Category: \u00a0Grade 6-8<\/p>\n
by Uriah Foster, Grade 7<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jaol Esgo<\/strong><\/p>\n In the beautiful land of Ghana in the 1840\u2019s, there once lived a man by the name of Jaol Esgo.\u00a0 He was a captain in the Ooda Clan army; he was very successful in his wars.\u00a0 Then one day, the slave traders\u00a0attacked his village, catching them off guard.\u00a0 One warm night, crickets screeching, everything seemed perfect\u2026until\u2026.Charge!!! A war cray, they descended into the camp, burning everything and taking everything, including the people of the clan.\u00a0 After that, the night was filled with tears and screams and flames of fire.<\/p>\n The Boat<\/strong><\/p>\n Jaol awoke\u00a0to find his people in chains, sitting on wet and soggy floors.\u00a0 The smell of death surrounded them.\u00a0 His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps \u2013 clunk, clunk, and clunk!<\/p>\n “Hello Negros, I\u2019m your new captain and my name is Jet.”<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you taking my people?\u201d Jaol exclaimed.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s none of your business fool! You\u2019re my property now,\u201d Captain Jet responded. “We have a long way to go still, so get comfortable if you can,\u201d he sneered.<\/p>\n Two months later, they hit land.\u00a0 Jaol was relieved, excited to see land, but didn\u2019t want to know his fate. He had heard about Africans being stolen away on ships, to be brought to a faraway land to work as slaves.<\/p>\n The Trading Block<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cGood Morning Negros! \u00a0Everyone get up and get into one line. Make it quick,” he continued, “I ain’t got all day.\u201d The sun shone\u00a0brightly as Jaol and his people walked out of the boat onto a wooden stage where he witnessed his people getting sold like animals.\u00a0 \u201cNext!\u201d said the auctioneer.\u00a0 That was the first time this great warrior had ever felt this mount of fear and humiliation.\u00a0 As Jaol seemed to go into a daze of deep thought, the word \u201cSold!\u201d echoed throughout the crowd.\u00a0 With that, he was escorted off the stage and into the hands of his new owner.<\/p>\n Master Johnson<\/strong><\/p>\n He rode in chains to his new life.\u00a0 The cart stopped and Jaol opened his eyes to find a plump white man with short blonde hair and blue eyes. \u201cJohn,\u201d he said with a long pause in between, \u201cwhat did you get me? Is that another slave?”<\/p>\n “Yes, but he\u2019s strong and hardworking, and I think he\u2019ll fit right in with the others.”<\/p>\n “All right, then just take him to the shed and get him cleaned up and fed.”<\/p>\n “Yes, sir.”<\/p>\n So John pulled Jaol along on foot as he rode high on his horse to the shed.<\/p>\n New Folks<\/strong><\/p>\n Jaol arrived at his new home.\u00a0 Waiting for him were four other slaves: two men and two women. Their names were Mary, Sarah, John and James.\u00a0 Mary was short in stature with green eyes and light brown skin. Sarah was just the opposite, tall and lean with brown eyes and smooth dark brown skin. Her hair was long and silky black neatly placed in two braids. John was average height with huge muscles in his arms and shoulders. He seemed like a quiet man, didn’t say much and barely looked up. The last member of the group, James, was also medium tall with green eyes and caramel-colored skin.<\/p>\n The days went by, but Jaol was having a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings. He was constantly being beaten because he wasn\u2019t working fast enough or hard enough. He was caught several times a day dreaming out in the fields. He longed for his beautiful home in Ghana, but he knew he would never see the place he called home again. During most days, he and James worked together. They had gotten to know each other and would encourage and comfort one another on days when\u00a0things were really bad. One day, James shared the news he had heard about an ex-slave who helped other slaves\u2019 escape to the north.\u00a0 He said her name was Harriet Tubman.\u00a0 The route she used was called the Underground Railroad. Jaol was intrigued and questioned James more about this information.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you saying what I think you\u2019re saying?\u201d Jaol whispered.<\/p>\n “Yes, you heard me right.”<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in!\u201d Jaol agreed.<\/p>\n The River<\/strong><\/p>\n James and Jaol were right at the water\u2019s edge when they heard angry voice shout out, \u201cWhere Ya\u2019ll Negros think youz going?!\u201d<\/p>\n “C\u2019mon James let\u2019s hurry.” As they race across the Ohio River, shots rang out, Bang, Bang! \u201cWe\u2019re under fire!\u201d James yelled. \u00a0“We’ve got just about another meter left to go. We can make it!” Breathing heavily, the two men realized they were\u00a0standing on free soil. The two men embraced and decided they should probably split up and go their separate ways.<\/p>\n