I've been reading The Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada. First published in 1856. There is an online version at the link below. The words therein of Edward Patterson speak to the issue of treatment - "I was well used, as it is called in the South, but I don't think my usage was human. For, what is good treatment?"

http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/drew/drew.html

Narratives of Fugitive Slaves