Chapter 14- Winter Lodgings & Fall Feasts

The family soon entered into the lul that accompanied every winter season. While the small close-knit group occasionally stepped outside for a breath of fresh air their status allowed them to stay indoors most of the cold months. 

While spending plenty of time together, each had their activities. Martha spent much of her time reading novels that were imported from Europe and sending letters to her friends across the colonies. Many of her correspondences were to New York where she had a great many friends from when she and Grandpa stayed there for a few years. Her closest friend was Catherine Van Rensselaer whom she sent letters so often that it was a common joke the two of them were closer than sisters yet more distant than cousins with how much they shared but how they hadn't spoken in years. 

William spent much of his time reviewing the books of his many businesses and keeping up with news from around the world. John had helped convince his grandfather to start manufacturing things with a line. This allowed him to start making muskets, and while in small numbers, they were extremely high-quality and easily reparable making them a common purchase among the upper class of the middle colonies. 

Eli was upset about how sword training was cut short by the winter chill and especially the brutal snowstorms that occurred that year. So to keep his friend from going stir crazy John decided to invent a game. Remembering plenty of the strategy games of his former life John decided to invent the first miniature wargame of this world. 

Toy soldiers were common during this era, especially in the 13 colonies so it was not difficult to many small figures in bulk. The two of them then spent hours painting the figures red and blue to differentiate between the French and British. 

John decided to play the British and Eli would play the French in most engagements. In the beginning, it would just be two boys maneuvering a few blocks of soldiers around some make-shift houses and deciding thighs over a dice roll of odds or evens but over the coming months with little else to do the game evolved. What was once troops of the same types became specialized units like the Scots guards and French Musketeers. What was a simple odds or evens roll became a calculator involving a unit's skill, weapon types, and morale. What Eli found most fun was simple 30-minute games evolved into day-long campaigns where they had a fake map that allowed them to simulate battles along a front in a real war that had them take into account supply routes and other key factors in realistic battles. 

This came to a head when both his grandfather and mother joined in on the fun in late October playing the Prussians and Austrians respectively. It became a hot topic among the servants of the house, betting on who would win the battles leading to a small amount of gambling happening in the estate, something that William had little issue with as he enjoyed gambling a fair bit even with his Quaker upbringing. 

Alongside these games, John worked tirelessly in the management of his business. While small his pencil company became a large employer in the area, with over 100 workers in his workshop he was exporting all across the new world. With the funds he got from the company and his finances, he was vertically integrating as much as possible. Buying up forests and lumber companies, getting farmland for himself to produce the paste, and getting clay pits, all these actions would allow his company to maximize profits.

Not before long it was mid-November and the family was preparing for a Thanksgiving feast. A tradition while not common outside of Virginia and New England, was still practiced by the wealthy. 

The day fast approached and soon it was thanksgiving. John sat to the right of his grandfather who was at the head of the table and across from his mother who was on his left. On his left was Eli then his mother who had become a close friend of Martha. At the table, there were a few notable friends of his grandpa's as well as some old friends. After saying grace the meal began. After a quarter of an hour of eating the meal transitioned into conversation. John mostly stayed out of the adult talk and chatted with Eli about their new game. 

"So William, I recently read something in the paper I want to ask you about," A man across the table said during a lull in discussion. 

"Yes, what is it?"

"There was a recent medical innovation, one that allowed for people who've stopped breathing to be brought back to life."

"Oh, that is quite interesting, but what would I know about such things," he said with a light tinge of confusion in his voice.

"Because this technique that is being spread by a young doctor in Philadelphia, one Mr. Benjamin Rush is said to have been invented by a young boy. A young boy from Pennsylvania named Johnathan Carpenter."

Suddenly almost all the eyes were on John, who at the time had a large mouthful of food. Looking at everyone staring at him he quickly finished eating and looked around at the table, "What, why is everyone looking at me?"

His grandfather looks at him with a face that conveys his pride, "John did you develop a way to get people to breathe again."

Suddenly realizing what was happening, "Oh yeah, I developed a thing called C.P.R. and showed a doctor in Philadelphia how to do it.

"C.P.R.," his grandfather repeated slowly, "What does it mean and how does it work?"

"C.P.R. means  Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, basically you push down on a person's chest forcing their lungs to take in oxygen and their heart to pump blood around the body."

He heard a muttering of understanding from around the table as people grasped what he just said.

  A person down the table piped up, "Do you have any more ideas like this, this seems fantastical."

Stretching the back of his head he spoke, "Well I have this theory about smallpox and how to prevent it."

This caused the table to grow silent. The idea that a child developed anything related to preventing smallpox was astounding. A man a few seats to his left was the first to speak.

"What is this technique, we already use variolation but it is still quite dangerous." the man spoke with a nervous but intrigued tone. 

"Well," he suddenly realized the pit he dug himself into and realized he would need to bullshit his way out imminently. "Kind of like how Portuguese and Spanish are so similar that if you can speak one then you understand the other, what if there was a disease like that for smallpox but one less dangerous? So when I heard from a farmhand that people who got cowpox never would get smallpox that made me think that if we variolate people for cowpox then they wouldn't be able to get smallpox."

The room went quiet, and for what seemed like forever not a single person said a word. The idea that this child, someone less than 13 years old, could come up with a feasible way to prevent smallpox was astounding. 

The evening was quiet after that with most people leaving and John being too full to even think properly was sent to bed alongside Eli and his mother who were given guest rooms for the night.