By the Shores of Silver Lake Book Discussion - Silver Lake

Before the sun rose the next morning Laura was down by the shallow well near Silver Lake. The lake laid like a sheet of silver amongst all the tall wild grasses. The waterfowl beginning to squawk as the sun rose over the eastern edge. Laura pulled the pail up from the well and hurried with it back to the shanty.

Their new shanty stood alone on the shore of the lake. It was just south of the cluster of grader shanties. Ma was waiting for Laura when she had returned. "You should have seen the sunrise," Laura exclaimed as she quickly began helping her Ma with breakfast. She knew she should have rushed along; they had a busy day ahead of them. That morning they aired out cousin Louisa's beds and then stuffed Ma's ticking mattresses with fresh clean hay. Ma purchased yards of calico and made curtains for the windows. She then made a larger curtain and hung it between the beds, creating separate bedrooms for the girls and them. When Pa came to dinner he was very pleased with their efforts.

After dinner Laura made it known that she wanted to go for a walk to look at the camp. Observing Ma's disapproval, Pa warned the girls not to go near where the men were working and told them they had to be back home before the men came in for the night. Pa said there were some rough looking men who used rough language. Everybody but Laura seemed frightened by this; for once she would have liked to have heard some of that language.

On their walk Laura, Mary and Carrie strolled along the shoreline of the silver water toward the wild Big Slough. Thousands of wild ducks, geese, herons, cranes and pelicans were heard all around them feeding and nesting in the tall grasses. Pushing further into the Big Slough their bare feet sank slowly into ooze. The soft cool muck sucked around their ankles and little ponds glimmered amongst the tall grasses. Laura wanted to go further but Mary and Carrie wanted to retreat back to higher prairie ground. "Oh what a wild beautiful prairie," Mary sighed.

It would be late afternoon when they returned back to the shanty. They could see the whole camp scattered along the lake shore just north of where they were. Then for the first time Laura saw a house. They would ask Pa about it and find out who lived there. The railroad men were making a racket as they returned to camp from their work and flocks of ducks and geese were coming down from the sky to sleep for the night on Silver Lake. Ma stood in the doorway watching for them.


Synopsis provided by Lorrie

By the Shores of Silver Lake Book Discussion - The West Begins

Early the next morning they climbed back into the still loaded wagon. "See you at Silver Lake," Lena called out to Laura. She and her family would be along soon; that was as soon as Uncle Hi settled his business. Once again Laura began to see out loud for Mary. She described the road winding down to the Big Sioux River; there was nothing but big sky and grassy land. The river was dried up and trickled along from pool to pool. It was enough for the horses to drink from though. In Laura's words to Mary, "the road pushes against the grassy land and then it ends." For beyond the Big Sioux there were no more fields, no houses and no people. There really wasn't a road either, only a dim wagon trail. There was also no more railroad grade; but as Pa called them, there were surveyor stakes for the railroad grade that was not yet started.

All morning as Pa drove, they seemed so small against the vast wide open prairie. When the sun finally reached overhead they stopped to feed the horses and themselves. This prairie felt different. It was enormous and very, very still. Pa talked about his new job and of his excitement about being one of the first settlers and having his pick of the land.

Soon the sun was lowering in the west and they were about ten miles from Silver Lake. Glancing backward they noticed a rider closing in on them. Pa slapped the horses with the lines to hurry them along. Laura looked back again and spotted a second rider on a white horse. This rider overtook the first one as they approached the Ingalls' wagon. "Everythings all right now," Pa said. "That's big Jerry, he wouldn't let anbody hurt us." The riders soon came up beside the wagon and Pa greeted each of them. "Hullo Ingalls," Big Jerry answered. The other man just snarled as he rode on by. Soon after Jerry galloped off behind him. Pa assured them that Jerry would make sure they made it into camp safely.

Wild ducks and geese were honking as they settled down for the night on the lakes ahead. There was Silver Lake and the twin lakes Henry and Thompson. The dark blob between them Pa pointed out was a huge cottonwood tree. "We will get some seeds from it and plant them on our homestead," Pa said. They traveled the last eight miles in the dark aiming for the lights from the shanties in the distance.

When they finally reached the shanty with the lights on, Uncle Henry greeted them in the doorway. Pa surprised Ma and kept it a secret that Henry was there. Cousin Charles, now all grown up, had helped everybody down from the wagon. Charles was not that little boy anymore who always caused trouble and got chased by those bees back in Wisconsin. Cousin Louisa came outside and hustled everybody into the shanty for a warm meal. After they ate, Uncle Henry escorted them to a new shanty the men had built for Pa. In the shanty there was a bunk on one side for Pa and Ma, and on the other side there were two narrow bunks, one on top of the other for the girls. Louisa had seen to it that the bunks were already made. In no time at all Laura and Mary were cuddled on the fresh hay mattress with the sheets and quilts drawn up to their noses. Pa then blew out the lantern.


Synopsis provided by Lorrie

By the Shores of Silver Lake Book Discussion - The Black Ponies

The girls awoke to sunshine coming through their canvas tent. "Hurry up, we're going for the washing," laughed Lena. They didn't need to dress since they hadn't undressed the night before. Breakfast was jolly. Aunt Docia had made pancakes and afterwards there was a huge stack of dishes to be washed, but nothing like Lena was used to. Most days she and her ma would be busy cooking and cleaning, three times a day for forty-six men. This was why they hired out the laundry work.

After their chores were done, Laura helped Lena harness the buggy to the black ponies and the girls took off. It was within minutes that Lena had them running. Faster and faster the ponies flew while the girls laughed and sang. They knew they were safe for there was nothing out there but wild grass to run into. After a while Lena slowed the ponies down to let them breathe, but it wouldn't be long before they wanted to bolt again. Lena promised Laura she could drive them on the way home.

They arrived at the claim shanty and the homesteader's wife came out carrying their basket of clothing. She apologized for her unkempt appearance. Her daughter Lizzie had just gotten married the day before. Lena and Laura couldn't believe it. Lizzie was only thirteen; she was their age. Both girls told each other it would be quite some time before either of them got married. They weren't ready to settle down and they were having way too much playing around.

As promised, on the trip home Laura did get to drive the ponies. She too had them running in no time. When they finally stopped to unhitch the horses, it was then they discovered the top layers of clothing from the basket ended up on the buggy floor under the seats. They quickly straighted out the basket and brought it into the shanty.

After they ate their dinner and finished the dishes they ran back out to the ponies. Jean and Lena rode them bareback, hanging tightly to their manes for balance. Lena then persuaded Laura to climb aboard Jean's pony. With Lena's help Laura mounted the pony before the horse bolted. She hung on to the mane for dear life. An afternoon of scratched up legs, a bloody nose from the pony's head hitting her and falling off twice; Laura had a wonderful afternoon. When Aunt Docia finally called them in for supper, Ma looked at Laura in shocked amazement. She looked like a wild indian. Her hair was no longer pulled back in tight braids, but flowing wildly about her face. She and Lena made quite the pair. It had been a long time since Lena got an afternoon to do as she liked.


Synopsis provided by Lorrie

By the Shores of Silver Lake Book Discussion - Railroad Camp

Early that next morning they were all in the wagon heading west. Grace sat between Ma and Pa on the spring seat and Carrie and Laura sat with Mary between them on a board laid across the wagon's box. They traveled without the wagon's canvas. During their journey Pa told them that Uncle Hi had finished his contract and was moving to a new camp further west and most of the men in camp had already cleared out. In a couple of day's Pa told Ma, they too would be moving on. He would find a claim for them further west.

Laura did not find much to see out loud for Mary because there was nothing to see but empty prairie. The jolt and jiggles of the wagon came up through the hard board on which they sat. The girls didn't complain but were grateful when Pa finally stopped the wagon to feed the horses and themselves some lunch.

The afternoon was longer than the morning and darkness soon overcame them. Everybody was getting tired but the jolts of the wagon didn't allow for much comfort for sleep. Finally, in the distance Pa spotted the light in one of the shanty windows. Aunt Docia and her children greeted them upon their arrival. With a little nudging from Aunt Docia, cousins Lena and Jean greeted the girls. Laura liked Lena; they were very close in age. Lena told Laura bout her two black ponies and asked her if she would like to go riding. Tired from her journey Laura was finding it hard to stay awake. Of course she would love to go riding but she would have to get that approved by Ma first. Soon they all sat down to a hot supper and that evening the men slept in the bunkhouse while Laura and Lena slept outdoors in a tent. As soon as Laura laid down on the blanket she was sound asleep.


Synopsis provided by Lorrie

By the Shores of Silver Lake Book Discussion - End of the Rails

When the train pulled into the depot Pa wasn't there. The brakeman offered to take Ma and the girls to the hotel as soon as he unfastened the engine. It seems he was heading there himself. The girls stood bewildered as they watched the steel rails under the engine slowly turn in a circle. Laura was so amazed she couldn't tell Mary. The unhooked engine then passed the remaining train cars and then backed up to be connected to what was previously the last train car. The entire train was now ready to head back east. The brakeman laughed at them in a friendly way and told them "that's the turntable, at the end of the rails something has to turn the train back around".

Finally after all the rail cars were unloaded, Ma and the girls were followed by the men that worked the rails. Once they spotted the girls though they cleaned up their salty language. They had to hurry along because they had just heard the dinner bell chime.

The man who rang the chimes told Ma he had plenty of room for her and the girls. He then allowed them to wash up in a small room next to the dining area. After scrubbing the dusty soot from their hands and faces, they joined the men in the dining room. They were left spots at the end of the table so they could all sit together. There was all kinds of food and every platter was covered by a wire screen to keep the flies off and at each table setting was a slice of pie. Everyone was very kind and passed each platter around for the offering. There was so much food to eat, but the excitement took away the girls' appitite. The dinner cost them twenty five cents.

After they finished their meal, the young girl clearing the tables offered them the parlor where they could sit and wait for Pa. Ma sat in the rocker with Grace on her lap. Carrie took the chair near Ma and Laura and Mary sat on the couch. The girls were told to be quiet and still, so Grace could take her afternoon nap. Carrie and Ma dozed off for a spell themselves. It was a long afternoon before Laura finally spotted Pa's wagon.


Synopsis provided by Lorrie