Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
From: United States Statutes at Large, 31st Cong., Sess. I, Chp. 60, 462-465
September 18, 1850
AN ACT
To amend, and supplementary to, the Act entitled "An Act respecting Fugitives from Justice, and Persons escaping
from the Service of their Masters," approved February twelfth, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in congress
assembled, That the persons who have been, or may hereafter be appointed commissioners, in virtue of any act of
Congress, by the Circuit Courts of the United States, and who, in consequence of such appointment, are authorized
to exercise the powers that any justice of the peace, or other magistrate of any of the United States, may exercise
in respect to offenders for any crime or offence against the United States, by arresting, imprisoning, or bailing the
same under and by virtue of the thirty-third section of the act of the twenty-fourth of September seventeen
hundred and eighty-nine, entitled "An Act to establish the judicial courts of the United States," shall be, and are
hereby, authorized and required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Superior Court of each organized Territory of the United States shall
have the same power to appoint commissioners to take acknowledgements of bail and affidavits, and to take
depositions of witnesses in civil causes, which is now possessed by the Circuit Court of the United States; and all
commissioners who shall hereafter be appointed for such purposes by the Superior Court of any organized Territory
of the United States, shall possess all the powers, and exercise all the duties, conferred by law upon the
commissioners appointed by the Circuit Courts of the United States for similar purposes, and shall moreover
exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Circuit Courts of the United States, and the Superior Courts of each
organized Territory of the United States, shall from time to time enlarge the number of commissioners, with a view
to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim fugitives from labor, and to the prompt discharge of the duties imposed by
this act.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners above named shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the
judges of the Circuit and District Courts of the United States, in their respective circuits and districts within the
several States, and the judges of the Superior Courts of the Territories, severally and collectively, in term-time and
vacation; and shall grant certificates to such claimants, upon satisfactory proof being made, with authority to take
and remove such fugitives from service or labor, under the restrictions herein contained, to the State or Territory
from which such persons may have escaped or fled.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and
execute all warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed; and should any
marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant, or other process, when tendered, or to use all proper
means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars,
to the use of such claimant, on the motion of such claimant, by the Circuit or District Court for the district of such
marshal; and after arrest of such fugitive, be such marshal or his deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody under
the provisions of this act, should such fugitive escape, whether with or without the assent of such marshal or his
deputy, such marshal shall be liable, on his official bond, to be prosecuted for the benefit of such claimant, for the
full value of the service or labor of said fugitive in the State, Territory, or District whence he escaped: and the
better to enable the said commissioners, when thus appointed, to execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in
conformity with the requirements of the Constitution of the United States and of this act, they are hereby
authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in writing under their hands, any one or
more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by
them in the lawful performance of their respective duties; with authority to such commissioners, or the persons to
be appointed by them, to execute process as aforesaid, to summon and call to their aid the bystanders, or posse
comitatus of the proper county, when necessary to ensure a faithful observance of the clause of the Constitution
referred to, in conformity with the provisions of this act; and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and
assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be required, as aforesaid, for
that purpose; and said warrants shall run, and be executed by said officers, any where in the State within which
they are issued.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That when a person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the
United States, has heretofore or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the
person or persons to whom such service or labor may be due, or his, her, or their agent or attorney, duly
authorized, by power of attorney, in writing, acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal officer or
court of the State or Territory in which the same may be executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person,
either by procuring a warrant from some one of the courts, judges, or commissioners aforesaid, of the proper
circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service or labor, or by seizing and arresting
such fugitive, where the same can be done without process, and by taking, or causing such person to be taken,
forthwith before such court, judge, or commissioner, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine the case of such
claimant in a summary manner; and upon satisfactory proof being made, by deposition or affidavit, in writing, to
be taken and certified by such court, judge, or commissioner, or by other satisfactory testimony, duly taken and
certified by some court, magistrate, justice of the peace, or other legal officer authorized to administer an oath and
take depositions under the laws of the State or Territory from which such person owing service or labor may have
escaped, with a certificate of such magistracy or other authority, as aforesaid, with the seal of the proper court or
officer thereto attached, which seal shall be sufficient to establish the competency of the proof, and with proof, also
by affidavit, of the identity of the person whose service or labor is claimed to be due as aforesaid, that the person
so arrested does in fact owe service or labor to the person or persons claiming him or her, in the State or Territory
from which such fugitive may have escaped as aforesaid, and that said person escaped, to make out and deliver to
such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, a certificate setting forth the substantial facts as to the service or labor
due from such fugitive to the claimant, and of his or her escape from the State or Territory in which such service or
labor was due, to the State or Territory in which he or she was arrested, with authority to such claimant, or his or
her agent or attorney, to use such reasonable force and restraint as may be necessary, under the circumstances of
the case, to take and remove such fugitive person back to the State or Territory whence he or she may have
escaped as aforesaid. In no trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be admitted
in evidence; and the certificates in this and the first [fourth] section mentioned, shall be conclusive of the right of
the person or persons in whose favor granted to remove such fugitive to the State or Territory from which he
escaped, and shall prevent all molestation of such person or persons by any process issued by any court, judge,
magistrate, or other person whomsoever.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent
such claimant, his agent or attorney, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her, or them, from arresting
such a fugitive from service or labor, either with or without process as aforesaid, or shall rescue, or attempt to
rescue, such fugitive from service or labor, from the custody of such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or
other person or persons lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested, pursuant to the authority herein given
and declared; or shall aid, abet, or assist such person so owing service or labor as aforesaid, directly or indirectly,
to escape from such claimant, his agent or attorney, or other person or persons legally authorized as aforesaid; or
shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person, after notice or
knowledge of the fact that such person was a fugitive from service or labor as aforesaid, shall, for either of said
offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, by
indictment and conviction before the District Court of the United States for the district in which such offence may
have been committed, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the
organized Territories of the United States; and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the party
injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars, for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be
recovered by action of debt, in any of the District or Territorial Courts aforesaid, within whose jurisdiction the said
offence may have been committed.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said District and
Territorial Courts, shall be paid, for their services, the like fees as may be allowed to them for similar services in
other cases; and where such services are rendered exclusively in the arrest, custody, and delivery of the fugitive to
the claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or where such supposed fugitive may be discharged out of custody for
the want of sufficient proof as aforesaid, then such fees are to be paid in the whole by such claimant, his agent or
attorney; and in all cases where the proceedings are before a commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten
dollars in full for his services in each case, upon the delivery of the said certificate to the claimant, his or her agent
or attorney; or a fee of five dollars in cases where the proof shall not, in the opinion of such commissioner, warrant
such certificate and delivery, inclusive of all services incident to such arrest and examination, to be paid, in either
case, by the claimant, his or her agent or attorney. The person or persons authorized to execute the process to be
issued by such commissioners for the arrest and detention of fugitives from service or labor as aforesaid, shall also
be entitled to a fee of five dollars each for each person he or they may arrest and take before any such
commissioner as aforesaid, at the instance and request of such claimant, with such other fees as may be deemed
reasonable by such commissioner for such other additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or
them; such as attending at the examination, keeping the fugitive in custody, and providing him with food and
lodging during his detention, and until the final determination of such commissioner; and, in general, for
performing such other duties as may be required by such claimant, his or her attorney or agent, or commissioner
in the premises, such fees to be made up in conformity with the fees usually charged by the officers of the courts
of justice within the proper district or county, as near as may be practicable, and paid by such claimants, their
agents or attorneys, whether such supposed fugitives from service or labor be ordered to be delivered to such
claimants by the final determination of such commissioners or not.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That, upon affidavit made by the claimant of such fugitive, his agent or attorney,
after such certificate has been issued, that he has reason to apprehend that such fugitive will be rescued by force
from his or their possession before he can be taken beyond the limits of the State in which the arrest is made, it
shall be the duty of the officer making the arrest to retain such fugitive in his custody, and to remove him to the
State whence he fled, and there to deliver him to said claimant, his agent, or attorney. And to this end, the officer
aforesaid is hereby authorized and required to employ so many persons as he may deem necessary to overcome
such force, and to retain them in his service so long as circumstances may require. The said officer and his
assistants, while so employed, to receive the same compensation, and to be allowed the same expenses, as are
now allowed by law for transportation of criminals, to be certified by the judge of the district within which the
arrest is made, and paid out of the treasury of the United States.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That when any person held to service or labor in any State or Territory, or in
the District of Columbia, shall escape therefrom, the party to whom such service or labor shall be due, his, her, or
their agent or attorney, may apply to any court of record therein, or judge thereof in vacation, and make
satisfactory proof to such court, or judge in vacation, of the escape aforesaid, and that the person escaping owed
service or labor to such party. Whereupon the court shall cause a record to be made of the matters so proved, and
also a general description of the person so escaping, with such convenient certainty as may be; and a transcript of
such record, authenticated by the attestation of the clerk and of the seal of the said court, being produced in any
other State, Territory, or district in which the person so escaping may be found, and being exhibited to any judge,
commissioner, or other officer authorized by the law of the United States to cause persons escaping from service or
labor to be delivered up, shall be held and taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of escape, and that
the service or labor of the person escaping is due to the party in such record mentioned. And upon the production
by the said party of other and further evidence if necessary, either oral or by affidavit, in addition to what is
contained in the said record of the identity of the person escaping, he or she shall be delivered up to the claimant.
And the said court, commissioner, judge, or other person authorized by this act to grant certificates to claimants of
fugitives, shall, upon the production of the record and other evidences aforesaid, grant to such claimant a
certificate of his right to take any such person identified and proved to be owing service or labor as aforesaid,
which certificate shall authorize such claimant to seize or arrest and transport such person to the State or Territory
from which he escaped: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed as requiring the production of a
transcript of such record as evidence as aforesaid. But in its absence the claim shall be heard and determined upon
other satisfactory proofs, competent in law.
Approved, September 18, 1850.
Vol. VI. Pub.--59
Twelve Years a Slave (excerpt) (1853)
Solomon Northrup
From: Twelve Years a Slave: A Narrative of Solomon Northrup of New York. Auburn, New York: Derby and Miller, 1853.
With the exception of my trip to St. Mary's Parish, and my absence during the cane-cutting seasons, I was
constantly employed on the plantation of Master Epps. He was considered but a small planter, not having a
sufficient number of hands to require the services of an overseer, acting in the latter capacity himself. Not able to
increase his force, it was his custom to hire during the hurry of cotton-picking.
On larger estates, employing fifty or a hundred, or perhaps two hundred hands, an overseer is deemed
indispensable. These gentlemen ride into the field on horseback, without an exception, to my knowledge, armed
with pistols, bowie knife, whip, and accompanied by several dogs. They follow, equipped in this fashion, in rear of
the slaves, keeping a sharp lookout upon them all. The requisite qualifications in an overseer are utter
heartlessness, brutality and cruelty. It is his business to produce large crops, and if that is accomplished, no matter
what amount of suffering it may have cost. The presence of the dogs are necessary to overhaul a fugitive who may
take to his heels, as is sometimes the case, when faint or sick, he is unable to maintain his row, and unable, also,
to endure the whip. The pistols are reserved for any dangerous emergency, there having been instances when such
weapons were necessary. Goaded into uncontrollable madness, even the slave will sometimes turn upon his
oppressor. The gallows were standing at Marksville last January, upon which one was executed a year ago for
killing his overseer. It occurred not many miles from Epps' plantation on Red River. The slave was given his task at
splitting rails. In the course of the day the overseer sent him on an errand, which occupied so much time that it
was not possible for him to perform the task. The next day he was called to an account, but the loss of time
occasioned by the errand was no excuse, and he was ordered to kneel and bare his back for the reception of the
lash. They were in the woods alone—beyond the reach of sight or hearing. The boy submitted until maddened at
such injustice, and insane with pain, he sprang to his feet, and seizing an axe, literally chopped the overseer in
pieces. He made no attempt whatever at concealment, but hastening to his master, related the whole affair, and
declared himself ready to expiate the wrong by the sacrifice of his life. He was led to the scaffold, and while the
rope was around his neck, maintained an undismayed and fearless bearing, and with his last words justified the
act.
Besides the overseer, there are drivers under him the number being in proportion to the number of hands in the
field. The drivers are black, who, in addition to the performance of their equal share of work, are compelled to do
the whipping of their several gangs. Whips hang around their nocks, and if they fail to use them thoroughly, are
whipped themselves. They have a few privileges, however; for example, in cane-cutting the hands are not allowed
to sit down long enough to eat their dinners. Carts filled with corn cake, cooked at the kitchen, are driven into the
field at noon. The cake is distributed by the drivers, and must be eaten with the least possible delay.
When the slave ceases to perspire, as he often does when taxed beyond his strength, he falls to the ground and
becomes entirely helpless. It is then the duty of the driver to drag him into the shade of the standing cotton or
cane, or of a neighboring tree, where he dashes buckets of water upon him, and uses other means of bringing out
perspiration again, when he is ordered to his place, and compelled to continue his labor.
At Huff Power, when I first came to Epps', Tom, one of Roberts' negroes, was driver. He was a burly fellow, and
severe in the extreme. After Epps' removal to Bayou Boeuf, that distinguished honor was conferred upon myself.
Up to the time of my departure I had to wear a whip about my neck in the field. If Epps was present, I dared not
show any lenity, not having the Christian fortitude of a certain well-known Uncle Tom sufficiently to bravo his
wrath, by refusing to perform the office. In that way, only, I escaped the immediate martyrdom he suffered, and,
withal, saved my companions much suffering, as it proved in the end. Epps, I soon found, whether actually in the
field or not, had his eyes pretty generally upon us. From the piazza, from behind some adjacent tree, or other
concealed point of observation, he was perpetually on the watch. If one of us had been backward or idle through
the day, we were apt to be told all about it on returning to the quarters, and as it was a matter of principle with
him to reprove every offence of that kind that came within his knowledge, the offender not only was certain of
receiving a castigation for his tardiness, but I likewise was punished for permitting it.
If, on the other hand, he had seen me use the lash freely, the man was satisfied. "Practice makes perfect," truly;
and during my eight years' experience as a driver, I learned to handle the whip with marvelous dexterity and
precision, throwing the lash within a hair's breadth of the back, the ear, the nose, without, however, touching
either of them. If Epps was observed at a distance, or we had reason to apprehend he was sneaking somewhere in
the vicinity, I would commence plying the lash vigorously, when, according to arrangement, they would squirm and
screech as if in agony, although not one of them had in fact been even grazed. Patsey would take occasion, if he
made his appearance presently, to mumhle in his hearing some complaints that Platt was lashing them the whole
time, and Uncle Abram, with an appearance of honesty peculiar to himself, would declare roundly I had just
whipped them worse than General Jackson whipped the enemy at New Orleans. If Epps was not drunk, and in one
of his beastly humors, this was, in general, satisfactory. If he was, some one or more of us must suffer, as a
matter of course. Sometimes his violence assumed a dangerous form, placing the lives of his human stock in
jeopardy. On one occasion the drunken madman thought to amuse himself by cutting my throat.
He had been absent at Holmesville, in attendance at a shooting-match, and none of us were aware of his return.
While hoeing by the side of Patsey, she exclaimed, in a low voice, suddenly, "Platt, d'ye see old Hog-Jaw beckoning
me to come to him?"
Glancing sideways, I discovered him in the edge of the field, motioning and grimacing, as was his habit when halfintoxicated. Aware of his lewd intentions, Patsey began to cry. I whispered her not to look up, and to continue at
her work, as if she had not observed him. Suspecting the truth of the matter, however, he soon staggered up to
me in a great rage.
What did you say to Pats?" he demanded, with an oath. I made him some evasive answer, which only had the
effect of increasing his violence.
How long have you owned this plantation, say, you d—d nigger?" he inquired, with a malicious sneer, at the same
time taking hold of my shirt collar with one hand, and thrusting the other into his pocket. "Now I'll cut your black
throat; that's what I'll do," drawing his knife from his pocket as he said it. But with one hand he was unable to
open it, until finally seizing the blade in his teeth, I saw he was about to succeed, and felt the necessity of escaping
from him, for in his present reckless state, it was evident ho was not joking, by any means. My shirt was open in
front, and as I turned round quickly and sprang from him, while he still retained his grip, it was stripped entirely
from my back. There was no difficulty now in eluding him. He would chase me until out of breath, then stop until it
was recovered, swear, and renew the chase again. Now he would command me to come to him, now endeavor to
coax me, but I was careful to keep at a respectful distance. In this manner we made the circuit of the field several
times, he making desperate plunges, and I always dodging them, more amused than frightened, well knowing that
when his sober senses returned, he would laugh at his own drunken folly. At length I observed the mistress
standing by the yard fence, watching our half-serious, half-comical manoeuvres. Shooting past him, I ran directly
to her. Epps, on discovering her, did not follow. He remained about the field an hour or more, during which time I
stood by the mistress, having related the particulars of what had taken place. Now, she was aroused again,
denouncing her husband and Patsey about equally. Finally, Epps came towards the house, by this time nearly
sober, walking demurely, with his hands behind his back, and attempting to look as innocent as a child.
As he approached, nevertheless, Mistress Epps began to berate him roundly, heaping upon him many rather
disrespectful epithets, and demanding for what reason he had attempted to cut my throat. Epps made wondrous
strange of it all, and to my surprise, swore by all the saints in the calendar he had not spoken to me that day.
"Platt, you lying nigger, have I?" was his brazen appeal to me.
It is not safe to contradict a master, even by the assertion of a truth. So I was silent, and when he entered the
house I returned to the field, and the affair was never after alluded to.
Shortly after this time a circumstance occurred that came nigh divulging the secret of my real name and history,
which I had so long and carefully concealed, and upon which I was convinced depended my final escape. Soon after
he purchased me, Epps asked me if I could write and read, and on being informed that I had received some
instruction in those branches of education, he assured me, with emphasis, if he ever caught me with a book, or
with pen and ink, he would give me a hundred lashes. He said he wanted me to understand that he bought
"niggers" to work and not to educate. He never inquired a word of my past life, or from whence I came. The
mistress, however, cross-examined me frequently about Washington, which she supposed was my native city, and
more than once remarked that I did not talk nor act like the other "niggers," and she was sure I had seen more of
the world than I admitted.
My great object always was to invent means of getting a letter secretly into the post-office, directed to some of my
friends or family at the North. The difficulty of such an achievement cannot be comprehended by one unacquainted
with the severe restrictions imposed upon me. In the first place, I was deprived of pen, ink, and paper. In the
second place, a slave cannot leave his plantation without a pass, nor will a post-master mail a letter for one
without written instructions from his owner. I was in slavery nine years, and always watchful and on the alert,
before I met with the good fortune of obtaining a sheet of paper. While Epps was in New Orleans, one winter,
disposing of his cotton, the mistress sent me to Holmesville, with an order for several articles, and among the rest
a quantity of foolscap. I appropriated a sheet concealing it in the cabin, under the board on which I slept.
After various experiments I succeeded in making ink, by boiling white maple bark, and with a feather from the
wing of a duck, manufactured a pen. When all were asleep in the cabin, by the light of the coals, lying upon my
plank couch, I managed to complete a somewhat lengthy epistle. It was directed to an old acquaintance at Sandy
Hill, stating my condition, and urging him to take measures to restore me to liberty. This letter I kept a long time,
contriving measures by which it could be safely deposited in the post-office. At length, a low fellow, by the name of
Armsby, hitherto a stranger, came into the neighborhood, seeking a situation as overseer. He applied to Epps, and
was about the plantation for several days. He next went over to Shaw's, near by, and remained with him several
weeks. Shaw was genr-ally surrounded by such worthless characters, boihg himself noted as a gambler and
unprincipled man. He had made a wife of his slave Charlotte, and a brood of young mulattoes were growing up in
his house. Armsby became so much reduced at last, that he was compelled to labor with the slaves. A white man
working in the field is a rare and unusual spectacle on Bayou Boeuf. I improved every opportunity of cultivating his
acquaintance privately, do siring to obtain his confidence so far as to be willing to intrust the letter to his keeping.
He visited Marksville repeatedly, he informed me, a town some twenty miles distant, and there, I proposed to
myself, the letter should be mailed.
Carefully deliberating on the most proper manner of approaching him on 'the subject, I concluded finally to ask him
simply if ho would deposit a letter for me in the Marksville post-office the next time he visited that place, without
disclosing to him that the letter was written, or any of the particulars it contained; for I had fears that he might
betray me, and knew that some inducement must he held out to him of a pecuniary nature, before it would be safe
to confide in him. As late as one o'clock one night I stole noiselessly from my cabin, and, crossing the field to
Shaw's, found him sleeping on the piazza. I had but a few picayunes—the proceeds of my fiddling performances,
but all I had in the world I promised him if he would do me the favor required. I begged him not to expose me if he
could not grant the request. He assured me, upon his honor, he would deposit it in the Marksville post-office, and
that he would keep it an inviolable secret forever. Though the letter was in my pocket at the time, I dared not then
deliver it to him, but stating I would have it written in a day or two, bade him good night, and returned to my
cabin. It was impossible for me to expel the suspicions I entertained, and all night I lay awake, revolving in my
mind the safest course to pursue. I was willing to risk a great deal to accomplish my purpose, but should the letter
by any means fall into the hands of Epps, it would be a death-blow to my aspirations. I was "perplexed in the
extreme."
My suspicions were well-founded, as the sequel demonstrated. The next day but one, while scraping cotton in the
field, Epps seated himself on the line fence between Shaw's plantation and bis own, in such a position as to
overlook the scene of our labors. Presently Armsby made his appearance, and, mounting the fence, took a seat
beside him. They remained two or three hours, all of which time I was in an agony of apprehension.
That night, while broiling my bacon, Epps entered the cabin with his rawhide in his hand.
"Well, boy," said he, "I understand I've got a larned nigger, that writes letters, and tries to get white fellows to
mail 'em. Wonder if you know who he is?"
My worst fears were realized, and although it may not be considered entirely creditable, even under the
circumstances, yet a resort to duplicity and downright falsehood was tho only refugo that presented itself.
"Don't know nothing about it, Master Epps," I answered him, assuming an air of ignorance and surprise; " Don't
know nothing at all about it, sir."
"Wan't you over to Shaw's night before last?" he inquired.
"No, master," was the reply.
"Hav'nt you asked that follow, Armsby, to mail a letter for you at Marksville?"
"Why, Lord, master, I never spoke three words to him in all my life. I don't know what you mean."
"Well," he continued, " Armsby told me to-day the devil was among my niggers; that I had one that needed close
watching or he would run away; and when I axed him why, he said you come over to Shaw's, and waked him up in
the night, and wanted him to cany a letter to Marksville. What have you got to say to that, ha?"
"All I've got to say, master," 'I replied, " is, there is no truth in it. How could I write a letter without any ink or
paper? There is nobody I want to write to, 'cause I haint got no friends living as I know of. That Armsby is a lying,
drunken fellow, they say, and nobody believes him anyway. You know I always tell the truth, and that I never go
off the plantation without a pass. Now, master, I can see what that Armsby is after, plain enough. Did'nt ho want
you to hire him for an overseer?"
"Yes, he wanted me to hire him," answered Epps.
"That's it," said I, " he wants to make you believe we're all going to run away, and then he thinks you'll hire an
overseer to watch us. He just made that story out of whole cloth, 'cause he wants to get a situation. It's all a lie,
master, you may depend on't."
Epps mused awhile, evidently impressed with the plausibility of my theory, and exclaimed, "I'm d—d, Platt, if I
don't believe you tell the truth. He must take me for a soft, to think he can come it over me with them kind of
yarns, musn't he? Maybe he thinks he can fool me; maybe he thinks I don't know nothing—can't take care of my
own niggers, eh! Soft soap old Epps, eh! Ha, ha, ha I D—n Armsby! Set the dogs on him, Platt," and with many
other comments descriptive of Armsby's general character, and his capability of taking care of his own business,
and attending to his own "niggers," Master Epps left the cabin. As soon as he was gone I threw the letter in the
fire, and, with a desponding and despairing heart, beheld the epistle which had cost me so much anxiety and
thought, and which I fondly hoped would have been my forerunner to the land of freedom, writhe and shrivel on its
bed of coals, and dissolve into smoke and ashes. Armsby, the treacherous wretch, was driven from Shaw's
plantation not long subsequently, much to my relief, for I feared he might renew his conversation, and perhaps
induce Epps to credit him.
I knew not now whither to look for deliverance. Hopes sprang up in my heart only to be crushed and blighted. The
summer of my life was passing away; I felt I was growing prematurely old; that a few years more, and toil, and
grief, and the poisonous miasmas of the swamps would accomplish their work upon me—would consign me to the
grave's embrace, to moulder and be forgotten. Repelled, betrayed, cut off from the hope of succor, I could only
prostrate myself upon the earth and groan in unutterable anguish. The hope of rescue was the only light that cast
a ray of comfort on my heart. That was now flickering, faint and low; another breath of disappointment would
extinguish it altogether, leaving me to grope in midnight darkness to the end of life.
The Underground Railroad was a loosely connected escape system to assist runaway slaves in their flight to
freedom. It was first organized during the American Revolution and lasted until the Civil War. Therunaway slaves,
or "passengers," would be led by "conductors" to various "stations" (safe houses) until they reached freedom. Most
often they ran northward toward Canada, but some traveled south to Mexico, Haiti, or other Caribbean islands.
Running the Railroad was very risky. If a slave was recaptured, he/she would face brutal retaliation. If a
"conductor" was captured, he/she could face many years in prison. Some African-American "conductors" were
enslaved themselves when caught. No one is sure how many slaves did escape, but it is estimated that between
fifty thousand and sixty thousand did reach freedom in this fashion.
Fugitive slaves posed a serious threat to the slave system. Supporters of slavery argued that blacks were
biologically suited to slave life and that slaves had no desire for freedom—runaways provided evidence to the
contrary. Advertisements, like this 1847 broadside, appeared as flyers or in newspapers. They alerted bounty
hunters and kidnappers, as well as bona fide law enforcement officers, who worked together to return escapees to
their owners.