Chapter 5
Day 13 - 16
I was ready to leave to go to Fort Laramie after we had
enough gold to buy what we needed. However, Claire and Elizabeth,
having recovered from one fever, were stricken by another: Gold
Fever! We spent the next two days trying to get the rest of the
gold out from the quartz face. After half a day of watching the
fire, I'd had enough and told them that I was going to pan the
sand in the dry streambed. I was disgusted with their
greediness. I stomped off and began to dig through the dry
streambed. While stomping around and muttering to myself, I
stopped for a minute to think. I had to remind myself that
Claire and Elizabeth were women of the nineteenth century and of
course they would reflect the outlook of their time, just as I
reflected the outlook of mine. People in the nineteenth century
believed that wealth was a sign of virtue and that God had given
humans the right and the duty to seek it.
When I got to the streambed, I reached in my pocket and found
the fishhook I had made from my key ring. It still had the
cloth and the string attached. Pulling out a small nugget of
gold I flattened it and wrapped it around the hook below the
cloth then cut a branch from a nearby willow for a pole. Stepping
from stone to stone, I got to the middle of the stream and began
to fish. Letting the hook drift downstream of the rock I began
catching fish. As I caught a fish, I took it off the hook and
threw it to the bank. This worked pretty well but the rock I was
on began to become slippery with the scales and water from the
fish.
Deciding to return to the shore I tried to jump back to the
next rock. Splash! I hit the water face first. Grabbing for a
rock I sat up. Disgusted with myself, I grabbed another rock to
throw at the bank. I lifted it and was surprised at the weight.
Looking at it closer I found I had a piece of quartz the size of
a dinner plate. It appeared to have more gold in it than quartz.
Getting up and looking around I found several other pieces in the
same area. However, none was quite as large as the first piece
but they were large enough. After getting all the pieces to
shore I realized that we had almost doubled the amount of gold
that we had found before.
Now I had to figure out how to convince the girls that
trying to find more gold was senseless. Deciding on a plan I
went back to the quartzledge and borrowed a firebrand. Claire
and Elizabeth giggled at my wet clothes when I announced that we
were having fish for lunch and to be ready to eat in about an
hour. I observed that the gold vein in the quartz was getting
rapidly smaller. Saying nothing I returned to the stream and
used the gold/quartz pieces to use as a fire ring. Starting a
small fire, I cleaned the fish, placed them on sticks and hung
them above the fire to cook. After that I began panning the
sand from the dry creek, finding gold nuggets in most of the pans
but not getting the same thrill that I did with the first pan of
gold.
About an hour later I heard them giggling as they came out
of the dry streambed. This suddenly stopped when they saw the
fire ring. They came forward and sat silently. I was equally
silent and handed each of them one of the sticks with fish. They
reached out hesitantly.
Claire spoke up, "Alex, why didn't you say something
before?"
I looked at both of them and said; "I think gold is
important to you, but is it so important that you'll give up your
trip to Oregon? You have to decide. If you stay here and do
nothing else but hunt for gold, what are you going to eat? And
if you do find more gold, what can you going to buy with it out
here? Gold fever is a sickness just like drinking too much
whiskey and sooner or later it will kill you."
Both women began to cry.
"Why are you so mad at us? For the first time we have a
chance to be rich!" Elizabeth cried.
I shook my head, "I'm not mad at you, just disappointed. I
have come to care for both of you and I admire the courage that
you showed when you decided to move to Oregon. I just want both
of you to decide whether it's more important to search for gold
or settle for Oregon."
I turned away and said over my shoulder, "I'm planning to go
to Oregon. I need to keep away from important events so I don't
change the future. You can join me or not. It's up to you."
I then walked back to the wagon. Two hours later both
women arrived back at the wagon.
I pretended to be asleep and just listened to the noises. I
heard clothes rustling and felt hands on my blanket. Opening my
eyes, I saw a kneeling Claire and Elizabeth next to me.
"Please forgive us." Claire asked in tears.
I opened my arms and shortly had a beautiful woman in each
arm giving me kisses and crying.
"Have you decided what you want to do?" I asked.
"We're going to Oregon with you." Elizabeth cried.
"We'll leave all the gold if you say so."
"No we'll keep the gold we found up to now but weneed to get
ready to figure out how we are going to get to FortLaramie. Do
I go alone or do we go together?"
Both women glared at me.
"If you think that we're going to stay here alone, you
better think again." Claire stated.
"There is no way you're going away without me," declared
Elizabeth.
"Then get together whatever we'll need for a three day foot
journey. Just remember that every ounce you start out with will
feel like a pound at the end of a long day."
"What about the gold?" Claire asked. "We need to bury most
of it and only take enough with us to buy the oxen and some
horses. Everything else can wait until we pick up the wagon."
After discussing the matter between all of us we decided to
bury the gold in the stream next to a tree we marked with three
crosses. I kept out enough gold nuggets to fill a small sack we
made out of an old skirt. We decided to start after a good
night's sleep.
As I was getting under the wagon on my bed of branches,
Elizabeth grabbed my arm, "Come with me."
She pulled me toward the back of the wagon. From inside
the wagon I heard Claire call, "Elizabeth, are you coming to
bed?"
"Yes, and Alex is coming in too!"
Silence answered her. "Maybe I better stay out here." I
said pulling back from Elizabeth's grasp.
Claire poked her head out, "Don't you dare!" she cried. She
grabbed the other arm and pulled.
When faced with a situation like that what would you do? We
spent half the night kissing and exploring each other's bodies.
Since we were going to be walking the next day I drew the line at
penetration, promising that as soon as we were able to pick up
the wagon I would finish the job. I did give both women several
orgasms by eating them out. Both women were amazed about the
fact that I would put my face down there. This was something
new to both. I talked about positions that I had done or knew
of. The women alternatively showed expressions of shock and
interest.
We talked about what we wanted to do in Oregon and where we
wanted to live. We decided that we should live in the
Willamette valley as we could get a 164-acre homestead there.
Elizabeth wanted to have a farm while I was interested in
raising cattle. We decided to wait until we saw the land before
deciding. We fell asleep and slept until quite late for us, as
the sun was already up.
Day 17
We got off to an even later start than I had planned today.
I had the only pack so I ended up carrying the majority of the
clothes. I had to tell the women that I was not going to be
carrying more than one dress each after they almost came to blows
trying to stuff the pack full. Claire managed to find enough
punk to keep a coal burning in the small pot, so we didn't have
to worry about using one of my few remaining matches to start a
fire.
We quickly got away from the trees and on to a wide plain.
The wagon train had followed the stream mostdof the way and we
did likewise. I saw that they had crossed the stream, so I
undressed and checked out the crossing. When I tried I found it
to be above my waist. Claire and Elizabeth couldn't swim and
refused to take off their dresses, so I had to carry them both on
my shoulders over the crossing, muttering to myself the whole
time. After all, they were not light; especially with
long-skirted nineteenth-century dresses on. Afterwards I had to
stop and dry off before we went anywhere. I redressed and we
continued on our way.
We crossed several smaller streams but managed to avoid
getting wet, until we came to a small river. I again undressed
and checked the crossing. This time it was only up to my hips.
I returned to the bank and carried Elizabeth across in my arms
and gave her my .22. I didn't see anyone, but had the feeling
that we were being watched. I went back and lifted Claire onto
my shoulders to carry, telling her to be aware of the
surroundings. We got across where I again dried off and got
redressed. I still had the feeling that I was being watched,
but didn't see anything around.
We had walked about a third of a mile when I saw a party of
horsemen riding toward us. I had the women lay down and had
Claire keep her pistol on the approaching party. I thumbed open
my holster and stood up. I could tell they weren't Indians but
there were plenty of white men who were dangerous enough.
I was relieved to find that the party was from Fort Laramie
who had come out to see who was crossing the river and why I was
naked doing it. I had been watched as we were crossing the river
with a glass. They had thought we were Indians until they had
seen my pale skin as I was crossing. After checking to see that
we were not being followed, a large portion of the white men of
the fort had come out to see if we needed help. I later found
there were about 25 white men married to Indian women living in
the fort with their children. We were helped onto horses and
everyone returned there. I was surprised when we arrived to
find the women dressed much better than my wives. There was a
trading post at the fort and I hoped to be able to buy the
supplies we needed.
Claire told me that I would do the talking since apparently
women were not supposed to talk to strange men. I explained that
our wagon had broken down and the rest of the train had left
while we were getting it fixed. Later our oxen had gradually
died after eating something, so we had to leave our wagon in the
hills and walk the last day. We had some gold I had panned
while at a gold strike around Quebec some years earlier that I
was willing to trade for some oxen and enough supplies to
continue our trip. There was a lot of interest in the gold but
when I mentioned that this was all that remained from the strike
the interest waned quickly.
The men explained that there were only four oxen at Fort
Laramie and they had been left by wagon trains after becoming
sick. They were willing to sell them as they had no use for them,
but provisions were expensive this far away from civilization.
They offered to have their wives show the women how to find food
on the plains while I went back to fetch the wagon. Other than
that they recommended that I buy a woman from one of the tribes
and have her teach them on the way. The trading post that had
goods for sale to trappers and emigrants but the prices were 20
times greater than in St. Louis. I now was glad that we had
brought more than twice the amount of gold that we thought we
needed. I decided that I needed more weapons for our party as I
was getting tired of trying to kill animals with my pistol.
I was able to buy a Hawken plains .54 rifle and another
Peterson revolver with enough powder, shot and caps to last us
until we got to Oregon, as well as the oxen and three horses with
tack. This took up almost half of the gold I had brought with
me, about 12 ounces. I arranged to buy as much flour, salt,
beans, and what few spices that they would sell for the remaining
12 ounces and arranged for the goods to be kept until we returned
with the wagon. One trapper offered to come back with us but I
declined saying that it was only 12 or 14 miles away. I found
the date was May 16 by asking the shopkeeper. I explained that
we had lost track while struggling to catch up with our train.
We had our first argument between the three of us at this
time. Elizabeth and Claire both stated that they were going to
go with me back to the wagon. I was equally determined that only
one would go with me. After many hot words between the two,
Claire pulled rank as the oldest to get her way. We had spent
so much time getting this settled that I begged a place to stay
for the night and made plans to leave the next morning. We were
offered a room where they had stored furs during the height of
the fur trade.
As I was walking around I saw an Indian woman working on
some buckskin leggings. I asked the shopkeeper how much it would
cost to get 2 sets for me and the girls, as I was tired of only
having one set of clothes. He asked if we had more gold and I
told him that I had some but not much more, since I had spent
most of it getting outfitted for the journey to Oregon. He said
that I should be able to get a complete set for all of us for
about three small nuggets. He also advised me not to let anyone
else know about the gold, since this was an area without any law
other than what you carried with you. He advised me again to
buy another gun and trade for an Indian woman or wait for another
wagon train to come through. As I was determined to wait for a
train anyway I agreed that this would be the best thing.
May 17, 1847
Claire and I left the fort this morning herding the oxen
back to the wagon. We had been gone about two hours when we
heard a horseman riding hard behind us. I told Claire to
dismount and we readied ourselves for anything. As we waited,
Claire worried about Indians attacking us for our weapons. I
told her they tended to be more friendly than dangerous to
prepared travelers. When the rider came into sight, Claire
began to fume, and soon afterwards so did I. There, wearing a
wide grin was Elizabeth, whom we had believed was back at the
fort.
"Elizabeth, I'm going to tan your bottom for this!" I was
really pissed and so was Claire.
Elizabeth drooped and started sniffling, "I'm sorry! I just
got so worried about you there at the fort. I had to come!"
Rather than lose another day by returning with her to the
fort, we let her come with us. One thing I had rapidly
discovered with oxen is that they had one speed; dead slow. I
don't think we went faster than 3 or 4 miles an hour at all. It
took us the rest of the day to get to our wagon as we lost a lot
of time whenever we had to cross a stream. We had gone further
in 6 hours yesterday on foot than in 10 hours today with the
oxen. By the time we got back to the camp we were all exhausted
and had just enough energy to fix something to eat and make sure
the oxen were secured.
I crawled into bed ready to sleep when two naked women
attacked me demanding that I fulfill my promise to break their
maidenheads.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked.
"I consider us as husband and wives." Claire stated.
Elizabeth chimed in with her opinion, "Your mine and I want
you to make me yours."
I grabbed both women and dragged them out of the wagon. I
knelt down, "Before we go any further I want to know if you will
marry me?"
"Yes!" both women answered.
"I want us to say our vows to each other tomorrow at
daybreak. All of us need to say what they expect from this
marriage and what they are willing to put into it."
Claire grabbed my arm, "For now let's get back to bed."
Claire kissed me while I played with her breasts. Elizabeth
took a more direct approach. Reaching down she grabbed my
erection and rubbed it against her wet slit.
"I'm going to try the cowboy position you talked about last
night," she declared.
She lowered herself onto my erect cock. Her cunt was tight
and I felt my cock filling her completely. Slowly pushing down
she managed to finally get it past her outer muscles, and then
feeling it hit her maidenhead she stopped, unsure about what to
do next.
"Elizabeth, it's going to hurt some the first time and I may
come awfully quick unless I get some relief first." I warned
her.
"What should I do?" she cried as she sat there afraid to
continue and afraid to stop at the same time.
Claire spoke up, "I'll help you."
Crawling behind Elizabeth, she put her hand on her breasts
and began playing with them. I saw her nipples become even harder
and more swollen. I reached down with my hand and began to tease
her clit rubbing lightly on the sides. Soon she was panting and
about to have an orgasm from the stimulation. As she began to
orgasm, Claire reached her hands to Elizabeth's shoulder and
pushed her down on my erection. There was a moment of pressure
and my erection began to bend then broke through her hymen. She
gasped then began moving down until our pubis's met. Staying
still for a moment she gathered her courage and began to move.
"Are you all right?" I asked.
"Yes." she gasped and started the age-old rhythm of sex.
I held back as long as I could until she began to orgasm and
I felt her interior muscles grasp my cock and start to milk it.
I couldn't last any longer and shot a load of my cum into her
womb. Falling on top of me she began to kiss me, murmuring how
much she loved me.
Claire pushed her off. "My turn now." she said.
Leaning forward she began to kiss my chest, licking at my
nipples until I returned to a full erection. Elizabeth watched
from the side touching Claire's breasts. I reached up and
dragged her face to my lips and kissed her lightly about her neck
and face.
"I want you on top." she said.
Flipping her around I reached down and felt her wetness
between her legs. I started playing around with her clit and at
the same time Elizabeth started sucking her breast. I picked the
other one and as we sucked and I played with her clit, she became
more and more aroused. Suddenly she let out a loud scream as
she came.
I moved down to her cunt and smelled her fragrance. Like
Elizabeth it was sweet and musky, yet they bore no other
resemblance to each other. I licked the outer lips and watched
them engorge and the clit began to extend. I sucked in the clit,
flicking it with my tongue and felt her beginning to buck with
her returning arousal. Repositioning myself, I placed my cock
at her opening and pushed in until I met her maidenhead.
Looking at her I asked "Are you ready?"
She nodded and said, "Yes, do it now!"
I backed up and suddenly pushed forward. I felt a momentary
blockage then we found ourselves touching pubes. Stopping for a
moment I let her become accustomed to my erection in her tunnel.
She started moving and I slowly pulled out and then began long
stroking slowly.
Claire wasn't quite as tight as her sister, but I still
loved the warm, smooth feeling. As I continued I saw her
becoming flushed. She locked her legs behind me and began trying
to pull me forward faster. I began to move faster. "Harder."
she gasped. I started pushing into her even harder and she
began to keen in a low voice, becoming louder and louder until
she began to scream out her orgasm. I began to cum and as I
lost my erection I managed to fall between both of them. I
found myself with a girl on each arm, cuddling against me.
Exhausted, I kissed both girls and lay there. Soon I fell asleep
with two soft snores showing that they had preceded me into
slumber.
Chapter 6
May 18, 1847
I woke up and felt that something was missing. I realized
that I had only one girl in my arms. I opened my eyes and saw
Elizabeth snuggled up to me with her hand on my morning hard on.
Turning my head I saw an empty spot where Claire had been. I
noticed the fire had been built up and smelled something I hadn't
had since I got here. "Coffee" I realized. Kissing Elizabeth, I
removed her hand and got out of the wagon pulling my clothes out
with me. After I got dressed I went to the fire and kissed
Claire. The enthusiasm she showed let me know that she had no
regrets about the night before.
She poured me a cup of coffee and sat back, "Do you have any
regrets being tied to an old maid?"
I replied with another kiss and looked her in the eyes; "I
don't see any old maids around here, just a beautiful woman."
"Only one?" I heard a voice ask behind me.
"There'll be two when the other one gets out here." I
answered.
I felt two arms hug my neck and a hand pluck the cup from
mine. Next I had a lapful of giggling girl holding on to my
neck and giving me a kiss while she squirmed on my now rampant
erection. I felt a hand reach down and caress the bulge.
I removed the hand and replaced it on my neck. "None of
that right now." I growled. She just giggled again and kissed
me.
"It's going to be daybreak soon, and you need to think about
what you want to say." I said. "I'll go first because I know
what I want out of this marriage and what I'm willing to give." I
faced the brightening horizon. "I promise to love, honor and
support my wives in all things, both in sickness and in health. I
will ask your opinion on subjects that affect the family before
making decisions and honor the choices we make. I pledge to
treat you with respect and help you accomplish whatever you
decide you want to do. I ask for your love and support in
return."
Claire stood before Elizabeth and me, " I promise to love,
honor and support you and to love my sister/wife, both in
sickness and in health. I will bear your children, forsaking
all other men. I will give good advice when asked and accept
the choices we make as a family. I ask for your love and
support in return."
Elizabeth spoke up, "I promise to love, honor and support
you and to love my sister/wife both in sickness and in health.c
I will bear your children forsaking all other men. I will give
good advice when asked and accept the choices we make as a
family. I ask for your love and support return.
We moved into a group hug and stood there as the sun came up
lighting up a new day and a new life for all of us. I didn't
know what would happen next but felt more content here than I
ever had before. All I was aware of was that I loved both women
and my life felt full for the first time. We broke the hug
after the sun had fully risen and returned to the fire.
I asked, "Where did you get coffee?"
"I took a small nugget with me when we left and traded it
for a cup of beans." she replied.
I picked up the small pot we had and poured another cup. I
offered some to Claire who accepted and to Elizabeth who refused.
Slowly I sipped the coffee feeling content. Soon however
reality set in and we began to break camp.
I climbed a nearby tree and looked for anyone in the area.
Loading the rifle, I placed a mark on a tree about 100 yards away
and shot at it. It hit about an inch high and I adjusted my
aim. I shot again and hit within the circle I had carved.
Satisfied that this rifle shot straight, I shot 20 rounds until I
was sure that I could hit a target when I aimed at it. Cleaning
the rifle was a chore, but I knew that it had to be done. I
asked if Claire had shot a rifle before. She had not only shot
one before, but after three shots she began hitting with an inch
of the center for five shots in a row. I offered Elizabeth an
opportunity to fire but she begged off.
I frowned at her, "Alright for now. I expect you to become
as good a shot as your sister by the end of the trip. If we need
to get more shot and powder to do this we will."
Claire laughed, "Alex, Elizabeth is probably one of the best
shooters you will see. She regularly out shot the men at the
county fairs. She has always been a tomboy and her skills
matched those of about any boy at home."
Elizabeth blushed and said, "But I'm a woman now and need to
be more ladylike."
I kissed her and said, "You can act as tomboyish as you
like. I will always see a beautiful woman whenever I look at
you." She squealed and gave me a big kiss.
I slapped her butt, "Now show me some of your tomboy side
and harness up those oxen while I recover the gold."
I went to the marked tree and got into the river. Removing
the flat rock I had put on top I took out the blanket we had put
the gold in. Staggering a bit because of the weight of the gold
and the wet blanket, I returned to the wagon. Pulling up a board
from the bottom of the wagon, I placed the gold in the wagons
hidey-hole.
Claire told me she had had the secret area made on the
advice of her uncle who had trapped in the west during the
thirties. He had advised her that she would need an area where
she could store valuables in secret. It had worked, because she
showed me $200 in gold coins the people who ransacked her wagon
didn't find. I wished she had shown it to me before. I would
have used that before showing raw gold. By the time I had
hidden all the gold with the exception of a small bag of nuggets,
the camp was clear, leaving little sign that anyone had ever been
there, except for the fire ring full of ashes. I regretted
leaving a place where I had found my two loves, but knew that the
future was ahead of me in Oregon.
Elizabeth clucked at the oxen and we began to move.
Although it seemed that a lot had happened already it was only
about 9 o'clock. I expected to be at Fort Laramie by sunset. By
following the wagon ruts we were able to find the crossings and
arrived at the fort about an hour before dusk. Getting out
three small nuggets, I paid the shopkeeper for the buckskins and
changed into them. I encouraged both Elizabeth and Claire to
put theirs on but only Elizabeth did. She looked like a small
man except when she walked. The sway of her hips left no doubt
that this was a woman.
I went into the store and asked if he had any more weapons I
could buy.
"What are you looking for?" he asked. "Something for my wife
and her sister to shoot, a couple of knives and a shotgun for
me."
We haggled and finally agreed on 9 ounces of gold nuggets
for two .40 caliber percussion muskets, a .38 caliber pistol, two
8 inch skinning knives and a 15 gauge shotgun, with 500 rounds,
powder and caps for each of them.
"You planning on a war?" he asked.
"No, but I've shown some gold and I've seen what that does
to men. Even if there's not any more someone may still want to
find out. I want to be ready if they do." I replied.
I asked him to weigh the rest of the gold and found I had
just less than 10 ounces.
"This is the last of it." I sadly remarked.
I wanted any rumor about the gold to include my claim that
there wasn't any more. "I need to have my wife and her sister
pick up what we need for the rest of the trip. We had to throw
out almost everything when we started to loose our team." We
agreed that the gold was worth a hundred and seventy dollars and
the women could get up to that amount. If they didn't spend that
much I would get my change in coin. The girls acted as if this
was Christmas and started looking at everything in the store.
Claire and Elizabeth both looked at dresses and picked out two
each. After that they split up. Claire started looking at food
and pots while Elizabeth started looking at knives, bullet molds
and powder.
By the time they were finished it was dark. They ended up
not getting that much in food but Claire bought several pots and
pans while Elizabeth bought a small keg of black powder, bullet
molds for all the weapons and, after finding out the same ones
could be used for all the rifles, more than a thousand caps. It
ended up costing over a hundred dollars, but I received 3 double
eagles and some silver in change. All we needed now was to wait
for a wagon train that would allow us to join them on the last
part of the journey.
May 19-24, 1847
We rested and kept feeding up the oxen. They appeared to be
gaining strength every day. Apparently whoever had them before
just didn't take care of them. Between storing everything,
fixing the wagon and talking to the trappers and their wives we
spent the days fully occupied, while our nights were spent
exploring each other's bodies. I discovered both my wives to be
passionate lovers. Elizabeth was far more adventurous in trying
different positions and methods of making love, while Claire was
more conservative but tended to have louder and more numerous
orgasms.
One thing that surprised me was their willingness to arouse
each other using their hands and mouths. Upon questioning them
I found that it wasn't uncommon for young girls to tease each
other to orgasm as long as theywere careful not to break the
hymen, since all girls weresupposed to come to the marriage bed
as virgins. The children in the family slept in the same bed
and each was familiar withtheir sister's body. Apparently this
is normal since many homes had only one bedroom with the children
sharing the room or at best in a loft above the parents.
I need to get accustomed to this new world. It seems like
I'm in another country sometimes. I'll be talking to someone,
when suddenly they make a comment that shows a worldview totally
different from mine. I am surprised by the racism in this
time.c There seems to be no effort made to understand a
different viewpoint. The Catholics hate the Protestants; the
whites hate the blacks and it seems everyone hates the Jews.
There really seems to be a social stigma about being of a mixed
race here. The Americans seemed to feel that they had the right
to everything they wanted. They were constantly talking about
the doctrine of Manifest Destiny as their excuse for this.
Luckily my wives seem not to share much of this prejudice.
Chapter 6
May 25, 1847
I was beginning to really worry about a wagon train coming
through in time for us to get over the mountains. We had
decided that if they didn't come through within 3 weeks that we
would try to return to St. Louis and spend the winter there
before setting out again. I mentioned the Mormons who were
moving out west to some of the trappers and was surprised at the
hostility they showed. One trapper began a tirade about the
heathen Mormons who were trying to destroy Christianity. Luckily
a wagon train arrived late today or I might have gotten in
trouble with my remarks.
I spoke to the wagon captain and asked permission to join
the train. He agreed if I could buy two more oxen and paid 30
dollars to pay for the wagon master and the guide. We asked him
to check the wagon and advise us of anything that we needed to
get for the trip. He was surprised on how little we were taking
on the journey but advised us not to buy too much as we were
crossing the Great American Desert and might have to throw out
items if these oxen became ill. He did insist that we buy at
least one more keg of gunpowder and two water barrels since we
had the space. He also told us that we might be able to pick up
the farming equipment we needed from items discarded by people
too heavily loaded before we got through the desert.
I went through the wagon train and using the gold eagles was
able to buy an ox from two different families. It cost over a
hundred dollars but I felt it was worth it to be able to get
going again. The captain told me that he would introduce the
three of us to the members of the wagon train tonight. It's
important that we make a good impression, as we will be depending
on each other for the next 1000 miles. The wagon train consists
of 25 wagons with a total of fifty-three men and older boys and a
total of 135 people. They are all families and most are bound
for the Willamette Valley where they intend to file for the 164
acres given to each registered male. Tomorrow we leave for
Oregon. I don't know if I should be delighted or frightened.
May 26,1847
We met several couples last night and seemed to match well
with them. One couple, Alton and Jeanine Kyler, had four
children and I don't think either was over 25. Another couple,
Marvin and Corrie Morrett, was the "old" couple of the train
being 45 and 36 respectively and they had a grand total of 11
children. What amazed me was they had already sent off two sons
and married off three daughters in addition to the 11 that were
going to Oregon with them.
Most of the others were somewhere in between as far as age
and family size. We were unique in not having any children with
us. I explained that we had recently gotten married.
Claire made herself an instant success with the families
when she said that she was a schoolteacher. Almost immediately
several mothers asked if she could teach their children their
numbers and letters. In exchange they offered to cook our meals
and assist with the laundry so she could spend the time teaching
them. Claire agreed, but stated that she would teach three
hours a day everyday but Sunday. I offered to help her but was
told that none of the children were old enough to need my
assistance. (I think what she meant was that I should keep my
nose out of her business.)
My younger wife, Elizabeth, made herself welcome when she
showed her expertise in harnessing and driving the oxen. I'm
afraid that I came off as being the weak link in the bunch. I
didn't greatly impress anyone with either my skills or my
abilities. I'm afraid the ability to set up an inventory system
capable of tracking 100,000 items in real time doesn't transfer
well to a period without computers. I'm going to have to go
back to school to learn the everyday skills needed during this
time.
The only skills I have that will transfer to this period are
my ability to make furniture and my knowledge of forging knives.
Unfortunately there seems to be a decided lack of interest in
these skills at this time.
I was upset about how the other men perceived me and spoke
about it to my wives. They said not to worry about it and spent
much of the night making sure I didn't. I received some looks
from the other men the next morning as we congregated around the
fire for our morning meeting.
Marvin commented, "You must be newly wed. I don't think
I've ever heard so much noise coming from a wagon. Try and keep
it down tonight, will you? I don't think I could handle two
nights with Corrie like that."
I blushed and the rest of the men laughed. I felt like I was
accepted into the group.
We headed out this morning at daybreak and traveled until
about 10 AM. We then took a two-hour break then continued until
dusk. We have had good grass so far and the guide said that he
expects us to find good grass up to South Pass. Altogether we
managed to cover 16 miles today. I found out the hard way that
the seat on a wagon leaves something to be desired. I feel like
someone used that damned seat to paddle my ass all day. What I
would give for a cushion! This is one day that my wives are
going to have to satisfy themselves with each other. I'm beat.
May 27, 1847
I woke up this morning feeling like I should be dead. I
don't think I've ever been so sore. Today I'm going to walk or
ride. Elizabeth just laughed at me when I remarked about being
sore. (Ungrateful woman.) Claire assured me that I would soon get
used to the seat, telling me that everyone went through the same
process. Elizabeth offered to apply grease to my sore bottom, but
I decided to decline the offer.
We saw our first buffalo today. There were only a few in
sight but from talking to the others in the train I learned that
they had seen herds numbering thousands during their journey. I
asked about shooting one for the train but was told not to
bother, as we would soon run into a lot more within a few days.
I have to admit that I'm a child of my time, as the trip is one
of the most boring things I have ever done. No music, no
computer games, just a slowly changing view as we travel.
I feel much better after walking most of the day. Tonight
I will get my revenge on Elizabeth and after her I'll play with
Claire for a while. We only managed to make 12 miles today
since we had to cross several streams.
As we were lying in bed I turned to Elizabeth and started
kissing her. As I began to trail my fingers along her sides
Claire began to gently massage Elizabeth's breasts. Gradually I
went lower on her body while Claire began to take over the top.
I massaged Elizabeth's legs and began to cup her mons with one
hand, while kissing her inner thighs. Gradually I kissed around
her labia but avoided directly kissing them. As she began
lifting her body attempting to make contact I bypassed be labia
and started kissing her stomach then gradually went back to
kissing around her mons. By this time she was becoming frantic
wanting me to finish up.
I stopped and looked at her flushed face and said, "Payback
is hell, isn't it?"
She growled at me and pushed my head down between her legs.
"You better finish what you started or you'll be dead tomorrow,
not sore!"
I gently pulled back the outer lips and started licking her
pussy like a kid with a melting ice cream cone. At the top of
her slit I used my tongue to tap her clitoris and put two fingers
into her and fingered her G-spot.
As she began to squirm and became red from her arousal I
raise my mouth, sucked in her clit and gently sucked. Elizabeth
began to buck and shudder as she climaxed. I held on to her clit
but was almost thrown off with her movements. As she came down
from her climax I started licking her clit with my tongue while
it was in my mouth. She almost instantly had another climax.
She had two more before she pushed my head away. "Love, I
can't stand anymore touching down there."
Claire was extremely aroused from watching us and touching
herself during this. She demanded my attention and started
kissing me. I tried to taste her pussy as well, but she
demanded that I enter her immediately. By now my dick resembled
a red and purple bar from arousal. She licked my face to taste
some of Elizabeth's juices and kissed me.
She remarked to Elizabeth, "I love the way you taste."
Elizabeth reached over my body and licked some of her
ejaculate from Claire's chin and then kissed her, "You're right.
I do taste good."
I nearly came when they were speaking but managed to hold on
until I heard Claire start keening and her cunt start to milk my
erection. I couldn't hold it any longer and started to
ejaculate into Claire. This pushed her over and she began to cum
as well. We spent about an hour afterwards just cuddling. I
find I like that as much as the sex and I love waking up between
two beautiful women.
May 28, 1847
I woke up this morning with my hand wrapped around
Elizabeth's breast and her hand on my erection. She gave me a
kiss, then with a look of determination in her eye, lowered her
face to my dick and kissed the head.
She paused and I told her, "You don't have to do that,
Sweetheart."
She looked at me and said, "I'm just paying you back for
last night." and proceeded to lick my shaft and behind the glans
until I became rock hard.
She stopped, gave me a kiss and got out of the wagon leaving
me on edge. She gave me a glance as she got out of the wagon,
saying. "If you're a good boy today, I might let you cum during
the break." (Payback can be a bitch.)
We used up the last of the wood we brought with us today. I
have been given the job of gathering buffalo droppings to use for
fuel today together with Claire. This job rotates throughout
the train so we shouldn't have to do this very often. I was also
put on the roster for the night guard. This rotates though the
men and the older boys with each man expected to have duty every
other week. I was told that we should be aware that while they
expected no attacks by the Indians on the train, we should expect
them to try their best to steal anything they could. We were
asked to be willing to give up small items to pay for our passage
through the Indian tribal lands. One man asked why we didn't
just shoot them if they tried something. The wagon master
nearly took his head off. He was informed in no uncertain terms
that if he wanted to start a war with one of the tribes, he could
travel by himself. The Indians expected us to protect our goods
and stand up to them, but unnecessary killing would lead to a
battle we couldn't win. We managed to make 16 miles today.
Claire lost her temper a bit tonight when we went to bed.
She told both Elizabeth and I that we were acting like two of her
students with our teasing of each other. She started to cry and
we both began to comfort her.
Elizabeth grimaced, "She's always like this around this time
of the month."
I must have had a blank look on my face, because she made it
clearer. "She's about to start her monthlies." Elizabeth stated.
"I am too."
She grimaced again, and told me, "For the next week the only
thing we will be doing in bed is cuddling".
May 29, 1847
I'm glad Elizabeth is here. Claire is one of those
unfortunate women who don't have an easy time during their
periods. She alternatively bit my head off and burst into tears
most of the day. I was able to relieve their cramps with an
abdominal massage but that did little to moderate her moods.
Elizabeth has been a gem. She knows when to be sympathetic or be
firm when Claire gets into one of her moods. Luckily Elizabeth
said she didn't suffer like her sister. I don't know what I
would do if both were like Claire.
Our first Indian tribe met us since we left Fort Laramie.
The chief demanded most of our horses for passage but settled for
one horse and some salt, flour and sugar. Afterwards the
Indians wandered through the wagon train mostly looking at the
teams of oxen. One touched Claire and she hit him with her fist
so hard he was knocked down. He got up mad because of everyone's
laughter, but several other Indians in his party grabbed him. I
had pulled my pistol when this happened and went to stand by
Claire. The guide came over and explained that she was my wife
and was suffering from her period. The chief remarked something
and the guide translated it as saying I must be a great warrior
if I could tame a woman so fierce.
I replied back, " I think she managed to tame me, instead."
This drew a great laugh from the Indians and everyone
relaxed. I gave the warrior who was hit some powder and some
rounds for his rifle as compensation for his injured pride.
Later the guide told me that the Indians had given her a
name of "She Strikes Hard". I was tempted to tease her about the
name but decided I would be better off not proving her right to
it. The wagon master decided to double the watch tonight since
the party had a lot of younger men who might be tempted to steal
a horse if they could. Several people found small items missing
after they left and the wagon master reminded them that anything
that could be easily taken should remain in the wagons when not
being used. Due to stopping while we bargained for passage, we
only made 10 miles today and stopped before reaching any water.
The guide told us to be sure to fill up our barrels when we got
to the stream, as it was the only one for about 20 miles. We
had several families ask if they could borrow some water since we
had the two extra barrels.
We just cuddled tonight since both girls began their periods
today. Claire seems to be calmer tonight. She said that she
really only had the mood swings the first day or so of her
period. I mentioned how glad I was that she was calmer the rest
of the time.
She surprised me with her reply; "If you could get me
pregnant you wouldn't have to worry about it for nine months."
Elizabeth spoke up then, "I get to have the first baby in
this family, you can have the second one."
I was really shocked to hear this, as I really hadn't
thought about having children yet. I'm used to women that don't
plan on having any children until after they reach 30.
I hadn't thought about the problems an older woman would
have bearing a first child in this period. I remembered from
reading how on the frontier that the child death rate was high,
extremely high to someone from my period. Later from talking to
my wives I found that they were the survivors from a family of 6
children. Two had died before they reached 2 years of age and
the other two before they reached 12.
May 30 - June 3, 1847
Not much to write about has happened during the last five
days. We have continued over an increasingly drier plain. The
watering spots are getting further apart and the water quality
has started degenerating. I told both Claire and Elizabeth that
all drinking water had to be boiled before they drank it. They
started to rebel until I reminded them that this was a good way
to catch cholera again. This was sufficient to insure that they
obeyed. This has kept us from suffering the diarrhea and
stomach upsets that are affecting the people on the train. After
several people became ill after drinking water straight from the
watering holes, other people have started boiling their drinking
water as well. I hope this doesn't affect the future, but I find
myself worrying less and less about this. I guess I've started
accepting that I have to live in this era with all its foibles
and give up some of mine. I think the time I had to think about
my situation during my night guard duty allowed me to accept
this. It seemed like another world with no lights or noise
except that made by animals or the wagon train. Another world
is how I have to regard it too. I am as removed from my time as
if I had gone to Mars.
I find myself dreaming about things I used to be able to get
in the future. It seems silly, but the main things I miss are
the things I used to take for granted, the ability to have an
endless supply of hot water for a bath, hamburgers, electricity,
ice cream, and most importantly, toilet paper. I have gotten
used to using a cloth dipped in water to clean myself, but I
still have a hard time holding on to it for the next time. I
keep throwing it down and having to pick it up again. There
isn't an unlimited supply of cloth so I have accepted the
requirement, but it goes against everything I've grown up with.
That is true of a lot of things here. Things we would have
discarded are kept for other uses. I bet the whole wagon train
doesn't discard as much trash as a typical family of my time.
I am gradually learning how to accomplish the common tasks
of everyday living,such as harnessing the oxen and driving the
wagon. I have become accustomed to labor that I would have
revolted against before. It doesn't seem so bad when everyone
is doing the same thing. It is surprising how much labor it takes
to accomplish the most mundane chore. For example brewing a cup
of coffee. In my time you went to the store and bought coffee
that had been ground or from a selection of specialty coffee
beans that had been roasted to a consistent quality. You took it
home where you put it in a coffee maker that you filled from a
faucet that dispensed an unlimited quantity of fresh, safe to
drink water. You might have to grind it but that usually
involved putting the beans in a grinder that worked with the
touch of a button. c Or you might just avoid all this and just
stop at a coffee stand and get it without leaving your car. In
this time you bought whatever unroasted beans you could find,
took them home and roasted them in a heavy skillet over an open
fire until you thought they were roasted enough. After that you
used a pedestal and mortar to grind the beans or managed to crush
them using a hammer. The grounds were placed in a pot and water
was added from whatever source you had and the pot was placed on
the fire to boil. You then added cold water to make the grounds
fall to the bottom and you had your coffee.
One thing I have seen is the large amount of mustard that is
growing next to the trail. When I commented about this I was
told that previous wagon trains had spread the seeds of mustard
to mark the trails. I was shocked for some reason, probably from
hearing about all the damage that imported species have caused.
The people here don't even have the concept of conservation, the
attitude seems to be that there is an endless supply of anything
they want. Several men have been using the herds of buffalo as
targets to sharpen their shooting skills. Now I understand what
the wagon captain said when he told me that we would be seeing
more buffalo. It still bothers me when I see them shooting the
buffalo though. It's waste when they can't use the meat and
can't or won't even stop to harvest the hides. One man shot one
to cut out the tongue, leaving the rest to rot.
We have spent the nights cuddling with each other and
talking. I am constantly learning things about my wonderful
wives. I learned that they had grown up around Philadelphia on
a small farm. Claire had gone to school and had done so well
that the teacher continued to teach her until she arranged for
her to go to the Freehold Young Ladies' Seminary in
Philadelphia. Unlike most seminary schools, this taught several
sciences as well as Greek, Latin, and geometry. While there she
had become active in the temperance and anti slavery movement.
She had not continued to college since her father died and had
sought to find a teaching job around her home. She was
unsuccessful and her uncle had encouraged her to go to Oregon
where she might find a husband and the need for teachers was
greater. Elizabeth was not as studious as Claire and had stopped
going to school after the 6th grade. She wasn't less
intelligent than Claire. She just had a different focus.
Elizabeth became the son her father didn't have, helping him on
the farm and generally acting like a boy until her father died.
After that she had continued handling the chores around the farm
but began to have problems keeping up with the work. She also
was facing the prospect of becoming an old maid, as none of the
boys or men around would consider her as a wife. She was also
advised to go to Oregon to find a husband.
Their uncle bought the farm and helped them obtain the
things they needed for the trip. He was the one who had advised
them to make the hidden compartment in the wagon and had given
them $200 for emergencies.
June 4, 1847
We arrived at Independence Rock today. Talk about a large
rock. It must be over a hundred feet high and at least 3 or four
football fields long on the side. The most surprising thing
about it is the smooth finish on the rock. It looks like
someone put it into some huge rock tumbler and polished it before
setting it back down on this flat plain. I along with many of
the other people on the train have opted to remain here instead
of continuing on today to mark our names on the rock. Using a
piece of flat iron I had sharpened on one edge, I carved our
first names and today's date on one side. I carved a heart
around our names as I couldn't put my last name behind both of my
wive's. I received a kiss from both when I explained that I felt
married to both of them even if society said I should only be
married to one.
The wagon master said we would be reaching the Sweetwater
River the next morning and would be following it after we went
around Devil's Gate. We rode the horses over to see it and it
was astonishing to watch the river shoot through the granite
rocks. Altogether we had a good holiday from the trip, which we
used to tighten up the wagons and prepare for the trip to the
South Pass. I was worried about getting through the mountains
before the snows, but was assured by the wagon master that since
we had arrived here before July 4th we should get through with
little difficulty.
June 5, 1847
I'm so mad I am ready to kill someone. Another train
passed us today. That was fine but one of the people several
slaves in his party and they had to be the sorriest lot I have
ever seen. Their clothes were ragged and most were walking
barefoot. The worst was a young girl of about Elizabeth's age
who was being led on a rope behind a rider. She had several
stripes on her back from where she had been beaten. Claire was
outraged and began to harangue the men with her anti slavery
sentiments. The man on the horse cursed her and lifted his crop
as if to strike her.
I pulled my pistol and told him, "You'll be in hell the
moment you swing that crop." I hadn't been sure I could kill a
man but seeing the shape the slaves were in and having him
threaten my wife made me sure this one would be no problem.
For a moment I thought he might, but then several other men
in our train had their rifles pointed in his direction.
He just gave me a look and said, "Keep your woman's mouth
shut about my business."
I cocked the pistol and told him, "If I see you within 500 feet
of my wagon, you'll be dead."
Later the wagon captain talked to me about the incident. He
was upset, but more about Claire's intervention with the other
man than with my pulling my pistol. He thought that was all
right, since he had threatened to hit a white woman. He just
didn't understand the reason she was so mad about the girl being
whipped. To him blacks were not humans, just property. He
asked why we didn't just buy the girl if she felt that strongly
about it. I almost exploded, but managed to not say anything
when Elizabeth grabbed my arm and pulled me back to our wagon.
That night we talked or rather Claire and Elizabeth talked
about the fact of slavery here and now. I was all for buying
the girl with the raw gold we had, but they dissuaded me. They
pointed out that a girl like that would cost about $300 to $400
and showing that much raw gold was a good way to get dead. They
reminded me that I had told them not to mention anything about
the gold and if I used it to buy the girl it would be known. I
talked about trying to free the slaves by shooting the owners and
was told I would be hung if I did. Finally I had to accept that
for now there was nothing I could do. I promised myself that as
soon as we got to Oregon I would find the girl and buy her no
matter what it cost.
We spent that night making love with more than a few tinges
of sadness. I felt guilty being here in my wagon surrounded by
two beautiful women and lying over enough gold to set all the
slaves free and not being able to do anything about it. As we
lay in post-coital weariness, I found myself wondering if I was
condemned to feeling this way whenever I saw slavery being
practiced. One way or another I was determined to keep this out
of Oregon, and damn if it affected the future.