than we had ever been treated before was a prospect far from
delightful, and it might well cause some hesitation about engaging in
the enterprise. The case, sometimes, to our excited visions,{218} stood
thus: At every gate through which we had to pass, we saw a watchman; at
every ferry, a guard; on every bridge, a sentinel; and in every wood, a
patrol or slave-hunter. We were hemmed in on every side. The good to
be sought, and the evil to be shunned, were flung in the balance, and
weighed against each other. On the one hand, there stood slavery; a
stern reality, glaring frightfully upon us, with the blood of millions
in his polluted skirts--terrible to behold--greedily devouring our hard
earnings and feeding himself upon our flesh. Here was the evil from
which to escape. On the other hand, far away, back in the hazy distance,
where all forms seemed but shadows, under the flickering light of the
north star--behind some craggy hill or snow-covered mountain--stood a
doubtful freedom, half frozen, beckoning us to her icy domain. This
was the good to be sought. The inequality was as great as that between
certainty and uncertainty. This, in itself, was enough to stagger us;
but when we came to survey the untrodden road, and conjecture the many
possible difficulties, we were appalled, and at times, as I have said,
were upon the point of giving over the struggle altogether.

The reader can have little idea of the phantoms of trouble which flit,
in such circumstances, before the uneducated mind of the slave. Upon
either side, we saw grim death assuming a variety of horrid shapes. Now,
it was starvation, causing us, in a strange and friendless land, to eat
our own flesh. Now, we were contending with the waves (for our journey
was in part by water) and were drowned. Now, we were hunted by dogs, and
overtaken and torn to pieces by their merciless fangs. We were stung by
scorpions--chased by wild beasts--bitten by snakes; and, worst of
all, after having succeeded in swimming rivers--encountering wild
beasts--sleeping in the woods--suffering hunger, cold, heat and
nakedness--we supposed ourselves to be overtaken by hired kidnappers,
who, in the name of the law, and for their thrice accursed reward,
would, perchance, fire upon us--kill some, wound others, and capture
all. This dark picture,{219} drawn by ignorance and fear, at times
greatly shook our determination, and not unfrequently caused us to

_Rather bear those ill