INCIDENTS IN ROCHESTER AND VICINITY.
After long petitioning, the inhabitants of that section succeeded in
having the new county of Monroe set off from Genesee and Ontario Counties,
in 1821, which gave a new impulse to the business interests of the already
flourishing town, which had heretofore labored under some disadvantages in
consequence of having all public business done at Canandaigua or Batavia.
About this time, too, was the Carthage bridge built by a company of
enterprising gentlemen of that village which at that day was considered
one of the wonders of the age; but as its history is well known to all
interested in the enterprises of those days, it is only necessary to say,
that the magnificent structure, so grand in its appearance, such a pattern
of mechanical ingenuity, exhibiting in all its vast proportions, both
strength and beauty, combined with utility and grandeur; and erected at
such an enormous expense of time, labor, and cash, was destined soon to
fall.
It had cost some ten thousand dollars; and had been warranted by the
builders to stand one year. How great then must have been the loss and
disappointment when in a little more than twenty-four hours after the time
specified, the ruins of that beautiful structure were found floating on
the broad bosom of the Genesee! And yet when we take into consideration
the vast amount of human life which hourly passed over its solid surface,
we can but wonder at the intervention of a kind Providence which prevented
any loss of life at the time of its fall. A child had but just passed over
it, when with one general crash it sank to the waters below; mocking in
its rapid flight, the wisdom of the architect and foresight of frail
humanity. The fall of Carthage bridge was indeed a calamity felt by the
public generally, and sounded the death-knell of all future greatness to
Carthage, or at least for some years to come.
About this time the village was thrown into a state of excitement by the
arrest of a colored woman named Ellen, who it was charged had escaped from
service due to a Mr. D., south of Mason and Dixon's Line. She had been
arrested in accordance with a law passed by Congress in 1793, which
forbids persons owing service in one State to flee to another; and which
also obliges those receiving such service, to render to the claimant
any fugitive from labor due, &c. Poor Ellen! She had many friends and able
counsel, but nothing short of an open violation of the law of the land,
could prevent her return to the house of bondage. She was tried and given
up to him who claimed dominion over her. Hopeless and heart-broken, she
was escorted from the boasted land and village of freedom, by a company of
the "Light Horse," under the command of Capt. Curtis. One poor, persecuted
slave woman, upon whose heart had fallen a shadow darker than death's;
driving every earthly hope of liberty from her wounded spirit; helpless
and forlorn! She indeed must have required this military parade--this
show of power! And that too, by men who throw up their caps with a shout
for freedom and equal rights! Oh, "consistency, thou art a jewel!"
As I recollect but one other incident of the kind occurring in Rochester,
I will now name it.
A colored man named Davis, generally known as "Doctor Davis," with a
reputation unsullied for industry, truth and sobriety, was arrested as a
fugitive from slave labor in Kentucky. Two men came on from that State,
acting in the double capacity of agents for the claimant and witnesses
against the slave. They employed Mr. L. as counsel, and hastened on the
trial of the afflicted African. When it became generally known that Davis
was arrested, and about to be tried, the excitement grew intense among all
classes; but more particularly among the colored people. When the trial
came on, the Court room was crowded to overflowing, and every avenue
leading to it densely thronged with deeply anxious persons, assembled to
witness the result. It became evident, however, that the poor man must be
given up to his grasping master, unless some means were devised to rescue
him from the power of an unjust law. His friends were on the alert, and as
the trial proceeded, the colored men found an opportunity to get him into
a corner of the crowded apartment; where, while the officers stood at the
door, they dressed him in disguise, and otherwise so completely changed
his personal appearance, that he passed out of the Court room, undetected
by the officers, and as all supposed was safely pursuing his way to
Canada.
The hawk-eyed counsel for the Kentuckians, however, too soon observed
exultation written on every dusky countenance, to keep quiet. Starting to
his feet in great alarm, he cried out "Where is Davis?" And oh, how that
question startled every one present. Every eye gazed hither and thither,
and every ear intently listened for the answer. After a moment of
breathless silence, the excited counselor was assured that the "bird had
flown," which announcement was received with a rapturous shout of joy by
the audience, greatly, however, to the discomfiture of the gentlemen from
Kentucky, who had thought themselves so sure of their prize. Nor would
they be thwarted now. It was not yet too late to overtake their victim,
and slavery required at their hands a sacrifice which they were ready to
make. Hand-bills were in immediate circulation, offering a reward of fifty
dollars for the apprehension of the flying fugitive. Fifty dollars, for
the body and soul of a man to plunge into the degradation of Slavery!
Fifty dollars for the ruin of a fellow being, for whom Christ gave his
precious life! Yes, fifty dollars are offered to any human blood-hound who
will hunt and worry the poor slave, who must fly from this boasted land of
liberty, to seek protection in the dominion of England's Queen!
Unfortunately for Davis, some of these hand-bills were thrown on board the
very packet on which he had embarked for Buffalo; nor was this all. The
bills would have left him uninjured, but a scoundrel--an apology for a
man--was there also, who, for the consideration of fifty dollars was
willing to compromise all pretensions to manhood and humanity, and drag
from the boat the panting slave, whom he cast beneath the heel of his
oppressor. When Davis was finally retaken, those Kentucky dealers in human
chattels, held him with a grasp that banished all hope of escape by
flight; and then in his sorrow and despair the wretched, hopeless man
cried out "Oh, my God, must I return to the hell of Slavery? Save me, Oh,
dear Lord, save this, thy helpless, friendless servant, from a fate so
dreadful! Oh, Christian friends and neighbors, I appeal to you to rescue
me from a life far more terrible than death in any form! Oh, God, is there
no protection for me in the laws of New York? I claim it, by all that is
sacred in her past history! Give me liberty or death! or death!" he
repeated, with a shudder; then casting one glance of hopeless agony on his
persecutors, he secretly drew from his pocket a razor, and before he could
be prevented he drew it across his throat, and fell gasping in the midst
of his slave-hunting tormentors, while a collection of bystanders cried
"Shame! shame! on the institution of Slavery!"
Poor Davis was not dead, but supposing he soon would be, these gentlemen
were requested to give security, and indemnify the town for all expenses
it might incur on Davis' account. But instead of giving their bond as
requested, they took a sudden start for Kentucky, where it was very
generally desired they might remain.
With good treatment, Davis, after a long time, recovered sufficiently to
be removed by his friends to a place of safety; and when so far restored
as to be able he returned to Rochester, where he received assistance which
enabled him to reach Canada. I have often heard from him during his
residence in that country, where no slaves exist and he has done well,
having quite an extensive practice in medicine, and lives in the quiet
enjoyment of that liberty which he struggled so hard to obtain and came so
near losing; yet, to this day he prefers death to Slavery. And who does
not? None, who have breathed the air of freedom after an experience of
unrequited toil to enrich a brutal and selfish master. Truly is it said,
"a contented slave is a degraded being."