Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-11-26
TIL E FIR L Il NJ A N.
For the Green Mountain Freeman.
Tour among the Colored Refugees in
Canada West:
~ ED. CYRUS PRINDLE,
MUM Der FOUR.
MONTPELIER, VT.
Performed in the months of September and October, 1876

NJ 4 + X
Mr. ED1rom-The next place of Importance WIS.,
tied in my tour in Canada West, London. This
place is distant from Amerstburgh, about l40 miles
and is built upon the river Thames, some 80 miles
from its outlet into Lake St. CLAIR. To reach it from
the East the most direct rout would be from Buffalo
up Lake Erie, on the Canada shore to Port Stanley
and from thence to London by stage, which would be
trAe short Of 30 miles But as | needed to visit
other settlements remote from the Lakes, and must
perform the chief part of my remaining journey by
private conveyance, Rev. |. J. Rice, heretofore men
toned kindly consented to take his horse and carriage
and travel with me. And cannot give more truth
full account of the incidents Of our Journey than is
contained in the following extract of a letter written
to the editor Of the True Wesleyan, from London,
Sept &C. 1886
We left brother Rces on Wednesday morning,
after wrought awhile at my former trade in repair
ing the wagon we were to come in, and then we took
up our line of march for this place. The first incident
of particular interest to us, getting so deep in the
mud, that the horse in drawing out broke one of
the traces &C.. and taxed our Yankee skill in mend
ing up with bark and withes in order to proceed
to a coored friends house. where we obtained refresh
ments and here tried my skill at haness-making,
and though not bred up at the trade, all thought
1 did up the business very well.
We were very kindly refreshed at the table of this
family, and heard another tale of woe-he mother in
forming us that she was robbed of all her children in
the South before she fled from the horrors of the pc
A dou HOY bale al n
death since she left-but her son-her only son, was
in the far South and her tears bespoke mothers at
fecton while she said she expected to see him
again in this world. o my God my nerves are I'M
strung at the recital of these wrongs and | cannot
dwell upon them. With sad hearts we left this be-
reaved family and pressed on; but soon we found the
rad so rough that we were compelled to leave the
wagon, mad take it in apostolic style, for some six or
eight miles, We then found good wheeling, and
pressed on until dark which brought to real Can
ada Hotel Brother Rice went in to make discoveries,
when 10 and behold! the bar room was nearly filled
with corn, and all hands were pulling the husks We
companeda trihe but the old Irish landady said she
"did not know what more we could wish than good
supper, good bed, &C." On such assurances, we con
cluded try our luck for the night and put up. But
the filth and Aeas we grappled with that night, are
long 10 be remembered. The next morning by light
we were on the road; and as could find no way to
do better we took some food we had with us, and made
a log our table, and ate our breakfast.
About4 o'clock P. NJ. we reached the village of
Chatham, and called and took our supper, and then
rode till in the night got out of the way, and had to
be piIoed some two miles, and put up for the night
On Friday morning we arose, and the rain was falling
with almost unbounded liberahty; but our business re-
ouired haste, and on we went. Eleven, A. M. brought
us to another Canadian hotel of the royal kind The
woman was decidedly the man of the house. and not
only threatened the younger members of the family
with foggngs, but absolutely extended the same
threat to her dear husband apparently very pacific
kind of a man, | presume this woman thought she
might as we'll be IN power as the Queen.
These Canadian inns, as lar as have tried them
beat all of the name met with in all my travels
By merciful providence we held on our course till
near sunset and found had travelled about 30 .ies
nearly every mile of which the rain poured down in
torrents We reached this place little after noon to-
day, and found cordial welcome at the house of bro
ther Lane, one of our Wesleyan brethren, and feel
quite at home with his open-hearted family.
In this place there is respectable coored popula
tion whose religious connections are with the African
NJ f. Church, the Wesleyan and Baptist organza-
tions. preached to the Wesleyan congregation
morning and evening" and Bro. Rice preached to the
Wesleyan and African Methodist Episcopals. A
most gracious influence prevailed in the congregations
where was, especially in the evening, when our dear
christian friends rejoced in mighty comfort.
In this place, also, there is a school kept by Miss
Jarvis from the northern part of Oho and she is per-
forming most useful labor for the families in London
and its vicinity Happy would it he for the other set
Elements could the be sld of them in relation to
the means of educIting the rising families of our col
ored friends as of this place at the present time.
1t afforded me great pleasure TO learn that the tenn
perance cause was taking hold of the public mind in
London and that the refugees among its practl
cal supporters
In this place, as in all Others met with those who
had been witnesses and paakers Of the hord system
Of slavery and who will carry to their graves the marks
of its violence and the conviction of its brutality. AS
specimen, take the following Howell was
born in Columbia Co. South Carolina lived there until
about thirty years Of age, then away from his
master because he robbed him of the opportunity of
seeing his wife, by hiring him out so distant from her
that he could not visit her He ran to what was called
New Virginia, taken up by the clerk of the court
and sold to the traders and sent to Natchez His mas
ter was Alexander Nc Mastry. He away from this
man in 1882 and after nearly SIX months Of toll and
suffering in the woods and hdingpaces, succeeded in
reaching Illinois But his feet became frozen and