Jacob sighed and looked over at Charles Burger, who had stayed with them. “At the very least, let’s send for Eddy,” he murmured quietly. “The man owes us after our generosity to his family.” “I believe we need to replace that axle, and he’ll be the greatest judge.”
So, despite George’s desires, they despatched Charlie Burger and Samuel Shoemaker on foot to find Eddy and remind him of the Donners’ earlier generosity—there were no saddle horses left. If necessary, beg. Tamsen was on the verge of objecting to the plan, convinced that the shadow things were still lurking in the woods, and that this was yet another invitation for them to close in. But, understanding the necessity, she stayed mute once more. choking back the warnings like smoke in the throat After all, they were sending two men, both of whom would be armed. They’d be perfectly safe. It was unavoidable.
Tamsen had a wild hunch that the men might also bring Stanton back with them. Even after all of their anger, she still felt something. She had long since moved on from the need and craving she had felt around him in the early weeks of the journey. Despite the way he’d scolded her after Keseberg came after him with her rifle, almost jealously. Stanton was the type of man you could trust, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that no one else did. Meanwhile, Jacob’s elder boys began removing the stuff from the broken waggon.
Tamsen took the younger children onto the field while they worked. It was swampy where the carts were parked, but there was a decent meadow beyond a grove of scrubby pines. Tamsen assigned the girls to gather wildflowers for her concoctions. She looked at the white-capped mountain range visible in the near distance, which seemed larger than ever as she supervised. It was pleasant here, and she didn’t mind staying for a while, but she couldn’t help but think of James Reed. He would have insisted on continuing into California, and he would have been correct. The passes could close at any time throughout the winter. She returned her gaze to the looming darkness of the sky. Even now, they were subject to its whims.
Men’s voices swelled in panic as she heard her husband scream in pain. She dashed back to the waggons, yelling for the kids to join her. George was kneeling behind the waggon, his face white with anguish and sweaty, and his arm had vanished behind one of the wheels. The two teamsters, Burger and Shoemaker, had not yet returned with Eddy. The rest of the men were leaning on the far end of the waggon bed, which had been blocked with a long branch.
“Hold on, George,” Jacob advised. He turned to face the others. “One, two, three—all that’s there is to it; throw your entire weight on it.” After a lot of yelling and groaning, the pole eventually bit and managed to hold up the waggon bed long enough for George to extricate himself, falling backward onto the mud.
He supported himself by raising his right hand and circled his wrist with his left hand. Tamsen was on the verge of passing out; his hand was so bitten up that it looked like he was wearing a bloody mitten. It was a blood-soaked paddle of mashed, pulpy meat. Her husband’s eyes were rolled back in his head, and he was on the verge of passing out.
Tamsen knelt beside him on her knees. “Bring me some safe drinking water!” Tell Betsy to start boiling some water! “Milt, take the kids away, they shouldn’t watch this,” she said to one of their teammates. And have Leanne tear fresh bandages while Elitha fetches the backpack with my meds.”
For the greater part of an hour, she worked on him. He’d passed out, so she didn’t have to worry about injuring him any further. She used water to wipe the open flesh before applying the last of their alcohol. The most difficult part was bandaging it to ensure that the fragments healed properly. She didn’t want to leave him in a wheelchair. While the other hired guys hurried away, scared, Jacob paced behind her the entire time. “We were using the pole to hold up the waggon bed and it slipped,” Jacob recounted as Tamsen struggled to keep the waggon bed from tipping over.