For my father Roger Garlock Barker who told me stories of the prairies and his father and mother Guy and Cora Barker
1 THE CONDUCTOR WALKED down the swaying aisle of the passenger car He touched the back of each seat lightly as he moved along looking up at the ticket stubs in the holders on the luggage rack When he passed Sam and Pa’s seat he called out Curlew Next stop Curlew Alberta Sam was on his feet in a second reaching up for his satchel He had been sitting in that seat for three days ever since they had changed trains at Winnipeg Sam liked the train He liked the idea that while he was just sitting there even sleeping he was traveling over land he had never seen before But three days of sitting was enough No need to hurry son said Pa You know they call the stations a good ten minutes early But Sam was in no mood to wait He lugged his heavy satchel out onto the open platform at the end of the car He had spent a lot of time out here during the journey The air blowing across the platform always felt fresh even when it was mixed with smoke from the engine Sometimes the sound of the rumbling wheels and the screeching joints of the train was so loud that Sam could shout and no one heard him If he looked down he could see the rails snaking past and watch the coupling between the cars shift He leaned into the corner of the railing and watched the green-gold land slide past Since early morning the track had run along a range of low treeless hills but now the land had flattened out again
Sam sighed Even though Pa said the flat prairie was best for farming Sam secretly hoped Curlew would be set on the highest hill in eastern Alberta But the track ran on as straight and level as if it had been laid out by a giant with a yard stick Pa came through the door carrying his satchel and the big wooden toolbox and stood beside Sam He set the satchel down but kept a firm grip on the toolbox It was precious The tools had belonged to Great-grandfather Ferrier a famous woodworker Famous in the northwest corner of Iowa anyway where he had built dozens of schoolhouses and churches Back in Iowa Great-grandfather’s tools had hung on the wall of the workshop behind the house Each hammer bit and file had its proper place When the Ferriers decided to move to Canada Pa built a box with a special space for each tool Some of the biggest saws and the adze wouldn’t fit into the box They were back in the freight car so that Pa and Sam had with them all the tools they needed to build a house for the family Mama and Josie and Matt would come later in the summer when everything was ready for them The train slowed jerked and stopped There was a hiss of steam and a bell rang They had arrived at Curlew Sam jumped down from the train before the conductor had time to lower the steps In front of him was a small station building just like dozens of others they had passed on the journey Sam was not interested He wanted to see the town He set his satchel down beside Pa who was having a last chat with the conductor Then he walked to the far end of the station platform and looked at Curlew He saw one street with small wooden buildings straggling along it There was a church not nearly as fine as any Great-grandfather had built The street was dirt with deep ruts that must have been
made in mud time Along the edges boards had been laid to make a sidewalk just wide enough that two people could pass if they were careful At least one of the buildings was a store J T Pratt Dry Goods and Groceries was painted on its high flat front Beside it was a smaller building with lumber and coal stacked next to it There was not a single tree anywhere but some of the doorsteps had blue and yellow flowers blooming beside them Pa joined Sam at the edge of the platform I guess you can see all there is of Curlew from right here he said I guess so said Sam He couldn’t think of another word to say For some reason he had been sure that Curlew would be different from all the little prairie towns he had seen from the train Curlew would be more like Jericho Iowa where they had started their trip Jericho had trees and painted houses and wide wooden sidewalks Curlew looked as if it might disappear any minute swept away by the prairie wind But Pa took a deep breath of that wind and said New country That’s what it is new country In five years you won’t know this town People are coming from everywhere to this spot Pa loved meeting new people and talking to them It seemed to Sam that he had told everyone on the train about his plans My father left a good Iowa farm to my brother and me Pa would say But it just wasn’t big enough to support two families I’m the one with wanderfoot so I was glad to sell out to my brother and buy some of this newly opened-up land in Alberta Now we’re headed for a new life How about you Then he would listen to what the other person had to say Sam had heard a lot of stories on the train There were other
