lders,
who had come armed with all the implements of death, with a
determination to reduce me again to a life of slavery, or murder me on
the spot.

When I looked up and saw that I was surrounded, they were exclaiming
at the top of their voices, "shoot him down! shoot him down!" "If he
offers to run, or to resist, kill him!"

I saw it was no use then for me to make any resistance, as I should be
murdered. I felt confident that I had been betrayed by a slave, and
all my flattering prospects of rescuing my family were gone for ever,
and the grim monster slavery with all its horrors was staring me in
the face.

I surrendered myself to this hostile mob at once. The first thing
done, after they had laid violent hands on me, was to bind my hands
behind me with a cord, and rob me of all I possessed.

In searching my pockets, they found my certificate from the Methodist
E. Church, which had been given me by my classleader, testifying to my
worthiness as a member of that church. And what made the matter look
more disgraceful to me, many of this mob were members of the M.E.
Church, and they were the persons who took away my church ticket, and
then robbed me also of fourteen dollars in cash, a silver watch for
which I paid ten dollars, a pocket knife for which I paid seventy-five
cents, and a Bible for which I paid sixty-two and one half cents. All
this they tyrannically robbed me of, and yet my owner, Wm. Gatewood,
was a regular member of the same church to which I belonged.

He then had me taken to a blacksmith's shop, and most wickedly had my
limbs bound with heavy irons, and then had my body locked within the
cold dungeon walls of the Bedford jail, to be sold to a Southern slave
trader.

My heart was filled with grief--my eyes were filled with tears. I
could see no way of escape. I could hear no voice of consolation.
Slaveholders were coming to the dungeon window in great numbers to ask
me questions. Some were rejoicing--some swearing, and others saying
that I ought to be hung; while others were in favor of sending both me
and my wife to New Orleans. They supposed that I had informed her all
about the facilities for slaves to escape to Canada, and that she
would tell other slaves after I was gone; hence we must all be sent
off to where we could neither escape ourselves, nor instruct others
the way.

In the afternoon of the same day Malinda was permitted to visit the
prison wherein I was locked, but was not permitted