The Autobiography of John Parker

John Parker: Important Differences between His Promised Land and the original manuscript

Some of the major differences include:

• The introduction to His Promised Land leaves out pages three and four. In the manuscript folder in the Special Collections Library at Duke, page three was out of order and apparently was overlooked. Clearly, however, Gregg intended for it to be included in the final work. It represents a continuation of the list of Ripley abolitionists, a reference to the Eliza legend, and gives a much better lead in to the autobiography than pages one and two alone.
• There is an unplaced episode or chapter in the manuscript folder, including what seems to be a more fitting conclusion, which is not included in His Promised Land. It is unclear what Gregg's purpose for this section of the manuscript was.
• There are pages missing from Chapter 10 in the original manuscript. Sprague has decided to insert the equivalent section from The Borderland, a more literary account of Parker's life written by Gregg. In order to make the story flow, however, Sprague omits a few lines after the end of the inserted section which is included in the manuscript. These lines read:
  
  
  "...not been so angry, he might have known what I was up to, but he was so sure that I was guilty, and that I had them concealed nearby, he proceeded to take his time, with me delaying as much as I could. When [...] had finished his investigation he turned to me and said, 'You stole our slaves, and you know where they are.'"

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