Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-07-15
The Man Who Saved Fred Douglass
Life


Fred Douglass from being hanged
when old John Brown was captured
at Harper's Ferry. I suppressed a
dispatch addressed to the sheriff OF
Philadelphia instructing him to ar
rest Douglass, who was then in that
city, as proofs of his completely In
the memorable raid were discovered
when John Brown was taken into
custody.
Seated on the doorstep of his
cosey cottage, few miles outside OF
Vineland, N j., was John W. Hurn,
a pleasant, gray>bearded man OF
sixty, who, when questioned, an
swered as above, respecting the aid
rendered by him to the noted aboli>
ZIONIST.
Sat that time / was a telegraph
operator located in Philadelphia,
continued Mr.. Hurn, land when l
received tine dispatch was fright
ened nearly out of my wits. As l
was an ardent admirer of the great
ex- slave, who was doing all that
mortal could do to agitate the anti
slavery question, | resolved to warn
Douglass of his impending fate, no
matter what the result might be to
me" The news had just been spread
throughout the country of the bold
action of John Brown and his in-
trepid followers, in taking the little
town of Harper's Ferry. Everybody
was excited, and public feeling ran
high Before the intelligence came
that Brown had been captured the
dispatch have mentioned was sent
by the Sheriff of Franklin County,
Pa, to the Sheriff of Philadelphia,
informing him that Douglass had
been one of the leading conspir>
ators, and requesting that he
should be Immediately ap-
pretended. Though I knew
it was illegal to do so, I quietly
put the dispatch in my pocket and,
asking another operator to take my
place, started on my search for
Fred Douglass. l went directly to
Miller McKim, the secretary Of the
contraband, underground, fugitive
railway office in Philadelphia, aud
Inquired for my man. Mr.. McKim
besltated to tell me, whereupon L
showed him the dispatch and prom
Used him not to allow 1t to be de-
hvered within three hours. | told
aim that [ would not do this I'm
less he agreed to geo Mr.. Douglass
out of the State This he readily
assented to, for it was his business
to spirit escaped slaves beyond the
reach of the authorities. returned
to the telegraph office and kept a
sharp lookout for similar dispatches,
None arrived, however, and when
the allotted time expired [ sent the
belated message TO its destination.
In the meanwhile those entrusted
with my secret saw Mr.. Douglass
and urged him to leave the town as
quickly as possible. He was loath
49,, U,sU Cho oAPUouula
tions of his friends overcame his OBJ
jections, and IN an hour he left ON a
railroad train, which placed a gap OF
/
forty miles between him and Phila-
delphia every hour. He reached his
home in Rochester, n l., iii safety,
destroyed the compromising dOcuA
ments, aud then packed his grip~
sack and started for Canada. It was
fortunate for him That he left as soon
as he did, for Immediately after his
,, departure from Rochester, his home
was surrounded by officers.
''Those were queer times, and per
sons had to be careful what they did
and said. I did not tell of my share
in the rescue, for I feared the power
of the slave party, as they could
have had me imprisoned. When
) look back and think what l did .tc
save that man from the gallows-to1
he undoubtedly would have gone
, there had he been arrested fee
that 1 am rewarded by contemplat-
; ing that the life saved was well worth
saving.-Philadelphia Record.