On an unknown day in 1797, in Rifton, New York, a baby girl was born. As happy as this day was to her parents, James (Baumfree) and Elizabeth (Mau Mau Bett), it was also tinged with sadness. For the parents knew that their little girl was now a slave, and would be exposed to the harshness of being a slave from a very young age. They named her Isabella, because it was a name that was acceptable to Colonel Hardenbergh, their master. Although Baumfree and Mau Mau Bett didn’t dislike the name, they didn’t entirely love it. So privately, they called the little girl Belle, for short. Belle passed through a few owners before being bought by John Dumont, when she was 13 years old. Little did she know that she would work for Dumont for 17 years, and eventually escape. When Isabella first came to work for Dumont, she was introduced to the 10 other slaves who worked there. The slaves informed Belle a little bit about her new master. They told her that Dumont was usually a decent man and tended not to give punishments that were too harsh. In addition, they told Belle that if she did her work and didn't get into trouble, she would