They called them Mountain Men. Back in St. Louis where I was born and raised as an only child, I remember reading and fantasizing about them in those penny novels that I loved. All I knew was that they were big, strong, self-reliant men who chose to live alone, no women, no families, surviving on what they could find in the mountains.
It was the mid-1800s, and my folks had started talking about moving out west to Oregon. Papa was a storekeeper, who owned the general store in town but seemed to think he'd be able to make a better living for us if we made that move. Papa started saving a little bit of money each week, and after almost a year, he had enough to buy another store. Papa bought the store all right, but within six months, he died of tuberculosis. Though Mama was heart stricken, she decided to go ahead and follow Papa's dream. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing left to hold her here.
With hopes for a happier future, Mama and I set out as members of the Johnson-Lexar Wagon Train. It was a hard, long, dirty trip but as each day passed, we knew we were drawing closer to our ultimate destination and our new life. Two months into our passage, half of the train came down with what old Mrs. Franklin called Flu. The wagon train stopped with the intent of giving people time to nurse the sick and recover from the illness, delaying the trek for almost two weeks. After such a long delay, the train was now in jeopardy of being caught in the early snowfall if we didn't leave and get back on the trail as soon as possible. A vote was taken, and the decision made that those people who were still ill, should stay behind, and when they were physically able proceed to the next town and complete the journey in the spring. Enough provisions and water were left to sustain them for another week was left.
Mama had fallen ill, and I stayed to take care of her. We were two of the twelve people left behind. Most of those left were elderly and frail even before the sickness, and now it seemed every day someone else died. Mama passed away one night in her sleep, and I was left truly alone for the first time in my life.
By the middle of the second week, I was not only alone but sick. Somehow, I managed to crawl into the bed in the back of our wagon, but was able to do little else. A day or so went by, and I lay there feverish and delirious. At one point, I thought I felt the wagon moving but was too weak to lift my head or keep my eyes open as a thick, warm darkness overtook me.
"No, nooo," I whimpered when the man lifted me up and onto his horse. My head pounded as if it would explode as he climbed up behind me, his arms around me holding me upright in the saddle.
"We'll be to my cabin by tonight, and you can sleep," he said, his voice sounding muffled and far away.
"Papa? Papa" I called in a low, raspy voice before heavy lids covered my eyes and I slumped back against his chest and fell into a fitful exhausted sleep.
*****
My eyes slowly fluttered open and through a dreamy haze, I saw the man walking around the large cluttered but clean room. He came over to the big four poster bed and having already undressed me pulled back the covers.
The man stood over the bed looking down at me taking in every inch of my body. Though just having turned eighteen, of small stature, and weight, my body was unmistakably the body of a woman. I took after my mother when she was my age, thick shoulder length auburn hair that now lay in tangled disarray on the pillow, large green eyes, full inviting lips, small waist, wide hips and slim thighs.
He began washing me. The rough washcloth felt cool against my burning skin, and I instinctively sought to cover myself, weakly crying as I clutched the blanket to me; suddenly more frightened by my inability to stop staring at the growing bulge between his legs than my nakedness.
I began to tussle with him, trying to push him away.
"No! Stop fighting me girl; you'll feel better once you're clean." He said in a gruff, no-nonsense voice.
With the soapy rag, he washed my chest, his hands maneuvering across, over and under my breast only pausing a moment when he saw how my breasts and nipples had already become hard and erect from the scrutiny of his stare. He washed my arms, lifting them up and letting them rest above my head, the change in their position making my breast stand at firm, youthful attention.
The man let the cloth trail downward to my belly and continued to my mound with its light covering of soft, dark hair. He spread my thighs and with the moistened cloth washed between my legs, letting the warm water dribble over my swelling clit, running the cloth between my pussy lips and along the insides of my thighs. I moaned softly and began to squirm, unfamiliar with the vague sensations that he ignited. The man washed each leg before reluctantly covering my naked body with the blankets and a thick warm covering made of animal fur.
The man was right, I did feel better and was dozing off when I felt him climb into the bed next to me and press his naked body next to mine, giving me his warmth. Initially surprised, I tried to move away from him, but he let his arm encircle my waist and his long, leg rest on top of mine holding me in front of him. Still too weak to struggle, I relaxed in his embrace and finally slept without dreaming for the first time in a long time.
*****
Most nights I would fall asleep well before he came to bed and some nights I would have nightmares, my sleep filled with restless tossing and turning. If he became aware of my fitfulness, he would get into the bed and turn me gently onto my back, positioning my head on his shoulder. Stretching out next to me, he would softly, slowly rub the little pink nub between my legs until my body quivered with release, my agitation would calm, and I would snuggle in his arms and sleep. On a subconscious level, I don't think I was afraid of him and welcomed his affection, his touch and the safety of him being near.
As my strength began to return, I became more and more aware of how kind and caring he had been toward me.
"How are you feeling? Are you hungry?"
"You've been here almost a week, and I don't even know your name, I can't keep calling you Girl," he said.
"Elizabeth, Elizabeth Holloway," I told him.