 | Incidents in the life of a slave girl |  |
XXX.
NORTHWARD BOUND.
I never could tell how we reached the wharf. My
brain was all of a whirl, and my limbs tottered under
me. At an appointed place we met my uncle Phillip,
who had started before us on a different route, that he
might reach the wharf first, and give us timely warning
if there was any danger. A row-boat was in readiness.
As I was about to step in, I felt something pull
me gently, and turning round I saw Benny, looking
pale and anxious. He whispered in my ear, “I've been
peeping into the doctor's window, and he's at home.
Good by, mother. Don't cry; I'll come.” He hastened
away. I clasped the hand of my good uncle, to
whom I owed so much, and of Peter, the brave, generous
friend who had volunteered to run such terrible
risks to secure my safety. To this day I remember
how his bright face beamed with joy, when he told me
he had discovered a safe method for me to escape. Yet
that intelligent, enterprising, noble-hearted man was a
chattel! liable, by the laws of a country that calls
itself civilized, to be sold with horses and pigs! We
parted in silence. Our hearts were all too full for
words!
Swiftly the boat glided over the water. After a
while, one of the sailors said, “Don't be down-hearted,
madam. We will take you safely to your husband, in
—.” At first I could not imagine what he meant;
referred to something the captain had told him; so I
thanked him, and said I hoped we should have pleasant
weather.
When I entered the vessel the captain came forward
to meet me. He was an elderly man, with a pleasant
countenance. He showed me to a little box of a cabin,
where sat my friend Fanny. She started as if she had
seen a spectre. She gazed on me in utter astonishment,
and exclaimed, “Linda, can this be you? or is it your
ghost?” When we were locked in each other's arms,
my overwrought feelings could no longer be restrained.
My sobs reached the ears of the captain, who came and
very kindly reminded us, that for his safety, as well as
our own, it would be prudent for us not to attract any
attention. He said that when there was a sail in sight
he wished us to keep below; but at other times, he had
no objection to our being on deck. He assured us that
he would keep a good lookout, and if we acted prudently,
he thought we should be in no danger. He
had represented us as women going to meet our husbands
in —. We thanked him, and promised to
observe carefully all the directions he gave us.
Fanny and I now talked by ourselves, low and quietly,
in our little cabin. She told me of the sufferings
she had gone through in making her escape, and of her
terrors while she was concealed in her mother's house.
Above all, she dwelt on the agony of separation from
all her children on that dreadful auction day. She
could scarcely credit me, when I told her of the place
where I had passed nearly seven years. “We have the
same sorrows,” said I. “No,” replied she, “you are
that I shall ever even hear from mine.”
The vessel was soon under way, but we made slow
progress. The wind was against us. I should not
have cared for this, if we had been out of sight of the
town; but until there were miles of water between us
and our enemies, we were filled with constant apprehensions
that the constables would come on board.
Neither could I feel quite at ease with the captain and
his men. I was an entire stranger to that class of people,
and I had heard that sailors were rough, and sometimes
cruel. We were so completely in their power,
that if they were bad men, our situation would be
dreadful. Now that the captain was paid for our passage,
might he not be tempted to make more money by
giving us up to those who claimed us as property? I
was naturally of a confiding disposition, but slavery
had made me suspicious of every body. Fanny did not
share my distrust of the captain or his men. She said
she was afraid at first, but she had been on board three
days while the vessel lay in the dock, and nobody had
betrayed her, or treated her otherwise than kindly.
The captain soon came to advise us to go on deck
for fresh air. His friendly and respectful manner,
combined with Fanny's testimony, reassured me, and
we went with him. He placed us in a comfortable seat,
and occasionally entered into conversation. He told us
he was a Southerner by birth, and had spent the greater
part of his life in the Slave States, and that he had recently
lost a brother who traded in slaves. “But,”
said he, “it is a pitiable and degrading business, and I
always felt ashamed to acknowledge my brother in connection
pointed to it, and said, “There is a slave territory that
defies all the laws.” I thought of the terrible days I
had spent there, and though it was not called Dismal
Swamp, it made me feel very dismal as I looked at it.
I shall never forget that night. The balmy air of
spring was so refreshing! And how shall I describe
my sensations when we were fairly sailing on Chesapeake
Bay? O, the beautiful sunshine! the exhilarating
breeze! and I could enjoy them without fear or
restraint. I had never realized what grand things air
and sunlight are till I had been deprived of them.
Ten days after we left land we were approaching
Philadelphia. The captain said we should arrive there
in the night, but he thought we had better wait till
morning, and go on shore in broad daylight, as the best
way to avoid suspicion.
I replied, “You know best. But will you stay on
board and protect us?”
He saw that I was suspicious, and he said he was
sorry, now that he had brought us to the end of our
voyage, to find I had so little confidence in him. Ah,
if he had ever been a slave he would have known how
difficult it was to trust a white man. He assured us
that we might sleep through the night without fear;
that he would take care we were not left unprotected.
Be it said to the honor of this captain, Southerner as
he was, that if Fanny and I had been white ladies, and
our passage lawfully engaged, he could not have treated
us more respectfully. My intelligent friend, Peter, had
rightly estimated the character of the man to whose
honor he had intrusted us.
The next morning I was on deck as soon as the day
dawned. I called Fanny to see the sun rise, for the
first time in our lives, on free soil; for such I then believed
it to be. We watched the reddening sky, and
saw the great orb come up slowly out of the water, as
it seemed. Soon the waves began to sparkle, and
every thing caught the beautiful glow. Before us lay
the city of strangers. We looked at each other, and
the eyes of both were moistened with tears. We had
escaped from slavery, and we supposed ourselves to be
safe from the hunters. But we were alone in the world,
and we had left dear ties behind us; ties cruelly sundered
by the demon Slavery.
| Incidents in the life of a slave girl | |