Underground Railroad for Kids: From Slavery to Freedom with 21 Activities

Underground Railroad for Kids: From Slavery to Freedom with 21 Activities — page 7
ALFRED THORNTON BARELY ESCAPES CAPTURE BY A LAWMAN AND A SLAVE TRADER IN 1858 In the instant before the lawman and the slave trader grabbed Thornton the young slave took off I flew Thornton said I took off my hat and run took off my jacket and run harder took off my vest and doubled my pace the constable and the trader both on the chase hot foot The trader fired two barrels of his revolver after me but I never stopped running Thornton ran toward a pond He jumped in and hid underwa ter I kept my head just above water and hid the rest part of my body for more than two hours While hiding Thornton thought about his next move I retty soon made up my mind in the water to try and get to a free state and go to Canada but I didn't know which way to travel Alfred Thornton planned on the North Star guiding him north He tried to use the Big Dipper constellation to point out the North Star like the old Follow the Drinking Gourd song explained But a week of rainy weather hid the North Star behind clouds Thornton spent night after night walking and wandering He frequently lost his way rested little and ate even