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Allen Parker's Worcester
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BY ALLEN PARKER (Worcester, Mass.: Chas. W. Burbank & Co., 1895, 96 pp) CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER V.The slaves were unlearned, for in slavery times it was considered a crime to teach a slave to read, and it was not very often that a colored person could be found who could either read or write. But what they lacked in book knowledge was sometimes made up to them in traditions. These traditions were many of them curious and unreasonable, but, nevertheless, were believed implicitly by the colored people, and often-times the white people were more or less believers in the traditions and superstitions of the colored people. It was very common for the white people to have their children cared for by colored women, whom the children used to call mammie, and not infrequently would these women remain in the family year after year, caring for the children of one generation till they grew up, and their places filled by the children of the second, and sometimes of the third, generation. As these women had most of the care of the children from their earliest days, a very strong love always existed between the children and the colored mammies; and it is not strange that the children were more or less affected by the oft-repeated stories told them by these mammas, sometimes to amuse them and at other times to frighten them into good behavior. As all the slaves believed in ghosts, the children, both black and white, were often told that unless they would be good, such and such a ghost would come and get them. One very tangible ghost was the Bogey man, who was supposed to have especial care of naughty children. Nearly all the children had a very fine belief in them until they were grown up men and women. Sometimes their faith was strengthened by the sight of a frightful figure dressed in white, with an ugly looking face, which cut up strange capers, but it nevertheless took good care to keep out of harm's way, and also not to be seen at very near distance, so as to be recognized as one of the family slaves or field hands. Another tradition was that concerning the owl, who the slaves considered their especial friend and protector. Now, the the colored man had some peculiar habits which would hardly be tolerated in good society. Not feeling that they were getting all that belonged to them, or, at least, all they wanted, they sometimes stole corn, wheat, peas, pork, mutton, or anything else they could eat, or that had a market value. What they wanted to eat was cooked in the cabin on the sly or in the night. Sometimes they were caught cooking the stolen food, which, of course, was different from their regular allowance. Then they were questioned as to where they got it, and if they could manage to make the master believe that it did not come from his plantation, nothing was said; but those guilty were punished the next day. So the slaves soon became aware that the crime was not in the stealing, but in stealing from their own masters, and getting caught at it. But when a slave had anything to sell, he had to be doubly careful. The very fact that he offered anything for sale was considered evidence that it was stolen. It was unlawful for a white man to buy anything of a slave unless he could give a good account of the source from which he got it; and as the masters themselves generally bought what the slaves had a right to sell, that is, whatever they raised by working over-time in their little yards, or, perhaps a hog or two and a few chickens they were allowed to keep, there was no occasion for the slave to offer anything for sale anywhere else. But, for all this the slaves did have things to sell, and they well knew where to sell them. There was always some poor white who would either buy the goods or sell them for the benefit of the slaves--for a consideration. As this man generally lived at some distance from this plantation, the stolen goods would have to be taken to him secretly, and in the night, for the night was the slaves' holiday. The slave would eat his supper and take a nap. He would keep very quiet until he thought that the "pattie rollers" (patrolman)had gone home, when he would quietly go to the place where he had hid his stores. Taking them in a bag, which he would throw over his shoulders, he would start for the house of the poor white. And now the owl plays his part. As he sees or hears the man he is of course disturbed, and makes much noise; but the slave believes that if he calls from the right side it is an omen of good luck, and understands the owl to say, "Hoo, hoo, hoo," and goes about his business without fear of being caught. But should the owl say, "Hoo, hoo, hoo, ha, ha," he believes that there is danger near, and hides himself at once, and will keep hid as long as the owl calls in that way. When it changes its tune to "Hoo, hoo, hoo," the slave moves on, believing that the changed calls of the owl were intended for his benefit. The slaves not only believed that the owl was their friend, and that his language was intended entirely for them, but also believed that this language was not understood by the white folks. For example, suppose a master having no overseers should send a number of slaves into the field to hoe corn, they might work well for a time, but as the day grew warm they would get tired, and perhaps stop to rest in the woods that skirted the cornfield. The owl who might happen to be near, having become accustomed to their presence, would pay no attention to them, but if a white man entered the woods he would be likely to make a different noise from that of the slaves, and the owl would at once become aware that something had happened a little different from what had been going on, and would begin to cry, "Hoo, hoo hoo," and the slaves would at once take this as a warning that somebody was near, and go to work again. If the owl cried "Hoo, hoo, hoo, ha, ha, ha," they would know that somebody was very near, and would work with all their might, until very likely their master would come in sight, and seeing them doing their best, would have no fault to find. Consequently the slave believed that he did not know that the owl had told them of his coming. The slaves, like some other laborers, would work only when obliged to, and when the horn blew for dinner or supper, they were always ready to leave their work. The mules that were used to plow and cultivate, and other kinds of farm work soon learned to know the sound of the horn as well as the slaves, and would want to stop when they heard it; so that if the master came into the field and asked the slaves why they did not finish a certain piece of work before they went to dinner, or why they had left the plow in the middle of the furrow instead of going to the end, the slaves would reply that the mule heard the dinner horn and would not work any more until he had had his dinner. There was always a kind of strife between master and slave, the master on the one hand trying to get all the work he possibly could out of the slaves at the least possible expense, and the slaves on their part trying to get out of all the work they could, and to take every possible advantage of their master, naturally feeling that all they could get out of him was but a poor sustenence for the work they did. And whenever anything in nature, such as the cry of an owl, a cloud over the moon, a rainy night, the barking of a dog, or any other circumstance seemed to aid them in carrying out their plans, they thought that it was intended especially for their benefit. RETURN TO TOP
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