Itching tree idaho, p.1
Itching Tree, Idaho, page 1
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER ONE
The town was named Itching Tree because, when the first settlers arrived, one of the trees was covered with both poison oak and poison ivy. Anyone who got near it would itch for days, even weeks. Only one out of several trees was contaminated. The people tried everything to rid it of the poison, but nothing seemed to work. Then one day, magically, almost six months later, the tree was clear of all signs of the poison. No one knows what happened. It seemed like a miracle had occurred overnight.
My uncle Justin sent me a letter asking me to come and visit with him in Itching Tree. He said he was a very successful potato farmer there, so after saying goodbye to everyone, twice, we were on our way to Idaho. It was going to be a long trip, but I was looking forward to traveling. I supposed I just wasn’t cut out to live in the city. I much preferred the open skies, with the stars shining down on me. In fact, as I looked up, I wondered how God could place each one of those twinkling stars right in its particular spot, exactly where He wanted them to be. Half Loaf began singing a Mexican ballad. I didn’t understand the words, but I had to admit, he had a very nice voice. Now to get him to learn some songs in English. I saw a couple of wild animals run out of sight, and I thought about Wolf. I sure did miss him. Wolf was our dog until we found he belonged to Mr. McClure in Clear Stone, who was blind. He and Wolf (or Butch, which was his real name) had been together for I think he said seven years. It had been hard for him to get around for the five months Butch wasn’t with him. It was a sad day for all of us when we left him behind. But, as I explained to Orville and Half Loaf, that’s what we do.
We help folks who are in trouble, and in that case, it was a dog that needed help. He was lost far from his home and owner, so we helped him and reunited the two of them. I said it was a sad day, and yes, it was sad that we were leaving a good friend behind, but it was a bittersweet sadness because, at the same time, we were happy to see a man and his dog together again.
I sure hoped Orville had stocked up with some good eats. I was getting a little bit hungry.
About an hour later, he asked, “Are you ready to stop for the night? We still got a little daylight?”
“I’m ready if you guys are,” I said. “My belly button is rubbing my backbone now. I sure hope you’ve got a good meal planned.”
“Okay,” said Orville. “Looks like a good spot right up there next to that thicket of trees.”
We maneuvered our way through the scrub brush and the cacti, and parked next to the thicket.
“I’ll gather fire wood if you’ll take care of my horse, Jed,” Half Loaf volunteered.
“And since your bellybutton is rubbing on your backbone,” said Orville. “I’ll go ahead and get a meal started if you’ll unhitch the wagon.”
“Sounds like you fellows have it all planned out so you don’t have to take care of your animals,” I said.
“It’s not that at all,” said Orville. “We’re just trying to do things in an organized manner.”
“Alright, forgive me if I don’t seem to want to be organized.” As soon as I unhooked the horses from the buckboard and had removed the saddles from the other two, there was a scent in the air that was very pleasing to me.
I stopped what I was doing and tried to locate where it was coming from. Orville already had something cooking that made my mouth water.
Just about then, he hollered, “Come and git it, it’s ready.” He had sliced some beef loin really thin, fried them, then made a gravy and mixed the two together. He also had something that Mr. Finigus had called dried potato flakes. He claimed all you had to do was mix about a cup full in boiling water, stir it, and magically you had mashed potatoes. Sure enough, they looked just like mashed potatoes. He had also cut thick slices from a loaf of bread, and there was a quart jar of butter sitting there to smooth over it. Right beside all that was Orville’s famous coffee, in the old, bent, but still useful, coffee pot. The smell was wreaking havoc on my stomach.
Orville handed each of us a tin plate with a spoon and said, “You’re both big enough and old enough to help yourselves.”
Maybe it was because I was so hungry, but that was one of the best meals I have eaten in a long time.
After the meal, when the dishes were cleaned and put away, Orville asked, “Half Loaf, you know any American songs?”
“Just a few that the padre’ taught me. I do not think you would like them, because I was very small when he taught me.”
“Why don’t you let us decide?” I said.
“Okay, here’s one:
Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to him belong
They are weak but He is strong.”
“That sounds very nice. See Orville, God loves all the little children, and He also loves you.”
“Alright fellows, I git the picture. Now I’m gonna git some shut eye. Good night, and it’s not nice for the two of you to gang up on me.”
I leaned back on my pallet and listened to the sounds of the night—crickets chirping, and what sounded like an owl off in the distance. A lonely coyote let the world know he was out there. For a second, everything got extremely quiet and still, like it does right before a storm.
CHAPTER TWO
“Did you guys hear that?” I asked.
“What, I didn’t hear nothing.” Said Orville.
“Neither did I.” said Half Loaf.
“Be very quiet and listen close,” I slushed them. “There it is again . . . sounds like a puppy or a baby.”
“How would a puppy or a baby get way out here?” asked Half Loaf.
“It could be a wild animal’s baby,” I said. “Let’s see if we can tell where it’s coming from?”
We all started moving toward the edge of the clearing where the forest began. As we got closer to the trees, we could hear the sound more clearly.
“That’s a baby alright,” said Orville.
“What’s a baby doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” asked Half Loaf.
“Let’s keep going,” I said. “And maybe we’ll find the answer.”
With the yellow and orange moon lighting the way, we made our way down a narrow path through the trees. At the end of it stood a little log cabin.
"Looks deserted, like nobody has lived in it for quite a spell," said Orville.
We pushed the door open and stepped inside. Beside the door was a kerosene lamp, so I took a match from my shirt pocket, lifted the globe, and lit the wick. The room was illuminated as I placed the globe back on the lamp. I looked around and could tell the place had been cleaned spotless.
“It sure looks different than the outside, doesn't it?” asked Half Loaf.
“Yes, I wonder if someone does live here after all. It sure looks like it,” I said.
In the far corner sat a little cradle. I tiptoed across the room, peered inside, and saw a little infant, maybe a couple months old.
“Where’s your mama, little one? Orville, Half Loaf, look around and see if there’s anything that we can feed him. If not, Orville go back to camp and scrounge up something for him to eat.”
“I kin make him a sugar teat.”
“What’s that?” asked Half Loaf.
“It’s a cloth with some sugar inside it,” explained Orville. “You fold it so you can put the corner filled with sugar in the baby’s mouth. The baby can suck on it, and it will quiet him down.”
“He’s going to have a hard time sucking on anything,” I said.
“Why’s that?” asked Half Loaf.
“He’s not a he,” I explained. “He’s a she.”
The kerosene lamp cast a yellow glow on the baby's face.
"Hey, look at that. Looks like her face is yellow,” said Orville. “I know what we can call her—Rose, you know, like the yellow rose of Texas."
"Sounds good to me," I said.
"Hello little Rose,” said Orville. “I think she likes it. Look, she's smiling."
"I don't think that's a smile, I think it's gas,” I said. “Yep, it's gas in a solid form. I think I'll let you change this one."
"Don't you think Half Loaf needs to learn this,” moaned Orville. “Just like he learned to shoot? We’ll consider it to be more of his schooling."
"I think I will go for a walk,” said Half Loaf. “See you back in camp," although he didn’t leave.
The unpleasant odor was overwhelming. I thought for a moment that I might throw up.
“Better bring some cloth to make into a diaper,” I said. “She needs changing.”
“On my way,” said Orville. “I’ll be right back.”
I rocked the cradle back and forth, but she kept crying. I picked her up and held her on my shoulder, but she kept crying.
“I thi
“Yes,” I said. “Why don’t you look around outside to see if you can find any trace of her mother? She can’t have gone very far.”
“Alright.”
Orville returned with the sugar teat and some cloth to use for diapers. I stuck the edge of the sugar teat into her mouth, and she stopped crying and started sucking vigorously. I laid her back in the cradle and proceeded to change her into a clean diaper. I thought I was doing pretty well for having never changed a diaper before.
“Here, let me do that,” said Orville as he pushed me aside. “You ain’t doing so good.”
I stepped aside and let Orville take over.
“Did you find any sign of her mama?” he asked.
“No, Half Loaf is looking outside now.”
Just then Half Loaf came back inside. “I found her, Jed. Maybe you better come take a look. She’s dead. Pretty torn up. Looks like coyotes got a hold of her.”
“Okay,” I said. “You go back to camp and bring a shovel. We’ll have to bury her so no more animals can get to her. Orville, you stay here with the baby, and we’ll take care of the burying.”
“Okay, but tell me when you’re ready to pray. I think the little one needs to say goodbye, then I’ll go back to camp.”
“Alright,” I told him.
Half Loaf came back with the shovel, and we went out to where the body was. He was right. The animals had done a pretty good job of destroying her.
“Let’s dig the grave right here, next to where she died,” I said.
“Why do you think she was out here instead of with her baby?” asked Half Loaf.
“No one will ever know the true reason. All we can do is guess, and we would probably be wrong. Now we need to see she that gets a decent burial, and then take care of her baby.”
We stacked rocks on the grave to discourage the animals from digging in it.
“Go back and tell Orville he can bring the baby out now,” I told him.
“How are three men going to take care of a baby?” he asked. “I sure don’t know anything about babies.”
“You keep forgetting who’s in charge of our lives. God will provide if we make ourselves available. God always sends the right people at the right time. We are the ones Rose needs right now.”
When Orville brought little Rose out, he said, “I took a look around the cabin while you was burying her mother. There's nothing here. No food, no clothes, nothing. It's like she was running from something or someone.”
“Well, her running is over now,” I said. “Let's gather up the cradle and little Rose, and go back to camp.”
When we got back to camp, Orville fixed a place for the cradle inside the wagon. “I put it right next to my pallet so’s I kin hear her when she cries. Say, maybe if I put some of these mashed potatoes in the sugar teat she could suck on that. It would be more nourishing than what she’s got now. In the morning I’ll fix up some broth for her.”
“That sounds real good. You make a really good mother,” I teased.
“Goodnight,” he huffed. “Let me have her and put her to bed.”
I handed her over to him then went back to the other side of the fire and lay down on my pallet, contemplating on the adventure we were stepping into. When you try to live for God, your life is never boring.
The next morning, I awoke to this awful screaming. Little Rose was upset about something.
“She won’t take her sugar teat this morning,” said Orville. “I’ve tried everything. I changed her, I washed her, I talked to her, and she won’t take it.”
“Did you make that broth you said you was going to make?” I asked.
“I’m making it now. It’s just about done.”
“Let me have her.” I took her and started walking, while humming and singing to her, then I rocked her back and forth in my arms. She quieted and whimpered a little, then her eyes closed, and I continued rocking back and forth.
“That sounds better,” said Orville. “Maybe you’d make a good mother too. This broth is ready when she is.”
“I’m sure not going to wake her now, when she just fell asleep.”
“As soon as we have breakfast, we need to get on the road and see if we can find a farm that has a cow. We might even be close to a town or settlement.”
As we traveled along, I sat in the back of the wagon, holding Rose and feeding her a little of the broth that Orville had cooked up. She did a real good job sucking the nourishment out of that sugar teat. She started looking like she was sleepy, so I laid her in the cradle, which was rocking back and forth with the movement of the wagon.
I jumped down and got back on Sugar. We made pretty good time, in spite of the fact that Rose stopped us a couple times. It seemed she liked to be carried and sung to.
CHAPTER THREE
On the fourth day after we found her, we saw a farm off to the East, so we headed for it. There was a lady in the front yard washing clothes in an old wooden wash tub. We stopped a little way out, not knowing if we’d be welcome or not.
I stepped down off Sugar, walked a little closer, and removed my hat. “Hello, ma’am. We was wondering if you might have a milk cow. You see, we got this little baby, and she lost her mother. She needs some milk real bad.”
“Land sakes. Bring her in the house. I got some fresh milk. Just collected it this morning. You say she ain’t got no ma?”
“That’s right, Ma’am. We found her in a little cabin a few days back. Her mother was dead. Animals had gotten her. Rose is just plain lucky that we came along when we did.”
“You say her name is Rose? That’s a mighty pretty name. Here, dab the corner of this rag into the milk and put it in her mouth. She’ll get the knack of it pretty quick.”
Rose started sucking and cooing, like she knew this was what she was supposed to be eating.
“If I might ask, Ma’am, where’s your husband?”
“He went over to Rascal Flats to sell a pig. He should be back before dark. Sure hope he sells it, we need the money bad. You fellows want some supper? It ain’t much. Just some beans and taters and cornbread.”
“Thank you, Ma’am, we’d be pleased to sit with you on one condition . . . ” said Orville.
“Yeah, what’s that?” she asked.
“That you let us provide the desert,” said Orville.
“My! That sounds wonderful. I ain’t had no desert since Thanksgiving, a year ago. Thank you so much.”
“It ain’t nothing, Ma’am.”
Orville went out to the wagon, and returned with a can of peaches and some butter and honey.
“It looks like a holiday meal,” she said. “You all sit down, and I’ll dish it up for you.”
We all sat at the table, and she placed plates filled with beans, taters, and cornbread in front of us. We all bowed our heads, and I asked God to bless this good woman, her house, and told Him how grateful we were for coming onto this farm that had milk for little Rose.
We had finished eating when we heard a wagon pulling up in the front yard.
“It’s Brandon. He’s my husband. He’ll be mighty proud to have visitors. We don’t get too many people way out here.”
Brandon came through the door in a hurry. “I saw the wagon and horses, and I didn’t know what to think. You alright, Wanda?”
“Yes, I’m fine. These gentlemen came by earlier asking for milk for a baby. Imagine that. A baby.”
“What’s that you say?” he said surprised. “A baby?”
“Yes,” said Wanda. “There she is over there in that cradle. Ain’t she the most beautiful thing you ever saw?”
“She’s something, okay,” he said. “Where you fellows headed for?”
“We’re on our way to Itching Tree, Idaho to visit my uncle.” I told him.
“Here, Brandon,” said Wanda. “Sit down and eat something, and let them tell you all about it.”
While he was eating, we filled him in on all the things that had occurred since we left Clear Stone.
“Why don’t you leave Rose in here with us,” said Wanda. “While you fellows bed down out in the barn?”
“If you don’t mind watching over her?” I said.
“I don’t mind at all, not one little bit,” she said.
“Alright, fellows, let’s go bed down in the barn. I reckon we’ll see you in the morning. Wanda, Brandon and of course Rose,” I said.
