to the door for some purpose, and saw me. She jumped back into the
cabin, at the same time exclaiming, "Here's a runaway nigger!"

I immediately ran for the road; but a dog--not a blood-hound--followed
me, and while getting over the fence between the cabin and the road he
caught me by the breeches leg. I shook him off and ran for the woods.

The white men were slave-hunters, and were after me particularly, as I
learned afterwards. They followed me closely by the sound of the
crackling of brush, and put the dogs they had with them on my track.
These dogs, fortunately for me, were in the cabin at the time I
approached it. As soon as I heard the first yelp of a blood-hound I
"smutted" my shoe-soles, and soon threw them off the scent. The white
men followed me about three or four miles. Finally, finding I would not
get away from them by running, I stopped, and making my way into a dense
thicket of briers I sat down. The white men stopped a short distance
from me and listened, I suppose, for the sound of brush cracking. After
waiting a short time one of them started off in the direction they had
come, leaving the others still waiting,--using this ruse in order to
throw me off my guard, so as to enable the remaining ones to ascertain
where I was by the noise I would make in walking. I was too close to
them; and from the noise I heard from where they were standing I knew
they had a dog with them, and that they were only waiting for me to move
to begin the chase again. I sat perfectly quiet, and waited patiently
for the remaining whites and the dog to leave. After a time the men
began to move about through the brush, coming still closer to me. I
heard them talking, when one of them said, "We ought to catch the nigger
if we have to run him all night." "No" said the other, "we should let
him alone to-night, and start him up in the morning, when we can have
daylight for the chase, and not run him to-night, for we might run him