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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9999-8.txt b/9999-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c6263e --- /dev/null +++ b/9999-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4138 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Harriet, The Moses of Her People, by Sarah H. Bradford + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Harriet, The Moses of Her People + +Author: Sarah H. Bradford + +Posting Date: November 23, 2011 [EBook #9999] +Release Date: February, 2006 +First Posted: November 6, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + + + + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Letter from Susan B. Anthony, January, 1903.] + + + + +HARRIET + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE + +By + +SARAH H. BRADFORD + + + + + "Farewell, ole Marster, don't think hard of me, + I'm going on to Canada, where all de slaves are free." + + + "Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to His throne, + He who died has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone." + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY SARAH H. BRADFORD. + + + + +PREFACE. + +The title I have given my black heroine, in this second edition of +her story, viz.: THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE, may seem a little +ambitious, considering that this Moses was a woman, and that she +succeeded in piloting only three or four hundred slaves from the +land of bondage to the land of freedom. + +But I only give her here the name by which she was familiarly +known, both at the North and the South, during the years of terror +of the Fugitive Slave Law, and during our last Civil War, in both +of which she took so prominent a part. + +And though the results of her unexampled heroism were not to free +a whole nation of bond-men and bond-women, yet this object was as +much the desire of her heart, as it was of that of the great +leader of Israel. Her cry to the slave-holders, was ever like his +to Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" and not even he imperiled life and +limb more willingly, than did our courageous and self-sacrificing +friend. + +Her name deserves to be handed down to posterity, side by side +with the names of Jeanne D'Arc, Grace Darling, and Florence +Nightingale, for not one of these women, noble and brave as they +were, has shown more courage, and power of endurance, in facing +danger and death to relieve human suffering, than this poor black +woman, whose story I am endeavoring in a most imperfect way to +give you. + +Would that Mrs. Stowe had carried out the plan she once projected, +of being the historian of our sable friend; by her graphic pen, +the incidents of such a life might have been wrought up into a +tale of thrilling interest, equaling, if not exceeding her world +renowned "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +The work fell to humbler hands, and the first edition of this +story, under the title of "Harriet Tubman," was written in the +greatest possible haste, while the writer was preparing for a +voyage to Europe. There was pressing need for this book, to save +the poor woman's little home from being sold under a mortgage, and +letters and facts were penned down rapidly, as they came in. The +book has now been in part re-written and the letters and +testimonials placed in an appendix. + +For the satisfaction of the incredulous (and there will naturally +be many such, when so strange a tale is repeated to them), I will +here state that so far as it has been possible, I have received +corroboration of every incident related to me by my heroic friend. +I did this for the satisfaction of others, not for my own. No one +can hear Harriet talk, and not believe every word she says. As Mr. +Sanborn says of her, "she is too _real_ a person, not to be true." + +Many incidents quite as wonderful as those related in the story, I +have rejected, because I had no way in finding the persons who +could speak to their truth. + +This woman was the friend of William H. Seward, of Gerritt Smith, +of Wendell Phillips, of William Lloyd Garrison, and of many other +distinguished philanthropists before the War, as of very many +officers of the Union Army during the conflict. + +After her almost superhuman efforts in making her own escape from +slavery, and then returning to the South _nineteen times_, and +bringing away with her over three hundred fugitives, she was sent +by Governor Andrew of Massachusetts to the South at the beginning +of the War, to act as spy and scout for our armies, and to be +employed as hospital nurse when needed. + +Here for four years she labored without any remuneration, and +during the time she was acting as nurse, never drew but twenty +days' rations from our Government. She managed to support herself, +as well as to take care of the suffering soldiers. + +Secretary Seward exerted himself in every possible way to procure +her a pension from Congress, but red-tape proved too strong even +for him, and her case was rejected, because it did not come under +any recognized law. + +The first edition of this little story was published through the +liberality of Gerritt Smith, Wendell Phillips, and prominent men +in Auburn, and the object for which it was written was +accomplished. But that book has long been out of print, and the +facts stated there are all unknown to the present generation. +There have, I am told, often been calls for the book, which could +not be answered, and I have been urged by many friends as well as +by Harriet herself, to prepare another edition. For another +necessity has arisen and she needs help again not for herself, but +for certain helpless ones of her people. + +Her own sands are nearly run, but she hopes, 'ere she goes home, +to see this work, a hospital, well under way. Her last breath and +her last efforts will be spent in the cause of those for whom she +has already risked so much. + + For them her tears will fall, + For them her prayers ascend; + To them her toils and cares be given, + Till toils and cares shall end. + S.H.B. + +Letter from Mr. Oliver Johnson for the second edition: + + NEW YORK, _March 6_, 1886. + +MY DEAR MADAM: + +I am very glad to learn that you are about to publish a revised +edition of your life of that heroic woman, Harriet Tubman, by +whose assistance so many American slaves were enabled to break +their bonds. + +During the period of my official connection with the Anti-Slavery +office in New York, I saw her frequently, when she came there with +the companies of slaves, whom she had successfully piloted away +from the South; and often listened with wonder to the story of +her adventures and hair-breadth escapes. + +She always told her tale with a modesty which showed how +unconscious she was of having done anything more than her simple +duty. No one who listened to her could doubt her perfect +truthfulness and integrity. + +Her shrewdness in planning the escape of slaves, her skill in +avoiding arrest, her courage in every emergency, and her +willingness to endure hardship and face any danger for the sake of +her poor followers was phenomenal. + +I regret to hear that she is poor and ill, and hope the sale of +your book will give her the relief she so much needs and so well +deserves. + + Yours truly, + + OLIVER JOHNSON. + + + + AUBURN THEOL. SEMINARY, + _March_ 16, 1886. + +By PROFESSOR HOPKINS + +The remarkable person who is the subject of the following sketch, +has been residing mostly ever since the close of the war in the +outskirts of the City of Auburn, during all which time I have been +well acquainted with her. She has all the characteristics of the +pure African race strongly marked upon her, though from which one +of the various tribes that once fed the Barracoons, on the Guinea +coast, she derived her indomitable courage and her passionate love +of freedom I know not; perhaps from the Fellatas, in whom those +traits were predominant. + +Harriet lives upon a farm which the twelve hundred dollars given +her by Mrs. Bradford from the proceeds of the first edition of +this little book, enabled her to redeem from a mortgage held by +the late Secretary Seward. + +Her household is very likely to consist of several old black +people, "bad with the rheumatize," some forlorn wandering woman, +and a couple of small images of God cut in ebony. How she manages +to feed and clothe herself and them, the Lord best knows. She has +too much pride and too much faith to beg. She takes thankfully, +but without any great effusiveness of gratitude, whatever God's +messengers bring her. + +I have never heard that she absolutely lacked. There are some good +people in various parts of the country, into whose hearts God +sends the thought, from time to time, that Harriet may be at the +bottom of the flour sack, or of the potatoes, and the "help in +time of need" comes to her. + +Harriet's simplicity and ignorance have, in some cases, been +imposed upon, very signally in one instance in Auburn, a few years +ago; but nobody who knows her has the slightest doubt of her +perfect integrity. + +The following sketch taken by Mrs. Bradford, chiefly from +Harriet's own recollections, which are wonderfully distinct and +minute, but also from other corroborative sources, gives but a +very imperfect account of what this woman has been. + +Her color, and the servile condition in which she was born and +reared, have doomed her to obscurity, but a more heroic soul did +not breathe in the bosom of Judith or of Jeanne D'Arc. + +No fear of the lash, the blood-hound, or the fiery stake, could +divert her from her self-imposed task of leading as many as +possible of her people "from the land of Egypt, from the house of +bondage." + +The book is good literature for the black race, or the white race, +and though no similar conditions may arise, to test the +possibilities that are in any of them, yet the example of this +poor slave woman may well stand out before them, and before all +people, black or white, to show what a lofty and martyr spirit may +accomplish, struggling against overwhelming obstacles. + + + + +HARRIET, + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE. + + +On a hot summer's day, perhaps sixty years ago, a group of merry +little darkies were rolling and tumbling in the sand in front of +the large house of a Southern planter. Their shining skins gleamed +in the sun, as they rolled over each other in their play, and +their voices, as they chattered together, or shouted in glee, +reached even to the cabins of the negro quarter, where the old +people groaned in spirit, as they thought of the future of those +unconscious young revelers; and their cry went up, "O, Lord, how +long!" + +Apart from the rest of the children, on the top rail of a fence, +holding tight on to the tall gate post, sat a little girl of +perhaps thirteen years of age; darker than any of the others, and +with a more decided _woolliness_ in the hair; a pure unmitigated +African. She was not so entirely in a state of nature as the +rollers in the dust beneath her; but her only garment was a short +woolen skirt, which was tied around her waist, and reached about +to her knees. She seemed a dazed and stupid child, and as her head +hung upon her breast, she looked up with dull blood-shot eyes +towards her young brothers and sisters, without seeming to see +them. Bye and bye the eyes closed, and still clinging to the post, +she slept. The other children looked up and said to each other, +"Look at Hatt, she's done gone off agin!" Tired of their present +play ground they trooped off in another direction, but the girl +slept on heavily, never losing her hold on the post, or her seat +on her perch. Behold here, in the stupid little negro girl, the +future deliverer of hundreds of her people; the spy and scout of +the Union armies; the devoted hospital nurse; the protector of +hunted fugitives; the eloquent speaker in public meetings; the +cunning eluder of pursuing man-hunters; the heaven guided pioneer +through dangers seen and unseen; in short, as she has well been +called, "The Moses of her People." + +Here in her thirteenth year she is just recovering from the first +terrible effects of an injury inflicted by her master, who in an +ungovernable fit of rage threw a heavy weight at the unoffending +child, breaking in her skull, and causing a pressure upon her +brain, from which in her old age she is suffering still. This +pressure it was which caused the fits of somnolency so frequently +to come upon her, and which gave her the appearance of being +stupid and half-witted in those early years. But that brain which +seemed so dull was full of busy thoughts, and her life problem was +already trying to work itself out there. + +She had heard the shrieks and cries of women who were being +flogged in the negro quarter; she had listened to the groaned out +prayer, "Oh, Lord, have mercy!" She had already seen two older +sisters taken away as part of a chain gang, and they had gone no +one knew whither; she had seen the agonized expression on their +faces as they turned to take a last look at their "Old Cabin +Home;" and had watched them from the top of the fence, as they +went off weeping and lamenting, till they were hidden from her +sight forever. She saw the hopeless grief of the poor old mother, +and the silent despair of the aged father, and already she began +to revolve in her mind the question, "Why should such things be?" +"Is there no deliverance for my people?" + +The sun shone on, and Harriet still slept seated on the fence +rail. They, those others, had no anxious dreams of the future, and +even the occasional sufferings of the present time caused them but +a temporary grief. Plenty to eat, and warm sunshine to bask in, +were enough to constitute their happiness; Harriet, however, was +not one of these. God had a great work for her to do in the world, +and the discipline and hardship through which she passed in her +early years, were only preparing her for her after life of +adventure and trial; and through these to come out as the Savior +and Deliverer of her people, when she came to years of womanhood. + +As yet she had seen no "visions," and heard no "voices;" no +foreshadowing of her life of toil and privation, of flight before +human blood-hounds, of watchings, and hidings, of perils by land, +and perils by sea, yea, and of perils by false brethren, or of +miraculous deliverance had yet come to her. No hint of the great +mission of her life, to guide her people from the land of bondage +to the land of freedom. But, "Why should such things be?" and "Is +there no help?" These were the questions of her waking hours. + +The dilapidated state of things about the "Great House" told truly +the story of waning fortunes, and poverty was pressing upon the +master. One by one the able-bodied slaves disappeared; some were +sold, others hired to other masters. No questions were asked; no +information given; they simply disappeared. A "lady," for so she +was designated, came driving up to the great house one day, to see +if she could find there a young girl to take care of a baby. The +lady wished to pay low wages, and so the most stupid and the most +incapable of the children on the plantation was chosen to go with +her. Harriet, who could command less wages than any other child of +her age on the plantation, was therefore put into the wagon +without a word of explanation, and driven off to the lady's house. +It was not a very fine house, but Harriet had never before been in +any dwelling better than the cabins of the negro quarter. + +She was engaged as child's nurse, but she soon found that she was +expected to be maid of all work by day, as well as child's nurse +by night. The first task that was set her was that of sweeping and +dusting a parlor. No information was vouchsafed as to the manner +of going about this work, but she had often swept out the cabin, +and this part of her task was successfully accomplished. Then at +once she took the dusting cloth, and wiped off tables, chairs and +mantel-piece. The dust, as dust will do, when it has nowhere else +to go, at once settled again, and chairs and tables were soon +covered with a white coating, telling a terrible tale against +Harriet, when her Mistress came in to see how the work progressed. +Reproaches, and savage words, fell upon the ears of the frightened +child, and she was commanded to do the work all over again. It was +done in precisely the same way, as before, with the same result. +Then the whip was brought into requisition, and it was laid on +with no light hand. Five times before breakfast this process was +repeated, when a new actor appeared upon the scene. Miss Emily, a +sister of the Mistress, had been roused from her morning slumber +by the sound of the whip, and the screams of the child; and being +of a less imperious nature than her sister, she had come in to try +to set matters right. + +"Why do you whip the child, Susan, for not doing what she has +never been taught to do? Leave her to me a few minutes, and you +will see that she will soon learn how to sweep and dust a room." +Then Miss Emily instructed the child to open the windows, and +sweep, then to leave the room, and set the table, while the dust +settled; and after that to return and wipe it off. There was no +more trouble of that kind. A few words might have set the matter +right before; but in those days many a poor slave suffered for the +stupidity and obstinacy of a master or mistress, more stupid than +themselves. + +When the labors, unremitted for a moment, of the long day were +over (for this mistress was an economical woman, and intended to +get the worth of her money to the uttermost farthing), there was +still no rest for the weary child, for there was a cross baby to +be rocked continuously, lest it should wake and disturb the +mother's rest. The black child sat beside the cradle of the white +child, so near the bed, that the lash of the whip would reach her +if she ventured for a moment to forget her fatigues and sufferings +in sleep. The Mistress reposed upon her bed with the whip on a +little shelf over her head. People of color are, unfortunately, so +constituted that even if the pressure of a broken skull does not +cause a sleep like the sleep of the dead, the need of rest, and +the refreshment of slumber after a day of toil, were often felt by +them. No doubt, this was a great wrong to their masters, and a +cheating them of time which belonged to them, but their slaves did +not always look upon it in that light, and tired nature would +demand her rights; and so nature and the Mistress had a fight for +it. + +Rock, rock, went the cradle, and mother and child slept; but alas! +the little black hand would sometimes slip down, and the head +would droop, and a dream of home and mother would visit the weary +one, only to be roughly dispelled by the swift descent of the +stinging lash, for the baby had cried out and the mother had been +awakened. This is no fictitious tale. That poor neck is even now +covered with the scars which sixty years of life have not been +able to efface. It may be that she was thus being prepared by the +long habit of enforced wakefulness, for the night watches in the +woods, and in dens and caves of the earth, when the pursuers were +on her track, and the terrified ones were trembling in her shadow. +We do not thank _you_ for this, cruel woman! for if you did her a +service, you did it ignorantly, and only for your own gratification. +But Harriet's powers of endurance failed at last, and she was +returned to her master, a poor, scarred wreck, nothing but skin and +bone, with the words that "She wasn't worth a sixpence." + +The poor old mother nursed her back to life, and her naturally +good constitution asserted itself, so that as she grew older she +began to show signs of the wonderful strength which in after +years, when the fugitive slave law was in operation in New York +State, enabled her to seize a man from the officers who had him in +charge, and while numbers were pursuing her, and the shot was +flying like hail about her head, to bear him in her own strong +arms beyond the reach of danger. + +As soon as she was strong enough for work, Harriet was hired out +to a man whose tyranny was worse, if possible, than that of the +woman she had left. Now it was out of door drudgery which was put +upon her. The labor of the horse and the ox, the lifting of +barrels of flour and other heavy weights were given to her; and +powerful men often stood astonished to see this woman perform +feats of strength from which they shrunk incapable. This cruelty +she looks upon as a blessing in disguise (a very questionable +shape the blessing took, methinks), for by it she was prepared for +after needs. + +Still the pressure upon the brain continued, and with the weight +half lifted, she would drop off into a state of insensibility, +from which even the lash in the hand of a strong man could not +rouse her. But if they had only known it, the touch of a gentle +hand upon her shoulder, and her name spoken in tones of kindness, +would have accomplished what cruelty failed to do. + +The day's work must be accomplished, whether the head was racked +with pain, and the frame was consumed by fever, or not; but the +day came at length when poor Harriet could work no more. The sting +of the lash had no power to rouse her now, and the new master +finding her a dead weight on his hands, returned the useless piece +of property to him who was called her "owner." And while she lay +there helpless, this man was bringing other men to look at her, +and offering her for sale at the lowest possible price; at the +same time setting forth her capabilities, if once she were strong +and well again. + +Harriet's religious character I have not yet touched upon. Brought +up by parents possessed of strong faith in God, she had never +known the time, I imagine, when she did not trust Him, and cling +to Him, with an all-abiding confidence. She seemed ever to feel +the Divine Presence near, and she talked with God "as a man +talketh with his friend." Hers was not the religion of a morning +and evening prayer at stated times, but when she felt a need, she +simply told God of it, and trusted Him to set the matter right. + +"And so," she said to me, "as I lay so sick on my bed, from +Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. +'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, +Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, +and make him a Christian.' And all the time he was bringing men to +look at me, and dey stood there saying what dey would give, and +what dey would take, and all I could say was, 'Oh, Lord, convert +ole master.' Den I heard dat as soon as I was able to move I was +to be sent with my brudders, in the chain-gang to de far South. +Then I changed my prayer, and I said, 'Lord, if you ain't never +going to change dat man's heart, _kill him_, Lord, and take him +out of de way, so he won't do no more mischief.' Next ting I heard +ole master was dead; and he died just as he had lived, a wicked, +bad man. Oh, den it 'peared like I would give de world full of +silver and gold, if I had it, to bring dat pore soul back, I would +give _myself_; I would give eberyting! But he was gone, I couldn't +pray for him no more." + +As she recovered from this long illness, a deeper religious spirit +seemed to take possession of her than she had ever experienced +before. She literally "prayed without ceasing." "'Pears like, I +prayed all de time," she said, "about my work, eberywhere; I was +always talking to de Lord. When I went to the horse-trough to wash +my face, and took up de water in my hands, I said, 'Oh, Lord, wash +me, make me clean.' When I took up de towel to wipe my face and +hands, I cried, 'Oh, Lord, for Jesus' sake, wipe away all my +sins!' When I took up de broom and began to sweep, I groaned, 'Oh, +Lord, whatsoebber sin dere be in my heart, sweep it out, Lord, +clar and clean;' but I can't pray no more for pore ole master." No +words can describe the pathos of her tones as she broke into these +words of earnest supplication. + +What was to become of the slaves on this plantation now that the +master was dead? Were they all to be scattered and sent to +different parts of the country? Harriet had many brothers and +sisters, all of whom with the exception of the two, who had gone +South with the chain-gang, were living on this plantation, or were +hired out to planters not far away. The word passed through the +cabins that another owner was coming in, and that none of the +slaves were to be sold out of the State. This assurance satisfied +the others, but it did not satisfy Harriet. Already the inward +monitor was whispering to her, "Arise, flee for your life!" and in +the visions of the night she saw the horsemen coming, and heard +the shrieks of women and children, as they were being torn from +each other, and hurried off no one knew whither. + +And beckoning hands were ever motioning her to come, and she +seemed to see a line dividing the land of slavery from the land of +freedom, and on the other side of that line she saw lovely white +ladies waiting to welcome her, and to care for her. Already in her +mind her people were the Israelites in the land of Egypt, while +far away to the north _somewhere_, was the land of Canaan; but had +she as yet any prevision that _she_ was to be the Moses who was to +be their leader, through clouds of darkness and fear, and fires of +tribulation to that promised land? This she never said. + +One day there were scared faces seen in the negro quarter, and +hurried whispers passed from one to another. No one knew how it +had come out, but some one had heard that Harriet and two of her +brothers were very soon, perhaps to-day, perhaps to-morrow, to be +sent far South with a gang, bought up for plantation work. Harriet +was about twenty or twenty-five years old at this time, and the +constantly recurring idea of escape at _sometime_, took sudden +form that day, and with her usual promptitude of action she was +ready to start at once. + +She held a hurried consultation with her brothers, in which she so +wrought upon their fears, that they expressed themselves as +willing to start with her that very night, for that far North, +where, could they reach it in safety, freedom awaited them. But +she must first give some intimation of her purpose to the friends +she was to leave behind, so that even if not understood at the +time, it might be remembered afterward as her intended farewell. +Slaves must not be seen talking together, and so it came about +that their communication was often made by singing, and the words +of their familiar hymns, telling of the heavenly journey, and the +land of Canaan, while they did not attract the attention of the +masters, conveyed to their brethren and sisters in bondage +something more than met the ear. And so she sang, accompanying the +words, when for a moment unwatched, with a meaning look to one and +another: + + "When dat ar ole chariot comes, + I'm gwine to lebe you, + I'm boun' for de promised land, + Frien's, I'm gwine to lebe you." + +Again, as she passed the doors of the different cabins, she lifted +up her well-known voice; and many a dusky face appeared at door or +window, with a wondering or scared expression; and thus she +continued: + + "I'm sorry, frien's, to lebe you, + Farewell! oh, farewell! + But I'll meet you in de mornin', + Farewell! oh, farewell! + + "I'll meet you in de mornin', + When you reach de promised land; + On de oder side of Jordan, + For I'm boun' for de promised land." + +The brothers started with her, but the way was strange, the north +was far away, and all unknown, the masters would pursue and +recapture them, and their fate would be worse than ever before; +and so they broke away from her, and bidding her goodbye, they +hastened back to the known horrors of slavery, and the dread of +that which was worse. + +Harriet was now left alone, but after watching the retreating +forms of her brothers, she turned her face toward the north, and +fixing her eyes on the guiding star, and committing her way unto +the Lord, she started again upon her long, lonely journey. Her +farewell song was long remembered in the cabins, and the old +mother sat and wept for her lost child. No intimation had been +given her of Harriet's intention, for the old woman was of a most +impulsive disposition, and her cries and lamentations would have +made known to all within hearing Harriet's intended escape. And +so, with only the North Star for her guide, our heroine started on +the way to liberty, "For," said she, "I had reasoned dis out in my +mind; there was one of two things I had a _right_ to, liberty, or +death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man +should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my +strength lasted, and when de time came for me to go, de Lord would +let dem take me." + +And so without money, and without friends, she started on through +unknown regions; walking by night, hiding by day, but always +conscious of an invisible pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by +night, under the guidance of which she journeyed or rested. +Without knowing whom to trust, or how near the pursuers might be, +she carefully felt her way, and by her native cunning, or by God +given wisdom, she managed to apply to the right people for food, +and sometimes for shelter; though often her bed was only the cold +ground, and her watchers the stars of night. + +After many long and weary days of travel, she found that she had +passed the magic line, which then divided the land of bondage from +the land of freedom. But where were the lovely white ladies whom +in her visions she had seen, who, with arms outstretched, welcomed +her to their hearts and homes. All these visions proved deceitful: +she was more alone than ever; but she had crossed the line; no one +could take her now, and she would never call any man "Master" +more. + +"I looked at my hands," she said, "to see if I was de same person +now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came +like gold trou de trees, and ober de fields, and I felt like I was +in heaven." But then came the bitter drop in the cup of joy. She +was alone, and her kindred were in slavery, and not one of them +had the courage to dare what she had dared. Unless she made the +effort to liberate them she would never see them more, or even +know their fate. + +"I knew of a man," she said, "who was sent to the State Prison for +twenty-five years. All these years he was always thinking of his +home, and counting by years, months, and days, the time till he +should be free, and see his family and friends once more. The +years roll on, the time of imprisonment is over, the man is free. +He leaves the prison gates, he makes his way to his old home, but +his old home is not there. The house in which he had dwelt in his +childhood had been torn down, and a new one had been put up in its +place; his family were gone, their very name was forgotten, there +was no one to take him by the hand to welcome him back to life." + +"So it was wid me," said Harriet, "I had crossed de line of which +I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to +welcome me to de land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange +land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid +de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn +resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I +would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I +would bring dem all dere. Oh, how I prayed den, lying all alone on +de cold, damp ground; 'Oh, dear Lord,' I said, 'I haint got no +friend but _you_. Come to my help, Lord, for I'm in trouble!'" + +It would be impossible here to give a detailed account of the +journeys and labors of this intrepid woman for the redemption of +her kindred and friends, during the years that followed. Those +years were spent in work, almost by night and day, with the one +object of the rescue of her people from slavery. All her wages +were laid away with this sole purpose, and as soon as a sufficient +amount was secured, she disappeared from her Northern home, and as +suddenly and mysteriously she appeared some dark night at the door +of one of the cabins on a plantation, where a trembling band of +fugitives, forewarned as to time and place, were anxiously +awaiting their deliverer. Then she piloted them North, traveling +by night, hiding by day, scaling the mountains, fording the +rivers, threading the forests, lying concealed as the pursuers +passed them. She, carrying the babies, drugged with paregoric, in +a basket on her arm. So she went _nineteen_ times, and so she +brought away over three hundred pieces of living and breathing +"property," with God given souls. + +The way was so toilsome over the rugged mountain passes, that +often the _men_ who followed her would give out, and foot-sore, +and bleeding, they would drop on the ground, groaning that they +could not take another step. They would lie there and die, or if +strength came back, they would return on their steps, and seek +their old homes again. Then the revolver carried by this bold and +daring pioneer, would come out, while pointing it at their heads +she would say, "Dead niggers tell no tales; you go on or die!" And +by this heroic treatment she compelled them to drag their weary +limbs along on their northward journey. + +But the pursuers were after them. A reward of $40,000 was offered +by the slave-holders of the region from whence so many slaves had +been spirited away, for the head of the woman who appeared so +mysteriously, and enticed away their property, from under the very +eyes of its owners. Our sagacious heroine has been in the car, +having sent her frightened party round by some so-called +"Under-ground Railway," and has heard this advertisement, which was +posted over her head, read by others of the passengers. She never +could read or write herself, but knowing that suspicion would be +likely to fall upon any black woman traveling North, she would +turn at the next station, and journey towards the South. Who would +suspect a fugitive with such a price set upon her head, of rushing +at railway speed into the jaws of destruction? With a daring +almost heedless, she went even to the very village where she would +be most likely to meet one of the masters to whom she had been +hired; and having stopped at the Market and bought a pair of live +fowls, she went along the street with her sun-bonnet well over her +face, and with the bent and decrepit air of an aged, woman. +Suddenly on turning a corner, she spied her old master coming +towards her. She pulled the string which tied the legs of the +chickens; they began to flutter and scream, and as her master +passed, she was stooping and busily engaged in attending to the +fluttering fowls. And he went on his way, little thinking that he +was brushing the very garments of the woman who had dared to steal +herself, and others of his belongings. + +At one time the pursuit was very close and vigorous. The woods +were scoured in all directions, every house was visited, and every +person stopped and questioned as to a band of black fugitives, +known to be fleeing through that part of the country. Harriet had +a large party with her then; the children were sleeping the sound +sleep that opium gives; but all the others were on the alert, each +one hidden behind his own tree, and silent as death. They had been +long without food, and were nearly famished; and as the pursuers +seemed to have passed on, Harriet decided to make the attempt to +reach a certain "station of the underground railroad" well known +to her; and procure food for her starving party. Under cover of +the darkness, she started, leaving a cowering and trembling group +in the woods, to whom a fluttering leaf, or a moving animal, were +a sound of dread, bringing their hearts into their throats. How +long she is away! has she been caught and carried off, and if so +what is to become of them? Hark! there is a sound of singing in +the distance, coming nearer and nearer. + +And these are the words of the unseen singer, which I wish I could +give you as I have so often heard them sung by herself: + + Hail, oh hail, ye happy spirits, + Death no more shall make you fear, + Grief nor sorrow, pain nor anguish, + Shall no more distress you dere. + + Around Him are ten thousand angels + Always ready to obey command; + Dey are always hovering round you, + Till you reach de heavenly land. + + Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to his throne; + He who died, has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone. + + He whose thunders shake creation, + He who bids de planets roll; + He who rides upon the tempest, + And whose scepter sways de whole. + + Dark and thorny is de pathway, + Where de pilgrim makes his ways; + But beyond dis vale of sorrow, + Lie de fields of endless days. + +The air sung to these words was so wild, so full of plaintive +minor strains, and unexpected quavers, that I would defy any white +person to learn it, and often as I heard it, it was to me a +constant surprise. Up and down the road she passes to see if the +coast is clear, and then to make them certain that it is _their_ +leader who is coming, she breaks out into the plaintive strains of +the song, forbidden to her people at the South, but which she and +her followers delight to sing together: + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + Oh Pharaoh said he would go cross, + Let my people go, + And don't get lost in de wilderness, + Let my people go. + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + You may hinder me here, but you can't up dere, + Let my people go, + He sits in de Hebben and answers prayer, + Let my people go! + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + +And then she enters the recesses of the wood, carrying hope and +comfort to the anxious watchers there. One by one they steal out +from their hiding places, and are fed and strengthened for another +night's journey. + +And so by night travel, by signals, by threatenings, by +encouragement, through watchings and fastings, and I may say by +direct interpositions of Providence, and miraculous deliverances, +she brought her people to what was then their land of Canaan; the +State of New York. But alas! this State did not continue to be +their refuge. For in 1850, I think, the Fugitive Slave Law was put +in force, which bound the people north of Mason and Dixon's line, +to return to bondage any fugitive found in their territories. + +"After that," said Harriet, "I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam wid my +people no longer, but I brought 'em all clar off to Canada." + +On her seventh or eighth journey, she brought with her a band of +fugitives, among whom was a very remarkable man, whom I knew only +by the name of "Joe." Joe was a noble specimen of a negro, +enormously tall, and of splendid muscular development. He had been +hired out by his master to another planter, for whom he had worked +for six years, saving him all the expense of an overseer, and +taking all trouble off from his hands. He was such a very valuable +piece of property, and had become so absolutely necessary to the +planter to whom he was hired, that he determined to buy him at any +cost. His old master held him proportionately high. But by paying +one thousand dollars down, and promising to pay another thousand +in a certain time, the purchase was made, and this chattel passed +over into the hands of a new owner. + +The morning after the purchase was completed, the new master came +riding down on a tall, powerful horse into the negro quarter, with +a strong new rawhide in his hand, and stopping before Joe's cabin, +called to him to come out. Joe was just eating his breakfast, but +with ready obedience, he hastened out at the summons. Slave as he +was, and accustomed to scenes of brutality, he was surprised when +the order came, "Now, Joe, strip, and take a licking." Naturally +enough, he demurred at first, and thought of resisting the order; +but he called to mind a scene he had witnessed a few days before +in the field, the particulars of which are too horrible to be +given here, and he thought it the wisest course to submit; but +first he tried a gentle remonstrance. + +"Mas'r," said he, "habn't I always been faithful to you? Habn't I +worked through sun an' rain, early in de mornin' an' late at +night; habn't I saved you an oberseer by doin' his work? hab you +anything to complain agin me?" + +"No, Joe, I have no complaint to make of you. You're a good +nigger, an' you've always worked well. But you belong to _me_ now; +you're _my_ nigger, and the first lesson my niggers have to learn +is that I am master and they belong to me, and are never to resist +anything I order them to do. So I always begin by giving them a +good licking. Now strip and take it." + +Joe saw that there was no help for him, and that for the time he +must submit. He stripped off his clothing, and took his flogging +without a word, but as he drew his shirt up over his torn and +bleeding back, he said to himself: "Dis is de first an' de last." +As soon as he was able he took a boat, and under cover of the +night, rowed down the river, and made his way to the cabin of "Old +Ben," Harriet's father, and said to him: "Nex' time _Moses_ comes, +let me know." + +It was not long after this time, that the mysterious woman +appeared--the woman on whom no one could lay his finger--and men, +women, and children began to disappear from the plantations. One +fine morning Joe was missing, and call as loud as he might, the +master's voice had no power to bring him forth. Joe had certainly +fled; and his brother William was gone, and Peter and Eliza. From +other plantations other slaves were missing, and before their +masters were awake to the fact, the party of fugitives, following +their intrepid leader, were far on their way towards liberty. + +The adventures of this escaping party would of themselves fill a +volume. They hid in potato holes by day, while their pursuers +passed within a few feet of them; they were passed along by +friends in various disguises; they scattered and separated; some +traveling by boat, some by wagons, some by cars, others on foot, +to meet at some specified station of the under-ground railroad. +They met at the house of Sam Green,[A] the man who was afterwards +sent to prison for ten years for having a copy of "Uncle Tom's +Cabin" in his house. And so, hunted and hiding and wandering, they +found themselves at last at the entrance of the long bridge which +crosses the river at Wilmington, Delaware. + +[Footnote A: In mentioning to me the circumstances of Sam Green's +imprisonment, Harriet, who had no acquaintance with books, merely +mentioned the fact as it had come to her own knowledge. But I have +lately come across a book in the Astor Library which confirms the +story precisely as she stated it. It is in a book by Rev. John +Dixon Long, of Philadelphia. He says, "Samuel Green, a free +colored man of Dorchester County, Maryland, was sentenced to ten +years' confinement in the Maryland State Prison, at the spring +term of the County Court held in Cambridge, Md. + +"What was the crime imputed to this man, born on American soil, a +man of good moral character, a local preacher in the Methodist +Episcopal Church; a husband and a father? Simply this: A copy of +'Uncle Tom's Cabin' _had been found in his possession_. It was not +proved that he had ever read it to the colored people."] + +No time had been lost in posting up advertisements and offering +rewards for the capture of these fugitives; for Joe in particular +the reward offered was very high. First a thousand dollars, then +fifteen hundred, and then two thousand, "an' all expenses clar an' +clean for his body in Easton Jail." This high reward stimulated +the efforts of the officers who were usually on the lookout for +escaping fugitives, and the added rewards for others of the party, +and the high price set on Harriet's head, filled the woods and +highways with eager hunters after human prey. When Harriet and her +companions approached the long Wilmington Bridge, a warning was +given them by some secret friend, that the advertisements were up, +and the bridge was guarded by police officers. Quick as lightning +the plans were formed in her ready brain, and the terrified party +were separated and hidden in the houses of different friends, till +her arrangements for their further journey were completed. + +There was at that time residing in Wilmington an old Quaker, whom +I may call _my_ "friend," for though I never saw his face, I have +had correspondence with him in reference to Harriet and her +followers. This man, whose name was Thomas Garrett, and who was +well known in those days to the friends of the slave, was a man of +a wonderfully large and generous heart, through whose hands during +those days of distress and horror, no less than three thousand +self-emancipated men, women and children passed on their way to +freedom. He gave heart, hand, and means to aid these poor +fugitives, and to our brave Harriet he often rendered most +efficient help in her journeys back and forth. + +He was the proprietor of a very large shoe establishment; and not +one of these poor travelers aver left his house without a present +of a new pair of shoes and other needed help. No sooner had this +good man received intelligence of the condition of these poor +creatures, than he devised a plan to elude the vigilance of the +officers in pursuit, and bring Harriet and her party across the +bridge. Two wagons filled with bricklayers were engaged, and sent +over; this was a common sight there, and caused no remark. They +went across the bridge singing and shouting, and it was not an +unexpected thing that they should return as they went. After +nightfall (and, fortunately, the night was very dark) the same +wagons recrossed the bridge, but with an unlooked-for addition to +their party. The fugitives were lying close together on the bottom +of the wagons; the bricklayers were on the seats, still singing +and shouting; and so they passed the guards, who were all +unsuspicious of the nature of the load contained in the wagons, or +of the amount of property thus escaping their hands. + +The good man, Thomas Garrett, who was in a very feeble state of +health when he last wrote me, and has now gone to his reward, +supplied them with all needed comforts, and sent them on their way +refreshed, and with renewed courage. And Harriet here set up her +Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far hath the Lord helped me!" But many a +danger, and many a fright, and many a deliverance awaited them, +before they reached the city of New York. And even there they were +not safe, for the Fugitive Slave Law was in operation, and their +only refuge was Canada, which was now their promised land. + +They finally reached New York in safety: and this goes almost +without saying, for I may as well mention here that of the three +hundred and more fugitives whom Harriet piloted from slavery, not +one was ever recaptured, though all the cunning and skill of white +men, backed by offered rewards of large sums of money, were +brought into requisition for their recovery. + +As they entered the anti-slavery office in New York, Mr. Oliver +Johnson rose up and exclaimed, "Well, Joe, I am glad to see the +man who is worth $2,000 to his master." At this Joe's heart sank. +"Oh, Mas'r, how did you know me!" he panted. "Here is the +advertisement in our office," said Mr. Johnson, "and the +description is so close that no one could mistake it." And had he +come through all these perils, had he traveled by day and night, +and suffered cold and hunger, and lived in constant fear and +dread, to find that far off here in New York State, he was +recognized at once by the advertisement? How, then, was he ever to +reach Canada? + +"And how far off is Canada?" he asked. He was shown the map of New +York State, and the track of the railroad, for more than three +hundred miles to Niagara, where he would cross the river, and be +free. But the way seemed long and full of dangers. They were +surely safer on their own tired feet, where they might hide in +forests and ditches, and take refuge in the friendly underground +stations; but here, where this large party would be together in +the cars, surely suspicion would fall upon them, and they would be +seized and carried back. But Harriet encouraged him in her cheery +way. He must not give up now. "De Lord had been with them in six +troubles, and he would not desert them in de seventh." And there +was nothing to do but to go on. As Moses spoke to the children of +Israel, when compassed before and behind by dangers, so she spake +to her people, that they should "go forward." + +Up to this time, as they traveled they had talked and sung hymns +together, like Pilgrim and his friends, and Joe's voice was the +loudest and sweetest among them; but now he hanged his harp upon +the willows, and could sing the Lord's songs no more. + +"From dat time," in Harriet's language, "Joe was silent; he talked +no more; he sang no more; he sat wid his head on his hand, an' +nobody could 'rouse him, nor make him take any intrust in +anything." + +They passed along in safety through New York State, and at length +found themselves approaching the Suspension Bridge. They could see +the promised land on the other side. The uninviting plains of +Canada seemed to them, + + "Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, + All dressed in living green;" + +but they were not safe yet. Until they reached the center of the +bridge, they were still in the power of their pursuers, who might +at any pause enter the car, and armed with the power of the law, +drag them back to slavery. The rest of the party were happy and +excited; they were simple, ignorant creatures, and having implicit +trust in their leader, they felt safe when with her, and no +immediate danger threatened them. But Joe was of a different +mould. He sat silent and sad, always thinking of the horrors that +awaited him if recaptured. As it happened, all the other +passengers were people who sympathized with them, understanding +them to be a band of fugitives, and they listened with tears, as +Harriet and all except poor Joe lifted up their voices and sang: + + I'm on the way to Canada, + That cold and dreary land, + De sad effects of slavery, + I can't no longer stand; + I've served my Master all my days, + Widout a dime reward, + And now I'm forced to run away, + To flee de lash, abroad; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + De hounds are baying on my track, + Ole Master comes behind, + Resolved that he will bring me back, + Before I cross the line; + I'm now embarked for yonder shore, + Where a man's _a man_ by law, + De iron horse will bear me o'er, + To "shake de lion's paw;" +Oh, righteous Father, wilt thou not pity me. +And help me on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + Oh I heard Queen Victoria say, + That if we would forsake, + Our native land of slavery, + And come across de lake; + Dat she was standing on de shore, + Wid arms extended wide, + To give us all a peaceful home, + Beyond de rolling tide; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + +No doubt the simple creatures with her expected to cross a wide +lake instead of a rapid river, and to see Queen Victoria with her +crown upon her head, waiting with arms extended wide, to fold them +all in her embrace. There was now but "one wide river to cross," +and the cars rolled on to the bridge. In the distance was heard +the roar of the mighty cataract, and now as they neared the center +of the bridge, the falls might be clearly seen. Harriet was +anxious to have her companions see this wonderful sight, and +succeeded in bringing all to the windows, except Joe. But Joe +still sat with his head on his hands, and not even the wonders of +Niagara could draw him from his melancholy musings. At length as +Harriet knew by the rise of the center of the bridge, and the +descent immediately after, the line of danger was passed; she +sprang across to Joe's side of the car, and shook him almost out +of his seat, as she shouted, "Joe! you've shook de lion's paw!" +This was her phrase for having entered on the dominions of +England. But Joe did not understand this figurative expression. +Then she shook him again, and put it more plainly, "Joe, you're in +Queen Victoria's dominions! You're a free man!" + +Then Joe arose. His head went up, he raised his hands on high, and +his eyes, streaming with tears, to heaven, and then he began to +sing and shout: + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe; + Oh, go and carry the news, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe, come and look at the falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe! it's your last chance. Come and see de falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +And this was all the answer. The train stopped on the other side; +and the first feet to touch British soil, after those of the +conductor, were those of poor Joe. + +Loud roared the waters of Niagara, but louder still ascended the +Anthem of praise from the overflowing heart of the freeman. And +can we doubt that the strain was taken up by angel voices and +echoed and re-echoed through the vaults of heaven: + + Glory to God in the highest, + Glory to God and Jesus too, + For all these souls now safe. + +"The white ladies and gentlemen gathered round him," said Harriet, +"till I couldn't see Joe for the crowd, only I heard his voice +singing, 'Glory to God and Jesus too,' louder than ever." A sweet +young lady reached over her fine cambric handkerchief to him, and +as Joe wiped the great tears off his face, he said, "Tank de Lord! +dere's only one more journey for me now, and dat's to Hebben!" As +we bid farewell to Joe here, I may as well say that Harriet saw +him several times after that, a happy and industrious freeman in +Canada.[B] + +[Footnote B: In my recent interview with Mr. Oliver Johnson he +told me of an interesting incident in the life of the good man, +Thomas Garrett. + +He was tried twice for assisting in the escape of fugitive slaves, +and was fined so heavily that everything he possessed was taken +from him and sold to pay the fine. At the age of sixty he was left +without a penny, but he went bravely to work, and in some measure +regained his fortune; all the time aiding, in every way possible, +all stray fugitives who applied to him for help. + +Again he was arrested, tried, and heavily fined, and as the Judge +of the United States Court pronounced the sentence, he said, in a +solemn manner: "Garrett, let this be a lesson to you, not to +interfere hereafter with the cause of justice, by helping off +runaway negroes. + +The old man, who had stood to receive his sentence, here raised +his head, and fixing his eyes on "the Court," he said: + +"Judge--thee hasn't left me a dollar, but I wish to say to thee, +and to all in this court room, that if anyone knows of a fugitive +who wants a shelter, and a friend, _send him to Thomas Garrett_, +and he will befriend him!" + +[Not Luther before the Council at Worms was grander than this brave +old man in his unswerving adherence to principle. In those days +that tried men's souls there were many men like this old Quaker, +and many women too, who would have gone cheerfully to the fire and +the stake, for the cause of suffering humanity; men and women +_these_ "of whom the world was not worthy."] + +On one of her journeys to the North, as she was piloting a company +of refugees, Harriet came, just as morning broke, to a town, where +a colored man had lived whose house had been one of her stations +of the under-ground, or unseen railroad. They reached the house, +and leaving her party huddled together in the middle of the +street, in a pouring rain, Harriet went to the door, and gave the +peculiar rap which was her customary signal to her friends. There +was not the usual ready response, and she was obliged to repeat +the signal several times. At length a window was raised, and the +head of a _white man_ appeared, with the gruff question, "Who are +you?" and "What do you want?" Harriet asked after her friend, and +was told that he had been obliged to leave for "harboring +niggers." + +Here was an unforeseen trouble; day was breaking, and daylight was +the enemy of the hunted and flying fugitives. Their faithful +leader stood one moment in the street, and in that moment she had +flashed a message quicker than that of the telegraph to her unseen +Protector, and the answer came as quickly; in a suggestion to her +of an almost forgotten place of refuge. Outside of the town there +was a little island in a swamp, where the grass grew tall and +rank, and where no human being could be suspected of seeking a +hiding place. To this spot she conducted her party; she waded the +swamp, carrying in a basket two well-drugged babies (these were a +pair of little twins, whom I have since seen well grown young +women), and the rest of the company following. She ordered them to +lie down in the tall, wet grass, and here she prayed again, and +waited for deliverance. The poor creatures were all cold, and wet, +and hungry, and Harriet did not dare to leave them to get +supplies; for no doubt the man at whose house she had knocked, had +given the alarm in the town; and officers might be on the watch +for them. They were truly in a wretched condition, but Harriet's +faith never wavered, her silent prayer still ascended, and she +confidently expected help from some quarter or other. + +It was after dusk when a man came slowly walking along the solid +pathway on the edge of the swamp. He was clad in the garb of a +Quaker; and proved to be a "friend" in need and indeed; he seemed +to be talking to himself, but ears quickened by sharp practice +caught the words he was saying: + +"My wagon stands in the barn-yard of the next farm across the way. +The horse is in the stable; the harness hangs on a nail." And the +man was gone. Night fell, and Harriet stole forth to the place +designated. Not only a wagon, but a wagon well provisioned stood +in the yard; and before many minutes the party were rescued from +their wretched position, and were on their way rejoicing, to the +next town. Here dwelt a Quaker whom Harriet knew, and he readily +took charge of the horse and wagon, and no doubt returned them to +their owner. How the good man who thus came to their rescue had +received any intimation of their being in the neighborhood Harriet +never knew. But these sudden deliverances never seemed to strike +her as at all strange or mysterious; her prayer was the prayer of +faith, and she _expected_ an answer. + +At one time, as she was on her way South for a party of slaves, +she was stopped not far from the southern shore of the Chesapeake +Bay, by a young woman, who had been for some days in hiding, and +was anxiously watching for "Moses," who was soon expected to pass +that way. + +This girl was a young and pretty Mulatto, named Tilly, she had +been lady's maid and dressmaker, for her Mistress. She was engaged +to a young man from another plantation, but he had joined one of +Harriet's parties, and gone North. Tilly was to have gone also at +that time, but had found it impossible to get away. Now she had +learned that it was her Master's intention to give her to a Negro +of his own for his wife; and in fear and desperation, she made a +strike for freedom. Friends had concealed her, and all had been on +the watch for Moses. + +The distress and excitement of the poor creature was so great, and +she begged and implored in such agonized tones that Harriet would +just see her safe to Baltimore, where she knew of friends who +would harbor her, and help her on her way, that Harriet determined +to turn about, and endeavor to take the poor girl thus far on her +Northward journey. + +They reached the shore of Chesapeake Bay too late to leave that +night, and were obliged to hide for a night and day in the loft of +an old out-house, where every sound caused poor Tilly to tremble +as if she had an ague fit. When the time for the boat to leave +arrived, a sad disappointment awaited them. The boat on which they +had expected to leave was disabled, and another boat was to take +its place. At that time, according to the law of Slavery, no Negro +could leave his Master's land, or travel anywhere, without a pass, +properly signed by his owner. Of course this poor fugitive had no +pass; and Harriet's passes were her own wits; but among her many +friends, there was one who seemed to have influence with the clerk +of the boat, on which she expected to take passage; and she was +the bearer of a note requesting, or commanding him to take these +two women to the end of his route, asking no questions. + +Now here was an unforeseen difficulty; the boat was not going; the +clerk was not there; all on the other boat were strangers. But +forward they must go, trusting in Providence. As they walked down +to the boat, a gang of lazy white men standing together, began to +make comments on their appearance. + +"Too many likely looking Niggers traveling North, about these +days." "Wonder if these wenches have got a pass." "Where you +going, you two?" Tilly trembled and cowered, and clung to her +protector, but Harriet put on a bold front, and holding the note +given her by her friend in her hand, and supporting her terrified +charge, she walked by the men, taking no notice of their insults. + +They joined the stream of people going up to get their tickets, +but when Harriet asked for hers, the clerk eyed her suspiciously, +and said: "You just stand aside, you two; I'll attend to your case +bye and bye." + +Harriet led the young girl to the bow of the boat, where they were +alone, and here, having no other help, she, as was her custom, +addressed herself to the Lord. Kneeling on the seat, and +supporting her head on her hands, and fixing her eyes on the +waters of the bay, she groaned: + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh!" + +"Moses! Moses!" cried Tilly, pulling her by the sleeve. "Do go and +see if you can't get tickets now." + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh." + +And so Harriet's story goes on in her peculiarly graphic manner, +till at length in terror Tilly exclaimed: + +"Oh, Moses! the man is coming. What shall we do?" + +"Oh, Lord, you've been wid me in six troubles!" + +Here the clerk touched her on the shoulder, and Tilly thought +their time had come, but all he said was: + +"You can come now and get your tickets," and their troubles were +over. + +What changed this man from his former suspicious and antagonistic +aspect, Harriet never knew. Of course she said it was "de Lord," +but as to the agency he used, she never troubled herself to +inquire. She _expected_ deliverance when she prayed, unless the +Lord had ordered otherwise, and in that case she was perfectly +willing to accept the Divine decree. + +When surprise was expressed at her courage and daring, or at her +unexpected deliverances, she would always reply: "Don't, I tell +you, Missus, 'twan't _me_, 'twas _de Lord_! Jes' so long as he +wanted to use me, he would take keer of me, an' when he didn't +want me no longer, I was ready to go; I always tole him, I'm gwine +to hole stiddy on to you, an' you've got to see me trou." + +There came a time when Harriet, who had already brought away as +many of her family as she could reach, besides all others who +would trust themselves to her care, became much troubled in +"spirit" about three of her brothers, having had an intimation of +some kind that danger was impending over them. With her usual +wonderful cunning, she employed a friend to write a letter for her +to a man named Jacob Jackson, who lived near the plantation where +these brothers were at that time the hired slaves. + +Jacob Jackson was a free negro, who could both read and write, and +who was under suspicion just then of having a hand in the +disappearance of colored "property." It was necessary, therefore, +to exercise great caution in writing to him, on his own account as +well as that of the writer, and those whom she wished to aid. +Jacob had an adopted son, William Henry Jackson, also free, who +had come North. Harriet determined to sign her letter with William +Henry's name, feeling sure that Jacob would be clever enough to +understand by her peculiar phraseology, the meaning she intended +to convey. + +Therefore, after speaking of indifferent matters, the letter went +on: "Read my letter to the old folks, and give my love to them, +and tell my brothers to be always _watching unto prayer_, and when +_the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on +board_." This letter was signed "William Henry Jackson." + +Jacob was not allowed to have his letters in those days, until the +self-elected inspectors of correspondence had had the perusal of +them, and consulted over their secret meaning. These wise-acres +therefore assembled, wiped their glasses carefully, put them on, +and proceeded to examine this suspicious document. What it meant +they could not imagine. William Henry Jackson had no parents, or +brothers, and the letter was incomprehensible. Study as they +might, no light dawned upon them, but their suspicions became +stronger, and they were sure the letter meant mischief. + +White genius having exhausted itself, black genius was brought +into requisition. Jacob was sent for, and the letter was placed in +his hands. He read between the lines, and comprehended the hidden +meaning at once. "Moses" had dictated this letter, and Moses was +coming. The brothers must be on the watch, and ready to join her +at a moment's warning. But Moses must hurry, for the word had gone +forth that the brothers were to be sent South, and the chain-gang +was being collected. + +Jacob read the letter slowly, threw it down, and said: "Dat letter +can't be meant for me no how; I can't make head or tail of it." +And he walked off and took immediate measures to let Harriet's +brothers know that she was on the way, and they must be ready at +the given signal to start for the North. + +It was the day before Christmas when Harriet arrived, and the +brothers were to have started on the day after Christmas for the +South. They started on Christmas-day, but with their faces turned +in another direction, and instead of the chain-gang and the whip, +they had the North Star for their guide, and the Moses of her +people for their leader. + +As usual, this mysterious woman appeared suddenly, and word was +conveyed to the brothers that they were to be at Old Ben's cabin +on Saturday night, ready to start. "Old Ben" was their father, and +as the parents were not of much use now, Harriet was pretty +certain that they would not be sent away, and so she left them +till she had rescued the younger and more valuable members of the +family. + +Quite a number had assembled at the cabin when the hour came for +starting, but one brother was missing. Something had detained +John; but when the time for starting had struck, Harriet's word +was "forward," and she "nebber waited for no one." + +Poor John was ready to start from his cabin in the negro quarter +when his wife was taken ill, and in an hour or two another little +heir to the blessings of slavery had come into the world. + +John must go off for a "Granny," and being a faithful, +affectionate creature, he could not leave his wife under the +present circumstances. + +After the birth of the child he determined to start. The North and +freedom, or the South and life-long slavery, were the alternatives +before him; and this was his last chance. If he once reached the +North, he hoped with the help of Moses to bring his wife and +children there. + +Again and again he tried to start out of the door, but a watchful +eye was on him, and he was always arrested by the question, "Where +you gwine, John?" His wife had not been informed of the danger +hanging over his head, but she knew he was uneasy, and she feared +he was meditating a plan of escape. John told her he was going to +try to get hired out on Christmas to another man, as that was the +day on which such changes were made. + +He left the house but stood near the window listening. He heard +his wife sobbing and moaning, and not being able to endure it he +went back to her. "Oh, John!" she cried, "you's gwine to lebe me! +I know it! but wherebber you go, John, don't forgit me an' de +little children." + +John assured her that wherever he went she should come. He might +not come for her, but he would send Moses, and then he hurried +away. He had many miles to walk to his old father's cabin, where +he knew the others would be waiting for him, and at daybreak he +overtook them in the "fodder house," not far from the home of the +old people. + +At that time Harriet had not seen her mother for six years, but +she did not dare to let her know that four of her children were so +near her on their way to the North, for she would have raised such +an uproar in her efforts to detain them, that the whole +neighborhood would have been aroused. + +The poor old woman had been expecting her sons to spend Christmas +with her as usual. She had been hard at work in preparation for +their arrival. The fatted pig had been killed, and had been +converted into every form possible to the flesh of swine; pork, +bacon and sausages were ready, but the boys did not come, and +there she sat watching and waiting. + +In the night when Harriet with two of her brothers, and two other +fugitives who had joined them arrived at the "fodder house," they +were exhausted and well-nigh famished. They sent the two strange +men up to the cabin to try to rouse "Old Ben," but not to let +their mother know that her children were so near her. + +The men succeeded in rousing Old Ben, who came out quietly, and as +soon as he heard their story, went back into the house, gathered +together a quantity of provisions, and came down to the fodder +house. He placed the provisions inside the door, saying a few +words of welcome to his children, but taking care _not to see +them_. "I know what'll come of dis," he said, "an' I ain't gwine +to see my chillen, no how." The close espionage under which these +poor creatures dwelt, engendered in them a cunning and artifice, +which to them seemed only a fair and right attempt on their part, +to cope with power and cruelty constantly in force against them. + +Up among the ears of corn lay the old man's children, and one of +them he had not seen for six years. It rained in torrents all that +Sunday, and there they lay among the corn, for they could not +start till night. At about daybreak John had joined them. There +were wide chinks in the boards of the fodder house, and through +these they could see the cabin of the old folks, now quite alone +in their old age. All day long, every few minutes, they would see +the old woman come out, and shading her eyes with her hand, take a +long look down the road to see if "de boys" were coming, and then +with a sad and disappointed air she would turn back into the +cabin, and they could almost hear her sigh as she did so. + +What had become of the boys? Had they been sold off down South? +Had they tried to escape and been retaken? Would she never see +them or hear of them more? + +I have often heard it said by Southern people that "niggers had no +feeling; they did not care when their children were taken from +them." I have seen enough of them to know that their love for +their offspring is quite equal to that of the "superior race," and +it is enough to hear the tale of Harriet's endurance and self-sacrifice +to rescue her brothers and sisters, to convince one that +a heart, truer and more loving than that of many a white woman, +dwelt in her bosom. I am quite willing to acknowledge that she was +almost an anomaly among her people, but I have known many of her +family, and so far as I can judge they all seem to be peculiarly +intelligent, upright and religious people, and to have a strong +feeling of family affection. There may be many among the colored +race like them; certainly all should not be judged by the idle, +miserable darkies who have swarmed about Washington and other +cities since the War. + +Two or three times while the group of fugitives were concealed in +this loft of the fodder house, the old man came down and pushed +food inside the door, and after nightfall he came again to +accompany his children as far as he dared, upon their journey. +When he reached the fodder house, he tied a handkerchief tight +about his eyes, and one of his sons taking him by one arm, and +Harriet taking him by the other, they went on their way talking in +low tones together, asking and answering questions as to relatives +and friends. + +The time of parting came, and they bade him farewell, and left him +standing in the middle of the road. When he could no longer hear +their footsteps he turned back, and taking the handkerchief from +his eyes, he hastened home. + +But before Harriet and her brothers left, they had gone up to the +cabin during the evening to take a silent farewell of the poor old +mother. Through the little window of the cabin they saw her +sitting by the fire, her head on her hand, rocking back and forth, +as was her way when she was in great trouble; praying, no doubt, +and wondering what had become of her children, and what new evil +had befallen them. + +With streaming eyes, they watched her for ten or fifteen minutes; +but time was precious, and they must reach their next under-ground +station before daylight, and so they turned sadly away. + +When Christmas was over, and the men had not returned, there began +to be no small stir in the plantation from which they had escaped. +The first place to search, of course, was the home of the old +people. At the "Big House" nothing had been seen of them. The +master said "they had generally come up there to see the house +servants, when they came for Christmas, but this time they hadn't +been round at all. Better go down to Old Ben's, and ask him." + +They went to Old Ben's. No one was at home but "Old Kit," the +mother. She said "not one of 'em came dis Christmas. She was +looking for 'em all day, an' her heart was mos' broke about 'em." + +Old Ben was found and questioned about his sons. Old Ben said, "He +hadn't _seen one_ of 'em dis Christmas." With all his deep +religious feeling, Old Ben thought that in such a case as this, it +was enough for him to keep to the _letter_, and let the man +hunters find his sons if they could. Old Ben knew the Old +Testament stories well. Perhaps he thought of Rahab who hid the +spies, and received a commendation for it. Perhaps of Jacob and +Abraham, and some of their rather questionable proceedings. He +knew the New Testament also, but I think perhaps he thought the +kind and loving Saviour would have said to him, "Neither do I +condemn thee." I doubt if he had read Mrs. Opie, and I wonder what +judgment that excellent woman would have given in a case like +this. + +These poor fugitives, hunted like partridges upon the mountains, +or like the timid fox by the eager sportsman, were obliged in +self-defense to meet cunning with cunning, and to borrow from the +birds and animals their mode of eluding their pursuers by any +device which in the exigency of the case might present itself to +them. They had a creed of their own, and a code of morals which we +dare not criticise till we find our own lives and those of our +dear ones similarly imperiled. + +One of Harriet's other brothers had long been attached to a pretty +mulatto girl named Catherine, who was owned by another master; but +this man had other views for her, and would not let her marry +William Henry. On one of Harriet's journeys this brother had made +up his mind to make one of her next party to the North, and that +Catherine should go also. He went to a tailor's and bought a new +suit of clothes for a small person, and concealed them inside the +fence of the garden of Catherine's master. This garden ran down to +the bank of a little stream, and Catherine had been notified where +to find the clothes. When the time came to get ready, Catherine +boldly walked down to the foot of the garden, took up the bundle, +and hiding under the bank, she put on the man's garments and sent +her own floating down the stream. + +She was soon missed, and all the girls in the house were set to +looking for Catherine. Presently they saw coming up from the river +a well-dressed little darkey boy, and they all ceased looking for +Catherine, and stared at him. He walked directly by them, round +the house, and out of the gate, without the slightest suspicion +being excited as to who he was. In a few weeks from that time, +this party were all safe in Canada. + +William Henry died in Canada, but I have seen and talked with +Catherine at Harriet's house. + +I am not quite certain which company it was that was under her +guidance on their Northward way, but at one time when a number of +men were following her, she received one of her sudden intimations +that danger was ahead. "Chillen," she said, "we must stop here and +cross dis ribber." They were on the bank of a stream of some +width, and apparently a deep and rapid one. The men were afraid to +cross; there was no bridge and no boat; but like her great +pattern, she went forward into the waters, and the men not knowing +what else to do, followed, but with fear and trembling. The stream +did not divide to make a way for them to cross over, but to her +was literally fulfilled the promise: + + "When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, + The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow." + +"For," said she, "Missus, de water never came above my chin; when +we thought surely we were all going under, it became shallower and +shallower, and we came out safe on the odder side." Then there was +another stream to cross, which was also passed in safety. They +found afterward that a few rods ahead of them the advertisement of +these escaping fugitives was posted up, and the officers, +forewarned of their coming, were waiting for them. But though the +Lord thus marvelously protected her from capture, she did not +always escape the consequences of exposure like this. It was in +March that this passage of the streams was effected, and the +weather was raw and cold; Harriet traveled a long distance in her +wet clothing, and was afterward very ill for a long time with a +very severe cold. I have often heard her tell this story; but some +of the incidents, particularly that of her illness, were not +mentioned by herself, but were written me by friend Garrett. + +I hardly know how to approach the subject of the spiritual +experiences of my sable heroine. They seem so to enter into the +realm of the supernatural, that I can hardly wonder that those who +never knew her are ready to throw discredit upon the story. +Ridicule has been cast upon the whole tale of her adventures by +the advocates of human slavery; and perhaps by those who would +tell with awe-struck countenance some tale of ghostly visitation, +or spiritual manifestation, at a dimly lighted "_seance_." + +Had I not known so well her deeply religious character, and her +conscientious veracity, and had I not since the war, and when she +was an inmate of my own house, seen such remarkable instances of +what seemed to be her direct intercourse with heaven, I should not +dare to risk my own character for veracity by making these things +public in this manner. + +But when I add that I have the strongest testimonials to her +character for integrity from William H. Seward, Gerritt Smith, +Wendell Phillips, Fred. Douglass, and my brother, Prof. S.M. +Hopkins, who has known her for many years, I do not fear to brave +the incredulity of any reader. + +Governor Seward wrote of her: + +"I have known Harriet long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a +truer, seldom dwells in human form." + +Gerritt Smith, the distinguished philanthropist, was so kind as to +write me expressing his gratification that I had undertaken this +work, and added: + +"I have often listened to Harriet with delight on her visits to my +family, and I am convinced that she is not only truthful, but that +she has a rare discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy." + +Wendell Phillips wrote me, mentioning that in Boston, Harriet +earned the confidence and admiration of all those who were working +for freedom; and speaking of her labors during the war, he added: +"In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did more before that time, for the colored race, than our +fearless and sagacious friend." + +Many other letters I received; from Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Charities, from Fred. Douglass, from Rev. +Henry Fowler, and from Union officers at the South during the war, +all speaking in the highest praise and admiration of the character +and labors of my black heroine. + +Many of her passes also were sent me; in which she is spoken of as +"Moses," for by that name she was universally known. For the story +of her heroic deeds had gone before her, and the testimony of all +who knew her accorded with the words of Mr. Seward: + +"The cause of freedom owes her much; the country owes her much." +And yet the country was not willing to pay her anything. Mr. +Seward's efforts, seconded by other distinguished men, to get a +pension for her, were sneered at in Congress as absurd and +quixotic, and the effort failed. + +Secretary Seward, from whom Harriet purchased her little place +near Auburn, died. The place had been mortgaged when this noble +woman left her home, and threw herself into the work needed for +the Union cause; the mortgage was to be foreclosed. The old +parents, then nearly approaching their centennial year, were to be +turned out to die in a poor-house, when the sudden determination +was taken to send out a little sketch of her life to the +benevolent public, in the hope of redeeming the little home. This +object, through the kindness of friends, was accomplished. The old +people died in Harriet's own home, breathing blessings upon her +for her devotion to them. + +Now another necessity has arisen, and our sable friend, who never +has been known to beg for herself, asks once more for help in +accomplishing a favorite project for the good of her people. This, +as she says, is "her last work, and she only prays de Lord to let +her live till it is well started, and den she is ready to go." +This work is the building of a hospital for old and disabled +colored people; and in this she has already had the sympathy and +aid of the good people of Auburn; the mayor and his noble wife +having given her great assistance in the meetings she has held in +aid of this object. It is partly to aid her in this work, on which +she has so set her heart, that this story of her life and labors +is being re-written. + +At one time, when she felt called upon to go down for some company +of slaves, she was, as she knew, watched for everywhere (for there +had been an excited meeting of slave-holders, and they were +determined to catch her, dead or alive), her friends gathered +round her, imploring her not to go on in the face of danger and +death, for they were sure she would never be allowed to return. +And this was her answer: + +"Now look yer! John saw de City, didn't he?" "Yes, John saw de +City." "Well, what did he see? He saw twelve gates, didn't he? +Three of dose gates was on de north; three of 'em was on de east; +an' three of 'em was on de west; but dere was three more, an' dem +was on de _south_; an' I reckon, if dey kill me down dere, I'll +git into one of dem gates, don't you?" + +Whether Harriet's ideas of the geographical bearings of the gates +of the Celestial City as seen in the apocalyptic vision, were +correct or not, we cannot doubt that she was right in the +deduction her faith drew from them; and that somewhere, whether +North, East, South, or West, to our dim vision, there is a gate +that will be opened for our good Harriet, where the welcome will +be given, "Come in, thou blessed of my Father." + +It is a peculiarity of Harriet, that she had seldom been known to +intimate a wish that anything should be given to herself; but when +her people are in need, no scruples of delicacy stand in the way +of her petitions, nay, almost her _demands_ for help. + +When, after rescuing so many others, and all of her brothers and +sisters that could be reached, with their children, she received +an intimation in some mysterious or supernatural way, that the old +people were in trouble and needed her, she asked the Lord where +she should go for the money to enable her to go for them. She was +in some way, as she supposed, directed to the office of a certain +gentleman, a friend of the slaves, in New York. When she left the +house of the friends with whom she was staying, she said: "I'm +gwine to Mr. ------'s office, an' I ain't gwine to lebe dere, an' +I ain't gwine to eat or drink, till I get money enough to take me +down after de ole people." + +She went into this gentleman's office. + +"How do you do, Harriet? What do you want?" was the first +greeting. + +"I want some money, sir." + +"_You do_! How much do you want?" + +"I want twenty dollars, sir!" + +"_Twenty dollars_! Who told you to come here for twenty dollars!" + +"De Lord tole me, sir." + +"He did; well I guess the Lord's mistaken this time." + +"No, sir; de Lord's nebber mistaken! Anyhow I'm gwine to sit here +till I get it." + +So she sat down and went to sleep. All the morning, and all the +afternoon, she sat there still; sometimes sleeping, sometimes +rousing up, often finding the office full of gentlemen; sometimes +finding herself alone. Many fugitives were passing through New +York at this time, and those who came in supposed her to be one of +them, tired out, and resting. Sometimes she would be roused up +with the words: + +"Come, Harriet! You had better go; there's no money for you here." + +"No, sir; I'm not gwine to stir from here till I git my twenty +dollars!" + +She does not know all that happened, for deep sleep fell upon her; +probably one of the turns of somnolency to which she has always +been subject; but without doubt her story was whispered from one +to another, and as her name and exploits were well known to many +persons, the sympathies of some of those visitors to the office +were aroused; at all events she came to full consciousness, at +last, to find herself the happy possessor of _sixty dollars_, the +contribution of these strangers. She went on her way rejoicing to +bring her old parents from the land of bondage. + +When she reached their home, she found that her old father was to +be tried the next Monday for helping off slaves. And so, as she +says in her forcible language, "I just removed my father's trial +to a higher court, and brought him off to Canada." + +The manner of their escape is detailed in the following letter +from friend Garrett: + + WILMINGTON, 6th Mo., 1868. + +MY FRIEND: Thy favor of the 12th reached me yesterday, requesting +such reminiscences as I could give respecting the remarkable +labors of Harriet Tubman, in aiding her colored friends from +bondage. I may begin by saying, living as I have in a slave State, +and the laws being very severe where any proof could be made of +any one aiding slaves on their way to freedom, I have not felt at +liberty to keep any written word of Harriet's or my own labors, +except in numbering those whom I have aided. For that reason I +cannot furnish so interesting an account of Harriet's labors as I +otherwise could, and now would be glad to do; for in truth I never +met with any person, of any color, who had more confidence in the +voice of God, as spoken direct to her soul. She has frequently +told me that she talked with God, and he talked with her every day +of her life, and she has declared to me that she felt no more fear +of being arrested by her former master, or any other person, when +in his immediate neighborhood, than she did in the State of New +York, or Canada, for she said she never ventured only where God +sent her, and her faith in the Supreme Power truly was great. + +I have now been confined to my room with indisposition more than +four weeks, and cannot sit to write much; but I feel so much +interested in Harriet, that I will try to give some of the most +remarkable incidents that now present themselves to my mind. The +date of the commencement of her labors, I cannot certainly give; +but I think it must have been about 1845; from that time till +1860, I think she must have brought from the neighborhood where +she had been held as a slave, from 60 to 80 persons,[C] from +Maryland, some 80 miles from here. No slave who placed himself +under her care, was ever arrested that I have heard of; she mostly +had her regular stopping places on her route; but in one instance, +when she had several stout men with her, some 30 miles below here, +she said that God told her to stop, which she did; and then asked +him what she must do. He told her to leave the road, and turn to +the left; she obeyed, and soon came to a small stream of tide +water; there was no boat, no bridge; she again inquired of her +Guide what she was to do. She was told to go through. It was cold, +in the month of March; but having confidence in her Guide, she +went in; the water came up to her armpits; the men refused to +follow till they saw her safe on the opposite shore. They then +followed, and, if I mistake not, she had soon to wade a second +stream; soon after which she came to a cabin of colored people, +who took them all in, put them to bed, and dried their clothes, +ready to proceed next night on their journey. Harriet had run out +of money, and gave them some of her underclothing to pay for their +kindness. When she called on me two days after, she was so hoarse +she could hardly speak, and was also suffering with violent +toothache. The strange part of the story we found to be, that the +masters of these men had put up the previous day, at the railroad +station near where she left, an advertisement for them, offering a +large reward for their apprehension; but they made a safe exit. +She at one time brought as many as seven or eight, several of whom +were women and children. She was well known here in Chester County +and Philadelphia, and respected by all true abolitionists. I had +been in the habit of furnishing her and those who accompanied her, +as she returned from her acts of mercy, with new shoes; and on one +occasion when I had not seen her for three months, she came into +my store. I said, "Harriet, I am glad to see thee! I suppose thee +wants a pair of new shoes." Her reply was, "I want more than +that." I, in jest, said, "I have always been liberal with thee, +and wish to be; but I am not rich, and cannot afford to give +much." Her reply was: "God tells me you have money for me." I +asked her "if God never deceived her?" She said, "No!" "Well! how +much does thee want?" After studying a moment, she said: "About +twenty-three dollars." I then gave her twenty-four dollars and +some odd cents, the net proceeds of five pounds sterling, received +through Eliza Wigham, of Scotland, for her. I had given some +accounts of Harriet's labor to the Anti-Slavery Society of +Edinburgh, of which Eliza Wigham was Secretary. On the reading of +my letter, a gentleman present said he would send Harriet four +pounds if he knew of any way to get it to her. Eliza Wigham +offered to forward it to me for her, and that was the first money +ever received by me for her. Some twelve months after, she called +on me again, and said that God told her I had some money for her, +but not so much as before. I had, a few days previous, received +the net proceeds of one pound ten shillings from Europe for her. +To say the least there was something remarkable in these facts, +whether clairvoyance, or the divine impression on her mind from +the source of all power, I cannot tell; but certain it was she had +a guide within herself other than the written word, for she never +had any education. She brought away her aged parents in a singular +manner. They started with an old horse, fitted out in primitive +style with a _straw collar_, a pair of old chaise wheels, with a +board on the axle to sit on, another board swung with ropes, +fastened to the axle, to rest their feet on. She got her parents, +who were both slaves belonging to different masters, on this rude +vehicle to the railroad, put them in the cars, turned Jehu +herself, and drove to town in a style that no human being ever did +before or since; but she was happy at having arrived safe. Next +day, I furnished her with money to take them all to Canada. I +afterward sold their horse, and sent them the balance of the +proceeds. I believe that Harriet succeeded in freeing all her +relatives but one sister and her three children. Etc., etc. +Thy friend, + + THOS. GARRETT. + +[Footnote C: Friend Garrett probably refers here to those who +passed through his hands. Harriet was obliged to come by many +different routes on her different journeys, and though she never +counted those whom she brought away with her, it would seem, by +the computation of others, that there must have been somewhat over +three hundred brought by her to the Northern States and Canada.] + +As I have before stated, with all Harriet's reluctance to ask for +anything for herself, no matter how great her needs may be, no +such scruples trouble her if any of her people are in need. She +never hesitates to call upon her kind friends in Auburn and in +other places for help when her people are in want. At one time, +when some such emergency had arisen, she went to see her friend, +Governor Seward, and boldly presented her case to him. + +"Harriet," he said, "you have worked for others long enough. If +you would ever ask anything for yourself, I would gladly give it +to you, but I will not help you to rob yourself for others any +longer." + +In spite of this apparent roughness, we may be sure Harriet did +not leave this noble man's house empty handed. + +And here I am reminded of a touching little circumstance that +occurred at the funeral of Secretary Seward. + +The great man lay in his coffin. Friends, children, and admirers +were gathered there. Everything that love and wealth could do had +been done; around him were floral emblems of every possible shape +and design, that human ingenuity could suggest, or money could +purchase. Just before the coffin was to be closed, a woman black +as night stole quietly in, and laying a wreath of field flowers +_on his feet_, as quietly glided out again. This was the simple +tribute of our sable friend, and her last token of love and +gratitude to her kind benefactor. I think he would have said, +"This woman hath done more than ye all." + +While preparing this second edition of Harriet's story, I have +been much pleased to find that that good man, Oliver Johnson, is +still living and in New York City. And I have just returned from a +very pleasant interview with him. He remembers Harriet with great +pleasure, though he has not seen her for many years. He speaks, as +all who knew her do, of his entire confidence in her truthfulness +and in the perfect integrity of her character. + +He remembered her coming into his office with Joe, as I have +stated it, and said he wished he could recall to me other +incidents connected with her. But during those years, there were +such numbers of fugitive slaves coming into the Anti-Slavery +Office, that he might not tell the incidents of any one group +correctly. No records were kept, as that would be so unsafe for +the poor creatures, and those who aided them. He said, "You know +Harriet never spoke of anything she had done, as if it was at all +remarkable, or as if it deserved any commendation, but I remember +one day, when she came into the office there was a Boston lady +there, a warm-hearted, impulsive woman, who was engaged heart and +hand in the Anti-Slavery cause. + +"Harriet was telling, in her simple way, the story of her last +journey. A party of fugitives were to meet her in a wood, that she +might conduct them North. For some unexplained reason they did not +come. Night came on and with it a blinding snow storm and a raging +wind. She protected herself behind a tree as well as she could, +and remained all night alone exposed to the fury of the storm." + +"'Why, Harriet!' said this lady, 'didn't you almost feel when you +were lying alone, as if there was _no God_?' 'Oh, no! missus,' +said Harriet, looking up in her child-like, simple way, 'I jest +asked Jesus to take keer of me, an' He never let me git _frost-bitten_ +one bit.'" + +In 1860 the first gun was fired from Fort Sumter; and this was the +signal for a rush to arms at the North and the South, and the war +of the rebellion was begun. Troops were hurried off from the North +to the West and the South, and battles raged in every part of the +Southern States. By land and by sea, and on the Southern rivers, +the conflict raged, and thousands and thousands of brave men shed +their blood for what was maintained by each side to be the true +principle. + +This war our brave heroine had expected, and its result, the +emancipation of the slaves. Three years before, while staying with +the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet in New York, a vision came to her +in the night of the emancipation of her people. Whether a dream, +or one of those glimpses into the future, which sometimes seem to +have been granted to her, no one can say, but the effect upon her +was very remarkable. + +She rose singing, "_My people are free!" "My people are free_!" +She came down to breakfast singing the words in a sort of ecstasy. +She could not eat. The dream or vision filled her whole soul, and +physical needs were forgotten. + +Mr. Garnet said to her: + +"Oh, Harriet! Harriet! You've come to torment us before the time; +do cease this noise! My grandchildren may see the day of the +emancipation of our people, but you and I will never see it." + +"I tell you, sir, you'll see it, and you'll see it soon. My people +are free! My people are free." + +When, three years later, President Lincoln's proclamation of +emancipation was given forth, and there was a great jubilee among +the friends of the slaves, Harriet was continually asked, "Why do +you not join with the rest in their rejoicing!" "Oh," she +answered, "I had _my_ jubilee three years ago. I rejoiced all I +could den; I can't rejoice no more." + +In some of the Southern States, spies and scouts were needed to +lead our armies into the interior. The ignorant and degraded +slaves feared the "Yankee Buckra" more than they did their own +masters, and after the proclamation of President Lincoln, giving +freedom to the slaves, a person in whom these poor creatures could +trust, was needed to assure them that these white Northern men +were friends, and that they would be safe, trusting themselves in +their hands. + +In the early days of the war, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, +knowing well the brave and sagacious character of Harriet, sent +for her, and asked her if she could go at a moment's notice, to +act as spy and scout for our armies, and, if need be, to act as +hospital nurse, in short, to be ready to give any required service +to the Union cause. + +There was much to be thought of; there were the old folks in the +little home up in Auburn, there was the little farm of which she +had taken the sole care; there were many dependents for whom she +had provided by her daily toil. What was to become of them all if +she deserted them? But the cause of the Union seemed to need her +services, and after a few moments of reflection, she determined to +leave all else, and go where it seemed that duty called her. + +During those few years, the wants of the old people and of +Harriet's other dependents were attended to by the kind people of +Auburn. At that time, I often saw the old people, and wrote +letters for them to officers at the South, asking from them +tidings of Harriet. I received many letters in reply, all +testifying to her faithfulness and bravery, and her untiring zeal +for the welfare of our soldiers, black and white. She was often +under fire from both armies; she led our forces through the jungle +and the swamp, guided by an unseen hand. She gained the confidence +of the slaves by her cheery words, and songs, and sacred hymns, +and obtained from them much valuable information. She nursed our +soldiers in the hospitals, and knew how, when they were dying by +numbers of some malignant disease, with cunning skill to extract +from roots and herbs, which grew near the source of the disease, +the healing draught, which allayed the fever and restored numbers +to health. + +It is a shame to our government that such a valuable helper as +this woman was not allowed pay or pension; but even was obliged to +support herself during those days of incessant toil. Officers and +men were paid. Indeed many enlisted from no patriotic motive, but +because they were insured a support which they could not procure +for themselves at home. But this woman sacrificed everything, and +left her nearest and dearest, and risked her life hundreds of +times for the cause of the Union, without one cent of recompense. +She returned at last to her little home, to find it a scene of +desolation. Her little place about to be sold to satisfy a +mortgage, and herself without the means to redeem it. + +Harriet was one of John Brown's "men." His brave and daring spirit +found ready sympathy in her courageous heart; she sheltered him in +her home in Canada, and helped him to plan his campaigns. I find +in the life and letters of this remarkable man, written by Mr. F. +B. Sanborn, occasional mention of Harriet, and her deep interest +in Captain Brown's enterprises. + +At one time he writes to his son from St. Catherine's, Canada: + +"I came on here the day after you left Rochester. I am succeeding +to all appearance beyond my expectations. Harriet Tubman _hooked +on her whole team at once_. He (Harriet) is the most of a man +naturally that I ever met with. There is abundant material here +and of the right quality." She suggested the 4th of July to him as +the time to begin operations. And Mr. Sanborn adds: "It was about +the 4th of July, as Harriet, the African sybil, had suggested, +that Brown first showed himself in the counties of Washington and +Jefferson, on opposite sides of the lordly Potomac." + +I find among her papers, many of which are defaced by being +carried about with her for years, portions of these letters +addressed to myself, by persons at the South, and speaking of the +valuable assistance Harriet was rendering our soldiers in the +hospital, and our armies in the field. At this time her manner of +life, as related by herself, was this: + +"Well, missus, I'd go to de hospital, I would, early eb'ry +mornin'. I'd get a big chunk of ice, I would, and put it in a +basin, and fill it with water; den I'd take a sponge and begin. +Fust man I'd come to, I'd thrash away de flies, and dey'd rise, +dey would, like bees roun' a hive. Den I'd begin to bathe der +wounds, an' by de time I'd bathed off three or four, de fire and +heat would have melted de ice and made de water warm, an' it would +be as red as clar blood. Den I'd go an' git more ice, I would, an' +by de time I got to de nex' ones, de flies would be roun' de fust +ones black an' thick as eber." In this way she worked, day after +day, till late at night; then she went home to her little cabin, +and made about fifty pies, a great quantity of ginger-bread, and +two casks of root beer. These she would hire some contraband to +sell for her through the camps, and thus she would provide her +support for another day; for this woman never received pay or +pension, and never drew for herself but twenty days' rations +during the four years of her labors. At one time she was called +away from Hilton Head, by one of our officers, to come to +Fernandina, where the men were "dying off like sheep," from +dysentery. Harriet had acquired quite a reputation for her skill +in curing this disease, by a medicine which she prepared from +roots which grew near the waters which gave the disease. Here she +found thousands of sick soldiers and contrabands, and immediately +gave up her time and attention to them. At another time, we find +her nursing those who were down by hundreds with small-pox and +malignant fevers. She had never had these diseases, but she seems +to have no more fear of death in one form than another. "De Lord +would take keer of her till her time came, an' den she was ready +to go." + +When our armies and gun-boats first appeared in any part of the +South, many of the poor negroes were as much afraid of "de Yankee +Buckra" as of their own masters. It was almost impossible to win +their confidence, or to get information from them. But to Harriet +they would tell anything; and so it became quite important that +she should accompany expeditions going up the rivers, or into +unexplored parts of the country, to control and get information +from those whom they took with them as guides. + +General Hunter asked her at one time if she would go with several +gun-boats up the Combahee River, the object of the expedition +being to take up the torpedoes placed by the rebels in the river, +to destroy railroads and bridges, and to cut off supplies from the +rebel troops. She said she would go if Colonel Montgomery was to +be appointed commander of the expedition. Colonel Montgomery was +one of John Brown's men, and was well known to Harriet. +Accordingly, Colonel Montgomery was appointed to the command, and +Harriet, with several men under her, the principal of whom was J. +Plowden, whose pass I have, accompanied the expedition. Harriet +describes in the most graphic manner the appearance of the +plantations as they passed up the river; the frightened negroes +leaving their work and taking to the woods, at sight of the gun-boats; +then coming to peer out like startled deer, and scudding +away like the wind at the sound of the steam-whistle. "Well," said +one old negro, "Mas'r said de Yankees had horns and tails, but I +nebber beliebed it till now." But the word was passed along by the +mysterious telegraphic communication existing among these simple +people, that these were "Lincoln's gun-boats come to set them +free." In vain, then, the drivers used their whips in their +efforts to hurry the poor creatures back to their quarters; they +all turned and ran for the gun-boats. They came down every road, +across every field, just as they had left their work and their +cabins; women with children clinging around their necks, hanging +to their dresses, running behind, all making at full speed for +"Lincoln's gun-boats." Eight hundred poor wretches at one time +crowded the banks, with their hands extended toward their +deliverers, and they were all taken off upon the gun-boats, and +carried down to Beaufort. + +"I nebber see such a sight," said Harriet; "we laughed, an' +laughed, an' laughed. Here you'd see a woman wid a pail on her +head, rice a smokin' in it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, +young one hangin' on behind, one han' roun' her forehead to hold +on, 'tother han' diggin' into de rice-pot, eatin' wid all its +might; hold of her dress two or three more; down her back a bag +wid a pig in it. One woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a +black one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig +Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Sometimes de women would +come wid twins hangin' roun' der necks; 'pears like I nebber see +so many twins in my life; bags on der shoulders, baskets on der +heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all loaded; pigs squealin', +chickens screamin', young ones squallin'." And so they came +pouring down to the gun-boats. When they stood on the shore, and +the small boats put out to take them off, they all wanted to get +in at once. After the boats were crowded, they would hold on to +them so that they could not leave the shore. The oarsmen would +beat them on their hands, but they would not let go; they were +afraid the gun-boats would go off and leave them, and all wanted +to make sure of one of these arks of refuge. At length Colonel +Montgomery shouted from the upper deck, above the clamor of +appealing tones, "Moses, you'll have to give em a song." Then +Harriet lifted up her voice, and sang: + + "Of all the whole creation in the East or in the West, + The glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best. + Come along! Come along! don't be alarmed, + Uncle Sam is rich enough to give you all a farm." + +At the end of every verse, the negroes in their enthusiasm would +throw up their hands and shout "Glory," and the row-boats would +take that opportunity to push off; and so at last they were all +brought on board. The masters fled; houses and barns and railroad +bridges were burned, tracks torn up, torpedoes destroyed, and the +object of the expedition was fully accomplished. + +This fearless woman was often sent into the rebel lines as a spy, +and brought back valuable information as to the position of armies +and batteries; she has been in battle when the shot was falling +like hail, and the bodies of dead and wounded men were dropping +around her like leaves in autumn; but the thought of fear never +seems to have had place for a moment in her mind. She had her duty +to perform, and she expected to be taken care of till it was done. + +Would that, instead of taking them in this poor way at second-hand, +my readers could hear this woman's graphic accounts of +scenes she herself witnessed, could listen to her imitations of +negro preachers in their own very peculiar dialect, her singing of +camp-meeting hymns, her account of "experience meetings," her +imitations of the dances, and the funeral ceremonies of these +simple people. "Why, der language down dar in de far South is jus' +as different from ours in Maryland as you can tink," said she. +"Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an' I could not understand +dem, no how." She described a midnight funeral which she attended; +for the slaves, never having been allowed to bury their dead in +the day-time, continued the custom of night funerals from habit. + +The corpse was laid upon the ground, and the people all sat round, +the group being lighted up by pine torches. + +The old negro preacher began by giving out a hymn, which was sung +by all. "An' oh! I wish you could hear 'em sing, Missus," said +Harriet. "Der voices is so sweet, and dey can sing eberyting we +sing, an' den dey can sing a great many hymns dat we can't nebber +catch at all." + +The old preacher began his sermon by pointing to the dead man, who +lay in a rude box on the ground before him. + +"_Shum_? Ded-a-de-dah! _Shum, David_? Ded-a-de-dah! Now I want you +all to _flec_' for moment. Who ob all dis congregation is gwine +next to lie ded-e-de-dah? You can't go nowhere's, my frien's and +bredren, but Deff 'll fin' you. You can't dig no hole so deep an' +bury yourself dar, but God A'mighty's far-seein' eye'll fin' you, +an' Deff 'll come arter you. You can't go into that big fort +(pointing to Hilton Head), an' shut yourself up dar; dat fort dat +Sesh Buckra said the debil couldn't take, but Deff 'll fin' you +dar. All your frien's may forget you, but Deff 'll nebber forget +you. Now, my bredren, prepare to lie ded-a-de-dah!" + +This was the burden of a very long sermon, after which the whole +congregation went round in a sort of solemn dance, called the +"spiritual shuffle," shaking hands with each other, and calling +each other by name as they sang: + + "My sis'r Mary's boun' to go; + My sis'r Nanny's boun' to go; + My brudder Tony's boun' to go; + My brudder July's boun' to go." + +This to the same tune, till every hand had been shaken by every +one of the company. When they came to Harriet, who was a stranger, +they sang: + + Eberybody's boun' to go! + +The body was then placed in a Government wagon, and by the light +of the pine torches, the strange, dark procession moved along, +singing a rude funeral hymn, till they reached the place of +burial. + +Harriet's account of her interview with an old negro she met at +Hilton Head, is amusing and interesting. He said, "I'd been yere +seventy-three years, workin' for my master widout even a dime +wages. I'd worked rain-wet sun-dry. I'd worked wid my mouf full of +dust, but could not stop to get a drink of water. I'd been +whipped, an' starved, an' I was always prayin', 'Oh! Lord, come +an' delibber us!' All dat time de birds had been flyin', an' de +rabens had been cryin', and de fish had been swimmin' in de +waters. One day I look up, an' I see a big cloud; it didn't come +up like as de clouds come out far yonder, but it 'peared to be +right ober head. Der was thunders out of dat, an' der was +lightnin's. Den I looked down on de water, an' I see, 'peared to +me a big house in de water, an' out of de big house came great big +eggs, and de good eggs went on trou' de air, an' fell into de +fort; an' de bad eggs burst before dey got dar. Den de Sesh Buckra +begin to run, an' de neber stop running till de git to de swamp, +an' de stick dar an' de die dar. Den I heard 'twas de Yankee +ship[D] firin' out de big eggs, an dey had come to set us free. +Den I praise de Lord. He come an' put he little finger in de work, +an de Sesh Buckra all go; and de birds stop flyin', and de rabens +stop cryin', an' when I go to catch a fish to eat wid my rice, +dey's no fish dar. De Lord A'mighty 'd come and frightened 'em all +out of de waters. Oh! Praise de Lord! I'd prayed seventy-three +years, an' now he's come an' we's all free." + +[Footnote D: The _Wabash_.] + +The following account of the subject of this memoir is cut from +the _Boston Commonwealth_ of 1863, kindly sent the writer by Mr. +Sanborn: + +"It was said long ago that the true romance of America was not in +the fortunes of the Indian, where Cooper sought it, nor in New +England character, where Judd found it, nor in the social +contrasts of Virginia planters, as Thackeray imagined, but in the +story of the fugitive slaves. The observation is as true now as it +was before War, with swift, gigantic hand, sketched the vast +shadows, and dashed in the high lights in which romance loves to +lurk and flash forth. But the stage is enlarged on which these +dramas are played, the whole world now sit as spectators, and the +desperation or the magnanimity of a poor black woman has power to +shake the nation that so long was deaf to her cries. We write of +one of these heroines, of whom our slave annals are full--a woman +whose career is as extraordinary as the most famous of her sex can +show. + +"Araminta Ross, now known by her married name of Tubman, with her +sounding Christian name changed to Harriet, is the grand-daughter +of a slave imported from Africa, and has not a drop of white blood +in her veins. Her parents were Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene, +both slaves, but married and faithful to each other. They still +live in old age and poverty,[E] but free, on a little property at +Auburn, N.Y., which their daughter purchased for them from Mr. +Seward, the Secretary of State. She was born, as near as she can +remember, in 1820 or in 1821, in Dorchester County, on the Eastern +shore of Maryland, and not far from the town of Cambridge. She had +ten brothers and sisters, of whom three are now living, all at the +North, and all rescued from slavery by Harriet, before the War. +She went back just as the South was preparing to secede, to bring +away a fourth, but before she could reach her, she was dead. Three +years before, she had brought away her old father and mother, at +great risk to herself. + +[Footnote E: Both dead for some years.] + +"When Harriet was six years old, she was taken from her mother and +carried ten miles to live with James Cook, whose wife was a +weaver, to learn the trade of weaving. While still a mere child, +Cook set her to watching his musk-rat traps, which compelled her +to wade through the water. It happened that she was once sent when +she was ill with the measles, and, taking cold from wading in the +water in this condition, she grew very sick, and her mother +persuaded her master to take her away from Cook's until she could +get well. + +"Another attempt was made to teach her weaving, but she would not +learn, for she hated her mistress, and did not want to live at +home, as she would have done as a weaver, for it was the custom +then to weave the cloth for the family, or a part of it, in the +house. + +"Soon after she entered her teens she was hired out as a field +hand, and it was while thus employed that she received a wound, +which nearly proved fatal, from the effects of which she still +suffers. In the fall of the year, the slaves there work in the +evening, cleaning up wheat, husking corn, etc. On this occasion, +one of the slaves of a farmer named Barrett, left his work, and +went to the village store in the evening. The overseer followed +him, and so did Harriet. When the slave was found, the overseer +swore he should be whipped, and called on Harriet, among others, +to help tie him. She refused, and as the man ran away, she placed +herself in the door to stop pursuit. The overseer caught up a +two-pound weight from the counter and threw it at the fugitive, but it +fell short and struck Harriet a stunning blow on the head. It was +long before she recovered from this, and it has left her subject +to a sort of stupor or lethargy at times; coming upon her in the +midst of conversation, or whatever she may be doing, and throwing +her into a deep slumber, from which she will presently rouse +herself, and go on with her conversation or work. + +"After this she lived for five or six years with John Stewart, +where at first she worked in the house, but afterward 'hired her +time,' and Dr. Thompson, son of her master's guardian, 'stood for +her,' that is, was her surety for the payment of what she owed. +She employed the time thus hired in the rudest labors,--drove +oxen, carted, plowed, and did all the work of a man,--sometimes +earning money enough in a year, beyond what she paid her master, +'to buy a pair of steers,' worth forty dollars. The amount exacted +of a woman for her time was fifty or sixty dollars--of a man, one +hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars. Frequently Harriet +worked for her father, who was a timber inspector, and +superintended the cutting and hauling of great quantities of +timber for the Baltimore ship-yards. Stewart, his temporary +master, was a builder, and for the work of Ross used to receive as +much as five dollars a day sometimes, he being a superior workman. +While engaged with her father, she would cut wood, haul logs, etc. +Her usual 'stint' was half a cord of wood in a day. + +"Harriet was married somewhere about 1844, to a free colored man +named John Tubman, but she had no children. For the last two years +of slavery she lived with Dr. Thompson, before mentioned, her own +master not being yet of age, and Dr. T.'s father being his +guardian, as well as the owner of her own father. In 1849 the +young man died, and the slaves were to be sold, though previously +set free by an old will. Harriet resolved not to be sold, and so, +with no knowledge of the North--having only heard of Pennsylvania +and New Jersey--she walked away one night alone. She found a +friend in a white lady, who knew her story and helped her on her +way. After many adventures, she reached Philadelphia, where she +found work and earned a small stock of money. With this money in +her purse, she traveled back to Maryland for her husband, but she +found him married to another woman, and no longer caring to live +with her. This, however, was not until two years after her escape, +for she does not seem to have reached her old home in the first +two expeditions. In December, 1850, she had visited Baltimore and +brought away her sister and two children, who had come up from +Cambridge in a boat, under charge of her sister's husband, a free +black. A few months after she had brought away her brother and two +other men, but it was not till the fall of 1851, that she found +her husband and learned of his infidelity. She did not give way to +rage or grief, but collected a party of fugitives and brought them +safely to Philadelphia. In December of the same year, she +returned, and led out a party of eleven, among them her brother +and his wife. With these she journeyed to Canada, and there spent +the winter, for this was after the enforcement of Mason's Fugitive +Slave Bill in Philadelphia and Boston, and there was no safety +except 'under the paw of the British Lion,' as she quaintly said. +But the first winter was terribly severe for these poor runaways. +They earned their bread by chopping wood in the snows of a +Canadian forest; they were frost-bitten, hungry, and naked. +Harriet was their good angel. She kept house for her brother, and +the poor creatures boarded with her. She worked for them, begged +for them, prayed for them, with the strange familiarity of +communion with God which seems natural to these people, and +carried them by the help of God through the hard winter. + +"In the spring she returned to the States, and as usual earned +money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, +in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and +brought away nine more fugitives. + +"Up to this time she had expended chiefly her own money in these +expeditions--money which she had earned by hard work in the +drudgery of the kitchen. Never did any one more exactly fulfill +the sense of George Herbert-- + + "'A servant with this clause + Makes drudgery divine.' + +"But it was not possible for such virtues long to remain hidden +from the keen eyes of the Abolitionists. She became known to +Thomas Garrett, the large-hearted Quaker of Wilmington, who has +aided the escape of three thousand fugitives; she found warm +friends in Philadelphia and New York, and wherever she went. These +gave her money, which he never spent for her own use, but laid up +for the help of her people, and especially for her journeys back +to the 'land of Egypt,' as she called her old home. By reason of +her frequent visits there, always carrying away some of the +oppressed, she got among her people the name of 'Moses,' which it +seems she still retains. + +"Between 1852 and 1857, she made but two of these journeys, in +consequence partly of the increased vigilance of the slave-holders, +who had suffered so much by the loss of their property. A +great reward was offered for her capture and she several times was +on the point of being taken, but always escaped by her quick wit, +or by 'warnings' from Heaven--for it is time to notice one +singular trait in her character. She is the most shrewd and +practical person in the world, yet she is a firm believer in +omens, dreams, and warnings. She declares that before her escape +from slavery, she used to dream of flying over fields and towns, +and rivers and mountains, looking down upon them 'like a bird,' +and reaching at last a great fence, or sometimes a river, over +which she would try to fly, 'but it 'peared like I wouldn't hab de +strength, and jes as I was sinkin' down, dere would be ladies all +drest in white ober dere, and dey would put out dere arms and pull +me 'cross.' There is nothing strange in this, perhaps, but she +declares that when she came North she remembered these very places +as those she had seen in her dreams, and many of the ladies who +befriended her were those she had been helped by in her vision. + +"Then she says she always knows when there is danger near her--she +does not know how, exactly, but ''pears like my heart go flutter, +flutter, and den dey may say "Peace, Peace," as much as dey likes, +_I know its gwine to be war_!' She is very firm on this point, and +ascribes to this her great impunity, in spite of the lethargy +before mentioned, which would seem likely to throw her into the +hands of her enemies. She says she inherited this power, that her +father could always predict the weather, and that he foretold the +Mexican war. + +"In 1857 she made her most venturesome journey, for she brought +with her to the North her old parents, who were no longer able to +walk such distances as she must go by night. Consequently she must +hire a wagon for them, and it required all her ingenuity to get +them through Maryland and Delaware safe. She accomplished it, +however, and by the aid of her friends she brought them safe to +Canada, where they spent the winter. Her account of their +sufferings there--of her mother's complaining and her own +philosophy about it--is a lesson of trust in Providence better +than many sermons. But she decided to bring them to a more +comfortable place, and so she negotiated with Mr. Seward--then in +the Senate--for a little patch of ground. To the credit of the +Secretary of State it should be said, that he sold her the +property on very favorable terms, and gave her some time for +payment. To this house she removed her parents, and set herself to +work to pay for the purchase. It was on this errand that she first +visited Boston--we believe in the winter of 1858-59. She brought a +few letters from her friends in New York, but she could herself +neither read nor write, and she was obliged to trust to her wits +that they were delivered to the right persons. One of them, as it +happened, was to the present writer, who received it by another +hand, and called to see her at her boarding-house. It was curious +to see the caution with which she received her visitor until she +felt assured that there was no mistake. One of her means of +security was to carry with her the daguerreotypes of her friends, +and show them to each new person. If they recognized the likeness, +then it was all right. + +"Pains were taken to secure her the attention to which her great +services of humanity entitled her, and she left New England with a +handsome sum of money toward the payment of her debt to Mr. +Seward. Before she left, however, she had several interviews with +Captain Brown, then in Boston. He is supposed to have communicated +his plans to her, and to have been aided by her in obtaining +recruits and money among her people. At any rate, he always spoke +of her with the greatest respect, and declared that 'General +Tubman,' as he styled her, was a better officer than most whom he +had seen, and could command an army as successfully as she had led +her small parties of fugitives. + +"Her own veneration for Captain Brown has always been profound, +and since his murder, has taken the form of a religion. She had +often risked her own life for her people, and she thought nothing +of that; but that a white man, and a man so noble and strong, +should so take upon himself the burden of a despised race, she +could not understand, and she took refuge from her perplexity in +the mysteries of her fervid religion. + +"Again, she laid great stress on a dream which she had just before +she met Captain Brown in Canada. She thought she was in 'a +wilderness sort of place, all full of rocks, and bushes,' when she +saw a serpent raise its head among the rocks, and as it did so, it +became the head of an old man with a long white beard, gazing at +her, 'wishful like, jes as ef he war gwine to speak to me,' and +then two other heads rose up beside him, younger than he,--and as +she stood looking at them, and wondering what they could want with +her, a great crowd of men rushed in and struck down the younger +heads, and then the head of the old man, still looking at her so +'wishful.' This dream she had again and again, and could not +interpret it; but when she met Captain Brown, shortly after, +behold, he was the very image of the head she had seen. But still +she could not make out what her dream signified, till the news +came to her of the tragedy of Harper's Ferry, and then she knew +the two other heads were his two sons. She was in New York at that +time, and on the day of the affair at Harper's Ferry she felt her +usual warning that something was wrong--she could not tell what. +Finally she told her hostess that it must be Captain Brown who was +in trouble, and that they should soon hear bad news from him. The +next day's newspaper brought tidings of what had happened. + +"Her last visit to Maryland was made after this, in December, +1860; and in spite of the agitated condition of the country, and +the greater watchfulness of the slave-holders, she brought away +seven fugitives, one of them an infant, which must be drugged with +opium to keep it from crying on the way, and so revealing the +hiding-place of the party." + +In the spring of 1860, Harriet Tubman was requested by Mr. Gerrit +Smith to go to Boston to attend a large Anti-Slavery meeting. On +her way, she stopped at Troy to visit a cousin, and while there +the colored people were one day startled with the intelligence +that a fugitive slave, by the name of Charles Nalle, had been +followed by his master (who was his younger brother, and not one +grain whiter than he), and that he was already in the hands of the +officers, and was to be taken back to the South. The instant +Harriet heard the news, she started for the office of the United +States Commissioner, scattering the tidings as she went. An +excited crowd was gathered about the office, through which Harriet +forced her way, and rushed up stairs to the door of the room where +the fugitive was detained. A wagon was already waiting before the +door to carry off the man, but the crowd was even then so great, +and in such a state of excitement, that the officers did not dare +to bring the man down. On the opposite side of the street stood +the colored people, watching the window where they could see +Harriet's sun-bonnet, and feeling assured that so long as she +stood there, the fugitive was still in the office. Time passed on, +and he did not appear. "They've taken him out another way, depend +upon that," said some of the colored people. "No," replied others, +"there stands 'Moses' yet, and as long as she is there, he is +safe." Harriet, now seeing the necessity for a tremendous effort +for his rescue, sent out some little boys to cry _fire_. The bells +rang, the crowd increased, till the whole street was a dense mass +of people. Again and again the officers came out to try and clear +the stairs, and make a way to take their captive down; others were +driven down, but Harriet stood her ground, her head bent and her +arms folded. "Come, old woman, you must get out of this," said one +of the officers; "I must have the way cleared; if you can't get +down alone, some one will help you." Harriet, still putting on a +greater appearance of decrepitude, twitched away from him, and +kept her place. Offers were made to buy Charles from his master, +who at first agreed to take twelve hundred dollars for him; but +when this was subscribed, he immediately raised the price to +fifteen hundred. The crowd grew more excited. A gentleman raised a +window and called out, "Two hundred dollars for his rescue, but +not one cent to his master!" This was responded to by a roar of +satisfaction from the crowd below. At length the officers +appeared, and announced to the crowd, that if they would open a +lane to the wagon, they would promise to bring the man down the +front way. + +The lane was opened, and the man was brought out--a tall, +handsome, intelligent _white_ man, with his wrists manacled +together, walking between the U.S. Marshal and another officer, +and behind him his brother and his master, so like him that one +could hardly be told from the other. The moment they appeared, +Harriet roused from her stooping posture, threw up a window, and +cried to her friends: "Here he comes--take him!" and then darted +down the stairs like a wild-cat. She seized one officer and pulled +him down, then another, and tore him away from the man; and +keeping her arms about the slave, she cried to her friends: "Drag +us out! Drag him to the river! Drown him! but don't let them have +him!" They were knocked down together, and while down, she tore +off her sun-bonnet and tied it on the head of the fugitive. When +he rose, only his head could be seen, and amid the surging mass of +people the slave was no longer recognized, while the master +appeared like the slave. Again and again they were knocked down, +the poor slave utterly helpless, with his manacled wrists, +streaming with blood. Harriet's outer clothes were torn from her, +and even her stout shoes were pulled from her feet, yet she never +relinquished her hold of the man, till she had dragged him to the +river, where he was tumbled into a boat, Harriet following in a +ferry-boat to the other side. But the telegraph was ahead of them, +and as soon as they landed he was seized and hurried from her +sight. After a time, some school children came hurrying along, and +to her anxious inquiries they answered, "He is up in that house, +in the third story." Harriet rushed up to the place. Some men were +attempting to make their way up the stairs. The officers were +firing down, and two men were lying on the stairs, who had been +shot. Over their bodies our heroine rushed, and with the help of +others burst open the door of the room, and dragged out the +fugitive, whom Harriet carried down stairs in her arms. A +gentleman who was riding by with a fine horse, stopped to ask what +the disturbance meant; and on hearing the story, his sympathies +seemed to be thoroughly aroused; he sprang from his wagon, calling +out, "That is a blood-horse, drive him till he drops." The poor +man was hurried in; some of his friends jumped in after him, and +drove at the most rapid rate to Schenectady. + +This is the story Harriet told to the writer. By some persons it +seemed too wonderful for belief, and an attempt was made to +corroborate it. Rev. Henry Fowler, who was at the time at +Saratoga, kindly volunteered to go to Troy and ascertain the +facts. His report was, that he had had a long interview with Mr. +Townsend, who acted during the trial as counsel for the slave, +that he had given him a "rich narration," which he would write out +the next week for this little book. But before he was to begin his +generous labor, and while engaged in some kind efforts for the +prisoners at Auburn, he was stricken down by the heat of the sun, +and was for a long time debarred from labor. + +This good man died not long after and the promised narration was +never written, but a statement by Mr. Townsend was sent me, which +I copy here: + +_Statements made by Martin I. Townsend, Esq., of Troy, who was +counsel for the fugitive, Charles Nalle._ + +Nalle is an octoroon; his wife has the same infusion of Caucasian +blood. She was the daughter of her master, and had, with her +sister, been bred by him in his family, as his own child. When the +father died, both of these daughters were married and had large +families of children. Under the highly Christian national laws of +"Old Virginny," these children were the slaves of their +grandfather. The old man died, leaving a will, whereby he +manumitted his daughters and their children, and provided for the +purchase of the freedom of their husbands. The manumission of the +children and grandchildren took effect; but the estate was +insufficient to purchase the husbands of his daughters, and the +fathers of his grandchildren. The manumitted, by another +Christian, "conservative," and "national" provision of law, were +forced to leave the State, while the slave husbands remained in +slavery. Nalle, and his brother-in-law, were allowed for a while +to visit their families outside Virginia about once a year, but +were at length ordered to provide themselves with new wives, as +they would be allowed to visit their former ones no more. It was +after this that Nalle and his brother-in-law started for the land +of freedom, guided by the steady light of the north star. Thank +God, neither family now need fear any earthly master or the bay of +the blood-hound dogging their fugitive steps. + +Nalle returned to Troy with his family about July, 1860, and +resided with them there for more than seven years. They are all +now residents of the city of Washington, D.C. Nalle and his family +are persons of refined manners, and of the highest respectability. +Several of his children are red-haired, and a stranger would +discover no trace of African blood in their complexions or +features. It was the head of this family whom H.F. Averill +proposed to doom to returnless exile and life-long slavery. + +When Nalle was brought from Commissioner Beach's office into the +street, Harriet Tubman, who had been standing with the excited +crowd, rushed amongst the foremost to Nalle, and running one of +her arms around his manacled arm, held on to him without ever +loosening her hold through the more than half-hour's struggle to +Judge Gould's office, and from Judge Gould's office to the dock, +where Nalle's liberation was accomplished. In the _mêelée_ she was +repeatedly beaten over the head with policemen's clubs, but she +never for a moment released her hold, but cheered Nalle and his +friends with her voice, and struggled with the officers until they +were literally worn out with their exertions, and Nalle was +separated from them. + +True, she had strong and earnest helpers in her struggle, some of +whom had white faces as well as human hearts, and are now in +Heaven. But she exposed herself to the fury of the sympathizers +with slavery, without fear, and suffered their blows without +flinching. Harriet crossed the river with the crowd, in the ferry-boat, +and when the men who led the assault upon the door of Judge +Stewart's office were stricken down, Harriet and a number of other +colored women rushed over their bodies, brought Nalle out, and +putting him in the first wagon passing, started him for the West. + +A lively team, driven by a colored man, was immediately sent on to +relieve the other, and Nalle was seen about Troy no more until he +returned a free man by purchase from his master. Harriet also +disappeared, and the crowd dispersed. How she came to be in Troy +that day, is entirely unknown to our citizens; and where she hid +herself after the rescue, is equally a mystery. But her struggle +was in the sight of a thousand, perhaps of five thousand +spectators. + +On asking Harriet particularly, as to the age of her mother, she +answered, "Well, I'll tell you, Missus. Twenty-three years ago, in +Maryland, I paid a lawyer five dollars to look up the will of my +mother's first master. He looked back sixty years, and said it was +time to give up. I told him to go back furder. He went back sixty-five +years, and there he found the will--giving the girl Ritty to +his grand-daughter (Mary Patterson), to serve her and her +offspring till she was forty-five years of age." This grand-daughter +died soon after, unmarried; and as there was no provision +for Ritty, in case of her death, she was actually emancipated at +that time. But no one informed her of the fact, and she and her +dear children remained in bondage till emancipated by the courage +and determination of this heroic daughter and sister. The old +woman must then, it seems, be ninety-eight years of age,[F] and +the old man has probably numbered as many years. And yet these old +people, living out beyond the toll-gate, on the South Street road, +Auburn, come in every Sunday--more than a mile--to the Central +Church. To be sure, deep slumbers settle down upon them as soon as +they are seated, which continue undisturbed till the congregation +is dismissed; but they have done their best, and who can doubt +that they receive a blessing. Immediately after this they go to +class-meeting at the Methodist Church. Then they wait for a third +service, and after that start out home again. + +[Footnote F: This was written in the year '68, and the old people +both lived several years after that time.] + +Harriet supposes that the whole family were actually free, and +were kept wrongfully in a state of slavery all those long years; +but she simply states the fact, without any mourning or lamenting +over the wrong and the misery of it all, accepting it as the will +of God, and, therefore, not to be rebelled against. + +This woman, of whom you have been reading, is now old and feeble, +suffering from the effects of her life of unusual labor and +hardship, as well as from repeated injuries; but she is still at +work for her people. For many years, even long before the war, her +little home has been the refuge of the hunted and the homeless, +for whom she had provided; and I have seen as many as eight or ten +dependents upon her care at one time living there. + +It has always been a hospital, but she feels the need of a large +one, and only prays to see this, "her last work," completed ere +she goes hence. + +Without claiming any of my dear old Harriet's prophetic vision, I +seem to see a future day when the wrongs of earth will be righted, +and justice, long delayed, will assert itself. I seem to see that +our poor Harriet has passed within "one of dem gates," and has +received the welcome, "Come, thou blessed of my Father; for I was +hungry and you gave me meat, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, +I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, +sick and in prison and you visited me." + +And when she asks, "Lord, when did I do all this?" He answers: + +"Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, _my +brethren_, you did it unto me." + +And as she stands in her modest way just within the celestial +gate, I seem to see a kind hand laid upon her dark head, and to +hear a gentle voice saying in her ear, "Friend, come up higher!" + + + + +SOME ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF "HARRIET." + +The story of this remarkable black woman has been attracting +renewed interest of late, and I have often been asked to publish +another edition of the book, and to add some interesting and +amusing incidents which I have related to my friends. + +Harriet is very old and feeble now; she does not know how old, but +probably between eighty and ninety. Her years of toil and +adventure have told upon her, and she may not last much longer. If +she does, she will still need help which she would never ask for +herself, but which this little book may give her; when she dies, +it may aid in putting up a fitting monument to her memory, which +should always be "kept green." + +As time goes on, the horrors of the days of slavery are by many +forgotten, and the children who have been born since the War of +the Rebellion know of that fearful straggle, and of the causes +that led to it, only as a tradition of long ago. + +Even in the city where Harriet has so long lived her quiet and +unobtrusive life, it is not an uncommon thing to meet a young +person who has never even heard her name. + +Those who know the principal facts of her eventful history may be +interested to read these few added incidents, which she has +related to me from time to time. + +A year or two ago, as I was staying at the summer home of my +brother, Professor Hopkins, on Owasco Lake, Harriet came up to see +us; it was after lunch, and my brother ordered a table to be set +for her on the broad shaded piazza and waited on her himself, +bringing her cups of tea and other good things, as if it were a +pleasure and an honor to serve her. + +There is a quiet dignity about Harriet that makes her superior or +indifferent to all surrounding circumstances; whether seated at +the hospitable board of Gerrit Smith or any other white gentleman, +as she often was, or sent to the kitchen, where the white +domestics refused to eat with a "nigger," it was all the same to +Harriet; she was never elated, or humiliated; she took everything +as it came, making no comments or complaints. + +And so she sat quietly eating her lunch, and talking with us. +After the lunch was over, as we sat on the piazza waiting for the +steamboat to take her back to Auburn, she said: + +"I often think, Missus, of things I wish I had told you before you +wrote de book. Now, as I come up on de boat I thought of one thing +thet happened to me when I was very little. + +"I was only seven years old when I was sent away to take car' of a +baby. I was so little dat I had to sit down on de flo' and hev de +baby put in my lap. An' dat baby was allus in my lap 'cept when it +was asleep, or its mother was feedin' it. + +"One mornin' after breakfast she had de baby, an' I stood by de +table waitin' till I was to take it; just by me was a bowl of +lumps of white sugar. My Missus got into a great quarrel wid her +husband; she had an awful temper, an' she would scole an' storm, +an' call him all sorts of names. Now you know, Missus, I never had +nothing good; no sweet, no sugar, an' dat sugar, right by me, did +look so nice, an' my Missus's back was turned to me while she was +fightin' wid her husband, so I jes' put my fingers in de sugar +bowl to take one lump, an' maybe she heard me, an' she turned an' +saw me. De nex' minute she had de raw hide down; I give one jump +out of de do', an' I saw dey came after me, but I jes' flew, and +dey didn't catch me. I ran, an' I ran, an' I run, I passed many a +house, but I didn't dar' to stop, for dey all knew my Missus an' +dey would send me back. By an' by, when I was clar tuckered out, I +come to a great big pig-pen. Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps +eight or ten little pigs. I was too little to climb into it, but I +tumbled ober de high board, an' fell in on de ground; I was so +beat out I couldn't stir. + +"An' dere, Missus, I stayed from Friday till de nex' Chuesday, +fightin' wid dose little pigs for de potato peelin's an" oder +scraps dat came down in de trough. De ole sow would push me away +when I tried to git her chillen's food, an' I was awful afeard of +her. By Chuesday I was so starved I knowed I'd got to go back to +my Missus, I hadn't got no whar else to go, but I knowed what was +comin.' So I went back." + +"And she gave you an awful flogging, I suppose, Harriet?" + +"No, Missus, but _he_ did." + +This was all that was said, but probably that flogging left some +of those scars which cover her neck and back to this day. + +Think of a poor little helpless thing seven years old enduring all +this terror and suffering, and yet few people are as charitable to +the slave-holders as Harriet. "Dey don' know no better, Missus; +it's de way dey was brought up. 'Make de little nigs min' you, or +flog 'em,' was what was said to de chillen, and dey was brought up +wid de whip in der hand. Now, min' you, Missus, dat wasn't de way +on all de plantations; dere was good Marsters an' Missuses, as +I've heard tell, but I didn't happen to come across 'em." + +There is frequent mention made in the Memoir of Harriet's firm and +unwavering trust in God in times of great perplexity or deadly +peril, when she often had occasion to say, "Vain is the help of +man, but in God is my help." I have never known another instance +of such implicit trust and confidence. + +Very soon after the Civil War her house was turned into a +hospital, and no poor helpless creature of her race was ever +turned from her door. Indeed, all through the war, and through the +cruel reign of the fugitive slave law, her house was one of the +depots of the "Underground Railway," as that secret and unseen +mode of conveying the hunted fugitives was called, and when the +war was over she established a hospital, which for many years, +indeed till she was too ill herself to take charge of it, has been +the refuge of the sufferers of her race who had no earthly +dependence but Harriet. + +Very often this woman, except for her trust in "de Lawd," had had +no idea where the next meal was to come from, but she troubled +herself no more about it than if she had been a Vanderbilt or an +Astor. "De Lawd will provide" was her motto, and He never failed +her. + +One day, in passing through Auburn, I was impelled to stop over a +train, and drive out to see what were the needs of my colored +friend, and to take her some supplies. + +Her little house was always neat and comfortable, and the small +parlor was nicely and rather prettily furnished. The lame, the +halt, and the blind, the bruised and crippled little children, and +one crazy woman, were all brought in to see me, and "the blind +woman" (she seemed to have no other name), a very old woman who +had been Harriet's care for eighteen years, was led into the room--an +interesting and pathetic group. + +On leaving, I said to her: "If you will come out to the carriage, +Harriet, there are some provisions there for you." + +She turned to one of her poor dependents and said: "What did you +say to me dis mornin'? You said, 'We hadn't got nothin' to eat in +de house,' and what did I say to you? I said, 'I've got a rich +Father!'" + +Nothing that comes to this remarkable woman ever surprises her. +She says very little in the way of thanks, except to the Giver of +all good. How the knowledge comes to her no one can tell, but she +seems always to know when help is coming, and she is generally on +hand to receive it, though it is never for herself she wants it, +but only for those under her care. + +I must not forget to mention the Indian girls of the Fort Wrangel +School, who, having read a little notice of Harriet in the +"Evangelist," went to work, and by their daily labor raised +thirty-seven dollars which they sent to me for Harriet--and this +school has been disbanded, and these educated girls have been sent +back to their wretched homes, because our Government could not +afford to support it any longer! + +Pundita Ramabai went about this time to see Harriet and they had +an interesting talk together. Here was a remarkable trio taking +hold of hands--the woman from East India, the Indian girl from the +far West, and the black woman from the Southern States only two +removes from an African savage! + +Once when she came to New York, where she had not been in twenty +years, and was starting off alone to find some friends miles away +in a part of the city which she had never seen, we remonstrated +with her, telling her she would surely be lost. + +"Now, Missus," she said, "don't you t'ink dis ole head dat done de +navigatin' down in Egypt can do de navigatin' up here in New +York?" + +And she walked many miles, scorning a "cyar," and found all the +people she wished to see. + +Harriet was known by various names among her Southern friends. One +of these was "Ole Chariot," perhaps as a rhyme to the name by +which they called her. + +And so, often when she went to bring away a band of refugees, she +would sing as she walked the dark country roads by night: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + Who's gwine wid me?" + +And from some unseen singer would come the response: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + I'se gwine wid you." + +And by some wireless telegraphy known only to the initiated it +would be made known in one cabin or another where their deliverer +was waiting concealed, and when she would be ready to pilot them +on their long journey to freedom. + +A Woman's Suffrage Meeting was held in Rochester a year or two +ago, and Harriet came to attend it. She generally attended every +meeting of women, on whatever subject, if possible to do so. + +She was led into the church by an adopted daughter, whom she had +rescued from death when a baby, and had brought up as her own. + +The church was warm and Harriet was tired, and soon after she +entered deep sleep fell upon her. + +Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Stanton were on the platform, and after +speeches had been made and business accomplished, one of these +ladies said: + +"Friends, we have in the audience that wonderful woman, Harriet +Tubman, from whom we should like to hear, if she will kindly come +to the platform." + +People looked around at Harriet, but Harriet was fast asleep. + +"Mother! mother!" said the young girl; "they are calling for you," +but it was some time before Harriet could be made to understand +where she was, or what was wanted of her. At length, she was led +out into the aisle and was assisted by one of these kind ladies on +to the platform. + +Harriet looked around, wondering why so many white ladies were +gathered there. I think it was Miss Anthony who led her forward, +saying: + +"Ladies, I am glad to present to you Harriet Tubman, 'the +conductor of the Underground Railroad.'" + +"Yes, ladies," said Harriet, "I was de conductor ob de Underground +Railroad for eight years, an' I can say what mos' conductors can't +say--I nebber run my train off de track an' I nebber los' a +passenger." The audience laughed and applauded, and Harriet was +emboldened to go on and relate portions of her interesting +history, which were most kindly received by the assembled ladies. + +After the passage of the iniquitous fugitive slave law, Harriet +removed all her dependents to Canada, and here John Brown and some +of his followers took refuge with her, and she was his helper and +adviser in many of his schemes. The papers of that time tell of +her helping him with his plans and of his dependence upon her +judgment. In one of his letters he says: "Harriet has hitched on, +and with all her might; she is a whole team." + +For this large party added to her own family of several persons, +she worked day and night in her usual self-forgetting manner. Her +old father and mother were with her, and the mother, nearly a +hundred years old and enfeebled in mind, was querulous and +exacting, and most unreasonable in her temper, often reproaching +this faithful daughter as the Israelites did Moses of old, for +"bringing them up into the wilderness to die there of hunger." + +There came a day when everything eatable was exhausted, and the +prospect was dark, indeed. The old mother had no tobacco and no +tea--and these were more essential to her comfort than food or +clothing; then reproaches thick and fast fell upon Harriet. She +made no reply, but "went into her closet and shut the door"; when +she came out she had a large basket on her arm. + +"Catharine," she said, "take off dat small pot an' put on a large +one." + +"But, Harriet, der ain't not'ing in de house to eat." + +"Put on de large pot, Catharine; we're gwine to have soup to-day"--and +Harriet started for the market. The day was nearly over, and +the market-men were anxious to be rid of their wares, and were +offering them very cheap. Harriet walked along with the basket on +her arm. "Old woman, don't you want a nice piece of meat?" called +out one; and another, "Here's a nice piece; only ten cents. Take +this soup-bone, you can have it for five cents." But Harriet had +not five cents. At length a kind-hearted butcher, judging of the +trouble from her face, said: "Look here, old woman, you look like +an honest woman; take this soup-bone, and pay me when you get some +money"; then another said, "Take this," and others piled on pieces +of meat till the basket was full. Harriet passed on, and when she +came to the vegetables she exchanged some of the meat for +potatoes, cabbage, and onions, and the big pot was in requisition +when she reached home. Harriet had not "gone into her closet and +shut the door" for nothing. + +I hope I may be excused for sometimes telling my story in the +first person, as I cannot conveniently do it in any other way. In +getting ready a Thanksgiving box to send to Harriet, a few years +ago, I had ordered a turkey to be sent for it, but as the weather +grew quite warm, I was advised to send a ham instead. That box was +lost for three weeks, and when I saw Harriet again and told her +that I had intended to send a turkey in it, she said, "Wal, dere +was a clar Providence in dat, wa'n't dere, Missus?" + +A friend, hearing that I was preparing a Christmas box in New York +for this needy household, sent me a quantity of clothing and ten +dollars for them. As my box was not quite full, I expended three +dollars of that money in groceries, and sent seven dollars to a +lady in Auburn who acted as treasurer for Harriet, giving her +money as it was needed; for Harriet's heart is so large, and her +feelings are so easily wrought upon, that it was never wise to +give her more than enough for present needs. + +Not long after, I received a letter from a well-known physician--a +woman--in Auburn, in which she said: + +"I want to tell you something about Harriet. She came to me last +Friday, and said, 'Doctah, I have got my taxes and insurance to +pay to-morrow, and I haven't a cent. Would you lend me seven +dollars till next Chuesday?' More to try her than anything else, I +said, 'Why, Harriet, I'm a poor, hard-working woman myself; how do +you know you'll pay me seven dollars next Tuesday?' 'Well, Doctah, +I can't jes' tell you how, but I'll pay you next Chuesday.'" On +Tuesday my letter with seven dollars enclosed arrived in Auburn, +and Harriet took the money to the friend who had lent it to her. +Others thought this strange, but there was nothing strange about +it to her. + +A few years ago, when Harriet called on the writer, she was +introduced to the husband of one of her daughters lately married. +He told her how glad he was to see her, as he had heard so much +about her. She made one of her humble courtesies, and said: "I'm +pleased to see you, sir; it's de first time I've hed de pleasure +makin' yo' 'quaintance since you was 'dopted into my fam'bly." + +When the turns of somnolence come upon Harriet, her "sperrit," as +she says, goes away from her body, and visits other scenes and +places, and if she ever really sees them afterwards they are +perfectly familiar to her and she can find her way about alone. +Instances of this kind have lately been mentioned in some of the +magazines, but Harriet had never heard of them. + +Sitting in her house one day, deep sleep fell upon her, and in a +dream or vision she saw a chariot in the air, going south, and +empty, but soon it returned, and lying in it, cold and stiff, was +the body of a young lady of whom Harriet was very fond, whose home +was in Auburn, but who had gone to Washington with her father, a +distinguished officer of the Government there.[G] + +[Footnote G: William H. Seward.] + +The shock roused Harriet from her sleep, and she ran into Auburn, +to the house of her minister, crying out: "Oh, Miss Fanny is +dead!" and the news had just been received. + +She woke from a sleep one day in great agitation, and ran to the +houses of her colored neighbors, exclaiming that "a drefful t'ing +was happenin' somewha', de ground was openin', an' de houses were +fallin' in, and de people bein' killed faster 'n dey was in de +wah--faster 'n dey was in de wah." + +At that very time, or near it, an earthquake was occurring in the +northern part of South America, for the telegram came that day, +though why a vision of it should be sent to Harriet no one can +divine. + +Her expressions are often very peculiar; some ladies of a certain +church who had become interested in her wished to see her, and she +was invited to come to their city, and attended the sewing circle, +where twenty or thirty of them were gathered together. They asked +her many questions, and she told stories, sang songs, danced, and +imitated the talk of the Southern negroes; and went away loaded +with many tokens of the kind interest of these ladies. On the way +home she said: + +"What nice, kind-lookin' ladies dem was, Missus. I looked in all +dere faces, an' I didn't see nothin' venomous in one of 'em!" + +As has been said, Harriet can neither read nor write; her letters +are all written by an amanuensis, and she seems to have an idea +that by laying her hand on this person, her feelings may be +transmitted to the one to whom she is writing. These feelings are +sometimes very poetically expressed. I have by me some of those +letters; in one of them she says: "I lay my hand on the shoulder +of the writer of this letter, and I wish for you, and all your +offsprings, a through ticket in the Gospel train to Glory." + +In another letter she has dictated this sentence: + +"I ask of my Heavenly Father, that when the last trump sounds, and +my name is called, I may stand close by your side, to answer to +the call." Probably many of her friends and correspondents might +contribute facts and incidents in Harriet's life quite as +interesting as any I have mentioned, but I have no way of getting +at them. + +Harriet had long cherished the idea of having her hospital +incorporated, and placed in charge of the Zion African Methodist +Church of Auburn, and she was particularly anxious to come into +possession of a lot of twenty-five acres of land, near her own +home, to present to it as a little farm. This lot was to be sold +at auction, and on the day of the sale Harriet appeared with a +very little money, and a determination to have the land, cost what +it might. + +"Dey was all white folks but me dere, Missus, and dere I was like +a blackberry in a pail ob milk, but I hid down in a corner, and no +one know'd who was biddin'. De man began down pretty low, and I +kept goin' up by fifties; he got up to twelve hundred, thirteen +hundred, fourteen hundred, and still dat voice in the corner kept +goin' up by fifties. At last it got up to fourteen hundred and +fifty, an' den oders stopped biddin', an' de man said, 'All done! +who is de buyer?' 'Harriet Tubman,' I shouted. 'What! dat ole +nigger?' dey said. 'Old woman, how you ebber gwine to pay fer dat +lot ob land?' 'I'm gwine home to tell de Lawd Jesus all about it,' +I said." + +After telling the Lord Jesus all about it, Harriet went down to a +bank, obtained the money by mortgaging the land, and then +requested to have a deed made out, making the land over to the +Zion African Methodist Church. And her mind is easy about her +hospital, though with many persons the trouble would be but just +beginning, as there is interest on the mortgage to be paid. + +Though the hospital is no longer on her hands, you will never find +her without several poor creatures under her care. When I last saw +her she was providing for five sick and injured ones. A blind +woman came one day to her door, led by four little children--her +husband had turned her out of his house, and like all other poor +distressed black people, who could get there, she made her way to +Harriet. Before the next morning a fifth was added to the group. +As soon as it was possible Harriet dressed the whole six in white +and took them to a Methodist church and had them baptized. + +A little account of this was sent to the "Evangelist," and the +almost immediate response was seventy-five dollars, which was of +great benefit in providing for the needs of the growing family. + +This faithful creature will probably not live much longer, and her +like will not be seen again. But through the sale of the last +edition of her "Memoir," and some other sources of income, her +wants will be abundantly supplied. + +Harriet's friends will be glad to learn that she has lately been +for some time in Boston, where a surgical operation was performed +upon her head, the skull (which was crushed by a weight thrown by +her master more than seventy years before) being successfully +raised. Harriet's account of this operation is rather amusing. + +"Harriet," said Professor Hopkins, "what is the matter with your +head? Your hair is all gone!" + +"Why, dat's where dey shaved it off befo' dey cut my head open." + +"Cut your head open, Harriet? What do you mean?" + +"Wal, sir, when I was in Boston I walked out one day, an' I saw a +great big buildin', an' I asked a man what it was, an' he said it +was a hospital. So I went right in, an' I saw a young man dere, +an' I said, 'Sir, are you a doctah?' an' he said he was; den I +said, 'Sir, do you t'ink you could cut my head open?' + +"'What do you want your head cut open fer?' he said. + +"Den I tol' him de whole story, an' how my head was givin' me a +powerful sight of trouble lately, with achin' an' buzzin', so I +couldn' get no sleep at night. + +"An' he said, 'Lay right down on dis yer table,' an' I lay down." + +"Didn't he give you anything to deaden the pain, Harriet?" + +"No, sir; I jes' lay down like a lamb fo' de slaughter, an' he +sawed open my skull, an' raised it up, an' now it feels more +comfortable." "Did you suffer very much?" + +"Yes, sir, it hurt, ob cose; but I got up an' put on my bonnet an' +started to walk home, but my legs kin' o' gin out under me, an' +dey sont fer a ambulance an' sont me home." + +It has been hoped that this remarkable experience might result in +giving Harriet a new lease of life, but I am sorry to say she is +very feeble, and I fear will not be with us much longer. + +Her "through ticket" has long been ready for her, and when her +last journey is accomplished can we doubt that she will be +welcomed to one of those many mansions prepared for those who have +spent their lives in the Master's service? + + +THE END + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +The following letters to the writer from those well-known and +distinguished philanthropists, Hon. Gerrit Smith and Wendell +Phillips, and one from Frederick Douglass, addressed to Harriet, +will serve as the best introduction that can be given of the +subject of this memoir to its readers: + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _June_ 13, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I am happy to learn that you are to speak to the +public of Mrs. Harriet Tubman. Of the remarkable events of her +life I have no _personal_ knowledge, but of the truth of them as +she describes them I have no doubt. + +I have often listened to her, in her visits to my family, and I am +confident that she is not only truthful, but that she has a rare +discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy. + + With great respect your friend, + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Wendell Phillips_. + + _June_ 16, 1868. + +DEAR MADAME: The last time I ever saw John Brown was under my own +roof, as he brought Harriet Tubman to me, saying: "Mr. Phillips, I +bring you one of the best and bravest persons on this continent-- +_General_ Tubman, as we call her." + +He then went on to recount her labors and sacrifices in behalf of +her race. After that, Harriet spent some time in Boston, earning +the confidence and admiration of all those who were working for +freedom. With their aid she went to the South more than once, +returning always with a squad of self-emancipated men, women, and +children, for whom her marvelous skill had opened the way of +escape. After the war broke out, she was sent with indorsements +from Governor Andrew and his friends to South Carolina, where in +the service of the Nation she rendered most important and +efficient aid to our army. + +In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did before that time more for the colored race, than our +fearless and most sagacious friend, Harriet. + + Faithfully yours, + + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Frederick Douglass_. + + ROCHESTER, _August_ 29, 1868. + +DEAR HARRIET: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful +life has been written by a kind lady, and that the same is soon to +be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon +me for a word of commendation. I need such words from you far more +than you can need them from me, especially where your superior +labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our +land are known as I know them. The difference between us is very +marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our +cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement +at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in +a private way. I have wrought in the day--you in the night. I have +had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of +being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done +has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore +bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, +and whose heartfelt "_God bless you_" has been your only reward. +The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of +your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John +Brown--of sacred memory--I know of no one who has willingly +encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people +than you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to +those who do not know you as I know you. It is to me a great +pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony to your character +and your works, and to say to those to whom you may come, that I +regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy. + + Your friend, + + FREDERICK DOUGLASS. + + * * * * * + +_Extracts from a Letter written by Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of State Charities._ + +MY DEAR MADAME: Mr. Phillips has sent me your note, asking for +reminiscences of Harriet Tubman, and testimonials to her +extraordinary story, which all her New England friends will, I am +sure, be glad to furnish. + +I never had reason to doubt the truth of what Harriet said in +regard to her own career, for I found her singularly truthful. Her +imagination is warm and rich, and there is a whole region of the +marvelous in her nature, which has manifested itself at times +remarkably. Her dreams and visions, misgivings and forewarnings, +ought not to be omitted in any life of her, particularly those +relating to John Brown. + +She was in his confidence in 1858-9, and he had a great regard for +her, which he often expressed to me. She aided him in his plans, +and expected to do so still further, when his career was closed by +that wonderful campaign in Virginia. The first time she came to my +house, in Concord, after that tragedy, she was shown into a room +in the evening, where Brackett's bust of John Brown was standing. +The sight of it, which was new to her, threw her into a sort of +ecstacy of sorrow and admiration, and she went on in her +rhapsodical way to pronounce his apotheosis. + +She has often been in Concord, where she resided at the houses of +Emerson, Alcott, the Whitneys, the Brooks family, Mrs. Horace +Mann, and other well-known persons. They all admired and respected +her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures. She was too +_real_ a person to be suspected. In 1862, I think it was, she went +from Boston to Port Royal, under the advice and encouragement of +Mr. Garrison, Governor Andrew, Dr. Howe, and other leading people. +Her career in South Carolina is well known to some of our +officers, and I think to Colonel Higginson, now of Newport, R.I., +and Colonel James Montgomery, of Kansas, to both of whom she was +useful as a spy and guide, if I mistake not. I regard her as, on +the whole, the most extraordinary person of her race I have ever +met. She is a negro of pure, or almost pure blood, can neither +read nor write, and has the characteristics of her race and +condition. But she has done what can scarcely be credited on the +best authority, and she has accomplished her purposes with a +coolness, foresight, patience and wisdom, which in a _white man_ +would have raised him to the highest pitch of reputation. + +I am, dear Madame, very truly your servant, + + F.B. SANBORN. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Wm.H. Seward_. + + WASHINGTON, _July_ 25, 1868. + +MAJ.-GEN. HUNTER-- + +MY DEAR SIR: Harriet Tubman, a colored woman, has been nursing our +soldiers during nearly all the war. She believes she has a claim +for faithful services to the command in South Carolina with which +you are connected, and she thinks that you would be disposed to +see her claim justly settled. + +I have known her long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a truer, +seldom dwells in the human form. I commend her, therefore, to your +kind and best attentions. + + Faithfully your friend, + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Col. James Montgomery_. + + ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C., _July_ 6, 1863. + HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE. + +BRIG.-GEN. GILMORE, Commanding Department of the South-- + +GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, +a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have been +acquainted with her character and actions for several years. + +I am, General, your most ob't servant, + + JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. Baird_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov_. 24, 1864. + +The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who +has rendered faithful and good services to our Union army, not +only in the hospital, but in various capacities, having been +employed under Government at Hilton Head, and in Florida; and I +commend her to the protection of all officers in whose department +she may happen to be. + +She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my +uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and +capabilities. + + MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, N.Y., _Nov_. 4, 1867. + +I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever, +have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying, +and of more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with +her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment. + +During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful +to the cause of our country. She is poor and has poor parents. +Such a servant of the country should be well paid by the country. +I hope that the Government will look into her case. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Testimonial from Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov._ 22, 1864. + +The bearer, Harriet Tubman, needs not any recommendation. Nearly +all the nation over, she has been heard of for her wisdom, +integrity, patriotism, and bravery. The cause of freedom owes her +much. The country owes her much. + +I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high +esteem. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Certificate from Henry K. Durrant, Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A._ + +I certify that I have been acquainted with Harriet Tubman for +nearly two years; and my position as Medical Officer in charge of +"contrabands" in this town and in hospital, has given me frequent +and ample opportunities to observe her general deportment; +particularly her kindness and attention to the sick and suffering +of her own race. I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem +in which she is generally held. + + HENRY K. DURRANT, + Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. + In charge "Contraband" Hospital. + +Dated at Beaufort, S.C., the 3d day of May, 1864. + +I concur fully in the above. + + R. SAXTON, Brig.-Gen. Vol. + + * * * * * + +The following are a few of the passes used by Harriet throughout +the war. Many others are so defaced that it is impossible to +decipher them. + +HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, +HILTON HEAD, PORT ROYAL, S.C., _Feb_. 19, 1863. + +Pass the bearer, Harriet Tubman, to Beaufort and back to this +place, and wherever she wishes to go; and give her free passage at +all times, on all Government transports. Harriet was sent to me +from Boston by Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, and is a +valuable woman. She has permission, as a servant of the +Government, to purchase such provisions from the Commissary as she +may need. + + D. HUNTER, Maj.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + +General Gilmore, who succeeded General Hunter in command of the +Department of the South, appends his signature to the same pass. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, + _July_ 1, 1863. + +Continued in force. + + Q.A. GILMORE, Brig.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + + BEAUFORT, _Aug_. 28, 1862. + +Will Capt. Warfield please let "Moses" have a little Bourbon +whiskey for medicinal purposes. + + HENRY K. DURANT, Act. Ass. Surgeon. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C, + _March_ 20, 1865. + +Pass Mrs. Harriet Tubman (colored) to Hilton Head and Charleston, +S.C., with free transportation on a Government transport, + +By order of the Sec. of War. + Louis H., Asst. Adj.-Gen., U.S.A. +To Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Van Vliet, U.S.Q.M., N.Y. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C., + _July_ 22, 1865. + +Permit Harriet Tubman to proceed to Fortress Monroe, Va., on a +Government transport. Transportation will be furnished free of +cost. + +By order of the Secretary of War. + L.H., Asst. Adj.-Gen. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + + _Appointment as Nurse_. + +SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the Medical Director +Department of Virginia has been instructed to appoint Harriet +Tubman nurse or matron at the Colored Hospital, Fort Monroe, Va. + + Very respectfully, your obdt. servant, + V.K. BARNES, Surgeon-General. +Hon. WM.H. SEWARD, + Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. + + +Of the many letters, testimonials, and passes, placed in the hands +of the writer by Harriet, the following are selected for insertion +in this book, and are quite sufficient to verify her statements. + +_A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a lady of Auburn_. + + ATLANTA, GA., _March_ 21, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that +Hon. Wm.H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition to +Congress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in +the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the +value of her services in South Carolina and Florida. She was +employed in the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid +inside the enemy's lines, displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and +fidelity. She was employed by General Hunter, and I think by +Generals Stevens and Sherman, and is as deserving of a pension +from the Government for her services as any other of its faithful +servants. + + I am very truly yours, + RUFUS SAXTON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen., U.S.A. + +Rev. Samuel I. May, in his recollections of the anti-slavery +conflict, after mentioning the case of an old slave mother, whom +he vainly endeavored to assist her son in buying from her master, +says: + +"I did not until four years after know that remarkable woman +Harriet, or I might have engaged her services, in the assurance +that she would have bought off the old woman without _paying_ for +her inalienable right--her liberty." + +Mr. May in another place says of Harriet, that she deserves to be +placed _first_ on the list of American heroines, and then proceeds +to give a short account of her labors, varying very little from +that given in this book. + + + + +FUGITIVE SLAVE RESCUE IN TROY. + +From the _Troy Whig_, April 28, 1859. + +Yesterday afternoon, the streets of this city and West Troy were +made the scenes of unexampled excitement. For the first time since +the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, an attempt was made here to +carry its provisions into execution, and the result was a terrific +encounter between the officers and the prisoner's friends, the +triumph of mob law, and the final rescue of the fugitive. Our city +was thrown into a grand state of turmoil, and for a time every +other topic was forgotten, to give place to this new excitement. +People did not think last evening to ask who was nominated at +Charleston, or whether the news of the Heenan and Sayers battle +had arrived--everything was merged into the fugitive slave case, +of which it seems the end is not yet. + +Charles Nalle, the fugitive, who was the cause of all this +excitement, was a slave on the plantation of B.W. Hansborough, in +Culpepper County, Virginia, till the 19th of October, 1858, when +he made his escape, and went to live in Columbia, Pennsylvania. A +wife and five children are residing there now. Not long since he +came to Sandlake, in this county, and resided in the family of Mr. +Crosby until about three weeks ago. Since that time, he has been +employed as coachman by Uri Gilbert, Esq., of this city. He is +about thirty years of age, tall, quite light-complexioned, and +good-looking. He is said to have been an excellent and faithful +servant. + +At Sandlake, we understand that Nalle was often seen by one H.F. +Averill, formerly connected with one of the papers of this city, +who communicated with his reputed owner in Virginia, and gave the +information that led to a knowledge of the whereabouts of the +fugitive. Averill wrote letters for him, and thus obtained an +acquaintance with his history. Mr. Hansborough sent on an agent, +Henry J. Wall, by whom the necessary papers were got out to arrest +the fugitive. + +Yesterday morning about 11 o'clock, Charles Nalle was sent to +procure some bread for the family by whom he was employed. He +failed to return. At the baker's he was arrested by Deputy United +States Marshal J.W. Holmes, and immediately taken before United +States Commissioner Miles Beach. The son of Mr. Gilbert, thinking +it strange that he did not come back, sent to the house of William +Henry, on Division Street, where he boarded, and his whereabouts +was discovered. + +The examination before Commissioner Beach was quite brief. The +evidence of Averill and the agent was taken, and the Commissioner +decided to remand Nalle to Virginia. The necessary papers were +made out and given to the Marshal. + +By this time it was two o'clock, and the fact began to be noised +abroad that there was a fugitive slave in Mr. Beach's office, +corner of State and First Streets. People in knots of ten or +twelve collected near the entrance, looking at Nalle, who could be +seen at an upper window. William Henry, a colored man, with whom +Nalle boarded, commenced talking from the curb-stone in a loud +voice to the crowd. He uttered such sentences as, "There is a +fugitive slave in that office--pretty soon you will see him come +forth. He is going to be taken down South, and you will have a +chance to see him. He is to be taken to the depot, to go to +Virginia in the first train. Keep watch of those stairs, and you +will have a sight." A number of women kept shouting, crying, and +by loud appeals excited the colored persons assembled. + +Still the crowd grew in numbers. Wagons halted in front of the +locality, and were soon piled with spectators. An alarm of fire +was sounded, and hose carriages dashed through the ranks of men, +women, and boys; but they closed again, and kept looking with +expectant eyes at the window where the negro was visible. +Meanwhile, angry discussions commenced. Some persons agitated a +rescue, and others favored law and order. Mr. Brockway, a lawyer, +had his coat torn for expressing his sentiments, and other +_mêlées_ kept the interest alive. + +All at once there was a wild halloo, and every eye was turned up +to see the legs and part of the body of the prisoner protruding +from the second story window, at which he was endeavoring to +escape. Then arose a shout! "Drop him!" "Catch him!" "Hurrah!" But +the attempt was a fruitless one, for somebody in the office pulled +Nalle back again, amid the shouts of a hundred pairs of lungs. The +crowd at this time numbered nearly a thousand persons. Many of +them were black, and a good share were of the female sex. They +blocked up State Street from First Street to the alley, and kept +surging to and fro. + +Martin I. Townsend, Esq., who acted as counsel for the fugitive, +did not arrive in the Commissioner's office until a decision had +been rendered. He immediately went before Judge Gould, of the +Supreme Court, and procured a writ of habeas corpus in the usual +form, _returnable_ immediately. This was given Deputy-Sheriff +Nathaniel Upham, who at once proceeded to Commissioner Beach's +office, and served it on Holmes. Very injudiciously, the officers +proceeded at once to Judge Gould's office, although it was evident +they would have to pass through an excited, unreasonable crowd. As +soon as the officers and their prisoner emerged from the door, an +old negro, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, +shouted, "Here they come," and the crowd made a terrific rush at +the party. + +From the office of Commissioner Beach, in the Mutual Building, to +that of Judge Gould, in Congress Street, is less than two blocks, +but it was made a regular battlefield. The moment the prisoner +emerged from the doorway, in custody of Deputy-Sheriff Upham, +Chief of Police Quin, Officers Cleveland and Holmes, the crowd +made one grand charge, and those nearest the prisoner seized him +violently, with the intention of pulling him away from the +officers, but they were foiled; and down First to Congress Street, +and up the latter in front of Judge Gould's chambers, went the +surging mass. Exactly what did go on in the crowd, it is +impossible to say, but the pulling, hauling, mauling, and +shouting, gave evidences of frantic efforts on the part of the +rescuers, and a stern resistance from the conservators of the law. +In front of Judge Gould's office the combat was at its height. No +stones or other missiles were used; the battle was fist to fist. +We believe an order was given to take the prisoner the other way, +and there was a grand rush towards the West, past First and River +Streets, as far as Dock Street. All this time there was a +continual _mêlée_. Many of the officers were hurt--among them Mr. +Upham, whose object was solely to do his duty by taking Nalle +before Judge Gould in accordance with the writ of habeas corpus. A +number in the crowd were more or less hurt, and it is a wonder +that these were not badly injured, as pistols were drawn and +chisels used. + +The battle had raged as far as the corner of Dock and Congress +Streets, and the victory remained with the rescuers at last. The +officers were completely worn out with their exertions, and it was +impossible to continue their hold upon him any longer. Nalle was +at liberty. His friends rushed him down Dock Street to the lower +ferry, where there was a skiff lying ready to start. The fugitive +was put in, the ferryman rowed off, and amid the shouts of +hundreds who lined the banks of the river, Nalle was carried into +Albany County. + +As the skiff landed in West Troy, a negro sympathizer waded up to +the waist, and pulled Nalle out of the boat. He went up the hill +alone, however, and there who should he meet but Constable Becker! +The latter official seeing a man with manacles on, considered it +his duty to arrest him. He did so, and took him in a wagon to the +office of Justice Stewart, on the second floor of the corner +building near the ferry. The justice was absent. + +When the crowd on the Troy bank had seen Nalle safely landed, it +was suggested that he might be recaptured. Then there was another +rush made for the steam ferry-boat, which carried over about 400 +persons, and left as many more--a few of the latter being soused +in their efforts to get on the boat. On landing in West Troy, +there, sure enough, was the prisoner, locked up in a strong +office, protected by Officers Becker, Brown and Morrison, and the +door barricaded. + +Not a moment was lost. Up stairs went a score or more of resolute +men--the rest "piling in" promiscuously, shouting and execrating +the officers. Soon a stone flew against the door--then another-- +and bang, bang! went off a couple of pistols, but the officers who +fired them took good care to aim pretty high. The assailants were +forced to retreat for a moment. "They've got pistols," said one. +"Who cares?" was the reply; "they can only kill a dozen of us-- +come on." More stones and more pistol-shots ensued. At last the +door was pulled open by an immense negro, and in a moment he was +felled by a hatchet in the hands of Deputy-Sheriff Morrison; but +the body of the fallen man blocked up the door so that it could +not be shut, and a friend of the prisoner pulled him out. Poor +fellow! he might well say, "Save me from my friends." Amid the +pulling and hauling, the iron had cut his arms, which were +bleeding profusely, and he could hardly walk, owing to fatigue. + +He has since arrived safely in Canada. + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Harriet, The Moses of Her People, by +Sarah H. 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Bradford. +</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + * { font-family: Times; + } + P { text-indent: 1em; + margin: 10%; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 14pt; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + PRE { font-family: Times; + font-size: 14pt;} + .toc { margin-left: 15%; font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0em;} + CENTER { padding: 10px;} + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Harriet, The Moses of Her People, by Sarah H. Bradford + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Harriet, The Moses of Her People + +Author: Sarah H. Bradford + +Posting Date: November 23, 2011 [EBook #9999] +Release Date: February, 2006 +First Posted: November 6, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + + + + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1> + HARRIET +</h1> +<center> + THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE +</center> +<center><b> + By +</b></center> +<center><b> + SARAH H. BRADFORD +</b></center> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Farewell, ole Marster, don't think hard of me, + I'm going on to Canada, where all de slaves are free." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to His throne, + He who died has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + + +<h2> + PREFACE. +</h2> +<p> + The title I have given my black heroine, in this second edition of + her story, viz.: THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE, may seem a little + ambitious, considering that this Moses was a woman, and that she + succeeded in piloting only three or four hundred slaves from the + land of bondage to the land of freedom. +</p> +<p> + But I only give her here the name by which she was familiarly + known, both at the North and the South, during the years of terror + of the Fugitive Slave Law, and during our last Civil War, in both + of which she took so prominent a part. +</p> +<p> + And though the results of her unexampled heroism were not to free + a whole nation of bond-men and bond-women, yet this object was as + much the desire of her heart, as it was of that of the great + leader of Israel. Her cry to the slave-holders, was ever like his + to Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" and not even he imperiled life and + limb more willingly, than did our courageous and self-sacrificing + friend. +</p> +<p> + Her name deserves to be handed down to posterity, side by side + with the names of Jeanne D'Arc, Grace Darling, and Florence + Nightingale, for not one of these women, noble and brave as they + were, has shown more courage, and power of endurance, in facing + danger and death to relieve human suffering, than this poor black + woman, whose story I am endeavoring in a most imperfect way to + give you. +</p> +<p> + Would that Mrs. Stowe had carried out the plan she once projected, + of being the historian of our sable friend; by her graphic pen, + the incidents of such a life might have been wrought up into a + tale of thrilling interest, equaling, if not exceeding her world + renowned "Uncle Tom's Cabin." +</p> +<p> + The work fell to humbler hands, and the first edition of this + story, under the title of "Harriet Tubman," was written in the + greatest possible haste, while the writer was preparing for a + voyage to Europe. There was pressing need for this book, to save + the poor woman's little home from being sold under a mortgage, and + letters and facts were penned down rapidly, as they came in. The + book has now been in part re-written and the letters and + testimonials placed in an appendix. +</p> +<p> + For the satisfaction of the incredulous (and there will naturally + be many such, when so strange a tale is repeated to them), I will + here state that so far as it has been possible, I have received + corroboration of every incident related to me by my heroic friend. + I did this for the satisfaction of others, not for my own. No one + can hear Harriet talk, and not believe every word she says. As Mr. + Sanborn says of her, "she is too <i>real</i> a person, not to be true." +</p> +<p> + Many incidents quite as wonderful as those related in the story, I + have rejected, because I had no way in finding the persons who + could speak to their truth. +</p> +<p> + This woman was the friend of William H. Seward, of Gerritt Smith, + of Wendell Phillips, of William Lloyd Garrison, and of many other + distinguished philanthropists before the War, as of very many + officers of the Union Army during the conflict. +</p> +<p> + After her almost superhuman efforts in making her own escape from + slavery, and then returning to the South <i>nineteen times</i>, and + bringing away with her over three hundred fugitives, she was sent + by Governor Andrew of Massachusetts to the South at the beginning + of the War, to act as spy and scout for our armies, and to be + employed as hospital nurse when needed. +</p> +<p> + Here for four years she labored without any remuneration, and + during the time she was acting as nurse, never drew but twenty + days' rations from our Government. She managed to support herself, + as well as to take care of the suffering soldiers. +</p> +<p> + Secretary Seward exerted himself in every possible way to procure + her a pension from Congress, but red-tape proved too strong even + for him, and her case was rejected, because it did not come under + any recognized law. +</p> +<p> + The first edition of this little story was published through the + liberality of Gerritt Smith, Wendell Phillips, and prominent men + in Auburn, and the object for which it was written was + accomplished. But that book has long been out of print, and the + facts stated there are all unknown to the present generation. + There have, I am told, often been calls for the book, which could + not be answered, and I have been urged by many friends as well as + by Harriet herself, to prepare another edition. For another + necessity has arisen and she needs help again not for herself, but + for certain helpless ones of her people. +</p> +<p> + Her own sands are nearly run, but she hopes, 'ere she goes home, + to see this work, a hospital, well under way. Her last breath and + her last efforts will be spent in the cause of those for whom she + has already risked so much. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + For them her tears will fall, + For them her prayers ascend; + To them her toils and cares be given, + Till toils and cares shall end. + S.H.B. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<br><br><br> +<h4> + Letter from Mr. Oliver Johnson for the second edition: +</h4> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + NEW YORK, <i>March 6</i>, 1886. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<center> + MY DEAR MADAM: +</center> +<p> + I am very glad to learn that you are about to publish a revised + edition of your life of that heroic woman, Harriet Tubman, by + whose assistance so many American slaves were enabled to break + their bonds. +</p> +<p> + During the period of my official connection with the Anti-Slavery + office in New York, I saw her frequently, when she came there with + the companies of slaves, whom she had successfully piloted away + from the South; and often listened with wonder to the story of + her adventures and hair-breadth escapes. +</p> +<p> + She always told her tale with a modesty which showed how + unconscious she was of having done anything more than her simple + duty. No one who listened to her could doubt her perfect + truthfulness and integrity. +</p> +<p> + Her shrewdness in planning the escape of slaves, her skill in + avoiding arrest, her courage in every emergency, and her + willingness to endure hardship and face any danger for the sake of + her poor followers was phenomenal. +</p> +<p> + I regret to hear that she is poor and ill, and hope the sale of + your book will give her the relief she so much needs and so well + deserves. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Yours truly, + + OLIVER JOHNSON. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<br><br><br> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + AUBURN THEOL. SEMINARY, + <i>March</i> 16, 1886. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<h3> + By PROFESSOR HOPKINS +</h3> +<p> + The remarkable person who is the subject of the following sketch, + has been residing mostly ever since the close of the war in the + outskirts of the City of Auburn, during all which time I have been + well acquainted with her. She has all the characteristics of the + pure African race strongly marked upon her, though from which one + of the various tribes that once fed the Barracoons, on the Guinea + coast, she derived her indomitable courage and her passionate love + of freedom I know not; perhaps from the Fellatas, in whom those + traits were predominant. +</p> +<p> + Harriet lives upon a farm which the twelve hundred dollars given + her by Mrs. Bradford from the proceeds of the first edition of + this little book, enabled her to redeem from a mortgage held by + the late Secretary Seward. +</p> +<p> + Her household is very likely to consist of several old black + people, "bad with the rheumatize," some forlorn wandering woman, + and a couple of small images of God cut in ebony. How she manages + to feed and clothe herself and them, the Lord best knows. She has + too much pride and too much faith to beg. She takes thankfully, + but without any great effusiveness of gratitude, whatever God's + messengers bring her. +</p> +<p> + I have never heard that she absolutely lacked. There are some good + people in various parts of the country, into whose hearts God + sends the thought, from time to time, that Harriet may be at the + bottom of the flour sack, or of the potatoes, and the "help in + time of need" comes to her. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's simplicity and ignorance have, in some cases, been + imposed upon, very signally in one instance in Auburn, a few years + ago; but nobody who knows her has the slightest doubt of her + perfect integrity. +</p> +<p> + The following sketch taken by Mrs. Bradford, chiefly from + Harriet's own recollections, which are wonderfully distinct and + minute, but also from other corroborative sources, gives but a + very imperfect account of what this woman has been. +</p> +<p> + Her color, and the servile condition in which she was born and + reared, have doomed her to obscurity, but a more heroic soul did + not breathe in the bosom of Judith or of Jeanne D'Arc. +</p> +<p> + No fear of the lash, the blood-hound, or the fiery stake, could + divert her from her self-imposed task of leading as many as + possible of her people "from the land of Egypt, from the house of + bondage." +</p> +<p> + The book is good literature for the black race, or the white race, + and though no similar conditions may arise, to test the + possibilities that are in any of them, yet the example of this + poor slave woman may well stand out before them, and before all + people, black or white, to show what a lofty and martyr spirit may + accomplish, struggling against overwhelming obstacles. +</p> +<a name="2H_4_3"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + HARRIET, +</h2> +<center> + THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE. +</center> +<a name="2H_4_4"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> + +<p> + On a hot summer's day, perhaps sixty years ago, a group of merry + little darkies were rolling and tumbling in the sand in front of + the large house of a Southern planter. Their shining skins gleamed + in the sun, as they rolled over each other in their play, and + their voices, as they chattered together, or shouted in glee, + reached even to the cabins of the negro quarter, where the old + people groaned in spirit, as they thought of the future of those + unconscious young revelers; and their cry went up, "O, Lord, how + long!" +</p> +<p> + Apart from the rest of the children, on the top rail of a fence, + holding tight on to the tall gate post, sat a little girl of + perhaps thirteen years of age; darker than any of the others, and + with a more decided <i>woolliness</i> in the hair; a pure unmitigated + African. She was not so entirely in a state of nature as the + rollers in the dust beneath her; but her only garment was a short + woolen skirt, which was tied around her waist, and reached about + to her knees. She seemed a dazed and stupid child, and as her head + hung upon her breast, she looked up with dull blood-shot eyes + towards her young brothers and sisters, without seeming to see + them. Bye and bye the eyes closed, and still clinging to the post, + she slept. The other children looked up and said to each other, + "Look at Hatt, she's done gone off agin!" Tired of their present + play ground they trooped off in another direction, but the girl + slept on heavily, never losing her hold on the post, or her seat + on her perch. Behold here, in the stupid little negro girl, the + future deliverer of hundreds of her people; the spy and scout of + the Union armies; the devoted hospital nurse; the protector of + hunted fugitives; the eloquent speaker in public meetings; the + cunning eluder of pursuing man-hunters; the heaven guided pioneer + through dangers seen and unseen; in short, as she has well been + called, "The Moses of her People." +</p> +<p> + Here in her thirteenth year she is just recovering from the first + terrible effects of an injury inflicted by her master, who in an + ungovernable fit of rage threw a heavy weight at the unoffending + child, breaking in her skull, and causing a pressure upon her + brain, from which in her old age she is suffering still. This + pressure it was which caused the fits of somnolency so frequently + to come upon her, and which gave her the appearance of being + stupid and half-witted in those early years. But that brain which + seemed so dull was full of busy thoughts, and her life problem was + already trying to work itself out there. +</p> +<p> + She had heard the shrieks and cries of women who were being + flogged in the negro quarter; she had listened to the groaned out + prayer, "Oh, Lord, have mercy!" She had already seen two older + sisters taken away as part of a chain gang, and they had gone no + one knew whither; she had seen the agonized expression on their + faces as they turned to take a last look at their "Old Cabin + Home;" and had watched them from the top of the fence, as they + went off weeping and lamenting, till they were hidden from her + sight forever. She saw the hopeless grief of the poor old mother, + and the silent despair of the aged father, and already she began + to revolve in her mind the question, "Why should such things be?" + "Is there no deliverance for my people?" +</p> +<p> + The sun shone on, and Harriet still slept seated on the fence + rail. They, those others, had no anxious dreams of the future, and + even the occasional sufferings of the present time caused them but + a temporary grief. Plenty to eat, and warm sunshine to bask in, + were enough to constitute their happiness; Harriet, however, was + not one of these. God had a great work for her to do in the world, + and the discipline and hardship through which she passed in her + early years, were only preparing her for her after life of + adventure and trial; and through these to come out as the Savior + and Deliverer of her people, when she came to years of womanhood. +</p> +<p> + As yet she had seen no "visions," and heard no "voices;" no + foreshadowing of her life of toil and privation, of flight before + human blood-hounds, of watchings, and hidings, of perils by land, + and perils by sea, yea, and of perils by false brethren, or of + miraculous deliverance had yet come to her. No hint of the great + mission of her life, to guide her people from the land of bondage + to the land of freedom. But, "Why should such things be?" and "Is + there no help?" These were the questions of her waking hours. +</p> +<p> + The dilapidated state of things about the "Great House" told truly + the story of waning fortunes, and poverty was pressing upon the + master. One by one the able-bodied slaves disappeared; some were + sold, others hired to other masters. No questions were asked; no + information given; they simply disappeared. A "lady," for so she + was designated, came driving up to the great house one day, to see + if she could find there a young girl to take care of a baby. The + lady wished to pay low wages, and so the most stupid and the most + incapable of the children on the plantation was chosen to go with + her. Harriet, who could command less wages than any other child of + her age on the plantation, was therefore put into the wagon + without a word of explanation, and driven off to the lady's house. + It was not a very fine house, but Harriet had never before been in + any dwelling better than the cabins of the negro quarter. +</p> +<p> + She was engaged as child's nurse, but she soon found that she was + expected to be maid of all work by day, as well as child's nurse + by night. The first task that was set her was that of sweeping and + dusting a parlor. No information was vouchsafed as to the manner + of going about this work, but she had often swept out the cabin, + and this part of her task was successfully accomplished. Then at + once she took the dusting cloth, and wiped off tables, chairs and + mantel-piece. The dust, as dust will do, when it has nowhere else + to go, at once settled again, and chairs and tables were soon + covered with a white coating, telling a terrible tale against + Harriet, when her Mistress came in to see how the work progressed. + Reproaches, and savage words, fell upon the ears of the frightened + child, and she was commanded to do the work all over again. It was + done in precisely the same way, as before, with the same result. + Then the whip was brought into requisition, and it was laid on + with no light hand. Five times before breakfast this process was + repeated, when a new actor appeared upon the scene. Miss Emily, a + sister of the Mistress, had been roused from her morning slumber + by the sound of the whip, and the screams of the child; and being + of a less imperious nature than her sister, she had come in to try + to set matters right. +</p> +<p> + "Why do you whip the child, Susan, for not doing what she has + never been taught to do? Leave her to me a few minutes, and you + will see that she will soon learn how to sweep and dust a room." + Then Miss Emily instructed the child to open the windows, and + sweep, then to leave the room, and set the table, while the dust + settled; and after that to return and wipe it off. There was no + more trouble of that kind. A few words might have set the matter + right before; but in those days many a poor slave suffered for the + stupidity and obstinacy of a master or mistress, more stupid than + themselves. +</p> +<p> + When the labors, unremitted for a moment, of the long day were + over (for this mistress was an economical woman, and intended to + get the worth of her money to the uttermost farthing), there was + still no rest for the weary child, for there was a cross baby to + be rocked continuously, lest it should wake and disturb the + mother's rest. The black child sat beside the cradle of the white + child, so near the bed, that the lash of the whip would reach her + if she ventured for a moment to forget her fatigues and sufferings + in sleep. The Mistress reposed upon her bed with the whip on a + little shelf over her head. People of color are, unfortunately, so + constituted that even if the pressure of a broken skull does not + cause a sleep like the sleep of the dead, the need of rest, and + the refreshment of slumber after a day of toil, were often felt by + them. No doubt, this was a great wrong to their masters, and a + cheating them of time which belonged to them, but their slaves did + not always look upon it in that light, and tired nature would + demand her rights; and so nature and the Mistress had a fight for + it. +</p> +<p> + Rock, rock, went the cradle, and mother and child slept; but alas! + the little black hand would sometimes slip down, and the head + would droop, and a dream of home and mother would visit the weary + one, only to be roughly dispelled by the swift descent of the + stinging lash, for the baby had cried out and the mother had been + awakened. This is no fictitious tale. That poor neck is even now + covered with the scars which sixty years of life have not been + able to efface. It may be that she was thus being prepared by the + long habit of enforced wakefulness, for the night watches in the + woods, and in dens and caves of the earth, when the pursuers were + on her track, and the terrified ones were trembling in her shadow. + We do not thank <i>you</i> for this, cruel woman! for if you did her a + service, you did it ignorantly, and only for your own gratification. + But Harriet's powers of endurance failed at last, and she was + returned to her master, a poor, scarred wreck, nothing but skin and + bone, with the words that "She wasn't worth a sixpence." +</p> +<p> + The poor old mother nursed her back to life, and her naturally + good constitution asserted itself, so that as she grew older she + began to show signs of the wonderful strength which in after + years, when the fugitive slave law was in operation in New York + State, enabled her to seize a man from the officers who had him in + charge, and while numbers were pursuing her, and the shot was + flying like hail about her head, to bear him in her own strong + arms beyond the reach of danger. +</p> +<p> + As soon as she was strong enough for work, Harriet was hired out + to a man whose tyranny was worse, if possible, than that of the + woman she had left. Now it was out of door drudgery which was put + upon her. The labor of the horse and the ox, the lifting of + barrels of flour and other heavy weights were given to her; and + powerful men often stood astonished to see this woman perform + feats of strength from which they shrunk incapable. This cruelty + she looks upon as a blessing in disguise (a very questionable + shape the blessing took, methinks), for by it she was prepared for + after needs. +</p> +<p> + Still the pressure upon the brain continued, and with the weight + half lifted, she would drop off into a state of insensibility, + from which even the lash in the hand of a strong man could not + rouse her. But if they had only known it, the touch of a gentle + hand upon her shoulder, and her name spoken in tones of kindness, + would have accomplished what cruelty failed to do. +</p> +<p> + The day's work must be accomplished, whether the head was racked + with pain, and the frame was consumed by fever, or not; but the + day came at length when poor Harriet could work no more. The sting + of the lash had no power to rouse her now, and the new master + finding her a dead weight on his hands, returned the useless piece + of property to him who was called her "owner." And while she lay + there helpless, this man was bringing other men to look at her, + and offering her for sale at the lowest possible price; at the + same time setting forth her capabilities, if once she were strong + and well again. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's religious character I have not yet touched upon. Brought + up by parents possessed of strong faith in God, she had never + known the time, I imagine, when she did not trust Him, and cling + to Him, with an all-abiding confidence. She seemed ever to feel + the Divine Presence near, and she talked with God "as a man + talketh with his friend." Hers was not the religion of a morning + and evening prayer at stated times, but when she felt a need, she + simply told God of it, and trusted Him to set the matter right. +</p> +<p> + "And so," she said to me, "as I lay so sick on my bed, from + Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. + 'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, + Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, + and make him a Christian.' And all the time he was bringing men to + look at me, and dey stood there saying what dey would give, and + what dey would take, and all I could say was, 'Oh, Lord, convert + ole master.' Den I heard dat as soon as I was able to move I was + to be sent with my brudders, in the chain-gang to de far South. + Then I changed my prayer, and I said, 'Lord, if you ain't never + going to change dat man's heart, <i>kill him</i>, Lord, and take him + out of de way, so he won't do no more mischief.' Next ting I heard + ole master was dead; and he died just as he had lived, a wicked, + bad man. Oh, den it 'peared like I would give de world full of + silver and gold, if I had it, to bring dat pore soul back, I would + give <i>myself</i>; I would give eberyting! But he was gone, I couldn't + pray for him no more." +</p> +<p> + As she recovered from this long illness, a deeper religious spirit + seemed to take possession of her than she had ever experienced + before. She literally "prayed without ceasing." "'Pears like, I + prayed all de time," she said, "about my work, eberywhere; I was + always talking to de Lord. When I went to the horse-trough to wash + my face, and took up de water in my hands, I said, 'Oh, Lord, wash + me, make me clean.' When I took up de towel to wipe my face and + hands, I cried, 'Oh, Lord, for Jesus' sake, wipe away all my + sins!' When I took up de broom and began to sweep, I groaned, 'Oh, + Lord, whatsoebber sin dere be in my heart, sweep it out, Lord, + clar and clean;' but I can't pray no more for pore ole master." No + words can describe the pathos of her tones as she broke into these + words of earnest supplication. +</p> +<p> + What was to become of the slaves on this plantation now that the + master was dead? Were they all to be scattered and sent to + different parts of the country? Harriet had many brothers and + sisters, all of whom with the exception of the two, who had gone + South with the chain-gang, were living on this plantation, or were + hired out to planters not far away. The word passed through the + cabins that another owner was coming in, and that none of the + slaves were to be sold out of the State. This assurance satisfied + the others, but it did not satisfy Harriet. Already the inward + monitor was whispering to her, "Arise, flee for your life!" and in + the visions of the night she saw the horsemen coming, and heard + the shrieks of women and children, as they were being torn from + each other, and hurried off no one knew whither. +</p> +<p> + And beckoning hands were ever motioning her to come, and she + seemed to see a line dividing the land of slavery from the land of + freedom, and on the other side of that line she saw lovely white + ladies waiting to welcome her, and to care for her. Already in her + mind her people were the Israelites in the land of Egypt, while + far away to the north <i>somewhere</i>, was the land of Canaan; but had + she as yet any prevision that <i>she</i> was to be the Moses who was to + be their leader, through clouds of darkness and fear, and fires of + tribulation to that promised land? This she never said. +</p> +<p> + One day there were scared faces seen in the negro quarter, and + hurried whispers passed from one to another. No one knew how it + had come out, but some one had heard that Harriet and two of her + brothers were very soon, perhaps to-day, perhaps to-morrow, to be + sent far South with a gang, bought up for plantation work. Harriet + was about twenty or twenty-five years old at this time, and the + constantly recurring idea of escape at <i>sometime</i>, took sudden + form that day, and with her usual promptitude of action she was + ready to start at once. +</p> +<p> + She held a hurried consultation with her brothers, in which she so + wrought upon their fears, that they expressed themselves as + willing to start with her that very night, for that far North, + where, could they reach it in safety, freedom awaited them. But + she must first give some intimation of her purpose to the friends + she was to leave behind, so that even if not understood at the + time, it might be remembered afterward as her intended farewell. + Slaves must not be seen talking together, and so it came about + that their communication was often made by singing, and the words + of their familiar hymns, telling of the heavenly journey, and the + land of Canaan, while they did not attract the attention of the + masters, conveyed to their brethren and sisters in bondage + something more than met the ear. And so she sang, accompanying the + words, when for a moment unwatched, with a meaning look to one and + another: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When dat ar ole chariot comes, + I'm gwine to lebe you, + I'm boun' for de promised land, + Frien's, I'm gwine to lebe you." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Again, as she passed the doors of the different cabins, she lifted + up her well-known voice; and many a dusky face appeared at door or + window, with a wondering or scared expression; and thus she + continued: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "I'm sorry, frien's, to lebe you, + Farewell! oh, farewell! + But I'll meet you in de mornin', + Farewell! oh, farewell! + + "I'll meet you in de mornin', + When you reach de promised land; + On de oder side of Jordan, + For I'm boun' for de promised land." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The brothers started with her, but the way was strange, the north + was far away, and all unknown, the masters would pursue and + recapture them, and their fate would be worse than ever before; + and so they broke away from her, and bidding her goodbye, they + hastened back to the known horrors of slavery, and the dread of + that which was worse. +</p> +<p> + Harriet was now left alone, but after watching the retreating + forms of her brothers, she turned her face toward the north, and + fixing her eyes on the guiding star, and committing her way unto + the Lord, she started again upon her long, lonely journey. Her + farewell song was long remembered in the cabins, and the old + mother sat and wept for her lost child. No intimation had been + given her of Harriet's intention, for the old woman was of a most + impulsive disposition, and her cries and lamentations would have + made known to all within hearing Harriet's intended escape. And + so, with only the North Star for her guide, our heroine started on + the way to liberty, "For," said she, "I had reasoned dis out in my + mind; there was one of two things I had a <i>right</i> to, liberty, or + death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man + should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my + strength lasted, and when de time came for me to go, de Lord would + let dem take me." +</p> +<p> + And so without money, and without friends, she started on through + unknown regions; walking by night, hiding by day, but always + conscious of an invisible pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by + night, under the guidance of which she journeyed or rested. + Without knowing whom to trust, or how near the pursuers might be, + she carefully felt her way, and by her native cunning, or by God + given wisdom, she managed to apply to the right people for food, + and sometimes for shelter; though often her bed was only the cold + ground, and her watchers the stars of night. +</p> +<p> + After many long and weary days of travel, she found that she had + passed the magic line, which then divided the land of bondage from + the land of freedom. But where were the lovely white ladies whom + in her visions she had seen, who, with arms outstretched, welcomed + her to their hearts and homes. All these visions proved deceitful: + she was more alone than ever; but she had crossed the line; no one + could take her now, and she would never call any man "Master" + more. +</p> +<p> + "I looked at my hands," she said, "to see if I was de same person + now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came + like gold trou de trees, and ober de fields, and I felt like I was + in heaven." But then came the bitter drop in the cup of joy. She + was alone, and her kindred were in slavery, and not one of them + had the courage to dare what she had dared. Unless she made the + effort to liberate them she would never see them more, or even + know their fate. +</p> +<p> + "I knew of a man," she said, "who was sent to the State Prison for + twenty-five years. All these years he was always thinking of his + home, and counting by years, months, and days, the time till he + should be free, and see his family and friends once more. The + years roll on, the time of imprisonment is over, the man is free. + He leaves the prison gates, he makes his way to his old home, but + his old home is not there. The house in which he had dwelt in his + childhood had been torn down, and a new one had been put up in its + place; his family were gone, their very name was forgotten, there + was no one to take him by the hand to welcome him back to life." +</p> +<p> + "So it was wid me," said Harriet, "I had crossed de line of which + I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to + welcome me to de land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange + land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid + de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn + resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I + would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I + would bring dem all dere. Oh, how I prayed den, lying all alone on + de cold, damp ground; 'Oh, dear Lord,' I said, 'I haint got no + friend but <i>you</i>. Come to my help, Lord, for I'm in trouble!'" +</p> +<p> + It would be impossible here to give a detailed account of the + journeys and labors of this intrepid woman for the redemption of + her kindred and friends, during the years that followed. Those + years were spent in work, almost by night and day, with the one + object of the rescue of her people from slavery. All her wages + were laid away with this sole purpose, and as soon as a sufficient + amount was secured, she disappeared from her Northern home, and as + suddenly and mysteriously she appeared some dark night at the door + of one of the cabins on a plantation, where a trembling band of + fugitives, forewarned as to time and place, were anxiously + awaiting their deliverer. Then she piloted them North, traveling + by night, hiding by day, scaling the mountains, fording the + rivers, threading the forests, lying concealed as the pursuers + passed them. She, carrying the babies, drugged with paregoric, in + a basket on her arm. So she went <i>nineteen</i> times, and so she + brought away over three hundred pieces of living and breathing + "property," with God given souls. +</p> +<p> + The way was so toilsome over the rugged mountain passes, that + often the <i>men</i> who followed her would give out, and foot-sore, + and bleeding, they would drop on the ground, groaning that they + could not take another step. They would lie there and die, or if + strength came back, they would return on their steps, and seek + their old homes again. Then the revolver carried by this bold and + daring pioneer, would come out, while pointing it at their heads + she would say, "Dead niggers tell no tales; you go on or die!" And + by this heroic treatment she compelled them to drag their weary + limbs along on their northward journey. +</p> +<p> + But the pursuers were after them. A reward of $40,000 was offered + by the slave-holders of the region from whence so many slaves had + been spirited away, for the head of the woman who appeared so + mysteriously, and enticed away their property, from under the very + eyes of its owners. Our sagacious heroine has been in the car, + having sent her frightened party round by some so-called + "Under-ground Railway," and has heard this advertisement, which was + posted over her head, read by others of the passengers. She never + could read or write herself, but knowing that suspicion would be + likely to fall upon any black woman traveling North, she would + turn at the next station, and journey towards the South. Who would + suspect a fugitive with such a price set upon her head, of rushing + at railway speed into the jaws of destruction? With a daring + almost heedless, she went even to the very village where she would + be most likely to meet one of the masters to whom she had been + hired; and having stopped at the Market and bought a pair of live + fowls, she went along the street with her sun-bonnet well over her + face, and with the bent and decrepit air of an aged, woman. + Suddenly on turning a corner, she spied her old master coming + towards her. She pulled the string which tied the legs of the + chickens; they began to flutter and scream, and as her master + passed, she was stooping and busily engaged in attending to the + fluttering fowls. And he went on his way, little thinking that he + was brushing the very garments of the woman who had dared to steal + herself, and others of his belongings. +</p> +<p> + At one time the pursuit was very close and vigorous. The woods + were scoured in all directions, every house was visited, and every + person stopped and questioned as to a band of black fugitives, + known to be fleeing through that part of the country. Harriet had + a large party with her then; the children were sleeping the sound + sleep that opium gives; but all the others were on the alert, each + one hidden behind his own tree, and silent as death. They had been + long without food, and were nearly famished; and as the pursuers + seemed to have passed on, Harriet decided to make the attempt to + reach a certain "station of the underground railroad" well known + to her; and procure food for her starving party. Under cover of + the darkness, she started, leaving a cowering and trembling group + in the woods, to whom a fluttering leaf, or a moving animal, were + a sound of dread, bringing their hearts into their throats. How + long she is away! has she been caught and carried off, and if so + what is to become of them? Hark! there is a sound of singing in + the distance, coming nearer and nearer. +</p> +<p> + And these are the words of the unseen singer, which I wish I could + give you as I have so often heard them sung by herself: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Hail, oh hail, ye happy spirits, + Death no more shall make you fear, + Grief nor sorrow, pain nor anguish, + Shall no more distress you dere. + + Around Him are ten thousand angels + Always ready to obey command; + Dey are always hovering round you, + Till you reach de heavenly land. + + Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to his throne; + He who died, has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone. + + He whose thunders shake creation, + He who bids de planets roll; + He who rides upon the tempest, + And whose scepter sways de whole. + + Dark and thorny is de pathway, + Where de pilgrim makes his ways; + But beyond dis vale of sorrow, + Lie de fields of endless days. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The air sung to these words was so wild, so full of plaintive + minor strains, and unexpected quavers, that I would defy any white + person to learn it, and often as I heard it, it was to me a + constant surprise. Up and down the road she passes to see if the + coast is clear, and then to make them certain that it is <i>their</i> + leader who is coming, she breaks out into the plaintive strains of + the song, forbidden to her people at the South, but which she and + her followers delight to sing together: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + Oh Pharaoh said he would go cross, + Let my people go, + And don't get lost in de wilderness, + Let my people go. + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + You may hinder me here, but you can't up dere, + Let my people go, + He sits in de Hebben and answers prayer, + Let my people go! + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And then she enters the recesses of the wood, carrying hope and + comfort to the anxious watchers there. One by one they steal out + from their hiding places, and are fed and strengthened for another + night's journey. +</p> +<p> + And so by night travel, by signals, by threatenings, by + encouragement, through watchings and fastings, and I may say by + direct interpositions of Providence, and miraculous deliverances, + she brought her people to what was then their land of Canaan; the + State of New York. But alas! this State did not continue to be + their refuge. For in 1850, I think, the Fugitive Slave Law was put + in force, which bound the people north of Mason and Dixon's line, + to return to bondage any fugitive found in their territories. +</p> +<p> + "After that," said Harriet, "I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam wid my + people no longer, but I brought 'em all clar off to Canada." +</p> +<p> + On her seventh or eighth journey, she brought with her a band of + fugitives, among whom was a very remarkable man, whom I knew only + by the name of "Joe." Joe was a noble specimen of a negro, + enormously tall, and of splendid muscular development. He had been + hired out by his master to another planter, for whom he had worked + for six years, saving him all the expense of an overseer, and + taking all trouble off from his hands. He was such a very valuable + piece of property, and had become so absolutely necessary to the + planter to whom he was hired, that he determined to buy him at any + cost. His old master held him proportionately high. But by paying + one thousand dollars down, and promising to pay another thousand + in a certain time, the purchase was made, and this chattel passed + over into the hands of a new owner. +</p> +<p> + The morning after the purchase was completed, the new master came + riding down on a tall, powerful horse into the negro quarter, with + a strong new rawhide in his hand, and stopping before Joe's cabin, + called to him to come out. Joe was just eating his breakfast, but + with ready obedience, he hastened out at the summons. Slave as he + was, and accustomed to scenes of brutality, he was surprised when + the order came, "Now, Joe, strip, and take a licking." Naturally + enough, he demurred at first, and thought of resisting the order; + but he called to mind a scene he had witnessed a few days before + in the field, the particulars of which are too horrible to be + given here, and he thought it the wisest course to submit; but + first he tried a gentle remonstrance. +</p> +<p> + "Mas'r," said he, "habn't I always been faithful to you? Habn't I + worked through sun an' rain, early in de mornin' an' late at + night; habn't I saved you an oberseer by doin' his work? hab you + anything to complain agin me?" +</p> +<p> + "No, Joe, I have no complaint to make of you. You're a good + nigger, an' you've always worked well. But you belong to <i>me</i> now; + you're <i>my</i> nigger, and the first lesson my niggers have to learn + is that I am master and they belong to me, and are never to resist + anything I order them to do. So I always begin by giving them a + good licking. Now strip and take it." +</p> +<p> + Joe saw that there was no help for him, and that for the time he + must submit. He stripped off his clothing, and took his flogging + without a word, but as he drew his shirt up over his torn and + bleeding back, he said to himself: "Dis is de first an' de last." + As soon as he was able he took a boat, and under cover of the + night, rowed down the river, and made his way to the cabin of "Old + Ben," Harriet's father, and said to him: "Nex' time <i>Moses</i> comes, + let me know." +</p> +<p> + It was not long after this time, that the mysterious woman + appeared—the woman on whom no one could lay his finger—and men, + women, and children began to disappear from the plantations. One + fine morning Joe was missing, and call as loud as he might, the + master's voice had no power to bring him forth. Joe had certainly + fled; and his brother William was gone, and Peter and Eliza. From + other plantations other slaves were missing, and before their + masters were awake to the fact, the party of fugitives, following + their intrepid leader, were far on their way towards liberty. +</p> +<p> + The adventures of this escaping party would of themselves fill a + volume. They hid in potato holes by day, while their pursuers + passed within a few feet of them; they were passed along by + friends in various disguises; they scattered and separated; some + traveling by boat, some by wagons, some by cars, others on foot, + to meet at some specified station of the under-ground railroad. + They met at the house of Sam Green,[A] the man who was afterwards + sent to prison for ten years for having a copy of "Uncle Tom's + Cabin" in his house. And so, hunted and hiding and wandering, they + found themselves at last at the entrance of the long bridge which + crosses the river at Wilmington, Delaware. +</p> +<a name="note-A"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>A</u></sup> [ In mentioning to me the circumstances of Sam Green's + imprisonment, Harriet, who had no acquaintance with books, merely + mentioned the fact as it had come to her own knowledge. But I have + lately come across a book in the Astor Library which confirms the + story precisely as she stated it. It is in a book by Rev. John + Dixon Long, of Philadelphia. He says, "Samuel Green, a free + colored man of Dorchester County, Maryland, was sentenced to ten + years' confinement in the Maryland State Prison, at the spring + term of the County Court held in Cambridge, Md. +</p> +<p> + "What was the crime imputed to this man, born on American soil, a + man of good moral character, a local preacher in the Methodist + Episcopal Church; a husband and a father? Simply this: A copy of + 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' <i>had been found in his possession</i>. It was not + proved that he had ever read it to the colored people."] +</p> +<p> + No time had been lost in posting up advertisements and offering + rewards for the capture of these fugitives; for Joe in particular + the reward offered was very high. First a thousand dollars, then + fifteen hundred, and then two thousand, "an' all expenses clar an' + clean for his body in Easton Jail." This high reward stimulated + the efforts of the officers who were usually on the lookout for + escaping fugitives, and the added rewards for others of the party, + and the high price set on Harriet's head, filled the woods and + highways with eager hunters after human prey. When Harriet and her + companions approached the long Wilmington Bridge, a warning was + given them by some secret friend, that the advertisements were up, + and the bridge was guarded by police officers. Quick as lightning + the plans were formed in her ready brain, and the terrified party + were separated and hidden in the houses of different friends, till + her arrangements for their further journey were completed. +</p> +<p> + There was at that time residing in Wilmington an old Quaker, whom + I may call <i>my</i> "friend," for though I never saw his face, I have + had correspondence with him in reference to Harriet and her + followers. This man, whose name was Thomas Garrett, and who was + well known in those days to the friends of the slave, was a man of + a wonderfully large and generous heart, through whose hands during + those days of distress and horror, no less than three thousand + self-emancipated men, women and children passed on their way to + freedom. He gave heart, hand, and means to aid these poor + fugitives, and to our brave Harriet he often rendered most + efficient help in her journeys back and forth. +</p> +<p> + He was the proprietor of a very large shoe establishment; and not + one of these poor travelers aver left his house without a present + of a new pair of shoes and other needed help. No sooner had this + good man received intelligence of the condition of these poor + creatures, than he devised a plan to elude the vigilance of the + officers in pursuit, and bring Harriet and her party across the + bridge. Two wagons filled with bricklayers were engaged, and sent + over; this was a common sight there, and caused no remark. They + went across the bridge singing and shouting, and it was not an + unexpected thing that they should return as they went. After + nightfall (and, fortunately, the night was very dark) the same + wagons recrossed the bridge, but with an unlooked-for addition to + their party. The fugitives were lying close together on the bottom + of the wagons; the bricklayers were on the seats, still singing + and shouting; and so they passed the guards, who were all + unsuspicious of the nature of the load contained in the wagons, or + of the amount of property thus escaping their hands. +</p> +<p> + The good man, Thomas Garrett, who was in a very feeble state of + health when he last wrote me, and has now gone to his reward, + supplied them with all needed comforts, and sent them on their way + refreshed, and with renewed courage. And Harriet here set up her + Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far hath the Lord helped me!" But many a + danger, and many a fright, and many a deliverance awaited them, + before they reached the city of New York. And even there they were + not safe, for the Fugitive Slave Law was in operation, and their + only refuge was Canada, which was now their promised land. +</p> +<p> + They finally reached New York in safety: and this goes almost + without saying, for I may as well mention here that of the three + hundred and more fugitives whom Harriet piloted from slavery, not + one was ever recaptured, though all the cunning and skill of white + men, backed by offered rewards of large sums of money, were + brought into requisition for their recovery. +</p> +<p> + As they entered the anti-slavery office in New York, Mr. Oliver + Johnson rose up and exclaimed, "Well, Joe, I am glad to see the + man who is worth $2,000 to his master." At this Joe's heart sank. + "Oh, Mas'r, how did you know me!" he panted. "Here is the + advertisement in our office," said Mr. Johnson, "and the + description is so close that no one could mistake it." And had he + come through all these perils, had he traveled by day and night, + and suffered cold and hunger, and lived in constant fear and + dread, to find that far off here in New York State, he was + recognized at once by the advertisement? How, then, was he ever to + reach Canada? +</p> +<p> + "And how far off is Canada?" he asked. He was shown the map of New + York State, and the track of the railroad, for more than three + hundred miles to Niagara, where he would cross the river, and be + free. But the way seemed long and full of dangers. They were + surely safer on their own tired feet, where they might hide in + forests and ditches, and take refuge in the friendly underground + stations; but here, where this large party would be together in + the cars, surely suspicion would fall upon them, and they would be + seized and carried back. But Harriet encouraged him in her cheery + way. He must not give up now. "De Lord had been with them in six + troubles, and he would not desert them in de seventh." And there + was nothing to do but to go on. As Moses spoke to the children of + Israel, when compassed before and behind by dangers, so she spake + to her people, that they should "go forward." +</p> +<p> + Up to this time, as they traveled they had talked and sung hymns + together, like Pilgrim and his friends, and Joe's voice was the + loudest and sweetest among them; but now he hanged his harp upon + the willows, and could sing the Lord's songs no more. +</p> +<p> + "From dat time," in Harriet's language, "Joe was silent; he talked + no more; he sang no more; he sat wid his head on his hand, an' + nobody could 'rouse him, nor make him take any intrust in + anything." +</p> +<p> + They passed along in safety through New York State, and at length + found themselves approaching the Suspension Bridge. They could see + the promised land on the other side. The uninviting plains of + Canada seemed to them, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, + All dressed in living green;" +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + but they were not safe yet. Until they reached the center of the + bridge, they were still in the power of their pursuers, who might + at any pause enter the car, and armed with the power of the law, + drag them back to slavery. The rest of the party were happy and + excited; they were simple, ignorant creatures, and having implicit + trust in their leader, they felt safe when with her, and no + immediate danger threatened them. But Joe was of a different + mould. He sat silent and sad, always thinking of the horrors that + awaited him if recaptured. As it happened, all the other + passengers were people who sympathized with them, understanding + them to be a band of fugitives, and they listened with tears, as + Harriet and all except poor Joe lifted up their voices and sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + I'm on the way to Canada, + That cold and dreary land, + De sad effects of slavery, + I can't no longer stand; + I've served my Master all my days, + Widout a dime reward, + And now I'm forced to run away, + To flee de lash, abroad; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + De hounds are baying on my track, + Ole Master comes behind, + Resolved that he will bring me back, + Before I cross the line; + I'm now embarked for yonder shore, + Where a man's <i>a man</i> by law, + De iron horse will bear me o'er, + To "shake de lion's paw;" +Oh, righteous Father, wilt thou not pity me. +And help me on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + Oh I heard Queen Victoria say, + That if we would forsake, + Our native land of slavery, + And come across de lake; + Dat she was standing on de shore, + Wid arms extended wide, + To give us all a peaceful home, + Beyond de rolling tide; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + No doubt the simple creatures with her expected to cross a wide + lake instead of a rapid river, and to see Queen Victoria with her + crown upon her head, waiting with arms extended wide, to fold them + all in her embrace. There was now but "one wide river to cross," + and the cars rolled on to the bridge. In the distance was heard + the roar of the mighty cataract, and now as they neared the center + of the bridge, the falls might be clearly seen. Harriet was + anxious to have her companions see this wonderful sight, and + succeeded in bringing all to the windows, except Joe. But Joe + still sat with his head on his hands, and not even the wonders of + Niagara could draw him from his melancholy musings. At length as + Harriet knew by the rise of the center of the bridge, and the + descent immediately after, the line of danger was passed; she + sprang across to Joe's side of the car, and shook him almost out + of his seat, as she shouted, "Joe! you've shook de lion's paw!" + This was her phrase for having entered on the dominions of + England. But Joe did not understand this figurative expression. + Then she shook him again, and put it more plainly, "Joe, you're in + Queen Victoria's dominions! You're a free man!" +</p> +<p> + Then Joe arose. His head went up, he raised his hands on high, and + his eyes, streaming with tears, to heaven, and then he began to + sing and shout: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe; + Oh, go and carry the news, + One more soul got safe." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "Joe, come and look at the falls!" +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "Joe! it's your last chance. Come and see de falls!" +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And this was all the answer. The train stopped on the other side; + and the first feet to touch British soil, after those of the + conductor, were those of poor Joe. +</p> +<p> + Loud roared the waters of Niagara, but louder still ascended the + Anthem of praise from the overflowing heart of the freeman. And + can we doubt that the strain was taken up by angel voices and + echoed and re-echoed through the vaults of heaven: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Glory to God in the highest, + Glory to God and Jesus too, + For all these souls now safe. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "The white ladies and gentlemen gathered round him," said Harriet, + "till I couldn't see Joe for the crowd, only I heard his voice + singing, 'Glory to God and Jesus too,' louder than ever." A sweet + young lady reached over her fine cambric handkerchief to him, and + as Joe wiped the great tears off his face, he said, "Tank de Lord! + dere's only one more journey for me now, and dat's to Hebben!" As + we bid farewell to Joe here, I may as well say that Harriet saw + him several times after that, a happy and industrious freeman in + Canada.[B] +</p> +<a name="note-B"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>B</u></sup> [ In my recent interview with Mr. Oliver Johnson he + told me of an interesting incident in the life of the good man, + Thomas Garrett. +</p> +<p> + He was tried twice for assisting in the escape of fugitive slaves, + and was fined so heavily that everything he possessed was taken + from him and sold to pay the fine. At the age of sixty he was left + without a penny, but he went bravely to work, and in some measure + regained his fortune; all the time aiding, in every way possible, + all stray fugitives who applied to him for help. +</p> +<p> + Again he was arrested, tried, and heavily fined, and as the Judge + of the United States Court pronounced the sentence, he said, in a + solemn manner: "Garrett, let this be a lesson to you, not to + interfere hereafter with the cause of justice, by helping off + runaway negroes. +</p> +<p> + The old man, who had stood to receive his sentence, here raised + his head, and fixing his eyes on "the Court," he said: +</p> +<p> + "Judge—thee hasn't left me a dollar, but I wish to say to thee, + and to all in this court room, that if anyone knows of a fugitive + who wants a shelter, and a friend, <i>send him to Thomas Garrett</i>, + and he will befriend him!" +</p> +<p> + [Not Luther before the Council at Worms was grander than this brave + old man in his unswerving adherence to principle. In those days + that tried men's souls there were many men like this old Quaker, + and many women too, who would have gone cheerfully to the fire and + the stake, for the cause of suffering humanity; men and women + <i>these</i> "of whom the world was not worthy."] +</p> +<p> + On one of her journeys to the North, as she was piloting a company + of refugees, Harriet came, just as morning broke, to a town, where + a colored man had lived whose house had been one of her stations + of the under-ground, or unseen railroad. They reached the house, + and leaving her party huddled together in the middle of the + street, in a pouring rain, Harriet went to the door, and gave the + peculiar rap which was her customary signal to her friends. There + was not the usual ready response, and she was obliged to repeat + the signal several times. At length a window was raised, and the + head of a <i>white man</i> appeared, with the gruff question, "Who are + you?" and "What do you want?" Harriet asked after her friend, and + was told that he had been obliged to leave for "harboring + niggers." +</p> +<p> + Here was an unforeseen trouble; day was breaking, and daylight was + the enemy of the hunted and flying fugitives. Their faithful + leader stood one moment in the street, and in that moment she had + flashed a message quicker than that of the telegraph to her unseen + Protector, and the answer came as quickly; in a suggestion to her + of an almost forgotten place of refuge. Outside of the town there + was a little island in a swamp, where the grass grew tall and + rank, and where no human being could be suspected of seeking a + hiding place. To this spot she conducted her party; she waded the + swamp, carrying in a basket two well-drugged babies (these were a + pair of little twins, whom I have since seen well grown young + women), and the rest of the company following. She ordered them to + lie down in the tall, wet grass, and here she prayed again, and + waited for deliverance. The poor creatures were all cold, and wet, + and hungry, and Harriet did not dare to leave them to get + supplies; for no doubt the man at whose house she had knocked, had + given the alarm in the town; and officers might be on the watch + for them. They were truly in a wretched condition, but Harriet's + faith never wavered, her silent prayer still ascended, and she + confidently expected help from some quarter or other. +</p> +<p> + It was after dusk when a man came slowly walking along the solid + pathway on the edge of the swamp. He was clad in the garb of a + Quaker; and proved to be a "friend" in need and indeed; he seemed + to be talking to himself, but ears quickened by sharp practice + caught the words he was saying: +</p> +<p> + "My wagon stands in the barn-yard of the next farm across the way. + The horse is in the stable; the harness hangs on a nail." And the + man was gone. Night fell, and Harriet stole forth to the place + designated. Not only a wagon, but a wagon well provisioned stood + in the yard; and before many minutes the party were rescued from + their wretched position, and were on their way rejoicing, to the + next town. Here dwelt a Quaker whom Harriet knew, and he readily + took charge of the horse and wagon, and no doubt returned them to + their owner. How the good man who thus came to their rescue had + received any intimation of their being in the neighborhood Harriet + never knew. But these sudden deliverances never seemed to strike + her as at all strange or mysterious; her prayer was the prayer of + faith, and she <i>expected</i> an answer. +</p> +<p> + At one time, as she was on her way South for a party of slaves, + she was stopped not far from the southern shore of the Chesapeake + Bay, by a young woman, who had been for some days in hiding, and + was anxiously watching for "Moses," who was soon expected to pass + that way. +</p> +<p> + This girl was a young and pretty Mulatto, named Tilly, she had + been lady's maid and dressmaker, for her Mistress. She was engaged + to a young man from another plantation, but he had joined one of + Harriet's parties, and gone North. Tilly was to have gone also at + that time, but had found it impossible to get away. Now she had + learned that it was her Master's intention to give her to a Negro + of his own for his wife; and in fear and desperation, she made a + strike for freedom. Friends had concealed her, and all had been on + the watch for Moses. +</p> +<p> + The distress and excitement of the poor creature was so great, and + she begged and implored in such agonized tones that Harriet would + just see her safe to Baltimore, where she knew of friends who + would harbor her, and help her on her way, that Harriet determined + to turn about, and endeavor to take the poor girl thus far on her + Northward journey. +</p> +<p> + They reached the shore of Chesapeake Bay too late to leave that + night, and were obliged to hide for a night and day in the loft of + an old out-house, where every sound caused poor Tilly to tremble + as if she had an ague fit. When the time for the boat to leave + arrived, a sad disappointment awaited them. The boat on which they + had expected to leave was disabled, and another boat was to take + its place. At that time, according to the law of Slavery, no Negro + could leave his Master's land, or travel anywhere, without a pass, + properly signed by his owner. Of course this poor fugitive had no + pass; and Harriet's passes were her own wits; but among her many + friends, there was one who seemed to have influence with the clerk + of the boat, on which she expected to take passage; and she was + the bearer of a note requesting, or commanding him to take these + two women to the end of his route, asking no questions. +</p> +<p> + Now here was an unforeseen difficulty; the boat was not going; the + clerk was not there; all on the other boat were strangers. But + forward they must go, trusting in Providence. As they walked down + to the boat, a gang of lazy white men standing together, began to + make comments on their appearance. +</p> +<p> + "Too many likely looking Niggers traveling North, about these + days." "Wonder if these wenches have got a pass." "Where you + going, you two?" Tilly trembled and cowered, and clung to her + protector, but Harriet put on a bold front, and holding the note + given her by her friend in her hand, and supporting her terrified + charge, she walked by the men, taking no notice of their insults. +</p> +<p> + They joined the stream of people going up to get their tickets, + but when Harriet asked for hers, the clerk eyed her suspiciously, + and said: "You just stand aside, you two; I'll attend to your case + bye and bye." +</p> +<p> + Harriet led the young girl to the bow of the boat, where they were + alone, and here, having no other help, she, as was her custom, + addressed herself to the Lord. Kneeling on the seat, and + supporting her head on her hands, and fixing her eyes on the + waters of the bay, she groaned: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, <i>don't</i> desert me + in the seventh!" +</p> +<p> + "Moses! Moses!" cried Tilly, pulling her by the sleeve. "Do go and + see if you can't get tickets now." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, <i>don't</i> desert me + in the seventh." +</p> +<p> + And so Harriet's story goes on in her peculiarly graphic manner, + till at length in terror Tilly exclaimed: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Moses! the man is coming. What shall we do?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Lord, you've been wid me in six troubles!" +</p> +<p> + Here the clerk touched her on the shoulder, and Tilly thought + their time had come, but all he said was: +</p> +<p> + "You can come now and get your tickets," and their troubles were + over. +</p> +<p> + What changed this man from his former suspicious and antagonistic + aspect, Harriet never knew. Of course she said it was "de Lord," + but as to the agency he used, she never troubled herself to + inquire. She <i>expected</i> deliverance when she prayed, unless the + Lord had ordered otherwise, and in that case she was perfectly + willing to accept the Divine decree. +</p> +<p> + When surprise was expressed at her courage and daring, or at her + unexpected deliverances, she would always reply: "Don't, I tell + you, Missus, 'twan't <i>me</i>, 'twas <i>de Lord</i>! Jes' so long as he + wanted to use me, he would take keer of me, an' when he didn't + want me no longer, I was ready to go; I always tole him, I'm gwine + to hole stiddy on to you, an' you've got to see me trou." +</p> +<p> + There came a time when Harriet, who had already brought away as + many of her family as she could reach, besides all others who + would trust themselves to her care, became much troubled in + "spirit" about three of her brothers, having had an intimation of + some kind that danger was impending over them. With her usual + wonderful cunning, she employed a friend to write a letter for her + to a man named Jacob Jackson, who lived near the plantation where + these brothers were at that time the hired slaves. +</p> +<p> + Jacob Jackson was a free negro, who could both read and write, and + who was under suspicion just then of having a hand in the + disappearance of colored "property." It was necessary, therefore, + to exercise great caution in writing to him, on his own account as + well as that of the writer, and those whom she wished to aid. + Jacob had an adopted son, William Henry Jackson, also free, who + had come North. Harriet determined to sign her letter with William + Henry's name, feeling sure that Jacob would be clever enough to + understand by her peculiar phraseology, the meaning she intended + to convey. +</p> +<p> + Therefore, after speaking of indifferent matters, the letter went + on: "Read my letter to the old folks, and give my love to them, + and tell my brothers to be always <i>watching unto prayer</i>, and when + <i>the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on + board</i>." This letter was signed "William Henry Jackson." +</p> +<p> + Jacob was not allowed to have his letters in those days, until the + self-elected inspectors of correspondence had had the perusal of + them, and consulted over their secret meaning. These wise-acres + therefore assembled, wiped their glasses carefully, put them on, + and proceeded to examine this suspicious document. What it meant + they could not imagine. William Henry Jackson had no parents, or + brothers, and the letter was incomprehensible. Study as they + might, no light dawned upon them, but their suspicions became + stronger, and they were sure the letter meant mischief. +</p> +<p> + White genius having exhausted itself, black genius was brought + into requisition. Jacob was sent for, and the letter was placed in + his hands. He read between the lines, and comprehended the hidden + meaning at once. "Moses" had dictated this letter, and Moses was + coming. The brothers must be on the watch, and ready to join her + at a moment's warning. But Moses must hurry, for the word had gone + forth that the brothers were to be sent South, and the chain-gang + was being collected. +</p> +<p> + Jacob read the letter slowly, threw it down, and said: "Dat letter + can't be meant for me no how; I can't make head or tail of it." + And he walked off and took immediate measures to let Harriet's + brothers know that she was on the way, and they must be ready at + the given signal to start for the North. +</p> +<p> + It was the day before Christmas when Harriet arrived, and the + brothers were to have started on the day after Christmas for the + South. They started on Christmas-day, but with their faces turned + in another direction, and instead of the chain-gang and the whip, + they had the North Star for their guide, and the Moses of her + people for their leader. +</p> +<p> + As usual, this mysterious woman appeared suddenly, and word was + conveyed to the brothers that they were to be at Old Ben's cabin + on Saturday night, ready to start. "Old Ben" was their father, and + as the parents were not of much use now, Harriet was pretty + certain that they would not be sent away, and so she left them + till she had rescued the younger and more valuable members of the + family. +</p> +<p> + Quite a number had assembled at the cabin when the hour came for + starting, but one brother was missing. Something had detained + John; but when the time for starting had struck, Harriet's word + was "forward," and she "nebber waited for no one." +</p> +<p> + Poor John was ready to start from his cabin in the negro quarter + when his wife was taken ill, and in an hour or two another little + heir to the blessings of slavery had come into the world. +</p> +<p> + John must go off for a "Granny," and being a faithful, + affectionate creature, he could not leave his wife under the + present circumstances. +</p> +<p> + After the birth of the child he determined to start. The North and + freedom, or the South and life-long slavery, were the alternatives + before him; and this was his last chance. If he once reached the + North, he hoped with the help of Moses to bring his wife and + children there. +</p> +<p> + Again and again he tried to start out of the door, but a watchful + eye was on him, and he was always arrested by the question, "Where + you gwine, John?" His wife had not been informed of the danger + hanging over his head, but she knew he was uneasy, and she feared + he was meditating a plan of escape. John told her he was going to + try to get hired out on Christmas to another man, as that was the + day on which such changes were made. +</p> +<p> + He left the house but stood near the window listening. He heard + his wife sobbing and moaning, and not being able to endure it he + went back to her. "Oh, John!" she cried, "you's gwine to lebe me! + I know it! but wherebber you go, John, don't forgit me an' de + little children." +</p> +<p> + John assured her that wherever he went she should come. He might + not come for her, but he would send Moses, and then he hurried + away. He had many miles to walk to his old father's cabin, where + he knew the others would be waiting for him, and at daybreak he + overtook them in the "fodder house," not far from the home of the + old people. +</p> +<p> + At that time Harriet had not seen her mother for six years, but + she did not dare to let her know that four of her children were so + near her on their way to the North, for she would have raised such + an uproar in her efforts to detain them, that the whole + neighborhood would have been aroused. +</p> +<p> + The poor old woman had been expecting her sons to spend Christmas + with her as usual. She had been hard at work in preparation for + their arrival. The fatted pig had been killed, and had been + converted into every form possible to the flesh of swine; pork, + bacon and sausages were ready, but the boys did not come, and + there she sat watching and waiting. +</p> +<p> + In the night when Harriet with two of her brothers, and two other + fugitives who had joined them arrived at the "fodder house," they + were exhausted and well-nigh famished. They sent the two strange + men up to the cabin to try to rouse "Old Ben," but not to let + their mother know that her children were so near her. +</p> +<p> + The men succeeded in rousing Old Ben, who came out quietly, and as + soon as he heard their story, went back into the house, gathered + together a quantity of provisions, and came down to the fodder + house. He placed the provisions inside the door, saying a few + words of welcome to his children, but taking care <i>not to see + them</i>. "I know what'll come of dis," he said, "an' I ain't gwine + to see my chillen, no how." The close espionage under which these + poor creatures dwelt, engendered in them a cunning and artifice, + which to them seemed only a fair and right attempt on their part, + to cope with power and cruelty constantly in force against them. +</p> +<p> + Up among the ears of corn lay the old man's children, and one of + them he had not seen for six years. It rained in torrents all that + Sunday, and there they lay among the corn, for they could not + start till night. At about daybreak John had joined them. There + were wide chinks in the boards of the fodder house, and through + these they could see the cabin of the old folks, now quite alone + in their old age. All day long, every few minutes, they would see + the old woman come out, and shading her eyes with her hand, take a + long look down the road to see if "de boys" were coming, and then + with a sad and disappointed air she would turn back into the + cabin, and they could almost hear her sigh as she did so. +</p> +<p> + What had become of the boys? Had they been sold off down South? + Had they tried to escape and been retaken? Would she never see + them or hear of them more? +</p> +<p> + I have often heard it said by Southern people that "niggers had no + feeling; they did not care when their children were taken from + them." I have seen enough of them to know that their love for + their offspring is quite equal to that of the "superior race," and + it is enough to hear the tale of Harriet's endurance and self-sacrifice + to rescue her brothers and sisters, to convince one that + a heart, truer and more loving than that of many a white woman, + dwelt in her bosom. I am quite willing to acknowledge that she was + almost an anomaly among her people, but I have known many of her + family, and so far as I can judge they all seem to be peculiarly + intelligent, upright and religious people, and to have a strong + feeling of family affection. There may be many among the colored + race like them; certainly all should not be judged by the idle, + miserable darkies who have swarmed about Washington and other + cities since the War. +</p> +<p> + Two or three times while the group of fugitives were concealed in + this loft of the fodder house, the old man came down and pushed + food inside the door, and after nightfall he came again to + accompany his children as far as he dared, upon their journey. + When he reached the fodder house, he tied a handkerchief tight + about his eyes, and one of his sons taking him by one arm, and + Harriet taking him by the other, they went on their way talking in + low tones together, asking and answering questions as to relatives + and friends. +</p> +<p> + The time of parting came, and they bade him farewell, and left him + standing in the middle of the road. When he could no longer hear + their footsteps he turned back, and taking the handkerchief from + his eyes, he hastened home. +</p> +<p> + But before Harriet and her brothers left, they had gone up to the + cabin during the evening to take a silent farewell of the poor old + mother. Through the little window of the cabin they saw her + sitting by the fire, her head on her hand, rocking back and forth, + as was her way when she was in great trouble; praying, no doubt, + and wondering what had become of her children, and what new evil + had befallen them. +</p> +<p> + With streaming eyes, they watched her for ten or fifteen minutes; + but time was precious, and they must reach their next under-ground + station before daylight, and so they turned sadly away. +</p> +<p> + When Christmas was over, and the men had not returned, there began + to be no small stir in the plantation from which they had escaped. + The first place to search, of course, was the home of the old + people. At the "Big House" nothing had been seen of them. The + master said "they had generally come up there to see the house + servants, when they came for Christmas, but this time they hadn't + been round at all. Better go down to Old Ben's, and ask him." +</p> +<p> + They went to Old Ben's. No one was at home but "Old Kit," the + mother. She said "not one of 'em came dis Christmas. She was + looking for 'em all day, an' her heart was mos' broke about 'em." +</p> +<p> + Old Ben was found and questioned about his sons. Old Ben said, "He + hadn't <i>seen one</i> of 'em dis Christmas." With all his deep + religious feeling, Old Ben thought that in such a case as this, it + was enough for him to keep to the <i>letter</i>, and let the man + hunters find his sons if they could. Old Ben knew the Old + Testament stories well. Perhaps he thought of Rahab who hid the + spies, and received a commendation for it. Perhaps of Jacob and + Abraham, and some of their rather questionable proceedings. He + knew the New Testament also, but I think perhaps he thought the + kind and loving Saviour would have said to him, "Neither do I + condemn thee." I doubt if he had read Mrs. Opie, and I wonder what + judgment that excellent woman would have given in a case like + this. +</p> +<p> + These poor fugitives, hunted like partridges upon the mountains, + or like the timid fox by the eager sportsman, were obliged in + self-defense to meet cunning with cunning, and to borrow from the + birds and animals their mode of eluding their pursuers by any + device which in the exigency of the case might present itself to + them. They had a creed of their own, and a code of morals which we + dare not criticise till we find our own lives and those of our + dear ones similarly imperiled. +</p> +<p> + One of Harriet's other brothers had long been attached to a pretty + mulatto girl named Catherine, who was owned by another master; but + this man had other views for her, and would not let her marry + William Henry. On one of Harriet's journeys this brother had made + up his mind to make one of her next party to the North, and that + Catherine should go also. He went to a tailor's and bought a new + suit of clothes for a small person, and concealed them inside the + fence of the garden of Catherine's master. This garden ran down to + the bank of a little stream, and Catherine had been notified where + to find the clothes. When the time came to get ready, Catherine + boldly walked down to the foot of the garden, took up the bundle, + and hiding under the bank, she put on the man's garments and sent + her own floating down the stream. +</p> +<p> + She was soon missed, and all the girls in the house were set to + looking for Catherine. Presently they saw coming up from the river + a well-dressed little darkey boy, and they all ceased looking for + Catherine, and stared at him. He walked directly by them, round + the house, and out of the gate, without the slightest suspicion + being excited as to who he was. In a few weeks from that time, + this party were all safe in Canada. +</p> +<p> + William Henry died in Canada, but I have seen and talked with + Catherine at Harriet's house. +</p> +<p> + I am not quite certain which company it was that was under her + guidance on their Northward way, but at one time when a number of + men were following her, she received one of her sudden intimations + that danger was ahead. "Chillen," she said, "we must stop here and + cross dis ribber." They were on the bank of a stream of some + width, and apparently a deep and rapid one. The men were afraid to + cross; there was no bridge and no boat; but like her great + pattern, she went forward into the waters, and the men not knowing + what else to do, followed, but with fear and trembling. The stream + did not divide to make a way for them to cross over, but to her + was literally fulfilled the promise: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, + The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "For," said she, "Missus, de water never came above my chin; when + we thought surely we were all going under, it became shallower and + shallower, and we came out safe on the odder side." Then there was + another stream to cross, which was also passed in safety. They + found afterward that a few rods ahead of them the advertisement of + these escaping fugitives was posted up, and the officers, + forewarned of their coming, were waiting for them. But though the + Lord thus marvelously protected her from capture, she did not + always escape the consequences of exposure like this. It was in + March that this passage of the streams was effected, and the + weather was raw and cold; Harriet traveled a long distance in her + wet clothing, and was afterward very ill for a long time with a + very severe cold. I have often heard her tell this story; but some + of the incidents, particularly that of her illness, were not + mentioned by herself, but were written me by friend Garrett. +</p> +<p> + I hardly know how to approach the subject of the spiritual + experiences of my sable heroine. They seem so to enter into the + realm of the supernatural, that I can hardly wonder that those who + never knew her are ready to throw discredit upon the story. + Ridicule has been cast upon the whole tale of her adventures by + the advocates of human slavery; and perhaps by those who would + tell with awe-struck countenance some tale of ghostly visitation, + or spiritual manifestation, at a dimly lighted "<i>seance</i>." +</p> +<p> + Had I not known so well her deeply religious character, and her + conscientious veracity, and had I not since the war, and when she + was an inmate of my own house, seen such remarkable instances of + what seemed to be her direct intercourse with heaven, I should not + dare to risk my own character for veracity by making these things + public in this manner. +</p> +<p> + But when I add that I have the strongest testimonials to her + character for integrity from William H. Seward, Gerritt Smith, + Wendell Phillips, Fred. Douglass, and my brother, Prof. S.M. + Hopkins, who has known her for many years, I do not fear to brave + the incredulity of any reader. +</p> +<p> + Governor Seward wrote of her: +</p> +<p> + "I have known Harriet long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a + truer, seldom dwells in human form." +</p> +<p> + Gerritt Smith, the distinguished philanthropist, was so kind as to + write me expressing his gratification that I had undertaken this + work, and added: +</p> +<p> + "I have often listened to Harriet with delight on her visits to my + family, and I am convinced that she is not only truthful, but that + she has a rare discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy." +</p> +<p> + Wendell Phillips wrote me, mentioning that in Boston, Harriet + earned the confidence and admiration of all those who were working + for freedom; and speaking of her labors during the war, he added: + "In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who + have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few + men who did more before that time, for the colored race, than our + fearless and sagacious friend." +</p> +<p> + Many other letters I received; from Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the + Massachusetts Board of Charities, from Fred. Douglass, from Rev. + Henry Fowler, and from Union officers at the South during the war, + all speaking in the highest praise and admiration of the character + and labors of my black heroine. +</p> +<p> + Many of her passes also were sent me; in which she is spoken of as + "Moses," for by that name she was universally known. For the story + of her heroic deeds had gone before her, and the testimony of all + who knew her accorded with the words of Mr. Seward: +</p> +<p> + "The cause of freedom owes her much; the country owes her much." + And yet the country was not willing to pay her anything. Mr. + Seward's efforts, seconded by other distinguished men, to get a + pension for her, were sneered at in Congress as absurd and + quixotic, and the effort failed. +</p> +<p> + Secretary Seward, from whom Harriet purchased her little place + near Auburn, died. The place had been mortgaged when this noble + woman left her home, and threw herself into the work needed for + the Union cause; the mortgage was to be foreclosed. The old + parents, then nearly approaching their centennial year, were to be + turned out to die in a poor-house, when the sudden determination + was taken to send out a little sketch of her life to the + benevolent public, in the hope of redeeming the little home. This + object, through the kindness of friends, was accomplished. The old + people died in Harriet's own home, breathing blessings upon her + for her devotion to them. +</p> +<p> + Now another necessity has arisen, and our sable friend, who never + has been known to beg for herself, asks once more for help in + accomplishing a favorite project for the good of her people. This, + as she says, is "her last work, and she only prays de Lord to let + her live till it is well started, and den she is ready to go." + This work is the building of a hospital for old and disabled + colored people; and in this she has already had the sympathy and + aid of the good people of Auburn; the mayor and his noble wife + having given her great assistance in the meetings she has held in + aid of this object. It is partly to aid her in this work, on which + she has so set her heart, that this story of her life and labors + is being re-written. +</p> +<p> + At one time, when she felt called upon to go down for some company + of slaves, she was, as she knew, watched for everywhere (for there + had been an excited meeting of slave-holders, and they were + determined to catch her, dead or alive), her friends gathered + round her, imploring her not to go on in the face of danger and + death, for they were sure she would never be allowed to return. + And this was her answer: +</p> +<p> + "Now look yer! John saw de City, didn't he?" "Yes, John saw de + City." "Well, what did he see? He saw twelve gates, didn't he? + Three of dose gates was on de north; three of 'em was on de east; + an' three of 'em was on de west; but dere was three more, an' dem + was on de <i>south</i>; an' I reckon, if dey kill me down dere, I'll + git into one of dem gates, don't you?" +</p> +<p> + Whether Harriet's ideas of the geographical bearings of the gates + of the Celestial City as seen in the apocalyptic vision, were + correct or not, we cannot doubt that she was right in the + deduction her faith drew from them; and that somewhere, whether + North, East, South, or West, to our dim vision, there is a gate + that will be opened for our good Harriet, where the welcome will + be given, "Come in, thou blessed of my Father." +</p> +<p> + It is a peculiarity of Harriet, that she had seldom been known to + intimate a wish that anything should be given to herself; but when + her people are in need, no scruples of delicacy stand in the way + of her petitions, nay, almost her <i>demands</i> for help. +</p> +<p> + When, after rescuing so many others, and all of her brothers and + sisters that could be reached, with their children, she received + an intimation in some mysterious or supernatural way, that the old + people were in trouble and needed her, she asked the Lord where + she should go for the money to enable her to go for them. She was + in some way, as she supposed, directed to the office of a certain + gentleman, a friend of the slaves, in New York. When she left the + house of the friends with whom she was staying, she said: "I'm + gwine to Mr. ———'s office, an' I ain't gwine to lebe dere, an' + I ain't gwine to eat or drink, till I get money enough to take me + down after de ole people." +</p> +<p> + She went into this gentleman's office. +</p> +<p> + "How do you do, Harriet? What do you want?" was the first + greeting. +</p> +<p> + "I want some money, sir." +</p> +<p> + "<i>You do</i>! How much do you want?" +</p> +<p> + "I want twenty dollars, sir!" +</p> +<p> + "<i>Twenty dollars</i>! Who told you to come here for twenty dollars!" +</p> +<p> + "De Lord tole me, sir." +</p> +<p> + "He did; well I guess the Lord's mistaken this time." +</p> +<p> + "No, sir; de Lord's nebber mistaken! Anyhow I'm gwine to sit here + till I get it." +</p> +<p> + So she sat down and went to sleep. All the morning, and all the + afternoon, she sat there still; sometimes sleeping, sometimes + rousing up, often finding the office full of gentlemen; sometimes + finding herself alone. Many fugitives were passing through New + York at this time, and those who came in supposed her to be one of + them, tired out, and resting. Sometimes she would be roused up + with the words: +</p> +<p> + "Come, Harriet! You had better go; there's no money for you here." +</p> +<p> + "No, sir; I'm not gwine to stir from here till I git my twenty + dollars!" +</p> +<p> + She does not know all that happened, for deep sleep fell upon her; + probably one of the turns of somnolency to which she has always + been subject; but without doubt her story was whispered from one + to another, and as her name and exploits were well known to many + persons, the sympathies of some of those visitors to the office + were aroused; at all events she came to full consciousness, at + last, to find herself the happy possessor of <i>sixty dollars</i>, the + contribution of these strangers. She went on her way rejoicing to + bring her old parents from the land of bondage. +</p> +<p> + When she reached their home, she found that her old father was to + be tried the next Monday for helping off slaves. And so, as she + says in her forcible language, "I just removed my father's trial + to a higher court, and brought him off to Canada." +</p> +<p> + The manner of their escape is detailed in the following letter + from friend Garrett: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + WILMINGTON, 6th Mo., 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + MY FRIEND: Thy favor of the 12th reached me yesterday, requesting + such reminiscences as I could give respecting the remarkable + labors of Harriet Tubman, in aiding her colored friends from + bondage. I may begin by saying, living as I have in a slave State, + and the laws being very severe where any proof could be made of + any one aiding slaves on their way to freedom, I have not felt at + liberty to keep any written word of Harriet's or my own labors, + except in numbering those whom I have aided. For that reason I + cannot furnish so interesting an account of Harriet's labors as I + otherwise could, and now would be glad to do; for in truth I never + met with any person, of any color, who had more confidence in the + voice of God, as spoken direct to her soul. She has frequently + told me that she talked with God, and he talked with her every day + of her life, and she has declared to me that she felt no more fear + of being arrested by her former master, or any other person, when + in his immediate neighborhood, than she did in the State of New + York, or Canada, for she said she never ventured only where God + sent her, and her faith in the Supreme Power truly was great. +</p> +<p> + I have now been confined to my room with indisposition more than + four weeks, and cannot sit to write much; but I feel so much + interested in Harriet, that I will try to give some of the most + remarkable incidents that now present themselves to my mind. The + date of the commencement of her labors, I cannot certainly give; + but I think it must have been about 1845; from that time till + 1860, I think she must have brought from the neighborhood where + she had been held as a slave, from 60 to 80 persons,[C] from + Maryland, some 80 miles from here. No slave who placed himself + under her care, was ever arrested that I have heard of; she mostly + had her regular stopping places on her route; but in one instance, + when she had several stout men with her, some 30 miles below here, + she said that God told her to stop, which she did; and then asked + him what she must do. He told her to leave the road, and turn to + the left; she obeyed, and soon came to a small stream of tide + water; there was no boat, no bridge; she again inquired of her + Guide what she was to do. She was told to go through. It was cold, + in the month of March; but having confidence in her Guide, she + went in; the water came up to her armpits; the men refused to + follow till they saw her safe on the opposite shore. They then + followed, and, if I mistake not, she had soon to wade a second + stream; soon after which she came to a cabin of colored people, + who took them all in, put them to bed, and dried their clothes, + ready to proceed next night on their journey. Harriet had run out + of money, and gave them some of her underclothing to pay for their + kindness. When she called on me two days after, she was so hoarse + she could hardly speak, and was also suffering with violent + toothache. The strange part of the story we found to be, that the + masters of these men had put up the previous day, at the railroad + station near where she left, an advertisement for them, offering a + large reward for their apprehension; but they made a safe exit. + She at one time brought as many as seven or eight, several of whom + were women and children. She was well known here in Chester County + and Philadelphia, and respected by all true abolitionists. I had + been in the habit of furnishing her and those who accompanied her, + as she returned from her acts of mercy, with new shoes; and on one + occasion when I had not seen her for three months, she came into + my store. I said, "Harriet, I am glad to see thee! I suppose thee + wants a pair of new shoes." Her reply was, "I want more than + that." I, in jest, said, "I have always been liberal with thee, + and wish to be; but I am not rich, and cannot afford to give + much." Her reply was: "God tells me you have money for me." I + asked her "if God never deceived her?" She said, "No!" "Well! how + much does thee want?" After studying a moment, she said: "About + twenty-three dollars." I then gave her twenty-four dollars and + some odd cents, the net proceeds of five pounds sterling, received + through Eliza Wigham, of Scotland, for her. I had given some + accounts of Harriet's labor to the Anti-Slavery Society of + Edinburgh, of which Eliza Wigham was Secretary. On the reading of + my letter, a gentleman present said he would send Harriet four + pounds if he knew of any way to get it to her. Eliza Wigham + offered to forward it to me for her, and that was the first money + ever received by me for her. Some twelve months after, she called + on me again, and said that God told her I had some money for her, + but not so much as before. I had, a few days previous, received + the net proceeds of one pound ten shillings from Europe for her. + To say the least there was something remarkable in these facts, + whether clairvoyance, or the divine impression on her mind from + the source of all power, I cannot tell; but certain it was she had + a guide within herself other than the written word, for she never + had any education. She brought away her aged parents in a singular + manner. They started with an old horse, fitted out in primitive + style with a <i>straw collar</i>, a pair of old chaise wheels, with a + board on the axle to sit on, another board swung with ropes, + fastened to the axle, to rest their feet on. She got her parents, + who were both slaves belonging to different masters, on this rude + vehicle to the railroad, put them in the cars, turned Jehu + herself, and drove to town in a style that no human being ever did + before or since; but she was happy at having arrived safe. Next + day, I furnished her with money to take them all to Canada. I + afterward sold their horse, and sent them the balance of the + proceeds. I believe that Harriet succeeded in freeing all her + relatives but one sister and her three children. Etc., etc. + Thy friend, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + THOS. GARRETT. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<a name="note-C"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>C</u></sup> [ Friend Garrett probably refers here to those who + passed through his hands. Harriet was obliged to come by many + different routes on her different journeys, and though she never + counted those whom she brought away with her, it would seem, by + the computation of others, that there must have been somewhat over + three hundred brought by her to the Northern States and Canada.] +</p> +<p> + As I have before stated, with all Harriet's reluctance to ask for + anything for herself, no matter how great her needs may be, no + such scruples trouble her if any of her people are in need. She + never hesitates to call upon her kind friends in Auburn and in + other places for help when her people are in want. At one time, + when some such emergency had arisen, she went to see her friend, + Governor Seward, and boldly presented her case to him. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet," he said, "you have worked for others long enough. If + you would ever ask anything for yourself, I would gladly give it + to you, but I will not help you to rob yourself for others any + longer." +</p> +<p> + In spite of this apparent roughness, we may be sure Harriet did + not leave this noble man's house empty handed. +</p> +<p> + And here I am reminded of a touching little circumstance that + occurred at the funeral of Secretary Seward. +</p> +<p> + The great man lay in his coffin. Friends, children, and admirers + were gathered there. Everything that love and wealth could do had + been done; around him were floral emblems of every possible shape + and design, that human ingenuity could suggest, or money could + purchase. Just before the coffin was to be closed, a woman black + as night stole quietly in, and laying a wreath of field flowers + <i>on his feet</i>, as quietly glided out again. This was the simple + tribute of our sable friend, and her last token of love and + gratitude to her kind benefactor. I think he would have said, + "This woman hath done more than ye all." +</p> +<p> + While preparing this second edition of Harriet's story, I have + been much pleased to find that that good man, Oliver Johnson, is + still living and in New York City. And I have just returned from a + very pleasant interview with him. He remembers Harriet with great + pleasure, though he has not seen her for many years. He speaks, as + all who knew her do, of his entire confidence in her truthfulness + and in the perfect integrity of her character. +</p> +<p> + He remembered her coming into his office with Joe, as I have + stated it, and said he wished he could recall to me other + incidents connected with her. But during those years, there were + such numbers of fugitive slaves coming into the Anti-Slavery + Office, that he might not tell the incidents of any one group + correctly. No records were kept, as that would be so unsafe for + the poor creatures, and those who aided them. He said, "You know + Harriet never spoke of anything she had done, as if it was at all + remarkable, or as if it deserved any commendation, but I remember + one day, when she came into the office there was a Boston lady + there, a warm-hearted, impulsive woman, who was engaged heart and + hand in the Anti-Slavery cause. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet was telling, in her simple way, the story of her last + journey. A party of fugitives were to meet her in a wood, that she + might conduct them North. For some unexplained reason they did not + come. Night came on and with it a blinding snow storm and a raging + wind. She protected herself behind a tree as well as she could, + and remained all night alone exposed to the fury of the storm." +</p> +<p> + "'Why, Harriet!' said this lady, 'didn't you almost feel when you + were lying alone, as if there was <i>no God</i>?' 'Oh, no! missus,' + said Harriet, looking up in her child-like, simple way, 'I jest + asked Jesus to take keer of me, an' He never let me git <i>frost-bitten</i> + one bit.'" +</p> +<p> + In 1860 the first gun was fired from Fort Sumter; and this was the + signal for a rush to arms at the North and the South, and the war + of the rebellion was begun. Troops were hurried off from the North + to the West and the South, and battles raged in every part of the + Southern States. By land and by sea, and on the Southern rivers, + the conflict raged, and thousands and thousands of brave men shed + their blood for what was maintained by each side to be the true + principle. +</p> +<p> + This war our brave heroine had expected, and its result, the + emancipation of the slaves. Three years before, while staying with + the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet in New York, a vision came to her + in the night of the emancipation of her people. Whether a dream, + or one of those glimpses into the future, which sometimes seem to + have been granted to her, no one can say, but the effect upon her + was very remarkable. +</p> +<p> + She rose singing, "<i>My people are free!" "My people are free</i>!" + She came down to breakfast singing the words in a sort of ecstasy. + She could not eat. The dream or vision filled her whole soul, and + physical needs were forgotten. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Garnet said to her: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Harriet! Harriet! You've come to torment us before the time; + do cease this noise! My grandchildren may see the day of the + emancipation of our people, but you and I will never see it." +</p> +<p> + "I tell you, sir, you'll see it, and you'll see it soon. My people + are free! My people are free." +</p> +<p> + When, three years later, President Lincoln's proclamation of + emancipation was given forth, and there was a great jubilee among + the friends of the slaves, Harriet was continually asked, "Why do + you not join with the rest in their rejoicing!" "Oh," she + answered, "I had <i>my</i> jubilee three years ago. I rejoiced all I + could den; I can't rejoice no more." +</p> +<p> + In some of the Southern States, spies and scouts were needed to + lead our armies into the interior. The ignorant and degraded + slaves feared the "Yankee Buckra" more than they did their own + masters, and after the proclamation of President Lincoln, giving + freedom to the slaves, a person in whom these poor creatures could + trust, was needed to assure them that these white Northern men + were friends, and that they would be safe, trusting themselves in + their hands. +</p> +<p> + In the early days of the war, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, + knowing well the brave and sagacious character of Harriet, sent + for her, and asked her if she could go at a moment's notice, to + act as spy and scout for our armies, and, if need be, to act as + hospital nurse, in short, to be ready to give any required service + to the Union cause. +</p> +<p> + There was much to be thought of; there were the old folks in the + little home up in Auburn, there was the little farm of which she + had taken the sole care; there were many dependents for whom she + had provided by her daily toil. What was to become of them all if + she deserted them? But the cause of the Union seemed to need her + services, and after a few moments of reflection, she determined to + leave all else, and go where it seemed that duty called her. +</p> +<p> + During those few years, the wants of the old people and of + Harriet's other dependents were attended to by the kind people of + Auburn. At that time, I often saw the old people, and wrote + letters for them to officers at the South, asking from them + tidings of Harriet. I received many letters in reply, all + testifying to her faithfulness and bravery, and her untiring zeal + for the welfare of our soldiers, black and white. She was often + under fire from both armies; she led our forces through the jungle + and the swamp, guided by an unseen hand. She gained the confidence + of the slaves by her cheery words, and songs, and sacred hymns, + and obtained from them much valuable information. She nursed our + soldiers in the hospitals, and knew how, when they were dying by + numbers of some malignant disease, with cunning skill to extract + from roots and herbs, which grew near the source of the disease, + the healing draught, which allayed the fever and restored numbers + to health. +</p> +<p> + It is a shame to our government that such a valuable helper as + this woman was not allowed pay or pension; but even was obliged to + support herself during those days of incessant toil. Officers and + men were paid. Indeed many enlisted from no patriotic motive, but + because they were insured a support which they could not procure + for themselves at home. But this woman sacrificed everything, and + left her nearest and dearest, and risked her life hundreds of + times for the cause of the Union, without one cent of recompense. + She returned at last to her little home, to find it a scene of + desolation. Her little place about to be sold to satisfy a + mortgage, and herself without the means to redeem it. +</p> +<p> + Harriet was one of John Brown's "men." His brave and daring spirit + found ready sympathy in her courageous heart; she sheltered him in + her home in Canada, and helped him to plan his campaigns. I find + in the life and letters of this remarkable man, written by Mr. F. + B. Sanborn, occasional mention of Harriet, and her deep interest + in Captain Brown's enterprises. +</p> +<p> + At one time he writes to his son from St. Catherine's, Canada: +</p> +<p> + "I came on here the day after you left Rochester. I am succeeding + to all appearance beyond my expectations. Harriet Tubman <i>hooked + on her whole team at once</i>. He (Harriet) is the most of a man + naturally that I ever met with. There is abundant material here + and of the right quality." She suggested the 4th of July to him as + the time to begin operations. And Mr. Sanborn adds: "It was about + the 4th of July, as Harriet, the African sybil, had suggested, + that Brown first showed himself in the counties of Washington and + Jefferson, on opposite sides of the lordly Potomac." +</p> +<p> + I find among her papers, many of which are defaced by being + carried about with her for years, portions of these letters + addressed to myself, by persons at the South, and speaking of the + valuable assistance Harriet was rendering our soldiers in the + hospital, and our armies in the field. At this time her manner of + life, as related by herself, was this: +</p> +<p> + "Well, missus, I'd go to de hospital, I would, early eb'ry + mornin'. I'd get a big chunk of ice, I would, and put it in a + basin, and fill it with water; den I'd take a sponge and begin. + Fust man I'd come to, I'd thrash away de flies, and dey'd rise, + dey would, like bees roun' a hive. Den I'd begin to bathe der + wounds, an' by de time I'd bathed off three or four, de fire and + heat would have melted de ice and made de water warm, an' it would + be as red as clar blood. Den I'd go an' git more ice, I would, an' + by de time I got to de nex' ones, de flies would be roun' de fust + ones black an' thick as eber." In this way she worked, day after + day, till late at night; then she went home to her little cabin, + and made about fifty pies, a great quantity of ginger-bread, and + two casks of root beer. These she would hire some contraband to + sell for her through the camps, and thus she would provide her + support for another day; for this woman never received pay or + pension, and never drew for herself but twenty days' rations + during the four years of her labors. At one time she was called + away from Hilton Head, by one of our officers, to come to + Fernandina, where the men were "dying off like sheep," from + dysentery. Harriet had acquired quite a reputation for her skill + in curing this disease, by a medicine which she prepared from + roots which grew near the waters which gave the disease. Here she + found thousands of sick soldiers and contrabands, and immediately + gave up her time and attention to them. At another time, we find + her nursing those who were down by hundreds with small-pox and + malignant fevers. She had never had these diseases, but she seems + to have no more fear of death in one form than another. "De Lord + would take keer of her till her time came, an' den she was ready + to go." +</p> +<p> + When our armies and gun-boats first appeared in any part of the + South, many of the poor negroes were as much afraid of "de Yankee + Buckra" as of their own masters. It was almost impossible to win + their confidence, or to get information from them. But to Harriet + they would tell anything; and so it became quite important that + she should accompany expeditions going up the rivers, or into + unexplored parts of the country, to control and get information + from those whom they took with them as guides. +</p> +<p> + General Hunter asked her at one time if she would go with several + gun-boats up the Combahee River, the object of the expedition + being to take up the torpedoes placed by the rebels in the river, + to destroy railroads and bridges, and to cut off supplies from the + rebel troops. She said she would go if Colonel Montgomery was to + be appointed commander of the expedition. Colonel Montgomery was + one of John Brown's men, and was well known to Harriet. + Accordingly, Colonel Montgomery was appointed to the command, and + Harriet, with several men under her, the principal of whom was J. + Plowden, whose pass I have, accompanied the expedition. Harriet + describes in the most graphic manner the appearance of the + plantations as they passed up the river; the frightened negroes + leaving their work and taking to the woods, at sight of the gun-boats; + then coming to peer out like startled deer, and scudding + away like the wind at the sound of the steam-whistle. "Well," said + one old negro, "Mas'r said de Yankees had horns and tails, but I + nebber beliebed it till now." But the word was passed along by the + mysterious telegraphic communication existing among these simple + people, that these were "Lincoln's gun-boats come to set them + free." In vain, then, the drivers used their whips in their + efforts to hurry the poor creatures back to their quarters; they + all turned and ran for the gun-boats. They came down every road, + across every field, just as they had left their work and their + cabins; women with children clinging around their necks, hanging + to their dresses, running behind, all making at full speed for + "Lincoln's gun-boats." Eight hundred poor wretches at one time + crowded the banks, with their hands extended toward their + deliverers, and they were all taken off upon the gun-boats, and + carried down to Beaufort. +</p> +<p> + "I nebber see such a sight," said Harriet; "we laughed, an' + laughed, an' laughed. Here you'd see a woman wid a pail on her + head, rice a smokin' in it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, + young one hangin' on behind, one han' roun' her forehead to hold + on, 'tother han' diggin' into de rice-pot, eatin' wid all its + might; hold of her dress two or three more; down her back a bag + wid a pig in it. One woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a + black one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig + Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Sometimes de women would + come wid twins hangin' roun' der necks; 'pears like I nebber see + so many twins in my life; bags on der shoulders, baskets on der + heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all loaded; pigs squealin', + chickens screamin', young ones squallin'." And so they came + pouring down to the gun-boats. When they stood on the shore, and + the small boats put out to take them off, they all wanted to get + in at once. After the boats were crowded, they would hold on to + them so that they could not leave the shore. The oarsmen would + beat them on their hands, but they would not let go; they were + afraid the gun-boats would go off and leave them, and all wanted + to make sure of one of these arks of refuge. At length Colonel + Montgomery shouted from the upper deck, above the clamor of + appealing tones, "Moses, you'll have to give em a song." Then + Harriet lifted up her voice, and sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Of all the whole creation in the East or in the West, + The glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best. + Come along! Come along! don't be alarmed, + Uncle Sam is rich enough to give you all a farm." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + At the end of every verse, the negroes in their enthusiasm would + throw up their hands and shout "Glory," and the row-boats would + take that opportunity to push off; and so at last they were all + brought on board. The masters fled; houses and barns and railroad + bridges were burned, tracks torn up, torpedoes destroyed, and the + object of the expedition was fully accomplished. +</p> +<p> + This fearless woman was often sent into the rebel lines as a spy, + and brought back valuable information as to the position of armies + and batteries; she has been in battle when the shot was falling + like hail, and the bodies of dead and wounded men were dropping + around her like leaves in autumn; but the thought of fear never + seems to have had place for a moment in her mind. She had her duty + to perform, and she expected to be taken care of till it was done. +</p> +<p> + Would that, instead of taking them in this poor way at second-hand, + my readers could hear this woman's graphic accounts of + scenes she herself witnessed, could listen to her imitations of + negro preachers in their own very peculiar dialect, her singing of + camp-meeting hymns, her account of "experience meetings," her + imitations of the dances, and the funeral ceremonies of these + simple people. "Why, der language down dar in de far South is jus' + as different from ours in Maryland as you can tink," said she. + "Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an' I could not understand + dem, no how." She described a midnight funeral which she attended; + for the slaves, never having been allowed to bury their dead in + the day-time, continued the custom of night funerals from habit. +</p> +<p> + The corpse was laid upon the ground, and the people all sat round, + the group being lighted up by pine torches. +</p> +<p> + The old negro preacher began by giving out a hymn, which was sung + by all. "An' oh! I wish you could hear 'em sing, Missus," said + Harriet. "Der voices is so sweet, and dey can sing eberyting we + sing, an' den dey can sing a great many hymns dat we can't nebber + catch at all." +</p> +<p> + The old preacher began his sermon by pointing to the dead man, who + lay in a rude box on the ground before him. +</p> +<p> + "<i>Shum</i>? Ded-a-de-dah! <i>Shum, David</i>? Ded-a-de-dah! Now I want you + all to <i>flec</i>' for moment. Who ob all dis congregation is gwine + next to lie ded-e-de-dah? You can't go nowhere's, my frien's and + bredren, but Deff 'll fin' you. You can't dig no hole so deep an' + bury yourself dar, but God A'mighty's far-seein' eye'll fin' you, + an' Deff 'll come arter you. You can't go into that big fort + (pointing to Hilton Head), an' shut yourself up dar; dat fort dat + Sesh Buckra said the debil couldn't take, but Deff 'll fin' you + dar. All your frien's may forget you, but Deff 'll nebber forget + you. Now, my bredren, prepare to lie ded-a-de-dah!" +</p> +<p> + This was the burden of a very long sermon, after which the whole + congregation went round in a sort of solemn dance, called the + "spiritual shuffle," shaking hands with each other, and calling + each other by name as they sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "My sis'r Mary's boun' to go; + My sis'r Nanny's boun' to go; + My brudder Tony's boun' to go; + My brudder July's boun' to go." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + This to the same tune, till every hand had been shaken by every + one of the company. When they came to Harriet, who was a stranger, + they sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Eberybody's boun' to go! +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The body was then placed in a Government wagon, and by the light + of the pine torches, the strange, dark procession moved along, + singing a rude funeral hymn, till they reached the place of + burial. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's account of her interview with an old negro she met at + Hilton Head, is amusing and interesting. He said, "I'd been yere + seventy-three years, workin' for my master widout even a dime + wages. I'd worked rain-wet sun-dry. I'd worked wid my mouf full of + dust, but could not stop to get a drink of water. I'd been + whipped, an' starved, an' I was always prayin', 'Oh! Lord, come + an' delibber us!' All dat time de birds had been flyin', an' de + rabens had been cryin', and de fish had been swimmin' in de + waters. One day I look up, an' I see a big cloud; it didn't come + up like as de clouds come out far yonder, but it 'peared to be + right ober head. Der was thunders out of dat, an' der was + lightnin's. Den I looked down on de water, an' I see, 'peared to + me a big house in de water, an' out of de big house came great big + eggs, and de good eggs went on trou' de air, an' fell into de + fort; an' de bad eggs burst before dey got dar. Den de Sesh Buckra + begin to run, an' de neber stop running till de git to de swamp, + an' de stick dar an' de die dar. Den I heard 'twas de Yankee + ship[D] firin' out de big eggs, an dey had come to set us free. + Den I praise de Lord. He come an' put he little finger in de work, + an de Sesh Buckra all go; and de birds stop flyin', and de rabens + stop cryin', an' when I go to catch a fish to eat wid my rice, + dey's no fish dar. De Lord A'mighty 'd come and frightened 'em all + out of de waters. Oh! Praise de Lord! I'd prayed seventy-three + years, an' now he's come an' we's all free." +</p> +<a name="note-D"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>D</u></sup> [ The <i>Wabash</i>.] +</p> +<p> + The following account of the subject of this memoir is cut from + the <i>Boston Commonwealth</i> of 1863, kindly sent the writer by Mr. + Sanborn: +</p> +<p> + "It was said long ago that the true romance of America was not in + the fortunes of the Indian, where Cooper sought it, nor in New + England character, where Judd found it, nor in the social + contrasts of Virginia planters, as Thackeray imagined, but in the + story of the fugitive slaves. The observation is as true now as it + was before War, with swift, gigantic hand, sketched the vast + shadows, and dashed in the high lights in which romance loves to + lurk and flash forth. But the stage is enlarged on which these + dramas are played, the whole world now sit as spectators, and the + desperation or the magnanimity of a poor black woman has power to + shake the nation that so long was deaf to her cries. We write of + one of these heroines, of whom our slave annals are full—a woman + whose career is as extraordinary as the most famous of her sex can + show. +</p> +<p> + "Araminta Ross, now known by her married name of Tubman, with her + sounding Christian name changed to Harriet, is the grand-daughter + of a slave imported from Africa, and has not a drop of white blood + in her veins. Her parents were Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene, + both slaves, but married and faithful to each other. They still + live in old age and poverty,[E] but free, on a little property at + Auburn, N.Y., which their daughter purchased for them from Mr. + Seward, the Secretary of State. She was born, as near as she can + remember, in 1820 or in 1821, in Dorchester County, on the Eastern + shore of Maryland, and not far from the town of Cambridge. She had + ten brothers and sisters, of whom three are now living, all at the + North, and all rescued from slavery by Harriet, before the War. + She went back just as the South was preparing to secede, to bring + away a fourth, but before she could reach her, she was dead. Three + years before, she had brought away her old father and mother, at + great risk to herself. +</p> +<a name="note-E"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>E</u></sup> [ Both dead for some years.] +</p> +<p> + "When Harriet was six years old, she was taken from her mother and + carried ten miles to live with James Cook, whose wife was a + weaver, to learn the trade of weaving. While still a mere child, + Cook set her to watching his musk-rat traps, which compelled her + to wade through the water. It happened that she was once sent when + she was ill with the measles, and, taking cold from wading in the + water in this condition, she grew very sick, and her mother + persuaded her master to take her away from Cook's until she could + get well. +</p> +<p> + "Another attempt was made to teach her weaving, but she would not + learn, for she hated her mistress, and did not want to live at + home, as she would have done as a weaver, for it was the custom + then to weave the cloth for the family, or a part of it, in the + house. +</p> +<p> + "Soon after she entered her teens she was hired out as a field + hand, and it was while thus employed that she received a wound, + which nearly proved fatal, from the effects of which she still + suffers. In the fall of the year, the slaves there work in the + evening, cleaning up wheat, husking corn, etc. On this occasion, + one of the slaves of a farmer named Barrett, left his work, and + went to the village store in the evening. The overseer followed + him, and so did Harriet. When the slave was found, the overseer + swore he should be whipped, and called on Harriet, among others, + to help tie him. She refused, and as the man ran away, she placed + herself in the door to stop pursuit. The overseer caught up a + two-pound weight from the counter and threw it at the fugitive, but it + fell short and struck Harriet a stunning blow on the head. It was + long before she recovered from this, and it has left her subject + to a sort of stupor or lethargy at times; coming upon her in the + midst of conversation, or whatever she may be doing, and throwing + her into a deep slumber, from which she will presently rouse + herself, and go on with her conversation or work. +</p> +<p> + "After this she lived for five or six years with John Stewart, + where at first she worked in the house, but afterward 'hired her + time,' and Dr. Thompson, son of her master's guardian, 'stood for + her,' that is, was her surety for the payment of what she owed. + She employed the time thus hired in the rudest labors,—drove + oxen, carted, plowed, and did all the work of a man,—sometimes + earning money enough in a year, beyond what she paid her master, + 'to buy a pair of steers,' worth forty dollars. The amount exacted + of a woman for her time was fifty or sixty dollars—of a man, one + hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars. Frequently Harriet + worked for her father, who was a timber inspector, and + superintended the cutting and hauling of great quantities of + timber for the Baltimore ship-yards. Stewart, his temporary + master, was a builder, and for the work of Ross used to receive as + much as five dollars a day sometimes, he being a superior workman. + While engaged with her father, she would cut wood, haul logs, etc. + Her usual 'stint' was half a cord of wood in a day. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet was married somewhere about 1844, to a free colored man + named John Tubman, but she had no children. For the last two years + of slavery she lived with Dr. Thompson, before mentioned, her own + master not being yet of age, and Dr. T.'s father being his + guardian, as well as the owner of her own father. In 1849 the + young man died, and the slaves were to be sold, though previously + set free by an old will. Harriet resolved not to be sold, and so, + with no knowledge of the North—having only heard of Pennsylvania + and New Jersey—she walked away one night alone. She found a + friend in a white lady, who knew her story and helped her on her + way. After many adventures, she reached Philadelphia, where she + found work and earned a small stock of money. With this money in + her purse, she traveled back to Maryland for her husband, but she + found him married to another woman, and no longer caring to live + with her. This, however, was not until two years after her escape, + for she does not seem to have reached her old home in the first + two expeditions. In December, 1850, she had visited Baltimore and + brought away her sister and two children, who had come up from + Cambridge in a boat, under charge of her sister's husband, a free + black. A few months after she had brought away her brother and two + other men, but it was not till the fall of 1851, that she found + her husband and learned of his infidelity. She did not give way to + rage or grief, but collected a party of fugitives and brought them + safely to Philadelphia. In December of the same year, she + returned, and led out a party of eleven, among them her brother + and his wife. With these she journeyed to Canada, and there spent + the winter, for this was after the enforcement of Mason's Fugitive + Slave Bill in Philadelphia and Boston, and there was no safety + except 'under the paw of the British Lion,' as she quaintly said. + But the first winter was terribly severe for these poor runaways. + They earned their bread by chopping wood in the snows of a + Canadian forest; they were frost-bitten, hungry, and naked. + Harriet was their good angel. She kept house for her brother, and + the poor creatures boarded with her. She worked for them, begged + for them, prayed for them, with the strange familiarity of + communion with God which seems natural to these people, and + carried them by the help of God through the hard winter. +</p> +<p> + "In the spring she returned to the States, and as usual earned + money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, + in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and + brought away nine more fugitives. +</p> +<p> + "Up to this time she had expended chiefly her own money in these + expeditions—money which she had earned by hard work in the + drudgery of the kitchen. Never did any one more exactly fulfill + the sense of George Herbert— +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "'A servant with this clause + Makes drudgery divine.' +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "But it was not possible for such virtues long to remain hidden + from the keen eyes of the Abolitionists. She became known to + Thomas Garrett, the large-hearted Quaker of Wilmington, who has + aided the escape of three thousand fugitives; she found warm + friends in Philadelphia and New York, and wherever she went. These + gave her money, which he never spent for her own use, but laid up + for the help of her people, and especially for her journeys back + to the 'land of Egypt,' as she called her old home. By reason of + her frequent visits there, always carrying away some of the + oppressed, she got among her people the name of 'Moses,' which it + seems she still retains. +</p> +<p> + "Between 1852 and 1857, she made but two of these journeys, in + consequence partly of the increased vigilance of the slave-holders, + who had suffered so much by the loss of their property. A + great reward was offered for her capture and she several times was + on the point of being taken, but always escaped by her quick wit, + or by 'warnings' from Heaven—for it is time to notice one + singular trait in her character. She is the most shrewd and + practical person in the world, yet she is a firm believer in + omens, dreams, and warnings. She declares that before her escape + from slavery, she used to dream of flying over fields and towns, + and rivers and mountains, looking down upon them 'like a bird,' + and reaching at last a great fence, or sometimes a river, over + which she would try to fly, 'but it 'peared like I wouldn't hab de + strength, and jes as I was sinkin' down, dere would be ladies all + drest in white ober dere, and dey would put out dere arms and pull + me 'cross.' There is nothing strange in this, perhaps, but she + declares that when she came North she remembered these very places + as those she had seen in her dreams, and many of the ladies who + befriended her were those she had been helped by in her vision. +</p> +<p> + "Then she says she always knows when there is danger near her—she + does not know how, exactly, but ''pears like my heart go flutter, + flutter, and den dey may say "Peace, Peace," as much as dey likes, + <i>I know its gwine to be war</i>!' She is very firm on this point, and + ascribes to this her great impunity, in spite of the lethargy + before mentioned, which would seem likely to throw her into the + hands of her enemies. She says she inherited this power, that her + father could always predict the weather, and that he foretold the + Mexican war. +</p> +<p> + "In 1857 she made her most venturesome journey, for she brought + with her to the North her old parents, who were no longer able to + walk such distances as she must go by night. Consequently she must + hire a wagon for them, and it required all her ingenuity to get + them through Maryland and Delaware safe. She accomplished it, + however, and by the aid of her friends she brought them safe to + Canada, where they spent the winter. Her account of their + sufferings there—of her mother's complaining and her own + philosophy about it—is a lesson of trust in Providence better + than many sermons. But she decided to bring them to a more + comfortable place, and so she negotiated with Mr. Seward—then in + the Senate—for a little patch of ground. To the credit of the + Secretary of State it should be said, that he sold her the + property on very favorable terms, and gave her some time for + payment. To this house she removed her parents, and set herself to + work to pay for the purchase. It was on this errand that she first + visited Boston—we believe in the winter of 1858-59. She brought a + few letters from her friends in New York, but she could herself + neither read nor write, and she was obliged to trust to her wits + that they were delivered to the right persons. One of them, as it + happened, was to the present writer, who received it by another + hand, and called to see her at her boarding-house. It was curious + to see the caution with which she received her visitor until she + felt assured that there was no mistake. One of her means of + security was to carry with her the daguerreotypes of her friends, + and show them to each new person. If they recognized the likeness, + then it was all right. +</p> +<p> + "Pains were taken to secure her the attention to which her great + services of humanity entitled her, and she left New England with a + handsome sum of money toward the payment of her debt to Mr. + Seward. Before she left, however, she had several interviews with + Captain Brown, then in Boston. He is supposed to have communicated + his plans to her, and to have been aided by her in obtaining + recruits and money among her people. At any rate, he always spoke + of her with the greatest respect, and declared that 'General + Tubman,' as he styled her, was a better officer than most whom he + had seen, and could command an army as successfully as she had led + her small parties of fugitives. +</p> +<p> + "Her own veneration for Captain Brown has always been profound, + and since his murder, has taken the form of a religion. She had + often risked her own life for her people, and she thought nothing + of that; but that a white man, and a man so noble and strong, + should so take upon himself the burden of a despised race, she + could not understand, and she took refuge from her perplexity in + the mysteries of her fervid religion. +</p> +<p> + "Again, she laid great stress on a dream which she had just before + she met Captain Brown in Canada. She thought she was in 'a + wilderness sort of place, all full of rocks, and bushes,' when she + saw a serpent raise its head among the rocks, and as it did so, it + became the head of an old man with a long white beard, gazing at + her, 'wishful like, jes as ef he war gwine to speak to me,' and + then two other heads rose up beside him, younger than he,—and as + she stood looking at them, and wondering what they could want with + her, a great crowd of men rushed in and struck down the younger + heads, and then the head of the old man, still looking at her so + 'wishful.' This dream she had again and again, and could not + interpret it; but when she met Captain Brown, shortly after, + behold, he was the very image of the head she had seen. But still + she could not make out what her dream signified, till the news + came to her of the tragedy of Harper's Ferry, and then she knew + the two other heads were his two sons. She was in New York at that + time, and on the day of the affair at Harper's Ferry she felt her + usual warning that something was wrong—she could not tell what. + Finally she told her hostess that it must be Captain Brown who was + in trouble, and that they should soon hear bad news from him. The + next day's newspaper brought tidings of what had happened. +</p> +<p> + "Her last visit to Maryland was made after this, in December, + 1860; and in spite of the agitated condition of the country, and + the greater watchfulness of the slave-holders, she brought away + seven fugitives, one of them an infant, which must be drugged with + opium to keep it from crying on the way, and so revealing the + hiding-place of the party." +</p> +<p> + In the spring of 1860, Harriet Tubman was requested by Mr. Gerrit + Smith to go to Boston to attend a large Anti-Slavery meeting. On + her way, she stopped at Troy to visit a cousin, and while there + the colored people were one day startled with the intelligence + that a fugitive slave, by the name of Charles Nalle, had been + followed by his master (who was his younger brother, and not one + grain whiter than he), and that he was already in the hands of the + officers, and was to be taken back to the South. The instant + Harriet heard the news, she started for the office of the United + States Commissioner, scattering the tidings as she went. An + excited crowd was gathered about the office, through which Harriet + forced her way, and rushed up stairs to the door of the room where + the fugitive was detained. A wagon was already waiting before the + door to carry off the man, but the crowd was even then so great, + and in such a state of excitement, that the officers did not dare + to bring the man down. On the opposite side of the street stood + the colored people, watching the window where they could see + Harriet's sun-bonnet, and feeling assured that so long as she + stood there, the fugitive was still in the office. Time passed on, + and he did not appear. "They've taken him out another way, depend + upon that," said some of the colored people. "No," replied others, + "there stands 'Moses' yet, and as long as she is there, he is + safe." Harriet, now seeing the necessity for a tremendous effort + for his rescue, sent out some little boys to cry <i>fire</i>. The bells + rang, the crowd increased, till the whole street was a dense mass + of people. Again and again the officers came out to try and clear + the stairs, and make a way to take their captive down; others were + driven down, but Harriet stood her ground, her head bent and her + arms folded. "Come, old woman, you must get out of this," said one + of the officers; "I must have the way cleared; if you can't get + down alone, some one will help you." Harriet, still putting on a + greater appearance of decrepitude, twitched away from him, and + kept her place. Offers were made to buy Charles from his master, + who at first agreed to take twelve hundred dollars for him; but + when this was subscribed, he immediately raised the price to + fifteen hundred. The crowd grew more excited. A gentleman raised a + window and called out, "Two hundred dollars for his rescue, but + not one cent to his master!" This was responded to by a roar of + satisfaction from the crowd below. At length the officers + appeared, and announced to the crowd, that if they would open a + lane to the wagon, they would promise to bring the man down the + front way. +</p> +<p> + The lane was opened, and the man was brought out—a tall, + handsome, intelligent <i>white</i> man, with his wrists manacled + together, walking between the U.S. Marshal and another officer, + and behind him his brother and his master, so like him that one + could hardly be told from the other. The moment they appeared, + Harriet roused from her stooping posture, threw up a window, and + cried to her friends: "Here he comes—take him!" and then darted + down the stairs like a wild-cat. She seized one officer and pulled + him down, then another, and tore him away from the man; and + keeping her arms about the slave, she cried to her friends: "Drag + us out! Drag him to the river! Drown him! but don't let them have + him!" They were knocked down together, and while down, she tore + off her sun-bonnet and tied it on the head of the fugitive. When + he rose, only his head could be seen, and amid the surging mass of + people the slave was no longer recognized, while the master + appeared like the slave. Again and again they were knocked down, + the poor slave utterly helpless, with his manacled wrists, + streaming with blood. Harriet's outer clothes were torn from her, + and even her stout shoes were pulled from her feet, yet she never + relinquished her hold of the man, till she had dragged him to the + river, where he was tumbled into a boat, Harriet following in a + ferry-boat to the other side. But the telegraph was ahead of them, + and as soon as they landed he was seized and hurried from her + sight. After a time, some school children came hurrying along, and + to her anxious inquiries they answered, "He is up in that house, + in the third story." Harriet rushed up to the place. Some men were + attempting to make their way up the stairs. The officers were + firing down, and two men were lying on the stairs, who had been + shot. Over their bodies our heroine rushed, and with the help of + others burst open the door of the room, and dragged out the + fugitive, whom Harriet carried down stairs in her arms. A + gentleman who was riding by with a fine horse, stopped to ask what + the disturbance meant; and on hearing the story, his sympathies + seemed to be thoroughly aroused; he sprang from his wagon, calling + out, "That is a blood-horse, drive him till he drops." The poor + man was hurried in; some of his friends jumped in after him, and + drove at the most rapid rate to Schenectady. +</p> +<p> + This is the story Harriet told to the writer. By some persons it + seemed too wonderful for belief, and an attempt was made to + corroborate it. Rev. Henry Fowler, who was at the time at + Saratoga, kindly volunteered to go to Troy and ascertain the + facts. His report was, that he had had a long interview with Mr. + Townsend, who acted during the trial as counsel for the slave, + that he had given him a "rich narration," which he would write out + the next week for this little book. But before he was to begin his + generous labor, and while engaged in some kind efforts for the + prisoners at Auburn, he was stricken down by the heat of the sun, + and was for a long time debarred from labor. +</p> +<p> + This good man died not long after and the promised narration was + never written, but a statement by Mr. Townsend was sent me, which + I copy here: +</p> +<p> + <i>Statements made by Martin I. Townsend, Esq., of Troy, who was + counsel for the fugitive, Charles Nalle.</i> +</p> +<p> + Nalle is an octoroon; his wife has the same infusion of Caucasian + blood. She was the daughter of her master, and had, with her + sister, been bred by him in his family, as his own child. When the + father died, both of these daughters were married and had large + families of children. Under the highly Christian national laws of + "Old Virginny," these children were the slaves of their + grandfather. The old man died, leaving a will, whereby he + manumitted his daughters and their children, and provided for the + purchase of the freedom of their husbands. The manumission of the + children and grandchildren took effect; but the estate was + insufficient to purchase the husbands of his daughters, and the + fathers of his grandchildren. The manumitted, by another + Christian, "conservative," and "national" provision of law, were + forced to leave the State, while the slave husbands remained in + slavery. Nalle, and his brother-in-law, were allowed for a while + to visit their families outside Virginia about once a year, but + were at length ordered to provide themselves with new wives, as + they would be allowed to visit their former ones no more. It was + after this that Nalle and his brother-in-law started for the land + of freedom, guided by the steady light of the north star. Thank + God, neither family now need fear any earthly master or the bay of + the blood-hound dogging their fugitive steps. +</p> +<p> + Nalle returned to Troy with his family about July, 1860, and + resided with them there for more than seven years. They are all + now residents of the city of Washington, D.C. Nalle and his family + are persons of refined manners, and of the highest respectability. + Several of his children are red-haired, and a stranger would + discover no trace of African blood in their complexions or + features. It was the head of this family whom H.F. Averill + proposed to doom to returnless exile and life-long slavery. +</p> +<p> + When Nalle was brought from Commissioner Beach's office into the + street, Harriet Tubman, who had been standing with the excited + crowd, rushed amongst the foremost to Nalle, and running one of + her arms around his manacled arm, held on to him without ever + loosening her hold through the more than half-hour's struggle to + Judge Gould's office, and from Judge Gould's office to the dock, + where Nalle's liberation was accomplished. In the <i>mêelée</i> she was + repeatedly beaten over the head with policemen's clubs, but she + never for a moment released her hold, but cheered Nalle and his + friends with her voice, and struggled with the officers until they + were literally worn out with their exertions, and Nalle was + separated from them. +</p> +<p> + True, she had strong and earnest helpers in her struggle, some of + whom had white faces as well as human hearts, and are now in + Heaven. But she exposed herself to the fury of the sympathizers + with slavery, without fear, and suffered their blows without + flinching. Harriet crossed the river with the crowd, in the ferry-boat, + and when the men who led the assault upon the door of Judge + Stewart's office were stricken down, Harriet and a number of other + colored women rushed over their bodies, brought Nalle out, and + putting him in the first wagon passing, started him for the West. +</p> +<p> + A lively team, driven by a colored man, was immediately sent on to + relieve the other, and Nalle was seen about Troy no more until he + returned a free man by purchase from his master. Harriet also + disappeared, and the crowd dispersed. How she came to be in Troy + that day, is entirely unknown to our citizens; and where she hid + herself after the rescue, is equally a mystery. But her struggle + was in the sight of a thousand, perhaps of five thousand + spectators. +</p> +<p> + On asking Harriet particularly, as to the age of her mother, she + answered, "Well, I'll tell you, Missus. Twenty-three years ago, in + Maryland, I paid a lawyer five dollars to look up the will of my + mother's first master. He looked back sixty years, and said it was + time to give up. I told him to go back furder. He went back sixty-five + years, and there he found the will—giving the girl Ritty to + his grand-daughter (Mary Patterson), to serve her and her + offspring till she was forty-five years of age." This grand-daughter + died soon after, unmarried; and as there was no provision + for Ritty, in case of her death, she was actually emancipated at + that time. But no one informed her of the fact, and she and her + dear children remained in bondage till emancipated by the courage + and determination of this heroic daughter and sister. The old + woman must then, it seems, be ninety-eight years of age,[F] and + the old man has probably numbered as many years. And yet these old + people, living out beyond the toll-gate, on the South Street road, + Auburn, come in every Sunday—more than a mile—to the Central + Church. To be sure, deep slumbers settle down upon them as soon as + they are seated, which continue undisturbed till the congregation + is dismissed; but they have done their best, and who can doubt + that they receive a blessing. Immediately after this they go to + class-meeting at the Methodist Church. Then they wait for a third + service, and after that start out home again. +</p> +<a name="note-F"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>F</u></sup> [ This was written in the year '68, and the old people + both lived several years after that time.] +</p> +<p> + Harriet supposes that the whole family were actually free, and + were kept wrongfully in a state of slavery all those long years; + but she simply states the fact, without any mourning or lamenting + over the wrong and the misery of it all, accepting it as the will + of God, and, therefore, not to be rebelled against. +</p> +<p> + This woman, of whom you have been reading, is now old and feeble, + suffering from the effects of her life of unusual labor and + hardship, as well as from repeated injuries; but she is still at + work for her people. For many years, even long before the war, her + little home has been the refuge of the hunted and the homeless, + for whom she had provided; and I have seen as many as eight or ten + dependents upon her care at one time living there. +</p> +<p> + It has always been a hospital, but she feels the need of a large + one, and only prays to see this, "her last work," completed ere + she goes hence. +</p> +<p> + Without claiming any of my dear old Harriet's prophetic vision, I + seem to see a future day when the wrongs of earth will be righted, + and justice, long delayed, will assert itself. I seem to see that + our poor Harriet has passed within "one of dem gates," and has + received the welcome, "Come, thou blessed of my Father; for I was + hungry and you gave me meat, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, + I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, + sick and in prison and you visited me." +</p> +<p> + And when she asks, "Lord, when did I do all this?" He answers: +</p> +<p> + "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, <i>my + brethren</i>, you did it unto me." +</p> +<p> + And as she stands in her modest way just within the celestial + gate, I seem to see a kind hand laid upon her dark head, and to + hear a gentle voice saying in her ear, "Friend, come up higher!" +</p> +<a name="2H_4_5"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + SOME ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF "HARRIET." +</h2> +<p> + The story of this remarkable black woman has been attracting + renewed interest of late, and I have often been asked to publish + another edition of the book, and to add some interesting and + amusing incidents which I have related to my friends. +</p> +<p> + Harriet is very old and feeble now; she does not know how old, but + probably between eighty and ninety. Her years of toil and + adventure have told upon her, and she may not last much longer. If + she does, she will still need help which she would never ask for + herself, but which this little book may give her; when she dies, + it may aid in putting up a fitting monument to her memory, which + should always be "kept green." +</p> +<p> + As time goes on, the horrors of the days of slavery are by many + forgotten, and the children who have been born since the War of + the Rebellion know of that fearful straggle, and of the causes + that led to it, only as a tradition of long ago. +</p> +<p> + Even in the city where Harriet has so long lived her quiet and + unobtrusive life, it is not an uncommon thing to meet a young + person who has never even heard her name. +</p> +<p> + Those who know the principal facts of her eventful history may be + interested to read these few added incidents, which she has + related to me from time to time. +</p> +<p> + A year or two ago, as I was staying at the summer home of my + brother, Professor Hopkins, on Owasco Lake, Harriet came up to see + us; it was after lunch, and my brother ordered a table to be set + for her on the broad shaded piazza and waited on her himself, + bringing her cups of tea and other good things, as if it were a + pleasure and an honor to serve her. +</p> +<p> + There is a quiet dignity about Harriet that makes her superior or + indifferent to all surrounding circumstances; whether seated at + the hospitable board of Gerrit Smith or any other white gentleman, + as she often was, or sent to the kitchen, where the white + domestics refused to eat with a "nigger," it was all the same to + Harriet; she was never elated, or humiliated; she took everything + as it came, making no comments or complaints. +</p> +<p> + And so she sat quietly eating her lunch, and talking with us. + After the lunch was over, as we sat on the piazza waiting for the + steamboat to take her back to Auburn, she said: +</p> +<p> + "I often think, Missus, of things I wish I had told you before you + wrote de book. Now, as I come up on de boat I thought of one thing + thet happened to me when I was very little. +</p> +<p> + "I was only seven years old when I was sent away to take car' of a + baby. I was so little dat I had to sit down on de flo' and hev de + baby put in my lap. An' dat baby was allus in my lap 'cept when it + was asleep, or its mother was feedin' it. +</p> +<p> + "One mornin' after breakfast she had de baby, an' I stood by de + table waitin' till I was to take it; just by me was a bowl of + lumps of white sugar. My Missus got into a great quarrel wid her + husband; she had an awful temper, an' she would scole an' storm, + an' call him all sorts of names. Now you know, Missus, I never had + nothing good; no sweet, no sugar, an' dat sugar, right by me, did + look so nice, an' my Missus's back was turned to me while she was + fightin' wid her husband, so I jes' put my fingers in de sugar + bowl to take one lump, an' maybe she heard me, an' she turned an' + saw me. De nex' minute she had de raw hide down; I give one jump + out of de do', an' I saw dey came after me, but I jes' flew, and + dey didn't catch me. I ran, an' I ran, an' I run, I passed many a + house, but I didn't dar' to stop, for dey all knew my Missus an' + dey would send me back. By an' by, when I was clar tuckered out, I + come to a great big pig-pen. Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps + eight or ten little pigs. I was too little to climb into it, but I + tumbled ober de high board, an' fell in on de ground; I was so + beat out I couldn't stir. +</p> +<p> + "An' dere, Missus, I stayed from Friday till de nex' Chuesday, + fightin' wid dose little pigs for de potato peelin's an" oder + scraps dat came down in de trough. De ole sow would push me away + when I tried to git her chillen's food, an' I was awful afeard of + her. By Chuesday I was so starved I knowed I'd got to go back to + my Missus, I hadn't got no whar else to go, but I knowed what was + comin.' So I went back." +</p> +<p> + "And she gave you an awful flogging, I suppose, Harriet?" +</p> +<p> + "No, Missus, but <i>he</i> did." +</p> +<p> + This was all that was said, but probably that flogging left some + of those scars which cover her neck and back to this day. +</p> +<p> + Think of a poor little helpless thing seven years old enduring all + this terror and suffering, and yet few people are as charitable to + the slave-holders as Harriet. "Dey don' know no better, Missus; + it's de way dey was brought up. 'Make de little nigs min' you, or + flog 'em,' was what was said to de chillen, and dey was brought up + wid de whip in der hand. Now, min' you, Missus, dat wasn't de way + on all de plantations; dere was good Marsters an' Missuses, as + I've heard tell, but I didn't happen to come across 'em." +</p> +<p> + There is frequent mention made in the Memoir of Harriet's firm and + unwavering trust in God in times of great perplexity or deadly + peril, when she often had occasion to say, "Vain is the help of + man, but in God is my help." I have never known another instance + of such implicit trust and confidence. +</p> +<p> + Very soon after the Civil War her house was turned into a + hospital, and no poor helpless creature of her race was ever + turned from her door. Indeed, all through the war, and through the + cruel reign of the fugitive slave law, her house was one of the + depots of the "Underground Railway," as that secret and unseen + mode of conveying the hunted fugitives was called, and when the + war was over she established a hospital, which for many years, + indeed till she was too ill herself to take charge of it, has been + the refuge of the sufferers of her race who had no earthly + dependence but Harriet. +</p> +<p> + Very often this woman, except for her trust in "de Lawd," had had + no idea where the next meal was to come from, but she troubled + herself no more about it than if she had been a Vanderbilt or an + Astor. "De Lawd will provide" was her motto, and He never failed + her. +</p> +<p> + One day, in passing through Auburn, I was impelled to stop over a + train, and drive out to see what were the needs of my colored + friend, and to take her some supplies. +</p> +<p> + Her little house was always neat and comfortable, and the small + parlor was nicely and rather prettily furnished. The lame, the + halt, and the blind, the bruised and crippled little children, and + one crazy woman, were all brought in to see me, and "the blind + woman" (she seemed to have no other name), a very old woman who + had been Harriet's care for eighteen years, was led into the room—an + interesting and pathetic group. +</p> +<p> + On leaving, I said to her: "If you will come out to the carriage, + Harriet, there are some provisions there for you." +</p> +<p> + She turned to one of her poor dependents and said: "What did you + say to me dis mornin'? You said, 'We hadn't got nothin' to eat in + de house,' and what did I say to you? I said, 'I've got a rich + Father!'" +</p> +<p> + Nothing that comes to this remarkable woman ever surprises her. + She says very little in the way of thanks, except to the Giver of + all good. How the knowledge comes to her no one can tell, but she + seems always to know when help is coming, and she is generally on + hand to receive it, though it is never for herself she wants it, + but only for those under her care. +</p> +<p> + I must not forget to mention the Indian girls of the Fort Wrangel + School, who, having read a little notice of Harriet in the + "Evangelist," went to work, and by their daily labor raised + thirty-seven dollars which they sent to me for Harriet—and this + school has been disbanded, and these educated girls have been sent + back to their wretched homes, because our Government could not + afford to support it any longer! +</p> +<p> + Pundita Ramabai went about this time to see Harriet and they had + an interesting talk together. Here was a remarkable trio taking + hold of hands—the woman from East India, the Indian girl from the + far West, and the black woman from the Southern States only two + removes from an African savage! +</p> +<p> + Once when she came to New York, where she had not been in twenty + years, and was starting off alone to find some friends miles away + in a part of the city which she had never seen, we remonstrated + with her, telling her she would surely be lost. +</p> +<p> + "Now, Missus," she said, "don't you t'ink dis ole head dat done de + navigatin' down in Egypt can do de navigatin' up here in New + York?" +</p> +<p> + And she walked many miles, scorning a "cyar," and found all the + people she wished to see. +</p> +<p> + Harriet was known by various names among her Southern friends. One + of these was "Ole Chariot," perhaps as a rhyme to the name by + which they called her. +</p> +<p> + And so, often when she went to bring away a band of refugees, she + would sing as she walked the dark country roads by night: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + Who's gwine wid me?" +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And from some unseen singer would come the response: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + I'se gwine wid you." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And by some wireless telegraphy known only to the initiated it + would be made known in one cabin or another where their deliverer + was waiting concealed, and when she would be ready to pilot them + on their long journey to freedom. +</p> +<p> + A Woman's Suffrage Meeting was held in Rochester a year or two + ago, and Harriet came to attend it. She generally attended every + meeting of women, on whatever subject, if possible to do so. +</p> +<p> + She was led into the church by an adopted daughter, whom she had + rescued from death when a baby, and had brought up as her own. +</p> +<p> + The church was warm and Harriet was tired, and soon after she + entered deep sleep fell upon her. +</p> +<p> + Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Stanton were on the platform, and after + speeches had been made and business accomplished, one of these + ladies said: +</p> +<p> + "Friends, we have in the audience that wonderful woman, Harriet + Tubman, from whom we should like to hear, if she will kindly come + to the platform." +</p> +<p> + People looked around at Harriet, but Harriet was fast asleep. +</p> +<p> + "Mother! mother!" said the young girl; "they are calling for you," + but it was some time before Harriet could be made to understand + where she was, or what was wanted of her. At length, she was led + out into the aisle and was assisted by one of these kind ladies on + to the platform. +</p> +<p> + Harriet looked around, wondering why so many white ladies were + gathered there. I think it was Miss Anthony who led her forward, + saying: +</p> +<p> + "Ladies, I am glad to present to you Harriet Tubman, 'the + conductor of the Underground Railroad.'" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, ladies," said Harriet, "I was de conductor ob de Underground + Railroad for eight years, an' I can say what mos' conductors can't + say—I nebber run my train off de track an' I nebber los' a + passenger." The audience laughed and applauded, and Harriet was + emboldened to go on and relate portions of her interesting + history, which were most kindly received by the assembled ladies. +</p> +<p> + After the passage of the iniquitous fugitive slave law, Harriet + removed all her dependents to Canada, and here John Brown and some + of his followers took refuge with her, and she was his helper and + adviser in many of his schemes. The papers of that time tell of + her helping him with his plans and of his dependence upon her + judgment. In one of his letters he says: "Harriet has hitched on, + and with all her might; she is a whole team." +</p> +<p> + For this large party added to her own family of several persons, + she worked day and night in her usual self-forgetting manner. Her + old father and mother were with her, and the mother, nearly a + hundred years old and enfeebled in mind, was querulous and + exacting, and most unreasonable in her temper, often reproaching + this faithful daughter as the Israelites did Moses of old, for + "bringing them up into the wilderness to die there of hunger." +</p> +<p> + There came a day when everything eatable was exhausted, and the + prospect was dark, indeed. The old mother had no tobacco and no + tea—and these were more essential to her comfort than food or + clothing; then reproaches thick and fast fell upon Harriet. She + made no reply, but "went into her closet and shut the door"; when + she came out she had a large basket on her arm. +</p> +<p> + "Catharine," she said, "take off dat small pot an' put on a large + one." +</p> +<p> + "But, Harriet, der ain't not'ing in de house to eat." +</p> +<p> + "Put on de large pot, Catharine; we're gwine to have soup to-day"—and + Harriet started for the market. The day was nearly over, and + the market-men were anxious to be rid of their wares, and were + offering them very cheap. Harriet walked along with the basket on + her arm. "Old woman, don't you want a nice piece of meat?" called + out one; and another, "Here's a nice piece; only ten cents. Take + this soup-bone, you can have it for five cents." But Harriet had + not five cents. At length a kind-hearted butcher, judging of the + trouble from her face, said: "Look here, old woman, you look like + an honest woman; take this soup-bone, and pay me when you get some + money"; then another said, "Take this," and others piled on pieces + of meat till the basket was full. Harriet passed on, and when she + came to the vegetables she exchanged some of the meat for + potatoes, cabbage, and onions, and the big pot was in requisition + when she reached home. Harriet had not "gone into her closet and + shut the door" for nothing. +</p> +<p> + I hope I may be excused for sometimes telling my story in the + first person, as I cannot conveniently do it in any other way. In + getting ready a Thanksgiving box to send to Harriet, a few years + ago, I had ordered a turkey to be sent for it, but as the weather + grew quite warm, I was advised to send a ham instead. That box was + lost for three weeks, and when I saw Harriet again and told her + that I had intended to send a turkey in it, she said, "Wal, dere + was a clar Providence in dat, wa'n't dere, Missus?" +</p> +<p> + A friend, hearing that I was preparing a Christmas box in New York + for this needy household, sent me a quantity of clothing and ten + dollars for them. As my box was not quite full, I expended three + dollars of that money in groceries, and sent seven dollars to a + lady in Auburn who acted as treasurer for Harriet, giving her + money as it was needed; for Harriet's heart is so large, and her + feelings are so easily wrought upon, that it was never wise to + give her more than enough for present needs. +</p> +<p> + Not long after, I received a letter from a well-known physician—a + woman—in Auburn, in which she said: +</p> +<p> + "I want to tell you something about Harriet. She came to me last + Friday, and said, 'Doctah, I have got my taxes and insurance to + pay to-morrow, and I haven't a cent. Would you lend me seven + dollars till next Chuesday?' More to try her than anything else, I + said, 'Why, Harriet, I'm a poor, hard-working woman myself; how do + you know you'll pay me seven dollars next Tuesday?' 'Well, Doctah, + I can't jes' tell you how, but I'll pay you next Chuesday.'" On + Tuesday my letter with seven dollars enclosed arrived in Auburn, + and Harriet took the money to the friend who had lent it to her. + Others thought this strange, but there was nothing strange about + it to her. +</p> +<p> + A few years ago, when Harriet called on the writer, she was + introduced to the husband of one of her daughters lately married. + He told her how glad he was to see her, as he had heard so much + about her. She made one of her humble courtesies, and said: "I'm + pleased to see you, sir; it's de first time I've hed de pleasure + makin' yo' 'quaintance since you was 'dopted into my fam'bly." +</p> +<p> + When the turns of somnolence come upon Harriet, her "sperrit," as + she says, goes away from her body, and visits other scenes and + places, and if she ever really sees them afterwards they are + perfectly familiar to her and she can find her way about alone. + Instances of this kind have lately been mentioned in some of the + magazines, but Harriet had never heard of them. +</p> +<p> + Sitting in her house one day, deep sleep fell upon her, and in a + dream or vision she saw a chariot in the air, going south, and + empty, but soon it returned, and lying in it, cold and stiff, was + the body of a young lady of whom Harriet was very fond, whose home + was in Auburn, but who had gone to Washington with her father, a + distinguished officer of the Government there.[G] +</p> +<a name="note-G"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>G</u></sup> [ William H. Seward.] +</p> +<p> + The shock roused Harriet from her sleep, and she ran into Auburn, + to the house of her minister, crying out: "Oh, Miss Fanny is + dead!" and the news had just been received. +</p> +<p> + She woke from a sleep one day in great agitation, and ran to the + houses of her colored neighbors, exclaiming that "a drefful t'ing + was happenin' somewha', de ground was openin', an' de houses were + fallin' in, and de people bein' killed faster 'n dey was in de + wah—faster 'n dey was in de wah." +</p> +<p> + At that very time, or near it, an earthquake was occurring in the + northern part of South America, for the telegram came that day, + though why a vision of it should be sent to Harriet no one can + divine. +</p> +<p> + Her expressions are often very peculiar; some ladies of a certain + church who had become interested in her wished to see her, and she + was invited to come to their city, and attended the sewing circle, + where twenty or thirty of them were gathered together. They asked + her many questions, and she told stories, sang songs, danced, and + imitated the talk of the Southern negroes; and went away loaded + with many tokens of the kind interest of these ladies. On the way + home she said: +</p> +<p> + "What nice, kind-lookin' ladies dem was, Missus. I looked in all + dere faces, an' I didn't see nothin' venomous in one of 'em!" +</p> +<p> + As has been said, Harriet can neither read nor write; her letters + are all written by an amanuensis, and she seems to have an idea + that by laying her hand on this person, her feelings may be + transmitted to the one to whom she is writing. These feelings are + sometimes very poetically expressed. I have by me some of those + letters; in one of them she says: "I lay my hand on the shoulder + of the writer of this letter, and I wish for you, and all your + offsprings, a through ticket in the Gospel train to Glory." +</p> +<p> + In another letter she has dictated this sentence: +</p> +<p> + "I ask of my Heavenly Father, that when the last trump sounds, and + my name is called, I may stand close by your side, to answer to + the call." Probably many of her friends and correspondents might + contribute facts and incidents in Harriet's life quite as + interesting as any I have mentioned, but I have no way of getting + at them. +</p> +<p> + Harriet had long cherished the idea of having her hospital + incorporated, and placed in charge of the Zion African Methodist + Church of Auburn, and she was particularly anxious to come into + possession of a lot of twenty-five acres of land, near her own + home, to present to it as a little farm. This lot was to be sold + at auction, and on the day of the sale Harriet appeared with a + very little money, and a determination to have the land, cost what + it might. +</p> +<p> + "Dey was all white folks but me dere, Missus, and dere I was like + a blackberry in a pail ob milk, but I hid down in a corner, and no + one know'd who was biddin'. De man began down pretty low, and I + kept goin' up by fifties; he got up to twelve hundred, thirteen + hundred, fourteen hundred, and still dat voice in the corner kept + goin' up by fifties. At last it got up to fourteen hundred and + fifty, an' den oders stopped biddin', an' de man said, 'All done! + who is de buyer?' 'Harriet Tubman,' I shouted. 'What! dat ole + nigger?' dey said. 'Old woman, how you ebber gwine to pay fer dat + lot ob land?' 'I'm gwine home to tell de Lawd Jesus all about it,' + I said." +</p> +<p> + After telling the Lord Jesus all about it, Harriet went down to a + bank, obtained the money by mortgaging the land, and then + requested to have a deed made out, making the land over to the + Zion African Methodist Church. And her mind is easy about her + hospital, though with many persons the trouble would be but just + beginning, as there is interest on the mortgage to be paid. +</p> +<p> + Though the hospital is no longer on her hands, you will never find + her without several poor creatures under her care. When I last saw + her she was providing for five sick and injured ones. A blind + woman came one day to her door, led by four little children—her + husband had turned her out of his house, and like all other poor + distressed black people, who could get there, she made her way to + Harriet. Before the next morning a fifth was added to the group. + As soon as it was possible Harriet dressed the whole six in white + and took them to a Methodist church and had them baptized. +</p> +<p> + A little account of this was sent to the "Evangelist," and the + almost immediate response was seventy-five dollars, which was of + great benefit in providing for the needs of the growing family. +</p> +<p> + This faithful creature will probably not live much longer, and her + like will not be seen again. But through the sale of the last + edition of her "Memoir," and some other sources of income, her + wants will be abundantly supplied. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's friends will be glad to learn that she has lately been + for some time in Boston, where a surgical operation was performed + upon her head, the skull (which was crushed by a weight thrown by + her master more than seventy years before) being successfully + raised. Harriet's account of this operation is rather amusing. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet," said Professor Hopkins, "what is the matter with your + head? Your hair is all gone!" +</p> +<p> + "Why, dat's where dey shaved it off befo' dey cut my head open." +</p> +<p> + "Cut your head open, Harriet? What do you mean?" +</p> +<p> + "Wal, sir, when I was in Boston I walked out one day, an' I saw a + great big buildin', an' I asked a man what it was, an' he said it + was a hospital. So I went right in, an' I saw a young man dere, + an' I said, 'Sir, are you a doctah?' an' he said he was; den I + said, 'Sir, do you t'ink you could cut my head open?' +</p> +<p> + "'What do you want your head cut open fer?' he said. +</p> +<p> + "Den I tol' him de whole story, an' how my head was givin' me a + powerful sight of trouble lately, with achin' an' buzzin', so I + couldn' get no sleep at night. +</p> +<p> + "An' he said, 'Lay right down on dis yer table,' an' I lay down." +</p> +<p> + "Didn't he give you anything to deaden the pain, Harriet?" +</p> +<p> + "No, sir; I jes' lay down like a lamb fo' de slaughter, an' he + sawed open my skull, an' raised it up, an' now it feels more + comfortable." "Did you suffer very much?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, sir, it hurt, ob cose; but I got up an' put on my bonnet an' + started to walk home, but my legs kin' o' gin out under me, an' + dey sont fer a ambulance an' sont me home." +</p> +<p> + It has been hoped that this remarkable experience might result in + giving Harriet a new lease of life, but I am sorry to say she is + very feeble, and I fear will not be with us much longer. +</p> +<p> + Her "through ticket" has long been ready for her, and when her + last journey is accomplished can we doubt that she will be + welcomed to one of those many mansions prepared for those who have + spent their lives in the Master's service? +</p> +<center> + THE END +</center> +<a name="2HAPP6"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + APPENDIX. +</h2> +<p> + The following letters to the writer from those well-known and + distinguished philanthropists, Hon. Gerrit Smith and Wendell + Phillips, and one from Frederick Douglass, addressed to Harriet, + will serve as the best introduction that can be given of the + subject of this memoir to its readers: +</p> +<p> + <i>Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, <i>June</i> 13, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + MY DEAR MADAME: I am happy to learn that you are to speak to the + public of Mrs. Harriet Tubman. Of the remarkable events of her + life I have no <i>personal</i> knowledge, but of the truth of them as + she describes them I have no doubt. +</p> +<p> + I have often listened to her, in her visits to my family, and I am + confident that she is not only truthful, but that she has a rare + discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + With great respect your friend, + + GERRIT SMITH. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Wendell Phillips</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + <i>June</i> 16, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + DEAR MADAME: The last time I ever saw John Brown was under my own + roof, as he brought Harriet Tubman to me, saying: "Mr. Phillips, I + bring you one of the best and bravest persons on this continent— + <i>General</i> Tubman, as we call her." +</p> +<p> + He then went on to recount her labors and sacrifices in behalf of + her race. After that, Harriet spent some time in Boston, earning + the confidence and admiration of all those who were working for + freedom. With their aid she went to the South more than once, + returning always with a squad of self-emancipated men, women, and + children, for whom her marvelous skill had opened the way of + escape. After the war broke out, she was sent with indorsements + from Governor Andrew and his friends to South Carolina, where in + the service of the Nation she rendered most important and + efficient aid to our army. +</p> +<p> + In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who + have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few + men who did before that time more for the colored race, than our + fearless and most sagacious friend, Harriet. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Faithfully yours, + + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Frederick Douglass</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + ROCHESTER, <i>August</i> 29, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + DEAR HARRIET: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful + life has been written by a kind lady, and that the same is soon to + be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon + me for a word of commendation. I need such words from you far more + than you can need them from me, especially where your superior + labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our + land are known as I know them. The difference between us is very + marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our + cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement + at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in + a private way. I have wrought in the day—you in the night. I have + had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of + being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done + has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore + bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, + and whose heartfelt "<i>God bless you</i>" has been your only reward. + The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of + your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John + Brown—of sacred memory—I know of no one who has willingly + encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people + than you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to + those who do not know you as I know you. It is to me a great + pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony to your character + and your works, and to say to those to whom you may come, that I + regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Your friend, + + FREDERICK DOUGLASS. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Extracts from a Letter written by Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the + Massachusetts Board of State Charities.</i> +</p> +<p> + MY DEAR MADAME: Mr. Phillips has sent me your note, asking for + reminiscences of Harriet Tubman, and testimonials to her + extraordinary story, which all her New England friends will, I am + sure, be glad to furnish. +</p> +<p> + I never had reason to doubt the truth of what Harriet said in + regard to her own career, for I found her singularly truthful. Her + imagination is warm and rich, and there is a whole region of the + marvelous in her nature, which has manifested itself at times + remarkably. Her dreams and visions, misgivings and forewarnings, + ought not to be omitted in any life of her, particularly those + relating to John Brown. +</p> +<p> + She was in his confidence in 1858-9, and he had a great regard for + her, which he often expressed to me. She aided him in his plans, + and expected to do so still further, when his career was closed by + that wonderful campaign in Virginia. The first time she came to my + house, in Concord, after that tragedy, she was shown into a room + in the evening, where Brackett's bust of John Brown was standing. + The sight of it, which was new to her, threw her into a sort of + ecstacy of sorrow and admiration, and she went on in her + rhapsodical way to pronounce his apotheosis. +</p> +<p> + She has often been in Concord, where she resided at the houses of + Emerson, Alcott, the Whitneys, the Brooks family, Mrs. Horace + Mann, and other well-known persons. They all admired and respected + her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures. She was too + <i>real</i> a person to be suspected. In 1862, I think it was, she went + from Boston to Port Royal, under the advice and encouragement of + Mr. Garrison, Governor Andrew, Dr. Howe, and other leading people. + Her career in South Carolina is well known to some of our + officers, and I think to Colonel Higginson, now of Newport, R.I., + and Colonel James Montgomery, of Kansas, to both of whom she was + useful as a spy and guide, if I mistake not. I regard her as, on + the whole, the most extraordinary person of her race I have ever + met. She is a negro of pure, or almost pure blood, can neither + read nor write, and has the characteristics of her race and + condition. But she has done what can scarcely be credited on the + best authority, and she has accomplished her purposes with a + coolness, foresight, patience and wisdom, which in a <i>white man</i> + would have raised him to the highest pitch of reputation. +</p> +<p> + I am, dear Madame, very truly your servant, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + F.B. SANBORN. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Hon. Wm.H. Seward</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + WASHINGTON, <i>July</i> 25, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<center> + MAJ.-GEN. HUNTER— +</center> +<p> + MY DEAR SIR: Harriet Tubman, a colored woman, has been nursing our + soldiers during nearly all the war. She believes she has a claim + for faithful services to the command in South Carolina with which + you are connected, and she thinks that you would be disposed to + see her claim justly settled. +</p> +<p> + I have known her long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a truer, + seldom dwells in the human form. I commend her, therefore, to your + kind and best attentions. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Faithfully your friend, + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Col. James Montgomery</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C., <i>July</i> 6, 1863. + HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + BRIG.-GEN. GILMORE, Commanding Department of the South— +</p> +<p> + GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, + a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have been + acquainted with her character and actions for several years. +</p> +<p> + I am, General, your most ob't servant, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. Baird</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, <i>Nov</i>. 24, 1864. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who + has rendered faithful and good services to our Union army, not + only in the hospital, but in various capacities, having been + employed under Government at Hilton Head, and in Florida; and I + commend her to the protection of all officers in whose department + she may happen to be. +</p> +<p> + She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my + uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and + capabilities. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, N.Y., <i>Nov</i>. 4, 1867. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever, + have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying, + and of more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with + her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment. +</p> +<p> + During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful + to the cause of our country. She is poor and has poor parents. + Such a servant of the country should be well paid by the country. + I hope that the Government will look into her case. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + GERRIT SMITH. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Testimonial from Gerrit Smith</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, <i>Nov.</i> 22, 1864. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The bearer, Harriet Tubman, needs not any recommendation. Nearly + all the nation over, she has been heard of for her wisdom, + integrity, patriotism, and bravery. The cause of freedom owes her + much. The country owes her much. +</p> +<p> + I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high + esteem. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + GERRIT SMITH. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Certificate from Henry K. Durrant, Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.</i> +</p> +<p> + I certify that I have been acquainted with Harriet Tubman for + nearly two years; and my position as Medical Officer in charge of + "contrabands" in this town and in hospital, has given me frequent + and ample opportunities to observe her general deportment; + particularly her kindness and attention to the sick and suffering + of her own race. I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem + in which she is generally held. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + HENRY K. DURRANT, + Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. + In charge "Contraband" Hospital. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Dated at Beaufort, S.C., the 3d day of May, 1864. +</p> +<p> + I concur fully in the above. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + R. SAXTON, Brig.-Gen. Vol. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + The following are a few of the passes used by Harriet throughout + the war. Many others are so defaced that it is impossible to + decipher them. +</p> +<center> + HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, +</center> +<p> + HILTON HEAD, PORT ROYAL, S.C., <i>Feb</i>. 19, 1863. +</p> +<p> + Pass the bearer, Harriet Tubman, to Beaufort and back to this + place, and wherever she wishes to go; and give her free passage at + all times, on all Government transports. Harriet was sent to me + from Boston by Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, and is a + valuable woman. She has permission, as a servant of the + Government, to purchase such provisions from the Commissary as she + may need. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + D. HUNTER, Maj.-Gen. Com. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + General Gilmore, who succeeded General Hunter in command of the + Department of the South, appends his signature to the same pass. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, + <i>July</i> 1, 1863. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Continued in force. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Q.A. GILMORE, Brig.-Gen. Com. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + BEAUFORT, <i>Aug</i>. 28, 1862. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Will Capt. Warfield please let "Moses" have a little Bourbon + whiskey for medicinal purposes. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + HENRY K. DURANT, Act. Ass. Surgeon. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C, + <i>March</i> 20, 1865. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Pass Mrs. Harriet Tubman (colored) to Hilton Head and Charleston, + S.C., with free transportation on a Government transport, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +By order of the Sec. of War. + Louis H., Asst. Adj.-Gen., U.S.A. +To Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Van Vliet, U.S.Q.M., N.Y. +Not transferable. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C., + <i>July</i> 22, 1865. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Permit Harriet Tubman to proceed to Fortress Monroe, Va., on a + Government transport. Transportation will be furnished free of + cost. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +By order of the Secretary of War. + L.H., Asst. Adj.-Gen. +Not transferable. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + <i>Appointment as Nurse</i>. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the Medical Director + Department of Virginia has been instructed to appoint Harriet + Tubman nurse or matron at the Colored Hospital, Fort Monroe, Va. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Very respectfully, your obdt. servant, + V.K. BARNES, Surgeon-General. +Hon. WM.H. SEWARD, + Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Of the many letters, testimonials, and passes, placed in the hands + of the writer by Harriet, the following are selected for insertion + in this book, and are quite sufficient to verify her statements. +</p> +<p> + <i>A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a lady of Auburn</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + ATLANTA, GA., <i>March</i> 21, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that + Hon. Wm.H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition to + Congress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in + the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the + value of her services in South Carolina and Florida. She was + employed in the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid + inside the enemy's lines, displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and + fidelity. She was employed by General Hunter, and I think by + Generals Stevens and Sherman, and is as deserving of a pension + from the Government for her services as any other of its faithful + servants. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + I am very truly yours, + RUFUS SAXTON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen., U.S.A. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Rev. Samuel I. May, in his recollections of the anti-slavery + conflict, after mentioning the case of an old slave mother, whom + he vainly endeavored to assist her son in buying from her master, + says: +</p> +<p> + "I did not until four years after know that remarkable woman + Harriet, or I might have engaged her services, in the assurance + that she would have bought off the old woman without <i>paying</i> for + her inalienable right—her liberty." +</p> +<p> + Mr. May in another place says of Harriet, that she deserves to be + placed <i>first</i> on the list of American heroines, and then proceeds + to give a short account of her labors, varying very little from + that given in this book. +</p> +<a name="2H_4_7"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + FUGITIVE SLAVE RESCUE IN TROY. +</h2> +<p> + From the <i>Troy Whig</i>, April 28, 1859. +</p> +<p> + Yesterday afternoon, the streets of this city and West Troy were + made the scenes of unexampled excitement. For the first time since + the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, an attempt was made here to + carry its provisions into execution, and the result was a terrific + encounter between the officers and the prisoner's friends, the + triumph of mob law, and the final rescue of the fugitive. Our city + was thrown into a grand state of turmoil, and for a time every + other topic was forgotten, to give place to this new excitement. + People did not think last evening to ask who was nominated at + Charleston, or whether the news of the Heenan and Sayers battle + had arrived—everything was merged into the fugitive slave case, + of which it seems the end is not yet. +</p> +<p> + Charles Nalle, the fugitive, who was the cause of all this + excitement, was a slave on the plantation of B.W. Hansborough, in + Culpepper County, Virginia, till the 19th of October, 1858, when + he made his escape, and went to live in Columbia, Pennsylvania. A + wife and five children are residing there now. Not long since he + came to Sandlake, in this county, and resided in the family of Mr. + Crosby until about three weeks ago. Since that time, he has been + employed as coachman by Uri Gilbert, Esq., of this city. He is + about thirty years of age, tall, quite light-complexioned, and + good-looking. He is said to have been an excellent and faithful + servant. +</p> +<p> + At Sandlake, we understand that Nalle was often seen by one H.F. + Averill, formerly connected with one of the papers of this city, + who communicated with his reputed owner in Virginia, and gave the + information that led to a knowledge of the whereabouts of the + fugitive. Averill wrote letters for him, and thus obtained an + acquaintance with his history. Mr. Hansborough sent on an agent, + Henry J. Wall, by whom the necessary papers were got out to arrest + the fugitive. +</p> +<p> + Yesterday morning about 11 o'clock, Charles Nalle was sent to + procure some bread for the family by whom he was employed. He + failed to return. At the baker's he was arrested by Deputy United + States Marshal J.W. Holmes, and immediately taken before United + States Commissioner Miles Beach. The son of Mr. Gilbert, thinking + it strange that he did not come back, sent to the house of William + Henry, on Division Street, where he boarded, and his whereabouts + was discovered. +</p> +<p> + The examination before Commissioner Beach was quite brief. The + evidence of Averill and the agent was taken, and the Commissioner + decided to remand Nalle to Virginia. The necessary papers were + made out and given to the Marshal. +</p> +<p> + By this time it was two o'clock, and the fact began to be noised + abroad that there was a fugitive slave in Mr. Beach's office, + corner of State and First Streets. People in knots of ten or + twelve collected near the entrance, looking at Nalle, who could be + seen at an upper window. William Henry, a colored man, with whom + Nalle boarded, commenced talking from the curb-stone in a loud + voice to the crowd. He uttered such sentences as, "There is a + fugitive slave in that office—pretty soon you will see him come + forth. He is going to be taken down South, and you will have a + chance to see him. He is to be taken to the depot, to go to + Virginia in the first train. Keep watch of those stairs, and you + will have a sight." A number of women kept shouting, crying, and + by loud appeals excited the colored persons assembled. +</p> +<p> + Still the crowd grew in numbers. Wagons halted in front of the + locality, and were soon piled with spectators. An alarm of fire + was sounded, and hose carriages dashed through the ranks of men, + women, and boys; but they closed again, and kept looking with + expectant eyes at the window where the negro was visible. + Meanwhile, angry discussions commenced. Some persons agitated a + rescue, and others favored law and order. Mr. Brockway, a lawyer, + had his coat torn for expressing his sentiments, and other + <i>mêlées</i> kept the interest alive. +</p> +<p> + All at once there was a wild halloo, and every eye was turned up + to see the legs and part of the body of the prisoner protruding + from the second story window, at which he was endeavoring to + escape. Then arose a shout! "Drop him!" "Catch him!" "Hurrah!" But + the attempt was a fruitless one, for somebody in the office pulled + Nalle back again, amid the shouts of a hundred pairs of lungs. The + crowd at this time numbered nearly a thousand persons. Many of + them were black, and a good share were of the female sex. They + blocked up State Street from First Street to the alley, and kept + surging to and fro. +</p> +<p> + Martin I. Townsend, Esq., who acted as counsel for the fugitive, + did not arrive in the Commissioner's office until a decision had + been rendered. He immediately went before Judge Gould, of the + Supreme Court, and procured a writ of habeas corpus in the usual + form, <i>returnable</i> immediately. This was given Deputy-Sheriff + Nathaniel Upham, who at once proceeded to Commissioner Beach's + office, and served it on Holmes. Very injudiciously, the officers + proceeded at once to Judge Gould's office, although it was evident + they would have to pass through an excited, unreasonable crowd. As + soon as the officers and their prisoner emerged from the door, an + old negro, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, + shouted, "Here they come," and the crowd made a terrific rush at + the party. +</p> +<p> + From the office of Commissioner Beach, in the Mutual Building, to + that of Judge Gould, in Congress Street, is less than two blocks, + but it was made a regular battlefield. The moment the prisoner + emerged from the doorway, in custody of Deputy-Sheriff Upham, + Chief of Police Quin, Officers Cleveland and Holmes, the crowd + made one grand charge, and those nearest the prisoner seized him + violently, with the intention of pulling him away from the + officers, but they were foiled; and down First to Congress Street, + and up the latter in front of Judge Gould's chambers, went the + surging mass. Exactly what did go on in the crowd, it is + impossible to say, but the pulling, hauling, mauling, and + shouting, gave evidences of frantic efforts on the part of the + rescuers, and a stern resistance from the conservators of the law. + In front of Judge Gould's office the combat was at its height. No + stones or other missiles were used; the battle was fist to fist. + We believe an order was given to take the prisoner the other way, + and there was a grand rush towards the West, past First and River + Streets, as far as Dock Street. All this time there was a + continual <i>mêlée</i>. Many of the officers were hurt—among them Mr. + Upham, whose object was solely to do his duty by taking Nalle + before Judge Gould in accordance with the writ of habeas corpus. A + number in the crowd were more or less hurt, and it is a wonder + that these were not badly injured, as pistols were drawn and + chisels used. +</p> +<p> + The battle had raged as far as the corner of Dock and Congress + Streets, and the victory remained with the rescuers at last. The + officers were completely worn out with their exertions, and it was + impossible to continue their hold upon him any longer. Nalle was + at liberty. His friends rushed him down Dock Street to the lower + ferry, where there was a skiff lying ready to start. The fugitive + was put in, the ferryman rowed off, and amid the shouts of + hundreds who lined the banks of the river, Nalle was carried into + Albany County. +</p> +<p> + As the skiff landed in West Troy, a negro sympathizer waded up to + the waist, and pulled Nalle out of the boat. He went up the hill + alone, however, and there who should he meet but Constable Becker! + The latter official seeing a man with manacles on, considered it + his duty to arrest him. He did so, and took him in a wagon to the + office of Justice Stewart, on the second floor of the corner + building near the ferry. The justice was absent. +</p> +<p> + When the crowd on the Troy bank had seen Nalle safely landed, it + was suggested that he might be recaptured. Then there was another + rush made for the steam ferry-boat, which carried over about 400 + persons, and left as many more—a few of the latter being soused + in their efforts to get on the boat. On landing in West Troy, + there, sure enough, was the prisoner, locked up in a strong + office, protected by Officers Becker, Brown and Morrison, and the + door barricaded. +</p> +<p> + Not a moment was lost. Up stairs went a score or more of resolute + men—the rest "piling in" promiscuously, shouting and execrating + the officers. Soon a stone flew against the door—then another— + and bang, bang! went off a couple of pistols, but the officers who + fired them took good care to aim pretty high. The assailants were + forced to retreat for a moment. "They've got pistols," said one. + "Who cares?" was the reply; "they can only kill a dozen of us— + come on." More stones and more pistol-shots ensued. At last the + door was pulled open by an immense negro, and in a moment he was + felled by a hatchet in the hands of Deputy-Sheriff Morrison; but + the body of the fallen man blocked up the door so that it could + not be shut, and a friend of the prisoner pulled him out. Poor + fellow! he might well say, "Save me from my friends." Amid the + pulling and hauling, the iron had cut his arms, which were + bleeding profusely, and he could hardly walk, owing to fatigue. +</p> +<p> + He has since arrived safely in Canada. +</p> +<center> + THE END. +</center> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Harriet, The Moses of Her People, by +Sarah H. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Harriet, The Moses of Her People + +Author: Sarah H. Bradford + +Posting Date: November 23, 2011 [EBook #9999] +Release Date: February, 2006 +First Posted: November 6, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + + + + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Letter from Susan B. Anthony, January, 1903.] + + + + +HARRIET + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE + +By + +SARAH H. BRADFORD + + + + + "Farewell, ole Marster, don't think hard of me, + I'm going on to Canada, where all de slaves are free." + + + "Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to His throne, + He who died has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone." + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY SARAH H. BRADFORD. + + + + +PREFACE. + +The title I have given my black heroine, in this second edition of +her story, viz.: THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE, may seem a little +ambitious, considering that this Moses was a woman, and that she +succeeded in piloting only three or four hundred slaves from the +land of bondage to the land of freedom. + +But I only give her here the name by which she was familiarly +known, both at the North and the South, during the years of terror +of the Fugitive Slave Law, and during our last Civil War, in both +of which she took so prominent a part. + +And though the results of her unexampled heroism were not to free +a whole nation of bond-men and bond-women, yet this object was as +much the desire of her heart, as it was of that of the great +leader of Israel. Her cry to the slave-holders, was ever like his +to Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" and not even he imperiled life and +limb more willingly, than did our courageous and self-sacrificing +friend. + +Her name deserves to be handed down to posterity, side by side +with the names of Jeanne D'Arc, Grace Darling, and Florence +Nightingale, for not one of these women, noble and brave as they +were, has shown more courage, and power of endurance, in facing +danger and death to relieve human suffering, than this poor black +woman, whose story I am endeavoring in a most imperfect way to +give you. + +Would that Mrs. Stowe had carried out the plan she once projected, +of being the historian of our sable friend; by her graphic pen, +the incidents of such a life might have been wrought up into a +tale of thrilling interest, equaling, if not exceeding her world +renowned "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +The work fell to humbler hands, and the first edition of this +story, under the title of "Harriet Tubman," was written in the +greatest possible haste, while the writer was preparing for a +voyage to Europe. There was pressing need for this book, to save +the poor woman's little home from being sold under a mortgage, and +letters and facts were penned down rapidly, as they came in. The +book has now been in part re-written and the letters and +testimonials placed in an appendix. + +For the satisfaction of the incredulous (and there will naturally +be many such, when so strange a tale is repeated to them), I will +here state that so far as it has been possible, I have received +corroboration of every incident related to me by my heroic friend. +I did this for the satisfaction of others, not for my own. No one +can hear Harriet talk, and not believe every word she says. As Mr. +Sanborn says of her, "she is too _real_ a person, not to be true." + +Many incidents quite as wonderful as those related in the story, I +have rejected, because I had no way in finding the persons who +could speak to their truth. + +This woman was the friend of William H. Seward, of Gerritt Smith, +of Wendell Phillips, of William Lloyd Garrison, and of many other +distinguished philanthropists before the War, as of very many +officers of the Union Army during the conflict. + +After her almost superhuman efforts in making her own escape from +slavery, and then returning to the South _nineteen times_, and +bringing away with her over three hundred fugitives, she was sent +by Governor Andrew of Massachusetts to the South at the beginning +of the War, to act as spy and scout for our armies, and to be +employed as hospital nurse when needed. + +Here for four years she labored without any remuneration, and +during the time she was acting as nurse, never drew but twenty +days' rations from our Government. She managed to support herself, +as well as to take care of the suffering soldiers. + +Secretary Seward exerted himself in every possible way to procure +her a pension from Congress, but red-tape proved too strong even +for him, and her case was rejected, because it did not come under +any recognized law. + +The first edition of this little story was published through the +liberality of Gerritt Smith, Wendell Phillips, and prominent men +in Auburn, and the object for which it was written was +accomplished. But that book has long been out of print, and the +facts stated there are all unknown to the present generation. +There have, I am told, often been calls for the book, which could +not be answered, and I have been urged by many friends as well as +by Harriet herself, to prepare another edition. For another +necessity has arisen and she needs help again not for herself, but +for certain helpless ones of her people. + +Her own sands are nearly run, but she hopes, 'ere she goes home, +to see this work, a hospital, well under way. Her last breath and +her last efforts will be spent in the cause of those for whom she +has already risked so much. + + For them her tears will fall, + For them her prayers ascend; + To them her toils and cares be given, + Till toils and cares shall end. + S.H.B. + +Letter from Mr. Oliver Johnson for the second edition: + + NEW YORK, _March 6_, 1886. + +MY DEAR MADAM: + +I am very glad to learn that you are about to publish a revised +edition of your life of that heroic woman, Harriet Tubman, by +whose assistance so many American slaves were enabled to break +their bonds. + +During the period of my official connection with the Anti-Slavery +office in New York, I saw her frequently, when she came there with +the companies of slaves, whom she had successfully piloted away +from the South; and often listened with wonder to the story of +her adventures and hair-breadth escapes. + +She always told her tale with a modesty which showed how +unconscious she was of having done anything more than her simple +duty. No one who listened to her could doubt her perfect +truthfulness and integrity. + +Her shrewdness in planning the escape of slaves, her skill in +avoiding arrest, her courage in every emergency, and her +willingness to endure hardship and face any danger for the sake of +her poor followers was phenomenal. + +I regret to hear that she is poor and ill, and hope the sale of +your book will give her the relief she so much needs and so well +deserves. + + Yours truly, + + OLIVER JOHNSON. + + + + AUBURN THEOL. SEMINARY, + _March_ 16, 1886. + +By PROFESSOR HOPKINS + +The remarkable person who is the subject of the following sketch, +has been residing mostly ever since the close of the war in the +outskirts of the City of Auburn, during all which time I have been +well acquainted with her. She has all the characteristics of the +pure African race strongly marked upon her, though from which one +of the various tribes that once fed the Barracoons, on the Guinea +coast, she derived her indomitable courage and her passionate love +of freedom I know not; perhaps from the Fellatas, in whom those +traits were predominant. + +Harriet lives upon a farm which the twelve hundred dollars given +her by Mrs. Bradford from the proceeds of the first edition of +this little book, enabled her to redeem from a mortgage held by +the late Secretary Seward. + +Her household is very likely to consist of several old black +people, "bad with the rheumatize," some forlorn wandering woman, +and a couple of small images of God cut in ebony. How she manages +to feed and clothe herself and them, the Lord best knows. She has +too much pride and too much faith to beg. She takes thankfully, +but without any great effusiveness of gratitude, whatever God's +messengers bring her. + +I have never heard that she absolutely lacked. There are some good +people in various parts of the country, into whose hearts God +sends the thought, from time to time, that Harriet may be at the +bottom of the flour sack, or of the potatoes, and the "help in +time of need" comes to her. + +Harriet's simplicity and ignorance have, in some cases, been +imposed upon, very signally in one instance in Auburn, a few years +ago; but nobody who knows her has the slightest doubt of her +perfect integrity. + +The following sketch taken by Mrs. Bradford, chiefly from +Harriet's own recollections, which are wonderfully distinct and +minute, but also from other corroborative sources, gives but a +very imperfect account of what this woman has been. + +Her color, and the servile condition in which she was born and +reared, have doomed her to obscurity, but a more heroic soul did +not breathe in the bosom of Judith or of Jeanne D'Arc. + +No fear of the lash, the blood-hound, or the fiery stake, could +divert her from her self-imposed task of leading as many as +possible of her people "from the land of Egypt, from the house of +bondage." + +The book is good literature for the black race, or the white race, +and though no similar conditions may arise, to test the +possibilities that are in any of them, yet the example of this +poor slave woman may well stand out before them, and before all +people, black or white, to show what a lofty and martyr spirit may +accomplish, struggling against overwhelming obstacles. + + + + +HARRIET, + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE. + + +On a hot summer's day, perhaps sixty years ago, a group of merry +little darkies were rolling and tumbling in the sand in front of +the large house of a Southern planter. Their shining skins gleamed +in the sun, as they rolled over each other in their play, and +their voices, as they chattered together, or shouted in glee, +reached even to the cabins of the negro quarter, where the old +people groaned in spirit, as they thought of the future of those +unconscious young revelers; and their cry went up, "O, Lord, how +long!" + +Apart from the rest of the children, on the top rail of a fence, +holding tight on to the tall gate post, sat a little girl of +perhaps thirteen years of age; darker than any of the others, and +with a more decided _woolliness_ in the hair; a pure unmitigated +African. She was not so entirely in a state of nature as the +rollers in the dust beneath her; but her only garment was a short +woolen skirt, which was tied around her waist, and reached about +to her knees. She seemed a dazed and stupid child, and as her head +hung upon her breast, she looked up with dull blood-shot eyes +towards her young brothers and sisters, without seeming to see +them. Bye and bye the eyes closed, and still clinging to the post, +she slept. The other children looked up and said to each other, +"Look at Hatt, she's done gone off agin!" Tired of their present +play ground they trooped off in another direction, but the girl +slept on heavily, never losing her hold on the post, or her seat +on her perch. Behold here, in the stupid little negro girl, the +future deliverer of hundreds of her people; the spy and scout of +the Union armies; the devoted hospital nurse; the protector of +hunted fugitives; the eloquent speaker in public meetings; the +cunning eluder of pursuing man-hunters; the heaven guided pioneer +through dangers seen and unseen; in short, as she has well been +called, "The Moses of her People." + +Here in her thirteenth year she is just recovering from the first +terrible effects of an injury inflicted by her master, who in an +ungovernable fit of rage threw a heavy weight at the unoffending +child, breaking in her skull, and causing a pressure upon her +brain, from which in her old age she is suffering still. This +pressure it was which caused the fits of somnolency so frequently +to come upon her, and which gave her the appearance of being +stupid and half-witted in those early years. But that brain which +seemed so dull was full of busy thoughts, and her life problem was +already trying to work itself out there. + +She had heard the shrieks and cries of women who were being +flogged in the negro quarter; she had listened to the groaned out +prayer, "Oh, Lord, have mercy!" She had already seen two older +sisters taken away as part of a chain gang, and they had gone no +one knew whither; she had seen the agonized expression on their +faces as they turned to take a last look at their "Old Cabin +Home;" and had watched them from the top of the fence, as they +went off weeping and lamenting, till they were hidden from her +sight forever. She saw the hopeless grief of the poor old mother, +and the silent despair of the aged father, and already she began +to revolve in her mind the question, "Why should such things be?" +"Is there no deliverance for my people?" + +The sun shone on, and Harriet still slept seated on the fence +rail. They, those others, had no anxious dreams of the future, and +even the occasional sufferings of the present time caused them but +a temporary grief. Plenty to eat, and warm sunshine to bask in, +were enough to constitute their happiness; Harriet, however, was +not one of these. God had a great work for her to do in the world, +and the discipline and hardship through which she passed in her +early years, were only preparing her for her after life of +adventure and trial; and through these to come out as the Savior +and Deliverer of her people, when she came to years of womanhood. + +As yet she had seen no "visions," and heard no "voices;" no +foreshadowing of her life of toil and privation, of flight before +human blood-hounds, of watchings, and hidings, of perils by land, +and perils by sea, yea, and of perils by false brethren, or of +miraculous deliverance had yet come to her. No hint of the great +mission of her life, to guide her people from the land of bondage +to the land of freedom. But, "Why should such things be?" and "Is +there no help?" These were the questions of her waking hours. + +The dilapidated state of things about the "Great House" told truly +the story of waning fortunes, and poverty was pressing upon the +master. One by one the able-bodied slaves disappeared; some were +sold, others hired to other masters. No questions were asked; no +information given; they simply disappeared. A "lady," for so she +was designated, came driving up to the great house one day, to see +if she could find there a young girl to take care of a baby. The +lady wished to pay low wages, and so the most stupid and the most +incapable of the children on the plantation was chosen to go with +her. Harriet, who could command less wages than any other child of +her age on the plantation, was therefore put into the wagon +without a word of explanation, and driven off to the lady's house. +It was not a very fine house, but Harriet had never before been in +any dwelling better than the cabins of the negro quarter. + +She was engaged as child's nurse, but she soon found that she was +expected to be maid of all work by day, as well as child's nurse +by night. The first task that was set her was that of sweeping and +dusting a parlor. No information was vouchsafed as to the manner +of going about this work, but she had often swept out the cabin, +and this part of her task was successfully accomplished. Then at +once she took the dusting cloth, and wiped off tables, chairs and +mantel-piece. The dust, as dust will do, when it has nowhere else +to go, at once settled again, and chairs and tables were soon +covered with a white coating, telling a terrible tale against +Harriet, when her Mistress came in to see how the work progressed. +Reproaches, and savage words, fell upon the ears of the frightened +child, and she was commanded to do the work all over again. It was +done in precisely the same way, as before, with the same result. +Then the whip was brought into requisition, and it was laid on +with no light hand. Five times before breakfast this process was +repeated, when a new actor appeared upon the scene. Miss Emily, a +sister of the Mistress, had been roused from her morning slumber +by the sound of the whip, and the screams of the child; and being +of a less imperious nature than her sister, she had come in to try +to set matters right. + +"Why do you whip the child, Susan, for not doing what she has +never been taught to do? Leave her to me a few minutes, and you +will see that she will soon learn how to sweep and dust a room." +Then Miss Emily instructed the child to open the windows, and +sweep, then to leave the room, and set the table, while the dust +settled; and after that to return and wipe it off. There was no +more trouble of that kind. A few words might have set the matter +right before; but in those days many a poor slave suffered for the +stupidity and obstinacy of a master or mistress, more stupid than +themselves. + +When the labors, unremitted for a moment, of the long day were +over (for this mistress was an economical woman, and intended to +get the worth of her money to the uttermost farthing), there was +still no rest for the weary child, for there was a cross baby to +be rocked continuously, lest it should wake and disturb the +mother's rest. The black child sat beside the cradle of the white +child, so near the bed, that the lash of the whip would reach her +if she ventured for a moment to forget her fatigues and sufferings +in sleep. The Mistress reposed upon her bed with the whip on a +little shelf over her head. People of color are, unfortunately, so +constituted that even if the pressure of a broken skull does not +cause a sleep like the sleep of the dead, the need of rest, and +the refreshment of slumber after a day of toil, were often felt by +them. No doubt, this was a great wrong to their masters, and a +cheating them of time which belonged to them, but their slaves did +not always look upon it in that light, and tired nature would +demand her rights; and so nature and the Mistress had a fight for +it. + +Rock, rock, went the cradle, and mother and child slept; but alas! +the little black hand would sometimes slip down, and the head +would droop, and a dream of home and mother would visit the weary +one, only to be roughly dispelled by the swift descent of the +stinging lash, for the baby had cried out and the mother had been +awakened. This is no fictitious tale. That poor neck is even now +covered with the scars which sixty years of life have not been +able to efface. It may be that she was thus being prepared by the +long habit of enforced wakefulness, for the night watches in the +woods, and in dens and caves of the earth, when the pursuers were +on her track, and the terrified ones were trembling in her shadow. +We do not thank _you_ for this, cruel woman! for if you did her a +service, you did it ignorantly, and only for your own gratification. +But Harriet's powers of endurance failed at last, and she was +returned to her master, a poor, scarred wreck, nothing but skin and +bone, with the words that "She wasn't worth a sixpence." + +The poor old mother nursed her back to life, and her naturally +good constitution asserted itself, so that as she grew older she +began to show signs of the wonderful strength which in after +years, when the fugitive slave law was in operation in New York +State, enabled her to seize a man from the officers who had him in +charge, and while numbers were pursuing her, and the shot was +flying like hail about her head, to bear him in her own strong +arms beyond the reach of danger. + +As soon as she was strong enough for work, Harriet was hired out +to a man whose tyranny was worse, if possible, than that of the +woman she had left. Now it was out of door drudgery which was put +upon her. The labor of the horse and the ox, the lifting of +barrels of flour and other heavy weights were given to her; and +powerful men often stood astonished to see this woman perform +feats of strength from which they shrunk incapable. This cruelty +she looks upon as a blessing in disguise (a very questionable +shape the blessing took, methinks), for by it she was prepared for +after needs. + +Still the pressure upon the brain continued, and with the weight +half lifted, she would drop off into a state of insensibility, +from which even the lash in the hand of a strong man could not +rouse her. But if they had only known it, the touch of a gentle +hand upon her shoulder, and her name spoken in tones of kindness, +would have accomplished what cruelty failed to do. + +The day's work must be accomplished, whether the head was racked +with pain, and the frame was consumed by fever, or not; but the +day came at length when poor Harriet could work no more. The sting +of the lash had no power to rouse her now, and the new master +finding her a dead weight on his hands, returned the useless piece +of property to him who was called her "owner." And while she lay +there helpless, this man was bringing other men to look at her, +and offering her for sale at the lowest possible price; at the +same time setting forth her capabilities, if once she were strong +and well again. + +Harriet's religious character I have not yet touched upon. Brought +up by parents possessed of strong faith in God, she had never +known the time, I imagine, when she did not trust Him, and cling +to Him, with an all-abiding confidence. She seemed ever to feel +the Divine Presence near, and she talked with God "as a man +talketh with his friend." Hers was not the religion of a morning +and evening prayer at stated times, but when she felt a need, she +simply told God of it, and trusted Him to set the matter right. + +"And so," she said to me, "as I lay so sick on my bed, from +Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. +'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, +Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, +and make him a Christian.' And all the time he was bringing men to +look at me, and dey stood there saying what dey would give, and +what dey would take, and all I could say was, 'Oh, Lord, convert +ole master.' Den I heard dat as soon as I was able to move I was +to be sent with my brudders, in the chain-gang to de far South. +Then I changed my prayer, and I said, 'Lord, if you ain't never +going to change dat man's heart, _kill him_, Lord, and take him +out of de way, so he won't do no more mischief.' Next ting I heard +ole master was dead; and he died just as he had lived, a wicked, +bad man. Oh, den it 'peared like I would give de world full of +silver and gold, if I had it, to bring dat pore soul back, I would +give _myself_; I would give eberyting! But he was gone, I couldn't +pray for him no more." + +As she recovered from this long illness, a deeper religious spirit +seemed to take possession of her than she had ever experienced +before. She literally "prayed without ceasing." "'Pears like, I +prayed all de time," she said, "about my work, eberywhere; I was +always talking to de Lord. When I went to the horse-trough to wash +my face, and took up de water in my hands, I said, 'Oh, Lord, wash +me, make me clean.' When I took up de towel to wipe my face and +hands, I cried, 'Oh, Lord, for Jesus' sake, wipe away all my +sins!' When I took up de broom and began to sweep, I groaned, 'Oh, +Lord, whatsoebber sin dere be in my heart, sweep it out, Lord, +clar and clean;' but I can't pray no more for pore ole master." No +words can describe the pathos of her tones as she broke into these +words of earnest supplication. + +What was to become of the slaves on this plantation now that the +master was dead? Were they all to be scattered and sent to +different parts of the country? Harriet had many brothers and +sisters, all of whom with the exception of the two, who had gone +South with the chain-gang, were living on this plantation, or were +hired out to planters not far away. The word passed through the +cabins that another owner was coming in, and that none of the +slaves were to be sold out of the State. This assurance satisfied +the others, but it did not satisfy Harriet. Already the inward +monitor was whispering to her, "Arise, flee for your life!" and in +the visions of the night she saw the horsemen coming, and heard +the shrieks of women and children, as they were being torn from +each other, and hurried off no one knew whither. + +And beckoning hands were ever motioning her to come, and she +seemed to see a line dividing the land of slavery from the land of +freedom, and on the other side of that line she saw lovely white +ladies waiting to welcome her, and to care for her. Already in her +mind her people were the Israelites in the land of Egypt, while +far away to the north _somewhere_, was the land of Canaan; but had +she as yet any prevision that _she_ was to be the Moses who was to +be their leader, through clouds of darkness and fear, and fires of +tribulation to that promised land? This she never said. + +One day there were scared faces seen in the negro quarter, and +hurried whispers passed from one to another. No one knew how it +had come out, but some one had heard that Harriet and two of her +brothers were very soon, perhaps to-day, perhaps to-morrow, to be +sent far South with a gang, bought up for plantation work. Harriet +was about twenty or twenty-five years old at this time, and the +constantly recurring idea of escape at _sometime_, took sudden +form that day, and with her usual promptitude of action she was +ready to start at once. + +She held a hurried consultation with her brothers, in which she so +wrought upon their fears, that they expressed themselves as +willing to start with her that very night, for that far North, +where, could they reach it in safety, freedom awaited them. But +she must first give some intimation of her purpose to the friends +she was to leave behind, so that even if not understood at the +time, it might be remembered afterward as her intended farewell. +Slaves must not be seen talking together, and so it came about +that their communication was often made by singing, and the words +of their familiar hymns, telling of the heavenly journey, and the +land of Canaan, while they did not attract the attention of the +masters, conveyed to their brethren and sisters in bondage +something more than met the ear. And so she sang, accompanying the +words, when for a moment unwatched, with a meaning look to one and +another: + + "When dat ar ole chariot comes, + I'm gwine to lebe you, + I'm boun' for de promised land, + Frien's, I'm gwine to lebe you." + +Again, as she passed the doors of the different cabins, she lifted +up her well-known voice; and many a dusky face appeared at door or +window, with a wondering or scared expression; and thus she +continued: + + "I'm sorry, frien's, to lebe you, + Farewell! oh, farewell! + But I'll meet you in de mornin', + Farewell! oh, farewell! + + "I'll meet you in de mornin', + When you reach de promised land; + On de oder side of Jordan, + For I'm boun' for de promised land." + +The brothers started with her, but the way was strange, the north +was far away, and all unknown, the masters would pursue and +recapture them, and their fate would be worse than ever before; +and so they broke away from her, and bidding her goodbye, they +hastened back to the known horrors of slavery, and the dread of +that which was worse. + +Harriet was now left alone, but after watching the retreating +forms of her brothers, she turned her face toward the north, and +fixing her eyes on the guiding star, and committing her way unto +the Lord, she started again upon her long, lonely journey. Her +farewell song was long remembered in the cabins, and the old +mother sat and wept for her lost child. No intimation had been +given her of Harriet's intention, for the old woman was of a most +impulsive disposition, and her cries and lamentations would have +made known to all within hearing Harriet's intended escape. And +so, with only the North Star for her guide, our heroine started on +the way to liberty, "For," said she, "I had reasoned dis out in my +mind; there was one of two things I had a _right_ to, liberty, or +death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man +should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my +strength lasted, and when de time came for me to go, de Lord would +let dem take me." + +And so without money, and without friends, she started on through +unknown regions; walking by night, hiding by day, but always +conscious of an invisible pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by +night, under the guidance of which she journeyed or rested. +Without knowing whom to trust, or how near the pursuers might be, +she carefully felt her way, and by her native cunning, or by God +given wisdom, she managed to apply to the right people for food, +and sometimes for shelter; though often her bed was only the cold +ground, and her watchers the stars of night. + +After many long and weary days of travel, she found that she had +passed the magic line, which then divided the land of bondage from +the land of freedom. But where were the lovely white ladies whom +in her visions she had seen, who, with arms outstretched, welcomed +her to their hearts and homes. All these visions proved deceitful: +she was more alone than ever; but she had crossed the line; no one +could take her now, and she would never call any man "Master" +more. + +"I looked at my hands," she said, "to see if I was de same person +now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came +like gold trou de trees, and ober de fields, and I felt like I was +in heaven." But then came the bitter drop in the cup of joy. She +was alone, and her kindred were in slavery, and not one of them +had the courage to dare what she had dared. Unless she made the +effort to liberate them she would never see them more, or even +know their fate. + +"I knew of a man," she said, "who was sent to the State Prison for +twenty-five years. All these years he was always thinking of his +home, and counting by years, months, and days, the time till he +should be free, and see his family and friends once more. The +years roll on, the time of imprisonment is over, the man is free. +He leaves the prison gates, he makes his way to his old home, but +his old home is not there. The house in which he had dwelt in his +childhood had been torn down, and a new one had been put up in its +place; his family were gone, their very name was forgotten, there +was no one to take him by the hand to welcome him back to life." + +"So it was wid me," said Harriet, "I had crossed de line of which +I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to +welcome me to de land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange +land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid +de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn +resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I +would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I +would bring dem all dere. Oh, how I prayed den, lying all alone on +de cold, damp ground; 'Oh, dear Lord,' I said, 'I haint got no +friend but _you_. Come to my help, Lord, for I'm in trouble!'" + +It would be impossible here to give a detailed account of the +journeys and labors of this intrepid woman for the redemption of +her kindred and friends, during the years that followed. Those +years were spent in work, almost by night and day, with the one +object of the rescue of her people from slavery. All her wages +were laid away with this sole purpose, and as soon as a sufficient +amount was secured, she disappeared from her Northern home, and as +suddenly and mysteriously she appeared some dark night at the door +of one of the cabins on a plantation, where a trembling band of +fugitives, forewarned as to time and place, were anxiously +awaiting their deliverer. Then she piloted them North, traveling +by night, hiding by day, scaling the mountains, fording the +rivers, threading the forests, lying concealed as the pursuers +passed them. She, carrying the babies, drugged with paregoric, in +a basket on her arm. So she went _nineteen_ times, and so she +brought away over three hundred pieces of living and breathing +"property," with God given souls. + +The way was so toilsome over the rugged mountain passes, that +often the _men_ who followed her would give out, and foot-sore, +and bleeding, they would drop on the ground, groaning that they +could not take another step. They would lie there and die, or if +strength came back, they would return on their steps, and seek +their old homes again. Then the revolver carried by this bold and +daring pioneer, would come out, while pointing it at their heads +she would say, "Dead niggers tell no tales; you go on or die!" And +by this heroic treatment she compelled them to drag their weary +limbs along on their northward journey. + +But the pursuers were after them. A reward of $40,000 was offered +by the slave-holders of the region from whence so many slaves had +been spirited away, for the head of the woman who appeared so +mysteriously, and enticed away their property, from under the very +eyes of its owners. Our sagacious heroine has been in the car, +having sent her frightened party round by some so-called +"Under-ground Railway," and has heard this advertisement, which was +posted over her head, read by others of the passengers. She never +could read or write herself, but knowing that suspicion would be +likely to fall upon any black woman traveling North, she would +turn at the next station, and journey towards the South. Who would +suspect a fugitive with such a price set upon her head, of rushing +at railway speed into the jaws of destruction? With a daring +almost heedless, she went even to the very village where she would +be most likely to meet one of the masters to whom she had been +hired; and having stopped at the Market and bought a pair of live +fowls, she went along the street with her sun-bonnet well over her +face, and with the bent and decrepit air of an aged, woman. +Suddenly on turning a corner, she spied her old master coming +towards her. She pulled the string which tied the legs of the +chickens; they began to flutter and scream, and as her master +passed, she was stooping and busily engaged in attending to the +fluttering fowls. And he went on his way, little thinking that he +was brushing the very garments of the woman who had dared to steal +herself, and others of his belongings. + +At one time the pursuit was very close and vigorous. The woods +were scoured in all directions, every house was visited, and every +person stopped and questioned as to a band of black fugitives, +known to be fleeing through that part of the country. Harriet had +a large party with her then; the children were sleeping the sound +sleep that opium gives; but all the others were on the alert, each +one hidden behind his own tree, and silent as death. They had been +long without food, and were nearly famished; and as the pursuers +seemed to have passed on, Harriet decided to make the attempt to +reach a certain "station of the underground railroad" well known +to her; and procure food for her starving party. Under cover of +the darkness, she started, leaving a cowering and trembling group +in the woods, to whom a fluttering leaf, or a moving animal, were +a sound of dread, bringing their hearts into their throats. How +long she is away! has she been caught and carried off, and if so +what is to become of them? Hark! there is a sound of singing in +the distance, coming nearer and nearer. + +And these are the words of the unseen singer, which I wish I could +give you as I have so often heard them sung by herself: + + Hail, oh hail, ye happy spirits, + Death no more shall make you fear, + Grief nor sorrow, pain nor anguish, + Shall no more distress you dere. + + Around Him are ten thousand angels + Always ready to obey command; + Dey are always hovering round you, + Till you reach de heavenly land. + + Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to his throne; + He who died, has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone. + + He whose thunders shake creation, + He who bids de planets roll; + He who rides upon the tempest, + And whose scepter sways de whole. + + Dark and thorny is de pathway, + Where de pilgrim makes his ways; + But beyond dis vale of sorrow, + Lie de fields of endless days. + +The air sung to these words was so wild, so full of plaintive +minor strains, and unexpected quavers, that I would defy any white +person to learn it, and often as I heard it, it was to me a +constant surprise. Up and down the road she passes to see if the +coast is clear, and then to make them certain that it is _their_ +leader who is coming, she breaks out into the plaintive strains of +the song, forbidden to her people at the South, but which she and +her followers delight to sing together: + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + Oh Pharaoh said he would go cross, + Let my people go, + And don't get lost in de wilderness, + Let my people go. + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + You may hinder me here, but you can't up dere, + Let my people go, + He sits in de Hebben and answers prayer, + Let my people go! + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + +And then she enters the recesses of the wood, carrying hope and +comfort to the anxious watchers there. One by one they steal out +from their hiding places, and are fed and strengthened for another +night's journey. + +And so by night travel, by signals, by threatenings, by +encouragement, through watchings and fastings, and I may say by +direct interpositions of Providence, and miraculous deliverances, +she brought her people to what was then their land of Canaan; the +State of New York. But alas! this State did not continue to be +their refuge. For in 1850, I think, the Fugitive Slave Law was put +in force, which bound the people north of Mason and Dixon's line, +to return to bondage any fugitive found in their territories. + +"After that," said Harriet, "I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam wid my +people no longer, but I brought 'em all clar off to Canada." + +On her seventh or eighth journey, she brought with her a band of +fugitives, among whom was a very remarkable man, whom I knew only +by the name of "Joe." Joe was a noble specimen of a negro, +enormously tall, and of splendid muscular development. He had been +hired out by his master to another planter, for whom he had worked +for six years, saving him all the expense of an overseer, and +taking all trouble off from his hands. He was such a very valuable +piece of property, and had become so absolutely necessary to the +planter to whom he was hired, that he determined to buy him at any +cost. His old master held him proportionately high. But by paying +one thousand dollars down, and promising to pay another thousand +in a certain time, the purchase was made, and this chattel passed +over into the hands of a new owner. + +The morning after the purchase was completed, the new master came +riding down on a tall, powerful horse into the negro quarter, with +a strong new rawhide in his hand, and stopping before Joe's cabin, +called to him to come out. Joe was just eating his breakfast, but +with ready obedience, he hastened out at the summons. Slave as he +was, and accustomed to scenes of brutality, he was surprised when +the order came, "Now, Joe, strip, and take a licking." Naturally +enough, he demurred at first, and thought of resisting the order; +but he called to mind a scene he had witnessed a few days before +in the field, the particulars of which are too horrible to be +given here, and he thought it the wisest course to submit; but +first he tried a gentle remonstrance. + +"Mas'r," said he, "habn't I always been faithful to you? Habn't I +worked through sun an' rain, early in de mornin' an' late at +night; habn't I saved you an oberseer by doin' his work? hab you +anything to complain agin me?" + +"No, Joe, I have no complaint to make of you. You're a good +nigger, an' you've always worked well. But you belong to _me_ now; +you're _my_ nigger, and the first lesson my niggers have to learn +is that I am master and they belong to me, and are never to resist +anything I order them to do. So I always begin by giving them a +good licking. Now strip and take it." + +Joe saw that there was no help for him, and that for the time he +must submit. He stripped off his clothing, and took his flogging +without a word, but as he drew his shirt up over his torn and +bleeding back, he said to himself: "Dis is de first an' de last." +As soon as he was able he took a boat, and under cover of the +night, rowed down the river, and made his way to the cabin of "Old +Ben," Harriet's father, and said to him: "Nex' time _Moses_ comes, +let me know." + +It was not long after this time, that the mysterious woman +appeared--the woman on whom no one could lay his finger--and men, +women, and children began to disappear from the plantations. One +fine morning Joe was missing, and call as loud as he might, the +master's voice had no power to bring him forth. Joe had certainly +fled; and his brother William was gone, and Peter and Eliza. From +other plantations other slaves were missing, and before their +masters were awake to the fact, the party of fugitives, following +their intrepid leader, were far on their way towards liberty. + +The adventures of this escaping party would of themselves fill a +volume. They hid in potato holes by day, while their pursuers +passed within a few feet of them; they were passed along by +friends in various disguises; they scattered and separated; some +traveling by boat, some by wagons, some by cars, others on foot, +to meet at some specified station of the under-ground railroad. +They met at the house of Sam Green,[A] the man who was afterwards +sent to prison for ten years for having a copy of "Uncle Tom's +Cabin" in his house. And so, hunted and hiding and wandering, they +found themselves at last at the entrance of the long bridge which +crosses the river at Wilmington, Delaware. + +[Footnote A: In mentioning to me the circumstances of Sam Green's +imprisonment, Harriet, who had no acquaintance with books, merely +mentioned the fact as it had come to her own knowledge. But I have +lately come across a book in the Astor Library which confirms the +story precisely as she stated it. It is in a book by Rev. John +Dixon Long, of Philadelphia. He says, "Samuel Green, a free +colored man of Dorchester County, Maryland, was sentenced to ten +years' confinement in the Maryland State Prison, at the spring +term of the County Court held in Cambridge, Md. + +"What was the crime imputed to this man, born on American soil, a +man of good moral character, a local preacher in the Methodist +Episcopal Church; a husband and a father? Simply this: A copy of +'Uncle Tom's Cabin' _had been found in his possession_. It was not +proved that he had ever read it to the colored people."] + +No time had been lost in posting up advertisements and offering +rewards for the capture of these fugitives; for Joe in particular +the reward offered was very high. First a thousand dollars, then +fifteen hundred, and then two thousand, "an' all expenses clar an' +clean for his body in Easton Jail." This high reward stimulated +the efforts of the officers who were usually on the lookout for +escaping fugitives, and the added rewards for others of the party, +and the high price set on Harriet's head, filled the woods and +highways with eager hunters after human prey. When Harriet and her +companions approached the long Wilmington Bridge, a warning was +given them by some secret friend, that the advertisements were up, +and the bridge was guarded by police officers. Quick as lightning +the plans were formed in her ready brain, and the terrified party +were separated and hidden in the houses of different friends, till +her arrangements for their further journey were completed. + +There was at that time residing in Wilmington an old Quaker, whom +I may call _my_ "friend," for though I never saw his face, I have +had correspondence with him in reference to Harriet and her +followers. This man, whose name was Thomas Garrett, and who was +well known in those days to the friends of the slave, was a man of +a wonderfully large and generous heart, through whose hands during +those days of distress and horror, no less than three thousand +self-emancipated men, women and children passed on their way to +freedom. He gave heart, hand, and means to aid these poor +fugitives, and to our brave Harriet he often rendered most +efficient help in her journeys back and forth. + +He was the proprietor of a very large shoe establishment; and not +one of these poor travelers aver left his house without a present +of a new pair of shoes and other needed help. No sooner had this +good man received intelligence of the condition of these poor +creatures, than he devised a plan to elude the vigilance of the +officers in pursuit, and bring Harriet and her party across the +bridge. Two wagons filled with bricklayers were engaged, and sent +over; this was a common sight there, and caused no remark. They +went across the bridge singing and shouting, and it was not an +unexpected thing that they should return as they went. After +nightfall (and, fortunately, the night was very dark) the same +wagons recrossed the bridge, but with an unlooked-for addition to +their party. The fugitives were lying close together on the bottom +of the wagons; the bricklayers were on the seats, still singing +and shouting; and so they passed the guards, who were all +unsuspicious of the nature of the load contained in the wagons, or +of the amount of property thus escaping their hands. + +The good man, Thomas Garrett, who was in a very feeble state of +health when he last wrote me, and has now gone to his reward, +supplied them with all needed comforts, and sent them on their way +refreshed, and with renewed courage. And Harriet here set up her +Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far hath the Lord helped me!" But many a +danger, and many a fright, and many a deliverance awaited them, +before they reached the city of New York. And even there they were +not safe, for the Fugitive Slave Law was in operation, and their +only refuge was Canada, which was now their promised land. + +They finally reached New York in safety: and this goes almost +without saying, for I may as well mention here that of the three +hundred and more fugitives whom Harriet piloted from slavery, not +one was ever recaptured, though all the cunning and skill of white +men, backed by offered rewards of large sums of money, were +brought into requisition for their recovery. + +As they entered the anti-slavery office in New York, Mr. Oliver +Johnson rose up and exclaimed, "Well, Joe, I am glad to see the +man who is worth $2,000 to his master." At this Joe's heart sank. +"Oh, Mas'r, how did you know me!" he panted. "Here is the +advertisement in our office," said Mr. Johnson, "and the +description is so close that no one could mistake it." And had he +come through all these perils, had he traveled by day and night, +and suffered cold and hunger, and lived in constant fear and +dread, to find that far off here in New York State, he was +recognized at once by the advertisement? How, then, was he ever to +reach Canada? + +"And how far off is Canada?" he asked. He was shown the map of New +York State, and the track of the railroad, for more than three +hundred miles to Niagara, where he would cross the river, and be +free. But the way seemed long and full of dangers. They were +surely safer on their own tired feet, where they might hide in +forests and ditches, and take refuge in the friendly underground +stations; but here, where this large party would be together in +the cars, surely suspicion would fall upon them, and they would be +seized and carried back. But Harriet encouraged him in her cheery +way. He must not give up now. "De Lord had been with them in six +troubles, and he would not desert them in de seventh." And there +was nothing to do but to go on. As Moses spoke to the children of +Israel, when compassed before and behind by dangers, so she spake +to her people, that they should "go forward." + +Up to this time, as they traveled they had talked and sung hymns +together, like Pilgrim and his friends, and Joe's voice was the +loudest and sweetest among them; but now he hanged his harp upon +the willows, and could sing the Lord's songs no more. + +"From dat time," in Harriet's language, "Joe was silent; he talked +no more; he sang no more; he sat wid his head on his hand, an' +nobody could 'rouse him, nor make him take any intrust in +anything." + +They passed along in safety through New York State, and at length +found themselves approaching the Suspension Bridge. They could see +the promised land on the other side. The uninviting plains of +Canada seemed to them, + + "Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, + All dressed in living green;" + +but they were not safe yet. Until they reached the center of the +bridge, they were still in the power of their pursuers, who might +at any pause enter the car, and armed with the power of the law, +drag them back to slavery. The rest of the party were happy and +excited; they were simple, ignorant creatures, and having implicit +trust in their leader, they felt safe when with her, and no +immediate danger threatened them. But Joe was of a different +mould. He sat silent and sad, always thinking of the horrors that +awaited him if recaptured. As it happened, all the other +passengers were people who sympathized with them, understanding +them to be a band of fugitives, and they listened with tears, as +Harriet and all except poor Joe lifted up their voices and sang: + + I'm on the way to Canada, + That cold and dreary land, + De sad effects of slavery, + I can't no longer stand; + I've served my Master all my days, + Widout a dime reward, + And now I'm forced to run away, + To flee de lash, abroad; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + De hounds are baying on my track, + Ole Master comes behind, + Resolved that he will bring me back, + Before I cross the line; + I'm now embarked for yonder shore, + Where a man's _a man_ by law, + De iron horse will bear me o'er, + To "shake de lion's paw;" +Oh, righteous Father, wilt thou not pity me. +And help me on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + Oh I heard Queen Victoria say, + That if we would forsake, + Our native land of slavery, + And come across de lake; + Dat she was standing on de shore, + Wid arms extended wide, + To give us all a peaceful home, + Beyond de rolling tide; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + +No doubt the simple creatures with her expected to cross a wide +lake instead of a rapid river, and to see Queen Victoria with her +crown upon her head, waiting with arms extended wide, to fold them +all in her embrace. There was now but "one wide river to cross," +and the cars rolled on to the bridge. In the distance was heard +the roar of the mighty cataract, and now as they neared the center +of the bridge, the falls might be clearly seen. Harriet was +anxious to have her companions see this wonderful sight, and +succeeded in bringing all to the windows, except Joe. But Joe +still sat with his head on his hands, and not even the wonders of +Niagara could draw him from his melancholy musings. At length as +Harriet knew by the rise of the center of the bridge, and the +descent immediately after, the line of danger was passed; she +sprang across to Joe's side of the car, and shook him almost out +of his seat, as she shouted, "Joe! you've shook de lion's paw!" +This was her phrase for having entered on the dominions of +England. But Joe did not understand this figurative expression. +Then she shook him again, and put it more plainly, "Joe, you're in +Queen Victoria's dominions! You're a free man!" + +Then Joe arose. His head went up, he raised his hands on high, and +his eyes, streaming with tears, to heaven, and then he began to +sing and shout: + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe; + Oh, go and carry the news, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe, come and look at the falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe! it's your last chance. Come and see de falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +And this was all the answer. The train stopped on the other side; +and the first feet to touch British soil, after those of the +conductor, were those of poor Joe. + +Loud roared the waters of Niagara, but louder still ascended the +Anthem of praise from the overflowing heart of the freeman. And +can we doubt that the strain was taken up by angel voices and +echoed and re-echoed through the vaults of heaven: + + Glory to God in the highest, + Glory to God and Jesus too, + For all these souls now safe. + +"The white ladies and gentlemen gathered round him," said Harriet, +"till I couldn't see Joe for the crowd, only I heard his voice +singing, 'Glory to God and Jesus too,' louder than ever." A sweet +young lady reached over her fine cambric handkerchief to him, and +as Joe wiped the great tears off his face, he said, "Tank de Lord! +dere's only one more journey for me now, and dat's to Hebben!" As +we bid farewell to Joe here, I may as well say that Harriet saw +him several times after that, a happy and industrious freeman in +Canada.[B] + +[Footnote B: In my recent interview with Mr. Oliver Johnson he +told me of an interesting incident in the life of the good man, +Thomas Garrett. + +He was tried twice for assisting in the escape of fugitive slaves, +and was fined so heavily that everything he possessed was taken +from him and sold to pay the fine. At the age of sixty he was left +without a penny, but he went bravely to work, and in some measure +regained his fortune; all the time aiding, in every way possible, +all stray fugitives who applied to him for help. + +Again he was arrested, tried, and heavily fined, and as the Judge +of the United States Court pronounced the sentence, he said, in a +solemn manner: "Garrett, let this be a lesson to you, not to +interfere hereafter with the cause of justice, by helping off +runaway negroes. + +The old man, who had stood to receive his sentence, here raised +his head, and fixing his eyes on "the Court," he said: + +"Judge--thee hasn't left me a dollar, but I wish to say to thee, +and to all in this court room, that if anyone knows of a fugitive +who wants a shelter, and a friend, _send him to Thomas Garrett_, +and he will befriend him!" + +[Not Luther before the Council at Worms was grander than this brave +old man in his unswerving adherence to principle. In those days +that tried men's souls there were many men like this old Quaker, +and many women too, who would have gone cheerfully to the fire and +the stake, for the cause of suffering humanity; men and women +_these_ "of whom the world was not worthy."] + +On one of her journeys to the North, as she was piloting a company +of refugees, Harriet came, just as morning broke, to a town, where +a colored man had lived whose house had been one of her stations +of the under-ground, or unseen railroad. They reached the house, +and leaving her party huddled together in the middle of the +street, in a pouring rain, Harriet went to the door, and gave the +peculiar rap which was her customary signal to her friends. There +was not the usual ready response, and she was obliged to repeat +the signal several times. At length a window was raised, and the +head of a _white man_ appeared, with the gruff question, "Who are +you?" and "What do you want?" Harriet asked after her friend, and +was told that he had been obliged to leave for "harboring +niggers." + +Here was an unforeseen trouble; day was breaking, and daylight was +the enemy of the hunted and flying fugitives. Their faithful +leader stood one moment in the street, and in that moment she had +flashed a message quicker than that of the telegraph to her unseen +Protector, and the answer came as quickly; in a suggestion to her +of an almost forgotten place of refuge. Outside of the town there +was a little island in a swamp, where the grass grew tall and +rank, and where no human being could be suspected of seeking a +hiding place. To this spot she conducted her party; she waded the +swamp, carrying in a basket two well-drugged babies (these were a +pair of little twins, whom I have since seen well grown young +women), and the rest of the company following. She ordered them to +lie down in the tall, wet grass, and here she prayed again, and +waited for deliverance. The poor creatures were all cold, and wet, +and hungry, and Harriet did not dare to leave them to get +supplies; for no doubt the man at whose house she had knocked, had +given the alarm in the town; and officers might be on the watch +for them. They were truly in a wretched condition, but Harriet's +faith never wavered, her silent prayer still ascended, and she +confidently expected help from some quarter or other. + +It was after dusk when a man came slowly walking along the solid +pathway on the edge of the swamp. He was clad in the garb of a +Quaker; and proved to be a "friend" in need and indeed; he seemed +to be talking to himself, but ears quickened by sharp practice +caught the words he was saying: + +"My wagon stands in the barn-yard of the next farm across the way. +The horse is in the stable; the harness hangs on a nail." And the +man was gone. Night fell, and Harriet stole forth to the place +designated. Not only a wagon, but a wagon well provisioned stood +in the yard; and before many minutes the party were rescued from +their wretched position, and were on their way rejoicing, to the +next town. Here dwelt a Quaker whom Harriet knew, and he readily +took charge of the horse and wagon, and no doubt returned them to +their owner. How the good man who thus came to their rescue had +received any intimation of their being in the neighborhood Harriet +never knew. But these sudden deliverances never seemed to strike +her as at all strange or mysterious; her prayer was the prayer of +faith, and she _expected_ an answer. + +At one time, as she was on her way South for a party of slaves, +she was stopped not far from the southern shore of the Chesapeake +Bay, by a young woman, who had been for some days in hiding, and +was anxiously watching for "Moses," who was soon expected to pass +that way. + +This girl was a young and pretty Mulatto, named Tilly, she had +been lady's maid and dressmaker, for her Mistress. She was engaged +to a young man from another plantation, but he had joined one of +Harriet's parties, and gone North. Tilly was to have gone also at +that time, but had found it impossible to get away. Now she had +learned that it was her Master's intention to give her to a Negro +of his own for his wife; and in fear and desperation, she made a +strike for freedom. Friends had concealed her, and all had been on +the watch for Moses. + +The distress and excitement of the poor creature was so great, and +she begged and implored in such agonized tones that Harriet would +just see her safe to Baltimore, where she knew of friends who +would harbor her, and help her on her way, that Harriet determined +to turn about, and endeavor to take the poor girl thus far on her +Northward journey. + +They reached the shore of Chesapeake Bay too late to leave that +night, and were obliged to hide for a night and day in the loft of +an old out-house, where every sound caused poor Tilly to tremble +as if she had an ague fit. When the time for the boat to leave +arrived, a sad disappointment awaited them. The boat on which they +had expected to leave was disabled, and another boat was to take +its place. At that time, according to the law of Slavery, no Negro +could leave his Master's land, or travel anywhere, without a pass, +properly signed by his owner. Of course this poor fugitive had no +pass; and Harriet's passes were her own wits; but among her many +friends, there was one who seemed to have influence with the clerk +of the boat, on which she expected to take passage; and she was +the bearer of a note requesting, or commanding him to take these +two women to the end of his route, asking no questions. + +Now here was an unforeseen difficulty; the boat was not going; the +clerk was not there; all on the other boat were strangers. But +forward they must go, trusting in Providence. As they walked down +to the boat, a gang of lazy white men standing together, began to +make comments on their appearance. + +"Too many likely looking Niggers traveling North, about these +days." "Wonder if these wenches have got a pass." "Where you +going, you two?" Tilly trembled and cowered, and clung to her +protector, but Harriet put on a bold front, and holding the note +given her by her friend in her hand, and supporting her terrified +charge, she walked by the men, taking no notice of their insults. + +They joined the stream of people going up to get their tickets, +but when Harriet asked for hers, the clerk eyed her suspiciously, +and said: "You just stand aside, you two; I'll attend to your case +bye and bye." + +Harriet led the young girl to the bow of the boat, where they were +alone, and here, having no other help, she, as was her custom, +addressed herself to the Lord. Kneeling on the seat, and +supporting her head on her hands, and fixing her eyes on the +waters of the bay, she groaned: + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh!" + +"Moses! Moses!" cried Tilly, pulling her by the sleeve. "Do go and +see if you can't get tickets now." + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh." + +And so Harriet's story goes on in her peculiarly graphic manner, +till at length in terror Tilly exclaimed: + +"Oh, Moses! the man is coming. What shall we do?" + +"Oh, Lord, you've been wid me in six troubles!" + +Here the clerk touched her on the shoulder, and Tilly thought +their time had come, but all he said was: + +"You can come now and get your tickets," and their troubles were +over. + +What changed this man from his former suspicious and antagonistic +aspect, Harriet never knew. Of course she said it was "de Lord," +but as to the agency he used, she never troubled herself to +inquire. She _expected_ deliverance when she prayed, unless the +Lord had ordered otherwise, and in that case she was perfectly +willing to accept the Divine decree. + +When surprise was expressed at her courage and daring, or at her +unexpected deliverances, she would always reply: "Don't, I tell +you, Missus, 'twan't _me_, 'twas _de Lord_! Jes' so long as he +wanted to use me, he would take keer of me, an' when he didn't +want me no longer, I was ready to go; I always tole him, I'm gwine +to hole stiddy on to you, an' you've got to see me trou." + +There came a time when Harriet, who had already brought away as +many of her family as she could reach, besides all others who +would trust themselves to her care, became much troubled in +"spirit" about three of her brothers, having had an intimation of +some kind that danger was impending over them. With her usual +wonderful cunning, she employed a friend to write a letter for her +to a man named Jacob Jackson, who lived near the plantation where +these brothers were at that time the hired slaves. + +Jacob Jackson was a free negro, who could both read and write, and +who was under suspicion just then of having a hand in the +disappearance of colored "property." It was necessary, therefore, +to exercise great caution in writing to him, on his own account as +well as that of the writer, and those whom she wished to aid. +Jacob had an adopted son, William Henry Jackson, also free, who +had come North. Harriet determined to sign her letter with William +Henry's name, feeling sure that Jacob would be clever enough to +understand by her peculiar phraseology, the meaning she intended +to convey. + +Therefore, after speaking of indifferent matters, the letter went +on: "Read my letter to the old folks, and give my love to them, +and tell my brothers to be always _watching unto prayer_, and when +_the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on +board_." This letter was signed "William Henry Jackson." + +Jacob was not allowed to have his letters in those days, until the +self-elected inspectors of correspondence had had the perusal of +them, and consulted over their secret meaning. These wise-acres +therefore assembled, wiped their glasses carefully, put them on, +and proceeded to examine this suspicious document. What it meant +they could not imagine. William Henry Jackson had no parents, or +brothers, and the letter was incomprehensible. Study as they +might, no light dawned upon them, but their suspicions became +stronger, and they were sure the letter meant mischief. + +White genius having exhausted itself, black genius was brought +into requisition. Jacob was sent for, and the letter was placed in +his hands. He read between the lines, and comprehended the hidden +meaning at once. "Moses" had dictated this letter, and Moses was +coming. The brothers must be on the watch, and ready to join her +at a moment's warning. But Moses must hurry, for the word had gone +forth that the brothers were to be sent South, and the chain-gang +was being collected. + +Jacob read the letter slowly, threw it down, and said: "Dat letter +can't be meant for me no how; I can't make head or tail of it." +And he walked off and took immediate measures to let Harriet's +brothers know that she was on the way, and they must be ready at +the given signal to start for the North. + +It was the day before Christmas when Harriet arrived, and the +brothers were to have started on the day after Christmas for the +South. They started on Christmas-day, but with their faces turned +in another direction, and instead of the chain-gang and the whip, +they had the North Star for their guide, and the Moses of her +people for their leader. + +As usual, this mysterious woman appeared suddenly, and word was +conveyed to the brothers that they were to be at Old Ben's cabin +on Saturday night, ready to start. "Old Ben" was their father, and +as the parents were not of much use now, Harriet was pretty +certain that they would not be sent away, and so she left them +till she had rescued the younger and more valuable members of the +family. + +Quite a number had assembled at the cabin when the hour came for +starting, but one brother was missing. Something had detained +John; but when the time for starting had struck, Harriet's word +was "forward," and she "nebber waited for no one." + +Poor John was ready to start from his cabin in the negro quarter +when his wife was taken ill, and in an hour or two another little +heir to the blessings of slavery had come into the world. + +John must go off for a "Granny," and being a faithful, +affectionate creature, he could not leave his wife under the +present circumstances. + +After the birth of the child he determined to start. The North and +freedom, or the South and life-long slavery, were the alternatives +before him; and this was his last chance. If he once reached the +North, he hoped with the help of Moses to bring his wife and +children there. + +Again and again he tried to start out of the door, but a watchful +eye was on him, and he was always arrested by the question, "Where +you gwine, John?" His wife had not been informed of the danger +hanging over his head, but she knew he was uneasy, and she feared +he was meditating a plan of escape. John told her he was going to +try to get hired out on Christmas to another man, as that was the +day on which such changes were made. + +He left the house but stood near the window listening. He heard +his wife sobbing and moaning, and not being able to endure it he +went back to her. "Oh, John!" she cried, "you's gwine to lebe me! +I know it! but wherebber you go, John, don't forgit me an' de +little children." + +John assured her that wherever he went she should come. He might +not come for her, but he would send Moses, and then he hurried +away. He had many miles to walk to his old father's cabin, where +he knew the others would be waiting for him, and at daybreak he +overtook them in the "fodder house," not far from the home of the +old people. + +At that time Harriet had not seen her mother for six years, but +she did not dare to let her know that four of her children were so +near her on their way to the North, for she would have raised such +an uproar in her efforts to detain them, that the whole +neighborhood would have been aroused. + +The poor old woman had been expecting her sons to spend Christmas +with her as usual. She had been hard at work in preparation for +their arrival. The fatted pig had been killed, and had been +converted into every form possible to the flesh of swine; pork, +bacon and sausages were ready, but the boys did not come, and +there she sat watching and waiting. + +In the night when Harriet with two of her brothers, and two other +fugitives who had joined them arrived at the "fodder house," they +were exhausted and well-nigh famished. They sent the two strange +men up to the cabin to try to rouse "Old Ben," but not to let +their mother know that her children were so near her. + +The men succeeded in rousing Old Ben, who came out quietly, and as +soon as he heard their story, went back into the house, gathered +together a quantity of provisions, and came down to the fodder +house. He placed the provisions inside the door, saying a few +words of welcome to his children, but taking care _not to see +them_. "I know what'll come of dis," he said, "an' I ain't gwine +to see my chillen, no how." The close espionage under which these +poor creatures dwelt, engendered in them a cunning and artifice, +which to them seemed only a fair and right attempt on their part, +to cope with power and cruelty constantly in force against them. + +Up among the ears of corn lay the old man's children, and one of +them he had not seen for six years. It rained in torrents all that +Sunday, and there they lay among the corn, for they could not +start till night. At about daybreak John had joined them. There +were wide chinks in the boards of the fodder house, and through +these they could see the cabin of the old folks, now quite alone +in their old age. All day long, every few minutes, they would see +the old woman come out, and shading her eyes with her hand, take a +long look down the road to see if "de boys" were coming, and then +with a sad and disappointed air she would turn back into the +cabin, and they could almost hear her sigh as she did so. + +What had become of the boys? Had they been sold off down South? +Had they tried to escape and been retaken? Would she never see +them or hear of them more? + +I have often heard it said by Southern people that "niggers had no +feeling; they did not care when their children were taken from +them." I have seen enough of them to know that their love for +their offspring is quite equal to that of the "superior race," and +it is enough to hear the tale of Harriet's endurance and self-sacrifice +to rescue her brothers and sisters, to convince one that +a heart, truer and more loving than that of many a white woman, +dwelt in her bosom. I am quite willing to acknowledge that she was +almost an anomaly among her people, but I have known many of her +family, and so far as I can judge they all seem to be peculiarly +intelligent, upright and religious people, and to have a strong +feeling of family affection. There may be many among the colored +race like them; certainly all should not be judged by the idle, +miserable darkies who have swarmed about Washington and other +cities since the War. + +Two or three times while the group of fugitives were concealed in +this loft of the fodder house, the old man came down and pushed +food inside the door, and after nightfall he came again to +accompany his children as far as he dared, upon their journey. +When he reached the fodder house, he tied a handkerchief tight +about his eyes, and one of his sons taking him by one arm, and +Harriet taking him by the other, they went on their way talking in +low tones together, asking and answering questions as to relatives +and friends. + +The time of parting came, and they bade him farewell, and left him +standing in the middle of the road. When he could no longer hear +their footsteps he turned back, and taking the handkerchief from +his eyes, he hastened home. + +But before Harriet and her brothers left, they had gone up to the +cabin during the evening to take a silent farewell of the poor old +mother. Through the little window of the cabin they saw her +sitting by the fire, her head on her hand, rocking back and forth, +as was her way when she was in great trouble; praying, no doubt, +and wondering what had become of her children, and what new evil +had befallen them. + +With streaming eyes, they watched her for ten or fifteen minutes; +but time was precious, and they must reach their next under-ground +station before daylight, and so they turned sadly away. + +When Christmas was over, and the men had not returned, there began +to be no small stir in the plantation from which they had escaped. +The first place to search, of course, was the home of the old +people. At the "Big House" nothing had been seen of them. The +master said "they had generally come up there to see the house +servants, when they came for Christmas, but this time they hadn't +been round at all. Better go down to Old Ben's, and ask him." + +They went to Old Ben's. No one was at home but "Old Kit," the +mother. She said "not one of 'em came dis Christmas. She was +looking for 'em all day, an' her heart was mos' broke about 'em." + +Old Ben was found and questioned about his sons. Old Ben said, "He +hadn't _seen one_ of 'em dis Christmas." With all his deep +religious feeling, Old Ben thought that in such a case as this, it +was enough for him to keep to the _letter_, and let the man +hunters find his sons if they could. Old Ben knew the Old +Testament stories well. Perhaps he thought of Rahab who hid the +spies, and received a commendation for it. Perhaps of Jacob and +Abraham, and some of their rather questionable proceedings. He +knew the New Testament also, but I think perhaps he thought the +kind and loving Saviour would have said to him, "Neither do I +condemn thee." I doubt if he had read Mrs. Opie, and I wonder what +judgment that excellent woman would have given in a case like +this. + +These poor fugitives, hunted like partridges upon the mountains, +or like the timid fox by the eager sportsman, were obliged in +self-defense to meet cunning with cunning, and to borrow from the +birds and animals their mode of eluding their pursuers by any +device which in the exigency of the case might present itself to +them. They had a creed of their own, and a code of morals which we +dare not criticise till we find our own lives and those of our +dear ones similarly imperiled. + +One of Harriet's other brothers had long been attached to a pretty +mulatto girl named Catherine, who was owned by another master; but +this man had other views for her, and would not let her marry +William Henry. On one of Harriet's journeys this brother had made +up his mind to make one of her next party to the North, and that +Catherine should go also. He went to a tailor's and bought a new +suit of clothes for a small person, and concealed them inside the +fence of the garden of Catherine's master. This garden ran down to +the bank of a little stream, and Catherine had been notified where +to find the clothes. When the time came to get ready, Catherine +boldly walked down to the foot of the garden, took up the bundle, +and hiding under the bank, she put on the man's garments and sent +her own floating down the stream. + +She was soon missed, and all the girls in the house were set to +looking for Catherine. Presently they saw coming up from the river +a well-dressed little darkey boy, and they all ceased looking for +Catherine, and stared at him. He walked directly by them, round +the house, and out of the gate, without the slightest suspicion +being excited as to who he was. In a few weeks from that time, +this party were all safe in Canada. + +William Henry died in Canada, but I have seen and talked with +Catherine at Harriet's house. + +I am not quite certain which company it was that was under her +guidance on their Northward way, but at one time when a number of +men were following her, she received one of her sudden intimations +that danger was ahead. "Chillen," she said, "we must stop here and +cross dis ribber." They were on the bank of a stream of some +width, and apparently a deep and rapid one. The men were afraid to +cross; there was no bridge and no boat; but like her great +pattern, she went forward into the waters, and the men not knowing +what else to do, followed, but with fear and trembling. The stream +did not divide to make a way for them to cross over, but to her +was literally fulfilled the promise: + + "When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, + The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow." + +"For," said she, "Missus, de water never came above my chin; when +we thought surely we were all going under, it became shallower and +shallower, and we came out safe on the odder side." Then there was +another stream to cross, which was also passed in safety. They +found afterward that a few rods ahead of them the advertisement of +these escaping fugitives was posted up, and the officers, +forewarned of their coming, were waiting for them. But though the +Lord thus marvelously protected her from capture, she did not +always escape the consequences of exposure like this. It was in +March that this passage of the streams was effected, and the +weather was raw and cold; Harriet traveled a long distance in her +wet clothing, and was afterward very ill for a long time with a +very severe cold. I have often heard her tell this story; but some +of the incidents, particularly that of her illness, were not +mentioned by herself, but were written me by friend Garrett. + +I hardly know how to approach the subject of the spiritual +experiences of my sable heroine. They seem so to enter into the +realm of the supernatural, that I can hardly wonder that those who +never knew her are ready to throw discredit upon the story. +Ridicule has been cast upon the whole tale of her adventures by +the advocates of human slavery; and perhaps by those who would +tell with awe-struck countenance some tale of ghostly visitation, +or spiritual manifestation, at a dimly lighted "_seance_." + +Had I not known so well her deeply religious character, and her +conscientious veracity, and had I not since the war, and when she +was an inmate of my own house, seen such remarkable instances of +what seemed to be her direct intercourse with heaven, I should not +dare to risk my own character for veracity by making these things +public in this manner. + +But when I add that I have the strongest testimonials to her +character for integrity from William H. Seward, Gerritt Smith, +Wendell Phillips, Fred. Douglass, and my brother, Prof. S.M. +Hopkins, who has known her for many years, I do not fear to brave +the incredulity of any reader. + +Governor Seward wrote of her: + +"I have known Harriet long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a +truer, seldom dwells in human form." + +Gerritt Smith, the distinguished philanthropist, was so kind as to +write me expressing his gratification that I had undertaken this +work, and added: + +"I have often listened to Harriet with delight on her visits to my +family, and I am convinced that she is not only truthful, but that +she has a rare discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy." + +Wendell Phillips wrote me, mentioning that in Boston, Harriet +earned the confidence and admiration of all those who were working +for freedom; and speaking of her labors during the war, he added: +"In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did more before that time, for the colored race, than our +fearless and sagacious friend." + +Many other letters I received; from Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Charities, from Fred. Douglass, from Rev. +Henry Fowler, and from Union officers at the South during the war, +all speaking in the highest praise and admiration of the character +and labors of my black heroine. + +Many of her passes also were sent me; in which she is spoken of as +"Moses," for by that name she was universally known. For the story +of her heroic deeds had gone before her, and the testimony of all +who knew her accorded with the words of Mr. Seward: + +"The cause of freedom owes her much; the country owes her much." +And yet the country was not willing to pay her anything. Mr. +Seward's efforts, seconded by other distinguished men, to get a +pension for her, were sneered at in Congress as absurd and +quixotic, and the effort failed. + +Secretary Seward, from whom Harriet purchased her little place +near Auburn, died. The place had been mortgaged when this noble +woman left her home, and threw herself into the work needed for +the Union cause; the mortgage was to be foreclosed. The old +parents, then nearly approaching their centennial year, were to be +turned out to die in a poor-house, when the sudden determination +was taken to send out a little sketch of her life to the +benevolent public, in the hope of redeeming the little home. This +object, through the kindness of friends, was accomplished. The old +people died in Harriet's own home, breathing blessings upon her +for her devotion to them. + +Now another necessity has arisen, and our sable friend, who never +has been known to beg for herself, asks once more for help in +accomplishing a favorite project for the good of her people. This, +as she says, is "her last work, and she only prays de Lord to let +her live till it is well started, and den she is ready to go." +This work is the building of a hospital for old and disabled +colored people; and in this she has already had the sympathy and +aid of the good people of Auburn; the mayor and his noble wife +having given her great assistance in the meetings she has held in +aid of this object. It is partly to aid her in this work, on which +she has so set her heart, that this story of her life and labors +is being re-written. + +At one time, when she felt called upon to go down for some company +of slaves, she was, as she knew, watched for everywhere (for there +had been an excited meeting of slave-holders, and they were +determined to catch her, dead or alive), her friends gathered +round her, imploring her not to go on in the face of danger and +death, for they were sure she would never be allowed to return. +And this was her answer: + +"Now look yer! John saw de City, didn't he?" "Yes, John saw de +City." "Well, what did he see? He saw twelve gates, didn't he? +Three of dose gates was on de north; three of 'em was on de east; +an' three of 'em was on de west; but dere was three more, an' dem +was on de _south_; an' I reckon, if dey kill me down dere, I'll +git into one of dem gates, don't you?" + +Whether Harriet's ideas of the geographical bearings of the gates +of the Celestial City as seen in the apocalyptic vision, were +correct or not, we cannot doubt that she was right in the +deduction her faith drew from them; and that somewhere, whether +North, East, South, or West, to our dim vision, there is a gate +that will be opened for our good Harriet, where the welcome will +be given, "Come in, thou blessed of my Father." + +It is a peculiarity of Harriet, that she had seldom been known to +intimate a wish that anything should be given to herself; but when +her people are in need, no scruples of delicacy stand in the way +of her petitions, nay, almost her _demands_ for help. + +When, after rescuing so many others, and all of her brothers and +sisters that could be reached, with their children, she received +an intimation in some mysterious or supernatural way, that the old +people were in trouble and needed her, she asked the Lord where +she should go for the money to enable her to go for them. She was +in some way, as she supposed, directed to the office of a certain +gentleman, a friend of the slaves, in New York. When she left the +house of the friends with whom she was staying, she said: "I'm +gwine to Mr. ------'s office, an' I ain't gwine to lebe dere, an' +I ain't gwine to eat or drink, till I get money enough to take me +down after de ole people." + +She went into this gentleman's office. + +"How do you do, Harriet? What do you want?" was the first +greeting. + +"I want some money, sir." + +"_You do_! How much do you want?" + +"I want twenty dollars, sir!" + +"_Twenty dollars_! Who told you to come here for twenty dollars!" + +"De Lord tole me, sir." + +"He did; well I guess the Lord's mistaken this time." + +"No, sir; de Lord's nebber mistaken! Anyhow I'm gwine to sit here +till I get it." + +So she sat down and went to sleep. All the morning, and all the +afternoon, she sat there still; sometimes sleeping, sometimes +rousing up, often finding the office full of gentlemen; sometimes +finding herself alone. Many fugitives were passing through New +York at this time, and those who came in supposed her to be one of +them, tired out, and resting. Sometimes she would be roused up +with the words: + +"Come, Harriet! You had better go; there's no money for you here." + +"No, sir; I'm not gwine to stir from here till I git my twenty +dollars!" + +She does not know all that happened, for deep sleep fell upon her; +probably one of the turns of somnolency to which she has always +been subject; but without doubt her story was whispered from one +to another, and as her name and exploits were well known to many +persons, the sympathies of some of those visitors to the office +were aroused; at all events she came to full consciousness, at +last, to find herself the happy possessor of _sixty dollars_, the +contribution of these strangers. She went on her way rejoicing to +bring her old parents from the land of bondage. + +When she reached their home, she found that her old father was to +be tried the next Monday for helping off slaves. And so, as she +says in her forcible language, "I just removed my father's trial +to a higher court, and brought him off to Canada." + +The manner of their escape is detailed in the following letter +from friend Garrett: + + WILMINGTON, 6th Mo., 1868. + +MY FRIEND: Thy favor of the 12th reached me yesterday, requesting +such reminiscences as I could give respecting the remarkable +labors of Harriet Tubman, in aiding her colored friends from +bondage. I may begin by saying, living as I have in a slave State, +and the laws being very severe where any proof could be made of +any one aiding slaves on their way to freedom, I have not felt at +liberty to keep any written word of Harriet's or my own labors, +except in numbering those whom I have aided. For that reason I +cannot furnish so interesting an account of Harriet's labors as I +otherwise could, and now would be glad to do; for in truth I never +met with any person, of any color, who had more confidence in the +voice of God, as spoken direct to her soul. She has frequently +told me that she talked with God, and he talked with her every day +of her life, and she has declared to me that she felt no more fear +of being arrested by her former master, or any other person, when +in his immediate neighborhood, than she did in the State of New +York, or Canada, for she said she never ventured only where God +sent her, and her faith in the Supreme Power truly was great. + +I have now been confined to my room with indisposition more than +four weeks, and cannot sit to write much; but I feel so much +interested in Harriet, that I will try to give some of the most +remarkable incidents that now present themselves to my mind. The +date of the commencement of her labors, I cannot certainly give; +but I think it must have been about 1845; from that time till +1860, I think she must have brought from the neighborhood where +she had been held as a slave, from 60 to 80 persons,[C] from +Maryland, some 80 miles from here. No slave who placed himself +under her care, was ever arrested that I have heard of; she mostly +had her regular stopping places on her route; but in one instance, +when she had several stout men with her, some 30 miles below here, +she said that God told her to stop, which she did; and then asked +him what she must do. He told her to leave the road, and turn to +the left; she obeyed, and soon came to a small stream of tide +water; there was no boat, no bridge; she again inquired of her +Guide what she was to do. She was told to go through. It was cold, +in the month of March; but having confidence in her Guide, she +went in; the water came up to her armpits; the men refused to +follow till they saw her safe on the opposite shore. They then +followed, and, if I mistake not, she had soon to wade a second +stream; soon after which she came to a cabin of colored people, +who took them all in, put them to bed, and dried their clothes, +ready to proceed next night on their journey. Harriet had run out +of money, and gave them some of her underclothing to pay for their +kindness. When she called on me two days after, she was so hoarse +she could hardly speak, and was also suffering with violent +toothache. The strange part of the story we found to be, that the +masters of these men had put up the previous day, at the railroad +station near where she left, an advertisement for them, offering a +large reward for their apprehension; but they made a safe exit. +She at one time brought as many as seven or eight, several of whom +were women and children. She was well known here in Chester County +and Philadelphia, and respected by all true abolitionists. I had +been in the habit of furnishing her and those who accompanied her, +as she returned from her acts of mercy, with new shoes; and on one +occasion when I had not seen her for three months, she came into +my store. I said, "Harriet, I am glad to see thee! I suppose thee +wants a pair of new shoes." Her reply was, "I want more than +that." I, in jest, said, "I have always been liberal with thee, +and wish to be; but I am not rich, and cannot afford to give +much." Her reply was: "God tells me you have money for me." I +asked her "if God never deceived her?" She said, "No!" "Well! how +much does thee want?" After studying a moment, she said: "About +twenty-three dollars." I then gave her twenty-four dollars and +some odd cents, the net proceeds of five pounds sterling, received +through Eliza Wigham, of Scotland, for her. I had given some +accounts of Harriet's labor to the Anti-Slavery Society of +Edinburgh, of which Eliza Wigham was Secretary. On the reading of +my letter, a gentleman present said he would send Harriet four +pounds if he knew of any way to get it to her. Eliza Wigham +offered to forward it to me for her, and that was the first money +ever received by me for her. Some twelve months after, she called +on me again, and said that God told her I had some money for her, +but not so much as before. I had, a few days previous, received +the net proceeds of one pound ten shillings from Europe for her. +To say the least there was something remarkable in these facts, +whether clairvoyance, or the divine impression on her mind from +the source of all power, I cannot tell; but certain it was she had +a guide within herself other than the written word, for she never +had any education. She brought away her aged parents in a singular +manner. They started with an old horse, fitted out in primitive +style with a _straw collar_, a pair of old chaise wheels, with a +board on the axle to sit on, another board swung with ropes, +fastened to the axle, to rest their feet on. She got her parents, +who were both slaves belonging to different masters, on this rude +vehicle to the railroad, put them in the cars, turned Jehu +herself, and drove to town in a style that no human being ever did +before or since; but she was happy at having arrived safe. Next +day, I furnished her with money to take them all to Canada. I +afterward sold their horse, and sent them the balance of the +proceeds. I believe that Harriet succeeded in freeing all her +relatives but one sister and her three children. Etc., etc. +Thy friend, + + THOS. GARRETT. + +[Footnote C: Friend Garrett probably refers here to those who +passed through his hands. Harriet was obliged to come by many +different routes on her different journeys, and though she never +counted those whom she brought away with her, it would seem, by +the computation of others, that there must have been somewhat over +three hundred brought by her to the Northern States and Canada.] + +As I have before stated, with all Harriet's reluctance to ask for +anything for herself, no matter how great her needs may be, no +such scruples trouble her if any of her people are in need. She +never hesitates to call upon her kind friends in Auburn and in +other places for help when her people are in want. At one time, +when some such emergency had arisen, she went to see her friend, +Governor Seward, and boldly presented her case to him. + +"Harriet," he said, "you have worked for others long enough. If +you would ever ask anything for yourself, I would gladly give it +to you, but I will not help you to rob yourself for others any +longer." + +In spite of this apparent roughness, we may be sure Harriet did +not leave this noble man's house empty handed. + +And here I am reminded of a touching little circumstance that +occurred at the funeral of Secretary Seward. + +The great man lay in his coffin. Friends, children, and admirers +were gathered there. Everything that love and wealth could do had +been done; around him were floral emblems of every possible shape +and design, that human ingenuity could suggest, or money could +purchase. Just before the coffin was to be closed, a woman black +as night stole quietly in, and laying a wreath of field flowers +_on his feet_, as quietly glided out again. This was the simple +tribute of our sable friend, and her last token of love and +gratitude to her kind benefactor. I think he would have said, +"This woman hath done more than ye all." + +While preparing this second edition of Harriet's story, I have +been much pleased to find that that good man, Oliver Johnson, is +still living and in New York City. And I have just returned from a +very pleasant interview with him. He remembers Harriet with great +pleasure, though he has not seen her for many years. He speaks, as +all who knew her do, of his entire confidence in her truthfulness +and in the perfect integrity of her character. + +He remembered her coming into his office with Joe, as I have +stated it, and said he wished he could recall to me other +incidents connected with her. But during those years, there were +such numbers of fugitive slaves coming into the Anti-Slavery +Office, that he might not tell the incidents of any one group +correctly. No records were kept, as that would be so unsafe for +the poor creatures, and those who aided them. He said, "You know +Harriet never spoke of anything she had done, as if it was at all +remarkable, or as if it deserved any commendation, but I remember +one day, when she came into the office there was a Boston lady +there, a warm-hearted, impulsive woman, who was engaged heart and +hand in the Anti-Slavery cause. + +"Harriet was telling, in her simple way, the story of her last +journey. A party of fugitives were to meet her in a wood, that she +might conduct them North. For some unexplained reason they did not +come. Night came on and with it a blinding snow storm and a raging +wind. She protected herself behind a tree as well as she could, +and remained all night alone exposed to the fury of the storm." + +"'Why, Harriet!' said this lady, 'didn't you almost feel when you +were lying alone, as if there was _no God_?' 'Oh, no! missus,' +said Harriet, looking up in her child-like, simple way, 'I jest +asked Jesus to take keer of me, an' He never let me git _frost-bitten_ +one bit.'" + +In 1860 the first gun was fired from Fort Sumter; and this was the +signal for a rush to arms at the North and the South, and the war +of the rebellion was begun. Troops were hurried off from the North +to the West and the South, and battles raged in every part of the +Southern States. By land and by sea, and on the Southern rivers, +the conflict raged, and thousands and thousands of brave men shed +their blood for what was maintained by each side to be the true +principle. + +This war our brave heroine had expected, and its result, the +emancipation of the slaves. Three years before, while staying with +the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet in New York, a vision came to her +in the night of the emancipation of her people. Whether a dream, +or one of those glimpses into the future, which sometimes seem to +have been granted to her, no one can say, but the effect upon her +was very remarkable. + +She rose singing, "_My people are free!" "My people are free_!" +She came down to breakfast singing the words in a sort of ecstasy. +She could not eat. The dream or vision filled her whole soul, and +physical needs were forgotten. + +Mr. Garnet said to her: + +"Oh, Harriet! Harriet! You've come to torment us before the time; +do cease this noise! My grandchildren may see the day of the +emancipation of our people, but you and I will never see it." + +"I tell you, sir, you'll see it, and you'll see it soon. My people +are free! My people are free." + +When, three years later, President Lincoln's proclamation of +emancipation was given forth, and there was a great jubilee among +the friends of the slaves, Harriet was continually asked, "Why do +you not join with the rest in their rejoicing!" "Oh," she +answered, "I had _my_ jubilee three years ago. I rejoiced all I +could den; I can't rejoice no more." + +In some of the Southern States, spies and scouts were needed to +lead our armies into the interior. The ignorant and degraded +slaves feared the "Yankee Buckra" more than they did their own +masters, and after the proclamation of President Lincoln, giving +freedom to the slaves, a person in whom these poor creatures could +trust, was needed to assure them that these white Northern men +were friends, and that they would be safe, trusting themselves in +their hands. + +In the early days of the war, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, +knowing well the brave and sagacious character of Harriet, sent +for her, and asked her if she could go at a moment's notice, to +act as spy and scout for our armies, and, if need be, to act as +hospital nurse, in short, to be ready to give any required service +to the Union cause. + +There was much to be thought of; there were the old folks in the +little home up in Auburn, there was the little farm of which she +had taken the sole care; there were many dependents for whom she +had provided by her daily toil. What was to become of them all if +she deserted them? But the cause of the Union seemed to need her +services, and after a few moments of reflection, she determined to +leave all else, and go where it seemed that duty called her. + +During those few years, the wants of the old people and of +Harriet's other dependents were attended to by the kind people of +Auburn. At that time, I often saw the old people, and wrote +letters for them to officers at the South, asking from them +tidings of Harriet. I received many letters in reply, all +testifying to her faithfulness and bravery, and her untiring zeal +for the welfare of our soldiers, black and white. She was often +under fire from both armies; she led our forces through the jungle +and the swamp, guided by an unseen hand. She gained the confidence +of the slaves by her cheery words, and songs, and sacred hymns, +and obtained from them much valuable information. She nursed our +soldiers in the hospitals, and knew how, when they were dying by +numbers of some malignant disease, with cunning skill to extract +from roots and herbs, which grew near the source of the disease, +the healing draught, which allayed the fever and restored numbers +to health. + +It is a shame to our government that such a valuable helper as +this woman was not allowed pay or pension; but even was obliged to +support herself during those days of incessant toil. Officers and +men were paid. Indeed many enlisted from no patriotic motive, but +because they were insured a support which they could not procure +for themselves at home. But this woman sacrificed everything, and +left her nearest and dearest, and risked her life hundreds of +times for the cause of the Union, without one cent of recompense. +She returned at last to her little home, to find it a scene of +desolation. Her little place about to be sold to satisfy a +mortgage, and herself without the means to redeem it. + +Harriet was one of John Brown's "men." His brave and daring spirit +found ready sympathy in her courageous heart; she sheltered him in +her home in Canada, and helped him to plan his campaigns. I find +in the life and letters of this remarkable man, written by Mr. F. +B. Sanborn, occasional mention of Harriet, and her deep interest +in Captain Brown's enterprises. + +At one time he writes to his son from St. Catherine's, Canada: + +"I came on here the day after you left Rochester. I am succeeding +to all appearance beyond my expectations. Harriet Tubman _hooked +on her whole team at once_. He (Harriet) is the most of a man +naturally that I ever met with. There is abundant material here +and of the right quality." She suggested the 4th of July to him as +the time to begin operations. And Mr. Sanborn adds: "It was about +the 4th of July, as Harriet, the African sybil, had suggested, +that Brown first showed himself in the counties of Washington and +Jefferson, on opposite sides of the lordly Potomac." + +I find among her papers, many of which are defaced by being +carried about with her for years, portions of these letters +addressed to myself, by persons at the South, and speaking of the +valuable assistance Harriet was rendering our soldiers in the +hospital, and our armies in the field. At this time her manner of +life, as related by herself, was this: + +"Well, missus, I'd go to de hospital, I would, early eb'ry +mornin'. I'd get a big chunk of ice, I would, and put it in a +basin, and fill it with water; den I'd take a sponge and begin. +Fust man I'd come to, I'd thrash away de flies, and dey'd rise, +dey would, like bees roun' a hive. Den I'd begin to bathe der +wounds, an' by de time I'd bathed off three or four, de fire and +heat would have melted de ice and made de water warm, an' it would +be as red as clar blood. Den I'd go an' git more ice, I would, an' +by de time I got to de nex' ones, de flies would be roun' de fust +ones black an' thick as eber." In this way she worked, day after +day, till late at night; then she went home to her little cabin, +and made about fifty pies, a great quantity of ginger-bread, and +two casks of root beer. These she would hire some contraband to +sell for her through the camps, and thus she would provide her +support for another day; for this woman never received pay or +pension, and never drew for herself but twenty days' rations +during the four years of her labors. At one time she was called +away from Hilton Head, by one of our officers, to come to +Fernandina, where the men were "dying off like sheep," from +dysentery. Harriet had acquired quite a reputation for her skill +in curing this disease, by a medicine which she prepared from +roots which grew near the waters which gave the disease. Here she +found thousands of sick soldiers and contrabands, and immediately +gave up her time and attention to them. At another time, we find +her nursing those who were down by hundreds with small-pox and +malignant fevers. She had never had these diseases, but she seems +to have no more fear of death in one form than another. "De Lord +would take keer of her till her time came, an' den she was ready +to go." + +When our armies and gun-boats first appeared in any part of the +South, many of the poor negroes were as much afraid of "de Yankee +Buckra" as of their own masters. It was almost impossible to win +their confidence, or to get information from them. But to Harriet +they would tell anything; and so it became quite important that +she should accompany expeditions going up the rivers, or into +unexplored parts of the country, to control and get information +from those whom they took with them as guides. + +General Hunter asked her at one time if she would go with several +gun-boats up the Combahee River, the object of the expedition +being to take up the torpedoes placed by the rebels in the river, +to destroy railroads and bridges, and to cut off supplies from the +rebel troops. She said she would go if Colonel Montgomery was to +be appointed commander of the expedition. Colonel Montgomery was +one of John Brown's men, and was well known to Harriet. +Accordingly, Colonel Montgomery was appointed to the command, and +Harriet, with several men under her, the principal of whom was J. +Plowden, whose pass I have, accompanied the expedition. Harriet +describes in the most graphic manner the appearance of the +plantations as they passed up the river; the frightened negroes +leaving their work and taking to the woods, at sight of the gun-boats; +then coming to peer out like startled deer, and scudding +away like the wind at the sound of the steam-whistle. "Well," said +one old negro, "Mas'r said de Yankees had horns and tails, but I +nebber beliebed it till now." But the word was passed along by the +mysterious telegraphic communication existing among these simple +people, that these were "Lincoln's gun-boats come to set them +free." In vain, then, the drivers used their whips in their +efforts to hurry the poor creatures back to their quarters; they +all turned and ran for the gun-boats. They came down every road, +across every field, just as they had left their work and their +cabins; women with children clinging around their necks, hanging +to their dresses, running behind, all making at full speed for +"Lincoln's gun-boats." Eight hundred poor wretches at one time +crowded the banks, with their hands extended toward their +deliverers, and they were all taken off upon the gun-boats, and +carried down to Beaufort. + +"I nebber see such a sight," said Harriet; "we laughed, an' +laughed, an' laughed. Here you'd see a woman wid a pail on her +head, rice a smokin' in it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, +young one hangin' on behind, one han' roun' her forehead to hold +on, 'tother han' diggin' into de rice-pot, eatin' wid all its +might; hold of her dress two or three more; down her back a bag +wid a pig in it. One woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a +black one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig +Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Sometimes de women would +come wid twins hangin' roun' der necks; 'pears like I nebber see +so many twins in my life; bags on der shoulders, baskets on der +heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all loaded; pigs squealin', +chickens screamin', young ones squallin'." And so they came +pouring down to the gun-boats. When they stood on the shore, and +the small boats put out to take them off, they all wanted to get +in at once. After the boats were crowded, they would hold on to +them so that they could not leave the shore. The oarsmen would +beat them on their hands, but they would not let go; they were +afraid the gun-boats would go off and leave them, and all wanted +to make sure of one of these arks of refuge. At length Colonel +Montgomery shouted from the upper deck, above the clamor of +appealing tones, "Moses, you'll have to give em a song." Then +Harriet lifted up her voice, and sang: + + "Of all the whole creation in the East or in the West, + The glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best. + Come along! Come along! don't be alarmed, + Uncle Sam is rich enough to give you all a farm." + +At the end of every verse, the negroes in their enthusiasm would +throw up their hands and shout "Glory," and the row-boats would +take that opportunity to push off; and so at last they were all +brought on board. The masters fled; houses and barns and railroad +bridges were burned, tracks torn up, torpedoes destroyed, and the +object of the expedition was fully accomplished. + +This fearless woman was often sent into the rebel lines as a spy, +and brought back valuable information as to the position of armies +and batteries; she has been in battle when the shot was falling +like hail, and the bodies of dead and wounded men were dropping +around her like leaves in autumn; but the thought of fear never +seems to have had place for a moment in her mind. She had her duty +to perform, and she expected to be taken care of till it was done. + +Would that, instead of taking them in this poor way at second-hand, +my readers could hear this woman's graphic accounts of +scenes she herself witnessed, could listen to her imitations of +negro preachers in their own very peculiar dialect, her singing of +camp-meeting hymns, her account of "experience meetings," her +imitations of the dances, and the funeral ceremonies of these +simple people. "Why, der language down dar in de far South is jus' +as different from ours in Maryland as you can tink," said she. +"Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an' I could not understand +dem, no how." She described a midnight funeral which she attended; +for the slaves, never having been allowed to bury their dead in +the day-time, continued the custom of night funerals from habit. + +The corpse was laid upon the ground, and the people all sat round, +the group being lighted up by pine torches. + +The old negro preacher began by giving out a hymn, which was sung +by all. "An' oh! I wish you could hear 'em sing, Missus," said +Harriet. "Der voices is so sweet, and dey can sing eberyting we +sing, an' den dey can sing a great many hymns dat we can't nebber +catch at all." + +The old preacher began his sermon by pointing to the dead man, who +lay in a rude box on the ground before him. + +"_Shum_? Ded-a-de-dah! _Shum, David_? Ded-a-de-dah! Now I want you +all to _flec_' for moment. Who ob all dis congregation is gwine +next to lie ded-e-de-dah? You can't go nowhere's, my frien's and +bredren, but Deff 'll fin' you. You can't dig no hole so deep an' +bury yourself dar, but God A'mighty's far-seein' eye'll fin' you, +an' Deff 'll come arter you. You can't go into that big fort +(pointing to Hilton Head), an' shut yourself up dar; dat fort dat +Sesh Buckra said the debil couldn't take, but Deff 'll fin' you +dar. All your frien's may forget you, but Deff 'll nebber forget +you. Now, my bredren, prepare to lie ded-a-de-dah!" + +This was the burden of a very long sermon, after which the whole +congregation went round in a sort of solemn dance, called the +"spiritual shuffle," shaking hands with each other, and calling +each other by name as they sang: + + "My sis'r Mary's boun' to go; + My sis'r Nanny's boun' to go; + My brudder Tony's boun' to go; + My brudder July's boun' to go." + +This to the same tune, till every hand had been shaken by every +one of the company. When they came to Harriet, who was a stranger, +they sang: + + Eberybody's boun' to go! + +The body was then placed in a Government wagon, and by the light +of the pine torches, the strange, dark procession moved along, +singing a rude funeral hymn, till they reached the place of +burial. + +Harriet's account of her interview with an old negro she met at +Hilton Head, is amusing and interesting. He said, "I'd been yere +seventy-three years, workin' for my master widout even a dime +wages. I'd worked rain-wet sun-dry. I'd worked wid my mouf full of +dust, but could not stop to get a drink of water. I'd been +whipped, an' starved, an' I was always prayin', 'Oh! Lord, come +an' delibber us!' All dat time de birds had been flyin', an' de +rabens had been cryin', and de fish had been swimmin' in de +waters. One day I look up, an' I see a big cloud; it didn't come +up like as de clouds come out far yonder, but it 'peared to be +right ober head. Der was thunders out of dat, an' der was +lightnin's. Den I looked down on de water, an' I see, 'peared to +me a big house in de water, an' out of de big house came great big +eggs, and de good eggs went on trou' de air, an' fell into de +fort; an' de bad eggs burst before dey got dar. Den de Sesh Buckra +begin to run, an' de neber stop running till de git to de swamp, +an' de stick dar an' de die dar. Den I heard 'twas de Yankee +ship[D] firin' out de big eggs, an dey had come to set us free. +Den I praise de Lord. He come an' put he little finger in de work, +an de Sesh Buckra all go; and de birds stop flyin', and de rabens +stop cryin', an' when I go to catch a fish to eat wid my rice, +dey's no fish dar. De Lord A'mighty 'd come and frightened 'em all +out of de waters. Oh! Praise de Lord! I'd prayed seventy-three +years, an' now he's come an' we's all free." + +[Footnote D: The _Wabash_.] + +The following account of the subject of this memoir is cut from +the _Boston Commonwealth_ of 1863, kindly sent the writer by Mr. +Sanborn: + +"It was said long ago that the true romance of America was not in +the fortunes of the Indian, where Cooper sought it, nor in New +England character, where Judd found it, nor in the social +contrasts of Virginia planters, as Thackeray imagined, but in the +story of the fugitive slaves. The observation is as true now as it +was before War, with swift, gigantic hand, sketched the vast +shadows, and dashed in the high lights in which romance loves to +lurk and flash forth. But the stage is enlarged on which these +dramas are played, the whole world now sit as spectators, and the +desperation or the magnanimity of a poor black woman has power to +shake the nation that so long was deaf to her cries. We write of +one of these heroines, of whom our slave annals are full--a woman +whose career is as extraordinary as the most famous of her sex can +show. + +"Araminta Ross, now known by her married name of Tubman, with her +sounding Christian name changed to Harriet, is the grand-daughter +of a slave imported from Africa, and has not a drop of white blood +in her veins. Her parents were Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene, +both slaves, but married and faithful to each other. They still +live in old age and poverty,[E] but free, on a little property at +Auburn, N.Y., which their daughter purchased for them from Mr. +Seward, the Secretary of State. She was born, as near as she can +remember, in 1820 or in 1821, in Dorchester County, on the Eastern +shore of Maryland, and not far from the town of Cambridge. She had +ten brothers and sisters, of whom three are now living, all at the +North, and all rescued from slavery by Harriet, before the War. +She went back just as the South was preparing to secede, to bring +away a fourth, but before she could reach her, she was dead. Three +years before, she had brought away her old father and mother, at +great risk to herself. + +[Footnote E: Both dead for some years.] + +"When Harriet was six years old, she was taken from her mother and +carried ten miles to live with James Cook, whose wife was a +weaver, to learn the trade of weaving. While still a mere child, +Cook set her to watching his musk-rat traps, which compelled her +to wade through the water. It happened that she was once sent when +she was ill with the measles, and, taking cold from wading in the +water in this condition, she grew very sick, and her mother +persuaded her master to take her away from Cook's until she could +get well. + +"Another attempt was made to teach her weaving, but she would not +learn, for she hated her mistress, and did not want to live at +home, as she would have done as a weaver, for it was the custom +then to weave the cloth for the family, or a part of it, in the +house. + +"Soon after she entered her teens she was hired out as a field +hand, and it was while thus employed that she received a wound, +which nearly proved fatal, from the effects of which she still +suffers. In the fall of the year, the slaves there work in the +evening, cleaning up wheat, husking corn, etc. On this occasion, +one of the slaves of a farmer named Barrett, left his work, and +went to the village store in the evening. The overseer followed +him, and so did Harriet. When the slave was found, the overseer +swore he should be whipped, and called on Harriet, among others, +to help tie him. She refused, and as the man ran away, she placed +herself in the door to stop pursuit. The overseer caught up a +two-pound weight from the counter and threw it at the fugitive, but it +fell short and struck Harriet a stunning blow on the head. It was +long before she recovered from this, and it has left her subject +to a sort of stupor or lethargy at times; coming upon her in the +midst of conversation, or whatever she may be doing, and throwing +her into a deep slumber, from which she will presently rouse +herself, and go on with her conversation or work. + +"After this she lived for five or six years with John Stewart, +where at first she worked in the house, but afterward 'hired her +time,' and Dr. Thompson, son of her master's guardian, 'stood for +her,' that is, was her surety for the payment of what she owed. +She employed the time thus hired in the rudest labors,--drove +oxen, carted, plowed, and did all the work of a man,--sometimes +earning money enough in a year, beyond what she paid her master, +'to buy a pair of steers,' worth forty dollars. The amount exacted +of a woman for her time was fifty or sixty dollars--of a man, one +hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars. Frequently Harriet +worked for her father, who was a timber inspector, and +superintended the cutting and hauling of great quantities of +timber for the Baltimore ship-yards. Stewart, his temporary +master, was a builder, and for the work of Ross used to receive as +much as five dollars a day sometimes, he being a superior workman. +While engaged with her father, she would cut wood, haul logs, etc. +Her usual 'stint' was half a cord of wood in a day. + +"Harriet was married somewhere about 1844, to a free colored man +named John Tubman, but she had no children. For the last two years +of slavery she lived with Dr. Thompson, before mentioned, her own +master not being yet of age, and Dr. T.'s father being his +guardian, as well as the owner of her own father. In 1849 the +young man died, and the slaves were to be sold, though previously +set free by an old will. Harriet resolved not to be sold, and so, +with no knowledge of the North--having only heard of Pennsylvania +and New Jersey--she walked away one night alone. She found a +friend in a white lady, who knew her story and helped her on her +way. After many adventures, she reached Philadelphia, where she +found work and earned a small stock of money. With this money in +her purse, she traveled back to Maryland for her husband, but she +found him married to another woman, and no longer caring to live +with her. This, however, was not until two years after her escape, +for she does not seem to have reached her old home in the first +two expeditions. In December, 1850, she had visited Baltimore and +brought away her sister and two children, who had come up from +Cambridge in a boat, under charge of her sister's husband, a free +black. A few months after she had brought away her brother and two +other men, but it was not till the fall of 1851, that she found +her husband and learned of his infidelity. She did not give way to +rage or grief, but collected a party of fugitives and brought them +safely to Philadelphia. In December of the same year, she +returned, and led out a party of eleven, among them her brother +and his wife. With these she journeyed to Canada, and there spent +the winter, for this was after the enforcement of Mason's Fugitive +Slave Bill in Philadelphia and Boston, and there was no safety +except 'under the paw of the British Lion,' as she quaintly said. +But the first winter was terribly severe for these poor runaways. +They earned their bread by chopping wood in the snows of a +Canadian forest; they were frost-bitten, hungry, and naked. +Harriet was their good angel. She kept house for her brother, and +the poor creatures boarded with her. She worked for them, begged +for them, prayed for them, with the strange familiarity of +communion with God which seems natural to these people, and +carried them by the help of God through the hard winter. + +"In the spring she returned to the States, and as usual earned +money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, +in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and +brought away nine more fugitives. + +"Up to this time she had expended chiefly her own money in these +expeditions--money which she had earned by hard work in the +drudgery of the kitchen. Never did any one more exactly fulfill +the sense of George Herbert-- + + "'A servant with this clause + Makes drudgery divine.' + +"But it was not possible for such virtues long to remain hidden +from the keen eyes of the Abolitionists. She became known to +Thomas Garrett, the large-hearted Quaker of Wilmington, who has +aided the escape of three thousand fugitives; she found warm +friends in Philadelphia and New York, and wherever she went. These +gave her money, which he never spent for her own use, but laid up +for the help of her people, and especially for her journeys back +to the 'land of Egypt,' as she called her old home. By reason of +her frequent visits there, always carrying away some of the +oppressed, she got among her people the name of 'Moses,' which it +seems she still retains. + +"Between 1852 and 1857, she made but two of these journeys, in +consequence partly of the increased vigilance of the slave-holders, +who had suffered so much by the loss of their property. A +great reward was offered for her capture and she several times was +on the point of being taken, but always escaped by her quick wit, +or by 'warnings' from Heaven--for it is time to notice one +singular trait in her character. She is the most shrewd and +practical person in the world, yet she is a firm believer in +omens, dreams, and warnings. She declares that before her escape +from slavery, she used to dream of flying over fields and towns, +and rivers and mountains, looking down upon them 'like a bird,' +and reaching at last a great fence, or sometimes a river, over +which she would try to fly, 'but it 'peared like I wouldn't hab de +strength, and jes as I was sinkin' down, dere would be ladies all +drest in white ober dere, and dey would put out dere arms and pull +me 'cross.' There is nothing strange in this, perhaps, but she +declares that when she came North she remembered these very places +as those she had seen in her dreams, and many of the ladies who +befriended her were those she had been helped by in her vision. + +"Then she says she always knows when there is danger near her--she +does not know how, exactly, but ''pears like my heart go flutter, +flutter, and den dey may say "Peace, Peace," as much as dey likes, +_I know its gwine to be war_!' She is very firm on this point, and +ascribes to this her great impunity, in spite of the lethargy +before mentioned, which would seem likely to throw her into the +hands of her enemies. She says she inherited this power, that her +father could always predict the weather, and that he foretold the +Mexican war. + +"In 1857 she made her most venturesome journey, for she brought +with her to the North her old parents, who were no longer able to +walk such distances as she must go by night. Consequently she must +hire a wagon for them, and it required all her ingenuity to get +them through Maryland and Delaware safe. She accomplished it, +however, and by the aid of her friends she brought them safe to +Canada, where they spent the winter. Her account of their +sufferings there--of her mother's complaining and her own +philosophy about it--is a lesson of trust in Providence better +than many sermons. But she decided to bring them to a more +comfortable place, and so she negotiated with Mr. Seward--then in +the Senate--for a little patch of ground. To the credit of the +Secretary of State it should be said, that he sold her the +property on very favorable terms, and gave her some time for +payment. To this house she removed her parents, and set herself to +work to pay for the purchase. It was on this errand that she first +visited Boston--we believe in the winter of 1858-59. She brought a +few letters from her friends in New York, but she could herself +neither read nor write, and she was obliged to trust to her wits +that they were delivered to the right persons. One of them, as it +happened, was to the present writer, who received it by another +hand, and called to see her at her boarding-house. It was curious +to see the caution with which she received her visitor until she +felt assured that there was no mistake. One of her means of +security was to carry with her the daguerreotypes of her friends, +and show them to each new person. If they recognized the likeness, +then it was all right. + +"Pains were taken to secure her the attention to which her great +services of humanity entitled her, and she left New England with a +handsome sum of money toward the payment of her debt to Mr. +Seward. Before she left, however, she had several interviews with +Captain Brown, then in Boston. He is supposed to have communicated +his plans to her, and to have been aided by her in obtaining +recruits and money among her people. At any rate, he always spoke +of her with the greatest respect, and declared that 'General +Tubman,' as he styled her, was a better officer than most whom he +had seen, and could command an army as successfully as she had led +her small parties of fugitives. + +"Her own veneration for Captain Brown has always been profound, +and since his murder, has taken the form of a religion. She had +often risked her own life for her people, and she thought nothing +of that; but that a white man, and a man so noble and strong, +should so take upon himself the burden of a despised race, she +could not understand, and she took refuge from her perplexity in +the mysteries of her fervid religion. + +"Again, she laid great stress on a dream which she had just before +she met Captain Brown in Canada. She thought she was in 'a +wilderness sort of place, all full of rocks, and bushes,' when she +saw a serpent raise its head among the rocks, and as it did so, it +became the head of an old man with a long white beard, gazing at +her, 'wishful like, jes as ef he war gwine to speak to me,' and +then two other heads rose up beside him, younger than he,--and as +she stood looking at them, and wondering what they could want with +her, a great crowd of men rushed in and struck down the younger +heads, and then the head of the old man, still looking at her so +'wishful.' This dream she had again and again, and could not +interpret it; but when she met Captain Brown, shortly after, +behold, he was the very image of the head she had seen. But still +she could not make out what her dream signified, till the news +came to her of the tragedy of Harper's Ferry, and then she knew +the two other heads were his two sons. She was in New York at that +time, and on the day of the affair at Harper's Ferry she felt her +usual warning that something was wrong--she could not tell what. +Finally she told her hostess that it must be Captain Brown who was +in trouble, and that they should soon hear bad news from him. The +next day's newspaper brought tidings of what had happened. + +"Her last visit to Maryland was made after this, in December, +1860; and in spite of the agitated condition of the country, and +the greater watchfulness of the slave-holders, she brought away +seven fugitives, one of them an infant, which must be drugged with +opium to keep it from crying on the way, and so revealing the +hiding-place of the party." + +In the spring of 1860, Harriet Tubman was requested by Mr. Gerrit +Smith to go to Boston to attend a large Anti-Slavery meeting. On +her way, she stopped at Troy to visit a cousin, and while there +the colored people were one day startled with the intelligence +that a fugitive slave, by the name of Charles Nalle, had been +followed by his master (who was his younger brother, and not one +grain whiter than he), and that he was already in the hands of the +officers, and was to be taken back to the South. The instant +Harriet heard the news, she started for the office of the United +States Commissioner, scattering the tidings as she went. An +excited crowd was gathered about the office, through which Harriet +forced her way, and rushed up stairs to the door of the room where +the fugitive was detained. A wagon was already waiting before the +door to carry off the man, but the crowd was even then so great, +and in such a state of excitement, that the officers did not dare +to bring the man down. On the opposite side of the street stood +the colored people, watching the window where they could see +Harriet's sun-bonnet, and feeling assured that so long as she +stood there, the fugitive was still in the office. Time passed on, +and he did not appear. "They've taken him out another way, depend +upon that," said some of the colored people. "No," replied others, +"there stands 'Moses' yet, and as long as she is there, he is +safe." Harriet, now seeing the necessity for a tremendous effort +for his rescue, sent out some little boys to cry _fire_. The bells +rang, the crowd increased, till the whole street was a dense mass +of people. Again and again the officers came out to try and clear +the stairs, and make a way to take their captive down; others were +driven down, but Harriet stood her ground, her head bent and her +arms folded. "Come, old woman, you must get out of this," said one +of the officers; "I must have the way cleared; if you can't get +down alone, some one will help you." Harriet, still putting on a +greater appearance of decrepitude, twitched away from him, and +kept her place. Offers were made to buy Charles from his master, +who at first agreed to take twelve hundred dollars for him; but +when this was subscribed, he immediately raised the price to +fifteen hundred. The crowd grew more excited. A gentleman raised a +window and called out, "Two hundred dollars for his rescue, but +not one cent to his master!" This was responded to by a roar of +satisfaction from the crowd below. At length the officers +appeared, and announced to the crowd, that if they would open a +lane to the wagon, they would promise to bring the man down the +front way. + +The lane was opened, and the man was brought out--a tall, +handsome, intelligent _white_ man, with his wrists manacled +together, walking between the U.S. Marshal and another officer, +and behind him his brother and his master, so like him that one +could hardly be told from the other. The moment they appeared, +Harriet roused from her stooping posture, threw up a window, and +cried to her friends: "Here he comes--take him!" and then darted +down the stairs like a wild-cat. She seized one officer and pulled +him down, then another, and tore him away from the man; and +keeping her arms about the slave, she cried to her friends: "Drag +us out! Drag him to the river! Drown him! but don't let them have +him!" They were knocked down together, and while down, she tore +off her sun-bonnet and tied it on the head of the fugitive. When +he rose, only his head could be seen, and amid the surging mass of +people the slave was no longer recognized, while the master +appeared like the slave. Again and again they were knocked down, +the poor slave utterly helpless, with his manacled wrists, +streaming with blood. Harriet's outer clothes were torn from her, +and even her stout shoes were pulled from her feet, yet she never +relinquished her hold of the man, till she had dragged him to the +river, where he was tumbled into a boat, Harriet following in a +ferry-boat to the other side. But the telegraph was ahead of them, +and as soon as they landed he was seized and hurried from her +sight. After a time, some school children came hurrying along, and +to her anxious inquiries they answered, "He is up in that house, +in the third story." Harriet rushed up to the place. Some men were +attempting to make their way up the stairs. The officers were +firing down, and two men were lying on the stairs, who had been +shot. Over their bodies our heroine rushed, and with the help of +others burst open the door of the room, and dragged out the +fugitive, whom Harriet carried down stairs in her arms. A +gentleman who was riding by with a fine horse, stopped to ask what +the disturbance meant; and on hearing the story, his sympathies +seemed to be thoroughly aroused; he sprang from his wagon, calling +out, "That is a blood-horse, drive him till he drops." The poor +man was hurried in; some of his friends jumped in after him, and +drove at the most rapid rate to Schenectady. + +This is the story Harriet told to the writer. By some persons it +seemed too wonderful for belief, and an attempt was made to +corroborate it. Rev. Henry Fowler, who was at the time at +Saratoga, kindly volunteered to go to Troy and ascertain the +facts. His report was, that he had had a long interview with Mr. +Townsend, who acted during the trial as counsel for the slave, +that he had given him a "rich narration," which he would write out +the next week for this little book. But before he was to begin his +generous labor, and while engaged in some kind efforts for the +prisoners at Auburn, he was stricken down by the heat of the sun, +and was for a long time debarred from labor. + +This good man died not long after and the promised narration was +never written, but a statement by Mr. Townsend was sent me, which +I copy here: + +_Statements made by Martin I. Townsend, Esq., of Troy, who was +counsel for the fugitive, Charles Nalle._ + +Nalle is an octoroon; his wife has the same infusion of Caucasian +blood. She was the daughter of her master, and had, with her +sister, been bred by him in his family, as his own child. When the +father died, both of these daughters were married and had large +families of children. Under the highly Christian national laws of +"Old Virginny," these children were the slaves of their +grandfather. The old man died, leaving a will, whereby he +manumitted his daughters and their children, and provided for the +purchase of the freedom of their husbands. The manumission of the +children and grandchildren took effect; but the estate was +insufficient to purchase the husbands of his daughters, and the +fathers of his grandchildren. The manumitted, by another +Christian, "conservative," and "national" provision of law, were +forced to leave the State, while the slave husbands remained in +slavery. Nalle, and his brother-in-law, were allowed for a while +to visit their families outside Virginia about once a year, but +were at length ordered to provide themselves with new wives, as +they would be allowed to visit their former ones no more. It was +after this that Nalle and his brother-in-law started for the land +of freedom, guided by the steady light of the north star. Thank +God, neither family now need fear any earthly master or the bay of +the blood-hound dogging their fugitive steps. + +Nalle returned to Troy with his family about July, 1860, and +resided with them there for more than seven years. They are all +now residents of the city of Washington, D.C. Nalle and his family +are persons of refined manners, and of the highest respectability. +Several of his children are red-haired, and a stranger would +discover no trace of African blood in their complexions or +features. It was the head of this family whom H.F. Averill +proposed to doom to returnless exile and life-long slavery. + +When Nalle was brought from Commissioner Beach's office into the +street, Harriet Tubman, who had been standing with the excited +crowd, rushed amongst the foremost to Nalle, and running one of +her arms around his manacled arm, held on to him without ever +loosening her hold through the more than half-hour's struggle to +Judge Gould's office, and from Judge Gould's office to the dock, +where Nalle's liberation was accomplished. In the _meelee_ she was +repeatedly beaten over the head with policemen's clubs, but she +never for a moment released her hold, but cheered Nalle and his +friends with her voice, and struggled with the officers until they +were literally worn out with their exertions, and Nalle was +separated from them. + +True, she had strong and earnest helpers in her struggle, some of +whom had white faces as well as human hearts, and are now in +Heaven. But she exposed herself to the fury of the sympathizers +with slavery, without fear, and suffered their blows without +flinching. Harriet crossed the river with the crowd, in the ferry-boat, +and when the men who led the assault upon the door of Judge +Stewart's office were stricken down, Harriet and a number of other +colored women rushed over their bodies, brought Nalle out, and +putting him in the first wagon passing, started him for the West. + +A lively team, driven by a colored man, was immediately sent on to +relieve the other, and Nalle was seen about Troy no more until he +returned a free man by purchase from his master. Harriet also +disappeared, and the crowd dispersed. How she came to be in Troy +that day, is entirely unknown to our citizens; and where she hid +herself after the rescue, is equally a mystery. But her struggle +was in the sight of a thousand, perhaps of five thousand +spectators. + +On asking Harriet particularly, as to the age of her mother, she +answered, "Well, I'll tell you, Missus. Twenty-three years ago, in +Maryland, I paid a lawyer five dollars to look up the will of my +mother's first master. He looked back sixty years, and said it was +time to give up. I told him to go back furder. He went back sixty-five +years, and there he found the will--giving the girl Ritty to +his grand-daughter (Mary Patterson), to serve her and her +offspring till she was forty-five years of age." This grand-daughter +died soon after, unmarried; and as there was no provision +for Ritty, in case of her death, she was actually emancipated at +that time. But no one informed her of the fact, and she and her +dear children remained in bondage till emancipated by the courage +and determination of this heroic daughter and sister. The old +woman must then, it seems, be ninety-eight years of age,[F] and +the old man has probably numbered as many years. And yet these old +people, living out beyond the toll-gate, on the South Street road, +Auburn, come in every Sunday--more than a mile--to the Central +Church. To be sure, deep slumbers settle down upon them as soon as +they are seated, which continue undisturbed till the congregation +is dismissed; but they have done their best, and who can doubt +that they receive a blessing. Immediately after this they go to +class-meeting at the Methodist Church. Then they wait for a third +service, and after that start out home again. + +[Footnote F: This was written in the year '68, and the old people +both lived several years after that time.] + +Harriet supposes that the whole family were actually free, and +were kept wrongfully in a state of slavery all those long years; +but she simply states the fact, without any mourning or lamenting +over the wrong and the misery of it all, accepting it as the will +of God, and, therefore, not to be rebelled against. + +This woman, of whom you have been reading, is now old and feeble, +suffering from the effects of her life of unusual labor and +hardship, as well as from repeated injuries; but she is still at +work for her people. For many years, even long before the war, her +little home has been the refuge of the hunted and the homeless, +for whom she had provided; and I have seen as many as eight or ten +dependents upon her care at one time living there. + +It has always been a hospital, but she feels the need of a large +one, and only prays to see this, "her last work," completed ere +she goes hence. + +Without claiming any of my dear old Harriet's prophetic vision, I +seem to see a future day when the wrongs of earth will be righted, +and justice, long delayed, will assert itself. I seem to see that +our poor Harriet has passed within "one of dem gates," and has +received the welcome, "Come, thou blessed of my Father; for I was +hungry and you gave me meat, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, +I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, +sick and in prison and you visited me." + +And when she asks, "Lord, when did I do all this?" He answers: + +"Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, _my +brethren_, you did it unto me." + +And as she stands in her modest way just within the celestial +gate, I seem to see a kind hand laid upon her dark head, and to +hear a gentle voice saying in her ear, "Friend, come up higher!" + + + + +SOME ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF "HARRIET." + +The story of this remarkable black woman has been attracting +renewed interest of late, and I have often been asked to publish +another edition of the book, and to add some interesting and +amusing incidents which I have related to my friends. + +Harriet is very old and feeble now; she does not know how old, but +probably between eighty and ninety. Her years of toil and +adventure have told upon her, and she may not last much longer. If +she does, she will still need help which she would never ask for +herself, but which this little book may give her; when she dies, +it may aid in putting up a fitting monument to her memory, which +should always be "kept green." + +As time goes on, the horrors of the days of slavery are by many +forgotten, and the children who have been born since the War of +the Rebellion know of that fearful straggle, and of the causes +that led to it, only as a tradition of long ago. + +Even in the city where Harriet has so long lived her quiet and +unobtrusive life, it is not an uncommon thing to meet a young +person who has never even heard her name. + +Those who know the principal facts of her eventful history may be +interested to read these few added incidents, which she has +related to me from time to time. + +A year or two ago, as I was staying at the summer home of my +brother, Professor Hopkins, on Owasco Lake, Harriet came up to see +us; it was after lunch, and my brother ordered a table to be set +for her on the broad shaded piazza and waited on her himself, +bringing her cups of tea and other good things, as if it were a +pleasure and an honor to serve her. + +There is a quiet dignity about Harriet that makes her superior or +indifferent to all surrounding circumstances; whether seated at +the hospitable board of Gerrit Smith or any other white gentleman, +as she often was, or sent to the kitchen, where the white +domestics refused to eat with a "nigger," it was all the same to +Harriet; she was never elated, or humiliated; she took everything +as it came, making no comments or complaints. + +And so she sat quietly eating her lunch, and talking with us. +After the lunch was over, as we sat on the piazza waiting for the +steamboat to take her back to Auburn, she said: + +"I often think, Missus, of things I wish I had told you before you +wrote de book. Now, as I come up on de boat I thought of one thing +thet happened to me when I was very little. + +"I was only seven years old when I was sent away to take car' of a +baby. I was so little dat I had to sit down on de flo' and hev de +baby put in my lap. An' dat baby was allus in my lap 'cept when it +was asleep, or its mother was feedin' it. + +"One mornin' after breakfast she had de baby, an' I stood by de +table waitin' till I was to take it; just by me was a bowl of +lumps of white sugar. My Missus got into a great quarrel wid her +husband; she had an awful temper, an' she would scole an' storm, +an' call him all sorts of names. Now you know, Missus, I never had +nothing good; no sweet, no sugar, an' dat sugar, right by me, did +look so nice, an' my Missus's back was turned to me while she was +fightin' wid her husband, so I jes' put my fingers in de sugar +bowl to take one lump, an' maybe she heard me, an' she turned an' +saw me. De nex' minute she had de raw hide down; I give one jump +out of de do', an' I saw dey came after me, but I jes' flew, and +dey didn't catch me. I ran, an' I ran, an' I run, I passed many a +house, but I didn't dar' to stop, for dey all knew my Missus an' +dey would send me back. By an' by, when I was clar tuckered out, I +come to a great big pig-pen. Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps +eight or ten little pigs. I was too little to climb into it, but I +tumbled ober de high board, an' fell in on de ground; I was so +beat out I couldn't stir. + +"An' dere, Missus, I stayed from Friday till de nex' Chuesday, +fightin' wid dose little pigs for de potato peelin's an" oder +scraps dat came down in de trough. De ole sow would push me away +when I tried to git her chillen's food, an' I was awful afeard of +her. By Chuesday I was so starved I knowed I'd got to go back to +my Missus, I hadn't got no whar else to go, but I knowed what was +comin.' So I went back." + +"And she gave you an awful flogging, I suppose, Harriet?" + +"No, Missus, but _he_ did." + +This was all that was said, but probably that flogging left some +of those scars which cover her neck and back to this day. + +Think of a poor little helpless thing seven years old enduring all +this terror and suffering, and yet few people are as charitable to +the slave-holders as Harriet. "Dey don' know no better, Missus; +it's de way dey was brought up. 'Make de little nigs min' you, or +flog 'em,' was what was said to de chillen, and dey was brought up +wid de whip in der hand. Now, min' you, Missus, dat wasn't de way +on all de plantations; dere was good Marsters an' Missuses, as +I've heard tell, but I didn't happen to come across 'em." + +There is frequent mention made in the Memoir of Harriet's firm and +unwavering trust in God in times of great perplexity or deadly +peril, when she often had occasion to say, "Vain is the help of +man, but in God is my help." I have never known another instance +of such implicit trust and confidence. + +Very soon after the Civil War her house was turned into a +hospital, and no poor helpless creature of her race was ever +turned from her door. Indeed, all through the war, and through the +cruel reign of the fugitive slave law, her house was one of the +depots of the "Underground Railway," as that secret and unseen +mode of conveying the hunted fugitives was called, and when the +war was over she established a hospital, which for many years, +indeed till she was too ill herself to take charge of it, has been +the refuge of the sufferers of her race who had no earthly +dependence but Harriet. + +Very often this woman, except for her trust in "de Lawd," had had +no idea where the next meal was to come from, but she troubled +herself no more about it than if she had been a Vanderbilt or an +Astor. "De Lawd will provide" was her motto, and He never failed +her. + +One day, in passing through Auburn, I was impelled to stop over a +train, and drive out to see what were the needs of my colored +friend, and to take her some supplies. + +Her little house was always neat and comfortable, and the small +parlor was nicely and rather prettily furnished. The lame, the +halt, and the blind, the bruised and crippled little children, and +one crazy woman, were all brought in to see me, and "the blind +woman" (she seemed to have no other name), a very old woman who +had been Harriet's care for eighteen years, was led into the room--an +interesting and pathetic group. + +On leaving, I said to her: "If you will come out to the carriage, +Harriet, there are some provisions there for you." + +She turned to one of her poor dependents and said: "What did you +say to me dis mornin'? You said, 'We hadn't got nothin' to eat in +de house,' and what did I say to you? I said, 'I've got a rich +Father!'" + +Nothing that comes to this remarkable woman ever surprises her. +She says very little in the way of thanks, except to the Giver of +all good. How the knowledge comes to her no one can tell, but she +seems always to know when help is coming, and she is generally on +hand to receive it, though it is never for herself she wants it, +but only for those under her care. + +I must not forget to mention the Indian girls of the Fort Wrangel +School, who, having read a little notice of Harriet in the +"Evangelist," went to work, and by their daily labor raised +thirty-seven dollars which they sent to me for Harriet--and this +school has been disbanded, and these educated girls have been sent +back to their wretched homes, because our Government could not +afford to support it any longer! + +Pundita Ramabai went about this time to see Harriet and they had +an interesting talk together. Here was a remarkable trio taking +hold of hands--the woman from East India, the Indian girl from the +far West, and the black woman from the Southern States only two +removes from an African savage! + +Once when she came to New York, where she had not been in twenty +years, and was starting off alone to find some friends miles away +in a part of the city which she had never seen, we remonstrated +with her, telling her she would surely be lost. + +"Now, Missus," she said, "don't you t'ink dis ole head dat done de +navigatin' down in Egypt can do de navigatin' up here in New +York?" + +And she walked many miles, scorning a "cyar," and found all the +people she wished to see. + +Harriet was known by various names among her Southern friends. One +of these was "Ole Chariot," perhaps as a rhyme to the name by +which they called her. + +And so, often when she went to bring away a band of refugees, she +would sing as she walked the dark country roads by night: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + Who's gwine wid me?" + +And from some unseen singer would come the response: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + I'se gwine wid you." + +And by some wireless telegraphy known only to the initiated it +would be made known in one cabin or another where their deliverer +was waiting concealed, and when she would be ready to pilot them +on their long journey to freedom. + +A Woman's Suffrage Meeting was held in Rochester a year or two +ago, and Harriet came to attend it. She generally attended every +meeting of women, on whatever subject, if possible to do so. + +She was led into the church by an adopted daughter, whom she had +rescued from death when a baby, and had brought up as her own. + +The church was warm and Harriet was tired, and soon after she +entered deep sleep fell upon her. + +Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Stanton were on the platform, and after +speeches had been made and business accomplished, one of these +ladies said: + +"Friends, we have in the audience that wonderful woman, Harriet +Tubman, from whom we should like to hear, if she will kindly come +to the platform." + +People looked around at Harriet, but Harriet was fast asleep. + +"Mother! mother!" said the young girl; "they are calling for you," +but it was some time before Harriet could be made to understand +where she was, or what was wanted of her. At length, she was led +out into the aisle and was assisted by one of these kind ladies on +to the platform. + +Harriet looked around, wondering why so many white ladies were +gathered there. I think it was Miss Anthony who led her forward, +saying: + +"Ladies, I am glad to present to you Harriet Tubman, 'the +conductor of the Underground Railroad.'" + +"Yes, ladies," said Harriet, "I was de conductor ob de Underground +Railroad for eight years, an' I can say what mos' conductors can't +say--I nebber run my train off de track an' I nebber los' a +passenger." The audience laughed and applauded, and Harriet was +emboldened to go on and relate portions of her interesting +history, which were most kindly received by the assembled ladies. + +After the passage of the iniquitous fugitive slave law, Harriet +removed all her dependents to Canada, and here John Brown and some +of his followers took refuge with her, and she was his helper and +adviser in many of his schemes. The papers of that time tell of +her helping him with his plans and of his dependence upon her +judgment. In one of his letters he says: "Harriet has hitched on, +and with all her might; she is a whole team." + +For this large party added to her own family of several persons, +she worked day and night in her usual self-forgetting manner. Her +old father and mother were with her, and the mother, nearly a +hundred years old and enfeebled in mind, was querulous and +exacting, and most unreasonable in her temper, often reproaching +this faithful daughter as the Israelites did Moses of old, for +"bringing them up into the wilderness to die there of hunger." + +There came a day when everything eatable was exhausted, and the +prospect was dark, indeed. The old mother had no tobacco and no +tea--and these were more essential to her comfort than food or +clothing; then reproaches thick and fast fell upon Harriet. She +made no reply, but "went into her closet and shut the door"; when +she came out she had a large basket on her arm. + +"Catharine," she said, "take off dat small pot an' put on a large +one." + +"But, Harriet, der ain't not'ing in de house to eat." + +"Put on de large pot, Catharine; we're gwine to have soup to-day"--and +Harriet started for the market. The day was nearly over, and +the market-men were anxious to be rid of their wares, and were +offering them very cheap. Harriet walked along with the basket on +her arm. "Old woman, don't you want a nice piece of meat?" called +out one; and another, "Here's a nice piece; only ten cents. Take +this soup-bone, you can have it for five cents." But Harriet had +not five cents. At length a kind-hearted butcher, judging of the +trouble from her face, said: "Look here, old woman, you look like +an honest woman; take this soup-bone, and pay me when you get some +money"; then another said, "Take this," and others piled on pieces +of meat till the basket was full. Harriet passed on, and when she +came to the vegetables she exchanged some of the meat for +potatoes, cabbage, and onions, and the big pot was in requisition +when she reached home. Harriet had not "gone into her closet and +shut the door" for nothing. + +I hope I may be excused for sometimes telling my story in the +first person, as I cannot conveniently do it in any other way. In +getting ready a Thanksgiving box to send to Harriet, a few years +ago, I had ordered a turkey to be sent for it, but as the weather +grew quite warm, I was advised to send a ham instead. That box was +lost for three weeks, and when I saw Harriet again and told her +that I had intended to send a turkey in it, she said, "Wal, dere +was a clar Providence in dat, wa'n't dere, Missus?" + +A friend, hearing that I was preparing a Christmas box in New York +for this needy household, sent me a quantity of clothing and ten +dollars for them. As my box was not quite full, I expended three +dollars of that money in groceries, and sent seven dollars to a +lady in Auburn who acted as treasurer for Harriet, giving her +money as it was needed; for Harriet's heart is so large, and her +feelings are so easily wrought upon, that it was never wise to +give her more than enough for present needs. + +Not long after, I received a letter from a well-known physician--a +woman--in Auburn, in which she said: + +"I want to tell you something about Harriet. She came to me last +Friday, and said, 'Doctah, I have got my taxes and insurance to +pay to-morrow, and I haven't a cent. Would you lend me seven +dollars till next Chuesday?' More to try her than anything else, I +said, 'Why, Harriet, I'm a poor, hard-working woman myself; how do +you know you'll pay me seven dollars next Tuesday?' 'Well, Doctah, +I can't jes' tell you how, but I'll pay you next Chuesday.'" On +Tuesday my letter with seven dollars enclosed arrived in Auburn, +and Harriet took the money to the friend who had lent it to her. +Others thought this strange, but there was nothing strange about +it to her. + +A few years ago, when Harriet called on the writer, she was +introduced to the husband of one of her daughters lately married. +He told her how glad he was to see her, as he had heard so much +about her. She made one of her humble courtesies, and said: "I'm +pleased to see you, sir; it's de first time I've hed de pleasure +makin' yo' 'quaintance since you was 'dopted into my fam'bly." + +When the turns of somnolence come upon Harriet, her "sperrit," as +she says, goes away from her body, and visits other scenes and +places, and if she ever really sees them afterwards they are +perfectly familiar to her and she can find her way about alone. +Instances of this kind have lately been mentioned in some of the +magazines, but Harriet had never heard of them. + +Sitting in her house one day, deep sleep fell upon her, and in a +dream or vision she saw a chariot in the air, going south, and +empty, but soon it returned, and lying in it, cold and stiff, was +the body of a young lady of whom Harriet was very fond, whose home +was in Auburn, but who had gone to Washington with her father, a +distinguished officer of the Government there.[G] + +[Footnote G: William H. Seward.] + +The shock roused Harriet from her sleep, and she ran into Auburn, +to the house of her minister, crying out: "Oh, Miss Fanny is +dead!" and the news had just been received. + +She woke from a sleep one day in great agitation, and ran to the +houses of her colored neighbors, exclaiming that "a drefful t'ing +was happenin' somewha', de ground was openin', an' de houses were +fallin' in, and de people bein' killed faster 'n dey was in de +wah--faster 'n dey was in de wah." + +At that very time, or near it, an earthquake was occurring in the +northern part of South America, for the telegram came that day, +though why a vision of it should be sent to Harriet no one can +divine. + +Her expressions are often very peculiar; some ladies of a certain +church who had become interested in her wished to see her, and she +was invited to come to their city, and attended the sewing circle, +where twenty or thirty of them were gathered together. They asked +her many questions, and she told stories, sang songs, danced, and +imitated the talk of the Southern negroes; and went away loaded +with many tokens of the kind interest of these ladies. On the way +home she said: + +"What nice, kind-lookin' ladies dem was, Missus. I looked in all +dere faces, an' I didn't see nothin' venomous in one of 'em!" + +As has been said, Harriet can neither read nor write; her letters +are all written by an amanuensis, and she seems to have an idea +that by laying her hand on this person, her feelings may be +transmitted to the one to whom she is writing. These feelings are +sometimes very poetically expressed. I have by me some of those +letters; in one of them she says: "I lay my hand on the shoulder +of the writer of this letter, and I wish for you, and all your +offsprings, a through ticket in the Gospel train to Glory." + +In another letter she has dictated this sentence: + +"I ask of my Heavenly Father, that when the last trump sounds, and +my name is called, I may stand close by your side, to answer to +the call." Probably many of her friends and correspondents might +contribute facts and incidents in Harriet's life quite as +interesting as any I have mentioned, but I have no way of getting +at them. + +Harriet had long cherished the idea of having her hospital +incorporated, and placed in charge of the Zion African Methodist +Church of Auburn, and she was particularly anxious to come into +possession of a lot of twenty-five acres of land, near her own +home, to present to it as a little farm. This lot was to be sold +at auction, and on the day of the sale Harriet appeared with a +very little money, and a determination to have the land, cost what +it might. + +"Dey was all white folks but me dere, Missus, and dere I was like +a blackberry in a pail ob milk, but I hid down in a corner, and no +one know'd who was biddin'. De man began down pretty low, and I +kept goin' up by fifties; he got up to twelve hundred, thirteen +hundred, fourteen hundred, and still dat voice in the corner kept +goin' up by fifties. At last it got up to fourteen hundred and +fifty, an' den oders stopped biddin', an' de man said, 'All done! +who is de buyer?' 'Harriet Tubman,' I shouted. 'What! dat ole +nigger?' dey said. 'Old woman, how you ebber gwine to pay fer dat +lot ob land?' 'I'm gwine home to tell de Lawd Jesus all about it,' +I said." + +After telling the Lord Jesus all about it, Harriet went down to a +bank, obtained the money by mortgaging the land, and then +requested to have a deed made out, making the land over to the +Zion African Methodist Church. And her mind is easy about her +hospital, though with many persons the trouble would be but just +beginning, as there is interest on the mortgage to be paid. + +Though the hospital is no longer on her hands, you will never find +her without several poor creatures under her care. When I last saw +her she was providing for five sick and injured ones. A blind +woman came one day to her door, led by four little children--her +husband had turned her out of his house, and like all other poor +distressed black people, who could get there, she made her way to +Harriet. Before the next morning a fifth was added to the group. +As soon as it was possible Harriet dressed the whole six in white +and took them to a Methodist church and had them baptized. + +A little account of this was sent to the "Evangelist," and the +almost immediate response was seventy-five dollars, which was of +great benefit in providing for the needs of the growing family. + +This faithful creature will probably not live much longer, and her +like will not be seen again. But through the sale of the last +edition of her "Memoir," and some other sources of income, her +wants will be abundantly supplied. + +Harriet's friends will be glad to learn that she has lately been +for some time in Boston, where a surgical operation was performed +upon her head, the skull (which was crushed by a weight thrown by +her master more than seventy years before) being successfully +raised. Harriet's account of this operation is rather amusing. + +"Harriet," said Professor Hopkins, "what is the matter with your +head? Your hair is all gone!" + +"Why, dat's where dey shaved it off befo' dey cut my head open." + +"Cut your head open, Harriet? What do you mean?" + +"Wal, sir, when I was in Boston I walked out one day, an' I saw a +great big buildin', an' I asked a man what it was, an' he said it +was a hospital. So I went right in, an' I saw a young man dere, +an' I said, 'Sir, are you a doctah?' an' he said he was; den I +said, 'Sir, do you t'ink you could cut my head open?' + +"'What do you want your head cut open fer?' he said. + +"Den I tol' him de whole story, an' how my head was givin' me a +powerful sight of trouble lately, with achin' an' buzzin', so I +couldn' get no sleep at night. + +"An' he said, 'Lay right down on dis yer table,' an' I lay down." + +"Didn't he give you anything to deaden the pain, Harriet?" + +"No, sir; I jes' lay down like a lamb fo' de slaughter, an' he +sawed open my skull, an' raised it up, an' now it feels more +comfortable." "Did you suffer very much?" + +"Yes, sir, it hurt, ob cose; but I got up an' put on my bonnet an' +started to walk home, but my legs kin' o' gin out under me, an' +dey sont fer a ambulance an' sont me home." + +It has been hoped that this remarkable experience might result in +giving Harriet a new lease of life, but I am sorry to say she is +very feeble, and I fear will not be with us much longer. + +Her "through ticket" has long been ready for her, and when her +last journey is accomplished can we doubt that she will be +welcomed to one of those many mansions prepared for those who have +spent their lives in the Master's service? + + +THE END + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +The following letters to the writer from those well-known and +distinguished philanthropists, Hon. Gerrit Smith and Wendell +Phillips, and one from Frederick Douglass, addressed to Harriet, +will serve as the best introduction that can be given of the +subject of this memoir to its readers: + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _June_ 13, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I am happy to learn that you are to speak to the +public of Mrs. Harriet Tubman. Of the remarkable events of her +life I have no _personal_ knowledge, but of the truth of them as +she describes them I have no doubt. + +I have often listened to her, in her visits to my family, and I am +confident that she is not only truthful, but that she has a rare +discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy. + + With great respect your friend, + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Wendell Phillips_. + + _June_ 16, 1868. + +DEAR MADAME: The last time I ever saw John Brown was under my own +roof, as he brought Harriet Tubman to me, saying: "Mr. Phillips, I +bring you one of the best and bravest persons on this continent-- +_General_ Tubman, as we call her." + +He then went on to recount her labors and sacrifices in behalf of +her race. After that, Harriet spent some time in Boston, earning +the confidence and admiration of all those who were working for +freedom. With their aid she went to the South more than once, +returning always with a squad of self-emancipated men, women, and +children, for whom her marvelous skill had opened the way of +escape. After the war broke out, she was sent with indorsements +from Governor Andrew and his friends to South Carolina, where in +the service of the Nation she rendered most important and +efficient aid to our army. + +In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did before that time more for the colored race, than our +fearless and most sagacious friend, Harriet. + + Faithfully yours, + + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Frederick Douglass_. + + ROCHESTER, _August_ 29, 1868. + +DEAR HARRIET: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful +life has been written by a kind lady, and that the same is soon to +be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon +me for a word of commendation. I need such words from you far more +than you can need them from me, especially where your superior +labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our +land are known as I know them. The difference between us is very +marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our +cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement +at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in +a private way. I have wrought in the day--you in the night. I have +had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of +being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done +has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore +bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, +and whose heartfelt "_God bless you_" has been your only reward. +The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of +your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John +Brown--of sacred memory--I know of no one who has willingly +encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people +than you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to +those who do not know you as I know you. It is to me a great +pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony to your character +and your works, and to say to those to whom you may come, that I +regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy. + + Your friend, + + FREDERICK DOUGLASS. + + * * * * * + +_Extracts from a Letter written by Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of State Charities._ + +MY DEAR MADAME: Mr. Phillips has sent me your note, asking for +reminiscences of Harriet Tubman, and testimonials to her +extraordinary story, which all her New England friends will, I am +sure, be glad to furnish. + +I never had reason to doubt the truth of what Harriet said in +regard to her own career, for I found her singularly truthful. Her +imagination is warm and rich, and there is a whole region of the +marvelous in her nature, which has manifested itself at times +remarkably. Her dreams and visions, misgivings and forewarnings, +ought not to be omitted in any life of her, particularly those +relating to John Brown. + +She was in his confidence in 1858-9, and he had a great regard for +her, which he often expressed to me. She aided him in his plans, +and expected to do so still further, when his career was closed by +that wonderful campaign in Virginia. The first time she came to my +house, in Concord, after that tragedy, she was shown into a room +in the evening, where Brackett's bust of John Brown was standing. +The sight of it, which was new to her, threw her into a sort of +ecstacy of sorrow and admiration, and she went on in her +rhapsodical way to pronounce his apotheosis. + +She has often been in Concord, where she resided at the houses of +Emerson, Alcott, the Whitneys, the Brooks family, Mrs. Horace +Mann, and other well-known persons. They all admired and respected +her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures. She was too +_real_ a person to be suspected. In 1862, I think it was, she went +from Boston to Port Royal, under the advice and encouragement of +Mr. Garrison, Governor Andrew, Dr. Howe, and other leading people. +Her career in South Carolina is well known to some of our +officers, and I think to Colonel Higginson, now of Newport, R.I., +and Colonel James Montgomery, of Kansas, to both of whom she was +useful as a spy and guide, if I mistake not. I regard her as, on +the whole, the most extraordinary person of her race I have ever +met. She is a negro of pure, or almost pure blood, can neither +read nor write, and has the characteristics of her race and +condition. But she has done what can scarcely be credited on the +best authority, and she has accomplished her purposes with a +coolness, foresight, patience and wisdom, which in a _white man_ +would have raised him to the highest pitch of reputation. + +I am, dear Madame, very truly your servant, + + F.B. SANBORN. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Wm.H. Seward_. + + WASHINGTON, _July_ 25, 1868. + +MAJ.-GEN. HUNTER-- + +MY DEAR SIR: Harriet Tubman, a colored woman, has been nursing our +soldiers during nearly all the war. She believes she has a claim +for faithful services to the command in South Carolina with which +you are connected, and she thinks that you would be disposed to +see her claim justly settled. + +I have known her long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a truer, +seldom dwells in the human form. I commend her, therefore, to your +kind and best attentions. + + Faithfully your friend, + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Col. James Montgomery_. + + ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C., _July_ 6, 1863. + HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE. + +BRIG.-GEN. GILMORE, Commanding Department of the South-- + +GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, +a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have been +acquainted with her character and actions for several years. + +I am, General, your most ob't servant, + + JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. Baird_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov_. 24, 1864. + +The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who +has rendered faithful and good services to our Union army, not +only in the hospital, but in various capacities, having been +employed under Government at Hilton Head, and in Florida; and I +commend her to the protection of all officers in whose department +she may happen to be. + +She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my +uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and +capabilities. + + MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, N.Y., _Nov_. 4, 1867. + +I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever, +have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying, +and of more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with +her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment. + +During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful +to the cause of our country. She is poor and has poor parents. +Such a servant of the country should be well paid by the country. +I hope that the Government will look into her case. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Testimonial from Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov._ 22, 1864. + +The bearer, Harriet Tubman, needs not any recommendation. Nearly +all the nation over, she has been heard of for her wisdom, +integrity, patriotism, and bravery. The cause of freedom owes her +much. The country owes her much. + +I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high +esteem. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Certificate from Henry K. Durrant, Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A._ + +I certify that I have been acquainted with Harriet Tubman for +nearly two years; and my position as Medical Officer in charge of +"contrabands" in this town and in hospital, has given me frequent +and ample opportunities to observe her general deportment; +particularly her kindness and attention to the sick and suffering +of her own race. I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem +in which she is generally held. + + HENRY K. DURRANT, + Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. + In charge "Contraband" Hospital. + +Dated at Beaufort, S.C., the 3d day of May, 1864. + +I concur fully in the above. + + R. SAXTON, Brig.-Gen. Vol. + + * * * * * + +The following are a few of the passes used by Harriet throughout +the war. Many others are so defaced that it is impossible to +decipher them. + +HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, +HILTON HEAD, PORT ROYAL, S.C., _Feb_. 19, 1863. + +Pass the bearer, Harriet Tubman, to Beaufort and back to this +place, and wherever she wishes to go; and give her free passage at +all times, on all Government transports. Harriet was sent to me +from Boston by Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, and is a +valuable woman. She has permission, as a servant of the +Government, to purchase such provisions from the Commissary as she +may need. + + D. HUNTER, Maj.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + +General Gilmore, who succeeded General Hunter in command of the +Department of the South, appends his signature to the same pass. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, + _July_ 1, 1863. + +Continued in force. + + Q.A. GILMORE, Brig.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + + BEAUFORT, _Aug_. 28, 1862. + +Will Capt. Warfield please let "Moses" have a little Bourbon +whiskey for medicinal purposes. + + HENRY K. DURANT, Act. Ass. Surgeon. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C, + _March_ 20, 1865. + +Pass Mrs. Harriet Tubman (colored) to Hilton Head and Charleston, +S.C., with free transportation on a Government transport, + +By order of the Sec. of War. + Louis H., Asst. Adj.-Gen., U.S.A. +To Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Van Vliet, U.S.Q.M., N.Y. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C., + _July_ 22, 1865. + +Permit Harriet Tubman to proceed to Fortress Monroe, Va., on a +Government transport. Transportation will be furnished free of +cost. + +By order of the Secretary of War. + L.H., Asst. Adj.-Gen. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + + _Appointment as Nurse_. + +SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the Medical Director +Department of Virginia has been instructed to appoint Harriet +Tubman nurse or matron at the Colored Hospital, Fort Monroe, Va. + + Very respectfully, your obdt. servant, + V.K. BARNES, Surgeon-General. +Hon. WM.H. SEWARD, + Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. + + +Of the many letters, testimonials, and passes, placed in the hands +of the writer by Harriet, the following are selected for insertion +in this book, and are quite sufficient to verify her statements. + +_A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a lady of Auburn_. + + ATLANTA, GA., _March_ 21, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that +Hon. Wm.H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition to +Congress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in +the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the +value of her services in South Carolina and Florida. She was +employed in the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid +inside the enemy's lines, displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and +fidelity. She was employed by General Hunter, and I think by +Generals Stevens and Sherman, and is as deserving of a pension +from the Government for her services as any other of its faithful +servants. + + I am very truly yours, + RUFUS SAXTON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen., U.S.A. + +Rev. Samuel I. May, in his recollections of the anti-slavery +conflict, after mentioning the case of an old slave mother, whom +he vainly endeavored to assist her son in buying from her master, +says: + +"I did not until four years after know that remarkable woman +Harriet, or I might have engaged her services, in the assurance +that she would have bought off the old woman without _paying_ for +her inalienable right--her liberty." + +Mr. May in another place says of Harriet, that she deserves to be +placed _first_ on the list of American heroines, and then proceeds +to give a short account of her labors, varying very little from +that given in this book. + + + + +FUGITIVE SLAVE RESCUE IN TROY. + +From the _Troy Whig_, April 28, 1859. + +Yesterday afternoon, the streets of this city and West Troy were +made the scenes of unexampled excitement. For the first time since +the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, an attempt was made here to +carry its provisions into execution, and the result was a terrific +encounter between the officers and the prisoner's friends, the +triumph of mob law, and the final rescue of the fugitive. Our city +was thrown into a grand state of turmoil, and for a time every +other topic was forgotten, to give place to this new excitement. +People did not think last evening to ask who was nominated at +Charleston, or whether the news of the Heenan and Sayers battle +had arrived--everything was merged into the fugitive slave case, +of which it seems the end is not yet. + +Charles Nalle, the fugitive, who was the cause of all this +excitement, was a slave on the plantation of B.W. Hansborough, in +Culpepper County, Virginia, till the 19th of October, 1858, when +he made his escape, and went to live in Columbia, Pennsylvania. A +wife and five children are residing there now. Not long since he +came to Sandlake, in this county, and resided in the family of Mr. +Crosby until about three weeks ago. Since that time, he has been +employed as coachman by Uri Gilbert, Esq., of this city. He is +about thirty years of age, tall, quite light-complexioned, and +good-looking. He is said to have been an excellent and faithful +servant. + +At Sandlake, we understand that Nalle was often seen by one H.F. +Averill, formerly connected with one of the papers of this city, +who communicated with his reputed owner in Virginia, and gave the +information that led to a knowledge of the whereabouts of the +fugitive. Averill wrote letters for him, and thus obtained an +acquaintance with his history. Mr. Hansborough sent on an agent, +Henry J. Wall, by whom the necessary papers were got out to arrest +the fugitive. + +Yesterday morning about 11 o'clock, Charles Nalle was sent to +procure some bread for the family by whom he was employed. He +failed to return. At the baker's he was arrested by Deputy United +States Marshal J.W. Holmes, and immediately taken before United +States Commissioner Miles Beach. The son of Mr. Gilbert, thinking +it strange that he did not come back, sent to the house of William +Henry, on Division Street, where he boarded, and his whereabouts +was discovered. + +The examination before Commissioner Beach was quite brief. The +evidence of Averill and the agent was taken, and the Commissioner +decided to remand Nalle to Virginia. The necessary papers were +made out and given to the Marshal. + +By this time it was two o'clock, and the fact began to be noised +abroad that there was a fugitive slave in Mr. Beach's office, +corner of State and First Streets. People in knots of ten or +twelve collected near the entrance, looking at Nalle, who could be +seen at an upper window. William Henry, a colored man, with whom +Nalle boarded, commenced talking from the curb-stone in a loud +voice to the crowd. He uttered such sentences as, "There is a +fugitive slave in that office--pretty soon you will see him come +forth. He is going to be taken down South, and you will have a +chance to see him. He is to be taken to the depot, to go to +Virginia in the first train. Keep watch of those stairs, and you +will have a sight." A number of women kept shouting, crying, and +by loud appeals excited the colored persons assembled. + +Still the crowd grew in numbers. Wagons halted in front of the +locality, and were soon piled with spectators. An alarm of fire +was sounded, and hose carriages dashed through the ranks of men, +women, and boys; but they closed again, and kept looking with +expectant eyes at the window where the negro was visible. +Meanwhile, angry discussions commenced. Some persons agitated a +rescue, and others favored law and order. Mr. Brockway, a lawyer, +had his coat torn for expressing his sentiments, and other +_melees_ kept the interest alive. + +All at once there was a wild halloo, and every eye was turned up +to see the legs and part of the body of the prisoner protruding +from the second story window, at which he was endeavoring to +escape. Then arose a shout! "Drop him!" "Catch him!" "Hurrah!" But +the attempt was a fruitless one, for somebody in the office pulled +Nalle back again, amid the shouts of a hundred pairs of lungs. The +crowd at this time numbered nearly a thousand persons. Many of +them were black, and a good share were of the female sex. They +blocked up State Street from First Street to the alley, and kept +surging to and fro. + +Martin I. Townsend, Esq., who acted as counsel for the fugitive, +did not arrive in the Commissioner's office until a decision had +been rendered. He immediately went before Judge Gould, of the +Supreme Court, and procured a writ of habeas corpus in the usual +form, _returnable_ immediately. This was given Deputy-Sheriff +Nathaniel Upham, who at once proceeded to Commissioner Beach's +office, and served it on Holmes. Very injudiciously, the officers +proceeded at once to Judge Gould's office, although it was evident +they would have to pass through an excited, unreasonable crowd. As +soon as the officers and their prisoner emerged from the door, an +old negro, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, +shouted, "Here they come," and the crowd made a terrific rush at +the party. + +From the office of Commissioner Beach, in the Mutual Building, to +that of Judge Gould, in Congress Street, is less than two blocks, +but it was made a regular battlefield. The moment the prisoner +emerged from the doorway, in custody of Deputy-Sheriff Upham, +Chief of Police Quin, Officers Cleveland and Holmes, the crowd +made one grand charge, and those nearest the prisoner seized him +violently, with the intention of pulling him away from the +officers, but they were foiled; and down First to Congress Street, +and up the latter in front of Judge Gould's chambers, went the +surging mass. Exactly what did go on in the crowd, it is +impossible to say, but the pulling, hauling, mauling, and +shouting, gave evidences of frantic efforts on the part of the +rescuers, and a stern resistance from the conservators of the law. +In front of Judge Gould's office the combat was at its height. No +stones or other missiles were used; the battle was fist to fist. +We believe an order was given to take the prisoner the other way, +and there was a grand rush towards the West, past First and River +Streets, as far as Dock Street. All this time there was a +continual _melee_. Many of the officers were hurt--among them Mr. +Upham, whose object was solely to do his duty by taking Nalle +before Judge Gould in accordance with the writ of habeas corpus. A +number in the crowd were more or less hurt, and it is a wonder +that these were not badly injured, as pistols were drawn and +chisels used. + +The battle had raged as far as the corner of Dock and Congress +Streets, and the victory remained with the rescuers at last. The +officers were completely worn out with their exertions, and it was +impossible to continue their hold upon him any longer. Nalle was +at liberty. His friends rushed him down Dock Street to the lower +ferry, where there was a skiff lying ready to start. The fugitive +was put in, the ferryman rowed off, and amid the shouts of +hundreds who lined the banks of the river, Nalle was carried into +Albany County. + +As the skiff landed in West Troy, a negro sympathizer waded up to +the waist, and pulled Nalle out of the boat. He went up the hill +alone, however, and there who should he meet but Constable Becker! +The latter official seeing a man with manacles on, considered it +his duty to arrest him. He did so, and took him in a wagon to the +office of Justice Stewart, on the second floor of the corner +building near the ferry. The justice was absent. + +When the crowd on the Troy bank had seen Nalle safely landed, it +was suggested that he might be recaptured. Then there was another +rush made for the steam ferry-boat, which carried over about 400 +persons, and left as many more--a few of the latter being soused +in their efforts to get on the boat. On landing in West Troy, +there, sure enough, was the prisoner, locked up in a strong +office, protected by Officers Becker, Brown and Morrison, and the +door barricaded. + +Not a moment was lost. Up stairs went a score or more of resolute +men--the rest "piling in" promiscuously, shouting and execrating +the officers. Soon a stone flew against the door--then another-- +and bang, bang! went off a couple of pistols, but the officers who +fired them took good care to aim pretty high. The assailants were +forced to retreat for a moment. "They've got pistols," said one. +"Who cares?" was the reply; "they can only kill a dozen of us-- +come on." More stones and more pistol-shots ensued. At last the +door was pulled open by an immense negro, and in a moment he was +felled by a hatchet in the hands of Deputy-Sheriff Morrison; but +the body of the fallen man blocked up the door so that it could +not be shut, and a friend of the prisoner pulled him out. Poor +fellow! he might well say, "Save me from my friends." Amid the +pulling and hauling, the iron had cut his arms, which were +bleeding profusely, and he could hardly walk, owing to fatigue. + +He has since arrived safely in Canada. + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Harriet, The Moses of Her People, by +Sarah H. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Harriet, The Moses of Her People + +Author: Sarah H. Bradford + +Release Date: February, 2006 [EBook #9999] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on November 6, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + + + + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration: Letter from Susan B. Anthony, January, 1903.] + + + + +HARRIET + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE + +By + +SARAH H. BRADFORD + + + + + "Farewell, ole Marster, don't think hard of me, + I'm going on to Canada, where all de slaves are free." + + + "Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to His throne, + He who died has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone." + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY SARAH H. BRADFORD. + + + + +PREFACE. + +The title I have given my black heroine, in this second edition of +her story, viz.: THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE, may seem a little +ambitious, considering that this Moses was a woman, and that she +succeeded in piloting only three or four hundred slaves from the +land of bondage to the land of freedom. + +But I only give her here the name by which she was familiarly +known, both at the North and the South, during the years of terror +of the Fugitive Slave Law, and during our last Civil War, in both +of which she took so prominent a part. + +And though the results of her unexampled heroism were not to free +a whole nation of bond-men and bond-women, yet this object was as +much the desire of her heart, as it was of that of the great +leader of Israel. Her cry to the slave-holders, was ever like his +to Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" and not even he imperiled life and +limb more willingly, than did our courageous and self-sacrificing +friend. + +Her name deserves to be handed down to posterity, side by side +with the names of Jeanne D'Arc, Grace Darling, and Florence +Nightingale, for not one of these women, noble and brave as they +were, has shown more courage, and power of endurance, in facing +danger and death to relieve human suffering, than this poor black +woman, whose story I am endeavoring in a most imperfect way to +give you. + +Would that Mrs. Stowe had carried out the plan she once projected, +of being the historian of our sable friend; by her graphic pen, +the incidents of such a life might have been wrought up into a +tale of thrilling interest, equaling, if not exceeding her world +renowned "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +The work fell to humbler hands, and the first edition of this +story, under the title of "Harriet Tubman," was written in the +greatest possible haste, while the writer was preparing for a +voyage to Europe. There was pressing need for this book, to save +the poor woman's little home from being sold under a mortgage, and +letters and facts were penned down rapidly, as they came in. The +book has now been in part re-written and the letters and +testimonials placed in an appendix. + +For the satisfaction of the incredulous (and there will naturally +be many such, when so strange a tale is repeated to them), I will +here state that so far as it has been possible, I have received +corroboration of every incident related to me by my heroic friend. +I did this for the satisfaction of others, not for my own. No one +can hear Harriet talk, and not believe every word she says. As Mr. +Sanborn says of her, "she is too _real_ a person, not to be true." + +Many incidents quite as wonderful as those related in the story, I +have rejected, because I had no way in finding the persons who +could speak to their truth. + +This woman was the friend of William H. Seward, of Gerritt Smith, +of Wendell Phillips, of William Lloyd Garrison, and of many other +distinguished philanthropists before the War, as of very many +officers of the Union Army during the conflict. + +After her almost superhuman efforts in making her own escape from +slavery, and then returning to the South _nineteen times_, and +bringing away with her over three hundred fugitives, she was sent +by Governor Andrew of Massachusetts to the South at the beginning +of the War, to act as spy and scout for our armies, and to be +employed as hospital nurse when needed. + +Here for four years she labored without any remuneration, and +during the time she was acting as nurse, never drew but twenty +days' rations from our Government. She managed to support herself, +as well as to take care of the suffering soldiers. + +Secretary Seward exerted himself in every possible way to procure +her a pension from Congress, but red-tape proved too strong even +for him, and her case was rejected, because it did not come under +any recognized law. + +The first edition of this little story was published through the +liberality of Gerritt Smith, Wendell Phillips, and prominent men +in Auburn, and the object for which it was written was +accomplished. But that book has long been out of print, and the +facts stated there are all unknown to the present generation. +There have, I am told, often been calls for the book, which could +not be answered, and I have been urged by many friends as well as +by Harriet herself, to prepare another edition. For another +necessity has arisen and she needs help again not for herself, but +for certain helpless ones of her people. + +Her own sands are nearly run, but she hopes, 'ere she goes home, +to see this work, a hospital, well under way. Her last breath and +her last efforts will be spent in the cause of those for whom she +has already risked so much. + + For them her tears will fall, + For them her prayers ascend; + To them her toils and cares be given, + Till toils and cares shall end. + S.H.B. + +Letter from Mr. Oliver Johnson for the second edition: + + NEW YORK, _March 6_, 1886. + +MY DEAR MADAM: + +I am very glad to learn that you are about to publish a revised +edition of your life of that heroic woman, Harriet Tubman, by +whose assistance so many American slaves were enabled to break +their bonds. + +During the period of my official connection with the Anti-Slavery +office in New York, I saw her frequently, when she came there with +the companies of slaves, whom she had successfully piloted away +from the South; and often listened with wonder to the story of +her adventures and hair-breadth escapes. + +She always told her tale with a modesty which showed how +unconscious she was of having done anything more than her simple +duty. No one who listened to her could doubt her perfect +truthfulness and integrity. + +Her shrewdness in planning the escape of slaves, her skill in +avoiding arrest, her courage in every emergency, and her +willingness to endure hardship and face any danger for the sake of +her poor followers was phenomenal. + +I regret to hear that she is poor and ill, and hope the sale of +your book will give her the relief she so much needs and so well +deserves. + + Yours truly, + + OLIVER JOHNSON. + + + + AUBURN THEOL. SEMINARY, + _March_ 16, 1886. + +By PROFESSOR HOPKINS + +The remarkable person who is the subject of the following sketch, +has been residing mostly ever since the close of the war in the +outskirts of the City of Auburn, during all which time I have been +well acquainted with her. She has all the characteristics of the +pure African race strongly marked upon her, though from which one +of the various tribes that once fed the Barracoons, on the Guinea +coast, she derived her indomitable courage and her passionate love +of freedom I know not; perhaps from the Fellatas, in whom those +traits were predominant. + +Harriet lives upon a farm which the twelve hundred dollars given +her by Mrs. Bradford from the proceeds of the first edition of +this little book, enabled her to redeem from a mortgage held by +the late Secretary Seward. + +Her household is very likely to consist of several old black +people, "bad with the rheumatize," some forlorn wandering woman, +and a couple of small images of God cut in ebony. How she manages +to feed and clothe herself and them, the Lord best knows. She has +too much pride and too much faith to beg. She takes thankfully, +but without any great effusiveness of gratitude, whatever God's +messengers bring her. + +I have never heard that she absolutely lacked. There are some good +people in various parts of the country, into whose hearts God +sends the thought, from time to time, that Harriet may be at the +bottom of the flour sack, or of the potatoes, and the "help in +time of need" comes to her. + +Harriet's simplicity and ignorance have, in some cases, been +imposed upon, very signally in one instance in Auburn, a few years +ago; but nobody who knows her has the slightest doubt of her +perfect integrity. + +The following sketch taken by Mrs. Bradford, chiefly from +Harriet's own recollections, which are wonderfully distinct and +minute, but also from other corroborative sources, gives but a +very imperfect account of what this woman has been. + +Her color, and the servile condition in which she was born and +reared, have doomed her to obscurity, but a more heroic soul did +not breathe in the bosom of Judith or of Jeanne D'Arc. + +No fear of the lash, the blood-hound, or the fiery stake, could +divert her from her self-imposed task of leading as many as +possible of her people "from the land of Egypt, from the house of +bondage." + +The book is good literature for the black race, or the white race, +and though no similar conditions may arise, to test the +possibilities that are in any of them, yet the example of this +poor slave woman may well stand out before them, and before all +people, black or white, to show what a lofty and martyr spirit may +accomplish, struggling against overwhelming obstacles. + + + + +HARRIET, + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE. + + +On a hot summer's day, perhaps sixty years ago, a group of merry +little darkies were rolling and tumbling in the sand in front of +the large house of a Southern planter. Their shining skins gleamed +in the sun, as they rolled over each other in their play, and +their voices, as they chattered together, or shouted in glee, +reached even to the cabins of the negro quarter, where the old +people groaned in spirit, as they thought of the future of those +unconscious young revelers; and their cry went up, "O, Lord, how +long!" + +Apart from the rest of the children, on the top rail of a fence, +holding tight on to the tall gate post, sat a little girl of +perhaps thirteen years of age; darker than any of the others, and +with a more decided _woolliness_ in the hair; a pure unmitigated +African. She was not so entirely in a state of nature as the +rollers in the dust beneath her; but her only garment was a short +woolen skirt, which was tied around her waist, and reached about +to her knees. She seemed a dazed and stupid child, and as her head +hung upon her breast, she looked up with dull blood-shot eyes +towards her young brothers and sisters, without seeming to see +them. Bye and bye the eyes closed, and still clinging to the post, +she slept. The other children looked up and said to each other, +"Look at Hatt, she's done gone off agin!" Tired of their present +play ground they trooped off in another direction, but the girl +slept on heavily, never losing her hold on the post, or her seat +on her perch. Behold here, in the stupid little negro girl, the +future deliverer of hundreds of her people; the spy and scout of +the Union armies; the devoted hospital nurse; the protector of +hunted fugitives; the eloquent speaker in public meetings; the +cunning eluder of pursuing man-hunters; the heaven guided pioneer +through dangers seen and unseen; in short, as she has well been +called, "The Moses of her People." + +Here in her thirteenth year she is just recovering from the first +terrible effects of an injury inflicted by her master, who in an +ungovernable fit of rage threw a heavy weight at the unoffending +child, breaking in her skull, and causing a pressure upon her +brain, from which in her old age she is suffering still. This +pressure it was which caused the fits of somnolency so frequently +to come upon her, and which gave her the appearance of being +stupid and half-witted in those early years. But that brain which +seemed so dull was full of busy thoughts, and her life problem was +already trying to work itself out there. + +She had heard the shrieks and cries of women who were being +flogged in the negro quarter; she had listened to the groaned out +prayer, "Oh, Lord, have mercy!" She had already seen two older +sisters taken away as part of a chain gang, and they had gone no +one knew whither; she had seen the agonized expression on their +faces as they turned to take a last look at their "Old Cabin +Home;" and had watched them from the top of the fence, as they +went off weeping and lamenting, till they were hidden from her +sight forever. She saw the hopeless grief of the poor old mother, +and the silent despair of the aged father, and already she began +to revolve in her mind the question, "Why should such things be?" +"Is there no deliverance for my people?" + +The sun shone on, and Harriet still slept seated on the fence +rail. They, those others, had no anxious dreams of the future, and +even the occasional sufferings of the present time caused them but +a temporary grief. Plenty to eat, and warm sunshine to bask in, +were enough to constitute their happiness; Harriet, however, was +not one of these. God had a great work for her to do in the world, +and the discipline and hardship through which she passed in her +early years, were only preparing her for her after life of +adventure and trial; and through these to come out as the Savior +and Deliverer of her people, when she came to years of womanhood. + +As yet she had seen no "visions," and heard no "voices;" no +foreshadowing of her life of toil and privation, of flight before +human blood-hounds, of watchings, and hidings, of perils by land, +and perils by sea, yea, and of perils by false brethren, or of +miraculous deliverance had yet come to her. No hint of the great +mission of her life, to guide her people from the land of bondage +to the land of freedom. But, "Why should such things be?" and "Is +there no help?" These were the questions of her waking hours. + +The dilapidated state of things about the "Great House" told truly +the story of waning fortunes, and poverty was pressing upon the +master. One by one the able-bodied slaves disappeared; some were +sold, others hired to other masters. No questions were asked; no +information given; they simply disappeared. A "lady," for so she +was designated, came driving up to the great house one day, to see +if she could find there a young girl to take care of a baby. The +lady wished to pay low wages, and so the most stupid and the most +incapable of the children on the plantation was chosen to go with +her. Harriet, who could command less wages than any other child of +her age on the plantation, was therefore put into the wagon +without a word of explanation, and driven off to the lady's house. +It was not a very fine house, but Harriet had never before been in +any dwelling better than the cabins of the negro quarter. + +She was engaged as child's nurse, but she soon found that she was +expected to be maid of all work by day, as well as child's nurse +by night. The first task that was set her was that of sweeping and +dusting a parlor. No information was vouchsafed as to the manner +of going about this work, but she had often swept out the cabin, +and this part of her task was successfully accomplished. Then at +once she took the dusting cloth, and wiped off tables, chairs and +mantel-piece. The dust, as dust will do, when it has nowhere else +to go, at once settled again, and chairs and tables were soon +covered with a white coating, telling a terrible tale against +Harriet, when her Mistress came in to see how the work progressed. +Reproaches, and savage words, fell upon the ears of the frightened +child, and she was commanded to do the work all over again. It was +done in precisely the same way, as before, with the same result. +Then the whip was brought into requisition, and it was laid on +with no light hand. Five times before breakfast this process was +repeated, when a new actor appeared upon the scene. Miss Emily, a +sister of the Mistress, had been roused from her morning slumber +by the sound of the whip, and the screams of the child; and being +of a less imperious nature than her sister, she had come in to try +to set matters right. + +"Why do you whip the child, Susan, for not doing what she has +never been taught to do? Leave her to me a few minutes, and you +will see that she will soon learn how to sweep and dust a room." +Then Miss Emily instructed the child to open the windows, and +sweep, then to leave the room, and set the table, while the dust +settled; and after that to return and wipe it off. There was no +more trouble of that kind. A few words might have set the matter +right before; but in those days many a poor slave suffered for the +stupidity and obstinacy of a master or mistress, more stupid than +themselves. + +When the labors, unremitted for a moment, of the long day were +over (for this mistress was an economical woman, and intended to +get the worth of her money to the uttermost farthing), there was +still no rest for the weary child, for there was a cross baby to +be rocked continuously, lest it should wake and disturb the +mother's rest. The black child sat beside the cradle of the white +child, so near the bed, that the lash of the whip would reach her +if she ventured for a moment to forget her fatigues and sufferings +in sleep. The Mistress reposed upon her bed with the whip on a +little shelf over her head. People of color are, unfortunately, so +constituted that even if the pressure of a broken skull does not +cause a sleep like the sleep of the dead, the need of rest, and +the refreshment of slumber after a day of toil, were often felt by +them. No doubt, this was a great wrong to their masters, and a +cheating them of time which belonged to them, but their slaves did +not always look upon it in that light, and tired nature would +demand her rights; and so nature and the Mistress had a fight for +it. + +Rock, rock, went the cradle, and mother and child slept; but alas! +the little black hand would sometimes slip down, and the head +would droop, and a dream of home and mother would visit the weary +one, only to be roughly dispelled by the swift descent of the +stinging lash, for the baby had cried out and the mother had been +awakened. This is no fictitious tale. That poor neck is even now +covered with the scars which sixty years of life have not been +able to efface. It may be that she was thus being prepared by the +long habit of enforced wakefulness, for the night watches in the +woods, and in dens and caves of the earth, when the pursuers were +on her track, and the terrified ones were trembling in her shadow. +We do not thank _you_ for this, cruel woman! for if you did her a +service, you did it ignorantly, and only for your own gratification. +But Harriet's powers of endurance failed at last, and she was +returned to her master, a poor, scarred wreck, nothing but skin and +bone, with the words that "She wasn't worth a sixpence." + +The poor old mother nursed her back to life, and her naturally +good constitution asserted itself, so that as she grew older she +began to show signs of the wonderful strength which in after +years, when the fugitive slave law was in operation in New York +State, enabled her to seize a man from the officers who had him in +charge, and while numbers were pursuing her, and the shot was +flying like hail about her head, to bear him in her own strong +arms beyond the reach of danger. + +As soon as she was strong enough for work, Harriet was hired out +to a man whose tyranny was worse, if possible, than that of the +woman she had left. Now it was out of door drudgery which was put +upon her. The labor of the horse and the ox, the lifting of +barrels of flour and other heavy weights were given to her; and +powerful men often stood astonished to see this woman perform +feats of strength from which they shrunk incapable. This cruelty +she looks upon as a blessing in disguise (a very questionable +shape the blessing took, methinks), for by it she was prepared for +after needs. + +Still the pressure upon the brain continued, and with the weight +half lifted, she would drop off into a state of insensibility, +from which even the lash in the hand of a strong man could not +rouse her. But if they had only known it, the touch of a gentle +hand upon her shoulder, and her name spoken in tones of kindness, +would have accomplished what cruelty failed to do. + +The day's work must be accomplished, whether the head was racked +with pain, and the frame was consumed by fever, or not; but the +day came at length when poor Harriet could work no more. The sting +of the lash had no power to rouse her now, and the new master +finding her a dead weight on his hands, returned the useless piece +of property to him who was called her "owner." And while she lay +there helpless, this man was bringing other men to look at her, +and offering her for sale at the lowest possible price; at the +same time setting forth her capabilities, if once she were strong +and well again. + +Harriet's religious character I have not yet touched upon. Brought +up by parents possessed of strong faith in God, she had never +known the time, I imagine, when she did not trust Him, and cling +to Him, with an all-abiding confidence. She seemed ever to feel +the Divine Presence near, and she talked with God "as a man +talketh with his friend." Hers was not the religion of a morning +and evening prayer at stated times, but when she felt a need, she +simply told God of it, and trusted Him to set the matter right. + +"And so," she said to me, "as I lay so sick on my bed, from +Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. +'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, +Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, +and make him a Christian.' And all the time he was bringing men to +look at me, and dey stood there saying what dey would give, and +what dey would take, and all I could say was, 'Oh, Lord, convert +ole master.' Den I heard dat as soon as I was able to move I was +to be sent with my brudders, in the chain-gang to de far South. +Then I changed my prayer, and I said, 'Lord, if you ain't never +going to change dat man's heart, _kill him_, Lord, and take him +out of de way, so he won't do no more mischief.' Next ting I heard +ole master was dead; and he died just as he had lived, a wicked, +bad man. Oh, den it 'peared like I would give de world full of +silver and gold, if I had it, to bring dat pore soul back, I would +give _myself_; I would give eberyting! But he was gone, I couldn't +pray for him no more." + +As she recovered from this long illness, a deeper religious spirit +seemed to take possession of her than she had ever experienced +before. She literally "prayed without ceasing." "'Pears like, I +prayed all de time," she said, "about my work, eberywhere; I was +always talking to de Lord. When I went to the horse-trough to wash +my face, and took up de water in my hands, I said, 'Oh, Lord, wash +me, make me clean.' When I took up de towel to wipe my face and +hands, I cried, 'Oh, Lord, for Jesus' sake, wipe away all my +sins!' When I took up de broom and began to sweep, I groaned, 'Oh, +Lord, whatsoebber sin dere be in my heart, sweep it out, Lord, +clar and clean;' but I can't pray no more for pore ole master." No +words can describe the pathos of her tones as she broke into these +words of earnest supplication. + +What was to become of the slaves on this plantation now that the +master was dead? Were they all to be scattered and sent to +different parts of the country? Harriet had many brothers and +sisters, all of whom with the exception of the two, who had gone +South with the chain-gang, were living on this plantation, or were +hired out to planters not far away. The word passed through the +cabins that another owner was coming in, and that none of the +slaves were to be sold out of the State. This assurance satisfied +the others, but it did not satisfy Harriet. Already the inward +monitor was whispering to her, "Arise, flee for your life!" and in +the visions of the night she saw the horsemen coming, and heard +the shrieks of women and children, as they were being torn from +each other, and hurried off no one knew whither. + +And beckoning hands were ever motioning her to come, and she +seemed to see a line dividing the land of slavery from the land of +freedom, and on the other side of that line she saw lovely white +ladies waiting to welcome her, and to care for her. Already in her +mind her people were the Israelites in the land of Egypt, while +far away to the north _somewhere_, was the land of Canaan; but had +she as yet any prevision that _she_ was to be the Moses who was to +be their leader, through clouds of darkness and fear, and fires of +tribulation to that promised land? This she never said. + +One day there were scared faces seen in the negro quarter, and +hurried whispers passed from one to another. No one knew how it +had come out, but some one had heard that Harriet and two of her +brothers were very soon, perhaps to-day, perhaps to-morrow, to be +sent far South with a gang, bought up for plantation work. Harriet +was about twenty or twenty-five years old at this time, and the +constantly recurring idea of escape at _sometime_, took sudden +form that day, and with her usual promptitude of action she was +ready to start at once. + +She held a hurried consultation with her brothers, in which she so +wrought upon their fears, that they expressed themselves as +willing to start with her that very night, for that far North, +where, could they reach it in safety, freedom awaited them. But +she must first give some intimation of her purpose to the friends +she was to leave behind, so that even if not understood at the +time, it might be remembered afterward as her intended farewell. +Slaves must not be seen talking together, and so it came about +that their communication was often made by singing, and the words +of their familiar hymns, telling of the heavenly journey, and the +land of Canaan, while they did not attract the attention of the +masters, conveyed to their brethren and sisters in bondage +something more than met the ear. And so she sang, accompanying the +words, when for a moment unwatched, with a meaning look to one and +another: + + "When dat ar ole chariot comes, + I'm gwine to lebe you, + I'm boun' for de promised land, + Frien's, I'm gwine to lebe you." + +Again, as she passed the doors of the different cabins, she lifted +up her well-known voice; and many a dusky face appeared at door or +window, with a wondering or scared expression; and thus she +continued: + + "I'm sorry, frien's, to lebe you, + Farewell! oh, farewell! + But I'll meet you in de mornin', + Farewell! oh, farewell! + + "I'll meet you in de mornin', + When you reach de promised land; + On de oder side of Jordan, + For I'm boun' for de promised land." + +The brothers started with her, but the way was strange, the north +was far away, and all unknown, the masters would pursue and +recapture them, and their fate would be worse than ever before; +and so they broke away from her, and bidding her goodbye, they +hastened back to the known horrors of slavery, and the dread of +that which was worse. + +Harriet was now left alone, but after watching the retreating +forms of her brothers, she turned her face toward the north, and +fixing her eyes on the guiding star, and committing her way unto +the Lord, she started again upon her long, lonely journey. Her +farewell song was long remembered in the cabins, and the old +mother sat and wept for her lost child. No intimation had been +given her of Harriet's intention, for the old woman was of a most +impulsive disposition, and her cries and lamentations would have +made known to all within hearing Harriet's intended escape. And +so, with only the North Star for her guide, our heroine started on +the way to liberty, "For," said she, "I had reasoned dis out in my +mind; there was one of two things I had a _right_ to, liberty, or +death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man +should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my +strength lasted, and when de time came for me to go, de Lord would +let dem take me." + +And so without money, and without friends, she started on through +unknown regions; walking by night, hiding by day, but always +conscious of an invisible pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by +night, under the guidance of which she journeyed or rested. +Without knowing whom to trust, or how near the pursuers might be, +she carefully felt her way, and by her native cunning, or by God +given wisdom, she managed to apply to the right people for food, +and sometimes for shelter; though often her bed was only the cold +ground, and her watchers the stars of night. + +After many long and weary days of travel, she found that she had +passed the magic line, which then divided the land of bondage from +the land of freedom. But where were the lovely white ladies whom +in her visions she had seen, who, with arms outstretched, welcomed +her to their hearts and homes. All these visions proved deceitful: +she was more alone than ever; but she had crossed the line; no one +could take her now, and she would never call any man "Master" +more. + +"I looked at my hands," she said, "to see if I was de same person +now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came +like gold trou de trees, and ober de fields, and I felt like I was +in heaven." But then came the bitter drop in the cup of joy. She +was alone, and her kindred were in slavery, and not one of them +had the courage to dare what she had dared. Unless she made the +effort to liberate them she would never see them more, or even +know their fate. + +"I knew of a man," she said, "who was sent to the State Prison for +twenty-five years. All these years he was always thinking of his +home, and counting by years, months, and days, the time till he +should be free, and see his family and friends once more. The +years roll on, the time of imprisonment is over, the man is free. +He leaves the prison gates, he makes his way to his old home, but +his old home is not there. The house in which he had dwelt in his +childhood had been torn down, and a new one had been put up in its +place; his family were gone, their very name was forgotten, there +was no one to take him by the hand to welcome him back to life." + +"So it was wid me," said Harriet, "I had crossed de line of which +I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to +welcome me to de land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange +land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid +de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn +resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I +would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I +would bring dem all dere. Oh, how I prayed den, lying all alone on +de cold, damp ground; 'Oh, dear Lord,' I said, 'I haint got no +friend but _you_. Come to my help, Lord, for I'm in trouble!'" + +It would be impossible here to give a detailed account of the +journeys and labors of this intrepid woman for the redemption of +her kindred and friends, during the years that followed. Those +years were spent in work, almost by night and day, with the one +object of the rescue of her people from slavery. All her wages +were laid away with this sole purpose, and as soon as a sufficient +amount was secured, she disappeared from her Northern home, and as +suddenly and mysteriously she appeared some dark night at the door +of one of the cabins on a plantation, where a trembling band of +fugitives, forewarned as to time and place, were anxiously +awaiting their deliverer. Then she piloted them North, traveling +by night, hiding by day, scaling the mountains, fording the +rivers, threading the forests, lying concealed as the pursuers +passed them. She, carrying the babies, drugged with paregoric, in +a basket on her arm. So she went _nineteen_ times, and so she +brought away over three hundred pieces of living and breathing +"property," with God given souls. + +The way was so toilsome over the rugged mountain passes, that +often the _men_ who followed her would give out, and foot-sore, +and bleeding, they would drop on the ground, groaning that they +could not take another step. They would lie there and die, or if +strength came back, they would return on their steps, and seek +their old homes again. Then the revolver carried by this bold and +daring pioneer, would come out, while pointing it at their heads +she would say, "Dead niggers tell no tales; you go on or die!" And +by this heroic treatment she compelled them to drag their weary +limbs along on their northward journey. + +But the pursuers were after them. A reward of $40,000 was offered +by the slave-holders of the region from whence so many slaves had +been spirited away, for the head of the woman who appeared so +mysteriously, and enticed away their property, from under the very +eyes of its owners. Our sagacious heroine has been in the car, +having sent her frightened party round by some so-called +"Under-ground Railway," and has heard this advertisement, which was +posted over her head, read by others of the passengers. She never +could read or write herself, but knowing that suspicion would be +likely to fall upon any black woman traveling North, she would +turn at the next station, and journey towards the South. Who would +suspect a fugitive with such a price set upon her head, of rushing +at railway speed into the jaws of destruction? With a daring +almost heedless, she went even to the very village where she would +be most likely to meet one of the masters to whom she had been +hired; and having stopped at the Market and bought a pair of live +fowls, she went along the street with her sun-bonnet well over her +face, and with the bent and decrepit air of an aged, woman. +Suddenly on turning a corner, she spied her old master coming +towards her. She pulled the string which tied the legs of the +chickens; they began to flutter and scream, and as her master +passed, she was stooping and busily engaged in attending to the +fluttering fowls. And he went on his way, little thinking that he +was brushing the very garments of the woman who had dared to steal +herself, and others of his belongings. + +At one time the pursuit was very close and vigorous. The woods +were scoured in all directions, every house was visited, and every +person stopped and questioned as to a band of black fugitives, +known to be fleeing through that part of the country. Harriet had +a large party with her then; the children were sleeping the sound +sleep that opium gives; but all the others were on the alert, each +one hidden behind his own tree, and silent as death. They had been +long without food, and were nearly famished; and as the pursuers +seemed to have passed on, Harriet decided to make the attempt to +reach a certain "station of the underground railroad" well known +to her; and procure food for her starving party. Under cover of +the darkness, she started, leaving a cowering and trembling group +in the woods, to whom a fluttering leaf, or a moving animal, were +a sound of dread, bringing their hearts into their throats. How +long she is away! has she been caught and carried off, and if so +what is to become of them? Hark! there is a sound of singing in +the distance, coming nearer and nearer. + +And these are the words of the unseen singer, which I wish I could +give you as I have so often heard them sung by herself: + + Hail, oh hail, ye happy spirits, + Death no more shall make you fear, + Grief nor sorrow, pain nor anguish, + Shall no more distress you dere. + + Around Him are ten thousand angels + Always ready to obey command; + Dey are always hovering round you, + Till you reach de heavenly land. + + Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to his throne; + He who died, has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone. + + He whose thunders shake creation, + He who bids de planets roll; + He who rides upon the tempest, + And whose scepter sways de whole. + + Dark and thorny is de pathway, + Where de pilgrim makes his ways; + But beyond dis vale of sorrow, + Lie de fields of endless days. + +The air sung to these words was so wild, so full of plaintive +minor strains, and unexpected quavers, that I would defy any white +person to learn it, and often as I heard it, it was to me a +constant surprise. Up and down the road she passes to see if the +coast is clear, and then to make them certain that it is _their_ +leader who is coming, she breaks out into the plaintive strains of +the song, forbidden to her people at the South, but which she and +her followers delight to sing together: + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + Oh Pharaoh said he would go cross, + Let my people go, + And don't get lost in de wilderness, + Let my people go. + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + You may hinder me here, but you can't up dere, + Let my people go, + He sits in de Hebben and answers prayer, + Let my people go! + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + +And then she enters the recesses of the wood, carrying hope and +comfort to the anxious watchers there. One by one they steal out +from their hiding places, and are fed and strengthened for another +night's journey. + +And so by night travel, by signals, by threatenings, by +encouragement, through watchings and fastings, and I may say by +direct interpositions of Providence, and miraculous deliverances, +she brought her people to what was then their land of Canaan; the +State of New York. But alas! this State did not continue to be +their refuge. For in 1850, I think, the Fugitive Slave Law was put +in force, which bound the people north of Mason and Dixon's line, +to return to bondage any fugitive found in their territories. + +"After that," said Harriet, "I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam wid my +people no longer, but I brought 'em all clar off to Canada." + +On her seventh or eighth journey, she brought with her a band of +fugitives, among whom was a very remarkable man, whom I knew only +by the name of "Joe." Joe was a noble specimen of a negro, +enormously tall, and of splendid muscular development. He had been +hired out by his master to another planter, for whom he had worked +for six years, saving him all the expense of an overseer, and +taking all trouble off from his hands. He was such a very valuable +piece of property, and had become so absolutely necessary to the +planter to whom he was hired, that he determined to buy him at any +cost. His old master held him proportionately high. But by paying +one thousand dollars down, and promising to pay another thousand +in a certain time, the purchase was made, and this chattel passed +over into the hands of a new owner. + +The morning after the purchase was completed, the new master came +riding down on a tall, powerful horse into the negro quarter, with +a strong new rawhide in his hand, and stopping before Joe's cabin, +called to him to come out. Joe was just eating his breakfast, but +with ready obedience, he hastened out at the summons. Slave as he +was, and accustomed to scenes of brutality, he was surprised when +the order came, "Now, Joe, strip, and take a licking." Naturally +enough, he demurred at first, and thought of resisting the order; +but he called to mind a scene he had witnessed a few days before +in the field, the particulars of which are too horrible to be +given here, and he thought it the wisest course to submit; but +first he tried a gentle remonstrance. + +"Mas'r," said he, "habn't I always been faithful to you? Habn't I +worked through sun an' rain, early in de mornin' an' late at +night; habn't I saved you an oberseer by doin' his work? hab you +anything to complain agin me?" + +"No, Joe, I have no complaint to make of you. You're a good +nigger, an' you've always worked well. But you belong to _me_ now; +you're _my_ nigger, and the first lesson my niggers have to learn +is that I am master and they belong to me, and are never to resist +anything I order them to do. So I always begin by giving them a +good licking. Now strip and take it." + +Joe saw that there was no help for him, and that for the time he +must submit. He stripped off his clothing, and took his flogging +without a word, but as he drew his shirt up over his torn and +bleeding back, he said to himself: "Dis is de first an' de last." +As soon as he was able he took a boat, and under cover of the +night, rowed down the river, and made his way to the cabin of "Old +Ben," Harriet's father, and said to him: "Nex' time _Moses_ comes, +let me know." + +It was not long after this time, that the mysterious woman +appeared--the woman on whom no one could lay his finger--and men, +women, and children began to disappear from the plantations. One +fine morning Joe was missing, and call as loud as he might, the +master's voice had no power to bring him forth. Joe had certainly +fled; and his brother William was gone, and Peter and Eliza. From +other plantations other slaves were missing, and before their +masters were awake to the fact, the party of fugitives, following +their intrepid leader, were far on their way towards liberty. + +The adventures of this escaping party would of themselves fill a +volume. They hid in potato holes by day, while their pursuers +passed within a few feet of them; they were passed along by +friends in various disguises; they scattered and separated; some +traveling by boat, some by wagons, some by cars, others on foot, +to meet at some specified station of the under-ground railroad. +They met at the house of Sam Green,[A] the man who was afterwards +sent to prison for ten years for having a copy of "Uncle Tom's +Cabin" in his house. And so, hunted and hiding and wandering, they +found themselves at last at the entrance of the long bridge which +crosses the river at Wilmington, Delaware. + +[Footnote A: In mentioning to me the circumstances of Sam Green's +imprisonment, Harriet, who had no acquaintance with books, merely +mentioned the fact as it had come to her own knowledge. But I have +lately come across a book in the Astor Library which confirms the +story precisely as she stated it. It is in a book by Rev. John +Dixon Long, of Philadelphia. He says, "Samuel Green, a free +colored man of Dorchester County, Maryland, was sentenced to ten +years' confinement in the Maryland State Prison, at the spring +term of the County Court held in Cambridge, Md. + +"What was the crime imputed to this man, born on American soil, a +man of good moral character, a local preacher in the Methodist +Episcopal Church; a husband and a father? Simply this: A copy of +'Uncle Tom's Cabin' _had been found in his possession_. It was not +proved that he had ever read it to the colored people."] + +No time had been lost in posting up advertisements and offering +rewards for the capture of these fugitives; for Joe in particular +the reward offered was very high. First a thousand dollars, then +fifteen hundred, and then two thousand, "an' all expenses clar an' +clean for his body in Easton Jail." This high reward stimulated +the efforts of the officers who were usually on the lookout for +escaping fugitives, and the added rewards for others of the party, +and the high price set on Harriet's head, filled the woods and +highways with eager hunters after human prey. When Harriet and her +companions approached the long Wilmington Bridge, a warning was +given them by some secret friend, that the advertisements were up, +and the bridge was guarded by police officers. Quick as lightning +the plans were formed in her ready brain, and the terrified party +were separated and hidden in the houses of different friends, till +her arrangements for their further journey were completed. + +There was at that time residing in Wilmington an old Quaker, whom +I may call _my_ "friend," for though I never saw his face, I have +had correspondence with him in reference to Harriet and her +followers. This man, whose name was Thomas Garrett, and who was +well known in those days to the friends of the slave, was a man of +a wonderfully large and generous heart, through whose hands during +those days of distress and horror, no less than three thousand +self-emancipated men, women and children passed on their way to +freedom. He gave heart, hand, and means to aid these poor +fugitives, and to our brave Harriet he often rendered most +efficient help in her journeys back and forth. + +He was the proprietor of a very large shoe establishment; and not +one of these poor travelers aver left his house without a present +of a new pair of shoes and other needed help. No sooner had this +good man received intelligence of the condition of these poor +creatures, than he devised a plan to elude the vigilance of the +officers in pursuit, and bring Harriet and her party across the +bridge. Two wagons filled with bricklayers were engaged, and sent +over; this was a common sight there, and caused no remark. They +went across the bridge singing and shouting, and it was not an +unexpected thing that they should return as they went. After +nightfall (and, fortunately, the night was very dark) the same +wagons recrossed the bridge, but with an unlooked-for addition to +their party. The fugitives were lying close together on the bottom +of the wagons; the bricklayers were on the seats, still singing +and shouting; and so they passed the guards, who were all +unsuspicious of the nature of the load contained in the wagons, or +of the amount of property thus escaping their hands. + +The good man, Thomas Garrett, who was in a very feeble state of +health when he last wrote me, and has now gone to his reward, +supplied them with all needed comforts, and sent them on their way +refreshed, and with renewed courage. And Harriet here set up her +Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far hath the Lord helped me!" But many a +danger, and many a fright, and many a deliverance awaited them, +before they reached the city of New York. And even there they were +not safe, for the Fugitive Slave Law was in operation, and their +only refuge was Canada, which was now their promised land. + +They finally reached New York in safety: and this goes almost +without saying, for I may as well mention here that of the three +hundred and more fugitives whom Harriet piloted from slavery, not +one was ever recaptured, though all the cunning and skill of white +men, backed by offered rewards of large sums of money, were +brought into requisition for their recovery. + +As they entered the anti-slavery office in New York, Mr. Oliver +Johnson rose up and exclaimed, "Well, Joe, I am glad to see the +man who is worth $2,000 to his master." At this Joe's heart sank. +"Oh, Mas'r, how did you know me!" he panted. "Here is the +advertisement in our office," said Mr. Johnson, "and the +description is so close that no one could mistake it." And had he +come through all these perils, had he traveled by day and night, +and suffered cold and hunger, and lived in constant fear and +dread, to find that far off here in New York State, he was +recognized at once by the advertisement? How, then, was he ever to +reach Canada? + +"And how far off is Canada?" he asked. He was shown the map of New +York State, and the track of the railroad, for more than three +hundred miles to Niagara, where he would cross the river, and be +free. But the way seemed long and full of dangers. They were +surely safer on their own tired feet, where they might hide in +forests and ditches, and take refuge in the friendly underground +stations; but here, where this large party would be together in +the cars, surely suspicion would fall upon them, and they would be +seized and carried back. But Harriet encouraged him in her cheery +way. He must not give up now. "De Lord had been with them in six +troubles, and he would not desert them in de seventh." And there +was nothing to do but to go on. As Moses spoke to the children of +Israel, when compassed before and behind by dangers, so she spake +to her people, that they should "go forward." + +Up to this time, as they traveled they had talked and sung hymns +together, like Pilgrim and his friends, and Joe's voice was the +loudest and sweetest among them; but now he hanged his harp upon +the willows, and could sing the Lord's songs no more. + +"From dat time," in Harriet's language, "Joe was silent; he talked +no more; he sang no more; he sat wid his head on his hand, an' +nobody could 'rouse him, nor make him take any intrust in +anything." + +They passed along in safety through New York State, and at length +found themselves approaching the Suspension Bridge. They could see +the promised land on the other side. The uninviting plains of +Canada seemed to them, + + "Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, + All dressed in living green;" + +but they were not safe yet. Until they reached the center of the +bridge, they were still in the power of their pursuers, who might +at any pause enter the car, and armed with the power of the law, +drag them back to slavery. The rest of the party were happy and +excited; they were simple, ignorant creatures, and having implicit +trust in their leader, they felt safe when with her, and no +immediate danger threatened them. But Joe was of a different +mould. He sat silent and sad, always thinking of the horrors that +awaited him if recaptured. As it happened, all the other +passengers were people who sympathized with them, understanding +them to be a band of fugitives, and they listened with tears, as +Harriet and all except poor Joe lifted up their voices and sang: + + I'm on the way to Canada, + That cold and dreary land, + De sad effects of slavery, + I can't no longer stand; + I've served my Master all my days, + Widout a dime reward, + And now I'm forced to run away, + To flee de lash, abroad; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + De hounds are baying on my track, + Ole Master comes behind, + Resolved that he will bring me back, + Before I cross the line; + I'm now embarked for yonder shore, + Where a man's _a man_ by law, + De iron horse will bear me o'er, + To "shake de lion's paw;" +Oh, righteous Father, wilt thou not pity me. +And help me on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + Oh I heard Queen Victoria say, + That if we would forsake, + Our native land of slavery, + And come across de lake; + Dat she was standing on de shore, + Wid arms extended wide, + To give us all a peaceful home, + Beyond de rolling tide; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + +No doubt the simple creatures with her expected to cross a wide +lake instead of a rapid river, and to see Queen Victoria with her +crown upon her head, waiting with arms extended wide, to fold them +all in her embrace. There was now but "one wide river to cross," +and the cars rolled on to the bridge. In the distance was heard +the roar of the mighty cataract, and now as they neared the center +of the bridge, the falls might be clearly seen. Harriet was +anxious to have her companions see this wonderful sight, and +succeeded in bringing all to the windows, except Joe. But Joe +still sat with his head on his hands, and not even the wonders of +Niagara could draw him from his melancholy musings. At length as +Harriet knew by the rise of the center of the bridge, and the +descent immediately after, the line of danger was passed; she +sprang across to Joe's side of the car, and shook him almost out +of his seat, as she shouted, "Joe! you've shook de lion's paw!" +This was her phrase for having entered on the dominions of +England. But Joe did not understand this figurative expression. +Then she shook him again, and put it more plainly, "Joe, you're in +Queen Victoria's dominions! You're a free man!" + +Then Joe arose. His head went up, he raised his hands on high, and +his eyes, streaming with tears, to heaven, and then he began to +sing and shout: + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe; + Oh, go and carry the news, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe, come and look at the falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe! it's your last chance. Come and see de falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +And this was all the answer. The train stopped on the other side; +and the first feet to touch British soil, after those of the +conductor, were those of poor Joe. + +Loud roared the waters of Niagara, but louder still ascended the +Anthem of praise from the overflowing heart of the freeman. And +can we doubt that the strain was taken up by angel voices and +echoed and re-echoed through the vaults of heaven: + + Glory to God in the highest, + Glory to God and Jesus too, + For all these souls now safe. + +"The white ladies and gentlemen gathered round him," said Harriet, +"till I couldn't see Joe for the crowd, only I heard his voice +singing, 'Glory to God and Jesus too,' louder than ever." A sweet +young lady reached over her fine cambric handkerchief to him, and +as Joe wiped the great tears off his face, he said, "Tank de Lord! +dere's only one more journey for me now, and dat's to Hebben!" As +we bid farewell to Joe here, I may as well say that Harriet saw +him several times after that, a happy and industrious freeman in +Canada.[B] + +[Footnote B: In my recent interview with Mr. Oliver Johnson he +told me of an interesting incident in the life of the good man, +Thomas Garrett. + +He was tried twice for assisting in the escape of fugitive slaves, +and was fined so heavily that everything he possessed was taken +from him and sold to pay the fine. At the age of sixty he was left +without a penny, but he went bravely to work, and in some measure +regained his fortune; all the time aiding, in every way possible, +all stray fugitives who applied to him for help. + +Again he was arrested, tried, and heavily fined, and as the Judge +of the United States Court pronounced the sentence, he said, in a +solemn manner: "Garrett, let this be a lesson to you, not to +interfere hereafter with the cause of justice, by helping off +runaway negroes. + +The old man, who had stood to receive his sentence, here raised +his head, and fixing his eyes on "the Court," he said: + +"Judge--thee hasn't left me a dollar, but I wish to say to thee, +and to all in this court room, that if anyone knows of a fugitive +who wants a shelter, and a friend, _send him to Thomas Garrett_, +and he will befriend him!" + +[Not Luther before the Council at Worms was grander than this brave +old man in his unswerving adherence to principle. In those days +that tried men's souls there were many men like this old Quaker, +and many women too, who would have gone cheerfully to the fire and +the stake, for the cause of suffering humanity; men and women +_these_ "of whom the world was not worthy."] + +On one of her journeys to the North, as she was piloting a company +of refugees, Harriet came, just as morning broke, to a town, where +a colored man had lived whose house had been one of her stations +of the under-ground, or unseen railroad. They reached the house, +and leaving her party huddled together in the middle of the +street, in a pouring rain, Harriet went to the door, and gave the +peculiar rap which was her customary signal to her friends. There +was not the usual ready response, and she was obliged to repeat +the signal several times. At length a window was raised, and the +head of a _white man_ appeared, with the gruff question, "Who are +you?" and "What do you want?" Harriet asked after her friend, and +was told that he had been obliged to leave for "harboring +niggers." + +Here was an unforeseen trouble; day was breaking, and daylight was +the enemy of the hunted and flying fugitives. Their faithful +leader stood one moment in the street, and in that moment she had +flashed a message quicker than that of the telegraph to her unseen +Protector, and the answer came as quickly; in a suggestion to her +of an almost forgotten place of refuge. Outside of the town there +was a little island in a swamp, where the grass grew tall and +rank, and where no human being could be suspected of seeking a +hiding place. To this spot she conducted her party; she waded the +swamp, carrying in a basket two well-drugged babies (these were a +pair of little twins, whom I have since seen well grown young +women), and the rest of the company following. She ordered them to +lie down in the tall, wet grass, and here she prayed again, and +waited for deliverance. The poor creatures were all cold, and wet, +and hungry, and Harriet did not dare to leave them to get +supplies; for no doubt the man at whose house she had knocked, had +given the alarm in the town; and officers might be on the watch +for them. They were truly in a wretched condition, but Harriet's +faith never wavered, her silent prayer still ascended, and she +confidently expected help from some quarter or other. + +It was after dusk when a man came slowly walking along the solid +pathway on the edge of the swamp. He was clad in the garb of a +Quaker; and proved to be a "friend" in need and indeed; he seemed +to be talking to himself, but ears quickened by sharp practice +caught the words he was saying: + +"My wagon stands in the barn-yard of the next farm across the way. +The horse is in the stable; the harness hangs on a nail." And the +man was gone. Night fell, and Harriet stole forth to the place +designated. Not only a wagon, but a wagon well provisioned stood +in the yard; and before many minutes the party were rescued from +their wretched position, and were on their way rejoicing, to the +next town. Here dwelt a Quaker whom Harriet knew, and he readily +took charge of the horse and wagon, and no doubt returned them to +their owner. How the good man who thus came to their rescue had +received any intimation of their being in the neighborhood Harriet +never knew. But these sudden deliverances never seemed to strike +her as at all strange or mysterious; her prayer was the prayer of +faith, and she _expected_ an answer. + +At one time, as she was on her way South for a party of slaves, +she was stopped not far from the southern shore of the Chesapeake +Bay, by a young woman, who had been for some days in hiding, and +was anxiously watching for "Moses," who was soon expected to pass +that way. + +This girl was a young and pretty Mulatto, named Tilly, she had +been lady's maid and dressmaker, for her Mistress. She was engaged +to a young man from another plantation, but he had joined one of +Harriet's parties, and gone North. Tilly was to have gone also at +that time, but had found it impossible to get away. Now she had +learned that it was her Master's intention to give her to a Negro +of his own for his wife; and in fear and desperation, she made a +strike for freedom. Friends had concealed her, and all had been on +the watch for Moses. + +The distress and excitement of the poor creature was so great, and +she begged and implored in such agonized tones that Harriet would +just see her safe to Baltimore, where she knew of friends who +would harbor her, and help her on her way, that Harriet determined +to turn about, and endeavor to take the poor girl thus far on her +Northward journey. + +They reached the shore of Chesapeake Bay too late to leave that +night, and were obliged to hide for a night and day in the loft of +an old out-house, where every sound caused poor Tilly to tremble +as if she had an ague fit. When the time for the boat to leave +arrived, a sad disappointment awaited them. The boat on which they +had expected to leave was disabled, and another boat was to take +its place. At that time, according to the law of Slavery, no Negro +could leave his Master's land, or travel anywhere, without a pass, +properly signed by his owner. Of course this poor fugitive had no +pass; and Harriet's passes were her own wits; but among her many +friends, there was one who seemed to have influence with the clerk +of the boat, on which she expected to take passage; and she was +the bearer of a note requesting, or commanding him to take these +two women to the end of his route, asking no questions. + +Now here was an unforeseen difficulty; the boat was not going; the +clerk was not there; all on the other boat were strangers. But +forward they must go, trusting in Providence. As they walked down +to the boat, a gang of lazy white men standing together, began to +make comments on their appearance. + +"Too many likely looking Niggers traveling North, about these +days." "Wonder if these wenches have got a pass." "Where you +going, you two?" Tilly trembled and cowered, and clung to her +protector, but Harriet put on a bold front, and holding the note +given her by her friend in her hand, and supporting her terrified +charge, she walked by the men, taking no notice of their insults. + +They joined the stream of people going up to get their tickets, +but when Harriet asked for hers, the clerk eyed her suspiciously, +and said: "You just stand aside, you two; I'll attend to your case +bye and bye." + +Harriet led the young girl to the bow of the boat, where they were +alone, and here, having no other help, she, as was her custom, +addressed herself to the Lord. Kneeling on the seat, and +supporting her head on her hands, and fixing her eyes on the +waters of the bay, she groaned: + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh!" + +"Moses! Moses!" cried Tilly, pulling her by the sleeve. "Do go and +see if you can't get tickets now." + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh." + +And so Harriet's story goes on in her peculiarly graphic manner, +till at length in terror Tilly exclaimed: + +"Oh, Moses! the man is coming. What shall we do?" + +"Oh, Lord, you've been wid me in six troubles!" + +Here the clerk touched her on the shoulder, and Tilly thought +their time had come, but all he said was: + +"You can come now and get your tickets," and their troubles were +over. + +What changed this man from his former suspicious and antagonistic +aspect, Harriet never knew. Of course she said it was "de Lord," +but as to the agency he used, she never troubled herself to +inquire. She _expected_ deliverance when she prayed, unless the +Lord had ordered otherwise, and in that case she was perfectly +willing to accept the Divine decree. + +When surprise was expressed at her courage and daring, or at her +unexpected deliverances, she would always reply: "Don't, I tell +you, Missus, 'twan't _me_, 'twas _de Lord_! Jes' so long as he +wanted to use me, he would take keer of me, an' when he didn't +want me no longer, I was ready to go; I always tole him, I'm gwine +to hole stiddy on to you, an' you've got to see me trou." + +There came a time when Harriet, who had already brought away as +many of her family as she could reach, besides all others who +would trust themselves to her care, became much troubled in +"spirit" about three of her brothers, having had an intimation of +some kind that danger was impending over them. With her usual +wonderful cunning, she employed a friend to write a letter for her +to a man named Jacob Jackson, who lived near the plantation where +these brothers were at that time the hired slaves. + +Jacob Jackson was a free negro, who could both read and write, and +who was under suspicion just then of having a hand in the +disappearance of colored "property." It was necessary, therefore, +to exercise great caution in writing to him, on his own account as +well as that of the writer, and those whom she wished to aid. +Jacob had an adopted son, William Henry Jackson, also free, who +had come North. Harriet determined to sign her letter with William +Henry's name, feeling sure that Jacob would be clever enough to +understand by her peculiar phraseology, the meaning she intended +to convey. + +Therefore, after speaking of indifferent matters, the letter went +on: "Read my letter to the old folks, and give my love to them, +and tell my brothers to be always _watching unto prayer_, and when +_the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on +board_." This letter was signed "William Henry Jackson." + +Jacob was not allowed to have his letters in those days, until the +self-elected inspectors of correspondence had had the perusal of +them, and consulted over their secret meaning. These wise-acres +therefore assembled, wiped their glasses carefully, put them on, +and proceeded to examine this suspicious document. What it meant +they could not imagine. William Henry Jackson had no parents, or +brothers, and the letter was incomprehensible. Study as they +might, no light dawned upon them, but their suspicions became +stronger, and they were sure the letter meant mischief. + +White genius having exhausted itself, black genius was brought +into requisition. Jacob was sent for, and the letter was placed in +his hands. He read between the lines, and comprehended the hidden +meaning at once. "Moses" had dictated this letter, and Moses was +coming. The brothers must be on the watch, and ready to join her +at a moment's warning. But Moses must hurry, for the word had gone +forth that the brothers were to be sent South, and the chain-gang +was being collected. + +Jacob read the letter slowly, threw it down, and said: "Dat letter +can't be meant for me no how; I can't make head or tail of it." +And he walked off and took immediate measures to let Harriet's +brothers know that she was on the way, and they must be ready at +the given signal to start for the North. + +It was the day before Christmas when Harriet arrived, and the +brothers were to have started on the day after Christmas for the +South. They started on Christmas-day, but with their faces turned +in another direction, and instead of the chain-gang and the whip, +they had the North Star for their guide, and the Moses of her +people for their leader. + +As usual, this mysterious woman appeared suddenly, and word was +conveyed to the brothers that they were to be at Old Ben's cabin +on Saturday night, ready to start. "Old Ben" was their father, and +as the parents were not of much use now, Harriet was pretty +certain that they would not be sent away, and so she left them +till she had rescued the younger and more valuable members of the +family. + +Quite a number had assembled at the cabin when the hour came for +starting, but one brother was missing. Something had detained +John; but when the time for starting had struck, Harriet's word +was "forward," and she "nebber waited for no one." + +Poor John was ready to start from his cabin in the negro quarter +when his wife was taken ill, and in an hour or two another little +heir to the blessings of slavery had come into the world. + +John must go off for a "Granny," and being a faithful, +affectionate creature, he could not leave his wife under the +present circumstances. + +After the birth of the child he determined to start. The North and +freedom, or the South and life-long slavery, were the alternatives +before him; and this was his last chance. If he once reached the +North, he hoped with the help of Moses to bring his wife and +children there. + +Again and again he tried to start out of the door, but a watchful +eye was on him, and he was always arrested by the question, "Where +you gwine, John?" His wife had not been informed of the danger +hanging over his head, but she knew he was uneasy, and she feared +he was meditating a plan of escape. John told her he was going to +try to get hired out on Christmas to another man, as that was the +day on which such changes were made. + +He left the house but stood near the window listening. He heard +his wife sobbing and moaning, and not being able to endure it he +went back to her. "Oh, John!" she cried, "you's gwine to lebe me! +I know it! but wherebber you go, John, don't forgit me an' de +little children." + +John assured her that wherever he went she should come. He might +not come for her, but he would send Moses, and then he hurried +away. He had many miles to walk to his old father's cabin, where +he knew the others would be waiting for him, and at daybreak he +overtook them in the "fodder house," not far from the home of the +old people. + +At that time Harriet had not seen her mother for six years, but +she did not dare to let her know that four of her children were so +near her on their way to the North, for she would have raised such +an uproar in her efforts to detain them, that the whole +neighborhood would have been aroused. + +The poor old woman had been expecting her sons to spend Christmas +with her as usual. She had been hard at work in preparation for +their arrival. The fatted pig had been killed, and had been +converted into every form possible to the flesh of swine; pork, +bacon and sausages were ready, but the boys did not come, and +there she sat watching and waiting. + +In the night when Harriet with two of her brothers, and two other +fugitives who had joined them arrived at the "fodder house," they +were exhausted and well-nigh famished. They sent the two strange +men up to the cabin to try to rouse "Old Ben," but not to let +their mother know that her children were so near her. + +The men succeeded in rousing Old Ben, who came out quietly, and as +soon as he heard their story, went back into the house, gathered +together a quantity of provisions, and came down to the fodder +house. He placed the provisions inside the door, saying a few +words of welcome to his children, but taking care _not to see +them_. "I know what'll come of dis," he said, "an' I ain't gwine +to see my chillen, no how." The close espionage under which these +poor creatures dwelt, engendered in them a cunning and artifice, +which to them seemed only a fair and right attempt on their part, +to cope with power and cruelty constantly in force against them. + +Up among the ears of corn lay the old man's children, and one of +them he had not seen for six years. It rained in torrents all that +Sunday, and there they lay among the corn, for they could not +start till night. At about daybreak John had joined them. There +were wide chinks in the boards of the fodder house, and through +these they could see the cabin of the old folks, now quite alone +in their old age. All day long, every few minutes, they would see +the old woman come out, and shading her eyes with her hand, take a +long look down the road to see if "de boys" were coming, and then +with a sad and disappointed air she would turn back into the +cabin, and they could almost hear her sigh as she did so. + +What had become of the boys? Had they been sold off down South? +Had they tried to escape and been retaken? Would she never see +them or hear of them more? + +I have often heard it said by Southern people that "niggers had no +feeling; they did not care when their children were taken from +them." I have seen enough of them to know that their love for +their offspring is quite equal to that of the "superior race," and +it is enough to hear the tale of Harriet's endurance and self-sacrifice +to rescue her brothers and sisters, to convince one that +a heart, truer and more loving than that of many a white woman, +dwelt in her bosom. I am quite willing to acknowledge that she was +almost an anomaly among her people, but I have known many of her +family, and so far as I can judge they all seem to be peculiarly +intelligent, upright and religious people, and to have a strong +feeling of family affection. There may be many among the colored +race like them; certainly all should not be judged by the idle, +miserable darkies who have swarmed about Washington and other +cities since the War. + +Two or three times while the group of fugitives were concealed in +this loft of the fodder house, the old man came down and pushed +food inside the door, and after nightfall he came again to +accompany his children as far as he dared, upon their journey. +When he reached the fodder house, he tied a handkerchief tight +about his eyes, and one of his sons taking him by one arm, and +Harriet taking him by the other, they went on their way talking in +low tones together, asking and answering questions as to relatives +and friends. + +The time of parting came, and they bade him farewell, and left him +standing in the middle of the road. When he could no longer hear +their footsteps he turned back, and taking the handkerchief from +his eyes, he hastened home. + +But before Harriet and her brothers left, they had gone up to the +cabin during the evening to take a silent farewell of the poor old +mother. Through the little window of the cabin they saw her +sitting by the fire, her head on her hand, rocking back and forth, +as was her way when she was in great trouble; praying, no doubt, +and wondering what had become of her children, and what new evil +had befallen them. + +With streaming eyes, they watched her for ten or fifteen minutes; +but time was precious, and they must reach their next under-ground +station before daylight, and so they turned sadly away. + +When Christmas was over, and the men had not returned, there began +to be no small stir in the plantation from which they had escaped. +The first place to search, of course, was the home of the old +people. At the "Big House" nothing had been seen of them. The +master said "they had generally come up there to see the house +servants, when they came for Christmas, but this time they hadn't +been round at all. Better go down to Old Ben's, and ask him." + +They went to Old Ben's. No one was at home but "Old Kit," the +mother. She said "not one of 'em came dis Christmas. She was +looking for 'em all day, an' her heart was mos' broke about 'em." + +Old Ben was found and questioned about his sons. Old Ben said, "He +hadn't _seen one_ of 'em dis Christmas." With all his deep +religious feeling, Old Ben thought that in such a case as this, it +was enough for him to keep to the _letter_, and let the man +hunters find his sons if they could. Old Ben knew the Old +Testament stories well. Perhaps he thought of Rahab who hid the +spies, and received a commendation for it. Perhaps of Jacob and +Abraham, and some of their rather questionable proceedings. He +knew the New Testament also, but I think perhaps he thought the +kind and loving Saviour would have said to him, "Neither do I +condemn thee." I doubt if he had read Mrs. Opie, and I wonder what +judgment that excellent woman would have given in a case like +this. + +These poor fugitives, hunted like partridges upon the mountains, +or like the timid fox by the eager sportsman, were obliged in +self-defense to meet cunning with cunning, and to borrow from the +birds and animals their mode of eluding their pursuers by any +device which in the exigency of the case might present itself to +them. They had a creed of their own, and a code of morals which we +dare not criticise till we find our own lives and those of our +dear ones similarly imperiled. + +One of Harriet's other brothers had long been attached to a pretty +mulatto girl named Catherine, who was owned by another master; but +this man had other views for her, and would not let her marry +William Henry. On one of Harriet's journeys this brother had made +up his mind to make one of her next party to the North, and that +Catherine should go also. He went to a tailor's and bought a new +suit of clothes for a small person, and concealed them inside the +fence of the garden of Catherine's master. This garden ran down to +the bank of a little stream, and Catherine had been notified where +to find the clothes. When the time came to get ready, Catherine +boldly walked down to the foot of the garden, took up the bundle, +and hiding under the bank, she put on the man's garments and sent +her own floating down the stream. + +She was soon missed, and all the girls in the house were set to +looking for Catherine. Presently they saw coming up from the river +a well-dressed little darkey boy, and they all ceased looking for +Catherine, and stared at him. He walked directly by them, round +the house, and out of the gate, without the slightest suspicion +being excited as to who he was. In a few weeks from that time, +this party were all safe in Canada. + +William Henry died in Canada, but I have seen and talked with +Catherine at Harriet's house. + +I am not quite certain which company it was that was under her +guidance on their Northward way, but at one time when a number of +men were following her, she received one of her sudden intimations +that danger was ahead. "Chillen," she said, "we must stop here and +cross dis ribber." They were on the bank of a stream of some +width, and apparently a deep and rapid one. The men were afraid to +cross; there was no bridge and no boat; but like her great +pattern, she went forward into the waters, and the men not knowing +what else to do, followed, but with fear and trembling. The stream +did not divide to make a way for them to cross over, but to her +was literally fulfilled the promise: + + "When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, + The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow." + +"For," said she, "Missus, de water never came above my chin; when +we thought surely we were all going under, it became shallower and +shallower, and we came out safe on the odder side." Then there was +another stream to cross, which was also passed in safety. They +found afterward that a few rods ahead of them the advertisement of +these escaping fugitives was posted up, and the officers, +forewarned of their coming, were waiting for them. But though the +Lord thus marvelously protected her from capture, she did not +always escape the consequences of exposure like this. It was in +March that this passage of the streams was effected, and the +weather was raw and cold; Harriet traveled a long distance in her +wet clothing, and was afterward very ill for a long time with a +very severe cold. I have often heard her tell this story; but some +of the incidents, particularly that of her illness, were not +mentioned by herself, but were written me by friend Garrett. + +I hardly know how to approach the subject of the spiritual +experiences of my sable heroine. They seem so to enter into the +realm of the supernatural, that I can hardly wonder that those who +never knew her are ready to throw discredit upon the story. +Ridicule has been cast upon the whole tale of her adventures by +the advocates of human slavery; and perhaps by those who would +tell with awe-struck countenance some tale of ghostly visitation, +or spiritual manifestation, at a dimly lighted "_seance_." + +Had I not known so well her deeply religious character, and her +conscientious veracity, and had I not since the war, and when she +was an inmate of my own house, seen such remarkable instances of +what seemed to be her direct intercourse with heaven, I should not +dare to risk my own character for veracity by making these things +public in this manner. + +But when I add that I have the strongest testimonials to her +character for integrity from William H. Seward, Gerritt Smith, +Wendell Phillips, Fred. Douglass, and my brother, Prof. S.M. +Hopkins, who has known her for many years, I do not fear to brave +the incredulity of any reader. + +Governor Seward wrote of her: + +"I have known Harriet long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a +truer, seldom dwells in human form." + +Gerritt Smith, the distinguished philanthropist, was so kind as to +write me expressing his gratification that I had undertaken this +work, and added: + +"I have often listened to Harriet with delight on her visits to my +family, and I am convinced that she is not only truthful, but that +she has a rare discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy." + +Wendell Phillips wrote me, mentioning that in Boston, Harriet +earned the confidence and admiration of all those who were working +for freedom; and speaking of her labors during the war, he added: +"In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did more before that time, for the colored race, than our +fearless and sagacious friend." + +Many other letters I received; from Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Charities, from Fred. Douglass, from Rev. +Henry Fowler, and from Union officers at the South during the war, +all speaking in the highest praise and admiration of the character +and labors of my black heroine. + +Many of her passes also were sent me; in which she is spoken of as +"Moses," for by that name she was universally known. For the story +of her heroic deeds had gone before her, and the testimony of all +who knew her accorded with the words of Mr. Seward: + +"The cause of freedom owes her much; the country owes her much." +And yet the country was not willing to pay her anything. Mr. +Seward's efforts, seconded by other distinguished men, to get a +pension for her, were sneered at in Congress as absurd and +quixotic, and the effort failed. + +Secretary Seward, from whom Harriet purchased her little place +near Auburn, died. The place had been mortgaged when this noble +woman left her home, and threw herself into the work needed for +the Union cause; the mortgage was to be foreclosed. The old +parents, then nearly approaching their centennial year, were to be +turned out to die in a poor-house, when the sudden determination +was taken to send out a little sketch of her life to the +benevolent public, in the hope of redeeming the little home. This +object, through the kindness of friends, was accomplished. The old +people died in Harriet's own home, breathing blessings upon her +for her devotion to them. + +Now another necessity has arisen, and our sable friend, who never +has been known to beg for herself, asks once more for help in +accomplishing a favorite project for the good of her people. This, +as she says, is "her last work, and she only prays de Lord to let +her live till it is well started, and den she is ready to go." +This work is the building of a hospital for old and disabled +colored people; and in this she has already had the sympathy and +aid of the good people of Auburn; the mayor and his noble wife +having given her great assistance in the meetings she has held in +aid of this object. It is partly to aid her in this work, on which +she has so set her heart, that this story of her life and labors +is being re-written. + +At one time, when she felt called upon to go down for some company +of slaves, she was, as she knew, watched for everywhere (for there +had been an excited meeting of slave-holders, and they were +determined to catch her, dead or alive), her friends gathered +round her, imploring her not to go on in the face of danger and +death, for they were sure she would never be allowed to return. +And this was her answer: + +"Now look yer! John saw de City, didn't he?" "Yes, John saw de +City." "Well, what did he see? He saw twelve gates, didn't he? +Three of dose gates was on de north; three of 'em was on de east; +an' three of 'em was on de west; but dere was three more, an' dem +was on de _south_; an' I reckon, if dey kill me down dere, I'll +git into one of dem gates, don't you?" + +Whether Harriet's ideas of the geographical bearings of the gates +of the Celestial City as seen in the apocalyptic vision, were +correct or not, we cannot doubt that she was right in the +deduction her faith drew from them; and that somewhere, whether +North, East, South, or West, to our dim vision, there is a gate +that will be opened for our good Harriet, where the welcome will +be given, "Come in, thou blessed of my Father." + +It is a peculiarity of Harriet, that she had seldom been known to +intimate a wish that anything should be given to herself; but when +her people are in need, no scruples of delicacy stand in the way +of her petitions, nay, almost her _demands_ for help. + +When, after rescuing so many others, and all of her brothers and +sisters that could be reached, with their children, she received +an intimation in some mysterious or supernatural way, that the old +people were in trouble and needed her, she asked the Lord where +she should go for the money to enable her to go for them. She was +in some way, as she supposed, directed to the office of a certain +gentleman, a friend of the slaves, in New York. When she left the +house of the friends with whom she was staying, she said: "I'm +gwine to Mr. ------'s office, an' I ain't gwine to lebe dere, an' +I ain't gwine to eat or drink, till I get money enough to take me +down after de ole people." + +She went into this gentleman's office. + +"How do you do, Harriet? What do you want?" was the first +greeting. + +"I want some money, sir." + +"_You do_! How much do you want?" + +"I want twenty dollars, sir!" + +"_Twenty dollars_! Who told you to come here for twenty dollars!" + +"De Lord tole me, sir." + +"He did; well I guess the Lord's mistaken this time." + +"No, sir; de Lord's nebber mistaken! Anyhow I'm gwine to sit here +till I get it." + +So she sat down and went to sleep. All the morning, and all the +afternoon, she sat there still; sometimes sleeping, sometimes +rousing up, often finding the office full of gentlemen; sometimes +finding herself alone. Many fugitives were passing through New +York at this time, and those who came in supposed her to be one of +them, tired out, and resting. Sometimes she would be roused up +with the words: + +"Come, Harriet! You had better go; there's no money for you here." + +"No, sir; I'm not gwine to stir from here till I git my twenty +dollars!" + +She does not know all that happened, for deep sleep fell upon her; +probably one of the turns of somnolency to which she has always +been subject; but without doubt her story was whispered from one +to another, and as her name and exploits were well known to many +persons, the sympathies of some of those visitors to the office +were aroused; at all events she came to full consciousness, at +last, to find herself the happy possessor of _sixty dollars_, the +contribution of these strangers. She went on her way rejoicing to +bring her old parents from the land of bondage. + +When she reached their home, she found that her old father was to +be tried the next Monday for helping off slaves. And so, as she +says in her forcible language, "I just removed my father's trial +to a higher court, and brought him off to Canada." + +The manner of their escape is detailed in the following letter +from friend Garrett: + + WILMINGTON, 6th Mo., 1868. + +MY FRIEND: Thy favor of the 12th reached me yesterday, requesting +such reminiscences as I could give respecting the remarkable +labors of Harriet Tubman, in aiding her colored friends from +bondage. I may begin by saying, living as I have in a slave State, +and the laws being very severe where any proof could be made of +any one aiding slaves on their way to freedom, I have not felt at +liberty to keep any written word of Harriet's or my own labors, +except in numbering those whom I have aided. For that reason I +cannot furnish so interesting an account of Harriet's labors as I +otherwise could, and now would be glad to do; for in truth I never +met with any person, of any color, who had more confidence in the +voice of God, as spoken direct to her soul. She has frequently +told me that she talked with God, and he talked with her every day +of her life, and she has declared to me that she felt no more fear +of being arrested by her former master, or any other person, when +in his immediate neighborhood, than she did in the State of New +York, or Canada, for she said she never ventured only where God +sent her, and her faith in the Supreme Power truly was great. + +I have now been confined to my room with indisposition more than +four weeks, and cannot sit to write much; but I feel so much +interested in Harriet, that I will try to give some of the most +remarkable incidents that now present themselves to my mind. The +date of the commencement of her labors, I cannot certainly give; +but I think it must have been about 1845; from that time till +1860, I think she must have brought from the neighborhood where +she had been held as a slave, from 60 to 80 persons,[C] from +Maryland, some 80 miles from here. No slave who placed himself +under her care, was ever arrested that I have heard of; she mostly +had her regular stopping places on her route; but in one instance, +when she had several stout men with her, some 30 miles below here, +she said that God told her to stop, which she did; and then asked +him what she must do. He told her to leave the road, and turn to +the left; she obeyed, and soon came to a small stream of tide +water; there was no boat, no bridge; she again inquired of her +Guide what she was to do. She was told to go through. It was cold, +in the month of March; but having confidence in her Guide, she +went in; the water came up to her armpits; the men refused to +follow till they saw her safe on the opposite shore. They then +followed, and, if I mistake not, she had soon to wade a second +stream; soon after which she came to a cabin of colored people, +who took them all in, put them to bed, and dried their clothes, +ready to proceed next night on their journey. Harriet had run out +of money, and gave them some of her underclothing to pay for their +kindness. When she called on me two days after, she was so hoarse +she could hardly speak, and was also suffering with violent +toothache. The strange part of the story we found to be, that the +masters of these men had put up the previous day, at the railroad +station near where she left, an advertisement for them, offering a +large reward for their apprehension; but they made a safe exit. +She at one time brought as many as seven or eight, several of whom +were women and children. She was well known here in Chester County +and Philadelphia, and respected by all true abolitionists. I had +been in the habit of furnishing her and those who accompanied her, +as she returned from her acts of mercy, with new shoes; and on one +occasion when I had not seen her for three months, she came into +my store. I said, "Harriet, I am glad to see thee! I suppose thee +wants a pair of new shoes." Her reply was, "I want more than +that." I, in jest, said, "I have always been liberal with thee, +and wish to be; but I am not rich, and cannot afford to give +much." Her reply was: "God tells me you have money for me." I +asked her "if God never deceived her?" She said, "No!" "Well! how +much does thee want?" After studying a moment, she said: "About +twenty-three dollars." I then gave her twenty-four dollars and +some odd cents, the net proceeds of five pounds sterling, received +through Eliza Wigham, of Scotland, for her. I had given some +accounts of Harriet's labor to the Anti-Slavery Society of +Edinburgh, of which Eliza Wigham was Secretary. On the reading of +my letter, a gentleman present said he would send Harriet four +pounds if he knew of any way to get it to her. Eliza Wigham +offered to forward it to me for her, and that was the first money +ever received by me for her. Some twelve months after, she called +on me again, and said that God told her I had some money for her, +but not so much as before. I had, a few days previous, received +the net proceeds of one pound ten shillings from Europe for her. +To say the least there was something remarkable in these facts, +whether clairvoyance, or the divine impression on her mind from +the source of all power, I cannot tell; but certain it was she had +a guide within herself other than the written word, for she never +had any education. She brought away her aged parents in a singular +manner. They started with an old horse, fitted out in primitive +style with a _straw collar_, a pair of old chaise wheels, with a +board on the axle to sit on, another board swung with ropes, +fastened to the axle, to rest their feet on. She got her parents, +who were both slaves belonging to different masters, on this rude +vehicle to the railroad, put them in the cars, turned Jehu +herself, and drove to town in a style that no human being ever did +before or since; but she was happy at having arrived safe. Next +day, I furnished her with money to take them all to Canada. I +afterward sold their horse, and sent them the balance of the +proceeds. I believe that Harriet succeeded in freeing all her +relatives but one sister and her three children. Etc., etc. +Thy friend, + + THOS. GARRETT. + +[Footnote C: Friend Garrett probably refers here to those who +passed through his hands. Harriet was obliged to come by many +different routes on her different journeys, and though she never +counted those whom she brought away with her, it would seem, by +the computation of others, that there must have been somewhat over +three hundred brought by her to the Northern States and Canada.] + +As I have before stated, with all Harriet's reluctance to ask for +anything for herself, no matter how great her needs may be, no +such scruples trouble her if any of her people are in need. She +never hesitates to call upon her kind friends in Auburn and in +other places for help when her people are in want. At one time, +when some such emergency had arisen, she went to see her friend, +Governor Seward, and boldly presented her case to him. + +"Harriet," he said, "you have worked for others long enough. If +you would ever ask anything for yourself, I would gladly give it +to you, but I will not help you to rob yourself for others any +longer." + +In spite of this apparent roughness, we may be sure Harriet did +not leave this noble man's house empty handed. + +And here I am reminded of a touching little circumstance that +occurred at the funeral of Secretary Seward. + +The great man lay in his coffin. Friends, children, and admirers +were gathered there. Everything that love and wealth could do had +been done; around him were floral emblems of every possible shape +and design, that human ingenuity could suggest, or money could +purchase. Just before the coffin was to be closed, a woman black +as night stole quietly in, and laying a wreath of field flowers +_on his feet_, as quietly glided out again. This was the simple +tribute of our sable friend, and her last token of love and +gratitude to her kind benefactor. I think he would have said, +"This woman hath done more than ye all." + +While preparing this second edition of Harriet's story, I have +been much pleased to find that that good man, Oliver Johnson, is +still living and in New York City. And I have just returned from a +very pleasant interview with him. He remembers Harriet with great +pleasure, though he has not seen her for many years. He speaks, as +all who knew her do, of his entire confidence in her truthfulness +and in the perfect integrity of her character. + +He remembered her coming into his office with Joe, as I have +stated it, and said he wished he could recall to me other +incidents connected with her. But during those years, there were +such numbers of fugitive slaves coming into the Anti-Slavery +Office, that he might not tell the incidents of any one group +correctly. No records were kept, as that would be so unsafe for +the poor creatures, and those who aided them. He said, "You know +Harriet never spoke of anything she had done, as if it was at all +remarkable, or as if it deserved any commendation, but I remember +one day, when she came into the office there was a Boston lady +there, a warm-hearted, impulsive woman, who was engaged heart and +hand in the Anti-Slavery cause. + +"Harriet was telling, in her simple way, the story of her last +journey. A party of fugitives were to meet her in a wood, that she +might conduct them North. For some unexplained reason they did not +come. Night came on and with it a blinding snow storm and a raging +wind. She protected herself behind a tree as well as she could, +and remained all night alone exposed to the fury of the storm." + +"'Why, Harriet!' said this lady, 'didn't you almost feel when you +were lying alone, as if there was _no God_?' 'Oh, no! missus,' +said Harriet, looking up in her child-like, simple way, 'I jest +asked Jesus to take keer of me, an' He never let me git _frost-bitten_ +one bit.'" + +In 1860 the first gun was fired from Fort Sumter; and this was the +signal for a rush to arms at the North and the South, and the war +of the rebellion was begun. Troops were hurried off from the North +to the West and the South, and battles raged in every part of the +Southern States. By land and by sea, and on the Southern rivers, +the conflict raged, and thousands and thousands of brave men shed +their blood for what was maintained by each side to be the true +principle. + +This war our brave heroine had expected, and its result, the +emancipation of the slaves. Three years before, while staying with +the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet in New York, a vision came to her +in the night of the emancipation of her people. Whether a dream, +or one of those glimpses into the future, which sometimes seem to +have been granted to her, no one can say, but the effect upon her +was very remarkable. + +She rose singing, "_My people are free!" "My people are free_!" +She came down to breakfast singing the words in a sort of ecstasy. +She could not eat. The dream or vision filled her whole soul, and +physical needs were forgotten. + +Mr. Garnet said to her: + +"Oh, Harriet! Harriet! You've come to torment us before the time; +do cease this noise! My grandchildren may see the day of the +emancipation of our people, but you and I will never see it." + +"I tell you, sir, you'll see it, and you'll see it soon. My people +are free! My people are free." + +When, three years later, President Lincoln's proclamation of +emancipation was given forth, and there was a great jubilee among +the friends of the slaves, Harriet was continually asked, "Why do +you not join with the rest in their rejoicing!" "Oh," she +answered, "I had _my_ jubilee three years ago. I rejoiced all I +could den; I can't rejoice no more." + +In some of the Southern States, spies and scouts were needed to +lead our armies into the interior. The ignorant and degraded +slaves feared the "Yankee Buckra" more than they did their own +masters, and after the proclamation of President Lincoln, giving +freedom to the slaves, a person in whom these poor creatures could +trust, was needed to assure them that these white Northern men +were friends, and that they would be safe, trusting themselves in +their hands. + +In the early days of the war, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, +knowing well the brave and sagacious character of Harriet, sent +for her, and asked her if she could go at a moment's notice, to +act as spy and scout for our armies, and, if need be, to act as +hospital nurse, in short, to be ready to give any required service +to the Union cause. + +There was much to be thought of; there were the old folks in the +little home up in Auburn, there was the little farm of which she +had taken the sole care; there were many dependents for whom she +had provided by her daily toil. What was to become of them all if +she deserted them? But the cause of the Union seemed to need her +services, and after a few moments of reflection, she determined to +leave all else, and go where it seemed that duty called her. + +During those few years, the wants of the old people and of +Harriet's other dependents were attended to by the kind people of +Auburn. At that time, I often saw the old people, and wrote +letters for them to officers at the South, asking from them +tidings of Harriet. I received many letters in reply, all +testifying to her faithfulness and bravery, and her untiring zeal +for the welfare of our soldiers, black and white. She was often +under fire from both armies; she led our forces through the jungle +and the swamp, guided by an unseen hand. She gained the confidence +of the slaves by her cheery words, and songs, and sacred hymns, +and obtained from them much valuable information. She nursed our +soldiers in the hospitals, and knew how, when they were dying by +numbers of some malignant disease, with cunning skill to extract +from roots and herbs, which grew near the source of the disease, +the healing draught, which allayed the fever and restored numbers +to health. + +It is a shame to our government that such a valuable helper as +this woman was not allowed pay or pension; but even was obliged to +support herself during those days of incessant toil. Officers and +men were paid. Indeed many enlisted from no patriotic motive, but +because they were insured a support which they could not procure +for themselves at home. But this woman sacrificed everything, and +left her nearest and dearest, and risked her life hundreds of +times for the cause of the Union, without one cent of recompense. +She returned at last to her little home, to find it a scene of +desolation. Her little place about to be sold to satisfy a +mortgage, and herself without the means to redeem it. + +Harriet was one of John Brown's "men." His brave and daring spirit +found ready sympathy in her courageous heart; she sheltered him in +her home in Canada, and helped him to plan his campaigns. I find +in the life and letters of this remarkable man, written by Mr. F. +B. Sanborn, occasional mention of Harriet, and her deep interest +in Captain Brown's enterprises. + +At one time he writes to his son from St. Catherine's, Canada: + +"I came on here the day after you left Rochester. I am succeeding +to all appearance beyond my expectations. Harriet Tubman _hooked +on her whole team at once_. He (Harriet) is the most of a man +naturally that I ever met with. There is abundant material here +and of the right quality." She suggested the 4th of July to him as +the time to begin operations. And Mr. Sanborn adds: "It was about +the 4th of July, as Harriet, the African sybil, had suggested, +that Brown first showed himself in the counties of Washington and +Jefferson, on opposite sides of the lordly Potomac." + +I find among her papers, many of which are defaced by being +carried about with her for years, portions of these letters +addressed to myself, by persons at the South, and speaking of the +valuable assistance Harriet was rendering our soldiers in the +hospital, and our armies in the field. At this time her manner of +life, as related by herself, was this: + +"Well, missus, I'd go to de hospital, I would, early eb'ry +mornin'. I'd get a big chunk of ice, I would, and put it in a +basin, and fill it with water; den I'd take a sponge and begin. +Fust man I'd come to, I'd thrash away de flies, and dey'd rise, +dey would, like bees roun' a hive. Den I'd begin to bathe der +wounds, an' by de time I'd bathed off three or four, de fire and +heat would have melted de ice and made de water warm, an' it would +be as red as clar blood. Den I'd go an' git more ice, I would, an' +by de time I got to de nex' ones, de flies would be roun' de fust +ones black an' thick as eber." In this way she worked, day after +day, till late at night; then she went home to her little cabin, +and made about fifty pies, a great quantity of ginger-bread, and +two casks of root beer. These she would hire some contraband to +sell for her through the camps, and thus she would provide her +support for another day; for this woman never received pay or +pension, and never drew for herself but twenty days' rations +during the four years of her labors. At one time she was called +away from Hilton Head, by one of our officers, to come to +Fernandina, where the men were "dying off like sheep," from +dysentery. Harriet had acquired quite a reputation for her skill +in curing this disease, by a medicine which she prepared from +roots which grew near the waters which gave the disease. Here she +found thousands of sick soldiers and contrabands, and immediately +gave up her time and attention to them. At another time, we find +her nursing those who were down by hundreds with small-pox and +malignant fevers. She had never had these diseases, but she seems +to have no more fear of death in one form than another. "De Lord +would take keer of her till her time came, an' den she was ready +to go." + +When our armies and gun-boats first appeared in any part of the +South, many of the poor negroes were as much afraid of "de Yankee +Buckra" as of their own masters. It was almost impossible to win +their confidence, or to get information from them. But to Harriet +they would tell anything; and so it became quite important that +she should accompany expeditions going up the rivers, or into +unexplored parts of the country, to control and get information +from those whom they took with them as guides. + +General Hunter asked her at one time if she would go with several +gun-boats up the Combahee River, the object of the expedition +being to take up the torpedoes placed by the rebels in the river, +to destroy railroads and bridges, and to cut off supplies from the +rebel troops. She said she would go if Colonel Montgomery was to +be appointed commander of the expedition. Colonel Montgomery was +one of John Brown's men, and was well known to Harriet. +Accordingly, Colonel Montgomery was appointed to the command, and +Harriet, with several men under her, the principal of whom was J. +Plowden, whose pass I have, accompanied the expedition. Harriet +describes in the most graphic manner the appearance of the +plantations as they passed up the river; the frightened negroes +leaving their work and taking to the woods, at sight of the gun-boats; +then coming to peer out like startled deer, and scudding +away like the wind at the sound of the steam-whistle. "Well," said +one old negro, "Mas'r said de Yankees had horns and tails, but I +nebber beliebed it till now." But the word was passed along by the +mysterious telegraphic communication existing among these simple +people, that these were "Lincoln's gun-boats come to set them +free." In vain, then, the drivers used their whips in their +efforts to hurry the poor creatures back to their quarters; they +all turned and ran for the gun-boats. They came down every road, +across every field, just as they had left their work and their +cabins; women with children clinging around their necks, hanging +to their dresses, running behind, all making at full speed for +"Lincoln's gun-boats." Eight hundred poor wretches at one time +crowded the banks, with their hands extended toward their +deliverers, and they were all taken off upon the gun-boats, and +carried down to Beaufort. + +"I nebber see such a sight," said Harriet; "we laughed, an' +laughed, an' laughed. Here you'd see a woman wid a pail on her +head, rice a smokin' in it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, +young one hangin' on behind, one han' roun' her forehead to hold +on, 'tother han' diggin' into de rice-pot, eatin' wid all its +might; hold of her dress two or three more; down her back a bag +wid a pig in it. One woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a +black one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig +Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Sometimes de women would +come wid twins hangin' roun' der necks; 'pears like I nebber see +so many twins in my life; bags on der shoulders, baskets on der +heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all loaded; pigs squealin', +chickens screamin', young ones squallin'." And so they came +pouring down to the gun-boats. When they stood on the shore, and +the small boats put out to take them off, they all wanted to get +in at once. After the boats were crowded, they would hold on to +them so that they could not leave the shore. The oarsmen would +beat them on their hands, but they would not let go; they were +afraid the gun-boats would go off and leave them, and all wanted +to make sure of one of these arks of refuge. At length Colonel +Montgomery shouted from the upper deck, above the clamor of +appealing tones, "Moses, you'll have to give em a song." Then +Harriet lifted up her voice, and sang: + + "Of all the whole creation in the East or in the West, + The glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best. + Come along! Come along! don't be alarmed, + Uncle Sam is rich enough to give you all a farm." + +At the end of every verse, the negroes in their enthusiasm would +throw up their hands and shout "Glory," and the row-boats would +take that opportunity to push off; and so at last they were all +brought on board. The masters fled; houses and barns and railroad +bridges were burned, tracks torn up, torpedoes destroyed, and the +object of the expedition was fully accomplished. + +This fearless woman was often sent into the rebel lines as a spy, +and brought back valuable information as to the position of armies +and batteries; she has been in battle when the shot was falling +like hail, and the bodies of dead and wounded men were dropping +around her like leaves in autumn; but the thought of fear never +seems to have had place for a moment in her mind. She had her duty +to perform, and she expected to be taken care of till it was done. + +Would that, instead of taking them in this poor way at second-hand, +my readers could hear this woman's graphic accounts of +scenes she herself witnessed, could listen to her imitations of +negro preachers in their own very peculiar dialect, her singing of +camp-meeting hymns, her account of "experience meetings," her +imitations of the dances, and the funeral ceremonies of these +simple people. "Why, der language down dar in de far South is jus' +as different from ours in Maryland as you can tink," said she. +"Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an' I could not understand +dem, no how." She described a midnight funeral which she attended; +for the slaves, never having been allowed to bury their dead in +the day-time, continued the custom of night funerals from habit. + +The corpse was laid upon the ground, and the people all sat round, +the group being lighted up by pine torches. + +The old negro preacher began by giving out a hymn, which was sung +by all. "An' oh! I wish you could hear 'em sing, Missus," said +Harriet. "Der voices is so sweet, and dey can sing eberyting we +sing, an' den dey can sing a great many hymns dat we can't nebber +catch at all." + +The old preacher began his sermon by pointing to the dead man, who +lay in a rude box on the ground before him. + +"_Shum_? Ded-a-de-dah! _Shum, David_? Ded-a-de-dah! Now I want you +all to _flec_' for moment. Who ob all dis congregation is gwine +next to lie ded-e-de-dah? You can't go nowhere's, my frien's and +bredren, but Deff 'll fin' you. You can't dig no hole so deep an' +bury yourself dar, but God A'mighty's far-seein' eye'll fin' you, +an' Deff 'll come arter you. You can't go into that big fort +(pointing to Hilton Head), an' shut yourself up dar; dat fort dat +Sesh Buckra said the debil couldn't take, but Deff 'll fin' you +dar. All your frien's may forget you, but Deff 'll nebber forget +you. Now, my bredren, prepare to lie ded-a-de-dah!" + +This was the burden of a very long sermon, after which the whole +congregation went round in a sort of solemn dance, called the +"spiritual shuffle," shaking hands with each other, and calling +each other by name as they sang: + + "My sis'r Mary's boun' to go; + My sis'r Nanny's boun' to go; + My brudder Tony's boun' to go; + My brudder July's boun' to go." + +This to the same tune, till every hand had been shaken by every +one of the company. When they came to Harriet, who was a stranger, +they sang: + + Eberybody's boun' to go! + +The body was then placed in a Government wagon, and by the light +of the pine torches, the strange, dark procession moved along, +singing a rude funeral hymn, till they reached the place of +burial. + +Harriet's account of her interview with an old negro she met at +Hilton Head, is amusing and interesting. He said, "I'd been yere +seventy-three years, workin' for my master widout even a dime +wages. I'd worked rain-wet sun-dry. I'd worked wid my mouf full of +dust, but could not stop to get a drink of water. I'd been +whipped, an' starved, an' I was always prayin', 'Oh! Lord, come +an' delibber us!' All dat time de birds had been flyin', an' de +rabens had been cryin', and de fish had been swimmin' in de +waters. One day I look up, an' I see a big cloud; it didn't come +up like as de clouds come out far yonder, but it 'peared to be +right ober head. Der was thunders out of dat, an' der was +lightnin's. Den I looked down on de water, an' I see, 'peared to +me a big house in de water, an' out of de big house came great big +eggs, and de good eggs went on trou' de air, an' fell into de +fort; an' de bad eggs burst before dey got dar. Den de Sesh Buckra +begin to run, an' de neber stop running till de git to de swamp, +an' de stick dar an' de die dar. Den I heard 'twas de Yankee +ship[D] firin' out de big eggs, an dey had come to set us free. +Den I praise de Lord. He come an' put he little finger in de work, +an de Sesh Buckra all go; and de birds stop flyin', and de rabens +stop cryin', an' when I go to catch a fish to eat wid my rice, +dey's no fish dar. De Lord A'mighty 'd come and frightened 'em all +out of de waters. Oh! Praise de Lord! I'd prayed seventy-three +years, an' now he's come an' we's all free." + +[Footnote D: The _Wabash_.] + +The following account of the subject of this memoir is cut from +the _Boston Commonwealth_ of 1863, kindly sent the writer by Mr. +Sanborn: + +"It was said long ago that the true romance of America was not in +the fortunes of the Indian, where Cooper sought it, nor in New +England character, where Judd found it, nor in the social +contrasts of Virginia planters, as Thackeray imagined, but in the +story of the fugitive slaves. The observation is as true now as it +was before War, with swift, gigantic hand, sketched the vast +shadows, and dashed in the high lights in which romance loves to +lurk and flash forth. But the stage is enlarged on which these +dramas are played, the whole world now sit as spectators, and the +desperation or the magnanimity of a poor black woman has power to +shake the nation that so long was deaf to her cries. We write of +one of these heroines, of whom our slave annals are full--a woman +whose career is as extraordinary as the most famous of her sex can +show. + +"Araminta Ross, now known by her married name of Tubman, with her +sounding Christian name changed to Harriet, is the grand-daughter +of a slave imported from Africa, and has not a drop of white blood +in her veins. Her parents were Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene, +both slaves, but married and faithful to each other. They still +live in old age and poverty,[E] but free, on a little property at +Auburn, N.Y., which their daughter purchased for them from Mr. +Seward, the Secretary of State. She was born, as near as she can +remember, in 1820 or in 1821, in Dorchester County, on the Eastern +shore of Maryland, and not far from the town of Cambridge. She had +ten brothers and sisters, of whom three are now living, all at the +North, and all rescued from slavery by Harriet, before the War. +She went back just as the South was preparing to secede, to bring +away a fourth, but before she could reach her, she was dead. Three +years before, she had brought away her old father and mother, at +great risk to herself. + +[Footnote E: Both dead for some years.] + +"When Harriet was six years old, she was taken from her mother and +carried ten miles to live with James Cook, whose wife was a +weaver, to learn the trade of weaving. While still a mere child, +Cook set her to watching his musk-rat traps, which compelled her +to wade through the water. It happened that she was once sent when +she was ill with the measles, and, taking cold from wading in the +water in this condition, she grew very sick, and her mother +persuaded her master to take her away from Cook's until she could +get well. + +"Another attempt was made to teach her weaving, but she would not +learn, for she hated her mistress, and did not want to live at +home, as she would have done as a weaver, for it was the custom +then to weave the cloth for the family, or a part of it, in the +house. + +"Soon after she entered her teens she was hired out as a field +hand, and it was while thus employed that she received a wound, +which nearly proved fatal, from the effects of which she still +suffers. In the fall of the year, the slaves there work in the +evening, cleaning up wheat, husking corn, etc. On this occasion, +one of the slaves of a farmer named Barrett, left his work, and +went to the village store in the evening. The overseer followed +him, and so did Harriet. When the slave was found, the overseer +swore he should be whipped, and called on Harriet, among others, +to help tie him. She refused, and as the man ran away, she placed +herself in the door to stop pursuit. The overseer caught up a +two-pound weight from the counter and threw it at the fugitive, but it +fell short and struck Harriet a stunning blow on the head. It was +long before she recovered from this, and it has left her subject +to a sort of stupor or lethargy at times; coming upon her in the +midst of conversation, or whatever she may be doing, and throwing +her into a deep slumber, from which she will presently rouse +herself, and go on with her conversation or work. + +"After this she lived for five or six years with John Stewart, +where at first she worked in the house, but afterward 'hired her +time,' and Dr. Thompson, son of her master's guardian, 'stood for +her,' that is, was her surety for the payment of what she owed. +She employed the time thus hired in the rudest labors,--drove +oxen, carted, plowed, and did all the work of a man,--sometimes +earning money enough in a year, beyond what she paid her master, +'to buy a pair of steers,' worth forty dollars. The amount exacted +of a woman for her time was fifty or sixty dollars--of a man, one +hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars. Frequently Harriet +worked for her father, who was a timber inspector, and +superintended the cutting and hauling of great quantities of +timber for the Baltimore ship-yards. Stewart, his temporary +master, was a builder, and for the work of Ross used to receive as +much as five dollars a day sometimes, he being a superior workman. +While engaged with her father, she would cut wood, haul logs, etc. +Her usual 'stint' was half a cord of wood in a day. + +"Harriet was married somewhere about 1844, to a free colored man +named John Tubman, but she had no children. For the last two years +of slavery she lived with Dr. Thompson, before mentioned, her own +master not being yet of age, and Dr. T.'s father being his +guardian, as well as the owner of her own father. In 1849 the +young man died, and the slaves were to be sold, though previously +set free by an old will. Harriet resolved not to be sold, and so, +with no knowledge of the North--having only heard of Pennsylvania +and New Jersey--she walked away one night alone. She found a +friend in a white lady, who knew her story and helped her on her +way. After many adventures, she reached Philadelphia, where she +found work and earned a small stock of money. With this money in +her purse, she traveled back to Maryland for her husband, but she +found him married to another woman, and no longer caring to live +with her. This, however, was not until two years after her escape, +for she does not seem to have reached her old home in the first +two expeditions. In December, 1850, she had visited Baltimore and +brought away her sister and two children, who had come up from +Cambridge in a boat, under charge of her sister's husband, a free +black. A few months after she had brought away her brother and two +other men, but it was not till the fall of 1851, that she found +her husband and learned of his infidelity. She did not give way to +rage or grief, but collected a party of fugitives and brought them +safely to Philadelphia. In December of the same year, she +returned, and led out a party of eleven, among them her brother +and his wife. With these she journeyed to Canada, and there spent +the winter, for this was after the enforcement of Mason's Fugitive +Slave Bill in Philadelphia and Boston, and there was no safety +except 'under the paw of the British Lion,' as she quaintly said. +But the first winter was terribly severe for these poor runaways. +They earned their bread by chopping wood in the snows of a +Canadian forest; they were frost-bitten, hungry, and naked. +Harriet was their good angel. She kept house for her brother, and +the poor creatures boarded with her. She worked for them, begged +for them, prayed for them, with the strange familiarity of +communion with God which seems natural to these people, and +carried them by the help of God through the hard winter. + +"In the spring she returned to the States, and as usual earned +money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, +in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and +brought away nine more fugitives. + +"Up to this time she had expended chiefly her own money in these +expeditions--money which she had earned by hard work in the +drudgery of the kitchen. Never did any one more exactly fulfill +the sense of George Herbert-- + + "'A servant with this clause + Makes drudgery divine.' + +"But it was not possible for such virtues long to remain hidden +from the keen eyes of the Abolitionists. She became known to +Thomas Garrett, the large-hearted Quaker of Wilmington, who has +aided the escape of three thousand fugitives; she found warm +friends in Philadelphia and New York, and wherever she went. These +gave her money, which he never spent for her own use, but laid up +for the help of her people, and especially for her journeys back +to the 'land of Egypt,' as she called her old home. By reason of +her frequent visits there, always carrying away some of the +oppressed, she got among her people the name of 'Moses,' which it +seems she still retains. + +"Between 1852 and 1857, she made but two of these journeys, in +consequence partly of the increased vigilance of the slave-holders, +who had suffered so much by the loss of their property. A +great reward was offered for her capture and she several times was +on the point of being taken, but always escaped by her quick wit, +or by 'warnings' from Heaven--for it is time to notice one +singular trait in her character. She is the most shrewd and +practical person in the world, yet she is a firm believer in +omens, dreams, and warnings. She declares that before her escape +from slavery, she used to dream of flying over fields and towns, +and rivers and mountains, looking down upon them 'like a bird,' +and reaching at last a great fence, or sometimes a river, over +which she would try to fly, 'but it 'peared like I wouldn't hab de +strength, and jes as I was sinkin' down, dere would be ladies all +drest in white ober dere, and dey would put out dere arms and pull +me 'cross.' There is nothing strange in this, perhaps, but she +declares that when she came North she remembered these very places +as those she had seen in her dreams, and many of the ladies who +befriended her were those she had been helped by in her vision. + +"Then she says she always knows when there is danger near her--she +does not know how, exactly, but ''pears like my heart go flutter, +flutter, and den dey may say "Peace, Peace," as much as dey likes, +_I know its gwine to be war_!' She is very firm on this point, and +ascribes to this her great impunity, in spite of the lethargy +before mentioned, which would seem likely to throw her into the +hands of her enemies. She says she inherited this power, that her +father could always predict the weather, and that he foretold the +Mexican war. + +"In 1857 she made her most venturesome journey, for she brought +with her to the North her old parents, who were no longer able to +walk such distances as she must go by night. Consequently she must +hire a wagon for them, and it required all her ingenuity to get +them through Maryland and Delaware safe. She accomplished it, +however, and by the aid of her friends she brought them safe to +Canada, where they spent the winter. Her account of their +sufferings there--of her mother's complaining and her own +philosophy about it--is a lesson of trust in Providence better +than many sermons. But she decided to bring them to a more +comfortable place, and so she negotiated with Mr. Seward--then in +the Senate--for a little patch of ground. To the credit of the +Secretary of State it should be said, that he sold her the +property on very favorable terms, and gave her some time for +payment. To this house she removed her parents, and set herself to +work to pay for the purchase. It was on this errand that she first +visited Boston--we believe in the winter of 1858-59. She brought a +few letters from her friends in New York, but she could herself +neither read nor write, and she was obliged to trust to her wits +that they were delivered to the right persons. One of them, as it +happened, was to the present writer, who received it by another +hand, and called to see her at her boarding-house. It was curious +to see the caution with which she received her visitor until she +felt assured that there was no mistake. One of her means of +security was to carry with her the daguerreotypes of her friends, +and show them to each new person. If they recognized the likeness, +then it was all right. + +"Pains were taken to secure her the attention to which her great +services of humanity entitled her, and she left New England with a +handsome sum of money toward the payment of her debt to Mr. +Seward. Before she left, however, she had several interviews with +Captain Brown, then in Boston. He is supposed to have communicated +his plans to her, and to have been aided by her in obtaining +recruits and money among her people. At any rate, he always spoke +of her with the greatest respect, and declared that 'General +Tubman,' as he styled her, was a better officer than most whom he +had seen, and could command an army as successfully as she had led +her small parties of fugitives. + +"Her own veneration for Captain Brown has always been profound, +and since his murder, has taken the form of a religion. She had +often risked her own life for her people, and she thought nothing +of that; but that a white man, and a man so noble and strong, +should so take upon himself the burden of a despised race, she +could not understand, and she took refuge from her perplexity in +the mysteries of her fervid religion. + +"Again, she laid great stress on a dream which she had just before +she met Captain Brown in Canada. She thought she was in 'a +wilderness sort of place, all full of rocks, and bushes,' when she +saw a serpent raise its head among the rocks, and as it did so, it +became the head of an old man with a long white beard, gazing at +her, 'wishful like, jes as ef he war gwine to speak to me,' and +then two other heads rose up beside him, younger than he,--and as +she stood looking at them, and wondering what they could want with +her, a great crowd of men rushed in and struck down the younger +heads, and then the head of the old man, still looking at her so +'wishful.' This dream she had again and again, and could not +interpret it; but when she met Captain Brown, shortly after, +behold, he was the very image of the head she had seen. But still +she could not make out what her dream signified, till the news +came to her of the tragedy of Harper's Ferry, and then she knew +the two other heads were his two sons. She was in New York at that +time, and on the day of the affair at Harper's Ferry she felt her +usual warning that something was wrong--she could not tell what. +Finally she told her hostess that it must be Captain Brown who was +in trouble, and that they should soon hear bad news from him. The +next day's newspaper brought tidings of what had happened. + +"Her last visit to Maryland was made after this, in December, +1860; and in spite of the agitated condition of the country, and +the greater watchfulness of the slave-holders, she brought away +seven fugitives, one of them an infant, which must be drugged with +opium to keep it from crying on the way, and so revealing the +hiding-place of the party." + +In the spring of 1860, Harriet Tubman was requested by Mr. Gerrit +Smith to go to Boston to attend a large Anti-Slavery meeting. On +her way, she stopped at Troy to visit a cousin, and while there +the colored people were one day startled with the intelligence +that a fugitive slave, by the name of Charles Nalle, had been +followed by his master (who was his younger brother, and not one +grain whiter than he), and that he was already in the hands of the +officers, and was to be taken back to the South. The instant +Harriet heard the news, she started for the office of the United +States Commissioner, scattering the tidings as she went. An +excited crowd was gathered about the office, through which Harriet +forced her way, and rushed up stairs to the door of the room where +the fugitive was detained. A wagon was already waiting before the +door to carry off the man, but the crowd was even then so great, +and in such a state of excitement, that the officers did not dare +to bring the man down. On the opposite side of the street stood +the colored people, watching the window where they could see +Harriet's sun-bonnet, and feeling assured that so long as she +stood there, the fugitive was still in the office. Time passed on, +and he did not appear. "They've taken him out another way, depend +upon that," said some of the colored people. "No," replied others, +"there stands 'Moses' yet, and as long as she is there, he is +safe." Harriet, now seeing the necessity for a tremendous effort +for his rescue, sent out some little boys to cry _fire_. The bells +rang, the crowd increased, till the whole street was a dense mass +of people. Again and again the officers came out to try and clear +the stairs, and make a way to take their captive down; others were +driven down, but Harriet stood her ground, her head bent and her +arms folded. "Come, old woman, you must get out of this," said one +of the officers; "I must have the way cleared; if you can't get +down alone, some one will help you." Harriet, still putting on a +greater appearance of decrepitude, twitched away from him, and +kept her place. Offers were made to buy Charles from his master, +who at first agreed to take twelve hundred dollars for him; but +when this was subscribed, he immediately raised the price to +fifteen hundred. The crowd grew more excited. A gentleman raised a +window and called out, "Two hundred dollars for his rescue, but +not one cent to his master!" This was responded to by a roar of +satisfaction from the crowd below. At length the officers +appeared, and announced to the crowd, that if they would open a +lane to the wagon, they would promise to bring the man down the +front way. + +The lane was opened, and the man was brought out--a tall, +handsome, intelligent _white_ man, with his wrists manacled +together, walking between the U.S. Marshal and another officer, +and behind him his brother and his master, so like him that one +could hardly be told from the other. The moment they appeared, +Harriet roused from her stooping posture, threw up a window, and +cried to her friends: "Here he comes--take him!" and then darted +down the stairs like a wild-cat. She seized one officer and pulled +him down, then another, and tore him away from the man; and +keeping her arms about the slave, she cried to her friends: "Drag +us out! Drag him to the river! Drown him! but don't let them have +him!" They were knocked down together, and while down, she tore +off her sun-bonnet and tied it on the head of the fugitive. When +he rose, only his head could be seen, and amid the surging mass of +people the slave was no longer recognized, while the master +appeared like the slave. Again and again they were knocked down, +the poor slave utterly helpless, with his manacled wrists, +streaming with blood. Harriet's outer clothes were torn from her, +and even her stout shoes were pulled from her feet, yet she never +relinquished her hold of the man, till she had dragged him to the +river, where he was tumbled into a boat, Harriet following in a +ferry-boat to the other side. But the telegraph was ahead of them, +and as soon as they landed he was seized and hurried from her +sight. After a time, some school children came hurrying along, and +to her anxious inquiries they answered, "He is up in that house, +in the third story." Harriet rushed up to the place. Some men were +attempting to make their way up the stairs. The officers were +firing down, and two men were lying on the stairs, who had been +shot. Over their bodies our heroine rushed, and with the help of +others burst open the door of the room, and dragged out the +fugitive, whom Harriet carried down stairs in her arms. A +gentleman who was riding by with a fine horse, stopped to ask what +the disturbance meant; and on hearing the story, his sympathies +seemed to be thoroughly aroused; he sprang from his wagon, calling +out, "That is a blood-horse, drive him till he drops." The poor +man was hurried in; some of his friends jumped in after him, and +drove at the most rapid rate to Schenectady. + +This is the story Harriet told to the writer. By some persons it +seemed too wonderful for belief, and an attempt was made to +corroborate it. Rev. Henry Fowler, who was at the time at +Saratoga, kindly volunteered to go to Troy and ascertain the +facts. His report was, that he had had a long interview with Mr. +Townsend, who acted during the trial as counsel for the slave, +that he had given him a "rich narration," which he would write out +the next week for this little book. But before he was to begin his +generous labor, and while engaged in some kind efforts for the +prisoners at Auburn, he was stricken down by the heat of the sun, +and was for a long time debarred from labor. + +This good man died not long after and the promised narration was +never written, but a statement by Mr. Townsend was sent me, which +I copy here: + +_Statements made by Martin I. Townsend, Esq., of Troy, who was +counsel for the fugitive, Charles Nalle._ + +Nalle is an octoroon; his wife has the same infusion of Caucasian +blood. She was the daughter of her master, and had, with her +sister, been bred by him in his family, as his own child. When the +father died, both of these daughters were married and had large +families of children. Under the highly Christian national laws of +"Old Virginny," these children were the slaves of their +grandfather. The old man died, leaving a will, whereby he +manumitted his daughters and their children, and provided for the +purchase of the freedom of their husbands. The manumission of the +children and grandchildren took effect; but the estate was +insufficient to purchase the husbands of his daughters, and the +fathers of his grandchildren. The manumitted, by another +Christian, "conservative," and "national" provision of law, were +forced to leave the State, while the slave husbands remained in +slavery. Nalle, and his brother-in-law, were allowed for a while +to visit their families outside Virginia about once a year, but +were at length ordered to provide themselves with new wives, as +they would be allowed to visit their former ones no more. It was +after this that Nalle and his brother-in-law started for the land +of freedom, guided by the steady light of the north star. Thank +God, neither family now need fear any earthly master or the bay of +the blood-hound dogging their fugitive steps. + +Nalle returned to Troy with his family about July, 1860, and +resided with them there for more than seven years. They are all +now residents of the city of Washington, D.C. Nalle and his family +are persons of refined manners, and of the highest respectability. +Several of his children are red-haired, and a stranger would +discover no trace of African blood in their complexions or +features. It was the head of this family whom H.F. Averill +proposed to doom to returnless exile and life-long slavery. + +When Nalle was brought from Commissioner Beach's office into the +street, Harriet Tubman, who had been standing with the excited +crowd, rushed amongst the foremost to Nalle, and running one of +her arms around his manacled arm, held on to him without ever +loosening her hold through the more than half-hour's struggle to +Judge Gould's office, and from Judge Gould's office to the dock, +where Nalle's liberation was accomplished. In the _meelee_ she was +repeatedly beaten over the head with policemen's clubs, but she +never for a moment released her hold, but cheered Nalle and his +friends with her voice, and struggled with the officers until they +were literally worn out with their exertions, and Nalle was +separated from them. + +True, she had strong and earnest helpers in her struggle, some of +whom had white faces as well as human hearts, and are now in +Heaven. But she exposed herself to the fury of the sympathizers +with slavery, without fear, and suffered their blows without +flinching. Harriet crossed the river with the crowd, in the ferry-boat, +and when the men who led the assault upon the door of Judge +Stewart's office were stricken down, Harriet and a number of other +colored women rushed over their bodies, brought Nalle out, and +putting him in the first wagon passing, started him for the West. + +A lively team, driven by a colored man, was immediately sent on to +relieve the other, and Nalle was seen about Troy no more until he +returned a free man by purchase from his master. Harriet also +disappeared, and the crowd dispersed. How she came to be in Troy +that day, is entirely unknown to our citizens; and where she hid +herself after the rescue, is equally a mystery. But her struggle +was in the sight of a thousand, perhaps of five thousand +spectators. + +On asking Harriet particularly, as to the age of her mother, she +answered, "Well, I'll tell you, Missus. Twenty-three years ago, in +Maryland, I paid a lawyer five dollars to look up the will of my +mother's first master. He looked back sixty years, and said it was +time to give up. I told him to go back furder. He went back sixty-five +years, and there he found the will--giving the girl Ritty to +his grand-daughter (Mary Patterson), to serve her and her +offspring till she was forty-five years of age." This grand-daughter +died soon after, unmarried; and as there was no provision +for Ritty, in case of her death, she was actually emancipated at +that time. But no one informed her of the fact, and she and her +dear children remained in bondage till emancipated by the courage +and determination of this heroic daughter and sister. The old +woman must then, it seems, be ninety-eight years of age,[F] and +the old man has probably numbered as many years. And yet these old +people, living out beyond the toll-gate, on the South Street road, +Auburn, come in every Sunday--more than a mile--to the Central +Church. To be sure, deep slumbers settle down upon them as soon as +they are seated, which continue undisturbed till the congregation +is dismissed; but they have done their best, and who can doubt +that they receive a blessing. Immediately after this they go to +class-meeting at the Methodist Church. Then they wait for a third +service, and after that start out home again. + +[Footnote F: This was written in the year '68, and the old people +both lived several years after that time.] + +Harriet supposes that the whole family were actually free, and +were kept wrongfully in a state of slavery all those long years; +but she simply states the fact, without any mourning or lamenting +over the wrong and the misery of it all, accepting it as the will +of God, and, therefore, not to be rebelled against. + +This woman, of whom you have been reading, is now old and feeble, +suffering from the effects of her life of unusual labor and +hardship, as well as from repeated injuries; but she is still at +work for her people. For many years, even long before the war, her +little home has been the refuge of the hunted and the homeless, +for whom she had provided; and I have seen as many as eight or ten +dependents upon her care at one time living there. + +It has always been a hospital, but she feels the need of a large +one, and only prays to see this, "her last work," completed ere +she goes hence. + +Without claiming any of my dear old Harriet's prophetic vision, I +seem to see a future day when the wrongs of earth will be righted, +and justice, long delayed, will assert itself. I seem to see that +our poor Harriet has passed within "one of dem gates," and has +received the welcome, "Come, thou blessed of my Father; for I was +hungry and you gave me meat, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, +I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, +sick and in prison and you visited me." + +And when she asks, "Lord, when did I do all this?" He answers: + +"Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, _my +brethren_, you did it unto me." + +And as she stands in her modest way just within the celestial +gate, I seem to see a kind hand laid upon her dark head, and to +hear a gentle voice saying in her ear, "Friend, come up higher!" + + + + +SOME ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF "HARRIET." + +The story of this remarkable black woman has been attracting +renewed interest of late, and I have often been asked to publish +another edition of the book, and to add some interesting and +amusing incidents which I have related to my friends. + +Harriet is very old and feeble now; she does not know how old, but +probably between eighty and ninety. Her years of toil and +adventure have told upon her, and she may not last much longer. If +she does, she will still need help which she would never ask for +herself, but which this little book may give her; when she dies, +it may aid in putting up a fitting monument to her memory, which +should always be "kept green." + +As time goes on, the horrors of the days of slavery are by many +forgotten, and the children who have been born since the War of +the Rebellion know of that fearful straggle, and of the causes +that led to it, only as a tradition of long ago. + +Even in the city where Harriet has so long lived her quiet and +unobtrusive life, it is not an uncommon thing to meet a young +person who has never even heard her name. + +Those who know the principal facts of her eventful history may be +interested to read these few added incidents, which she has +related to me from time to time. + +A year or two ago, as I was staying at the summer home of my +brother, Professor Hopkins, on Owasco Lake, Harriet came up to see +us; it was after lunch, and my brother ordered a table to be set +for her on the broad shaded piazza and waited on her himself, +bringing her cups of tea and other good things, as if it were a +pleasure and an honor to serve her. + +There is a quiet dignity about Harriet that makes her superior or +indifferent to all surrounding circumstances; whether seated at +the hospitable board of Gerrit Smith or any other white gentleman, +as she often was, or sent to the kitchen, where the white +domestics refused to eat with a "nigger," it was all the same to +Harriet; she was never elated, or humiliated; she took everything +as it came, making no comments or complaints. + +And so she sat quietly eating her lunch, and talking with us. +After the lunch was over, as we sat on the piazza waiting for the +steamboat to take her back to Auburn, she said: + +"I often think, Missus, of things I wish I had told you before you +wrote de book. Now, as I come up on de boat I thought of one thing +thet happened to me when I was very little. + +"I was only seven years old when I was sent away to take car' of a +baby. I was so little dat I had to sit down on de flo' and hev de +baby put in my lap. An' dat baby was allus in my lap 'cept when it +was asleep, or its mother was feedin' it. + +"One mornin' after breakfast she had de baby, an' I stood by de +table waitin' till I was to take it; just by me was a bowl of +lumps of white sugar. My Missus got into a great quarrel wid her +husband; she had an awful temper, an' she would scole an' storm, +an' call him all sorts of names. Now you know, Missus, I never had +nothing good; no sweet, no sugar, an' dat sugar, right by me, did +look so nice, an' my Missus's back was turned to me while she was +fightin' wid her husband, so I jes' put my fingers in de sugar +bowl to take one lump, an' maybe she heard me, an' she turned an' +saw me. De nex' minute she had de raw hide down; I give one jump +out of de do', an' I saw dey came after me, but I jes' flew, and +dey didn't catch me. I ran, an' I ran, an' I run, I passed many a +house, but I didn't dar' to stop, for dey all knew my Missus an' +dey would send me back. By an' by, when I was clar tuckered out, I +come to a great big pig-pen. Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps +eight or ten little pigs. I was too little to climb into it, but I +tumbled ober de high board, an' fell in on de ground; I was so +beat out I couldn't stir. + +"An' dere, Missus, I stayed from Friday till de nex' Chuesday, +fightin' wid dose little pigs for de potato peelin's an" oder +scraps dat came down in de trough. De ole sow would push me away +when I tried to git her chillen's food, an' I was awful afeard of +her. By Chuesday I was so starved I knowed I'd got to go back to +my Missus, I hadn't got no whar else to go, but I knowed what was +comin.' So I went back." + +"And she gave you an awful flogging, I suppose, Harriet?" + +"No, Missus, but _he_ did." + +This was all that was said, but probably that flogging left some +of those scars which cover her neck and back to this day. + +Think of a poor little helpless thing seven years old enduring all +this terror and suffering, and yet few people are as charitable to +the slave-holders as Harriet. "Dey don' know no better, Missus; +it's de way dey was brought up. 'Make de little nigs min' you, or +flog 'em,' was what was said to de chillen, and dey was brought up +wid de whip in der hand. Now, min' you, Missus, dat wasn't de way +on all de plantations; dere was good Marsters an' Missuses, as +I've heard tell, but I didn't happen to come across 'em." + +There is frequent mention made in the Memoir of Harriet's firm and +unwavering trust in God in times of great perplexity or deadly +peril, when she often had occasion to say, "Vain is the help of +man, but in God is my help." I have never known another instance +of such implicit trust and confidence. + +Very soon after the Civil War her house was turned into a +hospital, and no poor helpless creature of her race was ever +turned from her door. Indeed, all through the war, and through the +cruel reign of the fugitive slave law, her house was one of the +depots of the "Underground Railway," as that secret and unseen +mode of conveying the hunted fugitives was called, and when the +war was over she established a hospital, which for many years, +indeed till she was too ill herself to take charge of it, has been +the refuge of the sufferers of her race who had no earthly +dependence but Harriet. + +Very often this woman, except for her trust in "de Lawd," had had +no idea where the next meal was to come from, but she troubled +herself no more about it than if she had been a Vanderbilt or an +Astor. "De Lawd will provide" was her motto, and He never failed +her. + +One day, in passing through Auburn, I was impelled to stop over a +train, and drive out to see what were the needs of my colored +friend, and to take her some supplies. + +Her little house was always neat and comfortable, and the small +parlor was nicely and rather prettily furnished. The lame, the +halt, and the blind, the bruised and crippled little children, and +one crazy woman, were all brought in to see me, and "the blind +woman" (she seemed to have no other name), a very old woman who +had been Harriet's care for eighteen years, was led into the room--an +interesting and pathetic group. + +On leaving, I said to her: "If you will come out to the carriage, +Harriet, there are some provisions there for you." + +She turned to one of her poor dependents and said: "What did you +say to me dis mornin'? You said, 'We hadn't got nothin' to eat in +de house,' and what did I say to you? I said, 'I've got a rich +Father!'" + +Nothing that comes to this remarkable woman ever surprises her. +She says very little in the way of thanks, except to the Giver of +all good. How the knowledge comes to her no one can tell, but she +seems always to know when help is coming, and she is generally on +hand to receive it, though it is never for herself she wants it, +but only for those under her care. + +I must not forget to mention the Indian girls of the Fort Wrangel +School, who, having read a little notice of Harriet in the +"Evangelist," went to work, and by their daily labor raised +thirty-seven dollars which they sent to me for Harriet--and this +school has been disbanded, and these educated girls have been sent +back to their wretched homes, because our Government could not +afford to support it any longer! + +Pundita Ramabai went about this time to see Harriet and they had +an interesting talk together. Here was a remarkable trio taking +hold of hands--the woman from East India, the Indian girl from the +far West, and the black woman from the Southern States only two +removes from an African savage! + +Once when she came to New York, where she had not been in twenty +years, and was starting off alone to find some friends miles away +in a part of the city which she had never seen, we remonstrated +with her, telling her she would surely be lost. + +"Now, Missus," she said, "don't you t'ink dis ole head dat done de +navigatin' down in Egypt can do de navigatin' up here in New +York?" + +And she walked many miles, scorning a "cyar," and found all the +people she wished to see. + +Harriet was known by various names among her Southern friends. One +of these was "Ole Chariot," perhaps as a rhyme to the name by +which they called her. + +And so, often when she went to bring away a band of refugees, she +would sing as she walked the dark country roads by night: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + Who's gwine wid me?" + +And from some unseen singer would come the response: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + I'se gwine wid you." + +And by some wireless telegraphy known only to the initiated it +would be made known in one cabin or another where their deliverer +was waiting concealed, and when she would be ready to pilot them +on their long journey to freedom. + +A Woman's Suffrage Meeting was held in Rochester a year or two +ago, and Harriet came to attend it. She generally attended every +meeting of women, on whatever subject, if possible to do so. + +She was led into the church by an adopted daughter, whom she had +rescued from death when a baby, and had brought up as her own. + +The church was warm and Harriet was tired, and soon after she +entered deep sleep fell upon her. + +Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Stanton were on the platform, and after +speeches had been made and business accomplished, one of these +ladies said: + +"Friends, we have in the audience that wonderful woman, Harriet +Tubman, from whom we should like to hear, if she will kindly come +to the platform." + +People looked around at Harriet, but Harriet was fast asleep. + +"Mother! mother!" said the young girl; "they are calling for you," +but it was some time before Harriet could be made to understand +where she was, or what was wanted of her. At length, she was led +out into the aisle and was assisted by one of these kind ladies on +to the platform. + +Harriet looked around, wondering why so many white ladies were +gathered there. I think it was Miss Anthony who led her forward, +saying: + +"Ladies, I am glad to present to you Harriet Tubman, 'the +conductor of the Underground Railroad.'" + +"Yes, ladies," said Harriet, "I was de conductor ob de Underground +Railroad for eight years, an' I can say what mos' conductors can't +say--I nebber run my train off de track an' I nebber los' a +passenger." The audience laughed and applauded, and Harriet was +emboldened to go on and relate portions of her interesting +history, which were most kindly received by the assembled ladies. + +After the passage of the iniquitous fugitive slave law, Harriet +removed all her dependents to Canada, and here John Brown and some +of his followers took refuge with her, and she was his helper and +adviser in many of his schemes. The papers of that time tell of +her helping him with his plans and of his dependence upon her +judgment. In one of his letters he says: "Harriet has hitched on, +and with all her might; she is a whole team." + +For this large party added to her own family of several persons, +she worked day and night in her usual self-forgetting manner. Her +old father and mother were with her, and the mother, nearly a +hundred years old and enfeebled in mind, was querulous and +exacting, and most unreasonable in her temper, often reproaching +this faithful daughter as the Israelites did Moses of old, for +"bringing them up into the wilderness to die there of hunger." + +There came a day when everything eatable was exhausted, and the +prospect was dark, indeed. The old mother had no tobacco and no +tea--and these were more essential to her comfort than food or +clothing; then reproaches thick and fast fell upon Harriet. She +made no reply, but "went into her closet and shut the door"; when +she came out she had a large basket on her arm. + +"Catharine," she said, "take off dat small pot an' put on a large +one." + +"But, Harriet, der ain't not'ing in de house to eat." + +"Put on de large pot, Catharine; we're gwine to have soup to-day"--and +Harriet started for the market. The day was nearly over, and +the market-men were anxious to be rid of their wares, and were +offering them very cheap. Harriet walked along with the basket on +her arm. "Old woman, don't you want a nice piece of meat?" called +out one; and another, "Here's a nice piece; only ten cents. Take +this soup-bone, you can have it for five cents." But Harriet had +not five cents. At length a kind-hearted butcher, judging of the +trouble from her face, said: "Look here, old woman, you look like +an honest woman; take this soup-bone, and pay me when you get some +money"; then another said, "Take this," and others piled on pieces +of meat till the basket was full. Harriet passed on, and when she +came to the vegetables she exchanged some of the meat for +potatoes, cabbage, and onions, and the big pot was in requisition +when she reached home. Harriet had not "gone into her closet and +shut the door" for nothing. + +I hope I may be excused for sometimes telling my story in the +first person, as I cannot conveniently do it in any other way. In +getting ready a Thanksgiving box to send to Harriet, a few years +ago, I had ordered a turkey to be sent for it, but as the weather +grew quite warm, I was advised to send a ham instead. That box was +lost for three weeks, and when I saw Harriet again and told her +that I had intended to send a turkey in it, she said, "Wal, dere +was a clar Providence in dat, wa'n't dere, Missus?" + +A friend, hearing that I was preparing a Christmas box in New York +for this needy household, sent me a quantity of clothing and ten +dollars for them. As my box was not quite full, I expended three +dollars of that money in groceries, and sent seven dollars to a +lady in Auburn who acted as treasurer for Harriet, giving her +money as it was needed; for Harriet's heart is so large, and her +feelings are so easily wrought upon, that it was never wise to +give her more than enough for present needs. + +Not long after, I received a letter from a well-known physician--a +woman--in Auburn, in which she said: + +"I want to tell you something about Harriet. She came to me last +Friday, and said, 'Doctah, I have got my taxes and insurance to +pay to-morrow, and I haven't a cent. Would you lend me seven +dollars till next Chuesday?' More to try her than anything else, I +said, 'Why, Harriet, I'm a poor, hard-working woman myself; how do +you know you'll pay me seven dollars next Tuesday?' 'Well, Doctah, +I can't jes' tell you how, but I'll pay you next Chuesday.'" On +Tuesday my letter with seven dollars enclosed arrived in Auburn, +and Harriet took the money to the friend who had lent it to her. +Others thought this strange, but there was nothing strange about +it to her. + +A few years ago, when Harriet called on the writer, she was +introduced to the husband of one of her daughters lately married. +He told her how glad he was to see her, as he had heard so much +about her. She made one of her humble courtesies, and said: "I'm +pleased to see you, sir; it's de first time I've hed de pleasure +makin' yo' 'quaintance since you was 'dopted into my fam'bly." + +When the turns of somnolence come upon Harriet, her "sperrit," as +she says, goes away from her body, and visits other scenes and +places, and if she ever really sees them afterwards they are +perfectly familiar to her and she can find her way about alone. +Instances of this kind have lately been mentioned in some of the +magazines, but Harriet had never heard of them. + +Sitting in her house one day, deep sleep fell upon her, and in a +dream or vision she saw a chariot in the air, going south, and +empty, but soon it returned, and lying in it, cold and stiff, was +the body of a young lady of whom Harriet was very fond, whose home +was in Auburn, but who had gone to Washington with her father, a +distinguished officer of the Government there.[G] + +[Footnote G: William H. Seward.] + +The shock roused Harriet from her sleep, and she ran into Auburn, +to the house of her minister, crying out: "Oh, Miss Fanny is +dead!" and the news had just been received. + +She woke from a sleep one day in great agitation, and ran to the +houses of her colored neighbors, exclaiming that "a drefful t'ing +was happenin' somewha', de ground was openin', an' de houses were +fallin' in, and de people bein' killed faster 'n dey was in de +wah--faster 'n dey was in de wah." + +At that very time, or near it, an earthquake was occurring in the +northern part of South America, for the telegram came that day, +though why a vision of it should be sent to Harriet no one can +divine. + +Her expressions are often very peculiar; some ladies of a certain +church who had become interested in her wished to see her, and she +was invited to come to their city, and attended the sewing circle, +where twenty or thirty of them were gathered together. They asked +her many questions, and she told stories, sang songs, danced, and +imitated the talk of the Southern negroes; and went away loaded +with many tokens of the kind interest of these ladies. On the way +home she said: + +"What nice, kind-lookin' ladies dem was, Missus. I looked in all +dere faces, an' I didn't see nothin' venomous in one of 'em!" + +As has been said, Harriet can neither read nor write; her letters +are all written by an amanuensis, and she seems to have an idea +that by laying her hand on this person, her feelings may be +transmitted to the one to whom she is writing. These feelings are +sometimes very poetically expressed. I have by me some of those +letters; in one of them she says: "I lay my hand on the shoulder +of the writer of this letter, and I wish for you, and all your +offsprings, a through ticket in the Gospel train to Glory." + +In another letter she has dictated this sentence: + +"I ask of my Heavenly Father, that when the last trump sounds, and +my name is called, I may stand close by your side, to answer to +the call." Probably many of her friends and correspondents might +contribute facts and incidents in Harriet's life quite as +interesting as any I have mentioned, but I have no way of getting +at them. + +Harriet had long cherished the idea of having her hospital +incorporated, and placed in charge of the Zion African Methodist +Church of Auburn, and she was particularly anxious to come into +possession of a lot of twenty-five acres of land, near her own +home, to present to it as a little farm. This lot was to be sold +at auction, and on the day of the sale Harriet appeared with a +very little money, and a determination to have the land, cost what +it might. + +"Dey was all white folks but me dere, Missus, and dere I was like +a blackberry in a pail ob milk, but I hid down in a corner, and no +one know'd who was biddin'. De man began down pretty low, and I +kept goin' up by fifties; he got up to twelve hundred, thirteen +hundred, fourteen hundred, and still dat voice in the corner kept +goin' up by fifties. At last it got up to fourteen hundred and +fifty, an' den oders stopped biddin', an' de man said, 'All done! +who is de buyer?' 'Harriet Tubman,' I shouted. 'What! dat ole +nigger?' dey said. 'Old woman, how you ebber gwine to pay fer dat +lot ob land?' 'I'm gwine home to tell de Lawd Jesus all about it,' +I said." + +After telling the Lord Jesus all about it, Harriet went down to a +bank, obtained the money by mortgaging the land, and then +requested to have a deed made out, making the land over to the +Zion African Methodist Church. And her mind is easy about her +hospital, though with many persons the trouble would be but just +beginning, as there is interest on the mortgage to be paid. + +Though the hospital is no longer on her hands, you will never find +her without several poor creatures under her care. When I last saw +her she was providing for five sick and injured ones. A blind +woman came one day to her door, led by four little children--her +husband had turned her out of his house, and like all other poor +distressed black people, who could get there, she made her way to +Harriet. Before the next morning a fifth was added to the group. +As soon as it was possible Harriet dressed the whole six in white +and took them to a Methodist church and had them baptized. + +A little account of this was sent to the "Evangelist," and the +almost immediate response was seventy-five dollars, which was of +great benefit in providing for the needs of the growing family. + +This faithful creature will probably not live much longer, and her +like will not be seen again. But through the sale of the last +edition of her "Memoir," and some other sources of income, her +wants will be abundantly supplied. + +Harriet's friends will be glad to learn that she has lately been +for some time in Boston, where a surgical operation was performed +upon her head, the skull (which was crushed by a weight thrown by +her master more than seventy years before) being successfully +raised. Harriet's account of this operation is rather amusing. + +"Harriet," said Professor Hopkins, "what is the matter with your +head? Your hair is all gone!" + +"Why, dat's where dey shaved it off befo' dey cut my head open." + +"Cut your head open, Harriet? What do you mean?" + +"Wal, sir, when I was in Boston I walked out one day, an' I saw a +great big buildin', an' I asked a man what it was, an' he said it +was a hospital. So I went right in, an' I saw a young man dere, +an' I said, 'Sir, are you a doctah?' an' he said he was; den I +said, 'Sir, do you t'ink you could cut my head open?' + +"'What do you want your head cut open fer?' he said. + +"Den I tol' him de whole story, an' how my head was givin' me a +powerful sight of trouble lately, with achin' an' buzzin', so I +couldn' get no sleep at night. + +"An' he said, 'Lay right down on dis yer table,' an' I lay down." + +"Didn't he give you anything to deaden the pain, Harriet?" + +"No, sir; I jes' lay down like a lamb fo' de slaughter, an' he +sawed open my skull, an' raised it up, an' now it feels more +comfortable." "Did you suffer very much?" + +"Yes, sir, it hurt, ob cose; but I got up an' put on my bonnet an' +started to walk home, but my legs kin' o' gin out under me, an' +dey sont fer a ambulance an' sont me home." + +It has been hoped that this remarkable experience might result in +giving Harriet a new lease of life, but I am sorry to say she is +very feeble, and I fear will not be with us much longer. + +Her "through ticket" has long been ready for her, and when her +last journey is accomplished can we doubt that she will be +welcomed to one of those many mansions prepared for those who have +spent their lives in the Master's service? + + +THE END + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +The following letters to the writer from those well-known and +distinguished philanthropists, Hon. Gerrit Smith and Wendell +Phillips, and one from Frederick Douglass, addressed to Harriet, +will serve as the best introduction that can be given of the +subject of this memoir to its readers: + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _June_ 13, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I am happy to learn that you are to speak to the +public of Mrs. Harriet Tubman. Of the remarkable events of her +life I have no _personal_ knowledge, but of the truth of them as +she describes them I have no doubt. + +I have often listened to her, in her visits to my family, and I am +confident that she is not only truthful, but that she has a rare +discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy. + + With great respect your friend, + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Wendell Phillips_. + + _June_ 16, 1868. + +DEAR MADAME: The last time I ever saw John Brown was under my own +roof, as he brought Harriet Tubman to me, saying: "Mr. Phillips, I +bring you one of the best and bravest persons on this continent-- +_General_ Tubman, as we call her." + +He then went on to recount her labors and sacrifices in behalf of +her race. After that, Harriet spent some time in Boston, earning +the confidence and admiration of all those who were working for +freedom. With their aid she went to the South more than once, +returning always with a squad of self-emancipated men, women, and +children, for whom her marvelous skill had opened the way of +escape. After the war broke out, she was sent with indorsements +from Governor Andrew and his friends to South Carolina, where in +the service of the Nation she rendered most important and +efficient aid to our army. + +In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did before that time more for the colored race, than our +fearless and most sagacious friend, Harriet. + + Faithfully yours, + + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Frederick Douglass_. + + ROCHESTER, _August_ 29, 1868. + +DEAR HARRIET: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful +life has been written by a kind lady, and that the same is soon to +be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon +me for a word of commendation. I need such words from you far more +than you can need them from me, especially where your superior +labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our +land are known as I know them. The difference between us is very +marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our +cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement +at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in +a private way. I have wrought in the day--you in the night. I have +had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of +being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done +has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore +bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, +and whose heartfelt "_God bless you_" has been your only reward. +The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of +your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John +Brown--of sacred memory--I know of no one who has willingly +encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people +than you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to +those who do not know you as I know you. It is to me a great +pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony to your character +and your works, and to say to those to whom you may come, that I +regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy. + + Your friend, + + FREDERICK DOUGLASS. + + * * * * * + +_Extracts from a Letter written by Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of State Charities._ + +MY DEAR MADAME: Mr. Phillips has sent me your note, asking for +reminiscences of Harriet Tubman, and testimonials to her +extraordinary story, which all her New England friends will, I am +sure, be glad to furnish. + +I never had reason to doubt the truth of what Harriet said in +regard to her own career, for I found her singularly truthful. Her +imagination is warm and rich, and there is a whole region of the +marvelous in her nature, which has manifested itself at times +remarkably. Her dreams and visions, misgivings and forewarnings, +ought not to be omitted in any life of her, particularly those +relating to John Brown. + +She was in his confidence in 1858-9, and he had a great regard for +her, which he often expressed to me. She aided him in his plans, +and expected to do so still further, when his career was closed by +that wonderful campaign in Virginia. The first time she came to my +house, in Concord, after that tragedy, she was shown into a room +in the evening, where Brackett's bust of John Brown was standing. +The sight of it, which was new to her, threw her into a sort of +ecstacy of sorrow and admiration, and she went on in her +rhapsodical way to pronounce his apotheosis. + +She has often been in Concord, where she resided at the houses of +Emerson, Alcott, the Whitneys, the Brooks family, Mrs. Horace +Mann, and other well-known persons. They all admired and respected +her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures. She was too +_real_ a person to be suspected. In 1862, I think it was, she went +from Boston to Port Royal, under the advice and encouragement of +Mr. Garrison, Governor Andrew, Dr. Howe, and other leading people. +Her career in South Carolina is well known to some of our +officers, and I think to Colonel Higginson, now of Newport, R.I., +and Colonel James Montgomery, of Kansas, to both of whom she was +useful as a spy and guide, if I mistake not. I regard her as, on +the whole, the most extraordinary person of her race I have ever +met. She is a negro of pure, or almost pure blood, can neither +read nor write, and has the characteristics of her race and +condition. But she has done what can scarcely be credited on the +best authority, and she has accomplished her purposes with a +coolness, foresight, patience and wisdom, which in a _white man_ +would have raised him to the highest pitch of reputation. + +I am, dear Madame, very truly your servant, + + F.B. SANBORN. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Wm.H. Seward_. + + WASHINGTON, _July_ 25, 1868. + +MAJ.-GEN. HUNTER-- + +MY DEAR SIR: Harriet Tubman, a colored woman, has been nursing our +soldiers during nearly all the war. She believes she has a claim +for faithful services to the command in South Carolina with which +you are connected, and she thinks that you would be disposed to +see her claim justly settled. + +I have known her long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a truer, +seldom dwells in the human form. I commend her, therefore, to your +kind and best attentions. + + Faithfully your friend, + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Col. James Montgomery_. + + ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C., _July_ 6, 1863. + HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE. + +BRIG.-GEN. GILMORE, Commanding Department of the South-- + +GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, +a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have been +acquainted with her character and actions for several years. + +I am, General, your most ob't servant, + + JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. Baird_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov_. 24, 1864. + +The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who +has rendered faithful and good services to our Union army, not +only in the hospital, but in various capacities, having been +employed under Government at Hilton Head, and in Florida; and I +commend her to the protection of all officers in whose department +she may happen to be. + +She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my +uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and +capabilities. + + MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, N.Y., _Nov_. 4, 1867. + +I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever, +have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying, +and of more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with +her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment. + +During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful +to the cause of our country. She is poor and has poor parents. +Such a servant of the country should be well paid by the country. +I hope that the Government will look into her case. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Testimonial from Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov._ 22, 1864. + +The bearer, Harriet Tubman, needs not any recommendation. Nearly +all the nation over, she has been heard of for her wisdom, +integrity, patriotism, and bravery. The cause of freedom owes her +much. The country owes her much. + +I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high +esteem. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Certificate from Henry K. Durrant, Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A._ + +I certify that I have been acquainted with Harriet Tubman for +nearly two years; and my position as Medical Officer in charge of +"contrabands" in this town and in hospital, has given me frequent +and ample opportunities to observe her general deportment; +particularly her kindness and attention to the sick and suffering +of her own race. I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem +in which she is generally held. + + HENRY K. DURRANT, + Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. + In charge "Contraband" Hospital. + +Dated at Beaufort, S.C., the 3d day of May, 1864. + +I concur fully in the above. + + R. SAXTON, Brig.-Gen. Vol. + + * * * * * + +The following are a few of the passes used by Harriet throughout +the war. Many others are so defaced that it is impossible to +decipher them. + +HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, +HILTON HEAD, PORT ROYAL, S.C., _Feb_. 19, 1863. + +Pass the bearer, Harriet Tubman, to Beaufort and back to this +place, and wherever she wishes to go; and give her free passage at +all times, on all Government transports. Harriet was sent to me +from Boston by Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, and is a +valuable woman. She has permission, as a servant of the +Government, to purchase such provisions from the Commissary as she +may need. + + D. HUNTER, Maj.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + +General Gilmore, who succeeded General Hunter in command of the +Department of the South, appends his signature to the same pass. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, + _July_ 1, 1863. + +Continued in force. + + Q.A. GILMORE, Brig.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + + BEAUFORT, _Aug_. 28, 1862. + +Will Capt. Warfield please let "Moses" have a little Bourbon +whiskey for medicinal purposes. + + HENRY K. DURANT, Act. Ass. Surgeon. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C, + _March_ 20, 1865. + +Pass Mrs. Harriet Tubman (colored) to Hilton Head and Charleston, +S.C., with free transportation on a Government transport, + +By order of the Sec. of War. + Louis H., Asst. Adj.-Gen., U.S.A. +To Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Van Vliet, U.S.Q.M., N.Y. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C., + _July_ 22, 1865. + +Permit Harriet Tubman to proceed to Fortress Monroe, Va., on a +Government transport. Transportation will be furnished free of +cost. + +By order of the Secretary of War. + L.H., Asst. Adj.-Gen. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + + _Appointment as Nurse_. + +SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the Medical Director +Department of Virginia has been instructed to appoint Harriet +Tubman nurse or matron at the Colored Hospital, Fort Monroe, Va. + + Very respectfully, your obdt. servant, + V.K. BARNES, Surgeon-General. +Hon. WM.H. SEWARD, + Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. + + +Of the many letters, testimonials, and passes, placed in the hands +of the writer by Harriet, the following are selected for insertion +in this book, and are quite sufficient to verify her statements. + +_A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a lady of Auburn_. + + ATLANTA, GA., _March_ 21, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that +Hon. Wm.H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition to +Congress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in +the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the +value of her services in South Carolina and Florida. She was +employed in the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid +inside the enemy's lines, displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and +fidelity. She was employed by General Hunter, and I think by +Generals Stevens and Sherman, and is as deserving of a pension +from the Government for her services as any other of its faithful +servants. + + I am very truly yours, + RUFUS SAXTON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen., U.S.A. + +Rev. Samuel I. May, in his recollections of the anti-slavery +conflict, after mentioning the case of an old slave mother, whom +he vainly endeavored to assist her son in buying from her master, +says: + +"I did not until four years after know that remarkable woman +Harriet, or I might have engaged her services, in the assurance +that she would have bought off the old woman without _paying_ for +her inalienable right--her liberty." + +Mr. May in another place says of Harriet, that she deserves to be +placed _first_ on the list of American heroines, and then proceeds +to give a short account of her labors, varying very little from +that given in this book. + + + + +FUGITIVE SLAVE RESCUE IN TROY. + +From the _Troy Whig_, April 28, 1859. + +Yesterday afternoon, the streets of this city and West Troy were +made the scenes of unexampled excitement. For the first time since +the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, an attempt was made here to +carry its provisions into execution, and the result was a terrific +encounter between the officers and the prisoner's friends, the +triumph of mob law, and the final rescue of the fugitive. Our city +was thrown into a grand state of turmoil, and for a time every +other topic was forgotten, to give place to this new excitement. +People did not think last evening to ask who was nominated at +Charleston, or whether the news of the Heenan and Sayers battle +had arrived--everything was merged into the fugitive slave case, +of which it seems the end is not yet. + +Charles Nalle, the fugitive, who was the cause of all this +excitement, was a slave on the plantation of B.W. Hansborough, in +Culpepper County, Virginia, till the 19th of October, 1858, when +he made his escape, and went to live in Columbia, Pennsylvania. A +wife and five children are residing there now. Not long since he +came to Sandlake, in this county, and resided in the family of Mr. +Crosby until about three weeks ago. Since that time, he has been +employed as coachman by Uri Gilbert, Esq., of this city. He is +about thirty years of age, tall, quite light-complexioned, and +good-looking. He is said to have been an excellent and faithful +servant. + +At Sandlake, we understand that Nalle was often seen by one H.F. +Averill, formerly connected with one of the papers of this city, +who communicated with his reputed owner in Virginia, and gave the +information that led to a knowledge of the whereabouts of the +fugitive. Averill wrote letters for him, and thus obtained an +acquaintance with his history. Mr. Hansborough sent on an agent, +Henry J. Wall, by whom the necessary papers were got out to arrest +the fugitive. + +Yesterday morning about 11 o'clock, Charles Nalle was sent to +procure some bread for the family by whom he was employed. He +failed to return. At the baker's he was arrested by Deputy United +States Marshal J.W. Holmes, and immediately taken before United +States Commissioner Miles Beach. The son of Mr. Gilbert, thinking +it strange that he did not come back, sent to the house of William +Henry, on Division Street, where he boarded, and his whereabouts +was discovered. + +The examination before Commissioner Beach was quite brief. The +evidence of Averill and the agent was taken, and the Commissioner +decided to remand Nalle to Virginia. The necessary papers were +made out and given to the Marshal. + +By this time it was two o'clock, and the fact began to be noised +abroad that there was a fugitive slave in Mr. Beach's office, +corner of State and First Streets. People in knots of ten or +twelve collected near the entrance, looking at Nalle, who could be +seen at an upper window. William Henry, a colored man, with whom +Nalle boarded, commenced talking from the curb-stone in a loud +voice to the crowd. He uttered such sentences as, "There is a +fugitive slave in that office--pretty soon you will see him come +forth. He is going to be taken down South, and you will have a +chance to see him. He is to be taken to the depot, to go to +Virginia in the first train. Keep watch of those stairs, and you +will have a sight." A number of women kept shouting, crying, and +by loud appeals excited the colored persons assembled. + +Still the crowd grew in numbers. Wagons halted in front of the +locality, and were soon piled with spectators. An alarm of fire +was sounded, and hose carriages dashed through the ranks of men, +women, and boys; but they closed again, and kept looking with +expectant eyes at the window where the negro was visible. +Meanwhile, angry discussions commenced. Some persons agitated a +rescue, and others favored law and order. Mr. Brockway, a lawyer, +had his coat torn for expressing his sentiments, and other +_melees_ kept the interest alive. + +All at once there was a wild halloo, and every eye was turned up +to see the legs and part of the body of the prisoner protruding +from the second story window, at which he was endeavoring to +escape. Then arose a shout! "Drop him!" "Catch him!" "Hurrah!" But +the attempt was a fruitless one, for somebody in the office pulled +Nalle back again, amid the shouts of a hundred pairs of lungs. The +crowd at this time numbered nearly a thousand persons. Many of +them were black, and a good share were of the female sex. They +blocked up State Street from First Street to the alley, and kept +surging to and fro. + +Martin I. Townsend, Esq., who acted as counsel for the fugitive, +did not arrive in the Commissioner's office until a decision had +been rendered. He immediately went before Judge Gould, of the +Supreme Court, and procured a writ of habeas corpus in the usual +form, _returnable_ immediately. This was given Deputy-Sheriff +Nathaniel Upham, who at once proceeded to Commissioner Beach's +office, and served it on Holmes. Very injudiciously, the officers +proceeded at once to Judge Gould's office, although it was evident +they would have to pass through an excited, unreasonable crowd. As +soon as the officers and their prisoner emerged from the door, an +old negro, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, +shouted, "Here they come," and the crowd made a terrific rush at +the party. + +From the office of Commissioner Beach, in the Mutual Building, to +that of Judge Gould, in Congress Street, is less than two blocks, +but it was made a regular battlefield. The moment the prisoner +emerged from the doorway, in custody of Deputy-Sheriff Upham, +Chief of Police Quin, Officers Cleveland and Holmes, the crowd +made one grand charge, and those nearest the prisoner seized him +violently, with the intention of pulling him away from the +officers, but they were foiled; and down First to Congress Street, +and up the latter in front of Judge Gould's chambers, went the +surging mass. Exactly what did go on in the crowd, it is +impossible to say, but the pulling, hauling, mauling, and +shouting, gave evidences of frantic efforts on the part of the +rescuers, and a stern resistance from the conservators of the law. +In front of Judge Gould's office the combat was at its height. No +stones or other missiles were used; the battle was fist to fist. +We believe an order was given to take the prisoner the other way, +and there was a grand rush towards the West, past First and River +Streets, as far as Dock Street. All this time there was a +continual _melee_. Many of the officers were hurt--among them Mr. +Upham, whose object was solely to do his duty by taking Nalle +before Judge Gould in accordance with the writ of habeas corpus. A +number in the crowd were more or less hurt, and it is a wonder +that these were not badly injured, as pistols were drawn and +chisels used. + +The battle had raged as far as the corner of Dock and Congress +Streets, and the victory remained with the rescuers at last. The +officers were completely worn out with their exertions, and it was +impossible to continue their hold upon him any longer. Nalle was +at liberty. His friends rushed him down Dock Street to the lower +ferry, where there was a skiff lying ready to start. The fugitive +was put in, the ferryman rowed off, and amid the shouts of +hundreds who lined the banks of the river, Nalle was carried into +Albany County. + +As the skiff landed in West Troy, a negro sympathizer waded up to +the waist, and pulled Nalle out of the boat. He went up the hill +alone, however, and there who should he meet but Constable Becker! +The latter official seeing a man with manacles on, considered it +his duty to arrest him. He did so, and took him in a wagon to the +office of Justice Stewart, on the second floor of the corner +building near the ferry. The justice was absent. + +When the crowd on the Troy bank had seen Nalle safely landed, it +was suggested that he might be recaptured. Then there was another +rush made for the steam ferry-boat, which carried over about 400 +persons, and left as many more--a few of the latter being soused +in their efforts to get on the boat. On landing in West Troy, +there, sure enough, was the prisoner, locked up in a strong +office, protected by Officers Becker, Brown and Morrison, and the +door barricaded. + +Not a moment was lost. Up stairs went a score or more of resolute +men--the rest "piling in" promiscuously, shouting and execrating +the officers. Soon a stone flew against the door--then another-- +and bang, bang! went off a couple of pistols, but the officers who +fired them took good care to aim pretty high. The assailants were +forced to retreat for a moment. "They've got pistols," said one. +"Who cares?" was the reply; "they can only kill a dozen of us-- +come on." More stones and more pistol-shots ensued. At last the +door was pulled open by an immense negro, and in a moment he was +felled by a hatchet in the hands of Deputy-Sheriff Morrison; but +the body of the fallen man blocked up the door so that it could +not be shut, and a friend of the prisoner pulled him out. Poor +fellow! he might well say, "Save me from my friends." Amid the +pulling and hauling, the iron had cut his arms, which were +bleeding profusely, and he could hardly walk, owing to fatigue. + +He has since arrived safely in Canada. + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Harriet, The Moses of Her People +by Sarah H. Bradford + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + +This file should be named 7htub10.txt or 7htub10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 7htub11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 7htub10a.txt + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Harriet, The Moses of Her People + +Author: Sarah H. Bradford + +Release Date: February, 2006 [EBook #9999] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on November 6, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + + + + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration: Letter from Susan B. Anthony, January, 1903.] + + + + +HARRIET + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE + +By + +SARAH H. BRADFORD + + + + + "Farewell, ole Marster, don't think hard of me, + I'm going on to Canada, where all de slaves are free." + + + "Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to His throne, + He who died has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone." + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1886, BY SARAH H. BRADFORD. + + + + +PREFACE. + +The title I have given my black heroine, in this second edition of +her story, viz.: THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE, may seem a little +ambitious, considering that this Moses was a woman, and that she +succeeded in piloting only three or four hundred slaves from the +land of bondage to the land of freedom. + +But I only give her here the name by which she was familiarly +known, both at the North and the South, during the years of terror +of the Fugitive Slave Law, and during our last Civil War, in both +of which she took so prominent a part. + +And though the results of her unexampled heroism were not to free +a whole nation of bond-men and bond-women, yet this object was as +much the desire of her heart, as it was of that of the great +leader of Israel. Her cry to the slave-holders, was ever like his +to Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" and not even he imperiled life and +limb more willingly, than did our courageous and self-sacrificing +friend. + +Her name deserves to be handed down to posterity, side by side +with the names of Jeanne D'Arc, Grace Darling, and Florence +Nightingale, for not one of these women, noble and brave as they +were, has shown more courage, and power of endurance, in facing +danger and death to relieve human suffering, than this poor black +woman, whose story I am endeavoring in a most imperfect way to +give you. + +Would that Mrs. Stowe had carried out the plan she once projected, +of being the historian of our sable friend; by her graphic pen, +the incidents of such a life might have been wrought up into a +tale of thrilling interest, equaling, if not exceeding her world +renowned "Uncle Tom's Cabin." + +The work fell to humbler hands, and the first edition of this +story, under the title of "Harriet Tubman," was written in the +greatest possible haste, while the writer was preparing for a +voyage to Europe. There was pressing need for this book, to save +the poor woman's little home from being sold under a mortgage, and +letters and facts were penned down rapidly, as they came in. The +book has now been in part re-written and the letters and +testimonials placed in an appendix. + +For the satisfaction of the incredulous (and there will naturally +be many such, when so strange a tale is repeated to them), I will +here state that so far as it has been possible, I have received +corroboration of every incident related to me by my heroic friend. +I did this for the satisfaction of others, not for my own. No one +can hear Harriet talk, and not believe every word she says. As Mr. +Sanborn says of her, "she is too _real_ a person, not to be true." + +Many incidents quite as wonderful as those related in the story, I +have rejected, because I had no way in finding the persons who +could speak to their truth. + +This woman was the friend of William H. Seward, of Gerritt Smith, +of Wendell Phillips, of William Lloyd Garrison, and of many other +distinguished philanthropists before the War, as of very many +officers of the Union Army during the conflict. + +After her almost superhuman efforts in making her own escape from +slavery, and then returning to the South _nineteen times_, and +bringing away with her over three hundred fugitives, she was sent +by Governor Andrew of Massachusetts to the South at the beginning +of the War, to act as spy and scout for our armies, and to be +employed as hospital nurse when needed. + +Here for four years she labored without any remuneration, and +during the time she was acting as nurse, never drew but twenty +days' rations from our Government. She managed to support herself, +as well as to take care of the suffering soldiers. + +Secretary Seward exerted himself in every possible way to procure +her a pension from Congress, but red-tape proved too strong even +for him, and her case was rejected, because it did not come under +any recognized law. + +The first edition of this little story was published through the +liberality of Gerritt Smith, Wendell Phillips, and prominent men +in Auburn, and the object for which it was written was +accomplished. But that book has long been out of print, and the +facts stated there are all unknown to the present generation. +There have, I am told, often been calls for the book, which could +not be answered, and I have been urged by many friends as well as +by Harriet herself, to prepare another edition. For another +necessity has arisen and she needs help again not for herself, but +for certain helpless ones of her people. + +Her own sands are nearly run, but she hopes, 'ere she goes home, +to see this work, a hospital, well under way. Her last breath and +her last efforts will be spent in the cause of those for whom she +has already risked so much. + + For them her tears will fall, + For them her prayers ascend; + To them her toils and cares be given, + Till toils and cares shall end. + S.H.B. + +Letter from Mr. Oliver Johnson for the second edition: + + NEW YORK, _March 6_, 1886. + +MY DEAR MADAM: + +I am very glad to learn that you are about to publish a revised +edition of your life of that heroic woman, Harriet Tubman, by +whose assistance so many American slaves were enabled to break +their bonds. + +During the period of my official connection with the Anti-Slavery +office in New York, I saw her frequently, when she came there with +the companies of slaves, whom she had successfully piloted away +from the South; and often listened with wonder to the story of +her adventures and hair-breadth escapes. + +She always told her tale with a modesty which showed how +unconscious she was of having done anything more than her simple +duty. No one who listened to her could doubt her perfect +truthfulness and integrity. + +Her shrewdness in planning the escape of slaves, her skill in +avoiding arrest, her courage in every emergency, and her +willingness to endure hardship and face any danger for the sake of +her poor followers was phenomenal. + +I regret to hear that she is poor and ill, and hope the sale of +your book will give her the relief she so much needs and so well +deserves. + + Yours truly, + + OLIVER JOHNSON. + + + + AUBURN THEOL. SEMINARY, + _March_ 16, 1886. + +By PROFESSOR HOPKINS + +The remarkable person who is the subject of the following sketch, +has been residing mostly ever since the close of the war in the +outskirts of the City of Auburn, during all which time I have been +well acquainted with her. She has all the characteristics of the +pure African race strongly marked upon her, though from which one +of the various tribes that once fed the Barracoons, on the Guinea +coast, she derived her indomitable courage and her passionate love +of freedom I know not; perhaps from the Fellatas, in whom those +traits were predominant. + +Harriet lives upon a farm which the twelve hundred dollars given +her by Mrs. Bradford from the proceeds of the first edition of +this little book, enabled her to redeem from a mortgage held by +the late Secretary Seward. + +Her household is very likely to consist of several old black +people, "bad with the rheumatize," some forlorn wandering woman, +and a couple of small images of God cut in ebony. How she manages +to feed and clothe herself and them, the Lord best knows. She has +too much pride and too much faith to beg. She takes thankfully, +but without any great effusiveness of gratitude, whatever God's +messengers bring her. + +I have never heard that she absolutely lacked. There are some good +people in various parts of the country, into whose hearts God +sends the thought, from time to time, that Harriet may be at the +bottom of the flour sack, or of the potatoes, and the "help in +time of need" comes to her. + +Harriet's simplicity and ignorance have, in some cases, been +imposed upon, very signally in one instance in Auburn, a few years +ago; but nobody who knows her has the slightest doubt of her +perfect integrity. + +The following sketch taken by Mrs. Bradford, chiefly from +Harriet's own recollections, which are wonderfully distinct and +minute, but also from other corroborative sources, gives but a +very imperfect account of what this woman has been. + +Her color, and the servile condition in which she was born and +reared, have doomed her to obscurity, but a more heroic soul did +not breathe in the bosom of Judith or of Jeanne D'Arc. + +No fear of the lash, the blood-hound, or the fiery stake, could +divert her from her self-imposed task of leading as many as +possible of her people "from the land of Egypt, from the house of +bondage." + +The book is good literature for the black race, or the white race, +and though no similar conditions may arise, to test the +possibilities that are in any of them, yet the example of this +poor slave woman may well stand out before them, and before all +people, black or white, to show what a lofty and martyr spirit may +accomplish, struggling against overwhelming obstacles. + + + + +HARRIET, + +THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE. + + +On a hot summer's day, perhaps sixty years ago, a group of merry +little darkies were rolling and tumbling in the sand in front of +the large house of a Southern planter. Their shining skins gleamed +in the sun, as they rolled over each other in their play, and +their voices, as they chattered together, or shouted in glee, +reached even to the cabins of the negro quarter, where the old +people groaned in spirit, as they thought of the future of those +unconscious young revelers; and their cry went up, "O, Lord, how +long!" + +Apart from the rest of the children, on the top rail of a fence, +holding tight on to the tall gate post, sat a little girl of +perhaps thirteen years of age; darker than any of the others, and +with a more decided _woolliness_ in the hair; a pure unmitigated +African. She was not so entirely in a state of nature as the +rollers in the dust beneath her; but her only garment was a short +woolen skirt, which was tied around her waist, and reached about +to her knees. She seemed a dazed and stupid child, and as her head +hung upon her breast, she looked up with dull blood-shot eyes +towards her young brothers and sisters, without seeming to see +them. Bye and bye the eyes closed, and still clinging to the post, +she slept. The other children looked up and said to each other, +"Look at Hatt, she's done gone off agin!" Tired of their present +play ground they trooped off in another direction, but the girl +slept on heavily, never losing her hold on the post, or her seat +on her perch. Behold here, in the stupid little negro girl, the +future deliverer of hundreds of her people; the spy and scout of +the Union armies; the devoted hospital nurse; the protector of +hunted fugitives; the eloquent speaker in public meetings; the +cunning eluder of pursuing man-hunters; the heaven guided pioneer +through dangers seen and unseen; in short, as she has well been +called, "The Moses of her People." + +Here in her thirteenth year she is just recovering from the first +terrible effects of an injury inflicted by her master, who in an +ungovernable fit of rage threw a heavy weight at the unoffending +child, breaking in her skull, and causing a pressure upon her +brain, from which in her old age she is suffering still. This +pressure it was which caused the fits of somnolency so frequently +to come upon her, and which gave her the appearance of being +stupid and half-witted in those early years. But that brain which +seemed so dull was full of busy thoughts, and her life problem was +already trying to work itself out there. + +She had heard the shrieks and cries of women who were being +flogged in the negro quarter; she had listened to the groaned out +prayer, "Oh, Lord, have mercy!" She had already seen two older +sisters taken away as part of a chain gang, and they had gone no +one knew whither; she had seen the agonized expression on their +faces as they turned to take a last look at their "Old Cabin +Home;" and had watched them from the top of the fence, as they +went off weeping and lamenting, till they were hidden from her +sight forever. She saw the hopeless grief of the poor old mother, +and the silent despair of the aged father, and already she began +to revolve in her mind the question, "Why should such things be?" +"Is there no deliverance for my people?" + +The sun shone on, and Harriet still slept seated on the fence +rail. They, those others, had no anxious dreams of the future, and +even the occasional sufferings of the present time caused them but +a temporary grief. Plenty to eat, and warm sunshine to bask in, +were enough to constitute their happiness; Harriet, however, was +not one of these. God had a great work for her to do in the world, +and the discipline and hardship through which she passed in her +early years, were only preparing her for her after life of +adventure and trial; and through these to come out as the Savior +and Deliverer of her people, when she came to years of womanhood. + +As yet she had seen no "visions," and heard no "voices;" no +foreshadowing of her life of toil and privation, of flight before +human blood-hounds, of watchings, and hidings, of perils by land, +and perils by sea, yea, and of perils by false brethren, or of +miraculous deliverance had yet come to her. No hint of the great +mission of her life, to guide her people from the land of bondage +to the land of freedom. But, "Why should such things be?" and "Is +there no help?" These were the questions of her waking hours. + +The dilapidated state of things about the "Great House" told truly +the story of waning fortunes, and poverty was pressing upon the +master. One by one the able-bodied slaves disappeared; some were +sold, others hired to other masters. No questions were asked; no +information given; they simply disappeared. A "lady," for so she +was designated, came driving up to the great house one day, to see +if she could find there a young girl to take care of a baby. The +lady wished to pay low wages, and so the most stupid and the most +incapable of the children on the plantation was chosen to go with +her. Harriet, who could command less wages than any other child of +her age on the plantation, was therefore put into the wagon +without a word of explanation, and driven off to the lady's house. +It was not a very fine house, but Harriet had never before been in +any dwelling better than the cabins of the negro quarter. + +She was engaged as child's nurse, but she soon found that she was +expected to be maid of all work by day, as well as child's nurse +by night. The first task that was set her was that of sweeping and +dusting a parlor. No information was vouchsafed as to the manner +of going about this work, but she had often swept out the cabin, +and this part of her task was successfully accomplished. Then at +once she took the dusting cloth, and wiped off tables, chairs and +mantel-piece. The dust, as dust will do, when it has nowhere else +to go, at once settled again, and chairs and tables were soon +covered with a white coating, telling a terrible tale against +Harriet, when her Mistress came in to see how the work progressed. +Reproaches, and savage words, fell upon the ears of the frightened +child, and she was commanded to do the work all over again. It was +done in precisely the same way, as before, with the same result. +Then the whip was brought into requisition, and it was laid on +with no light hand. Five times before breakfast this process was +repeated, when a new actor appeared upon the scene. Miss Emily, a +sister of the Mistress, had been roused from her morning slumber +by the sound of the whip, and the screams of the child; and being +of a less imperious nature than her sister, she had come in to try +to set matters right. + +"Why do you whip the child, Susan, for not doing what she has +never been taught to do? Leave her to me a few minutes, and you +will see that she will soon learn how to sweep and dust a room." +Then Miss Emily instructed the child to open the windows, and +sweep, then to leave the room, and set the table, while the dust +settled; and after that to return and wipe it off. There was no +more trouble of that kind. A few words might have set the matter +right before; but in those days many a poor slave suffered for the +stupidity and obstinacy of a master or mistress, more stupid than +themselves. + +When the labors, unremitted for a moment, of the long day were +over (for this mistress was an economical woman, and intended to +get the worth of her money to the uttermost farthing), there was +still no rest for the weary child, for there was a cross baby to +be rocked continuously, lest it should wake and disturb the +mother's rest. The black child sat beside the cradle of the white +child, so near the bed, that the lash of the whip would reach her +if she ventured for a moment to forget her fatigues and sufferings +in sleep. The Mistress reposed upon her bed with the whip on a +little shelf over her head. People of color are, unfortunately, so +constituted that even if the pressure of a broken skull does not +cause a sleep like the sleep of the dead, the need of rest, and +the refreshment of slumber after a day of toil, were often felt by +them. No doubt, this was a great wrong to their masters, and a +cheating them of time which belonged to them, but their slaves did +not always look upon it in that light, and tired nature would +demand her rights; and so nature and the Mistress had a fight for +it. + +Rock, rock, went the cradle, and mother and child slept; but alas! +the little black hand would sometimes slip down, and the head +would droop, and a dream of home and mother would visit the weary +one, only to be roughly dispelled by the swift descent of the +stinging lash, for the baby had cried out and the mother had been +awakened. This is no fictitious tale. That poor neck is even now +covered with the scars which sixty years of life have not been +able to efface. It may be that she was thus being prepared by the +long habit of enforced wakefulness, for the night watches in the +woods, and in dens and caves of the earth, when the pursuers were +on her track, and the terrified ones were trembling in her shadow. +We do not thank _you_ for this, cruel woman! for if you did her a +service, you did it ignorantly, and only for your own gratification. +But Harriet's powers of endurance failed at last, and she was +returned to her master, a poor, scarred wreck, nothing but skin and +bone, with the words that "She wasn't worth a sixpence." + +The poor old mother nursed her back to life, and her naturally +good constitution asserted itself, so that as she grew older she +began to show signs of the wonderful strength which in after +years, when the fugitive slave law was in operation in New York +State, enabled her to seize a man from the officers who had him in +charge, and while numbers were pursuing her, and the shot was +flying like hail about her head, to bear him in her own strong +arms beyond the reach of danger. + +As soon as she was strong enough for work, Harriet was hired out +to a man whose tyranny was worse, if possible, than that of the +woman she had left. Now it was out of door drudgery which was put +upon her. The labor of the horse and the ox, the lifting of +barrels of flour and other heavy weights were given to her; and +powerful men often stood astonished to see this woman perform +feats of strength from which they shrunk incapable. This cruelty +she looks upon as a blessing in disguise (a very questionable +shape the blessing took, methinks), for by it she was prepared for +after needs. + +Still the pressure upon the brain continued, and with the weight +half lifted, she would drop off into a state of insensibility, +from which even the lash in the hand of a strong man could not +rouse her. But if they had only known it, the touch of a gentle +hand upon her shoulder, and her name spoken in tones of kindness, +would have accomplished what cruelty failed to do. + +The day's work must be accomplished, whether the head was racked +with pain, and the frame was consumed by fever, or not; but the +day came at length when poor Harriet could work no more. The sting +of the lash had no power to rouse her now, and the new master +finding her a dead weight on his hands, returned the useless piece +of property to him who was called her "owner." And while she lay +there helpless, this man was bringing other men to look at her, +and offering her for sale at the lowest possible price; at the +same time setting forth her capabilities, if once she were strong +and well again. + +Harriet's religious character I have not yet touched upon. Brought +up by parents possessed of strong faith in God, she had never +known the time, I imagine, when she did not trust Him, and cling +to Him, with an all-abiding confidence. She seemed ever to feel +the Divine Presence near, and she talked with God "as a man +talketh with his friend." Hers was not the religion of a morning +and evening prayer at stated times, but when she felt a need, she +simply told God of it, and trusted Him to set the matter right. + +"And so," she said to me, "as I lay so sick on my bed, from +Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. +'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, +Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, +and make him a Christian.' And all the time he was bringing men to +look at me, and dey stood there saying what dey would give, and +what dey would take, and all I could say was, 'Oh, Lord, convert +ole master.' Den I heard dat as soon as I was able to move I was +to be sent with my brudders, in the chain-gang to de far South. +Then I changed my prayer, and I said, 'Lord, if you ain't never +going to change dat man's heart, _kill him_, Lord, and take him +out of de way, so he won't do no more mischief.' Next ting I heard +ole master was dead; and he died just as he had lived, a wicked, +bad man. Oh, den it 'peared like I would give de world full of +silver and gold, if I had it, to bring dat pore soul back, I would +give _myself_; I would give eberyting! But he was gone, I couldn't +pray for him no more." + +As she recovered from this long illness, a deeper religious spirit +seemed to take possession of her than she had ever experienced +before. She literally "prayed without ceasing." "'Pears like, I +prayed all de time," she said, "about my work, eberywhere; I was +always talking to de Lord. When I went to the horse-trough to wash +my face, and took up de water in my hands, I said, 'Oh, Lord, wash +me, make me clean.' When I took up de towel to wipe my face and +hands, I cried, 'Oh, Lord, for Jesus' sake, wipe away all my +sins!' When I took up de broom and began to sweep, I groaned, 'Oh, +Lord, whatsoebber sin dere be in my heart, sweep it out, Lord, +clar and clean;' but I can't pray no more for pore ole master." No +words can describe the pathos of her tones as she broke into these +words of earnest supplication. + +What was to become of the slaves on this plantation now that the +master was dead? Were they all to be scattered and sent to +different parts of the country? Harriet had many brothers and +sisters, all of whom with the exception of the two, who had gone +South with the chain-gang, were living on this plantation, or were +hired out to planters not far away. The word passed through the +cabins that another owner was coming in, and that none of the +slaves were to be sold out of the State. This assurance satisfied +the others, but it did not satisfy Harriet. Already the inward +monitor was whispering to her, "Arise, flee for your life!" and in +the visions of the night she saw the horsemen coming, and heard +the shrieks of women and children, as they were being torn from +each other, and hurried off no one knew whither. + +And beckoning hands were ever motioning her to come, and she +seemed to see a line dividing the land of slavery from the land of +freedom, and on the other side of that line she saw lovely white +ladies waiting to welcome her, and to care for her. Already in her +mind her people were the Israelites in the land of Egypt, while +far away to the north _somewhere_, was the land of Canaan; but had +she as yet any prevision that _she_ was to be the Moses who was to +be their leader, through clouds of darkness and fear, and fires of +tribulation to that promised land? This she never said. + +One day there were scared faces seen in the negro quarter, and +hurried whispers passed from one to another. No one knew how it +had come out, but some one had heard that Harriet and two of her +brothers were very soon, perhaps to-day, perhaps to-morrow, to be +sent far South with a gang, bought up for plantation work. Harriet +was about twenty or twenty-five years old at this time, and the +constantly recurring idea of escape at _sometime_, took sudden +form that day, and with her usual promptitude of action she was +ready to start at once. + +She held a hurried consultation with her brothers, in which she so +wrought upon their fears, that they expressed themselves as +willing to start with her that very night, for that far North, +where, could they reach it in safety, freedom awaited them. But +she must first give some intimation of her purpose to the friends +she was to leave behind, so that even if not understood at the +time, it might be remembered afterward as her intended farewell. +Slaves must not be seen talking together, and so it came about +that their communication was often made by singing, and the words +of their familiar hymns, telling of the heavenly journey, and the +land of Canaan, while they did not attract the attention of the +masters, conveyed to their brethren and sisters in bondage +something more than met the ear. And so she sang, accompanying the +words, when for a moment unwatched, with a meaning look to one and +another: + + "When dat ar ole chariot comes, + I'm gwine to lebe you, + I'm boun' for de promised land, + Frien's, I'm gwine to lebe you." + +Again, as she passed the doors of the different cabins, she lifted +up her well-known voice; and many a dusky face appeared at door or +window, with a wondering or scared expression; and thus she +continued: + + "I'm sorry, frien's, to lebe you, + Farewell! oh, farewell! + But I'll meet you in de mornin', + Farewell! oh, farewell! + + "I'll meet you in de mornin', + When you reach de promised land; + On de oder side of Jordan, + For I'm boun' for de promised land." + +The brothers started with her, but the way was strange, the north +was far away, and all unknown, the masters would pursue and +recapture them, and their fate would be worse than ever before; +and so they broke away from her, and bidding her goodbye, they +hastened back to the known horrors of slavery, and the dread of +that which was worse. + +Harriet was now left alone, but after watching the retreating +forms of her brothers, she turned her face toward the north, and +fixing her eyes on the guiding star, and committing her way unto +the Lord, she started again upon her long, lonely journey. Her +farewell song was long remembered in the cabins, and the old +mother sat and wept for her lost child. No intimation had been +given her of Harriet's intention, for the old woman was of a most +impulsive disposition, and her cries and lamentations would have +made known to all within hearing Harriet's intended escape. And +so, with only the North Star for her guide, our heroine started on +the way to liberty, "For," said she, "I had reasoned dis out in my +mind; there was one of two things I had a _right_ to, liberty, or +death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man +should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my +strength lasted, and when de time came for me to go, de Lord would +let dem take me." + +And so without money, and without friends, she started on through +unknown regions; walking by night, hiding by day, but always +conscious of an invisible pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by +night, under the guidance of which she journeyed or rested. +Without knowing whom to trust, or how near the pursuers might be, +she carefully felt her way, and by her native cunning, or by God +given wisdom, she managed to apply to the right people for food, +and sometimes for shelter; though often her bed was only the cold +ground, and her watchers the stars of night. + +After many long and weary days of travel, she found that she had +passed the magic line, which then divided the land of bondage from +the land of freedom. But where were the lovely white ladies whom +in her visions she had seen, who, with arms outstretched, welcomed +her to their hearts and homes. All these visions proved deceitful: +she was more alone than ever; but she had crossed the line; no one +could take her now, and she would never call any man "Master" +more. + +"I looked at my hands," she said, "to see if I was de same person +now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came +like gold trou de trees, and ober de fields, and I felt like I was +in heaven." But then came the bitter drop in the cup of joy. She +was alone, and her kindred were in slavery, and not one of them +had the courage to dare what she had dared. Unless she made the +effort to liberate them she would never see them more, or even +know their fate. + +"I knew of a man," she said, "who was sent to the State Prison for +twenty-five years. All these years he was always thinking of his +home, and counting by years, months, and days, the time till he +should be free, and see his family and friends once more. The +years roll on, the time of imprisonment is over, the man is free. +He leaves the prison gates, he makes his way to his old home, but +his old home is not there. The house in which he had dwelt in his +childhood had been torn down, and a new one had been put up in its +place; his family were gone, their very name was forgotten, there +was no one to take him by the hand to welcome him back to life." + +"So it was wid me," said Harriet, "I had crossed de line of which +I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to +welcome me to de land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange +land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid +de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn +resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I +would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I +would bring dem all dere. Oh, how I prayed den, lying all alone on +de cold, damp ground; 'Oh, dear Lord,' I said, 'I haint got no +friend but _you_. Come to my help, Lord, for I'm in trouble!'" + +It would be impossible here to give a detailed account of the +journeys and labors of this intrepid woman for the redemption of +her kindred and friends, during the years that followed. Those +years were spent in work, almost by night and day, with the one +object of the rescue of her people from slavery. All her wages +were laid away with this sole purpose, and as soon as a sufficient +amount was secured, she disappeared from her Northern home, and as +suddenly and mysteriously she appeared some dark night at the door +of one of the cabins on a plantation, where a trembling band of +fugitives, forewarned as to time and place, were anxiously +awaiting their deliverer. Then she piloted them North, traveling +by night, hiding by day, scaling the mountains, fording the +rivers, threading the forests, lying concealed as the pursuers +passed them. She, carrying the babies, drugged with paregoric, in +a basket on her arm. So she went _nineteen_ times, and so she +brought away over three hundred pieces of living and breathing +"property," with God given souls. + +The way was so toilsome over the rugged mountain passes, that +often the _men_ who followed her would give out, and foot-sore, +and bleeding, they would drop on the ground, groaning that they +could not take another step. They would lie there and die, or if +strength came back, they would return on their steps, and seek +their old homes again. Then the revolver carried by this bold and +daring pioneer, would come out, while pointing it at their heads +she would say, "Dead niggers tell no tales; you go on or die!" And +by this heroic treatment she compelled them to drag their weary +limbs along on their northward journey. + +But the pursuers were after them. A reward of $40,000 was offered +by the slave-holders of the region from whence so many slaves had +been spirited away, for the head of the woman who appeared so +mysteriously, and enticed away their property, from under the very +eyes of its owners. Our sagacious heroine has been in the car, +having sent her frightened party round by some so-called +"Under-ground Railway," and has heard this advertisement, which was +posted over her head, read by others of the passengers. She never +could read or write herself, but knowing that suspicion would be +likely to fall upon any black woman traveling North, she would +turn at the next station, and journey towards the South. Who would +suspect a fugitive with such a price set upon her head, of rushing +at railway speed into the jaws of destruction? With a daring +almost heedless, she went even to the very village where she would +be most likely to meet one of the masters to whom she had been +hired; and having stopped at the Market and bought a pair of live +fowls, she went along the street with her sun-bonnet well over her +face, and with the bent and decrepit air of an aged, woman. +Suddenly on turning a corner, she spied her old master coming +towards her. She pulled the string which tied the legs of the +chickens; they began to flutter and scream, and as her master +passed, she was stooping and busily engaged in attending to the +fluttering fowls. And he went on his way, little thinking that he +was brushing the very garments of the woman who had dared to steal +herself, and others of his belongings. + +At one time the pursuit was very close and vigorous. The woods +were scoured in all directions, every house was visited, and every +person stopped and questioned as to a band of black fugitives, +known to be fleeing through that part of the country. Harriet had +a large party with her then; the children were sleeping the sound +sleep that opium gives; but all the others were on the alert, each +one hidden behind his own tree, and silent as death. They had been +long without food, and were nearly famished; and as the pursuers +seemed to have passed on, Harriet decided to make the attempt to +reach a certain "station of the underground railroad" well known +to her; and procure food for her starving party. Under cover of +the darkness, she started, leaving a cowering and trembling group +in the woods, to whom a fluttering leaf, or a moving animal, were +a sound of dread, bringing their hearts into their throats. How +long she is away! has she been caught and carried off, and if so +what is to become of them? Hark! there is a sound of singing in +the distance, coming nearer and nearer. + +And these are the words of the unseen singer, which I wish I could +give you as I have so often heard them sung by herself: + + Hail, oh hail, ye happy spirits, + Death no more shall make you fear, + Grief nor sorrow, pain nor anguish, + Shall no more distress you dere. + + Around Him are ten thousand angels + Always ready to obey command; + Dey are always hovering round you, + Till you reach de heavenly land. + + Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to his throne; + He who died, has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone. + + He whose thunders shake creation, + He who bids de planets roll; + He who rides upon the tempest, + And whose scepter sways de whole. + + Dark and thorny is de pathway, + Where de pilgrim makes his ways; + But beyond dis vale of sorrow, + Lie de fields of endless days. + +The air sung to these words was so wild, so full of plaintive +minor strains, and unexpected quavers, that I would defy any white +person to learn it, and often as I heard it, it was to me a +constant surprise. Up and down the road she passes to see if the +coast is clear, and then to make them certain that it is _their_ +leader who is coming, she breaks out into the plaintive strains of +the song, forbidden to her people at the South, but which she and +her followers delight to sing together: + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + Oh Pharaoh said he would go cross, + Let my people go, + And don't get lost in de wilderness, + Let my people go. + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + You may hinder me here, but you can't up dere, + Let my people go, + He sits in de Hebben and answers prayer, + Let my people go! + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + +And then she enters the recesses of the wood, carrying hope and +comfort to the anxious watchers there. One by one they steal out +from their hiding places, and are fed and strengthened for another +night's journey. + +And so by night travel, by signals, by threatenings, by +encouragement, through watchings and fastings, and I may say by +direct interpositions of Providence, and miraculous deliverances, +she brought her people to what was then their land of Canaan; the +State of New York. But alas! this State did not continue to be +their refuge. For in 1850, I think, the Fugitive Slave Law was put +in force, which bound the people north of Mason and Dixon's line, +to return to bondage any fugitive found in their territories. + +"After that," said Harriet, "I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam wid my +people no longer, but I brought 'em all clar off to Canada." + +On her seventh or eighth journey, she brought with her a band of +fugitives, among whom was a very remarkable man, whom I knew only +by the name of "Joe." Joe was a noble specimen of a negro, +enormously tall, and of splendid muscular development. He had been +hired out by his master to another planter, for whom he had worked +for six years, saving him all the expense of an overseer, and +taking all trouble off from his hands. He was such a very valuable +piece of property, and had become so absolutely necessary to the +planter to whom he was hired, that he determined to buy him at any +cost. His old master held him proportionately high. But by paying +one thousand dollars down, and promising to pay another thousand +in a certain time, the purchase was made, and this chattel passed +over into the hands of a new owner. + +The morning after the purchase was completed, the new master came +riding down on a tall, powerful horse into the negro quarter, with +a strong new rawhide in his hand, and stopping before Joe's cabin, +called to him to come out. Joe was just eating his breakfast, but +with ready obedience, he hastened out at the summons. Slave as he +was, and accustomed to scenes of brutality, he was surprised when +the order came, "Now, Joe, strip, and take a licking." Naturally +enough, he demurred at first, and thought of resisting the order; +but he called to mind a scene he had witnessed a few days before +in the field, the particulars of which are too horrible to be +given here, and he thought it the wisest course to submit; but +first he tried a gentle remonstrance. + +"Mas'r," said he, "habn't I always been faithful to you? Habn't I +worked through sun an' rain, early in de mornin' an' late at +night; habn't I saved you an oberseer by doin' his work? hab you +anything to complain agin me?" + +"No, Joe, I have no complaint to make of you. You're a good +nigger, an' you've always worked well. But you belong to _me_ now; +you're _my_ nigger, and the first lesson my niggers have to learn +is that I am master and they belong to me, and are never to resist +anything I order them to do. So I always begin by giving them a +good licking. Now strip and take it." + +Joe saw that there was no help for him, and that for the time he +must submit. He stripped off his clothing, and took his flogging +without a word, but as he drew his shirt up over his torn and +bleeding back, he said to himself: "Dis is de first an' de last." +As soon as he was able he took a boat, and under cover of the +night, rowed down the river, and made his way to the cabin of "Old +Ben," Harriet's father, and said to him: "Nex' time _Moses_ comes, +let me know." + +It was not long after this time, that the mysterious woman +appeared--the woman on whom no one could lay his finger--and men, +women, and children began to disappear from the plantations. One +fine morning Joe was missing, and call as loud as he might, the +master's voice had no power to bring him forth. Joe had certainly +fled; and his brother William was gone, and Peter and Eliza. From +other plantations other slaves were missing, and before their +masters were awake to the fact, the party of fugitives, following +their intrepid leader, were far on their way towards liberty. + +The adventures of this escaping party would of themselves fill a +volume. They hid in potato holes by day, while their pursuers +passed within a few feet of them; they were passed along by +friends in various disguises; they scattered and separated; some +traveling by boat, some by wagons, some by cars, others on foot, +to meet at some specified station of the under-ground railroad. +They met at the house of Sam Green,[A] the man who was afterwards +sent to prison for ten years for having a copy of "Uncle Tom's +Cabin" in his house. And so, hunted and hiding and wandering, they +found themselves at last at the entrance of the long bridge which +crosses the river at Wilmington, Delaware. + +[Footnote A: In mentioning to me the circumstances of Sam Green's +imprisonment, Harriet, who had no acquaintance with books, merely +mentioned the fact as it had come to her own knowledge. But I have +lately come across a book in the Astor Library which confirms the +story precisely as she stated it. It is in a book by Rev. John +Dixon Long, of Philadelphia. He says, "Samuel Green, a free +colored man of Dorchester County, Maryland, was sentenced to ten +years' confinement in the Maryland State Prison, at the spring +term of the County Court held in Cambridge, Md. + +"What was the crime imputed to this man, born on American soil, a +man of good moral character, a local preacher in the Methodist +Episcopal Church; a husband and a father? Simply this: A copy of +'Uncle Tom's Cabin' _had been found in his possession_. It was not +proved that he had ever read it to the colored people."] + +No time had been lost in posting up advertisements and offering +rewards for the capture of these fugitives; for Joe in particular +the reward offered was very high. First a thousand dollars, then +fifteen hundred, and then two thousand, "an' all expenses clar an' +clean for his body in Easton Jail." This high reward stimulated +the efforts of the officers who were usually on the lookout for +escaping fugitives, and the added rewards for others of the party, +and the high price set on Harriet's head, filled the woods and +highways with eager hunters after human prey. When Harriet and her +companions approached the long Wilmington Bridge, a warning was +given them by some secret friend, that the advertisements were up, +and the bridge was guarded by police officers. Quick as lightning +the plans were formed in her ready brain, and the terrified party +were separated and hidden in the houses of different friends, till +her arrangements for their further journey were completed. + +There was at that time residing in Wilmington an old Quaker, whom +I may call _my_ "friend," for though I never saw his face, I have +had correspondence with him in reference to Harriet and her +followers. This man, whose name was Thomas Garrett, and who was +well known in those days to the friends of the slave, was a man of +a wonderfully large and generous heart, through whose hands during +those days of distress and horror, no less than three thousand +self-emancipated men, women and children passed on their way to +freedom. He gave heart, hand, and means to aid these poor +fugitives, and to our brave Harriet he often rendered most +efficient help in her journeys back and forth. + +He was the proprietor of a very large shoe establishment; and not +one of these poor travelers aver left his house without a present +of a new pair of shoes and other needed help. No sooner had this +good man received intelligence of the condition of these poor +creatures, than he devised a plan to elude the vigilance of the +officers in pursuit, and bring Harriet and her party across the +bridge. Two wagons filled with bricklayers were engaged, and sent +over; this was a common sight there, and caused no remark. They +went across the bridge singing and shouting, and it was not an +unexpected thing that they should return as they went. After +nightfall (and, fortunately, the night was very dark) the same +wagons recrossed the bridge, but with an unlooked-for addition to +their party. The fugitives were lying close together on the bottom +of the wagons; the bricklayers were on the seats, still singing +and shouting; and so they passed the guards, who were all +unsuspicious of the nature of the load contained in the wagons, or +of the amount of property thus escaping their hands. + +The good man, Thomas Garrett, who was in a very feeble state of +health when he last wrote me, and has now gone to his reward, +supplied them with all needed comforts, and sent them on their way +refreshed, and with renewed courage. And Harriet here set up her +Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far hath the Lord helped me!" But many a +danger, and many a fright, and many a deliverance awaited them, +before they reached the city of New York. And even there they were +not safe, for the Fugitive Slave Law was in operation, and their +only refuge was Canada, which was now their promised land. + +They finally reached New York in safety: and this goes almost +without saying, for I may as well mention here that of the three +hundred and more fugitives whom Harriet piloted from slavery, not +one was ever recaptured, though all the cunning and skill of white +men, backed by offered rewards of large sums of money, were +brought into requisition for their recovery. + +As they entered the anti-slavery office in New York, Mr. Oliver +Johnson rose up and exclaimed, "Well, Joe, I am glad to see the +man who is worth $2,000 to his master." At this Joe's heart sank. +"Oh, Mas'r, how did you know me!" he panted. "Here is the +advertisement in our office," said Mr. Johnson, "and the +description is so close that no one could mistake it." And had he +come through all these perils, had he traveled by day and night, +and suffered cold and hunger, and lived in constant fear and +dread, to find that far off here in New York State, he was +recognized at once by the advertisement? How, then, was he ever to +reach Canada? + +"And how far off is Canada?" he asked. He was shown the map of New +York State, and the track of the railroad, for more than three +hundred miles to Niagara, where he would cross the river, and be +free. But the way seemed long and full of dangers. They were +surely safer on their own tired feet, where they might hide in +forests and ditches, and take refuge in the friendly underground +stations; but here, where this large party would be together in +the cars, surely suspicion would fall upon them, and they would be +seized and carried back. But Harriet encouraged him in her cheery +way. He must not give up now. "De Lord had been with them in six +troubles, and he would not desert them in de seventh." And there +was nothing to do but to go on. As Moses spoke to the children of +Israel, when compassed before and behind by dangers, so she spake +to her people, that they should "go forward." + +Up to this time, as they traveled they had talked and sung hymns +together, like Pilgrim and his friends, and Joe's voice was the +loudest and sweetest among them; but now he hanged his harp upon +the willows, and could sing the Lord's songs no more. + +"From dat time," in Harriet's language, "Joe was silent; he talked +no more; he sang no more; he sat wid his head on his hand, an' +nobody could 'rouse him, nor make him take any intrust in +anything." + +They passed along in safety through New York State, and at length +found themselves approaching the Suspension Bridge. They could see +the promised land on the other side. The uninviting plains of +Canada seemed to them, + + "Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, + All dressed in living green;" + +but they were not safe yet. Until they reached the center of the +bridge, they were still in the power of their pursuers, who might +at any pause enter the car, and armed with the power of the law, +drag them back to slavery. The rest of the party were happy and +excited; they were simple, ignorant creatures, and having implicit +trust in their leader, they felt safe when with her, and no +immediate danger threatened them. But Joe was of a different +mould. He sat silent and sad, always thinking of the horrors that +awaited him if recaptured. As it happened, all the other +passengers were people who sympathized with them, understanding +them to be a band of fugitives, and they listened with tears, as +Harriet and all except poor Joe lifted up their voices and sang: + + I'm on the way to Canada, + That cold and dreary land, + De sad effects of slavery, + I can't no longer stand; + I've served my Master all my days, + Widout a dime reward, + And now I'm forced to run away, + To flee de lash, abroad; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + De hounds are baying on my track, + Ole Master comes behind, + Resolved that he will bring me back, + Before I cross the line; + I'm now embarked for yonder shore, + Where a man's _a man_ by law, + De iron horse will bear me o'er, + To "shake de lion's paw;" +Oh, righteous Father, wilt thou not pity me. +And help me on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + Oh I heard Queen Victoria say, + That if we would forsake, + Our native land of slavery, + And come across de lake; + Dat she was standing on de shore, + Wid arms extended wide, + To give us all a peaceful home, + Beyond de rolling tide; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + +No doubt the simple creatures with her expected to cross a wide +lake instead of a rapid river, and to see Queen Victoria with her +crown upon her head, waiting with arms extended wide, to fold them +all in her embrace. There was now but "one wide river to cross," +and the cars rolled on to the bridge. In the distance was heard +the roar of the mighty cataract, and now as they neared the center +of the bridge, the falls might be clearly seen. Harriet was +anxious to have her companions see this wonderful sight, and +succeeded in bringing all to the windows, except Joe. But Joe +still sat with his head on his hands, and not even the wonders of +Niagara could draw him from his melancholy musings. At length as +Harriet knew by the rise of the center of the bridge, and the +descent immediately after, the line of danger was passed; she +sprang across to Joe's side of the car, and shook him almost out +of his seat, as she shouted, "Joe! you've shook de lion's paw!" +This was her phrase for having entered on the dominions of +England. But Joe did not understand this figurative expression. +Then she shook him again, and put it more plainly, "Joe, you're in +Queen Victoria's dominions! You're a free man!" + +Then Joe arose. His head went up, he raised his hands on high, and +his eyes, streaming with tears, to heaven, and then he began to +sing and shout: + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe; + Oh, go and carry the news, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe, come and look at the falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +"Joe! it's your last chance. Come and see de falls!" + + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." + +And this was all the answer. The train stopped on the other side; +and the first feet to touch British soil, after those of the +conductor, were those of poor Joe. + +Loud roared the waters of Niagara, but louder still ascended the +Anthem of praise from the overflowing heart of the freeman. And +can we doubt that the strain was taken up by angel voices and +echoed and re-echoed through the vaults of heaven: + + Glory to God in the highest, + Glory to God and Jesus too, + For all these souls now safe. + +"The white ladies and gentlemen gathered round him," said Harriet, +"till I couldn't see Joe for the crowd, only I heard his voice +singing, 'Glory to God and Jesus too,' louder than ever." A sweet +young lady reached over her fine cambric handkerchief to him, and +as Joe wiped the great tears off his face, he said, "Tank de Lord! +dere's only one more journey for me now, and dat's to Hebben!" As +we bid farewell to Joe here, I may as well say that Harriet saw +him several times after that, a happy and industrious freeman in +Canada.[B] + +[Footnote B: In my recent interview with Mr. Oliver Johnson he +told me of an interesting incident in the life of the good man, +Thomas Garrett. + +He was tried twice for assisting in the escape of fugitive slaves, +and was fined so heavily that everything he possessed was taken +from him and sold to pay the fine. At the age of sixty he was left +without a penny, but he went bravely to work, and in some measure +regained his fortune; all the time aiding, in every way possible, +all stray fugitives who applied to him for help. + +Again he was arrested, tried, and heavily fined, and as the Judge +of the United States Court pronounced the sentence, he said, in a +solemn manner: "Garrett, let this be a lesson to you, not to +interfere hereafter with the cause of justice, by helping off +runaway negroes. + +The old man, who had stood to receive his sentence, here raised +his head, and fixing his eyes on "the Court," he said: + +"Judge--thee hasn't left me a dollar, but I wish to say to thee, +and to all in this court room, that if anyone knows of a fugitive +who wants a shelter, and a friend, _send him to Thomas Garrett_, +and he will befriend him!" + +[Not Luther before the Council at Worms was grander than this brave +old man in his unswerving adherence to principle. In those days +that tried men's souls there were many men like this old Quaker, +and many women too, who would have gone cheerfully to the fire and +the stake, for the cause of suffering humanity; men and women +_these_ "of whom the world was not worthy."] + +On one of her journeys to the North, as she was piloting a company +of refugees, Harriet came, just as morning broke, to a town, where +a colored man had lived whose house had been one of her stations +of the under-ground, or unseen railroad. They reached the house, +and leaving her party huddled together in the middle of the +street, in a pouring rain, Harriet went to the door, and gave the +peculiar rap which was her customary signal to her friends. There +was not the usual ready response, and she was obliged to repeat +the signal several times. At length a window was raised, and the +head of a _white man_ appeared, with the gruff question, "Who are +you?" and "What do you want?" Harriet asked after her friend, and +was told that he had been obliged to leave for "harboring +niggers." + +Here was an unforeseen trouble; day was breaking, and daylight was +the enemy of the hunted and flying fugitives. Their faithful +leader stood one moment in the street, and in that moment she had +flashed a message quicker than that of the telegraph to her unseen +Protector, and the answer came as quickly; in a suggestion to her +of an almost forgotten place of refuge. Outside of the town there +was a little island in a swamp, where the grass grew tall and +rank, and where no human being could be suspected of seeking a +hiding place. To this spot she conducted her party; she waded the +swamp, carrying in a basket two well-drugged babies (these were a +pair of little twins, whom I have since seen well grown young +women), and the rest of the company following. She ordered them to +lie down in the tall, wet grass, and here she prayed again, and +waited for deliverance. The poor creatures were all cold, and wet, +and hungry, and Harriet did not dare to leave them to get +supplies; for no doubt the man at whose house she had knocked, had +given the alarm in the town; and officers might be on the watch +for them. They were truly in a wretched condition, but Harriet's +faith never wavered, her silent prayer still ascended, and she +confidently expected help from some quarter or other. + +It was after dusk when a man came slowly walking along the solid +pathway on the edge of the swamp. He was clad in the garb of a +Quaker; and proved to be a "friend" in need and indeed; he seemed +to be talking to himself, but ears quickened by sharp practice +caught the words he was saying: + +"My wagon stands in the barn-yard of the next farm across the way. +The horse is in the stable; the harness hangs on a nail." And the +man was gone. Night fell, and Harriet stole forth to the place +designated. Not only a wagon, but a wagon well provisioned stood +in the yard; and before many minutes the party were rescued from +their wretched position, and were on their way rejoicing, to the +next town. Here dwelt a Quaker whom Harriet knew, and he readily +took charge of the horse and wagon, and no doubt returned them to +their owner. How the good man who thus came to their rescue had +received any intimation of their being in the neighborhood Harriet +never knew. But these sudden deliverances never seemed to strike +her as at all strange or mysterious; her prayer was the prayer of +faith, and she _expected_ an answer. + +At one time, as she was on her way South for a party of slaves, +she was stopped not far from the southern shore of the Chesapeake +Bay, by a young woman, who had been for some days in hiding, and +was anxiously watching for "Moses," who was soon expected to pass +that way. + +This girl was a young and pretty Mulatto, named Tilly, she had +been lady's maid and dressmaker, for her Mistress. She was engaged +to a young man from another plantation, but he had joined one of +Harriet's parties, and gone North. Tilly was to have gone also at +that time, but had found it impossible to get away. Now she had +learned that it was her Master's intention to give her to a Negro +of his own for his wife; and in fear and desperation, she made a +strike for freedom. Friends had concealed her, and all had been on +the watch for Moses. + +The distress and excitement of the poor creature was so great, and +she begged and implored in such agonized tones that Harriet would +just see her safe to Baltimore, where she knew of friends who +would harbor her, and help her on her way, that Harriet determined +to turn about, and endeavor to take the poor girl thus far on her +Northward journey. + +They reached the shore of Chesapeake Bay too late to leave that +night, and were obliged to hide for a night and day in the loft of +an old out-house, where every sound caused poor Tilly to tremble +as if she had an ague fit. When the time for the boat to leave +arrived, a sad disappointment awaited them. The boat on which they +had expected to leave was disabled, and another boat was to take +its place. At that time, according to the law of Slavery, no Negro +could leave his Master's land, or travel anywhere, without a pass, +properly signed by his owner. Of course this poor fugitive had no +pass; and Harriet's passes were her own wits; but among her many +friends, there was one who seemed to have influence with the clerk +of the boat, on which she expected to take passage; and she was +the bearer of a note requesting, or commanding him to take these +two women to the end of his route, asking no questions. + +Now here was an unforeseen difficulty; the boat was not going; the +clerk was not there; all on the other boat were strangers. But +forward they must go, trusting in Providence. As they walked down +to the boat, a gang of lazy white men standing together, began to +make comments on their appearance. + +"Too many likely looking Niggers traveling North, about these +days." "Wonder if these wenches have got a pass." "Where you +going, you two?" Tilly trembled and cowered, and clung to her +protector, but Harriet put on a bold front, and holding the note +given her by her friend in her hand, and supporting her terrified +charge, she walked by the men, taking no notice of their insults. + +They joined the stream of people going up to get their tickets, +but when Harriet asked for hers, the clerk eyed her suspiciously, +and said: "You just stand aside, you two; I'll attend to your case +bye and bye." + +Harriet led the young girl to the bow of the boat, where they were +alone, and here, having no other help, she, as was her custom, +addressed herself to the Lord. Kneeling on the seat, and +supporting her head on her hands, and fixing her eyes on the +waters of the bay, she groaned: + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh!" + +"Moses! Moses!" cried Tilly, pulling her by the sleeve. "Do go and +see if you can't get tickets now." + +"Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, _don't_ desert me +in the seventh." + +And so Harriet's story goes on in her peculiarly graphic manner, +till at length in terror Tilly exclaimed: + +"Oh, Moses! the man is coming. What shall we do?" + +"Oh, Lord, you've been wid me in six troubles!" + +Here the clerk touched her on the shoulder, and Tilly thought +their time had come, but all he said was: + +"You can come now and get your tickets," and their troubles were +over. + +What changed this man from his former suspicious and antagonistic +aspect, Harriet never knew. Of course she said it was "de Lord," +but as to the agency he used, she never troubled herself to +inquire. She _expected_ deliverance when she prayed, unless the +Lord had ordered otherwise, and in that case she was perfectly +willing to accept the Divine decree. + +When surprise was expressed at her courage and daring, or at her +unexpected deliverances, she would always reply: "Don't, I tell +you, Missus, 'twan't _me_, 'twas _de Lord_! Jes' so long as he +wanted to use me, he would take keer of me, an' when he didn't +want me no longer, I was ready to go; I always tole him, I'm gwine +to hole stiddy on to you, an' you've got to see me trou." + +There came a time when Harriet, who had already brought away as +many of her family as she could reach, besides all others who +would trust themselves to her care, became much troubled in +"spirit" about three of her brothers, having had an intimation of +some kind that danger was impending over them. With her usual +wonderful cunning, she employed a friend to write a letter for her +to a man named Jacob Jackson, who lived near the plantation where +these brothers were at that time the hired slaves. + +Jacob Jackson was a free negro, who could both read and write, and +who was under suspicion just then of having a hand in the +disappearance of colored "property." It was necessary, therefore, +to exercise great caution in writing to him, on his own account as +well as that of the writer, and those whom she wished to aid. +Jacob had an adopted son, William Henry Jackson, also free, who +had come North. Harriet determined to sign her letter with William +Henry's name, feeling sure that Jacob would be clever enough to +understand by her peculiar phraseology, the meaning she intended +to convey. + +Therefore, after speaking of indifferent matters, the letter went +on: "Read my letter to the old folks, and give my love to them, +and tell my brothers to be always _watching unto prayer_, and when +_the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on +board_." This letter was signed "William Henry Jackson." + +Jacob was not allowed to have his letters in those days, until the +self-elected inspectors of correspondence had had the perusal of +them, and consulted over their secret meaning. These wise-acres +therefore assembled, wiped their glasses carefully, put them on, +and proceeded to examine this suspicious document. What it meant +they could not imagine. William Henry Jackson had no parents, or +brothers, and the letter was incomprehensible. Study as they +might, no light dawned upon them, but their suspicions became +stronger, and they were sure the letter meant mischief. + +White genius having exhausted itself, black genius was brought +into requisition. Jacob was sent for, and the letter was placed in +his hands. He read between the lines, and comprehended the hidden +meaning at once. "Moses" had dictated this letter, and Moses was +coming. The brothers must be on the watch, and ready to join her +at a moment's warning. But Moses must hurry, for the word had gone +forth that the brothers were to be sent South, and the chain-gang +was being collected. + +Jacob read the letter slowly, threw it down, and said: "Dat letter +can't be meant for me no how; I can't make head or tail of it." +And he walked off and took immediate measures to let Harriet's +brothers know that she was on the way, and they must be ready at +the given signal to start for the North. + +It was the day before Christmas when Harriet arrived, and the +brothers were to have started on the day after Christmas for the +South. They started on Christmas-day, but with their faces turned +in another direction, and instead of the chain-gang and the whip, +they had the North Star for their guide, and the Moses of her +people for their leader. + +As usual, this mysterious woman appeared suddenly, and word was +conveyed to the brothers that they were to be at Old Ben's cabin +on Saturday night, ready to start. "Old Ben" was their father, and +as the parents were not of much use now, Harriet was pretty +certain that they would not be sent away, and so she left them +till she had rescued the younger and more valuable members of the +family. + +Quite a number had assembled at the cabin when the hour came for +starting, but one brother was missing. Something had detained +John; but when the time for starting had struck, Harriet's word +was "forward," and she "nebber waited for no one." + +Poor John was ready to start from his cabin in the negro quarter +when his wife was taken ill, and in an hour or two another little +heir to the blessings of slavery had come into the world. + +John must go off for a "Granny," and being a faithful, +affectionate creature, he could not leave his wife under the +present circumstances. + +After the birth of the child he determined to start. The North and +freedom, or the South and life-long slavery, were the alternatives +before him; and this was his last chance. If he once reached the +North, he hoped with the help of Moses to bring his wife and +children there. + +Again and again he tried to start out of the door, but a watchful +eye was on him, and he was always arrested by the question, "Where +you gwine, John?" His wife had not been informed of the danger +hanging over his head, but she knew he was uneasy, and she feared +he was meditating a plan of escape. John told her he was going to +try to get hired out on Christmas to another man, as that was the +day on which such changes were made. + +He left the house but stood near the window listening. He heard +his wife sobbing and moaning, and not being able to endure it he +went back to her. "Oh, John!" she cried, "you's gwine to lebe me! +I know it! but wherebber you go, John, don't forgit me an' de +little children." + +John assured her that wherever he went she should come. He might +not come for her, but he would send Moses, and then he hurried +away. He had many miles to walk to his old father's cabin, where +he knew the others would be waiting for him, and at daybreak he +overtook them in the "fodder house," not far from the home of the +old people. + +At that time Harriet had not seen her mother for six years, but +she did not dare to let her know that four of her children were so +near her on their way to the North, for she would have raised such +an uproar in her efforts to detain them, that the whole +neighborhood would have been aroused. + +The poor old woman had been expecting her sons to spend Christmas +with her as usual. She had been hard at work in preparation for +their arrival. The fatted pig had been killed, and had been +converted into every form possible to the flesh of swine; pork, +bacon and sausages were ready, but the boys did not come, and +there she sat watching and waiting. + +In the night when Harriet with two of her brothers, and two other +fugitives who had joined them arrived at the "fodder house," they +were exhausted and well-nigh famished. They sent the two strange +men up to the cabin to try to rouse "Old Ben," but not to let +their mother know that her children were so near her. + +The men succeeded in rousing Old Ben, who came out quietly, and as +soon as he heard their story, went back into the house, gathered +together a quantity of provisions, and came down to the fodder +house. He placed the provisions inside the door, saying a few +words of welcome to his children, but taking care _not to see +them_. "I know what'll come of dis," he said, "an' I ain't gwine +to see my chillen, no how." The close espionage under which these +poor creatures dwelt, engendered in them a cunning and artifice, +which to them seemed only a fair and right attempt on their part, +to cope with power and cruelty constantly in force against them. + +Up among the ears of corn lay the old man's children, and one of +them he had not seen for six years. It rained in torrents all that +Sunday, and there they lay among the corn, for they could not +start till night. At about daybreak John had joined them. There +were wide chinks in the boards of the fodder house, and through +these they could see the cabin of the old folks, now quite alone +in their old age. All day long, every few minutes, they would see +the old woman come out, and shading her eyes with her hand, take a +long look down the road to see if "de boys" were coming, and then +with a sad and disappointed air she would turn back into the +cabin, and they could almost hear her sigh as she did so. + +What had become of the boys? Had they been sold off down South? +Had they tried to escape and been retaken? Would she never see +them or hear of them more? + +I have often heard it said by Southern people that "niggers had no +feeling; they did not care when their children were taken from +them." I have seen enough of them to know that their love for +their offspring is quite equal to that of the "superior race," and +it is enough to hear the tale of Harriet's endurance and self-sacrifice +to rescue her brothers and sisters, to convince one that +a heart, truer and more loving than that of many a white woman, +dwelt in her bosom. I am quite willing to acknowledge that she was +almost an anomaly among her people, but I have known many of her +family, and so far as I can judge they all seem to be peculiarly +intelligent, upright and religious people, and to have a strong +feeling of family affection. There may be many among the colored +race like them; certainly all should not be judged by the idle, +miserable darkies who have swarmed about Washington and other +cities since the War. + +Two or three times while the group of fugitives were concealed in +this loft of the fodder house, the old man came down and pushed +food inside the door, and after nightfall he came again to +accompany his children as far as he dared, upon their journey. +When he reached the fodder house, he tied a handkerchief tight +about his eyes, and one of his sons taking him by one arm, and +Harriet taking him by the other, they went on their way talking in +low tones together, asking and answering questions as to relatives +and friends. + +The time of parting came, and they bade him farewell, and left him +standing in the middle of the road. When he could no longer hear +their footsteps he turned back, and taking the handkerchief from +his eyes, he hastened home. + +But before Harriet and her brothers left, they had gone up to the +cabin during the evening to take a silent farewell of the poor old +mother. Through the little window of the cabin they saw her +sitting by the fire, her head on her hand, rocking back and forth, +as was her way when she was in great trouble; praying, no doubt, +and wondering what had become of her children, and what new evil +had befallen them. + +With streaming eyes, they watched her for ten or fifteen minutes; +but time was precious, and they must reach their next under-ground +station before daylight, and so they turned sadly away. + +When Christmas was over, and the men had not returned, there began +to be no small stir in the plantation from which they had escaped. +The first place to search, of course, was the home of the old +people. At the "Big House" nothing had been seen of them. The +master said "they had generally come up there to see the house +servants, when they came for Christmas, but this time they hadn't +been round at all. Better go down to Old Ben's, and ask him." + +They went to Old Ben's. No one was at home but "Old Kit," the +mother. She said "not one of 'em came dis Christmas. She was +looking for 'em all day, an' her heart was mos' broke about 'em." + +Old Ben was found and questioned about his sons. Old Ben said, "He +hadn't _seen one_ of 'em dis Christmas." With all his deep +religious feeling, Old Ben thought that in such a case as this, it +was enough for him to keep to the _letter_, and let the man +hunters find his sons if they could. Old Ben knew the Old +Testament stories well. Perhaps he thought of Rahab who hid the +spies, and received a commendation for it. Perhaps of Jacob and +Abraham, and some of their rather questionable proceedings. He +knew the New Testament also, but I think perhaps he thought the +kind and loving Saviour would have said to him, "Neither do I +condemn thee." I doubt if he had read Mrs. Opie, and I wonder what +judgment that excellent woman would have given in a case like +this. + +These poor fugitives, hunted like partridges upon the mountains, +or like the timid fox by the eager sportsman, were obliged in +self-defense to meet cunning with cunning, and to borrow from the +birds and animals their mode of eluding their pursuers by any +device which in the exigency of the case might present itself to +them. They had a creed of their own, and a code of morals which we +dare not criticise till we find our own lives and those of our +dear ones similarly imperiled. + +One of Harriet's other brothers had long been attached to a pretty +mulatto girl named Catherine, who was owned by another master; but +this man had other views for her, and would not let her marry +William Henry. On one of Harriet's journeys this brother had made +up his mind to make one of her next party to the North, and that +Catherine should go also. He went to a tailor's and bought a new +suit of clothes for a small person, and concealed them inside the +fence of the garden of Catherine's master. This garden ran down to +the bank of a little stream, and Catherine had been notified where +to find the clothes. When the time came to get ready, Catherine +boldly walked down to the foot of the garden, took up the bundle, +and hiding under the bank, she put on the man's garments and sent +her own floating down the stream. + +She was soon missed, and all the girls in the house were set to +looking for Catherine. Presently they saw coming up from the river +a well-dressed little darkey boy, and they all ceased looking for +Catherine, and stared at him. He walked directly by them, round +the house, and out of the gate, without the slightest suspicion +being excited as to who he was. In a few weeks from that time, +this party were all safe in Canada. + +William Henry died in Canada, but I have seen and talked with +Catherine at Harriet's house. + +I am not quite certain which company it was that was under her +guidance on their Northward way, but at one time when a number of +men were following her, she received one of her sudden intimations +that danger was ahead. "Chillen," she said, "we must stop here and +cross dis ribber." They were on the bank of a stream of some +width, and apparently a deep and rapid one. The men were afraid to +cross; there was no bridge and no boat; but like her great +pattern, she went forward into the waters, and the men not knowing +what else to do, followed, but with fear and trembling. The stream +did not divide to make a way for them to cross over, but to her +was literally fulfilled the promise: + + "When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, + The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow." + +"For," said she, "Missus, de water never came above my chin; when +we thought surely we were all going under, it became shallower and +shallower, and we came out safe on the odder side." Then there was +another stream to cross, which was also passed in safety. They +found afterward that a few rods ahead of them the advertisement of +these escaping fugitives was posted up, and the officers, +forewarned of their coming, were waiting for them. But though the +Lord thus marvelously protected her from capture, she did not +always escape the consequences of exposure like this. It was in +March that this passage of the streams was effected, and the +weather was raw and cold; Harriet traveled a long distance in her +wet clothing, and was afterward very ill for a long time with a +very severe cold. I have often heard her tell this story; but some +of the incidents, particularly that of her illness, were not +mentioned by herself, but were written me by friend Garrett. + +I hardly know how to approach the subject of the spiritual +experiences of my sable heroine. They seem so to enter into the +realm of the supernatural, that I can hardly wonder that those who +never knew her are ready to throw discredit upon the story. +Ridicule has been cast upon the whole tale of her adventures by +the advocates of human slavery; and perhaps by those who would +tell with awe-struck countenance some tale of ghostly visitation, +or spiritual manifestation, at a dimly lighted "_seance_." + +Had I not known so well her deeply religious character, and her +conscientious veracity, and had I not since the war, and when she +was an inmate of my own house, seen such remarkable instances of +what seemed to be her direct intercourse with heaven, I should not +dare to risk my own character for veracity by making these things +public in this manner. + +But when I add that I have the strongest testimonials to her +character for integrity from William H. Seward, Gerritt Smith, +Wendell Phillips, Fred. Douglass, and my brother, Prof. S.M. +Hopkins, who has known her for many years, I do not fear to brave +the incredulity of any reader. + +Governor Seward wrote of her: + +"I have known Harriet long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a +truer, seldom dwells in human form." + +Gerritt Smith, the distinguished philanthropist, was so kind as to +write me expressing his gratification that I had undertaken this +work, and added: + +"I have often listened to Harriet with delight on her visits to my +family, and I am convinced that she is not only truthful, but that +she has a rare discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy." + +Wendell Phillips wrote me, mentioning that in Boston, Harriet +earned the confidence and admiration of all those who were working +for freedom; and speaking of her labors during the war, he added: +"In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did more before that time, for the colored race, than our +fearless and sagacious friend." + +Many other letters I received; from Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of Charities, from Fred. Douglass, from Rev. +Henry Fowler, and from Union officers at the South during the war, +all speaking in the highest praise and admiration of the character +and labors of my black heroine. + +Many of her passes also were sent me; in which she is spoken of as +"Moses," for by that name she was universally known. For the story +of her heroic deeds had gone before her, and the testimony of all +who knew her accorded with the words of Mr. Seward: + +"The cause of freedom owes her much; the country owes her much." +And yet the country was not willing to pay her anything. Mr. +Seward's efforts, seconded by other distinguished men, to get a +pension for her, were sneered at in Congress as absurd and +quixotic, and the effort failed. + +Secretary Seward, from whom Harriet purchased her little place +near Auburn, died. The place had been mortgaged when this noble +woman left her home, and threw herself into the work needed for +the Union cause; the mortgage was to be foreclosed. The old +parents, then nearly approaching their centennial year, were to be +turned out to die in a poor-house, when the sudden determination +was taken to send out a little sketch of her life to the +benevolent public, in the hope of redeeming the little home. This +object, through the kindness of friends, was accomplished. The old +people died in Harriet's own home, breathing blessings upon her +for her devotion to them. + +Now another necessity has arisen, and our sable friend, who never +has been known to beg for herself, asks once more for help in +accomplishing a favorite project for the good of her people. This, +as she says, is "her last work, and she only prays de Lord to let +her live till it is well started, and den she is ready to go." +This work is the building of a hospital for old and disabled +colored people; and in this she has already had the sympathy and +aid of the good people of Auburn; the mayor and his noble wife +having given her great assistance in the meetings she has held in +aid of this object. It is partly to aid her in this work, on which +she has so set her heart, that this story of her life and labors +is being re-written. + +At one time, when she felt called upon to go down for some company +of slaves, she was, as she knew, watched for everywhere (for there +had been an excited meeting of slave-holders, and they were +determined to catch her, dead or alive), her friends gathered +round her, imploring her not to go on in the face of danger and +death, for they were sure she would never be allowed to return. +And this was her answer: + +"Now look yer! John saw de City, didn't he?" "Yes, John saw de +City." "Well, what did he see? He saw twelve gates, didn't he? +Three of dose gates was on de north; three of 'em was on de east; +an' three of 'em was on de west; but dere was three more, an' dem +was on de _south_; an' I reckon, if dey kill me down dere, I'll +git into one of dem gates, don't you?" + +Whether Harriet's ideas of the geographical bearings of the gates +of the Celestial City as seen in the apocalyptic vision, were +correct or not, we cannot doubt that she was right in the +deduction her faith drew from them; and that somewhere, whether +North, East, South, or West, to our dim vision, there is a gate +that will be opened for our good Harriet, where the welcome will +be given, "Come in, thou blessed of my Father." + +It is a peculiarity of Harriet, that she had seldom been known to +intimate a wish that anything should be given to herself; but when +her people are in need, no scruples of delicacy stand in the way +of her petitions, nay, almost her _demands_ for help. + +When, after rescuing so many others, and all of her brothers and +sisters that could be reached, with their children, she received +an intimation in some mysterious or supernatural way, that the old +people were in trouble and needed her, she asked the Lord where +she should go for the money to enable her to go for them. She was +in some way, as she supposed, directed to the office of a certain +gentleman, a friend of the slaves, in New York. When she left the +house of the friends with whom she was staying, she said: "I'm +gwine to Mr. ------'s office, an' I ain't gwine to lebe dere, an' +I ain't gwine to eat or drink, till I get money enough to take me +down after de ole people." + +She went into this gentleman's office. + +"How do you do, Harriet? What do you want?" was the first +greeting. + +"I want some money, sir." + +"_You do_! How much do you want?" + +"I want twenty dollars, sir!" + +"_Twenty dollars_! Who told you to come here for twenty dollars!" + +"De Lord tole me, sir." + +"He did; well I guess the Lord's mistaken this time." + +"No, sir; de Lord's nebber mistaken! Anyhow I'm gwine to sit here +till I get it." + +So she sat down and went to sleep. All the morning, and all the +afternoon, she sat there still; sometimes sleeping, sometimes +rousing up, often finding the office full of gentlemen; sometimes +finding herself alone. Many fugitives were passing through New +York at this time, and those who came in supposed her to be one of +them, tired out, and resting. Sometimes she would be roused up +with the words: + +"Come, Harriet! You had better go; there's no money for you here." + +"No, sir; I'm not gwine to stir from here till I git my twenty +dollars!" + +She does not know all that happened, for deep sleep fell upon her; +probably one of the turns of somnolency to which she has always +been subject; but without doubt her story was whispered from one +to another, and as her name and exploits were well known to many +persons, the sympathies of some of those visitors to the office +were aroused; at all events she came to full consciousness, at +last, to find herself the happy possessor of _sixty dollars_, the +contribution of these strangers. She went on her way rejoicing to +bring her old parents from the land of bondage. + +When she reached their home, she found that her old father was to +be tried the next Monday for helping off slaves. And so, as she +says in her forcible language, "I just removed my father's trial +to a higher court, and brought him off to Canada." + +The manner of their escape is detailed in the following letter +from friend Garrett: + + WILMINGTON, 6th Mo., 1868. + +MY FRIEND: Thy favor of the 12th reached me yesterday, requesting +such reminiscences as I could give respecting the remarkable +labors of Harriet Tubman, in aiding her colored friends from +bondage. I may begin by saying, living as I have in a slave State, +and the laws being very severe where any proof could be made of +any one aiding slaves on their way to freedom, I have not felt at +liberty to keep any written word of Harriet's or my own labors, +except in numbering those whom I have aided. For that reason I +cannot furnish so interesting an account of Harriet's labors as I +otherwise could, and now would be glad to do; for in truth I never +met with any person, of any color, who had more confidence in the +voice of God, as spoken direct to her soul. She has frequently +told me that she talked with God, and he talked with her every day +of her life, and she has declared to me that she felt no more fear +of being arrested by her former master, or any other person, when +in his immediate neighborhood, than she did in the State of New +York, or Canada, for she said she never ventured only where God +sent her, and her faith in the Supreme Power truly was great. + +I have now been confined to my room with indisposition more than +four weeks, and cannot sit to write much; but I feel so much +interested in Harriet, that I will try to give some of the most +remarkable incidents that now present themselves to my mind. The +date of the commencement of her labors, I cannot certainly give; +but I think it must have been about 1845; from that time till +1860, I think she must have brought from the neighborhood where +she had been held as a slave, from 60 to 80 persons,[C] from +Maryland, some 80 miles from here. No slave who placed himself +under her care, was ever arrested that I have heard of; she mostly +had her regular stopping places on her route; but in one instance, +when she had several stout men with her, some 30 miles below here, +she said that God told her to stop, which she did; and then asked +him what she must do. He told her to leave the road, and turn to +the left; she obeyed, and soon came to a small stream of tide +water; there was no boat, no bridge; she again inquired of her +Guide what she was to do. She was told to go through. It was cold, +in the month of March; but having confidence in her Guide, she +went in; the water came up to her armpits; the men refused to +follow till they saw her safe on the opposite shore. They then +followed, and, if I mistake not, she had soon to wade a second +stream; soon after which she came to a cabin of colored people, +who took them all in, put them to bed, and dried their clothes, +ready to proceed next night on their journey. Harriet had run out +of money, and gave them some of her underclothing to pay for their +kindness. When she called on me two days after, she was so hoarse +she could hardly speak, and was also suffering with violent +toothache. The strange part of the story we found to be, that the +masters of these men had put up the previous day, at the railroad +station near where she left, an advertisement for them, offering a +large reward for their apprehension; but they made a safe exit. +She at one time brought as many as seven or eight, several of whom +were women and children. She was well known here in Chester County +and Philadelphia, and respected by all true abolitionists. I had +been in the habit of furnishing her and those who accompanied her, +as she returned from her acts of mercy, with new shoes; and on one +occasion when I had not seen her for three months, she came into +my store. I said, "Harriet, I am glad to see thee! I suppose thee +wants a pair of new shoes." Her reply was, "I want more than +that." I, in jest, said, "I have always been liberal with thee, +and wish to be; but I am not rich, and cannot afford to give +much." Her reply was: "God tells me you have money for me." I +asked her "if God never deceived her?" She said, "No!" "Well! how +much does thee want?" After studying a moment, she said: "About +twenty-three dollars." I then gave her twenty-four dollars and +some odd cents, the net proceeds of five pounds sterling, received +through Eliza Wigham, of Scotland, for her. I had given some +accounts of Harriet's labor to the Anti-Slavery Society of +Edinburgh, of which Eliza Wigham was Secretary. On the reading of +my letter, a gentleman present said he would send Harriet four +pounds if he knew of any way to get it to her. Eliza Wigham +offered to forward it to me for her, and that was the first money +ever received by me for her. Some twelve months after, she called +on me again, and said that God told her I had some money for her, +but not so much as before. I had, a few days previous, received +the net proceeds of one pound ten shillings from Europe for her. +To say the least there was something remarkable in these facts, +whether clairvoyance, or the divine impression on her mind from +the source of all power, I cannot tell; but certain it was she had +a guide within herself other than the written word, for she never +had any education. She brought away her aged parents in a singular +manner. They started with an old horse, fitted out in primitive +style with a _straw collar_, a pair of old chaise wheels, with a +board on the axle to sit on, another board swung with ropes, +fastened to the axle, to rest their feet on. She got her parents, +who were both slaves belonging to different masters, on this rude +vehicle to the railroad, put them in the cars, turned Jehu +herself, and drove to town in a style that no human being ever did +before or since; but she was happy at having arrived safe. Next +day, I furnished her with money to take them all to Canada. I +afterward sold their horse, and sent them the balance of the +proceeds. I believe that Harriet succeeded in freeing all her +relatives but one sister and her three children. Etc., etc. +Thy friend, + + THOS. GARRETT. + +[Footnote C: Friend Garrett probably refers here to those who +passed through his hands. Harriet was obliged to come by many +different routes on her different journeys, and though she never +counted those whom she brought away with her, it would seem, by +the computation of others, that there must have been somewhat over +three hundred brought by her to the Northern States and Canada.] + +As I have before stated, with all Harriet's reluctance to ask for +anything for herself, no matter how great her needs may be, no +such scruples trouble her if any of her people are in need. She +never hesitates to call upon her kind friends in Auburn and in +other places for help when her people are in want. At one time, +when some such emergency had arisen, she went to see her friend, +Governor Seward, and boldly presented her case to him. + +"Harriet," he said, "you have worked for others long enough. If +you would ever ask anything for yourself, I would gladly give it +to you, but I will not help you to rob yourself for others any +longer." + +In spite of this apparent roughness, we may be sure Harriet did +not leave this noble man's house empty handed. + +And here I am reminded of a touching little circumstance that +occurred at the funeral of Secretary Seward. + +The great man lay in his coffin. Friends, children, and admirers +were gathered there. Everything that love and wealth could do had +been done; around him were floral emblems of every possible shape +and design, that human ingenuity could suggest, or money could +purchase. Just before the coffin was to be closed, a woman black +as night stole quietly in, and laying a wreath of field flowers +_on his feet_, as quietly glided out again. This was the simple +tribute of our sable friend, and her last token of love and +gratitude to her kind benefactor. I think he would have said, +"This woman hath done more than ye all." + +While preparing this second edition of Harriet's story, I have +been much pleased to find that that good man, Oliver Johnson, is +still living and in New York City. And I have just returned from a +very pleasant interview with him. He remembers Harriet with great +pleasure, though he has not seen her for many years. He speaks, as +all who knew her do, of his entire confidence in her truthfulness +and in the perfect integrity of her character. + +He remembered her coming into his office with Joe, as I have +stated it, and said he wished he could recall to me other +incidents connected with her. But during those years, there were +such numbers of fugitive slaves coming into the Anti-Slavery +Office, that he might not tell the incidents of any one group +correctly. No records were kept, as that would be so unsafe for +the poor creatures, and those who aided them. He said, "You know +Harriet never spoke of anything she had done, as if it was at all +remarkable, or as if it deserved any commendation, but I remember +one day, when she came into the office there was a Boston lady +there, a warm-hearted, impulsive woman, who was engaged heart and +hand in the Anti-Slavery cause. + +"Harriet was telling, in her simple way, the story of her last +journey. A party of fugitives were to meet her in a wood, that she +might conduct them North. For some unexplained reason they did not +come. Night came on and with it a blinding snow storm and a raging +wind. She protected herself behind a tree as well as she could, +and remained all night alone exposed to the fury of the storm." + +"'Why, Harriet!' said this lady, 'didn't you almost feel when you +were lying alone, as if there was _no God_?' 'Oh, no! missus,' +said Harriet, looking up in her child-like, simple way, 'I jest +asked Jesus to take keer of me, an' He never let me git _frost-bitten_ +one bit.'" + +In 1860 the first gun was fired from Fort Sumter; and this was the +signal for a rush to arms at the North and the South, and the war +of the rebellion was begun. Troops were hurried off from the North +to the West and the South, and battles raged in every part of the +Southern States. By land and by sea, and on the Southern rivers, +the conflict raged, and thousands and thousands of brave men shed +their blood for what was maintained by each side to be the true +principle. + +This war our brave heroine had expected, and its result, the +emancipation of the slaves. Three years before, while staying with +the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet in New York, a vision came to her +in the night of the emancipation of her people. Whether a dream, +or one of those glimpses into the future, which sometimes seem to +have been granted to her, no one can say, but the effect upon her +was very remarkable. + +She rose singing, "_My people are free!" "My people are free_!" +She came down to breakfast singing the words in a sort of ecstasy. +She could not eat. The dream or vision filled her whole soul, and +physical needs were forgotten. + +Mr. Garnet said to her: + +"Oh, Harriet! Harriet! You've come to torment us before the time; +do cease this noise! My grandchildren may see the day of the +emancipation of our people, but you and I will never see it." + +"I tell you, sir, you'll see it, and you'll see it soon. My people +are free! My people are free." + +When, three years later, President Lincoln's proclamation of +emancipation was given forth, and there was a great jubilee among +the friends of the slaves, Harriet was continually asked, "Why do +you not join with the rest in their rejoicing!" "Oh," she +answered, "I had _my_ jubilee three years ago. I rejoiced all I +could den; I can't rejoice no more." + +In some of the Southern States, spies and scouts were needed to +lead our armies into the interior. The ignorant and degraded +slaves feared the "Yankee Buckra" more than they did their own +masters, and after the proclamation of President Lincoln, giving +freedom to the slaves, a person in whom these poor creatures could +trust, was needed to assure them that these white Northern men +were friends, and that they would be safe, trusting themselves in +their hands. + +In the early days of the war, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, +knowing well the brave and sagacious character of Harriet, sent +for her, and asked her if she could go at a moment's notice, to +act as spy and scout for our armies, and, if need be, to act as +hospital nurse, in short, to be ready to give any required service +to the Union cause. + +There was much to be thought of; there were the old folks in the +little home up in Auburn, there was the little farm of which she +had taken the sole care; there were many dependents for whom she +had provided by her daily toil. What was to become of them all if +she deserted them? But the cause of the Union seemed to need her +services, and after a few moments of reflection, she determined to +leave all else, and go where it seemed that duty called her. + +During those few years, the wants of the old people and of +Harriet's other dependents were attended to by the kind people of +Auburn. At that time, I often saw the old people, and wrote +letters for them to officers at the South, asking from them +tidings of Harriet. I received many letters in reply, all +testifying to her faithfulness and bravery, and her untiring zeal +for the welfare of our soldiers, black and white. She was often +under fire from both armies; she led our forces through the jungle +and the swamp, guided by an unseen hand. She gained the confidence +of the slaves by her cheery words, and songs, and sacred hymns, +and obtained from them much valuable information. She nursed our +soldiers in the hospitals, and knew how, when they were dying by +numbers of some malignant disease, with cunning skill to extract +from roots and herbs, which grew near the source of the disease, +the healing draught, which allayed the fever and restored numbers +to health. + +It is a shame to our government that such a valuable helper as +this woman was not allowed pay or pension; but even was obliged to +support herself during those days of incessant toil. Officers and +men were paid. Indeed many enlisted from no patriotic motive, but +because they were insured a support which they could not procure +for themselves at home. But this woman sacrificed everything, and +left her nearest and dearest, and risked her life hundreds of +times for the cause of the Union, without one cent of recompense. +She returned at last to her little home, to find it a scene of +desolation. Her little place about to be sold to satisfy a +mortgage, and herself without the means to redeem it. + +Harriet was one of John Brown's "men." His brave and daring spirit +found ready sympathy in her courageous heart; she sheltered him in +her home in Canada, and helped him to plan his campaigns. I find +in the life and letters of this remarkable man, written by Mr. F. +B. Sanborn, occasional mention of Harriet, and her deep interest +in Captain Brown's enterprises. + +At one time he writes to his son from St. Catherine's, Canada: + +"I came on here the day after you left Rochester. I am succeeding +to all appearance beyond my expectations. Harriet Tubman _hooked +on her whole team at once_. He (Harriet) is the most of a man +naturally that I ever met with. There is abundant material here +and of the right quality." She suggested the 4th of July to him as +the time to begin operations. And Mr. Sanborn adds: "It was about +the 4th of July, as Harriet, the African sybil, had suggested, +that Brown first showed himself in the counties of Washington and +Jefferson, on opposite sides of the lordly Potomac." + +I find among her papers, many of which are defaced by being +carried about with her for years, portions of these letters +addressed to myself, by persons at the South, and speaking of the +valuable assistance Harriet was rendering our soldiers in the +hospital, and our armies in the field. At this time her manner of +life, as related by herself, was this: + +"Well, missus, I'd go to de hospital, I would, early eb'ry +mornin'. I'd get a big chunk of ice, I would, and put it in a +basin, and fill it with water; den I'd take a sponge and begin. +Fust man I'd come to, I'd thrash away de flies, and dey'd rise, +dey would, like bees roun' a hive. Den I'd begin to bathe der +wounds, an' by de time I'd bathed off three or four, de fire and +heat would have melted de ice and made de water warm, an' it would +be as red as clar blood. Den I'd go an' git more ice, I would, an' +by de time I got to de nex' ones, de flies would be roun' de fust +ones black an' thick as eber." In this way she worked, day after +day, till late at night; then she went home to her little cabin, +and made about fifty pies, a great quantity of ginger-bread, and +two casks of root beer. These she would hire some contraband to +sell for her through the camps, and thus she would provide her +support for another day; for this woman never received pay or +pension, and never drew for herself but twenty days' rations +during the four years of her labors. At one time she was called +away from Hilton Head, by one of our officers, to come to +Fernandina, where the men were "dying off like sheep," from +dysentery. Harriet had acquired quite a reputation for her skill +in curing this disease, by a medicine which she prepared from +roots which grew near the waters which gave the disease. Here she +found thousands of sick soldiers and contrabands, and immediately +gave up her time and attention to them. At another time, we find +her nursing those who were down by hundreds with small-pox and +malignant fevers. She had never had these diseases, but she seems +to have no more fear of death in one form than another. "De Lord +would take keer of her till her time came, an' den she was ready +to go." + +When our armies and gun-boats first appeared in any part of the +South, many of the poor negroes were as much afraid of "de Yankee +Buckra" as of their own masters. It was almost impossible to win +their confidence, or to get information from them. But to Harriet +they would tell anything; and so it became quite important that +she should accompany expeditions going up the rivers, or into +unexplored parts of the country, to control and get information +from those whom they took with them as guides. + +General Hunter asked her at one time if she would go with several +gun-boats up the Combahee River, the object of the expedition +being to take up the torpedoes placed by the rebels in the river, +to destroy railroads and bridges, and to cut off supplies from the +rebel troops. She said she would go if Colonel Montgomery was to +be appointed commander of the expedition. Colonel Montgomery was +one of John Brown's men, and was well known to Harriet. +Accordingly, Colonel Montgomery was appointed to the command, and +Harriet, with several men under her, the principal of whom was J. +Plowden, whose pass I have, accompanied the expedition. Harriet +describes in the most graphic manner the appearance of the +plantations as they passed up the river; the frightened negroes +leaving their work and taking to the woods, at sight of the gun-boats; +then coming to peer out like startled deer, and scudding +away like the wind at the sound of the steam-whistle. "Well," said +one old negro, "Mas'r said de Yankees had horns and tails, but I +nebber beliebed it till now." But the word was passed along by the +mysterious telegraphic communication existing among these simple +people, that these were "Lincoln's gun-boats come to set them +free." In vain, then, the drivers used their whips in their +efforts to hurry the poor creatures back to their quarters; they +all turned and ran for the gun-boats. They came down every road, +across every field, just as they had left their work and their +cabins; women with children clinging around their necks, hanging +to their dresses, running behind, all making at full speed for +"Lincoln's gun-boats." Eight hundred poor wretches at one time +crowded the banks, with their hands extended toward their +deliverers, and they were all taken off upon the gun-boats, and +carried down to Beaufort. + +"I nebber see such a sight," said Harriet; "we laughed, an' +laughed, an' laughed. Here you'd see a woman wid a pail on her +head, rice a smokin' in it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, +young one hangin' on behind, one han' roun' her forehead to hold +on, 'tother han' diggin' into de rice-pot, eatin' wid all its +might; hold of her dress two or three more; down her back a bag +wid a pig in it. One woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a +black one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig +Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Sometimes de women would +come wid twins hangin' roun' der necks; 'pears like I nebber see +so many twins in my life; bags on der shoulders, baskets on der +heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all loaded; pigs squealin', +chickens screamin', young ones squallin'." And so they came +pouring down to the gun-boats. When they stood on the shore, and +the small boats put out to take them off, they all wanted to get +in at once. After the boats were crowded, they would hold on to +them so that they could not leave the shore. The oarsmen would +beat them on their hands, but they would not let go; they were +afraid the gun-boats would go off and leave them, and all wanted +to make sure of one of these arks of refuge. At length Colonel +Montgomery shouted from the upper deck, above the clamor of +appealing tones, "Moses, you'll have to give em a song." Then +Harriet lifted up her voice, and sang: + + "Of all the whole creation in the East or in the West, + The glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best. + Come along! Come along! don't be alarmed, + Uncle Sam is rich enough to give you all a farm." + +At the end of every verse, the negroes in their enthusiasm would +throw up their hands and shout "Glory," and the row-boats would +take that opportunity to push off; and so at last they were all +brought on board. The masters fled; houses and barns and railroad +bridges were burned, tracks torn up, torpedoes destroyed, and the +object of the expedition was fully accomplished. + +This fearless woman was often sent into the rebel lines as a spy, +and brought back valuable information as to the position of armies +and batteries; she has been in battle when the shot was falling +like hail, and the bodies of dead and wounded men were dropping +around her like leaves in autumn; but the thought of fear never +seems to have had place for a moment in her mind. She had her duty +to perform, and she expected to be taken care of till it was done. + +Would that, instead of taking them in this poor way at second-hand, +my readers could hear this woman's graphic accounts of +scenes she herself witnessed, could listen to her imitations of +negro preachers in their own very peculiar dialect, her singing of +camp-meeting hymns, her account of "experience meetings," her +imitations of the dances, and the funeral ceremonies of these +simple people. "Why, der language down dar in de far South is jus' +as different from ours in Maryland as you can tink," said she. +"Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an' I could not understand +dem, no how." She described a midnight funeral which she attended; +for the slaves, never having been allowed to bury their dead in +the day-time, continued the custom of night funerals from habit. + +The corpse was laid upon the ground, and the people all sat round, +the group being lighted up by pine torches. + +The old negro preacher began by giving out a hymn, which was sung +by all. "An' oh! I wish you could hear 'em sing, Missus," said +Harriet. "Der voices is so sweet, and dey can sing eberyting we +sing, an' den dey can sing a great many hymns dat we can't nebber +catch at all." + +The old preacher began his sermon by pointing to the dead man, who +lay in a rude box on the ground before him. + +"_Shum_? Ded-a-de-dah! _Shum, David_? Ded-a-de-dah! Now I want you +all to _flec_' for moment. Who ob all dis congregation is gwine +next to lie ded-e-de-dah? You can't go nowhere's, my frien's and +bredren, but Deff 'll fin' you. You can't dig no hole so deep an' +bury yourself dar, but God A'mighty's far-seein' eye'll fin' you, +an' Deff 'll come arter you. You can't go into that big fort +(pointing to Hilton Head), an' shut yourself up dar; dat fort dat +Sesh Buckra said the debil couldn't take, but Deff 'll fin' you +dar. All your frien's may forget you, but Deff 'll nebber forget +you. Now, my bredren, prepare to lie ded-a-de-dah!" + +This was the burden of a very long sermon, after which the whole +congregation went round in a sort of solemn dance, called the +"spiritual shuffle," shaking hands with each other, and calling +each other by name as they sang: + + "My sis'r Mary's boun' to go; + My sis'r Nanny's boun' to go; + My brudder Tony's boun' to go; + My brudder July's boun' to go." + +This to the same tune, till every hand had been shaken by every +one of the company. When they came to Harriet, who was a stranger, +they sang: + + Eberybody's boun' to go! + +The body was then placed in a Government wagon, and by the light +of the pine torches, the strange, dark procession moved along, +singing a rude funeral hymn, till they reached the place of +burial. + +Harriet's account of her interview with an old negro she met at +Hilton Head, is amusing and interesting. He said, "I'd been yere +seventy-three years, workin' for my master widout even a dime +wages. I'd worked rain-wet sun-dry. I'd worked wid my mouf full of +dust, but could not stop to get a drink of water. I'd been +whipped, an' starved, an' I was always prayin', 'Oh! Lord, come +an' delibber us!' All dat time de birds had been flyin', an' de +rabens had been cryin', and de fish had been swimmin' in de +waters. One day I look up, an' I see a big cloud; it didn't come +up like as de clouds come out far yonder, but it 'peared to be +right ober head. Der was thunders out of dat, an' der was +lightnin's. Den I looked down on de water, an' I see, 'peared to +me a big house in de water, an' out of de big house came great big +eggs, and de good eggs went on trou' de air, an' fell into de +fort; an' de bad eggs burst before dey got dar. Den de Sesh Buckra +begin to run, an' de neber stop running till de git to de swamp, +an' de stick dar an' de die dar. Den I heard 'twas de Yankee +ship[D] firin' out de big eggs, an dey had come to set us free. +Den I praise de Lord. He come an' put he little finger in de work, +an de Sesh Buckra all go; and de birds stop flyin', and de rabens +stop cryin', an' when I go to catch a fish to eat wid my rice, +dey's no fish dar. De Lord A'mighty 'd come and frightened 'em all +out of de waters. Oh! Praise de Lord! I'd prayed seventy-three +years, an' now he's come an' we's all free." + +[Footnote D: The _Wabash_.] + +The following account of the subject of this memoir is cut from +the _Boston Commonwealth_ of 1863, kindly sent the writer by Mr. +Sanborn: + +"It was said long ago that the true romance of America was not in +the fortunes of the Indian, where Cooper sought it, nor in New +England character, where Judd found it, nor in the social +contrasts of Virginia planters, as Thackeray imagined, but in the +story of the fugitive slaves. The observation is as true now as it +was before War, with swift, gigantic hand, sketched the vast +shadows, and dashed in the high lights in which romance loves to +lurk and flash forth. But the stage is enlarged on which these +dramas are played, the whole world now sit as spectators, and the +desperation or the magnanimity of a poor black woman has power to +shake the nation that so long was deaf to her cries. We write of +one of these heroines, of whom our slave annals are full--a woman +whose career is as extraordinary as the most famous of her sex can +show. + +"Araminta Ross, now known by her married name of Tubman, with her +sounding Christian name changed to Harriet, is the grand-daughter +of a slave imported from Africa, and has not a drop of white blood +in her veins. Her parents were Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene, +both slaves, but married and faithful to each other. They still +live in old age and poverty,[E] but free, on a little property at +Auburn, N.Y., which their daughter purchased for them from Mr. +Seward, the Secretary of State. She was born, as near as she can +remember, in 1820 or in 1821, in Dorchester County, on the Eastern +shore of Maryland, and not far from the town of Cambridge. She had +ten brothers and sisters, of whom three are now living, all at the +North, and all rescued from slavery by Harriet, before the War. +She went back just as the South was preparing to secede, to bring +away a fourth, but before she could reach her, she was dead. Three +years before, she had brought away her old father and mother, at +great risk to herself. + +[Footnote E: Both dead for some years.] + +"When Harriet was six years old, she was taken from her mother and +carried ten miles to live with James Cook, whose wife was a +weaver, to learn the trade of weaving. While still a mere child, +Cook set her to watching his musk-rat traps, which compelled her +to wade through the water. It happened that she was once sent when +she was ill with the measles, and, taking cold from wading in the +water in this condition, she grew very sick, and her mother +persuaded her master to take her away from Cook's until she could +get well. + +"Another attempt was made to teach her weaving, but she would not +learn, for she hated her mistress, and did not want to live at +home, as she would have done as a weaver, for it was the custom +then to weave the cloth for the family, or a part of it, in the +house. + +"Soon after she entered her teens she was hired out as a field +hand, and it was while thus employed that she received a wound, +which nearly proved fatal, from the effects of which she still +suffers. In the fall of the year, the slaves there work in the +evening, cleaning up wheat, husking corn, etc. On this occasion, +one of the slaves of a farmer named Barrett, left his work, and +went to the village store in the evening. The overseer followed +him, and so did Harriet. When the slave was found, the overseer +swore he should be whipped, and called on Harriet, among others, +to help tie him. She refused, and as the man ran away, she placed +herself in the door to stop pursuit. The overseer caught up a +two-pound weight from the counter and threw it at the fugitive, but it +fell short and struck Harriet a stunning blow on the head. It was +long before she recovered from this, and it has left her subject +to a sort of stupor or lethargy at times; coming upon her in the +midst of conversation, or whatever she may be doing, and throwing +her into a deep slumber, from which she will presently rouse +herself, and go on with her conversation or work. + +"After this she lived for five or six years with John Stewart, +where at first she worked in the house, but afterward 'hired her +time,' and Dr. Thompson, son of her master's guardian, 'stood for +her,' that is, was her surety for the payment of what she owed. +She employed the time thus hired in the rudest labors,--drove +oxen, carted, plowed, and did all the work of a man,--sometimes +earning money enough in a year, beyond what she paid her master, +'to buy a pair of steers,' worth forty dollars. The amount exacted +of a woman for her time was fifty or sixty dollars--of a man, one +hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars. Frequently Harriet +worked for her father, who was a timber inspector, and +superintended the cutting and hauling of great quantities of +timber for the Baltimore ship-yards. Stewart, his temporary +master, was a builder, and for the work of Ross used to receive as +much as five dollars a day sometimes, he being a superior workman. +While engaged with her father, she would cut wood, haul logs, etc. +Her usual 'stint' was half a cord of wood in a day. + +"Harriet was married somewhere about 1844, to a free colored man +named John Tubman, but she had no children. For the last two years +of slavery she lived with Dr. Thompson, before mentioned, her own +master not being yet of age, and Dr. T.'s father being his +guardian, as well as the owner of her own father. In 1849 the +young man died, and the slaves were to be sold, though previously +set free by an old will. Harriet resolved not to be sold, and so, +with no knowledge of the North--having only heard of Pennsylvania +and New Jersey--she walked away one night alone. She found a +friend in a white lady, who knew her story and helped her on her +way. After many adventures, she reached Philadelphia, where she +found work and earned a small stock of money. With this money in +her purse, she traveled back to Maryland for her husband, but she +found him married to another woman, and no longer caring to live +with her. This, however, was not until two years after her escape, +for she does not seem to have reached her old home in the first +two expeditions. In December, 1850, she had visited Baltimore and +brought away her sister and two children, who had come up from +Cambridge in a boat, under charge of her sister's husband, a free +black. A few months after she had brought away her brother and two +other men, but it was not till the fall of 1851, that she found +her husband and learned of his infidelity. She did not give way to +rage or grief, but collected a party of fugitives and brought them +safely to Philadelphia. In December of the same year, she +returned, and led out a party of eleven, among them her brother +and his wife. With these she journeyed to Canada, and there spent +the winter, for this was after the enforcement of Mason's Fugitive +Slave Bill in Philadelphia and Boston, and there was no safety +except 'under the paw of the British Lion,' as she quaintly said. +But the first winter was terribly severe for these poor runaways. +They earned their bread by chopping wood in the snows of a +Canadian forest; they were frost-bitten, hungry, and naked. +Harriet was their good angel. She kept house for her brother, and +the poor creatures boarded with her. She worked for them, begged +for them, prayed for them, with the strange familiarity of +communion with God which seems natural to these people, and +carried them by the help of God through the hard winter. + +"In the spring she returned to the States, and as usual earned +money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, +in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and +brought away nine more fugitives. + +"Up to this time she had expended chiefly her own money in these +expeditions--money which she had earned by hard work in the +drudgery of the kitchen. Never did any one more exactly fulfill +the sense of George Herbert-- + + "'A servant with this clause + Makes drudgery divine.' + +"But it was not possible for such virtues long to remain hidden +from the keen eyes of the Abolitionists. She became known to +Thomas Garrett, the large-hearted Quaker of Wilmington, who has +aided the escape of three thousand fugitives; she found warm +friends in Philadelphia and New York, and wherever she went. These +gave her money, which he never spent for her own use, but laid up +for the help of her people, and especially for her journeys back +to the 'land of Egypt,' as she called her old home. By reason of +her frequent visits there, always carrying away some of the +oppressed, she got among her people the name of 'Moses,' which it +seems she still retains. + +"Between 1852 and 1857, she made but two of these journeys, in +consequence partly of the increased vigilance of the slave-holders, +who had suffered so much by the loss of their property. A +great reward was offered for her capture and she several times was +on the point of being taken, but always escaped by her quick wit, +or by 'warnings' from Heaven--for it is time to notice one +singular trait in her character. She is the most shrewd and +practical person in the world, yet she is a firm believer in +omens, dreams, and warnings. She declares that before her escape +from slavery, she used to dream of flying over fields and towns, +and rivers and mountains, looking down upon them 'like a bird,' +and reaching at last a great fence, or sometimes a river, over +which she would try to fly, 'but it 'peared like I wouldn't hab de +strength, and jes as I was sinkin' down, dere would be ladies all +drest in white ober dere, and dey would put out dere arms and pull +me 'cross.' There is nothing strange in this, perhaps, but she +declares that when she came North she remembered these very places +as those she had seen in her dreams, and many of the ladies who +befriended her were those she had been helped by in her vision. + +"Then she says she always knows when there is danger near her--she +does not know how, exactly, but ''pears like my heart go flutter, +flutter, and den dey may say "Peace, Peace," as much as dey likes, +_I know its gwine to be war_!' She is very firm on this point, and +ascribes to this her great impunity, in spite of the lethargy +before mentioned, which would seem likely to throw her into the +hands of her enemies. She says she inherited this power, that her +father could always predict the weather, and that he foretold the +Mexican war. + +"In 1857 she made her most venturesome journey, for she brought +with her to the North her old parents, who were no longer able to +walk such distances as she must go by night. Consequently she must +hire a wagon for them, and it required all her ingenuity to get +them through Maryland and Delaware safe. She accomplished it, +however, and by the aid of her friends she brought them safe to +Canada, where they spent the winter. Her account of their +sufferings there--of her mother's complaining and her own +philosophy about it--is a lesson of trust in Providence better +than many sermons. But she decided to bring them to a more +comfortable place, and so she negotiated with Mr. Seward--then in +the Senate--for a little patch of ground. To the credit of the +Secretary of State it should be said, that he sold her the +property on very favorable terms, and gave her some time for +payment. To this house she removed her parents, and set herself to +work to pay for the purchase. It was on this errand that she first +visited Boston--we believe in the winter of 1858-59. She brought a +few letters from her friends in New York, but she could herself +neither read nor write, and she was obliged to trust to her wits +that they were delivered to the right persons. One of them, as it +happened, was to the present writer, who received it by another +hand, and called to see her at her boarding-house. It was curious +to see the caution with which she received her visitor until she +felt assured that there was no mistake. One of her means of +security was to carry with her the daguerreotypes of her friends, +and show them to each new person. If they recognized the likeness, +then it was all right. + +"Pains were taken to secure her the attention to which her great +services of humanity entitled her, and she left New England with a +handsome sum of money toward the payment of her debt to Mr. +Seward. Before she left, however, she had several interviews with +Captain Brown, then in Boston. He is supposed to have communicated +his plans to her, and to have been aided by her in obtaining +recruits and money among her people. At any rate, he always spoke +of her with the greatest respect, and declared that 'General +Tubman,' as he styled her, was a better officer than most whom he +had seen, and could command an army as successfully as she had led +her small parties of fugitives. + +"Her own veneration for Captain Brown has always been profound, +and since his murder, has taken the form of a religion. She had +often risked her own life for her people, and she thought nothing +of that; but that a white man, and a man so noble and strong, +should so take upon himself the burden of a despised race, she +could not understand, and she took refuge from her perplexity in +the mysteries of her fervid religion. + +"Again, she laid great stress on a dream which she had just before +she met Captain Brown in Canada. She thought she was in 'a +wilderness sort of place, all full of rocks, and bushes,' when she +saw a serpent raise its head among the rocks, and as it did so, it +became the head of an old man with a long white beard, gazing at +her, 'wishful like, jes as ef he war gwine to speak to me,' and +then two other heads rose up beside him, younger than he,--and as +she stood looking at them, and wondering what they could want with +her, a great crowd of men rushed in and struck down the younger +heads, and then the head of the old man, still looking at her so +'wishful.' This dream she had again and again, and could not +interpret it; but when she met Captain Brown, shortly after, +behold, he was the very image of the head she had seen. But still +she could not make out what her dream signified, till the news +came to her of the tragedy of Harper's Ferry, and then she knew +the two other heads were his two sons. She was in New York at that +time, and on the day of the affair at Harper's Ferry she felt her +usual warning that something was wrong--she could not tell what. +Finally she told her hostess that it must be Captain Brown who was +in trouble, and that they should soon hear bad news from him. The +next day's newspaper brought tidings of what had happened. + +"Her last visit to Maryland was made after this, in December, +1860; and in spite of the agitated condition of the country, and +the greater watchfulness of the slave-holders, she brought away +seven fugitives, one of them an infant, which must be drugged with +opium to keep it from crying on the way, and so revealing the +hiding-place of the party." + +In the spring of 1860, Harriet Tubman was requested by Mr. Gerrit +Smith to go to Boston to attend a large Anti-Slavery meeting. On +her way, she stopped at Troy to visit a cousin, and while there +the colored people were one day startled with the intelligence +that a fugitive slave, by the name of Charles Nalle, had been +followed by his master (who was his younger brother, and not one +grain whiter than he), and that he was already in the hands of the +officers, and was to be taken back to the South. The instant +Harriet heard the news, she started for the office of the United +States Commissioner, scattering the tidings as she went. An +excited crowd was gathered about the office, through which Harriet +forced her way, and rushed up stairs to the door of the room where +the fugitive was detained. A wagon was already waiting before the +door to carry off the man, but the crowd was even then so great, +and in such a state of excitement, that the officers did not dare +to bring the man down. On the opposite side of the street stood +the colored people, watching the window where they could see +Harriet's sun-bonnet, and feeling assured that so long as she +stood there, the fugitive was still in the office. Time passed on, +and he did not appear. "They've taken him out another way, depend +upon that," said some of the colored people. "No," replied others, +"there stands 'Moses' yet, and as long as she is there, he is +safe." Harriet, now seeing the necessity for a tremendous effort +for his rescue, sent out some little boys to cry _fire_. The bells +rang, the crowd increased, till the whole street was a dense mass +of people. Again and again the officers came out to try and clear +the stairs, and make a way to take their captive down; others were +driven down, but Harriet stood her ground, her head bent and her +arms folded. "Come, old woman, you must get out of this," said one +of the officers; "I must have the way cleared; if you can't get +down alone, some one will help you." Harriet, still putting on a +greater appearance of decrepitude, twitched away from him, and +kept her place. Offers were made to buy Charles from his master, +who at first agreed to take twelve hundred dollars for him; but +when this was subscribed, he immediately raised the price to +fifteen hundred. The crowd grew more excited. A gentleman raised a +window and called out, "Two hundred dollars for his rescue, but +not one cent to his master!" This was responded to by a roar of +satisfaction from the crowd below. At length the officers +appeared, and announced to the crowd, that if they would open a +lane to the wagon, they would promise to bring the man down the +front way. + +The lane was opened, and the man was brought out--a tall, +handsome, intelligent _white_ man, with his wrists manacled +together, walking between the U.S. Marshal and another officer, +and behind him his brother and his master, so like him that one +could hardly be told from the other. The moment they appeared, +Harriet roused from her stooping posture, threw up a window, and +cried to her friends: "Here he comes--take him!" and then darted +down the stairs like a wild-cat. She seized one officer and pulled +him down, then another, and tore him away from the man; and +keeping her arms about the slave, she cried to her friends: "Drag +us out! Drag him to the river! Drown him! but don't let them have +him!" They were knocked down together, and while down, she tore +off her sun-bonnet and tied it on the head of the fugitive. When +he rose, only his head could be seen, and amid the surging mass of +people the slave was no longer recognized, while the master +appeared like the slave. Again and again they were knocked down, +the poor slave utterly helpless, with his manacled wrists, +streaming with blood. Harriet's outer clothes were torn from her, +and even her stout shoes were pulled from her feet, yet she never +relinquished her hold of the man, till she had dragged him to the +river, where he was tumbled into a boat, Harriet following in a +ferry-boat to the other side. But the telegraph was ahead of them, +and as soon as they landed he was seized and hurried from her +sight. After a time, some school children came hurrying along, and +to her anxious inquiries they answered, "He is up in that house, +in the third story." Harriet rushed up to the place. Some men were +attempting to make their way up the stairs. The officers were +firing down, and two men were lying on the stairs, who had been +shot. Over their bodies our heroine rushed, and with the help of +others burst open the door of the room, and dragged out the +fugitive, whom Harriet carried down stairs in her arms. A +gentleman who was riding by with a fine horse, stopped to ask what +the disturbance meant; and on hearing the story, his sympathies +seemed to be thoroughly aroused; he sprang from his wagon, calling +out, "That is a blood-horse, drive him till he drops." The poor +man was hurried in; some of his friends jumped in after him, and +drove at the most rapid rate to Schenectady. + +This is the story Harriet told to the writer. By some persons it +seemed too wonderful for belief, and an attempt was made to +corroborate it. Rev. Henry Fowler, who was at the time at +Saratoga, kindly volunteered to go to Troy and ascertain the +facts. His report was, that he had had a long interview with Mr. +Townsend, who acted during the trial as counsel for the slave, +that he had given him a "rich narration," which he would write out +the next week for this little book. But before he was to begin his +generous labor, and while engaged in some kind efforts for the +prisoners at Auburn, he was stricken down by the heat of the sun, +and was for a long time debarred from labor. + +This good man died not long after and the promised narration was +never written, but a statement by Mr. Townsend was sent me, which +I copy here: + +_Statements made by Martin I. Townsend, Esq., of Troy, who was +counsel for the fugitive, Charles Nalle._ + +Nalle is an octoroon; his wife has the same infusion of Caucasian +blood. She was the daughter of her master, and had, with her +sister, been bred by him in his family, as his own child. When the +father died, both of these daughters were married and had large +families of children. Under the highly Christian national laws of +"Old Virginny," these children were the slaves of their +grandfather. The old man died, leaving a will, whereby he +manumitted his daughters and their children, and provided for the +purchase of the freedom of their husbands. The manumission of the +children and grandchildren took effect; but the estate was +insufficient to purchase the husbands of his daughters, and the +fathers of his grandchildren. The manumitted, by another +Christian, "conservative," and "national" provision of law, were +forced to leave the State, while the slave husbands remained in +slavery. Nalle, and his brother-in-law, were allowed for a while +to visit their families outside Virginia about once a year, but +were at length ordered to provide themselves with new wives, as +they would be allowed to visit their former ones no more. It was +after this that Nalle and his brother-in-law started for the land +of freedom, guided by the steady light of the north star. Thank +God, neither family now need fear any earthly master or the bay of +the blood-hound dogging their fugitive steps. + +Nalle returned to Troy with his family about July, 1860, and +resided with them there for more than seven years. They are all +now residents of the city of Washington, D.C. Nalle and his family +are persons of refined manners, and of the highest respectability. +Several of his children are red-haired, and a stranger would +discover no trace of African blood in their complexions or +features. It was the head of this family whom H.F. Averill +proposed to doom to returnless exile and life-long slavery. + +When Nalle was brought from Commissioner Beach's office into the +street, Harriet Tubman, who had been standing with the excited +crowd, rushed amongst the foremost to Nalle, and running one of +her arms around his manacled arm, held on to him without ever +loosening her hold through the more than half-hour's struggle to +Judge Gould's office, and from Judge Gould's office to the dock, +where Nalle's liberation was accomplished. In the _mêelée_ she was +repeatedly beaten over the head with policemen's clubs, but she +never for a moment released her hold, but cheered Nalle and his +friends with her voice, and struggled with the officers until they +were literally worn out with their exertions, and Nalle was +separated from them. + +True, she had strong and earnest helpers in her struggle, some of +whom had white faces as well as human hearts, and are now in +Heaven. But she exposed herself to the fury of the sympathizers +with slavery, without fear, and suffered their blows without +flinching. Harriet crossed the river with the crowd, in the ferry-boat, +and when the men who led the assault upon the door of Judge +Stewart's office were stricken down, Harriet and a number of other +colored women rushed over their bodies, brought Nalle out, and +putting him in the first wagon passing, started him for the West. + +A lively team, driven by a colored man, was immediately sent on to +relieve the other, and Nalle was seen about Troy no more until he +returned a free man by purchase from his master. Harriet also +disappeared, and the crowd dispersed. How she came to be in Troy +that day, is entirely unknown to our citizens; and where she hid +herself after the rescue, is equally a mystery. But her struggle +was in the sight of a thousand, perhaps of five thousand +spectators. + +On asking Harriet particularly, as to the age of her mother, she +answered, "Well, I'll tell you, Missus. Twenty-three years ago, in +Maryland, I paid a lawyer five dollars to look up the will of my +mother's first master. He looked back sixty years, and said it was +time to give up. I told him to go back furder. He went back sixty-five +years, and there he found the will--giving the girl Ritty to +his grand-daughter (Mary Patterson), to serve her and her +offspring till she was forty-five years of age." This grand-daughter +died soon after, unmarried; and as there was no provision +for Ritty, in case of her death, she was actually emancipated at +that time. But no one informed her of the fact, and she and her +dear children remained in bondage till emancipated by the courage +and determination of this heroic daughter and sister. The old +woman must then, it seems, be ninety-eight years of age,[F] and +the old man has probably numbered as many years. And yet these old +people, living out beyond the toll-gate, on the South Street road, +Auburn, come in every Sunday--more than a mile--to the Central +Church. To be sure, deep slumbers settle down upon them as soon as +they are seated, which continue undisturbed till the congregation +is dismissed; but they have done their best, and who can doubt +that they receive a blessing. Immediately after this they go to +class-meeting at the Methodist Church. Then they wait for a third +service, and after that start out home again. + +[Footnote F: This was written in the year '68, and the old people +both lived several years after that time.] + +Harriet supposes that the whole family were actually free, and +were kept wrongfully in a state of slavery all those long years; +but she simply states the fact, without any mourning or lamenting +over the wrong and the misery of it all, accepting it as the will +of God, and, therefore, not to be rebelled against. + +This woman, of whom you have been reading, is now old and feeble, +suffering from the effects of her life of unusual labor and +hardship, as well as from repeated injuries; but she is still at +work for her people. For many years, even long before the war, her +little home has been the refuge of the hunted and the homeless, +for whom she had provided; and I have seen as many as eight or ten +dependents upon her care at one time living there. + +It has always been a hospital, but she feels the need of a large +one, and only prays to see this, "her last work," completed ere +she goes hence. + +Without claiming any of my dear old Harriet's prophetic vision, I +seem to see a future day when the wrongs of earth will be righted, +and justice, long delayed, will assert itself. I seem to see that +our poor Harriet has passed within "one of dem gates," and has +received the welcome, "Come, thou blessed of my Father; for I was +hungry and you gave me meat, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, +I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, +sick and in prison and you visited me." + +And when she asks, "Lord, when did I do all this?" He answers: + +"Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, _my +brethren_, you did it unto me." + +And as she stands in her modest way just within the celestial +gate, I seem to see a kind hand laid upon her dark head, and to +hear a gentle voice saying in her ear, "Friend, come up higher!" + + + + +SOME ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF "HARRIET." + +The story of this remarkable black woman has been attracting +renewed interest of late, and I have often been asked to publish +another edition of the book, and to add some interesting and +amusing incidents which I have related to my friends. + +Harriet is very old and feeble now; she does not know how old, but +probably between eighty and ninety. Her years of toil and +adventure have told upon her, and she may not last much longer. If +she does, she will still need help which she would never ask for +herself, but which this little book may give her; when she dies, +it may aid in putting up a fitting monument to her memory, which +should always be "kept green." + +As time goes on, the horrors of the days of slavery are by many +forgotten, and the children who have been born since the War of +the Rebellion know of that fearful straggle, and of the causes +that led to it, only as a tradition of long ago. + +Even in the city where Harriet has so long lived her quiet and +unobtrusive life, it is not an uncommon thing to meet a young +person who has never even heard her name. + +Those who know the principal facts of her eventful history may be +interested to read these few added incidents, which she has +related to me from time to time. + +A year or two ago, as I was staying at the summer home of my +brother, Professor Hopkins, on Owasco Lake, Harriet came up to see +us; it was after lunch, and my brother ordered a table to be set +for her on the broad shaded piazza and waited on her himself, +bringing her cups of tea and other good things, as if it were a +pleasure and an honor to serve her. + +There is a quiet dignity about Harriet that makes her superior or +indifferent to all surrounding circumstances; whether seated at +the hospitable board of Gerrit Smith or any other white gentleman, +as she often was, or sent to the kitchen, where the white +domestics refused to eat with a "nigger," it was all the same to +Harriet; she was never elated, or humiliated; she took everything +as it came, making no comments or complaints. + +And so she sat quietly eating her lunch, and talking with us. +After the lunch was over, as we sat on the piazza waiting for the +steamboat to take her back to Auburn, she said: + +"I often think, Missus, of things I wish I had told you before you +wrote de book. Now, as I come up on de boat I thought of one thing +thet happened to me when I was very little. + +"I was only seven years old when I was sent away to take car' of a +baby. I was so little dat I had to sit down on de flo' and hev de +baby put in my lap. An' dat baby was allus in my lap 'cept when it +was asleep, or its mother was feedin' it. + +"One mornin' after breakfast she had de baby, an' I stood by de +table waitin' till I was to take it; just by me was a bowl of +lumps of white sugar. My Missus got into a great quarrel wid her +husband; she had an awful temper, an' she would scole an' storm, +an' call him all sorts of names. Now you know, Missus, I never had +nothing good; no sweet, no sugar, an' dat sugar, right by me, did +look so nice, an' my Missus's back was turned to me while she was +fightin' wid her husband, so I jes' put my fingers in de sugar +bowl to take one lump, an' maybe she heard me, an' she turned an' +saw me. De nex' minute she had de raw hide down; I give one jump +out of de do', an' I saw dey came after me, but I jes' flew, and +dey didn't catch me. I ran, an' I ran, an' I run, I passed many a +house, but I didn't dar' to stop, for dey all knew my Missus an' +dey would send me back. By an' by, when I was clar tuckered out, I +come to a great big pig-pen. Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps +eight or ten little pigs. I was too little to climb into it, but I +tumbled ober de high board, an' fell in on de ground; I was so +beat out I couldn't stir. + +"An' dere, Missus, I stayed from Friday till de nex' Chuesday, +fightin' wid dose little pigs for de potato peelin's an" oder +scraps dat came down in de trough. De ole sow would push me away +when I tried to git her chillen's food, an' I was awful afeard of +her. By Chuesday I was so starved I knowed I'd got to go back to +my Missus, I hadn't got no whar else to go, but I knowed what was +comin.' So I went back." + +"And she gave you an awful flogging, I suppose, Harriet?" + +"No, Missus, but _he_ did." + +This was all that was said, but probably that flogging left some +of those scars which cover her neck and back to this day. + +Think of a poor little helpless thing seven years old enduring all +this terror and suffering, and yet few people are as charitable to +the slave-holders as Harriet. "Dey don' know no better, Missus; +it's de way dey was brought up. 'Make de little nigs min' you, or +flog 'em,' was what was said to de chillen, and dey was brought up +wid de whip in der hand. Now, min' you, Missus, dat wasn't de way +on all de plantations; dere was good Marsters an' Missuses, as +I've heard tell, but I didn't happen to come across 'em." + +There is frequent mention made in the Memoir of Harriet's firm and +unwavering trust in God in times of great perplexity or deadly +peril, when she often had occasion to say, "Vain is the help of +man, but in God is my help." I have never known another instance +of such implicit trust and confidence. + +Very soon after the Civil War her house was turned into a +hospital, and no poor helpless creature of her race was ever +turned from her door. Indeed, all through the war, and through the +cruel reign of the fugitive slave law, her house was one of the +depots of the "Underground Railway," as that secret and unseen +mode of conveying the hunted fugitives was called, and when the +war was over she established a hospital, which for many years, +indeed till she was too ill herself to take charge of it, has been +the refuge of the sufferers of her race who had no earthly +dependence but Harriet. + +Very often this woman, except for her trust in "de Lawd," had had +no idea where the next meal was to come from, but she troubled +herself no more about it than if she had been a Vanderbilt or an +Astor. "De Lawd will provide" was her motto, and He never failed +her. + +One day, in passing through Auburn, I was impelled to stop over a +train, and drive out to see what were the needs of my colored +friend, and to take her some supplies. + +Her little house was always neat and comfortable, and the small +parlor was nicely and rather prettily furnished. The lame, the +halt, and the blind, the bruised and crippled little children, and +one crazy woman, were all brought in to see me, and "the blind +woman" (she seemed to have no other name), a very old woman who +had been Harriet's care for eighteen years, was led into the room--an +interesting and pathetic group. + +On leaving, I said to her: "If you will come out to the carriage, +Harriet, there are some provisions there for you." + +She turned to one of her poor dependents and said: "What did you +say to me dis mornin'? You said, 'We hadn't got nothin' to eat in +de house,' and what did I say to you? I said, 'I've got a rich +Father!'" + +Nothing that comes to this remarkable woman ever surprises her. +She says very little in the way of thanks, except to the Giver of +all good. How the knowledge comes to her no one can tell, but she +seems always to know when help is coming, and she is generally on +hand to receive it, though it is never for herself she wants it, +but only for those under her care. + +I must not forget to mention the Indian girls of the Fort Wrangel +School, who, having read a little notice of Harriet in the +"Evangelist," went to work, and by their daily labor raised +thirty-seven dollars which they sent to me for Harriet--and this +school has been disbanded, and these educated girls have been sent +back to their wretched homes, because our Government could not +afford to support it any longer! + +Pundita Ramabai went about this time to see Harriet and they had +an interesting talk together. Here was a remarkable trio taking +hold of hands--the woman from East India, the Indian girl from the +far West, and the black woman from the Southern States only two +removes from an African savage! + +Once when she came to New York, where she had not been in twenty +years, and was starting off alone to find some friends miles away +in a part of the city which she had never seen, we remonstrated +with her, telling her she would surely be lost. + +"Now, Missus," she said, "don't you t'ink dis ole head dat done de +navigatin' down in Egypt can do de navigatin' up here in New +York?" + +And she walked many miles, scorning a "cyar," and found all the +people she wished to see. + +Harriet was known by various names among her Southern friends. One +of these was "Ole Chariot," perhaps as a rhyme to the name by +which they called her. + +And so, often when she went to bring away a band of refugees, she +would sing as she walked the dark country roads by night: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + Who's gwine wid me?" + +And from some unseen singer would come the response: + + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + I'se gwine wid you." + +And by some wireless telegraphy known only to the initiated it +would be made known in one cabin or another where their deliverer +was waiting concealed, and when she would be ready to pilot them +on their long journey to freedom. + +A Woman's Suffrage Meeting was held in Rochester a year or two +ago, and Harriet came to attend it. She generally attended every +meeting of women, on whatever subject, if possible to do so. + +She was led into the church by an adopted daughter, whom she had +rescued from death when a baby, and had brought up as her own. + +The church was warm and Harriet was tired, and soon after she +entered deep sleep fell upon her. + +Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Stanton were on the platform, and after +speeches had been made and business accomplished, one of these +ladies said: + +"Friends, we have in the audience that wonderful woman, Harriet +Tubman, from whom we should like to hear, if she will kindly come +to the platform." + +People looked around at Harriet, but Harriet was fast asleep. + +"Mother! mother!" said the young girl; "they are calling for you," +but it was some time before Harriet could be made to understand +where she was, or what was wanted of her. At length, she was led +out into the aisle and was assisted by one of these kind ladies on +to the platform. + +Harriet looked around, wondering why so many white ladies were +gathered there. I think it was Miss Anthony who led her forward, +saying: + +"Ladies, I am glad to present to you Harriet Tubman, 'the +conductor of the Underground Railroad.'" + +"Yes, ladies," said Harriet, "I was de conductor ob de Underground +Railroad for eight years, an' I can say what mos' conductors can't +say--I nebber run my train off de track an' I nebber los' a +passenger." The audience laughed and applauded, and Harriet was +emboldened to go on and relate portions of her interesting +history, which were most kindly received by the assembled ladies. + +After the passage of the iniquitous fugitive slave law, Harriet +removed all her dependents to Canada, and here John Brown and some +of his followers took refuge with her, and she was his helper and +adviser in many of his schemes. The papers of that time tell of +her helping him with his plans and of his dependence upon her +judgment. In one of his letters he says: "Harriet has hitched on, +and with all her might; she is a whole team." + +For this large party added to her own family of several persons, +she worked day and night in her usual self-forgetting manner. Her +old father and mother were with her, and the mother, nearly a +hundred years old and enfeebled in mind, was querulous and +exacting, and most unreasonable in her temper, often reproaching +this faithful daughter as the Israelites did Moses of old, for +"bringing them up into the wilderness to die there of hunger." + +There came a day when everything eatable was exhausted, and the +prospect was dark, indeed. The old mother had no tobacco and no +tea--and these were more essential to her comfort than food or +clothing; then reproaches thick and fast fell upon Harriet. She +made no reply, but "went into her closet and shut the door"; when +she came out she had a large basket on her arm. + +"Catharine," she said, "take off dat small pot an' put on a large +one." + +"But, Harriet, der ain't not'ing in de house to eat." + +"Put on de large pot, Catharine; we're gwine to have soup to-day"--and +Harriet started for the market. The day was nearly over, and +the market-men were anxious to be rid of their wares, and were +offering them very cheap. Harriet walked along with the basket on +her arm. "Old woman, don't you want a nice piece of meat?" called +out one; and another, "Here's a nice piece; only ten cents. Take +this soup-bone, you can have it for five cents." But Harriet had +not five cents. At length a kind-hearted butcher, judging of the +trouble from her face, said: "Look here, old woman, you look like +an honest woman; take this soup-bone, and pay me when you get some +money"; then another said, "Take this," and others piled on pieces +of meat till the basket was full. Harriet passed on, and when she +came to the vegetables she exchanged some of the meat for +potatoes, cabbage, and onions, and the big pot was in requisition +when she reached home. Harriet had not "gone into her closet and +shut the door" for nothing. + +I hope I may be excused for sometimes telling my story in the +first person, as I cannot conveniently do it in any other way. In +getting ready a Thanksgiving box to send to Harriet, a few years +ago, I had ordered a turkey to be sent for it, but as the weather +grew quite warm, I was advised to send a ham instead. That box was +lost for three weeks, and when I saw Harriet again and told her +that I had intended to send a turkey in it, she said, "Wal, dere +was a clar Providence in dat, wa'n't dere, Missus?" + +A friend, hearing that I was preparing a Christmas box in New York +for this needy household, sent me a quantity of clothing and ten +dollars for them. As my box was not quite full, I expended three +dollars of that money in groceries, and sent seven dollars to a +lady in Auburn who acted as treasurer for Harriet, giving her +money as it was needed; for Harriet's heart is so large, and her +feelings are so easily wrought upon, that it was never wise to +give her more than enough for present needs. + +Not long after, I received a letter from a well-known physician--a +woman--in Auburn, in which she said: + +"I want to tell you something about Harriet. She came to me last +Friday, and said, 'Doctah, I have got my taxes and insurance to +pay to-morrow, and I haven't a cent. Would you lend me seven +dollars till next Chuesday?' More to try her than anything else, I +said, 'Why, Harriet, I'm a poor, hard-working woman myself; how do +you know you'll pay me seven dollars next Tuesday?' 'Well, Doctah, +I can't jes' tell you how, but I'll pay you next Chuesday.'" On +Tuesday my letter with seven dollars enclosed arrived in Auburn, +and Harriet took the money to the friend who had lent it to her. +Others thought this strange, but there was nothing strange about +it to her. + +A few years ago, when Harriet called on the writer, she was +introduced to the husband of one of her daughters lately married. +He told her how glad he was to see her, as he had heard so much +about her. She made one of her humble courtesies, and said: "I'm +pleased to see you, sir; it's de first time I've hed de pleasure +makin' yo' 'quaintance since you was 'dopted into my fam'bly." + +When the turns of somnolence come upon Harriet, her "sperrit," as +she says, goes away from her body, and visits other scenes and +places, and if she ever really sees them afterwards they are +perfectly familiar to her and she can find her way about alone. +Instances of this kind have lately been mentioned in some of the +magazines, but Harriet had never heard of them. + +Sitting in her house one day, deep sleep fell upon her, and in a +dream or vision she saw a chariot in the air, going south, and +empty, but soon it returned, and lying in it, cold and stiff, was +the body of a young lady of whom Harriet was very fond, whose home +was in Auburn, but who had gone to Washington with her father, a +distinguished officer of the Government there.[G] + +[Footnote G: William H. Seward.] + +The shock roused Harriet from her sleep, and she ran into Auburn, +to the house of her minister, crying out: "Oh, Miss Fanny is +dead!" and the news had just been received. + +She woke from a sleep one day in great agitation, and ran to the +houses of her colored neighbors, exclaiming that "a drefful t'ing +was happenin' somewha', de ground was openin', an' de houses were +fallin' in, and de people bein' killed faster 'n dey was in de +wah--faster 'n dey was in de wah." + +At that very time, or near it, an earthquake was occurring in the +northern part of South America, for the telegram came that day, +though why a vision of it should be sent to Harriet no one can +divine. + +Her expressions are often very peculiar; some ladies of a certain +church who had become interested in her wished to see her, and she +was invited to come to their city, and attended the sewing circle, +where twenty or thirty of them were gathered together. They asked +her many questions, and she told stories, sang songs, danced, and +imitated the talk of the Southern negroes; and went away loaded +with many tokens of the kind interest of these ladies. On the way +home she said: + +"What nice, kind-lookin' ladies dem was, Missus. I looked in all +dere faces, an' I didn't see nothin' venomous in one of 'em!" + +As has been said, Harriet can neither read nor write; her letters +are all written by an amanuensis, and she seems to have an idea +that by laying her hand on this person, her feelings may be +transmitted to the one to whom she is writing. These feelings are +sometimes very poetically expressed. I have by me some of those +letters; in one of them she says: "I lay my hand on the shoulder +of the writer of this letter, and I wish for you, and all your +offsprings, a through ticket in the Gospel train to Glory." + +In another letter she has dictated this sentence: + +"I ask of my Heavenly Father, that when the last trump sounds, and +my name is called, I may stand close by your side, to answer to +the call." Probably many of her friends and correspondents might +contribute facts and incidents in Harriet's life quite as +interesting as any I have mentioned, but I have no way of getting +at them. + +Harriet had long cherished the idea of having her hospital +incorporated, and placed in charge of the Zion African Methodist +Church of Auburn, and she was particularly anxious to come into +possession of a lot of twenty-five acres of land, near her own +home, to present to it as a little farm. This lot was to be sold +at auction, and on the day of the sale Harriet appeared with a +very little money, and a determination to have the land, cost what +it might. + +"Dey was all white folks but me dere, Missus, and dere I was like +a blackberry in a pail ob milk, but I hid down in a corner, and no +one know'd who was biddin'. De man began down pretty low, and I +kept goin' up by fifties; he got up to twelve hundred, thirteen +hundred, fourteen hundred, and still dat voice in the corner kept +goin' up by fifties. At last it got up to fourteen hundred and +fifty, an' den oders stopped biddin', an' de man said, 'All done! +who is de buyer?' 'Harriet Tubman,' I shouted. 'What! dat ole +nigger?' dey said. 'Old woman, how you ebber gwine to pay fer dat +lot ob land?' 'I'm gwine home to tell de Lawd Jesus all about it,' +I said." + +After telling the Lord Jesus all about it, Harriet went down to a +bank, obtained the money by mortgaging the land, and then +requested to have a deed made out, making the land over to the +Zion African Methodist Church. And her mind is easy about her +hospital, though with many persons the trouble would be but just +beginning, as there is interest on the mortgage to be paid. + +Though the hospital is no longer on her hands, you will never find +her without several poor creatures under her care. When I last saw +her she was providing for five sick and injured ones. A blind +woman came one day to her door, led by four little children--her +husband had turned her out of his house, and like all other poor +distressed black people, who could get there, she made her way to +Harriet. Before the next morning a fifth was added to the group. +As soon as it was possible Harriet dressed the whole six in white +and took them to a Methodist church and had them baptized. + +A little account of this was sent to the "Evangelist," and the +almost immediate response was seventy-five dollars, which was of +great benefit in providing for the needs of the growing family. + +This faithful creature will probably not live much longer, and her +like will not be seen again. But through the sale of the last +edition of her "Memoir," and some other sources of income, her +wants will be abundantly supplied. + +Harriet's friends will be glad to learn that she has lately been +for some time in Boston, where a surgical operation was performed +upon her head, the skull (which was crushed by a weight thrown by +her master more than seventy years before) being successfully +raised. Harriet's account of this operation is rather amusing. + +"Harriet," said Professor Hopkins, "what is the matter with your +head? Your hair is all gone!" + +"Why, dat's where dey shaved it off befo' dey cut my head open." + +"Cut your head open, Harriet? What do you mean?" + +"Wal, sir, when I was in Boston I walked out one day, an' I saw a +great big buildin', an' I asked a man what it was, an' he said it +was a hospital. So I went right in, an' I saw a young man dere, +an' I said, 'Sir, are you a doctah?' an' he said he was; den I +said, 'Sir, do you t'ink you could cut my head open?' + +"'What do you want your head cut open fer?' he said. + +"Den I tol' him de whole story, an' how my head was givin' me a +powerful sight of trouble lately, with achin' an' buzzin', so I +couldn' get no sleep at night. + +"An' he said, 'Lay right down on dis yer table,' an' I lay down." + +"Didn't he give you anything to deaden the pain, Harriet?" + +"No, sir; I jes' lay down like a lamb fo' de slaughter, an' he +sawed open my skull, an' raised it up, an' now it feels more +comfortable." "Did you suffer very much?" + +"Yes, sir, it hurt, ob cose; but I got up an' put on my bonnet an' +started to walk home, but my legs kin' o' gin out under me, an' +dey sont fer a ambulance an' sont me home." + +It has been hoped that this remarkable experience might result in +giving Harriet a new lease of life, but I am sorry to say she is +very feeble, and I fear will not be with us much longer. + +Her "through ticket" has long been ready for her, and when her +last journey is accomplished can we doubt that she will be +welcomed to one of those many mansions prepared for those who have +spent their lives in the Master's service? + + +THE END + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +The following letters to the writer from those well-known and +distinguished philanthropists, Hon. Gerrit Smith and Wendell +Phillips, and one from Frederick Douglass, addressed to Harriet, +will serve as the best introduction that can be given of the +subject of this memoir to its readers: + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _June_ 13, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I am happy to learn that you are to speak to the +public of Mrs. Harriet Tubman. Of the remarkable events of her +life I have no _personal_ knowledge, but of the truth of them as +she describes them I have no doubt. + +I have often listened to her, in her visits to my family, and I am +confident that she is not only truthful, but that she has a rare +discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy. + + With great respect your friend, + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Wendell Phillips_. + + _June_ 16, 1868. + +DEAR MADAME: The last time I ever saw John Brown was under my own +roof, as he brought Harriet Tubman to me, saying: "Mr. Phillips, I +bring you one of the best and bravest persons on this continent-- +_General_ Tubman, as we call her." + +He then went on to recount her labors and sacrifices in behalf of +her race. After that, Harriet spent some time in Boston, earning +the confidence and admiration of all those who were working for +freedom. With their aid she went to the South more than once, +returning always with a squad of self-emancipated men, women, and +children, for whom her marvelous skill had opened the way of +escape. After the war broke out, she was sent with indorsements +from Governor Andrew and his friends to South Carolina, where in +the service of the Nation she rendered most important and +efficient aid to our army. + +In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who +have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few +men who did before that time more for the colored race, than our +fearless and most sagacious friend, Harriet. + + Faithfully yours, + + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Frederick Douglass_. + + ROCHESTER, _August_ 29, 1868. + +DEAR HARRIET: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful +life has been written by a kind lady, and that the same is soon to +be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon +me for a word of commendation. I need such words from you far more +than you can need them from me, especially where your superior +labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our +land are known as I know them. The difference between us is very +marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our +cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement +at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in +a private way. I have wrought in the day--you in the night. I have +had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of +being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done +has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore +bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, +and whose heartfelt "_God bless you_" has been your only reward. +The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of +your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John +Brown--of sacred memory--I know of no one who has willingly +encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people +than you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to +those who do not know you as I know you. It is to me a great +pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony to your character +and your works, and to say to those to whom you may come, that I +regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy. + + Your friend, + + FREDERICK DOUGLASS. + + * * * * * + +_Extracts from a Letter written by Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the +Massachusetts Board of State Charities._ + +MY DEAR MADAME: Mr. Phillips has sent me your note, asking for +reminiscences of Harriet Tubman, and testimonials to her +extraordinary story, which all her New England friends will, I am +sure, be glad to furnish. + +I never had reason to doubt the truth of what Harriet said in +regard to her own career, for I found her singularly truthful. Her +imagination is warm and rich, and there is a whole region of the +marvelous in her nature, which has manifested itself at times +remarkably. Her dreams and visions, misgivings and forewarnings, +ought not to be omitted in any life of her, particularly those +relating to John Brown. + +She was in his confidence in 1858-9, and he had a great regard for +her, which he often expressed to me. She aided him in his plans, +and expected to do so still further, when his career was closed by +that wonderful campaign in Virginia. The first time she came to my +house, in Concord, after that tragedy, she was shown into a room +in the evening, where Brackett's bust of John Brown was standing. +The sight of it, which was new to her, threw her into a sort of +ecstacy of sorrow and admiration, and she went on in her +rhapsodical way to pronounce his apotheosis. + +She has often been in Concord, where she resided at the houses of +Emerson, Alcott, the Whitneys, the Brooks family, Mrs. Horace +Mann, and other well-known persons. They all admired and respected +her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures. She was too +_real_ a person to be suspected. In 1862, I think it was, she went +from Boston to Port Royal, under the advice and encouragement of +Mr. Garrison, Governor Andrew, Dr. Howe, and other leading people. +Her career in South Carolina is well known to some of our +officers, and I think to Colonel Higginson, now of Newport, R.I., +and Colonel James Montgomery, of Kansas, to both of whom she was +useful as a spy and guide, if I mistake not. I regard her as, on +the whole, the most extraordinary person of her race I have ever +met. She is a negro of pure, or almost pure blood, can neither +read nor write, and has the characteristics of her race and +condition. But she has done what can scarcely be credited on the +best authority, and she has accomplished her purposes with a +coolness, foresight, patience and wisdom, which in a _white man_ +would have raised him to the highest pitch of reputation. + +I am, dear Madame, very truly your servant, + + F.B. SANBORN. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Wm.H. Seward_. + + WASHINGTON, _July_ 25, 1868. + +MAJ.-GEN. HUNTER-- + +MY DEAR SIR: Harriet Tubman, a colored woman, has been nursing our +soldiers during nearly all the war. She believes she has a claim +for faithful services to the command in South Carolina with which +you are connected, and she thinks that you would be disposed to +see her claim justly settled. + +I have known her long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a truer, +seldom dwells in the human form. I commend her, therefore, to your +kind and best attentions. + + Faithfully your friend, + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Col. James Montgomery_. + + ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C., _July_ 6, 1863. + HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE. + +BRIG.-GEN. GILMORE, Commanding Department of the South-- + +GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, +a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have been +acquainted with her character and actions for several years. + +I am, General, your most ob't servant, + + JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. Baird_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov_. 24, 1864. + +The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who +has rendered faithful and good services to our Union army, not +only in the hospital, but in various capacities, having been +employed under Government at Hilton Head, and in Florida; and I +commend her to the protection of all officers in whose department +she may happen to be. + +She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my +uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and +capabilities. + + MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD. + + * * * * * + +_Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, N.Y., _Nov_. 4, 1867. + +I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever, +have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying, +and of more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with +her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment. + +During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful +to the cause of our country. She is poor and has poor parents. +Such a servant of the country should be well paid by the country. +I hope that the Government will look into her case. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Testimonial from Gerrit Smith_. + + PETERBORO, _Nov._ 22, 1864. + +The bearer, Harriet Tubman, needs not any recommendation. Nearly +all the nation over, she has been heard of for her wisdom, +integrity, patriotism, and bravery. The cause of freedom owes her +much. The country owes her much. + +I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high +esteem. + + GERRIT SMITH. + + * * * * * + +_Certificate from Henry K. Durrant, Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A._ + +I certify that I have been acquainted with Harriet Tubman for +nearly two years; and my position as Medical Officer in charge of +"contrabands" in this town and in hospital, has given me frequent +and ample opportunities to observe her general deportment; +particularly her kindness and attention to the sick and suffering +of her own race. I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem +in which she is generally held. + + HENRY K. DURRANT, + Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. + In charge "Contraband" Hospital. + +Dated at Beaufort, S.C., the 3d day of May, 1864. + +I concur fully in the above. + + R. SAXTON, Brig.-Gen. Vol. + + * * * * * + +The following are a few of the passes used by Harriet throughout +the war. Many others are so defaced that it is impossible to +decipher them. + +HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, +HILTON HEAD, PORT ROYAL, S.C., _Feb_. 19, 1863. + +Pass the bearer, Harriet Tubman, to Beaufort and back to this +place, and wherever she wishes to go; and give her free passage at +all times, on all Government transports. Harriet was sent to me +from Boston by Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, and is a +valuable woman. She has permission, as a servant of the +Government, to purchase such provisions from the Commissary as she +may need. + + D. HUNTER, Maj.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + +General Gilmore, who succeeded General Hunter in command of the +Department of the South, appends his signature to the same pass. + +HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, + _July_ 1, 1863. + +Continued in force. + + Q.A. GILMORE, Brig.-Gen. Com. + + * * * * * + + BEAUFORT, _Aug_. 28, 1862. + +Will Capt. Warfield please let "Moses" have a little Bourbon +whiskey for medicinal purposes. + + HENRY K. DURANT, Act. Ass. Surgeon. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C, + _March_ 20, 1865. + +Pass Mrs. Harriet Tubman (colored) to Hilton Head and Charleston, +S.C., with free transportation on a Government transport, + +By order of the Sec. of War. + Louis H., Asst. Adj.-Gen., U.S.A. +To Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Van Vliet, U.S.Q.M., N.Y. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C., + _July_ 22, 1865. + +Permit Harriet Tubman to proceed to Fortress Monroe, Va., on a +Government transport. Transportation will be furnished free of +cost. + +By order of the Secretary of War. + L.H., Asst. Adj.-Gen. +Not transferable. + + * * * * * + + _Appointment as Nurse_. + +SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the Medical Director +Department of Virginia has been instructed to appoint Harriet +Tubman nurse or matron at the Colored Hospital, Fort Monroe, Va. + + Very respectfully, your obdt. servant, + V.K. BARNES, Surgeon-General. +Hon. WM.H. SEWARD, + Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. + + +Of the many letters, testimonials, and passes, placed in the hands +of the writer by Harriet, the following are selected for insertion +in this book, and are quite sufficient to verify her statements. + +_A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a lady of Auburn_. + + ATLANTA, GA., _March_ 21, 1868. + +MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that +Hon. Wm.H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition to +Congress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in +the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the +value of her services in South Carolina and Florida. She was +employed in the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid +inside the enemy's lines, displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and +fidelity. She was employed by General Hunter, and I think by +Generals Stevens and Sherman, and is as deserving of a pension +from the Government for her services as any other of its faithful +servants. + + I am very truly yours, + RUFUS SAXTON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen., U.S.A. + +Rev. Samuel I. May, in his recollections of the anti-slavery +conflict, after mentioning the case of an old slave mother, whom +he vainly endeavored to assist her son in buying from her master, +says: + +"I did not until four years after know that remarkable woman +Harriet, or I might have engaged her services, in the assurance +that she would have bought off the old woman without _paying_ for +her inalienable right--her liberty." + +Mr. May in another place says of Harriet, that she deserves to be +placed _first_ on the list of American heroines, and then proceeds +to give a short account of her labors, varying very little from +that given in this book. + + + + +FUGITIVE SLAVE RESCUE IN TROY. + +From the _Troy Whig_, April 28, 1859. + +Yesterday afternoon, the streets of this city and West Troy were +made the scenes of unexampled excitement. For the first time since +the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, an attempt was made here to +carry its provisions into execution, and the result was a terrific +encounter between the officers and the prisoner's friends, the +triumph of mob law, and the final rescue of the fugitive. Our city +was thrown into a grand state of turmoil, and for a time every +other topic was forgotten, to give place to this new excitement. +People did not think last evening to ask who was nominated at +Charleston, or whether the news of the Heenan and Sayers battle +had arrived--everything was merged into the fugitive slave case, +of which it seems the end is not yet. + +Charles Nalle, the fugitive, who was the cause of all this +excitement, was a slave on the plantation of B.W. Hansborough, in +Culpepper County, Virginia, till the 19th of October, 1858, when +he made his escape, and went to live in Columbia, Pennsylvania. A +wife and five children are residing there now. Not long since he +came to Sandlake, in this county, and resided in the family of Mr. +Crosby until about three weeks ago. Since that time, he has been +employed as coachman by Uri Gilbert, Esq., of this city. He is +about thirty years of age, tall, quite light-complexioned, and +good-looking. He is said to have been an excellent and faithful +servant. + +At Sandlake, we understand that Nalle was often seen by one H.F. +Averill, formerly connected with one of the papers of this city, +who communicated with his reputed owner in Virginia, and gave the +information that led to a knowledge of the whereabouts of the +fugitive. Averill wrote letters for him, and thus obtained an +acquaintance with his history. Mr. Hansborough sent on an agent, +Henry J. Wall, by whom the necessary papers were got out to arrest +the fugitive. + +Yesterday morning about 11 o'clock, Charles Nalle was sent to +procure some bread for the family by whom he was employed. He +failed to return. At the baker's he was arrested by Deputy United +States Marshal J.W. Holmes, and immediately taken before United +States Commissioner Miles Beach. The son of Mr. Gilbert, thinking +it strange that he did not come back, sent to the house of William +Henry, on Division Street, where he boarded, and his whereabouts +was discovered. + +The examination before Commissioner Beach was quite brief. The +evidence of Averill and the agent was taken, and the Commissioner +decided to remand Nalle to Virginia. The necessary papers were +made out and given to the Marshal. + +By this time it was two o'clock, and the fact began to be noised +abroad that there was a fugitive slave in Mr. Beach's office, +corner of State and First Streets. People in knots of ten or +twelve collected near the entrance, looking at Nalle, who could be +seen at an upper window. William Henry, a colored man, with whom +Nalle boarded, commenced talking from the curb-stone in a loud +voice to the crowd. He uttered such sentences as, "There is a +fugitive slave in that office--pretty soon you will see him come +forth. He is going to be taken down South, and you will have a +chance to see him. He is to be taken to the depot, to go to +Virginia in the first train. Keep watch of those stairs, and you +will have a sight." A number of women kept shouting, crying, and +by loud appeals excited the colored persons assembled. + +Still the crowd grew in numbers. Wagons halted in front of the +locality, and were soon piled with spectators. An alarm of fire +was sounded, and hose carriages dashed through the ranks of men, +women, and boys; but they closed again, and kept looking with +expectant eyes at the window where the negro was visible. +Meanwhile, angry discussions commenced. Some persons agitated a +rescue, and others favored law and order. Mr. Brockway, a lawyer, +had his coat torn for expressing his sentiments, and other +_mêlées_ kept the interest alive. + +All at once there was a wild halloo, and every eye was turned up +to see the legs and part of the body of the prisoner protruding +from the second story window, at which he was endeavoring to +escape. Then arose a shout! "Drop him!" "Catch him!" "Hurrah!" But +the attempt was a fruitless one, for somebody in the office pulled +Nalle back again, amid the shouts of a hundred pairs of lungs. The +crowd at this time numbered nearly a thousand persons. Many of +them were black, and a good share were of the female sex. They +blocked up State Street from First Street to the alley, and kept +surging to and fro. + +Martin I. Townsend, Esq., who acted as counsel for the fugitive, +did not arrive in the Commissioner's office until a decision had +been rendered. He immediately went before Judge Gould, of the +Supreme Court, and procured a writ of habeas corpus in the usual +form, _returnable_ immediately. This was given Deputy-Sheriff +Nathaniel Upham, who at once proceeded to Commissioner Beach's +office, and served it on Holmes. Very injudiciously, the officers +proceeded at once to Judge Gould's office, although it was evident +they would have to pass through an excited, unreasonable crowd. As +soon as the officers and their prisoner emerged from the door, an +old negro, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, +shouted, "Here they come," and the crowd made a terrific rush at +the party. + +From the office of Commissioner Beach, in the Mutual Building, to +that of Judge Gould, in Congress Street, is less than two blocks, +but it was made a regular battlefield. The moment the prisoner +emerged from the doorway, in custody of Deputy-Sheriff Upham, +Chief of Police Quin, Officers Cleveland and Holmes, the crowd +made one grand charge, and those nearest the prisoner seized him +violently, with the intention of pulling him away from the +officers, but they were foiled; and down First to Congress Street, +and up the latter in front of Judge Gould's chambers, went the +surging mass. Exactly what did go on in the crowd, it is +impossible to say, but the pulling, hauling, mauling, and +shouting, gave evidences of frantic efforts on the part of the +rescuers, and a stern resistance from the conservators of the law. +In front of Judge Gould's office the combat was at its height. No +stones or other missiles were used; the battle was fist to fist. +We believe an order was given to take the prisoner the other way, +and there was a grand rush towards the West, past First and River +Streets, as far as Dock Street. All this time there was a +continual _mêlée_. Many of the officers were hurt--among them Mr. +Upham, whose object was solely to do his duty by taking Nalle +before Judge Gould in accordance with the writ of habeas corpus. A +number in the crowd were more or less hurt, and it is a wonder +that these were not badly injured, as pistols were drawn and +chisels used. + +The battle had raged as far as the corner of Dock and Congress +Streets, and the victory remained with the rescuers at last. The +officers were completely worn out with their exertions, and it was +impossible to continue their hold upon him any longer. Nalle was +at liberty. His friends rushed him down Dock Street to the lower +ferry, where there was a skiff lying ready to start. The fugitive +was put in, the ferryman rowed off, and amid the shouts of +hundreds who lined the banks of the river, Nalle was carried into +Albany County. + +As the skiff landed in West Troy, a negro sympathizer waded up to +the waist, and pulled Nalle out of the boat. He went up the hill +alone, however, and there who should he meet but Constable Becker! +The latter official seeing a man with manacles on, considered it +his duty to arrest him. He did so, and took him in a wagon to the +office of Justice Stewart, on the second floor of the corner +building near the ferry. The justice was absent. + +When the crowd on the Troy bank had seen Nalle safely landed, it +was suggested that he might be recaptured. Then there was another +rush made for the steam ferry-boat, which carried over about 400 +persons, and left as many more--a few of the latter being soused +in their efforts to get on the boat. On landing in West Troy, +there, sure enough, was the prisoner, locked up in a strong +office, protected by Officers Becker, Brown and Morrison, and the +door barricaded. + +Not a moment was lost. Up stairs went a score or more of resolute +men--the rest "piling in" promiscuously, shouting and execrating +the officers. Soon a stone flew against the door--then another-- +and bang, bang! went off a couple of pistols, but the officers who +fired them took good care to aim pretty high. The assailants were +forced to retreat for a moment. "They've got pistols," said one. +"Who cares?" was the reply; "they can only kill a dozen of us-- +come on." More stones and more pistol-shots ensued. At last the +door was pulled open by an immense negro, and in a moment he was +felled by a hatchet in the hands of Deputy-Sheriff Morrison; but +the body of the fallen man blocked up the door so that it could +not be shut, and a friend of the prisoner pulled him out. Poor +fellow! he might well say, "Save me from my friends." Amid the +pulling and hauling, the iron had cut his arms, which were +bleeding profusely, and he could hardly walk, owing to fatigue. + +He has since arrived safely in Canada. + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Harriet, The Moses of Her People +by Sarah H. Bradford + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + +This file should be named 8htub10.txt or 8htub10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 8htub11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 8htub10a.txt + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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Bradford. +</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + * { font-family: Times; + } + P { text-indent: 1em; + margin: 10%; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 14pt; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + PRE { font-family: Times; + font-size: 14pt;} + .toc { margin-left: 15%; font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0em;} + CENTER { padding: 10px;} + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Harriet, The Moses of Her People, by Sarah H. Bradford + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. 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Bradford + +Release Date: February, 2006 [EBook #9999] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on November 6, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + + + + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim, David Widger and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<h1> + HARRIET +</h1> +<center> + THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE +</center> +<center><b> + By +</b></center> +<center><b> + SARAH H. BRADFORD +</b></center> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Farewell, ole Marster, don't think hard of me, + I'm going on to Canada, where all de slaves are free." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to His throne, + He who died has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + + +<h2> + PREFACE. +</h2> +<p> + The title I have given my black heroine, in this second edition of + her story, viz.: THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE, may seem a little + ambitious, considering that this Moses was a woman, and that she + succeeded in piloting only three or four hundred slaves from the + land of bondage to the land of freedom. +</p> +<p> + But I only give her here the name by which she was familiarly + known, both at the North and the South, during the years of terror + of the Fugitive Slave Law, and during our last Civil War, in both + of which she took so prominent a part. +</p> +<p> + And though the results of her unexampled heroism were not to free + a whole nation of bond-men and bond-women, yet this object was as + much the desire of her heart, as it was of that of the great + leader of Israel. Her cry to the slave-holders, was ever like his + to Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" and not even he imperiled life and + limb more willingly, than did our courageous and self-sacrificing + friend. +</p> +<p> + Her name deserves to be handed down to posterity, side by side + with the names of Jeanne D'Arc, Grace Darling, and Florence + Nightingale, for not one of these women, noble and brave as they + were, has shown more courage, and power of endurance, in facing + danger and death to relieve human suffering, than this poor black + woman, whose story I am endeavoring in a most imperfect way to + give you. +</p> +<p> + Would that Mrs. Stowe had carried out the plan she once projected, + of being the historian of our sable friend; by her graphic pen, + the incidents of such a life might have been wrought up into a + tale of thrilling interest, equaling, if not exceeding her world + renowned "Uncle Tom's Cabin." +</p> +<p> + The work fell to humbler hands, and the first edition of this + story, under the title of "Harriet Tubman," was written in the + greatest possible haste, while the writer was preparing for a + voyage to Europe. There was pressing need for this book, to save + the poor woman's little home from being sold under a mortgage, and + letters and facts were penned down rapidly, as they came in. The + book has now been in part re-written and the letters and + testimonials placed in an appendix. +</p> +<p> + For the satisfaction of the incredulous (and there will naturally + be many such, when so strange a tale is repeated to them), I will + here state that so far as it has been possible, I have received + corroboration of every incident related to me by my heroic friend. + I did this for the satisfaction of others, not for my own. No one + can hear Harriet talk, and not believe every word she says. As Mr. + Sanborn says of her, "she is too <i>real</i> a person, not to be true." +</p> +<p> + Many incidents quite as wonderful as those related in the story, I + have rejected, because I had no way in finding the persons who + could speak to their truth. +</p> +<p> + This woman was the friend of William H. Seward, of Gerritt Smith, + of Wendell Phillips, of William Lloyd Garrison, and of many other + distinguished philanthropists before the War, as of very many + officers of the Union Army during the conflict. +</p> +<p> + After her almost superhuman efforts in making her own escape from + slavery, and then returning to the South <i>nineteen times</i>, and + bringing away with her over three hundred fugitives, she was sent + by Governor Andrew of Massachusetts to the South at the beginning + of the War, to act as spy and scout for our armies, and to be + employed as hospital nurse when needed. +</p> +<p> + Here for four years she labored without any remuneration, and + during the time she was acting as nurse, never drew but twenty + days' rations from our Government. She managed to support herself, + as well as to take care of the suffering soldiers. +</p> +<p> + Secretary Seward exerted himself in every possible way to procure + her a pension from Congress, but red-tape proved too strong even + for him, and her case was rejected, because it did not come under + any recognized law. +</p> +<p> + The first edition of this little story was published through the + liberality of Gerritt Smith, Wendell Phillips, and prominent men + in Auburn, and the object for which it was written was + accomplished. But that book has long been out of print, and the + facts stated there are all unknown to the present generation. + There have, I am told, often been calls for the book, which could + not be answered, and I have been urged by many friends as well as + by Harriet herself, to prepare another edition. For another + necessity has arisen and she needs help again not for herself, but + for certain helpless ones of her people. +</p> +<p> + Her own sands are nearly run, but she hopes, 'ere she goes home, + to see this work, a hospital, well under way. Her last breath and + her last efforts will be spent in the cause of those for whom she + has already risked so much. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + For them her tears will fall, + For them her prayers ascend; + To them her toils and cares be given, + Till toils and cares shall end. + S.H.B. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<br /><br /><br /> +<h4> + Letter from Mr. Oliver Johnson for the second edition: +</h4> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + NEW YORK, <i>March 6</i>, 1886. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<center> + MY DEAR MADAM: +</center> +<p> + I am very glad to learn that you are about to publish a revised + edition of your life of that heroic woman, Harriet Tubman, by + whose assistance so many American slaves were enabled to break + their bonds. +</p> +<p> + During the period of my official connection with the Anti-Slavery + office in New York, I saw her frequently, when she came there with + the companies of slaves, whom she had successfully piloted away + from the South; and often listened with wonder to the story of + her adventures and hair-breadth escapes. +</p> +<p> + She always told her tale with a modesty which showed how + unconscious she was of having done anything more than her simple + duty. No one who listened to her could doubt her perfect + truthfulness and integrity. +</p> +<p> + Her shrewdness in planning the escape of slaves, her skill in + avoiding arrest, her courage in every emergency, and her + willingness to endure hardship and face any danger for the sake of + her poor followers was phenomenal. +</p> +<p> + I regret to hear that she is poor and ill, and hope the sale of + your book will give her the relief she so much needs and so well + deserves. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Yours truly, + + OLIVER JOHNSON. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<br /><br /><br /> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + AUBURN THEOL. SEMINARY, + <i>March</i> 16, 1886. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<h3> + By PROFESSOR HOPKINS +</h3> +<p> + The remarkable person who is the subject of the following sketch, + has been residing mostly ever since the close of the war in the + outskirts of the City of Auburn, during all which time I have been + well acquainted with her. She has all the characteristics of the + pure African race strongly marked upon her, though from which one + of the various tribes that once fed the Barracoons, on the Guinea + coast, she derived her indomitable courage and her passionate love + of freedom I know not; perhaps from the Fellatas, in whom those + traits were predominant. +</p> +<p> + Harriet lives upon a farm which the twelve hundred dollars given + her by Mrs. Bradford from the proceeds of the first edition of + this little book, enabled her to redeem from a mortgage held by + the late Secretary Seward. +</p> +<p> + Her household is very likely to consist of several old black + people, "bad with the rheumatize," some forlorn wandering woman, + and a couple of small images of God cut in ebony. How she manages + to feed and clothe herself and them, the Lord best knows. She has + too much pride and too much faith to beg. She takes thankfully, + but without any great effusiveness of gratitude, whatever God's + messengers bring her. +</p> +<p> + I have never heard that she absolutely lacked. There are some good + people in various parts of the country, into whose hearts God + sends the thought, from time to time, that Harriet may be at the + bottom of the flour sack, or of the potatoes, and the "help in + time of need" comes to her. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's simplicity and ignorance have, in some cases, been + imposed upon, very signally in one instance in Auburn, a few years + ago; but nobody who knows her has the slightest doubt of her + perfect integrity. +</p> +<p> + The following sketch taken by Mrs. Bradford, chiefly from + Harriet's own recollections, which are wonderfully distinct and + minute, but also from other corroborative sources, gives but a + very imperfect account of what this woman has been. +</p> +<p> + Her color, and the servile condition in which she was born and + reared, have doomed her to obscurity, but a more heroic soul did + not breathe in the bosom of Judith or of Jeanne D'Arc. +</p> +<p> + No fear of the lash, the blood-hound, or the fiery stake, could + divert her from her self-imposed task of leading as many as + possible of her people "from the land of Egypt, from the house of + bondage." +</p> +<p> + The book is good literature for the black race, or the white race, + and though no similar conditions may arise, to test the + possibilities that are in any of them, yet the example of this + poor slave woman may well stand out before them, and before all + people, black or white, to show what a lofty and martyr spirit may + accomplish, struggling against overwhelming obstacles. +</p> +<a name="2H_4_3"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + HARRIET, +</h2> +<center> + THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE. +</center> +<a name="2H_4_4"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> + +<p> + On a hot summer's day, perhaps sixty years ago, a group of merry + little darkies were rolling and tumbling in the sand in front of + the large house of a Southern planter. Their shining skins gleamed + in the sun, as they rolled over each other in their play, and + their voices, as they chattered together, or shouted in glee, + reached even to the cabins of the negro quarter, where the old + people groaned in spirit, as they thought of the future of those + unconscious young revelers; and their cry went up, "O, Lord, how + long!" +</p> +<p> + Apart from the rest of the children, on the top rail of a fence, + holding tight on to the tall gate post, sat a little girl of + perhaps thirteen years of age; darker than any of the others, and + with a more decided <i>woolliness</i> in the hair; a pure unmitigated + African. She was not so entirely in a state of nature as the + rollers in the dust beneath her; but her only garment was a short + woolen skirt, which was tied around her waist, and reached about + to her knees. She seemed a dazed and stupid child, and as her head + hung upon her breast, she looked up with dull blood-shot eyes + towards her young brothers and sisters, without seeming to see + them. Bye and bye the eyes closed, and still clinging to the post, + she slept. The other children looked up and said to each other, + "Look at Hatt, she's done gone off agin!" Tired of their present + play ground they trooped off in another direction, but the girl + slept on heavily, never losing her hold on the post, or her seat + on her perch. Behold here, in the stupid little negro girl, the + future deliverer of hundreds of her people; the spy and scout of + the Union armies; the devoted hospital nurse; the protector of + hunted fugitives; the eloquent speaker in public meetings; the + cunning eluder of pursuing man-hunters; the heaven guided pioneer + through dangers seen and unseen; in short, as she has well been + called, "The Moses of her People." +</p> +<p> + Here in her thirteenth year she is just recovering from the first + terrible effects of an injury inflicted by her master, who in an + ungovernable fit of rage threw a heavy weight at the unoffending + child, breaking in her skull, and causing a pressure upon her + brain, from which in her old age she is suffering still. This + pressure it was which caused the fits of somnolency so frequently + to come upon her, and which gave her the appearance of being + stupid and half-witted in those early years. But that brain which + seemed so dull was full of busy thoughts, and her life problem was + already trying to work itself out there. +</p> +<p> + She had heard the shrieks and cries of women who were being + flogged in the negro quarter; she had listened to the groaned out + prayer, "Oh, Lord, have mercy!" She had already seen two older + sisters taken away as part of a chain gang, and they had gone no + one knew whither; she had seen the agonized expression on their + faces as they turned to take a last look at their "Old Cabin + Home;" and had watched them from the top of the fence, as they + went off weeping and lamenting, till they were hidden from her + sight forever. She saw the hopeless grief of the poor old mother, + and the silent despair of the aged father, and already she began + to revolve in her mind the question, "Why should such things be?" + "Is there no deliverance for my people?" +</p> +<p> + The sun shone on, and Harriet still slept seated on the fence + rail. They, those others, had no anxious dreams of the future, and + even the occasional sufferings of the present time caused them but + a temporary grief. Plenty to eat, and warm sunshine to bask in, + were enough to constitute their happiness; Harriet, however, was + not one of these. God had a great work for her to do in the world, + and the discipline and hardship through which she passed in her + early years, were only preparing her for her after life of + adventure and trial; and through these to come out as the Savior + and Deliverer of her people, when she came to years of womanhood. +</p> +<p> + As yet she had seen no "visions," and heard no "voices;" no + foreshadowing of her life of toil and privation, of flight before + human blood-hounds, of watchings, and hidings, of perils by land, + and perils by sea, yea, and of perils by false brethren, or of + miraculous deliverance had yet come to her. No hint of the great + mission of her life, to guide her people from the land of bondage + to the land of freedom. But, "Why should such things be?" and "Is + there no help?" These were the questions of her waking hours. +</p> +<p> + The dilapidated state of things about the "Great House" told truly + the story of waning fortunes, and poverty was pressing upon the + master. One by one the able-bodied slaves disappeared; some were + sold, others hired to other masters. No questions were asked; no + information given; they simply disappeared. A "lady," for so she + was designated, came driving up to the great house one day, to see + if she could find there a young girl to take care of a baby. The + lady wished to pay low wages, and so the most stupid and the most + incapable of the children on the plantation was chosen to go with + her. Harriet, who could command less wages than any other child of + her age on the plantation, was therefore put into the wagon + without a word of explanation, and driven off to the lady's house. + It was not a very fine house, but Harriet had never before been in + any dwelling better than the cabins of the negro quarter. +</p> +<p> + She was engaged as child's nurse, but she soon found that she was + expected to be maid of all work by day, as well as child's nurse + by night. The first task that was set her was that of sweeping and + dusting a parlor. No information was vouchsafed as to the manner + of going about this work, but she had often swept out the cabin, + and this part of her task was successfully accomplished. Then at + once she took the dusting cloth, and wiped off tables, chairs and + mantel-piece. The dust, as dust will do, when it has nowhere else + to go, at once settled again, and chairs and tables were soon + covered with a white coating, telling a terrible tale against + Harriet, when her Mistress came in to see how the work progressed. + Reproaches, and savage words, fell upon the ears of the frightened + child, and she was commanded to do the work all over again. It was + done in precisely the same way, as before, with the same result. + Then the whip was brought into requisition, and it was laid on + with no light hand. Five times before breakfast this process was + repeated, when a new actor appeared upon the scene. Miss Emily, a + sister of the Mistress, had been roused from her morning slumber + by the sound of the whip, and the screams of the child; and being + of a less imperious nature than her sister, she had come in to try + to set matters right. +</p> +<p> + "Why do you whip the child, Susan, for not doing what she has + never been taught to do? Leave her to me a few minutes, and you + will see that she will soon learn how to sweep and dust a room." + Then Miss Emily instructed the child to open the windows, and + sweep, then to leave the room, and set the table, while the dust + settled; and after that to return and wipe it off. There was no + more trouble of that kind. A few words might have set the matter + right before; but in those days many a poor slave suffered for the + stupidity and obstinacy of a master or mistress, more stupid than + themselves. +</p> +<p> + When the labors, unremitted for a moment, of the long day were + over (for this mistress was an economical woman, and intended to + get the worth of her money to the uttermost farthing), there was + still no rest for the weary child, for there was a cross baby to + be rocked continuously, lest it should wake and disturb the + mother's rest. The black child sat beside the cradle of the white + child, so near the bed, that the lash of the whip would reach her + if she ventured for a moment to forget her fatigues and sufferings + in sleep. The Mistress reposed upon her bed with the whip on a + little shelf over her head. People of color are, unfortunately, so + constituted that even if the pressure of a broken skull does not + cause a sleep like the sleep of the dead, the need of rest, and + the refreshment of slumber after a day of toil, were often felt by + them. No doubt, this was a great wrong to their masters, and a + cheating them of time which belonged to them, but their slaves did + not always look upon it in that light, and tired nature would + demand her rights; and so nature and the Mistress had a fight for + it. +</p> +<p> + Rock, rock, went the cradle, and mother and child slept; but alas! + the little black hand would sometimes slip down, and the head + would droop, and a dream of home and mother would visit the weary + one, only to be roughly dispelled by the swift descent of the + stinging lash, for the baby had cried out and the mother had been + awakened. This is no fictitious tale. That poor neck is even now + covered with the scars which sixty years of life have not been + able to efface. It may be that she was thus being prepared by the + long habit of enforced wakefulness, for the night watches in the + woods, and in dens and caves of the earth, when the pursuers were + on her track, and the terrified ones were trembling in her shadow. + We do not thank <i>you</i> for this, cruel woman! for if you did her a + service, you did it ignorantly, and only for your own gratification. + But Harriet's powers of endurance failed at last, and she was + returned to her master, a poor, scarred wreck, nothing but skin and + bone, with the words that "She wasn't worth a sixpence." +</p> +<p> + The poor old mother nursed her back to life, and her naturally + good constitution asserted itself, so that as she grew older she + began to show signs of the wonderful strength which in after + years, when the fugitive slave law was in operation in New York + State, enabled her to seize a man from the officers who had him in + charge, and while numbers were pursuing her, and the shot was + flying like hail about her head, to bear him in her own strong + arms beyond the reach of danger. +</p> +<p> + As soon as she was strong enough for work, Harriet was hired out + to a man whose tyranny was worse, if possible, than that of the + woman she had left. Now it was out of door drudgery which was put + upon her. The labor of the horse and the ox, the lifting of + barrels of flour and other heavy weights were given to her; and + powerful men often stood astonished to see this woman perform + feats of strength from which they shrunk incapable. This cruelty + she looks upon as a blessing in disguise (a very questionable + shape the blessing took, methinks), for by it she was prepared for + after needs. +</p> +<p> + Still the pressure upon the brain continued, and with the weight + half lifted, she would drop off into a state of insensibility, + from which even the lash in the hand of a strong man could not + rouse her. But if they had only known it, the touch of a gentle + hand upon her shoulder, and her name spoken in tones of kindness, + would have accomplished what cruelty failed to do. +</p> +<p> + The day's work must be accomplished, whether the head was racked + with pain, and the frame was consumed by fever, or not; but the + day came at length when poor Harriet could work no more. The sting + of the lash had no power to rouse her now, and the new master + finding her a dead weight on his hands, returned the useless piece + of property to him who was called her "owner." And while she lay + there helpless, this man was bringing other men to look at her, + and offering her for sale at the lowest possible price; at the + same time setting forth her capabilities, if once she were strong + and well again. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's religious character I have not yet touched upon. Brought + up by parents possessed of strong faith in God, she had never + known the time, I imagine, when she did not trust Him, and cling + to Him, with an all-abiding confidence. She seemed ever to feel + the Divine Presence near, and she talked with God "as a man + talketh with his friend." Hers was not the religion of a morning + and evening prayer at stated times, but when she felt a need, she + simply told God of it, and trusted Him to set the matter right. +</p> +<p> + "And so," she said to me, "as I lay so sick on my bed, from + Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. + 'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, + Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, + and make him a Christian.' And all the time he was bringing men to + look at me, and dey stood there saying what dey would give, and + what dey would take, and all I could say was, 'Oh, Lord, convert + ole master.' Den I heard dat as soon as I was able to move I was + to be sent with my brudders, in the chain-gang to de far South. + Then I changed my prayer, and I said, 'Lord, if you ain't never + going to change dat man's heart, <i>kill him</i>, Lord, and take him + out of de way, so he won't do no more mischief.' Next ting I heard + ole master was dead; and he died just as he had lived, a wicked, + bad man. Oh, den it 'peared like I would give de world full of + silver and gold, if I had it, to bring dat pore soul back, I would + give <i>myself</i>; I would give eberyting! But he was gone, I couldn't + pray for him no more." +</p> +<p> + As she recovered from this long illness, a deeper religious spirit + seemed to take possession of her than she had ever experienced + before. She literally "prayed without ceasing." "'Pears like, I + prayed all de time," she said, "about my work, eberywhere; I was + always talking to de Lord. When I went to the horse-trough to wash + my face, and took up de water in my hands, I said, 'Oh, Lord, wash + me, make me clean.' When I took up de towel to wipe my face and + hands, I cried, 'Oh, Lord, for Jesus' sake, wipe away all my + sins!' When I took up de broom and began to sweep, I groaned, 'Oh, + Lord, whatsoebber sin dere be in my heart, sweep it out, Lord, + clar and clean;' but I can't pray no more for pore ole master." No + words can describe the pathos of her tones as she broke into these + words of earnest supplication. +</p> +<p> + What was to become of the slaves on this plantation now that the + master was dead? Were they all to be scattered and sent to + different parts of the country? Harriet had many brothers and + sisters, all of whom with the exception of the two, who had gone + South with the chain-gang, were living on this plantation, or were + hired out to planters not far away. The word passed through the + cabins that another owner was coming in, and that none of the + slaves were to be sold out of the State. This assurance satisfied + the others, but it did not satisfy Harriet. Already the inward + monitor was whispering to her, "Arise, flee for your life!" and in + the visions of the night she saw the horsemen coming, and heard + the shrieks of women and children, as they were being torn from + each other, and hurried off no one knew whither. +</p> +<p> + And beckoning hands were ever motioning her to come, and she + seemed to see a line dividing the land of slavery from the land of + freedom, and on the other side of that line she saw lovely white + ladies waiting to welcome her, and to care for her. Already in her + mind her people were the Israelites in the land of Egypt, while + far away to the north <i>somewhere</i>, was the land of Canaan; but had + she as yet any prevision that <i>she</i> was to be the Moses who was to + be their leader, through clouds of darkness and fear, and fires of + tribulation to that promised land? This she never said. +</p> +<p> + One day there were scared faces seen in the negro quarter, and + hurried whispers passed from one to another. No one knew how it + had come out, but some one had heard that Harriet and two of her + brothers were very soon, perhaps to-day, perhaps to-morrow, to be + sent far South with a gang, bought up for plantation work. Harriet + was about twenty or twenty-five years old at this time, and the + constantly recurring idea of escape at <i>sometime</i>, took sudden + form that day, and with her usual promptitude of action she was + ready to start at once. +</p> +<p> + She held a hurried consultation with her brothers, in which she so + wrought upon their fears, that they expressed themselves as + willing to start with her that very night, for that far North, + where, could they reach it in safety, freedom awaited them. But + she must first give some intimation of her purpose to the friends + she was to leave behind, so that even if not understood at the + time, it might be remembered afterward as her intended farewell. + Slaves must not be seen talking together, and so it came about + that their communication was often made by singing, and the words + of their familiar hymns, telling of the heavenly journey, and the + land of Canaan, while they did not attract the attention of the + masters, conveyed to their brethren and sisters in bondage + something more than met the ear. And so she sang, accompanying the + words, when for a moment unwatched, with a meaning look to one and + another: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When dat ar ole chariot comes, + I'm gwine to lebe you, + I'm boun' for de promised land, + Frien's, I'm gwine to lebe you." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Again, as she passed the doors of the different cabins, she lifted + up her well-known voice; and many a dusky face appeared at door or + window, with a wondering or scared expression; and thus she + continued: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "I'm sorry, frien's, to lebe you, + Farewell! oh, farewell! + But I'll meet you in de mornin', + Farewell! oh, farewell! + + "I'll meet you in de mornin', + When you reach de promised land; + On de oder side of Jordan, + For I'm boun' for de promised land." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The brothers started with her, but the way was strange, the north + was far away, and all unknown, the masters would pursue and + recapture them, and their fate would be worse than ever before; + and so they broke away from her, and bidding her goodbye, they + hastened back to the known horrors of slavery, and the dread of + that which was worse. +</p> +<p> + Harriet was now left alone, but after watching the retreating + forms of her brothers, she turned her face toward the north, and + fixing her eyes on the guiding star, and committing her way unto + the Lord, she started again upon her long, lonely journey. Her + farewell song was long remembered in the cabins, and the old + mother sat and wept for her lost child. No intimation had been + given her of Harriet's intention, for the old woman was of a most + impulsive disposition, and her cries and lamentations would have + made known to all within hearing Harriet's intended escape. And + so, with only the North Star for her guide, our heroine started on + the way to liberty, "For," said she, "I had reasoned dis out in my + mind; there was one of two things I had a <i>right</i> to, liberty, or + death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man + should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my + strength lasted, and when de time came for me to go, de Lord would + let dem take me." +</p> +<p> + And so without money, and without friends, she started on through + unknown regions; walking by night, hiding by day, but always + conscious of an invisible pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by + night, under the guidance of which she journeyed or rested. + Without knowing whom to trust, or how near the pursuers might be, + she carefully felt her way, and by her native cunning, or by God + given wisdom, she managed to apply to the right people for food, + and sometimes for shelter; though often her bed was only the cold + ground, and her watchers the stars of night. +</p> +<p> + After many long and weary days of travel, she found that she had + passed the magic line, which then divided the land of bondage from + the land of freedom. But where were the lovely white ladies whom + in her visions she had seen, who, with arms outstretched, welcomed + her to their hearts and homes. All these visions proved deceitful: + she was more alone than ever; but she had crossed the line; no one + could take her now, and she would never call any man "Master" + more. +</p> +<p> + "I looked at my hands," she said, "to see if I was de same person + now I was free. Dere was such a glory ober eberything, de sun came + like gold trou de trees, and ober de fields, and I felt like I was + in heaven." But then came the bitter drop in the cup of joy. She + was alone, and her kindred were in slavery, and not one of them + had the courage to dare what she had dared. Unless she made the + effort to liberate them she would never see them more, or even + know their fate. +</p> +<p> + "I knew of a man," she said, "who was sent to the State Prison for + twenty-five years. All these years he was always thinking of his + home, and counting by years, months, and days, the time till he + should be free, and see his family and friends once more. The + years roll on, the time of imprisonment is over, the man is free. + He leaves the prison gates, he makes his way to his old home, but + his old home is not there. The house in which he had dwelt in his + childhood had been torn down, and a new one had been put up in its + place; his family were gone, their very name was forgotten, there + was no one to take him by the hand to welcome him back to life." +</p> +<p> + "So it was wid me," said Harriet, "I had crossed de line of which + I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but dere was no one to + welcome me to de land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange + land, and my home after all was down in de old cabin quarter, wid + de ole folks, and my brudders and sisters. But to dis solemn + resolution I came; I was free, and dey should be free also; I + would make a home for dem in de North, and de Lord helping me, I + would bring dem all dere. Oh, how I prayed den, lying all alone on + de cold, damp ground; 'Oh, dear Lord,' I said, 'I haint got no + friend but <i>you</i>. Come to my help, Lord, for I'm in trouble!'" +</p> +<p> + It would be impossible here to give a detailed account of the + journeys and labors of this intrepid woman for the redemption of + her kindred and friends, during the years that followed. Those + years were spent in work, almost by night and day, with the one + object of the rescue of her people from slavery. All her wages + were laid away with this sole purpose, and as soon as a sufficient + amount was secured, she disappeared from her Northern home, and as + suddenly and mysteriously she appeared some dark night at the door + of one of the cabins on a plantation, where a trembling band of + fugitives, forewarned as to time and place, were anxiously + awaiting their deliverer. Then she piloted them North, traveling + by night, hiding by day, scaling the mountains, fording the + rivers, threading the forests, lying concealed as the pursuers + passed them. She, carrying the babies, drugged with paregoric, in + a basket on her arm. So she went <i>nineteen</i> times, and so she + brought away over three hundred pieces of living and breathing + "property," with God given souls. +</p> +<p> + The way was so toilsome over the rugged mountain passes, that + often the <i>men</i> who followed her would give out, and foot-sore, + and bleeding, they would drop on the ground, groaning that they + could not take another step. They would lie there and die, or if + strength came back, they would return on their steps, and seek + their old homes again. Then the revolver carried by this bold and + daring pioneer, would come out, while pointing it at their heads + she would say, "Dead niggers tell no tales; you go on or die!" And + by this heroic treatment she compelled them to drag their weary + limbs along on their northward journey. +</p> +<p> + But the pursuers were after them. A reward of $40,000 was offered + by the slave-holders of the region from whence so many slaves had + been spirited away, for the head of the woman who appeared so + mysteriously, and enticed away their property, from under the very + eyes of its owners. Our sagacious heroine has been in the car, + having sent her frightened party round by some so-called + "Under-ground Railway," and has heard this advertisement, which was + posted over her head, read by others of the passengers. She never + could read or write herself, but knowing that suspicion would be + likely to fall upon any black woman traveling North, she would + turn at the next station, and journey towards the South. Who would + suspect a fugitive with such a price set upon her head, of rushing + at railway speed into the jaws of destruction? With a daring + almost heedless, she went even to the very village where she would + be most likely to meet one of the masters to whom she had been + hired; and having stopped at the Market and bought a pair of live + fowls, she went along the street with her sun-bonnet well over her + face, and with the bent and decrepit air of an aged, woman. + Suddenly on turning a corner, she spied her old master coming + towards her. She pulled the string which tied the legs of the + chickens; they began to flutter and scream, and as her master + passed, she was stooping and busily engaged in attending to the + fluttering fowls. And he went on his way, little thinking that he + was brushing the very garments of the woman who had dared to steal + herself, and others of his belongings. +</p> +<p> + At one time the pursuit was very close and vigorous. The woods + were scoured in all directions, every house was visited, and every + person stopped and questioned as to a band of black fugitives, + known to be fleeing through that part of the country. Harriet had + a large party with her then; the children were sleeping the sound + sleep that opium gives; but all the others were on the alert, each + one hidden behind his own tree, and silent as death. They had been + long without food, and were nearly famished; and as the pursuers + seemed to have passed on, Harriet decided to make the attempt to + reach a certain "station of the underground railroad" well known + to her; and procure food for her starving party. Under cover of + the darkness, she started, leaving a cowering and trembling group + in the woods, to whom a fluttering leaf, or a moving animal, were + a sound of dread, bringing their hearts into their throats. How + long she is away! has she been caught and carried off, and if so + what is to become of them? Hark! there is a sound of singing in + the distance, coming nearer and nearer. +</p> +<p> + And these are the words of the unseen singer, which I wish I could + give you as I have so often heard them sung by herself: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Hail, oh hail, ye happy spirits, + Death no more shall make you fear, + Grief nor sorrow, pain nor anguish, + Shall no more distress you dere. + + Around Him are ten thousand angels + Always ready to obey command; + Dey are always hovering round you, + Till you reach de heavenly land. + + Jesus, Jesus will go wid you, + He will lead you to his throne; + He who died, has gone before you, + Trod de wine-press all alone. + + He whose thunders shake creation, + He who bids de planets roll; + He who rides upon the tempest, + And whose scepter sways de whole. + + Dark and thorny is de pathway, + Where de pilgrim makes his ways; + But beyond dis vale of sorrow, + Lie de fields of endless days. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The air sung to these words was so wild, so full of plaintive + minor strains, and unexpected quavers, that I would defy any white + person to learn it, and often as I heard it, it was to me a + constant surprise. Up and down the road she passes to see if the + coast is clear, and then to make them certain that it is <i>their</i> + leader who is coming, she breaks out into the plaintive strains of + the song, forbidden to her people at the South, but which she and + her followers delight to sing together: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + Oh Pharaoh said he would go cross, + Let my people go, + And don't get lost in de wilderness, + Let my people go. + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. + + You may hinder me here, but you can't up dere, + Let my people go, + He sits in de Hebben and answers prayer, + Let my people go! + + Oh go down, Moses, + Way down into Egypt's land, + Tell old Pharaoh, + Let my people go. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And then she enters the recesses of the wood, carrying hope and + comfort to the anxious watchers there. One by one they steal out + from their hiding places, and are fed and strengthened for another + night's journey. +</p> +<p> + And so by night travel, by signals, by threatenings, by + encouragement, through watchings and fastings, and I may say by + direct interpositions of Providence, and miraculous deliverances, + she brought her people to what was then their land of Canaan; the + State of New York. But alas! this State did not continue to be + their refuge. For in 1850, I think, the Fugitive Slave Law was put + in force, which bound the people north of Mason and Dixon's line, + to return to bondage any fugitive found in their territories. +</p> +<p> + "After that," said Harriet, "I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam wid my + people no longer, but I brought 'em all clar off to Canada." +</p> +<p> + On her seventh or eighth journey, she brought with her a band of + fugitives, among whom was a very remarkable man, whom I knew only + by the name of "Joe." Joe was a noble specimen of a negro, + enormously tall, and of splendid muscular development. He had been + hired out by his master to another planter, for whom he had worked + for six years, saving him all the expense of an overseer, and + taking all trouble off from his hands. He was such a very valuable + piece of property, and had become so absolutely necessary to the + planter to whom he was hired, that he determined to buy him at any + cost. His old master held him proportionately high. But by paying + one thousand dollars down, and promising to pay another thousand + in a certain time, the purchase was made, and this chattel passed + over into the hands of a new owner. +</p> +<p> + The morning after the purchase was completed, the new master came + riding down on a tall, powerful horse into the negro quarter, with + a strong new rawhide in his hand, and stopping before Joe's cabin, + called to him to come out. Joe was just eating his breakfast, but + with ready obedience, he hastened out at the summons. Slave as he + was, and accustomed to scenes of brutality, he was surprised when + the order came, "Now, Joe, strip, and take a licking." Naturally + enough, he demurred at first, and thought of resisting the order; + but he called to mind a scene he had witnessed a few days before + in the field, the particulars of which are too horrible to be + given here, and he thought it the wisest course to submit; but + first he tried a gentle remonstrance. +</p> +<p> + "Mas'r," said he, "habn't I always been faithful to you? Habn't I + worked through sun an' rain, early in de mornin' an' late at + night; habn't I saved you an oberseer by doin' his work? hab you + anything to complain agin me?" +</p> +<p> + "No, Joe, I have no complaint to make of you. You're a good + nigger, an' you've always worked well. But you belong to <i>me</i> now; + you're <i>my</i> nigger, and the first lesson my niggers have to learn + is that I am master and they belong to me, and are never to resist + anything I order them to do. So I always begin by giving them a + good licking. Now strip and take it." +</p> +<p> + Joe saw that there was no help for him, and that for the time he + must submit. He stripped off his clothing, and took his flogging + without a word, but as he drew his shirt up over his torn and + bleeding back, he said to himself: "Dis is de first an' de last." + As soon as he was able he took a boat, and under cover of the + night, rowed down the river, and made his way to the cabin of "Old + Ben," Harriet's father, and said to him: "Nex' time <i>Moses</i> comes, + let me know." +</p> +<p> + It was not long after this time, that the mysterious woman + appeared—the woman on whom no one could lay his finger—and men, + women, and children began to disappear from the plantations. One + fine morning Joe was missing, and call as loud as he might, the + master's voice had no power to bring him forth. Joe had certainly + fled; and his brother William was gone, and Peter and Eliza. From + other plantations other slaves were missing, and before their + masters were awake to the fact, the party of fugitives, following + their intrepid leader, were far on their way towards liberty. +</p> +<p> + The adventures of this escaping party would of themselves fill a + volume. They hid in potato holes by day, while their pursuers + passed within a few feet of them; they were passed along by + friends in various disguises; they scattered and separated; some + traveling by boat, some by wagons, some by cars, others on foot, + to meet at some specified station of the under-ground railroad. + They met at the house of Sam Green,[A] the man who was afterwards + sent to prison for ten years for having a copy of "Uncle Tom's + Cabin" in his house. And so, hunted and hiding and wandering, they + found themselves at last at the entrance of the long bridge which + crosses the river at Wilmington, Delaware. +</p> +<a name="note-A"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>A</u></sup> [ In mentioning to me the circumstances of Sam Green's + imprisonment, Harriet, who had no acquaintance with books, merely + mentioned the fact as it had come to her own knowledge. But I have + lately come across a book in the Astor Library which confirms the + story precisely as she stated it. It is in a book by Rev. John + Dixon Long, of Philadelphia. He says, "Samuel Green, a free + colored man of Dorchester County, Maryland, was sentenced to ten + years' confinement in the Maryland State Prison, at the spring + term of the County Court held in Cambridge, Md. +</p> +<p> + "What was the crime imputed to this man, born on American soil, a + man of good moral character, a local preacher in the Methodist + Episcopal Church; a husband and a father? Simply this: A copy of + 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' <i>had been found in his possession</i>. It was not + proved that he had ever read it to the colored people."] +</p> +<p> + No time had been lost in posting up advertisements and offering + rewards for the capture of these fugitives; for Joe in particular + the reward offered was very high. First a thousand dollars, then + fifteen hundred, and then two thousand, "an' all expenses clar an' + clean for his body in Easton Jail." This high reward stimulated + the efforts of the officers who were usually on the lookout for + escaping fugitives, and the added rewards for others of the party, + and the high price set on Harriet's head, filled the woods and + highways with eager hunters after human prey. When Harriet and her + companions approached the long Wilmington Bridge, a warning was + given them by some secret friend, that the advertisements were up, + and the bridge was guarded by police officers. Quick as lightning + the plans were formed in her ready brain, and the terrified party + were separated and hidden in the houses of different friends, till + her arrangements for their further journey were completed. +</p> +<p> + There was at that time residing in Wilmington an old Quaker, whom + I may call <i>my</i> "friend," for though I never saw his face, I have + had correspondence with him in reference to Harriet and her + followers. This man, whose name was Thomas Garrett, and who was + well known in those days to the friends of the slave, was a man of + a wonderfully large and generous heart, through whose hands during + those days of distress and horror, no less than three thousand + self-emancipated men, women and children passed on their way to + freedom. He gave heart, hand, and means to aid these poor + fugitives, and to our brave Harriet he often rendered most + efficient help in her journeys back and forth. +</p> +<p> + He was the proprietor of a very large shoe establishment; and not + one of these poor travelers aver left his house without a present + of a new pair of shoes and other needed help. No sooner had this + good man received intelligence of the condition of these poor + creatures, than he devised a plan to elude the vigilance of the + officers in pursuit, and bring Harriet and her party across the + bridge. Two wagons filled with bricklayers were engaged, and sent + over; this was a common sight there, and caused no remark. They + went across the bridge singing and shouting, and it was not an + unexpected thing that they should return as they went. After + nightfall (and, fortunately, the night was very dark) the same + wagons recrossed the bridge, but with an unlooked-for addition to + their party. The fugitives were lying close together on the bottom + of the wagons; the bricklayers were on the seats, still singing + and shouting; and so they passed the guards, who were all + unsuspicious of the nature of the load contained in the wagons, or + of the amount of property thus escaping their hands. +</p> +<p> + The good man, Thomas Garrett, who was in a very feeble state of + health when he last wrote me, and has now gone to his reward, + supplied them with all needed comforts, and sent them on their way + refreshed, and with renewed courage. And Harriet here set up her + Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far hath the Lord helped me!" But many a + danger, and many a fright, and many a deliverance awaited them, + before they reached the city of New York. And even there they were + not safe, for the Fugitive Slave Law was in operation, and their + only refuge was Canada, which was now their promised land. +</p> +<p> + They finally reached New York in safety: and this goes almost + without saying, for I may as well mention here that of the three + hundred and more fugitives whom Harriet piloted from slavery, not + one was ever recaptured, though all the cunning and skill of white + men, backed by offered rewards of large sums of money, were + brought into requisition for their recovery. +</p> +<p> + As they entered the anti-slavery office in New York, Mr. Oliver + Johnson rose up and exclaimed, "Well, Joe, I am glad to see the + man who is worth $2,000 to his master." At this Joe's heart sank. + "Oh, Mas'r, how did you know me!" he panted. "Here is the + advertisement in our office," said Mr. Johnson, "and the + description is so close that no one could mistake it." And had he + come through all these perils, had he traveled by day and night, + and suffered cold and hunger, and lived in constant fear and + dread, to find that far off here in New York State, he was + recognized at once by the advertisement? How, then, was he ever to + reach Canada? +</p> +<p> + "And how far off is Canada?" he asked. He was shown the map of New + York State, and the track of the railroad, for more than three + hundred miles to Niagara, where he would cross the river, and be + free. But the way seemed long and full of dangers. They were + surely safer on their own tired feet, where they might hide in + forests and ditches, and take refuge in the friendly underground + stations; but here, where this large party would be together in + the cars, surely suspicion would fall upon them, and they would be + seized and carried back. But Harriet encouraged him in her cheery + way. He must not give up now. "De Lord had been with them in six + troubles, and he would not desert them in de seventh." And there + was nothing to do but to go on. As Moses spoke to the children of + Israel, when compassed before and behind by dangers, so she spake + to her people, that they should "go forward." +</p> +<p> + Up to this time, as they traveled they had talked and sung hymns + together, like Pilgrim and his friends, and Joe's voice was the + loudest and sweetest among them; but now he hanged his harp upon + the willows, and could sing the Lord's songs no more. +</p> +<p> + "From dat time," in Harriet's language, "Joe was silent; he talked + no more; he sang no more; he sat wid his head on his hand, an' + nobody could 'rouse him, nor make him take any intrust in + anything." +</p> +<p> + They passed along in safety through New York State, and at length + found themselves approaching the Suspension Bridge. They could see + the promised land on the other side. The uninviting plains of + Canada seemed to them, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, + All dressed in living green;" +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + but they were not safe yet. Until they reached the center of the + bridge, they were still in the power of their pursuers, who might + at any pause enter the car, and armed with the power of the law, + drag them back to slavery. The rest of the party were happy and + excited; they were simple, ignorant creatures, and having implicit + trust in their leader, they felt safe when with her, and no + immediate danger threatened them. But Joe was of a different + mould. He sat silent and sad, always thinking of the horrors that + awaited him if recaptured. As it happened, all the other + passengers were people who sympathized with them, understanding + them to be a band of fugitives, and they listened with tears, as + Harriet and all except poor Joe lifted up their voices and sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + I'm on the way to Canada, + That cold and dreary land, + De sad effects of slavery, + I can't no longer stand; + I've served my Master all my days, + Widout a dime reward, + And now I'm forced to run away, + To flee de lash, abroad; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + De hounds are baying on my track, + Ole Master comes behind, + Resolved that he will bring me back, + Before I cross the line; + I'm now embarked for yonder shore, + Where a man's <i>a man</i> by law, + De iron horse will bear me o'er, + To "shake de lion's paw;" +Oh, righteous Father, wilt thou not pity me. +And help me on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. + + Oh I heard Queen Victoria say, + That if we would forsake, + Our native land of slavery, + And come across de lake; + Dat she was standing on de shore, + Wid arms extended wide, + To give us all a peaceful home, + Beyond de rolling tide; +Farewell, ole Master, don't think hard of me, +I'm traveling on to Canada, where all de slaves are free. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + No doubt the simple creatures with her expected to cross a wide + lake instead of a rapid river, and to see Queen Victoria with her + crown upon her head, waiting with arms extended wide, to fold them + all in her embrace. There was now but "one wide river to cross," + and the cars rolled on to the bridge. In the distance was heard + the roar of the mighty cataract, and now as they neared the center + of the bridge, the falls might be clearly seen. Harriet was + anxious to have her companions see this wonderful sight, and + succeeded in bringing all to the windows, except Joe. But Joe + still sat with his head on his hands, and not even the wonders of + Niagara could draw him from his melancholy musings. At length as + Harriet knew by the rise of the center of the bridge, and the + descent immediately after, the line of danger was passed; she + sprang across to Joe's side of the car, and shook him almost out + of his seat, as she shouted, "Joe! you've shook de lion's paw!" + This was her phrase for having entered on the dominions of + England. But Joe did not understand this figurative expression. + Then she shook him again, and put it more plainly, "Joe, you're in + Queen Victoria's dominions! You're a free man!" +</p> +<p> + Then Joe arose. His head went up, he raised his hands on high, and + his eyes, streaming with tears, to heaven, and then he began to + sing and shout: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe; + Oh, go and carry the news, + One more soul got safe." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "Joe, come and look at the falls!" +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "Joe! it's your last chance. Come and see de falls!" +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Glory to God and Jesus too, + One more soul got safe." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And this was all the answer. The train stopped on the other side; + and the first feet to touch British soil, after those of the + conductor, were those of poor Joe. +</p> +<p> + Loud roared the waters of Niagara, but louder still ascended the + Anthem of praise from the overflowing heart of the freeman. And + can we doubt that the strain was taken up by angel voices and + echoed and re-echoed through the vaults of heaven: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Glory to God in the highest, + Glory to God and Jesus too, + For all these souls now safe. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "The white ladies and gentlemen gathered round him," said Harriet, + "till I couldn't see Joe for the crowd, only I heard his voice + singing, 'Glory to God and Jesus too,' louder than ever." A sweet + young lady reached over her fine cambric handkerchief to him, and + as Joe wiped the great tears off his face, he said, "Tank de Lord! + dere's only one more journey for me now, and dat's to Hebben!" As + we bid farewell to Joe here, I may as well say that Harriet saw + him several times after that, a happy and industrious freeman in + Canada.[B] +</p> +<a name="note-B"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>B</u></sup> [ In my recent interview with Mr. Oliver Johnson he + told me of an interesting incident in the life of the good man, + Thomas Garrett. +</p> +<p> + He was tried twice for assisting in the escape of fugitive slaves, + and was fined so heavily that everything he possessed was taken + from him and sold to pay the fine. At the age of sixty he was left + without a penny, but he went bravely to work, and in some measure + regained his fortune; all the time aiding, in every way possible, + all stray fugitives who applied to him for help. +</p> +<p> + Again he was arrested, tried, and heavily fined, and as the Judge + of the United States Court pronounced the sentence, he said, in a + solemn manner: "Garrett, let this be a lesson to you, not to + interfere hereafter with the cause of justice, by helping off + runaway negroes. +</p> +<p> + The old man, who had stood to receive his sentence, here raised + his head, and fixing his eyes on "the Court," he said: +</p> +<p> + "Judge—thee hasn't left me a dollar, but I wish to say to thee, + and to all in this court room, that if anyone knows of a fugitive + who wants a shelter, and a friend, <i>send him to Thomas Garrett</i>, + and he will befriend him!" +</p> +<p> + [Not Luther before the Council at Worms was grander than this brave + old man in his unswerving adherence to principle. In those days + that tried men's souls there were many men like this old Quaker, + and many women too, who would have gone cheerfully to the fire and + the stake, for the cause of suffering humanity; men and women + <i>these</i> "of whom the world was not worthy."] +</p> +<p> + On one of her journeys to the North, as she was piloting a company + of refugees, Harriet came, just as morning broke, to a town, where + a colored man had lived whose house had been one of her stations + of the under-ground, or unseen railroad. They reached the house, + and leaving her party huddled together in the middle of the + street, in a pouring rain, Harriet went to the door, and gave the + peculiar rap which was her customary signal to her friends. There + was not the usual ready response, and she was obliged to repeat + the signal several times. At length a window was raised, and the + head of a <i>white man</i> appeared, with the gruff question, "Who are + you?" and "What do you want?" Harriet asked after her friend, and + was told that he had been obliged to leave for "harboring + niggers." +</p> +<p> + Here was an unforeseen trouble; day was breaking, and daylight was + the enemy of the hunted and flying fugitives. Their faithful + leader stood one moment in the street, and in that moment she had + flashed a message quicker than that of the telegraph to her unseen + Protector, and the answer came as quickly; in a suggestion to her + of an almost forgotten place of refuge. Outside of the town there + was a little island in a swamp, where the grass grew tall and + rank, and where no human being could be suspected of seeking a + hiding place. To this spot she conducted her party; she waded the + swamp, carrying in a basket two well-drugged babies (these were a + pair of little twins, whom I have since seen well grown young + women), and the rest of the company following. She ordered them to + lie down in the tall, wet grass, and here she prayed again, and + waited for deliverance. The poor creatures were all cold, and wet, + and hungry, and Harriet did not dare to leave them to get + supplies; for no doubt the man at whose house she had knocked, had + given the alarm in the town; and officers might be on the watch + for them. They were truly in a wretched condition, but Harriet's + faith never wavered, her silent prayer still ascended, and she + confidently expected help from some quarter or other. +</p> +<p> + It was after dusk when a man came slowly walking along the solid + pathway on the edge of the swamp. He was clad in the garb of a + Quaker; and proved to be a "friend" in need and indeed; he seemed + to be talking to himself, but ears quickened by sharp practice + caught the words he was saying: +</p> +<p> + "My wagon stands in the barn-yard of the next farm across the way. + The horse is in the stable; the harness hangs on a nail." And the + man was gone. Night fell, and Harriet stole forth to the place + designated. Not only a wagon, but a wagon well provisioned stood + in the yard; and before many minutes the party were rescued from + their wretched position, and were on their way rejoicing, to the + next town. Here dwelt a Quaker whom Harriet knew, and he readily + took charge of the horse and wagon, and no doubt returned them to + their owner. How the good man who thus came to their rescue had + received any intimation of their being in the neighborhood Harriet + never knew. But these sudden deliverances never seemed to strike + her as at all strange or mysterious; her prayer was the prayer of + faith, and she <i>expected</i> an answer. +</p> +<p> + At one time, as she was on her way South for a party of slaves, + she was stopped not far from the southern shore of the Chesapeake + Bay, by a young woman, who had been for some days in hiding, and + was anxiously watching for "Moses," who was soon expected to pass + that way. +</p> +<p> + This girl was a young and pretty Mulatto, named Tilly, she had + been lady's maid and dressmaker, for her Mistress. She was engaged + to a young man from another plantation, but he had joined one of + Harriet's parties, and gone North. Tilly was to have gone also at + that time, but had found it impossible to get away. Now she had + learned that it was her Master's intention to give her to a Negro + of his own for his wife; and in fear and desperation, she made a + strike for freedom. Friends had concealed her, and all had been on + the watch for Moses. +</p> +<p> + The distress and excitement of the poor creature was so great, and + she begged and implored in such agonized tones that Harriet would + just see her safe to Baltimore, where she knew of friends who + would harbor her, and help her on her way, that Harriet determined + to turn about, and endeavor to take the poor girl thus far on her + Northward journey. +</p> +<p> + They reached the shore of Chesapeake Bay too late to leave that + night, and were obliged to hide for a night and day in the loft of + an old out-house, where every sound caused poor Tilly to tremble + as if she had an ague fit. When the time for the boat to leave + arrived, a sad disappointment awaited them. The boat on which they + had expected to leave was disabled, and another boat was to take + its place. At that time, according to the law of Slavery, no Negro + could leave his Master's land, or travel anywhere, without a pass, + properly signed by his owner. Of course this poor fugitive had no + pass; and Harriet's passes were her own wits; but among her many + friends, there was one who seemed to have influence with the clerk + of the boat, on which she expected to take passage; and she was + the bearer of a note requesting, or commanding him to take these + two women to the end of his route, asking no questions. +</p> +<p> + Now here was an unforeseen difficulty; the boat was not going; the + clerk was not there; all on the other boat were strangers. But + forward they must go, trusting in Providence. As they walked down + to the boat, a gang of lazy white men standing together, began to + make comments on their appearance. +</p> +<p> + "Too many likely looking Niggers traveling North, about these + days." "Wonder if these wenches have got a pass." "Where you + going, you two?" Tilly trembled and cowered, and clung to her + protector, but Harriet put on a bold front, and holding the note + given her by her friend in her hand, and supporting her terrified + charge, she walked by the men, taking no notice of their insults. +</p> +<p> + They joined the stream of people going up to get their tickets, + but when Harriet asked for hers, the clerk eyed her suspiciously, + and said: "You just stand aside, you two; I'll attend to your case + bye and bye." +</p> +<p> + Harriet led the young girl to the bow of the boat, where they were + alone, and here, having no other help, she, as was her custom, + addressed herself to the Lord. Kneeling on the seat, and + supporting her head on her hands, and fixing her eyes on the + waters of the bay, she groaned: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, <i>don't</i> desert me + in the seventh!" +</p> +<p> + "Moses! Moses!" cried Tilly, pulling her by the sleeve. "Do go and + see if you can't get tickets now." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, <i>don't</i> desert me + in the seventh." +</p> +<p> + And so Harriet's story goes on in her peculiarly graphic manner, + till at length in terror Tilly exclaimed: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Moses! the man is coming. What shall we do?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Lord, you've been wid me in six troubles!" +</p> +<p> + Here the clerk touched her on the shoulder, and Tilly thought + their time had come, but all he said was: +</p> +<p> + "You can come now and get your tickets," and their troubles were + over. +</p> +<p> + What changed this man from his former suspicious and antagonistic + aspect, Harriet never knew. Of course she said it was "de Lord," + but as to the agency he used, she never troubled herself to + inquire. She <i>expected</i> deliverance when she prayed, unless the + Lord had ordered otherwise, and in that case she was perfectly + willing to accept the Divine decree. +</p> +<p> + When surprise was expressed at her courage and daring, or at her + unexpected deliverances, she would always reply: "Don't, I tell + you, Missus, 'twan't <i>me</i>, 'twas <i>de Lord</i>! Jes' so long as he + wanted to use me, he would take keer of me, an' when he didn't + want me no longer, I was ready to go; I always tole him, I'm gwine + to hole stiddy on to you, an' you've got to see me trou." +</p> +<p> + There came a time when Harriet, who had already brought away as + many of her family as she could reach, besides all others who + would trust themselves to her care, became much troubled in + "spirit" about three of her brothers, having had an intimation of + some kind that danger was impending over them. With her usual + wonderful cunning, she employed a friend to write a letter for her + to a man named Jacob Jackson, who lived near the plantation where + these brothers were at that time the hired slaves. +</p> +<p> + Jacob Jackson was a free negro, who could both read and write, and + who was under suspicion just then of having a hand in the + disappearance of colored "property." It was necessary, therefore, + to exercise great caution in writing to him, on his own account as + well as that of the writer, and those whom she wished to aid. + Jacob had an adopted son, William Henry Jackson, also free, who + had come North. Harriet determined to sign her letter with William + Henry's name, feeling sure that Jacob would be clever enough to + understand by her peculiar phraseology, the meaning she intended + to convey. +</p> +<p> + Therefore, after speaking of indifferent matters, the letter went + on: "Read my letter to the old folks, and give my love to them, + and tell my brothers to be always <i>watching unto prayer</i>, and when + <i>the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on + board</i>." This letter was signed "William Henry Jackson." +</p> +<p> + Jacob was not allowed to have his letters in those days, until the + self-elected inspectors of correspondence had had the perusal of + them, and consulted over their secret meaning. These wise-acres + therefore assembled, wiped their glasses carefully, put them on, + and proceeded to examine this suspicious document. What it meant + they could not imagine. William Henry Jackson had no parents, or + brothers, and the letter was incomprehensible. Study as they + might, no light dawned upon them, but their suspicions became + stronger, and they were sure the letter meant mischief. +</p> +<p> + White genius having exhausted itself, black genius was brought + into requisition. Jacob was sent for, and the letter was placed in + his hands. He read between the lines, and comprehended the hidden + meaning at once. "Moses" had dictated this letter, and Moses was + coming. The brothers must be on the watch, and ready to join her + at a moment's warning. But Moses must hurry, for the word had gone + forth that the brothers were to be sent South, and the chain-gang + was being collected. +</p> +<p> + Jacob read the letter slowly, threw it down, and said: "Dat letter + can't be meant for me no how; I can't make head or tail of it." + And he walked off and took immediate measures to let Harriet's + brothers know that she was on the way, and they must be ready at + the given signal to start for the North. +</p> +<p> + It was the day before Christmas when Harriet arrived, and the + brothers were to have started on the day after Christmas for the + South. They started on Christmas-day, but with their faces turned + in another direction, and instead of the chain-gang and the whip, + they had the North Star for their guide, and the Moses of her + people for their leader. +</p> +<p> + As usual, this mysterious woman appeared suddenly, and word was + conveyed to the brothers that they were to be at Old Ben's cabin + on Saturday night, ready to start. "Old Ben" was their father, and + as the parents were not of much use now, Harriet was pretty + certain that they would not be sent away, and so she left them + till she had rescued the younger and more valuable members of the + family. +</p> +<p> + Quite a number had assembled at the cabin when the hour came for + starting, but one brother was missing. Something had detained + John; but when the time for starting had struck, Harriet's word + was "forward," and she "nebber waited for no one." +</p> +<p> + Poor John was ready to start from his cabin in the negro quarter + when his wife was taken ill, and in an hour or two another little + heir to the blessings of slavery had come into the world. +</p> +<p> + John must go off for a "Granny," and being a faithful, + affectionate creature, he could not leave his wife under the + present circumstances. +</p> +<p> + After the birth of the child he determined to start. The North and + freedom, or the South and life-long slavery, were the alternatives + before him; and this was his last chance. If he once reached the + North, he hoped with the help of Moses to bring his wife and + children there. +</p> +<p> + Again and again he tried to start out of the door, but a watchful + eye was on him, and he was always arrested by the question, "Where + you gwine, John?" His wife had not been informed of the danger + hanging over his head, but she knew he was uneasy, and she feared + he was meditating a plan of escape. John told her he was going to + try to get hired out on Christmas to another man, as that was the + day on which such changes were made. +</p> +<p> + He left the house but stood near the window listening. He heard + his wife sobbing and moaning, and not being able to endure it he + went back to her. "Oh, John!" she cried, "you's gwine to lebe me! + I know it! but wherebber you go, John, don't forgit me an' de + little children." +</p> +<p> + John assured her that wherever he went she should come. He might + not come for her, but he would send Moses, and then he hurried + away. He had many miles to walk to his old father's cabin, where + he knew the others would be waiting for him, and at daybreak he + overtook them in the "fodder house," not far from the home of the + old people. +</p> +<p> + At that time Harriet had not seen her mother for six years, but + she did not dare to let her know that four of her children were so + near her on their way to the North, for she would have raised such + an uproar in her efforts to detain them, that the whole + neighborhood would have been aroused. +</p> +<p> + The poor old woman had been expecting her sons to spend Christmas + with her as usual. She had been hard at work in preparation for + their arrival. The fatted pig had been killed, and had been + converted into every form possible to the flesh of swine; pork, + bacon and sausages were ready, but the boys did not come, and + there she sat watching and waiting. +</p> +<p> + In the night when Harriet with two of her brothers, and two other + fugitives who had joined them arrived at the "fodder house," they + were exhausted and well-nigh famished. They sent the two strange + men up to the cabin to try to rouse "Old Ben," but not to let + their mother know that her children were so near her. +</p> +<p> + The men succeeded in rousing Old Ben, who came out quietly, and as + soon as he heard their story, went back into the house, gathered + together a quantity of provisions, and came down to the fodder + house. He placed the provisions inside the door, saying a few + words of welcome to his children, but taking care <i>not to see + them</i>. "I know what'll come of dis," he said, "an' I ain't gwine + to see my chillen, no how." The close espionage under which these + poor creatures dwelt, engendered in them a cunning and artifice, + which to them seemed only a fair and right attempt on their part, + to cope with power and cruelty constantly in force against them. +</p> +<p> + Up among the ears of corn lay the old man's children, and one of + them he had not seen for six years. It rained in torrents all that + Sunday, and there they lay among the corn, for they could not + start till night. At about daybreak John had joined them. There + were wide chinks in the boards of the fodder house, and through + these they could see the cabin of the old folks, now quite alone + in their old age. All day long, every few minutes, they would see + the old woman come out, and shading her eyes with her hand, take a + long look down the road to see if "de boys" were coming, and then + with a sad and disappointed air she would turn back into the + cabin, and they could almost hear her sigh as she did so. +</p> +<p> + What had become of the boys? Had they been sold off down South? + Had they tried to escape and been retaken? Would she never see + them or hear of them more? +</p> +<p> + I have often heard it said by Southern people that "niggers had no + feeling; they did not care when their children were taken from + them." I have seen enough of them to know that their love for + their offspring is quite equal to that of the "superior race," and + it is enough to hear the tale of Harriet's endurance and self-sacrifice + to rescue her brothers and sisters, to convince one that + a heart, truer and more loving than that of many a white woman, + dwelt in her bosom. I am quite willing to acknowledge that she was + almost an anomaly among her people, but I have known many of her + family, and so far as I can judge they all seem to be peculiarly + intelligent, upright and religious people, and to have a strong + feeling of family affection. There may be many among the colored + race like them; certainly all should not be judged by the idle, + miserable darkies who have swarmed about Washington and other + cities since the War. +</p> +<p> + Two or three times while the group of fugitives were concealed in + this loft of the fodder house, the old man came down and pushed + food inside the door, and after nightfall he came again to + accompany his children as far as he dared, upon their journey. + When he reached the fodder house, he tied a handkerchief tight + about his eyes, and one of his sons taking him by one arm, and + Harriet taking him by the other, they went on their way talking in + low tones together, asking and answering questions as to relatives + and friends. +</p> +<p> + The time of parting came, and they bade him farewell, and left him + standing in the middle of the road. When he could no longer hear + their footsteps he turned back, and taking the handkerchief from + his eyes, he hastened home. +</p> +<p> + But before Harriet and her brothers left, they had gone up to the + cabin during the evening to take a silent farewell of the poor old + mother. Through the little window of the cabin they saw her + sitting by the fire, her head on her hand, rocking back and forth, + as was her way when she was in great trouble; praying, no doubt, + and wondering what had become of her children, and what new evil + had befallen them. +</p> +<p> + With streaming eyes, they watched her for ten or fifteen minutes; + but time was precious, and they must reach their next under-ground + station before daylight, and so they turned sadly away. +</p> +<p> + When Christmas was over, and the men had not returned, there began + to be no small stir in the plantation from which they had escaped. + The first place to search, of course, was the home of the old + people. At the "Big House" nothing had been seen of them. The + master said "they had generally come up there to see the house + servants, when they came for Christmas, but this time they hadn't + been round at all. Better go down to Old Ben's, and ask him." +</p> +<p> + They went to Old Ben's. No one was at home but "Old Kit," the + mother. She said "not one of 'em came dis Christmas. She was + looking for 'em all day, an' her heart was mos' broke about 'em." +</p> +<p> + Old Ben was found and questioned about his sons. Old Ben said, "He + hadn't <i>seen one</i> of 'em dis Christmas." With all his deep + religious feeling, Old Ben thought that in such a case as this, it + was enough for him to keep to the <i>letter</i>, and let the man + hunters find his sons if they could. Old Ben knew the Old + Testament stories well. Perhaps he thought of Rahab who hid the + spies, and received a commendation for it. Perhaps of Jacob and + Abraham, and some of their rather questionable proceedings. He + knew the New Testament also, but I think perhaps he thought the + kind and loving Saviour would have said to him, "Neither do I + condemn thee." I doubt if he had read Mrs. Opie, and I wonder what + judgment that excellent woman would have given in a case like + this. +</p> +<p> + These poor fugitives, hunted like partridges upon the mountains, + or like the timid fox by the eager sportsman, were obliged in + self-defense to meet cunning with cunning, and to borrow from the + birds and animals their mode of eluding their pursuers by any + device which in the exigency of the case might present itself to + them. They had a creed of their own, and a code of morals which we + dare not criticise till we find our own lives and those of our + dear ones similarly imperiled. +</p> +<p> + One of Harriet's other brothers had long been attached to a pretty + mulatto girl named Catherine, who was owned by another master; but + this man had other views for her, and would not let her marry + William Henry. On one of Harriet's journeys this brother had made + up his mind to make one of her next party to the North, and that + Catherine should go also. He went to a tailor's and bought a new + suit of clothes for a small person, and concealed them inside the + fence of the garden of Catherine's master. This garden ran down to + the bank of a little stream, and Catherine had been notified where + to find the clothes. When the time came to get ready, Catherine + boldly walked down to the foot of the garden, took up the bundle, + and hiding under the bank, she put on the man's garments and sent + her own floating down the stream. +</p> +<p> + She was soon missed, and all the girls in the house were set to + looking for Catherine. Presently they saw coming up from the river + a well-dressed little darkey boy, and they all ceased looking for + Catherine, and stared at him. He walked directly by them, round + the house, and out of the gate, without the slightest suspicion + being excited as to who he was. In a few weeks from that time, + this party were all safe in Canada. +</p> +<p> + William Henry died in Canada, but I have seen and talked with + Catherine at Harriet's house. +</p> +<p> + I am not quite certain which company it was that was under her + guidance on their Northward way, but at one time when a number of + men were following her, she received one of her sudden intimations + that danger was ahead. "Chillen," she said, "we must stop here and + cross dis ribber." They were on the bank of a stream of some + width, and apparently a deep and rapid one. The men were afraid to + cross; there was no bridge and no boat; but like her great + pattern, she went forward into the waters, and the men not knowing + what else to do, followed, but with fear and trembling. The stream + did not divide to make a way for them to cross over, but to her + was literally fulfilled the promise: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, + The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "For," said she, "Missus, de water never came above my chin; when + we thought surely we were all going under, it became shallower and + shallower, and we came out safe on the odder side." Then there was + another stream to cross, which was also passed in safety. They + found afterward that a few rods ahead of them the advertisement of + these escaping fugitives was posted up, and the officers, + forewarned of their coming, were waiting for them. But though the + Lord thus marvelously protected her from capture, she did not + always escape the consequences of exposure like this. It was in + March that this passage of the streams was effected, and the + weather was raw and cold; Harriet traveled a long distance in her + wet clothing, and was afterward very ill for a long time with a + very severe cold. I have often heard her tell this story; but some + of the incidents, particularly that of her illness, were not + mentioned by herself, but were written me by friend Garrett. +</p> +<p> + I hardly know how to approach the subject of the spiritual + experiences of my sable heroine. They seem so to enter into the + realm of the supernatural, that I can hardly wonder that those who + never knew her are ready to throw discredit upon the story. + Ridicule has been cast upon the whole tale of her adventures by + the advocates of human slavery; and perhaps by those who would + tell with awe-struck countenance some tale of ghostly visitation, + or spiritual manifestation, at a dimly lighted "<i>seance</i>." +</p> +<p> + Had I not known so well her deeply religious character, and her + conscientious veracity, and had I not since the war, and when she + was an inmate of my own house, seen such remarkable instances of + what seemed to be her direct intercourse with heaven, I should not + dare to risk my own character for veracity by making these things + public in this manner. +</p> +<p> + But when I add that I have the strongest testimonials to her + character for integrity from William H. Seward, Gerritt Smith, + Wendell Phillips, Fred. Douglass, and my brother, Prof. S.M. + Hopkins, who has known her for many years, I do not fear to brave + the incredulity of any reader. +</p> +<p> + Governor Seward wrote of her: +</p> +<p> + "I have known Harriet long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a + truer, seldom dwells in human form." +</p> +<p> + Gerritt Smith, the distinguished philanthropist, was so kind as to + write me expressing his gratification that I had undertaken this + work, and added: +</p> +<p> + "I have often listened to Harriet with delight on her visits to my + family, and I am convinced that she is not only truthful, but that + she has a rare discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy." +</p> +<p> + Wendell Phillips wrote me, mentioning that in Boston, Harriet + earned the confidence and admiration of all those who were working + for freedom; and speaking of her labors during the war, he added: + "In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who + have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few + men who did more before that time, for the colored race, than our + fearless and sagacious friend." +</p> +<p> + Many other letters I received; from Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the + Massachusetts Board of Charities, from Fred. Douglass, from Rev. + Henry Fowler, and from Union officers at the South during the war, + all speaking in the highest praise and admiration of the character + and labors of my black heroine. +</p> +<p> + Many of her passes also were sent me; in which she is spoken of as + "Moses," for by that name she was universally known. For the story + of her heroic deeds had gone before her, and the testimony of all + who knew her accorded with the words of Mr. Seward: +</p> +<p> + "The cause of freedom owes her much; the country owes her much." + And yet the country was not willing to pay her anything. Mr. + Seward's efforts, seconded by other distinguished men, to get a + pension for her, were sneered at in Congress as absurd and + quixotic, and the effort failed. +</p> +<p> + Secretary Seward, from whom Harriet purchased her little place + near Auburn, died. The place had been mortgaged when this noble + woman left her home, and threw herself into the work needed for + the Union cause; the mortgage was to be foreclosed. The old + parents, then nearly approaching their centennial year, were to be + turned out to die in a poor-house, when the sudden determination + was taken to send out a little sketch of her life to the + benevolent public, in the hope of redeeming the little home. This + object, through the kindness of friends, was accomplished. The old + people died in Harriet's own home, breathing blessings upon her + for her devotion to them. +</p> +<p> + Now another necessity has arisen, and our sable friend, who never + has been known to beg for herself, asks once more for help in + accomplishing a favorite project for the good of her people. This, + as she says, is "her last work, and she only prays de Lord to let + her live till it is well started, and den she is ready to go." + This work is the building of a hospital for old and disabled + colored people; and in this she has already had the sympathy and + aid of the good people of Auburn; the mayor and his noble wife + having given her great assistance in the meetings she has held in + aid of this object. It is partly to aid her in this work, on which + she has so set her heart, that this story of her life and labors + is being re-written. +</p> +<p> + At one time, when she felt called upon to go down for some company + of slaves, she was, as she knew, watched for everywhere (for there + had been an excited meeting of slave-holders, and they were + determined to catch her, dead or alive), her friends gathered + round her, imploring her not to go on in the face of danger and + death, for they were sure she would never be allowed to return. + And this was her answer: +</p> +<p> + "Now look yer! John saw de City, didn't he?" "Yes, John saw de + City." "Well, what did he see? He saw twelve gates, didn't he? + Three of dose gates was on de north; three of 'em was on de east; + an' three of 'em was on de west; but dere was three more, an' dem + was on de <i>south</i>; an' I reckon, if dey kill me down dere, I'll + git into one of dem gates, don't you?" +</p> +<p> + Whether Harriet's ideas of the geographical bearings of the gates + of the Celestial City as seen in the apocalyptic vision, were + correct or not, we cannot doubt that she was right in the + deduction her faith drew from them; and that somewhere, whether + North, East, South, or West, to our dim vision, there is a gate + that will be opened for our good Harriet, where the welcome will + be given, "Come in, thou blessed of my Father." +</p> +<p> + It is a peculiarity of Harriet, that she had seldom been known to + intimate a wish that anything should be given to herself; but when + her people are in need, no scruples of delicacy stand in the way + of her petitions, nay, almost her <i>demands</i> for help. +</p> +<p> + When, after rescuing so many others, and all of her brothers and + sisters that could be reached, with their children, she received + an intimation in some mysterious or supernatural way, that the old + people were in trouble and needed her, she asked the Lord where + she should go for the money to enable her to go for them. She was + in some way, as she supposed, directed to the office of a certain + gentleman, a friend of the slaves, in New York. When she left the + house of the friends with whom she was staying, she said: "I'm + gwine to Mr. ———'s office, an' I ain't gwine to lebe dere, an' + I ain't gwine to eat or drink, till I get money enough to take me + down after de ole people." +</p> +<p> + She went into this gentleman's office. +</p> +<p> + "How do you do, Harriet? What do you want?" was the first + greeting. +</p> +<p> + "I want some money, sir." +</p> +<p> + "<i>You do</i>! How much do you want?" +</p> +<p> + "I want twenty dollars, sir!" +</p> +<p> + "<i>Twenty dollars</i>! Who told you to come here for twenty dollars!" +</p> +<p> + "De Lord tole me, sir." +</p> +<p> + "He did; well I guess the Lord's mistaken this time." +</p> +<p> + "No, sir; de Lord's nebber mistaken! Anyhow I'm gwine to sit here + till I get it." +</p> +<p> + So she sat down and went to sleep. All the morning, and all the + afternoon, she sat there still; sometimes sleeping, sometimes + rousing up, often finding the office full of gentlemen; sometimes + finding herself alone. Many fugitives were passing through New + York at this time, and those who came in supposed her to be one of + them, tired out, and resting. Sometimes she would be roused up + with the words: +</p> +<p> + "Come, Harriet! You had better go; there's no money for you here." +</p> +<p> + "No, sir; I'm not gwine to stir from here till I git my twenty + dollars!" +</p> +<p> + She does not know all that happened, for deep sleep fell upon her; + probably one of the turns of somnolency to which she has always + been subject; but without doubt her story was whispered from one + to another, and as her name and exploits were well known to many + persons, the sympathies of some of those visitors to the office + were aroused; at all events she came to full consciousness, at + last, to find herself the happy possessor of <i>sixty dollars</i>, the + contribution of these strangers. She went on her way rejoicing to + bring her old parents from the land of bondage. +</p> +<p> + When she reached their home, she found that her old father was to + be tried the next Monday for helping off slaves. And so, as she + says in her forcible language, "I just removed my father's trial + to a higher court, and brought him off to Canada." +</p> +<p> + The manner of their escape is detailed in the following letter + from friend Garrett: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + WILMINGTON, 6th Mo., 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + MY FRIEND: Thy favor of the 12th reached me yesterday, requesting + such reminiscences as I could give respecting the remarkable + labors of Harriet Tubman, in aiding her colored friends from + bondage. I may begin by saying, living as I have in a slave State, + and the laws being very severe where any proof could be made of + any one aiding slaves on their way to freedom, I have not felt at + liberty to keep any written word of Harriet's or my own labors, + except in numbering those whom I have aided. For that reason I + cannot furnish so interesting an account of Harriet's labors as I + otherwise could, and now would be glad to do; for in truth I never + met with any person, of any color, who had more confidence in the + voice of God, as spoken direct to her soul. She has frequently + told me that she talked with God, and he talked with her every day + of her life, and she has declared to me that she felt no more fear + of being arrested by her former master, or any other person, when + in his immediate neighborhood, than she did in the State of New + York, or Canada, for she said she never ventured only where God + sent her, and her faith in the Supreme Power truly was great. +</p> +<p> + I have now been confined to my room with indisposition more than + four weeks, and cannot sit to write much; but I feel so much + interested in Harriet, that I will try to give some of the most + remarkable incidents that now present themselves to my mind. The + date of the commencement of her labors, I cannot certainly give; + but I think it must have been about 1845; from that time till + 1860, I think she must have brought from the neighborhood where + she had been held as a slave, from 60 to 80 persons,[C] from + Maryland, some 80 miles from here. No slave who placed himself + under her care, was ever arrested that I have heard of; she mostly + had her regular stopping places on her route; but in one instance, + when she had several stout men with her, some 30 miles below here, + she said that God told her to stop, which she did; and then asked + him what she must do. He told her to leave the road, and turn to + the left; she obeyed, and soon came to a small stream of tide + water; there was no boat, no bridge; she again inquired of her + Guide what she was to do. She was told to go through. It was cold, + in the month of March; but having confidence in her Guide, she + went in; the water came up to her armpits; the men refused to + follow till they saw her safe on the opposite shore. They then + followed, and, if I mistake not, she had soon to wade a second + stream; soon after which she came to a cabin of colored people, + who took them all in, put them to bed, and dried their clothes, + ready to proceed next night on their journey. Harriet had run out + of money, and gave them some of her underclothing to pay for their + kindness. When she called on me two days after, she was so hoarse + she could hardly speak, and was also suffering with violent + toothache. The strange part of the story we found to be, that the + masters of these men had put up the previous day, at the railroad + station near where she left, an advertisement for them, offering a + large reward for their apprehension; but they made a safe exit. + She at one time brought as many as seven or eight, several of whom + were women and children. She was well known here in Chester County + and Philadelphia, and respected by all true abolitionists. I had + been in the habit of furnishing her and those who accompanied her, + as she returned from her acts of mercy, with new shoes; and on one + occasion when I had not seen her for three months, she came into + my store. I said, "Harriet, I am glad to see thee! I suppose thee + wants a pair of new shoes." Her reply was, "I want more than + that." I, in jest, said, "I have always been liberal with thee, + and wish to be; but I am not rich, and cannot afford to give + much." Her reply was: "God tells me you have money for me." I + asked her "if God never deceived her?" She said, "No!" "Well! how + much does thee want?" After studying a moment, she said: "About + twenty-three dollars." I then gave her twenty-four dollars and + some odd cents, the net proceeds of five pounds sterling, received + through Eliza Wigham, of Scotland, for her. I had given some + accounts of Harriet's labor to the Anti-Slavery Society of + Edinburgh, of which Eliza Wigham was Secretary. On the reading of + my letter, a gentleman present said he would send Harriet four + pounds if he knew of any way to get it to her. Eliza Wigham + offered to forward it to me for her, and that was the first money + ever received by me for her. Some twelve months after, she called + on me again, and said that God told her I had some money for her, + but not so much as before. I had, a few days previous, received + the net proceeds of one pound ten shillings from Europe for her. + To say the least there was something remarkable in these facts, + whether clairvoyance, or the divine impression on her mind from + the source of all power, I cannot tell; but certain it was she had + a guide within herself other than the written word, for she never + had any education. She brought away her aged parents in a singular + manner. They started with an old horse, fitted out in primitive + style with a <i>straw collar</i>, a pair of old chaise wheels, with a + board on the axle to sit on, another board swung with ropes, + fastened to the axle, to rest their feet on. She got her parents, + who were both slaves belonging to different masters, on this rude + vehicle to the railroad, put them in the cars, turned Jehu + herself, and drove to town in a style that no human being ever did + before or since; but she was happy at having arrived safe. Next + day, I furnished her with money to take them all to Canada. I + afterward sold their horse, and sent them the balance of the + proceeds. I believe that Harriet succeeded in freeing all her + relatives but one sister and her three children. Etc., etc. + Thy friend, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + THOS. GARRETT. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<a name="note-C"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>C</u></sup> [ Friend Garrett probably refers here to those who + passed through his hands. Harriet was obliged to come by many + different routes on her different journeys, and though she never + counted those whom she brought away with her, it would seem, by + the computation of others, that there must have been somewhat over + three hundred brought by her to the Northern States and Canada.] +</p> +<p> + As I have before stated, with all Harriet's reluctance to ask for + anything for herself, no matter how great her needs may be, no + such scruples trouble her if any of her people are in need. She + never hesitates to call upon her kind friends in Auburn and in + other places for help when her people are in want. At one time, + when some such emergency had arisen, she went to see her friend, + Governor Seward, and boldly presented her case to him. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet," he said, "you have worked for others long enough. If + you would ever ask anything for yourself, I would gladly give it + to you, but I will not help you to rob yourself for others any + longer." +</p> +<p> + In spite of this apparent roughness, we may be sure Harriet did + not leave this noble man's house empty handed. +</p> +<p> + And here I am reminded of a touching little circumstance that + occurred at the funeral of Secretary Seward. +</p> +<p> + The great man lay in his coffin. Friends, children, and admirers + were gathered there. Everything that love and wealth could do had + been done; around him were floral emblems of every possible shape + and design, that human ingenuity could suggest, or money could + purchase. Just before the coffin was to be closed, a woman black + as night stole quietly in, and laying a wreath of field flowers + <i>on his feet</i>, as quietly glided out again. This was the simple + tribute of our sable friend, and her last token of love and + gratitude to her kind benefactor. I think he would have said, + "This woman hath done more than ye all." +</p> +<p> + While preparing this second edition of Harriet's story, I have + been much pleased to find that that good man, Oliver Johnson, is + still living and in New York City. And I have just returned from a + very pleasant interview with him. He remembers Harriet with great + pleasure, though he has not seen her for many years. He speaks, as + all who knew her do, of his entire confidence in her truthfulness + and in the perfect integrity of her character. +</p> +<p> + He remembered her coming into his office with Joe, as I have + stated it, and said he wished he could recall to me other + incidents connected with her. But during those years, there were + such numbers of fugitive slaves coming into the Anti-Slavery + Office, that he might not tell the incidents of any one group + correctly. No records were kept, as that would be so unsafe for + the poor creatures, and those who aided them. He said, "You know + Harriet never spoke of anything she had done, as if it was at all + remarkable, or as if it deserved any commendation, but I remember + one day, when she came into the office there was a Boston lady + there, a warm-hearted, impulsive woman, who was engaged heart and + hand in the Anti-Slavery cause. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet was telling, in her simple way, the story of her last + journey. A party of fugitives were to meet her in a wood, that she + might conduct them North. For some unexplained reason they did not + come. Night came on and with it a blinding snow storm and a raging + wind. She protected herself behind a tree as well as she could, + and remained all night alone exposed to the fury of the storm." +</p> +<p> + "'Why, Harriet!' said this lady, 'didn't you almost feel when you + were lying alone, as if there was <i>no God</i>?' 'Oh, no! missus,' + said Harriet, looking up in her child-like, simple way, 'I jest + asked Jesus to take keer of me, an' He never let me git <i>frost-bitten</i> + one bit.'" +</p> +<p> + In 1860 the first gun was fired from Fort Sumter; and this was the + signal for a rush to arms at the North and the South, and the war + of the rebellion was begun. Troops were hurried off from the North + to the West and the South, and battles raged in every part of the + Southern States. By land and by sea, and on the Southern rivers, + the conflict raged, and thousands and thousands of brave men shed + their blood for what was maintained by each side to be the true + principle. +</p> +<p> + This war our brave heroine had expected, and its result, the + emancipation of the slaves. Three years before, while staying with + the Rev. Henry Highland Garnet in New York, a vision came to her + in the night of the emancipation of her people. Whether a dream, + or one of those glimpses into the future, which sometimes seem to + have been granted to her, no one can say, but the effect upon her + was very remarkable. +</p> +<p> + She rose singing, "<i>My people are free!" "My people are free</i>!" + She came down to breakfast singing the words in a sort of ecstasy. + She could not eat. The dream or vision filled her whole soul, and + physical needs were forgotten. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Garnet said to her: +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Harriet! Harriet! You've come to torment us before the time; + do cease this noise! My grandchildren may see the day of the + emancipation of our people, but you and I will never see it." +</p> +<p> + "I tell you, sir, you'll see it, and you'll see it soon. My people + are free! My people are free." +</p> +<p> + When, three years later, President Lincoln's proclamation of + emancipation was given forth, and there was a great jubilee among + the friends of the slaves, Harriet was continually asked, "Why do + you not join with the rest in their rejoicing!" "Oh," she + answered, "I had <i>my</i> jubilee three years ago. I rejoiced all I + could den; I can't rejoice no more." +</p> +<p> + In some of the Southern States, spies and scouts were needed to + lead our armies into the interior. The ignorant and degraded + slaves feared the "Yankee Buckra" more than they did their own + masters, and after the proclamation of President Lincoln, giving + freedom to the slaves, a person in whom these poor creatures could + trust, was needed to assure them that these white Northern men + were friends, and that they would be safe, trusting themselves in + their hands. +</p> +<p> + In the early days of the war, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, + knowing well the brave and sagacious character of Harriet, sent + for her, and asked her if she could go at a moment's notice, to + act as spy and scout for our armies, and, if need be, to act as + hospital nurse, in short, to be ready to give any required service + to the Union cause. +</p> +<p> + There was much to be thought of; there were the old folks in the + little home up in Auburn, there was the little farm of which she + had taken the sole care; there were many dependents for whom she + had provided by her daily toil. What was to become of them all if + she deserted them? But the cause of the Union seemed to need her + services, and after a few moments of reflection, she determined to + leave all else, and go where it seemed that duty called her. +</p> +<p> + During those few years, the wants of the old people and of + Harriet's other dependents were attended to by the kind people of + Auburn. At that time, I often saw the old people, and wrote + letters for them to officers at the South, asking from them + tidings of Harriet. I received many letters in reply, all + testifying to her faithfulness and bravery, and her untiring zeal + for the welfare of our soldiers, black and white. She was often + under fire from both armies; she led our forces through the jungle + and the swamp, guided by an unseen hand. She gained the confidence + of the slaves by her cheery words, and songs, and sacred hymns, + and obtained from them much valuable information. She nursed our + soldiers in the hospitals, and knew how, when they were dying by + numbers of some malignant disease, with cunning skill to extract + from roots and herbs, which grew near the source of the disease, + the healing draught, which allayed the fever and restored numbers + to health. +</p> +<p> + It is a shame to our government that such a valuable helper as + this woman was not allowed pay or pension; but even was obliged to + support herself during those days of incessant toil. Officers and + men were paid. Indeed many enlisted from no patriotic motive, but + because they were insured a support which they could not procure + for themselves at home. But this woman sacrificed everything, and + left her nearest and dearest, and risked her life hundreds of + times for the cause of the Union, without one cent of recompense. + She returned at last to her little home, to find it a scene of + desolation. Her little place about to be sold to satisfy a + mortgage, and herself without the means to redeem it. +</p> +<p> + Harriet was one of John Brown's "men." His brave and daring spirit + found ready sympathy in her courageous heart; she sheltered him in + her home in Canada, and helped him to plan his campaigns. I find + in the life and letters of this remarkable man, written by Mr. F. + B. Sanborn, occasional mention of Harriet, and her deep interest + in Captain Brown's enterprises. +</p> +<p> + At one time he writes to his son from St. Catherine's, Canada: +</p> +<p> + "I came on here the day after you left Rochester. I am succeeding + to all appearance beyond my expectations. Harriet Tubman <i>hooked + on her whole team at once</i>. He (Harriet) is the most of a man + naturally that I ever met with. There is abundant material here + and of the right quality." She suggested the 4th of July to him as + the time to begin operations. And Mr. Sanborn adds: "It was about + the 4th of July, as Harriet, the African sybil, had suggested, + that Brown first showed himself in the counties of Washington and + Jefferson, on opposite sides of the lordly Potomac." +</p> +<p> + I find among her papers, many of which are defaced by being + carried about with her for years, portions of these letters + addressed to myself, by persons at the South, and speaking of the + valuable assistance Harriet was rendering our soldiers in the + hospital, and our armies in the field. At this time her manner of + life, as related by herself, was this: +</p> +<p> + "Well, missus, I'd go to de hospital, I would, early eb'ry + mornin'. I'd get a big chunk of ice, I would, and put it in a + basin, and fill it with water; den I'd take a sponge and begin. + Fust man I'd come to, I'd thrash away de flies, and dey'd rise, + dey would, like bees roun' a hive. Den I'd begin to bathe der + wounds, an' by de time I'd bathed off three or four, de fire and + heat would have melted de ice and made de water warm, an' it would + be as red as clar blood. Den I'd go an' git more ice, I would, an' + by de time I got to de nex' ones, de flies would be roun' de fust + ones black an' thick as eber." In this way she worked, day after + day, till late at night; then she went home to her little cabin, + and made about fifty pies, a great quantity of ginger-bread, and + two casks of root beer. These she would hire some contraband to + sell for her through the camps, and thus she would provide her + support for another day; for this woman never received pay or + pension, and never drew for herself but twenty days' rations + during the four years of her labors. At one time she was called + away from Hilton Head, by one of our officers, to come to + Fernandina, where the men were "dying off like sheep," from + dysentery. Harriet had acquired quite a reputation for her skill + in curing this disease, by a medicine which she prepared from + roots which grew near the waters which gave the disease. Here she + found thousands of sick soldiers and contrabands, and immediately + gave up her time and attention to them. At another time, we find + her nursing those who were down by hundreds with small-pox and + malignant fevers. She had never had these diseases, but she seems + to have no more fear of death in one form than another. "De Lord + would take keer of her till her time came, an' den she was ready + to go." +</p> +<p> + When our armies and gun-boats first appeared in any part of the + South, many of the poor negroes were as much afraid of "de Yankee + Buckra" as of their own masters. It was almost impossible to win + their confidence, or to get information from them. But to Harriet + they would tell anything; and so it became quite important that + she should accompany expeditions going up the rivers, or into + unexplored parts of the country, to control and get information + from those whom they took with them as guides. +</p> +<p> + General Hunter asked her at one time if she would go with several + gun-boats up the Combahee River, the object of the expedition + being to take up the torpedoes placed by the rebels in the river, + to destroy railroads and bridges, and to cut off supplies from the + rebel troops. She said she would go if Colonel Montgomery was to + be appointed commander of the expedition. Colonel Montgomery was + one of John Brown's men, and was well known to Harriet. + Accordingly, Colonel Montgomery was appointed to the command, and + Harriet, with several men under her, the principal of whom was J. + Plowden, whose pass I have, accompanied the expedition. Harriet + describes in the most graphic manner the appearance of the + plantations as they passed up the river; the frightened negroes + leaving their work and taking to the woods, at sight of the gun-boats; + then coming to peer out like startled deer, and scudding + away like the wind at the sound of the steam-whistle. "Well," said + one old negro, "Mas'r said de Yankees had horns and tails, but I + nebber beliebed it till now." But the word was passed along by the + mysterious telegraphic communication existing among these simple + people, that these were "Lincoln's gun-boats come to set them + free." In vain, then, the drivers used their whips in their + efforts to hurry the poor creatures back to their quarters; they + all turned and ran for the gun-boats. They came down every road, + across every field, just as they had left their work and their + cabins; women with children clinging around their necks, hanging + to their dresses, running behind, all making at full speed for + "Lincoln's gun-boats." Eight hundred poor wretches at one time + crowded the banks, with their hands extended toward their + deliverers, and they were all taken off upon the gun-boats, and + carried down to Beaufort. +</p> +<p> + "I nebber see such a sight," said Harriet; "we laughed, an' + laughed, an' laughed. Here you'd see a woman wid a pail on her + head, rice a smokin' in it jus' as she'd taken it from de fire, + young one hangin' on behind, one han' roun' her forehead to hold + on, 'tother han' diggin' into de rice-pot, eatin' wid all its + might; hold of her dress two or three more; down her back a bag + wid a pig in it. One woman brought two pigs, a white one an' a + black one; we took 'em all on board; named de white pig + Beauregard, and de black pig Jeff Davis. Sometimes de women would + come wid twins hangin' roun' der necks; 'pears like I nebber see + so many twins in my life; bags on der shoulders, baskets on der + heads, and young ones taggin' behin', all loaded; pigs squealin', + chickens screamin', young ones squallin'." And so they came + pouring down to the gun-boats. When they stood on the shore, and + the small boats put out to take them off, they all wanted to get + in at once. After the boats were crowded, they would hold on to + them so that they could not leave the shore. The oarsmen would + beat them on their hands, but they would not let go; they were + afraid the gun-boats would go off and leave them, and all wanted + to make sure of one of these arks of refuge. At length Colonel + Montgomery shouted from the upper deck, above the clamor of + appealing tones, "Moses, you'll have to give em a song." Then + Harriet lifted up her voice, and sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "Of all the whole creation in the East or in the West, + The glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best. + Come along! Come along! don't be alarmed, + Uncle Sam is rich enough to give you all a farm." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + At the end of every verse, the negroes in their enthusiasm would + throw up their hands and shout "Glory," and the row-boats would + take that opportunity to push off; and so at last they were all + brought on board. The masters fled; houses and barns and railroad + bridges were burned, tracks torn up, torpedoes destroyed, and the + object of the expedition was fully accomplished. +</p> +<p> + This fearless woman was often sent into the rebel lines as a spy, + and brought back valuable information as to the position of armies + and batteries; she has been in battle when the shot was falling + like hail, and the bodies of dead and wounded men were dropping + around her like leaves in autumn; but the thought of fear never + seems to have had place for a moment in her mind. She had her duty + to perform, and she expected to be taken care of till it was done. +</p> +<p> + Would that, instead of taking them in this poor way at second-hand, + my readers could hear this woman's graphic accounts of + scenes she herself witnessed, could listen to her imitations of + negro preachers in their own very peculiar dialect, her singing of + camp-meeting hymns, her account of "experience meetings," her + imitations of the dances, and the funeral ceremonies of these + simple people. "Why, der language down dar in de far South is jus' + as different from ours in Maryland as you can tink," said she. + "Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an' I could not understand + dem, no how." She described a midnight funeral which she attended; + for the slaves, never having been allowed to bury their dead in + the day-time, continued the custom of night funerals from habit. +</p> +<p> + The corpse was laid upon the ground, and the people all sat round, + the group being lighted up by pine torches. +</p> +<p> + The old negro preacher began by giving out a hymn, which was sung + by all. "An' oh! I wish you could hear 'em sing, Missus," said + Harriet. "Der voices is so sweet, and dey can sing eberyting we + sing, an' den dey can sing a great many hymns dat we can't nebber + catch at all." +</p> +<p> + The old preacher began his sermon by pointing to the dead man, who + lay in a rude box on the ground before him. +</p> +<p> + "<i>Shum</i>? Ded-a-de-dah! <i>Shum, David</i>? Ded-a-de-dah! Now I want you + all to <i>flec</i>' for moment. Who ob all dis congregation is gwine + next to lie ded-e-de-dah? You can't go nowhere's, my frien's and + bredren, but Deff 'll fin' you. You can't dig no hole so deep an' + bury yourself dar, but God A'mighty's far-seein' eye'll fin' you, + an' Deff 'll come arter you. You can't go into that big fort + (pointing to Hilton Head), an' shut yourself up dar; dat fort dat + Sesh Buckra said the debil couldn't take, but Deff 'll fin' you + dar. All your frien's may forget you, but Deff 'll nebber forget + you. Now, my bredren, prepare to lie ded-a-de-dah!" +</p> +<p> + This was the burden of a very long sermon, after which the whole + congregation went round in a sort of solemn dance, called the + "spiritual shuffle," shaking hands with each other, and calling + each other by name as they sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "My sis'r Mary's boun' to go; + My sis'r Nanny's boun' to go; + My brudder Tony's boun' to go; + My brudder July's boun' to go." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + This to the same tune, till every hand had been shaken by every + one of the company. When they came to Harriet, who was a stranger, + they sang: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Eberybody's boun' to go! +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The body was then placed in a Government wagon, and by the light + of the pine torches, the strange, dark procession moved along, + singing a rude funeral hymn, till they reached the place of + burial. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's account of her interview with an old negro she met at + Hilton Head, is amusing and interesting. He said, "I'd been yere + seventy-three years, workin' for my master widout even a dime + wages. I'd worked rain-wet sun-dry. I'd worked wid my mouf full of + dust, but could not stop to get a drink of water. I'd been + whipped, an' starved, an' I was always prayin', 'Oh! Lord, come + an' delibber us!' All dat time de birds had been flyin', an' de + rabens had been cryin', and de fish had been swimmin' in de + waters. One day I look up, an' I see a big cloud; it didn't come + up like as de clouds come out far yonder, but it 'peared to be + right ober head. Der was thunders out of dat, an' der was + lightnin's. Den I looked down on de water, an' I see, 'peared to + me a big house in de water, an' out of de big house came great big + eggs, and de good eggs went on trou' de air, an' fell into de + fort; an' de bad eggs burst before dey got dar. Den de Sesh Buckra + begin to run, an' de neber stop running till de git to de swamp, + an' de stick dar an' de die dar. Den I heard 'twas de Yankee + ship[D] firin' out de big eggs, an dey had come to set us free. + Den I praise de Lord. He come an' put he little finger in de work, + an de Sesh Buckra all go; and de birds stop flyin', and de rabens + stop cryin', an' when I go to catch a fish to eat wid my rice, + dey's no fish dar. De Lord A'mighty 'd come and frightened 'em all + out of de waters. Oh! Praise de Lord! I'd prayed seventy-three + years, an' now he's come an' we's all free." +</p> +<a name="note-D"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>D</u></sup> [ The <i>Wabash</i>.] +</p> +<p> + The following account of the subject of this memoir is cut from + the <i>Boston Commonwealth</i> of 1863, kindly sent the writer by Mr. + Sanborn: +</p> +<p> + "It was said long ago that the true romance of America was not in + the fortunes of the Indian, where Cooper sought it, nor in New + England character, where Judd found it, nor in the social + contrasts of Virginia planters, as Thackeray imagined, but in the + story of the fugitive slaves. The observation is as true now as it + was before War, with swift, gigantic hand, sketched the vast + shadows, and dashed in the high lights in which romance loves to + lurk and flash forth. But the stage is enlarged on which these + dramas are played, the whole world now sit as spectators, and the + desperation or the magnanimity of a poor black woman has power to + shake the nation that so long was deaf to her cries. We write of + one of these heroines, of whom our slave annals are full—a woman + whose career is as extraordinary as the most famous of her sex can + show. +</p> +<p> + "Araminta Ross, now known by her married name of Tubman, with her + sounding Christian name changed to Harriet, is the grand-daughter + of a slave imported from Africa, and has not a drop of white blood + in her veins. Her parents were Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene, + both slaves, but married and faithful to each other. They still + live in old age and poverty,[E] but free, on a little property at + Auburn, N.Y., which their daughter purchased for them from Mr. + Seward, the Secretary of State. She was born, as near as she can + remember, in 1820 or in 1821, in Dorchester County, on the Eastern + shore of Maryland, and not far from the town of Cambridge. She had + ten brothers and sisters, of whom three are now living, all at the + North, and all rescued from slavery by Harriet, before the War. + She went back just as the South was preparing to secede, to bring + away a fourth, but before she could reach her, she was dead. Three + years before, she had brought away her old father and mother, at + great risk to herself. +</p> +<a name="note-E"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>E</u></sup> [ Both dead for some years.] +</p> +<p> + "When Harriet was six years old, she was taken from her mother and + carried ten miles to live with James Cook, whose wife was a + weaver, to learn the trade of weaving. While still a mere child, + Cook set her to watching his musk-rat traps, which compelled her + to wade through the water. It happened that she was once sent when + she was ill with the measles, and, taking cold from wading in the + water in this condition, she grew very sick, and her mother + persuaded her master to take her away from Cook's until she could + get well. +</p> +<p> + "Another attempt was made to teach her weaving, but she would not + learn, for she hated her mistress, and did not want to live at + home, as she would have done as a weaver, for it was the custom + then to weave the cloth for the family, or a part of it, in the + house. +</p> +<p> + "Soon after she entered her teens she was hired out as a field + hand, and it was while thus employed that she received a wound, + which nearly proved fatal, from the effects of which she still + suffers. In the fall of the year, the slaves there work in the + evening, cleaning up wheat, husking corn, etc. On this occasion, + one of the slaves of a farmer named Barrett, left his work, and + went to the village store in the evening. The overseer followed + him, and so did Harriet. When the slave was found, the overseer + swore he should be whipped, and called on Harriet, among others, + to help tie him. She refused, and as the man ran away, she placed + herself in the door to stop pursuit. The overseer caught up a + two-pound weight from the counter and threw it at the fugitive, but it + fell short and struck Harriet a stunning blow on the head. It was + long before she recovered from this, and it has left her subject + to a sort of stupor or lethargy at times; coming upon her in the + midst of conversation, or whatever she may be doing, and throwing + her into a deep slumber, from which she will presently rouse + herself, and go on with her conversation or work. +</p> +<p> + "After this she lived for five or six years with John Stewart, + where at first she worked in the house, but afterward 'hired her + time,' and Dr. Thompson, son of her master's guardian, 'stood for + her,' that is, was her surety for the payment of what she owed. + She employed the time thus hired in the rudest labors,—drove + oxen, carted, plowed, and did all the work of a man,—sometimes + earning money enough in a year, beyond what she paid her master, + 'to buy a pair of steers,' worth forty dollars. The amount exacted + of a woman for her time was fifty or sixty dollars—of a man, one + hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars. Frequently Harriet + worked for her father, who was a timber inspector, and + superintended the cutting and hauling of great quantities of + timber for the Baltimore ship-yards. Stewart, his temporary + master, was a builder, and for the work of Ross used to receive as + much as five dollars a day sometimes, he being a superior workman. + While engaged with her father, she would cut wood, haul logs, etc. + Her usual 'stint' was half a cord of wood in a day. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet was married somewhere about 1844, to a free colored man + named John Tubman, but she had no children. For the last two years + of slavery she lived with Dr. Thompson, before mentioned, her own + master not being yet of age, and Dr. T.'s father being his + guardian, as well as the owner of her own father. In 1849 the + young man died, and the slaves were to be sold, though previously + set free by an old will. Harriet resolved not to be sold, and so, + with no knowledge of the North—having only heard of Pennsylvania + and New Jersey—she walked away one night alone. She found a + friend in a white lady, who knew her story and helped her on her + way. After many adventures, she reached Philadelphia, where she + found work and earned a small stock of money. With this money in + her purse, she traveled back to Maryland for her husband, but she + found him married to another woman, and no longer caring to live + with her. This, however, was not until two years after her escape, + for she does not seem to have reached her old home in the first + two expeditions. In December, 1850, she had visited Baltimore and + brought away her sister and two children, who had come up from + Cambridge in a boat, under charge of her sister's husband, a free + black. A few months after she had brought away her brother and two + other men, but it was not till the fall of 1851, that she found + her husband and learned of his infidelity. She did not give way to + rage or grief, but collected a party of fugitives and brought them + safely to Philadelphia. In December of the same year, she + returned, and led out a party of eleven, among them her brother + and his wife. With these she journeyed to Canada, and there spent + the winter, for this was after the enforcement of Mason's Fugitive + Slave Bill in Philadelphia and Boston, and there was no safety + except 'under the paw of the British Lion,' as she quaintly said. + But the first winter was terribly severe for these poor runaways. + They earned their bread by chopping wood in the snows of a + Canadian forest; they were frost-bitten, hungry, and naked. + Harriet was their good angel. She kept house for her brother, and + the poor creatures boarded with her. She worked for them, begged + for them, prayed for them, with the strange familiarity of + communion with God which seems natural to these people, and + carried them by the help of God through the hard winter. +</p> +<p> + "In the spring she returned to the States, and as usual earned + money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, + in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and + brought away nine more fugitives. +</p> +<p> + "Up to this time she had expended chiefly her own money in these + expeditions—money which she had earned by hard work in the + drudgery of the kitchen. Never did any one more exactly fulfill + the sense of George Herbert— +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "'A servant with this clause + Makes drudgery divine.' +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + "But it was not possible for such virtues long to remain hidden + from the keen eyes of the Abolitionists. She became known to + Thomas Garrett, the large-hearted Quaker of Wilmington, who has + aided the escape of three thousand fugitives; she found warm + friends in Philadelphia and New York, and wherever she went. These + gave her money, which he never spent for her own use, but laid up + for the help of her people, and especially for her journeys back + to the 'land of Egypt,' as she called her old home. By reason of + her frequent visits there, always carrying away some of the + oppressed, she got among her people the name of 'Moses,' which it + seems she still retains. +</p> +<p> + "Between 1852 and 1857, she made but two of these journeys, in + consequence partly of the increased vigilance of the slave-holders, + who had suffered so much by the loss of their property. A + great reward was offered for her capture and she several times was + on the point of being taken, but always escaped by her quick wit, + or by 'warnings' from Heaven—for it is time to notice one + singular trait in her character. She is the most shrewd and + practical person in the world, yet she is a firm believer in + omens, dreams, and warnings. She declares that before her escape + from slavery, she used to dream of flying over fields and towns, + and rivers and mountains, looking down upon them 'like a bird,' + and reaching at last a great fence, or sometimes a river, over + which she would try to fly, 'but it 'peared like I wouldn't hab de + strength, and jes as I was sinkin' down, dere would be ladies all + drest in white ober dere, and dey would put out dere arms and pull + me 'cross.' There is nothing strange in this, perhaps, but she + declares that when she came North she remembered these very places + as those she had seen in her dreams, and many of the ladies who + befriended her were those she had been helped by in her vision. +</p> +<p> + "Then she says she always knows when there is danger near her—she + does not know how, exactly, but ''pears like my heart go flutter, + flutter, and den dey may say "Peace, Peace," as much as dey likes, + <i>I know its gwine to be war</i>!' She is very firm on this point, and + ascribes to this her great impunity, in spite of the lethargy + before mentioned, which would seem likely to throw her into the + hands of her enemies. She says she inherited this power, that her + father could always predict the weather, and that he foretold the + Mexican war. +</p> +<p> + "In 1857 she made her most venturesome journey, for she brought + with her to the North her old parents, who were no longer able to + walk such distances as she must go by night. Consequently she must + hire a wagon for them, and it required all her ingenuity to get + them through Maryland and Delaware safe. She accomplished it, + however, and by the aid of her friends she brought them safe to + Canada, where they spent the winter. Her account of their + sufferings there—of her mother's complaining and her own + philosophy about it—is a lesson of trust in Providence better + than many sermons. But she decided to bring them to a more + comfortable place, and so she negotiated with Mr. Seward—then in + the Senate—for a little patch of ground. To the credit of the + Secretary of State it should be said, that he sold her the + property on very favorable terms, and gave her some time for + payment. To this house she removed her parents, and set herself to + work to pay for the purchase. It was on this errand that she first + visited Boston—we believe in the winter of 1858-59. She brought a + few letters from her friends in New York, but she could herself + neither read nor write, and she was obliged to trust to her wits + that they were delivered to the right persons. One of them, as it + happened, was to the present writer, who received it by another + hand, and called to see her at her boarding-house. It was curious + to see the caution with which she received her visitor until she + felt assured that there was no mistake. One of her means of + security was to carry with her the daguerreotypes of her friends, + and show them to each new person. If they recognized the likeness, + then it was all right. +</p> +<p> + "Pains were taken to secure her the attention to which her great + services of humanity entitled her, and she left New England with a + handsome sum of money toward the payment of her debt to Mr. + Seward. Before she left, however, she had several interviews with + Captain Brown, then in Boston. He is supposed to have communicated + his plans to her, and to have been aided by her in obtaining + recruits and money among her people. At any rate, he always spoke + of her with the greatest respect, and declared that 'General + Tubman,' as he styled her, was a better officer than most whom he + had seen, and could command an army as successfully as she had led + her small parties of fugitives. +</p> +<p> + "Her own veneration for Captain Brown has always been profound, + and since his murder, has taken the form of a religion. She had + often risked her own life for her people, and she thought nothing + of that; but that a white man, and a man so noble and strong, + should so take upon himself the burden of a despised race, she + could not understand, and she took refuge from her perplexity in + the mysteries of her fervid religion. +</p> +<p> + "Again, she laid great stress on a dream which she had just before + she met Captain Brown in Canada. She thought she was in 'a + wilderness sort of place, all full of rocks, and bushes,' when she + saw a serpent raise its head among the rocks, and as it did so, it + became the head of an old man with a long white beard, gazing at + her, 'wishful like, jes as ef he war gwine to speak to me,' and + then two other heads rose up beside him, younger than he,—and as + she stood looking at them, and wondering what they could want with + her, a great crowd of men rushed in and struck down the younger + heads, and then the head of the old man, still looking at her so + 'wishful.' This dream she had again and again, and could not + interpret it; but when she met Captain Brown, shortly after, + behold, he was the very image of the head she had seen. But still + she could not make out what her dream signified, till the news + came to her of the tragedy of Harper's Ferry, and then she knew + the two other heads were his two sons. She was in New York at that + time, and on the day of the affair at Harper's Ferry she felt her + usual warning that something was wrong—she could not tell what. + Finally she told her hostess that it must be Captain Brown who was + in trouble, and that they should soon hear bad news from him. The + next day's newspaper brought tidings of what had happened. +</p> +<p> + "Her last visit to Maryland was made after this, in December, + 1860; and in spite of the agitated condition of the country, and + the greater watchfulness of the slave-holders, she brought away + seven fugitives, one of them an infant, which must be drugged with + opium to keep it from crying on the way, and so revealing the + hiding-place of the party." +</p> +<p> + In the spring of 1860, Harriet Tubman was requested by Mr. Gerrit + Smith to go to Boston to attend a large Anti-Slavery meeting. On + her way, she stopped at Troy to visit a cousin, and while there + the colored people were one day startled with the intelligence + that a fugitive slave, by the name of Charles Nalle, had been + followed by his master (who was his younger brother, and not one + grain whiter than he), and that he was already in the hands of the + officers, and was to be taken back to the South. The instant + Harriet heard the news, she started for the office of the United + States Commissioner, scattering the tidings as she went. An + excited crowd was gathered about the office, through which Harriet + forced her way, and rushed up stairs to the door of the room where + the fugitive was detained. A wagon was already waiting before the + door to carry off the man, but the crowd was even then so great, + and in such a state of excitement, that the officers did not dare + to bring the man down. On the opposite side of the street stood + the colored people, watching the window where they could see + Harriet's sun-bonnet, and feeling assured that so long as she + stood there, the fugitive was still in the office. Time passed on, + and he did not appear. "They've taken him out another way, depend + upon that," said some of the colored people. "No," replied others, + "there stands 'Moses' yet, and as long as she is there, he is + safe." Harriet, now seeing the necessity for a tremendous effort + for his rescue, sent out some little boys to cry <i>fire</i>. The bells + rang, the crowd increased, till the whole street was a dense mass + of people. Again and again the officers came out to try and clear + the stairs, and make a way to take their captive down; others were + driven down, but Harriet stood her ground, her head bent and her + arms folded. "Come, old woman, you must get out of this," said one + of the officers; "I must have the way cleared; if you can't get + down alone, some one will help you." Harriet, still putting on a + greater appearance of decrepitude, twitched away from him, and + kept her place. Offers were made to buy Charles from his master, + who at first agreed to take twelve hundred dollars for him; but + when this was subscribed, he immediately raised the price to + fifteen hundred. The crowd grew more excited. A gentleman raised a + window and called out, "Two hundred dollars for his rescue, but + not one cent to his master!" This was responded to by a roar of + satisfaction from the crowd below. At length the officers + appeared, and announced to the crowd, that if they would open a + lane to the wagon, they would promise to bring the man down the + front way. +</p> +<p> + The lane was opened, and the man was brought out—a tall, + handsome, intelligent <i>white</i> man, with his wrists manacled + together, walking between the U.S. Marshal and another officer, + and behind him his brother and his master, so like him that one + could hardly be told from the other. The moment they appeared, + Harriet roused from her stooping posture, threw up a window, and + cried to her friends: "Here he comes—take him!" and then darted + down the stairs like a wild-cat. She seized one officer and pulled + him down, then another, and tore him away from the man; and + keeping her arms about the slave, she cried to her friends: "Drag + us out! Drag him to the river! Drown him! but don't let them have + him!" They were knocked down together, and while down, she tore + off her sun-bonnet and tied it on the head of the fugitive. When + he rose, only his head could be seen, and amid the surging mass of + people the slave was no longer recognized, while the master + appeared like the slave. Again and again they were knocked down, + the poor slave utterly helpless, with his manacled wrists, + streaming with blood. Harriet's outer clothes were torn from her, + and even her stout shoes were pulled from her feet, yet she never + relinquished her hold of the man, till she had dragged him to the + river, where he was tumbled into a boat, Harriet following in a + ferry-boat to the other side. But the telegraph was ahead of them, + and as soon as they landed he was seized and hurried from her + sight. After a time, some school children came hurrying along, and + to her anxious inquiries they answered, "He is up in that house, + in the third story." Harriet rushed up to the place. Some men were + attempting to make their way up the stairs. The officers were + firing down, and two men were lying on the stairs, who had been + shot. Over their bodies our heroine rushed, and with the help of + others burst open the door of the room, and dragged out the + fugitive, whom Harriet carried down stairs in her arms. A + gentleman who was riding by with a fine horse, stopped to ask what + the disturbance meant; and on hearing the story, his sympathies + seemed to be thoroughly aroused; he sprang from his wagon, calling + out, "That is a blood-horse, drive him till he drops." The poor + man was hurried in; some of his friends jumped in after him, and + drove at the most rapid rate to Schenectady. +</p> +<p> + This is the story Harriet told to the writer. By some persons it + seemed too wonderful for belief, and an attempt was made to + corroborate it. Rev. Henry Fowler, who was at the time at + Saratoga, kindly volunteered to go to Troy and ascertain the + facts. His report was, that he had had a long interview with Mr. + Townsend, who acted during the trial as counsel for the slave, + that he had given him a "rich narration," which he would write out + the next week for this little book. But before he was to begin his + generous labor, and while engaged in some kind efforts for the + prisoners at Auburn, he was stricken down by the heat of the sun, + and was for a long time debarred from labor. +</p> +<p> + This good man died not long after and the promised narration was + never written, but a statement by Mr. Townsend was sent me, which + I copy here: +</p> +<p> + <i>Statements made by Martin I. Townsend, Esq., of Troy, who was + counsel for the fugitive, Charles Nalle.</i> +</p> +<p> + Nalle is an octoroon; his wife has the same infusion of Caucasian + blood. She was the daughter of her master, and had, with her + sister, been bred by him in his family, as his own child. When the + father died, both of these daughters were married and had large + families of children. Under the highly Christian national laws of + "Old Virginny," these children were the slaves of their + grandfather. The old man died, leaving a will, whereby he + manumitted his daughters and their children, and provided for the + purchase of the freedom of their husbands. The manumission of the + children and grandchildren took effect; but the estate was + insufficient to purchase the husbands of his daughters, and the + fathers of his grandchildren. The manumitted, by another + Christian, "conservative," and "national" provision of law, were + forced to leave the State, while the slave husbands remained in + slavery. Nalle, and his brother-in-law, were allowed for a while + to visit their families outside Virginia about once a year, but + were at length ordered to provide themselves with new wives, as + they would be allowed to visit their former ones no more. It was + after this that Nalle and his brother-in-law started for the land + of freedom, guided by the steady light of the north star. Thank + God, neither family now need fear any earthly master or the bay of + the blood-hound dogging their fugitive steps. +</p> +<p> + Nalle returned to Troy with his family about July, 1860, and + resided with them there for more than seven years. They are all + now residents of the city of Washington, D.C. Nalle and his family + are persons of refined manners, and of the highest respectability. + Several of his children are red-haired, and a stranger would + discover no trace of African blood in their complexions or + features. It was the head of this family whom H.F. Averill + proposed to doom to returnless exile and life-long slavery. +</p> +<p> + When Nalle was brought from Commissioner Beach's office into the + street, Harriet Tubman, who had been standing with the excited + crowd, rushed amongst the foremost to Nalle, and running one of + her arms around his manacled arm, held on to him without ever + loosening her hold through the more than half-hour's struggle to + Judge Gould's office, and from Judge Gould's office to the dock, + where Nalle's liberation was accomplished. In the <i>mêelée</i> she was + repeatedly beaten over the head with policemen's clubs, but she + never for a moment released her hold, but cheered Nalle and his + friends with her voice, and struggled with the officers until they + were literally worn out with their exertions, and Nalle was + separated from them. +</p> +<p> + True, she had strong and earnest helpers in her struggle, some of + whom had white faces as well as human hearts, and are now in + Heaven. But she exposed herself to the fury of the sympathizers + with slavery, without fear, and suffered their blows without + flinching. Harriet crossed the river with the crowd, in the ferry-boat, + and when the men who led the assault upon the door of Judge + Stewart's office were stricken down, Harriet and a number of other + colored women rushed over their bodies, brought Nalle out, and + putting him in the first wagon passing, started him for the West. +</p> +<p> + A lively team, driven by a colored man, was immediately sent on to + relieve the other, and Nalle was seen about Troy no more until he + returned a free man by purchase from his master. Harriet also + disappeared, and the crowd dispersed. How she came to be in Troy + that day, is entirely unknown to our citizens; and where she hid + herself after the rescue, is equally a mystery. But her struggle + was in the sight of a thousand, perhaps of five thousand + spectators. +</p> +<p> + On asking Harriet particularly, as to the age of her mother, she + answered, "Well, I'll tell you, Missus. Twenty-three years ago, in + Maryland, I paid a lawyer five dollars to look up the will of my + mother's first master. He looked back sixty years, and said it was + time to give up. I told him to go back furder. He went back sixty-five + years, and there he found the will—giving the girl Ritty to + his grand-daughter (Mary Patterson), to serve her and her + offspring till she was forty-five years of age." This grand-daughter + died soon after, unmarried; and as there was no provision + for Ritty, in case of her death, she was actually emancipated at + that time. But no one informed her of the fact, and she and her + dear children remained in bondage till emancipated by the courage + and determination of this heroic daughter and sister. The old + woman must then, it seems, be ninety-eight years of age,[F] and + the old man has probably numbered as many years. And yet these old + people, living out beyond the toll-gate, on the South Street road, + Auburn, come in every Sunday—more than a mile—to the Central + Church. To be sure, deep slumbers settle down upon them as soon as + they are seated, which continue undisturbed till the congregation + is dismissed; but they have done their best, and who can doubt + that they receive a blessing. Immediately after this they go to + class-meeting at the Methodist Church. Then they wait for a third + service, and after that start out home again. +</p> +<a name="note-F"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>F</u></sup> [ This was written in the year '68, and the old people + both lived several years after that time.] +</p> +<p> + Harriet supposes that the whole family were actually free, and + were kept wrongfully in a state of slavery all those long years; + but she simply states the fact, without any mourning or lamenting + over the wrong and the misery of it all, accepting it as the will + of God, and, therefore, not to be rebelled against. +</p> +<p> + This woman, of whom you have been reading, is now old and feeble, + suffering from the effects of her life of unusual labor and + hardship, as well as from repeated injuries; but she is still at + work for her people. For many years, even long before the war, her + little home has been the refuge of the hunted and the homeless, + for whom she had provided; and I have seen as many as eight or ten + dependents upon her care at one time living there. +</p> +<p> + It has always been a hospital, but she feels the need of a large + one, and only prays to see this, "her last work," completed ere + she goes hence. +</p> +<p> + Without claiming any of my dear old Harriet's prophetic vision, I + seem to see a future day when the wrongs of earth will be righted, + and justice, long delayed, will assert itself. I seem to see that + our poor Harriet has passed within "one of dem gates," and has + received the welcome, "Come, thou blessed of my Father; for I was + hungry and you gave me meat, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, + I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, + sick and in prison and you visited me." +</p> +<p> + And when she asks, "Lord, when did I do all this?" He answers: +</p> +<p> + "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, <i>my + brethren</i>, you did it unto me." +</p> +<p> + And as she stands in her modest way just within the celestial + gate, I seem to see a kind hand laid upon her dark head, and to + hear a gentle voice saying in her ear, "Friend, come up higher!" +</p> +<a name="2H_4_5"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + SOME ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF "HARRIET." +</h2> +<p> + The story of this remarkable black woman has been attracting + renewed interest of late, and I have often been asked to publish + another edition of the book, and to add some interesting and + amusing incidents which I have related to my friends. +</p> +<p> + Harriet is very old and feeble now; she does not know how old, but + probably between eighty and ninety. Her years of toil and + adventure have told upon her, and she may not last much longer. If + she does, she will still need help which she would never ask for + herself, but which this little book may give her; when she dies, + it may aid in putting up a fitting monument to her memory, which + should always be "kept green." +</p> +<p> + As time goes on, the horrors of the days of slavery are by many + forgotten, and the children who have been born since the War of + the Rebellion know of that fearful straggle, and of the causes + that led to it, only as a tradition of long ago. +</p> +<p> + Even in the city where Harriet has so long lived her quiet and + unobtrusive life, it is not an uncommon thing to meet a young + person who has never even heard her name. +</p> +<p> + Those who know the principal facts of her eventful history may be + interested to read these few added incidents, which she has + related to me from time to time. +</p> +<p> + A year or two ago, as I was staying at the summer home of my + brother, Professor Hopkins, on Owasco Lake, Harriet came up to see + us; it was after lunch, and my brother ordered a table to be set + for her on the broad shaded piazza and waited on her himself, + bringing her cups of tea and other good things, as if it were a + pleasure and an honor to serve her. +</p> +<p> + There is a quiet dignity about Harriet that makes her superior or + indifferent to all surrounding circumstances; whether seated at + the hospitable board of Gerrit Smith or any other white gentleman, + as she often was, or sent to the kitchen, where the white + domestics refused to eat with a "nigger," it was all the same to + Harriet; she was never elated, or humiliated; she took everything + as it came, making no comments or complaints. +</p> +<p> + And so she sat quietly eating her lunch, and talking with us. + After the lunch was over, as we sat on the piazza waiting for the + steamboat to take her back to Auburn, she said: +</p> +<p> + "I often think, Missus, of things I wish I had told you before you + wrote de book. Now, as I come up on de boat I thought of one thing + thet happened to me when I was very little. +</p> +<p> + "I was only seven years old when I was sent away to take car' of a + baby. I was so little dat I had to sit down on de flo' and hev de + baby put in my lap. An' dat baby was allus in my lap 'cept when it + was asleep, or its mother was feedin' it. +</p> +<p> + "One mornin' after breakfast she had de baby, an' I stood by de + table waitin' till I was to take it; just by me was a bowl of + lumps of white sugar. My Missus got into a great quarrel wid her + husband; she had an awful temper, an' she would scole an' storm, + an' call him all sorts of names. Now you know, Missus, I never had + nothing good; no sweet, no sugar, an' dat sugar, right by me, did + look so nice, an' my Missus's back was turned to me while she was + fightin' wid her husband, so I jes' put my fingers in de sugar + bowl to take one lump, an' maybe she heard me, an' she turned an' + saw me. De nex' minute she had de raw hide down; I give one jump + out of de do', an' I saw dey came after me, but I jes' flew, and + dey didn't catch me. I ran, an' I ran, an' I run, I passed many a + house, but I didn't dar' to stop, for dey all knew my Missus an' + dey would send me back. By an' by, when I was clar tuckered out, I + come to a great big pig-pen. Dar was an ole sow dar, an' perhaps + eight or ten little pigs. I was too little to climb into it, but I + tumbled ober de high board, an' fell in on de ground; I was so + beat out I couldn't stir. +</p> +<p> + "An' dere, Missus, I stayed from Friday till de nex' Chuesday, + fightin' wid dose little pigs for de potato peelin's an" oder + scraps dat came down in de trough. De ole sow would push me away + when I tried to git her chillen's food, an' I was awful afeard of + her. By Chuesday I was so starved I knowed I'd got to go back to + my Missus, I hadn't got no whar else to go, but I knowed what was + comin.' So I went back." +</p> +<p> + "And she gave you an awful flogging, I suppose, Harriet?" +</p> +<p> + "No, Missus, but <i>he</i> did." +</p> +<p> + This was all that was said, but probably that flogging left some + of those scars which cover her neck and back to this day. +</p> +<p> + Think of a poor little helpless thing seven years old enduring all + this terror and suffering, and yet few people are as charitable to + the slave-holders as Harriet. "Dey don' know no better, Missus; + it's de way dey was brought up. 'Make de little nigs min' you, or + flog 'em,' was what was said to de chillen, and dey was brought up + wid de whip in der hand. Now, min' you, Missus, dat wasn't de way + on all de plantations; dere was good Marsters an' Missuses, as + I've heard tell, but I didn't happen to come across 'em." +</p> +<p> + There is frequent mention made in the Memoir of Harriet's firm and + unwavering trust in God in times of great perplexity or deadly + peril, when she often had occasion to say, "Vain is the help of + man, but in God is my help." I have never known another instance + of such implicit trust and confidence. +</p> +<p> + Very soon after the Civil War her house was turned into a + hospital, and no poor helpless creature of her race was ever + turned from her door. Indeed, all through the war, and through the + cruel reign of the fugitive slave law, her house was one of the + depots of the "Underground Railway," as that secret and unseen + mode of conveying the hunted fugitives was called, and when the + war was over she established a hospital, which for many years, + indeed till she was too ill herself to take charge of it, has been + the refuge of the sufferers of her race who had no earthly + dependence but Harriet. +</p> +<p> + Very often this woman, except for her trust in "de Lawd," had had + no idea where the next meal was to come from, but she troubled + herself no more about it than if she had been a Vanderbilt or an + Astor. "De Lawd will provide" was her motto, and He never failed + her. +</p> +<p> + One day, in passing through Auburn, I was impelled to stop over a + train, and drive out to see what were the needs of my colored + friend, and to take her some supplies. +</p> +<p> + Her little house was always neat and comfortable, and the small + parlor was nicely and rather prettily furnished. The lame, the + halt, and the blind, the bruised and crippled little children, and + one crazy woman, were all brought in to see me, and "the blind + woman" (she seemed to have no other name), a very old woman who + had been Harriet's care for eighteen years, was led into the room—an + interesting and pathetic group. +</p> +<p> + On leaving, I said to her: "If you will come out to the carriage, + Harriet, there are some provisions there for you." +</p> +<p> + She turned to one of her poor dependents and said: "What did you + say to me dis mornin'? You said, 'We hadn't got nothin' to eat in + de house,' and what did I say to you? I said, 'I've got a rich + Father!'" +</p> +<p> + Nothing that comes to this remarkable woman ever surprises her. + She says very little in the way of thanks, except to the Giver of + all good. How the knowledge comes to her no one can tell, but she + seems always to know when help is coming, and she is generally on + hand to receive it, though it is never for herself she wants it, + but only for those under her care. +</p> +<p> + I must not forget to mention the Indian girls of the Fort Wrangel + School, who, having read a little notice of Harriet in the + "Evangelist," went to work, and by their daily labor raised + thirty-seven dollars which they sent to me for Harriet—and this + school has been disbanded, and these educated girls have been sent + back to their wretched homes, because our Government could not + afford to support it any longer! +</p> +<p> + Pundita Ramabai went about this time to see Harriet and they had + an interesting talk together. Here was a remarkable trio taking + hold of hands—the woman from East India, the Indian girl from the + far West, and the black woman from the Southern States only two + removes from an African savage! +</p> +<p> + Once when she came to New York, where she had not been in twenty + years, and was starting off alone to find some friends miles away + in a part of the city which she had never seen, we remonstrated + with her, telling her she would surely be lost. +</p> +<p> + "Now, Missus," she said, "don't you t'ink dis ole head dat done de + navigatin' down in Egypt can do de navigatin' up here in New + York?" +</p> +<p> + And she walked many miles, scorning a "cyar," and found all the + people she wished to see. +</p> +<p> + Harriet was known by various names among her Southern friends. One + of these was "Ole Chariot," perhaps as a rhyme to the name by + which they called her. +</p> +<p> + And so, often when she went to bring away a band of refugees, she + would sing as she walked the dark country roads by night: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + Who's gwine wid me?" +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And from some unseen singer would come the response: +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + "When dat ar' ole chariot comes, + I'se gwine wid you." +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + And by some wireless telegraphy known only to the initiated it + would be made known in one cabin or another where their deliverer + was waiting concealed, and when she would be ready to pilot them + on their long journey to freedom. +</p> +<p> + A Woman's Suffrage Meeting was held in Rochester a year or two + ago, and Harriet came to attend it. She generally attended every + meeting of women, on whatever subject, if possible to do so. +</p> +<p> + She was led into the church by an adopted daughter, whom she had + rescued from death when a baby, and had brought up as her own. +</p> +<p> + The church was warm and Harriet was tired, and soon after she + entered deep sleep fell upon her. +</p> +<p> + Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Stanton were on the platform, and after + speeches had been made and business accomplished, one of these + ladies said: +</p> +<p> + "Friends, we have in the audience that wonderful woman, Harriet + Tubman, from whom we should like to hear, if she will kindly come + to the platform." +</p> +<p> + People looked around at Harriet, but Harriet was fast asleep. +</p> +<p> + "Mother! mother!" said the young girl; "they are calling for you," + but it was some time before Harriet could be made to understand + where she was, or what was wanted of her. At length, she was led + out into the aisle and was assisted by one of these kind ladies on + to the platform. +</p> +<p> + Harriet looked around, wondering why so many white ladies were + gathered there. I think it was Miss Anthony who led her forward, + saying: +</p> +<p> + "Ladies, I am glad to present to you Harriet Tubman, 'the + conductor of the Underground Railroad.'" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, ladies," said Harriet, "I was de conductor ob de Underground + Railroad for eight years, an' I can say what mos' conductors can't + say—I nebber run my train off de track an' I nebber los' a + passenger." The audience laughed and applauded, and Harriet was + emboldened to go on and relate portions of her interesting + history, which were most kindly received by the assembled ladies. +</p> +<p> + After the passage of the iniquitous fugitive slave law, Harriet + removed all her dependents to Canada, and here John Brown and some + of his followers took refuge with her, and she was his helper and + adviser in many of his schemes. The papers of that time tell of + her helping him with his plans and of his dependence upon her + judgment. In one of his letters he says: "Harriet has hitched on, + and with all her might; she is a whole team." +</p> +<p> + For this large party added to her own family of several persons, + she worked day and night in her usual self-forgetting manner. Her + old father and mother were with her, and the mother, nearly a + hundred years old and enfeebled in mind, was querulous and + exacting, and most unreasonable in her temper, often reproaching + this faithful daughter as the Israelites did Moses of old, for + "bringing them up into the wilderness to die there of hunger." +</p> +<p> + There came a day when everything eatable was exhausted, and the + prospect was dark, indeed. The old mother had no tobacco and no + tea—and these were more essential to her comfort than food or + clothing; then reproaches thick and fast fell upon Harriet. She + made no reply, but "went into her closet and shut the door"; when + she came out she had a large basket on her arm. +</p> +<p> + "Catharine," she said, "take off dat small pot an' put on a large + one." +</p> +<p> + "But, Harriet, der ain't not'ing in de house to eat." +</p> +<p> + "Put on de large pot, Catharine; we're gwine to have soup to-day"—and + Harriet started for the market. The day was nearly over, and + the market-men were anxious to be rid of their wares, and were + offering them very cheap. Harriet walked along with the basket on + her arm. "Old woman, don't you want a nice piece of meat?" called + out one; and another, "Here's a nice piece; only ten cents. Take + this soup-bone, you can have it for five cents." But Harriet had + not five cents. At length a kind-hearted butcher, judging of the + trouble from her face, said: "Look here, old woman, you look like + an honest woman; take this soup-bone, and pay me when you get some + money"; then another said, "Take this," and others piled on pieces + of meat till the basket was full. Harriet passed on, and when she + came to the vegetables she exchanged some of the meat for + potatoes, cabbage, and onions, and the big pot was in requisition + when she reached home. Harriet had not "gone into her closet and + shut the door" for nothing. +</p> +<p> + I hope I may be excused for sometimes telling my story in the + first person, as I cannot conveniently do it in any other way. In + getting ready a Thanksgiving box to send to Harriet, a few years + ago, I had ordered a turkey to be sent for it, but as the weather + grew quite warm, I was advised to send a ham instead. That box was + lost for three weeks, and when I saw Harriet again and told her + that I had intended to send a turkey in it, she said, "Wal, dere + was a clar Providence in dat, wa'n't dere, Missus?" +</p> +<p> + A friend, hearing that I was preparing a Christmas box in New York + for this needy household, sent me a quantity of clothing and ten + dollars for them. As my box was not quite full, I expended three + dollars of that money in groceries, and sent seven dollars to a + lady in Auburn who acted as treasurer for Harriet, giving her + money as it was needed; for Harriet's heart is so large, and her + feelings are so easily wrought upon, that it was never wise to + give her more than enough for present needs. +</p> +<p> + Not long after, I received a letter from a well-known physician—a + woman—in Auburn, in which she said: +</p> +<p> + "I want to tell you something about Harriet. She came to me last + Friday, and said, 'Doctah, I have got my taxes and insurance to + pay to-morrow, and I haven't a cent. Would you lend me seven + dollars till next Chuesday?' More to try her than anything else, I + said, 'Why, Harriet, I'm a poor, hard-working woman myself; how do + you know you'll pay me seven dollars next Tuesday?' 'Well, Doctah, + I can't jes' tell you how, but I'll pay you next Chuesday.'" On + Tuesday my letter with seven dollars enclosed arrived in Auburn, + and Harriet took the money to the friend who had lent it to her. + Others thought this strange, but there was nothing strange about + it to her. +</p> +<p> + A few years ago, when Harriet called on the writer, she was + introduced to the husband of one of her daughters lately married. + He told her how glad he was to see her, as he had heard so much + about her. She made one of her humble courtesies, and said: "I'm + pleased to see you, sir; it's de first time I've hed de pleasure + makin' yo' 'quaintance since you was 'dopted into my fam'bly." +</p> +<p> + When the turns of somnolence come upon Harriet, her "sperrit," as + she says, goes away from her body, and visits other scenes and + places, and if she ever really sees them afterwards they are + perfectly familiar to her and she can find her way about alone. + Instances of this kind have lately been mentioned in some of the + magazines, but Harriet had never heard of them. +</p> +<p> + Sitting in her house one day, deep sleep fell upon her, and in a + dream or vision she saw a chariot in the air, going south, and + empty, but soon it returned, and lying in it, cold and stiff, was + the body of a young lady of whom Harriet was very fond, whose home + was in Auburn, but who had gone to Washington with her father, a + distinguished officer of the Government there.[G] +</p> +<a name="note-G"><!--Note--></a> +<p class="foot"> +<sup><u>G</u></sup> [ William H. Seward.] +</p> +<p> + The shock roused Harriet from her sleep, and she ran into Auburn, + to the house of her minister, crying out: "Oh, Miss Fanny is + dead!" and the news had just been received. +</p> +<p> + She woke from a sleep one day in great agitation, and ran to the + houses of her colored neighbors, exclaiming that "a drefful t'ing + was happenin' somewha', de ground was openin', an' de houses were + fallin' in, and de people bein' killed faster 'n dey was in de + wah—faster 'n dey was in de wah." +</p> +<p> + At that very time, or near it, an earthquake was occurring in the + northern part of South America, for the telegram came that day, + though why a vision of it should be sent to Harriet no one can + divine. +</p> +<p> + Her expressions are often very peculiar; some ladies of a certain + church who had become interested in her wished to see her, and she + was invited to come to their city, and attended the sewing circle, + where twenty or thirty of them were gathered together. They asked + her many questions, and she told stories, sang songs, danced, and + imitated the talk of the Southern negroes; and went away loaded + with many tokens of the kind interest of these ladies. On the way + home she said: +</p> +<p> + "What nice, kind-lookin' ladies dem was, Missus. I looked in all + dere faces, an' I didn't see nothin' venomous in one of 'em!" +</p> +<p> + As has been said, Harriet can neither read nor write; her letters + are all written by an amanuensis, and she seems to have an idea + that by laying her hand on this person, her feelings may be + transmitted to the one to whom she is writing. These feelings are + sometimes very poetically expressed. I have by me some of those + letters; in one of them she says: "I lay my hand on the shoulder + of the writer of this letter, and I wish for you, and all your + offsprings, a through ticket in the Gospel train to Glory." +</p> +<p> + In another letter she has dictated this sentence: +</p> +<p> + "I ask of my Heavenly Father, that when the last trump sounds, and + my name is called, I may stand close by your side, to answer to + the call." Probably many of her friends and correspondents might + contribute facts and incidents in Harriet's life quite as + interesting as any I have mentioned, but I have no way of getting + at them. +</p> +<p> + Harriet had long cherished the idea of having her hospital + incorporated, and placed in charge of the Zion African Methodist + Church of Auburn, and she was particularly anxious to come into + possession of a lot of twenty-five acres of land, near her own + home, to present to it as a little farm. This lot was to be sold + at auction, and on the day of the sale Harriet appeared with a + very little money, and a determination to have the land, cost what + it might. +</p> +<p> + "Dey was all white folks but me dere, Missus, and dere I was like + a blackberry in a pail ob milk, but I hid down in a corner, and no + one know'd who was biddin'. De man began down pretty low, and I + kept goin' up by fifties; he got up to twelve hundred, thirteen + hundred, fourteen hundred, and still dat voice in the corner kept + goin' up by fifties. At last it got up to fourteen hundred and + fifty, an' den oders stopped biddin', an' de man said, 'All done! + who is de buyer?' 'Harriet Tubman,' I shouted. 'What! dat ole + nigger?' dey said. 'Old woman, how you ebber gwine to pay fer dat + lot ob land?' 'I'm gwine home to tell de Lawd Jesus all about it,' + I said." +</p> +<p> + After telling the Lord Jesus all about it, Harriet went down to a + bank, obtained the money by mortgaging the land, and then + requested to have a deed made out, making the land over to the + Zion African Methodist Church. And her mind is easy about her + hospital, though with many persons the trouble would be but just + beginning, as there is interest on the mortgage to be paid. +</p> +<p> + Though the hospital is no longer on her hands, you will never find + her without several poor creatures under her care. When I last saw + her she was providing for five sick and injured ones. A blind + woman came one day to her door, led by four little children—her + husband had turned her out of his house, and like all other poor + distressed black people, who could get there, she made her way to + Harriet. Before the next morning a fifth was added to the group. + As soon as it was possible Harriet dressed the whole six in white + and took them to a Methodist church and had them baptized. +</p> +<p> + A little account of this was sent to the "Evangelist," and the + almost immediate response was seventy-five dollars, which was of + great benefit in providing for the needs of the growing family. +</p> +<p> + This faithful creature will probably not live much longer, and her + like will not be seen again. But through the sale of the last + edition of her "Memoir," and some other sources of income, her + wants will be abundantly supplied. +</p> +<p> + Harriet's friends will be glad to learn that she has lately been + for some time in Boston, where a surgical operation was performed + upon her head, the skull (which was crushed by a weight thrown by + her master more than seventy years before) being successfully + raised. Harriet's account of this operation is rather amusing. +</p> +<p> + "Harriet," said Professor Hopkins, "what is the matter with your + head? Your hair is all gone!" +</p> +<p> + "Why, dat's where dey shaved it off befo' dey cut my head open." +</p> +<p> + "Cut your head open, Harriet? What do you mean?" +</p> +<p> + "Wal, sir, when I was in Boston I walked out one day, an' I saw a + great big buildin', an' I asked a man what it was, an' he said it + was a hospital. So I went right in, an' I saw a young man dere, + an' I said, 'Sir, are you a doctah?' an' he said he was; den I + said, 'Sir, do you t'ink you could cut my head open?' +</p> +<p> + "'What do you want your head cut open fer?' he said. +</p> +<p> + "Den I tol' him de whole story, an' how my head was givin' me a + powerful sight of trouble lately, with achin' an' buzzin', so I + couldn' get no sleep at night. +</p> +<p> + "An' he said, 'Lay right down on dis yer table,' an' I lay down." +</p> +<p> + "Didn't he give you anything to deaden the pain, Harriet?" +</p> +<p> + "No, sir; I jes' lay down like a lamb fo' de slaughter, an' he + sawed open my skull, an' raised it up, an' now it feels more + comfortable." "Did you suffer very much?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, sir, it hurt, ob cose; but I got up an' put on my bonnet an' + started to walk home, but my legs kin' o' gin out under me, an' + dey sont fer a ambulance an' sont me home." +</p> +<p> + It has been hoped that this remarkable experience might result in + giving Harriet a new lease of life, but I am sorry to say she is + very feeble, and I fear will not be with us much longer. +</p> +<p> + Her "through ticket" has long been ready for her, and when her + last journey is accomplished can we doubt that she will be + welcomed to one of those many mansions prepared for those who have + spent their lives in the Master's service? +</p> +<center> + THE END +</center> +<a name="2HAPP6"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + APPENDIX. +</h2> +<p> + The following letters to the writer from those well-known and + distinguished philanthropists, Hon. Gerrit Smith and Wendell + Phillips, and one from Frederick Douglass, addressed to Harriet, + will serve as the best introduction that can be given of the + subject of this memoir to its readers: +</p> +<p> + <i>Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, <i>June</i> 13, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + MY DEAR MADAME: I am happy to learn that you are to speak to the + public of Mrs. Harriet Tubman. Of the remarkable events of her + life I have no <i>personal</i> knowledge, but of the truth of them as + she describes them I have no doubt. +</p> +<p> + I have often listened to her, in her visits to my family, and I am + confident that she is not only truthful, but that she has a rare + discernment, and a deep and sublime philanthropy. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + With great respect your friend, + + GERRIT SMITH. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Wendell Phillips</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + <i>June</i> 16, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + DEAR MADAME: The last time I ever saw John Brown was under my own + roof, as he brought Harriet Tubman to me, saying: "Mr. Phillips, I + bring you one of the best and bravest persons on this continent— + <i>General</i> Tubman, as we call her." +</p> +<p> + He then went on to recount her labors and sacrifices in behalf of + her race. After that, Harriet spent some time in Boston, earning + the confidence and admiration of all those who were working for + freedom. With their aid she went to the South more than once, + returning always with a squad of self-emancipated men, women, and + children, for whom her marvelous skill had opened the way of + escape. After the war broke out, she was sent with indorsements + from Governor Andrew and his friends to South Carolina, where in + the service of the Nation she rendered most important and + efficient aid to our army. +</p> +<p> + In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who + have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few + men who did before that time more for the colored race, than our + fearless and most sagacious friend, Harriet. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Faithfully yours, + + WENDELL PHILLIPS. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Frederick Douglass</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + ROCHESTER, <i>August</i> 29, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + DEAR HARRIET: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful + life has been written by a kind lady, and that the same is soon to + be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon + me for a word of commendation. I need such words from you far more + than you can need them from me, especially where your superior + labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our + land are known as I know them. The difference between us is very + marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our + cause has been in public, and I have received much encouragement + at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored in + a private way. I have wrought in the day—you in the night. I have + had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of + being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done + has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore + bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, + and whose heartfelt "<i>God bless you</i>" has been your only reward. + The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnesses of + your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John + Brown—of sacred memory—I know of no one who has willingly + encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people + than you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to + those who do not know you as I know you. It is to me a great + pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony to your character + and your works, and to say to those to whom you may come, that I + regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Your friend, + + FREDERICK DOUGLASS. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Extracts from a Letter written by Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the + Massachusetts Board of State Charities.</i> +</p> +<p> + MY DEAR MADAME: Mr. Phillips has sent me your note, asking for + reminiscences of Harriet Tubman, and testimonials to her + extraordinary story, which all her New England friends will, I am + sure, be glad to furnish. +</p> +<p> + I never had reason to doubt the truth of what Harriet said in + regard to her own career, for I found her singularly truthful. Her + imagination is warm and rich, and there is a whole region of the + marvelous in her nature, which has manifested itself at times + remarkably. Her dreams and visions, misgivings and forewarnings, + ought not to be omitted in any life of her, particularly those + relating to John Brown. +</p> +<p> + She was in his confidence in 1858-9, and he had a great regard for + her, which he often expressed to me. She aided him in his plans, + and expected to do so still further, when his career was closed by + that wonderful campaign in Virginia. The first time she came to my + house, in Concord, after that tragedy, she was shown into a room + in the evening, where Brackett's bust of John Brown was standing. + The sight of it, which was new to her, threw her into a sort of + ecstacy of sorrow and admiration, and she went on in her + rhapsodical way to pronounce his apotheosis. +</p> +<p> + She has often been in Concord, where she resided at the houses of + Emerson, Alcott, the Whitneys, the Brooks family, Mrs. Horace + Mann, and other well-known persons. They all admired and respected + her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures. She was too + <i>real</i> a person to be suspected. In 1862, I think it was, she went + from Boston to Port Royal, under the advice and encouragement of + Mr. Garrison, Governor Andrew, Dr. Howe, and other leading people. + Her career in South Carolina is well known to some of our + officers, and I think to Colonel Higginson, now of Newport, R.I., + and Colonel James Montgomery, of Kansas, to both of whom she was + useful as a spy and guide, if I mistake not. I regard her as, on + the whole, the most extraordinary person of her race I have ever + met. She is a negro of pure, or almost pure blood, can neither + read nor write, and has the characteristics of her race and + condition. But she has done what can scarcely be credited on the + best authority, and she has accomplished her purposes with a + coolness, foresight, patience and wisdom, which in a <i>white man</i> + would have raised him to the highest pitch of reputation. +</p> +<p> + I am, dear Madame, very truly your servant, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + F.B. SANBORN. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Hon. Wm.H. Seward</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + WASHINGTON, <i>July</i> 25, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<center> + MAJ.-GEN. HUNTER— +</center> +<p> + MY DEAR SIR: Harriet Tubman, a colored woman, has been nursing our + soldiers during nearly all the war. She believes she has a claim + for faithful services to the command in South Carolina with which + you are connected, and she thinks that you would be disposed to + see her claim justly settled. +</p> +<p> + I have known her long, and a nobler, higher spirit, or a truer, + seldom dwells in the human form. I commend her, therefore, to your + kind and best attentions. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Faithfully your friend, + + WILLIAM H. SEWARD. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Col. James Montgomery</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C., <i>July</i> 6, 1863. + HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + BRIG.-GEN. GILMORE, Commanding Department of the South— +</p> +<p> + GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, + a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have been + acquainted with her character and actions for several years. +</p> +<p> + I am, General, your most ob't servant, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. Baird</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, <i>Nov</i>. 24, 1864. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who + has rendered faithful and good services to our Union army, not + only in the hospital, but in various capacities, having been + employed under Government at Hilton Head, and in Florida; and I + commend her to the protection of all officers in whose department + she may happen to be. +</p> +<p> + She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my + uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and + capabilities. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, N.Y., <i>Nov</i>. 4, 1867. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever, + have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying, + and of more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with + her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment. +</p> +<p> + During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful + to the cause of our country. She is poor and has poor parents. + Such a servant of the country should be well paid by the country. + I hope that the Government will look into her case. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + GERRIT SMITH. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Testimonial from Gerrit Smith</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + PETERBORO, <i>Nov.</i> 22, 1864. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + The bearer, Harriet Tubman, needs not any recommendation. Nearly + all the nation over, she has been heard of for her wisdom, + integrity, patriotism, and bravery. The cause of freedom owes her + much. The country owes her much. +</p> +<p> + I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high + esteem. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + GERRIT SMITH. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + <i>Certificate from Henry K. Durrant, Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.</i> +</p> +<p> + I certify that I have been acquainted with Harriet Tubman for + nearly two years; and my position as Medical Officer in charge of + "contrabands" in this town and in hospital, has given me frequent + and ample opportunities to observe her general deportment; + particularly her kindness and attention to the sick and suffering + of her own race. I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem + in which she is generally held. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + HENRY K. DURRANT, + Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. + In charge "Contraband" Hospital. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Dated at Beaufort, S.C., the 3d day of May, 1864. +</p> +<p> + I concur fully in the above. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + R. SAXTON, Brig.-Gen. Vol. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + The following are a few of the passes used by Harriet throughout + the war. Many others are so defaced that it is impossible to + decipher them. +</p> +<center> + HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, +</center> +<p> + HILTON HEAD, PORT ROYAL, S.C., <i>Feb</i>. 19, 1863. +</p> +<p> + Pass the bearer, Harriet Tubman, to Beaufort and back to this + place, and wherever she wishes to go; and give her free passage at + all times, on all Government transports. Harriet was sent to me + from Boston by Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, and is a + valuable woman. She has permission, as a servant of the + Government, to purchase such provisions from the Commissary as she + may need. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + D. HUNTER, Maj.-Gen. Com. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<p> + General Gilmore, who succeeded General Hunter in command of the + Department of the South, appends his signature to the same pass. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, + <i>July</i> 1, 1863. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Continued in force. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Q.A. GILMORE, Brig.-Gen. Com. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + BEAUFORT, <i>Aug</i>. 28, 1862. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Will Capt. Warfield please let "Moses" have a little Bourbon + whiskey for medicinal purposes. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + HENRY K. DURANT, Act. Ass. Surgeon. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C, + <i>March</i> 20, 1865. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Pass Mrs. Harriet Tubman (colored) to Hilton Head and Charleston, + S.C., with free transportation on a Government transport, +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +By order of the Sec. of War. + Louis H., Asst. Adj.-Gen., U.S.A. +To Bvt. Brig.-Gen. Van Vliet, U.S.Q.M., N.Y. +Not transferable. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C., + <i>July</i> 22, 1865. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Permit Harriet Tubman to proceed to Fortress Monroe, Va., on a + Government transport. Transportation will be furnished free of + cost. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> +By order of the Secretary of War. + L.H., Asst. Adj.-Gen. +Not transferable. + +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<hr> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + <i>Appointment as Nurse</i>. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the Medical Director + Department of Virginia has been instructed to appoint Harriet + Tubman nurse or matron at the Colored Hospital, Fort Monroe, Va. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + Very respectfully, your obdt. servant, + V.K. BARNES, Surgeon-General. +Hon. WM.H. SEWARD, + Secretary of State, Washington, D.C. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Of the many letters, testimonials, and passes, placed in the hands + of the writer by Harriet, the following are selected for insertion + in this book, and are quite sufficient to verify her statements. +</p> +<p> + <i>A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a lady of Auburn</i>. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + ATLANTA, GA., <i>March</i> 21, 1868. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that + Hon. Wm.H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition to + Congress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in + the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the + value of her services in South Carolina and Florida. She was + employed in the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid + inside the enemy's lines, displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and + fidelity. She was employed by General Hunter, and I think by + Generals Stevens and Sherman, and is as deserving of a pension + from the Government for her services as any other of its faithful + servants. +</p> +<center> +<table summary=""> +<tr><td> +<pre> + I am very truly yours, + RUFUS SAXTON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen., U.S.A. +</pre> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> +<p> + Rev. Samuel I. May, in his recollections of the anti-slavery + conflict, after mentioning the case of an old slave mother, whom + he vainly endeavored to assist her son in buying from her master, + says: +</p> +<p> + "I did not until four years after know that remarkable woman + Harriet, or I might have engaged her services, in the assurance + that she would have bought off the old woman without <i>paying</i> for + her inalienable right—her liberty." +</p> +<p> + Mr. May in another place says of Harriet, that she deserves to be + placed <i>first</i> on the list of American heroines, and then proceeds + to give a short account of her labors, varying very little from + that given in this book. +</p> +<a name="2H_4_7"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h2> + FUGITIVE SLAVE RESCUE IN TROY. +</h2> +<p> + From the <i>Troy Whig</i>, April 28, 1859. +</p> +<p> + Yesterday afternoon, the streets of this city and West Troy were + made the scenes of unexampled excitement. For the first time since + the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, an attempt was made here to + carry its provisions into execution, and the result was a terrific + encounter between the officers and the prisoner's friends, the + triumph of mob law, and the final rescue of the fugitive. Our city + was thrown into a grand state of turmoil, and for a time every + other topic was forgotten, to give place to this new excitement. + People did not think last evening to ask who was nominated at + Charleston, or whether the news of the Heenan and Sayers battle + had arrived—everything was merged into the fugitive slave case, + of which it seems the end is not yet. +</p> +<p> + Charles Nalle, the fugitive, who was the cause of all this + excitement, was a slave on the plantation of B.W. Hansborough, in + Culpepper County, Virginia, till the 19th of October, 1858, when + he made his escape, and went to live in Columbia, Pennsylvania. A + wife and five children are residing there now. Not long since he + came to Sandlake, in this county, and resided in the family of Mr. + Crosby until about three weeks ago. Since that time, he has been + employed as coachman by Uri Gilbert, Esq., of this city. He is + about thirty years of age, tall, quite light-complexioned, and + good-looking. He is said to have been an excellent and faithful + servant. +</p> +<p> + At Sandlake, we understand that Nalle was often seen by one H.F. + Averill, formerly connected with one of the papers of this city, + who communicated with his reputed owner in Virginia, and gave the + information that led to a knowledge of the whereabouts of the + fugitive. Averill wrote letters for him, and thus obtained an + acquaintance with his history. Mr. Hansborough sent on an agent, + Henry J. Wall, by whom the necessary papers were got out to arrest + the fugitive. +</p> +<p> + Yesterday morning about 11 o'clock, Charles Nalle was sent to + procure some bread for the family by whom he was employed. He + failed to return. At the baker's he was arrested by Deputy United + States Marshal J.W. Holmes, and immediately taken before United + States Commissioner Miles Beach. The son of Mr. Gilbert, thinking + it strange that he did not come back, sent to the house of William + Henry, on Division Street, where he boarded, and his whereabouts + was discovered. +</p> +<p> + The examination before Commissioner Beach was quite brief. The + evidence of Averill and the agent was taken, and the Commissioner + decided to remand Nalle to Virginia. The necessary papers were + made out and given to the Marshal. +</p> +<p> + By this time it was two o'clock, and the fact began to be noised + abroad that there was a fugitive slave in Mr. Beach's office, + corner of State and First Streets. People in knots of ten or + twelve collected near the entrance, looking at Nalle, who could be + seen at an upper window. William Henry, a colored man, with whom + Nalle boarded, commenced talking from the curb-stone in a loud + voice to the crowd. He uttered such sentences as, "There is a + fugitive slave in that office—pretty soon you will see him come + forth. He is going to be taken down South, and you will have a + chance to see him. He is to be taken to the depot, to go to + Virginia in the first train. Keep watch of those stairs, and you + will have a sight." A number of women kept shouting, crying, and + by loud appeals excited the colored persons assembled. +</p> +<p> + Still the crowd grew in numbers. Wagons halted in front of the + locality, and were soon piled with spectators. An alarm of fire + was sounded, and hose carriages dashed through the ranks of men, + women, and boys; but they closed again, and kept looking with + expectant eyes at the window where the negro was visible. + Meanwhile, angry discussions commenced. Some persons agitated a + rescue, and others favored law and order. Mr. Brockway, a lawyer, + had his coat torn for expressing his sentiments, and other + <i>mêlées</i> kept the interest alive. +</p> +<p> + All at once there was a wild halloo, and every eye was turned up + to see the legs and part of the body of the prisoner protruding + from the second story window, at which he was endeavoring to + escape. Then arose a shout! "Drop him!" "Catch him!" "Hurrah!" But + the attempt was a fruitless one, for somebody in the office pulled + Nalle back again, amid the shouts of a hundred pairs of lungs. The + crowd at this time numbered nearly a thousand persons. Many of + them were black, and a good share were of the female sex. They + blocked up State Street from First Street to the alley, and kept + surging to and fro. +</p> +<p> + Martin I. Townsend, Esq., who acted as counsel for the fugitive, + did not arrive in the Commissioner's office until a decision had + been rendered. He immediately went before Judge Gould, of the + Supreme Court, and procured a writ of habeas corpus in the usual + form, <i>returnable</i> immediately. This was given Deputy-Sheriff + Nathaniel Upham, who at once proceeded to Commissioner Beach's + office, and served it on Holmes. Very injudiciously, the officers + proceeded at once to Judge Gould's office, although it was evident + they would have to pass through an excited, unreasonable crowd. As + soon as the officers and their prisoner emerged from the door, an + old negro, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, + shouted, "Here they come," and the crowd made a terrific rush at + the party. +</p> +<p> + From the office of Commissioner Beach, in the Mutual Building, to + that of Judge Gould, in Congress Street, is less than two blocks, + but it was made a regular battlefield. The moment the prisoner + emerged from the doorway, in custody of Deputy-Sheriff Upham, + Chief of Police Quin, Officers Cleveland and Holmes, the crowd + made one grand charge, and those nearest the prisoner seized him + violently, with the intention of pulling him away from the + officers, but they were foiled; and down First to Congress Street, + and up the latter in front of Judge Gould's chambers, went the + surging mass. Exactly what did go on in the crowd, it is + impossible to say, but the pulling, hauling, mauling, and + shouting, gave evidences of frantic efforts on the part of the + rescuers, and a stern resistance from the conservators of the law. + In front of Judge Gould's office the combat was at its height. No + stones or other missiles were used; the battle was fist to fist. + We believe an order was given to take the prisoner the other way, + and there was a grand rush towards the West, past First and River + Streets, as far as Dock Street. All this time there was a + continual <i>mêlée</i>. Many of the officers were hurt—among them Mr. + Upham, whose object was solely to do his duty by taking Nalle + before Judge Gould in accordance with the writ of habeas corpus. A + number in the crowd were more or less hurt, and it is a wonder + that these were not badly injured, as pistols were drawn and + chisels used. +</p> +<p> + The battle had raged as far as the corner of Dock and Congress + Streets, and the victory remained with the rescuers at last. The + officers were completely worn out with their exertions, and it was + impossible to continue their hold upon him any longer. Nalle was + at liberty. His friends rushed him down Dock Street to the lower + ferry, where there was a skiff lying ready to start. The fugitive + was put in, the ferryman rowed off, and amid the shouts of + hundreds who lined the banks of the river, Nalle was carried into + Albany County. +</p> +<p> + As the skiff landed in West Troy, a negro sympathizer waded up to + the waist, and pulled Nalle out of the boat. He went up the hill + alone, however, and there who should he meet but Constable Becker! + The latter official seeing a man with manacles on, considered it + his duty to arrest him. He did so, and took him in a wagon to the + office of Justice Stewart, on the second floor of the corner + building near the ferry. The justice was absent. +</p> +<p> + When the crowd on the Troy bank had seen Nalle safely landed, it + was suggested that he might be recaptured. Then there was another + rush made for the steam ferry-boat, which carried over about 400 + persons, and left as many more—a few of the latter being soused + in their efforts to get on the boat. On landing in West Troy, + there, sure enough, was the prisoner, locked up in a strong + office, protected by Officers Becker, Brown and Morrison, and the + door barricaded. +</p> +<p> + Not a moment was lost. Up stairs went a score or more of resolute + men—the rest "piling in" promiscuously, shouting and execrating + the officers. Soon a stone flew against the door—then another— + and bang, bang! went off a couple of pistols, but the officers who + fired them took good care to aim pretty high. The assailants were + forced to retreat for a moment. "They've got pistols," said one. + "Who cares?" was the reply; "they can only kill a dozen of us— + come on." More stones and more pistol-shots ensued. At last the + door was pulled open by an immense negro, and in a moment he was + felled by a hatchet in the hands of Deputy-Sheriff Morrison; but + the body of the fallen man blocked up the door so that it could + not be shut, and a friend of the prisoner pulled him out. Poor + fellow! he might well say, "Save me from my friends." Amid the + pulling and hauling, the iron had cut his arms, which were + bleeding profusely, and he could hardly walk, owing to fatigue. +</p> +<p> + He has since arrived safely in Canada. +</p> +<center> + THE END. +</center> + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Harriet, The Moses of Her People +by Sarah H. Bradford + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARRIET, THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE *** + +This file should be named 8htub10h.htm or 8htub10h.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 8htub11h.htm +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 8htub10ah.htm + +Produced by Maria Cecilia Lim, David Widger and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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