My name is John and I was born a slave. I work as a cotton picker in Alabama. My momma cried the time I left her when I was just 5 years old. She begged the man not to sell me. Her cried faded as I rode in the back of the wagon. I have never seen her since. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. The hardest thing for me was the workin part. I didn't want to do anything when I was little. But, when they whip you, you know you got to get to work. Picking cotton was no fun. A man told me that there is freedom in Canada. He told me that all I had to do was get up to the Ohio River and I would be in the free states. But, he warned me that it wasn't all that safe running away. “You still got to keep your guard up even though you are in the free state. Those people who turn you in can make a fortune turning in a slave.”

As I was picking cotton one day, I just knew I had to get out of here. There was nothing good for me and if I didn't get out soon, I knew something bad was going to happen. That night, when all the lights were off, I slipped out of my bed and ran as fast as I could through the fields just hoping no one was going to see me. I knew I was going the right way when I saw that north star. As day began to break, I heard the sound of animals. I found a place to hide. I stayed there all say until night. As night fell I got up and ran almost the whole way. I could hear water; I just didn't know how close it was. It got louder and louder and finally I saw it. Blue water. I close my eyes and sit down. A voice startles me. I get up and there is a black man about 20 ft. in front of me. "You runnin away?" he said. "I got a boat, and I can take you across the river." We get in the boat and get across the river. He takes me to the nearest safe house. “Go nock on the door.” he said. I go up and knock. An old man with a beard opens the door. He sticks his hand out. “Hi. My name Robert.” He welcomes me in. His wife and kids welcome me to the nicest dinners I have ever had. The kids had so many questions it was unbelievable. They told me that it wasn’t safe for me to stay in the main part of the house. They show me to the attack and give me blankets to use. In the morning I have to go. Roberts wife packs me food to eat on the way to