Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass | Page 9

will not suspect him of any such virtue. Before he commenced
whipping Aunt Hester, he took her into the kitchen, and stripped her
from neck to waist, leaving her neck, shoulders, and back, entirely
naked. He then told her to cross her hands, calling her at the same time
a d----d b---h. After crossing her hands, he tied them with a strong rope,
and led her to a stool under a large hook in the joist, put in for the
purpose. He made her get upon the stool, and tied her hands to the hook.
She now stood fair for his infernal purpose. Her arms were stretched up
at their full length, so that she stood upon the ends of her toes. He then
said to her, "Now, you d----d b---h, I'll learn you how to disobey my
orders!" and after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the
heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending
shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor.
I was so terrified and horror-stricken at the sight, that I hid myself in a
closet, and dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction
was over. I expected it would be my turn next. It was all new to me. I
had never seen any thing like it before. I had always lived with my
grandmother on the outskirts of the plantation, where she was put to
raise the children of the younger women. I had therefore been, until
now, out of the way of the bloody scenes that often occurred on the

plantation.

CHAPTER II
My master's family consisted of two sons, Andrew and Richard; one
daughter, Lucretia, and her husband, Captain Thomas Auld. They lived
in one house, upon the home plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd. My
master was Colonel Lloyd's clerk and superintendent. He was what
might be called the overseer of the overseers. I spent two years of
childhood on this plantation in my old master's family. It was here that
I witnessed the bloody transaction recorded in the first chapter; and as I
received my first impressions of slavery on this plantation, I will give
some description of it, and of slavery as it there existed. The plantation
is about twelve miles north of Easton, in Talbot county, and is situated
on the border of Miles River. The principal products raised upon it
were tobacco, corn, and wheat. These were raised in great abundance;
so that, with the products of this and the other farms belonging to him,
he was able to keep in almost constant employment a large sloop, in
carrying them to market at Baltimore. This sloop was named Sally
Lloyd, in honor of one of the colonel's daughters. My master's
son-in-law, Captain Auld, was master of the vessel; she was otherwise
manned by the colonel's own slaves. Their names were Peter, Isaac,
Rich, and Jake. These were esteemed very highly by the other slaves,
and looked upon as the privileged ones of the plantation; for it was no
small affair, in the eyes of the slaves, to be allowed to see Baltimore.
Colonel Lloyd kept from three to four hundred slaves on his home
plantation, and owned a large number more on the neighboring farms
belonging to him. The names of the farms nearest to the home
plantation were Wye Town and New Design. "Wye Town" was under
the overseership of a man named Noah Willis. New Design was under
the overseership of a Mr. Townsend. The overseers of these, and all the
rest of the farms, numbering over twenty, received advice and direction
from the managers of the home plantation. This was the great business
place. It was the seat of government for the whole twenty farms. All

disputes among the overseers were settled here. If a slave was
convicted of any high misdemeanor, became unmanageable, or evinced
a determination to run away, he was brought immediately here,
severely whipped, put on board the sloop, carried to Baltimore, and
sold to Austin Woolfolk, or some other slave-trader, as a warning to the
slaves remaining.
Here, too, the slaves of all the other farms received their monthly
allowance of food, and their yearly clothing. The men and women
slaves received, as their monthly allowance of food, eight pounds of
pork, or its equivalent in fish, and one bushel of corn meal. Their yearly
clothing consisted of two coarse linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers,
like the shirts, one jacket, one pair of trousers for winter, made of
coarse negro cloth, one pair of stockings, and one pair of shoes; the
whole of which could not have cost more than seven dollars. The
allowance of the slave children was given to their mothers, or the old