d in the meantime went forty or fifty miles
into Bourbon County in the interior of Kentucky in quest of a large
party of Negroes who were said to be ready to escape. After a search
for about a week he discovered that there were about thirty fugitives
collected from various States. With them he started on the return trip
to Canada, traveling by night and resting by day. They contrived to
cross the Ohio river and reached Cincinnati in three days. There they
were assisted and directed to Richmond, Indiana, a settlement of
Quakers, who helped them on their way. After a difficult journey of
two weeks they reached Toledo and took passage for Canada, which they
reached in safety.

Henson then remained on his farm in Canada some months, but when the
appointed time for the delivery of the enslaved kinsmen of James
Lightfoot arrived, he set out again for Kentucky. He passed through
Lancaster, Ohio, where the people were very much excited over a
meteoric shower, thinking that the day of judgment had come. Henson
thought so too, but believing that he was promoting a righteous cause,
he kept on. On arriving at Portsmouth on the Ohio, he narrowly escaped
being detected by Kentuckians in the town. He resorted to the
stratagem of binding his head with dried leaves in a cloth and
pretended to be so seriously afflicted that he could not speak.
Arriving at Maysville, he had little difficulty in finding the slaves
whom he was seeking. The second person whom he met was Jefferson
Lightfoot, the brother of James Lightfoot for whom Henson was making
this trip. Saturday night, as usual, was set as the time for the
execution of this affair, for the reason that they would not be missed
until Monday and would, therefore, have a day ahead. They started from
Maysville in a boat, hoping to reach Cincinnati before daylight, but
the boat sprang a leak and the party narrowly escaped being drowned.
They procured another boat, however, and got within ten miles of
Cincinnati before daylight. To avoid being detected, they abandoned
the boat and proceeded to walk to Cincinnati, but faced another
difficulty when they reached the Miami, which at that point was too
deep to be forded. But in going up the river seeking a shallow place
they were seemingly led providentially by a cow that waded across
before them. As the weather was cold and they were in a state of
perspiration on wading through, the youngest Lightfoot was seized with
serious contractions, but rec