Charles decided to build a hotel and confined his slaves to a rough cellar beneath it. Sojorner decribes it as follows: " its only light consisted of a few panes of glass, through which the sun never shone, but with thrice reflected rays, and the space between the loose boards of the floor, and the uneven earth below, was often filled with mud and water, the uncomfortable splashings of which were as annoying as its noxious vapors must have been chilling and fatal to health." The slaves were constantly ill, and the eldest among them afflicted with severe rheumatism as a consequence of their living conditions.
Things carried on as usual and there was much toil. As her brother grew into manhood and became one possessed of a strong back, Isabella and her parents feared the inevitable day when they would be separated from him. One morning he went outside to gather kindling for his mother's cooking fire. Upon going outside he wondered at the first snow of the season and took delight in the arrival of his master on a bright sleigh. As his entire family watched he neared the awesome contraption. He was scooped up by the master and borne away--- to the everlasting sorrow of those who were left in the wake.
Isabella's mother was especially burdened by the loss, but her faith did not waiver. She assured her offspring, "My children, there is a God who hears and sees you." Her children were reassured by her words -- and her comfort that the same God watching over them also kept guard over their dear brother. When they gazed at the starbright evening sky they knew that, he, too, gazed upon God's creation.
When Isabella reached the age of 9 their master died. Isabella was subsequently offered forth on the odious auction block. She was auctioned off to John Nealy, and recalled, "Now the war was begun." She was referring to her war for survival in unstable conditions. She and her new mistress did not get on well, as she spoke only Dutch and they spoke only English. She was subjected to frequent beatings, which involved her trip to the barn. There a bundled cord of heated whips awaited her, and she was mercilessly flogged, until her back was a mass of open sores. Later in life she noted, "And now, when I hear 'em tell of whipping women in the bare flesh it makes my flesh crawl, and my very hair rise on my head."
