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NARRATIVE 
 
 LUNSFORD LANE, 
 
 FORMERLY OF 
 
 RALEIGH, N. C. 
 
 Embracing an account of his early life, the redemption by purchase 
 
 of himself and family from slavery, 
 
 And his banishment from the place of his birth for the crime 
 
 of wearing a colored skin. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY HIMSELF. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 \ 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE PUBLISHER 
 
 J. G. TORREY, PRINTER. 
 
 1842. 
 
vc" 
 
 NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The rapidity with which the first edition of this work 
 has been sold, renders it necessary to put another edition 
 to press, without any enlargement or material alteration. — 
 Whether any change in its form will hereafter be made, 
 will depend upon circumstances. 
 
 Thanks to those friends who have aided me in the sale 
 of the first edition, — to those editors who have so favora- 
 bly noticed the work, — and to those who have so freely 
 purchased. May I not justly hope for a continuance of the 
 6ame kind regards. L. L. 
 
 Boston, August 24, 1842. 
 
 i 
 
 Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1842, by 
 
 Lunsford Lane, 
 In the clerk's office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 I have been solicited by very many friends, to give 
 my narrative to the public. Whatever my own judgment 
 might be, I should yield to theirs. In compliance, there- 
 fore, with this general request, and in the hope that these 
 pages may produce an impression favorable to my coun- 
 trymen in bondage ; also that I may realize something 
 from the sale of my work towards the support of a numer- 
 ous family, I have committed this publication to press. 
 It might have been made two or three, or even six times 
 larger, without diminishing from the interest of any one of 
 its pages — indeed with an increased interest — but the want 
 of the pecuniary means, and other considerations, have in- 
 duced me to present it as here seen. 
 
 I have not, in this publication attempted or desired to 
 argue anything. It is only a simple narration of such facts 
 connected with my own case, as I thought would be most 
 interesting and instructive to readers generally. The facts 
 will, 1 think, cast some light upon the policy of a slavehold- 
 ing community, and the effect on the minds of the more 
 enlightened, the more humane, and the Christian portion 
 of the southern people, of holding and trading in the bodies 
 and souls of men. , 
 
 I have said in the following pages, that my condition as 
 a slave was comparatively a happy, indeed a highly favor- 
 ed one ; and to this circumstance is it owing that I have 
 been able to come up from bondage and relate the story to 
 .the public ; and that my wife, my mother, and my seven 
 ^children, are here with me this day. If for any thing this 
 Qside the invisible world. I bless heaven, it is that I was not 
 
IV TO THE READER.. 
 
 born a plantation slave, nor even a house servant under 
 what is termed a hard and cruel master. 
 
 It has not been any part of my object to describe slave- 
 ry generally, and in the narration of my own case I have 
 dwelt as little as possible upon the dark side — have spoken 
 mostly of the bright. In whatever I have been obliged to 
 say unfavorable to others, I have endeavored not to over- 
 state, but have chosen rather to come short of giving the 
 full picture — omitting much which it did not seem import- 
 ant to my object to relate. And yet I would not venture 
 to say that this publication does not contain a single period 
 which might be twisted to convey an idea more than 
 should be expressed. 
 
 Those of whom I have had occasion to speak, are re- 
 garded, where they are known, as among the most kind 
 men to their slaves. Mr. Smith, some of whose conduct 
 will doubtless seem strange to the reader, is sometimes 
 taunted with being an abolitionist, inconsequence of the 
 interest he manifests towards the colored people. If to 
 any his character appear like a riddle, they should remem- 
 ber that men, like other things, have "two sides," and 
 often a top and a bottom in addition. 
 
 While in the South I succeeded by stealth in learning to 
 read and write a little, and since I have been in the North 
 I have learned more. But 1 need not say that I have been 
 obliged to employ the services of a friend, in bringing this 
 Narrative into shape for the public eye. And it should 
 perhaps be said on the part of the writer, that it has been 
 hastily compiled, with little regard to style, only to express 
 the ideas accurately and in a manner to be understood. 
 
 LUNSFORD LANE. 
 
 Boston,' July 4, 1842. 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 The small city of Raleigh, North Caroli- 
 na, it is known, is the capital of the State, 
 situated in the interior, and containing about 
 thirty-six hundred inhabitants. Here lived 
 Mr. Sherwood Haywood, a man of con- 
 siderable respectability, a planter, and the 
 cashier of a bank. He owned three plan- 
 tations, at the distances respectively of 
 seventy-five, thirty, and three miles from 
 his residence in Raleigh. He owned in all 
 about two hundred and fifty slaves, among 
 the rest my mother, who was a house ser- 
 vant to her master, and of course a resident 
 in the city. My father was a slave to a 
 near neighbor. The apartment where I 
 was born and where I spent my childhood 
 and youth was called " the kitchen," situated 
 some fifteen or twenty rods from the " great 
 house." Here the house servants lodged and 
 lived, and here the meals were prepared for 
 tfee people in the mansion. The " field 
 hands," of course, reside upon the planta- 
 tion. 
 
 On the 30th of May, 1803, I was ushered 
 
 into the world ; but I did not begin to see 
 
 the rising of its dark clouds, nor fancy how 
 
 they might be broken and dispersed, until 
 
 2 
 
b NARRATIVE. 
 
 some time afterwards. My infancy was 
 spent upon the floor, in a rough cradle, or 
 sometimes in my mother's arms. My early 
 boyhood in playing with the other boys and 
 girls, colored and white, in the yard, and 
 occasionally doing such little matters of 
 labor as one of so young years could. I 
 knew no difference between myself and the 
 white children ; nor did they seem to know 
 any in turn. Sometimes my master would 
 come out and give a biscuit to me, and 
 another to one of his own white boys ; but 
 I did not perceive the difference between us. 
 I had no brothers or sisters, but there were 
 other colored families living in the same 
 kitchen, and the children playing in the 
 same yard, with me and my mother. 
 
 When I was ten or eleven years old, my 
 master set me regularly to cutting wood, in 
 the yard in t^e winter, and working in the 
 garden in the summer. And when I was 
 fifteen years of age, he gave me the care of 
 the pleasure horses, and made me his car- 
 riage driver; but this did not exempt me 
 from other labor, especially in the summer. 
 Early in the morning I used to take his three 
 horses to the plantation, and turn them into 
 the pasture to graze, and myself into the 
 cotton or cornfield, with a hoe in my hand, 
 to work through the day ; and after sunset 
 I would take these horses back to the city, a 
 distance of three miles, feed them, and then 
 attend to any other business my master or 
 
MY YOUTH. ( 
 
 any of his family had for me to do, until 
 bed time, when with my blanket in my 
 hand, I would go into the dining room to 
 rest through the night. The next day the 
 same round of labor would be repeated, un- 
 less some of the family wished to ride out, 
 in which case I must be on hand with the 
 horses to wait upon them, and in the mean- 
 time to work about the yard. On Sunday I 
 had to drive to Church twice, which with 
 other things necessary to be done, took the 
 whole day. So my life went wearily on 
 from day to day, from night to night, and 
 from week to week. 
 
 When I began to work, I discovered the 
 difference between myself and my master's 
 white children. They began to order me 
 about, and were told to do so by my master 
 and mistress. I found, too, that they had 
 learned to read, while I was not permitted 
 to have a book in my hand. To be in the 
 possession of anything written or printed, 
 was regarded as an offence. And then there 
 was the fear that I might be sold away from 
 those who were dear to me, and conveyed 
 to the far South. I had learned that being 
 a slave I was subject to this worst (to us) of 
 all calamities ; and I knew of others in sim- 
 ilar situations to myself, thus sold away. 
 My friends were not numerous ; but in pro- 
 portion as they were few they were dear ; 
 and the thought that I might be separated 
 from them forever, was like that of having 
 
8 NARRATIVE. 
 
 the heart torn from its socket; while the 
 idea of being conveyed to the far South, 
 seemed infinitely worse than the terrors of 
 death. To know, also, that I was never to 
 consult my own will, but was, while I lived, 
 to be entirely under the control of another, 
 was another state of mind hard for me to 
 bear. Indeed all things now made me feel, 
 what I had before known only in words, 
 that I was a slave. Deep was this feeling, 
 and it preyed upon my heart like a never- 
 dying worm. I saw no prospect that my 
 condition would ever be changed. Yet I 
 used to plan in my mind from day to day, 
 and from night to night, how I might be 
 free. 
 
 One day, while I was in this state of 
 mind, my father gave me a small basket of 
 peaches. I sold them for thirty cents, which 
 was the first money I ever had in my life. 
 Afterwards I won some marbles, and sold 
 them for sixty cents, and some weeks after 
 Mr. Hog from Fayetteville, came to visit my 
 master, and on leaving gave me one dollar. 
 After that Mr. Bennahan from Orange 
 county, gave me a dollar, and a son of my 
 master fifty cents. These sums, and the 
 hope that then entered my mind of purchas- 
 ing at some future time my freedom, made 
 me long for money ; and plans for money- 
 making took the principal possession of my 
 thoughts. At night I would steal away 
 with my axe, get a load of wood to cut for 
 
PLANS FOR FREEDOM. 
 
 twenty -five cents, and the next morning 
 hardly escape a whipping for the offence. 
 But I persevered until I had obtained twenty 
 dollars. Now I began to think seriously of 
 becoming able to buy myself; and cheered 
 by this hope, I went on from one thing to 
 another, laboring "at dead of night," after 
 the long weary day's toil for my master was 
 over, till I found I had collected one hundred 
 •dollars. This sum I kept hid, first in one 
 place and then in another, as I dare not put 
 it out, for fear I should lose it. 
 
 After this I lit upon a plan which proved 
 of great advantage to me. My father sug- 
 gested a mode of preparing smoking tobacco, 
 different from any then or since employed. 
 It had the double advantage of giving the 
 tobacco a peculiarly pleasant flavor, and of 
 enabling me to manufacture a good article 
 out of a very indifferent material. I im- 
 proved somewhat upon his suggestion, and 
 commenced the manufacture, doing as 1 have 
 before said, all my work in the night. ' The 
 tobacco I put up in papers of about a quar- 
 ter of a pound each, and sold them at fifteen 
 cents. But the tobacco could not be smoked 
 without a pipe, and as, I had given the 
 former a flavor peculiarly grateful, it occur- 
 red to me that 1 might so construct a pipe as 
 to cool the smoke in passing through it, and 
 thus meet the wishes of those who are more 
 fond of smoke than heat. This I effected by 
 means of a reed, which grows plentifully in 
 2* 
 
10 NARRATIVE. 
 
 that region ; I made a passage through the 
 reed with a hot wire, polished it, and at- 
 tached a clay pipe to the end, so that the 
 smoke should be cooled in flowing through 
 the stem like whiskey or rum in passing 
 from the boiler through the worm of the 
 still. These pipes I sold at ten cents apiece. 
 In the early part of the night I would sell 
 my tobacco and pipes, and manufacture 
 them in the latter part. As the Legislature 
 sit in Raleigh every year, I sold these arti- 
 cles considerably to the members, so that I 
 became known not only in the cily, but in 
 many parts of the State, as a tobacconist. 
 
 Perceiving that I was getting along so 
 well, I began, slave as I was, to think about 
 taking a wife. So I fixed my mind upon 
 Miss Lucy Williams, a slave of Thomas 
 Devereaux, Esq., an eminent lawyer in the 
 place ; but failed in my undertaking. Then 
 I thought I never would marry ; but at the 
 end of two or three years my resolution be- 
 gan to slide away, till finding I could not 
 keep it longer I set out once more in pursuit 
 of a wife. So I fell in with her to whom I 
 am now united, Miss Martha Curtis, and 
 the bargain between us was completed. I 
 next went to her master, Mr. Boylan, and 
 asked him, according to the custom, if I 
 might " marry his woman." His reply was, 
 " Yes, if you will behave yourself." I told 
 him I would. " And make her behave her- 
 self?" To this I also assented; and then 
 
MARRIAGE. 11 
 
 proceeded to ask the approbation of my mas- 
 ter, which was granted. So in May, 1828, 
 I was bound as fast in wedlock as a slave 
 can be. God may at any time sunder that 
 band in a freeman ; either master may do 
 the same at pleasure in a slave. The 
 bond is not recognized in law. But in my 
 case it has never been broken; and now it 
 cannot be, except by a higher power. 
 
 When we had been married nine months 
 and one day, we were blessed with a son, 
 and two years afterwards with a daughter. 
 My wife also passed from the hands of Mr. 
 Boylan, into those of Mr. Benjamin B. Smith, 
 a merchant, a member and class-leader in 
 the Methodist church, and in much repute 
 for his deep piety and devotion to religion. 
 But grace (of course) had not wrought in 
 the same manner upon the heart of Mr. 
 Smith, as nature had done upon that of Mr. 
 Boylan, who made no religious profession. 
 This latter gentleman used to give my wife, 
 who was a favorite slave, (her mother nursed 
 every one of his own children.) sufficient 
 food and clothing to render her comfortable, 
 so that I had to spend for her but little, ex- 
 cept to procure such small articles of extra 
 comfort as I was prompted to from time to 
 time. Indeed Mr. Boylan was regarded as 
 a very kind master to all the slaves about 
 him ; that is, to his house servants ; nor did 
 he personally inflict much cruelty, if any, 
 upon his field hands. The overseer on his 
 
12 NARRATIVE. 
 
 nearest plantation (I know but little about 
 the rest) was a very cruel man ; in one in- 
 stance, as it was said among the slaves, he 
 whipped a man to death ; but of course de- 
 nied that the man died in consequence of the 
 whipping. Still it was the choice of my 
 wife to pass into the hands of Mr. Smith, as 
 she had become attached to him in conse- 
 quence of belonging to the same church, 
 and receiving his religious instruction and 
 counsel as her class-leader, and in conse- 
 quence of the peculiar devotedness to the 
 cause of religion for which he was noted, 
 and which he always seemed to manifest. — 
 But when she became his slave, he withheld 
 both from her and her children, the needful 
 food and clothing, while he exacted from 
 them to the uttermost all the labor they were 
 able to perform. Almost every article of 
 clothing worn either by my wife or children, 
 especially every article of much value, I had 
 to purchase; while the food he furnished 
 the family amounted to less than a meal a 
 day, and that of the coarser kind. I have 
 no remembrance that he ever gave us a 
 blanket or any other article of bedding, 
 although it is considered a rule at the South 
 that the master shall furnish each of his 
 slaves with one blanket a year. So that, 
 both as to food and clothing, I had in fact to 
 support both my wife and the children, 
 while he claimed them as his property, and 
 received all their labor. She was a house 
 
TREATMENT OF MY FAMILY. 13 
 
 servant to Mr. Smith, sometimes cooked the 
 food for his family, and usually took it from 
 the table, but her mistress was so particular 
 in giving it out to be cooked, or so watched 
 it, that she always knew whether it was all 
 returned ; and when the table was cleared 
 away, the stern old lady would sit by and 
 see that every dish (except the very little 
 she would send into the kitchen) was put 
 away, and then she would turn the key upon 
 it, so as to be sure her slaves should not die 
 of gluttony. This practice is common with 
 some families in that region ; but with others 
 it is not. It was not so in that of her less 
 pious master, Mr. Boylan, nor was it pre- 
 cisely so at my master's. We used to have 
 corn bread enough, and some meat. When 
 I was a boy, the pot-liquor, in which the 
 meat was boiled for the " great house," to- 
 gether with some little corn-meal balls that 
 had been thrown in just before' the meat was 
 done, was poured into a tray and set in the 
 middle of the yard, and a clam shell or pew- 
 ter spoon given to each of us children, who 
 would fall upon the delicious fare as greedi- 
 ly as pigs. It was not generally so much as 
 we wanted, consequently it was customary 
 for some of the white persons who saw us 
 from the piazza of the house where they 
 were sitting, to order the more stout and 
 greedy ones to eat slower, that those more 
 young and feeble might have a chance. But 
 it was not so with Mr. Smith: such luxu- 
 
14 NARRATIVE. 
 
 ries were more than he could afford, kind 
 and Christian man as he was considered to 
 be. So that by the expense of providing for 
 my wife and children, all the money I had 
 earned and could earn by my night labor 
 was consumed, till I found myself reduced 
 to five dollars, and this I lost one day in go- 
 ing to the plantation. My light of hope now 
 went out. My prop seemed to have given 
 way from under me. Sunk in the very 
 night or despair respecting my freedom, I 
 discovered myself, as though I had never 
 known it before, a husband, the father of 
 two children, a family looking up to me for 
 bread, and I a slave, penniless, and well 
 watched by my master, his wife and his 
 children, lest I should, perchance, catch the 
 friendly light of the stars to make some- 
 thing in order to supply the cravings of na- 
 ture in those with whom my soul was bound 
 up ; or lest some plan of freedom might lead 
 me to trim the light of diligence after the 
 day's labor was over, while the rest of the 
 world were enjoying the hours in pleasure or 
 sleep. 
 
 At this time an event occurred, which, 
 while it cast a cloud over the prospects of 
 some of my fellow slaves, was a rainbow 
 over mine. My master died ; and his widow, 
 by the will, became sole executrix of his 
 property. To the surprise of all, the bank 
 of which he had been cashier present- 
 ed a claim against the estate for forty thou- 
 
LABORING FOR FREEDOM. 15 
 
 sand dollars. By a compromise, this sum 
 was reduced to twenty thousand dollars; 
 and my mistress, to meet the amount, sold 
 some of her slaves, and hired out others. I 
 hired my time of her,* for which I paid her 
 a price varying from one hundred dollars to 
 one hundred and twenty dollars per year. 
 This was a privilege which comparatively 
 few slaves at the South enjoy ; and in this I 
 felt truly blessed. 
 
 I commenced the manufacture of pipes 
 and tobacco on an enlarged scale. I opened 
 a regular place of business, labelled my to- 
 bacco in a conspicuous manner with the 
 names of " Edward and Lunsford Lane" 
 and of some of the persons who sold it for 
 me, — established agencies for the sale in 
 various parts of the State, one at Fayette- 
 ville, one at Salisbury, one at Chapel Hill, 
 and so on, — sold my articles from my place 
 of business, and about town, also deposited 
 them in stores on commission, and thus, after 
 paying my mistress for my time, and render- 
 ing such support as necessary to my family, 
 
 * It is contrary to the laws of the State for a slave to 
 have command of his own time in this way, but in Raleigh 
 it is sometimes winked at. I knew one slave-man who 
 was doing well for himself, taken up by the public author- 
 ities and hired out for the public good, three times in suc- 
 cession for this offence. The time of hiring in such a case 
 is one year. The master is subject to a fine. But gener- 
 ally, as I have said, if the slave is orderly and appears to 
 be making nothing, neither he nor the master is inter- 
 fered with. 
 
16 NARRATIVE. 
 
 I found in the space of some six or eight 
 years, that I had collected the sum of one 
 thousand dollars. During this time I had 
 found it politic to go shabbily dressed, and 
 to appear to be very poor, but to pay my 
 mistress for my services promptly. I kept 
 my money hid, never venturing to put out a 
 penny, nor to let any body but my wife 
 know that I was making any. The thousand 
 dollars was what I supposed my mistress 
 would ask for me, and so I determined now 
 what I would do. 
 
 I went to my mistress and inquired what 
 was her price for me. She said a thousand 
 dollars. I then told her that I wanted to be 
 free, and asked her if she would sell me to 
 be made free. She said she would; and 
 accordingly I arranged with her, and with 
 the master of my wife, Mr. Smith, already 
 spoken of, for the latter to take my money * 
 and buy of her my freedom, as I could not 
 legally purchase it, and as the laws forbid 
 emancipation except, for " meritorious ser- 
 vices." This done, Mr. Smith endeavored 
 to emancipate me formally, and to get my 
 manumission recorded ; I tried also ; but the 
 court judged that I had done nothing " meri- 
 
 * Legally, my money belonged to my mistress ; and 
 she could have taken it and refused to grant me my free- 
 dom. But she was a very kind woman for a slave owner ; 
 and she would under the circumstances, scorn to do such 
 a thing. I havo known of slaves, however, served in 
 this way. 
 
BECOMING FREE. , 17 
 
 torious," and so I remained, nominally only, 
 the slave of Mr. Smith for a year ; when, 
 feeling unsafe in that relation, I accompa- 
 nied him to New York whither he was 
 going to purchase goods, and was there reg- 
 ularly and formally made a freeman, and 
 there my manumission was recorded. I re- 
 turned to my family in Raleigh, and endeav- 
 ored to do by them as a freeman should. I 
 had known what it was to be a slave, and I 
 knew what it was to be free. 
 
 But I am going too rapidly over my story. 
 When the money was paid to my mistress 
 and the conveyance fairly made to Mr. 
 Smith, I felt that I was free. And a queer 
 and a joyous feeling it is to one who has 
 been a slave. I cannot describe it, only it 
 seemed as though I was in heaven. 1 used 
 to lie awake whole nights thinking of it. 
 And oh, the strange thoughts that passed 
 through my soul, like so many rivers of 
 light; deep and rich were their waves as 
 they rolled ; — these were more to me than 
 sleep, more than soft slumber after long 
 months of watching over the decaying, 
 fading frame of a friend, and the loved one 
 laid to rest in the dust. But I cannot de- 
 scribe my feelings to those who have never 
 been slaves ; then why should I attempt it 1 
 He who has passed from spiritual death to 
 life, and received the witness within his soul 
 that his sins are forgiven, may possibly form 
 some distant idea, like the ray of the setting 
 3 
 
18 NARRATIVE. 
 
 sun from the far off mountain top, of the 
 emotions of an emancipated slave. That 
 opens heaven. To break the bonds of 
 slavery, opens up at once both earth and 
 heaven. Neither can be truly seen by us 
 while we are slaves. 
 
 And now will the reader take with me a 
 brief review of the road I had trodden. I 
 cannot here dwell upon its dark shades, 
 though some of these were black as the pen- 
 cillings of midnight, but upon the light that 
 had followed my path from my infancy up, 
 and had at length conducted me quite out of 
 the deep abyss of bondage. There is a 
 hymn opening with the following stanza, 
 which very much expresses my feelings : 
 
 " When all thy mercies, Oh my God, 
 My rising soul surveys, 
 Transported with the view, I'm lost 
 In wonder, love, and praise." 
 
 I had endured what a freeman would in- 
 deed call hard fare ; but my lot, on the 
 whole, had been a favored one for a slave. 
 It is known that there is a wide difference 
 in the situations of what are termed house 
 servants, and plantation hands. I, though 
 sometimes employed upon the plantation, 
 belonged to the former, which is the favored 
 class. My master, too, was esteemed a 
 kind and humane man; and altogether I 
 fared quite differently from many poor fel- 
 
PLANTATION SLAVES. 19 
 
 lows whom it makes my blood run chill to 
 think of, confined to the plantation, with not 
 enough of food and that little of the coarsest 
 kind, to satisfy the gnawings of hunger, — 
 compelled oftentimes, to hie away in the 
 night-time, when worn down with work, 
 and steal, (if it be stealing,) and privately 
 devour such things as they can lay their 
 hands upon, — made to feel the rigors of 
 bondage with no cessation, — torn away 
 sometimes from the few friends they love, 
 friends doubly dear because they are few, 
 and transported to a climate where in a few 
 hard years they die,- — or at best conducted 
 heavily and sadly to their resting place un- 
 der the sod, upon their old master's planta- 
 tion, — sometimes, perhaps, enlivening the 
 air with merriment, but a forced merriment, 
 that comes from a stagnant or a stupified 
 heart. Such as this is the fate of the plan- 
 tation slaves generally, but such was not my 
 lot. My way was comparatively light, and 
 what is better, it conducted to freedom. 
 And my wife and children were with me. 
 After my master. died, my mistress sold a 
 number of her slaves from their families 
 and friends — but not me. She sold several 
 children from their parents — but my children 
 were with me still. She sold two husbands 
 from their wives — but I was still with mine. 
 She sold one wife from her husband — but 
 mine had not been sold from me. The mas- 
 ter of my wife, Mr. Smith, had separated 
 
20 NARRATIVE. 
 
 members of families by sale — but not of 
 mine. With me and my house, the tenderer 
 tendrils of the heart still clung to where the 
 vine had entwined ; pleasant was its shade 
 and delicious its fruits to our taste, though 
 we knew, and what is more, we felt that we 
 were slaves. But all around 1 could see 
 where the vine had been torn down, and its 
 bleeding branches told of vanished joys, and 
 of new wrought sorrows, such as, slave 
 though I was, had never entered into my 
 practical experience. 
 
 I had never been permitted to learn to 
 read ; but I used to attend church, and there 
 I received instruction which I trust was of 
 some benefit to me. I trusted, too, that I 
 had experienced the renewing influences of 
 the gospel; and after obtaining from my 
 mistress a written permit, (a thing always 
 required in such a case,) I had been bap- 
 tised and received into fellowship with the 
 Baptist denomination. So that in religious 
 matters, I had been indulged in the exercise 
 of my own conscience — a favor not always 
 granted to slaves. Indeed I, with others, 
 was often told by the minister how good 
 God was in bringing us over to this country 
 from dark and benighted Africa, and per- 
 mitting us to listen to the sound of the gos- 
 pel. To me, God also granted temporal 
 freedom, which man without God's consent, 
 fyad stolen away. 
 
 I often heard select portions of the scrip- 
 
RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES. 2\ 
 
 tares read. And on the Sabbath there was 
 one sermon preached expressly for the color- 
 ed people which it was generally my priv- 
 ilege to hear. I became quite familiar with 
 the texts, "Servants be obedient to your 
 masters." — " Not with eye service as men 
 pleasers." — {■ He that knoweth his master's 
 will and doeth it not, shall be beaten with 
 many stripes," and others of this class: for 
 they formed the basis of most of these public 
 instructions to us. The first command- 
 ment impressed upon our minds was to ooey 
 our masters, and the second was like uuto 
 it, namely, to do as much work when they 
 or the overseers were not watching us as 
 when they were. But connected with these 
 instructions there was more or less that was 
 truly excellent; though mixed up with 
 much that would sound strangely in the 
 ears of freedom. There was one very kind 
 hearted Episcopal minister whom I often 
 used to hear; he was very popular with 
 the colored people. But after he had 
 preached a sermon to us in which he argued 
 from the Bible that it was the will of heaven 
 from ail eternity we should be slaves, and 
 our masters be our owners, most of us left 
 him; for like some of the faint hearted dis- 
 ciples in early times we said,—" This is a 
 hard saying, Avho can bear it?" 
 
 My manumission, as I shall call it; that 
 is, the bill of sale conveying me to Mr. 
 Smith, was dated Sept. 9th, 1835. I contin- 
 
22 NARRATIVE. 
 
 ued in the tobacco and pipe business as al- 
 ready described, to which I added a small 
 trade in a variety of articles ; and some two 
 years before I left Raleigh, I entered also 
 into a considerable business in wood, which 
 I used to purchase by the acre standing, 
 cut it, haul it into the city, deposit it in a 
 yard and sell it out as I advantageously 
 could. Also I was employed about the office 
 of the Governor as I shall hereafter relate. 
 I used to keep one or two horses, and va- 
 rious vehicles, by which I did a variety of 
 work at hauling about town. Of course I 
 had to hire more or less help, to carry on 
 my business. 
 
 In the manufacture of tobacco I met with 
 considerable competition, but none that ma- 
 terially injured me. The method of prepar- 
 ing it having originated with me and my 
 father, we found it necessary, in order to 
 secure the advantage of the invention, to 
 keep it to ourselves, and decline, though of- 
 ten solicited, going into partnership with 
 others. Those who undertook the manufac- 
 ture could neither give the article a flavor so 
 pleasant as ours, nor manufacture it so 
 cheaply, so they either failed in it, or suc- 
 ceeded but poorly. 
 
 Not long after obtaining my own freedom, 
 I began seriously to think about purchasing 
 the freedom of my family. The first propo- 
 sition was that I should buy my wife, and 
 that we should jointly labor to obtain the 
 
BARGAIN FOR MY FAMILY. 23 
 
 freedom of the children afterwards as we 
 were able. But that idea was abandoned, 
 when her master, Mr. Smith, refused to sell 
 her to me for less than one thousand dollars, 
 a sum which then appeared too much for me 
 to raise. 
 
 Afterwards, however, I conceived the idea 
 of purchasing at once the entire family. I 
 went to Mr. Smith to learn his price, which 
 he put at three thousand dollars for my wife 
 and six children, the number we then had. 
 This seemed a large sum, both because it 
 was a great deal for me to raise ; and also 
 because Mr. Smith, when he bought my wife 
 and two children, had actually paid but five 
 hundred and sixty dollars for them, and had 
 received, ever since, their labor, while I had 
 almost entirely supported them, both as to 
 food and clothing. Altogether, therefore, 
 the case seemed a hard one, but as I was 
 entirely in his power I must do the best I 
 could. At length he concluded, perhaps 
 partly of his own motion, and partly through 
 the persuasion of a friend, to sell the family 
 for $2,500, as I wished to free them, though 
 he contended still that they were worth 
 three thousand dollars. Perhaps they would 
 at that time have brought this larger sum, 
 if sold for the Southern market. The ar- 
 rangement with Mr. Smith was made in 
 December, 1838. I gave him five notes of 
 five hundred dollars each, the first due in 
 January, 1840, and one in January each 
 
24 NARRATIVE. 
 
 succeeding year ; for which he transferred 
 my family into my own possession, with a 
 bond to give me a bill of sale when I should 
 pay the notes. With this arrangement, we 
 found ourselves living in our own house— a 
 house which I had previously purchased — - 
 in January, 1839. 
 
 After moving my family, my wife was for 
 a short time sick, in consequence of her la- 
 bor and the excitement in moving, and her 
 excessive joy. I told her that it reminded 
 me of a poor shoemaker in the neighbor- 
 hood who purchased a ticket in a lottery ; 
 but not expecting to draw, the fact of his 
 purchasing it had passed out of his mind. 
 But one day as he was at work on his last, 
 he was informed that his ticket had drawn 
 the liberal prize often thousand dollars ; and 
 the poor man was so overjoyed, that he fell 
 back on his seat, and immediately expired. 
 
 In this new and joyful situation, we found 
 ourselves getting along very well, until Sep- 
 tember, 1840, when to my surprise, as I was 
 passing the street one day, engaged in my 
 business, the following note was handed me. 
 " Read it," said the officer, " or if you can- 
 not read, get some white man to read it to 
 you." Here it is, verbatim: 
 
 To Lunsford Lane, a free man of Colour 
 
 Take notice that whereas complaint has been made to us 
 
 two Justices of the Peace for the county of Wake and 
 
 state of North Carolina that you are a free negro from 
 
 another state who has migrated into this state contrary to 
 
NOTIFIED TO LEAVE THE STATE. 25 
 
 the provisions of the act of assembly concerning free ne- 
 gros and mulattoes now notice is given you that unless you 
 leave and remove out of this state within twenty days that 
 you will be proceeded against for the penalty porscribed by 
 said act of assembly and be otherwise dealt with as the law 
 directs given under our hands and seals this the 5th Sept 
 H840 WILLIS SCOTT JP (Seal) 
 
 JORDAN WOMBLE JP (Seal) 
 • 
 
 This was a terrible blow to me; for it 
 prostrated at once all my hopes in my cher- 
 ished object of obtaining the freedom of my 
 family, and led me to expect nothing but a 
 separation from them forever. 
 
 In order that the reader may understand 
 the full force of the foregoing notice, I will 
 copy the Law of the State under which it 
 was issued : 
 
 Sec. 65. It shall not be lawful for any free negro or 
 mulatto to migrate into this State : and if he or she shall 
 do so, contrary to the provisions of this act, and being 
 thereof informed, shall not, within twenty days thereafter, 
 remove out of the State, he or she being thereof convicted 
 in the manner hereafter directed, shall be liable to a pen- 
 alty of five hundred dollars ; and upon failure to pay the 
 same, within the time prescribed in the judgment awarded 
 against such person or persons, he or she shall be liable to 
 be held in servitude and at labor a term of time not ex- 
 ceeding ten years,, in such manner and upon such terms 
 as may be provided by the court awarding such sentence, 
 and the proceeds arising therefrom shall be paid over to 
 the county trustee for county purposes : Provided, that 
 in case any free negro or mulatto shall pay the penalty of 
 five hundred dollars, according to the provisions of this act, 
 it shall be the duty of such free negro or mulatto to re- 
 move him or herself out of this State within twenty days 
 thereafter, and for every such failure, he or she shall be 
 
26 NARRATIVE. 
 
 subject to the like penalty, as is prescribed for a failure to 
 remove in the first instance. — Revised Statutes North 
 Carolina, chap. '111. 
 
 The next section provides that if the free 
 person of color so notified, does not leave 
 within the twenty days after receiving the 
 notice, he may be arrested on a warrant from 
 any Justice, and be held to bail for his ap- 
 pearance at the next county court, when he 
 will be subject to the penalties specified a- 
 bove ; or in case of his failure to give bonds, 
 he may be sent to jail. 
 
 I made known my situation to my friends, 
 and after taking legal counsel it was deter- 
 mined to induce, if possible, the complain- 
 ants to prosecute no farther at present, 
 and then as the Legislature of the State 
 was to sit in about two months, to petition 
 that body for permission to remain in the 
 State until I could complete the purchase 
 of my family ; after which I was willing, if 
 necessary, to leave. 
 
 From January 1st, 1837, I had been em- 
 ployed as I have mentioned, in the office of 
 the Governor of the State, principally under 
 the direction of his private Secretary, in 
 keeping the office in order, taking the letters 
 to the Post Office, and doing such other 
 duties of the sort as occurred from time to 
 time. This circumstance, with the fact of 
 the high standing in the city of the family of 
 my former master, and of the former masters 
 of my wife, had given me the friendship of 
 
EFFORTS TO REMAIN. 
 
 27 
 
 the first people in the place generally, who 
 from that time forward acted towards me 
 the friendly part. 
 
 Mr. Battle, then private Secretary to 
 Governor Dudley, addressed the following 
 letter to the prosecuting attorney in my be- 
 half: 
 
 Raleigh, Nov. 3, 1840. 
 
 Dear Sir : — Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, has 
 been in the employ of the State under me since my enter- 
 ing on my present situation. I understand thai? under a 
 law of the State, he has been notified to leave, and that 
 the time is now at hand. 
 
 In the discharge of the duties I had from him, I have 
 found him prompt, obedient, and faithful. At this particu- 
 lar time, his absence to me would be much regretted, as I 
 am now just fixing up my books and other papers in the 
 new office, and I shall not have time to learn another what 
 he can already do so well. With me the period of the 
 Legislature is a very busy one, and I am compelled to 
 have a servant who understands the business I want done, 
 and one I can trust. 1 would not wish to be an obstacle 
 in the execution of any law, but the enforcing of the one 
 against him, will be doing me a serious inconvenience, 
 and the object of this letter is to ascertain whether I could 
 not procure a suspension of the sentence till after the ad- 
 journment of the Legislature, say about 1st January, 1841. 
 
 I should feel no hesitation in giving my word that he 
 will conduct himself orderly and obediently. 
 I am most respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. C. BATTLE. 
 
 G. W. Haywood, Esq. 
 
 Attorney at Law, Raleigh, N. C. 
 
 To the above letter , the following reply 
 was made : 
 
28 NARRATIVE. 
 
 Raleigh, Nov. 3, 1840. 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I have no objection so far as I am 
 concerned, that all further proceedings against Lunsford 
 should be postponed until after the adjournment of the 
 Legislature. 
 
 The process now out against him is one issued by two 
 magistrates, Messrs. Willis Scott and Jordan Womble, over 
 which I have no control. You had better see them to-day, 
 and perhaps, at your request, they will delay further action 
 on the subject. Respectfully yours, 
 
 GEO. W. HAYWOOD. 
 
 Mr. Battle then enclosed the foregoing 
 correspondence to Messrs. Scott and Wom- 
 ble, requesting their " favorable considera- 
 tion." They returned the correspondence, 
 but neglected to make any reply. 
 
 In consequence, however, of this action on 
 the part of my friends, I was permitted to 
 remain without further interruption, until 
 the day the Legislature commenced its ses- 
 sion. On that day a warrant was served 
 upon me, to appear before the county court, 
 to answer for the sin of having remained in 
 the place of my birth for the space of twenty 
 days and more after being warned out. I 
 escaped going to jail through the kindness of 
 Mr. Haywood, a son of my former master, 
 and Mr. Smith, who jointly became se- 
 curity for my appearance at court. 
 
 This was on Monday ; and on Wednes- 
 day I appeared before the court; but as my 
 prosecutors were not ready for the trial, the 
 case was laid over three months, to the next 
 term. 
 
EFFORTS TO REMAIN. 29 
 
 ] then proceeded to get up a petition to 
 
 i the Legislature. It required much hard la- 
 
 I bor and persuasion on my part to start it ; 
 
 but after that, I readily obtained the signa- 
 
 1 tures of the principal men in the place. 
 
 Then I went round to the members, many 
 
 of whom were known to me, calling upon 
 
 them at their rooms, and urging them for 
 
 my sake, for humanity's sake, for the sake 
 
 of my wife and little ones, whose hopes had 
 
 I been excited by the idea that they were. even 
 
 I now free ; I appealed to them as husbands, 
 
 I fathers, brothers, sons, to vote in favor of 
 i my petition, and allow me to remain in the 
 •State long enough to purchase my family. 
 
 II was doing well in business, and it would 
 1 be but a short time before I could accomplish 
 
 I the object. Then, if it was desired, I and 
 my wile and children, redeemed from bond- 
 age, would together seek a more friendly 
 home, beyond the dominion of slavery. The 
 following is the petition presented, endorsed 
 as the reader will see : 
 
 To the Hon. General Assembly of the State of North Carolina. 
 
 Gentlemen : — The petition of Lunsford Lane humbly . 
 shews — That about five years ago, he purchased his freedom 
 from \his mistress, Mrs. Sherwood Haywood, and by great 
 economy and industry has paid the purchase money j that he 
 has a wife and seven children whom he has agreed to purchase, 
 and for whom he has paid a part of the purchase money 3 but 
 not having paid in lull, is not yet able to leave the State, with- 
 out parting with his wife and children. 
 
 Your petitioner prays your Honorable Body to pass a law 
 allowing him to remain a limited time within the State, until 
 
 4 
 
30 NARRATIVE. 
 
 he can remove his family also. Your petitioner will give bond 
 and good security for his good behaviour while he remains. 
 Your petitioner will ever pray, &c. 
 
 LUNSFORD LANE. 
 
 The undersigned are well acquainted with Lunsford Lane, 
 the petitioner, and join in his petition to the Assembly for re- 
 lief. 
 
 Charles Manly, Drury Lacy, 
 
 R. W. Haywood, Will. Peck, 
 
 Eleanor Haywood, W. A. Stith, 
 
 Wm. Hill, A. B. Stith, 
 
 R. Smith, J. Brown, 
 
 Wm. Peace, William White, 
 
 Jos. Peace, Geo. Simpson, 
 
 Wm. M'Pheeters, Jno. I. Christophers, 
 
 Wm. Boylan, John Primrose, 
 
 Fabius J. Haywood, Hugh M'Queen, 
 
 D. W. Stone, Alex. J. Lawrence, 
 
 T. Meredith, C. L. Hinton. 
 A.J. Battle, 
 
 Lunsford Lane, the petitioner herein, has been servant to the 
 Executive Office since the 1st of January, 1837, and it gives 
 me pleasure to state that, during the whole time, without ex- 
 ception, I have found him faithful and obedient, in keeping 
 every thing committed to his care in good condition. From 
 what I have seen of his conduct and demeanor, I cheerfully join 
 in the petition for his relief. C. C. BATTLE, 
 
 P. Secretary to Gov. Dudley. 
 Raleigh, Nov. 20, 1840. 
 
 The foregoing petition was presented to 
 the Senate. It was there referred to a com- 
 mittee. I knew when the committee was 
 to report, and watched about the State 
 House that I might receive the earliest news 
 of the fate of my petition. I should have 
 gone within the senate chamber, but no col- 
 ored man has that permission. I do not 
 know why, unless for fear he may hear the 
 name of Liberty. By and by a member 
 
EFFORTS TO REMAIN. 31 
 
 came out, and as he passed me, said " Well, 
 Lunsford, they have laid you out ; the nigger 
 Bill is killed" I need not tell the reader 
 that my feelings did not enter into the mer- 
 riment of this honorable senator. To me, 
 the fate of my petition was the last blow to 
 my hopes. I had done all I could do, had 
 said all I could say, laboring night and day, 
 to obtain a favorable reception to my peti- 
 tion ; but all in vain. Nothing appeared 
 before me but I must leave the State, and 
 leave my wife and my children never to see 
 them more. My friends had also done all 
 they could for me. 
 
 And why must I be banished? Ever af- 
 ter I entertained the first idea of being free, 
 I had endeavored so to conduct myself as 
 not to become obnoxious to the white inhab- 
 itants, knowing as I did their power, and 
 their hostility to the colored people. The 
 two points necessary in such a case I had 
 kept constantly in mind. First, I had made 
 no display of the little property or money I 
 possessed, but in every way I wore as much 
 as possible the aspect of poverty. Second, 
 I had never appeared to be even so intelli- 
 gent as I really was. This all colored peo- 
 ple at the south, free and slaves, find it pe- 
 culiarly necessary to their own comfort and 
 safety to observe. 
 
 I should, perhaps, have mentioned that 
 on the same day I received the notice to 
 leave Raleigh, similar notices were present- 
 
32 NARRATIVE. 
 
 ed to two other free colored people, who had 
 been slaves ; were trying to purchase their 
 families ; and were otherwise in a like situ- 
 ation to myself. And they took the same 
 course I did to endeavor to remain a limited 
 time. Isaac Hunter, who had a family with 
 five children, was one; and Waller Free- 
 man, who had six children, was the other. 
 Mr., Hunter's petition went before mine ; and 
 a bill of some sort passed the Senate, which 
 was so cut down in the Commons, as to al- 
 low him only twenty days to remain in the 
 State. He has since, however, obtained the 
 freedom of his family, who are living with 
 him in Philadelphia. 
 
 Mr. Freeman's petition received no better 
 fate than mine. His family were the prop- 
 erty of Judge Badger, who was afterwards 
 made a member of Mr. Harrison's cabinet. 
 When Mr. Badger removed to Washington, 
 he took with him among other slaves this 
 family ; and Freeman removed also to that 
 city. After this, when Mr. B. resigned his 
 office, with the other members of the cabi- 
 net, under President Tyler, he entered into 
 some sort of contract with Freeman, to sell 
 him this family, which he left at Washing- 
 ton, while he took the rest of his slaves 
 back to Raleigh. Freeman is now endeav- 
 oring to raise money to make the purchase. 
 
 It was now between two and three months 
 to the next session of the court ; and I knew 
 that before or at that time I must leave the 
 
LEAVING THE STATE. 33 
 
 State. I was bound to appear before the 
 court ; but it had been arranged between my 
 lawyer and the prosecuting attorney, that if 
 I would leave the State, and pay the costs of 
 court, the case should be dropped, so that 
 my bondsmen should not be involved. I 
 therefore concluded to stay as long as I pos- 
 sibly could, and then leave. I also deter- 
 mined to appeal to the kindness of the friends 
 of the colored man in the North, for assist- 
 ance, though I had but little hope of suc- 
 ceeding in this way. Yet it was the only 
 course I could think of, by which I could 
 see any possible hope of accomplishing the 
 object. 
 
 I had paid Mr. Smith six hundred and 
 twenty dollars; and had a house and lot 
 worth five hundred dollars, which he had 
 promised to take when I should raise the bal- 
 ance. He gave me also a bill of sale of one of 
 my children, Laura, in consideration of two 
 hundred and fifty dollars of the money already 
 paid ; and her I determinecTto take with me 
 to the North. The costs of court which I 
 had to meet, amounted to between thirty and 
 forty dollars, besides the fee of my lawyer. 
 
 On the 18th of May, 1841, three days af- 
 ter the court commenced its session, I bid 
 adieu to my friends in Raleigh, and set out 
 for the city of New York. I took with me 
 a letter of introduction and recommendation 
 from Mr. John Primrose, a very estimable 
 man, a recommendatory certificate from Mr. 
 4* 
 
34 NARRATIVE. 
 
 Battle, and a letter from the church of which 
 I was a member, together with such papers 
 relating the affair as I had in my possession. 
 Also I received the following : 
 
 Raleigh, N. C. May, 1841. 
 The bearer, Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, for some 
 time a resident in this place, being: about to leave North Caro- 
 ina in search of a more favorable location to pursue his trade, 
 has desired us to give him a certificate of his good conduct 
 heretofore. 
 
 We take pleasure in saying that his habits are temperate and 
 industrious, that his conduct has been orderly and proper, and 
 that he has for these qualities been distinguished among his 
 «aste. 
 
 Wm. Hill, R. Smith, 
 
 Weston R. Gales, C. Dewey. 
 
 C. L. Hinton, 
 
 The above was certified to officially in the 
 usual form by the clerk of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas and Quarter Sessions. 
 
 My success in New York was at first 
 small ; but at length I fell in with two friends 
 who engaged to raise for me three hundred 
 dollars, provided 1 should first obtain from 
 other sources the balance of the sum required, 
 which balance would be one thousand and 
 eighty dollars. Thus encouraged, I pro- 
 ceeded to Boston ; and in the city and vi- 
 cinity the needful sum was contributed by 
 about the 1st of April, 1842. My thanks I 
 have endeavored to express in my poor way 
 to the many friends who so kindly and lib- 
 erally assisted me. I cannot reward them ; 
 I hope they will receive their reward in 
 another world. If the limits of this publi- 
 
AT BOSTON. 35 
 
 cation would permit, I should like to record 
 the names of many to whom I am very es- 
 pecially indebted for their kindness and aid, 
 not only in contributing, but in introducing 
 me, and opening various ways of access to 
 others. 
 
 On the 5th of February, 1842, rinding that 
 I should soon have in my possession the sum 
 necessary to procure my family, and fearing 
 that there might be danger in visiting Ra- 
 leigh for that purpose, in consequence of the 
 strong opposition of many of the citizens 
 against colored people, their opposition to 
 me, and their previously persecuting me 
 from the city, I wrote to Mr. Smith, request- 
 ing him to see the Governor, and obtain un- 
 der his hand a permit to visit the State for a 
 sufficient time to accomplish this business. 1 
 requested Mr. Smith to publish the permit in 
 one or two of the city papers, and then to 
 enclose the original to me. This letter he 
 answered, under date of Raleigh, 19th Feb. 
 1841, as follows.: 
 
 Lunsford : — Your letter of the 5th inst. came duly to hand, 
 and in reply i have to inform you, that owing to the absence of 
 Gov. Morehead, I cannot send you the permit you requested, 
 but this will make no difference, for you can come home, and 
 -after your arrival you may obtain one to remain long- enough to 
 settle up your affairs. You ought of course to apply to the Gov- 
 ernor immediately on your arrival, before any malicious per- 
 son would have time to inform against you ; I don't think by 
 pursuing this course you need apprehend any danger. 
 * # # # * * * 
 
 We are all alive at present in Raleigh on the subjects of tem- 
 perance and religion. We have taken into the temperance so- 
 cieties, about five hundred members, and about fifty persons 
 
36 NARRATIVE. 
 
 have been happily converted. * * * The work seems still 
 to be spreading, and such a lime I have never seen before in 
 my life. Glorious times truly. 
 
 Do try and get all the religion in your heart you possibly can, 
 for it is the only thing worth having after all. 
 
 Your, &c. B. B. SMITH. 
 
 The way now appeared to be in a measure 
 open ; also I thought that the religious and 
 temperance interest mentioned in the latter 
 portion of Mr. Smith's letter, augured a state 
 of feeling which would be a protection to me. 
 But fearing still that there might be danger 
 in visiting Raleigh without the permit from 
 the Governor, or at least wishing to take 
 every possible precaution, I addressed anoth- 
 er letter to Mr. Smith, and received under 
 date of March 12th, a reply, from which I 
 copy as follows : 
 
 " The Governor has just returned, and I called upon him to 
 get the permit as you requested, but he said he had no authority 
 by law to grant one ; and he told me to say to you, that you 
 might in perfect safety come home in a quiet mariner, and re- 
 main twenty days without being interrupted. I also consulted 
 Mr. Manly [a lawyer] and he told me the same thing. * * * 
 Surely you need not fear any thing under these circumstances. 
 You had therefore better come on just as soon as possible." 
 
 I need not say, what the reader has al- 
 ready seen, that my life so far had been one 
 of joy succeeding sorrow, and sorrow fol- 
 lowing joy ; of hope, of despair, of bright 
 prospects, of gloom ; and of as many hues 
 as ever appear on the varied sky, from the 
 black of midnight, or the deep brown of a 
 
VISIT TO RALEIGH. 37 
 
 tempest, to the bright warm glow of a clear 
 noon day. On the 11th of April, it was noon 
 with me ; I left Boston on my way for Ra- 
 leigh with high hopes, intending to pay over 
 the money for my family and return with 
 them to Boston, which I designed should be 
 my future home; for there I had found 
 friends, and there I would find a grave. The 
 visit I was making to the South was to be a 
 farewell one ; and 1 did not dream that my 
 old cradle, hard as it once had jostled me, 
 would refuse to rock me a pleasant, or even 
 an affectionate good bye. I thought, too, 
 that the assurances I had received from the 
 Governor, through Mr. Smith, and the as- 
 surances of other friends, were a sufficient 
 guaranty that I might visit the home of my 
 boyhood, of my youth, of my manhood, in 
 peace, especially as I was to stay but for a 
 few days and then to return. With these 
 thoughts, and with the thoughts of my fam- 
 ily and freedom, I pursued my way to Ra- 
 leigh, and arrived there on the 23d of the 
 month. It was Saturday about four o'clock, 
 P. M. when I found myself once more in the 
 midst of my family. With them I remained 
 over the Sabbath, as it was sweet to spend 
 a little time with them after so long an ab- 
 sence, an absence filled with so much of in- 
 terest to us, and as I could not do any busi- 
 ness until the beginning of the week. On 
 Monday morning between eight and nine 
 o'clock, while I was making ready to leave 
 
38 NARRATIVE. 
 
 the house for the first time after my arrival, 
 to go the store of Mr. Smith, where I was 
 to transact my business with him, two con- 
 stables, Messrs. Murray and Scott, entered, 
 accompanied by two other men, and sum- 
 moned me to appear immediately before the 
 police. I accordingly accompanied them to 
 the City Hall, but as it was locked and the 
 officers could not at once find the key, we 
 were told that the court would be held in 
 Mr. Smith's store, a large and commodious 
 room. This was what is termed in common 
 phrase, in Raleigh, a "call court." The 
 Mayor, Mr. Loring, presided, assisted by 
 William Boylan and Jonathan Busbye, Esqs. 
 Justices of the Peace. There were a large 
 number of people together — more than could 
 obtain admission to the room, and a large 
 company of mobocratic spirits crowded 
 around the door. Mr. Loring read the writ, 
 setting forth that I had been guilty of deliv- 
 ering abolition lectures in the State of Massa- 
 chusetts. He asked me whether I was guilty 
 or not guilty. I told him I did not know 
 whether I had given abolition lectures or 
 not, but if it pleased the court, I would re- 
 late the course I had pursued during my ab- 
 sence from Raleigh. He then said that I 
 was at liberty to speak. * 
 
 The circumstances under which I left 
 Raleigh, said I, are perfectly familiar to you. 
 It is known that I had no disposition to re- 
 move from this city, but resorted to every 
 
BEFORE THE COURT. 39 
 
 lawful means to remain. After I found that 
 I could not be permitted to stay, I went 
 away leaving behind everything! held dear, 
 with the exception of one child, whom I 
 took with me, after paying two hundred 
 and fifty dollars for her. It is also known 
 to you and to many other persons here pres- 
 ent, that I had engaged to purchase my 
 wife and children of their master, Mr. Smith, 
 for the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars, 
 and that I had paid of this sum (including 
 my house and lot) eleven hundred and 
 twenty dollars, leaving a balance to be made 
 up of thirteen hundred and eighty dollars. 
 I had previously to that lived in Raleigh, a 
 slave, the property of Mr. Sherwood Hay- 
 wood, and had purchased my ' freedom by 
 paying the sum of one thousand dollars. 
 But being driven away, no longer permitted 
 to live in this city, to raise the balance of 
 the money due on my family, my last re- 
 sort was to call upon the friends of human- 
 ity in other places, to assist me. 
 
 I went to the city of Boston, and there I 
 related the story of my persecutions here, 
 the same as I have now stated to you. The 
 people gave ear to my statements ; and one 
 of them, Rev. Mr. Neale, wrote back, un- 
 known to me, to Mr. Smith, inquiring of 
 him whether the statements made by me 
 were correct. After Mr. Neale received the 
 answer, he sent for me, informed me of his 
 having written, and read to me the reply. 
 
40 NARRATIVE. 
 
 The letter fully satisfied Mr. Neale and his 
 friends. He placed it in my hands, remark- 
 ing that it would, in a great measure, do 
 away the necessity of using the other docu- 
 ments in my possession. I then with that 
 letter in my hands went out from house to 
 house, from place of business to place of 
 business, and from church to church, re- 
 lating, where I could gain an ear, the same 
 heart-rending and soul-trying story which I 
 am now repeating to you. In pursuing that 
 course, the people, first one and then anoth- 
 er contributed, until I had succeeded in 
 raising the amount alluded to, namely, thir- 
 teen hundred and eighty dollars. I may. 
 have had contributions from abolition- 
 ists , but I did not stop to ask those who as- 
 sisted me whether they were anti-slavery or 
 pro-slavery, for I considered that the money, 
 coming from either, would accomplish the 
 object I had in view. These are the facts; 
 and now, sir, it remains for you to say, 
 whether I have been giving aiolition lec- 
 tures or not. 
 
 In the course of my remarks I presented 
 the letter of Mr. Smith to Mr. Neale, show- 
 ing that I had acted the open part while in 
 Massachusetts ; also I referred to my having 
 written to Mr. Smith requesting him to ob- 
 tain for me the permit of the Governor ; and 
 I showed to the court, Mr. Smith's letters in 
 reply, in order to satisfy them that I had 
 reason to believe I should be unmolested in 
 my return. 
 
THE MOB. 41. 
 
 Mr. Loring then whispered to some of 
 the leading men ; after which he remarked 
 that he saw nothing in what I had done, 
 according to my statements, implicating me 
 in a manner worthy of notice. He called 
 upon any present who might be in posses- 
 sion of information tending to disprove what 
 I had said, or to show any wrong on my 
 part, to produce it, otherwise I should be 
 set at liberty. No person appeared against 
 me ; ' so I was discharged. 
 
 I started to leave the house ; but just be- 
 fore I got to the door I met Mr. James 
 Litchford, who touched me on the shoulder, 
 and I followed him back. He observed to 
 me that if I went out of that room I should 
 in less than five minutes be a dead man ; for 
 there was a mob outside waiting to drink my 
 life. Mr. Loring then spoke to me again, 
 and said that notwithstanding I had been 
 found guilty of nothing, yet public opinion 
 was law ; and he advised me to leave the 
 place the next day, otherwise he was con- 
 vinced I should have to suffer death. I re- 
 plied, " not to-morrow, but to-day." He 
 answered that I could not go that day, be- 
 cause I had not done my business. I told 
 him that I would leave my business in his 
 hands and in those of other such gentlemen 
 as himself, who might settle it for me and 
 send my family to meet me at Philadelphia. 
 This was concluded upon, and a guard ap- 
 pointed to conduct me to the depot. I took 
 5 
 
42 NARRATIVE. 
 
 my seat in the cars, when the mob that had 
 followed us surrounded me, and declared 
 that the cars should not go, if I were per- 
 mitted to go in them. Mr. Loring inquired 
 what they wanted of me ; he told them that 
 there had been an examination, and nothing 
 had been found against me ; that they were 
 at the examination invited to speak if they 
 knew aught to condemn me, but they 
 had remained silent, and that now it was 
 but right I should be permitted to leave in 
 peace. They replied that they wanted a 
 more thorough investigation, that they wish- 
 ed to search my trunks (I had but one trunk) 
 and see if I was not in possession of aboli- 
 tion papers. It now became evident that 
 I should be unable to get off in the cars ; 
 and my friends advised me to go the short- 
 est way possible to jail, for my safety. 
 They said they were persuaded that what 
 the rabble wanted was to get me into their 
 possession, and then, to murder me. The 
 mob looked dreadfully enraged, and seemed 
 to lap for blood. The whole city was in an 
 uproar. But the first men and the more 
 wealthy were my friends: and they did 
 everything in their power to protect me. 
 Mr. Boylan, whose name has repeatedly 
 occurred in this publication, was more than 
 a father to me; and Mr. Smith and Mr. 
 Loring, and many other gentlemen, whose 
 names it would give me pleasure to mention, 
 were exceedingly kind. 
 
IN JAIL. 43 
 
 The guard then conducted me through 
 the mob to the prison ; and I felt joyful that 
 even a prison could protect me. Looking 
 out from the prison window, I saw my 
 trunk in the hands of Messrs. Johnson, Scott, 
 and others, who were taking it to the City 
 Hall for examination. I understood after- 
 wards that they opened my trunk ; and as 
 the lid flew up, Lo ! a paper ! a paper ! I 
 Those about seized it, three or four at once, 
 as hungry dogs would a piece of meat after 
 forty days famine. But the meat quickly 
 turned to a stone; for the paper it happened, 
 was one printed in Raleigh, and edited by 
 Weston R. Gales, a nice man to be sure, 
 but no abolitionist. The only other printed 
 or written things in the trunk were some 
 business cards of a firm in Raleigh — not in- 
 cendiary. 
 
 Afterwards I saw from the window Mr. 
 Scott, accompanied by Mr. Johnson, lugging 
 my carpet-bag in the same direction my 
 trunk had gone. It was opened at the City 
 Hall, and found actually to contain a pair 
 of old shoes, and a pair of old boots ! — but 
 they did not conclude that these were incen- 
 diary. 
 
 Mr. Smith now came to the prison and 
 told me that the examination had been com- 
 pleted, and nothing found against ,me; but 
 that it would not be safe for me to leave the 
 prison immediately. It was agreed that I 
 should remain in prison until after night-fall, 
 
44 NARRATIVE. 
 
 and then steal secretly away, being let 
 out by the keeper, and pass unnoticed to the 
 house of my old and tried friend Mr. Boy- 
 Ian. Accordingly I was discharged between 
 nine and ten o'clock. I went by the back 
 way leading to Mr. Boylan's ; but soon and 
 suddenly a large company of men sprang 
 upon me, and instantly I found myself in 
 their possession. They conducted me some- 
 times high above ground and sometimes 
 dragging me along, but as silently as possi- 
 ble, in the direction of the gallows, which is 
 always kept standing upon the Common, or 
 as it is called "the pines," or '" piny old 
 field." I now expected to pass speedily into 
 the world of spirits; I thought of that un- 
 seen region to which I seemed to be hasten- 
 ing ; and then my mind would return to my 
 wife and children, and the labors I had made 
 to redeem them from bondage. Although I 
 had the money to pay for them according to 
 a bargain already made, it seemed to me 
 some white man would get it, and they 
 would die in slavery, without benefit from 
 my exertions and the contributions of my 
 friends. Then the thought of my own 
 death, to occur in a few brief moments, 
 would rush over me, and I seemed to bid 
 adieu in spirit to all earthly things, and to 
 hold communion already with eternity. But 
 at length I observed those who were carry- 
 ing me away, changed their course a little 
 from the direct line to the gallows, and hope, 
 
IN THE HANDS OF THE MOB. 45 
 
 a faint beaming, sprung up within me ; but 
 then as they were taking me to the woods, 
 I thought they intended to murder me there, 
 in a place where they would be less likely 
 to ye interrupted than in so public a spot as 
 where the gallows stood. They conducted 
 me to ^a rising ground among the trees, and 
 set me down. "Now," said they, u tell us 
 the truth about those abolition lectures you 
 have been giving at the North." I replied 
 that I had related the circumstances before 
 the court in the morning ; and could only 
 repeat what I had then said. "But that 
 was not the truth— tell us the truth." I 
 again said that any different story would be 
 false, and as I supposed I was in a few min- 
 utes to die, I would not, whatever they 
 might think I would say under other cir- 
 cumstances, pass into the other world with 
 a lie upon my lips. Said one, " you were 
 always, Lunsford, when you were here, a 
 clever fellow, and I did not think you would 
 be engaged in such business as giving aboli- 
 tion lectures." To this and similar remarks, 
 I replied that the people of Raleigh had al- 
 ways said the abolitionists did not believe in 
 buying slaves, but contended that their mas- 
 ters ought to free them without pay. I had 
 been laboring to buy my family ; and how 
 then could they ^suppose me to be in league 
 with the abolitionists ? 
 
 After other conversation of this kind, and af- 
 ter they seemed to have become tired of ques- 
 
46 NARRATIVE. 
 
 tioning me, they held a consultation in a low- 
 whisper among themselves. Then a bucket 
 was brought and set down by my side ; but 
 what it contained or for what it was intend- 
 ed, I could not divine. But soon, one of the 
 number came forward with a pillow, and 
 then hope sprung up, a flood of light and 
 joy within me. The heavy weight on my 
 heart rolled off; death had passed by and I 
 unharmed. They commenced stripping me 
 till every rag of clothes was removed ; and 
 then the bucket was set near, and I discov- 
 ered it to contain tar. One man, I will do 
 him the honor to record his name, Mr. 
 WILLIAM ANDRES, a journeyman print- 
 er, when he is any thing, except a tar-and- 
 featherer, put his hands the first into the 
 bucket, and was about passing them to my 
 face. " Don't put any in his face or eyes," 
 said one.* So he desisted; but he, with 
 three other " gentlemen," whose names I 
 should be happy to record if I could recall 
 them, gave me as nice a coat of tar all over, 
 face only excepted, as any one would wish 
 to see. Then they took the pillow and 
 ripped it open at one end, and with the open 
 end commenced the operation at the head 
 and so worked downwards, of putting a coat 
 
 * I think this was Mr. Burns, a blacksmith in the place, 
 but I am not certain. At any rate, this man was my friend 
 (if so he may be called) on this occasion ; and it was for- 
 tunate for me that the company generally seemed to look 
 up to him for wisdom. 
 
TAR AND FEATHERS. 47 
 
 of its contents over that of the contents of 
 the bucket. A fine escape from the hang- 
 ing thrs will be, thought I, provided they do 
 not with a match set fire to the feathers. I 
 had some fear they would. But when the 
 work was completed they gave me my 
 clothes, and one of them handed me my 
 watch which he had carefully kept in his 
 hands ; they all expressed great interest in 
 my welfare, advised me how to proceed with 
 my business the next day, told me to stay 
 in the place as long as I wished, and with 
 other such words of consolation they bid me 
 good night. 
 
 After I had returned to my family, to their 
 inexpressible joy, as they had become great- 
 ly alarmed for my safety, some of the per- 
 sons who had participated in this outrage, 
 came in (probably influenced by a curiosity 
 to see how the tar and feathers would be got 
 off) and expressed great sympathy for me. 
 They^said they regretted that the affair had 
 happened — that they had no objections to my 
 living in Raleigh — I might feel perfectly safe 
 to go out and transact my business prepara- 
 tory to leaving — I should not be molested. 
 
 Meanwhile, my friends understanding that 
 I had been discharged from prison, and per- 
 ceiving I did not come to them, had com- 
 menced a regular search for me, on foot and 
 on horseback, every where; and Mr. Smith 
 called upon the Governor to obtain his 
 official interference ; and after my return, a 
 
48 NARRATIVE. 
 
 guard came to protect me ; but I chose not 
 to risk myself at my own house, and so 
 went to Mr. Smith's, where this guard kept 
 me safely until morning. They seemed 
 friendly indeed, and were regaled with a 
 supper during the night by Mr. Smith. My 
 friend, Mr. Battle, (late Private Secretary to 
 the Governor,) was with them ; and he made 
 a speech to them setting forth the good quali- 
 ties I had exhibited in my past life, particu- 
 larly in my connection with the Governor's 
 office. 
 
 In the morning Mr. Boylan, true as ever, 
 and unflinching in his friendship, assisted 
 me in arranging my business,* so that I 
 should start with my family that day for the 
 north. He furnished us with provisions 
 more than sufficient to sustain the family to 
 Philadelphia, where we intended to make a 
 halt j and sent his own baggage wagon to 
 convey our baggage to the depot, offering 
 also to send his carriage for my family. But 
 my friend, Mr. Malone, had been before him 
 in this kind offer, which I had agreed to 
 accept. 
 
 Brief and sorrowful was the parting from 
 
 * Of course I was obliged to sacrifice much on my prop- 
 erty, leaving in this harried manner. And while I was in 
 the North, a kind friend had removed from the wood-lot, 
 wood that I had cut and corded, for which I expected to 
 receive over one hundred dollars ; thus saving me the 
 trouble of making sale of it, or of being burdened with 
 the money it would bring. I suppose I have no redress. 
 I might add other things as bad. 
 
my mother's freedom, 49 
 
 my kind friends; but the worst was the 
 thought of leaving my mother. The cars 
 were to start at ten o'clock in the morning. 
 I called upon my old mistress, Mrs. Hay- 
 wood, who was affected to weeping by the 
 considerations that naturally came to her 
 mind. She had been kind to me ; the day 
 before she and her daughter, Mrs. Hogg, 
 now present, had jointly transmitted a com- 
 munication to the court representing that in 
 consequence of my good conduct .from my 
 youth, I could not be supposed to be guilty 
 of any offence. And now, M with tears that 
 ceased not flowing," they gave me their 
 parting blessing. My mother was still Mrs. 
 Haywood's slave, and I her only child. Our 
 old mistress could not witness the sorrow 
 that would attend the parting with my 
 mother. She told her to go with me ; and . 
 said that if I ever became able to pay two 
 hundred dollars for her, I might ; otherwise 
 it should be her loss. She gave her the fol- 
 lowing paper, which is in the ordinary form 
 of a pass : . 
 
 Raleigh, N. C. April 26, 1842. 
 Know all persons by these presents, that the bearer of this, 
 Clarissa, a slave, belonging to me, hath my permission to visit 
 the city of New York with her relations, who are in company 
 with her ; and it is my desire that she may be protected and 
 permitted to pass without molestation or hindrance, on good 
 behavior. Witness my hand this 26th April, 1812. 
 
 ELEANOR HAYWOOD. 
 Witness — J. A. Campbell. 
 
 On leaving Mrs. Haywood's, I called upon 
 Mrs. Badger, another daughter, and wife of 
 6 
 
50 NARRATIVE. 
 
 Judge Badger, previously mentioned. She 
 seemed equally affected ; she wept as she 
 gave me her parting counsel. She and Mrs. 
 Hogg and I had been children together, play- 
 ing in the same yard, while yet none of us 
 had learned that they were of a superior and 
 I of a subject race. And in those infant years 
 there were pencillings made upon the heart, 
 which time and opposite fortunes could not 
 all efface. — May these friends never be slaves 
 as I have been ; nor their bosom compan- 
 ions and their little ones be slaves like mine. 
 
 When the cars were about to start, the 
 whole city seemed to be gathered at the de- 
 pot ; and among the rest the mobocratic por- 
 tion, who appeared to be determined still 
 that I should not go peaceably away. Ap- 
 prehending this, it had been arranged with 
 my friends and the conductor, that my fam- 
 ily should be put in the cars and that I 
 should go a distance from the city on foot, 
 and be taken up as they passed. The mob, 
 therefore, supposing that I was left behind, 
 allowed the cars to start. 
 
 Mr. Whiting, known as the agent of the 
 rail road company, was going as far as Pe- 
 tersburg, Va. ; and he kindly assisted in pur- 
 chasing our tickets, and enabling us to pass 
 on unmolested. After he left, Capt. Guyan, 
 of Raleigh, performed the same kind office 
 as far as Alexandria, D. C, and then he 
 placed us in the care of a citizen of Phila- 
 delphia, whose name I regret to have for- 
 
RETURN TO THE NORTH. 51 
 
 gotten, who protected us quite out of the 
 land of slavery. But for this we should 
 have been liable to be detained at several 
 places on our way, much to our embarrass- 
 ment, at least, if nothing had occurred of a 
 more serious nature. 
 
 One accident only had happened : we lost 
 at Washington a trunk containing most of 
 our valuable clothing. This we have not 
 recovered ; but our lives have been spared 
 to bless the day that conferred freedom upon 
 us. I felt when my feet struck the pave- 
 ments in Philadelphia, as though I had 
 passed into another world. I could draw in 
 a full long breath, with no one to say to the 
 ribs, " why do ye so 1 " 
 
 On reaching Philadelphia we found that 
 our money had all been expended, but kind 
 friends furnished us with the means of pro- 
 ceeding as far as New- York ; and thence we 
 were with equal kindness aided on to Boston. 
 
 In Boston and in the vicinity, are persons 
 almost without number, who have done me 
 favors more than I can express. The 
 thought that I was now in my loved, though 
 recently acquired home — that my family 
 were with me where the stern, cruel, hated 
 hand of slavery could never reach us more — 
 the greetings of friends — the interchange of 
 feeling and sympathy — the kindness be- 
 stowed upon us, more grateful than rain to 
 the thirsty earth — the reflections of the past 
 that would rush into my mind, — these and 
 
52 NARRATIVE. 
 
 more almost overwhelmed me with emotion, 
 and I had deep and strange communion 
 with my own soul. Next to God from 
 whom every good gift proceeds, I feel under 
 the greatest obligations to^ my kind friends 
 in Massachusetts.- To be rocked in . their 
 cradle of Liberty, — oh, how unlike being 
 stretched on the pillory of slavery ! May 
 that cradle rock forever ; may many a poor 
 care-worn child of sorrow, many a spirit- 
 bruised (worse than lash-mangled) victim of 
 oppression, there sweetly sleep to the lullaby 
 of Freedom, sung by Massachusetts' sons 
 and daughters. 
 
 A number of meetings have been held 
 at which friends have contributed to our 
 temporal wants, and individuals have sent 
 us various articles of provision and furniture 
 and apparel, so that our souls have been truly 
 made glad. There are now ten of us in the 
 family, my wife, my mother, and myself, 
 with seven children, and we expect soon to 
 be joined by my father, who several years 
 ago received his freedom by legacy. The 
 wine fresh from the clustering grapes never 
 filled so sweet a cup as mine. May I and 
 my family be permitted to drink it, remem- 
 bering whence it came ! 
 
BILLS OF SALE. 53 
 
 I suppose such of my readers as are not 
 accustomed to trade in human beings, may 
 be curious to see the Bills of Sale, by which 
 I have obtained the right to my wife and 
 children. They are both in the hand 
 writing of Mr. Smith. The first — that for 
 Laura is as follows : 
 
 State of North Carolina, Wake County. 
 
 Know all men by these presents, that for and in considera- 
 tion of the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, to me in hand 
 paid, I have this day bargained and sold 5 and do hereby bar- 
 gain, sell and deliver unto Lunsford Lane, a free man of color, 
 a certain negro girl by the name of Laura, aged about seven 
 years, and hereby warrant and defend the right and title of the 
 said girl to the said Lunsford and his heirs forever, free from 
 the claims of all persons whatsoever. 
 
 In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at 
 Raleigh, this 17th May, 1841. 
 
 B. B. SMITH, [seal.] 
 
 Witness — Robt. W. Haywood. 
 
 Below is the Bill of Sale for my wife and 
 other six children, to which the papers that 
 follow are attached. 
 
 State of North Carolina, Wake County. 
 Know all men by these presents, that for and in considera- 
 tion of the sum of eighteen hundred and eighty dollars to me 
 in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, 
 I have this day bargained, sold and delivered unto Lunsford 
 Lane, a free man of color, one dark mulatto woman named 
 Patsy, one boy named Edward, one boy also named William, 
 one boy also named Lunsford, one girl named Maria, one boy 
 also named Ellick, and one girl named Lucy, to have and to 
 
 7 
 
54 BILLS 6$ SALE. 
 
 hold the said negroes free from the claims of all persons what- 
 soever. 
 
 In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand and 
 seal this 25th day of April, 1842. 
 
 B. B. SMITH, [seal.] 
 
 Witness — Th. L. West. 
 
 State of North Carolina, Wake County. 
 Office of Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, April 26, 1842. 
 The execution of the within bill of sale was this day duly 
 acknowledged before me by B. B. Smith, the executor of the 
 same. 
 
 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed the seal of 
 .- , said Court, and subscribed my name at office in 
 *■ ' 'J Raleigh, the date above. 
 
 JAS. T. MARRIOTT, Clerk. 
 
 State of North Carolina, Wake County. 
 I, Wm. Boylan, presiding magistrate of the Court of Pleas 
 and Quarter Sessions for the county aforesaid, certify that 
 James T. Marriott, who has written and signed the above cer- 
 tificate, is Clerk of the Court aforesaid, — that the same is in due 
 form, and full faith and credit are due to such his official acts. 
 
 Given under my hand and private seal (having no seal of 
 office) this 26th day of April, 1842. 
 
 WM. BOYLAN, P. M. [seal.] 
 
 The State of North Carolina. ■ 
 To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting : 
 
 Be it known, that William Boylan, whose signature appears 
 in his own proper hand writing to the annexed certificate, was 
 at the time of signing the same and now is a Justice of the 
 Peace and the Presiding Magistrate for the county of Wake, 
 in the State aforesaid, and as such he is duly qualified and em- 
 powered to give said certificate, which is here done in the 
 usual and proper manner ; and full faith and credit are due to 
 the same, and ought to be given to all the official acts of the 
 said William Boylan as Presiding Magistrate aforesaid. 
 
 In testimony whereof, I, J. M. Morehead, Governor, Captain 
 General and Commander in Chief, have caused 
 the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed, 
 and signed the same at the city of Raleigh, on the 
 [l. s.] 26th day of April, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and in the 
 sixty-sixth year of the Independence of the United 
 States. J. M. MOREHEAD. 
 
 By the Governor. 
 P. Reynolds, Private Secretary. 
 
THE SLAVE MOTHER'S ADDRESS. 
 
 But thou art born a slave, my child; 
 
 Those little hands must toil, 
 That brow must sweat, that bosom ache 
 
 Upon another's soil ; 
 And if perchance some tender joy 
 
 Should bloom upon thy heart, 
 Another's hand may enter there, 
 
 And tear it soon apart. 
 
 Thou art a little joy to me, 
 
 But soon thou may'st be sold, 
 Oh I lovelier to thy mother far 
 
 Than any weight of gold ; 
 Or I may see thee scourg'd and driv'n 
 
 Hard on the cotton-field, 
 To fill a cruel master's store, 
 
 With what thy blood may yield. 
 
 Should some fair maiden win thy heart, 
 
 And thou should'st call her thine ; 
 Should jittle ones around thee stand, 
 
 Or round thy bosom twine, 
 Thou wilt not know how soon away 
 
 These loves may all be riv'n, 
 Nor what a darkened troop of woe 
 
 Through thy lone breast be driv'n. 
 
 Thy master may be kind, and give 
 
 Thy every wish to thee, 
 Only deny that greatest wish, 
 
 That longing to be free : 
 Still it will seem a comfort smaD 
 
 That thou hast sweeter bread, 
 A better hut than other slaves, 
 
 Or pillow for thy head. 
 
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 THE SLAVE MOTHER'S ADDRESS. 
 
 What joys soe'er may gather round, 
 
 What other comforts flow, — 
 That, like a mountain in the sea, 
 
 O'ertops each wave below, 
 That ever-upward, firm desire 
 
 To break the chains, and be 
 Free as the ocean is, or like 
 
 The ocean-winds, be free. 
 
 Oh, child ! thou art a little slave ; 
 
 And all of thee that grows, 
 Will be another's weight of flesh, — 
 
 But thine the weight of woes. 
 Thou art a little slave, my child, 
 
 And much I grieve and mourn 
 That to so dark a destiny 
 
 A lovely babe I've borne. 
 
 And gladly would 1 lay thee down 
 
 To sleep beneath the sod, 
 And give thy gentle spirit back, 
 
 Unmarr'd with grief, to God : 
 The tears I shed upon that turf 
 
 Should whisper peace to me, 
 And tell me in the spirit land 
 
 My lovely babe was free. 
 
 I then should know thy peace was sure, 
 
 And only long to go / 
 
 The road which thou had'st gone, and wipe 
 
 Away these tears that flow. 
 Death to the slave has double power ; 
 
 It breaks the earthly clod, 
 And breaks the tyrant's sway, that he 
 
 May worship only God. 
 
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