The Emerald Virus by Patrick Shea

have access to the military system in the bunker.”
        
“Our military liaison will also give us a list of recommended items to pack.
Our folks aren’t restricted to that list, but they will do well to pay
attention to the military on this one. The environment of the bunker should
drive the list of things to bring. Everyone will be issued lightweight
coveralls to wear. No other outside clothing will be needed. No food or beverages
can be packed. Anyone on prescription medicine needs to provide the
prescription information to the military docs, who will ensure adequate
supplies will be available in the bunker. And don’t ask me what ‘adequate’
means. I have no idea. Sometimes you just have to trust the experts.” 
        
Jack agreed to pass the word and added, “If you don’t mind I’ll have Irene pass
her logistics project to Nancy so she can focus on preparation. Our volunteers
won’t have much time for goodbyes. While none of them have spouses some of them
have family in the area. I think this will be hardest on them.”
         

Chapter Five:  
The Blue Wolf Ranch
     
         Wilhelm
Klein and his wife Johanna left Cuxhaven, Germany, in the late winter of 1861
bound for America. While the late winter passage through the North Sea and
across the Atlantic was harsh, the young couple wanted to be in New York before
summer. Will, as he came to be known in his new country, carried with him all
of the money his father and his father-in-law had saved during their lives.
Both their parents had also sold everything they could to raise money for the
trip. Will’s job was to find a place to live, with work for himself, and
prospects suitable for the younger members of both families. Others would join Will
and Johanna as soon as that was feasible. Both Will’s parents and Johanna’s
parents were willing to consider immigrating to the new world, but first and
foremost they wanted a more promising life for their children; even if this
meant a lengthy separation.
        
Will worked the docks of his North Sea town as a young teenager. He then
apprenticed as a blacksmith where he learned how to work with metals and livestock.
While he loved his home region of Lower Saxony, he made just enough money to
survive and had at best a bleak future. More importantly, he wanted to marry
Johanna but did not see how he could ever afford to support a wife and children.
        
Will and Johanna were never sure which of their fathers had first come up with
the idea, but both men together talked to them about marrying and moving to
America in order to provide a better life for their families. Will and Johanna
talked about the good and bad and decided that they owed it to both themselves
and their families to make this work. They knew how hard this would be, but
they had both grown up in working class families and hard work was a part of
their lives. The prospect of a great adventure was amazing to both of them, but
this amazement was balanced by fear.
        
They were married in February and sailed for New York in late March aboard the
German Snow Brig ‘Elbe’ sailing under the flag of Hamburg. The Elbe was a
sailing ship built in Kiel by Hilbert in 1850 and was past its prime when Will
and Johanna boarded the ship. They arrived in New York harbor in late May.  
        
Will had no trouble finding work as a blacksmith since many of the skilled
craftsmen were in the armies of the Union gearing up for the war with the South
which had recently started. Blacksmiths were in high demand in the city, as
were factory workers who would work in these boon times created by war. Johanna
found work as a seamstress in one of many new factories making uniforms for the
Union Army.
        
Accordingly, they could afford to rent their own very small flat but both of
them hated tenement living. They had never lived in or actually seen a big city
in their lives, and living with so much filth in such crowded conditions was