No. 49 Victoria St., Toronto, C.W.
As in the case of many others, the way was so completely blocked that
nothing could be done for the wife's deliverance. Until the day when the
millions of fetters were broken, nothing gave so much pain to husbands
and wives as these heart-breaking separations.
William Williams and his wife were the next who arrived. They came from
Haven Manor, Md. They had been owned by John Peak, by whom, according to
their report, they had been badly treated, and the Committee had no
reason to doubt their testimony.
The next arrival numbered four passengers, and came under the guidance
of "Moses" (Harriet Tubman), from Maryland. They were adults, looking as
though they could take care of themselves very easily, although they had
the marks of Slavery on them. It was no easy matter for men and women
who had been ground down all their lives, to appear as though they had
been enjoying freedom. Indeed, the only wonder was that so many appeared
to as good advantage as they did, after having been crushed down so
long.
The paucity of the narratives in the month of April, is quite
noticeable. Why fuller reports were not written out, cannot now be
accounted for; probably the feeling existed that it was useless to write
out narratives, except in cases of very special interest.
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