A New Life
Chapter 4
September 31, 1847
We approached the ferry with the new hired hand. We were third in line to board and as we waited I looked around. I spotted a house I just had to look at more closely. I approached a man standing across from the house and asked him who it belonged to, "That's the house of Jason Lee," he said. I admired the house and walked up to the door. Knocking on the door, I introduced myself and asked the man who answered if I could look inside the house. I told him that I was planning to build a similar house on my land and wanted to see how this house was built. He smiled and put out his hand. "I'm Jason Lee and I would be glad to show you around." We began our tour of the house and as we talked I looked at the layout and thought to myself that with minor modifications I could manage to fit the entire family into a house like this. I especially liked the second story balconies because I imagined looking over the fields with both my wives and our children by my side. I knew that for now my vision for the house needed to be more modest. Still, one day..
I returned to the wagon and dreamed of the future as we began to board the ferry. I was surprised at the many houses made of planks in the city and when I asked I found out that the Methodists had built a small sawmill there in 1841. I quickly made up my mind that I would come back when it was time to build my house and buy cut lumber to make it and the school house.
When we got off the Willamette ferry we formed the line again and set off for our land claims. As we got further away from Salem, I saw the landscape become more natural, changing from cultivated fields with neat fences to open fields that had never felt the touch of the plow. We stopped for the nooning and Claire went forward to ride with the captain's wagon. Looking at her list she began calling out numbers as we came to the edge of the claims, "15!" "20!' "9!" In the middle of the claims there was a wide stretch of land that we were to use as a road between them and the township. After another two miles we arrived at our claim and peeled off from the group. Claire hopped off the captain's wagon and ran over to ours. Finally we were home!
Claire excitedly showed us the rise and where she thought we could put the kitchen garden and dig our well. Elizabeth and Louise joined her and they began laying out everything as if the house was already there. The dogs jumped out and started to mark their territory as well. While they ran around, Michael and I unloaded the tents and enough of the wagon to permit someone to lay down in comfort. Pointing to the wagon I told Michael, "That's your home until we get a house built. I need you up by daybreak and ready to start when there is light enough to read by. Elizabeth and Louise will be here to tell you what they want you to do until I get back from our neighbor's place if I'm not here."
Claire came over and dragged me away from the wagon to show me what they had decided they wanted. I made some suggestions as far as the positioning of the house and the gardens and then headed back to the wagon to set up the tent. After getting the tent set up I cut a forked branch and started to dowse for water to find where we could dig the out house without contaminating the water well. I soon found an underground stream near the house and followed it for a ways. It was about 15 feet down and was fairly strong. I marked the course and looked around for a good position for the outhouse. I finally found a good area away from the open water and downstream from the underground stream that I wanted to use for our well.
Calling to Michael to bring two shovels, we began digging. The work wasn't hard until we began to get down below our shoulders in the pit. I had the women bring the biggest pots we had over to us where we filled them and handed them up to my wives to dump. Finally we had dug the hole six feet deep and with the aid of my wives we climbed out of it. By now both Michael and I were covered with dirt and sweat. Grabbing a bar of soap from the wagon, I asked Claire where the nearest pond was and headed toward it to clean up. I told Michael that he had a choice, either clean up or sleep on the ground. He didn't want to go with me so I had Claire show him where the other pond was.
Since he wasn't going with me, I asked my wives if they wanted to take a bath and everyone decided to wash off the trail dust for the last time. Grabbing my pistol and a rifle, we headed toward the pond. Laying the weapons on the ground I looked around before I got undressed. My wives didn't wait for me and were soon in the water. I was about to join them when I heard the dogs growl and saw a movement in the rocks near by. Telling Elizabeth to take my pistol I wandered over in the direction of the movement. Circling around to the back of the location I crept up and found Michael peeking at my wives bathing. Sticking my rifle in his back, I had him stand and face me.
"They are lovely, aren't they?" I said in a conversational voice. "They are also my wives. I believe every man gets one free pass, and you just got yours. Get your belongings and get off my property." Reaching in my pocket I pulled out a silver dollar and tossed it to him, "Here's your wages for today."
Resentfully he took the dollar and asked, "How do I get back to town?"
"The same way you got here, walk!"
"It'll be dark before too long!"
"You should have thought about that before you tried to spy on us. Leave, I don't want to find you around when I get back!", I walked him to the wagon where he picked up his bag and walked away. I returned to the pond and told my wives what had happened and warned them not to let him back on the property. I got undressed and washed off, wondering what I was going to do now. I had wanted to wait but it looked like I was going to have to build the disc plow earlier than I had planned.
We headed back to camp where I found Willy and Ola waiting to greet us. Willy had come over to ask if I would buy game from him. I hadn't thought about how Willy and Ola were going to get by. The only skills Willy had were hunting and trapping, and after he spent the money he got from his last trapping trip what would they live on? The Simeroths had helped them as much as possible, but with their big family there wasn't a lot that they could spare. When I asked Willy about it he told me that he had been offered a job at the Simeroth place to work for them, but they didn't really need help and he refused to take charity.
Quickly I asked if he would consider working for me as well as himself. Pointing toward the boundaries of our property I showed him where a field could be made on both sides of the stream. I offered to stake him the seed to plant his field if he would help me by plowing both fields at the same time. I offered him the same deal as I had Michael but raised the salary to $40 a month since I wouldn't have to pay for his meals. He and Ola looked at each other and he quickly agreed.
We decided that for the moment we would worry about building his house since we were going to be building his cabin out of logs and it was smaller. He showed me the place and it was only about 600 square feet. When I asked if this was going to be big enough, everyone looked at me as if they were wondering what I was talking about. Claire later told me that her and Elizabeth's house near Philadelphia wasn't bigger than 600 square feet either, and it had held both their parents and four children. We decided we would have the raising next week after we got the foundation prepared. Ola and Elizabeth were both told to ride to the other claims and we would arrange to have a 'raising' to build the houses as they each got the foundations ready.
When Willy saw the underground stream marked he asked me what it was. I told him I dowsed the stream and showed him my stick. He got excited and asked me to do the same for his house. I was curious because the ability to dowse where I lived is such a common thing. I found out that not many people around here had that ability. Figuring it wasn't important enough to worry about right now, I walked over to his plat and began to dowse for a stream near him. I was able to find one but it was a hundred feet from his house and 20 feet down. One other stream was a hundred and thirty feet away and 10 feet down.
He decided to move the cabin closer to the stream that was 10 feet down as he and Ola didn't have any preference for a location. Willy's plat had more rolling hills than mine and a somewhat smaller flatland area. He also had a lot more timber than I did. He finally sited his cabin near the part where the hill became steep.
When I looked around I noticed that there was a cave nearby. I also noticed that there were bat droppings around the mouth of the cave and when I got closer the smell of the guano almost killed me. When I told Willy about it he celebrated his good luck. He had a source of fertilizer that would last him for years if he kept it all for his own use or could bring him cash if he needed it. I offered to buy enough for my fields every year. I knew fertilizer for the fields was going to be a problem. There were no artificial fertilizers available here and now. Either you made a big compost pile every year or bought what you needed from someone who did. Here everything was organic.
We went back to my place where we found the women involved in fixing a large meal for everyone. Ola was showing my wives how to prepare schnitzel while Louise was baking bread. Louise immediately hit me with a plea for a clay oven. I didn't know what she meant until she described it. She wanted a beehive oven that would allow her to place a fire in the bottom and when it was hot enough to open a door to the oven part and bake in the top. I had no idea how to do that but Willy, who had done more traveling than I understood what she wanted. He promised Louise that, for a steady helping of her good bread, to make one after the houses and barns were built.
Claire and Ola told us that the other people to whom they had spoken agreed that they would do as we had suggested and have a 'raising' to build the houses when the foundations were prepared. Little did I know how difficult that was to be, but I soon found out.
October 1-7, 1847
We began clearing out the area for Willy's house. We dug down two feet and using the biggest flat stones Willy and I could lift, placed them in the dug out area of the house. While Willy and I were doing that the women were bringing smaller rocks and the purest clay they could find and placing it between the stones, finally lathering clay on top to make a smooth top layer. It took us all day long but we finally finished. While the floor was curing, Willy and I went logging. We were looking for smaller trees about 50 feet tall that would allow us to cut logs big enough to use for the walls. At the same time the women were splitting several cedar trees that we had felled and cut them into one foot sections for shakes, which they stacked near the foundation.
After felling the trees and cutting them to length we hooked up the oxen and dragged the logs to the work site. Using an adz we cut two sides of the logs as flat as possible and notched each end to lock into the crossing logs. Willy knew what he was doing, which was good, because I had no idea how to do this. I think I was more hindrance than help until I finally learned how to do it correctly. Finally we we ready for the 'raising'.
By this time I had already gone to two 'raisings' so I knew what to expect. We started by inviting the neighbors for the raising two days after today. Immediately the women started preparing a large assortment of desserts and breads, while Willy and I scoured the hills to find enough game to feed a large group. Even Willy wasn't able to find much in these hunted out hills, so we decided to buy a pig and butcher it.
I went to Salem and managed to buy a pig and while I was there stopped by the saw mill and ordered 4000 square feet of lumber to be picked up the next week. I took what lumber they had on hand, about 600 square feet of 2-inch planks as a belated wedding present to Willy from me for his roof. Altogether it cost 25 dollars. I checked with the ferry captain who told me that the Mogul was headed upstream and was expected to get here sometime next week.
When I got back I found Willy making a flat hearth under the direction of a neighbor, Sam Hodges. I found that Sam was the expert in making well drawing fireplaces. I watched as he directed Willy in making sure the stones were level and went out far enough to keep embers from falling into the room. With his help we soon had the fire box finished and the women began to plaster the inside with clay to make a smooth surface. Sam made sure to tell us of the importance of insuring that the inside of the firebox and the flue was smooth. Imperfections, he told us, would gather creosote and cause a flue fire. We continued working on the fireplace until it was dinnertime. Sam ate with us and told us we could expect a crowd of about 50 to 70 people tomorrow for the 'raising'.
October 8, 1847
People began arriving soon after dawn, with the women pitching in helping our wives fix meals for those who hadn't eaten yet. It seemed like every woman had brought at least one dish and by the time 9 o'clock rolled around everyone had gathered into groups to begin raising both the house and the barn. It didn't take long before the walls started taking shape and by noon we had everything but the roofs put on. By 2 o'clock the roofs were on and the shakes had begun to be placed on the roof. By 4 o'clock everything was finished and the party began.
Several people had brought their fiddles and began to play. Soon the dancing started and the young people danced while their mothers finished preparing the meal. Everyone ate until there was no more room, then danced and came back for more. People began bringing out gifts for the new house and in short order Willy and Ola were the proud owners of several rag carpets, two chairs, a small table and a frame for a bed. My wives surprised me by giving Ola a dry sink, that they had bought in Salem while Willy and I were hunting. I gave Willy one of the beagles.
By 8 o'clock everyone was getting tired from the long day and the party began to wind down. Soon the only ones left were Willy, Ola, the dogs and us. We wished them good night and they went in to spend their first night in their new home. It had no doors or windows yet, but neither seemed to mind. We returned to our plat and began making plans for building our house. I had decided to try something that hadn't been done here yet and use balloon framing to build our house. We would use the same rubble foundation but I would have two inch planks in the floor to place the walls on. While Claire, Louise, and I are working on the foundation, Willy, Ola and Elizabeth will begin the plowing before it gets too wet to plow.
October 9, 1847
I have rarely had a more frustrating day. We began by digging out the foundation when we had to stop because of rain. By the time it was finished, the area where we had been digging was a pool of mud. I began to split cedar shakes for the roof and broke the sledge handle. After I carved another one out of our limited supply of hickory, it cracked on the first blow to the wedge. We began looking for large rocks for the base and finally had to go to Willy's plat to find enough to finish the job. I wish I could just call for a truck of cement to come in and pour a foundation instead of having to do all this stuff. Tomorrow we'll begin again.
October 10, 1847
Today has been going much better. The water has drained and we are rapidly removing the dirt from the area of the house. Willy suggested that we use logs and adz them flat instead of using planks in the foundation. My house is twice as big as Willy's, being some forty by thirty feet long. My wives have told me repeatedly that they don't need so much space, but this time I will get what I desire. I have already told the sawmill to cut at least 1000 feet of the lumber into 2 inch by 6 inch boards so I should have enough for framing. By the time I get the floor done the wood should be cut and ready for pickup. I have hired one of Corrie's boys to cut the cedar shakes so all I have to do is concentrate on the floor and the framing.
October 14, 1847
We have finally finished the rubble foundation and inset the logs in the base to provide a nailing platform for the wood floor. Tomorrow I go to Salem to pick up the wood they have ready and see if the Mogul has arrived yet.
No sign of the Mogul. I have picked up about a third of my wood and have been told the remainder should be ready in two days. I picked up a man who worked on the Jason Lee house and he has agreed to supervise the construction of mine. He has never heard of balloon framing so I am going to show him what I mean.
We got back and I constructed two 8 foot sections of wall framing for the house and showed him how they were connected. He was impressed with how fast the framework went up but had questions about the strength. I got on top of the frames and began jumping up and down to show him. I had to show him how to rough frame a door and windows but everything else was no problem. For the rest of the day we made sections and placed them around the floor. While we were doing that Willy and the wives were putting the floor in. My wives were excited about having a real wood floor and as soon as it was down began rubbing it with pumice stones to smooth it out. Maybe this will persuade them not to let the dogs sleep in the house, but I doubt it.
October 15, 1847
We spent the day rubbing down the floor with the stones to smooth it. Only now do I really appreciate the way I could get surfaced wood at any lumber yard. This takes forever to do! Already Louise is asking where she can find wax to finish the floor with.
October 16, 1847
Elizabeth and Ola went out to invite the neighbors to our 'raising' and the wives have begun to cook again. This time I have decided to buy a longhorn and butcher it. I want to try a Texas barbecue if I can find a long enough spit for it.
No luck finding a long enough spit so no Texas barbecue. I did get a steer and picked up the remaining wood for the house and barn. I learned that the Mogul is about a day away and is expected to dock either tomorrow or the next day. Hopefully our goods will be aboard. I managed to find a bed frame for the house that should hold all of us. This is my surprise for the wives after we get the house up.
October 17, 1847
The 'raising' was a big success. Everyone who came was surprised at how fast everything went up. The only thing that took a long time was putting on the plank siding. This was overlapped and took some practice to do it right. Many of the people cheered when Claire told them that the new schoolhouse would be built the same way after the planting was finished. Several of the people left looking thoughtful after seeing how fast the balloon framing construction was. My wives and I entered our new house and they were overjoyed, even though the inner walls didn't exist and we still had to finish the inside and the roof. All of them were getting tired of living in a wagon and then a tent and appreciated having a solid roof over their heads again. Louise especially was happy because she was afraid that she might have been forced to give birth in the wagon or a tent. The dogs decided that they had to mark the new territory and I was chosen to clean up the mess my dogs had made.
October 18, 1847
Went to town to pick up the bed frame and found the Mogul had arrived. I checked with the captain and found that he had our goods on board and expected to be unloaded that evening with pickup available tomorrow. I arranged to hire several hauling wagons and drivers for the next day. I checked with the ferry master and he told me of a place in town where I could buy plaster. I returned to the sawmill and ordered another 1500 square feet of 1-inch thick lumber to finish the house and barn. While I am in town, Willy is building Louise her beehive oven. I am looking forward to what she can make with a real oven available.
We had been feeding the pigs with acorns and scraps from the meals but they were getting too big to satisfy with just that anymore. Willy told me I should just release them and they would find their own food. I didn't want to do that, since I had seen the damage a wild pig could do to a field, so I needed to find a cheap source of feed for them. I also needed feed for some of our cows who were finally beginning to produce milk after having calves. I was surprised at how little milk each cow produced and I was thinking that I would see if a better diet would help production. Finally I found a farmer with a wagon load of old oats that he couldn't sell. I bought the whole wagon load for 10 dollars and had him take it out to my place and dump it in the barn. I figured I would separate the good feed from the bad later.
I had one other thing I wanted to buy, copper pipes. I wanted running water in my house. Even if it was only cold water I wanted it with a passion I would have never believed before. I wanted something of the conveniences I lost when I fell back here. I had managed to buy two piston pumps at the Hudson Bay Company store along with the pipes to pull the water up from a well. I was determined that I would manage somehow to bring water into the house. I was unable to find any pipes in the stores. I talked to the captain of the Mogul, who agreed for a price, to bring me 100 feet of pipe from Oregon City. Now all I had to do was figure out how to make my dream of running water in the house come true.
I took the bed frame back to the house and set it up. Instead of springs it came with leather straps as the mattress support for our straw stuffed mattress. Eventually I promised myself I would manage to get enough feathers to make a feather bed in place of the straw. My wives spent the afternoon planning on where everything should go after the haulers delivered our goods. We spent that night sleeping in the bed listening to the sound of rain hitting the shakes while the dogs argued amoung themselves over who got to sleep at the foot of the bed.
October 19, 1847
The haulers began arriving around 10 o'clock and immediately we had women and dogs around everywhere. Corrie arrived and with a firm hand told me to get lost for the rest of the day and let the women handle the unpacking. Sulking a bit, I went to the barn and picked up a scythe to cut grass. I felt like a child who had been sent to his room to clean up and told to keep out of the way. I began cutting grass and was soon joined by Willy and several other men who had come with their wives. After I finished an area I went back to the barn and brought out a barrel of ale I had picked up in Salem. My wives would not let me have alcohol in the house, but I could have it outside. Peeking inside the house I grabbed a stack of cups and headed back to the field. With the ale in the back of the wagon and the cups in my hand I thanked everyone for their help and we all commiserated about being at the mercy of our wives.
By the end of the day six of us had finished about 6 acres and I knew that this method would not be fast enough to beat the rainy season. I determined that I would assemble the horse drawn scythe tomorrow. We returned to the barn and enjoyed our ale as we waited for permission to enter the house. Finally by supper time we were allowed to come in, though we heard several remarks about men and drink coming from the crowd of women.
I could not believe the difference the items they had purchased could make! The bed no longer stood alone in the corner, there was a small table and chair next to it with a thunder mug and wash basin on the table. At the foot of the bed there was a large chest and next to that was a smaller chest. In another corner Claire's four chairs were sitting around a large unfamiliar table while a dry sink stood next to a china hutch where the dishes belonging to Claire's mother were displayed. I saw these and several other pieces that I knew we hadn't brought with us or purchased at Fort Vancouver. When I raised my eyebrows in question, Elizabeth simply said, "It's surprising what you can find when you look around." Having been married long enough (Barely!) to know when to keep my mouth shut, I wisely did so.
Everyone went outside where I found the women had spent at least some of the time preparing a meal for everyone. We had steak, potatoes, rice, beans, and cobbler for dessert. Soon afterwards everyone went home and we sat around talking about what we needed to do next. Claire told me that a Methodist parson would be coming to the township on the 24th for services and we would be going. Now we had never really talked about religion before. I was an agnostic and didn't really care about church one way or another. Here church services were a social occasion where everyone dressed up and gathered for companionship after being isolated on their farms for the week.
Elizabeth told me that she, Ola and Willy had planted 20 acres in wheat and four acres in turnips. She wanted to know if she should plant some barley or oats next or stay with wheat. We debated this, with Claire and Elizabeth favoring wheat, and me wanting oats for feed purposes. Finally we decided that we would continue planting wheat until we ran out and then start planting oats. Louise didn't care one way or another.
Louise's baby was beginning to drop and was getting more active every day. Louise had already had false labor pains and her breasts had swollen even bigger than they were before. Everyone was beginning to become impatient about waiting for the baby. We had picked out names for a boy, David, or a girl, Helen. All we could do now was wait and hope for an uncomplicated birth. It was getting more difficult for Louise to get around with her swollen ankles and sore back. I had her sitting or laying down a lot. As she didn't know when she became pregnant we had no hard date for the birth. I knew it shouldn't be before the end of November as she wasn't kidnapped before January, but any time before that was possible. Claire was ending her second trimester while Elizabeth was beginning hers. We have to figure out some way to avoid having them becoming pregnant again too soon.
We had continued our training in Krav Magen and Tai Chi and I would have trusted them to take down anyone who gave them an opportunity. I just worried that with their earlier success against the robbers they would take too many chances. I warned them that the result of any fight could change due to the slip of a foot or an unexpected move by an opponent, but I'm not sure how much they believe me.
October 20 1847
Today I put together the horse drawn scythe and I will be testing it out tomorrow. I checked the area where I want to conduct the test to ensure there are no rocks and it seems safe. Elizabeth went to town alone today to pick up the plaster and some paint for the house. She is late coming back but she probably saw something and is bargaining for it. If she's not back in two hours I'll ride the horse down the road until I find her.
Still no sign of Elizabeth. I'm starting to worry now. I'm taking one of the horses and checking to see if she broke down somewhere.
I found Elizabeth by the road. She has been beaten and raped. I picked her up and returned to town where she is being looked after by a doctor. I am hunting the man who did this. She said it was the hired man, Michael Brattan. He's a dead man walking.
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