ESCAPE: A SLAVE NARRATIVE

from THE FUGITIVE BLACKSMITH (1850)

James W.C. Pennington (1809-1870)

It was in the month of November, somewhat past the middle of the month. It was a bright day, and all was quiet. Most of the slaves were resting about their quarters: others had leave to visit their friends on other plantations, and were absent. The evening previous I had arranged my little bundle of clothing, and had secreted it at some distance from the house.

It is impossible for me now to recollect all the perplexing thoughts that passed through my mind during that forenoon: it was a day of heartaching to me. But I distinctly remember the two great difficulties that stood in the way of my flight: I had a father and mother whom I dearly loved - I had also six sisters and four brothers on the plantation,. The question was, shall I hide my purpose from them? Moreover, how will my flight affect them when I am gone? Will they not be suspected? Will not the whole family be sold off as a disaffected family, as is generally the case when one of its members flies? But a still more trying question was, how can I expect to succeed. I have no knowledge of distance or direction - I know that Pennsylvania is a free state, but I know not where its soil begins, or where that of Maryland ends...

One of my perplexing questions I had settled - I had resolved to let no one into my secret: but the other difficulty was now to be met. Within my recollection no one had attempted to escape from my master: but I had many cases in my mind’s eye, of slaves of other planters who had failed, and who had been made examples of the most cruel treatment, by flogging and selling to the far South, where they were never to see their friends more. I was not without serious apprehension that such would be my fate. The bare possibility was impressively solemn: but the hour was now come, and the man must act and be free, or remain a slave forever. How the impression came to be upon my mind I cannot tell: but there was a strange and horrifying belief, that if I did not meet the crisis that day, I should be self-doomed. Hope, fear, dread, terror, love, sorrow, and deep melancholy were mingled in my mind together; my mental state was one of the most painful distraction. When I looked at my numerous family - a beloved father and mother, eleven brothers and sisters, etc.: but when I looked at slavery as such: when I looked at it in its mildest form, with all its annoyances: and above all,, when I remembered that one of the chief annoyances of slavery, in the most mild form, is the liability of being at any moment sold into the worst form, it seemed that no consideration, not even that of life itself, could empty me to give up the thought of flight...

It was now two o’clock...I sallied forth thoughtfully and melancholy, and after crossing the barnyard, a few moments' walk brought me to a small cave, near the mouth of which lay a pile of stones, and into which I had deposited my clothes. From this, my course lay through thick and heavy woods and back lands to ---town, where my brother lived...

I entered the town about dark, resolved, all things in view, not to show myself to my brother. Having passed through the town without being recognized, I now found myself under the cover of night, a solitary wandered from home and friends: my only guide was the north star: by this I knew my general course northward, but at what point I should strike Pennsylvania, or when and where I should find a friend I knew not....Only now and then I was cheered by the wild hope, that I should somewhere and at some time be free....

The day dawned upon me, in the midst of an open extent of country, where the only shelter I could find, without risking my travel by daylight, was a corn shock, but a few hundred yards from the road, and here I must pass my first day out. The day was an unhappy one; my hiding place was extremely precarious. I had to sit in a squatting position the whole day, without the least chance to rest. Night came again to my relief, and I sallied forth to pursue my journey.

As I traveled I felt my strength failing and my spirits wavered; my mind was in a deep and melancholy dream. It was cloudy: I could not see my star, and had serious misgivings about my course.

In this way the night passed away, and just at the dawn of day I found a few sour apples, and took my shelter under the arch of a small bridge that crossed the road. Here I passed the second day in ambush.

The day passed away again without any further incident, and as I set out at nightfall I felt quite satisfied that I could not pass another twenty-four hours without nourishment. I made but little progress during the night, and often sat down, and slept frequently fifteen or twenty minutes. At the dawn of the third day I continued my travel. As I had found my way to a public turnpike road during the night, I came very early in the morning to a tollgate, where the only person I saw, was a lad about twelve years of age. I inquired of him where the road led to He informed me it led to Baltimore. I asked him the distance, he said it was eighteen miles.

This intelligence was perfectly astounding to me. My master lived eighty miles from Baltimore. I was now sixty-two miles from home. That distance in the right direction, would have placed me several miles across Mason and Dixon’s line, but I was evidently yet in the state of Maryland.

I ventured to ask the lad at the gate another question -Which is the best way to Philadelphia? Said he, you can take a road which turns off about half-a-mile below this, and goes to Getsburg, or you can go on to Baltimore and take the packer....

When I had walked a mile on this road, and when it had now gotten to be about nine o’clock, I met a young man with a load of hay. He drew up his horses, and addressed me in a very kind tone.

“Are you traveling any distance, my friend?”

“I am on my way to Philadelphia.”

“Are you free?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I suppose, then,. you are provided with free papers?”

“No, sir. I have no papers.”

“Well, my friend, you should not travel on this road: you will be taken up before you have gone three miles.”

He then very kindly gave me advice where to turn off the road at a certain point, and how to find my way to a certain house, where I would meet with an old gentleman who would further advise me whether I had better remain till night, or go on.

I left this interesting young man: and such was my surprise and chagrin at the thought of having so widely missed my way, and my alarm at being in such a dangerous position, that in ten minutes I had so far forgotten his directions as to deem it unwise to attempt to follow them, lest I should miss my way, and get into evil hands.

I went about a mile, making in all two miles from the spot where I met my young friend, and about five miles from the tollgate to which I have referred, and I found myself at the twenty-four miles’ stone from Baltimore. It was now about ten o'clock in the forenoon; my strength was greatly exhausted by reason of the want of suitable food. Under ordinary circumstances as a traveler, I should have been glad to see the “Tavern,” which was near the mile stone; but as the case stood with me, I deemed it a dangerous place to pass, much less to stop at. I was therefore passing it as quietly and as rapidly as possible, when from the lot just opposite the house, or signpost, I heard a coarse stern voice cry, “Halloo!”

I turned my face to the left, the direction from which the voice came, and observed that it proceeded from a man who was digging potatoes. I answered him politely; when the following occurred:

“Who do you belong to?”

“I am free, sir.”
“Have you got papers?”

“No,m sir.”

“Well, you must stop here.”

“My business in onward, sir, and I do not wish to stop.”

“I will see then if you don’t stop, you black rascal.”

He was now in the middle of the road, making after me in a brisk walk.

I saw that a crisis was at hand: I had no weapons of any kind, not even a pocketknife: but I asked myself, shall I surrender without a struggle. The instinctive answer was. No. What will you do? continue to walk: if he runs after you, run: get him as far from the house as you can.