Good Morning POU! Today’s excerpt is from Israel Campbell’s autobiography Bond and Free: or, Yearnings for Freedom, from My Green Brier House. Being the Story of My Life in Bondage, and My Life in Freedom
CHAPTER III.
A CHANGE OF LIFE.
A CHANGE was now to take place. Hitherto my life had been passed in old master’s family, and the last three or four years had made me forget the hard treatment of his first wife. I was now about nine years old.
The estate was appraised, and mistress allowed to continue on until the first of the year. On New Year’s day we went to the auctioneer’s block, to be hired to the highest bidder for one year. This scattered my old associates far and wide, casting each among strangers, and perhaps hard masters.
I was sold to one Ezekiel Edwards, a Tanner, for ten dollars. He owned no slaves but hired all his help–so I ground tan for that year.
Mr. Edwards was not married, but boarded with a widow lady in Morganfield, Mrs. Kate Thornton, more familiarly known as Aunt Katy, who, after my day’s work was over, I used to wait on and run her errands, which in a very short time made me a great favorite with her. She had many strange ways, and had a peculiar mode of getting along cheaply, an instance of which is the following:–
Every morning she would tell me to get the pitcher and go for some cream for her coffee.
“Where must I go, Mistress Katy?”
“Go to Mrs. Townsend, and tell her I wish some cream for my coffee.”
So off I would go, and Mrs. Townsend would give her some cream. This continued until Mrs. Townsend became tired of giving her cream, and sent her what we called blue John. Then Aunt Katy raved and scolded, and said:–
“What did you bring this stuff for, you devil?”
“Mrs. Townsend gave it to me, madam,” I replied.
“You bring any more blue John here, and I will blue John you, you rascal.”
“Well, Mistress Katy, what must I do?”
“Tell her I want cream, and if she has not got it go somewhere else.”
So the next morning Aunt Katy said, “Israel, get the cream pitcher and get some cream for breakfast.”
“Where must I go, Mistress Katy?”
“Ask me where to go. Do you not know who has cows?”
Off I went to every person who had a cow, until I succeeded in getting the cream; so by the time I left Aunt Katy’s I knew every person who owned a cow in Morganfield. But never did Aunt Katy pay for any cream.