Chapter 34
The Rescue (Part 1)
Out of breath. The District Attorney dashes to Sheriff Sumner's office. No time for pleasantries. "We need to round up the black leaders fast -- Charles Langston, Gideon, William G. Quick! Mrs. Ted Scott is in peril!"
"What?"
"I was walking past a boardinghouse. I saw two white men, one had a hunting knife and the other held a gun. She was in distress. I was unarmed, so I continued walking so as to not draw attention to myself. I found two policemen on the street and circled back to the alleyway but she was gone!"
"Are you sure it was Ted Scott's wife"
"Yes, I've seen her at Anti-Slavery meetings in the basement of the African Meeting House. It was Ted Scott's wife."
"We've got to act fast! We need the black leaders now -- Gideon, William Guion Nell, Charles Langston."
Sumner issued an order to his deputy to find and bring to his office Gideon, William Guion Nell and Charles Langston with the greatest of haste. Twenty minutes had passed since the District Attorney witnessed Mary's abduction.
"We can't afford another race riot."
"It would rip Beacon Hill apart."
Policeman galloping on horseback throughout the city rounding up race men -- Charles Langston at his home, Gideon at the barbershop at Third and Wood, William G. at his tailoring shop. "Are you Charles Langston? Come with me NOW!" "Why?" "Orders of the Sheriff." Another officer burst into the Scott barbershop while Gideon was in mid-shave. "Are you Gideon and do you work for Mrs. Ted Scott?" "Yes, I am." "Come this way, direct orders of the Sheriff!" Two officers found William G. stitching a hem in trousers for the Lozanos. "Are you William Guion Nell?" "Yes, I am." "I have orders to bring you in to the Sheriff's office immediately!" "Can I finish this hem?" "No, come now!"
Galloping through streets of Beacon Hill on horseback, the horses moving at breakneck speed over cobblestoned streets, overturning carts of vegetables and raising dust clouds in their wake. Heads turned, children pointed, minutes passed.
Arriving at the District Attorney's office, the officers practically carried Gideon, William G. and Charles down the hallway to an open door where, inside, the District Attorney was pacing and Sheriff Sumner was reviewing a map of the city.
"What is this? Round Up the Negroes Day?" accused Charles Langston.
"It's Mrs. Ted Scott. She's been abducted."
William G. bent over in shock.
Charles kicked the wall with all of his might. Again and again, he unleashed his rage against the wall.
Gideon covered his mouth. He lost his voice and could not speak.
"I saw her accosted by two white men. I didn't stop as I was unarmed. One of the men held a hunting knife and the other had a gun in plain view."
"Oh God, No!" moaned William G. as he covered his head in his hands.
"I ought to..." as Charles turned on the District Attorney.
"I'm not the enemy. The enemy is the slaver," the District Attorney screamed. "We don't have time to fight one another."
"We must act quickly," laid plain Sheriff Sumner. "9 times out of 10, slave catchers will flee to the Boston Harbor. They know black testimony against a white is no good. Charles, go to the Recorder of Deeds at the Courthouse. Tell him Mrs. Scott has been abducted and we need proof of freedom immediately. Bring the proof to the Harbor, Pier 9."
"Before you go, take my card of introduction. It will smooth things over with the clerk," volunteered the District Attorney. The District Attorney extended his hand towards Charles. Charles accepted the card with no emotion and run out the office.
"Gideon, rush to her home. Find her freedom papers. If we're lucky, she left her papers at home. If we're not lucky, her captors will have confiscated and destroyed her papers."
"I'll take five officers down to the Boston Harbor. We can be down there in ten to fifteen minutes. William G., come with us."
"Hurry! Go! Go!"
Gideon rushed to Mary's home on horseback. Galloping wildly through the Beacon Hill streets, every moment a lost moment to rescue Mary from a nightmarish fate. [inner thoughts while racing against time -- She was lulled into a false sense of security. She thought she was white and living in rural Vermont without a care in the world. Never forget you're black. Never, ever forget you're black. Ever! No one taught Mary to be ever alert to her surroundings at all times. No one taught Mary to be black in a racial world. And now she was a lost innocent in a world of suffering. No freedom pass, no freedom!]
He rushed by Third and Wood, turned the corner and pulled up to a stop. With anxiety and fear and urgency, he rushed to the secret place where Mary kept a spare house key. Gideon turned the key, flung open the door and rushed to the study. He ran to the desk, opened up the top dresser and saw what he was looking for --
[Certificate of Emancipation of Mary Twilight Scott
Mary Twilight Scott is proved to be free.
State of Massachusetts, Suffolk County,
I hereby certify to all whom it doth or may concern
That it hath been proved to my satisfaction that the bearer hereof,
Mary Twilight Scott, aged about twenty seven years of light complexion,
Five feet five inches high, with no scars or marks,
Was born and raised in the State of Vermont.
(Seal)
In Testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand
And affixed the seal of Suffolk County Court this
30th day of August in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-six
Wm Hundall, Clk, Suffolk County]
Charles Langston rushed to the Recorder of Deeds with clear instructions. The Recorder of Deeds recognized Langston as did most citizens in local government since Charles' stirring rescue speech at the federal courthouse. "Mrs. Ted Scott was abducted almost an hour ago. I need her Affidavit now! It's a matter of freedom or bondage." Charles presented the District Attorney's calling card. The Recorder came out of his office and hurried Charles back into the Affidavit files. "Let's see, Scott, Scott, ah, here it is. Take it and run," urged the Recorder off Deeds.
Charles took a brief look at this legal document separating Mary from chattel slavery:
[State of Massachusetts
Know all men by these presents, that I, William Lloyd Garrison, of the City of Boston, & state aforesaid, Publisher of the Liberator, do hereby certify, to all whom it doth or may concern, that the holder of this, Mary, otherwise called Mary Twilight Scott, (having intermarried with Theodore Moore Scott, IS FREE, never having been in bondage to any one -- that she is of Indian descent by the maternal line -- that I knew her grandmother Hannah, who was the first remove from her Indian race -- that I also knew her mother Mary, who was the second remove, both of whom have been dead sometime -- that I have known Mary ever since she was born and she is now about (36) thirty six years of age -- that she is of good character & reputation -- that being of Indian descent she is liable to all the rights and privileges of the Indian race --
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand,
& affixed my seal at Charleston this first day of June,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
& thirty five & of American Independence the fifty ninth
William Lloyd Garrison]
As the black and white men on horseback rushed to the Boston Harbor, the Slave Captain feared little. A black could not offer testimony against a white in open court. This woman had no freedom papers on her person. For all he knew, she was the property of "JK." The mark of ownership on her palm was as clear as day.
She was bright in color which should fetch a good price at the slave market in Baltimore. She talked like a white woman, an ideal house slave. But more than profit, this Slave Captain enjoyed the Hunt for n------. It was like a fox hunt but this prey offered more of a challenge for his wits. He enjoyed the deceptions, the decoys. His father had been a prominent slave catcher down in Tidewater Virginia. Some of the best stories passed down the family line were of slave catching in Africa.
"Do you know, Mary, when I fell in love with this business of catching n------?" Mary slowly came to her senses, awareness of the ship deck and shackles on her feet. "In Africa, the savages had never seen the color red before. Never. Now this created a market opportunity. Someone had the idea to use the color red as a decoy, bait. When the natives saw red cloth, they went wild. Crazy! So, the trader left another piece of red cloth fifty feet away. They want crazy, couldn't believe their good fortune. Another piece of red cloth 75 feet away. Then 100 feet away. This continued until the last red pieces of cloth traced a path right up the plank of a slave ship. Oops! My papa loved that story. Thousands caught and enslaved, deceived by the color red. If I were a n-----, I would curse the color red for all time. And that's when I became hooked on catching slaves. I enjoy the deception, the dumbfounded prey as they realize all is lost. It is exhilarating. I can't think of a finer profession than catching n----- prey."
"I pity you. I pity your soul."
"Now, now, bright eyes. Don't think me evil. Scripture teaches that the slaveholder has as good a right to his n------ as he has to his horses if they run away. And as a good citizen, I have a right to catch them."
"I'm a free woman, just as free as you are. Take me to Beacon Hill and hundreds will vouch for my freedom. Whites and blacks."
"Explain your mark on your hand."
"A white young man deceived me and marked me."
"A likely story." The Slave Captain sighed as he had heard this story before over and over. Whether it was true or false mattered not. In fact, the claim of deception excited the Captain.
"Don't you ever say you are free again. Or, I will tear up your high yellow back! Don't make me do it!"
Sobs could be heard form the other side of the vessel deck, young abducted fugitives consigned to return to their masters down South. The cries were of pure anguish, soulful misery and loss of what had been on the streets of Beacon Hill for a week, a month.
"Capt'n, are you sure?"
Mary pulled at the shackles on her feet.
"Fetch me one or two more small boys for Baltimore. We'll set sail tomorrow." "Aye, aye, Capt'n."
Turning back to Mary, the Slave Captain knew Mary trembled inside despite the brave outer front. And he breathed in her fear and felt good, strong. He touched her chin. She turned away. "You're not young but bed warmer material still." "Let me go! I'm a free woman, I tell you. I've been kidnapped."
"No...you're not. This is how this works. You are a slave. You have your name "Mary." I grant you 'Mary.' But you don't have a family name. You don't have a family. No Twilight. No Scott. Just "Mary.'" The Slave Captain took his whip and traced the handle along Mary's cleavage. "You have a pretty face. If you're smart, you will use that to your advantage."
"I'm not a fugitive! I was kidnapped by two white men, a Joseph King Jr. and a southerner."
The chained fugitives across the ship deck whimpered. One soiled himself.
"Because you are pleasing to the eye, I'm not going to flog you. You'll bring in more profit if your back is smooth." The Captain raised his whip which seemed to extend forever and snapped the deck of the ship as hard as he could. "I'm your God. I control you. I own you. And that is the situation you're in. Say you're free one more time and I will flog you, so help me!"
"You don't know God. I've seen God. God is love." More whimpers and sobs from the chained fugitives across the deck.
"Let me tell you about the world. The world is not Corks and Curls. The word is not London Tea. The world is not fancy airs. Let me tell you about the world." The Slave Captain enjoyed the psychology of breaking down kidnapped free blacks. Physical violation was fleeting. Violation of a free spirit was everlasting.
"Soon, you will be in Baltimore on a slave market platform. You will be stripped down, no modesty. White men will explore your every orifice as they assess you. You will go to the highest bidder, probably a married man who wants a fancy girl around the place. You will be hated by the lady of the house as you pump out puppies resembling the lady's husband. You will be hated by field hands who resent your ways and speech and privilege."
"I will die first, you monster." Offended that his property crossed him, the Slave Captain grabbed Mary by the throat.
"This...is... your...future. This is your life going forward." The Slave Captain stared deep into Mary's eyes and did not look away. "You will be forgotten by all who knew you as Mary Twilight Scott. If you have children, they will know abandonment, unexplained loss. One day, mother was here. The next day, mother disappeared. And your children may suspect you never really loved them at all."
Mary gasped for breath as the Slave Captain tightened his grip in his arousal. "And let's suppose you fall in love with the master of the house. The mistress will sell you off down South to the slave market in New Orleans. She will sell off your octoroon puppies to hurt you, cause you pain. I have seen it happen many, many times.
The Slave Captain saw tears in Mary's eyes and he trembled from the absolute control he held over another living human being.
No, Mary wasn't a human anymore. She was a commodity, an object of commerce, a species of property.
The Slave Captain released his grip. Mary heaved as she sucked in air.
"Now, you're thinking you will run away. You will walk night and day away to the Underground Railroad and find your way back home to Boston. Most runaways are caught." The Slave Captain shared venom, pure evil, with Mary. "And when the runaways are caught, know what the slave catchers do? They cut your Achilles tendon. Right there, connects the calf muscle to the heel bone. Once the slaver does that, you never walk again, never run again, never jump again." The Captain touched Mary's Achilles tendon for effect. "Slice it right there with a knife." He slid his index finger across her Achilles tendon.
Mary's inner tremble manifested itself. She shook in horror at what awaited her. She swore then and there she would hang herself from a tree before she accepted a bed warmer's fate.
"The master might have mercy on you and pull your two front teeth to punish you. I was once in Charleston, South Carolina. I saw this beautiful mulatto girl. She was stunning. Long, flowing hair, brown eyes , light brown skin, Scottish features. She opened her mouth and there was a gaping hole in her mouth. Her mistress punished her for running away by removing her two front teeth. Marked her but good."
The Slave Captain felt in touch with his truth, his purpose, as he revealed abject horror to Mary.
"Walk down any country road in the South and you will hear the cries of flogged slaves rafting along the fields. The cries. Sometimes, slaves are flogged for 40, 100, 200 times, to the very edge of death. And the overseer will rub salt into the wounds for good measure. I once saw a naked negress flogged and she cried out and I saw the negroes removing maggots from her back for a good half hour."
The Slave Captain turned towards the despondent chained fugitives. "The world is suffering. I truly believe that."
A few moments passed. Mary daydreamed about how she would end it all, the rope, the tree, the day, the hour, reunion with Ted and her parents.
The Slave Captain turned back towards Mary. "What do you think, Mary? Sometimes, the master will cut off the ears of the runaways. I've seen that a few times."
The Slave Captain looked down and fell into an intuition about the nature of meaning in life.
"I enjoy more the deception of the business, not so much the physical punishment. Like right now, my boys are going to find a small boy or two, maybe around five years old. That would be ideal. I once lured a free five-year-old on board by asking for his help loading watermelons." The Captain squatted down with a serene, whimsical look on his face. "Some day, I fear slavery will be outlawed down South." And he looked downcast at the realization this world of his might not last forever.
The Slave Captain took in Mary, her native intelligence and suitable body and terrorized state. "Mary, let me share something with you because you intrigue me. The absolute best slave catchers are free blacks." Mary's eyes opened wide in disbelief. "It's true. I tease you not. There's this wonderful white gang out of Delaware and Maryland. All they do is ally themselves with free blacks to kidnap unsuspecting blacks up North. It is pure genius!"
"You lie! You're a liar!"
"True story. So, the white gang received a report from a black kidnapper. Apparently, this Maryland slave had a free wife and 7 free sons, ages 6 to 18. The kidnapper persuaded the slave to go to Camden, Delaware under a pretense of obtaining a Quaker Pass to New Jersey. The slave went to Delaware and got a fake pass from the white gang. They sent him on his way to New Jersey." The Captain promenaded a clueless slave with a fake pass walking to New Jersey. "The black kidnapper tells the slave's family that their father (and husband) has escaped to freedom. 'I will take you to New Jersey,' assures the black kidnapper. The gang abducted the entire free family and sold them for a nice profit in Baltimore."
Mary shook her head in disbelief. Blacks did not kidnap blacks into slavery. It was impossible.
"And by the way, the gang bribes local sheriffs to look the other way. Its masterful."
The Slave Captain sough chaos, a kidnapped free black who could no longer trust the world. Destroy the premises of life and the kidnapped free woman will seek order in the domination of the master. One day, he might write a book about the creation of mental slavery.
"Want to hear about the world we live in, Mary? A free black woman, Emily Medal, kidnapped a 7-year-old free black from the Colored Orphanage in Cincinnati a few moths ago. Sold the pup into slavery for a nice profit. There's my friend, Tilly, who romances lonely free black women in Philadelphia. He's the decoy while the white gang tracks down the lonely-hearted prey for the auction block in Baltimore. Lots of lonely free black women in Philadelphia for the taking."
"You're a monster. How do you live with yourself? Have you no fear of our Heavenly Father?
"Slavery is according to the law of God. I'm doing the Lord's work and so are Emily and Tilly."
MARY, MARY, MARY!!!
Every good and bad aspect of human nature inhabits all corners of the globe. When will the majority figure out that no race, sex or religion makes one a Star Bellied Sneetch.