The Tree
That Saved Connecticut

BY

HENRY FISK CARLTON


Edited by CLAIRE T. ZYVE, Ph.D.
Fox Meadow School, Scarsdale, New York

BUREAU OF PUBLICATIONS
TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK CITY

HOW TO BE A GOOD RADIO ACTOR

The play in this book has actually been produced on the radio. Possibly you have listened to this one when you tuned in at home. The persons whose voices you heard as you listened, looked just as they did when they left their homes to go to the studio, although they were taking the parts of men and women who lived long ago and who wore costumes very different from the ones we wear today.

The persons whose voices you heard stood close together around the microphone, each one reading from a copy of the play in his hand. Since they could not be seen, they did not act parts as in other plays, but tried to make their voices show how they felt.

When you give these plays you will not need costumes and you will not need scenery, although you can easily arrange a broadcasting studio if you wish. You will not need to memorize your parts; in fact, it will not be like a real radio broadcast if you do so, and, furthermore, you will not want to, since you will each have a copy of the book in your hands. All you will need to do is to remember that you are taking the part of a radio actor, that you are to read your speeches very distinctly, and that by your voice, you will make your audience understand how you feel. In this way, you will have the fun of living through some of the great moments of history.

HOW TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS IN THE PLAY

There are some directions in this play which may be new to you, but these are necessary, for you are now in a radio broadcasting studio, talking in front of a microphone. The word [in] means that the character is standing close to the microphone, while [off] indicates that he is farther away, so that his voice sounds faint. When the directions [off, coming in] are given, the person speaking is away from the microphone at first but gradually comes closer. The words [mob] or [crowd noise] you will understand mean the sound of many people talking in the distance.

Both the English and the dialect used help make the characters live, so the speeches have been written in the way in which these men and women would talk. This means that sometimes the character may use what seems to you unusual English. The punctuation helps, too, to make the speeches sound like real conversation; for example, you will find that a dash is often used to show that a character is talking very excitedly.

The Tree
That Saved Connecticut

CAST

GOVERNOR TREAT
LIEUTENANT ALLYN
GOVERNOR ANDROS
CAPTAIN WADSWORTH
COLONEL BLIGH
THE SEXTON
CHARLES WILLYS
VOICE

ANNOUNCER

In the year 1661 Connecticut received from the hand of Charles the Second a very liberal charter granting to the people of the colony almost complete self-government and to the colony an enormous stretch of territory extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. For fifteen years the colony prospered under the generous charter. Then in 1676 trouble arose with the Governor of New York, Sir Edmund Andros, about the boundary line between the two colonies. Andros demanded authority over all the land west of the Connecticut River. Governor Treat of Connecticut refused to submit. Andros threatened to seize the disputed land. Treat defied him. Andros fitted out three ships, embarked a military force, and set out for Saybrooke, Connecticut. Treat ordered out the militia, garrisoned the fort at Saybrooke, and waited.

Our first scene is in the fort on the morning of July 9, 1676. The Governor is at breakfast when he hears—

VOICE [distance]

Sail, ho!

ALL [closer]

Sail, ho! Here they come; call the governor [etc.]

ALLYN [coming in]

Governor! Governor! The ships are coming into the harbor!

TREAT

Are you certain they are the ships of Governor Andros?

ALLYN

Come and see for yourself, Governor.

TREAT

Come along, then. Lieutenant Allyn, how many ships did you see? [crowd noises swell up]

ALLYN

Only one, sir. I didn't wait for any more.

TREAT

Ah, here we are! Give me your hand while I climb to the ramparts.

ALLYN

Yes, sir! Ah! There you are, sir!

TREAT

Good!

ALL [in]

There's three of 'em, Governor! That's Andros, sir. No doubt o' that!

TREAT

Yes, yes, three! Andros's ships! That's certain! [calling] Every man to his place! Load your muskets and prepare for action! Andros shall not land!

ALL

Aye! We'll stop him! Just let him try it!

Here, give me your ramrod. Have you got an extra flint? [etc.]

TREAT

Lieutenant Allyn.

ALLYN

Yes, sir!

TREAT

Load the cannon!

ALLYN

It is loaded, sir.

TREAT

Fire across the bow of the forward ship! Make them come to!

ALLYN

Yes, sir! [calling] Throw the cannon across the bow of the forward ship!

VOICE

Yes, sir!

ALLYN

Fire! [a cannon shot]

ALL

Oh! Look at it!

Yea! Good shot!

TREAT

Excellent! That will show Andros our temper!

ALLYN

The ship is coming about, sir!

TREAT

So I see! They may be going to answer our shot with a broadside! [calling] Down! Every man down behind the ramparts!

ALLYN

Down! Down! Every man down!

VOICE [distant]

Ahoy, the fort!

TREAT

Oh! Hailing us! Well, let them hail!

VOICE

Ahoy, the fort!

TREAT

Can you see who it is, Lieutenant?

ALLYN

No, sir!

VOICE

I say there! Ahoy, the fort! Is there anyone there? Answer or we'll open fire on you!

TREAT

Hail them, Lieutenant.

ALLYN [calling]

Hello there, what do you want?

VOICE

Is the Governor of Connecticut Colony in the fort?

ALLYN [low]

What shall I tell him?

TREAT

Tell him I'm here.

ALLYN [loud]

Yes, the Governor is here!

VOICE

Governor Andros sends his compliments—

TREAT [under his breath]

Compliments, indeed!

VOICE

And requests Governor Treat to come aboard for a parley.

TREAT

Never! Tell him if Andros has anything to say let him come here, alone and unarmed, and say it!

ALLYN

Yes, sir! [loud] Governor Treat's compliments. He