Summary

Chapter 1 began after Britt and Mary Johnson traveled with their children and Britt's emancipator, Moses Johnson, from Burkett Station, Kentucky to Elm Creek, Young County, Texas in 1863. Britt intended to move away from the violence of the Civil War and build his wealth as a freighter on the Texas frontier. Mary homeschooled their three children, 11-year old Jim, nine-year-old Jube, and five-year-old Cherry. Britt worked as a freighter, and the men of Elm Creek warned him of the war-prone tribes who raided the area. The men of Elm Creek journeyed to Weatherford on October 13, 1864. Elizabeth Fitzgerald, a friend and wealthy white widow, sent for Mary and the children to stay with her and her two children Susan Durgan and Joe Carter and granddaughters Lottie and Millie for the day.

Chapter 2 continued with the morning of October 13 as hundreds of Comanche and Kiowa warriors descended...