The Drinking Gourd

Poul Anderson, The Boat of A Million Years (London, 1991).

The immortal in Chapter XIII is neither the viewpoint character, Matthew Edmonds, nor any member of his family but Flora, the escaped slave whom they help. Matthew, urging silence on his son William, says that he will tell him about a boy who was called William the Silent. Not knowing this story, I googled and learned that this William the Silent was not only a William of Orange but also the great-grandfather of that William of Orange who became William III of England. (26/4/15: Correction made here. See comments.)

Flora mentions a slave owner's son who "'...done got killed in de waw.'" (p. 272) She cannot mean the Civil War because she is still a slave when she says this. Fortunately, Edmonds asks, "'What war?'" and is told, "'De Rebolution...'" (p. 273) Flora says that she "'...followed de Drinkin' Gourd...'" (ibid.) Again we are grateful that Jane later asks what this means and Edmonds replies that it is the Big Dipper, the only unmistakeable constellation.

As Edmonds drives Flora away from the farm, he sees the Dippers and Polaris "...that guided north toward freedom." (p. 274) This reminds us that, in 310 BC, Hanno had said that there was a star at the north celestial pole in the past and would be again in the future. Immortals know that the heavens change over the centuries.