When they got to Esther’s house, Maria clambered out and knocked. “Are you ready for visitors?” she called inside.
Esther came to the doorway holding her newborn. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said as Jenny climbed out of the buggy. “I thought you were confined to home.”
“I’m too tense,” Jenny said. “Aren’t you anxious, too?”
Esther laughed, gesturing to the baby in her arms and then to the turmoil in her house. “I don’t have time to worry.” She ushered Jenny and Maria inside. Maria went with Esther’s older girls to check the chicken coop for eggs, leaving Jenny and Esther alone with newborn Martha.
“May I hold her?” Jenny asked, stretching her arms out for the baby.
“I gladly give her to anyone who’ll take her,” Esther said, sighing and handing over the infant. “Every time, I forget how much work a new young’un is.” She frowned at Jenny as she moved about the kitchen. “How are you doin’?”
“I’m fine,” Jenny said, trying to convince herself as much as Esther. “William is my biggest worry at the moment.”
Esther nodded. “I wonder which I’ll do first when I see Jonah—hug him or wring his neck. Maybe both at the same time.” She poured coffee, then put a plate of day-old bread and a jar of jam on the table.
“I hope I have the chance to choose with Will,” Jenny murmured.
Chapter 32: The Expedition Sets Out
Crossing the Cascade pass in late June brought the mule train weather of every kind. They had rain, hail, snow, and wind as they wended their way along the mountain trail, careful not to slip on the wet scree.
“I’ll be damn glad when we reach Klamath,” Joel muttered to the boys as they shivered in camp on the morning of June 22. “I wouldn’t have signed up if I’d known we’d be stuck in the mountains. I was told we’d be explorin’ the desert country east of here.”
When they rode into Fort Klamath the next afternoon, a corporal greeted them at the stables. “You’ve made your last run to Jacksonville,” he said. “Cap’n Kelly heard from Drew.”
“That right?” Sergeant Geisy said with a grin. “We’ll be doin’ real militia work now?”
Will and the other packers crowded around the corporal to see what he knew. But all he said was, “Ain’t sure when we’re headin’ out. Kelly says he’ll call muster tomorrow mornin.’ Seven o’clock sharp.”
“What do you think?” Will asked Joel while they unpacked the mules and rubbed down their mounts. “Will we leave soon?”
“We’ll have to wait till morning,” Joel replied. “As long as I’m gettin’ paid, I’d rather rest in camp awhile.”
June 23, 1864. We may be done running the supply train. I hope we leave on the expedition soon. I’m curious about Lt. Col. Drew.
Will thought he would sleep well, given the relative comfort of their camp at the fort compared to the mountain cold. But he tossed and turned well after midnight, wondering where the militia would send him next.
“Joel?” Will whispered when Joel staggered into bed after drinking with other packers and soldiers.
“Huh?”
“How long will we be on reconnaissance with Colonel Drew?”
“How should I know? Go to sleep.”
But Will couldn’t relax. Joining the expedition was the most exciting thing he’d ever done, and the real journey was about to start.
“Colonel Drew has been detained in California,” Captain Kelly began after the cavalry and packers assembled the next morning. The captain looked peeved at the groans that followed—he seemed as eager as the rest of the men to get underway.
“But he is on his way,” Kelly continued. “We are to leave Fort Klamath on June 28, next Tuesday. He will catch up to us as we travel toward the Sprague River.”
Cheers arose from some of the cavalry. Joel remained stoic. “Not much time in camp,” he muttered. “Won’t have a minute’s rest whilst we’re packin’ provisions for the trek.”
But Will grinned. He’d be seeing unfamiliar territory soon. Even the thought of pulling mules for weeks on end didn’t daunt his spirits.
Still, as Joel predicted, the men worked from dawn to dusk for the next few days. They checked and rechecked their horses’ and mules’ hooves. They rubbed down the animals, making sure the beasts were healthy. They packed and repacked the mules’ panniers, cramming as much as they could into the leather bags and tying on odd-shaped tools and harness pieces that wouldn’t fit anywhere else.
Will and Jonah were given four mules each for the expedition. Joel took eight, as did a few of the other experienced packers, with most of the men taking six beasts. Only one wizened old packer, a man named Felix Bagley, led just four mules like the boys.
“That’s twice as much weight to lift as we had on the supply runs,” Jonah complained.
“So it is,” Joel said. “But it ain’t much harder to lead four mules than two. You’ll get the hang of it.”
That week, all men were furnished with rifles, even the packers. The cavalry also had Colt revolvers and sabers, but Captain Kelly refused to issue the packers those military weapons.
Sergeant Crockett, the quartermaster, supervised the packing. He argued with the packers over whether the mules could carry more. “We got the quartermaster’s wagon,” he told them. “An ambulance wagon and a third wagon. But the rest of our provisions must go by mule. Load ’em up. Leastwise, this time we’ll be eatin’ from their loads—they’ll get lighter each day. So start as heavy as we can.”
June 27, 1864. Rained today, our last day at Klamath. Tomorrow we leave! Sgt. Crockett is a tough taskmaster. Drew can’t be any tougher.
