From Dixie to Canada: Romances and Realities of the Underground RailroadJohnson, H. U. (Homer Uri)
History
From Dixie to Canada: Romances and Realities of the Underground Railroad
Johnson, H. U. (Homer Uri)
Fugitive slaves -- United States; Underground Railroad
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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