For This Land

by Kate McMullan

  When the plate was dry, Mr. Young put it into a viewing box. He said he would call it “Boy with a Two-Headed Snake.” He gave the box to Pres. I have never seen my brother so happy.

  August 30, 1856

  Aunt Margaret stepped in a prairie-dog hole and sprained her ankle! She called for George and Charlie, and they helped her hobble back to the cabin. They sat her up in bed. Mother was close to tears. But Aunt Margaret laughed. She said her ankle looked like a melon. How can she be cheerful even now?

  Later

  It turned suddenly cold last night.

  Theo Vanbeek rode over to see about chores. We were glad to see him. With the men away, Aunt Margaret lame, and Mother so weak, it is hard to get the chores done. Theo hauled wood, split it, pitched hay, and mended Bay’s harness. But I still think he is awful for not fighting for a free Kansas.

  September 2, 1856

  After supper tonight, three wagons pulled up to our cabin. They were full of children and their mothers. One mother said, “Please, may we stay with you this night?” She said a man rode into Lawrence shouting that the Ruffians were coming to burn the town! There are not enough men in Lawrence to protect everyone. So the men sent the women and children to stay at the farms for safety.

  “Come in,” said Mother. “We will find a place for everyone to sleep.”

  Pres and John are making prairie feather beds in the barn. The boys will sleep there. Mother will share her bed with another mother. Aunt Margaret will share her big bed with two. We girls will sleep up in the loft. We took down the blue-and-white quilt. We pushed the beds together to make three big beds. We will sleep crosswise, five to a bed. It is chilly. I must find more quilts. No more time to write now!

  Later

  Two of the Lawrence girls, Louisa and India, are nine. Just my age! Before the war, they went to school in Lawrence. They have also read The Tempest by Mr. Shakespeare. Go home, Ruffians! If only I could go to school, maybe K.T. would not be so bad.

  September 3, 1856

  George got up before dawn to take care of the animals. It was a frosty morning. So he lit a fire to warm the cabin.

  I came down the loft ladder just as Aunt Margaret hobbled out of her quilt room. She saw the fire burning. Her eyes grew wide. Then I remembered. Her jewelry and money! They were inside the hollowed-out log! The fire was blazing hot. Aunt Margaret poured water on it. But it was too late. When the fire was finally out, Aunt Margaret pulled out two black lumps from the ashes. One was her silver brooch. The other was Uncle Aubert’s gold watch. She found the roll of banknotes, too. It was so badly burned that she could not unroll it.

  Poor George! He was near tears at having burned his family’s few riches. He was out hunting when Aunt Margaret hollowed out that log. No one thought to tell him about it. Aunt Margaret hugged him. She says she will mail the burned money to the government in Washington. It will show them what happens to banknotes out here in the wilds of K.T.

  Later

  Mother and I made johnnycakes for breakfast. We fed the children in shifts. Then the older children helped us with our chores. The little ones played with Mouser near the cabin. When it got warm, we all went down to the stream. As we waded, India told me her father had once bought Sally from Mrs. Biggs!

  About midday, a man rode to our cabin. He said the news about the raid was a false alarm. So all the mothers and children piled into the wagons and went back to town.

  Our cabin seems empty now with only eight of us. Mother is revived by caring for so many children.

  September 12, 1856

  Mr. Young rode by our cabin. He says the President has sent a new governor to K.T. He is Governor Geary and he wants to end the war! He has ordered all Ruffians to go home. If they do not obey, he will call out United States soldiers to drive them out of K.T. Mr. Young says peace is at hand. Aunt Margaret wept with joy.

  Mr. Young told us another story about Old Sacramento. He reminded us how the Ruffians threw thousands of lead newspaper-type letters from The Herald of Freedom into the river. He said Free-State men raked much of the type out of the river. They melted the lead letters, just the way George and I melted lead to make bullets. They poured the melted lead into big round molds to make cannonballs.

  Pres whooped when he heard this.

  The men loaded up Old Sacramento with these cannonballs. And they fired the cannon at a Ruffian fort. The man who lit the cannon cried out, “Another issue of The Herald of Freedom!”

  We all whooped when we heard this.

  Old Sacramento is in Lawrence now. Mr. Young says if we hear it boom, it will be a signal. We are quickly to pack up what we can and go hide in the woods behind Blue Mound.

  Mr. Young left to tell others about the signal.

  September 13, 1856

  Aunt Margaret says we may go to Sabbath School tomorrow! She says Governor Geary has sent the Ruffians home. She says it will be safe to go.

  September 14, 1856

  The Ruffians did NOT go home. I am sitting at the foot of Blue Mound now. Here is what happened.

  We drove the wagon to Blue Mound. We walked to Reverend Still’s cabin. But no one was there. We saw two women standing halfway up Blue Mound. Aunt Margaret stayed in the wagon with her boys. Mother, Grace, Pres, and I walked up the hill to the women. One was looking through a spyglass. Mother asked her what she saw. She handed the spyglass to Mother. Mother looked through it and said, “Good heavens!” Pres grabbed for the spyglass, but I got it first. I put it to my eye. I saw something shiny. It took me a moment to understand. I was looking at thousands of bayonets sparkling in the sunlight. Each one was fastened to the barrel of a Ruffian rifle!

  “They are fifteen miles away,” said one woman.

  “And marching this way,” said the other.

  “Has anyone raised the flag on top of Blue Mound?” asked Pres.

  The women did not know about any flag. They said they were going home to bury their silver and hide their cows.

  Before Mother could stop him, Pres began running up Blue Mound. Mother held tight to Grace’s hand. She said, “Go after your brother, Meg.”

  I took off running. When I got to the top of Blue Mound, I saw a soldier. I knew he must be Silas Ogden. Pres was trying to help him plant the pine-tree flagpole in the hole. But the pole was too heavy.

  “I will get the others!” I shouted to Pres.

  I turned and started running back down the mound.

  Mr. Ogden shouted after me, “And bring a dag-blasted rope!”

  I ran to Mother. I said Pres and Mr. Ogden needed help. Then we raced down the hill.

  Two minutes later, George, Charlie, and John were speeding up Blue Mound.

  Mother sat down in the wagon. Her face was flushed. She was shaking again. I ran to Reverend Still’s barn for a rope. The horses and cows were gone. I looked everywhere for a rope. But wherever Reverend Still had gone, he had taken his rope with him.

  I ran back to the wagon. Mother said we must ride home for a rope. But I said, “Wait! We can look in Mrs. Biggs’s barn.”

  Off we drove. Aunt Margaret pulled the wagon up to Mrs. Biggs’s barn. I raced inside. I found a rope. But it was too short to raise a flag.

  I ran out of the barn. Someone called, “Stop, thief!” Mrs. Biggs stood on her cabin steps. She had not gone to her heavenly reward. She held a rifle!

  “You are too late!” Mrs. Biggs cried. “My pony is already stolen!”

  “Sally?” I said. “The Ruffians stole Sally?”

  Now Mrs. Biggs seemed to remember me. She lowered her gun.

  In a rush of words, I told her how we needed a rope to raise the flag. Mrs. Biggs shook her head. My heart sank. Now we would have to ride all the way home. We might be too late!

  Then Mrs. Biggs said, “My bed cord will do.”

  With that, she hurried into the cabin quicker than one would think a dying woman could. I ran after her. I helped her push her mattress onto the floor. A long cord was threaded up and down and back
and forth through holes in the wooden bed frame. Our fingers flew as we began untying knots. Soon I held the cord in my arms. I thanked Mrs. Biggs and ran for the door.

  It wasn’t long before I was running up Blue Mountain again. Grace was with me now. Mother ran behind us. By the time we reached the top, Mr. Ogden and the boys had planted the flagpole. Now Pres shinnied up the pole. Mr. Ogden tossed him one end of the cord. Pres threaded it through the rings at the top of the pole. He slid down the pole again. We tied our flag to the cord. Then Mr. Ogden pulled on the cord and raised our flag. How proud we felt! Our flag was waving over Blue Mound! Mr. Ogden said it was the best dag-blasted flag he had ever seen.

  A minute later, we heard a cannon boom. Old Sacramento! We knew our flag had done its job.

  We hurried down the hill. But Aunt Margaret and the wagon were gone. And that is all I know.

  Later

  We are still sitting at the foot of Blue Mound. Aunt Margaret has not come back. Now Pres is shouting. Aunt Margaret is coming! He says Kip and Mollie and the calves are with her. And some old lady, too. What is going on?

  September 16, 1856

  Mr. Young spread the word about the signal. Everyone for miles around heard Old Sacramento boom. Mothers gathered up their children. They gathered up their animals, too. Cows, horses, oxen, dogs, and cats. And chickens. We are all hiding together in the thick woods behind Blue Mound.

  Aunt Margaret had gone back to get our animals. And she picked up Mrs. Biggs. She brought her to hide behind Blue Mound. George and Charlie helped Aunt Margaret hobble to our encampment with her swollen ankle. I helped Mrs. Biggs. Grace carried Mouser. Now Pres is running around, pulling up his pant leg. He proudly shows off the splinters he got sliding down the flagpole to anyone who will look.

  Lily is here with her whole family. Her father and brothers are the only men here. They are making themselves useful chopping wood for campfires. How ashamed Lily must be that they are not off fighting.

  When I went for water, I passed Mrs. Biggs’s daughter and her ten children. I told Mrs. Biggs I would take her to their camp. But she said she liked our camp just fine.

  India and Louisa are here, too. At times we forget that we are here because the Ruffians are coming. At times it feels more like a picnic. But most of the time we are all sick with worry for our fathers. We hear that two thousand Ruffian soldiers are marching toward Lawrence. George says there are only three hundred men in the Free-State Militia. How do they stand a chance?

  Everyone here says Governor Geary is no better than a Ruffian himself. He made us feel safe when the Ruffians were coming!

  September 17, 1856

  What a night! We were asleep in the woods. A terrible boom woke us. The Ruffians! Were they shooting at us? Everyone leaped up. Children cried. Dogs barked. Horses whinnied. Mouser raced up a tree. Mothers called to their children. No one knew what was happening. Then a flash lit the sky. Another boom sounded and rain began to fall. It was only a thunderstorm! We all got soaked. Our bedding, too. But we all felt happy that no one was shooting at us.

  The mothers herded us to Reverend Still’s cabin. Poor Mrs. Still. She opened the door and there we were. Dozens of children, dripping wet and muddy. But she let us in. She gave out rags and we dried ourselves as best we could. Then we lay down on her rag rug. Keeping together for warmth, we fell asleep.

  This morning the sun is out. The little children ran outside. Lily and I stayed behind to clean the mud out of the Stills’ cabin. As we worked, Lily asked if I had been praying for her sister. With Father off fighting, I said, all my prayers are for him. Lily was quiet then. Now I wonder, is she upset that I have not been praying for her sister? Or that her father did not go off to fight?

  Later

  Mr. Young came to our camp. He said Governor Geary went to Franklin. He told the Ruffians to go home. He said if they did not go, he would call out the U.S. soldiers. We have heard this before. We do not believe Governor Geary wants the Ruffians to go home.

  September 18, 1856

  Mother shook us awake before dawn. She said we must run. And quickly! “Ruffian soldiers are on top of Mount Oread,” she said. “Get up! Hurry!”

  We jumped up. We grabbed our bedding. Everyone in the woods was doing the same. We kept quiet. No one wanted to let the Ruffians know we were there. We rounded up Kip, Mollie, and the calves.

  George was hitching up Bay when a shout went up. My heart nearly stopped. Theo Vanbeek came tearing down Blue Mound. He yelled, “The soldiers on Mount Oread are United States troops! They have come to chase the Ruffians home!”

  Never have I heard such whooping.

  Later

  We do not know if it is safe to go back to our cabins yet. So we are waiting at the foot of Blue Mound. I am looking after Grace. Grace is looking after Mouser. Pres is still showing off his splinters.

  I still want to go back to St. Louis. But life here in K.T. certainly is exciting.

  Later

  Theo Vanbeek rode by to say the area is free of Ruffians. We are going home!

  Later

  We took Mrs. Biggs home first. I helped her into her cabin. I saw her mattress on the floor. Her bed cord! It was still on the flagpole. But Mrs. Biggs said never mind. She could sleep on the floor. She said a dying woman does not care much for comfort.

  I am writing in the wagon now. We are going home!

  Later

  The Ruffians broke into our cabin! As we rode up to it, we saw the door standing open. And we knew. All the bedding Aunt Margaret did not take to Blue Mound is gone. So are Uncle Aubert’s hammer and hatchet. Every scrap of food is gone. And Uncle Aubert’s whiskey bottle. The Ruffians took what was growing in the garden, too. But Aunt Margaret is smiling. She says we are all alive and unhurt. And so are Kip, Bay, and Mollie and her calves. She had hidden the chickens in the cellar. She says we have more flour in the cellar, too. And potatoes. She says we can stitch new quilts. She says if the Ruffians are leaving K.T. looting and stealing, so be it. At least they are leaving. Now Father and Uncle Aubert can come home!

  Later

  Pres ran into the cabin yelling that Jake did not come out from behind the stovepipe. He says the Ruffians took his snake. Mother says this is doubtful.

  September 22, 1856

  Father is wounded! Shot in the shoulder. Two Free-State men drove him to our cabin last night. They said he was shot yesterday when the Militia attacked a Ruffian fort.

  Father lay in the back of the wagon. His eyes were closed. Blood was all over his shirt. Now he is sleeping in the big bed. Mother cleaned his wound. She says the bullet is still lodged in his shoulder.

  I cried when I saw Father. Aunt Margaret held me in her arms. She told me to think on the good. But all I can think is how good it will be when we go back home.

  September 23, 1856

  I tiptoed into Father’s room this morning. He lay so still. I squeezed his hand. And he squeezed back! Now I know he will get well.

  Later

  Father opened his eyes this evening. Mother managed to get a little soup into him before he fell asleep. Mother is like her old self again.

  Where is Uncle Aubert?

  September 24, 1856

  Aunt Margaret and George have gone to look for Uncle Aubert. They hitched Bay to the wagon this morning and rode off. Mother is busy tending Father. I gathered Charlie, John, Pres, and Grace together. I said we must do all the work now. Pres said, “We’ll do a dag-blasted good job!” And we did. Charlie and John looked after the animals. Pres and Grace cleaned up the garden. They found carrots and squash that the Ruffians left behind. I cooked them for supper. No one complained.

  Later

  Father sat up today. He said he last saw Uncle Aubert at the Ruffian fort. He does not know where he is now. Father has dark circles under his eyes.

  Jake the snake came out from behind the stovepipe. Pres wants to show him to Father. He says it will cheer him. Mother says not yet.

  Later

&nbs
p; Aunt Margaret and George came home just after dark. They found Uncle Aubert. He is alive. But he is in prison! He is being held with twenty other Free-State soldiers. Governor Geary had sent them north to stop the Ruffians from looting and stealing. On their way back to Lawrence, Uncle Aubert and the others were captured by pro-slavery soldiers. They took them to Lecompton and locked them in jail. The men were brought before Judge Cato. He is a pro-slavery man. He said he would not set bail for any men of the Free-State Militia. So they are still in jail. And all their horses, including Star, have been taken by pro-slavery men. Mother says this is robbery.

  Aunt Margaret says she is only happy that she found Uncle Aubert alive.

  September 27, 1856

  The Emigrant Aid Society in Boston has sent barrels to Lawrence. Theo Vanbeek brought one to our cabin on the back of his wagon. When I saw it, I feared the whole thing might be filled with boys’ shoes. Aunt Margaret opened the barrel. Inside were boys’ shoes. And girls’ shoes. And warm woolen shawls, sweaters, pants, dresses, and socks. On the very bottom of the barrel were three fancy dresses. The kind I wore in St. Louis. I held up a pale blue one in front of me. It is just my size. A St. Louis dress! It has a high lacy collar. And twenty-one buttons down the back. It made me think of Nellie, fastening my buttons with a buttonhook. Dear Nellie! I wonder if she is married now to Mr. Sean O’Brien.

  Mother said these clothes are to be given to the needy. I said I was in need of the blue dress. Mother said I could pick one dress from the barrel. But I must be practical. For this is the only dress I will get this year. She held up a brown wool dress. It is a fine dress for some prairie girl. But I am a St. Louis girl. I have my heart set on that blue St. Louis dress.