Old Fireplace Reveals
Ancient Slave Hideout
1 ———
Wilmington, O.—Discovery of a
"false fireplace" by workmen
wrecking an old house on the
Wilmington-Xenia, road lent re -
newed credence today to countless
stories of days before the civil
war, when thousands of Negro
slaves escaped into Canada over
the "underground railroad."
The "U. G." as it often was
called, was neither underground
nor a railroad, but it did have
"depots," such as the cubicle be
hind the fireplace in the ancient
house near here.
Origin of the underground is
obscured in time's mists, but of
the tales of how it won its name,
that related by a former enthu
siast of many years ago. Rush R.
Sloane, of Sandusky, is perhaps
as reliable as any.
Sloane said that in 1831 a Ne
gro named Tice Davis ran away
from Kentucky but was closely
pursued by his master. When he
reached the Ohio river, opposite
Ripley, 0., he plunged in to swim
to the northern shore. The mas
ter followed in a skiff, keeping
the fugitive ih sight until the
bank was reached.
There the Negro disappeared as
if by magic. After a long, fruitless
search, the master observed:
"He must have gone off on an
underground railroad."
Name Continued In Use
Sloane said the remark created
such amusement on both sides of
NOW UNDER WAY--ALL THIS WEEK!
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ELKIN BARGAIN DAYS
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the river that the name stuck to
all subsequent actions in helping
slaves to escape.
The regular route for filing!
slaves generally was through two
of Ohio's most rugged river coun-
Brown and Clermont, both
of which offered natural cover as
well as the aid or sympathizers
once a fugitive reached them.
Some slaves also escaped through
Hamilton county (Cincinnati)
Ohio, and the Indiana border
counties.
Ohio historians say that first
rumors of underground railroad
activities in Ohio on an organized
scale followed the removal to Rip
ley of an itinerant minister, Rev.
John Rankin, who had left Bour
bon county, Kentucky, after years
of denouncing slavery from the
pulpit.
Rankin established a small col
lege in his new home and was
well received. Soon, however, ru
mor became accepted fact that his
college was a "front" for regular
work in aiding fugitive slaves
from the South.
The Rankin home was situated
on the Ohio bank, overlooking the
Kentucky side, and its lighted
windows became a beacon to the
runaways.
One of the minister's sons, who
served under General Grant in the
civil war, related after his fa
ther's death story of numerous at
tempts by slave-owners' agents to
search the Rankin house, of fre
quent mob threats asaiwA the
minister, and other retaliatory ac
tions, most of which proved fu
tile.
"All my father did in the aid
of fugitives was to lumish them
food and shelter," he said. "The
sons, of whom there were nine;
did the conveying away."
Slave Not Enticed
Byron. Williams, who wrote a
history of Clermont county, said,
"Nothing was done to entice the
slaves from Kentucky, and only
as they came were they sped
safely on their way. True men
never refused bread to the be
seeching Negro, fleeing from
chains and with ills face toward
the North star."
Despite his comment, there is
evidence that sometimes the anti
slavery elements abducted Ne
groes from the South and forced
an unwanted freedom upon them,
Prom the Ohio river, the un
der ground railroad's route
branched in many directions, al
ways bearing toward the North
and the Canadian border, Its even
tual gosil.
Up through Hillsboro, the route
is traced to Wilmington. Tbmce
its course frequently carried on to
Xenia, Yellow Springs, Spring
field, and on to Lake Erie ports.
Some historians said that for a
score of years before the war every
port on the lake, from Toledo to
Connecticut, was a terminus of
the underground.
Real railroad terminology soon
became associated with the cru
saders' efforts. Thus, a man who
led the Negroes on part of their
Journey was a "conductor." There
fugitives began as early as 1815
in this area, continuing to the
time of President Lincoln's eman
cipation proclamation. However, it
was not until the passage of the
national fugitive slave act in 1880
that its work became a major ac
tivity.
Nevertheless, some pro-slavery
commentators of the 1840's said
there were as many as 18 or 19
frequently-traveled routes across
Ohio from the big river to the
lake.
Sometimes, in the later years,
escaping Negroes actually rode on
a railroad for parts of their jour
ney, usually hidden In the bag
gage coaches by friendly train
men, but in the main their flights
were overland.
How many escaped, the exact
methods used and many other de
tails doubtless never will be fully
known, for the operators of the
underground kept no records, or
promptly destroyed those which
they did make as soon as they no
longer were required.
As the fugitive passed from
"station" to "station," his route
was altered, so that none who had
aided him could say truthfully
that they knew whence he came
or where he had gone.
Some estimates in the 1850's
placed the number of slaves
transported by the underground
at 50,000 or more, but reasoning
observers' declared this was greatly
exaggerated.
Work Voluntary
Most of the work of aiding the
slaves was voluntary. Contributors
rarely allowed themselves to be
come known, and those taking
more active parts were careful to
preserve their, anonymity, lest
they, like Robert Fee, of Clermont
county, be accused of kidnaping
Negroes. In addition to his legal
difficulties, Fee once was beaten
by a Kentucky mob and his home
often was surrounded by angry
slave-holders and their sympa
thizers.
Bitterness was the rule on both
sides, and verbal attacks on the
underground became a common
place event in Congress.
The paradoxically systematized
but almost-systemless and helter
skelter organization finally
passed from existence when its
aim was accomplished by the war
between the states.
Only in the memories of the
very ancient and in such rare
discoveries as Wilmington's false
J fireplace does the underground
railroad now yield proof that it
ever existed.
TIMELY FARM
QUESTIONS I
ANSWERED AT
STATE COLLEGE
Question: What fertilizer is
best to use in the home garden?
Answer: This depends to a large
extent upon the soil type and
the crops being grown, but a
mixture containing five percent
nitrogen, seven percent phos
phoric acid, and five percent pot
ash is very satisfactory as a gen
eral purpose fertilizer for most
truck crops. Leafy crops such as
cabbage, lettuce, and kale will re
quire more nitrogen than most
other vegetable crops but this ex
tra amount can be supplied in
the form of side applications of
readily available nitrogen ferti
lizers. Extension Circular No. 199
gives recommendations for ferti
lizer and lime applications for all
vegetable crops and copies may
be obtained free upon applica
tion to the Agricultural Editor,
State College.
Question: is there a practical
test which can be applied to
feed stuffs to tell whether or not
they are injurious to baby chicks?
I Answer: A test of this kind
could be carried out but it would
be very expensive. At the pres
ent time such tests are not con
ducted by any State agency. The
best way to test she feed for its
toxicity or "poisonous*' quality is
to feed it to normal baby chicks
and ran a parallel test with feed
of known good quality, if the
chicks fed the questionable feed
become sick and the others do
not, your question would be an*
swered.
Question: How can I cure my
young calves of diarrhea?
Answer: This, in all probability
is caused by improper feeding
such as over-feeding, feeding out
of dirty pails or boxes, irregular
feeding, or feeding milk too rich
in fat and it is much easier to
prevent than to cure. All calves
showing symptoms of the trouble
should be isolated and the milk
feed reduced one-half. If legume
hay is being fed, replace this with
grass hay. A dose of from one
to three table-,poonsful of castor
■oil, mixed with a pint of fresh
milk should then be given. After
the action of the oil. give a tea
spoonful of a mixture composed
of one nsrt salol two
'of "mbnitrate of bismuth and W-
SERIOUS THREATI
Been Reported Prom Geor
gia, S. C., and Border Belt
SEED BEDS ARE HURT
Blue mold has become a ser
ious threat to the 1937 flue-cured
tobacco In North Carolina, said
E. Y Floyd, of State College,
Reports of widespread damage
have been received from Georgia,
South Carolina, and the border
belt of this State, he said, and a
number of seed beds in the old
and new belts have been attack
ed.
Maggots, or the larvae of a
small black fly, and freezes have
also injured a number of seed
beds in thp old and new belts,
Floyd added.
The best defense against blue
mold, he said, is to stimulate the
plants to a more rapid, thrifty
growth. Small, weak plants are
usually killed by blue mold.
For small plants, a top-dress
ing of well rotted stable manure,
or chicken manure, chopped fine
and spread over the seed beds
will do better than nitrate of soda
to stimulate growth.
Or the manure may be put in a
tow sack, filled 3-4 full, and
placed in a barrel of water to
soak 24 hours. Then sprinkle the
water over the bed with a sprink
ling pot or other device that will
not pack the soil.
An equal amount of plain water
should be sprinkled over the bad
to rinse off the plants.
After plants are an inch or
more high, three to five pounds
of nitrate of soda should be ap
plied to each 100 square yards of
bed.
When small black flies, or
midges, are found under the seed
bed canvas, Floyd continued,
maggots are usually at work In
the soil, and two pounds of nap
thalene flakes should be applied
under the canvas to each 100
square yards of bed.
In the old belt, he added, (beds
that have been damaged by
freezes should be reseeded.
And Still Hungry
"What is a cannibal, Tommy?"
"I don't know."
"Well, if you ate your mother
and father, what would you be?"
"An orphan."
carbonate of soda. This dose can
be repeated until the diarrhea is
stopped.
The Bank of Elkin
: >-v. : ' ■ ■
JOINS WITH ALL
Elkin Merchants
IN EXTENDING TO YOU A WARM WELCOME
WHEN YOU VISIT ELKIN DURING
BARGAIN DAYS
APRIL BTH-9TH AND 10TH
Elkin Bargain Days is an annual event, in which Elkin Merchants
cooperate to give their customers throughout this entire section
three days of unusual and worthwhile values. It's an event de
signed to create good will; to form new friends and draw closer
old ones.
As a business which is vitally interested in both the Merchants
and the people of this section, this bank heartily endorses Elkin
Bargain Days, and joins with everyone in Elkin in cordially in
viting out-of-town friends to be present during the three big days.
___
The Bank
IIP Of Elkin
R. C. LEWELLTN GARLAND JOHNSON FRANKLIN FOLGER
President Active tWo-PTBlHwt Cwhier
-
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gfrfay, April 8, 1937 _