"What kind of people do you think they are?"
"Well, massa, I specs dey is a good kind of people."
"Why do you think so?"
"'Case when I hear bad white folks swearing and cursing about 'em, I reckon dar must be something good about 'em."
"Well, my friends, I am an Abolitionist; I believe that all men have equal rights, and that I have no more right to make a slave of you than you have of me."
Every hat came off in an instant. Hands were reached out toward me, and I heard from a dozen tongues a hearty "God bless you, sir!"
White men heard me and scowled. Had I uttered those words in Richmond twenty-four hours earlier I should have had no opportunity to repeat them, but paid for my temerity with a halter or a knife; but now those men who stretched out their hands to me would have given the last drop of their blood before they would have seen a hair of my head injured, after that declaration.
The slaves were the true loyal men of the South. They did what they could to help put down the Rebellion by aiding Union prisoners to escape, by giving trustworthy information. The Stars and Stripes was their banner of hope. What a life they led! I met a young colored man, with features more Anglo-Saxon than African, who asked,—
"Do you think, sir, that I could obtain employment in the North?"
"What can you do?"