Spring 1866 Abigail POV January was cold and wet. It snowed four times that month. Dumping no less than three feet of snow each time. I was glad that the men had worked hard in the summer and fall to put up plenty of fire wood. By the end of the month, we had gone through almost half of the wood they had prepared. I knew that if the weather continued to be severe, we might have to ration or even go in search of more wood. And winter was no time to be drying wood for fires. Henry spent most of the month working on reports and making plans for our move to another part of the territory. He had received a dispatch indicating they were considering him for two different posts. The first was at Fort McCullongh. Part of me was hoping for that location because it meant that we would be only a few hours from Hannah and Jamie. While Henry agreed that would be a wonderful location, his feeling was that they were planning to send him to the other location, Camp Supply. It was much further north.

Hannah POV Jamie and I had just left our supply list with Mr. Perkins at the mercantile and were headed to Millie’s for lunch when I saw a rider coming into town. I pointed him out to Jamie, “Look, travelers coming.” As the horse drew near, I realized that the woman sitting in front of him was my friend, Abigail. But that man was not her Henry. He was too old. I gripped Jamie’s hand and said, “It’s Abigail and that is not her husband.” He whispered, “Okay, let’s not make a scene. Let’s see what we can find out.” We stood and watched as they rode closer. I was able to catch her eye and realized that she was terrified. I noticed as she barely shook her head at me, telling me not to say anything. The man slowed the horse and spoke to Jamie, “Good day. Can you tell me where I can get my wife a hot meal? We have been traveling and our

Abigail POV It was difficult to tell Henry all that Rossi had done to me. I knew that it wasn’t my fault. The man was vile and had no right to touch me. However, it didn’t stop the weird feelings that stirred in my mind. I knew Henry’s touch, it was strong, yet gentle and soft. Rossi’s was rough and cruel. Henry’s kisses were full of love, passion, and tenderness. Rossi’s were lustful and demanding. The retelling of it was difficult because I blamed myself. If I had gone straight back to the fort. Hell, if I had allowed Levi to go with me to the camp, none of this would have happened. Once I had cried out my lingering fear, resentment, frustration and anger towards Rossi, all that was left was the need for his justice. His violation had only gone so far, but the mental anguish of his assault would last for some time. As we spoke of his punishment, I found my stomach was unknotting itse

August 7, 1866 Abigail POV Here I am, sitting with my feet propped up, trying to stay cool in the August heat. I am miserable. And fat. I waddle when I walk, my back hurts. Whoever said being pregnant was a blessing, had never been pregnant in the territory in August. I am so ready for our little one to be born. So, here I sit with my glass of sweet tea, thank you Hannah, for introducing it to me. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m sitting here reflecting over the last few months since our arrival at Camp Supply. By the time Uncle Samuel had arrived with the lumber and building supplies, I was ready for an actual roof over my head. Sure, we had a bed in our tent, but it wasn’t the same as having four solid walls. Two thunderstorms had occurred while we were living in the tent. The wind howled and blew so much, that just about everything in our tent was wet by the end of the storm. I tried not t

May 1889 Abigail Henry resignation of his commission from the army couldn’t have happened at a better time. We were deeded our land with the assistance of his former commander, General Grant. After receiving the telegram from General Grant, Henry immediately sent another telegram informing General Grant of the location we wanted as our own. A parcel of land just ten miles west of Camp Supply, along the North Canadian River. General Grant responded, telling Henry that paperwork would be sent directly to Camp Supply by military courier. We waited impatiently for the paperwork to arrive. We only had so many months to get the house built, before his commission expired. After six weeks, the courier arrived. He had traveled by train as far as he could and then completed his journey on horseback. The dispatch from General Grant revealed documents of ownership of the land and a purchase receipt showing it was paid in full. Also included was a signed note from General Grant: Captain Heinri