Owing to the great distance it was necessary for some of the
homesteaders to come, it had been agreed upon to meet at the school
building during the afternoon, bringing their lunch and eating, after
which they would light the Christmas tree as soon after dark as would
give the best effect, and to distribute the presents early that those
who came from afar might return home at a reasonable hour.
It was shortly after the noon hour that Travis Gully and his two friends
returned with their families, as they were anxious to have the tree as
nearly completed as was possible before the arrival of those from a
distance. The wives of the designers of this novel Christmas tree,
having been in a measure prepared by having been told of its nature,
were astonished, upon entering the building, at the attractiveness of
the tree. They had expected to find some crude arrangement as a
substitute for the usual evergreen, but when they appreciated the
possibilities of the unfinished work before them, they were delighted,
and went eagerly at the task of its completion.
Taking up the work where the men had left off, they readjusted the
indiscriminate distribution of the fleecy cotton, sprinkling it with the
glistening powder so commonly used to produce the sparkling, frosty
effect, clipping an unruly bough here and there, placing the glittering
tin candle holders, with their assorted colored candles, so as to avoid
contact with the cotton when lighted, and after filling many small red,
green and blue stocking shaped mosquito netting bags with candies and
nuts, after which a tag bearing the name of some child of the
neighborhood was attached, these they distributed among the branches of
the tree, festooning the whole with a bewildering mass of yards of pure
white popcorn strung on a thread for the occasion, tissue paper designs
and sparkling tinsel that reflected the lights of the many candles in
rapidly changing hues and giving it the effect of a dazzling fountain
that persisted in its activities, though in the grasp of the frost king.
Before the completion of the decoration of the tree and for several
hours after the neighboring homesteaders began to arrive with their
families, each bringing their share of the Christmas packages and boxes
of lunch. Many and varied were the expressions of amazement and delight
that greeted the workers upon the arrival of each family. "Isn't it
lovely, and made of sagebrush, too. How did you do it?" Some, more
inquisitive than others, would have to handle the branches to convince
themselves that it was purely a local product. "Well, it beats the trees
we used to have back home. I wish they could see it," many would
exclaim.
As the neighbors arrived, their packages were taken and either hung on
the tree or placed conveniently near its base.
It was a happy gathering of pioneers. The little school building, though
being used for a purpose other than for which it was built, radiated
with warmth from the one huge sheet iron stove that stood in its center
and into which was being constantly fed handful after handful of crushed
and twisted sagebrush. As evening approached and the last of those who
were expected arrived and were met at the door and relieved of their
bundles and wraps, places were made for them near the stove that they
might warm their frosted fingers and toes.
It was soon growing quite dark, and the excited children were eagerly
clamoring for the candles to be lighted. Benches were drawn away from
the walls, and after being placed together, the lunch was spread, and
the Christmas festivities were begun. There was no snow white linen or
sparkling silver nor cut glass, no wines or imported beverages, not a
flower or sprig of green graced this banquet board. The benches were
covered with the paper removed from such of the packages as had been
unwrapped, and plain porcelain, granite and tin were the plates. The
knives, forks and spoons were the iron handled or plated varieties. All
evidence of stately ceremony was absent, but over all a spirit of good
fellowship reigned. Faith, Hope and Charity were their guests and
hovered close around this isolated gathering and directed their every
thought, word and action. The plain food was eaten with a relish, and
the steaming coffee, served from a granite pitcher that was constantly
being refilled from a large boiler on the sheet iron stove, was drank
with an appreciation of its warmth and invigorating effect.
The supper over and all evidence of it removed, with the benches so
arranged that all could get a view of the tree, the lighted lanterns
that had been hanging upon the walls, were lowered, and the tree
lighted. Breathlessly both young and old awaited the effect. Faintly the
little candles flickered and sputtered, trying with their tiny wicks to
allow the consuming flames to survive. A few went out, but were quickly
relighted, and as the hand that applied the match was withdrawn and a
slight current of air created, they flared and fluttered, but as the
pointed tip of each candle was burned away and the little cups of molten
wax formed around the wicks, they shot forth their flames. One by one
they came, like stars as night rapidly falls; more quickly they came,
and as the last one flared up and revealed the tree in all its sparkling
brilliancy, bated breathing ceased, and with a sudden chorus of many
childish expressions of delight and much noisy handclapping of their
parents in appreciation of the spectacle before them, the little school
room was filled with din that was taken up by the icy night wind and
wafted for miles across the snow and mingled with the swish of the
treacherous currents of the Columbia river, or mounting higher were lost
amidst the phantomlike whispering of the soughing pines on the rugged
mountain side.
There were among those who had assembled there that Christmas Eve many
who had in their earlier childhood attended many Christmas tree
entertainments, both community and family trees, but none were present
who could recall ever having seen one more beautiful. Their minds flew
back for just one fleeting moment to scenes in the past, trying in vain
to recall the most beautiful tree they had ever seen, that they might
compare it with the one they now beheld, and wondered at the possible
effect the sight of such a one as this would have upon the home folks.
Travis Gully was chosen to distribute the presents, and this he soon
accomplished. As each person's name was called they arose and the parcel
was passed to them, and when the last of the packages had reached the
hand of its excited owner and had been opened and admired, they were
passed to curious onlookers for their inspection and comment. The tree
was denuded of all its gaudy decorations. The candle holders, with their
short bits of candle, were distributed among the children, and the long
strings of popcorn and sparkling tinsel, together with the cotton, were
carefully stored away in a box for future use. While mothers secured
their wraps and shook to a state of wakefulness many sleepy little tots,
each step they took resounding with the crunch of peanut shells with
which the bare floor was strewn, the first Christmas tree the desert had
ever known had come and gone.
The men went out, and hitching their teams, drove to the entrance for
their families, and as each stepped inside the building to say
good-night and wish for his neighbor a Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year, he took a final look toward the back of the room and shuddered.
One smoky lantern hung on a nail near the tree, now robbed of all its
tawdry loveliness; sagebrush, just a skeleton of a thing, once made
beautiful for a transient moment but now back to it original state, a
product of the desert, a diabolical fiend clothed in its haunting gray.
Gully with his family were the last to leave, and the hour being late,
the drive home was made without comment by either he or his wife. The
older children chattered away about what they and their friends had
gotten from the tree. Little Joe, tucked snugly away among the blankets,
one chubby hand clutching the now almost empty mosquito net stocking,
the other, with fingers stuck fast together, was thrust beneath his head
amidst a mass of towsled locks of sunburned hair, now smeared with red
dye from a moist stock of peppermint candy, slept unconsciously
throughout the trip home.
Christmas morning, when it dawned, was accompanied by a terrific
blizzard that kept Travis Gully and his family indoors. But being happy
with the success of the Christmas tree, they were content to stay by the
fire and discuss that event and plan for the weeks of fair weather that
they hoped would follow the storm.
Gully realizing that his family was comfortable, his only care was for
his horses. These he had provided with as good protection as he had been
able to construct after his return from the harvest field, but he knew
that the flimsy structure he had erected and on three sides of which he
had piled sagebrush as a windbreak, could not long withstand such a
storm as was now raging. Upon going to the barn he discovered that the
brush had already blown away and he set to work to replace it and to
make it more secure by weighting it down with numerous old discarded
railroad ties that had been hauled out for fuel. The stinging fine snow
and icy blast of the blizzard made his task a most difficult one, and he
was repeatedly forced to go to the house to thaw out his frosted fingers
and toes.
As evening approached the fury of the gale increased, and huge
snowdrifts formed around the little home and completely cut off exit by
means of the kitchen door. The front door opened directly facing the
blizzard, and at its every opening the two small rooms were filled with
the cold wind and drifting snow. The shrieking and howling of the wind
warned Gully of the wild night through which he and his family had to
pass, and he made ready by providing an abundance of sagebrush for fuel.
He fed and blanketed his horses early, and after spreading the straw for
their bedding, he left them as comfortable as was possible under the
circumstances.
Supper being over and he and his family seated comfortably around the
roaring stove enjoying the genial heat that was now filling the rooms,
and laughing merrily at the novel experience of being snowbound out in
the desert. Incidents of other Christmas nights back in the old home
were recounted by both Gully and his wife, to which the children eagerly
listened. Laughing and chatting, the evening was spent in this snug
little retreat, while outside the storm raged.
One by one the children became sleepy and were tucked away for the
night, and the fastening of the front door was made more secure by
having a crude bench turned on end and braced against it, and the cracks
around its casing, through which the cold wind was driving the snow, was
stopped by an old piece of canvas that was fastened at the top with
nails and allowed to extend down to the floor. Thus fortified against
the elements, Travis and Minnie Gully returned to their places near the
fire and sat for a long time in silence, listening to the regular
breathing and dreamy mumbling of their sleeping children. For them the
storm had no terrors.
The wife placing her hand upon her husband's knee aroused him from his
reverie, and she expressed her satisfaction with their changed
condition, not that their material wealth had increased, but that she
had been taken into his confidence and had become a factor in his life.
In the old home she had been content to be the mother of his children,
the keeper of his house. But now things were different. She was appealed
to in all affairs, her suggestions were asked for the expenditure of the
few dollars he had earned, she was consulted as to the plans for the
improvement of their home, and she was happy in the thought that her
ideas were of value, and were of assistance to him. She was experiencing
her awakening, and while it was not as startling nor as sudden as his
had been on that first day when he had determined to have a home of his
own, it was just as real, and she was spurred on to new hopes and new
ambitions, and was happy in their contemplation.