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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY 379
in case he should find the slave for him), waited,,.searched and Avatehed,
for the master had tracked the slave to Abner Strong's, on Strong's
Ridge, and knew he must be in the vicinity, but to no purpose. The
slave could not be found, and on Hie fourth day after the arrival of
Riley, the steamboat " Walk-in-the-Water" stopped in port, and he took
the boat for Detroit. Captain Shepbard then started with his small
sailboat (the slave on board) for Maiden, where he Avas landed safely
before the end of the next day—the first runaway slaVe landed in Canada
of whom there is any account. Riley in a few days returned, paid his
bills at Marsh's tavern and departed homeward, but Avithout his slave.
In September, 1830, Josiah Hansen escaped from slavery in Kentucky
with his Avife and four children, and in October arrived at Venice, where
a kind Scotchman, captain of a small two-masted vessel, agreed to take
himself and family on board and carry them to Buffalo. Venice at that
time was quite a town, and Sandusky in those days was described in
the Cleveland "Herald" as a place (near Venice) where steamboats
sometimes stopped to wood. After loading the vessel with corn, the
captain sailed over to Bull's Island and there came to and at night sent
back the small boat for the blacks. They were soon on board and after
a two days' passage safely reached Buffalo, and the kindhearted Scotch
captain on the 28th day of October landed the escaped slaves in Canada.
In 1831 a fugitive named Tice Davis came over the line and lived
just back of Sandusky; he had come directly from Ripley, Ohio, where
he crossed the Ohio River. He remained some time at Sandusky and then
went to Canada. It was told of him that he gave the name to the underground
road in this way. When he was running away his master, a
Kentuckian, was in close pursuit and pressing him so hard that when the
Ohio River was reached he had no alternative but to jump in and swim
across. It took his master some time to secure a skiff in which he and,
his aid followed the swimming fugitive, keeping him in sight until he
landed. Once on shore, however, he could not find him. No one had
seen him. And after a long and unsuccessful search the disappointed
slave-master went into Ripley, and when enquired of as to what had
become of his slave, said he could not tell; that he had searched all the
openings, but could not find him; that he Avas close behind him when
the boy got on shore, and 1"* thought " 'the nigger' must have got off on
an underground road." This story was repeated Avith a good .deal of
amusement, and this incident gave the name to the line. First, the Underground,
afterwards, "Underground Railroad."
The colored man Grant Ritchie opened the first barber shop in
Sandusky, and Avas the earliest and most active agent of the line,
and always successful in his operations. On one occasion, when
through his interference and efforts several fugitives had escaped
to Canada, and there being no responsible person to sue for the value of
the lost chattels, the slaA'c-owners caused Ritchie to be arrested before a
justice of the peace and prosecuted for an assault upon the claimant.
The lawyer for the prosecution was F. D. Parish, L. S. Beeeher being
counsel for Ritchie. The justice bound Ritchie over to the Common