EPISODES 273 



farther in search of game. It was on one of his excursions 

 that I met him, and he assured me the noise which I made 

 in passing the bayou had caused him to lose the chance of 

 killing a fine Deer, " although," said he, " my old musket 

 misses fire sadly too often." 



The Runaways, after disclosing their secret to me, both 

 rose from their seat, with eyes full of tears. " Good 

 master, for God's sake, do something for us and our 

 children," they sobbed forth with one accord. Their little 

 ones lay sound asleep in the fearlessness of their innocence. 

 Who could have heard such a tale without emotion? I 

 promised them my most cordial assistance. They both 

 sat up that night to watch my repose, and I slept close to 

 their urchins, as if on a bed of the softest down. 



Day broke so fair, so pure, and so gladdening that I 

 told them such heavenly appearances were ominous of 

 good, and that I scarcely doubted of obtaining their 

 full pardon. I desired them to take their children with 

 them, and promised to accompany them to the plantation 

 of their first master. They gladly obeyed. ^ My Ibises 

 were hung round their camp, and, as a memento of my 

 having been there, I notched several trees ; after which I 

 bade adieu, perhaps for the last time, to that cane-brake. 

 We soon reached the plantation, the owner of which, with 

 whom I was well acquainted, received me with all the 

 generous kindness of a Louisiana planter. Ere an hour 

 had elapsed, the Runaway and his family were looked 

 upon as his own. He afterwards repurchased them from 

 their owners, and treated them with his former kindness ; 

 so that they were rendered as happy as slaves generally 

 are in that country, and continued to cherish that attach- 

 ment to each other which had led to their adventures. 

 Since this event happened, it has, I have been informed, 

 become illegal to separate slave families without their 

 consent. 



■18 



