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by Carolyn Clark
illustrated by Craig Spearing
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2
Josh came in, shut the door noisily behindhim, and slammed his books down on the
kitchen table.
“What’s wrong?” Dad asked.
“We worked on family trees in social
studies today. Jamal’s great-uncle was MartinLuther King, Jr., and Ashley is related to
George Washington. Nobody was famous in
our family.”
“You’re right. I don’t know of anybody
famous,” Dad replied, “but there is a storythat I think is very interesting.”
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“My great-grandmother, your great-great-grandmother, Maggie Davis, was one of the
first settlers in what is now the state of
Nebraska. Her family went there around
1850, when she was just about your age,”
Dad explained.“That won’t mean anything to the other
kids,” Josh sighed. “Nobody’s ever heard of
her.”
Dad smiled. “You can tell them a lot about
her. She kept a journal about her family’s lifeon the Nebraska prairie.”
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“A journal?” Josh perked up a little.
“Where is it?”
“Your grandma has Maggie’s original
journal. She made copies for everyone in the
family a few years ago. After dinner tonight,
I’ll look for our copy. We can read it at
bedtime.”
“OK,” said Josh. He started his homework
while Dad made dinner.
After they had eaten, Dad found the
journal. At bedtime, Dad sat beside Josh’s bed
and opened it.
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Just after sunrise, November 21, 1850
Morning! I am still in bed. Winter is coming,
and it is getting cold. Lizzie is still sleeping. So is
Baby Nate. Mama is outside helping Papa get
ready to go to Ft. Kearney for supplies. He says it
is urgent. The trails won’t be passable once the
snow comes. It will take him two days to get
there and four to get back. He has to walk back
so the mule can carry the supplies.
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“Why didn’t her dad just take the car?”
Josh asked. “I bet he could drive there faster.”
“They didn’t have cars in 1850,” Dad
explained.
“Then how did they get to Nebraska? On
a train?” asked Josh.
“No trains, either.” Dad said. “Maggie and
her family traveled in a covered wagon pulled
by mules.”
“How fast could mules go?”
“From what I’ve read, about 15 or 20 miles
a day,” Dad replied. “A car can go that far in
less than half an hour!”
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“Wow!” exclaimed Josh. “It must have
taken forever.”
Dad nodded. “They went from St. Louis,
Missouri, to central Nebraska. Today, that
would take one long day by car. It took the
Davises weeks.”
“Let’s keep reading!” said Josh.
Just before sundown, the same day
It feels as if Papa’s been gone forever. We were
very busy today. Lizzie and I helped Mama feed
the animals. Then we helped her clean.
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Papa says our house is made from “Nebraska
marble.” It’s really made out of sod. Sod is dirt and grass. There are not many trees on the
prairie, only grass, brambles, and dirt. Sod is
about the only thing to build a house with. We
built the house ourselves. Well, Papa and Mama
built it mostly. Lizzie and I helped. I miss our house in St. Louis. It was a REAL house. It was
made from wood, with wood floors, a fence, and
flowers. Mama says we’ll have flowers next year.
The sun is down. It’s bedtime.
8
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“Why did Maggie go to bed when the sun
went down?” Josh asked. “Couldn’t she just
turn on the lights?” He thought for a minute.
“I guess there were no lights, huh?”
“Maggie would have had light from the
fire,” said Dad, “and maybe from some
candles. It’s hard to do much by that kind of
light, though. Remember when our lights
went out?”
“Yes!” Josh exclaimed. “It was hard to see
anything at all.”
“Speaking of lights out,” Dad said, “it’s
time for you to go to sleep.”
9
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The next night, Dad opened the journal
again.
Late afternoon, November 23, 1850
Papa has been gone three days. We had
school this morning. Mama teaches Lizzie and
me reading from a newspaper she brought from
St. Louis. She had to leave all her books there
because they were too heavy to take with us.
Mama really misses her books. She loves reading.
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After school, Mama put Nate on her back. We
went out to pick up buffalo chips. We burn them
in the fire. Mama said we had better pick up all
we can because she didn’t like the look of those
dark clouds from the north. We filled up the
wheelbarrow. Then we tied up our aprons and
filled those up, too. Mama thinks a snowstorm is
coming.
“Please keep reading, Dad!” Josh said
when his dad stopped. “We have to know
what happens next!”
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Afternoon (I think), November 25, 1850
Mama was right. It has been snowing for two
days. It is snowing so hard you can’t see anything
but white. Mama went out to tend the animals.
The wind was blowing so hard that when she
came back, we could hardly shut the door. Mama
said we must have school, as usual. Then Mama
sang songs with us. It almost made me forget
Papa. How can he get home in this?
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Early morning, November 26, 1850
There is still no sign of Papa, only snow and
more snow. The wind howled around the house
all night. We couldn’t sleep. Lizzie thought thehowling was a pack of wolves. She was crying
and howling herself until Mama said, “That’s
enough, Lizzie. Let’s have a play party!” Mama
played as though she was a fiddler and sang
songs. Lizzie and I danced around with eachother and with the baby.
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Afternoon, November 27, 1850
The wind has died down and the snow has
stopped. Papa is still not here. We had school,
and then Mama told us fairy tales. They areabout things that can’t really happen. Then she
let us polish her silver spoons. She brought them
from St. Louis. Mama tries hard to keep our
minds off Papa, but I know she is worried, too.
“What happened next?” asked Josh.
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Just before sundown, November 28, 1850
Last night there was a big ruckus outside. We
heard horses stamping and men’s voices. It was
Papa! When he opened the door, we ran into his
outstretched arms. He was weary but in good
shape. A colonel and two soldiers from the fort
had come with him. Our mule had hurt its leg.
The colonel said they couldn’t let Papa go out in
a storm with only a poor, stumbling mule. They
loaned him horses and said he could come back
for the mule in the spring.
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Papa brought buffalo meat and other food for
the whole winter. Today is Thanksgiving, so
Mama made a special meal. We ate with our
family and our guests. I was thankful for all the
food. I was even more thankful that Papa was home safe. This was the best Thanksgiving ever.
“Wow!” Josh sighed. “I’m really thankful
that the Davises are in my family! Wait until I
tell the kids at school!Dad just smiled and kissed Josh goodnight.
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1 Which characters in the story are from the
past? Which are from the present? How do you know?2 How would you summarize the story?3 What does Josh learn about his ancestors
that he can share with his classmates?4 What did you learn about pioneer life from
reading this story?5 Compare your house with the house where
Maggie lived. How is it the same? How is itdifferent?6 Would you like to have been a pioneer in
1850? Why or why not?
Report Use your school library to researchmore about pioneer life. Write a report on your
findings, and share it with your classmates.
Think and Respond
School-Home Connection Ask older family
members about your family history. Tape-
record their stories, and play them for the rest
of the family. You might hear some very
interesting stories!