Among the Pines | Page 5

hundred and fifty dollars yearly for the privilege of earning his own
support. In every way he was a remarkable negro, and my three days'
acquaintance with him banished from my mind all doubt as to the
capacity of the black for freedom, and all question as to the disposition
of the slave to strike off his chains when the favorable moment arrives.
From him I learned that the blacks, though pretending ignorance, are
fully acquainted with the questions at issue in the pending contest. He
expressed the opinion, that war would come in consequence of the
stand South Carolina had taken; and when I said to him: "But if it
comes you will be no better off. It will end in a compromise, and leave
you where you are." He answered: "No, massa, 't wont do dat. De Souf
will fight hard, and de Norf will get de blood up, and come down har,
and do 'way wid de cause ob all de trubble--and dat am de nigga."
"But," I said, "perhaps the South will drive the North back; as you say,
they will fight hard."
"Dat dey will, massa, dey'm de fightin' sort, but dey can't whip de Norf,
'cause you see dey'll fight wid only one hand. When dey fight de Norf
wid de right hand, dey'll hev to hold de nigga wid de leff."
"But," I replied, "the blacks wont rise; most of you have kind masters
and fare well."
"Dat's true, massa, but dat an't freedom, and de black lub freedom as

much as de white. De same blessed LORD made dem both, and HE
made dem all 'like, 'cep de skin. De blacks hab strong hands, and when
de day come you'll see dey hab heads, too!"
Much other conversation, showing him possessed of a high degree of
intelligence, passed between us. In answer to my question if he had a
family, he said: "No, sar. My blood shall neber be slaves! Ole massa
flog me and threaten to kill me 'cause I wouldn't take to de wimmin;
but I tole him to kill, dat 't would be more his loss dan mine."
I asked if the negroes generally felt as he did, and he told me that many
did; that nearly all would fight for their freedom if they had the
opportunity, though some preferred slavery because they were sure of
being cared for when old and infirm, not considering that if their labor,
while they were strong, made their masters rich, the same labor would
afford them provision against old age. He told me that there are in the
district of Georgetown twenty thousand blacks, and not more than two
thousand whites, and "Suppose," he added, "dat one-quarter ob dese
niggas rise--de rest keep still--whar den would de white folks be?"
"Of course," I replied, "they would be taken at a disadvantage; but it
would not be long before aid came from Charleston, and you would be
overpowered."
"No, massa, de chivarly, as you call dem, would be 'way in Virginny,
and 'fore dey hard of it Massa Seward would hab troops 'nough in
Georgetown to chaw up de hull state in less dan no time."
"But you have no leaders," I said, "no one to direct the movement.
Your race is not a match for the white in generalship, and without
generals, whatever your numbers, you would fare hardly."
To this he replied, an elevated enthusiasm lighting up his face, "De
LORD, massa, made generals ob Gideon and David, and de brack man
know as much 'bout war as dey did; p'raps," he added, with a quiet
humor, "de brack aint equal to de white. I knows most ob de great men,
like Washington and John and James and Paul, and dem ole fellers war
white, but dar war Two Sand (Tousaint L'Overture), de Brack Douglass,

and de Nigga Demus (Nicodemus), dey war brack."
The argument was unanswerable, and I said nothing. If the day which
sees the rising of the Southern blacks comes to this generation, that
negro will be among the leaders. He sang to me several of the songs
current among the negroes of the district, and though of little poetic
value, they interested me, as indicating the feelings of the slaves. The
blacks are a musical race, and the readiness with which many of them
improvise words and melody is wonderful; but I had met none who
possessed the readiness of my new acquaintance. Several of the tunes
he repeated several times, and each time with a new accompaniment of
words. I will try to render the sentiment of a few of these songs into as
good negro dialect as I am master of, but I cannot hope to repeat the
precise words, or to convey the indescribable humor