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.

One More Valley, One More Hill, Post 6

Chapters 10-13

Chapter 10

Clara and the gang were certain that all hope was lost. As they walked along the trail they found fake graves that people had set up with threats to the people who had started this whole gold thing in the first place.

Hundreds were turning back. But Clara's group kept trudging along. When they thought they could go no more, they discovered a river. They had run out of water so this was a huge blessing. When I first read this, I thought that they had found a mirage from a distance, and an anti-climactic story was to come. Boy was I wrong! 

When they had started back up, they heard news that the gold was for real. DUDE!!! It wasn't a hoax after all!! There was an ample of gold! Can you imagine how awful the people who had turned around must have felt when they found out? Good thing for Clara though, because she didn't turn around. Clara and her group of argonauts were invited to settle in a little gold town. Clara still prayed that she would be able to find her daughter. 

Chapter 11

Settling in the little town, Clara noticed there were no negro women there. There were negro men, but no women. Clara did however, know that there could be some negro women there, because she had just showed up. She heard that some may be working as housekeepers. 

I found the town they were living in very easy to visualize. I think that the people were all friendly to each other. 

Clara was able not to rent, but to purchase a little home for herself. It cost her just $25. It wasn't the best place in the world, but it had a roof and four walls... made out of mud and logs, respectively. It had enough room for her laundry business, and prayer meetings that she was going to hold. 

Chapter 12

Cherry Creek (the town where Clara lived) was growing rapidly. every day Clara saw new buildings that were not there the day before. A man named Jacob Adriance arrived in town. He wrote in his journal that he was lonely. Clara comforted him by bringing him food almost every night. 

Clara wanted to have a big role in starting the Methodist church. She helped hold prayer meetings in her home. As the town grew, laundry competition did the same. Customers may have had to equivocate on which business they would give their money (er, gold) to. 

Education was very rare among the Indian people. But a school was built, and it thrived. 

And in no time at all, it was Christmastime. Clara celebrated in a little house with some friends.

Gold Dust
Used for money

Chapter 13


Chapter 13 is relatively short, and just covers the interaction between Indians and white folks. Lynda Lowery (the author) describes someone as "An old Cheyenne wise man named Sweet Medicine". Sweet Medicine warned the Indians about white people, how they would come, and what they would do. He told the Indians that the white people would try to change the Indian's way of living.

The Indians were used to words meaning something. In my family, the word(s) "serious" or "I promise" mean that what the person is saying is true, no matter what. That's what the Indians were used to, so when we (the Americans) broke a treaty after a long time of faithfulness to our word, they (the Indians) were shocked. They probably thought of us as immature, or even an enfant terrible children.                                                                                                                

One More Valley, One More Hill, Post 5

Chapters 7-9

EVERYONE had caught "Gold Fever".  They all headed to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado hoping to strike it rich. It was an arduous task. Different stories, tales, and rumors of finding gold gave everyone hope. Clara wanted to join them, not for gold, but to find her daughter Eliza Jane, whom she hadn't seen in over 20 years.  Clara couldn't afford such a journey, so she negotiated with a group of men. She'd do all the cooking and laundering if they let her tag along. They declined because they didn't want some slave with them. Clara pulled out her freedom papers, and they let her on board. She became an argonaut.

After each chapter Linda Lowery gives us various information about phrases, habits, and other things popular in Clara's time. Chapter 8 consists only of these tid-bits. Linda tells us in detail about the food they ate, the clothes they wore; the dangers they faced.

Chapter 9 tells us what Clara did while she was on her journey, and goes in detail on what she cooked. Clara had never prepared a meal for a crowd this large in her life, even when she was a slave. Speaking of which, (in my opinion) they still treated her like one. They made her sleep outside with the cows because she was black (a fine way to treat a lady preparing all your food, don't you think?). The women who paid an extra fee slept inside. Only when he weather was so severe would they let her inside.

Families were on board, and parents took time to educate their kids. People danced, played their harmonicas and fiddles, sang songs, told stories, and debated about slavery. It was the hot topic, and they talked about it like conservatives talk about liberals today. When they got into arguments, Clara cleverly sneaked away.

They took Sundays off, the Christians on board demanded it. People would pray and read the Bible.

One day, the daily routine changed. They approached Indians. They were panicked. They found Kiowa. Clara was the only one that wasn't scared. Clara understood that the Indians must have been shocked at the arrival of white men. This was their land, they were there first, and Clara got that. It all went peaceful, they did some trading, and they were off. They were relieved!

They had struggles with the weather. Too hot, too cold. It was severe. Even when the weather was perfect, the wagons kept breaking down. Clara probably still had a good attitude knowing she might be able to carpe diem with her daughter.

Later a herd of bison began charging at them, the men fired rifles and made the stampede go another direction.

Did I mention they used buffalo poop as a substitute to wood sometimes? And that when they burned it it smelled good? Yeah.

Buffalo Chips
(Do not eat)

One More Valley, One More Hill, Post 4

Chapters 4-6 If you recall from last week, Clara's daughter was purchased and seperated from her, and that's when the chapter ended. The beginning of chapter 4 tells us that Clara was purchased by a man named George Brown. The protagonist had never met him until now. Clara was feeling some serious pain after the loss of so many people close to her. She didn't even remember the auctioning off of herself, and arriving at her new "home". The Browns were the type of people who had seven course dinners, always had guests coming and going who wore Rolex watches (more or less), and had a dog that owns a cell phone (mostly less). As Clara was mourning the loss of loved ones, she prayed to God and began to heal. Still, not a day passed without her thinking of the ones she lost. As if not enough people had died, her other daughter, Margaret, died of a chest ailment. Four years later, master Brown died as well. Much to her surprise, Clara's late master left her $300, a huge sum in her time. You think this was a huge surprise? Wait till you read what happens next. Brown's three daughters wanted to give Clara FREEDOM. Money was a strange enough concept for Clara, but freedom was incredibly mind boggling. Here's how freeing a slave worked (in Kentucky anyway): The slave has to be put up to auction. If the highest bidder is the slaves' former owner, the slave is free. But there's a catch: The slave must pay 25% of the winning bid. This is part of the reason Clara was left $300. If someone else outbids the former owner, the slave is placed into that family and remains a slave. Let's stop here for a minute. When I first read this, the first thing that came to my mind was that this is the most ridiculous process to free a slave. It's like they're playing a game. I would think that this system would make it harder for male slaves to be freed because males sell for higher. Anyway, did Clara make it? Drumroll please! *************************************************************************** The answer is... yes. Yes she did make it, and Clara was free! Clara had to pay $118.75, leaving her with $181.25. Clara's new last name was Brown. Because that's how it worked. You take the last name of your last owner when you're freed. As a free women, she didn't quite know where to go, but she knew she wanted to find her daughter. She wandered around and made it to St. Louis, MO because the Browns knew of a German family in need of a housekeeper. She worked in the house, but this time she got paid for, and had one day off per week. She spend all her free time looking for her daughter. At her new church she heard about free states, where slavery had been outlawed. This was the first time Clara had heard of such a thing. Negros in these states were kidnapped by outlaws called "n***** nappers" and it was a huge problem. Due to a financial disaster in Missouri, Clara moved west to Kansas with her family. In Clara's POV, this town in Kansas seemed that everyone was going somewhere else. Clara went to a new church that lacked a "colored section". She met a freed slave named Becky Johnson, and they became quick friends. Kansas wasn't technically a free state until everyone voted. "Border Ruffians" from Missouri invaded trying to force people to vote pro-slavery. This brought so much blood and chaos upon Kansas that people started calling it "Bleeding Kansas". GOLD? Clara started her own laundry business; a financial depression followed. People heard about gold in the Rocky Mountains, not too far off. Everyone tried to get there as quickly as possible.

One More Valley, One More Hill, Post 3

Chapters 2-3

"Jumping the Broom"
A phrase used when
slaves get married

In the first sentence of chapter 2, the author jumps to the time when Clara is 18 years old, in 1818. Clara's owner bought another slave, Richard. He proposed to Clara, Clara said yes, and that was that. Wait, no it wasn't! In order for slaves to marry they had to ask permission from their owners. Not only did he allow it, he and his wife planned a grand wedding. I find it amazing that a slaveowner would care that much to actually plan a wedding. Believe it or not, Clara and her husband actually got to live together, a rarity in her time. Richard was a carpenter, and he was very good at it.

Within two years after her marriage, Clara had her first child. By 1826, Clara had a total of four children. Clara did not get to name her own children, because they were classified as "property". The master always named the slaves' children.

Suddenly, when Clara was about 34 years old, her life was changed forever. Her daughter, Paulina Ann, drowned in the creek. All efforts were made to save her, but none prevailed. Paulina Ann's twin sister turned into a mess. She had crying fits constantly, and could not control herself. People said she was crazy, but Clara knew that wasn't true. Within two more years, Clara's mother died, and so did Master Smith. Needless to say, life was hard on Clara. Money was tight for the Smiths, and they had to sell some things, including slaves. Clara and her family were put up for auction, at what I think seemed to be like a state fair (minus the slaves). There was music, lemonade, dancing, and slaves for sale. Clara cringed as her daughter was taken away from her.

One More Valley, One More Hill, Post 2

Chapter 1

The first chapter covers the early life of Clara Brown. Clara was a black slave born in the early 1800s. Her exact date of birth is unknown because no one cared to record the birth of colored people. In my opinion, she was an amazing child. At about 9 years old she worked all day. At that point, she already knew how to "Bake a pie, darn a sock, mend a hole in a shoe, and launder and press a fine Sunday shirt." (Lowery, Linda. "One More Valley, One More Hill: The Story of Aunt Clara Brown". p7. Random House, Inc. 2002.) She even prepared chicken stew for dinner. 

Running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
A term used in Clara's day. 

Clara was lucky enough to live with her mother, which I think is a blessing God brought upon her. Clara was also lucky enough to attend church, another rarity among slaves. She did however, have to sit in the "Colored" section near the back (no surprise there).  I say she was lucky to attend church because most of the time, slaveowners would take off for church and leave their slaves at home to congregate in the fields. Preachers would teach them verses like "Servants, obey your masters". Many slaves did not know verses existed about equality, freedom, and joy. 

What Clara describes as the most important moment in her life was when she was saved. In 1810 (Clara was probably 10 years old), a huge gathering took place at the Muddy River. They sang songs, they prayed, they shared Bible verses, and the preacher preached. Clara says, "Lordy me, darlin', I was nothing but a child when God came to me and took me to Jesus." She relied on God during tough times, and her faith played an important role in her life. I find this fascinating. I don't believe she would have done as well in life without Jesus. 

Stay tuned for more coming next week!

One More Valley, One More Hill, Post 1: About the Author

Hey guys! My assignment for English class is to jot down my thoughts of a book I’m reading in a blog. I’m reading “One More Valley, One More Hill: The Story of Aunt Clara Brown” by Linda Lowery. Before we get into everything, I’ll tell you a little bit about the author. 

Linda Lowery

New York Times Bestseller Linda Lowery was born in 1949. She was raised in Chicago, and after graduating from college, went on to travel the world. She worked as a hotel convention manager, circus assistant, French teacher, travel consultant, and flight attendant. After visiting numerous countries, she decided to slow down. She had a son, Kris, and became an author. She completed twelve books in Wisconsin, including the well-known “Martin Luther King Jr. Day”. Her family moved to Colorado in 1988, where she learned about Clara Brown. She wrote two books about this incredible woman. Her and her husband, Rick, have written over fifty books varying in genera. Mostly children’s books, Lowerey has written books geared at helping victims of child abuse, educational books,  environmental education books, picture books, adventure series, and more. She says, “Ever since I was in second grade, I wrote my thoughts and feelings in diaries, and I wrote poems. A lot of these writings were about treatment of children. I wanted life to be fair, and I saw very early that life is often unfair, especially for kids. Even when I was growing up, I was extremely aware of kids who were left out because they were a different color from most of us, or because their English wasn't very good, or because they had ideas that were considered weird. … I was very secretive about the things I wrote because it seemed sometimes that my view of life was very different from everybody else's and I didn't want to be criticized. I wrote in my bedroom closet, I wrote under the dining room table, I wrote in corner chairs of the library.” “If there is anything I want to give children through my books, it is hope. There are so many wonderful, powerful people who have worked hard to make this planet a better place. They see prejudice and pain and injustice, and they decide to take steps to make a difference. Change didn't come easily for Martin Luther King, Jr., or for any of those people who have made a difference. It doesn't come easily for any of us, but there is always hope that we will find a way to make it better.”

Linda Lowery is still writing today. She’s illustrated twelve of her books that she’s written so far.