Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-07-29
ESCAPE AND CAPTURE OF STEPHEN
PEMBROKE, RELATED BY HIMSELF.

Last evening STEPHES PEMBRoKr. latcly the
slave of Jacob Grove, addressed a small audience
on the above subject at the Tabernacle lie said :
set out to escape from Slavery, on the 1st of May
last with my two sons We walked all night, and
went fifty odd miles without stopping We rot rs Tar
as Newly ork City, where we were violently arrested
secured and taken back to the Soitth Twas arrested
in bad manner here. | had no couistl and did not
know what The law wG- | remained fifteen days in
the South under chains, locked up over night | ate
and slept chained. | was kept so till my arms
swcllcd and my appetite was gone. ] was so until
was bought through the bencvolcnce of the pub
nc and the eXerions Of my brother, whom | had
not seen for 30 years. Some suppose Slavery not
to be what it is said to be, but | am right down
upon it. was fifty years in it, and it has many
degrees. have been in three of them In thirty
years | was sold three times. | served one man
for twenty years. ne was rigid and wicked man.
have seen men tied up, aud whipped, shot, ard
starred. Then there was moderate degree; and
then got into that, which left after being twenty
years in it, 1t has left life in me, that is all. |
served man twenty years for $500, and then he
wanted 81 600 for me, after starving ne and de-
prvmg me of all the comforts of life and the wor-
ship of God. The slave never knows when he io to
be seized and scourgcd. My father was sold five
tunes. The last time he knocked down and
seized by three men. | have seen men working
all day, day in and day out with iron collars on
their nocks, and so locked up at night, getting
1
would rather die the death of the righteous than
he Il slave always under dread and never getting
good word. used to say to my master, Pm
getting old and ought to have some rest :" but he
would answer, No, Sir; if you speak about free
dom, will send you further South" For the last
twenty years mad free wife, and but for her labor
believe, without the mercy of God, would be
this night in my grave My pursuers We're, |
believe, in the same train by which | arrived here
at five in the evening, and | was arrested at "a
o'clock next morning My pursuer told me there
was a watch round the house all night. ] had no
counsel and did not know the law nor what l shUnd
say, SO | thought it better to let the law have its
course. My first wife was slave; so my five
children arc slaves, too Since my were ar
rested here, they were twice sold before my face.
| saw them with their arms chained together, and
my arms were chained, and my masters son lay in
the room where lay with brace of pistols under
his head; and when turned over, he would start
up and lay his hand on one. | know one man who
gave his slave one hundred and fifty lashes in two
days and on the third he died lie crcpt into the
field and his master, supposng he was sleeping,
went up and cowhided him, but he was cowhiding
a corpse, thinking he was asleep. Such is the con-
dition Of slavery; it is hard substance; you can
not break it nor pull it apart, and the only way is
to escape from it. | think it is the North that
keeps up Slavery. Such is my opinion. | am
thankful to the community that has been so kind
and charitable to hcl me out of the scrape and
now would like to have my say out Applause.