Many cases of this kind came to light through the examinations at the Underground Railroad stations. Three brothers once learned that the next day they were to be sent South with a slave trader then in the vicinity. Filled with terror at the prospect, they preferred the danger of death in the swamps to the certainty of life in the unknown country. That night they made their escape, but it was only after weeks of wandering in swamps and morasses that they reached a haven.[220] So long as a black family remained together upon one plantation, their love for one another operated as the strongest bond to prevent their departure; but when, as constantly happened, the sale and separation of the members scattered families far and wide, with no hope of reunion, the firmest and often the sole tie which bound them to the South was broken. There was no longer anything to hold them back.[221] =§ 65. Conditions of slave life.=--These are some of the motives which led the slave to plan an escape. It will now be well to glance at those surrounding conditions, incident to the time and country, which made successful flight particularly difficult. First, the slave was a negro; and in the South, where the presumption was that every black man must be a slave, the color of his skin gave not only a means of tracing him, but also made him liable at any moment to questioning and arrest. In both city and country patrols were appointed, whose duty it was to keep strict watch over the negroes; and any slave found away from his plantation, unless in livery or provided with a pass, could be whipped and sent back to his master.[222] It was also lawful for any white man to seize and carry a stray slave to the nearest jail.[223] The next morning, if not claimed, he was advertised in a manner of which the following is an example:-- "Was taken up and committed to the jail of Halifax Co., on the 26th day of May, a dark colored boy who says his name is Jordan Artis; said boy says he was born free, and bound out to Mr. Beale, near Murfreesboro, Hartford Co., N. C., and is now twenty-one years of age. Owner is requested to come forward, prove property, pay charges, and take said boy away within time prescribed by law, otherwise he will be dealt with as the law directs. "O. P. SHELL, _Jailer_. "Halifax Co., N. C., June 8, 1855."[224] If not claimed within one year, such a prisoner could be sold by the jailer. Thus Olmsted remarks that "the security of the whites is not so much dependent upon patrols, as on the constant, habitual, and instinctive surveillance and authority of all white people over the blacks."[225]