1
00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:15,920
Speaker 1: Welcome to Unexplained Extra with Me Richard McClain Smith, where

2
00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,479
Speaker 1: for the weeks in between episodes, we look at the

3
00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,159
Speaker 1: stories that, for one reason or other, didn't make it

4
00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:26,520
Speaker 1: into the show. In last week's episode, pre Sense, young

5
00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,280
Speaker 1: couple Lisa and Andy Wyrick were haunted by the prospect

6
00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,400
Speaker 1: that their daughter had been cursed with the ability to

7
00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:38,040
Speaker 1: see people who had long since died. This story was

8
00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:40,640
Speaker 1: used as the basis for a two thousand and thirteen

9
00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:46,360
Speaker 1: film titled, rather paradoxically, The Haunting in Connecticut two Ghosts

10
00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:51,320
Speaker 1: of Georgia, where in real life no specific reason was

11
00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,680
Speaker 1: ever given for the apparitions that were apparently witnessed at

12
00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,720
Speaker 1: the Wyrick property, the film took a decidedly different attact.

13
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,720
Speaker 1: Rather than a random selection of previous local residents, the

14
00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,160
Speaker 1: spirits were taken to be former slaves who had tried

15
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,000
Speaker 1: to escape the region, only to be murdered by the

16
00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:14,080
Speaker 1: man who had promised to help them. The story draws

17
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,039
Speaker 1: heavily on the history of the Underground Railroad, a network

18
00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,880
Speaker 1: of secret routes and safe houses established in the late

19
00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:26,039
Speaker 1: eighteenth century to help slaves escape the South and seek

20
00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,480
Speaker 1: a better life in the Free States of the North,

21
00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,800
Speaker 1: as well as in Mexico and Canada. This incredible organization,

22
00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,880
Speaker 1: led by free born African Americans as well as former

23
00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,360
Speaker 1: slaves such as Harriet Tubman and other abolitionists such as

24
00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:46,560
Speaker 1: Levi Coffin, is credited with helping over a hundred thousand

25
00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:52,480
Speaker 1: individuals gain their freedom. The Underground Railroad was so called

26
00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,920
Speaker 1: partly as a reference to the secrecy of the organization,

27
00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,880
Speaker 1: but also because its secrecy was maintained by the use

28
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:05,600
Speaker 1: of code words such as conductors, stations, and station masters

29
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,600
Speaker 1: to refer to the railroad's members and safe locations. There

30
00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,560
Speaker 1: is little doubt that Georgia was a slave state. However,

31
00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,320
Speaker 1: anyone trying to escape the region was unlikely to have

32
00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,960
Speaker 1: been helped by the Underground Railroad, the reason being it

33
00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:27,519
Speaker 1: was simply too dangerous. As one of the lower South

34
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:33,560
Speaker 1: states topped to the north by Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Virginia,

35
00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,560
Speaker 1: and Kentucky, it would require having to travel in secret

36
00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,800
Speaker 1: through at least two other states in order to reach

37
00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:45,520
Speaker 1: the safety of the North. Most would have considered it

38
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:51,320
Speaker 1: an impossible journey. In eighteen forty eight, however, seventeen years

39
00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:56,440
Speaker 1: before slavery was legally outlawed in the United States, two individuals,

40
00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:03,240
Speaker 1: Ellen and William Craft, attempted it regardless. Their story is

41
00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,880
Speaker 1: one of the most extraordinary, daring and heartbreaking escapes to

42
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:20,720
Speaker 1: freedom the world has ever known. Before recounting the Craft's story,

43
00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,320
Speaker 1: it is essential to understand the context under which it

44
00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:29,080
Speaker 1: took place. Around the year eighteen fifty, they were estimated

45
00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,400
Speaker 1: to be roughly four million slaves in the United States,

46
00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,600
Speaker 1: and half a million of those were in Georgia. Just

47
00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,880
Speaker 1: under a third of the adult white male population of

48
00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,680
Speaker 1: the state owned a slave, but most belonged to the

49
00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,520
Speaker 1: slave holding elite, which constituted roughly fifteen percent of the

50
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:56,040
Speaker 1: white adult male population roughly twenty thousand individuals. Though only

51
00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:00,160
Speaker 1: a small minority, this fifteen percent of the population or

52
00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:05,080
Speaker 1: did a deeply disproportionate amount of power, not only as landowners,

53
00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,000
Speaker 1: but also because two thirds of the states legislators were

54
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:14,000
Speaker 1: taken from this minority. In other words, those who owned

55
00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:18,880
Speaker 1: slaves could dictate the state's political and economic path without

56
00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:24,520
Speaker 1: ever needing the cooperation of non slaveholding legislators. So when

57
00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,800
Speaker 1: it came to the question of abolition, the quest to

58
00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,400
Speaker 1: end slavery in the United states. It goes without saying

59
00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:35,240
Speaker 1: that these men, whose power and wealth were entirely dependent

60
00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:40,400
Speaker 1: on slavery, had little sympathy for it. The way to

61
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,320
Speaker 1: justify their position legally was to treat their slaves like

62
00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,080
Speaker 1: any other property that they owned, which is to say,

63
00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,400
Speaker 1: while slavery remained legal, any attempt to escape from it meant,

64
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,440
Speaker 1: in the eyes of the law, that you were perpetrating

65
00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:03,120
Speaker 1: the theft of property, the property being yourself. The consequences

66
00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,120
Speaker 1: of being caught attempting to flee from bondage as a

67
00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,719
Speaker 1: slave were stark and would invariably include, at the very

68
00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:17,160
Speaker 1: least torture, if not rape, and even death. In some cases,

69
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,200
Speaker 1: a slave owner would prefer to maim or kill their

70
00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:26,120
Speaker 1: own slaves rather than allow them their freedom. Punishments meted

71
00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,120
Speaker 1: out to captured slaves could range anywhere from whipping to

72
00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,040
Speaker 1: having ears cropped, to the severing of hamstrings or the

73
00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,800
Speaker 1: tendons close to the knee. To prevent further attempts that escape,

74
00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,760
Speaker 1: it was also common to have individuals branded on the face,

75
00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,039
Speaker 1: on the shoulder, and even the butters, so that other

76
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:51,440
Speaker 1: locals could easily identify a former runaway slave, and such

77
00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,920
Speaker 1: actions were permitted and in some cases encouraged by law,

78
00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,480
Speaker 1: which says nothing of the difficulty for any slave on

79
00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:05,479
Speaker 1: the run in evading capture in the first place. It

80
00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,680
Speaker 1: was also legal in a number of slave states for

81
00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,640
Speaker 1: any white person to stop a black individual if they

82
00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,159
Speaker 1: had reason to suspect they were not where they were

83
00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,840
Speaker 1: supposed to be. As the law stated, it shall be

84
00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:25,520
Speaker 1: lawful for such white persons to pursue, apprehend, and moderately

85
00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,960
Speaker 1: correct such a slave, And if such slave should strike

86
00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,520
Speaker 1: or assault such white person, such slave may be lawfully killed.

87
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:47,880
Speaker 1: It was a right often taken with relish. William Craft

88
00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:52,080
Speaker 1: was born into slavery in Macon, Georgia, eighteen twenty four.

89
00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,280
Speaker 1: By age ten, he had watched helplessly as his mother

90
00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,080
Speaker 1: and father were separated and sold off to different owners

91
00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,360
Speaker 1: many miles apart, unlikely to ever see each other again.

92
00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,520
Speaker 1: By sixteen, two brothers and two sisters had also been

93
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,360
Speaker 1: sold to raise bank debts for his owner. However, since

94
00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,920
Speaker 1: his owner was ultimately unable to pay these debts, William

95
00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:21,080
Speaker 1: was essentially confiscated by the bank and soon after became

96
00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:25,920
Speaker 1: the property of one of the company's cashiers, having already

97
00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,440
Speaker 1: been apprenticed to a carpenter in Macon, it was decided

98
00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:34,240
Speaker 1: he should be kept on in that role. In eighteen

99
00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:39,200
Speaker 1: twenty five, Maria Ellen Craft's mother was raped by her owner,

100
00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:44,680
Speaker 1: Major James Smith, and consequently fell pregnant. She gave birth

101
00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,520
Speaker 1: to Ellen the following year, creating the not unusual predicament

102
00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,240
Speaker 1: that Ellen's father was also her slave master. As a

103
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,240
Speaker 1: further consequence of this crime, Ellen's skin was unusually light

104
00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,320
Speaker 1: for a black slave, even more so as her mother

105
00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:06,560
Speaker 1: had also been born under similar circumstances. As a child

106
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,200
Speaker 1: slaving for Major Smith's family, Ellen was frequently mistaken for

107
00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,600
Speaker 1: one of his wife's children. Angered by this as well

108
00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,040
Speaker 1: as her being a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity,

109
00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:24,400
Speaker 1: Missus Smith decided to take action. At the age of eleven,

110
00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,120
Speaker 1: Ellen was taken from her mother and given as a

111
00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,320
Speaker 1: gift to one of mister and Missus Smith's daughters, who

112
00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,480
Speaker 1: lived in Macon as a wedding present. It was there

113
00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:40,320
Speaker 1: that Ellen would later meet William, stealing moments together whenever

114
00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,480
Speaker 1: they could. The pair soon fell in love, and as

115
00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,040
Speaker 1: their relationship grew, it was only natural that their thoughts

116
00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,400
Speaker 1: should turn to their future life together and the prospect

117
00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,760
Speaker 1: of perhaps one day starting a family. Both knew only

118
00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,840
Speaker 1: too well, however, that any child of theirs would, by

119
00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:03,200
Speaker 1: law or so become the property of Ellen's masters, and

120
00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,960
Speaker 1: this was not a situation either was willing to accept.

121
00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:12,320
Speaker 1: Though they fantasized about escaping to freedom, both knew it

122
00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,200
Speaker 1: would be a near impossibility. Not only were they over

123
00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,360
Speaker 1: seven hundred and fifty miles from the nearest free state

124
00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,800
Speaker 1: if they were caught, the punishment for attempting it, at

125
00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,560
Speaker 1: the bare minimum being separated from each other did not

126
00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:32,800
Speaker 1: bear thinking about. In the end, they put all thought

127
00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,560
Speaker 1: of escape behind them and resolved to eke out what

128
00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,480
Speaker 1: joy they could in the company of each other. In

129
00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,760
Speaker 1: eighteen forty six, after getting permission from their owners, Ellen

130
00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:48,520
Speaker 1: and William were married. But as each day passed and

131
00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,000
Speaker 1: the desire for a child grew stronger and stronger, the

132
00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:56,480
Speaker 1: injustice of it all only became more intense. Until one

133
00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:10,240
Speaker 1: day William hit on a plan. Since Ellen had frequently

134
00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:14,480
Speaker 1: been mistaken for being white, perhaps they could travel unnoticed,

135
00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:18,280
Speaker 1: he thought, provided Ellen played the part of William's master.

136
00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,600
Speaker 1: The big catch being that, since it was virtually unheard

137
00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,400
Speaker 1: of for a white woman to travel alone, with a

138
00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,160
Speaker 1: black slave, Ellen would have to do this while also

139
00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:33,560
Speaker 1: pretending to be a man. Over the next few months,

140
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:40,080
Speaker 1: the pair cautiously made their preparations. As a carpenter, William

141
00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,640
Speaker 1: was allowed to keep a small percentage of his earnings,

142
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:47,200
Speaker 1: and so he began to save them up. Then, always

143
00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,880
Speaker 1: at a regular times and from different shops, he started

144
00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:55,000
Speaker 1: to buy all the necessary pieces for Ellen's disguise, who

145
00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:59,600
Speaker 1: in turn made the required adjustments, stashing each item away

146
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,679
Speaker 1: in a chest of drawers that William had made for her.

147
00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,200
Speaker 1: After securing permission to take a few days leave, something

148
00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,880
Speaker 1: which was only very occasionally granted during the Christmas holidays,

149
00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:18,000
Speaker 1: the pair waited patiently for their day to arrive. On Tuesday,

150
00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,000
Speaker 1: December twentieth, Ellen and William spent the night together in

151
00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:25,439
Speaker 1: Ellen's room, terrified at the prospect of what they were

152
00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:30,680
Speaker 1: about to do. Then, as the hour drew near, Ellen

153
00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:36,959
Speaker 1: put on her disguise. This included a fine jacket and trousers,

154
00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:39,960
Speaker 1: as well as a top hat and a sash of tartan,

155
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,200
Speaker 1: the preferred accessory of many a slave owner. The costume

156
00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:48,080
Speaker 1: was finished off with a pair of glasses. But then

157
00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:52,400
Speaker 1: something occurred to Ellen. Neither she nor William could read

158
00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,400
Speaker 1: or write it, being in fact illegal for anyone to

159
00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,079
Speaker 1: teach a slave how to do so as part of

160
00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,800
Speaker 1: a systematic effort to prevent organizing against their oppressors. If,

161
00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,920
Speaker 1: as was custom, Ellen was required to put her name

162
00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,200
Speaker 1: in a boarding or customs house directory, they would be

163
00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:17,520
Speaker 1: found out immediately. Then she had an idea. Taking some material,

164
00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,560
Speaker 1: she made a sling for her arm and a bandage

165
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,360
Speaker 1: to place around her head. If she was asked to

166
00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,280
Speaker 1: write her name, she would claim to be too infirm

167
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,760
Speaker 1: to do it. The bandage on her head would hide

168
00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,640
Speaker 1: her lack of facial hair and hopefully dissuade people from

169
00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:38,120
Speaker 1: talking to her. With the hour having arrived, they blew

170
00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,040
Speaker 1: out the candles and quietly made their way to the

171
00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,360
Speaker 1: front door as the faint glimmer of freedom beckoned from beyond.

172
00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:50,560
Speaker 1: But as William stepped forward to leave, Ellen remained fixed

173
00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:54,199
Speaker 1: to the spot. Suddenly it had all come rushing up

174
00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,400
Speaker 1: to her, the impossibility of what they were trying to do,

175
00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:02,040
Speaker 1: and the price if they were to get aught. She

176
00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:06,640
Speaker 1: looked to William, her eyes welling with tears, and silently

177
00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,720
Speaker 1: shook her head. But then she thought of everything they

178
00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:15,920
Speaker 1: had suffered, of what her future children would suffer, and

179
00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:19,840
Speaker 1: everyone else that had ever suffered. Then she wiped away

180
00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:24,120
Speaker 1: the tears and looked her husband in the eye. Come

181
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,600
Speaker 1: it is getting late, she said, Let us venture upon

182
00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:34,000
Speaker 1: our perilous journey. And with that they were gone into

183
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:40,160
Speaker 1: the early morning light. Are you always taking care of

184
00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,680
Speaker 1: your family? Do you often take care of others and

185
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,960
Speaker 1: not yourself? Now it's time to take care of yourself,

186
00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,840
Speaker 1: to make time for you. You deserve it. Tele adoc

187
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,680
Speaker 1: gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you

188
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,160
Speaker 1: get back to feeling your best, to feeling like yourself again.

189
00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,800
Speaker 1: With tele adoc, you can speak to a licensed therapist

190
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,640
Speaker 1: i phone or video. Therapy. Appointments are available seven days

191
00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:06,600
Speaker 1: a week from seven am to nine pm local time.

192
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:11,679
Speaker 1: If you feel overwhelmed sometimes maybe you feel stressed or anxious,

193
00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,959
Speaker 1: depressed or lonely, or you might be struggling with a

194
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:19,760
Speaker 1: personal or family issue, teledoc can help. Teledoc is committed

195
00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,480
Speaker 1: to facilitating great therapeutic matches, so they make it easy

196
00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,880
Speaker 1: to change counselors if needed. For free. Teledoc therapy is

197
00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:32,080
Speaker 1: available through most insurance or employers. Download the app or

198
00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:36,520
Speaker 1: visit teledoc dot com forward slash unexplained podcast Today to

199
00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:49,680
Speaker 1: get started, That's teladoc dot com slash Unexplained podcast. Their

200
00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,400
Speaker 1: first task was to make it out of Macon without

201
00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:57,120
Speaker 1: William being spotted. Though they were confident Ellen would evade capture.

202
00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,200
Speaker 1: Since William was only meant to be taking time time

203
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,400
Speaker 1: off for Christmas, any evidence that he was leaving the

204
00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:08,400
Speaker 1: city would be immediately suspect. They knew also that they

205
00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,200
Speaker 1: didn't have long before both their absences would be noticed.

206
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:18,200
Speaker 1: Every part of the plan had to run perfectly That

207
00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:23,119
Speaker 1: morning to avoid suspicion. The pair traveled to the station separately,

208
00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,400
Speaker 1: Having arrived at the earliest. William had to endure a

209
00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,080
Speaker 1: painful weight looking out for any sign of Ellen, fearing

210
00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,840
Speaker 1: every second that her cover had been blown. Finally catching

211
00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:39,160
Speaker 1: sight of her, he stood wait as she successfully purchased

212
00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:43,080
Speaker 1: the tickets, handing one silently to him before making her

213
00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,240
Speaker 1: way to the first class carriage. William then stowed away

214
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:49,920
Speaker 1: the luggage and went to sit with the other slaves

215
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,840
Speaker 1: in the back carriage. Now separated but joined in the

216
00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:58,840
Speaker 1: quickening rhythm of their hearts, the pair sat and waited,

217
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,160
Speaker 1: counting the seconds as the rest of the passengers milled

218
00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:07,960
Speaker 1: about looking for their seats. Just then William's face froze

219
00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:12,400
Speaker 1: in horror. The carpenter he had been apprenticed to was

220
00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:17,400
Speaker 1: steadily making his way down the platform, clearly looking for somebody.

221
00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:22,560
Speaker 1: As the man's agitation intensified, William watched with terror as

222
00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,760
Speaker 1: the man jumped onto the train and began charging through

223
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,840
Speaker 1: the carriages, checking the face of every passenger he passed.

224
00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,440
Speaker 1: William turned to the window as the man drew closer

225
00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:38,600
Speaker 1: and closer, until when on the verge of entering his carriage,

226
00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,480
Speaker 1: the sharp peep of a whistle was heard, followed by

227
00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:47,080
Speaker 1: the ringing of the train's disembarking bell, and then it

228
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:52,280
Speaker 1: started to shudder forward. The man took one last desperate look,

229
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,960
Speaker 1: then wrenched open the door and jumped onto the platform.

230
00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:08,720
Speaker 1: Seconds later, the train pulled away the station up ahead

231
00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,800
Speaker 1: in first class. Unaware of the earlier close call, Ellen

232
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,119
Speaker 1: was also trying to avoid eye contact, staring out at

233
00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:19,400
Speaker 1: the window when she felt the presence of another passenger

234
00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,640
Speaker 1: sit down beside her. It was Ellen's turn now to

235
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:28,280
Speaker 1: freeze in fear. Since the man was mister Cray, an

236
00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,840
Speaker 1: old friend of her former master. It's a very fine morning, sir,

237
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,560
Speaker 1: came a voice. I said, a fine morning, sir, he

238
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:43,600
Speaker 1: repeated with irritation, Ellen pretended not to hear. When he

239
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,720
Speaker 1: said it again, louder, this time, drawing embarrassed looks from

240
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:53,760
Speaker 1: fellow passengers. Ellen finally plucked up the courage to face him.

241
00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,600
Speaker 1: Slowly turning round, she kept her head low and muttered

242
00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:02,040
Speaker 1: a quiet yes before turning back to the window. Thankfully,

243
00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:07,560
Speaker 1: mister Craig didn't recognize her. That evening, they arrived in

244
00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,439
Speaker 1: Savannah and took a steamship bound for Charleston in South Carolina.

245
00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,520
Speaker 1: Later that night, Ellen was able to avoid the customary

246
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,800
Speaker 1: drink with guests by pretending to suffer about of rheumatism.

247
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,359
Speaker 1: Once settled in her cabin, William stepped out onto the

248
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,399
Speaker 1: deck to ask a steward where he was supposed to sleep.

249
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,040
Speaker 1: The steward replied there was no place for people like him,

250
00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,679
Speaker 1: slave or otherwise. William eventually settled on top of some

251
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,919
Speaker 1: bags of cotton, close to the warmth of the ship's funnel,

252
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:46,199
Speaker 1: and sat there until dawn. The following morning, Ellen, no

253
00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:50,160
Speaker 1: longer able to avoid conversation, was forced to take breakfast

254
00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:54,040
Speaker 1: with the rest of the first class passengers. Arriving in

255
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,359
Speaker 1: the dining room, she discovered she would also be sitting

256
00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:02,240
Speaker 1: next to the captain. Throughout the conversation, as William cut

257
00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:05,720
Speaker 1: the food for his pretend master, the crafts were treated

258
00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:09,200
Speaker 1: to the full litany of ideas and language one can

259
00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:13,720
Speaker 1: imagine of wealthy slave owners of the time. At one point,

260
00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,240
Speaker 1: one guest, concerned that Ellen, who they took, of course

261
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,280
Speaker 1: to be a man, might lose his slave if he

262
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,640
Speaker 1: were to travel to Pennsylvania, offered to take William off

263
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:27,879
Speaker 1: his hands there and then, in the deepest tone she

264
00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,200
Speaker 1: could muster, Ellen thanked the man for his kind gesture,

265
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:35,439
Speaker 1: before excusing herself at the first opportunity and making her

266
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:40,520
Speaker 1: way back to her cabin. Later, Ellen was invited to

267
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,560
Speaker 1: take a drink with the military officer, who was also

268
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,200
Speaker 1: concerned at the way she appeared to spoil her slave,

269
00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,240
Speaker 1: not once having even reprimanded him in all the time

270
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:54,439
Speaker 1: she had been on board the vessel. After finally arriving

271
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:59,600
Speaker 1: at their destination having avoided detection, Ellen and William proceeded

272
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,959
Speaker 1: to an near by hotel to get some food before

273
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,840
Speaker 1: returning to the port to board a steamer bound for

274
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:11,879
Speaker 1: Wilmington in North Carolina. Everything went smoothly until Ellen was

275
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,960
Speaker 1: asked to write her name. When she asked if the

276
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:19,440
Speaker 1: ticket officer could do it for her, he refused. There

277
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,800
Speaker 1: was just something about the man stood in front of

278
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,840
Speaker 1: him that didn't seem quite right. He was just leaning

279
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,560
Speaker 1: in to get a closer look at his face when

280
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,879
Speaker 1: a voice called out from the back of the queue.

281
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,320
Speaker 1: It was the military man from the previous boat trip,

282
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,560
Speaker 1: demanding to know what the hold up was on. Seeing

283
00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,760
Speaker 1: Ellen having trouble at the front, the man scolded the

284
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,680
Speaker 1: ticket officer and demanded immediately that she'd be allowed through.

285
00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:59,239
Speaker 1: The officer duly obliged. From Wilmington, Ellen and William, who

286
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,680
Speaker 1: by now had been declared missing back in Georgia, continued

287
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,800
Speaker 1: by train through Richmond, Virginia, and on toward Maryland, each

288
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:14,879
Speaker 1: hour bringing them simultaneously closer to freedom but also possible capture. Thankfully,

289
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,120
Speaker 1: the next part of their journey passed without major incident,

290
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,960
Speaker 1: with the exception of William being at one point mistaken

291
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:26,199
Speaker 1: for someone else's slave, until finally, on the eve of

292
00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:31,800
Speaker 1: Christmas Day, they poured in to Baltimore. Ellen and William

293
00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:37,040
Speaker 1: were now only forty miles away from the nearest free state. However,

294
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:39,919
Speaker 1: being one of the last major cities so close to

295
00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,840
Speaker 1: the Pennsylvania border, Baltimore was also one of the most

296
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,679
Speaker 1: heavily policed for fugitive slaves looking to sneak across the border.

297
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,760
Speaker 1: Later that day, for what they hoped would be the

298
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,800
Speaker 1: last time before they made it across the border, Ellen

299
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,639
Speaker 1: approached the ticket office window and brought two tickets for

300
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:05,280
Speaker 1: the overnight train to Philadelphia. On receiving them, she handed

301
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,080
Speaker 1: one to William, and together they headed on to the

302
00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:12,199
Speaker 1: train once again, William helping her into the first class

303
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:17,320
Speaker 1: carriage before taking his place in the slave carriage. Moments later,

304
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,000
Speaker 1: Ellen was surprised to see William standing at the carriage

305
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,800
Speaker 1: door again. It was all she could do to suppress

306
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,320
Speaker 1: a smile at the thought that in only a few

307
00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:31,199
Speaker 1: hours time they could be free, but something on the

308
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:35,720
Speaker 1: look of William's face told a different story. William asked

309
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,760
Speaker 1: his master to join him on the platform. Ellen promptly

310
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,520
Speaker 1: got up and stepped off the train to find a

311
00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,960
Speaker 1: police officer waiting to speak with her outside. The man

312
00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:51,919
Speaker 1: then invited her into his office while the passengers watched

313
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,600
Speaker 1: from inside the train The officer explained that he could

314
00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,880
Speaker 1: not let Ellen travel across the border unless she could

315
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:03,920
Speaker 1: provide proof that she was William's rightful owner. Was to someone,

316
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,679
Speaker 1: perhaps in Baltimore, that could vouch for them, the officer asked,

317
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,280
Speaker 1: Ellen shook her head. The officer looked both William and

318
00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,800
Speaker 1: the disguised Ellen up and down, then asked them both

319
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:21,119
Speaker 1: to stay where they were. Just then, the train's departure

320
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:25,440
Speaker 1: bell rang out and a commotion started up. It was

321
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:29,359
Speaker 1: the passengers on the train, demanding that the officer let

322
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,639
Speaker 1: the man travel with his slave. After all, couldn't he

323
00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,679
Speaker 1: see he was an invalid. The officer arrived back in

324
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:42,040
Speaker 1: the room, unsure what to do. Finally he made a decision.

325
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,199
Speaker 1: He handed the tickets back to Ellen and destructed the

326
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 1: clerk to inform the conductor that they were now permitted

327
00:23:49,840 --> 00:24:00,560
Speaker 1: to board the train. That night, the pair across the

328
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:05,000
Speaker 1: border into the Free state of Pennsylvania. A few hours later,

329
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,080
Speaker 1: the train stopped at the banks of the Susquehanna River.

330
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,560
Speaker 1: Here the passengers were required to disembark in order to

331
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,560
Speaker 1: take a ferry to the other side, before meeting up

332
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,600
Speaker 1: with the train again and continuing on their way to Philadelphia,

333
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 1: but when Ellen arrived at the other side, there was

334
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:27,200
Speaker 1: no sign of William anywhere. While trying not to display

335
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,560
Speaker 1: her panic, she asked the other passengers if anyone had

336
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:36,000
Speaker 1: seen him. Ironically, since most of them were abolitionists, none

337
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,480
Speaker 1: of them were inclined to help. She soon realized that

338
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:46,280
Speaker 1: he had most likely been discovered or abducted. In any case,

339
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 1: he was now gone, with the train due to leave.

340
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,679
Speaker 1: Ellen had a choice to make. Since she had the

341
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:58,080
Speaker 1: tickets and what was left of their money, leaving without

342
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 1: him would mean almost certainly never seeing him again, but

343
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:07,280
Speaker 1: if she stayed, she might too risk capture. She had

344
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:13,359
Speaker 1: no choice but to continue. Utterly devastated and inconsolable, but

345
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:17,000
Speaker 1: unable to reveal even a hint of it, Ellen boarded

346
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,520
Speaker 1: the train and took her seat in the first class carriage.

347
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:26,040
Speaker 1: Just then a voice called out from the back of it.

348
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:32,200
Speaker 1: Ellen turned to find William standing in the entrance. I

349
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:36,680
Speaker 1: heard you were looking for me, sir, he said, without flinching.

350
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,680
Speaker 1: Ellen replied, I was afraid you had run away. William,

351
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,840
Speaker 1: never your master, he said, before turning to take his

352
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:51,800
Speaker 1: seat in his usual carriage. After arriving in Philadelphia, William

353
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,280
Speaker 1: and Ellen were introduced to mister Berkley Evans, a prominent abolitionist,

354
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:58,679
Speaker 1: who invited the couple to stay with him at his

355
00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:03,119
Speaker 1: family while they out their next plans. It was the

356
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,680
Speaker 1: first time either of them, as they put it later,

357
00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:10,159
Speaker 1: had experienced an act of disinterested kindness from a white person.

358
00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,800
Speaker 1: From there, the couple were given safe passage to Boston,

359
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,480
Speaker 1: where they settled for two years, with William working as

360
00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 1: a carpenter and Ellen as a seamstress. However, with the

361
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:30,280
Speaker 1: government passing the Fugitive Slave Bill in eighteen fifty, everything changed. Now,

362
00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,040
Speaker 1: regardless of whether a slave had made it to a

363
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 1: free state or not, inhabitants of free states were required,

364
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,520
Speaker 1: under law, under heavy penalty, to refuse food and shelter

365
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:46,080
Speaker 1: to any fugitive slaves, but also to assist in seizing

366
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:51,800
Speaker 1: the perceived perpetrators. Judges required to officiate over the matter

367
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,240
Speaker 1: of returning a fugitive slave to their owner would be

368
00:26:55,280 --> 00:27:07,040
Speaker 1: paid commission to do so. As soon as this bill

369
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:11,600
Speaker 1: was passed, Ellen and William's owners took out warrants and

370
00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:14,200
Speaker 1: placed them in the hands of the United States Marshal

371
00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:19,879
Speaker 1: to execute. A few weeks later, two slave hunters mister

372
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:24,320
Speaker 1: Hughes and mister Knight arrived in Boston intent on capturing

373
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:29,000
Speaker 1: them with the help of the Vigilance Committee, an organization

374
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,680
Speaker 1: of abolitionists. Ellen was taken out of the city to hide,

375
00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,080
Speaker 1: while William had little choice but to stick it out

376
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,840
Speaker 1: in their home. Thankfully, it was not legal for the

377
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,480
Speaker 1: bounty hunters or u S Marshals to break into anyone's property,

378
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:49,560
Speaker 1: and so attent stalemate ensued. Frustrated by it, the craft's

379
00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:54,520
Speaker 1: old masters even wrote to President Fillmore for assistance, who,

380
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,600
Speaker 1: in turn, agreeing that the pair should be arrested and

381
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:01,600
Speaker 1: sent back to slavery, arranged for a small military force

382
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:06,680
Speaker 1: to assist the marshal in making the arrest. Miraculously, however,

383
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,640
Speaker 1: Ellen and William managed to evade capture for over two

384
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,879
Speaker 1: weeks before finally making it out of Boston, and with

385
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,800
Speaker 1: the assistance of more abolitionists, eventually succeeded in making it

386
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,480
Speaker 1: all the way to Liverpool in the United Kingdom and

387
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:27,800
Speaker 1: to complete freedom at last. The couple remained in England

388
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 1: for almost two decades, where they had five children. Together,

389
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,560
Speaker 1: with the resolution of the United States Civil War and

390
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,959
Speaker 1: the abolition of slavery, they were finally able to return

391
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:44,200
Speaker 1: to their homeland. In the years that followed, the couple

392
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,480
Speaker 1: were frequently invited to lecture on the circumstances of their

393
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 1: extraordinary escape. Such was the etiquette of the time, only

394
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: William was ever permitted to talk, while Ellen had to

395
00:28:55,680 --> 00:29:00,400
Speaker 1: be content to sit silently on the stage next to him.

396
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,280
Speaker 1: In the first few years after making it to the UKAE,

397
00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,360
Speaker 1: many slavers, keen to protect their profits and drum up

398
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:11,120
Speaker 1: support for maintaining the slave trade, resorted to good old

399
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,680
Speaker 1: fashioned fake news in their efforts. Pamphlets were made up

400
00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:20,240
Speaker 1: stating that since escaping their captivity, the crafts had fallen

401
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 1: on hard times and that they regretted ever having made

402
00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:27,719
Speaker 1: their escape. But by then, thanks in part to the

403
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:33,120
Speaker 1: efforts of Harriet Martineau, a prominent British abolitionist, Ellen had

404
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 1: learned to read and write, and she was not about

405
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,640
Speaker 1: to have her story told by anyone other than herself.

406
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:46,200
Speaker 1: Writing in eighteen fifty two, she declared, I write these

407
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 1: few lines merely to say that this statement is entirely unfounded,

408
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:54,960
Speaker 1: for I have never had the slightest inclination whatever of

409
00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 1: returning to bondage, and God forbid that I should ever

410
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,520
Speaker 1: be so false to liberty as to prefer slavery in

411
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:07,600
Speaker 1: its stead. In fact, since my escape from slavery, I

412
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,680
Speaker 1: have gotten much better in every respect than I could

413
00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 1: have possibly anticipated. Though had it been to the contrary,

414
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 1: my feelings in regard to this would have been just

415
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,800
Speaker 1: the same, for I had much rather starved in England

416
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,200
Speaker 1: a free woman than be a slave for the best

417
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:32,720
Speaker 1: man that ever breathed upon the American continent. In eighteen sixty,

418
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 1: the couple published Running a Thousand Miles to Freedom, giving

419
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:45,120
Speaker 1: the full account of their extraordinary story. If you enjoy

420
00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,480
Speaker 1: listening to Unexplained and would like to help supporters, you

421
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 1: can now go to Unexplained podcast dot com forward slash support.

422
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:57,920
Speaker 1: All donations, no matter how large or small, are massively appreciated.

423
00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,720
Speaker 1: All elements of Unexplained are produced by me, Richard McClain smith.

424
00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,720
Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes, and feel

425
00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,160
Speaker 1: free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas

426
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,720
Speaker 1: regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you

427
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,040
Speaker 1: have an explanation of your own you'd like to share.

428
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:21,320
Speaker 1: You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com

429
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:26,640
Speaker 1: or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at facebook dot com.

430
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:37,360
Speaker 1: Forward slash Unexplained. Now, it's time to take care of

431
00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:41,920
Speaker 1: yourself to make time for you. Teledoc gives you access

432
00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,880
Speaker 1: to a licensed therapist to help you get back to

433
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:48,880
Speaker 1: feeling your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by phone

434
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:53,000
Speaker 1: or video anytime between seven am to nine pm local time,

435
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:57,320
Speaker 1: seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available through most

436
00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 1: insurance or employers. Download the app, or visitteldoc dot com.

437
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:06,720
Speaker 1: Forward slash Unexplained Podcast Today to get started. That's t

438
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:11,240
Speaker 1: e l a d oc dot com slash Unexplained Podcast