FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   508   509   510   511   512   513   514   515   516   517   518   519   520   521   522   523   524   525   526   527   528   529   530   531   532  
533   534   535   536   537   538   539   540   541   542   543   544   545   546   547   548   549   550   551   552   553   554   555   556   557   >>   >|  
steal his wife, get on board a boat about Norfolk, and go to a free State. He can read and write well, and I have no doubt he has provided himself with papers of some kind. He may have purchased the papers of some free negro. I will give the above reward of One Hundred Dollars to any person who will arrest and confine him, so I can get him. [Illustration: ] C.H. GAY. My Post office is Laurel, N.C. no. 21. The above advertisement, which was cut from a Southern paper, brought light in regard to one of the passengers at least. It was not often that a slave was so fortunate as to get such a long sketch of himself in a newspaper. The description is so highly complimentary, that we simply endorse it as it stands. The sketch as taken for the record book is here transcribed as follows: "Edward reported himself from Franklin county, N.C., where, according to statement, a common farmer by the name of Carter Gay owned him, under whose oppression his life was rendered most unhappy, who stinted him daily for food and barely allowed him clothing enough to cover his nakedness, who neither showed justice nor mercy to any under his control, the 'weaker vessels' not excepted; therefore Edward was convinced that it was in vain to hope for comfort under such a master. Moreover, his appetite for liquor, combined with a high temper, rendered him a being hard to please, but easy to excite to a terrible degree. Scarcely had Edward lived two years with this man (Gay) when he felt that he had lived with him long enough. Two years previous to his coming into the hands of Gay, he and his wife were both sold; the wife one day and he the next. She brought eleven hundred and twenty-five dollars, and he eight hundred and thirty-five dollars; thus they were sold and resold as a matter of speculation, and husband and wife were parted." After the fugitives had been well cared for by the Committee, they were forwarded on North; but for some reason they were led to stop short of Canada, readily finding employment and going to work to take care of themselves. How they were received and in what way they were situated, the subjoined letter from Edward will explain: SKANEATELES, Dec. 17, 1857. DEAR SIR:--As I promised to let you hear from me as soon as I found a home, I will now fulfill my promise to you and say that I am alive and well and have found a stopping place for the winter.
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   508   509   510   511   512   513   514   515   516   517   518   519   520   521   522   523   524   525   526   527   528   529   530   531   532  
533   534   535   536   537   538   539   540   541   542   543   544   545   546   547   548   549   550   551   552   553   554   555   556   557   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Edward

 

rendered

 

brought

 

papers

 

hundred

 

sketch

 
dollars
 

terrible

 
thirty
 

excite


temper

 
coming
 
speculation
 
degree
 

liquor

 
matter
 

resold

 
Scarcely
 

combined

 

twenty


husband
 

eleven

 

previous

 

employment

 

promised

 

explain

 

letter

 

SKANEATELES

 
stopping
 

winter


promise

 

fulfill

 

subjoined

 

situated

 

reason

 

forwarded

 

Committee

 

fugitives

 
Canada
 
readily

received
 

finding

 
appetite
 
parted
 

advertisement

 
Southern
 

Laurel

 

office

 

fortunate

 
newspaper