History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 73

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094

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SLAVERY AND THE COLORED RACE.

collected in great excitement, and threatened to re- sist the execution of the law. The alleged slaves were, however, conveyed to the jail, and the crowd dispersed. The next day, which was Sunday, the agent of the owner sought to have the slaves de- livered up, but the sheriff, fearing a disturbance, de- clined. During the day a number of colored per- sons were permitted to have access to the prisoners, and one woman was allowed to remain in the cell with the female slave till after dark. The latter ex- changed clothing with her visitor, and thus made her escape. Meantime the colored people, armed with clubs, assembled in large numbers on the common near the jail, and showed a determina- tion to attempt a rescue; but after the departure of the steamboat in the evening they dispersed, as it was evident that the slaves would not be removed. On Monday they again assembled in increased num- bers, gathering in groups in the neighborhood of the jail, armed with clubs, stones, and pistols. There was also a large number of them on the wharf where the steamboat lay. A little before four o'clock in the afternoon, the sheriff went to the jail, and a carriage was driven up to convey Blackburn to the boat; but he was hardly seated before the negroes attacked the carriage; the sheriff then at- tempted to convey him back to the jail, but as he' was going in the negroes made a rush, rescued the slave, put him in a cart, and he escaped to Windsor. He was then arrested by the Canadian authorities and lodged in Sandwich jail. They were requested by the State authorities to deliver him up, but refused to do so, and he was soon set at liberty.

During the mêlée Sheriff Wilson was dangerously wounded. The excitement in the city was intense, and several colored persons were arrested. There were no sufficient means of preserving order, and Governor Cass, then Secretary of War, who hap- pened to be in the city on a visit, ordered a com- pany of troops from Fort Gratiot to proceed to Detroit to "aid the civil authority in support of the laws." As affording further and more permanent protection, the citizens, at a public meeting, on July 10, decided to establish a city watch, "to consist of sixteen persons, to continue until the trial or dis- charge of the colored persons who are now under arrest for riotous conduct."

Public sentiment became increasingly opposed to slavery, and on April 26, 1837, the Detroit Anti- Slavery Society was organized. The constitution contained the following articles :

Article 1 .- This association shall be called The Detroit Anti- Slavery Society, and shall be auxiliary to the Michigan State Anti-Slavery Society.

Article 2 .- The object of this society shall be the entire aboli- tion of slavery in the United States of America, and the elevation of our colored brethren to their proper rank as men. While it admits that each State alone has, by the constitution of the

United States, the exclusive right to legislate with regard to slavery within its own limits, its aim shall be to convince all our fellow citizens, by arguments addressed to their understanding and consciences, that slave-holding is a crime in the sight of God, and that the duty, safety, and best interests of all concerned require its immediate abandonment.

Article 3 .- Any person not a slave-holder, or engaged in the traffic of slaves, may become a member of this society by signing its constitution. * * *

Article 7 .- The annual meeting of this society shall be held on the anniversary of the emancipation of the British West Indies.

The officers of the association for 1837 were : Shubael Conant, president; Edward Brooks, Edwin W. Cowles, and Cullen Brown, vice-presidents; Charles Henry Stewart, secretary; George F. Por- ter, treasurer; William Kirkland, Alanson Sheley, and Peter Boughton, executive committee. In 1839 Robert Stewart was president, and A. L. Porter, corresponding secretary. The society was in exist- ence only a short time, but its spirit remained, and its principles grew increasingly popular.

In January, 1842, the ex-slave, Henry Bibb, came to Detroit, and in 1844 and 1845 he lectured in Michigan under the auspices of the Liberty Asso- ciation, a political organization which sought to pro- mote the election of anti-slavery candidates. Horace Hallock was president, Cullen Brown, vice-presi- dent, and S. M. Holmes, secretary.

On September 18. 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. It provided that slaves might be arrested in any State, appointed special officers to secure their arrest, and directed that the testi- mony of fugitives, in any trial growing out of their arrest, should not be admitted. This law greatly incensed many citizens, and increased the strength of the anti-slavery sentiment. The proximity of Canada, where slaves became free men, caused De- troit to become a noted point of departure, and fugitive slaves were constantly passing through the city, and frequent, and sometimes successful, efforts were made by their owners to capture them. In October, 1850, the arrest of a colored man named Rose created so great an excitement that, at the request of the mayor, General Schwartz called out three volunteer companies to preserve the peace ; and on October 8, 1850, the thanks of the Council were tendered to John Ladue, then mayor, for his action in the case.

The attempts to retake fugitive slaves were in the main unsuccessful, for the majority of the peo- ple were opposed to slavery, and though the law upheld them, the slave-holders were foiled and outwitted. There was a complete chain of persons, extending to the slave States, who were organized for the relief and transportation of fugitive slaves. A paper in their interest, called the Voice of the Fugitive, was published, first at Sandwich and then at Windsor, by Henry Bibb. The issue of Novem- ber 5, 1851, contained the following notice :

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SLAVERY AND THE COLORED RACE.

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

This road is doing better business this fall than usual. The Fugitive Slave Law has given it more vitality, more activity, more passengers, and more opposition, which invariably acceler- ates business. We have been under the necessity of tearing up the old strap rails and putting down the regular T's, so that we can run a lot of slaves through from almost any of the bordering Slave States into Canada, within forty-eight hours, and we defy the slaveholders and their abettors to beat that if they can.

We have just received a fresh lot to-day of hearty looking men and women, on the last train from Virginia, and still there is room.

In order to aid the runaway slaves a Refugee Home Society was organized at Detroit, and offi- cered by the active members of the Liberty Associa- tion. The society bought a large quantity of land back of Sandwich, and aided in settling nearly fifty families. Its operations covered the period from 1854 to 1872.

In order to hinder the working of the Fugitive Slave Law, the Legislature of Michigan, on Feb- ruary 13, 1855, passed a law prohibiting the use

STOCKHOLDERS OF THE UNDERGROUND R. R. COMPANY Hold on to Your Stock !!

The market has an upward tendency. By the express train which ar- rived this morning at 3 o'clock, fifteen thousand dollars worth of human merchandise, consisting of twenty-nine able -bodied men and women, fresh and sound, from the Carolina and Kentucky plantations, have arrived safe at the depot on the other side, where all our sympathising coloniza- tion friends may have an opportunity of expressing their sympathy by bringing forward donations of ploughs, &e., farming utensils, pick axes and hoes, and not old clothes; as these emigrants all can till the soil. N. B .- Stockholders don't forget, the meeting to-day at 2 o'clock at the ferry on the Canada side. All persons desiring to take stoch in this prosperous company, be sure to be on hand.

Detroit, .Aprd 19, 1853.

By Order of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

FAC-SIMILE OF HAND-BILL OF UNDERGROUND RAH.ROAD. (Half size.)

On December 3, 1851, the paper contained this item :

PROGRESS OF ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY.

In enumerating the arrivals of this week we can count only seventeen, ten of whom came together on the Express train of the Underground Railroad. This lot consisted of a mother with six children, and three men. The next day there came four men, the next day two men arrived, and then one came alone. The latter tells of having had a warm combat by the way with two slave catchers, in which he found it necessary to throw a handful of sand in the eyes of one of them; and while he was trying to wash it out he broke away from the other, and effected his escape.

The above fac-simile reduced, half size, of a hand-bill of that day, shows the spirit and humor that were sometimes indulged in.

of the county jails to detain persons claimed as fugitive slaves, and directing the prosecuting attor- neys in the several counties to defend them. On March 12, 1859, John Brown arrived in Detroit, with fourteen slaves from Missouri. One of these slaves gave birth to a son while on the journey, who was named John Brown, and lived for many years in Windsor. Besides the slaves, John Brown had five of his own men with him. By a most remark- able coincidence, or as the result of a pre-arranged plan, Frederick Douglass, the colored orator, was present in Detroit, and lectured on the same evening that Brown arrived. After the lecture Douglass and Brown, with George De Baptiste, William

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SLAVERY AND THE COLORED RACE.

Lambert, John Richards, Dr. J. Ferguson, William Webb, and a few others, met at the house of William Webb, who was then living in the building now known as 185 Congress St. East, and held a preliminary meeting which resulted in the organiza- tion of the Harper's Ferry raid. Their plan was to make the vicinity of Harper's Ferry a place of ren- dezvous, and there assemble the fugitive slaves in sufficient numbers to protect them in their freedom. The treachery or folly of one of their number, who made known their plans, forced them to make a premature movement, and the result is a matter of general history.

THE JOHN BROWN HOUSE.

The Emancipation Proclamation was one of the legitimate results of the meeting in Detroit. The first celebration in honor of the day of its issue was held on January 6, 1863, at the colored Baptist Church.

One of the darkest pages in the history of Detroit is the record of March 6, 1863. The events that led to the doings of that day are as follows: A mulatto named William Faulkner, had been arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison for life for an alleged outrage on a little girl. The war with the South was then in progress ; a draft was feared, and the ignorant and vicious were glad of an oppor- tunity to vent their ill-nature on a race which was

claimed to be the cause of the war. Faulkner was arrested on February 26. His trial began on March 5, and on that day, while he was being conveyed back to jail, he was struck on the head with a paving-stone and knocked down. The mob which surrounded him then sought to seize him, but the officers succeeded in getting him inside the jail. The next day he was again taken to court. The trial was concluded and he was sentenced. While he was being conveyed back to jail, a squad of the provost-guard, who were aiding the sheriff, were attacked. They fired, and one man was killed. The mob now became infuriated, and an attack was begun on the colored people. Many of them were fearfully beaten ; their buildings were set on fire for the purpose of burning those who were inside ; and paving-stones were torn up and thrown at those who tried to escape, thus driving them back into the flames. Many had always doubted Faulkner's guilt, and after seven years had passed, the doubt becoming almost a certainty, a pardon was pro- cured, and on Friday, December 31, 1869, greatly to his surprise, he was released. A number of gentlemen contributed a sum of money, and he was established at a stand in the market, which he occupied until his death, about seven years after he was pardoned.

This riot caused great excitement, but it was the last manifestation of the prejudice against the colored people, who were soon after made citizens and clothed with full power of self-defense. Their efforts to obtain citizenship began in 1843, in which year a State convention was held on October 26 and 27, at the church on Fort Street, and they peti- tioned for the privilege of citizenship. In November, 1850, the question of conferring the right of suffrage on colored people was voted on, and the vote in Wayne County was 608 for and 3,320 against con- ferring such right. On January 25, 1865, a second State convention was held at the Croghan Street Baptist Church, and the Legislature was petitioned to grant the right of suffrage. The petition was not granted, but the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, on March 30, 1870, the Secretary of State declared fully rati- fied, made them citizens and voters. The restric- tive word " white " was stricken from the Constitu- tion of Michigan by a vote of the people on November 8, 1870, and the votes of the colored citizens were first cast in Detroit on the same day.

CHAPTER XLIX.

RECREATIONS AND AMUSEMENTS.

THE early French colonists had abundant oppor- tunities for the manifestation of their natural gayety, even in this far-off wilderness. The whole region was a natural preserve, and its hunting and fishing facilities would have satisfied the most enthusiastic sportsman that ever threw a line or carried a gun. Oars plashed here and there along the river, and in handling the light canoe the dark-eyed French girls showed great skill and grace. Sunday afternoon and evening were especially given up to gayety. The people had been to mass in the morning, the penitents had been duly shrived, and the benedic- tions of the priests rested upon them : why should they not be gay? They, at least, seemed to know no reason, and in groups and parties they " carri- oled " along the beach or paddled near the shore ; young lovers strolled beneath the old pear-trees, and those tall, strong sentinels of the river-side dropped mellow offerings at their feet. Often the sound of music came through open doors, and within light heels and hearts chased the time away. Guns and fish-poles were alike in use, and the finny and feathery tribes should have known when Sun- day came, for then there was danger all around. Bougainville, who came here in 1757, thus describes the foot-races of that day :

There are in Detroit some foot-races between Indians and Canadians, and they are as celebrated as those of horses in Eng- land; they take place in the spring ; from five hundred up to fifteen hundred Indians are generally present at them; the length of the race is one mile and a half (go and return), from Detroit to the village of the Pottowatamies; the road is broad and beautiful ; there are some posts fixed in the ground at both extremities ; the bets are very high on each side, and consist of furs on one part and French merchandise on the other, for the use of the Indians. The most celebrated racer is a Frenchman named Campau ; his superiority is so well recognized that he is no more admitted into the races.

In 1761, during a visit of Sir William Johnson, notwithstanding the dangers .of the time, the fol- lowing extracts from his diary show that amuse- ments were not forgotten :

Sunday, 6th (September). A very fine morning. This day I am to drive with Captain Campbell, who is also to give the ladies a ball, that I may see them. They assembled at 8 o'clock at night to the number of about twenty. I opened the ball with Mademoiselle Curie,-a fine girl. We danced until five o'clock

next morning. Saturday, 12th .- This morning four of the prin- cipal ladies of the town came to wait on me. I treated them with rusk and cordial. After sitting an hour they went away. Sunday, 13th. *

* * At 10 o'clock Captain Campbell came to introduce some of the town ladies to me at my quarters, whom I received and treated with cakes, wine, and cordial. Monday, 14th. * * * I took a ride before dinner up toward Lake St. Clair. The road runs along the river side, which is all settled thickly nine miles. A very pleasant place in summer, but at other sea- sons too low and marshy. The French gentleman and the two priests who dined with us got very merry. Invited them all to a ball to-morrow night which I am to give to the ladies. Tuesday, 15th. * * * In the evening, the ladies and gentlemen assembled at my quarters, danced the whole night until 7 o'clock in the morning, when all parted very much pleased and happy. Prom- ised *to write to Mademoiselle Curie as soon as possible my senti- ments; there never was so brilliant an assembly here before.

The several allusions to Mademoiselle Curie make it evident that his diary was not kept for the benefit and instruction of Mollie Brant and the ten children from whom Sir William was absent for a time. Another reference to the lady in question is contained in a letter from Captain Donald Campbell to Sir William Johnson, dated Detroit, June 9, 1762. He says :

I gave a ball on the King's birthday, when a certain acquaint- ance of yours appeared to great advantage. She never neglects an opportunity of asking about the General. * * * I think by her talk Sir William had promised to return to Detroit. She desires I should present her best compliments.

It is evident that these compliments were renewed through Captain Gladwin, for on April 7, 1763, Sir William Johnson wrote from Johnson Hall to Glad- win at Detroit :

I have not forgotten the powerful effect of the charms of the lady who honors me with a place in her remembrance, and should be very happy in any opportunity which might offer of paying her my devoirs.

The lady, however, yielded to the suit of one of the Detroit merchants, as appears from the follow- ing extract fron: a letter of James Stirling to Sir William Johnson, dated Detroit, April 27, 1765 :

Soon after my arrival here I was married to Miss Cuiellierric, who desires to be remembered to you in the most grateful manner and returns you hearty thanks for your civilities to her whilst at this place.

Although several different names are given in these extracts, they all referred to the same lady,

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Miss Beaubien, who was notably brilliant and ac- complished.

All gatherings of young people were enlivened by music and dancing, and if no violinist was to be obtained there were not a few demoiselles who could lilt the dancing tunes so blithely and so well as to make the violin almost needless. When the English came the officers made sad havoc with the time and thoughts of the lively maidens of that time; and in the warp and woof of revolutionary days, the scalp-cry of the Indians, the drum-beat of the garrison, and the howl of wolves, were mingled the music of the ball-room and the gay laugh of merry dancers. Captain Grant, of the navy, wrote to a friend, "We hop and bob every Monday night at the council-house."

Later on dancing parties or assemblies were arranged for by subscription, and several invita- tions to these gatherings, written on the back of playing cards, are preserved. Some of the amuse- ments of 1789 are described in a letter written by Miss Ann Powell, who was here in May of that year. She says :

As soon as our vessel anchored, several ladies and gentlemen came on board; they had agreed upon a house for us, till my brother could meet with one that would suit him, so we found ourselves at home immediately. The ladies visited us in full dress, though the weather was boiling hot. What do you think of walking about when the thermometer is above ninety ? It was as high as ninety-six the morning we returned our visits. Whilst we staid at the fort, several parties were made for us,- a very agree- able one by the 65th, to an island a little way up the river. Our party was divided into five boats ; one held the music, in each of the others were two ladies and as many gentlemen as it could hold. Lord Edward1 and his friend arrived just time enough to join us ; they went round the Lake by land to see some Indian settlements, and were highly pleased with their jaunt. Lord Edward speaks in raptures of the Indian hospitality : he told me one instance of it which would reflect honor on the most polished society. By some means or other, the gentlemen lost their provi- sions and were entirely without bread, in a place where they could get none. Some Indians travelling with them had one loaf, which they offered to his Lordship, but he would not accept it ; the Indians gave him to understand that they were used to do without, and that, therefore, it was less inconvenient to them ; they still refused, and the Indians then disappeared and left the loaf of bread in the road the travellers must pass, and the Indians were seen no more. Our party on the Island proved very pleasant, which that kind of parties seldom do ; the day was fine, the coun- try cheerful, and the band delightful. We walked some time in the shady part of the Island, and then were led to a bower where the table was spread for dinner. Everything here is on a grand scale ; do not suppose we dined in an English arbor! This one was made of forest trees and bushes, which being fresh cut, you could not see where they were put together, and the bower was the whole height of the trees, though quite close at the top. The band was placed without and played whilst we were at dinner. We were hurried home in the evening by the appearance of a thunder storm ; it was the most beautiful I ever remember to have seen.

The winter season furnished many a scene of gay festivity. The little French or Canadian ponies

1 Lord Edward Fitzgerald, then at Detroit.

were so plentiful as to be had for almost nothing ; and box-runners, then much in vogue, were so easily constructed that every one could procure a "turn-out," and not only the river, but the Grand Marsh on the east, and the River Rouge on the west, became race-courses for the whole community. This last locality, the Red River, as the English always called it, was the favorite place for this sport, and fast pacers were in special demand on these occasions. The officers and ladies of the post, dressed in sable-lined robes, with masks to protect their faces, and beaver caps for the heads, were well sheltered from the winds. De Peyster in one of his poems relates at length how, on occasions, dinners of venison were barbecued in the open air, and served on the bank, with bearskins for seats, and no sign of a table,-a picnic in the winter time, with the deer and bears as lookers-on.

The following advertisement, from the Gazette of January 21, 1825, gives characteristics of the sports on the Rouge :

TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN AGAINST NORTH AMERICA.

To Sportsmen.

The subscriber will pace his horse Bas Blanc against any trot- ting or pacing horse, mare, or gelding in North America, from two to five miles, for any sum from fifty to ten thousand dollars. The race to take place on the ice, the present winter, at some place within the Territory, and the horses to be driven before a carriole, or rode, as the parties please.

RIVER RAISIN, Fan. 18, 1825.

ISADORE NAVARRE.

Other sports on the ice, as practiced in his boy- hood days, are thus described by Judge Campbell .

When the sharp winter moved along, And the ice on the river was smooth and strong, From Bloody Bridge to fair Belle Isle Was seen the flash of the ringing steel, As over the bar the skaters pass, And through the crystal, clear as glass, Gaze at the fish, that turn and stare At the strange doings in the air. On the wide shallows of Grand-Marais Before the breeze the rushes sway, And domes of plaited reeds appear,1 Tempting the hunter's cruel spear. But livelier far, as the boys rush down, Is the clear, deep river before the town. From shore to shore they glide and swing Quickly as swallows on the wing, Or backward sweep in a circus ring, Or spread the eagle, or carve the ice With names, and many a strange device. And in the moonlight's silvery flow, Nimble and tireless as the roe, Again on the river the swarm flies out, Dodging and sliding and wheeling about, As when for the season the school is out, And urchins, fearless of disaster, Caper undaunted before the master.

1 The houses of the musk-rat.

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RECREATIONS AND AMUSEMENTS.

With curving sticks in fierce melee - They drive the whizzing ball away, Or scamper in a mile long race To reach the bounds of prisoner's base. Or, twisting tight their 'kerchiefs stout, Hard and stiff as a Russian knout, And counting slowly up to ten, Call the Red Lion out of his den, And scurrying off in the goalward track Laugh as the clumsy loiterer's back Winces beneath the sounding whack.

For picnic grounds the Woodbridge Grove, lo- cated at what is now the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, and also the grounds near the fort, were deemed desirable as late as 1850. On Saturday afternoons and holidays the children could ramble in the woods, inside the present city limits. In the spring there were wintergreen berries and sassafras to be gathered ; and later on, mandrakes, wild strawberries, and huckleberries called many to the fields. In the fall, hickory and hazel nuts glad- dened the eyes and stained the fingers of those who went in search of them. On the route out, bull- frogs and tree-toads frequently enlivened the way, and on the homeward trip, fireflies illumined the path. Each period of the year brought its own peculiar games, and then as now kites, hoops, tops, marbles, and ball followed each other as regularly as the signs of the zodiac.

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History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. I, Part 73

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Detroit, Pub. by S. Farmer & co., for Munsell & co., New York
Number of Pages: 1094