Harriet Tubman, Alias Moses: The Swamp Mystery Adapted from Sarah Bradford s book: Harriet Tubman, The Moses of Her People, published in 1869 By Carol Montgomery Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Harriet Man Jewel Quaker Jonathon * Sound Effects Person Performance Time = almost 5 minutes Cast (5-7+ ): * This could be the whole cast except for the narrators and Harriet OR it could be the rest of the class like a chorus. Feel free to have young ones join in with the sound effects, if you want. You may also delete the sound effects and have a much more serious play. NOTE: Use one narrator and combine parts if you have fewer readers. 1
Harriet Tubman, Alias Moses: The Swamp Mystery Adapted from Sarah Bradford s book: Harriet Tubman, The Moses of Her People, published in 1869 By Carol Montgomery Narrator 1: Harriet Tubman, the famous conductor on the Underground Railroad, helped over three hundred slaves to freedom in the North. She later shared her life story, including this mystery. Narrator 2: On one trip Harriet Tubman, sometimes called Moses, left her group huddled in the rain in the middle of the street as she went and knocked on the station house door of a black friend at daybreak. Harriet: (quietly) Wait here quietly. I ll just give my special knock and signal for you to come on over. Narrator 1: She whispered to the group. Sound Effects: Knock, knock (pause) knock, knock, knock. Harriet: Hmmm nothing. Sound Effects: Knock, knock (pause) knock, knock, knock. Narrator 2: Soon a window raised up. Sound Effects: Creak! Narrator 2: A white face appeared and gruffly asked Man: (gruffly) Who are you? What do you want? Harriet: Oh, I m so sorry I was just looking for my friend, Aaron. Man: (gruffly) He had to leave. He was hiding black slaves. 2
Sound Effects: SLAM! Narrator 1: The window slammed shut! That meant trouble for Harriet and her crew. Daylight meant they all could be caught and sent to jail. Even worse, they could be sent back to slavery. Harriet shot a quick prayer to God then soon directed Harriet: Come, I know a safe place where we will be protected while they hunt for us. Narrator 2: So Harriet quietly led her group outside of town toward a little island with tall grass in a stinky swamp. She waded through the swamp Sound Effects: Swish, swish, swish, swish Narrator 2: Carrying a basket with twin baby girls who had been drugged to keep them quiet. The group reluctantly followed. Jewel: Are you sure it s safe, Moses? How will we ever get out of here? Harriet: Don t you worry now. You all just lie down quietly in this tall grass and rest. God will do something. He always does. I m sorry the grass is wet, but if we pray we won t even notice the wetness. Just be still like a rock under the mud of this here swamp. Jewel: (nods) Narrator 1: The poor fugitives were cold, wet, and hungry. Harriet didn t dare leave to get supplies. She knew the man she talked with earlier through the window of the house must have given the alarm. It wouldn t be safe for anyone to leave that little swamp island in daylight. People would be watching for them. Some would be hunting for them. There could be reward money if they were caught. Harriet silently prayed again Harriet: Oh Lord, we thank you for keeping us safe and making a way out of this here swamp. Just as you rescued Moses in the basket, Lord, rescue these babies in this basket and all of us, please. I know these folks are plenty scared. Give them peaceful rest. 3
Narrator 2: After dusk, a man dressed like a Quaker slowly walked along the solid pathway on the edge of the swamp. Sound Effects: Step, step, step, step. Narrator 2: Quakers were often friends of the fugitives. He seemed to be talking to himself, but Harriet s ears tuned in to his words Quaker: My wagon stands in the barnyard of the next farm across the way. The horse is in the stable. The harness hangs on a nail. Narrator 1: Then the man was gone. Night covered the cowering crew. Harriet stole away to the place the Quaker man had described. Later Harriet: It s all right, Jewel, everyone. Come see what the Lord has done! We have a wagon full of food, water, and blankets for us. Isn t God good? Jewel: Oh, thank God! I was so scared. I was sure we were going to die out on that island. Or worse, that someone would find us. Harriet: I know, Missy. I know. Narrator 2: Harriet drove the horse and wagon under the cover of darkness to the next town. Sound Effects: Clip, clop, clip, clop, clip, clop. Narrator 2: Another Quaker friend lived there. Harriet: Jonathon, I don t guess you know the owner of this here wagon, do you? Jonathon: Well, I can t be sure, Moses, but I ll check it out in the morning. Let me take care of it and you just take care of your people. What s covered up in that big basket? 4
Harriet: Babies. Twin girls. Yep. We need to get these little ones into shelter and get them fed. They ve been little angels. Jonathon: Moses, sometimes I think you re an angel. Jewel: So do I. Harriet: Lord have mercy! Not me. But, I wonder about the man who told us about this here wagon when we were hiding in the swamp. How d he know where we were? How d he know we could hear him? How d he know how much food and water we needed? Now, that s a real swamp mystery. Narrator 1: The End. But, not for the little babies. They grew up to be fine young women. 5
Curriculum Links (Valid in 2011): http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/bradford/bradford.html Link to the original story of Harriet Tubman as told by Sarah Bradford, published in 1869. (Note: The story of The Swamp Mystery appears to be in the second edition, and not the first.) http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/tubman/ Library of Congress list of online resources related to Harriet Tubman. Includes a black ad white digital portrait of her that can be printed or downloaded. http://myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=harriettubman Information and links on Harriet Tubman from the My Hero Project, celebrating the best of humanity and empowering young people to recognize their potential to effect positive change in the world. http://jfredmacdonald.com/rddf/railwaytofreedom.htm Script from Richard Durham s Destination Freedom scripts from Radio Black Legacy 1948-1950 Railway to Freedom originally broadcast July 4, 1948. This radio script includes songs and covers Harriet Tubman s life. It s very mature; appropriate for high school. (Note: Harriet was injured in her head and had periodic blackouts. This script creatively mentions her hearing voices voices of slaves, voices of her people, and the voice of God. She says in the script, I was Moses. I answered them. ) The script could be used to rewrite and adapt as a Readers Theater script in small groups. Give each group a part if you like the script. You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgzrfvagzxw&feature=related 3:48 min animated video on Harriet Tubman running away to freedom. (Review first to see if it s appropriate for your students.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hthvetfik28 Nest animated promo video on Harriet Tubman (2 min). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq2kbk4qtgu 8:22 min edited documentary on Harriet Tubman. (Review first to see if it s appropriate for your students.) 6