Dat terrible, sar. De
husban' sold to Alabama, de wife to Carolina, de children scattered
trough de States. Dis too bad, sar, dis make ob slabery a curse to
de black men.
"Well, sar, we all sold. Me fetch high price and sold to a planter
in Missouri. Sam no like dat. Dat a long way from the frontier.
Tree years Sam work dar in plantation. Den he sold again to a man
who hab boats on de riber at New Orleans. Dar Sam work discharging
de ships and working de barges. Dar he come to learn for sure which
de British flag. De times were slack, and my massa hire me out to
be waiter in a saloon. Dat place dey hab dinners, and after dinner
dey gamble. Dat war a bad place, mos' ebery night quarrels, and
sometimes de pistols drawn, and de bullets flying about. Sam 'top
dar six months; de place near de riber, and de captains ob de ships
often come to dine.
"One young fellow come bery often, and one day Sam saw tree or
four men he knew to be Texas horse dealers talking wid him. Now dis
young captain had been bery friendly wid Sam; always speak cibil
and gib him quarter for himself, and Sam sorry to see dose chaps
get hold ob him. Dis went on for two or tree days, till one ebening
de captain, instead of going away after dinner, stopped talking to
dese follows.
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