Leaving North Carolina Analysis

For three years, Father had refused the idea of leaving North Carolina. But my brother, Ben, sent us another letter, addressed as he always did to John Benjamin Wilks and Katie. In the letter Ben was praising his new farm, the richness of the land and how many more acres he was clearing. He told of the bountiful crops of corn and wheat that he would be reaping in a few weeks, more corn and wheat per acre than Father had ever gotten from our old worn out farm in North Carolina. He told of the abundance of water, game, and timber. Ben ended his letter by telling us about little Ben, the grandson that Father had never seen, and that another grandchild was due in the winter. Again Ben asked Father to come and settle near him and Uncle Amos, Father’s brother, assuring him that there was a farm waiting for him there, with plenty of land for the …show more content…
I slept on the bed that we were leaving behind, and Father slept on the floor. We were up early, well before dawn, ate a quick breakfast of corncakes and were on our way. We climbed onto our wagon, loaded with our supplies and with Bea tied to the back. Toby pulled away from the house and traveled down the path led up to our house. Father stopped at the curve in the lane and we both looked back at our farm one last time. It was hard to believe that our farm was now Mr. Gimbell’s farm. The sun was not up yet, but there was a faint light that came from behind tree line on the hill behind our house. In the early morning light there was a sad, almost eerie light that fell on the house. There were no stars visible and we knew that clouds hung heavy in the sky. We hoped they would clear up, but we had no idea what those clouds held for us. Father bowed his head and began to pray, asking God to be with us. Neither of us said anything as Father flipped the reins and Toby started out. We were on our way to Cane Creek Mill and after that to