JOHN P. PARKER, AUTHOR, ABOLITIONIST, INDUSTRIALIST, UNDERGROUND RAILROAD CONDUCTOR, FORMER SLAVE

"But in spite of the odds against them, there were a surprising number who did make good their escape. This must be said for the slaves who took to the woods, they were above the average slave in intelligence and courage, otherwise they would never have started. Once they started, no obstacle was too great for them to overcome. "A man and his wife came to the Ohio River at night. Neither could swim a stroke. Still they were so determined, he placed his wife astride a log, while he placed his hand on the other and literally kicked his way across the deep and dangerous river. When at midnight the two wet and exhausted travelers came knocking on my door, I could not believe their story that they made their journey in the manner I have stated. However, there they were. Before morning I had fed them, dried them, and taken them over the hill to a place of safety. "A man [who had] escaped to Canada came to me on his way back to get his wife. I tried to persuade him to get another wife, but he went on and shortly returned with her. But he was a rare man. "One night I made an incursion into the enemy's country. When I came back to the river my companion failed to appear with my boat. So I secured a smaller one, loaded my crowd, and found I had one too many for my craft. The man left on shore was the husband of one of the women on the boat. We were pursued and had no time to argue the point. "As I hesitated, one of the men in the boat walked ashore to make room for the husband. While this act was contrary to the eternal law of self-preservation, this ignorant slave sacrificed his freedom, without a moment's hesitation. Unfortunately, he was captured before we got across the river, a heroic victim of his own unselfishness. So I could go on and write instances of courage and sacrifice that these runaways showed in their determined effort to break away from slavery." P.72-73, HIS PROMISED LAND, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN P PARKER (edited by Stuart Seely Sprague)(W.W. Norton&Co, NY: 1996)