Illustrated Edition of the Life and Escape of Wm. Wells Brown from American Slavery: Written by Himself — John Shaqi
Illustrated Edition of the Life and Escape of Wm. Wells Brown from American Slavery: Written by HimselfBrown, William Wells
History
Illustrated Edition of the Life and Escape of Wm. Wells Brown from American Slavery: Written by Himself
Brown, William Wells
Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography; Slavery -- Missouri
Such is but a poor representation of what was said by those who were
engaged in the fight. After a hard-fought battle; of nearly two hours,
we arrived at the ferry, the slaves still in our possession. On arriving
at the ferry, we found that some of the sheriff’s gang had taken
possession of the ferry-boat. Here another battle was to be fought,
before the slaves could reach Canada. The boat was fastened at each end
by a chain, and in the scuffle for the ascendency, one party took charge
of one end of the boat, while the other took the other end. The blacks
were commanding the ferry man to carry them over, while the whites were
commanding him not to. While each party was contending for power, the
slaves were pushed on board, and the boat shoved from the wharf. Many
of the blacks jumped on board of the boat, while the whites jumped on
shore. And the swift current of the Niagara soon carried them off, amid
the shouts of the blacks, and the oaths and imprecations of the
whites. We on shore swung our hats and gave three cheers, just as a
reinforcement came to the whites. Seeing the odds entirely against us
in numbers, and having gained the great victory, we gave up without
resistance, and suffered ourselves to be arrested by the sheriff’s
posse. However, we all remained on the shore until the ferry-boat had
landed on the Canada side. As the boat landed, Stanford leaped on shore,
and rolled over in the sand, and even rubbed it into his hair.
I did not accompany the boat over, but those who did informed us that
Mrs. Stanford, as she stepped on the shore, with her child in her arms,
exclaimed, “I thank God that I am again in Canada!” We returned to the
city, and some forty of our company were lodged in jail, to await their
trial the next morning.
And now I will return to the betrayer. On our return to Buffalo, she
was given over to a committee of women, who put her in a room, and put
a guard over her. Tate, who had been very active from the time that he
heard that we had recaptured the carriage with the slaves, was still
in the city. He was not with the slaves when we caught up with them at
Hamburgh, nor was he to be found in the fight. He sent his hirelings,
while he remained at the hotel drinking champagne. As soon as he found
the slaves were out of his reach, he then made an offer of fifty dollars
to any person who would find the betrayer. He pretended that he wished
to save, her from the indignation of the colored people. But the fact
is, he had promised her that if she would accompany him to the south,
that he would put her in a situation where she would be a lady. Poor
woman! She was foolish enough to believe him; and now that the people
had lost all sympathy for her, on account of her traitorous act, he
still thought that, by pretending to be her friend, he could induce her
to go to the south, that he might sell her. But those who had her in
charge were determined that she should be punished for being engaged in
this villanous transaction.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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