Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman
Jackson, who lived near there. Jacob was a free negro, who could both
read and write, and who was under suspicion at that time, as it was
thought he had something to do with the disappearance of so many slaves.
It was necessary, therefore, to be very cautious in writing to him.
Jacob had an adopted son, William Henry Jackson, also free, who had come
South; and so Harriet determined to sign her letter with his name,
knowing that Jacob would be clever enough to understand, by her peculiar
phraseology, what meaning she intended to convey to him. She, therefore,
after speaking of indifferent matters, said, "Read my letter to the old
folks, and give my love to them, and tell my brothers to be always
_watching unto prayer_, and when the _good old ship of Zion comes along,
to be ready to step aboard_."
The letter was signed "William Henry Jackson." Jacob was not allowed to
have his letters till the self-elected inspectors had had the reading of
them, and studied into their secret meaning. They, therefore, got
together, wiped their glasses, and got them on, and proceeded to a
careful perusal of this mysterious document. What it meant, they could
not imagine; William Henry Jackson had no parents or brothers, and the
letter was incomprehensible. White genius having exhausted itself, black
genius was called in, and Jacob's letter was at last handed to him.
Jacob saw at once what it meant, but tossed it down, saying, "Dat letter
can't be meant for me, no how. I can't make head nor tail of it," and
walked off and took immediate measures to let Harriet's brothers know
secretly that she was coming, and they must be ready to start at a
moment's notice for the North. When Harriet arrived there, it was the
day before Christmas, and she found her three brothers, who had
attempted to escape, were advertised to be sold on Christmas day to the
highest bidder, to go down to the cotton and rice fields with the
chain-gang. Christmas came on Sunday, and therefore they were not to be
sold till Monday. Harriet arrived on Saturday, and gave them secret
notice to be ready to start Saturday night, immediately after dark, the
first stopping-place to be their father's cabin, forty miles away. When
they assembled, their brother John was missing; but when Harriet was
ready, the word was "Forward!" and she "nebber waited for no one." Poor
John was almost ready to start, when his wife was taken ill, and in an
hour or two, another little inheritor of the blessings of slavery had
come into the world. John must go off for a "Granny," and then he would
not leave his wife in her present circumstances. But after the birth of
the child, he began to think he must start; the North and Liberty, or
the South and life-long Slavery--these were the alternatives, and this
was his last chance. He tried again and again to steal out of the door,
but a watchful eye was on him, and he was always arrested by the
question, "Where you gwine, John?" At length he told her he was going to
try to see if he couldn't get hired out on Christmas to another man. His
wife did not think that he was to be sold. He went out of the door, and
stood by the corner of the house, near her bed, listening. At length, he
heard her sobbing and crying, and not being able to endure it, he went
back. "Oh! John," said his wife, "you's gwine to lebe me; but, wherebber
you go, remember me an' de chillen." John went out and started at full
speed for his father's cabin, forty miles away. At daybreak, he overtook
the others in the "fodder house," near the cabin of their parents.
Harriet had not seen her mother there for six years, but they did not
dare to let the old woman know of their being in her neighborhood, or of
their intentions, for she would have raised such an uproar in her
efforts to detain them with her, that the whole plantation would have
been alarmed. The poor old woman had been expecting the boys all day, to
spend Christmas with her as usual. She had been hard at work, had killed
a pig, and put it to all the various uses to which sinner's flesh is
doomed, and had made all the preparations her circumstances admitted of,
to give them a sumptuous entertainment, and there she sat watching. In
the night, when Harriet and two of her brothers and two other men, who
had escaped with them, arrived at the "fodder house," they were
exhausted and famished. They sent the two strange men up to the house to
try and speak to "Old Ben," their father, but not to let their mother
know of their being in the neighborhood. The men succeeded in rousing
old Ben, who came out, and as soon as he heard their story, he gathered
together a quantity of provisions, and came down to the fodder house,
and slipped them inside the door, taking care not to _see_ his
children. Up among the ears of corn they lay, and one of them he had
not seen for six years. It rained very hard all that Sunday, and there
they lay all day, for they could not start till night. At about
daybreak, John joined them. There were wide chinks in the boards of the
fodder house, and through them they could see their father's cabin; and
all day long, every few minutes, they would see the old woman come out,
and, shading her eyes with her hand, take a long look down the road to
see if her children were coming, and then they could almost hear her
sigh as she turned into the house, disappointed.
Two or three times the old man came down, and pushed food inside the
door, and after nightfall he came to accompany them part of the way upon
their journey. When he reached the fodder house, he tied his
handkerchief tight over his eyes, and two of his sons taking him by each
arm, he accompanied them some miles upon their journey. They then bade
him farewell, and left him standing blind-fold in the middle of the
road. When he could no longer hear their footsteps, he took off the
handkerchief, and turned back.
But before leaving, they had gone up to the cabin to take a silent
farewell of the poor old mother. Through the little window of the cabin,
they saw the old woman sitting by her fire with a pipe in her mouth, her
head on her hand, rocking back and forth as she did when she was in
trouble, and wondering what new evil had come to her children. With
streaming eyes, they watched her for ten or fifteen minutes; but time
was precious, and they must reach their next station before daybreak,
and so they turned sadly away.
When the holidays were over, and the men came for the three brothers to
sell them, they could not be found. The first place to search was of
course the plantation where all their relatives and friends lived. They
went to the "big house," and asked the "Doctor" if he had seen anything
of them. The Doctor said, "No, they mostly came up there to see the
other niggers when they came for Christmas," but they hadn't been round
at all. "Have you been down to Old Ben's?" the Doctor asked. "Yes."
"What does Old Rit say?" "Old Rit says not one of 'em came this
Christmas. She was looking for 'em most all day, and most broke her
heart about it." "What does Old Ben say?" "Old Ben says that he hasn't
seen one of his children this Christmas." "Well, if Old Ben says that,
they haven't been round." And so the man-hunters went off disappointed.
One of the other brothers, William Henry, had long been attached to a
girl named Catherine, who lived with another master; but her master
would not let her marry him. When William Henry made up his mind to
start with Harriet, he determined to bring Catherine with him. And so he
went to a tailor's, and bought a new suit of men's clothes, and threw
them over the garden fence of Catherine's master. The garden ran down to
a run, and Catherine had been notified where to find the clothes. When
the time had come to get ready, Catherine went to the foot of the garden
and dressed herself in the suit of men's clothes. She was soon missed,
and all the girls in the house were set to looking for Catherine.
Presently they saw coming up through the garden, as if from the river, a
well-dressed little darkey, and they all stopped looking for Catherine
to stare at him. He walked directly by them round the house, and went
out of the gate, without the slightest suspicion being excited as to who
he was. In a fortnight from that time, the whole party were safe in
Canada.
William Henry died in Canada, but Catherine has been seen and talked
with by the writer, at the house of the old people.
Of the many letters, testimonials, and passes, placed in the hands of
the writer by Harriet, the following are selected for insertion in this
book, and are quite sufficient to verify her statements.
_A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a Lady of Auburn._
ATLANTA, GA., March 21, 1868.
MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that
Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition to
Congress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in
the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the value
of her services in South Carolina and Florida. She was employed in
the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid inside the enemy's
lines, displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and fidelity. She was
employed by General Hunter, and I think by Generals Stevens and
Sherman, and is as deserving of a pension from the Government for
her services as any other of its faithful servants.
I am very truly yours,
RUFUS SAXTON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen. U. S. A.
_Letter from Hon. Wm. H. Seward._
WASHINGTON, July 25, 1868.
MAJ.-GEN. HUNTER--
MY DEAR SIR: Harriet Tubman, a colored woman, has been nursing our
soldiers during nearly all the war. She believes she has a claim
for faithful services to the command in South Carolina with which
you are connected, and she thinks that you would be disposed to see
her claim justly settled.
I have known her long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a truer,
seldom dwells in the human form. I commend her, therefore, to your
kind and best attentions.
Faithfully your friend,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
_Letter from Col. James Montgomery._
ST. HELENA ISLAND, S. C., July 6, 1863.
HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE.
BRIG.-GEN. GILMAN, Commanding Department of the South--
GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman,
a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have been
acquainted with her character and actions for several years.
Walter D. Plowden is a man of tried courage, and can be made
highly useful.
I am, General, your most ob't servant,
JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade.
_Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. Baird._
PETERBORO, Nov. 24, 1864.
The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who has
rendered faithful and good services to our Union army, not only in
the hospital, but in various capacities, having been employed under
Government at Hilton Head, and in Florida; and I commend her to the
protection of all officers in whose department she may happen to
be.
She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my
uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and
capabilities.
MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD.
_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith._
PETERBORO, N. Y., Nov. 4, 1867.
I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever,
have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying,
and of more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with
her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment.
During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful