第46章 Chapter XIII.(3)

　　Such a hard， cruel， unjust man is Edwin Epps.

　　There was but one greater savage on Bayou Boeufthan he. Jim Burns’ plantation was cultivated， as alreadymentioned， exclusively by women. That barbarian kepttheir backs so sore and raw， that they could not performthe customary labor demanded daily of the slave. Heboasted of his cruelty， and through all the country roundwas accounted a more thorough-going， energetic manthan even Epps. A brute himself， Jim Burns had not aparticle of mercy for his subject brutes， and like a fool，whipped and scourged away the very strength uponwhich depended his amount of gain.

　　Epps remained on Huff Power two years， when， havingaccumulated a considerable sum of money， he expendedit in the purchase of the plantation on the east bank ofBayou Boeuf， where he still continues to reside. He tookpossession of it in 1845， after the holidays were passed.

　　He carried thither with him nine slaves， all of whom，except myself， and Susan， who has since died， remainthere yet. He made no addition to this force， and for eightyears the following were my companions in his quarters，viz： Abram， Wiley， Phebe， Bob， Henry， Edward， and Patsey.

　　All these， except Edward， born since， were purchased outof a drove by Epps during the time he was overseer forArchy B. Williams， whose plantation is situated on theshore of Red River， not far from Alexandria.

　　Abram was tall， standing a full head above anycommon man. He is sixty years of age， and was born inTennessee. Twenty years ago， he was purchased by atrader， carried into South Carolina， and sold to JamesBuford， of Williamsburgh county， in that State. In hisyouth he was renowned for his great strength， but age andunremitting toil have somewhat shattered his powerfulframe and enfeebled his mental faculties.

　　Wiley is forty-eight. He was born on the estate， ofWilliam Tassle， and for many years took charge of thatgentleman’s ferry over the Big Black River， in SouthCarolina.

　　Phebe was a slave of Buford， Tassle’s neighbor， andhaving married Wiley， he bought the latter， at her instigation.

　　Buford was a kind master， sheriff of the county， and inthose days a man of wealth.

　　Bob and Henry are Phebe’s children， by a formerhusband， their father having been abandoned to giveplace to Wiley. That seductive youth had insinuatedhimself into Phebe’s affections， and therefore the faithlessspouse had gently kicked her first husband out of hercabin door. Edward had been born to them on BayouHuff Power.

　　Patsey is twenty-three—also from Buford’s plantation.

　　She is in no wise connected with the others， but gloriesin the fact that she is the offspring of a “Guinea nigger，”

　　brought over to Cuba in a slave ship， and in the course oftrade transferred to Buford， who was her mother’s owner.

　　This， as I learned from them， is a genealogical accountof my master’s shaves. For years they had been together.

　　Often they recalled the memories of other days， andsighed to retrace their steps to the old home in Carolina.

　　Troubles came upon their master Buford， which broughtfar greater troubles upon them. He became involved indebt， and unable to bear up against his failing fortunes，was compelled to sell these， and others of his slaves.

　　In a chain gang they had been driven from beyond theMississippi to the plantation of Archy B. Williams. EdwinEpps， who， for a long while had been his driver andoverseer， was about establishing himself in business onhis own account， at the time of their arrival， and acceptedthem in payment of his wages.