A Desperate Road to Freedom Read online

  I couldn’t help remembering the last time I was on a steamer. It was so different today. We were all so tired, and hungry and plain scared back then. Didn’t know what was going to happen to us. Couldn’t have imagined how good it was all going to turn out. I remembered standing in the wind on that boat and saying to myself that it was the wind of freedom that was blowing in my face. The wind was blowing today, too, and I just drank it in and said a quiet little prayer of thanks to the Lord for bringing us safely through such trouble. Added on a bit for Thomas and Caleb and Daniel and Sarah. I can’t ever be thankful for my good fortune without remembering them.

  It took us almost an hour to get to Presque Isle. We got off there and found a place to lay down our blanket and set up our picnic. The shore is all stony, but it’s really pretty around here. The water is so clear you can see fish swimming around in it. At least you could at first. Some boys set to hurling stones at them the minute they got there, and the fish cleared out pretty quick after that.

  Too bad Joseph isn’t here. He’d have loved to join in. Actually, it’s just as well he isn’t here. The engine room on the boat was completely open. I looked in when we were getting off. It was all hot and noisy, with big machines pounding away and a sailor loading wood into the furnace. If Joseph had been around he’d have been in there and into some kind of trouble for sure.

  At first the children in the group just ran around exploring. Noah and his brothers and his papa had brought fishing lines and went out on the point to see if they could catch anything, but they didn’t. Guess those fish knew well enough to keep far away today. I helped Missus Long set out our picnic, then we called them to come eat. We had a feast.

  After people had eaten their lunches and settled down, we had speeches. Lots of speeches. I got to admit that I didn’t listen too hard, but the grown-up people liked them. There was lots of clapping and encouragement. Old Man Henson was there and he spoke about his early days. Lady sitting next to us told us he’s about a hundred years old but I think she might have been exaggerating. He is pretty old, though.

  What with the sun so hot, and all that good food, I just lay down on my back and watched the clouds go by. Almost went to sleep. I only perked up when the singing started. Then there were games for the children, and the grown-ups visited back and forth.

  It was late afternoon by the time we got back on the boat and headed home. The sun was setting over the shore and I stood at the rail and drank it all in. When we reached the cabin it was dark. I helped Missus Long unpack their hamper and tidy things up, then came on here to home.

  I still got the sound of singing in my head, and a warm, happy feeling inside of me.

  Sunday, August 2nd, 1863

  Went to the British Methodist Episcopal Church. The preacher today was Father Miller. He’s a kindly man. Talked about following the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Paradise that awaits us if we do. Made it sound pretty nice. I wanted to ask if people up there are black and white, like down here, or if our souls are all the same colour, but Mama shushed me.

  Monday, August 3rd, 1863

  Made a friend today, and she’s a white girl! Name of Amelia. I hope she turns out nicer than Miss Marissa. I think she will, though, on account of she doesn’t own me. This is how it happened.

  There’s a kind of woods behind our cabins, and a big sort of cliff behind them. The West Rocks, one of the children here said it was called. Said it was a great place to explore and climb, but his mama didn’t let him because she thought it was too dangerous. That got me curious, of course, so I decided I would just go and have a look-see. It was pretty hard going getting through the bush (that’s what they call woods here) and about halfway there I stumbled into a wet, boggy patch and sank in nearly up to my ankles. Horrible black, smelly stuff it was. I knew Mama was not going to be one bit happy when she saw the state of my boots when I got home. Anyway, I got past that part and came up against the cliff. I wasn’t really intending to go up it, but I thought I’d just climb a bit. Boze was with me, but I made him stay at the bottom. The rocks there are all jumbled up and slippery with moss. Not too hard climbing for me, but not good for a dog. Boze wasn’t too happy about it, but he did what I told him. Seems like a good dog. I never had a dog before. Dogs were just animals to be scared of, but I kind of like having Boze around. He’s good company.

  I meant to stop, but somehow just kept on going. There’s cracks in between the rocks where a body could fall, so I guess that’s why that boy’s mama didn’t want him fooling around in there, but I’m pretty spry and it didn’t seem dangerous to me. Before I knew it, I’d climbed almost all the way to the top. Then stones started rattling down on top of me. I realized there was somebody else up there. I froze still as I could, and I got to admit my heart was beating pretty hard. No telling who was there and I was all by myself. Then I heard a slipping and sliding kind of noise and next thing I knew a girl landed down beside me with a thump. She didn’t see me at first and let loose with the kind of cuss word that would get me a slap from Mama if she heard it. Then she got up and saw me there. For a moment we just looked at each other and neither one of us said a word.

  “Who are you,” she asked, “and what are you doing here?”

  Well, the way she said it just got my back up.

  “I’m Julia May Jackson,” I said right back at her, as prideful as I could, “and I wasn’t aware this was private property.” I was all of a sudden mad and ready to light right into her, but she just shook her hair out of her eyes and grinned at me.

  “Sorry,” she said. “You just surprised me. I didn’t know anybody else was here. Not too many children are allowed.”

  “I’m allowed,” I said, although that wasn’t the exact truth. Mama didn’t tell me not to climb up here, but that’s only because she didn’t know about it.

  “My name’s Amelia,” she said then. “Pleased to meet you.”

  Took all the wind out of my sails, the friendly way she said it.

  “Come on,” she said, “I’ll show you an easy way down.”

  We climbed down together. She showed me how to avoid the boggy bit and we got back out of the bush. Turns out she lives up near Mister Frost’s place. Her daddy’s a ship’s captain on one of the steamers I saw in the harbour on Saturday. She had to hurry home on account of it was suppertime by then, but she said she’d meet me there again tomorrow and show me all around. Show me the best climbing places, and even some caves.

  Mama did light into me about the state my boots were in, and the state I was in, too, but I didn’t mind. I’m too busy thinking about tomorrow. Boze was about as dirty as he was when I first found him, so he got another bath. So did I.

  Tuesday, August 4th, 1863

  Amelia’s mother is the nicest lady. I met Amelia again today and we spent the whole afternoon exploring and climbing around the rocks. Then Amelia asked me if I wanted to go home with her. I wasn’t too sure that I should — we were both pretty dirty — but she told me her mother wouldn’t care, and she didn’t. She just took one look at us and sent us to the pump out back to wash up, then when we came back she had glasses of fresh, cool milk sitting on the kitchen table for us, and the most delicious molasses cookies. Amelia has little twin sisters, Nell and Mary, and they sat with us and stared at me, but I didn’t mind.

  Amelia’s mother asked me all sorts of questions about where we came from and how we made it up here. She kept saying, “My, my, what a story!” I got carried away and talked more than I have to anybody about what it was like. She made Boze stay outside, but Mama does that too so I didn’t mind. Boze might have, though. I snuck a morsel of cookie out to him when I went home.

  Tomorrow Amelia’s daddy, Captain Pearce, is sailing off to Collingwood and Amelia invited me to go down with her to wave him off. She has a brother, too, named William, and he’s going to be a sailor when he’s old enough. He doesn’t pay Amelia and me much attention — thinks he’s too grand for consorting with his sister and her little frie
nds, I guess.

  Wednesday, August 5th, 1863

  Papa got a job in a stable here! He’s been helping out with Mister Frost’s horses and I guess Mister Frost was pretty impressed with how good Papa is with them, because he put in a good word for Papa with a friend of his, Mister Cooper, who owns a stable in Owen Sound, and Mister Cooper hired him. We are all so happy about that. Papa’s mighty pleased, too, I can tell. And relieved. Mister Long told us that the white people in Owen Sound are beginning to resent coloured people taking their jobs, so it’s getting harder and harder for our men to find jobs here. He’s all for Papa going into farming like they’re going to do, but Papa doesn’t want to do that. Mama doesn’t either. Thank goodness.

  Joseph, of course, is delighted that Papa will be working with horses and he pestered and pestered until Papa agreed to carry him to work with him. Joseph is determined to help but I think he’ll be more of a hindrance than anything else.

  We went down to see Captain Pearce’s steamer off. What a commotion! It went off in a bluster of whistles and black smoke, the engines just churning up the water in the harbour. It’s a much bigger boat than the steamer we went down to Presque Isle on. Amelia says her mother worries about her daddy — there’ve been a lot of shipwrecks in the lake here. Glad Mama didn’t know that before I went on the picnic.

  Thursday, August 6th, 1863

  Missus Frost has given Mama washing to do. She asked if Mama could iron and Mama said she certainly could, so Missus Frost said she could find lots of work for her, and she’s going to give her ironing to do, too. Mama can work right up at Sheldon Place with the white girl they got helping out as a servant there.

  Thank goodness again for the kindness of Mister and Missus Frost. We are certainly grateful to them. We can start to be independent now with Mama and Papa both working, and that’s a good feeling for all of us.

  Saturday, August 8th, 1863

  Joseph is a trial. He has decided to be a horse again and there’s no talking to him. He scurries around on all fours, neighing and whinnying and kicking his heels up. Mama got so provoked with him that she put his dinner on the floor and told him if he was going to be an animal, he could eat like an animal. Didn’t seem to bother Joseph none, but then Boze started inching in, his eye on a chicken bone, and Joseph decided to leave off being a horse long enough to eat at the table.

  Papa just laughs.

  Sunday, August 9th, 1863

  Church again today. I am getting very fond of Father Miller. Couldn’t meet with Amelia, though, as she goes to the white folks’ church and Mama won’t let us do a thing on the Sabbath but sit around home. Only good thing is that I don’t even have to do chores. We’re putting in a little vegetable patch, even though it’s so late in the season, and I’m tired of digging. The soil here is too hard and stony. Won’t have much time before winter sets in, but Mama says we might get some radishes and young carrots, and the ground will be ready for planting then come spring.

  Monday, August 10th, 1863

  There are Indians around town here. Some of them carry people across the river in their canoes, but they don’t live here anymore. Amelia says they used to, but they’ve been moved up the peninsula to Cape Croker. She says they like it there, but I wonder. If they were here first, I don’t see how they would take kindly to being moved out.

  Anyway, we saw an Indian lady on the street today and Amelia said she had her land taken away and she was fighting for it. Amelia said she went all the way to England to see the Queen and tell her about it, but it doesn’t seem to have done her much good. I could hardly believe it, but Amelia swears it’s true. She’s got an Indian name which I cannot begin to spell, but she’s married to a white man and her white name is Missus Catherine Sutton. She’s a fine-looking lady.

  Imagine. Going all the way to England, which I hear tell is all the way on the other side of the world, and talking to the Queen!

  Tuesday, August 11th, 1863

  Strangest thing. Noah came round today and he was acting peculiar. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him, but he wouldn’t hardly talk to me at all. It wasn’t until I got out my workbooks and asked him if he wanted to read with me that I found out what was going on.

  “You sure you wouldn’t rather be visiting with your white friend?” he asked, in an uppity tone of voice.

  I do believe he’s jealous!

  His folks have got a piece of land to farm, but they’re not going to move onto it until next spring. They’ve built a little shanty there and they’re going to clear the land this fall, but they’ll spend the winter here in town, then build a proper cabin after the snow goes. People tell us there’s a powerful lot of snow here in the winter.

  Mister Long and Noah’s brothers think they’ll be able to get jobs in a lumber camp for the winter. Noah and I’ll be going to school together soon. Maybe that will make him feel better. In the meantime, I promised to go out to the land with him and help him pick stones. There are an awful lot to clean away, and bush to clear, before they can plant anything next spring.

  Thursday, August 13th, 1863

  I saw the most amazing thing today. Amelia came over real early and called me out. “A circus is coming to town,” she shouted. “There’s a parade! Come and see it!”

  I ran out and of course Joseph ran out with me. I told Boze to stay home, but for once he didn’t mind me. We ran down to Poulett Street. There was already a big crowd gathered there.

  At first there was nothing to see, but then we heard music and down the street it came. First off there was a whole orchestra standing in a really strange kind of wagon — a chariot, someone said they called it — pulled by a team of the most beautiful horses I ever saw. They were a lovely honey colour, with pale yellow manes and tails. They pranced along as if they knew how beautiful they were. The chariot was painted golden and shone in the sun so bright it almost hurt my eyes, and the music the men were playing just set my feet to tapping. Before I knew it, Joseph had run out onto the street and was dancing along beside it. Then a whole bunch more horses and ponies in all different colours came trotting along. There were ladies in sparkly dresses riding on some of them, and some of the ladies were actually standing on the horses as they trotted by, waving their arms in the air. Don’t know how they didn’t fall off.

  Then a big horse came along all by itself and a boy was jumping up and down off of it as it pranced along. A minute later another boy behind him was doing back flips on his horse! I’ve never seen the like of it.

  Just as they were going by, wouldn’t you know it, Boze ran out, barking. I tried to call him back, but two more dogs ran out to join him. I called to Joseph to catch Boze, but he didn’t want to hear me. He only wanted to see those horses close up. A lot of other boys were running alongside the performers, too, and all in all, with the music blaring away, and folks cheering and applauding, it made quite a ruckus. The performers didn’t seem to mind, though, or the horses. Guess they’re used to it.

  Then there were a whole lot of baggage vans — I guess they put the horses and ponies in them when they’re moving from place to place. They were all painted and decorated up. At the very end some horses were doing a kind of skittering dance, and doing little jumps as they went along.

  Then a man came along leading a mule. The mule had a sign on it saying it was the COMIC MULE SAM PATCH. When they got in front of us, the man suddenly stopped and the mule kept right on going. Ran into the back of him and knocked him down. Then he got up and I thought he was yelling mad at the mule, but turned out it was all part of the show and everybody watching was laughing at them. The man looked to be going to beat the mule with a stick, but the mule just grabbed the stick in his mouth, pulled it right out of the man’s hand, and started in to waving it at him instead. Then they both ran off to catch up to the parade.

  Amelia says her mother is going to take her and her sisters to the show tonight. I would love to go too, but we can’t afford it and I know my mama wouldn’t let them pay
for me. They didn’t actually offer, anyway.

  At least I saw the parade.

  Friday, August 14th, 1863

  Picking stones is hard work! But I said I’d help, so I will. Mister Long drove us out in the wagon to their piece of land early this morning and we worked all day. It’s just to the north of Owen Sound, not too far away. It’s up on a hill and there’s a pretty view of Georgian Bay. Missus Long fixed a good lunch for us to take with us, and I was glad to stop and eat it. Luckily, there’s a good stream on the property so we had lots of water to drink. It was blazing hot, though, and I’ve got blisters on my hands. Had to hide them so Noah wouldn’t see. He’d have felt bad. His hands are tougher than mine and he doesn’t get blisters.

  Going back tomorrow.

  Saturday, August 15th, 1863

  I never want to see another stone in my life. Mister Long and Noah’s brothers have cleared a big enough patch so that they can put up their tent, and they’re going to set it up next week and stay up there. I feel bad that I won’t be able to help anymore, but kind of relieved, too. A few more days like these past two and I don’t think I’d have any skin left on my hands at all.

  Noah and Missus Long are going to come back to their cabin here at Mister Frost’s when school starts next week. His papa and brothers will stay on the farm and work at clearing it until the snow comes, then they’re going to get jobs in a lumber camp.

  Mama made me a new dress out of cloth that Missus Frost gave her in exchange for her ironing work. I am going to look mighty fine on my first day of school.

  Monday, August 17th, 1863

  Where to start? I love school. Amelia is in my class, and so is Noah. He and his mama are back here now. My teacher’s name is Miss Wilson. Even though there’s lots of coloured folk in Owen Sound, there’s not so many coloured children here as there were in the school in Toronto. In fact, Noah and I are the only ones in our class. Miss Wilson is nice, though. She was impressed with how well I could read. I’m going to work as hard as I can.