I stopped at a hotel, however, and ascertained that there was a steamboat expected down the river that day for St. Louis.  I also found out that there were several passengers at that house who were going down on board of the first boat.  I knew that the captain of a steamboat could not take a colored passenger on board of his boat from a slave state without first ascertaining whether such person was bond or free; I knew that this was more than he would dare to do by the laws of the slave states—­and now to surmount this difficulty it brought into exercise all the powers of my mind.  I would have got myself boxed up as freight, and have been forwarded to St. Louis, but I had no friend that I could trust to do it for me.  This plan has since been adopted by some with success.  But finally I thought I might possibly pass myself off as a body servant to the passengers going from the hotel down.

So I went to a store and bought myself a large trunk, and took it to the hotel.  Soon, a boat came in which was bound to St. Louis, and the passengers started down to get on board.  I took up my large trunk, and started along after them as if I was their servant.  My heart trembled in view of the dangerous experiment which I was then about to try.  It required all the moral courage that I was master of to bear me up in view of my critical condition.  The white people that I was following walked on board and I after them.  I acted as if the trunk was full of clothes, but I had not a stitch of clothes in it.  The passengers went up into the cabin and I followed them with the trunk.  I suppose this made the captain think that I was their slave.

I not only took the trunk in the cabin but stood by it until after the boat had started as if it belonged to my owners, and I was taking care of it for them; but as soon as the boat got fairly under way, I knew that some account would have to be given of me; so I then took my trunk down on the deck among the deck passengers to prepare myself to meet the clerk of the boat, when he should come to collect fare from the deck passengers.

Fortunately for me there was quite a number of deck passengers on board, among whom there were many Irish.  I insinuated myself among them so as to get into their good graces, believing that if I should get into a difficulty they would stand by me.  I saw several of these persons going up to the saloon buying whiskey, and I thought this might be the most effectual way by which I could gain speedily their respect and sympathy.  So I participated with them pretty freely for awhile, or at least until after I got my fare settled.  I placed myself in a little crowd of them, and invited them all up to the bar with me, stating that it was my treat.  This was responded to, and they walked up and drank and I footed the bill.  This, of course, brought us into a kind of a union.  We sat together and laughed and talked freely.  Within ten or fifteen minutes I remarked that I was getting dry again, and invited them up and treated again.  By this time I was thought to be one of the most liberal and gentlemanly men on board, by these deck passengers; they were ready to do any thing for me—­they got to singing songs, and telling long yarns in which I took quite an active part; but it was all for effect.