New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-05-02

the militia OF Virginia, Dut py the pdfonces VI
the United States. We hastily view the
bridge. whereon he halted the train bound to
Baltimore, where the kindness of his great
heart got the better Of his wisdom, and he
allowed the train to pass on and carry such
tidings as would bring against him, enemies
in overwhelming number. We saw the rocks
where stood his faithful sentinels, and the
river upon which their blood was borne to
the sea !; but the bell rings, Browns
body lies Wondering in the clay, but his soul
is marching on!
Queer things sometimes happen to train,
of which the sleeping passengers know moth
ing. Ours was delayed several times by land
slides, and struck body of some sort or
other in its passage, which considerably dam
aged several of its cars. The distractions of
the night were great enough to prevent our
comexion at Parkersburg, Virginia, with the
train for Cincinnati, and insured delay of
six or eight hours, when we had no such
hours to spare. Had all our connexions been
perfect, we could only reach New Orleans at
twelve O'Clock Wednesday, the 10th, the
very day appointed for the assembling of the
convention. Nevertheless, the delay brings
us one consolation, we are permitted to have
daylight view of the magnificent bridge
which spans the Ohio at this point. In leav-
ing West Virginia, we emerge from perfect
wilderness of mountains, hemmed in on all
sides, oppressed with a sense of limitation
and suddenly come upon this open, free,
far-reaching, smooth, and beautiful river, a
true type of liberty, knowing only so much OF
restraint as is essential to its existence and its
eternal course toward the parent sea, the
finite to the infinite!
But troubles do not come singly, the sky
was early covered with clouds, and genuine
April rain came down, soon converting the
plains and valleys into turbid lakes. Within
fifty miles of Cincinnati the floods arose and
swept away nine important bridges of our
road, and the news ahead was the waters
are still rising"
1t may well be imagined that at this point
some of our. passengers began to think that
they had taken the wrong road, as ifthe storm
were confined to our track alone. The evil
dence was that the rain had been as general
as it had been violent, and other roads as
well as the Baltimore and Ohio must have
suffered like damage. Unable to advance,
and unable to tell when the bridges would be
repaired, our conductor caused us to be
brought back about four miles on the track,
to the little town of Manchester and here
we were doomed to remain, not twenty-four
hours, but nearly sixty-four, till nearly all
hope of getting to the convention had van
ished. During our stay in Manchester Mr..
DOWNING, Mr.. GREEN, and ourselves were in
duced to hold an equal rights public meeting,
at the urgent request of the citizens of that
place. The call was necessarily limited, both
as to space and time, but the spacious Uni
versalist church of the place was filed and
We believe favorable impression was made,
for every civility was thereafter shown us.
There are many trying things in the world,
but there are few more trying than imprison-
distant point. You never "want to know"
so much and are able to learn SO little of just
the things you want to know. Brakemen are
mum, conductors are silent, the ticket agent
has locked up and gone, and the telegraph
operator has no dispatches. If you remain
on the train you might as well be in Jail, and
if you leave it twenty minutes you may be
left behind. Such was our suspense and I'M
certainty during nearly three whole days and
nights in the town of Manchester.
ofou ri bon 1,u
Prof. JOHN M. LANGsTON, whose cheerful
spirit and agreeable conversation did much to
reconcile us to our fate. 1t soon got abroad
that LANGsToN was in town, and the peo-
pie having heard Messrs. DOWNING, GREEN,
and DOUGLASS, insisted upon hearing a
speech from the law professor of Howard
University. An audience assembled about
the cars and in answer to calls made by the
crowd, Mr.. LANGsTON proceeded to make
one of his happiest efforts. His speech was
a decided success and left fine impression,
both for the speaker and the cause.
But here at last our ears are assailed by an
eloqueiice more welcome in the circumstances
than even that of the human voice the
whistle of our locomotive with two sharp
sounds bids us 'all aboard" and we are off
for Cincinnati Wednesday afternoon, when
we should have passed through that city on
the previous Monday.
The news in Cincinnati was far from en-
couraging. Bridges were down everywhere,
and it was doubtful if we could reach New
Orleans before Saturday, when in all the
likelihoods of the case the convention would
be adjourned sine die. In face of this prOba-
BILE fact, Professor LANGsTON very much to
our regret, parted company with US and re-
turned to Washington, leaving us to go on
our way, for We at least were bound for New
Orleans, believing that the convention Wbuld
hold over. This belief was strengthened by
the fact that many other delegates on the
way had met detention similar to that of
and the event justified our belief
in all particulars.
After tedious journey through Kentucky,
through Tennessee, through Mississippi, stop
ping at Bowling Green, Humboldt, Canton,
Jackson, and several other places for refresh
ments for mhite men and starvation for COL
ored ones, we finally reached New Orleans
Saturday morning between one and two
O'Clock, and were met by Lieut.. Governor