Moe did not hear a word she said, he marveled at the entryway of the house. The porch was huge, it was made of smooth stone, there were eight stoned columns that stretched across the massive house. the vestibule was made of evened shiny stones that had hues of gray, white, and sprinkle with black. Hanging from the tall ceiling was a beautiful candle chandelier. Everything about the house was stunning and brightly decorated.
Moe told the Evans about the husband and wife he stayed with. The family that stole his things, and the long ride he had with them. he said, “afo’ I’s git’s in Virginee’ I’s walks’ many days. The sun went up and down, den’ up and down, I’s be walkin’ a long time.”
Mrs. Evans said, “so, you had God and the devil after you. But God won, look at how far you come, you stopped at one station, and none of the others to get this far. “
The Evans were serious farmers, they had over five hundred chickens that were constantly producing babies and eggs, over fifty hogs, twenty-five piglets, twenty cows, and seventeen calves. In their garden, they grew all kinds of vegetables and a vineyard that was acres deep.
*******
In the 1700s, Mr. Evans great-great grand-dad was stolen from Africa. He was sold to a family in the most Southern Virginia county, that bordered North Carolina. The man that purchased the African, discovered his new slave knew how to make wine. The plantation owner put him on land that had wild grapes growing. The Massa had two of his trusted slaves to assist the winemaker, though they continued to live on the plantation. Their Massa let them ride a mule to and from the distillery. The door was wide open for the two male slaves to escape, but the winemaker told them his plan.
They agreed to stay. Together the three men build the winemaker a one-room shack, and a barn with two rooms, one large the other small. The barrels of wine were warehoused in the larger room, the men built several five-tier shelves to hold the barrels. The smaller room was the distillery, where the wine was made. Though the two men help build the room, the winemaker, designed and put the machines together. When both rooms were finished the Massa gave the winemaker his smartest female slave, as his wife. Their job was to make wine and babies, instead, the winemaker told her, his plan. She agreed to work with him, they did not have children. It took the winemaker, his two helpers three months to build and turn the wild grapes into an orchard. As the men did the hard work, the winemaker's woman prepared their meals. The four worked together like a smooth-running machine.
The winemaker kept sixty barrels of wine, he gave his helpers twenty each. Deep in the woods, the winemaker built two covered wagons with high sides to carry his barrels. His helpers stole two of their master wagons. Eight months after the distillery was built the winemaker and his helpers escaped slavery. One helper ended up in Ohio, another Chicago, the winemaker married the woman, they bought land in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay area. The husband and wife duo first started a vineyard, then a farm. His Massa had named him Joe, but once free The winemaker returned to his African name, Abu.
*******
On the farm, Moe learned how to milk a cow, gather eggs, he had fun with the boys running after the chickens. They laughed, fell, and got extremely dirty. Mr. Evans and his wife were standing by the window watching, Mrs. Evans said, “they are doing more playing than catching the chickens.”
Laughing, Mr. Evans said, “I and my brothers did the same thing when dad told us to catch chickens to take to town.
One of the boys fell flat on his face in the mud, Mr. and Mrs. Evans laughed.
Moe always stood wide leg, they laughed when a chicken ran between Moe’s legs, followed by the youngest boy that slid through to catch the chicken. He caught the bird, rolled on his back and yelled, “I got one.”
Moe sat down and laughed until his stomach hurt.
During the holidays, Evans made over six hundred barrels of wine, to be divided between the states of Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. At the time there was no prohibition, making and selling wine was not against the law. Mr. Evans maintained Abu’s cleanliness and Abu’s three wines.
One year after moving to Maryland, Abu heard about Moon Drop grapes grown in Boston, Gewurztraminer, red, and green grapes. However, Mr. Evans discovered a plethora of grapes that did not exist when his grandpa, Abu, started the vineyard in the 1700s. Though he kept his granddad's original wine recipes, Mr. Evans made new wine with the grapes he discovered, younger people loved the taste, while the older American appreciated the old wine.
Moe enjoyed living with the Evans, he wanted to stay but something in his blood was urging him to go further north. The morning Moe was leaving, Mrs. Evans fixed a big breakfast and bacon that Moe loved. She packed Moe seven biscuits, five sweet rolls, extra bacon, and three boiled whole potatoes, she wrapped the food in a towel, neatly folded the new clothes that she had made for him, his shoes and laid them in the new quilt she had made. She asked the reason Moe didn’t wear the shoes that Elijah had given him. He said, “they are too big and hard to walk in.” He put the food wrapped in a towel on top of his shoes. She let Moe keep her oldest son’s extra pair of shoes and clothes he was wearing, they were a little too long, otherwise, the clothes fit.
Mr. Evans said, “be careful, only trust abolitionist, coloreds, and the Amish.” He told Moe pretty much what the first man said. Mrs. Evans gave Moe a hug, held his face between her hands and said, “grow to be a good man.”
Mrs. Evans and the boys stood outside and waved him off.
Moe’s heart hurt just like it did when he left Elijah behind. She held his face between her hands just like Elijah had, Moe cried. To calm the boy, Mr. Evans asked Moe where he was going, the boy said, “further north.”
Mr. Evans took him to where Maryland crossed over to Pennsylvania. He told Moe, “if you run into any trouble come back, I could use the extra help on the farm.”
Moe gave Mr. Evans a hug then said, “I wish you was my dad.” Moe jumped off the carriage and waved goodbye.
Mr. Evans sat a few minutes watching the young boy leave. Moe got so far, turned and waved, then ran on.
*******
The day Moe left the Evans, the bounty hunters returned to Moe’s Massa plantation. They had gone as far as the tip of Florida. Surly, Jeb thought the men would have Moe with them, they had been gone for over three months. Instead, they returned with a message from several ship captains saying, “if the boy is found on my ship, I will bring him back when I return.”
Jeb could smell alcohol on the men, they smelt as though they had gone swimming in it. Jeb’s rifle was cradled in his arms, he pointed it at the men. The overseer said, “we tried our best.”
“No, you did not,” Jeb said.
The bounty hunter said in a matter-of-fact tone, “I believe the ship captains lied to us.”
Jeb shot and killed his overseer, the bounty hunter tried to gallop away. Jeb aimed, and shot, the man fell to the ground, dead.
*******
The remaining of Moe’s journey was rough, he never ran into people as nice as the first two Underground Railroad Stations. Moe met three additional families that gave him water to clean his face and hands, wipe the dirt off his clothes, a little food and water to drink. To rest, they allowed him to stay one night in a barn or on their porch.
One-year after running away, eleven-year-old Moe, entered the city limits of Boston, Massachusetts, he was too tired and hungry to continue. The clothes that Mrs. Evans had made for him were too small, and the shoes, too tight. The Evans oldest sons’ pants and shirt finally fitted Moe perfectly. When he arrived in the city, Moe put on a clean pair of socks that Mrs. Evans made, and the shoes from Elijah were a perfect fit. He applied for employment at several establishments, only to be laughed at, due to his thick unintelligible southern drawl. Moe was too young for city jobs and smelt awful. He lived on the streets and ate garbage for one month. Moe didn’t know where he was, he wanted to continue north but could not find anyone to help him. His l
uck changed when he met Billy, who hired Moe to work at The Brown Steel Mill.
*******
Though Billy was a colored man, he was the supervisor of the company. Billy saw himself in Moe. It was six years ago that he and his wife, Liza, had run away from the chattels of slavery. Billy was twenty and Liza eighteen when they escaped.
They ran along the states by the Atlantic Ocean, the Carolina's, Virginia, through Pennsylvania, and New York. They hid in bushes and tall grass, unlike Moe, they had bounty hunters hot on their trail. An Amish family hid them in a small hiding place, that was under their pigs’ trough. The bounty hunters entered the families house and overturned their furniture and knocked dishes off the shelves. And in their bedrooms, ripped up their mattresses that was stuffed with cotton. Outside in the backyard, the bounty hunters set the Amish family chickens free.
When the unethical men left, Billy and Liza tried to get the pig smell off their bodies. Unfortunately, the pigs’ odor had gone up their nose straight to their brain cells. Be that as it may, the runaways stayed a few more days to help get the family’s home back in order and help catch the chickens.
Billy and Liza ran the rest of their journey wearing Amish clothes. When they entered Boston, Massachusetts the couple changed their names to Billy and Liza. Billy said to Liza, “here we’s die ta’gather ‘free, and not slaves.”
One cold day, Billy and Liza were huddled together trying to keep each other warm and live as long as they could. Billy looked up and saw a kind face man coming towards them. He stepped in front of the man, he asked, “kind Sir, would you have a morsel of bread foe’ my wife?”
The man looked down at the woman sitting on the ground quivering, he noticed that Billy was just as cold but was concerned for someone other than himself. The man said, “my name is Henry Vincent Brown, I own the Brown Steel Mill.
That day, he gave Billy a job and sent him to school. Billy finished twelve years of schooling, in four years. Every year, Billy would send the Amish family, that helped him and his wife, two-dollar bills.
*******
Together Billy and Moe cleaned one of the backrooms, that became Moe’s home. Moe asked Billy if he could stay forever in the back room. Billy said, “until you turn sixteen, then together we’ll find you a place to live.”
Moe thought of the Evans family and chasing chickens. He laughed until he cried as he remembered young Evans sliding between his leg to catch the chicken. But his tears of joy turned to sorrow, he said, “I’s gotta’ make nough’ money to go back and lib’ wid’ dem.” He buried his face in his cover and while crying mumbled, “I’s shoulda’ neva’ left.” He fell asleep.
Moe met Billy’s wife, he liked her from the first time they met. She was kind, had a caring face, and was a good cook. The Brown Steel Mill company’s uniforms were too big for the young boy, so Liza adjusted two uniforms to fit Moe’s big bone skinny frame. She was determined to fatten Moe up; his bones were too big for him to be so lean.
She and Billy were the same when they ran to Boston. Skin and bones, very little muscle and no fat.
Billy and his wife third year living in Boston purchased a house in a better neighborhood. They tried to have children, but Liza womb was destroyed. Liza was a pretty house slave, her Massa allowed multiple men at the same time have their way with her.[RL13] Frighten, Liza retaliated and tried to escape. The men and her Massa became angry which the outcome was always a whipping, kicking, and stomping.
Billy was a field hand, one day he saw Liza standing by a weeping willow tree with one of the branches around her neck. She was tired of the Massa and his male friends, Billy went to her and said, “let's run now.”
Liza said, “we’s git caught. I’s gotta’ kill me, to have peace.”
He grabbed Liza’s hand and ran.
Living with the Amish family was a preacher, who married the runaway slaves. They had an Amish wedding, and then the two destructive overseers came three days after the celebration.
III[RL14]
The Beginning
Moe absolutely treasured his home in the back room of The Brown Steel Mill, he could finally rest mentally and physically. Not even with the Evans could Moe totally relax. Unsettling quiet thoughts screamed in his mind, yelling he was going to be caught, thrashed, sent back to his mom, and the sugar cane field. Moe loved his freedom in the North. In his little area, he could freely come and go as he wanted and practice saying words correctly, sometimes he rehearsed with Billy and Liza.
Billy and Liza had lived in Boston for years, Moe thought that their dialect was perfect, at least they did not sound like him. One night in his little room, he practiced enunciating his words, “dis, dat, dem, does, ain’t. Yes,” he said out loud, “I’s,” he corrected himself and said, “I will change how’s I’s talk.” He let out a sigh, shook his head then said, “dis’ ain’t gonna be easy.” He laughed.
In the evenings, Liza cooked dinner for her two men, Billy and Moe always came in hungry and tired. After eating and cleaning the kitchen, the three retired to the sitting room where they talked about being free. Moe told Billy and Liza about his life as a slave on Jeb’s plantation.
Billy and Liza reminded Moe of the Evans, they were full of joy and love. Moe shared that he wanted to save his two brothers and return to the Evans to become their sons.
One evening after dinner, Moe told them all about the Evans massive house, their animals, garden, and grapevines. Billy said, “I’ll ask Mr. Brown if I can take you back, shortly I am going to visit my Amish friends. Maybe Mr. Brown will help get your brothers.”
When Moe left, Billy said to Liza, “ain’t no colored rich like that. I have to find them and see for myself.”
“Naw,” Liza said, “I believe him. He described everything perfectly. Me a writer of short stories, you an educated supervisor of a big company. Six years ago, we were owned like,” she pointed to a picture hanging on the wall and said, “like that picture we bought from the artist.”
“Hum,” Billy said thoughtfully, he continued, “all I know is, I have to meet the Evans.” Liza said with a smile in her voice, “they will be easy to find, rich coloreds in the south, with slavery all around.”
Billy laughed and said, “it’s probably the wine that white folk doesn’t want to get rid of. They are protecting him.”
*******
While Billy and Liza laughed and talked, Moe was on his way home, he stopped past the general store to buy candy. He put a piece in his mouth, “yummy,” he said. He joyously skipped down the street humming, and then stopped and said loud to himself, “me and my brothers gonna’ be Mr. Evans sons. Der’ be six of us boys.” He was thinking and laughing about catching chickens, picking grapes, milking the cows, and eating delicious bacon. Moe was so engrossed in his thoughts that he walked past the Steel Mill. He looked around and realized what he had done, he bent over, put his hands on his knees, and laughed hard.
In the Evans household, he had learned to say his prayers before going to bed. That night, he prayed for his brothers, the Evans, Billy, and Liza. After his prayer, he laid on his back thinking and remembering, Bo the eldest, his sister Jo, and two brothers So and Toe, he whispered softly, “Lord take care of my brothers and sister.”
Moe lived a happy carefree life in the back room for two weeks. He had everything he needed, someone to feed, care, and love him. Liza took him shopping to buy clothes, shoes, he bought a slingshot. She taught him to save a portion of the money he made.
Being raised by a drunken mom and cruel Massa, Moe did not accept authority from anyone. On the other hand, he obeyed Billy and Liza because they simply guided him the way he should go. Just like the Evans, they didn’t yank their boys by the hair or beat them, knock them down, or slap them in the face. He remembered when Mr. Evans told him and the boys to clean the chicken coops. Moe decided he was not going to clean those stinking things, Mr. Evans said, “young boy, you will do as I say, or get a whipping.” He folded his arms looked down at Moe and
said in a calm baritone voice, “you choose.”
Moe laughed as he remembered running outside to help with the chore. His reason to obey was not that Mr. Evans was tall and threatening, instead, his orders were in love. Moe got under his covers and dreamed about arriving at the Evans home with his brothers and Billy by his side.
The following morning, Moe woke up crying when he had to say goodbye to Billy. He rubbed his eyes, looked around the room and said, “it’s only a dream.”
The last day of his second week, Moe’s life flipped flopped and stopped. Henry V. Brown, the owner of the company and his wife had returned from their trip to Europe. Henry took his wife home and then went to the Steel Mill. While there, one of his workers told him about Moe sleeping in the backroom. He informed Henry, that Billy and his wife were taking good care of the child, who was a hard worker.
Henry quietly went to the back room and saw Moe fast asleep. He noticed the young boy kept his little space clean and cozy, he allowed Moe to continue sleeping.
Henry rushed home to talk with his wife about taking Moe on as their son. The Browns were childless, so they thought raising an eleven-year-old as their own would make them happy and add laughter in their home. But first, before making their final decision, Henry asked Billy about the young boy, who had only good things to say about Moe.
Since Mr. Brown was in a chatty mood, Billy asked him if he could take a trip with Moe to see his Amish friends and take Moe to visit the Evans family, who were abolitionist. Billy told Henry about the family that helped Moe escape. He shared Moe’s concern for his brothers living on a plantation with a mean hateful mother and owner.
Billy thought his kind-hearted employer would understand and offer help that he could not. The thought of attempting to save Moe’s brothers from a plantation was frightening yet exhilarating at the same time.
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