At that auction, I was sold along with some sheep for a sum of one hundred dollars to a man named John Nealy. I guess that's why I always had a fondness for sheep.

That is when my troubles began. It seemed like "now the war begun."

I was his only slave, and up until that time, I spoke only Dutch. My new owner could understand Dutch some, but his wife spoke only English. When she would give me instructions that I did not understand, I would get beatings.

Once Master Nealy ordered me to go into the barn. He tied me and gave me a severe beating. I still bear the scars from when my flesh was torn open. Until this day I never knew why he gave me that beating.