Road to Freedom

Chapter 6

Sunday came, and Daniel attended his first church service in Freedom. The school children ran up to him and greeted him. He smiled and talked with them for a while. He met many of the farmers and parents for the first time here. Some greeted him enthusiastically, exclaiming over how their children were learning their letters and numbers. Some were polite, yet distant. Yet others walked past him as if he weren’t there. Josiah was one of them. He didn’t look in Daniel’s direction, nor acknowledge Daniel’s greeting toward him.

Once inside the church, Daniel stood in the back where many men were standing so that the women, children, and elderly could have the seats. The Pastor got up in front of the congregation and opened with a prayer. They went into the hymns, led by Miss Betsy whom Daniel had met his first day there. Some songs Daniel didn’t know. The songs he did know were sung reverently, but with a touch of melancholy.

After the hymns, those who were in the pews sat down, and Pastor walked back to the front of the congregation.

“Before I begin the sermon today, I’d like to take a moment to introduce Daniel Marshall to those of you who haven’t met him yet.”

Many people turned in their seats to look at the one white man in the back of the building. He smiled at everyone, and gave a shy nod.

“For those of you who have kids that have been going to school, you know Daniel’s been doing a fine job of teaching.” Pastor said, “He asked me if he could say a few words here today. So, Daniel, if you’re ready…”

Daniel took a few steps forward until he was in the middle of the room. Most of the congregation curiously looked at him, but others, such as Josiah, kept their eyes fixed toward the front.

“First, I’d like to thank you all for the welcome. I know I’ve really enjoyed teaching your children here for the past week.” Daniel said, “I wanted to say that I’m opening my class up to adults who want to learn also. I know it’s more difficult for the adults to take time away because of work, so I’ll have classes in the evenings also for anyone who wants to come.”

Daniel took a few steps back until he was against the wall with the other men. Some seemed pleased at this offer as they whispered among each other. Others kept silent, and Daniel didn’t know if they were pleased or offended. The Pastor was smiling at him though, and Daniel could see Doc leaning over and talking enthusiastically to a couple toward the front.




“Thank you, Daniel!” Pastor smiled, “I encourage everyone to take him up on his offer. Unfortunately he won’t be with us very long, so the offer is limited.”

“Hallelujah!”

Daniel heard this from someone in the congregation, and recognized the voice as Josiah’s. A few of the people who had been cold toward Daniel chuckled at this. Pastor frowned at Josiah, but said nothing. Continuing with the sermon, Daniel wondered if it was a coincidence that the Pastor preached on “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Church service here was different from what Daniel knew. Where his people were more somber during a church service, these people were more open. Occasional “Amens” could be heard while the Pastor spoke. Yet near the ending of the service, another sound was heard. Shouts from outside, gunshots, and horses hooves: the people looked toward the door in fear. Mothers held their children close. Men stood tense and alert.

“They’re here!” Josiah quietly whispered, then pushed his way through the men, shouting, “They’re here!”

He shoved Daniel aside, and hurried out the door. Daniel and the other men followed. What Daniel saw shocked him. Three, young white men rode around on their horses. Two had torches while the red-headed third one fired a gun into the air. Isaiah’s carpenter shop was on fire, threatening to spread to Betsy’s house and onto others.

Isaiah stepped forward in a defensive move, but was stopped by his wife and friends.

“No, Isaiah!” Sue exclaimed. “You know what’ll happen!”

Isaiah clutched his fist and angrily watched the three men ride through Freedom. They shouted racial comments and ordered “the darkies” to leave. Daniel couldn’t understand this calm reaction from these people. In his home town, the men would have armed themselves with guns and taken care of these troublemakers. Why did these people stand here and take it?

It was almost as if Josiah read Daniel’s mind. The man picked up an axe from a nearby chopping block, and ran out into the middle of the street. He raised the axe and swung at a nearby horseman. Daniel used this diversion and ran to the Doc’s house.

The dark haired rider threw his torch into Betsy’s home, and took a rope from his saddle horn. Making a lasso, he caught Josiah in it and dragged him down the middle of the road. The men from the church now went into action. They ran into the street, but the red-headed gunman aimed his gun toward the middle of the crowd. The crowd stopped advancing.

“Maybe we should make an example out of him to teach you all a lesson.” The red head grinned, “Billy, throw that rope over a tree limb.”

“You’re not going to hang him?!” the blonde rider shouted in surprise.

“No, you’re not!” Daniel yelled as he came out of the Doc’s office with a rifle in his hand. It was aimed right at the red head. “Throw down your gun!”

The red head hesitated, but wisely decided to toss his gun down followed by a string a curses. Daniel then looked at the man called Billy. He ordered him to let go of the rope, and the Billy did so. Josiah slowly and painfully pulled the rope off of himself.

Doc stepped forward and helped Josiah stand. He then looked at the gunman and ordered them to leave.

“Let them go?!” Daniel exclaimed. “After what they’ve done, we should turn them in to the sheriff!”

“Yeah, try that!” the red head said smugly, “See what happens!”

“Get out of here!” Doc firmly repeated.

The red head snorted and looked at his two friends. Nodding his head to the left, the three of them rode off, laughing at the crime they got away with.

“I don’t understand!” Daniel exclaimed as he lowered the rifle, “Why did you let them go?” He then looked at the crowd of men. “Why didn’t you defend yourselves?!”

“Lord, son, you know what would’ve happened if we’d a killed a white man?” Betsy cried as she stared at her burning home, “It would have brought them all down on us!”

“We haven’t got time to stand around and talk.” Pastor shouted, “Get the water buckets! We have to put out that fire!”

Josiah waved off Doc’s attempts to check him over, and stumbled over to the others to help with the fire. Daniel set the rifle aside and grabbed a water bucket. It took an hour, but the group managed to put out the fires and no other buildings were damaged.

Friends gathered around Isaiah, Sue, and Betsy. They offered words of comfort along with places to stay until they could all work together to rebuild. Still much was lost in the fires. Isaiah’s carpentry tools were destroyed along with Betsy’s sewing equipment.

~~~~~




School was cancelled the next day. It was a day that everyone got together to help their neighbors. Some helped the Wrights and Betsy sort through the debris for salvageable items. Others went out into the woods and started cutting wood to build new structures.

The fact that Daniel had stood up for them yesterday, and the fact that he was so eager to help them today softened many of the hard hearts. People, who wouldn’t talk to him yesterday, were greeting him today as he walked by. Pulling on a pair of leather work gloves, he returned the greetings with a smile and a nod. He walked over to where a two-man saw was leaning against a fallen tree. He picked the saw up, and draped it over the trunk. He knew someone would come to help him, but was surprised when that person turned out to be Josiah.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, but Josiah was obviously uncomfortable. Daniel quickly hid his surprise, and took hold of his end of the saw. The two worked together without exchanging words.

By the middle of the day, the two men were dragging their work over to the site of construction. One work team had cleared away most of the debris, and another team was starting the framework of the Wright’s home. The way these people worked together reminded Daniel of the barn raisings back home. All the people would get together to help their neighbor build a barn, and in one day the barn would be completely constructed.

Isaiah walked over to the construction site, and surveyed the progress.

“Were you able to salvage much?” Daniel asked.

“Some cookware and a few of my tools.” Isaiah said. He looked over at Daniel’s saddened expression and smiled, “Hard times aint nothing new to us, boy! We just pick up and start over.”

Daniel returned the smile, and watched as Isaiah went back into the woods to continue work. He was amazed at this man’s strength.

Doc walked over with a canteen in one hand and wiping sweat from his face with his other hand.

“How do you feel, Josiah?” he asked.

“I’m all right!” Josiah said, “Nothing that won’t heal on its own.”

“You boys got a lot of work done.” Doc said as he looked at the sawed logs, “You two make a pretty good team.”

Daniel smiled at Doc, but the smile turned humorous when Josiah shrugged and said, “He’s all right...for a school teacher.”

~~~~~


When Jacob came to visit the following day, the smell of smoke was faintly in the air. When he heard what had happened, he promised to help all he could: beginning with replacing the tools and materials that Isaiah and Betsy both needed. When Isaiah stubbornly insisted that he wasn’t going to take charity, Jacob just as stubbornly replied that Isaiah would pay him back with a new cabinet. This satisfied both men, and the next day Jacob returned with the items the two entrepreneurs needed.

School had resumed for the students. Daniel was teaching children and a few women during the day. In the evening, the men came to school after working their fields all day. Daniel was thrilled with the turnout. He felt completely happy that not only was he teaching, but he was making a difference.

Weeks passed, and life in Freedom had returned to normal. The Wrights and Betsy were completely moved into their new homes, and back in business. Weekly visits from Jacob kept their business flowing, and also exchanged letters between Daniel and his family. Daniel proudly reported on how well his students were learning. He also learned news from home that Will was off to medical school, and Sam was courting a young lady whose family had just moved to town. But what thrilled Daniel the most about his letters from home was that he could see from the way his father wrote that he was proud of him. So many times, Daniel had felt he had let his father down by being a teacher instead of a father. His mind was put at ease, and he actually felt tears sting his eyes when he read his father’s words:

I wasn’t so sure about you being a teacher. I must confess, I always thought of teaching as being a woman’s place. Maybe that’s because the only school teachers I had ever seen were women. But from the sound of your letters, and the reports I keep getting from Miss Wilson, I know you’ve found your place in life. I must say I’m very proud of you, son.

Daniel folded the letter, and placed it in the drawer under his shirts. What he had wanted most in life, more so than being a teacher, had come true.