They were a brother and sister living in Deliverance, Dakota Territory. It was 1890. They were a brother and sister 16 and 14. The nearest city was Sioux Falls. They would sit holding hands on the porch while their parents worked in the fields and in the house. At night, the father would play the violin and read the Bible. The mother would sing religious songs. They would sing along. During the day they walked to a one room schoolhouse.
There was one saloon in the town and the saloon keeper was the school mistress. She served food but no alcohol and didn’t tolerate bad behavior.
It was hard, now, being in a charred house. The fire had been in the kitchen but the bedrooms were mostly spared. They still had nightmares of the screaming and the shallow pits they dug for their parents after dragging the bodies to the woods.
Now they were alone. They remembered their mother’s saying when they were naughty, “the wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The father would say, “If you do wrong you will be punished in this life, not just the next.”
They would plow the fields by themselves, spring wheat, canola and barley. One day the brother said, “I am going to town to get supplies to build this house back up.” The sister said, “God go with you.” He said, “You need to come along and help.” So they went.
They arrived in town with some money for wood, nails and a stove, and dishes. They went to the saloon because they were hungry and they needed lunch. So they sat down very meekly and ordered some biscuits and sauerkraut. Then some men came up to the table (they were in their twenties) and said, “What you kids doing here?” They said “We have come to buy some wood, nails, stove, and some dishes.” They said “Ain’t you pretty.” They laughed at their hand sewn clothes. The boy got mad and yelled “Get away from us!” They laughed and kicked him. The sister begged, “Brother let’s go.” But the men said to the brother, “You’re not a man till you drink with us.” So he sat with him, while the sister watched nervously. So they got him drunk and laughed at him. The sister took him to a house that a woman rented to boarders. He sobered up the next day. But then he said, “I want to have fun like the people here,” She said, “Mother would not like this place, I want to go home.” He said “Do what you want, I’m staying.”
They men told him of a place where he would meet women. She warned him, “The wages of sin are death..” He laughed and she went home.
She had to plow the fields by herself. It took a long time. She was very tired. He never did come back and she made do by cooking the wheat barley and canola with water from the well. She planted some vegetables, too. One day she got a letter from her brother, “I have contracted a disease. You must go to St Michael’s Catholic Church and there find a husband.” The boy was now 18, he had syphilis. He knew he had to change his life. He wanted to become a priest, but he knew the people would laugh at him there, so he went to Sioux Falls. The letter came back from his sister, “I am happy with the Lord, I don’t want to marry.” He wrote back, “I won’t be coming back, so you must marry, or else there will be no-one to help you plow the fields and a single woman is subject to predation.” She was afraid, but she went to town and asked where St. Michael’s was.
It was Sunday and the sun was shining bright. She stepped in. It was the most magnificent thing she had seen. The organ was large and gleaming, the altar was decked out in flowers, and the stained glass windows shone brilliantly. The organ had the biggest sound she had ever heard. She watched the other people. Some of the older men leered at her. She wasn’t interested. There was a young man who read at the pulpit next to the altar. He was young and seemed like a good man. She found that his name was Benjamin Martel. She hoped he was single. She found out that he owned a sewing machine shop in town.
Next Sunday, she was in church again. She repaired the tears on her best dress. She made sure her curls were neat and tied up. She observed where Ben Martel was sitting. When he came out, she said “Hello there Benjamin Martel!” He said “Hello.” She said “Would you like to come to dinner at my house tonight?” He said, “Well, alright.” That night he arrived at dinner. She made her best pork roast. He said “This is a mighty fine dinner, why did you invite me here?” She told him the whole story. Even the part about needing to find a husband. He said, “oh, really.” After that he went home, but not before noticing a neighbor lurking around. She politely wished the neighbor hello and he leered at her.
He thought about her that week. She was pretty and hard working. He was thinking about that neighbor. Why was she so polite to a leering older man? Then he realized, he must be helping her plow the fields. How terrible! What things could he get from her?
He realized that his integrity as a man demanded action he was afraid to take. But he had to take it. He bought a ring at a jeweler’s in town. Next mass he was there and so was she. He told her, “Would you like to come and see my business?” She said yes and that is where he proposed to her. She wrote to her brother about the marriage inviting him to come, but he was in an asylum and couldn’t come. So they were married.
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