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Slavery. The thought is repugnant to us today, but it was not always
so.
When we hear the word ‘slavery’ today, we most often think of
African slaves picking cotton in fields south of the 49th
parallel, but that is only part of the picture. Slavery has been part
of our human experience as long as we have been humans, and it is,
regrettably, still with us today. Slavery was eliminated in Canada
in 1834, though it was dying out even before that time for economic
reasons.
South of the 49th, American slavery carried on in many
states until after the Civil War, and escaping slaves were not safe
from ‘slave catchers’ south of the 49th. The goal of an
escaping slave was to get to Canada, and thus was formed the
“’Underground Railroad”.
The
Underground Railroad was a means of helping escaping slaves to move
north, to safety. The traditional Spiritual “Follow the Drinking
Gourd” dates to slavery times, and was a way of telling escaping
slaves to follow the “ Big Dipper” north to freedom. That hymn was
but one signpost on the road to freedom, but the signposts on that
road were mostly ‘invisible’; they were there, but went unnoticed by
most people.
Escaping slaves faced huge problems: they were the wrong colour,
they had no ‘papers’, they had no maps, and they could not read. To
escape slavery they had to move north, without being seen, mostly on
foot, mostly at night. They had to avoid slave hunters who would
sell them back to their former masters. They had to find help, but
they had to remain invisible.
The
Underground Railway is what we now call the loose organization of
understanding citizens who helped slaves escape, but it was never a
railway. It was a network of compassionate people who did what they
could to help others in need.
But
still, an escaping slave had to find an Underground Railway
‘station’, and find out where to find the next station. The escaping
slave could not be seen, for fear of being caught, they could not
speak to the person who was trying to help them, but the slave had
to know where to go next.
A
code system was developed, a most ingenious code. In those days
houses didn’t have central heating, and quilts were piled high on
beds every night for warmth. And the quilts would be ‘aired’
outside, on a fence or clothesline the next day.
Some quilts were, in fact, signposts on the Underground Railroad.
Some quilts had coded messages within their intricate patterns,
messages that escaping slaves could ‘read’ when the quilt was hung
out to air.
For
example, the “Log Cabin” pattern is a common quilting pattern today,
but it has been around for a long time. At one time, it was a
signpost, along with the “North Flying Geese” and many other quilt
patterns; they helped illiterate slaves move north to safety. Slaves
who could
 not
‘read’ were able to understand subtle messages in the quilts, and
that helped them to move north to safety.
To
an escaping slave, a “Log Cabin” pattern in a quilt could show that
that person was safe in the area, or that they should hide in a
building, depending on the patterns used around the Log Cabin. Other
patterns include the Wagon Wheel (which might mean hide in a loaded
wagon), the Bear Paw (stay off the roads, follow animal paths), and
the Star (follow the North Star, also known as the Drinking Gourd).
The
story of the Underground Railway is fascinating enough, as Canada
was the recipient of most of the travellers. But, where did the
travellers settle?
One
of the places escaped slaves settled, one northern terminus of the
Underground Railroad, is Owen Sound, Ontario. Far north of the
American border, and far from the slave catchers, Owen Sound is
nestled at the base of the Bruce Peninsula, and has been an
important trading centre since long before Europeans came to this
continent.
Owen Sound and the Bruce Peninsula became home to many escaped
slaves, and many of those former slaves became pillars of their
communities. Their names live on today in the museums from Owen
Sound to Tobermory.
In
Owen Sound’s Harrison Park, a cairn commemorating escaped slaves and
the contributions they made was unveiled, on July 31, 2004, during
the annual Emancipation Picnic. The Emancipation Picnic has been
held in Owen Sound every year since 1862; it celebrates the end of
slavery in the British Commonwealth (August 1, 1834), and in the
United States of America (January 1, 1863).
One
prominent escaped slave who settled in Owen Sound was, in fact, born
in Canada! John Hall was born in Amherstburg, Ontario, around 1800.
He served as a scout for Tecumseh's
First Nations warriors during the War of 1812, and was
wounded in the leg by bayonet. He, his eleven siblings, and their
mother were later ‘captured’ as ‘prisoners of war’ by American
soldiers, taken south, and sold into slavery. Hall escaped and made
his way back to Canada; he eventually settled in Sydenham (now Owen
Sound), where he became the town crier. Hall died in 1900.
Why
did so many former slaves travel so far north after crossing the
border to freedom? Many went to work, drawn by an industrial boom in
Owen Sound and surrounding areas in the 1800s. They built ships and
sailed them, they worked on railways, in quarries, and in lumber
camps. Some became merchants, some became leaders in business.
Some families remain today, some have disappeared, but the roots of
the Black citizens, their presence, and their contributions live on
in the many fine museums of Owen Sound and surrounding area.
Note: Webber
print is courtesy the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
Division, No. LC-USZ62-28860 |
