Chapter Eleven Summary
Chapter Eleven A few days after the sugar cane harvest was complete, Johannes informed Georg and Louisa it was time for him to go. He said his goodbyes to his friends and began walking towards the river. For the past several days he had been loading a small keelboat he purchased with provisions for the trip upriver to Ohio. As he was leaving, he heard Louisa scolding her new house slave after arranging her clothing incorrectly and told her she would be punished if she did not fix them immediately. She slapped the slave woman’s hand and made her do it again. The young black woman saw him leaving as her two children were working in the stables cleaning up after the horses. He started walking towards the river with his pack on his shoulders.
…show more content…
He bounded up the side of the boat, grabbed her by the hand and pulled her and her two children aboard. He told them to go back to the bottom of the boat and he began pushing the boat away from the shore. As quickly as he could, he began to push and steer the boat upriver, looking back towards the banks of the river in case the bounty hunter woke up or any of his friends would chase them. He rowed as quickly as he could, pushing against the current. After serial hours he began to tire and dare pull the boat back to shore of the river under the cover of darkness. He helped the woman take off her metal shackles and untied the two children. He offered them some food and drink and then sat back exhausted. The two children ate the food quickly and fell fast asleep in the bottom of the boat after their miraculous escape. The black slave woman just looked at him and thanked him speaking in French. He just nodded at her and she curled up next to her children to sleep. Johannes kept watching overnight in case the bounty hunter or his friends returned. Johannes, with the shock and adrenaline slowly wearing off, realized that he had stolen these slaves. He pulled out the map, his friends had given him of their new country and remembered how they had complained to him how any slave that could cross the Ohio River would be free. They knew of several plantation owners that had lost quite a lot of money from runaway slaves. Johannes tried to determine the best route to take under the dim
He bounded up the side of the boat, grabbed her by the hand and pulled her and her two children aboard. He told them to go back to the bottom of the boat and he began pushing the boat away from the shore. As quickly as he could, he began to push and steer the boat upriver, looking back towards the banks of the river in case the bounty hunter woke up or any of his friends would chase them. He rowed as quickly as he could, pushing against the current. After serial hours he began to tire and dare pull the boat back to shore of the river under the cover of darkness. He helped the woman take off her metal shackles and untied the two children. He offered them some food and drink and then sat back exhausted. The two children ate the food quickly and fell fast asleep in the bottom of the boat after their miraculous escape. The black slave woman just looked at him and thanked him speaking in French. He just nodded at her and she curled up next to her children to sleep. Johannes kept watching overnight in case the bounty hunter or his friends returned. Johannes, with the shock and adrenaline slowly wearing off, realized that he had stolen these slaves. He pulled out the map, his friends had given him of their new country and remembered how they had complained to him how any slave that could cross the Ohio River would be free. They knew of several plantation owners that had lost quite a lot of money from runaway slaves. Johannes tried to determine the best route to take under the dim