Run to Freedom – Chapter 8 – The Journey Begins

Run to Freedom

Chapter 8  – The Journey Begins

The  tribulations and adventures of Josiah Henson

Peter van Gorder

We rested in the day, wherever we could find a place that might protect us from being seen. Sometimes it was under a tree that had fallen, a cave, or underneath a thick clump of bushes. At night, we trudged on the road as far as the feeble strength of my wife and boys would allow. If a wagon or horse was heard approaching, we quickly scurried into the woods until it safely passed.

In the 1830’s this land was sparsely inhabited. If we did see people, we made sure they did not see us, as most people were unfriendly to our cause. We dared ask no one for help for fear we would be jailed. God was our only friend. As we walked, I prayed desperately for His help.

As the journey lengthened, we became very weary. The precious load on my back rubbed me sore until my back was covered in blisters. Tramping in the mud with the rain pouring down on us in the cold was terrible.

One night as we traveled it became almost unbearable, then my wife began to complain.“I told you, we should never have come. Oh, we’re going to die for sure.”

I took her aside and talked to her sternly, “Don’t you ever talk like that again. The children have it hard enough. Be as strength for them, don’t voice your doubts –  ever!”

She was working herself into a frenzy, “But, they’re going to catch us, for sure. Some say that Master Amos is a conjurer – that he’s got magic powers to send spirits to follow us and catch us if we run.”

“Come wife, where is your faith? God is more powerful than any demon of hell sent to enslave us. You shall see we will be safe.”

She continued to shake like a leaf and finally, I had to almost force her to keep walking and not give into her fears. The sun was rising, we found an overhang of mossy earth that would be our bed for the night and we all fell asleep, cuddled close to each other. 

The slave catchers were after us. I could hear the dogs barking, hot on our trail. My heart began to beat furiously. I was breathing heavily. Now they were on us, surrounding us, clamping those cold irons on our neck. I woke up in terror. It was just another one of those bad dreams.

I was startled into my reality. We were a few days outside Cincinnati, Ohio now. We had carried with us some food, but now after two weeks, it was almost gone. We lived on apples, berries, chestnuts, Indian corn, and any edible roots we could find. Learning what we could eat from the forest was a very useful skill that we had picked up from being underfed but we didn’t have the time to look for food now – had to keep moving.

We were totally exhausted. All night long my children cried, they were so hungry and thirsty.

“You see, what you have done. The babies are so sick and tired. We should give ourselves up, maybe Master Amos will have mercy on us.”

“Elizabeth you don’t know what you are saying. When have you ever known them to have mercy? — Only when it suits their purpose. They’d have to punish us to discourage others from escaping. There is no way to go but North. Giving up is too terrible to think about.”

She only answered me with tears.

I held her in my arms and tried to comfort her, “Come daybreak, I will find some food for us. God won’t let us down, you’ll see.”

At dawn, I set off southwards on the road to look for food in some farmhouse. No one would suspect that I would be an escaped slave if I were walking in the opposite direction of freedom.

I approached one farmhouse and a vicious dog barked at me furiously and lunged out at me.

The owner came out quite disturbed, “What’s all the ruckus ‘bout? Now quiet down, Boxer,” he said as he motioned his dog to back off. Looking me over he spit out, “Who in tarnation are you and what do you want?”

“Excuse me sir, I was wondering if you would be so kind to sell me some food. Bread and meat would be much appreciated.”

“I got nothing to give, lend, or sell, to no nigger. Now get off my property for I change my mind and sic Boxer on you.”

I left quickly and tried my luck at the next farmhouse. A man came out and told me much the same as the first.

Then his wife appeared from the house and told her husband, “How can you treat any human being so? If a dog was hungry you would give him something to eat.

“We have children, and who knows but they may some day need the help of a friend.”

The man laughed, “Well, you can take care of niggers if you want, but I’ll have nothing to do with it.” He then went out to the barn to do some farm chores.

“Come in then,” she said kindly.

I sat down on a chair warming myself by the fire.

“I’ll be just a minute,” she said in a reassuring tone as she set about to load a plate with bread and cooked venison*.                               *venison: flesh of deer.

I put the food into my handkerchief quickly in case her husband would call some neighbors to capture me.

I placed a quarter* on the table to pay for it but she would not accept it. Instead, she placed the quarter back in the handkerchief and added some more venison to the bundle.                                                                                                                                        *a quarter in 1830 is worth about $5.50 in 2005 according to measuringworth.com.

Tears welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks, “Thank you, thank you.”

“God bless you,” she said tenderly in farewell as I hurried quickly away to feed my starving wife and little ones.

Everyone was very happy to eat again but as the venison was so salty it added to our thirst. My next challenge was to try and find some water. Going through the bushes, I located a stream and drunk deeply from it. It would be too hard for my children to reach this spot. How would I carry the water back to my family?

I filled up my hat, but it would not hold water for long. The only thing left for me to do was to take off my shoes, wash them the best I could, then fill them up with water. It worked! Thank heavens they had not worn holes in them yet!

I tell you, no king ever enjoyed a drink from his crystal goblet* more
than we did of that fresh water from my shoes. I went back again more times until they were strong enough to travel. Strengthened and reassured of God’s care for us, that night we made a good distance. Two days later we arrived in Cincinnati.

*goblet: a drinking glass with a base and stem