For Frederick Douglass's Paper.

BETHANY, Gen. Co., Feb. 24, '54.

FRIEND DOUGLASS:—I have just finished
the narrative of Solomon Northrop, and the
thought was suggested that it would only be
following a precedent established by our
Southern brethern, to get up a petition, cir
culate it among friends of the colored
man, asking Congress to grant a few thou
sands to those unfortunate freemen who
have been kidnapped and sold into the pris
on house of Slavery. On the archives of our
government are records of many thousands
having been paid out of the public treasury,
to compensate the salveholder for the loss of
runaway human chattels. It is no small
matter to be robbed of ourselves twelve, or
even two years, in the prime of life. Would
not any one prefer to lose his property than
his liberty? and when defrauded of both,
who can count the loss? Can the most gift
ed portray the terrible ruin of the soul,
when all its God-given rights are trampled
upon by the brutal oppressor, who has been
crushing out the manhood through every
bleeding pore of his helpless victim, and
whose highest effort has been to erase the
last vestige of human nature, thus to se
cure to himself human chattels, which shall
not posess reason sufficent to desire liberty?
On yonder eminence, observe that young
oak, tall, slender and umbrageous, beau
tiful in its own graceful proportions, throw
ing its long arms to the breeze, wooing to its
embrace the singing rivulet, which wanders
on, seemingly regardless of the sighs wafted
to its bosom on the wings of the fairy-like
zephyrs; yet bright-eyed morn, with glitter
ing fingers, reveals the traces of the love
kisses of the sweet waters, upon his lofty
brow. The tiny birds warble their songs in
his leafy top, and the lowing herd gratefully
recline beneath his shadow. One would
select it among a thousand, as an emblem of
sublime loveliness. Listen! the sound as of
many waters falls upon the ear, and the tor
nado rushes onward, spreading ruin in its
path. Will it spare our
favorite tree?—Look, its branches fall like shreds, it bends
to the blast, it will be uprooted: No! it
rises, the Wind King relaxes his grasp, and
it sways heavily to and fro, essaying to recov
er it primal dignity. Shall we again behold
it, erect and stately, exultant in conscious
strength and superiority? We shall
see.—The whirlwind has passed on, the sun shines
radiantly as ever. The gentle winds dis
course sweet music, the air is bland and
pure. The calmness of the elements induces
hope, and we turn to greet our old friend;
but ah! how sad our reflections. The once
upright oak wears the mark of premature
age; its bended form and straggling branch
es tell of scathing blasts. Its roots still drink
full draughts from the streamlet's bed, the
sparkling waters nightly press kisses of love
upon his shattered brow, and with gentle
murmur glides away. The orb of day be
stows its genial warmth and light; the moon
hangs up its silver horn; the stars, with
laughing eyes, reflect the glory of other
spheres, and all nature moves harmoniously
as when the proud oak stood in its lofty
grandeur. All the healing influences of the
elements can never restore its former youth
and symetry. Thus it is with the mind of
man, when, Freedom, the soul's richest jew
el, is ravished by the hand of the oppressor.
The flowers of genius are blighted at their
opening, and the intellect ever looks through
a darkened casement.

All who have read "Solomon Northrop"
feel that he should have some compensation
for the years of hard labor wasted on a
southern soil. If his master valued him at
seventeen hundred dollars, his services must
be quite a consideration to himself and fam
ily. Friend Douglass, if you think the idea
would result in good to the colored man,
please get up a suitable form of petition,
distribute them for circulation, and no doubt
they would be presented to Congress by our
noble representative, Hon.
Gerrit SmithSmith, Gerrit

Gerrit Smith (1797– 1874), a New York businessman and land speculator, became best known for his philanthropic work for such reform causes as temperance and abolition. Between 1828 and 1835, he donated large sums of money to the American Colonization Society, but abandoned that movement in 1835 when his sympathies shifted to the immediate abolitionists. In the 1840s, he gave approximately 140,000 acres of land in upstate New York to three thousand black settlers, thus qualifying them to vote. Smith was a founder and frequent candidate of the Liberty party, running for governor of New York on that ticket in 1840 and winning a seat in Congress in 1852. When the Free Soil merger with moderate antislavery Democrats and Whigs lured away many Liberty party supporters, Smith helped bankroll that organization until 1860. Smith befriended Douglass when the latter moved to Rochester, and Smith frequently helped finance Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Like Douglass, Smith supported John Brown, but psychological stress caused by the failure at Harpers Ferry brought on the first of a series of bipolar episodes that greatly reduced his subsequent reform activities. Ralph Volney Harlow, Gerrit Smith: Philanthropist and Reformer (1939; New York, 1972); Gerald Sorin, The New York Abolitionists: A Case Study of Political Radicalism (Westport, Conn., 1971), 269– 87; Lewis Perry, Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought (Ithaca, N.Y., 1973), 170– 80; John R. McKivigan and Madeleine Leveille, “The ‘Black Dream’ of Gerrit Smith, New York Abolitionist,” Syracuse University Library Associates Courier, 20:61– 76 (Fall 1985); NCAB , 2:322– 23; DAB, 17:270– 71. .—Should you conclude the suggestion unworthy of notice, please pardon the intrusion.

Yours for Freedom,

BETSEY D. HAWKS.