Northwest
Passage
a
collaboration of Derek Davis, Connie Hatch, Linda White,
the
cast and many others
Characters
(in order of appearance)
Cast
Pemsit Ben
Hatch
Rosemary Bedford Florence
Suarez
Lemuel Bedford Derek
Davis
Edward Eldred Ferdie
Marek
Frederick Ambley Mark
Roinick
Mary Eldred Letitia
Magann
Emma Hatch Barbara
K. Schaefer
Amy Hatch Anastasia
Miller
Maisie Hatch Leona
Hatch
Ellsworth Hatch Derek
Davis
Nellie Battin Diane
Watkins
Hannah Hoagland Brenda
Miller
Joseph Hoagland Joel
Fisher
Mary Hoagland Anastasia
Miller
Samantha Hoagland Olivia
Magann
Jesse Haines Nicholas
Miller
James Ecroyd Paul
Schaefer
Joel McCarty Mark
Roinick
Ellen McCarty Anne
Kiner
William King Nicholas
Miller
Rev. William Brane Ferdie
Marek
Thomas Pardoe Joel
Fisher
Margaret (Molyneux) Pardoe Amy
McGee
Liza Orthrop Connie
Hatch
Clara Shadduck Letitia
Magann
Caroline Baumunk Brenda
Miller
Patty Shadduck Leona
Hatch
Elvira Shadduck Olivia
Magann
Harlan Baumunk Paul
Schaefer
Betty Smith Amy
McGee
Gayle Norton Barbara
K. Schaefer
Crazy Crow Ed
Murray
Stage
credits
Costumes Barbara K. Schaefer, Linda White, and cast
Lighting design Scott
Osborg
Lighting technician Connie
Hatch
Sound design Derek
Davis
Sound technician Joanna
Murray
Set design and construction Derek
Davis, Paul Schaefer, Linda White
Refreshments Vivian
McCarty
Historical consultants
Wilson Ferguson, Linda Lorentine, Connie Hatch, Ann
Henderson
Music
Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
written
and performed by Skip James
What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?
traditional,
performed by Dorie Fisher
'Tain't No Sin...
written
by Walter Donaldson & Edgar Leslie, unknown performer
The Dutchman
written
by Michael Smith, performed by Dorie Fisher
Working on a Building
written
by Hoyle - Boulas, performed by Dorie Fisher
Simple Gifts
written
by Elder Joseph Brackett, performed by Dorie Fisher
Follow the Drinking Gourd
unknown
author, performed by Dorie Fisher
Lonesome Traveler
written
by Jean Ritchie & Lee Hays,
performed
by Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Bess Lomax
One Meat Ball
written
by L. Singer & H. Zaret, performed by Dave van Ronk
Pie in the Sky
written
by Joe Hill, performed by Cisco Houston
Brother Can You Spare a Dine
written
by Yip Harburg & Jay Gorney, sung by Abbey Lincoln
I Believe I'll Go Back Home
written
and performed by Geoff Muldaur
INTRODUCTION
May 1938, near Bedford
Corners
PEMSIT is walking
down the road, slowly, looking with interest at everything he passes. He sidles
up to a large rock, sits and takes out his notebook, which he flips through. He
looks up and addresses the audience.
PEMSIT
You have to wonder how my
Lenape ancestors managed to lope through the landscape day after day, hauling a
deer's weight of meat. [holding up a foot ]My dogs are barking loudly after a month on the road
carrying nothing but the clothes on my back. A tenderfoot indeed.
starts walking
again
PEMSIT
No jobs for the
college-educated in these destitute times, Indian or not. No jobs for anyone. A
decade along and this Depression looks to be eternal. If it does end, let us
hope that nothing like it ever comes again.
But a good at time as any
to try to collect my past, don't you think? Did you know the state of
Pennsylvania claims that Indians no longer exist within its borders? poof! I cease to exist. So who am I, then?
Pemsit puts away
the notebook, scratches his chin, raps on a door, scratches his chin some more.
Door opens. Pemsit nods a bow.
ROSEMARY BEDFORD
Hello.
PEMSIT
Good evening. I am on
somewhat of a journey and was wondering if you might know of a rooming house
where I could spend the night. I have nothing to pay for it directly, but I am
amenable to chores.
ROSEMARY
Oh dear, not out this way,
not close at any rate. Where you headed?
PEMSIT
Everywhere. Nowhere in
particular. In fact, I was wondering where I am at the moment.
ROSEMARY
Well, they call it Bedford
Corners. After my man's family. How'd you even get here, anyway?
PEMSIT
Shanks mare.
ROSEMARY
You're walking? Oh my. Well,
come on in a spell.
she opens the door
and ushers him in
PEMSIT
My exuberant thanks.
ROSEMARY smiling
You talk kinda funny. No
offense.
PEMSIT
None taken.
ROSEMARY
Would you like some coffee?
Cookies?
PEMSIT
Thank you.
ROSEMARY
Well, anyways ...
[calling] Lemuel, we got us a guest.
Lemuel shuffles out
from the other room.
LEMUEL BEDFORD
Evenin'.
PEMSIT
Sir. [bows]
ROSEMARY
He's been walking and needs
a place to stop the night.
LEMUEL
Huh.
ROSEMARY
So I was thinking ....
LEMUEL [to Pemsit]
A bad habit of hers.
ROSEMARY
Now you know with Zeke gone
to Joshua's we got us a room he could stay.
LEMUEL
Huh. You don't mind,
mister, if I ast a bit more of ya before we set you in bed?
PEMSIT
I would expect no less. And
if you are offering me a night's rest, nothing could be simpler to earn my
keep. Along with any help you might need. For I can afford, actually, little
more.
LEMUEL
Who the heck can these
days? Nothin' left for anybody. I just want to know, well, this here's Rosemary
Bedford and I'm, as I guess you heard, Lemuel, so you're...
PEMSIT
Pemsit. It means, in my
language, "wanderer."
LEMUEL
Yer language? Ain't you
American?
Pemsit takes out
his notebook and pencil and flips through the notebook as he speaks.
PEMSIT
More than you might
imagine. I am of the Lenape. The Indian tribe.
LEMUEL
An Indian! I'll be danged.
I thought as they'd all died out.
PEMSIT
There was a concerted
effort in that direction, but it did not quite succeed. What more do you need
to know?
Lemuel scratches
his head, a little uneasy.
LEMUEL
I don't know. Maybe
nothin'. Just as ... What you be doin' on this trek across all heck and gone,
walkin'? Used to be that way, but even in hard times today, after the crash, I
'spect there'd be better modes of travel.
PEMSIT [smiling]
There are indeed, but they
are not available to me. No cash, no automobile, no handy stranger with a
conveyance. As to what I'm up to – I am collecting stories. About my
cultural past, where possible. Is that enough in the way of explanation?
ROSEMARY
'Course it is. Right, Lem?
LEMUEL
I suppose. You're softer'n
me.
ROSEMARY
I'm 'sposed to be. Now, Mr.
Pemsit, what can we git ya?
PEMSIT
I'm perfectly comfortable,
in a material sense. But perhaps we could trade tales, a bit of your local history
in turn for my history, less local?
Pemsit retrieves
his notebook and pencil, takes out a small knife to sharpen the pencil, looks
around for somewhere to put the shavings. Rosemary waves dismissively
ROSEMARY
Aw, just leave them go on
the floor. I ain't swept yet. I don't rightly know any tales. What is there to
talk about, Lem?
LEMUEL
There's Mr. Eldred. [to
Pemsit] He was one of the first up
here. But if we're tradin' stories, why don't you go first?
PEMSIT
Thank you. I grew up
considering myself solely of English background, believing that my ancestors on
both sides came from Europe. Yet there was a peculiar gap in the telling of how
we came to be here. Years later, it became clear that my father had suppressed
his Indian heritage for reasons that made perfect sense at the time but, for
me, no longer adhere. So I am on what you might consider a personal quest. I
would very much like to find out what it means to be as I am.
LEMUEL
Dang! That's mighty ...
somethin' or other. Well, you OK to hear about Mr. Eldred?
PEMSIT [ironically, but
missed by them]
I do like to hear about
aboriginal inhabitants.
LEMUEL
See, he had this place,
early on last century, up by what's called now Hugo's Corners....
SCENE 1
Liberty Hall, 1811
knock on door.
Edward Eldred heaves himself up from his fireside chair and opens the door.
ELDRED
Welcome.
AMBLEY [stomping and
slapping snow off his clothes]
Lord, I'm glad to find you.
Haven't seen a human soul in miles and my ears are ready to fall right off.
Never should of ventured out like this, this time of year.
ELDRED
We travel when we must.
AMBLEY [looking around]
Don't 'spect as if you
travel much when the ground's bedded down. Seem set cozy.
ELDRED
Looks can be deceiving.
Though in this case – not so much.
AMBLEY
You got rooms to let?
ELDRED
Most certainly.
Ambley peels off
his coat, hat and gloves and extends his hand.
AMBLEY
My name's Ambley.
Frederick. Guess I might be the only one here.
ELDRED
You might, but, in fact,
you are not. I have five others for company. I am Edward Eldred.
He indicates the
hooks on the wall and Ambley hangs up his coat and hat.
AMBLEY
How many rooms you got here
anyways? Looks big.
ELDRED
Several. Not all are
finished. It is, as the poets say, a work in progress.
He indicates the
chair, and Ambley and Eldred sit.
AMBLEY
You got a name you call
this place?
ELDRED
Liberty Hall.
AMBLEY
Liberty from what?
ELDRED
Perhaps from death in
winter for people who might otherwise be found atop their horse, frozen fast to
the saddle--perhaps from tyranny, a reference to our founding fathers. Mostly,
though, it's a name like any name. I simply like it.
AMBLEY
I pulled my horse around to
the barn.
ELDRED
I'll look to it. [calling]
Mrs. Eldred, we have a new guest.
Mary enters as Ambley
jumps to his feet and tries to take off his hat which is, of course, already
off.
ELDRED
Mr. Ambley, my wife, Mrs.
Eldred.
He puts on his coat
and hat, preparing to go out.
MARY
Pleased to meet you Mr.
Ambley.
AMBLEY [bowing]
Ma'am. My pleasure.
MARY
Would you care for a
warming drink? Hot tea or mulled cider?
AMBLEY
Mmm. Hard cider?
ELDRED
As pristine granite.
They laugh as Eldred
exits.
AMBLEY
Then cider it is.
MARY
And prepared with my
special spicing. I believe you will be pleased with your choice.
She disappears into
the kitchen. Ambley inspects the walls, which hold a variety of guns and wood
carvings. He suddenly remembers something and goes to the coat rack where he
takes several envelopes out of his hat. He looks them over, puts one in his
pocket and puts the rest back in his hat. Mary enters with a mug of cider which
she gives him.
MARY
Your cider, sir.
AMBLEY
Thank you kindly, ma'am. It
has a most appetizing aroma. [He takes a sip.] Mmm. Just right for a snowy night!
MARY
Thank you, sir.
Eldred enters as they
talk.
ELDRED
Your horse is stabled with
oats and hay. A beautiful and gentle beast.
AMBLEY
A gift from my father, who
has a right good eye for horseflesh. But, pardon me for asking, would you be
Mrs. Mary Eldred of the Elklands?
MARY
Why, yes, I think I could
be characterized as that. Why?
AMBLEY [handing her the
envelope.]
Among the letters I have
been asked to carry is one addressed to Mrs. Mary Eldred, The Elklands.
MARY [looking the letter
over]
It appears to be from my
mother. I have not heard from her in many months.
ELDRED
Open it now, my dear. I'm
sure Mr. Ambley will not mind.
AMBLEY [sitting and
drinking]
A woman who can mull cider
as well as Mrs. Eldred can open as many letters as she likes in my presence.
MARY as she opens the
letter
Well, you have my mother to
thank for that cider as well. [she reads silently, then slowly sinks into a
chair] Oh. Oh my goodness.
ELDRED
Is something wrong, my
dear?
MARY
It's my cousin, Ned. It
seems that he has been impressed by the British along with other sailors on his
ship.
ELDRED
This has been my fear for
him since he went to sea last year.
MARY
Pardon me, I must see to
the kitchen.
AMBLEY
I've heard about that
before, but what's that mean exactly anyways? Impressing a sailor?
ELDRED
It means the British are
removing our sailors forcibly from American ships and placing them in the
British navy.
Ambley lurches out
of his chair.
AMBLEY
That ain't right. Damn!
ELDRED
Your language, sir. But, yes, it is definitely against all law. I was a
student of law in London, long ago, a British citizen and, at the time, proud
of my heritage.
AMBLEY
You ain't now?
ELDRED
I am an American by tenure
and increasingly by inclination. I would not be happy with a renewed war, looking
at it from either side. But if a nation will not be ruled by law, there is
little recourse.
AMBLEY
That's about the way of it.
ELDRED
Let us turn our minds to
less inflammatory issues. Where are you headed?
AMBLEY
I'm on to the Genesee. Not
exactly sure what all's up there, but, you know, it holds possibilities. For a
businessman. I consider myself that.
ELDRED
What is your business?
AMBLEY [laughing]
That hasn't been exactly
decided yet. It would depend on what needs I find up there. What got you comin'
here?
ELDRED
Have you heard of Mr.
Joseph Priestley?
AMBLEY [scratches his
chin]
Can't say. No, don't think
so.
ELDRED
He discovered oxygen.
AMBLEY [attempting to
look like he knows what that is]
Huh! What'd he do with it?
ELDRED
Gave it to science. But he
also acquired a great deal of property in Pennsylvania. In this area, I am the
agent for his son. Mr. Priestley the scientist is deceased.
AMBLEY
So this is his land?
ELDRED [nods]
A small bit, really. Though
now mine in name, formally deeded to me but recently.
both are silent for
awhile. Eldred lights his pipe.
MARY [entering with a
plate of biscuits]
You must be hungry after
your ride.
AMBLEY [somewhat
surprised]
Now you mention it.
MARY
Would a few fresh biscuits
suit you?
AMBLEY
Fresh! If it was fresh I'd
eat the leg offen this chair.
Mary sets the
biscuits on the table, then busies herself with knitting.
AMBLEY
Ya know, I couldn't figure
the layout of this place when I come to it.
ELDRED
It is four buildings placed
around a square, which square becomes the fifth, interior building. Though the
fifth building may end up simply an exercise of my imagination.
AMBLEY
What brought you to erect
such a thing?
ELDRED
The road to Genesee. When
it was put through a few years back, I was inundated with travelers, 10 or 20
wagons at times. Nowhere to sit them all, much less proper rooms, so now there
is a place for them and a living for myself. Beyond my duties.
AMBLEY
Duties?
ELDRED
As justice of the peace for
this region of Lycoming County.
AMBLEY
So yer fixed here?
ELDRED
Like a stake in a vampire.
both laugh.
MARY
We are both quite contented
with our life here. Do you plan to stay a bit? It looks like we're in for more
than a little snow.
AMBLEY
I was goin' to get along
come morning. Might beg off the trip awhile, though. Comfor'ble here, an' the
weather's no good friend.
MARY
You are welcome for as long
as you can abide the accommodations.
AMBLEY
Darn fine 'commode –
commodations. I miss my wife and children, though. You two have children?
MARY
We've only recently
married. Mr. Eldred, though ....
ELDRED
I have a daughter by a
former marriage. She writes that she may be joining me here in the coming year.
My first wife passed during an epidemic in London. I lost her and, as dismally,
my two sons.
AMBLEY
That's a terrible thing.
ELDRED
It was. But time heals, at
least to some extent.
MARY [to Ambley]
Has your cider proven
satisfactory?
AMBLEY
Were it any stronger, I'd
be weaker, were it any weaker, I'd be ... not near so happy.
INTERLUDE
What
Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?
SCENE 2
Hatch home, 1938
kitchen of the
Hatch home. EMMA is mixing batter in a bowl on the table. ELLSWORTH is wolfing
down food at the other end of the table. MAISIE and AMY are chasing each other
and ricocheting off the furniture. PEMSIT is sitting back, his chair on its
hind legs against the wall. He is smiling at the kids over the top of his
notebook as he leafs through it.
EMMA
Stop that runnin' around!
AMY
We're chasin'
EMMA
Chasin' what?
MAISIE
Chasin' the rainbow.
children slam into
the table and upset her bowl
EMMA
That's enough! You
Hatchlings stop that or I'll skin your hide!
Ellsworth starts to
snicker
EMMA
What's so funny?
ELLSWORTH
Skin, skin, skinny skin
skin.
AMY
You're always sayin' that,
pa.
ELLSWORTH
And I'll say it again,
skin, skin –
EMMA
Don't get started on that.
AMY
But you don't never say
what it's about. Who's skinny?
ELLSWORTH
She was. She wasn't. She
was an' then she wasn't.
PEMSIT
Sounds like a riddle.
ELLSWORTH
It's a good story, you
lookin' for stories. What it was, see, this old lady –
EMMA
He doesn't need to hear
about that.
PEMSIT
If I may be permitted, I
would like to hear it.
Pemsit poises his
pencil over the notebook. He begins writing as the tale unfolds.
ELLSWORTH
See?
EMMA
I don't see nothin' but
more work for me and more jaw from you.
ELLSWORTH
Which is as it should be,
eh Pimmist?
PEMSIT
I prefer to remain neutral
and preserve my hide.
ELLSWORTH [exhilirated]
That's what it's about.
They preserved her hide.
MAISIE
Whose hide?
EMMA
Go on, shoo, this isn't for
your ears.
Ellsworth slams the
table
ELLSWORTH
They're plenty darn old
enough. No kinda babies, let them be.
Emma sulks but says
nothing
ELLSWORTH
All right now, I got this
from my grandpappy, he swore on it as did my pap, who seen it too as a child.
There was this old woman, sickly all her life, went on from one doctor to the
next, they did this and that, and it never got no better, whatever it was. That
can put you down a peg or six. Anyways, come time she sees the end approachin',
she asks the local doc, Doc Randall [to audience] – now this was the same Doc Randall from last
year's play, the one got drowned in the well, just so's you know – [back
to Pemsit] and ast him, 'When I die I
want you to cut me up, do that' – what is that, Emma?
EMMA [through tight
lips]
Autopsy.
ELLSWORTH
Autopsy, auturvy, whatever.
Cut her open an' peek around inside, see can they figure out what it was all
them years. So they done it, Randall and some others.
Ellsworth starts
eating again
PEMSIT [after a pause]
What kind of illness did
they find?
ELLSWORTH
Aw, I don't know. Never
heard tell. Emma, you get us 'nother couple them ribs here?
Emma tosses a few
spareribs on his plate. Pemsit looks puzzled.
PEMSIT
So....
ELLSWORTH
So, what happened was when
they were done they kept the parts. Some of them.
AMY
The parts?
EMMA
Amy....
ELLSWORTH
The skin. An' the bones,
the skeleton.
MAISIE
Ewwww....
ELLSWORTH
What's so bad about a
skeleton? [waves a sparerib]
That's what this is, a piece of pig skeleton and we butcher 'em and eat 'em up
and suck the marrow.
AMY
Did they suck her marrow?
ELLSWORTH [somewhat
abashed]
Nah, it wasn't like that.
Doc Randall just set the skeleton up in his office. You know. An exhibit. To
teach people.
MAISIE [suddenly
excited]
Like freaks!
ELLSWORTH
It was no dang freak thing.
It was a doctor's office.
PEMSIT
What happened to the skin?
ELLSWORTH
Doc tanned it an draped it
over a table. Don't know if it was another exhibit or a tablecloth or what.
EMMA
Your tall tales get so high
they scrape the ceiling.
ELLSWORTH
It ain't no tall tale, it's
the truth. My grandpappy seen it. Seen the skin, seen the skeleton.
EMMA [suddenly serious]
You're sure? This was real?
ELLSWORTH
My grandpap and my pap,
they both told me – and they was honest men.
AMY
I'd like to have that.
ELLSWORTH
What?
AMY
The skin.
ELLSWORTH [laughing]
What'd you do with it?
AMY
Put it over my table. Put
my schoolbooks on it.
EMMA
Enough! What you two will
put is your hind ends into bed.
MAISIE
We want to stay with Mr.
Pemsit.
PEMSIT
I will be leaving shortly.
EMMA
Where will you be spending
the night?
PEMSIT
Where the spirits permit.
ELLSWORTH
This particular spirit
permits that you stay right here in our house.
PEMSIT
I've found a most
remarkable kindness and generosity along this way.
EMMA
Mostly it's 'cause we all
gotta help one another or no one's goin' to make it through these times.
ELLSWORTH
Plus, with so few comin'
through, if we don't nail 'em in place for a bit we won't never know what the
outside world's about.
MAISIE
And we like Indians!
AMY
We don't know none.
MAISIE
Now we do.
AMY
I'd like a lady's skin.
EMMA
Be settled with your own.
PEMSIT [standing up]
As my tribe says, Alliasquit
patooie.
AMY
What's that mean?
PEMSIT
Before retiring, I must go
outside and spit.
INTERLUDE
'Taint
No Sin to Take off Your Skin...
SCENE 3
Road to Friends' Meeting,
1938
Pemsit
walks along a dusty road, his head down, pensive. He starts to walk past the
Friends Meeting House, notes the sign, stops, backtracks slightly and looks at
the building, where the door is open. He seems to consider.
PEMSIT
The Elkland Society of
Friends? Is that the Quakers I've heard about?
He
walks up to the open door, pauses, then enters. The meeting, with a dozen or so
in attendance, is in silence. Pemsit walks a couple of feet into the doorway
and stops. Nothing is said for three or four minutes, then Pemsit takes a seat
in the second row. After a few minutes, people begin shaking hands. The woman
next to him reaches across and holds out her hand to be shaken. Pemsit shakes
it and a buzz of conversation begins.
The
woman who shook his hand, NELLIE BATTIN, introduces herself.
NELLIE
Good morning, friend. Welcome
to our meeting for worship. My name is Nellie Battin.
PEMSIT
Thank you. I am wandering
about. My name is Pemsit. Most interesting. I have never attended a meeting
like this one before. I found it strangely relaxing.
NELLIE [smiling]
That's what's most obvious.
We hope to be stirred by the Lord to speak, but often the silence is, as they
say, golden.
PEMSIT
My knowledge of the Quakers
is spotty. They are aligned against all violence, are they not? Refuse to fight
in wars?
NELLIE
Mostly, yes, though there's
been controversies, especially during the Revolution and the Civil War. Is
there such a thing as a "just war" that we are not only permitted but obligated
to fight? Such a question is difficult to resolve. But I have a question that I
hope you will not find so difficult. Would you care to share a meal with my
family? My husband is recovering from an encounter with our last bull and is
advised to stay at home for the present. He would be appreciative of your
company. Our house is close, less than three miles.
PEMSIT
That is most kind of you. I
hope your husband will not be confined for long.
NELLIE
He seems to be mending, but
the closer he comes to full recuperation, the more impatient he is with his
restrictions. I look for distractions for him.
PEMSIT
I will do my best to engage
his attention. And he will provide another viewpoint for my quest. Quaker
– a strange name. Where did the term come from?
NELLIE
"You should quake before the
way of the Lord." Officially, we're the Religious Society of Friends, founded
by George Fox in England, around 1650. We believe that religion should be
individually experienced, that God will speak directly to and through us, so
silence reigns if there is no message that needs to be shared.
PEMSIT [excited, delighted]
My people have felt something
similar. God, if we are all to call him that, is everywhere and breathes into
and through each.
NELLIE
Your people sound
enlightened. May I ask who they are?
PEMSIT
The Lenape. Also called the
Delaware, though why a native tribe should bear an English name escapes me.
NELLIE
The Lenape! Let me shake your
hand again.
they
do so
NELLIE
You are, you said, on a
quest?
PEMSIT
Well, at least on a journey.
A pilgrimage, you might say. Collecting snippets of my people's heritage.
NELLIE [somewhat lost in
thought]
I fear your gleanings may be
lean hereabouts. The area, as far as I know, was never heavily settled by
Indian tribes. [suddenly recalling]
One of my husband's ancestors, Joseph Hoagland was one of the earliest settlers,
about 1800. He may have come here as an indirect result of his contact with
Indians.
lights
down for new scene
SCENE 4
Hoagland leanto c. 1802
HANNAH
HOAGLAND prepares dinner as JOSEPH settles back in his seat.
HANNAH [resigned sigh]
What do we do now, Joseph?
JOSEPH
We are here. We settle.
HANNAH
Will we ever truly settle or
simply be blown here and there like leaves? We fled from our homestead on
Lycoming Creek during the Revolution when the Indians threatened to slaughter
us all. We "settled" in Muncy, but the only work we could find was weaving, a
profession we knew little of, so the work drained you, night and day, without
producing the income to feed us. Then we set out blind again, fighting our way
50 miles through the wilderness by sled and oxen. And where are we? Nowhere!
Again we "settle" with no income.
JOSEPH [ticking points off
on his fingers]
First, we build the cabin.
Next, we build the grist mill, as I told you. It will be difficult, yes,
without to get the new mill pieces that cost. So we build for ourselves what we
need. Some think we must buy equipment to make a mill. Not so! The wood is
every place, and me, I know how to make things. I know of a clock made all of
wood, with no metal. If a clock, then too a mill all of wood. Listen to me. Listen. Mr. Phinias Bond has given us,
first, 100 free acres. This you know. He has also given to our two eldest the
same, because they are of age. This is correct? On my promise to build the
grist mill, 300 more he gives us. What more can we ask? We have the land. I and
my father and his father and even his father knew how to nurture the land. Well
cared for, the land will provide all we need. Our hands, our backs and our
strength will do what must be done.
Two
of their children, MARY (12) and SAMANTHA (9) burst through the door. Mary
shows her mother flowers she has picked. Samantha has a small pail.
MARY
Momma! Look what I found!
Drifts and drifts of flowers! More than you could ever imagine! So beautiful!
HANNAH [taking the
flowers]
Who would have thought there
was such beauty here? Where did you find them?
MARY
Over past the big hemlock.
There's a sort of open place, filled with flowers! Oh, and Momma, look what
Samantha has.
SAMANTHA [holding the pail
out to Hannah]
Little bitty strawberries! A
whole pail full. They are so sweet! Momma, make us a tart.
HANNAH
A tart or something. Oh, you
do have a lot of them. Mm, they
are sweet! Maybe I won't need to add sugar at all. How wonderful!
JOSEPH
See, Hannah, the land
provides!
HANNAH
Children, wash your hands.
Supper is almost ready. If this land is so bounteous, why does he give it away,
Mr. Bond? What does he gain from it?
JOSEPH
He has so much land! What
good does it do to lie fallow? He needs farmers--people to work the land. Settlers!
To build towns. To use the wealth to grow more! Then his land will become more
valuable. Be thankful. And too, he is an Englishman. Englishmen do ... strange
things. My ancestors in the Netherlands, they wrested the very crown from
England's King. Prince William of Orange and Mary his wife, they went to
England with an army and became King and Queen in 1688. But even so, even with
good Dutch rulers, the English, they are still strange.
Mary
and Samantha do "strange things" like they imagine the English doing.
HANNAH
The English are no more
strange than your Dutch. And there are no oranges in Holland -- or here.
JOSEPH
We will have better here than
oranges. We hold of our own 400 acres, free and clear, once we build then the
mill. Yes, and there are more of the believing Friends to our east.
HANNAH [to get his goat]
Be careful I have heard that
they are – English.
JOSEPH [waving a
dismissive hand]
Ah, what matter? Did not the
Friends begin in England? If those in the Elklands are of the Friends, then
friends indeed they are, no matter where from they come. The Lord puts us near
each to the other for comfort.
HANNAH [with a sudden
laugh]
Such a fearsome, growling
bear you pretend to be, but you are the veriest squirrel, smiling from his
tree. [placing the food on the table]
Here are your acorns, good man. And some for the little ones, too!
INTERLUDE
The Dutchman
SCENE 5
At the Battins' House,
1938
PEMSIT
Was he correct? Was he able
to build a mill of wood?
NELLIE
Yes – even the roof was
constructed of split logs overlapping each other. It was hardly the most
efficient of mills, though. They carried the grain to be ground on their backs
up to the second floor. But they did it. And it worked.
PEMSIT
A most resourceful family.
Nellie
and Pemsit enter the house.
NELLIE
Please have a seat, and I
will see about Mr. Battin.
She
looks into the next room.
NELLIE
He's fallen asleep, the best
medicine of all. So, we will break bread without him.
Nellie
brings food to the table.
PEMSIT
His ancestors were Dutch and
Quakers? Who quaked before my
marauding ancestors?
NELLIE [laughing, if a bit
nervously]
Perhaps they did. But yes, we
are both birthright Friends, and he has Dutch and English ancestors. Here's a
story you might like to have for your collection: One of his Dutch ancestors
became a convinced Friend and attended meetings in America many times. He felt
that God had sent him a message to give, but he was too shy to stand up before
the whole meeting. He wrestled with this problem for many weeks. Finally, he
gained the courage to stand, but -- he "did pour forth in Dutch." Later, I
believe, he was able not only to stand, but deliver his messages in English so
they would be understood.
PEMSIT
What was the message?
NELLIE
Oh, I don't really recall.
PEMSIT
It doesn't matter. Sometimes
we are asked to do very difficult things. Mr.
Hoagland spoke of more Quaker families to the east. How far east? Are they
still there? Do you know much of them?
NELLIE
East, in that case, was close
to where you are sitting. Those families arrived at much the same time as Mr.
Hoagland and are directly the founders of our meeting. Though sparsely settled,
the area became a hotbed of Friendship, so to speak.
PEMSIT [pencil poised]
I would be most interested in
hearing about that.
NELLIE
Let me see – yes, James
Ecroyd was likely the first – he migrated up from the Hillsgrove area
– and he was soon joined by Jesse Haines and others, including Joel
McCarty. Actually, I'm not sure of the exact sequence of their arrival.
PEMSIT
No matter. What were their
plans in coming here?
NELLIE
Ecroyd also planned to set up
a mill. Far enough away, though it might not seem so now, that they would not
directly compete. It was chancy, considering how few settlers there were, but
it turned out well. The others – they mostly farmed and, later, worked at
lumbering and such. Perhaps they had clear plans in their heads, but somehow I
suspect it was a fairly unfocused drive. A new place, a new life.
PEMSIT
I understand that feeling all
too well.
lights
down
SCENE 6
Along King's Creek, c.
1803
JAMES
ECROYD and JESSE HAINES are moving stones and placing them on the foundation of
the sawmill and grist mill.
JESSE
Does thee think enough will
venture so far to make thy mill profitable, James? To combine both saw and
grist under one roof anticipates great use.
JAMES
So I think, Jesse, elst I
would not have ventured so far afield to establish it.
JESSE
Thy land by John Hill's, it
was not far enough afield?
JAMES
They are not of our Society
of Friends. Better to gather here in one place and thus promote God's will
amongst us all.
JESSE
Thee is a hardy sort, to
start such enterprise. I will be content simply to clear my land and farm. But
this waterway has yet no name. [reaches for a tin cup] Should we not call it Ecroyd Creek? [holds cup
high]
JAMES
Nay, nay, twould be vanity. [relenting
a bit, smiling] And the name Ecroyd,
though I have borne it for life, does it not suggest the expelling of an
obstruction from the throat?
both
laugh
JESSE
Well then, methinks best
McCarty Creek, for Joel is most intent of us all at providing progeny.
enter
JOEL McCARTY with a rifle and a pile of wolf pelts thrown over his shoulder
JOEL
Did I hear thee maligning my
ability to produce heirs?
JESSE
No, only their abundance.
When they grow to adulthood they will shoulder all other Friends into New York
state. [pointing to the pelts] But
thee seems also to have prowess in other matters.
JOEL
I do fair at hunting.
Panthers, on occasion. This trip, wolves, for which the bounty is eight dollars
a pelt.
JESSE [astonished]
Eight dollars? For a single
pelt? I would haul more than I could stagger under if I but had thy eye. I am
fortunate to bring down one elk within an entire herd.
JOEL
I have seen 30 elk gathered
together at once.
JESSE
God grant we become so many. But what if few truly follow us?
JAMES
If thee would talk less and
work more, they will follow to have their grain ground. [expounding] It is our destiny. Once the mill is complete, we must
ask of the Muncy Meeting for their let to build our own place of worship. I
will provide land for it.
JESSE
Until then, let us meet at my
cabin. It is comfortable enough when the fireplace is well fed.
JOEL
And once the land is fully
cleared and set with crops, we shall be ourselves well fed.
JESSE
It is indeed good land. Once
the rocks be removed.
JOEL
Removed? They can never be
removed, only redistributed.
JAMES
In one place, their removal
gives us arable land. In another, their placement anchors a sturdy foundation.
The Lord provides for all, in His Wisdom – and in His own way.
JESSE [massaging his
muscles]
Would that it were His way to
make rocks as light as fluffed egg white.
JOEL
There is only so much we can
ask even of Almighty God.
laughter
INTERLUDE
Workin' on a Building
SCENE 7
At the Battins' House,
1938
Nellie
removes the dishes and sits at the table.
NELLIE
If I might ask yet again,
what prompted you to take your pilgrimage now, in this bleak time?
PEMSIT
In my childhood, there were
things always left unsaid. Good people, my parents – they saw college as
the proper road for me and put what money they could toward it, but then the
Crash hit. I stumbled through but a year before the money evaporated, but by
then I had learned of my Indian background. So I began to seek out its
particulars and took a descriptive name, as Indians do. These names are usually
given, not taken, but there was no one to give it to me. But I am also English
by meld, so I am equally delighted to collect your stories.
Tell me when was your
Meeting House put up?
NELLIE
That would have been in the
1850s. It's the legacy of Ellen McCarty, though she did not live to see it
carried out. That was done by her daughter, Sarah
Schill.
PEMSIT
A woman, in both cases?
NELLIE
We Quaker women have always
been encouraged to speak and act as strongly as our men. We believe God speaks
to all, not just a favored few. However, compared to other women of their time,
they were most unusual, especially Ellen.
SCENE 8
Elkland Township, 1819
ELLEN McCARTY
paces the floor of her home, which serves as the temporary Elkland Meeting,
speaking quietly but intently. She is filled with an internal radiant energy
that she cannot suppress. She is reading and pacing.
ELLEN
"The mind was moved by an inward principle to love God
as an invisible, incomprehensible Being, so, by the same principle, it was
moved to love Him in all His manifestations in the visible world. I found no
narrowness respecting sects and opinions, but believed that sincere, upright-hearted
people, in every society, who truly love God, were accepted of Him."
She flips to
another marked section of the book.
"My mind became calm and quiet, and I was truly
thankful to my gracious Redeemer for His mercies. My understanding became more
strengthened to distinguish the pure Spirit which inwardly moves upon the
heart, and which taught me to wait in silence sometimes many weeks together,
until I felt that rise which prepares the creature to stand like a trumpet,
through which the Lord speaks to His flock."
She places the
book on a table, spread her hands in expostulation.
None speaks truer than John Woolman in his journal.
All obstacles along the way of the Lord are but pillars upon which are written
the lessons of life, if we would stop to read them. The rising hills and
plummeting valleys that we traverse lead us on toward building a world founded
on God's will. What looks as failure may soon become the first step into a new
and glorious life if we but stay true to the Light. Christ Jesus speaks to us
regardless of our station in life or our sex. We must hold to this truth and
stand steady even as we Quake before Almighty God. Out of the silence that may
encompass both soul and body, come quiet outbursts of revelation and certainty.
enter WILLIAM
KING
ELLEN
William! Our most trusted. Thee returns so soon from
Muncy?
WILLIAM
Yes, and with the best of news. The Muncy Meeting has
accepted thee as minister.
ELLEN
My thanks to them and to thee, though it changes but
little what I do. I act as I act, whether titled or no.
WILLIAM
Always, with robust enthusiasm, with dedication
– and with speed, carrying the message of simplicity to Lewis Lake and to
the Genesee country to the north.
ELLEN
Oh William, thee cannot know what joy it gives me, to
pour forth once more what the Lord has poured into me. God grant that I do not
step beyond His leading. Alas, we cannot revive the meetinghouse in the
Elklands – it has been abandoned a decade now.
WILLIAM
I remember when the meetinghouse was built –1805.
I miss the meetings held there, though it flourished for four years only.
ELLEN
No matter, truly, for it is not the building that
holds the Lord, but we ourselves.
WILLIAM
The elders at Muncy propose that for the present our
meetings continue in homes in Fox Center and the Elklands.
ELLEN
In time we will build a new meeting house, established
in a place of easy reference to both gatherings.
WILLIAM
How much time till we realize that aim?
ELLEN
Time? It matters not, only the end to which time travels.
When the true time has come, we shall see it and we shall act. For now, the
folk are too few and the money too meager, though we save much by escuing
finery and frivolities.
WILLIAM
If all had thy true devotion, time would pass like the
wind.
ELLEN
Even the fiercest of winds, dear friend, knows its
periods of calm. Be patient.
INTERLUDE
'Tis a Gift to be Simple
INTERMISSION
SCENE 9
At the Battins' House,
1938
PEMSIT
These folk seem most
estimable.
NELLIE
I'm glad you like them.
PEMSIT
You say the current meeting
was build in the 1850s? That was the most active period of the Underground
Railroad, one of my special interests.
NELLIE [pointing to the
meeting house]
It was, and our meetinghouse
was a station along the line from Muncy.
PEMSIT [snapping to
attention, pulling out his notebook]
It passed through here? I've
seen no reference to it in these parts.
NELLIE
Since the operation was
wholly illegal at that time –
PEMSIT
Because of the Fugitive Slave
Act. Excuse my interruption.
NELLIE
You could be jailed for
helping a slave escape. So, few records were kept – it was mostly word of
mouth. Many of the details have been lost over the years. But there's a funny
story about it – not about Quakers but Wesleyans. Well, funny after a
fashion. Except for the poor bride.
PEMSIT
Bride?
NELLIE
You
see....
SCENE 10
An open field, 1850s
a small wedding
party is gathered for an open-air wedding
REV. WILLIAM BRANE
And do you, Thomas Pardoe,
take this woman, Margaret Molyneux, as your loyal wedded wife?
THOMAS
Most heartily, I do.
the couple lean
forward for a chaste kiss, then proceed into the house. All laughing and
talking. Once inside, as they celebrate, a man signals from the doorway, and
Thomas, after a moment's hesitation, acknowledges his signal. The man
withdraws.
MARGARET
What does he want?
THOMAS
I must attend.
MARGARET
Attend to what? [Thomas
looks at her meaningfully]
MARGARET [pulling Thomas
aside]
Must it be now? At this
blessed time?
THOMAS
I cannot postpone it. A
shipment has arrived.
REV. BRANE [taking
Margaret's arm]
These things happen as the
Lord wills.
MARGARET
I know. [to Thomas] Of course, go, it is imperative.
Thomas runs out the
door and down the hill. Rev. Brane takes Margaret off to the side, out of
earshot of the bridal party.
REV. BRANE
It is difficult when our
duty impinges on our joy.
MARGARET [leaning close,
intent]
I know their need is great.
If only we could have had just this one day.
REV. BRANE
We must think of something
to tell the others. Thomas's absence will be noticed.
MARGARET
You know, Thomas's younger
brother has been recovering from influenza .... Perhaps he has had a relapse.
REV. BRANE
Oh! Perhaps he has.
Thomas comes
running back up the hill.
THOMAS [privately, to
Rev. Brane]
The cargo has been safely
stashed in the cabin.
REV. BRANE
Good, good.
MARGARET [calming down,
speaking in a low voice]
How many are there?
THOMAS [hurried and
secretly]
One large container with a
smaller container inside, two small containers and a trunk.
MARGARET
Thomas, please, I don't
know all the secret words, yet.
THOMAS
A mother and her two
children, all desperately thin, plus the old woman who brought them through.
The mother is heavy with child, in her last days. In fact, ... she is in pain.
MARGARET
Oh my dear Lord, she's
giving birth. [yelling across to the bridal party] Liza, I need you. Quickly. We must help Thomas's
brother!
THOMAS
My brother?
MARGARET [to Thomas,
meaningfully, who "gets it"]
I'm so sorry to hear Elias
has had a relapse, but I'm sure Liza can help.
Liza runs over to
Margaret and they confer in hushed voices.
REV. BRANE [in a whisper
to Thomas]
Who is she? Is it safe to
–
THOMAS
She is a midwife,
Margaret's cousin. She knows and approves.
LIZA [very loud]
Yes, I've had quite a bit of
experience with relapses of influenza. There are a number of things we can do.
MARGARET [to Liza]
Then, come on along, Come,
come. We must attend.
THOMAS
Hold. Let's take the wagon.
It will be quicker.
they exit
REV. BRANE [as he exits,
in his best sermonizing style]
Friends, relations, guests
... I must tell you....
INTERLUDE
Follow the Drinking Gourd
SCENE 11
The Battin house, 1938
PEMSIT
A shipment that multiples
itself. A neat trick.
NELLIE
She gave birth the next
day. The day after that, Thomas ran them up into New York. I could tell you
more, but I have some chores to catch up on.
PEMSIT
And I must be on my way
while the light permits.
NELLIE
Where are you heading?
PEMSIT [scratching his
chin]
I don't know exactly. You
said there is little to the east, so why not to the west?
NELLIE
You'll have to go on back
past the meetinghouse. Just follow the road.
PEMSIT
What's out that way?
NELLIE
You're on to Shunk, which
was once called Fox Center, where Joseph Hoagland set up his mill. Though back
in his time it didn't have a name yet. Because nobody had been there.
PEMSIT
My kind of nobody?
NELLIE [embarrassed]
Oh dear ....
PEMSIT [laughing
lightly]
No problem at all. What am
I likely to find in Shunk?
NELLIE
Well, they have a general
store there, goes way back. You could buy provisions – really just about
anything you might need.
PEMSIT
I could. Perhaps. At any
rate, you are a most pleasant and enlightening companion, a fine teller of
tales, and an excellent cook.
NELLIE
Why thank you. And you,
yourself, have been a prime listener, Mr. Pemsit. Have a safe journey.
lights down
INTERLUDE
I Am a Weary and a Lonesome Traveler
SCENE 12
Shunk General Store
Pemsit walks in and
looks around. He wanders down one aisle, back up the other, carefully checking
each display without touching. Clara pushes behind the counter and doesn't seem
to notice him at first, then calls out,
CLARA
Anything I can get ya?
PEMSIT
I'm not quite certain.
He walks up to the
counter and pulls some change from his pocket. He shows the coins to the Clerk.
PEMSIT
What would this buy me?
CLARA
Fifteen cents? One meat
ball. [chuckles]
PEMSIT
Do you have meatballs?
CLARA [shakes her head]
It could get you some dried
beef. You need a snack?
PEMSIT [hesitates]
Yes.
CLARA [concerned]
When you eat last?
PEMSIT
Yesterday. Noon.
CLARA [calling out]
Mrs. Baumunk! We got
somebody you oughta talk to.
MRS. BAUMUNK (o.s.)
Just a moment, Clara.
CAROLINE BAUMUNK
comes out from the back.
MRS. BAUMUNK
May I help you?
Pemsit starts to
speak but PATTY and ELVIRA rush in and dance up to Clara.
PATTY
Momma, Momma, can I have a
piece of candy? Just a little
piece?
ELVIRA
Pleeeeeese.
CLARA
Not now, you two. Here, you
two, get on with your sewin. [hands Patty her sewing kit] [to Mrs. Baumunk] He's been aways comin' and needs to eat but, uh, don't
have much.
MRS. BAUMUNK [to Pemsit]
How much don't you have?
Pemsit holds out
his coins again.
MRS. BAUMUNK
That won't buy much, even
these days. Here, take a few things.
Mrs. Baumunk takes
items from the shelves and gives them to him.
PEMSIT
I don't mean to impose.
MRS. BAUMUNK
No one is imposing in times
like these, it's simply a matter of keeping alive.
PEMSIT
What do I owe?
MRS. BAUMUNK
Nothing.
PEMSIT [alarmed, almost
belligerent]
I must.
MRS. BAUMUNK
Well, we can add it to your
credit.
PEMSIT [carefully,
almost delicately eating one item]
I've been collecting
history along my way. Has this store been here long? In your family?
MRS. BAUMUNK
The previous store was
started by John Camp-bell, back in 1868 –
CLARA
See, as it was –
MRS. BAUMUNK
Please, let me tell it
myself for once, Clara. Mr. Campbell's son, Ambrose, built the current store in
1905, then sold it to Mr. Porter, and we bought it from him four years ago. Strange
as it may seem, we sold 200 chickens for $200 to make our down payment and are
paying off the rest as a percentage of what we take in.
PEMSIT
You sound especially well
educated, if you don't mind the observation.
MRS. BAUMUNK
Thank you. I obtained my
teaching degree and was a school teacher for several years before we decided to
buy the store. My husband, Lawrence, brought in a small sawmill so the local
men could work to pay for their groceries and clothes. We expect to get the
post office back too next year. It has operated from Wheelerville for several
years.
PEMSIT
Why is that?
CLARA
Long story. Now the
railroad up there –
MRS. BAUMUNK
Please – not another
of your "long stories."
PEMSIT [to divert
attention from his now ravenous intake of food]
The railroad? I'm not very
familiar with the railroad, but the Underground Railroad. I've heard that a station was nearby?
MRS. BAUMUNK
Oh yes, it helped put a
fair number of slaves out of harm's way. That was before Lawrence's
grandparents came here.
CLARA
Not before mine.
MRS. BAUMUNK
But yours had less of a
struggle. Lawrence's grandparents came from Germany
and lived in an abandoned log cabin. Later they built a house and raised 13
children.
PATTY
13 children!
Good gracious me!
CLARA
And I bet them
children raised heck. All as everybody up here did.
PATTY
I want a baby
sister!
ELVIRA
Me too!
CLARA
Don't be
startin' that again.
MRS. BAUMUNK [mildly
irritated by the interruptions]
I believe I was
about to describe the Underground Railroad.
CLARA
Why don't I do
that, since I know it more. So's it was –
MRS. BAUMUNK
There's no
stopping you, is there?
CLARA [blundering
through her introduction]
This here line
– you know, they talked about it as if it really was a railroad, which of
course it wasn't, so that if anybody was listenin' in, how would they know
what, what –
MRS. BAUMUNK
Your story is
getting lost in the bullrushes.
CLARA
So the line
come up from Muncy, from Mr. Jacob Haines down there. What I heard is the
slaves, they'd come to him with a letter signed "humanity" – ain't that
somethin'? Then he'd take them on as conductor to Hillsgrove, by horse or wagon
–
PATTY
At night
– they'd have to hide in cellars an barns durin' the day.
CLARA
A most
informative interruption, miss Pattycake. So then they'd be transported up
along Elk Creek and over to Marshall Battin, stationmaster at the Friends
Meetin'. Then Mr. Battin, he'd be the conductor from there on up into New York
state, so's from there they could get to Canada, where they already done away
with slavery –
PEMSIT
In 1833, I
believe.
MRS. BAUMUNK
You might
possibly know as much as our resident expert here.
CLARA
Expert to you
too. Bet as neither of you don't know what they used Lincoln Falls for.
PEMSIT
I'm not the
least familiar with Lincoln Falls.
PATTY [to
Pemsit]
Oh, it's sooo
pretty and there's a hole behind where you can hide.
ELVIRA
And it's good
for swimmin' too.
CLARA
'Course wasn't
called that then, Lincoln hadn't come along. 'Twas Salt Lick or Salt Springs or
some such thing, don't recollect. Comin' up Elk Creek to King's Creek they'd
hear the water tumblin' down and they'd know they was close to a safe place for
them to stop at......
MRS. BAUMUNK
Don't you even
stop to breathe?
CLARA
......which was
the Rogers farm back then. And after that, goin' on above –
MRS. BAUMUNK
There was a
time when you and yours might have been put quietly out of their misery.
CLARA
Mrs. Baumunk!
MRS. BAUMUNK
Oh, don't mind
me, dear. It's just my teach side talking.
INTERLUDE
One
Meat Ball
SCENE 13
Shunk General Store
HARLAN
BAUMUNK enters the store and looks around
HARLAN
How come yer not sold out
here? Need to get that merchandise movin'.
MRS. BAUMUNK
If I had some help from my
husband's slothful relatives I'm sure the business would run more smoothly.
CLARA
This here's her husband's
cousin, Harlan Baumunk. Silly kinda cuss but you can grow to like him. Don't
think we picked up on your name.
PEMSIT
Pemsit. [pause] It's Lenape.
HARLAN
Ah, Indian. Times must be
even worse for you people. Wonder how long any of us'll persist these days.
Earned more back when I was a sprout.
PEMSIT
What were you doing then?
To earn money?
HARLAN
Huntin' skunks.
PEMSIT
Skunks!
PATTY
Icky skunks!
ELVIRA
You hunted skunks?
HARLAN
Yup, that was my main source
of income as a kid. I got me $5 a hide. Pretty good draw for then. Skunks would
be out around September, October, easy to find, but the hides weren't good
until November, December. I'd catch 'em alive and take 'em home, had a pen I
kept 'em in till cold weather, then I'd kill 'em an skin 'em.
PEMSIT
How do you catch a skunk?
HARLAN
Aww, I'd catch a skunk any
way possible. I had a dog and he'd find a skunk in a hole and he'd start
diggin' for it, barkin'. This one skunk, he'd dug right down in the ground, and
the dog, he couldn't quite get ahold of him, so I reached down and got him, and
I went over, got some binder twine was from my grandpa. I cut a fishpole like,
and I reached down and got the skunk tail and pulled it up a ways, got the string
tied around it tight, and got the other end of the string on this pole. I
started home with him and he was goin' ahead of me. I'd steer him a little once
in a while.
PEMSIT
Steer him?
HARLAN
Yup. Down over the hill and
across the crick, and the string come loose. So he come up to a rail fence and
he crawled under the rail and I grabbed him quiet and pulled his tail up around
the rail, held him till I got it tied again. I'd got 'round ahead of him
though, see, so the stink would go away from me rather than toward me.
ELVIRA
I heard they can't stink with
their tail held onto.
HARLAN
Don't you believe it. The
first time I test that theory, the dog had a woodchuck in a hole in a
stonepile, and I got down to the bottom and got the woodchuck and a skunk
started to smell. So I pulled the woodchuck out, then I went after the skunk.
And I got him by the tail and I was gonna take him home just like that, but I'd
heard they couldn't spray you. But I got right alongside a fence, for some
reason or other that's where it happened to happen. He squirmed around and got
me in the eyes.
PATTY
Ow!
ELVIRA
Ewww!
HARLAN
So I slashed him into this
barbed wire fence and sicced the dog on him. That was the end of mister skunk.
ELVIRA
Poor Mr. Skunk.
PEMSIT
That sounds like dangerous
work.
HARLAN
Oh, it isn't dangerous, it
gets in your eyes, it burns quite a little bit, but it's not fatal or anything.
CLARA
Your ma was pleased, weren't
she?
HARLAN
She was very .... patient.
CLARA
Tell 'em how you'd get the
smell off of you.
HARLAN [shrugs]
It'd wear away.
MRS. BAUMUNK [to Pemsit]
Where are you headed?
PEMSIT
Well, altogether, I wouldn't
rightly know.
CLARA
What you travelin' in?
PEMSIT
Shanks mare.
HARLAN
Oh glory, that's no fun.
PEMSIT [to Mrs. Baumunk]
Could I ask one small favor
more?
MRS. BAUMUNK
Certainly. How can I help?
PEMSIT [placing one of the
food items back on the counter]
Could I make a trade for a
new pencil? Mine has worn itself to a nub.
MRS. BAUMUNK
That's certainly little
enough. Please, take it along with what you already have.
Clara
hands him a pencil.
PEMSIT
Thank you. You are most kind.
MRS. BAUMUNK
Nothing that another wouldn't
do.
PEMSIT
Perhaps. [turning to
Harlan] But not embellished with
quite such delightful detail. [turns to go]
MRS. BAUMUNK
Wait, wait! We can't let you
wander off into nowhere with only 15 cents and nothing substantial to eat. Here. I'll add it to your credit.
PEMSIT
But if I'm not back this
way again?
CLARA [half singing]
We'll have pie in the sky
when we die.
PEMSIT
A delicious future to look
forward to.
INTERLUDE
Pie in the Sky
SCENE 14
porch of Perry and Gayle
Norton's house, 1938
Gayle
and Pemsit are seated on the porch, snapping beans. Betty, a young woman, runs
up, out of breath, bent over, hands on knees
BETTY
They
got him. They got the killer.
GAYLE
Got
who?
BETTY
Ol'
Miss Jennie Belle's killer. The sheriff's got him in jail.
GAYLE
Killer?
I thought she had a stroke. What's goin' on. Who was it?
BETTY
Ernest
Hipple.
GAYLE
Don't
that family have enough problems as it is?
BETTY
They
got more problems now. But Ernest's wife and baby are still in Muncy Valley the
last I hear. Oh, hello, there.
Pemsit nods
BETTY
[to Gayle]
You
going to introduce us?
GAYLE
I
was considering it. Pemsit, this here idiot is my neighbor's daughter Betty
Smith. She's better, if not worse, than a newspaper! Betty, this is Mr. Pemsit.
He's travelin' through. Said he was tired from walking so long this morning, so
I invited him to pull up a chair and sit for a spell. So, young lady, plant
yourself down for a bit and tell us what the fumin' devil is goin' on.
[Betty plops down on the edge of the porch]
GAYLE
[to Pemsit]
Miss
Jennie Belle Porter lived up Wheelerville. The talk was she had more money
tucked away than the governor. Only you'd never know it to look at her. John
– that's her husband – found her when he came back from pickin' up
his mail.
BETTY
You
bet! She had a lot of money but she wore nothing but miser clothing.
GAYLE
[grunts]
Rags
more like it.
BETTY
[explains to Pemsit]
She
made her outfits from burlap sacks and feed bags. Around here, that's what we
call "miser's clothes." With all that money, her and her husband could have
dressed like rich folk.
GAYLE
I
heard tell that she kept her money in large bills and sewed it into her
clothing.
PEMSIT
When
did this happen? Her death?
GAYLE
Let's
see. Something over a week ago.
BETTY
Of
course, Ernest ain't been arrested for the murder. He's being held on suspension. [pause]
There's
been detectives in and out of Wheelerville, been searching the woods, following
tracks –
GAYLE
Hold
it, now, Betty. Start from the beginnin'. You gonna get us all confused.
BETTY
Let's
see, where can I start?
GAYLE
At
the beginning would do.
BETTY
Well,
ol' John Porter there, you
know, Miss Jennie Belle's husband, when he called in the coroner from Dushore
–
GAYLE
[to Pemsit]
That
would be Dr. Joseph Dreier.
BETTY
Doc
Dreier examined her body by the light of a lamp and pronounced her dead from a
cereal hermitage.
GAYLE
A
what?
PEMSIT
I
believe the young woman means a cerebral hemorrhage.
GAYLE
Is
that something contagious?
PEMSIT
It
means bleeding from the brain.
GAYLE
Well,
why don't they just say so?
PEMSIT
Probably
the only time doctors get to practice their Latin.
BETTY
But
turns out that bleeding ain't what killed her. The doc figured she had a
stroke, fell and hit her head on the table, then fell to the floor where she
bled for a bit, made her way to the bedroom and stood over the heater where she
died.
GAYLE
Don't
sound like a murder.
BETTY
Listen
up. The doc released the body but wanted that undertaker up at the Soper
Funeral Home in Troy to look it over more careful – for anything
suspicious, your know. So Soper junior there was looking the body over and
found what looked like a bullet hole behind her ear. So ole Mr. Soper called
the authorities and they spent the week looking for the mystery killer and they
found him. Well, they suspect him.
GAYLE
You
mean Ernest Hipple.
BETTY
Gayle,
that's who I'm talking about. The sheriff took him on to Laporte. The man's in
jail on suspension.
See, the sheriff couldn't find a bullet or powder burns, so the detectives
figured she was shot from a distance, like while she was eating. There was a
cut right here [touches spot above her right eye] and they thought maybe
the bullet passed on through. But them detectives searched the kitchen over and
never found the first sign of a bullet. So up at the Robert Packer Hospital in
Sayre they took the brain right out of her skull and made them x-ray
pictures and found the bullet right in her brain.
GAYLE
Glory!
Poor woman.
BETTY
And
the detectives said Miss Jennie Belle was probably killed for her money. But I
heard that ol' John said none of it was missing.
GAYLE
That
Ernest never could find a piece of hay in a barn. Say, didn't John Porter say a
while back that his check from the milk company hadn't come yet?
BETTY
He
sure did. What do you figure,
Ernest Hipple took that too and cashed it? You know, sometimes when he
visited with the Porters, he took the mail up to them.
GAYLE
[nods]
Could
be. That young man is always looking for a quick way to get money. Hunting
don't bring in much now'days.
PEMSIT
But
hunting can feed your family and provide clothing both, if you don't mind doing
a little work.
GAYLE
Pemsit,
young people nowadays want their money quick and easy. Maybe he wanted it for
his liquor. And with this Depression, you can't no longer make a penny squeal.
I wouldn't be surprised if a war were to start what with that Hitler and
Mussolini feller in Europe and all.
PEMSIT
[nods]
I've
heard rumors to that effect.
GAYLE
[leans toward Betty]
You
hear anything more about the murder?
BETTY
I
hear there'll be an inquest at ol' John Porter's house. The neighbors'a be
questioned some more. That's all I know for now.
PEMSIT
[to Gayle, laughing]
She
doesn't know all that much, does she?
GAYLE
[grumbles]
Like
I said, she's quicken than the telephone.
BETTY
Momma
and me always got the scoop! Looks, there's Abby Jane, gotta run.
BETTY
salutes and dashes off.
PEMSIT
The beans are done, it would
look like. If there's nothing else I can help you with, I should be on my way.
GAYLE
You in a hurry?
PEMSIT
Not really, but ....
GAYLE
If it wouldn't hold you back,
I'd as soon you stayed on awhile. Talkin' helps dispel the bad news. This is
just too awful a thing.
PEMSIT
Gladly.
GAYLE
Come on inside, I can get
some ya some tea.
They
go into the house.
PEMSIT
That would be most welcome.
INTERLUDE
Pretty Boy Floyd
SCENE 15
Interior Perry and Gayle
Norton's house, 1938
PEMSIT
Who would think such terrible
things could happen in this quiet countryside?
GAYLE
There's quiet and quiet. Poor
Jennie sure got her quiet, just not the kind you really want.
PEMSIT
Did you know her well?
GAYLE
She was a cousin on my
mother's side. Don't know how far a cousin, never could get a handle on that.
PEMSIT
My genuine sympathy.
GAYLE
Thank ya, thank ya. Damn these things happenin' anyway. 'Scuse me. Thing is,
this is the second tragedy in the poor Porter family. Back 30 years, this crazy
fellah shot Corwin Porter, a young, promising man, shot him for no good reason
as any could say. But-
Suddenly
she begins to smile, then chuckle, suppressing a laugh.
GAYLE
Oh my, it gets me every time.
PEMSIT
It ...?
GAYLE
The man's name, the crazy
fellow, it was, it was [choking on laughter] Elmer Ellsworth Washington TINKELPAUGH!!
She
releases in a bellow, then looks down, embarrassed.
PEMSIT
A little levity can go a long
way.
GAYLE
Oh my, I just don't know.
PEMSIT [turning the
conversation]
You said she lived near
Wheelerville – where is that exactly? I haven't heard the name before.
GAYLE [further depressed]
It's way over in the corner
up north, 'bout as far from anywhere as you can be and still be in Sullivan
County. Wouldn't even exist but for the railroad, an' now they're shuttin' it
down.
PEMSIT
They're shutting down the
railroad?
GAYLE
Wish I had me a gas range so
I could control the boil. Takes time on this old boy. Yup, next year, they say.
It would've had to happen anyway, I guess, but with the bottom out of
everything it come that much sooner. The Susquehanna and New York line, that's
the name. Don't know what decided them on coming through right there. But when
more dairy farms got goin', they sent the milk and cream up to Wheelerville to
ship on the railroad. They built a creamery right there, started up only 'bout
ten years back. Guess it'll shut down, 'long with the railroad. The mail comes
in to Wheelerville on the train. The day's run's almost 30 miles; with over 100
mail boxes to stop at. My husband, Perry, totes the mail, now and then. Fills
in.
[looking into pan] Ah, there she goes. [Gayle pours the water into a
battered metal teapot] Let her steep
some. You take sugar, milk?
PEMSIT
Plain is fine by me. Has
dairy farming been a major occupation up here?
GAYLE
It started off with little
farms. The men worked in the woods, so the farm was where to raise food for
themselves, then gradual-like they got to selling milk around. The Wheelerville
plant, it's the Dairymen's League. Milk goes out, iced in cars, to New Jersey,
New York or wherever. Those that had enough cows to make any quantity of
butter, they'd pack it in 30 or 60-pound tubs. The railroaders would leave
their order at the station when they wanted a pail of butter. That stopped
awhile back, so that's how we knew the railroad would go pretty soon.
PEMSIT
How do farmers keep the milk
cold?
GAYLE [peers into the
teapot, brings over the pot and cups]
That's a good question,
there's no refrigeration to speak of up this way. About every farmer around has
some old building or an ice house. We put up ice every winter, cut it with saws
on a pond or creek, haul it and pack it in sawdust. We use that to cool the
milk through the summertime, lessen the ice runs out. Don't usually make a full
pot, just put leaves in a cup. Hope it turns out okay. [begins pouring]
PEMSIT
The ice house, was that for
meats and vegetables too?
GAYLE
Naw, the vegetables would
freeze or go bad. Canned 'em. Pork and like that, you smoke it, some put it in
an oak bin, cover it with straw and dirt and leave it 'til spring. No market
these days for farmin'. I'm sellin' potatoes at 35¢ a bushel, beef, 1O¢ a
pound. Hardly worth it, one way.
PEMSIT
Every penny's a good penny. [taking
a sip of the tea] Delightful! A fine
brew.
GAYLE
Thank ya. Too, huntin', you
know, you could take a deer on the train. Onct I shot me a nice 6-point buck
and hauled it up on the tracks and flagged the train down. Paid the quarter
– you had to pay as much for the deer as for a person. I put the deer in
the baggage car and I got in the passenger car and rode on back to
Wheelerville.
PEMSIT [standing]
I hope all will be well with
you, but I really should be on my way.
GAYLE [agitated]
S'pose so. [enlightened] Ya know, I could drive ya a bit. In my car. I gotta
go see my sister-in-law, so I could take you down Lincoln Falls, anyway. It's
about as much on the way to anywhere as any place is, and those shoes don't
look as they'll last much longer.
PEMSIT
They may well outlast my
feet. If it is truly of no inconvenience to you, I would deeply appreciate it.
GAYLE
Sure, sure. Let me get my
things.
INTERLUDE
Brother Can You Spare a Dime?
Near Gayle's car, 1938
Rain. Gayle
comes on holding an umbrella over herself and Pemsit, but she is reluctant to
turn around and go home alone.
GAYLE
Sorry I got to turn back now. You OK?
PEMSIT
If I dissolved in the rain, what sort
of wanderer would I be?
GAYLE
I'm not askin' as what you'd be but
what you are now.
PEMSIT
I'm OK.
GAYLE
OK. I guess.
Gayle returns
to the car. Pemsit moves along until he comes to a clearing. He looks around
for a dry spot when he sees a small circle of stones set out with an old man,
CRAZY CROW, sitting in it. He stops, looks, starts to walk toward the old man,
backs up, moves forward again.
PEMSIT
Excuse me.
CRAZY CROW
Why?
PEMSIT
Why?
CROW
Why should you excuse yourself? Sit
down. Would you like some jerky?
PEMSIT
Thank you. Are you Lenape?
CROW
I have been waiting.
PEMSIT
In the rain?
CROW [shrugging]
That's the weather. Follow me. [They
begin walking the medicine circle] Where have you come from?
PEMSIT
Is it important?
CROW [attacking a piece of jerky]
I think it's important to you. It
could be important to me.
PEMSIT
Why would you think that?
CROW
As I told you, I
have been waiting. The spirits told me.
Crow shrugs
again. Pemsit lays the jerky aside.
CROW
You stopped
eating.
PEMSIT
Perhaps I am not
hungry.
CROW
I think you might
be very hungry. This is my medicine circle. You know what that means?
PEMSIT
I wish I did.
I've heard of it. Rumors. Though perhaps I do know.
Pemsit picks
up his jerky. They both eat.
PEMSIT
What have I
learned?
CROW [waving
the jerky]
Why ask me? Look
around you.
PEMSIT
I'm not sure what
I'm seeing.
CROW
When you are
sure, then you will know. Wonderful jerky, isn't it?
CLOSING
I Believe I'll Go
Back Home
CURTAIN