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32 - Underground Railroad, Part 1 by William Still · Underground Railroad, Part 1

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  Speaker 1: Section thirty one of The Underground Railroad Part one. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Greg Giordano. The Underground Railroad,
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  Speaker 1: Part one by William Still, Section thirty one. William Jordan
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  Speaker 1: alias William Price, under Governor Badger of North Carolina. William
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  Speaker 1: had experienced slavery in its most hateful form. True, he
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  Speaker 1: had only been twelve months under the yoke of this
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  Speaker 1: high functionary, but William's experience in this short space of
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  Speaker 1: time was of a nature very painful. Previous to coming
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  Speaker 1: into the Governor's hands, William was held as the property
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  Speaker 1: of Missus Mary Jordan, who owned large numbers of slaves.
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  Speaker 1: Whether the Governor was moved by this consideration or by
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  Speaker 1: the fascinating charms of Missus Jordan, or both, William was
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  Speaker 1: not able to decide. But the Governor offered her his
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  Speaker 1: hand and they became united in wedlock. By this circumstance,
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  Speaker 1: William was brought into his unhappy relations with the Chief
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  Speaker 1: Magistrate of the State of North Carolina. This was the
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  Speaker 1: third time the Governor had been married. Thus it may
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  Speaker 1: be seen that the governor was a firm believer in
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  Speaker 1: wives as well as slaves. Commonly, he was regarded as
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  Speaker 1: a man of wealth. William being an intelligent piece of property,
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  Speaker 1: His knowledge of the governor's rules and customs was quite complete,
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  Speaker 1: as he readily answered such questions as were propounded to him.
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  Speaker 1: In this way, a great amount of interesting information was
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  Speaker 1: learned from William respecting the Governor, the slaves, on the
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  Speaker 1: plantation in the swamps, et cetera. The governor owned large
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  Speaker 1: plantations and was interested in raising cotton, corn, and peas,
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  Speaker 1: and was also a practical planter. He was willing to
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  Speaker 1: trust neither overseers nor slaves any further than he could help.
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  Speaker 1: The govern Veroonner and his wife were both equally severe
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  Speaker 1: towards them, would stint them shamefully in clothing and food,
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  Speaker 1: though they did not get flogged quite as often as
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  Speaker 1: some others on neighboring plantations. Frequently the governor would be
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  Speaker 1: out on the plantation from early in the morning till noon,
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  Speaker 1: inspecting the operations of the overseers and slaves. In order
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  Speaker 1: to serve the governor. William had been separated from his
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  Speaker 1: wife by sale, which was the cause of his escape.
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  Speaker 1: He parted not with his companion willingly. At the time, however,
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  Speaker 1: he was promised that he should have some favors shown him,
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  Speaker 1: could make overwork and earn a little money, and once
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  Speaker 1: or twice in the year, have the opportunity of making
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  Speaker 1: visits to her two hundred miles with the distance between them.
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  Speaker 1: He had not been long in the Governor's plantation before
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  Speaker 1: his Honor gave him distinctly to understand the idea of
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  Speaker 1: his going two hundred miles to see his wife was
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  Speaker 1: all nonsense and entirely out of the question. If I
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  Speaker 1: said so, I did not mean it, said his Honor.
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  Speaker 1: When the slave, on a certain occasion, alluded to the
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  Speaker 1: conditions on which he consented to leave home, et cetera.
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  Speaker 1: Against this cruel decision of the Governor, William's heart revolted,
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  Speaker 1: for he was warmly attached to his wife, and so
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  Speaker 1: he made up his mind if he could not see
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  Speaker 1: her once or twice a year, even as he had
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  Speaker 1: been promised, he had rather die or live in a
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  Speaker 1: cave in the wood than to remain all his life
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  Speaker 1: under the governor's yoke. Obeying the dictates of his feelings.
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  Speaker 1: He went into the woods for ten months before he
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  Speaker 1: was successful in finding the underground road. This brave hearted
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  Speaker 1: young fugitive abode in the swamps three months in a cave,
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  Speaker 1: surrounded with bears, wild cats, rattlesnakes, and the like. While
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  Speaker 1: in the swamps and cave he was not troubled, however,
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  Speaker 1: about ferocious animals and venomous reptiles. He feared only man.
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  Speaker 1: From his own story, there was no escaping the conclusion that,
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  Speaker 1: if the choice had been left to him, he would
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  Speaker 1: have preferred at any time to have encountered at the
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  Speaker 1: mouth of his cave a ferocious bear than his master.
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  Speaker 1: The governor of North Carolina. How he managed to subsist
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  Speaker 1: and ultimately effected his escape, was listened too with the
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  Speaker 1: deepest interest, though the recital of these incidents must here
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  Speaker 1: be very brief. After night he would come out of
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  Speaker 1: his cave, and in some instances would succeed in making
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  Speaker 1: his way to a plantation, And if he could get
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  Speaker 1: nothing else, he would help himself to a pig or
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  Speaker 1: anything else he could conveniently convert into food. Also, his
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  Speaker 1: opportunity would offer a friend of his would favor him
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  Speaker 1: with some meal, et cetera. With this mode of living,
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  Speaker 1: he labored to content himself until he could do better.
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  Speaker 1: During these ten months he suffered indescribable hardships, but he
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  Speaker 1: felt that his condition in the cave was far preferable
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  Speaker 1: to that on the plantation under the control of his
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  Speaker 1: excellency the Governor. All this time, however, William had a
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  Speaker 1: true friend with whom he could communicate, one who was
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  Speaker 1: wide awake and was on the alert to find a
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  Speaker 1: reliable captain from the north who would consent to take
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  Speaker 1: this property or a freight for a consideration. He heard
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  Speaker 1: at last of his certain captain, who was then doing
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  Speaker 1: quite a successful business in an underground way. This good
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  Speaker 1: news was conveyed to William and afforded him a ray
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  Speaker 1: of hope in the wilderness. As providence would have it,
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  Speaker 1: his hope did not meet with disappointment, nor did his
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  Speaker 1: ten months trial warring against the barbarism of slavery seem
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  Speaker 1: too great to endure. For freedom, he was about to
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  Speaker 1: leave his cave and his animal and reptile neighbors, his
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  Speaker 1: heart swelling with gladness, but a thought of soon being
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  Speaker 1: beyond the reach of his mistress and master thrilled him
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  Speaker 1: with inexpressible delight. He was brought away by Captain f
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  Speaker 1: and turned over to the committee, who were made to
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  Speaker 1: rejoice with him over the signal victory he had gained
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  Speaker 1: in his martyr like endeavors to throw off the yoke,
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  Speaker 1: And of course they took much pleasure in aiding him.
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  Speaker 1: William was of a dark color, stout made physically and well,
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  Speaker 1: knew the value of freedom and how to hate and
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  Speaker 1: combat slavery. It will be seen by the appended letter
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  Speaker 1: of Thomas Garrett that William had the good luck to
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  Speaker 1: fall into the hands of this tried friend by whom
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  Speaker 1: he was aided to Philadelphia, Wilmington, Twelvemonth, nineteenth eighteen fifty five.
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  Speaker 1: Dear friend, William, still the bearer of this is one
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  Speaker 1: of the twenty one that I thought had all gone north.
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  Speaker 1: He left home on Christmas Day one year since, wandered
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  Speaker 1: about the forests of North Carolina for about ten months,
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  Speaker 1: and then came here with those forwarded to New Bedford,
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  Speaker 1: where he is anxious to go. I have furnished him
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  Speaker 1: with a pretty good pair of boots and gave him
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  Speaker 1: money to pay his passage to Philadelphia. He has been
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  Speaker 1: at work in the country near here for some three
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  Speaker 1: weeks till taken sick. He is by no means well,
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  Speaker 1: but thinks he had better try to get farther north,
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  Speaker 1: which I hope his friends in Philadelphia will aid him
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  Speaker 1: to do. I hanted this morning Captain Lampson's wife twenty
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  Speaker 1: dollars to help feel a lawyer to defend him. Footnote.
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  Speaker 1: Captain Lampson had been suspected of having aided in the
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  Speaker 1: escape of slaves from the neighborhood of Norfolk, and was
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  Speaker 1: in prison awaiting his trial and footnote. She leaves this
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  Speaker 1: morning with her child for Norfolk to be at the
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  Speaker 1: trial before the commissioner. On the twenty fourth instant Passmore
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  Speaker 1: Williamson agreed to raise fifty dollars for him, as none
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  Speaker 1: came to hand, and a good chance to send it
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  Speaker 1: by his wife. I thought best to advance that much,
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  Speaker 1: thy friend, Thomas Garrett end of section thirty one. Recording
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  Speaker 1: by Greg Giordana, Newport, Ritchey, Florida.