In the American colonies, runaway slaves and servants were a constantly occurring problem. In the case of highly valuable goods, the criminal's owner would pay to place an advertisement in a newspaper promising a reward. Contemporary journals survive that allow us to look for patterns in how each colony treated its fugitives and how the process differed from slaves to serfs. In messages from New England, Pennsylvania, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Lower South, descriptions of English skills, clothing, skin attributes, and ways of handling captured catwalks outline the similarities and differences in life of slaves and servants. on how well a slave spoke English is present in the advertisements of each of the colonies. In colonial newspaper advertisements for runaway slaves and servants, nine out of sixteen advertisements mention knowledge of the English language. However, linguistic ability is not mentioned for white servants but only for black slaves. The slaves' language ranges from "speaks English as well as if he were born in the country" to "speaks no English." Interestingly, white servants who were usually immigrants from Europe never outlined their linguistic abilities. Likewise, eleven of the sixteen messages detail the fugitive's clothing. In the Pennsylvania Gazette, a black slave is described as wearing a "fine brown linen shirt[,] new shoes and a woolen hat." In the same newspaper, a white servant is described as wearing “a new felt hat, a dark brown coat, [and] a linen shirt.” While some might look to English prowess and depictions of clothing for clues to the fugitive's social status, it is possible that language and clothing were only detailed to aid in their identification and capture. Of the sixteen ads...half of the paper......they saw tell the story of a time when people were viewed as property and their characteristics were seen only as identifiers or a source of profit. In a society run by ideas like these, it is easy to understand why such slaves and servants sought better lives outside of servitude. References Brown, Victoria Bissell, Timothy Shannon, Going to the Source: The Bedford Reader in American History, 2nd edition ( Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004). Boston Evening-Post, May 19, 1755 Georgia Gazette, January 14, 1767. Georgia Gazette, March 7, 1765;Georgia Gazette, August 31, 1768.Pennsylvania Gazette, July 8, 1756;Pennsylvania Gazette, July 22, 1756;Pennsylvania Gazette, November 29, 176 4.Virginia Gazette , April 11, 1766.Virginia Gazette, May 31, 1770.Virginia Gazette, August 10, 1769.