, 1876-06-24


,,yrs the following rehearsal OF his own
,.,aop; While slavery existed | had
.o,l reasons for not telling the story Of
,cy escape from bondage, and now that
the Great trial isovcr, do not know any
,,ool reason why | should not tell it,
people generally imagined that ii was u
maryc,ous recital, but it is one of the
most simple and common place stories
tllt could be given. | was owned in
T,lbpt county, on the eastern shore of
Muvhnd, in 1885, and few years at cr
,h.t lime made my escape. had been
sent up to Baltimore by my Nastcr to II
brothrroi his for safe keeping, hut it was
q strange movement to send me sixty
miles nearer my liberty. When deter
mined on escaping looked about for u
proper means to accomplish my purpose.
At that time great vigilance was cXer-
ci,rl by the Authorities. Everybody was
strictly watched, and if n slave was found
outside the limits Of his masters plantu-
tion, he would be liable to show by what
right he was out Of place. was put to
work in ship yard and commenced to
'e.rn the business OF ship-carptntcrng
and cOulking. Here | had frequent in
tcrcourse with sailors, and in them |
thought | discovered feeling OF sym
tlthy and kindness. Although the diff
,oltics and obstacles against escape were
apparently insurmountable, j conceived
an idea that could secure my release by
dressing in sailors clothing and making
q ,urreptilous retreat. But ! had no
pnpcrs by which could pass from place
t1 place Fortunately, met with II man
namcd Stanley, who lived in Baltimore,
aud who was free. lie rcsemblcd me IN
stature, and from hlm | obtained suit
Of sailors clothes. aud lis protection
pnpcrs, and this apparel, provided with
TIE necessary articles, !, in September,
1888, secured my liberty. | got Isaac
Eaoa,lrs to take my bundle, and, by ar
mngcmcnt, after the train started he
,hrew it in, and ran after and jumped
ON the car II compelled to buy tick.
rt. il would have been necessary to IN.
,crso the most rigid examination, and
al description in the papers must cores
,,4,t l., An IN N r.
son. Accordingly, the scheme was car
Iild on, and soon arrived vt Whining
ton.
Here met Frederick Skcin, for whom
had worked, but | was 80 perfectly dis
yuiscd that he did not know me- In Il
few moments the train from Philadelphia,
bound south arrived, and on this was
Capt. MCGowan, ot the Revenue Cutter
of Baltimore, whom | had known init
matcly, and who also had been acquainted
with me, but he too, had failed to recog
ri6e me. When the conductor came
through the train he rUdely called on all
the passengers for ticGcts, but when he
came to me, instead OF speaking in an
arrogant manner, told me kindly that he
Supposed had my free papers. | re-
sponded in the negative, but his surprise
was great, and his anger not apparent
when tJ!d him my only pass was the
American Eagle. Looking upon it, lie
stated that was all right, and with this
assurance ! came through to New York.
got there ut two o'clock, and straycd
about and slept in the streets until morn
ing. did not know that had Il friend
there, but ON the next morning | met
Isaac Dixon, ut whose house had lived
IN Baltimore. and he referred me 10
David Rugglcs, philanthropist and
generous minded citizen. While in the
city, where | remained several days, |
visited the Tombs, and there | saw Isaac
Hopper, who, Tor the great otfensc of
assisting Tom,' II well known character,
in making his escape, WAS undergoing
trial"
Mr.. Douglass kept this story secret 4
long time, because the conductor whc
allowed hin, to pass from Baltimore to
Philadelphia wou Il have been rcspons.
ible 70 lis master for the pecuniary eX-
tent Of the loss sustained, and bccause
he did not want to expose his friend
Stanley, and because he did not want
shareholders to know that slaves had
any methods OF escape, His freedom, he
SAID, was honoraLly purchased by British