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
I found my goods had just arrived, and the commander of the post kindly
offered to store the bales of supplies and furnish an ambulance and
driver whenever I desired. My first inquiry was for a boarding place,
as the house where the colonel was boarding was full. Mrs. Johnson was
about opening a boarding-house, and I called on her for a few days'
board.
"Where are you from?"
"From Washington," was my reply, "with supplies for the poor freedmen
and whites who are in a suffering condition."
"Oh, you are a Bureau woman then. We don't have nothin' to do with
Bureau folks. I can't board you."
After being directed to two others, who made like inquiries, and
received like replies, I found I was going to have an all-day job on
hand in feeling the public pulse at Harper's Ferry. After making eight
calls, chatting a while at each place pleasantly, for I would talk in
no other way, although I was told in nearly every place that no one in
that town would disgrace himself by walking on the streets with a
nigger teacher, or speaking to one, on my way to report my unsuccessful
day's work to the colonel, it being after sunset, I found an army
surgeon sitting on his front porch.
"Have you found no place for dinner?" he asked.
"O no," I said, "I have been amusing myself over Confederate fever that
I find runs too high for health in your town."
"My mother-in-law is away," he answered, "but my wife and I will give
you our room to-night, and we will see that you have supper at once."
At Mrs. Bilson's (the mother-in-law) I remained during the week.
At the close of the week I attended a quarterly-meeting of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. When the minister invited all who loved the
Lord Jesus to testify, I, with others, accepted and took part. At the
close he came and inquired who I was. I introduced myself as usual.
After reading my papers from the Governor, Members of Congress, and a
few ministers of Michigan, I received a number of invitations to their
houses, which gave me an opportunity to relate my first day's
experience in their town. They made a number of excuses. Among them was
the fact that Miss Mann (Horace Mann's sister), kept herself
exclusively with the colored people. She not only taught their school,
but boarded with them, and made no calls on white people. They
acknowledged that those upon whom I had called were not in sympathy
with the Union.
Here, as in other places, were those in extreme suffering, both white
and colored. One blind man, and an old white man and his wife, were too
sick to take care of each other. One sick woman, whose husband was in
the army, had no fire, only as the little girl of three years old
gathered old boots and shoes around an old camp with which to build it.
All of these cases were relieved.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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