Some short time after my wife became chambermaid to her mistress, it was
my misfortune to change masters once more. Levin Ballard, who, as before
stated, had purchased me of the children of my former master, Jack Cox,
was successful in his law suit with Mr. Gibson, the object of which was
to determine the right of property in me; and one day, whilst I was at
work in the corn-field, Mr. Ballard came and told me I was his property;
asking me at the same time if I was willing to go with him. I told him I
was not willing to go; but that if I belonged to him I knew I must. We
then went to the house, and Mr. Gibson not being at home, Mrs. Gibson
told me I must go with Mr. Ballard.
I accordingly went with him, determining to serve him obediently and
faithfully. I remained in his service almost three years, and as he
lived near the residence of my wife's master, my former mode of life was
not materially changed, by this change of home.
Mrs. Symmes spent much of her time in exchanging visits with the
families of the other large planters, both in Calvert and the
neighboring counties; and through my wife, I became acquainted with the
private family history of many of the principal persons in Maryland.
There was a great proprietor, who resided in another county, who owned
several hundred slaves; and who permitted them to beg of travelers on
the high-way. This same gentleman had several daughters, and according
to the custom of the time, kept what they called open house: that is,
his house was free to all persons of genteel appearance, who chose to
visit it. The young ladies were supposed to be the greatest fortunes in
the country, were reputed beautiful, and consequently were greatly
admired.
Two gentlemen, who were lovers of these girls, desirous of amusing their
mistresses, invited a young man, whose standing in society they supposed
to be beneath theirs, to go with them to the manor, as it was called.
When there, they endeavored to make him an object of ridicule, in
presence of the ladies; but he so well acquitted himself, and manifested
such superior wit and talents, that one of the young ladies fell in love
with him, and soon after wrote him a letter, which led to their
marriage. His two pretended friends were never afterwards countenanced
by the family, as gentlemen of honor; but the fortunate husband avenged
himself of his heartless companions, by inviting them to his wedding,
and exposing them to the observation of the vast assemblage of
fashionable people, who always attended a marriage, in the family of a
great planter.
The two gentlemen, who had been thus made to fall into the pit that they
had dug for another, were so much chagrined at the issue of the
adventure, that one soon left Maryland; and the other became a common
drunkard, and died a few years afterwards.
My change of masters realized all the evil apprehensions which I had
entertained. I found Mr. Ballard sullen and crabbed in his temper, and
always prone to find fault with my conduct--no matter how hard I had
labored, or how careful I was to fulfil all his orders, and obey his
most unreasonable commands. Yet, it so happened, that he never beat me,
for which, I was altogether indebted to the good character, for
industry, sobriety and humility, which I had established in the
neighborhood. I think he was ashamed to abuse me, lest he should suffer
in the good opinion of the public; for he often fell into the most
violent fits of anger against me, and overwhelmed me with coarse and
abusive language. He did not give me clothes enough to keep me warm in
winter, and compelled me to work in the woods, when there was deep snow
on the ground, by which I suffered very much. I had determined at last
to speak to him to sell me to some person in the neighborhood, so that I
might still be near my wife and children--but a different fate awaited
me.
My master kept a store at a small village on the bank of the Patuxent
river, called B----, although he resided at some distance on a farm. One
morning he rose early, and ordered me to take a yoke of oxen and go to
the village, to bring home a cart which was there, saying he would
follow me. He arrived at the village soon after I did, and took his
breakfast with his store-keeper. He then told me to come into the house
and get my breakfast. Whilst I was eating in the kitchen, I observed him
talking earnestly, but low, to a stranger near the kitchen door. I soon
after went out, and hitched my oxen to the cart, and was about to drive
off, when several men came round about me, and amongst them the stranger
whom I had seen speaking with my master. This man came up to me, and,
seizing me by the collar, shook me violently, saying I was his property,
and must go with him to Georgia. At the sound of these words, the
thoughts of my wife and children rushed across my mind, and my heart
beat away within me. I saw and knew that my case was hopeless, and that
resistance was vain, as there were near twenty persons present, all of
whom were ready to assist the man by whom I was kidnapped. I felt
incapable of weeping or speaking, and in my despair I laughed loudly. My
purchaser ordered me to cross my hands behind, which were quickly bound
with a strong cord; and he then told me that we must set out that very
day for the South. I asked if I could not be allowed to go to see my
wife and children, or if this could not be permitted, if they might not
have leave to come to see me; but was told that I would be able to get
another wife in Georgia.
My new master, whose name I did not hear, took me that same day across
the Patuxent, where I joined fifty-one other slaves, whom he had bought
in Maryland. Thirty-two of these were men, and nineteen were women. The
women were merely tied together with a rope, about the size of a
bed-cord, which was tied like a halter round the neck of each; but the
men, of whom I was the stoutest and strongest, were very differently
caparisoned. A strong iron collar was closely fitted by means of a
padlock round each of our necks. A chain of iron, about a hundred feet
in length, was passed through the hasp of each padlock, except at the
two ends, where the hasps of the padlock passed through a link of the
chain. In addition to this, we were handcuffed in pairs, with iron
staples and bolts, with a short chain, about a foot long, uniting the
handcuffs and their wearers in pairs. In this manner we were chained
alternately by the right and left hand; and the poor man to whom I was
thus ironed, wept like an infant when the blacksmith, with his heavy
hammer, fastened the ends of the bolts that kept the staples from
slipping from our arms. For my own part, I felt indifferent to my fate.
It appeared to me that the worst had come that could come, and that no
change of fortune could harm me.
After we were all chained and handcuffed together, we sat down upon the
ground; and here reflecting upon the sad reverse of fortune that had so
suddenly overtaken me, I became weary of life, and bitterly execrated
the day I was born. It seemed that I was destined by fate to drink the
cup of sorrow to the very dregs, and that I should find no respite from
misery but in the grave. I longed to die, and escape from the hands of
my tormentors; but even the wretched privilege of destroying myself was
denied me, for I could not shake off my chains, nor move a yard without
the consent of my master. Reflecting in silence upon my forlorn
condition, I at length concluded that as things could not become
worse--and as the life of man is but a continued round of changes, they
must, of necessity, take a turn in my favor at some future day. I found
relief in this vague and indefinite hope, and when we received orders to
go on board the scow, which was to transport us over the Patuxent, I
marched down to the water with a firmness of purpose of which I did not
believe myself capable, a few minutes before.
We were soon on the south side of the river, and taking up our line of
march, we traveled about five miles that evening, and stopped for the
night at one of those miserable public houses, so frequent in the lower
parts of Maryland and Virginia, called "_ordinaries_."
Our master ordered a pot of mush to be made for our supper; after
despatching which we all lay down on the naked floor to sleep in our
handcuffs and chains. The women, my fellow-slaves, lay on one side of
the room; and the men who were chained with me, occupied the other. I
slept but little this night, which I passed in thinking of my wife and
little children, whom I could not hope ever to see again. I also thought
of my grandfather, and of the long nights I had passed with him,
listening to his narratives of the scenes through which he had passed in
Africa. I at length fell asleep, but was distressed by painful dreams.
My wife and children appeared to be weeping and lamenting my calamity;
and beseeching and imploring my master on their knees, not to carry me
away from them. My little boy came and begged me not to go and leave
him, and endeavored, as I thought, with his little hands to break the
fetters that bound me. I awoke in agony and cursed my existence. I could
not pray, for the measure of my woes seemed to be full, and I felt as if
there was no mercy in heaven, nor compassion on earth, for a man who was
born a slave. Day at length came, and with the dawn, we resumed our
journey towards the Potomac. As we passed along the road, I saw the
slaves at work in the corn and tobacco fields. I knew they toiled hard
and lacked food; but they were not, like me, dragged in chains from
their wives, children and friends. Compared with me, they were the
happiest of mortals. I almost envied them their blessed lot.
Before night we crossed the Potomac, at Hoe's Ferry, and bade farewell
to Maryland. At night we stopped at the house of a poor gentleman, at
least he appeared to wish my master to consider him a gentleman; and he
had no difficulty in establishing his claim to poverty. He lived at the
side, of the road, in a framed house, which had never been plastered
within--the weather-boards being the only wall. He had about fifty acres
of land enclosed by a fence, the remains of a farm which had once
covered two or three hundred acres; but the cedar bushes had encroached
upon all sides, until the cultivation had been confined to its present
limits. The land was the picture of sterility, and there was neither
barn nor stable on the place. The owner was ragged, and his wife and
children were in a similar plight. It was with difficulty that we
obtained a bushel of corn, which our master ordered us to parch at a
fire made in the yard, and to eat for our supper. Even this miserable
family possessed two slaves, half-starved, half-naked wretches, whose
appearance bespoke them familiar with hunger, and victims of the lash;
but yet there was one pang which they had not known--they had not been
chained and driven from their parents or children, into hopeless exile.
We left this place early in the morning, and directed our course toward
the south-west; our master riding beside us, and hastening our march,
sometimes by words of encouragement, and sometimes by threats of
punishment. The women took their place in the rear of our line. We
halted about nine o'clock for breakfast, and received as much corn-bread
as we could eat, together with a plate of boiled herrings, and about
three pounds of pork amongst us. Before we left this place, I was
removed from near the middle of the chain, and placed at the front end
of it; so that I now became the leader of the file, and held this post
of honor until our irons were taken from us, near the town of Columbia
in South Carolina. We continued our route this day along the high road
between the Potomac and Rappahannock; and I saw each of those rivers
several times before night. Our master gave us no dinner to-day, but we
halted and got as much corn-mush and sour milk as we could eat for
supper. The weather grew mild and pleasant, and we needed no more fires
at night.
From this time we all slept promiscuously, men and women on the floors
of such houses as we chanced to stop at. We passed on through Bowling
Green, a quiet village.
Time did not reconcile me to my chains, but it made me familiar with
them. I reflected on my desperate situation with a degree of calmness,
hoping that I might be able to devise some means of escape. My master
placed a particular value upon me, for I heard him tell a tavern-keeper
that if he had me in Georgia he could get eight hundred dollars for me,
but he had bought me for his brother, and believed he should not sell
me; he afterwards changed his mind, however. I carefully examined every
part of our chain, but found no place where it could be separated.
We all had as much corn-bread as we could eat, procured of our owner at
the places we stopped at for the night. In addition to this we usually
had a salt herring every day. On Sunday we had a quarter of a pound of
bacon each.
We continued our course up the country westward for a few days and then
turned South, crossed James river above Richmond, as I heard at the
time. After more than four weeks of travel we entered South Carolina
near Camden, and for the first time I saw a field of cotton in bloom.
As we approached the Yadkin river the tobacco disappeared from the
fields and the cotton plant took its place as an article of general
culture.
I was now a slave in South Carolina, and had no hope of ever again
seeing my wife and children. I had at times serious thoughts of suicide
so great was my anguish. If I could have got a rope I should have hanged
myself at Lancaster. The thought of my wife and children I had been torn
from in Maryland, and the dreadful undefined future which was before me,
came near driving me mad. It was long after midnight before I fell
asleep, but the most pleasant dream, succeeded to these sorrowful
forebodings. I thought I had escaped my master, and through great
difficulties made my way back to Maryland, and was again in my wife's
cabin with my little children on my lap. Every object was so vividly
impressed on my mind in this dream, that when I awoke, a firm conviction
settled upon my mind, that by some means, at present incomprehensible to
me, I should yet again embrace my wife, and caress my children in their
humble dwelling. Early in the morning, our master called us up; and
distributed to each of the party a cake made of corn-meal and a small
piece of bacon. On our journey, we had only eaten twice a day, and had
not received breakfast until about nine o'clock; but he said this
morning meal was given to welcome us to South Carolina. He then
addressed us all, and told us we might now give up all hope of ever
returning to the places of our nativity; as it would be impossible for
us to pass through the States of North Carolina and Virginia, without
being taken up and sent back. He further advised us to make ourselves
contented, as he would take us to Georgia, a far better country than any
we had seen; and where we would be able to live in the greatest
abundance. About sunrise we took up our march on the road to Columbia,
as we were told. Hitherto our master had not offered to sell any of us,
and had even refused to stop to talk to any one on the subject of our
sale, although he had several times been addressed on this point, before
we reached Lancaster; but soon after we departed from this village, we
were overtaken on the road by a man on horseback, who accosted our
driver by asking him if his _niggars_ were for sale. The latter replied,
that he believed he would not sell any yet, as he was on his way to
Georgia, and cotton being now much in demand, he expected to obtain high
prices for us from persons who were going to settle in the new purchase.
He, however, contrary to his custom, ordered us to stop, and told the
stranger he might look at us, and that he would find us as fine a lot of
hands as were ever imported into the country--that we were all prime
property, and he had no doubt would command his own prices in Georgia.
The stranger, who was a thin, weather-beaten, sun-burned figure, then
said, he wanted a couple of breeding wenches, and would give as much for
them as they would bring in Georgia--that he had lately heard from
Augusta, and that _niggers_ were not higher there than in Columbia, and,
as he had been in Columbia the week before, he knew what _niggers_ were
worth. He then walked along our line, as we stood chained together, and
looked at the whole of us--then turning to the women, asked the prices
of the two pregnant ones. Our master replied, that these were two of the
best breeding-wenches in all Maryland--that one was twenty-two, and the
other only nineteen--that the first was already the mother of seven
children, and the other of four--that he had himself seen the children
at the time he bought their mothers--and that such wenches would be
cheap at a thousand dollars each; but as they were not able to keep up
with the gang, he would take twelve hundred dollars for the two. The
purchaser said this was too much, but that he would give nine hundred
dollars for the pair. This price was promptly refused; but our master,
after some consideration, said he was willing to sell a bargain in
these wenches, and would take eleven hundred dollars for them, which was
objected to on the other side; and many faults and failings were pointed
out in the merchandise. After much bargaining, and many gross jests on
the part of the stranger, he offered a thousand dollars for the two, and
said he would give no more. He then mounted his horse, and moved off;
but after he had gone about one hundred yards, he was called back; and
our master said, if he would go with him to the next blacksmith's shop
on the road to Columbia, and pay for taking the irons off the rest of
us, he might have the two women.
This proposal was agreed to, and as it was now about nine o'clock, we
were ordered to hasten on to the next house, where, we were told, we
must stop for breakfast. At this place we were informed that it was ten
miles to the next smith's shop, and our new acquaintance was obliged by
the terms of his contract, to accompany us thither. We received for
breakfast, about a pint of boiled rice to each person, and after this
was despatched, we again took to the road, eager to reach the
blacksmith's shop, at which we expected to be relieved of the iron rings
and chains, which had so long galled and worried us. About two o'clock
we arrived at the longed-for residence of the smith; but, on inquiry,
our master was informed that he was not at home, and would not return
before evening. Here a controversy arose, whether we should all remain
here until the smith returned, or the stranger should go on with us to
the next smithery, which was said to be only five miles distant. This
was a point not easily settled between two such spirits as our master
and the stranger; both of whom had been overseers in their time, and
both of whom had risen to the rank of proprietors of slaves.
The matter had already produced angry words, and much vaunting on the
part of the stranger;--"that a freeman of South Carolina was not to be
imposed upon; that by the constitution of the State, his rights were
sacred, and he was not to be deprived of his liberty, at the arbitrary
will of a man just from amongst the Yankees, and who had brought with
him to the South as many Yankee tricks as he had _niggers_, and he
believed many more." He then swore, that "all the _niggers_ in the drove
were Yankee _niggers_."
"When I _overseed_ for Colonel Polk," said he, "on his rice plantation,
he had two Yankee _niggers_ that he brought from Maryland, and they were
running away every day. I gave them a hundred lashes more than a dozen
times; but they never quit running away, till I chained them together,
with iron collars round their necks, and chained them to spades, and
made them do nothing but dig ditches to drain the rice swamps. They
could not run away then, unless they went together, and carried their
chains and spades with them. I kept them in this way two years, and
better _niggers_ I never had. One of them died one night, and the other
was never good for anything after he lost his mate. He never ran away
afterwards, but he died too, after a while." He then addressed himself
to the two women, whose master he had become, and told them that if ever
they ran away, he would treat them in the same way. Wretched as I was
myself, my heart bled for these poor creatures, who had fallen into the
hands of a tiger in human form. The dispute between the two masters was
still raging, when, unexpectedly, the blacksmith rode up to his house,
on a thin, bony-looking horse, and dismounting, asked his wife what
these gentlemen were making such a _frolick_ about. I did not hear her
answer, but both the disputants turned and addressed themselves to the
smith--the one to know what price he would demand to take the irons off
all these _niggers_, and the other to know how long it would take him to
perform the work. It is here proper for me to observe, that there are
many phrases of language in common use in Carolina and Georgia, which
are applied in a way that would not be understood by persons from one of
the Northern States. For instance, when several persons are quarrelling,
brawling, making a great noise, or even fighting, they say, "_the
gentlemen are frolicking!_" I heard many other terms equally strange,
whilst I resided in the southern country, amongst such white people as I
became acquainted with; though my acquaintance was confined, in a great
measure, to overseers, and such people as did not associate with the
rich planters and great families.
The smith at length agreed to take the irons from the whole of us for
two dollars and fifty cents, and immediately set about it, with the air
of indifference that he would have manifested in tearing a pair of old
shoes from the hoofs of a wagon-horse. It was four weeks and five days,
from the time my irons had been riveted upon me, until they were
removed, and great as had been my sufferings whilst chained to my
fellow-slaves, I cannot say that I felt any pleasure in being released
from my long confinement; for I knew that my liberation was only
preparatory to my final, and, as I feared, perpetual subjugation to the
power of some such monster, as the one then before me, who was preparing
to drive away the two unfortunate women whom he had purchased, and whose
life's-blood he had acquired the power of shedding at pleasure, for the
sum of a thousand dollars. After we were released from our chains, our
master sold the whole lot of irons, which we had borne from Maryland, to
the blacksmith, for seven dollars.
The smith then procured a bottle of rum, and treated his two new
acquaintances to a part of its contents--wishing them both good luck
with their _niggers_. After these civilities were over, the two women
were ordered to follow their new master, who shaped his course across
the country, by a road leading westwest. At parting from us, they both
wept aloud, and wrung their hands in despair. We all went to them, and
bade them a last farewell. Their road led into a wood, which they soon
entered, and I never saw them nor heard of them again.
These women had both been driven from Calvert county, as well as myself,
and the fate of the younger of the two, was peculiarly severe.
She had been brought up as a waiting-maid of a young lady, the daughter
of a gentleman, whose wife and family often visited the mistress of my
own wife. I had frequently seen this woman when she was a young girl, in
attendance upon her young mistress, and riding in the same carriage with
her. The father of the young lady died, and soon after she married a
gentleman who resided a few miles off. The husband received a
considerable fortune with his bride, and amongst other things, her
waiting-maid, who was reputed a great beauty among people of color. He
had been addicted to the fashionable sports of the country, before
marriage, such as horse-racing, fox-hunting, &c., and I had heard the
black people say he drank too freely; but it was supposed that he would
correct all these irregularities after marriage, more especially as his
wife was a great belle, and withal very handsome. The reverse, however,
turned out to be the fact. Instead of growing better, he became worse;
and in the course of a few years, was known all over the country, as a
drunkard and a gambler. His wife, it was said, died of grief, and soon
after her death, his effects were seized by his creditors, and sold by
the sheriff. The former waiting-maid, now the mother of several
children, was purchased by our present master, for four hundred dollars,
at the sheriff's sale, and this poor wretch, whose employment in early
life had been to take care of her young mistress, and attend to her in
her chamber, and at her toilet, after being torn from her husband and
her children, had now gone to toil out a horrible existence beneath the
scorching sun of a South Carolina cotton-field, under the dominion of a
master, as void of the manners of a gentleman, as he was of the language
of humanity.
It was now late in the afternoon; but, as we had made little progress
to-day, and were now divested of the burden of our chains, as well as
freed from the two women, who had hitherto much retarded our march, our
master ordered us to hasten on our way, as we had ten miles to go that
evening. I had been so long oppressed by the weight of my chains, and
the iron collar about my neck, that for some time after I commenced
walking at my natural liberty, I felt a kind of giddiness, or lightness
of the head. Most of my companions complained of the same sensation, and
we did not recover our proper feelings until after we had slept one
night. It was after dark when we arrived at our lodging-place, which
proved to be the house of a small cotton-planter, who, it appeared, kept
a sort of a house of entertainment for travelers, contrary to what I
afterwards discovered to be the usual custom of cotton-planters. This
man and my master had known each other before, and seemed to be well
acquainted. He was the first person that we had met since leaving
Maryland, who was known to my master, and as they kept up a very free
conversation, through the course of the evening, and the house in which
they were, was only separated from the kitchen, in which we were lodged,
by a space of a few feet, I had an opportunity of hearing much that was
highly interesting to me. The landlord, after supper, came with our
master to look at us, and to see us receive our allowance of boiled rice
from the hands of a couple of black women, who had prepared it in a
large iron kettle. Whilst viewing us, the former asked the latter, what
he intended to do with his drove; but no reply was made to this
inquiry--and as our master had, through our whole journey, maintained a
studied silence on this subject, I felt a great curiosity to know what
disposition he intended to make of the whole gang, and of myself in
particular. On their return to the house, I advanced to a small window
in the kitchen, which brought me within a few yards of the place where
they sat, and from which I was able to hear all they said, although they
spoke in a low tone of voice. I here learned, that so many of us as
could be sold for a good price, were to be disposed of in Columbia, on
our arrival at that place, and that the residue would be driven to
Augusta and sold there.
The landlord assured my master that at this time slaves were much in
demand, both in Columbia and Augusta; that purchasers were numerous and
prices good; and that the best plan of effecting good sales would be to
put up each _nigger_ separately, at auction, after giving a few days'
notice, by an advertisement, in the neighboring country. Cotton, he
said, had not been higher for many years, and as a great many persons,
especially young men, were moving off to the new purchase in Georgia,
prime hands were in high demand, for the purpose of clearing the land in
the new country--that the boys and girls, under twenty, would bring
almost any price at present, in Columbia for the purpose of picking the
growing crop of cotton, which promised to be very heavy; and as most
persons had planted more than their hands would be able to pick, young
_niggers_, who would soon learn to pick cotton, were prime articles in
the market. As to those more advanced in life, he seemed to think the
prospect of selling them at an unusual price, not so good, as they could
not so readily become expert cotton-pickers--he said further, that for
some cause, which he could not comprehend, the price of rice had not
been so good this year as usual; and that he had found it cheaper to
purchase rice to feed his own _niggers_ than to provide them with corn,
which had to be brought from the upper country. He therefore advised my
master not to drive us towards the rice plantation of the low country.
My master said he would follow his advice, at least so far as to sell a
portion of us in Carolina, but seemed to be of opinion that his prime
hands would bring him more money in Georgia, and named me, in
particular, as one who would be worth, at least, a thousand dollars, to
a man who was about making a settlement, and clearing a plantation in
the new purchase. I therefore concluded, that in the course of events, I
was likely to become the property of a Georgian, which turned out in the
end to be the case, though not so soon as I at this time apprehended. I
slept but little this night, feeling a restlessness when no longer in
chains; and pondering over the future lot of my life, which appeared
fraught only with evil and misfortune. Day at length dawned, and with
its first light we were ordered to betake ourselves to the road, which,
we were told, would lead us to Columbia, the place of intended sale of
some, if not all of us. For several days past, I had observed that in
the country through which we traveled, little attention was paid to the
cultivation of anything but cotton. Now this plant was almost the sole
possessor of the fields. It covered the plantations adjacent to the
road, as far as I could see, both before and behind me, and looked not
unlike buckwheat before it blossoms. I saw some small fields of corn,
and lots of sweet potatoes, amongst which the young vines of the
water-melon were frequently visible. The improvements on the plantations
were not good. There were no barns, but only stables and sheds, to put
the cotton under, as it was brought from the field. Hay seemed to be
unknown in the country, for I saw neither hay-stacks nor meadows; and
the few fields that were lying fallow, had but small numbers of cattle
in them, and these were thin and meagre. We had met with no flocks of
sheep of late, and the hogs that we saw on the road-side were in bad
condition. The horses and mules that I saw in the cotton-fields, were
poor and badly harnessed, and the half-naked condition of the negroes,
who drove them, or followed with the hoe, together with their wan
complexions, proved to me that they had too much work, or not enough
food. We passed a cotton-gin this morning, the first that I ever saw;
but they were not at work with it. We also met a party of ladies and
gentlemen on a journey of pleasure, riding in two very handsome
carriages, drawn by sleek and spirited horses, very different in
appearance from the moving skeletons that I had noticed drawing the
ploughs in the fields. The black drivers of the coaches were neatly clad
in gay-colored clothes, and contrasted well with their half-naked
brethren, a gang of whom were hoeing cotton by the road-side, near them,
attended by an overseer in a white linen shirt and pantaloons, with one
of the long negro whips in his hand.
I observed that these poor people did not raise their heads, to look at
either the fine coaches and horses then passing, or at us; but kept
their faces steadily bent towards the cotton-plants, from among which
they were removing the weeds. I almost shuddered at the sight, knowing
that I myself was doomed to a state of servitude equally cruel and
debasing, unless, by some unforeseen occurrence, I might fall into the
hands of a master of less inhumanity of temper than the one who had
possession of the miserable creatures before me.