William Ford unfortunately became embarrassed inhis pecuniary affairs. A heavy judgement was renderedagainst him in consequence of his having becomesecurity for his brother， Franklin Ford， residing on RedRiver， above Alexandria， and who had failed to meet hisliabilities. He was also indebted to John M. Tibeats to aconsiderable amount in consideration of his services inbuilding the mills on Indian Creek， and also a weavinghouse，corn-mill and other erections on the plantationat Bayou Boeuf， not yet completed. It was thereforenecessary， in order to meet these demands， to dispose ofeighteen slaves， myself among the number. Seventeen ofthem， including Sam and Harry， were purchased by PeterCompton， a planter also residing on Red River.
I was sold to Tibeats， in consequence， undoubtedly，of my slight skill as a carpenter. This was in the winterof 1842. The deed of myself from Freeman to Ford， asI ascertained from the public records in New-Orleanson my return， was dated June 23d， 1841. At the time ofmy sale to Tibeats， the price agreed to be given for mebeing more than the debt， Ford took a chattel mortgageof four hundred dollars. I am indebted for my life， as willhereafter be seen， to that mortgage.
I bade farewell to my good friends at the opening， anddeparted with my new master Tibeats. We went downto the plantation on Bayou Boeuf， distant twenty-sevenmiles from the Pine Woods， to complete the unfinishedcontract. Bayou Boeuf is a sluggish， winding stream—oneof those stagnant bodies of water common in that region，setting back from Red River. It stretches from a pointnot far from Alexandra， in a south-easterly direction，and following its tortuous course， is more than fifty milesin length. Large cotton and sugar plantations line eachshore， extending back to the borders of interminableswamps. It is alive with aligators， rendering it unsafefor swine， or unthinking slave children to stroll alongits banks. Upon a bend in this bayou， a short distancefrom Cheneyville， was situated the plantation of MadamFord—her brother， Peter Tanner， a great landholder，living on the opposite side.
On my arrival at Bayou Boeuf， I had the pleasure ofmeeting Eliza， whom I had not seen for several months.
She had not pleased Mrs. Ford， being more occupiedin brooding over her sorrows than in attending to herbusiness， and had， in consequence， been sent down towork in the field on the plantation. She had grown feebleand emaciated， and was still mourning for her children.
She asked me if I had forgotten them， and a great manytimes inquired if I still remembered how handsome littleEmily was—how much Randall loved her—and wonderedif they were living still， and where the darlings could then be. She had sunk beneath the weight of an excessive grief.
Her drooping form and hollow cheeks too plainly indicatedthat she had well nigh reached the end of her weary road.
Ford’s overseer on this plantation， and who had theexclusive charge of it， was a Mr. Chapin， a kindly-disposedman， and a native of Pennsylvania. In common withothers， he held Tibeats in light estimation， which fact， inconnection with the four hundred dollar mortgage wasfortunate for me.
I was now compelled to labor very hard. From earliestdawn until late at night， I was not allowed to be a momentidle. Notwithstanding which， Tibeats was never satisfied.
He was continually cursing and complaining. He neverspoke to me a kind word. I was his faithful slave， andearned him large wages every day， and yet I went to mycabin nightly， loaded with abuse and stinging epithets.
We had completed the corn mill， the kitchen， an soforth， and were at work upon the weaving-house， when Iwas guilty of an act， in that State punishable with death.
It was my first fight with Tibeats. The weaving-house wewere erecting stood in the orchard a few rods from theresidence of Chapin， or the “great house，” as it was called.
One night， having worked until it was too dark to see， Iwas ordered by Tibeats to rise very early in the morning，procure a keg of nails from Chapin， and commenceputting on the clapboards. I retired to the cabin extremelytired， and having cooked a supper of bacon and corncake， and conversed a while with Eliza， who occupied the091
same cabin， as also did Lawson and his wife Mary， anda slave named Bristol， laid down upon the ground floor，little dreaming of the sufferings that awaited me on themorrow. Before daylight I was on the piazza of the “greathouse，” awaiting the appearance of overseer Chapin.
To have aroused him from his slumbers and stated myerrand， would have been an unpardonable boldness. Atlength he came out. Taking off my hat， I informed himMaster Tibeats had directed me to call upon him for akeg of nails. Going into the store-room， he rolled it out， atthe same time saying， if Tibeats preferred a different size，he would endeavor to furnish them， but that I might usethose until further directed. Then mounting his horse，which stood saddled and bridled at the door， he rodeaway into the field， whither the slaves had preceded him，while I took the keg on my shoulder， and proceeding tothe weaving-house， broke in the head， and commencednailing on the clapboards.
As the day began to open， Tibeats came out of thehouse to where I was， hard at work. He seemed to be thatmorning even more morose and disagreeable than usual.
He was my master， entitled by law to my flesh and blood，and to exercise over me such tyrannical control as hismean nature prompted； but there was no law that couldprevent my looking upon him with intense contempt. Idespised both his disposition and his intellect. I had justcome round to the keg for a further supply of nails， as hereached the weaving-house.
“I thought I told you to commence putting on weatherboardsthis morning，” he remarked.
“Yes， master， and I am about it，” I replied.
“Where？” he demanded.
“On the other side，” was my answer.
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