THE BOUNTY HUNTERS: RAIDERS OF "HUMAN PROPTERY"

Fugitive slaves of the 1800s trekking north

Fugitives Slaves in the 1800's didn't patiently wait their turn for a seat on the Underground Railroad. Some conditions in the South were just too deplorable. Some "Masters & Mistresses" were just too sadistic. 

Slaves were not considered human and were not given the proper food, clothing or medical treatment. So they ran. Most didn't even know where they were running, but they had to get out.

Some ran into camps of the Native Americans -- a new language, a different way of living, a different life and not necessarily better.  The Native Americans took them into their tribes -- like they did so many others such as white children who were lost on the Prairie's, deserters from the Mexican War, people who just couldn't make a go of it on their own.

Tribes felt that the Fugitives were so valuable because of their gifts: speaking English, understanding the "white" ways, shielding them from their captors, planting and harvesting and skilled trades -- carpenters, metal smiths, furniture makers, seamstresses.  We really don't know about this side of the Fugitive Slave Story because it hasn't been told. And, it exists.

The other story we know very little of is about The Bounty Hunters, who, anxious to make a fortune off the head of a run-away slaves, pursued them relentlessly so that they could be earn the fat sum on their heads. 

This morning, I decided to divide my Quilts, Quakers and Questors Tour and feature The Bounty Hunters: The Raiders of "Human Property."  This tour swings into the far western part of the State and into Indiana and Ohio.  It is decidedly different.  It will discuss the capture of the fugitives and also the one's that got away. It was feature how the bounty hunters used the Fugitive Slave Act against the north. How children were tormented so they cried for their mamas, which lured them from their hiding spots.  It is about human tragedy and celebration.

I do hope you can come along for the ride.