Abandoned - Westward Ho - part 4 - Fort Rapids - Story 28

[Abandoned]

Intro


This is the 28th story in the Smallville series and is a continuation of the Westward Ho journey that began in story 25 in the Outskirts of Smallville.  The wagons left Outskirts and headed west in year 45 SVT.  The wagon train carries 6 families plus the wagon master and his family (Domington and Doree and their 3 boys, Linwoodrow, Lion, and Greggie).  They traveled through forested valleys and over steep hills and spent over a year at the Rest Stop of story 26.  They traveled on, crossing the vast prairie, when 2 families left the train and headed north instead.  They established the town of Prairie Homestead.  The remainder of the wagon train continued west.  This is their story.  Note: Both towns, Prairie Homestead and Fort Rapids were settle at the same time, approximately year 48 SVT, and both stories were being told to you, weary traveler, in year 52.


The map seed is  # 696076819       Prairie terrain,  Small,  Mild,  Disasters Off,  Prairie Circle Start


Mods activated for this map and load order are:


Map Changing and Starting Mods:  Call of Nature Soundtrack, Banished UI Maps & UI Town Names, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, cc Light Rain, Maritimes Riffle

Tweak Mods:    Better Fields, Hunting and Gathering v3, Hunting Season,  Increased CC, 1:1 alternative

Major or Must Have Mods:  An Empty Square, Nomad Sign Complete, Kid Plimoth Harmonized, Kid Westward Ho, Kid Wooden Fort, KidWorkplace, Training Camp Deco, Training Camp Main

Supporting Mods:    Campfire, Deco Sunflower, EB Farm & Log Houses, EB Hostel, Fly Fishing, Kid Washing Mod, Small Tipi, Smoking Shed, Storage Crates, Tiny Chopper.



Yes, weary traveler, your spouse was heartbroken over your disappearance and devastated to find you had not returned to the wagon train.  Knowing how much you wanted a new life in the west for your children, your spouse decided to fulfill your wishes and continue the journey west.  We continued west and, as you know, 2 families left the wagon train and headed north.  The remaining 4 families continued west with us until we came to a river we could not cross.   It was flowing swiftly and was full of treacherous rapids.  We circled the wagons and made camp while trying to decide what to do.  Scouts went north and south, there was no place to cross. 


 We were not camped there long before 2 men on horseback arrived.  They were soldiers sent to the area to help rescue displaced flood victims and help protect others in the area.  They planned to build a fort. There had been some trouble with the Native people over their hunting grounds and the killing of the buffalo herds by settlers.  More soldiers, some with families, would arrive soon.  The 2 soldiers offered us a deal after we told them of your disappearance.  If we agreed to remain here and help build a fort, they would search for you and then help us cross the river safely.  We agreed and began building Fort Rapids, and needless to say we were all overjoyed that the soldiers found you and returned you to us safe and sound.  I know you want to hear everything that has happened here in the last 3 and a half years while you were gone.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 1


  As you know, weary traveler, we left Rest Stop in early summer. We arrived here at the end of summer and, as I already told you, when we arrived at this river we knew we would not be able to cross it.  The river was deep, the current was very swift, and there were large rocks just below the surface.  Whole trees were being swept down river. 

  We had to clear away stone, thatch, and even logs before we could circled the wagons and make camp.  One of the men began unhitching the oxen, while one scout went down stream and another up.  There were only 4 families including  what remained of your family, and of course Dom, myself, and our 3 boys.  We got water from the small stream and did some wash and built a campfire.  We did some hunting and gathering  while we waited for the scouts to return.

  The news was not good.  There was nowhere to cross, there was nothing but rapids both down river and up.  The scout who went up river saw 3 tipis on this side of the river, no doubt belonging to Native people of this land.  He saw no one around the tipis.  A decision would have to be made soon, do we go north or south or do we turn back?  The animal were rested, we would need to repair a few cracked wagon wheels  and replenish our supplies before we went anywhere.  We arrived here with 30 iron tools and 30 hide coats, 300 firewood and 600 each of roots and mushrooms.  Replenishing supplies gave us a little time to decide.

  The two soldiers arrived on horseback and we talked for quite a while.  Up river there were more rapids and the town of Meadowbrook, much farther north was a mining town.  This land was part of the Native peoples' summer hunting grounds.   The tipis our scout saw belonged to a small hunting party. They would not give us any trouble, they would be gone soon.  To the southwest was the Native settlement of Cedar Creek and much further south down this river was the Refugee Camp.  The soldiers were scouting this area looking for more of the displaced refugees, and more soldiers were coming to join them.  They would look for you as well, weary traveler, and with the other soldiers' help they would get us safely across the river.  There were mountains to cross on the other side and yes, gold had been found there in the past.  We agreed to help build the fort.

  Since we would be staying here for some time we gathered more wild foods and deadwood. We spent a lot of time by the campfire that winter.  We also put up 2 forester tents, we would need a lot of wood to build a fort settlement. We built a small but sturdy pasture for the oxen, there was plenty of thatch for them to graze upon.  We moved our small donkey into the protective center of the circled wagons where the other donkey was tethered.  Yes, weary traveler, it was very nice of the other family to trade wagons with you.  I hope you are sleeping well.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 2


  By early spring of year 2 we were already clearing a crop field for the remainder of the seed potatoes we brought with us from Smallville.   In spring, the other soldiers and their families arrived.  They left their horses tethered by the small stream to drink.  The families were impressed by our small wagon settlement and the plans we had for the fort and housing for them.  One family had an old man with them that they called Gramps.  He looked out over that newly cleared field to the mountains beyond and he told me a story.


 

  I named our donkey Old Rivers in memory of the old man's boyhood friend.  It wasn't long after that we had the first boarding house completed for the old man and his extended family and another one started.  We all felt a bit safer and more secure when the outer walls of the fort started going up. 


  There were several herds of buffalo close by and we now had bison meat.  The closest herd was across the stream where we built a small bridge.  There were trees and several herds of deer also.  We built 2 more forester tents and a hunter tent.   There had been no sign of the Native hunting party this year, we spotted no tipis in the distance but we did occasionally hear the sound of Native drums.  One more reason to appreciate the protection offered by the walls, and come winter those walls protected us from the cold north wind that blew across the open prairie, blowing and drifting the winter snow.

[Kristahfer]

Thank you @Abandoned for this great story. It is great fun watching it unfold.


I am looking forward to when the Westward Ho mods will be released. I know I will never be able to match your excellent work but I will have great fun trying. I understand that the startup terrain or start will not be made available. That will be a shame.


Continue for this fine story.


Thanks to @kid1293 for the excellent work on this mod.

[kid1293]

Oh, there will be start up and terrain changes.
Not just those in the story but I think I have it covered.
You can start with wagons or vanilla houses on prairie.

[Abandoned]

@Kristahfer thank you so much for kind words, I am glad you are enjoying the story and I know you will enjoy the mod. Hopefully release will not be too much longer, I am trying to condense each story on the way west.  As Kid says, there are start options available, the prairie is wonderful, and there are the different wagons to choose from to build and deco only wagons as well.  Kid makes it easy for me to start a story  thanks again @kid1293

[rkelly17]

Oh, there will be start up and terrain changes.
Not just those in the story but I think I have it covered.
You can start with wagons or vanilla houses on prairie.

Make sure you keep forests as an option. Our local area is very wooded and the first white settlers came in Conestoga (or Conestogo, depending on who you ask) wagons from Pennsylvania in the 1820s and 30s. I'm looking forward to doing a "reinacting."

[Abandoned]

@rkelly17 don't worry, the original vanilla terrains are still there, valley and mountain with vanilla trees.  The prairie terrain is added as a separate option.  The vanilla start conditions are there too. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 3


 Over the winter the horses were moved closer to the protection of the walls, and by early spring of year 3, a farmhouse was built with stalls for 2 of the smaller horses.  The others were used by the soldiers who took turns scouting the area.  A small storage barn was built inside the fort walls leaving us again short of wood.  With everyone so busy cutting trees, collecting deadwood, and building we thought it a good idea to do most of the cooking in one place.  We built a chuck wagon outside one of the double gates and soon we had meat and potato stew available for everyone.  The hot stew was most welcome when the autumn days grew shorter and evenings grew colder.

  Fishing was very good this time of year, fresh caught trout was a nice change.  Someone suggested we build a smoking shed to preserve some of the fish but we just did not get to it.  We were still short of wood although the trees planted by the 4 foresters were doing very well.  It would not be long and we would have plenty of logs.  A small chapel had been built and there were plans to build a school next to it.  Our wagon school had a only a few students, several of the children missed getting an education.

 In Spring of this year, year 4, 3 families arrived.  Their small farm settlement was nearly wiped out by the floods.  They tried to make a go of it but without much success.  Their only cow was killed by an arrow, it could have been a stray hunting arrow or it could have been deliberate.  Their small barn also burned down.  They had on several occasions heard the sound of Native drums.  When the 2 soldiers stopped  at their farm settlement, they took the soldier's advice and came here. Their farms were southeast of here and the soldiers were headed northwest, where they eventually found you, weary traveler, at Prairie Homestead.  The newcomers' arrival brought Fort Rapids' population to 45, 30 adults, 5 students, and 10 young children not counting Dom, myself, and our 3 boys.

Much to our relief the Native hunting party did not return this year either but we did occasionally hear those drums. Considering the amount of meat we had in storage, the Natives were right, we were taking more than we needed.

[brads3]

wondeer what happens if you add the pine mod above that. you might have more scattered tress.

[Abandoned]

@brads3 the Great Plains or prairies have few if any trees, just tall prairie grasses.  Pine trees were in the northern forest lands. This prairie I think has more trees than historically accurate.    With Banished you can add and play with whatever mods you want so if you want pine trees on the prairie you can have them if it works.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 4


  We were even more relieved and overjoyed when in late summer the 2 soldiers returned with you in tow, weary traveler.  It was a joyful day indeed to have you returned to us safe and sound.  And the timing could not have been better.  We had just completed building the fort.  There was now the main fort building itself plus the 2 boarding houses, the supply workshop to make tools and coats, the storage barn, and the school and chapel.  Another farmhouse was built just outside the main fort wall.  One of our original families decided they wanted to stay at the fort, one of the last families to arrive quickly decided to take their place on the wagon train.

  It was late summer of year 4, we had to get a move on if we hoped to make it through the mountain pass before the first snow.  We allowed you a few days reunion with your family before we began packing up crates and barrels and gathering needed supplies.  The chuck wagon would be left at the fort but all the other wagons were ready to roll once the donkeys and oxen were hitched up.   We would need to take the wagons around the fort.  The soldiers thought the best place to cross was just past that small bend, the current was a bit weaker there because of the small stream branching off to the west upriver. They built a sturdy raft and secured it to rocks on both shores, we all held our breathes as one of the soldiers on horseback made his way across the river with the ropes. The current took him a bit downriver but once on shore he quickly made his way back  Once the ropes were secure, the soldiers began ferrying each wagon across.  It was a nerve wrecking experience.  We camped that night on the other side of the river.

 Bright and early the following morning we were once again headed west.

Westward Ho
To Be Continued.

[RedKetchup]

so.... you like it my grass finally ?

[Abandoned]

oh Mr @RedKetchup  I always liked your grass and beautiful flowers from Garden Walls Utility  It is the most beautiful addition to Banished even, but a little difficult to fit big horse stable into most of my stories.  A shed to match the thatch collector that could be placed by a pasture to use thatch to make the fertilizer would be very nice addition, with more thatch and a smaller output of fertilizer would be understandable.    Thank you again for contribution to Westward Ho's praire terrain.  It turned out fantastic. 

[rkelly17]

Oh my! Be sure and keep moving right along, @Abandoned. You don't want your intrepid pioneers to meet the same fate as the Donner Party.