Play 'Red Wing'!

The <"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags">Rock Island train rumbled over the Kansas prairie at a steady, distance-eating pace toward the Oklahoma Territory. For the third time since 1862 the Welli family was making a long move. It was late spring 1906 and George Welli, Sr. was headed west to claim homestead land.

Seated across the aisle from his father, fifteen-year-old Mathias “Mat” Welli stared out the window, fascinated by the passing scenery. For the brown-haired youth with blue eyes, this long trip beginning in Youngstown, Ohio was a fine adventure. Passing through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois was interesting but it didn’t prepare him for what he saw after the Rock Island train they boarded in Chicago took them on the last leg of this long journey. Farther and farther south and west sped the train, through Kansas towns named Herington, McPherson, Hutchinson, and Pratt. These were like towns in Ohio, with lots of people, horse-drawn buggies, and wagons on the streets and buildings three stories tall. He even saw an automobile in Hutchinson.

Pratt, Kansas, midway between Wichita and Dodge City, seemed a gateway. From there on west the rolling land abruptly changed to vast tabletop high plains. The area was occasionally broken by moderate ravines and bluffs near the rivers. Here, the fields of waving wheat and the prairie grass sometimes gave way to low, gray-green bushes and strange-looking, dark green plants. Growing in clumps, they had dozens of long, slender leaves with sharp, spear-like ends. Once in a while, small whirlwinds carried dust and sun-parched grass or weeds in a revolving column high into the air. These would move rapidly across the prairie until out of sight. Strange country, thought Mat, shaking his head. Except near the rivers, the plains were treeless, stretching from horizon to horizon in overwhelming grandeur. It looked lonely, almost to the point being frightening, but at the same time, breathtaking.

Through the shimmering heat waves, Mat saw a few scattered farms and ranches. Suddenly he saw a group of ranch buildings near the horizon. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. He looked again. Now the buildings were floating above the horizon. “Father, look out the window, quick!” he exclaimed, reaching across the aisle and shaking him by the shoulder.

Half-asleep, George muttered “What’s wrong, Mat?”

Mat pointed out the mysterious sight. “You can see blue sky under those buildings!” He jumped across the aisle to an empty seat behind his father and