This plan had several excellent points. On the water they had a chance of being thought fishermen, in the service of a master; hounds could not track them; and over Easter their absence might not be noted. On the other hand, in bad weather the waters of the Chesapeake are rough, and there would be danger in a canoe, of being swamped by the waves. Furthermore, the canoe would soon be missed; and, if absent slaves were suspected of having taken it, they would be pursued by some fast-sailing craft out of St. Michaels.
They prepared for one quite possible emergency. Any white man, if he pleased, was authorized to stop a Negro on any road and examine and arrest him. Many a freeman, being called upon by a pack of ruffians to show his free papers, presented them, only to have the hoodlums tear them up, seize the victim and sell him to a life of endless bondage.
The week before their intended start, Frederick wrote a pass for each of the party, giving him permission to visit Baltimore during the Easter holidays. He signed them with the initials of William Hamilton, tobacco planter whose place edged on the bay and whose canoe they had planned to take. The pass ran after this manner:
This is to certify that I, the undersigned, have given the bearer, my servant John, full liberty to go to Baltimore to spend the Easter holidays.
Near St. Michaels, Talbot Co., Md. W. H.
Although they were not going to Baltimore and intended to land east of North Point, in the direction they had seen the Philadelphia steamers go, these passes might be useful in the lower part of the bay, while steering toward Baltimore. These were not, however, to be shown until all other answers had failed to satisfy the inquirer. The conspirators were fully alive to the importance of being calm and self-possessed when accosted, if accosted they should be; and they more than once rehearsed to each other how they would behave under fire.
With everything figured out, the days and nights of waiting were long and tedious. Every move, every word, every look had to be carefully guarded. Uneasiness was in the air. Slaveholders were constantly looking out for the first signs of rebellion against the injustice and wrong which they were perpetrating every hour of the day. And their eyes were skilled and practiced. In many cases they were able to read, with great accuracy, the state of mind and heart of the slave through his sable face. Any mood out of the common way gave grounds for suspicion and questioning.
Yet, with the plowing over, with spring in the air and an Easter holiday drawing near, what more natural than that the slaves should sing down in their quarters—after the day’s work was over?
“Oh Canaan, sweet Canaan,
Ah’m boun’ fo’ the lan’ o’ Canaan.”