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Cover

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Sheet 1

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The real story

10 quotes · 2 photos

Back cover

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Thomas and Jane Were Lost

This story belongs to

— — — — — — — —

Thomas and Jane Were Lost

KindredPages

Every morning the handcarts rolled out onto the great wide prairie, one after another, on and on as far as Jane could see.

Everyone over seven years old was expected to walk. Jane was eight. Her feet were small, but her steps were steady. She held Thomas's hand and watched Mama's back just ahead.

Every morning there was always something new to see. A little brown bird ran along the road just ahead - and Thomas was off! Jane laughed and ran after him.

Then Jane saw them - flowers in the green grass, and pretty rocks glinting in the sun. She filled her apron, one by one. Thomas crouched beside her to look. The handcarts creaked on ahead.

Mama had told them: stay close to the trail. Jane remembered the words. But the rocks were so pretty. And Thomas said, "Just a little farther, Jane."

Jane looked up. The handcarts were gone. The trail stretched away empty in both directions. Only the wind moved in the tall grass. Her apron full of rocks felt very heavy.

Thomas grabbed Jane's hand. "Run!" They ran down the trail as fast as their legs would go, calling for Mama. Their feet pounded the dry ground. Nobody called back.

Then the trail ended at a stream - wide and rushing and cold. Thomas waded in one step. The water came up to his knee. He pulled back. They could not get across.

Thomas walked up the bank, then down. There was no shallow place. The sun slid low. The sky went orange, and then grey.

There was a rocky ledge above the bank. Thomas pulled Jane underneath it. They pressed together, knees to chests. Jane reached into her apron - one smooth rock was still there. She held it tight.

Back at camp, Mama counted. Thomas? Jane? She asked their playmates. She asked the neighbors. No one had seen them. Mama's face went white.

Night was coming on, and all knew the dangers of the prairie. A neighbor lit a lantern. The search party started back along the trail.

Under the rock, Jane and Thomas waited. One star appeared. Then another. And another. An owl called once from far away. Jane held the smooth rock and did not let go.

Thomas put his arm around Jane. He didn't know what to say. So he said nothing. They listened to the water and the dark.

Then - far off in the dark - a tiny light. It bobbed through the tall grass. And voices came, calling their names. Jane grabbed Thomas's arm. "A lantern!"

Thomas stood up and shouted. Jane shouted. The lantern swung toward them - and then there was Mama, running, the lantern making wild arcs across the sky. A search party had backtracked along the river and found the two children huddled under their overhanging rock.

Mama held them both at once, so tight Jane could feel her heartbeat. The searchers laughed with relief. Someone wrapped a blanket around Jane's shoulders, and she was warm.

They walked back to camp together - Mama in the middle, one child on each side, the lantern leading them gently home. Jane kept the smooth rock safe in her pocket. Tomorrow she would walk close.

Behind the story

The real words behind it

This story really happened. Jane Rowley and her brother Thomas were part of a handcart company crossing the prairie, and children over seven were expected to walk the trail themselves. There were always flowers and pretty rocks along the way, and the children were warned again and again not to wander. One day, Jane and Thomas did. They weren't missed until roll call. Family members searched the wagons and questioned the other children, and as night came on, a search party backtracked along the river until they found the two huddled under an overhanging rock. Turn the page to see the real photographs and read the journal words this story came from.

The real story · photographs

Jane Rowley

Ann Jewell Rowley

Behind the story · 1 of 3

Page 2

"Everyone over 7 years of age was expected to walk."

Page 4

"There were always flowers and pretty rocks to pick."

Page 5

"We were constantly being warned not to go too far from the trail."

Page 7

"As they hurried to catch up, they reached a stream too deep to cross."

Behind the story · 2 of 3

Page 8

"they reached a stream too deep to cross."

Page 10

"A search party backtracked along the river and finally found the two children huddled under an overhanging rock."

Page 11

"The children were not missed until roll call. The alarmed family members and neighbors searched the wagons and questioned the playmates."

Page 12

"Night was coming on and all knew the dangers of the prairie."

Behind the story · 3 of 3

Page 17

"The alarmed family members and neighbors searched the wagons and questioned the playmates."

ABOUT THIS RECORD

This book was drawn from the journals, kept 1712-2004.

KindredPages

Made with care · 2026

The prairie stretches on forever - wide and golden and too beautiful to resist. So when Jane and her brother Thomas fall behind the handcart company chasing birds and bright pebbles, it feels like an adventure. Until the sky goes amber. Until the grass goes quiet.

Some lights, once seen, are never forgotten. This is one of them.

Created with KindredPages
kindredpages.studio

Cover

direct Verbatim from the journal paraphrase Same meaning, child-friendly wording bridge Connective tissue we wrote

Page 1

Every morning the handcarts rolled out onto the great wide prairie, one after another, on and on as far as Jane could see.bridge

Page 2

Everyone over seven years old was expected to walk. Jane was eight. Her feet were small, but her steps were steady. She held Thomas's hand and watched Mama's back just ahead.direct

Page 3

Every morning there was always something new to see. A little brown bird ran along the road just ahead - and Thomas was off! Jane laughed and ran after him.bridge

Page 4

Then Jane saw them - flowers in the green grass, and pretty rocks glinting in the sun. She filled her apron, one by one. Thomas crouched beside her to look. The handcarts creaked on ahead.direct

Page 5

Mama had told them: stay close to the trail. Jane remembered the words. But the rocks were so pretty. And Thomas said, "Just a little farther, Jane."direct

Page 6

Jane looked up. The handcarts were gone. The trail stretched away empty in both directions. Only the wind moved in the tall grass. Her apron full of rocks felt very heavy.bridge

Page 7

Thomas grabbed Jane's hand. "Run!" They ran down the trail as fast as their legs would go, calling for Mama. Their feet pounded the dry ground. Nobody called back.paraphrase

Page 8

Then the trail ended at a stream - wide and rushing and cold. Thomas waded in one step. The water came up to his knee. He pulled back. They could not get across.paraphrase

Page 9

Thomas walked up the bank, then down. There was no shallow place. The sun slid low. The sky went orange, and then grey.bridge

Page 10

There was a rocky ledge above the bank. Thomas pulled Jane underneath it. They pressed together, knees to chests. Jane reached into her apron - one smooth rock was still there. She held it tight.paraphrase

Page 11

Back at camp, Mama counted. Thomas? Jane? She asked their playmates. She asked the neighbors. No one had seen them. Mama's face went white.paraphrase

Page 12

Night was coming on, and all knew the dangers of the prairie. A neighbor lit a lantern. The search party started back along the trail.direct

Page 13

Under the rock, Jane and Thomas waited. One star appeared. Then another. And another. An owl called once from far away. Jane held the smooth rock and did not let go.bridge

Page 14

Thomas put his arm around Jane. He didn't know what to say. So he said nothing. They listened to the water and the dark.bridge

Page 15

Then - far off in the dark - a tiny light. It bobbed through the tall grass. And voices came, calling their names. Jane grabbed Thomas's arm. "A lantern!"bridge

Page 16

Page 17

Mama held them both at once, so tight Jane could feel her heartbeat. The searchers laughed with relief. Someone wrapped a blanket around Jane's shoulders, and she was warm.paraphrase

Page 18

They walked back to camp together - Mama in the middle, one child on each side, the lantern leading them gently home. Jane kept the smooth rock safe in her pocket. Tomorrow she would walk close.bridge

Trim

8.5″ × 8.5″

Pages

Spine

0.289"

Format

Print-ready

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