Jim, the slave of a farmer named Barnett, went to the Bucktown store without his permission. Harriet followed him to the store. A man named McCraken, an overseer, cornered Jim and ordered Tubman to help capture and tie up the runaway. She refused. As Jim went out the door, she blocked McCraken's pursuit. The enraged overseer picked up a 2-pound weight from the counter and hurled it at Jim hitting Harriet Tubman instead on the forehead. The blow nearly killed her and disabled her for months. She was left with an ugly scar and for the rest of her life she suffered from sudden, unexpected sleeping spells.
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Harriet Tubman is one of those great American heroes that always amazes me. For a black woman in that era to summon that much courage is humbling to me. How would I respond to a chance to show such courage? I don't know. I have been involved in a little protest in Hungary when I travelled to Eastern Europe in college. I will tell you about it sometime. It will make you proud to have the freedom that we have in this country...JeNel
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear about your protest. Would I have as much courage as Harriett Tubman? I don't know. But I love to read stories of people like this, to know that we as human beings have it in us, and to hope that when the time came, I would have that kind of courage.
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