Richmond was a city noted for its activity and enterprise in slave
trade. Several slave pens and prisons were constantly kept up to
accommodate the trade. And slave auctions were as common in Richmond as
dress goods auctions in Philadelphia; notwithstanding this fact, strange
as it may seem, the Underground Rail Road brought away large numbers of
passengers from Richmond, Petersburg and Norfolk, and not a few of them
lived comparatively within a hair's breadth of the auction block. Many
of those from these localities were amongst the most intelligent and
respectable slaves in the South, and except at times when disheartened
by some grave disaster which had befallen the road, as, for instance,
when some friendly captain or conductor was discovered in aiding
fugitives, many of the thinking bondmen were daily manoeuvering and
watching for opportunities to escape or aid their friends so to do. This
state of things of course made the naturally hot blood of Virginians
fairly boil. They had preached long and loudly about the contented and
happy condition of the slaves,--that the chief end of the black man was
to worship and serve the white man, with joy and delight, with more
willingness and obedience indeed than he would be expected to serve his
Maker. So the slave-holders were utterly at a loss to account for the
unnatural desire on the part of the slaves to escape to the North where
they affirmed they would be far less happy in freedom than in the hands
of those so "kind and indulgent towards them." Despite all this, daily
the disposition increased, with the more intelligent slaves, to distrust
the statements of their masters especially when they spoke against the
North. For instance if the master was heard to curse Boston the slave
was then satisfied that Boston was just the place he would like to go
to; or if the master told the slave that the blacks in Canada were
freezing and starving to death by hundreds, his hope of trying to reach
Canada was made tenfold stronger; he was willing to risk all the
starving and freezing that the country could afford; his eagerness to
find a conductor then would become almost painful.
The situations of Jeremiah and Julia Smith, however, were not considered
very hard, indeed they had fared rather better than most slaves in
Virginia, nevertheless it will be seen that they desired to better their
condition, to keep off of the auction-block at least. Jeremiah could
claim to have no mixture in his blood, as his color was of such a pure
black; but with the way of the world, in respect to shrewdness and
intelligence, he had evidently been actively conversant. He was about
twenty-six years of age, and in stature only medium, with poor health.
The name of James Kinnard, whom he was obliged to call master and serve,
was disgusting to him. Kinnard, he said, was a "close and severe man."
At the same time he was not considered by the community "a hard man."
From the age of fifteen years Jeremiah had been hired out, for which his
owner had received from $50 to $130 per annum. In consequence of his
master's custom of thus letting out Jeremiah, the master had avoided
doctors' bills, &c. For the last two years prior to his escape, however,
Jeremiah's health had been very treacherous, in consequence of which the
master had been compelled to receive only $50 a year, sick or well.
About one month before Jeremiah left, he was to have been taken on his
master's farm, with the hope that he could be made more profitable there
than he was in being hired out.
His owner had thought once of selling him, perhaps fearing that Jeremiah
might unluckily die on his hands. So he put him in prison and
advertised; but as he had the asthma pretty badly at that time, he was
not saleable, the traders even declined to buy him.
While these troubles were presenting themselves to Jeremiah, Julia, his
wife, was still more seriously involved, which added to Jeremiah's
perplexities, of course.
Julia was of a dark brown color, of medium size, and thirty years of
age. Fourteen years she had been the slave of A. Judson Crane, and under
him she had performed the duties of nurse, chamber-maid, etc.,
"faithfully and satisfactorily," as the certificate furnished her by
this owner witnessed. She actually possessing a certificate, which he,
Crane, gave her to enable her to find a new master, as she was then
about to be sold. Her master had experienced a failure in business. This
was the reason why she was to be sold.
Mrs. Crane, her mistress, had always promised Julia that she should be
free at her death. But, unexpectedly, as Mrs. Crane was on her journey
home from Cape May, where she had been for her health the summer before
Julia escaped, she died suddenly in Philadelphia. Julia, however, had
been sold twice before her mistress' death; once to the trader, Reed,
and afterwards to John Freeland, and again was on the eve of being sold.
Freeland, her last owner, thought she was unhappy because she was denied
the privilege of going home of nights to her husband, instead of being
on hand at the beck and call of her master and mistress day and night.
So the very day Julia and her husband escaped, arrangements had been
made to put her up at auction a third time. But both Julia and her
husband had seen enough of Slavery to leave no room to hope that they
could ever find peace or rest so long as they remained. So there and
then, they resolved to strike for Canada, via the Underground Rail Road.
By a little good management, berths were procured for them on one of the
Richmond steamers (berths not known to the officers of the boat), and
they were safely landed in the hands of the Vigilance Committee, and a
most agreeable interview was had.
The Committee extended to them the usual hospitalities, in the way of
board, accommodations, and free tickets Canadaward, and wished them a
safe and speedy passage. The passengers departed, exceedingly
light-hearted, Feb. 1, 1854.
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