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The next morning they went through their usual routine of breakfast and breaking
camp. They were eager to get to Decatur and hoped that they would be there by
mid-morning, surely by noon lunch. There was very little wind that morning and it
seemed warmer than usual. The terrain was changing a little to more rolling hills and
shallow valleys. It made a more interesting view of the landscape but more difficult for
the oxen to manage the heavy wagon.
By mid-morning, they came to a good-sized creek and stopped to rest. The sun was
bright and there was very little wind, making it seem oppressive. They were glad to
see the stream and a chance to cool off. "It surely is warm today," Viola commented
as she took off her bonnet and waved it at her face like a fan. "Yep," Cornelius replied.
"I was hoping we would get to the Territory before it started getting hot. The oxen
won't be as fresh if it gets very hot."
They watered everyone, as usual and decided to eat lunch in some of the shade trees
near the stream. It was early for lunch, but the weather made everyone uncomfortably
warm and the oxen more tired. A good long rest would help everyone. Cornelius got
the oxen and cows settled in a cool place where there was some grass, and he let
them graze. He stretched out nearby for a short nap. Viola and Maggie made
sandwiches for everyone.
Maggie said, "Mama, shall I take a sandwich over to Papa under the shade tree? I think
maybe he has fallen asleep." Viola replied, "No, let him rest a little. It is so warm and
he didn't sleep very well last night because the ground under the wagon was so rocky.
Let him get a little nap and he can eat when he wakes up." The children and Viola ate
in the shade of the wagon and made a game of finding shapes in the pretty white
clouds above them.
Maggie said, "Let's see. I see fleecy white sheep over there," as she pointed to a
cloud. "I see a dog!" Buddy cried. "I do, too!" Maudie chirped, but she really didn't; she
just wanted to be a part of the game. They ate their sandwiches and played their game
until the warm day made everyone a little drowsy. Maude closed her eyes and fell
asleep. Buddy lay on his side and toyed with an ant crawling across the blanket they
lay on. Viola and Maggie put away the bread and began packing things for the next leg
of the trip.
Viola noticed that the clouds were getting bigger and some were turning dark. She
watched the sky as she packed. It was very close and getting hot as the sun continued
to climb in the sky. "Maggie, take this sandwich to your father and wake him. Tell him
that we should try to get on in to Decatur. It looks like it might storm this afternoon."
Maggie's eyes scanned the sky and she could see a very large thunderhead building
over on the horizon. She quickly took the sandwich to her father and woke him.
"Papa, you better wake up now," she said gently. "Here's your sandwich. Mama told
me to bring it to you." He sat up slowly and wiped his brow of perspiration. "Mama
says it might storm later this afternoon. I saw a big ol' thunderhead over yonder," and
she pointed toward the horizon. He followed her finger with his eyes and saw a large,
anvil-shaped cloud some twenty miles away from them.
"Thanks, darlin'," he said with a smile and began munching on his sandwich. He kept
his eyes on the cloud and made a quick study of his surroundings. They were not too
far from Decatur and could possibly make it in a couple more hours. He got up, still
munching his sandwich and began hitching the oxen up to the wagon. "We best be
gettin' on to Decatur before it has a chance to storm.
Everyone was hurried into the wagon and they returned to the road. Papa kept his eyes
on the sky and hurried the oxen as best he could. They could withstand a pretty good
storm in the wagon but if they could make it to shelter before it hit, it would be safer.
The road was rather bumpy but they wasted no more time in getting to Decatur. The
further they went, the warmer and closer it got, but Cornelius didn't let the oxen slow
down. The sky was turning dark now. The clouds were no longer white, but dark gray
and flashes of lightning lit up the sky in the distance, followed a minute later by loud
thunder.
The air was very heavy. There was no wind at all. The birds had stopped chirping and
everything seemed to hang heavy in the air. The sky was turning black and dark green
now. Nothing seemed to be moving except the wagon across the quiet landscape. The
oxen seemed nervous, and jumped at every little noise.
Viola looked up into the sky and saw dark green clouds, seemingly boiling as if in a
cauldron. Yet, below them where they sat in their wagon, it was as still as death. She
didn't take her eyes from the clouds and spoke softly to Cornelius. "I think we better
find shelter pretty soon because them are twister clouds." She glanced at Cornelius'
intense face. He had seen the clouds, too and knew that a terrible storm was coming.
He said nothing but scanned the horizon for a place of safety.
"There it is," he said with relief. "There's Decatur on that next hill." He gave the oxen
another switch with his quirt and hurried them on. The wind began to whip up just as
they entered Decatur. Cornelius found a livery stable as quickly as he could and drove
the oxen, wagon and all right into the stable. Very large rain drops began falling as they
pulled in, followed by fair-sized hailstones. In a moment, the stable was being pelted by
heavy rain and hailstones. Lightning and loud thunder cracked across the sky and the
wind howled.
"Well, that was sure lucky," Cornelius piped. He jumped down from the wagon and
stood by the oxen to calm them from the noise of the storm. The children huddled
together in the wagon as the hailstones banged against the roof of the stable with a
terrible racket. In a few moments, the hail stopped but the hard rain continued. It was
a typical storm on the Great Plains. It rained hard with plenty of thunder and lightning
for some twenty minutes; then it calmed to a steady rain for another half hour. The
tornado that had boiled overhead had spared them that day and had not dropped to the
ground. Instead, it delivered plenty of hail and rain and sped on to some other
destination across the landscape.
The liveryman offered to put the oxen and cows in stalls, but Cornelius declined. "As
soon as this is over, we'll be on our way," he said. "I just didn't want to get caught in
the hail." The liveryman understood and refused any pay for such a short time. He
offered the cattle some hay and water. They waited until the storm had subsided to a
light rain, and then they moved out of the stable onto the street again.
Decatur was a small town of about 1,200 people so it was hardly more than a couple of
blocks long. There was a drygoods store and several businesses. They stopped at the
drygoods store and bought some more food for the trip. Viola got some more eggs and
other items that would hopefully get them to Wichita Falls, some thirty miles away.
Cornelius bought everyone some hard candy which they ate on the boardwalk in front
of the store.
Cornelius struck up a conversation with some of the locals and inquired about the trip
to Wichita Falls. They asked about his wagon and family and one farmer invited him to
stop at his farm about two miles beyond Decatur. "They's plenty of water there and a
good place to park your wagon," he said. "I'll ride on out there with you and show you
where it is," he said. "Name's Wilson. Tom Wilson." Cornelius and Tom shook hands
and Cornelius thanked him for his hospitality.
After a short rest, they were back on the road headed toward the Wilson farm. Tom
Wilson rode his horse beside the wagon and chatted with Cornelius and "the Missus"
while they made the trek to the farm. It was around 3:30 by the time they got to the
farm. The land seemed refreshed from the rain and the smell of sweet grass could be
detected on the cooler air. Tom insisted that Cornelius put the cattle in the barn and
give them a good rest and rubdown, feed and water.
Mrs. Wilson invited the family to stay for dinner. She fried a couple of spring chickens,
made mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, and cooked fresh peas from the garden.
They had tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions right out of the garden. Her son,
Billy had picked the garden truck, along with Buddy's help. They were about the same
age. Maude tagged along to help.
After dinner, the children played hide and seek until it got dark. The folks sat on the
porch and enjoyed the cool evening breeze, fresh from the rain. When everyone
bedded down, the children all slept on pallets on the living room floor. Cornelius and
Viola slept in the wagon and the Wilsons slept in their own beds.
Index:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Maude and her family cross have
a big scare as the youngest child,
Viola, turns deathly ill!
Ma Viola Ragsdale
1930s with two of his
many grandchildren
fairly large hill. It would have served
as a beacon for the family,
especially after the weather
problems!
The next morning, Mrs. Wilson insisted that they take more fried chicken with them on the trip and sent Billy and Buddy to pick
more garden truck for the Ragsdales to have. By the time they left, they were loaded with fresh vegetables and plenty of
chicken for lunch and dinner from their new-found friends.
They seemed to be gradually climbing as they moved northwestward. The road was not very good and they didn't find as many
creeks for water as they continued on for the next few days. They stopped early every afternoon so Cornelius could hunt. He
shot several jackrabbits which was rather tough meat, but it was meat. One day, he killed several quail and they enjoyed a
much tastier dinner.
Water was running low when they came upon the Big Sandy River which almost paralleled the road. They decided that this
would be a good time to stop for hunting and replenishing their water supply. After camp was made, Cornelius and Buddy went
hunting, hoping to find some deer along the banks of the river. They were gone a good while and didn't return until almost dark,
empty handed. Viola had made some bread in her dutch oven and cooked some more beans. The girls had gone to look for
berries or polk salit but didn't find much. Nettie was fussy at dinner time and Viola rocked her in her arms.
"What's botherin' Nettie," Cornelius inquired. Viola said, "Oh, it's been pretty hot today and she's got a little rash on her bottom.
I expect she's just tired of travilin'." Cornelius took Nettie and played with her for a few minutes but Nettie wasn't in much of a
mood to play. "How about some sweet singin' for Nettie?" Cornelius asked. Maggie began singing softly, "In the Sweet Bye
and Bye" and the others joined in. Cornelius rocked Nettie until she was asleep.
"I want to get up early in the morning to see if I can find some deer," he said to Viola. "If you hear me getting' up in the dark,
don't get up. I'll slip out of camp and see what I can find," he said. Viola nodded as the singing continued. As soon as the fire
began to die down, Cornelius beckoned to everyone to go to bed and they all slipped into their assigned places for sleep. It was
warm enough that Cornelius had rolled up the sides of the wagon canvas to allow a little air inside the wagon. He and Viola
slept under the wagon, as usual, with Nettie between them.
Early the next morning, Cornelius rolled over quietly and slipped out from under the wagon. The warmth of his body gone,
Nettie awoke and began to cry softly. Viola tried to nurse her but she refused. Viola thought Nettie felt a little warm and got up
with Nettie. Cornelius stirred the fire and looked at both of them, concerned. "You go on hunting," Viola assured him. "We'll be
all right. Bring us a big old fat deer," she smiled up at him, and he left quietly in the dark.
It was very dark but Cornelius had spotted a large tree the evening before. The tree was large enough that he could sit at its
base and look across the shallow river to the shoreline where he had seen deer tracks. He worked his way as quietly as
possible down the riverbank to the tree where he sat down to wait. He placed his loaded gun across his knees so that he could
take aim without much movement in case he should see anything. If the wind would cooperate by blowing toward him, he
might have a chance of getting something.
It was dark and cool by the river. He felt cool from the night air but he dared not move. He thought about his family and the
farm that he hoped to buy. He envisioned acres of cotton, his cotton gleaming white in the sun, and he prayed that this would
come to fruition. His eyes grew heavy with sleep and he nodded off. He dreamed about the cotton blowing in the autumn wind.
The puffs of cotton reminded him of the white tail of a deer, and his eyes popped open. There, across the river about two
hundred yards away was a white-tailed deer, drinking from the river. Slowly, he moved his rifle to his shoulder and took aim. A
resounding crack crashed across the riverbed. His family would have meat.
He left his rifle by the tree and waded across the shallow river, which was waste deep at its deepest, and retrieved the deer.
Pulling it up and across his shoulders, he returned across the river, being careful not to fall into the water with the carcass.
When he returned to camp, the early dawn had faded to sunlight as the sun rose above the horizon.
Viola had gotten Maggie up to watch after Nettie while she made breakfast. The other children were still asleep in the wagon.
Cornelius began the gruesome business of gutting and skinning the deer and cutting the meat into chunks. Viola helped with
this and washed the meat before salting it down for preservation. Some of the meat she cut up into cooking pieces for their
noon and evening meals.
Then, Maggie got the children up, they all ate breakfast, and Viola and Cornelius finished dressing and storing the meat as best
they could. "Mama, Nettie is sure fussy. I can't seem to get her comfortable or happy. She keeps pullin' up her legs like her
tummy hurts," Maggie said. Viola took Nettie and tried to nurse her again and this time, she nursed. "I guess she was just
hungry," Viola smiled at Maggie.
They got a late start because of having to dress the deer, but finally Cornelius got the oxen hitched to the wagon and they
began their journey again. "We should be comin' to Bowie one of these days. It's further than I thought," Cornelius mused. The
sun was high in the sky but they were making pretty good time.
Nettie continued to be fussy. Viola moved inside the wagon with her to keep her out of the warm sun but that didn't seem to
help. She clearly had a fever now, and Viola began to put cool, wet clothes on her face and dabbed at her back and tummy with
the cool cloth. Soon, Nettie had diarrhea and her fever seemed worse. She cried constantly and pulled up her knees in obvious
pain. Viola rocked her and sang a little monotonous lullabye that she made up, "Bye-oh, bye-oh, my ba-by." She tried nursing
Nettie but she only cried more. This went on for some time with Nettie crying, falling asleep, waking, crying, and having bouts
of diarrhea.
Finally, Cornelius pulled off the road and stopped the wagon. There wasn't much shade but Nettie was so fussy that he felt it
would help her to stop the wagon. Viola got out with the baby and walked about with Nettie, hoping she would calm down and
fall asleep. Maggie relieved Viola some by walking her, too. Nettie was quite feverish, so Viola took off Nettie's dress and
continued bathing her in cool cloths. After a half hour or so, Nettie fell asleep in exhaustion.
They continued on in the wagon, then, hoping to get to Bowie soon. By nightfall, Nettie was very sick. Viola tried to nurse her
but she refused. Her fever was high and the diarrhea continued. They stopped for the night and Maggie built a fire while Viola
walked with Nettie. As soon as Cornelius had secured the stock, he relieved Viola from carrying Nettie. Viola put together
what she could of a hastily-prepared evening meal and they all ate with little appetite. Maude and Buddy gathered soft grass
and made a bed of grass for Nettie to lie on. Viola spread Nettie's baby blanket on it and lay her down so she could rest in the
cool evening breeze. She put a light blanket over her little body.
Everyone was very worried about Nettie. Maggie sent Maude and Buddy to bed early and she went with them. Viola and
Cornelius stayed by Nettie's side, either bathing her feverish body with cool cloths or holding her and rocking her. This went on
most of the night as Nettie fretted and fussed. She slept fitfully on the little bed that Maude and Buddy had made for her.
The next morning, two very exhausted parents still sat, watching their baby and began to worry if she would live. Her fever was
still high and she was not responding to anything; she just lay still and breathed a shallow breath. "If we could get to Bowie,
maybe we could find a doctor or some medicine," Viola said. Cornelius agreed and began hitching the oxen to the wagon.
While he did that, Maggie put together a cold breakfast and awakened Maude and Buddy. They ate quickly. Cornelius put the
little bed and Nettie in the cool part of the wagon and Viola resumed her vigil by Nettie's side. Everyone got into the wagon
quietly and the journey began again.
They continued on, Cornelius keeping a watchful eye on the horizon for Bowie and praying silently that his little girl would live.
In the wagon, all eyes were on Nettie as she lay too still on the bed. Viola moved Nettie gently to her breast and tried to get
Nettie to nurse. Nothing.
Cornelius pushed the oxen to their limits, praying that Bowie would be sighted soon. Finally, he had to stop to let them rest and
be watered. He didn't pull off the road, but stopped in the middle of the road and brought buckets of water for the oxen and milk
cows. He checked in the wagon to see how Nettie was doing. Viola got out of the wagon and joined Cornelius. She took him by
the hand and walked him away from the wagon a few feet.
family enters Oklahoma? Find out in Part III!