Appendix
What Has Been Said About It
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At the closing meeting of the PENNSYLVANIA ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY, held in Philadelphia, May 5, 1870, the following was unanimously passed:
Whereas, The position of WILLIAM STILL in the Vigilance Committee connected with the “UNDERGROUND RAILROAD,” as its Corresponding Secretary, and Chairman of its Active Sub-Committee, gave him peculiar facilities for collecting interesting facts pertaining to this branch of the anti-slavery service; therefore,
Resolved, That the PENNSYLVANIA ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY requests him to compile and publish his personal reminiscences and experiences relating to the “UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.”
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HON. JOHN W. FORNEY, in a letter to the Washington Sunday Chronicle, said:
“Slavery and its mysterious inner life has never yet been described. When it is, Reality will surpass Fiction. Uncle Tom’s Cabin will be rebuilt and newly garnitured. A book, detailing the operations of the ‘UNDERGROUND RAILROAD,’ is soon to be published in Philadelphia, by WM. STILL, Esq., an intelligent colored gentleman, which, composed entirely of facts, will supply material for indefinite dramas and romances. It will disclose a record of unparalleled courage and suffering for the right.” * * * * *
And again, in a letter to the same paper, Mr. Forney says:
* * * * “A coincidence even more romantic is soon to be revealed in the pages of the remarkable book of Wm. Still, of Philadelphia, entitled ‘THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD,’ referred to in my last. Mr. Still kept a careful memorandum of the sufferings and trials of his race during the existence of the ‘Fugitive Slave Law,’ in the belief that they would be instructive to his posterity, rather than from any hope of the overthrow of the revolting system of human servitude * * * he resolved to spread before the world this unprecedented experience. When his book appears, it will accomplish more than one object. Interesting to the literary world, it will undoubtedly facilitate the reunion of other colored families long divided, long sought for, and perhaps to this day strangers to each other. * * * * The volume containing this and other equally romantic yet truthful stories will soon be out, and, my word for it, no book of the times will be more eagerly read or more profitably remembered.”
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The San Francisco Elevator says:
* * * * “Mr. Still is one of the pioneers of ‘THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD’ in Philadelphia, where he still resides. He has aided more slaves to escape than any other man, Bishop Lougan, of Syracuse, perhaps excepted. * * * * We hope his book will have a wide circulation, as it will be a valuable addition to the history of the anti-slavery struggle such as no other man can write.”
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Having been, during many years, associated with WILLIAM STILL, in laboring for the abolition of American slavery, we heartily bear our testimony to his abundant opportunities for acquiring information relative to the subject of this book; and to his vigilance and fidelity in all the departments of anti-slavery work in which he was engaged, and especially in that department usually called “THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.”
We gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity to express our confidence in his ability to present to the public an authentic and interesting history of this enterprise.
Prominent Members of the Anti-Slavery Society.
- LUCRETIA MOTT,
- J. MILLER McKIM,
- ROBERT PURVIS,
- MARY GREW,
- E.M. DAVIS,
- SARAH PUGH,
- DILLWYN PARRISH,
- JOSHUA L. HALLOWELL,
- HENRY M. LAING,
- MARGARET J. BURLEIGH,
- EDWARD HOPPER,
- CHARLES WISE,
- JOHN LONGSTRETH,
- J.K. WILDMAN,
- JAMES A. WRIGHT,
Certainly no volume ever met with higher or more extensive endorsement. From the time the author announced his intention to prepare a book from his notes and records until it was given to the public, it was the subject of favorable comment by leading minds of the country, without reference to race. Since its publication it has received the endorsement of the Press generally, and of Statesmen, Preachers, Lawyers, Doctors, Students, in fact men of all ranks.
Brief Extracts from Letters to the Author by Prominent Men.
From Hon. Henry Wilson, late Vice President of United States.
I have glanced over a few pages of your History of the Underground Railroad, and I most earnestly commend it. You have done a good work. This story of the heroic conduct of fugitives from oppression, and of the devotion of their friends, will be read with deep interest, especially by the old friends of the slave in the stern struggle through which we have passed. I hope your labors will be rewarded by a grateful public.
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From Horace Greeley.
Dear Sir:—For most of the years I have lived, the escape of fugitives from slavery, and their efforts to baffle the human and other bloodhounds who tracked them, formed the romance of American History. That romance is now ended, and our grandchildren will hardly believe its leading incidents except on irresistible testimony. I rejoice that you are collecting and presenting that testimony, and heartily wish you a great success.
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From Hon. Charles Summer, late U.S. Senator from Mass.
The Underground Railroad has performed its part, but must always be remembered gratefully, as one of the peculiar institutions of our country. I cannot think of it without a throbbing heart.
You do well to commemorate those associated with it by service or by benefit—the saviors and the saved. The army of the late war has had its “Roll of Honor.” You will give us two other, rolls, worthy of equal honor—the roll of fugitives from slavery, helped on their way to freedom, and also the roll of their self-sacrificing benefactors. I always hesitated which to honor most, the fugitive slave or the citizen who helped him, in defiance of unjust laws. Your book will teach us to honor both.
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From John G. Whittier.
The story of the escaped fugitives—the perils, the terrors of pursuit and re-capture—the shrewdness which baffled the human blood-hounds—the untiring zeal and devotion of the friends of the slave in the free States, are well described.
The book is more interesting than any romance. It will be of permanent value to the historian of the country, during the anti-slavery struggle.
I cheerfully commend it to the public favor.
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From J. Wheaton Smith, D.D.
I am happy to find that material for this interesting work exists. I had feared that much which will be here recorded, would perish with the brave and worthy men who were personally interested. These verities of history contain the interest of romance, and our children’s children will read them with wonder and admiration.
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From, Hon. S.P. Chase, late Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court.
Your book will certainly be an interesting one. No one probably has had equal opportunities with yourself of listening to the narratives of fugitive slaves. No one will repeat them more truthfully, and no stories can be more fraught with interest than theirs. Let us rejoice, that, in our country, such narratives can never be heard again.
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From Wm. Lloyd Garrison.
I congratulate you that, after much patient research, careful preparation, and untiring labor, you have completed your voluminous work on “THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.” I am sure your work will be found to be one of absorbing interest, worthy of the widest patronage, and historically valuable as pertaining to the tremendous struggle for the abolition of chattel slavery in our land. No phase of that struggle was so crowded wifh thrilling incidents, heroic adventures, and self-sacrificing efforts as the one you have undertaken to portray, and with which you were so closely connected, to wit: “THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.” While it will be contemplated with shame, sadness, and astonishment, by posterity, it will serve vividly to illustrate the perils which everywhere confronted the fugitives from the Southern “house of bondage,” and to which those who dared to give them food and shelter were also subjected.
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From Gen. O.O. Howard.
You could not prepare a work that would afford more instruction and interest to me than a detailed history of the operations of the so-called “UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.” I am delighted at the casual examination I have been permitted to give it. Thousands will rise up to call you blessed for your faithful record of our “legalized crime,” and its graphic terrible consequences set forth by you in such true pictures and plain words.
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Hon. Carl Schurz, Secretary of the Interior.
I have no doubt you can make the narrative a very interesting contribution to the history of an important period of our national development. It will be calculated to strengthen in the whole American people a just sense of the beneficent results of the great social revolution we have achieved, and to inspire the people of your own race with a high appreciation of the blessings of liberty they now enjoy.
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From Hon. W.D. Kelley, Congressman from Pa.
The stories you tell with admirable simplicity and directness of the suffering heroically endured by such numbers of poor fugitives, will instruct and inspire many who have regarded the American slave as a member of an inferior race.
Office “THE PRESS,” Philadelphia, Pa.My Dear Sir:—I have read most of the proof sheets of your forthcoming book, entitled “THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD,” and have just examined the letter-press preparatory to its publication, and the accompanying engravings, and I cannot refrain from stating, that I believe it to be a consummate work of its kind. Its chief merit, of course, consists in its extraordinary revelations of the injustice and cruelty of the dead system of slavery, but it is gratifying to notice that it will be printed and sent forth to the world in so complete and admirable a style, I commend it most cheerfully as a book that every citizen should have in his library. Very truly, yours,
JNO. W. FORNEY.
WM. STILL, Esq.
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I join very cordially in the preceding statement and recommendation.
HON. MORTON McMICHAEL,
Ex-Mayor of Phila., Editor of N.A. & U.S. Gazette.
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I most cordially unite with Col. Forney and other gentlemen in recommending to the public Mr. Still’s work, entitled “THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.” The thrilling narratives cannot be read, even at this day, without exciting the deepest emotion.
GEO. H. STUART.
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I fully and heartily concur in the opinion of Col. Forney respecting Mr. Still’s work, entitled “THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.”
HON. CHAS. GIBBONS.
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Mr. Still’s work appears to me to be one of great interest, and I most heartily unite in recommending it to the public attention.
HON. HENRY C. CAREY.
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From, J. Miller McKim.
I have read your book with feelings of mingled pleasure and pride; pleasure at the valuable contribution which it furnishes to anti-slavery history and anti-slavery literature, and pride that you are the author of it.
But the chief value of the book will be found in its main narratives, which illustrate to the life the character of slavery, the spirit and temper of the men engaged for its overthrow, and the difficulties which had to be overcome by these men in the accomplishment of their purpose.
A book so unique in kind, so startling in interest, and so trustworthy in its statements, cannot fail to command a large reading now, and in generations yet to come. That you—my long tried friend and associate—are the author of this book, is to me a matter of great pride and delight.
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From Hon. Jno. A. Bingham of Ohio.
You will please accept my thanks for the opportunity given me to examine your record of the struggle for freedom by the slave and his friends. It will doubtless be a work of great interest to many of our citizens.
From the North American and U.S. Gazette.
Here is an authority that cannot be questioned, competent and correct by many endorsements, that shows without argument, after the true pattern of Herodotus and the chroniclers, what slavery in America was in the decade immediately preceding its overthrow.
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From the “Philadelphia Inquirer.”
“Never before has the working of the Underground Railroad been so thoroughly explained. Here we have in complete detail the various methods adopted for circumventing the enemies of freedom, and told, as it is, with great simplicity and natural feeling, the narrative is one which cannot but make a deep impression. Thrilling incidents, heroic adventures and noble deeds of self-sacrigce light up every page, and will enlist the heartiest sympathies of all generous souls. It was eminently just that such a record of one of the most remarkable phases of the struggle against slavery should be prepared, that the memory of the noble originators and supporters of the railroad might be kept green, and posterity enabled to form a true conception of the necessity that called it into existence, and of the difficulties under which its work was performed. The labor of compiling could not have fallen into more appropriate or better qualified hands.”
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From the “Baltimore American.”
Mr. Still was one of the most courageous managers on the Underground Ralroad, and is therefore well qualified to be its historian. He speaks of his own services with modesty, and, in fact, there is no attempt at exaggeration in any one of the most wonderful series of narratives which he relates. Baltimore was one of the great depots from which the trembling fugitives set out on their trip to Canada, and Mr. Still deals freely with the names of person, yet living, who, no doubt, would be very glad if this most extraordinary book had never been published. It was their misfortune to have furnished a number of passengers for the “Underground Railroad,” and now they cannot escape being named in connection with the slaves, who dared, everything for liberty.
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From the San Francisco Bulletin.
We have often longed to know how the drab-coated philanthropists of Philadelphia managed to furnish systematic assistance to the slave fugitives, and the desire is now gratified. William Still, for many years connected with the anti-slavery office in Philadelphia, and the chairman of the Acting Vigilance Committee of the Philadelphia Branch of the Underground Railroad, has written a ponderous volume, entitled “THE UNDERGROUND RALROAD.” … He has performed his work well. The volume before us, though containing nearly 800 pages, is not elaborated beyond necessity, and fairly teems with interesting sketches.
From Bishop Payne of the A.M.E. Church, Philadelphia.
My official engagements and private duties have prevented me from reading your work on THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, throughout. But such portions as I have had time to read, convince me that as a stimulus to noble effort it has much value. It is also a grand monument of the past struggles of the Angel Spirit of Liberty with the Demon of American Slavery. It serves also as a Beacon Light for our future progress in the upward movement. It deserves a wide circulation through the Republic.
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“I cheerfully endorse the above.”
S.M.D. WARD. (Bishop A.M.E. Church.)
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From letter of Hon. Ebenezer D. Bassett, U.S. Minister to Haiti.
The book must strike everyone who sees it as one of very commendable appearance; and to everyone who reads it, it must commend itself as one of remarkable interest. It is a work which cannot fail to reflect an unusual credit upon the care, industry and sterling ability of its author.
All hail to you, my dear fellow, for your success. When nearly four years ago you spoke often to me about your project of writing this book, I always told you I thought it would prove a success; but I tell you now, candidly, that although I never for a moment doubted your peculiar fitness to prepare such a work, yet I feared that when you came to see the time, industry, care and patience, which it would require aside from your pressing everyday business cares and perplexities, you might stop at the foot of the mountain and abandon the tedious ascent. But you have actually made the ascent and stand now on the top of the mountain. Hurrah for my old friend Still! Hurrah! Hurrah!! Hurrah!!!
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From. Prof. W. Howard Day, in “Our National Progress.”
In his singularly and creditably brief preface, Mr. Still sincerely disclaims literary pretension; but creditable as is this to the author, we may say that the work is in style excellent reading, and that if it were not so, the narratives themselves are so thrilling, possess such a heart-reaching interest, that if these were literary crudities, they would be entirely placed in the background in the concentrated blaze of light which the author pours upon the bloody pathway of these victims of injustice, from 1851, when the terrors of the Fugitive Slave Law began, to the hour when Slavery and Rebellion were washed out in blood, together.
We have not space for a reprint of one of these interesting histories, but we are personally acquainted with the “facts” as related by Mr. Still, and the persons involved, and can attest the truth of the statements made. Some of these parties we have met in their flight, others in their temporary sojourn in the then so-called Free States; others we knew (Harriet Tubman and Moses among them) in their latest and safest refuge, (Canada,) under the protection of the Cross of St. George and St. Andrew. It was due to such that this book should be written. Their heroic deeds, in behalf of personal liberty of themselves and others, deserve commemorating. Their deeds of daring, winning victory at last, in the face of wily and unscrupulous men devoted to their capture, and sustained by the voice, the law and the cannon of the Government, ought to be written in unfading letters across the history of a people struggling upward to enfranchisement. It will teach the coming generations who were our fathers and our mothers; who there were in these years of agony who braved death to secure liberty and who upheld the noble banner of a dying race until their efforts, by God’s blessing, made the race rise and live. All thanks to Mr. Still for thus placing this noble record of the free, and those struggling to be free, before the world.
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From, the Boston Journal, Boston, Mass.
The present volume is a narrative, or rather a collection of narratives, of the adventures of slaves on their way to freedom. The style is perfectly simple and unaffected, and it is well that it is so. The facts and incidents related are themselves so full of interest and dramatic intenseness as to need no coloring. The narratives throughout have the mark of truth upon them, and are based on authentic records. American history would not be complete without some such book as this, written by one within the circle of those devoted philanthropists who were so fearless and unremitting in their efforts for human freedom.
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From the Providence Press, Providence, R.I.
This large volume is full of facts. To read its pages is to bring the past up with vividness. Many of those who fought with the worse than Ephesus’ beasts encountered by Paul, to wit, the man-hunters of the South, we knew personally, and their narratives as given in this volume we can vouch for, having received their accounts at the time, from their own lips. Historically the book is valuable, because it is fact and not fiction, although fifty years from to-day it will read like fiction to the then living.
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From the Newburyport Herald, Mass.
It is not a romance, but it is a storehouse of materials which will hereafter be used in literature, and be studied, not only by historians, dramatists and novelists, but also by those who will seek to comprehend and realize the fact, that there has been, in this country, a condition of society and law which made the Underground railroad possible.