My master had family worship, night and morning. At night the slaves
were called in to attend; but in the mornings they had to be at their
work, and master did all the praying. My master and mistress were great
lovers of mint julep, and every morning, a pitcher-full was made, of
which they all partook freely, not excepting little master William.
After drinking freely all round, they would have family worship, and
then breakfast. I cannot say but I loved the julep as well as any of
them, and during prayer was always careful to seat myself close to
the table where it stood, so as to help myself when they were all
busily engaged in their devotions. By the time prayer was over, I was
about as happy as any of them. A sad accident happened one morning. In
helping myself, and at the same time keeping an eye on my old mistress,
I accidentally let the pitcher fall upon the floor, breaking it in
pieces, and spilling the contents. This was a bad affair for me; for as
soon as prayer was over, I was taken and severely chastised.
My master's family consisted of himself, his wife, and their nephew,
William Moore. He was taken into the family when only a few weeks of
age. His name being that of my own, mine was changed for the purpose
of giving precedence to his, though I was his senior by ten or twelve
years. The plantation being four miles from the city, I had to drive
the family to church. I always dreaded the approach of the Sabbath;
for, during service, I was obliged to stand by the horses in the hot,
broiling sun, or in the rain, just as it happened.
One Sabbath, as we were driving past the house of D. D. Page, a
gentleman who owned a large baking establishment, as I was sitting upon
the box of the carriage, which was very much elevated, I saw Mr. Page
pursuing a slave around the yard with a long whip, cutting him at every
jump. The man soon escaped from the yard, and was followed by Mr. Page.
They came running past us, and the slave, perceiving that he would be
overtaken, stopped suddenly, and Page stumbled over him, and falling on
the stone pavement, fractured one of his legs, which crippled him for
life. The same gentleman, but a short time previous, tied up a woman
of his, by the name of Delphia, and whipped her nearly to death; yet he
was a deacon in the Baptist church, in good and regular standing. Poor
Delphia! I was well acquainted with her, and called to see her while
upon her sick bed; and I shall never forget her appearance. She was a
member of the same church with her master.
Soon after this, I was hired out to Mr. Walker, the same man whom I
have mentioned as having carried a gang of slaves down the river on
the steamboat Enterprise. Seeing me in the capacity of a steward on
the boat, and thinking that I would make a good hand to take care of
slaves, he determined to have me for that purpose; and finding that my
master would not sell me, he hired me for the term of one year.
When I learned the fact of my having been hired to a negro speculator,
or a "soul driver," as they are generally called among slaves, no one
can tell my emotions. Mr. Walker had offered a high price for me, as
I afterwards learned, but I suppose my master was restrained from
selling me by the fact that I was a near relative of his. On entering
the service of Mr. Walker, I found that my opportunity of getting to
a land of liberty was gone, at least for the time being. He had a gang
of slaves in readiness to start for New Orleans, and in a few days we
were on our journey. I am at a loss for language to express my feelings
on that occasion. Although my master had told me that he had not sold
me, and Mr. Walker had told me that he had not purchased me, I did not
believe them; and not until I had been to New Orleans, and was on my
return, did I believe that I was not sold.
There was on the boat a large room on the lower deck, in which the
slaves were kept, men and women, promiscuously--all chained two and
two, and a strict watch kept that they did not get loose; for cases
have occurred in which slaves have got off their chains, and made their
escape at landing-places, while the boats were taking in wood;--and
with all our care, we lost one woman who had been taken from her
husband and children, and having no desire to live without them, in the
agony of her soul jumped overboard, and drowned herself. She was not
chained.
It was almost impossible to keep that part of the boat clean.
On landing at Natchez, the slaves were all carried to the slave-pen,
and there kept one week, during which time several of them were sold.
Mr. Walker fed his slaves well. We took on board at St. Louis several
hundred pounds of bacon (smoked meat) and corn-meal, and his slaves
were better fed than slaves generally were in Natchez, so far as my
observation extended.
At the end of a week, we left for New Orleans, the place of our final
destination, which we reached in two days. Here the slaves were placed
in a negro-pen, where those who wished to purchase could call and
examine them. The negro-pen is a small yard, surrounded by buildings,
from fifteen to twenty feet wide, with the exception of a large gate
with iron bars. The slaves are kept in the buildings during the night,
and turned out into the yard during the day. After the best of the
stock was sold at private sale at the pen, the balance were taken to
the Exchange Coffee-House Auction Rooms, kept by Isaac L. McCoy, and
sold at public auction. After the sale of this lot of slaves, we left
New Orleans for St. Louis.