Jane Pittman

Jane Pittman was born into slavery on a plantation in Louisiana. In the past, Jane's slave name was "Ticey." Jane grew up without parents because her mother died when she was still young and she knew little about her father. As a preteen, Jane worked in a large house, caring for white children. On a scorching day near the end of the war, exhausted confederate soldiers paid a visit, followed soon after by Union soldiers. As Jane was serving the soldiers water, a Union soldier, Corporal Brown, told Jane that she will soon be free and can then visit him in Ohio. He tells her to change her slave name to "Jane." The changing of her name symbolized a changing of lifestyle; no longer would she be recognized as a slave, but as an actual human-being with an identity of her own. The owner of the slaves on the plantation freed them all, including Jane. Jane and the freed slaves left the plantation. They're destination was undecided, but a woman named Big Laura lead the group. Jane thought about going to Ohio to find Corporal Brown.

While sleeping in a farm house, the Ku Klux Klan barged in and killed everyone, except for Jane and a young boy named Ned. Ned happened to be the son of Big Laura. Jane and Ned continued on their own, heading towards Ohio. They met a few people on their trip who had some sympathy for blacks. They always told Jane that Ohio was too far, and that she should go back to the plantation. Jane and Ned became exhausted from their long journey.

One day, a white man named Job gave Jane and Ned a lift and allowed them to rest at his house, even though his wife disagreed with how her husband treated blacks hospitably. The next day, he took them to a plantation managed by Mr. Bone. Mr. Bone offered Jane a job, but believed her to be incapable of handling the work; however, Jane convinces Mr. Bone that she is capable of handling the work and he agrees to pay her six dollars a month, minus the fifty cents that went toward Ned's education.

Later, the original owner of the plantation, Colonel Dye, buys back the plantation with the money he borrowed from the Yankees. Many black people began fleeing the south when they saw that their conditions were worsening. Ned, at age 17, joined a committee that helped blacks leave the southern area. Colonel Dye warned Jane to stop Ned from helping the blacks in their escape from southern living, but when she refused, Ku Klux Klan members arrived at Jane's house. Ned fled the plantation later that night, but Jane didn't want to leave her secure life. Ned travels to Kansas and joins the U.S. Army to fight in the Cuban war. Jane soon marries Joe Pittman without an official ceremony. Joe and Jane move to a ranch near the Texas-Louisiana border where Joe breaks horses for a living.

Jane dreams about Joe being thrown from a horse. Soon after, Jane sees a black stallion which resembled the horse from her dream. Jane frees the horse, but Joe is killed while chasing after it. After a few years pass, Jane moves to another part of Louisiana, but after awhile she becomes lonely. Ned returns to where Jane is, and brings his wife, Vivian, and three young children with him. He buys a house and starts building a school. At the school, he teaches ideas about the political rights of blacks. The local whites fear Ned's teachings, and they hire someone Jane knows, Albert Cluveau, to shoot Ned. After Ned's death, Jane tells Cluveau that the chariot of