Page:Robert Carter- his life and work. 1807-1889 (IA robertcarterhis00coch).pdf/81

Rh the date and place. He told her, and she said to him: “I can tell you what became of those young people. She was the daughter of respectable parents in Michigan, but married this young man, who was almost a stranger, against the wishes of her friends. They had been married but a few days when you saw them. He proved to be a professional gambler, and on that steamer and in that hotel lost every cent of his money and hers. When he was put off the train in the darkness that night, he drew out a revolver and shot his brains out, and in the morning his bride was found sitting alone on the prairie, with her husband’s head in her lap. The poor young creature was taken back to her friends in Michigan.”

Mr. Carter’s father died, May 2, 1844, twelve years after coming to America. His sturdy Scotch character had won for him a place in the farming community in which he lived, in Saratoga County, New York. He was an active member of church and Sunday school, an ardent advocate of total abstinence and antislavery, for which causes he was ever ready to speak in public and private,—ready to run risks too, for in the days of the Fugitive Slave Law he was a conductor on the Underground Railway. In this connection, his son Walter relates the following incident:—

“One stormy winter morning, soon after the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law, enacting severe penalties for harboring a fugitive slave, as we knelt at worship in the old farm-house, a soft knock was heard at the door. It was gently opened, while the solemn prayer went on. As we rose from our knees, we saw a large negro, shabbily dressed and covered with snow, standing by the door. He looked at father, as if asking protection, and was welcomed to the fire. He took his seat at the table, and ate like one famished. After a 5