Little Author in the Big Woods Read online

  Laura’s new role was helping her to grow up. And although she did not know it, making pictures with words for her sister was preparing her for what would be her life’s work: it was turning a bright, observant girl who loved reading into a full-fledged writer.

  FOUR

  A Train Trip and Life on the Prairie

  1879−1882

  Dakota Territory

  Not long after Mary had gone blind, a surprise visitor drove up to the house. Laura did not recognize her, but she turned out to be Aunt Ladocia, Pa’s sister. Aunt Docia had come from Wisconsin. Her husband worked for the railroad, and they were heading west. She offered Pa a job managing one of the company stores owned by the railroad. Pa said yes immediately, but Ma made him promise that once they moved to the Dakota Territory, they would finally stay put.

  Pa sold the farm and left with Docia. Laura and her sisters stayed behind with Ma. With Pa gone, Laura helped in every way she could. She did chores, packed their belongings, and took Mary for long walks. Soon it was time to leave. They would take a railroad trip to Tracy, Minnesota—a first for the girls. The train ride was so exciting. Laura loved every little thing about it. She faithfully described it all to Mary so that Mary could “see” it along with her.

  Pa met them at the train station in Tracy, which was in the Dakota Territory. He’d been working all summer long, selling goods to the railroad workers from the company store and keeping track of their hours too. But now the railroad men had finished their work and would be moving on. Pa would go with them. Once again, the whole family joined a wagon train heading west. They traveled about 40 miles until they reached the new railroad camp. It was built on the edge of a lake, and when Ma saw the moonlight glimmering on the water, she called it Silver Lake. That was not its real name, but it stuck in Laura’s mind, and she used it to title her book By the Shores of Silver Lake many years later.

  Ma, Pa, and the girls settled into a log shanty, which was a crude wooden shack set apart from the bunkhouses where the workers lived. Ma didn’t trust the railroad workers, men who broke up the prairie sod and leveled the uneven places to get the land ready for laying the tracks. She told Laura and her sisters to stay away from them.

  Laura wanted to be good and obey, but she was fascinated by the monumental work of building the railroad. One day, Pa took her out to see how it was done. She was so curious, she could have watched all day. But when she went home to tell Mary about it, Mary did not seem very interested.

  Mostly, Laura tried to mind Ma and stay away from the workers. It was not all that hard because there was so much to do at home. As summer turned to fall, the railroad work on nearby Silver Lake was just about done. The men were packing up and getting ready to go east for the winter. In the spring, the new tracks would be laid down. Ma and Pa thought they, too, might head east. But then Pa got an offer from one of the surveyors. He wanted Pa to stay on to guard the equipment and supplies. Pa would get a salary, and the family could live in the surveyor’s house for the winter.

  The house, larger than any house they had lived in before, had two stories, several rooms, and glass windows. The doors had china knobs. Best of all, it was bursting with food: barrels of flour, cornmeal, and salt pork, as well as salted fish, dried apples, potatoes, beans, and boxes of soda crackers. There were even treats like pickles and jarred peaches. No one would go hungry in this house.

  They settled in for the winter. Ma and the girls did their sewing and knitting while Pa went out hunting and looking for a homestead. At night he played the fiddle, or someone read aloud so Mary could enjoy the stories too. One night Pa came home and said he’d found the homestead he wanted. It was just a mile from the town of De Smet, so the girls would be able to go to school. As soon as he could get to the office, he would file a claim. This meant that Pa would apply to the government to keep the land he’d chosen. The government would give him the land for free if he agreed to build a home, farm the land, and remain there for at least five years.

  Christmas came, and with it, a visit from a couple named Robert and Ellie Boast. Pa knew Robert Boast from the railroad work. Boast had planned on going to Iowa for the winter, but when he heard Pa was going to be in De Smet, he changed his mind and decided to stay as well. He and his bride moved in to one of the abandoned shacks in the railroad camp to wait out the winter. It was good to have neighbors during the long, cold months of snow and sleet. Mrs. Boast was young, pretty, and lots of fun. Laura was looking forward to spending time with her.

  Early in 1880, lots of would-be homesteaders began arriving on the prairie. Since the surveyor’s house was the only building for miles around, Ma found herself offering hospitality to strangers day and night. She and Pa let the weary and hungry travelers sleep on the floor and share their meals. Soon they began charging for the privilege—25 cents for a meal, 25 cents to lay their bedding by the fire for the night.

  The house turned into a crowded, noisy place with strangers coming and going all the time. Laura helped with the cooking and washed mountains of dishes. Mrs. Boast helped out too. It was hard work, but the Ingalls family was happy with the money they earned.

  Money was an even bigger issue than usual right now. Ma had heard of a college for the blind, and she wanted to send Mary there. But unless they could come up with the tuition, and money for room and board, it would not be possible. Ma had even hinted that she hoped Laura—who continued to be an excellent student—would become a schoolteacher when she turned sixteen. A teacher’s salary would add considerably to the amount of money set aside for Mary’s education. Laura did not want to be a teacher. The thought of it filled her with despair. But she was willing to do it if it meant Mary could have this opportunity.

  Once again, Ma’s love for learning led the way. Back in the nineteenth century, schooling was not common or even considered necessary for women. It was enough for them to learn the domestic arts needed to run their households and raise their children. Sewing, knitting, cooking, baking, and cleaning were thought to be more important than reading, writing, history, or math. So for Ma to insist on an education for all her girls, even a blind one, for whom expectations were far lower, showed that she was something out of the ordinary.

  Among the many people who passed through the house that late winter and early spring was Reverend Alden from Walnut Grove. He had come to start new Congregational churches all along the railroad line. Ma recorded the first church service, which was conducted in the surveyor’s house, as having taken place on February 29, 1880.

  In March, Laura and Carrie walked into the town of De Smet. They did not see much—only a lot of sticks poking out of the ground. Ma explained that those sticks were marking the places where all the houses and shops would be built. Pa bought some land along the main street. There he built two wooden stores. One he sold, and the other he kept. But soon he realized town was a place to spend only the winter. He and the family were itching to get out onto the prairie, to settle on the land for which Pa had filed a claim in February.

  He began building a shanty on it as soon as he could find the time. First he dug a shallow cellar, and above it he erected a wooden frame. Then he hung the frame quickly, with rough boards, and added a slanting roof. The shanty was very small, and it wasn’t even finished when they moved in that spring. But Laura was glad to get back to the prairie.

  The flowers opened in a riot of pink, blue, and yellow, and the fresh breeze felt good on Laura’s face. The first night they slept there, Pa dreamed that a barber was cutting his hair. Sleepily, he put his fingers up to the spot and woke up at once when he realized he held a mouse in his hand! He threw it against the floor so hard that he killed it. In the morning, he found the shorn patch where the mouse had been busy. He wanted to get a cat, but cats were scarce on the prairie. In Little Town on the Prairie, Laura uses this anecdote—only, in her fictionalized account, the family got a kitten and their problems with mice were over.

  There was plenty of work for Pa to do. He covered the
rough frame of the shanty with black tar paper and filled in the holes in the walls to keep out the cold and rain. Then he dug a well and built a stable for the cow. When that was completed, he drove to Lake Henry and came back with a whole box of seedlings. Laura helped plant them. When they grew, they would provide shade and protection from the wind. Next there was the job of planting the garden. Pa used his plow to break up the thick prairie sod.

  Laura was so busy helping plant the new garden that she didn’t get back to town all summer. To her surprise, winter came early on the prairie: on October 15, a fierce blizzard tore through the area. The howling winds and snow lasted for three days. Pa was worried. Here it was only October and they had been hit with such terrible weather. The shanty was flimsy, with thin walls. How would they manage for the rest of the season?

  Pa and Ma decided they would move into town for the winter. They loaded up the wagon and took everything to the building Pa had built on the corner of Main and Second streets. It was sturdy enough to withstand the elements, and they were able to settle in before November 1, when De Smet’s first school started its session. There were fifteen students in all.

  The blizzards continued to sweep across the prairie. Since little towns like De Smet depended on trains for deliveries of food, coal, and other supplies, a storm that dumped snow on the tracks caused delays that interrupted the flow of daily life. School had to be closed, and the railroad said it was shutting down service until spring. The food supply in De Smet dwindled. Pa told Ma and Laura that the last sack of flour in town sold for $50.00 and sugar was going for $1.00 a pound, which was much more than their usual cost. Since there was no coal, people burned wood instead. But Pa had a better plan: he and Laura twisted hay into ropes and burned that. It was not easy work. Laura’s hands grew chapped, red, and covered with sharp cuts.

  The winter of 1881 was known as the “hard winter” because there were so many blizzards—more than usual. Laura was 14, old enough to help Ma and Pa now. Staying warm and fed was a daily struggle. Laura tried to keep her own spirits up, as well as those of her sisters.

  The snow did not let up until April, and the train did not resume service until May. Finally, the Ingalls family was able to return to the homestead they had left months before. Pa built two more rooms onto the shanty. And he planted wheat and corn in the hope of harvesting a good crop.

  It was at some time during this year that Mary, Carrie, and Laura had their first photograph taken. Few people back then owned cameras; cameras were big, clumsy, and expensive. Instead, they dressed up in their best clothes and went to a professional photographer who would take a formal portrait.

  Soon there was more talk of sending Mary to school. Reverend Alden knew all about the Iowa College for the Blind. He had a relative who taught there. The school offered high school – and college-level courses to blind students. It taught them the skills they needed to be independent and take care of themselves. During the summer of 1881, Ma and Pa began to make preparations for Mary’s departure.

  Laura was eager to help. Instead of spending the summer on her beloved prairie, she took a job in town, sewing at the dry goods store. She had never had to sit still for so long, and she hated it. Her shoulders and neck ached, she pricked her fingers with the needles, and her eyesight grew blurry. Still, she did the best she could and took pride in earning money for her family. By the end of the summer, she had made a whole $9.00 to contribute to Mary’s school wardrobe. Ma wanted her to keep some of the money, so she bought a plume for her bonnet (60 cents), a thimble (10 cents), and four yards of calico cloth (36 cents).

  In the fall, Ma and Pa got into the wagon with Mary. They were going to take Mary to school in Vinton, Iowa. Saying good-bye was hard. But Laura knew Mary had to go. She took her sisters and went back into the house. Although leaving Mary was hard for Ma and Pa, seeing the school comforted them. They liked everything about it: the big, redbrick building, the walkways where students could stroll, and the farm that bordered the campus. They were equally impressed by the courses: natural history, science, math, economics, music, and politics. And they appreciated the practical side of the curriculum that taught sewing, weaving, and beadwork. Mary would learn to make hammocks, and fly nets for horses. She would be able to support herself in the future.

  It was lonely for Laura back in De Smet without Mary. She was so used to her company. She tried to take comfort in her younger sisters, and in her schoolwork, which was very important to her. She was 15 years old now. At 16, she would get her teaching certificate, and the pay she would earn would go a long way toward helping Mary.

  Laura made friends with several of the girls at school: Mary Power, Minnie Johnson, and Ida Brown. But there was one girl she did not like—Genevieve Masters. Laura remembered her from Walnut Grove. Genevieve had been mean back then, and she was just as bad—or even worse—now.

  Genevieve was not the only problem Laura had at school. The teacher, Miss Eliza Jane Wilder, was not able to keep the classroom under control. Then Genevieve began spreading nasty stories about Laura, and Miss Wilder believed them. Laura was worried. These stories might prevent her from getting her certificate.

  But lucky for Laura, Miss Wilder did not stay long. She was replaced by Mr. Clewett, Mr. Seeley, and Professor Ven Owen. Under the guidance of these teachers, Laura excelled. She did especially well in history and writing. Even during the summer back at the homestead on the prairie, she kept up her schoolwork. She was determined to get that certificate so Mary could stay at college in Iowa. And when Laura was determined to do something, nothing could deter her from her goal.

  FIVE

  Married Life

  1882−1892

  Dakota Territory–Florida–Missouri

  In December of 1882, Laura’s school put on an exhibition. The whole town was invited to hear the students recite pieces from memory, give readings, and perform other demonstrations of their classroom skills. Because she was one of the oldest and best students, Laura was given a big part. She had to recite half the story of America’s history. Her friend Ida Brown had to recite the other half. Laura was very nervous. But to her great relief and delight, she did extremely well. She knew all her facts and did not forget anything. Everyone clapped loudly and praised her performance. The evening was a triumph.

  A few weeks later, the Ingalls family had two visitors: their friend Mr. Boast and his cousin Mr. Bouchie. To Laura’s astonishment, Mr. Bouchie was there to offer Laura a two-month job teaching at a small school in a settlement about 12 miles south of De Smet. Mr. Bouchie did not care that she wouldn’t be 16 until February. He needed teachers right away and he wanted to hire Laura, so he told her not to mention her age to anyone. Her salary would be $20.00 a month. That seemed like so much money!

  Twelve miles and back was too far to travel on a daily basis. If Laura accepted the position, she would have to live with Mr. and Mrs. Bouchie, which she did not want to do. But Laura thought of her sister Mary, and of how hard her parents worked to keep her in school. She said yes.

  There were only five students in her new class, and Laura did her best to teach them. She modeled her lessons on her own classroom in De Smet, and she did her own schoolwork while the students were working on their lessons. The worst part was living with Mr. and Mrs. Bouchie. She felt unwelcome in their house and was homesick for Ma, Pa, and her sisters.

  When the weekend came, Laura despaired. There was no escaping the gloomy and unfriendly Mrs. Bouchie. But, happily, she found a surprise visitor at the schoolhouse: Almanzo Wilder had come with his buggy and offered to drive her home. Laura knew Almanzo from town. Sometimes he had walked her home from church, and he had a pair of beautiful horses she had always admired. His sister had been her teacher in De Smet.

  For the next eight weeks, Almanzo came faithfully to pick Laura up on Fridays and then drove her back on Sundays. When the two-month job ended, she was grateful to go back to her own lessons at school. She did very well, and her teacher, Professor Ven Owen
, was extremely proud of her. He told Ma and Pa that she was exceptionally bright and that she should further her education.

  Laura continued seeing Almanzo Wilder. He was 10 years older than she was, and he was a homesteader with 320 acres of land. His family had farmed in Minnesota and New York State. When he told her that his brother called him Mannie and his parents called him Manzo, Laura did not like either of those names. She decided to call him Manly, and so a new nickname was born.

  Laura and Manly had a lot of fun together. He bought another pair of very fast, frisky horses he called Skip and Barnum, and they pulled the buggy quickly along through town, over the prairie, and to places like Spirit Lake, where there were ancient Native American burial grounds. In the winter, they took sleigh rides around town; Laura loved being outdoors in the brisk, bright weather.

  In the summer of 1884, Manly proposed to Laura and gave her a gold engagement ring set with pearls and garnets. Ma said that she was not surprised; she had known it was coming. She and Pa gave Laura and Manly their blessing.

  Laura and Manly didn’t marry right away. Laura was still in school, and Manly had to take a long trip with his brother Royal to visit their parents in Minnesota, and to the New Orleans Exposition in Louisiana. He would not be back for months. When he left, Laura missed him very much. He missed her too, and he showed up on Christmas Eve, saying he could not be apart from her for so long.

  In the spring of 1885, Laura agreed to teach one more term of school. Since married women were not allowed to teach, she would have to give up her career after the wedding. Her new job was at the Wilkins School, where she earned $30.00 a month for a three-month term and got to live with the Wilkins family, whom she liked. She was glad to give this money to her parents to help with Mary’s expenses.