Chapter One

Seattle, Washington

August, 1872

 

Beth Matthews wiped the mouth of the invalid in the bed as she tried to spoon broth into her mouth to nourish her.  She could scarcely believe that this woman was the same girl that had traveled out west with them.  Emily Patterson had been a beautiful woman with blonde hair always arranged in an elaborate style and big blue eyes, dressed in the best of fashion.  The women had been told by her friend, Rebecca, that her father was the town banker and her parents had spoiled her and given her everything she wanted.  When she had made up her mind to accompany the group west, her parents had tried to discourage her but had finally given in to her pleas.  Unfortunately, Emily had not listened to the rest of the group any more than she had listened to her parents.  When the group reached San Francisco, Emily had met a man who had promised to marry her and she stayed there as the rest of the group sailed north to Seattle. 

Beth remembered the day that Emily had shown up on their doorstep.  No one recognized her as she was filthy, dressed in rags and so thin.  She fainted and the women had carried her inside and had been nursing her ever since that day.  Emily had told Sarah and Beth that the man had already been married and had left her.  She had to sell all her possessions in order to live and the money had not lasted long.  Finally, she had gotten a job as a dishwasher in an inn down near the wharf.  They all realized that this was the roughest part of San Francisco.  The innkeeper had abused her, beating her and barely feeding her.  She had finally escaped by begging the captain of The Pacific Queen to let her work in the kitchen.  Remembering the kindness of the women, she had asked for directions to their cabin as soon as the ship landed in Seattle.  The biggest change in Emily was how humble and grateful she was for all they had done for her.  Rebecca and the others had tried to get her to let them contact her parents but Emily had said she was too ashamed.

Sarah had discovered during her examination that Emily was several weeks pregnant but in spite of all their efforts, Emily had lost the baby the next day. .  Emily hung her head and cried when she realized that Sarah knew. 

“It was that innkeeper,” she whispered, “He attacked me almost every night, beating me until I couldn’t get away”  Tears rolled down her face as she continued, “Oh, I wish I had never come on this trip!  Now I can’t even go home!  I know that I will be an outcast but I remembered how kind you all were to me on the trip, even though I was horrid to you, and I wondered if you would let me work as a servant for you.  I can sleep on the floor.  I will do anything!  Please say I can stay!”

“Hush, now,” Sarah said, “You need your rest.  Of course, you can stay here and not as a servant but as out friend

 She was still very weak but continued to grow stronger each day.  She had not been able to go to church services with them but the women continued their nightly Bible studies in her room and all prayed for her everyday.  They prayed that she would make a commitment to the Lord and accept Him as her Savior.

The women had been living in Seattle for several months and had been joined by another larger group of women who were looking for husbands or to settle in the Northwest Territory.  Beth had traveled with her good friend, Amanda Stone, who had been the teacher back in Cedar Springs, Ohio, where Beth had grown up on a local farm.  Amanda had moved there in order to teach after finishing her schooling in Boston, though she was originally from Virginia.  The two had become fast friends, despite their differences.  Amanda was older and taller with blonde curly hair and blue eyes while Beth was several inches shorter with brown hair and eyes.  Beth’s mother had been very sick before passing away when she was twelve.  She had nursed her mother from the time she was ten years old and run the house for her father.  Because of this, she had grown further and further behind in her schooling and finally had dropped out of school.  She knew all about running a home and sewing but could barely read when she had met Amanda.  Although shy, she had finally confided in Amanda and the teacher had helped her with her reading until now Beth could read very well. 

Amanda had told Beth all about her friend, Sarah, who lived in St. Louis.  The two had lived in the same boarding house in Boston while studying.  While Amanda was studying education, Sarah was studying to be a physician. 

Sarah was the one who had heard about the trip out west from Mr. Mercer.  He had the idea of coming East and finding women who wanted to be wives to the many male settlers in the Seattle area.  She had written a letter to Amanda, asking if she would consider joining the group.  None of the women had come in order to find a husband.  In fact, Beth’s father had tried to force her to marry the local storekeeper as a way to get free supplies.  Amanda had wanted to continue teaching and Sarah wanted to start a practice there.  After much prayer, they all agreed to come on the trip.  Beth knew that her father would never allow her to leave because he wanted her to do all his chores and cooking.  He even suggested that Mr. Zimmerman move in with them so Beth could stay there.  In exchange Mr. Matthews would get free supplies.  The two men thought this was a perfect deal but Beth did not feel the same way.  She was only seventeen and Mr. Zimmerman was in his forties.  Also she did not love him and, most importantly, he was not a Christian.  Amanda and Beth had to plan a way for Beth to get her clothes and other items into town without her father knowing.  Since it was spring planting time, he was very busy and never even noticed that she was moving some of her clothes and other items.  As she packed, she found her mother’s Bible and a letter that her mother had written shortly before she died.   She had tried to read it at the time of her mother’s death but did not really understand it because of her poor reading.  In the letter, her mother had cautioned Beth about marrying a non-believer and asked her to promise to only marry a Christian.  One night when Beth could not sleep, she went down to the kitchen and saw her father counting a lot of money that he kept hidden under a floor board in the parlor.  Beth knew that the doctor had wanted her mother to go to Philadelphia for special treatment.  Her father said they did not have the money.  He had always been miserly and Beth truly was shocked to see all the money he did have.  Beth’s older brother, Tommy, had argued that they should sell the farm in order to pay for the treatment but her father refused and Tommy had left home. Beth and her mother had only had one letter and that was shortly before her mother died when she was twelve.  Beth had planned on taking fifty dollars of the money in order to pay for the trip.  Amanda warned her that it was stealing, but Beth said her father had never given Tommy or Beth any money for all the work they did on the farm and he owed it to her.  On the last day before leaving Ohio, Beth decided to take her mother’s wedding dress.  As she picked it up from the trunk where it was stored, a small red purse had fallen out, and inside were two twenty dollar gold pieces and a note from her mother saying it was to pay for her wedding.  Beth had felt this was a gift from her mother and had used the money to buy her ticket to St. Louis. Mr. Mercer had said that he would pay for the women’s train tickets out to San Francisco and the ship passage on up to Seattle.  If any of the women married, then their husbands would pay Mr. Mercer the money.

When Amanda and Beth arrived in St. Louis, they found that they would travel with a smaller group led by Mr. Riley Jackson.  In the group was Emily with her childhood friend, Rebecca Woods, along with Hannah Smith and Jane Walker.  Both Beth and Amanda were excited to find that a pastor and his wife, Robert and Estelle Taylor, were traveling with them and planned to start a church in the area.  They had started services on the first Sunday and since that time, a combination school and church building had been built.  There was a large community building where most of the women lived, but Sarah had rented a small four room cabin to use as a home and office and had asked Amanda, Beth, and Hannah to share it with her.  The community building had a large meeting room downstairs and the women stayed upstairs in a large dormitory room.  They were chaperoned by Mrs. Ethel Miller, a formidable widow.  There was a small kitchen at the back where the women could cook their meals.  The women were disappointed to find that Riley was not a Christian but looked to him for guidance even as they prayed for his salvation.  As they began attending church, Riley went with them and eventually realized that he had to have the Lord in his heart and to follow him.  There was some excitement when Amanda had been kidnapped by a local Indian who wanted to marry her but Riley had searched for her until he found her and brought her and his injured friend, Will Sloan, down the mountain.  Amanda was completely recovered and she and Riley were to marry the next Sunday after church services.

Beth put the bowl of broth aside as she could see that Emily was too tired to eat any more.  Tucking her up in the bed, she left her to rest.