This epistle from the old friend of the fugitive, Thomas Garrett,
excited unusual interest. Preparation was immediately made to give the
fugitives a kind reception, and at the same time to destroy their
plagues, root and branch, without mercy.
They arrived according to appointment. The cleansing process was carried
into effect most thoroughly, and no vermin were left to tell the tale of
suffering they had caused. Straightway the passengers were made
comfortable in every way, and the spirit of freedom seemed to be burning
like "fire shut up in the bones." The appearance alone of these men
indicated their manhood, and wonderful natural ability. The examining
Committee were very desirous of hearing their story without a moment's
delay.
As Harry, from having suffered most, was the hero of this party, and
withal was an intelligent man, he was first called upon to make his
statement as to how times had been with him in the prison house, from
his youth up. He was about forty-six years of age, according to his
reckoning, full six feet high, and in muscular appearance was very
rugged, and in his countenance were evident marks of firmness. He said
that he was born a slave in North Carolina, and had been sold three
times. He was first sold when a child three years of age, the second
time when he was thirteen years old, and the third and last time he was
sold to Jesse Moore, from whom he fled. Prior to his coming into the
hands of Moore he had not experienced any very hard usage, at least
nothing more severe than fell to the common lot of slave-boys, therefore
the period of his early youth was deemed of too little interest to
record in detail. In fact time only could be afforded for noticing very
briefly some of the more remarkable events of his bondage. The examining
Committee confined their interrogations to his last taskmaster.
"How did Moore come by you?" was one of the inquiries. "He bought me,"
said Harry, "of a man by the name of Taylor, nine or ten years ago; he
was as bad as he could be, couldn't be any worse to be alive. He was
about fifty years of age, when I left him, a right red-looking man, big
bellied old fellow, weighs about two hundred and forty pounds. He drinks
hard, he is just like a rattlesnake, just as cross and crabbed when he
speaks, seems like he could go through you. He flogged Richmond for not
ploughing the corn good, that was what he pretended to whip him for.
Richmond ran away, was away four months, as nigh as I can guess, then
they cotched him, then struck him a hundred lashes, and then they split
both feet to the bone, and split both his insteps, and then master took
his knife and stuck it into him in many places; after he done him that
way, he put him into the barn to shucking corn. For a long time he was
not able to work; when he did partly recover, he was set to work again."
We ceased to record anything further concerning Richmond, although not a
fourth part of what Harry narrated was put upon paper. The account was
too sickening and the desire to hear Harry's account of himself too
great to admit of further delay; so Harry confined himself to the
sufferings and adventures which had marked his own life. Briefly he gave
the following facts: "I have been treated bad. One day we were grubbing
and master said we didn't do work enough. 'How came there was no more
work done that day?' said master to me. I told him I did work. In a more
stormy manner he 'peated the question. I then spoke up and said: 'Massa,
I don't know what to say.' At once massa plunged his knife into my neck
causing me to stagger. Massa was drunk. He then drove me down to the
black folk's houses (cabins of the slaves). He then got his gun, called
the overseer, and told him to get some ropes. While he was gone I said,
'Massa, now you are going to tie me up and cut me all to pieces for
nothing. I would just as leave you would take your gun and shoot me down
as to tie me up and cut me all to pieces for nothing.' In a great rage
he said 'go.' I jumped, and he put up his gun and snapped both barrels
at me. He then set his dogs on me, but as I had been in the habit of
making much of them, feeding them, &c. they would not follow me, and I
kept on straight to the woods. My master and the overseer cotched the
horses and tried to run me down, but as the dogs would not follow me
they couldn't make nothing of it. It was the last of August a year ago.
The devil was into him, and he flogged and beat four of the slaves, one
man and three of the women, and said if he could only get hold of me he
wouldn't strike me, 'nary-a-lick,' but would tie me to a tree and empty
both barrels into me.
[Illustration: ]
In the woods I lived on nothing, you may say, and something too. I had
bread, and roasting ears, and 'taters. I stayed in the hollow of a big
poplar tree for seven months; the other part of the time I stayed in a
cave. I suffered mighty bad with the cold and for something to eat. Once
I got me some charcoal and made me a fire in my tree to warm me, and it
liked to killed me, so I had to take the fire out. One time a snake come
to the tree, poked its head in the hollow and was coming in, and I took
my axe and chopped him in two. It was a poplar leaf moccasin, the
poisonest kind of a snake we have. While in the woods all my thoughts
was how to get away to a free country."
[Illustration: ]
Subsequently, in going back over his past history, he referred to the
fact, that on an occasion long before the cave and tree existence,
already noticed, when suffering under this brutal master, he sought
protection in the woods and abode twenty-seven months in a cave, before
he surrendered himself, or was captured. His offence, in this instance,
was simply because he desired to see his wife, and "stole" away from his
master's plantation and went a distance of five miles, to where she
lived, to see her. For this grave crime his master threatened to give
him a hundred lashes, and to shoot him; in order to avoid this
punishment, he escaped to the woods, etc. The lapse of a dozen years and
recent struggles for an existence, made him think lightly of his former
troubles and he would, doubtless, have failed to recall his earlier
conflicts but for the desire manifested by the Committee to get all the
information out of him they could.
He was next asked, "Had you a wife and family?" "Yes, sir,". he
answered, "I had a wife and eight children, belonged to the widow
Slade." Harry gave the names of his wife and children as follows: Wife,
Susan, and children, Oliver, Sabey, Washington, Daniel, Jonas, Harriet,
Moses and Rosetta, the last named he had never seen. "Between my
mistress and my master there was not much difference."
[Illustration: ]
Of his comrades time admitted of writing out only very brief sketches,
as follows: