Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing series which runs each Thursday morning titled the Richland Chronicles by author Paul Lintern. It is set in 1831 and tells the story of Richland County through the eyes of a young girl.
“You are one lucky girl,” Dr. Powers told Amelia the day after she woke up.
Amelia did not feel lucky.
“You were very, very sick.”
Amelia believed that.
“You are going to have to be careful from now on, around snakes.”
Amelia had no doubt about that.
“It’s going to take awhile before you are completely well.”
Amelia was afraid of that. She was learning about the ways of medicine on the frontier where, even though a doctor may know what is needed, the medicine or equipment may not be available, as Dr. Powers was explaining to the sisters.
“That is why you might as well just keep using John’s herb salve on the arm and pray that nothing worse happens.”
Appleseed John had been by again that morning, to leave a sack of mushy, slimy salve.
It smelled like a rat had died in Amelia’s bed, but only after scaring a skunk that had eaten garlic. Even though it was wrapped in linen, the aroma was always invading her nose.
She was allowed up as much as she wanted, although she had to sit in a chair and watch most things, rather than run about or do things around the farm. She walked plenty, but slowly and deliberately, because her feet still felt a little too far from the ground.
“Things take time,” Elizabeth was reminding her.
“Is that Emerson, too?” Amelia asked.
“No, that’s me. Things take time. But look, Isaac went to town this morning and collected our mail from Mr. McFall. We have letters from the boys at college. Shall I read them to you?”
“Aren’t those letters to Uncle Jacob and Aunt Peggy?” Amelia asked.
“Only on the cover; inside I am sure they are meant for all of us,” she smiled, as she opened Samuel’s letter, from Miami University.
“ ‘Dear family.’ See, it’s to me. ‘I have returned recently from my journey to Illinois, where, with three of my fellow students, we explored the newest state, at least the middle of it. It is brimming with good land and fine opportunities. It must be the way Ohio was before it became so civilized and settled.’ ”
“Civilized and settled?” Amelia asked.
“We’ve come a long way, child. Our mail is a good example. Our first post office was a hollow tree in the middle of the square. You just posted your letters there and about once a week a carrier would stop and gather them, then leave his delivered letters there. Now, we have mail every other day from Mt. Vernon or Sandusky. May I continue?”
Amelia nodded.
“ ‘We made our way to the Mississippi River. Before I saw it, I would not have believed its size. It is no longer the western boundary of our country. Our lands stretch beyond what the eye can see. That is a testament to the greatness of this nation and what, with God’s hand, we will become.
“ ‘My studies in Greek and Latin classic literature were quite successful. Professor McGuffey was obviously pleased. He invited me to work with him on a special project of his, improving the way children learn to read. He has many interesting theories, although I must admit, they are still Greek to me.’ ”
Elizabeth laughed. “Still Greek to him. He studies Greek, get it? Oh, that boy.
“ ‘Professor McGuffey wants to write books for children to use in schools. Maybe we’ll be able to try them out on Joshua, since Autumn is already such a good reader.
“ ‘Throughout our journey, we made our way by helping with woodcutting and rail splitting. The boys were bragging about me, on account of my winning the rail splitting contest last year, against the Clear Forkers, and so I found myself in a few contests.’”
Elizabeth explained, “We have a big contest each year, the men here from the Black Fork, against those from the south side of the county, on the Clear Fork. Last year, Samuel won the rail splitting contest, which just barely gave us the win for the whole day.”
She continued reading, “‘I won every contest across the state, all the way to the Mississippi, as well as on the trip back, until we happened into New Salem, this little crossroads.
“ ‘Again, my friends were bragging in the tavern about my record, so the locals challenged me to go against this lanky storekeeper with a high squeaky voice, who sounded like he didn’t know which end of a boot to put on his feet.
“‘I was almost feeling sorry for him as we started. I even took it easy at first, but he seemed to keep up, and then as I picked up the pace, he kept up as well. Each time I sped up, he was right there with me, his ax as accurate and true as mine. I must admit I finally put everything I had into the contest and just when I thought my arms would fall off, I saw him smile at me, then split rails as I had never seen before.
“‘For losing the bet, we had to help roof a barn for two days. Turns out this Abe Lincoln fellow is quite bright, studying to be a lawyer, and witty, too. I suspect I will be telling this story for a long time.’”
Elizabeth read the rest of the letter, which told of other sights of Illinois, and concluded with messages to specific people around the farm.
She then opened the one from Luke, from Bowdoin college in Maine. He wrote he was going to Philadelphia to sit in with members of the National Scientific Society. Then he planned to visit his roommate Franklin in New Hampshire, where his father was Governor Pierce.
“I also will be sending a book that my classmate, Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote about life at the college, even though Nate thinks it is a terrible book and wants to burn every copy. He says he is ready give up any thought of becoming an author. Nate is prone to moodiness like that.”
As Elizabeth continued, Amelia began to drift off, her eyelids weighing heavy. Elizabeth paused, and looked at Amelia, “You seem tired.”
“I suppose. It seems that is all I am.”
“Do you want to rest, or would you like one more letter?”
“Perhaps I should rest.”
“It’s from Boston.”
Amelia’s eye perked up. “Boston? You had it all along?”
Elizabeth smiled, “I didn’t think you would want to sit for the other letters if I read this one first.
Amelia sat up straight.
“Let’s have a go at it.”
Elizabeth said, “Wait, do you think it is proper to read someone else’s mail?”
“Yes, if you have her permission.”
Elizabeth gazed expectantly at Amelia.
“You have my permission, now read it,” Amelia said.
