I passed hundreds to
the land of freedom, while others, induced by high wages, and
the feeling that they were safe in Columbia, worked in the
lumber and coal yards of that place. I always persuaded them to
go to Canada, as I had no faith in their being able to elude the
grasp of the slave-hunters. Indeed, the merchants had the
confidence of their security and desired them to remain; several
of my friends told me that I was injuring the trade of the place
by persuading the laborers to leave. Indeed, many of the
fugitives themselves looked upon me with jealousy, and expressed
their indignation at my efforts to have them removed from peace
and plenty to a land that was cold and barren, to starve to
death.

It was a period of great prosperity in our borough, and
everything passed on favorably and successfully until the
passage of the fugitive slave bill in 1850. At first the law was
derided and condemned by our liberty-loving citizens, and the
fugitives did not fear its operations because they asserted that
they could protect themselves. This fatal dream was of short
duration. A prominent man, by the name of Baker, was arrested
and taken to Philadelphia, and given up by the commissioner, and
afterwards purchased by our citizens; another, by the name of
Smith, was shot dead in one of our lumber yards, because he
refused to surrender, and his pursuer permitted to escape
without arrest or trial. This produced not only a shock, but a
crisis in the affairs of our little borough. It made the
stoutest hearts quail before the unjust sovereignty of the law.
The white citizens fearing the danger of a successful resistance
to the majesty of the law, began to talk of the insecurity of
these exiles. The fugitives themselves, whose faith and hope had
been buoyed up by the promises held up to them of protection,
began to be apprehensive of danger, and talked of leaving, while
others, more bold, were ready to set the dangers that surrounded
them at defiance, and if necessary, die in the defence of their
freedom and the homes they had acquired.

At this juncture private meetings were held by the colored
people, and the discussions and resolves bore a peculiar
resemblance in sentiment and expression to the patriotic
outbursts of the American revolution.

Some were in favor, if again