Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-01-07
The Fugitive
BY EDMUND JACKSON.

lISo TIC CuCOuulCICu III eHtOtlH5 IL
Henry Beale, wealthy planter, of the coun-
ty of Lexington and about eighteen miles from
the city of Lexington, was, by the laws of Ken
lucky, entitled to his service or labor"
Beale was what is termed kind MASTER and
treated his slaves as well as the nature and con-
dition of servitude permits. Nevertheless, "
Thomas raid, Z" | had from childhood a great
wish to be free" After attaining the age of
manhood, he made an agreement with his master
to buy himself for one thousand dollars to be
paid, as he could, by over-work, earn small sums
and deposit them with his master on account of
the purchase. At the time of his masters death,
in June last he had paid very near four hundred
dollars, and he was then thirty-three years DID,
Surprising him to have continued to pay for the
future in the same ratio, he would have paid the
whole sum and obtained his freedom at the age
OF hfty-two; sickness, casualties, and other con-
tlngencies excepted. The simple interest on his
yearly payments would, in that time, have a.
mounted to nine hundred and thirty dollars more,
and thus, in reality, this kind master who had so
djsintcrestcdIy permitted favored slave to eman-
cipate himself, would have really received over
and above the fair daily earnings Of slave du-
ring these thirty-one years, (supposing the ar
rangement to commence when the slave was
twenty-ono years DID, nineteen hundred and
thirty dollars, for a negro 6fty-two years old, if.
measured by Times hour-gIass but, if COMPUTE
ed by labor done, and the wear and tear Of cx-
cesslTe over-work, melted by the hope Of free
dom, we thnk he would have found the nfrmi-
ties of seventy pressing upon his shattered frame
These reflections have pressed themselves up
on us, because this method of emancipation ac-
cords with the popular idea, and meets, too, the
popular notions of justice and freedom, when APP
piled to the relation of master and slave, on the
subject of emancipation. People who pass for
very honest folks, are shocked at the idea of
stripping the stakeholder Of his property without
pecunary compensation, and will not stop to in
quire by what right or Justice he holds that prop
erty, or who must be literally. and truly robbed
to pay him for it. 1t is obvious however, that
emancipation can never, to any extent be real
lied by the oyer-work Of the slaves themselves
for none but the comparatively favored few, who
have some mechanical trade, can hope, by any
possibility, to earn enough by over-work to pur-
chase their freedom,
AT the time Of his masters death, Thomas
was absent at work at his trade, which was that
of a milIwright. On his return home soon az
ter, he found his masters son, John, IN posses
sion of the estate This son he represents as a
true specimen of "he chivalry" who never
earned anything, but spent all he could get. He
wanted money, and the ready and indeed only
source in the slave communities TO get it is to
sell negro, and thus in short time the stock
of plantation disappears,
The slave-trader made his appearance at the
old homestead and one after another was sold off,
and Thomas soon learnt that he also was about
to be sold to the trader {" | told master John"
said he that had agreed with old master for
my freedom, and had paid him four hundred
dollars towards it." John said he knew nothing
about that, and what was more, he cared moth
ing about it, if it was so-but he must be sold,
and there was an end of it.
All his long cherished hopes of freedom were
thus in moment blasted, and what was proba-
bly, worse, he was to lie forever separated from
his wife and children, driven to the Southern
sIave-shambles, and consigned to the crueues Of
the cotton or sugar plantations. This appalling
prospect determined him to face the hardly less
appalling alternative of flight. His wife, who
was free, and two children, he induced cousin
to accompany and assist as far as Buffalo, on
their way to Canada, whittier he was to follow
BY another route as soon as he could. start
l. e. A. II 4 Il, thoI Lat
ter part of July, with my knapsack Of clothes
md provisions strapped to my back and took
he road for Ohio, travelling in the night, and
hiding in the woods or swamps in the daytime
on the morning of the third day, just at dawn,
and as was about to quit the road for the
swamp | heard the tramp of horse close be-
hind me. turned my head and saw at once II
was master John at the same moment he hal
loed to me to stop, | did not answer but ran
He started his horse and said, damn you, if you
don't stop, I'll shoot YOU He had spurred SC
hard he could not stop his horse when he came
up to me- but passed on, and before he could
turn back had jumped the fence, and with al
speed ran for the swamp. He soon followed
and had nearly reached me when he came upor
softer ground, and his horse mred so that he
could not reach me He then fired pistol, ant
wounded me severely in the right ankle. | feI
forward upon my hands, felt very faint, and m!
eyes grew dim, but in moment this passed off
rose upon my feet, hastily unbuckled and threw
off my knapsack, ran for the swamp, which
soon reached, and plunged into tangled growtl
of briars, where a dog could scarcely follow,
made my way through as we'll as | could ant
soon came upon a small stream of water which
parted the briars so as to leave room enough, b,
STOPPING and lodging to pass between. wade'
IN this little river for miles through the swamp
and made for the mountains, which | reached
about two o'clock as near as could Judge.
sat down and examined my ankle, which hat
become swollen and very painful. | picked on
with my knife three shot near the ankle-bone
and four more near the shin.bone, cut bandag
from my shirt and bound it up as well as coulc
a