The Setting

Liberty Creek, a small rural community consisting of mostly farmers and a few shopkeepers. There is a doctor's office, a telegraph/postal office, a general store, a saloon and not much else. There is a small schoolhouse and a church. There is one street, with buildings on just one side. The area is beautiful during the summer. Liberty Creek is only a day's journey from Boise, and can be easily reached by stagecoach. It is also not too far away from Boise. There are meadows, a large creek, mountains, forests, Lake Liberty. The Marshall ranch, Belleterre, takes up a great portion of the land. There is no problem with Indians, nor are there many rowdies. It is a beautiful area.

The Marshall family ranch of five thousand acres or more. Some parts of the land are mountainous, some pasture land. Some are covered with dense forest and brush. Several streams and small ponds dot and cross the property. The house itself is large and expansive. Shaped in a square, it has a courtyard in the center. The courtyard is grassy and surrounded by gardens, with a stone fountain. The house is lined on all outside walls, top and bottom, by a porch. On these porches are swings, benches, and rocking chairs. On the far side of the house there is an archway entering the courtyard. The house is painted mostly white, but the porch and shutters are left bare wood. Inside the house it is warm and homey. There are only a few rooms where the furniture is kept exceptionally clean, tidy, and new. The other rooms are warm and well lit. The bedrooms are spacious, and it is the only house for miles and miles that has running water and indoor toilets. There are just two floors, and the house looks short and squat from a distance. The attic is accesible all the way around, and is used for storage and games of hide and go seek. Outside, the lady of the house keeps many gardens. Further from the house are the barns and stables. Belleterre raises cattle, but many horses are kept also—prized Thoroughbreds as well as cattle horses. There are several paddocks and exercise rings. Belleterre also keeps small amounts of pigs, chickens, sheep, etc. for personal use. The cattle are driven not too far away to be shipped elsewhere. John Henry keeps dogs, red setters. Much entertaining is done at Belleterre, both for the townspeople and for vacationing friends.

Found in the woods five miles from Belleterre, Tess's cabin was hastily built for her in the middle of winter by the townspeople. Her log cabin is cozy and warm with three rooms—a bedroom, a sitting room, and a kitchen. Only a short distance from the school house, Tess can get to school in the morning easily. The townspeople donated her furniture, and Tess bought other necessities at the store. She has several comfortable chairs in the sitting room, rugs, quilts, some decorations. The kitchen is small but adequate. Tess learned to cook for herself from two cookbooks given to her by the cook at Belleterre. Tess owns a cat, Queenie, who is a fixed feature in her cabin. Soonafter she moved in, a barn was also built for her. She kept a horse, a milk cow, and some chickens. Situated in a clearing in the woods, Tess's cabin is surrounded by wild flowers, but she also keeps flowers in boxes outside all of her windows. Tess's cabin is built low and has a peeked roof with room for a loft above her bedroom. The barn has three stalls, a small room for the chickens, and a feed and tack room. Queenie spends much of her time mousing. Outside there is a small paddock for the horse and cow. On the right wall of the house, surrounding the kitchen door and window, is a large wood pile.

A trapping cabin used by the Marshall men atop a small mountain on Belleterre land. Thick log walls protect the cabin from the elements. The surrounding yard is surrounded by dense forest, except for one side which offers a splendid view of the plains below. The cabin is accessible by one trail. The walls are well-battened and the roof reinforced by tin. The cabin had on room. Walking in the front door, there are two windows on either side of you decorated with blue gingham curtains. To the right side of the cabin is a large stone fireplace, with various pots and pans on shelves to the left. A table with four chairs sits in front of the right window. On the left side of the cabin were four wooden beds made up on the mountain. There are no mattresses, but furs and blankets are piled upon each bed. Directly in front of the door were two tables with hunting and trapping supplies piled atop them and hung on the wall behind. The cabin was built by John Henry and his two eldest sons in 1869, and is used each winter by John Henry's two eldest sons and two eldest sons-in-law. Outside, there is a small barn with a small enclosure for the animals. Rabbits, deer, and other animals are often seen in the area, and there is a large eagle's nest nearby.

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