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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Mr. Severe's place was filled by a Mr. Hopkins. He was a very different man. He was less cruel, less profane, and made less noise, than Mr. Severe. His course was characterized by no extraordinary demon- strations of cruelty. He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. He was called by the slaves a good overseer. The home plantation of Colonel Lloyd wore the appearance of a country village. All the mechanical operations for all the farms were performed here. The shoemaking and mending, the blacksmithing, cartwrighting, coopering, weaving, and grain-grind- ing, were all performed by the slaves on the home plantation. The whole place wore a business-like as- pect very unlike the neighboring farms. The num- ber of houses, too, conspired to give it advantage over the neighboring farms. It was called by the slaves the ~Great House Farm.~ Few privileges were esteemed higher, by the slaves of the out-farms, than that of being selected to do errands at the Great House Farm. It was associated in their minds with greatness. A representative could not be prouder of his election to a seat in the American Congress, than a slave on one of the out-farms would be of his election to do errands at the Great House Farm. They regarded it as evidence of great confidence re- posed in them by their overseers; and it was on this account, as well as a constant desire to be out of the field from under the driver's lash, that they es- teemed it a high privilege, one worth careful living for. He was called the smartest and most trusty fel- low, who had this honor conferred upon him the most frequently. The competitors for this office sought as diligently to please their overseers, as the office-seekers in the political parties seek to please and deceive the people. The same traits of character might be seen in Colonel Lloyd's slaves, as are seen in the slaves of the political parties. The slaves selected to go to the Great House Farm, for the monthly allowance for themselves and their fellow-slaves, were peculiarly enthusiastic. While on their way, they would make the dense old woods, |
