Wednesday, February 29, 2012

First Paragraph

In the wilderness a man made do. Given any choice in the matter, James Marshall wouldn't have retained Jennie Wimmer as cook and housekeeper for his construction gang. She was stubborn, surly, belligerently unimaginative in the kitchen - and fully aware she couldn't be replaced. She cooked what she wanted, when she wanted. She served the best portions to her husband, Peter, and their seven children. The hired hands, who bunked in the opposite end of the double log cabin that sheltered the Wimmers, were left with the toughest beef, the stringiest mutton, the stalest peas, the driest biscuits, and without the pumpkin and apple pies that varied, ever so slightly, the monotonous diet. Meals were served at Jennie's whim, yet she grew furious if the men weren't seated and ready when she deigned to deliver the food.

- From The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and The New American Dream by H.W. Brands

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