给人以自由者

　　Fergus M。 Bordewich弗格斯·M·博得威奇

　　1 A gentle breeze swept the Canadian plains as I stepped outside the small two-story house。 Alongside me was a slender woman in a black dress， my guide back to a time when the surrounding settlement in Dresden， Ontario， was home to a hero in American history。 As we walked toward a plain gray church， Barbara Carter spoke proudly of her great-great-grandfather， Josiah Henson。 "He was confident that the Creator intended all men to be created equal。 And he never gave up struggling for that freedom。"

　　 我步出这幢两层小屋，加拿大平原上轻风微拂。我身边是一位苗条的黑衣女子，把我带回到过去的向导。那时，安大略省得雷斯顿这一带住着美国历史上的一位英雄。我们前往一座普普通通的灰色教堂，芭芭拉·卡特自豪地谈论着其高祖乔赛亚·亨森。“他坚信上帝要所有人生来平等。他从来没有停止过争取这一自由权利的奋斗。”

　　2 Carter's devotion to her ancestor is about more than personal pride： it is about family honor。 For Josiah Henson has lived on through the character in American fiction that he helped inspire： Uncle Tom， the long-suffering slave in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin。 Ironically， that character has come to symbolize everything Henson was not。 A racial sellout unwilling to stand up for himself？ Carter gets angry at the thought。 "Josiah Henson was a man of principle，" she said firmly。

　　 卡特对其先辈的忠诚不仅仅关乎一己之骄傲，而关乎家族荣誉。因为乔赛亚·亨森至今仍为人所知是由于他所激发的创作灵感使得一个美国小说人物问世：汤姆叔叔，哈丽特·比彻·斯陀的小说《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中那个逆来顺受的黑奴。具有讽刺意味的是，这一人物所象征的一切在亨森身上一点都找不到。一个不愿奋起力争、背叛种族的黑人？卡特对此颇为愤慨。“乔赛亚·亨森是个有原则的人，”她肯定地说。

　　3 I had traveled here to Henson's last home -- now a historic site that Carter formerly directed -- to learn more about a man who was， in many ways， an African-American Moses。 After winning his own freedom from slavery， Henson secretly helped hundreds of other slaves to escape north to Canada -- and liberty。 Many settled here in Dresden with him。

　　 我远道前来亨森最后的居所――如今已成为卡特曾管理过的一处历史遗迹――是为了更多地了解此人，他在许多方面堪称黑人摩西。亨森自己摆脱了黑奴身份获得自由之后，便秘密帮助其他许多黑奴逃奔北方去加拿大――逃奔自由之地。许多人和他一起在得雷斯顿这一带定居了下来。

　　4 Yet this stop was only part of a much larger mission for me。 Josiah Henson is but one name on a long list of courageous men and women who together forged the Underground Railroad， a secret web of escape routes and safe houses that they used to liberate slaves from the American South。 Between 1820 and 1860， as many as 100，000 slaves traveled the Railroad to freedom。

　　 但此地只是我所承担的繁重使命的一处停留地。乔赛亚·亨森只是一长串无所畏惧的男女名单中的一个名字，这些人共同创建了这条“地下铁路”，一条由逃亡线路和可靠的人家组成的用以解放美国南方黑奴的秘密网络。在1820年至1860年期间，多达十万名黑奴经由此路走向自由。

　　5 In October 2000， President Clinton authorized $16 million for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to honor this first great civil-rights struggle in the U。 S。 The center is scheduled to open in 2004 in Cincinnati。 And it's about time。 For the heroes of the Underground Railroad remain too little remembered， their exploits still largely unsung。 I was intent on telling their stories。 2000年10月，克林顿总统批准拨款1600万美元建造全国“地下铁路”自由中心，以此纪念美国历史上第一次伟大的民权斗争。中心计划于2004年在辛辛那提州建成。真是该建立这样一个中心的时候了。因为地下铁路的英雄们依然默默无闻，他们的业绩依然少人颂扬。我要讲述他们的故事。

　　6 John Parker tensed when he heard the soft knock。 Peering out his door into the night， he recognized the face of a trusted neighbor。 "There's a party of escaped slaves hiding in the woods in Kentucky， twenty miles from the river，" the man whispered urgently。 Parker didn't hesitate。 "I'll go，" he said， pushing a pair of pistols into his pockets。