The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-06-25
To Freedom in a Coffin.

"Do ! remember any incidents oftbs
underground railroad that hayen'too.
into print?" said an old Abolition;st
and slave-rescuer the other NIGHT 4
response to question. "Well, there
is one story that don't remember i
have been in the books or the papers
In 1859, just in the height OF the aei.
tation, s., our agent at Columbia
S. c.. had occasion to ticket middle.
age negro, Job Yancy by pama
through to Providence, r. i. bv fbs
underground. Job had Sheltered !
runaway in his cabin and had bean Il.
trayed by another negro. He learned
the situation and came into Columbia
in the middle of the night. There was
no hope of concealing him. Our agent
had thought OF new means OF shin.
ment that he had never tried. This
was hisAopportunity to try it. Johwas
clear grit, strong with the well-knit
strength ofkniddie age, and patient as
his namesake.
SCOT out a large coffin that he had
kept for the emergency, and into this
coffin he put poor Job, and with him
q quantity of crackers, cheese. dried
meat and a rubber bag full OF weter
A few gimlet holes admitted air. On
the first train in the morning j oh Yam.
cy went off, shipped as corpse to
chosen address in Providence. Train.
men were generally respectful to the
dead in those days, and JOB Travelled
comfortably for q time, barring the
hours that he occasionally lay some
depot platform in the broiling southern
sun. Travel was slow, and sometime
the treatment was o little rough. Job
after day or so began to get exceed.
ingly lame with the confinement and
pressure, his grim berth grew irksome
but it was when theloud shouts and
laughter of his own kind died away
around him, and when that and the
sickening chill came over him when
they dumped him one night on the
stone floor of cold baggage-room
somewhere told him that he was in
the north, that he began to suffer. The
mere consciousness that he was in the
north might have buoyed him up,how-
ever, if it had not been for one dread
full circumstance.
"There was sort of faint gleam
around him that told it was day, and
he must have been in New York, for
he says that he knew that he had been
carried across some water by the SEN
sation of risingan falling that ne had
felt. He had felt himselfrattled along
in wagon, too, and the wagon had
brought up in a place where he had
heard the clatter and theroar ottrains
again. His coffin was dragged violent
! ly out of the wagon, and when his
bearers put him down they stood the
coffin against a WALTON It's neaa:
Job began to feel the blood rushing 70
his head. He felt that he was lost, ana
would die, but he dared not shout lor
help. That would mean discovery, 9
delivery 30 his owners, and worse tnah
death. Better die there, even nor
rible death from torture, than be car
ried back to his masters plantation.
He clung to his determination, put a1
last felt his weakened senses give way;
His consciousness, after minutes q
agoi.y, which seemed hours, was iost'
when he recovered, Job had acsu-
ally arrived at Providence, ana nis
new-found friends s--better friends tnall
he had ever known--were using tnelr
best endeavors to restore hini. 10 =
few days he was able to step out ineo !,
the world, in home in q chosen " w
laas, free man" Boston LOFTY
spordence New York Tribune.