Slave Life in Georgia - African American History

Slave Life in Georgia 62
last embrace. Even the poor, dear, little children, who are crying and wringing
their hands after "daddy and mammy," are not allowed to exchange with them a
parting caress. Nature, however, will not be thus controlled, and in spite of the
terrors of the paddle and the cow-hide, the most fearful scenes of anguish and
confusion too often take place, converting the auction-room into a perfect
Bedlam of despair. I cannot think of it without a cold shiver. I often dream of it,
and as often dwell upon it in the day-time.
Oh, that the fine ladies of England could see with my eyes!
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CHAPTER XIII.
I AM ONCE MORE SOLD.
I HAD been sold to Freeman under the name of Benford, by which name I was
known during the time I remained in the pen, and here, therefore, I lost that of
Fed. The very same evening of the day on which I became Freeman's property,
the young man who had sold me to him, came to the pen, on a pretence of
business. He soon found me out, and asked me to run off with him to Mobile. I
refused to do so. I felt afraid, and did not want to incur the risk of encountering
fresh difficulties, let alone that I had my own plan of escape to carry out. I
noticed that he was better dressed than when I met him in the morning, so I
concluded he had rigged himself out afresh with some of the money he had
received for me. He saw I was determined not to fall in with his proposal, so he
did not press it. He kept on talking to me, however, about indifferent matters, I
wondering what he wanted, when I observed that his attention seemed directed
to
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Freeman and Mac Cargo, (whom I have already mentioned,) and who were
playing cards in the gambling saloon. Every now and then, Mac Cargo, who
lost, would run across into his own room, and take a handful of gold out of his
trunk, with which he would return, to stake and play again. We could see all this
very plainly, as the rooms were on the same landing. The young man then set
me to watch, giving me instructions to cough if any body stirred, and I saw him
go into Mac Cargo's chamber, straight to the trunk, the lid of which he lifted just
24.03.2006