Beyond the Green

1

"Molly, I am so sorry. I wish...I wish there were more I could do." He whispered softly.

"What am I to do, Uncle? Where am I to go?" I had responded in tears.

The wagon jolted sharply on the trail, throwing me roughly against the hard wooden frame of the seat as we rumbled over fragments of rock. Cries of alarm rose from the three other women who shared the wagon, but the driver kept his eyes fixed on the road. I looked around behind us at the long line of wagons. It resembled a snake winding through the rough hills and sharp mountains of the wild land behind us.

The country in front of us was wide and vast, and I felt as though it would swallow me whole. The grass was short and almost like stubble, the faded shade of a pear skin. It was flat as far as the eye could see very few trees. The rough edge of mountains sketched the far horizon. Everything was so foreign from the lush greenery of Virginia.

War had broken out between the north and south, blood spilled all across the landscape. Hostilities began in April 1861, when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Newly inaugurated President Abraham Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state to recapture federal property. As I understood it, that led to declarations of secession by more of the slave states. Both sides raised armies as the Union began seizing control of the Border States, establishing naval blockages.

Land warfare in the East was inconclusive in the first few months of the war, as the Confederacy beat back Union efforts to capture Richmond, Virginia. By September 1862, the Confederate campaign in Maryland ended in defeat at the Battle of Antietam. I didn't understand the policies behind it, but somehow that dissuaded the British from intervening. Days after that battle, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal.

It was during this tumultuous time that my life shattered and changed forever. I was set adrift, with no means to live on and no place to belong. So, I was sent out into the unknown vastness of the American west in the company of strangers. Some were escaping the devastating effects of the war, others simply seeking to start a new life. It frightened me more to leave behind the war-torn life I knew rather than face the unknown.

Looking around once more I wondered what was in store for me in this new life. We had crossed the mighty Mississippi River three days ago and the lush landscape was breathtakingly beautiful. It had quickly turned into flat plains, much to my dismay. I had never been this far from home in my life, but I had to remind myself my home was in the west now. Crossing the vastness of the world was my only way to get there. The man who drove our wagon glanced over at me and noticed my interest in the countryside. He was a little older than me and had a kindness about him though we had spoken but little.

"Your first trip across the plains, ma'am?" His voice was rich and pleasant with a slight southern drawl.

"Yes. I am going to live with my cousin." I briefly met his eyes and found them friendly and sincere.

"This is a beautiful country, ma'am, but don't let that fool you. It can be plenty dangerous, what with more people dying just trying to get where they're headed." Noticing the concern on my face, he quickly back peddled.

"Don't you worry now, ma'am, I've made this trip plenty of times and I ain't but rarely run into serious trouble. Where is it you're headin'?"

I pointed off to the west, toward the nest of mountains that stood brown and gray in the far distance.

"There, the other side of those mountains. She lives in the Utah Territory."

"Been there a time or two," he mused. "Where about's, ifin you don't mind me askin'?"