Hattie Big Sky

Hattie writes to Charlie, telling him that the last letter she received was so badly censored that there was hardly anything for her to read. Hattie writes about how the anti-German sentiment is growing in Vida, where people are now calling Dachshund dogs “liberty dogs.” Hattie finds this all ridiculous, but she says that people in Montana want to outlaw the German language. She feels bad for the German church because she does not know how they will listen to their pastor if he does not speak in their native tongue. After she finishes the letter, Hattie works on fencing the land. At noon, Hattie heads back for lunch but stops when she hears a noise from the barn. Hattie grabs a hammer and flings open the door to find a woman inside. The woman introduces herself as Leafie Purvis. Leafie gives Hattie Uncle Chester’s chest that he asked her to keep safe.

Hattie offers Leafie coffee, but as they walk to the house, they notice several riders chasing a cow across the prairie. Hattie sees that they are heading toward her house, and she screams for them to stop. The riders do not listen until Leafie shoots her shotgun in the air. The riders turn around, and Leafie explains that it is the Dawson County Council of Defense. Hattie is confused because she thought that the council was organized to help the community follow ration rules and sell Liberty Bonds. Leafie explains that they do more harm than good because there is no sense in driving Karl’s cow to death. Hattie does not understand why someone would do that to Karl and Perilee, but Leafie says that the war has changed people. Leafie leads the cow back to Perilee’s house. After she leaves, Hattie opens Uncle Chester’s chest but only finds the beginning of a quilt that someone never finished. The next day, Hattie picks the rocks out of her field when a rider comes up to her. He introduces himself as Traft Martin. Although Traft is handsome and polite, Hattie reminds herself that this does not always mean that the person is moral.

Hattie writes to Charlie, congratulating him on becoming an airplane engine fitter. After she finishes writing, Traft arrives. He says that his mother sent him to invite her to church on Easter and to join the sewing circle for the Red Cross after the service. Traft gives Hattie her mail, which he picked up for her in Vida. After Traft leaves, Hattie opens the letter from Charlie, which states that he has not received any letters from her and that he hopes to hear from her soon. Hattie feels frustrated because she realizes her letters are taking a while to get to Charlie. She hopes that he receives them soon so that he can keep his spirits up.

A few days later, Hattie sees three boys chasing Mattie and Chase. Hattie catches up to them and sees that the boys are throwing rocks at Chase and Mattie. Hattie confronts the boys and tells them to leave Mattie and Chase alone. She recognizes one of the boys as a Martin and says that she will have a conversation with their parents. One of the boys calls her a “Hun-lover,” which shocks Hattie, but they leave. Hattie asks Mattie and Chase what happened, and Mattie explains that the boys took Karl’s book and threw it into the latrine. Chase tells her that he will never go back to school. Hattie takes them back to their house and cleans Chase’s cuts on his face. Chase says that the boys told him that it was against the law to have a German book.

On Sunday, Hattie goes to church and meets a young woman named Grace. After the service, Hattie joins the women for the sewing circle, sitting with Grace. Mrs. Martin announces that Reverend Tweed has asked her to direct the new choir at church. Hattie says that she will invite Perilee to join since she has such a lovely singing voice. The room gets quiet, and Mrs. Martin tells Hattie that it would not be appropriate for Perilee to join. Hattie asks why, but Mrs. Martin changes the subject and says that the County Council of Defense will find it interesting that Hattie is proving up on a claim so young. Hattie gets angry and excuses herself from the meeting. At home, Hattie wonders about Mrs. Martin’s threat and why the Council would bother her about her claim.

Hattie worries about having enough money to keep working her claim. She goes out to continue fencing when Traft rides up with her mail and a newspaper. Traft asks to take her to the Vida Community Hall dance. He tells her that it is to raise money for a Liberty Bond drive. Traft warns against Hattie being unpatriotic, which some people say she is because she is friends with the Muellers. Traft says that Karl supported a man saying that he did not want to fight in the war because he said it was free speech. Hattie gets upset, and Traft says that he hopes that she will still come to the dance because it supports a good cause. After Traft leaves, Hattie opens Charlie’s letter. Charlie writes about the large number of deaths, both from war and from the Spanish influenza. Charlie describes how he saw a group of men who had been blinded by mustard gas. Hattie stops reading, thinking of how she hates that Charlie must see such things. Hattie opens the letter from Uncle Holt and finds a check for $15 inside. She reads that Uncle Holt shared her letters with the Arlington News and that they want to publish her letters to give people in Arlington a sense of what homestead life is like. The newspaper will pay her monthly for her letters. Hattie feels overjoyed because she realizes that with this new income, she will be able to pay for her claim in 10 months.