第74章 Chapter XXI.(1)

　　I am indebted to Mr. Henry B. Northup and others formany of the particulars contained in this Chapter.

　　The letter written-by Bass， directed to Parker andPerry， and which was deposited in the post-office inMarksville on the 15th day of August， 1852， arrived atSaratoga in the early part of September. Some timeprevious to this， Anne had removed to Glens Falls，Warren county， where she had charge of the kitchen inCarpenter’s Hotel. She kept house， however， lodging withour children， and was only absent from them during suchtime as the discharge of her duties in the hotel required.

　　Messrs. Parker and Perry， on receipt of the letter，forwarded it immediately to Anne. On reading it thechildren were all excitement， and without delay hastenedto the neighboring village of Sandy Hill， to consult HenryB. Northup， and obtain his advice and assistance in thematter.

　　Upon examination， that gentleman found among thestatutes of the State an act providing for the recovery offree citizens from slavery. It was passed May 14， 1840，and is entitled “An act more effectually to protect the freecitizens of this State from being kidnapped or reducedto slavery.” It provides that it shall be the duty of the Governor， upon the receipt of satisfactory informationthat any free citizen or inhabitant of this State， iswrongfully held in another State or Territory of theUnited States， upon the allegation or pretence that suchperson is a slave， or by color of any usage or rule of lawis deemed or taken to be a slave， to take such measuresto procure the restoration of such person to liberty， as heshall deem necessary. And to that end， he is authorized toappoint and employ an agent， and directed to furnish himwith such credentials and instructions as will be likelyto accomplish the object of his appointment. It requiresthe agent so appointed to proceed to collect the properproof to establish the right of such person to his freedom；to perform such journeys， take such measures， institutesuch legal proceedings， &c.， as may be necessary toreturn such person to this State， and charges all expensesincurred in carrying the act into effect， upon moneys nototherwise appropriated in the treasury.a

　　It was necessary to establish two facts to the satisfactionof the Governor： First， that I was a free citizen of New-York； and secondly， that I was wrongfully held inbondage. As to the first point， there was no difficulty， allthe older inhabitants in the vicinity being ready to testifyto it. The second point rested entirely upon the letterto Parker and Perry， written in an unknown hand， andupon the letter penned on board the brig Orleans， which，unfortunately， had been mislaid or lost.

　　a See Appendix A.

　　A memorial was prepared， directed to his excellency，Governor Hunt， setting forth her marriage， my departureto Washington city； the receipt of the letters； that Iwas a free citizen， and such other facts as were deemedimportant， and was signed and verified by Anne.

　　Accompanying this memorial were several affidavitsof prominent citizens of Sandy Hill and Fort Edward，corroborating fully the statements it contained， and also arequest of several well known gentlemen to the Governor，that Henry B. Northup be appointed agent under thelegislative act.

　　On reading the memorial and affidavits， his excellencytook a lively interest in the matter， and on the 23d day ofNovember， 1852， under the seal of the State， “constituted，appointed and employed Henry B. Northup， Esq.， anagent， with full power to effect” my restoration， and totake such measures as would be most likely to accomplishit， and instructing him to proceed to Louisiana with allconvenient dispatch.a

　　The pressing nature of Mr. Northup’s professionaland political engagements delayed his departure untilDecember. On the fourteenth day of that month he leftSandy Hill， and proceeded to Washington. The Hon.

　　Pierre Soule， Senator in Congress from Louisiana， Hon.

　　Mr. Conrad， Secretary of War， and Judge Nelson， of theSupreme Court of the United States， upon hearing aa See Appendix B.

　　statement of the facts， and examining his commission， andcertified copies of the memorial and affidavits， furnishedhim with open letters to gentlemen in Louisiana， stronglyurging their assistance in accomplishing the object of hisappointment.

　　Senator Soule especially interested himself in thematter， insisting， in forcible language， that it was theduty and interest of every planter in his State to aid inrestoring me to freedom， and trusted the sentiments ofhonor and justice in the bosom of every citizen of thecommonwealth would enlist him at once in my behalf.

　　Having obtained these valuable letters， Mr. Northupreturned to Baltimore， and proceeded from thence toPittsburgh. It was his original intention， under adviceof friends at Washington， to go directly to New Orleans，and consult the authorities of that city. Providentially，however， on arriving at the mouth of Red River， hechanged his mind. Had he continued on， he would nothave met with Bass， in which case the search for mewould probably have been fruitless.

　　Taking passage on the first steamer that arrived， hepursued his journey up Red River， a sluggish， windingstream， flowing through a vast region of primitive forestsand impenetrable swamps， almost wholly destitute ofinhabitants. About nine o’clock in the forenoon， January1st， 1853， he left the steamboat at Marksville， andproceeded directly to Marksville Court House， a smallvillage four miles in the interior.

　　From the fact that the letter to Messrs. Parker andPerry was post-marked at Marksville， it was supposed byhim that I was in that place or its immediate vicinity. Onreaching this town， he at once laid his business before theHon. John P. Waddill， a legal gentleman of distinction，and a man of fine genius and most noble impulses.