Westward Hearts by Melody Carlson Page B

mother, the men had decided that they should do all their purchasing in Kansas City, including wagons and livestock and all their supplies. “That way we can travel up river unencumbered. We won’t be carrying all our worldly goods with us,” Asa had explained.
    “We’ll just jump off the riverboat in Kansas City and get whatever we need there,” Matthew added. “And off we go.”
    “What if they don’t have everything we need?” Elizabeth queried.
    “Oh, sure they will,” Asa told her.
    “But what about our own things?” Clara protested. “I’ve already begun to box up what I wish to take with us to Oregon. Are you saying I must leave it behind?”
    Asa frowned. “Well, I suppose we could take some freight with us on the river.”
    “Wouldn’t that mean we’d need to take a wagon from home?” Elizabeth questioned.
    “I suppose…” Asa scratched his chin.
    “And how would we dispose of the wagon before getting on the boat?” Clara frowned.
    “We could sell it.”
    “So we would sell our perfectly good wagon, probably at a loss, and then turn around and buy new ones, perhaps not as well built as the wagons we left behind but most likely at a premium price?”
    Asa and Matthew exchanged uncertain looks.
    “And what about the wagon you were working on?” Elizabeth challenged her brother. “It sounded like it was coming along nicely. Mother said you got it rigged up to hold a sleeping hammock beneath it and a number of other improvements. You probably won’t find a wagon outfitted like that in Kansas City.”
    “Yes…but it’s smaller than the usual prairie schooner. I decided I want a bigger one.”
    “But it would be easier to drive a smaller one,” she said.
    Asa pointed at her. “Probably just the right size for you to drive, Lizzie. That wagon would be relatively easy to handle with a dependable team of horses.”
    “What about getting our wagons in Kansas City?” Matthew insisted.
    “Think about it,” Elizabeth told him. “Wouldn’t it be much simpler and cheaper to utilize our own sturdy wagons right from our own farms? And to outfit them here with our own tools and supplies, items we’ve trusted and used for years?”
    Asa nodded. “That does make sense. I don’t like the idea of getting out on the trail with shoddy tools and equipment.”
    “I’ve read time and again that careful preparation is the key to success on the Oregon Trail,” Clara told them. “I say we take our own wagons and livestock.”
    “And that gives us more time to plan carefully and to load them properly,” Elizabeth persisted. “And that way we will know exactly what we have before we get to Kansas City. We won’t be scrambling to find everything we need or settling for low quality. Think about it, Father. How would you like to be out on the trail and have a poorly made wagon breaking down on you?”
    “You make a good point,” Asa agreed. “But it will cost more to transport them on the riverboats. And I’m not sure about transporting livestock.”
    “Maybe we could get some of our livestock in Kansas City,” Matthew suggested.
    “But would it be dependable livestock?” Clara challenged.
    “Do you want to be out on the trail with an unruly team of oxen?” Elizabeth asked. “Or an animal that’s in poor health? We know our livestock.”
    “That’s a valid point too,” Asa concurred.
    So it was decided they would use some of their own livestock, including their most dependable horse team, to get their fully outfitted prairie schooners up to Paducah and loaded onto the riverboat. If needed, they would purchase additional oxen and horses in Kansas City. In the meantime, there was much to be done and only a few weeks left to do it.
    As Elizabeth drove the carriage home from town, she wondered what she would miss most about Selma. It was unrealistic to think she would miss nothing. But at the moment, with dreams of a great adventure to occupy her thoughts, it was hard to think of much