night. Without asking as to whether I had any
money, the man at the desk firmly refused to even consider the matter of
providing me with food or lodging. This was my first experience in finding
out what the colour of my skin meant. In some way I managed to keep warm by
walking about, and so got through the night. My whole soul was so bent upon
reaching Hampton that I did not have time to cherish any bitterness toward
the hotel-keeper.

By walking, begging rides both in wagons and in the cars, in some way,
after a number of days, I reached the city of Richmond, Virginia, about
eighty-two miles from Hampton. When I reached there, tired, hungry, and
dirty, it was late in the night. I had never been in a large city, and this
rather added to my misery. When I reached Richmond, I was completely out of
money. I had not a single acquaintance in the place, and, being unused to
city ways, I did not know where to go. I applied at several places for
lodging, but they all wanted money, and that was what I did not have.
Knowing nothing else better to do, I walked the streets. In doing this I
passed by many food-stands where fried chicken and half-moon apple pies
were piled high and made to present a most tempting appearance. At that
time it seemed to me that I would have promised all that I expected to
possess in the future to have gotten hold of one of those chicken legs or
one of those pies. But I could not get either of these, nor anything else
to eat.

I must have walked the streets till after midnight. At last I became so
exhausted that I could walk no longer. I was tired, I was hungry, I was
everything but discouraged. Just about the time when I reached extreme
physical exhaustion, I came upon a portion of a street where the board
sidewalk was considerably elevated. I waited for a few minutes, till I was
sure that no passers-by could see me, and then crept under the sidewalk and
lay for the night upon the ground, with my satchel of clothing for a
pillow. Nearly all night I could hear the tramp of feet over my head. The
next morning I found myself somewhat refreshed, but I was extremely hungry,
because it had been a long time since I had had sufficient food. As soon as
it became light enough for me to see my surroundings I noticed that I was
near a large ship, and that this ship seemed to be unloading a cargo of
pigiron. I went at once to the vessel and asked the captain to permit me to
help unload the vessel in order to get mo