New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-09-18
A ROMANO f. OF SLAVERY.

st. Louis Special to Chicago tribune.
No better illustration of the peculiar re-
tationship of the past and present can be
found than that afforded by the appearance
to-day of a gray haired negro in the city
looking for his relatives of eighteen years
ago. Your correspondent met the ancient
darkey this morning in an attorneys Office
and ascertained from him that he was Bev
Strother. who, with his half brother, jeff
Murray, ran away in 1860, and had never
been heard of by their friends since. Bev's
face relaxed into broad grin as he told how
''me aid JEFF run away, and the awful time
We had" It seems that Bev and JEFF were
slaves in 1860, the former belonging to
Travis Murphy. and the latter to DR.. j. T.
Overall, of St. Charles county, Mo-; that Bev
was threatened with ''sale down de riber,'' the
terror of all darkies, and SO persuaded
jeff to run away with him. Through an old
darby at st. Charles they found white man
and on the night of June 80, 1860, the trio
met and started on a RUNAWAY sure enough"
They travelled nights and lay in the brush
the way and buy provisions. The negroes
had very shrewdly provided themselves with
acompass, to be sure they were being piloted
to the ''far-off land rather than to Dixie.''
They also took pistols to defend themselves
with, and always, after they had hid for the
day and sent the man for provisions, moved
their hiding-placc aud watched "dat ar white
man" from long way off to see that he did
not bring any nigger-catchers with him. On
the evening of the second day out, the white
man, while out foraging, saw DR.. Overall
and pursuing party. and heard him describe
the negroes, and offer reward for their APP
prehension. 81 tell you, massa.'' said Ben,
as he rubbed his gray head, ':them was hot
times" They travelled at right angles to
| their general course that night, and the pur-
suing party neeer heard of them again.
| The s'white pilot and nigger-stealer' was
given away by q pretended would be run
away about three weeks later, was captured
by DIR. Overall, and sentenced, after plea
of guilty, by Judge King. of the St. Charles
circuit court, to six years in the Pen.
Two years later Bev and JEFF turned up at
Lafayette, Ind, with mighty little faith of
there being an end to the world or anything
for runaway negroes but sore feet and empty
stomachs. On the night of their arrival
there they were followed by negro man
who accused them of being runaways and
rendered his services to show them the
underground railway They denied the
first and refused the last, but when the
would-be guide was reinforced by zone of
dem real old honest niger mothers," the
runaways acknowledged the soft impeach-
ment and we're provided for.
At Detroit they jumped off the train a
mile from the depot, and following the beck
oning of a "Black Hand.'' without inquiry
or explanation. and were locked up in lit
tie room, way up on the top of boat. The
next day Canada received two citizens and
the United States was out $4,000 worth of
niggers.
| Both negroes went to work on farm in
the county If Essex, at $24O per year, and
az the end of fvs years had saved 81 600.
with which they purchased two farms. JEFF
acquired limited education, and, in addi-
ton to attending to his own matters, became
foreman on a large farm. In June last JEFF
was poisoned by his wife, who bids fair to
hang. As JEFF had no children, Bev came
back to hunt up his heirs. Bev found his
mother. Emily Murray, 'negress 76 years
old, still living.
As her children, twelve in number, are all
illegitimate, they cannot inherit from each
other, and hence she gets JEFF 8 entire estate
worth some $4,000, subject to the dover
rights of the wife.
| Bev found his old master, who is 81 years