My Life in the South | Page 8

horse, if it threw me he
would whip me, if it were five times a day. So I did not gain anything
by refusing to bring switches for him to whip me with.
One very cold morning in the month of March, I came from home
without washing my face, and Mr. Young made two of the slave boys
take me down to a pond where the horses and mules used to drink; they
threw me into the water and rubbed my face with sand until it bled,
then I was made to run all the way to the stable, which was about a
quarter of a mile. This cruel treatment soon hardened me so that I did
not care for him at all.
A short time afterwards I was sent with the other boys about four or
five miles from home, up the public road, to practice the horse, and
they gave me a very wild animal to ride, which threw me very often.
Mr. Young did not go with us, but sent a colored groom every morning,
who was very faithful to every task alloted him; he was instructed to
whip me every time the horse threw me while away from home. I got
many little floggings by the colored groom, as the horse threw me, a
great many times, but the floggings I got from him were very feeble
compared with those of the white man; hence I was better content to go
away with the colored groom than to be at home where I should have
worse punishment.
But the time was coming when they ceased to whip me for being
thrown by horses. One day, as I was riding along the road, the horse
that I was upon darted at the sight of a bird, which flew across the way,
throwing me upon a pile of brush. The horse stepped on my cheek, and
the head of a nail in his shoe went through my left cheek and broke a
tooth, but it was done so quickly that I hardly felt it. It happened that he
did not step on me with his whole weight, if he had my jaw would have
been broken. When I got up the colored groom was standing by me, but
he could not whip me when he saw the blood flowing from my mouth,

so he took me down to the creek, which was but a short distance from
the place, and washed me, and then taking me home, sent for a doctor,
who dressed the wound.
When Mr. Young saw my condition, he asked how it was done, and
upon being told he said it ought to have killed me. After the doctor had
dressed my face, of course I went home, thinking they would allow me
to stay until I got well, but I had no sooner arrived than the groom sent
for me; I did not answer, as my jaw pained me very much. When he
found that I did not come, he came after me himself, and said if I did
not come to the stable right away, he would whip me, so I went with
him. He did not whip me while I was in that condition, but he would
not let me lie down, so I suffered very much from exposure.
When mother came that night from the farm and saw my condition, she
was overcome with grief; she said to father, "this wound is enough to
kill the child, and that merciless man will not let him lie down until he
gets well: this is too hard." Father said to her, "I know it is very hard,
but what can we do? for if we try to keep this boy in the house it will
cause us trouble." Mother said, "I wish they would take him out of the
world, then he would be out of pain, and we should not have to fret
about him, for he would be in heaven." Then she took hold of me and
said, "Does it hurt you, son?" meaning my face, and I said, "Yes,
mamma," and she shed tears; but she had no little toys to give me to
comfort me; she could only promise me such as she had, which were
eggs and chickens.
Father did not show his grief for me as mother did, but he tried to
comfort mother all he could, and at times would say to me, "Never
mind, my son, you will be a man bye and bye," but he did not know
what was passing through my mind at that time. Though I was very
small I thought that if, while a boy, my treatment was so severe, it
would be much worse when I became a man,