Mysterious Signal (29 page)

THE STEAMBOAT
CHRISTINA:
Name of the steamboat owned and operated by Libby’s father and named after her mother. With the exception of the sidewheeler
Christina
and the
James Mason
, the steamboats in the FREEDOM SEEKERS series are historic.

THE STEAMBOAT
JAMES MASON:
Fictional steamboat owned by the hardheaded, fictional Captain Jenks.

TIME PERIOD:
August 10—August 15, 1857.

D
o you have a special code known only to you and your best friend? Or do you and a brother or sister have a mysterious signal for telling each other a secret?

Signals and codes are fun to think about, but for runaway slaves they sometimes meant the difference between life and death. Often fugitives had to decide whether they saw an offer of help and if it was safe to accept. Escaped slaves needed to be alert, quick thinking, and courageous.

If you and a friend used a signal, you would be able to agree on what it meant. In the Underground Railroad, strangers often gave signals to strangers. That meant the signals had to be very clear. Because most slaves weren’t allowed to learn to read, written words could not be used. Fugitives were helped by symbols they could see or songs and code words they could hear.

Codes and signals often appeared to be something else. In
The Swindler’s Treasure
, Dr. Thomas Brown set a lantern in his backyard. People thought the lantern gave Dr. Brown light for making nighttime house calls. In reality, a lighted lantern told fugitives, “It’s safe to come up to this door.”

One of the special ways slaves responded to a code word
came with Harriet Tubman’s courageous rescues. Like the Israelite Moses, Harriet led her people out of bondage. A whisper passed from one slave to the next.
Moses! Moses is coming!
Those who wanted to flee were ready to go with her.

Their strong faith in the Lord carried slaves through extremely difficult times. Because they knew the Bible well, they were able to use its ideas in codes. These codes became part of their spirituals—call-and-answer songs sung to one another while working in the fields. In
Escape Into the Night
, Jordan sings “Let My People Go!” Because of their suffering, slaves understood the suffering of Israelites held in Pharaoh’s bondage. The cry of the spiritual is their own longing for freedom: “Let my people go!”

“I got shoes, you got shoes, all God’s children got shoes” was a protest song (
Race for Freedom
). Heaven represented a time when there would be no racial or social barriers. In God’s presence there would be freedom. For Jordan and the people he represents, slavery has no part in the purpose of God.

With “Steal Away to Jesus” (
Midnight Rescue
), Jordan sings about the Lord in whom he believes. He expresses his faith in God’s protection and tells his family, “Come! It’s time to escape. Flee with me!”

The Bible gives us the story of “Jacob’s Ladder.” This spiritual and the Jacob’s ladder quilt known in western Kentucky as the Underground Railroad pattern bring together two kinds of signals that remind us of the hope of freedom and lasting safety.

Because women aired their quilts by hanging them over a bush, railing, or clothesline, people who helped fugitives did the same. In addition to the Jacob’s ladder design, other patterns are
thought to be connected with the Underground Railroad. The Evening or North Star pattern showed the star that guided fugitives in their flight to safety (
Midnight Rescue
). In the usual log cabin quilt the red or yellow center symbolized a welcoming light or the warmth of a fire. A black center signaled, “It’s safe here.”

My gratitude to Dr. Raymond G. Dobard, professor in art history at Howard University, for his paper, “A Covenant in Cloth: The Visible and the Tangible in African-American Quilts,” in the book,
Connecting Stitches: Quilts in Illinois Life;
to Howard Thurman for
Deep River and the Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death;
to Joyce Grabinski of the West Des Moines Historical Society for her research; and to Julia Bloch of the American Quilt Study Group.

Five second graders—Amy Aillon, Marci Brown, Lyle Clason, Courtney Herrera, Kevlasha Humphrey—and their teacher, Kathleen Cook, at the Illinois School for the Deaf, Jacksonville, helped inspire the mysterious signal used in this book. Thank you for your gift of the lovely wall hanging quilted in the Jacob’s ladder design. Kathy also answered my questions about sign language and my character Peter and spent long hours reading the manuscript.

Other students at the Illinois School for the Deaf—John Brand III, Kevin Healy, Dusty James, Michael Nesmith, Pearlene Theriot, and Joe Vieira—offered great ideas about what they would like to see Peter do. My gratitude to them and their teacher, Nancy Kelly-Jones, note taker Barb Ward, and interpreter Christine Good. Thanks also to Marene Mattern, educator aide at “Peter’s School.”

I am indebted to Joan Forney, superintendent, for permission
to use the finger-spelling chart. Vocational instructor Dennis Daniel and teacher Kathleen Cook gave enormous effort toward helping with thepractical aspects of that chart. Thank you many times over!

Lois Wood, reference librarian at the Bloomington Public Library helped re-create the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, area. The
Daily Pantagraph
published the
real
letter to the editor about gamblers who blocked an aisle on a railroad car. Other Illinois residents also helped in my research: H. Scott Wolfe, historical librarian of the Galena Public Library District; E. Cheryl Schnirring, curator of manuscripts, and other librarians at the Illinois State Historical Library; and Phil Germann, executive director, Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County.

Thanks also to the National Park service, U.S. Department of the Interior, for their restoration of Abraham Lincoln’s home and the depot at which he spoke the memorable words that mean so much to us. On the morning of February 11, 1861, the Springfield Depot visited by Libby and her friends became an important part of American history. From the train platform President-elect Lincoln gave his farewell address to the city he loved.

The
James Mason
accident and Libby’s visit to the Green Tree came from the inspiration of Captain Retired Dennis Trone, builder of the
Twilight
and the
Julia Belle Swain
and for twenty-four years captain of the
Julia Belle Swain
. With his piloting experience and strong sense of story, he brought to life the dangers and excitement of steamboating. Thanks, Captain Trone, for becoming a vital part of this book!

My gratitude also to Harry Alsman and Stephen G. Suiter
of LeClaire, Iowa. Joann Loete, whose husband, Al, is a sixth-generation descendant of Captain Philip Suiter, helped me learn about this gifted pioneer who profoundly influenced life in his area.

Settling on the bank of the Mississippi River, Mr. Suiter cleared a place in the forest to begin farming. In 1837 the family cabin was the site of the first school in LeClaire Township. Philip Suiter hired the teacher and provided the students—five of his own children. He and his wife, Hannah, and daughter, Mary Ann, were among eight members who established a church in LeClaire.

During 1864, the Mississippi reached the lowest water level known in its history. Captain Suiter made a mark on a rock ledge near his home that became the standard gauge for low water adopted by the government. He also passed on his love for the river to his sons and grandsons. Among LeClaire’s many legendary river pilots were several Suiters, including a great-grandson of Philip.

Because of Dutch elm disease, the Green Tree enjoyed by Libby needed to be cut down in 1964. The bottom slab was twenty-one feet, six inches, and is on display at the Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, Iowa.

Lucille Echols, Judy Werness, Mike Foss, and Nancy Lee Gauche gave me needed thoughts at just the right time. Sally Dale rescued Libby’s long hair from an eternal wastebasket.

I am grateful for every person at Bethany House who played a part in bringing the first edition of these books to my readers. Special thanks to Rochelle Glöege, Natasha Sperling, and my out-of-house, long-time editor, Ron Klug, for their professional help, wisdom, and ongoing support. Working
together, we’ve became a team. Bless you, Ron, Rochelle, and Natasha, for being both editors and friends.

Thank you to every person at Moody Publishers who has had a part in bringing out this new edition of the Freedom Seekers series: Deborah Keiser, Associate Publisher of River North, for her strong gifting, creative planning, and visionary leadership; Michele Forrider, Audience Development Manager, for day-to-day marketing and making connections with you, my audience; Brittany Biggs, Author Relations; Carolyn McDaniel, Page Compositor; Bailey Utecht, Editorial Assistant; Pam Pugh, General Project Editor, for her oversight, management, and working through the details that bring this book to completion. Thanks, also, to Artist Odessa Sawyer for giving us exciting art that keeps us asking, “What will happen next?”

As always, I cannot say enough about how much I appreciate the ideas, creativity, and encouragement given to me by my husband. Without you, Roy, this book would not have been written. With you it became a piece of writing I enjoyed.

Finally, thanks to you, my faithful readers. Your letters and emails come from all parts of the United States and over forty countries. My love and best wishes to each one of you.

[excerpt from
The Fiddler’s Secret
]

CHAPTER 1

I
n the dark of night, Libby Norstad suddenly woke up.
Where am I?
She wondered as she struggled to think.
What woke me?

A dream? A nightmare?
Whatever the cause, Libby shivered with fear.

Soon after midnight her father’s steamboat had left Galena, Illinois, heading up the Mississippi River. But now Libby felt no movement, heard no engines or slap of paddle wheels against the water.