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From in the shadows of the barn, Noah stood, watching Kid who was sitting on a barrel positioned near the end of the porch of the bunkhouse. Kid had been sitting there, lost in thought for near a half-hour. Noah could see the turmoil the man was going through by the expressions that crossed his face every now and then. After seeing Kid throw his hands up in the air in desperation, Noah strolled across the yard and sat on the edge of the porch, leaning against the bunkhouse wall. Kid didn’t even notice him sitting there. He jumped when Noah said quietly, “Look’s like you got a lot on your mind Kid.” Kid looked over at the man, took a deep breath and stated, “You have no idea, Noah…” Tilting his head to the side, Noah studied the quiet spoken Southerner. “Actually, I think I do.” Before Kid could protest that there was no way Noah could know what torment he was going through, Noah spoke up. “Let me explain a few things to you Kid. What I have to tell you, might help you make your decision of going back to Virginia to fight when war breaks out.” Kid rested his elbows on his knees, eyes intent on what the black man was about to say. “Now you know that I was born free, right?” Kid nodded, but remained silent. “Well, I want to give you an idea on what it is like for those that aren’t. When you’re born a slave or bought as a slave, your body, your time, even your breath isn’t your own. You belong to your master.” This was said with such venom and distaste, that Kid couldn’t help but be aware of how much Noah hated slavery. “You wake up before first light, eat a meager breakfast if you are so fortunate, then head out into the fields where you will work until after sundown six days a week. Now some may work up at the master’s house, which was a bit better than those who were field hands. There you have to deal with the master, his wife and possibly children all of which are telling you to cook, clean, do this, do that, whatever they order you to do, you have to do without complaint.” When Kid looked like he was about to interrupt, Noah held up a hand and said, “I know that your family didn’t own slaves. But this is part of what the fighting is going to be over. A big part. So, please let me continue then you can ask or say anything you want too…” Kid acquiesced by closing his mouth and waiting for Noah to continue. “Most slaves have never tasted freedom and they never expect too. Then they hear whispers of attempts to escape. Their souls light up with the thought of being free. It’s a hard trek, trying to escape. There are hundreds of miles between where they are and freedom, but they are willing to take the risk. Do you know why?” When Kid shook his head, Noah answered, “To be free, that’s why. To raise your family in freedom. You remember when Sally and I were taking that money for a Freedom Train heading out west right?” “You were on your way there when Sally got killed, right? Yes, I remember,” Kid answered quietly, knowing that the death of Sally hit Noah hard. She had been like a mother to him for so many years. “What you and the others never knew was that Sally and I used to help runaway slaves make their way to freedom on the Underground Railroad. It was back in fifty-nine over near Mound City, Kansas that we would meet up with a man Sally knew as John Brown, on what was called the Lane Trail. He wasn’t always able to take runaways all the way up to Canada because of being followed by pro-slavers. The runaways would be pointed in the right direction and told to look for signs or codes on where help was located. For many, it was a lantern hanging on a fence post out in front of the house. In those houses, the freedom seekers would find a friendly, helping, caring person who was willing to feed them, clothe them if need be and give them shelter until they were able to leave on the next leg of their journey.” Noah was lost in his own thoughts for a moment and Kid sat studying his friend. ‘What a hard life he must have had, even being free. Always persecuted for the color of his skin. Just like Buck…’ Noah came back to the present when Kid cleared his throat and continued. “Guided by their conscience, the owners at these houses were willing to break the law by helping runaways. Sometimes as the runaways fell asleep or tried to, they would hear the bloodhounds off in the distance, knowing what fate would await them if they were found out. Usually a captured runaway would be whipped, sometimes until death.” Noah noticed Kid’s pallor turned gray at the thought. “Even when they reached a free state, it was dangerous for them. United States law still sees them as their master’s property, and bounty hunters are everywhere. There would be a lot of waiting and hiding before Sally and I could help them move further along the trail. Have you ever heard of the song, ‘Follow the Drinking Gourd’?” Noah asked. “No, I haven’t. What does it have to do with slaves?” Kid questioned with real interest. Noah gave a little smile. “Songs have a lot to do with the Underground Railroad, Kid. See, there are certain songs that have a secret meaning to slaves. Don’t know where they originated, but they became a sort of code. Let me sing you about the Drinking Gourd.” Closing his eyes, Noah started to sing in a soulful voice that rang clear in the falling darkness quelling the noise of the other riders inside the bunkhouse as they too, listened to the song.
Follow the drinking gourd! When the last note drifted off into the night, Kid said, “That was beautiful. What does it mean?” Before Noah could answer, they both heard scraping of chairs and arguing within the bunkhouse as the others resumed the card game they had stopped playing to listen to Noah as he sang outside. “This particular song wasn’t used for the Lane Train. It was usually a code song for those down South heading up towards Ohio where they would have to cross Lake Erie to get into Canada. Basically, it tells the slaves what time of year they should head North at, what signs they are to look for at different places during their journey. It gives them clues on who they are to meet and where. I won’t get into great detail since it isn’t used in these parts. I just thought that being from Virginia, you might have heard it sung before.” “I haven’t heard that one, but I did hear a few times during my travels one that went something like this: ‘Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus’ and the phrase Promised Land and Gospel Train,” Kid offered in reply. “Steal away” is used to alert other slaves that an escape attempt was about to happen. The Promised Land or Heaven is what many call Canada, since it is there that they can be free. Free to live without a master, other than themselves, free to own land, to farm or own businesses, free to raise a family and not be torn apart. Now the Gospel Train is the same as the Freedom Train. Sally and I didn’t call our portion of the railroad that. Since you had to be careful on who heard you and making sure that pro-slavers weren’t privy to what was happening, Sally decided our code would be, ‘the long black train’. As far as I know, no one ever found out that it was code for the Underground Railroad.” “Sally and I were called ‘shepherds’, which meant we escorted slaves. The River Jordan is the Mississippi River, a load of potatoes meant there were fugitive slaves hidden under a wagon load of produce, a stockholder is a person who helps fund the Underground Railroad by donating money, food and clothing. A Station Master is a keeper of a safe house. There are so many codes that I can’t even begin to tell you all of them. These are only a few that I have used in helping others gain their freedom.” “Wow. I never would have guessed that there was such a system using everyday phrases or words,” Kid said amazed at how complex helping a runaway slave was. “I just wish you could have seen some of the people we helped, Kid. There were mothers with babes at their breast, children sent on the train without their parents, men who were seeking freedom in hopes of having a place for their loved ones to run to. The saddest, was a small boy about six years old. His mother had put him into the care of a woman who was escaping to join other members of her family who had already headed to Canada. The boy didn’t know this woman; he had no one who cared for him. Except me. I took care of him while we were on the trail but when we came to the end of where Sally and I left them in the care of the next shepherds, he cried. The child held onto me so tight, I thought he’d break my neck. It broke my heart having to send him with that woman who didn’t care about him, but think of how his heart was broken. No mother, no father, no one to care for him, all alone in life, but he was about to be free…” “I guess I never thought about all that before….I just thought about my people in the South being told by others how they should live…” “Just like the slaves are told every day of their lives how to live, think about that for a while Kid. You have a good heart. Let it tell you what is right and what is wrong about this impending war.” On that final note, Noah rose, arched his back to get the kinks out of it and strolled into the bunkhouse to join the game of poker the other riders were playing. Kid sat looking at the stars for a while longer, pondering all that Noah had told him, seeing the slave issue from a totally new perspective. When the lights went out in the bunkhouse and those inside settled in for a long night’s sleep, Kid stood up having made a decision about the future. Walking into the bunkhouse, Kid paused next to Noah’s bunk. Noah tuned and saw Kid looming over him and sat up on an elbow. “You need something, Kid?” Noah asked in hushed tones so as not to wake the others. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry that there has been a need for the long black train and that you had to be a part of it. I’m sorry for what your people have had to endure and I want you to know, that I won’t be a part of it. I won’t fight for that way of life.” Smiling, Noah laid back down, murmuring, “I had a feeling you wouldn’t Kid.”
INSPIRATION: (This was written for a challenge over on another site) Looking over the words of the song, it first brought to mind Jimmy and the way his life was heading. I really didn't feel like doing another Jimmy story right then, so I started thinking who else it could fit and came up with the idea of Noah and the Underground Railroad. After doing a little research on the topic, I came up with the story that was submitted. Hope you all like it. Drop me a line and let me know what you think.
Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!
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