Book Excerpt
ON THE WATERS OF WHITE OAK
According to the calendar,spring was less than a week away, but the morning breeze still had a chill that penetrated one’s bones as Abram’s family worked to complete preparations for the move toNorth Carolina. Frost outlined each blade of grass and each needle on the pine trees; a skim of ice glinted along the edge of the small stream flowing through the yard. The breath of the horses and oxen rose above their heads like a cloud in the early dawn, but the rising sun and the blue sky gave promise of a clear day.
For days the group had toiled, packing their possessions for the move. Sarah’s table was taken apart, and the top was wrapped in quilts and placed on the bottom of one of the wagons. The clock, the pie safe, the press, and the two beds she had brought from Virginia sat aroun the sides of the wagon. Her pewter ware, dutch oven, and iron kettles were put in a chest near the back. Here the women could reach them easily when it was time to prepare the meals while on the trail. Between the furniture in the center of the wagon, feather ticks, pillows, and quilts were piled high. The second wagon carried the family’s clothes, Sarah’s loom and spinning wheel, her wool, flax tow, and sacks of goose feathers, as well as her sewing basket. It also held barrels of potatoes and molasses along with sacks of flour and meal. Strings of dried apples and pumpkin hung from the staves of the canopy. Cured hams and side meat hung along the sides. A large basket filled with soil held plants and cuttings from Sarah’s garden—rhubarb, thyme,
sage, lemon balm, daylilies, peonies, roses, and bee balm. Also, in the middle of this wagon were more feather beds with pillows and covers. Men and boys would sleep in one wagon and the women and girls in the other.
Lewis loaded a two-wheeled cart with sacks of grain, which would be used for seed when they reached the farmstead. Joel added the ironware—hoes, axes, plowshares, scythe blades, bullet mold, and a large iron kettle. Another cart carried wooden cages containing chickens, geese, and small piglets—the mother sow would follow behind on a lead line. Just as they had finished hitching the oxen to the carts, Alex and Susan with the family pulled their wagon into the clearing. The children—John, Rebecca, and Mary—quickly hopped out of the back to join their cousins.
The yard was now filled to overflowing with vehicles, livestock, and people. Abram stepped up on the step in the doorway. “It seems that we are finally ready to venture forth. Let us ask God’s blessing on this undertaking.
Almighty and everlasting God, we implore thy grace and
protection for the ensuing days. Defend us from all dangers
and adversities, and be graciously pleased to take us and
all who are dear to us under Thy fatherly care. Direct us
in all our ways. Give us grace to be just and upright in all
our dealings, quiet and peaceable, full of compassion, and
ready to do good to all men according to our abilities and
opportunities. These things we humbly beg in the name of
Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.”
Lewis and David mounted their horses and trotted onto the road. Joel and Solomon took charge of the carts while Abram and Hense took up the reins of the horses hitched to the wagons. Alex maneuvered his wagon behind the others. The livestock followed—a flock of twenty sheep, half a dozen goats, three small dark-faced Jersey milk cows, several shaggy beef cattle, and a small herd of squealing shoats. It was the responsibility of the younger children to keep the animals
moving with the caravan. To them this was a great adventure, and they skipped along with makeshift staffs in hand. Sarah walked along with them for a distance then stopped to gaze back at her home for some minutes, remembering their lives there. Turning, she resolutely
shook her shoulders, wiped the tears, and lifted her chin to face the morning. Slowly, the wagons, livestock, and more than two dozen people moved up the Great Wagon Road on their northward journey toward a new life.