A Woman's Life-Work — Labors and Experiences of Laura S. HavilandHaviland, Laura S. (Laura Smith)
Religion
A Woman's Life-Work — Labors and Experiences of Laura S. Haviland
Haviland, Laura S. (Laura Smith)
Freed persons; Haviland, Laura S. (Laura Smith), 1808-1898; Underground Railroad
fought a few days before, and another attack was-daily threatened. The
driver and brother Reed were doubting the propriety of crossing the
river. "For if the lines are closed," they said, "the President himself
would not be permitted to pass." But I told them as they did not
positively know that the lines were closed, we had better cross.
"It is your load, and if you say go we shall go," said brother Reed.
"I say go," was my decision.
Soon we were in front of the provost marshal's office. But he was not
there, and no one knew where he was. After a long search, in accordance
with my plea, some of the guards discovered and brought him back,
reeling, with his head of long hair thoroughly decorated with feathers
and straws. I met him in his office and read to him my papers, holding,
them before his face as I would exhibit a picture to a two-year old
baby. After explaining all, I made my request to pass his lines with my
load of supplies.
"Who--who's there?"
I told him who he was that so kindly offered to aid me in disbursing
these supplies just as I was starting; and that a general advised me to
take him with my load, as he would pass him, if in command.
"Well, well, I don'--don't--li-like--this--whole--whole-sa-sale
business."
But I pleaded for those suffering women and children with all the
politeness I was capable of mastering, with disgust boiling over. With
stuttering and mumbling his dislikes, and shaking his head, with the
feathers and straws waving and nodding in every direction, he took his
pen and scribbled a pass that was difficult to decipher. The next line
of guards hardly knew what to do with it until I told them the provost
marshal was drunk.
"O, yes, and it's no new trick; go on."
And without further difficulty we reached the group of sufferers, who
were shivering as if in an ague fit. I threw to each family two
blankets or quilts, and more than forty children were crawling between
them within three minutes. I gave to each of those twenty women a suit
of men's clothing that day to help them out of this intense suffering.
I gave them also three rag-carpet blankets out of the four that were
sent me by a woman who took up a new rag-carpet she had just put down,
and cut it into four pieces after listening to the recital of the great
suffering in these camps. She said she should put no more carpets on
her floor as long as the war lasted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account