داستان انگلیسی فرار به سوی آزادی

Escape To Freedom

It’s hard to believe, but just a little over 150 years ago, it was legal in the US for one human being to own another.

There are people still alive today, who had grandparents that were slaves. In the mid-1800’s, the US was a country divided by slavery. In the South, it was legal to own slaves, but in the North slavery was illegal. Ellen and William Craft were a married slave couple who risked their lives to escape the South and make it to freedom in the North.

Before making their escape, Ellen and William were owned by separate slave owners. William was put up for auction when he was 16 to settle some debts of his previous owner, and was bought by a bank cashier in Macon, Georgia. He lost touch with his family as they were sold to different owners all over Georgia.

Ellen was also separated from her family at a young age. A plantation mistress gave Ellen to her daughter when Ellen was only 11 years old. Ellen was mixed race, and had very light skin, which often caused people to mistake her for being white.

Ellen and William eventually met and were married, despite being owned by different masters. They both wanted children, but couldn’t bring themselves to have them. Having experienced separation from their families, they didn’t want to see the same thing happen to their children.

During this time many slaves attempted escape in the dead of night, and had to run from vicious dogs or equally vicious slave hunters. The punishment for trying to escape was harsh, but Ellen and William were desperate for the opportunity to raise a family in freedom. They knew they wouldn’t stand a chance if they just tried to run. So they came up with a plan that they thought might just be crazy enough to work.

In those days, the only way a slave was allowed to travel was if they were with their master. Since Ellen had such light skin, they decided she would go with William to the North and pretend to be his master. If they reached the North, where slavery was no longer accepted, they could live in freedom.

There was just one problem though. At that time in American history, it would also be unheard of for a female to be traveling accompanied only by her slave. So instead of pretending to be a white woman, Ellen needed to pretend to be a white man. William helped Ellen cut her hair to neck length, to make her appear more like a man.

Ellen also put her arm in a sling, hoping that people would not ask her to sign any documents along their journey. Back then, slaves weren’t allowed to learn how to read or write. If Ellen couldn’t make a signature, it would expose them instantly.

They decided to make their escape over Christmas. Ellen and William were favorites of their masters, so they didn’t have much trouble getting time off for the holidays. This was important, because their masters wouldn’t be suspicious about them being missing until they made it to the North.

Right before they left, William also helped Ellen put bandages on her face. Bandages meant she wouldn’t have to talk with too many people, as every person she spoke with could possibly expose them. She wore a pair of men’s pants which she sewed herself, and wore a pair of green spectacles and a top hat. Once the outfit was convincing enough, they headed for the Macon train station. Ellen used the little money they had to buy train tickets.

They had a couple of close calls on that train. William boarded the “negro train” where he spotted the owner of the cabinetmaking shop where he worked looking into the window of his train car. He turned his head the other way and sat lower in his seat to avoid the owner’s stare. Thankfully, the train started and the two never met.

Ellen was sitting looking out the window in the white people’s train, until she turned around and saw that the person sitting next to her was a good friend of her master. This person had known Ellen for years. He didn’t recognize her in her disguise, but Ellen’s heart was leaping out of her chest for the entire ride.

On the next train to Charleston, South Carolina, many people warned Ellen about abolitionists in the North. They said abolitionists would try and encourage William to run away from her. A slave trader on board even offered to buy William on the spot and take him back to the Deep South.

For the last leg of their trip, the two were almost refused tickets, because Ellen wasn’t able to sign her name. The ticket seller refused to sign for Ellen despite her arm being in a sling. Because they were so close to the North, people were on the lookout for abolitionists and escaping slaves. Slave owners needed to provide proof that the slaves they were traveling with were really their property. At the last minute though, the captain came by and signed for Ellen, before they could be detained.

The train stopped in Baltimore, before reaching their final destination of the free state of Pennsylvania. This time, the two were detained. Ellen was asked to give proof of ownership, and was told they wouldn’t be let go. The two both thought it was all over at that point. They had made it so far, and were almost free, only to be stopped just before Pennsylvania.

Then the departure bell rang, and the officer had a change of heart. He decided it was unfair to detain a sick man, noting the sling and bandages Ellen was wearing. He decided to let them pass and go on to Pennsylvania.

When they arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania it was Christmas day. As they left the station, Ellen began crying because she knew they were safe.

Even after arriving in Philadelphia, their troubles weren’t over. Since Ellen was still disguised as a slave owner, many people told William to run away.

Once Ellen took off her disguise, they were helped by an underground abolitionist group. There they learned to read and write, and after a while they both moved to Boston. William resumed working as a cabinetmaker and Ellen became a seamstress. So life was good.

After two years though, slave hunters arrived, looking to find the two and send them back to Georgia. Once again, they fled, only this time to England. Once in England, they were finally free to have children together, without the fear of ever being separated from them. They had five children in England, and after 20 years, finally returned to the United States.

When they arrived, they found that the slavery situation in the US had changed for the better after their 20 years abroad. Slaves were now legally free in the South. However, so many of them had few opportunities available to them, as all they had known was the slave life. Ellen and William saw this as an opportunity to help. Rather than go and live in the North, where things were much easier, they decided that they would return to Georgia in order to open a school to help newly freed black people.

Their story had come full circle.