"Carrying the Running-Aways"

Never had any idea of carryin the runnin-away slaves over the river. Even though I was right there on the plantation, right by that big river, it never got in my mind to do something like that. But one night the woman whose house I had gone courting to said she knew a pretty girl wanted to cross the river and I would take her. Well, I met the girl and she was awful pretty. And soon the woman was telling me how to get across, how to go, and when to leave.

Well, I had to think about it. But each day, that girl or the woman would come around, ask me would I row the girl across the river to a place called Ripley. Well, I finally said I would. And one night I went over to the woman’s house. My owner trusted me and let me come and go as I please, long as I didn’t try to read or write anything. For writin and reading was forbidden to slaves.

Now, I had heard about the other side of the river from the other slaves. But I thought it was just like the side where we lived on the plantation. I thought there were slaves and masters over there, too, and overseers and rawhide whips they used on us. That’s why I was so scared. I thought I’d land the girl over there and some overseer didn’t know us would bear us for bein out at night. They could do that, you know.

Well, I did it. Oh, It was a long rowin time in the cold, with me worryin. But pretty soon I see alight way up high. Then I remembered the woman told me watch for a light. Told me to row to the light, which is what I did. And then I got to it, there were two men. They reached down and grabbed the girl. Then one of the men took me by the arm. Said “Your about hungry?” And if he hadn’t been holdin me, I would of fell out of that rowboat.

Well, that was my first trip. I was scared for a long time after that. But pretty soon I got over it, as other folks asked me to take them across the river. Two and three at a time, I’d take them. I got used to makin three or four trips every month.

Now it was funny. I never saw me passengers after that first girl. Because I took them on the nights when the moon was not showin, it was cloudy. And I always met them in the open or in a house with no light. So I never saw them, couldn’t recognize them, and couldn’t describe them. But I would say to them, “What you say?” And they would say the password. Sounds like “Menare.” Seemed the word came from the Bible somewhere, but I don’t know. And they would have to say that word before I took them across.

Well, there in Ripley was a man named Mr. Rankins, the rest was John, I think. He had a “station” there for escaping slaves. Ohio was a free state, I found out, so once the got across, Mr. Rankins would see to them. We went at night so we could continue back for more and to be sure no slave catchers would follow us there.

Mr. Rankins had a big light about thirty feet high up and it burned all night. It meant freedom for slaves if they could get to that bright flame.

I worked hard and almost got caught. I’d been rowin fugitives for almost four years. It was in 1863 and it was a ngiht I carried twelve runnin-aways across the river to Mr. Rankins’. I stepped out of the boat back in Kentucky and they were after me. Don’t know how they found out. But the slave catchers, didn’t know them, were on my trail. I ran away from the plantation and all who I knew there. I lived in the fields and in the woods. Even in caves. Sometimes I slept up in tree branches. Or in a hay pile. I couldn’t get across the river now, it was watched so closely.

Finally, I did get across. Late one night me and my wife went. I had finally gone back to the plantation to get her. Mr. Rankins had him a bell this time, along with the light. We were rowin and rowin. We could see the light and hear that bell, but it seemed we weren’t getting any closer. It took forever, it seemed. That was because we were so scared and it was so dark and we knew we could get caught and never get gone.

Well, we did get there. We pulled up there and went on to freedom. It was only a few months before all the slaves was freed.

We didn’t stay on at Ripley. We went on to Detroit because I wasn’t takin any chances. I have children and grandchildren now. Well, you know, the bigger ones don’t care so much to hear about those times. But the little ones, well, they never get tired of hearin how their grandpa brought emancipation to loads of slaves he could touch and feel in the dark but never ever see.