The Great Escape
Brown told his tale of sorrow to a free black man named James Smith and a white shoemaker named Samuel Smith. According to Brown, he paid his master $25 a month to try and prevent the sale of Nancy and his children. However, his master took the money and did nothing; now he would never see his family again.
According to the plan, the Adams Express Company would ship Brown to a free state in a wooden box. Samuel Smith went to the city of Philadelphia to discuss the details with members of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. They advised him to mail the box to a man named Passmore Williamson, a Quaker Merchant who was an active member of the Vigilance Committee. Brown paid Smith $86 for his assistance. The last thing to do was conjure up an excuse for missing work.
It was a painful process because Brown knew it would need to be a severe injury to be allowed to skip work. He used sulphuric acid to burn his hand to the bone so one can only imagine the pain he was in when concealed in the box. Brown stepped into a wooden box that was just 3 feet long, 2 feet 8 inches deep and 2 feet wide. It had the label ‘dry goods’ displayed on it, and it was nailed and tied with straps. Brown’s only source of air was one tiny hole.
The interior of the box was covered with a coarse woolen cloth and Brown’s only supplies were a small container of water and a few biscuits. Remember, he was also nursing an incredibly painful injury. According to Brown, as extreme as his escape method seemed, attaining liberty was worth the risk and only one who has ever been deprived of it could understand.
The journey began on March 23, 1849, and he traveled by different wagons, railroads, ferries, steamboats and a delivery wagon. Although the box was labeled ‘this side up’ and ‘handle with care,’ the carriers routinely handled the box roughly or placed it upside down on occasion. It is a testament to his remarkable determination that Brown remained still the entire time to avoid detection. According to Brown, he was: “resolved to conquer or die. I felt my eyes swelling as if they would burst from their sockets.”
At one point on the journey, Brown truly believed he was about to die as he was upside down. Fortunately, two workmen decided to use the box as a place to sit, so they threw it down and sat on it; thus relieving Brown of his unimaginable discomfort.
Finally, after a 27-hour journey from hell, the box was delivered to several members of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee. Apparently, Brown’s first words upon his release from the box were: “How do you do? Gentlemen.” Then he recited a psalm from the Bible as a means of celebrating his release from captivity. The entire escapade also highlighted the usefulness of the mail service; especially the Adams Express Company which was favored by the abolitionists for its privacy.