But there was no feeling of bitterness. In
fact, there was pity among the slaves for our former owners. The wild
rejoicing on the part of the emancipated coloured people lasted but
for a brief period, for I noticed that by the time they returned to
their cabins there was a change in their feelings. The great
responsibility of being free, of having charge of themselves, of
having to think and plan for themselves and their children, seemed to
take possession of them. It was very much like suddenly turning a
youth of ten or twelve years out into the world to provide for
himself. In a few hours the great questions with which the Anglo-
Saxon race had been grappling for centuries had been thrown upon these
people to be solved. These were the questions of a home, a living,
the rearing of children, education, citizenship, and the establishment
and support of churches. Was it any wonder that within a few hours
the wild rejoicing ceased and a feeling of deep gloom seemed to
pervade the slave quarters? To some it seemed that, now that they
were in actual possession of it, freedom was a more serious thing than
they had expected to find it. Some of the slaves were seventy or
eighty years old; their best days were gone. They had no strength
with which to earn a living in a strange place and among strange
people, even if they had been sure where to find a new place of abode.
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