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diff --git a/old/62165-0.txt b/old/62165-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9c48503..0000000 --- a/old/62165-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5600 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of From Dixie to Canada, by Homer Uri Johnson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: From Dixie to Canada - Romances and Realities of the Underground Railroad - -Author: Homer Uri Johnson - -Release Date: May 18, 2020 [EBook #62165] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM DIXIE TO CANADA *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: - - H. U. JOHNSON. -] - - - - - FROM - DIXIE TO CANADA - ROMANCES AND REALITIES - OF THE - UNDERGROUND RAILROAD - - - BY - H. U. JOHNSON - - AUTHOR OF “SEVENTEEN SEVENTY-SIX AND OTHER POEMS” AND “OBED IN THE GREAT - CO-PARTNERSHIP.” - - VOL. I - - FIRST THOUSAND - -[Illustration] - - ORWELL, OHIO - H. U. JOHNSON - - BUFFALO - CHARLES WELLS MOULTON - 1894 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1894, - BY H. U. JOHNSON. - - (ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.) - - - PRINTED BY CHARLES WELLS MOULTON, BUFFALO, N. Y. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - _DEDICATION._ - - -_To the millions of happy grand-children of a generation fast leaving -the stage of action, and who must get their knowledge of the Rebellion -and its causes from the lips of those who saw and participated or from -the pages of history, as we, the grand-parents, got ours of the -Revolution from those long since passed away, and from the written -records of that thrilling period, this little volume of unique but -wonderful history is sincerely and most affectionately dedicated by one -of the Grandfathers._ - - - - - PREFACE. - - -The years intervening since the abolition of American slavery leave a -majority of our people ignorant of its workings, and of matters -connected with it, except as they are gleaned from the pages of history, -or from the lips of those now grown old. - -It is not the purpose of this little volume to discuss the history of -the “peculiar institution” in detail, but simply to give so much of it -as will make appreciable the cause for another one equally “peculiar,” -known for the last twenty years of its existence as the UNDERGROUND -RAILROAD,—a name for a mode of operation, and not of a corporation or -material object. - -During the years of its operation, secrecy was a cardinal, an imperative -principle of its management, as the following pages will make apparent. -On the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, thus putting an end to -its operations, every other subject was swallowed up in the excitement -of the great struggle, and subsequently in that of Reconstruction. Thus -the Road dropped measurably out of sight, leaving but meager reports and -archives to tell the story of its working. - -The promptings of a desire to leave to posterity some realistic record -of this, one of the most wonderful and thrilling features of our -national history, no parallel to which is afforded in the annals of -time, must be the excuse for these pages. During the eighties, the -writer, who had lived amid its excitements for years, and was more or -less familiar with the writings of Coffin, Pettit, the Clarkes and -others, undertook a systematic research into the matter, the result of -which was the accumulation of a large fund of incident and information -pertaining to the Road, much of which was published in the _Home -Magazine_ between the years 1883 and 1889, inclusive. Those articles, in -part, carefully revised, are now placed before the reader in this more -permanent form, with the hope that they may receive the generous -approval of an appreciative public. - - THE AUTHOR. - -ORWELL, OHIO, MAY 20, 1894. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION 9 - - - CHAPTER I. - - JO NORTON 19 - - LAVINIA 28 - - A RUSE 36 - - THE ORIGINAL “JERRY” 48 - - A COOL WOMAN 52 - - - CHAPTER II. - - JACK WATSON 54 - - - CHAPTER III. - - UNCLE JAKE 85 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - GEORGE GREEN, OR CONSTANCY REWARDED 98 - - - CHAPTER V. - - HOW SOL. JONES WAS LEFT 124 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - EDWARD HOWARD 132 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - PLUCKY CHARLEY 152 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - STATIE LINES 164 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - GEORGE GRAY 173 - -[Illustration: - - JIM JONES IN THE BLACKSMITH SHOP. -] - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - -The quiet of a midsummer night had settled down over the city of -Washington, when, in August, 1839, a dusky form came, with stealthy -tread, from among some buildings not far away, and cautiously approached -the eastern entrance to the Capitol. Laying his hand upon the cold steps -in the shadow of the great building, Jim Jones, a colored boy of about -seventeen, attentively listened as if in expectation of some -preconcerted signal. - -He had waited but a moment thus, when the hand of a patrol was laid -heavily upon his shoulder and the rough query, “What does this mean, you -black rascal?” fell upon his ear. - -“Dunno, Massa,” was the reply of the startled boy. - -“Don’t know, you black imp?” - -“No, Massa, dunno what fo’ I was hea.” - -“Well, you know, you young nigger, you have no business here at this -hour of the night.” - -“Yes, Massa, I knowed de night am for white folks, and I jus’ cum for to -see—” - -“Some d—d abolitionist who is trying to get you away.” - -“No, no, Massa.” - -“Well, come along and we shall see,” saying which he rudely hurried the -boy away to a place of safe keeping. - -In the early morning Jim was recognized by his master, who vainly tried -to extort from him by questioning the cause of his nocturnal ramble. -Failing in this, the boy was taken to a blacksmith shop and his thumbs -placed end to end in the jaws of a vice. - -“Now,” said the master, “tell me why you were abroad last night.” - -“I dunno,” replied Jim. - -A half turn of the screw, and a groan of pain escaped the boy; another -turn and he writhed in agony. - -“Now you black son of a b——ch, why were you at the Capitol last night?” - -“O Lor’, Massa, a white man tol’ me I should come.” - -“What did he want of you?” - -“Fo’ to go norf’.” - -“And so you were going?” - -“Y-e-s—Massa—I—was—fo’—to—go.” - -“How?” - -“On a railroad undah de groun’.” - -“Under the ground?” - -“Yes, Massa, so the gem’an said. He was jus’ comin’ to open de way, when -Massa da’ cotched me.” - -“Who was he?” - -“Dunno, Massa.” - -Another turn of the screw, and in the agony of despair the boy yelled, -“Dunno, dunno, Massa, dunno,” and swooned away. - -After resuscitation the torture was again applied, but nothing farther -was elicited, as the boy continued to aver he had never heard the name -of the man who was to lead him; and, indeed, he had met him only in the -dark. - -Though for years slaves had from time to time been stealing away from -the _kind_ attentions of their masters, and, indeed, very frequently of -late, yet never before had the latter dreamed that their “chattel” went -by subterranean transit, and the theme became one of such absorbing -interest that, when two months later five prominent slaves escaped from -the city in a single night, a Washington morning paper heralded the -matter before the world for the first time as follows:— - - “UNDERGROUND RAILROAD! - - _A Mystery Not Yet Solved._” - - “The abolition incendiaries are undermining, not only our domestic - institutions, but the very foundations of our Capitol. Our citizens - will recollect that the boy Jim, who was arrested last August, while - lurking about the Capitol, would disclose nothing until he was - subject to torture by screwing his fingers in a blacksmith’s vice, - when he acknowledged that he was to have been sent north by - railroad; was to have started near the place where he stood when - discovered by the patrol. He refused to tell who was to aid him—said - he did not know—and most likely he did not. Nothing more could be - got from him until they gave the screw another turn, when he said: - ‘_The railroad goes under ground all the way to Boston_.’ Our - citizens are losing all their best servants. Some secret Yankee - arrangement has been contrived by which they ‘stampede’ from three - to eight at a time, and no trace of them can be found until they - reach the interior of New York or the New England States. They can - not have gone by railroad, as every station is closely watched by a - secret police, yet there is no other conveyance by which a man can - reach Albany in two days. That they have done so, is now clearly - demonstrated. Colonel Hardy, a tobacco planter residing in the - District, about five miles from the city, lost five more slaves last - Sunday evening. They were pursued by an expert slave catcher, but no - trace of them was discovered. The search was abandoned this morning, - the Colonel having received a paper called the _Liberty Press_, - printed in Albany, with the following article so marked as to claim - his attention: - - “‘Arrived, this morning, by our fast train, three men and two women. - They were claimed as slaves by Colonel Hardy, of the District of - Columbia, but became dissatisfied with the Colonel’s ways of - _bucking_ Harry, making _love_ to Nancy and other similar displays - of _masterly_ affection, and left the old fellow’s premises last - Sunday evening, arriving at our station by the quickest passage on - record.’ - - “The article recites many incidents that have transpired in the - Colonel’s family, that correspond so exactly with facts that the - Colonel says: ‘Nobody but Kate could have told that story!’ Said - article closes by saying: ‘Now, Colonel H., please give yourself no - trouble about these friends of yours, for they will be safe under - the protection of the British Lion before this _meets_ your eyes.’” - -The term which had been given to poor Jim, in confidence, as the means -by which he was to make his escape from bondage, and extorted from him -by torture, having thus been given to the world from the city of -Washington, became henceforth the universal appelation for a -_corporation_ which, for more than twenty years thereafter, extended its -great trunk lines across all the northern states from Mason and Dixon’s -line and the Ohio River to the Queen’s Dominion, and its ramifications -far into the southern states. It was most efficiently officered, and had -its side tracks, connections and switches; its stations and eating -houses all thoroughly well recognized by the initiated; its station -agents and conductors, men undaunted in danger and unswerving in their -adherence to principle; its system of cypher dispatches, tokens and -nomenclature which no attaché ever revealed except to those having a -right to receive them, and its detective force characterized by a -shrewdness in expedients and a versatility of strategy which attached to -any mere money making enterprise would have put “millions in it.” It -received the support of men and women from every class, sect, and party, -though from some more than from others; its character was engraven, as -by a pen of fire, in the hearts and consciences of men, burning deeper -and deeper, until finally abrogated in that grand emancipation -proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, when it was found that its stock, -always unwatered but by tears, had yielded an incomputable percentage in -the freedom secured to over thirty-six thousand fugitives from human -bondage, and embodied in houses, lands, schools, churches and social and -domestic happiness. - -Now that the track is all pulled up; that the rolling stock has -disappeared; that most of the operators and passengers have gone down -into silence or are dwelling in forgetfulness of accumulating years, and -that only a few of the old stations remain as they were, a new -generation pertinently inquires, “What called such a road into existence -and how were its gigantic operations so successfully and yet so secretly -carried on?” - -To the first of these questions it may be replied that the history of -American slavery is older than the story of Plymouth Rock. In the year -1619 a cargo of Africans, kidnapped on the coast of the “Dark -Continent,” was sold from the deck of a Dutch man-of-war at Jamestown, -Va., to be used in the cultivation of tobacco along the river. - -At that time very little was thought about the enormity of human -slavery. The labor proved remunerative, and the institution spread over -the original colonies, with little or no question, so that at the -breaking out of the Revolution there were 500,000 bondmen, a standing -menace to the cause of freedom, and yet technically said to be “armed in -the holy cause of liberty.” - -On the adoption of the constitution in 1787, public sentiment had become -so strong against the African slave trade that provision was made for -its abolition in 1808. Persistent effort was also made, particularly by -the Quakers, for the ultimate abolition of slavery itself, but without -avail, as it was claimed by its apologists that it would ultimately die -of its own accord—a prophecy in some sense fulfilled, though in a manner -all undreamed by those who made it. - -[Illustration: - - THE TRACY WAGON SHOP. -] - -[Illustration: - - SLAVE PEN IN ATLANTA, GA. - - (PHOTOGRAPHED WHILST GEN. SHERMAN’S ARMY HELD THE CITY.) -] - -Though Anti-slavery Societies had long been in vogue, of one of which -Benjamin Franklin had been president, it was found by the census of 1800 -that the country contained 893,000 slaves. From this time forward one -after another of the Northern States abolished it, until it finally -disappeared from New York last of all, July 4th, 1827. In the meantime -it was strengthened in the South. The invention of the cotton gin and -the extensive manufacture of sugar in the Gulf States, made the rearing -of slaves in those farther north very lucrative, and slave marts were -set up in many of their cities and towns to which men, women and -children were brought and sold upon the auction block and at private -sale. - -The slaves thus purchased in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky and elsewhere -for the more southern markets were either driven across the country like -so many cattle, or, if more convenient, taken down the Ohio and -Mississippi on steam-boats or in flats, all those deemed likely to give -trouble being handcuffed together across a coffle chain, thus -constituting a “coffle.” - -On their arrival at the place of destination, they were more or less -jaded and warm, and hence unmarketable until properly fitted up. To -facilitate this, buildings or “pens” were provided where they were well -fed and given liberal rations of whiskey. Under the management of some -genial dealer, they were induced to tell stories, sing songs and make -merry. In this way they were soon recuperated and ready for the ordeals -of another sale in which they were subjected to much the same scrutiny -of body and limb that is bestowed upon a horse when the person would -ascertain its physical condition. - -To escape this degradation and the hardships of the southern -plantations, the more intelligent and hardy of the slave population -early began to flee to the free states as an asylum from cruel bondage. -As if in anticipation of this, the constitution had provided for their -return, and under its provisions many were restored to their masters, -through the cupidity of sordid northern men, for the rewards offered. - -Finding so many of their chattels escaping and the sentiment against -their return growing stronger and stronger, the southern people, with -the aid of abettors at the north, succeeded in 1850, in securing the -passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, which imposed heavy fines and even -imprisonment for in any way aiding a fugitive from slavery to escape. By -its provisions every man at the North was virtually made a slave -catcher. - -Canada now became the goal of the fugitive, and to its safe retreat -thousands escaped, and yet so successful was the business of slave -culture that in 1860 the whole number of persons held as mere chattels, -without a vested right in land, or home, or wife, or husband, or child, -or life, even, that might not be served by the will of the master, -amounted to 3,953,000 souls. The bitterness of sectional feeling -engendered by such a state of affairs, and the intense activity of nerve -and intellect called forth thereby, can never be duly appreciated except -by those who were active participants in the affairs of ten years _ante -bellum_. - -The second question, and, also, many points covered by the first, will -be best answered by following the thread of these “Romances and -Realities of the Underground Railroad,” gathered as they are from -personal observation, extensive reading, visitations along many of the -old lines, and numerous interviews and extensive correspondence with -those heroic men and women who dared their fortunes and their personal -liberty in the cause of humanity and right, still lingering among us, -as, also, with many a passenger over this truly wonderful thoroughfare. - -[Illustration: - - REFUGEES IN WASHINGTON CHURCHYARD. -] - - - - - CHAPTER I. - JO NORTON. - - - I. - -So many and varied have been the changes of half a century, and so rapid -the growth of the city in the past twenty-five years, that few of the -present inhabitants of Washington, and less of its old-time frequenters, -now ever think of the cemetery that skirted the stage road leading north -from the city. True, in those by-gone days it was a popular burial -place, even for the first families of the capital, but like many another -“silent city” it long since fell into disuse, and consequently became -for years the most desirable place near the city for an underground -railroad station, and to such use it was assiduously appropriated. - -In this solitary place, on a quiet Sabbath evening of October, 1839, -there was heard just as the last faint twilight trembled on the western -horizon a low, distinct whistle. Immediately there arose from among the -growth of bushes and from behind already reclining headstones five dusky -forms, actuated evidently by the same impulse. The whistle was repeated, -and the forms cautiously approached the point whence it proceeded, and -there gathered in presence of a stranger to them all, but with no -previous knowledge of each other’s intent, though all of them were the -property of the same man, Colonel Hardy, a tobacco planter of the -District of Columbia, as previously stated in the “Introduction” to -these “Romances and Realities.” - -The first exclamations of surprise over, their unknown companion -proceeded to give them the instructions for the night, after allaying -their superstitious fears, that they were to sink into the earth for a -time, and be under the conduct of invisible personages. Indeed, so far -from that being the case they soon found very much depended upon their -own physical exertion. No sinking down into the ground among the dead, -no sojourn among spooks and ghosts, impressions that had almost gotten -the better of their thirst for freedom, was to be theirs. On the -contrary they were to take at once to the pike and follow it until they -came to the said road, which was then to be their pathway, only turning -out to pass around villages and stations until they came to a man -standing in the track who should signal them by the simple name “Ben.” -To him they were to yield themselves implicitly. - -Seeing the little company once fairly started, the stranger returned to -the city, and as he passed the post-office deposited therein a letter -addressed, - - “_JOHN JONES, Esq._, - _Albany_, - _N. Y._” - -Leaving this missive and the fugitives to pursue their respective -journeys, we pause to inquire into the personalities of the latter. They -were named, respectively, Nancy, Kate, Robert, Harry and Jo, or more -complete, Jo Norton. - -As has been said, they were the property of one man, and when not needed -on the plantation, were hired out in the city. Harry was recognized -among his fellows as a man of spirit and ability; but the latter quality -never saved him from the frequent “buckings” engendered by the too free -play of the former. Nancy, an octaroon, was well formed, about twenty -years of age, and according to Kate, who had a spontaneous gift of -gossip, a special favorite of the “Kunnel.” - -Jo Norton was a sprightly, intelligent fellow, and had a wife named -Mary, who, with their little boy, was the property of a Mr. Judson, -residing in the city. In his boyhood Jo had been continually employed -upon the plantation, but after he was sixteen was engaged at a hotel -during the winter for several years. For a long time in this place it -was his special duty to wait upon Daniel Webster at table and otherwise. -It was whilst thus employed that he became acquainted with and won Mary, -who had the care of the great statesman’s rooms. During the summer, the -Colonel, when reasonably good natured, allowed Jo to visit his wife and -child once in two weeks, on Sunday. When too choleric to grant his -“chattel” this indulgence, a pass was readily secured from the old man’s -daughter, who was his private secretary, and with whom Jo was a great -favorite. In these visits the possibility of an escape, more especially -for the sake of their boy, was frequently discussed, though no plan was -ever perfected. - -One evening whilst returning from one of these visitations, Jo fell in -company with a gentleman whose manner so impressed him that he asked if -he were not from “de Norf.” - -“Yes, from Massachusetts,” said the stranger. - -“Wy, Massa, dat am de home ob de great Dan’l Webster.” - -“Yes; I know him very well.” - -“Yes, Massa, an’ doan dis chile knows dat great man to?” - -“How is that?” - -“Wy, Massa, doan I stan’ ’hind his chaah all dese winters wen him comes -to Congress?” - -“Ah, I see. But wouldn’t you like to go north and be free?” - -“Lor’ Massa, dat was wat Mary and I talks ’bout dis blessed day.” - -“Who is Mary?” - -“Mary am my wife, sah, and James am my little boy. Da’longs to anuder -man.” - -“A wife and child!” said the stranger half musingly. “Well my good -fellow, we will see what can be done, but we must talk no more now. Meet -me on the corner of “F” and the Avenue two weeks from to-day at noon.” - -“Yes sah,” and the two parted. - -Two weeks passed, and, as agreed, the parties met, the one readily -assuming the air of a southern gentleman and the other instinctively -falling into the role of his servant. Thus they passed on until a quiet -place was reached, when it was agreed that Jo should take a designated -place in the old cemetery three weeks from that night, but that Mary and -the child should be left in the city till a fitting way for their escape -presented itself. In the mean time the other parties had been separately -interviewed, and assigned their several hiding places, and given the -signal which would call them into the presence of a stranger. Thus it -was that they came together unawares. - - - II. - -Once upon the public highway the little party struck out briskly for the -railroad upon which they turned their faces towards Baltimore, and -following their instructions were making fine progress, when, about -midnight, as they were passing around a village the heavens became -suddenly overcast with clouds, and for an hour or more they wandered in -uncertainty. A halt being called, a lively discussion based upon five -different opinions arose, and how it might have terminated no one can -tell had not the heavens just then cleared up, enabling Harry, who was -both conductor to and astronomer for the train, to get their bearings -from “de ol’ norf.” So much time had thus been lost that daybreak was -just beginning to tinge the east when the mystical word “Ben” fell from -the lips of a man standing upon the track, whom they at once followed -for some distance into a corn-field, where he removed several bundles -from a stack of corn-fodder, and the two women entered a “dodger” -apartment, whilst the men were similarly secreted a little farther on. - -A thirty mile walk had given them a good appetite for the bountiful -breakfast provided, after partaking of which they lay down and slept -soundly, whilst “Old Ben,” a free negro who had been furnished the means -to rent and till this field and arrange it as a “way station,” kept -constant vigil and obliterated their tracks by husking corn and -carefully drawing the stocks over them. - - - III. - -Morning came in the city, and soon the absence of the servants from -their employers was reported at the plantation, where the non-appearance -of Jo had already caused the Colonel to give his daughter a special -cursing for “letting that d—d nigger, Jo, have a pass.” Hounds and -hunters were at once called into requisition, but all in vain. All about -the country was scoured and searched, but Uncle Ben’s field was so -public and he so honest, that no one thought of troubling it, or him. - -Night came, and under cover of the first hour of darkness the two women -were taken in charge by a man who led them rapidly along the railroad -track till they came to a road where a carriage received them and they -were driven rapidly into the city of Baltimore and there carefully -secreted. Scarcely had they departed when a pack of hounds came into the -field, and, after scenting around for some time, struck their track and -were off in pursuit with such a wild scream as to waken the men from -their quiet slumber. - -Meanwhile the letter addressed to Mr. Jones was speeding on its way, and -in due time on an editorial derived therefrom, the compositors in the -office of the _Liberty Press_ at Albany were busy, and on Friday Col. -Hardy received a marked copy of that paper which informed him that his -“chattels” arrived safe in Albany on Tuesday evening, and of course all -farther effort for their recovery was stopped, though the atmosphere was -for some time blue from the effects of the forcible vocabulary which -this piece of news, manufactured specially for a southern market, -eliminated from the old Colonel’s tongue. - - - IV. - -All imminent danger from direct pursuit being now over, early on -Saturday evening Ben led the boys forth and placed them in charge of a -sprightly colored boy about thirteen years of age, whom they were to -keep constantly in sight as they passed through Baltimore, and, as he -bestowed on them a little money, he said: “Now, boys, follah yer guide, -and feah no danjah, and de good Lor’ bress you and bring you safe to -freedom.” - -With nimble steps they passed over the road to the city, and there -stopped for a short time at a meeting of colored Methodists, of which -faith were Jo and Harry, and joined lustily in the “Hallelujahs” and -songs of praise. The meeting over, they fell in with the departing -congregation, and as they passed through the principal streets were -vociferous in their praise of “the pow’fu’ preachin’ ob dat ’sidin’ -eldah, and de snipshus singin’ ob de yaller gal wid de red rib’n,” -stopping occasionally to buy a few nuts or apples at some grocer’s -stand, ever keeping their little woolly headed conductor in sight, and -before the hour forbidding the presence of colored people on the -streets, were beyond the city limits, and again in company with Kate and -Nancy, who had been brought to a place of rendezvous by a gentleman who -proceeded to give the party specific instructions for the night. This -done, fleetly they sped forward as directed until well towards day-dawn, -when conductor Harry espied two flickering lights placed side by side in -an upper window, and exclaimed: “Bress de Lor’ dah am de sign of rest.” - -“Yes, bress de Lor’, O my sou’,” ejaculated the thoroughly wearied Kate, -“an if dis be de unner groun’ railroad whar ebery one furnish his cah -hisself, I’d radder ride wid ol’ Lijah in a charyot ob fiah.” - -“Hush, honey, what foah you complain? dis am gwine ober Jordan to de -lan’ ob res’.” - -“Yes, an’ Jordan am a hard road to trabel, shu——” but the sentence was -abruptly broken by the clear enunciation of “Thee will tarry here for -the Sabbath.” - -The words proceeded from beneath a broad-brimmed hat which emerged from -among some shrubbery, and the party were quickly conducted into a -spacious Quaker kitchen where a bountiful repast was in waiting for -them, after partaking of which they were consigned to safe quarters for -the day. - -From this hospitable retreat, they sallied forth on Monday evening for -another night journey, only to find in its ending a duplicate of the -preceding one; and in this way the whole distance from Baltimore to -Philadelphia was made on foot. - -Once in the Quaker city, they were quietly put on a fishing smack and -conveyed to Bordentown. At the latter place, under the management of a -shrewd Quaker, a personal friend of the railroad agent, the boys were -hid away among boxes and bales of goods in a freight car and were soon -on their way to Gotham. Meanwhile the girls were dressed for the -occasion, and at evening, closely veiled, just as the train was -starting, were escorted into a coach by a gentleman assuming the full -Southern air, and who had no hesitancy in pushing aside a watcher for -runaways stationed at the door. At New York they again rejoined the “way -freight,” and the whole party were at once sent on to Albany, where they -arrived after a journey of twenty days instead of two as supposed in -Washington. - - - LAVINIA. - -Apropos of the lamentable exhibitions of mob-violence, court-house -burning, Sabbath desecration and election frauds presented by Cincinnati -in the past few years, it may not be amiss to give a little exhibition -of the spirit there manifested by the men of a past generation and see -whence some of her present unenviable reputation comes. The city was -well known to be intensely pro-slavery and to her came many a haughty -Southron for purposes of business or pleasure, bringing with him more or -less of his chattels as attendants. Among the comers of the summer of -1843, was a man named Scanlan, visiting his brother-in-law, one Hawkins. -He brought with his family a pretty slave girl named Lavinia, some ten -years old. - -Before the party left New Orleans, the mother of the girl, a slave in -that city, had given her the following admonitory instruction:—“Now -’Vinya, yer Massa’s gwine for ter take yer Norf, an’ wen yer gets to -Sinsnate, chile, yer free, an’ he’ll sen’ some good anj’l for to hide -yer un’er him wing; an’ if you doan go wid him, but kum back to dis Souf -wid yer ol’ Massa, dis very han’ll take yer black skin right off yer -back shuah. Mebbe wen yer safe in dat free lan’, yer ol’ muder’ll fin’ -yer thar if the good Lor’ be willin’.” Then she placed around the neck -of the girl a small gold chain which was to be continually worn, that if -they ever chanced to meet in Canada, the mother might know her child. - -Once in Cincinnati, Lavinia began looking carefully for some “good -anj’l,” but instead, soon found two in the person of a colored man and -his wife living near Mr. Hawkins’. To those she carefully committed her -mother’s counsel and threat. These parties entered heartily into her -proposition to escape, and one night dressed her in a suit of boy’s -clothes and took her to the head of Spring street, near the foot of -Sycamore Hill, and gave her in charge of Samuel Reynolds, a well-known -Quaker, where she was successfully concealed for a number of days whilst -Scanlan was raging about and as far as possible instituting a vigorous -search. - -Not far from Mr. Reynolds was the home of Edward Harwood in whose family -resided John H. Coleman, a dealer in marble. The Harwoods and Colemans -were ardent Abolitionists and ready to stand by any panting fugitive to -the last. Mrs. Harwood’s house stood on a side hill with a steep grade -in front, and the narrow yard was reached by a flight of some twenty -steps, whilst the side and rear were easily accessible. - -After a time Mrs. Harwood, who had become much interested in Lavinia, -took her home, where she was carefully concealed during the day, but -allowed a little exercise in the dusk of the evening in the front yard, -which was so high above the street as to be unobservable. - -One evening when the girl was thus engaged the great house dog, Swamp, -which always accompanied her kept up such a growling and snarling, as -induced the men to think there might be foul play brewing and they went -out several times but could detect nothing. Finally one of them said, -“That child had better come in; some one may be watching for her,” upon -which Mrs. Coleman put her head out of the window and calling her by -name, bade her come in, after which all was quiet for the night. - -Dinner over the next day, the gentlemen had taken their departure down -town, the ladies were busy about their work; an invalid gentleman was -reclining in an easy chair and the girl had fallen asleep up-stairs, -when a man suddenly appeared at the top of the flight of steps and very -uncermoniously entered the front door which was open, and looking -hurriedly around roughly demanded, “Where’s my child? I want my child, -and if you don’t give her up there’ll be trouble.” - -It needed no further evidence to convince the ladies it was Scanlan, an -impression which had seized them both even before he had spoken, but -then they were not the kind to be scared by his bluster, and Mrs. -Coleman replied with spirit “You have no child here and if you were a -gentleman you would not be here yourself.” - -At this Scanlan turned upon her and whilst his fists were clinched and -his face livid with rage, exclaimed, “I tell you she is here, my slave -girl, Lavinia; I saw her last night myself; and if it had not been for -you, madam, and that devilish dog there, I should have gotten her then. -I had her nearly within my grasp when you bade her come in. I say where -is my child? Give her up.” - -“You have no child here,” coolly replied Mrs. Coleman again. - -“I say I have, and if she hears me call she will answer me.” Saying -which he went to the stairway and called “Lavinia, Lavinia.” - -The child heard the voice, recognized it, and at once quietly hid -herself within the bed. Though the call was repeated several times, no -answer came, and Mrs. Coleman inquired, “Are you satisfied now?” - -“I know my child is here, and you cursed Abolitionist have hidden her -away,” said the now almost frantic Scanlan. “You need not think you are -going to fool me. I’m going to have my child, my slave, my property. I -shall go down town and get a warrant and an officer to search your -house, and you’ll get no chance to run the girl away either, for I shall -leave a guard over you whilst I am gone,” then stepping to the door he -said, “Hawkins, come in here,” and the brother-in-law, before unseen by -the inmates of the house, entered. “Now, Mr. Hawkins, I am going for a -warrant, and I want you to see that my child does not get away till the -officer comes,” saying which Scanlan took his departure and Hawkins a -seat, though evidently very ill at ease. - -When part way down town the Southron recognized Mr. Harwood coming up -the hill in his buggy, and thinking to intimidate him said, “I am after -my slave girl who is in your house. Your women refuse to give her up. -You will find the place well guarded, and I will soon have a warrant to -search the place.” - -“I’ll make it hotter than tophet for any one guarding my house, and the -man who comes about my premises with a search warrant until I am accused -of murder or theft, does so at his peril,” was the warm reply, as Mr. -Harwood started rapidly towards his home. Arriving there he thus -addressed Mr. Hawkins: “I am told, sir, you are here to guard my house -and family. We have need of no such attention, and if you do not -immediately depart from our premises I shall pitch you headlong into the -street. Be gone you miserable tool of a most miserable whelp.” Just then -the cowed and crestfallen Hawkins made a practical application of his -knowledge of Shakespeare, and “stood not upon his going.” - -Remembering the great pro-slavery mob of 1836, when the office of James -G. Birney’s paper, _The Philanthropist_, was destroyed, and that of -1841, when but for the prompt action of Governor Corwin in aiding the -arming of the students, an attack would have been made upon Lane -Seminary as a “d—d Abolition hole,” Scanlan hastened to the “Alhambra,” -then a popular saloon, gathered about him a band of roughs and after a -treat all round proceeded to harangue them regarding his loss and also -his unavailing efforts to regain his chattel. Under the influence of his -speech and the more potent one of an open bar, the crowd readily -promised him their support, and arranged to be at the hill in the -evening time to see the fun. - -Meantime Mr. Harwood was apprising his friends of the state of affairs, -and these were beginning to gather at his house. One of them, an -employee of Mr. Coleman, as he came up the hill, found a number of flags -already set to guide the mob to the Harwood residence. These were torn -down. Before the arrival of Mr. Coleman a crowd of excited people had -assembled in the street below the house. Seeing among them an officer -notorious for his cupidity and in entire sympathy with the slave -catchers, Mr. Coleman approached him and shaking hands said, “Why how do -you do, Mr. O’Neil? I am told you have a search warrant for my house.” - -“For your house?” - -“Yes; here is where I live and I wish to know on what grounds you intend -to search my house, as I am not aware of having laid myself liable to -such a process.” - -“There must be some mistake,” said the officer. “Indeed, Mr. Coleman, I -must have been misinformed as to the merits of the case.” - -“Let me see the paper,” persisted Mr. Coleman. - -“No,” said O’Neil, “there is a blunder somewhere,” and he pushed his -way, in a discomfited manner, through the crowd and disappeared. - -As the crowd increased in the streets, the friends of Mr. Harwood -arrived, until all the Abolitionists in the city, some forty in number, -were present. Mr. Harwood stood on the front steps with Swamp, and when -anyone evinced a purpose to ascend the steps the fine display of ivory -in the dog’s mouth cooled his ardor. Mr. Coleman and Alf. Burnet, -afterwards well known in anti-slavery circles, went to a Dutch armory -and secured a quantity of arms and ammunition; the women took up the -carpet in the parlor, which soon presented the appearance of a military -bivouac, whilst papers and valuables were hurried off to other houses, -and a strong guard was placed before the door. An application was made -to the sheriff for protection, but he only replied, “If you make -yourself obnoxious to your neighbors, you must suffer the consequences.” - -Whilst Scanlan was making his inflammatory speeches down town, and -subsidizing the saloons, Lavinia was redressing in her boy’s suit and -was quietly taken out on a back street to a Mr. Emery’s, the crowd -meanwhile crying, “Bring out the lousy huzzy; where is the black b——ch?” -and other equally classic expressions. One blear-eyed ruffian exclaimed, -“If my property was in thar, I’d have it or I’d have the d—d -Abolitionist’s heart’s blood, I would.” Another one, equally valorous -called out, “Go in boys; why don’t you go in?” and a score of voices -responded, “Go in yourself. The nigger ain’t ourn. Where’s the boss? -Guess he’s afraid of shootin’ irons,” a feeling that evidently pervaded -the whole assemblage. - -Being without a leader, and having no personal interest at stake, about -dark the mob moved down the street, stoning and materially damaging the -house of Alf. Burnett’s father as they passed by. The old gentleman -gathered up a large quantity of the missiles and kept them on exhibition -for several years as samples of pro-slavery arguments. - -Scanlan vented his spleen and breathed out his threatenings through the -city papers, but being unable to get any redress, and finding he was to -be prosecuted for trespass, he hastily decamped for New Orleans. - -After a week or two, Lavinia, dressed in her masculine suit went with -some boys who were driving their cows to the hills to pasture, and was -by them placed in the care of a _conductor_, by whom she was safely -forwarded to Oberlin. Here she was found to have a fine mind, was -befittingly educated, and ultimately sent as a missionary to Africa. -After the lapse of several years she returned to this country, and -whilst visiting the friends in Cincinnati, who had so kindly befriended -her in the days of her childhood, suddenly sickened and died. - - - A RUSE. - -Serious and earnest as was the work of our railroad, it was made the -pretext for many a practical joke and arrant fraud. In the north part of -Trumbull county, Ohio, lived an ancient agent named Bartlett, having in -his employ a newly married man named DeWitt, a rollocking kind of a -fellow, and well calculated to personate a son of Ham, or a daughter as -well. DeWitt conspired with his wife and some of the female members of -the old gentleman’s family to have a little fun at Mr. Bartlett’s -expense. Some thrown off apparel of Mrs. Bartlett was procured from the -garret, and, properly blackened, he was attired in a grotesque manner. - -Just at evening a decrepid wench applied for admission at Mr. Bartlett’s -door. The women appeared very much frightened and were about shutting -the door in her face, when the old gentleman, hearing the negro dialect -came to the rescue. Soon the wanderer was comfortably seated, and to Mr. -Bartlett’s inquiry as to where she was from replied, “Oh Lor’, Massa, -I’se from ol’ Virginny an’ I’se boun’ for Canady, and Massa Sutlifft, he -tells me I mus’ cum heah, but de white missus scare at dis ol’ black -face.” - -“O well, never mind that, they are all right now.” - -“Bress de Lor’ for dat.” - -Speaking to his wife, Mr. Bartlett directed some supper be prepared -before he should send her on. - -“O no, Massa, I’se been done and eat supper dis bressed day.” - -“Well, then, we’ll arrange to send you on soon, but come and see my -grandson,” a lad lying sick in the other part of the room, saying which -he arose and took the hand of the dame and led her to the bedside, and -laying his hand across her stooped shoulders, began to speak tenderly of -the little sufferer. - -The risibilities of the counterfeit Dinah were now at their utmost -tension and she contrived to place a foot heavily upon the caudal -appendage of the great house dog lying near. There was a sudden bound of -the brute, accompanied by a most unearthly howl, and away darted the -decrepid fugitive, shrieking, “O Lor’ de houn’, de houn’.” - -It was in vain the philanthropic old agent called after her, that there -was no danger; on she sped until an opportunity offered to restore -herself to Japhetic hue and male attire. - -Mr. Bartlett long upbraided the female portion of his household for want -of humanity on that occasion, but was allowed to die in blissful -ignorance of the ruse played upon him, and DeWitt confessed that the -ultimate fun derived therefrom scarcely compensated for the annoyance of -the old gentleman and the trouble of removing the _cork_. - - - VI. - -A year has passed anxiously at Albany with Jo. Rumors reached him that -in an attempt to escape, Mary had been captured and sold into the south -forever beyond his reach. Gathering up his earnings and bidding his -companions good-by, he started rather aimlessly westward, and where he -would have brought up no one can tell, had he not one day met a -stranger, a pleasant, benevolent looking gentleman, near the village of -Versailles, N. Y. It was just at the close of that most hilarious -campaign in which the cry of “Tippecanoe and Tyler too,” with “two -dollars a day and roast beef,” mollified with liberal potations of “hard -cider,” rendered “Little Matty Van a used up man,” though the result was -not yet ascertained, for no telegraph had learned to herald its -lightning message in advance of time. If no other good came from the -campaign, it had given every class of men the free use of the tongue in -hurrahing for his favorite candidate, and foot-sore and hungry as he -was, there was something about the gentleman that said to Jo, “Now is -your opportunity,” and touching his hat in genuine politeness he called -out, “Hooraw for Ol’ Tip.” - -Good naturedly the gentleman responded, “Well, my good fellow, it is a -little late for you to be hurrahing for any candidate now that election -is over, and, though you didn’t quite strike my man, I shall find no -fault. I know what you want more than ‘hard cider.’ It is a night’s food -and lodging.” - -“Thank you Massa, I’se tired and hungry, an’ de fac’ am I doan know what -to do with myself.” - -“Well, no matter about that just now. Come along;” and Eber M. Pettit, -long known as an earnest Abolitionist in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua -counties, led the disheartened wanderer to his home, where, after -supper, he questioned him as to his history, and when he had learned his -unvarnished tale, he suggested that the man should stay with him that -winter as a man-of-all-chores, and attend the village school. - -As a result of that evening’s conference there appeared among the -children of the district school in a few days a colored man of about -twenty five years of age, learning with the youngest of them his a b c. -This was an innovation, unique in the extreme. Some of the villagers -turned up their noses at the “nigger,” but the social standing of Mr. -Pettit, and the story of Jo which was freely circulated among the -people, together with his genial disposition and kindness of manner, -soon silenced all cavil and the school quietly progressed. - -Learning that the editor of the _Liberty Press_ was in Washington, Mr. -Pettit addressed him in the following letter: - - VERSAILLES, N. Y., Dec. 1, 1840. - - _Dear General._—I have at my house a colored man named Jo Norton. - Something over a year ago he left a wife and child in the Capital, - the property of a Mr. Judson. She was to have been brought off - directly after he left, but the effort failed and he understands she - has been sold South. Will you be so kind as to inquire into the - matter and see what can be done in the case if anything? Make your - return to Jo Norton, direct. - - Yours Truly, - - E. M. PETTIT. - - Gen. W. L. Chaplain, - Washington, D. C. - -This letter was duly posted, and on the morrow an ebony face, the very -picture of expectancy, put in an appearance at the village post office -with the query, “Any letter for Jo Norton, Massa pos’ massa?” Thus it -was twice a day for a week, when his unsophisticated importunity was -rewarded by a missive bearing the address, - - _Jo Norton, Esq._, - _Versailles_, - _N. Y._ - - _Care E. M. Pettit, Esq._ - -and bearing the post-mark of the Capital. It read as follows: - - MR. NORTON, _Dear Sir_: - - The woman about whom Mr. Pettit wrote me is here. After her - husband’s escape she was detected in what was thought to be an - effort to leave and was thrown into prison, where she lost an infant - child. After three months she was visited by her master, and on a - solemn promise never to make another effort to run away she was - taken back to the family where she and the boy appear to be treated - with great kindness. Though he has been offered $800 for her, Mr. - Judson said he never sold a slave, and never will, but if her - husband can raise $350 for them by March 4th, proximo, they will be - given free papers so I can bring them North with me at that time. - - Truly, - - W. L. CHAPLAIN. - -At the reading of this letter, Jo, prompted by the fervent piety of his -nature, broke into hysterical fits of laughter, interspersed with “Bress -de Lor’, bress de Lor’.” But when the first paroxysm of joy was over he -became very despondent, for he had no $350 and no friend to whom to -appeal for it; but here, as before, Mr. Pettit came to the rescue. - -“See here, Jo,” he said, “there are nearly three months to the fourth of -March, and yours is a wonderful story. You shall go forth and tell it to -the people, and the money will come.” - -“Wy, bress de Lor’, Massa Pettit, dis chile can nebber do dat. De people -would jus’ laf at de nigger.” - -“Never mind the laugh, Jo. If you love Mary and the boy you can stand -the laughing. Now be a man. I will go with you and see you start;” and -before bed-time he had laid out the work for his ward, in whom he had -now become thoroughly interested, and had listened several times to his -rehearsal of his story of escape and tale of plantation life, and -offered such suggestions as he thought advisable, and that night Jo went -to bed “to sleep; to dream.” To dream of wife and boy in slavery, and -himself making speeches among the white people of the North for their -deliverance. - -The next morning Mr. Pettit went out into the country a few miles where -he had a number of Abolition friends and made full arrangements for Jo’s -speaking there early the next week. In the meantime the word was -thoroughly circulated whilst Jo was most effectively schooled to his new -field, and on the appointed evening the school-house was filled to -overflowing. Jo told his story in such a manner as to draw out rounds of -approbative applause from the mouths of the audience, and six dollars -from their pockets when the hat was passed round. Meetings were held -immediately in the several school districts in the vicinity with marked -success, and then Jo, highly inspired, left school and started out on a -systematic course of lectures which took him to Westfield, Mayville and -other villages of Chautauqua county as well as Cattaraugus. - -On the 25th day of January Mr. Pettit received the following from -Washington: - - “_Dear Pettit._—If Judson can have $300 by February first, he will - deliver up the woman and child of whom we have had correspondence. - - In haste, - - W. L. CHAPLAIN.” - -He hastened to Ellicottville and found that Jo had already realized -$100. A meeting was immediately called in an office in the village, at -which were present Judge Chamberlin, of Randolph, E. S. Coleman, of -Dunkirk, and several other gentlemen. The letter was read, and at the -suggestion of the Judge a note for two hundred dollars was drawn and -signed by ten of them, with the understanding that they were to share -equally in the payment of any deficit after Jo had done his best. The -money was advanced by Mr. Coleman, and one of the party drove fifty -miles to Buffalo, through a pelting storm, purchased a draft, forwarded -it to Mr. Coleman, and before the “days of grace” had expired Mary and -her child were duly registered and delivered as free people. - -Meanwhile Jo’s story had gotten into the papers of Western New York, and -he had calls from various places to lecture; indeed, he had become quite -a local lion, and so successful that early in March when word came that -Mary and the child had reached Utica, he was the possesser of $195. This -he deposited in the hands of Mr. Pettit who returned him $30 and told -him to go and make provision for his wife and child, and pay the balance -of the note when he could. Though he had walked that day from Buffalo, a -distance of nearly thirty miles, Jo immediately returned, and early the -next day, in the home of a leading Abolitionist in Utica there was a -regular “Hal’lujer; Bress de Lor’, for de Lor’ will bress his people,” -time when Jo and Mary met after their seemingly hopeless separation. - - - VII. - -Ten years and more had passed; the Ellicottville note had been long -settled; Jo had laid aside his mission as a lecturer and gone into -business in Syracuse, N. Y., where he owned a pleasant home and had a -family of intelligent children attending the public school; New York -State, like the country at large, had been convulsed over the slavery -question, and the city of his adoption had become a town of intensely -Abolition sentiment. As the outgrowth of the slavery agitation there had -come the enactment of the “Fugitive Slave Law,” as it was popularly, or -rather unpopularly called, by means of which the South thought to render -imperative the rendition of their runaway slaves. But they had counted -without their host. Though successful in cracking their whips over the -heads of Northern law-makers in the Capitol, the great mass of the -people of the free states, no matter what their political affiliations, -felt outraged at the idea of being converted into a set of legally -constituted slave-hunters. Few places more excited the ire of the -chivalry than Syracuse, and the threat was defiantly made that if -another anti-slavery convention was held in the city it should be -enlivened by the seizure of a fugitive of whom a test case could be -made. - -Not to be thus intimidated, a call for such a convention was issued and -at the appointed time commenced. Whilst the delegates were organizing in -the old Market Hall, in a cooper shop in another part of the city, all -unconscious of danger, a colored man named Jerry, who had some years -before escaped from slavery, was busy engaged at his labor, when he was -suddenly pounced upon by a marshal and his deputies from Rochester, and, -after a brave resistance, overpowered, manacled and thrown into a cart -secured for that purpose, and hurried away to the commissioner’s office, -closely guarded. The news of the arrest spread like wild-fire, and soon -the streets were thronged with excited people. A man rushed into the -convention and called out: “Mr. President a fugitive has been arrested -and they are trying to hurry him away.” Without motion, the convention -adjourned, and the delegates and attendants were added to the throng -already in the street. The uproar was equal to that, when, for the -“space of two hours,” the people cried, “Great is Diana of the -Ephesians,” but more concentrated, and the cause of coming together -better understood. - -Jerry was hurried into the commissioner’s office, the lower door to -which was heavily barred and the upper one securely bolted, so that it -was with difficulty that his council and more immediate friends obtained -admission. - -The court once opened, within there was contention, parley, quibble and -delay until twilight fell; without, the building was immediately -surrounded by fugitives who had found an asylum in and about the city, -and free colored people, among whom Jo Norton towered like Saul among -his brethren, and beyond these an immense multitude of citizens who had -stood waiting all the afternoon of that eventful day, manifesting no -disposition to retire. - -When it was announced that the court had adjourned for supper, it was -soon evident that the decisive hour had come. A heavy timber was lifted -to the shoulders of some sturdy negroes, and using the temporary space -accorded them, at the watchword “Jo” they hurled it with such force -against the door that bars and hinges gave way, and Norton, crowbar in -hand, at the head of a storming column entered the stairway hall. The -marshal was a man of nerve and disclaimed against any attempt on the -inner door, but in vain. A few vigorous blows of the crowbar forced it -open; there was the sharp report of a pistol succeeded by a quick blow -of the bar, and Jo unharmed, stood master of the situation, whilst the -right arm of the marshal hung useless at his side. The posse scattered, -the marshal saving himself by jumping from the second story window and -skulking away in the dark; Jerry, who had been very roughly treated, was -unloosed, and by daylight was well on his way to Canada, whilst the -convention resumed its deliberations the next day amid the -congratulations of many who before had looked upon its purpose with -indifference or absolute opposition. - -As for Jo, though defying slave-hunters and their hirelings as such, -having now arrayed himself by an act of violence against the government, -he took the advice of judicious friends, and soon removed to Canada, -where for years he was an esteemed citizen, and a friend and adviser of -those who came to his locality as fugitives. - - - VIII. - -As an index of Jo’s native quickness of perception, the following -excerpts, taken from Pettit’s “Sketches of the Underground Railroad,” -published some years ago by W. McKinstry & Son, are added, the only -change being that the places where the events are thought to have taken -place are given. - -Jo was a serious, devoted Christian, yet his wit and mirthfulness were -often exhibited in keen, sarcastic repartee. At Delanti the question was -asked, ‘Did you work hard when you were a slave?’ - -‘No! I didn’t work hard when I could help it.’ - -‘Did you have enough to eat?’ - -‘Yes, such as it was.’ - -‘Did you have decent clothes?’ - -‘Yes, midlin’.’ - -‘Well, you were better off than most people are here, and you were a -fool to run away.’ - -‘Well, now, the place I lef’ is there yet, I s’pose. Guess nobody’s -never got into it, and if my frien’ here wants it, he can have it fo’ -the askin’, though p’raps he better get his _member of Congress to -recommend him_.’ - -At Westfield, a fellow asked, ‘Is the speaker in favor of amalgamation?’ - -‘’Gamation! what’s dat?’ - -‘It means whites and blacks marrying together.’ - -‘O dat’s it! as fo’ such things they ’pends mostly on peples’ tas’. Fo’ -my part, I have a colored woman fo’ a wife,—that’s my choice,—an’ if my -frien’ here wants a black wife, an’ if she is pleased with him, I’m suah -I shan’t get mad about it.’ - -Soon after he commenced collecting funds to redeem his family from -bondage, he was invited to go to a school-house in Villenova. When near -the place he saw two boys chopping, and heard one of them say: ‘There’s -the nigger.’ - -Jo stopped and said: ‘I ain’t a nigger! I allus pays my debts; my massa -was a _nigger_. See here! when you chop, you be a chopper, ain’t dat -so?’ - -‘Yes,’ responded the boys. - -‘Well, when a man _nigs_, I call him a _nigger_. Now ol’ massa nigged me -out of all I earned in my life. Of course he is a nigger.’ Then Jo sang -the chorus to one of Geo. W. Clark’s Liberty songs: - - ‘They worked me all de day, - Widout one cent of pay; - So I took my flight - In de middle ob de night, - When de moon am gone away.’ - -‘Now, boys, come over to the school-house this evening and I’ll sing you -the res’ of it.’ That evening Jo had a full house and a good collection. - - - THE ORIGINAL “JERRY.” - -Having given a brief account of the “Jerry Rescue” at Syracuse, a -circumstance fraught with momentous consequences, and no inconsiderable -factor in precipitating the “Impending Crisis,” I now pass to consider -the real original “Jerry Rescue.” - -In the early summer of 1834, there came to Austinburg, Ohio, a colored -man of middle age, of whose escape to Ohio tradition, even, gives little -account, only that he was the property of a Baptist deacon who followed -him in close pursuit. Both parties upon the ground, matters became -marvellously lively in the quiet country town. - -Jerry was shifted from place to place, but the deacon would in some way -get a clue to his whereabouts, and another move would be made to thwart -the pursuer, some one being always ready to ask him what he would take -for the man; but it was always with him, “I want the nigger, not money.” - -Wearied at length with the continued baffling, and believing he had -found the retreat of his chattel, the pious deacon went to Jefferson and -secured the service of Sheriff Loomis to make an arrest. The twain came -upon him just before daybreak, but not to catch him napping. He was up -and off just in time to elude their grasp but not until they caught a -glimpse of him making across the fields in the direction of Eliphalet -Austin’s, who lived near where Grand River Institute now stands. - -Rapping at the door, Jerry was admitted by Mr. Austin, who was just in -the act of dressing himself. Reading in the excited manner of the -fugitive the state of the case, Mr. Austin pointed under the family bed -where his wife still lay. Jerry took the hint, and in a moment was -hugging the wall in the darkest corner under the bed. Mr. Austin quietly -closed the bed-room door, started a fire, and was at the well drawing a -pail of water when the pursuers came up. - -“Have you seen my nigger this morning?” queried the Deacon. - -“It is pretty early to see an object so dark as a colored man, if that -is what you are inquiring about,” was the response. - -“Well, early as it is, we have seen him, and believe he is secreted in -your house.” - -“Oh, you do, do you? Well, gentlemen, you have the fullest liberty to -search my premises and satisfy yourselves,” and, whilst the sheriff kept -watch without, Mr. Austin furnished the Southerner the most abundant -opportunity within. Candle in hand he led the way to the cellar, then to -the garret. The children’s bed-rooms and the closets of the chamber, the -parlor, spare bed-room and pantry below were all carefully examined, but -no Jerry was found, and the Deacon apologetically remarked: “I beg your -pardon, Mr. Austin, for this intrusion, and for the injustice I did you -in supposing you were harboring my slave.” - -“What,” said Mr. Austin, who was also a pious man and a licentiate -minister, “I hope you are not through looking yet.” - -“Why, I have been all over the house already.” - -“O no, you have not been in my wife’s bed-room yet,” said he rather -sarcastically. “Go in, Deacon. Wife is not up yet; you may find your -‘nigger’ with her.” - -Dropping his head in very shame, the Deacon excused himself, and going -out, with the sheriff rode off. - -As soon as they were well out of sight, Jerry was taken to the woods and -hidden in an old sugar house, where he remained for some days. Meanwhile -time and perplexity began to soften the Deacon, and he finally concluded -that three hundred and fifty dollars ($350) in hand would be worth more -than “a nigger on foot,” which was raised and paid over, the original -subscription being now in the hands of the writer. - -The money paid over and the freedom papers made out, the Deacon had no -difficulty in obtaining an interview with Jerry, a meeting very -satisfactory to the latter personage, now that he could meet “Ol’ Massa -on perfec’ ’quality as gemen.” - -There were two things connected with this case which the sturdy old -Austinburgers always regretted. The one was that as the work of purchase -was completed late Saturday afternoon, the Deacon accepted the proffered -hospitality of Mr. Austin for the Sabbath, and with him attended church -in the old historic “meeting house” at the Center, where the Rev. Henry -Cowles dispensed the gospel in the form of a red-hot anti-slavery -sermon, to which the Deacon listened with great expressed satisfaction -if not profit. During the evening service, some unprincipled persons -shaved his horse’s main and tail, which, when known, led several of the -first citizens of the town to save its reputation and show their -appreciation of the gentlemanly qualities of their visitor, by giving -him in exchange for his disfigured horse one equally good, thus sending -him back to Dixie with a high regard for their honesty, as well as -sincerity. - -The other was, Jerry, once a free man, went to Conneaut and established -himself as a barber, but unable to bear prosperity, he soon fell into -habits of drinking and dissipation, thus rendering worthless the -investment philanthropy and generosity had made in him. - -The following is the subscription referred to above, together with the -names of donors and the amount given so far as they can be deciphered: - - We whose names are hereto affixed, promise to pay to Eliphalet - Austin the sums put to our names, for the purpose of liberating from - slavery a colored man whose master is supposed to be in pursuit, and - offers to free him for three hundred and fifty dollars. - - Austinburg, July 23, 1834. - - Eliphalet & Aaron E Austin. $50. - J. Austin, $40.00. - J. S. Mills, $2.00. - A. A. Barr, $1.00. - G. W. St. John, $25.00. - Luman Whiting, $2.00. - I. Hendry, $5.00. - Amos Fisk, $5.00. - Daniel Hubbard, $1.00. - Mr. Sawtell, $2.00. - L. M. Austin, $5.00. - Dr. A. Hawley, $2.00. - Ward, $5.00. - Jefferson, $20.00. - Orestes K. Hawley, $50. - L. Bissell, $20.00. - T. H. Wells, $3.00. - Harvey Ladd, Jr., $2.00. - James Sillak, $3.00. - Benjamin Whiting, $1.00. - Giddings & Wade, $10. - Russell Clark, $2.00. - Henry Harris, $1.00. - E. Austin, Jr., $15.00. - Ros. Austin, $5.00. - W. Webb, Jr., $5.00. - Henry, $5.00. - A Friend, 50 cents. - -The $20.00 from Jefferson was a kind of _religious_ collection. - - - A COOL WOMAN. - -Apropos the deliberation of Mr. Austin, there comes an incident from -southern Ohio illustrating how cool a woman may be in case of emergency. -A slave named Zach had escaped from Virginia and was resting and -recuperating himself in the family of a benevolent man in one of the -southern counties previously to pursuing his onward course, when one -evening the house was surrounded by his owner and a number of other men, -and the right of searching the premises demanded. The husband was much -agitated and appealed to his wife to know what was to be done. - -“Why,” said she, “let them in, and search the lower part of the house -first, and leave Zack to me.” - -“But I tell you, wife, the man can’t be got off without being caught.” - -“Don’t I know that? Do as I say.” - -The husband took her advice, and whilst he was leading a searching party -through the cellar and lower rooms of the house, she placed the fugitive -carefully between the feather and straw ticks of the family bed, and by -the time the posse reached the room she was composedly in bed as though -nothing unusual was transpiring. The result was that the search proved a -bootless one, and the whole party left, believing they had been -misdirected by some one bent on deceiving them. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - JACK WATSON. - - - I. - -Fifty years ago there lived in Caldwell County, Kentucky, a well-to-do -individual named Wilson. He owned a large estate, to which were attached -numerous slaves. Such was the character of the master that bondage sat -lightly upon them. Provident and indulgent, Mr. Wilson allowed his -people to do largely as they chose. To them the words of the old -plantation song, - - “Hang up de shubel and de hoe.” - -had much of reality. - -[Illustration: - - A SLAVE HUNT. -] - -Strangers came and went among them freely; they heard much of the ways -of escape northward, of which many from plantations surrounding them -availed themselves, but the bonds of affection were so strong between -Mr. Wilson and his people that no effort was ever made on the part of -the latter to escape. But things were not always to remain thus. In -1853, Mr. Wilson sickened and died, a circumstance which brought not -only grief but consternation to his “people,” for they soon learned they -were to be divided among the heirs. Jack and Nannie, a brother and -sister who had grown up on the estate tenderly attached to each other -and to their old master, fell to the lot of a drunken and licentious man -named Watson, who took them to his farm in Davies County, not far from -the Ohio River. Here, as common field hands, they were brutally treated, -and soon began to plan means of escape. Before these were consummated -the old cook died, and Nannie, who was of attractive form and manners, -was taken from the field to fill her place. This only added to the -degradation of her condition, for she was now continually called upon to -repel the lecherous advances of her brutal master. As a punishment for -this she was at length placed in close confinement from which her -brother succeeded in freeing her. They set out at once for the river, -hoping to escape, but were soon overtaken, brought back and so cruelly -whipped by Watson, that Nannie soon died from the effects. - -The sight of his lacerated, dying sister, the only tie that bound him to -earth, continually haunted Jack, and he vowed escape, and vengeance if -it were possible. His plans were carefully laid. In perambulating the -numerous swamps in the neighborhood whose outlets led to the river, he -had discovered a hollow tree broken off some twenty feet above the -surrounding water. By climbing an adjacent sapling he discovered that -the hollow within the stub would furnish a secure and comfortable -retreat, should necessity require. By divers acts of plantation civility -he had gained the confidence of “Uncle Jake” and “Aunt Mary,” an old -couple who sympathized deeply with him, and promised him any aid in -their power, provided it was such as “Massa’ll neber know.” All Jack -asked was that in case he disappeared, they should set the third night -after his disappearance something to eat on a shelf where he could reach -it, and every fourth night thereafter until it should, for two -successive times, be untaken. He also gave them in keeping a package of -cayenne pepper to be placed with the edibles. In his visits to the river -he had noted the fastenings of the skiffs, and had provided himself with -both a file and an iron bar which would serve the double purpose as a -means of defense and for drawing a staple. These he carefully secreted -in his prospective retreat, waiting only an opportunity to occupy it. - -Such an opportunity was not long in presenting itself, for one night the -master came home late from a drunken revel, and found Jack awaiting him -as ordered. Becoming enraged at some supposed act of disobedience, he -flew at Jack with an open knife. The hour of vengeance had come. Seizing -a hoe, with a single stroke Jack felled him to the ground, a lifeless -form. A moment only he waited to view the gaping wound—to compare it -with poor Nan—then gathering up a few things that he could, he was off -with the fleetness of a deer. Passing two or three miles down the -country, he entered the outlet of the swamp, and after passing down it -for some distance, keeping so near the shore as to make his tracks -observable, he struck in, directly reversing his footsteps, and before -the dawn was safely ensconced in his selected tower. - -Morning came and with it the knowledge of Watson’s death. The cause was -easily divined—there was the bloody hoe, and Jack, who was left to wait -his coming, was gone. Blood hounds and fierce men were soon upon his -trail. His course was easily traced to the brook, and his descending -footsteps discerned, but no trace of him could be discovered beyond -that. The greater part thought he had reached the river, and escaped to -the Indiana shore by swimming, at which he was an expert, or had been -drowned in the attempt. Others believed his footsteps only a decoy and -searched all the adjacent swamps, sometimes passing very near him, but -all in vain. Flaming posters, advertising him, were sent broadcast, and -slave catchers on both sides of the river were on the alert. - -On the second day a great concourse assembled at Watson’s funeral. There -were many conjectures, and much argument, and loud swearing about the -“nigger” who had done the deed, and as a means of intimidating the -weeping—none more so than Uncle Jake and Aunt Mary—chattels gathered -around, terrible things were promised Jack should he be caught. - -The services over, the crowd dispersed, and the next morning all hands -were set to work as usual. At night when all was quiet, Aunt Mary, whose -cabin was the farthest of any from the “mansion,” placed a liberal -ration of hoe cake and bacon, together with the pepper, upon the -designated shelf, and betook herself to the side of Uncle Jake who was -already resting his weary limbs in the land of forgetfulness. Shortly -after midnight a hand was thrust cautiously through the open window, the -packages were softly lifted, a little pepper was deftly sifted in -retreating footsteps, and in a short time Jack was safe again in his -water-shut abode, and when old uncle and auntie were talking of the -“wun’ful ang’l” that had visited the house that night, Jack was quietly -enjoying a morning nap. - -Several weeks passed, the excitement about Watson had measurably died -away, two successive depositions of provisions had been left untouched -and the good old couple knew “Dat de angel was feedin’ Jack no moa’, -like de rabens fed ol’ ’Lijer.” They were sure, “Jack am safe.” - -Taking his appliances, Jack had descended the outlet some distance one -starlight night, and then striking across the country, had reached the -river just below the little village he had been accustomed to visit -before the death of his sister. The finding of a skiff and the wrenching -away of the fastening occupied but a short time and at daylight he was -safely secreted in an Indiana forest. Knowledge previously gained -enabled him soon to put himself in charge of an underground official, -but instead of making direct for Canada he shipped for the Quaker -settlement near Salem, Ohio, of which he had heard much from a fruit -tree dealer before the death of Mr. Wilson, and ultimately, in the -quaint home of Edward Bonsall found a secure asylum, and in his -nurseries desirable employment, so far from his former home that little -disturbed his mind except the frequent recurring remembrances of his -slain master with the cruelly lacerated form of his sister ever rising -in justification of the summary punishment that had been inflicted upon -him. - - - II. - -In the autumn of 1856, Jack went with Mr. Bonsall to Pittsburgh. Whilst -walking along the street, he met face to face a half-brother of his late -master. At first sight he thought it an apparition and turned and ran -rapidly away, but not until he was himself recognized. So dextrous had -been his motions that he eluded the pursuit immediately instituted and -was soon among the hills beyond the city limits. - -Hand bills minutely describing him were again widely circulated, -particularly along the belt of country bordering the Pittsburgh and Erie -canal, as it was argued he would try and make his escape by that route -to Canada, and all the appliances of an odious law were called into -requisition to secure his apprehension. - - - III. - -Rap, rap, rap, came a knuckle against the door of Thomas Douglass, of -Warren, Ohio, in the silent hours of the night. Such occurrences were -not frequent of late at the home of the honest Englishman whose love of -justice and humanity had risen above all fear of the pains and penalties -of an unrighteous law. Hastily dressing himself, he inquired, “Who -comes?” - -“Ol’ Diligence,” a name recognized at once by Mr. Douglass as the -appelation of a colored conductor from Youngstown. - -“Hall right; wat’s aboard?” - -“Subjec’, Massa Douglass, and hard pressed, too.” - -“’Ard pressed his ’e? Well, come in.” - -The door was opened, a brief explanation followed, and Jack Watson and -“Old Diligence” were consigned to a good bed for the night. In the -morning his faithful guide, who had himself escaped from bondage many -years before gave Jack some money, a supply of which he always had in -hand, and left him with the emphatic assurance, “Massa Douglass am a -true man.” But Jack was hard to be assured, and when seated at breakfast -with the master machinist’s hands, he trembled like an aspen. - -Three gentlemen, Levi Sutliff, John Hutchins and John M. Stull had been -early summoned to devise the best means for forwarding Jack safely. The -two former of these had been long experienced operators; the latter was -rather a novice at the business. A few years previously, an ambitious -young man, he had gone south as a teacher, thinking little and caring -less about the “peculiar institution.” He had been in Kentucky but a -short time when a slave auction was advertised and his Buckeye -inquisitiveness prompted him to witness it. Two or three children were -struck off and then the mother, a well formed, good-looking octaroon, -was put upon the block. - -“Now, gentlemen,” said the auctioneer, a hard-shelled Baptist preacher, -“I offer you a valuable piece of property. She’s a good cook; can make -clothes, or handle a hoe as well as a man. She’s a healthy woman, -gentlemen, an more’n that, she’s a Christian. Gentlemen, she’s a member -of my own congregation.” - -The buyers crowded around. They examined her teeth, her hands, her feet, -her limbs as though she had been a horse on sale. - -Our spectator began to feel himself getting white in the face, and swear -words were rising in his throat, and he beat a hasty retreat.—John was -under conviction. - -A few mornings after our young teacher was wakened by the sound of heavy -blows and cries of pain proceeding from another part of the hotel. That -evening when Harry, the boy appointed his special waiter, came to his -room, Mr. Stull cautiously inquired who had been punished in the -morning. - -“Dat was me Massa. De ol’ boss gib’d me a buckin.” - -“What was the trouble, Harry, and what is a bucking?” - -“Why Lor’ bress you, Massa, dis chile slep’ jus’ a minit too long, an’ -de ol’ boss cum’d wid his ‘buck,’ a board wid a short han’l and full ob -holes, an’ he bent Harry ober, like for to spank a chil’, an’ o Lor’ how -he struck.” (Then lowering his voice,) “Say, Massa Stull, can you tell -de Norf star?” - -The boy had been all care, attention and manliness. The soul of the -teacher was fully aroused.—Stull was converted. - -Waiting the coming of these gentlemen, Jack had gone into the back yard, -and when they arrived he was nowhere to be found. A prolonged search -failed to reveal his whereabouts, and when at length night fell kind -Mrs. Douglass placed an ample plate of provisions in the back kitchen -and continued it for several weeks, hoping he might return, but no -_angel_ ever spirited a particle of it away. - - - IV. - -Years ago, even before Wendell Phillips, Abbey Kelley and others of -their school began to hurl their bitter anathemas at the institution of -slavery, there lived upon a far-reaching Virginia plantation in the -valley of the James a man who had taken a truly comprehensive and -patriotic view of the institution that was blighting the reputation of -his state, as well as impoverishing her soil. He had inherited his fine -estate, encumbered by a large number of slaves, and his soul revolted at -the idea of holding them in bondage. A man of fine physique, commanding -mien and superior intellectual endowments, John Young could not brook -the idea of eating bread that savored of the sweat of another’s brow, -and the thought of living amid the withering, blighting scenes of slave -labor and slave traffic was not at all congenial to his tastes. Casting -about, he soon found a purchaser for his broad acres. Before disposing -of his plantation, however, he made a trip into western Pennsylvania, -and in Mercer county, on the rich bottoms of Indian Run, made purchase -of an extensive tract of valuable land. Returning to the Old Dominion, -he at once concluded the sale of his estate, and vowed his intention of -going North. - -His friends were amazed at the idea of his becoming a “Pennymight” -farmer, and his people were thrown into consternation, as they expected -soon to be exposed on the auction block. The sallies of one class he -easily parried; the fear of the other he quickly allayed by calling them -together and presenting them with freedom papers. There was a moment of -silence, of blank astonishment, and then arose shouts, and cries, and -hallelujahs to God, amid laughter and tears, for this wonderful -deliverance. - -When the excitement had somewhat subsided the late master revealed to -them the fact that he was going north where it was respectable for a -white man to labor, and if any of them should ever come his way they -would see him chopping his own wood and hoeing his own corn, and that -they were now free to go where they chose, only they must see they did -not lose their papers. - -“Bress de good Lor’, Massa, we’ll go wid you to dat new plantashun and -be spect’ble too, and make light work for ol’ Massa.” - -Though foreign to the purpose of Mr. Young, he yielded to the -importunity of those he had manumitted, and soon there appeared on the -Pennsylvania purchase a spacious residence, built rather in the Virginia -style, and around it were grouped numerous, cabins, occupied by the -sable colony that had followed the Caucassian proprietor. The family -equipage was brought along, and Alexander Johnson always persisted in -being Massa’s coachman and driving him in state. - -The farm improved rapidly under the guidance of intelligence, aided by -paid labor, and John Young’s house soon became known as a hospitable -home, and to none more so than to the fugitive from bondage, for he -early became an influential agent on the great thoroughfare to Canada. - -Securing the aid of a few neighbors and friends, rather as a matter of -compliment than otherwise, Mr. Young had erected, at a convenient site, -a nice country chapel, now a Methodist church in which the writer has -been privileged to speak, and here the people of the neighborhood, white -and black, met for worship. - -The Sabbath evening service in this little church had closed and the -speaker, J. W. Loguen, an eloquent man, though a former fugitive from -slavery, but at that time pastor of a Baptist church in Syracuse, N. Y., -and largely engaged in the underground transit business, sat conversing -with Mr. Young, in the home of the latter gentleman, when Uncle ’Lec, as -the old coachman was familiarly called, entered and excitedly exclaimed, -“Mass Young, him am come, him am come.” - -“Who has come, Alec?” queried the host kindly. - -“Why, Massa, dat runaway wot de han’ vill tell bout, an’ him am fearfu’ -scar’ an’ no mistake, fo’ he say de catchers am arter him shua.” - -“Bring him in, Alec,” said Mr. Young, and in a moment more there was -ushered into the room a tall, muscular colored man, bearing evident -traces of white blood and answering fully the description of Jack -Watson. His story, other than what we have already learned, was that at -Warren, being suspicious of so many white men, he had gone out of the -back yard of Mr. Douglass and a short distance along the canal and -secreted himself until night in an old ware-house, still well remembered -as bearing the inscription, “Forwarding and Commission. M. B. Taylor & -Co.” In the evening he had struck out for Indian Run, of which Old -Diligence had told him. He had traveled all the night, but not being -able to reach his destination, had lain secreted during the day, and now -hungry and fearful he appealed to Mr. Young for food and protection, -both of which were readily accorded. - -After the cravings of appetite had been satisfied, a conference was -held, and it was decided that Jack should try and make Syracuse, after -which Mr. Loguen would assure both safety and employment. Owing to the -well-known character of Mr. Young and his attachés, and unmistakable -evidences of close pursuit that had preceded Jack’s coming, it was -further determined to forward him at once to “Safe Haven.” In accordance -with this decision the family carriage, an imposing piece of “rolling -stock,” soon stood at the door with ’Lec consequentially seated upon the -box. A moment later, Jack, Mr. Loguen, and stalwart John Young emerged -from the mansion, and as they took their seats in the carriage, Mr. -Young said: “Now, Alec, look well to your lines and remember the ‘Haven’ -is to be made before daylight.” - -“Yes, Massa, dis ol’ chile keep an eye to de lines, de road, an’ anyting -’spicuous, an’ rouse up ol’ missus long afor’ de chicken’ ’gin to crow,” -saying which, he gave a gentle chirrup and the carriage went rolling -away to the northward. - - - V. - -Whoever was accustomed, a third of a century ago, to travel over the -road from Warren, O., to Meadville, Pa., will remember a wayside inn, -whose sign bore in German character the euphonious name of -“Aughfeultwangher House.” The house itself, like its name, was of German -origin, a genuine example of a Dutch farm house, bespeaking both comfort -and thrift. The occupants were of the same name as the house, the -proprietor being an honest, quiet, well-meaning man, with no special -personality. Not so his better half, however. She was a character—a -decided personality. Kind and generous, she had a temper, which when let -loose became a very tornado. She was neat and tidy as a housekeeper, and -unexcelled as a cook. A regular embodiment of piety and profanity; of -sympathy and execration; of wit, repartee and scurrilous invective, her -very off-handedness made the house immensely popular with drovers and -road-men, and it was quoted from the prairies of the west to the Quaker -City itself; and many is the man who has traveled an extra five miles to -gain the hospitable roof of the “Awfultricker House,” as it came to be -called by those who failed to accomplish the German of it. - -As an illustration of the without and the within of the place, a little -personal experience is introduced. At the end of a bleak November day, I -found myself taking the advice of a friend and making an extra exertion -with jaded beast, in order to enjoy the hospitality of the -“Aughfeultwangher.” Knowing the reputation of the hostess I greeted her -with: “Well, Auntie, can you keep a stranger to-night?” - -Looking at me with a quizzical expression and evidently pleased at the -appellation used, she replied: “Dot is von long face to keeps all in von -house.” - -“O, well, never mind, I can let a part of it stay in the barn.” - -“Vell, I guess we growds es all in dem house,” and running to the back -door, she called out, “Fater, fater, here bist einer mann, unt ein pferd -vas Shineral Shackson rote. Nehms du es dem stolle vilst Ich das abend -essen for dem manne erhalten.” - -Obedient to the summons the host came at once, and took the wearied -beast, whilst I was ushered into the little bar-room, whose well-filled -box-stove was sending out a genial warmth, and away went the sprightly -dame to prepare supper, whose savory odors soon filled the house. - -Directly the door into the great family kitchen opened, and I did not -wait for a repetition of the hearty “Coome Meister, your supper bist -ready.” Entering, I found the room seated after the German style, and -was greeted with the sight of a great, open fire-place, with its -bake-oven and pot-hole attachment. Upon the table were rich slices of -ham, eggs, bread, such as only a genuine German woman can bake, and -other things in abundance. When I was seated and the good woman had -poured out a cup of delicious coffee, she took a chair opposite, and -after eying me a moment, inquired: - -“Vell, Meister, var from you come?” - -“From Ohio, auntie.” - -“You bist von Yankee, then.” - -“No, I’m a Buckeye.” - -“Von Puckeye! vas ish dat, eh?” - -“One born in Ohio.” - -“Unt vas your fater ein Sherman?” - -“No, auntie, but my grandfather was.” - -“O your grossfater. Vell, I tot dare vas some Shermeny blud; dot lickt -hair und blau eyes zint der sign, meister.” - -“Well, auntie, ’tis not bad blood, is it.” - -“O nein. Mein Got, es ist dot best, but das Yankee is shust so goot,” to -which of course I assented, with the remark that the two together are a -little better, thus causing the old lady to laugh outright. - -After a moment’s pause, in which there seemed to be a studying of what -tactics to pursue, she said, “Vell, meister, it bist none of my pisness, -but vas you stoon in das velt?” - -Wishing to make a fine conquest, I summoned what little German I could -muster and replied, “Ich bin einer school-meister.” - -“Got in himmel! du bist einer schulmeister, O Ich vish de kinder vare to -house—” - -Just then the host came in, and there was a rapid discharge of pure -German between them, the outcome of which was a passing of a very -pleasant evening, though the English on the one side and the German on -the other were both very broken, and when the hour for retiring came I -was escorted by the old couple to what was evidently the best room in -the house. Approaching the bed the hostess laid back a fine feather -tick, revealing sheets of snowy whiteness overspreading another, and -then with a feeling of conscious pride exclaimed, “Dot, Her -Schulmeister, is mine bester bett, unt do canst schlafen on der top, in -der mittel or unter das bett, shust as you bleze. Guten abent.” - -Such was the house, such were the Aughfeultwanghers, with the addition -of being Jacksonian Democrats of the straightest sect, the least likely -people, apparently, to have any sympathy with the underground work, yet -shrewd John Young, ever fertile in expedients, had approached this -couple, and as a result of the conference there was arranged a snug -little room over and back of the oven with the way of entry by the -pot-hole. This room was never to be occupied but by one individual, and -he was to be brought by Mr. Young in person, who was also to provide for -the taking away. In view of these facts he had christened the place -“Safe Haven,” and its existence, outside of the family, was known only -to himself, Alec and one or two others of his retainers and “Mose” -Bishop, a tall, slim man, residing at Linesville, having a perfect -hatred of creeds and cant, but an enthusiastic supporter of every cause -demanding sympathy and justice, and who on account of his Jehu style of -driving, was known along the _road_ as “The Lightning Conductor.” - - - VI. - -True to his promise, before the first cock had sounded the approaching -morn on that late October night, Alec reined up at the Aughfeultwangher, -and Mr. Young, alighting, rapped at the door, and all questions being -satisfactorily answered, Jack was admitted, and the carriage rolled -rapidly down to the little village at the foot of Conneaut lake, and at -the hotel breakfast was ordered for men and beasts. - -Having washed themselves, they were waiting the progress of culinary -processes in the kitchen, meanwhile regaling themselves by reading the -hand-bill advertising Jack, which was conspicuously posted in the -bar-room, when two horsemen, one a constable from Mercer county, rode up -and also ordered breakfast and feed for their horses. - -The constable and Mr. Young readily recognized each other, and though no -word was passed it was evident to each that his business was understood -by his neighbor, hence the breakfast passed in silence, and when his -bill was settled, the carriage of the ex-Virginian took a homeward -direction. - -No sooner was it gone than the constable remarked to Boniface, “I have -been after that turnout all night. When it started there was a -_passenger_ in it, answering to that bill there.” - -“You’ve been making the old fellow a close call,” said the landlord, -“but you’ll find him a hard one to handle.” - -“Yes; but if I could catch the nigger, the $500 wouldn’t come bad. We -have been close on his track for several days. We know he was at Young’s -last night but where in the d—— he is now is the question.” - -“Dropped somewhere, likely.” - -“Yes, _dropped_. Old Alec was too much for us, and we lost the trail. -From which direction did they come?” - -“From towards Meadville.” - -“Do you know any station that he could have touched?” - -“No, unless Aughfeultwangher’s.” - -“Awfultricker’s! ha! ha! Upon my life that is a bright idea. Why the old -woman would make even Young think the day of judgment had come if he -were to bring a nigger to her home.” - -“So I would have thought once, and so I am disposed to think now, but I -have sometimes thought his bland manners have overcome her Democracy and -that somewhere about the premises there is a station; yet ’tis all guess -work with me. I give you the information; if you, gentlemen, can make -$500 out of it, you are welcome to the fee.” - -After a short consultation between the constable and the stranger, a -regular catcher who had undertaken to capture Jack, they ordered their -horses and were off towards the Aughfeultwangher. - - - VII. - -Immediately on receiving Jack into the house, the good landlady supplied -him with an ample dish of provisions and removing the dye tub and other -obstructions from the pot-hole pointed him to her bed-room for “zingle -shentelmens,” and when he had disappeared, she replaced her pots and -kettles, taking care to place the dye tub in which the yarn for family -stockings were receiving its finishing tint of blue, in the very mouth -of the hole. This done she went about her morning duties and was thus -busily engaged when the two horsemen rode up, dismounted and came in. -After paying the compliments of the morning and taking a drink, the -constable inquired, “Has Mr. Young been here this morning?” - -“Mister Yoong, vat Yoong you means?” - -“John Young.” - -“Vat, dot Shon Yoong fon town in Merzer gounty?” - -“Yes.” - -“O ya, er trive up unt vater ees team.” - -“Was there anybody with him?” - -“O ya, dot black Alec alvays goes mit him.” - -“Did you see anybody get out?” - -“Nein.” - -“And he didn’t leave anyone here?” - -“Vell, shentelmens, dot is von great kweschon. You tinks I have von of -tem niggers pout here. You shall zee. Now, shentelmens, you looks all -apout; you shall shust go in te barn and dru dis house shust as you -blese. Den you knows if Shon Young leaves von black mans here.” - -So saying the old lady led them through the barn and all parts of the -house until the kitchen was reached. Here she bade them look into the -oven, and then that they might peer into the pot-hole she began removing -the dye tub, but in so doing was careful to spill a little of the -liquid. As the fumes spread through the room the catcher exclaimed as -they reached his olfactories, “O the d—l.” - -“Yes, der toiful, shentelmens, der toiful; you comes to mine house as if -de Aughfeultwangher wo’dt keep ein runavay nigger; you go dru, you go -unter mine parn; you goes indo mine pet rooms; you climps down into mine -shamber, unt you goes up indo mine seller, and now der toiful! You peest -tswi tam deeps, unt if you no go so gwick as von leetel minit, I sets -mine tok on you unt er makes you into sausage meat fore von hour. -Pounce! here Pounce, here!” and a great house dog came rushing into the -back door as the two runaway-seekers beat a hasty retreat, each catching -a glimpse, as he passed out, of the huge animal called to act as -judgment executioner upon them. Though foiled, they were not -discouraged, but transferred their place of watching to other parts. - - - VIII. - -Reaching home, Mr. Young immediately wrote Mr. Bishop, as follows:— - - “—o— —56—10—28—81. - - Dear—— ——, - - Piratical craft square rigged, but our wind was good and we _holed_ - the duck. (— — —) ‘Mine Got, mine Got, mine Got——for XXX——’ - Greeley’s advice. Day and night; day and night; day and night. With - an eye to foxes, let ’er slide. - - Yours, - - o——o” - -On its receipt, Mr. Bishop took the necessary precautions to execute the -contents of the letter, and on the third night proceeded to carry them -out, being not unaware of the fact that he was closely watched. - - - IX. - -Two men were standing in their respective doorways in the village of -Andover, Ohio, on a November afternoon. The one was a broad-shouldered, -full-chested man, with a flowing beard, a merry twinkle in the eye, a -kind of devil-may-care negligence in his appearance, with a physique -that betokened great power and endurance. This man had long been known -technically as “Thribble X” of station “1001,” at Gustavus, Ohio, from -which place he had migrated to Andover to proclaim the principles of the -Universalist faith, and was known among his people as Elder Shipman, or -more familiarly, “Uncle Charley.” - -The other gentleman was of slimmer build, sandy complexion, thoughtful -mien, and the very manner in which he handled his pipe would guarantee -that he was of “Hinglish stock.” - -As they thus stood, a buggy came driving from the east at break-neck -speed, and dashing up to the parsonage the driver exclaimed, “Elder, can -you do anything for this duck, for they’re after us hotter’n h—ll.” - -“Don’t you know there is no such place as that, Mose?” was the calm -reply. - -“Well, well, I’ve no time to discuss theological matters now; all I know -is if there is no such place, there ought to be a new creation at once -for the sake of two fellows that must already be this side of the -Shenango.” - -“So near as that? Set him out.” - -Immediately the colored man was bidden to alight, and whilst he and the -elder struck out for the woods a short distance to the southwest, the -buggy was turned and driven rapidly toward Richmond. - -Scarcely was it out of sight, when two horsemen came galloping into -town, and riding up to our English friend, who had been an interested -spectator of the little scene just described and was wont to express his -satisfaction of English laws by quoting, - - “Slaves cannot breathe in Highland; if their lungs - Received ’er hair, that moment they are free;” - -and inquired, “Stranger, did you see a buggy drive into town from the -east a short time ago with two men in it?” - -“Hi ’ave, gentlemen.” - -“Was one of them black?” - -“’E was, gentlemen.” - -“Should you think the other was the man they call Mose Bishop?” - -“Hi should, gentlemen.” - -“Which way did he drive?” - -“To the north, gentlemen.” - -“Thank you, sir, and good day.” - -“Good day, gentlemen.” - -Clapping spurs to their horses, the riders were away with a bound, under -the inspiration of the first genuine cry of “On to Richmond.” - -Reaching the proper point, Bishop turned eastward and dashed down -through Padan-aram, much to the surprise of the denizens of that -sequestered community, whilst his pursuers swept on to the Center, and -on inquiry at the village store, were blandly informed by the -proprietor, Mr. Heath, that there had been no buggy at all in the place -that day. Had Mose and the elder heard the _refined_ language that then -made the very atmosphere about Richmond blue, they would both have been -converts to the orthodox doctrine of sulphuric cleansing. - - - X. - -Watching the departure of the others, Shipman and his charge crossed the -road to the eastward, and were soon threading the woodlands bordering -the Shenango, and about midnight sought quarters at a friend’s of the -elder, not far from Linesville. Arming themselves with heavy walking -sticks, just before evening of the next day they set out for Albion. -They had not proceeded far before they saw they were to encounter four -sinister-looking fellows. “Now, Jack,” said the elder, “You have endured -too much to be taken back. I do not wish to pay a thousand dollars fine -nor go to prison for your sake. We may have to use these canes. Do you -understand?” - -“Yes, Massa, you can trus’ dis Jack.” - -A call to halt was answered by so vigorous a charge and such effective -use of the walking sticks that two of the challengers soon lay upon the -ground and the others beat a hasty retreat. Taking advantage of -circumstances the little train switched, and under the pressure of a -full head of steam reached the “Old Tannery” station near Albion before -daylight. - -The conductor was now on strange ground, but knowing there was an agent -in the vicinity named Low, he hunted him up and received such -information as enabled them to make a little clump of hemlocks on the -bank of a ravine not far from the residence of Elijah Drury, of Girard, -the following night. - -Farmer Drury was a stalwart, standing little less than six feet in -height, always ready for any good word and work, and had been for many -years engaged in the _transportation_ business. Always wary, however, he -was not to be deceived when, in the morning, our bewhiskered conductor -presented himself and asked for something to eat. - -“O yes,” said Mr. Drury, “I can always furnish a man, though a stranger, -something with which to satisfy hunger.” - -“But I want something also for a friend.” - -“A friend! What do you mean?” - -“I mean that I have a friend down yonder in the thicket, who is both -weary and hungry.” - -“Mister, do you know what I think?” - -“I am not a prophet, sir.” - -“Well, it is my opinion that you are a horse thief.” - -“Will you come down and see the last nag I trotted off?” - -Together the two men went down to the little thicket, and there the -Elder not only exhibited the passenger, but to remove all suspicions, -showed him the scars that indicated the floggings to which the slave had -been subjected, a sight which Mr. Drury often afterwards said came very -near making him swear outright. Thus commenced a friendship between the -two men long continued and fraught with many acts attesting the generous -nature of both. - - - XI. - -When evening came, time being precious, our conductor drew the reins -over Mr. Drury’s best roadsters, and about midnight deposited his -passenger at the doorway of an old-fashioned house, with gable to the -street, wing projecting northward, and a large elm tree nearly in front, -standing on Federal Hill, in what is now South Erie, and for the first -time XXX greeted officially a most redoubtable Keystone agent, known as -the “Doctor,” in those days one of Erie’s well-known characters. He had -gained some knowledge of herbs and roots, which he learned to apply -medicinally, thus acquiring his appellation, which he wore with great -satisfaction, soon coming to look upon all mere “book doctors” in great -contempt. He was accustomed to drive about town with an old brown horse -attached to a kind of carryall vehicle; always took his whisky straight -and in full allopathic doses, though he affected to despise the practice -generally, and prided himself on being the most _reliable agent_ in Erie -county. - -Into the Doctor’s private sanctum Jack was at once admitted, and -properly cared for for a number of days, until measurably recuperated -from his weeks of incessant vigil and solicitude, when he was taken in -charge by Thomas Elliott, Esq., of Harborcreek, and conveyed to -Wesleyville, four miles east of the city. Here, inasmuch as fresh news -was obtained of his pursuers, it was thought best to secrete him anew, -and he was therefore deposited in Station “Sanctum Sanctorum”—the garret -of the Methodist Church. - -Whoever passes through the village on the “Buffalo Road,” fails not to -notice this unpretentious little brick structure standing by the -wayside. Like most churches built so long ago, it has undergone various -remodelings. The “battlements” have been taken off; doors and windows -have shifted places, but within it is little changed; the seating below -and the three-sided gallery remaining much as of old. - -From the time of its first dedication onward, it has been the scene of -many a revival, and for years it was the “horn of the altar” upon which -the panting fugitive laid his hand, and was safe, for its use as a -“station” was known only to a “selected few.” - -[Illustration: - - OLD CHURCH, WESLEYVILLE, PA. -] - -At the time we speak of, a protracted meeting had already been begun, -for the bleakness of winter had early set in. The services were -conducted by Rev. Jas. Gilfillin, a sterling old Scotchman, who had -received a large part of his training in the collieries of his native -land, and before the mast as a sailor on the high seas, assisted by Rev. -William Gheer, a young man of timidity and all gentility of manner. The -interest was most marked, and crowds came nightly to listen, to weep, to -become penitents, not only from up and down the “road,” but from Gospel -Hill, and far beyond, bringing even grand old father and mother Weed, -who had assisted at the formation of the society over thirty years -before, from away up in the “beechwoods,” and with them Nehemiah Beers, -an exhorter, particularly felicitous in the construction of unheard-of -words and expressions. - -Under such circumstances Jack was deposited, early one morning, in his -rude apartment, measurably warmed by the pipe which came up from the -great box-stove below, and cautioned that he must keep particularly -quiet during the devotional exercises below. Here he remained for -several days, listening to the praises of new-born souls and the -hosannas of the older brethren during meeting hours, and then descending -and making himself comfortable in the well-warmed room when all was -quiet and safe. Indeed, so well did he play his part as fire-tender, -that the Chambers boys, who chopped the wood, which was hauled to the -church “sled-length” by the brethren, emphatically declared, as they -wondered at the marvellous disappearance of fuel, “It takes a power of -wood to run a red-hot revival, and we shall be glad when the meeting -closes,” and it required no little effort on the part of their father, -the main source of supply, to induce them to persevere in their “labor -of love.” - -Thus matters passed until Sunday evening came, when the interest of the -meeting seemed to culminate in a Pentecostal shower. The Rev. James -Sullivan, then a young man, preached a sermon of great eloquence and -power, encouraged by many a hearty Amen from Father Weed and the older -brethren, and the responsive hallelujahs of hale old Sister Weed and the -other “Mothers in Israel.” The sermon ended, men clapped their hands in -ecstatic rapture, and struck up that grand old revival hymn, - - “Come ye sinners, poor and needy,” - -whilst the old pastor rose in his place, and earnestly exhorted sinners -to come to the “mourner’s bench” and find pardon and peace, until the -feeling of excitement burst forth in one simultaneous, “Amen, hallelujah -to God!” - -The Spirit had reached the garret, and in the fervor of excitement Jack -forgot himself, and, “Amen, hallelujah to God!” came back in responsive -echo, sufficiently loud enough to attract the attention of those in the -gallery, who looked at each other in startled amazement. - -Down on his knees went Brother Beers, and in the midst of an impassioned -prayer, exclaimed: “O! Lord-ah, come down to-night-ah, and rim-wrack and -center-shake the work of the devil-ah.” - -Influenced more by the Spirit than the phraseology of the prayer, there -went up from the worshipping throng a hearty “Amen, and Amen!” - -“Amen, and Amen!” came down from above, only to increase the -astonishment of the crowded gallery, most there believing that an angel -hovered over them. As if in perfect accord with the surroundings, Parson -Gheer struck up, - - “Behold the Savior of mankind,” - -without waiting for - - “Nailed to the rugged cross,” - -the stentorian voice of the old pastor rang out, “Yes, He comes! He -comes!” - -“Yes, He comes! He comes!” shouted the embodied seraph in the garret, in -tones sufficiently loud to catch the ear of the sexton, who immediately -mounted aloft, as he often did to adjust the stovepipe, and though the -meeting continued for an hour longer, there were no farther angelic -demonstrations, yet some in the gallery long persisted that they had -that night been permitted to listen to seraphic strains. - -Before daylight Jack was shipped by way of Col. Moorhead’s and North -East, to Conductor Nutting, at State Line, and by him to Syracuse, where -he safely arrived and remained until the breaking out of the war, when -he went south and rendered valuable service to the Union cause, in a way -that may be told in due time. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - UNCLE JAKE. - - - I. - -Years ago, before the permanent organization of the Underground -Railroad, when the escape of fugitives was largely a haphazard matter, -there lived on the sacred soil of Virginia, back a few miles from -Wheeling, a pleasant, companionable man, owning a number of slaves, -among them one known as “Uncle Jake,” the happy husband of an exemplary -wife, who had borne him several children, some of whom they had seen -grow to manhood and womanhood, while others still remained with them in -the cabin. - -Uncle Jake was an expert mason, and brought his master large wages. The -latter, in the generosity of his heart, had stipulated that a certain -per cent. of these should be credited up to Jake for the purchase of the -freedom of himself and wife. When he turned his fifty-ninth birthday the -sum agreed upon was nearly reached, and the faithful man went out to a -job in Wheeling, with the full assurance that on his sixtieth -anniversary he and his hale old wife should go forth to the enjoyment of -the blessings of free people. Thus incited, his trowel was nimbly -handled as the days flew by. - -A little improvident and immethodical in his business, the master had -contracted large obligations, which he was unable to meet; his paper -matured; his creditors swooped down upon him simultaneously, and in a -single day he was stripped of everything. His slaves, with the exception -of Uncle Jake, who was purchased at a round figure by a neighbor who had -long coveted him, were sold to a southern trader, and on Saturday -morning, chained into separate coffles, the unhappy wife and mother, -with her children, forming one by themselves, whilst the father, -indulging in pleasant day-dreams of the future, was busily plying his -craft in one part of the town, were driven through another, down to the -river, and put on board a steamer for New Orleans. - -Evening came, and the week’s work ended, Uncle Jake started with a light -heart homeward. When he reached the neighborhood sometime after -nightfall, he was apprised by a friend on the lookout for him, of the -fate of the master—of himself and loved ones. Had a thunderbolt fallen -at his feet, he could not have been more shocked. Learning, also, that -his new master, a tyrannical man, was waiting his coming, he turned -aside to give vent to his grief. Had he been sold with the family he -could have endured it, for then there might have been a chance of -occasional meeting; indeed, he and his wife might have been sold to the -same plantation; but now they were gone—separated forever. Under the -blue dome of heaven, with the myriad stars looking down upon him, he -wept—wept as only a man can weep under such circumstances—until the -reaction came, when a lion-like manhood asserted itself in the laconic -expression, “Not one more stroke in slavery.” - -Arising with the clear-cut resolution to obtain his freedom or perish in -the attempt, he proceeded stealthily to his cabin, armed himself with a -large butcher knife and a heavy walking stick, and taking one last look -at objects, though humble, still dear to him, he set out with elastic -step towards the river. About one-half the distance had been gone over, -when he perceived himself pursued. He turned aside, hoping to secrete -himself, but in vain; he had been sighted, and was summoned to -surrender. - -To the challenge, he responded: “I am yours if you can take me.” - -The two men, his new master and an attendant, dismounted and hitched -their horses, thinking the conquest of the “cowardly nigger” would be an -easy matter. But not so. The man who for nearly three-score years had -manifested only the meekness of a child, was now endowed with the spirit -and prowess of a giant. A well-aimed blow of the bludgeon laid his -master a quivering corpse at his feet, and several well-directed strokes -of the butcher knife sent the other covered with ghastly, bleeding -wounds, fainting to the roadside. - -Mounting the fleetest horse, Jake made his way rapidly to the river, and -plunging in soon found himself landed safely on the Ohio shore. Taking -to a highway soon found, he followed the lead of the north star, and -just at daybreak turned into a woodland ravine, and spent the quiet -autumnal Sabbath watching the grazing of the faithful horse upon such -herbage as he could find, and in meditating upon the wonderful -revelations and events of the past twenty-four hours. - -Night clear and beautiful, came again, and Jake pursued his onward way, -and in the early morning turned his jaded beast loose in a retired -pasture lot not far from Salem; threw the saddle and bridle into a -ravine, on the principle that “dead men tell no tales,” and prospecting -about for some time, saw emerge from a farm house a broad-brimmed hat, -which he had learned was a sure sign of food and protection. Approaching -the Quaker farmer, Uncle Jake declared himself a fugitive, and applied -for food and shelter, which were freely granted. - -Tuesday the stage coach brought into Salem a hand-bill giving a full -description of Uncle Jake, telling of the killing of the master, the -probable mortal wounding of the other, and offering a large reward for -his apprehension. - -“Thee oughtest to have struck more carefully, friend,” said the Quaker, -when he had learned thus fully the measure of his protégé’s adventure, -“but then as it was in the dark, we may pardon thee thy error, but Salem -is not a safe place for such as thee. I shall take thee to my friend, -Dr. Benjamin Stanton, who will instruct thee as to what thee is to do.” - -Accordingly, when nightfall made it safe, the Quaker took Jake to the -house of his friend, who was none other than a cousin of Lincoln’s great -War Secretary, where having exchanged his laborer’s garb for a suit of -army blue, richly trimmed with brass buttons, a style of dress much -admired by colored people in those old days of militia training, and a -high-crowned hat, he was immediately posted off to the care of one -Barnes, residing on the confines of Boardman, bearing to him the simple -admonition, “It is hot.” - -Not appreciating the full merits of the case, Barnes took him in the -early morning and started for Warren by way of Youngstown. Here he was -espied by two questionable characters, who having seen the hand-bill -advertising Jake, and knowing the antecedents of Barnes, justly surmised -that the black gentleman in blue might be none other than the individual -for whom the reward was offered, and at once planned a pursuit, but not -until the eagle eye of the driver had detected their motions. Leaving -the main road, he struck across the Liberty hills. When near Loy’s -Corners he perceived they were pursued, and bade Jake alight and make -for some place of safety, while he would try and lead the pursuers off -the trail. - -In a land of strangers and without protective weapons save his knife, -Jake could do nothing more than to run up to a little wagon shop by the -wayside, in the doorway of which stood an honest Pennsylvania Dutchman -named Samuel Goist, and exclaimed, “Lor’ Massa, save me from the slave -catcher.” - -Now, Mr. Goist was a Democrat of the straightest sect, and had long -sworn by “Sheneral Shackson;” he had never before seen a panting -fugitive and knew nothing of secretive methods, but when he saw the -venerable, though unique form before him, his generous heart was -touched, and he replied: “Hite gwick in ter hay yonder till I cums,” -pointing at the same time to a last year’s haystack, into which the -cattle had eaten deep recesses. - -It was but the work of a moment, and sable form, blue suit and plug hat -were viewless in what the winter before had often sheltered the -semi-farmer’s choicest steer from pitiless storm. - -Scarcely was this feat executed when the Youngstown parties came up and -knowing the political complexion of the honest wagon-maker inquired, -“Halloo, old dad, have you seen a buggy go by here with a white man, and -a nigger dressed in blue, in it?” - -“Ya, shentelmen, py shimmeny; dot puggy vent py das corner ond yonder -not more as den minit aco, unt er vas _trifing_ das horse, py shingo. I -dinks you not oferdakes him much pefore Vorren.” - -With an expression of rough thanks, the men struck off under a full -gallop which carried them into Warren right speedily, but in the -meantime Barnes had watched his opportunity, turned off through Niles, -and pursued his homeward journey by way of Austintown. - -Turning from his shop when his interrogators were out of sight, Mr. -Goist called his good frou and said, “Vell, Mutter, I kes I haf lite -shust a lidel.” - -“Vot, you, fater, haf lite? O mine!” - -“Vell, Mutter, you zee von plack man comes along unt asks me him for to -hite, unt I say in dem stock; unt den cums sum mans fon Youngstown unt -says he ‘Olt dat, you sees von puggy mit nigger unt vite man goes dis -vay?’ Unt I say, ‘Ya, dot puggy vas kon py like a shtreak.’” - -“O mine, fater, das vas no liegen; you shust say dot puggy vas kon.” - -“Vell, if dot mans was Sheneral Shackson, I should him tell shust der -zame.” - -That evening Uncle Jake received an ample supper from the larder of good -Mother Goist, and was then placed in a wagon under a cover of straw and -conveyed close to the house of a Mr. Stewart near the corner of Vienna, -whom rumor had pointed out to the honest Dutchman as one of “dem -aperlishioners.” Here he was bidden “goot py,” and soon found his way to -the cabin indicated, whence in due time he was forwarded to General -Andrew Bushnell, a prominent anti-slavery man south of the centre of -Hartford. - - - II. - -Even at that early day, Hartford and Vernon had established for -themselves a wide-spread reputation for expertness in the _forwarding -business_. General Bushnell, on account of his age and experience was -looked upon as the acknowledged front of affairs, but his work was ably -seconded by many others, particularly by two young men, Ralph Plumb, of -Burgh Hill, and Levi Sutliff, who still resided with his parents in the -north part of Vernon. These young men were ever on the alert for daring -enterprise, but just now discretion was considered the better part of -valor, for slow as news moved, it was not long before the chase from -Youngstown to Warren became known in Hartford, and anti-fugitive eyes -became unusually vigilant about town, and it was whispered that the blue -suit might come that way and some one might pick up a handsome reward. - -For some days Uncle Jake was carefully secreted in a hay-barn, together -with a young man who had previously reached the General’s. Plumb and -Sutliff were so carefully watched, it was thought best to commit the -carrying of the twain to other hands—but whose should they be? - -Young Plumb had a sister Mary, about twenty years of age, the affianced -of Sutliff, and the General had a daughter bearing the same name a year -or two younger, both spirited, resolute girls, and ready for any good -work. When only fourteen, Miss Bushnell, in a case of special emergency, -had hitched up the family carriage, (a one-horse wagon,) and conveyed a -fleeing family from her father’s to the Sutliff home, a distance of -eight miles, encountering a fearful thunderstorm on the way, and -returning before the first peep of morning light. - -One day when conversing on the best way of disposing of the case in -hand, Ralph said: “Leve, suppose we commit this mission to the Marys; I -believe they will put the stock safely through to the lake.” - -“Capital,” replied his companion; “have you matured a scheme?” - -“Partially.” - -“What is it?” - -“Well your father is to have a load of hay of the General. Come along -with the team and I’ll help you get it. We’ll pack Uncle Jake and the -boy into the load, take Mary on with us and bring her down to our house, -there take on sister, and when the hay is in the Sutliff barn the rest -can be easily arranged.” - -“But will the girls consent?” - -“The Bushnell has been tried, and you are the last man that ought to -raise a question about the Plumb.” - -That afternoon the team of the senior Sutliff was driven through the -center of Hartford and to the hay-barn of Andrew Bushnell, where it was -duly loaded, the two choicest _spires_ being extended longitudinally a -short distance from the top. Passing the house, Mary was taken on and a -merry trio proceeded northward only to be expanded to a jubilant -quartette on arriving at the Hill. No suspicion was aroused, for those -were days when a woman’s worth and modesty were not lessened by her -being seen in sun-bonnet and shawl upon a load of hay. - - - III. - -One, two, three, ——, ——, ——, ——, ——, ——, ——, ——, twelve, went the clock -in the old, low Sutliff mansion; a light two-horse wagon, the bed filled -with hay as if covering a “grist,” was backed out of the barn; two -strong horses were attached; warm kisses were administered to ruby lips; -and a couple of well-wrapped female forms ascended to the seat; a -delicately gloved hand laid hold of the lines, and the team sped briskly -towards the “Kinsman woods.” - - - IV. - -Deacon Andrews, in the old farm house still standing on the brink of the -little ravine south of the hamlet of Lindenville, had put up his morning -prayer for the drowning host of Pharaoh, the Greeks, the Romans and the -Jews, said “Amen” and arisen from his knees, when his wife, looking out -of the window, exclaimed: “See, husband, there’s the Sutliff team; but -who is driving? As I live, if it isn’t a couple of girls, and all the -way up from Vernon so early as this! What can they want?” - -“Going to the ‘Harbor’ with _grain_, I presume; likely the men folks are -busy.” - -“But then I didn’t know the Sutliffs have any girls.” - -“Well, wife, likely they’ve hired the team to some of the neighbors. You -start the children out after chestnuts, quick.” - -There was a lively scampering of young Andrews to the woods; a hasty -breakfasting of girls and horses; a close examination of the sacks under -the hay to see if all was right; a pleasant “good morning,” and the team -went northward and the deacon to his work, mentally exclaiming: “Great -and marvelous are the works of the Almighty—and Plumb and Sut—” but he -checked the irreverent conclusion. - - - V. - -It was high noon at Jefferson, and Ben Wade brought his fist down upon -the cover of the volume of Blackstone he had closed, as he arose to go -to dinner, and ejaculated, “Who the d—l is that, Gid?” - -The pleasant, bland countenanced gentleman to whom these words were -addressed looked up, and there in front of the little office bearing the -unpretentious sign, - - “GIDDINGS & WADE, - ATTORNEYS AT LAW.” - -were two plump, rosy-cheeked girls, each engaged in hitching a horse. - -“Zounds, Ben, you ought to know your Trumbull county friends. It hasn’t -been so long since you taught school at the Center of Hartfort that you -should have forgotten the Bushnells and the Plumbs.” - -“The h—ll! I wonder if those two lasses can be the little Mollies I used -to enjoy so much.” - -“They are the Miss Bushnell and Miss Plumb I met at Sutliff’s a few days -ago, though I do not know their names.” - -The two attorneys, as yet unknown to fame, attended, without fees, to -the consultation of the young ladies, treated them and theirs to the -best fare of him who was afterwards well known in _Railroad_ circles as -“Anno Mundi,” and then sent them forward with a kind letter of -introduction to “Doctor” Henry Harris, the most likely man to greet -them. - - - VI. - -“Can you direct us to Dr. Harris?” said a sweet voiced girl to a trim, -quick-stepping, rather fashionably dressed young gentleman on the street -in the little village of Ashtabula, as she reined up a two-horse team. - -“Hem, ’em ’em, Dr. Harris? ’em, why, that is what they call me.” - -“Are you the only Dr. Harris in town?” - -“’Em, yes, Miss. What can I do for you?” - -The letters of the Jefferson attorneys was placed in his hands. - -“’Em, hem,” he exclaimed, after reading it. “_Freight!_ we can not ship -now; shall have to stow it in our up-town ware-house;” saying which he -led the way out to a country home, now occupied as a city residence, -where the freight was deposited in a hay-mow, whilst the kind-hearted -old Scotchman, Deacon McDonald and his wife most graciously cared for -the intrepid drivers for the night. - -The young man Ned was soon sent away, but Uncle Jake lingered in the -vicinity for considerable time. The winter of 1836 he spent at the -Harbor in the family of Deacon Wm. Hubbard, rendering valuable service -in “pointing” the walls and plastering the cellar of the house now -occupied as a store and residence by Captain Starkey. He is still well -remembered by A. F. Hubbard, Esq., whose father offered him a home in -his family; but Jake finally left and nothing is known of his subsequent -course. - -Of the two young ladies so intimately connected with this history, Miss -Bushnell ultimately married a Mr. Estabrook, and was for many years one -of the most esteemed ladies of Warren, O., and now sleeps in Oakwood -Cemetery near that beautiful city. The other joined her destiny with -that of her affiance shortly after that memorable ride, and a few weeks -since I stood in the little churchyard at Burgh Hill, shrouded as it was -in a far-reaching coverlet of snow and copied the following from a small -marble headstone: - - “MARY P. SUTLIFF, - Died March 1st, 1836. - AE., 23. - _First Sec’y of the Female Anti-Slavery Society of Vernon, A. D., - 1834._” - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - GEORGE GREEN, - OR CONSTANCY REWARDED. - -[The circumstances of the following narrative were partially written up -when secured by the author.] - - -“Do you believe you can succeed, George? It is a great undertaking.” - -“If we can not succeed, Mary, we can try. This servitude is worse than -death.” - -“But our master is very good.” - -“Yes, master is good and kind, and no harm shall come to him. But no -master is as good as freedom.” - -“But then the whites have all the power on their side.” - -“The whites, Mary! Who are whiter than we—than you and I? You the slave -of your own father; I sold from my mother’s arms that my features might -not bring disgrace upon a man of position. White folks, indeed!” - -“True, George, our lot is a wretched one, but then as you love me, and -as master and mistress are so kind, would it not be better to remain -quiet, lest we, too, are separated, and all our hopes for life -blighted?” - -“We are taking a great risk, Mary, but Nat says we can not fail. I -sometimes fear that we shall and I know the consequences, and will meet -them like a man, for I know you will love me still, Mary.” - -“Yes, George, but the love of a poor helpless slave girl can not -compensate you for what you may have to endure, perhaps for life -itself.” - -“Mary, dear as you are to me, liberty for us both or death in attempting -to secure it, will be a far greater boon, coupled with your love, than -to share that love, however fervent, through a life-long servitude.” - -“But, George, don’t you remember how often you have heard master and his -guests talk about those strange people, Poles and Greeks they call them, -and how they have struggled for freedom, only mostly to make their -condition worse?” - -“Yes, Mary, and I have heard them tell how they would like to go and -help them fight for their liberty. Then I have heard master tell how his -own father fought in the war he calls the Revolution, and didn’t the -Judge say in his speech last Independence that that is the day, above -all others, which proclaims that ‘all men are created free and equal?’ -Am I not a man, and should I not be equal to any one who calls himself -master and me slave? No, Mary, the die is cast and six hundred -slaves—no, men—will strike for freedom on these plantations in less than -a week. But there is the horn, and I must go.” - -The above conversation took place in the home of a Virginia planter more -than sixty years ago. The parties were young, less than twenty; both -white, both slaves, for the peculiar institution by no means attached -itself to the sable African alone. The fettered were of every hue, from -that of ebon blackness to the purest Caucassian white. Slavery knew no -sacred ties, but only the bonds of lust. Hence this strange gradation of -color, for as the master acknowledged nothing more than a conventional -marriage, so he held out no encouragement to the slave women to be -virtuous and chaste. The girl Mary was, indeed, the daughter of Mr. -Green, her master, and George the son of a high government official, his -mother being a servant in the Washington hotel where the official -boarded. The boy looked so akin to his father that he was early sold to -a slave dealer that the scandal might be hushed. From this dealer he was -purchased by Mr. Green, who was indeed a kind-hearted man and treated -his slaves with great consideration. - -Both being house servants, and thrown much together, an earnest -attachment sprang up between them. This was by no means discouraged by -master or mistress. Though they could neither read nor write, their -natural aptness and constant association with family and guests soon -imparted to them a good degree of culture and general information. - -The cause of the conversation above referred to was the revelation to -Mary by her lover of a plot on the part of about six hundred slaves of -the county of Southampton to rise in rebellion and obtain their freedom. -From any participation in it she would gladly have dissuaded him, though -in perfect sympathy with his feelings, but the proud Anglo-Saxon blood -and spirit of George were fully enlisted in the undertaking, and when -“Nat Turner’s Insurrection” broke upon the astonished planters there was -no braver man in its ranks than George. But six hundred slaves, -imperfectly armed as they were, could make but little headway. They were -soon defeated. Those who were not captured fled to the Dismal Swamp. -Here ordered to surrender, they challenged their pursuers. A furious -struggle ensued between the owners and their human chattels, men and -women. They were hunted with bloodhounds, and many who were caught were -tortured even unto death. Not until the United States troops were called -in, was their forlorn hope, struggling for freedom, entirely vanquished. - -Among the last to surrender was George. He was tried before a civil -court and condemned to be hanged. Ten days only were to elapse before -the carrying out of the sentence. - -Being a member of a Christian church, Mary sought and obtained, through -the influence of her mistress, with whom George had been an especial -favorite, permission to visit him in the jail and administer the -consolation of religion. Seated by his side but four days before the day -of execution, she said: - -“George, you made an effort for freedom against my wish, now will you -make another, one in which I fully accord?” - -“For me there is no hope. Whilst it is hard to part from you, I am not -afraid to die.” - -“If you are hanged, we must be separated, if you escape it can be no -more.” - -“Escape! how?” - -“Well, listen. You shall exchange clothes with me. Then at my accustomed -time of leaving you shall depart, and I will remain in your place. They -will not harm me, and so nearly are we of a size, and so close the -general resemblance, that you will have no difficulty in passing the -guard. Once without the gate, you can easily escape to the woods, the -mountains, to a land of liberty. May be——” - -“Never can I consent to this. These miserable men would wreak their -vengeance on you.” - -“Never fear for me, and may be when you are safe in Canada you can -provide for my coming to you.” - -“If it were possible, but—” - -The turnkey gave the signal for departure, and Mary arose and left. - -During the next day she carefully prepared a package of provisions and -hid it in a secluded place. The day was dark and gloomy, portending a -storm. Just at evening she presented herself at the prison door and was -readily admitted. Once beside her lover, she again importuned him to -make an effort to escape. At last he consented. It was but the work of a -moment to exchange clothing, to impart the necessary instructions with -regard to the provisions, to pledge one another to eternal constancy, -when the door opened and the harsh voice of the keeper exclaimed, “Come, -Miss, it is time for you to go.” - -It was now storming furiously. Weeping and with a handkerchief applied -to his face, as was Mary’s custom when leaving, George passed out and -the door immediately closed upon the innocent inmate of the cell. - -It was now dark, so that our hero in his new dress had no fear of -detection. The provisions were sought and found, and poor George was -soon on the road to Canada. But neither he nor Mary had thought of a -change of dress for him when he should have escaped, and he walked but a -short distance before he felt that a change of his apparel would -facilitate his progress. But he dared not go among even his colored -associates, for fear of being betrayed. However, he made the best of his -way on towards Canada, hiding in the woods by day and traveling by the -guidance of the pole star at night. - -One morning George arrived on the banks of the Ohio river, and found his -journey had terminated unless he could get some one to take him across -in a secret manner, for he would not be permitted to cross in any of the -ferry boats. He concealed himself in tall grass and weeds near the river -to see if he could not secure an opportunity to cross. He had been in -his hiding place but a short time, when he observed a man in a small -boat, floating near the shore, evidently fishing. His first impulse was -to call out to the man and ask him to take him across the river to the -Ohio shore, but the fear that he was a slaveholder or one who might -possibly arrest him deterred him from it. The man after rowing and -floating about for some time, fastened the boat to the root of a tree, -and started to a farm house not far distant. This was George’s -opportunity, and he seized it. Running down the bank, he unfastened the -boat and jumped in, and with all the expertness of one accustomed to a -boat, rowed across the river and landed safely on free soil. - -Being now in a free state, he thought he might with perfect safety -travel on towards Canada. He had, however, gone but a few miles, when he -discovered two men on horseback coming behind him. He felt sure that -they could not be in pursuit of him, yet he did not wish to be seen by -them, so he turned into another road leading to a house near by. The men -followed, and were but a short distance from George, when he ran up to a -farm house, before which was standing a farmer-looking man, in a -broad-brimmed hat and straight-collared coat, whom he implored to save -him from the “slave catchers.” The farmer told him to go into the barn -near by; he entered by the front door, the farmer following and closing -the door behind George, but remaining outside, gave directions to his -hired man as to what should be done with him. The slaveholders had by -this time dismounted, and were in front of the barn demanding -admittance, and charging the farmer with secreting their slave woman, -for George was still in the dress of a woman. The Friend, for the farmer -proved to be a member of the Society of Quakers, told the slave-owners -that if they wished to search his barn, they must first get an officer -and a search warrant. While the parties were disputing, the farmer began -nailing up the front door, and the hired man served the back door the -same way. The slaveholders, finding that they could not prevail on the -Friend to allow them to get the slave, determined to go in search of an -officer. One was left to see that the slave did not escape from the -barn, while the other went off at full speed to Mt. Pleasant, the -nearest town. - -George was not the slave of either of these men, nor were they in -pursuit of him, but they had lost a woman who had been seen in that -vicinity, and when they saw poor George in the disguise of a female, and -attempting to elude pursuit, they felt sure they were close upon their -victim. However, if they had caught him, although he was not their slave -they would have taken him back and placed him in jail, and there he -would have remained until his owner arrived. - -After an absence of nearly two hours, the slave-owner returned with an -officer, and found the Friend still driving large nails into the door. -In a triumphant tone, and with a corresponding gesture, he handed the -search warrant to the Friend, and said: - -“There, sir, now I will see if he can’t get my Nigger.” - -“Well,” said the Friend, “thou hast gone to work according to law, and -thou canst now go into my barn.” - -“Lend me your hammer that I may get the door open,” said the -slaveholder. - -“Let me see the warrant again.” And after reading it over once more, he -said, “I see nothing in this paper which says I must supply thee with -tools to open my door; if thou wishest to go in thou must get a hammer -elsewhere.” - -The sheriff said: “I will go to a neighboring farm and borrow something -which will introduce us to Miss Dinah;” and he immediately went off in -search of tools. - -In a short time the officer returned, and they commenced an assault and -battery upon the barn door, which soon yielded; and in went the -slaveholder and officer, and began turning up the hay and using all -other means to find the lost property; but, to their astonishment, the -slave was not there. After all hopes of getting Dinah were gone, the -slave-owner, in a rage, said to the Friend: - -“My Nigger is not here.” - -“I did not tell thee there was anyone here.” - -“Yes, but I saw her go in, and you shut the door behind her, and if she -wa’nt in the barn what did you nail the door for?” - -“Can not I do what I please with my own barn door? Now I will tell thee. -Thou need trouble thyself no more, for the person thou art after entered -the front door and went out the back door, and is a long way from here -by this time. Thou and thy friend must be somewhat fatigued by this -time; won’t thee go in and take a little dinner with me?” - -We need not say that this cool invitation of the good Quaker was not -accepted by the slaveholders. - -George in the meantime had been taken to a Friend’s dwelling some miles -away, where, after laying aside his female attire, and being snugly -dressed up in a straight-collared coat, and pantaloons to match, he was -again put on the right road towards Canada. - -His passage through Ohio, by the way of Canfield and Warren, was -uneventful, but at Bloomfield he was detained several days on account of -the presence of some slave hunters from his own state, and who had a -description of him among others. In this town is a great marsh or swamp -of several thousand acres, at the time of our story all undrained. In -the center of this swamp, Mr. Brown, the owner, had erected a small hut, -one of the very first special stations built on the Underground -Railroad. To this secluded retreat George was taken, and there remained -until the departure of his enemies, when he was safely conveyed to -Ashtabula Harbor, whence he was given free passage, by the veteran -agent, Hubbard, of the Mystic Line in Canada. Arriving at St. -Catharines, he began to work upon the farm of Colonel Strut, and also -attended a night school, where he showed great proficiency in acquiring -the rudiments of an education. - -Once beginning to earn money, George did not forget his promise to use -all means in his power to get Mary out of slavery. He, therefore, -labored with all his might to obtain money with which to employ some one -to go back to Virginia for Mary. After nearly six month’s labor at St. -Catharines, he employed an English missionary to go and see if the girl -could be purchased, and at what price. The missionary went accordingly, -but returned with the sad intelligence that on account of Mary’s aiding -George to escape, the court had compelled Mr. Green to sell her out of -the State, and she had been sold to a Negro-trader and taken to the New -Orleans market. As all hope of getting the girl was now gone, George -resolved to quit the American continent forever. He immediately took -passage in a vessel laden with timber, bound for Liverpool, and in five -weeks from the time he was standing on a quay of the great English -seaport. With little education, he found many difficulties in the way of -getting a respectable living. However, he obtained a situation as porter -in a large house in Manchester, where he worked during the day, and took -private lessons at night. In this way he labored for three years, and -was then raised to the position of clerk. George was so white as easily -to pass for Caucassian, and being somewhat ashamed of his African -descent, he never once mentioned the fact of his having been a slave. He -soon became a partner in the firm that employed him, and was now on the -road to wealth. - -In the year 1842, just ten years after, George Green, for so he called -himself, arrived in England, he visited France, and spent some days at -Dunkirk. - -It was towards sunset, on a warm day in the month of October, that Mr. -Green, after strolling some distance from the Hotel de Leon, entered a -burial ground and wandered long alone among the silent dead, gazing upon -the many green graves and marble tombstones of those who once moved on -the theatre of busy life, and whose sounds of gayety once fell upon the -ear of man. All nature was hushed in silence, and seemed to partake of -the general melancholy which hung over the quiet resting-place of -departed mortals. After tracing the varied inscriptions which told the -characters or conditions of the departed, and viewing the mounds beneath -which the dust of mortality slumbered, he had reached a secluded spot, -near to where an aged weeping willow bowed its thick foliage to the -ground, as though anxious to hide from the scrutinizing gaze of -curiosity the grave beneath it. Mr. Green seated himself upon a marble -tomb, and began to read Roscoe’s Leo X., a copy of which he had under -his arm. It was then about twilight, and he had scarcely read half a -page, when he observed a lady dressed in black, and leading a boy some -five years old up one of the paths; and as the lady’s black veil was -over her face, he felt somewhat at liberty to eye her more closely. -While looking at her, the lady gave a scream and appeared to be in a -fainting position, when Mr. Green sprang from his seat in time to save -her from falling to the ground. At this moment an elderly gentleman was -seen approaching with a rapid step, who, from his appearance, was -evidently the lady’s father, or one intimately connected with her. He -came up, and in a confused manner asked what was the matter. Mr. Green -explained as well as he could. After taking up the smelling bottle, -which had fallen from her hand, and holding it a short time to her face, -she soon began to revive. During all this time the lady’s veil had so -covered her face that Mr. Green had not seen it. When she had so far -recovered as to be able to raise her head, she again screamed, and fell -back in the arms of the old man. It now appeared quite certain that -either the countenance of George Green, or some other object, was the -cause of these fits of fainting; and the old gentleman, thinking it was -the former, in rather a petulant tone, said, “I will thank you, sir, if -you will leave us alone.” The child whom the lady was leading had now -set up a squall; and amid the death-like appearance of the lady, the -harsh look of the old man, and the cries of the boy, Mr. Green left the -grounds and returned to his hotel. - -Whilst seated by the window, and looking out upon the crowded street, -with every now and then the strange scene in the grave-yard vividly -before him, Mr. Green thought of the book he had been reading, and -remembering that he had left it on the tomb, where he had suddenly -dropped it when called to the assistance of the lady, he immediately -determined to return in search of it. After a walk of some twenty -minutes, he was again over the spot where he had been an hour before, -and from where he had been so uncermoniously expelled by the old man. He -looked in vain for the book; it was nowhere to be found; nothing save -the bouquet which the lady had dropped, and which lay half buried in the -grass from having been trodden upon, indicated that any one had been -there that evening. Mr. Green took up the bunch of flowers, and again -returned to the hotel. - -After passing a sleepless night, and hearing the clock strike six, he -dropped into a sweet sleep, from which he did not awake until roused by -the rap of a servant, who, entering the room, handed him a note which -ran as follows:— - - “Sir: I owe an apology for the inconvenience to which you were - subjected last evening, and if you will honor us with your presence - to dinner to-day at four o’clock, I shall be most happy to give you - due satisfaction. My servant will be in waiting for you at half-past - three. - - I am, sir, your obedient servant, - - J. DEVENANT. - October 23.” - - To George Green, Esq. - -The servant who handed this note to Mr. Green informed him that the -bearer was waiting for a reply. He immediately resolved to accept the -invitation, and replied accordingly. Who this person was, and how his -name and hotel where he was stopping had been found out, was indeed a -mystery. However, he waited somewhat impatiently for the hour when he -was to see his new acquaintance, and get the mysterious meeting in the -grave-yard solved. - -The clock on the neighboring church had scarcely ceased striking three, -when the servant announced that a carriage had called for Mr. Green. In -less than half an hour he was seated in a most sumptuous barouche, drawn -by two beautiful iron grays, and rolling along over a splendid gravel -road, completely shaded by large trees which appeared to have been the -accumulated growth of centuries. The carriage soon stopped in front of a -low villa, and this too was imbedded in magnificent trees covered with -moss. Mr. Green alighted and was shown into a superb drawing-room, the -walls of which were hung with fine specimens from the hands of the great -Italian painters, and one by a German artist representing a beautiful -monkish legend connected with “The Holy Catharine,” an illustrious lady -of Alexandra. The furniture had an antique and dignified appearance. -High-backed chairs stood around the room; a venerable mirror stood on -the mantle shelf; rich curtains of crimson damask hung in folds at -either side of the large windows; and a rich Turkish carpet covered the -floor. In the center stood a table covered with books, in the midst of -which was an old-fashioned vase filled with fresh flowers, whose -fragrance was exceedingly pleasant. A faint light, together with the -quietness of the hour, gave a beauty, beyond description, to the whole -scene. - -Mr. Green had scarcely seated himself upon the sofa, when the elderly -gentleman whom he had met the previous evening made his appearance, -followed by the little boy, and introduced himself as Mr. Devenant. A -moment more, and a lady—a beautiful brunette—dressed in black, with long -curls of a chestnut color hanging down her cheeks, entered the room. Her -eyes were of a dark hazel, and her whole appearance indicated that she -was a native of a southern clime. The door at which she entered was -opposite to where the two gentlemen were seated. They immediately arose; -and Mr. Devenant was in the act of introducing her to Mr. Green, when he -observed that the latter had sunk back upon the sofa, and the last word -that he remembered to have heard was, “It is she.” After this all was -dark and dreary; how long he remained in this condition it was for -another to tell. When he awoke he found himself stretched upon the sofa -with his boots off, his neckerchief removed, shirt-collar unbuttoned, -and his head resting upon a pillow. By his side sat the old man, with -the smelling bottle in one hand, and a glass of water in the other, and -the little boy standing at the foot of the sofa. As soon as Mr. Green -had so far recovered as to be able to speak, he said: - -“Where am I, and what does this mean?” - -“Wait awhile,” replied the old man, “and I will tell you all.” - -After a lapse of some ten minutes he rose from the sofa, adjusted his -apparel, and said: - -“I am now ready to hear anything you have to say.” - -“You were born in America?” said the old man. - -“Yes,” he replied. - -“And you were acquainted with a girl named Mary?” continued the old man. - -“Yes, and I loved her as I can love none other.” - -“That lady whom you met so mysteriously last evening is Mary,” replied -Mr. Devenant. - -George Green was silent, but the fountains of mingled grief and joy -stole out from beneath his eyelashes, and glistened like pearls upon his -pale and marble-like cheeks. At this juncture the lady again entered the -room. Mr. Green sprang from the sofa, and they fell into each other’s -arms, to the surprise of the old man and little George, and to the -amusement of the servants, who had crept up one by one, and were hidden -behind the doors or loitering in the hall. When they had given vent to -their feelings, they resumed their seats, and each in turn related the -adventures through which they had passed. - -“How did you find out my name and address?” asked Mr. Green. - -“After you had left us in the grave-yard, our little George said, ‘O, -mamma, if there ain’t a book!’ and picked it up and brought it to us. -Papa opened it, and said, ‘The gentleman’s name is written in it, and -here is a card of the Hotel de Leon, where I suppose he is stopping.’ -Papa wished to leave the book, and said it was all a fancy of mine that -I had ever seen you before, but I was perfectly convinced that you were -my own George Green. Are you married?” - -“No, I am not.” - -“Then, thank God!” exclaimed Mrs. Devenant, for such her name. - -The old man, who had been silent all this time, said: - -“Now, sir, I must apologize for the trouble you were put to last -evening.” - -“And are you single now?” asked Mr. Green, addressing the lady. - -“Yes,” she replied. - -“This is indeed the Lord’s doings,” said Mr. Green, at the same time -bursting into a flood of tears. - -Although Mr. Devenant was past the age when men should think upon -matrimonial subjects, yet this scene brought vividly before his eyes the -days when he was a young man, and had a wife living, and he thought it -was time to call their attention to dinner, which was then waiting. We -need scarcely add that Mr. Green and Mrs. Devenant did very little -towards diminishing the dinner that day. - -After dinner the lovers (for such we have to call them) gave their -experience from the time that George Green left the jail, dressed in -Mary’s clothes. Up to that time Mr. Green’s was substantially as we have -related it. Mrs. Devenant’s was as follows: - -“The night after you left the prison,” she said, “I did not shut my eyes -in sleep. The next morning, about eight o’clock, Peter, the gardener, -came to the jail to see if I had been there the night before, and was -informed that I had left a little after dark. About an hour after, Mr. -Green came himself, and I need not say that he was much surprised on -finding me there, dressed in your clothes. This was the first tidings -they had of your escape.” - -“What did Mr. Green say when he found that I had fled?” - -“O,” continued Mrs. Devenant, “he said to me when no one was near, ‘I -hope George will get off, but I fear you will have to suffer in his -stead.’ I told him that if it must be so I was willing to die if you -could live.” - -At this moment George Green burst into tears, threw his arms around her -neck, and exclaimed, “I am glad I have waited so long, with the hope of -meeting you again.” - -Mrs. Devenant again resumed her story: “I was kept in jail three days, -during which time I was visited by the magistrates and two of the -judges. On the third day I was taken out, and master told me that I was -liberated upon condition that I be immediately sent out of the State. -There happened to be, just at that time, in the neighborhood, a -Negro-trader, and he purchased me and I was taken to New Orleans. On the -steamboat we were kept in a close room where slaves are usually -confined, so that I saw nothing of the passengers on board, or the towns -we passed. We arrived at New Orleans, and were all put in the slave -market for sale. I was examined by many persons, but none seemed willing -to purchase me; as all thought me too white, and said I would run away -and pass as a white woman. On the second day, while in the slave market, -and while planters and others were examining slaves and making their -purchases, I observed a tall young man with long black hair eyeing me -very closely, and then talking to the trader. I felt sure that my time -had now come, but the day closed without my being sold. I did not regret -this, for I had heard that foreigners made the worst of masters, and I -felt confident that the man who eyed me so closely was not an American. - -“The next day was the Sabbath. The bells called the people to the -different places of worship. Methodists sang, and Baptists immersed, and -Presbyterians sprinkled, and Episcopalians read their prayers, while the -ministers of the various sects preached that Christ died for all; yet -there were some twenty-five or thirty of us poor creatures confined in -the ‘Negro-Pen,’ awaiting the close of the holy Sabbath and the dawn of -another day, to be again taken into the market, there to be examined -like so many beasts of burden. I need not tell you with what anxiety we -waited for the advent of another day. On Monday we were again brought -out, and placed in rows to be inspected; and, fortunately for me, I was -sold before we had been on the stand an hour. I was purchased by a -gentleman residing in the city, for a waiting-maid for his wife, who was -just on the eve of starting for Mobile, to pay a visit to a near -relative. I was dressed to suit the situation of a maid-servant; and, -upon the whole, I thought that in my new dress I looked as much the lady -as my mistress. - -“On the passage to Mobile, who should I see, among the passengers, but -the tall, long-haired man that had eyed me so closely in the slave -market a few day before. His eyes were again on me, and he appeared -anxious to speak to me, and I as reluctant to be spoken to. The first -evening after leaving New Orleans, soon after twilight had let her -curtain down, while I was seated on the deck of the boat, near the -ladies’ cabin, looking upon the rippled waves, and the reflection of the -moon upon the sea, all at once I saw the tall young man standing by my -side. I immediately arose from my seat, and was in the act of returning -to the cabin, when he in broken accent said: - -“‘Stop a moment; I wish to have a word with you. I am your friend.’ - -“I stopped and looked him full in the face, and he said, ‘I saw you some -days since in the slave market, and I intended to have purchased you to -save you from the condition of a slave. I called on Monday, but you had -been sold and had left the market. I inquired and learned who the -purchaser was, and that you had to go to Mobile, so I resolved to follow -you. If you are willing I will try and buy you from your present owner, -and you shall be free.’ - -“Although this was said in an honest and offhand manner, I could not -believe the man was sincere in what he said. - -“‘Why should you wish to set me free?’ I asked. - -“‘I had an only sister,’ he replied, ‘who died three years ago in -France, and you are so much like her that, had I not known of her death, -I would most certainly have taken you for her.’ - -“‘However much I may resemble your sister, you are aware that I am not -her, and why take so much interest in one whom you have never seen -before?’ - -“‘The love,’ said he, ‘which I had for my sister is transferred to you.’ - -“I had all along suspected that the man was a knave, and his profession -of love confirmed me in my former belief, and I turned away and left -him. - -“The next day, while standing in the cabin and looking through the -window, the French gentleman (for such he was) came to the window, while -walking on the guards, and again commenced as on the previous evening. -He took from his pocket a bit of paper and put it into my hand, at the -same time saying: - -“‘Take this; it may some day be of service to you. Remember it is from a -friend,’ and left me instantly. - -“I unfolded the paper and found it to be a $100 bank note, on the United -States Branch Bank, at Philadelphia. My first impulse was to give it to -my mistress, but upon a second thought, I resolved to seek an -opportunity, and to return the hundred dollars to the stranger. -Therefore I looked for him, but in vain; and had almost given up the -idea of seeing him again, when he passed me on the guards of the boat -and walked towards the stern of the vessel. It being nearly dark I -approached him and offered the money to him. - -“He declined, saying at the same time, ‘I gave it you—keep it.’ - -“‘I do not want it,’ I said. - -“‘Now,’ said he, ‘you had better give your consent for me to purchase -you, and you shall go with me to France.’ - -“‘But you cannot buy me now,’ I replied, ‘for my master is in New -Orleans, and he purchased me not to sell, but to retain in his own -family.’ - -“‘Would you rather remain with your present mistress than to be free?’ - -“‘No,’ said I. - -“‘Then fly with me to-night; we shall be in Mobile in two hours from -this time, and when the passengers are going on shore, you can take my -arm, and you can escape unobserved. The trader who brought you to New -Orleans exhibited to me a certificate of your good character, and one -from the minister of the church to which you were attached in Virginia; -and upon the faith of these assurances, and the love I bear you, I -promise before high heaven that I will marry you as soon as it can be -done.’ - -“This solemn promise, coupled with what had already transpired, gave me -confidence in the man; and, rash as the act may seem, I determined in an -instant to go with him. My mistress had been put under the charge of the -captain; and as it would be past ten o’clock when the steamer would -land, she accepted an invitation of the captain to remain on board with -several other ladies till morning. - -“I dressed myself in my best clothes, and put a veil over my face, and -was ready on the landing of the boat. Surrounded by a number of -passengers, we descended the stage leading to the wharf and were soon -lost in the crowd that thronged the quay. As we went on shore we -encountered several persons announcing the names of hotels, the starting -of boats for the interior, and vessels bound for Europe. Among these was -the ship Utica, Captain Pell, bound for Havre. - -“‘Now,’ said Mr. Devenant, ‘this is our chance.’ - -“The ship was to sail at twelve o’clock that night, at high tide; and -following the men who were seeking passengers, we were immediately on -board. Devenant told the captain of the ship that I was his sister, and -for such we passed during the long voyage. At the hour of twelve the -Utica set sail, and we were soon out at sea. - -“The morning after we left Mobile, Devenant met me as I came from my -state-room and embraced me for the first time. I loved him, but it was -only that affection which we have for one who has done us a lasting -favor; it was the love of gratitude rather than that of the heart. We -were five weeks on the sea, and yet the passage did not seem long, for -Devenant was so kind. On our arrival at Havre, we were married and came -to Dunkirk, and I have resided here ever since.” - -At the close of this narrative, the clock struck ten, when the old man, -who was accustomed to retire at an early hour, rose to take leave, -saying at the same time: - -“I hope you will remain with us to-night.” - -Mr. Green would fain have excused himself, on the ground that they would -expect him and wait at the hotel, but a look from the lady told him to -accept the invitation. The old man was the father of Mrs. Devenant’s -deceased husband, as you will no doubt long since have supposed. - -A fortnight from the day on which they met in the grave-yard Mr. Green -and Mrs. Devenant were joined in holy wedlock; so that George and Mary, -who had loved each other so ardently in their younger days, were now -husband and wife. - -A celebrated writer has justly said of women: “A woman’s whole life is a -history of affections. The heart is her world; it is there her ambition -strives for empire; it is there her avarice seeks for hidden treasures. -She sends forth her sympathies on adventure; she embarks her whole soul -in the traffic of affection; and if shipwrecked, her case is hopeless, -for it is bankruptcy of the heart.” - -Mary had every reason to believe that she would never see George again; -and although she confessed that the love she bore him was never -transferred to her first husband, we can scarcely find fault with her -for marrying Mr. Devenant. But the adherence of George Green to the -resolution never to marry, unless to his Mary, is, indeed, a rare -instance of the fidelity of man in the matter of love. We can but blush -for our country’s shame, when we call to mind the fact, that while -George and Mary Green, and numbers of other fugitives from American -slavery, could receive protection from any of the governments of Europe, -they could not in safety return to their own land until countless -treasure, untold suffering and anguish, and the life blood of half a -million men, had been paid as the price of the bondman’s chain. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - HOW SOL. JONES WAS LEFT. - - - I. - -During the decade of the thirties, and for years afterward, there -resided on an affluent of the Rappahannock, in Culpepper county, -Virginia, one Solomon Jones. Mr. Jones was the inheritor of an estate -with all that term would imply fifty years ago in the “Old -Dominion”—numerous slaves, the F. F. V. idea of domination of race, and -those false conceptions of right begotten of “chattel” ownership. Though -naturally possessed of many excellent traits of character, he was harsh -and unrelenting towards those who sustained to him the relation of -property. - -On the little stream running through his domain he had erected a grist -mill for his own accommodation and the profit to be derived therefrom in -doing the work of his neighbors, and in supplying adjacent towns with -the product of his mill; for Solomon had business tact and push far -beyond his surroundings and time. - -The business of distributing his merchandise was entrusted to a mulatto -named Sam, who traveled far and near in the discharge of his duties, and -being a shrewd, intelligent fellow, was enabled to pick up much valuable -information relative to the ways of the outside world. - -The estate also possessed a blacksmith in the person of a stalwart -negro, Peter, who rejoiced in no drop of Caucassian blood. The wife of -each of these men was respectively the sister of the other, but Dinah, -the wife of Sam, for some reason history has not recorded, was a free -woman, and both families were childless. This fact was not at all -pleasing to the owner of the plantation, and became the source of much -annoyance and abuse as the master saw less and less prospect of -replenishing his coffers from the sale or labor of a second generation. - -Stung by the continued upbraidings and base advances of “Old Sol,” as -Jones ultimately came to be called, the two families began seriously to -discuss the propriety of _emigrating_ Northward. The knowledge picked up -by Sam now became available. He had heard much in his journeyings of the -methods of escape, and the courses pursued, and having unlimited control -of the teams about the mill and a general acquaintance for miles away -was, consequently, deemed the proper person to direct the escape. Acting -upon his advice the women quietly laid in such a stock of provisions as -would suffice them for several days, together with so much of clothing -as was deemed indispensable. Thus equipped, one Saturday night, in July, -1843, the men saddled two of the best horses on the plantation and with -their wives mounted behind them set out and by daylight were far away -among the mountains to the northwestward. A halt was made for the day in -a secluded ravine where some pasturage was found, and again at night -they pushed vigorously on, putting two nights of fleet travel between -them and the plantation before their flight was discovered, as the -master and family were absent and none other had thought of inquiring -into their whereabouts. - -On returning to his home on Monday, Mr. Jones learned of the absence of -Peter from the smithy, Sam from his accustomed duties and the women from -the cabins, and the conviction flashed upon him that he was minus three -valuable pieces of property, and when the disappearance of his best -horses was ascertained, his wrath knew no bounds. A plan of search was -instituted, but before it was thoroughly organized, two or three more -days had elapsed. - -Meanwhile, the fugitives were making their way rapidly towards the Ohio -river which they crossed with little difficulty a short distance below -Wheeling, and were soon threading the hill country of Southeastern Ohio. -Arriving in Harrison county after the lapse of some twenty days, they -thought they might safely betake themselves to the more public highway -and to daylight. Here was their mistake, for on the first day of this -public exhibition of confidence, when a few miles north of Cadiz, they -looked back and a short distance in the rear beheld “Ol’ Massa” and two -or three men in pursuit. They betook themselves to the adjacent woods -and all but Sam succeeded in escaping. He, poor fellow, was captured and -lodged in jail at Cadiz whilst the pursuit of the others was continued, -but in vain; for avoiding every human habitation and moving only under -cover of night they pushed forward and reached the home of a Mr. -Williams, a Quaker, residing near Massillon, where Sam’s wife learned of -his capture, and bidding good-bye to the others, retraced her footsteps -slowly to her Virginian home, expecting to find her husband. Not so -however. - - - II. - -Immediately a portion of the people of Cadiz found a slave had been -incarcerated in the jail for safe keeping, whilst the master was in -search of others, they sued out a writ of _habeas corpus_, and there -being none to appear against the prisoner or show cause why he should -not be released, he was soon set at liberty by the judge. Grown wiser by -experience, he betook himself to the cover of forests, secluded pathways -and darkness and all trace of him was soon lost. - -After a vain search for the others, Mr. Jones returned to Cadiz only to -find that the official cage had been opened and that his bird was flown. -His imprecations upon the devoted town were terrible, but no damage was -done farther than shocking moral and religious sensibilities, and when -the ebullitions of his wrath had somewhat subsided he returned home, -where in a few days he was accosted by Sam’s faithful Dinah, whom he -most impiously rebuffed when she inquired as to the whereabouts of her -husband. - - - III. - -Infused with the hope of making a fortune out of the Morus multicaulis -speculation which spread as a craze over the country during the later -years of the decade, there came to Massillon, from the east, in 1837, -Cyrus Ford, a man of progressive ideas, who soon associated himself with -the Quakers of the neighborhood in acts of underground philanthropy. His -hopes with regard to mulberry riches failed, but his fears with respect -to the ague was more than realized, as he imbibed the dense malarial -exhalations arising from the Tuscarawas to such an extent as to shake -him in his boots, and in 1841 he abandoned the valley and settled -himself on a purchase east of what was then known as “Doan’s Corners,” -now East Cleveland, a short distance from where Adelbert College stands. -For years he resided in an unpretentious house situated just in front of -the site of the present hospitable home of his son, Horace Ford, Esq., -Euclid Avenue. - -One September morning, in 1843, young Horace had been started early -after the cows, but scarcely had he left the door when, in the early -dawn, he was hailed from the roadside. Approaching the caller he found -standing at the gateway the Williams turnout from Massillon, and on the -box the old gentleman’s son Ed, a young man about his own age. - -“What’s up, Ed?” said young Ford. - -“Not much. Don’t thee see the curtains are down?” was the reply. - -“O, ah, I see.” - -“Not exactly thee don’t, for them curtains are opaque, but there are two -persons within for whom, as we believe, search is now being made in town -yonder. Massillon was thoroughly searched, and it was not until last -evening we dared to start out. Thee and thy father must now provide for -the poor beings and see them off to the Queen’s Dominion.” - -Without further ceremony Peter Jones and Mary, his wife, were bidden to -alight and in a few minutes were safely secreted on the premises of Mr. -Ford. - - - IV. - -On Seneca street, in that early day, near the present site of the -criminal court rooms stood John Bell’s barber-shop, the more euphonious -term, “tonsorial parlors,” being then all unknown. John was a sterling, -wide awake darkie, and for years one of the _principal forwarding -agents_ in the growing city. To him during the day young Ford applied -for transportation for the arrival of the morning, but was informed that -matters were entirely too hot to undertake their shipment at that time, -but that he should wait until the third evening and then bring them in -promptly at nine o’clock and he would have everything ready for their -transfer. They were taken into the city in accordance with this -arrangement and in thirty minutes were out on the blue waters of Erie -duly headed for Canada. - -Scarcely three weeks had elapsed when the Williams’ establishment again -stood at the gate of Mr. Ford, this time having brought Sam who had -succeeded after weary watchings in reaching the Quaker settlement at -Massillon. He was anxious to tarry and wait the coming of his wife, who -he thought could be duly appraised of his whereabouts by letter. To this -end he gave young Horace the name of a friend to whom he could safely -write and inform her of his escape from jail and safe arrival at the -lake. Dr. Edwin Cowles, Jarvis F. Hanks and Cornelius Coakly were called -in to advise in the matter and it was unanimously agreed that Sam should -go forward, and if his wife could be found she was to be sent to him as -soon as possible. In accordance with this decision Sam went to Canada, -but much to the surprise of Mr. Ford returned in about three weeks, -almost frantic for the recovery of his wife. A second letter was -written, advising the unknown friend of Sam’s whereabouts. - -Awaiting an answer, Sam went to work for Mr. Ford chopping upon the -sloping hillside a short distance west of the site of the Garfield -Monument. He had been engaged thus about a month when the Williams -carriage again drove up, this time bringing Dinah, whose meeting with -her husband was of a most emotional character, manifested in shouts and -praises and thanksgiving to God, and choicest blessings called down upon -the head of Horace whose second epistle had reached its destination, on -receipt of which she had immediately set out on her long journey to join -him. In a day or two the twain were forwarded to Canada. Immediately on -their departure, the junior Ford mailed the following: - - “CLEVELAND, O., Dec. —, 1843. - - _Solomon Jones, Esq._ - - Dear Sir:—I have seen your chattels, Pete, Mary and Sam, safe off - for Canada. If I can serve you any farther, I am at your command. - - Truly, ——” - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - EDWARD HOWARD. - - - I. - -“I say, Ed, if you get away with me, it will have to be done soon.” - -“Yes, Massa Coppoc; da’s ’ginnin’ to spishun you right smart.” - -“I know that, Ed, and if you are ready to strike for freedom to-night, -we will see what can be done. If not, I must be off.” - -“Well, Massa, dis chil’ am ready. Him no lan’ to sell, no truck to -’spose of, no wife an’ chil’n to ’cupy his detention, an’ he ’queaths -his ’sitiashun to any one wat wants it.” - -“Very well, Ed, as soon as all is quiet, meet me at the shed in your -Sunday best; and now be off.” - -“Suah, sartin, bof, Massa Coppoc.” - -The above conversation took place about twenty miles back from Ohio -between a young Buckeye who was ostensibly vending some kind of wares -among the F. F. V’s., but really paving the way to that startling -episode at Harper’s Ferry, in which he, a few years later, played so -conspicuous a part; and a genuine descendant of Ham, after the real -Virginian type, quaint, ungainly, and standing about six feet six, and -rejoicing in the sobriquet, Ed. Howard. - -Coppoc had been some little time in the neighborhood, and the impression -began to prevail that his presence boded no guaranty of the retention of -movable property. This his shrewd eye had perceived, and his resolve to -rescue Ed. led to the above conversation, the conclusion of a series -that had transpired between them. - - - II. - -Eleven o’clock came, and with it a _black cloud_, which completely cut -off all sight of the twinkling stars from a man who stood pensively -listening, beneath an old shed that stood back on the plantation, and -from the cloud, “a still small voice saying:” “Is you heah, Massa -Coppoc?” - -“Here, Ed., and now follow me without a word,” saying which he led the -way to a pasture field where two fleet horses were soon bridled and -saddled, and the two men rode deliberately away. Once out of the -neighborhood their speed was quickened, and long before daybreak the -horses were turned loose a short distance out from Wheeling. Entering -the city they proceeded directly to the wharf, where a boat was found -just leaving for Pittsburgh. On this they took passage, as master and -servant, for Wellsville. - -Once in the latter place, Ed. was consigned to the shipping department -of the _Road_, and young Coppoc hastened to his home, near Salem, -conscious that confusion would likely follow as a result of last night’s -ride. - - - III. - -Daylight crept slowly over the Virginian hills, and when it was -ascertained that Ed. and the two best horses were gone, there was a -commotion indeed. A rally was at once made, and dogs and men put upon -the track, and about noon the horses were found near where they had been -turned loose, but no trace of the fugitives could be obtained for some -little time, owing to the hour in which they took the boat, but at -length some one reported having seen two such persons take the night -packet up the river. Taking advantage of the first steamer up, Ed’s -master hastened to Pittsburgh, where he learned of the debarkation of -his _property_, and returned to Wellsville on the first boat. - -In the meantime there had come down from the immediate vicinity of -Salem, a Mr. Pennock, a blacksmith, the owner of a small farm. Going to -the river town several times in the year for his supplies, Mr. Pennock -had fitted a long close box, opening in the rear, to his “running gears” -and in this the bars of iron were thrust, frequently of such length as -to project several feet. - -Now it so happened that the day after Ed. was left in Wellsville, Mr. -Pennock went in for a supply of iron. When he had made his purchase and -was about to return to his hotel, the dealer, who like Mr. Pennock, was -an underground man, said, “See here. Pennock, I’ve a _soft bar_ about -six feet and a half long, I’d like to send up to Bonsall.” - -“How much does it weigh?” - -“About one sixty, I’d judge.” - -“That will make me a deal of a load, besides I don’t see how it can be -done.” - -“You can leave that to me.” - -“Where is it; I’d like to see how it looks.” - -“No, that will not do. It is in Excelsior Station and the probabilities -are there will be vigorous efforts made to recapture it, so you must -‘eyes off.’ If you undertake the carrying I will see to the rest.” - -“All right.” - -That night there was made a little readjustment of the wagon box, some -hay and a blanket were placed on top of the projecting bars and there, -extended at full length, was the form of Edward Howard, when in the -early morning Mr. Pennock was ready to depart. - -Meanwhile his master had procured from a Virginia friend, a couple of -good horses and himself as an assistant, and entered Wellsville on the -morning of Mr. Pennock’s departure. After a half day’s fruitless search -with the aid of an officer, they became satisfied that the object of -their regard had been forwarded, so they took the road north. Overtaking -the old blacksmith with his iron rattling along, they enquired, “Have -you seen any nigger along the road?” - -“What kind of a one was he?” - -“Why a black one with a woolly head, tall and slim like a d—d yankee -bean pole.” - -“Well, gentlemen, I haven’t seen no such a one, indeed I have seen none -at all.” - -“Well, have you heard of any?” - -“I’ve not heard the word nigger since I left home, two days ago, until -now.” - -“Where are you from?” - -“Salem, and like enough you’ll find him there, for they say them -Bonsalls keeps a power of runaways.” - -“Well, we’re going up to see. Good day, sir.” - -“Good day, gentleman,” and each party pursued its way. - -That night Pennock stayed at the “Old Buckeye House,” New Lisbon, the -wagon was run into the barn, and at a proper hour the “soft bar” was -taken out and placed in the hay-mow, “to prevent rust,” as the -blacksmith facetiously remarked to his friend Boniface. The next day on -arriving home, he learned his interlocutors had preceded him some hours, -and were registered at one of the taverns as cattle buyers or drovers -rather, where young Coppoc had caught a glimpse of them, and informed -his friends of their real character. - -On the morrow the pseudo dealers called on a neighboring farmer and -desired to be introduced among the best stock raisers of the vicinity. - -“Thee had better be leaving these parts, gentlemen,” said the honest -Quaker, to whom the appeal was made. “If thee knows when thee is well -off, for thy errand is understood, and thee will have the Coppocs and -the Bonsalls down on thee in an hour, and I could not assure thy lives -for a moment when they come.” - -There was no parley, but two horses were headed southward, and none too -soon, for in a short time half a dozen young men armed to the teeth, -rode up and inquired for the strangers. When informed of their departure -they started in pursuit. Then began one of the most exciting races ever -witnessed in Columbian county. The pursued had smelled mischief in the -air, and away they flew, and after them the pursuers, dashing over hill -and across valley, occasionally catching glimpses of each other, until -the whole distance to the Ohio was passed. Reaching Gardiner’s Ferry, at -East Liverpool, the Southerners put their jaded horses aboard the boat -and were soon on the sacred soil of Virginia. When Gardiner returned the -other party was in waiting, but reluctantly took his advice to remain on -the soil of their native state. - - - IV. - -All apprehension of immediate danger removed, Ed., who, by the advice of -Coppoc, assumed the name “Sam,” remained quietly at Mr. Pennock’s for -some time, in fact, made it his headquarters for the winter, working for -his board and doing odd jobs, from the proceeds of which he purchased -some clothes and a long smooth-bore rifle, of which he was passionately -fond, and with which he practiced much, often repeating, “I shall put a -hole through the man suah, who comes to claim that ’wa’d,” for the whole -region from the river to the lake had been flooded with bills minutely -describing him and offering $500 for his apprehension. - -When spring fairly opened he made up his mind to seek the Queen’s -Dominion as rapidly as possible, and accordingly packed his few effects -in a bandana, threw “’Tection,” as he called his smooth-bore, across his -shoulder, and proceeded cautiously northward. - -Arriving at Warren, he sought the home of a colored family that had been -pointed out to him as a safe retreat. Approaching the door, he heard a -number of voices, which he recognized by the melody as being of his -kind, singing with great gusto: - - “Matthew’s saint - Without putty or paint, - And Joel’s a prophet, we know it; - Whatever they say - Don’t refuse to obey, - But shut up your eyes and go it,” - -words perpetrated by one John Morley on two distinguished local -politicians of the Democratic persuasion of the period of ’56, and very -popular as part of a campaign song. - -Fully assured by the style of the singing, Sam, the only name he now -recognized, made his presence known and was cordially received by the -colored brethren present, among them the _distinguished_ tonsorial -artist, Prof. A. L. C. Day, and Benjamin F. Scott, familiarly known as -“Old Ben,” a darkey whose cupidity and avarice knew no bounds. -Recognizing in Sam, as he believed, the Edward Howard of the hand-bill, -he began planning for the reward. - -Ascertaining what was up, Dr. D. B. Woods and Postmaster Webb, two -sterling Democrats, got possession of Sam and took him to a by-road -about two miles out of town, where they enjoined him to keep away from -the more public highways and proceed about twenty miles north where he -would find a colored man named Jenkins, in whom he could rely. - -Whilst the doctor and his friend were thus humanely engaged, the colored -brethren of Warren took Old Ebony out of town and so severely flogged -him that his back presented the appearance of a genuine plantation -administration. Determined to realize something for his time and pains, -the old sinner proceeded to the northern part of the county and palmed -himself off as a genuine fugitive, and so adroitly did he play the role -as to secure twelve or fifteen dollars before the counterfeit was -detected. - -As for Sam, he took the advice of his Democratic deliverers, and in due -time found himself under the hospitable roof of “Nigger” Jenkins, as he -was more commonly called, residing in the township of Mesopotamia, and -by him was forwarded to the home of Joseph Tinan, near the centre of -Rome. - -“Uncle Joe” was a famous agent in his day. Tall and imposing in -appearance, and of more than ordinary intelligence, he commanded -universal respect, and so pronounced were his opinions on the curse of -slavery that his home had long been recognized as “Old Reliable -Station.” By him Sam was cordially received, and his _arm_ carefully -inspected. Then the old gentleman would have Sam make an exhibition of -his skill as a marksman. So well did the efforts of his temporary ward -please him, that Uncle Joe was constrained to show him the armory of the -“Black String Band,” an organization that had then but recently sprung -into existence and having for its more immediate object the protection -of John Brown, should his arrest be attempted. The distinctive badge of -this band was a small black cord, used instead of a button in fastening -the shirt collar. Hence the name. - -The sight of the glittering barrels made Sam’s eyes fairly dance with -delight, and he exclaimed, “Massa Coppoc say thay’s gwine to be wah an’ -de cullud pussons will all be free.” - -“O no, Sam, there’s going to be no war. These guns are for another -purpose.” - -Little did Uncle Joe, well as he was posted, know of the ultimate plans -of Old Osawatomie. His dusky visitor was even a little in advance of him -with regard to what was already fomenting in Dixie. - -In the northwest part of Andover, Ohio, resides an old patriarch, -Jehaziel Carpenter, familiarly known as “the Deacon,” now numbering his -over ninety summers. For over sixty years he has tenanted on the same -farm, and his home has ever been one of the broadest hospitality, and to -none more so than to the panting fugitive. Just a little way off stands -the rather tall, old-fashioned country house of his former neighbor, -Garlic, whose language never betrayed the fact that he had any official -church relation. In fact we think his name, significant as it was, had -no place on the muster roll of the church militant, and yet he was -_game_ in many a hard fight for truth and righteousness. - - - V. - -Cleveland and vicinity was flooded with circulars, advertising a man, -wife and child, who had been traced to that city, and offering a large -reward for their delivery to the reputed owner. Friend and foe were -alike on the lookout. Efforts were making by the one to secure them a -passage across the lake, whilst the other was as assiduously watching -every vessel to prevent their escape. - -Thus matters stood when the man, Martin by name, looking out of an upper -window, espied his master among the passers by on Water street. This -being communicated to those who had them in charge, it was at once -determined the family should not be shipped by lake. - -That night, when all was quiet and still, a close carriage passed out -Pittsburgh street, and before daylight Martin and his wife were in safe -quarters near Chagrin Falls. Thence they were taken the next night to -the home of Mr. Cook, in Middlefield, and as rapidly transmitted by him -to a pious old deacon’s in Gustavus. - - - VI. - -Night had settled down over village and farm house; Deacon Jehaziel’s -evening prayers had been said and he was quietly dreaming of the time - - “When you and I were young, Maggie,” - -and Garlic, just returned from Jefferson, had turned his horse into the -pasture, when up to the door of each came a vehicle. Garlic at once -recognized the horse of the old Baptist Boanerges, Tinan, from Rome, -whilst the deacon was aroused by the quieter voice of his Congregational -brother from Gustavus. What transpired from this time until the city of -Erie was reached is buried in the tombs of Garlic, a Hayward, a Gould -and a Drury. - - - VII. - -In the township of Harbor Creek, Pa., east of the city of Erie, and a -short distance out of Wesleyville, was the farm house of Frank Henry, a -man of medium size, black hair, eyes of the same hue and sparkling like -diamonds, nervous temperament, quick, wiry and the soul of honor and -generosity. For a young man he was one of the best known and most -efficient conductor-agents in Western Pennsylvania. About midsummer, -1858, he received the following note:— - - ERIE, Pa., 51, 7, 5881. - - _Dear Frank_: - - The mirage lifts Long Point into view. Oooo. Come up and see the - beautiful sight. I can’t promise a view to-morrow. - - Truly, - - JEHIEL TOWNER. - -That evening found Mr. Henry early in the presence of Mr. Towner, -inquiring diligently as to the great _natural_ phenomenon which had -brought the land of the Canucks so distinctly to view. - -“Yes, yes, it became visible last night about twelve o’clock, when -Drury’s team came in from Girard bearing three fugitives. They are down -in the ‘Retreat Himrod,’ and must be put across the lake in the shortest -and safest possible manner, for parties in town are on the lookout for -them, as all are liberally advertised. I believe you are just the man to -undertake the transportation. Will you do it?” - -“Are they to go from the ‘Retreat,’ as usual?” - -“Not as usual. So close a watch is kept for them that it is thought best -to send them off and have them shipped from some point along the beach.” - -“There’s a big risk, Towner.” - -“Yes, a chance to pay a thousand dollars and see the inside of the -‘Western’ without charge. But you know you are to have nothing to do -with runaway niggers. I will just send you some ‘passengers’ to forward. -Shall they be sent?” - -“I shrink from no humanitarian work. Let them come.” - -A few preliminaries were settled and the parties separated. The next -night Hamilton Waters, a nearly blind mulatto, long a resident of Erie, -guided by a little boy, drove into Mr. Henry’s yard and unloaded a cargo -which the receiver thus describes: - -“The old man brought me three of the strangest looking passengers you -ever saw. I can, to-day, remember how oddly they looked as they -clambered out of the wagon. There was a man they called Sam, a great -strapping fellow, something over thirty years old, I should say. He was -loose jointed, with a head like a pumpkin and a mouth like a cavern, its -vast circumference always stretched in a glorious grin; for no matter -how bad Sam might feel, the grin had so grown into his black face that -it never vanished. I remember how, a few nights after, when the poor -fellow was scared just about out of his wits, that his grin, though a -little ghastly, was as broad as ever. Sam was one of the queerest -characters I ever met. His long arms seemed like wrists, his long legs -all ankles; and when he walked his nether limbs had a flail-like flop -that made him look like a runaway windmill. The bases upon which rested -this fearfully and wonderfully made superstructure were abundantly -ample. Unlike the forlorn hope who - - ‘One stocking on one foot he had, - The other on a shoe,’ - -he on one foot wore an old shoe—at least a number twelve—and on the -other an enormously heavy boot, and his trouser-legs, by a grim -fatality, were similarly unbalanced, for while the one was tucked in the -boot-top, its fellow, from knee down, had wholly vanished. Sam wore a -weather-beaten and brimless ‘tile’ on his head, and carried an -old-fashioned, long-barrelled rifle. He set great store by his ‘ole -smooth bo’,’ though he handled it in a gingerly kind of a way that -suggested a greater fear of its kicks than confidence in its aim.” - -Sam’s companions were an intelligent-looking negro about twenty-five, -named Martin, and his wife, a pretty quadroon girl with thin lips and a -pleasant voice, for all the world like Eliza in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She -carried a plump little picaninny on her breast, over which a shawl was -slightly drawn. She was an uncommonly attractive young woman, and I made -up my mind then and there that she shouldn’t be carried back to slavery -if I could help it. - -As there was close pursuit, station “Sanctum Sanctorum” was again called -into requisition, though as it was summer, no draft was made on the -church wood-pile. Here they were kept for several days, none knowing of -their whereabouts except two intimate friends of Mr. Henry, whose house -being under nightly espionage necessitated their assistance. - -Through Wesleyville runs a little stream, Fourmile Creek, to the lake, -and nearly parallel to it a public highway. From the mouth of this creek -it was proposed to ship the fugitives to Long Point, Canada, a distance -of some thirty-five or forty miles, but for some days the wind was -unfavorable. At length one dark and stormy night Mr. Henry received -notice that the wind was favorable and a boat in readiness. - -What was to be done? It would not do for him to take anything from his -house, that would excite suspicion; the same would be true if he went to -the houses of his friends. Bethinking himself of an honest Jacksonian -Democrat, a man with a generous heart, residing about half way down to -the lake, he decided to take a venture. Proceeding to the old church he -formed the little party in single file and marched them through the rain -to the door of this man, familiarly known as “General” Kilpatrick, a man -of giant proportions, and afterwards sheriff of Erie county. - -Rap, rap, rap, went the knuckles of the leader against the door, which -soon stood wide ajar, revealing the proprietor with a thousand -interrogation points freezing into his face that July night, as he -paused for a moment, one hand holding aloft a candle whilst the other -shaded his eyes as he peered out upon the wet and shivering crowd -gathered about his doorway, the very picture of dumfounded astonishment. -The situation was soon grasped; he hustled the party into the house, -gave the door a significant slam and in a pious air that would have -startled even Peter Cartwright, exclaimed, “Henry, what in hell does -this mean?” - -“It means, General,” replied Mr. Henry, “these are a party of fugitives -from slavery I am about sending to Canada; they are destitute, as you -can see, and closely pursued; their only crime is a desire for freedom; -that young woman and mother has been sold from her husband and child to -a dealer in the far South for the vilest of purposes, and if recaptured -will be consigned to a life of shame.” - -Meanwhile the woman’s eyes were pleading eloquently; whilst a dubious -grin overspread the entire of Sam’s ebony phiz, and the host looked -assumedly fierce and angry as he retorted, “Well, what the d—l do you -want of me?” - -“Clothing and provisions.” - -“You do, do you?” came back in tones even gruffer than before. “See here -you darkies, this is a bad job. Canada is full of runaway niggers -already. They’re a-freezin’ and a-starvin’ by thousands. Why, I was over -there t’other day, and saw six niggers dead by the roadside. More’n -forty were strung up in the trees with the crows feedin’ on their black -carcasses,” and turning to Sam, “_You_ better go back, d’ye _hear_! -They’ll make your black hide into razor strops ’nless than a week. I -paid a dollar for one made from a black nigger. They’re sending hundreds -of them across the sea every week.” - -During this harangue, Sam was shaking in his footgear and his eyes -rolled widely on the background of that inexpressible grin. His fingers -clutched convulsively his shooting-iron, and he evidently didn’t know -which to do, turn it upon his Democratic entertainer or keep his “powder -dry” for Canuck crows. The woman caught, through this assumed roughness, -the inner heart of the man, and though she shuddered at the pictures -drawn, and the possibilities of a grave in the lake, yet she preferred -that, or even to be food for the vultures of Canada, to return to an -ignominious servitude. - -Then came a strange medley: Blanket and hood—“there, the huzzy”—a basket -of provisions—“d—m me if I’ll ever help a set of runaway niggers, no -sir, it’s agin my religion”—off came his own coat and was hurled at the -astonished Sam with, “There you black imp, you’ll find ’em on the Pint -waitin’ for ye; they’ll catch ye and kill ye and skin yer carcass for a -scare-crow and take yer hide for a drum head, and play ‘God save the -Queen’ with your bones. Yes, sir, I shall see them long shanks converted -into drum-sticks the next time I go over.” - -All else being done, he thrust his hands into his pockets and drawing -thence a quantity of change bestowed it upon the woman, exclaiming, -“There, take that; it will help bury the baby, if you will go. Better go -back, you huzzy; better go back.” - -Everything ready, the party was shoved out, but as he passed over the -threshold, Sam’s tongue was loosened, and with the smile all the time -deepening, and the great tears rolling down his sable cheeks, he broke -forth: - -“Look ’e hyar, Massa, you’s good to we uns, an’ fo’ de Lo’d I tank you. -Ef enny No’then gemmen hankah fur my chances in the Souf I’zins in favor -ob de same. For de good Lo’d, I tank you, I do _suah_.” - -“Hist, you black rascal,” said the man in the doorway, “And see here, -Henry, remember you never were at my house with a lot of damned niggers -in the night. Do you understand?” - -“All right, sir. No man will ever charge you with abolitionism. If he -does, call on me. I can swear you denounce it in most unmeasured terms.” - -The rain had now ceased; the stars were out and the party trudged -rapidly down to the lake, caring little for the mud and wet. The boat -was found in waiting, and Martin and his wife had just waded out to it -when Henry and Sam, standing on the shore, had their attention attracted -by a noise, as the crushing of a fence-board, and looking to the -westward they saw a man sliding down the bank into the shadow. Old -“’tection” was immediately brought to aim, so exact that had Henry not -struck the barrel upward just as the trigger was pulled, sending the -ball whistling in the air, there could not have failed a subject for a -“first-class funeral.” The sneak took to his heels, Sam took to the -boat, and Henry stood long upon the shore peering into the darkness, -catching the rich, mellow tones of Mrs. Martin’s voice as she warbled -forth in real negro minstrelsy, interrupted by an occasional “’lujah” -from Sam as the boat receded, - - “There is a railrod undergroun’ - On which de negroes lope, - An’ when dey gets dare ticket - Dare hearts is full ob hope; - De engine nebber whistles - An’ de cars dey make no noise, - But dey carry off de darkies, - Dare wives, an’ girls, an’ boys.” - -Returning homeward, Mr. Henry traced the human sleuth-hound by his -footsteps in the mud, the nibbling of his horses where they had been -left, and the marks of his carriage wheels at Wesleyville where they -turned toward Erie, and were lost in the new made tracks of the early -morning marketers. - - - VIII. - -Time passed; the years of the war came and went; peace smiled upon the -country; John Brown and young Coppoc slept beneath sodded mounds, whilst -the soul of the former went “marching on,” and the genial, generous -Henry was keeping the lighthouse on the eastern extremity of Presque -Isle, at the entrance of Erie harbor or bay. Going over to the city one -day he received a letter bearing the Dominion post-mark. It was without -date, and with some difficulty he deciphered the following: - - _Dere Ser, Mistur Henri_: - - I’ze glad ter bee abul to rite ye. I’ze dun wel sens dat nite. I’ze - got a wife an’ chilin’. De lor sen me into de ile kentry bress him - and Sam make sum muni. I sen to yer a draf for 100 dollars gib fift - to de men in de bote an’ kepe 50 fo’ buks fo’ you one selfe tel de - kros man Sam feah no kro ’oz no razr strap, tank de lor. - - Your lubbin fren Sam, - - wo wuz EDWUD HOWUD. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - PLUCKY CHARLEY. - - - I. - -“Cha’ley, I say Cha’ley, a’ my chil’ns gone ’cept you, and Massa’s done -gone an’ sol’ you, and I’ll nebber see you ’gin in a’ dis bressed wu’l’, -nebber! nebber!” - -“Guess not, mudder; ol’ Massa promised you when he put de udders in de -coffle to keep me allus.” - -“Yes, Cha’ley, dat am so, but dis bery mornin’ I hear ’im tell dat -unspec’ble trader he’ll sen’ you to him Monday mornin’ shu’ah, an’ dat -he mus’ put yer in jail till he start de drove fur down de riber. May de -Lor’ help yer my chil’ when yer ol’ mudder’s ha’t am clean broke.” - -“De Lor’ help you, mudder; dis chil’ help hisself, so jus’ gib me my -dinnah, mudder, fo’ I mus go to de fiel’ to do Massa’s arran’ to de -boss.” - -Had the ear of the reader been present in the little back kitchen of a -fine plantation residence in Loudoun county, Virginia, in the autumn of -1855, the above conversation might have been heard between a colored -woman rather past middle life and her son, an athletic young man of -about twenty years of age, as they conversed in low tones. The woman had -long been the cook in the family and had lived to see her husband and -all her children except Charley, the youngest, sold for the southern -market, joined in the coffle like so many beasts and driven away. - -To alleviate her agony, she had been promised that Charley should ever -remain with her, and resting in this promise she had toiled unrepiningly -on, whilst the growing lad had been kept as a kind of boy-of-all chores -about the house, going occasionally, as a kind of body servant with his -master to Washington, Baltimore and Wheeling, thus being enabled, by -close observation, to pick up a little general knowledge. - -Thus things had passed until the morning of the day in question, when -she accidently overheard the sale of the boy, and with an aching heart -communicated the news to him as he came to the kitchen as usual for his -dinner. How earnestly her mother’s heart may have prayed that the Lord -would open up a way of escape for her darling boy no one can tell, -neither does it matter, for no sooner was the fact of the sale -communicated to him than the mental resolve of the youth was taken to -effect an escape. - -The frugal dinner was dispatched in silence, the mission to the field -duly executed and a prompt return thereof made, much to the satisfaction -of the master. - - - II. - -Night, sable goddess, had spread her curtain over earth, and the valleys -amid the Alleghenies were sleeping in quiet, when Charley, crawling from -his couch, so stealthily, indeed, as not to disturb the early slumbers -of his mother, crept softly to the stable, saddled his master’s best -steed, noiselessly led it to the public highway beyond the mansion, and, -turning its head toward the realm of freedom, mounted, and giving the -noble beast the rein, was soon moving with such velocity as to place -fifty miles between him and his master and mother by the time the first -gray tinge of morning began to break along the eastern hills. Hiding -deep into a wooded ravine he secured the horse for the day, and then -betook himself to sleep. At evening he unloosed the beast stripping it -of saddle and bridle, and then betook himself to the woods and by-ways, -shunning all towns and subsisting on green corn and such fruits as he -could find for a period of fifteen days, when, weary and forlorn, he -entered Wheeling just before daylight. An utter stranger, and almost -perishing with hunger, he knew not what to do, but seeing a light in the -bar-room of the City Hotel he resolved to enter, hoping to find some -attendant of his own race, to whom he could appeal for food and -assistance across the river. Instead of an attaché, the landlord was -himself already astir. Though residing on sacred soil and in many -respects a typical Virginian, mine host kept only hired servants, and -though in no wise disposed to discuss the merits of the peculiar -institution pro or con, he was often able to make wise suggestions to -the thoughtless or inconsiderate of both sections who might temporarily -be his guests. - -Once fairly within and under the scrutinizing gaze of this man, Charley -made bold to ask for bread. - -“Bread, you want, do you, you black runaway?” said the landlord rather -roughly. - -“I’ze no runa—” - -“Yes you are you black rascal. Come go with me and I’ll show you -something.” - -Instinctively following the footsteps of the landlord, Charley was led -to the stable where he recognized at once his master’s horse. Then the -man took a paper from his pocket and read a complete description of him, -and closed by saying: “You are this Charley and your master will give -$500 to any man who will return you.” - -Seeing he was caught, Charley pleaded, “O Lor,’ Massa, doan gib me up.” - -“No, I’ll not; your master is close at hand. Do you see that house -across the lot yonder?” - -“Yes, Massa, I sees.” - -“Well, you go there quick. Tell them I sent you and that they must take -care of you. Go right in at the back door. Be quick or you’ll be -caught.” - -With both heart and feet a-bound, Charley made for the designated place. -He found only a woman, sick upon her bed. Ere he had fairly made his -errand known, there was heard the sound of horses’ feet upon the street, -and looking out, Charley saw his master and another man coming at full -speed, and began to cry. - -“Get under the bed, quick, and keep perfectly still,” said the woman; a -command which was obeyed without questioning. Catching up her baby, the -woman gave it a tumble which set it to crying like mad. Just then the -master thrust his head in at the door and inquired, “Have you seen a -young nigger come in here?” - -“Hush h-u!” “Wah ka-wa!” “What did!” “Wha-ka wa wa!” “hush there—did you -say?” “Ka-wha wa wah.” - -“I say did”—“ka wha ka wha wa!” “did you see a young nigger come in -here?” - -“We wha ke wah wa!” “hush-t-h-e-re!”—“husband is”—“we wa wah!”—“at the -barn!”—“we wa ah!”—“he can tell you!”—“wa we wah ke wha!” and the door -was slammed to by the disgusted Southeron. - -Whilst the trio were hastening to the barn, Charley, in obedience to the -woman’s directions, hastily ascended a ladder in the corner of the room, -which he drew up, and placed a board in such a way as to obliterate all -appearance of an opening in the floor. - -The conference at the barn was short, and away went the riders up the -road in hot pursuit of a mythical nigger the man at the barn had seen -running in that direction not half an hour before. - -In a few minutes the husband returned to the house, milk pail in hand, -but entirely ignorant of what had transpired within. “What about the -boy, wife, those men were enquiring about? I supposed they were in -pursuit of some one, so I sent them up the road after an imaginary man,” -he said. - -“Well, I don’t know anything about your imaginary man, but I know about -the boy,” replied the wife. - -“Well, where is he?” - -“He went from under my bed up the ladder whilst the men were going for -you. Baby helped the matter mightily. Now you must carry the poor fellow -something to eat.” - -As soon as it was deemed safe, the ladder was let down, and Charley was -supplied with a hearty breakfast, and then bidden to make himself -comfortable for the day, a thing he was not slow to do, as he had slept -little since his flight began. When evening came, he was called down, -and after a bountiful supper, which was dispatched in silence, he was -taken to the road where three horses were standing. On one of these a -man was already seated; the second Charley was bidden to mount, and into -the saddle of the third his kind host vaulted. - -Moving around the town, they came to a road leading northward, Charley’s -feelings alternately ebbing and flowing between fear and hope, for, -notwithstanding the kindness of his host and hostess, he could but fear -that he was to be given up for the $500. - -Proceeding some distance up the river, the horses were hitched in some -bushes and the party descended to the river, where a boat was loosened -and Charley was bidden to enter. When all were seated, the little craft -pushed out into the stream, and soon Charley and his host stepped onto -the other shore. Going up the bank into a public highway, the man placed -in his hands some little articles of clothing and some bread, and then, -pointing with the index finger, said: “Yonder is the North Star; you are -now in a free state and may go forward; may God bless you; good-by;” and -before Charley, in his astonishment, could utter a word, he was gone. A -few moments the fugitive stood in a reverie which was broken by the -splash of the oar in the river below, and he awoke to the consciousness -that he was again alone. On the one hand was the beautiful river, whose -outline he could dimly see; on the other were far-reaching fields, with -no habitation looming up in the darkness, and above him was the star -bespangled sky, among whose myriad twinklers he looked in vain for the -one which had so recently been pointed out to him. Alas, the -defectiveness of his education! whilst others of his kind had been -diligent in securing a definite knowledge of this loadstone of the -Heavens, he had been happy in the discharge of the light duties of his -childhood home, never once thinking of flight until the fact of his sale -was broken to him by his mother, and then there was no time for -schooling. The dazed condition in which he now found himself from the -revelations of the past hour caused him to look up to the starry -firmament as into vacancy, finding nothing with which to guide himself. -At length he proceeded a short distance, but becoming bewildered he sat -down and soon fell asleep and dreamed that two men came and were putting -him in jail. His struggles and resistance wakened him, and he set out -and proceeded as best he could in the darkness. Just at daylight he -espied a piece of paper nailed to a fence. - -Approaching it he perceived it had upon it the picture of a negro -running, and in every way looked like the one the landlord had shown him -in the barn. Whilst standing thus before the picture, wrapped in thought -as to what to do next, he felt a hand laid upon his shoulder, and -turning saw a man with a very broad-brimmed hat and so peculiarly -clothed as he had never seen one before. He was about to run when the -man said: “Stop, friend, thee need not run. What have we here?” and -reading the bill, he at once remarked: “Why, friend, this means thee, -and thy master is ready to pay any man $500, who will place thee in his -hands. Come with me or somebody may enrich himself at thy expense.” - -There was something so kind and frank in the manner and words of the man -that Charley followed him to a retreat deep in the woods. Seeing that he -had bread with him, the stranger said: “Keep quiet and I will bring thee -more food to-night,” and immediately left. - -As was customary in other cases, hand-bills minutely describing Charley -had been widely distributed, and, of course, read by everybody, and it -being a free country everybody had a right to apply the information -gained as he saw fit. So it was that when Charley’s master crossed into -Ohio twelve hours after his chattel, and proceeded northward, he found -no lack of persons who had seen just such a person that very day. Even -our friend of the early morning described him minutely and had seen him -wending his way into the interior only a few hours before, bearing with -him a little bundle. As the route at this season of the year was -supposed to be towards Sandusky or Detroit, the pursuers were decoyed on -by the way of Carrollton, Allian and Ravenna towards the lake, by the -smooth stories of men who had seen him only a day or two before—but only -on paper. Wearied, however, they at length committed his capture to the -hands of the organized set of biped hounds which infested the whole -south shore from Detroit to Buffalo, and returned homeward. - -When Charley’s friend returned to him in the evening, he informed him of -the little interview he had had with his master, and that it would be -necessary for him to remain some time in his charge. He was consequently -taken to a more comfortable hiding place, and after the lapse of some -three weeks was forwarded by way of New Lisbon, Poland, and Indian Run, -to Meadville, and thence by way of Cambridge and Union to the parsonage -at Wattsburg. - - - III. - -The traveler who has been swept along on the Nickle Plate or Lake Shore -Rail Road over the Black Swamp country and onward through Cleveland, -Ashtabula and Erie, seeing little that savors of roughness, except -perchance the gulches about the Forest City, the bluffs at Euclid and -Little Mountain in the distance, would little think as he crosses the -unpretentious bridges spanning Six-Mile-Creek, east of Erie, that just a -little way back it passed through some wild and rugged country; yet such -is the fact. Down through a deep gorge come its crystal waters, whilst -high above them on its precipitate banks the hemlock has cast its somber -shadows for centuries. Into a thin, scarcely accessible portion of this -gorge came years ago John Cass, and took possession of a primitive -“carding works,” where he diligently plied his craft, rearing his sons -and daughters to habits of industry, frugality, virtue, and a love of -their little church, which is situated some two miles away on an -elevated plateau, which, from its largely Celtic population has acquired -the appelation of “Wales.” - -The little Celts of this rural community were very much surprised one -winter day to see their old pastor, Parson Rice, who resided at -Wattsburg, go dashing by the school-house with a colored man in his -sleigh. Never before had their unsophisticated eyes seen such a sight, -and what they that day beheld was the all-engrossing theme in the homes -of the Joneses, the Williamses and the Davises that night. - -As for Parson Rice, he kept right on down, down, until he reached the -carding works of his worthy parishioner, where the woolly head of -Charley was safely hidden amid fleeces of a far whiter hue. - -In this retreat he remained for some time, and was taught his letters by -the young Casses, William, Edward, Jane and the others. When, at length, -it was deemed safe to remove him, he was taken by Mrs. Cass to the -office of the _True American_ in the city. From this, after a little -delay, he was conveyed to the home of Col. Jas. Moorhead, who passed him -on to Parson Nutting, at State Line, by whom he was duly forwarded to -Knowlton Station, Westfield, New York. - -Though the temperature was below zero, it was again getting hot for -Charley, for vigilant eyes all along the line were watching for the -young nigger whose return to his master was sure to bring $500, and that -he had reached the lake shore was now a well ascertained fact, and -unusual activity was noticed among the kidnapping crew. - -It was a bitter cold day, with the snow flying and drifting, that Mr. -Knowlton’s spanking team of jet blacks, still well remembered by many a -Westfielder, came out of his yard attached to a sleigh, in the bottom of -which was a package evidently of value, as it was carefully covered with -blankets and robe. Under a tight rein the team headed eastward, and with -almost the fleetness of the wind passed Portland, Brocton, and turning -at the old Pemberton stand, in Fredonia, made Pettit Station. Here -Charley was made safe and happy for the night, and the next day was -landed safely in the Queen’s Dominion from Black Rock. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - STATIE LINES. - - - I. - -It was in the decade of the forties that an enterprising farmer, named -Barbour, of the Empire State, said to his neighbor, “Smith, I’ve a -project in my head.” - -“Nothing strange in that,” was the response; “I never knew the time when -you didn’t have one; but what is it?” - -“Well, you know I spent a few days about Washington recently, and I -believe there is money to be made in going into its vicinity and buying -up some of the worn-out farms and applying to them our agricultural -methods, and raising products specially for the city market.” - -“What can they be purchased for?” - -“Anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00 an acre, any amount of them. I tell you -there’s money in it.” - -“But it would be to ostracise one’s self. You know that there they -consider it a disgrace for a white man to labor.” - -“All right. All I propose is head work.” - -“How is that? Democrat as you are, I don’t believe you would go so far -as to invest in slaves.” - -“No, indeed. I am fully satisfied that slavery is the curse of the -South, yet it exists there, and I am bound to make some money out of it -and its fruits. You see the land has been rendered worthless by slave -labor in the hands of the masters, hence the extremely low price of it. -As a result of the deteriorated condition of their farms, the owners of -slaves are now hiring them out for wages which range much lower than -with us here in New York. Whilst loathing slavery in the abstract, I -confess I propose to use it for a while on wages, if some of my -neighbors will join me in a purchase, so we can have a little society of -our own. Will you take a hand, Smith?” - -“I’ll think of it.” - -As a result of the above conversation there were purchased in a few -weeks seven or eight worn-out farms in the immediate vicinity of -Washington, and in a short time they were occupied by as many sterling -families from Onondaga county, N. Y. Modern methods of agriculture were -applied, fertilizers were abundantly used, and though slave labor was -extensively employed the fields soon yielded luxuriantly, and everything -was at high tide with the newcomers, disturbed only by the twinges of -conscience at the employment of southern chattel. - -Among those who furnished these, was a Mr. Lines, residing just across -the Potomac, in Virginia. Of him Mr. Barbour hired a number of slaves, -among them a woman named Statie, nearly white, who was the mother of an -amiable little girl six or seven years of age, bearing a close -resemblance to the children belonging in the Lines mansion. This woman -had the privilege of hiring herself out on condition of paying her -master $10 per month and clothing herself and child. This she did -cheerfully, laying by what she could, under the hope of being able -ultimately to buy the freedom of her little girl, Lila, who was -permitted to be with her at Mr. Barbour’s where mother and child were -both very kindly and considerately treated. - -The excellent qualities of Statie as a cook having been noised about, -her services were sought for a Washington hotel where much higher wages -were paid than Mr. Barbour could afford and he advised her to go, as a -means of the sooner freeing her child, which was consequently -transferred to the home of her _owner_, where her services could now be -made of some little avail. - -At the end of a quarter Statie was permitted to visit home, where she -soon learned through a fellow slave that a dealer had been negotiating -for Lila and that at his return in a few weeks a price was to be fixed -and he was to take her. The heart of the mother was wrung with agony, -but the soul of the heroine rose triumphant and she went into the -presence of Mr. Lines with a smile upon her face and the cheery words, -“Here, Master, are your thirty dollars, and I’ve half as many laid by -for the purchase of Lila,” upon her lips. - -“Indeed, Statie, you’ve done well. It won’t be long till I’ll have to -give the little doll up if you go on at this rate.” - -“I hope not, master, for I long to see the darling with her free papers -in hand.” - -With a lying effort, the master replied, “I hope you may succeed, for I -would much sooner sell her to you than to any one else, and I shall wait -on you as long as possible.” - -Expressing her thanks for what she knew was a hypocritical promise, -Statie asked that the child might be allowed to accompany her to the -capital for a few days, a request readily granted by Mr. Lines that he -might the more easily avert any suspicion of his real purpose. - -Cutting short her visit, Statie soon started with her child for the -city, but walked several miles out of her way to lay her troubles before -Mr. and Mrs. Barbour, who were greatly shocked at the revelation. Though -depreciating anything in the line of _underground_ work, Mr. Barbour, to -whom Lila had specially endeared herself by her childish ingenuousness, -after a few moments reflection said, “Wife, you know I propose making a -journey across Pennsylvania soon to the vicinity of our old home. Will -there be any harm in my seeing that Lila gets there?” - -“No, husband; and you have my permission to see that Statie goes too. I -don’t think your politics ought to cripple your humanity, much less your -religion. _Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you._” - -Mr. Barbour’s mind was soon made up, and Statie was dismissed with -instructions to meet him on a by-road a little way out from the old -north burial ground soon after dark on the Wednesday evening following. - -In arranging for his proposed trip, Mr. Barbour had provided himself -with a good team and a “Jersey wagon” well covered with oil cloth, -supported by bows. In this wagon he placed a high box so cut down in -front as to furnish a seat for himself, and so arranged that a person -could sit upright in the hinder part with feet projecting forward. To -the rear of this box, were attached doors, secured by a padlock whilst a -good supply of straw, clothing and provisions were placed within. When -all else was ready, the Jersey was labeled “Clocks,” and Wednesday night -Mr. Barbour drove out to the point of rendezvous where Statie and Lila -were found waiting, they were immediately placed in their extemporized -_retreat_ and the unique emancipation car moved northward across the -hills of Maryland at a rapid rate. - - - II. - -It was court time in Warsaw, N. Y., and a large number of people were -gathered about the principal hotel when a man holding the reins over a -spanking team drove up and ordered accommodations for the team and -himself. Beckoning the hostler forward he proceeded with the team. As he -passed, a bystander remarked, “A right, royal team, that.” - -“Pretty good for a peddler,” remarked another. - -“Do you call that man a peddler?” queried a third. - -“Didn’t you see ‘Clocks’ on the cover?” came back from No. 2. - -“No, indeed,” was the reply, “I was too intent in looking upon the -horses to notice anything else. Some down easter I suppose; sold out his -load over among the pennymights, and is now on his way home likely.” - -Breakfast over the traveler inquired of the landlord if he knew one Col. -C. O. Shepard, of Attica. - -“Very well,” was the reply, “he is here attending court.” - -“I shall be glad to see him. As he is a stranger to me, you will please -call him in.” - -The Colonel soon appeared when the stranger said, “This is Col. Shepard, -I believe.” - -“Shepard is my name, but I have not the honor of knowing you, sir.” - -“It is not essential that you should; to me it is politic you should -not. I wish to make a little consignment to you,” saying which he led -the way to the barn, followed by the Colonel and a number of -by-standers, where he opened a box in his vehicle from which emerged a -well-formed octaroon woman of some thirty summers and a sprightly girl, -white as any in the homes of Warsaw. At the sight of these there went up -a rousing three times three, at the conclusion of which the stranger -said, “These, gentlemen, are what among my neighbors are called chattel -and treated as such, and that with my tacit endorsement, at least. Ten -days ago if any man had told me I would assist one to escape, I should -have laughed him to scorn; but when this poor woman who had worked -faithfully in my family to earn the wherewith to buy the freedom of her -own flesh and blood, which, against honied professions to the contrary -from him who should have been the innocent one’s firmest protector, was -about to be sold into an ignominious servitude, came to me and pleaded -for the deliverance of her child and my wife quoted, ‘Do unto others as -ye would that they should do unto you,’ my sense of right and humanity -rose above all political antecedents and predilections and here I am. -Since leaving the Potomac, no human eye has looked upon these beings but -mine until this moment. My affiliations and the fact it was well known I -was coming north on business will shield me from suspicion, therefore -ask no questions. To the direct care of Colonel Shepard, of whom the -slave-owners in Dixie well know and to the protection of you all, I now -consign them, trusting that no _master’s_ hand shall ever again be laid -upon them.” - -There was again vociferous cheering, at the conclusion of which Col. -Shepard said, “We accept the charge and I ask as a special favor that -you give me the box in which you have brought them thus far on their -way, as a kind of memento,” a request that was readily acceded to, and -in a few minutes a Jersey wagon labeled “Clocks” was speeding rapidly -eastward, whilst in a day or two the box and its former occupants were -taken triumphantly to Attica, the home of Col. Shepard. - - - III. - -The time was when every person holding an office under the general -government was supposed to be in sympathy with the slave power and ready -to obey its behests, an idea somewhat erroneous. It was under such -impressions that two strangers rode up to the post-office in the village -of Attica and inquired for the postmaster. On that functionary’s -presenting himself they inquired if he knew anything of a slave woman, -nearly white, with her little girl, being in the neighborhood, as such -persons had recently escaped from the vicinity of Washington, and were -believed by them to be in the immediate vicinity. - -The postmaster invited them to alight and come inside, which being -complied with, he said, “Gentlemen, the persons you seek are within a -half mile of you, but though I might under some circumstances be willing -to assist you, my advice is, let them alone. Every man, woman and child -in the town is ready to protect them. You can not raise men enough in -this county to secure their apprehension. I see by the commotion in the -street the people are apprehensive of mischief. Such a thing as an -abduction has never been attempted here, and if you are wise you will -not attempt one now. Indeed I would not like to guarantee your limbs or -life fifteen minutes longer.” - -Beholding the commotion, the would-be kidnappers quickly mounted their -horses and rode silently out of town, no demonstration being made by the -multitude until the meddlers reached the bridge, when cheer on cheer -arose, causing them to put spurs to their horses and get quickly out of -sight, notwithstanding their threats to secure their prey, a thing they -never attempted. - -Statie died within two years after her escape; Col. Shepard long kept -the box in which she was brought off as the only “through car” he had -ever seen; Lila is still a resident of the Empire State, whilst Mr. -Barbour, having disposed of his real estate sought a clime more -congenial to his sense of justice and humanity. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - GEORGE GRAY. - - - I. - -“My deah chile, ’tis too bad.” - -“Too bad, mother! I tell you I’s agoin’ to run away. Ole Massa can’t -whip dis chile no moah. I’d rather be shot or hab the dogs tear me to -pieces.” - -“Hush, chile, hush! you’ll break your ole mudder’s heart, ’cause it’s -a’most done gone smashed afore, an’ now she knows you can neber, neber, -get across the big river an’ de great lake. I tell yer, chile, you -better stay wid ole mas’r if em do whip.” - -“Mother, my mine is made up. Massa Jones hab whipped George Gray for de -las time. I hate to leave you, mother, but then I’s agoin’. Some day de -Massa’ll sell me as he did father an’ de res’ of us down South, an’ then -you shall see George no moah, an’ I’d hab no blessed chance for ’scape, -so now I’s goin’ for freedom or I’s goin’ to die. I say ole massa can’t -whip me no moah.” - -“De will ob de Lor’ be done, chile; but how is you agoin’ to do it?” - -“I’ll tell you mother, ole Massa’ll neber s’pec’ you. He’ll neber look -for George ’bout dis shanty. So I’s agoin’ down to de river an’ cross -down in de skiff, den I goes to de swamp an’ comes carefully back an’ -crawls under your bed. When Massa misses me, you can tell him I’s runned -away, an’ he’ll start the horses an’ the men for de swamp, an’ for two -or three days they’ll hunt for George there jus’ as they did for Uncle -Pete; den Massa’ll put me in de papers as a runaway nigger, an’ then -when all is ober heah I’s comin’ out an’ goin’ at de river an’ cross de -mountins till I gits to Canidy.” - -“De bressed Lor’, an’ doan yer s’pec’ ole Massa’ll hunt dis shanty -frough an’ frough, chile?” - -“Ole Massa’ll never s’pec’ you, mother; you’s been wid him too long. He -never whipped you, an’ when he comes in de mornin’, for to inquire, you -mus’ be prayin’; prayin’ for me that I may be cotched.” - -“Bress de Lor’, he mus’ ’ov put all dis in de head of de chile as he put -his son Moses in de bullrushes down dar in de lan’ of Canin. Chile, your -black ole mudder’ll cover you wid her bed like as the ole black hen -covers her chicks when de hawk comes to steal de little ones from dar -mudder’s lub. Now, chile, jus’ you fix it all up an’ de Lor’ ob dat big -feller, Sabot, yes dat was de man, be wid you, an’ it doan matter bout -dis ole woman no moah.” - -The above conversation took place many years ago in a cabin in the negro -quarter of the plantation of Samuel Jones on the James river, in -Virginia. Mr. Jones was a thriving planter and an extensive dealer in -slaves. Though in some respects of the better class of slave-breeders, -he inherited many of the legitimate characteristics of the peculiar -institution. Towards the men slaves he was tyrannical in the extreme, -whilst eyeing the fairer and younger among the women with an eye of -lechery. - -The plantation had come to him from his father, and with it the family -of John Gray consisting of himself and wife, known for miles around as -“Prayin’ Hanner,” and several children. The father and older children, -all having a slight tinge of the Caucassian about them, Mr. Jones early -sold to southern dealers, retaining only the mother and her infant -George. - -The mother, on account of her acknowledged piety and ability to labor, -was assigned a special cabin and for years had done the family laundry -work and baking and discharged other duties of a similar character. -Resigned to her condition, she labored on year after year, ever singing -and praying and with her loyalty all unquestioned. Not so with her -growing boy, however. The white blood that was in him, though limited, -constantly rebelled against his condition, and as his years advanced, -brought on frequent conflicts between him and his master, which -invariably ended in the boy’s being severely whipped. Though feeling for -him, on such occasions, as only a mother can feel, still Hannah Gray -exhorted him to be obedient and submissive. Whenever the master -threatened to sell him south, then it was that her prayers that one of -her kin might be left to her mightily prevailed. The natural -adaptability of the youth secured for him many privileges, and he had -been with his master several times to the national capital and other -points and had picked up much general intelligence, and his mode of -expression had, to some extent, risen above the plantation vernacular. - -The conflict on this particular occasion had arisen between master and -slave because George had asked the privilege of visiting a young -quadroon of the plantation on whom Jones had fastened his lecherous -eyes. As usual the controversy ended in the young man’s being bound to a -post by some of the hands and then inhumanly flogged by his owner. Stung -to madness, when all were settled for the night, he left his quarters -and sought the cabin of his mother, and there, as we have seen, divulged -his determination to seek a land of freedom. True to his purpose, when -he had gained his mother’s consent, he went down to the river and -unloosing a skiff floated down with the current some distance and then -landing, struck boldly across to a neighboring swamp. Entering this, he -passed on a short distance until he came to a small creek which led -directly to the river. He now divested himself of his clothing which he -safely placed upon his shoulders, and following the cove soon reached -the river into which he plunged, and being an expert swimmer, was soon -on the home side again, and making his way quietly to his mother’s -cabin, where he was safely secreted beneath what he had augured an -impregnable citadel, her bed. - -[Illustration: - - HANNAH PRAYING. -] - -Morning came soon, and the hands sallied from their quarters but with -them came no George Gray. The word spread rapidly and soon reached both -the cabin of Prayin’ Hanner and the mansion that he was missing. As soon -as the proprietor could dress himself and make proper inquiries, he -hastened to the shanty of the mother whom he found at her morning -devotions, having begun them just as she saw his approach. Not wishing -to disturb her he stopped before the door and caught these words of -invocation: - -“Bressed Lor’, dey say my poah, dear chile am gone. Am he drown? may de -Lor’ raise de body up dat dis ole black form may follow in its sorrow to -de grabe. Hab he killed hisself? may de Lor’ hab mercy on his soul, for -Geog’ was a bad boy; he made mas’r heaps o’ trouble. O Lor’, if he hab -runned away, may mas’r cotch him agin—not de houn’, but mas’r an’ de -men, an’ den when mas’r Jones whip him, may de bressed Lor’ sen’ down -ole Lija, an’ ’vert his soul, dat he no moah disrember mas’r but dat he -do his will for his ole mudder’s sake, an’ for de sake ob his good -mas’r, an’ for de sake ob dat heben whar de Lor’ is. Dis, Lor’, am de -prayer of poah ole Hanner, amen.” - -The prayer ceased and the master entered, only to find, as he inferred -from it, that the intelligence of George’s departure had preceded him, -and farther that the boy had been in there the night before and acted -very strangely; that the mother had advised him to go to his quarters -and be a good boy. - -Leaving the woman to her work, he went out and gave orders for a search. -Soon it was discovered that the skiff was gone and directly after it was -found half a mile down the river with footsteps leading towards the -swamp. A pack of hounds belonging on a plantation below was sent for and -search begun in earnest, and kept up unceasingly for three days but -without success, and then the hands were called in. In the meantime -there appeared in the Lynchburg _Herald_ the following: - -[Illustration] - - $500.00 Reward. - - “RUN AWAY from the subscriber, George Gray, a negro, nearly pure, - about twenty-one years old, and weighing one-hundred and fifty - pounds. He talks pretty good English. Five hundred dollars will be - given for him alive.” SAMUEL JONES. - - Antwerp, Va., June 25, 1841. - -During these days the cabin of Prayin’ Hanner was filled with sacred -songs, earnest prayers and sympathizing visitors, not one of whom, white -or black, as he listened to, or participated in the devotions, supposed -for one moment that he who had called them all forth, that “deah chile,” -was quietly drinking them in. When the nights came, and everything was -still, then George emerged for a little time to rest and refresh -himself. - -[Illustration: - - GEORGE GRAY’S ESCAPE. -] - -Thus matters passed until the fourth night came. The sun set amid -gathering clouds. The returned hunters gathered in their quarters, some -of them to tell how earnestly they had sought to find nothin’; others to -depict their true loyalty to Mar’s Jones, and the whites in their homes -around, to swear vengeance on every nigger caught fleeing. As the storm -broke and the darkness became more intense, George came forth. A little -bundle of clothing, with three days’ rations of food, had been carefully -prepared for him. There was an embrace, tender as though the -participants had been free, a “God bless you, Mother,” a “May de Lor’ -still be wid yer as he hab bin,” uttered as earnestly as though by -cultured lips, and mother and son parted, never to see each other again. - -George Gray went forth fearlessly into the darkness. The country he knew -for miles around, and for weary hours he made his way directly up the -south bank of the James. Long after midnight the moon arose, and seeking -a fitting place, he crossed the river and just as the first gray -streakings of the dawn appeared, quietly secreted himself in a jungle of -bushes upon the mountain which here comes down close to the river. The -rain had obliterated all traces of his course; he was thought to have -gone in an opposite direction four days before. Thus far his plans had -worked admirably, and feeling safe, he partook of his rations and lay -down to a refreshing sleep. - -Night found him again in motion, and by the time morning came he had -made considerable progress. Again he rested and refreshed himself, and -quietly surveyed the prospect for the future. He knew he was a long way -from the Ohio; that much of the way was wild and mountainous, and that -wherever there were people the dangers were greatest. His little stock -of provisions would soon be gone, and then the berries and fruits of the -forest would be his almost sole dependence, only occasionally he might -go down to some bondman’s cabin. With these facts before him he faltered -not, but pressed resolutely forward, only to find as he approached the -river, after weary weeks of vigil, that his master’s advertisement had -preceded him, and that base men were watching that they might claim the -reward. This news came to him from colored men whom he occasionally -contrived to see, for the great humanitarian thoroughfare of the days -_ante bellum_ had its ramifications among the mountains of Virginia, as -well as its broader lines on freer soil, though unlike those of the -latter their officers were of somber hue. Taken in charge by one of -these, George was safely put across the river one stormy night, and in -care of a genuine “broad-brim conductor” on a main trunk line, but not -until his presence had been scented by a pack of white bloodhounds all -too anxious for the recompence of reward, and whose unholy avarice was -equalled only by the wary alertness of the disciple of George Fox. - - - II. - - “O for a thousand tongues to sing - My great Redeemer’s praise; - The glories of my God and King, - The triumphs of His grace.” - -Thus sang Azel Tracy as he stood running a wheel in his little shop in -Hartford, Ohio. The last words were uttered in a subdued tone. This -done, the air was continued in a fine specimen of genuine Yankee -whistling, intermingled with occasional snatches from “China,” or -“Coronation.” - -It was only a sample of Mr. Tracy’s _railroad_ telegraphy, for the low -attic of his shop, filled, in part, with bits of lumber and parts of -defunct wagons, was an important _station_ and it frequently became -necessary to signal the waiting passengers, of whom nearly one-hundred, -according to the family reckoning, found rest and protection within its -narrow limits, a fact one would scarcely believe as he passes it, -looking to-day almost identical with its appearance fifty years ago. - -Notwithstanding Hartford is a historic anti-slavery town, there were not -wanting those within its borders, who for “the recompense of reward,” -would willingly have divulged the presence of any fugitives in keeping -had he known their whereabouts. It was to guard against this class of -persons frequenting his shop that the old wagon-maker had adopted a -musical system of signalizing those in his care. When any danger -threatened, and silence was imperative, he would sing a snatch of some -familiar hymn or whistle its air; but when “the coast was clear,” Hail -Columbia or Yankee Doodle was the signal for “unlimbering.” - -On this occasion both the words quoted and the whistling of “Old -Hundred” were considered necessary as a double danger signal, for only -three nights before there had climbed the narrow ladder in the corner of -the shop, drawn it up and let down a board, thus completing the floor, -an individual filling to a “dot” the description given in the hand-bill -previously referred to, and which was already liberally scattered -through Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. No questions had been -asked and only necessary instructions and provisions given. Thirty-six -hours later two strangers had put in an appearance in the quiet town, -and soon avowed themselves as in quest of the subject of the reward -offered. - -They had continued to lounge about the village till this Saturday -afternoon, much of the time in uncomfortable proximity to the Tracy -wagon shop, for they claimed the object of their search had been seen -approaching it, and they were even now directly in its front in the -highway, holding a colloquy with Dudley, the junior Tracy, and at -present, 1894, the inheritor of his father’s trade and shop. “Dud,” as -he is familiarly called, was then a strapping boy in his middle teens, -bare-footed, without coat or vest, tow-headed, and to all appearances a -fine subject for an interview. - -“See here, boy,” said one of the strangers, “have you seen anything of a -young nigger about here within a day or two?” - -“What do you mean, one of them black fellers like that’n the bill tells -about yonder?” - -“Yes, he’s the chap we want to find.” - -“Wal, no, I hain’t seen no such feller, but I hearn about him two or -three days ago.” - -“How?” - -“Why I was a layin’ in the bushes up back of the church and the Gen’ral -an’ Sam Fuller cum along and the Gen’ral sez he, ‘Fuller, that boy’s got -to be got off. They’r arter him.’” - -“Who’s the General?” - -“Wal, that’s Mr. Bushnell. They say he keeps some of them black ’uns -some times.” - -“Tell us what they said.” - -“Wal, Fuller he said, ‘What’s going to be done?’ and the Gen’ral said, -‘You come up with the team after dark and take him down to the tow-path -that’s down in Pennsylvanee and tell him to keep north till he came to -some colored fokeses and they’d send him to Jehu and then he’d be all -right.’” - -“How far is it to the tow-path?” - -“O I don’t know; that’s on the canawl where they drive the hosses -hitched to the boats, an’ I never was so fur from hum.” - -There was some farther parleying, seemingly entirely satisfactory to the -strangers, then they dropped a “bit” into Dud’s hands, and under the -influence of spurs two horses struck out briskly for the land of the -Pennymights. - -“Dud, I say Dud, come here quick,” called the senior Tracy to the boy -who stood gazing after the rapidly receding forms of the horsemen, and -the junior slowly responded to the call. - -As soon as Dud was within the door the query was raised, “What did the -gentlemen want?” - -“O nothing much, only they asked me if I’d seen the nigger advertised on -the hand-bill yonder?” - -“Well, what did you tell them?” - -“O not much; I just yawned a little, telling them I heard the Gen’ral -tell Mr. Fuller that he must get the boy down to Clarksville and start -him north for Bishop, who would get him to the lake.” - -“Why, Dud, what a—” - -“Come now, dad, no accusations. Didn’t I just hear you tuning your -gospel melody as much as to say, ‘Keep still up there,’ and didn’t I -hear you tell mother last night, when you thought we children were -asleep, you didn’t know what to do? But I did, and I’ve done it and now -you needn’t try to keep this thing from me any longer. You’ve thought I -don’t know what’s up, but I guess I’ve seen the last twenty darkies -you’ve holed in the shop and Uncle Sam has taken away, and now that I’ve -got those fellows off, I think you can afford to let me take a hand -after this.” - -A look of astonishment, mingled with satisfaction, overspread the -countenance of Azel Tracy at this revelation of the fact that his son -was acquainted with so much of the method of the _road_, a thing of -which he and many another parent, for prudential reasons, tried to keep -their children in ignorance, and taking the hand of the boy he replied, -“You shall have all the hand in it you wish, my son.” - -The sun had dropped below the western horizon when the aforesaid -bare-footed boy might have been seen making his way eastward to the home -of farmer Fuller, bearing the following note: - - 48 to 1001. - - Dud has cooked the goose. The feathers are left—they are good for - Fennland, and the parson needs a text for to-morrow. The loft is - good—the cellar better. - - LEZA. - -As a result of this note, when darkness had settled down upon the earth, -when candles were extinguished alike in farm house and village home, the -old-fashioned buggy of Samuel Fuller stood before the little Hartford -shop, and Dud, the Caucassian, surrendered his seat to an African of -deepest sable, and soon the vehicle was speeding rapidly northward. - - - III. - -Night, sable goddess, had let her curtains down not only upon a day, but -upon a week of toil, for the “Cotter’s Saturday Night” had come to all -alike, and the good people of Gustavus, Ohio, had been several hours in -the Land of Nod; the dome on the old academy and the spires of the -village churches were already casting moonlight shadows eastward, and -good old Parson Fenn was dreaming of “Seventeenthly” in to-morrow’s -sermon, when there came three distinct raps upon his back door. Such -signals were in no wise unusual to him, and he immediately responded to -the call, only to find there a friend from fifteen miles away, and -beside him a dusky figure crouching and trembling as if fearful of the -moonbeams themselves. - -“There’s no time to be lost, Parson,” said he from without. “The hounds -are on the track of this game. It has only been by the most -indefatigable energy that he has been kept from their grasp from the -Ohio to near here. Even now they are abreast of us, only lured across -the Pennsylvania line.” - -“He can be gotten no farther to-night,” said the Parson musingly, “and -all we can do is to put him in hold and keep him till the day goes by. -You know the rest.” - -There was no word of reply, but a figure gliding silently into the -street, a vehicle, with muffled wheels, was headed southward and driven -rapidly away. The parson having partially dressed himself, took a jug of -water from the well, a loaf of bread and a large slice of meat from the -pantry and beckoning the silent figure to follow him, proceeded to a -building on the northwest corner of the square, on the front of which -appeared the name, “George Hezlip.” Passing to the rear, he pushed aside -a door. Both having entered, the door was closed, a light struck and the -strange figure was soon reposing in one of several hogsheads carelessly -stowed away there, whilst good Benjamin Fenn returned to his bed only to -ponder on that mysterious providence which had predestined him to this -materialistic work of salvation. - -The Sabbath came, and with it, at the appointed hour, the people to the -village church. The pastor preached with great power from the words, -“Proclaim liberty throughout the land, to all the inhabitants thereof.” - -That sermon was long a matter of comment among the people, a balm to -some, a firebrand to others, according to the political faith they -entertained, but orthodox to us all after the lapse of many years. - -The services ended and dinner over, the Parson sat down to his -study-table and penned the following:— - - 5—9—081—1001—S——s——g. - - XXX. In Rome when the white rabbit hangs high the Prætor leads the - Vestal band by linden fields, that he may hear the tuning of the - great profaner’s voice ere the game goes to Quintus Anno Mundi. - - 49—1001—U.g.r.r. - -The note thus written, was sealed and given to a trusty lad who soon -placed it in the hands of an athletic, theological nimrod living in the -village, whose love of humanity and admiration for universal redemption -were only equalled by that of his affection for his dog, his gun and -fishing tackle. When he had read the note, he bade the messenger tell -the Parson “When the stars are out,” and proceeded at once to change his -Sunday garb for a hunting suit. - -The bell had already rung for the evening service, and the villagers and -the country folk were thronging to the church when two horsemen, on -jaded steeds, came down from the north and reigned up at the tavern -across from Hezlip’s store and requested refreshments for themselves and -horses. The animals were taken in charge by the hostler whilst the -riders proceeded to the bar-room and washed and cleaned themselves from -the effects of their dusty ride. - -Waiting supper, they had a private interview with the landlord in which -they stated that they were in pursuit of a young negro who had crossed -the Ohio river a few days before and been secreted by an old Quaker. -They had traced him as far north as Hartford. There they had been -decoyed into Pennsylvania whilst they believed that the fugitive had -been run into a line farther west. After going as far north as Espyville -they had come across to see if they could not regain the trail. - -They were informed, in return, that there were persons in the -neighborhood in the employ of the Underground Railroad, of whom the old -Parson was the chief, and that it was thought from the energy with which -he had preached that morning that there must be a passenger somewhere -about. At the least, Boniface assured the officials, for such they had -avowed themselves, that after supper he would show them one of the -company’s waiting rooms which he had accidentally discovered. - -Twilight had deepened into evening; the “Gustavus House” bell was -ringing refreshments for two, and Parson Fenn was praying fervently, -“Lord, send sure deliverance to him that fleeth from oppression, and -bring to naught the efforts of them that pursue for blood money,” just -as a square-rigged form, with elastic step, and showing great power of -endurance stepped into the rear of the Hezlip building. Shoving open the -door the man uttered a low whistle which was immediately responded to, -and a dusky form emerged from one of the hogsheads and followed the -leader without a word. Passing through the fields a short distance, they -crossed the public highway beyond the churchyard and took to the woods -on the right. With rapid strides they passed across fields and through -forests for several miles until, leaving the little hamlet of -Lindenville to the right, they descended to the Pymatuning flats where -the guide deposited his ward in one of those little “hay barns,” so -common on the Reserve forty years ago. Returning by the home of the -owner, whom he signaled at his bed-room window, he left the laconic -instruction, “Feed the yearling steer,” and pressed rapidly on to regain -his home, which he did shortly after midnight. - -Supper ended at the tavern, the host took a lantern and led his guests -across the street to the basement of the store, where the jug, emptied -of its contents, and fragments of the bread and meat were readily found, -and an accidental application of the hand to the inner surface of the -extemporized bed-room showed it still warm from the contact of human -flesh. - -The language which escaped the foiled pursuers when they found how near -they had probably been to the object of their pursuit, was far more -forcible than classic. They would have instituted a pursuit at once but -Boniface told them such a thing would be useless there, for the old -Parson, who was expounding Calvinism across the way, and a young -Universalist in the village, who were perfectly at loggerheads on -matters of theology, were so in unison on the matter of running off -fugitives that they would make it hotter than —— for any one who should -assist them, as the most of the community were on the side of the -“road.” He advised that they go to Ashtabula, where the runaway would -probably take boat for Canada, as their best plan. - -This advise they accepted, and after a night’s rest and some -observations made about the village in the morning, they departed -northward, and in due time drew up at the “American” in Jefferson where -their presence soon attracted the attention of a “road official.” - -Having breakfast, our liberal theologian sauntered through the village, -taking in the dimensions of the strangers and noting their departure -northward, then, waiting until the sun had passed the meridian, he took -his gun upon his shoulder and struck eastward as though meaning to make -the Kinsman forests. Reaching a convenient point, he changed his course, -and an hour before sunset threw down a half dozen squirrels upon the -doorstep of the man whose slumbers he had disturbed the previous night. -There was a little good-natured parleying as to who should dress the -game, then busy hands were at work, and as the sun sank behind the -western woodlands the family and hunter-guest sat down to a feast that -would have tempted the appetite of a king. - -Supper over, the guest challenged the host to take him to an appointment -he had a few miles north, which was acceded to, and whilst the latter -was getting ready the former went on the way a little to look after a -_trap_ he had set sometime before. An hour later and a vehicle with two -men in the seat and a straw-covered bundle beneath was driven rapidly -towards Jefferson. Arrived within a mile of the town, a halt was called -under cover of a little clump of trees, one of the men alighted and -stirred up the straw from which emerged a human figure. These two took a -field path to the village, whilst the driver turned a little out of the -public highway to await returns. - -Twenty minutes later there was a rap at the side door of bluff Ben -Wade’s home. - -“Who the d—l is there?” said a gruff voice from an upper window. - -“‘Thribble X’ from ‘A Thousand and One,’” was the quick response. - -“What the h—l do you want at this time of night.” - -“I have a white rabbit.” - -“Take the black k—ss to Atkins; he’ll stuff his hide.” - -A half hour more and the “white rabbit” was stowed in the capacious -garret of “Anno Mundi” and “Thribble X” was being driven at a gay pace -toward the confines of Old Trumbull. - - - IV. - -A company of persons awaiting a western bound train stood chatting with -the veteran Seely upon the platform at Girard, Pa. Among them, evidently -well up in the sixties, was a man of unusually muscular frame. His -countenance was open and pleasant, but mostly enveloped in a heavy beard -of almost snowy whiteness. Judging from the appearance of his eyes, he -was endowed with a more than average gift of language. Indeed he was the -central figure in the company. The “Toledo” rolled up and as the group -passed into the coach a colored man seated a little back took a close -survey of this individual. As they seated themselves in his rear, the -negro arose, passed to the front of the car and turning round placed his -eyes squarely upon the face of the old gentleman. Thus he stood until -Springfield was passed, until Conneaut was nearly reached. Feeling -annoyed himself, and noticing that the gaze was attracting the attention -of his fellow passengers, the gentleman arose and going forward said: - -“Stranger, let us have this out. I can tolerate this impertinence no -longer.” - -“No ’pertinence, massa, no’ ’pertinence at all,” responded the negro, “I -knowed yer the minit yer comed aboard.” - -“You know me? I never saw you before that I remember.” - -“Bery like, bery like, massa, you’s named Shipman, and doan yer remember -the ‘white rabbit’ yer crawled on the hands and knees wid through the -tater patch arter you’d got him out of the cellar whar the old Parson -had stowed him. Dis chile hab never forgot that face though it had no -whiskers then. The Lor’ bress yer, massa, doan yer ’member so long ago?” -and the overjoyed man held out his hand which was grasped in a hearty -shake by that of his whiter brother. - -Seating themselves together, the colored man told the story of his early -servitude, and how, armed with no weapon but a butcher knife for -defense, he had made that long flight across the mountains without one -sense of fear until he had crossed into Ohio and learned that men were -there watching for him to claim the reward offered for his return. - -“But how,” queried the venerable Shipman, “did you get along after I -left you?” - -“Lor’ bress you, massa, de next mornin’ that ole swearer, Massa Wade, he -comed over to dat Massa Atkins an’ he say, ‘Doan sen’ dat black k—ss to -de harb’r, kase h—ll’s a watchin’ for him.’ So dey sen me on anuder road -to Erie an’ put me on the ‘Thomas Jefferson,’ the name of that great -author of _liberty_ from ole Virginy, and soon I was safe in Canidy.” - -“And what then?” said Uncle Charley. - -“An’ den, Massa Shipman, George Gray went to work to earn money to buy -his old mother, but when he had enough he learned she was dead, so he -bought him a little home, and then the great wah comed and set all his -people free, an’ so now he’s jus’ agoin’ down inter that country to see -if Massa Jones hab eber heard from dat ‘deah chile’ who was ‘drown,’ or -‘killed hisself’ or ‘runned away.’ But here am my stoppin’ place, an’ -may the good Lor’ bress and save Massa Shipman forever, am the prayer ob -de White Rabbit.” - -There was another hearty hand-shaking, amid the cheerings of the little -throng who had been attentive listeners to the conversation, mutual -pledges to meet on the “other shore,” and the old ex-conductor from -“station 1001, U. g. r. r.,” and his sable passenger parted company -under far pleasanter circumstances than they did in the long ago on the -doorstep of Anno Mundi in the village home of Giddings and Wade. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - 3. 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