The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-02-03

AsroRY FOR THE NEW YEAR.

1t was drcary, chilly, dark winter even
ing, during the christmas holidays, when
three travellers saw the welcome light of a
large wood fire shining out upon the night
from the windows of a little inn in an OBJ
scure village Of Illinois. Two of the men,
who were on horseback, spurred their jadod
beasts, who whinnied as they saw the light,
and quickened,their pace through the heavy
mud. The third man was on foot, and he
also stepped out the quicker, more, however,
because that, was the will Of his companions,
than because he welcomed the end of hard
days journey, 'and the hopesof good tavern
cheer, warmth, and food, and soft bed for
his ira vel worn feet and weary limbs.
Halo the house, shouted one. Of the
horsemen as they.drew up before the door Of
the tavern. The landlord, who was thrift
ty Yankee, born under the shadow of the hill
where lie buried;that goodly company who
braved in the little May Flower the danger of
tn. sea, and the greater dangers Of the rug
gad ;.,ast Of New England, for the sake Of
civil and relig gious freedom, hurried out, and
helping his guests to dismount, led them
with much Difference and some ceremony
to the warm and cheerful room. Two of
them were white men; the third was black,
his aanIs was tied behind him, and led, or
rather driven, like bear or a bullock, by
the other end Of the rope held by one Of his
companions. The son of pilgrim Father
stared for moment at the group as they
came into the bright light of his hospitable
fire, but remembering, presently, that he was
only landlord and not = Pilgrim Father, he
hurried off to lead the horses to the stable
The two white mon took of their leggings,
their great coats, and their comforts, show
ing, as they did SO, very complete arma-
ment of pistols and bowie-knives; the black
was unencumbered with any outer clothing,
but his captors-for such they evidently
were-removed his bonds, and gave him per-
mission to sit at the corner of the fireplace
Supper was ordered and soon served in an
adjoining room; but the table was placed
at the request of one Of the men, Just outside
the door, so that he gould sit near enough to
the negro to have him still within his sight,
and almost within reach. There were several
other persons present temporary inmates of
the house. The man who seemed to be the
principal ofthe ew-comars,, said, as he took
his seat at the table, "'Gentlemen, please to
stop that niger ifhe attempts to escape"
I'm be hanged if do" said one of them,
young man from Massachusetts,. If it
was an oath, it Was in, the spirit of Uncle
Toby's, and was, no doubt blotted out as
his was. @ -...,.s..f ,- .----..s. %
Here, Jimr' said the master, and tos sed
him bit ofmeat. Presently a slice of bread
followed and so, as he would have fed a
dog, he fed his servent with the fragments of
his own meal. The poor fellow at ravcnous-
y and silently--the little that was given him.
During this time hardly a word, except
the few already repeated, had been uttered.
The negro, submissive, silent, perhaps logged
sat bowed and passive in the chimney corner,
a black heap in the blazing firc-lisht. Who
was he? What was he? Probably a runa-
way slave. The white man staggered a
good deal. The few brief orders to landlord
and landlady were commands, and not re-
quests, and though they ate their suppers
with the appetites ofhoands, and with rather
less manners, they bullied the whole compa-
ny with an air Of superiority; and if the
bowie-knise, which was more visable then it
need have been in their bosoms, was to be
believed, they were ready to fight on the
smallest brovooation. 1t was clear enough
that they We're .slayehunters, and had run
down their prey. Like other beasts, howev-
er, they become tanner after, they were fed
and drawing their chairs into the circle round
the fire, they soon yielded to the unexpress-
ed but evident curiosity to know what bro't
them there to that little waysids inn in the
heart Of a Free State, driving before them
that poor, tethered black creature like sheep
to the slaughter. f-a,f.55 ,t.sgs-. ai
lb,They We're from Kentucky. A little more
than year before, enc of th,m, the spokcs-
man, had lost slave The rascal had run
away, he said, and nothing could be found or
heard ofhim. However, he was advertised.
and a few weeks before the master had re-
ceivcd letter from gaod man in Illinois,
who had happened to see the advert semcnt,
and who said that negro answering the
description Of the runaway was at that mo-
ment in the writer's eighbor,,,al, held there
by an,erciftil law Of that state which arrests
and detains for . year and day every stran-
ger black man who may be found within her
borders, and on whose behalf no white man
comes forward to give bonds that he shall
not become public burden. The Kentuck-
ian, taking with him friend--his compan-
ion then present-started at once for this
friendly community, and found that il hal,
in the very spirit Of that glorious Union
which binds these states together, held his
black man for him so far short of Canada, to
which the renegradc was making his way
They were just in time In one day more
the year and day Of tho law would have
expired, and the fellow would have been free