第1章 EDITOR’S PREFACE

　　When the editor commenced the preparation of thefollowing narrative， he did not suppose it would reachthe size of this volume. In order， however， to present allthe facts which have been communicated to him， it hasseemed necessary to extend it to its present length.

　　Many of the statements contained in the followingpages are corroborated by abundant evidence—othersrest entirely upon Solomon’s assertion. That he hasadhered strictly to the truth the editor， at least， who hashad an opportunity of detecting any contradiction ordiscrepancy in his statements， is well satisfied. He hasinvariably repeated the same story without deviating inthe slightest particular， and has also carefully perused themanuscript， dictating an alteration wherever the mosttrivial inaccuracy has appealed.

　　It was Solomon’s fortune， during his captivity， to beowned by several masters. The treatment he receivedwhile at the “Pine Woods” shows that among slaveholdersthere are men of humanity as well of cruelty. Some ofthem are spoken of with emotions of gratitude—othersin a spirit of bitterness. It is believed that the following001

　　account of his experience on Bayou Boeuf presents acorrect picture of Slavery in all its lights， and shadows， asit now exists in that locality. Unbiased， as he conceives，by any prepossessions or prejudices， the only object ofthe editor has been to give a faithful history of SolomonNorthup’s life， as he received it from his lips.

　　In the accomplishment of that object， he trusts he hassucceeded， notwithstanding the numerous faults of styleand of expression it may be found to contain.

　　DAVID WILSON.

　　WHITEHALL， N. Y.， May， 1853.