slaves who had the getting their own
home, would not prefer to live, rather than with this Rev. Mr. Hopkins.
And yet there was not a man any where round, who made higher professions
of religion, or was more active in revivals,--more attentive to the
class, love-feast, prayer and preaching meetings, or more devotional in
his family,--that prayed earlier, later, louder, and longer,--than this
same reverend slave-driver, Rigby Hopkins.

But to return to Mr. Freeland, and to my experience while in his
employment. He, like Mr. Covey, gave us enough to eat; but, unlike Mr.
Covey, he also gave us sufficient time to take our meals. He worked us
hard, but always between sunrise and sunset. He required a good deal of
work to be done, but gave us good tools with which to work. His farm was
large, but he employed hands enough to work it, and with ease, compared
with many of his neighbors. My treatment, while in his employment, was
heavenly, compared with what I experienced at the hands of Mr. Edward
Covey.

Mr. Freeland was himself the owner of but two slaves. Their names were
Henry Harris and John Harris. The rest of his hands he hired. These
consisted of myself, Sandy Jenkins,* and Handy Caldwell.

*This is the same man who gave me the roots to prevent my
being whipped by Mr. Covey. He was "a clever soul." We used
frequently to talk about the fight with Covey, and as often
as we did so, he would claim my success as the result of the
roots which he gave me. This superstition is very common
among the more ignorant slaves. A slave seldom dies but that
his death is attributed to trickery.

Henry and John were quite intelligent, and in a very little while after
I went there, I succeeded in creating in them a strong desire to learn
how to read. This desire soon sprang up in the others also. They very
soon mustered up some old spelling-books, and nothing would do but that
I must keep a Sabbath school. I agreed to do so, and accordingly devoted
my Sundays to teaching these my loved fellow-slaves how to read. Neither
of them knew his letters when I went there. Some of the slaves of the
neighboring farms found what was going on, and also availed themselves
of this little opportunity to learn to read. It was understood, among
all who came, that there must be as little display about it as possible.
It was necessary to keep our religious masters at St. Michael's
unacquainted with the fact, that, instead