The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-06-07
: H|LY Slave
AB||UCI(|R HE
Thomas Riley Tells of I'm
written History
SLAVERY IN WASHINGTON
How Riley Became a Red Hot
AboIitioniSt

esting story Of the days when his neigh
borhood was a center of slave traffic
From his warehouse and wharf at the
foot of Eleventh street southwest, he
has, for over sixty years dealt in coal,
lumber and cordwOod from Cumberland.
Nd, and the wooden fats of Virginia,
says the Washington Post
The slave or niger pens. as we used
to call them, said he to Post reporter,
Were located between the river front
and Center Market, and l remember one
time that eighty-five Negroes were
shipped from my wharf to Charleston
4, and Savannah. Those were great old
= days from 1924 down to the civil war
and ! have often wondered my people
who made living by writing have not
given more attention to the history of
the local water front. Being the center
of slave trading and traffic in Washing
ton, it was no more than natural that
as the years drew on toward the civil
war, the Northern abolitionists of the I'M
derground railroad should make their
first attempt at freeing the capital
slaves in this part of the city This was
In fact. just what happened, and the fun
Of it was that, although l was a red
hot SoutheTner l, for once in my life, be-
came accessory to the boldest attempt
ever made to liberate the slaves of this
city en- masse. / doubt if this story has
ever been written, but at all events. it is
part of the local history, and a very in
teresting one. at that
Along in 1919 L was engaged in the
wood. coal and lumber business at nv
warehouse and wharf at the foot of
Eleventh street, commodities in which I
have dealt ever since, from the same To-
cality. The slavery question was then
the burning issue of the hour. and men
could not talk two minutes without drift
ing into a discussion of abolition and
slavery-discussions that often led to un-
pleasant results. a great many wild
eyed and curious stories were afioat as
to the plots and plans and secret work
{, OF the Northern abolitionists. and for
some years prior to the time Of which 1
speak, local slave owners, as a matter of
fact. lost a good many Negroes in man
ner altogether unaccountable L held
aloof from discussions of this character
as much as possible and instead of talk
Ing, l put my time and faculties to OBJ
servation, thinking that some day I might
drop on to the scheme the abolitionists
mad for spiriting Negroes away from the
city
For some years I had been noticing a
rather peculiar fellow who turned up in
the harbor one day. in small schooner,
with a load of oysters. His name was
Drayton Captain Drayton. and for years
after his first appearance he made a liv-
ing bringing oysters and fish up from the
chesapeake Fishing and Transporting
oysters Is not very profitable business:
at least l never heard of anyone getting
rich at it; but it was not long after Dray-
$ ton began bringing oysters up the river
before he purchased brand new and
larger schooner, and for time did con-
siderable business hauling wood. lumber.
and coal-eyerything. in fact. that could
be transported. Well he went on in this
way until about 1Sl9. when he had large
sea-eoing vessel that would carry several
canal boauoads of coal from here to New
York, of Philadelphia. or Baltimore. How
ever, although he was envied by the other
oyster men, no one suspected him of be-
ing anything other than straight dealing
and honest fellow. who owed his good
fortune to his sobriety and thrift. and for
that reason l rather liked him. He was
a quiet chap, who never did what he let
OF he was going TO do, and who kept his
business to himself
Wen one day in 1919, Drayton came to
my warehouse and said he had some wood
he wanted TO dispose of. 1 told him l did
not care 10 buy any. as ] already had a
full stock on hand. He offered. however.
TO let me have it away below market
price saying he wanted only enough to
make expenses on his cargo; so. after
several others, one way and another l
agreed 10 take the wood at price far be-
{ low that it was bringing on the local mar
ket. The cargo amounted TO some forty
odd cords. and / supposed. of course, it
would take Drayton al lof that day and
the greater part Of the next in unloading;
SO, paying him for the wood 1 left him
TO attend 10 a matter of business which
called me uptown. Imagine my surprise
when, on returning late that evening. /
found Drayton had unloaded every stick
and had dropped down stream to about
the Sixth street wharf. thought he must
have either hired an extra crew of wharf
side hands, or else have worked like a
Turk with the few he had to unload the
wood in that length Of time. 1 must have
been extraordinarily stupid at the time.
for as Inow remember there was a good
xleaI OF coumotion that day even among
my own Negroes. who seemed very nucC
wrought up over something. though what
could not tell, nor did l trouble myself
to learn.
The plot did not clear however, until
next morning. When l was eating my
breakfast ! suddenly became aware that
something unusual was going on out IN
the street. one buggy after another kept
driving up in rapid succession. the occu-
pants alghting anud making toward my
house as though they were about TO make
an important visit. ! had barely noticed
this extraordinary connection in the
street when about twenty well known
WashinstoniaRs entered and. in one
breath. accused me Of having assisted
in stealing their negroes. ! was com
pletely taken aback. but as one question
and explanation followed another. / be-
gan gradually to understand the cause
and source of Drayton's prosperity and
why he had been so anxious 10 sell me
the forty odd cords Of wood below the
market price
'Drayton was an agent and an en-
ployee Of the abolition societies OF the
North. They paid him something like a
: commission FOR every Negro he succeeded
IN inveigling away from the south and
landing in New York or Boston. He