Douglass and the _North Star_ formed the pivot about which revolved much of the work of other Negro Abolitionists, whom Douglass now met for the first time. Henry Highland Garnet, well-educated grandson of an African chief, had never been closely associated with William Lloyd Garrison. From the first he had gravitated toward political action. There were Dr. James McCune Smith, who had studied medicine at Glasgow; James W. Pennington, with his degree from Heidelberg; Henry Bibb, Charles L. Redmond, and Samuel Ringgold Ward, Garnet’s cousin, who attracted Douglass in a very special manner. Ward was very black and of magnificent physique. They were all older than Douglass. But they strengthened his hand; and he, in his turn, was proud of them. Then in 1850 the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, and no Negro, regardless of his education, ability, or means, was safe anywhere in the United States. Douglass had his manumission papers. His freedom had been bought. But Henry Highland Garnet and Samuel Ringgold Ward knew it was best that they leave the country. Until Ward died the two men traveled in Europe, where Henry Highland Garnet came to be called the “Negro Tom Paine.” Douglass felt most deeply the loss of Ringgold Ward, whom he considered vastly superior to any of them, both as an orator and a thinker. “In depth of thought,” he wrote, “fluency of speech, readiness of wit, logical exactness, and general intelligence, Samuel Ringgold Ward has left no successor among colored men amongst us.” Meanwhile Douglass squared his shoulders and took on more responsibility. He saw former slaves who had lived for years safely and securely in western New York and elsewhere--who had worked hard, saved money and acquired homes--now forced to flee to Canada. Many died during the first harsh winter. Bishop Daniel A. Payne of the African Methodist Episcopal Church consulted Douglass as to the advisability of both of them fleeing. “We are whipped, we are whipped,” moaned Payne, “and we might as well retreat in order.” Douglass shook his head. “We must stand!” * * * * * It was the spring of 1855, and never had the huge mills and factories and tanneries of Rochester been busier. Great logs of Allegheny pine rode down the Genesee River and lay in clean, shining tiers of lumber in the yards. Up and down the Erie Canal went the flatboats, mules straining at the heavy loads; and on the docks of Rochester Port the goods lay piled waiting for lake steamers to go westward. Rochester boasted that it was the most important station on the newly completed New York Central Railroad.