It required all the moral courage that I was master of to bear me up in view of my critical condition.

The white people that I was following walked on board and I after them.

I acted as if the trunk was full of clothes, but I had not a stitch of clothes in it.

The passengers went up into the cabin and I followed them with the trunk.

I suppose this made the captain think that I was their slave.
I not only took the trunk in the cabin but stood by it until after the boat had started as if it belonged to my owners, and I was taking care of it for them; but as soon as the boat got fairly under way, I knew that some account would have to be given of me; so I then took my trunk down on the deck among the deck passengers to prepare myself to meet the clerk of the boat, when he should come to collect fare from the deck passengers.
Fortunately for me there was quite a number of deck passengers on board, among whom there were many Irish.