manhood,
and I went out from the land of my birth, a fettered slave. A land which
I can regard only as "the house of bondage and the grave of freedom." But
God forgive me for having envied my master his fair prospects at this
time.

After the sale of the plantation, Capt. Helm was in possession of quite a
large sum of money, and having never paid much attention to his pecuniary
interests, he acted as if there could be no end of it. He realized about
forty thousand dollars from the sale of his estate in Virginia, which
would have been a pretty sum in the hands of a man who had been accustomed
to look after his own interests; but under the management of one who had
all his life lived and prospered on the unrequited toil of slaves, it was
of little account. He bought largely of every thing he thought necessary
for himself or the comfort of his family, for which he always paid the
most extravagant prices. The Captain was not as well qualified to take
care of himself and family as some of his slaves were; but he thought
differently, and so the preparations for leaving the old plantation for a
home in the wilds of New York, went on under his direction, and at last we
bade a final adieu to our friends and all we held dear in the State of
Virginia.

CHAPTER IV.

JOURNEY TO OUR NEW HOME IN NEW YORK.

All things having been prepared for our departure, our last "Good-bye"
spoken, and our last look taken of the old plantation, we started, amid
the sobs and prolonged cries of separating families, in company with our
master, the overseer and another white man named Davis, who went with us
to take back the five-horse "Pennsylvania team," which was provided for
the conveyance of the food for the slaves, and what little baggage they
might have, and also that of the overseer.

Capt. Helm had determined to leave his family until he could get his
slaves settled in their future quarters, and a home provided for himself,
when they were expected to join him.

We traveled northward, through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and a portion of
New York, to Sodus Bay, where we halted for some time. We made about
twenty miles per day, camping out every night, and reached that place
after a march of twenty days. Every morning the overseer called the roll,
when every slave must answer to his or her name, felling to the ground
with his cowhide, any delinquent who failed to speak out in quick time.

After the roll had been called, and our scanty b