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1 " In our world, where a man had to prove himself every day, there was not much room for petty bigotries. A man was judged by his peers on the basis of his courage, his honor, and his abilities—and the color of his skin had little to do with those. The dogmas of the old states were rarely practiced in our world. In truth, the early westerners had much more in common with the Indians than many of them would have ever liked to admit. The Old West was full of colored men who left their mark. Beckwourth, Love, and Reeves were just a few of them, but there were more, many more. History may have chosen to forget, but those of us who lived it never will. "
― M.J. Hayes , Son of the Mountain
2 " If God had decided to build His own church, it would’ve been the mountains. There a man can live like He intended us to live, and never forget that He is there. "
3 " Maybe something happens to a man at that age when life had always worked out the way he had wanted it, or made it. When he had been able to take it like a block of clay and mold it in the way he saw fit, or grab it like a sapling and force it to bend to his will. When he had been life's master, and not the other way around. "
― M.J. Hayes , The Devil's Hand
4 " Some events in our lives are so disturbing, or unsettling, that even when they are over they prevent us from ever going back to the way we were before, back to 'normal.' Whether we like it or not, we as people are forever changed. "
5 " Freedom was everything to Abraham, and I reckon that makes sense being reared in bondage such as he was, but it was larger than that. Freedom seemed to be a part of him, like it was built in. As much a part of him as his skin or hair or eyes "
6 " I had enjoyed riding with Ostrander and his Jayhawkers early on. As I said, it reminded me of my days with Black Legs and Dirt Face, when we terrorized the Mexican peasantry and took what we wanted. We were kings then, and I was young. I saw no wrong in it—it was the way of the Comanche. And so it was with Ostrander. We raided, and we killed, and we took, but we did it for righteousness sake, he said. To right the wrong, the evil, of slavery, "
