Frank Greerson and Gregory Young have been discharged from the Army and are headed to their childhood homes. They both defied their parents in 1861 when they joined the Army. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union of the United States of America, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Once they find their claim, they encounter common obstacles to life on the Kansas Prairie in 1866: Native Americans, tornadoes, wild animals, and weather.<br><br>When a prairie fire destroys their crops and takes their neighbor’s lives, Frank and Gregory are instructed to find their young son’s aunt. Faced with leaving a destroyed claim, the railroad coming through their land, and dwindling funds, Frank and Gregory must decide whether to leave the place they have worked hard to make their own or fulfill their friends' dying wishes.

A Place to Call Their Own

The month of June passed quickly for Frank and Gregory. Just like a herd of buffalo that ignored a passive pack of wolves, they continued to work on their claims as though the Indians weren’t camped across the river. The cyclone had spread rocks and stones all over the claims. The men picked them up to clear them out of the way of future fields, but also to build the fireplace. The cyclone also knocked down trees of all sizes. After building the stable, the extra wood would be hewn for projects or cut for firewood.


The next building project they tackled was the stable. They built their newest structure across the northern border of the first claim.


“That went up quicker than the house.” Frank handed Gregory saplings to lay across the roof


“We kind of knew what we were doing this time.”


“We cut it tighter than the house. We probably should have built this first, then the house.”


Chapter 28