It Happened in the Meadow: Love's Adventure

By P.D. Griffis

It Happened in the Meadow is a love adventure happening in the late 1800s where two young folks found each other, fell in love, and began the adventure of getting married. This becomes their life story filled with discoveries and the needed protection of life. Come and join that adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891124080

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

1: It Happened in the Meadow

2: The Old Mine

3: The Exciting Discovery

4: My Helper Comes

5: The Cutting Begins

6: A New Discovery and the Process Begins

7: Building the Upper Structure

8: Mary's Escape

9: The Rock Pile

10: The Cliff of Clay

11: The Fireplace Starts Upward

12: A Vision Given

13: The Raising

14: Putting on Its Top

15: The Saving of a Life

16: It Is Beginning to Take Shape

17: Hiding under the Tree

18: What's Next?

19: The Adventure Continues

20: The Wolf Adventure

21: A More Secure Bonding

22: We Made a Way

23: The Wagons Are Coming

24: Another Adventure Is Coming

25: Securing Tomorrow

26: John Went Back to the Settlement

27: Securing the Mine

28: An Understanding Established

29: The Bell Rings

30: Water Flows

31: The Wedding Day

About the Author

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It Happened in the Meadow

Love's Adventure

P.D. Griffis

ISBN 979-8-89112-407-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89112-408-0 (Digital)

Copyright © 2024 P.D. Griffis

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

To my wife, Ann, who has been my loving support for fifty-six years; and to Lee and Sue Salyers, whose support made this book come alive.

Two foundation scriptures Zacharias Johnson stood on while establishing the meadow home:

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust."

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, Your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up.

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation. (Psalm 91)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. (Psalm 32:8 NKJV)

1

It Happened in the Meadow

I stepped out of my one-room cabin to take a look at how the snow was melting. I had been hearing the wind blow for several days now, which is called the Chinook, and the warmth of it would begin the melting of all the snow that had accumulated on the mountain. It was on this spot where I had set up my camp and built my one-room log cabin where I had the best chance of trapping. I was amazed at how much the snow had melted during that night, but it seemed to me that it would take two more days or so of melting to allow me and Shadow to start down the mountain with my load of furs.

Sure enough, three days later, I loaded Shadow up with the furs; and we started down the mountain toward the little settlement that I had left late last summer. As I started down toward the flatland, I looked for and found the tree that I had notched on my way up, knowing that I had done this to several trees all along the path down. These were trees notched to show me the way down from where my camp was setting.

I was very thankful for the advice that an older mountain man had given me. He said, On the way up the mountain, make sure you notch the trees going up that will establish the path that you will follow to get back down to flat ground.

It would take me three days to get down, not because of the distance, although it was several miles down to the flatland, but because I had to make sure to zigzag on the way down so we would not fall and break something. Halfway into that first day, I realized that I needed a pole to probe certain areas covered with snow, making sure that there wasn't empty ground under them. This was so that I could be sure of solid ground so that we would not stumble and fall and possibly break a leg, so I looked for and cut one that was about ten feet tall.

It was very slow going at times because there were times that I had to go ahead of Shadow with my homemade shovel and clear snow from the path that we were taking. I also had to make sure that we had a lean-to for the night so that we would be secure from the elements, as well as any wild animal that would want to attack us, and all this took time and energy.

During my descent on the second day, we came across a meadow that I had not recognized on the way up, and I thought to myself, This would be a special place to build a home. After we passed by that area, I thought very little about it at that time because I was more concerned about getting down the mountain than anything else. By the end of the second day, the snow was getting less and less, which made it easier to make our way down out of the mountain. By the end of the third day, we were down, and was I ever glad that part of the journey was over!

Oh, by the way, my name is Zacharias Johnston, and I'm about to tell you the story of a great adventure that I was privileged to live. I will tell you a story that takes place in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado many years ago, but right now, I was thankful to be out of the mountains once again. Last winter was one of the worst ones that I had ever experienced because a lot of snow had come, and it had gotten very cold, and I nearly froze. However, the trapping was good, but because of the snow, there were many times that I had to dig out around the traps to get down to where the animal traps were, and to do that, I made a homemade shovel that helped me to dig down to the traps.

I was very thankful for the snowshoes that I had purchased before coming up the mountain, for they allowed me to walk across the snow without sinking down in it. On one special day, there was a deer that had gotten caught in one of my traps, and I was able to not only skin it but also harvest it for the food that I would need because I was getting very hungry. This meat was going to help me to make it through to springtime; what a timely trapping!

I am so thankful that I had gone up early enough late last summer so that I could build my one-room cabin and make it secure for the coming winter. I also added on another small room with a door on it so that Shadow, the mule, would be secure. I had connected the little room to the side of the cabin where the fireplace was so that heat could fill the little room and keep Shadow alive in the severe cold.

In order for Shadow to be fed, I had to uncover weeds and grass so that he could have the food that he needed every day, and I was so grateful for my shovel. My days were filled from morning to night, and I was very thankful when night came so that I could get some sleep because it would start all over again the next morning.

There was one day that I remember realizing that I was running low on wood to burn, so I put on my snowshoes and picked up the ropes to my sled and headed out looking for some timber to burn. As I was going down a long hill, I almost slipped and fell, but thankfully, I slid upright and didn't fall when I stopped sliding. I looked up and just ahead of me was the wood that I was looking for. What an amazing find just at the bottom of that hill!

It was very cold that day, but when I began to cut the wood, I began to warm up. I stacked the wood on the skid that I had made, put the straps around my shoulders and headed back to the cabin around that hill. By the time that I got back to the cabin, I had used up all the rest of my energy just to make it back, but I made it, and was I ever glad to see that cabin.

The next day, I made sure that the door on the little room was secure because that was where I was storing my furs, and I didn't want to have wild animals smelling them and coming around, trying to get at them. These furs would also give some warmth to Shadow. I was so thankful that I had talked to an older mountain man and learned some of these tricks from him. I am also thankful for the clothing that I had secured before climbing up here, for they kept me warm during those extremely cold and windy days that seemed to never end…but they did end, and I am on the way down alive and well!

After getting down from the mountain, I began walking toward the village, and finally, I came to the hill overlooking the village, and boy was I ever glad to see that hill! There she lay right before me! When I had left the settlement months ago, it was a small settlement just trying to survive, but as I descended the hill down into the valley where the settlement lay, I was immediately surprised at the size of the settlement, for it had doubled in size.

I continued my descent into the village, and as I got closer to it, I heard strange music coming from the area that was behind the general store. I headed that way, and when I turned the corner of the store building, I saw portable sidewalls put up with a canvas roof over the top. On the inside I could see benches laid out in rows with what looked like a stage up front. To my amazement, up on the stage was a gentleman playing strange music that I had never heard before on an upright piano. I stood there and listened, enjoying what I heard for quite a while. I had not heard anything like this and was intrigued by it.

I then turned around and headed back to the front of the store and went inside. As my eyes adjusted to the change that was inside the store, I saw her standing behind the counter. I immediately thought, This is probably the most beautiful young lady that I have ever seen! Then I thought, Have I seen her before? Maybe I did last summer?

Slowly I walked up to the counter and said to her, I've just come down from the mountain, and I would like to trade my furs in. Can you help me?

She smiled and said, I would be very glad to help you take care of that, Zacharias.

I took a step back and said, Do I know you?

She laughed and said, "Yes, we knew each other last summer. You don't you remember me? I'm little Mary.

I gasped and said, Boy have you ever grown!

She stepped out from around the corner of the counter and very gracefully walked to the front of the store where I had deposited my furs on the front porch. Without hesitation, she knelt down and began to go through my furs, separating them and putting them into the correct piles needed to establish exactly how much money my furs were worth. In her right hand was a notepad that she used to take notes about the furs she was sorting. The sorting took some time, so I sat down on the bench that was on the porch and just watched her work.

As I watched her work, I began to wonder to myself, This is the little Mary that I had known last summer and had not given too much attention to. She had somehow grown up to be this young lady, no longer a child but a young woman. I began to realize as I watched her