or sure widin two or three year, for when I young man I no
keep account. My fader was de chief of dis village, just as I am now,
but de village was not like dis. It was not so big, and was berry dirty
and berry poor, just like the oder nigger villages. Well, sar, dere am
nothing perticlar to tell about de first years of my life. I jus' dirty
little naked nigger like de rest. Dose were berry bad times. Ebery one
fight against ebery one else. Ebery one take slabes and send dem down de
river, and sell to white men dere to carry ober sea. When I grow up
to seventeen, I s'pose, I take spear and go out wid de people of dis
village and de oder villages of dis part ob country under king, and
fight against oder villages and carry the people away as slabes. All
berry bad business dat. But Sam he tink nothing, and just do the same as
oder people. Sometimes oder tribes come and fight against our villages
and carry our people away. So it happened to Sam.

"Jus' when he about twenty years old we had come back from a long
'spedition. Dis village got its share ob slabes, and we drink and sing
and make merry wid de palm tree wine and tink ourselves berry grand
fellows. Well, sar, dat night great hullyballoo in de village. De dogs
bark, de men shout and seize deir arms and run out to fight, but it no
good. Anoder tribe fall on us ten times as many as we. We fight hard but
no use. All de ole men and de ole women and de little babies dat no good
to sell dey killed, and de rest of us, de men and de women and de boys
and girls, we tied together and march away wid de people dat had taken
us.

"Berry bad time dat, sar. De season was dry and de water scarce. We
make long march ebery day, and berry little food given. Dey beat us wid
sticks and prod us wid spear to make us go. A good many ob de weak ones
dey die, but de most ob us arribe at mouth ob riber; me neber know what
riber dat was, but we were berry nigh two months in getting dere. By
dis time Sam arribe at the conclusion berry strong, dat de burning ob
villages and carrying off ob slabes berry bad affair altogether. Sam hab
changed his mind about a great many things, but about dat he am fixed
right up to dis time.

"Well, at de mouth ob dat riber Sam saw de white man for de first time;
and me tell you fair, sar, Sam not like him no way. Dey were Spanish
men, and de way dey treat us poor niggers was someting awful. We huddle
up night and day in a big shed dey call a barracoon. Dey gabe