mind
to leave Portsmouth; its location being right on the border of a slave
State.

A short time after this a gentleman put up there over night named
Smith, from Perrysburgh, with whom I was acquainted in the North. He
was on his way to Kentucky to buy up a drove of fine horses, and he
wanted me to go and help him to drive his horses out to Perrysburgh,
and said he would pay all my expenses if I would go. So I made a
contract to go and agreed to meet him the next week, on a set day, in
Washington, Ky., to start with his drove to the north. Accordingly at
the time I took a steamboat passage down to Maysville, near where I
was to meet Mr. Smith with my trunk. When I arrived at Maysville, I
found that Washington was still six miles back from the river. I
stopped at a hotel and took my breakfast, and who should I see there
but a captain of a boat, who saw me but two years previous going down
the river Ohio with handcuffs on, in a chain gang; but he happened not
to know me. I left my trunk at the hotel and went out to Washington,
where I found Mr. Smith, and learned that he was not going to start
off with his drove until the next day.

The following letter which was addressed to the committee to
investigate the truth of my narrative, will explain this part of it to
the reader and corroborate my statements:

MAUMEE CITY, April 5, 1845.

CHAS. H. STEWART, ESQ.

DEAR SIR:--Your favor of 13th February, addressed to me at
Perrysburgh, was not received until yesterday; having
removed to this place, the letter was not forwarded as it
should have been. In reply to your inquiry respecting Henry
Bibb, I can only say that about the year 1838 I became
acquainted with him at Perrysburgh--employed him to do some
work by the job which he performed well, and from his
apparent honesty and candor, I became much interested in
him. About that time he went South for the purpose, as was
said, of getting his wife, who was there in slavery. In the
spring of 1841, I found him at Portsmouth on the Ohio river,
and after much persuasion, employed him to assist my man to
drive home some horses and cattle which I was about
purchasing near Maysville, Ky. My confidence in him was such
that when about half way home I separated the horses from
the cattle, and left him with the latter, with money and
instructions to hire what