The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-04-15

i. WINGED that in such storm as this, our foe
ot steps could not be heard, for the report of
1t pistol at the distance of half dozen yar
i would have been hardly audible. Accordin
: ly, at late hour of the evening, we displacc
n the iron bars of the window, took our shoes
a our hands, and jumped down upon the beacl
4 and left the prison with light steps and bounC
$ ing hearts. We had to pass THREE SENT
l NELs, but fortunately for us, they were all i
their boxes, and we passed them unobserveC
When we were fairly away from the prison
hope and fear lent speed to our limbs to car
ry us away from the dctcstable haunt of ty
ranny from which we had so recently es
capped; and it was not until half dozer
miles had interviewed between us and the pris
on, that we thought Of hating, or even speak
ing. We at last, however, concluded to stop
the remainder Of the night, and the succeed
ing daay,at some convenient hiding place nea1
by. Before looking far, VIC found one tina
suited our purpose precisely. A large tree
had been upturned by the wind, which left {
cavity sufficiently large for the accommodate
ton of us all, This was filled with fallen
leaves at the time, but they answered our turn
SO much the better We removed the leaves
as carefully as possible, laid ourselves down
in their place, and then arranged them over
US as covering, so as to give them the APP
pearance Of not being disturbed. There we
lay in brcathless silence, awaiting the issue,
our hearts palpitating with fear lest we should
be discovered.
The morning had hardly dawned before we
heard the approaching footsteps of men, bust
" engaged in talking about our escape, and
1t appeared quite strange to them where We
obtained the "sour drops" as they called the
aqua FORTS. I recognised the voice of Ser
jeant Brampe, when he said, it's doubtful
whether we get them or not" Our own feel
ings conceded with this idea precisely, for we
knew that unless they should examine the
place very closely, they would not be apt to
find us; and to our great joy they passed us
great relief to us, for we knew, that for a time
at least, the danger was past We now wait
cd the return of the soldiers 10 the prison, land
for the night, to take advantage of its dark
ness, to screen lis from the observation Of any
who might be looking for us. We lay CON
cealcd in our leafy bed for twelve mortal hours,
and withstood the demands Of hunger and
thirst, in hope of regaining our freedom, The
soldiers returned about sunset, some of them
exasperatcd, and others quite the reverse. A
corporal with whom l was partially acquaint-
cd, bawled out at the top of his voice, as he
was passing by, "they have got away, and |
am glad of it; for the tyrannical old over
seer can't have them to dominecr over any
longer, and | swear / will not look for them
any longer" A part Of them appeared an
cry with him for making the assertion, and
they went on quarreling amongst themselves,
and cur8ing and swearing at the keeper for
his negligence. But we did not long remain
in our present situation to listen to them
When they were far enough out of sight and
hearing, we left our retreat, and sailed forth
to obtain something to cat, and after pcram-
bulating awhile we discovered a potatoc pit
that had been opened the previous day, and
eft thus exposed during the night. OF these
we took bountitul feast, and ] doubt wheth-
er the epicurean luXuries ofan eastern prince
ever relished better than the simple meal Of
raw potatoes did to us on this occasion.
AS soon as we had finished our repast, we
took from the pit many potatoes as we could
carry, and commenced our journey for the
part of the island. When we
arrived we had nothing to subsist upon but
grass and the supply Of potatoes that we had
the precaution to take with us. We lived
wholly upon these two articles for three weeks,
awaiting the appearance of an
American vessel bound to an American port.
AT last the long looked for ship hove in sight.
When we saw the American flag streaming
gracefully in the breeze, from the masthead,
beneath a cloudless sky, and the sailors aioft
in the rigging,sllpping from shroUd to shroud,
and singing the songs of the jolly forecastle,
it filled us with an enthusiastic admiration
She looked like thing Of life, as she plough
ed her way through the pillows, and whiten-
ed her wake with the foaming spray Of her
dashing PROV
We hailed the passing ship, and our signal
was noticed by the commander, who very be-
nevolently lowered the yawl and took us on
board. We found that the ship was bound to
Mobile, to which place we had a pleas.
ant and prosperous voyage and were well treat
ed by the commander who was a very po-
lite and humane man. He gave us free
passage and suit Of clothes, and in exchange
took our prison uniform by way of remem-
brance. The citizens of Mobile also pre-
scented us with money To detray our cx-
penses home, and after a pleasant journey
through some of the fairest portions of the
Union, we arrived safe in Connecticut the
Of my companions in misfortune
Their friends were overjoyed at seeing them,
and truly it was an affecting meeting; meet
ing never anticipated by those whom they
left behind when doomed to excitement in a
foreign land.
From Connecticut wendell my way to my
home in Canada. | travelled, however, in
disguise, as soon as | reached the province.
[ visited my friends there a short time, and
hen returned to New England, where now
i've, in the full possession of freedom thank
'ul to those by whose assistance l obtained
ny liberty, and thankful to that All-wise Be
ng who has extended over me His goodness
md protection thus far
Sudbury, w., March, 1S47.
For the Vermonter.
SooT. Save the SCOT from the stove-pipes,
preserve it dry, and as soon as the cucumber,
IL Il L.: