In
connection with the flax shirt, my brother John, who is several years
older than I am, performed one of the most generous acts that I ever
heard of one slave relative doing for another. On several occasions
when I was being forced to wear a new flax shirt, he generously agreed
to put it on in my stead and wear it for several days, till it was
"broken in." Until I had grown to be quite a youth this single
garment was all that I wore.
One may get the idea, from what I have said, that there was bitter
feeling toward the white people on the part of my race, because of the
fact that most of the white population was away fighting in a war
which would result in keeping the Negro in slavery if the South was
successful. In the case of the slaves on our place this was not true,
and it was not true of any large portion of the slave population in
the South where the Negro was treated with anything like decency.
During the Civil War one of my young masters was killed, and two were
severely wounded. I recall the feeling of sorrow which existed among
the slaves when they heard of the death of "Mars' Billy." It was no
sham sorrow, but real. Some of the slaves had nursed "Mars' Billy";
others had played with him when he was a child. "Mars' Billy" had
begged for mercy in the case of others when the overseer or master was
thrashing them.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25