COMING HOME MAMA

The Withrow belief that their servants loved them was now

badly shaken.

Ella was fascinated by this belief. How could you own a

person and think they loved you like family? More basically

how could you own a person?

Two of the male slaves ran away. They were returned to the

plantation and were shot by Uncle Charles. The normal

punishment for runaways was a whipping. But in these trying

times Uncle Charles took no chances. He shot them before the

entire slave population of the plantation. Even small children

were gathered to watch the punishment completed. Only

little Elizabeth in the nursery with her sister Maggie was

excused from the execution. The bodies were buried without

ceremony of any kind. The slaves were sent back to their

usual tasks.

This was another horrible fascination to Ella. There were more

than one hundred slaves on the property. They could easily

revolt and kill their owners.

Todd and his Bushwhacker friends had dug one deep hole for

the bodies. They carried the dead men to the colored

cemetery and dropped them in the hole. They covered them

with dirt, and walked away. The graves of the two men and Lily

were never marked.

The house was still in mourning for Samantha. Ella had written

her Mother and Father of her cousins death. But harvest time

had come and the Withrow family was known far and wide for

their Harvest Ball.

There was much discussion, Should they give a party while in

mourning? Their friends and neighbors certainly deserved a

break from the tension and horror that had become a part of

everyday life. Samantha, they decided, had always loved the

party and would surely understand.

The servants were given gifts and rewards the afternoon of the

ball. Traditionally Charles chose the person who was the

hardest worker in the fields, Edwina would name the hardest

working and best house servant and Todd named the person

who did the best job in the stables. Edwina also had a special

gift for the person who helped maintain her gardens.

Ella thought some of this was a joke. The first thoughts of

her Aunt Edwina actually doing gardening were quickly dispelled.

Edwina gave orders to an experienced slave gardener and never

soiled her own hands. When flowers were cut for the house

Edwina selected the blooms and a slave cut them. A slave

arranged them in the crystal vases and placed them as

directed.

Uncle Charles was having a difficult time deciding on the

best field worker. He had already decided on Luke but since

Luke tried to run away and Charles shot him he was having

to decide on someone else.

The cooking baking and cleaning went on for days on end.

An air of excitement filled the house and people were

smiling again. The entire house gleamed as if the structure

itself was awaiting the party.

Two sets of musicians were hired. One for the square dancing

in the barn. The others for the more sedate dancing in the

big house. The gardens were strung with hundred of lanterns.

Todd was spending much of his time in the stables. Having hung

two men from that location he was now training new people for

the job. He also worked with several extra hands to take care

of visitors horses the night of the party.

Saturday finally came. People seemed to be arriving from every

possible direction. Ella was introduced to people who owned

plantations as far as fifty miles away. Many entire families were

there and would be staying with the Withrows or other homes in

the area. Some brought their own slaves.

The plantation became a fairy land of lights as darkness fell. They

marked the route to the barn and were strung in the garden. To

Ellas' amusement they even marked the route to the privy. Back

home this would not even be mentioned let alone be so

obviously marked.

Ella walked into the barn and watched as the dancers moved to

the callers orders. She had never seen square dancing before and

did not realize how strenous it could be. There was a long line at

the punch bowls after every set.

She encountered Todd and he walked her back to the house.

"Do you know all of these people,"she asked?

Todd laughed and answered,"most of them."

As they reached the house Todd claimed a waltz and dressed in

mourning as was her Aunt she danced with her cousin. She saw

her Aunt and Uncle dancing together her Aunt also in head to

toe black.

After the waltz she walked out onto the front veranda. Several men

stopped talking when she made her entrance. She found a chair in

a darker corner and sat down carefully. Her cousin joined her.

Ella leaned close to Todd and whispered"Why are men wearing guns

at a party?"

Todd shifted his eyes to the men at the other end of the wide porch.

He himself was not armed. These men were strangers and were wearing

their guns tied down. Todd did not want to upset or excite Ella

but he excused himself and went to find his Father and some of his

Bushwhacker friends.

Ella decided to use the privy. On her way through the house she

encountered little Elizabeth

"I am going to the privy, do you need to go too,"Ella whispered?

For an answer the little girl took Ellas' hand and led the way to the

outhouse. They were just leaving the privy when Ella heard the

first shot ring out.

She grabbed Elizabeth by the upper arm and ran toward the brick

quarters where the house slaves lived. Running around the back of

the building she pushed a bush aside and pushed Elizabeth into

a hole beneath the structure. She dove in herself and the firing

and screaming picked up. She crawled toward the front of the

quarters dragging Elizabeth with her.

From this position she could see people falling, men shooting.

Finally Todd and his friends began to return fire. The barn and stables

were set ablaze. Slaves were running out of the house with anything

of value they could carry. Some slaves were stabbing guests in the

garden.

Men were trying to get the horses out of the stables. These were turned

loose to run and save themselves.

The house was now ablaze and people were running out. These people

were met by slaves with knives who murdered them as they ran.

As the lanterns were kicked out Ella could see less and less of what

was happening. She tried to shield little Elizabeth but the child had

already seen her sister Maggie fall to the ground after being stabbed

by her own Mammy.

Men were yelling,cursing, reloading fighting hand to hand. The

Bushwhackers mounted their horses and rode away. The Jayhawkers

finished off all the men at the party and in the house. They then

mounted and followed the unit.

Still another battle was fought two miles away where they were

ambushed by the Bushwhackers.

Ella and the little girl stayed where they were. Angry slaves were still

killing women and anything else that moved. Not just the Withrow

slaves but slaves from other plantations, there with their owners

joined the fight.

It went on far into the night. The barn roof fell in with a deafening

crash. Something fell in the house. The exterior of the house was

not burning because it was brick.

Finally just as the sun was coming up the slaughter was over. The

slaves were leaving in groups walking or running toward Freedom.

No one came near the slave quarters. Ella searched in the darkness

for her valise and found it exactly where she had hidden it so many

months before.

She heard more shooting in the distance. The returning Bushwhackers

had encountered the slaves who were not hiding in fields.

The roof of the main house fell in right after sun up. From their hiding

place Ella saw Todd ride onto the property. He had two friends with

him. They stood and surveyed the carnage.

Seeing they were not drawing fire Ella and Elizabeth crawled from

their hiding place. The men looked at them like they were seeing

ghosts. Todd ran forward and took Elizabeth in his arms. Both

woman and child were filthy.

They heard a horse coming toward them at top speed. All took

cover. But it was Prince coming home after being turned loose in the

night. He froze before the smouldering stables unsure what to do.

Todd said,"I know just how he feels."

More and more of Todd friends arrived to help with the dead. Many

were burying members of their own families. Ella realized now

that the Bushwhackers had left the party to draw the Jayhawkers

away.

She saw her own family buried and then spoke to Todd. Three days

of tending the dead had exhausted her and pushed her to make a

decision.

"I want to go home Todd and I want Elizabeth to come with me."

"I will get you out of Missouri,"Todd answered. "What are you going

to use for money."

Ella then told him she had her valise and he applauded her for her

foresight.

He took his cousin and his sister as far as St.Louis and put them on

an eastbound train. By this time Ella had spent a week in the

bordertown awaiting a place on a train. She and Elizabeth had new

clothing and several baths. The little girl would not let Ella out of her

sight.

Todd took them to the telegraph office. Ella wired her parents,

"Several members of Withrow family dead. Slave uprising. Bringing

Eliazbeth. Plantation gone. Coming home MAMA"