Injuries or not, slaves still dreamed of escaping
Today, it is difficult to imagine the physical hardships that those held in slavery were forced to endure.
And, still, many of them took every opportunity, despite the hardships of avoiding recapture, to try to escape from their situations.
Just one example was the case of John Lang, who was arrested on March 21, 1838 in Lumberton, N.C. on suspicion of being an escaped slave.
Jonathan A. Rowland, jailer of the Lumberton jail, described Lang as about 5-6, about 30 years old and about 160 pounds.
What was remarkable about Lang is how much he had suffered. He was missing the joints on at least six toes on his two feet. Lang told the jailer that the toes had fallen off his feet after being frostbitten.
Slaves, particularly those in the Southern states, often went without shoes, which was not a problem in the summer but led to frostbite during winter.
Lang had more problems, though. Rowland wrote that, “His back shows lasting impressions of the whip and leaves no doubt of his being a slave.”
Lang said that he was a free man but was not believed by authorities because he could name no one who was willing to back up his claim. Rowland believed that he had
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