One More Valley, One More Hill, Post 7

Chapters 14-18


Chapter 14


In this chapter, Clara moved from Auraria to the mountains. She would adopt non-white miners - because not-whites were not allowed to stay in hotels or rent cabins - and let them stay in her house. In return she gained a portion of the gold the miners found. Clara gained money quickly.




Chapter 15

One of the most interesting things I found in this chapter is the story of Barney Ford. He was one of Clara's "family members" that was staying with her. He actually escaped from slavery! He was a slave in Mississippi, and he ran away. So how did he escape? He dressed up like a woman. To me, this sounds like something out of a movie. Barney got some help from an actor, made his face pink, and donned a fabulous blue dress. He then hopped off his master's boat, and onto the Underground Railroad to freedom! On one occasion, he was stuffed into a coffin with air holes poked in it, and shipped to Chicago! I have great respect for a black man that can disguise himself as a white woman (and disguise himself as a dead person, for that matter).

Dirty people, whom I would call Super Racists, tortured, and even killed black people. Barney was one of their main targets. Barney bought a mining claim to look for gold (which was NOT illegal, but frowned upon by Super Racists), so naturally, the Super Racists went out to get him. They called him nasty names, and Barney ran away. Barney was very good at running away, as he's done it successfully twice now.


Chapter 16


Snow melted up in the mountains and sent down a flood in Cherry Creek. There were no computers, meaning all legal documents were only on paper. If the ink on the paper got smudged around like it did in the flood, ownership of property was lost. This precisely what happened to Clara. She lost all her property in Denver.

Now it is November, 1864. Remember that Clara was born in 1800, so she's 64 years old now. I like how the author describes their situation:

"...November was Hikomini, the Month of the Freezing Moon. An early storm had his Sand Creek, and snow glittered in the moonlight like a blanket of frozen stars. Inside their teepees, the Arapaho and Cheyenne sucked on stewed rawhide ropes and moccasin leather to stave off starvation. As expected, the soldiers had not provided them with supplies this year. They were lucky to find an occasional rabbit or deer of dog to give them food and clothing. (Lowery, Linda. One More Valley, One More Hill: The Story of Aunt Clara Brown. New York: Fudrick and Friends, Inc., 2002. p. 153.)"


Chapter 17


Now we're at the point where the North won the Civil War, and Clara was more than excited. She was convinced that this was the end of any and all slavery in America. She was wrong, and I'll tell you why in a minute. Suddenly, everyone was shocked. President Lincoln had been assassinated, and the news just reached Clara. The whole town mourned.

Regardless of the North winning the war, slavery was still legal in many states. It was going to take a while for laws to be passed and enforced. Until then, things were just like they always have been. Clara was waiting for the thirteenth amendment to be passed. Non-whites were still not allowed to ride in public transportation, so folks thought Clara would have a hard time trying to find her daughter because she'd have to ride in a wagon. Because of all the hustle and bustle, no one cared. Clara went back to Kentucky to look for her daughter. She was sixty-five, and still no sign of Eliza Jane. The search seemed worthless, and incessant. Clara probably had a tête-á-tête with God through prayer.

In my opinion, I think Clara will find her daughter. Why? Check out the dedication at the beginning of the book.

"To all young people whose ancestors overcame impossible odds: May you be inspired to write and paint and dance the stories that are in your bones. (Lowery, Linda. One More Valley, One More Hill: The Story of Aunt Clara Brown. New York: Fudrick and Friends, Inc., 2002. Dedication.)"

Note the use of the words "impossible odds." Clearly, Clara is going to "overcome" these "impossible odds." Just a thought...


Chapter 18


Clara has been robbed! Four thousand dollars, gone. She was overcharged by a wagon outfitter. The main part of this chapter is not the robbery. It was a disaster. A natural disaster, that is. Clara encountered a fire when she was seventy-three years old. It was horrifying because all the buildings were made of wood. Despite all efforts by people trying to stop the fiery mess, sixteen buildings burned to the ground, three of them belonging to Clara. You'd think they would have learned their lesson and created a type of fire department. They said they would, but they were procrastinators, like me, so they had another fire one year later before they created a system to prevent such horrific moments. The second fire destroyed every one of Clara's buildings, except her cabin. She was financially devastated.