| Traveler's Names | Cyrus Mitchell |
|---|---|
| Age | 26 |
| Description | Stout and unmistakenly dark |
| Alias | John Steel |
| Origin- Town/City | – |
| Origin- County | – |
| Origin- State | – |
| Destination | Canada |
| Birthplace | – |
| Slaveowner's Name | James K. Lewis |
| Chapter Title | Arrival of five From the Eastern Shore of Maryland |
| Page Number | 286-287 |
| Other Travelers | – |
| Other Conductors | – |
| Additional Names | – |
| Method of Travel | – |
| Additional Resources | – |
| Items in Possession | – |
| Full Narrative | RESPECTED FRIEND : ? WILLIAM STILL, I send on to thy care this evening by Rail Road, 5 able-bodied men, on their way North ; receive them as the Good Samaritan of old and oblige thy friend, THOMAS GARRETT. CYRUS is twenty-six years of age, stout, and unmistakably dark, and was owned by James K. Lewis, a store-keeper, and a "hard master." He kept slaves for the express purpose of hiring them out, and it seemed to afford him as much pleasure to receive the hard-earned dollars of his bondmen as if he had labored for them with his own hands. " It mattered not, how mean a man might be," if he would pay the largest price, he was the man whom the store-keeper preferred to hire to. This always caused Cyrus to dislike him. Latterly he had been talking of moving into the State of Virginia. Cyrus disliked this talk exceedingly, but he "said nothing to the white people " touching the matter. However, he was not Jong in deciding that such a move would be of no advantage to him ; indeed, he had an idea if all was true that he had heard about that place, he would be still more miserable there, than he had ever been under his present owner. At once, he decided that he would move towards Canada, and that he would be fixed in his new home before his master got off to Virginia, unless he moved sooner than Cyrus expected him to do. Those nearest of kin, to whom to whomefelt most tenderly allied, arid from whom he felt that it would be hard to part, were his father and mother. He, however, decided that he should have to leave them. Freedom, he felt, was even worth the giving up of parents. Believing that company was desirable, he took occasion to submit his plan to certain friends, who were at once pleased with the idea of a trip on the Underground Rail Road, to Canada, etc; and all agreed to join him. At first, they traveled on foot; of their subsequent travel, mention has already been made in friend Garrett's epistle. |
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[Author (if known)], Abstracts from William Still's Underground Railroad, [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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