Determined and with Courage

The wagon train started up again. They traveled on for awhile and suddenly there was a scream heard coming from a wagon that was close to where Jed was riding as an outrider. Jed turned his horse and was quickly at that wagon. A little girl about three years old, had been climbing over the seat when the front wheel dropped into a chuck hole in the road and jolted the wagon. The little girl toppled from the seat to the ground, fortunately she rolled away from the wheel rather towards it. Her left arm appeared to be broken and her hands and face were skinned up pretty badly. Naturally she was frightened, hurt, and cried uncontrollably. Her mother, fearing for her child had jumped from the wagon and sprained her ankle. All wagons stopped. The train doctor was called to come to their aid. It took a few minutes for him to get there. He examined the little girl and saw the extent of her injuries. He said he needed some white strips of cloth and a small flat piece of wood for a splint. Jed said he would get the wood. A lady came running up with the strips of cloth needed. The arm had to be set. With one person holding the little girls legs and body still, another person held her one arm and head still. The Doctor gently pulled on the arm with a little twist, released the arm slowly and the bone slid back into the proper position. By the time the doctor had the first wrap on, Jed was back with the splint. The doctor looked at it and exclaimed, “You have it the right size and shape! You must have done this before?” Jed admitted he had done it several times. The wagon train needed to be moving again so the wagon with the little girl in it moved up and over a little, allowing the other wagons to pass. The doctor cleaned her other abrasions and put on a little antiseptic. The little girl stopped crying and only sobbed a little bit. The doctor took a look at the mother’s ankle, fortunately it was just a sprain and not broken. He took some of the white cloth strips and bound her ankle so that it would be immobile. This allowed her to gently walk on it. The mother was helped up into the back of the wagon so she could lay on the bed and her daughter was placed up beside her. With things taken care of the doctor was able to board his wagon as it rolled by. The wagon with the little girl and mother in it, pulled in behind the o Doctor's wagon.

Jed mounted his horse and trotted along the wagons until he was again with the Wilkins. He inquired if everything was okay with them. He was told they were doing fine. They asked about the child and mother. He told them all that had happened. With that, he moved back over to assume his position as an outrider. The rest of the afternoon went well, no more accidents, and the road was good. They were making good time. As it approached evening, the Wagon Master signaled to pull off the road and make camp for the night. As they were in safe territory they would make a loose circle tonight. The wagons would not be quite as close, but the tongues would be put up at night to create a barrier to keep the livestock inside the circle. The grass was plentiful with a stream close by.

When in position the teams were finally unhitched and taken to water. As soon as Tad and Jed were back they set out the grub box and the oven stove. They also took out another box which contained some baking supplies. A small folding table was set up for Sister Wilkins to mix her bread on. Wood was gathered from nearby trees and brought back to camp. The campfire was started, as was a small fire in the stove. Sister Wilkins went to work with her bread mixing and soon it was set out, and covered to rise. Jed went to his pack in the wagon and dug out a small carved bird. He was going to see how the little girl was doing. The wagon she was in was across the circle from them, so over he went. The mother hobbled around as she tried to fix supper for her family. Jed asked about the little girl and how she was doing. The mother told him the doctor had been by to check on her. He had gently tied her little arm across her stomach so she wouldn’t attempt to move it for a few days But it didn’t seem to be hurting her very much now. At least she wasn’t crying. Jed asked if he could see her for a few minutes.