The Underground Railroad

Chapter 8 Summary

The chapter opens with a runaway bulletin put out by a Benjamin P. Wells, in Murfreesboro, on January 5, 1812. It offers a $30 reward for the return of a lively 18-year-old enslaved girl with a scar on her elbow who will surely attempt to pass as a free person.

The beginning of this chapter describes the life of a Black woman named Bessie, who lives in South Carolina and works for a wealthy family named the Andersons. It is revealed that Bessie is Cora. Cora cares for the Anderson children, Maisie and Raymond, and also performs household duties, including signing for and picking up the Anderson’s groceries.

Cora lives in a dormitory with other Black women. It is not a long walk from the Andersons’ to her home, and she enjoys walking through town and enjoying the activity and commerce of Main Street. She is most impressed, however, by the 12-story Griffin Building, which is one of the country’s tallest buildings. Mr. Anderson works within it at a law firm, and Cora feels lucky and dazzled to have been able to see the building’s gorgeous lobby and novel elevator. She views the building as a testament to her newfound freedom.