Braceville man’s fictional story tells plight of slaves

Our Heritage Trumbull County history

In 1799, Belgium's King Leopold sent a small, but heavily armed Belgian force into the Congo and went from village to village taking men and women hostage.

Asaba, a tribal leader in his Congo River basin village, was captured. As an experienced tribal hunter Asaba, was a skillful and stealthy navigator. Asaba, who also was wise for his age, was presumed to be in his early to mid-20s when he was captured.

He conserved energy on the slave ship's journey to the new world and found a way to live on the scraps his captors tossed from buckets into the pens on the lower decks of the enslavement ship. He was careful not to draw attention to himself. He kept quiet and acted as if he was afraid while he listened, obeyed and observed, all the time, watching for an opportunity to escape.

Once the ship arrived on the shore of Georgia, Asaba was purchased, bound, loaded into a wagon with five enslaved women and two other enslaved men, and driven to a plantation near Thomastown, Georgia. The trip took almost a full day and it was nearly dark when they arrived. Asaba noticed that they traveled through wilderness for the entire trip except when they got near the plantation. When they arrived at the plantation, he and the other enslaved men and women were unloaded and locked in some kind of shed or barn. They were still bound, but Asaba's ropes had begun to come loose and he was able to get free.

He could see through the cracks in the shed that his captors had gone away out of sight. He began to pull on some of the boards until he found one loose enough to pry open so he could look around. He couldn't see anyone, so he slipped into the woods and began to walk carefully away, taking care not to step on or rustle branches. He walked carefully, watching and listening, as he moved farther and farther away from the plantation.

Asaba walked for several hours and came to a creek. He walked in the creek for a mile or two to hide his tracks.The sun began to rise, so he hid in a clump of brush and fell asleep. When he awoke, he stayed hidden until night. He did not hear or see anyone all day.

At night, he started walking again using a familiar night Congo Basin guide, the North Star. Again, at dawn, he hid in the brush and waited until nightfall. He ate berries, nuts and plants to survive. He was careful to avoid strange smells, the smell of humans, smoke and sounds, and continued this day and night pattern for weeks until one day he saw a Native American man.

Asaba was curious because the man had a dark complexion similar to people in the Congo. He quietly followed the man at a distance until he came upon the man's village. It was a Cherokee camp. Asaba could smell food cooking from the camp and decided to take a chance and approach. He did not realize Cherokees were aware the whites were enslaving Africans, and that the Cherokees were sympathetic and would help him.

Despite the language barrier, the members of the Cherokee camp warmly welcomed him. They provided him with food and shelter, offering him safety within their community. He was safe in the Cherokee camp because whites were afraid to come near.

As luck had it, the Cherokees traded with the Chippewas along the Ohio and Grand River Salt Lick and Mahoning trail in the Trumbull County area that is now known as Braceville.

The Cherokee knew Asaba would be safer the further north he went, so they took him on a trading expedition into Chippewa territory in Ohio. Asaba decided to stay in the area near where the Grand River and Mahoning River met in Braceville. He trapped and traded with the Chippewas. He lived in the area for many years and eventually traded with some of the first white fur traders. The Cherokees brought many other enslavement escapees north to the area and it is said that Asaba, who eventually became known as John, was one of the first Underground Railroad conductors of Braceville.

This is a fictional story that could have been the experience of many African enslavement escapees. This kind of history was not documented due to the strict slave laws of early America.

With a reasonable lifespan, someone like the fictional character Asaba could have lived to see the end of slavery and perhaps even Juneteenth of 1865. Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19th to commemorate the end of slavery.

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln officially signed the Emancipation Proclamation and announced it would go into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, releasing enslaved Africans from the chains of bondage.

Texas, being the most remote state of the former Confederacy, saw slow and inconsistent enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation.

On June 19, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger went to Galveston, Texas, with the news that the war had ended, and that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two-and-a-half-years prior and "The people of Texas were informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all enslaved are free."

Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 by many African Americans because it acknowledges the day the last enslaved people were formally freed.