Woman of Courage by Wanda E. Brunstetter Read Free Book Online Page A

before that. It had been two full days since Amanda had buried her guide along the trail, and from the time she had begun traveling by herself, she’d prayed for a miracle. Amanda had come to the conclusion that she had no other choice but to keep moving because so far no one had come along to help. It was either travel on, or sit and wait to die. She just hoped and prayed she was heading in the right direction.
    Amanda knew that the sun set in the west, so when the sun rose each morning, she traveled in the opposite direction. Of course, she had no idea how far it was to the Oregon Territory, or how she would know she was there, if and when she reached her destination. God willing, she would find a band of Nez Percé Indians along the trail. If she could communicate with them, they might show her the way.
    Why am I thinking such foolish thoughts?
Amanda berated herself.
I wouldn’t know a Nez Percé Indian from a Blackfoot, even if I rode into one of their camps. I cannot believe how unprepared I am for this trip
.
    She released her breath in a moan and forced her aching body to stand, stretching to get the kinks out. Her stomach rumbled, but she was in no mood for another breakfast of dried meat and biscuits. What she wouldn’t give for a decent meal, a nice hot bath, some clean clothes, and a soft bed. Nothing Amanda had imagined about making this trip had come close to what she’d experienced. The wilderness had taken Papa and Harvey, and short of a miracle, it could very well take her—if not due to some freak accident or Indian attack, then from lack of proper nourishment.
    Amanda’s thoughts went to the band of Blackfoot Indians who had confronted her and Harvey a few days ago. She had never been so frightened. Somehow she’d managed to conceal her fear, even though her heart had felt as if it were beating louder than thunder.
    How proud and stoic those Indians had stood. They had showed no real emotion, other than to glare at her and Harvey as if they were intruders, traveling through land the Indians thought was theirs. In a way, Amanda felt sympathetic toward the red men. After all, they were here first, but white people were encroaching on the land the Indians had previously shared with only God’s creatures.
    When they had first left Fort Laramie, Harvey had tried to explain that Indians were one with the land. They blended in with the nature surrounding them and respected Mother Earth. They were not constricted by material things many white people felt they couldn’t live without. Nowhere in this Indian territory had Amanda seen trash strewn about or the land and animals abused by anyone other than the white men who had already ventured through here. No forest had been cleared by the red men. The land seemed to be untouched, as if God had just created it.
    Amanda hadn’t missed the way the Blackfeet had eyed her. If they could have communicated, Amanda wondered what they would have said to her. She especially wished she’d known what they’d thought once her Bible had been revealed. At that moment, she’d known for certain that God was with her, for she could only imagine what might have happened if His Word hadn’t tumbled out of her valise.
    Amanda closed her eyes, lifted her gaze toward the rising sun, and whispered a prayer.
Dear God, please give me the strength and courage I need for this day. Be with me and calm my anxious heart as I continue this journey
.

    From the time she’d awakened, to the time she prepared for bed that night, Amanda had carried an uneasy feeling. Was it just her nerves, or was it the fact that she was all alone in a dense forest at the bottom of a steep trail?
    No, it is more than that
, she decided. There had been no evidence to cause her to believe so, but for some reason, she still felt as though she were being watched.
Perhaps it is God, watching over me. Oh, how I hope that is the case
.
    Tucking a blanket beneath her chin, Amanda held Papa’s Bible firmly to her