Beneath the burning ground

The Wares are only one of the families that will soon be caught up in the burning issue of slavery with raids from the Border Ruffians out of Missouri and John Brown's small army devoted to ending slavery and helping runaways to escape to the north. To aid and abet a runaway slave is a crime that carries a dear price.

Jonathan Ware, who homesteaded with his family in Kansas before the war broke out, was killed by raiders. His elder son is in the regular Confederate Army, his younger son is fighting on the side of the Union. His widow and two daughters, have sought refuge from the constant raids in a hidden valley with other women and children.