Lenoir

Oregon or Bust

He wanted Lenoir pregnant so that in the early, easier, months of her pregnancy she could be productive and supportive to the rest of his plan. Unbeknownst to her and her father, Clarence had no interest in becoming a local legacy. He dreamed of the wild west and building a fortune where competition was not as thick.

Indeed, he had already started setting aside the merchandise in his store that would benefit his trip to Oregon. Three hundred pounds of flour in three reinforced sacks, two hundred pounds of shorts (flour mixed with rough bran), two hundred pounds of dry beef and two hundred of cured bacon stored in sacks of bran to keep it from melting on the way across the deserts. He would want fifty pounds of white and fify pounds of brown sugar, fifty pounds of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper, three hundred pounds of cornmeal and forty pounds Rice, ten pounds of saleratus (chalky and used like baking powder), seventy pounds of dry beans, two pounds of yeast, two gallons of vinegar, sixty pounds of dried fruit and vegetables, and twenty-five pounds of fat and oil for cooking and other uses.

He would bring a Dutch oven and a few good pans, a tea kettle, a few kitchen knives, the silverware that he had gotten in the inheritance, a few mixing bowls. He was sure that Lenoir could help him think of things they would need for their trailside kitchen. He just had to break the news of their move to her.

He informed her over breakfast one morning, a few days after the wedding. He said that he had paid much attention to the migration west, and that he had determined that it was time for him to move his family forward with the times. He spoke with confidence and with no room for negotiation or complaint.

"I already have the wagon mostly packed with the heavier items, but I will want your assistance with storing away the rest you will need for your household work, as it might be, on the trail."

She was startled by the news of their move to be sure. In an instant her whole view of her future and what it might entail shifted like a wave on the ocean. With the instincts of a survivor keeping their head above choppy waters, she forded through.

"Yes dear." She had nodded and listened to his plans. Offering a suggestion once in a while that she thought might please him.

He could tell by her face that she was frightened by the idea of this massive journey through mostly untamed wilderness full of natives and predators, human and animal. Proudly he saw her put on a brave face and set her stubborn jaw to helping him reach his goal.

"You are a good wife, Lenoir." He praised her, smoothing his big hand over her silken brunette hair.

The wagon he had chosen to take was the same trusty wagon he used to move supplies to and from the store. He had modified it so that large bows bent over it to support a roof made of linseed oil soaked, tightly woven, white cloth. This bonnet made the wagon roughly ten feet tall. The box of the wagon was about 4 ft wide by 10 ft long, the side boards only 2 ft high. Both box and running gear were hand crafted out of hardwoods and reinforced with strong iron hardware. The wheels and spokes were made from oak and an iron band made a tire around each, protecting the wood from the pressures and damages of the road. From the rear axel of the wagon they would hang a bucket for axel grease made of pine tar and fat. The wheels would need greased every fifty miles.

The rest he was selling to Brian, who had worked for him for years and was up to the task. He would pay for part of the store now, funding much of their journey, and send payments for the rest, ensuring their financial stability in their new home.

Clarence planned to leave all of his fancy furniture except four of the dining chairs. It was not to his tastes. His mother and sister had done what they could with his decor, hoping he would secure some young rich socialite as a bride. Instead he had chose a girl for her natural beauty over money.

He figured he would need around 1,600 to 1,800 lbs of food to get two people to Oregon. He had hoarded about $2,500 for the trip. They needed the prairie schooner, caulked for river crossings. At least 6 oxen, so he could use a team of 4 to pull the wagon while two rested with the milk cow. He could rotate them out and have spares in case one was hurt or needed eaten. Hunting and fishing would supplement their meals. As could gathering greens and berries and roots along the way.

Clarence was a proficient hunter of all types of available game in Maryland. He had no doubt that he would be able to supply his dinner plate with deer, fish, fowl, and rabbit on the trail.

The jockey box in the front of the wagon would hold the tools that would be needed for the journey and to build a shelter when they needed one, along with the tools to shod animals and fix harnesses.

The wagon would need a lazy board for each side, a shelf between the large rear wheels and slightly smaller front wheels. A 20 gallon barrel of water could sit on each side, since Clarence didn't drink coffee and could afford the weight. He did take a 10 lb box of tea for special occasions.

All of this moving was going to take a lot of packing and loading, and Clarence was sure Lenoir could manage to help with that, pregnant or not. She could still cook and clean. She was strong.