Solomon Northup's fate was changed when William Ford, owing much debt, sold off 18 of his enslaved workers. Northup was sold to John Tibeats, a cruel and petty carpenter, in the winter of 1842. However, as reported by Britannica, Ford still held 40-percent ownership of Northup, as he was deemed to be "worth" more than the debt.
John Tibeats (who was likely named John Tibaut) was an especially cruel man. Tibeats, in an altercation about nails at a construction site, tried to whip Northup, but Northup physically restrained him and stepped on his neck, something almost unheard-of for an enslaved person. In retaliation, Tibeats, along with some local enslavers, attempted to lynch Solomon Northup and tied a noose around his neck and bound his limbs. As they looked for a tree from which to hang Northup, Chapin, the field overseer, walked up carrying a pistol in each hand. Chapin reminded John Tibeats that he would owe Ford a mortgage if Northup was murdered.
Tibeats fled the scene, leaving Northup bound under the hot sun for hours. "During the whole long day I came not to the conclusion, even once, that the southern slave, fed, clothed, whipped and protected by his master, is happier than the free colored citizen of the North. To that conclusion I have never since arrived," Northup said of the horrifying torture. It was only after Ford arrived at the plantation that Solomon Northup was let free from his noose.
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