o I had to stop and go to work to get money to travel on.
I hired myself at the American Hotel to a Mr. McCoy to do the work of
a porter, to black boots, &c, for which he was to pay me $12 per
month. I soon found the landlord to be bad pay, and not only that, but
he would not allow me to charge for blacking boots, although I had to
black them after everybody had gone to bed at night, and set them in
the bar-room, where the gentlemen could come and get them in the
morning while I was at other work. I had nothing extra for this,
neither would he pay me my regular wages; so I thought this was a
little too much like slavery, and devised a plan by which I got some
pay for my work.

I made it a point never to blacken all the boots and shoes over night,
neither would I put any of them in the bar-room, but lock them up in a
room where no one could get them without calling for me. I got a piece
of broken vessel, placed it in the room just before the boots, and put
into it several pieces of small change, as if it had been given me for
boot blacking; and almost every one that came in after their boots,
would throw some small trifle into my contribution box, while I was
there blacking away. In this way, I made more than my landlord paid
me, and I soon got a good stock of cash again. One morning I blacked a
gentleman's boots who came in during the night by a steamboat. After
he had put on his boots, I was called into the bar-room to button his
straps; and while I was performing this service, not thinking to see
anybody that knew me, I happened to look up at the man's face and who
should it be but one of the very gamblers who had recently sold me. I
dropped his foot and bolted from the room as if I had been struck by
an electric shock. The man happened not to recognize me, but this
strange conduct on my part excited the landlord, who followed me out
to see what was the matter. He found me with my hand to my breast,
groaning at a great rate. He asked me what was the matter; but I was
not able to inform him correctly, but said that I felt very bad
indeed. He of course thought I was sick with the colic and ran in the
house and got some hot stuff for me, with spice, ginger, &c. But I
never got able to go into the bar-room until long after breakfast
time, when I knew this man was gone; then I got well.

And yet I have no idea that the man would have hurt a hair of my head;
but my first thought was that he was after me. I then made up my