The Underground RailroadTrue Stories of Slave Escapes on the Underground RailroadFrom the Book by William StillDARING ESCAPES TO FREEDOMAs told by the Slaves themselvesVol 1Like millions of my race; my mother and father were born slaves; but were not contented to live and die so. My father purchased himself in early manhood by hard toil. Mother saw no way for herself and children to escape the horrors of bondage but by flight. Bravely; with her four little ones; with firm faith in God and an ardent desire to be free; she forsook the prison-house; and succeeded; through the aid of my father; to reach a free State. Here life had to be begun anew. The old familiar slave names had to be changed; and others; for prudential reasons; had to be found. This was not hard work. However; hardly months had passed ere the keen scent of the slave-hunters had trailed them to where they had fancied themselves secure.In those days all power was in the hands of the oppressor; and the capture of a slave mother and her children was attended with no great difficulty other than the crushing of freedom in the breast of the victims. Without judge or jury; all were hurried back to wear the yoke again. But back this mother was resolved never to stay. She only wanted another opportunity to again strike for freedom. In a few months after being carried back; with only two of her little ones; she took her heart in her hand and her babes in her arms; and this trial was a success. TESTIMONYBut few could tell of having been eye-witnesses to outrages more revolting and disgraceful than Washington Somlor. He arrived per steamer Pennsylvania (secreted); directly from Norfolk; Virginia; in 1855. He was thirty-two years of age—a man of medium size and quite intelligent. A merchant by the name of Smith owned Washington.Eight and a half months before escaping; Washington had been secreted in order to shun both master and auction-block. Smith believed in selling; flogging; cobbing; paddling; and all other kinds of torture; by which he could inflict punishment in order to make the slaves feel his power. He thus tyrannized over about twenty-five head.Being naturally passionate; when in a brutal mood; he made his slaves suffer unmercifully. Said Washington; "On one occasion; about two months before I was secreted; he had five of the slaves (some of them women) tied across a barrel; lashed with the cow-hide and then cobbed—this was a common practice."Such treatment was so inhuman and so incredible; that the Committee hesitated at first to give credence to the statement; and only yielded when facts and evidences were given which seemed incontestible.African American StudiesBlack StudiesSocial SciencesAmerican History
#3457096 in Books 2016-02-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .31 x 5.51l; .39 #File Name: 1506901220132 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Beautifully written and pure joy to read!By CustomerAs a white female growing up in the 70's in Portland; Oregon I was always fascinated with the black American experience: Harriet Tubman; the Underground Railroad; Dr. Martin Luther King. This is the only genre of books I have memories of enjoying on all those rainy Pacific Northwest days as a child.I also learned that there are some questions a white girl can't ask about the black experience without getting an eye roll or a pat on the head from blacks who lived it daily. That division; at times; seems to have grown between the two races over the last four decades but my curiosity has always remained.Ms. Lois Watkins is like the teacher I always wanted. I have no doubt she was beloved by her students. Her delivery is kind; warm and nurturing. No inquiry is too "silly" for Ms. Watkins and she does a beautiful job in her book of using her words to help you understand exactly what it was like to live in a segregated America.Finally; as a 45 year old woman I can curl up with this glorious book and read the answers to many of my questions without the fear of offending those black Americans who suffered greatly during segregation.This is truly a good book and I hope others take the opportunity to read it. The short personal stories is a unique approach to this subject and provides an entertaining; educational and enlightening experience from the first page to the last.I hope Ms. Watkins continues to write. She is an author worth following!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This book should be a textbook.By Carolyn CrawfordThis book should be a textbook. It is well written and documents an era that is almost lost in our history. It's readability makes it accessible to all. Not so much for the facts and events of the times; but important perspective on the feelings; fears and joys - and; literally; "What It Was Like." Lois Watkins provides us with a child's eye view set against life changing historical events unfolding in the South. It helps us remember and rejoice in our journey. It records precious times and attitudes we; as blacks or coloreds or others; have let slip from our conscious memory; sometimes by choice. It reminds us of who we were and how we evolved to now. It does us proud to recall our roots and our survivorship. Bless you; Lois Watkins for putting pen to paper. You are a writer.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Give this book a read. It’s definitely an eye-opener.By Betty @TGB ReviewsBy the time I started going to school; legally enforced segregation was a thing of the past. I never saw the ‘whites only’ and ‘colored only’ signs that were displayed everywhere in the South. I didn’t know that in the not-so-distant past there were places African-Americans were not allowed to go; things they were not allowed to do. And I didn’t think it was upsetting to have an African-American boy in my class. I do clearly remember being curious as to why his skin color was so different from mine when I first saw him; but only for a little while before I shrugged it off and decided it didn’t matter. He was just a boy going to school for the first time; the same as me.Growing up in the South; racism was (and still is) all around me. It wasn’t until I was nine or ten that I began to understand what it was. It was a terrible shock for me to realize that others were hated or thought inferior simply because of the color of their skin. When I became aware about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement; I wanted to learn more about it; and have done so whenever possible in the years since then.What It Was Like is a collection of short stories describing Lois Watkins’ personal experiences of growing up in the segregated South. Her memories are shocking; horrifying; and heartbreaking to read; particularly if the reader has no personal knowledge of what things were like in those dreadful times.Some of the memories she spoke of involved people or places I was somewhat familiar with; but didn’t know the complete story. The one that disturbed me the most was how; at age 11; she saw a photograph of the deceased Emmett Till in an issue of Jet Magazine.At the age of 14; Emmett Till was beaten; mutilated; and shot. His body was discovered three days later in the Tallahatchie River. His mother insisted on an open casket; wanting the world to see what had been done to her son in retaliation because he supposedly flirted with a white woman.Commonly known as the Tulsa Race Riot; the story about the destruction of Black Wall Street (a thriving; successful community of African-Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood District) is similarly hard to read. On May 30; 1921; an African-American boy was falsely accused of raping a white girl. The district was burned to the ground; leaving thousands of people homeless. The numbers on casualties vary widely; from as little as 30 to as many as 300 or more. Upwards of 1;000 people were admitted into hospitals for treatments of injuries. 191 businesses were destroyed; along with over 1200 homes.Ms. Watkins gives several examples of the things she experienced herself—such as the painful ordeal of having her hair regularly straightened and why she had to do it; the forbidden taste of water from the ‘whites only’ water fountain and the discovery of how even the things they were allowed was sub-standard to what white people received; and always knowing she had to remain in her ‘proper place’. It was heartbreaking to read of how her family moved to California; thinking they were leaving segregation behind them; only to discover that the ways of segregation were not exclusive to the South.The best way to learn about something is to hear (or read) stories about it from someone who experienced it… particularly when it deals with something that was part of America’s shameful past policies. History is often revised to be more palatable to modern society; and it’s only by hearing personal experiences of others that we can be certain those shameful parts of our history are not left to fade from memory.I learned a lot about what things were like during segregation from reading this book. Anyone who is interested in this part of America’s history would likely find this book to be an informative; as well as emotional; read. The only way to avoid the mistakes of the past is to know your history. Given the state of things in America at this time—the debate over Syrian refugees; the blatant racism you see all over the internet; the events that inspired the Black Lives Matter movement— in my opinion; makes this book (and others like it) absolutely relevant to the turmoil we’re experiencing as a nation.Give this book a read. It’s definitely an eye-opener.I received a review copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and First Edition Design Publishing.
