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The colonel also kept a splendid riding equipage.His stable and carriage-house presented the appearance of some of our large city livery establishments.His horses were of the finest form and noblest blood.His carriage-house contained three splendid coaches,three or four gigs, besides dearborns and barouchesof the most fashionable style.
This establishment was under the care of twoslaves--old Barney and young Barney--father and son.To attend to this establishment was their sole work.But it was by no means an easy employment; for innothing was Colonel Lloyd more particular than inthe management of his horses. The slightest inattention to these was unpardonable, and was visitedupon those, under whose care they were placed, withthe severest punishment; no excuse could shieldthem, if the colonel only suspected any want ofattention to his horses--a supposition which he frequently indulged, and one which, of course, madethe office of old and young Barney a very trying one.They never knew when they were safe from punishment. They were frequently whipped when leastdeserving, and escaped whipping when most deserving it. Every thing depended upon the looks of thehorses, and the state of Colonel Lloyd's own mindwhen his horses were brought to him for use. If ahorse did not move fast enough, or hold his headhigh enough, it was owing to some fault of his keepers. It was painful to stand near the stable-door,and hear the various complaints against the keeperswhen a horse was taken out for use. "This horse hasnot had proper attention. He has not been sufficiently rubbed and curried, or he has not been properly fed; his food was too wet or too dry; he got ittoo soon or too late; he was too hot or too cold; hehad too much hay, and not enough of grain; or hehad too much grain, and not enough of hay; insteadof old Barney's attending to the horse, he had veryimproperly left it to his son." To all these complaints, no matter how unjust, the slave must answer never a word. Colonel Lloyd could not brookany contradiction from a slave. When he spoke, aslave must stand, listen, and tremble; and such wasliterally the case. I have seen Colonel Lloyd makeold Barney, a man between fifty and sixty years ofage, uncover his bald head, kneel down upon thecold, damp ground, and receive upon his naked andtoil-worn shoulders more than thirty lashes at thetime. Colonel Lloyd had three sons--Edward, Murray, and Daniel,--and three sons-in-law, Mr. Winder,Mr. Nicholson, and Mr. Lowndes. All of these livedat the Great House Farm, and enjoyed the luxury ofwhipping the servants when they pleased, from oldBarney down to William Wilkes, the coach-driver.I have seen Winder make one of the house-servantsstand off from him a suitable distance to be touchedwith the end of his whip, and at every stroke raisegreat ridges upon his back.
To describe the wealth of Colonel Lloyd wouldbe almost equal to describing the riches of Job. Hekept from ten to fifteen house-servants. He was saidto own a thousand slaves, and I think this estimatequite within the truth. Colonel Lloyd owned somany that he did not know them when he saw them;nor did all the slaves of the out-farms know him. Itis reported of him, that, while riding along the roadone day, he met a colored man, and addressed himin the usual manner of speaking to colored peopleon the public highways of the south: "Well, boy,whom do you belong to?" "To Colonel Lloyd," replied the slave. "Well, does the colonel treat youwell?" "No, sir," was the ready reply. "What, doeshe work you too hard?" "Yes, sir." "Well, don't hegive you enough to eat?" "Yes, sir, he gives meenough, such as it is."
The colonel, after ascertaining where the slavebelonged, rode on; the man also went on about hisbusiness, not dreaming that he had been conversingwith his master. He thought, said, and heard nothing more of the matter, until two or three weeksafterwards. The poor man was then informed by hisoverseer that, for having found fault with his master,he was now to be sold to a Georgia trader. He wasimmediately chained and handcuffed; and thus,without a moment's warning, he was snatched away,and forever sundered, from his family and friends,by a hand more unrelenting than death. This is thepenalty of telling the truth, of telling the simpletruth, in answer to a series of plain questions.
It is partly in consequence of such facts, thatslaves, when inquired of as to their condition andthe character of their masters, almost universally saythey are contented, and that their masters are kind.The slaveholders have been known to send in spiesamong their slaves, to ascertain their views and feelings in regard to their condition. The frequency ofthis has had the effect to establish among the slavesthe maxim, that a still tongue makes a wise head.They suppress the truth rather than take the consequences of telling it, and in so doing prove themselves a part of the human family. If they have anything to say of their masters, it is generally in theirmasters' favor, especially when speaking to an untried man. I have been frequently asked, when aslave, if I had a kind master, and do not rememberever to have given a negative answer; nor did I, inpursuing this course, consider myself as uttering whatwas absolutely false; for I always measured the kindness of my master by the standard of kindness setup among slaveholders around us. Moreover, slavesare like other people, and imbibe prejudices quitecommon to others. They think their own better thanthat of others. Many, under the influence of thisprejudice, think their own masters are better thanthe masters of other slaves; and this, too, in somecases, when the very reverse is true. Indeed, it isnot uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness oftheir masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others. At the verysame time, they mutually execrate their masterswhen viewed separately. It was so on our plantation.When Colonel Lloyd's slaves met the slaves of JacobJepson, they seldom parted without a quarrel abouttheir masters; Colonel Lloyd's slaves contending thathe was the richest, and Mr. Jepson's slaves that hewas the smartest, and most of a man. Colonel Lloyd'sslaves would boast his ability to buy and sell JacobJepson. Mr. Jepson's slaves would boast his abilityto whip Colonel Lloyd. These quarrels would almostalways end in a fight between the parties, and thosethat whipped were supposed to have gained thepoint at issue. They seemed to think that the greatness of their masters was transferable to themselves.It was considered as being bad enough to be aslave; but to be a poor man's slave was deemed adisgrace indeed!
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