Midnight Rescue (29 page)

THE FUGITIVE DICK:
Caught when Dr. James was taking him across the Mississippi River. When Dick was thrown into jail, the judge challenged the fugitive slave laws and set Dick free. A thousand men walked with Dr. James and Dick down to the river to start him on his way to freedom.

DR. WILLIAM SALTER:
Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Burlington, Iowa. A mighty man of God who understood the times and what to do in that moment of history.

For an introduction to more historic people working bravely for freedom in southeastern Iowa see the
Acknowledgments
.

THE STEAMBOAT
CHRISTINA
:
Named after Captain Norstad’s wife and Libby’s mother. Except for the sidewheeler
Christina
, every steamboat in the Freedom Seekers series is historical.

D
o you ever long to have a real-life hero or heroine? Someone you can look up to and respect? Someone you can admire, not only for what that person has done but also because of what that person
is
?

I suspect that most of us feel that way. We admire people who care about the beliefs we care about. We respect boys and girls and men and women who take a stand at the right place at the right time, even though it’s difficult.

Because of the need for secrecy, we will never know even a tiny fraction of all that happened through the work of the Underground Railroad. Yet we can be sure of one thing: Again and again, fugitive slaves, free blacks, and whites all worked together for one common goal—that not one passenger be lost.

As pioneers poured into southeastern Iowa, its citizens made countless choices that affected the history of the entire state. In the first novel of this series,
Escape Into the Night
, you met some of those history makers—Asa Turner, William Salter, Deacon Trowbridge, the Quakers of Salem, and the Congregational folks of Denmark and Burlington. All of these people risked much in order to live what they believed. Dr. Edwin James of Augusta, Iowa, was another such man.

Though internationally known for his work as a botanist,
Dr. James lived an outwardly quiet life. When his neighbors needed a medical doctor, he helped them without accepting payment. On Sunday mornings he became a pastor. Yet, unknown to many people around him, Dr. James was shaping history.

The case of the fugitive slave named Dick was one of three important slavery trials in southeastern Iowa. In a time when many people were still deciding what they believed about slavery, Dr. James was not afraid to support his beliefs with action.

The third governor of Iowa, James Wilson Grimes, was another man who stood for the freedom of slaves. In writing to his wife about Dick’s Burlington trial in 1855, Governor Grimes talked about how few people in Des Moines County had opposed slavery only four years before. According to Grimes, those who expressed such opinions were treated as if they were pickpockets. The court decision about Dick, and the support of one thousand men who made sure that he got safely away, showed the change that had come to the Burlington area within a short period of time.

“Now I am Governor of the State,” said Grimes as he wrote about the fugitive slave law. “Three-fourths of the reading and reflecting people of the county agree with me in my sentiments on the law, and a slave could not be returned from Des Moines County into slavery.”

Because of the courage of those who lived for what they believed, the opinions of others had changed for good. Those newly formed beliefs shaped history. Yet in many areas of our country, people chose to live what they believed, even when those around them didn’t hold the same opinion. The fictional characters, Dorothy Weaver and her son Jonathan, represent
adults and children who faced different opinions within their own families.

During the Civil War, Missouri was a land and people divided by their beliefs about slavery. In Clark County, Missouri, bitterness and bloodshed split apart entire families. On August 5, 1861, Missouri’s northernmost Civil War battle was fought at Athens, only a few miles from where this book is set. In that battle northeastern Missouri was won for the Union. But neighbor fought against neighbor and brother against brother. As Colonel David Moore led his pro-Union troops, two of his sons fought against him.

When the Iowa governor, James Wilson Grimes, became a United States senator, he took another unpopular stand. President Andrew Johnson was threatened by impeachment, and Senator Grimes chose to protect the Constitution. Though paralyzed by a stroke two days before, he insisted on being carried into the Senate on a stretcher. By his one vote it was decided that a President of the United States could not be removed from office simply because popular opinion went against him. In spite of great personal and political cost, James Wilson Grimes again changed the direction of history.

As you’ve read, the beautiful countryside of Clark County, Missouri, offered wonderful hideaways for outlaws during the 1850s and 1860s. Horse stealing was a serious problem. David McKee founded the Anti-Horse Thief Association to protect the property of others from theft, and especially from horse thieving. In contrast to groups that took the law into their own hands, the Anti-Horse Thief Association worked with law authorities to bring offenders to justice. By 1916 the group had grown to 50,000 members living in eleven states.

And what about the many escapes from the Minnesota Territorial Prison? A week or so after the time in which Libby, Caleb, and Jordan visited Stillwater, the Territorial legislature decided that the warden should not be held responsible for prisoners if the counties from which they came did not pay for their keep. As a result, some prisoners were set free.

In 1858 prison reform began. Today the Minnesota Correctional Facility–Stillwater is considered a model of modern correctional facilities.

Captain Stephen B. Hanks, cousin of Abraham Lincoln, is credited with being the first riverman to use a steamboat to raft logs downriver to the mills.

As I think about the writing of this book, I feel humbled by the help I have received from many people. One of these special individuals is Charles L. Blockson, curator of the Afro-American materials at Temple University, Philadelphia, and author of such books as
The Underground Railroad
. Thanks, Charles! At a crucial time you gave me just the encouragement I needed.

My gratitude to the people of Stillwater, Minnesota, one of my longtime favorite towns. Thanks to Kay and Bill Hieb for their willingness to share books and research, as well as showing me their favorite places. Thanks to the editors of the
St. Croix Union
; the Stillwater Public Library and its librarians; the Washington County Historical Society, especially its Warden’s House Museum and Arlene Nettekoven and Joan Daniels; historian and writer Brent Peterson, and his and Dean Thilgen’s book,
Stillwater: A Photographic History
; Patricia Condon Johnston,
Stillwater: Minnesota’s Birthplace
; Anita Albrecht Buck,
Steamboats on the St. Croix
; James Taylor Dunn,
The St. Croix: Midwest Border River
; Chip Kraft, and Nate McGinn. My heartfelt gratitude to long-ago resident and photographer, John Runk, who left a magnificent legacy for all of us.

Thanks also to my new friend, Kyle Raph; Helmar Heckel for the right word at the right time; Joe Hansen, gifted Northern Kentucky University Elderhostel leader; James Glover and Walter Johnson for their great help with horses and wagons; long-time dog-lovers Tom Robinson, president of the Minnesota Valley Kennel Club, and Norma Robinson, president of the Newfoundland Dog Club of the Greater Twin Cities, Eagan, Minnesota.

In Burlington, Iowa, thanks to Susie Guest, library assistant, Burlington Free Public Library; Anna Martin, historian, and the historical board of the First Congregational Church; and the Burlington
Hawk Eye
. My gratitude to Gayla Young, Denmark, Iowa; Gerald Thele, Weaver, Iowa; Hazelle and Clay Lanman for their tour of the Pearson House, Keosauqua, Iowa; and the
Des Moines Register
.

Again I am indebted to Robert L. Miller, curator of a national historic landmark, the steamer
George M. Verity
, Keokuk River Museum, Keokuk, Iowa. In addition to the museum resources, Bob has shared of his own personal knowledge and read portions of the manuscript. For this novel, thanks, also, to Bob’s wife, Margaret Miller, and their son, John Miller.

The village called
Cahoka
in this novel is now spelled
Kahoka
. Thanks to the Clark County Historical Society, their Kahoka Museum, and to society president, Raymond Morrow; to the editors of the incredible special edition for Clark County’s Old Settlers 100th Celebration; Linda Brown-Kubisch, reference librarian, State Historical Society of Missouri at Columbia;
the Hannibal Public Library; and the Hannibal
Tri-Weekly Messenger
.

Roberta and Hurley Hagood, Hannibal historians and authors of such wonderful books as
The Story of Hannibal, Hannibal, Too
, and
Hannibal Yesterdays
, once again shared freely of their research and time. In addition to providing background information they answered countless questions and read a portion of the manuscript.

Thanks to you, Paul and Lucille Herron, for sharing your wonderful, pre–Civil War farm home with us. Your inspiration helped the story of Jordan’s family and the Weaver family come alive.

My deep gratitude to my editors for the first edition of this book—Rochelle Gloege, Natasha Sperling, and Janna Anderson—and the entire Bethany House team.

Thank you to each person at Moody Publishers who had a part in bringing out this new edition of the Freedom Seekers series: Deborah Keiser, Associate Publisher—River North, for her strong gifting, creative planning, and visionary leadership; Michele Forrider, Audience Development Manager, for day-to-day marketing and making connections with you, my audience; Brittany Biggs, my big-time help in Author Relations; Bailey Utecht, capable Editorial Assistant; and Pam Pugh, General Project Editor, for her oversight, management, and working through the details that bring this novel to completion. My thanks, also, to Artist Odessa Sawyer for giving us exciting art that brings my characters alive.

Three special people have helped to shape my thinking for this book. My husband Roy has offered his wisdom and love for kids, as well as his daily encouragement. Our son Kevin has
shared and lived that same love for young people. Ron Klug, my faithful, courageous, fire-eating editor, has waded through the early stages of this book, suggested scenes I would have forgotten, and made sure that all the things I wanted to tell you have come together in the story you read.

Finally, to all of you who have cared about me, both as a person and as a writer, thank you!

CHAPTER 1