Page:The Under-Ground Railroad.djvu/71

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When thus fleeing from town into the dense forest, leaping fences, hedges, and ditches; some of their white friends followed them closely, to baffle the Slaveholders should they follow; thus it would have been difficult to have distinguished the Slaves. These white friends were to conduct them, when in the forest, to a place of safety. Our town, and even our houses, were watched so closely, for several days, that it was no longer safe for us, nor the fugitives, that they should remain. To avoid detection, we obtained a box, about seven feet long and three feet deep, into which we put two of the men, side by side: we made holes in the sides of the box for ventitilation, and thus we conveyed them eight miles to another station, where we met with their companions. The day following we took the other man in the same way, without the least suspicion, by putting the box on a wagon; when altogether, they took passage on the Under-ground Railway to Canada.
America, professedly the freest land in the world, professes to recognise the natural and inalienable rights of all men, and, in confirmation of which, quotes the immortal Declaration of Independence; "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created free and equal, and are endowed, by their Creator, with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." They tell us, it is a fact