August Takes the Co-op Safe and Supplies for the Women's Departure

August Epp’s preparations for the women’s departure transform their discussion of how to respond to violence into a practical undertaking. He obtains the Co-op Safe, Dynamite, and a World Map, then packs them into Greta Loewen’s buggy alongside provisions and materials for travel. The supplies do not settle the women’s debate, but they help make departure possible as the risks of being stopped become more immediate.

From Debate to Preparation

The women have been considering three responses: doing nothing, staying and fighting, or leaving. At one meeting, Ona Friesen asks August to record a heading for the case for staying and fighting, and the women begin weighing that option aloud. After the meeting ends the following day, August reports that he has managed to obtain the Co-op Safe, a stick of Dynamite, and a World Map. His actions signal practical support for departure even while the collective discussion has not reduced the choice to a simple or uncontested decision.

August connects his new resolve to a private conversation with Ona on the washhouse roof the previous evening. He says that being with her left him feeling emboldened and brave. He has also procured a sextant, though he is unsure whether it will be useful; Ona responds with a smile and asks whether it measures angles. The exchange places a small, tentative moment of intimacy beside the more consequential work of assembling resources.

Packing the Buggy

August and the women distribute the equipment through Greta’s buggy. The Co-op Safe is placed at the back, beneath the rear seat. The World Map is wrapped around a large block of cheese and covered in ordinary brown paper, while the Dynamite and map are put in the hatbox at the front. The food-like wrapping and different hiding places make the preparations more than a simple inventory: the group is arranging how valuable and potentially revealing items will travel with them.

The buggy also carries onions, soap, and pieces of wood. August identifies practical uses for the wood: it could provide traction if the wheels become mired in mud or kindling for a fire. His packing therefore anticipates obstacles on the road as well as the group’s basic needs. When Agata Friesen asks whether the horses have been brought back to Greta’s barn, Neitje Friesen confirms that they were retrieved early that morning from the Koop brothers.

Secrecy and the Route North

The preparations take place against the possibility that the women’s departure will be reported or obstructed. Agata warns that the Koop brothers may wait until the women move, then ride to the city to tell the men, or try to prevent the women from leaving themselves. She further suspects that a report of a fire north of Molotschna is intended to drive the group south, toward the men, and into a trap. Ona recognizes the danger of that prospect, while Mariche Loewen rejects the reported fire and argues that the animals would reveal whether it were real. The women decide to head north, away from the men.

August’s safe, map, and Dynamite belong to a wider effort to turn a collective choice into coordinated action. The women need transport, provisions, information, and ways to respond to difficult conditions; the buggy gathers these resources in one place. Its concealed cargo also gives the departure a precarious quality: preparation offers a means forward, but it does not remove the threat of discovery or interference.