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 Chapter 12

   July 31, 1847

   We departed from Fort Boise today after crossing the Snake River again.
We have been warned to be careful as we are going through the area claimed
by the Bannock tribe.  They will shoot at men who are separated from the
main party or steal any livestock they can get.  We are beginning run into
problems with forage for the cattle.  After leaving Fort Boise we have
started to enter an arid landscape again.  The only forage available was
along the banks of the many small streams that flowed through the area. 
Game is beginning to disappear from our lane of travel and the wagon
captain has forbidden anyone from hunting out of rifle shot of the wagon
train.

   We are still in a valley covered with sage and bunch grass with
occasional juniper trees.  We will be following the Snake River for today
then enter the mountains following the Burnt River until we get to the
Grande Ronde Valley.  We must have gone 15 miles today and I have seen no
game other than large rabbits.  We have been reduced to boiling dried meat
and flour for dinner tonight.  We camped a little early today to allow the
cattle to graze before dark as we plan to keep them inside the circle of
the wagon train.  We will be setting a double night guard until we get out
of the valley.

   Louise seems a lot happier today.  She has begun to smile and asked me
to feel her stomach to see if I could tell she's pregnant.  I have to say
she doesn't look pregnant to me, but only time will tell.  Claire has
discovered that pregnancy has it's own pitfalls.  She suffers from morning
sickness and is unable to keep anything down until she has thrown up at
least once.  Elizabeth still hasn't had her period and I'm beginning to be
sure she's pregnant too.  I'm glad we only have about 400 miles to go to
get to Oregon City.

   Today was Louise's turn for sex but she asked if she could have Claire
and Elizabeth make love to her while I only watched.  I felt rejected until
I realized that she would not want any man to touch her sexually for a
while.  I watched as they made love to each other.  First Elizabeth took
the top half and began messaging Louise around the neck and shoulders while
Claire began at her feet massaging her legs.  Moving slowly they met in the
middle and continued to the opposite end of her body.  I was watching to
get ideas and noticed that they avoided any sexual foreplay until Louise
turned over on her back.  Clair then began kissing Louise starting at her
ears and lingering around her neck until she gave her a full contact kiss
on the lips.  At the same time Elizabeth was kissing Louise on the inner
thighs avoiding the mons Glancing at each other they began to kiss Louise's
breasts and her labia while using a free hand to touch each other's clits.
Using the side of her tongue, Elizabeth went sideways in Louise's lips
hitting the clit on each swing, while Claire began to kiss Louise using her
tongue to try and touch her tonsils while massaging her breasts.  It didn't
take long before Louise began to stiffen and she began emitting soft grunts
every time Elizabeth hit her clit.  Elizabeth started to push her tongue
into Louise and she began orgasming.  By this time I was so hard that you
could have used my dick to drive nails.  After Louise started coming down,
Elizabeth sucked in her clit and Louise had another orgasm.  I lost count
after a while but there were a lot.  Finally Louise dropped off to sleep
with a well fucked look on her face.  Claire and Elizabeth then turned
their attention on me and Elizabeth gave me perhaps the best blow job I
ever had, while I ate out Claire.  Altogether, we didn't get a lot of sleep
that night but I never regretted it.

   August 1, 1847

   We began going into the mountains today following the Burnt River toward
the Grande Ronde Valley.  I can see how it got the name.  The entire area
is blackened by frequent fires and the hillsides consist mostly of dark
rock.  I don't think I have ever seen such a bad trail in my life.  We are
either in the stream bed or on slopes so steep that Louise and I had to
hold on to the upslope side to keep the wagon from sliding down.  We did
have one wagon slide down and end up half in the river .  It took most of
the men and two teams of oxen to drag it back up to the trail.  I think
that all together we may have made 6 miles today.  I'm beginning to wonder
if I was so smart to buy the cattle now after all, as they have been a
great problem to keep gathered.  Unless we manage to find game soon we will
have to butcher a beef for provisions.

   I have already treated three men for sprains and one boy for a broken
arm today.  One of the horses was also shot with an arrow.  The guide told
us we should just shoot it because the arrow was probably poisoned.  The
owner refused and is trying to treat the animal.  He wanted me to do it and
I had to tell him I had no idea how to treat a poisoned horse.  I told him,
if he wanted to try it, to cut the wound and cauterize it, but I wouldn't
guarantee success.  I tried something new today for a cast on the boy's
arm. I used a flour water glue to soak the cloths I used and then wrapped
it in a wooden covering.  I hope this will last long enough for the arm to
heal.

   We have looked for a wide enough place to form our circle for tonight
and we finally found one in a little side valley.  There is no forage for
the cattle so we have sent off a party of 15 men and older boys to herd the
cattle to feed around the stream beds.  We are going to need to get either
some game or kill a beef tomorrow.  We are down to only beans and bread
today.  That is not enough to live on with the physical labor that we are
doing every day.  I just hope tomorrow is better.

   I'm just too tired to do anything tonight and the women are equally
tired.  I hope we have a better trail tomorrow or we may not make it
through these hills.

   August 2, 1847

   We just slept last night and got up this morning to find one of the
horses down.  When we looked it was the horse that had been shot with the
arrow yesterday.  His heartbeat was rapid and he was having trouble
breathing.  I asked to see the arrow and the owner told me he had burnt it.
I hoped that would be the last of it but I was afraid it wouldn't be.  I
just hope no person gets shot.  After we gathered for our morning meeting
at the central fire, it was decided that a beef would have to be butchered.
I offered one of the beef animals I had bought at Fort Boise.  It was
decided that one animal every two days would be butchered until we were
able to find game safely.  After we got to Oregon City the ones donating
the animals would be paid for them if possible.

   We got off to a late start today and rapidly began to run into much of
the same trail as yesterday.  As we began to go past the entrance of the
valley, an arrow flew from the hillside above and hit the wagon next to
Elizabeth.  I ran up the hill and saw a movement.  Drawing my pistol, I
shot and saw the figure fall.  Looking around I reached it and found a
young boy about 12 years old crumpled around a bow.  Looking around I
noticed a quiver of arrows nearby.  I touched the boy and felt a heartbeat.
I didn't know what to do.  The other men came around and advised me to kill
the boy.  I was tempted to but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

   Cursing to myself, I picked the boy up and took him to the wagon.  Time
to cure another stray.  gDamn it!  When will I learn?,hI muttered to
myself.

   I entered the wagon and picked up the sterilized scalpels I had made at
Fort Bridger.  Using an iron probe I searched for the ball.  After finding
it I reached in with a long nose pair of pliers and tried to grasp it.  It
took a half hour but I finally managed to pull it out.  Reaching in again I
felt around and found a small piece of buckskin in the wound.  Cutting the
ragged skin around the wound, I got the gwhiskeyh out and poured a
generous amount into the wound.  I bandaged it and told Louise to watch him
and let me know if he moved.  I gave her my pistol and told her to use if
she needed to.

   We traveled a mile over trails similar to the ones we were on yesterday
and finally reached a small valley that ran beside the Burnt River.  We
began to move at a better speed and managed to make 15 miles by the end of
the day.  We found a wide spot and managed to form our circle.  Again there
wasn't enough forage at the place we stopped at so the cattle were herded
to graze in nearby stream beds.  One of the beef heifers was butchered and
we shared the meat with the entire wagon train.  I checked my patient and
found him to be breathing, but running a slight fever.  I got out my
concentrated willow bark tea and gave him some.

   He choked when he swallowed and woke up.  He kept still and the only
thing I saw that moved was his eyes.  I gave him some more and he drank it
reluctantly.  Pulling his hand I led him out of the wagon and brought him
to the main fire.  I offered him a piece of steak He sniffed it but
wouldn't touch it until I cut a piece and ate it.  He rapidly ate the rest
and continued to stuff himself until his stomach started to bulge.  While
he was eating the guide tried to talk to him using all the languages that
he knew.  Finally he tried sign language and for the first time the boy
showed signs of understanding.

   We learned that he was a member of the Bannock tribe and he was out
hunting when he saw us.  Since we were not members of his tribe, he felt
perfectly within his rights to kill us for trespassing.  The guide tried to
get him to agree to let us pay a bribe to pass through without any further
problems, but the boy acted like he didn't understand.  He seemed to feel
contempt for me because I treated him.  When asked what would happen when
he was released he said that he would tell his tribe about us.

   We moved away from him and talked about what to do.  The guide warned us
that his grasp of sign language was not that good and he may have
misinterpreted what the boy meant.  Several of the men wanted to kill him,
while others wanted to take him with us until we reached the Grande Ronde
Valley.  I asked who wanted the job of killing him and was met by silence.
I offered to keep him for the night but told them that if they wanted to
keep him longer they needed to make other arrangements because I wasn't
going to do it.  After further arguments it was decided that no one wanted
the responsibility for him.  We would keep him for the next day and release
him before we stopped for the night.

   Several people were upset that I had bothered to treat the boy and I was
told that if I wanted to heal the Indians that I could do so without them.
I told them I followed the Golden Rule.  I promised however, that I would
not pick up any more strays for the rest of the journey.

   Later that night the boy developed a fever and lost consciousness.  I
checked his wound.  It had become red and inflamed and pus was oozing out.
I feared that I had left something inside.  Reluctantly I asked Louise to
hold up a lantern and began to probe for anything in the wound.  I no
sooner broke the scab when i saw the edge of something.  Using the long
nose pliers I grabbed the edge of the wound and pulled out another piece of
rawhide.  Using a probe I felt inside, but found nothing else.  I rewashed
the wound with whiskey and rebound it.

   We spent the rest of the night taking turns bathing him to keep his
fever down.  By dawn his fever broke and he fell into a natural sleep.

   August 2, 1847

   We lost several cattle today from arrow shots.  The outriders never did
see anything but every so often an arrow would come from the hillside and
strike something.  The wagon captain has denied permission by several men
to go further than rifle shot to scout.  They have argued that they can
protect themselves, but he remained unmoved.  We delayed long enough to
butcher the fallen animals then left.

   Luckily, the trail has remained fairly level and we have managed to make
good progress on our journey.  It is uphill most of the way with a good
trail except for some spots where rock requires us to go around the stream
bed and up on the steep hillside.  I am worried about some of the wagons.
They are having a great deal of trouble on these steep hillsides and we may
have to change a wheel on two of them after we stop.  That is a real chore!
It requires that we unload the wagon completely and jack up one side until
a new wheel is put on.  It takes a group of men at least an hour to do it.
After a hard day on the trail that is something no one looks forward to.

   We seem to be finally nearing the crest and should reaching it soon. 
After that the trip should be easier on everyone.  The tribes of the Grande
Ronde are friendly and we should be able to trade with them.  The guide
says there is plenty of forage and water available after we reach the
valley.

   We continue to take occasional arrows from the hillside but no one has
been injured so far.  At least we seem to be having fewer accidents today.
I treated several of the boys for sprains and one girl for a broken leg.  I
had to have Louise hold her still with two men on her arms while I pulled
her leg to realign the bones.  I felt so sorry for the girl.  She was awake
for the start of it but quickly lost consciousness when I began pulling.  I
have had to require that anyone needing supplies bring them with them.  We
have run out of old clothes to use for injuries.  I require that the
clothes be boiled before I'll take them, which confirms my eccentricity to
most of the train.  I don't care.  There's little enough I can do to treat
anyone with what I have, so if they want me to help, they obey my rules.

   The boy is awake now and seems much better.  His wound is clearing up
and I seen no pus or excessive leakage from it.  He is weak, but I think
that it is safe for him to be released.  I made sure he was fed and gave
him back his knife and bow, but kept all his arrows except one.  I made
sure he was left with a bottle of water and enough food for two days.  I
gave him a blanket and some tobacco as a gift.  An hour before we stopped
for the night he was sitting by the side of the road.  The guide spoke to
him with sign language and he said he could get back to his tribe by
himself.  That was the last time I saw him, sitting by the road muttering
to himself as we continued on our journey.

   We reached the crest and began going down hill.  For the rest of the day
we continued to receive random arrows from the hillside but they gradually
decreased and by the time we made camp they had ceased entirely.  I don't
know if our treating the boy was the reason for the attacks stopping or not
as we never saw any of the Bannock Indians except for the boy.

   August 2, 1847

   We spent a quiet night without any harassment and have had no attacks
today as we were moving.  We have traveled another 12 miles today.  There
has been a good trail most of the way but a lot of stream crossings.  We
must have gone through at least 16 of them.  The valley looks like it is
ending tomorrow and we are heading up a long slope to another crest.  From
what the guide says, we will be following this slope to another valley and
then we will reach Flagstaff Hill where we will descend into the Grande
Ronde Valley.

   We have been having more luck finding forage for the cattle near the
trail today.  While the grass is short, there seems to be plenty of it. 
Still no luck finding game but we have plenty of beef from the cattle
killed by the Indians.  This will last for two more days and then we will
either need to find game or kill another beef.  We have decided to make
this a short day and camp in the valley before we start up the draw.  This
will allow the women to bake bread and do the wash, while the men repair
the wagons and take care of the animals.

   We are setting a double night guard again tonight and keeping the cattle
inside the wagon circle, just in case this is a temporary respite from the
attacks.  I have been tasked with the night guard duty so I will be
guarding the wagon train until around midnight.

   Got off a quiet night guard and returned to the wagon.  I found my wives
in a group cuddle.  From the smell they were busy while I was gone.  Claire
has that satisfied look on her face as she lays cuddled between Elizabeth
and Louise.  I'm tired so I'll just crawl in behind Louise.

   August 3, 1847

   Started up the slope and it is just as bad as the first day.  Louise and
I spent much of the day hanging on the wagon trying to keep it from sliding
down every time we had to leave the stream bed.  I have had several more
sprains today and one girl who came in with measles.  I quarantined the
wagon and have informed the wagon captain and master of the situation. 
Only those who have had the measles are to be allowed to be around her and
her wagon is to have no contact with any of the Indians we meet until there
is no sign of sickness for two weeks.  The wagon captain was dubious of my
requirement but the wagon master backed me up.  He told both of us that he
had seen what happened when a tribe who had never had measles come into
contact with it.  They will lose at least half of the people of the tribe
from the illness.  We made about 8 miles today and will soon reach the
crest of the ridge then begin descending into another valley that will lead
us to the last slope before the Grande Ronde valley.

   We have been unable to find an area big enough for our circle so we will
have to stay in line until tomorrow morning, We have been told to have one
person awake and armed for the night.  I have chosen the middle watch while
Louise has the first and Elizabeth the second.  Claire has been excused
this duty because of her pregnancy.

   We went to bed where Claire reminded me that this was her night in the
center as she missed her turn yesterday.  I was going to remark about the
smell I found when I came off guard duty but decided that wasn't a good
idea when she looked at me.  Claire has been more and more aggressive since
she became pregnant and is much more vocal in her demands for sexual
contact.  I wasn't in the mood to make love to her, but when a woman gives
you that kind of look, you may as well get ready.

   Tonight she wanted me to take the top while Elizabeth was on the bottom.
Remembering how they had made love to Louise, I began by doing a slow
massage of her shoulders and upper back.  Rubbing my thumbs along her
spine, I moved my fingers to loosen the muscles along her sides slowly
going up to her neck.  I paid special attention to her shoulders and neck
then started kissing the area I just massaged.  Nibbling at her ear I began
massaging her arms while spreading kisses from her neck to her cheek.

   At the same time I was doing the top, Elizabeth was massaging her legs
and feet.  She began to suck in her toes and then kiss her way up both
inner thighs.  Backing away she helped me turn her over to her back, then
she began to tease her labia with a wet finger.  Drawing her finger from
Claire's anus to her clit, Elizabeth slowly circled around the clit, never
quite touching it.  After about two minutes of this Claire began humping
her hips trying to make the finger come into contact with her clitoris. 
Elizabeth then took three fingers and started searching for her g-spot and
using her tongue to suck in the clit.  I had continued my kissing down to
her breasts where I began teasing one with my tongue while using my hands
to lift her breasts.  Continuously switching between breasts I soon had the
nipples standing up and hard.  She became flushed from the stimulation and
as I kissed her sticking my tongue into her throat, she climaxed for the
first time.

   Elizabeth glanced in my direction and seeing that I was hard, pulled my
leg to position me for entry.  Placing my hard on in the entrance of her
tunnel, she gave my ass a slap and changed over to Cllaire's breasts.  With
one swift thrust I seated myself inside of Claire.  By this time both
Claire and I were on hair triggers and soon we both began to cum. 
Exhausted I fell to her side and the next thing I remember was Louise
waking me up for my watch.  I moved Claire's and Elizabeth's arms from
around me and crawled out of bed.  Louise crawled into my place and was
promptly wrapped in two pairs of arms.

   I crawled out and began my watch.  I had a lot to think about.  We
needed to think about where we were going to live when we got to Oregon as
well as what we wanted to do for a living.  I knew that I wanted to get
into politics to fight slavery, but couldn't decide if I would do more good
in the spotlight or behind the scenes as a deal maker.  Claire I knew
wanted to start a school wherever we ended up, and I wondered if I should
help her establish a bigger one than she currently had plans for. 
Elizabeth would be running our farm or ranch while Louise preferred
domestic chores, as she was a house slave before she was set free after her
mistress'es death.  Thinking of these things, I lost track of time and it
seemed in no time at all it was daybreak.  I should have been tired, but
just coming to some conclusions about the future I wanted to follow brought
me relief.  I hadn't realized how stressed I had been until then.



   August 4, 1847



   I woke up my wives, and after getting my ass-chewing from Elizabeth for
not waking her up, crawled into the wagon and fell asleep until we began
moving.  Louise woke me up and handed me a cup of coffee and a plate
covered with a steak, corn bread, and corn mush.  By the time I had
finished we had reached the bottom of the draw and began another trip
through the rocky stream bed and steep slopes.

   I treated several more sprains and had another wagon come down with
measles.  Luckily the boy we treated had no contact with either of the
wagons.  I shuddered to think of what might have happened if he did.  The
second wagon with measles was moved next to the first one and we continued
our journey.  This stretch was shorter and by the end of the day we were
entering another narrow valley.

   This was the second day to pass without an attack and we took advantage
of it by pressing onward until dusk.  Altogether we must have made about 18
miles today and should remain in the valley for two more days before we go
up the last slope before the Grande Ronde Valley.  The wagon captain has
still forbidden any hunters from going out beyond rifle shot and we have
seen no game today either except for several large rabbits, as well as some
birds.

   We circled our wagons but left the cattle out to graze with the night
guards.  Tonight was Louise's turn and I didn't know what she wanted to do.
She asked me to hold her while she and Elizabeth engaged in a 69.  She
placed her head in my lap and I rubbed her temples and neck while she and
Elizabeth engaged in the 69.  Claire rubbed herself while watching and then
seeing my erection scooted forward and took me in her mouth.  Humming she
licked my glans and cupped my balls in her hand.  Soon enough all three of
us had an orgasm.  I offered to get Claire off but she refused.  Soon we
were all in a common pile and went to sleep.

   August 5-6, 1847

   Not much to say.  No more attacks by the Bannock Indians since we left
the boy.  I think that is the reason but I rally don't know for sure.  No
further cases of measles have been found in the train and there seems to be
no complications with the children who do have it.  I told the mothers to
give them willow bark tea to drink if they felt feverish and make sure they
got plenty of rest.  The sprains are healing.  I had to replace the cast I
made for the boy's broken arm.  He couldn't keep out of the water and it
disintegrated.  After chewing out both the son and his parents, I replaced
it with plain cloth and wood splints tied together with rope.  Luckily he
did no further damage before I replaced the cast.  The girl's leg is doing
well and I see no signs that she will need any further treatment until it's
time to remove the cast.  I made her a crutch out of a branch to use
temporarily while continuing to make a regular crutch for her.  I have to
wait for the wood to dry in the form before I can continue working on it.

   Reading this journal I see that I have forgotten to mention that I built
a form to make crutches since I have been treating so many ankle sprains.
It's all fairly straightforward with the exception of bending the long
supports into a slight S shape at the bottom.  While at Fort Boise I had
gotten a two handled saw and with help, cut a small log into the right
shape.  With that I was able to bend four supports at a time into the
correct shape after I boiled the wood.  I managed to make several pairs of
crutches, but with so many sprains along this stretch of the trail I ran
out.

   August 7, 1847

   One more uphill slope to go and we will be at the edge of the Grande
Ronde Valley.  We will be glad to get over this part of the trail as it is
the worst that we have seen.  Another day of hanging from the upslope side
of the wagon and treating ankle sprains and then we can relax back into our
regular trail routine.

   We reached Flagstaff Hill today and caught a glimpse of our last
mountain range, the Blue Mountains.  After that we will reach Oregon City
and make our land claim.  First we need to go down a rather steep hill to
reach the valley floor.  I am amazed at the huge flocks of waterfowl I see
flying around a large marsh in the valley.  There is a well-defined trail
that should keep us out of trouble.  The guide told us the Nez Perce tribe
in the valley was friendly and willing to trade provisions for goods.  I
think I spoke for everyone when I said, gThank God!  We're finally here!h