Page:The Under-Ground Railroad.djvu/33

 the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke; these are perfect safeguards to human liberty, which God has raised for the protection of the weak.

The progress of the Slave is very much impeded by a class of men in the Northern States who are too lazy to work at respectable occupations, to obtain an honest living, but prefer to obtain it, if possible, whether honestly or dishonestly, by tracking runaway Slaves. On seeing advertisements in the newspapers of escaped Slaves, with rewards offered, they, armed to the teeth, saunter in and through Abolition Communities or towns, where they are likely to find the object of their pursuit. They sometimes watch the houses of known Abolitionists. Their presence among us causes some excitement, for it is an unmistakable indication that the Slave has left his prison-house of bondage for Canada, where he can stand erect as a man, and claim his own freedom, and no one dares to molest or make him afraid. We are hereby warned, and for our own safety and that of the Slave, we act with excessive caution. The first discoverer of these bloody rebels communicates their presence to others of our company, that the entire band in that locality is put on their guard. If the Slave has not reached us, we are on the look out, with greater anxiety than the hunters, for the fugitive, to prevent his falling into the possession of