Uncle Tom's Cabin Notes | Chapter 6

When Mr. Shelby arrives on the farm the next morning, he is dismayed to find that Eliza has escaped. Mr. Shelby explains that he did not tell Eliza about her son's sale and that he had no idea she was planning to escape. He dispatches two slaves, Sam and Andy, to catch Eliza and Harry.

Mr. Shelby invites Haley to stay for breakfast while Sam and Andy saddle up the horses and prepare for the chase. Before they do so, Mrs. Shelby speaks to Sam and Andy, dropping gentle hints that their journey should not commence too hastily. Sam and Andy, having caught her drift, proceed to stir up the horses and excite them to such a degree that they run wild over the property, and corralling them delays the journey by several hours.