1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



181 



stronger cass, affortled bj' one of ihe slaves. As 

 the revvari.1 of assi;liioiis and delicate attention to a 

 venerated parent, in her last ilhiess, [ [>ropn!=?d to 

 purchase and liberate a heahhy and intelligent 

 woman, abojt tliirt}- years of ajje, the best nurse, 

 and, in all respects, one ot Ihe best servants in the 

 state, of which I was only part owner; but she 

 declined to leave the family, and has been since 

 rather better than free. I shall be excused for 

 Etatinfj a ludicrous case I heard of sometime afjo: 

 A fiivorite and indulged servant requested his 

 master to sell him to another gentleman. His 

 master refused to do so, but told him he was at 

 per.ect liberty to go to the north, it he were not 

 already free enougli. After a while lie repeated 

 the request; and, on being urijed to give an ex- 

 planation of his singular conduct, told his master 

 that he considered himself consumptive, and would 



soon die; and he thought Mr. B was better 



able to bear the loss than his master, fie was 

 sent to a medicinal spring, and recovered his 

 health, if indeed he had ever lost it, of which his 

 master had been unapprised. It may not be amiss 

 to describe my deportment towards mv servants, 

 whom I endeavor to render happy while I make 

 them profitable. I never turn a deaf ear, but 

 listen patently to their communications. I chat 

 familiarly with those who have passed service, or 

 have not begun to render it. With the others I 

 observe a more prudent reserve, but I encourage 

 all to approach me without awe. I hardly ever go 

 to town witliout having commissions to execute 

 for some of them; and think they prefer to employ 

 me, from a belief that, if their money should not 

 quite holdout, I would add a little to it; which I not 

 unfrequently do, in order to get a belter article. 

 The relation between myself and my slaves is de- 

 cidedly friendly. I keep up pretty exact disci- 

 pline, mingled with kindness; and hardly ever lose 

 property by thievish, or labor by runaway slaves. 

 I never lock the outer doors of my house. It is 

 done, but done by the servants; and I rarely be- 

 stow a thought on the matter. 1 leave home pe- 

 riodically for two months, and commit the dwell- 

 ing-house, plate, and other valuables to the ser- 

 vants, without even an enumeration of the arti- 

 cles. 



3d. "The duration of the labor of the slave." 

 The day is usually considered long enough. Em- 

 ployment at night is not exacted by me, except to 

 shell corn once a week for their own consumption, 

 and on a few other extraordinary occasions. The 

 people, as we generally call them, are required to 

 leave their houses at daybreak, and to work until 

 dark, with the intermission of half an hour to an 

 hour at breakfast, and one to two hours at dinner, 

 according to the season and sort of work. In this 

 respect I suppose our negroes will bear a favora- 

 ble comparison with any laborers whatever. 



4fh. "The liberty usually allowed the slave; 

 his holydays and amusements; and the way in 

 which they usually spend their evenings and holy- 

 days." They are prohibited Irom going ofi" the es- 

 tate without first obtaining lea\e; thouixh they 

 often transgress, and with impunity; except in fla- 

 grant cases. Those who have wives on other 

 plantations, visit them on certain specified nights, 

 and have an allowance of time for going and re- 

 turning, proportioned to the distance. My ne- 

 groes are permitted, and indeed encouraged, to 

 raise as many ducks and chickens as they can; to 



cultivate vegetables for their own use, and a patch 

 ol' corn for sale: to exercise their trades when they 

 possess one, which many do; to catch muskrats 

 and other animals for the fur or the flesh; to raise 

 bees, and, in fine, to earn an honest penny in any 

 way which chance or their own ingenuity may 

 offer. The modes specified are however, those 

 most commonly rcsoi'ted to, and enable provident 

 servants to make from five to thirty dollars a piece. 

 The corn is of a diiferent sort li-om that which I 

 cultivate, and is all bought by me. A great many 

 fowls are raised: I have this year known ten dol- 

 lars worth sold by one man at one time. One of 

 the chief sources of profit is the fur of the musk- 

 rat; for the purpose of catching which the marshes 

 on the estate have been parcelled out and appro- 

 priated from time immemorial, and are held by a 

 tenure little short of fee-sim[)le. The neirroesare 

 indebted to Nat Turner* and Tappan lor a cur- 

 tailrnent of some of their privileges. As a sin- 

 cere friend to the blacks, I much regretted the 

 reckless interference of these persons, on account 

 of the restrictions it has become, or been fliought 

 necessary, to impose. Since the exploit of tim 

 former hero, they have been forbidden to preach 

 except to their fellow-slaves, the property of the 

 same owner; to have public funerals, unless a 

 white person otTiciates; or to be taught to read 

 and write. Their funerals formerly gave thein 

 ixreat satisfaction, and it was customary here to fur- 

 nish the relations of the deceased with bacon, 

 spirit, flour, sugar, and butter, with which a grand 

 entertainment, in their way, was got up. We 

 were once much amused by a hearty fellow re- 

 questing his mistress to let him have his funeral 

 (luring his lifetime, when it would do him some 

 good. The waggish request was granted; and, 

 I venture to say, there never was a fiineral, the 

 subject of which enjoyed it so much. When per- 

 mitted, some of our negroes preached with great 

 fluency. I vvas present a tew years since wdien an 

 Episcopal minister addressed the people, by ap- 

 pointment. On the conclusion of an excellent 

 sermon, a negro preacher rose and thanked the 

 gentleman kindly for his discourse, but frankly 

 told him the congregation "did not understand his 

 lingo.'''' He then proceeded himselfjwith great ve- 

 hemence and volubility, coining words where they 

 had not been made to his hand, or rather his 

 tongue, and impressing his hearers, doubtless, with 

 a decided opinion of his superiority over his white 

 co-laborer in the field of grace. My brother and 

 I, who own contiguous estates, have lately erected 

 a chapel on the line between them, and have em- 

 ployed an acceptable minister of the Baptist per- 

 suasion, to which tf.e negroes almost exclusively 

 belong, to afford them religious instruction. Ex- 

 cept as a preparatory step to emancipation, I con- 

 sider it exceedingly impolitic, even as regards the 

 slaves ttiemselves, to permit them to read and 

 write: "Where ignorance is bliss," "tisfolly to be 

 wise." And it is certainly impolitic as regards 

 their masters, on the principle that "knowledge is 

 power." My servants have not as long holydays 

 as those of most other persons. I allow three 

 da3^s at Christmas, and a day at each of throe 



* The leader of the insurrection in Lower Virginia, 

 in whicli upwards of a hnndred white persons, princi- 

 pally women and chUdren, were massacred in cold 

 blood. 



