Facing the Storm Along the Oregon Trail Read Free Page B

understand?”
    “Yes sir, you mean that it could become infected and he could lose his leg?”
    “Yes Miss Emily, he could--or even worse, his life.” And with those words Emily began to sob heavily and the Captain reached out and took her in his arms, comforting her.
    “Miss Emily, you seem to come from strong faith and this is one of those times that will try that faith. I am assigning a young man to drive your team here and this will allow you the time to watch over Benjamin and you give out a holler at the first sign that he doesn’t look right, you understand?”
    “Yes Captain. I do understand and I will.” The Captain shook his head and began preparing the back of the wagon, making it as comfortable as possible for the rough trail ahead. Several women brought thick blankets from their wagons offering them to Emily so that they could make Benjamin a comfortable bed to lie upon.
    One man brought a bottle of whiskey and said “I know that you don’t approve of whiskey ma’am, but if he is in much pain, I don’t think he will mind the whiskey being offered.”
    “Thank you sir, and you are probably right,” as she took the bottle into her hand and placed it inside the wagon in a small corner. Emily gathered up her belongings that she had taken out of the wagon earlier and as she started to hop up into the wagon, the young man who would be driving her team offered his hand.
    As her eyes met his, the tenderness she saw was something that she found herself in need of and she thanked him kindly and allowed him to lift her up into the back of the wagon.

Chapter Five
    Their Names upon the Rock
    HALF WAY TO Independence Rock Benjamin’s eyes opened, but he was in so much pain that he couldn’t even speak. As Emily sat over him, she remembered the man and what he said about the whiskey and she reached over and took the bottle into her hands.
    Lifting her brother’s head enough to take a drink, she told him that he would be drinking whiskey only for this occasion and she tenderly raised the bottle to his lips. Cal sat up front listening to Emily talking tenderly to Benjamin and he began thinking about his own brother who had been in a fire and lived for a few days, then eventually died from his injuries.
    Before this happened to his brother, he had nearly walked away from God, but had held on. Before his brother’s accident, Cal’s parents were attacked by Indians as they were making a trip to see friends in need, and they were killed.
    It seemed that after losing his little brother as well, that it was the last straw for him and he walked away from God and never looked back. Here he was, once again wondering why God would let such things happen to good people like this Emily and her brother. It made him stiffen up even more as his thoughts ran wild inside his head.
    Benjamin spent much of his time sleeping and when he would awake, he would be suffering so much pain and would be given whiskey and then fall back into a sleep. Emily stayed close by his side and watched over his wound for any signs of infection.
    They had days ahead of them to travel before they would be coming to Independence Rock and for the most part they had entered rocky ground which was very rugged and the wagon would jiggle around so much that it would wake Benjamin to more pain.
    The Captain would make his rounds, passing by to check in on Benjamin to be sure there was no emergency. As they drew closer to Independence Rock, Emily could see a change coming over her brother and she grew very concerned for him.
    It seemed that when he would awake, he would still be very unstable and was no longer signaling for the whiskey or for a drink. He became quieter with each mile that went by and she began checking his wounds even more.
    One morning as she raised the linens that covered him, she noticed some dark spots appearing on his calves that were not there before. Not knowing what this was, she became alarmed and hollered to Cal up front. “Cal, I