The Dark Clouds Begin to Disappear

Abstract

Austin Major, Tolbert’s brother, adds a note to Ben in Tolbert’s 1840 letter. Austin tells Ben he was ill for two years after arriving in Liberia, his supplies were stolen, and his hut burned. He makes a business proposition: “I have suffered much since I come here, but the dark clouds begin to disappear again if you can send us some few articles of trade, such as tobacco, cloth, pipes, beads such as china beads; it will be a profit to both of us.” He asks Ben to write to George Harlan, the man who had owned Agnes and her children. Harlan and many other former slave owners do not maintain contact with their former slaves. Ben’s choice to continue helping Tolbert, Austin, and the others—while not unheard of for former slave owners—is not typical.