The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-03-30

anu III their DeWllderment, ana no
being able to find any way ovel
ground by which they could have es
caped, the shareholders declared there
must be some way under ground.
After many of these incidents ir
Columbia the opponents of slavery
were aroused to an active and deter.
mined position, and the great numbe,
OF colored people who had settled
there made that place the goal of the
fugitive, who hoped upon reaching
there to receive aid and direction on
his way North to liberty. 1t was in
Columbia that the secret and success
ful plan was developed of transport
ing the slave from bondage to free
dom, and to William Wright is due
the distinction of being one of the
firft Abolitionists who arranged and
psss successfully into practice the I'm
dergrOund Railroad. -
| The plan then adopted was to es-
tablish reliable agencies on a direct
line from the South to the Eastern
States and Canada, whittier most of
the fugitiYes wished to go. though
many preferred when once across the
Southern line to make their homes
with farmers. The lire of the under.
ground naturally shaped itself by way
of the homes of some of the most
general and sympathizing Abolition
lists, many OF whom were friends, in
Adams, York, Lancaster, Chester,
Montgomery, Berks and Bucks coun-
ties-to Phoenixvillle, Norristown,
Ouakertown, Reading, Philadelphia
and other places. The two first sta
tions near the Maryland line were
Gettysburg and York.
Fugitives arriving at Gettysburg
were sent either to Columbia, or
Harrisburg, the former branch being
more frequently used, as it afforded
more opportunities for escape.
Stations were established south
ward from Columbia toward the
Maryland line and north or east at a
distance of about 10 miles apart.
| This was called the Northern route
through Chester county. The major
ity Of fugitives, however, went
through the southern part of Chester
and Lancaster counties, and this led
to auother route, more travelled than
the first, being established, which,
with its branches, was called the
southern or middle route. Being
very close to the Maryland line, a
very rapid transit Of passengers was
necessary from one station to anoth-
er, ana many were the exciting and
thrilling incidents of narrow escapes
and close pursuits.
Many of the fugitives crossed the
Susquehanna River in the vicinity OF
Havre de Grace others went from
Wilmington and were forwarded
through friendly hands. Many
others came from the slave states
strther south, the North Star their
sole beacon light to freedom, until
they reached abolition friends, who
fed, sheltered and protected them and
helped them along the line under the
cover of night to the next station, or
gave them directions how to proceed
in order to gain safety and freedom.
There was a heavy penalty at that
time for assisting slave-$1 900 and
FIVE years Imprisonment. To con-
duct fugitives successfully over this
trunk line and branches from begin
ming to end, without capture or ar
rest, required men of indomitable
courage, sagacity and GOODNESS in
time of danger.
The old laws providing for the re-
turn of fugitive slaves were not salts
factory to the Southern leaders. The
federal Constitution itself directed
that not only fugitives from justice,
but also all persons "held to service
or labor in one state under the laws
thereof, escaping into another"
should be taken and returned ; and
so early as 1898 Congress had enac-
ted law intended to secure the re-
turn of both classes of fugitives. The
older law had proved less and less
satisfactory with regard to fugitive
slaves, as antislavery sentiment had
grown in the North, and the so-called
fugitive slave law of 1850 was framed
to meet the demand of the Southern
leaders for more stringent and effec,
tual statute. II was soon evident
that the new statute would in its
turn encounter almost insuperable
obstacles. When the execution OF
the law was undertaken in the North
ern States mobs frequently attempted
and sometimes effected, the rescue of
apprehended fugitives. Even men OF
influence and position took part in
violent resistance to the execution OF
the statute, and eventually state
courts and even state legislatures put
every possible iinpediment in the way
of the laws enforcement.
Finally, the constitutionality of the
law was tested in the United States
Supreme Court, and in 1857 Chief
Justice Taney handed down the opin-
ion of the court in the celebrated
Dred Scott case, in which the declar-
alton was made that the slave had no
rights which the white men need re-
spect. This decision, the tights IN
Kansas to exclude slavery, and the
wide circulation of Harriet Beecher
Stoves "Uncle Toms Cabin" ac-
celerated the hostility between the
North and the South, and fastened
to a consummation the ''irrepressible
conflict. ."-Baltim0re Ame11cam.
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