Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States - From Interviews with Former Slaves - Maryland Narratives by Work Projects Administration
page 31 of 83 (37%)
page 31 of 83 (37%)
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made and arranged to suit the mistress' taste. I got a few things of
femine dainty that was discarded by the mistress, but no money nor did I have any to spend. During my life as a slave I was whipped only once, and that was for a lie that was told on me by the first nurse who was jealous of my looks. I slept in the mistress' room in a bed that we pushed under the mistress' in the day or after I arose. "Old Master had special dogs to hunt opossum, rabbit, coons and birds, and men to go with them on the hunt. When we seined, other slave owners would send some of their slaves to join ours and we then dividing the spoils of the catch. "We had 60 slaves on the plantation, each family housed in a cabin built by the slaves for Nellums to accommodate the families according to the number. For clothes we had good clothes, as we raised sheep, we had our own wool, out of which we weaved our cloth, we called the cloth 'box and dice'. "In the winter the field slaves would shell corn, cut wood and thrash wheat and take care of the stock. We had our shoes made to order by the shoe maker. "My mistress was not as well off before she married the doctor as afterward. I was small or young during my slave days, I always heard my mistress married for money and social condition. She would tell us how she used to say before she was married, when she saw the doctor coming, 'here comes old Dr. Nellums'. Another friend she would say 'here comes cozen Auckney'. "We never had any overseers on the plantation, we had an old colored man |
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