AFTER my wife had a little recovered herself,she threw off the disguise and assumed her own apparel.We then stepped into the sitting-room,and asked to see the landlord.The man came in,but he seemed thunderstruck on finding a fugitive slave and his wife,instead of a "young cotton planter and his nigger."As his eyes travelled round the room,he said to me,"Where is your master?"Ipointed him out.The man gravely replied,"I am not joking,I really wish to see your master."Ipointed him out again,but at first he could not believe his eyes;he said "he knew that was not the gentleman that came with me."But,after some conversation,we satisfied him that we were fugitive slaves,and had just escaped in the manner I have described.We asked him if he thought it would be safe for us to stop in Phila-delphia.He said he thought not,but he would call in some persons who knew more about the laws than himself.He then went out,and kindly brought in several of the leading abolitionists of the city,who gave us a most hearty and friendly welcome amongst them.As it was in December,and also as we had just left a very warm climate,they advised us not to go to Canada as we had intended,but to settle at Boston in the United States.It is true that the constitution of the Re-public has always guaranteed the slaveholders the right to come into any of the so-called free States,and take their fugitives back to southern Egypt.
But through the untiring,uncompromising,and manly efforts of Mr.Garrison,Wendell Phillips,Theodore Parker,and a host of other noble aboli-tionists of Boston and the neighbourhood,public opinion in Massachusetts had become so much opposed to slavery and to kidnapping,that it was almost impossible for any one to take a fugitive slave out of that State.
So we took the advice of our good Philadelphia friends,and settled at Boston.I shall have some-thing to say about our sojourn there presently.
Among other friends we met with at Philadel-phia,was Robert Purves,Esq.,a well educated and wealthy coloured gentleman,who introduced us to Mr.Barkley Ivens,a member of the Society of Friends,and a noble and generous-hearted farmer,who lived at some distance in the country.
This good Samaritan at once invited us to go and stop quietly with his family,till my wife could somewhat recover from the fearful reaction of the past journey.We most gratefully accepted the invitation,and at the time appointed we took a steamer to a place up the Delaware river,where our new and dear friend met us with his snug little cart,and took us to his happy home.This was the first act of great and disinterested kindness we had ever received from a white person.
The gentleman was not of the fairest complexion,and therefore,as my wife was not in the room when I received the information respecting him and his anti-slavery character,she thought of course he was a quadroon like herself.But on arriving at the house,and finding out her mistake,she became more nervous and timid than ever.
As the cart came into the yard,the dear good old lady,and her three charming and affectionate daughters,all came to the door to meet us.We got out,and the gentleman said,"Go in,and make yourselves at home;I will see after the baggage."But my wife was afraid to approach them.She stopped in the yard,and said to me,"William,Ithought we were coming among coloured people?"Ireplied,"It is all right;these are the same.""No,"she said,"it is not all right,and I am not going to stop here;I have no confidence whatever in white people,they are only trying to get us back to slavery."She turned round and said,"I am going right off."The old lady then came out,with her sweet,soft,and winning smile,shook her heartily by the hand,and kindly said,"How art thou,my dear?We are all very glad to see thee and thy husband.Come in,to the fire;I dare say thou art cold and hungry after thy journey."We went in,and the young ladies asked if she would like to go upstairs and "fix"herself before tea.My wife said,"No,I thank you;I shall only stop a little while.""But where art thou going this cold night?"said Mr.Ivens,who had just stepped in."I don't know,"was the reply."Well,then,"he continued,"I think thou hadst better take off thy things and sit near the fire;tea will soon be ready."Yes,come,Ellen,"said Mrs.Ivens,"let me assist thee;"(as she commenced undoing my wife's bonnet-strings;)"don't be frightened,Ellen,I shall not hurt a single hair of thy head.
We have heard with much pleasure of the marvel-lous escape of thee and thy husband,and deeply sympathise with thee in all that thou hast under-gone.I don't wonder at thee,poor thing,being timid;but thou needs not fear us;we would as soon send one of our own daughters into slavery as thee;so thou mayest make thyself quite at ease!"These soft and soothing words fell like balm upon my wife's unstrung nerves,and melted her to tears;her fears and prejudices vanished,and from that day she has firmly believed that there are good and bad persons of every shade of complexion.
After seeing Sally Ann and Jacob,two coloured domestics,my wife felt quite at home.After par-taking of what Mrs.Stowe's Mose and Pete called a "busting supper,"the ladies wished to know whether we could read.On learning we could not,they said if we liked they would teach us.To this kind offer,of course,there was no objection.
But we looked rather knowingly at each other,as much as to say that they would have rather a hard task to cram anything into our thick and matured skulls.
However,all hands set to and quickly cleared away the tea-things,and the ladies and their good brother brought out the spelling and copy books and slates,&c.,and commenced with their new and green pupils.We had,by stratagem,learned the alphabet while in slavery,but not the writing cha-racters;and,as we had been such a time learning so little,we at first felt that it was a waste of time for any one at our ages to undertake to learn to read and write.But,as the ladies were so anx-ious that we should learn,and so willing to teach us,we concluded to give our whole minds to the work,and see what could be done.By so doing,at the end of the three weeks we remained with the good family we could spell and write our names quite legibly.They all begged us to stop longer;but,as we were not safe in the State of Pennsylvania,and also as we wished to commence doing some-thing for a livelihood,we did not remain.
When the time arrived for us to leave for Boston,it was like parting with our relatives.We have since met with many very kind and hospitable friends,both in America and England;but we have never been under a roof where we were made to feel more at home,or where the inmates took a deeper interest in our well-being,than Mr.Barkley Ivens and his dear family.May God ever bless them,and preserve each one from every reverse of fortune!
We finally,as I have stated,settled at Boston,where we remained nearly two years,I employed as cabinet-maker and furniture broker,and my wife at her needle;and,as our little earnings in slavery were not all spent on the journey,we were getting on very well,and would have made money,if we had not been compelled by the General Government,at the bidding of the slaveholders,to break up busi-ness,and fly from under the Stars and Stripes to save our liberties and our lives.
In 1850,Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Bill,an enactment too infamous to have been thought of or tolerated by any people in the world,except the unprincipled and tyrannical Yankees.
The following are a few of the leading features of the above law;which requires,under heavy penal-ties,that the inhabitants of the FREE States should not only refuse food and shelter to a starving,hunted human being,but also should assist,if called upon by the authorities,to seize the unhappy fugitive and send him back to slavery.
In no case is a person's evidence admitted in Court,in defence of his liberty,when arrested under this law.
If the judge decides that the prisoner is a slave,he gets ten dollars;but if he sets him at liberty,he only receives five.
After the prisoner has been sentenced to slavery,he is handed over to the United States Marshal,who has the power,at the expense of the General Government,to summon a sufficient force to take the poor creature back to slavery,and to the lash,from which he fled.
Our old masters sent agents to Boston after us.
They took out warrants,and placed them in the hands of the United States Marshal to execute.
But the following letter from our highly esteemed and faithful friend,the Rev.Samuel May,of Bos-ton,to our equally dear and much lamented friend,Dr.Estlin of Bristol,will show why we were not taken into custody.
"21,Cornhill,Boston,"November 6th,1850.
"My dear Mr Estlin,"I trust that in God's good providence this letter will be handed to you in safety by our good friends,William and Ellen Craft.They have lived amongst us about two years,and have proved themselves worthy,in all respects,of our confidence and regard.
The laws of this republican and Christian land (tell it not in Moscow,nor in Constantinople)regard them only as slaves--chattels--personal property.But they nobly vindicated their title and right to *******,two years since,by win-ning their way to it;at least,so they thought.
But now,the slave power,with the aid of Daniel Webster and a band of lesser traitors,has enacted a law,which puts their dearly-bought liberties in the most imminent peril;holds out a strong temp-tation to every mercenary and unprincipled ruffian to become their kidnapper;and has stimulated the slaveholders generally to such desperate acts for the recovery of their fugitive property,as have never before been enacted in the history of this government.
"Within a fortnight,two fellows from Macon,Georgia,have been in Boston for the purpose of arresting our friends William and Ellen.A writ was served against them from the United States District Court;but it was not served by the United States Marshal;why not,is not certainly known:
perhaps through fear,for a general feeling of indig-nation,and a cool determination not to allow this young couple to be taken from Boston into slavery,was aroused,and pervaded the city.It is under-stood that one of the judges told the Marshal that he would not be authorised in breaking the door of Craft's house.Craft kept himself close within the house,armed himself,and awaited with remarkable composure the event.Ellen,in the meantime,had been taken to a retired place out of the city.The Vigilance Committee (appointed at a late meeting in Fanueil Hall)enlarged their numbers,held an almost permanent session,and appointed various sub-committees to act in different ways.One of these committees called repeatedly on Messrs.Hughes and Knight,the slave-catchers,and requested and advised them to leave the city.At first they peremptorily refused to do so,''till they got hold of the niggers.'On complaint of different persons,these two fellows were several times arrested,car-ried before one of our county courts,and held to bail on charges of 'conspiracy to kidnap,'and of 'defamation,'in calling William and Ellen 'SLAVES.'
At length,they became so alarmed,that they left the city by an indirect route,evading the vigilance of many persons who were on the look-out for them.Hughes,at one time,was near losing his life at the hands of an infuriated coloured man.
While these men remained in the city,a prominent whig gentleman sent word to William Craft,that if he would submit peaceably to an arrest,he and his wife should be bought from their owners,cost what it might.Craft replied,in effect,that he was in a measure the representative of all the other fugitives in Boston,some 200or 300in number;that,if he gave up,they would all be at the mercy of the slave-catchers,and must fly from the city at any sacrifice;and that,if his ******* could be bought for two cents,he would not consent to com-promise the matter in such a way.This event has stirred up the slave spirit of the country,south and north;the United States government is determined to try its hand in enforcing the Fugitive Slave law;and William and Ellen Craft would be prominent objects of the slaveholders'vengeance.Under these circumstances,it is the almost unanimous opinion of their best friends,that they should quit America as speedily as possible,and seek an asylum in England!Oh!shame,shame upon us,that Americans,whose fathers fought against Great Bri-tain,in order to be FREE,should have to acknow-ledge this disgraceful fact!God gave us a fair and goodly heritage in this land,but man has cursed it with his devices and crimes against human souls and human rights.Is America the 'land of the free,and the home of the brave?'God knows it is not;and we know it too.A brave young man and a virtuous young woman must fly the American shores,and seek,under the shadow of the British throne,the enjoyment of 'life,liberty,and the pur-suit of happiness.'
"But I must pursue my plain,sad story.All day long,I have been busy planning a safe way for William and Ellen to leave Boston.We dare not allow them to go on board a vessel,even in the port of Boston;for the writ is yet in the Marshal's hands,and he MAY be waiting an opportunity to serve it;so I am expecting to accompany them to-morrow to Portland,Maine,which is beyond the reach of the Marshal's authority;and there I hope to see them on board a British steamer.
"This letter is written to introduce them to you.I know your infirm health;but I am sure,if you were stretched on your bed in your last illness,and could lift your hand at all,you would extend it to welcome these poor hunted fellow-creatures.Hence-forth,England is their nation and their home.It is with real regret for our personal loss in their de-parture,as well as burning shame for the land that is not worthy of them,that we send them away,or rather allow them to go.But,with all the resolute courage they have shown in a most trying hour,they themselves see it is the part of a foolhardy rashness to attempt to stay here longer.
"I must close;and with many renewed thanks for all your kind words and deeds towards us,"I am,very respectfully yours,"SAMUEL MAY,JUN."Our old masters,having heard how their agents were treated at Boston,wrote to Mr.Filmore,who was then President of the States,to know what he could do to have us sent back to slavery.Mr.Filmore said that we should be returned.He gave instructions for military force to be sent to Boston to assist the officers in ****** the arrest.There-fore we,as well as our friends (among whom was George Thompson,Esq.,late M.P.for the Tower Hamlets--the slave's long-tried,self-sacrificing friend,and eloquent advocate)thought it best,at any sacrifice,to leave the mock-free Republic,and come to a country where we and our dear little ones can be truly free.--"No one daring to molest or make us afraid."But,as the officers were watching every vessel that left the port to prevent us from escaping,we had to take the expensive and tedious overland route to Halifax.
We shall always cherish the deepest feelings of gratitude to the Vigilance Committee of Boston (upon which were many of the leading abolitionists),and also to our numerous friends,for the very kind and noble manner in which they assisted us to preserve our liberties and to escape from Boston,as it were like Lot from Sodom,to a place of refuge,and finally to this truly free and glorious country;where no tyrant,let his power be ever so absolute over his poor trembling victims at home,dare come and lay violent hands upon us or upon our dear little boys (who had the good fortune to be born upon British soil),and reduce us to the legal level of the beast that perisheth.Oh!may God bless the thousands of unflinching,disin-terested abolitionists of America,who are labouring through evil as well as through good report,to cleanse their country's escutcheon from the foul and destructive blot of slavery,and to restore to every bondman his God-given rights;and may God ever smile upon England and upon England's good,much-beloved,and deservedly-honoured Queen,for the generous protection that is given to unfortunate refugees of every rank,and of every colour and clime.
On the passing of the Fugitive Slave Bill,the following learned doctors,as well as a host of lesser traitors,came out strongly in its defence.
The Rev.Dr.Gardiner Spring,an eminent Presbyterian Clergyman of New York,well known in this country by his religious publications,declared from the pulpit that,"if by one prayer he could liberate every slave in the world he would not dare to offer it."The Rev.Dr.Joel Parker,of Philadelphia,in the course of a discussion on the nature of Slavery,says,"What,then,are the evils inseparable from slavery?There is not one that is not equally inseparable from depraved human nature in other lawful relations."The Rev.Moses Stuart,D.D.,(late Professor in the Theological College of Andover),in his vindi-cation of this Bill,reminds his readers that "many Southern slaveholders are true CHRISTIANS."That "sending back a fugitive to them is not like restor-ing one to an idolatrous people."That "though we may PITY the fugitive,yet the Mosaic Law does not authorize the rejection of the claims of the slaveholders to their stolen or strayed PROPERTY."The Rev.Dr.Spencer,of Brooklyn,New York,has come forward in support of the "Fugitive Slave Bill,"by publishing a sermon entitled the "Religious Duty of Obedience to the Laws,"which has elicited the highest encomiums from Dr.Samuel H.Cox,the Presbyterian minister of Brooklyn (notorious both in this country and America for his sympathy with the slaveholder).
The Rev.W.M.Rogers,an orthodox minister of Boston,delivered a sermon in which he says,"When the slave asks me to stand be-tween him and his master,what does he ask?
