Riding With Quantrill

The portrait of William Quantrill

Sat in the back seat of the Chevy Blazer,
His one amblyopic eye looking at the sunroof
The other out the window,
His neatly trimmed and combed mustache
Fit well with his bright blue eyes and neatly combed hair,
His face seemed content
In riding the modern day horse
As we made our way from Paola to Garnett,
He waited patiently in the hot car
While we attended the funeral of a relative,
On the way to the cemetery our air conditioning quit working
So we rode it out in the hot Kansas air,
Reading names on tombstones
As we followed the hearse.


Leaving Garnett we took our usual way home
US 169 to Osawatomie passing Peine’s Mound at Greeley
Rounding the curve past St. John’s Catholic Church
Almost running off the highway
Where the advertising sign announces the John Brown Museum,
Heading for Osawatomie, the haunt of John Brown,
Taking the main street exit, we headed east out of Osawatomie
Toward the Missouri border,
A detour at the railroad on our normal route
Sent us on a roundabout to get back on course,
In the rear view mirror I see Quantrill’s off-course gaze
As we encounter switchbacks, dead ends, and disorienting turns,
Finally realizing we are heading south toward Fontana
Only to be cut off by a southbound train
Not once or twice, but three times at successive crossings,
We continue on our southerly route toward Mound City,
Seemingly unable to control our own course,
Ultimately heading for Mine Creek,
Then past the Trading Post Massacre site
Where the car began making odd sounds, almost dying,
Finally we hit northbound 69 Highway which takes us home.

He sits quietly on top of the old 1930’s radio,
Looking up and out,
Smiling at the lightning and thunder,
Eyes glowing at the sound of the howling coyotes,
We catch a feint smell of gunpowder
As we pass by his portrait,
Probably something in the paint.