"He's an 'artful,'"[1] "plausible,"[2] "smart,"[3] or "sensible fellow,"[4] "delights much in traffic,"[5] and "plays on the fife extremely well,"[6] are some of the statements found in the descriptions of fugitive slaves.

Other fugitives were speaking "plainly,"[7] "talking indifferent English,"[8] "remarkably good English,"[9] and "exceedingly good English."[10] In some advertisements we observe such expressions as "he speaks a little French,"[11] "Creole French,"[12] "a few words of High-Dutch,"[13] and "tolerable German."[14] Writing about a fugitive a master would often state that "he can read print,"[15] "can read writing,"[16] "can read and also write a little,"[17] "can read and write,"[18] "can write a pretty hand and has probably forged a pass."[19] These conditions obtained especially in Charleston, South Carolina, where were advertised various fugitives, one of whom spoke French and English fluently, and passed for a doctor among his people,[20] another who spoke Spanish and French intelligibly,[21] and a third who could read, write, and speak both French and Spanish very well.[22] [Footnote 1: _Virginia Herald_ (Fredericksburg), Jan.

21, 1800; _The Maryland Gazette_, Feb.

27, 1755; _Dunlop's Maryland Gazette and Baltimore Advertiser_, July 23, 1776; _The State Gazette of South Carolina_, May 18, 1786; _The State Gazette of North Carolina_, July 2, 1789.] [Footnote 2: _The City Gazette and Daily Advertiser_ (Charleston, S.C.), Sept.

26, 1797, and _The Carolina Gazette_, June 3, 1802.] [Footnote 3: _The Charleston Courier_, June 1, 1804; _The State Gazette of South Carolina_, Feb.