Twelve Years a Slave
be his natural disposition, it cannot well be otherwise than that, on
arriving at maturity, the sufferings and miseries of the slave will be
looked upon with entire indifference. The influence of the iniquitous
system necessarily fosters an unfeeling and cruel spirit, even in the
bosoms of those who, among their equals, are regarded as humane and
generous.
Young Master Epps possessed some noble qualities, yet no process
of reasoning could lead him to comprehend, that in the eye of the
Almighty there is no distinction of color. He looked upon the black
man simply as an animal, differing in no respect from any other
animal, save in the gift of speech and the possession of somewhat
higher instincts, and, therefore, the more valuable. To work like his
father's mules--to be whipped and kicked and scourged through life--to
address the white man with hat in hand, and eyes bent servilely on
the earth, in his mind, was the natural and proper destiny of the
slave. Brought up with such ideas--in the notion that we stand without
the pale of humanity--no wonder the oppressors of my people are a
pitiless and unrelenting race.
CHAPTER XIX.
AVERY, OF BAYOU ROUGE--PECULIARITY OF DWELLINGS--EPPS BUILDS
A NEW HOUSE--BASS, THE CARPENTER--HIS NOBLE QUALITIES--HIS
PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND ECCENTRICITIES--BASS AND EPPS DISCUSS
THE QUESTION OF SLAVERY--EPPS' OPINION OF BASS--I MAKE MYSELF
KNOWN TO HIM--OUR CONVERSATION--HIS SURPRISE--THE MIDNIGHT
MEETING ON THE BAYOU BANK--BASS' ASSURANCES--DECLARES WAR
AGAINST SLAVERY--WHY I DID NOT DISCLOSE MY HISTORY--BASS WRITES
LETTERS--COPY OF HIS LETTER TO MESSRS. PARKER AND PERRY--THE FEVER OF
SUSPENSE--DISAPPOINTMENTS--BASS ENDEAVORS TO CHEER ME--MY FAITH IN
HIM.
In the month of June, 1852, in pursuance of a previous contract, Mr.
Avery, a carpenter of Bayou Rouge, commenced the erection of a house
for Master Epps. It has previously been stated that there are no
cellars on Bayou Boeuf; on the other hand, such is the low and swampy
nature of the ground, the great houses are usually built upon spiles.
Another peculiarity is, the rooms are not plastered, but the ceiling
and sides are covered with matched cypress boards, painted such color
as most pleases the owner's taste. Generally the plank and boards are
sawed by slaves with whip-saws, there being no waterpower upon which
mills might be built within many miles. When the planter erects for
himself a dwelling, therefore, there is plenty of extra work for his
slaves. Having had some experience under Tibeats as a carpenter, I was
taken from the field altogether, on the arrival of Avery and his hands.
Among them was one to whom I owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude.
Only for him, in all probability, I should have ended my days in
slavery. He was my deliverer--a man whose true heart overflowed with
noble and generous emotions. To the last moment of my existence I
shall remember him with feelings of thankfulness. His name was Bass,
and at that time he resided in Marksville. It will be difficult to
convey a correct impression of his appearance or character. He was a
large man, between forty and fifty years old, of light complexion and
light hair. He was very cool and self-possessed, fond of argument, but
always speaking with extreme deliberation. He was that kind of person
whose peculiarity of manner was such that nothing he uttered ever gave
offence. What would be intolerable, coming from the lips of another,
could be said by him with impunity. There was not a man on Red River,
perhaps, that agreed with him on the subject of politics or religion,
and not a man, I venture to say, who discussed either of those
subjects half as much. It seemed to be taken for granted that he would
espouse the unpopular side of every local question, and it always
created amusement rather than displeasure among his auditors, to
listen to the ingenious and original manner in which he maintained the
controversy. He was a bachelor--an "old bachelor," according to the
true acceptation of the term--having no kindred living, as he knew of,
in the world. Neither had he any permanent abiding place--wandering
from one State to another, as his fancy dictated. He had lived in
Marksville three or four years, and in the prosecution of his business
as a carpenter; and in consequence, likewise, of his peculiarities,
was quite extensively known throughout the parish of Avoyelles. He
was liberal to a fault; and his many acts of kindness and transparent
goodness of heart rendered him popular in the community, the sentiment
of which he unceasingly combated.
He was a native of Canada, from whence he had wandered in early life,
and after visiting all the principal localities in the northern and
western States, in the course of his peregrinations, arrived in
the unhealthy region of the Red River. His last removal was from
Illinois. Whither he has now gone, I regret to be obliged to say, is
unknown to me. He gathered up his effects and departed quietly from
Marksville the day before I did, the suspicions of his instrumentality
in procuring my liberation rendering such a step necessary. For the
commission of a just and righteous act he would undoubtedly have
suffered death, had he remained within reach of the slave-whipping
tribe on Bayou Boeuf.
One day, while working on the new house, Bass and Epps became engaged
in a controversy, to which, as will be readily supposed, I listened
with absorbing interest. They were discussing the subject of Slavery.
"I tell you what it is Epps," said Bass, "it's all wrong--all wrong,
sir--there's no justice nor righteousness in it. I wouldn't own a
slave if I was rich as Croesus, which I am not, as is perfectly well
understood, more particularly among my creditors. _There's_ another
humbug--the credit system--humbug, sir; no credit--no debt. Credit
leads a man into temptation. Cash down is the only thing that will
deliver him from evil. But this question of _Slavery_; what _right_
have you to your niggers when you come down to the point?"
"What right!" said Epps, laughing; "why, I bought 'em, and paid for
'em."
"Of _course_ you did; the law says you have the right to hold a
nigger, but begging the law's pardon, it _lies_. Yes, Epps, when the
law says that it's a _liar_, and the truth is not in it. Is every
thing right because the law allows it? Suppose they'd pass a law
taking away your liberty and making you a slave?"
"Oh, that ain't a supposable case," said Epps, still laughing; "hope
you don't compare me to a nigger, Bass."
"Well," Bass answered gravely, "no, not exactly. But I have seen
niggers before now as good as I am, and I have no acquaintance with
any white man in these parts that I consider a whit better than
myself. Now, in the sight of God, what is the difference, Epps,
between a white man and a black one?"
"All the difference in the world," replied Epps. "You might as well
ask what the difference is between a white man and a baboon. Now,
I've seen one of them critters in Orleans that knowed just as much as
any nigger I've got. You'd call them feller citizens, I s'pose?"--and
Epps indulged in a loud laugh at his own wit.
"Look here, Epps," continued his companion; "you can't laugh me down
in that way. Some men are witty, and some ain't so witty as they think
they are. Now let me ask you a question. Are all men created free and
equal as the Declaration of Independence holds they are?"
"Yes," responded Epps, "but all men, niggers, and monkeys _ain't_;"
and hereupon he broke forth into a more boisterous laugh than before.
"There are monkeys among white people as well as black, when you
come to that," coolly remarked Bass. "I know some white men that use
arguments no sensible monkey would. But let that pass. These niggers
are human beings. If they don't know as much as their masters, whose
fault is it? They are not _allowed_ to know anything. You have books
and papers, and can go where you please, and gather intelligence
in a thousand ways. But your slaves have no privileges. You'd whip
one of them if caught reading a book. They are held in bondage,
generation after generation, deprived of mental improvement, and who
can expect them to possess much knowledge? If they are not brought
down to a level with the brute creation, you slaveholders will never
be blamed for it. If they are baboons, or stand no higher in the
scale of intelligence than such animals, you and men like you will
have to answer for it. There's a sin, a fearful sin, resting on this
nation, that will not go unpunished forever. There will be a reckoning
yet--yes, Epps, there's a day coming that will burn as an oven. It may
be sooner or it may be later, but it's a coming as sure as the Lord is
just."
"If you lived up among the Yankees in New-England," said Epps, "I
expect you'd be one of them cursed fanatics that know more than the
constitution, and go about peddling clocks and coaxing niggers to run
away."
"If I was in New-England," returned Bass, "I would be just what I
am here. I would say that Slavery was an iniquity, and ought to be
abolished. I would say there was no reason nor justice in the law, or
the constitution that allows one man to hold another man in bondage.
It would be hard for you to lose your property, to be sure, but it
wouldn't be half as hard as it would be to lose your liberty. You
have no more right to your freedom, in exact justice, than Uncle
Abram yonder. Talk about black skin, and black blood; why, how many
slaves are there on this bayou as white as either of us? And what
difference is there in the color of the soul? Pshaw! the whole system
is as absurd as it is cruel. You may own niggers and behanged, but I
wouldn't own one for the best plantation in Louisiana."
"You like to hear yourself talk, Bass, better than any man I know of.
You would argue that black was white, or white black, if any body
would contradict you. Nothing suits you in this world, and I don't
believe you will be satisfied with the next, if you should have your
choice in them."
Conversations substantially like the foregoing were not unusual
between the two after this; Epps drawing him out more for the purpose
of creating a laugh at his expense, than with a view of fairly
discussing the merits of the question. He looked upon Bass, as a man
ready to say anything merely for the pleasure of hearing his own
voice; as somewhat self-conceited, perhaps, contending against his
faith and judgment, in order, simply, to exhibit his dexterity in
argumentation.
He remained at Epps' through the summer, visiting Marksville generally
once a fortnight. The more I saw of him, the more I became convinced
he was a man in whom I could confide. Nevertheless, my previous
ill-fortune had taught me to be extremely cautious. It was not my
place to speak to a white man except when spoken to, but I omitted no
opportunity of throwing myself in his way, and endeavored constantly
in every possible manner to attract his attention. In the early part
of August he and myself were at work alone in the house, the other
carpenters having left, and Epps being absent in the field. Now was
the time, if ever, to broach the subject, and I resolved to do it, and
submit to whatever consequences might ensue. We were busily at work in
the afternoon, when I stopped suddenly and said--
"Master Bass, I want to ask you what part of the country you came
from?"
"Why, Platt, what put that into your head?" he answered. "You wouldn't
know if I should tell you." After a moment or two he added--"I was
born in Canada; now guess where that is."
"Oh, I know where Canada is," said I, "I have been there myself."
"Yes, I expect you are well acquainted all through that country," he
remarked, laughing incredulously.