The riverboat eased to the dock in Cairo, Illinois, and the passengers departed, carrying their hand luggage up the rip-rapped riverbank to the top of the levee. Last to debark was a sturdy man with a full beard, whose clothing pegged him as a Quaker. He wore his wide, flat-brimmed hat squarely on his head. Because his heavy suit coat and vest were inappropriate for the occasion and the warm weather, he had doffed his coat and carried it on his shirt-sleeved arm. As he observed the activities on the riverfront, his Quaker dress left him uncomfortable, both physically and mentally. He had ridden riverboats for the last ten days and was glad to be ashore again. The trip from Cadiz, on the upper Ohio River, had taken longer than he had expected. He moved to the nearest riverboat office on the bank and inquired about boat passage to St. Louis. The agent informed him that a boat would be leaving for St. Louis within the hour.  Page 2 Albert seated himself on his traveling bag where he had a bird's-eye view of the numerous activities on the riverfront. It was a beehive of activity. The river was high due to spring rains, and boats were being loaded at a feverish pace to take advantage of the high water to navigate the upper reaches of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. A group of wagons loaded with firewood drew to a halt and a burly foreman appeared with a group of Negroes. The foreman instructed the crew to begin unloading the four-foot logs of firewood from the wagons onto the riverboat. The gangplank was wet from a recent shower and the men were slipping as they carried the heavy logs up the gangplank. One teenage boy suddenly fell. The heavy log caught his leg, ripping open a gash. The boy scrambled to get up and shoulder his log again. He slipped a second time and fell against the rough log. The foreman screamed obscenities, cursing as he lashed him with a bullwhip. The boy cried out as each lash cut across his back. Albert quickly left his seat and, as the foreman swung his whip again, caught the foreman's hand and wrenched the whip from him. Using the butt end as a club, Albert floored the foreman with a single blow to the head. When the foreman attempted to rise, Albert applied the whip butt again, and the foreman subsided with no more resistance. He lay still, held his head and moaned. The man started to get up once more, and Albert again threatened him with the whip. While the foreman lay still, Albert made him an offer to buy the slave boy. The man was in no position to argue, so he agreed to sell the boy to Albert. Albert released his grip on the foreman, reached into his money belt and paid for the slave boy. The foreman accepted the money and yelled to the other slaves to resume loading the firewood. Page 3 The scene on the levee caught the attention of several onlookers. Here was a white man interfering with a foreman managing a group of Negro slaves. Cairo was considered a free town, but it bordered on several slave states and was one of the most important Mississippi River trading points; slavery there was more or less a fact of life. Albert's interference into everyday practices on the dock drew scowls of irritation from some of the spectators. He realized that he might be in trouble. His hatred for slavery in general and the mistreatment of the Negro youth in particular had ignited his temper and overwhelmed his good common sense. Albert turned his attention to the injured Negro boy, helped him to his feet and moved with him to the top of the riverbank where several people had gathered. Albert summoned two Negro women and asked if they knew where the closest doctor could be located. They assured him they did. He gave the women some money and told them to take the boy to the doctor. Observing the hostile attitude of the crowd, he quickly retrieved his bag and disappeared down the busy Cairo street. A few minutes later the local constable arrived. He heard the foreman's complaints but was unable to find Albert. When he inquired where the "damned nigger-lover" had gone, all on the riverbank gave him a blank stare with no response. The constable shrugged and walked off down the street muttering to himself, "Damned abolitionists!" Albert strode quickly through the crowded street and turned into the next side street. Deciding to stay out of sight, he found a small hotel and asked the clerk for a room for the night. He requested a meal be sent to his room, purchased a newspaper and retired. Page 4 As he read the local newspaper, he became aware that the movement westward by immigrants seeking new land was much greater than he had expected. The migration along the Oregon-California Trail, and other trails, had become a migratory wave of historic proportions. Very early the next morning, Albert boarded the riverboat headed for St. Louis. In reviewing his conduct with the foreman the day before, he realized he had breached his Quaker upbringing and jeopardized his well-being and perhaps his life. Slavery anywhere incensed him, sometimes to the point of acting imprudently. He debarked in St. Louis and traveled by another boat to Westport, Missouri, the end of his river journey. Although the Oregon Trail originated in Independence, it was Westport, the busy river port at the junction of the Kaw and Missouri Rivers that supplied most of the westbound travelers with necessities for travel along the Trail. Albert was not informed about climatic conditions and rigors on the western plains. He asked one of the many trail outfitters in Westport what he would need to travel up the Trail. With help from the friendly shopkeeper, he purchased the necessary basic food supplies such as bacon, beans, flour, shortening, sugar, coffee, hardtack and a few cooking utensils. Albert also purchased a sturdy bay gelding, complete with riding equipment, and some camping necessities. He then replaced his Quaker clothing with frontier apparel better suited to the rigors of the western climate. The next morning he headed up the Oregon Trail into the Kansas-Nebraska Territory. He was on a mission from the Ohio Town Company of Cadiz, Ohio, to scout Page 5 the new territory for a place where forty Quaker families could find homes in a new land. His excitement mounted as the rolling prairie grasslands unfolded before him. His curiosity was aroused as he passed several wagon trains along the way. Most of the wagons were adaptations of the big Conestoga wagons used by Eastern teamsters. The basic covered wagons were smaller than the Conestogas but were very sturdy and covered with heavy canvas to repel the sun and storms. They were sometimes referred to as "prairie schooners." Most were heavily loaded. A few were drawn by horses and mules, but more often by oxen. Albert had been advised that oxen and mules were preferred over horses. Indians would raid the wagon trains to steal the horses, but they had no use for oxen or mules. He also noted that the wagons did not always follow one another along the Trail but often drove two or three abreast. The wagons driving abreast did not cut deep ruts into the prairie sod, which would slow down the following wagons. Albert, a keen observer, was learning a lot about life on the frontier. On his first night on the Trail he camped beside a small stream and found that it was fed by a clear-running spring higher on the hillside. Believing he was alone, Albert disrobed and took a quick bath in the clear, cold water. As he dried himself, however, he noticed two Indians watching him intently. Quickly dressing, he watched the two disappear into the wooded hillside and saw no more of them. The next day, his second on the Trail, he passed a train of more than thirty wagons. He greeted them briefly as he passed by, anxious to ride further into the plains. Astride the bay gelding, Albert topped the hill on the southern horizon, overlooking a wide fertile valley. He paused to survey the land that stretched before him. From his viewpoint he could see the Black Vermillion River meandering through Page 6 the heavy forest of giant oak, walnut, hickory, ash and cottonwood trees. He discovered that the river finally emptied its waters into the Big Blue River, a few miles downstream. He dropped the reins and allowed the gelding to graze on the tall bluestem grass. |
