Snowbound and Eclipse Read Online Free Page A

libations and devote myself to my duties at night.”
    The man either had laryngitis or his tonsils were ruined.
    We clambered to the ground while the Indian agent sent his charges scurrying about. Jessie and her servant found themselves in a primitive cabin with a puncheon floor, a fly-specked window, and a fireplace for heat. I examined it and thought it to be adequate for women.
    I continued on, with Godey, to the Boone Creek camp a mile distant. It was spread through a cottonwood grove and showed signs of hard use. It had been a favorite marshaling place for wagon companies heading to Oregon or Santa Fe for years. But it was convenient to Westport; merchants could deliver the last of our equipment easily, within an hour after it was taken off the boats.
    Now at last I could see what sort of company this would be. There would be no blue uniforms here; these were either civilians or else soldiers on leave, such as Cathcart. But still, many of my men were formerly enlisted, and this was a military camp, with tents formed in a square and the mule herd under guard. The men had divided themselves into four messes, each with its cook fire.
    Even as Godey reined the mules to a stop, the company flocked to our side. It was grand. I am not one for displays of feeling, and these men knew it and greeted me courteously. But I could see they were pleased to receive me in camp. And with amiable handshakes we either resumed old ties or took the measure of one another. I was particularly anxious to meet the newcomers and assess their feeling forme. It would not do to have dissenters and soreheads in the company, and it was important to me that my command be acceptable to them all. So I paid close attention as I met them one by one, at least those who had not come to the river’s edge earlier. Take Micajah McGehee, for instance, a Mississippi man, more literate than some, son of a judge, gentle in nature. I was delighted to see evidence of his respect for the Pathfinder, as I had come to be called, and knew that if the man’s health held up, he would be a good addition to the company.
    In due course I gathered them close, because I never raise my voice.
    â€œMrs. Frémont will be here by day, whilst we organize ourselves,” I began. “She has recently suffered a most grievous loss, the death of her infant son Benton, and any courtesy extended to her at this time would be most welcome.”
    My company fell into deep silence.
    After a few moments, I smiled. “Now, then. We’ll begin. I intend to reach the Pacific coast early in the spring, having found an easy way across the middle of the continent. I understand that last night you all witnessed northern lights, a great rarity here. That is a splendid omen. And all of you will share in my good fortune.”

CHAPTER THREE
    Jessie Benton Frémont
    He was so buoyant before the trial. He was certain the court-martial would come to nothing; the malice of General Kearny and his West Point cronies would be exposed and the charges dismissed. Was Frémont not the conqueror of California, a national hero? Had he not beencelebrated and fêted in every village and city from the frontier to Washington City?
    He was buoyant then, eager for the trial to begin so he could clear himself and shame his accuser. My father, Old Bullion they called him, was already roaring in the Senate, buttonholing officials, lecturing the uninformed. Between my husband and my father, nothing bad would befall us.
    When we finally reached Washington to await the trial, John and I slipped away from my family for an idyllic week I shall never forget. It was heaven. For five of our six and a half years of marriage, he had been away on his expeditions, but now he was there every evening, every dawn. We slept late each morning, breakfasted in bed, hiked through redbrick Georgetown, drove in the pearl moonlight, and returned to our rooms to share all the pleasures that can ever befall a happy