purpose. He will neither
work, nor eat the food offered him; quarrels with the other slaves and
fights with the drivers, and altogether acts in such an ugly way that
the overseer says he is "rascally." If it was really ugliness, he would
be whipped; but, of course, whipping won't cure disease; so the masters
consider it incurable, and sell the slave to go South to work in the
rice-swamps and cotton-fields. They, perhaps, think a change of
climate will do more for the patient than any other means. The Southern
physicians don't have much success, to tell the truth, in curing this
difficulty, for they don't seem to understand it. If they would only
consult with some of their profession at the North, I have no doubt they
would get some valuable suggestions on the subject. I really believe
that the liberty-cure, practised by some judicious money-pathic
physician, would effectually cure this "rascality." I wish I could see
it tried.

Tidy found herself, therefore, in very undesirable company on this
expedition to Georgia, and made up her mind very shortly that there
would not be much enjoyment in it. She did not have to drag wearily
along on foot all the way; for Mr. Lee was considerate enough to suggest
to Mr. Pervis, that, as she had been brought up as a house-servant, and
not accustomed to very hard work, she would not be able to walk much,
and if she was not allowed to ride, there would be no Tidy left by the
time they got to their journey's end, and the thousand dollars which had
just been paid for her would have been thrown away. So Mr. Pervis gave
her a permanent place in one of the wagons, and the other women were
taken up by turns, whenever the poor creatures could step no longer.
The men dragged along, handcuffed in pairs, and their low, brutal, and
profane conversation was dreadful to Tidy. Oh, how often she wished she
had staid contentedly with Mammy Grace, and not tried to run away. And
yet her hope was not utterly gone, for she often caught herself saying,
with closed teeth, "Give me a chance, and I'll try it again." Freedom
looked too attractive to be entirely relinquished.

The gang halted at night, put up their tents, lighted fires and cooked
their mean repast. Then they stretched themselves on the bare ground to
sleep. In the morning, after the wretched breakfast was eaten, the tents
were struck, the wagons loaded again, and they started for another day's
travel,--and so on till the long, wearisome march w