Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-03-20
A FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVE OF
AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS.

The Liverpool Albion, Of Feb. 28th. contains
the sad story of a fugitive slave who succeeded in
exchanging republican slavery for monarchioal
freedom. lie is in England, beyond the reach of
fugitive slave laws, representing in his Scared
and disfgured person the real character of our
rre-emincntly American institution. Our nation
has never had in England an ambassador who
more faithfully represented the true character Of
American democracy.
Iron the Liverpool Albion, Feb. goth.
On Saturday afternoon n poor fugitive slave.
whn arrived three weeks ago at LIVERPOOL from
New Orleans, stowed away in the hull OF n cotton
ship, was brought to this office. The following *
his own plain unvarnished tale, taken down AZ The
narrati,e fell from his lips:
MY name is Tom Wilson. I arrived here in n
ship called the Metropolis, Captain Foster. nm
slave born ! have been under slave bondage ever
sihce | was born. | am now 45 years cid, lie.
long to Mr.. Henry Eastman, of New York, cotton
lresser. was under him for the space of seven
years. Before then | belonged to Colonel Balm.
of Woodiord, Mississippi. There / had a wife
and three children, besides having another child
which died. l was sold by Major Bairds. ouc,
tioneer, for $500. and was taken down to New
Orleans, away from my wife and children, and I
havnt seen them since. Shortly after | got there
Mr.. Fastnan's overseer, Burke, commenced to i'll
use me. didn't understand tying the cotton it
was new to me, and | was awkward. so 7 was
logged. They used to lay me down across a cot.
ton bale, and give me 200 or 800 with a leather
strap. l am marked with the whip from the
ankle-bone to the crown of my head. Some years
before | was sold from Mississippi the overseer
there, because | resisted punishment once, cut my
right arm across the muscle, and then had it stitch
ed up. lie did that, as he said, to weaken me,
because | was too strong in the arm.
About a year and a half after / had been in
New Orleans l ran into the woods. was follow
ed by Burke and q pack of blood hounds into the
Baddenrush swamp. The dogs soon caught me.
They tore my legs and body with their teeth
Here are the marks yet. Gas he spoke he turned
up his trousers Logging, and exposed formid.
able seams, extending up the calf and above the
knee joint Burke The continued) rode up to me
with his gun, and shot me in the hip with ii buck.
shot, which can be seen and examined at any time.
The dogs continued to pin me with their teeth
Alter that knowed nothing about what they did
to me for about a week.
When | got a little strong they burned my back
with a re6-hot iron, and nv legs with spirits oil
turpentine, 70 punish me for escaping. They put
an iron collar round my neck, which / wore for
eight months, besides two irons, one on each leg.
After that, | was watched very closely but one
night, about a week after Christmas, l ran away,
and hid myself under the sawdust, in a sawmill
pit, by New Orleans. i was followed BY Burke,
the ove-seer, and the dogs, but they did not find
me. l crept out, and ran away, for more safety,
to the Great Salt water Lake, behind Orleans, Sc
creiing myself under the bushes and vines
There are a~lligators in this Lake, and as | waded
up TO the knees in the water, the alligatUrs followed
me, granting and believing, and trying to get me
| had several times to climb up trees to escape
them, but | felt safer among the a~lligators than
among the white men. In the morning at -four
o'clock, | went to the wharf. On the road | came
across some of the men who were out watching
for me, with guns and dogs. 1t was jusr get
ting light. l began to whistle and sing, and
walked close by them, and they paid no attention
to me.
When I got down to the wharf some of the col
ored crew of the American cotton ship Metropo
lis took me on board, and hid me away among ,h,
bales. One OF the colored men spit on me, ant
1 there Was q search for me that day but they dit
mot fnd me. and | trembIed to think I should b
taken back and tortured. I was frightened, too
for the colored men who had befriended me.
was kept out of sight of the white men, and CAP
Jain Foster did not know anything about it unit
after the men had been paid off at Liyerpool.
remained hid from a week after Christmas unit
about three weeks ago, when the ship came here
During the time | was secreted l was kept aliv,
by the colored men, who had been so good to me
They brought me something to eat and drink ever,
night. When | first landed here | was frightened
at every white man | passed, and | hid mysel
about where | could, and begged at night fo
bread. i was afraid | should be taken in SLAYER,
again. l did not know l could not be a slav,
here"
With regard to the future. poor 'Tom Wilson
said he would be very glad of n freman's plac
on board "A coasting steamer. When in slavery
in America, he had been hired out as a fireman OF
one of the lake steamers. lie said be could d.
that work very well, and could stand any amour
Of heat.
From inquiries we have made we are induce
to believe that the foregoing narrative, which read
like a lost chapter of "Uncie Toms Cabin" i
substantially true.