to Mr. Knox, who also was at
Newbegun Creek. The wind was fair, and the hands on board, so I
agreed; it being Christmas eve, I was glad of something to carry to my
wife. I ran the vessel down to the mouth of the creek, and anchored;
when the moon rose, I went up the river. I reached the wharf, and
commenced taking out the goods that night, and delivered them all
safely to Mr. Knox next morning. I then took the letter to Mr. Mews,
who read it, and, looking up at me, said, 'Well, you belong to me.' I
thought he was joking, and said, 'How? What way?' He said, 'Don't you
recollect when Trewitt chartered Wilson Sawyer's brig to the West
Indies?' I said, I did. He told me Trewitt then came to him to borrow
$600, which he would not lend, except he had a mortgage on me:
Trewitt was to take it up at a certain time, but never did. I asked him
whether he really took the mortgage on me. He replied that he certainly
thought Trewitt would have taken up the mortgage, but he had failed,
and was not worth a cent, and he, Mews, must have his money. I asked
him whether he had not helped me and my young mistress in the court
house, when master James fooled me before. He said he did help me all
he could, and that he should not have taken a mortgage on me, but that
he thought Trewitt would take it up. Trewitt must have received some
of the last payments from me, after he had given the mortgage, and
knew he should fail; for the mortgage was given two months before this
time.
My head seemed to turn round and round; I was quite out of my senses;
I went away towards the woods; Mr. Mews sent his waiter after me to
persuade me to go back. At first I refused, but afterwards went. He told
me he would give me another chance to buy myself, and I certainly
should have my freedom that time. He said Mr. Enoch Sawyer wanted
to buy me, to be his overseer in the Swamp. I replied I would never try
again to buy myself, and that they had already got $1,200 from me. My
wife[1] (this was my second wife) belonged to Mr. Sawyer; he told me
that her master would not allow me to go to see her, if I would not
consent to what he now proposed; for any colored person going on the
grounds of a white man, after being warned off, is liable to be flogged,
or even shot. I thus found myself forced to go, although no colored man
wishes to live at the house where his wife lives, for he has to endure the
continual misery of seeing her flogged and abused, without daring to
say a word in her defence.
In the service of Mr. Sawyer, I got into a fair way of buying myself
again; for I undertook the lightering of shingles or boards out of the
Dismal Swamp, and hired hands to assist me. But my master had
become security for his two sons-in-law at Norfolk, who failed; in
consequence of which he sold eighteen colored people, his share of the
Swamp, and two plantations. I was one of the slaves he kept, and after
that had to work in the corn-field the same as the rest. The overseer was
a bad one; his name was Brooks. The horn was blown at sunrise; the
colored people had then to march before the overseer to the field, he on
horseback. We had to work, even in long summer days, till twelve
o'clock, before we tasted a morsel, men, women, and children all being
served alike. At noon the cart appeared with our breakfast. It was in
large trays, and was set on the ground. There was bread, of which a
piece was cut off for each person; then there was small hominy boiled,
that is, Indian-corn, ground in the hand-mill, and besides this two
herrings for each of the men and women, and one for each of the
children. Our drink was the water in the ditches, whatever might be its
state; if the ditches were dry, water was brought to us by the boys. The
salt fish made us always thirsty, but no other drink than water was ever
allowed. However thirsty a slave may be, he is not allowed to leave his
employment for a moment to get water; he can only have it when the
hands in working have reached the ditch, at the end of the rows. The
overseer stood with his watch in his hand, to give us just an hour; when
he
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