Really, it was difficult to determine which I had most reason to fear—dogs, alligators or men!

I could not comprehend the justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or recognizes the principle of slavery.

Suffice it to say, during the whole long day I came not to the conclusion, even once, that the southern slave, fed, clothed, whipped and protected by his master, is happier than the free colored citizen of the North. To that conclusion I have never since arrived.

It is not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel, so much as it is the fault of the system under which he lives. He cannot withstand the influence of habit and associations that surround him. Taught from earliest childhood, by all that he sees and hears that the rod is for the slave's back, he will not be apt to change his opinions in maturer years.

There have been hours in my unhappy life, many of them, when the contemplation of death as the end of earthly sorrow - of the grave as a resting place for the tired and worn out body - has been pleasant to dwell upon.

It has been suggested that an account of my life and fortunes would not be uninteresting to the public.

Life is dear to every living thing; the worm that crawls upon the ground will struggle for it.