Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl | Page 6

you." Without saying a
word, she quietly awaited her fate. No one bid for her. At last, a feeble
voice said, "Fifty dollars." It came from a maiden lady, seventy years
old, the sister of my grandmother's deceased mistress. She had lived
forty years under the same roof with my grandmother; she knew how
faithfully she had served her owners, and how cruelly she had been
defrauded of her rights; and she resolved to protect her. The auctioneer
waited for a higher bid; but her wishes were respected; no one bid
above her. She could neither read nor write; and when the bill of sale
was made out, she signed it with a cross. But what consequence was
that, when she had a big heart overflowing with human kindness? She
gave the old servant her freedom.
At that time, my grandmother was just fifty years old. Laborious years
had passed since then; and now my brother and I were slaves to the
man who had defrauded her of her money, and tried to defraud her of
her freedom. One of my mother's sisters, called Aunt Nancy, was also a
slave in his family. She was a kind, good aunt to me; and supplied the
place of both housekeeper and waiting maid to her mistress. She was,
in fact, at the beginning and end of every thing.
Mrs. Flint, like many southern women, was totally deficient in energy.
She had not strength to superintend her household affairs; but her
nerves were so strong, that she could sit in her easy chair and see a
woman whipped, till the blood trickled from every stroke of the lash.
She was a member of the church; but partaking of the Lord's supper did
not seem to put her in a Christian frame of mind. If dinner was not
served at the exact time on that particular Sunday, she would station
herself in the kitchen, and wait till it was dished, and then spit in all the
kettles and pans that had been used for cooking. She did this to prevent
the cook and her children from eking out their meagre fare with the
remains of the gravy and other scrapings. The slaves could get nothing
to eat except what she chose to give them. Provisions were weighed out
by the pound and ounce, three times a day. I can assure you she gave
them no chance to eat wheat bread from her flour barrel. She knew how
many biscuits a quart of flour would make, and exactly what size they
ought to be.
Dr. Flint was an epicure. The cook never sent a dinner to his table

without fear and trembling; for if there happened to be a dish not to his
liking, he would either order her to be whipped, or compel her to eat
every mouthful of it in his presence. The poor, hungry creature might
not have objected to eating it; but she did not object to having her
master cram it down her throat till she choked.
They had a pet dog, that was a nuisance in the house. The cook was
ordered to make some Indian mush for him. He refused to eat, and
when his head was held over it, the froth flowed from his mouth into
the basin. He died a few minutes after. When Dr. Flint came in, he said
the mush had not been well cooked, and that was the reason the animal
would not eat it. He sent for the cook, and compelled her to eat it. He
thought that the woman's stomach was stronger than the dog's; but her
sufferings afterwards proved that he was mistaken. This poor woman
endured many cruelties from her master and mistress; sometimes she
was locked up, away from her nursing baby, for a whole day and night.
When I had been in the family a few weeks, one of the plantation slaves
was brought to town, by order of his master. It was near night when he
arrived, and Dr. Flint ordered him to be taken to the work house, and
tied up to the joist, so that his feet would just escape the ground. In that
situation he was to wait till the doctor had taken his tea. I shall never
forget that night. Never before, in my life, had I heard hundreds of
blows fall; in succession, on a human being. His piteous groans, and his
"O, pray don't, massa," rang in my ear for months afterwards. There
were many conjectures as to the cause of this terrible punishment.
Some said master accused him of stealing corn; others said the slave
had quarrelled with his wife, in presence of the overseer, and had
accused his master of being the father of her child. They were both