she
see one countenance wearing a kind, humane expression, it will most likely
bring her frantically to his feet, where, kneeling, with uplifted hands,
she pleads: "Oh, Massa, do buy me! Do buy me and little Sam! He be all of
the chil'ens I got left! O, Lord! O, Lord! Do, Massa, buy me, and this one
baby! Oh, do Massa!" But the weight of the cow-hide drives her to the
auction block, where in mock solemnity she is represented as "an article
of excellent breed, a good cook, a good seamstress, and withal a good
Christian, a ra'al genewine lamb of the flock!"--and then she is struck
off to the highest bidder, who declares that he "won't have the young'un
any how, 'cause he's gwine to drive her down to Lousianny."

He may see, too, the wild, despairing look of some frightened young slave
girl, passing under the lustful gaze of some lordly libertine, who
declares himself "in search of a fancy article for his own use!"

One after another is taken from the block, until all are disposed of, amid
the agonized wail of heartbroken wives and mothers, husbands and fathers,
and the piercing screams of helpless children, torn from a parent's
embrace, to be consigned to the care of strangers.

Nor need I inform our traveler of the inhuman method generally approved,
in hunting with trained blood-hounds, kept and advertised for the purpose
of recapturing any poor slave who may attempt to escape from this cruel
bondage. He may perchance, come across the mangled and lifeless body of
some fugitive, which has just been run down and torn in pieces by the dogs
of the hunter! Should he stop a few moments, he will soon see a hole dug
in the ground, and the remains of the slave pitched into it, covered
sufficiently to hide the unsightly mass from view, and there will be an
end of the whole matter! "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the
Lord; and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

In giving to the public this unvarnished, but truthful narrative, of some
of the occurrences of my humble and uneventful life, I have not been
influenced by a vain desire for notoriety, but by a willingness to gratify
a just and honorable request, repeatedly made by numerous and respected
friends, to learn the truth concerning my connection with the Wilberforce
colony; the events which there transpired during my stay, and the cause of
my losing a hard-earned property. Regarding the affairs of the colony, I
have, therefore, endeavored to be