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JEWETT AND COMPANY CLEVELAND, OIIIO : HENRY P. B. JEWETT. 1858. Entered »ccording to Act of Congress In the yeor 185S, by JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY, In the Clerk's Office of the IM»trict Court for the District of MasMM!hu8ettt«. UinOTTPED BT COWLES AND COMPANY, 17 WA9HIN0TC:< STREET, BOSTON. Press of Geo. C. Rand k Avery PREFACE The numerous friends of the author of this little work will need no greater recommend- ation than his name to make it welcome. Among all the singular and interesting rec- ords to which the institution of American sla- very has given rise, we know of none more striking, more characteristic and instructive, than that of JosiAH Henson. Born a slave — a slave in effect in a hea- then land — and under a heathen master, h© grew up without Christian light or knowledge, and like the Gentiles spoken of by St. Paul, "without the law did by nature the things that are written in the law." One sermon, one offer of salvation by Christ, was sufficient for him, as for the Ethiopian eunuch, to make him at once a believer from the heart and a preacher of Jesus. To the great Christian doctrine of forgive- ness of enemies and the returning of good for ili I! f IV PREFACE. evil, he was by God's grace made a faithful witness, under circumstances that try men's souls and make us all who read it say, " lead us not into such temptation." We earnestly commend this portion of his narrative to those who, under much smaller temptations, think themselves entitled to render evil for evil. The African race appear as yet to have been companions only of the sufferings of Christ. In the melancholy scene of his death — while Europe in the person of the Roman delivered him unto death, and Asia in the person of the Jew clamored for his execution — Africa was represented in the person of Simon the Cyre- nean, who came patiently bearing after him the load of the cross ; and ever since then poor Africa has been toiling on, bearing the weary cross of contempt and oppression after Jesus. But they who suffer with him shall also reign ; and when the unwritten annals of slavery shall appear in the judgment, many Simons who have gone meekly bearing their cross after Jesus to unknown graves, shall rise to thrones and crowns ! Verily a day shall come when he shall appear for these his hidden ones, and then " many that are last shall be first, and the first shall be last." Our excellent friend has prepared this edi- M PREFACE. tion of his works for the purpose of redeem- ing from slavery a beloved brother, who has groaned for many years under the yoke of a hard master. Whoever would help Jesus, were he sick or in prison, may help him now in the person of these his little ones, his af- flicted and suflfering children. The work is commended to the kind oflSces of all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. H. B. STOWE. Andoveb, Mass., April 5, 1858. 1* ■rt it" CONTENTS. 'I CHAPTER I. MY DIKTII AND CIIILUUOOD. Eftrliest inoinoriL's. — Born in Marylund. — My father's first appearance. — Attempted outra^jo on my mother. — My fatlicr's fiylit with an overseer. — One liundrcd stripes and his ear cut olF. — Tiirows away his banjo ami becomes morose. — Sold South, ... 1 CHAPTER 11. MY FIRST GREAT TRIAL. Origin of my name. — A kind master. — Ho is drowned. — My mother's prayers. — A slave auction. — Torn from my mother. — Severe sickness. — A cruel master. — Sold again and restored to my mother, ... 8 CHAPTER III. MY DOYHOOD AND YOUTH Early employment. — Slave-life. — Food, lodging, cloth- ing. — Amusements. — Gleams of sunshine. — My knight-errantry. — Become an overseer and general supcriatcudcat, 1$ ▼U Viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. MY CONVKRfllON. A Rood man. — Hear a sermon for the first time. — Iti effects upon mo. — Prayer and communion. — Its first fruits, 25 CHAPTER V. MAIMED FOR LIFE. Taking care of my drunken master. — His fight with on overseer. — Rescue him. — Am terribly beaten by the overseer. — My master seeks redress at law, but fails. — Suflerings then and siuco. — Retain my post as su- perintendent, I CHAPTER VI A RESPONSIBLE JOCRNBT. My marriage. — Marriage of my master. — His ruin. — Comes to mo for aid. — A great enterprise undertaken. — Long and successful journey. — Incidents by the way. — Struggle between inclination ond duty. — Duty triumphant, 42 CHAPTER VII. A NEW HOME. Become a Methodist preacher. — My poor companions sold. — My agony. — Sent for again. — Interview with a kind Methodist preacher. — Visit free soil and begia my struggle for freedom, . , , . .55 CONTENTS. IX ciiAi»Ti:u vrii HETUIIV TO MAIIYLAND. Reception from my old iiuister. — A hIiivc aj^iiin. — Ap- pciil to nu old friend. — Hiiy jny frci'dtim. — Cliciited and bctruyod. — liuoi( to Kentucky, and u hIuvo i -^ * I li^ 86 FATHER HENSON S STORY .t'c ■*9 k your shirt," cried he ; and as T demurred at this, lie lifted a .stick he had in his hand to strike me, but so suddenly and violently that he frightened the horse, which broke away from him and ran home. I was thus left with- out means of escape, to sustain the attacks of four men, as well as I might. In avoiding Mr. L.'s blow, I had accidentally got into a corner of the fence, where I could not be ap- proached except in front. The overseer called upon the negroes to seize me ; but they, know ing something of my physical power, were rather slow to obey. At length they did their best, and as they brought themselves within my reach, I knocked thcmdown successively; and one of them trying to trip up my feet when he was down, I gave him a kick with my heavy shoe, which knocked out several teeth, and sent him howling away. Meanwhile Bryce Litton played away on my head with a stick, not heavy enough, indeed, to knock me down, but drawing blood freely ; shouting all the while, " Won't you give up! won't you give up! you black son M ill I [.1 OF Ills OWN LIFE. 87 of a bitch!" Exasperated at my defence, ho suddenly seized a heavy fence-rail, and rushed at me to bring matters to a sudden close. The ponderous blow fell ; I lifted my arm to ward it off; the bone cracked like a pipe-stem, and I fell headlong to the ground. Repeated blows then rained on my back, till both shoul- der-blades were broken, and the blood gushed copiously from my mouth. In vain the ne- groes interposed. " Didn't you see the damned nigger strike me?" Of course they must say " yes," although the lying coward had avoided close quarters, and fought with his stick alone. At length, his vengeance satisfied, he desisted, telling me to learn what it was to strike a white man. Meanwhile an alarm had been raised at the house by the return of the horse without his rider, and my master started off with a small party to learn what the trouble was. "WhQii he first saw me he was swearing with rage. " You've been fighting, you damned nigger!" I told him Bryce Litton had been beating me, because I shoved him the other night at the 4 ■! 88 FATHER IIENSON'S STORY m I 'V tavern, when thoy had a fuss. Seeing how much I was injured, he became still more fear- fully mad ; and after having me carried home, mounted his horse and rode over to Montgom- ery Court House, to enter a complaint. Little good came of it. Litton swore that when he spoke to me in the lane, I "sassed" him, jumped off my horse and made at him, and would have killed him but for the help of his negroes. Of course no negro's testimony could be admitted against a white man, and he was acquitted. My master was obliged to pay all the costs of court ; and although he had the satisfaction of calling Litton a liar and scoundrel, and giving him a tremendous bruising, still even this partial compensation was rendered less gratifying by what followed, which was a suit for damages and a heavy fine. My sufferings after this cruel treatment were intense. Besides my brokeii arm and the wounds on my head, I could feel and hear the pieces of my shoulder-blades grate against each other with every breath. No physician i '# ' Hi or 1119 OWN LIFE. 39 i I 5 f e e e it n or argooii was called to dress my wouiidH ; aini I never knew one to be called on Riley's estate on any occasion whatever. " A nigger will get well anyway," was a fixed principle of faith, and facts seemed to justify it. The robust, physical health produced by a life of out-door labor, made our wounds heal up with as little inflammation as they do in the case of cattle, r was attended by my master's sis- ter, Miss Patty, as we called her, the Escu- lapius of the plantation. She was a powerful, big-boned woman, who flinched at no respon- sibility, from wrenching out teeth to setting bones. I have seen her go into the house and get a rifle to shoot a furious ox that the negroes were in vain trying to butcher. She splintered my arm and bound up my back as well as she knew how. Alas ! it was but cobbler's work. From that day to this I have been unable to raise my hands as high as my head. It was five months before I could work at all, and the first time I tried to plough, a hard knock of the colter against a stone shattered my shoulder- blades again, and gave me even greater agony % 40 .t'c FATHER BENSON'S STORY than at first. And so I have gone through life maimed and mutilated. Practice in time enabled me to perform many of the farm labors with considerable efficiency; but the free, vig- orous play of muscle and arm was gone forever. My situation as overseer I retained, together with the especial favor of my master, who was not displeased either with saving the expense of a large salary for a white superintendent, or with the superior crops I was able to raise for him. I will not deny that I used his prop- erty more freely than he would have done himself, in supplying his people with better food; but if I cheated him in this way, in small matters, it was unequivocally for his own benefit in more important ones ; and I accounted, with the strictest honesty, for every dollar I received in the sale of the property entrusted to me. Gradually the disposal of everything raised on the farm, — tne wheat, oats, hay, fruit, butter, and whatever else there might be, — was confided to me, as it was quite evident that I could and did sell for f OF HIS OWN LIFE. 41 better prices than any one else he could em- ploy ; and he was quite incomj- 3tent to attend to the business himself. For many years I was his factotum, and supplied him with all his means for all his purposes, whether they were good or bad. I had no reason to think highly of his moral character ; but it was my duty to be faithful to him in the position in which he placed me ; and I can boldly declare, before God and man, that I was so. I forgave him the causeless blows and injuries he had inflicted on me in childhood and youth, and was proud of the favor he now showed me, and of the character and reputation I had earned by strenuous and persevering efforts. 4* -i 42 FATHER HENSON'S STORY CHAPTER VI. A RESPONSIBLE JOURNEY. MY MAHniAGE. — MARRIAGE OF MY MASTER. — 1119 RUIIT. — COMES TO ME FOR AID. — A GREAT EN'TERPRISE UN- DERTAKEN. — LONG AND SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY. — INCI- DENTS BY THE WAY. — STRUGGLE BETAVEEN INCLINATION AND DUTY. — DUTY TRIUMPHANT. When I was about twenty-two years of age, I married a very efficient, and, for a slave, a very well-taught girl, belonging to a neigh- boring family, reputed to be pious and kind, whom I first met at the religious meetings which I attended. She has borne mc twelve children, eight of whom still survive and promise to be the comfort of my declining years. Things remained in this condition for a considerable period ; my occupations being to superintend the farming operations, and to OF HIS OWN LIFE. 43 sell the produce in the neighboring markets of Washington and Georgetown. Many re- spectable people, yet living there, may pos- sibly have some recollection of " Siah," or " Sie," (as they used to call me,) as their market-man ; but if they have forgotten me, I remember them with an honest satisfaction. After passing his youth in the manner I have mentioned in a general way, and which I do not wish more particularly to describe, my master, at the age of forfcy-five, or up- wards, married a young woman of eighteen, who had some little property, and more thrift. Her economy was remarkable, and was cer- tainly no addition to the comfort of the estab- lishment. She had a younger brother, Francis, to whom Riley was appointed guardian, and who used to complain — not without reason, I am confident — of the meanness of the pro- vision made for the household ; and he would often come to me, with tears in his eyes, to tell me he could not get enough to eat. I made him my friend for life, by sympathising in his emotions and satisfying his appetite, 44 FATHER HENSON'S STOHY sharing with him the food I took care to pro- vide for my own family. He is still living, and, I understand, one of the wealthiest men in Washington city. After a time, however, continual dissipation was more than a match for domestic saving. My master fell into difficulty, and from diffi- culty into a lawsuit with a brother-in-law, who charged him with dishonesty in the manage- ment of property confided to him in trust. The lawsuit was protracted enough to cause his ruin of itself. Harsh and tyrannical as my master had been, I really pitied him in his present distress. At times he was dreadfully dejected, at others crazy with drink and rage. Day after day would he ride over to Montgomery Court House about his business, and every day his affairs grew more desperate. He would come into my cabin to tell me how things were going, but spent the time chiefly in lamenting his misfortunes and cursing his brother-in-law. I tried to comfort him as best I could. He had confidence in my fidelity and judgment, •n OF HIS OWN LIFE. 46 and partly through pride, partly through that divine spirit of love I had learned to worship' in Jesus, I entered with interest into al) his [ierplexities. The poor, drinking, furious, moaning creature was utterly incapable of managing his affairs. Shiftlessness, licen- tiousness and drink had complicated them as much as actual dishonesty. One night in the month of January, long after I had fallen asleep, he came into my cabin and waked me up. I thought it strange, but for a time he said nothing and sat mood- ily warming himself at the fire. Then he began to groan and wring his hands. " Sick, massa ? " said I. He made no reply but ],.ept on moaning. " Can't I help you any way, massa ? " I spoke tenderly, for my heart was full of compassion at his wretched appear- ance. At last, collecting himself, he cried, "Oh, Sie! I'm ruined, ruined, ruined!" " How so, massa? " " They've got judgment against me, and in less than two weeks every nigger I've got will be put up and sold." Then he burst into a storm of curses at his 1.' \: \ L i i 4G FATHER HENSON'S STORY brother-in-law. I sat silent, powerless to utter a word. Pity for him and terror at the antici- pation of my own family's future fate filled my heart. " And now, Sie," he continued, " there's only one way I can save anything. You can do it ; won't you, won't you ? " In his distress he rose and actually threw his arms around me. Misery had levelled all dis- tinctions. " If I can do it, massa, I will. What is it ? " Without replying he went on, " won't you, won't you? I raised you, Sie ; I made you overseer ; I know I've abused you, Sie, but I didn't mean it." Still he avoided telling me what he wanted. " Promise me you'll do it, boy." He seemed resolutely bent on having my promise first, well knowing from past experience that what I agreed to do I spared no pains to accomplish. Solicited in this way, with urgency and tears, by the man whom I had so zealously served for over thirty years, and who now seemed absolutely dependent upon his slave, — impelled, too, by the fear which he skilfully awakened, that the sheriff would seize every one who belonged to OF HIS OWN LIFE, 47 him, and that all would be separated, or per- haps f "M to go to Georgia, or Louisiana — an object . erpetual dread i~ *^e slave of the more noriuern States — I consented, and promised faithfully to do all I could to save him from the fate impending over him. At last the proposition came. " I want you to run away, Sie, t9 your master Amos in Kentucky, and take all the servants along with you." I could not have been more startled had he asked me to go to the moon. Master Amos was his brother. " Kentucky, massa ? Kentucky ? I don't know the way." " O, it's easy enough for a smart fellow like you tc find it; I'll give you a pass and tell you just what to do." Perceiving that I hesitated, he endeavored to frighten me by again referring to the terrors of being sold to Georgia. For two or three hours he continued to urge the undertaking, appealing to my pride, my sympathies, and my fears, and at last, appall- ing as it seemed, I told him I would do my best. There were eighteen negroes, besides my wife, two children and myself, to transport I 48 FATHER RENSON'S STORY nearly a thousand miles, through a country about which I knew nothing, and in mid-win- ter — for it was the month of February, 1825. My master proposed to follow me in a few months, and establish himself in Kentucky. My mind once made up, I set earnestly about the needful preparations. They were few and easily made. A one-horse wagon, well stocked with oats, meal, bacon, for our own and the horse's support, was soon made ready. My pride was aroused in view of the importance of my responsibility, and heart and soul I became identified with my master's project of running off his negroes. The second night after the scheme was formed we were under way. Fortunately for the success of the undertaking, these people had long been under my direction, and were devotedly at- tached to me in return for the many allevia- tions I had afforded to their miserable condi- tion, the comforts I had procured them, and the consideration I had always manifested for them. Under these circumstances no difficulty arose from want of submission to my author- OF niS OWN LIFE. 49 t ity. The dread of being separated, and sold away down south, should they remain on the old estate, united them as one man, and kept them patient and alert. We started from home about eleven o'cloek at night, and till the following noon made no permanent halt. The men trudged on foot, the children were put into the wagon, and now and then my wife rode for a while. On we went through Alexandria, Culpepper, Fau- quier, Harper's Ferry, Cumberland, over the mountains on the National Turnpike, to Wheeling. In all the taverns along the road were regular places for the droves of negroes convinually passing along under the system of the internal slave trade. In these we lodged, and our lodging constituted our only expense, for our food we carried with us. To all who asked questions I showed my mas- ter's pass, authorizing me to conduct his ne- groes to Kentucky, and often was the enco- mium of " smart nigger " bestowed on me, to my immense gratification. At the places where we stopped for the 5 r, ,! ill ■ r 1' ^■uIdSh ( HlnB^BB Ml' Hi 11 ^ |! lip ^ iii n H ' sB n''' iV liH Bi'^ ■i, I; Hm' I DHU i &• FATHER HENSON^a STO/IY night,, wc often met ncgro-drivcrs with their droves, who were almost uniformly kept chained to prevent them from running away. The inquiry was often propound'^d to me by the drivers, " Whose niggers are those ? " On being informed, the next inquiry usually was, " Where are they going ? " " To Kentucky." " Who drives them ? " " Well, I have charge of them," was my reply. " What a smart nigger! " was the usual exclamation, with an oath. " Will your master sell you ? Come in and stop with us." In this way I was often invited to pass the evening with them in the bar-room ; their negroes, in the mean- time, lying chained in the pen, while mine were scattered around at liberty. Arriving at Wheeling, in pursuance of the plan laid down by my master, I sold the horse and wagon, and purchased a large boat, called in that region a yawl. Our mode of locomo- tion was now decidedly more agreeable than tramping along day after day, at the rate we had kept up ever since leaving home. Very little labor at the oars was necessary. The w» OF Ills OWN LIFE. 61 tide floated us steadily along, and \vc had ample leisure to sleep and recruit our strength. A new and unexpected trouble now assailed me. On passing along the Ohio shore, we were rej)eatedly told by persons conversing with us, that wc were no longer slaves, but free men, if we chose to be so. At Cincin- nati, especially, crowds of colored people gathered round us, and insisted on our re- maining with them. They told us we were fools to think of going on and surrendering ourselves up to a new owner ; that now we could be our own masters, and put ourselves out of all reach of pursuit. I saw the people under me were getting much excited. Di- vided counsels and signs of insubordination began to manifest themselves. 1 began, too, to feel my own resolution giving way. Free- dom had ever been an object of my ambition, though no other means of obtaining it had occurred to me but purchasing myself. 1 had never dreamed of running away. I had a sen- timent of honor on the subject. The duties of the slave to his master as appointed over .1 t h ( j:vi h\ ' |:p Hi II i 52 r.\Tni:u hkxson's stohy him in the Lord, I hud ever heard urf^cd by ministers and religious men. It scciiicd lilvu outrif^^Iit stculinp^. And now I IVit (lie devil was getting the upper liand of nie. Siraiijj^o as all this may seem, 1 really felt it then. En- trancing as the idea wan, that (he coast was clear for a run for freedom, Ihat 1 njight liber- ate my companions, might carry off my wife and childien, and some day own a house and land, and be no longi'r despised and abused — still my notions of right were against it. 1 had promised my master to take his property to Kentucky, and deposit it with his brother Amos. Pride, too, came in to confirm me. I had undertaken a great thing; my vanity had been flattered all along the road by hearing myself praised ; I thought it would be a feather in my cap to carry it through thor- oughly ; and had often painted the scene in my imagination of the final surrender of my charge to master Amos, and the immense admiration and respect with which he would regard me. Under the influence of these impressions, i.y. OF HIS OWN LIFE. 08 and seeing that the allurcmonts of the crowd were producing a manifest ellect, I sternly assumed the captain, and ordered the boat to be pushed oil into the stream. A shower of curses followed me from the shore ; but the negroes under me, accustomed to obey, '\nd, alas ! too degraded and ignorant of the ad- vantages of liberty to know what they wer.'; forfeiting, offered no resistance to m, com- mand. Often since that day has my soul been pierced with bitter anguish at the thought of having been thus instrumental in con'^igning to the infernal bondage of slavery so many of my fellow-beings. I have wrestled in prayer with God for forgiveness. Having experienced myself the sw ;"tness of liberty, and knowing too well the iuter misery of numbers of many of them, my infatuation has seemed to me the unpardonable sin. But I console myself with the thought that I acted according to my best light, though the light that was in me was darkness. Those were my days of ignorance. I knew not the glory 5* :! ( 54 FATHER HENSON'S STORY i'u ( ■ :! ■ i' t i :i ■ hi , f of free manhood. I knew not that the title- deed of the slave-owner is robbery and out- rage. What advantages I may have personally lost by thus throwing away an opi)ortunity of obtaining freedom, I know not; but the per- ception of rny own strenglh of character, the feeling of integrity, the sentiment of high honor, I thus gained by obedience to what I believed right, these advantages I do know and prize. He that is faithful over a little, will alone be faithful over much. Before God, I tried to do my best, and the error of judgment lies at the door of the degrading system under which I had been nurtured. |i OF HIS OWN LIFE. 65 CHAPTER VII. A NEW HOME. BECOME A METHODIST PREACIIEII. — MY POOR COMPAX- ION8 SOLD. — MY AGONY. — SENT FOU AGAIN. — INTER- VIEW WITH A KIND METHODIST PREACHER. — VISIT FREE SOIL AND BEGIN MY STRUGaLE FOR FREEDOM. I ARRIVED at Davis county, Kentucky, about the middle of April, 1825, and delivered my- self and my companions to Mr. Amos Riley, the brother of my owner, who had a large plantation, with from eighty to one hundred 'negroes. His house was situated about five miles south of the Ohio River, and lifteen miles above the Yellow Banks, on Big Black- fords Creek. There I remained three years, expecting my master to follow, and was em- ployed meantime on the farm, of which I had the general management, in consequence of the recommendation for ability and honesty 1 66 FATHER HENMON'S STORY" which I brought with me from Maryland. The situation was, in many respects, more comfortable than that I had left. The farm was larger and more fertile, and there was a greater abundance^ of food, which is, of course, one of the principal sources of the comfort of a dave, debarred as he is from so many enjoyments which other men can ob- tain. Sufficiency of food is a pretty import- ant item in any man's account of life ; but is tenfold more so in that of the slave, whose appetite is always stimulated by as much labor as he can perform, and whose mind is little occupied by thought on subjects of deeper interest. My post of superintendent gave me some advantages, too, of which I did not fail to avail myself ; particularly with re- gard to those religious privileges, which, since I first heard of Christ and Christianity, had greatly occupied my mind. In Kentucky the opportunities of attending on the preaching of whites, as well as of blacks, were more numerous; and partly by attending them, and the camp-meetings which occurred from time in ; \ OP HIS OWN LIFE. 67 to time, and partly from studying carefully my own heart, and observing the developments of character around me, in all the stations of life which I could watch, I became better acquainted with those religious feelings which are deeply implanted in the breast of every human being, and learned by practice how best to arouse them, and keep them excited, how to stir up the callous and indifl'erent, and, in general, to produce some good religious im- pressions on the ignorant and thoughtless com- munity by which I was surrounded. No great amount of theological knowledge is requisite for the purpose. If it had been, it is manifest enough that preaching never could have been my vocation ; but I am persuaded that, speaking from the fulness of a heart deeply impressed with its own sinfulness and imperfection, and with the mercy of God, in Christ Jesus, my humble ministrations have not been entirely useless to those who have had less opportunity than myself to reflect upon these all important subjects. It is cer- tain that I could not refrain from the endeav- ij m FATHER HENSON'S STORY or to do what I saw others doing in this field; and I labored at once to improve myself and those about me in the cultivation of the har- vests which ripen only in eternity. I cannot but derive some satisfaction, too, from the proofs I have had that my services have been acceptable to those to whom they have been rendered. In the course of three years, from 1825 to 1828, I availed myself of all the op- portunities of improvement which occurred, and was admitted as a preacher by a Quar- terly Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the spring of the year 1828, news ar- rived from my master that he was unable to induce his wife to accompany him to Ken- tucky, and that he must therefore remain where he was. He sent out an agent to sell all his slaves, except me and my family, and to carry back the proceeds to him. And now another of those heart-rending scenes was to be witnessed, which had impressed itself so deeply on my childish soul. Husbands and wives, parents and children, were tp be sepa- *• ;t OF HIS OWN LIFE. 59 raied forever. Aflections, which are as strong in the African as in the EuTopean, were to be cruelly disregarded ; and the iron selfishness generated by the hateful " institution," was to be exhibited in its most odious and naked deformity. I was exempted from a personal share in the dreadful calamity; but I could not see, without the deepest grief, the agony which I recollected in my own mother, and which was again brought before my eyes in the i^ersons with whom I had been long asso- ciated ; nor could I refrain from the bitterest feeling of hatred of the system, and those who sustain it. What else, indeed, can be the feeling of the slave, liable at every moment of his life to these frightful and unnecessary ca- lamities, which may be caused by the caprice of the abandoned, or the supposed necessities of the better part of the slaveholders, and in- flicted upon him without sympathy or redress, Under the sanction of the laws which uphold the institution ? As I surveyed this scene, and listened to the groans and outcries of my afflicted compan- -i^ltetX ■■■''^^- ' ! GO ''c FATHER HENSON S STORY ions, the torments of hell seized upon mc. My eyes were opened, and the guilty madness of my conduct in preventing them from avail- ing themselves of .the opportunity for acquir- ing freedom, which offered itself at Cincinnati, overwhelmed me. This, then, was the reward and end of all my faithfulness to my master. I had thought of him only and his interests, not of them or their welfare. Oh! what would I not have given to have had the chance offered once more! And now, through me, were they doomed to wear out life miserably in the hot and pestilential climate of the far south. Death would have been welcome to me in my agony. From that hour 1 saw through, hated, and cursed the whole system of slavery. One absorbing purpose occupied my soul — freedom, self-assertion, deliverance from the cruel caprices and fortunes of disso- lute tyrants. Once to get away, with my wife and children, to some spot where I could feel that they were indeed mine — where no grasp- ing master could stand between me and them, as arbiter of their destiny — was a heaven II OF Ills OWN LIFE. 61 j'^earned after with insatiable longing. For it I stood ready to pray, toil, dissemble, plot like a fox, and fight like a tiger. All the noble instincts of my soul, and alh the ferocious pas- sions of my animal nature, were aroused and quickened into vigorous action. The object of my old master Riley in direct- ing that I and my family should be exempted from the sale, was a desire on his part to get me back to Maryland, and employ me in his own service. His best farms had been taken away from him, and but a few tracts of poor lar • remained. After his slaves had been run ofi, ne cultivated these with hired labor, and month by month grew poorer and more des- perate. He had written to his brother Amos to give me a pass and let me travel back ; but this his brother was reluctant to do, as I saved him the expense of an overseer, and he more- over knew that no legal steps could be taken to force him to comply. I knew Of all this, but dared not seem anxious to return, for fear of exciting suspicion. In the course of the summer of 1828, a 6 i i 1 ill 62 FATIIKR IIENSON S STORY Methodist preacher, a most excellent white man, visited our neighborhood, and I became acquainted with him. He was soon interested in me, and visited me frequently, and one day talked to me in a confidential manner about my position. He said I ought to be free; that 1 had too much capacity to be confined to the limited and comparatively useless sphere of a slave ; " and though," said he, " I must not be known to have spoken to you on this subject, yet if you will obtain Mr. Amos's con- sent to go to see your old master in Maryland, I will try and put you in a way by which I think you may succeed in buying yourself." He said this to me more than once ; and as it was in harmony with all my aspirations and wishes, was flattering to my self-esteem, and gratified my impatience to bring matters to a direct issue, I now resolved to make the at- tempt to get the necessary leave. The autumn work was over, I was no longer needed in the fields, And a better chance would never offer itself. Still I dreaded to make the proposal. So much hung on it, such fond hopes were OF HIS OWN LIFE. es ► ii bound up with it, that I trembled for the result. I opened the subject one Sunday morning while shaving Mr. Amos, and adroitly man- aged, by bringing the shaving brush close into his mouth whenever he was disposed to inter- rupt me, to " get a good say" first. Of course I made no allusion to my plan of buying my- self; but urged my request on the sole ground of a desire to see my old master. To my surprise he made little objection. I had been faithful to him, and gained, in his rude way of showing it, his regard. Long before spring I would be back again. He even told me I had earned such a privilege. The certificate he gave me allowed me to pass and repass between Kentucky and Mary- land as servant of Amos Riley. Furnished with this, and with a letter of recommenda- tion from my Methodist friend to a brother preacher in Cincinnati, I started about the middle of September, 1828, for the east. A new era in my history now opened upon me. A letter I carried with me to a kind- G-t FATHER IIEKSOX'S STORY hearted man in Ciiu'liinati procured me a number of invaluable friends, who entered heart and soul into my plans. They^rocured me an opportunity to preach in two of three of the pulpits of the city, and I made my ap- peal with that eloquence which spontaneously breaks forth from a breast all alive and fanned into a glow by an inspiring project. Contact with those who were free themselves, and a proud sense of exultation in taking my des- tiny into my own hands, gave me the sacred " gift of tongues." I was pleading an issue of life and death, of heaven and hell, and such as heard me felt this in their hearts. In three or four days I left the city with no less a sum than one hundred and sixty dollars in my pockets, and with a soul jubilant with thanksgiving, and high in hope, directed my steps towards Chillicothe, to attend the ses- sion of the Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. My kind friend accom- panied me, and by his influence and exertions still further success attended me. By his advice I then purchased a decent OF HIS OWN LIFE. G5 suit of clothes and an cxcollent horse, and travelled from town to town preaching as I went. Everywhere I met wit' kindness. The contrast between the respect with which I was treated and the ordinary abuse, or at best in- solent familia^'ity, of plantation life, gratified me in the extreme, as it must any one who has within him one spark of personal dignity as a man. The sweet enjoyment of sympa- thy, moreover, and the hearty " God speed you, brother! " which accompanied every dol- lar I received, were to my long starved heart a celestial repast, and angels' food. Liberty was a glorious hope in my mind ; not as an escape from toil, for I rejoiced in toil when my heart was in it, but as the avenue to. a sense of self-respect, to ennobling occupation, and to association with superior minds. Still, dear as was the thought of liberty, I still clang to my determination to gain it in one way only — by purchase. The cup of my affliction was not yet full enough to lead me to disregard all terms with my master. 6* CO FATHER HENSON'S STORY CHAPTER VIII. RKTUUN TO MARYLAND. RKCKl'TrON I'UOM MV OI.I) MASTKR. — A SLAVK Al.f» KUIKMl. — IIL'Y MV KUKKDOM. — ClIKATIiD AND HKTUAYKU. — UACK TO KENTUCKY, AND A SLAVE AOAIN. Before I left Ohio and sot my face to- ^yards Montgomery County, I was master of two hundred and seventy-five dollars, besides my horse and clothes. Proud of my success, I enjoyed the thought of showing myself once more in the place where 1 had been known simply as " Riley's head nigger ; " and it was with no little satisfaction that about Christ- mas I rode up to the old house. My master gave me a boisterous reception, and expressed great delight at seeing me. " Why, what in the devil have you been do- i! OF HIS OWN LIFK. 67 :l iij«:f, Si(' ? yon'vo tiiriKnl into a n'j^iiliir l)lac'k g('iitl * Ul I 72 FATHER HEXSON'S STORY He asked me what I was going to Jo with my certificate of freedom ; whether I was go- ing to show it if questioned on the road. I told him, " Yes." " You'll be a fool if you do," he rejoined. " Some slave-trader will get hold of it and tear it up, and the first thing you know, you'll be thrown into prison, sold for your jail fees, and be in his possession be- fore any of your friends can help you. Don't show it at all. Your pass is enough. Let me enclose your papers for you under cover to my brother. Nobody will dare to break a seal, for that is a state-prison matter ; and when you arrive in Kentucky you will have it with you all safe and sound." For this friendly advice, as I thought it, I felt extremely grateful. Secure in my happi- ness, I cherished no suspicion of others. I accordingly permitted him to enclose my pre- cious papers in an envelope composed of sev- eral wrappers, and after he had scaled it with three seals, and directed it to his brother in Davies county, Kentucky, in my care, I care- fully stowed it in my carpet bag. Leaving i ; M OF niS OWN LIFE. T8 immediately for "Wheeling, to which place I was obliged to travel on foot, I there took boat, and in due time reached iny destination. I was arrested repeatedly on the way ; but by insisting always on being carried before a magistrate, I succeeded in escaping all serious impediments by means of my pass, which was quite regular, and could not be set aside by any responsible authority. The boat which took me down from Louis- ville, landed me about dark, and my walk of five miles brought me to the plantation at bed-time. I went directly to my own cabin, and found my wife and little ones well. Of course we had enough to communicate to each other. I soon found that I had some- tiiing to learn as well as to tell. Letters had reached the " great house," — as the master's was always called, — long before I arrived, telling them what I had been doing. The children of the family had eagerly communi- cated the wood new^s to my wife — how I had been preaching, and raisi-ig money, and mak- ing a bargain for my freedom. It was not 7 iii :m '# 74 FATFT'ilR IIENSON S STORY I long before Charlotte began to question me, with much excitement, about how I raised the money. She evidently thought I had stolen it. Her opinion of my powers as a preacher was not exalted enough to permit her to be- lieve I had gained it as I really did. It was the old story of the prophet without honor in his own place. I contrived however to quiet her fears on this score. " But how are you going to raise enough to pay the remainder of the thousand dollars ? " " What thousand dollars ? " " The thousand dollars you were to give for your freedom." O, how those words smote me ! At once I suspected treachery. Again and again I questioned her as to what she had heard. She persisted in repeating the same story as the substance of my master's letters. Master Amos said I had paid three hundred and fifty dollars down, and when I had ; ade up six hundred and fifty more I was to have m 7 free papers. I now began to perceive the trick that had been played upon me, and to see the management by which Riley had contrived that the only OP HIS OWN LIFE. 75 evidence of my freedom should be kept from every eye but that of his brother Amos, who was requested to retain it until I had made up the balance I was reported to have agreed to pay. Indignation is a faint word to express my deep sense of such villainy. I was alter- nately beside myself with rage, and paralyzed with despair. My dream of bliss was over. What could I do to set myself right ? The only witness to the truth, Master Frank, was a thousand miles away. I could neither write to him, or get any one else to write. Every man about me who could write was a slave- holder. I dared not go before a magistrate with my papers, for fear I should be seized and sold down the river before anything could be done. I felt that every man's hand would be against me. "My God! my God! why^ hast thou forsaken me ? " was my bitter cry. One thing only seemed clear. My papers must never be surrendered to Master Amos. I told my wife I had not seen them since I left Louisville. They might be in my bag, or they might be lost. At all events I did not 9.1 I mm 7C FATHER HENSON'S STORY f ^. wish to look myself. If she found them there, and hid them away, out of my knowledge, it would be the best disposition to make of them. The next morning, at the blowing of the horn, I went out to find Master Amos. I found him sitting on a stile, and as I drew near enough for him to recognize me, he shouted out a hearty welcome in his usual chaste style. " Why, halloa, Sie ! is that you ? Got back, eh ! Why, you old son of a bitch, I'm glad to see you ! Drot your blood, drot your blood, why, you're a regular black gentleman ! " And he surveyed my dress with an appreciative grin. " Well, boy, how's your master ? Isaac says you want to be free. Want to be free, eh ! I think your master treats you pretty hard, though. Six hundred and fifty dollars don't come so easy in old Kcntuck. How does he ever expect you to raise all that. It's too much, boy, it's too much." In the conversation that followed I found ray wife was right. Riley had no idea of letting me oif, and supposed I could con- hi OF IIIS OWN LIFE. 77 trive to raise six hundred and fifty as easily as one hundred dollars. Master Amos soon asked me if I had not a paper for him. I told him I had had one, but the last I saw of it was at Louisville, and now it was not in my bag, and I did not know what h;ul become of it. He sent me back to the landing to see if it had been dropped on the way. Of course I did not find it. He made, however, little stir about it, for he had intentions of his own to keep me working for him, and regarded the whole as a trick of his brother's to get money out of me. All he said about the loss was, " Well, boy, bad luck hap- pens to everybody, sometimes." All this v/as very smooth and pleasant to a man who was in a frenzy of grief at the base and apparently irremediable trick that had been played upon him. I had supposed that I should now be free to start out and gain the other hundred dollars which would discharge my obligation to my master. But I soon saw that I was to begin again with my old labors. . i 7§ FATHER RENSON's STORY It was useless to give expression to my feel- ings, and I went bout my M'ork with as quiet a mind as I could, resolved to trust in God, and never despair. '^ U i*k ^ I ; 1 Hi : I OF nig OWN LIFE. 79 CHAPTi:r IX. TAKEN SOUTH, AWAY IllOM WIFE AND CIIIL- DUEN. BTART FOn NEW OULEANS. — STUDY XAVIOATION ON TUBS MISSISSIPPI. — THE CAPTAIN STRUCK HLIND. — FIND BOMB OF MY OLB COMPANIONS. — THE LOWER UEPTUS. Things went on in this way about a year. From time to time Master Amos joked me about the six hundred and fifty dollars, and said his brother kept writing to know why I did not send something. It was " diamond cut diamond" with the two brothers. Mr. Amos had no desire to play into the hands of Mr. Isaac. He was glad enough to secure my services to take care of his stock and his peo- ple. One day my master suddenly informed me that his son Amos, a young man about twen- ty-one years of age, was going down the river IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^t: ' I 'Sftfgjjl*!' I A ;) I i f I WW FATHER HENSOX'S STORY freedom, may God never give me chance again! Before we had proceeded many hom*s on our voyage, a change for the better appeared in my young master. The change of air in a measure revived him ; and well it was for him that such was the case. Short as his illness had been, the fever had raged like a fire, and he was already near death. I watched and nursed him like a mother; for all remembrance of personal wrong was obliterated at sight of his peril. His eyes followed me in entreaty wherever I went. His strength was so en- tirely gone that he could neither speak nor move a limb, and could only indicate his wish for a teaspoonful of gruel, or something to moisten his throat, by a feeble motion of his lips. I nursed him carefully and constantly. Nothing else could have saved his life. It hung by a thread for a long time. We were as much as twelve days in reaching home, for the water was low at that season, particularly in the Ohio river; and when we arrived at our landing he was still unable to speak, and I! I OF HIS OWN LIFE. 99 could only be moved on a sheet or a litter. Something of this sort was soon fixed up at the landing, on which he could be carried to the house, which was five miles off; and I got a party of the slaves belonging to the estate to form relays for the purpose. As we ap- proached the house, the surprise at seeing me back again, and the perplexity to imagine what I was bringing along, with such a party, were extreme ; but the discovery was soon made which explained the strange appear- ance ; and the grief of father and mother, and brothers and sisters, made itself seen and hea>*d. Loud and long were the lamentations over poor Amos ; and when the family came a little to themselves, great were the commen- dations bestowed upon me for my care of him and of the property. Although we reached home by the tenth of July, it was not until the middle of August that Master Amos was well enough to leave his chamber. To do him justice, he mani- fested strong gratitude towards me. Almost his first words after recovering his strength 100 FATHEIt UENSON'S STORY i\ h I t suflicienlly to talk, were in commendation of my conduct. " If I had sold him I should have died." On the re^* of the family no permanent impression seemed to have been made. The first few words of praise were all I ever received. I was set at my old work." My merits, wliatever they were, instead of ex- citing sympathy or any feeling of attachment to me, seemed only to enhance my market value in their eyes. I saw that my master's only thought was to render me profitable to himself. From him I had nothing to hope, and I turned my thoughts to myself and my own energies. Before long I felt assured another attempt^ would be made to dispose of me. Providence seemed to haye interfered once to defeat the scheme, but I could not expect such extraordi- nary! circumstances to be repeated ; and I was bound to do everything in my power to secure myself and my family from the wicked con- spiracy of Isaac and Amos Riley against my life, as well as against my natural rights, and those which I had acquired, under even the OP HIS OWN LIFE. 101 barbarous laws of slavery, by the money I had paid for myself. If Isaac would only have been honest enough to adhere to his bar- gain, I would have adhered to mine, and paid him all I had promised. But his attempt to kidnap me again, after having pocketed three- fourths of my market value, in my opinion absolved me from all obligation to pay him any more, or to continue in a position which exposed me i * his machinations. 9* . . 102 FATHER IIENSON'B STORY CHAPTER Xn. ESCAPE FROM BONDAGE. BOLITAKY MUSINGS. — VHKVARATIOXS FOK ri.ItHIT. — A LONG GOOD NIGHT TO MASTKK. — A DAUK NIGHT ON THE RiriOR. — NIGHT JOL'UNKYS IN INDIANA. — ON TUB BRINK OF STARVATION. — A KIND WOM.tN. — A NKW BTYLK OF DRINKING CUV. REACH CINCINNATI. DuRfNG the bright and hopeful days I spent in Ohio, while away on my preaching tour, I had heard much of the course pur&ued by fu- gitives from slavery, and became acquainted with a number of benevolent men engaged in helping them on their way. Canada was often spoken of as the only sure refuge from pursuit, and that blessed land was now the desire of my longing b^art. Infinite toils and perils lay between me and that haven of prom- ise ; enough to daunt the stoutest heart ; but the fire behind me was too hot and fierce to let me pause to consider them. I knew the OP 1119 OWN LIFE. * 103 North Star — blessed be God for setting it in the heavens ! Like the Star of Bethhihem, it announced where my salvation lay. Could I follow it through forest, and stream, and field, it would guide my feet in the way of hope. I thought of it as my God-given guide to the land of promise far away beneatii its light. I knew that it had led thousands of my poor, hunted brethren to freedom and blessedness. I felt energy enough in my own breast to con- tend with privation and danger ; and had I been a free, untrammeled man, knowing no tie of father or husband, and concerned for my own safety only, I would have felt all dif- ficulties light in view of the hope that was set before me. But, alas ! I had a wife and four dear children ; how should I provide for them ? Abandon them I could not ; 1:0 ! not even for the blessed boon of freedom. They, too, must go. They, too, must share with me the life of liberty. It was not without long thought upon the subject that I devised a plan of escaper But at last I matured it. My mind fully made up, 104 FATHER HKNSON'S STOKY m I communicated the intention to my wife. She was overwhelmed with terror. With a woman's instinct she clung to hearth and home. She knew nothing of the wide world beyond, and her inr.igination peopled it with unseen horrors. "We should die in the wil- derness, — we should be hunted down with blood-hounds, — we should be brought back and whipped to death. "With tears and sup- plications she besought me to remain at home, contented. In vain I explained to her our lia- bility to be torn asunder at any moment; the horrors of the slavery I had lately seen ; the happiness we should enjoy together in a land of freedom, safe from all pursuing harm. She had not suffered the bitterness of my lot, nor felt the same longing for deliverance. She was a poor, ignorant, unreasoning slave-wo- man. I argued the matter with her at various times, till I was satisfied that argument alone would not prevail. I then told her deliber- ately, fhat though it would be a cruel trial for me to part with her, I would nevertheless do I OF HIS OWN LIFE. 105 it, and tuke all the cliilJrcn with me cxcopt the; youngest, rather than remain at liotm-j only to be forcibly torn from her, and sent down to linj^er out a wretched existence, in the hell I had lately visited. Again she wept and entreated, but I was sternly resolute. The whole; night long she fruitlessly urged me to relent; exhausted and maddened, I left her, in the morning, to go to my work for the day. Before I had gone far, I heard her voice call- ing me, and waiting till I came up, she said, at last, she would go with me. Blessed re- lief ! my tears of joy flowed faster than had hers of grief. ... Our cabin, at this time, was near the land- ing. The plantation itself extended the whole five miles from the house to the river. There were several distinct farms, all of which I was over-seeing, and therefore I was riding obout from one to another every day. Our oldest boy was at the house with Master Amos ; the rest of the children were with my wife. The chief practical difficulty that had weighed upon my mind, was connected with 106 FATHER IIENSON'S STOR! the youngest two of the children. They were of three and two years, respectively, and of course would have to be carried. Both stout and healthy, they were a heavy burden, and my wife had declared that I should break down under it before I had got five miles froiTJ home. Sometime previously I had di- rected her to make me a large knapsack of tow cloth, large enough to hold them both, and arranged with strong straps to go round my shoulders. This done, I had practised carrying them night after night, both to test my own strength and accustom them to sub- mit to it. To them it was fine fun, and to my great joy I found I could manage them successfully. My wife's consent was given on Thursday morning, and I resolved to start on the night of the following Saturday. Sunday was a holiday ; on Monday and Tuesday I was to be away on farms distant from the house ; thus several days would elapse before I should be missed, and by that time I should have got a good start. At length the eventful night arrived. AJl i OF HIS OWN LIFE. 107 tilings were ready, with the single exception that I had not yet obtained my master's per- mission for little Tom to visit his mother. About sundown I went up to the great house to report my work, and after talking for a time, started off, as usual, for home ; when, suddenly appearing to recollect something I had forgotten, I turned carelessly back, and said, " O, Master Amos, I most forgot. Tom's mother wants to know if you won't let him come down a few days ; she wants to mend his clothes and fix him up a little." " Yes, boy, yes ; he can go." " Thankee, Master Amos ; good night, good night. The Lord bless you ! " In spite of myself I threw a good deal of emphasis into my farewell. I could not refrain from an inward chuckle at the thought how long a good night that will be ! The coast was all clear now, and, as I trudged along home, I took an affectionate look at the well-known objects on my way. Strange to say, sorrow mingled with my joy ; but no man can live anywhere long without feeling some attachment to the soil on which he labors. 1 ii 108 FATHER HENSON'S STORY It was about the middle of September, and by nine o'clock all was ready. It was a dark, moonless night, when we got into the little skiff, in which I had induced a fellow slave to set us across the river. It was an anxious moment. We sat still as death. In the mid- dle of the stream the good fellow said to me, " It will be the end of me if this is ever found out ; but you won't be brought back alive, Sie, will you ? " " Not if I can help it," I replied ; and I thought of the pistols and knife I had bought some time before of a poor white. " And if they're too many for you, and you get seized, you'll never tell my part in this business ? " " Not if I'm shot through like a sieve." " That's all," said he, " and God help you.'' Heaven reward him. lie, too, has since followed in my steps ; and many a time in a land of freedom have we talked over that dark night on the river. In due time we landed on the Indiana shore. A hearty, grateful farewell, such as none but companions in danger can know, and I heard the oars of the skiff propelling him hom OF HIS OWN LIFE. 109 There I stood in the darkness, my dear ones with me, and the all unknown future before us. But there was little time for reflection. Before daylight should come on, we must put as many miles behind us as possible, and be safely hidden in the woods. We had no friends to look to for assistance, for the popu- lation in that section of the country was then bitterly hostile to the fugitive. If discovered, we should be seized and lodged in jail. In God was our only hope. Fervently did I pray to him as we trudged on cautiously and steadily, and as fast as the darkness and the feebleness of my wife and boys would allow. To her, indeed, I was compelled to talk stern- ly ; she trembled like a leaf, and even then implored me to return. For a fortnight we pressed steadily on, keeping to the road during the night, hiding whenever n. chance vehicle or horseman was heard, and during the day burying ourselves in the woods. Our provisions were rapidly giving out. Two days before reaching Cin- cinnati they were utterly exhausted. All night 10 110 FATHER HENSON'S STORY I % fiijf a- I " ¥ i III long tlie children cried with hunger, and my poor wife loaded me with reproaches for bringing them into such misery. It was a bitter thing to hear them cry, and God knows I needed encouragement myself. My limbs were weary, and my back and shoulders raw with the burden I carried. A fearful dread of detection ever pursued me, and I would start out of my sleep in terror, my heart beating against my ribs, expecting to find the dogs and slave-hunters after me. Had I been alone I would have borne starvation, even to exhaustion, before I would have ven- tured in sight of a house in quest of food. But now something must be done ; it was necessary to run the risk of exposure by day- light upon the road. Tlie only way to proceed was to adopt a bold course. Accordingly, I left our hiding- place, took to the road, and turned towards the south, to lull any suspicion that might be aroused were I to be seen going the other way. Before long I came to a house. A furious dog rushed out at me, and his master OF HIS OWN LIFE. Ill following to quiet him, I asked if he would sell me a little bread and meat. lie was a surly fellow. " No, he had nothing for nig- gers I " At the next I succeeded no better, at first The man of the house met me in the same style; but his wife, hearing our conver- sation, said to her husband, " IIow can you treat any human being so ? If a dog was hungry I would give him something to eat." She then added, " We have children, and who knows but they may some day need the help of a friend." The man laughed, and told her that she might take care of niggers, he wouldn't. She asked me to come in, loaded a plate with venison and bread, and, when I laid it into my handkerchief, and put a quarter of a dollar on the table, she quietly took it up and put it in my handkerchief, with an ad- ditional quantity of venison. I felt the hot tears roll down my cheeks as she said " God bless you;" and I hurried away to bless my starving wife and little ones. A little while after eating the venison, which was quite salt, the children become .? f 1 1 ' W.j. 1 ' II 'i 112 FATHER HENSON'S STORY very thirsty, and groaned and sighed so that I went off stealthily, breaking the bushes to keep my path, to find water. I found a little rill, and drank a large draught. Then I tried to carry some in my hat ; but, alas ! it leaked. Finally, I took off both shoes, which luckily had no holes in them, rinsed them out, filled them with water, and carried it to my family. They drank it with great delight. I have since then sat at splendidly furnished tables in Canada, the United States, and England ; but never did I see any human beings relish anything more than my poor famishing little ones did that refreshing draught out of their father's shoes. That night we made a long run, and two days afterward we reached Cin- cinnati. OP HIS OWN LIFE. 113 CHAPTER XIII. JOURNEY TO CANADA. GOOD SAMAUITANS. — ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS. — MEET SOME INDIANS. — ItEACII SANDUSKY. — ANOTHER FRIEND. — ALL ABOARD. — BUFFALO. — A "FREE NIQGER." — FRENZr OF JOY ON REACHING CANADA. I NOW felt comparatively at home. Before entering the town I hid my wife and children in the woods, and then walked on alone in search of my friends. They welcomed me warmly, and just after dusk my wife and chil- dren were brought in, and we found ourselves hospitably cheered and refreshed. Two weeks of exposure to incessant fatigue, anxiety, rain, and chill, made it indescribably sweet to enjoy once more the comfort of rest and shelter. Since I have lived in a land of freedom, J have heard harsh and bitter words spoken of 10* : ill U m 114 FATHER HENSONS STORY those devoted men who arc banded together to succor and bid God speed the hunted fugi- tive ; men who, through pity for the suffering, have voluntarily exposed themselves to hatred, fines, and imprisonment. If there be a God who will have mercy on the merciful, great shall be their reward. In the great day when men shall stand in judgment before the Divine Master, crowds of the outcast and forsaken of earth shall gather around them, and in joyful tones bear witness, " We were hungry and ye gave us meat, thirsty and ye gave us drink, naked and ye clothed us, sick and ye visited us." And he who has declared that, "inas- much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me," shall accept the attestation, and hail them with his welcome, " Come ye blessed of my father." They can afford to bide their time. Their glory shall yet be proclaimed from the house-tops. Meanwhile may that " peace of God which the world can neither give nor take away " dwell richly in their hearts. Among such as these — good Samaritans, OF HIS OWN LIFE. 115 of whom the Lord would say, " go yc and do likewise," — our lot was now cast. Carefully they provided for our welfare until our strength was recruited, and then they set us thirty miles on our way by wagon. We followed the same course as before — travelling by night and resting by day — till we arrived at the Scioto, where we had been told we should strike the military road of General Hull, in the last war with Great Britain, and might then safely travel by day. We found the road, accordingly, by the large fsycamore and elms which marked its begin- ning, and entered upon it with fresh spirits early in the day. Nobody had told us that it was cut through the wilderness, and I had neglected to provide any food, thinking we should soon come to some habitation, where we could be supplied. But we travelled on all day without seeing one, and lay down at night, hungry and weary enough. The wolves were howling around us, and though too cow- ardly to approach, their noise terrified my poor wife and children. Nothing remained to us M 'i ¥\\ IIG Fl -M / FATHER IIENSON'S STORY in tlie morning but a little piece of dried beef, too little, indeed, to satisfy our cravings, but enough to afflict us with intolerable thirst. I divided most of this among us, and then we started for a second day's tramp in the wilder- ness. A painful day it was to us. The road was rough, the underbrush tore our clothes and exhausted our strength; trees that had been blown dovvn blocked the way ; we were faint with hunger; and no prospect of relief opened .jn before us. We spoke little, but steadily struggled along ; I with my babes on my back, my wife aiding the two other chil- dren to climb over the fallen trunks and force themselves through the briers. Suddenly, as I was plodding along a little ahead of my wife and the boys, I heard them call me, and turn- ing round saw my wife prostrate on the ground. " Mother's dying," cried Tom ; and when I reached her it seemed really so. From sheer exhaustion she had fallen in surmounting a log. Distracted with anxiety, I feared she was gone. For some minutes no sign of life was manifest; but after a time she opened her OP niS OWN LIFE. 117 eyes, and finally recovering enough to take a few mouthfuls of the beef, her strength re- turned, and we once more went bravely on our way. I cheered the sad group with hopes I was far from sharing myself. For the first time I was nearly ready to abandon myself to despair. Starvation in the wilderness was the doom that stared me and mine in the face. But again, "man's extremity was God's op- portunity." We had not gone far, and I suppose it was about three o'clock in the afternoon, when we discerned some persons approaching us at no great distance. We were instantly on the alert, as we could hardly expect them to be friends. The advance of a few paces showed me they were Indians, with packs on their shoulders ; and they were so near that if tliey were hostile it would be useless to try to escape. So I walked along boldly, till we came close upon them. They were bent down with their burdens, and had not raised their eyes till now ; and when they did so, and saw me coming towards them, they looked ai me 118 FATiinii iirnson's story in a frl^htonod sort of way for a momoiit, and then, 8('ttin<^ n,) a peculiar howl, turned round, and ran as fant as they could. There were three or four of tlieni, and what they were afraid of I could not imagine, unless they supposed I was the devil, whom they had per- haps heard of aa black. But, even thtni, one would have thought my wife and children might have reassured them. However, there was no doubt they were well frightened, and we heard their wild and prolonged howl, as they ran, for a mile or more. My wife was alarmed, too, and thought they were merely running back to collect more of a party, and then to come and murder us ; and she wanted to turn back. I told her they were numerous enough to do that, if they wanted to, Without help ; and that as for turning back, I had had quite too much of the road behind us, and that it would be a ridiculous thing that both parties should run away. If they were dis- posed to run, I would follow. We did follow, and the noise soon ceased. As we advanced, we could discover Indians peeping at us from OF HIS OWN LIFK. 110 belli 11(1 Iho trees, and dodf^iiit^ out of of si-^Mit if lliey lliought we were looking ut t.iein. Presently wc came upon their wigwams, and saw a rme-looking, stately Indian, with liip arms folded, waiting for us to approach. Tt was, apparently, the chief; und, sah ^ n;/; u; civilly, he soon discovered we were ' i - » . , beings, and spoke to his young men, who u»ic scattered about, and made them come ii\ and give up their foolish fears. And now curiosity seemed to prevail. Each one wanted to touch the children, who were as shy as partridges with their long life in the woods ; and as they shrunk away, and uttered a little cry of alarm, the Indian would jump back too, as if he thought they would bite him. However, a little while sulFiced to make them understand what we were, and whither we were going, and what we needed ; and as little to set them about supplying our wants, feeding us bounti- fully, and giving us a comfortable wigwam for our night's rest. The next day we resumed our march, having ascertained from the In- dians that we were only about twenty-five .»;; i 120 t'c FATHER IIEXSON'S STORY miles from the lake. They sent some of their young men to poinf out the place where we were to turn off, and parted from us With as much kindness as possible. In passing over the part of Ohio near the lake, where such an extensive plain is found, we came to a spot overflowed by a stream, across which the road passed. I ford- ed it first, with the help of a sounding-pole, and then taking the children on my back, first the two little ones, and then the others, one at a time, and, lastly, my wife, I succeeded in getting them safely across. At this time the skin was worn from my back to an extent al- most equal to the size of the knapsack. One night more was passed in the woods, and in the course of the next forenoon we came out upon the wide plain, without trees, which lies south and west of Sandusky city. The houses of the village were in plain sight. About a mile from the lake I hid my wife and children in the bushes, and pushed forward. I was attracted by a house on the left, between which and a small coasting vessel a number OF HIS OWN LIFE. 121 of men were passing and repassing with great activity. Promptly deciding to approach them, I drew near, and scarcely had I come within hailing distance, when the captain of the schooner cried out, " Hollo there, man ! you want to work ? " " Yes, sir ! " shouted I. " Come along, come along ; I'll give you a shilling an hour. Must get off with this wind." As I came near, he said, " O, you can't work ; you're crippled." " Can't I ? " said I ; and in a minute I had hold of a bag of corn, and followed the gang in emptying it into the hold. I took my place in the line of laborers next to a colored man, and soon got into conversation with him. " How far is it to Canada ? " He gave me a peculiar look, and in a minute I saw he knew all. " Want to go to Canada ? Come along with us, then. Our captain's a fine fellow. We're going to Buffalo." " Buffalo ; how far is that from Canada ? " " Don't you know, man ? Just across the river." I now opened my mind frankly to him, and told him about my wife and children. " I'll speak to the captain," said 11 I \ ll m i hi / f>!: f 122 FATHER HENSON S STORY he. He did so, and in a moment ihe captain took me aside, and said, " The Doctor says you want to go to Buffalo with your family." "Yes, sir." "Well, why not go with me!" was his frank reply. " Doctor says you've got a family." " Yes sir." " Where do you stop ? " " About a mile back." " How long hove you been here ? " " No time," I answer- ed, after a moment's hesitation. " Come, my good fellow, tell us all about it. You're run- ning away, ain't you?" I saw he was a friend, and opened my heart to him. " Plow long will it take you to get ready?" "Be here in half an hour, sir." " Well, go along and get them." Off I started ; b'lt, before I had run fifty feet, he called me back. " Stop," says he; "you go on getting the grain in. When we get off, I'll lay to over opposite that island, and send a boat back. There's a lot of regular nigger-catchers in the town below, and they might suspect if you brought your party out of the bush by daylight." I worked away with a will. Soon the two or three hundred bushels of corn were aboard, the « ♦ or HIS OWN life. 123 hatches fastened down, the anchor raised, ond the sails hoisted. I watched the vessel with intense interest as she left her moorings. Away she went before the free breeze. Already she seemed beyond the spot at which the captain agreed to lay to, and still she flew along. My heart sunk within me ; so near deliverance, and again to have my hopes blasted, again to be cast on my own resources. I felt that they had been making a mock of my misery. The sun had sunk to rest, and the purple and gold of the west were fading away into grey. Sud- denly, however, as I gazed with weary heart, the vessel swung round into the wind, the sails flapped, and she stood motionless. A moment more, and a boat was lowered from her stern, and with steady stroke made for ^he point at which I stood. I felt that my hour of release had come. On she came, and in ten minutes she rode up handsomely on to the beach. My black friend and two sailors jumper, out, and we started off at once for my wilt ■* M ',',' /I i: 124 FATHER IIENSON'S STORY and children. To my horror, they were gone from the place where I left them. Overpow- ered with fear, I supposed they had been found and carried off. There was no time to lose, and the men told me I would have to go alone. Just at the point of despair, however, I stumbled on one of the children. My wife, it seemed, alarmed at my long absence, had given up all for lost, and supposed I had fallen into the hands of the enemy. When she heard my voice, mingled with those of the others, she thought my captors were leading me back to make me discover my family, and in the extremity of her terror she had tried to hide herself. I had hard work to satisfy her. Our long habits of concealment and anxiety had rendered her suspicious of every one ; and her agitation was so great that for a time she was incapable of understanding what I said, and went on in a sort of paroxysm of distress and fear. This, however, was soon over, and the kindness of my companions did much to facilitate the matter. And now we were off for the boat. It re- f OF UIS OWN LIFE. 125 ' quired little time to embark our baggage — one convenience, at least, of having nothing. The men bent their backs with a will, and neaded steadily for a light hung from the ves- sel's mast. I was praising God in my soul. Three hearty cheers welcomed us as we reached the schoonf^r, and never till my dying day shall I forget the shout of the captain — he was a Scotchman — " Coom up on deck, and clop your wings and craw like a rooster ; you're a free nigger as sure as the devil." Round went the vessel, the wind plunged into her sails as though innoculated with the com- mon feeling — the water seethed and hissed passed her sides, '^.in and nature, and, more than all, I felt the God of man and nature, who breathes love into the heart and maketh the winds his ministers, were will. us. My happiness, that night, rose at times to positive pain. Unnerved by so sudden a change from destitution and danger to such kindness and blessed security, I wept like a child. The next evening we reached Buffalo, but it was to late too cross the river that night. 11* ill 126 FATHER IIKXSOX S STORY ^i !< ^1 I " You see those trees," said the noble hearted captain next morning, pointing to a group in the distance ; " they grow on free soil, and as soon as your feet touch that you're a luon. I want to see you go and be a freeman. I'm poor myself, and have nothing to give you ; I only sail the boat for wages ; but I'll see you across. Here Green," said he to a ferryman ; " what will you take this man and his family . ver lor — he's got no money?" " Three shil- lings." He then took a dollar out of his ]X)cket and gave it to me. Never shall I forget the spirit in which he spoke. He put his hand on my head and said, " Be a good fellow, won't you ?" I felt streams of emotion running down in electric courses from head to foot. " Yes," said I ; " I'll use my freedom well ; I'll give my soul to God." He stood waving his hat as we pushed off for the opposite shore. God bless him ! God bless him eternally ". Amen ! It was the 28th of October, 1830, in the morning, when my feet first touched the Canada shore. I threw myself on the ground, 9 OF HIS OWN LIFE. 127 rolled in tlic sand, seized handfuls of it and kissed them, and danced round till, in the eyes of several who were present, I passed for e inadinan. " He's some crazy fellow," said a Colonel Warren, who happened to be there. " O, iio, master! don't you know ? I'm free!" He burst into a shout of laughter. " Well, I never knew freedom make a man roll in the sand in such a fashion." Still I could not control myself. I hugged and kissed my wife and children, and, until the first exuberant burst of feeling was over, went on as before. s« ^M 123 FATHER HENSON'S STORY CHAPTER XIV. NEW SCENES AND A NEW HOME. 1 A POOn MAN IK A STRANGE LAND. — BEGIN- TO ACQCIUB PROl'EUTV. — RESUME PREACHING. — BOYS GO TO SCHOOL. — AVHAT GAVE ME A DESIRE TO LEAUN TO READ. — A DA\' OF PRAYER IK THE WOODS. ' There was not much time to be lost, though in frolic even, at this extraordinary moment. I was a stranger in a strange land, and had to look about me, at once, for refuge and resource. I found a lodging for the night ; and the next morning set about exploring the interior for the means of support. I knew nothing about the country or the people ; but kept my eyes and ears open, and made such inquiries as op- portunity aJfForded. I heard, in the course of the day, of a Mr. Hibbard, who lived some six or seven miles off, and who was a rich man, as riches were counted there, with a or HIS OWN LIFE. 129 large farm, and several small tenements on it, w.hich he was in the habit of letting to his laborers. To him T went, immediately, though the character given him by his neighbors v^as not, by any means, unexceptionably good. But I thought he was not, probably, any worse than those I had been accustomed to serve, and that I could get along with him, if honest and faithful work would satisfy him. In the afternoon I found him, and soon struck a bargain with him for employment. I asked him if there was any house where he would let me live. He said " yes," and led the way to an old two-story sort of shanty, into the lower story of which the pigs had broken, and had apparently made it their resting-place for some time. Still, it was a house, and I forth- with expelled the pigs, and set about cleaning it for the occupancy of a better sort of tenants. "With the aid of hoe and shovel, hot water and a mop, I got the floor into a tolerable condition by midnight, and only then did I rest from my labor. The next day I brought the rest of the Hensons to my house, and Pi ',' % ^i" ' < II ) . ' i' ■Hi ■11* # I I i •;i r iv ^'aj 130 FATHER IIENSON S STORY though there was nothing there but bare walls and floors, we were all in a stale of great de- light, and my wife laughed and aeknowledged that it was worth while, and that it was better than a log cabin with an earth-floor. I begged some straw of Mr. Ilibbard, and confining it by logs in the corners of the room, I made beds of it three feet thick, upon which we re- posed luxuriously after our long fatigues. Another trial awaited me which I had ni t anticipated. In consequence of the great ex- posures we had been through, my wife and all the children fell sick ; and it was not without extreme peril that they escaped with their lives. My employer soon found that my labor was of more value to him than that of those he was accustomed to hire ; and as I conse- quently gained his favor, and his wife took quite a fancy to mine, we soon procured some of the comforts of life, while the jecessaries of food and fuel were abundant. I remained with Mr. Hibbard three years. sometimes working on shares, and sometimes for wages; OF ing OWN LIFE. 131 and I managed in that time to procure some pigs, a cow, and a horse. Thus my condition gradually improved, and I fwlt that my toils and sacrifices for freedom had not been in vain. Nor were my labors for the improve- m«Mit of myself and others, in more important things than food and clothing, without eflbct. It so happened that one of my Maryland friends arrived in this neighborhood, and hear- ing of my being here, inquired if I ever preached now, and spread the reputation I had acquired elsewhere for my gifts in the pulpit. I had said nothing myself, and had not intended to say anything of my having ever officiated in that way. I went to meet- ing with others, when I had an opportunity, and enjoyed the quiet of the Sabbath when there was no assembly. I would not refuse to labor in this field, however, when desired to do so; and I hope it is no violation of mo- desty to state the fact, that I was frequently called upon, not by blacks alone, but by all classes in my vicinity — the comparatively educated, as well as the lamentably ignorant •32 FATIIF.n IIKNSON t^ STOIiY — to spciik to them on their duty, respoii: ..jil ity, and immortality, on their obligjitions to their Maker, tlieir Saviour, and themselves. It may, nay, I am aware it must, seem strange to many, that a man so ignorant as myself, unable to read, and having heard so little as I had of religion, natural or revealed, should be able to preaeh acceptably to persons who had enjoyed greater advantages than my- self. I can explain it only by reference to our Saviour's comparison of the kingdom of heaven to a plant which may spring from a seed no bigger than a mustard-seed, and may yet reach such a size, that the birds of the air may take shelter therein. Religion is not so much knowledge as wisdom ; and observation upon what passes without, and reflection upon what passes witliin a man's heart, w^ill give him a larger growth in grace than is imagined by the devoted adherents of creeds, or the con- fident followers of Christ, who call him " Lord, Lord," but do not the things which he says. Mr. Hibbard was good enough to give my eldest boy, Tom, two quarters' schooling, to OF ma OWN M. v.. 133 which the srlioohnastor added nrioro, of his own kindness, so that my boy U-arned to read fluently and well. It was a great advantage, not only to him, but to me ; for I used to get him to read much to me in the Bible, espec- ially on Sunday mornings, when I was going to preach; and I could easily commit to mem- ory a few verses, or a chapter, from hearing him read it over. One beautiful summer Sabbath I rose early, and called him to come and read to me. " Where shall I read, father ? " " Anywhere, my son," I answered, for I knew not how to direct him. lie opened upon Psalm ciii. " Bless the Lord, O my soul : and all that is within me, bless his holy name ;" and as he read this beautiful outpouring of gratitude, which I now first heard, my heart melted within me. I recalled, with all the rapidity of which thought is capable, the whole current of my life ; and, as I remembered the dangers and afllictions from which the Lord had deliv- ered me, and compared my present condition with what it had been, not only my heart but 12 IB • i'l II I f :; ' ! ^Htt' B^^BM' I; : ■iv\ 134 FATHER HENSON'S STORY my eyes overflowed, and I could neither check nor conceal the emotion which overpowered me. The words, "Bless the Lord, O my soul," with which the Psalm begins and ends, were all I needed, or could use, to express the full- ness of my thankful heart. When he had fin- ished, Tom turned to me and asked, " Father, who was David ? " He had observed my ex- citement, and added, " He writes pretty, don't he ? " and then repeated his question. It was a question I was utterly unable to answer. I had never heard of David, but could not bear to acknowledge my ignorance to my own child. So 1 answered evasively, " He was a man of God, my son." " I suppose so," said he, " but I want to know something more about him. Where did he live ? What did he do ? " As he went on questioning me, I saw it was in vain to attempt to escape, and so I told him frankly I did not know. " Why, father," said he, " can't you read ? " This was a worse question than the other, and, if I had any pride in me at the moment, it took it all out of me pretty quick. It was a direct ques- OF HIS OWN LIFE. 135 tion, nd must have a direct answer; so I told him at once I could not. " Why not ? " said he. " Because I never had an opportunity to learn, nor anybody to teach me." " Well, you can learn now, father." " No, my son, I am too old, and have not time enough. I must work all day, or you would not have enough to eat." " Then you might do it at night." " But still there is nobody to teach me. I can't afford to pay anybody for it, and, of course, no one can do it for nothing." " Why, father. Til teach you. I can do it, I know. And then you'll know so much more that you can talk better, and preach better." The little fellow was so earnest, there was no resisting him ; but it is hard to describe the conflicting feelings within me at such a proposition from such a quarter. I was delighted with the con- viction that my children would have advanta- ges I had never enjoyed ; but it was no slight mortification to think of being instructed by a child of twelve years old. Yet ambition, and a true desire to learn, for the good it would do my own mind, conquered the shame, and I i y ! t ■ M • ^i ',! SI i I 'it i i 136 FATHER IIKNSON'S STORY agreed to try. But 1 did not reach this state of mind instanlly. I was greatly moved by tlie conversatiou I had with Tom, so much so that I could not undertake to preach that day. The congrega- tion were disappointed, and I passed the Sun- day in solitary reflection in the woods. I was too much engrossed with the multitude of my thoughts within me to return home tc* t^: ner, and spent the whole day in secret medi ii ^t; and prayer, trying to compose myself, and as- certain my true position. It was not difficult to see that my predicament was one of pro- found ignorance, and that I ought to use every opportunity of enlightening it. I began to take lessons of Tom, therefore, immediately, and followed it up every evening, by the light of a pine knot, or some hickory bark, which was the only light I could afford. Weeks passed, aud my progress was so slow that poor Tom was almost discouraged, and used to drop asleep sometimes, and whine a little over my dullness, and talk to me very much as a schoolmaster talks to a stupid boy, till I began OF Ills OWN LIFE. 137 to be afraid iliat my ago, my want of practice in looking at such little scratches, the daily fatigue, and the dim light, would be effectual preventives of my ever acquiring the art of reading. But Tom's perseverance and mine conquered at last, and in the course of the •winter I did really learn to read a little. It was, and has been ever since, a great comfort to me to have made this acquisition ; though it has made me comprehend better the terrible abyss of ignorance in which I had been plunged all my previous life. It made me also feel more deeply and bitterly the oppression under which I had toiled and groaned ; but the crushing and cruel nature of which I had not appreciated, till I found out, in some slight degree, from what I had been debarred. At the same time it made me more anxious than before to do something for the rescue and the elevation of those who were suffering the same evils I had endured, and who did not know how degraded and ig- norant they really were. 12* 'II :i li.i . : I ■I 1 t i 138 FATHER HENSCN'S STORY CHAPTER XV. LIFE IN CANADA. COXDITIOX OP THE ULACKS IX CANADA. — A TOUU OS" EXl'LORATIOX. — APPEAL TO THE LEOISLATUnE. — ISI- PnOVEMEXTS. After about three years had passed, I improved my condition again by taking ser- vice with a gentleman by the name of Riseley, whose residence was only a few miles distant, and who was a man of more elevation of mind than Mr. Hibbard, and of superior abili- ties. At his place I began to reflect, more and more, upon the circumstances of the blacks, who were already somewhat numerous in this region. I was not the only one who had escaped from the States, and had settled on the first spot in Canada which they had reached. Several hundreds of colored persons were in the neighborhood; and, in the first OF IIIS OWN LIFE. 139 joy of their ddiverance, were going on in a way which, I could see, led to little or no progress in imjirovement. They were content to have the proceeds of their labor at their own command, and had not the ambition for, or the perception of what was within their easy reach, if they did but know it. They were generally working for hire upon the lands of others, and had not yet dreamed of becoming independent proprietors themselves. It soon became my great object to awaken them to a sense of the advantages which were within their grasp; and Mr. Riseley, seeing clearly the justness of my views, and willing to co- operate with me in the attempt to make them generally known among the blacks, permitted me to call meetings at his house of those who were known to be among the most intelligent and successful of our class. At these meet- ings we considered and discussed the subject, till we were all of one mind ; and it was agreed, among the ten or twelve of us who assembled at them, that we would invest our earnings in land, and undertake the task — which| ii \'S 140 FATHER HENSON S STORY though no light one certainly would yet soon reward us for our effort — of settling upon wild lands which we could call our own ; and where every tree which we felled, and every bushel of corn we raised, would be for our- selves; in other words, where we could secure all the profits of our own labor. The advantages of this course need not be dwelt upon, in a country which is every day exemplifying it, and has done so for two hundred years and more; and has, by this very means, acquired, an indestructible charac- ter for energy, enterprise, and self-reliance. It was precisely the Yankee spirit which I wished to instill into my fellow-slaves, if possible ; and I was not deterred from the task by the perception of the immense contrast in all the habits and character generated by long ages of freedom and servitude, activity and sloth, independence and subjection. My associates agreed with me, and we resolved to select some spot among the many offered to our choice, where we could colonize, and raise our own crops, eat our own bread, and be, in short, OF* HIS OWN LIFE. 141 our own masters. I v/iis deputed to explore the country, and find a place to which I would be willir^; ^o migrate myself; and they all said they would go with me, whenever such a one should be found. I set out accordingly in the autumn of 1834, and travelled on foot all over the extensive region between lakes On- tario, Erie, and Huron. When I came to the territory east of Lake St. Clair and Detroit River, I was strongly impressed with its fer- tility, its convenience, and, indeed, its superi- ority, for our purposes, to any other spot I had seen. I determined this should be the place ; and so reported, on my return, to my future companions. They were wisely cau- tious, however, and sent me off again in the summer, that I might see it at the opposite seasons of the year, and be better able to judge of its advantages. I found no reason to change my opinion, but upon going farther towards the head of Lake Erie, I discovered an extensive tract of government land, which, for some years, had been granted to a Mr. McCormick upon certain conditions, and which I I !iS. 142 FATHER IIENSON'S STORY he had rented out to settlers upon such terms as he could obtain. This land being already cleared, offered some advantages for the im- mediate raising of crops, which were not to be overlooked by persons whose resources were so limited as ours ; and we determined to go there first, for a time, and with the pro- ceeds of what we could earn there, to make our purchases in Dawn afterwards. This plan was followed, and some dozen or more of us settled upon these lands the following spring, and accumulated something by the crops of wheat and tobacco we were able to raise. I discovered, before long, that McCormick had not complied with the conditions of his grant, and was not, therefore, entitled to the rent he exacted from the settlers. I was ad- vised by Sir John Cockbum, to whom I ap- plied on the subject, to appeal to the legislature for relief. We did so ; and though McCor- mick was able, by the aid of his friends, to defeat us for one year, yet we succeeded tha next, upon a second appeal, and were freed from all rent thereafter, so long as we re- OF HIS OWN LIFE. 143 mainetl. Still, this was not our own land. The government, though it demanded no rent, might set up the land for sale at any time, and then we should, probably, be driven off by wealthier purchasers, with the entire loss of all our improvements, and with no retreat pro- vided. It was manifest that it was altogether better for us to purchase before competition was invited ; and we kept this fully in mind during the lime we stayed here. We re- mained in this position six or seven years ; and all this while the colored population was increasing rapidly around us, and spreading very fast into the interior settlements and the large towns. The immigration from the United Sates was incessant, and some, I am not unwilling to admit, were brought hither with my knowledge and connivance ; and I will now proceed to give a short account ot the plans and operations I had arranged for the liberation of some of my brethren, which I hope may prove interesting to the reader. « '.1 H :, I 11'; 1 ill;, '* I % I ' 144 FATHER IIENSON'S STOKY CHAPTER XVI. CONDUCTING SLAVES TO CANADA. SYMrATIIY FOR THE SLAVES. — JAMES LIGUTFOOT. — MT riKST MISSION TO THE SOUTH. — A KENTUCKY COM- PANY OF FUGITIVES. — SAFE AT HOME. The degraded and hopeless condition of a slave, can never be properly felt by him while he remains in such a position. After I had tasted the blessings of freedom, my mind re- verted to those whom I knew were groaning in captivity, and I at once proceeded to take measures to free as many as I could. I thought that, by using exertion, numbers might make their escape as 1 did, if they had some practical advice how to proceed. I was once attending a very large meeting at Fort Erie, at which a great many colored peo- ple were present. In the course of my preaching I tried to impress upon them the importance OP HIS OWN LIFE. 145 re- mce of the obligations ihoy were under; first, to God, for their deliverance ; and then, second- ly, to their fellow-men, to do all that was in their power to bring others out of bondage. In the congregation was a man named James Lightfoot, who was of a very active temper- ament, and had obtained his freedom by flee- ing to Canada, but had never thought of his family and friends whom he had left behind, until the time he heard me speaking, although he himself had been free for some five years. However, that day the cause was brought home to his heart. When the service was concluded he begged to have an interview with me, to which I gladly acceded, and an arrangement was made for further conversa- tion on the same subject one week from that lime. He then ififormed me where he came from, also to whom he belonged, and that he had left behind a dear father and mother, three sisters and four brothers ; and that they^ived on the Ohio River, not far fr6m the city of Maysville. He said that he never saw his duty towards them to be so clear and unmis- 13 i I m if'i i' if. : \ / l^ - 146 FATHER IIENSON'S STORY takcablo ns he did at that time, and professed himself ready to collperale in any measures that mij^ht be devised for their release. Dur- ing the short period of his freedom he had accmnulated some little property, the whole of whieh, he stated, he would cheerfully de- vote to carrying out those measures ; for he liad not had any rest, night nor day, since the meeting above mentioned. I was not able at that time to propose what was best to be done, and thus we parted ; but in a few days he came to see me again on the same errand. Seeing the agony of his heart in behalf of his kindred, I consented to com- mence the painful and dangerous task of en- deavoring to free those whom he so nmch loved. I left my own family in the hands of no other save God, and commenced the journey alone, on foot, and travelled thus about four hundred miles. But the Lord furnished me with strength sufficient for the undertaking. I passed through the States of New York, Ifcnn- sylvania, and Ohio — free States, so called — and crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky, c OP HIS OWN LIFE, 147 and nitimatoly round iiKs frionds in the place he had described. . I was an entire stranger to them, but I took with mo a small token of their brother who wa^j gone, which tiiey at once recognized ; and this was to let them know that he had gone to Canada, th« land of freedom, and had now sent a friend to a st them in making their escape. This created no little excitement. But his parens had become so far advanced in years that they could not nmlertakc the fatigue ; hij3 sisters had a number of children, and they could not travel; his four brothers and a nephew were young men, and suffic- iently able for the journey, but the thought of leaving their father, and mother, and sisters, was too painful ; and they also considered it inssafc to make the attempt then, for fear that the excitement and grief of their friends might betray them ; so they declined going at that time, but promised that they would go in a year, if I would return for them. . To this I assented, and then went between forty and fifty miles into the interior of Ken- 1 I hii )u 148 FATIIEn HENSON'S STORY tucky, having heard that there was a large party ready to attempt their escape, if they had a leader to direct their movements. I travelled by night, resting by day, and at length reached Bourbon County, the place where I expected to find these people. After a delay of about a week, spent in discussing plans, making arrangements, and other mat- ters, I found that there were about thirty col- lected from different States, who were disposed to make the attempt. At length, on a Satur- day night, we started. The agony of parting can be better conceived than described ; as, in their case, husbands were leaving their wives, mothers their children, and children their pa- rents. This, at first sight, will appear strange, and even incredible ; but, when we take into consideration the fact, that at any time they were liable to be separated, by being sold to what are termed " nigger traders," and the probability that such an event would take place, it will, I think, cease to excite any sur- prise. "We succeeded in crossing the Ohio River OP Ills OWN LIFE. 149 in safety, and arrived in Cincinnati the third night after our departure. Here we procured assistance ; and, after stopping a short time to rest, we started for Richmond, Indiana. This is a town which had been settled by Quakers, and there we found friends indeed, who at once helped us on our way, without loss of time ; and after ' a difficult journey of two weeks, through the wilderness, we reached Toledo, Ohio, a town on the south-western shore of Lake Erie, and there we took passage for Canada, which we reached in safety. I then went hortie to my family, taking with me a part of this large party, the rest finding their friends scattered in other towns, perfectly sat- isfied with my conduct in the matter, in being permitted to be the instrument of freeing* such a number of my fellow-creatures. V 13* I 150 FATHER HENSON'S STORY CHAPTER XVII. S; ■ •k i!:i SECOND JOURNEY ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. A SHOWER OF STAKS. — KENTUCKIANS. — A STRATAGEM. — A PROVIDENCE. — CONDUCTED ACROSS THE MIAMI RIVER BY A COW. — ARRIVAL AT CINCINNATI. — ONE OP THE PARTY TAKEN ILL. — WE LEAVE IIIM TO DIE. — MEET A "friend." — A POOR WHITE MAN. — A STRANGE IM- PRESSION. — ONCE MORE IN CANADA. I REMAINED at home, working on my farm, until the next autumn, soon after which time I had promised to assist in the restoring to liberty the friends of James Lightfoot, the in- dividual who had excited my sympathy at the meeting at Fort Erie. In pursuance of this promise, I again started on my long journey into Kentucky. On my way, that strange occurrence hap- pened, called the great meteoric shower. The heavens seemed broken up into streaks of light ^ OP HIS OWN LIFE. 151 and falling stars. I reached Lancaster, Ohio, about three o'clock in the morning, and found the village aroused, and the bells ringing, and the people exclaiming, " The day of judgment is come ! " I tiiought it was probably so ; but felt that I was in the right busineps, and walk- ed on through the village, leaving the terrified people behind. The stars continued to fall till the light of the sun appeared. On arriving at Portsmouth, in the State of Ohio, I had a very narrow escape from being detected. The place was frequented by a number of Kentuckians, who were quite ready to suspect a colored man, if they saw any- thing unusual about him. I reached Ports- mouth in the morning, and waited until two in the afternoon for the steamboat, so that I might not arrive in Maysville till after dark. "While in the town I v/as obliged to resort to a stratagem, in order to avoid being questioned by the Kentuckians I saw in the place. To this end I procured some dried leaves, put them into a cloth and bound it all round my face, reaching nearly to my eyes, and pretend- / ,' ii m m ' I # 152 FATHER HENSON'S STORT > .;!: ''H |i i li ed to be so seriously affeeted in my head and teeth as not to be able to speak. I then hung around the village till time for the evening boat, so as to arrive at Maysville in the night. I was accosted by several during my short stay in Portsmouth, who appeared very anx- ious to get some particulars from me as to who I was, where I was going, and to whom I belonged. To all their numerous inquiries I merely shook my head, mumbled out indis- tinct answers, and acted so that they could not get anything out of me ; and, by this artifice, I succeeded in avoiding any unpleasant conse- quences. I got on board the boat and reached Maysville, Kentucky, in the evening, about a fortnight from the time I had left Canada. On landing a wonderful providence hap- pened to me. The second person I met in the street was Jefferson Lightfoot, brother of the James Lightfoot previously mentioned, and one of the party who had promised to escape if I would assist them. He stated that they were still determined to make the attempt, and the following Saturday night was named to OP HIS OWN LIFE. 153 put it into execution, and preparations for the journey were at once commenced. The reason why Saturday night was chosen on this and the previous occasion was, that from not hav- ing to labor the next day, and being allowed to visit their families, they would not be miss- ed until the time came for their usual appear- ance in the field, at which period they would be some eighty or a hundred miles away. During the interval I had to keep myself con- cealed by day, and used to meet tkcii:. by night to make the necessary arrangements. For fear of being detected, they started off without bidding their father or mother fare- well, and then, in order to prevent the hounds from following on our trail, we seized a skiff, a little below the city, and made our way down the river. It was not the shortest way, but it was the surest. It was sixty-five miles from Maysville to Cincinnati, and we thought we could reach that city before daylight, and then take the stage for Sandusky. Our boat sprung a leak before we had got half way, and we narrowly ( \ V \ 154 FATHER HENSON'S STORY :?A :i* \ I;'' escaped being drowned; providentially, how- ever, we got to the shore before the boat sunk. We then took another boat, but this detention prevented us from arriving at Cincinnati in time for the stage. Day broke upon us when we were about ten miles above the city, and we were compelled to leave our boat from fear of being apprehended. This was an anxious time. However, we had got so far away that we knew there w^as no danger of being dis- covered by the hounds, and we thought we would go on foot. When we got within seven miles of Cincinnati, we came to the Miami River, and we could not reach the city with- out crossing it. ? This was a great barrier to us, for the water appeared to be deep, and we were afraid to ask the loan of a boat, being apprehensive it might lead to our detection. We went first up and then down the river, trying to find a convenient crossing place, but failed. I then said to my company, " Boys, let us go up the river and try again." We started, and after going about a mile we saw a cow coming out OF HIS OWN LIFE. 155 of a wood, and going to the river as though she intended to drink. Then said I, " Boys, let us go and see what that cow is about, it may be that she will tell us some news." I ' said this in order to cheer them up. One of them replied, in rather a peevish way, " Oh that cow can't talk ; " but I again urged them to come on. The cow remained uiitil we ap- proached her within a rod or two ; she then walked into the river, and went straight across without swimming, which caused me to re- mark, " The Lord sent that cow to show us where to cross the river ! " This has always seemed to me to be a very wonderful event. Having urged our way with considerable haste, we were literally saturated with perspi- ration, though it was snowing at the time, and my companions thought that it would be highly dangerous for us to proceed through the water, especially as there was a large quantity of ice in the river. But as it was a question of life or death with us, there was no time left for reasoning ; I therefore advanced — they reluctantly following. The youngest \ 15G FATHER HENSON'S STORY I 'A I : * . r ' ■<: of the Lightfoots ere we had reached midway of the river, was seized with violent contrac- tion of the limbs, which prevented further self- exertion on his part ; he was, therefore, carried the remainder of the distance. After resort- ing to continued friction, he partially recov- ered, and we proceeded on our journey. We reached Cincinnati about eleven on Sunday morning — too late for the stage that day ; but having found some friends, we hid ourselves until Monday evening, when we re- commenced our long and toilsome journey, through mud, rain, and snow, towards Canada. We had increased our distance about 100 miles, by going out of our road to get among the QuakfYs. During our passage through the woods, the boy before referred to was taken alarmingly ill, and we were compelled to proceed with him on our backs; but finding this mode of conveying him exceedingly irk- some, we constructed a kind of litter with our shirts and handkerchiefs laid across poles. By this time we got into the State of Indiana, so that we could travel by day as long as we • y OP HIS OWN LIFE. 157 kept to the woods. Our patient continued to get worse, and it appeared, both to himself and to us all, that death would soon release him from his sufferings. He therefore begged to be left in some secluded spot, to die alone, as he feared that the delay occasioned by his having to be carried through the bush, might lellfd to the capture of the whole company. With very considerable reluctance we acceded to his request, and laid him in a sheltered placei with a full expectation that death would soon put an end to his sufferings. The poor fellow expressed his readiness to meet the last struggle in hope of eternal life. Sad, indeed, was the parting; and it was with difficulty we tore ourselves away. We had not, however, proceeded more than two miles on our journey, when one of the brothers of the dying man made a sudden stop, and expressed his inability to proceed whilst h^ had the consciousness that he had left his brother to perish, in all probability, a prey to the devouring wolves. His grief was so great that we determined to return, and at 14 158 FATHER IIENSON'S STORY Is. length reached the spot, where wc found the poor fellow apparently dying, moanhig out witli cver^'' breath a prayer to heaven. Words cannot describe the joyousness experienced by the Lightfoots when they saw their poor afllicted brother once more ; they literally danced for joy. "We at once ])repared to resume our journey as we best could, and once more penetrated the bush. After mak- ing some progress, we saw, at a little distance on the road, a wagon approaching, and I im- mediately determined to ascertain whether some assistance could not be obtained. I at length circumvented the road, so as to make it appear that I had been journeying in an opposite direction to that which the wagon was taking. Wlien I came up >vith the driver, I bade him good day. He said, " Where is thee going ? " " To Canada." I saw his coat, heard his thee and thou^ and set him down for a Quaker. I therefore plainly told him our circumstances. He at once stopped his horses, and expressed his willingness to assist us. I returned to the place where my companions OP ins OWN LIFlfi. 150 ;*¥^ wcro in waiting for mc, nnd soon had ihom in the proHonco of tl: Quaker. Immediately on viewing tlio sufferer he was moved to tears, and without delay turned liis horses' lieads, to proceed in the direction of his J.oiue, aithougli he had intended to go to a distant market witli a. load of produce for sale. The reception we met with from the Quaker's larnily overjoyed our hearts, and the transports with which the poor men looked upon their brother, now so favorably circumstanced, cannot be described. Wc remained with tliis happy family for the niglit, and received from them every kindness. It was arranged that the boy should remain behind until, through the blessing of God, he should recover. We were kindly provided by them with a sack of biscuit and a joint of meat, and once more set our faces in the direction of Lake Erie. After proi^eeding some distance on our road, we perceived a white man approaching, but as he was travelling alone, and on foot, wc were not alarmed at his presence. It turned out that he had been residing for some time in the t 1' I IGO FATHER HENSON'S STORY I fi I "! ^li! South, and although a free man, his employors had attempted to castigate him ; in return for which he had used violence, which made it necessary that he should at once escape. "Wc travelled in company, and found that his pres- ence was of signal service to us in delivering us out of the hands of the slave-hunters who were now on our track, and eagerly grasping after their prey. We had resolved on reaching the lake, a distance of forty miles, by the fol- lowing morning; we, therefore, walked all night. Just as the day was breaking, we reached a wayside tavern, immediately contiguous to the laive, and cur white companion having knocked up the landlord, ordered breakfast for six. Whilst our breakfast was in course of preparation, we dosed off into slumber, wea- ried with our long-continued exertion. Just as our breakfast was ready, whilst half asleep and half awake, an impression came forcibly upon me that danger was nigh, and that I must at once leave the house. I im- mediately urged my companions to follow me m OV Ills OWN LIFR. ICl out, which Ihoy wcro oxcoiHliii^ly unwillinj^ to do ; but UH thoy liad j)roinisoil luv snhmi.s- sion, tliey at length yielded to my recinest. We retired to the yjird ut tiie t«ld(! of the honne, and commenced washing oursclv '^ with the snow, which was now up to our knees. Pn;- scntly wc heard the tramping of horses, and were at once warned of tlie necessity of secre- ting ourselves. Wc crept beneath a pile of bushes which were lying close at hand, which permitted a full view of the road. The horse- men came to a dead stop at the door of the house, and commenced their inquiries; my companions at once recognized the parties on horseback, and whispered their names to me. This was a critical moment, and the loud beatings of their hearts testified the dreadful alarm with which they viewed the scene. Had we been within doors, we should have been inevitably sacrificed. Our white friend pro- ceeded to the door in advance of the landlord, and maintained his position. He was at once interrogated by the slave-hunters whether he 14* i'u IHBI % • mwiBi ^1 ■WB^Ii' f ■ iiimi |(,'i ■Hi .1. ■'l ■' I^H^^B '■ ' '' ■1 ■ ' WM . *f i ■M ■/ IwS^ml ' ^ ' ii . i ' ' nmni nn^fi " ■ ; '1 ^:f' 1 ■ i \ ' : J ! ■ 1 |Bi|i^ ^Hiv 1- Hm^r. f:' ' Hh^RI' flwlH^Bc ii 'i '^W *y ^IH^ i ' 1 ( mi^^Pi 1 ^' ITM': Mnlil i|f'' ^Bf b- J 1 |H|| : 1 1 *' n^H:!:; .- ,1 fln^fti ' 1 ■ 1 ■ i ■Hi ! f 1 in fl ; ' J j *' ^' ' ml ii\ 162 FATHER HENSON'S STORY* had seen any negroes pass that way. He said, yes, he thought he had. Their number was d«»manded, and they were told about six, and that they were proceeding in the direction of Detroit ; and that they might be some few miles on the road. They at once reined their horses, which were greatly fatigued, through having been ridden all night, and were soon out of sight. *We at length ventured into the house, and devoured breakfasfln an incredibly short space of time. After what had trans- pired, the landlord became acquainted with our circumstances, and at once offered to sail us in his boat across to Canada. We were happy enough to have such an offer, and soon the white sail of our little bark was laying to the wind, and we were gliding along on our way, with the land of liberty in full view. Words cannot describe the feelings experienced by my companions as they neared the shore ; — their bosoms were swelling with inexpress- ible joy as they mounted the seats of the boat, ready, eagerly, to spring forward, that they ^ OP niS OWN LIFE. 1G3 might touch the soil of the freeman. And when they reached the shore, they danced and wept for joy, and kissed the earth on which they first stepped, no longer the slave — but the FREE, After the lapse of a few months, on one joyous Sabbath morning, I had the happiness of clasping the poor boy we had left in the kind care of the Quaker, no longer attenuated in frame, but rol^ust and healthy, and sur- rounded by his family. Thus my joy was consummated, and superadded was the bless- ing of those who were ready to perish, which came upon me. It is one of the greatest sources of my happiness to know, that by similar means to those above narrated, 1 have been instrumental in delivering one hundred and eighteen human beings out of the cruel and merciless grasp of the slaveholder. Mr. Frank Taylor, the owner of the Light- foots, whose escape I have just narrated, soon after he missed his slaver, fell ill, and became quite deranged ; but, on recovering, he was r 5 104 FATHER IIENSON'S STORY :) M 1, • n persuaded by his friends to free the remainder of the family of the Lightfoots, which he at length did ; and, after a short lapse of time, they all met each other in Canada, where they are now living. s« m. OP HIS OWN LIFE. 165 CHAPTER XVIII. HOME AT DAWN, CONDITION IN CANADA. — EFFOUTS IN IlEIIALF OF MY PEOPLK.~REV. MU. WILSON. — A COXVKNTION OF BLACKS. — MANUAL-LABOK SCHOOL. I DID not find that our prosperity increased with our numbers. The mere delight the slave took in his freedom, rendered him, at first, contented with a lot far inferior to that which he might have attained. Then his igni:>rance led him to make unprofitable bar- gains, and he would often hire wild land on short terms, and bind himself to clear a certain number of acres; and by the time they were clear and fitted for cultivation, his lease was out; and his landlord would come in, and raise a splendid crop on the new land; and the tenant would, very likely, start again on just such another bargain, and be no better off" at n m vt ICG FATHER UENSON'S STORY h M ■•«'#■ 'Ah the end of ten years than he was at the begin- ning. Another way in which they lost the profits of their labor was by raising nothing but tobacco, the high price of which was very tempting, and the cultivation of wliich was a monopoly in their hands, as no white man understood it, or could compete with them at ail. The consequence was, however, that they had nothing but tobacco to sell ; there was rather too much of it in the market, and the price of wheat rose, while their commodity was depressed ; and they lost all they should have saved, in the profit they gave the trader for his corn and stores. I saw the effect of these things so clearly that I could not help trying to make my friends and neighbors see it too ; and I set seriously about the business of lecturing upon the subject of crops, wages, and profit, just as if I had been brought up to it. I insisted on the necessity of their raising their own crops, saving their own wages, and securing the profits of their own labor, with such plain arguments as occurred to me, and were as OF HIS OWN LIFE. 1G7 gin- the tiing very as a man n at they was I the Dclity lould rader clear to their comprehension as to mine. I did this very openly ; and, frequently, my audience consisted in part of the very traders whose inordinate profits upon individuals T was trying to diminish, but whose balance of profit would not be ultimately lessened, be- cause they would have so many more persona to trade with, who would be able to pay them a reasonable advance in cash, or its equivalent, on all their purchases The purse is a tender part of the system ; but I handled it so gently, that the sensible portion of my natural oppo- nents were not, I believe, offended; while those whom I wished to benefit saw, for the most part, the propriety of my advice, and took it. At least, there are now great numbers of settlers, in this region of Canada, wlio own their farms, and are training up their children in true independence, and giving them a good elementary education, who had not taken a single step towards such a result before I began to talk to them. While I remained at Colchester, I became acquainted with a Congregational missionary •ifr 168 FATHER HENSON'S STORY N*i i; v' )' J I from Massachusets, by the name of Hiram Wilson, who took an interest in our people, and was disposed to do what he could to promote the cause of improvement which I had so much at heart. He cooperated with me in many efforts, and I have been associated with him from 1836 to the present time. He has been a faithful friend, and still continues his important labors of love in our behalf. Among other things which he did for us then, he wrote to a Quaker friend of his, an Eng- lishman, by the name of James C. Fuller, residing at Skeneateles, New York, and en- deavored to interest him in the welfare of our struggling population. He succeeded so far, that Mr. Fuller, who was going on a visit to England, promised to do what he could among his friends there, to induce them to aid us. He came back with fifteen hundred dollars which had been sub- scribed for our benefit. It was a great ques- tion how this sum, which sounded vast to many of my brethren, should be appropriated. I had my own opinion pretty decidedly as to m or HIS OWN LIFE. 1G9 what it was best for us all to do with it. But, ill order to come to a satisfactory conclusion, the first thing to be done was to call a con- vention of delegates from every setllememt of blacks that was within reach; that all might see that whatever was decided on, was sanctioned by the disinterested votes of those who were thought by their companions, best able to judge what was expedient. Mr. Wil- son and myself called such a convention, there- fore, to meet in London, Upper Canada, and it was held in June, 1838. I urged the appropriation of the money to the establishment of a manual-labor school, where our children could be taught those elements of knowledge which are usually the occupations of a grammar-school ; and where the boys • could be taught, in addition, the practice of some mechanic art, and the girls could be instructed in those domestic arts which are the proper occupation and ornament of their sex. Such an establishment would train up those who would afterwards instruct others ; and we should thus gradually beconie 15 m no FATHER UENSON'S STORY "t '!! independent of the white man for our intellect- ual progress, as we might be also for our physical prosperity. It was the more neces- sary, as in many districts, owing to the insur- mountable prejudices of the inhabitants, ihe children of the blacks were not allowed to share the advantages of the common school. There was some opposition to this plan in Ihe convention ; but in the course of ihe discus- sion, which continued for three days, it ap- peared so obviously for the advantage of all to husband this donation, so as to preserve it for a purpose of permanent utility, that the pro- posal was, at last, unanimously adopted ; and a committee of three was appointed to select and purchase a sight for ihe establishment. Mr. Wilson and myself were the active mem- bers of this committee, and after traversing the country for several months, we could find no place more suitable than that upon which I had had my eye for three or four years, for a permanent settlement, in the town of Dawn. We therefore bought two hundred acres of fine rich land, on the river Sydenham, covered OF HIS OWN LIFE. 171 with a heavy growth of black walnut and white wood, at four dollars the acre. I had made a bargain for two hundred acres adjoining this lot, on my own account; and circumstances favored me so, that the man of whom I pur- chased was glad to let me have them at a large discount from tlie price I had agreed to pay, if I would give him cash for the balance I owed him. I transferred a portion of the • advantage of this bargain to the institution, by selling to it one hundred acres more, at the low price at which I obtained them. In 1842 I removed with my family to Dawn, and as a considerable number of my friends are there about me, and the school is permanently fixed there, the future importance of this settlement seems to be decided. There are many other settlements which are consid- erable ; and, indeed, the colored population 1? scattered over a territory which does not fall far short of three hundred miles in extent, in each direction, and probably numbers not less than twenty thousand persons in all. We look to the school, and the possession of land- •# # ?iti ■ ! ^^^^i; u 172 FATHER IIENSON'S STORY ed property by individuals, as two great means of the elevation of our oi)pressed and degraded race to a participation in the blessings, as they have hitherto been permitted to share only the miseries and vices, of civilization. My efforts to aid them, in every way in my power, and to procure the aid of others for them, have been constant. I have made many • journeys into New York, Connecticut, Massa- chusetts, and Maine, in all of which States I have found or made some friends to the cause, and, I hope, some personal friends. I have received many liberal gifts, and experienced much kindness of treatment; but I inust be allowed to allude particularly to the donations received from Boston — by which we have been enabled to erect a saw-mill, and thus to begin in good earnest the clearing of our lands, and to secure a profitable return for the support of our school — as among those which have been most welcome and valuable to us. Some of the trips I have made, have led to some incidents and observations which must be the theme of a future chapter. OF Ills OWN LIFK. 173 CHAPTER XIX. LUMBERING OPERATIONS. INDUSTUIAL IMIOJKCT. — FIND SOME AIILK FUIKNDS IX BOSTON. — PHOCUnK FUNDS AND CONSTKL'CT A SAWMILL. — SALKS OF LUMBEll IN BOSTON. — INCIDENT IN Tllli CUSTOM HOUSE. The land on which we settled in Canada was covered with a beautiful forest of noble trees of various kinds. Our people were ac- customed to cut them down and burn them on the ground, simply to get rid of them. Often as I roamed through the forest, I was afflicted at seeing such waste, and longed to devise some means of converting this abundant nat- ural wealth into money, so as to improve the condition of the people. Full of this subject, I left my home on a journey of observation through the State of New York, and New England. I kept my 15* ! ■ ( IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) k A ■^A^ .V4 /. II I.I 11.25 m Si Hi ."... I 2j8 |2.5 Ki 1.2.2 m JA 1116 V] <^ /^ ^^ Photographic Sciences Corporation \ ^ •SJ v> rv 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 '^\. ^^ o^ K, W > s o^ 174 FATHER HENSON'S STORY purposes to myself, not breathing a word of my intentions to any mortal. I found in New York, mills where precisely such logs as those in Canada were sawed into lumber, which I learned commanded large prices. In New England I found a ready market for the black walnut, white wood, and other lumber, such as abounded and was wasted in Canada. On reaching Boston, Mass. I made known these facts and my feelings to some philan- thropic gentlemen with ■^^'^hom I had become acquainted. It cannot be improper for me to mention the names of these gentlemen, who lent so ready an ear to my representations, and placed so much confidence in my judg- ment, as to furnish me with the means of starting what has since proved a very profita- ble enterprise. Rev. Ephraim Peabody introduced me to Samuel Eliot, Esq., who was kind enough to examine carefully into all my representations, and to draw up a sketch of them, which was afterwards presented to Amos Lar^Tcnce, Esq., and others. By means of this a collection of OP HIS OWN LIFE. 175 money to aid me was made, to which many of the leading gentleman of Boston contrib- uted, amounting to about fourteen hundred dollars. "With this money I returned to Canada, and immediately set myself about building a saw- mill in Camden (then Dawn). The improve- ment in the surrounding section was astonish- ing. The people began to labor, and the pro- gress in clearing up and cultivating the land was quite cheering. But after the frame-work of my mill was completed and covered, my scanty funds were exhausted. This was a trying time. I had begun the work in faith, I had expended the money honestly, and to the best of my judg- ment, and now should the whole enterprise fail? I immediately returned to my Boston friends. Amos Lawrence, H. Ingersoll Bowditch, and Samuel A. Elliot, Esqs., listened to me again, and gave me to understand that they deemed me an honest man. They encouraged me in my business enterprise, and the approval of such men was like balm to my soul. Thev 'I? 176 FATHER HENSON'S STORY. endorsed a note for me and put it into the bank, by which I was enabled to borrow, on my own responsibility, about eighteen hun- dred dollars more. With this I soon com- plet( d the mill, stocked it with machinery, and had the pleasure of seeing it in successful op- eration. I ought here to add, that the mill was not my own private property, but be- longed to an association, which established an excellent manual-labor school, where many children and youth of both sexes have been educated. The school was well attended by both colored children, whites, and some Indi- ans. This enterprise having been completed to a great extent by my own labor and the labor of my own sons, who took charge of the mill, I immediately be^"" ^j consider how I could dis- charge my pecuii— y obligations. I chartered a vessel, and loaded it with eighty thousand feet of good prime black walnut lumber, sawed in our mill, and contracted with the captain to deliver it for me at Oswego, N. Y* I entered into a contract there with a party to ' OP HIS OWN LIFE. 177 have it delivered at Boston, but the party hav- ing forwarded it to New York, failed to carry it any farther. There great efforts were made to cheat me out of the lumber, but, by the good friendship of Mr. Lawrence, of Boston, who furnished me the means of having it re-shipped, I succeeded in bringing the whole eighty thou- sand feet safe to Boston, where I sold it to Mr. Jonas Chickering for forty-five dollars per thou- sand feet. The proceeds paid all expenses, and would have cancelled all the debts I had in- curred ; but my friends insisted that I should retain a part of the funds for future use. Af- ter that, I brought another large load of lum- ber by the same route. The next season I brought a large cargo by the river St. Lawrence, which came direct to Boston, where, without the aid of any agent or third party whatever, I paid my own duties, got the lumber through the Custom House, and sold it at a handsome profit, A little in- cident occurred when paying the duties, which has often since afforded me a great deal of amusement. The Fugitive Slave Law had L 178 FATHER HENSON'S STORY just been passed in the United States, which made it quite an offence to harbor or render aid to a fugitive slave. When the Custom House officer presented his bill to me for the duties on my lumber, I jokingly remarked to him that perhaps he would render himself lia- ble to trouble if he should have dealings with a fugitive slave, and if so I would relieve him of the trouble of taking my money. " Are you a fugitive slave. Sir ? " " Yes, Sir," said I ; " and perhaps you had better not have any dealings with me." " I have nothing to do with that," said the official ; " there is your bill. You have acted like a man, and I deal with you as a man." I enjoyed the scene, and the bystanders seemed to relish it, and I paid him the money. I look back upon the enterprise related in this chapter with a great deal of pleasure, for the mill which was then built introduced an entire change in the appearance of that sec- tion of the country, and in the habits of the people. OP HIS OWN LIFE. 179 CHAPTER XX. VISIT TO ENGLAND. DEHT OS THE IX8TITUTIOX. — A NEW PECUNIARY ENTEK- PRISE. — LETTERS OP RECOMMENDATION TO ENGLAND. — PERSONAL DIFFICULTIES. — CALLED AN IMPOSTER. — TRIUMPHANT VICTORY OVER THESE TROUBLES. My interest in the Manual Labor School in Dawn, was the means of my visiting England. No one who has never engaged in such busi- ness can have any idea of the many difficulties connected with so great an enterprise. In spite of all the efforts of the Association, a debt of about seven thousand five hundred dollars rested upon it. A meeting of its trus- tees and friends, in the year 1849, was called to consider its condition, and to devise, if pos- sible, some means for its relief. After a long discussion of the matter, it was finally detei- mined to separate the concern into two de- 180 FATHER HENSON S STORY < I partments, and put it under the charge of two parties, the one to take the mill and a certain portion of the land for four years, and to pay all the debts of the institution in that time; and the other party to take the other buildings and land, and to conduct the school. A certain party was found willing to assume the school. But who would be enterprising enough to take the mill for four years encum- bered with a debt of seven thousand five hun- dred dollars was a very important question. On consideration, having a secret project in my own mind, I concluded to do it, provided that Mr. Peter B. Smith would assume an equal share of the responsibility, and attend to the business of the mill. He readily consented. My project was to go to England, carrying with me some of the best specimens of black walnut boards our farm would produce, and to exhibit them in the great World's Industrial Exhibition, then in session at London, and perhaps negotiate for the sale of lumber. I accordingly left for England, being readily fur- nished with very complimentary letters of in- OP HIS OWN LIFE. 181 I lur- in- troduction to such men as Thomas Binney, Samuel Gurney, Lord Brougham, Hon. Ab- bot Lawrence, then American Minister to England, from Rev. John Rolfc, of Toronto, Chief Justice Robinson, Sir Allen McNab, Col. John Prince, Rev. Dr. Duffield, of Detroit, Michigan, Judge Conant, of the same city, lion. Ross Wilkinson, U. S. Judge, residing also in Detroit, Hon. Charles Sumner and Amos Lawrence, Esq., of Massachusetts. From the gentlemen above mentioned I had in England a most cordial reception, and was immediately introduced to the very best so- ciety in the kingdom. I regret exceediiigly to make any allusions to personal difficulties, ci to individuals that have pursued an unjust and unchristian course towards me or others, but I cannot give any- thing like a correct view of this part of my history without, at least, a brief allusion, which shall be as delicate as I can make it, to some difficulties. It was undoubtedly the plan of certain in- dividuals of the party who assumed the care 16 182 FATHER HENdON'S STORY of the school, probably from unworthy sec- tarian feelings, to obtain entire possession of the property of the association, or certainly, completely to destroy my influence over it, and connection with it. Much to my astonishment, therefore, when I had arrived in England, and had been cor- dially received by the men above mentioned, and had preached in the pulpits of such men as Rev. Messrs. Thomas Binney, Baptist Noel, William Brock, James Sherman, George Smith, Dr. Burns, in London, and had already introduced my enterprise before a portion of the British public, I was confronted by a printed and published circular, to the follow- ing effect: "That one styling himself Rev. Josiah Henson was an impostor, obtaining money under false pretences; that he could exhibit no good credentials; that whatever money he might obtain would not be appro- priated according to the wish of the donors, and that the said Josiah Henson was an art- ful, skilful, and eloquent man, and would probably deceive the public." This was a f OP HIS OWN LIFE. 183 y sec- ion of tainly, it, and , when ;n cor- tioned, jh men Baptist George already tion of I by a foUow- f Rev. itaining could hatever appro- donors, \ an art- would was a severe blow, but fortunately I had already requested my friends to appoint a committee of twelve persons to examine carefully into the merits of my enterprise, which committee should appoint a sub-committee of three, and a treasurer, to receive every farthing contrib- uted to me by the public, and to appropriate it only as they should deem proper. This committee had been appointed, and consisted of Samuel Gurney, Samuel Gurney, Junior, Samuel Marley, Esq., George Hitchcock, Esq., Rev. James Sherman, Rev. Thomas Binney, Rev. John Branch, Eusebius Smith, Esq., John Scobell, Secretary of the British and Foreign Anti-slavery Society, Lord Ashley (now Earl of Shaftsbury), George Sturge, and Thomas Sturge. The sub-committee of three were, John Scobell, Rev. John Branch, and Eusebius Smith, who appointed Samuel Gur- ney, Junior, treasurer. Many of the above names are known throughout the world. When the above attack was made upon me, a meeting of those interested in my cause was called, and my accuser, who was in the if 184 FATHER IIENSOnIS STORY country, was requested to meet me face to face. I forbear to mention his name, or to describe particularly the sources of this trouble, because I do not wish to injure the feelings of any per- son. The name, however, I can at any time give. I believe all the difficulty arose from little petty jealousies, fostered, perhaps, by the unworthy influences of slavery, over the mis- guided people who were for a time misled by false representations. We met before a company of English gen- tlemen, who heard all that my accuser had to say. They asked me for a reply. I simply re-stated to them all the facts I had previously made known. I reminded them that a man who devotes himself to do good, must and will be misunderstood and have enemies. I called their attention to the misinterpretation of their own motives made by their enemies. I then related to them the parable of Christ about the wheat and the tares. My recommendatory letters were re-read — a sufficient reply to the allegation that I was an impostor. OP HIS OWN LIFE. 185 to They were pleased to assure me of their entire satisfaction ; but to give perfect quiet to the public they determined, at their own expense, to send an agent to Canada, to make a full inquiry into the matter, and advised me to accompany him. Accordingly John Scobell and myself started for Canada imme- cHately. I had already collectecl nearly seven- teen hundred dollars, which, of course, re- mained in the hands of the treasurer. A mass meeting, of all interested in the matter, was called in the institution on the premises. A large assemblage met, and Rev. John Rolfe of Toronto, presided. A thorough examination into the records of the institution was made. The originator of the slander against me denied having made it; it was proved upon him, and the whole convention unanimously repudiated the false charges. Mr. Scobell remained in Canada about three months, and before leaving, sent me a letter, informing me that whenever I should see fit to return to England, I should find in the hands of Amos Lawrence, Esq., of Boston, a draft to defray 16* m 186 FATHER HENSON'S STORY r the expenses of the journey. Accordingly, in the latter part of 1851, I returned. The ground was now prepared for me, and I reaped an abundant harvest. The whole debt of the institution was cancelled in a few months, when I was recalled to Canada by the fatal illness of my wife. Several very interesting occurrences happened during my stay in England, which I must relate in ano- ther chapter. f. IN OP HIS OWN LIFE. > 187 y»in , and /^hole ; few a by very ; ray ano- CH AFTER XXI. THE WORLD'S FAIR IN LONDON. # MT CONTniBUTION TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION. — DIFFI- CULTY WITH THE AMERICAN SUPERINTENDENT. — HAPPY RELEASE. — THE GREAT CROWD. — A CALL FROM THE QUEEN. — MEDAL AWARDED TO ME. I HAVE already mentioned that the first idea which suggested to me the plan of going to England, was to exhibit, at the Great World's Fair, in London, some of the best specimens of our black walnut lumber, in the hope that it might lead to some sales in England. For this purpose J selected some of the best boards out of the cargo which I had brought to Boston, which Mr. Chickering was kind enough to have properly packed in boxes, and sent to England in the American ship which carried the American products for exhibition. The boards which I selected were four in 1S8 FATHER HENSON'S STORY number, excellent specimens, about seven feet in length and four feet in width, of beautiful grain and texture. On their arrival in Eng- land, I had them planed and perfectly polished, in French style, so that they actually shone like a mirror. * The history of my connection with the World's Fair is a little amusing. Because my boards happened to be carried over in the American ship, the superintendent of the American Department, who was from Boston, (I think his name was Riddle), insisted that my lumber should be exhibited in the Ameri- can department. To this I objected. I was a citizen of Canada, and my boards were from Canada, and there was an apartment of the building appropriated to Canadian pro- ducts. I therefore insisted that my boards should be removed from the American De- partment, to the Canadian. But, said the American, " You cannot do it. All these things are under my control. You can exhibit what belongs to you if you f)lease, but not a single thing here must be moved an inch with- out my consent." OF HIS OWN LIFE. 189 This was rather a damper to me. I thought his position was rather absurd, but how to move him or my boards seemed just then beyond my control. A happy thought, however, occurred to me. Thought I, if this Yankee wants to retain my furniture, the world shall know who it belongs to. I accordingly hired a painter to paint in good large white letters on the tops of my boards : " This is the product of the INDUSTRY of A FUGITIVE SlAVE FROM THE United States, whose residence is Dawn, Canada." This was done early in the morning. In due time the American superintendent came around, and found me at my post. The gaze of astonishment with which he read my inscription, was laughable to witness. His face was black as a thunder-cloud. " Look here. Sir," said he ; " What, under heaven, have you got up there ? " — " O, that is only a little information to let the people know who I am." — "But don't you know better than that. Do you suppose I am going to have that insult up there?" The English ( 190 FATHER HENSON'S STOITT , gentlemen began to gather around, chuckling with half-suppressed delight, to see the wrath of the Yankee. This only added fuel to the fire. " Well, Sir," said he, " do you suppose I am going to bring that stuff across the Atlan- tic for nothing ? " — "I have never asked you to bring it for nothing. I am ready to pay you, and have been from the beginning."-— " Well, Sir, you may take it away, and carry it where you please." — " O," said I, " I think, as you wanted it very much, I will not disturb it. You can have it now." — " No, Sir ; take it away ! " — "I beg your pardon, Sir," said I, " when I wanted to remove it you would not allow it, and now, for all me, it shall remain.'' In the meantime the crowd enjoyed it and so did I. The result was, that by the next day the boards were removed to their proper place at no expense to me, and no bill was ever presented against me for carrying the lumber across the Atlantic. I may be permitted to say that in that im- mense exhibition, my humble contribution re- ceived its due share of attention. Many con- OP HIS OWN LIFE. 191 versations did I have with individuals of that almost innumerable multitude from every na- tion under heaven. Perhaps my complexion attracted attention, but nearly all who passed, paused to look at me, and at themselves as re- flected in my large black walnut mirrors. Among others the Queen of England, Vic- toria, preceded by her guide, and attended by her cort(jge, paused to view me and my prop- erty. I uncovered my head and saluted her as respectfully as I could, and she was pleased with perfect grace to return my salutation. " Is he indeed a fugitive slave ? " I heard her in- quire ; and the answer was, " He is indeed, and that is his work." But notwithstanding such pleasant occur- rences, the time wore heavily away. The im- mense crowd, kept in as perfect order as a sin- gle family, became wearisome to me, and I was not sorry, as related in a preceding chap- ter, to return to Canada, leaving my boards on exhibition. * On going again to England the exhibition was still in progress. There seemed no dim- 192 FATHER HENSON'S STORY inutioti of the crowd. Like the waters of the great Mississippi, the channel was still full, though the individuals were changed. But among all the exhibitors from every nation in Europe, and from Asia, and Amer- ica, and the Isles of the Sea, there was not a single black man but myself. There were negroes there from Africa, brought to be ex- hibited, but no exhibitors but myself. Though my condition was wonderfully changed from what it was in my childhood and youth, yet it was a little saddening to reflect that my peo- ple were not more largely represented there. The time will yet come, I trust, when such a state of things will no longer exist. At the close of the exhibition, on my return to Canada, I received from England a large quarto bound volume containing a full descrip- tion of all the objects presented at the exhibi- tion, the names of officers of all the commit- tees, juries, exhibitors, prizes, etc., etc. Among others I found my own name recorded ; and there were in addition awarded to me a bronze medal, a beautiful picture of the Queen and OP HIS OWN LIFE. 103 the •ull, ery mer- t a rere ex- ugh rem 3tit jeo- lere. h a royal family, of the size of life, and several other objects of interest. These things I greatly prize. After having fully succeeded in my mission to England, having released myself from the voluntarily- assumed debt in behalf of the manual-labor school, and having received these testimonials of honor, I returned home to Canada, contented and happy. While in England I was permit- ted to enjoy some excellent opportunities to witness its best society, which I propose to re- late in the following chapter. 17 urn irge rip- libi- nit- ong and nze and --*. 194 FATHER HKNHON S STORY CHAPTER XXII. VISITS TO THE RAGGED SCHOOLS. BPEKCII AT SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY. — INTERVIEW WITH LORD GREY. — INTERVIEW WITH THE ARCHHI81IOP OF CANTEUnURV, AND DINNER ■WITH LORD JOHN RUS- SELL, THE GREAT EVENTS OF MY LIFE. While in England I was frequently called upon to speak at public meetings of various kinds. I was deeply interested in the Ragged School enterprise, and frequently addressed the schools, and also public meetings held in their behalf. I spent two, months of May, in that country, and attended many of the great anniversaries, and was called upon to speak at many of them. On several occasions I did what I could to make known the true condi- tion of slaves, in Exeter Hall and other places. On one occasion, I recollect, an eminent man from Pennsylvania, was addressing the anni- ' OP HIS OWN LIFE. 195 versary of a Sabbath School Union, who boasted of the great benefits of Sunday Schools in the United States, and asserted that all classes indiscriminately enjoyed their blessings. I felt bound to contradict him, and after putting to the speaker a few questions which he stammeringly answered, I told the imnmense meeting that in the Southern States, the great body of the colored people were al- most entirely neglected, and in many places they were excluded altogether ; and that even •in the most of the Northern States, the great mass of the colored children were not sought out and gathered into Sunday Schools. This created some little storm, but my own per- sonal observation and experience carried con- viction to the people. Being thus introduced to the public, I be- came well acquainted with many of the lead- ing men of England. Lord Grey made a proposition to me, which, if circumstances had permitted, I should have been glad to at- tempt. It was to go to India and there super- intend some great efforts made by the govern- 19G FATHER IIENSON'S STOUY ■ ; meiit to introduce the culture of cotton on the Amt^rican plan. He promiHed to me an ap- pointment to an office, and a good salary. Had it not been for my warm interest in my Canadian enterprise, I should have accepted his proposal. One of the most pleasing incidents for me now to look back upon, was a long interview which I was permitted to enjoy with the Arch- " bishop of Canterbury. The elevated social position of this man, the' highest beneath the . crown, is well known to all those acquainted* with English society. Samuel Gurney, the noted philanthropist, introduced me, by a note and his family card, to his grace, the arch- . bishop. He received me kindly in his palace. I immediately entered upon a conversation with him, upon the condition of my people, and the plans I had in view. He expressed the strongest interest in me, and afte. about a half hour's conversation he inquired, " At what uni- versity. Sir, did you graduate?" "I graduated, your gi'ace," said I in reply, " at the university of adversity." " The university of adversity," n. -A-:.... f.,it,;^ *!*'"_, ■-.vt»-— -J^V' .^. ■ or HIS OWN LIFK. 197 said he, looking up with astonishment; "where is that?" I saw his surprise, and explained. " It was my lot, your grace," said I, " to be born a slave, and to pass my boyhood and all the former part of my life as a slave. I never entered a school, never read the Bible in my youth, and received all of my training under the most adverse circumstances. This is what I meant by graduating in the university of ad- versity." " I understand you. Sir," said he. " But is it possible that you arc not a schol- ar ? " « I am not," said I. " But I should never have suspected that you were not a lib- erally educated man. I have heard many ne- groes talk, but have never seen one that could use such language as you. Will you tell me, Sir, how you learned our language ? " I then explained to him, as well as I could, my early life ; that it had always been my custom to observe good speakers, and to imitate only those who seemed to speak most correctly. " It is astonishing," said the archbishop. " And is it possible that you were brought up igno- rant of religion ? How did you attain to the 17* www • f ' k 198 FATHER HENSON S STORY knowledge of Christ?" I explained to him, in reply, that a poor ignorant slave mother had taught me to say the Lord's Prayer, though I did not know then how, truly, to j>ray. " And how were you led to a better knowledge of the Saviour?" I answered that it was by the hearing of the Gospel preached. He then asked me to repeat the text, and to explain all the circumstances. I told him of the first ser- mon I heard, of the text, " He, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man." " A beau- tiful text was that," said the archbishop, and so affected was he by my simple story that he shed tears freely. I had been told by Samuel Gurney that per- haps the archbishop would give me an inter- view of a quarter of an hour; I glanced at the clock and found that I had abready been there an hour and a half, and arose to depart. He followed me to the door, and begged of me if ever I came to England' to call and see him again ; and shaking hands affectionately with me, while the tears trembled in his eyes, he put into iny hand.s giuciouisly five gulden sov- .♦ Of fiis OWN Lirr, 109 ) him, cr had 3Ugh I "And ! of the by the e then laui all irst ser- racc of V beau- op, and thttt lie lat per- inter- at the n there rt. He me if 5ce him ly with yes, he en s»ov- crt'igiis, (about twcniy-fivt* dolhirt*,) ur.d bade nie adieu. 1 liavo ulways esteemed him as a warm-hearted Christian. ♦ Thus ended the interview witli (he venerable Arehbishop of England. On my second visit to England, I had an invitation, in company with a large number of Sabbath School Teach- ers, to spend a day on the beautiful grounds of Lord John Russell, then Prime Minister of Eng- land. His magnificent park, filled with deer, of all colors, and from all climes, and sleek hares, which the poet Cow per would have envied, with numberless birds, whose plumage rivalled the rainbow in gorgeous colors, to- gether with the choicest specimens of the finny tribe, sporting in their native element, drew from me the involuntary exclamation: " O, how different the condition of these happy, sportive, joyful, creatures, from what was once my own condition, and what is now the lot of millions of my colored brethren in America ! " This occupancy of the elegant grounds of Eng- land's Prime Minister, for the day, by a party of Sabbath School Teachers, was what we k If- ' ' 200 j FATHER HRNSON's STORY should call, in America, a pic-nic, with this difference, 'that, instead of each teacher pro- viding Ijis own cakes, and f ies, and fruit, they were furnished by men and women, who were allowed to come on to the grounds, with every variety ^of ohoice eatables for sale. After strolling' over these charming grounds, enjoy- ing the beautiful scenery, and the happy gam- bols of the brute creation, and the conversation of the many intelligent men and women, with whom we came in contact, we were most un- expectedly, at five o'clock, sent for to visit the elegant mansion of the proprietor. There we found what I will call a surprise party, or at any rate, we were taken by surprise, for we 'were ushered, three hundred of us at least, into a spacious dining hall, whose dimensions could not have been less than one hundred feet by sixty, and here were tables, groaning under every article of luxury for the palate, which England could supply, and to this bountiful repast we were all made welcome. I was invited to take the head of the table ; I never felt so highly honored. The blessing was invoked by singing the two following verses. OP HIS OWN L'KR. 201 th this er pro- it, they lo were h every After !, enjoy- 3y gam- ersation en, with nost un- visit the 'here we ty, or at , for we 3ast, into jns could d feet by iig tinder te, which bountiful . I was ; I never sing was •' Be present at oar table, Lord, Be here and ovcrywlicro adored : These creatures bless. And grant tliat wo may feast In Paradise with thee ! " After dinner, various toasts were proposed, on various subjects, and in my humble way I offered the following : " First to England. Honor to the brave, freedom to tho Slave, success to British emancipation. God bless tho Queen ! " Cheers and laughter followed the reading of this toast, succeeded by the usual English exclamations, " Up^ vp, up again I " I again arose and gave, To our most Sovereign Lady, the Queen: " May she have a long life, and a happy death. May she reign in righteousness, and rule in love ! " And to her illustrious consort. Prince Albert : "May he have peace at home, pleasure abroad, love his Queen, and serve the Lord ! " Among the distinguished persons who made y verses. 202 FATHEU HEXSOX'S STORY speeches on this joyous occasion, I will men- tion the names of Rev. William Brock, Hon. Samuel M. Peto, and a Mr. Bess, brother-in- law of Mr. Peto, with his accomplished and beautiful lady. Thus ended one of the plea- santest days of my life. OP HIS OWN LIFE. 203 CHAPTER XXIII. CLOSING UP MY LONDON AGENCY. MY NARRATIVF PUBLISHED. — LETTER FROM jJOME AP- PRISING ME OK THE SICKNESS OF MY WIFE. — DEPAR- TURE FROM LONDON. — ARRIVAL AT HOME. — MEETING WITH MY FAMILY. — THE GREAT SCr^UOW OF MY LIFE, THE DEATH OF MY WIFE. The dinner at Lord John Russell's, as de- tailed in the previous chapter, was in the month of June, 1852 ; from that time to the first of August I was busily employed in finishing up all matters connected with my agency, in which I was very successful, hav- ing accomplished the objects of my mission. During the month of August, I was engaged in publishing a narrative of incidents in my slave-life, which I had been urgently request- ed to do by some of the noblest men and wo- men in England. Just as I had completed the 204 FATHER HEXSON'S STORY work, and issued an edition of two thousand copies, I received, on the third of September, a letter from my family in Canada, stating that my beloved wife, the companion of my life, the sharer of my joys and sorrows, lay at the point of death, and that she earnestly de- sired me to return immediately, that she might see me once more before she bid adieu to s earth. This was a trying hour for me. I was in England, four thousand miles from my home. I had just embarked in an enterprise which I had every reason to suppose would be a very profitable undertaking. The first edition of my book was ready for sale, and now What shall I do ? was the question which I asked myself. Shall I remain here and sell ten thou- sand copies of my book, and make a hand- some sum of money for myself and family, or shall I leave all and hasten to the bedside of my dying wife ? I was not long in deciding the question. I will leave my books and stere- otype plates, and all my property behind, and g6. And on the morning of the fourth of Sep- tember, having received the letter from home ■* OF HIS OWN LIFE. 20"^ housand ptember, , stating n of my irs, lay at lestly de- he might adieu to e. I was from my enterprise would be st edition ow What I I asked ten thou- 5 a hand- family, or )edside of 1 deciding and stere- 3hind, and th of Sop- foiri home at four o'clock on the afternoon of the third, I was on my way from London to Liverpool, and embarked from Liverpool on the fifth, in the steamer Canada, bound for Boston. On the twentieth of the same month I arrived at my own Canadian home. Those who have been placed in similar situations, can realize what must have been my feelings as I drew near my humble dwelling. I had heard noth- ing since the information contained in the let- ter which reached me at Liverpool. I knew not whether my dear wife, the mother of my children, she who had travelled with me, sad and solitary, and foot-sore, from the land of bondage ; who bad been to me a kind, and affectionate, and dutiful wife, for forty years, I knew not whether she was still alive, or whether she had entered into rest. A merciful Father had, however, kindly pro- longed her life, and we were permitted once more to meet. And oh ! such a meeting ; it was worth more to me than all the fancied gains from my English book. I was met in the yard by four of my daughters, who rushed 18 HMi UttHHH . } 206 FATHER HENSON'S STORY to my arms, delighted at my unexpected re- turn. They begged me not to go in to see mother, until they should first go and prepare her for it, thinking very wisely that the shock would be too great for her poor shattered nerves to bear. I consented that they should precede me. They immediately repaired to her sick room, and by gradual stages prepared her mind for our meeting. When I went to her bedside, she received and embraced me with the calmness and fortitude of a Chris- tian, and even chided me for the strong emo- tions of sorrow which I found it utterly impos- sible to suppress. I found her perfectly calm and resigned to the will of God, awaiting with Christian firmness the hour for her summons. She was rejoiced to see me once more, while at the same time she said that perhaps she had done wrong in allowing me to be sent for to return, leaving my business behind, with all its flattering prospects. I told her that I was more than satisfied, that I was truly thankful to my Heavenly Faiuer for granting us this interview, no matter what the pecuniary sacri- >ected re- n to see prepare he shock shattered y should >aired to prepared I went to raced me a Chris- ong emo- ■ly impos- ctly calm iting with lummons. )re, while IS she had ent for to ith all its it I was thankful J us this iry sacri- OP HIS OWN LIFE. 207 fice might be. We talked over our whole past life as far as her strength would permit, reviewing the many scenes of sorrow and trouble, as well as the many bright and happy days of our pilgrimage, until exhausted nature sought repose, and she sunk into a quiet sleep. The day following she revived ; my return seeming to inspire her with the hope that pob- sibly she might again be restored to health. It was not, however, so to be ; but God in his mercy granted her a reprieve, and her life was prolonged a few weelis. I thus had the mel- ancholy satisfaction of watching day and night by her bed of languishing and pain, and was permitted to close her eyes when the final summons came. She blessed me, and blessed her children, commending us to the ever watchful care of that Saviour who had sus- tained her in so many hours of trial; and finally, after kissing me and each one of the children, she passed from earth to heaven without a pang or a groan, as gently as the falling to sleep of an infant on its mother's breast. i I 208 FATHER IIIONSON S HTOUY *' Wlio would not wisli fo ilio liko tlioso Whom (Jotl's own Npiiit (|fi;;iis to l)leHs ? To sink into lliat soft irposo, Tlu'ii wako lo port'cct happiness /" I can truly uiul from an ovt*r(lowiiig heart Bay, thai sIjo was a Hliiccn^ and dc voice! ChriH- tian, and a faithful and kind wift^ to )n<>, even up to the day of her death arranj^ing all our domestic matters in sueli a manner as to con- tribute as largely as possible to my comfort and happiness. Rest in peace, dear wife. If I am faithful to the end, as thou wert, we shall cro long meet again in that world where the sorrows of life shall not be remembered or brought into mind. i OP HIS OWN LI IE. 209 g heart 1 Chris- 10, even all our to eon- comfort faithful re h)ng sorrows brought CHAPTER XXIV. CLOSING C 11 APT Kit, CONTAININO AN ACCUHATK ACCOUNT OP TIIK PAST AND PItESKNT CONDITION OK TIIK FUGITIVE 8LAVKR IN CAN- ADA, WITH BOMB RUMAltlCS ON Tlllilll FUTUllB I'ltOS- I'ECTS. I HAVE been requested by many friends in this country to devote a chapter of my book to the fugitive slaves in Canada; to a state- ment of their present numbers, condition, pros- pects for the future, etc. At the time of my first visit to Canada, in the year 1830, there were but a few hundred fugitive slaves in both Canadas ; there are now not less than thirty- five thousand. At that time they were scat- tered in all directions, and for the most part miserably poor, subsisting not unfrequently on the roots and herbs of the fields ; now many of them own large and valuable farms,^ and 18* - 'I i^ywW'Wf «ii »» iMit i» 210 FATHER HENSON'S STORY '> i but few can be found in circumstances of des- titution or want. In 1830 there were no schools among them, and no churches, and only occasional preaching. We have now numerous churches, and they are well filled from Sabbath to Sabbath with attentive listen- ers; our children attend ihe Sabbath School, and are being trained as we trust for Heaven. We depend principally upon our farms for subsistence, but some of our number are good mechanics — blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, shoemakers, fl?., etc. We have found the raising of stock very profitable, and can show some of the finest specimens of horse-flesh to be found on this continent, and we find a ready market for all our products. The soil is fertile and yields an abundant return for the husbandman's labor; and, although the season is short, yet ordinarily it is long enough to ripen corn, wheat, rye, oats, and the various produc- tions of a Northern New England or New York farm. Of late considerable attention has been paid to the cultivation of fruit trees, apples, cherriefi, plums, peaches, quinces, cur- OF niS OWN LIFE. 211 of dcs- ere no s, and c now 1 filled listen- School, leaven, •ms for re good nasons, md the ,n show flesh to find a e soil is for the 5 season to ripen produc- or New ttention lit trees, ces, cur- rants, gooseberries, strawberries, etc., and they are doing well, and in a few years we doubt not will be quite profitable. It is a mistaken idea that many have, that fruit trees and vines cannot be cultivated to advantage on account of the severity of the climate ; I have raised as delicious sweet potatoes on my farm as I ever saw in Kentucky, and as good a crop of to- bacco and hemp. We have at the present time a large num- ber of settlements, and connected with these are schools at which our children are being taught the ordinary branches of an English education. We are a peaceable people, living at peace among ourselves and with our white neighbors, and I believe the day is not far distant when we shall take a very respectable rank among the subjects of her majesty, the excellent and most gracious Queen of England and the Canadas. Even now, the condition and prospects of a majority of the fugitive slaves in Canada is vastly superior to that of most of the free people of color in the North- ern States ; and if thousands who are hanging 212 FATHER HENSON'S STORY. ■ii I ■ '■i about at the corners of streets waiting for a job, or who are mending old clothes, or black- ing boots in damp cellars in Boston, New York, and other large cities, would but come among us and bring their little ones and settle down upon our fine lands, it would be but a few years before they would find themselves surrounded by a pleasant and profitable home, and their children growing up around them with every advantage for a good education, and fitting themselves for lives of usefulness and happiness. The climate is good, the soil is good, the laws protect us from molestation ; each and all may sit under their own vine and fig tree with none to molest or make them afraid. "We are a temperate people ; it is a rare sight to see an intoxicated colored man in Canada. My task is done, if what I have written shall inspire a deeper interest in my race, and shall lead to corresponding activity in their behalf I shall feel amply repaid. iig for a r black- n, New it come id settle )e but a imselves e home, id them lucation, lefulness I the soil jstation ; vine and ke them ; it is a I man in ten shall ind shall jf behalf