Every Adventure begins somewhere. Doctor Angelique Laurant's began at the Great Central Station, downtown Chicago, Illinois on Friday the sixteenth of March, a scant few days after her communique with Leah Steelgrave accepting her offer to head west and join the staff of the fledgling Kalispell Regional Hospital in Montana. Travel would be a combination of trains and stagecoaches once the railroad ended somewhere out there.
The names were all new to her, but they sounded exciting and remote, or so she had been told often enough. There were those that did not want her to go, which included Nelson Ludwig who had hoped to persuade her to stay and marry him. That was not to be. Not then or ever, so far as Angelique was concerned, he was a nice enough fellow, he had a decent private practice, but he just was not what she had in mind. Adventure, that was what she wanted, a real challenge, unlike working in an established hospital in an established city.
Kalispell Montana offered her everything that she believed she wanted, and there was Josiah Boone whom she had known since she was a young girl, and who had fostered her interest in medicine. And now, she would get to work with him, although she was a surgeon, there would be plenty of time to treat patients who did not need surgery. Ane would get to practice real medicine, as well as bring some of the latest technologies with her.
It was going to be grand! The Wild West!
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
Helena:
The morning had been busy for Addy, but that was part and parcel of the freighting business, and she was used to it. She'd arrived in Helena the evening before with a load of goods, and had been happy for a good night's rest at a hotel after three nights on the trail. Now, the morning had been taken up with helping to pack in goods for the new hospital in the big freight wagon.
"Looks like that's about it, Miss Addy," the freight man declared as he helped her fasten down the tarp covering the freight. "And left some room for that passenger of yours."
"I thank ya fer th' help." Addy shook the man's hand, then glanced down the tracks as the incoming train sounded its horn, announcing its arrival. "Looks like we're right on time!"
In addition to the hospital equipment, Addy was fetching back the newest doctor...and a lady at that! Wouldn't be long before the train finally came all the way to Kalispell, and the three day wagon ride would only take ten hours or so, but for now, the freight wagon would have to do, and the lady doctor would have to cope with nights on the trail.
Leaving her team where they were for now, Addy walked the short way to the train depot to wait for the train, and Dr. Angilique Laurant.
Doctor Angilique Laurant stepped off of the train onto the platform/ She had reached the end of track, so they called it. Helena Montana. The Northern Pacific Railroad was still under construction heading west, but there was till snow on the ground, so there was no work on the road.
Taking a deep, 'what did I get myself into' breath, she took a step toward the ticket office to see about whatever transportation was available to the town of Kalispell, and from what she could tell, it would be primitive at best. But then this was the west and now she was a part of it.
There was a woman, obviously a frontier woman, just past the crowd of people walking in several directions and she thought to ask her advice since she might have a better understanding of what she would need. At least she had thought to change into wool trousers, a wool shirt, boots, and a heavy coat she had purchased in Chicago.
"Excuse me, I'm hoping you can help me." She said to the woman, hoping for the best.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
Addy watched attentively as the train slowed to a stop and passengers started to get off. While she wasn't sure exactly who she was looking for -- a lady doctor, who would have thought! But then, who was Addy to judge? There weren't many female teamsters, but there were female teamsters, so why not doctors? It was actually intriguing.
As the passengers emerged, it was easy to tell whom she wasn't looking for -- ladies with gentlemen or children, ones who were met at the platform by others waiting for them, ones who just headed straight for town.
So, when the young woman, practically clad in britches, approached her, it was a good bet she was the doctor.
"Excuse me, I'm hoping you can help me."
"I most certainly can try," Addy declared with a grin, "'cept that I ain't from Helena, just stoppin' by from Kalispell. Yer not Doctor Laurant, by chance, are ya?"
"Why, yes, yes I am," Angiligue replied, and an almost sly grim creased her face. "Then I would be correct in assuming that you are here for me? Ans you and I will drive to Kalispell together?" The idea of the stagecoach had been something to look forward to, but another woman, a capable woman to drive the wagon to the town with her was exciting.
"I have a trunk and a bag, not a whole lot, but what I'll need. And you are?" She asked. " Please excuse me, but I have to admit, I am excited about the opportunity. Doctor Josia Boone said I would love it out here." The country had been beautiful from the windows on the train, with more trees than she had ever seen.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Addy Chappel, an' ya, I come ta fetch ya...well, an' some equipment fer th' hospital, too." Grinning, Addy nodded. "I run a freight business outta Kalispell, an' sometimes drive stage."
Already, Addy liked the doctor, she seemed to be suited to the territory, and the fact that she was excited to be here rather than horrified meant a lot. But the trip home would tell...
"My wagon's just over there." Addy nodded to the tall-sided wagon, covered with a tarp, and the four-up hitch of Belgian draft horses. "There's room fer yer gear, an' then some fer sleepin', or gettin' outta th' weather, should it rain. Got a three day trip ahead'a us, so it's your choice ta just start now, or if ya want ta freshen up or get a real meal before we get started."
"Then hello Addy Chaple. As you know then, I am a doctor and new to the West. I can't say that from what little I've seen, I am impressed with Helena, but then, I am far more accustomed to brick and mortar buildings and cobblestone streets." She replied, though parts of Chicago still had that rustic charm she was seeing, and some areas were far worse.
"Start now, was there something else that needed doing before we could head out?" Was her question, "We get my stuff loaded and I get my rain slicker out of one of the bags, and I'm ready to roll!" She grinned then, "No time like the present!"
For Angilique, or Angie as she liked to be called, she was about to imbark on the last leg of this adventure she had launched on in Chicago. Ahead was the wide-open Montana countryside. The fabled West lay ahead and she just could not wait to get to it!.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"All right, then!" It was true, of course, that it was best to get on the road, especially since they could get a good start on the trip. "I'll pull th' rig around an' we can get ya loaded up."
It only took a few minutes with the station master's help to get Angelique's trunk loaded up, and they were on the way. Addy had added a horsehair pad to the seat for comfort, and she had the usual camping gear stowed in the back, along with food supplies.
"So, now," Addy declared as she snapped the lines, "these here horses are Duke, Bud, Daisy an' Sam. Ya had cause ta drive before?"
Angie laughed out loud, "A one-horse buggy, yes, anything else, no. but I can ride, and, I can certainly learn. I mean, I did graduate medical college, that should say something." And with that, she laughed. "Addy, I am here to help as well as learn everything I can."
She was a city girl, that was for sure, but she had a sense of adventure, and one of humor both would be needed. "So, let's get this trip underway, shall we?" For Angie she had traveled from her home in Kaskaskia Illinois to Chicago for college and Medical school so almost crossing the country was a big deal for her.
"Are the Indians still an issue?" She asked the frontier woman as climbed aboard, and got as comfortable as would be possible.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Indians stay away from th' big towns," Addy told Angie, "seems there's more animosity betwixt th' tribes, an' even within th' tribes, so they aren't as inclined ta bother us. Some of 'em still come at th' smaller outlyin' spreads now an' then, but they're more bickerin' over goin' to th' reservations or not." She shrugged as they rolled out of town. "More ta worry on betwixt here an' there's wild critters."
Leaning forward, she gestured to the floor in front of them. "There's a shotgun under th' seat, should we need it. Figure ya know how ta use one? An' along th' way, I can teach ya ta drive a multiple hitch, if you've a mind."