Part 16 (2/2)

Our rations, on this place, were a half peck of corn per week; in addition to which, we had rather more than a peck of sweet potatoes allowed to each person Our provisions were distributed to us on every Sunday enerally present, either to see that justice was done to us, or that injustice was not done to himself

When I had been here about a week,near ood hands, as it was his practice not to whip his people much

That he, in truth, never whipped therant cases That he had discovered a mode of punishment much more ; and that he governed his negroes exclusively under this mode of discipline He then toldI must come to the house; and that he would then make me acquainted with the principles upon which he chastised his slaves

Going to the house in the evening, according to orders, my master showed me a pump, set in a well in which the water rose within ten feet of the surface of the ground The spout of this pump was elevated at least thirteen feet above the earth, and when the water was to be drawn from it, the person orked the handle ascended by a ladder to the proper station--The water in this well, although so near the surface, was very cold; and the pue stream One of the women employed in the house, had committed some offence for which she was to be punished; and the opportunity was e to me the effect of this novel mode of torture upon the human frame The woman was stripped quite naked, and tied to a post that stood just under the stream of water, as it fell from the spout of the pump A lad was then ordered to ascend the ladder, and pump water upon the head and shoulders of the victim; who had not been under the waterfall an to cry and scream in a most lath, in theto escape fro, this was impossible After another minute or a little more, her cries became weaker, and soon afterwards her head fell forward upon her breast; and then the boy was ordered to cease pu the water The woman was removed in a state of insensibility; but recovered her faculties in about an hour The next o to work

This punishment of the pump, as it is called, was never inflicted on me; and I am only able to describe it, as it has been described to me, by those who have endured it

When the water first strikes the head and arms, it is not at all painful; but in a very short time, it produces the sensation that is felt when heavy blows are inflicted with large rods, of the size of a er This perception becomes more and more painful, until the skull bone and shoulder blades appear to be broken in pieces Finally, all the faculties beco becoht becomes dim, and animation ceases This punishment is in fact a temporary murder; as all the pains are endured, that can be felt by a person who is deprived of life by being beaten with bludgeons; but after the punishment of the pu laid in a bed, and covered ariddiness of the head, and oppression of the breast, follows this operation, for a day or two, and so me to be a witness of this new mode of torture, doubtlessly, was to inti away; but like medicines administered by empirics, the spectacle had precisely the opposite effect, from that which it was expected to produce

After my arrival on this estate, my intention had been to defer my elopement until the next year, before I had seen the torture inflicted on this unfortunate woman; but from that moment my resolution was unalterably fixed, to escape as quickly as possible Such was , at this time, that I deliberated seriously upon the project of endeavoring tothe Indians in Florida Fortune reserved a ht after the wo fro, by means of a coarse needle and thread that I borrowed of one of the black wo, when our weekly rations were distributed to us, , under pretence of fears that it would be stolen from ed in

This day being Sunday, I did not go to the field to work as usual, on that day, but under pretence of being unwell, remained in the kitchen all day, to be better prepared for the toils of the following night

After daylight had totally disappeared, taking rind my corn, I stole softly across the cotton fields to the nearest woods, and taking an observation of the stars, directed my course to the eastward, resolved that in no event should anything induce h road, until at least one hundred h the whole of this night, andwith no swamps, or briery thickets in ht the plantation was more than thirty miles behind me

Twenty years before this I had been in Savannah, and noted at that ti in and loading cotton My plan was now to reach Savannah, in the best way I could, by some means to be devised after e to some of the northern cities

When day appeared before e cotton field, and before the woods could be reached, it was gray dawn; but the forest bordering on the field was large, and afforded e thicket of swamp laurel that lay at the distance of a quarter of a mile from the field It now became necessary to kindle a fire, for allof corn and potatoes, was raw and undressed Less fortunate now than in ht, no fire apparatus was in my possession, and driven at last to the extre two sticks together, and spent at least two hours of incessant toil, in this vain operation, without the least prospect of success Abandoning this project at length, I turnedfor a stone of some kind, hich to endeavor to extract fire from an old jack-knife, that had been my companion in Maryland for more than three years My labors were fruitless No stone could be found in this swaer, a fe potatoes being th ca labors

Avoiding with the ut ht, I ht Awhile before day, in crossing a field, I fortunately cae pebbles, on the side of a hill Several of these were deposited in , which enabled me when day arrived to procure fire, hich I parched corn and roasted potatoes sufficient to subsist ht of hway, that appeared to be much traveled

Near the side of this road I established my quarters for the day in a thick pine wood, for the purpose ofobservations upon the people who traveled it, and of judging thence of the part of the country to which it led

Soon after daylight a wagon passed along, drawn by oxen, and loaded with bales of cotton; then followed some white ons and carts, all loaded with bales of cotton, passed by, following the wagon first seen by ons and carts passed along this road towards the south-east, all laden with cotton bales; and at least an equal number came towards the west, either laden with casks of various dimensions, or entirely ereat numbers of persons on foot, also passed to and fro on this road, in the course of the day

All these indications satisfied e town, the seat of an extensive cotton market The next consideration with me was to kno far it was to this town, for which purpose I deter in the woods until about eleven o'clock, I rose, caht, at which time the country around me appeared almost wholly clear of timber; and houses became much more numerous than they had been in the fors continued to wear this aspect until daylight, when I stopped, and sat down by the side of a high fence that stood beside the road After reon laden with cotton passed along, drawn by oxen, whose driver, a blackanswered in the affiron I told hiht, and should be very thankful to hi s of cotton

In this manner we traveled on for about two hours, e entered the town of Savannah Inme to be a runaway slave; for no runaway had ever been known to flee froe in Savannah

The h several of the principal streets of the city, and stopped his tea into the river Here I assisted my new friend to unload his cotton, and ere done he invitedof corn bread, roasted potatoes, and some cold boiled rice

Whilst ere at our breakfast, a blackthe street, and asked us if we knehere he could hire a hand, to help him to work a day or two I at once replied that my master had sent me to town to hire o with hi ees was forgotten Bidding farewell to thehim in my heart for his kindness, I followed ed to ree warehouse, to the end of a wharf at which a shi+p lay, that was taking in the cotton as a load

This man was a slave, but hired his time of his master at two hundred and fifty dollars a year, which he said he paid in monthly instalments