The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1839-01-19
From the Union Herald.
Escape of Fugitive Slaves.
PETERBoRo', Dec. /, 1888.

PETERBoRO', Dec. /, lcoS
To the editor of the Union Herald;
My DEAR SIR-You will be happy to hear that
the two fugitive slaves, to whom, In the brotherly
love of your heart you gave the use of your horse,
are still making undisturbed progress towards the
aaonarchicaz land whittier republican slaves escape
for the enjoyment of liberty. They had eaten
their breakfast, and were seated in my wagon, be-
fore day-dawn, this morning.
Fugitive slaves have before taken my house in
their way, but, never any, whose lips and persons
made so forcible an appeal to my sensibites, and
kindled in me much adherence of the hell-con-
cocted system of American slavery.
The names of the slaves who left me this NOR
ming, are John Williams, and John Williams Scott.
Their master is Samuel Ferguson, planter, who
grows much wheat and corn and tobacco, and a
little rice and cotton, Williams calls himself for
ty-nine years of age. Scott is ignorant of his own
age. He is probably about thirty-fve. Scott was
never married, The wife and children of Will
Hams were bought several months ago by "soul-
driver" and taken to Alabama. {" cannot sleep"
said this poor, hearted husband and father,
{" keep thinking ofmy wife and children" Will
Hams and Scott had both been sold to another
"soul-driver; ;" and they fled but the evening be-
fore the morning when they were to have COM
menced their sad journey to the distant South
They travelled at night only; were between two
and three months in reaching Binghamon; and,
in all that time, never spoke to a human being,
with the exception of the nd-hearted man, whom
they were so happy as to fall in with, few miles
below Binghamton.
Williams had not been in house public wor-
ship for fifteen years. Scott was never in one
Williams had heard of Jesus Christ. Scott never
Williams had heard the bible read-though not
within the last twelve years. The reading of the
words of eternal life never fell on SCOTS ear, I'M
= til last evening. Yesterday, for the first time
they ate with white persons They both have
sound minds but their ignorance, and especially
of geography, exceeds all my former conceptions
of the degree of ignorance, to which it is possible
to reduce slave. They were both born on Mr..
n! Fe1susons plantation 49, Williams had never been
farther from It than to Mr.. Bingham's, The owner
and occupant Of the next plantation. Two years
ago, Scott accompanied his masters son William,
who is a drunken young lawyer, to Baltimore
This was the extent of his travels before he broke
from that prson-house of American slavery, of
which the American church is sentinel They
think Baltimore is some fifty or sixty miles from
their plantation, and Norfolk considerably farther
They had heard Of all the principal towns in that
portion of country but they know very little of
the distances or directions of these towns from
AuSb plolllillOIl' mere Is HO large SucdIl near
it. "Goose Creek " runs through it, and is deep
The fugtives exhibited their bare backs to my
self and number of my neighbors. Williams
back is completely Scared, But, | speak
within bounds when | say, that onc-thrd to one
half Of the whole surface of the back and Shout
ders of poor Scott consists of scars and wales re-
sulting from nnumcrable gashes. His natural
complexion being yellow, and the callous places
being nearly black, his back and shoulders remind
you of spotted animal.
The beloved abolitonists of Binghamton, after
having literally loaded down the poor slaves with
boots and shoes and hats and various garments,
sent hemin wagon to Cortlandville Here, too,
we have dear brethren, at whose hands the fugi-
tives received much kindness. Mr.. Peter Hitch
cock, Of that place, true-hearted aboitonist,
brought them in his own wagon to my house.
They travelled all night. The goodness of the
abolitionsts at Binghamon and Cortandville, to
these my poor mangled and imbruted brothers,
abundanty compensates me for all my pains in
going to,those villages to plead the cause of the
perishing slave
The humane man, whom they saw little be-
low Binghamton, was the first person to inform
them, that there are such beings in the world as
" abolitionists." Their amazement at the kind
ness poured out upon them so lavishly by these
" fanatical beings is not strange. when we reflect
that, from their infancy, they had been accustomed
to regard white people as the natural and deadly
enemies of the colored race. 1t was a most in
teresting and touching expression of this amaze
ment, when one of the fugtives said to Mr. Hitch
cock" What country people are desc Abolition
lists 2" The poor, ignorant slaves seemed to take
it for granted, that abolitonists are not of the
same stock with the white people Of the South.
Supplemented and truthful as these ugitives
appeared to be, you must recoect they are slaves
and that the slave, as a general thing, is liar,
as well as drunkard and thief. 1t is possible,
that much of what they told me may be false
The slave and the STAKEHOLDER are alike the VIC
tins of the depraving and corruptng power of sla-
very. None saw this more clearly, or declared it
more strongly than Thomas Jefferson, If there
be any virtue in a slaveholding community, it is
only because slavery has not yet done its perfect
work there. Your friend,
GERRIT SMITH,