The Long Winter

In September, there is an early frost and Pa hurries to continue making hay. He breaks one of the blades on the mower, and he sends Laura to town to buy a replacement. Her mother allows her little sister, Carrie, to come with her. As they are walking home, they decide to take a shortcut and get lost in the high grass. They step out of the tall grass in the wrong place and talk to a neighbor, Almanzo Wilder, who helps them spot their father using his vantage point; he sends them in the correct direction.

On the first day of October, there is a thick frost on everything. The frost kills the hay and the garden, so the Ingallses pick all the potatoes, tomatoes, and beans. Ma wastes nothing. The harvest was very small, but with Pa’s hunting it should be just enough to get the family through winter. Pa cannot explain why he feels so rushed. He works so hard that Ma decides to surprise him and make a pumpkin pie using green pumpkins. Pa does not come home for dinner, and when he arrives at supper time, he is empty handed. There were no birds out; all of them were flying south high above the clouds. Pa is shocked when Ma brings out the pie. The pie is delicious, and the family enjoys it and each other’s company.

Laura awakens to a blizzard in October. Pa goes to check the animals, and Laura is relieved that they stacked hay along the path to the stable so that he does not get lost. The stove is not enough to warm the shanty, so the family sits near the stove with shawls and blankets. Grace asks Pa for a story, and he tells one that he used to tell Laura and Mary when they were little. They eat bean broth soup for dinner and drink strong hot tea. After bringing in wood, Pa asks for his fiddle, and he plays a song about soldiers marching as the girls march around the shanty and warm up.

The blizzard finally stops on the fourth morning. Ma is hopeful that there will be another warm period, but Pa is skeptical. He says that he “don’t like the feel of things” (46), but he cannot articulate why he is troubled. There are stray cattle near the haystacks, and Pa needs to drive them away. The cattle are not eating any hay, just standing. He goes to drive them off, and Laura follows to help. She is horrified by what she sees. The cattle “stood so terribly still” with stiff limbs and “swollen white lumps” on their heads (48).

Pa helps each cow, and they slowly move away. When they go inside, Pa explains that the cattle’s breath froze over their eyes and noses and they couldn’t breathe or see. Pa shows his family the small bird that he found inside a haystack. They put it in a box to keep for the time being.

The weather warms the next day, and Pa, Mary, and Laura go to Silver Lake to release the little bird. The complete silence unnerves Pa and Laura. The girls spend time outside, soaking in the sun before the winter comes. Laura is still nervous and finds herself looking to the north frequently. Pa believes that it will be a hard winter, and though Ma tries to comfort him and encourage him to be less anxious, he is convinced of it.

Pa goes into town because trains are running again, and he wants to get news and groceries. While Pa is purchasing salt pork, an Indigenous man enters the store, and he announces that there will be seven months of an extremely hard winter. After he leaves, the men discuss whether they will come to town for winter or stay in their claim shanties. When Pa gets home, Ma asks him if anything is wrong, and he reassures her that nothing is wrong, but they will move into town as quickly as possible. Ma is flabbergasted, but Pa immediately leaves to go to the stable. Ma and Laura follow, and Pa admits that he is “afraid” of the winter ahead. When Ma finds out that Pa is hurrying because of the news brought by an Indigenous man, she is even more skeptical because of her prejudice. Laura helps Pa with the hay, but he takes it to town alone because he says that it would not be appropriate for her to do boy’s work in town. Mary and Ma are excited to go to town, but Laura does not want to be around so many people.

The Ingalls family moves into the storehouse in town and puts their things into the various rooms. Laura wants to put up the curtains immediately because she is uncomfortable with so many strangers being able to see inside. Ma tells Laura that she and Carrie will go to school tomorrow. Laura is scared and does not want to go, but she feels that she must because Ma wants her to be a teacher. She worries that she will always be scared but “she would be brave if it killed her” (70). Carrie shares her fears about attending school, but Laura tells her that they will not be afraid. Ma is pleased that they are in town to attend school, and Pa is pleased that they will be able to get steady supplies like coal. They discuss the fact that the town has around 80 people, whereas the previous fall there was no one.