ELMIRA, March 30th, 1854.
DEAR DOUGLASS:—Having looked in vain in your paper to see borders of the State spoken of, and having despaired of finding anything, I have concluded that the city of the Southern tier should be heard, although I have to be the medium of her expression. Elmira is, as you probably know, about to become united to the Capital of the Key-Stone State by Railroad, which, I suppose will give us an opportunity of becoming bet-ter acquainted with the antics of a portion of Southern chivalry. Our people here are beginning to awake to a knowledge of their true position.
Since the Convention of the Union Coun-cil met here, there has been an increading desire to think and act. The Committee here have aranged to have a series of week-ly meetings for the purpose of aiding as much as possible in carrying out the designs of the National Council, the first of which is to be held to-morrow evening. The peo-ple seem to think that the saying that

"He who would be free,
Himself must strike the blow,"

is too true to be left undeeded longer. We hail with joy the preceedings of the citizens of Milwaukee, and were preparing to raise the shout of victory with Auburn. But by some better management; we were not al-lowed the occasion; we trust it is better so. As to the condition of the people here, I may, is none better suited do not, give you an iten, in my next.
However, I will say that the desire for obtaining education is increasng; there is a school here established for grown and aged persons, which is independent of other common schools, and is not prescriptive in its origin or principles. Although the village has been passed by most Anti-Slavery Lecturors, yet there is a growing Anti-Slavery sentiment here. And there is sufficient space, and need of it. The mechanics here, although not as much inclined to proscription as in many other places, have enough of the spirit of cast to be somewhat opposed to colored mechanics. There are no men of notoriety here, seeking for the Presidential chair, although a sister village has one who voted for the infamous Fugitive Bill; and who, if he was in the Senate now, would, I doubt not, be one of Arnold Douglas' body-guard to protect the Nebraska Bill, from the attacks of those whose consciences caused them to protest against its passage.
This is a place where the spirit of Colonization has not many out spoken friends, although I doubt not, there are many who have the spirit in their hearts. Believing as we do, that "God helps those who help themselves," we trust that the plans made by the Council, a part of which is noticed in you paper last week, may be carried out and result in lasting good for our race; we wait with patience for the good time coming when we shall be able to point to an Industrial School, and also look upon the handiwork of many of those who may attend it.
Our number here is over 400 I think, and still increasing, many of whom reside in their own houses, and a few of them cultivate the soil, thus adding to the strength and charac-ter of the people. All that we ask is an open field and fair play. Where is CommunipawSmith, James McCune

James McCune Smith (1813–65), a prominent black physician, abolitionist, and writer, was born in New York City to an enslaved father and a self-emancipated mother. He attended the New York African Free School, but was denied admission to Columbia University, Geneva Medical College, and the New York Academy of Medicine. He turned to the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he received a B.A. (1835), M.A. (1836), and M.D. (1837). Upon returning to New York, he opened a pharmacy and medical practice that catered to both blacks and whites. He became involved in the abolitionist movement, serving as an associate editor of the Colored American in 1839, contributed regularly to the Anglo-African Magazine, and wrote correspondence for the North Star and Frederick Douglass’ Paper under the pseudonym “Communipaw.” Smith also wrote the introduction to Douglass’s second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855). In 1861, Smith helped finance the revival of the Weekly Anglo-African to oppose black colonization and emigration, and he was a prominent member of the New York City Young Men’s Association, the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and the New York African Society for Mutual Relief. He was the sole attending physician of the Society for the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children, a member and vestryman of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, and a trustee of the New York Society for the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children. In 1863 Wilberforce College appointed Smith professor of anthropology, but illness kept him from assuming his post. Lib., 1 June 1838; FDP, 18 May 1855; Douglass Papers, ser. 2:7–19; Miller, Search for a Black Nationality, 243; Pease and Pease, They Who Would Be Free, 90–92, 103, 110; Quarles, Black Abolitionists, 115, 134; Rhoda G. Freeman, “The Free Negro in New York City in the Era before the Civil War” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1966), 40–42, 177, 186, 195, 200, 247, 276, 286, 325, 353, 393; DAB, 27:288–89. , pouring over some dusty book to bring forth new facts in aid of the amelioration of the condition of his race. Trusting that with my next I may be able to send you some subscribers, I must close after having taken this much space in your paper,
Yours for the Cause,
AMYNTAS