“No, they do not, my son, but this gentleman was to take him as a bound servant for a term of years, and he probably supposed that poor John’s legal rights would not be very carefully examined.  John was sold in the woods for a small sum.  After the bargain was concluded, Mr. Lawrence asked if the slave had a wife on the plantation, and was told that he had.  Judy was pointed out to him.  He asked her if she knew where her husband was, and she told him that she did; for she thought it was better for him to leave his cave, as it was damp and comfortless.  So that night, with new hope in her heart, Judy went to his lone and dreary hiding-place, and told him of the bargain.  Any change was a relief to him, and he came willingly out, and made preparations for going with Mr. Lawrence.  He waited until his master was in bed, and too deeply stupefied with liquor to heed what was passing, and then came to the place appointed.  Mrs. Jackson gave him some clothes, and made what provision she could for his comfort on the way.  John had a horse given him to ride upon, but Judy was taken no notice of; yet she determined to walk the three days’ journey, rather than be separated from John.

“Mr. Lawrence, when he perceived Judy was following them, tried to persuade her to return, for she had a young child with her, and he was afraid she would be troublesome.  He told her that after her husband was settled in Vincennes, he would send for her, but she had learned to place no confidence in promises made to a slave; so she resolved she would go, believing if she lost sight of her husband she would never see him again.

“They had to cross the Ohio in a ferry boat, and Judy strained every nerve to reach it before them.  She did so; and hurrying up the stairs with her baby, she clasped the railings, resolved to stay there, unless compelled by violence to leave the boat.  But no one noticed her, and she arrived safely on the other side.  After walking some miles, poor Judy became tired and weary, and her strength failed her, and she was afraid that after all she had gone through, for the sake of her husband, she would be left at last.  But she thought she would make another effort, so she told Mr. Lawrence that if he would buy her a horse to ride upon, she would bind herself to him for six months after they arrived in Indiana.  He agreed to do so, and bought her a horse.  After they reached Vincennes, and Judy had worked out her six months, she again bound herself to him to serve out her husband’s time, for he was very weak and feeble, and was suffering with a severe cough, and Judy longed to see him own his own body.  But God freed him before the year was out.  He had suffered so much from severe whipping and abuse of every kind that he wasted away and died of consumption.

“After his death Judy remained with his master for some time, but she finally became dissatisfied, and longed to go back to Mrs. Madison’s daughter, and see her home once more.  She mentioned this to Mr. Lawrence, but he took no notice of it until, one day, he came to her and said: