~Sadie and Vi are
installing the vanes
they bought from the Mennonites~

~Looks like Jediah and
Zea.  They are riding
up in the coach~

~This is a day of sorrow~
in the back of the coach
is a casket~Moses is inside~

~"We're driving on to
Ten-Thousand Village~We'd
be graced if you two kind
ladies would ride with us to
the funeral~Papa Moses
passed on"~

~Whether it be traveling to
distant villages, knocking
on doors, presenting the
tenets of the Mormon faith
or riding in a coach pulled
by a team of horses carrying
a casket on the way to Ten
Thousand village for a Mennonite
service and burial~the spiritual
journey is routed in search of
the perfect hide~

~Ten Thousand Village closes
down its craft booths and the
Mennonites sing Amazing Grace~

~There are some kind words
spoken about Moses.  The bearded
men dressed in Pilgrim Haberdashery
carry Moses' casket to the gravesite
for burial in their private cemetery~

~Jediah discusses with the men his
thoughts on the gravestone~ which
they make soon after one of theirs
passes~

~Jediah is strong enough to carry on
no matter what~The two draft horses
are showing early signs of lameness~
He will keep his eyes focused on the
pastures and prairies~looking for a
pair of work horses~preferably young~
so he can train them to pull the coach
his way~with an even temperament and
proud to pull the Lord's wheel~Jediah's
customized horse-drawn religion~

~Rest in Peace Moses~It was good to
know you~

 

Excerpted FROM THE CONVENT TO THE RAWHIDE: THE SAGA OF SADIE CADE AND VI MONTANA

Copyright Ms. Sage Sweetwater, Celebrity firebrand lesbian novelist