ESCAPE OF CLOTEL
"The fetters galled my weary soul--
A soul that seemed but thrown away;
I spurned the tyrant's base control,
Resolved at least the man to play."
No country has produced so much heroism in so short a time,
connected with escapes from peril and oppression, as has occurred
in the United States among fugitive slaves, many of whom show
great shrewdness in their endeavours to escape from this land of
bondage. A slave was one day seen passing on the high road from a
border town in the interior of the state of Virginia to the Ohio
river. The man had neither hat upon his head or coat upon his
back. He was driving before him a very nice fat pig, and appeared
to all who saw him to be a labourer employed on an adjoining
farm. "No Negro is permitted to go at large in the Slave States
without a written pass from his or her master, except on business
in the neighbourhood." "Where do you live, my boy?" asked a white
man of the slave, as he passed a white house with green blinds.
"Jist up de road, sir," was the answer. "That's a fine pig."
"Yes, sir, marser like dis choat berry much." And the Negro drove
on as if he was in great haste. In this way he and the pig
travelled more than fifty miles before they reached the Ohio
river. Once at the river they crossed over; the pig was sold; and
nine days after the runaway slave passed over the Niagara river,
and, for the first time in his life, breathed the air of freedom.
A few weeks later, and, on the same road, two slaves were seen
passing; one was on horseback, the other was walking before him
with his arms tightly bound, and a long rope leading from the man
on foot to the one on horseback. "Oh, ho, that's a runaway
rascal, I suppose," said a farmer, who met them on the road.
"Yes, sir, he bin runaway, and I got him fast. Marser will tan
his jacket for him nicely when he gets him." "You are a
trustworthy fellow, I imagine," continued the farmer. "Oh yes,
sir; marser puts a heap of confidence in dis nigger." And the
slaves travelled on. When the one on foot was fatigued they would
change positions, the other being tied and driven on foot. This
they called "ride and tie." After a journey of more than two
hundred miles they reached the Ohio river, turned the horse
loose, told him to go home, and proceeded on their way to Canada.
However they were not to have it all their own way. There are men
in the Free States, and especially in the states adjacent to the
Slave States, who make their living by catching the runaway
slave, and returning him for the reward that may be offered. As
the two slaves above mentioned were travelling on towards the
land of freedom, led by the North Star, they were set upon by
four of these slave-catchers, and one of them unfortunately
captured. The other escaped. The captured fugitive was put under
the torture, and compelled to reveal the name of his owner and
his place of residence. Filled with delight, the kidnappers
started back with their victim. Overjoyed with the prospect of
receiving a large reward, they gave themselves up on the third
night to pleasure. They put up at an inn. The Negro was chained
to the bed-post, in the same room with his captors. At dead of
night, when all was still, the slave arose from the floor upon
which he had been lying, looked around, and saw that
the white men were fast asleep. The brandy punch had done its
work. With palpitating heart and trembling limbs he viewed his
position. The door was fast, but the warm weather had compelled
them to leave the window open. If he could but get his chains
off, he might escape through the window to the piazza, and reach
the ground by one of the posts that supported the piazza. The
sleeper's clothes hung upon chairs by the bedside; the slave
thought of the padlock key, examined the pockets and found it.
The chains were soon off, and the Negro stealthily making his way
to the window: he stopped and said to himself, "These men are
villains, they are enemies to all who like me are trying to be
free. Then why not I teach them a lesson?" He then undressed
himself, took the clothes of one of the men, dressed himself in
them, and escaped through the window, and, a moment more, he was
on the high road to Canada. Fifteen days later, and the writer of
this gave him a passage across Lake Erie, and saw him safe in her
Britannic Majesty's dominions.
We have seen Clotel sold to Mr. French in Vicksburgh, her hair
cut short, and everything done to make her realise her position
as a servant. Then we have seen her re-sold, because her owners
feared she would die through grief. As yet her new purchaser
treated her with respectful gentleness, and sought to win her
favour by flattery and presents, knowing that whatever he gave
her he could take back again. But she dreaded every moment lest
the scene should change, and trembled at the sound of every
footfall. At every interview with her new master Clotel stoutly
maintained that she had left a husband in Virginia, and would
never think of taking another. The gold watch and chain, and
other glittering presents which he purchased for her, were all
laid aside by the quadroon, as if they were of no value to her.
In the same house with her was another servant, a man, who had
from time to time hired himself from his master. William was his
name. He could feel for Clotel, for he, like her, had been
separated from near and dear relatives, and often tried to
console the poor woman. One day the quadroon observed to him that
her hair was growing out again. "Yes," replied William, "you look
a good deal like a man with your short hair." "Oh," rejoined she,
"I have often been told that I would make a better looking man
than a woman. If I had the money," continued she, "I would bid
farewell to this place." In a moment more she feared that she had
said too much, and smilingly remarked, "I am always talking
nonsense." William was a tall, full-bodied Negro, whose very
countenance beamed with intelligence. Being a mechanic, he had,
by his own industry, made more than what he paid his owner; this
he laid aside, with the hope that some day he might get enough to
purchase his freedom. He had in his chest one hundred and fifty
dollars. His was a heart that felt for others, and he had again
and again wiped the tears from his eyes as he heard the story of
Clotel as related by herself. "If she can get free with a little
money, why not give her what I have?" thought he, and then he
resolved to do it. An hour after, he came into the quadroon's
room, and laid the money in her lap, and said, "There, Miss
Clotel, you said if you had the means you would leave this place;
there is money enough to take you to England, where you will be
free. You are much fairer than many of the white women of the
South, and can easily pass for a free white lady." At first
Clotel feared that it was a plan by which the Negro wished to try
her fidelity to her owner; but she was soon convinced by his
earnest manner, and the deep feeling with which he spoke, that he
was honest. "I will take the money only on one condition," said
she; "and that is, that I effect your escape as well as my own."
"How can that be done?" he inquired. "I will assume the disguise
of a gentleman and you that of a servant, and we will take
passage on a steamboat and go to Cincinnati, and thence to
Canada." Here William put in several objections to the plan. He
feared detection, and he well knew that, when a slave is once
caught when attempting to escape, if returned is sure to be worse
treated than before. However, Clotel satisfied him that the plan
could be carried out if he would only play his part.
The resolution was taken, the clothes for her disguise procured,
and before night everything was in readiness for their departure.
That night Mr. Cooper, their master, was to attend a party, and
this was their opportunity. William went to the wharf to look out
for a boat, and had scarcely reached the landing ere he heard the
puffing of a steamer. He returned and reported the fact. Clotel
had already packed her trunk, and had only to dress and all was
ready. In less than an hour they were on board the boat. Under
the assumed name of "Mr. Johnson," Clotel went to the clerk's
office and took a private state room for herself, and paid her
own and servant's fare. Besides being attired in a neat suit of
black, she had a white silk handkerchief tied round her chin, as
if she was an invalid. A pair of green glasses covered her eyes;
and fearing that she would be talked to too much and thus render
her liable to be detected, she assumed to be very ill. On the
other hand, William was playing his part well in the servants'
hall; he was talking loudly of his master's wealth. Nothing
appeared as good on the boat as in his master's fine mansion.
"I don't like dees steam-boats no how," said William; "I hope when
marser goes on a journey agin he will take de carriage and de
hosses." Mr. Johnson (for such was the name by which Clotel now
went) remained in his room, to avoid, as far as possible,
conversation with others. After a passage of seven days they
arrived at Louisville, and put up at Gough's Hotel. Here they had
to await the departure of another boat for the North. They were
now in their most critical position. They were still in a slave
state, and John C. Calhoun, a distinguished slave-owner, was a
guest at this hotel. They feared, also, that trouble would attend
their attempt to leave this place for the North, as all persons
taking Negroes with them have to give bail that such Negroes are
not runaway slaves. The law upon this point is very stringent:
all steamboats and other public conveyances are liable to a fine
for every slave that escapes by them, besides paying the full
value for the slave. After a delay of four hours, Mr. Johnson
and servant took passage on the steamer Rodolph, for Pittsburgh.
It is usual, before the departure of the boats, for an officer to
examine every part of the vessel to see that no slave secretes
himself on board. "Where are you going?" asked the officer of
William, as he was doing his duty on this occasion. "I am going
with marser," was the quick reply. "Who is your master?" "Mr.
Johnson, sir, a gentleman in the cabin." "You must take him to
the office and satisfy the captain that all is right, or you
can't go on this boat." William informed his master what the
officer had said. The boat was on the eve of going, and no time
could be lost, yet they knew not what to do. At last they went to
the office, and Mr. Johnson, addressing the captain, said, "I am
informed that my boy can't go with me unless I give security that
he belongs to me. "Yes," replied the captain, "that is the law."
"A very strange law indeed," rejoined Mr. Johnson, "that one
can't take his property with him." After a conversation of some
minutes, and a plea on the part of Johnson that he did not wish
to be delayed owing to his illness, they were permitted to take
their passage without farther trouble, and the boat was soon on
its way up the river. The fugitives had now passed the Rubicon,
and the next place at which they would land would be in a Free
State. Clotel called William to her room, and said to him, "We
are now free, you can go on your way to Canada, and I shall go to
Virginia in search of my daughter." The announcement that she was
going to risk her liberty in a Slave State was unwelcome news to
William. With all the eloquence he could command, he tried to
persuade Clotel that she could not escape detection, and was only
throwing her freedom away. But she had counted the cost, and made
up her mind for the worst. In return for the money he had
furnished, she had secured for him his liberty, and their
engagement was at an end.
After a quick passage the fugitives arrived at Cincinnati, and
there separated. William proceeded on his way to Canada, and
Clotel again resumed her own apparel, and prepared to start in
search of her child. As might have been expected, the escape of
those two valuable slaves created no little sensation in
Vicksburgh. Advertisements and messages were sent in every
direction in which the fugitives were thought to have gone. It was
soon, however, known that they had left the town as master and
servant; and many were the communications which
appeared in the newspapers, in which the writers thought, or
pretended, that they had seen the slaves in their disguise. One
was to the effect that they had gone off in a chaise; one as
master, and the other as servant. But the most probable was an
account given by a correspondent of one of the Southern
newspapers, who happened to be a passenger in the same steamer in
which the slaves escaped, and which we here give:--
"One bright starlight night, in the month of December last, I
found myself in the cabin of the steamer Rodolph, then lying in
the port of Vicksburgh, and bound to Louisville. I had gone early
on board, in order to select a good berth, and having got tired of
reading the papers, amused myself with watching the appearance of
the passengers as they dropped in, one after another, and I being
a believer in physiognomy, formed my own opinion of their
characters.
"The second bell rang, and as I yawningly returned my watch to my
pocket, my attention was attracted by the appearance of a young
man who entered the cabin supported by his servant, a strapping
Negro.
"The man was bundled up in a capacious overcoat; his face was
bandaged with a white handkerchief, and its expression entirely
hid by a pair of enormous spectacles.
"There was something so mysterious and unusual about the young man
as he sat restless in the corner, that curiosity led me to
observe him more closely.
"He appeared anxious to avoid notice, and before the steamer had
fairly left the wharf, requested, in a low, womanly voice, to be
shown his berth, as he was an invalid, and must retire early: his
name he gave as Mr. Johnson. His servant was called, and he was
put quietly to bed. I paced the deck until Tyhee light grew dim
in the distance, and then went to my berth.
"I awoke in the morning with the sun shining in my face; we were
then just passing St. Helena. It was a mild beautiful morning,
and most of the passengers were on deck, enjoying the freshness
of the air, and stimulating their appetites for breakfast. Mr.
Johnson soon made his appearance, arrayed as on the night before,
and took his seat quietly upon the guard of the boat.
"From the better opportunity afforded by daylight, I found that
he was a slight build, apparently handsome young man, with black
hair and eyes, and of a darkness of complexion that betokened
Spanish extraction. Any notice from others seemed painful to him;
so to satisfy my curiosity, I questioned his servant, who was
standing near, and gained the following information.
"His master was an invalid--he had suffered for a long time under a
complication of diseases, that had baffled the skill of the best
physicians in Mississippi; he was now suffering principally with
the 'rheumatism,' and he was scarcely able to walk or help himself
in any way. He came from Vicksburgh, and was now on his way to
Philadelphia, at which place resided his uncle, a celebrated
physician, and through whose means he hoped to be restored to
perfect health.
"This information, communicated in a bold, off-hand manner,
enlisted my sympathies for the sufferer, although it occurred to
me that he walked rather too gingerly for a person afflicted with
so many ailments."
After thanking Clotel for the great service she had done him in
bringing him out of slavery, William bade her farewell. The
prejudice that exists in the Free States against coloured
persons, on account of their colour, is attributable solely to
the influence of slavery, and is but another form of slavery
itself. And even the slave who escapes from the Southern
plantations, is surprised when he reaches the North, at the
amount and withering influence of this prejudice. William applied
at the railway station for a ticket for the train going to
Sandusky, and was told that if he went by that train he would
have to ride in the luggage-van. "Why?" asked the astonished
Negro. "We don't send a Jim Crow carriage but once a day, and
that went this morning." The "Jim Crow" carriage is the one in
which the blacks have to ride. Slavery is a school in which its
victims learn much shrewdness, and William had been an apt
scholar. Without asking any more questions, the Negro took his
seat in one of the first-class carriages. He was soon seen and
ordered out. Afraid to remain in the town longer, he resolved to
go by that train; and consequently seated himself on a goods' box
in the luggage van. The train started at its proper time, and all
went on well. Just before arriving at the end of the journey, the
conductor called on William for his ticket. "I have none," was
the reply. "Well, then, you can pay your fare to me," said the
officer. "How much is it?" asked the black man. "Two dollars."
"What do you charge those in the passenger-carriage?" "Two
dollars." "And do you charge me the same as you do those who ride
in the best carriages?" asked the Negro. "Yes," was the answer.
"I shan't pay it," returned the man. "You black scamp, do you
think you can ride on this road without paying your fare?" "No, I
don't want to ride for nothing; I only want to pay what's right."
"Well, launch out two dollars, and that's right." "No, I shan't;
I will pay what I ought, and won't pay any more." "Come, come,
nigger, your fare and be done with it," said the conductor, in a
manner that is never used except by Americans to blacks. "I won't
pay you two dollars, and that enough," said William. "Well, as
you have come all the way in the luggage-van, pay me a dollar and
a half and you may go." "I shan't do any such thing." "Don't you
mean to pay for riding?" "Yes, but I won't pay a dollar and a
half for riding up here in the freight-van. If you had let me
come in the carriage where others ride, I would have paid you two
dollars." "Where were you raised? You seem to think yourself as
good as white folks." "I want nothing more than my rights."
"Well, give me a dollar, and I will let you off." "No, sir, I
shan't do it." "What do you mean to do then, don't you wish to pay
anything?" "Yes, sir, I want to pay you the full price." "What do
you mean by full price?" "What do you charge per hundred-weight
for goods?" inquired the Negro with a degree of gravity that
would have astonished Diogenes himself. "A quarter of a dollar
per hundred," answered the conductor. "I weigh just one hundred
and fifty pounds," returned William, "and will pay you three
eighths of a dollar." "Do you expect that you will pay only
thirty-seven cents for your ride?" "This, sir, is your own price.
I came in a luggage-van, and I'll pay for luggage." After a vain
effort to get the Negro to pay more, the conductor took the
thirty-seven cents, and noted in his cash-book, "Received for one
hundred and fifty pounds of luggage, thirty seven cents." This,
reader, is no fiction; it actually occurred in the railway above
described.
Thomas Corwin, a member of the American Congress, is one of the
blackest white men in the United States. He was once on his way
to Congress, and took passage in one of the Ohio river steamers.
As he came just at the dinner hour, he immediately went into the
dining saloon, and took his seat at the table. A gentleman with
his whole party of five ladies at once left the table. "Where is
the captain?" cried the man in an angry tone. The captain soon
appeared, and it was sometime before he could satisfy the old
gent, that Governor Corwin was not a nigger. The newspapers often
have notices of mistakes made by innkeepers and others who
undertake to accommodate the public, one of which we give below.
On the 6th inst., the Hon. Daniel Webster and family entered
Edgartown, on a visit for health and recreation. Arriving at the
hotel, without alighting from the coach, the landlord was sent
for to see if suitable accommodation could be had. That dignitary
appearing, and surveying Mr. Webster, while the hon. senator
addressed him, seemed woefully to mistake the dark features of
the traveller as he sat back in the corner of the carriage, and
to suppose him a coloured man, particularly as there were two
coloured servants of Mr. W. outside. So he promptly declared that
there was no room for him and his family, and he could not be
accommodated there at the same time suggesting that he might
perhaps find accommodation at some of the huts up back, to which
he pointed. So deeply did the prejudice of looks possess him,
that he appeared not to notice that the stranger introduced
himself to him as Daniel Webster, or to be so ignorant as not to
have heard of such a personage; and turning away, he expressed to
the driver his astonishment that he should bring black people
there for him to take in. It was not till he had been repeatedly
assured and made to understand that the said Daniel Webster was a
real live senator of the United States, that he perceived his
awkward mistake and the distinguished honour which he and his
house were so near missing.
In most of the Free States, the coloured people are disfranchised
on account of their colour. The following scene, which we take
from a newspaper in the state of Ohio, will give some idea of the
extent to which this prejudice is carried.
"The whole of Thursday last was occupied by the Court of Common
Pleas for this county in trying to find out whether one Thomas
West was of the VOTING COLOUR, as some had very constitutional
doubts as to whether his colour was orthodox, and whether his
hair was of the official crisp! Was it not a dignified business?
Four profound judges, four acute lawyers, twelve grave jurors,
and I don't know how many venerable witnesses, making in all
about thirty men, perhaps, all engaged in the profound,
laborious, and illustrious business, of finding out whether a man
who pays tax, works on the road, and is an industrious farmer,
has been born according to the republican, Christian constitution
of Ohio--so that he can vote! And they wisely, gravely, and
'JUDGMATICALLY' decided that he should not vote! What wisdom--what
research it must have required to evolve this truth! It was left
for the Court of Common Pleas for Columbian county, Ohio, in the
United States of North America, to find out what Solomon never
dreamed of--the courts of all civilised, heathen, or Jewish
countries, never contemplated. Lest the wisdom of our courts
should be circumvented by some such men as might be named, who
are so near being born constitutionally that they might be taken
for white by sight, I would suggest that our court be invested
with SMELLING powers, and that if a man don't exhale the
constitutional smell, he shall not vote! This would be an
additional security to our liberties."
William found, after all, that liberty in the so-called Free
States was more a name than a reality; that prejudice followed
the coloured man into every place that he might enter. The
temples erected for the worship of the living God are no
exception. The finest Baptist church in the city of Boston has
the following paragraph in the deed that conveys its seats to
pewholders:
"And it is a further condition of these presents, that if the
owner or owners of said pew shall determine hereafter to sell the
same, it shall first be offered, in writing, to the standing
committee of said society for the time being, at such price as
might otherwise be obtained for it; and the said committee shall
have the right, for ten days after such offer, to purchase said
pew for said society, at that price, first deducting therefrom
all taxes and assessments on said pew then remaining unpaid. And
if the said committee shall not so complete such purchase within
said ten days, then the pew may be sold by the owner or owners
thereof (after payment of all such arrears) to any one
respectable white person, but upon the same conditions as are
contained in this instrument; and immediate notice of such sale
shall be given in writing, by the vendor, to the treasurer of
said society."
Such are the conditions upon which the Rowe Street Baptist
Church, Boston, disposes of its seats. The writer of this is able
to put that whole congregation, minister and all, to flight, by
merely putting his coloured face in that church. We once visited
a church in New York that had a place set apart for the sons of
Ham. It was a dark, dismal looking place in one corner of the
gallery, grated in front like a hen-coop, with a black border
around it. It had two doors; over one was B. M.--black men; over
the other B. W.--black women.