When Pennington came back, he noticed his face all patched up and asked
him what was the matter with it. The overseer told him that he went down
in the field to whip the hands and that he just thought he would hit
Lucy a few licks to show the slaves that he was impartial, but she
jumped on me and like to tore me up. Old Pennington said to him, 'Well,
if that is the best you could do with her, damned if you won't just have
to take it.'
"Then they sold her to another man named Jim Bernard. Bernard did a lot
of big talk to her one morning. He said, 'Look out there and mind you do
what you told around her and step lively. If you don't, you'll get that
bull whip.' She said to him, 'Yes, and we'll both be gittin' it.' He had
heard about her; so he sold her to another man named Cleary. He was good
to her; so she wasn't sold no more after that.
"There wasn't many men could class up with her when it come to working.
She could do more work than any two men. There wasn't no use for no one
man to try to do nothin' with her. No overseer never downed her.
"They didn't kill niggers then--not in slavery times. Not 'round where
my folks were. A nigger was money. Slaves were property.
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