Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-04-19
The Colored Exodus from
Chicago.
rranare.as OF Eug.tives Leave for cana<s

The Chicago 3Ti6Gne commences a
! long account of the recent arrest of fu-
gitive slaves in that city, by stating that
the Democratic &. S. Marshal is still in
office, no Republican having yet been
appointed ashi successor It then sa Us:
There has been an immense state Of
excitement among the colored people,
generally. as q class, our most quiet cit
i2ens, and the actual presence Of numer-
Gus slave hunters in town, and the
knowledge that several writs were in Of
ticers hands, has created perfect STAN
pede among the numerous tugitiyes res
ideut here Within the week ending
with Sunday last, nearly three hundred
! people Of color, from this city, have
! sought refuge in Canada. We give the
above figure on the hest authority, as
the outside limit, for the reason that the
number is greatly exaggerated by rumor,
and accounts rife about town.
And, indeed, this is no incousiderable
number to have left one community
within a week for a new home and lib
erty i'll the Queens dominions. Many
! VI tiiS1i iiuu ptGi IOi Sd1o lSSldGlt
among US, and not few were comfort
ably maintaining themselves in yoca-
tions useful to community Some of
them had here secured by their industry
homes of their own. Many were able to
pay their own way to land of freedom.
Still more were aided by the charitable
to the means requisite for their trans
portation to Canadian soil
AL through last week they left in
parties Of from four to twelve or fifteen,
quietly, and without attracting attention.
These went by the regular trains, and
generally at second class fares. There
was however large share Of those for
| whom an early departure was deemed
prudent who were still in town when the
week closed. a party of thirty were
concealed for several days in the holl
ola schooner, whose destination was the
other side Of the lake, but which was
wind bound in this harbor Sunday
came and found upwards Of one hundred
pressing and anxious to go, for whose
transportation, late in the week, prepa-
rations wore made in the contract with
the Michigan Southern railroad, to take
them through to Detroit in freight, ca
boose cars, at an average Of 81 apiece.
Sunday was made memorable by such
an exercise as no city in the United
States ever saw before. While the
church bells we're calling our congrega-
tions to praise and prayer, the same was
the signal for great gathering at the
I i, Il / = a. l.
street and Edna Place, most remarkable
in its character. The house, neat
structure erected by our colored residents,
was denseIy packed. The services we're
impressive and deeply affecting The
occasion was to be the farewell Of the
one hundred and fifteen who were to
leave by the train at 6 P NJ. for Canada
That quarter of the city is largely inhab-
tied by colored residents, on Edna Place
and Buffalo street, and these were out in
full force. The peculiarly demonstra
tive chara racteristics Of the race had their
full measure of display. They wept,
they embraced one another, prayed to-
gether, and passed from house to house,
giving words of parting.
The Michigan Southern train was to
leave at p NJ, the regular passenger
train with the four chartered freight cars
attached, and with these latter, as the
hour OF parting drew near, they com
menced slowing themselves. Each car
WAS supplied with cask of water and
substantial provisions, boiled beef, hams,
beans, bread and apples. Some of the
party were old: but most of them we're
young men in their prime, as the class
obviously most likely to run the risk Of
fleeing from slavery. There we're quite
number Of yosng families going to save
the children from sharing the fate of a
slave mother.
One poor woman, for whom writs, ii
was known, were made out some days
since, was brought down on mattrass.
on a dray, dangerously i'll, but deter
mined to brave all for freedom. A sick
child was conveyed in the arms of its
father. The women, many of them,
were weeping among the crowd Of look
ers-on. Quite number of liberty-lov-
ing Germans did not scruple to show
their symathy: and declaim against the
whole thing.
The train started, and the poor peo-
pie were gone, and by this present
writing are on Canadian soil.