My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, both colored, and quite dark. My mother was of a darker complexion4 than either my grandmother or grandfather.
My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father; but of the correctness of this opinion, I know nothing; the means of knowing was withheld5 from me. My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age. Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off, and the child is placed under the care of an old woman, too old for field labor6. For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder the development of the child's affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child. This is the inevitable7 result.
I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night. She was hired by a Mr. Stewart, who lived about twelve miles from my home. She made her journeys to see me in the night, travelling the whole distance on foot, after the performance of her day's work. She was a field hand, and a whipping is the penalty of not being in the field at sunrise, unless a slave has special permission from his or her master to the contrary—a permission which they seldom get, and one that gives to him that gives it the proud name of being a kind master. I do not recollect8 of ever seeing my mother by the light of day. She was with me in the night. She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked she was gone. Very little communication ever took place between us. Death soon ended what little we could have while she lived, and with it her hardships and suffering. She died when I was about seven years old, on one of my master's farms, near Lee's Mill. I was not allowed to be present during her illness, at her death, or burial. She was gone long before I knew any thing about it. Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing9 presence, her tender and watchful10 care, I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.
Called thus suddenly away, she left me without the slightest intimation of who my father was. The whisper that my master was my father, may or may not be true; and, true or false, it is of but little consequence to my purpose whilst the fact remains11, in all its glaring odiousness12, that slaveholders have ordained13, and by law established, that the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers; and this is done too obviously to administer to their own lusts14, and make a gratification of their wicked desires profitable as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father.
I know of such cases; and it is worthy15 of remark that such slaves invariably suffer greater hardships, and have more to contend with, than others. They are, in the first place, a constant offence to their mistress. She is ever disposed to find fault with them; they can seldom do any thing to please her; she is never better pleased than when she sees them under the lash16, especially when she suspects her husband of showing to his mulatto children favors which he withholds17 from his black slaves. The master is frequently compelled to sell this class of his slaves, out of deference18 to the feelings of his white wife; and, cruel as the deed may strike any one to be, for a man to sell his own children to human flesh-mongers, it is often the dictate19 of humanity for him to do so; for, unless he does this, he must not only whip them himself, but must stand by and see one white son tie up his brother, of but few shades darker complexion than himself, and ply20 the gory21 lash to his naked back; and if he lisp one word of disapproval22, it is set down to his parental23 partiality, and only makes a bad matter worse, both for himself and the slave whom he would protect and defend.
Every year brings with it multitudes of this class of slaves. It was doubtless in consequence of a knowledge of this fact, that one great statesman of the south predicted the downfall of slavery by the inevitable laws of population. Whether this prophecy is ever fulfilled or not, it is nevertheless plain that a very different-looking class of people are springing up at the south, and are now held in slavery, from those originally brought to this country from Africa; and if their increase do no other good, it will do away the force of the argument, that God cursed Ham, and therefore American slavery is right. If the lineal descendants of Ham are alone to be scripturally enslaved, it is certain that slavery at the south must soon become unscriptural; for thousands are ushered24 into the world, annually25, who, like myself, owe their existence to white fathers, and those fathers most frequently their own masters.
I have had two masters. My first master's name was Anthony. I do not remember his first name. He was generally called Captain Anthony—a title which, I presume, he acquired by sailing a craft on the Chesapeake Bay. He was not considered a rich slaveholder. He owned two or three farms, and about thirty slaves. His farms and slaves were under the care of an overseer. The overseer's name was Plummer. Mr. Plummer was a miserable26 drunkard, a profane27 swearer, and a savage28 monster. He always went armed with a cowskin and a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash29 the women's heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged30 at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself. Master, however, was not a humane31 slaveholder. It required extraordinary barbarity on the part of an overseer to affect him. He was a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slaveholding. He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave. I have often been awakened32 at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks33 of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally34 covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody35 purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush36; and not until overcome by fatigue37, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember any thing. It was the first of a long series of such outrages38, of which I was doomed39 to be a witness and a participant. It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass. It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld40 it.
This occurrence took place very soon after I went to live with my old master, and under the following circumstances. Aunt Hester went out one night,—where or for what I do not know,—and happened to be absent when my master desired her presence. He had ordered her not to go out evenings, and warned her that she must never let him catch her in company with a young man, who was paying attention to her belonging to Colonel Lloyd. The young man's name was Ned Roberts, generally called Lloyd's Ned. Why master was so careful of her, may be safely left to conjecture41. She was a woman of noble form, and of graceful42 proportions, having very few equals, and fewer superiors, in personal appearance, among the colored or white women of our neighborhood.
Aunt Hester had not only disobeyed his orders in going out, but had been found in company with Lloyd's Ned; which circumstance, I found, from what he said while whipping her, was the chief offence. Had he been a man of pure morals himself, he might have been thought interested in protecting the innocence43 of my aunt; but those who knew him will not suspect him of any such virtue44. 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, entirely45 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 horrid46 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 outskirts47 of the plantation48, 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.
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1
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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5
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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6
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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7
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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8
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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9
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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10
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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11
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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12
odiousness
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| n.可憎；讨厌；可恨 | |
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13
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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14
lusts
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| 贪求（lust的第三人称单数形式） | |
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15
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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16
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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17
withholds
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| v.扣留( withhold的第三人称单数 )；拒绝给予；抑制（某事物）；制止 | |
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18
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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ply
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| v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲 | |
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gory
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| adj.流血的；残酷的 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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23
parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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29
slash
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| vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩 | |
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30
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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31
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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32
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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33
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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35
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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36
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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37
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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38
outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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39
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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40
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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41
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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42
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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43
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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44
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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45
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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46
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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47
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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48
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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