The Colonial Boston

WebQuest

Introduction

In the year of our Lord, 1773, you landed in a strange and foreign land. You left everything you knew and held dear back in Scotland. It was hard to leave your wife and children, but this was the only way you could support them. Eventually, if all bodes well, you can send enough money for the whole of you family to come to America too. But for now, you find yourself alone on the docks of the Boston harbor.

The first order of business of course is finding a place to stay, but you have little money to spend. As you walk through the busy streets of Boston you notice a sour disposition in the people. You begin to question if you made the right decisions, a scary thought after such a long and expensive journey! You keep yourself from despairing by reminding yourself that America is the land of opportunity, and the people can’t possibly be unkind in such a wondrous world.

It begins to get dark and it does not look like you will find a place that will take you in. You begin to worry; the thought of sleeping in the streets was far from appealing. At the very moment it seemed like you had no options you discovered a quaint little place on the outskirts of town. Only an elderly man lived in the house, and it was he who rented out the house’s rooms to make money. After you settled into the house the old man invited you to a little supper. Perhaps you were so anxious to find a place that you never really took the time to notice what the old man looked like. As you looked the gentleman over you realized he wasn’t old, but simply worn out. His name is Jedediah Reed, and you quickly learn the reason for the man’s ill disposition. A few years back Jedediah’s son went missing, and as a result Jedediah has lost much of his will to live.

Supper was a rather uncomfortable experience between the long periods of silence and Jedediah’s stories about his missing son. When dinner was finished you decide to get some much needed rest. When you try to excuse yourself Jedediah interrupts. “You don’t have to pay me to stay here, in fact I will give you all you need if you only help me find out what happened to my precious boy.” Made speechless by the request of the host you stand in silence for a minute or two. You quickly realize life in America may be better than it first seemed and ask, “If I do what you ask will you pay for my families voyage across the ocean?” Jedediah quickly responded, “If you do all you can to assist me in this task then I will gladly pay for their passage.” Pleased with his words, you agree to help him with his quest to learn the fate of his son.

Jedediah lets you go to bed and get a full nights rest, but in the morning the quest begins. In the morning you find Jedediah is gone, but there is a note on the table for you, and on it is written your first couple of tasks. To read the note click here.

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