Harriet’s
assembly continued walking through the night listening to the running water of
the Choptank and stepping through boggy swamp mud. They climbed through bushes
and tree branches. In the pale moon light they could see their breath before
them, hanging for second in the cold air before disappearing again.
“Miss
Tubman?” asked Kyla.
“Yes,
child.”
“Why
didn’t you bring your parents?”
“Oh,
they too old. They can’t keep up with us right now. They can’t walk far like
this.”
“Do
you think you’ll be able help them later?”
“I
sure hope so,” said Harriet.
“There
are a lot of slaves in the South, aren’t there, Miss Tubman?” asked Zammie.
“As
many as there are stars in the sky,” answered Harriet.
“Then
why don’t more of them run away like you?” he asked. “It seems like there are
lots of people helping us and it seems that lots more slaves could leave.”
“It
ain’t always that easy. Each person got their own reasons. Some are old, like
my mama. Some may be free, but they got homes here they believe are rightfully
theirs, like Millie. Homes they are willing to fight for and defend. An’ some
are just too scared to leave. This is hard travellin’. I’m sure you noticed.”
-- A march through the woods
from Time Trip #2 (Chapter 14)
"Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad" by Paul Collins
TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2
A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3
WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for submitting a comment. We will review and post your comment as soon as possible.