Excessive Cruelty
It is at this point that Solomon clearly shows the horrors of slavery as he, along with other slaves, were subjected to terrible treatment at the hands of cruel masters. Tibaut was a particularly wicked individual, and one encounter almost cost Solomon his life. While he was working on a carpentry project, Tibaut began whipping him because the nails he used were apparently too big. Instead of meekly accepting his fate, Solomon took the whip from Tibaut and started beating him.
Tibaut and two men attacked Solomon and were about to lynch him when a man named Chapin, Ford’s overseer, got involved and prevented the murder. As it happened, Ford still had an ‘investment’ in Solomon worth $400. Ford owed money to Tibaut, but since the cost of Solomon was greater than what Ford owed, he had a chattel mortgage on Solomon which was worth the difference. Solomon was certain that the debt Tibaut owed to Ford saved his life.
On another occasion, Tibaut attacked Solomon with an ax but the slave throttled him until he was unconscious. Solomon fled and returned to Ford. After four days, Ford convinced Tibaut to hire Solomon out. Eventually, he sold Solomon to a slave owner named Edwin Epps who held Solomon captive for the next 10 years. Epps was another cruel and heartless man who enjoyed beating his slaves. He whipped them for not meeting daily quotas or simply for pleasure.
On one occasion, he forced Solomon to whip a slave named Patsey for the ‘crime’ of going to a nearby plantation for soap. After 30 lashes, Solomon refused to continue, so Epps began beating her mercilessly. He also routinely sexually abused Patsey. Throughout his spell as a slave, Solomon wrote about the various indignities they suffered. This included eating bacon infested with maggots, physical and sexual abuse, and the constant hard toil.
Free at Last
In 1852, a Canadian carpenter named Samuel Bass arrived to do some work for Epps. He was an abolitionist, so Solomon told Bass that he was a free man who had been kidnapped. Bass decided to help, writing and sending letters to Solomon’s friends. Bass showed bravery at this time, especially in light of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law which made it a federal offense to assist slaves in their escape.
Eventually, Bass wrote to William Perry and Cephas Parker, two men he was friends with back in Saratoga. They got in touch with Henry Northup who traveled to Epps’ plantation with Solomon’s free paper. This meant that Epps was legally obliged to release him. Northup wisely brought the Sheriff of Marksville to ensure the law was enforced. Epps eventually conceded the case, and Solomon was officially free on January 4, 1853.
Solomon was reunited with his wife and children and began working as a carpenter. He was also heavily involved in the abolitionist movement and the book Twelve Years a Slave was published in 1853. Little is known about his later life, and there is scant evidence to suggest a time, place or cause of death. Theories that he was kidnapped again or murdered in a revenge plot have been shot down. It is more likely that he either died in poverty or lived with his daughter in Virginia where he died in 1863.