“How so?”
“Because of her parentage.”
Hannah looked at Jenny quizzically.
“Her mother was Spanish. And Indian.”
“Ah,” Hannah said with a nod.
“And no one knows who her father was,” Jenny continued. “Though he was probably white. At least, that’s what Mac says.”
Hannah took another sip, then said, “You know the rumors about Mac being her father.”
“He says he isn’t,” Jenny said. “I trust him.”
Hannah sighed. “That’s all you can do.” After a pause, she asked, “What about sending Maria to board with Abigail Duniway? Lafayette might be far enough to give her a new start. I had a letter from Abigail yesterday. She is still looking for a girl to help her.”
Jenny couldn’t let another child leave her. Swallowing hard, Jenny said, “Oh, Hannah, I rely on Maria so much. Her presence at home is a comfort, particularly with Will gone.”
“But what is best for Maria?” Hannah asked.
“I don’t know,” Jenny whispered. “I’ll have to think on it.”
Jenny tried to occupy her days with her children. They were all growing so fast. There was Maria’s schooling to worry about. It seemed Cal and Nate needed new trousers and shirts every time she turned around. And she and Maria had let down Lottie’s and Eliza’s skirts twice already this year. Maggie learned new words daily and used them to ask question after question. Jenny was hard-pressed to keep up with the toddler.
But at nights, she often lay awake long after Mac slept. Her scare with the coming child seemed behind her. The baby now kicked and rolled as soon as she laid down for the night, and she couldn’t relax. While Mac snored softly beside her, Jenny’s mind flashed back to her assault in Missouri. And she fretted over William. Where was he? Was he safe? Healthy? She had no way of knowing.
Still, she had a family at home, and they needed her attention. Mac was distressed about something—a business matter, she assumed—but he didn’t talk to her about it.
Mac put on a cheerful face around Jenny and kept his concerns to himself. Jenny didn’t need to know how worried he was about his new investments.
He’d received a letter from Byron Pengra after their discussion in Eugene:
July 8, 1864
Dear Mr. McDougall,
My competitors are moving ahead with other road projects. I need your answer on increasing your investment in the Oregon Central Military Road within two weeks, as I hope to begin the survey shortly thereafter. I must know how much funding is available before I start the construction. . . .
Mac sighed as he read Pengra’s urgent request. He didn’t agree with the Eugene surveyor, but the man had the backing of state leaders and financiers such as William Ladd. Maybe Mac was too cautious. But he didn’t like investing his money when he couldn’t see a path to a profitable return. Could Pengra convince Congress that a railroad into Eugene made more sense than one into Portland or into the Rogue River Valley nearer San Francisco? Mac had his doubts.
And then there were the problems facing the People’s Transportation Company. Mac had recently met with the McCullys, the owners of that steamship enterprise. Asa McCully told him of the cutthroat competition the P.T. Company encountered from the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. “O.S.N. is more established, and can undercut our prices,” McCully said. “If we are to compete, we need funds to outlast their fare war.”
The McCullys wanted to buy another boat to run on the upper Columbia River. If they could expand on the Columbia, competition with O.S.N. would lower shipping costs between the ocean ports of Portland and Astoria and the Willamette River towns. That would benefit both businesses and residents in Oregon City. But should Mac invest more money in the P.T. Company?
He didn’t have the cash to invest in all the opportunities before him, Mac told himself bluntly. He had to finish stocking his warehouses in San Francisco, and until they produced a profit again, he wouldn’t have more cash. He had to choose between competing projects—Pengra’s road and possible railway, Ladd’s bank in Portland, and helping the McCullys’ steamship company.
Frankly, the bank appealed to him most. Lowering the costs of river traffic would be of immediate benefit, more roads were necessary in the near term, and trains were the way of the future. But the bank would allow him to increase his correspondence with his brother in Boston.
He was long overdue to repair his relationships with his family back East. It had not seemed important for most of the years he and Jenny had resided in Oregon. But since Will’s departure, Mac thought more about his own fractured ties with his father.
Mac sighed and picked up another piece of correspondence—a letter from Samuel Abercrombie’s attorney. Samuel still argued over the building of a channel from the creek now on Zeke’s land to his claim.
Mac swore. He’d have to make another trip to the country to mediate between Abercrombie and Zeke.
Chapter 37: Horse Thieves
The militia continued its slow progress through Goose Lake Valley, traveling only a few miles each day to accommodate the wagon trains. Will wished they would remain in the same camp for a few days, so he wouldn’t have to load and unload his four mules each day. Though that would slow their progress toward Boise even more.
The mid-July days were hot unless they passed under an evergreen canopy. But much of the land was unforested or covered only with a mix of scrubby pines and sagebrush. So for the most part, the men and beasts sweltered under the bright sun and the radiant heat from the ground.
The evenings were cool, and the moon increased each night toward its full orb. The bright moon hid the stars from sight. Will would have enjoyed guard duty, except for the sleep he missed.
Drew sent his Klamath Indian scouts out every day to survey the land ahead and plot the route for the coming day. On the afternoon of July 17, the scouts returned to the reconnaissance force, bringing with them about twenty prospectors who’d been heading for the Malheur River. That afternoon as the expedition made camp near the head of Goose Lake, three Snake Indians also joined them.
“Wonder what they want,” Joel muttered as the packers unloaded their mules. He nodded toward the Snake tribesmen. “No good’ll come of having more Indians with us.”
Once Drew’s tent was assembled, the Snake visitors and the Klamath scouts met with the colonel. Rumors spread through the rest of the camp that the Snake tribesmen were angry to find the expedition in their territory. After his powwow with the Indians, Drew passed the word through his officers to the rest of the soldiers and packers that the Snakes had come in peace and would spend the night in camp with the militia. The prospectors would remain with them as well.
