probation of the Court be entered on the Docket of the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County.

A. BAUSMAN, Secty.

GEORGE ROBERTS,

President

JOHN MURRAY,

WILLIAM RAINEY,

Vice-Presidents.

ANTI-SLAVERY

HAM

CHAPTER IX.

66

SENTIMENT-THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD- ABRA

AND "PATRICK' SHOT BY A SLAVE HUNTER-ARREST OF

HENRY WILLIS AND OTHERS FOR AIDING THE SLAVES.

The particular cause for producing Abolitionists was the provision of the federal constitution and the laws thereunder, declaring that a slave escaping from one state to another should be reclaimed and delivered to the owner, and that the United States marshal could call upon and force any citizen to assist him in his duty.

When the clause as it was finally adopted in the constitution was agreed upon, it was the concensus of opinion that slavery would become extinct by 1808, inasmuch as it was not profitable; but Whitney's invention of the cotton-gin changed this situation and property in human beings became valuable, hence the Civil war. It was this clause which prevented Mr. Lincoln from being an Abolitionist; however, he was intensely anti-slavery, and sought to prevent its spread and confine it to the southern states. It was the same cause which made William Lloyd Garrison the leading Abolitionist. He believed and averred that it was unrighteous for one race of people for their personal profit to make slaves of another class. This sentiment arose prior to the Missouri Compromise, and only ended at Appomattox in 1865.

During this period there was much contention over slaves escaping north of the Ohio river and Mason and Dixon's line. Much litigation occurred in the northern states, and many physical combats took place in reclaiming these runaway slaves. This conflict produced a class of citizens who would not assist in preventing but who would not go as far as Garrison. They absolutely declined to interfere in their capture, and quietly aided in their escape. This was done through the mythical "underground railroad" system in the border states.

One of the favored routes from Maryland and Virginia was through Bedford, Pennsylvania, thence over the mountains by way of Geistown to Johnstown; thence to Cherry Tree, or Ebensburg, where other agents helped the fugitive to reach

Canada, or located him in some secluded place. Another favorite route was from Bedford to Hollidaysburg, thence to Ebensburg over the mountain. It is not difficult to understand why aid was given them, as it would be done today under the same circumstances. Few persons of the present generation fully appreciate the evils of slavery as it existed in our country; therefore we will recall a few cases which show its extent and tragic results.

It is probable that the most tragic case is the one known as the Garner case, which occurred in 1856. Simon Garner, his wife and son Robert, were the slaves of Mr. Marshall, of Kentucky. Margaret Garner was the wife of Robert Garner, and she and her four children belonged to a Mr. Graves of that state, thus the husband and family were separated. They escaped across the Ohio and took refuge in Cincinnati. The slave hunter followed and secured warrants for their arrest. When the deputy marshal endeavored to serve it, he found the house barricaded wherein they had taken refuge. A desperate fight followed, but the fugitives were overpowered and taken. Margaret, however, had determined that neither she nor her children should ever again be in slavery if she could prevent it. During the conflict she realized that they were going to be captured, and, retiring to where her children were, she killed one of them, cut the throats of two others, and severely bruised the baby in her endeavor to save them from slavery.

Many ardent Abolitionists resided in Cincinnati, but, as in other places, there were some who would not go as far in assisting the slaves as others. In the Garner case this class thought it would save the fugitives if they should be arrested in Cincinnati and tried for homicide; therefore, Margaret was indicted for murder, and her husband Robert and her father-in-law Simon were charged with being accessories to the awful deed, Their friends weakened and allowed the slaves to be taken by the owners. With the intent of seeking death on the voyage down the Ohio, Margaret jumped overboard with her babe clasped in her arms. Sad to relate, she was rescued, and when informed that the child had been drowned, she expressed gratification that her baby would never be a slave.

In contradistinction to the former case is the Christiana affair which occurred in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1851. Edward Gorsuch of Maryland, and his son, with a deputy marshal and a number of friends, attempted to capture a fugitive slave

who had taken refuge in a house in the village of Christiana. Two shots fired at the house aroused the neighbors and some colored men, who appeared with arms. Among those assembled were two Quakers, Castner Hanway and Elijah Lewis, who tried to persuade both parties to disperse, but to this plea the deputy marshal ordered them to join and assist him as provided by the law; they declined and urged him to leave. Gorsuch and his son then fired on the colored men, who returned the attack and killed both, all the others seeking safety in flight. Hanway and Lewis were indicted for treason, and tried before Judge Grier, in Lancaster, and Thaddeus Stevens was of counsel for the defendants. The accusation and proof were considered preposterous by Judge Grier, whọ charged the jury to acquit them. Thus ended the Christiana affair. Judge Grier subsequently became an honored justice of the supreme court of the United States.

It was under these conditions that the underground railroad" prospered. The leading citizens of our county who gave their assistance in this way were: John Cushon, Henry Willis, William Barnett, John Myers, Wallace Fortune, Isaac Weatherington, Frederick Kaylor and Mr. and Mrs. James Heslop, of Johnstown; William Slick, Sr., who resided on a farm near Geistown; A. A. Barker, of Ebensburg; Dr. George Gamble of Cherry Tree; and George Atchison, who lived near Burnside, on the Susquehanna river.

A citizen of Indiana county who took a prominent part in the emancipation of the slaves, was Albert Hazlett, a lieutenant of the little band which attacked the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, under the leadership of John Brown, the martyr, on the night of October 16, 1859. In the diary kept by John Brown, beginning March 10, 1859, he has this entry: "March 16th. Wrote A. Hazlett, Indiana P. O., Indiana county, Pa."

In a letter from Brown to John Henry Kagi, his adjutant, mailed at Chambersburg about July 12, 1859, he says: "Write Carpenter and Hazlett that we are all well, right, and ready as soon as we can get our boarding house fixed, when we will write them to come on and by what route. I will pay Hazlett the money he advanced to Anderson for expenses traveling."

Colonel Lee captured Hazlett and Anderson, who were the last men in the arsenal, all the others having been killed or captured.

Many escapes were made through our county, but the most

prominent was that of the shooting of "Abraham" and "Patrick" near Geistown, on the 10th of February, 1837. These slaves were young men with no other names than are here given, and were the personal property of Colonel and Dr. John Sheard, of Morgan county, Virginia. The colored boys had reached a point not far from Geistown when the hunters, coming in sight of the runaways, shot Abraham in the knee and Patrick in the right shoulder. Of course they were captured, and taken to the farm house of William Slick, Sr., who was an agent of the Underground Railroad, where medical aid and such kindness were extended as could only come from a family which was in sympathy with the slave. William Slick, Jr., born August 28, 1823, a son of the former, and now an esteemed resident of Johnstown, recalls the affair and his youthful efforts to give assistance to the wounded slaves.

Abraham and Patrick were brought to Johnstown under arrest in charge of Samuel J. Smith, constable. The warrant was issued by Christian Horner, a justice of the peace residing near Geistown, in Conemaugh township, and charged the defendants with being fugitive slaves. The warrant was issued February 10, 1837, as follows:

"Whereas, it appears by the oaths of John Compston and Edward Maxwell that "Abraham" & "Patrick," two colored boys, was held to labor service to Col. John Sheard of Morgan county, in the State of Virginia, and that the said Abraham & Patrick, two colored boys, hath escaped from the labor & service of the said Colonel John Sheard. YOU are therefore commanded to assist and seize the bodies of the said Abraham & Patrick, if they be found in your county and bring them forthwith before a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of your proper county, so that the truth of the matter may be inquired into and the said Abraham & Patrick may be dealt with as the Constitution of the United States and the laws of this Commonwealth directs.”

Not long after their arrival in Johnstown the local agents of the Underground Railroad became interested, as the boys' gunshot wounds were serious, and procured for them the best medical attention and lodging which they could. The officers desired to take them away at once, but the agents insisted that such haste would be inhuman, as careful nursing was necessary for their recovery. Under this plea the fugitives were kept for several days in a building on Clinton street, and in the meantime arrangements were being made to take them farther north.