12 Yearsaslave 00 Nortrich

TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE
THRILLING STORY OF A FREE COLORED MAN,
KIDNAPPED IN WASHINGTON IN 1841
SOLD INTO SLAVERY,
AND AFTER
A TWELVE YEAES BONDAGE, 1
RECLAIMED BY STATE AUTHORITY FROM A COTTON

PLANTATION IN LOUISIANA.
By S. NOETHUP.
NEW YORK
INTERNATIONAL BOOK COMPANY
17 AND 19 WAVERLEY PLACE
LOAN STACK
"IT 18 A SINGULAR COINCIDENCE, THAT SOLOMON NORTHUP WAS CARRIED
TO A PLANTATION IN THE RED RIVER COUNTRY THAT SAME REGION WHEUl
THE SCENE OK UNCLE TOM*R CAPTIVITY WAS LAID AND HIS ACCOUNT OF
THIS PLANTATION,AND THE MODE OK LIFE THERE, AND SOME INCIDENTS WHICH
BK DESCRIBES, FORM A STRIKING PARALLEL TO THAT HISTORY."
Key to Uncle Torts Cabin, p. 174
TO
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE:
WHOSE NAME,
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, 18 IDENTIFIED WITH TH

GREAT REFORM:
THIB NA.BBA.TIVK, A.FFOBDIN3 ANOTHBB
lug to Spittle Corn s abln,
IS HESPECT* ^LLJ DEDICATED
004
Such dupes are men to custom, and so prottt
To reverence what is ancient, and can pl<W
A course of long observance for Its use,
That even servitude, the worst of ills,
Because delivered down from sire to sou.
Is kept and guarded as a sacred thing.

But is it fit, or can it bear the shock
Of rational discussion, that a man

Compounded and made up, like other men.
Of elements tumultuous, in whom loa
And folly in as ample measure meet,
As In the bosom of the slave he rules,
Should be a despot absolute, and bout

R; in self the only freeman of his land T
PUBLISHEES PEEFACE.
/SLAVEHY is now one of the institutions of the past. It
is so interwoven in the history of our country, that, un

desirable as a reference or recollection of this particular
bygone custom may be, it is nevertheless necessary to

be studied in order to form some adequate idea of our
Nation s progress and growth. -To take in, or to under
stand the exact social status of such a people in all its
bearings, we can pursue no better course than to live among

them, to become for a time one of them, to fall from a con
dition of freedom to one of bondage, to feel the scourge, to
bear the marks of the brands, and the outrage of manacles.

To experience was the misfortune of Mr. Northup
all this ;
and his story, simple and artless, affords an insight and

enlists a sympathy far deeper than any work of fiction
frhich genius can produce.
It is on this account that the publishers have undertaken

to issue a new edition of this work. And surely, at this
time when the exciting questions of color, of race, and of
social standing are forever settled on American soil by the
Magna Charta of our common rights, the Constitution
in
surely, now, a reprint of the story of a slave, thrilling
its
details, calls for no apology. It can be taken for what it
(xv)
XVI
is worth a personal narrative of personal sufferings and
keenly felt and strongly resented wrongs; but, in our
opinion, the individual will be lost or merged in the general
interest, and the work wdll be regarded as a history of an
institution which our political economy has now happily

superseded, but which, however much its existence may be
regretted, should be studied indeed, must be studied by

every one whose interest in our country incites him to
obtain a correct knowledge of her past existence.
And that the narrative may be the more interesting, we

have made no changes from the original; we have left
unmodified every observation, changed no statement, nor
tried, in a single instance, to modernize or explain allusions
which, viewed from the present, may not be so apparent.

It may be interesting for the reader to notice the remark
able fulfillments which time has brought to the unconscious
prophecies of events, or to measure the estimate of the past

with what history has actually proven them. In any event,
the flavor of a past era must add piquancy to the enjoy-
ment of the perusal.

CONTENTS.
EDITOR S PREFACE, , t . . 10
CHAPTER I.
Introductory Ancestry The Northup Family Birth and

Parentage Mintus Northup Marriage with Anne Hamp
ton Good Resolutions Champlain Canal Rafting Ex
cursionto Canada Farming The Violin Cooking
Removal to Saratoga Parker and Perry Slaves and Sla
very The Children The Beginning of Sorrow, 17
CHAPTER II.
The two Strangers The Circus Company Departure from

Saratoga Ventriloquism and Legerdemain Journey to
New-York Free Papers Brown and Hamilton The
haste to reach the Circus Arrival in Washington Fune
ral of Harrison The Sudden Sickness The Torment of
Thirst The Receding Light Insensibility Chains and
Darkness, 28
CHAPTER in.
Painful Meditations James H. Burch Williams Slave Pen

in Washington The Lackey, Radburn Assert my Free
dom The Anger of the Trader The Paddle and Cat-o -nine
tails The Whipping New Acquaintances Ray, Williams,
and Randall Arrival of Little Emily and her Mother in the
Pen Maternal Sorrows The Story of Eliza, 40
Vlll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
PAG*
Eliza s Sorrows Preparation to Embark Driven Through
the Streets of Washington Hail, Columbia The Tomb of
Washington Clem Ray The Breakfast on the Steamer
The happy Birds Aquia Creek Fredericksburgh Arri
val in Richmond Goodin and his Slave Pen-- Robert, of
Cincinnati David and his Wife Mary and Lethe Clem s
Return His subsequent Escape to Canada The Brig Or
leans James H. Burch, 54
CHAPTER V.
Arrival at Norfolk Frederick and Maria Arthur, the Free
man Appointed Steward Jim, Cuffee, and Jenny The
Storm Bahama Banks The Calm The Conspiracy The
Leng Boat The Small-Pox Death of Robert Manning,
the Sailor The Meeting in the Forecastle The Letter
Arrival at New-Orleans Arthur s Rescue Theophilus Free
man, the Consignee Platt First Night in the New-Orleans
Slave Pen, 65
CHAPTER VI.
Freeman s Industry Cleanliness and Clothes Exercising in

the Show Room The Dance Bob, the Fiddler Arrival
of Customers Slaves Examined The Old Gentleman of
New-Orleans Sale of David, Caroline, and Lethe Parting
of Randall and Eliza Small-Pox The Hospital Recov
ery and Return to Freeman s Slave Pen The Purchaser of
Eliza, Harry, and Platt Eliza s Agony on Parting from
Little Emily, 78
CHAPTER VII.
The Steamboat Rodolph Departure from New-Orleans Wil

liain Ford Arrival at Alexandria, on Red River Resolu
tions The Great Pine Woods Wild Cattle Martin s Sum
mer Residence The Texas Road Arrival at Master Ford s
Rose Mistress Ford Sally and her Children John, the

Cook Walter, Sam, and Antony The Mills on Indian
Creek Sabbath Days Sam s Conversion The Profit of
CONTENTS. IX
PAGB.
Kindness Rafting Adam Tayilem, the Little White Man
Cascalla and his Tribe The Indian Ball John M. Tibeats
The Storm approaching, 89
CHAPTER Vffl.
Fard g Embarrassments The Sale to Tibeats The Chattel

Mortgage Mistress Ford s Plantation on Bayou Bceuf
Deseription of the Latter Ford s Brother-in-law, Peter Tan
nerMeeting with Eliza She still Mourns for her Chil
dren Ford s Overseer, Chapin Tibeats Abuse The Keg
of Nails The First Fight with Tibeats His Discomfiture
and Castigation The attempt to Hang me Chapin s In
terference and Speech Unhappy Reflections Abrupt De
parture of Tibeats, Cook, and Ramsey Lawson and the
Brown Mule Message to the Pine Woods, lOfi
CHAPTER IX.
Mie Hot Sun Yet bound The Cords sink into my Flesh
Chapin s Uneasiness
Speculation Rachel, and her Cup of
Water Suffering increases The Happiness of Slavery
Arrival of Ford He cuts the Cords which bind me, and
takes the Rope from my Neck Misery The gathering of
the Slaves in Eliza s Cabin Their Kindness Rachel Re
peats the Occurrences of the Day Lawson entertains his
Companions with an Account of his Ride Chapin s appre

hensions of Tibeats Hired to Peter Tanner Peter ex
pounds the Scriptures Description of the Stocks, 118
CHAPTER X.
Return to Tibeats Impossibility of pleasing him He at
tacks me with a Hatchet The Struggle over the Broad Axe
The Temptation to Murder him Escape across the Plan
tation Observations from the Fence Tibeats approaches,
followed by the Hounds They take my Track Their load
Yells They almost overtake me I reach the Water
The Hounds confused Moccasin Snakes Alligators Night
in the "Great Pacoudrie Swam y"
The Sounds of Life
A*
CONTENTS.
FAfl*
North-West Course Emerge into the Pine Woods Slave
and his Young Master Arrival at Ford s Food and Rest, 131
CHAPTER XL
The Mistress Garden The Crimson and Golden Fruit Or
ange and Pomegranate Trees Return to Bayou Boeuf
Master Ford s Remarks on the way The Meeting with Tib-
eats His Account of the Chase Ford censures his Brutal
ity Arrival at the Plantation Astonishment of the Slaves
OD seeing me The anticipated Flogging Kentucky John
Mr. Eldret, the Planter El dret s Sam Trip to the "Big
Cane Brake" The Tradition of "Sutton s Field" Forest
Trees Gnats and Mosquitoes The Arrival of Black Wo
men in the Big Cane Lumber Women Sudden Appear
ance of Tibeats His Provoking Treatment Visit to Ba
you Bosuf The Slave Pass Southern Hospitality The
Last of Eliza Sale to Edwin Epps, 141
CHAPTER XH.
Personal Appearance of Epps Epps, Drunk and Sober A
Glimpse of his Plistory Cotton Growing The Mode of
Ploughing and Preparing Ground Of Planting, of Hoe
ing, of Picking, of Treating Raw Hands
The difference in
Cotton Pickers Patsey a remarkable one Tasked accord
ing to Ability Beauty of a Cotton Field The Slave s La
bors Fear of Approaching the Gin-House Weighing
"
Chores" Cabin Life The Corn Mill The Uses of the

Gourd Fear of Oversleeping Fear continually Mode
of Cultivating Corn Sweet Potatoes Fertility of the Soil
Fattening Hogs Preserving Bacon Raising Cattle
Shooting-Matches Garden Products Flowers and Verdure, 161
CHAPTER Xffl.
The Curious Axe-Helve Symptoms of approaching Illness

Continue to decline The Whip ineffectual Confined
CONTENTS. A!
PAQK
to the Cabin Visit by Dr. "Wines Partial Recovery Fail
ure at Cotton Picking "What
may be heard on Epps Plan
tation Lashes Graduated Epps in a Whipping Mood
Epps in a Dancing Mood Description of the Dance Loss
of Rest no Excuse Epps Characteristics Jim Burns Re
moval from Huff Power to Bayou Boeuf Description of
Uncle Abram; of "Wiley; of Aunt Phebe; of Bob, Henry,
and Edward of Patsey with a Genealogical Account of
; ;
each Something of their Past History, and Peculiar Char

acteristics Jealousy and Lust Patsey, the Victim, 176
CHAPTER XIV.
Destruction of the Cotton Crop Demand for Laborers
in 1845
in St. Mary s Parish Sent thither in a Drove The Order
of the March The Grand Coteau
Hired to Judge Turner on
Bayou Salle Appointed Driver in his Sugar House Sun
day Services Slave Furniture; how obtained The Party
at Yarney s, in Centreville Good Fortune The Captain
of the Steamer His Refusal to Secrete me Return to Ba
you Boeuf Sight of Tibeats Patsey s Sorrows Tumult
and Contention Hunting the Coon and Opossum The
Cunning of the latter The Lean Condition of the Slave
Description of the Fish Trap The Murder of the Man from
Natchez Epps Chalenged by Marshall The Influence of
Slavery The Love of Freedom, 191
CHAPTER XV.
Labors on Sugar Plantations The Mode of Planting Cane
of Hoeing Cane Cane Ricks Cutting Cane Description
of the Cane Knife Winrowing Preparing for Succeeding
Crops Description of Hawkins Sugar Mill on Bayou Boeuf
The Christmas Holidays The Carnival Season of the
Children of Bondage The Christmas Supper Red, the Fa
vorite Color The Violin, and the Consolation it afforded
The Christmas Dance Lively, the Coquette Sam Roberta,
and his Rivals Slave Songs Southern Life as it is Thre
Days in the Year The System of Marriage Uncle Abjam s
Contempt of Matrimony, . 208

XU CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVI.
PAOB
Overseers How they are Armed and Accompanied The
Homicide His Execution at Marksrille Slave Drivers
Appointed Driver on removing to Bayou Boauf Practice
makes perfect Epps s Attempt to Cut Platt s Throat The
Escape from him Protected by the Mistress Forbids Read
ing and Writing Obtain a Sheet of Paper after Nine Years
Effort The Letter Armsby, the Mean White Partially
confide in him His Treachery
Epps Suspicions How
they were quieted Burning the Letter Armsby leaves
the Bayou Disappointment and Despair, 991
CHAPTER XVH.
Wiley disregards the counsels of Aunt Phebe and Uncle Abram,
and is caught by the Patrollers The Organization and Du
ties of the latter Wiley Runs Away Speculations in re
gard to him His Unexpected Return His Capture on the
Red River, and Confinement in Alexandria Jail Discovered
by Joseph B. Roberts Subduing Dogs in anticipation of
Escape The Fugitives in the Great Pine Woods Captur
ed by Adam Taydein and the Indians Augustus killed by
Dogs Nelly, Eldret s Slave Woman The Story of Cel*te
The Concerted Movement Lew Cheney, the Traitor--
The Idea of Insurrection 286
CHAPTER XVIH.
O Niel, the Tanner Conversation with Aunt Phebe overheard
Epps in the Tanning Business Stabbing of Uncle Abram
The Ugly Wound Epps is Jealous Patsey is Missing
Her Return from Shaw s Harriet, Shaw s Black Wife
Epps Enraged Patsey denies his Charges She is Tied
Down Naked to Four Stakes The Inhuman Flogging
Flaying of Patsey The Beauty of the Day The Bucket of
Salt Water The Dress stiff with Blood Patsey grows
Melancholy Her Idea of God and Eternity Of Heaven and
Freedom The Effect of Slave-Whipping Epps Oldest Sou
"The Child is Father to the Man,". . . 250
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIX.
PAfll
A very, on Bayod Rouge Peculiarity of Dwellings Epps
builds a New House Bass, the Carpenter His Noble Qual
ities His Personal Appearance and Eccentricities Bass
and Epps discuss the Question of Slavery Epps Opinion
of Bass I make myself known to him Our Conversation
His Surprise The Midnight Meeting on the Bayou Bank
Bass Assurances Declares War against Slavery Why
I did not Disclose my History Bass writes Letters Copy
of his Letter to Messrs. Parker and Perry The Fever of
Suspense Disappointments Bass endeavors to cheer m
My Faith in him, sfil
CHAPTER XX.
fiass faithful to his word His Arrival on Christmas Eve-
The Difficulty of Obtaining an Interview The Meeting i,i
the Cabin Non-arrival of the Letter Bass announces hia
Intention to proceed North Christmas Coversation be
tween Epps and Bass Young Mistress McCoy, the Beauiy
of Bayou Boeuf The "Ne
plus ultra" of Dinners Muîo
and Dancing Presence of the Mistress Her Exceeding
Beauty The Last Slave Dance William Pierce Over
sleep myself The Last Whipping Despondency Cold
Morning Epps Threats The Passing Carriage Stran
gers approaching through the Cotton-Field Last Hour on
Bayou Boauf, 279
CHAPTER XXI.
The Letter reaches Saratoga Is forwarded to Anne Is laid
before Henry B. Northup The Statute of May 14, 1840

Its Provisions Anne s Memorial to the Governor The af
fidavitsAccompanying it Senator Soule s Letter Depar
ture of the Agent appointed by the Governor Arrival at
Marksville The Hon. John P. Waddill The Conversation
on New-York Politics It suggests a Fortunate Idea The
Meeting with Bass The Secret out Legal Proceedings in
stituted Departure of Northup and the Sheriff from Marks
XIV CONTENTS.
ville for Bayou Boeuf Arrangements on the Way Reach

Epps* Plantation Discover his Slaves in the Cotton-Field
The Meeting- The Farewell, 28*
CHAPTER XXII.
Arrival in New-Orleans Glimpse of Freeman Genois, the
Recorder His Description of Solomon Reach Charleston
Interrupted by Custom House Officers Pass through Rich
mond Arrival in Washington Burch Arrested Shekels
and Thorn Their Testimony Burch Acquitted Arrest
of Solomon Burch withdraws the Complaint The High
er Tribunal Departure from Washington Arrival at San
dy Hill Old Friends and Familiar Scenes Proceed to
Glens Falls Meeting with Anne, Margaret, and Elizabeth
Solomon Nortlmp Staunton Incidents Conclusion, ...... 310
828
NARRATIVE OF SOLOMON NOBTHUP.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY ANCESTKF THE NORTH UP FAMILY BIRTH AKD .PAREN1

AGE M1NTU8 NORTHUP MARRIAGE WITH ANNE HAMPTON GOOD RES
SLTJTIONS CHAMPLA1N CANAL RAFTING EXCURSION TO CANADA
KARM1NG THE VIOLIN COOKING REMOVAL TO SARATOGA PARKEI
AND PERRY SLAVES AND SLAVERY THE CHILDREN THE BEGINNING
OF SORROW.
v HAVING been born a

freeman, and for more than
thirty years enjoyed the blessings of liberty in a free
State and having at the end of that time been kid
napped and sold into Slavery, where I remained, until
happily rescued in the month of January, 1853, after

a bondage of twelve years it has been
suggested
that an account of my life and fortunes would not bo
uninteresting to the public.
Since my return to liberty, I have not failed to per
ceive the increasing interest throughout the Northern
States, in regard to the subject of Slavery. Works oi

professing to portray its features in their more
fiction,
pleasing as well as more repugnant aspects, havG been

2
18 TWELVE YEAKS A SLAVE.
circulated to an extent unprecedented, and, as I un

derstand, have created a fruitful topic of comment and
discussion.
I can speak of Slavery only so far as it came under
my own observation only so far as I have known
and experienced it in my own person. My object is,
to give a candid and truthful statement of facts : to
repeat the story of my life, without exaggeration, leav

ing it for others to determine, whether even the pages
of fiction present a picture of more cruel wrong or a
severer bondage.
As far back as I have been able to ascertain, my
ancestors on the paternal side were slaves in Rhode
Island. They belonged to a family by the name of
Northup, one of whom, removing to the State of New-
York, settled at Hoosic, in Rensselaer county. He
brought with him Mintus Nortlmp, my father. OP
the death of this gentleman, which must have occur
red some fifty years ago, my father became free, hav
ing been emancipated by a direction in his will.

Henry B. Northup, Esq., of Sandy Hill, a distin
guished counselor at law, and the man to whom, un
der Providence, I am indebted for my present liberty,
and my return to the society of my wife and children,
is a relative of the family in which my forefathers
T7ere thus held to service, and from which they took
fcae name I bear. To this factmay be attributed the
persevering interest he has taken in my behalf.
Sometime after my father s liberation, he removed
to the town of Minerva, Essex county, N. Y., where!
PARENTAGE. 19
was born, in the month of July, 1808. How long he

remained in the latter place I have not the means of
deiinitely ascertaining. From thence he removed to

Granville,Washington county, near a place known as
Slyborough, where, for some years, he labored on the
farm of Clark Northup, also a relative of his old mas
ter from thence he removed to the Alden farm, at
;
Moss Street, a short distance north of the village of

Sandy Hill ;
and from thence to the farm now owned
by Russel Pratt, situated on the road leading from
Eort Edward to Argyle, where he continued to reside
until his death, which took place on the 22 d day oi
November, He left a widow and two childrer
1829.
myself, and Joseph, an elder brother. The latte

is still living in the county of Oswego, near the city
of that name my mother died during the period of

;
my captivity.
Though born a slave, and laboring under the disad
vantages to which my unfortunate race is subjected,
my father was a man respected for his industry and
integrity, as many now living, who well remember

him, are ready to testify. His whole life was passed in
the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, never seeking em
ployment in those more rnemaljjositions, which seem

to be especially allotted to the children of Africa. Be
sides giving us an education surpassing that ordinari
ly bestowed upon children in our condition, he ac

quired, by and economy, a sufficient
his diligence
property qualification to entitle him to the right of

suffrage. He was accustomed to speak to us of his
TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
early life ;
and although at all times cherishing the
warmest emotions of kindness, and even of affection
towards the family, in whose house he had been a
bondsman, he nevertheless comprehended the system
of Slavery, and dwelt with sorrow on the degradation
of his race. He endeavored to imbue our minds with
sentiments of morality, and to teach us to place our
trust and confidence in Him who regards the humblest
as well as the highest of his creatures. How often

since that time has the recollection of his paternal
counsels occurred to me, while lying in a slave hut in
the distant and sickly regions of Louisiana, smarting
with the undeserved wounds which an inhuman mas
ter had inflicted, and longing only for the grave which
had covered him, to shield me also from the lash of
the oppressor. In the church-yard at Sandy Hill, an

humble stone marks the spot where he reposes, after
having worthily performed the duties appertaining to
the lowly sphere wherein God had appointed him to
walk.
Up to this period I had been principally engaged

with my father in the labors of the farm. The leis
ure hours allowed me were generally either employed
over my books, or playing on the violin an amuse
ment which was the ruling passion of my youth. It
has also been the source of consolation since, affording
pleasure to the simple beings with whom my lot was

cast, and beguiling my own
thoughts, for many hours,
from the painful contemplation of my fate.
On Christmas day, 1829, I was married to Anne
GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 21
Hampton, a colored girl then living in the vicinity of

our residence. The ceremony was performed at Fort
Edward, by Timothy Eddy, Esq., a magistrate of
that town, and still a prominent citizen of the place.
She had resided a long time at Sandy Hill, with Mr.
Baird, proprietor of the Eagle Tavern, and also in the
family of Rev. Alexander Proudfit, of Salem. This
gentleman many years had presided over the Pres

for
byterian society at the latter place, and was widely

distinguished for his learning and piety. Anne
still holds in grateful remembrance the exceeding
kindness and the excellent counsels of that good man.

i* She is not able to determine the exact line of her de
scent, but the blood of three races mingles in her

veins. It is difficult to tell whether the red, white, or
black predominates^) The union of them all, however,

in her origin, has given her a singular but pleasing
expression, such as is rarely to be seen. Though

somewhat resembling, yet she cannot properly be
I have omitted to
styled a quadroon, a class to which,
mention, my mother belonged.
I had
just now
passed the period of my minority,
having reached the age of twenty-one years in the
month of July previous. Deprived of the advice and
assistance of my father, with a wife dependent upon
me for support, I resolved to enter upon a life of in
dustry ;
and notwithstanding the obstacle of color,
and the consciousness of my lowly state, indulged in
pleasant dreams of a good time coining, when the pos

session of some humble habitation, with a few sur
rounding acres, should reward my labors, and bring

me the means of happiness and comfort.
From the time of my marriage to thig day the love
Ihave borne rny wife has been sincere a: id unabated ;
and only those who have felt the glowing tenderness
a father cherishes for his offspring, can appreciate my
affection for the beloved children which have since
been born to us. This much I deem appropriate and
necessary to say, in order that those who read these
pages, may comprehend the poignancy of those suf

ferings I have been doomed to bear.
Immediately upon our marriage we commenced
house-keeping, in the old yellow building then stand
ing at the southern extremity of Fort Edward village,
and which has since been transformed into a modern
mansion, and lately occupied by Captain Lathrop.
known as the Fort House. In this building the
It is
courts were sometime held after the organization of

the county. It was also occupied by Burgoyne in
1
777, being situated near the old Fort on the left bank
}f the Hudson.
During the winter I was employed with others re

pairing the Champlain Canal, on that section over
which William Van Nortwick was superintendent.
David McEachron had the immediate charge of the
men in whose company I labored. By the time the
canal opened in the spring, I was enabled, from the
savings of my wages, to purchase a pair of horses, and

other things necessarily required in the business of
navigation.
EXCURSION TO CANADA. 23
Having hired several efficient hands to assist me, I

entered into contracts for the transportation of large
rafts oftimber from Lake Champlairi to Troy. Dyer
Beck with and a Mr. Bartemy, of Whitehall, accompa
nied me on several trips. During the season I be
came perfectly familiar with the art and mysteries of
rafting a knowledge which afterwards enabled me
to render profitable service to a worthy master, and
to astonish the simple-witted lumbermen on the banks
of the Bayou Boeuf.
my voyages down Lake Champlain, I was

In one of
induced to make a visit to Canada. Kepairing to
Montreal, I visited the cathedral and other places of
interest in that city, from whence I continued my ex
cursion to Kingston and other towns, obtaining

knowledge of localities, which was also of service to
me afterwards, as will appear towards the close of
this narrative.
Having completed my contracts on the canal satisX
factorily to myself and to my employer, and not wish- \

ing to remain idle, now that the navigation of the ca
nal was again suspended, I entered into another con
tract with Medad Gunn, to cut a large quantity of /
wood. In this business I was engaged during the/

winter of 1831-32.
With
the return of spring, Anne and myself con
ceived the project of taking a farm in the neighbor
hood. had been accustomed from earliest youth to
I
agricultural labors, and it was an occupation conge

nial to my tastes. I accordingly entered into
arrange-
ments for a part of the old Alden farm, on which my

father formerly resided. With one cow, one swine,
a yoke of fine oxen I had lately purchased of Lewis
Brown, in Hartford, and other personal property and

effects,we proceeded to our new home in Kingsbury.
That year I planted twenty-five acres of corn, sowed
large fields of oats, and commenced farming upon as
large a scale as my utmost means would permit.
Anne was diligent about the house affairs, while I
toiled laboriously in the field.
On this place we continued to reside until 1834.

In the winter season I had numerous calls to play on
the violin.Wherever the young people assembled to
dance, I was almost invariably there. Throughout
the surrounding villages my fiddle was notorious.
Anne, also, during her long residence at the Eagle

Tavern, had become somewhat famous as a cook.
During court weeks, and on public occasions, she was
employed high wages in the kitchen at SherrilPs
at
Coffee House.
We always returned home from the performance
of these services with money in our pockets ;
so that,
with fiddling, cooking, and farming, we soon found
oursel ves in the possession of abundance, and, in fact
leading a happy and prosperous life. Well, indeed,

have been for us had we remained on the
"would it
farm at Kingsbury but the time came when the

;
next step was to be taken towards the cruel destiny

that awaited me.
In March, 1834, we removed to Saratoga Springs
REMOVAL TO SARATOGA. 25
We occupied a house belonging to Daniel O Brien,

on the north side of Washington street. At that time
Isaac Taylor kept a large boarding house, known as
Washington Hall, at the north end of Broadway. He

employed me to drive a hack, in which capacity 1
worked for him two years. After this time I was
generally employed through the visiting season, as
also was Anne, in the United States Hotel, and other
public houses of the place. In winter seasons I re

liedupon my violin, though during the construction
of theTroy and Saratoga railroad, I performed many
hard days labor upon it.
I \ras in the habit, at Saratoga, of
purchasing arti
cles recessary foi my family at the stores of Mr. Ce
plias Parker and Mr. William Perry, gentlemen

towaids whom, for many acts of kindness, I enter
tained feelings of strong regard. It was for this rea
son that, twelve years afterwards, I caused to be di
rected to them the letter, which is hereinafter insert
ed, and which was the means, in the hands of Mr.

Northup, of my fortunate deliverance.
While living at the United States Hotel, I frequent
ly met with slaves, who had accompanied their mas

ters from the South. They were always well dressed
and well provided for, leading apparently an easy life,
with but few of its ordinary troubles to perplex them.
Many times they entered into conversation with me

MI the subject of Slavery. Almost uniformly I found
they cherished a secret desire for liberty. Some of
hem expressed the most ardent anxiety to escape, and
B
/consulted me on the best method of effecting it. The

fear of punishment, however, which they knew was
certain to attend their re-capture and return, in all
cases proved sufficient to deter them from the exper
iment. Having all my life breathed the free air of
the ISTorth, and conscious that I possessed the same
feelings and affections that find a place in the white

man s breast ; conscious, moreover, of an intelligence
equal to that of some men, at least, with a fairer skin,
I was too ignorant, perhaps too independent, to con
ceive how any one could be content to live in the ab
ject condition of a slave. I could not comprehend the
justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or

recognizes the principle of Slavery and never once ;
I am proud to
say, did I fail to counsel any one wh<
came to me, to watch his opportunity, and strike fo*

freedom.
I continued to reside at Saratoga until the spring of
1841. The nattering anticipations which, seven years
before, had seduced us from the quiet farm-house, on
the east side of the Hudson, had not been realized.
Though always in comfortable circumstances, we

had not prospered. The society and associations at that
world-renowned watering place, were not calculated
to preserve the simple habits of industry and economy
to which I had been accustomed, but, on the contrary,
to substitute others in their stead, tending to shift-
lessness and extravagance.

At time we were the parents of three children
this
Elizabeth, Margaret, and Alonzo. Elizabeth, the

HOME AND ITS PLEASURES. 27
eldest, was in her tenth year; Margaret was two
years younger, and little Alonzo had just passed his

fifth birth-day. They filledour house with gladness.
Their young voices were music in our ears. Many an
airy castle did their mother and myself "build for the
little innocents. When not at labor I was always
walking with them, clad in their best attire, through

the streets and groves of Saratoga. Their presence
was my delight ;
I clasped them to my bosom
and
with as warm and tender love as if their clouded skins
had been as white as snow.
Thus far the history of my
life presents nothing
whatever unusual nothing but the common hopes,

and loves, and labors of an obscure colored man, ma
king his humble progress in the world. But now I
had reached a turning point in my existence reach

ed the threshold of unutterable wrong, and sorrow,
and despair. Now had I approached within the shad
ow of the cloud, into the thick darkness whereof I was
soon to disappear, thenceforward to be hidden from
the eyes of all my kindred, and shut out from the
sweet light of liberty, for many a weary year.
CHAPTER II.
PiJl TWO STRANGERS THE CIRCUS COMPANY DEPARTURE FROM SARA

TOGA VENTRILOQUISM AND LEGERDEMAIN JOURNEY TO NEW-YORK
FREE PAPERS BROT"N AND HAMILTON THE HASTE TO REACH THJ
CIRCUS ARRIVAL IN WASHINGTON FUNERAL OF HARRISON THE SUD
DEN SICKNESS THE TORMENT OF THIRST THE RECEDING LIGHT IN
SENSIBILITY CHAINS AND DARKNESS.
ONE morning, towards

the latter part of the month
of March, 1841, having at that time no particular
business to engage my attention, I was walking about
the village of Saratoga Springs, thinking to myself
where I might obtain some present employment, un
til the busy season should arrive. Anne, as was her
usual custom, had gone over to Sandy Hill, a dis
tance of some twenty miles, to take charge of the cu
linary department at Sherrill sCoffee House, during

the session of the court. Elizabeth, I think, had ac
companied her. Margaret and Alonzo were with
their aunt at Saratoga.
On the corner of Congress street and Broadway,
near the tavern, then, and for aught I know to the
contrary, still kept by Mr. Moon, I was met by two

gentlemen of respectable appearance, both of whom
were entirely unknown to me. I have the impres-
THE TWO STRANGERS. 2&
sion that they were introduced to me by some one of

my acquaintances, but who, I have in vain endeavor
ed to recall, with the remark that I was an expert
player on the violin.
At any rate, they immediately entered into conver
sation on that subject, making numerous inquiries
louching my proficiency in that respect. My respon
ses being to all appearances satisfactory, they propos
ed to engage my services for a short period, stating,
at the same time, I was just such a person as their
business required. Their names, as they afterwards
gave them me, were Merrill Brown and Abram

to
Hamilton, though whether these were their true ap

pellations, I have strong reasons to doubt. The for
mer was a man apparently forty years of age, some
what short and thick-set, with a countenance indica
ting shrewdness and intelligence. He wore a black
frock coat and black hat, and said he resided either at
Rochester or at Syracuse. The latter was a young
man of fair complexion and light eyes, and, I should
judge, had not passed the age of twenty -five. He

was tall and slender, dressed in a snuff-colored coat,
with glossy hat, and vest of elegant pattern. His
whole apparel was in the extreme of fashion. His
appearance was somewhat effeminate, but prepossess
ing, and there was about him an easy air, that showed
he had mingled with the world. They were connect
ed, as they informed me, with a circus company, then
in the city of Washington that they were on their
;
30 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
way thither to rejoin it, having left it for a short time

to make an excursion northward, for the purpose ot
seeing the country, and were paying their expenses

i.y
an occasional exhibition. They also remarked
/ *!.,
that they had found much difficulty in procuring mu
sic for their entertainments, and that if I would ac
company them as far as New- York, they would give
me one dollar for each day s services, and three dol
lars in addition for every night I played at their per
formances, besides sufficient to pay the expense* of
my return from ISTew-York to Saratoga.
- I at once
accepted the tempting offer, both for the
reward it promised, and from a desire to visit the
metropolis.Thevjwere anxious to leave immediately.
Thinking my absence would be brief, I did not deem
it
necessary to write to Anne whither had gone I ;
in fact supposing that my return, perhaps, would be

\/as soon as hers. So taking a change of linen and my
violin, I was ready to depart. The carriage was
brought round a covered one, drawn by a pair of
noble bays, altogether forming an elegant establish
ment. Their baggage, consisting of three large
trunks, was fastened on the rack, and mounting to
the drivers seat, while they took their places in the
rear, drove away from Saratoga on the road to

I
Albany, elated with my new position, and happy as

1 had ever been, on any day in all my life.
We passed through Ballston, and striking the ridge

road, as it is called, if my memory correctly serves
VENTRILOQUISM AND LEGERDEMAIN. 31
me, followed it direct to Albany. We reached that
city before dark, and stopped at a hotel southward

from the Museum.
This night I had an opportunity of witnessing one
of their performances the only one, during the whole
period I was with them. Hamilton was stationed at

the door ;
I formed the orchestra, while Brown pro
vided the entertainment. consisted in throwing It
balls, dancing on the rope, frying pancakes in a hat,
causing invisible pigs to squeal, and other like feats

of ventriloquism and legerdemain. The audience
was extraordinarily sparse, and not of the selectest
character at that, and Hamilton s report of the pro
ceeds presented but a "
beggarly account of empty

boxes."
Early next morning we renewed our journey. The

burden of their conversation now was the expression
of an anxiety to reach the circus without delay.
They hurried forward, without again stopping to ex
hibit, and in due course of time, we reached Kew-
York, taking lodgings at a house on the west side of

the city, in a street running from Broadway to the
river. I supposed my journey was at an end, and
expected in a day or two at least, to return to my
friends and family at Saratoga. Brown and Hamil
ton, however, began to importune me to continue with
them to Washington. They alleged that immediately
on their arrival, now
season was ap
that the summer
proaching, the circus would set out for the north.
They promised me a situation and high wages if I
would accompany them. Largely did they expatiate

on the advantages that would result to me, and such
were the flattering representations they made, that 1
finally concluded to accept the offer.

, The next morning they suggested that, inasmuch
as we were about entering a slave State, it would be
well, before leaving New-York, to procure free pa

pers. The idea struck me as a prudent one, though 1
\ think it would scarcely have occurred to me, had they
\not proposed it. We proceeded at once to what I un

derstood to be the Custom House. They made oath to
certain facts showing I was a free man. A paper was
drawn up and handed us, with the direction to take it
to the clerk s office. We did so, and
the clerk having
added something to
it, which
forhe was paid six shil
lings, we returned again
to the Custom House. Some
further formalities were gone through with before it
was completed, when, paying the officer two dollars,
Iplaced the papers in my pocket, and started with
my two friends to our hotel. I thought at the time,
I must confess, that the papers were scarcely worth the
cost of obtaining them the apprehension of danger
to my personal safety never having suggested itself
to me in the remotest manner. The clerk, to whom
we were directed, I remember, made a memorandum
jn a large book, which, I presume, is in the office
yet. A
reference to the entries during the latter part
of March, or first of April, 1841, I have no doubt
will satisfy the incredulous, at least so far as this par
ticular transaction is concerned.
ARRIVAL AT WASHINGTON. 33
evidence of freedom in my possession, the

next day after our arrival in New-York, we crossed
tlie ferry to Jersey City, and took the road to Phila
delphia. Here we remained one night, continuing
our journey towards Baltimore early in the morning.
T
n due time, we arrived in the latter city, and stopped
near the railroad depot, either kept by a
at a hotel
Mr. Kathbone, or known as the Rathbone House.

Û1 the way from New- York, their anxiety to reach
the circus seemed grow more and more intense.
to
We left the carriage at Baltimore, and entering the

cars, proceeded to Washington, at which place we
arrived just at nightfall, the evening previous to the
funeral of General Harrison, and stopped at Gadsby s
Hotel, on Pennsylvania Avenue.

After supper they called me to their apartments,
and paid me forty-three dollars, a sum greater than
my wages amounted to, which act of generosity was
in consequence, they said, of their not having exhib
ited as often as they had given me to anticipate, du
ring our trip from Saratoga. They moreover inform
ed me that it had been the intention of the circus
company to leave
Washington the next morning, but
that on account of
th-J iimeral,
they had concluded 1 3
remain another day. ihey were then, as they had been

from the time of o j first meeting, extremeh kind.
No opportunity was omitted of addressing me in the

language of apj>
Nation ; while, on the other hand.
I was certainly much prepossessed in their favor. I
B* 8
TWELVE YEAHS A SLAVE.
gave them my confidence without reserve, and ulel w<
freely have trusted them to almost any extent. Their

constant conversation and manner towards me their
foresight in suggesting the idea of free papers, and a

hundred other little acts, unnecessary to be repeated
all indicated that they were friends indeed, sincerely
solicitous for my welfare. I know not but they were.
I knownot but they were innocent of the great wick
edness of which I now believe them guilty. Whether
they were- accessory to my misfortunes subtle and

inhuman monsters in the shape of men designedly
luring me away from home and family, and liberty,
for the sake of gold those who read these pages
will have the same means of determining as myself.
If they were innocent, my sudden disappearance
must have been unaccountable indeed ;
but revolv
ing in my mind all the attending circumstances, I
never yet could indulge, towards them, so charitable
a supposition.
money from them, of which

After receiving the
they appeared have an abundance, they advised

to
me not to go into the streets that night, inasmuch

as I was unacquainted with the customs of the city.
Promising to remember their advice, I left them to

gether, and soon after was shown by a colored ser
vant to a sleeping room in the back part of the hotel,
on the ground floor. I laid down to rest, thinking of
home and and children, and the long distance
wife,
that stretched between us, until I fell asleep. But
FtTNERAL OF HARRISON. 35
no good angel of pity came to my bedside, bidding

me to fly no voice of mercy forewarned me in my
dreams of the trials that were just at hand.
The next day there was a great pageant in Wasu-

ington. The roar of cannon and the tolling of bells
filled the air, while many houses were shrouded with
crape, and the streets were black with people. As

the day advanced, the procession made its appear
ance, coming slowly through the Avenue, carriage
after carriage,in long succession, while thousands
upon thousands followed on foot all moving to the
sound of melancholy music. They were bearing the

dead body of Harrison to the grave.
From
early in the morning, I was constantly in the
company of Hamilton and Brown. They were the
only persons I knew in Washington. We stood to
gether as the funeral pomp passed by. I remember

distinctly how the window glass would break and
rattle to the ground, after each report of the cannon
they were firing in the burial ground. We went to the
Capitol, and walked a long time about the grounds.
In the afternoon, they strolled towards the Presi
dent s House, all the time
keeping me near to them,
and pointing out various places of interest. As yet,
I had seen
nothing of the circus. In fact, I had
thought of it but little, if at all, amidst the excite
ment of the day.
My friends, several times during the afternoon, en
tered drinking saloons, and called for liquor. The?
were by no means in the habit, however, so far as
36 TWELVE YE AllS A SLAVE.
knew them, of indulging to excess. On these occa
sions, afterserving themselves, they would pour out

a glass and hand it to me. I did not become intoxi
cated, as may be what subsequently

inferred from
occurred. Towards evening, and soon after parta
king of one of these potations, I began to experience

most unpleasant sensations. I felt extremely ill. My
head commenced aching a dull, heavy pain, inex
pressibly disagreeable. At the supper table, I was

without appetite ;
the sight and flavor of food was
nauseous. About dark the same servant conducted
me to the room I had occupied the previous night.
Brown and Hamilton advised me to retire, commise
rating me kindly, and expressing hopes that I would be
better in the morning. Divesting myself of coat and
boots merely, I threw myself upon the bed. It was
impossible to sleep. The pain in my head continued

to increase, until itbecame almost unbearable. In a
short time I became thirsty. My lips were parched.
I could think of nothing but water of lakes and
flowing rivers, of brooks where I had stooped to

drink, and of the dripping bucket, rising with its cool
and overflowing nectar, from the bottom of the well.
Towards midnight, as near as I could judge, I arose,
unable longer to bear such intensity of thirst. I
was a stranger in the house, and knew nothing of its

apartments. There was no one up, as I could observe.
Groping about at random, I knew not where, I found
the way at last to a kitchen in the basement. Two
or three colored servants were moving through it, one
THE TORMENT OF THIRST. 37
of whom, woman, gave me two glasses of water.

a
It afforded momentary relief, but by the time I had
reached my room again, the same burning desire of
el
i-ink, the same tormenting thirst, had again returned,
it was even more torturing than before, as was also
the wild pain in my head, if such a thing could be.

I was most excruciating agony
in sore distress in !
I seemed to stand on the brink of madness The !
memory of that night of horrible suffering will fol

low me to the grave.
In the course of an hour or more after my return
from the kitchen, I was conscious of some one enter
ing my room. There seemed to be several a ming
ling of various voices, but how many, or who

they were, I cannot tell. Whether Brown and Hamil
ton were among them, is a mere matter of conjecture.
I only remember, with any degree of distinctness,
that I was was necessary to go to a physician

told it
and procure medicine, and that pulling on my boots,

without coat or hat, I followed them through a long
passage-way, or alley, into the open street. It ran

out at right angles from Pennsylvania Avenue. On
the opposite side there was a light burning in a win
dow. impression is there were then three per
My
sons with me, altogether indefinite and
but it is
vague, and like the memory of a painful dream.

Going towards the light, which I imagined proceed
ed from a physician s office, and which seemed to re
cede as I advanced, is the last glimmering recollec
tion I can now recall. From that moment I was
38 TWELVE TEARS A SLAVE.
insensible.- How long I remained in that condition
whether only that night, or many days and nights

I do not know but when consciousness returned,
;
1
found myself alone, in utter darkness, and in chains.

\The pain in my head had subsided in a measure,
but I was very faint and weak. I was sitting upon a
low bench, made of rough boards, and without coat
or hat. I was hand-cuffed. Around my ankles also
were a pair of heavy fetters. One end of a chain was
fastened to a large ring in the floor, the other to the
fetters on my ankles. I tried in vain to stand upon
my feet. Waking from such a painful trance, it
was some time before I could collect my thoughts.

Where was I? "What was the meaning of these
chains ? Where were Brown and Hamilton ? What
had I done to deserve imprisonment in such a dun
geon ? I could not comprehend. There was a blank
of some indefinite period, preceding my awakening
in that lonely place, the events of which the utmost
stretch of memory was unable to recall. I listened
intently forsome sign or sound of life, but nothing

broke the oppressive silence, save the clinking of my
\ chains, whenever I chanced to move. I spoke aloud,
t the sound of
my voice startled me. I felt of my
pockets, so far as the fetters would allow far enough
indeed, to ascertain that I had not only been robbed

of liberty, but that my money and free papers were
also gone Then did the idea begin to break upon
!
my mind, at first dim and confused, that I had been
kidnapped. But that I thought was incredible.

CHAINS AND DARKNESS. 39
There must have been some misapprehension some

unfortunate mistake. It could not be that a free
eitizen of New- York, who had wronged no man, nor
violated any law, should be dealt with thus inhumanly.
Flie more I contemplated my situation, however, the
more I became confirmed in my suspicions. It was a
desolate thought, indeed. I folt there was no trust or
mercy in unfeeling man ;

and commending myself to
f
ie God of the oppressed, bowed my head upon my
fettered hands, and wept most bitterly.
5HAPTEK Mi
rojirri. MK . -<\N MONS JAMES H. BURCH WILIIAMS SLAVE I-N i*
THE LACKEY, RADRURN

AMiI>uiOX ASSERT MY FRKEDuM THfe
ANGER OF TriE TriADKR THE PADDLE AND CAT-o -NINETAIL8 . tiii
WHIPIING NEW
ACQUAINTANCES RAY, WILLIAMS, AND RANDALL
ARRIVAL OF LITTLE EMILY AND HER MOTHER IN THE PEN MATERNAL
SORROWS THE STORY OF ELIZA.
SOME three hours elapsed, during which time 1 re

mained seated on the low bench, absorbed in painful
meditations. At length I heard the crowing of a
cock, and soon a distant rumbling sound, as of car
riages hurrying through the streets, came to my ears,

and I knew that it was day. No ray of light, how
ever, penetrated my prison. Finally, I heard foot
steps immediately overhead, as of some one walking
to and fro. It occurred to me then that I must be
in an underground apartment, and the damp, mouldy
odors of the place confirmed the supposition. The
noise above continued for at least an hour, when,
at last, I heard footsteps approaching from without.
A key rattled in the lock a strong door swung back
upon hinges, admitting a flood of light, and two

its
men entered and stood before me. One of them was

a large, powerful man, forty years of age, perhaps.
BURGH, THE SLAVE DEALER 41
with dark, chestnut-colored hair, slightly interspersed

with gray. His face was full, his complexion flush,
his features grossly coarse, expressive of nothing but
cruelty and cunning. He was about five feet ten
inches high, of full habit, and, without prejudice, I
must be allowed to say, was a man whose whole &]>^
pearance was sinister and repugnant. His name was

James H. Burch, as I learned afterwards a well-
known slave-dealer in Washington and then, or late
;
ly, connected in business, as a partner, with Theophi-

lus Freeman, of .New-Orleans. The person who
accompanied him was a simple lackey, named Ebe-
nezer Radburn, who acted merely in the capacity of
turnkey. Both of these men still live in Washington,
or did, at the time of my return through that city
from slavery in January last.
The light admitted through the open door enabled
me to observe the room in which I was confined. It
was about twelve feet square the walls of solid ma
sonry. The floor was of heavy plank. There was
one small window, crossed with great iron bars, with
an outside shutter, securely fastened.
An iron-bound door led into an adjoining cell, or
vault, wholly destitute of windows, or any means of
admitting light. The furniture of the room in which

I
was, consisted of thewooden bench on which I sat,
an old-fashioned, dirty box stove, and besides these, \
in either cell, there was neither bed, nor blanket, nor
othor thing whatever. The door, through which /

Bnrch and R-adburn entered, led througli a small

passage, up a flight of steps into a yard, surrounded
by a brick wall ten or twelve feet high, immediately
in rear of a building of the same width as itself.
The yard extended rearward from the house about

thirty feet. In one part of the wall there was a
strongly ironed door, opening into a narrow, covered

passage, leading along one side of the house into the
street. The doom of the colored man, upon whom
the door leading out of that narrow passage closed,
was sealed. The top of the wall supported one end
of a roof, which ascended inwards, forming a kind of
open shed. Underneath the roof there was a crazy
loft round, where slaves, if so disposed, might
all
sleep at night, or in inclement weather seek shelter

from the storm. It was like a farmer s barnyard in
most respects, save it was so constructed that the out
side world could never see the human cattle that were
herded there.
The building to which the yard was attached, was
two stories high, fronting on one of the public streets
of Washington. Its outside presented only the ap
pearance of a quiet private residence. X

stranger
looking at it, would never have dreamed of its exe
crable uses. Strange as it
may seem, within plain
same house, looking down from iis com
sight of this
manding height upon it, was the Capitol. The voices
of patriotic representatives boasting of freedom and
equality, and the rattling of 1^ poor slave s chains,

ASSFJIT MY FBEEDOM. 43
almost commingled. A slave pen within the verv

shadow of tlie Capitol!
Such is a correct description as it was in 1841, of
Williams slave pen in Washington, in one of the eel

hirs of which I found myself so unaccountably COD
lined.
"
Well, my boy, how dc you feel now ?" said
Burch, he entered through the open door. I re

as
plied that I was sick, and inquired the cause of my

i
tnprisonment. He answered that I w as his slave
r
that he had bought me, and that he was about to send

me to New-Orleans. I asserted, aloud and boldly,
that Iwas a free man a resident of Saratoga, where
I had a wife and children, who were also free, and
that my name was ISforthup. I complained bitterly
of the strange treatment I had received, and threat
ened, upon my liberation, to have satisfaction for the
wrong. He denied that I was free, and with an em

phatic oath, declared that I came from Georgia.
Again and again I asserted I was no man s slave, and
insisted upon his taking off my chains at once. He
endeavored to hush me, as if he feared my voice
would be overheard. But I would not be silent, and
denounced the authors of my imprisonment, whoever
they might be, as unmitigated villains. Finding he
could not quiet me, he new into a towering passion.
With blasphemous oaths, he called me a black liar, a
an away from Georgia, and every other profane and
vulgar epithet that the most indecent fancy could

conceive.
During this time Radburn was standing silently

by. His business was, to oversee this human, or
rather inhuman stable, receiving slaves, feeding and
whipping them, at the rateof two shillings a head
per day. Turning to him, Burch ordered the paddle

and cat-o -ninetails to be brought in. He disappear
ed, and moments returned with these
in a few in .
etruments of torture. The paddle, as it is termed in
slave-beating parlance, or at least the one with which 1
firstbecame acquainted, and of which I now speak, was

a piece of hard- wood board, eighteen or twenty inches
long, moulded to the shape of an old-fashioned pudding

stick, or ordinary oar. The flattened portion, which
was about the size in circumference of two open
hands, was bored with a small auger in numerous
places. The cat was a large rope of many strands
the strands unraveled, and a knot tied at the extrem
ity of each.
As soon as these formidable whips appeared, I was
seized by both of them, and roughly divested of my
clothing. My has been stated, were fastened
feet, as
to the floor. Drawing me over the bench, face down
wards, Radburn placed his heavy foot upon the fet
ters, between my wrists, holding them painfully to the
floor. With the paddle, Burch commenced beating
rue. Blow after blow was inflicted upon my naked
body. When his unrelenting arm grew tired, h
THE WHIPPING. 45
stopped and asked if I still insisted I was a free man

Idid upon it, and then the blows were renewed,
insist
and more energetically, if possible, than before.

faster
When again tired, he would repeat the same question,

and receiving the same answer, continue his cruel
labor. All this time, the incarnate devil was utter
ing most fiendish oaths. At length the paddle broke,

leaving the useless handle in his hand. Still I would
not yield. All his brutal blows could not force from
my lips the foul lie that I was a slave. Casting mad

ly on the the handle of the broken paddle, he
floor
seized the rope. This was far more painful than the
it was in
other. I struggled with all my power, but
vain. I
prayed for mercy, but
my prayer was only
answered with imprecations and with stripes. I
thought I must die beneath the lashes of the accursed
brute. Even now the flesh crawls upon my bones, as
I recall the scene. I was all on fire. My sufferings
I can compare to nothing else than the burning ago
nies of hell !
At last I became silent to his repeated questions.

I would make no reply. In was becoming al
fact, I
most unable to speak. he plied the lash without
Still
stint upon my poor body, until it seemed that the

lacerated flesh was stripped from my bones at every
stroke. A man with a particle of mercy in his soul
Aôuld nothave beaten even a dog so cruelly. At
length Eadburn said that it was useless to whip
me any more that I would be sore enough. There
upon, Burek desisted, saying, with an admonitory
shake of his fist in my and hissing the woids

face,
his firm-set that if ever I dared to
through teeth,
utter again that I was entitled to my freedom, that I
had been kidnapped, or any thing whatever of the

kind, the castigation I had jnst received was nothing
In comparison with what would follow. He swore
J^J that he would either conquer or kill me. With these
consolatory words, the fetters were taken from my
wrists, my remaining fastened to the ring
feet still ;
the shutter of the little barred window, which had

been opened, was again closed, and going out, lock
ing the great door behind them, I was left in dark
ness as before.
In an hour, perhaps two, iny heart leaped to my
throat, as the key rattled in the door again. I, who
had been so lonely, and who had longed so ar
dently to see some one, I cared not who, now shud

dered at the thought of man s
approach. human. A
face was me, especially a
fearful to white one. Rad-
burn entered, bringing with him, on a tin plate, a
piece of shriveled fried pork, a slice of bread and a
cup of water. He asked me how I felt, and remark
ed that I had received a pretty severe flogging. He
remonstrated with me against the propriety of as
serting my freedom. In rather a patronizing and

confidential manner, he gave it to me as his advice,
that the less I said on that subject the better it would
be for me. The man evidently endeavored toappear
kind whether touched at the sight of my sadcondi
tion, or with, the view of silencing, on my part, mi)-
THE WHIPPING. 47
further expression of my rights, it is not necessary

now to conjecture. He unlocked the fetters from my
ankles, opened the shutters of the little window, and
departed, leaving me again alone.
By this time I had become stiff and sore my ;
body was covered with blisters, and it was with

great \
pain and difficulty that I could move. From the /
window O but the roof resting

I could observe nothing O
on the adjacent wall. At night I laid down upon the
damp, hard floor, without any pillow or covering
whatever. Punctually, twice a day, Eadburn came
in, with his pork, and bread, and water. I had but
little appetite, though I was tormented with contin
ual thirst. My wounds would not permit me to re

main but a few minutes in any one position ; so, sit
ting, or standing, or moving slowly round, I passed

the days and nights. I was heart sick and discour
aged. Thoughts of my family, of my wife and chil
dren, continually occupied my mind. When sleep

overpowered me I dreamed of them dreamed I was
again in Saratoga that I could see their faces, and

hear their voices calling me. Awakening from the
pleasant phantasms of sleep to the bitter realities

around me, I could but groan and weep. Still my
spirit was not broken. I indulged the anticipation of
escape, and that speedily. It was impossible, I rea
soned, that men could be so unjust as to detain me as

a slave, when the truth of my case was known.
Burch, ascertaining I was no runaway from Georgia,

would certainly let me go. Though suspicions of
4:8 TWELVE YEABS A SLAVE.
Brown and Hamilton were not imfrequent, I could

not reconcile myself to the idea that they were in
strumental to my imprisonment. Surely they would
Beek me out they would deliver me from thraldom.
Alas ! I had not then learned the measure of man s "
Inhumanity to man," nor to what limitless extent of

wickedness he will go for the love of gain.
In the course of several days the outer door was
thrown open, allowing me the liberty of the yard.
There I found three slaves one of them a lad of ten
years, the young men of about twenty and
others
twenty-five. I was not long in forming an acquaint
ance, and learning their names and the particulars of

their history.
The eldest was a colored man named Clemens Ray.
ELehad lived in Washington had driven a hack, and
;
worked in a livery stable there for a long time. He

was very intelligent, and fully comprehended his sit
uation. The thought of going south overwhelmed
him with grief. Burcli had purchased him a few
days before, and had placed hmi there until such time
as he was ready to send him to the New-Orleans mar
ket. From him I learned for the first time that I was
in William s Slave Pen, a place I had never heard of
previously. He described to me the uses for which

it was designed. him
the particulars of
I repeated to
my unhappy story, but he could only give me the

consolation of his sympathy. He also ad\ised ire to
be silent henceforth on the subject of my ireov >m .
for, knowing the character of J3urch, he assm *>?

BAY, WILLIAMS AND KANDALL. 49
that it would only be attended with renewed whip

ping. The next eldest was named John Williams. He
was raised in Virginia, not far from Washington.
Burch had taken him inpayment of a deht, and he
constantly entertained the hope that his master would
redeem him a hope that was subsequently realized.
The lad was a sprightly child, that answered to the
name Most of the time he was playing
of Randall.
about the yard, but occasionally would cry, calling
for his mother, and wondering when she would come.
His mother s absence seemed to be the great and only
grief in his little heart. He was too young to realize
his condition, and when the memory of his mother

was not in his mind, he amused us with his pleasant
pranks.
At Eay, Williams, and the boy, slept in the
night,
loft of the shed, while I was locked in the cell. Fi
nally we were each provided with blankets, such as

are used upon horses the only bedding I was allow
ed to have for twelve years afterwards. Ray and
Williams asked me many questions about New-York
how colored people were treated there ;
how they
could have homes and families of their own, with none
to disturb and oppress them ;
and Ray, especially,
sighed continually for freedom. Such conversations,
however, were not in the hearing of Burch, or the
keeper Radburn. Aspirations such as these would
have brought down the lash upon our backs.
It is necessary in this narrative, in order to present
a full and truthful statement of all the principal event?
in the history of my life, and to portray the instil a
tion of Slavery as I have seen and known

it, to speak
of well-known places, and of many persons who are
yet living. I am, and always was, an entire stranger

in Washington and its vicinity aside from Burch
and Radburn, knowing no man there, except as I hava
heard of them through my enslaved companions.
What I am about to say, if false, can be easily con
tradicted.
I remained in Williams slave pen about two
weeks. The night previous to my departure a woman
was brought in, weeping bitterly, and leading by the
hand a little child. They were Randall s mother and
half-sister. On meeting them he was overjoyed,
clinging to her dress, kissing the child, and exhibit
ing every demonstration of delight. The mother also
clasped him in her arms, embraced him tenderly, and
gazed at him fondly through her tears, calling him by
many an endearing name.
Emily, the child, was seven or eight years old, of
light complexion, and with a face of admirable beau
ty. Her hair fell in curls around her neck, while the
style and richness of her dress, and the neatness of

her whole appearance indicated she had been brought
up in the midst of wealth. She was a sweet child
indeed. The woman
also was arrayed in silk, with
rings upon her fingers, and golden ornaments sus
pended from her ears. Her air and manners, the cor
rectness and propriety of her language - all showed, -
evidently, that she had sometime stood above the

MATERNAL SORROWS. 51
common level of a slave. She seemed to be amazed

at finding herself in such a place as that. It waa
plainly a sudden and unexpected turn of fortune that

had brought her there. Filling the air with her com
plainings, she was hustled, with the children and my
eelf, into the cell. Language can convey but an inad
equate impression of the lamentations to which she
gave incessant utterance. Throwing herself upon the
floor, and encircling the children in her arms, she
poured forth such touching words as only maternal

love and kindness can suggest. They nestled closely
to her, as if there only was there any safety or pro
tection. Atlast they slept, their heads resting upon
her lap. While they slumbered, she smoothed the

hair back from their little foreheads, and talked to
them all night long. She called them her darlings
her sweet babes poor innocent things, that knew
not the misery they were destined to endure. Soon
they would have no mother to comfort them they
would be taken from her. What would become of
them ? Oh she could not live away from her little
!
Emmy and her dear boy. They had always been

good children, and had such loving ways. It would
break her heart, God knew, she said, if they were ta
ken from her and yet she knew they meant to sell
;
them, and, may be, they would be separated, and

could never see each other any more. It was enough
co melt a heart of stone to listen to the pitiful ex
pressions of that desolate and distracted mother. Ilei

name was Eliza ;

and this was the story of her life, as
she afterwards related it :
She was the slave of Elisha Berry, a rich man, liv

ing in the neighborhood of Washington. She was
born, I think she said, on his plantation. Years be
fore, he had fallen into dissipated habits, and quarrel
ed with his wife. In fact, soon after the birth of
Randall, they separated. Leaving his wife and daugh
ter in the house they had always occupied, he erected
a new one near by, on the estate. Into this house he
brought Eliza and, on condition of her living with

;
him, she and her children were to be emancipated.

She resided with him there nine years, with servant?
to attendupon her, and provided with every comfort
and luxury of life. Emily was his child Finally,!
her young mistress, who had always remained with

her mother at the homestead, married a Mr. Jacob
Brooks. At length, for some cause, (as I gathered
from her relation,) beyond Berry s control, a division
of his property was made. She and her children fell
to the share of Mr. Brooks. During the nine years
she had lived with Berry, in consequence of the posi
tion she was compelled to occupy, she and Emily had
oecome the object of Mrs. Berry and her daughter s
hatred and dislike. Berry himself she represented as
a man of naturally a kind heart, who always promis
ed her that she should have her freedom, and who,
she had no doubt, would grant it to her then, if it
were only in his power. As soon as they thus came
THE STORY OF ELIZA. 53
into the possession and control of the daughter, it be

came very manifest they would not live long together.
The sight of Eliza seemed to be odious to Mrs. Brooks ;
neither could she bear to look upon the child, half-
sister, and beautiful as she was !
The day she was led into the pen, Brooks had
brought her from the estate into the city, under pre
tence that the time had come when her free papern
were be executed, in fulfillment of her master s
to
promise. Elated at the prospect of immediate liber

ty, she decked herself and little Emmy in their best
apparel, and accompanied him with a joyful heart.

On their arrival in the city, instead of being baptized
into the family of freemen, she was delivered to the
trader Burch. The paper that was executed was a
bill of sale. The hope of years was blasted in a mo
ment. From
the hight of most exulting happiness
to the utmost depths of wretchedness, she had that
day descended. ~No wonder that she wept, and filled

the pen with wailings and expressions of heart-rend
ing woe.
Eliza is now
dead. Far up the Red River, wnere\ j
it
pours waters
its
sluggishly through the unhealthy ,
low lands of Louisiana, she rests in the grave at last

the only resting place of the poor slave How all her
!
/
tears were realized how she mourned day and nigEl^

and never would be comforted how, as she predict
ed, her heart did indeed break, with the burden oi
maternal sorrow, will be seen as the narrative pro

ceeds.
CHAPTER IV.
- PREPARATION TO EMBARK - DRIVEN THROIOH THi

SORROWS
STREETS OF WASHINGTON - HAIL, COLUMBIA - THE TOMB O7 WASHING
TON - CLEM RAY - THE BREAKFAST ON TIJE STEAMER - THE HAl
PT
BIRDS - AQUIA CREEK - FREDERICKSBURGH - ARRIVALIN RICHMOND
GOODIN AND HIS SLAVE PEN - ROBERT, OF CINCINNATI - DAVID AND
HIM
WIFE - MARY AND LETHE - CLEM RETURN - HIS SUBSEQUENT ESCAJ
S K
TO CANADA - THE BRIG ORLEANS - JAMES H. BURCH.
AT intervals during the first niglit of Eliza s incar

ceration in the pen, she complained bitterly of Jacob
Brooks, her young mistress husband. She declared

that had she been aware of the deception he intended
to practice upon her, he never would have brought
her there alive. They had chosen the opportunity of
getting her away when Master Berry was absent from

the plantation. He had always been kind to her.
She wished that she could see him but she knew that
;
even he was unable now to rescue her. Then would

she commence weeping again kissing the sleeping
children talking one, then to the other, aa
first to
they lay in their unconscious slumbers, with their

heads upon her lap. So wore the long night away ;
and when the morning dawned, and night had come

again, still she kept mourning on, and would not be
consoled.
PREPARATION TO EMBARK. 55
About midnight following, the cell door opened,

and Burch and Radburn entered, with lanterns in
their hands. Burch, with an oath, ordered us to roll
up our blankets without delay, and get ready to go
on board the boat. He swore we would be left unless
we hurried fast. He aroused the children from their
slumbers with a rough shake, and said they were
d d sleepy, it appeared. Going out into the yard,
he called Clem Ray, ordering him to leave the loft
and come into the cell, and bring his blanket with
him. When Clem appeared, he placed us side by
side, and fastened us together with hand-cuffs nry
left hand to his right. John Williams had been ta
ken out a day or two before, his master having
redeemed him,, greatly to his delight. Clem and I
were ordered tomarch, Eliza and the children fol
lowing. We were conducted into the yard, from
thence into the covered passage, and up a flight of
steps through a side door into the upper room, where

I had heard the walking to and fro. Its furniture was
a stove, a few old chairs, and a long table, covered
with papers. It was a white-washed room, without
any carpet on the floor, and seemed a sort of office.
By one of the windows, I remember, hung a rusty
sword, which attracted my attention. Burch s trunk
was there. In obedience to his orders, I took hold of
one of its handles with my unfettered hand, while he
taking hold of the other, we proceeded out of the
front door into the street in the same order as we h&J
left the cell.
56 TWELVE YEAE8 A SLAVE.
It was a dark niglit. All was quiet. I could see
lights, or the reflection of them, over towards Penn
sylvania Avenue, but there was no one, not even a

straggler, to be seen. I was almost resolved tc at
tempt to break away. Had I not been hand-cuffed

the attempt would certainly have been made, what
ever consequence might have followed. Radburn
was in the rear, carrying a large stick, and hurrying
up the children as fast as the little ones could walk,

o wepassed, hand-cuffed and in silence, through the
streets of Washington through the Capital of a na
tion, whose theory of government, we are told, rests
on the foundation of man s inalienable right to life,
LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness ! Hail ! Co

lumbia, happy land, indeed !
^
Reaching the steamboat, we were quickly hustled
into the hold, among barrels and boxes of freight. A
colored servant brought a light, the bell rung, and
soon the vessel starteddown the Potomac, carrying
us we knew not where. The bell tolled as we passed
the tomb of Washington Burch, no doubt, with un
!
covered head, bowed reverently before the sacred ash

es of the man who devoted his illustrious life to the
liberty of his country.

None of us slept that night but Randall and little
Emmy. For the first time Clem Ray was wholly
overcome. To him the idea of going south was ter
rible in the extreme. He was leaving the friends and
associations of his youth every thing that was dear
and precious to his heart in all probability never
BREAKFAST ON THE STEAMER. 57
to return. He and Eliza mingled tlieir tears together

bemoaning their cruel fate. For my own part, diffi
cult as it was, I endeavored to
keep up my spirits. 1
resolved in my mind a hundred plans of escape, and
fully determined to make the attempt the first despe

rate chance that offered. I had by this time become
however, that my true policy was to say no
satisfied,
thing further on the subject of my having been born a

freeman. It would but expose me to mal-treatment,
and diminish the chances of liberation.
After sunrise in the morning we were called up on
deck to breakfast. Burch took our hand-cuffs off, and
we sat down to table. He asked Eliza if she would
take a dram..
She declined, thanking him politely.
During the meal we were all silent not a word pass
ed between us. A mulatto woman who served at ta
ble seemed to take an interest in our behalf told us
to cheer up, and not to be so cast down. Breakfast
over, the hand-cuffs were restored, and Burch ordered
us out on the stern deck. We sat down together on
some boxes, saying nothing in Burch s presence.
still
Occasionally a passenger would walk out to where

we were, look at us for a while, then silently return
It was a very pleasant morning. The fields along
the river were covered with verdure, far in advance
of what I had been accustomed to see at that season
of the year. The sun shone out warmly the birda ;
were singing in the trees. The happy birds I en
vied them. I wished for wings like them, that I
might cleave the air to where my birdlings waited

58 TWELVE TEAKS A SLAVE.
vaiiily for their father s coming, in the cooler region

of the North.
In the forenoon the steamer reached Aquia Creek.
There the passengers took stages Burch and his five
slaves occupying one exclusively. He laughed with
the children, and at one stopping place went so far as
to purchase them a piece of gingerbread. He told
me to hold up my head and look smart. That J
might, perhaps, get a good master if I behaved my

self. I made him no reply. His face w as hateful
r
to
me, and I could not bear to look upon it. I sat in

the corner, cherishing in my heart the hope, not yet
extinct, of some day meeting the tyrant on the soil of
rny native State.

At Fredericksburgh we were transferred from the
stage coach to a car, and before dark arrived in Rich

mond, the chief city of Virginia. At this city we
were taken from the cars, and driven through the
street to a slave pen, between the railroad depot and
the river, kept by a Mr. Goodin. This pen is similai
to Williams in Washington, except it is somewhat
larger ;
and besides, there
- were two small houses
standing at opposite corners within the yard. These
houses are usually found within slave yards, being
used as rooms for the examination of human chattels
by purchasers before concluding a bargain. Un-

eoundness in a slave, as well as in a horse, detracts
materially from his value. If no warranty is giên,
a close examination is a matter of particular impor
tance to the negro jockey.
GOODIN AND HIS STAVE PEN. 59
We were met at the door of Goodin s yard by that

gentleman himself a short, fat man, with a round,
plump face, black hair and whiskers, and a complex

ion almost as dark as some of his own negroes. He
bad a hard, stern look, and was perhaps about fifty
years of age. Burch and he met with great cordiali

ty. They were evidently old friends. Shaking each
other warmly by the hand, Burch remarked he had
brought some company, inquired at what time the

brig would leave, and was answered that it would
probably leave the next day at such an hour. Good-
in then turned to me, took hold of my arm, turned
rne partly round, looked at me sharply with the air of
one who considered himself a good judge of property,

and as if estimating in his own mind about how
much was worth.
I
Well, boy, where did you come from

"
?"
Forgetting myself, for a moment, I answered,

"
From New-York."
New-York
"
H ! 1 ! what have you been doing

up there ?" was his astonished interrogatory.
Observing Burch at this moment looking at me with

an angry expression that conveyed a meaning it was
not difficult to understand, I immediately said, O, I
"
have only been up that way a piece," in a manner

intended to imply that although I might have been as
far asNew-York, yet I wished it distinctl y understood
that I did not belong to that free State, nor to any
other.
Good in then turned to Clem, and then to Eliza and
the children, examining them severally, and asking

various questions. He was pleased with Emily, as
was every one who saw the child s sweet countenance.
She was not as tidy as when I first beheld her ;
her
hair was now somewhat disheveled ;
but through it*
unkempt and soft profusion there still beamed a little

face of most surpassing loveliness. Altogether we
"
were a fnir lot a devilish good lot,"

he said, enforc
ing that opinion with more than one emphatic adjec

tive not found in the Christian vocabulary. Thereup
on we passed into the yard. Quite a number of
slaves, as many as thirty I should say, were moving
about, or sitting on benches under the shed. They
were all cleanly dressed the men with hats, the wo
men with handkerchiefs tied about their heads.
Burch and Goodin, after separating from us, walk-
od up the steps at the back part of the main building,
and sat down upon the door sill. They entered into
conversation, but the subject of it I could not hear.
Presently Burch came down into the yard, unfettered
me, and led me into one of the small houses.
u You told that man came from you New-York,"
mid he.
I replied,
"
I told him I had been up as far as New-

i ork, to sure, but did not tell him I belonged
be
there, nor that I was a freeman. I meant no harm at
all, Master Burch. I would not have said it had ]
thought."
He looked at me a moment as if he was ready to
devour me, then turning round went out. In a fe\f

KOBERT, OF CINCINNATI. 01
minutes he returned. If ever I hear you say a word

"
about Xew-York, or about your freedom, I will be the

death of you I will kill you you may rely on ;
he ejaculated fiercely.
that,"
I doubt not he understood then better than I did

the danger and the psnalty of selling a free man into
slavery. He felt the necessity of closing my mouth
against the crime he knew he was committing. .Qf
course, my life would not have weighed a feather, in
any emergency requiring such a sacrifice. Undoubt

edly, he meant precisely what he said.
Under the shed on one side of the yard, there wa8
constructed rough table, while overhead were sleep
a
ing lofts the same as in the pen at Washington. Af

terpartaking at this table of our supper of pork and
bread, I was hand-cuffed to a large yellow man, quite
stout and fleshy, with a countenance expressive of
the utmost melancholy. He was a man of intelli
gence and information. Chained together, it was no
long before we became acquainted with each other s
history. His name was Robert. Like myself, he
had been born free, and had a wife and two chil
dren in Cincinnati. He said he had come south with
two men, who had hired him in the city of his resi
dence. Without free papers, he had been seized at
Fredericksburgh, placed in confinement, and beaten
until he had learned, as I had, the necessity and the
policy of silence. He had been in Goodin s pen

about three weeks. To this man I became much
attached. We could sympathize with, and understand
each other. It was with and a heavy heart,

tears
not many days subsequently, that I saw him die, and
looked for the last time upon his lifeless form !
Robert and myself, with Clem, Eliza and her chil

dren, slept that night upon our blankets, in one of the
small houses in the yard. There were four others, all
from the same plantation, who had been sold, and
were now on their way south, who also occupied it
with us. David and his wife, Caroline, both mulat-
toes, were exceedingly affected. They dreaded the
thought of being put into the cane and cotton fields ;
but their greatest source of anxiety was the apprehen

sion of being separated. Mary, a tall, lithe girl, of a
most jetty black, was listless and apparently indiffer
ent. Like many of the class, she scarcely knew there
was such a word as freedom. Brought up in the ig
norance of a brute, she possessed but little more than
a brute s intelligence. She was one of those, and
there are very many, who fear nothing but their mas
ter s lash, and know no further duty than to obey his
voice. The other was Lethe. She was of an entirely
different character.She had long, straight hair, and
bore more the appearance of an Indian than a negro
woman. She had sharp and spiteful eyes, and con
tinually gave utterance to the language of ha trod
and revenge. Her husband had been sold. She
knew not where she was. An exchange of masters,
she was sure, could not be for the worse. She carec
not whither they might carry her. Pointing to the
&cars upon her face, the desperate creature wished
CLEM EA5T. 63
that she might see the day when she could wipe them
off in some man s blood !
While we were thus learning the history of each

other s wretchedness, Eliza was seated in a corner by
herself, singing hymns and praying for her children

Wearied from the loss of so much sleep, I could no
longer bear up against the advances of that sweet
"
restorer," and laying down by the side of Robert, on

the floor, soon forgot my troubles, and slept until the
dawn of day.
In the morning, having swept the yard, and wash
ed ourselves, under Goodin s superintendence, we
were ordered to roll up our blankets, and make ready
for the continuance of our journey. Clem Ray was

informed that he would go no further, Burch, for some
cause, having concluded to carry him back to Wash
ington. He was much rejoiced. Shaking hands, we
parted in the slave pen at Richmond, and I have not
seen him But, much to my surprise, since my\
since.
return, I learned that he had escaped from bondage, ,
and on his way to the free soil of Canada, lodged one j
night at the house of my

brother-in-law in Saratoga, I
informing my family of the place and the condition/

in which he left me.
In the afternoon we were drawn up, two abreast,
Robert and myself in advance, and in this order, driv
en by Burch and Goodin from the yard, through the
streets of Richmond to the brig Orleans. She was
a vessel of respectable size, full rigged, and freighted
principally with tobacco. We

were all on board by
64 TWELVE YEAEfi A SLAVE.
five o clock. Burcli brought 119 eacli a tin cup and a
spoon. There were forty of us in the brig, being all,

except Clem, that were in the pen.
With a small pocket knife that had not been taken
from me, I began cutting the initials of rny name
apon the tin cup. The others immediately flocked
round me, requesting me to mark theirs in a similar
manner. In time, I gratified them all, of which they
did not appear to be forgetful.
We were all stowed away in the hold at night, and
the hatch barred down. We laid on boxes, or where-
ever there was room enough to stretch our blankets
on the floor.
Burch accompanied us no farther than Richmond,
returning from that point capital with Clem.
to the
Not until the lapse of almost twelve years, to wit, in
January the Washington police office, did I

last, in
set my eyes upon his face again.
James H. Burch was a slave-trader buying men,
women and children at low prices, and selling them
at an advance. He was a speculator in human flesh
a disreputable calling and so considered a^ the
South. For the present he disappears from the sc^nea
recorded in this narrative, but he wîll appear af ^,in
before its close, not in the character of a man-w? \p-
ping tyrant, but as an arrested, cringing crimina in
a court of law, that failed to do him justice.

CHAPTER V,
1UBIVAL AT NORFOLK FREDERICK AND MARIA ARTHUR, THE FREE* AH

APPOINTED STEWARD AND JENNY
JIM, CUFFEE, THE STORM- IA- .
HAMA BANKS THE CALM THE CONSPIRACY THE LONG BOAT T23
SMALL-POX DEATH OF ROBERT MANNING, THE SAILOR THE MEETING
IN THE FORECASTLE THE LETTER ARRIVAL AT NEW-ORLEANS AR-
THUR S RESCUE -THEOPHILUS FREEMAN, THE CONSIGNEE PLATT FIRST
NIGHT IN THE NEW-ORLEANS SLAVE PEN.
AFTER we were all on board, the brig Orleans pro

ceeded down James River. Passing into Chesapeake
Bay, we arrived next clay opposite the city of Nor
folk. While lying at anchor, a lighter approached
us from the town, bringing four more slaves. Frede

rick, a boy of eighteen, had been born a slave, as also
had Henry, who was some years older. They had
both been house servants in the city. Maria was a
rather genteel looking colored girl, with a faultless
form, but ignorant and extremely vain. The idea of

going to New-Orleans was pleasing to her. She en
tertained an extravagantly high opinion of her own
attractions. Assuming a haughty mien, she declared
to her companions, that immediately on our arrival
in New-Orleans, she had no doubt, some wealthy sin
glegentleman of good taste would purchase her at
once !
But the most prominent of tlie four, was a man

named Arthur. As the lighter approached, lie strug
gled stoutly with his keepers. It was with main
force that he was dragged aboard the brig. He pro
tested, in a loud voice, against the treatment he was
receiving, and demanded to be released. His face
was swollen, and covered with wounds and bruises,
and, indeed, one side of it was a complete raw sore.
He was forced, with all haste, down the hatchway
into the hold. I caught an outline of his story as he
was borne struggling along, of which he afterwards
gave me a more full relation, and it w as as follows
r
:
He had long resided in the city of Norfolk, and was

a free man. He had a family living there, and was a
/nrasonby trade. Having been unusually detained,
he was returning late one night to his house in the
suburbs of the city, when he was attacked by a gang
of persons in an unfrequented street. He fought
until his strength failed him. Overpowered at last,
he was gagged and bound with ropes, and beaten,
until lie became insensible. For several days they
secreted him in the slave pen at Norfolk a very
common appears, in the cities of the
establishment, it
South. The night before, he had been taken out and

put on board the lighter, which, pushing out from
shore, had awaited our arrival. For some time he
continued his protestations, and was altogether irrec
oncilable. At length, however, he became silent.
He sank into a gloomy and thoughtful mood, and ap
peared to be counseling with himself. There w$s in
JIM, CUFFEE AND JENNY. 67
the man s determined face, something that suggested

the thought of desperation.
After leaving Norfolk the hand-cuffs were taken
off, and during the day we were allowed to remain
on deck. The captain selected Robert as his waiter,
and was appointed to superintend the cooking de
I
partment, and the distribution of food and water. I

had three assistants, Jim, Cuffee and Jenny. Jenny s
business was to prepare the coifee, which consisted of

corn meal scorched in a kettle, boiled and sweetened
with molasses. Jim and Cuffee baked the hoe-cake
and boiled the bacon.
Standing by a table, formed of a wide board rest
ing on the heads of the barrels, I cut and handed to
each a slice of meat and a dodger" of the bread,
"
and from Jenny s kettle also dipped out for each a
cup of the coifee. The use of plates was dispensed

with, and their sable fingers took the place of knives
and forks. Jim and Cuffee were very demure and
attentive to business, somewhat inflated with their
situation as second cooks, and without doubt feeling o
that there was a great responsibility resting on them.
I was called steward a name given me by the cap
tain.
The slaves were fed twice a day, at ten and five\

o clock always receiving the same kind and quantity \
of fare, and in the same manner
above described /
as
A.t night we were driven into the hold, and securely
fastened down.
Scarcely were we out of sight of land before we

f/8 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
were overtaken by a violent storm. The brig rolled

and plunged until we feared she would go down.
Some were others on their knees praying,
seasick,
while some wer fast holding to each other, paralyzed
with fear. The sea-sickness rendered the place of our
confinement and disgusting. It would
loathsome
have been a happy thing for most of us it would
have saved the agony of many hundred lashes, and

miserable deaths at last had the compassionate sea
snatched us that day from the clutches of remorseless
men. The thought of Randall and little Emmy sink
ing down among
the monsters of the deep, is a more
pleasant contemplation than to think of them as they

are now, perhaps, dragging out lives of unrequited
toil.
When in sight of the Bahama Banks, at a place
called Old Point Compass, or the Hole in the Wall,

we were becalmed three days. There was scarcely a
breath of The waters of the gulf presented a
air.
singularly white appearance, like lime water.

/In the order of events, I come now to the relation
of an occuri cnce, which I never call to mind but with

sensations of regret. thank God, who has since
I
permitted me to escape from the thralldom of slavery,

that through his merciful interposition I was prevent-
/ed from imbruing my hands in the blood of his crea-
/ tures. Let not those who have never been placed in
j
like circumstances, jndge me harshly. Until they
\ have been chained and beaten until they find them,
in the situation I was, borne away from home

THE CONSPIRACY. 69
and family towards a land of bondage let them re
frainfrom saying what they would not do for liberty.

How far I should have been justified in the sight of
(tod and man, it is
unnecessary now to speculate upon.
It is enough to say that I am
able to congratulate
myself upon. _tha_ harmless,. termination of an alfaii

which threatened, for a time, to be attended with se
rious results.
Towards evening, on the first day of the calm, Ar
thur and myself were in the bow of the vessel, seat
ed on the windlass. We
were conversing together of
the probable destiny that awaited us, and mourning
together over our misfortunes. Arthur said, and I

agreed with him, that death was far less terrible than
the living prospect that was before us. For a long
time we talked of our children, our past lives, and of
the probabilities of escape. Obtaining possession of
the brig was suggested by one of us. We
discussed
the possibility of our being able, in such an event, to
make our way to the harbor of New- York. I
little of the compass ;
but the idea of risking the ex
periment was eagerly entertained. The chances, foi
and against us, in an encounter with the crew, was
canvassed. Who could be relied upon, and who
could not, the proper time and manner of the attack,
were all talked over and over again. From the mo
ment the plot suggested itself I began to hope. I
revolved it
constantly in mind.my As difficulty af
ter difficulty arose, some ready conceit was at hand,
demonstrating how it could be overcome. While
70 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVK
Others slept, Arthur and I were maturing vjr plans.

At length, with much caution, Robert was gradually
made acquainted with our intentions. He approved
of them at once, and entered into the conspiracy with
~~zealous spirit. There was not another slave we
dared to trust.Brought up in fear and ignorance as
they are, can
it scarcely be conceived how servilely
It was
they will cringe before a white inarms look.
not safe to deposit so bold a secret with any of them,
and finally we three resolved to take upon ourselves
alone the fearful responsibility of the attempt.
At night, as has been said, we were driven into the
hold, and the hatch barred down. How to reach the
deck was the first difficulty that presented itself. On

the bow of the brig, however, I had observed the
small boat lying bottom upwards. It occurred to me
that by secreting ourselves underneath it, we would
not be missed from the crowd, as they were hurried
down into the hold at night. I was selected to make
the experiment, in order to satisfy ourselves of its fea
sibility. The next evening, accordingly, after supper,
watching my opportunity, I hastily concealed

myself
beneath it. Lying close upon the deck, I could see
what was going on around me, while wholly unper
ceived myself. In the morning, as they came up, I
slipped from my hiding place without being observed.

The result was entirely satisfactory.
The captain and mate slept in the cabin of the for
mer. From Robert, who had frequent occasion, in
his capacity of waiter, to make observations in that
THE CONSPIRACY. 71
quarter, we ascertained the exact position of their
respective berths. He further informed us that there

were always two pistols and a cutlass lying on the
table. The crew s cook slept in the cook galley on
deck, a sort of vehicle 011 wheels, that could be mov
ed about as convenience required, while the sailors,
numbering only six, either slept in the forecastle, or

in hammocks swung among the rigging.
Finally our arrangements were all completed. Ar-

tlrir and I were to steal silently to the captain s cab
the pistols and cutlass, and as quickly as possi
in, seize
ble despatch him and the mate. Robert, with a club,
was to stand oy the door leading from the deck down
into the cabK, and, in case of necessity, beat back the
sailors, until we could hurry to his assistance. We
were to p/oceed then as circumstances might require.
Should the attack be so sudden and successful as to
prevent resistance, the hatch was to remain barred

down ; otherwise the slaves were to be called up, and
in the crowd, and hurry, and confusion of the time,
we resolved to regain our liberty or lose our lives. I
was then to assume the unaccustomed place of pilot,
and, steering northward, we trusted that some lucky
wind might bear us to the soil of freedom.
The mate s name was Biddee, the captain s I can
not now though I rarely ever forget a name
recall,
once heard. The captain was
a small, genteel man,
erect and prompt, with a proud bearing, and looked
the personification of courage. If he is still living,
and these pages should chance to meet his eye, he
will learn a fact connected with the voyage of thu
brig, from Richmond to New-Orleans, in 1841, not

entered on his log-book.
We wereprepared, and impatiently waiting an
all
opportunity of putting our designs into execution,

when they were frustrated by a sad and unforeseen
event. Robert was taken ill. It was soon announced
that he had the small-pox. He continued to grow
.worse, and four days previous to our arrival in New-
Orleans he died. One of the sailors sewed him in his
blanket, with a large stone from the ballast at his feet,
and then laying him on a hatchway, and elevating it
with tackles above the railing, the inanimate body of
poor Robert was consigned to the white waters of the

gulf.
Wewere all panic-stricken by the appearance of
the small-pox. The captain ordered lime to be scat
tered through the hold, and other prudent precau
tions to be taken. The death of Robert, however, and
the p/esence of the malady, oppressed me sadly, and
I gazed out over the great waste of waters with a
spirit that was indeed disconsolate.

An evening or two after Robert s burial, I was
leaning on the hatchway near the forecastle, full of
desponding thoughts, when a sailor in a kind voice

asked me why I was so down-hearted. The tone and
manner of the man assured me, and I answered, be
cause I was a freeman, and had been kidnapped.
He remarked that it was enough to make any one
down-hearted, and continued to interrogate me until

MANNING, THE SAILOR. 73
he learned the particulars of my whole history. He

was evidently -much interested in my behalf, and, in
the blunt speech of a sailor, swore he would aid me
all he could, if it
"
split his timbers." I requested
him me pen, ink and paper, in order that 1

to furnish
might write to some of my friends. He promised to

obtain them but how I could use them undiscover
ed was a difficulty. If I could only get into the fore
castle while his watch was off, and the other sailors
asleep, the thing could be accomplished. The small
boat instantly occurred to me. He thought we were
not far from the Balize, at the mouth of the Mississip
pi, and itwas necessary that the letter be written
soon, or the opportunity would be lost. Accordingly /
by arrangement, I managed the next night to secret
myself again under the long-boat. His watch was off

at twelve. saw him pass into the forecastle, and in
I
about an hour followed him. He was nodding over

a table, half asleep, on which a sickly light was flick
ering, and on which also was a pen and sheet of pa
per. As I entered he aroused, beckoned me to a seat

beside him, and pointed to the paper. I directed the
letter to Henry B. Northup, of Sandy Hill stating

that I had been kidnapped, was then on board the
brig Orleans, bound for New-Orleans ;

that it was
then impossible for me to conjecture my ultimate des
tination, and requesting he would take measures to
rescue me. The letter was sealed and directed, and
Manning, having read it, promised to deposit it in the

New-Orleans post-office. I hasten ed back to my place
under the long-boat, and in the morning, as the siavets

came up and were walking round, crept out unno
ticed and mingled with them.
good friend, whose name was John Manning,
My
was an Englishman by birth, and a noble-hearted
generous sailor as ever walked a deck, lie had lived
in Boston was a tall, man, about twenty
well-built
four years old, with a face somewhat pock-marked,
but of benevolent expression.
full
Nothing to vary the monotony of our daily life oc
curred, until we reached New-Orleans. On coming

to the levee, and before the vessel was made fast, I
saw Manning leap on shore and hurry away into the
city. As he started off he looked back over his shoul
der significantly, giving me to understand the object
of his errand. Presently he returned, and passing
close by me, hunched me with his elbow, with a pe
culiar wink, as much as to say,
"
it is all
right."
The have since learned, reached Sandy

letter, as I
Hill. Mr. Northup visited Albany and laid it before
Governor Seward, but inasmuch gave no definite
as it
information as to my probable locality, it was not, at

that time, deemed advisable to institute measures for
my liberation. was concluded to delay, trusting

It
that a knowledge of where I was might eventually be

obtained.
A happy and touching scene was witnessed imme
diately upon our reaching the levee. Just as Man
ning left the brig, on his way to the post-office, two

men came up and called aloud for Arthur. The lat-
ARTHUR S RESCUE. 75
ter, as he recognized them, was almost crazy with de

light. He could hardly be restrained from leaping
over the brig and when they met soon after,
s side ;
le grasped them by the hand, and clung to them a
Jong, long time. They were men from Norfolk, wlic

had come on to New-Orleans to rescue him. His
kidnappers, they informed him, had been arrested,
and were then confinedin the Norfolk prison. They
conversed a few moments with the captain, and then
departed with the rejoicing Arthur.
But in all the crowd that thronged the wharf, there
was no one who knew 01 cared for me. Not one.
No familiar voice greeteu ears, nor was there a
my
single face that I had ever seen. Soon Arthur would
rejoin his family, and have the satisfaction of seeing
his wrongs avenged my family, alas, should I ever
:
see them more ? There was a feeling of utter deso

lation in my heart, filling it with a
despairing and re
gretful sense, that I had not gone down with Robert
to the bottom of the sea.
Yery soon traders and consignees came on board.

One, a tall, thin-faced man, with light complexion
and a little bent, made his appearance, with a papei
in his hand. Burch s gang, consisting of myself, Eli
za and her children, Harry, Lethe, and some others,
who had joined us at Richmond, were consigned to
him. This gentleman was Mr. Theophilus Freeman.
Reading from his paper, he called, Platt." No one

"
answered. The name was called again and again, but

still there was no reply. Then Lethe was called, then
Eliza, then Harry, until the list was finished, each

one stepping forward as his or her name was called.
"Captain, where s Platt?" demanded Theophilus
Freeman.
The captain was unable to inform him, no one he-
ing on hoard answering to that name.
"Who shipped that
nigger?"
he again inquired of
Jie captain, pointing to me.
Burch," replied the captain.
"
"
Your name Platt

is
you answer my description.
Why don t you come forward he demanded of me,
?"
in an angry tone.
I informed him that was not my name ;
that I had
never heen called hy it, hut that I had no objection
to it as I knew of.
Well, I will learn you your said he and

"
"
name," ;
-
BO you won t
forget it either, by ,"
he added.
Mr. Theophilus Freeman, by the way, was not a
whit behind his partner, Burch, in the matter of blas
phemy. On the vessel I had gone by the name of
"Steward," and this was the first time I had ever
been designated as Platt the name forwarded by
Burch to his consignee. From the vessel I observ
ed the chain-gang at work on the levee. We passed
near them as we were driven to Freeman s slave pen.
This pen is very similar to Goodin s in Richmond, ex
cept the yard was enclosed by plank, standing up

right, with ends sharpened, instead of brick walls.
Including us, there were now at least fifty in this

Depositing our blankets in one of the smal
1
pen.
FIRST NIGHT IN NEW-OKLEANS. 77
buildings in the yard, and having been called up and

fed, we were allowed to saunter about the enclosure
until night, when we wrapped our blankets round us
and laid down under the shed, or in the loft, or in the
open yard, just as each one preferred.
It was but a short time I closed my eyes that night.
Thought was busy in my brain. Could it be possible

that I was thousands of miles from home that I had
been driven through the streets like a dumb beast
that I had been chained and beaten without mercy
that I was even then herded with a drove of slaves, a
slave myself? Were the events of the last few weeks
realities indeed ? or was I passing only through the
dismal phases of a long, protracted dream ? It was
no illusion. My cup of sorrow was full to overflow
ing. Then I lifted up my hands to God, and in the
still watches of the
night, surrounded by the sleeping
forms of my companions, begged for mercy on the
poor, forsaken captive. To the Almighty Father of

us all the freeman and the slave I poured forth
the supplications of a broken spirit, imploring strength
from on high to bear up against the burden of my
troubles, until the morning light aroused the slumber
ers, ushering in another day of bondage.
CHAPTER VI.
HUCKMAN S INDUSTRY CLEANLINESS AM> CLOTHES EXERCISING FN THI

SHOW ROOM THE DANCE BOB, THE FIDDLER ARRIVAL OF CUSTOM
ERS SLAVES EXAMINED THE OLD GENTLEMAN OF NEW-ORLEANS
SALE OF DAVID, CAROLINE AND LETHE PARTING OF RANDALL AND
ELIZA SMALL POX THE HOSPITAL RECOVERY AND RETURN TO
FREEMAN S SLAVE PEN THE PURCHASER OF ELIZA, HARRY AND PLAT
ELIZA S AGONY ON PARTING FROM LITTLE EMILY
THE very amiable, pious-hearted Mr. Theophilus

Freeman, partner or consignee of James IT. Burcli,
and keeper of the slave pen in New-Orleans, was out
among his animals early in the morning. With an
occasional kick of the older men and women, and
many a sharp crack of the whip about the ears of the
younger slaves, it was not long before they were all

astir, and wide awake. Mr. Theophilus Freeman
bustled about in a very industrious manner, getting
his property ready for the sales-room, intending, no
doubt, to do that day a rousing business.

Tn the first place we were required to wash thorough
ly, and those with beards, to shave. were then We

furnished with a new suit each, cheap, but clean.
The men had hat, coat, shirt, pants and shoes ;
the
women frocks of calico, and handkerchiefs to bind
about their heads. We were now conducted into a
large room in the front part of the building to which
FREEMAJSr s INDUSTRY. 79
the yard was attached, in order to be properly trained,

before the admission of customers. The men were
arranged on one side of the room, the women on the
other. The
tallest was placed at the head of the row,
then the next tallest, and so on in the order of their

respective heights. Emily was at the foot of the
line of women. Freeman charged us to remem
ber our places ;
exhorted us to appear smart and live
ly, sometimes threatening, and again, holding out
various inducements. During the day lie exercised
us in the art of O smart," and of moving
"
looking O to
our places with exact precision.
After being fed, in the afternoon, we were again
paraded and made to dance. Bob, a colored boy,
who had some time belonged to Freeman, played on
the violin.Standing near him, I made bold to in
quire he could
if play the Virginia Reel." lie an
"
swered he could not, and asked me if I could play.

Replying in the affirmative, he handed me the violin.
I struck up a tune, and finished it. Freeman ordered
me continue playing, and seemed well pleased,
to
telling Bob that I far excelled him a remark that

seemed to grieve my musical companion v3iy much.
Next day many customers called to examine Free
man s new "
The latter gentleman was very

lot."
loquacious, dwelling at much length upon our several

good points and qualities. He would make us hold
up our heads, walk briskly bsrck and forth, while cus

tomers would feel of our hands and arms and. bodies,
turn us about, ask us what we could do, make MS ope*)

our mouths and show our teeth, precisely as a jockey

examines a horse which he is about to barter for or
purchase. Sometimes a man or woman was taken
back to the small house in the yard, stripped, and in
spected more minutely. Scars upon a slave s back

were considered evidence of a rebellious or unrulj
\ spirit, and hurt his sale.
One old gentleman, who said he wanted a coach
man, appeared to take a fancy to me. From his con
versation with Freeman, I learned he was a resident in
the city. I very much desired that he would buy me,

because I conceived would not be difficult to make
it
my escape from New-Orleans on some northern vessel.

Freeman asked him fifteen hundred dollars for me.
The old gentleman insisted it was too much, as times
were very hard. Freeman, however, declared that I
was sound and healthy, of a good constitution, and
intelligent. He made it a point to enlarge upon my
musical attainments. The old gentleman argued
quite adroitly that there was nothing extraordinary
about the nigger, and finally, to my regret, went out,
saying he would call again. During the day, how
ever, a number of sales were made. David and Car
oline were purchased together by a Natchez planter,
They grinning broadly, and in the most happy
left us,
state of mind, caused by the fact of their not being sep
arated. Lethe was sold to a planter of Baton Rouge,

her eyes flashing with anger as she was led away.
The same man also purchased Randall. The little
fellow was made to jump, and run across the floor,
PARTING OF RANDALL AND ELIZA. 81
and perform many other feats, exhibiting his activity

and condition. All the time the trade was going on,
Eliza was crying aloud, and wringing her hands. She \
besought the man not to buy him, unless he also j
bought herself and Emily. She promised, in that case, .
to be the most faithful slave that ever lived. The/

man answered that he could not afford it, and then
Eliza burst into a paroxysm of grief, weeping plain
tively. Freeman turned round to her, savagely, with

his whip in his uplifted hand, ordering her to stop her
noise, or he would flog her. He would not have such

work such snivelling; and unless she ceased that
minute, he would take her to the yard and give her a
hundred lashes. Yes, he would take the nonsense out
of her pretty quick if he didn t, might he be d d.
Eliza shrunk before him, and tried to wipe away hei
tears, but it was all in vain. She wanted to be wit

her children, she said, the little time she had to live.
All the frowns and threats of Freeman, could no
wholly silence the afflicted mother. She kept on beg

ging and beseeching them, most piteously, not to sep
arate the three. Over and over again she told them
how she loved her boy. A
great many times she
repeated her former promises how very faithful and
obedient she would be ; how hard she would labor
day and night, to the last moment of her life, if he

would only buy them But it was
all together. of no
avail ;
the man The bargain was
could not afford it.
agreed upon, and Randall must go alone. Then Eli

za, ran to him embraced him
; passionately kissed ;
D* 6
him again and again; told him to remember her

all the while her tears falling in the boy s face like rain.
Freeman damned her, calling her a blubbering,
oawling wench, and ordered her to go to her place,
and behave herself, and be somebody. He swore he
wouldn t stand such stuff but a little longer. lie
would soon give her something to cry about, if she
was not mighty careful, and that she might depend
upon.
The planter from Baton Eouge, with his new pur
chases, was ready to depart.
"
Don t cry, mama. I will be a good boy. Don t
cry,"
said Randall, looking back, as they passed out
of the door.
"What has become of the lad, God knows. It waa
a mournful scene indeed. I would have cried myself
if I had dared.
That night, nearly all who came in on the brig Or
leans, were taken ill. They complained of violent
pain in the head and back. Little Emily a tiling
unusual with her cried constantly. In the morn
ing a physician was called in, but was unable to de

termine the nature of our complaint. While examin
ing me, and asking questions touching my symptoms,

I gave it as my opinion that it was an attack of small
pox mentioning the fact of Robert s death as the

reason of my belief. It might be so indeed, he thought,
and he would send for the head physician of the hos

pital. Shortly, the head physician came a small,
light-haired in an, whom they called Dr. Caiv. lie

SMALL-POX. 83
pronounced it small-pox, whereupon there was much

alarm throughout the yard. Soon after Dr. Carr left,
Eliza, Emmy, Harry and myself were put into a hack
and driven to the hospital a large white marble
building, standing on the outskirts of the city. Har

ry and I were placed in a room in one of the upper
stories. I became very sick. For three days I was"^
entirely blind. While lying in this state one day,
Bob came in, saying to Dr. Carr that Freeman had

sent him over to inquire how we were getting on.
Tell him, said the doctor, that Platt is very bad, but
that if he survives until nine o clock, he may recover.
^ there was little in the
I expected to die. Though
prospect before me worth living for, the near approach
of death appalled me. I thought I could have been
resigned to yield up my life in the bosom of my family,

but to expire in the midst of strangers, under such
circumstances, was a bitter reflection.
There were a great number in the hospital, of both
sexes, and of In the rear of the building
all ages.
coffins were manufactured. When one died, the bell

tolled a signal to the undertaker to come and bear
away the body to the potter s field. Many times, each

day and night, the tolling bell sent forth its melan
choly voice, announcing another death. But my time
had not yet come. The crisis having passed, I began tc
revive, and at the end of two weeks and two days,
returned with Harry to the pen, bearing upon my
face the effects of the malady, which to this day con
tinues to disfigure it. Eliza and Emily were also
84 TWELVE YEAUS A SLAVE.
brought back next day in a hack, and again were we

paraded in the sales-room, for the inspection and ex
amination of purchasers. I still indulged the
hope
that the old gentleman in search of a coachman would
call again, as he had promised, and purchase me. In
that event I felt an abiding confidence that I would
soon regain my liberty. Customer after customer
entered, but the old gentleman never made his ap
pearance.
At length, one day, while we were in the yard,
Freeman came out and ordered us to our places, in
the great room. A gentleman was waiting for us as
we entered, and inasmuch as he will be often men
tioned in the progress of this narrative, a description
of his personal appearance, and my estimation of his
character, at may not be out of place.

first sight,
He was aman above the ordinary height, some

what bent and stooping forward. He was a good-
looking man, and appeared to have reached about the
middle age of life. There was nothing repulsive in
his presence ;
but on the other hand, there was some
thing cheerful and attractive in his face, and in his
tone of voice. The finer elements were all kindly
mingled in his breast, as any one could see. He

moved about among us, asking many questions, as to
what we could do, and what labor we had been ac
customed to if we thought we would like to live
;
with him, and would be good boys if lie would buy

as, and other interrogatories of like character.
After some further inspection, and conversation
ELIZA S PARTING FROM EMILY. 85
touching prices, lie

finally offered Freeman one 0:ou
sand dollars for me, nine hundred for Harry, and sev
en hundred for Eliza. Whether the small-pox had;
depreciated our value, or from what cause Freeman:
had concluded to fall five hundred dollars from the
price I was before held cannot say. At any rate,
at, I
after a little shrewd reflection, he announced his ac
ceptance of the offer.
As soon as Eliza heard it, she was in an agony
again. By time she had become haggard and

this
hollow-eyed with sickness and with sorrow. It would

be a relief if I could consistently pass over in silence
the scene that now ensued. It recalls memories more
mournful and affecting than any language can por
tray. I have seen mothers kissing for the last time
the faces of their dead offspring I have seen them;
looking down into the grave, as the earth fell with a

dull sound upon their coffins, hiding them from their
eyes forever but never have I seen such an exhibi
;
tion of intense, unmeasured, and unbounded grief, as

when Eliza was parted from her child. She broke
from her place in the line of women, and rushing down
where Emily was standing, caught her in her arms.
The child, sensible of some impending danger, instinct
ively fastened her hands around her mother s neck
and nestled her head upon her bosom. Free
little
man sternly ordered her to be quiet, but she did not

heed him. He caught her by the arm and pulled her
rudely, but she only clung the closer to the child.
Then, with a volley of great oaths, he struck her such
a heartless blow, that she staggered backward, and

/ was like to fall. Oh how piteously then did she be !
seech and beg and pray that they might not be sepa
rated. Why could they not be purchased together \
Why not let her have one of her dear children (
A
Mercy, mercy, mastershe cried, falling on her
"
~"
!
knees.
"
Please, master, buy Emily. I can never
rork any if she is taken from me

W( I will die." :
Freeman interfered again, but, disregarding him,

she still plead most earnestly, telling how Randall had
been taken from her how she never would see him
again, and now it was too bad oh, God it was too !
bad, too cruel, to take her away from Emily her
pride her only darling, that could not live, it was

so young, without its mother !
Finally, after much more of supplication, the pur

chaser of Eliza stepped forward, evidently affected,
and said to Freeman he would buy Emily, and asked
him what her price was.
"
What is her price f Buy her ?" was the respon-
^sive interrogatory
of Theophilus Freeman. And in-
(
stantly answering his own inquiry, he added,
"
I won t
\ sell her. She s not for sale.

f Trie man remarked he was not in need of one so
voung that it would be of no

him, but profit to
since the mother was so fond of her, rather than see
them separated, he would pay a reasonable price.
But to this humane proposal Freeman was entirely
/ deaf. He would her then on any account
not sell
whatever. There were heaps and piles of money to

FREEMAN REFUSES TO SELL EMILY. 87
be made of her, he said, when she was a few years

older. There were men enough
New-Orleans who in
would give five thousand dollars for such an extra,
handsome, fancy piece as Emily would be, rather than
not get her. (No, no, he woiud not sell her then.
She was a beauty a picture a doll one of the
regular bloods -<ône of your thick-lipped, bullet-
headed, cotton-picking niggers\- if she was might he
be d d.
When Eliza heard Freeman s determination not to
part with Emily, she became absolutely frantic.

I will not go without her.
"
They shall not take

her from she fairly shrieked, her shrieks com
me,"
mingling with the loud and angry voice of Freeman,

commanding her to be silent.
Meantime Harry and myself had been to the yard
and returned with our blankets, and were at the front
door ready to leave. Our purchaser stood near us,
gazing at Eliza with an expression indicative of re

gret at having bought her at the expense of so much
sorrow. We waited some time, when, finally, Free
man, out of patience, tore Emily from her mother by
main force, the two clinging to each other with all
their might.
Don t leave me, mama don t leave me," scream
"
ed the child, as its mother was pushed harshly for

ward ;
"
Don t leave me
come back, mama," she still
cried, stretching forth her little arms imploringly.
But she cried in vain. Out of the door and into the
street we were quickly hurried. Still we could hear
her calling to her mother, "
Comeback don t leave

me come back, mama," until her infant voice grew
faint and still more faint, and gradually died away,
as distance intervened, and finally was wholly lost.
"TSEliza never after saw or heard of Emily or Randall.
Day nor night, however, were they ever absent from
/her memory. In the cotton field, in the cabin, al
ways and everywhere, she was talking of them often
to them, as if they were actualty present. Only
when absorbed in that illusion, or asleep, did she ever
have a moment s comfort afterwards.
She was no common slave, as has been said. To a
large share of natural intelligence which she possess

ed, was added a general knowledge and information
:>n most subj ects. She had enj oy ed opportunities such
as are afforded to very few of her oppressed class.
She had been liftedup into the regions of a higher
life. Freedom freedom for herself and for her off
spring, for many years had been her cloud by day,
her pillar of fire by night. In her pilgrimage through
the wilderness of bondage, with eyes fixed upon that
hope-inspiring beacon, she had at length ascended to

the top of Pisgah," and beheld
"
the land of prom "
ise." In an unexpected moment she was utterly over

whelmed with disappointment and despair. The glo
rious vision of liberty faded from her sight as they led
her away into captivity. Now "
she weepeth sore in

the night, and tears are on her cheeks all her friends :
Inive dealt
treacherously with her: they have become
her enemies."
CHAPTER VII.
fid. STEAMBOAT RODOLPH DEPARTURE FROM NEW-ORLKAXw -WIit,IA

FORD ARRIVAL AT ALEXANDRIA, ON RED RIVER RESOLIH TU4 ,o>*S
GREAT PINE WOODS WILD CATTLE MARTIN S SUMMER RESIDENT*

THE TEXAS ROAD ARRIVAL AT MASTER FORD s ROSE MLSTKWW
FORD AND HER CHILDREN
SALLY, JOHN, THE COOK WALTER, SAM,
AND ANTONY THE MILtS ON INDIAN CREEK SABBATH DAY*
SAM S CONVERSION THE PROFIT OF KINDNESS RAFTING ADAM T \ T-
DEM, THE LITTLE WHITE MAN CASCALLA AND HIS TRIBE THE INDIAN
BALL JOHN M. TIBEATS THE STORM APPROACHING.
ON leaving the New-Orleans slave pen, Harry and

I followed our new master through the streets, while
Eliza, crying and turning back, was forced along by

Freeman and his minions, until we found ourselves on
board the steamboat Rodolph, then lying at the levee.
In the course of half an hour we were moving briskly
up the Mississippi, bound for some point on Ked Elv

er. There were quite a number of slaves on board
beside ourselves, just purchased in the New-Orleans
market. I remember a Mr. Kelsow, who was said to
be a well known and extensive planter, had in charge

a gang of women.
Our master s name was William Ford. He resided
then -in the "
Great Pine Woods," in the parish of

v
Avoyelles, situated on the ight bank of Red River,
in the heart He is now a Baptist

of Louisiana.
preacher. Throughout the whole parish of Avoyelles,

and especially along both shores of Bayou Bceuf,
where he is more intimately known, he is accounted
by his fellow-citizens as a worthy minister of God.
In northern minds, perhaps, the idea of a man
many
holding his brother man in servitude, and the traffic
iiihuman flesh, may seem altogether incompatible
with their conceptions of a moral or religious life.
From descriptions of such men as Burch and Freeman,
and others hereinafter mentioned, they are led to de
spise and execrate the whole class of slaveholders, in
discriminately. But I was sometime his slave, and
had an opportunity of learning well his character and
disposition, and it is but simple justice to him when 1
say, in my was a more kind, no
opinion, there never
ble, candid, Christian man than William Ford. The
influences and associations that had always surround
ed him, blinded him to the inherent wrong at the bot
tom of the system of Slavery. He never doubted the
moral right of oneman holding another in subjection.
Looking through the same medium with his fathers
before him, he saw things in the same light. Brought
up under other circumstances and other influences,
would undoubtedly have been different
his notions
Nevertheless, he was a model master, walking up

rightly, according to the light of his understanding,
and fortunate was the slave who came to his posses
sion. Were all men such as he, Slavery would be de

prived of more than half its bitterness.
WILLIAM FORD. 91
We were two days and three nights on board the

tteainhnat Kodolph, during which time nothing of
particular interest occurred. I was now known as
Platt, the name given me by Burch, and by which I

was designated through the whole period of my ser
vitude. Eliza was sold by the name of Dradey."
"
She was so distinguished in the conveyance to Ford,

now on record in the recorder s office in New-Or
leans.
Onour passage I was constantly reflecting on my sit

uation, and consulting with myself on the best course
to pursue in order to effect my ultimate escape.
Sometimes, not only then, but afterwards, I was al
most on the point of disclosing fully to Ford the facts
of my history. I am inclined now to the opinion it
would have resulted in my benefit. This course was

often considered, but through fear of its miscarriage,
never put into execution, until eventually my transfer
and his pecuniary embarrassments rendered it evi
dently unsafe. Afterwards, under other masters, un
likeWilliam Ford, I knew well enough the slightest
knowledge of my real character would consign me at
once to the remoter depths of Slavery. I was too
costly a chattel to be lost, and was well aware that I
would be taken farther on, into some by-place, ovei
the Texan border, perhaps, and sold that I would ;
b<
disposed of as the thief disposes of his stolen horse, if

my right to freedom was even whispered. So I re-
Bolved to .ock the secret closely in my heart never
to utter one word or syllable as to who or what I wi
trusting in Providence and my own shrewdness foi
deliverance.
At length we left the steamboat Rodolph at a place
called Alexandria, several hundred miles from New-
Orleans. It is a small town on the southern shore
of lied Biver. Having remained there over night,
we entered the morning train of cars, and were soon
it Bayou Lamourie, a
smaller place, distant
still
eighteen miles from Alexandria. At that time it was

termination of the railroad. Ford s plantation
<he
was situated on the Texas road, twelve miles from

Lamourie, in the Great Pine Woods. This distance, it
was announced must be traveled on foot, there
to us,
being public conveyances no farther. Accordingly

we all set out in the company of Ford. It was an ex
cessively hot day. Harry, Eliza, and myself were yet
weak, and the bottoms of our feet were very tender
from the effects of the small-pox. We proceeded
slowly, Ford telling us to take our time and sit down
and rest whenever we desired a privilege that was
taken advantage of quite frequently. After leaving
Lamourie and crossing two plantations, one belong
ing to Mr. Carnell, the other to a Mr. Flint, we reach
ed the Pine Woods, a wilderness that stretches to the
Sabine River.
The whole country about lied River is low and
marshy. The Pine Woods, as they are called, is com
paratively upland, with frequent small intervals, how
ever, running through them. This upland is covered
with numerous trees the white oak, the ohincopin,
ARRIVAL AT ALEXANDRIA. 93
resembling chestnut, but principally the yellow pine.

They are of great size, running up sixty feet, and per
fectly straight. The woods were full of cattle, very
shy and wild, dashing aAvay in herds, with a loud
our approach. Some of them were marked
snuff, at
or branded, the rest appeared to be in their wild and
untamed state. They are much smaller than northern
breeds, and the peculiarity about them that most at
tracted my attention was their horns. They stand
out from the sides of the head precisely straight, like
two iron spikes.
At noon we reached a cleared piece of ground con
taining three or four acres. Upon it was a small, un-

painted, wooden house, a corn crib, or, as we would
say, a barn, and a log kitchen, standing about a rod
from the house. It was the summer residence of Mr.
Martin. Rich planters, having large establishments

on Bayou Boeuf, are accustomed to spend the warmer
season in these woods. Here they find clear water
and delightful shades. In fact, these retreats are to
the planters of that section of the country what New
port and Saratoga are to the wealthier inhabitants cf

northern cities.
We were sent around into the kitchen, and supplied

with sweet potatoes, corn-bread, and bacon, while
Master Ford dined with Martin in the house. There
were several slaves about the premises. Martin came
out and took a look at us, asking Ford the price of
each, if we were green hands, and so forth, and making

inquiries in relation to the slave market generally
94 TWKLVK TEAKS A SLAVE.
Alt or ;i Ion*; rest we sot forth again, following the
Texas road, which had the appearance of being very

\
rarely traveled. For five miles we passed through
*
continuous woods without observing a single habita
/ tion. At length, just as the sun was sinking in the
/ west, we entered another opening, containing some
Vtwelve or fifteen acres.
In this opening stood a house much larger than Mr
Martin s. It was two stories high, with a piazza in
front. In the rear of it was also a log kitchen, poul
try house, corncribs, and several negro cabins. Near

the house was a peach orchard, and gardens of orange
"7 and pomegranate trees. The space was entirely sur
rounded by woods, and covered with a carpet of rich,
rank verdure. It was. a quiet, lonely, pleasant place
literally a green spot in the wilderness. It was the
residence of my master, William Ford.
As we approached, a yellow girl her name was

Rose was standing on the piazza. Going to the
door, she called her mistress, who presently came run
ning out to meet her lord. She kissed him, and

u those
laughingly demanded if he had bought ing-
gel Ford said he had, and told us to go round to
s."
Sally s cabin and rest ourselves. Turning the corner

of the house, we
discovered Sally washing her two
baby children near her, rolling on the grass. Thev
jumped up and toddled towards us, looked at us a
moment like a brace of rabbits, then ran back to their
mother as if afraid ot u>.
Sallv conducted us into he cabin, told us to av down

95
our bundles and be seated, for she was sure that we were
tired. Just then John, the cook, a boy some sixteen
years of age, and blacker than any crow, came run

ning in, looked steadily in our faces, then turning
round, without saying as much as "how d ye do,"
ran back to the kitchen, laughing loudly, as if our
corning was a great joke indeed.

Much wearied with our walk, as soon as it was
dark, Harry and I wrapped our blankets round us,
arid laid down upon the cabin floor. My thoughts,
as usual, wandered back to my wife and children.
The consciousness of my the hopeless
real situation ;
ness of any effort to

escape through the wide forests
of Avoyelles, pressed heavily upon me, yet my heart
was at home in Saratoga.
I. was awakened early in the morning by the voice
of Master Ford, calling Hose. She hastened into the
house to dress the children, Sally to the field to milk
the cows, while John was busy in the kitchen prepar
ing breakfast. In the meantime Harry and I were
strolling about the yard, looking at our new quarters.

Just after breakfast a colored man, driving three yoke
of oxen, attached to awagon load of lumber, drove
into the opening. He was
a slave of Ford s, named
Walton, the husband of Hose. By the way, Rose was

a native of Washington, and had been brought from
thence five years before. She had never seen Eliza,
but she had heard of Herry, and they knew the same
streets, and the same people, either personally, or by
reputation. They became fast friends immediately,

96 TWELVE TEARS A SLATE.
and taiked a great deal together of old times, and of

friends they had left behind.
Ford was
at that time a wealthy man. Besides his
seat in thePine Woods, he owned a large lumbering
establishment on Indian Creek, four miles distant, and
also, in his wife s right, an extensive plantation and
many slaves on
Bayou Boeuf.
Walton had come with his load of lumber from the
mills on Indian Creek. Ford directed us to return
with him, saying he would follow us as soon as possible.
Before leaving, Mistress Ford called me into the store
room, and handed me, as it is there termed, a tin
bucket of molasses for Harry and myself.
~~
Eliza was still ringing her hands and deploring the
loss of her children. Ford tried as much as possible
to console her need not work very hard
told her she ;
that she might remain with Rose, and assist the mad
am in the house affairs.
Riding with Walton in the wagon, Harry and I be
came quite well acquainted with him long before
reaching Indian Creek. He was a "
born thrall
"
of
Ford and spoke kindly and affectionately of him, as
s,
a child would speak of his own father. In answer to

his inquiries from whence I came, I told him from
Washington. Of
that city, he had heard much from
his wife, Rose,and all the way plied me with many
extravagant and absurd questions.
On reaching the mills at Indian Creek, we found
two more of Ford s slaves, Sam and Antony. >Sam,
also, was a Washingtonian, having been brought out

SABBATH DAYS. 97
ni the same gang with Rose. He had worked on a

farm near Georgetown. Antony was a blacksmith,
from Kentucky, who had been in his present master s
service about ten years. Sam knew Burcli, and when*
informed that he was the trader who had sent me on
from Washington, it was remarkable how well we
agreed upon the subject of his superlative rascality
He had forwarded Sam, also.
On Ford s arrival at the mill, we were employed in
piling lumber,and chopping logs, which occupation
O the remainder of the summer.
we continued during
We usually spent our Sabbaths at the opening, on
which days our master would gather all his slaves
about him, and read and expound the Scriptures.
le sought to inculcate in our minds feelings of kind
ness towards each other, of dependence upon God
setting forth the rewards promised unto those who
lead an upright and prayerful life. Seated in the
doorway of his house, surrounded by his man-ser

vants and his maid-servants, who looked earnestly into
the good man s face, he spoke of the loving kindness
of the Creator, and of the life that is to come. Often
did the voice of prayer ascend from his lips to heaven,
the only sound that broke the solitude of the place.
In the course of thesummer Sam became deeply
convicted, his mind dwelling intensely on the subject
of religion. His mistress gave him a Bible, which
iie carried with him to his work. Whatever leisure
time was allowed him, he spent in perusing it, though
it was
only with great difficulty that he could master
any part of it. I often read to him, a favor which he

well repaid me ny many expressions of gratitude.
Sam s piety was frequently observed by white men
who came to the mill, and the remark it most gener
ally provoked was, that a man like Ford, who allowed
his slaves to have Bibles, was not fit to own a nigger."
"
He, however, lost nothing by his kindness. It ia

a fact I have more than once observed, that those who
treated their slaves most leniently, were rewarded by
the greatest amount of labor. I know it from my
own experience. It was a source of pleasure to sur
prise Master Ford with a greater day s work than was

required, while, under subsequent masters, there was
no prompter to extra effort but the overseer s lash.
It was the desire of Fordapproving voice that

s
suggested to me an idea that resulted to his profit.

The lumber we were manufacturing was contracted
to be delivered at Lamourie. It had hitherto been
transported by land, and was an important item of

expense. Indian Creek, upon which the mills were
situated, was a narrow but deep stream emptying into
Bayou Bceuf. In some places it was not more than

twelve feet wide, and much obstructed with trunks of
trees. Bayou Boeuf was connected with Bayou Lamou
rie. I ascertained the distance from the mills to the

point on the bayou, where our lumber was to be
latter
delivered, was but a few miles less by land than by

water. Provided the creek could be made navigable
for rafts, it occurred to me that the expense of trans
portation would be materially diminished.

ADAM TAYDEM. 99
Adam Taydem, a little white man, who had been a

soldier in Florida, and had strolled into that distant
region, was foreman and superintendent of the mills.
He scouted the idea ;

but Ford, when I laid it before
him, received it favorably, and permitted me to try

the experiment.
Having removed the obstructions, I made up a nar

row raft, consisting of twelve cribs. At this business
I think I was quite skillful, not having forgotten my
experience years before on the Champlain canal. I

labored hard, being extremely anxious to succeed,
both from a desire to please my master, and to show
Adam Taydem that my scheme was not such a vis
ionary one as he incessantly pronounced it. One
hand could manage three cribs. I took charge of the
forward three, and commenced poling down the
creek. In due time we entered the first bayou, and
finally reached our destination

in a shorter period
of time than I had anticipated.

The arrival of the raft at Lamourie created a sen
sation, while Mr. Ford loaded me with commenda
tions. On all sides I heard Ford s Platt pronounced
the smartest nigger in the Pine
"
Woods" in fact
I was the Fulton of Indian Creek. I was not insen

sible to the praise bestowed upon me, and enjoyed,
especially, my triumph over Taydem, whose half-
malicious ridicule had stung my pride. From this
time the entire control of bringing the lumber to
Lamourie was placed in my hands until the contract
was fulfilled.
Indian Creek, in its whole length, flows through a
magnificent forest. There dwells oh its shore a tribe

of Indians, a remnant of the Cliickasaws or Chick-
opees, if I remember rightly. They live in simple
huts, ten or twelve feet square, constructed of pine
poles and covered with bark. They subsist princi

pally on the flesh of the deer, the coon, and opos
sum, all of which are plenty in these woods. Some
times they exchange venison for a little corn and
whisky with the planters on the bayous. Their

usual dress is buckskin breeches and calico hunting
shirts of fantastic colors, buttoned from belt to chin.
They wear brass rings on their wrists, and in their

ears and noses. The dress of the squaws is very
similar. They are fond of dogs and horses owning
many of the latter, of a small, tough breed ând
are skillful riders. Their bridles, girths and saddles
were made of raw skins of animals ;
their stirrups
of a certain kind of w ood.
r
Mounted astride their
ponies, men and women, I have seen them dash out
into the woods at the utmost of their speed, following
narrow winding paths, and dodging trees, in a man
ner that eclipsed the most miraculous feats of civil
ized equestrianism. Circling away in various direc
tions, the echoing and re-echoing with their

forest
whoops, they would presently return at the same

dashing, headlong speed with which they started.
Their village was on Indian Creek, known as Incliar
Castle, but their range extended to the Sabine River
Occasionally a tribe from Texas would come over on

CASCALLA AND HIS TEIBE. 101
and then there was indeed a carnival in the

% risit,
Great Pine Woods." Chief of the tribe was Gas-

<
calla second in rank, John Baltese, his son-in-law

; ;
with both of whom, as with many others of the tribe,

I became acquainted during my frequent voyages
down the creek with rafts. Sam and myself would
Dften visit them when the day s task was done. They
were obedient to the chief; the word of Cascalla
was their law. They were a rude but harmless peo
ple, and enjoyed their wild mode of life. They had
littlefancy for the open country, the cleared lands
on the shores of the bayous, but preferred to hide
themselves within the shadows of the forest. They
worshiped the Great Spirit, loved whisky, and were
happy.
On one occasion I was present at a dance, when
a roving herd from Texas had encamped in their
village. The entire carcass of a deerroastingwas"
before a large fire, which threw its light a long dis

tance among the trees under which they were assem
bled. When
they had formed in a ring, men and
squaws alternately, a sort of Indian fiddle set up an
indescribable tune. Itwas a continuous, melancholy
kind of wavy sound, with the slightest possible vari
ation. At the first note, if indeed there was more
than one note in the whole tune, they circled around,
trotting after each other, and giving utterance to a
guttural, sing-song noise, equally as nondescript as the
music of thefiddle. At the end of the third circuit,
they would stop suddenly, whoop as if their lungs
would crack, then break from the ring, forming in
couples, man and squaw, each jumping backwards aa

far as possible from the other, then forwards which
graceful feat having been twice or thrice accomplish
ed, they would form in a ring, arid go trotting round
again. The best dancer appeared to be considered
the one who could whoop the loudest, jump the far
thest, and utter the most excruciating noise. At in

tervals, one or more would leave the dancing circle,
and going to the fire, cut from the roasting carcass a
slice of venison.
In a hole, shaped like a mortar, cut in the trunk

of a fallen tree, the} pounded corn with a wooden
"
pestle, and of the meal made cake. Alternately they

danced and ate. Thus were the visitors from Texas
entertained by the dusky sons and daughters of the
Chicopees, and such is a description, as I saw it, of

an Indian ball in the Pine Woods of Avoyelles.
In the autumn, I left the mills, and was employed
at the opening. One day the mistress was urging
Ford to procure a loom, in order that Sally might
commence weaving cloth for the winter garments of
the slaves. He could not imagine where one was to
be found, when I suggested that the easiest way to
get one would be to make it, informing him at the
same time, that I was a sort of Jack at all trades,"
"
and would attempt it, with his permission. It was

granted very readily, and I was allowed to go to a
neighboring planter s to inspect one before commen
cing tl* IP ler taking. At length it was finished
JOHN M. TIBEATS. 103
and pronounced by Sally to be perfect. She could

easily weave her task of fourteen yards, milk the
cows, and have leisure time besides each day. It
worked so well, was continued in the employment

I
of making looms, which were taken down to the
plantation on the bayou.

At time one John M. Tibeats a carpenter, came
this
;
to the opening to do some work on master s house.
I was directed to quit the looms and assist him. For
two weeks I was in his company, planing and match
ing boards for ceiling, a plastered room being a rare
thing in the parish of Avoyelles.
John M. Tibeats was the opposite of Ford in all
respects. He
was a small, crabbed, quick-tempered,
spiteful man. He had no fixed residence that I ever
heard but passed from one plantation to another,
of,
wherever he could find employment. He was with

out standing in the community, not esteemed by
white men, nor even respected by slaves. He was
ignorant, withal, and of a revengeful disposition. He
left the parish long before I did, and I know no ;
whether he is at present alive or dead. Certain it is,
it was a most unlucky day for me that brought us
together. During my residence with Master Ford I

had seen only the bright side of slavery. His was
no heavy hand crushing us to the earth. He pointed
upwards, and with benign and cheering words ad
dressed us as his fellow-mortals, accountable, like
himself, to the Mailer of us all. I think of him with
affection, and had my family been with me, could
have borne his gentle servitude, without murmuring

all my days. But clouds were gathering in the hori
zon forerunners of a pitiless storm that was soon
to break over me. I was doomed to endure such bit
pocr slave only knows, and to lead
ter trials as the
no more the comparatively happy life which I had

led in the Great Pine Woods."
"
CHAPTER VIII.
MBD 8 EMBARRASSMENTS THE SALE TO TIBEATS THE CHAITEL MORT

?
GAGE MISTRESS FORD S PLANTATION ON BAYOU B(EUF DESCRIPTIO*
OF THE LATTER FORD BROTHER-IN-LAW, PETER TANNER
S MEETING
WITH ELIZA SHE STILL MOURNS FOR HER CHILDREN FORD S OVER
SEER, CHAPIN TIBEAT S ABUSE THE KEG OF NAILS THE FIRST
FIGHT WITH TIBEATS AND CASTIGATION
HIS DISCOMFITURE THE AT
TEMPT TO HANG ME CHAPIN s INTERFERENCE AND SPEECH UNHAP
PY REFLECTIONS ABRUPT DEPARTURE OF TIBEATS, COOK AND RAMSAY
LAWSON AND THE BROWN MULE MESSAGE TO THE PINE WOODS.
WILLIAM FOKD unfortunately became embarrassed

pecuniary affairs. A heavy judgment was ren
in his
dered against him in consequence of his having be

come security for his brother, Franklin Ford, residing
on Red River, above Alexandria, and who had failed
to meet his liabilities. He was also indebted to John,
M. Tibeats to a considerable amount in consideration
O the mills on Indian Creek.

of his services in building
and also a weaving-house, corn-mill and other erec
tions on the plantation at Bayou Bceuf, not yet com
pleted. It was therefore necessary, in order to meet
these demands, to dispose of eighteen slaves, myself
among the number. Seventeen of them, including

Sam and Harry, were purchased by Peter Compton
a planter also residing on Red River.
E*
I was sold to Tibeats, in consequence, undoubtedly,
of icy slight skill as a carpenter. This was in the

winter of 1842. The deed of myself from Freeman
toFord, as I ascertained from the public records in
New-Orleans on my return, was dated June 23d,
1841. At the time of my sale to Tibeats, the price
agreed to be given for me being more than the debt,

Ford took a chattel mortgage of four hundred dollars.
I am indebted for
my life, as will hereafter be seen,
to that mortgage.
I bade farewell to my good friends at the opening,
and departed with my new master Tibeats. We
went down to the plantation on Bayou Boeuf, distant
twenty-seven miles from the Pine Woods, to complete
the unfinished contract. Bayou Boeuf is a sluggish,
winding stream one of those stagnant bodies of
water common in that region, setting back from Red
River. It stretches from a point not far from Alex
andria, in a south-easterly direction, and following its
tortuous course, is more than fifty miles in length.
Large cotton and sugar plantations line each shore,

extending back to the borders of interminable
swamps. It is alive with aligators, rendering it un
safe for swine, or unthinking slave children to stroll
along its banks. Upon a bend in this bayou, a short
distance from Cheney ville, was situated the plantation
.)i Madam Ford her brother, Peter Tanner, a great
landholder, living on the opposite side.
On my arrival at Bayou B<euf,
I had the pleasure
vf meeting Eliza, whom I had not seen for several
OVERSEER CilAPIN. 107
months. She had not pleased Mrs. Ford, being more

occupied in brooding over her sorrows than in attend
ing to her business, and had, in consequence, been sent
down to work in the field on the plantation. She had x
grown fee Me and emaciated, and was still mourning
for her children. She asked me if I had forgotten
them, and a great many times inquired if I still re
membered how handsome little Emily was how

much Randall loved her and wondered if they were
living still, and where the darlings could then be.
She had sunk beneath the weight of an excessive grief.
Her drooping form and hollow cheeks too plainly indi
cated that she had well nigh reached the end of her
weary road.
Ford s overseer on this plantation, and who had the
exclusive charge of it, was a Mr. Chapin, a kindly-dis
posed man, and a native of Pennsylvania. In com

mon with others, he held Tibeats in light estimation,
which fact, in connection with the four hundred dol
lar mortgage, was fortunate for me.
I was now compelled to labor very hard. From
earliest dawn until late at night, I was not allowed to]
be a moment idle. Notwithstanding which, Tibeats
was never satisfied. He was continually cursing and ,
complaining. He never spoke to me a kind word,

was his faithful slave, and earned him large wag<
every day, and yet I went to my cabin nightly, load<
with abuse and stinging epithets.

We
had completed the corn mill, the kitchen, and
SP forth, and were at work upon the weaving-house,
when was guilty of an act, in that State punishabie

I
with death. It was my first fight with Tib eats. The

weaving-house we were erecting stood in the orchard
a few rods from the residence of Chapin, or the
"
great
house," as it was called. One night, having worked
until it was too dark to see, I was ordered by Tib eat
to rise very early in the morning, procure a keg o
nails from Chapin, and commence putting on tin
clapboards. I retired to the cabin extremely tired,
and having cooked a supper of bacon and corn cake,

and conversed a while with Eliza, who occupied the
same cabin, as also did Lawson and his wife Mary,
and a slave named Bristol, laid down upon the ground
dreaming of the sufferings that awaited me
floor, little
on the morrow. Before daylight I was on the piazza
of the great house," awaiting the appearance of over
"
seer Chapin. To have aroused him from his slumbers

and stated my errand, would have been an unpardon
able boldness. At length he came out. Taking off
my hat, T informed him Master Tib eats had directed
me to call upon him for a keg of nails. Going into
the stnre-room, he rolled it out, at the same time say
ing, if Tibeats preferred a different size, he

would en
deavor to furnish them, but that I might use those
until further directed. Then mounting his horse,
which stood saddled and bridled at the door, he rode
away into the field, whither the slaves had preceded
him, while I took the keg on my shoulder, and pro
ceeding to the weaving-house, broke in the head, and
commerced naiJing on the clapboards.
FIKST FIGHT WITH TIBEATS. 109
As the day began to open, Tibeats came out of the

house to where I was, hard at work. He seemed to
be that morning even more morose and disagreeable

than nsiial. He was my master, entitled by law to
my flesh and blood, and to exercise over me such ty

rannical control as his mean nature prompted ;
bu
there was no law that could prevent my looking upon
him with intense contempt. I despised both his dis
position and his intellect. I had just come round to
the keg for a further supply of nails, as he reached

the weaving-house.
O
I thought I told you to commence putting on
"
weather-boards this morning," he remarked.

"
Yes, master, and I am about it,"

I replied.
"
Where ?
"
he demanded.
"
On the other side,"

was my answer.
lie walked round to the other side, examined my
work for a while, muttering to himself in a fault-find
ing tone.
"
Didn you last night to get a keg of nails

t I tell
he broke
"
of Chapin forth again.

?
Yes, master, and so I did

"
and overseer said he ;
would get another size for you, if you wanted them,

when he came back from the iield."
Tibeats walked to the keg, looked a moment at the
contents, then kicked it

violently. Coming towards
me in a great passion, he exclaimed,
"
G d d n you ! I thought you knowed some

.
thing."
I made answer :
"
I tried to do as you told me.

master. I didn t mean anything wrong. Overseer

said
"
But lie interrupted me with such a flood of
curses that I was unable to finish the sentence. At

length he ran towards the house, and going to the
piazza, took down one of the overseer s whips. The
whip had a short wooden stock, braided over with
f leather, and was loaded at the butt. The lash was
\ three feet long, or thereabouts, and made of raw-hide
\strands.
At first was somewhat frightened, and my impulse
I
was There was no one about except Rachel,
to run.
the cook, and Chapin s wife, and neither of them were
to be seen. The rest were in the field. I knew he
intended to whip me, and it was the first time any
one had attempted it since my arrival at Avoyelles.
moreover, that I had been faithful

I felt, that I was
/
guilty of no wrong whatever, and deserved commenda
tion rather than punishment. My fear changed to
I
anger, and before he reached me I had made up my
1 mind fully not to be whipped, let the result be life or
\ death.
Winding the lash around his hand, and taking hold
of the small end of the stock, he walked up to me,
and with a malignant look, ordered me to strip.
Master Tibeats, said I, looking him boldly in the
"
face,
"
I will not" I was about to say something

further in justification, but with concentrated ven
geance, lie sprang upon me, seizing me by the throat

with one hand, raising the whip with the other, in the
act of striking. Before the blow descended, however,
Ill
I bad
caught him by the collar of the coat, and drawn
him closely to me. Reaching down, I seized him by
the ankle, and pushing him back with the other hand,
he fell over on the ground. Putting one arm around
his leg, and holding it to my breast, so that his head
and shoulders only touched the ground, I placed my

foot upon his neck. He was completely in my power.
My blood was up. It seemed to course through my
veins like fire. In the frenzy of my madness I snatched
the whip from his hand. He struggled with all his
power; swore that I should not live to see another
day , and that he would tear out my heart. But his
struggles
CO and his threats were alike in vain. I cannot
tell how many times I struck him. Blow after blow
fell fast and heavy upon his wriggling form. At
length he screamed cried murder and at last the
blasphemous tyrant called on God for mercy. But

he who had never shown mercy did not receive it.
The stiff whip warped round his cringing
stock of the
body my right
until arm ached.
Until this time I had been too busy to look about
me. Desisting for a moment, I saw Mrs. Chapin
looking from the window, and Rachel standing in the
kitchen door. Their attitudes expressed the utmost
excitement and alarm. His screams had been heard
in the field. Chapin was coming as fast as he could
ride. I struck him a blow or two more, then pushed
him from me with such a well-directed kick that he
went rolling over on the ground.
Rising to his feet, and brushing the dirt from bis
(.12 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
hair,he stood looking at me, pale with rage. vVo
gazed at each other in silence. Not a word was ut

tered until Chapin galloped up to us.
"What is the matter?" he cried out.
"
Master Tibeats wants to whip me for using the

nails you gave me,"
I replied.
"
What is the matter with the nails ?" he inquired,

turning to Tibeats.
Tibeats answered to the effect that they were too
large, paying little heed, however, to Chapin s ques

tion, but still keeping his snakish eyes fastened mali
ciously on me.
"I am overseer here," Chapin began. "I told
Platt to take them and use them, and if they w ere not r
of the proper size I would get others on returning from

the field. It is not his fault. Besides, I shall furnish
such nails as I please. I hope you will understand
that, Mr. Tibeats."
Tibeats made no reply, but, grinding his teeth and

shaking his fist, swore he would have satisfaction,
and that it was not half over yet.
Thereupon he walk
ed away, followed by the overseer, and entered the
house, the latter talking to him all the while in a sup
pressed tone, and with earnest gestures.
I remained where I was, doubting whether it was
better to fly or abide the result, whatever it
might
be. Presently Tibeats came out of the house, and,
saddling his horse, the only property he possessed be
sides myself, departed on the road to Chenyville.
When he was ""one, Chapin came out, visibly exci
UNHAPPY REFLECTIONS. 113
me not to stir, not to attempt to leave the

ted, telling
plantation on any account whatever, lie then went

to the kitchen, and calling Rachel out, conversed with
her some time. Coming back, he again charged me

with great earnestness not to run, saying my master
*
was a rascal that he had left on no good errano
;
*
that there might be trouble before night. Btu at an

events, he insisted upon it, I must not stir.
As I stood there, feelings of unutterable agony
overwhelmed me. I was conscious that I had sub
jected myself unimaginable punishment. The re
to
action that followed my extreme ebullition of anger
produced the most painful sensations of regret.

unfriended, helpless slave what could I do, what\
could I say, to justify, in the remotest manner, the
heinous act I had committed, of resenting a white
man s contumely and abuse.
I tried to pray I tried ./
to beseech
my Heavenly Father to sustain me in
m^/
sore extremity, but emotion choked my utterance, and
I could only bow my head upon my hands and weep.
For at least an hour I remained in this situation, find
ing relief only in tears,when, looking up, I beheld

Tibeats, accompanied by two horsemen, coming down
the bayou. They rode into the yard, jumped from
their horses, and approached me with large whips,
one of them also carrying a coil of rope.
Cross your hands," commanded Tibeats, with the

"
addition of such a shuddering expression of blasphe

my as is not decorous to repeat.
8
"
You need not bind me, Master Tibeats, I arc

r
jady to go with you anywhere," said I.
One of his companions then stepped forward, swear-

if I made the least resistance he would break
tag: my
lead he would tear me limb from limb he would
i my black throat and giving wide scope to other
similar expressions. Perceiving any importunity al
together vain, I crossed my hands, submitting hum

bly to whatever disposition they might please to make
of me. Thereupon Tibeats tied my wrists, drawing
the rope around them with his utmost strength. Then
he bound my ankles in the same manner. In the
meantime the other two had slipped a cord within my
elbows, running it across my back, and tying it firm
ly. It was utterly impossible to move hand or foot
With a remaining piece of rope Tibeats made an awk

ward noose, and placed it about my neck.
inquired one of Tibeats companions,
"
Now, then,"
"
where shall we hang the nigger ?"
One proposed such

a limb, extending from the body
of a peach tree, near the spot where we were stand
ing. His comrade objected to it, alleging it would

break, and proposed another. Finally they fixed up
on the latter.
During this conversation, and all the time they

were binding me, I uttered not a word. Overseer
Chapin, during the progress of the scene, was walk
ing hastily back and forth on the piazza. Rachel was
crying by the kitchen door, and Mrs. Chapin was still
ATTEMPT TO HANG ME. 115
looking from the window. Hope died within my \

heart. Surely my time had come. I should never
behold the light of another day never behold the
faces ofmy children the sweet anticipation I had /
cherished with such fondness. I should that hour
struggle through the fearful agonies of death ! None

would mourn for me none revenge me. Soon my
form would be mouldering in that distant soil, or, per
haps, be cast to the slimy reptiles that filled the stag
nant waters of the bayou Tears flowed down my
!
cheeks, but they only afforded a subject of insulting

comment for my executioners.
At length, as they were dragging me towards the
tree, Chapin, who had momentarily disappeared from
the piazza, came out of the house and walked towards
us. He had a pistol in each hand, and as near as I
can now recall to mind, spoke in a firm, determined
manner, as follows :
Gentlemen, I have a few words to say. You had

"
better listen to them. Whoever moves that slave an

other foot from where he stands is a dead man. In
the first place, he does not deserve this treatment. It
is a shame to murder him in this manner. I never

knew a more faithful boy than Platt. You, Tibeats,
are in the fault yourself. You are pretty much of a
scoundrel, and I know it, and you richly deserve th
flogging you have received. In the next place, I hav
been overseer on this plantation seven years, and, in
the absence of William Ford, am master here. My
duty is to protect his interests, and that duty I shaU
116 TWELVE YEAES A SLAVE.
perform. You
are not responsible you are a worth
less fellow. Ford holds a mortgage on Platt of four
hundred dollars. If you hang him he loses his debt.
Until that canceled you have no right to take his
is
life. You have no

right to take it any way. There
is a law for the slave as well as for the white man.
You are no better than a murderer.
As for
"
you," addressing Cook and Ramsay, a

couple of overseers from neighboring plantations, ae "
for you begone ! If you have any regard for your

own safety, I say, begone."
Cook and Ramsay, without a further word, mount

ed their horses and rode away. Tibeats, in a few
minutes, evidently in fear, and overawed by the deci
ded tone of Chapin, sneaked off like a coward, as he
was, and mounting his horse, followed his companions.
I remained standing where I was, still bound, with
the rope around my neck. As soon as they were
gone, Chapin called Rachel, ordering her to run to
the field, and tell Lawson to hurry to the house with
out delay, and bring the brown mule with him, an
animal much prized for its unusual fleetness. Pres
ently the boy appeared.
you must go to the Pine
said Chapin,
" "
Lawson,"
VV oods. Ford to come here at once

Tell your master
$Ux,t he must not delay a single moment. Tell him
cu-oj are trying to murder Platt. Now hurry, boy.

Be at the Pine Woods by noon if you kill the mule."
Chapin stepped into the house and wrote a pass.
When he returned, Lawson was at the door, mounted
LAW80N AND THE MULE. 117
on his mule. Receiving the pass, he plied the whip

dashed out of the yard, and
right smartly to the beast,
turning up the bayou on a hard gallop, in less time
than it has taken Hie to describe the scene, was out
of sight.
CHAPTER IX,
HIE HOT SUN YET BOUND THE CORDS SINK INTO MT FLESH CHA-
PIN S UNEASINESS SPECULATION RACHEL, AND HER CUP OF WATER
SUFFERING INCREASES THE HAPPINESS OF SLAVERY ARRIVAL Ol
FORD HE CUTS THE CORDS WHICH BIND ME, AND TAKES THE ROPE FROM
MY NECK MISERY THE GATHERING OF THE SLAVES IN ELIZA* S CABIN
THEIR KINDNESS RACHEL REPEATS THE OCCURRENCES OF THE DAY
LAWSON ENTERTAINS COMPANIONS WITH AN ACCOUNT OF HIS RIDE
HIS
CHAPIN S HIRED TO PETER TANNER
APPREHENSIONS OF TIBEATS PETKB
EXPOUNDS THE SCRIPTURES DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCKS.
As the sun approached the meridian that day it be

came insufferably warm. Its hot rays scorched the
ground. The earth almost blistered the foot that stood

upon it. I was without coat or hat, standing bare
headed, exposed to its burning blaze. Great drops

of perspiration rolled down my face, drenching the
scanty apparel wherewith I was clothed. Over the
fence, a very way off, the peach trees cast their
little
cool, delicious shadows on the grass. I would -gladly
have given a long year of service to have been ena

bled to exchange the heated oven, as it were, where
in I stood, for a seat beneath their branches. But I
was yet bound, the rope still dangling from my neck,
and standing in the same tracks where Tibeats and
his comrades left me. I could not move an inch, so
firmly had I been bound. To have been enabled to

7
CHAriN 8 UNEASINESS. 110
lean against the weaving house would have been a
luxury indeed.- But it was far beyond my reach,

though distant less than twenty feet. I wanted to lie
down, but knew I could not rise again. The ground
was so parched and boiling hot I was aware it would
but add to the discomfort of my situation. If I coui J
have only moved my position, however slightly, it
would have been relief unspeakable. But the hot

rays of a southern sun, beating all the long summer
day on my bare head, produced not* half the suffer
ing I experienced from my aching limbs. My wrists
and ankles, and the cords of my legs and arms began
to swell, burying the rope that bound them into the
swollen flesh.
All day Chapm walked back and forth upon the

stoop, but not once approached me. lie appeared to
be in a state of great uneasiness, looking first
towards me, and then up the road, as if expecting

some arrival every moment. He did not go to the
field, as was his custom. It was evident from his man
ner that he supposed Tibeats would return with more
and better armed assistance, perhaps, to renew the
quarrel, and it was equally evident he had prepared
his mind to defend my life at whatever hazard
Why he did not relieve me why he suffered me to
remain in agony the whole weary day, I never knew

It was not for want* of
sympathy, I am certain. Per x
haps he wished Ford to see the rope about my neeky,
and the brutal manner in which I had been bou id ;j
perhaps his interference with another s property itf

120 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE
which he had no legal interest might have been a

trespass, which would have subjected him to the pen
alty of the law. Why Tibeats was all day absent was
another mystery I never could divine. He knew well
enough that Chapin would not harm him unless he

persisted in his design against me. Lawson told n. e
he passed the plantation of Johi.

afterwards, that, as
David Cheney, he saw the three, and that they turned
and looked after him as he flew by. I think his sup
position was, that Lawson had been sent out by Over
seer Chapin to arouse the neighboring planters, and
to call on them to come to his assistance. He, there
undoubtedly, acted on the principle, that
"
fore, dis
valor," and kept away.

the better part of
cretion is
,
But whatever motive may have governed the cow
ardly and malignant tyrant, it is of no importance.
There I still stood in the noon-tide sun, groaning with
pain. From long before daylight I had not eaten a

morsel. I was growing faint from pain, and thirst,
hunger. Once
only, in the very hottest portion
of the day, Rachel, half fearful she was acting con-
t
rary to the overseer s wishes, ventured to me, and
held a cup of water to my lips. The humble crea
ture never knew, nor could she comprehend if she
had Leard them, the blessings I invoked upon her,
for that balmy draught. She could only say, Oh,
"
Platt, how I do pity you,"

and then hastened back to
her labors in the kitchen.
^N"ever did the sun move through the
so slowly
heavens never did it shower down such fervent and
ARRIVAJL OF FORD. 121
fiery rays, as it did that day. At least, so it appear

ed to me. What my meditations were the innume
rable thoughts that thronged through my distracted
brain I will not attempt to give expression to.
Suffice it to say, during the whole long day I came

not to the conclusion, even once, that the southern
slave, fed, clothed, whipped and protected by his
master, happier than the free colored citizen of the

is
North. To that conclusion I have never since arri

ved. There are many, however, even in the Northern
States, benevolent and well-disposed men, who will
pronounce my opinion erroneous, and

gravely proceed
with an argument. Alas
to substantiate the assertion !
they have never drunk, as I have, from the bitter cup

of slavery. Just at sunset my heart leaped with un
bounded joy, as Ford came riding into the yard, his
horse covered with foam. Chapin met him at the
door, and after conversing a short time, he walked
directly to me.
"
Poor Platt, you are in a bad state,"

was the only
expression that escaped his lips.
Thank God
"
said I, thank God, Master Ford,

!"
"
thatyou have come at last."
Drawing a knife from his pocket, he indignantly

cut the cord from my wrists, arms, and ankles, and
slipped the noose from my neck. I attempted to
walk, but staggered like a drunken man, and fell par

tially to the ground.
Ford returned immediately to the house, leaving
me alone again. As he reached the piazza, Tibeats
and his two friends rode up. A long dialogue fol

lowed. I could hear the sound of their voices, the
mild tones of Ford mingling with the angry accents

of Tib eats, but was unable to distinguish what was
said. Finally the three departed again, apparently
not well pleased.
I endeavored to raise the hammer, thinking to show
Ford how willing I was to work, by proceeding with
my labors on the weaving house, but it fell from my
nerveless hand. At dark I crawled into the cabin,
and laid down. I was in great misery all sore and
swollen movement producing excruci
the slightest
ating suffering. Soon the hands came in from the

field. Rachel, when she went after Lawson, had told
them what had happened. Eliza and Mary broiled
me a piece of bacon, but my appetite was gone.
Then they scorched some corn meal and made coifee.
It was all that could take. Eliza consoled me and
1
was very kind. It was not long before the cabin was
full of siaves.They gathered round me, asking many
questions about the difficulty with Tibeats in the
morning and the particulars of all the occurrences

of the day. Then Rachel came
in, and in her simple
language, repeated over again it

dwelling emphat
ically on the kick that sent Tibeats rolling over on
the ground w hereupon there was a general titter
r
throughout the crowd. Then she described how Cha-

pin walked out with his pistols and rescued me,
and how Master Ford cut the ropes with his knife,
just as if he w as mfe I
r
LAWSON S RIDE. 12 J
By time Lawson had returned.

this lie had to
regale them with an account of his trip to the Pine

Woods how the brown mule bore him faster than
a "
streak o
lightnin"
how he astonished everybody
as he flew along how Master Ford started right
away how he said Platt was a good nigger, and
they shouldn him, concluding with pretty strong

t kill
intimations that there was not another human being

in the "wide
world, who could have created such a
universal sensation on the road, or performed such a
marvelous John Gilpin feat, as he had done that day
on the brown mule.
The kind creatures loaded me with the expression
of their
sympathy saying, Tibeatswas a hard, cruel
man, and hoping
"
Massa Ford" would get me back

again. In this manner they passed the time, discus
sing, chatting, talking over and over again the exci
ting affair, until suddenly Chapin presented himself

at the cabin door and called me.
"
Platt," said he, "
you will sleep on the floor in the
great house to-night bring your blanket with ;
I arose as quickly as I was able, took my blanket

in my hand, and followed him. On the way he in
formed me that he should not wonder if Tibeats wsu
back again before morning that he intended to kill
me and that he did not mean he should do it With
out witnesses. Had he stabbed me to the he? t in
the presence of a hundred slaves, not one of tlu n, by

the laws of Louisiana, could have given ev dence
against him. I laid down on the floor in the great

house" the first and the last time such a sumptu

ous resting place was granted me during my twelve
years of bondage and tried to sleep. Near midnight

the dog began to bark. Chapin arose, looked from
the window, but could discover nothing. At length
the dog was quiet. As he returned to his room, he said,
"
I believe, Platt, that scoundrel is

skulking about
the premises somewhere. If the dog barks again, and
I am sleeping, wake me."
I promised to do so. After the lapse of an hour or

more, the dog re-commenced his clamor, running
towards the gate, then back again, all the while bark
ing furiously.
Chapin was out of bed without waiting to be called.
On this occasion, he stepped forth upon the piazza,
and remained standing there a considerable length of
time. Nothing, however, was to be seen, and the
dog returned to his kennel. We were not disturbed
again during the night. The excessive pain that I
suffered,and the dread of some impending danger,
prevented any rest whatever. Whether or not Tibe-
ats did actually return to the plantation that night,
seeking an opportunity to wreak his vengeance upon

me, is a secret known only to himself, perhaps. 1
thought then, however, and have the strong impres
sion still, that he was there. At all events, he had
the disposition of an assassin cowering before a
brave man s
words, but ready to strike his helpless 01
unsuspecting victim in the ,*ick, as I had reason af
terwards to know.
CI1APIN 8 APPEAEANOB.
At daylight in the morning, I arose, sore and wea

ry,having rested little. Nevertheless, after partaking
breakfast,which Mary and Eliza had prepared for me
in the cabin, I proceeded to the weaving-house and
commenced the labors of another day. It was Cha
pin s practice, as it is the practice of overseers gen

erally, immediately on arising, to bestride his horse
always saddled and bridled and ready for him

the particular business of some slave and ride intc
the field. This morning, on the contrary, he came tc
the weaving -house, asking if I had seen anything of
Tibeats yet. Keplying in the negative, he remarked
there was something not right about the fellow
there was bad blood in him that I must keep a
sharp watch of him, or he would do me wrong some

day when I least expected it.
While he was yet speaking, Tibeats rode in, hitched
his horse, and entered the house. I had little fear of
him while Ford and Chapin were at hand, but they
could not be near me always.
Oh ! how heavily the weight of slavery pressed
upon me then. I must toil day after day, endure
abuse and taunts and scoffs, sleep on the hard ground,
live on the coarsest fare, and not only this, but live
the slave of a blood-seeking wretch, of whom I mijs^
stand henceforth in continued fear and \ I/

dreadfjjWhy
had I not died in myyoung years before God had
given me children to love and live for ? What un-
happiness and suffering and sorrow it would have

prevented. I sighed for liberty but the bondman s
;
chain was round me, and could not be shaken oft. 1

could only gaze wistfully towards the North, and
think of the thousands of miles that stretched between
me and the soil of freedom, over which a Hack free
man may not pass.
Tibeats, in the course of half an hour, walked over
to theweaving-house, looked at me sharply, then re
turned without saying anything. Most of the fore
noon he on the piazza, reading a newspaper and
sat
conversing with Ford. After dinner, the latter left

for the Pine Woods, and it was indeed with
regret
that I beheld him depart from the plantation.
Once more during the day Tibeats came to me,
gave me some order, and returned.
During the week the weaving-house was completed
Tibeats in the meantime making no allusion what
ever to the difficulty when I was informed he had
hired me to Peter Tanner, to work under another car
penter by the name of Myers. This announcement

was received with gratification, as any place was de
sirable that would relieve me of his hateful presence.
Peter Tanner, as the reader has already been in
formed, lived on the opposite shore, and was the broth
er of Mistress Ford. He is one of the most extensive
planters on Bayou Boeuf, and owns a large number

of slaves.
Over I went to Tanner s, joyfully enough. He had
heard of my late difficulties in fact, I ascertained
the flogging of Tibeats was soon blazoned far and wide.
This aiftur, together with my rafting experiment, hao
PETER EXPOUNDS THE SCKIPTUKE. 121
tendered me somewhat notorious. More than once P

heard it said that Platt Ford, now Platt Tibeats a
slave s name changes with his change of master was>
"
a devil of a nigger."
But I was destined to make a
stillfurther noise, as will presently be seen, through
out the little world of Bayou Boeuf.
Peter Tanner endeavored to impress upon- me the
idea that he was quite severe, though I could per
ceive there was a vein of good humor in the old fel
low, after all.
You re"
the nigger,"
he said to me on my arrival
You re
^""
tho nigger that flogged your master, eh ?
You re the nigger that kicks, and holds carpenter
Tibeats by the leg, and wallops him, are ye ? Pd like
to see you hold me by the leg I should. You re a
portant character you re a great nigger very re
markable nigger, ain t ye ? Pd lash you Pd take
the tantrums out of ye. Jest take hold of my leg, if
you please. None of your pranks here, my boy, re
member that. Now go to work, you Icicki/itf rascal,"
concluded Peter Tanner, unable to suppress a half-
comical grin at his own wit and sarcasm.
After listening to this salutation, I was taken charge
of by Myers, and labored under his direction for a
month, to his and my own satisfaction.

Like William Ford, his brother-in-law, Tanner was
in the habit of reading the Bible to his slaves on the
Sabbath, but in a somewhat different spirit. lie was

an impressive commentator on the New-Testament,
The first Sunday after my coming to the plantation,
he called them together, and.began_to reacHlie twelfth
cliaj)ter_of
Luke. When he came to the 47th verse,
he looked deliberately around him, and continued
"
And that servant which knew his lord s will" -here

he paused, looking around more deliberately than be
fore, and again proceeded which knew his lord s
"
willy and prepared not himself"- here was another

pause not himself, neither did according
"prepared
tojiis will, shall be beaten with many stripes."

"
D
ye hear that ? demanded Peter, emphatically.
"
"
Stripes"
he repeated, slowly and distinctly, taking
off his spectacles, preparatory to making a few re
marks.
--
That nigger that don t take care that don t obey

"
his lord that s his master d ye see ? that êrt
nigger shall be beaten with many stripes. Now,

<
many signifies a great many forty, a hundred,

a hundred and That and
"
fifty lashes. s Scripter ! so

eter continued to elucidate the subject for a great
length of time, much to the edification of his sable

audience.
At the conclusion of the exercises, calling up three
of his slaves, Warner, Will and Major, he cried out
to me
Here, Platt, you held Tibeats by the legs now I ll
"
see ifyou can hold these rascals in the same way, till
I get back from meetinV
Thereupon he ordered them to the stocks a com

mon thing on plantations in the Red River country.
The stocks are formed of two planks, the lower one
DESCRIPTION OF THE STOCKS. 129
made fast at the ends to two sliort posts, driven firmly

into the ground. At regular distances half circles
are cut in the upper edge. The other plank is fas-
êned to one of the posts a hinge, so that it can
"by
l>e
opened or shut down, in the same manner as the blade

of a pocket-knife is shut or opened. In the lower edge
of the upper plank corresponding half circles are also
cat. so that wrien they close, a row of holes is formed
large enough to admit a negro

leg above the ankle,
s
but not large enough to enable him to draw out his

foot. The other end of the upper plank, opposite the
hinge, is fastened to its post by lock and key. The
slave is made to sit upon the ground, when the upper
most plank is elevated, his legs, just above the ank^s,
placed hi the sub-half circles, and shutting it down
again, and locking it, he is held secure and fast. Verj
often the ne^k instead of the ankle is enclosed. Ii
this manner they are held during the operation <>t
whipping.
Warner, "Will jvnd Major, according to Tanner s ae
count of them, we-re melon-stealing, Sabbath-break
ing niggers, and nov approving of such wickedness, lie
felt it his duty to pui them in the stocks. Handing
me the key, himself, Myers, Mistress Tanner and the
children entered the carnage and drove away to
church at Cheney ville. Wlien they were gone, the
boys begged me to let them out. I felt sorry to see
them sitting on the hot ground, and remembered my
own sufferings in the sun. Upon their promise to re
turn to the stocks at any moment they were required
F*
to do so, I consented to release them. Grateful for

the lenity shown them, and in order in some meas
ure to repay it, they could do no less, of course,
than pilot me, to the melon-patch. Shortly before
Tanner s return, they were in the stocks again.
Finally he drove up, and looking at the boys, said, with
a chuckle,
"
Aha !
ye havn t been strolling about much to-day,
any way. Pll teach you what s what. I HI tire ye
of eating water-melons on the Lord s day, ye Sabbath-
^breaking niggers."
Peter Tanner prided himself upon his strict religious
observances he was a deacon in the church.
:
But I have now reached a point in the progress of

my narrative, when it becomes necessary to turn away
from these light descriptions, to the more grave and
weighty matter of the second battle with Master Tib-
eats, and the flight through the great Pacoudrie
Swamp.
CHAPTER X.
- IMPOSSIBILITY OF PLEASING HIM - HE ATTACKS

TIBEATS /il
WITH A HATCHET - THE STRUGGLE OVER THE BROAD AXE - THETEMINA-

TION TO MURDER HIM - ESCAPE ACROSS THE PLANTATION - OBSERVA
TIONS FROM THE FENCE - TIBEATS APPROACHES, FOLLOWED BY THE HOUNie
THEY TAKE MY TRACK - THEIR LOUD YELLS - THEY ALMOST OVERTAKK
ME - REACH THE WATER - THE HOUNDS CONFUSED - MOCCASIN SNAKKS
I
ALLIGATORS - NIGHT INTHE PACOUDRIE

"GREAT - THESOUNM
SWAMP"
OK LIFE - NORTH-WEST COURSE - EMERGE INTO THE PINE WOODS - TluC
SLAVE AND HIS YOUNG MASTER - ARRIVAL AT FORD - FOOD AND S REf.f.
AT the end of a month, my services being no V>/*
ger required at Tanner s I was sent over the fc/.ycu
again to my master, whom I found engaged in Viiild-
ing the cotton press. This was situated at some dis

tance from the great house, in a rather retired place.
I commenced working once more in company with
Tibeats, being entirely alone with him most part of
the time. I remembered the words f Chapiu, his
precautions, his advice to beware, leaf, in some unsus
pecting moment he might injure ir.e They were al
ways in my mind, so that I lived in a most uneasy

state ofapprehension and fear. One eye was on my^
work, the other on my master. J determined to give \
him no cause of offence, to wo A still more diligently, ^

132 TWELVE YEABS A SLAVE.
if possible, than I had done, ro Dear whatever abuse

he might heap upon me, save bodily injury, humbly
and patiently, hoping thereby to soften in some de
gree hismanner towards me, until the blessed time
might come when I should be delivered from 1m
clutches.
The third morning after my return, Cliapin loft the
plantation for Cheneyville, to be absent until night.
Tibeats, on that morning, was attacked with one of
those periodical fits of spleen and ill-humor to which
he was frequently subject, rendering him still more
disagreeable and venomous than usual.
It was about nine o clock in the forenoon, when 1
was busily employed with the jack-plane on one of the

sweeps. Tibeats was standing by the work-bench,
fitting a handle into the chisel, with which he had
been engaged previously in cutting the thread of the
screw.
"
You are not planing that down enough," said he.
just even with the line," I replied.

"
It is
"
You re a d d liar,"
he exclaimed passionately.
I said, mildly, I will plane
" "
Oh, well, master," it
down more if you say so,"

at the same time proceed
ing to do as I supposed he desired. Before one sha
ring had been removed, however, he cried out, say-

I had now planed it too deep
<g
it was too small
I had spoiled the sweep entirely. Then followed

mrses and imprecations. I had endeavored to do ex
actly ashe directed, but nothing would satisfy the un
reasonable man. In silence and in dread I stood by the
TIBEATS ATTACKS ME. 133
sweep, holding the jack-plane in my hand, not know

ing what to do, and not daring to he idle. His anger
grew more and more violent, until, finally, with an
oath, such a hitter, frightful oath as only Tiheats could
utter, he seized a hatchet from the work-bench and
darted towards me, swearing he would cut my head
open.
Itwas a moment of life or death. The sharp, bright
blade of the hatchet glittered in the sun. In another
instant it would be buried in my brain, and yet in
that instant so quick will a man s thoughts come to
him in such a fearful strait I reasoned with my
self. If I stood still, my doom was certain ;
if I fled,
ten chances to one the hatchet, flying from his hand

with a too-deadly and unerring aim, would strike me
in the back. There was but one course to take.
Springing towards him with all my power, and meet

ing him full half-way, before he could bring down the
blow, with one hand I caught his uplifted arm, with
the other seized him by the throat. We stood look
ing each other in the eyes. In his I could see mur

der. I felt as if I had a serpent by the neck, watch
ing the slightest relaxation of my gripe, to coil itself

round my body, crushing and stinging it to death. I
thought to scream aloud, trusting that some ear might
catch the sound but Chapin was away the hands ;
were in the field there \vas no living soul in sight

;
or hearing.
The good genius, which thus far through life has ~^\
saved me from the hands of violence, at that moment I

suggested a lucky thought. With a vigorous and

sudden kick, that brought him on one knee, with a
groan, I released my hold upon his throat, snatched
the hatchet, and cast it beyond reach.
Frantic with rage, maddened beyond control, he
seized a white oak stick, five feet long, perhaps, and
as large in circumference as his hand could grasp,
which was lying on the ground. Again he rushed
towards me, and again I met him, seized him about
the waist, and being the stronger of the two, bore
him to the earth. While in that position I obtained
possession of the stick, and rising, cast it from me,
also.
He likewise arose and ran for the broad-axe, on the

work-bench. Fortunately, there was a heavy plank
lying upon its broad blade, in such a manner that he
could not extricate it,before I had sprung upon his
back. Pressing him down closely and heavily on the
plank, so that the axe was held more firmly to its
place, I endeavored, but in vain, to break his grasp

upon the handle. In that position we remained some
minutes.
There have been hours in my unhappy life, many
of them, when the contemplation of death as the end
i
of earthly sorrow of the grave as a resting place

for the tired and worn out body has been pleasant
to dwell upon. ^But such contemplations vanish in the
hour of peril. /No man, in his full strength, can
stand undismayed, in the presence of the king of
"
terrors." Life is dear to every living thing; the

TEMPTATION TO MURDEK TIBEATS. 135
worm that crawls~-u-poa-:khe ground will struggle for

it. At that moment it was dear to nie enslaved and 7
treated asjjwas.
Not able to unloose his hand, once more I seized
him by the throat, and this time, with a vice-like

gripe that soon relaxed his hold. He became pliant
and unstrung. His face, that had been white with
passion, was now black from suffocation. Those small
serpent eyes that spat such venom, were now full of
horror two great white orbs starting from their
sockets !
There was a lurking devil" in my heart that

"
prompted me to kill the human blood-hound on the
spot -to retain the gripe on his accursed throat till
the breath of life was gone ! I dared not murder
him, and I dared not let him live. If I killed him,""
my life must pay the forfeit if he lived, my life
only would satisfy his vengeance. A voice within
whispered me To be a wanderer among the

to fly.
swamps, a fugitive and a vagabond on the face of

the earth, was preferable to the life that I was lead
ing.
My was soon formed, and swinging hiir

resolution
from the work-bench to the ground, I leaped a fence
near by, and hurried across the plantation, passing
the slaves at work in the cotton field. At the end of
a quarter of a mile I reached the wood-pasture, and
it was a short time indeed that I had been running
it.
Climbing on high fence, I could see the
to a
cotton press, the great house, and the space between.
136 TWELVE YEAUS A SLAVE.
It was a conspicuous position, from whence the *7hoie

plantation was in view. I saw Tibeats cross the field
towards the house, and enter it then he came out x
carrying his saddle, and presently mounted his horse

and galloped away.
I was desolate, but thankful. Thankful that my
life was spared, desolate and discouraged with the
prospect before me. What would become of me ?

would befriend me ? Whither should I fly (
f
"Who
Oh, God ! Thou who gavest me life, and implanted

in my bosom the love of life who filled it with
emotions such as other men, thy creatures, have, do
not forsake me. Have pity 011 the poor slave let
me not perish. If thou dost not protect me, I am

lost lost! Such supplications, silently and unut
tered, ascended from my inmost heart to Heaven
But there was no answering voice no sweet, low
tone, coming down from on high, whispering to my
soul, It is I, be not afraid."
"
I was the forsaken of
God, it sqemed the despised and hated of men !
In about three-fourths of an hour several of the

slaves shouted and made signs for me to run. Pres
ently, looking up the bayou, I saw Tibeats and two
others on horse-back, coming at a fast gait, followed
by a troop of dogs. There were as many as eight or

ten. Distant as I was, I knew them. They belonged
on the adjoining plantation. The dogs used on Bayou
Boeuf for hunting slaves are a kind of blood-hound,
but a far more savage breed than is found in the
Northern States. They will attack a negro, at their
PURSUED BY HODKDS. 137
/master bidding, and cling to him as the common

s
( bull-dog will cling to a four footed animal. Fre-

loud is heard in the
\
quently their bay swamps, and
\ then there is speculation as to what point the runaway
will be overhauled the same as a New-York hunter
Btops to listen to the hounds coursing along the hill

sides, and suggests to his companion that the fox will
be taken at such a place. I never knew a slave es^\
caping with his life from Bayou Boeuf. One reason/

is, they are not allowed to learn the art of swimming J
and are incapable of crossing the most inconsiderable

stream. In their night they can go in no direction
but a little way without coming to a bayou, when the
inevitable alternative is presented, of
being drowned
or overtaken by the dogs. In youth had practised
I
in the clear streams that flow through my native dis
trict, until I had become an expert swimmer, and felt \
at home in the watery element.

I stood until the dogs had reaclfecTx
upon the fence
the cotton press.In an instant more, their long, sav
age yells announced they were on my track. Leap

ing down from my position, I ran towards the swamp.
Fear gave me strength, and I exerted it to the utmost
Every few moments I could hear the yelpings of the
dogs. They were gaining upon me. Every howl
was nearer and nearer. Each moment I expected
they would spring upon my back expected to fee]
their long teeth sinking into my flesh. There were
so many of them, I knew they would tear me to pie
ces, that they would worry me, at once, to death. J

138 TWELVE YEAK8 A SLAVE.
gasped for breath gasped forth a half-uttered, cho

king prayer to the Almighty to save me to give me
strength to reach some wide, deep bayou where I

could throw them off the track, or sink into its wa
ters. Presently I reached a thick palmetto bottom.
As I fled through them they made a loud rustling
ooise, not loud enough, however, to drown the voices
f the dogs.
Continuing my course due south, as nearly as I can

judge, I came at length to water just over shoe.
The hounds at that moment could not have been five
ruds behind me. I could hear them crashing and
plunging through the palmettoes, their loud, eager

yells making the whole swamp clamorous with the
sound. Hope revived a little as I reached the water.
Ifit were
only deeper, they might loose the scent, and
thus disconcerted, afford me the opportunity of eva
ding them. Luckily, it grew deeper the farther I

proceeded now over my ankles now half-way to
my knees now sinking a moment to my waist, and
then emerging presently into more shallow places.
The dogs had not gained upon me since I struck the
water. Evidently they were confused. Now their
savage intonations grew more and more distant, as

suring me that I was leaving them. Finally I stop
ped to listen, but the long howl came booming on the
7
air hyjain, telling me I was ~\ot yet safe. From bog to
bog, where I had stepped, they c^ldL_slilLJxejep_u]3on_
the track, though impeded by the water. At length,
to my great joy, I came to a wide bayou, and plung-
I flEACH THE WATER. 139
mg m, had soon stemmed sluggish current to the

its
other side. There, certainly, the dogs would be con

founded the current carrying down the stream all
traces of that slight, mysterious scent, which enables
the quick-smelling hound to follow in the track of the
fugitive.
After crossing this bayou the water became so
deep I could not run. I was now in what I after

wards learned was the "
Great Pacoudrie Swamp."

It was filled with immense trees the sycamore, the
gum, the cotton wood and cypress, and extends, I am

informed, to the shore of the Calcasieu river.
thirty or forty miles it is without inhabitants, save
wjhnDeasJsj^rJl^^ the^ Jiger^
and
great slimy reptiles, -tbat are crawling through- -tt
everywhere. Long before I reached the bayou, in
fact, from the time I struck the water until I emer

ged from the swamp on my return, these
surrounded me. I saw hundreds of moccasin snakes
Every log and bog ejverv__trmik of a, fallen tree _
over which I was compelled to step or climb, was

alive with them. They crawled away at my ap
proach, but sometimes my in haste, I almost placed
my hand or foot upon them. They __are_ poisonous

serpents their bite more fatal than the rattlesnake s.
Besides^! had lost one shoe, the sole having come

entirely ofl^Jjeaymg the upper only dangling to my
anklfi.
I saw also majiyânigators^ great and small, lying
Hi the water, or on pieces of flood wood. The noise 1
made usually startled them, when they moved mTand

plunged into the deepest places. Sometimes, how
ever, I would come directly upon a monster before
observing it. In such cases, I would start back, run
a short way round, and in that manner shun them.
/Straight forward, they will run a short distance rapidly,
I but do not possess the power of turning. In a crock-
êd race, there is no difficulty in evading them.

About two o clock in the afternoon, I heard the
last of the hounds. Probably they did not cross the
bayou. Wet and weary, but relieved from the sense
of instant peril, I continued on, more cautious and
afraid, however, of the snakes and alligators than I

had been in the earlier portion of my flight. ]STow,
before stepping into a muddy pool, I would strike
the water with a stick. If the waters moved, I would
if not, would venture through.
go around it,
At lengththe sun went down, and gradually night s
trailing mantle shrouded the great swamp in dark

ness. Still I staggered on, fearing every instant 1
should feel the dreadful sting of the moccasin, or be

crushed within the jaws of some disturbed alligator.
The dread of them now almost equaled the fear of
the pursuing hounds. The moon arose after a time,
itsmild light creeping through the overspreading
branches, loaded with long, pendent moss. I kept
traveling forwards until after midnight, hoping all
the while that I would soon emerge into some less
desolateand dangerous region. But the water grew
deeper and the walking more difficult than ever. 1
NIGHT IN THE SWAMP. 141
perceived it would be impossible to proceed much

farther, and knew not, moreover, what hands I might
fall into, should I succeed in reaching a human hab-
"Station. Not provided with a pass, any white man
\would be at liberty to arrest me, and place me in
until such time as my master should prove
"
prison
foroperty, pay charges, and take me away." I was an
(.-
1
estray and if so unfortunate as to meet a law-abiding
,
citizen of Louisiana, he would deem it his duty to his
neighbor, perhaps, to put me forthwith in the pound.
/Really, it was difficult to determine which I had most

/reason to fear dogs, alligators or men !
^ter midnight, however, I came to a halt. Ima

gination cannot picture the dreariness of the scene.
The swamp was resonant with the quacking of innu
merable ducks ! Since the foundation of the earth,
in all probability, a human footstep had never before
so far penetrated the recesses of the swamp. It was
not silent now silent to a degree that rendered it
oppressive, as it was when the sun was shining in
the heavens. midnight intrusion had awakened
My
the feathered tribes,which seemed to throng the mo
rass in hundreds of thousands, and their garrulous
throats poured forth such multitudinous sounds
there was such a fluttering of wings such sullen
plunges in the water all around me that I was af
frighted and appalled. All the fowls of the air, and
all the
creeping things of the earth appeared to have
assembled together in that particular place, for the
purpose of filling it with clamor and confusion. Not
14:2 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
by human dwellings not in crowded cities alone,

are the sights and sounds of The wildest places
life.
of the earth are full of them. Even in the heart of

that dismal swamp, God had provided a refuge and a
dwelling place for millions of living things.

The moon had now risen above the trees, when I
resolved upon a new project. Thus far Iliad endeav

ored to travel as nearly south as possible. Turning
about I proceeded in a north-west direction, my ob
ject being to strike the Pine "Woods in the vicinity of
Master Ford s. Once within the shadow of his pro
tection, I felt I would be comparatively safe.

^ clothes were in tatters, my hands, face, and
My
body covered with scratches, received from the sharp
knots of fallen trees, and in climbing over piles of
brush and floodwood. My bare foot was full of thorns.
I was besmeared with muck and mud, and the green
slime that had collected on the surface of the dead
water, in which I had been immersed to the neck
many times during the day and night. Hour after-^

hour, and tiresome indeed had they become, I contin
ued to plod along on my north-west course. The wa
terbegan to grow less deep, and the ground more firm
under my feet. At last I reached the Pacoudrie, the
pame wide bayou I had swam while "
outward
bound." I swam
again, and shortly after thought
it
I heard a cock crow, but the sound was faint, and it

might have been a mockery of the ear. The water
receded from my advancing footsteps now I had
left the bogs behind me now I was on dry land
THE SLAVE AND HIS MASTER. 143
that gradually ascended to the plain, and I knew 1
was somewhere in the "
Great Pine Woods."
Just at day-break I came to an opening a sort of

small plantation but one I had never seen before.
In the edge of the woods I came upon two menâ
slave and
his young master, engaged in catching wild
hogs. The white man I knew would demand iny
pass, and not able to give him one, would take me

into possession. I was too wearied to run again, and
\
too desperate to be taken, and therefore adopted a
ruse that proved entirely successful. Assuming a
fierce expression, I walked directly towards him, look
ing him steadily in the face. As I approached, he

moved backwards with an air of alarm. It was plain
he was much affrighted that he looked upon me as
some infernal goblin, just arisen from the bowels of
the swamp !
"
Where does William Ford live ?

"
I demanded, ID
no gentle tone.
He lives seven miles from
"
here,"
was the reply.
"
Which is the way to his place ?

"
I again demand
ed, trying to look more fiercely than ever.
"Do
you see those pine trees yonder?"
he asked
pointing to two, a mile distant, that rose far above*

their fellows, like a couple of tall sentinels, overlook
ing the broad expanse of forest.

I see them," was the answer.
"
At
the feet of those pine trees," he continued
"
"
runs the Texas road. Turn to the left, and it wi!

lead you to William Ford s."
Without further parley, I hastened forward, happy

as he was, no doubt, to place the widest possible dis
tance between us. Striking the Texas road, I turned
to the left hand, as directed, and soon passed a great
fire, where a pile of logs were burning. I went to it,
thinking I would dry my clothes but the gray light ;
of the morning was fast breaking away, some pass

ing white man might observe me besides, the heat ;
overpowered me
with the desire of sleep so, linger :
ing no longer, I continued my travels, and finally,

about eight o clock, reached the house of Master Ford.
The slaves were all absent from the quarters, at
their work. Stepping on to the piazza, I knocked at
the door,which was soon opened by Mistress Ford.

My appearance was so changed I was in such aw o- r
begone and forlorn condition, she did not know me.

Inquiring if Master Ford was at home, that good man
made his appearance, before the question could be
answered. I told him of my flight, and ail the par
ticulars connected with it. He listened attentively,
and when had concluded, spoke to me kindly and
I
sympathetically, and taking me to the kitchen, called

John, and ordered him to prepare me food. I had
tasted nothing since daylight the previous morning.
When John had set the meal before me, the madam
came out with a bowl of milk, and many little deli
cious dainties, such as rarely please the palate of a
biave. I was hungry, and I was weary, but neither
looa nor rest afforded half the pleasure as did the
blessed voices speaking kindness and consolation. It
A)OD AND REST. 145
was the oil and the wine which the Good Samaritan
in the "
Great Pine Woods was ready to pour into

"
the wounded spirit of the slave, who came to him,

stripped of his raiment and half-dead.
They left me in the cabin, that I might rest. Blessed
be sleep ! It visiteth all alike, descending as the dews
of heaven on the bond and free. Soon it nestled to my
bosom, driving away the troubles that oppressed it, and
bearing me to that region, where I saw again
shadowy
the faces, and listened to the voices of my children,
who, alas, for aught I knew in my waking hours, had

fallen into the arms of that oilier sleep, from which
they never would arouse.
CHAPTER XI.
THE MISTRESS GARDEN THE CRIMSON AND GOLDEN FRUIT ORANO

iND POMEGRANATE TREES RETURN TO BAYOU BCEUF MASTER FORD *8
REMARKS ON THE WAY THE MEETING WITH TIBEATS HIS ACCOUNT OF
THE CHASE FORD CENSURES HIS BRUTALITY ARRIVAL AT THE PLANTA
TION ASTONISHMENT OF THE SLAVES ON SEEING ME THE ANTICIPATED
FLOGGING KENTUCKY JOHN MR. ELDRET, THE PLANTER ELDRET s
SAM TRIP TO THE "BIG CANE BRAKE" THE TRADITION OF "BUTTON S
FIELD" FOREST TREES GNATS AND MOSQUITOS THE ARRIVAL OF BLACK

WOMEN IN THE BIG CANE LUMBER WOMEN SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF
TIBEATS HLS PROVOKING TREATMENT VISIT TO BAYOU BOEUF TUE
SLAVE PASS SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY THE LAST OF ELIZA SALE TO
EDWIN EPPS.
AFTER a long sleep, sometime in the afternoon I

awoke, refreshed, but very sore and stiff. Sally came
in and talked with me, while John cooked me some
dinner. Sally was in great trouble, as well as myself,
one of her children being ill, and she feared it could
not survive. Dinner over, after walking about the
quarters for a while, visiting Sally s cabin and looking
at the sick child, I strolled into the madam s garden.
Though was a season of the year when the voices
it
of the birds are silent, and the trees are stripped of

their summer glories in more frigid climes, yet the
whole variety of roses were then blooming there, and
GAUDEN. 147
the long, luxuriant vines creeping over the frames.

The crimson and golden fruit hung half hidden amidst
the younger and older blossoms of the peach, the or
ange, the plum, and the pomegranate ; for, in that

region of almost perpetual warmth, the leaves are
falling and the buds bursting into bloom the whole
year long.
I indulged the most grateful feelings towards Mas
ter and Mistress Ford, and wishing in some manner
to repay their kindness, commenced trimming the
vines, and afterwards weeding out the grass from
among the orange and pomegranate trees. The latter
grows eight or ten feet high, and its fruit, though lar
ger, is similar in appearance to the jelly -flower. It
has the luscious flavor of the strawberry. Oranges,
peaches, plums, and most other fruits are indigenous

to the rich, warm soil of Avoyelles but the apple, the
;
most common of them all in colder latitudes, is rare
ly to be seen.
Mistress Ford came out presently, saying it was
praise-worthy in me, but I was not in a condition to la
bor, and might rest myself at the quarters until mas

ter should go down to Bayou Boeuf, which would not
be that day, and it might not be the next. I said to
her to be sure, I felt bad, and was stiff, and that
foot pained me, the stubs and thorns having so

torn it ,
but thought such exercise would not hurt
me, and that was a great pleasure to work for so
it
good a mistress. Thereupon she returned to the great

house, and for three days I was diligent in the garden,
cleaning the walks, weeding the flower beds, and

pulling up the rank grass beneath the jessamine vines,
which the gentle and generous hand of my protectress
had taught to clamber along the walls.
The fourth morning, having become recruited and
refreshed, Master Ford ordered me to make ready to
accompany him to the bayou. There was but one
saddle horse at the opening, all the others with
the mules having been sent down to the plantation.
I said I could walk, and bidding Sally and John good
bye, left the opening, trotting along by the horse s

side.
That little paradise in the Great Pine Woods was

the oasis in the desert, towards which my heart turn
ed lovingly, during many years of bondage. I went
forth from it now with regret and sorrow, not so over
whelming, however, as if it had then been given me

to know that I should never return to it again.
Master Ford urged me to take his place occasion

ally on the horse, to rest me but I said na, I was not
;
tired, and it was better me to walk than him. He

for
said many kind and cheering things to me on the way,

riding slowly, in order that I might keep pace with
him. The goodness of God was manifest, he declared,
in my miraculous escape from the swamp. As Dan
ielcame forth unharmed from the den of lions, and
as Jonah had been preserved in the whale s belly,
even so had I been delivered from evil by the Al
mighty. He interrogated me in regard to the various
fears and emotions I had experienced during the day

FORD S REMARKS ON THE WAY. 149
and tttfeht, and if I had felt, at any time, a desire to

"
pray. 1 *elt forsaken of the whole world, I answered

him, and was praying mentally all the while. At
such times, said he, the heart of man turns instinct
ively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenr^

there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he re
members Him not, and is ready to defy Him but ;
place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from

human aid, let the grave open before him then it
is, in the time of his tribulation, that the scoffer and
unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there
isno other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his pro

tecting arm.
So did that benignant man speak to me of this life
and of the life hereafter ;

of the goodness and power
of God, and of the vanity of earthly things, as we
journeyed along the solitary road towards Bayou

Boeuf.
When within some five miles of the plantation, we
discovered a horseman at a distance, galloping tow
ards us. As he came near I saw that it was Tibeats !
He me
a moment, but did not address me,
looked at
and turning about, rode along side by side with Ford.
I trotted silently at their horses heels, listing to their
conversation. Ford informed him of my arrival in

the Pine Woods three days before, of the sad plight I
was in, and of the difficulties and dangers I had en
countered.
Well," exclaimed Tibeats, omitting his usual oaths

"
in the presence of Ford, I never saw such running

"
I ll bet him
before. against a hundred dollars, he ll
beat any nigger in Louisiana. I offered John David
Cheney twenty-five dollars to catch him, dead or alive,

Dut he outran his dogs in a fair race. Them Cheney
dogs ain t much, after all. Dunwoodie s hounds

would have had him down before he touched the pal-
mettoes. Somehow
the dogs got off the track, and we
had to give up the hunt. We
rode the horses as far
as we could, and then kept on foot till the water was
three feet deep. The boys said he was drowned, sure.

I allow I wanted a shot at him mightily. Ever since,
Ihave been riding up and down the bayou, but had nt
much hope of catching him thought he was dead,
sartin. s a cuss to run
Oh, he that nigger is !"
In this
way Tibeats ran on, describing his search in
the swamp, the wonderful speed with which I had
fled before the hounds, and when he had finished,
Master Ford responded by saying, I had always been
a willing and faithful boy with him that he was sor
;
ry we had such trouble according to Platt s

; that,
story, he had been inhumanly treated, and that he,

Tibeats, was himself in fault. Using hatchets and
broad-axes upon slaves was shameful, and should not
be allowed, he remarked. "This is no way of dealing
with them, when first brought into the country. It
will have a pernicious influence, and set them all run
ning away. The swamps will be full of them. A lit
tle kindness would be far more effectual in restraining
ther.i, and r* idering them obedient, than the use of

veapons. Every planter on the bayou
FORD CENSURES TIBEATS. 151
should frown upon such inhumanity. It is for the in

terest of all to do so. It is evident enough, Mr. Tib-
eats, that you and Platt cannot live together. You

dislike him, and would not hesitate to kill him, and
knowing it, he will run from you again through fear
of his life.
you must sell him, or hire
Now, Tibeats,
him out, atUnless you do so, 1 shall take
least.
measures to get him out of your possession."

In this spirit Ford addressed him the remainder of
the distance. I opened not my mouth. On reaching
the plantation they entered the great house, while 1
repaired to Eliza s cabin. The slaves were astonish

ed to find me
on returning from the field, sup
there,
posing I was drowned.

That night, again, they gat
ered about the cabin to listen to the story of my
adventure. They took it for granted I would be whip
ped, and that it would be severe, the well-known pen
alty of running away being five hundred lashes.

u Poor me by the hand,\
said Eliza, taking
fellow,"
"
it would have been better you if you had drown-

for )
ed. You have a cruel master, and he will kill you /

yet, I am afraid."
Lawson suggested that it might be, overseer Cha-

pin would be appointed to inflict the punishment, in
which case it would not be severe, whereupon Mary,
Rachel, Bristol, and others hoped it would be Master
Ford, and then it would be no whipping at all. They
all pitied me and tried to console me, and were sad in
view of the castigation that awaited me, except Ken

tucky John. There were no bounds to his laughter ;
he the cabin with cachinnations, holding his sides

filled
to prevent an explosion, and the cause of his noisy

mirth was the idea of myoutstripping the hounds.
Somehow, he looked at the subject in a comical light.
1 know d dey would nt cotch him, when he run cross
"
de plantation. 0, de lor ,
did iit- Platt pick his feet
right up, tho , hey ? When dem dogs got whar he

was, he was nt dar haw, haw, haw O, de lor a !
mity !" and then Kentucky John relapsed into an

other of his boisterous fits.
Early the next morning, Tibeats left the plantation.

In the course of the forenoon, while sauntering about
the gin-house, a tall, good-looking man came to me,
and inquired if I was Tibeats boy, that youthful ap
pellation being applied indiscriminately to slaves
even though they may have passed the number of
three score years and ten. I took off my hat, and an
swered that I was.
"How would you like to work for me?" he in
quired.
Oh, I would like to, very much," said I, inspired
"
with a sudden hope of getting away from Tibeats.

"
You worked under Myers at Peter Tanner s, didn t
"
you ?
I replied I had, adding some complimentary re
marks that Myers had made concerning me.

Well, boy," said he, I have hired you of your
" "
master to work for me in the

1
Big Cane Brake,

"
thirty-eight miles from here, down on Red River."

This man was Mr. Eldret, who lived below Ford s,
ELDKET, THE PLANTER.
on the same side of the bayou. I accompanied -him

to his plantation, and in the morning started with his
:
slave Sam, and a wagon-load of provis as, drawn by
four mules, for the Big Cane, Eldret and Myers hav
ing preceded us on horseback. This Sam was a na

tive of Charleston, where he had a mother, brother
and sisters. He "
allowed
"
a common word among

both black and white that Tibeats was a mean man.
and hoped, as I most earnestly did also, that his mas
ter would buy me.
We proceeded down the south shore of the bayou,

crossing it at Carey s plantation from thence to II uif ;
Power, passing which, we came upon the BayoiT

Rouge road, which runs towards Red River. Af.ei
passing through Bayou Rouge Swamp, and just at
sunset, turning from the highway, we struck off into
the Big Cane Brake." We followed an unbeaten
"
track, scarcely wide enough to admit the wagon.

The cane, such as are used for fishing-rods, were as
thick as they could stand. person could not be A
seen through them the distance of a rod. The paths
of wild beasts run through them in various directions
the bear and the American tiger abounding in these
brakes, and wherever there is a basin of stagnant wa

ter, it is full of alligators.
We kept on our lonely course through the Big
"
Cane "
several miles, when we entered a clearing,

known as "
Sutton s Field."
Many êars before, a
man by the name of Sutton had penetrated the wilder
ness of cane to this solitary place. Tradition has it,
G*
that he fled thither, a fugitive, not from service, but

from justice. Here he lived alone recluse and her
mit of the swamp with his own hands planting the
seed and gathering in the harvest. One day a band
of Indians stole upon his solitude, and after a bloody
battle, overpowered and massacred him. For miles

the country round, in the slaves quarters, and on the
piazzas of great houses," where white children listen

"
to superstitious tales, the story goes, that that spot, in

the heart of the Big Cane," is a haunted place. For
"
more than a quarter of a century, human voices had

rarely, if ever, disturbed the silence of the clearing.
Rank and noxious weeds had overspread the once cul
tivated field serpents sunned themselves on the door
way of the crumbling cabin. It was indeed a dreary
picture of desolation.
-
Passing Button s Field," we followed a new-cut
"
road two miles farther, which brought us to its ter

mination. We had now reached the wild lands of
Mr. Eldret, where he contemplated clearing up an
extensive plantation. We went to work next morn
ing with our cane-knives, and cleared a sufficient

space to allow the erection of two cabins one for
Myers and Eldret, the other for Sam, myself, and the
Blaves that were to join us. We were now in the
midst of trees of enormous growth, whose wide-spread
ing branches almost shut out the light of the sun,

while the space between the trunks was an impervi
ous mass of cane, with here and there an occasional
palmetto.
IJFE IN THE BIG CANE BRAKE. 155
The bay and the sycamore, the oak and the cypress,
reach a growth unparalleled, in those fertile lowlands
bordering the Red River. From every tree, moreover,

hang long, large masses of moss, presenting to the eye
unaccustomed to them, a striking and singular appear
ance. This moss, in large quantities, is sent north,
and there used for manufacturing purposes.
We cut down oaks, split them into rails, and with
these erected temporary cabins. covered the We
roofs with the broad palmetto leaf, an excellent sub
stitute for shingles, as long as they last.
The greatest annoyance I met with here were small

flies,gnats and mosquitoes. They swarmed the air.
They penetrated the porches of the ear, the nose, the
eyes, the mouth. They sucked themselves beneath
the skin. It was impossible to brush or beat them
off. It seemed, they would devour us
indeed, as if
carry us away piecemeal, in their small tormenting
mouths.
A lonelier spot, more disagreeable, than the
or one
centre of the Big Cane Brake," it would be difficult
"
to conceive yet to me it was a paradise, in compari

;
son with any other place in the company of Master

Tibeats. I labored hard, and oft-times was weary and
fatigued, yet I could lie down at night in peace, and

arise in the morning without fear.
In the course of a fortnight, four black girls came

down from Eldret s plantation Charlotte, Fanny,
Cresia and Kelly. They were all large and stout.
Axes were put into their hands, and they were sent
out with Sain and myself to cut trees. They wer

excellent choppers, the largest oak or sycamore stand
ing but a brief season before their heavy and well-

directed blows. At piling logs, they were equal to
any man. There are lumberwomen as well as lum

bermen in the forests of the South. In fact, in the
region of the Bayou Boeuf they perform their share of

all the labor required on the plantation. They ploug
drag, drive team, clear wild lands, work on the high
way, and so forth. Some planters, owning large cot
ton and sugar plantations, have none other than the
labor of slave women. Such an one is Jim Burns,
who lives on the north shore of the bayou, opposite
the plantation of John Fogaman.
On our arrival in the brake, Eldret promised me,
if I worked well, I might go up to visit my friends at
Ford s in four weeks. On
Saturday night of the fifth
week, I reminded him of his promise, when he told
me I had done so well, that I might go. I had set
my heart upon it, and Eldret s announcement thrilled
me with pleasure. I was to return in time to com

mence the labors of the day on Tuesday morning.
While indulging the pleasant anticipation of so soon
meeting my old friends again, suddenly the hateful
form of Tibeats appeared among us. He inquired
how Myers and Platt got along together, and was
told,very well, and that Platt was going up to Ford s
plantation in the morning on a visit.

u "
sneered Tibeats "
it isn t worth while

Poll, poh !
;
the nigger will get unsteady, lie can t go."

TREATMENT OF TTBEATS. 157
But Eldret insisted I had worked faithfully that
lie had given me his promise, and that, under the cir
cumstances, I ought not to be disappointed. They

then, it being about dark, entered one cabin and 1
the other. I could not give up the idea of going it ;
was a sore disappointment. Before morning I resolved,

if Eldret made no objection, to leave at all hazards.
At daylight I was at his door, with my blanket rolled
up into a bundle, and hanging on a stick over my

shoulder, waiting for a pass. came out pre-
Tibeats
-
sently in one of his disagreeable moods, washed his
face, and going to a stump near by, sat down upon it,
apparently busily thinking with himself. After stand

ing there a long time, impelled by a sudden impulse
of impatience, I started off.
"Are
you going without a pass?"
he cried out
to me.
Yes, master, I thought I wou!4" I answered.
"
"
How do you think you ll get there ? demanded "
he.
"
Don t know," was all the reply I made him.

f
"
You d be taken and sent to jail, where you ought

/ to be, before you got half-way there," he added, pass
ing into the cabin as he said it. He came out sooi?
with the pass in his hand, and calling me a d d nig "
ger that deserved a hundred lashes," threw it on the

ground. I picked it
up, and hurried away right
speedily.
A slave caught off his master s plantation without
k pass, may be seized and whipped by any white man /
whom lie meets. The one I now received wa>$

dated,
and read as follows :
/" Platt has permission to go to Ford s plantation,

on Bayou Boeuf, and return by Tuesday morning.
rr-1
*>.
\ JOHN M. TIBEATS."
jS* I Tliis is the usual form. On the way, a great many

Demanded it, it, read and passed
Those having on.
(he air and appearance of gentlemen, whose dress

ndicated the possession of wealth, frequently took no
notice of me whatever ;
but a shabby fellow, an un
mistakable loafer, never failed to hail me, and to
scrutinize and examine me
most thorough man
in the
ner. Catching runaways sometimes isa money-mak
ing business. If, after advertising, no owner appears,

Teylnay be sold to the highest bidder and certain ;
fees allowed the finder for his services, at all

are
events, even if reclaimed. mean white," there

"A
fore, a name applied to the species loafer con- ;
aiders it a god-send to meet an unknown negro with- I
out a pass.
There are no inns along the highways in that por
tion of the State where I sojourned. I was wholly
destitute of money, neither did I carry any provisions,
on my journey from the Big Cane to Bayou Boeuf ;
nevertheless, with his pass in his hand, a slave need

never suffer from hunger or from thirst. It is only
necessary to present it to the master or overseer of a
plantation, and state his wants, when he will be sent
round to the kitchen and provided with food or shel
ter, as the case may require. The traveler stops al
VISIT TO BAYOU BCEUF. 159
/any house and calls for a meal with as much freedom

as if it was a public tavern. It is the general custom
of the country. Whatever their faults may be, it is

i certain the inhabitants along Red River, and around
I the bayous in the interior of Louisiana are not want-
ing in hospitality.
>
I arrived at Fords plantation towards the close of
the afternoon, passing the evening in Eliza s cabin,

with Lawson, Rachel, and others of my acquaintance.
"When we left Washington Eliza s form was round and
plump. She stood erect, and and jewels,
in her silks
presented a picture of graceful strength and elegance.

Now she was but a thin shadow of her former self.
Her face had become ghastly haggard, and the once
straight and active form was bowed down, as if bear
ing the weight of a hundred years. Crouching on her
cabin floor, and clad in the coarse garments of a slave,
old Elisha Berry would not have recognized the moth
er of his child. I never saw her afterwards. Havings
become was bartered
useless in the cotton-field, she
some man residing in the vicinity of
for a trifle, to
Peter Compton s. Grief had gnawed remorselessly at

her heart, until her strength was gone and for that, ;
her last master, it is said, lashed and abused her most
unmercifully. But he could not whip back the do-

parted vigor of her youth, nor straighten up that bend
ed body to its full height, such as it was when ho?
children were around her, and the light of freedom
was shining on her path.
I learned the particulars relative to her departure
from this world, from some of Compton s slaves, who

had come over Red River to the bayou, to assist
young Madam Tanner during the busy season."
"
She became at length, they said, utterly helpless, for

several weeks lying on the ground floor in a dilapida
ted cabin, dependent upon the mercy of her fellow
thralls for an occasional drop of water, and a morsel
of food. Her master did not "
knock her on the

head,"
as is sometimes done to put a suffering animaT
out of misery, buHeft her .unprovided for, aiid ^pro
tected, to linger through a life of pain and wretched

ness to its natunil close. AVlieii the hands ivturned
from the field one night they found her dead ! Du
ring the day, the Angel of the Lord, who movetli in
visibly over all the earth, gathering in his harvest of
departing souls, had silently entered the cabin of the
dying woman, and taken her from thence. She was
free at last !
Next day, rolling up my blanket, I sta ted on my

return to the Big Cane. After traveling five miles,
at a place called Huff Power, the ever-prusent Tibe-
ats met me in the road. He inquired why I was go
ing back so soon, and when informed I was anxious
to return by the time I was directed, he said I need
go no farther than the next plantation, as he had that

day sold me to Edwin Epps. We walked down into
the yard, where we met
the latter gentleman, who ex
amined me, and asked me the usual questions pro
pounded by purchasers. Having been duly delivered
orer, I was ordered to the quarters, and at the same
BALE TO EDWIN EPP8. 161
time directed to make a hoe and axe handle foi my

self.
Iwas now no longer the property of Tibe&ts his
dog, his brute, dreading his wrath and cruelty day

and night and whoever or whatever my new master
;
might prove to be, I could not, certainly, regret the

change. So it was good news when the sale was an
nounced, and with a sigh of relief I sat down for the
first time in my new abode.
Tibeats soon after disappeared from that section of

the country. Once afterwards, and only once, I
caught a glimpse of him. It was many miles from
Bayou Boeuf. He was seated in the doorway of a
low groggery. I was passing, in a drove of slaves,
through St. JkfaTr s parish.

CHAPTER XII.
M6RSONAL APPEARANCE OF EPPS EPPS, DRUNK AND SOBER A GLTMP8I

OF HIS HISTORY COTTON GROWING THE MODE OF PLOUGHING ANC
PREPARING GROUND OF PLANTING OF HOEING, OF PICKING, OF TREAT
ING RAW HANDS THE DIFFERENCE IN COTTON PICKERS PATSEY A
REMARKABLE ONE TASKED ACCORDING TO ABILITY BEAUTY OF A
COTTON FIELD THE SLAVE S LABORS KSAR ON APPROACHING THE GIN-
HOUSE WEIGHING "CHORES" CABIN LIFE THE CORN MILL
THE USES OF THE GOURD FEAR OF OVERSLEEPING FEAR CONTINUAL
LY MODE OF CULTIVATING CORN SWEET POTATOES FERTILITY OF
THE SOIL MTTENING HOGS PRESERVING BACON RAISING CATTLE
SHOOTING-MATCHES GARDEN PRODUCTS FLOWERS AND VERDURE.
EDWIN EPPS, of whom much will be said during

the remainder of this history, a large, portly, heavy-is
bodied man with light hair, high cheek bones, and a

Roman nose of extraordinary dimensions. lie has
bine eyes, a fair complexion, and is, as I should say,
full six feet high. He has the sharp, inquisitive ex
pression of a jockey. His manners are repulsive
and coarse, and
language gives speedy and une
his
quivocal evidence that he has never enjoyed the ad

vantages of an education. He has the faculty of
saying most provoking things, in that respect even
excelling old Peter Tanner. At the time I came into
his possession, Edwin Epps was fond of the bottle, his
HABITS OF EDWIN EPPS. 163
"
sprees"
sometimes extending over the space of two
whole weeks. Latterly, however, he had reformed
his habits, and when I left him, was as strict a speci
men of temperance as could be found on Bayou
JBceuf. When in his cups," Master Epps was a roys-
"
tering, blustering, noisy fellow, whose chief delight

was in dancing with his "
niggers,"
or lashing them
about the yard with his long whip, just for the pleas
ure of hearing them -screech and scream, as the great
welts were planted on their backs. When sober, he
was _.
silent,* reserved and
**-
_ ,
i O/ not beating;
cunning, O us in-
discriminately, as in his drunken moments, biflfsend
ing the end of his rawhide to some tender spot of a

lagging slave, with a sly dexterity peculiar to himself.""
He had
been a driver and overseer in his younger
years, but at this time was in possession of a planta
tion on Bayou Huff Power, two and a half miles from
Holmesville, eighteen from Marksville, and twelve

from Cheney ville. It belonged to Joseph B. Roberts,
his wife s uncle, and was leased by Epps. His prin
cipal business was raising cottonând inasmuch as
some may read this book who have never seen a cot
tonfield, a description of the manner of its culture
may not be out of place.
The ground
is prepared by throwing up beds 01
ridges, with the plough back-furrowing, it is called.

Oxen and mules, the latter almost exclusively, an
used in ploughing. The women as frequently as tin
men perform this labor, feeding, currying, and ta
king care of their teams, and in all respects doing th

field and stable work, precisely as do the ploughboys

of the North.
The beds, or ridges, are six feet wide, that is, from
water furrow to water furrow. A
plough d -awn by
one mule is then run along the top of the ridge or
center of the bed, making the drill, into which a girl
usually drops the seed, which she carries in a bag

hung round her neck. Behind her comes a mule
and harrow, covering up the seed, so that two mules,
three slaves, a plough and harrow, are employed
in planting a row of cotton. This is done in the
months of March and April. Corn is planted in Feb
ruary. When there are no cold rains, the cotton usu
ally makes its appearance in a week. In the course

of eight or ten days afterwards the first hoeing is
commenced. This is performed in part, also, by the
aid of the plough and mule. The plough passes as
near as possible to the cotton on both sides, throw
ing the furrow from it. Slaves follow with their hoes,
-
cutting up the grass and cotton, leaving hills two feet

and a half apart. This is called scraping cotton. In
two weeks more commences the second hoeing.
This time the furrow is thrown towards the cotton.
Only one now left standing in
stalk, the largest, is
eacli hill.In another fortnight it is hoed the third
time, throwing the furrow towards the cotton in the
Bame manner as before, and killing all the grass be
tween the rows. About the first of July, when it is
a foot high or thereabouts, it is hoed the fourth and

last time. Now the whole space between the rows
COTTON GROWING. 165
a water furrow in tlie center.

\Js ploughed, leaving deep
Lhiring all these hoeings the_ overseer or driver
follows the slaves on horseback with a whip, such aa
\has been described. The fastest lioer takes the lead
row. He usually about a rod in advance of his

is
companions. If one of them passes him, he is whip-

3ed. If orie~ Falls behind or is a moment idle, he is
whipped. the lash is flying from morning

In fact,
until night, thewhole day long. The hoein<
hus continues from April until July, a field having

no sooner been finished once, than it is commenced
again.
In the latter part of August begins the cotton pick-
ng season. At this time each slave is presented

with a sack. A strap is fastened to it, which goes
over the neck, holding the mouth of the sack breast
high, while the bottom reaches nearly to the ground

Each one is also presented with a large basket that
will hold about two barrels. This is to put the cotton
in when the sack is filled. The baskets are carried
to the field and placed at the
beginning of the rows.
When a new hand, one unaccustomed to the busi
ness, is sent for the first time into the field, he is
whipped up smartly, and made for that day to pick

as fast as he can possibly. At night it is weighed,
so that his capability in cotton picking is known
He must bring in the same weight each night follow
ing. If it falls short, it is considered evidence that
he has been laggard, and a greater or less numbej
of lashes is the penalty.
An ordinary day s work is two hundred pounds.

A slave who is accustomed to picking, is punished,
if he or she brings in a less quantity than that.
There a great difference among them as regards

is
this kind of labor. Some of them seem to have a

natural knack, or quickness, which enables them to
pick with great celerity, and with both hands, while

others, with whatever practice or industry, are utterly
unable to come up to the ordinary standard. Such
hands are taken from the cotton field and employed
in other business. Patsey, of whom I shall have
more to say, was known as the most remarkable cot
ton picker on Bayou Boeuf. She picked with both
hands and with such surprising rapidity, that five
hundred pounds a day was not unusual for her.
Êach one is tasked, therefore, according to his
picking abilities, nojie^however, to come short of two

hundred weight. (1^ being unskillful always in that
business, would have satisfied my master by bringing
in the latter quantity, while on the other hand, Eat
sey would surely have been beaten it she failed to
produce twice as much.-^

The cotton grows from five to seven feet high, each
stalk having a great many branches, shooting out in
all directions, and lapping each other above the wa
ter furrow.
There are few sights more pleasant to the eye,
than a wide cotton field when it is in the bloom. It
presents an appearance of purity, like an immaculate

expanse of light, new-fallen snow.
PICKING. 167
Sometimes the slave picks down one side of a row,

and back upon the other, but more usually, there is
one on either side, gathering all that has blossomed,
leaving the unopened bolls for a succeeding picking.
When the sack is tilled, it is emptied into the basket and
trodden down. It is necessary to be extremely care
ful the time going through the field, in order not

first
to break the branches off the stalks. The cotton

will not bloom upon a broken branch. Epps never
failed to inflict the severest chastisement on the un
lucky servant who, either carelessly or unavoidably,
was guilty in the least degree in this respect.
The hands are required to be in the cotton field as
soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the ex

ception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them
at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon,
they are not permitted to be a moment idle until it

is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they
often times labor till the middle of the night. They

do not dare to stop even at dinner time, nor return
to the quarters, however late it be, until the order to

halt is given by the driver.
The day^s work over in the field, the baskets are
"
toted,"
or in other words, carried to the gin-house,
where the cotton is weighed. ~No matter how fa
tigued and weary he may be no matter how much
he longs for sleep and rest a slave never approaches
the gin-house with his basket of cotton but with fear.
If it falls short in weight if he has not performed
the full task appointed him, he knows that he must
suffer. And if lie lias exceeded it

by ten or twenty
pounds, in all probability his master will measure the
next day s task accordingly. So, whether he has too
little or too much, his approach to the gin-house is
always with fear and trembling. Most frequently

they have too little, and therefore it is
they are not
anxious to leave the field. After weighing, follow the^
whippings ;
and then the baskets are carried to the
cotton house, and their contents stored away like hay,
all hands being sent in to tramp it down. If the cot
ton is not dry, instead of taking it to the gin-house
at once, it is laid upon platforms, two feet high, and
some three times as wide, covered with boards or
plank, with narrow walks running between them.

This done, the labor of the day is not yet ended, by
any means. Each one must then attend to his re

spective chores. One feeds the mules, another the
swine another cuts the wood, and so forth besides, ;
the packing is all done by candle light. Finally, at

a late hour, they reach the quarters, sleepy arid over
come with the long day s toil. Then a fire must be
kindled in the cabin, the corn ground in the small
hand-mill, and supper, and dinner for the next day in
the field, prepared. All that is allowed them is corn
and bacon, which is given out at the corncrib and
gmoke -house every Sunday morning. Each one YQ-/
ceives, as his weekly allowance, three and a half
pounds of bacon, and corn enough to make a peck of

meal. That is all no tea, coffee, sugar, and with
the exception of a very scanty sprinkling now and
CABIN LIFE.
then, no salt. can say, from a ten years residence

I
with Master Epps, that no slave of his is ever likely

to sufferfrom the gout, superinduced by excessive
high living. Master Epps hogs were fed on shelled
corn it wa$ thrown out to his in the
"niggers"
ear. The former, he thought, would fatten faster by

shelling, and soaking it in the wâter -the latter,
perhaps, if treated in the same manner, might grow

too fat to labor. Master Epps was a shrewd calA
culator, and knew how to manage his own animals,
drunk or sober.
The corn mill stands in the yard beneath a shelter.
It is like a common coffee mill, the
hopper holding
about six quarts. There was one privilege which
Master Epps granted freely to every slave he had.
They might grind their corn nightly, in such small
quantities as their daily wants required, or they
might grind the whole week s allowance at one time,

on Sundays, just as they preferred. A. very gener
ous man was Master Epps !
I kept my corn in a small wooden box, the meal in

a gourd ; and, by the way, the gourd is one of the
most convenient and necessary utensils on a planta
tion. Besides supplying the place of all kinds of
crockery in a slave cabin, it is used for carrying

water to the fields. Another, also, contains the din
ner. with the necessity of pails, dippers,
It dispenses
basins, and such tin and wooden superfluities alto
gether.
When the corn is ground, and fire is made, the
H
bacon is taken down from the nail on which it hangs,

a slice cut off and thrown upon the coals to broil.
The majority of slaves have no knife, much less a
fork. They cut their bacon with the axe at the wood
pile. The corn meal is mixed with a little water
placed in the fire, and baked. When it is "done

brown," the ashes are scraped off, and being placed
upon a chip, which answers for a table, the tenant of

the slave hut is ready to sit down upon the ground to
supper. By this time it is usually midnight. The
same fear of punishment with which they approach
the gin-house, possesses them again on lying down to
get a snatch of rest. It is the fear of oversleeping in

the morning. Such an offence would certainly be
attended with not less than twenty lashes. With a
prayer that he may be on his feet and wide awake at

the first sound of the horn, he sinks to his slumbers
nightly.
The softest couches in the world are not to be found
in the log mansion of the slave. The one whereon I
reclined year after year, was a plank twelve inches

wide and ten feet long. pillow was a stick of
My
wood. The Deddtng was a coarse blanket, and not a
rag or shred beside. Moss might be used, were it not
that it directly breeds a swarm of fleas.
The cabin is constructed of logs, without floor or
window. The latter is altogether unnecessary, the
crevicesbetween the logs admitting sufficient light.
In stormy weather the rain drives through them,
rendering it comfortless and extremely disagreeable.

171
The rude door hangs on great wooden hinges. In one

end is constructed an awkward fire-place.
An hour before day light the horn is blown. Then
the slaves arouse, prepare their breakfast, a gourd fill
with water, in another deposit their dinner of cold

bacon and corn cake, and hurry to the field again.
It is an offence invariably followed by a flogging, to
be found at the quarters after daybreak. Then the

fears and labors of another day begin and until its ;
close there is no such thing as rest. He fears he will

be caught lagging through the day; he fears to
approach the gin-house with his basket-load oFcotton
at night ;
he fears, when he lies down, that he will
oversleep himself in the morning. Such is a true,

faithful, unexaggerated picture and description of
the slave s daily life, during the time of cotton-pi <
ing, on the shores of Bayou Bceuf.

In the month of January, generally, the fourth and
last picking is completed. Then commences the har
vesting of corn. This is considered a secondary crop,
and receives far less attention than the cotton. It is
planted, as already mentioned, in February. Corn is
grown in that region for the purpose of fattening
hogs and feeding slaves ; very little, if any, being sent
to market. the white variety, the ear of great
It is
size, and the stalk growing

to the height of eight,
and often times ten feet. In August the leaves are
stripped off, dried in the sun, bound in small bundles,
and stored away as provender for the mules and oxen.
A.lter this the slaves go through the field, turning
TWELVE Yfe^lrS A SLAVE.
down the ear, for the purpose of keeping the rains

from penetrating to the grain. It is left in this condi
tion until after cotton-picking is over, whether earlier
or later. Then the ears are separated from the stalks,

and deposited in the corncrib with the husks on;
otherwise, stripped of the husks, the weevil would
destroy it. The stalks are left standing in the field.
The Carolina, or sweet potato, is also grown in that
region to some extent. They are not fed, however,
to hogs or cattle, and are considered but of small im
portance. They are preserved by placing them upon

the surface of the ground, with a slight covering of
earth or cornstalks. There is not a cellar on Bayou
Bceuf. The ground is so low it would fill with water.
Potatoes are worth from two to three "bits,"
or
shillings a barrel corn, except when there is an

;
unusual scarcity, can be purchased at the same rate.

As soon as the cotton and corn crops are secured,
the stalks are pulled up, thrown into piles and burned.
The ploughs are started at the same time, throwing
up the beds again, preparatory to another planting.
The soil, in the parishes of Ilapides and Avoyelles,
and throughout the whole country, so far as my obser
vation extended, of exceeding richness and fertility.
is
It is a kind of marl, of a brown or reddish color. It

does not require those invigorating composts neces
sary to more barren lands, and on the same field the

same crop is
grown for many successive years.
Ploughing, planting, picking cotton, gathering the

corn, and pulling and burning stalks, occupies the
PRESERVING BACON.
whole of the four seasons of the year. Drawing and

cutting wood, pressing cotton, fattening and killing
hogs, are but incidental labors.
In the month of September or October, the hogs
are run out of the
swamps by dogs, and confined in
pens. On a cold morning, generally about New
Year s day, they are slaughtered. Each carcass is
cut into six parts, and piled one above the other in
salt,upon large tables in the smoke-house. In this

condition it remains a fortnight, when it is hung up.
and a fire built, and continued more than half the
time during the remainder of the year. This thorouglv
smoking is prevent the bacon from be

necessary to
coming infested with wT
orms. In so warm a climate
it is difficult to
preserve it, and very many times my
self and my companions have received our weekly
allowance of three pounds and a half, when it was
full of these disgusting vermin.
Although the swamps are overrun with cattle, they

are never made the source of profit, to any considera
ble extent. The planter cuts his mark upon the ear,
or brands his initials upon the side, and turns them
into the swamps, to roam unrestricted within their
almost limitless confines. They are the Spanish breed,
small and spike-horned. I have known of droves
being taken from Bayou Boeuf, but it is of very rare
occurrence. The value of the best cows is about five
dollars each. Two quarts at one milking, would be
considered an unusual large quantity. They furnish
little tallow, and that of a soft, inferior quality. Not
174: TWELVE YEAKS A SLAVE.
withstanding the great number of cows that throng

the swamps, the planters are indebted to the North
for their cheese and butter, which is purchased in the
New-Orleans market. Salted beef is not an article of

food either in the great house, or in the cabin.
Master Epps was accustomed to attend shooting
matches for the purpose of obtaining what fresh beef
he required. These sports occurred weekly at the
neighboring village of Holmesville. Fat beeves are
driven thither and shot at, a stipulated price being
demanded for the privilege. The lucky marksman
divides the flesh among his fellows, and in this man
ner the attending planters are supplied.
The great number of tame and untamed cattle
which swarm the woods and swamps -of Bayou Boeuf.
most probably suggested that appellation to the
French, inasmuch as the term, translated, signifies the
creek or river of the wild ox.
Garden products, such as cabbages, turnips and the
like, are cultivated for the use of the master and his
family. They have greens and vegetables at all times

and seasons of the year. The grass withereth and
"
the flower fadeth" before the desolating winds of au

tumn in the chill northern latitudes, but perpetual
verdure overspreads the hot lowlands, and flowers
bloom in the heart of winter, in the region of Bayou
Boeuf.
There are no meadows appropriated to the cultiva
tion of the grasses. The leaves of the corn supply a
sufficiency of food for the laboring cattle, while the

LIFE AT THE SOUTH. 175
rest provide for themselves all the year in the ever
growing pasture.
There are many other peculiarities of climate,
habit, custom, and of the manner of living and labor
ing at the South, but the foregoing, it is supposed,

will give the reader an insight a.ndjreneral idea of^
life on a cotton plantation in Louisiana. The mode /
of cultivating cano, and the process of sugar maun

fecturing. will be mentioned in another
CHAPTER XIII
tHKCFRIOT * *IB-HEIVE SYMPTOMS OF APPROACHING ILLNESS COWTINUI

TO DECLINE THE WHIP INEFFECTUAL CONFINED TO THE CABIN VISIT
BY DR. WINES PARTIAL RECOVERY FAILURE AT COTTON PICKING
WHAT MAY BE HEARD ON EPPS PLANTATION LASHES GRADUATED EPP8
IN A WHIPPING MOOD KPPS IN A DANCING MOOD DESCRIPTION OK THH
DANCE LOSS OF REST NO EXCUSE EPPS CHARACTERISTICS JIM BURNS
REMOVAL FROM HUFF POWKK TO BAYOU BOEUF DESCRIPTION OF UNCLK
ABRAM OF WILEY; OF AUNT PHXRE; OF BOB, HENRY, AND EDWARD; OF
;
PATSEY; WITH A GENEALOGICAL ACCOUNT OF EACH SOMETHING OF THEIB

PAST HISTORY, AND PECULIAR OHARACT ERISTICS JEALOUSY AND LUST
PATSEY, THE VICTIM.
ON my arrival at Master Epps ,

in obedience to his
order, the first business upon which I entered was the

making of an axe-helve. The handles in use there
are simply a round, straight stick. I made a crooked
one, shaped like those to which I had been accustom-

ed at the North. When finished, and presented to
Epps, he looked at it with astonishment, unable to

determine exactly what it was. He had never before
Been such a handle, and when I explained its conveni
ences, he was forcibly struck with the novelty of the

idea. He kept it in the house a long time, and when his
friends called, was wont to exhibit it as a curiosity.
It was now the season of hoeing. I was first seit

Al I KO ACHING ILLNESS. 177
into the corn-field,and afterwards set to scraping cot-

ton. In tins employment I remained until hoeing
time was nearly passed, when I began to experience,
the symptoms of approaching illness. I was attacked/

with chills, which were succeeded by a burning fever.1
I became weak and emaciated, and frequently so diz
zy that it caused me to reel and stagger like a drunk

en man. ^"evertlielesSj_I..was compelle^to^Jkee^ji
myjrow. AVhen in health I found little difficulty in
keeping pace with my fellow-laborers, but now it
seemed to be an utter impossibility. Often I fell be-
hind, when the driver s lash was sure to greet my L
back, infusing into my sick and drooping body a little

temporary energy. 1 continued to decline untTlât-
length the whip becameentirely ineffectual. The

sharpest sting of the rawhide could not arouse me.
Finally, in September, when the busy season of cotton

picking was at hand, I was unable to leave my cabin.
Up to this time I had received no medicine, nor any
attention from my master or mistress. The old cook
visited me occasionally, preparing me corn-coffee, and
sometimes boiling a bit of bacon, when I had grown
too feeble to accomplish it myself.
When it was said that I would die, Master Epps,
unwilling to bear the loss, which the death of an ani

mal worth a thousand dollars would bring upon him,
concluded to incur the expense of sending to Holmes-
ville for Dr. "Wines. He announced to Epps that it
was the effect of the climate, and there was a proba
bility of his losing me. He directed me to eat no
a* u
eat, and to partake of no more food than was abso

itely necessary to sustain life. Several weeks elaps-
during which time, under the scanty diet to which

,
was subjected, I had partially recovered. One

morning, long before I was in a proper condition to
labor,Epps appeared at the cabin door, and, present
ing me a sack, ordered me to the cotton field. At this
time I had had no experience whatever in cotton pick
ing. It was an awkward business indeed. While
others used both hands, snatching the cotton and de-
ositing it in the mouth of the sack, with a precision

ana dexterity that was incomprehensible to me, I
had to seize the boll with one hand, and deliberately
draw out the white, gushing blossom with the other.
Depositing the cotton in the sack, moreover, was a

difficulty that demanded the exercise of both hands
and I was compelled to pick it from the ground
eyes.
where would fall, nearly as often as from the stalk
it
where it had grown. I made havoc also with the

branches, loaded with the yet unbroken bolls, the
long, cumbersome sack swinging from side to side in
a manner not allowable in the cotton field. After a
most laborious day I arrived at the gin-house with my
/Toad. When the scale determined its weight to be
/
only ninety -five pounds, not half the quantity required
of the poorest picker, Epps threatened the severest
\ flogging, but in consideration of my being a

"
raw
\ hand," concluded to pardon me on that occasion
The following day, and many days succeeding, I re
turned at night with no better success I was evi-
LASHES GRADUATED. 179
dently not designed for that kind of labor. I had not

the gift the dexterous fingers and îiick motion of
Patsey, could fly along one side of a row of cot

who
ton, stripping it of its undefiled and fleecy whiteness
miraculously fast. Practice and whipping were alike

unavailing, and Epps, satisfied of it at last, swore 1 was
a disgrace that I was not fit to associate with a cot
ton-picking that I could not pick enough

"nigger"
in aday pay the trouble of weighing it, and that Ij

to
should go into the cotton field no more. I was nowi
employed in cutting and hauling wood, drawing cot- j
ton from the field to the gin-house, and performed i
whatever other service was required. Suffice to say,/
Iwas never permitted to be idle.

It was rarely that a day passed by without one or
more whippings. This occurred at the time the cot>_
ton was weighed. The delinquent, whose weight had

fallen short, was taken out, stripped, made to lie upon
the ground, face downwards, when he received a pun
ishment proportioned to his offence. It is the literal,
unvarnished truth, that the crack of the lash, and
the shrieking of the slaves, can be heard from dark
till bed time, on Epps plantation, any day almost
during the entire period of the cotton-picking season.
The number of lashes is graduated according to tlie~~
nature of the case. Tw enty-five

r
are deemed a mere
brush, inflicted, for instance, when
a dry leaf or piece
<>f boll is found in the cotton, or when a branch is
broken in the field ; fifty is the ordinary penalty fol-
.owing all delinquencies of the next higher grade ;

one
hundred is called severe : it is the punishment inflict

ed for the serious offence of standing idle in the field ;
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred is bestow

ed upon him who
quarrels with his cabin-mates, and
live hundred, well laid on, besides the mangling of
the dogs, perhaps, is certain to consign the poor, un-
pitied runaway weeks of pain and agony.

to
During the two years Epps remained on the plan

tation at Huff Power, he was in the habit, as
>ayou
often as once in a fortnight at least, of corning home

intoxicated from Holmesville. The shooting-matches
almost invariably concluded with a debauch. At such
times he was boisterous and half-crazy. Often he
would break the dishes, chairs, and whatever furni
ture he could lay his hands on. When satisfied with
his amusement in the house, he would seize the whip
and walk forth into the yard. Then it behooved the
slaves to be watchful and exceeding wary. The first
one who came within reach felt the smart of his lash.
Sometimes he would keep them running in
for hours
all directions, dodging around the corners of the cab
ins. Occasionally he would come upon one unawares,

and if he succeeded in inflicting a fair, round blow, it
was a feat that much delighted him. The younger

children, and the aged, who had become inactive,
Buffered then. In the midst of the confusiou he would
elilytake his stand behind a cabin, waiting with rais

ed whip, to dash it into the first black face that peep
ed cautiously around the corner.
At other times he would come home in a less brutal
EPPS IN A DANCING MOOD. 181
humor. Then there must be a merry-making. Ther

all must move to the measure of a tune. Then Mas
ter Epps must needs regale his melodious ears with
the music of a fiddle. Then did he become buoyant,

tripping the light fantastic toe" around
"
elastic, gaily
the piazza and all through the house.
Tibeats, at the time of my sale, had informed

him play on the violin. He had receiv
I could
ed his information from Ford. Through the im
portunities of Mistress Epps, her husband had been in
duced to purchase me one during a visit to New-Or
\ leans. Frequently was called into the house to play
I
before the family, mistress being passionately fond of

music.
All of us would be assembled in the large room of
the great house, whenever Epps came home in one of
his dancing moods. No matter how worn out and
tired we must be a general dance. When
were, there
.
properly stationed on the floor, I would strike up a tune,
Dance, you d d niggers, dance," Epps would
j^"
shout.
/^Then must be no halting or delay, no slow or
there
languid movements; all must be brisk, and lively,
and alert. Up and down, heel and toe, and away

"
we was the order of the hour. Epps portly form

go,"
mingled with those of his dusky slaves, moving rap

idly through all the mazes of the dance.
Usually his whip was in his hand, ready to fall
about the ears of the presumptuous thrall, who dared
to rest a moment, or even stop to catch his breath.
When he was himself exhausted, there would be a

brief cessation, but it would be very brief. With a
slash, and crack, and flourish of the whip, he would
shout again, Dance, niggers, dance," and away they
"
would go once more, pell-mell, while I, spurred by an

occasional sharp touch of the lash, sat in a corner, ex
tracting from my violin a marvelous quick-stepping

tune. The mistress often upbraided him, declaring
she would return to her father s house at Cheney ville ;
nevertheless, there were times she could not restrain

~ \ a burst on witnessing his uproarious
of laughter,
Âpranks. Frequently, we were thus detained until al-

/most morning. Bent with excessive toil actually
A /
suffering for a little refreshing rest, and feeling rather
/ as if we could cast ourselves upon the earth and weep,
many a night in the house of Edwin Epps have his
unhappy slaves been made to dance and laugh.

\ Notwithstanding these deprivations in order to grat
ify the whim of an unreasonable master, we had to
be in the field as soon as it was light, and during the
day perform the ordinary and accustomed task. Such
^deprivations could not be urged at the scales in exten
uation of any lack of weight, or in the cornfield for
not hoeing with the usual rapidity. The whippings
were just as severe as if we ^d gone forth in the
morning, strengthened and invigorated by a night s
repose. Indeed, after such frantic revels, he was
always more sour and savage than before, punishing
for slighter causes, and using the whip with increased
and more vindictive energy.

CHARACTER OF EPPS. 183
Ten years I toiled for that man without reward

^[en years of my incessant labor has contributed to
increase the bulk of his possessions^ Ten years I was
compelled to address him w ith down-cast eyes and

r
uncovered head in the attitude and language of a
slave. I am indebted to him for nothing, save i

served abuse and stripes.
Beyond the reach of his inhuman thong, and stand

ing on the soil of the free State w here I was born,
r
thanks be to Heaven, I can raise my head once more
among men. I can speak of the wrongs I have suf

fered, and of those who inflicted them, with upraised
eyes. But I have no desire to speak of him or any

other one otherwise than truthfully. Yet to speak
truthfully of Edwin Epps would be to say he is a

man in whose heart the quality of kindness or of JUST
tice is not found. A rough, rude energy, united witli]
an uncultivated mind and an avaricious spirit, are his/
Hejs_know n
y
prominent characteristics. as a "
nigge
distinguished for his faculty of subduing the
breaker,"
spirit of the slave, and priding himself upon his repu

tation in this respect, as a jockey boasts of his skill in
managing a refractory horse. He looked upon a col

ored man, not as a human being, responsible to his Crea
tor for the small talent entrusted to him, but as a chat
"
mere live property, no better, except

tel personal," as
in value, than his mule or dog. When the evidence,

clear and indisputable, was laid before him that I was
a free man, and as much entitled to my liberty as he
when, on the day I left, he was informed that I

L84 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
had a wife and children, as dear to me as his

babes to him, he only raved and swore, denouncing
the law that tore me from him, and declaring he
would find out the man who had forwarded the letter
that disclosed the place of my captivity, if there was

any virtue or powermoney, and would take his
in
life. He thought of nothing but his loss, and cursed

me for having been born free. He could have stood
unmoved and seen the tongues of his poor slaves
torn out by the roots he could have seen them
burned to ashes over a slow fire, or gnawed to death
by dogs, if it only brought him profit. Such a hard,
cruel, unjust man is Edwin Epps.
There wâs but one greater savage on Bayou Boeuf
than he. Jim Burns plantation w as
r
cultivated, as
already mentioned, exclusively by women. That

barbarian kept their backs so sore and raw, that they
could not perform the customary labor demanded
daily of the slave. He boasted of his cruelty, and

through all the country round was accounted a more
thorough-going, energetic man
than even Epps. A
brute himself, Jim Burns had not a particle of mercy
for his subject brutes, and like a fool, whipped and
scourged away the very strength upon which depend
ed his amount of gain.
Epps remained on Huff Power two years, when,
having accumulated a considerable sum of money, he
expended it in the purchase of the plantation on the
east bank of Bayou Boeuf, where he still continues to
reside He took possession of it in 184-5, after the
UNCLE AUK AM, WiLEY, &G 185
holidays were passed. He carried thither with him

nine slaves, all of whom, except myself, and Susan,
who has since died, remain there yet. lie made no
addition to this force, and for eight years the follow
ing were my companions in his quarters, viz :

Abraiu,
Wiley, Phebe, Bob, Henry, Edward, and Patsey.
All these, except Edward, born since, were purchased
out of a drove by Epps during the time he was over
seer for Archy B. Williams, whose plantation is situa
ted on the shore of Red River, not far from Alexan
dria.
Abram was tall, standing a head above any

full
common man. He is sixty years of age, and was
born in Tennessee. Twenty years ago, he was pur

chased by a trader, carried into South Carolina, and
sold to James Buford, of Williamsburgh county, in
that State. In his youth he was renowned for his
great strength, but age and unremitting toil have

somewhat shattered his powerful frame and enfeebled
his mental faculties.
Wiley is
forty-eight. He was born on the estate
of William Tassle, and for many years took charge of
that gentleman s ferry over the Big Black River, in
South Carolina.
Phebe was a slave of Buford, Tassle s neighbor,
and having married Wiley, he bought the latter, at
her instigation. Buford was a kind master, sheriff of
the county, and in those days a man of wealth.
Bob aiid Henry are Phebe s children, by a former
husband, their father having been abandoned to give
place to Wile v. That seductive youth had insinuated

himself into Phebe s affections, and therefore the
faithless spouse had gently kicked her first husband
out of her cabin door. Edward had been born to

them on Bayou Huff Power.
Patsey istwenty-three also from Buford splanta
tion. She is in no wise connected with the others,
but glories in the fact that she is the offspring of a
Guinea nigger," brought over to Cuba in a slave
"
ship, and in the course of trade transferred to Buford,

who was her mother s owner.
This, as I learned from them, is a genealogical account
of my master s slaves. For years they had been to
gether. Often they recalled the memories of other
days, and sighed to retrace their steps to the old home
in Carolina. Troubles came upon their master Bu
ford, which brought far greater troubles upon them.
He became involved in debt, and unable to bear up
against his failing fortunes, was compelled to sell these,

and others of his slaves. In a chain gang they had
been driven from beyond the Mississippi to the plan
tation of Archy B. "Williams. Edwin Epps, who, for a
long while had been his driver and overseer, was
about establishing himself in business on his own ac
count, at the time of their arrival, and accepted them
in payment of Jiis wages.
Old Abram was a kind-hearted being a sort of
patriarch among us, fond of entertaining his younger

brethren with grave and serious discourse. He was
deeply versed in such philosophy as is taught in the

TJNCLE ABRAM AND AUNT THESE 187
cabin of the slavebut the great absorbing hobby of

;
Uncle Abrain was General Jackson, whom his young

master in Tennessee had followed to the wars. He
loved to wander back, in imagination, to the place
where he was born, and to recount the scenes of his
outh during those stirring times when the nation was
in arms. He had been athletic, and more keen and
powerful than the generality of his race, but now his
eye had become dim, and his natural force abated.

Very ofteiij indeed, while discussing the best method
of baking the hoe-cake, or expatiating at large upon
the glory of Jackson, he would forget where he left
his hat, or his hoe, or his and then would the
basket ;
old man be laughed was

at, if
Epps absent, and whip
ped if he was present. So was he perplexed continu
ally, and sighed to think that he was growing aged
and going to decay. Philosophy and Jackson and
forgetfulness had played the mischief with him, and
it was evident that all of them combined were fast
bringing down the gray hairs of Uncle Abram to the
grave.
Aunt Phebe had been an excellent field hand, but
latterly was put into the kitchen, where she remained,

except occasionally, in a time of uncommon hurry.
She was a sly old creature, and when not in the
presence of her mistress or her master, was garrulous
in the extreme.
Wiley, on the contrary, was silent. He performed

his taskwithout murmur or complaint, seldom in
dulging in the luxury of speech, except to utter a
wish that he was away from Epps, and back once

more in South Carolina.
Bob and Henry had reached the ages of twenty
and twenty-three, and were distinguished for not! ting
extraordinary or unusual, while Edward, a lad of
thirteen, not yet able to maintain his row in the corn
or the cotton field, was kept in the great house, to
wait on the little Eppses.

Patsey _was slim and straight. She stood erect as
the human form is capable of standing. There was
an air of loftiness in her movement, that neither labor,
nor weariness, nor punishment could destroy. Truly,
Patsey was a splendid animal, and were it not that
bondage had enshrouded her intellect in utter and
everlasting darkness, would have been chief among
ten thousand of her people. She could leap the
highest fences, and a fleet hound it was indeed, that
could outstrip her in a race. No horse could fling her

from his back. She was a skillful teamster. She
turned as true a furrow as the best, and at splitting
railsthere were none who could excel her. "When
the order to halt was heard at night, she would have
her mules at the crib, unharnessed, fed and curried,
before uncle Abram had found his hat. Not, how
ever, for all or any of these, was she chiefly famous.
Such lightning-like motion was in her fingers as no
other fingers ever possessed, and therefore it was, that
in cotton picking time, Patsey was queen of the field.
She had a genial and pleasant temper, and was

and obedient. Naturally, she was a joyous
faithful
TREATMENT OF PATSEY. 189
creature, a laughing, light-hearted girl, rejoicing iii
the mere sense of existence. Yet Patsey wept oftener,

and suffered more, than any of her companions.
-rhe-had~ been literally excoriated. Her back
the scars of a thousand stripes ;
not because she
backward in her work, nor because she was of an un
mindful and rebellious spirit, but because it had failed
:o her lot to be the slave of a licentious master and a
jealous mistress. She shrank before the

lustful eye ofl
the one, and was in

danger even of her life at the
hands of the other, and between the two, she was;

indeed accursed. In the great house, for days together,
there were high and angry words, poutings and
estrangement, whereof she was the innocent cause.
Nothing delighted the mistress so much as to see her
suffer, and more than once, when Eppsjiad refused to
seTTTTer, has she tempted me

with bribes to put her
js^cretlytodeath^ and bury her body in some lonely

place in the margin of the swamp. Gladly would
Patsey have appeased this unforgiving spirit, if it had
been in her power, but not like Joseph, dared she >,
escape from Master Epps, leaving her garment in his

hand. Patsey walked under a cloud. ?f she uttered \r~
a word in opposition to her master s will, the lash was )_
resorted to at once, to bring her to subjection ;

if she
was not watchful when about her cabin, or when j
walking in the yard, a billet of wood, or a broken i
bottle perhaps, hurled from her mistress hand, would/

Bmite her unexpectedly in the face. The enslaved vie
j
tim of lust and hate, Patsey had no comfort of her li fe.;
hese were ray companions and fellow-slaves, with

whom I was accustomed to be driven to the field, and
with whom it has been my lot to dwell for ten years
in the log cabins of Edwin Epps. They, if living, are
yet toiling on the banks of Bayou Boeuf, never des-
*tined to breathe, as I now do, the blessed air of liberty,
nor to shake off the heavy shackles that enthrall
them, until they shall lie d*vn forever in the dust
CHAPTER XIV
8KSTRUCTION OF THE COTTON CROP IN 1845DEMAND FOE LABORERS IN
ST.MARY S PARISH SENT THITHER IN A DROVE THE ORDER OF THE
MARCH THE GRAND COTEAU HIRED TO JUDGE TURNER ON BAYOU
SALLE APPOINTED DRIVER IN HIS SUGAR HOUSE SUNDAY SERVICES
SLAVE FURNITURE, HOW OBTAINED THE PARTY AT YARNEY s IN CEN-
TREVILLE GOOD FORTUNE THE CAPTAIN OF THE STEAMER HIS RE

FUSAL TO SECRETE ME RETURN TO BAYOU BCEUF SIGHT OF TIBEATS
PATSEYS SORROWS TUMULT AND CONTENTION HUNTING THE COON
AND OPOSSUM THE CUNNING OF THE LATTER THE LEAN CONDITION
OF THE SLAVE DESCRIPTION OF THE FISH TRAP THE MURDER OF THE
MAN FROM NATCHEZ EPPS CHALLENGED BY MARSHALL THE INFLUENCE
OF SLAVERY THE LOVE OF FREEDOM.
THE first year of Epps residence on the bayou,

1845, the caterpillars almost totally destroyed the
cotton crop throughout that region. There was little
to be done, so that the slaves were
|
necessarily idle
t_half the time. However, there came a rumor to I3a-
you Bceuf that wages were high, and laborers in great
demand on the sugar plantations in St. Mary s parish.
This parish is situated on the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico, about one hundred and forty miles from

Avoyelles. The Eio Teche, a considerable stream,
flows through St. Mary s to the gulf.
r^~
)It was
.
determined by the planters, on the receipt

/of this intelligence, to make up a drove of slaves to
/ be sent down to Tuckapaw in St. Mary s, for the pur-
/ pose of hiring them out in the cane fields. Accord

ingly, in the month of September, there were one
hundred and forty-seven collected at Holmesville,
Abram, Bob and myself among the number. Of these
^bout one-half were women. Epps, Alonson Pierce,
Henry Toler, and Addison Roberts, w ere the white
T
men, selected to accompany, and take charge of the

drove. They had a two-horse carriage and two sad
dle horses for their use. A large wagon, drawn by
four horses, and driven by John, a boy belonging to
Mr. Roberts, carried the blankets and provisions.
About 2 o clock in the afternoon, having been fed,
preparations were made to depart. The duty assign
ed me was, to take charge of the blankets and pro
visions, and see that none were lost by the way. The
carriage proceeded in advance, the wagon following
behind this the slaves were arranged,
O while the two
horsemen brought up the rear, and in this order th^
procession moved out of Holmesville.

That night we reached a Mr. McCrow s plantation,
a distance of ten or fifteen miles, when sve were or
dered to halt. Large fires were built, and each one
spreading nis blanket on the ground, laid down upon
it. The white men lodged in the great house. An
hour before day we were aroused by the drivers coin
ing among us, cracking their whips and ordering ua
to arise. Then the blankets were rolled up, and be-
193
in^ rtsverally delivered to me and deposited iu the

wagon, procession set forth again.
tli.e
^ \
The following, night it rained violently. were We

all drenched, onr clothes saturated with mud and wa
ter. Reaching an open shed, formerly a gin-house, w e
found beneath it such shelter as it afforded. There
was not room for all of us to lay down. There w,,
remained, huddled together, through the night, con
tinuing our march, as usual, in the morning. During
the journey we were fed twice a day, boiling "oTTf
bacon and baking our corn-cake at the fires in the

same manner as in our huts. We passed through La
fayetteville, Mountsville, New-Town, to Centreville,
where Bob and Uncle Abram were hired. Our num

ber decreased as we advanced nearly every sugai
plantation requiring the services of one or more.
On our routf. we passed the Grand Coteau or prairie,
a vast space of level, monotonous country, without a
tree, except an occasional one which had been trans
planted near some dilapidated dwelling. It was once

thickly populated, and under cultivation, but for some
cause had been abandoned. The business of the
scattered inhabitants that now dwell upon it is prin
cipally raising cattle. Immense herds were feeding
upon it as we passed. In the centre of the Grand
Coteau one feels as if he were on the ocean, out
of sight of land. As far as the eye can see, in all
directions, it is but a ruined and deserted waste.

I was hired to Judge Turner, a distinguished man
and extensive planter, whose large estate is situated

I is
on Bayou Salle, within a few miles of the gulf. Bay

ou Salle is a small stream flowing into the bay of
Atchafalaya. For some days I was employed at
Turner s in repairing his sugar house, when a cane

knife was put into my hand, and with thirty or
fcrty others, I was sent into the field. I found no

such difficulty in learning the art of cutting cane
that I had in picking cotton. It came to me natural
ly and intuitively, and in a short time I was able to
keep up with the Before the cutting

fastest knife.
was over, however, Judge Tanner transferred me from

the field to the sugar house, to act there in the ca
pacity of driver. From the time of the commence^, I
ment of sugar making to the close, the grinding and ,
boiling does not cease day or night. The whip was>

given me with directions to use it upon any one who \
was cauglirstanding idle. If I failed "toôBey^fKejn \

to the letter, there was another one for my own back.
In addition to this my duty was to call on "and off the
different gangs at theproper time. I had no regular

periods of rest, and could never snatch but a few mo
ments of sleep at a time.
N
It is the custom in Louisiana, as I presume it is in
other slave States, to allow the slave to retain what

ever compensation he may obtain for services per
formed on Sundays. In this way, only, are they able
to provide themselves with any luxury or conveni
ence whatever. When a slave, purchased, or kidnap
ped in the North, is transported to a cabin on Bayou

Boeuf, he is furnished with neither knife, nor fork
8UNDAY SERVICES. J b
nor kettle, nor any other thing in the shape

n ir dish,
of crockery, or furniture of any nature or description.

He is furnished with a blanket before he reaches
there, and wrapping that around him, he can either

stand up, or lie down upon the ground, or on a board,
if his master has no use for it. He is at liberty to
find a gourd in which to keep his meal, or he can eat
his corn from the cob, just as he pleases. To ask the
master for a knife, or skillet, or any small convenience
of the kind, would be answered with a kick, or laugh
ed at as a joke. Whatever necessary article of this
nature is found in a cabin has been purchased with
Sunday money. However injurious to the morals,

it is
certainly a blessing to the physical condition of
the slave, to be permitted to break the Sabbath.
Otherwise there would be no way to provide him
self with any utensils, which seem to be indispensa
ble to him who is compelled to be his own cook.

Ôn cane plantations in sugar time, there is no dis
tinction as to the days of the week. It is well un
derstood that all hands must labor on the Sabbath,

I and it is
equally well understood that those especial-
I
ly who are hired, as I was to Judge Turner, and oth-
i ers in succeeding years, shall receive remuneration
\for it. It is usual, also, in the most hurrying time of
cotton-picking, to require the same extra service

From this source, slaves generally are afforded an
opportunity of earning sufficient to purchase a knife

a kettle, tobacco and so forth. The females, discard
ing the latter luxury, are apt to expend their little
revenue in the purchase of gaudy ribbons, wherewithal

to deck their hair in the merry season of the holidays.
1 remained in St. Mary s until the first of January,
during which time my Sunday money amounted to

ten dollars. I met with other good fortune, for which
I was indebted to my violin,
my^constant companion^
the source of profit, and soother of my sorrows during
years of servitude. There was a grand party of
whites assembled at Mr. Yarney s, in Centre vi lie, a
hamlet in the vicinity of Turner s plantation. I was
employed to play for them, and so well pleased were
the merry-makers with my performance, that a con
tribution was taken for my benefit, which amounted
to seventeen dollars.
With this sum in possession, I was looked upon by
my fellows as a millionaire. It afforded me great
pleasure to look at it to count it over and over
again, day Visions of cabin furniture, of

after day.
water pails, of pocket knives, new shoes and coats
and hats, floated through and up through
my fancy,
all triumphant contemplation, that I was
rose the
the wealthiest "
nigger"
on Bayou Bosuf.
Vessels run up the Rio Teche to Centre ville.
While there, I was bold enough one day to present
myself before the captain of a steamer, and beg per
mission to hide myself among the freight. I was
emboldened to risk the hazard of such a step, from
overhearing a conversation, in the course of which 1

ascertained he was a native of the North. I did nut
relate to him the particulars of my history, but only

RETURN TO BAYOU IUKUF. 197
expressed an ardent desire to escape from slavery ft*

a free State. He pitied me, but said it would be im \
possible to avoid the vigilant custom house officers in 1
New-Orleans, and that detection would subject him \
to punishment, and his vessel to confiscation. My \
earnest entreaties evidently excited his sympathies,

and doubtless he would have yielded to them, could
he have done so with any kind of safety. I was
compelled to smother the sudden flame that lighted
up my bosom with sweet hopes of liberation, and
turn my steps once more towards the increasing/
T-
darkness of despair.
Immediately after this event the drove assembled

at Centreville, and several of the owners having ar
rived and collected the monies due for our services,

we were driven back to Bayou Boeuf. It was on our
return, while passing through a small village, that I
caught sight of Tibeats, seated in the door of a dirty

grocery, looking somewhat seedy and out of repair.
Passion and poor whisky, I doubt not, have ere this
laid him on the shelf.
During our absence, I learned from Aunt Phebe

and Patsey, that the latter had been getting deeper
and deeper into trouble. The poor was truly an
girl
object of pity. Old liogjaw,"

"
the name by which
Epps was called, when the slaves were by themselves,

had beaten her more severely and frequently than
ever. As surely as he came from Holmesville, elated
with liquor and it was often in those days -he
would whip her, merely to gratify the mistress ;
would
wunish her to an extent almost beyond endurance, foi

/an offence of which he himself was the sole and irre-
I
sistible cause. In his sober moments he could not al-
\
ways be prevailed upon to indulge his wife s insatia
ble thirst for vengeance.

To be rid of Patsey to place her beyond sight or
JQ I
reach, by sale, or death, or in any other manner, of
/ late years, seemed to be the ruling thought and pas
sion of my mistress. Patsey had been a favorite when
a child, even in the great house. She had been pet
ted and admired for her uncommon sprightliness and
pleasant disposition. She had been fed many a time,

so Uncle Abram said, even on biscuit and milk, when
the madam, in her younger days, was wont to call
her to the piazza, and fondle her as she would a play-

i ful kitten. But a sad change had come over the spirit
of the woman. Now, only black and angry fiends
ministered in the temple of her heart, until she could
look on Patsey but with concentrated venom.
Mistress Epps was not naturally such an evil wo
man, after all. She was possessed of the devil, jeal
ousy, it is true, but aside from that, there was much
in her character to admire. Her father, Mr. Koberts,
resided in Cheneyville, an influential and honorable
man, and as much respected throughout the parish

asany other citizen. She had been well educated at
some institution this side the Mississippi was beauti
;
ful,accomplished, and usually good-humored. She

was kind to all of us but Patsey frequently, in the
ibsence of her husband, sending out to us some little
199
dainty from her own table. In other situations in
a different society from that which exists on the shores

of Bayou Bceuf, she would have been pronounced an
elegant and fascinating woman. An ill wind it was
that blew her into the arms of Epps.
lie respected and loved his wife as much as a coarse
nature like his is capable of loving, but supreme sel
fishness always overmastered conjugal affection.
"He loved as well as baser natures can,

But amean heart and soul were in that man."
He was ready to gratify any whim to grant any re
quest she made, provided it did not cost too much.
Patsey was equal to any two of his slaves in the cot

ton field. He could not replace her with the same
money she would bring. The idea of disposing of
her, therefore, could not be entertained. The mistress

did not regard her at all in that light. The pride of
the haughty wôman was aroused the blood of the ;
fiery southern boiled at the sight of Patsey, and noth

r ie of the
ing less than trampling out the helpless
bondwoman would satisfy her.
Sometimes the current of her wrath turned upon
him whom she had jus.t cause to hate. But the storm
of angry words would pass over at length, and there
would be a season of calm again. At such times Patr
sey trembled with fear, and cried as if her heart would \
break, for she knew from painful experience, that if \
mistress should work herself to the red-hot pitch of j
1-age, Epps would quiet her at last with a promise that//

Patsey shouV] bo flogged a promise he was sure tc
keep. Thus did pride, and jealousy, and vengeance

war with avarice and brute-passion in the mansion of
my it with
master, filling daily tumult and conten
tion.Thus, upon the head of Patsey the simple-
minded slave, in whose heart God had implanted the
seeds of virtue the force of all these domestic tern
pests spent itself at last.
During the summer succeeding my return from St
Mary s parish, I conceived a plan of providing myself

with food, which, though simple, succeeded beyond
expectation. It has been followed by many others
in my up and down the bayou, and of such

condition,
benefit has it become that I am almost persuaded to
.ook upon myself as a benefactor. That summer the
worms got into the bacon. Nothing but ravenous
hunger could induce us to swallow it. The weekly
allowance of meal scarcely sufficed to satisfy us. It-
was customary with us, as it is with all in that region,

rhere the allowance is exhausted before Saturday
night, or is in such a state as to render it nauseous
and disgusting, to hunt in the swamps for coon and
opossum. This, ho vever, must be done at night, af
ter the day s work is accomplished. There are plan
ters whose slaves, for months at a time, have no other
meat than such as is obtained in this manner. No
objections are made to hunting, inasmuch as it dis
penses with drafts upon the smoke-house, and because

every marauding coon that is killed is so much saved
from the standing corn. They are hunted with dogs
and clubs, slaves not being allowed the use of fire-arms
HUNTING THE COON ANT) OPOSSUM. 20}
The flesh of the coon is palatable, but verily there

is
nothing in all butcherdom so delicious as a roasted
possum. are a round, rather long-bodied, little

They
animal, of a whitish color, with nose like a pig, and
caudal extremity like a rat. They burrow among
the roots and hi the hollows of the gum tree, and are
clumsy and slow of motion. They are deceitful and
cunning creatures. On
receiving the slightest tap of
a stick, they will roll over on the ground and feign
death. If the hunter leaves him, in pursuit of anoth
er, without first taking particular pains to break his
neck, the chances are, on his return, he is not_lnjbe

found. The lk:le animal has out witted the enemyK
has "playe
.l
possum"
-
and is off. But after a! )
long and hard day s work, the weary slave feels little
like going to the swamp for his supper, and half the
time prefers throwing himself on the cabin floor with

out it. It is for the interest of the master that the sen
rant should not suffer in health from starvation, and
also for his interest that he should not become gross
it is
from over-feeding. In the estimation of the owner, r

slave is the most serviceable when in rather a lean
and lank condition, such a condition as the race-horse
is in, when fitted for the
course, and in that condition
Ihey are generally to be found on the sugar and cot-
\on plantations along Eed River.
My cabin was within a few rods of the bayou bank,

and necessity being indeed the mother of invention, I
resolved upon a mode of obtaining the requisite
amount of food, without the trouble of resorting night-
TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE
LV to the woods. This was to construct a fish trap.
Having, in my mind, conceived the manner in which

it could be done, the next Sunday I set about putting
it into practical execution. It may be impossible for
me to convey to the reader a full and correct idea of
itsconstruction, but the following will serve as a gen
eral description :
A frame between two and three feet square

is made,
and of a greater or less height, according to the

depth of water. Boards or slats are nailed on three
sides of this frame, not so closely,however, as to pre
vent the water circulating freely through it. door A
is fitted into the fourth side, in such manner that it
will slide easily up and down in the grooves cut in
the two posts. A movable bottom is then so fitted
that can be raised to the top of the frame without
it
difficulty. In the centre of the movable bottom an
auger hole is bored, and into this one end of a handle

or round stick is fastened on the under side so loosely
that it will turn. The handle ascends from the centre
of the movable bottom to the top of the frame, or as
much higher as is desirable. Up and down this
handle, in a great many places, are gimlet holes,

through which small sticks are inserted, extending to
opposite sides of the frame. So many of these small

sticks are running out from the handle in all direc
tions, that a fish of any considerable dimensions can

not pass through without hitting one of them. The
frame is then placed in the water and made sta
f
onary.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FISH TRAP. 203
The
trap is
"
set"
by sliding or drawing up tlie door,
and kept in that position by another stick, one end
of which rests in a notch on the inner side, the other
end in a notch made in the handle, running up from
the centre of the movable bottom. The trap is
baited by rolling a handful of wet meal and cotton
together until it becomes hard, and depositing it in
the back part of the frame. A
fish swimming through
the upraised door towards the bait, necessarily strikes

one of the small sticks turning the handle, which dis
placing the stick supporting the door, the latter falls,
securing the fish within the frame. Taking hold of
the top of the handle, the movable bottom is then
drawn up to the surface of the water, and the fish
taken out. There may have been other such traps in
use before mine was constructed, but if there were
I had never happened to see one. Bayou Boeuf
abounds in fish of large size and excellent quality,
and time I was very rarely in want of one
after this
for myself, or for my comrades. Thus a mine was

opened a new resource was developed, hitherto un-
thought of by the enslaved children of Africa, who
toil and hunger along the shores of that sluggish, but
prolific stream.
About the time which I am now writing, an
of
event occurred in our immediate neighborhood, which
made a deep impression upon me, and which, shows
he state of society existing there, and the manner in
which affronts are oftentimes avenged. Directly op
posite our quarters, on the other side of the bayou,
was situated the plantation of Mr. Marshall. lie

belonged to a family among the most wealthy and
aristocratic in the country. A gentleman from the
vicinity of Natchez had been negotiating with him
for the purchase of the estate. One day a messenger
came in great haste to our plantation, saying that a
bloody and fearful battle was going on at Mar

shall s that blood had been spilled and unless
the combatants were forthwith separated, the result
would be disastrous.
On repairing to Marshall
house, a scene presented
s
beggars description. On the floor of one

itself that
of the rooms lay the ghastly corpse of the man iron:
Natchez, while Marshall, enraged and covered with

wounds and blood, was stalking back and forth,
breathing out threatenings and slaughter." A diffi
"
culty had arisen in the course of their negotiation,

high words ensued, when drawing their weapons, the
deadly strife began that ended so unfortunately.
Marshall was never placed in confinement. sort of A
trial or investigation was had at Marksville, when he
was acquitted, and returned to his plantation, rather
more respected, as I thqught, than ever, from the fact
that the blood of a fellow being was on his soul.
Epps interested himself in his behalf, accompany

ing him to Marksville, and on occasions loudly
all
justifying him, but his services in this respect did not

afterwards deter a kinsman of this same Marshall
from seeking his life also. A brawl occurred between
hern over a gambling-table, which terminated in a
EPPS CHALLENGED. 205
deadly feud. Riding up on horseback in front of the

house one day, armed with pistols and bowie knife,
Marshall challenged him to come forth and make a
final settlement of the quarrel, or he would brand
him as a coward, and shoot him like a dog the first
opportunity. Not through cowardice, nor from any

conscientious scruples, in my opinion, but through the
influence of his wife, he was restrained from accept
ing the challenge of his enemy. A

reconciliation,
however, was effected afterward, since which time
they have been on terms of the closest intimacy.
Such occurrences, which would bring upon the
them merited and condign pun
parties concerned in
ishment in the Northern States, are frequent on the
bayou, and pass without notice, and almost without
comment. Every man carries his bowie knife, and
when two fall out, they set to work hacking and
thrusting at each other, more like savages than civ
ilized and enlightened beings.
ie existence of Slavery in its most cruel form
among them has a tendency to brutalize the humane
and finer feelings of their nature. Daily witnesses of
human suffering listening to the agonizing screeches
of the slave beholding him writhing beneath the
merciless lash bitten and torn by dogs
dying
without attention, and buried without shroud or
coffin it cannot otherwise be expected, than thai
they should become brutified and reckless of human

life. It is true there are many kind-hearted and good
men in the parish of Avoyelles such men as "Wil

206 TWELVE YEARS A SLATE.
liarn Ford who can look with pity upon the suffer
ings of a slave, just as there are, over all the world,
sensitive and sympathetic spirits, who cannot look
with indifference upon the sufferings of any creature
which the Almighty has endowed with life. It is
not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel, so
much as it isthe fault of the system under which he
lives. He cannot withstand the influence of habit
and associations that surround him* Taught froiw
earliest childhood, by all that he sees and hears, that
the rod is for the slave s back, he will not be apt ta

change his opinions in maturer years.
There may be humane masters, as there certainly
are inhuman ones there may be slaves well-clothed,
well-fed, and happy, as there surely are those half-

clad, half-starved and miserable ; nevertheless, the
institution that tolerates such wTong and inhumanity
as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust, and barbarous
one. Men may write fictions portraying lowly life as
it is, or as it is not may expatiate with owlish
discourse nip-
gravity upon the bliss of ignorance
v pantly from arm chairs of the pleasures of slave life ;
TlDut let them toil with him in the field sleep with
/ him in the cabin feed with him on husks ;
let them
behold him scourged, hunted, trampled on, and the T
will come back with another story in their mouths.
Let them know
the heart of the poor slave learn
his secret thoughts thoughts he dare not utter in
the hearing of the white man let ;

them sit by him
in the silent watches of the night converse with
THE LOVE OF FREEDOM. 207
trim in trustful confidence, of "
life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness," and they îll find that ninety-
nine out of every hundred are intelligent enough to
understand their situation, and to cherish in their
bosoms the love of freedom, as passionately as thorn-
sol ves.
CHAPTER XV
LABORS ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS THE MODE OF PLANTING CANE OF HOEING
CANE CANE RICKS CUTTING CANE DESCRIPTION OF THE CANE KNIFE
WINROWING PREPARING FOR SUCCEEDING CROPS DESCRIPTION OF
HAWKINS SUGAR MILL ON BAYOU BCEUF THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
THE CARNIVAL SEASON OF THE CHILDREN OF BONDAGE THE CHRISTMAS
SUPPER RED, THE FAVORITE COLORTHE VIOLIN, AND THE CONSOLATION
IT AFFORDED THE CHRISTMAS DANCE LIVELY, THE COQUETTE SAM
ROBERTS, AND HIS RIVALS SLAVE SONGS SOUTHERN LIEE AS IT IS
THREE DAYS IN THE YEAR THE SYSTEM OF MARRIAGE UNCLE ABRAM s
CONTEMPT OF MATRIMONY.
-
IN consequence of my inability in cotton-picking,
Epps was in the habit of hiring me out on sugar
plantations during the season of cane-cutting and

sugar-making. He received for
my services a dollar
a day, with the money supplying my place on his
cotton plantation. Cutting cane was an employment
that suited me, and for three successive years I held
the lead row at Hawkins , leading a gang of from

fifty to an hundred hands.
In a previous chapter the mode of cultivating cot
ton is described. This may be the proper place to
speak of the manner of cultivating cane.

The ground is prepared in beds, the same as it is
prepared for the reception of the cotton seed, except

MODE OF PLANTING CANE. 209
ploughed deeper. Drills are made in the same

it is
manner. Planting commences in January, and con

tinues until April. It is necessary to plant a sugar
field only once in three years. Three crops are taken

before the seed or plant is exhausted.
Three gangs are employed in the operation. One
draws the cane from the rick, or stack, cutting the
top and flags from the stalk, leaving only that part
which is sound and healthy. Each joint of the cane
has an eye, like the eye of a potato, which sends forth
a sprout when buried in the soil. Another gang laya
the cane in the drill, placing two stalks side by side
in such manner that joints will occur once in four or
six inches. The third gang follows with hoes, drawing
earth upon the stalks, and covering them to the depth
of three inches.
In four weeks, at the farthest, the sprouts appear
above the ground, and from this time forward grow
with great rapidity. A sugar field is hoed three
times, the same as cotton, save that a greater quantity
of earth is drawn to the roots. By the first of Au
gust hoeing is usually over. About the middle of
September, whatever is required for seed is cut and

stacked in ricks, as they are termed. In October it
is
ready for the mill or sugar-house, and then the gen
eral cutting begins. The blade of a cane-knife is fif
teen inches long, three inches wide in the middle, and
tapering towards the point and handle. The blade

is thin, and in order to be at all serviceable must be
kept very sharp. Every third hand takes the lead of
14
two others, one of whom is on each side of him. The

lead hand, in the first place, with a blow of his knife
shears the flags from the stalk. He next cuts off the
top down as far as it is green. He must be careful

to sever all the green from the ripe part, inasmuch
as the juice of the former sours the molasses, and ren
ders it unsalable. Then he severs the stalk at the
root, and lays it directly behind him. His right and
left hand companions lay their stalks, when cut in the
same manner, upon his. To every three hands there

is a cart, which follows, and the stalks are thrown into
it
by the younger slaves, when it is drawn to the su
gar-house and ground.

If the planter apprehends a frost, the cane is win-
rowed. Winrowing the cutting the stalks at an
is
early period and throwing them lengthwise in the wa

ter farrow in such a manner that the tops will cover
the butts of the stalks.They will remain in this con

dition three weeks or a month without souring, and
secure from frost. When the proper time arrivej,
they are taken up, trimmed and carted to the sugar-
house.
In the month of January the slaves enter the fiel 1
again to prepare for another crop. The ground id

now strewn with the tops, and flags cut from the p/;et
year s cane. On a dry day fire is set to this combus

which sweeps over the field, leaving
tible refuse, it
bare and clean, and ready for the hoes. The earth is
loosened abci the roots of the old stubble, and in
process of time another crop springs up from the last

2l 1
s seed. It is the same the year

/ear following but ;
the third year the seed has exhausted its strength,

and the field must be ploughed and planted again.
The second year the cane is sweeter and yields more
than the first, and the third year more than the seconf.
During the three seasons I labored on Hawkins
plantation, I was employed a considerable portion of
the time in the sugar-house. He is celebrated as the
producer of the finest variety of white sugar. The
following a is
general description of his sugar-house
and the process of manufacture :
The an immense brick building, standing on

mill is
the shore of the bayou. Running out from the build

ing is an open shed, at least an hundred feet in length
and forty or fifty feet in width. The boiler in which
the steam is generated is situated outside the main
building ; the machinery and engine rest on a brick
pier, fifteen feet above the floor, within the body of the
building. The machinery turns two great iron rollers,

between two and three feet in diameter and six 01
eight feet in length. They are elevated above the
brick pier, and roll in towards each other. An end
less carrier,made of chain and wood, like leathern
belts used in small mills, extends from the iron rollers
out of the main building and through the entire
length of the open shed. The carts in which the cane
is
brought from the field as fast as it is cut, are un
loaded at the sides of the shed. All along the endless
carrier are ranged slave children, whose business it is
to place the cane upon it, when it is conveyed through
J12 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
the shed into the main building, where it falls be

tween the rollers, is crushed, and drops upon another
carrier that conveys it out of the main building in an
opposite direction, depositing it in the top of a chim

ney upon a fire beneath, which consumes it. It is ne
cessary to burn it in this manner, because otherwise
it would soon fill the building, and more especially
because it would soon sour and engender disease.

The juice of the cane falls into a conductor underneath
the iron rollers, and is carried into a reservoir. Pipes
convey it from thence into five filterers, holding sev
eral hogsheads each. These filterers are filled with

bone-black, a substance resembling pulverized char
coal. It is made of bones calcinated in close vessels,
and is used for the purpose of decolorizing, by filtra
tion, the cane juice before boiling. Through these

five filterers it passes in succession, and then runs into
a large reservoir underneath the ground floor, from
whence it is carried up, by means of a steam pump,
into a clarifier made of sheet iron, where it is heated
by steam until it boils. From the first clarifier it ia
carried in pipes to a second and a third, and thence

into close iron pans, through which tubes pass, filled
with steam. While in a boiling state it flows
through
three pans in succession, and is then carried in other
pipes down to the coolers on the ground floor. Cool

ers are wooden boxes with sieve bottoms made of the
finest wire. As soon as the syrup passes into the

coolers, and is met by the air, it grains, and the mo-
asses at once escapes through the sieves into a cisterp
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. 213
below. It is then white or loaf sugar of the linest

kind clear, clean, and as white as snow. When
is taken out, packed in
cool, it hogsheads, and is ready
for market. The molasses is then carried from the
cistern into the upper story again, and by another
process converted into brown sugar.
There are larger mills, and those constructed differ
ently from the one thus imperfectly described, but
none, perhaps, more celebrated than this anywhere
on Bayou Bceuf. Lambert, of New-Orleans, is a part
ner of Hawkins. He is a man. of vast wealth, hold
ing, as I have been an interest in over forty dif
******** told,
ferent sugar plantations in Louisiana.
only respite from constant labor the slave has

""TChe
1
through the whole year, is during the Christmas holi-
l^ ay s Epps allowed us three
- others aTtowHfbrTr,
five and six days, according to the measure of their
generosity. It is the only time to which they look
forward with any interest or pleasure. They are glad
when night comes, not only because it brings them a
few hours repose, but because it brings them one day
nearer Christmas. It is hailed with equal delight by
the old and the young ;
even Uncle Abram ceases to
glorify Andrew Jackson, and Patsey forgets her many

sorrows, amid the general hilarity of the holidays. It
isthe time of feasting, and frolicking, and fiddling
the carnival season with" tlieT childTen of bondage.
They are the only days when they are allowed a little
restricted liberty, and heartily indeed do they enjoy it

It is the custom for one planter to give a Christ "
mas supper," inviting

the slaves from neighboring
plantations to join his own on the occasion; for in
stance, one year it is given by Epps, the next by Mar

shall, the next by Hawkins, and so on. Usually from
three to five hundred are assembled, coming togethei
on foot, in carts, on horseback, on mules, riding double
and triple, sometimes a boy and girl, at others a girl
and two boys, and at others again a boy, a girl and
an old woman. Uncle Abram astride a mule, with
Aunt Phebe and Patsey behind him, trotting towards
a Christmas supper, would be no uncommon sight on
Bayou Boeuf.
Then, too, of all days i the year," they array

"
themselves in their best attire. The cotton coat has

been washed clean, the stump of a tallow candle has
been applied to the shoes, and if so fortunate as to pos
sess a rimless or a crownless hat, it is
placed jauntily
on the head. They arewelcomed with equal cordial
ity, however, if
they come bare-headed and bare
footed to the feast. As a general thing, the women ^
wear handkerchiefs tied about their heads, but if
chance has thrown in their way a fiery red ribbon,
or a cast-off bonnet of their mistress grandmother, it
is sure to be worn on such occasions. Red the deep^
blood red is
decidedly the favorite color among the
enslaved damsels of my acquaintance. If a red rib
bon does not encircle the neck, you will be certain to
find all the hair of their woolly heads tied up with red
strings of one sort or another.
THE CHRISTMAS SUFFER.
table is spread in tlic open air, and loaded with

varieties of meat and piles of vegetables. Bacon and
corn meal at such times are dispensed with. Some*
times the cooking is performed in the kitchen on the
plantation, at others in the shade of wide branching

trees. In the latter case, a ditch is dug in the ground,
and wood laid in and burned until it is filled with
glowing coals, over which chickens, ducks, turkeys,

pigs, and not unfrequently the entire body of a wild
ox, are roasted. They are furnished also with flour,
of which biscuits are made, and often with peach and
other preserves, with tarts, and every manner and de
scription of pies, except the mince, that being an ar

ticleof pastry as yet unknown among them. Only
the slave who has lived all the years on his scanty al
lowance of meal and bacon, can appreciate such sup
pers. White people in great numbers assemble to
witness the gastronomical enjoyments.
They seat themselves at the rustic table the males

on oneside, the females on the other. The two be
tween whom there may have been an exchange of
tenderness, invariably manage to sit opposite ; for the
omnipresent Cupid disdains not to hurl his arrows into
the simple hearts of slaves. Unalloyed and exulting
happiness lights up the dark faces of them all. The
ivory teeth, contrasting with their black complexions,
exhibit two long, white streaks the whole extent of
the table. All round the bountiful board a multitude
of eyes roll in ecstacy. Giggling and laughter
&e clattering of cutlery and crockery succeed. Cuf
fee s elbow Imuclies his neighbor s side, impelled by

an involuntary impulse of delight Nelly shakes hei ;
finger at Sambo and laughs, she knows not why, and

BO the fun and merriment flows on.
When the viands have disappeared, and the hungry
maws of the children of toil are satisfied, then, next
in the order of amusement, is the Christmas dance.
My business on these gala days always was to play on

^^ _ n _ L
. .. r . I -"
the violin. The African race is a music-loving one,
proverbially ;
and many there were among my fellow-
bondsmen whose organs of tune were strikingly devel

oped, and who could thumb the banjo with dexterity ;
but at the expense of appearing egotistical, I must,

nevertheless, declare, that I was considered the Ole
Bull of Bayou Bceuf. My master often received let
ters, sometimes from a distance of ten miles, request
ing him to send me to play at a ball or festival of the

whites. He received his compensation, and usually I
also returned with many picayunes jingling in my
pockets the extra contributions of those to whose
delight Ihad administered. In this manner I became

more acquainted than I otherwise would, up and down
the bayou. The young men and maidens of Holmes-
ville always knew there was to be a jollification some
where, whenever Platt Epps was seen passing through
the town with his fiddle in his hand. Where are "
you going now, Platt and What is coming oif to

?"
"
night, Platt would be interrogatories issuing from

?"
every door and window, and many a time when there

\vtis no special hurry, yielding to pressing importuni-
THE VIOLIN. 217
tics, Pltitt would draw liis bow, and sitting astride

his mule, perhaps, discourse musically to a crowd
of delighted children, gathered around him in the
street. ,
Alas had
! it not been for my beloved violin, I scarce
ly can conceive how I could have endured the long
years of bondage. It introduced me to great houses
relieved me of many days labor in the field sup

plied me with conveniences for my cabin with
pipes and tobacco, and extra pairs of shoes, and often

times led me away from the presence of a hard mas
ter, to witness scenes of jollity and mirt.h._ Tt w?ia
my companion the friend of my bosom triumph

ing loudly when I was joyful, and uttering its soft,
melodious consolations when I was sad. Often, at
m i
^__
midnight, when sleep had fled affrighted from the

cabin, and my soul was disturbed and troubled with
the contemplation of my fate, it would sing me a song
of peace. On holy Sabbath days, when an hour or
two of leisure was allowed, it would accompany me
to some quiet place on the bayou bank, aad, lifting
up its voice, discourse kindly and pleasantly indeed.
Lt heralded
my name round the country made me
friends, who, otherwise would not have noticed me
gave me an honored seat at the yearly feasts, and se
cured the loudest and heartiest welcome of them all
at the Christmas dance. The Christmas dance !

Oh,
ye pleasure-seeking sons and daughters of idleness,
who move with measured step, listless and snail-like,
through the slow-winding cotillon, if ye wish to look
upon the celerity, if not the

poetry of motion"
"
tipon genuine happiness, rampant and unrestrained

go down to Louisiana, and see the slaves dancing in
the starlight of a Christmas night.
On that particular Christmas I have now in my
mind, a description whereof will serve as a descrip
tion of the day generally, Miss Lively and Mr. Sam
the first
belonging to Stewart, the latter to Roberts,
started the ball. It was well known that Sam cher
ished an ardent passion for Lively, as also did one of

Marshall s and another of Carey s boys for Lively ;
was lively indeed, and a heart-breaking coquette with

al. It was a victory for Sam Roberts, when, rising
from the repast, she gave him her hand for the tf cst
"figu
e" in preference to either of his rivals. T <ey
wer^ somewhat crest-fallen, and, shaking their h ads
angrily, rather intimated they would like to pitcl into

Mr. Sam and hurt him badly. But not an ei> jtion
of wrath ruffled the placid bosom of Samuel as his
legs flew like drum-sticks down the outside ind up

the middle,by the side of his bewitching >artner.
The whole company cheered them vociferously, and,

excited with the applause, they continued ki
tearing
after all the others had become exhausted and
down"
nalted a moment to recover breath. But Sam s su

perhuman exertions overcame
finally, leaving him
Lively alone, yet whirling like a top. Thereupon one
of Sam s rivals, Pete Marshall, dashed
in, and, with
might and main, leaped and shuffled and threw him

self into
every conceivable shape, as if determined to
SOUTHERN LIFE AS IT 18. 2 It)
show Miss Lively and all the world that Sam Koberts
was of no account.
Pete s affection, however, was greater than his dis
cretion. Such violent exercise took the breath out of
him directly, and he dropped like an empty "bag.
Then was the time for Harry Carey to try his hand ;
but Lively also soon out- winded him, amidst hurrahs

and shouts, fully sustaining her well-earned reputation
of being the
"
fastest gal"
on the bayou.
One "
set"
off, another takes its place, he or she re
maining longest on the floor receiving the most up
roarious commendation, and so the dancing continue/
until broad daylight. It does not cease with the
sound of the fiddle, but in that case they set up a mu

sic peculiar to themselves. This is called
"
patting,"
accompanied with one of those unmeaning songs,

composed rather for its adaptation to a certain time
or measure, than for the purpose of expressing any

distinct idea.The patting is performed by striking \
the hands on the knees, then striking the hands to- )
gether, then striking the right shoulder with one

/
hand, the left with the other all the while keeping/
time with the feet, and singing, perhaps, this song /
Harper s creek and roarin

"
ribber,
Thar, dear, we ll live forebber
my ;
Den we ll go to de Ingin nation,

All I want in dis creation,
Is pretty little wife and big plantation.
Uhorus. Up dat oak and down dat ribber,

Two overseers and one little nigger "
Or, ifthese words are not adapted to the tune called
may be that Old Hog Eye" is a rather sol

"
for, it
emn and specimen of versification, not, how
startling
ever, to be appreciated unless heard at the South. It
runneth as follows :
"
Who s been here since I ve been gone ?
Pretty little
gal wid a josey on.
Hog Eye !
Old Hog Eye,

And Hosey too !
Never see de like since I was

born,
Here come a little
gal wid a josey on.
Hog Eye !
Old Hog Eye !
And Hosey too !"
Or, may be the following, perhaps, equally nonsen

sical, but full of melody, nevertheless, as it flows
from the negro s mouth :
"
Ebo Dick and Jurdan s Jo,

Them two niggers stole my yo".
Chorus. Hop Jim along,

Walk Jim along,
Talk Jim along,"
&c.
Old black Dan, as black as tar,

He dam glad he was not dar.
Hop Jim along,"
&c.
During the remaining holidays succeeding Christ

mas, they are provided wMi passes, and permitted to
go where they please within a limited distance, or
they iMay remain and labor on the plantation, iu

THREE DAYS IN THE YEAR. 221
which case they are paid for it. It is very rarely*

however, that the latter alternative is accepted.
Tl ey may be seen at these times hurrying in all di
rections, as happy looking mortals as can be found

on the face of the earth. \They are different beinga
from what they are in the field the temporary re ;
laxation, the brief deliverance from fear, and from

the lash, producing an entire metamorphosis in their
appearance and demeanorN, In visiting, riding, renew

ing old friendships, or, perchance, reviving some old
attachment, or pursuing whatever pleasure may sug
gest itself, the time is occupied. Such is "southern
]i_fe_a_s
it is,"
three days in the year, as I found it
the other three hiindxed^ and sixty-two being days

of weariness, and fear, and suffering, and unremit
ting labor.
Marriage is frequently contracted during the holi
days, If such an institution may be said to exist
among them. The only ceremony required before
entering into that holy estate," is to obtain the con
"
sent of the respective owners. It is usually encour
aged by the masters of female slaves. Either party

can have as many husbands or wives as the owner
will permit, and either is at liberty to discard the
other at pleasure. The law in relation to divorce, or
to bigamy, and not applicable to property
so forth, is
of course. If the wife does not belong on the same
plantation with the husband, the latter is permitted
to visit her on Saturday nights, if the distance is not

too far. Uncle Abram s wife lived seven miles froin
Epps on Bayou Huff Power. He had permission t^

,
visither once a fortnight, but he was growing old, as

has been said, and +~ *dfi to say, had latterly well nigli
forgotter her. Uncle Abram had no time to spare

from his meditations on General Jackson connubial
dalliance being well enough for the young and
thoughtless, but unbecoming a grave and solemn phi
losopher like himself.
CHAPTER XVI
; VEK8KI!RS HOW THEY ARE ARMED AND ACCOMPANIED THE HOMICIDE
HIS EXECUTION AT MARKSVILLE SLAVE-DRIVERS APPOINTED DRIVE!
ON REMOVING TO BAYOU BCEUF PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT EPPs AT
TEMPT TO CUT PLATT S THROAT THE ESCAPE FROM HIM PROTECTED
BY THE MISTRESS FORBIDS READING AND WRITING OBTAIN A SHEEt
OF PAPER AFTER NINE YEARS EFFORT THE LETTER ARMSBY, THB
MEAN WHITE PARTIALLY CONFIDE IN HIM HIS TREACHERY EPPS*
SUSPICIONS HOW THEY WERE QUIETED BURNING THE LETTER ARMS
BY LEAVES THE BAYOU DISAPPOINTMENT AND DESPAIR,
WITH the exception of my trip to St. Mary s parish,

and absence during the cane-cutting seasons, I
my
was constantly employed on the plantation of Master
Epps. He was
considered but a small planter, not
having a sufficient number of hands to require the

services of an overseer, acting in the latter capaoiU
himself. Not able to increase his force, it was his
custom during the hurry of cotton-picking.

to hire
On large* estates, employing fifty or a hundred, 01
perhaps two hundred hands, an overseer is deemed
indispensable. These gentlemen ride into the fie 1 /
on horseback, without an exception, to myknowledg
armed with pistols, bowie knife, whip, and accompa
nied by several dogs. They follow, equipped in this \
fashion, in rear of the slaves, keeping a sharp le^kout^

upon them all. The requisite qualifications in an_

overseer are utter heartlessness, brutality and cruelty.
It is his business to produce large crops, and if that is
accomplished, no matter what amount of suffering it

may have cost. The presence of the dogs are neces
sary to overhaul a fugitive who may take to his heel?
as is sometimes the case, when faint or sick, he is UE
able to maintin his row, and unable, also, to en
dure the whip. The pistols are reserved for any dan
gerous emergency, there having been instances when
such weapons were necessary. Goaded into uncon
trollable madness, even the slave will sometimes turn
upon his oppressor. The gallows were standing at
Marksville last January, upon which one was execu
ted a year ago for killing his overseer. It occurred
not many miles from Epps plantation on Eed River.
The slave was given his task at splitting rails. In
the course of the day the overseer sent him on an
errand, which occupied so much time that it was not

possible for him to perform the task. The next day
he was called an account, but the loss of time oc
to
casioned by the errand was no excuse, and he was

ordered to kneel and bare his back for the reception
of the lash. They were in the woods alone beyond
the reach of sight or hearing. The boy submitted
until maddened at such injustice, and insane with
pain, he sprang to his feet, and seizing an axe, liter
ally chopped the overseer in pieces. He made no at
tempt whatever at concealment, but hastening to hia

master, related the whole affair, and declared himseli
SLAVE DKIVEBS. 225
ready to expiate the wrong by the sacrifice of his life.

He was led to the scaffold, and while the rope was
around his neck, maintained an undismayed and
and with his last words justified the
fearless bearing,
act.
Besides the overseer, there are drivers under him

the number being in proportion to the number of
hands in the field. The drivers are black, who, in
addition to the performance of their equal share of
work, are compelled to do the whipping of their

several gangs. Whips hang around their necks, and
if they fail to use them thoroughly, are whipped
themselves. They have a few privileges, however ;
for example, in cane-cutting the hands are not allow

ed to down long enough to eat their dinners. Carts
sit
filledwith corn cake, cooked at the kitchen, are driv

en into the field at noon. The cake is distributed by
the drivers, and must be eaten with the least possible
delay.
"When the slave ceases to perspire, as he often does
when taxed beyond his strength, he falls to the ground
and becomes entirely helpless. It is then the duty
of the driver to drag him into the shade of the stand
ing cotton or cane, or of a neighboring tree, where

he dashes buckets of water upon him, and uses other
means of bringing out perspiration again, when he is
ordered to his place, and compelled to continue his
labor.
At Huff Power, when I first came to Epps Tom,
,
7
one of Koberts negroes, was driver. He was a burly
J* 15
fellow, and severe in the extreme. After Epps re

moval to
Bayou Boeuf, that distinguished honor was
conferred upon myself. Up to the time of my de
parture I had to wear a whip about my neck in the
field. If Epps was present, I dared not show any

lenity, not having the Christian fortitude of a certain
well-known Uncle Tom sufficiently to brave his wrath
by refusing to perform the office. In that way, only,
I escaped the immediate martyrdom he suffered, and,
withal, saved my companions much suffering, as it
proved in the end. Epps, I soon found, whether

actually in the field or not, had his eyes pretty gen
erally upon the
us. From
piazza, from behind some
adjacent tree, or other concealed point of observation,
he_was perpetually on the watch. If one of us had
been backward or idle through the day, we were apt
to be told all about it on returning to the quarters,
and was a matter of principle with him to re
as it
prove every offence of that kind that came within his

knowledge, the offender not only was certain of re
ceiving a castigation for his tardiness, but I likewise
was punished for permitting it.
^f, on the other hand, he had seen me use the lash
freely, the man was satisfied.

"
Practice makes per*
/feet," truly ;
and during my eight years experience
as a driver, I learned to handle the whip with mar
velous dexterity and precision, throwing the lash
within a hair s breadth of the back, the ear, the nose,
without, however, touching either of them. If Epps

was observed at a distance, or we had reason to ap-
APPOINTED DKIVEE. 227
sion, if he made his appearance presently, to mumble

in his hearing some complaints that Platt was lash
ing them the whole time, and Uncle Abram, with an
appearance of honesty peculiar to himself, would de

clare roundly I had just whipped them worse than
General Jackson whipped the enemy at New-Orleans.
If Epps was not drunk, and in one of his beastly hu
mors, this was, in general, satisfactory. If he was,

some one or more of us must suffer, as a matter of
course. Sometimes his violence assumed a dangerou
form, placing the lives of his human stock in jeop
ardy. On one occasion the drunken madman thought
to amuse himself by cutting my throat.
He had been absent at Holmesville, in attendance at
a shooting-match, and none of us were aware of his
return. While hoeing by the side of Patsey, she ex
claimed, in a low voice, suddenly, Platt, d ye see
"
old Hog-Jaw beckoning me come to him

to ?"
Glancing sideways, I discoveredhim in the edge

of the field, motioning and
grimacing, as was his habit
when half-intoxicated. Aware of his lewd intentions,
Patsey began to cry. I whispered her not to look up,
and to continue at her work, as if she had not ob
served him. Suspecting the truth of the matter,
however, he soon staggered up to me in a great rage.
**
WTiat did you say to Pats demanded, with
?" lie
an oatli. I made him some evasive an swer, which
only had the effect of increasing his violence.

"
How
long have you owned this plantation, say
you d d nigger he inquired, with a malicious
?"
sneer, at the same time taking hold of my shirt col

lar with one hand, and thrusting the other into his
pocket.
"
Now I cut your black throat that s

ll ;
what I ll do," drawing his knife from his pocket as

he said it. But with one hand he was unable to
open it, until finally seizing the blade in his teeth, ]

saw he was about to succeed, and felt the necessity
of escaping from him, for in his present reckless state,
;it
was evident he was not joking, by any means. My
Bhirt was open in front, and as I turned round quickly
and sprang from him, while he still retained his gripe,

itwas stripped entirely from my back. There was
no difficulty now in eluding him. He would chase
me was recov
until out of breath, then stop until it
ered, swear, and renew the chase again. Now he

would command me to come to him, now endeavor
to coax me, but I was careful to keep at a respectful
distance. In this manner we made the circuit of the

field several times, he making desperate plunges, and
I always dodging them, more amused than frightened,
veil knowing that when his sober senses returned,
he would laugh at his own drunken folly. At length
I observed the mistress standing by the yard fence,
watching our half-serious, half-comical manoeuvres.

Shooting past him, I ran directly to her. Epps, on
PROTECTED BY THE MISTRESS. 229
discovering her, did not follow. He remained about

the field an hour or more, during which time I stood
by the mistress, having related the particulars of

what had taken place. Now, she was aroused again,
denouncing her husband and Patsey about equally.
Finally, Epps came towards the house, by this time
nearly sober, walking demurely, with his hands bo-
hind his back, and attempting to look as innocent as
a child.
~Âs he approached, nevertheless, Mistress Epps be
gan him roundly, heaping upon him many
to berate
rather disrespectful epithets, and demanding for what

reason he had attempted to cut my throat. Epps
made wondrous strange of it all, and to my surprise,
swore by all the saints in the calendar he had not
spoken to me that day.

"
Platt^ you lying nigger, have I ?" was his brazen
appeal to me.
f It is not safe to contradict a master, even by the
I
assertion -of a truth. So I was silent, and when he en
I tered the house I returned to the field, and the affair
wâs never after alluded to.
Shortly after this time a circumstance occurred that

came nigh divulging the secret of my real name and
history, which I had so long and carefully concealed,
and upon which I was convinced depended my final
escape. Soon after he purchased me, Epps asked
me could write and read, and on being informed
if I
that I had received some instruction in those branches

of education, he assured me, with emphasis, if he evei
caught me with a book, or with pen and ink, he would
give me a hundred lashes. He said he wanted me to

understand that he bought niggers" to work and not
"
to educate. He never inquired a word of my past

life, or from whence I came. The mistress, however,
cross-examined me
frequently about Washington,
which she supposed was my native city, and more
than once remarked that I did not talk nor act like
the other "
niggers,"
and she was sure I had seen more
of the world than I admitted.
Mygreat object always was to invent means of get

ting a letter secretly into the post-office, directed to
some of my friends or family at the JSTorth. The diffi
culty of such an achievement cannot be comprehend
ed by one unacquainted with the severe restrictions
imposed upon me. In the first place, I was deprived

of pen, ink, and paper. In the second place, a slave
cannot leave his plantation without a pass, nor will a
post-master mail a letter for one without written in
structions from his owner. I was in slavery nine
years, and always watchful and on the alert, before I

met with the good fortune of obtaining a sheet of pa-
\j)gr.
While Epps was in New-Orleans, one winter,
disposing of his cotton, the mistress sent me to Holmes-
ville, with an order for several articles, and among

the rest a quantity of foolscap. I appropriated a sheet
concealing it in the cabin, under the board on which

I slept.
^ After various experiments I succeeded in making
ink, by boiling white maple bark, and with a feather
THE LETTER. 231
from the wing of a duck, manufactured a
pen. When all were asleep in the cabin, by the light

of the coals, lying upon my plank couch, I managed
to complete a somewhat lengthy epistle. It was di
rected to an old acquaintance at Sandy Hill, stating
my condition, and urging him to take measures to re

store me to liberty. This letter I kept a long time,
contriving measures by which it could be safely de

posited in the post-office. At length, a low fellow, by
the name of Armsby, hitherto a stranger, came into
the neighborhood, seeking a situation as overseer.
He applied to Epps, and was about the plantation for
sever -1 days. He next went over to Shaw s, near by,
and remained w ith him several weeks.
T
Shaw w as r
genr-ally surrounded by such worthless characters,

being himself noted as a gambler and unprincipled
man. He had made a wife of his slave Charlotte, and
a b/ood of young mulattoes were growing up in his
house. Armsby became so much reduced at last,
that he was compelled to labor with the slaves. A

white man working in the field is a rare and unusual
spectacle on Bayou Boeuf. I improved every oppor
tunity of cultivating his acquaintance privately, de

siring to obtain his confidence so far as to be willing
to intrust the letter to his keeping. He visited Marks-
ville repeatedly, he informed me, a town some twenty
miles distant, and there, I proposed to myself, the let
ter should be mailed.
Carefully deliberating on the most proper manner

of approaching him on the subject, I concluded final*
ly to ask him simply

he would deposit a letter foi
if
me in the Marksville post-office the next time he via

ited that place, without disclosing to him that the let
ter was written, or any of the particulars it contained ;
for I had fears that he might betray me, and knew
that some inducement must be held out to him of a
pecuniary nature, before it would be safe to confide

in him. As late as one o clock one night I stole noise
lessly from my cabin, and, crossing the field to Shaw s,
found him sleeping on the piazza. I had but a few

picayunes the proceeds of my fiddling performan
ces, but all I had in the world I promised him if lie

would do me the favor required. I begged him not
to expose me if he could not grant the request. He
assured me, upon his honor, he would deposit it in the
Marksville post-office, and that he would keep it an
inviolable secret forever. Though the letter was in
my pocket at the time, I dared not then deliver it to
him, but stating I would have it written in a day or
two, bade him good night, and returned to my cab

in. was impossible for me to expel the suspicion^
It
I entertained, and all night I lay awake, revolving in\
my mind the safest course to pursue. I was willing

to risk a great deal to accomplish my purpose, but
should the letter by any means fall into the hands of

Epps, it would be a death-blow to my aspirations. I/
was "
perplexed in the extreme."
...
My suspicions were well-founded, as the sequel de
monstrated. The next day but one, while scraping cot
ton in the field, Epps seated himself on the line fence
233
between Shaw s plantation and his own, in such a po

sition as to overlook the scene of our labors. Pres
ently Armsby made his appearance, and, mounting
the fence, took a seat beside him. They remained
two or three hours, all of which time I was in an ag
ony of apprehension.
That night, while broiling my bacon, Epps entered
the cabin with his rawhide in his hand.
/ ~_
I
"
Well, boy,"
said he, "
I understand I ve got a
lamed nigger, that writes letters, and tries to get
white fellows to mail em. Wonder if you know who
he *
is ?"
.,_,_
worst fears were realized, and although it may

My
not be considered entirely creditable, even under the
circumstances, yet a resort to duplicity and downright

falsehood was the only refuge that presented itself.
Don t know
nothing about it, Master Epps," I an
"
swered him, assuming an air of ignorance and sur

prise Don t know nothing at all about it,
;
"
sir."
"
Wan t you over to Shaw s night before last ?" he

inquired.
"
No, master," was the reply.

"
Hav nt you
asked that fellow, Armsby, to mail a
letter for you at Marksville ?"
Why, Lord, master, I never spoke three words to

"
him in all my life. I don tknow what you mean."

he continued, Armsby told me to-day the
" "
Well,"
devil was among my niggers ;

that I had one that
needed close watching or he would run away and ;
when I axed him why, he said you come over tc

Shaw s, and waked him up in the night, and wanted

him to carry a letter to Marksville. What have you
got to say to that, ha ?"
"
All I ve got to say, master," I replied, "
is, there
is no truth in it. How could I write a letter without
any ink or paper ? There is nobody I want to write
to,cause I haint got no friends living as I know of.

That Armsby is a lying, drunken fellow, they say, and
nobody believes him anyway. You know I always
tell the truth, and that I never go off the plantation
without a pass. Now, master, I can see what that
Armsby is after, plain enough. Did nt he want you

to hire him for an overseer ?"
Yes, he wanted me to hire him," answered Epps.

"
"
That s said I, he wants to make you believe

it,"
"
we re all going to run away, and then he thinks you ll

hire an overseer to watch us. He just made that sto
ry out of whole cloth, cause he wants to get a situa
tion. It s all a lie, master, you may depend on t."
Êpps mused awhile, evidently impressed with the

plausibility of my theory, and exclaimed,
"
I m d d, Platt, if I don t believe you tell the

truth. He must take me for a soft, to think he can
come it over me with them kind of yarns, musn t he ?
Maybe he thinks he can fool me maybe he thinks ;
I don t know nothing can t take care of my own

niggers, eh ! Soft soap old Epps, eh !
Ha, ha, ha !
D n Armsby! Set the dogs on him, Platt," and
with many other comments descriptive of Arrnsby a
general character, and his capability of taking care of

DISAPPOINTMENT AND DESPAIR. 235
his own business, and attending to liis own "
niggers,"
Master Epps left the cabin. As soon as he was gone

I threw the letter in the fire, and, with a desponding
and despairing heart, beheld the epistle which had
cost me so much anxiety and thought, and which I
fondly hoped would have been my forerunner to the

land of freedom, writhe and shrivel on its bed of coals,
and dissolve into smoke and ashes. Armsby, the
treacherous wretch, was driven from Shaw s planta
tion not long subsequently, much to my relief, for I
feared he might renew
his conversation, and perhaps
induce Epps to credit him.
knew not now whither to look for deliverance.
"Nl
Hopes sprang up in my heart only to be crushed and

.
blighted. The summer of my life was passing away ;
-^1 felt I was growing prematurely old that a few ;
years more, and toil, and grief, and the poisonous mi

asmas of the swamps would accomplish their work
upon me would consign me to the grave s embrace,
to moulder and be forgotten. Repelled, betrayed, cut
off from the hope of succor, I could only prostrate
myself upon the earth and groan in unutterable an

guish. The hope of rescue was the only light that
cast a ray of comfort on my heart. That was now
flickering, faint and low ;
another breath of disap
pointment would extinguish it
altogether, leaving me
to grope in midnight darkness to the end of life.
CHAPTER XVII.
TLKT DISREGARDS THE COUNSELS OF AUNT PHEBE AND UNCLE ABRAM,

AND IS CAUGHT BY THE PATROLLERS THE ORGANIZATION AND DUTIK8
OF THE LATTER WILEY RUNS AWAY SPECULATIONS IN REGARD TO
HIM HIS UNEXPECTED RETURN HIS CAPTURE ON RED RIVER, AND
CONFINEMENT IN ALEXANDRIA JAIL DISCOVERED BY JOSEPH B. ROB
ERTS SUBDUING DOGS IN ANTICIPATION OF ESCAPE THE FUGITIVES
IN THE GREAT PINE WOODS CAPTURED BY ADAM TAYDEM AND THB
INDIANS AUGUSTUS KILLED BY DOGS NELLY, ELDRET s SLAVE WOMAN
THE STORY OF CELESTE THE CONCERTED MOVEMENT LEW CHEENEY,
THE TRAITOR THE IDEA OF INSURRECTION.
THE year 1850, down to which time I have now ar

lived, omitting many occurrences uninteresting to the
reader,was an unlucky year for my companion Wiley,

the husband of Phebe, whose taciturn and retiring
nature has thus far kept him in the background. Not
withstanding "Wiley seldom opened his mouth, and
revolved in his obscure and unpretending orbit with
out a grumble, nevertheless the warm elements of so
ciality were strong in the bosom of that silent

"
nig
ger."
In the exuberance of his self-reliance, disre
garding the philosophy of Uncle Abram, and setting

the counsels of Aunt Phebe utterly at naught, he had
the fool-hardiness to essay a nocturnal visit to a
neigh
boring cabin without a pass.
237
So attractive was the society in which he found

\
himself, that Wiley took little note of the passing
hours, and the light began to break in the east before
he was aware. Speeding homeward as fast as he
conld run, he hoped to reach the quarters before the
horn would sound but, unhappily, he was spied on
;
the way by a company of patrollers.

How it is dark places of slavery, I do not
in other
know, but on Bayou Boeuf there is an organization of

~~patrollers, as they are styled, whose business it is to
seizeand w hip any slave they may find wandering

r
from the plantation. They ride on horseback, headed

by a captain, armed, and accompanied by dogs. Tl
have the right, either by law, or by general consent
to inflict discretionary chastisement upon a black man
caught beyond the boundaries of his master s estate
without a pass, and even to shoot him, if he attempts
10 escape. Each company has a certain distance to
ride up and down the bayou. They are compensated
by the planters, who contribute in proportion to the
number of slaves they own. The clatter of their hor
ses hoofs dashing by can be heard at all hours of the
night, and frequently they may be seen driving a
slave before them, or leading him by a rope fastened
around his neck, to his owner s plantation.
Wiley one of these companies, thinking
fled before
he could reach his cabin before they could overtake

him but one of their dogs, a great ravenous hound,
;
griped him by the leg, and held him fast. The pa

trollers whipped him severely, and brought him, a
prisoner, to Epps. From liim he received anotliei

flagellation still more severe, so that fhe exits of the
lash and the bites of the clog rendered him sore, stiff
and miserable, insomuch he was scarcely able to move.
It was impossible in such a state to
keep up his row
and consequently there was not an hour in the daj
but Wiley feltthe sting of his master s rawhide on
his raw and bleeding back. His sufferings became
intolerable,and finally he resolved to run away.
Without disclosing his intentions to run away even
to his wife Phebe, he proceeded to make
arrange
ments for carrying his plan into execution. Having
cooked his whole week allowance, he cautiously left
s
the cabin on a Sunday night, after the inmates of the

quarters were asleep. When the horn sounded in the
morning, Wiley did not make his appearance. Search
was made for him in the cabins, in the corn-crib, in
the cotton-house, and in every nook and corner of the
premises. Each of us was examined, touching any

knowledge we might have that could throw light upon
his sudden disappearance or present whereabouts.
Epps raved and stormed, and mounting his horse, gal
loped to neighboring plantations, making inquiries

The search was fruitless. Nothing
in all directions.
whatever was elicited, going to show what had be

come of the missing man. The dogs were led to the
swamp, but were unable to strike his trail. They
would circle away through the forest, their noses to
the ground, but invariably returned in a short time
to the spot from whence they started.
239
Wiley had escaped, and so secretly and cautiously

as to elude and baffle all pursuit. Days and even
weeks passed away, and nothing could be heard of
him. Epps did nothing but curse and swear. It was
the only topic of conversation among us when alone.
e indulged in a great deal of speculation in regard
to him, one suggesting he might have been drowned
in some bayou, inasmuch as he was a poor swimmer ;
another, that perhaps he might have been devoured

by alligators, or stung by the venomous moccasin,
\whose bite is certain and sudden death. The warm
and hearty sympathies of us all, however, were
with poor Wiley, wherever he might be. Many aip^
earnest prayer ascended from the lips of Uncle Abram,
beseeching safety for tho wanderer.
In about three weeks, when all hope of ever seeing
him again, was dismissed, to our surprise, he one day
appeared among us. On leaving the plantation, he
informed us, it was his intention to make his way
v back to South Carolina to the old quarters of Mas-
J êr Buford.During the day he remained secreted,
sometimes mjthe branches of a tree, and at_ji|ght
pressed forward through the swamps. Finally, one
morning, just at dawn, Tie reachecT Hie shore of Red

River. While standing on the bank, considering how
he could cross it, a white man accosted him, and de
manded Without one, and evidently a runa
a pass.
way, he was taken to Alexandria, the shire town of

the parish of Rapide, and ccnSnsd. in prison. It
happened several days after tfiat J osep^ K Roberts,

24:0 TWELVE YEAE8 A SLAVE.
ancle of Mistress Epps, was in Alexandria, and going

into the jail, recognized him. Wiley had worked on
his plantation, when Epps resided at Huff Power.
Paying the jail fee, and writing him a pass, under

neath which was a note to Epps, requesting him not
to whip him on his return, Wiley was sent back to
Bayou Boeuf. was the hope that hung upon this

It
request, and which Roberts assured him would be re

spected by his master, that sustained him as he ap
proached the house. The request, however, as may
be readily supposed, was entirely disregarded. After
being kept in suspense three days, Wiley was stripped,

and compelled to endure one of those inhuman flog
gings to which the poor slave is so often subjected.
It was the first and last attempt of Wiley to run away.
v
The long scars upon his back, which he wdll carry
with him to the grave, perpetually remind him of the
dangers of such a step.
There was not a day throughout the ten years I be
longed to Epps that I did not consult with myself upon
the prospect of escape. I laid many plans, which at
the time I considered excellent ones, but one after the
other they were all abandoned. No man who has
never been placed in such a situation, can comprehend
the thousand obstacles thrown in the way of the flying
/"slave. Every white man s hand is raised against him

1
the patrollers are watching for him the hounds
:
are ready to follow on his track, and the nature of
the country is such as renders it impossible to pass
through it with any safety. I thought, however, that

FUGITIVES IN THE PINE WOODS. 241
the time might come, perhaps, when I should be run
ning through the swamps again. I concluded, in that

case, to be prepared
for Epps dogs, should they pur
sue me. He
possessed several, one of which was a
notorious slave-hunter, and the most fierce and savage
of his breed. While out hunting the coon or the
opossum, I never allowed an opportunity to escape,
when alone, of whipping them severely. In this man
ner I succeeded at length in subduing them com
pletely. They feared me, obeying my voice at once

when others had no control over them whatever.
Had they followed and overtaken me, I doubt not
thejf would have shrank from attacking me.
Notwithstanding the certainty of being captured,
the woods and swamps are, nevertheless, continually
filled with runaways. Many of them, when sick, or
so worn out as to be unable to perform their tasks,
escape into the swamps, willing to suffer the punish
ment inflicted for such offences, in order to obtain a
day or two of rest.
While I belonged to Ford, I was unwittingly the
means of disclosing the hiding-place of six or eight,
who had taken up their residence in the Great Pine "
Woods. Adam Taydem frequently sent me from

7
the mills over to the opening after provisions. The

whole distance was then a thick pine forest. About
ten o clock of a beautiful moonlight night, while
walking along the Texas road, returning to the mills,

carrying a dressed pig in a bag swung over my
shoulder, I heard footsteps behind me, and turning
K 16
round, beheld two black men in the dress of slaves

approaching at a rapid pace. "When within a short
distance, one ofthem raised a club, as if intending to
strike methe other snatched at the bag. I managed
;
to dodge them both, and seizing a pine knot, hurled
t with such force

against the head of one of them
that he was prostrated apparently senseless to the
ground. Just then two more made their appearance

from one side of the road. Before they could grapple
ne, however, I succeeded in passing them, and taking
o my heels, fled, much affrighted, towards the mills.
When Adam was informed of the adventure, he
hastened straightway to the Indian village, and arous
ing Cascalla and several of his tribe, started in pur

suit of the highwaymen. I accompanied them to the
scene of attack, when we discovered a puddle of
blood in the road, where the man whom I had smit
ten with the pine knot had fallen. After searching
carefully through the woods a long time, one of Cas

calla s men discovered a smoke curling up through
the branches of several prostrate pines, whose tops
had fallen together. The rendezvous was cautiously
surrounded, and all ofthem taken prisoners. They
had escaped from a plantation in the vicinity of La-
mourie, and had been secreted there three weeks.
They had no evil design upon me, except to frighten
mo out of my pig. Having observed me passing

towards Ford s and suspecting the
just at night-fall,
nature of my errand, they had followed me, seen me
butcher and dress the porker, and start on my return-
AUGUSTUS KILLED BY DOGS. 24:3
l|
-They had been pinched for food, and were driven

to this extremity by necessity. Adam conveyed
them
v
to the parish jail, and was liberally rewarded.
!N"ot
unfrequently the runaway loses his life in the
attempt to escape. Epps premises were bounded Cr

one sideTy Carey s, a very extensive sugar planta
tion. He cultivates annually at least fifteen hundred
acres of cane, manufacturing twenty-two or twenty-
three hundred hogsheads of sugar an hogshead and ;
a half being the usual yield of an acre. Besides this

he also cultivates five or six hundred acres of corn and
cotton. He owned last year one hundred and fifty
three field hands, besides nearly as many children, and
yearly hires a drove during the busy season from this

side the Mississippi.
One of his negro drivers, a pleasant, intelligent
boy, was named Augustus. During the holidays, and
occasionally while at work in adjoining fields, I had
an opportunity of making his acquaintance, which
eventually ripened into a warm and mutual attach
ment. Summer before last he was so unfortunate as
to incur the displeasure of the overseer, a coarse,
heartless brute, who* whipped him most cruelly. Au
5
gustus ran away. Beaching a cane rick on Hawkins

plantation, he secreted himself in the top of it. All
Carey s dogs were put upon his track some fifteen

of them and soon scented his footsteps to the hiding
place. They surrounded the rick, baying and scratch
ing, but could not reach him. Presently, guided by
the clamor of the hounds, the pursuers rode up, when
the overseer, mounting on to the rick, drew him forth.

As he rolled down to the ground the whole pack
plunged him, and before they could be beaten
uK>n
off, had gnawed and mutilated his body in the most

shocking manner, their teeth having penetrated to
the bone in an hundred places. He was taken up,
tied upon a mule, and carried home. But this was
Augustus last trouble. He lingered until the next
day, when death sought the unhappy boy, and kindly
relieved him from his agony.
It was not unusual for slave women as well as slave
men to endeavor to escape. Nelly, Eldret s girl, with
whom I lumbered for a time in the "
Big Cane
Brake," lay concealed in
Epps corn crib three days.
At night, when his family were asleep, she would
steal into the quarters for food, and return to the crib
again. We concluded it would .no longer be safe for

us to allow her to remain, and accordingly she re
traced her steps to her own cabin.
But the most remarkable instance of a successful
evasion of dogs and hunters was the following :
Among Careywas one by the name of Celeste.

s girls
She was nineteen or twenty, and far whiter than her

owner, or any of his offspring. It required a close
inspection to distinguish in her features the slightest
trace of African blood. A stranger would never
have dreamed that she was the descendant of slaves.
I was sitting in my cabin late at night, playing a low
air on my violin, when the door opened carefully, and
Celeste stood before me. She was pale and haggard
STORY OF CELESTE. 245
Had an apparition arisen from the earth, I could not

have been more startled.
"
Who are you ?" I demanded, after gazing at her
a moment.
"
I m hungry ; give me some bacon," was her reply.

X My first impression was that she was some de
ranged young mistress, who, escaping from home, was
wandering, she knew not whither, and had been
attracted to my cabin by the sound of the violin.
The coarse cotton slave dress she wore, however, soon
dispelled such a supposition.

"
What is
your name ?" I again interrogated.
"
My name is Celeste," she answered. I belong

"
to Carey, and have been two days among the pal-

mettoes. I am sick and can t work, and would rather
die in the swamp than be whipped to death by the
\
overseer. Carey s dogs won t follow me. They have
tried to set them on. There s a secret between them
and and they wont mind the devilish orders
Celeste,
of the overseer. Give me some meat I m starving."
I divided my scanty allowance with her, and while
partaking of it, she related how she had managed to
escape, and described the place of her concealment.

In the edge of the swamp, not half a mile from Epps
house, was a large space, thousands of acres in
extent, thickly covered with palmetto. Tall trees,

whose long arms interlocked each other, formed a
canopy above them, so dense as to exclude the beams
of the sun. It was like twilight always, even in the
middle of the brightest day. In the centre of thia

24:6 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
great space, which nothing but serpents very often

explore a sombre and solitary spot Celeste had
erected a rude hut of dead branches that had fallen
to the ground, and covered it with the leaves of the
palmetto. This was the abode she had selected.
She had no fear of Carey s dogs, any more than I had
of Epps . It is a fact, which I have never been able
to explain, that there are those whose tracks the
hounds will absolutely refuse to follow. Celeste was
one of them.
For several nights she came to my cabin for food.
On one occasion our dogs barked as she approached,
which aroused Epps, and induced him to reconnoitre
the premises. He did not discover her, but after that
itwas not deemed prudent for her to come to the
yard. When all was silent I carried provisions to a
certain spot agreed upon, where she would find them.
In this manner Celeste passed the greater part of
the summer. She regained her health, and became
strong and hearty. At all seasons of the year the
bowlings of wild animals can be heard at night along
the borders of the swamps. Several times they had
made her a midnight call, awakening her from slum
ber with a growl. Terrified by such unpleasant salu
tations, she finally concluded to abandon her lonely
dwelling ; and, accordingly, returning to her master,

was scourged, her neck meanwhile being fastened in
the stocks, and sent into the field again.

The year before my arrival in the country there
was a concerted movement among a number of slaves
THE CONCERTED MOVEMENT. 24:7
on Bayou Boeuf, tliat terminated tragically indeed,

It was, I presume, a matter of newspaper notoriety at
the time, but all the knowledge I have of it, has been
derived from the relation of those living at that period
in the immediate vicinity of the excitement. It has
become a subject of general and unfailing interest in

every slave-hut on the bayou, and will doubtless go
down to succeeding generations as their chief tradi
tion. Lew Cheney, with whom
I became acquainted
a shrewd, cunning negro, more intelligent than the
generality of his race, but unscrupulous and full of

treachery conceived the project of organizing a com
pany sufficiently strong to fight their way
against all
opposition, to the
neighboring territory of Mexico.
A
remote spot, far within the depths of the swamp
back of Hawkins plantation, was selected as the ral
lying point. Lew flitted from one plantation to an
other, in the dead of night, preaching a crusade to
Mexico, and, like Peter the Hermit, creating a furor
of excitement wherever he appeared. At length a
large numberof runaways were assembled; stolen
mules, and corn gathered from the fields, and bacon

filched from smoke-houses, had been conveyed into
the woods. The expedition was about ready to pro
ceed, when their hiding place was discovered. Lew

Cheney, becoming convinced of the ultimate failure
of his project, in order to curry favor with his master,
and avoid the consequences which he foresaw would
follow, deliberately determined to sacrifice all his
companions. Departing secretly from the encamp-

,
he proclaimed among the planters the number
collected in the swamp, and, instead of stating truly
the object jhey had in view, asserted their intention
was to emerge from their seclusion the first favorable
opportunity, and murder every white person along the
bayou.
f
"Snch an announcement, exaggerated as it passed
from mouth to mouth, filled the whole country with
(
terror. The fugitives were surrounded and taken pris-

cners, carried in chains to Alexandria, and hung by
the populace. "Not
only those, but many who were
suspected, though entirely innocent, were taken from
the field and from the cabin, and without the shadow
1
\ of process or form of trial, hurried to the scaffold.

Thlf planters on Bayou Boeuf finally rebelled against
such reckless destruction of property, but it was not
until a regiment of soldiers had arrived from some
fort on the Texan
frontier, demolished the gallows,
and opened the doors of the Alexandria prison, that
the indiscriminate slaughter was stayed. Lew Che
ney escaped, and wâs even rewarded for his treachery.
He is still living, but his name is despised and exe
crated by all his race throughout the parishes of
Rapides and Avoyelles.

Such an idea as insurrection, however, is not new
among the enslaved population of Bayou Boeuf. More
than once I have joined in serious consultation, when
the subject has been discussed, and there have been
times when a word from me would have placed hun
dreds of my fellow-bondsmen in an attitude of deft-
THE IDEA OF INSURRECTION. 24C
ance. Without arms or ammunition, or even with

them, saw such a step would result in certain defeat,
I
j
disaster and death, and always raised my voic^/

it.
against
During the Mexican war I well remember the ex
travagant hopes that were excited. The news of vie
tory filled the great house with rejoicing, but pro
duced only sorrow and disappointment in the cabin.
In my
opinion and I have had opportunity to know
something of the feeling of which I speak there are
not fifty slaves on the shores of Bayou Boeuf, but
would hail with unmeasured delight the approach of
an invading army.
They are deceived who flatter themselves that the
ignorant and debased slave has no conception of the
magnitude of his wrongs. They are deceived who
imagine that he arises from his knees, with back la
cerated and bleeding, cherishing only a spirit of meek
ness and forgiveness. A
day may come it will
come, if his prayer is heard a terrible day of ven
geance, when the master in his turn will cry in

for mercy.
K*
CHAPTER XVIII.
- CONVERSATION WITH AUNT PHEBE OVERHEARD - EPW
TUB TANNER
IN THE TANNING BUSINESS- STABBING OF UNCLE ABRAM - THE UGLY
WOUND - EPPS JEALOUS - PATSEY
IS MISSING - HER RETURN FROM
IS
SHAW SHARRIET, SHAW BLACK WIFE

S EPPS ENRAGED PATSEY DE
NIES CHARGES - SHE
HIS TIED DOWN NAKED TO FOUR STAKES - THK
IS
INHUMAN FLOGGING - FLAYING OF PATSEY - THE BEAUTY OF THE DAY

THE BUCKET OF SALT WATER - THE DRESS WITH BLOOD - PATSEY
STIFF
GROWS MELANCHOLY - HER IDEA OF GOD AND ETERNITY - OF HEAVEN AND
FREEDOM - THE EFFECT OF SLAVE- WHIPPING - EPPS OLDEST SON - "THE
CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN."
WILEY suffered severely at the hands of Master
Epps, as has been related in the preceding chapter,

but in this respect he fared no worse than his unfor
tunate companions. Spare the rod," was an idea
"
scouted by our master. He was constitutionally sub

ject to periods of ill-humor, and at such times, how
ever little provocation there might be, a certain
amount of punishment was inflicted. The circum
stances attending the last flogging but one that- 1 re
ceived, will show how trivial a cause was sufficient

with him for resorting to the whip.
A Mr. O Kiel, residing in the vicinity of the Big
Pine Woods, called upon Epps for the purpose of pur-
O NIEL, THE TANNEK. 251
chasing me. He was

a tanner and currier by occu
pation, transacting an extensive business, and intend

ed to place me at service in some department of his
establishment, provided he bought me. Aunt Phebe,
while preparing the dinner-table in the great house,
overheard their conversation. On returning to the
yard at night, the old woman ran to meet me, design
ing, of course, to overwhelm me with the news. She
entered into a minute repetition of all she had heard,
and Aunt Phebe was one whose ears never failed to
drink in every word of conversation uttered in her
hearing. She enlarged upon the fact that "Massa

Epps was g wine to sell me to a tanner ober in de
Pine Woods," and loudly as to attract the at
so long
tention of the mistress, who, standing unobserved on
the piazza at the time, was listening to our conver
sation.
"
Well, Aunt glad of it. I

Phebe," said I,
"
I m m
tired of scraping cotton, and would rather be a tanner.
I hope he ll
buy me."
O did not effect a purchase, however, the par

JS"iel
ties differing as to price, and the morning following

his arrival, departed homewards. He had been gone
but a short time, when Epps made his appearance in
the field. Now nothing will more
violently enrage a
master, especially Epps, than the intimation of one of
his servants that he would like to leave him. Mis
Epps had repeated to him my expressions to
tress
Aunt Phebe the evening previous, as I learned from

the latter afterwards, the mistress having mentioned
TWELVE YEAKS A SLATE.
to hot* that <she had overheard us. Oil entering t Lo
field, Epps walked directly to me.

"
So, Platt, you re tired of scraping cotton, are you ?

You would like to change your master, eh ? You re
fond of moving round traveler ain t ye ?
Ah,
yes like to travel for
your health, may be? Feel
above cotton-scraping, I spose. So you re going into
the tanning business ? Good business devilish fine
business. Enterprising nigger ! B lieve
I ll go into
that business myself. Down on your knees, and strip
that rag off your back ! I ll try my hand at tanning."
I begged earnestly, and endeavored to soften him
with excuses, but in vain. There was no other alter
native ;
so kneeling down, I presented my bare back
for the application of the lash.
"
How
do you like tanning ? he exclaimed, as the "
rawhide descended upon my flesh. How do you "
like tanning f
"
he repeated at every blow. In this
manner he gave me twenty or thirty lashes, inces
santly giving utterance to the word in one "
tanning,"
form of expression or another. When sufficiently

"
tanned," he allowed me to arise, and w ith a T

half-
malicious laugh assured me, I still fancied the busi if
ness,he would give me further instruction in it when-

ever I desired. This time, he remarked, he had only
given me the next time

"
a short lesson in tanning

"
he would "
curry me down."
-
Uncle Abram, also,was frequently treated with
great brutality, although he was one of the kindest
and most faithful creatures in the world. He was my
STABBING OF UNCLE ABRAM. 253
r^hbiii-mate for years. There was a benevolent ex

pression in the old man s face, pleasant to behold,
He regarded us with a kind of parental feeling, always
counseling us with remarkable gravity and delibe
ration.
Returning from Marshall s plantation one afternoon,

whither I had been sent on some errand of the mis
found him lying on the cabin floor, his clothes
tress, I
saturated with blood. He informed me that he
been stabbed While spreading cotton on the
!
fold, Epps came home intoxicatgej. from Holrnesville.

He found fault with every thing, giving many orders
so directly contrary that was impossible to execute
it
^^
any of them. Uncle Abram, whose faculties were
growing dull, became confused, and committed some
blunder of no particular consequence. Epps was so^
enraged thereat, that, with drunken recklessness, he
flew upon the old man, and stabbed him in the back.
It was a long, ugly wound, but did not happen to
penetrate far enough to result fatally. It was sewed
up by the mistress, who censured her husband with
extreme severity, not only denouncing his inhumanity,
but declaring that she expected nothing else than that
he would bring the family to poverty that he would
kill all the slaves on the plantation in some of hia
drunken fits.
was no uncommon thing with him to prostrate

It
Aunt Phebe with a chair or stick of wood but the ;
most cruel whipping that ever I was doomed to wit

ness one I can never recall with any other emotion
254: TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
than that of horror was inflicted on the unfortunate

Patsey.
It has been seen that the jealousy and hatred of
Mistress Epps made the daily life of her young and
agile slave completely miserable. I am happy in the

belief that on numerous occasions I was the means of
averting punishment from the inoffensive girl. In
Epps absence the mistress often ordered me to whip
her without the remotest provocation. I would refuse,
saying that I feared my master s displeasure, and sev
eral times ventured to remonstrate with her against
the treatment Patsey received. I endeavored to im
press her with the truth that the latter was not re
sponsible for the acts of which she complained, but
that she being a slave, and subject entirely to her
master s will, he alone was answerable.
At length the green-eyed monster crept into the
"
"
soul of Epps also, and then it was that he joined with

his wrathful wife in an infernal jubilee over the girl s
miseries.
On a Sabbath day in hoeing time, not long ago, we
were on the bayou bank, washing our clothes, as was
our usual custom. Presently Patsey was missing
Epps called aloud, but there was no answer. No one

had observed her leaving the yard, and it was a won
der with us whither she had gone. In the course of
a couple of hours she was seen approaching from the
direction of Shaw s. This man, as has been intima
ted, was a notorious profligate, and withal not on the
most friendly terms with Epps. Harriet, his black
PATSEY S RETURN FROM SHAW S. 255
wife,knowing Patsey s troubles, was kind to her, in

consequence of which the latter was in the habit o^
going over to see her every opportunity. Her visitsi
were prompted by friendship merely, but the suspi-\
cion gradually entered the brain of Epps, that another I
and a baser passion led her thither that it was not

Harriet she desired to meet, but rather the unblush-/
ing libertine, his neighbor. Patsey found her maste/

in a fearful rage on her return. His violence so
alarmed her that at first she attempted to evade direct
answers to his questions, which only served to increase
his suspicions. She finally, however, drew herself up
proudly, and in a spirit of indignation boldly denied
his charges.
"^ Missus don t
give me soap to wash with, as she
does the rest,"
said Patsey, "
and you know why. I

went over to Harriet s to get a piece,"
and saying this,
she drew it forth from a pocket in her dress and ex
hibited it to him. That s what I went to Shaw s for,
"
Massa Epps,"
continued she ;
"
the Lord knows that

was all."
"
You lie, you black wench !

"
shouted Epps.
I dorft lie, massa.
"
If you kill me, I ll stick to that.

"
Oh ! I ll fetch you down. learn you to go to I ll
Shaw s. I ll take the starch out of ye," he muttered
fiercely through his shut teeth.

Then turning to me, he ordered four stakes to be
driven into the ground, pointing with the toe of his
boot to the places where he wanted them. When the
stakes were driven down, he ordered her to be strip-
t -
)ed of every article of dress. Ropes were tlien

brought, and the naked girl was laid upon her face,
her wrists and feet each tied firmly to a stake. Step
ping to the piazza, he took down a heavy whip, and

placing it in my hands, commanded me to lash her.
Unpleasant as it was, I was compelled to obey him.

Nowhere that day, on the face of the whole earth, I
venture to say, was there such a demoniac exhibition
witnessed as then ensued.
Epps stood on the piazza among her chil

Mistress .
dren, gazing on the seen** % ith an air of heartless sat-

r
\
isfaction. The slaves were Auddled together at a lit
tle distance, their countenances indicating the sorrow
of their hearts. Poor Patsey prayed piteously for
mercy, but her prayers were vain. Epps ground his
teeth, and stamped upon the ground, screaming at me,
like a mad fiend, to strike harder.
"
Strike harder, or your turn will come next, you

scoundrel," he yelled.
"Oh, mercy, massa ! oh! have mercy, do. Oh,
God pity me,"
!
Patsey exclaimed continually, strug
gling fruitlessly, and the flesh quivering at every
stroke.
When had struck her as many as thirty times, 1
I
stopped, and turned round toward Epps, hoping he

was satisfied but with bitter oaths and threats, he
;
ordered me to continue. I inflicted ten or lift con

blows more. By this time her back was covered with
long welts, intersecting each other like net work.
Epps was yet furious and savage as ever, demanding

FLAYING OF PATSEY. 257
.fshe would like to go to Shaw s again, and swear
ing he would flog her until she wished she was in h 1.

Throwing down the whip, I declared I could punish
her no more. lie orderedgo me to on, threatening
me with a severer flogging than she had received, in ./
case of refusal. My heart revolted at the inhuman ~
scene, and risking the consequences, I ahsolutely re
fused to raise the whip. He then seized it himself,

and applied it with ten-fold greater force than I had
The painful cries and shrieks of the tortured Patsey,
mingling with the loud and angry curses of Epps,
loaded the air. She was terribly lacerated I ma
say, without exaggeration, literally flayed. The

lash was wet with blood, which flowed down her
sides and dropped upon the ground. At length she
ceased struggling. Her head sank listlessly on the
ground. Her screams and supplications gradually
decreased and died away into a low moan. She no
longer writhed and shrank beneath the lash when

out small pieces of her flesh. I thought that she w
dying!
It was the Sabbath of the Lord. The fields smiled
in the warm sunlight the birds chirped merrily
amidst the foliage of the trees peace and happiness
seemed to reign everywhere, save in the bosoms of
Epps and his panting victim and the silent witnesses

around him. The tempestuous emotions that were
raging there were little in harmony with the calm
and cpiiet beauty of the day. on Epps
I could look
xvitli unutterable loathing and abhorrence, and
17
*
thought within myself

"
Thou devil, sooner or later,

somewhere in the course of eternal justice, thou shalt
answer for this sin !
"
-^Finally, he ceased whipping from mere exhaustion,

and ordered Phebe to bring a bucket of salt and wa
ter. After washing her thoroughly with this, I was
told to take her to her cabin. Untying the ropes, I
raised her in my arms. She was unable to stand, and
as her head rested on my shoulder, she repeated ma
times, in a faint voice scarcely perceptible,
"
ny Oh,
Platt but nothing further. Her dress
oh, Platt !"
was replaced, but it clung to her back, and was soon

stiff with blood. We laid her on some boards in the
hut, where she remained a long time, with eyes closed
^
and groaning in agony. At night Phebe applied
melted tallow to her wounds, and so far as we were
x
able, all endeavored to assist and console her. Day
after day she lay in her cabin upon her face, the sores
preventing her resting in any other position.

A blessed thing it would have been for her days
and weeks and months of misery it would have saved
her had she never lifted up her head in life again.
Indeed, from that time forward she was not what she
had been. The burden of a deep melancholy weigh
ed heavily on her spirits. She no longer moved with
that buoyant and elastic step there was not that
mirthful sparkle in her eyes that formerly distin
guished her. The bounding vigor the sprightly,
laughter-loving spirit of her youth, were gone. She

fellinto a mournful and desponding mood, and often-
PATSEY S IDEA OF GOD, &t. * 259
times would start up in her sleep, and with raised
hands, plead for mercy. She became more silent

than she was, toiling all day in our midst, not uttering
a word. A care-worn, pitiful expression settled on
her face, and it was her humor now to
weep, rather
than rejoice. If ever there was a broken heart
one crushed and blighted by the rude grasp of suffer
it was
ing and misfortune Patsey s.
She had been reared no better than her master s
beast looked upon merely as a valuable and hand
some animal and consequently possessed but a Km
ited amount And yet a faint light
of knowledge.
cast its rays over her intellect, so that it was not
wholly dark. She had a dim perception of God and

of eternity, and a still more dim perception of a Sav
iour who had died even for such as her. She enter
tained but confused notions of a future life not com
prehending the distinction between the corporeal and
spiritual existence. Happiness, in her mind, was ex
emption from stripes from labor from the cruelty
of masters and overseers. Her idea of the joy of
heaven was simply rest^ and is fully expressed in these
lines of a melancholy bard :
"
I ask no paradise on high,

With cares on earth oppressed,
The only heaven for which I
sigh,
Is rest, eternal rest."
It is a mistaken opinion that prevails in some quar
ters, that the slave does not understand the term

does not comprehend the idea of freedom. Even on
Bayou Bceuf, where I conceive slavery exists in it.-
most abject and cruel form where it exhibits fea

tures altogether unknown in more northern States --
the most ignorant of them generally know full well
its
meaning. They understand the privileges and
exemptions that belong to it that it would bestow
upon them the fruits of their own labors, and that it

would secure to them the enjoyment of domestic hap
piness. They do not fail to observe the difference

/ between their own condition and the meanest white
man s, and to realize the injustice of the laws which
place in his power not only to appropriate the
it
profits of their industry, but to subject them to un

merited and unprovoked punishment, without reme
dy, or the right to resist, or to remonstrate.

Patsey especially after her whipping, was one
s life,
long dream of liberty. Far away, to her fancy an

immeasurable distance, she knew there was a land of
freedom. A thousand times she had heard that
somewhere in the distant North there were no
slaves In her imagination it was an
no masters.
enchanted region, the Paradise of the earth. To dwell
where the black man may work for himself live in
his own cabin till his own soil, was a blissful dream
of Patsey s a dream, alas ! the fulfillment of which
n never realize.
^ The effect of these exhibitions of brutality on the

/ household of the slave-holder, is apparent. Epps
oldest son is an intelligent lad of ten or twelve years
of age. It is
pitiable, sometimes, to see him chas-
EPI S OLDEST SON. 261
tising, for instance, the venerable Uncle Abram. He \ l/^

will call the old man to account, and if in his child- j
ish judgment necessary, sentence him to a cer

it is
tain number of lashes, which he proceeds to inflict

with much gravity and deliberation. Mounted on his
pony, he often rides into the field with his whip, play
ing the overseer, greatly to his father s delight.

Without discrimination, such times, he applies the
at
rawhide, urging the slaves forward with shouts, and

occasional expressions of profanity, while the old man
laughs, and commends him as a thorough-going boy./

The child is father to the man," and with, sucl
"
training, whatever may be his natural disposition, it
cannot well be otherwise than that, on arriving at ma

turity, the sufferings and miseries of the slave will
be looked upon with entire indifference. The influ
ence of the iniquitous system necessarily fosters an

unfeeling and cruel spirit, even in the bosoms of those
who, among their equals, are regarded as humane
and generous.
Young Master Epps possessed some noble qualities,
yet no process of reasoning could lead him to com
prehend. th-.it in the eye of the Almighty there is no
distinction of color. He looked upon the black man
simply ?& an animal, differing in no respect from any
other animal, save in the gift of speech and the pos^
session ofsomewhat higher instincts, and, therefore,
the more valuable. To work like his father s mules
to be whipped and kicked and scourged through life
NX) address the white man with hat in hand, and eyes
"bent
servilely on the earth, in his mind, was the natu
ral and proper destiny of the slave. Brought up with
such ideas in the notion that we stand without the
pale of human-ity no wonder the oppressors of my

people are a pitiless and unrelenting race.
CHAPTER XIX.
AVERT, OF BAYOU ROUGE PECULIARITY OF DWELLINGS EPPS BUILDS A
NEW HOUSE BASS, THE CARPENTER HIS NOBLE QUALITIES HIS PER
SONAL APPEARANCE AND ECCENTRICITIES BASS AND EPPS DISCUSS TUB

QUESTION OF SLAVERY EPPS OPINION OF BASS 1 MAKE MYSELF
KNOWN TO HIM OUR CONVERSATION HIS SURPRISE THE MIDNIGHT
MEETING ON THE BAYOU BANK BASS ASSURANCES DECLARES WAR
AGAINST SLAVERY WHY I DID NOT DISCLOSE MY HISTORY BASS WRITES
LETTERS COPY OF HIS LETTER TO MESSRS. PARKER AND PERRY THE
FEVER OF SUSPENSE DISAPPOINTMENTS BASS ENDEAVORS TO CHEER
ME MY FAITH IN HIM.
IN the month of June, 1852, in pursuance of a pre

vious contract, Mr. Avery, a carpenter of Bayou
Rouge, commenced the erection of a house for Mas
ter Epps. It has previously been stated that there
are no cellars on Bayou Boeuf ;

on the other hand,
such is the low and swampy nature of the ground,
the great houses are usually built upon spiles. An
other peculiarity is, the rooms are not plastered, but
the ceiling and sides are covered with matched cy
press boards, painted such color as most pleases the

owner s taste. Generally the plank and boards are
sawed by slaves with whip-saws, there being no water-
power upon which mills might be built within many
miles. When the planter erects for himself a dwel
ling, therefore, there is plenty of extra work for his
slaves. Having had some experience under Tibeats

as a carpenter, I was taken from the field altogether,
on the arrival of Avery and his hands.
^-Among them was one to whom I owe an immeas
urable debt of gratitude. Only for him, in all prob
ability, I should have ended my days in slavery. He
was my deliverer a man whose true heart over
flowed with noble and generous emotions. To the
lastmoment of my existence I shall remember him
with feelings of thankfulness. His name was Bass,
and at that time he resided in Marksville. It will
be convey a correct impression of his ap
difficult to
pearance or character. He was a large man, between

forty and fifty years old, of light complexion and
light hair. He was very cool and self-possessed, fond
of argument, but always speaking with extreme de
liberation. He was that kind of person whose pecu
liarity ofmanner was such that nothing he uttered
ever gave offence. What would be intolerable, com
ing from the lips of another, could be said by him

with impunity. There was not a man on Red River,
perhaps, that agreed with him on the subject of poli
tics or religion, and not a man, I venture to say, who
discussed either of those subjects half as much. It
seemed to be taken for granted that he would espouse

the unpopular side of every local question, and it al
ways created amusement rather than displeasure

among his auditors, to listen to the ingenious and
original manner in which he maintained the contro

versy. He was a bachelor an "
old bachelor," ac-

BASS, THE CAKPENTER. 265
cording to the true acceptation of the term having

no kindred living, as he knew of, in the world. Nei
ther had he any permanent abiding place wander
ing from one State to another, as his fancy dictated.
He had lived in Marksville three or four years, and
in the prosecution of his business as a carpenter ;
and
in consequence, likewise, of his peculiarities, was
quite extensively known throughout the parish of
Avoyelles. He was liberal and his many

to a fault ;
acts of kindness and transparent goodness of heart

rendered him popular in the community, the senti
ment of which he unceasingly combated.
N He was a native of Canada, from whence he had
wandered in early life, and after visiting all the prin
cipal localities in the northern and western States, in
the course of his peregrinations, arrived in the un
healthy region of the Red River. His last removal

was from Illinois. Whither he has now gone, I re
gret to be obliged to say, is unknown to me. He

gathered up his effects and departed quietly from
Marksville the day before I did, the suspicions of his
instrumentality in procuring my liberation rendering

Buch a step necessary. For the commission of a just
and righteous act he would undoubtedly have suffer
ed death, had he remained within reach of the slave-
whipping tribe on Bayou Boeuf.
day, while working on the new house, Bass

One
and Epps became engaged in a controversy, to which,
as will be readily supposed, I listened with absorbing
interest. They were discussing the subject of Slavery
266 TWELVE TEAKS u
/^ I you what
*
tell it is
Epps,"
said ifosvs, It s all
/wrong all wrong, sir there no justice Aor right

s
eousness in it. I wouldn t own a slave if I was rich

as Croesus, which I am not, as is perfectly well under
stood, more particularly among my creditors. There s
another humbug the credit system humbug, sir;
no credit no debt. Credit leads a man into tempta
tion. Cash down is the only thing that will deliver
him from evil. But this question of Slavery ; what
right have you to your niggers when you come down
to the point?"
"
What right !
"
said Epps, laughing ;

"
why, I
bought em, and paid for em."
Of course yOu did ;

the law says you have the right
to hold a nigger, but begging the law s pardon, it
lies. Yes, Epps, when the law says that it s a liar,
and the truth is not in it.

every thing right be
Is
cause the law allows it? Suppose they d pass a law

taking away your liberty and making you a slave f
"
Oh, that ain t a supposable case,"

said Epps, still
laughing ;
"
hope you don t compare me to a nigger,
Bass."
Bass answered gravely,

/-""
Well," no, not exactly.
"
But I have seen niggers before now as good as I am,

and I have no acquaintance with any white man in
these parts that I consider a whit better than myself.
Now, in the sight of God, what is the difference,

Epps, between a white man and a black one ?"
All the difference in the world," replied Eppa.

"
u
You might as well ask \vhat the difference is be-
DISCUSSION ON SLAVERY. 267
tween a white man and a baboon. Now, Pve seen

r
ne of them critters in Orleans that knowed just as
nuch as any nigger I ve got. You d call them fellei
citizens, I s pose ?
"
and Epps indulged in a loud
laugh at his own wit.

"
Look here, Epps,"

continued his compani jn ;
"
you
can t
laugh me down in that way. Soace men are
witty, and some ain so witty as they think they are. t
Now me
ask you a question.
let Avc all men created
free and equal as the Declaration of Independence
"
holds they are ?
responded Epps, but all men, niggers, and

" "
Yes,"
monkeys ain t and hereupon he broke forth into a

\"
more boisterous laugh than before.

monkeys among white people as well
"There are
as black, when you come to that," coolly remarked
Bass. I know some white men that use arguments

"
no sensible monkey would. But let that pass. These

niggers are human beings. If they don t know as
much as their masters, whose fault is it ?

They art
not allowed to know anything. You have books and^^
papers, and can go where you please, and gather
intelligence in a thousand ways. But your slaves
have no privileges. You d whip one of them if /
caught reading a book. They are held in bondage,
generation after generation, deprived of mental im

provement, and who can expect them to possess much
knowledge ? If they are not brought down to a level
with the brute creation, you slaveholders will never

be blamed for it. If they av3 baboons, or stand no
higher in the scale of intelligence than such animals,

you and men like you will have to answer for it.
There s a sin, a fearful sin, resting on this nation, that

will not go unpunished forever. There will be a
reckoning yet yes, Epps, there s a day coming that

will burn as an oven. It may be sooner or it may be
later, coming as sure as the Lord is just."

but it s a
If up among the Yankees in New-
lived
"
you
said Epps, I expect you d be one of them
"
England,"
cursed fanatics that know more than the constitution,

and go about peddling clocks and coaxing niggers
to run away."
"If I was in New-England," returned Bass, "I
would be just what I am here. I would say that

Slavery was an iniquity, and ought to be abolished.
I would say there was no reason nor justice in the
law, or the constitution that allows one man to hold
another man in bondage. It would be hard for you

to lose your property, to be sure, but it wouldn t be
half as hard as it would be to lose your liberty. You
have no more right to your freedom, in exact justice,
than Uncle Abram yonder. Talk about black skin,
and black blood why, how many slaves are there on
;
this bayou as white as either of us ? And what dif
ference is there in the color of the soul ? Pshaw ! the

whole system is as absurd as it is cruel. You may
own niggers and behanged, but I wouldn t own one
for the befet plantation in Louisiana."

"
You like to hear yourself talk, Bass, better than

ai v man I know of. You would argue that black was
CONVERSATION WITH BASS.
,
or white black, if any body would contradict
yon. Nothing suits you in this world, and I don t
believe you will be satisfied with the next, if

you
should have your choice in them."
Conversations substantially like the foregoing were
not unusual between the two after this Epps drawing ;
him out more purpose of creating a laugh at

for the
his expense, than with a view of fairly discussing the
merits of the question. He looked upon Bass, as a

man ready to say anything merely for the pleasure of
hearing his own voice ;
as somewhat self-conceited,
perhaps, contending against his faith and judgment,
?n order,
simply, to exhibit his dexterity in argumen
tation.
He remained at Epps through the summer, visiting

Marksville generally once a fortnight. The more I
saw of him, the more I became convinced he was a
man in whom I could confide. Nevertheless, my
previous ill-fortune had taught me to be extremely
cautious. It was__not my place to speak to a white
injjxcept
when spoken to. buFToraitted no oppor-
lity of throwing myself in his way, and endeavored
istantly in every possible manner to attract his
ention. In the early part of August he and my
self were at work alone in the house, the other car
penters having left, and Epps being absent in the

field. Now was the time, if ever, to broach the sub
ject, and I resolved to do it, and submit to whatever

consequences might ensue. We
were busily at work
in the afternoon, when I
stopped suddenly and said
270 TWELVE YEAPJ3 A SLAVE. %
Master Base, I want to ask you what pare

"
o) Jit
country yon came from ?"
"
Why. Platt, what put that into your head ? he

"
answered. "
You wouldn t know if I should tell you.

After amoment or two he added "I was born in
Canada now guess where that

;
is."
Oh, I Know where Canada said I have

" "
is," I,
been there myself."
Yes, 1 expect yon are well acquainted

"
all through
that he remarked, laughing incredulously.

country,"
"
As sure as I live, Master Bass," I replied, I have "
been there. I have been in Montreal and Kingston,

and Queercston, and a great many places in Canada,
and I have been in York State, too in Buffalo, and
Rochester, and Albany, and can tell yon the names

of the villages on the Erie canal and the Champlain
canal."
Bass turned round and gazed at me a long time

without uttering a syllable.
"How came you here?" he inquired, at length,
"Master Bass," answered, I "if

justice had been
done, I never would have been here."
How you ? You

"
"Who are said he.

" "
Weil, s this ?
have been Canada sure enough I know all the

in ;
places you mention. How did you happen to get

here ?
oome, tell me all about it.
1
I have no friends here, was my reply, that I

" "
can put commence in. I am afraid to tell you,

though I don t believe you would tell Master Epps if
I should."
271
^He me earnestly lie would keep every word

assured
I might speak to him a profound secret, and his cun
osity was evidently strongly excited. It was a long
story, I informed him, and would take some time tn

relate Master Epps would be back soon, but if op
it.
would see me that night after all were asleep, I would

repeat it to him. He consented readily to the ar
rangement, and directed me to come into the building

where we were then at work, and I would fine liim
there. About midnight, when all was still and q.i et
I crept cautiously from my cabin, and silently envev*
ing the unfinished building, found him awaiting me,

After further assurances on his part that I shouJ
not be betrayed, I began a relation of the history of
my life and misfortunes. He was deeply interested-

asking numerous questions in reference to localities
and events. Having ended my story I besought hi
to write to some of my friends at the North, acquaint
ingthem with my situation, and begging them to for
ward free papers, or take such steps as they misrh^:
consider proper to securemy release.

promised He
to do but dwelt upon the danger of such an ac^V
so,
case of detection, and now impressed upon me the
great necessity of strict silence and secresy. Befo

we parted our plan of operation was arranged.
We agreed to meet the next night at a specified
place among the high weeds on the bank of the bayou

some distance from master s dwelling. There he wa?
to write down on paper the names and address of sev
oral persons, old friends in the North, to whom h
would direct letters during his next visit to Marks-

ville. It was not deemed prudent to meet in the new
house, inasmuch as the light it would be necessary to
/use might possibly be discovered. In the course of
the day I managed to obtain a few matches and a
piece of candle, unperceived, from the kitchen, during

a temporary absence of Aunt Pliebe. Bass had pen-
v
cil and paper in his tool chest.

^drllie appointed hour we met on the bayou bank,
and creeping among the high weeds, I lighted the
candle, while he drew forth pencil and paper and pre
I gave him the names of Wil-
pared for business.
/ liana
Perry, Cephas Parker and Judge Marvin, all of
HSaratoga Springs, Saratoga county, New- York. I had
been employed by the latter in the United States
Plotel, and had transacted business with the former to
a considerable extent, and trusted that at least one of
them would be still living at that place. He care
fully wrote the names, and then remarked, thought-
fully-
It is so years since you
"
many left Saratoga, all
these dead, or may have removed. You

men may be
say you obtained papers at the custom house in New-
York. Probably there is a record of them there, and
I think it would be well to write and ascertain."
I agreed with him, and again repeated the circum

stances related heretofore, connected with my visit t*
the custom house with Brown and Hamilton. We
lingered on the bank of the bayou an hour or more,
conversing upon the subject which now ergrossed ou*
MY FAITH IN BASS. 273
thoughts. I could no longer doubt his fidelity, and

freely spoke to him of the many sorrows I had borne
in silence, and so long. I spoke of my wife and chi- -1
dren, mentioning their names and

ages, and dwelling
upon the unspeakable happiness it would be to clasp
them to my heart once more before I died. I caught-^
him by the hand, and with tears and passionate en
treaties implored him to befriend me to restore me
to my kindred and to liberty promising I would weary

Heaven the remainder of my life with prayers that it
would bless and prosper him. In the enjoyment of
freedom surrounded by the associations of youth,
and restored to the bosom of my family that prom
not yet forgotten, noi shall it ever be so
ise is long as
I have strength to raise my imploring eyes on high.
Oh, blessings on his kindly voice and on his silver hair,

"
Arid blessings on his whole life long, until he meet me there."
He overwhelmed me with assurances of friendship

and faithfulness, saying he had never before taken so
deep an interest in the fate of
any one. He spoke of
himself in a somewhat mournful tone, as a lonely
man, a wanderer about the. world that he was
growing old, and must soon reach the end of hia

earthly journey, and lie down to his final rest with- x
out kith or kin to mourn for him, or to remember \
him that his life was of little value to himself, and
henceforth should be devoted to the accomplishment I
f
of my liberty, and to an unceasing warfare against -
the accursed shame of Slavery.

L* 18
After this time we seldom spoke to, or recognized

each other. He
was, moreover, less con
free in his
versation with Epps on the subject of Slavery. The
remotest suspicion that there was any unusual intima
cy any secret understanding between us never

once entered the mind of Epps, or any other person,
white or black, on the plantation.
I am
often asked, with an air ofîncrejLulityjJiow I
lucceeded so many years in keeping from dailymy
ind constant companions the knowledge of my true
e and history^ The Burch taught
terrible lesson
me, impressed indelibly upon my mind the danger

and uselessness of asserting I was a freeman. There
was no possibility of any slave being able to assist
me, while, on the other hand, there was a possibility
of his exposing me. When it is recollected the whole
current of my thoughts, for twelve years, turned to the
it will not be wondered at,
contemplation of escape,
that Iwas always cautious and on my guard. It
would have been an act of folly to have proclaimed
my right to freedom it would only have subjected
;
me toseverer scrutiny probably have consigned me

to some more distant and inaccessible region than
even Bayou Boeuf. Edwin Epps was a person utter
ly regardless of a black man s rights or wrongs ut-
ly destitute of any natural sense of justice, as 1

well knew. was important, therefore, not only as
It
regarded my hope of deliverance, but also as regard

ed the few personal priviliges I was permitted to eu
joy, to keep from him the history of my life.
LETTER TO PEKRY A^D PAKKER. 275
The Saturday night subsequent to our interview at
the water s edge, Bass went home to Marksville. The

next day, being Sunday, he employed himself in his
own room writing letters. One he direct*"^ to the
Collector of Customs at New- York, anothf r tj Judge
Marvin, and another to Messrs. Parker ac/i Voiry joint

ly. The latter was the one which led if
/.y recovery.
He subscribed my true name, but in fr t postscript in
timated I was not the writer. The V t .er itself shows
that he considered himself engagyi in a dangerous
undertaking no less than rumnn& "the risk of his
life, if detected." I did not sev the letter before it was

mailed, but have since obtai A><? a copy, which is here
inserted :
"Bwou Bceuf,
August 15, 1852
"
Mr. WILLIAM PERRY or Mr. CEPHAS PARKER :
Gentlemen It having been a long time since

"
I have seen
or heard from you, and not knowing that you are living, it is
with incertainty that I write to you, but the necessity of the
case must be my excuse.
Having been born free, just across the river from you, I am
"
certain you must know me, and I am here now a slave. I wish
you to obtain free papers for me, and forward them to rne at
Marksville, Louisiana, Parish of Avoyelles, and oblige
"
Yours, SOLOMON NORTHUP.

The way came to be a slave, I was taken sick in Washing
"
ton City, and was insensible for some time. When I recover
ed my reason, 1 was robbed of my free-papers, and in irons on
ny way to this State, and have never been able to get any one
to write for me until now and he that is writing for me runs
;
the risk of his life if detected."

The allusion to myself in the work recently issued,

entitled
"
A Key to Uncle Tom s Cabin," contains the

first part of this letter, omitting the postscript. Nei
ther are the full names of the gentlemen to whom it
isdirected correctly stated, there being a slight dis-
A crepancy, probably a typographical error. To the
postscript more than to the body of the communica
tion am I indebted for my liberation, as will present
ly be seen.
When Bass returned from Marksville he informed
/ me of what he had done. We continued our mid-
/ night consultations, never speaking to each other
through the day, excepting as it was necessary about

the work. As nearly as he was able to ascertain, it
\ would require two weeks for the letter to reach Sara-
l
toga in due course of mail, and the same length of
\ time for an answer to return. Within six weeks, at
the farthest, we concluded, an answer would arrive, if

it arrived at all. A
great many suggestions were
now made, and a great deal of conversation took place
between us, as to the most safe and proper course to
pursue on receipt of the free "papers. They would
stand between him and harm, in case we were over-
4&ken and arrested leaving the country altogether. It
would be no infringement of law, however much it
might provoke individual hostility, to assist a freeman
regain his freedom.

At the end of four weeks he was again at Marks
ville, but no answer had arrived. I was sorely disap
pointed, but still reconciled myself with the reflection
BASS ENDEAVORS TO CHEER ME. 277
that sufficient length of time had not yet elapsed

that theremight have been delays and that I could
not reasonably expect one so soon. Six, seven, eight,
and ten weeks passed by, however, and nothing came.
I was in a fever of suspense whenever Bass visited
Marksville, and could scarcely close my eyes until his

return. Finallymy master s house was finished, and
the time came when Bass must leave me. The night
before his departure I was wholly given up to despair.
I had clung to him as a drowning man clings to the
floating spar, knowjng if it slips from his grasp he

must forever sink beneath the waves. The all-glorious
hope, upon which I had laid such eager hold, was
crumbling to ashes in my hands. I felt as if sinking
down, down, amidst the bitter waters of Slavery, from
the unfathomable depths of which I should never
riseâgain.
The generous heart of my friend and benefactor was
touched with pity at the sight of my distress. He en
deavored to cheer me up, promising to return the day
before Christmas, and if no intelligence was received
in the meantime, some further step would be under
taken to effect our design. He exhorted me to keep

up my spirits upon his continued efforts in
to rely
my behalf, assuring me, in most earnest and impres

sive language, that my liberation should, from thence
forth, be the chief object of his thoughts.
În his absence the time passed slowly indeed. I
looked forward to Christmas with intense anxiety and
impatience. I had about given up the expectation of

278 TWELVE YEAH8 A SLAVE.
receiving any answer to the letters. They might have

miscarried, or might have been misdirected. Perhaps
those at Saratoga, to whom they had been addressed,
were all dead
; perhaps, engaged in their pursuits,
they did not consider the fate of an obscure, unhappy
black man of sufficient importance to be noticed.
whole reliance was in Bass. The faith I had in him
was continually re-assuring me, and enabled me to
stand up against the tide of disappointment that had
overwhelmed me.
So wholly was I absorbed in reflecting upon my sit
uation and prospects, that the hands with whom I la
bored in the field often observed it. Patsey would
ask me if I wasand Uncle Abram, and Bob, and
sick,
Wiley frequently expressed a curiosity to know what

I could be thinking about so But I evaded
steadily.
their inquiries with some light remark, and
kept my
thoughts locked closely in my breast.
CHAPTER IX.
AM FAITHFUL *O *tl >f<"RP HIS ARRIVAL ON CHRISTMAS EVE TH TfTT-
FICULTY OF OBTAINING AN INTERVIEW THE MEETING IN THE CABIN

NON-ARRIVAL OF THE l,rfTEK BASS ANNOUNCES HIS INTENTION TO PRO
CEED NORTH CHRISTMAS CONVERSATION BETWEEN EPPS AND BASS
YOUNG MISTRESS M COY, /HE BEAUTY OF BAYOU BO2UF THE "
NE PLUS
ULTRA" OF DINNERS MUSIC AND DANCING PRESENCE OF THE MISTRESS
HER EXCEEDING BEAUTY THE LAST SLAVE DANCE WILLIAM FIERCE
OVERSLEEP M YSELF THE V AST WHIPPING DESPONDENCY THE COLD
MORNING EPPS THREATS IRE PASSING CARRIAGE STRANGERS AP
PRO ACHING THROUGH THE COt HM -FIELD LAST HOUR ON BAYOU BCECF.
FAITHFUL to his word, the day before Christmas, just

at night-fall, Bass came riding into the yard.
"
How are you,"

said Epps, shaking him by the
glad to see
"
hand, you."
He would not have been very glad had he known

the object of his errand.
Quite well, quite well," answered Bass.

"
Had "
some business out on the bayou, and concluded to call

and see you, and stay over night."
Epps ordered one of the slaves to take charge of
his horse, and with much talk and laughter they pass
ed into the house together not, however, until Bass ;
Vad looked at me significantly, as much as to say,

"Iteep dark,
we understand each other." It was ten
o clock at night before the labors of the day were per
formed, when I entered the cabin. At that time Un
cleAbrarn and Bob occupied it with me. I laid
down upon my board and feigned I was asleep.

When my companions had Mien into a profound
V slumber, I moved stealthily out of the door, and watch
ed,and listened attentively for some sign or sound

from Bass. There I stood until long after midnight,
but nothing could be seen or heard. As I suspected,
he dared not leave the house, through fear of exciting
the suspicion of some of the family. I judged, correct-
^y, he would rise earlier than was his custom, and
take the opportunity of seeing me before Epps was
up. Accordingly I aroused Uncle Abram an hour

sooner than usual, and sent him into the house to build
a fire, which, at that season of the year, is a part of
Uncle Abram s duties.
I alsogave Bob a violent shake, and asked him if
he intended to sleep till noon, saying master would be
up before the mules were fed. He knew right well

the consequence that would follow such an event, and,
jumping to his feet, was at the horse-pasture in ?
twinkling.
Presently, when both were gone, Bass slipped into
the cabin.
"
No letter yet, Platt,"

said he. The announce
tnent fellupon my heart like lead.
*
Oh, do write again, Master cried
"
Bass,"
I ;
1
will give you the names of a great many I know.

THE MEETING IN THE CABIN. 281
Surely they are not all dead. Surely some one will
me."
pity
"
No use,"
Bass replied, "no use. I have made ujT";
my mind to that. I fear the Marksville post-master

will mistrust something, I have inquired so often at |
his office. Too uncertain too dangerous."

"
Then it is all over,"

I exclaimed. "
Oh, my God,
how can I end my days here !"
You re not going to end them

"
here," he said,
"
un
lessyou die very soon. I ve thought this matter all
over, and have come to a determination. There are
more ways than one to manage this business, and a
better and surer way than writing letters. I have a
job or two on hand which can be completed by March

or April. By that time I shall have a considerable
sum of money, and then, Platt, I am going to Sarato
ga myself."
I could scarcely credit my own senses as the words

fell from his lips. But he assured me, in a manner
that left no doubt of the sincerity of his intention, that
was spared until spring, he should certainly
if his life
undertake the journey.

I have lived in this region long enough," he con
"
tinued I may as well be in one place as another.

;
"
For a long time I have been thinking of going bacli

once more to the 1place where I was born. I m tired ,
of Slavery as well as you. If I can succeed in getting \
you away from here, it wall be a good act that I shall/

like to think of all my life. And I shall succeed.
Platt ;
I m bound to do it. Now let me tell you what
I want. Epps be up soon, and it won t do to be
will
caught here. Think of a great many men at Sarato
ga and Sandy Hill, and in that neighborhood, who

once knew you. I shall make excuse to come here
again in the course of the winter, when I will write
down their names. I will then know who to call on
when I go north. Think of all you can. Cheer up !
Don t be discouraged. I m with you, life or death.

Good-bye. God bless you," and saying this he left
the cabin quickly, and entered the great house.
^3 Itwas Christmas morning the happiest day in the
whole year for the slave. That morning lienieecTnot
hurry the field, with his gourd and col ton-bag.
to
Happiness sparkled in the eyes and overspread the

countenances of The time of feasting and dancing
all.
had come. The cane and cotton fields were deserted.

That day the clean dress was to be donned the red
ribbon displayed there were to be re-unions, and
;
joy and laughter, and hurrying to and fro. It was

;
to be a day of liberty among the children of Slavery.
they were happy, and rejoiced.

"Wherefore
^STter breakfast Epps and Bass sauntered about the

yard, conversing upon the price of cotton, and va
rious other topics.
"
Where do your niggers hold Christmas ?" Bass in

quired.
Piatt is going to Tanners to-day. His fiddle is
great demand. They want him at Marshall s Mon-
EPPS COVEKSATION WITH BASS. 283
day, and Miss Mary McCoy, on the old Norwood

plantation, writes me a note that she wants him to
play for her niggers Tuesday."
He is rather a smart boy, ain
"
t he ?" said Bass.

"
Come here, Platt,"

he added, looking at me as 1
walked up to them, as if he had never thought before
to take any special notice of me.
replied Epps, taking hold of my arm and
"
Yes,"
feeling it, there isn t a bad joint in him. There ain t

"
a boy on the bayou worth more than he is perfect

ly sound, and no bad tricks. D n him, he isn t like
other niggers ;
doesn t look like em don t act like
em. I was offered seventeen hundred dollars for him

last week."
"
And didn t take it ?" Bass inquired, with an air
of surprise.
Take no devilish clear of Why, he s a
"
it ;
it.
reg lar genius ;

can make a plough beam, wagon
tongue anything, as well as you can. Marshall
wanted put up one of his niggers agin him and raf
to
fle for them, but I told him I would see the devil have
him first."
"
I don t see anything remarkable about him,"

Bass
observed.
Why, just feel of

"
him, now," Epps rejoined.

"
You don t see a boy very often put together any

closer than he is. He s a thin-skin d cuss, and won t
bear as much whipping as some ;
but he s got the
muscle in him, and no mistake.
Bass felt of me, turned me round, and made a
thorough examination, Epps all the while dwelling on
my good points. But his visitor seemed to take but

little and consequently
interest finally in the subject,
it was dropped. Bass soon departed, giving me an

other sly look of recognition and significance, as he
trotted out of the yard.
When he was gone I obtained a pass, and started
for Tanner s not Peter Tanner s, of whom mention
has previously been made, but a relative of his. I
played during the day and most of the night, spend

ing the next day, Sunday, in my cabin. Monday I
crossed the bayou to Douglas Marshall

s, Epps all
slavesaccompanying me, and on Tuesday went to the

old Norwood place, which is the third plantation
above Marshall s, on the same side of the water.
This estate is now owned by Miss Mary McCoy, a
lovely girl, some twenty years of age. She is the beau

ty and the glory of Bayou Boeuf. She owns about a
hundred working hands, besides a great many house
servants, yard boys, and young children. Her broth
er-in-law, who resides on the adjoining estate, is her
general agent. She is beloved by all her slaves, and
good reason indeed have they to be thankful that they
have fallen into such gentle hands. Nowhere on the
bayou are there such feasts, such merrymaking, as at
yoroig Madam McCoy s. Thither, more than to any

other place, do the old and the young for miles around
love to repair in the time of the Christmas holidays ;
for nowhere can they find such delicious repasts;

else
nowhere else can they hear a voice speaking to them

CHRISTMAS DESTNEK. 285
so pleasantly. No one is so well beloved no one

fills so large a space in the hearts of a thousand slaves,
as young Madam McCoy, the orphan mistress, of the
old Norwood estate.

On my arrival at her place, I found two or three
hundred had assembled. The table was prepared in
a long building, which she had erected expressly for

her slaves to dance in. It was covered with -every
variety of food the country afforded, and was pro

nounced by general acclamation to be the rarest of
dinners. Roast turkey, pig, chicken, duck, and all
kinds of meat, baked, boiled, and broiled, formed a
line the whole length of the extended table, while the
vacant spaces were filled with tarts, jellies, and frost
ed cake, and pastry of many kinds. The young mis

tress walked around the table, smiling and saying a
kind word to each one, and seemed to enjoy the scene

v exceedingly.
the dinner was over the tables were remov
"^>
yWlien
ed to make room for the dancers. I tuned my violin
and struck up a lively air ;
while some joined in a
/nimble reel, others patted and sang their simple but
melodious songs, filling the great room with music
\mingled with the sound of human voices and the clat-
fter of many feet.
TrTthe evening the mistress returned, and stood in

the door a long time, looking at us. She was magnifi
cently arrayed. Her dark hair and eyes contrasted
strongly with her clear and delicate complexion.
Her form was slender but commanding, and her
movement was a combination of unaffected

and grace. (As she stood there, clad in her rich ap
I had
parel, her face animated with pleasure, thought
I
never looked upon a human being Jhalf ^SD beautiful.

I dwell with delight upon the description of this fair
and gentle lady, not only because she inspired me

with emotions of gratitude and admiration, but be
cause I would have the reader understand that all
slave-owners on Bayou Boeuf are not like Epps, 01

Tibeats, or Jim Burns. Occasionally can be found,
rarely it may be, indeed, a good man like William
Ford, or an angel of kindness like young Mistress
McCoy.
..Tuesday concluded the three holidayaJEpps .yearly
allowed us. On my way home, Wednesday morning,
while passing the plantation of William Pierce, that
gentleman hailed me, saying he had received a line

from Epps, brought down by William Yarnell, per
mitting him to detain me for the purpose of playing
for his slaves that night. It was the last time I was
destined to witness a slave dance on the shores of Ba

you Boeuf. The party at Pierce s continued their jol
lification until broad daylight, when I returned to my
master s house, somewhat wearied with the loss of
rest,but rejoicing in the possession of numerous bits
and picayunes, which the whites, who were pleased
with my musical performances, had contributed.
On Saturday morning, for the first time in years, I
overslept myself. was frightened on coming out of

I
cabin to find the slaves were already in the field

(Jhe
THE LAST WHIPPING. 287
They had preceded me some fifteen minutes. Leav

ing my dinner and water-gourd, I hurried after them
as fast as I could move. It was not yet sunrise, but
Epps was on the piazza as I left the hut, and cried out
to me that was a pretty time of day to be getting
it
up. By extra exertion my row was up when he came

out after breakfast. This, however, was no excuse for
the offence of oversleeping. Bidding me strip and lie

down, he Ogave me ten or fifteen lashes, at the conclu-
(?
sion of which he inquired if I thought, after that, I
/
could get up sometime in the morning. I expressed
myself quite positively that I could, and, with back

stinging with pain, went about my work.
<
following
""The
day, Sunday, my thoughts were
upon
Bass, and the probabilities and hopes which hung
upon his action and determination. I considered the
uncertainty of life that if it should be the will of
;
God that he should die, my prospect of deliverance, and

all expectation of happiness in this world, would be
wholly ended and destroyed. My sore back, perhaps,
did not have a tendency to render me unusually cheer
ful. I felt down-hearted and unhappy all day long,
and when I laid down upon the hard board at night,
my heart was oppressed with such a load of grief, it
seemed that it must break.

Monday morning, the third of January, 1853, we
were in the field betimes. It was a raw, cold morn
ing, such as is unusual in that region. I was in ad
vance, Uncle Abram next to me, behind him Bob,

Fatsey and Wiley, with -our cotton-bags about our
necks. Epps happened, (a rare thing, indeed,) to come

out that morning without his whip. lie swore, in a
manner that would shame a pirate, that we were do
ing nothing. Bob ventured
to say that his lingers
were so numb
with cold he couldn t pick fast. Epps
cursed himself for not having brought his rawhide,
and declared that when lie came out again he would
warm us well yes, he would make us all hotter than
;
which I am sometimes compelled

that fiery realm in
he will himself eventually reside.
to believe
With these fervent expressions, he left us. When

out of hearing, we commenced talking to each other,
saying how hard it was to be compelled to
keep up
our tasks with numb fingers how unreasonable mas
;
ter was, and speaking of him generally in no flatter
ing terms. Our conversation was interrupted by a

carriage passing rapidly towards the house Looking .
up, we saw two men approaching us through the cot
******
ton-field.
Having now brought down

* *
this narrative to the last

hour I was to spend on Bayou Boeuf having got
ten through cotton picking, and about to bid
my last
Master Epps farewell I must beg the reader to go

back with me to the month of August to follow Bass ;
letter on long journey to Saratoga; to learn the

its
effect it produced and that, while I was repining

and despairing in the slave hut of Edwin Epps,
through the friendship of Bass and the goodness of
Providence, all things were working together for m^
deliverance.
CHAPTER XXI.
TOE TETTER REACHES SARATOGA IS FORWARDED TO ANNE IS LAID Bl-

rORE HENRY B. NORTHUP THE STATUTE OF MAY ITS PRO
14, 1840
VISIONS ANNE MEMORIAL TO THE GOVERNOR
S THE AFFIDAVITS AC
COMPANYING IT SENATOR SOULE s LETTER DEPARTURE OF THE AGENT
APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR ARRIVAL AT MARKSVILLE THE HON.
JOHN P. WADDILL THE CONVERSATION ON NEW-YORK POLITICS IT
SUGGESTS A FORTUNATE IDEA THE MEETING WITH BASS THE SECRET
OUT LEGAL PROCEEDINGS INSTITUTED
DEPARTURE OF NORTHUP AND
THE SHERIFF FROM MARKSVILLE FOR BAYOU BOEUF ARRANGEMENTS* ON
THE WAY REACH EPPS* PLANTATION DISCOVER HIS SLAVES IN THE
COTTON FIELD THE MEETING THE FAREWELL.
I AM indebted to Mr. Henry B. Nbrthup and oth

ers for many of the particulars contained in this
chapter.
The by Bass, directed to Parker and
letter written
Perry, and which was deposited in the post-office in

Marksville on the 15th day of August, 1852, arrived
at Saratoga in the early part of September. Some
time previous to this, Anne had removed to Glens
Falls, Warren county, where she had charge of the
kitchen in Carpenter s Hotel. She kept house, how
ever, lodging with our children,

and was only absent:
from them during such time as the discharge of her
duties in the hotel required.
M 19
29C TWELVE TEAKS A SLAVE.
Messrs. Parker and Perry, on receipt of the letter

forwarded it immediately to Anne. On reading it
the children were all excitement, and without delay

hastened to the neighboring village of Sandy Hill,
to consult Henry B. Northup, and obtain his advice
and assistance in the matter.

examination, that gentleman found among
~
Upon
/the statutes of the State an act providing for the re-
jcovery of free citizens from slavery. It was passed

/May 14, 1840, and is entitled "An act more effectu-
/ ally to protect the free citizens of this State from
being kidnapped or reduced to slavery." It provides

that it shall be the duty of the Governor, upon the re
ceipt of satisfactory information that any free citizen or
inhabitant of this State, wrongfully held in another

is
State or Territory of the United States, upon the al
legation or pretence that such person is a slave, or

by color of any usage or rule of law is deemed or
taken to be a slave, to take such measures to procure
the restoration of such person to liberty, as he shall
deem necessary. And to that end, he is authorized
to appoint and employ an agent, and directed to fur
nish him with such credentials and instructions as will
be likely to accomplish the object of his appointment.
It requires the agent so appointed to proceed to col
lect the proper proof to establish the right of such
person to his freedom to perform such journeys, take
;
such measures, institute such legal proceedings, &c.,

as may be necessary to return such person to this
State, and charges all expenses incurred in carrying

ANNE 8 MEMORIAL TO THE GOVERNOR. 291
the act into effect, upon moneys not otherwise ap

propriated in the treasury.*
was necessary to establish two facts to the satis
It
faction of the Governor First, that I was a free citi-

:
zen of New- York ;

and secondly* ihalJLwâa wrong
fully held in bondage. As to the first point, there
was no difficulty, all the older inhabitants in the vi
cinity being ready to testify toit. The second point

rested entirely upon the letter to Parker and Perry,
written in an unknown hand, and upon the letter pen
ned on board the brig Orleans, which, unfortunately,
had been mislaid or lost.
A memorial was prepared, directed to his excellen
cy, Governor Hunt, setting forth her marriage, my
departure to Washington city ;
the receipt of the let
ters was a free citizen, and such other facts as
;
that I
were deemed important, and was signed and verified
by Anne. Accompanying this memorial were sever
of prominent citizens of Sandy Hill and
al affidavits
Fort Edward, corroborating

O fullv the statements it */
contained, and also a request of several well known

gentlemen to the Governor, that Henry B. Northup
be appointed agent under the legislative act.
On
reading the memorial and affidavits, his excel
lency took a lively interest in the matter, and on the
23d day of November, 1852, under the seal of the
State,
"
constituted, appointed and employed Henry

Northup, Esq., an agent, with full power to effect
13.
my restoration, and to take such measures as would

* See
Appendix A.
ue most liktjiy u>

accomplish it, and instructing him
to proceed to Louisiana with all convenient dispatch.*
The pressing natu" of Mr. Northup s professional
and political engagements delayed his departure un
til 7 )ecember. On the fourteenth day of that month
tie Jeft Sandy Hill, and proceed vi to Washington.
The Hon. Pierre Soule, Senator in Congress from Lou
isiana, Hon. Mr. Conrad, Secretary of War, and
Judge Kelson, of the Supreme Court of the United

States, upon hearing a statement of the Facts, and ex
amining his commission, and certified copies of the

memorial and affidavits, furnished him with open let
ters to gentlemen in Louisiana, strongly urging their
assistance in accomplishing the object, of his ap-
Domtment.
Senator Soule especially interested himself in the
matter, insisting, in forcible language, that it was the
duty and interest of every planter in his State to aid
m restoring me to freedom, and trusted the sentiments
of honor arid justice in the bosom of every citizen of
the commonwealth would enlist him at once in my
behalf. Having obtained these valuable letters, Mr.
North up returned to Baltimore, and proceeded from
tlience to Pittsburgh. It was his original intention,
under advice of friends at
Washington, to go directly
to New Orleans, and consult the authorities of that
city. Providentially, however, on arriving at the

mouth of Red River, he changed his mind. Had lie
Continued on. he would not have met vv th Bass, in

*See Appendix B.
ARRIVAL AT MARKSVILLE. 292
which oase tlie search for me would probably have

been fruitless.
Taking passage on the first steamer that arrived

he pursued his journey up Red River, a sluggish,
winding stream, flowing through a vast region of
primitive forests and impenetrable swamps, almost
wholly destitute of inhabitants. About nine o clock in
the forenoon, January 1st, 1853, he left the steamboat
at Marksville, and proceeded directly to Marks ville
Court House, a small village four miles in the interior.
From the fact that the letter to Messrs. Parker and
Perry was post-marked at Marksville, it was supposed
by him that I was in that place or its immediate vi
cinity. On
reaching this town, he at once laid his
business before the Hon. John P. Waddill, a legal
gentleman of distinction, and a man of fine genius
and most noble impulses. After reading the letters
and documents presented him, and listening to a rep
resentation of the circumstances under which I had
been carried away into captivity, Mr. Waddill at
once proffered his services, and entered into the af
fair with great zeal and earnestness. He, in common
with others of like elevated character, looked upon
the kidnapper with abhorrence. The title of his fel
low parishioners and clients to the property which
constituted the larger proportion of their wealth, not
only depended upon the good faith in which slave

sales were transacted, but he was a man in whose
honorable heart emotions of indignation were aroused
by such an instance of injustice
294. TWELVE YEARS A 8LAY.
Marksville, although occupying a prominent posi

tion, and standing out in impressive italics on the
map of Louisiana, is, in fact, but a small and insig

nificant hamlet. Aside from the tavern, kept by a
jollyand generous boniface, the court house, inhabi
ted by lawless cows and swine in the seasons of va
cation, and a high gallows, with its dissevered rope
dangling in the air, there is little to attract the at

tention of .the stranger.
Solomon Northup was a name Mr. Waddill had
never heard, but he was confident that if there was
a slave bearing that appellation in Marksville or vi
cinity, his black boy Tom would know him. Tom

was accordingly called, but in all his extensive cir
cle of acquaintances there was no such personage.
The letter to Parker and Perry was dated at Bayou
Boeuf. At this place, therefore, the conclusion was,
{ must be sought. But here a difficulty suggested

itself, of a very grave character indeed. Bayou Boeuf,
at its m arest point, was twenty-three miles distant,
and was the name applied to the section of country
extending between fifty and a hundred miles, on
both sides of that stream. Thousands and thousands
of slaves resided upon its shores, the remarkable
richness and fertility of the soil having attracted
thither a great number of planters. The information
in the letter was so vague and indefinite as to render
it difficult to conclude upon any specific course of

proceeding. It was finally determined, however, as
the only plan that presented any prospect of success,

NEW-YORK POLITICS. 995
that JNorthup and the brother of Waddill, a student

inthe office of the latter, should repair to the Bayou,
ind traveling up one side and down the other its
whole length, inquire at each plantation for me. Mr.
Waddill tendered the use of his carriage, and it was
definitely arranged that they should start upon the
3xcursion early Monday morning.
it will be seen at once that this course, in all prob
ability, would have resulted unsuccessfully.
It would
have been impossible for them to have gone into the
fields and examine the gangs at work.

all They
were not aware that I was known only as Platt ;
anc 1
had they inquired of Epps himself, he would ha\8

stated truly that he knew nothing of Solomon
JS orthup.
The arrangement being adopted, however, there
was nothing further to be done until Sunday had
elapsed. The conversation between Messrs. Northup
and Waddill, in the course of the afternoon, turned
~N"ew-York
upon politics.
I scarcely comprehend the nice distinc
can
tions and shades of political parties in your State,"
observed Mr. Waddill. "
I read of soft-shells and
ftard-shells, hunkers and barnburners, woolly-heads

and silver-grays, and am unable to understand the
precise difference between them. Pray, what is it ?"
Mr. Korthup, re-filling his pipe, entered into quite

an elaborate narrative of the origin of the various
sections of parties, and concluded by saying there was
another party ii> New-1 ork, known as free-soil ers or
abolitionists.
"
You have seen none of those in thin
part of the country, I presume ?" Mr. JSTorthup re

marked
*
Never, but one," answered Waddill, laughingly.
"
We have one here in Marksville, an eccentric crea

ture, who
preaches abolitionism as vehemently as any
fanatic at the North. He is a generous, inoffensive
man, but always maintaining the wrong side of an
argument. It affords us a deal of amusement. He
is an excellent mechanic, and almost
indispensable in
this community. He is a carpenter. His name is
Bass."
Some
further good-natured conversation was had at
the expense of Bass peculiarities, when Waddill all
at once fell into a reflective mood, and asked for the
mysterious letter again.
"Let me see 1-e-t m-e s-e-e he repeated, !"
thoughtfully to himself, running his eyes over the let

ter once more. "
Bayou Boeuf, August 15. August

15 post-marked here. He that is writing for me J
Where did Bass work last summer?" he inquired,

turning suddenly to his brother. His brother was
unable to inform him, but rising, left the office, and
soon returned with the intelligence that Bass work "
ed last summer somewhere on Bayou Boeuf."

"
He is the man," bringing down his hand

emphat
on the table, "who can tell us
ically all about Sol
omon Northup," exclaimed Waddill.
Bass was immediately searched for, but could not
be found. After some inquiry, it was ascertained be
THE MEETING WITH BASS. 297
at the lauding on Bed River. Procuring a con-

7eyance, jouug "Waddill and Northup werj not long
in traversing the few miles to the latter j lace. On
their arrival, Bass was found, just on the point of Leav
ing, to be absent a fortnight or more. After an in
troduction, JSTorthup begged the privilege of speaking

to him privately a moment. They walked together
towards the river, when the following conversation
ensued :
"
Mr. Northup,
Bass,"
allow me to ask you
said
"
if you were on Bayou Boeuf

"
last August ?
Yes, sir, I was there in August," was the reply.
"
Did you write a letter for a colored man at

"
that
place to some gentleman in Saratoga Springs ?

"
Excuse me, sir, if I say that is none of your busi

"
ness,"
answered Bass, stopping and looking his inter
rogator searchingly in the face.
Perhaps I am rather hasty, Mr. Bass I
"
beg your ;
pardon ;
but I have come from the State of JSTew-York
to accomplish the purpose the writer of a letter dated
the 15 tli of August, post-marked at Marksville, had
in view. Circumstances have led me to think that
you are perhaps the man who wrote it. I am in
search of Solomon Nortlmp. If you know him, I beg
you to inform me frankly where he is, and I assure

you the source of any information you may give me
shall not be divulged, if you desire it not to be."
A
long time Bass looked his new acquaintance
steadily in the eyes, without opening his
h ps. He
seemed to be doubting in his own mind if there \vas
M*
not an attempt to pi actioe some deception upon him.
Finally lie said, deliberately

"
I have done nothing to be ashamed of. I am the

man who wrote the letter. If you have come to res
cue Solomon Nortliup, I am glad to see you."

"
When did you last see him, and where is he ?

"
Northup inquired.
I last saw him Christmas, a week ago to-day.
"
/ He is the slave of Edwin Epps, a planter on Bayou

Boeuf, near Holmesville. He is not known as Solo
mon Northup ;
he is called Platt."
The secret was out the mystery was unraveled.

Through the thick, black cloud, amid whose dark and
dismal shadows I had walked twelve years, broke the
star that was to light me back to liberty. All mis
trust and hesitation were soon thrown aside, and the
two men conversed long and freely upon the subject
uppermost in their thoughts. Bass expressed the"
interest he had taken in my behalf his intention of
going north in the Spring, and declaring that he had

resolved to accomplish emancipation, if it were in
my
his power. He described the commencement and
progress of his acquaintance with me, and listened

with eager curiosity to the account given him of my
family, and the history of my early life. Before sep

arating, he drew a map of the bayou on a strip of paper
with a piece of red chalk, showing the locality of Epps
plantation, and the road leading most directly to it.

Northup and his young companion returned to
ifarksville, where it was determined to commence
~
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. 21*
legal proceedings to test the question of my right to

freedom. I was made plaintiff, Mr. North up actirr;
as my guardian, and Edwin Epps defendant. Tlia
process to be issued was in the nature of replevin, di
rected to the sheriff of the parish, commanding him
to take me into custody, and detain me until the de
cision of the court. By the time the papers were duly
drawn up, it was twelve o clock at night too late to
obtain the necessary signature of the Judge, who resi
dec! some distance out of town. Further business was
therefore suspended until Monday morning.
Everything, apparently, was moving along swim
mingly, until Sunday afternoon, when Waddill called
at Korthup room to
s express his apprehension of dif
acuities they had not expected to encounter. Bass
had become alarmed, and had placed his affairs in
the hands of a person at the landing, communicating
to him his intention of leaving the State. This per
son had betrayed the confidence reposed in him to a
certain extent, and a rumor began to float about the
town, that the stranger at the hotel, who had been

observed in the company of lawyer "Waddill, was after
one of old Epps slaves, over on the bayou. Epps
wag known having frequent occasion
at Marksville,
to visit that
place during the session of the courts, a-id
the fear entertained by Mr. ISTorthup s adviser wa?,
that intelligence would be conveyed to him in the
night, giving him an opportunity of secreting me be-

fr^-e the arrival of the sheriff.
This apprehension had the effect of expediting mat-
ters considerably. The sheriff, who lived in one direc

tion from the village, was requested to hold himself
in readiness immediately after midnight, while the
Judge was informed he would be called upon at the
same time. It is but justice to say, that the authori
ties at Marksville cheerfully rendered all the assist
ance in their power.
As soon after midnight as bail could be perfected,
and the Judge s signature obtained, a
carriage, con
taining Mr. Northup and the sheriff, driven by the
landlord s son, rolled rapidly out of the village of
Marksville, on the road towards Bayou Boeuf.

was supposed that Epps would contest the issue
It
involving my right to liberty, and it therefore sug

gested itself to Mr. Northup, that the testimony of the
sheriff, describing my first meeting with the for
mer, might perhaps become material on the trial.
It was accordingly arranged during the ride, that

before I had an opportunity of speaking to Mr
Northup, the sheriff should propound to me cer

tain questions agreed upon, such as the number and
names of my children, the name of my wife before
marriage, of places I knew at the North, and so forth.

If my answers corresponded with the statements giv
en him, the evidence must necessarily be considered
conclusive.
At length, shortly after Epps had left the field, with
the consoling assurance that he would soon return and
wa/rm us, as was stated in the conclusion of the pre
ceding chapter, they came in sight of the plantation,
PLANTATION. 301
EM Ji discovered us at work. Alighting from the car

riage, and directing the driver
to proceed to the great
house, with instructions not to mention to any one

the object of their errand until they met again, North-
up and the sheriff turned from the highway, and came

towards us across the cotton field. We observed them,
on looking up at the carriage one several rods in
advance of the other. It was a singular and unusual
thing to see white men approaching us in that man
ner,and especially at that early hour in the morning,
and Uncle Abram and Patsey made some remarks,
expressive of their astonishment. Walking up to
Bob, the sheriff inquired :
"
Where s the boy they call Platt ?

"
"Thar he is, massa," answered Bob, pointing to me,

and twitching off his hat.
I wondered to myself what business he could pos
sibly have with me, and turning round, gazed at him

until he had approached within a step. During my
long residence on the bayou, I had become familiar
with the face of every planter within many miles ;
but this man was an utter stranger certainly 1 had

never seen him before.
"
Your name is Platt, is it ?

"
he asked.
"
Yes, master," I
responded.
Pointing towards JSTorthup, standing a few rods dis
tant, he demanded Do you know that man ?
"
/
"
I looked in the direction indicated, and as my eyes

rested on his countenance, a world of images thronged
my brain ; a multitude of well-known faces Anne s,

and the dear children s, and my old dead father s ; all
the scenes and associations of childhood and youth ;
all the friends of other and happier days, appeared

and disappeared, flitting and floating like dissolving
shadows before the vision of my imagination, until at
last the perfect memory of the man recurred to me,
and throwing up my hands towards Heaven, I ex
claimed, in a voice louder than I could utter in a less
exciting moment
"
Henry B. Nortliup ! Thank God thank God !

"
In an instant I comprehended the nature of his busi

ness, and felt that the hour of my deliverance was at
hand. I started towards him, but the sheriff stepped
oefore me.
"Stop
a moment," said he ;
"
have you any other

name than Platt?"
"
Solomon Northup is my name, master," I replied.

"
Have you a family ? he inquired. "
"
I had a wife and three children."

"
What were your children s names ? "
Elizabeth, Margaret and Alonzo."

"
"
And your wife s name before her marriage ?

"
*
Anne Hampton."
Who married you ?
"
Timothy Eddy, of Fort

<
Edward."
Where does that gentleman live ?

"
again pointing
Northup, who remained standing
\\j in the same place
where I had first recognized him.
"
He lives in Sandy Hill, Washington count/, Xew

York," was the reply.
THE MEETING. 303
He was
proceeding to ask further questions, but 1
pushed past him, unable longer to restrain myself.
I seized my old acquaintance by both hands. I could
not speak. I could not refrain from tears.
,",Sol,"
he said at length, I m
glad to see you."
"
I essayed to make some answer, but emotion choked

all utterance, and I was silent. The slaves, utterly
confounded, stood gazing upon the scene, their open
mouths and rolling eyes indicating the utmost wonder
and astonishment. For ten 4y ears I had dwelt among
them, in the and in the cabin, borne the same
field
hardships, partaken the same fare, mingled my griefs

with theirs, participated in the same scanty joys ;
nevertheless, not until this hour, the last I was to re

main among them, had the remotest suspicion of my
true name, or the slightest knowledge of my real his-
_torjj_been entertained by any one of them.

Not a word was spoken for several minutes, during
which time I clung fast toNorthup, looking up into
his face, fearful I should awake and find it all a
dream.
"
Throw down that sack," Northup added, finally,

"
your cotton-picking days are over. Come with us

to the man you live with."
obeyed him, and walking between him and the

I
sheriff, we moved towards the great house. It was
not until we had proceeded some distance that I had

vecovered my voice sufficiently to ask if my family
were all living. He
he had seen Anne,
informed me
Margaret and Elizabeth but a short time previously;
304 TWELVE YEAHS A SLATE.
that Alonzo was still living, and all were well.
mother, however, I could never see again. As I be

gan to recover in some measure from the sudden and
great excitement which so overwhelmed me, I grew
faint and weak, insomuch it was with difficulty I could
walk. The sheriff took hold of my arm and assisted

me, or I think I should have fallen. As we entered
the yard, Epps stood b} the gate, conversing with the
driver. That young man, faithful to his instructions,
was entirely unable to give him the least information
in answer to his repeated inquiries of what was going
on. By the time we reached him he was almost as
much amazed and puzzled as Bcb or Uncle Abram.
Shaking hands with the sheriff, and receiving an
introduction to Mr. Northup, he invited them into the
house, ordering me, at the same time, to bring in

some wood. It was some time before I succeeded in
cutting an armful, having, somehow, unaccountably
lost thepower of wielding the axe with any manner
of precision. When I entered with it at last, the
tablewas strewn with papers, from one of which

Nortlmp was reading. 1 was probably longer than
necessity required, in placing the sticks upon the fire,
being particular as to the exact position of each indi
vidual one of them. I heard the words,
"
the said
Solomon Nortlmp," and "
the deponent further says,"
and "
free citizen of New- York,"

repeated frequently,
and from these expressions understood that the secret
I had so long retained from Master and Mistress Epps,
was finally developing. I lingered as long a? pru-

r
MEETING AT EPP8 HCV8B- 505
dencc permitted, and was about lea^mp the room,

wlien Epps inquired,
"
Platt, do yon know this

gentleman ?
"
"
Yes, master," I replied, I have known him as

"
long as I can remember."

"
Where does he live ?

"
"
He lives in New-York."
"
Did you ever live there ?

"
"
Yes, master born and bred there."
was you d d nigger, "
"You free, then. ISTow

he exclaimed, "
why did you not tell me that when 1

"
bought you ?
Master
"
Epps,"
I answered, in a somewhat differ
ent tone than the one in which I had been accustomed

to address him "
Master Epps, you did not take the

trouble to ask me ; besides, I told one of my owners
the man that kidnapped me that I was free, and
was whipped almost to death for it."
It seems there has been a letter written

"
you by for
Now, who is it ? he demanded, authori

"
somebody.
tatively. I made no reply.
I say, who wrote that he demanded
" "
letter ?
again.
Perhaps I wrote it I said.
"
myself,"
"You haven t been to Marksville post-office and

back before light, I know."
He insisted upon my informing him, and I insisted

I would not. He made many vehement threats against
the man, whoever he might be, and intimated the
bloody and savage vengeance he would wreak npop
20
30f> TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE.
him, when he found him out. His whole manner

and language exhibited a feeling of anger towards the
unknown person who had written for me, and of fret-
fulness at the idea of losing so much property. Ad
dressing Mr. Northup, he swore if he had only had an
hour s notice of his coming, he would have saved him
the trouble of taking me back to New- York; that he
would have run me into the swamp, or some other
place out of the way, where all the sheriffs on earth
3ouldn t have found me.
I walked out into the yard, and was entering the
kitchen door, when something struck me in the back.
Aunt Phebe, emerging from the back door of the
great house with a pan of potatoes, had thrown one
of them with unnecessary violence, thereby giving
me to understand that she wished to speak to me a
moment confidentially. Running up to me, she whis
pered in my ear with great earnestness,
"
Lor a mity, Platt ! what d ye think ? Dem two

men come after ye. Heard em tell massa you free >
got wife and tree children back tliar whar you come
from. Goiu wid em? Fool if ye don t wish I
could go,"
and Aunt Phebe ran on in this manner at
a rapid rate.
Presently Mistress Epps made her appearance in

the kitchen. She said many things to me, and won
dered why I had not told her who I was. She ex

pressed her regret, complimenting me by saying she
had rather lose any other servant on the plantation.
Flad Patsey that day stood in my place, the measure
THE FAREWELL. 307
af my mistress joy would have overflowed.

there was no one left who could mend a chair or a
piece of furniture no one who was of any use about

the house no one who could play for her on the vio
lin and Mistress Epps was actually affected to tears.
Epps had called to Bob to bring up his saddle horse.
The other slaves, also, overcoming their fear of the
penalty, had left their work and come to the yard.
They were standing behind the cabins, out of sight of
Epps. They beckoned me to come to them, and with
all the eagerness of curiosity, excited to the highest
pitch, conversed with and questioned me. If I could

repeat the exact words they uttered, with th& same
emphasis if I could paint their several attitudes, and
the expression of their countenances it would be
indeed an interesting picture. In their estimation, I

had suddenly arisen to an immeasurable height had
become a being of immense importance.
The legal papers having been served, and arrange
ments made with Epps to meet them the next day at
Marksville, Nortlmp and the sheriff entered the
carriage to return to the latter place. As I was about
mounting to the driver s seat, the sheriff said I ought
to bid Mr. and Mrs. Epps good bye. I ran back to
the piazza where they were standing, and taking off
my hat, said,
"
Good-bye, missis."
"
Good-bye, Platt,"
said Mrs. Epps, kindly.
"
Good-bye, master."
"
Ah you d d nigger," muttered Epps,

! in a surly
malicious tone of voice, you needn feel so cussed

"
tickled you ain t gone yet I ll see about this busi

ness at Marksville to-morrow."
XI was only a and knew my place, but felt

"
nigger"
as strongly as if I had been a white man, that it

would have been an inward comfort, had I dared to
have given him a parting kick.x On my way back to
the carriage, Patsey ran from behind a cabin and
threw her arms about my neck.
"
Oh ? Platt,"
she cried, tearg streaming down her
you re goin to be free you re goin way off
"
face,
yonder, where we ll nebber see ye any more. You ve

saved me a good many whippins, Platt; I m
glad
you re goin to be free but oh ! de Lord, de Lord !
what ll become of me ?
I disengaged myself from her, and entered the
carriage. The driver cracked his whip and away we

rolled. I looked back and saw Patsey, with drooping
head, half reclining on the ground Mrs. Epps was on ;
the piazza; Uncle Abram, and Bob, and Wiley, and

Aunt Phebe stood by the gate, gazing after me. I
waved my hand, but the carriage turned a bend of

the bayou, hiding them from my eyes forever.
We stopped a moment at Carey s sugar house,
where a great number of slaves were at work, such
an establishment being a curiosity to a Northern man.
Epps dashed by us on horseback at full speed on
the way, as we learned next day, to the Pine "
Woods," to see William Ford, who had brought me

into the country.
DEPARTURE HOMEWARD. 309
Tuesday, the fourth of January, Epps and his coun

sel, Hon. H. Taylor Northup, "Waddill, the Judge
the
and sheriff of Avoyelles, and myself, met in a room
in the village of Marksville. Mr. Northup stated the
facts in regard to me, and presented his commission,
and the affidavits accompanying it. The sheriff de
scribed the scene in the cotton field. I was also
interrogated at great length. Finally, Mr. Taylor

assured his client that he was satisfied, and that liti
gation would not only be expensive, but utterly use

less. In accordance with his advice, a paper was
drawn up and signed by the proper parties, wherein
Epps acknowledged he was satisfied of my right to
freedom, and formally surrendered me to the authori
ties of New-York. It was also stipulated that it be
entered of record in the recorder s office of Avoy

elles.*
Mr. Northup and myself immediately hastened to

the landing, and taking passage on the first steamer
that arrived, were soon floating down Red River, up
which, with such desponding thoughts, I had been
borne twelve years before.
* Se
Appendix, C.
CHAPTER XXII.
&RRTVAL IN NEW-ORLEANS GLIMPSE OF FREEMAN GENOI8, THE RECORD-
ER- HIS DESCRIPTION OF SOLOMON REACH CHARLESTON INTERRUPTED
BY CUSTOM HOUSE OFFICERS PASS THROUGH RICHMOND ARRIVAL IM
WASHINGTON BURCH ARRESTED SHEKELS AND THORN THEIR TESTI
MONY BURCH ACQUITTED ARREST CF SOLOMON BURCH WITHDRAWS
THE COMPLAINT THE HIGHER TRIBUNAL DEPARTURE FROM WASHING
TON ARRIVAL AT SANDY HILL OLD FRIENDS AND FAMILIAR SCENES
PROCEED TO GLENS FALLS MEETING WITH ANNE, MARGARET AND ELIZA
BETH SOLOMON NORTHUP 8TAUNTON INCIDENTS CONCLUSION.
As the steamer glided on its way towards ]STew-
Orleans, perhaps I was not happy perhaps there

was no difficulty in restraining myself from dancing
round the deck perhaps I did not feel grateful tc
the man who had come so many hundred miles for
me perhaps I did not light his pipe, and wait and
watch his word, and run at his slightest bidding. If
I didn t well, no matter.
We tarried at New-Orleans two days. During that
time I pointed out the locality of Freeman s slave
pen, and the room in which Ford purchased me, We
happened to meet Theophilus in the street, but I did
not think it worth whileto renew acquaintance with
him. From respectable citizens we ascertained he
had become a low, miserable rowdy a broken-down,
disreputable man.
THE RECORDER OF NEW-ORLEANS. 311
We also visited the recorder, Mr. Genois, to whom

Senator Scale s letter was directed, and found him a
man well deserving the wide and honorable reputa
tion that he bears. He very generously furnished us
with a sort of legal pass, over his signature and seal
of office, and as it contains the recorder s description
of my personal appearance, it may not be amiss to in
Bert it here. The following is a copy :
State of Louisiana City of New- Orleans

"
Recorder s Office, Second District.

"
To all to whom
these presents shall come :
"
This Henry B. Northup, Esquire, of the

is to certify that
county of Washington, New-York, has produced before me due

evidence of the freedom of Solomon, a__mulatto__man, aged
about forty-two years, five feet, seven inches and six lines, woolly
hair, and chestnut eyes, who is a native born of the State of

New-York. That the said Northup, being about bringing the
said Solomon to his native place, through the southern routes,
the civil authorities are requested to let the aforesaid color

ed man Solomon pass unmolested, he demeaning well and
properly.
"
Given under my hand and the seal of the city of New-Or

leans this 7th January, 1853.
[L. s.]
"TH. GENOIS, Recorder."
On the 8th we came to Lake Pontchar train, by rail

road, and, in due time, following the usual route,
reached Charleston. After going on board the steam
boat, and pay ing our passage at this city, Mr. North-
up was called upon by a custom-house officer to ex
plain why he had not registered his servant. He

replied that he had no servant that, as the agent of

New-York, he was accompanying a free citizen of that
State from slavery to freedom, and did not desire nor
intend to make any registry whatever. I conceived
from his conversation and manner, though I may per
haps be entirely mistaken, that no great pains would
be taken to avoid whatever difficulty the Charleston
might deem proper to create. At length,

officials
however, we were permitted to proceed, and, passing

through Richmond, where I caught a glimpse of
Goodin s pen, arrived in Washington January 17th,
1853.
"We ascertained that both Burch and Radburn were
residing in that city.
still Immediately a complaint
was entered with a police magistrate of Washington,
against James H. Burch, for kidnapping and selling
me into slavery. He was arrested upon a warrant
issued by Justice Goddard, and returned before Jus
ticeMansel, and held to bail in the sum of three thou-
Band dollars. When arrested, Burch was much
first
excited, exhibiting the utmost fear and alarm, and be

fore reaching the justice s office on Louisiana Ave
nue, and before knowing the precise nature of the
complaint, begged the police to permit him to consult
Benjamin O. Shekels, a slave trader of seventeen
years standing, and his former partner. The latter
became his bail.
Atten o clock, the 18th of January, both parties
appeared before the magistrate. Senator Chase, of

Ohio, Hon. Orville Clark, of Sandy Hill, and Mr
BTTBCII ARRESTED. 313
North^-p acted as counsel for the prosecution, and Jo

seph EL Bradley for the defence.
Gen. Orville Clark was called and sworn as a wit
ness, testified that he had known me from child
and
hood, and that I was a free man, as was my father be
fore me. Mr. Northup then testified to the same, and
proved the facts connected with his mission to Avoy-
elles.
Ebenezer Radburn was then sworn for tbe prosecu -
tion, and testified he was forty-eight years old ;

that
he was a resident of Washington, and had known
Burch fourteen years that in 1841 he was keeper of
;
"Williams slave pen that he remembered the fact of

;
my confinement in the pen that year. At this point

it was admitted by the defendant s counsel, that I had
been placed in the pen by Burch in the spring of
1841, and hereupon the prosecution rested.
Benjamin O. Shekels was then oifered as a witness
by the prisoner. Benjamin is a large, coarse-featured

man, and the reader may perhaps get a somewhat
correct conception of him by reading the exact lan
guage he used in answer to the first question of de

fendant s lawyer. He was asked the place of his na
tivity, and his reply, uttered in a sort of rowdyish
way, was in these very words

was born in Ontario county, New-York, and
"I
weighed fourteen pounds /"
Benjamin was a prodigious baby He further tes !
tified that he kept the Steamboat Hotel in "Washing
ton in 1841, and saw me there in the spring of that

314 TWELVE YEAKS A SLATE.
year. He was proceeding to state what lie had heard

two men say, when Senator Chase raised a legal ob
jection, to wit, that the sayings of third persons, be
ing hearsay, was improper evidence. The objection
was overruled by the Justice, and Shekels continued,
stating that twu men came to his hotel and represent
ed they had a colored man for sale that they had an ;
interview with Burch that they stated they came

;
from Georgia, but he did not remember the county ;
that they gave a fall history of the boy, saying he was

a bricklayer, and played on the violin ;
that Burch
remarked he would purchase if they could agree that ;
they went out and brought the boy in, and that I was
the same person. He further testified, with as
much unconcern as if it was the truth, that I rep-
presented I was born and bred in Georgia ;

that
one of the young men with me was my master ;
that
I exhibited a great deal of regret at parting with him,
and he believed got into tears
"
nevertheless, that
!"
-
I insisted my master had a right to sell me that he ;
ought to sell me and

;
the remarkable reason I gave
was, according to Shekels, because he, my master,

had been gambling and on a spree
"
!"
He
continued, in these words, copied from the min
utes taken on the examination Burch interrogated
:
"
the boy in the usual manner, told him if he purchas

ed him he should send him south. The boy said he
had no objection, that in fact he would like to go
south. Burch paid $650 for him, to my knowledge:
I don t know what name was given him, but think it
SHEKELS AND THORN. 315
was not Solomon. Did not know the name of either

of the two men. They were in my tavern two or three
hours, during which time the boy played on the vio
lin. The hill of sale was signed in my bar-room. It
was a printed blank, filled up ly Burch. Before 1838
Burch was my partner. Our business was buying
and selling slaves. After that time he was a partner
of Theophilus Freeman, of New-Orleans. Burch
bought here Freeman sold there !"
Shekels, before testifying, had heard my relation of

the circumstances connected with the visit to Wash
ington with Brown and Hamilton, and therefore, it
was, undoubtedly, he spoke of two men," and of my
"
playing on the violin. Such was his fabrication, ut
terly untrue, and yet there was found in Washington

a man who endeavored to corroborate him.
Benjamin A. Thorn testified he was at Shekels in

1841, and saw a colored boy playing on a fiddie.
Shekels said he was for sale. Heard his master tell
"
him he should sell him. The boy acknowledged to me

he was a slave. I was not present when the money
was paid. Will not swear positively this is the boy.
The master came near shedding tears : I think the loy
did ! I have been engaged in the business of taking
slaves south, off and on, for twenty years. When J
do that I do something else."
I was then offered as a witness, but, objection be

ing made, the court decided my evidence inadmissible.
It was rejected solely on the ground that I was a col-
ored man the fact of my being a free citizen of
New-York not being disputed.

Shekels having testified there was a bill of sale ex
ecuted, Burch was called upon by the prosecution to
produce it, inasmuch as such a paper would corrobo
rate the testimony of Thorn and Shekels. The pris
oner counsel saw the necessity of exhibiting it, or
s
giving some reasonable explanation for its non-pro

duction. To eifect the latter, Burch himself was offer-
as a witness in his own behalf. It was contended by
counsel for the people, that such testimony should not
be allowed that it was in contravention of every
rule of evidence, and if permitted would defeat the
ends of justice. His testimony, however, was receiv
ed by the court ! He made oath that such a bill of
sale had been drawn up and signed, ~but he had lost it,
and did not know what had become of it ! Thereup
on the magistrate was requested to dispatch a police
officer to Burch s residence, with directions to bring
his books, containing his bills of sales for the year

1811. The request was granted, and before any meas
ure could be taken to prevent it, the officer had ob
tained possession of the books, and brought them into
court. The sales for the year 1841 were found, and
carefully examined, but no sale of myself, by any
name, was discovered !
Upon tlr s testimony the court held the fact to be

Burch came innocently and honestly
established, that
by me, and accordingly he was discharged.

AKREST OF SOLOMON. SI /
An attempt was then made by Burch and his sat

ellites, to fasten upon me the charge that I had con
spired with the two white men to defraud him with

what success, appears in an extract taken from an ar
ticle in the New-York Times, published a day or two
subsequent to the trial : The counsel for the defend
"
ant had drawn up, before the defendant was dis
charged, an affidavit, signed by Burch, and had a

warrant out against the colored man for a conspiracy
with the two white men before referred to, to defraud
Burch out of six hundred and twenty-five dollars.
The warrant was served, and the colored man arrest
ed and brought before officer Goddard. Bnrch and
his witnesses appeared in court, and H. B. Northup
appeared as counsel for the colored man, stating he

was ready to proceed as counsel on the part of the de
fendant, and asking no delay whatever. Burch, aftei
consulting privately a short time with Shekels, stated
to the magistrate that he wished him to dismiss the
complaint, as he would not proceed farther with it.
Defendant s counsel stated to the magistrate that if

the complaint was withdrawn, it must be without the
request or consent of the defendant. Burch then
asked the magistrate to let him have the complaint
and the warrant, and he took them. The counsel for
the defendant objected to his receiving them, and in
sisted they shouldremain as part of the records of the
court,and that the court should endorse the proceed
ings which had been had under the process. Burch
delivered them up, and the court rendered a judg-
of discontinuance by the request of the prosecu

tor, and filed it in his office.
"
There may be those who will affect to believe the

statement of the slave-trader those, in whose minds
his allegations will weigh heavier than mine. I am a
poor colored man one of a down-trodden and de
graded race, whose humble voice may not be heeded
by the oppressor but knowing the truth, and with a
full sense of my accountability, I do solemnly declare
before men, and before Grod, that any charge or as
sertion, that I conspired directly or indirectly with
any person or persons to sell myself; that any other

account of my Washington, my capture and
visit to
imprisonment in Williams slave pen, than is contain

ed in these pages, is utterly and absolutely false. I
never played on the violin in Washington. I never
was in the Steamboat Hotel, and never saw Thorn or
Shekels, to my knowledge, in my life, until last Jan
uary. Thestory of the trio of slave-traders is a fab
rication as absurd as it is base and unfounded. Were
it true, I should not have turned aside on my way
back to liberty for the purpose of prosecuting Burch.
I should have avoided rather than sought him. I
should have known that such a step w~ould have re

sulted m rendering me infamous. Under the circum
stances longing as I did to behold my family, and
elated with the prospect of returning home it is an
outrage upon probability to suppose I would have run

the hazard, not only of exposure, but of a criminal
DEPARTURE FROM WASHINGTON. 31
prosecution and conviction, by voluntarily placing

myself in the position I did, if the statements of
Burch and his confederates contain a particle of truth.
I took pains to seek him out, to confront him in a

court of law, charging him with the crime of kidnap
ping and the only motive that impelled me to this

;
step,was a burning sense of the wrong he had inflict

ed upon me, and a desire to bring him to justice.
He was acquitted, in the manner, and by such means
as have been described. A human tribunal has per
mitted him to escape but there is another and a
;
higher tribunal, where false testimony will not pre

vail, and where I am willing, so far at least as these
statements are concerned, to be judged at last.
We left Washington on the 20th of January, and

proceeding by the way of Philadelphia, New- York,
and Albany, reached Sandy Hill in the night of the
My heart overflowed with happiness as I look
ed around upon old familiar scenes, and found myself
in the midst of friends of other days. The following
morning I started, in company with several acquaint
ances, for Glens Falls, the residence of Anne and our
children.
As
~
1 entered their comfortable cottage, Margaret

was the first that met me. She did not recognize me.
When I left her, she was but seven years old, a little
prattling girl, playing with her toys. Now she was

grown to womanhood was married, with a bright-
eyed boy standing by her side. Not forgetful of his
enslaved, unfortunate grand-father, she had named the

child Solomon Northup Staunton. When told who
I was, shewas overcome with emotion, and unable to
gpeak. Presently Elizabeth entered the room, and
Anne came running from the hotel, having been in
formed of my arrival. They embraced me, and with
tears flowing down their cheeks, hung upon my neck.
v But I draw a veil over a scene which can better be
*
imagined than described.
~~~^> When the violence of our emotions had subsided to
a sacred joy when the household gathered round
the fire, that sent out its warm and crackling comfort
through the room, we conversed of the thousand

events that had occurred the hopes and fears, the
joys and sorrows, the trials and troubles we had each

experienced during the long separation. Alonzowas>
absent in the western part of the State. The boy
had written to his mother a short time previous, o^
the prospect of his obtaining sufficient money to pur
chase my freedom. From his earliest years, that had
been the chief object of his thoughts and his ambi
tion. They knew I was in bondage. The letter writ/
ten on boarcf the brig, anoT"dem Kay himself, had
given them that information. But where I was, until

the arrival of Bass letter, was a matter of conjecture.
Elizabeth and Margaret once returned from school
BO Anne informed me weeping bitterly. On inquir
ing the cause of the children sorrow, s was found it
that, while studying geography, their attention had

oeen attracted to the picture of slaves working in the
CONCLUSION. 321
and an overseer following them with his

jottori-lield,
whip, reminded
it them of the sufferings their fa
ther might be, and, as it happened, actually was, en
during in the South. Numerous incidents, such as

these, were related incidents showing they still held
me in constant remembrance, but not, perhaps, of
sufficient interest to the reader, to be recounted.
My narrative is at an end. I have no comments to

make upon the subject of Slavery. Those who read
this book may form their own opinions of the pe
"
culiar institution." What it

may be in other States,
I do not profess to know ;
what it is in the region of
Red River, truly and faithfully delineated in these
is
pages. This is no fiction, no exaggeration. If I have

failed in anything, it r as been in presenting to the
reader too prominently the bright side of the picture.
I doubt not hundreds have been as unfortunate aa
myself; that hundreds of free citizens have been kid

napped and sold into slavery, and are at this mo
ment wearing out their lives on plantations in
Texas and Louisiana. But I forbear. Ohastene
and subdued in spirit by the sufferings I have borne,
and thankful good Being through whose mer
to that
cy I have been restored to happiness and liberty,

I hope henceforward to lead an upright though lowly
life, and rest at last in the church yard where my fa
ther sleeps.
N* 21
APPENDIX.
A. Page 291.
CHAP. 375.
An act more effectually to protect the free citizens of this Staff
from being kidnapped, or reduced to Slavery.
[Passed May 14, 1840.]
The People of the State of New-York, represented in Sen

ate and Assembly, do enact as follows :
1. Whenever the Governor of this State shall receive
information satisfactory to him that any free citizen or any

inhabitant of this State has been kidnapped or transported
away out of this State, into any other State or Territory of the
United States, for the purpose of being there held in slavery or ;
that such free citizen or inhabitant is wrongfully seized, im
prisoned or held in slavery in any of the States or Territories

of the United States, on the allegation or pretence that such
a person is a slave, or
by color of any usage or rule of law
prevailing in such State or Territory, is deemed or taken to bo
a slave, or not entitled of
right to the personal liberty belong
-
ing to a citizen ;
it shall be the duty of the said Governor to
324 TWELVE YEARS A SLATE.
take such measures as he shall deem necessary to procure such
person
pei to be restored to his liberty and returned to this State,
^The Governor is hereby authorized to appoint and employ such

agent or agents as he shall deem necessary to effect the restora
tionand return of such person ; and shall furnish the said ageni
with such credentials and instructions as will be likely to ac
complish the object of his appointment. The Governor may

determine the compensation to be allowed to such agent for his
services besides his necessary expenses.
"
2. Such agent shall proceed to collect the proper proof to

establish the right of such person to his freedom, and shall per
form such journeys, take such measures, institute and procure
to be prosecuted such legal proceedings, under the direction of
the Governor, as shall be necessary to procure such person to

be restored to his liberty and returned to this State.
3. The accounts for all services and
expenses incurred in
carrying this act into effect shall be audited by the Comptroller,
and paid by the Treasurer on lus warrant, out of any moneys
in the treasury of this State not otherwise appropriated. The
Treasurer may advance, on the warrant of the Comptroller, to
such agent, such sum or sums as the Governor shall certify to
be reasonable advances to enable him to accomplish the pur-
ooses of his appointment, for which advance such agent shall
account, on the final audit of his warrant.

4. This act shall take effect
immediately.
APPENDIX. 325
B. Page 292.
MEMORIAL OF ANNE.
To His Excellency, the Governor of the State of New-York :
The memorial of Anne Northup, of the village of Gleria
Falls, in the county of Warren, State aforesaid, respectfully

sets forth
That your memorialist, whose maiden name was Anne Hamp

ton, was on the 14th day of March last, and
forty -four years old
was married to Solomon Northup, then of Fort Edward, in
the county of Washington and State aforesaid, on the 25th day
of December, A. D. 1828, by Timothy Eddy, then a Justice
of the That the said Solomon, after such marriage,
Peace.
lived and kept house with your memorialist in said town until
1830, when he removed with his said family to the town of

Kingsbury in said county, and remained there about three
years, and then removed to Saratoga Springs in the State
aforesaid, and continued to reside in said Saratoga Springs and
the adjoining town until about the year 1841, as near as the
time can be recollected, when the said Solomon started to go to

the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, since
which time your memorialist has never seen her said husband.
And your memorialist further states, that in the year 1841
she received information by a letter directed to Henry B.
Northup, Esq., of Sandy Hill, Washington county, New-York,

and post-marked at New Orleans, that said Solomon had been
kidnapped in Washington, put on board of a vessel, and was

then in such vessel in New-Orleans, but could not tell how he
came in that situation, nor what his lestination was.
That your memorialist ever since the last mentioned period

has been wholly unable to obtain any information of where the
said Solomon was, until the month of September last, when
826 TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE-
another letter was received from the said Solomon, post-marked

at Marksville, in the parish of Avoyelles, in the State of Lou
isiana, stating that he was held there as a slave, which state
ment your memorialist believes to be true.
That the said Solomon is about forty-five years of age, and

never resided out of the State of New-York, in which State he
was born, until the time he went to Washington city, as before
stated. That the said Solomon Northup is a free citizen of the
State of New-York, and is now wrongfully held in slavery, in
or near Marksville, in the parish of Avoyelles, in the State of
Louisiana, one of the United States of America, on the allega

tion or pretence that the said Solomon is a slave.
And your memorialist further states that Mintus Northup was
Solomon, and was a negro, and died
the reputed father of said
atFort Edward, on the 22d day of November, 1829 ; that the

mother of said Solomon was a mulatto, or three quarters white,
and died in thecounty of Oswego, New-,York; some five or six
years ago, as your memorialist was informed and believes, and
never was a slave.
That your memorialist and her family are poor and wholly
unable to pay or sustain any portion of the expenses of restor
ing the said Solomon to his freedom.

Your excellency is entreated to employ such agent or agents
as shall be deemed necessary to effect the restoration and return
of said Solomon Northup, in pursuance of an act of the Legis
lature of the State of New-York, passed May 14th, 1840,
entitled An act more effectually to protect the free citizens of

"
this State from being kidnappd or reduced to slavery."

And
your memorialist will ever pray.
(Signed,) ANNE NORTHUP.
Dated November 19, 1852.
APPENDIX. 327
STATE OF NEW-YORK :
ss.
Washington county,
Anne Northup,of the village of Glens Falls, in the county
of Warren, in said State, being duly sworn, doth depose and
say that she signed the above memorial, and that the state
ments therein contained are true.
(Signed,) ANNE NORTHUP
Subscribed and sworn before me this
19th November, 1852.

CHARLES HUGHES, Justice Peace.
Werecommend that the Governor appoint Henry B. Northup,

of the village of Sandy Hill, Washington county, New-York,
as one of the agents to procure the restoration and return
of Solomon Northup, named in the foregoing memorial of

Anne Northup.
Dated at Sandy Hill, Washington Co., N. Y.,
November 20, 1852. (Signed,)
PETEE HOLBKOOK, DANIEL SWEET,
B. F. HOAG, ALMON CLARK,
CHAKLES HUGHES, BENJAMIN FERRIS,
E. D. BAKER, JOSIAH II. BROWN
ORVILLE CLARK.
STATE OF NEW-YORK :
Washington County, ss :
Josiah Hand, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said county, be
ing duly sworn, says, he is

fifty-seven years old, and was born
in said village, and has always resided there ;
that he has
known Mintus Northup and his son Solomon, named in the an

nexed memorial of Anne Northup, since previous to the year
1 816 ;
Mintus Northup then, and until the time of his death,
that
cultivated afarm in the towns of Kingsbury and Fort Edward,

from the time deponent first knew him until he died that said ;
Minrus and his wife, the mother of said Solomon Northup,

were reported to be free citizens of New-York, and deponent

believes they were so free that said Solomon Northup was
;
born in said county of Washington, as deponent believes, and

was married Dec. 25th, 1828, in Fort Edward aforesaid, and
and three children
his said wife two daughters and one son
are now living in Glens Falls, Warren county, New-York, and
that the said Solomon Northup always resided
in said county
of Washington, and its immediate vicinity, until about 1841,

since which time deponent has not seen him, but deponent
has been credibly informed, and as he verily believes truly

the said Solomon is now wrongfully held as a slave in the
State of Louisiana. And deponent further says that Anne
Northup, named in the said memorial, is entitled to credit, and
deponent believes the statements contained in her said memo
rial are true. (Signed,) JOS1AH HAND.
19th day of November, 1852,

CHARLES HUGHES, Justice Peace.
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington county, ss :
Timothy Eddy, of Fort Edward, in said county, being duly

sworn, says he is now over years old, and has been a resident
of said town more than years last past, and that he was
well acquainted with Solomon Northup, named in the annexed
memorial of Anne Northup, and with his father, Mintus North-
up, who was a negro, the wife of said Mintus was a mulatto
woman ;
that said Mintus Northup and his said wife and family,
two sons, Joseph and Solomon, resided in said town of Fort
Edward for several years before the year 1828, and said Min
tus died in saidtown A. D. 1829, as deponent believes. And
deponent further says that he was a Justice of the Peace ic
said town in the
year 1828, and as such Justice of the Peace,
he, on the 25th day of Dec r, 1828, joined the said Solomon
APPENDIX. 329
Northup in marriage with Anne Hampton, who is the same

person who has subscribed the annexed memorial. And depo
nent expressly says, that said Solomon was a free citizen of
the State of New- York, and always lived in said State, until
about the year A. D. 1840, since which time deponent has not
seen him, but has recently been informed, and as deponent be-
lieves truly, that said Solomon Northup is
wrongfully held in
slavery in or near Marksvllle, in the parish of Avoyelles, in the

State of Louisiana. And deponent further says, that said Min
tus Northup was nearly sixty years old at the time of his death,
and was, for more than thirty years next prior to his death, a
free citizen of the State of New-York.
And deponent further says, that Anne Northup, the wife
this
of said Solomon Northup, is of good character and reputation,

and her statements, as contained in the memorial hereto annexed,
are entitled to full credit.
(Signed,) TIMOTHY EDDY.

19th day of November, 1852,

TIM Y STOUGHTON, Justice.
STATE OF NEW-YORK :
Washington County, ss :
Henry B. Northup, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said
county, being duly sworn, says, that he is

forty -seven years old,
and has always lived in said county ;
that he knew Mintus
Northup, named in the annexed memorial, from deponent s
earliest recollection until the time of his death, which occurred
at Fort Edward, in said county, in 1829 ;
that deponent knew
the children of said Mintus, viz, Solomon and Joseph; that
they were both born in the county of Washington aforesaid, as

deponent believes that deponent was well acquainted with
;
saidSolomon, who is the same person named in the annexed

memorial of Anne Northup, from his childhood and that said ;
Solomon always resided in said county of Washington and the
adjoining counties until about the year 1841 ; that said Solo
mon could read and write that said Solomon and his mother
;
and father were free citizens of the State of New -York ;

that
sometime about the year 1841 this deponent received a letter

from said Solomon, post-marked New-Orleans, stating that
while on business at Washington city, he had been kidnapped,
and his free papers taken from him, and he was then on board
a vessel, in irons, and was claimed as a slave, and that he did

not know his destination, which the deponent believes to be
true, and he urged this deponent to assist in procuring his restora-

cion to freedom that deponent has lost or mislaid said letter,
;
and cannot find it that deponent has since endeavored to find

;
where said Solomon was, but could get no farther trace of him
last, when this deponent ascertained by
until Sept. a letter pur
porting to have been written by the direction of said Solomon,

that said Solomon was held and claimed as a slave in or near
Marks ville, in the parish of Avoyelles, Louisiana, and that this
deponent verily believes that such information is true, and that

said Solomon is now wrongfully held in slavery at Marksville
aforesaid. (Signed,) HENRY B. NORTHUP.
Subscribed and sworn to before me
this 20th day of November, 1852,
CHARLES HUGHES, J. P.
STATE OF NEW-YORK :
Washington County, ss
Nicholas C. Northup, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said
county, being duly sworn, doth depose and say, that he is now
fifty eight years of age,
and has known Solomon Northup, men
tioned in the annexed memorial of Ann Northup, ever since he
was born. And deponent saith that said Solomon is now
this
about forty-five years old. and was born hi the county of Wash
APPENDIX. 331
u.^ton aforesaid, or in the county of Essex, in said State, arid
dways resided in the State of New-York until about the year

,
1841, since which time deponent has not seen him or known
where he was, until a few weeks since, deponent was informed,
and believes truly, that said Solomon was held in slavery in
the State of Louisiana. Deponent further says, that said Sol

omon was married in the town of Fort Edward, in said county,
about twenty-four years ago, and that his wife and two daugh
tors and one son now reside in the village of Glens Falls, coun
ty of Warren, in said State of New-York. And this deponent

swears positively that said Solomon Northup is a citizen of said
State of New-York, and was born free, and from his earliest
infancy lived and resided in the counties of Washington, Essex,

Warren and Saratoga, in the State of New-York, and that his
said wife and children have never resided out of said counties
since the time said Solomon was married ;
that deponent knew
the father of said Solomon Northup ;
that said father was a
negro, named Mintus Northup, and died in the town of Fort
Edward, in the county of Washington, State of New-York, on

the22d day of November, A. D. 1829, and was buried in the
grave-yard in Sandy Hill aforesaid ; that for more than thirty
years before his death he lived in the counties of Essex, Wash
ington and Rensselaer and State ofNew-York, and left a wife
and two sons, Joseph and the said Solomon, him surviving ;
that the mother of said Solomon was a mulatto woman, and is
now dead, and died, as deponent believes, in Oswego county,

New-York, within five or six
years past. And this deponent
further states, that the mother of the said Solomon Northup
was not a slave at the time of the birth of said Solomon North-
up, and has not been a slave at any time within the last fifty
years. (Signed,) N. C. NORTHUP.
Subscribed and sworn before me this 19th day
or November, 1852. CHARLES HUGHES, Justice Peace.
STATE OF NEW-YORK :
Washington County, ss.
Orville Clark, of the village of Sandy Hill, in the county of
Washington, State of New-York, being duly sworn, doth de

pose and say that he, this deponent, is over fifty years of age ;
that in the years 1810 and 1811, or most of the time of those
years, this deponent resided at Sandy Hill, aforesaid, and at
Glens Falls ;
that this deponent then knew Mintus Northup, a
black or colored man ;
he was then a free man, as this depo
nent believes and always understood; that the wife of said
Mintus Northup, and mother of Solomon, was a free woman ;
thatfrom the year 1818 until the time of the death of said
Mintus Northup, about the year 1829, this deponent was very
well acquainted with the said Mintus Northup ;
that he was a
respectable man in the

community in which he resided, and
was a free man, so taken and esteemed by all his acquaintan
ces ;
that this deponent has also been and was acquainted with
his son Solomon Northup, fromthe said year 1818 until he
left thispart of the country, about the year 1840 or 1841 ;
that he married Anne Hampton, daughter of William Hamp
ton, a nearneighbor of this deponent ; that the said Anne, wife

of said Solomon, is now living and resides in this vicinity that ;
the said MintusNorthup and William Hampton were both re

puted and esteemed in this community as respectable men.
And this deponent saith that the said Mintus Northup and his
family, and the said William Hampton and his family, from
the earliest recollection and acquaintance of this deponent with
him (as fav back as 1810,) were always reputed, esteemed, and
taken to be, and this deponent believes, truly so, free citizens of
the State of This deponent knows the said Wil
New-York.
liam Hampton, under the laws of this State, was entitled to
vote at our elections, and he believes the said Mintus Northup
also was entitled as a free citizen with the property qualifies,
APPENDIX. 333
lion. And this deponent further saith, that the said Solomon
Nbrthup, son of said Minfus, and husband of said Anne Hamp
ton, when he left this State, was at the time thereof a free cit?-
zen of the State of New- York. And this deponent further
saith, that said Anne Hampton, wife of Solomon Northup, is a
respectable woman, of good character, and I would believe her
statements, and do believe the facts set forth in her memorial
to his excellency, the Governor, in relation to her said husband,
are true. (Signed,) ORVILLE CLARK.

Sworn before me, November
19th, 1852.
U. G. PARIS, Justice of the Peace.
STATE OF NEW-YORK:
Washington County, ss.
Benjamin Ferns, of the village of Sandy Hill, in said county.,
being duly sworn, doth depose and say that he is now fifty-
seven years old, and has resided in said village forty-five years ;
that he was well acquainted with Mintus Northup, named in
the annexed memorial of Anne Northup, from the year 1810

to the time of his death, which occurred at Fort Edward, in the
fall of 1829; that he knew the children of the said Mintus,
namely, Joseph Northup and Solomon Northup, and that the

said Solomon is the same person named in said memorial ;
that said Mintus resided county of Washington to

in the said
the time of his death, and was, during all that time, a free citi
zen of the said State of New-York, ^ deponent verily believes :
that said memorialist, Anne Northup, is a woman of good char

acter, and the statement contained in her memorial is entitled
to credit.
(Signed) BENJAMIN FERRIS

Sworn before me, November
19th, 1852.
U. G. PARIS, Justice of the Peace.
834 TWELVE TEAKS A SLA YE.
STATE OF NEW- YORK:

Executive Chamber, Albany, Nov. 30, 1852.
I
hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of cer
tain proofs filed in the Executive Department, upon which .
have appointed Henry B. Northup an Agent of this State, tc
take proper proceedings in behalf of Solomon Northup, there

in mentioned.
(Signed,) WASHINGTON HUNT.

By the Governor.
J. F. R., Private Secretary.
STATE OF NEW-YORK :
Executive Department.
WASHINGTON HUNT, Governor of the State of Neiv-York
to whom it may concern, greeting :
Whereas, I have received information on oath, which is sat
isfactary to me, that Solomon Northup, who is a free citizen of

this State, is wrongfully held in slavery, in the State of Lou
isiana :
~~-And whereas, it is made my duty, by the laws of this State,

to take such measures as I shall deem necessary to procure any
citizen so wrongfully held in slavery, to be restored to his lib
erty and returned to this State :
Be it known, that in pursuance of chapter 375 of the laws of

this State, îssed in 1840, 1 have constituted, appointed and em
ployed xenry B. Northup, Esquire, of the county of Washing
ton tri this State, an Agent, with full power to effect the resto
ration of said Solomon Northup, and the said Agent is
hereby
authorized and empowered to institute such proper and legal
proceedings, to procure such evidence, retain such counsel, and

finally to take such measures as will be most likely to accom
plish the object of his said appointment.

He is also instructed to proceed to the State of Louisiana
APPENDIX. 335
with all convenient dispatch, to execute the agency hereby

created.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name,
[L.S.]
and affixed the privy seal of the State, at Albany, Jliis
23d day of November, in the year of our Lord 15S52.

(Signed,) WASHINGTON HUNT.
JAMES F. RUGGLES, Private Secretary.
G Page 309.
STATE OF LOUISIANA:
Parish of Avoyelles.
Before me, Aristide Barbin, Recorder of the parish of
Avoy
elles, came and appeared Heury B. Northup, of the
personally
county of Washington, State of New-York, who hath declared
that by virtue of a commission to him as agent of the State <tf
New- York, given and granted by his excellency, WaslnngtwP

Hunt, Governor of the said State of New- York, bearing date
the 23d day of November, 1852, authorizing and empowering
him, the said Northup, to pursue and recover from slavery a

freeman of color, called Northup, who is a free citi
S<>lîaon
zen of the State of New-York, and who was kidnapped and sold
into slavery, in the State of Louisiana, and now in the possess! on
of Edwin Epps, of the State of Louisiana, of the Parish of Avoy
elles ; he, the said agent, hereto signing, acknowledges that the
said Edwin has this day given and surrendered to him as such
agent, the said Solomon Northup, free man of color, as afore
said, in order that he be restored to his freedom, and carried

back to the said State of New- York, pursuant to said commis
sion, the said Edwin Epps being satisfied from the proofs pro
duced by said agent, that the said Solomon Northup is entitled
to his freedom. The parties consenting that a certified copy of
said power of attorney be annexed to this act
Done and signed at Marksville, parish of Avoyelles, this

fourth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty
4
three, in the presence of the undersigned, legal and competen
witnesses, who have also hereto signed.
(Signed,) HENRY B. NORTIIUP.

EDWIN EPPS.
ADE. BARBIN, Recorder.
Witnesses :
II. TAYLOR,
JOHN P. WADDILL.
&TATE OF LOUISIANA :
Parish of Avoyelles.
I do hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct
wpy of the original on file and of record in my office.
Given under my hand and seal of office as Recordei
[L.
in and for the parish of Avoyelles, this 4th day of
.]
January, A. D. 1853.
(Signed,) ADE. BARBIN, Recorder
THl 1NJO.
OR7
RETURN TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
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TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE

THRILLING STORY OF A FREE COLORED MAN,

KIDNAPPED IN WASHINGTON IN 1841

SOLD INTO SLAVERY,

A TWELVE YEAES BONDAGE, 1

RECLAIMED BY STATE AUTHORITY FROM A COTTON

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, 18 IDENTIFIED WITH TH

lug to Spittle Corn s abln,

IS HESPECT* ^LLJ DEDICATED

A course of long observance for Its use,

That even servitude, the worst of ills,

Because delivered down from sire to sou.

Is kept and guarded as a sacred thing.

Of rational discussion, that a man

Should be a despot absolute, and bout

/SLAVEHY is now one of the institutions of the past. It

is so interwoven in the history of our country, that, un

bygone custom may be, it is nevertheless necessary to

stand the exact social status of such a people in all its

bearings, we can pursue no better course than to live among

bear the marks of the brands, and the outrage of manacles.

and his story, simple and artless, affords an insight and

frhich genius can produce.

It is on this account that the publishers have undertaken

details, calls for no apology. It can be taken for what it

is worth a personal narrative of personal sufferings and

keenly felt and strongly resented wrongs; but, in our

opinion, the individual will be lost or merged in the general

interest, and the work wdll be regarded as a history of an

institution which our political economy has now happily

regretted, should be studied indeed, must be studied by

And that the narrative may be the more interesting, we

tried, in a single instance, to modernize or explain allusions

which, viewed from the present, may not be so apparent.

prophecies of events, or to measure the estimate of the past

ment of the perusal.

Introductory Ancestry The Northup Family Birth and

very The Children The Beginning of Sorrow, 17

The two Strangers The Circus Company Departure from

Painful Meditations James H. Burch Williams Slave Pen

Freeman s Industry Cleanliness and Clothes Exercising in

The Steamboat Rodolph Departure from New-Orleans Wil

Rose Mistress Ford Sally and her Children John, the

Fard g Embarrassments The Sale to Tibeats The Chattel

peats the Occurrences of the Day Lawson entertains his

Companions with an Account of his Ride Chapin s appre

pounds the Scriptures Description of the Stocks, 118

Chores&quot; Cabin Life The Corn Mill The Uses of the

The Curious Axe-Helve Symptoms of approaching Illness

each Something of their Past History, and Peculiar Char

Contempt of Matrimony, . 208

before Henry B. Northup The Statute of May 14, 1840

ville for Bayou Boeuf Arrangements on the Way Reach

INTRODUCTORY ANCESTKF THE NORTH UP FAMILY BIRTH AKD .PAREN1

v HAVING been born a

happily rescued in the month of January, 1853, after

States, in regard to the subject of Slavery. Works oi

pleasing as well as more repugnant aspects, havG been

circulated to an extent unprecedented, and, as I un

Chores" Cabin Life The Corn Mill The Uses of the