ministered by his master or on his master's
plantation. He was hired out, and it was in this situation that he was
so barbarously treated. Yet he considered his master more in fault than
the man to whom he was hired, but redress there was none, save to
escape.

The hour for forwarding the party by the Committee, came too soon to
allow time for the writing of any account of Peter Pennington and Eliza
Nokey. Suffice it to say, that in struggling through their journey,
their spirits never flagged; they had determined not to stop short of
Canada. They truly had a very high appreciation of freedom, but a very
poor opinion of Maryland.

* * * * *

SLAVE TRADER HALL IS FOILED.

ROBERT McCOY _alias_ WILLIAM DONAR.

In October, 1854, the Committee received per steamer, directly from
Norfolk, Va., Robert McCoy and Elizabeth Saunders. Robert had constantly
been in the clutches of the negro-trader Hall, for the last sixteen
years, previous to his leaving, being owned by him. He had, therefore,
possessed very favorable opportunities for varied observation and
experience relative to the trader's conduct in his nefarious business,
as well as for witnessing the effects of the auction-block upon all
ages--rending asunder the dearest ties, despite the piteous wails of
childhood or womanhood, parental or conjugal relations. But no attempt
will be made to chronicle the deeds of this dealer in human flesh. Those
stories fresh from the lips of one who had just escaped, were painful in
the extreme, but in the very nature of things some of the statements are
too revolting to be published. In lieu of this fact, except the above
allusions to the trader's business, this sketch will only refer to
Robert's condition as a slave, and finally as a traveler on the
Underground Rail Road.

Robert was a man of medium size, dark mulatto, of more than ordinary
intelligence. His duties had been confined to the house, and not to the
slave pen. As a general thing, he had managed, doubtless through much
shrewdness, to avoid very severe outrages from the trader. On the whole,
he had fared "about as well" as the generality of slaves.

Yet, in order to free himself from his "miserable" life, he was willing,
as he declared, to suffer almost any sacrifice. Indeed, his conduct
proved the sincerity of this declaration, as he had actually been
concealed five months in a place in the city, where he could not
possibly avo