Previous  - next

than when we were coming from Africa, and we had plenty of rice and
fat pork. We were landed up a river a good way from the sea, about
Virginia county, where we saw few or none of our native Africans, and
not one soul who could talk to me. I was a few weeks weeding grass,
and gathering stones in a plantation; and at last all my companions
were distributed different ways, and only myself was left. I was now
exceedingly miserable, and thought myself worse off than any of the
rest of my companions; for they could talk to each other, but I had no
person to speak to that I could understand. In this state I was
constantly grieving and pining, and wishing for death rather than any
thing else. While I was in this plantation the gentleman, to whom I
suppose the estate belonged, being unwell, I was one day sent for to
his dwelling house to fan him; when I came into the room where he was
I was very much affrighted at some things I saw, and the more so as I
had seen a black woman slave as I came through the house, who was
cooking the dinner, and the poor creature was cruelly loaded with
various kinds of iron machines; she had one particularly on her head,
which locked her mouth so fast that she could scarcely speak; and
could not eat nor drink. I was much astonished and shocked at this
contrivance, which I afterwards learned was called the iron muzzle.
Soon after I had a fan put into my hand, to fan the gentleman while he
slept; and so I did indeed with great fear. While he was fast asleep I
indulged myself a great deal in looking about the room, which to me
appeared very fine and curious. The first object that engaged my
attention was a watch which hung on the chimney, and was going. I was
quite surprised at the noise it made, and was afraid it would tell the
gentleman any thing I might do amiss: and when I immediately after
observed a picture hanging in the room, which appeared constantly to
look at me, I was still more affrighted, having never seen such things
as these before. At one time I thought it was something relative to
magic; and not seeing it move I thought it might be some way the
whites had to keep their great men when they died, and offer them
libation as we used to do to our friendly spirits. In this state of
anxiety I remained till my master awoke, when I was dismissed out of
the room, to my no small satisfaction and relief; for I thought that
these people were all made up of wonders. In this place I was called
Jacob; but on board the African snow I was called Michael. I had been
some time in this miserable, forlorn, and much dejected state, without
having any one to talk to, which made my life a burden, when the kind
and unknown hand of the Creator (who in very deed leads the blind in a
way they know not) now began to appear, to my comfort; for one day the
captain of a merchant ship, called the Industrious Bee, came on some
business to my master's house.

Previous  - next