These young bondmen, whilst writhing under the tortures heaped upon
them, resolved, at the cost of life, to make a desperate trial for free
land; to rid themselves of their fetters, at whatever peril they might
have to encounter. The land route presented less encouragement than by
water; they knew but little, however, concerning either way. After much
anxious reflection, they finally decided to make their Underground Rail
Road exit by water. Having lived all their lives not far from the bay,
they had some knowledge of small boats, skiffs in particular, but of
course they were not the possessors of one. Feeling that there was no
time to lose, they concluded to borrow a skiff, though they should never
return it. So one Saturday evening, toward the latter part of January,
the four young slaves stood on the beach near Lewes, Delaware, and cast
their longing eyes in the direction of the Jersey shore. A fierce gale
was blowing, and the waves were running fearfully high; not daunted,
however, but as one man they resolved to take their lives in their hands
and make the bold adventure.
With simple faith they entered the skiff; two of them took the oars,
manfully to face uncertain dangers from the waves. But they remained
steadfast, oft as they felt that they were making the last stroke with
their oars, on the verge of being overwhelmed with the waves. At every
new stage of danger they summoned courage by remembering that they were
escaping for their lives.
[Illustration: ]
Late on Sunday afternoon, the following day, they reached their much
desired haven, the Jersey shore. The relief and joy were unspeakably
great, yet they were strangers in a strange land. They knew not which
way to steer. True, they knew that New Jersey bore the name of being a
Free State; but they had reason to fear that they were in danger. In
this dilemma they were discovered by the captain of an oyster boat whose
sense of humanity was so strongly appealed to by their appearance that
he engaged to pilot them to Philadelphia. The following account of them
was recorded:
William Thomas was a yellow man, twenty-four years of age, and
possessing a vigorous constitution. He accused Shepherd P. Houston of
having restrained him of his liberty, and testified that said Houston
was a very bad man. His vocation was that of a farmer, on a small scale;
as a slave-holder he was numbered with the "small fry." Both master and
mistress were members of the Methodist Church. According to William
Thomas' testimony his mistress as well as his master was very hard on
the slaves in various ways, especially in the matter of food and
clothing. It would require a great deal of hard preaching to convince
him that such Christianity was other than spurious.
John stated that David Henry Houston, a farmer, took it upon himself to
exercise authority over him. Said John, "If you didn't do the work
right, he got contrary, and wouldn't give you anything to eat for a
whole day at a time; he said a 'nigger and a mule hadn't any feeling.'"
He described his stature and circumstances somewhat thus: "Houston is a
very small man; for some time his affairs had been in a bad way; he had
been broke, some say he had bad luck for killing my brother. My brother
was sick, but master said he wasn't sick, and he took a chunk, and beat
on him, and he died a few days after." John firmly believed that his
brother had been the victim of a monstrous outrage, and that he too was
liable to the same treatment.
John was only nineteen years of age, spare built, chestnut color, and
represented the rising mind of the slaves of the South.
Henry was what might be termed a very smart young man, considering that
he had been deprived of a knowledge of reading. He was a brother of
John, and said that he also had been wrongfully enslaved by David
Houston, alluded to above. He fully corroborated the statement of his
brother, and declared, moreover, that his sister had not long since been
sold South, and that he had heard enough to fully convince him that he
and his brother were to be put up for sale soon.
Of their mistress John said that she was a "pretty easy kind of a woman,
only she didn't want to allow enough to eat, and wouldn't mend any
clothes for us."
Isaac was twenty-two, quite black, and belonged to the "rising" young
slaves of Delaware. He stated that he had been owned by a "blacksmith, a
very hard man, by the name of Thomas Carper." Isaac was disgusted with
his master's ignorance, and criticised him, in his crude way, to a
considerable extent. Isaac had learned blacksmithing under Carper. Both
master and mistress were Methodists. Isaac said that he "could not
recommend his mistress, as she was given to bad practices," so much so
that he could hardly endure her. He also charged the blacksmith with
being addicted to bad habits. Sometimes Isaac would be called upon to
receive correction from his master, which would generally be dealt out
with a "chunk of wood" over his "no feeling" head. On a late occasion,
when Isaac was being _chunked_ beyond measure, he resisted, but the
persistent blacksmith did not yield until he had so far disabled Isaac
that he was rendered helpless for the next two weeks. While in this
state he pledged himself to freedom and Canada, and resolved to win the
prize by crossing the Bay.
While these young passengers possessed brains and bravery of a rare
order, at the same time they brought with them an unusual amount of the
soil of Delaware; their persons and old worn-out clothing being full of
it. Their appearance called loudly for immediate cleansing. A room--free
water--free soap, and such other assistance as was necessary was
tendered them in order to render the work as thorough as possible. This
healthy process over, clean and comfortable clothing were furnished, and
the change in their appearance was so marked, that they might have
passed as strangers, if not in the immediate corn-fields of their
masters, certainly among many of their old acquaintances, unless
subjected to the most careful inspection. Raised in the country and on
farms, their masters and mistresses had never dreamed of encouraging
them to conform to habits of cleanliness; washing their persons and
changing their garments were not common occurrences. The coarse garment
once on would be clung to without change as long as it would hold
together. The filthy cabins allotted for their habitations were in
themselves incentives to personal uncleanliness. In some districts this
was more apparent than in others. From some portions of Maryland and
Delaware, in particular, passengers brought lamentable evidence of a
want of knowledge and improvement in this direction. But the master, not
the slave, was blameworthy. The master, as has been intimated, found but
one suit for working (and sometimes none for Sunday), consequently if
Tom was set to ditching one day and became muddy and dirty, and the next
day he was required to haul manure, his ditching suit had to be used,
and if the next day he was called into the harvest-field, he was still
obliged to wear his barn-yard suit, and so on to the end. Frequently
have such passengers been thoroughly cleansed for the first time in
their lives at the Philadelphia station. Some needed practical lessons
before they understood the thoroughness necessary to cleansing. Before
undertaking the operation, therefore, in order that they might be made
to feel the benefit to be derived therefrom, they would need to have the
matter brought home to them in a very gentle way, lest they might feign
to fear taking cold, not having been used to it, etc.
It was customary to say to them: "We want to give you some clean
clothing, but you need washing before putting them on. It will make you
feel like a new man to have the dirt of slavery all washed off. Nothing
that could be done for you would make you feel better after the fatigue
of travel than a thorough bath. Probably you have not been allowed the
opportunity of taking a good bath, and so have not enjoyed one since
your mother bathed you. Don't be afraid of the water or soap--the harder
you rub yourself the better you will feel. Shall we not wash your back
and neck for you? We want you to look well while traveling on the
Underground Rail Road, and not forget from this time forth to try to
take care of yourself," &c., &c. By this course the reluctance where it
existed would be overcome and the proposition would be readily acceded
to, if the water was not too cool; on the other hand, if cool, a slight
shudder might be visible, sufficient to raise a hearty laugh. Yet, when
through, the candidate always expressed a hearty sense of satisfaction,
and was truly thankful for this attention.
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