is every day exemplifying it, and has done so for two hundred years
and more; and has, by this very means, acquired an indestructible
character for energy, enterprise, and self-reliance. It was precisely
the Yankee spirit which I wished to instil into my fellow-slaves, if
possible; and I was not deterred from the task by the perception of
the immense contrast in all the habits and character generated by long
ages of freedom and servitude, activity and sloth, independence and
subjection. My associates agreed with me, and we resolved to select
some spot among the many offered to our choice, where we would colonize
and raise our own crops, eat our own bread, and be, in short, our
own masters. I was deputed to explore the country, and find a place
to which I would be willing to migrate myself; and they all said
they would go with me whenever such a one should be found. I set out
accordingly in the autumn of 1834, and travelled on foot all over
the extensive region between lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron. When I
came to the territory east of Lake St. Clair and Detroit River, I was
strongly impressed with its fertility, its convenience, and, indeed,
its superiority, for our purposes, to any other spot I had seen. I
determined this should be the place; and so reported, on my return,
to my future companions. They were wisely cautious, however, and
sent me off again in the summer, that I might see it at the opposite
seasons of the year, and be better able to judge of its advantages. I
found no reason to change my opinion, but upon going further towards
the head of Lake Erie, I discovered an extensive tract of government
land, which, for some years, had been granted to a Mr. McCormick upon
certain conditions, and which he had rented out to settlers upon such
terms as he could obtain. This land being already cleared, offered
some advantages for the immediate raising of crops, which were not to
be overlooked by persons whose resources were so limited as ours; and
we determined to go there first, for a time, and with the proceeds of
what we could earn there, to make our purchases in Dawn afterwards.
This plan was followed, and some dozen or more of us settled upon these
lands the following spring, and accumulated something by the crops of
wheat and tobacco we were able to raise.
I discovered, before long, that McCormick had not complied with the
conditions of his grant, and was not, therefore, entitled to the
rent he exacted from settlers. I was advised by Sir John Cockburn,
to whom I applied on the subject, to appeal to the legislature for
relief. We did so; and though McCormick was able, by the aid of his
friends, to defeat us for one year, yet we succeeded the next, upon a
second appeal, and were freed from all rent, thereafter, so long as we
remained. Still, this was not our own land. The government, though it
demanded no rent, might set up the land for sale at any time, and then
we should, probably, be driven off by wealthier purchasers, with the
entire loss of all our improvements, and with no retreat provided. It
was manifest that it was altogether better for us to purchase before
competition was invited; and we kept this fully in mind during the time
we staid here. We remained in this position six or seven years; and all
this while the colored population was increasing rapidly around us,
and spreading very fast into the interior settlements and the large
towns. The immigration from the United States was incessant, and some,
I am not unwilling to admit, were brought hither with my knowledge
and connivance. I was glad to help such of my old friends as had the
spirit to make the attempt to free themselves; and I made more than one
trip, about this time, to Maryland and Kentucky, with the expectation,
in which I was not disappointed, that some might be enabled to follow
in my footsteps. I knew the route pretty well, and had much greater
facilities for travelling than when I came out of that Egypt for the
first time.
I did not find that our prosperity increased with our numbers. The
mere delight the slave took in his freedom, rendered him, at first,
contented with a lot far inferior to that which he might have attained.
Then his ignorance led him to make unprofitable bargains, and he would
often hire wild land on short terms, and bind himself to clear a
certain number of acres; and by the time they were cleared and fitted
for cultivation his lease was out, and his landlord would come in,
and raise a splendid crop on the new land; and the tenant would, very
likely, start again on just such another bargain, and be no better
off at the end of ten years than he was at the beginning. Another way
in which they lost the profits of their labor, was by raising nothing
but tobacco, the high price of which was very tempting, and the
cultivation of which was a monopoly in their hands, as no white man
understood it, or could compete with them at all. The consequence was,
however, that they had nothing but tobacco to sell; there was rather
too much of it in the market, and the price of wheat rose, while their
commodity was depressed; and they lost all they should have saved, in
the profit they gave the trader for his corn and stores. I saw the
effect of these things so clearly that I could not help trying to make
my friends and neighbors see it too; and I set seriously about the
business of lecturing upon the subject of crops, wages, and profits,
as if I had been brought up to it. I insisted on the necessity of
their raising their own crops, saving their own wages, and securing
the profits of their own labor, with such plain arguments as occurred
to me, and were as clear to their comprehension as to mine. I did this
very openly; and, frequently, my audience consisted in part of the
very traders whose inordinate profits upon individuals I was trying to
diminish, but whose balance of profit would not be ultimately lessened,
because they would have so many more persons to trade with who would
be able to pay them a reasonable advance in cash, or its equivalent,
on all their purchases. The purse is a tender part of the system;
but I handled it so gently, that the sensible portion of my natural
opponents were not, I believe, offended; while those whom I wished to
benefit, saw, for the most part, the propriety of my advice, and took
it. At least, there are now great numbers of settlers, in this region
of Canada, who own their farms, and are training up their children in
true independence, and giving them a good elementary education, who had
not taken a single step towards such a result before I began to talk to
them.
I said none of the respectable traders were offended with me; but one
man had the folly to arrest me for a small debt, under the pretence
that I was about to leave the country, when I was only going to Detroit
for a few days, in the spring, leaving my crops on the ground, and all
my family at home but one little girl, who was to go to school for
a few weeks. It was so absurd, however, that I was soon released by
some of my friends, of whom I had many among the whites as well as the
blacks.
While I remained at Colchester, I became acquainted with a
Congregational missionary from Massachusetts, by the name of Hiram
Wilson, who took an interest in our people, and was disposed to do
what he could to promote the cause of improvement which I had so much
at heart. He coöperated with me in many efforts, and I have been
associated with him from 1836 to the present time. He has been a
faithful friend, and still continues his important labors of love in
our behalf. Among other things which he did for us then, he wrote to a
Quaker friend of his, an Englishman, by the name of James C. Fuller,
residing at Skeneateles, New York, and endeavored to interest him in
the welfare of our struggling population.
He succeeded so far, that Mr. Fuller, who was going on a visit to
England, promised to do what he could among his friends there, to
induce them to aid us. He came back with fifteen hundred dollars which
had been subscribed for our benefit. It was a great question how this
sum, which sounded vast to many of my brethren, should be appropriated.
I had my own opinion pretty decidedly made up as to what it was best
for us all to do with it. But, in order to come to a satisfactory
conclusion, the first thing to be done was to call a convention of
delegates from every settlement of blacks that was within reach; that
all might see that whatever was decided on, was sanctioned by the
disinterested votes of those who were thought by their companions
best able to judge what was expedient. Mr. Wilson and myself called
such a convention, therefore, to meet in London, Upper Canada, and it
was held in June, 1838. I urged the appropriation of the money to the
establishment of a manual-labor school, where our children could be
taught those elements of knowledge which are usually the occupations
of a grammar-school; and where the boys could be taught, in addition,
the practice of some mechanic art, and the girls could be instructed
in those domestic arts which are the proper occupation and ornament
of their sex. Such an establishment would train up those who would
afterwards instruct others; and we should thus gradually become
independent of the white man for our intellectual progress, as we
might be also for our physical prosperity. It was the more necessary,
as in many districts, owing to the insurmountable prejudices of the
inhabitants, the children of the blacks were not allowed to share the
advantages of the common school. There was some opposition to this plan
in the convention; but in the course of the discussion, which continued
for three days, it appeared so obviously for the advantage of all to
husband this donation, so as to preserve it for a purpose of permanent
utility, that the proposal was, at last, unanimously adopted; and a
committee of three was appointed to select and purchase a site for the
establishment. Mr. Wilson and myself were the active members of this
committee, and after traversing the country for several months, we
could find no place more suitable than that upon which I had had my eye
for three or four years, for a permanent settlement, in the town of
Dawn. We therefore bought two hundred acres of fine, rich land, on the
river Sydenham, covered with a heavy growth of black walnut and white
wood, at four dollars the acre. I had made a bargain for two hundred
acres adjoining this lot, on my own account; and circumstances favored
me so that the man of whom I purchased was glad to let me have them
at a large discount from the price I had agreed to pay, if I would
give him cash for the balance I owed him. I transferred a portion of
the advantage of this bargain to the institution, by selling to it one
hundred acres more, at the low price at which I obtained them; and
thus the school has three hundred acres of as fine land, and as well
situated land, as Canada can show, at a very moderate cost. In 1842,
I removed with my family to Dawn, and as a considerable number of my
friends are there about me, and the school is permanently fixed there,
the future importance of this settlement seems to be decided. There are
many other settlements which are considerable; and, indeed, the colored
population is scattered over a territory, which does not fall far
short of three hundred miles in extent in each direction, and probably
numbers not less than twenty thousand persons in all. We look to the
school, and the possession of landed property by individuals, as two
great means of the elevation of our oppressed and degraded race to a
participation in the blessings, as they have hitherto been permitted to
share only the miseries and vices, of civilization.
My efforts to aid them, in every way in my power, and to procure the
aid of others for them, have been constant. I have made many journeys
into New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, in all of
which States I have found or made some friends to the cause, and, I
hope, some personal friends. I have received many liberal gifts, and
experienced much kindness of treatment; but I must be allowed to allude
particularly to the donations received from Boston, by which we have
been enabled to erect a saw-mill, and thus to begin in good earnest,
the clearing of our lands, and to secure a profitable return for the
support of our school, as among those which have been most welcome and
valuable to us.
I could give here a great many particulars, which would amuse and
interest the reader, if they did not instruct him. But it is better not
to indulge the inclination; and I will conclude my narrative by simply
recording my gratitude, heartfelt and inexpressible, to God, and to
many of my fellow-men, for the vast improvement in my condition, both
physical and mental; for the great degree of comfort with which I am
surrounded; for the good I have been enabled to effect; for the light
which has risen upon me, for the religious privileges I enjoy, and the
religious hopes I am permitted to cherish; for the prospects opening to
my children, so different from what they might have been; and, finally,
for the cheering expectation of benefiting not only the present, but
many future generations of my race.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Note
Original spelling, hyphenation, and punctuation have been retained.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of Josiah Henson, by Josiah Henson