9.1 “Whoa!” Dad cried, as he pulled on the reins

Payne Township

At breakfast the next morning, Dad looked at ARJ as he set his teacup on the table.

“I think we’re going to need your help today, son. Your uncle and I plan to bring quite a bit of lumber back with us from town.”

ARJ looked at Dad and then his uncle, who raised his eyebrows and smiled. “He seems strong enough to be good help!”

Mum smiled. “Eat your breakfast, ARJ. You have much to do today!”

ARJ finished in a moment and soon he was ready. Dad set the team on the road, and they were soon surrounded by tall green wheat fields. ARJ sat on the wagon seat between Dad and Uncle Albert as they bumped along toward Wichita. Dad pointed this way and that, telling his brother all about the owners of the farms they passed, their fields, and anything else he knew about them.

Dad looked around. Heavy heads of grain bowed and swayed in the Kansas breeze as the wagon rolled by them.

“This wheat is taller than you, ARJ.”

ARJ stood, holding onto Dad and Uncle Albert so he could get a better view. He made a full turn, scanning the fields before he sat again.

“If I squint my eyes just right,” ARJ said, “the wheat almost looks like waves on the ocean.”

“It does, at that!” Uncle Albert said.

“It’s like this wagon is our boat and we’re sailing on the Solent?” ARJ smiled. “That would be wonderful!”

“Now, don’t get him started, Albert. This boy easily gets homesick.”

“It happens to me, too.” Uncle Albert said, patting ARJ on the back.

Dad pointed to the middle of a field. “That field is more gold than green now. I imagine it will be ready to harvest within a month.”

“They tried that new winter wheat in this field over here.” He pointed to a plot of land covered in yellow wheat. “We had that blizzard in January; much worse than usual. The man who farms this land was worried about how it would do. It’s looking good so far. They say it’s a little behind schedule, but I wouldn’t know.”

Uncle Albert looked at him. “William and I were worried about your decision to farm. I have to admit, you seem to be learning a lot about it.”

Dad gave him a look. “You just wait, brother. One day I’ll own an exceptionally fine farm. I just need the chance to learn it first.”

“It seems you survived the blizzard well. You’re far from town, too.”

“You know Anna! Living on the island in winter always worried her a bit; isolated from the mainland and all. She always stocked up and prepared in case we were cut off for a while. After the blizzard, it was a month before we made it in for supplies, but she had us well stocked and prepared. I just had to keep the firewood coming.”

Dad prompted the horses south, onto the main road going into town.

Wichita was busier than ARJ had ever seen it. The town seemed different in other ways, but he couldn’t quite decide why. Even the air smelled unusual and there was an unfamiliar sound coming from somewhere toward the west.

A hack, that ARJ was used to seeing on the main streets, rolled by on a side street, filled with people; its driver in a hurry to get passengers to their destinations.

As Dad drove the team toward the main street, Douglas Avenue, three bulls suddenly turned the corner, running straight toward them. Sugar and Spice reared up in surprise and danced around, causing the wagon to careen dangerously in the road. “Whoa!” Dad cried, as he pulled on the reins and then made more gentle sounds, attempting to calm the horses. Uncle Albert steadied ARJ with one hand and held tight to the wagon with the other.

“Ha!” Voices rang out from around the same corner
as two men appeared on horses, waving their hats, as they circled around in front of the steers. “Hip! hip!” Another voice hollered from out of view. The men soon got the wayward cattle turned around just in time to join a large herd, that appeared from behind a building, bellowing, and trotting east down Douglas.

Drawing from 1874 - Harper's Weekly

“Looks like they’re headed to the depot.” Dad said as he turned the team around. “It’s no wonder the hack was taking a different route today.” He stopped the wagon a little farther down the block and the three Dibbens men turned and watched as the cattle crossed the intersection.

“Must be market day.” Uncle Albert said. “ARJ, did you see how quickly those cowboys turned the cattle around? That takes skill!”

ARJ watched the cattle moving through the intersection behind them, his heart beating fast in his chest. “Is that a cattle drive?” He said.

“It’s the end of the drive.” Uncle Albert explained. “They’re putting them on the train to go to market. I wouldn’t doubt that they’ve been grazing somewhere nearby, fattening up from the long trip north from Texas.”