Dreams of the Old West

By Doreen Milstead

Sent By God To The California Cowboy, is about a young woman in New York City who has fallen onto hard times after being released from the orphanage she’d been in for a majority of her life.

The Joyful Wife, The Drunken Cowboy & His Bitter Sister - A woman travels west to join her fiancé, a cowboy with a cranky sister who appears to be permanently bitter.

Finally Home In California – A man guides his family along the Oregon Trail to California, when their wagon decides to break off from the main wagon train in the family’s hunt for gold.

The First Female Cable Car Operator & Her Wealthy American - An upper class young woman in Quebec has a lifelong dream of being the first woman cable car operator in San Francisco; and when she meets a rich American at her debutante party, her dreams are quickly realized.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781365686177

Book preview

Dreams of the Old West

Dreams Of The Old West

By

Doreen Milstead

Copyright 2017 Susan Hart

ISBN #: 978-1-365-68617-7

Sent By God To The California Cowboy

Synopsis: Sent By God To The California Cowboy, is about a young woman in New York City who has fallen onto hard times after being released from the orphanage she’d been in for a majority of her life. Two kind women take her into a halfway house but there is reason for her to leave New York immediately. The only way the women feel they can keep her safe is to ship her off to California where their nephew, they tell her, needs a good housekeeper and cook for his ranch. When she meets Seth, she quickly learns that his understanding of the situation is very different.

Grizzly Flats, California, January 1875

Dear Seth,

How we wish you could have been with us for the Holidays, but never fear, I have included a little something with this letter. Please use it for yourself and know that we miss you and are praying for you everyday.

Your last letter sounded so bleak. What you need is a good woman. Find yourself a nice girl, settle down and have some children. The laughter of little children always cheers me up.

Virginia and I attended Sarah and Peter’s wedding last Saturday. It was beautiful and Reverend Michael performed the ceremony. He says to tell you ‘Hello.’ We are both so proud of Sarah and how she has been able to turn her life around. Peter is definitely a man of God and has been instrumental in helping her overcome her troubles and shortcomings.

We will continue to pray that God sends the right partner to help you share your life with. I may have never married, but I remember the comfort and happiness I felt when Paul was still alive. Nothing replaces the loneliness like a godly helpmate. Don’t give up hope. She’s out there.

We love you and miss you. Here’s a verse to help you remember the better days are coming – Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Martha and Virginia

New York City, Early February 1875

Martha, you have another letter from that nephew of yours, Seth.

Well, don’t just stand there in the doorway, bring it in, and close the door. It’s colder today than yesterday, I do believe. Martha Langston placed her knitting in the bag beside her chair and patiently waited for Virginia Stewart to close the front door.

She wrapped her sweater around herself and rubbed her hands as the cool winter air invaded the warmth of the sitting room.

I am so ready for spring to arrive. My arm has ached for days now. Virginia handed the day’s mail over to Martha and absently rubbed her left arm. As a child, she had fallen out of the tree in her parents’ front yard and broken her arm just above the elbow.

Whenever an impending storm approached, it would ache something fierce. It had been achy for the last two days and Virginia was sure that by morning the walks would be covered up with snow again.

Virginia and Martha had been best friends growing up together in the suburbs of New York City. Currently unmarried and in their late fifties now, they had lived together as roommates ever since Virginia’s husband had passed away ten years past.

They shared the house left to Martha upon her parents’ passing and operated a halfway house for women who needed a little help, a lot of love and the guidance of a higher power. Martha’s father had been a very successful surgeon and had accumulated quite a bit of wealth while living.

As Martha was his only surviving child, his entire estate had been left to her at the time of his death; her mother, and siblings having passed away before her father.

Martha and Virginia had taken it upon themselves to use that wealth for the betterment of society. Martha had never married, although she had been engaged to a brilliant young man while in her twenties. He had been bitten by the gold bug and headed to California to get rich. Martha had remained in New York City, waiting for him to make something of himself and send for her.

Instead of a letter containing railway passage, she had received a telegram notifying her of his untimely demise at the hands of robbers. Martha had truly believed he was her soul mate and had adopted the life of a spinster since receiving news of his death.

Shortly after that, she had been notified of her sister’s death and had become the legal guardian of her nephew, Seth Brownley. At the age of twelve, Seth had been devastated by his parents’ deaths, but had adjusted well to city life and the loving care of his aunt and her friends.

At the age of nineteen, Seth had seen an advertisement recruiting law officers for the State of California. Not knowing what else to do with his life, he had sent a letter of interest and two weeks later, had left on a train bound for the ‘gold-fevered’ areas of California.

It had been eight years since he had made his way to California and he had written his aunt faithfully every other week since that time. Lately, his letters had been sounding as if he was very lonely.

Martha wished she was in good enough health to make the journey to California and cheer him up, but knew that would most likely end in disaster. She and Virginia had made Seth the focus of their evening prayers for months and she hoped that his latest letter showed some progress on God’s part.

Opening the letter, she began to read aloud so that Virginia could hear as well –

Aunt Martha and Miss Virginia,

I hope this letter finds you all enjoying good health and some warmer weather. Your last letter sounded very cold and snowy – something we don’t get much of here.

Things here are moving along as normal. The preacher that was coming up from Placerville once a month has decided to retire. Don’t know when or if they’ll be able to find a replacement for him. Guess it’s not that big of a loss around here, Grizzly Flats only has two hundred residents currently, and only five of them are female.

The male population around here is more interested in striking it rich, drinking their sorrows away, or visiting various establishments in Placerville that offer female companionship.

Your suggestion that I find myself a good woman and settle down sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, we seem to be having a severe drought of available women in these parts. Of the five women currently living in Grizzly Flats, three of them are grandmotherly and the other two are married.

Too bad you can’t just bundle one up from the city and send her out her to me. I sure do like the thought of a loving wife and some little ones running under foot.

Oh well, I know the good Lord has a plan for my life; I guess it just doesn’t include someone to share it with right now. Please don’t stop praying for me in that area, I know you both are diligent in remembering me in your prayers.

I congratulate you both on your latest success story. Sarah was lucky to have you both rescue her from the local prison. Please tell Peter that I wish him and Sarah the best and congratulate them for me on their recent marriage.

That’s all I have for now. I miss you both. Give my best to Reverend Michael when you see him next.

Thanks for the verse. I will keep it in mind.

Seth

After Martha finished reading, it was quiet for several minutes as both women pondered its contents. As a log settled in the hearth, Martha folded the letter, placing it back inside the envelope in which it had arrived. Setting the letter on the side table, she looked at Virginia and said, Well, that is not the response I was hoping to receive from our last letter.

Certainly not! I was so hoping he would meet a nice girl and be able to settle down. It doesn’t sound like there are any nice girls to meet. It really is too bad.

What’s too bad?

That we can’t just pick a wife out for Seth and mail her to him in California.

Martha looked at Virginia for several moments as her mind raced with the possibilities. Why couldn’t they pick out a nice girl for Seth and send her out to meet him? Why, any girl would be lucky to have her nephew as a husband.

He was a sheriff, good looking, and had good manners too. He’d also been raised in the Word and was a fine example of a Christian man. He didn’t drink, smoke, gamble, or seek entertainment from loose women.

She would definitely have to give this idea some serious thought.

Well, we will just have to pray that God sends him a wife. Maybe a new family will move to Grizzly Flats with an older daughter. That might work. Virginia offered the suggestion with a question in her voice. Silently, she was thinking that any family with a nice daughter who chose to move their family to Grizzly Flats should be shot.

Ginny, the chances of that happening are probably slim and nothing. God might need a little help on this one. I’ll have to give it some more thought and we’ll let the prayer group add it to their list as well. Martha had organized a prayer group at St. Matthew’s years ago and to their credit, the group had helped over a dozen men and women find their spouse.

They prayed for the sick and those with other problems, but their specialty was seeking God’s guidance for the lonely and practicing the art of matchmaking. God certainly had blessed their efforts; seven years later and all the matches they had helped forge were still going strong and had resulted in stable families.

As Martha thought fondly of the past couples they had been able to help, an urgent knock sounded at the front door. Glancing at the clock in the foyer, she saw that it was just a little past 3 o’clock. As she headed to answer the door, she tried to remember if she had forgotten an appointment for this afternoon.

Opening the door, she was greeted by the not-so-smiling face of Officer Shanahan. Officer Shanahan was a New York City police officer, and had worked closely with Martha and Virginia in the past several years, helping to identify and rescue the lost women of the city.

The fact that he was standing on the ladies doorstep was very unusual; normal protocol would have had him sending for them by courier. It must be urgent for him to come himself.

Officer Shanahan, come in, come in. What can we help you with today? Martha stepped away from the door, and after Officer Shanahan stepped inside, she quickly closed the door to keep the warm air in.

Virginia had risen at the knock and now stood just inside the foyer. Officer Shanahan, how is everything down at the station today?

Well, ladies, that’s why I’m here. Could we maybe sit and talk for a few minutes? I would have sent the courier, but this matter couldn’t wait.

Martha and Virginia looked at each other, they had both picked up on the urgency in Officer Shanahan’s voice and knew the situation must be nearing desperation; he was usually very calm and in control.

Please, come in and warm yourself up by the fire while you tell us what brings you here this afternoon. Martha gestured towards the sitting room and the nicely burning fire.

Thank you. I’m terribly sorry to bother you on such short notice, but they brought in a young woman…a young girl…I’m not even sure how old she is. She told us she was twenty-three, but I just have a gut feeling that she’s much younger than that.

Why did they bring her in? Virginia thought that even twenty-three was somewhat young for getting one’s self arrested.

"They found her wandering in Central Park earlier this morning. She was obviously very drunk, her clothing was torn, and hanging off her and she looks like somebody worked her over good.

Her right eye is almost swollen shut, her lip is cut open, and she has several long scratches on her arms and neck.

Martha and Virginia looked at each other, mouths open; aghast at the description they had just been given. They were constantly amazed at how human beings could treat one another.

Has the doctor taken a look at her yet?

Yeah, she’s not going to require stitches and according to the doctor, she was only beaten up. No other abuse seems to have occurred this time. Officer Shanahan had worked for the New York City Police Department for the last fifteen years.

He’d seen numerous women come through his precinct, and most of them became regular visitors before they turned thirty.

The city was unkind to single, unmarried women who flocked to its streets in hopes of finding Mr. Wonderful or a career on the stage. For many, going back home was not an option so they stayed, and when they were unable to find work they turned to the age-old profession of selling themselves. It was unusual for him to find girls so young in his jail, and when he had first spoken to this young girl, he had felt the urging of the Holy Spirit telling him