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| 412 THE UNDERGROUND RAIL ROAD. beat me, what about I could not tell; this is what made me leave. I escaped right out of his hands the day he had me; he was going with me to the barn to tic me across a hogshead, but I broke loose from him and ran. He ran and got the gun to shoot me, but I soon got out of his reach, and I have not seen him since." HARRY might never have found the Underground Rail Road, but for this deadly onslaught upon him by his master. His mind was wrought up to a very high state of earnestneas, and he was deemed a very fitting subject for Canada. ARRIVAL FROM NORFOLK, VA. ABRAM WOODKRS. Although slave-holders had spared no pains to keep Abratn in the dark and to make him love his yoke, he proved by his actions, that he had no faith ID their doctrines. Nor did be want for language in which to state the reasons for his actions. He was just in the prime of life, thirty-five years of age, chestnut color, common size, with a scar over the left eye, and another on the upper lip. Like many others, he talked in a simple, earnest manner, and in answer to queries as to how he had fared, the following is his statement: " I was held as the property of the late Taylor Sewell, but when I escaped I was in the service of W. C. Williams, a commission merchant. My old master was a very severe man, but he was always very kind to me. He had a great many more colored folks, was very severe amongst them, would get mad and sell right away. He was a drinking man, dissipated and a gambler, a real sportsman. He lived on Newell Creek, about twelve miles from Norfolk. For the last eight years I was hired to \V. C. "Williams, for $150 a year—if I had all that money, it might do me some good. I Iflft because I wanted to enjoy myself some. I felt if J staid and got old no one would care for me, I wouldn't be of no account to nobody." "But are not the old slaves well cared for by their masters?" a member of the Committee here remarked. " Take care of them ! no !" Abram replied with much earnestness, and then went on to explain how such property was left to perish. Said Abnim, " There was an old man named Ike, who belonged to the same estate that I did, he was treated like a dog; after they could get no more work out of him, they said, 'let him die, he is of no service; there is no use of getting a doctor for him.' Accordingly there could be no other &te for the old man but to suffer and die with creepers in his legs." It was sickening to hear him narrate instances of similar suffering in the case of old slaves. Abram left two sisters and one brother in bondage. |