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understood arithmetic tolerably well as far as the Rule of Three. He
then asked me if I knew any thing of gauging; and, on my answering
that I did not, he said one of his clerks should teach me to gauge.

Mr. King dealt in all manner of merchandize, and kept from one to six
clerks. He loaded many vessels in a year; particularly to
Philadelphia, where he was born, and was connected with a great
mercantile house in that city. He had besides many vessels and
droggers, of different sizes, which used to go about the island; and
others to collect rum, sugar, and other goods. I understood pulling
and managing those boats very well; and this hard work, which was the
first that he set me to, in the sugar seasons used to be my constant
employment. I have rowed the boat, and slaved at the oars, from one
hour to sixteen in the twenty-four; during which I had fifteen pence
sterling per day to live on, though sometimes only ten pence. However
this was considerably more than was allowed to other slaves that used
to work with me, and belonged to other gentlemen on the island: those
poor souls had never more than nine pence per day, and seldom more
than six pence, from their masters or owners, though they earned them
three or four pisterines[Q]: for it is a common practice in the West
Indies for men to purchase slaves though they have not plantations
themselves, in order to let them out to planters and merchants at so
much a piece by the day, and they give what allowance they chuse out
of this produce of their daily work to their slaves for subsistence;
this allowance is often very scanty. My master often gave the owners
of these slaves two and a half of these pieces per day, and found the
poor fellows in victuals himself, because he thought their owners did
not feed them well enough according to the work they did. The slaves
used to like this very well; and, as they knew my master to be a man
of feeling, they were always glad to work for him in preference to any
other gentleman; some of whom, after they had been paid for these poor
people's labours, would not give them their allowance out of it. Many
times have I even seen these unfortunate wretches beaten for asking
for their pay; and often severely flogged by their owners if they did
not bring them their daily or weekly money exactly to the time; though
the poor creatures were obliged to wait on the gentlemen they had
worked for sometimes for more than half the day before they could get
their pay; and this generally on Sundays, when they wanted the time
for themselves. In particular, I knew a countryman of mine who once
did not bring the weekly money directly that it was earned; and though
he brought it the same day to his master, yet he was staked to the
ground for this pretended negligence, and was just going to receive a
hundred lashes, but for a gentleman who begged him off fifty. This
poor man was very industrious; and, by his frugality, had saved so

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