Crossing The Prairies

I Have Lost Track Of The Days

   The most horrible thing happened two days ago, and I'm ashamed to say Hattie and I are to blame.
   It was our turn to cook dinner, so just like every other time, we went out to gather wild vegetables and herbs growing along the river called the Little Blue, we are currently traveling alongside it but we won't cross it for a while.
   While out, we found potatoes, onions, and parsnips. We took them back to camp, cut up the potatoes and onions, added some meat from the ox that broke her leg many days ago. The owner of the ox decided she couldn't make the trip so they butchered her out and are using the meat. They said they'd buy another in the next town. We put it all in the pot hanging over the fire and set to making a salad. We don't have salad often, only when we are near rivers is there enough water to grow such greens.
   While we were cutting up the parsnips, Cassie, a young girl in whom has become quite fond of Hattie, asked for a piece of the vegetables, so I cut up a tiny piece of parsnip and gave it to her, she smiled in thanks and ran off to eat it. When we finished preparing the salad, we set it aside and began helping Ma prepare some pies, when suddenly we heard a scream. We ran back to the fire where the screaming had come from, when we got there Mary, Gideon's sister, was standing over three boys who were foaming at the mouth, to my horror, one of them was Wade. I couldn't even move until Ma grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me, and told me what to do. Ma, myself, and one other woman crushed charcoal as fast as we could and shoved as much of it as we could down each of their throat. Ma tended to Wade, and me and the other woman set to helping the other two boys.
   Their jaws were clinched tight, and they shook violently, Ma was the only one to get much of anything down.
   While we were doing that, Mr. Campbell was asking Hattie what was in the soup, she showed him everything we put in it, one by one he cut a small piece of each item and put it on the tip of his tongue, to each one he shook his head, "What else, Hattie, what else?" he panicked, she racked her brain trying to think when I hollered over the noise "The salad! Hattie, the salad!" she fetched the salad we had made for him and he did the same with each of those ingredients, except this time when he put the piece of parsnip on his tongue he spit it out within seconds, his face fell and the men now standing by asked what it was, "Water hemlock." It was more of a question than anything else, like he didn't believe it himself, but then he cleared his throat and said much louder, "It's Water Hemlock!" did anyone else eat any of this salad?"
   When people heard the word hemlock, panic broke out, those who hadn't even been near the food suddenly thought they had eaten, mothers cried out for their children, Hattie suddenly remembered Cassie, the men went searching and found her dead in Gideon's families wagon.
   In less than thirty minutes after we first found the boys lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and shaking, two were dead. All eyes fell to Wade, and I prayed to God. I prayed harder than I had ever prayed for anything else, I even offered my own life in place of his. God heard my prayers, eventually the foaming stopped, however he was still shaking to some extent until this morning.
   When we found that only the four had eaten the hemlock, Mr. Campbell showed us all every difference between parsnips and water hemlock, before long Hattie and I were running from wagon to wagon telling everyone in the camp, folks even went to the other wagon circles and told them and their children.
   Early yesterday morning we left behind three graves, Mr. Campbell and Pa carved each of the children's names in a stone as well as a warning to others who may pass by later.
   Hattie hides in her families wagon, I think she feels it was her fault, which I understand, I feel the same. I haven't  left Wade's side. Every half hour I wet a rage and lay it back across his eyes to keep them from drying out since they wont close.
   Today Ma told me to go walk and that she would tend to Wade for a while. I think I shall try to find Hattie, I don't want to walk alone with my thoughts, and I know she hasn't been out of her wagon either, it will do us both some good.

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