This story of a remarkable people, the Black Seminoles, and their charismatic leader, Chief John Horse, chronicles their heroic struggle for freedom. Beginning with the early 1800s, small groups of fugitive slaves living in Florida joined the Seminole Indians (an association that thrived for decades on reciprocal respect and affection). Kenneth Porter traces their fortunes and exploits as they moved across the country and attempted to live first beyond the law, then as loyal servants of it.

Kenneth W. Porter, former professor of history at the University of Oregon, began researching Black Seminole history in the 1930s. When he died in 1981, he was still editing the 700 pages of his life's work. Originally published in 1996, his book remains the definitive work on the subject.