By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder

4 stars

First Sentence: Laura was washing the dishes one morning when old Jack, lying in the sunshine on the doorstep, growled to tell her that someone was coming.

Thoughts: This is the Little House book that broke my nine-year old heart. The story begins with a description of all the hard times the Ingalls have gone through since we left them on the banks of Plum Creek outside Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The wheat crop has never lived up to Pa’s expectations, the family has had a bout of scarlet fever, and they’re in debt. But worse than all that is the sentence on page two that made me very upset: “the fever settled into Mary’s eyes and Mary was blind.” Then, in Chapter Two, the faithful bulldog Jack dies of old age. It is time to leave Minnesota!

Pa agrees, especially after Aunt Docia from the Big Woods comes by to ask him if he’d like a job workin’ for the railroad all the livelong day. Or, rather, working in the railroad company store keepin’ the books all the livelong day. They’ll pay him $100 a month and he’ll have a chance to get a homestead claim in Dakota Territory early before the rush starts. Ma’s not too thrilled about moving again, but $100 a month is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you consider that’s about $2800 a month in today’s money.

So Pa sells the farm and heads out west with Aunt Docia. After a month to let Mary recover from her illness, Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Baby Grace who showed up between books follow on the train. The girls are excited about their first train ride. It’s scary but also thrilling. We also find out why Laura’s descriptions got so good in the previous book: since Mary went blind Laura is in charge of “seeing out loud” for her.

Pa and Aunt Docia are waiting for them at the railroad camp, along with Docia’s new husband and her stepchildren Jean and Lena. Laura and Lena hit it off immediately, but they don’t have much time for riding around the prairie on Lena’s black ponies. They have to help with the housework, a neverending job in a dirt-floor shanty, and they have to keep away from the teamsters. Ma doesn’t want Laura around those rough men using rough language. Laura wants to see how the railroad is built, though, so one afternoon Pa takes her out to see the men grading the land for the tracks. Laura goes home and describes it all for her sisters who aren’t impressed.

Ma’s fears about the teamsters are confirmed when payday comes. The men don’t understand why they’re only being paid for the first two weeks of work when they’ve been on the job for a month. They gather around the company store and demand all of their money. Pa tries to explain travel time and accounting to them, but nothing doing. They want their money now and they’re willing to use rough language to get it. Pa continues to stand his ground until Big Jerry, a suspected horse thief and known gambler, shows up and distracts the men by telling them of a riot at another camp. The men follow Big Jerry for a night of hell-raisin’ and Pa comes home safe.

Then winter comes and the camp breaks up. The Ingalls get the opportunity to stay behind at the surveyors’ house which is fully stocked for winter. This gives Pa a chance to explore the country and find his homestead claim, which he does. He tries to go out to Brookings to file his claim at the beginning of the year, but the weather keeps him at home until it’s almost too late. When he does get to Brookings he finds out two other men want that particular claim and they’re willing to fight for it. Fortunately, an old friend shows up to help Pa get his land.

The third part of the book isn’t quite so exciting. More settlers show up and start building a town they name De Smet. Pa builds a storefront for rent money. Then he builds a claim shanty and the Ingalls make their last move. The most notable adventures are Grace getting lost in a field of violets and Laura’s first sight of Almanzo Wilder.

Forgot about him, did you? Well, he’s back along with his brother Royal. Royal’s going to start a store in town and Almanzo’s got his own homestead claim. The Morgan horses came with them, which is what catches Laura’s eye. The way to a woman’s heart is on the back of a beautiful horse.