Travis Gully having acquired the habit of early rising during his
sojourn among the harvesters, was awake the following morning before the
rest of the family was astir. He lay for a short time drowsing and
enjoying the unaccustomed rest, but being unable to content himself,
arose, and after dressing stepped outside in the crisp morning air.
Daylight was just appearing over the brow of the hills to the east, a
narrow thread of silver light with a faint tinge of rosy dawn. The deep
shades of night, disappearing behind the peaks of the Cascade mountains
to the west, cast their purple hues over the snow covered expanse at
their summit, faded away and were lost amid the gloomy blackness of the
heavily timbered gorges that cut deeply down their sides to the Columbia
river.
Lighting his pipe, Gully strolled out near the cistern, where, seated
upon an upturned barrel, he breathed with exhilerating delight the
morning air and tried, in fancy, to picture to himself what the
reclamation of the thousands of acres that lay before him would mean. He
could see miles of just such grain as he had been helping to harvest,
and long avenues of fruit trees, extending across the clearing he had
made the spring before; trees like those he had seen growing in the
orchards at Wenatchee, where he had made his first stop. The little
strip of land that lay between his present humble home and the dusty
road, then no longer dusty, but a glistening well kept highway extending
away in the distance until lost to view by its ever decreasing
narrowness; this little strip of land would be a waving mass of
luxuriant alfalfa through which would wander his cows, horses and pigs.
His flights of imagination suggested to his mind a number of comfortable
cottages in close proximity to his own then pretentious home, in which
were domiciled each of his children. They should have homes of their
own.
Travis Gully sat dreaming his delightful dreams of the future, when he
was suddenly brought back to a realization of his surroundings by a hot
breath, immediately followed by a cold, damp muzzle being thrust against
his hand. Starting suddenly at this rude awakening, he frightened away
the faithful old dog who, having discovered his presence, had approached
to make his acquaintance. Appreciating the situation at a glance, Gully
spoke kindly to the dog, calling him back; he patted him on the head and
laughed good naturedly at his shaggy, woe begone appearance, and
promised him better times for the future than he had evidently been
accustomed to in the past.
It was now day, and the smoke was coming from the stoves within the
homes of some of his neighbors. Upon noting this fact, he went inside
the house, and after kindling a fire in his own kitchen stove, called to
his wife, who having been awakened by his movements, immediately came
out and joined him in the kitchen door, where they together watched the
rising sun shed its splendor over the scene.
The delight of having their father with them once more clung to the
family throughout the day. His every movement was followed by the joyous
band of happy children. They led him to the point where the surveyors
had set their instruments on their land and showed him the little stakes
upon which the plumb bob had been centered, and which they had carefully
preserved, telling him it was there the water was to flow. They told him
of the many little kindnesses bestowed upon them by these good men who
were to provide them with the much needed water, of how they had carried
their letters to and from the distant post office, and had distributed
pennies among the smaller children.
Thus the constant chatter flowed, each little incident doing its part to
reconstruct the tower of hope that was being built, and in which Travis
Gully and his family were to fortify themselves during the coming long
winter months. The remaining few days of pretty weather could not be
wasted in idleness. The trip to the distant town for supplies must be
made; the cistern must be refilled, and more ground gotten ready for
seeding before the frost came. All this Gully realized, and with hopes
and aspirations at their highest point, he was eager to begin
activities.
The horses that had been astray for several days returned for water and
were taken up and held in readiness for daily use. The second day after
Gully's return being Friday, it was decided by he and his wife that the
trip to the town should be made first, as the supplies were running
short. They were to go the following morning, and as it was to be a gala
day the whole family was going.
At this announcement the children danced with glee, as they had not been
further from home than the well since they came the March before, and
little realizing how tiresome the long trip across the desert would be,
they anxiously awaited the arrival of the time to start. Everything was
gotten ready that evening in preparation for the trip, Gully knowing
that the going and coming over the long sandy roads would consume most
of the day. It would require an early start to allow time for their
trading.
Sunrise the following morning found them well on their road to the town,
which could be seen in the distance, although many miles away, and as
the morning hours passed the enthusiasm of the children gradually
exhausted itself, and the last few miles of the trip were made in almost
complete silence, broken only by the monotonous squeaking of the harness
and rattle of the wagon, the box of which was a home made affair, almost
completely wrecked by the strain of being overloaded with barrels of
water, but which had been wired together with bale wire in order that
the boards extending from side to side would sustain the weight of those
seated upon them.
When they reached the town, which consisted of a few residences, a
railroad station and some half dozen stores, Gully drove to a vacant lot
a short distance from the main street, where a number of wagons were
already standing, with horses contentedly eating hay while their owners
were transacting their business.
After assisting his wife and children to alight he unhitched his team,
and then making them fast to the wheels, that they might eat, returned
to where his family had assembled and assisted them to brush from their
clothing the accumulation of sand and volcanic ash that had transformed
them into gray figures that blended with the buildings, fences and
sagebrush with which they were surrounded, all gray, the eternal gray of
the desert.
Had those of their friends who had known Travis Gully and his family in
their old home met them in their present condition, it is doubtful if
the most intimate among them would have been able to recognize them. The
changes that had taken place were in some respects advantageous. Minnie
Gully was no longer the tired, care worn mother of the year before. She
had thrown off that spirit of lassitude that marks so unmistakably the
drudge, the farmer's wife. That she had health was evidenced by the tinge
of color that shone through the coat of tan produced by the desert wind
and sun, and also by her buoyant step and actions. The children had
grown hardy and rugged by their unrestrained freedom in the wilderness,
and while showing a disposition to be more timid, were as yet unspoiled
by their isolation.
It was in Travis Gully that the change was most noticeable. He was no
longer the disinterested slave, the irresponsible renter with no higher
ambition than to grow an abundant crop for his landlord, that he might
be allowed to remain on the premises another year and thereby avoid the
exertion of a forced move. His summer spent in the harvest field had
netted him other than financial returns. It had developed in him a
firmer resolve to own a home of his own, and hardened his muscles for
the fray. His bearing was more independent, and the fire of a newborn
ambition shone in his eyes.
He was now the aggressor, and had dropped the role of a passive
follower. It was his first awakening, and never having been compelled to
feel the sting of defeat, was as yet undaunted. Thus it may be seen that
while the first year's planting on the homestead was a failure the
venture, as a whole, had its element of success.
The next few hours of their stay in the village was devoted to shopping,
and were filled with many incidents both amusing and trying. The
constant care of the children as they tugged at their mother's skirts,
calling her attention to various articles that caught their wondering
eyes, the trying on of shoes and selection of ginghams and calicoes,
with one ever present thought, that the purchases must be confined to a
certain amount, made the task a tiresome and nerve racking one. At last
it was finished, and when Travis Gully, who had gone for his team, drove
up to the store and loaded on his purchases, it was a tired and hungry
family that climbed into the wagon and took their places among the many
bundles and boxes with which it was piled and turned their faces
homeward, to drive back over the same dusty road; to listen for hours to
the rattle of the particles of sand as they were lifted high by the
revolving wheels and then allowed to drop upon the paper wrapped
bundles with which the bottom of the wagon was strewn; to listen to the
continuous crackling of the dry sagebrush as the wheels passed over it,
pressing it deep into the yielding sand, and which sprang back into
position after the vehicle had passed and awaited, with a patience born
of years of solitude upon the desert, for the next onslaught, continuing
this torture until ground to powder and mixed with the sand that had
lashed it for years. Take, if you will, a pinch of sand from the sage
covered desert, and seek out from its many particles the tiny atoms of
sagebrush and examine them. They are all the same misshapen, dwarfed and
gray.
It was far into the night before the Gully's reached their home and were
greeted by the faithful old dog who had remained behind, but little
notice was taken of his demonstration of welcome, so after he had
assured himself that all were present, and had tugged at the blanket in
which little Joe was brought, sleeping soundly, into the house, he
retired to his place under the kitchen table. Gully lost no time, after
caring for his horses and seeing that his purchases were safe for the
night, in going to his rest, conscious of the fact that an eventful day
in his life had passed.
It now being late in November, Gully knew that but a short time could be
expected before the first winter snow would come, and he had learned
that it sometimes came in such quantities as to drift in the roads and
make it very difficult to travel, and not caring to be caught unprepared
in such an event, left the following Monday in search of a place where
feed for his horses might be purchased. Accompanied by one of his
neighbors, he went back into the hills, and there they purchased a
sufficient amount to do them both. The roads being very sandy and the
distance great, it required several days with both their teams to haul
the hay to their claims. After this was accomplished and the winter's
supply of wood procured, the rest of the time before the snow fell was
devoted to clearing land in preparation for plowing the following
spring.
At last, upon awakening one morning Travis Gully found that the long
looked for snow had arrived, several inches having fallen during the
night, and it was still snowing quite hard. He looked out across the
level plain, and thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight. Not a
breath of air was stirring, and the huge flakes were coming down in
myriads, falling on the high tufts of bunch grass and remaining where
they had fallen. The unsightly sagebrush was transformed into every
conceivable shape, and its stubby, unyielding branches bedecked with soft,
fleecy snow that completely hid their identity and brought their
grotesque forms out in cameo like relief. The changed color and altered
conditions from its former sameness gave the landscape a weird, ghastly
appearance.
Gully stood fascinated by the dazzling whiteness, and wondered in a
vague, uncertain way why, if such a change was possible in so short a
time by a simple variation in climatic conditions, would it not be
possible to make the change permanent and productive of some good. Why
not change from the torturing dull gray to green and then a golden hue,
to be followed by the spotless mantle of white? Was it within the power
of man, with his advanced ideas and modern methods, to bring about such
a transformation? If so, would the change be permanent? That they had in
some instances, and over small areas, accomplished this feat it was
true, but it was noticeable in every instance of this kind new
complications had arisen to test their ingenuity, new difficulties were
constantly arising for mankind to combat.
Could it be possible that Dame Nature in her magnanimity in giving the
greater portion of the earth had reserved these few, isolated places for
the gratification of her whims, for reconstruction by her hand alone, to
be handed down in ages yet to come to a different, better and wiser
race. If it was possible for this once inland sea to be transformed into
a blistering barren waste, why would it not be equally possible for this
same power to tear down and remove the barriers that now arise between
this desert and its natural source of water supply, the mountains that
so change the currents of air and rend asunder the vaporous clouds, and
thereby render condensation impossible. What right had man to dictate
the conditions that shall obtain in certain localities, and would nature
concede their demands?
To Travis Gully the possibilities of irrigation were unknown. He had
never seen its results, except on the one occasion when he had stopped
for a few days in the little city, surrounded by its extensive
orchards, that had marked the end of his journey in quest of a home.
That similar conditions as those he was now called upon to combat once
existed in that now fertile valley he well knew, and the scenes of
beautiful homes surrounded by miles and miles of orchards, with
occasional patches of green alfalfa, was so indelibly impressed on his
mind that they were constantly recurring to his memory, and were easily
within the bounds of possibility as applicable to the locality in which
he had chosen to cast his lot. Would the change be made, would he and
his neighbors be given an opportunity to demonstrate to the world, the
results of intelligent handling of these greatest productive agents,
water, sunshine and soil?
He was sure they would. The coming of the Geological Surveyors was proof
that the authorities were at last going to reclaim this arid district
and bring it into a state of productiveness. That they had left the
vicinity of where he lived was true, but he had learned that they had
established a new camp farther into the desert, where their work was to
be continued, and as soon as the result of their investigation as to the
feasibility of the plan had been reported to the Department of the
Interior at Washington, D. C., actual work would start, and he would
soon see the realization of his dream, "A home of his own."