Theophilis Knight, Slave Catcher

In December of 1850, fifteen months had passed since Harriet Tubman’s initial escape. Eliza Brodess had been running the farm since her husband’s death, and even though it had been over a year, she had not forgotten about Harriet. 

          The Brodess farm was looking more run down by the month. The house needed a new coat of paint, the barns were crumbling, and less and less of the arable land was being used for planting. On top of that Eliza knew the banks would be calling soon to find out why she was late again on another mortgage payment. She would run out of slaves to sell soon. She was now down to less than a dozen but she knew Harriet would fetch a fine price if only she could have her caught and returned.  It would cost Eliza some prize money up front to get her back, but it would be worth it to sell her off afterwards.

          On this particular winter’s day, Eliza has been visited by one of the more infamous slave-catchers in the region, a man by the regal name of Theophilis Knight.

          “Nancy!” said Eliza.

          A young, black girl about fifteen years old stepped into the parlor from the kitchen. She kept her eyes cast towards the floor as she spoke.

         “Yes’m,” said Nancy.

         “Bring Mister Knight a glass of brandy.”

         “Yes’m.”

“And bring out my afternoon tea as well,” said Eliza.

“Yes’m.” Nancy turned around and went back into the kitchen.

Eliza turned back to Theophilis. He was studying some of the family portraits that were proudly displayed on the walls.

“I’ll give you fifty dollars if you can find her in Maryland,” she said. “One hundred if you have to go out of state.”

          Theophilis was 52 years old. He had long salt and pepper hair that hung just below his broad shoulders and bushy gray sideburns. He had a sense of fashion from his parents’ generation wearing a long dark brown coat with dark brown pants. A cavalry saber hung at his side. He fancied himself a soldier of sorts. He wore a perpetual sour expression on his face, and the corners of his mouth drooped as if he had caught a bad smell.

          “Fifty dollars.” he stated. He was holding a wanted poster in his hand. “Says here you lost this girl over a year ago.” His voice was low and scruffy.

          “That’s correct,” said Eliza. She was wearing a navy dress with white trim. She may have only been in her forties but Eliza looked to be in her fifties thanks to the stress, debt, and lack of family support the passing of Edward had left her with. Her once golden hair had now become a pale beige color and the wrinkles around her mouth and nose grew deeper with each passing season.

          “Seems if you really want this runaway back then you might be offering a little more,” said Theophilis. “And since she’s been gone for over a year and you’re still lookin’ for her, you must really want her back.”

          “Then what would you say is a fair price, Mister Knight?” asked Eliza.

          “It will depend on the effort,” he answered. “I’ve heard rumors that other fugitives may be traveling with her. If I can catch them as well, then maybe they could also be yours. For an additional fee, of course.”

          “I appreciate the offer, Mister Knight, but I want to keep my focus on Harriet.”

          “I understand, Miss Brodess. But the price of slaves is risin’ by the day further south. If you can pony up a-hunnert-an-fitty dollars per each, then you maybe could sell them for two or three times that. I would guess you know some buyers down South.”

          Eliza didn’t know anyone to sell slaves to in the South. She had to rely on slave-catchers or wait for buyers to approach her in order for any exchanges to take place. She tried hard not to show her ignorance of slave selling to Theophilis. “I’ll think about it, Mister Knight,” she said.

          Nancy reentered the room holding a large silver tray with tea cups, saucers, a porcelain tea pot, and a quarter-filled brandy snifter. The porcelain and silverware could be heard clattering slightly due to Nancy’s unsure hold on the tray.

          “Well, I’ll catch who I catch,” said Theophilis. “If you can pay me for ‘em, you’ll get ‘em. If’n ya can’t then I’m sure I can find someone else who will.”

          “No need for such threats, Mister Knight,” said Eliza. “If you find my runaway then I will pay you fairly, you can be confident of that.”

Brandy snifter

          Nancy was a small girl, and she was having trouble holding the heavy tray. She made the mistake of trying to hand Theophilis his brandy without putting the tray down first. This was her first week working in the house and she still had much to learn with regards to serving the company. She held the tray with one arm under it, and she attempted to hand the brandy to Theophilis with her free hand. As she moved the glass towards him she knocked over the tea pot which tipped over on the tray causing the lid to fly open. The hot contents spilled out onto Theophilis’ pants and shoes.

  "Nancy!" said Eliza. 

          “I’m sorry, Mister!” said Nancy. Her bottom lip was quivering.

          Theophilis Knight erupted in a flash of rage. “You idiot!” he yelled. He backhanded poor Nancy across the face. This caused her to drop the tray completely. The parlor was filled with the clattering of silver and smashed porcelain.

          An embarrassed and hurt Nancy ran out the front door leaving the mess behind.

          “Nancy!” said Eliza again. “I’m sorry, Mister Knight. I’m sure we can get you dried off.”

          “Forget it,” said Theophilis. “The lack of discipline here is rampant. No wonder your slaves are escaping. Good, day, madam.”

          Eliza was too shocked to say anything. She just watched Theophilis storm out the front to door to where his horse was waiting.

-- Theophilis Knight

from Time Trip #2 (Chapter 6) 

Image of a Southern family and a slave from Cosmic America

Time Trip Adventure 1 

The Journey to Ancient Greece 

PDF available FREE here!  

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Available at Amazon.com!