The Junior Historian, Volume 4, Number 3, December 1943 Page: 2
12 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
Peak. The sun was far down the west-
ern sky. The hack had rolled out of
the log village of Dallas at sunrise,
never stopping for food or rest, as there
was not a single cabin to offer hos-
pitality. The journey had been long
and tedious.
Still they jogged wearily along with-
out an intervening object of interest
until dusk, when suddenly Dickens, the:
hack driver, called out, "Yonder is the
big field fence," and the couple gladly
reached out to greet 'what they knew
to be the only "resting place" of the
trip.
It was the large plantation home of
Colonel Johnson, who gave rest and
supplies to adventurers moving to new
frontiers. The Colonel and Mrs. John-
son feted the bridal couple at their
sumptuous table, and their best guest
room f u r n i s h e d much-needed rest,
which the impatient Dickens ended all
too soon by insisting that the hack de-
part at an early morning hour in order
to reach the "Fort Town" before sun-
down.
Therefore, next sunrise they bid an
early farewell to their hospitable host.
Dickens gave free rein to the horses,
and' fresh and eager to travel, they
raced swiftly across the roadless prairie.
At two o'clock, Dickens proudly or-
dered the bride to look to the northwest.
They would soon be in sight of the
Fort. The bride eagerly watched the
tiny specks on the distant horizon be-
come a rambling outline of her future
home. She was pleased with the vista.
In the soft afternoon sunshine of De-
cember, she could see the Stars and
Stripes floating bravely over seven
sturdy log cabins clustered about a
parade ground. Moments later .-the
hack rattled into the Fort Town, and
as the bride and groom ascended the
steps of the Fort's headquarters, Lieu-
tenant Holiday, the Fort's gallant com-
manding officer, received them and wel-
comed the young couple to their future
home. Lieutenant Holiday had beenleft behind at the Fort to recuperate
from a fever when the other soldiers
marched forth to found a new fort
further west. And now, a pale con-
valescent, he showed Doctor and Mrs.
Peak to their "Fort Town" home, a
former officer's quarters to the right of
the main headquarters. The bride was
delighted with her tiny house-a three-
room log cabin, and she was, perhaps,
a little reluctant to leave it when din-
ner-time came and she and her husband
went to dine with Lieutenant Holiday.
As they entered his quarters, he rose
from the .comfortable rocker he had
been resting in and smiling, led the
way to the table laden with the best
and most elegant fare the "Fort Town"
afforded. Food and merry conversation
passed round and round the "board,"
and as the time drew near for his
guests to depart, the courtly lieutenant
wanted to present the bridal couple with
a gift. Throughout the evening, he
had been greatly impressed by this tall,
slender brunette who dared face the
hardships of frontier life undaunted
and unafraid. Wondering a little about
her life of ease and comfort in Ken-
tucky, Lieutenant Holiday had com-
passion on her youth and beauty and
gave her his rocker, the first fine piece
of furniture in her new home.
With the first breath of spring came
the first, garden in the Fort Town,
planted by the bride and her husband.
Asparagus, tomatoes, and carrots nod-
ded gaily in neat rows to the young
woman as she sat on the porch enjoying
the soothing movement of the rocker
and watching eagerly for the first sign
of the ox train returning from Galves-
ton with furnishings for her new home.
And when the velvet greens of sum-
mer had faded into the brilliant yellows
and reds of autumn, a baby boy was
born to the happy doctor and his wife,
the first male child to be born in the
Fort. The baby was rocked to sleep
in the same rocker--just as in years to
come, all the children of the Peak
family were to know the familiar creak-
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 4, Number 3, December 1943, periodical, December 1943; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391468/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.