The Underground Railroad
pretty rough. Dr. Isaac Winslow of Alexandria was accused of defrauding
Lawrence of his hire. "He was anything else but a gentleman," said
Lawrence. "He was not a fair man no way, and his wife was worse than he
was, and she had a daughter worse than herself."
"Last Sunday a week my master collared me, for my insolence he said, and
told me that he would sell me right off. I was tied and put up stairs
for safe keeping. I was tied for about eight hours. I then untied
myself, broke out of prison, and made for the Underground Rail Road
immediately."
Lawrence gave a most interesting account of his life of bondage, and of
the doctor and his family. He was overjoyed at the manner in which he
had defeated the doctor, and so was the Committee.
* * * * *
HON. L. McLANE'S PROPERTY, SOON AFTER HIS DEATH, TRAVELS _viâ_ THE
UNDERGROUND RAIL ROAD.--WILLIAM KNIGHT, ESQ., LOSES A SUPERIOR
"ARTICLE."
JIM SCOTT, TOM PENNINGTON, SAM SCOTT, BILL SCOTT, ABE BACON, AND JACK
WELLS.
An unusual degree of pleasure was felt in welcoming this party of young
men, not because they were any better than others, or because they had
suffered more, but simply because they were found to possess certain
knowledge and experience of slave life, as it existed under the
government of the chivalry; such information could not always be
obtained from those whose lot had been cast among ordinary
slave-holders. Consequently the Committee interviewed them closely, and
in point of intellect found them to be above the average run of slaves.
As they were then entered on the record, so in like manner are the notes
made of them transferred to these pages.
Jim was about nineteen years of age, well grown, black, and of
prepossessing appearance. The organ of hope seemed very strong in him.
Jim had been numbered with the live stock of the late Hon. L. McLane,
who had been called to give an account of his stewardship about two
months before Jim and his companions "took out."
As to general usage, he made no particular charge against his
distinguished master; he had, however, not been living under his
immediate patriarchal government, but had been hired out to a farmer by
the name of James Dodson, with whom he experienced life "sometimes hard
and sometimes smooth," to use his own words. The reason of his leaguing
with his fellow-servants to abandon the old prison-house, was traceable
to the rumor, that he and some others were to appear on the stage, or
rather the auction-block, in Baltimore, the coming Spring.
Tom, another member of the McLane institution, was about twenty-five
years of age, of unmixed blood, and a fair specimen of a well-trained
field-hand. He conceived that he had just ground to bring damages
against the Hon. L. McLane for a number of years of hard service, and
for being deprived of education. He had been compelled to toil for the
Honorable gentleman, not only on his own place, but on the farms of
others. At the time that Tom escaped, he was hired for one hundred
dollars per annum (and his clothes found him), which hire McLane had
withheld from him contrary to all justice and fair dealing; but as Tom
was satisfied, that he could get no justice through the Maryland courts,
and knew that an old and intimate friend of his master had already
proclaimed, that "negroes had no rights which white men are bound to
respect;" also, as his experience tended to confirm him in the belief,
that the idea was practically carried out in the courts of Maryland; he
thought, that it would be useless to put in a plea for justice in
Maryland. He was not, however, without a feeling of some satisfaction,
that his old master, in giving an account of his stewardship at the Bar
of the Just One, would be made to understand the amount of his
indebtedness to those whom he had oppressed. With this impression, and
the prospects of equal rights and Canada, under her British Majesty's
possessions, he manifested as much delight as if he was traveling with a
half million of dollars in his pocket.
Sam, another likely-looking member of this party, was twenty-two years
of age, and a very promising-looking young fugitive, having the
appearance of being able to take education without difficulty. He had
fully made up his mind, that slavery was never intended for man, and
that he would never wear himself out working for the "white people for
nothing." He wanted to work for himself and enjoy the benefits of
education, etc.
Bill Scott, another member of the McLane party, was twenty-one years of
age, "fat and slick," and fully satisfied, that Canada would agree with
him in every particular. Not a word did he utter in favor of Maryland,
but said much against the manner in which slaves were treated, how he
had felt about the matter, etc.
Abe was also from the McLane estate. He possessed apparently more
general intelligence than either of his companions. He was quite
bright-witted, a ready talker, and with his prospects he was much
satisfied. He was twenty-two years of age, black, good-looking, and
possessed very good manners. He represented, that his distinguished
master died, leaving thirteen head of slaves. His (Abe's) father, Tom's
mother and the mother of the Scotts were freed by McLane. Strong hopes
were entertained that before the old man's death he would make provision
in his will for the freedom of all the other slaves; when he died, the
contrary was found to be the fact; they were still left in chains. The
immediate heirs consisted of six sons and five daughters, who moved in
the first circle, were "very wealthy and aristocratic." Abe was
conversant with the fact, that his master, the "Hon. L. McLane, was once
Secretary under President Jackson;" that he had been "sent to England on
a mission for the Government," and that he had "served two terms in
Congress." Some of the servants, Abe said, were "treated pretty well,
but some others could not say anything in the master's favor." Upon the
whole, however, it was manifest that the McLane slaves had not been
among the number who had seen severe hardships. They came from his
plantation in Cecil county, Maryland, where they had been reared.
In order to defend themselves on the Underground Rail Road, they were
strongly armed. Sam had a large horse pistol and a butcher knife; Jack
had a revolver; Abe had a double-barrelled pistol and a large knife; Jim
had a single-barrelled pistol and counted on "blowing a man down if any
one touched" him. Bill also had a single-barrelled pistol, and when he
started resolved to "come through or die."
Although this party was of the class said to be well fed, well clothed,
and not over-worked, yet to those who heard them declare their utter
detestation of slavery and their determination to use their instruments
of death, even to the taking of life, rather than again be subjected to
the yoke, it was evident that even the mildest form of slavery was
abhorrent. They left neither old nor young masters, whom they desired to
serve any longer or look up to for care and support.
Jack, who was not of the McLane party, but who came with them, had been
kept in ignorance with regard to his age. He was apparently middle-aged,
medium size, dark color, and of average intelligence. He accused William
Knight, a farmer, of having enslaved him contrary to his will or wishes,
and averred that he fled from him because he used him badly and kept
mean overseers. Jack said that his master owned six farms and kept three
overseers to manage them. The slaves numbered twenty-one head. The names
of the overseers were given in the following order: "Alfred King, Jimmy
Allen, and Thomas Brockston." In speaking of their habits, Jack said,
that they were "very smart when the master was about, but as soon as he
was gone they would instantly drop back." "They were all mean, but the
old boss was meaner than them all," and "the overseers were 'fraider' of
him than what I was," said Jack.
His master (Mr. Knight), had a wife and seven children, and was a member
of the Episcopal Church, in "good and regular standing." He was rich,
and, with his family, moved in good society. "His wife was too stingy to
live, and if she was to die, she would die holding on to something,"
said Jack. Jack had once had a wife and three children, but as they
belonged to a slave-holder ("Jim Price") Jack's rights were wholly
ignored, and he lost them.
* * * * *
ARRIVAL FROM HARFORD CO., 1857.
JOHN MYERS.
John fled from under the yoke of Dr. Joshua R. Nelson. Until within two
years of "Jack's" flight, the doctor "had been a very fine man," with
whom Jack found no fault. But suddenly his mode of treatment changed; he
became very severe. Nothing that Jack could do, met the approval of the
doctor. Jack was constantly looked upon with suspicion.
The very day that Jack fled, four men approached him (the doctor one of
them), with line in hand; that sign was well understood, and Jack
resolved that they should not get within tying distance of him. "I
dodged them," said Jack. Never afterwards was Jack seen in that part of
the country, at least as long as a fetter remained.
The day that he "dodged" he also took the Underground Rail Road, and
although ignorant of letters, he battled his way out of Maryland, and
succeeded in reaching Pennsylvania and the Committee. He was obliged to
leave four children behind--John, Abraham, Jane and Ellen.
Jack's wife had been freed and had come to Philadelphia two years in
advance of him. His master evidently supposed that Jack would be mean
enough to wish to see his wife, even in a free State, and that no slave,
with such an unnatural desire, could be tolerated or trusted, that the
sooner such "articles" were turned into cash the better. This in
substance, was the way Jack accounted for the sudden change which had
come over his master. In defense of his course, Jack referred to the
treatment which he had received while in servitude under his old master,
in something like the following words: "I served under my young master's
father, thirty-five years, and from him received kind treatment. I was
his head man on the place, and had everything to look after."
* * * * *
ARRIVAL FROM MARYLAND, 1857.
WILLIAM LEE, SUSAN JANE BOILE AND AMARIAN LUCRETIA RISTER.
Although these three passengers arrived in Philadelphia at the same
time, they did not come from Maryland together.
William Lee found himself under the yoke on a farm in the possession of
Zechariah Merica, who, Wm. said, was a "low ignorant man, not above a
common wood-chopper, and owned no other slave property than William."
Against him, however, William brought no accusation of any very severe
treatment; on the contrary, his master talked sometimes "as though he
wanted to be good and get religion, but said he could not while he was
trying to be rich." Everything looked hopeless in William's eyes, so far
as the master's riches and his own freedom were concerned. He concluded
that he would leave him the "bag to hold alone." William therefore laid
down "the shovel and the hoe," and, without saying a word to his master,
he took his departure, under the privacy of the night, for Canada.
William represented the white and colored races about equally; he was
about twenty-seven years of age, and looked well fitted for a full day's
work on a farm.
Susan Jane came from New Market, near Georgetown Cross-Roads, where she
had been held to unrequited labor by Hezekiah Masten, a farmer. Although
he was a man of fair pretensions, and a member of the Methodist Church,
he knew how to draw the cords very tightly, with regard to his slaves,