Southern Star

A field of groves. A small plantation on the eastern edge of Clement, Texas, lived Lauren and Judah; enslaved sisters who belonged to Stanley Hunter along with the rest of his chattel. The year was 1839 and there had been a crop failure from the cold and drought weather in the area. No sun had shined at all and the Hunter plantation did not produce income from the summer. Lauren and Judah knew that they would get sold east to New Orleans. At the time the value of those women ranged from 5000$ to about 11,000$.The girls had just lost their mother to an illness, and Stanley was willing to sell whomever with the most value to save his plantation.The only possession their mother had left was a black book that had been confiscated by Vincent the overseer.

Lauren began to think of a plan to run away along with Judah. It was her duty after all, she was the older sister; her being 18 and Judah 13. “ We need to get out of here, it's the only option we have, you know massa is gonna sell us east, Lauren declared. Judah began rolling tears from her eyes. Even though she was enslaved, she feared running away not knowing how to read unlike her mother. the fear of being caught by catchers or killed by stray animals also ramped through her mind. “ I’m scared and don’t wanna die Lauren, you know what they're gonna do to us. We should just pray massa will change his mind”, Judah pleaded. “That aint no way to talk, and that ain't what mama wanted for us either. We are gonna take a chance that we stay together and not get sold and separated to another life”, the older sister decided. Judah’s heart began to flare with anxiety. The sisters planned an escape for winter, because it would be difficult for the catchers to find a lead on them.

Six weeks later, on a cold winter night Lauren and her fearful sister, snuck into Stanley's office, stole blankets and a black book. Judah tripped on the floor and noticed an opened safe stacked with cash and a mysterious object. The young girls found a shiny strange golden nugget and stuffed it in their belongings. Lauren figured the nugget was worth at least 20,000$, and figured it would be smart to choose it over dollar bills. “We can start our new life by selling this nugget”, Lauren mentioned. Judah slowly nodded her head in fear. Once again Judah begged her sister to change her mind, but Lauren refused. Leaving the plantation they scurried through empty black roads. During the day they’d hide through the Texas wheat fields providing a cloak to avoid being caught.

It had been a week since they ran. Stanley had called the overseer Vincent and slave catchers to a meeting to catch the girls. “Glad to have everyone here, I have an announcement and offer for these pearls. We need em back immediately; they even stole my gold nugget”, the angry master yelled. “Don't worry we will be obliged to catch your chattel under the condition that we receive profits”, Benjamin responded. Stanley stated that the girls and the nugget could save his plantation and was willing to reimburse Vincent and Benjamin(head of the slave catchers) for years to come.The gang decided to head out that night with five tracking dogs.

About 200 miles from home the two runaways began to camp near a small house. Days had gone by since they had food and water, and they observed who lived in the house. They affirmed that a half black half dutch woman stayed there along with a Caucasian gentleman who was about 30. They decided to approach at night, when they would have cover. Lauren knocked on the door with authority, and Judah clinched behind bushes and trees. The door was opened by the short woman wearing a dress. “ Hello, My name Elaine, how may I be of help to you?”the woman greeted. “ Me and my sister are starving and be very grateful if we could eat ma’am, after we be on our way”, begged Lauren. “C’mon in you and her both lemme introduce ya to my husband, and get somethin in ya stomach” Elaine concluded. The woman’s intuition told her they were runaways and she made up her mind to let them stay. “ Hallo, my name's Oliver and we ares the Fritzes” , the man said. He and his wife agreed to let them stay for dinner. Elaine cooked up stew and cornbread, and the sisters munched up three helpings. After dinner the wife spoke to her husband in private. Coming back to the dinner table the couple confronted Lauren and Judah. “We know the both of ya runaways and we're gonna help ya get to Mexico”, said Elaine. There was a nice town with Texans who despise slavery that sat on the Rio Grande. Shocked and confused the sisters began crying in joy, Judah noticed a cross hanging in the living room. The couple helped them settle in. On accident, Elaine noticed the golden nugget along with the black book in Lauren’s sack.

4 days had passed before the couple revealed a plan to help the sisters escape. The runaway sisters would hide in the trunk of the carriage as the couple would escort them to Valverde, Mexico. Ready to go the sisters were manipulated into leaving their belongings above the trunk with the produce Oliver harvested. Lauren did not like this, but a sacrifice was made for their cooperation.The journey to Valverde began.

Vincent and Benjamin along with the other catchers began finding leads from the tracking dogs through fields where the sisters either left a scent or excreted. “ We catchin up to em boys, keep looking its money in it for all of us”, Benjamin jabbered. Vincent and the others began to boast. Deep down Vincent was dreaming about a new life, the man wanted to move west and his way of doing so was to kill the catchers, sell the slaves and cash the nugget. He was a greedy drunkard and didn't want to share the profit. From the start, Vincent had planned this without a doubt. Not too far from sight the other catchers wanted either desired equal profit or the profit for themselves. The gang began to close in on the runaways after a few days. unspoken feuds and agendas began to brew among the catchers.

After two days on the road, the Fritzes and runaways reached Valverde, Mexico about 695 miles from Clement. Lauren and Judah as well as the couple slipped into a relieved but joyful mood. All of them swayed the town to find a Texan woman. Her name was Gloria and she would help the runaways settle in. Elaine tried to take the nugget but failed, and played it off. Unknowingly they did not expect a gang of catchers to be hightailing them all the way there. This voyage's end was hell bound, and they didn’t see it coming.

After a long trip,The Fritzes began making their way home. In the middle of the road the wagon was stopped. Benjamin,Vincent, along with the others scowled at the carriage ordering them to stop and answer immediate questions. “Just where are y’all comin from, you two look suspicious”, Vincent nagged. “We just finishes deliverings goods”, replied Oliver. “We are looking for two runaways and we need to search your vehicle”, Benjamin assisted. As you please, said the German sharecropper. The catchers began searching the vehicle and found a ripped slice of black covering and brought it to everyone’s attention. “Well looks like you guys better join us in searching, catch a brutal whip, or be sent to the authorities under the runaways slave act of the Texas republic”, Vincent chuckled. The Fritzes denied having anything to do with the slaves, so the catchers tied them to a tree and whipped the couple bare naked.after several hours Elaine confessed where the sisters were staying. Benjamin and Vincent smiled full of excitement. The two criminals joined the catchers and headed back to Valverde.

Reaching the little town, the Fritzes confessed the location of Lauren and her sister. Trying to get insight on the next move for the couple, Elaine tried to flirt with Vincent. “It’s a nice move but you two are still bound for the pin”, he flirted back. At this point the couple lost hope. The monstrous gang sped to the Glorias home with the pistols and knives. Benjamin fired a warning shot to get attention. He then spoke with an authoritative voice. “Come on out , and nobody gets hurt”. After about 5 minutes the gang breached the house with the track dogs and started firing multiple rounds. The sisters hid for cover as Gloria started firing off a shotgun in cover. Three catchers and dogs were shot at and even Vincent. Lauren stood and was shot in the chest by Vincent. He ran back to the horses only to be shot by the last catcher who shot at the couple while waiting . After 5 minutes he rushed inside and was pierced by Gloria. The only two left at the scene were Judah and Gloria. 3 days after the shootout, bodies were buried, and Lauren along with the fritzes was mourned over. Judah knew she had to become a woman and Gloria was willing to help her. The nugget and black book stayed in Judah’s possession hidden from Gloria.

After being raised in Mexico for about 10 years, Judah returned to the United States to cash in the golden nugget and received 20,000$. Gloria taught her to read and write in English and Spanish. Crying in tears she read the black book only to find out her mothers dream of being free and discovered a map of the United States. The southern heroine decided to create another book documenting runaways and routes to safehouses that the abolitionists formed. Gloria became Judah’s second mother, and was proud to raise a daughter she never had. At the age of 26, Judah married and raised her children in California. She finally joined an abolitionist group and was consistently involved in housing runaways. Judah had accomplished her and her mother’s dreams. Judah became the Southern Star. When she was a girl she lived in fear as a child but became a fearless woman throughout her time. The Southern Star gave hope to many women before the civil war.

Written and signed 02/12/2021 by Jaiven Lawson