It is true I had practically no money in my pocket with which to pay for bed or food, but I had hoped in some way to beg my way into the good graces of the landlord, for at that season in the mountains of Virginia the weather was cold, and I wanted to get indoors for the night.

Without asking as to whether I had any money, the man at the desk firmly refused to even consider the matter of providing me with food or lodging.

This was my first experience in finding out what the colour of my skin meant.

In some way I managed to keep warm by walking about, and so got through the night.

My whole soul was so bent upon reaching Hampton that I did not have time to cherish any bitterness toward the hotel-keeper.
By walking, begging rides both in wagons and in the cars, in some way, after a number of days, I reached the city of Richmond, Virginia, about eighty-two miles from Hampton.