bedroom where the girls were sleeping and sat down with his head in his hands crying aloud, “Oh, dear God, why are you punishing me so? My brother Herbert in the spring, Mother in October, and now Lila, all in one year.” The doctor gave Addison some medicine before he left the house. He had been up night and day for so long and was so tired; he did as he was told. He lay down across the bed and soon he was in a half asleep half dreaming state, trying to believe all this was not real. When morning came and someone brought him coffee, it all came back to him and he knew it was real. He dressed and went to the parlor. He knew she would be put in there.
As he opened the door to enter the room, he thought his heart would break for directly across from the red mohair couch stood the white casket. He knew at that moment his life was over. He might breathe and his heart might beat, but his interest in everything was gone, even in his children.
After the funeral, arrangements were made for the girl to stay and do the housework. Lila’s sister Lacy was to stay to help with the children. Ludie was there every morning checking to see that the girls were kept warm, ate enough, and so on. Addison made plans for a sale of the house and also the farm. The big problem was the children. He couldn’t make up his mind what to do with them so one day he stopped to talk it over with Ludie.
After days and days of talking and thinking about it, Ludie decided to take the children herself. She knew she was too old, but she just couldn’t trust anyone else. So it was decided that just before the sale, the girls would be brought to Ludie. When this new went out, all who were interested and even those who were not thought in unthinkable that an old lady, sixty years old, should take two babies only two and four years old. But only Addison and Ludie knew how much she loved the girls and that she wouldn’t be happy unless they were with her.
Louisa Little Fowler “Ludie”
(Daughter of Green Little & Jemima “May” Davidson
(She is the Reason These Stories Exist)
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