last, for no one followed or molested
us. We moved on all night, until we came to a creek, at four o'clock in
the morning of Monday. The banks of the creek were very steep, and as
the horses and wagon went down into the stream, the mattress on top of
the wagon, upon which my wife and her sister's children were sitting,
was thrown off into the water. Immediately the horses stopped, and
became balky. It was such a warm night that they did not want to move on
out of the water, and would not start, either, until they got ready. As
soon as the soldiers saw the mattress slide off with my wife and the
children, one of them plunged into the water with his horse, and, in a
minute, brought them all out. All had a good ducking--indeed it seemed
like a baptism by immersion. The drenched ones were wrapped in old
blankets; and, after an hour's delay, we were again on our way. The
soldiers said: "Now we must leave you; the time is coming when we must
be in camp for roll call. If you are not at our camp when roll call is
over, we will come back and see about you." We gave them each the second
ten dollars, as agreed upon, and just as they rode to the top of the
hill they left us. We had a clear sweep from this point, and we came
into Senatobia about nine o'clock in the forenoon. Our two soldier
friends, who had brought us out so safely, came out of camp to see us.
They cheered us, and seemed glad that they had rendered us service. We
stopped at the camp until we had dried our clothes and had some
breakfast; and, then, we made our way to Memphis.

* * * * *

OUT OF BONDAGE AT LAST.

My wife and her sister were shoeless, and the latter had no hat on--she
had hurried out of the house in such excitement that she thought of
nothing but getting away. Having to walk some of the way, as all could
not ride in the wagon at the same time, we were all tired, dirty and
rest-broken, and, on the whole, a pitiful crowd to look at, as we came
into the city. One venerable old man, bent with age, whose ebony face
shone with delight, came running out into the road as we appeared,
exclaiming: "Oh! here dey come, God bless 'em! Poor chil'en! they come
fannin." We used large palm leaves to fan ourselves with, as we were so
warm. Those nine souls that followed us walked the whole distance,
arriving shortly after we did. Thousands of others, in search of the
freedom of which they had so long dreamed, flocked into the city of
re