Read Online Where the Broken Heart Still Beats by Carolyn Meyer - Free Book Online
Authors: Carolyn Meyer
Ads: Link
named Silas. "John stayed with the Indians," Uncle said. "We hear he married another captive, a little Mexican gal." That was all he would say. She could scarcely remember John or when he had disappeared.
When they first set out on the journey, everyone was in high spirits, talking and laughing. The sun shone, the breeze was fresh, and all around them little blue flowers bloomed on the rolling green fields.
"Austin," she heard them say often, and she thought that must be the name of a person. Later she realized Austin was the name of the place they were going. But what was to happen there? Why were they making this trip? She had no idea.
She heard talk, too, of "secession" and "legislature," but these words were meaningless to Sinty-ann.
When darkness came they stopped. Two dark-skinned slaves who traveled with them—Negroes, Uncle called them—set up the camp, carried water from a stream, and built a big fire. Why did white men enjoy such large fires while the People made only small ones that could not be seen so easily? The dark men also stood guard while the others slept. At daybreak they continued on their way.
After several days of travel, which tired everyone, they arrived in Austin. Sinty-ann had never before been in a settlement this large. Fort Worth, a half day's journey from Uncle's farm, was the biggest settlement she had ever seen; she had traveled there once with Uncle and Isaac to buy salt, sugar, and coffee. They called Fort Worth with its muddy central square a town. They called this Austin place a city, "the capital."
They found accommodations for the entire group in a large cabin with many rooms, some above the others, with steps leading up. A boardinghouse, they called it. Sinty-ann was given a room to share with Lucy and the young children and Mrs. Raymond and her two daughters. Lucy and Mrs. Raymond and one daughter took the big wooden bed with its snowy white cover. The children slept in a smaller bed pulled from under the big one, tumbled together like fox kits in a den. Sinty-ann spread her buffalo robe on the floor for herself and Prairie Flower. Ben had stayed behind with the other slaves to protect the farm, and no one seemed to be guarding her. They must have known she would be too frightened of this place to flee.
After they had had a day to rest themselves, the women dressed Sinty-ann in the blue and white dress with the white collar and Mrs. Raymond's silver brooch. She was still uncomfortable in these awkward clothes, but she knew that the women meant kindly and did not complain.
Then all but Prairie Flower and the youngest children, who stayed behind with the Negroes, set out together in horse-drawn carriages, which Uncle had hired. The carriages trotted smartly up a road leading to an enormous white building and rolled past a wide expanse of grass. They came to a stop at the broad steps that lead to the entrance with a row of tall, white pillars as thick as trees set across the front. Sinty-ann stared.
"It's the Texas State Capitol," one of the women said in a voice that trilled with excitement. "Isn't it grand?"
They walked into a great hall filled with white men who sat in rows listening while other white men spoke. Quietly the visitors took seats near the back, except for Uncle—dressed, Sinty-ann noted, in his finest suit and a black silk necktie. He strode briskly to the front of the hall, where he was greeted as a friend, and spoke privately to one of the men seated at a long table. Some of the men turned around to stare, and a murmur swept through the huge room.
Sinty-ann watched uneasily. Who were these men? When men gathered like this in the chiefs lodge, it was to discuss matters that concerned the tribe and to make important decisions. Now one of the white chiefs at the table at the front of the hall rose and began to speak. She heard her name, and her apprehension turned to fear.
Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Raymond rose and pushed her forward. Uncle was striding toward her,
When they first set out on the journey, everyone was in high spirits, talking and laughing. The sun shone, the breeze was fresh, and all around them little blue flowers bloomed on the rolling green fields.
"Austin," she heard them say often, and she thought that must be the name of a person. Later she realized Austin was the name of the place they were going. But what was to happen there? Why were they making this trip? She had no idea.
She heard talk, too, of "secession" and "legislature," but these words were meaningless to Sinty-ann.
When darkness came they stopped. Two dark-skinned slaves who traveled with them—Negroes, Uncle called them—set up the camp, carried water from a stream, and built a big fire. Why did white men enjoy such large fires while the People made only small ones that could not be seen so easily? The dark men also stood guard while the others slept. At daybreak they continued on their way.
After several days of travel, which tired everyone, they arrived in Austin. Sinty-ann had never before been in a settlement this large. Fort Worth, a half day's journey from Uncle's farm, was the biggest settlement she had ever seen; she had traveled there once with Uncle and Isaac to buy salt, sugar, and coffee. They called Fort Worth with its muddy central square a town. They called this Austin place a city, "the capital."
They found accommodations for the entire group in a large cabin with many rooms, some above the others, with steps leading up. A boardinghouse, they called it. Sinty-ann was given a room to share with Lucy and the young children and Mrs. Raymond and her two daughters. Lucy and Mrs. Raymond and one daughter took the big wooden bed with its snowy white cover. The children slept in a smaller bed pulled from under the big one, tumbled together like fox kits in a den. Sinty-ann spread her buffalo robe on the floor for herself and Prairie Flower. Ben had stayed behind with the other slaves to protect the farm, and no one seemed to be guarding her. They must have known she would be too frightened of this place to flee.
After they had had a day to rest themselves, the women dressed Sinty-ann in the blue and white dress with the white collar and Mrs. Raymond's silver brooch. She was still uncomfortable in these awkward clothes, but she knew that the women meant kindly and did not complain.
Then all but Prairie Flower and the youngest children, who stayed behind with the Negroes, set out together in horse-drawn carriages, which Uncle had hired. The carriages trotted smartly up a road leading to an enormous white building and rolled past a wide expanse of grass. They came to a stop at the broad steps that lead to the entrance with a row of tall, white pillars as thick as trees set across the front. Sinty-ann stared.
"It's the Texas State Capitol," one of the women said in a voice that trilled with excitement. "Isn't it grand?"
They walked into a great hall filled with white men who sat in rows listening while other white men spoke. Quietly the visitors took seats near the back, except for Uncle—dressed, Sinty-ann noted, in his finest suit and a black silk necktie. He strode briskly to the front of the hall, where he was greeted as a friend, and spoke privately to one of the men seated at a long table. Some of the men turned around to stare, and a murmur swept through the huge room.
Sinty-ann watched uneasily. Who were these men? When men gathered like this in the chiefs lodge, it was to discuss matters that concerned the tribe and to make important decisions. Now one of the white chiefs at the table at the front of the hall rose and began to speak. She heard her name, and her apprehension turned to fear.
Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Raymond rose and pushed her forward. Uncle was striding toward her,
Similar Books
