Instead of a regular post today, this is my Christmas present to you; my annual Christmas story. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on more than one of my lists, you will receive duplicate copies. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. I will return in January with more posts. Sandi A PIONEER GIRL’S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE This is a fictional novelette. Elizabeth was just plain lonely; no other explanation was necessary. Why would anyone be excited about Christmas when she was so far from her real family? She didn’t have anything about which to celebrate! As she sat by her window peering out on a ton of snow it seemed, she could see other children running and playing in that cold snow. They were making snow angels, building snow forts and tossing snowballs at each other. How childish; they were old enough to be helping their families. At least they had families to help! What she would give for a real family. Her mind wandered back to happier times when she did have a loving family. Father was so big and strong; at least it looked that way to a little girl! He worked in the fields, tended the livestock and hunted for game to feed the family. Mother was a tiny thing and walked with a limp. She was so pretty though, it was a shame that she had been tossed from a wagon on the way to church and the wheel had run over her legs. Mother didn’t seem to mind though and she took care of Elizabeth and her brothers and sisters. Oh, yes, her brothers and sisters. Baby Jennifer had been a handful! She seemed to get the croup often and it was hard to sleep hearing all her fussing. Robert was her big brother and she followed him around like a puppy dog. He was always getting into mischief, but it was never anything serious. He was just – a boy! And Susan, her twin. Oh, they had been closer than any two girls could have been. It had been so hard to tell the two girls apart and they loved tricking their Mother and Father (and everyone else)! But all that changed when Elizabeth was twelve years old. Let’s let Elizabeth tell her story: “Father had come home that night looking very excited. He had finished milking the cow and finishing all the things a farmer had to do when Uncle Ned had stopped by. I saw them talking out by the barn and Father was intently listening to what Uncle Ned was telling him. When Father burst through the door (startling Baby Jennifer so she started screaming in her little crib by the fireplace), it was obvious that something important had been said. I saw him pull Mother over to the handmade table in the corner of the room and talk excitedly to her. Mother was shaking her head, obviously disagreeing with what Father had to say. But he continued on and on and the next thing I knew, Mother had tears streaming down her face. What in the world was wrong? After all the children had been tucked into bed in the loft, Susan and I leaned over as far as we dared to see if we could hear what this was all about. But the voices of Mother and Father were muted so we eventually fell asleep. In the morning, life continued as it had; possibly the discussion was over and dismissed! But, no, after the morning chores, Father called us down and said he had something to discuss with us. Was someone ill? Had there been an accident? I sent up a little prayer that everyone was safe. Father again was animated and Mother was very still. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying last night which worried us. Slowly Father began to explain. We were moving to Kentucky County, Virginia. Where was that? Father got a ragged piece of paper used to wrap some meat in and tried his best to draw a rough map from where we lived up to someplace he said was close to the Ohio River. It didn’t look all that far away on his map, but we were soon to learn that it was a LONG way from our cabin in the south part of Virginia! Anyway, I’m getting ahead of my story. Father said that the land was rich there, much better farm land that our worn out acreage. He talked of tall trees, beautiful rivers, birds of all sorts and where a man could buy land for a little of nothing and make a good living. He said that Uncle Ned and Aunt Matilda were leaving first thing in the morning; they were heading to Fort Boonesborough. What’s that? Father explained that the Indians were still roaming around pretty fiercely and that other families had all gotten together and moved into this fort for protection until the Indians moved on. Whole families lived in attached cabins with a tall fence around it and holes in the fence where the menfolk could shoot if necessary. It sure sounded exciting to us, all except Baby Jennifer who, for a change was sound asleep. Mother wasn’t sure at all, you could tell it in her expression. We were too young to understand that she would be leaving her family and friends behind to move to some strange land with Indians charging around! But Father had talked her into it and she started packing up things in short order. It was hard and I saw her cry once in a while when she realized that not everything would fit in their old covered wagon. The next day, we were all packed up and ready to go with Uncle Ned and Aunt Matilda. I don’t think they were even kin of ours; we just called them Aunt and Uncle. Some cherished pieces of furniture, dishes from Grandmother Mary and other assorted things were given to the neighbors. Father had packed food supplies that he could and Mother added in a few of our hand- made toys, blankets and clothes. Maybe it was an omen but Baby Jennifer wouldn’t quit fussing that morning, it was almost like she knew of the dangers ahead. Father hooked up the oxen to the wagon and tethered our milk cow Bessie on one side and his riding mare, Beauty, on the other. Mother got us all into the wagon somehow with just a tiny space for us to sleep at nights. We shared the wagon bed with a crate of chickens that seemed to amuse Baby Jennifer, two geese that honked non-stop. Our old dog Rover pranced excitedly alongside us as we pulled out. Uncle Ned and Aunt Matilda were waiting for us down the road. With one long last look at our cabin, Father gave a little snap of a whip and the oxen started plowing ahead slowly. They were towing a lot of weight behind them. Oh, the journey was long and hard. The weather was good except for a couple of days when it rained downright hard. The wagon wheels got mired in the mud of the road, if you could call it that, and we all had to get out and push the wagon as hard as we could to help those tired oxen. One day we were up high in what Father said was the Cumberland Gap area and the oxen just couldn’t haul us. In near hysteria, Mother had to help Father take out her mother’s chest and a couple other pieces of furniture and put them by the side of the road to lighten the load. Days passed but I won’t bore you with all the details. It was the same day after day – wake up, eat by the side of the wagon, watch for Indians, load up and off we would go again. Until … Now, this is the hard part for me to tell. We were ahead of Uncle Ned and Aunt Matilda that day; they had stayed longer at a resting spot. Looking out the back of the wagon, we could barely see them. All of a sudden shots rang out, war cries seemed to surround us. Father yelled for us to lay down and hide under the quilts. Mother was riding up front with Father, Baby Jennifer was finally asleep but Robert and Susan wanted to know what was going on. They stuck their heads up and peered out behind Mother and Father. I stayed under those quilts and tried not to move. It was over in a minute though it seemed like hours! Yelling, shooting, horses charging. Aunt and Uncle were far enough behind us that they didn’t see for a moment what was going on. When the sounds stopped and the horses charged off, I was alone with Baby Jennifer. Mother and Father lie by the side of the road lifeless. Robert and Susan were gone! Where were they? Suddenly I could see the Indians had stopped and looked back at the wagon, thankfully not seeing me. Robert was on one horse, Susan the other, each being held by an Indian. Then they were all gone. I’m thankful that my aunt and uncle reached us in time to rescue the two of us. Rover suddenly appeared out of the brush but Father’s horse was gone, confiscated by the Indians. The chickens and geese were unharmed and most of the things in the wagon survived. Mother and Father had been lovingly buried beside the road; Uncle Ned had cut some larger saplings and made a cross over their graves and covered the graves with field stones to protect them from the wild animals. I didn’t have time to grieve, Uncle Ned said that I was big enough to drive the wagon and Aunt Matilda took Baby Jennifer in with her and her numerous children. I don’t know how we made it the rest of the way. Uncle Ned would sometimes come and give me a rest and drove our wagon while Aunt Matilda drove theirs while their children were sleeping. Uncle Ned brought us over to their wagon at night while he stood guard outside with his rifle. Somehow we made it, I don’t know how, it’s just a nightmare that keeps haunting me night after night. So, this is why I am not celebrating Christmas. I’m at Fort Boonesborough and Baby Jennifer, now a year old is asleep nearby. Uncle Ned and Aunt Matilda are helping the other settlers with some cooking and preparations for Christmas. I feel so alone, how am I going to raise a child at now age 13? While everyone else is singing and laughing, I am here in this little room I share with Uncle Ned and Aunt Matilda’s little ones. Suddenly a shout went up from downstairs! I jumped up and hoped Baby Jennifer would not wake up. Was it yet more Indians? They came so frequently and the men would have to grab their guns and run outside to fight them. But … this sounded different! What was going on? I ran down from the loft just in time to see … Robert and Susan! With them was a big man who looked a lot like Daniel Boone himself!!! He had been out scouting that night; they say he could sneak up on you without making a sound. He’d found an Indian camp where most of the braves were too inebriated to cause any problem, drinking heartily of some whiskey they’d stolen from a mercantile. The squaws were already sound asleep. As the man soundlessly approached from behind the tents, he had heard sobbing. He peeked inside and saw two white children, a boy about 16 and a girl about twelve or thirteen. The girl was crying out for her Mother and Father and brother and sisters. He took a chance and entered the tent which startled the young people. He identified himself and asked their names. When he heard the name of Gillock, he knew who they were; he had often seen Elizabeth working at the fort and the girl here was the spitting image of her. Shushing them, he untied both and led them to his horse hidden in the woods. Somehow all three of them managed to climb up and quietly he led his horse out of the woods until he knew they could not be heard. Putting his horse into a gallop with Robert and Susan holding on for dear life behind him, they rode all night and back to the fort.” We’ll let Elizabeth rest now from her story for the moment she saw her brother and sister, she ran to them with arms outstretched. The tears flowed in happiness, Uncle Ned and Aunt Matilda joined in the huddle of hugs and kisses. Soon everyone was gathered around the two newcomers who looked a little bedraggled, a little on the skinny side and quite overjoyed. We leave the family reunion now; they need time alone. But as an aside, I did notice two young men standing off to the side by the fireplace. I’d reckon they were about 17 years old or so, handsome young boys they were! They couldn’t take their eyes off Susan and Elizabeth. But, that’s for another story at another time by Elizabeth. Colonel Sandi Gorin President, South Central KY Historical & Genealogical Society Sandi's website: http://www.gensoup.org/gorin/index.html Sandi's puzzlers: http://www.gensoup.org/gorinpuzzles/index.php --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com