Twelve Years a Slave Solomon Northup (android e book reader .txt) đ
- Author: Solomon Northup
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I walked out into the yard, and was entering the kitchen door, when something struck me in the back. Aunt Phebe, emerging from the back door of the great house with a pan of potatoes, had thrown one of them with unnecessary violence, thereby giving me to understand that she wished to speak to me a moment confidentially. Running up to me, she whispered in my ear with great earnestness,
âLor aâ mity, Platt! what dâye think? Dem two men come after ye. Heard âem tell massa you freeâ âgot wife and tree children back thar whar you come from. Goinâ wid âem? Fool if ye donâtâ âwish I could go,â and Aunt Phebe ran on in this manner at a rapid rate.
Presently Mistress Epps made her appearance in the kitchen. She said many things to me, and wondered why I had not told her who I was. She expressed her regret, complimenting me by saying she had rather lose any other servant on the plantation. Had Patsey that day stood in my place, the measure of my mistressâ joy would have overflowed. Now there was no one left who could mend a chair or a piece of furnitureâ âno one who was of any use about the houseâ âno one who could play for her on the violinâ âand Mistress Epps was actually affected to tears.
Epps had called to Bob to bring up his saddle horse. The other slaves, also, overcoming their fear of the penalty, had left their work and come to the yard. They were standing behind the cabins, out of sight of Epps. They beckoned me to come to them, and with all the eagerness of curiosity, excited to the highest pitch, conversed with and questioned me. If I could repeat the exact words they uttered, with the same emphasisâ âif I could paint their several attitudes, and the expression of their countenancesâ âit would be indeed an interesting picture. In their estimation, I had suddenly arisen to an immeasurable heightâ âhad become a being of immense importance.
The legal papers having been served, and arrangements made with Epps to meet them the next day at Marksville, Northup and the sheriff entered the carriage to return to the latter place. As I was about mounting to the driverâs seat, the sheriff said I ought to bid Mr. and Mrs. Epps goodbye. I ran back to the piazza where they were standing, and taking off my hat, said,
âGoodbye, missis.â
âGoodbye, Platt,â said Mrs. Epps, kindly.
âGoodbye, master.â
âAh! you dâ âžșâ d nigger,â muttered Epps, in a surly, malicious tone of voice, âyou neednât feel so cussed tickledâ âyou ainât gone yetâ âIâll see about this business at Marksville tomorrow.â
I was only a âniggerâ and knew my place, but felt as strongly as if I had been a white man, that it would have been an inward comfort, had I dared to have given him a parting kick. On my way back to the carriage, Patsey ran from behind a cabin and threw her arms about my neck.
âOh! Platt,â she cried, tears streaming down her face, âyouâre goinâ to be freeâ âyouâre goinâ way off yonder where weâll neber see ye any more. Youâve saved me a good many whippins, Platt; Iâm glad youâre goinâ to be freeâ âbut oh! de Lord, de Lord! whatâll become of me?â
I disengaged myself from her, and entered the carriage. The driver cracked his whip and away we rolled. I looked back and saw Patsey, with drooping head, half reclining on the ground; Mrs. Epps was on the piazza; Uncle Abram, and Bob, and Wiley, and Aunt Phebe stood by the gate, gazing after me. I waved my hand, but the carriage turned a bend of the bayou, hiding them from my eyes forever.
We stopped a moment at Careyâs sugar house, where a great number of slaves were at work, such an establishment being a curiosity to a northern man. Epps dashed by us on horseback at full speedâ âon the way, as we learned next day, to the âPine Woods,â to see William Ford, who had brought me into the country.
Tuesday, the fourth of January, Epps and his counsel, the Hon. H. Taylor, Northup, Waddill, the judge and sheriff of Avoyelles, and myself, met in a room in the village of Marksville. Mr. Northup stated the facts in regard to me, and presented his commission, and the affidavits accompanying it. The sheriff described the scene in the cotton field. I was also interrogated at great length. Finally, Mr. Taylor assured his client that he was satisfied, and that litigation would not only be expensive, but utterly useless. In accordance with his advice, a paper was drawn up and signed by the proper parties, wherein Epps acknowledged he was satisfied of my right to freedom, and formally surrendered me to the authorities of New York. It was also stipulated that it be entered of record in the recorderâs office of Avoyelles.3
Mr. Northup and myself immediately hastened to the landing, and taking passage on the first steamer that arrived, were soon floating down Red River, up which, with such desponding thoughts, I had been borne twelve years before.
XXIIArrival in New Orleansâ âGlimpse of Freemanâ âGenois, the recorderâ âHis description of Solomonâ âReach Charlestonâ âInterrupted by custom house officersâ âPass through Richmondâ âArrival in Washingtonâ âBurch arrestedâ âShekels and Thornâ âTheir testimonyâ âBurch acquittedâ âArrest of Solomonâ âBurch withdraws the complaintâ âThe higher tribunalâ âDeparture from Washingtonâ âArrival at Sandy Hillâ âOld friends and familiar scenesâ âProceed to Glens Fallsâ âMeeting with Anne, Margaret and Elizabethâ âSolomon Northup Stauntonâ âIncidentsâ âConclusion.
As the steamer glided on its way towards New Orleans, perhaps I was not happyâ âperhaps there was no difficulty in restraining myself from dancing round the deckâ âperhaps I did not feel grateful to the man who had come so many hundred miles for meâ âperhaps I did not light his pipe, and wait and watch his word, and run at his slightest bidding.
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