Am, and prayed for his aid and protection, which He bountifully bestowed even beyond my expectation; for I felt myself to be unworthy.  I then stept boldly on the deck of this splendid swift-running Steamer, bound for the city of Cincinnati.  This being the first voyage that I had ever taken on board of a Steamboat, I was filled with fear and excitement, knowing that I was surrounded by the vilest enemies of God and man, liable to be seized and bound hand and foot, by any white man, and taken back into captivity.  But I crowded myself back from the light among the deck passengers, where it would be difficult to distinguish me from a white man.  Every time during the night that the mate came round with a light after the hands, I was afraid he would see I was a colored man, and take me up; hence I kept from the light as much as possible.  Some men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil; but this was not the case with myself; it was to avoid detection in doing right.  This was one of the instances of my adventures that my affinity with the Anglo-Saxon race, and even slaveholders, worked well for my escape.  But no thanks to them for it.  While in their midst they have not only robbed me of my labor and liberty, but they have almost entirely robbed me of my dark complexion.  Being so near the color of a slaveholder, they could not, or did not find me out that night among the white passengers.  There was one of the deck hands on board called out on his watch, whose hammock was swinging up near by me.  I asked him if he would let me lie in it.  He said if I would pay him twenty-five cents that I might lie in it until day.  I readily paid him the price and got into the hammock.  No one could see my face to know whether I was white or colored, while I was in the hammock; but I never closed my eyes for sleep that night.  I had often heard of explosions on board of Steamboats; and every time the boat landed, and blowed off steam, I was afraid the boilers had bursted and we should all be killed; but I lived through the night amid the many dangers to which I was exposed.  I still maintained my position in the hammock, until the next morning about 8 o’clock, when I heard the passengers saying the boat was near Cincinnati; and by this time I supposed that the attention of the people would be turned to the city, and I might pass off unnoticed.

There were no questions asked me while on board the boat.  The boat landed about 9 o’clock in the morning in Cincinnati, and I waited until after most of the passengers had gone off of the boat; I then walked as gracefully up street as if I was not running away, until I had got pretty well up Broadway.  My object was to go to Canada, but having no knowledge of the road, it was necessary for me to make some inquiry before I left the city.  I was afraid to ask a white person, and I could see no colored person to ask.  But fortunately for me I found a company of little boys at play in the street, and through these little boys, by asking them indirect questions, I found the residence of a colored man.