Sweetgrass: Book III

Book excerpt: It is May, 1863. The Battle of Fredericksburg is over; it was a disaster for the Union Army. Johnathan Traver, a Union Army Sergeant, is badly concussed, Esher Coley, his Warrior Companion and the man he loves, is grievously wounded, and their fellow soldier, Luther, who knows the healing ways of plants, has been shot in the face. Their situation is desperate. They must get to Kentucky where Luther's vast supply of medicinals offer their best chance to heal and be whole again. But how? The Union Army is evacuating and there are no extra wagons or horses. Johnathan makes getting to Kentucky his mission, and after many adventures on the road, he succeeds; they arrive at Luther's home to his grateful family, who all pitch in to restore their health. Johnathan and Esher's dream is to homestead on the Prairie in the Dakota Territory. Johnathan imagines the two of them traveling together, finding their land, and farming it. But that is not Esher's dream. Yes, he wants to farm with Johnathan, but he also wants children, a wife, and to travel by wagon train. When they leave Luther's for the Prairie, Johnathan is convinced there is no need for a wagon train, no need for a wife, and as for children, there have to be some orphans there that they will adopt. He has months to change Esher's mind as they journey north and west. They experience more adventures on the road, but Johnathan is unable to budge Esher from his conviction that it is too dangerous to travel alone. They join a wagon train. They begin the journey of their lives. It soon becomes evident that they are both right and wrong as a new test for their love arises from the dust of the wagon trail. Like all dreams, achieving them require hard work and enduring many bewildering dips and turns. Johnathan and Esher's dream is like any other: full of passion, confusion, and sometimes tears, but ultimately, their dream is a journey of love.