Part 29 (1/2)
I held his face in my hands and kissed his tears. ”It would honor me to be your wife and join with you in heart and intent. My dear, sweet Colt, let us begin anew.”
Livie nodded with a proud grin as I took her hand in grat.i.tude. After a tender pause, Colt smiled and offered me his arm. With hope and commitment bonding us, the three of us descended the hill, each of us harboring the promise of a better tomorrow.
Authors' Notes Imagine fleeing the only home you know, alone, with nothing but the ragged clothes on your back. Without shoes or map, you tread through murky nights along landscape you have never seen. What horrors lie in wait? Hungry and exhausted, you stumble upon a rattlesnake in the brush, and fight deadly fever in the swamps. Man and beast are unleashed in your wake, determined to track you down and drag you back, dead or alive. The truth is, you have no idea where you are going or where you will end up. Yet what you are escaping makes the treacherous journey not only worth the risk, but the lesser h.e.l.l.
The first time I recall hearing the term Underground Railroad Underground Railroad, I was a schoolgirl conjuring up images of a hidden rail system that runaway slaves hopped aboard like hobos. Better still was the picture of a long, underground tunnel used by the enslaved to run South to North, if only they were lucky enough to find it. Those myths were quickly dashed upon reading about the legendary Harriet Tubman and Frederick Dougla.s.s, during which I learned that the Underground Railroad was a secret network of escape routes, organized in some areas, while spontaneous and opportunistic in others. The routes were land based as much as sea driven, and conducted by whites, blacks, and Native Americans alike. The ”system” was ever changing, taking as many forms as there were attempted escapes, failing as much as succeeding, and always with the threat of recapture, vicious punishment, torture, and death. I do not profess to be an expert on the Underground Railroad, but I am an admiring believer in its power to unite for common cause and awed by the courageous spirit driving it forward in the changing face of a nation.
Although there is some debate as to the origin of the metaphor, it is said that a slaveholder, upon closing in on a runaway slave, only to have him slip away, never to be seen again, declared that it was as if the slave disappeared on some kind of underground railroad. The name stuck, and though not widely used during the height of runaway activity, later became the descriptive term for the integrated, secretive freedom movement that stretched from Eastern ports like Philadelphia across the country to Cincinnati and points west. Its veins began in the deep South, flowing northward to the free states, and eventually into Canada, when the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed slaveholders to reclaim runaway slaves found in Northern states and return them to bondage. During the 1800s, more than one hundred thousand enslaved Americans used some form of this network while seeking their freedom. The Underground Railroad was the best of America within the worst of America.
Although countless names and deeds a.s.sociated with this widespread network were well hidden and have since been lost, in obscurity, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, preserves and celebrates its legacy. This amazing museum and educational facility pays tribute to and offers remembrance of the movement, beginning with the Underground Railroad and continuing forward to the challenges of modern-day slavery and issues of freedom in areas of the world like Darfur. At the grand opening of the center in 1984, former First Lady Laura Bush remarked, ”This is more than a center of education, more than a memorial of remembrance or a monument for justice. The Freedom Center is a cornerstone of the American conscience.”
Each exhibit is unique and moving. I can still feel my skin p.r.i.c.kle in their environmental theater as darkness falls, crickets twitter, and fog rolls in, enveloping visitors in a dangerous scene of escape and immersing us physically in the film Brothers of the Borderland Brothers of the Borderland. After my first visit to the Freedom Center, I remember sitting on a bench outside the entrance doors overlooking the Ohio River, scribbling my thoughts and ideas as they rushed through me and around me, leaving me barely able to keep up. I think I was first in line the next morning as the center opened its doors!
Discovering the characters of Promise Bridge Promise Bridge was a moving experience. Hannah and Livie represent the best in all of us: Hannah, with her loyalty and emerging social conscience, and Livie, brave and unashamedly honest, daring to trust and reveal herself so the burdens of her fellow slaves cannot be ignored or denied. They are composites of women struggling during an oppressive time, both seeking a kind of personal freedom. Hannah and Livie find strength and courage in one another. They are not perfect, but of pure intention. Naive, yes. But sometimes naive belief is what frees us to attempt the impossible. I love their friends.h.i.+p. The bond between them enriches them and makes them better; their love and devotion empowers them. Obviously, their personal struggles and exposure to danger are vastly different. Hannah's journey is internal, indicative of a woman seeking control of her beliefs and conscience at a time when women were corseted by social inferiority. Livie's plight is more urgent and life- altering. Her dream of freedom and controlling her destiny becomes a race to save her husband and child. Hannah and Livie discover something in each other that helps them overcome their obstacles and lay claim to their lives. Isn't this the blessing of a true friend? was a moving experience. Hannah and Livie represent the best in all of us: Hannah, with her loyalty and emerging social conscience, and Livie, brave and unashamedly honest, daring to trust and reveal herself so the burdens of her fellow slaves cannot be ignored or denied. They are composites of women struggling during an oppressive time, both seeking a kind of personal freedom. Hannah and Livie find strength and courage in one another. They are not perfect, but of pure intention. Naive, yes. But sometimes naive belief is what frees us to attempt the impossible. I love their friends.h.i.+p. The bond between them enriches them and makes them better; their love and devotion empowers them. Obviously, their personal struggles and exposure to danger are vastly different. Hannah's journey is internal, indicative of a woman seeking control of her beliefs and conscience at a time when women were corseted by social inferiority. Livie's plight is more urgent and life- altering. Her dream of freedom and controlling her destiny becomes a race to save her husband and child. Hannah and Livie discover something in each other that helps them overcome their obstacles and lay claim to their lives. Isn't this the blessing of a true friend?
Some of the traits found in Augusta and Colt were inspired by two well-known ”conductors” on the Underground Railroad. Reverend John Rankin was a prominent figure in his community and used his advantage to shepherd runaways. Conversely, John Fairfield was born to a slaveholding family on a Virginia plantation, but detested slavery. When he reached manhood, Fairfield became very active in the Underground Railroad. Colt and Augusta are representative of a cross-section of Southern conductors whose partic.i.p.ation in the network depended on their anonymity. Unlike abolitionists who voiced their beliefs in public forums, hoping to garner support and expand the cause, conductors provided aid under a veil of secrecy. To be found out meant possible imprisonment, physical harm, and social recrimination. The most organized networks of the Underground Railroad were often found farther north, particularly along the border states. Augusta and Colt were doing their part to move those on the run to where the networks could deliver them to freedom.
The Freedom Center is also where I discovered the story of John P. Parker, a former slave who risked his life hundreds of times crossing the Ohio River under the cover of night to ferry others in their escape from slavery. Helping those left behind was a common practice among freedmen. It is estimated that Harriet Tubman returned south nineteen times to lead as many as three hundred from their bondage. This sense of commitment and responsibility felt by former slaves for their counterparts is a lesson in humanity. The courage and determination of John P. Parker is sewn into the character of Marcus. Just like real-life freedmen, Marcus felt a duty and compa.s.sion to not only return for his sister, but for anyone else seeking the path north.
Writing the cruel and evil Twitch was a difficult process; his vile treatment of others left me angry and shamed by its truth. His character was not based on any specific figure in history, but, sadly, was the embodiment of a way of life.
Signs and codes of the Underground Railroad were varied. Indicators used by one safe house were likely to be unique from the next. For example, one corridor might pa.s.s secret instruction to look for a man with one red feather adorning his derby who would lead them to a safe house. Or in the back hills, one might be directed to find the house with three candles burning in a window, indicating that food and shelter would be offered. This did not mean these signs applied across the South. In fact, other than the oft-noted lamp illuminating the window of John Rankin's home high above the Ohio River, there was no universal lamp-in-the-window sign. In other words, each station master signaled his or her presence in his or her own way. Their methods were secret, changing, and undoc.u.mented. This gave me flexibility in creating a network. The signs woven into the novel were unique to their system. For instance, the notion of sophisticated quilt codes is disputed by some as myth; however, in this story, quilts are used as reason for travel and worthy of hidden compartments, as well as hinting at landmarks on a route leading north. Their use is not reflective of the quilt codes hypothesized by some researchers as a form of complex communication. My quilts are merely a contributing method developed by this small group of people. Widely recognized signs, such as a white man tugging his ear when pa.s.sing a slave or using the term friend friend, provided signals to other sympathizers or to a fugitive seeking a safe house. These subtle signs are used throughout the book, although they go largely unnoticed until the second half of the story.
It should be noted that large numbers of runaways struck out on their own with nothing but the simple signs of nature leading the way. Stories shared in cabins or whispered at prayer meetings gave clues to follow the ”drinking gourd,” the Big Dipper in the night sky, its scoop pointing to the North Star, or wade through water to hide their path from tracking dogs. They were also instructed to watch for moss, which grows only on the north side of a dead tree. These are a few examples of the environment acting as a companion to a runaway. But more often than not, nature was a brutal foe.
I love writing in this genre of what I call Pre-Civ Lit. Loosely framed between the years 1830 and 1861, the period is ripe for fiction, particularly of interpersonal discovery. Endless stories of inspiration, danger, upheaval, and bold beginnings are waiting to be unearthed from beneath the ashes. We can tiptoe past it, hoping not to stir old ghosts, or we can choose to give voice to generations deserving of acknowledgment, tribute, and literary life, as with any other period in our history. We are entrusted to do so, respectfully and responsibly. The spirit of the Underground Railroad must never be forgotten.
Promise Bridge is not meant to preach, only to inspire. Hopefully, it brings thoughtful reflection. If men and women of the Underground Railroad could find ways to build mutual trust and cooperation in spite of their differences in the harshest of times, with potential consequences far beyond our wildest imagination, then what excuse have we today? Where are the divides in our lives? They do not have to be racial. Divides can be personal, political, religious, familial, and even internal. Bridging a divide, any divide, expands our possibilities. We are the bridge keepers, and have the ability to extend or retract. What will you do? When faced with a divide, be a bridge. is not meant to preach, only to inspire. Hopefully, it brings thoughtful reflection. If men and women of the Underground Railroad could find ways to build mutual trust and cooperation in spite of their differences in the harshest of times, with potential consequences far beyond our wildest imagination, then what excuse have we today? Where are the divides in our lives? They do not have to be racial. Divides can be personal, political, religious, familial, and even internal. Bridging a divide, any divide, expands our possibilities. We are the bridge keepers, and have the ability to extend or retract. What will you do? When faced with a divide, be a bridge.
Eileen Clymer Schwab is a first-time novelist. Long intrigued by this transitional period in history, she found inspiration in the courage of those who sought freedom, as well as the spirit of joined purpose developed with those who provided aid during their journey. She resides with her family in northeastern Pennsylvania. is a first-time novelist. Long intrigued by this transitional period in history, she found inspiration in the courage of those who sought freedom, as well as the spirit of joined purpose developed with those who provided aid during their journey. She resides with her family in northeastern Pennsylvania.
READERS GUIDE.
PROMISE.
BRIDGE.
EILEEN CLYMER SCHWAB.
READERS GUIDE.
A CONVERSATION WITH EILEEN CLYMER SCHWAB.
Q. Writing a novel against a historic backdrop requires a great deal of research. What did you do to accurately portray place and character?
A. First and foremost, I wanted to touch and see as much as I could from and about the time period. I began at the library, where many wonderful and informative books can be found about slavery and the Underground Railroad; books chronicling Harriet Tubman, William Still, Reverend John Rankin, Henry ”Box” Brown, and many narratives glimpsing the horrific inst.i.tution of slavery and the secret activity born of courage and desire for freedom. I also traveled to many historic sites, most notably the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, of which I have been a member for years. This facility is like none other; an expansive, glorious tribute to freedom and probably the most extensive museum paying tribute to the Underground Railroad. I traveled through western Virginia to get a feel for the land. Places like the Booker T. Was.h.i.+ngton National Monument, Monticello, Harriet Tubman's home, and the ”Living the Experience” reenactment in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, brought pages I researched to life. There were many lesser-known sites in North Carolina and Tennessee that also contributed inspiration and helped me weave a textured setting.
My ability to breathe life into these characters was aided by the voices I ”heard” while reading the slave narratives from the Federal Writers' Project of 1936-1938. During Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, the Works Progress Administration sent writers out to find and chronicle the thoughts and memories of former slaves, many of whom were well into their eighties and nineties. The narratives are an important piece of history that can never fade away with the pa.s.sing of time. Some of the dialect and phrasing found in these narratives give credible voice to my characters.
The research phase was lengthy and continued throughout the writing of the book. At times it was appalling, and at other times awe-inspiring. However, I loved researching this project. This period of time preceding the Civil War intrigues me. I wish more was written about it, but it is not a time our nation is proud of or wishes to reminisce over. For every story told of the Underground Railroad, there were hundreds more never seen or heard. Much was hidden from sight, and pa.s.sed away with a generation. Not all ”conductors” were white, but those who were perhaps helped sew the initial delicate threads of healing between those cooperating and sharing risk in the activity that would become known as the Underground Railroad.
Q. The symbol of the promise bridge is strong throughout the book. Where did this concept come from and what inspired the imagery?
A. The promise bridge came to me gradually, although I sensed all along my desire for a vivid image portraying the bond between Hannah and Livie. A physical gesture that transcended words and sentimentality, and underscored a firm commitment beyond the affection of friends. What I love about the creative process is you never know what will bring inspiration, but for me it usually comes from being moved emotionally. Inspiration can come from an experience in your life, from a pain endured, a song or poem, a kindness witnessed, or a painting that stirs your soul. Yes, even a sunset. The possibilities are endless and often unexpected when they arrive.