Chapter 1

Rosemary, Rosemary Sommers, I’ll tell you all about this woman, how I met her, the first time I saw her, and she was my master and I was her slave. To begin with, I have to tell you everything, I’ll take you back to the start. My name is Jack Blom, I’m from the Hottentots Strand loopers tribe, and I was born in 1823 in Cape De Good Hoop and grew up as a slave. My parents were slaves and we were eleven children, four boys and seven girls, and I am the oldest of the boys only. Now I am not going to tell you my whole family history. In those years the most healthy and athletic build was chosen and sold as slaves to the foreigners from Europe. My baby brother was muscular and tall as a giant, he was about 6 ft. 7 tall. My brother Frank Blom was easily chosen and even I was chosen and that was not because I was muscular, nooo, I wasn’t even tall. I am only 5 ft. 7 tall but why was I chosen? Good question. The master who owned my family, Jan Blom, loved my brothers like his sons, he did not have children of his own so he treated us like we were his children. Mr Jan taught me and my brothers how to shoot, how to use a gun all the gun sorts, rifles, shotguns, revolvers on which I was the best, I even became better than Jan himself so good other whites came to see how I shot empty bottles which were positioned on poles, with single shots I shot the bottles and everyone who came to watch applaud. So this is why I got sold, whenever someone gets good with something, you’ll end up getting sold. From there on our sad story began, I and my brother Frank left home for good and went to travel as slaves to different countries the only good thing we experienced is to see the world, we’ve been to other African countries and Europe. I and Franck got separated when we arrived in Spain. Everyone, there was looking for handy and muscular slaves. So unfortunately for me, I had to bid farewell to Franck. As sad as it was I had to learn that this is just what life is about. When we separated I was about 27 years old and he was 18. I was 35 years old when I finally arrived in Utah, a region in the Americas. I was growing tired of all the travelling but luck was coming my way. The community in that country finds the use of men who have talents in the armoury division. It was 1858 when I got a new master, Steve Sommers he bought me and he was very interested in me, he wanted me to feel at home so he started a conversation on our way home. It was only me and him, we were travelling with four horses and a wagon. He was an old man with a large hat and a huge grey moustache, he had leather pants on and traditional pair of cowboy boots and a large leather coat, and on his lap laid his double barrel shotgun. I remembered he started the conversation with …

Mr Steve: Heard you got fast hands?

He looked at me for a while cause I didn’t answer him

Mr Steve: You do speak English don’t you? So they said, and you speak it very well too, so? What’s it gonna be?

For me, it didn’t matter cause I’d been bought and sold for the last eight years so, didn’t care what the old man wanted from me.

Mr Steve: For what I’ve heard is you pretty handy with your hands I’ve heard about you way before you ever landed this continent, and you know where three and four speaks the same tongue it could pretty much be the truth, I got you for a reason, you being so good with guns could be of good help you know, I’ll let you in on something, I’m a bounty hunter do you understand what that means?

Yes, I did not care where and what place I was going to cause I am a slave so what do I care? The only thing that made me talk was the fact that he told me he’s a bounty hunter and it seemed like this is my purpose to him, a gunman when needed, and I am afraid of dying, I was still young then so I couldn’t be blamed. So I answered.

Jack: So? Do you want me to kill you?

Mr Steve: Not quite, I need someone to be my back up when things don’t go well

Jack: I never killed anyone

Mr Steve: I see

That’s all he said like it’s not bothering him at all. The silence grew among the two of us, for a while before he broke the silence again.

Mr Steve: You know? This is gone be a mighty long journey so let’s get to know each other I’ll start by myself, like you already know folks call me Steve or Big Steve, you know? Folks back home have a lot of respect for me and my family, we are not the troublesome type, that’s why? I think. But they call me Big Steve, and I have a daughter and her name is Rosemary, Rosemary is the apple of my eye, my bright morning shinning star my pride and joy and every help I can ask for since her mother died, she is my beloved daughter and thee only, princess, well? You’ll meet her, then I have a son too, Rosemary’s brother, the total opposite, his her younger brother, the youngest of the two, he’s a rebellion, a disgrace and always in trouble, you don’t have to answer to him any shit coming from him you come to me, I’ll even shoot him for you, you just let me know

Jack: You shoot your son for me?

He wasn’t serious about that cause he smiled and looked at me, the old man has some dry jokes I thought but he’s cool.

Mr Steve: And you don’t have to call me master, I’m sure my Rose will tell you the same thing

Mr Steve wasn’t the first master who did not like when someone called him master, they were the type of people who seemed to be very humble and I have respect for that.

Jack: I’m from the Cape of Good Hope, and I have seven sisters and three brothers of which I am the oldest of the boys, I’m from the Hottentots tribe

Steve: Your English is quite a good boy

Jack: I speak four different languages, English, Hollands, and French, and my language, Nama, is the benefit I got from travelling around the world.

We continued our conversation for some time until we had some quiet time.

Steve: Why don’t you go in the back and find yourself something to eat, Rose made some bread for the road, still fresh, you’ll find it in the basket wrapped in cloth, I’m sure if you open that darn cloth now you still find the bread as fresh like it was just baked.

I couldn’t agree more, by then I was hungry as hell, so I would never say no.

Jack: Thanks a lot sir

Mr Steve: Steve

I remember going into the wagon where I found bags packed which I assumed were clothes, geez his daughter must have been something, she made sure her father’s wagon is transformed into a wardrobe, with enough baskets full of food. I wasted no time and went through some baskets. In one basket I found a homemade jam, I duck in on the jam and enjoyed myself on Rose’s baked bread. Then I heard him say.

Steve: Remember boy, always remember this, this is one other country now I don’t know how you were treated in other countries but where are we heading now? Just ignore, just ignore, the folks there? They’re a different kind, you hear me?

Jack: Yes sir, I mean … Steve

My mouth was stuffed with food that I struggled to talk to, I found a basket with fruits and helped myself with an apple. Then suddenly while I was in wonderland staring at my apple, chewing, I felt the wagon slow down so I went to see it. Steve looked focused and something was troubling him.

Steve: Now’s a good time to show me what I laid my money on boy

I looked ahead at what he was looking at. A massive forest was just ahead of us, and four cowboys came riding each on horses straight from the forest in their direction. They looked very suspicious and that made me ask.