at the same time causing the splinters to fly from the
boards. The mayor and his posse seemed, if not dreadfully frightened,
completely confounded, and by the time Captain F. had again brought down
his axe with increased power, demanding where they would have him open,
they looked as though it was time for them to retire, and in a few
minutes after they actually gave up the search and left the boat without
finding a soul. Daniel in the lions' den was not safer than were the
twenty-one passengers secreted on Captain F.'s boat. The law had been
carried out with a vengeance, but did not avail with this skilled
captain. The "five dollars" were paid for being searched, the amount
which was lawfully required of every captain sailing from Virginia. And
the captain steered direct for the City of Brotherly Love. The wind of
heaven favoring the good cause, he arrived safely in due time, and
delivered his precious freight in the vicinity of Philadelphia within
the reach of the Vigilance Committee. The names of the passengers were
as follows:

[Illustration: Mayor and Police of Norfolk on Capt. Fountain's
schooner.]

ALAN TATUM, DANIEL CARR, MICHAEL VAUGHN, THOMAS NIXON, FREDERICK NIXON,
PETER PETTY, NATHANIEL GARDENER, JOHN BROWN, THOMAS FREEMAN, JAMES
FOSTER, GODFREY SCOTT, WILLIS WILSON, NANCY LITTLE, JOHN SMITH, FRANCIS
HAINES, DAVID JOHNSON, PHILLIS GAULT, ALICE JONES, NED WILSON, and SARAH
C. WILSON, and one other, who subsequently passed on, having been
detained on account of sickness. These passengers were most
"likely-looking articles;" a number of them, doubtless, would have
commanded the very highest prices in the Richmond market. Among them
were some good mechanics--one excellent dress-maker, some "prime"
waiters and chambermaids;--men and women with brains, some of them
evincing remarkable intelligence and decided bravery, just the kind of
passengers that gave the greatest satisfaction to the Vigilance
Committee. The interview with these passengers was extremely
interesting. Each one gave his or her experience of Slavery, the escape,
etc., in his or her own way, deeply impressing those who had the
privilege of seeing and hearing them, with the fact of the growing
spirit of Liberty, and the wonderful perception and intelligence
possessed by some of the sons of toil in the South. While all the names
of these passengers were duly entered on the Underground Rail Road
records, the number was too large, and the time they