having learned to write fairly well, he wrote himself a pass, which was
of the usual kind, stating his name, to whom he belonged, and that he
was privileged to hire himself out wherever he could, coming and going
as he pleased. Where the slave was an exceptional one, and where the
owner had only two or three slaves, a pass would readily be given to
hire himself out, or hire his own time, as it was generally called, he
being required to turn over to his master a certain amount of his
earnings, each month or week, and to make a report to his master of his
whereabouts and receipts. Sometimes the slave would be required to turn
in to his master a certain sum, as, for instance, fifty or one hundred
dollars a year; and he would have to earn that before he could use any
of his earnings for himself. If he was a mechanic he would have little
trouble in doing this, as the wages of such were often quite liberal.
This kind of a pass was rarely, if ever, given by the planters having
large numbers of slaves. Another kind of pass read something like this:
"Pass my boy or my girl," as the case might be, the name being attached.
These were only given to permit the slave to go from the farm of his own
master to that of another. Some men had wives or children belonging on
neighboring farms, and would be given passes to visit them. Without such
a pass they were liable to be stopped and turned back to their homes.
There was, however, a good deal of visiting without passes, but it was
against the general rule which required them; and any slave leaving home
without a pass was liable to punishment if discovered. On our plantation
passes were never given, but the slaves did visit in the neighborhood,
notwithstanding, and would sometimes slip into town at night. Tom had in
this way seen the pass of a neighboring slave to hire out; and it was
from this he learned the form from which he wrote his, and which opened
his way to freedom. Upon reading Tom's pass, the captain did not
hesitate, but hired him at once; and Tom worked his way to New Orleans,
to which city the boat was bound. In the meantime Boss took me and we