New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-05-02
our Trip 10 the south.

Lock Box 81.
Our Trip 10 the South.
An event so important to us personally, as
a trip to New Orleans, especially as it is the
first we ever made to that remarkable city,
will, we trust, furnish ample apology for its
extensive celebration in the columns of the
New NATIONAL ERA.
The nearest we ever came to such a visit,
was nearly forty years ago, and under circum-
stances more peculiar than pleasant. A Jail
is rather mean place, and we were in jail at
the time referred to; there for no crime,
however, unless the desire to be free man
can be considered crime, This little Jail,
Ito the minds eye still visible,) was the re-
ceptacle in Talbot county, Maryland, not
only of criminals, but of all that class of
youthful persons which it was customary at
that period to send for sale to the New Or
leans market. Nearly all the Northern slave
States were infested by strolling slave agents,
who haunted the common jails, with view
to purchase human merchandise, and by these
we were visited and examined as to our fitness
for plantation life. The thought Of New Or
leans at that day with its noisy slave auc-
tons, where the tenderest ties of humanity
were sundered to suit the conveniences of
purchasers, was about as distressing to our
youthful Imagination, as perdition itself; and
we confess to having had a sense of great re-
lief when we found that our owner had refused
to send us to the Crescent city.
In the present altered condition Of fittings, we
started upon that once much-dreaded south
em trip only apprehending small annoyances,
the common incivilities to which persons of
color, when travelling in this most Christian
country, are generally exposed. Even these
could be more easily borne when shared by
our fellow travellers, G. T. DOWNING,
FREDERICK BARBADOS, A. NJ. GREENE,
the five Irishmen who had five miles to walk,
and consoled themselves that there was ''ist
one a piece" we concluded to divide our in
suits among us, and thus to make the burden
light for each. Warned by the experiences
of colored travellers through the sunny South,
accommodation, and will not even allow so
much as a cup Of tea or coffee to be served to
such passengers in the cars for love or
money where a boy even with dried ap-
pie pie for sale at railroad station, would
be marvel of enterprise--we took good care
to supply ourselves with full basket of
provisions, enough for four days. journey.
In goodstyle and with fairpromise of plea
SAINT journey, we set out by the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad-assured by its agents in WASH
ington that having paid first class fare we
should have frst-class treatment all the way
from the national capital to New Orleans. We
could scarcely understand how this statement
could be true, but having no small sense of our
quality and distinction, we supposed it con-
cession to us Oh that account. The car we
rode in was of the latest style with all the
modern improvements; none Of yournliserable,
rickety, half-worn-out, filthy smoking cars to
which our class is doomed, but one of PULL
MANS best. Our pleasant conceit as to SUI
periority and its privileges lasted us all the
way from Washington to Cincinnati, but at
that point vanished into thinner air than con-
ceit is usually made of. After Cincinnati we
descended to the dead level of g race, color,
and iorerious condition IF saritude," and from
that time onward had occasion for all the pa
tience, philosophy, and good humor we could
command; for in more cases than one, our
pathway was beset with much to wound the
spirit. 81 "A
OF the managers OF the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, we are bound to say all that is
good. On the trains under their control. we
were treated as well as any other class of
passengers, both the conductors and other
employees were not less qualified BY vigilance
and ability for their stations, than by polite
and gentlemanly bearing. During all our
trip from Washington to Cincinnati we failed
to discover, either On the part of conductors
or passengers, a single sign of dissatisfaction
at our dark presence among them. Indeed
though it may be our vanity, we seemed to
share the special esteem of all our fellow
passengers. The meaning Of that frightful
phrase, " social equality" seemed quite real
lied during this part of our journey and. so
lar as we could see, nobody was harmed by
II. facts oil this character, better than all
theories, show the holloyness Of the pretend
ed horror at the idea Of such social eoualitv
as springs up in the use of common ,,,h,;'
conveyances. But / must stop PREACHING
here we are at Harper's Ferry. The place
starts the blood. We have only FIVE minutes
to wait. DowNING is already out On the
platform and we all follow, to catch hasty
glimpse by the twilight of the celebrated place
where JOHN BROWN and his heroic followers
dashed themselves to death against the bolts
Of slavery, where eighteen men proclaimed to
an astonished world their readiness to lay
down life for the freedom of four millions of
their race. THERE'S nothing in Thermopyie
answering in real heroism to this. Above
stand the mountains in whose mighty fast
nesses dear old JOHN Brown sat and dream