om the West
Indies, where he had been two years with his master's vessel. I was
very glad to hear of it, and got leave to go see him. While I was
sitting with his wife and him, his wife's master came and asked him to
fetch a can of water; he did so, and carried it into the store. While
I was waiting for him, and wondering at his being so long away, I
heard the heavy blows of a hammer: after a little while I was
alarmed, and went to see what was going on. I looked into the store,
and saw my brother lying on his back on the floor, and Mr. Williams,
who had bought him, driving staples over his wrists and ankles; an
iron bar was afterwards put across his breast, which was also held
down by staples. I asked what he had been doing, and was told that he
had done nothing amiss, but that his master had failed, and he was
sold towards paying the debts. He lay in that state all that night;
next day he was taken to jail, and I never saw him again. This is the
usual treatment under such circumstances. I had to go by my mother's
next morning, but I feared to tell her what had happened to my
brother. I got a boy to go and tell her. She was blind and very old,
and was living in a little hut, in the woods, after the usual manner
of old, worn-out slaves; she was unable to go to my brother before he
was taken away, and grieved after him greatly.

It was some time after this that I married a slave belonging to Mr.
Enoch Sawyer, who had been so hard a master to me. I left her at home,
(that is, at his house,) one Thursday morning, when we had been
married about eight months. She was well, and seemed likely to be so.
We were nicely getting together our little necessaries. On the Friday,
as I was at work, as usual, with the boats, I heard a noise behind me,
on the road which ran by the side of the canal. I turned to look, and
saw a gang of slaves coming. When they came up to me, one of them
cried out, 'Moses, my dear!' I wondered who among them should know me,
and found it was my wife. She cried out to me, 'I am gone!' I was
struck with consternation. Mr. Rogerson was with them, on his horse,
armed with pistols. I said to him, 'For God's sake, have you bought my
wife?' He said he had; when I asked him what she had done, he said she
had done nothing, but that her master wanted money. He drew out a
pistol, and said that, if I went near the wagon on which she was, he
would shoot me. I asked for leave to shake hands with her, which he
refused, b