The first snow began to fall in the winter of 1858. The four friends turned their thoughts towards their winter stores. They had chopped plenty of firewood. Jacob and Peter had brought as many dry goods with them as their horses could carry, but neither of them had counted on the necessity of keeping four men alive through a cold and cruel Kansas winter. It was decided that they should hunt for as much game as they could find and jerk the meat while there was still game left to hunt for in the forest. Jacob and Peter, being men of the city, went with Two Rivers to take instruction. Cassius, having been brought up in rural Missouri, was already an experienced hunter. So he took his rifle and went forth into the forest as a lone wolf seeking his prey.
Cassius had always loved hunting. It was about the only time in his life he had ever known the comfort of solitude. Having been raised a slave he was constantly in close quarters with others. It seemed he could not even put on his pants without an audience. As he walked alone amongst the trees and scanned for movement he felt different somehow; closer to the ground. Running away had stirred such a panic in his heart that it took months for him to calm down. But the loyalty shown to him by Jacob, Two Rivers, and, more recently, Peter had granted him the safety net he needed. After thinking on it for a while, Cassius realized what this strange feeling was. For the first time in his life, he was not afraid. But perhaps he should have been, for Cassius was not out of the woods yet.
Far forward and to his right, Cassius spotted a rustling amongst the leaves. Hoping this meant that his hunting trip had not been in vain, he crouched behind a tree and raised his rifle. But it was no deer that Cassius had spotted, it was
55 an overseer. And it was coming right for him. As the threatening figure walked closer, Cassius realized that this overseer was one who had been particularly cruel to him. For the Jones plantation, that was saying quite a lot.
Slowly but surely, the overseer’s careful and deliberate steps brought him closer and closer to Cassius’ position. Then he stopped. He saw Cassius’ face over by the tree and realized that he had come across game of a different kind. Game he had already gone hunting for on three separate occasions. The overseer grinned as he raised his rifle. What choice did Cassius have? He fired, and he ran like he was being chased by the devil himself. Perhaps he was.
Cassius was so terrified that he could not even feel his feet touching the ground as he ran faster and faster through the forest. He had committed the most grievous and unforgivable of sins for a black man raised in the south. He had shot a white man; an overseer no less. He had killed a white man who had been given power over him. One who had the power to decide whether he had done right or wrong. One who had power to decide if he should live or die. If Cassius were caught now, then death would come to him slowly and painfully. It would probably take days for him to die, and his family would be watching the entire time. He ran like a madman, for his life depended on it. There could be no turning back now.
Once again Cassius ran into the cabin on the prairie that had become his sanctuary. Once again he kneeled in the corner and prayed for deliverance. He prayed with all his heart. He prayed all day long. As the sun sank low in the sky, Jacob, Peter, and Two Rivers returned with a deer draped across each shoulder. When they stepped into the cabin, it took only one look into Cassius’ eyes lit with fear to let them know that they had bigger problems than cleaning their game. He told them his story, and then they sat in silence for a while. Jacob spoke first.
“Friends, we have a problem.” Two Rivers nodded his agreement.“Indeed; by now they have realized that the hunter is missing and have gone out looking for him. It will not be long before they find his body and realize what happened. Then they will organize a war party and come here after dark. They will try to sneak up on us and kill us in our sleep. We must be ready for them.”
They walked outside to inspect their perimeter and come up with a plan for defense. Peter spoke up.“They will be coming at us from the south. We should dig in here and lie in wait for them.” Two Rivers shook his head and voiced his disagreement.
“These men fight like cowards. They have come for us three times already and three times they have run off like dogs with their tails between their legs without firing a shot. They will come at us from the treeline and not reveal themselves until the last possible moment. We can take them, I have a plan...”
