oposal. He
wanted to secure the freedom of his wife and children as earnestly as he
had ever desired to see his mother, yet he could not, at first, hearken
to the idea of having them rescued in the way suggested by Concklin,
fearing a failure.

To J.M. McKim and the writer, the bold scheme for the deliverance of
Peter's family was alone confided. It was never submitted to the
Vigilance Committee, for the reason, that it was not considered a matter
belonging thereto. On first reflection, the very idea of such an
undertaking seemed perfectly appalling. Frankly was he told of the great
dangers and difficulties to be encountered through hundreds of miles of
slave territory. Seth was told of those who, in attempting to aid slaves
to escape had fallen victims to the relentless Slave Power, and had
either lost their lives, or been incarcerated for long years in
penitentiaries, where no friendly aid could be afforded them; in short,
he was plainly told, that without a very great chance, the undertaking
would cost him his life. The occasion of this interview and
conversation, the seriousness of Concklin and the utter failure in
presenting the various obstacles to his plan, to create the slightest
apparent misgiving in his mind, or to produce the slightest sense of
fear or hesitancy, can never be effaced from the memory of the writer.
The plan was, however, allowed to rest for a time.

In the meanwhile, Peter's mind was continually vacillating between
Alabama, with his wife and children, and his new-found relatives in the
North. Said a brother, "If you cannot get your family, what will you do?
Will you come North and live with your relatives?" "I would as soon go
out of the world, as not to go back and do all I can for them," was the
prompt reply of Peter.

The problem of buying them was seriously considered, but here obstacles
quite formidable lay in the way. Alabama laws utterly denied the right
of a slave to buy himself, much less his wife and children. The right of
slave masters to free their slaves, either by sale or emancipation, was
positively prohibited by law. With these reflections weighing upon his
mind, having stayed away from his wife as long as he could content
himself to do, he took his carpet-bag in his hand, and turned his face
toward Alabama, to embrace his family in the prison-house of bondage.

His approach home could only be made stealthily, not daring to breathe
to a living soul, save his own family, his