hly convinced dat de way to make
anyting by dis niggar business, is to get de work; if dey wont work
widout de whip, why, put it on! get dar steam up some way or oder, and
when one lot gibs out, get a fresh stock! I'll tell you what, sir,
Killall understands it; he'll sell dar hides for shoe leather radder dan
let his niggars stand idle!' When I hear dat, missy, my bery blood boil,
and 'pears like I couldn't keep my hands off from de villain; but I know
dat if I make any resistance, it fare all de worse wid Phillis, and I
get sent to de whippin'-place, into de bargain; so I only grind my
teeth, and look on, like I didn't know any better; but, missy, didn't I
wish I white man den, jus' for de sake ob sabin' my wife and young uns?
for I lib wid Phillis so long I couldn't help feeling 'tached to her.
Ole massa, he not 'pear to like de idea ob parting wid Phillis jus den,
for he know right well dat he not get anoder like her bery soon, and so
he tells de trader dat de niggar 'pear bery well, but as for de real
work, he got a dozen dat go ahead ob her, and if de gemman want de real
workin' niggar, dey step round de oder side de plantation; but de
trader, he keep his eye on Phillis, like he understand de business too
well to be put off dat way, and he say to massa, tell you what 'tis,
mister, dat gal may not hab de genuine work 'bout her now, but if she
get tinder old Killall's lash, dar be no trouble bout dat, and den when
she good for notin' else, after de work all out ob her, she might keep a
little ob her looks, 'nough to make her go for a hundred or so. But
massa, he not like to gib her up, and dey talk a long time togeder, and
I hears de trader say,--'de gal should square off all de old affair, wid
five hundred to boot;' till by and by massa gibs in, and de bargain was
closed, bery much to de satisfaction ob both parties. But dey not stop
to ask how we like de idea ob being separated for life! dey not tink
dat perhaps de mother find it hard to leabe her chil'en. De trader 'pear
bery much pleased wid his bargain, and he slipped a cord round Phillis's
arm, and tell her to go wid him. O, missy, dat was de awfullest minute
in my life! Poor Phillis look at de chil'en, den at me, and wid one
long, piercing shriek, dat I hear many times since, she clung round my
neck, begging me to go wid her, to sabe her from de dreadful place where
dey would take her! But afore I could say one word, the trader, wid a
dreadful curse, seize her