When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three
hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation
Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this
black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to
where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last
dollar, with interest, in his hands. In talking to me about this,
the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay the
debt, but that he had given his word to the master, and his word
he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom
till he had fulfilled his promise.
From some things that I have said one may get the idea that some
of the slaves did not want freedom. This is not true. I have
never seen one who did not want to be free, or one who would
return to slavery.
I pity from the bottom of my heart any nation or body of people
that is so unfortunate as to get entangled in the net of slavery.
I have long since ceased to cherish any spirit of bitterness
against the Southern white people on account of the enslavement
of my race. No one section of our country was wholly responsible
for its introduction, and, besides, it was recognized and
protected for years by the General Government. Having once got
its tentacles fastened on to the economic and social life of the
Republic, it was no easy matter for the country to relieve itself
of the institution.
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