第45章 Chapter XIII.(2)
The younger children， and the aged， who had becomeinactive， suffered then. In the midst of， the confusion hewould slily take his stand behind a cabin， waiting withraised whip， to dash it into the first black face that peepedcautiously around the corner.
At other times he would come home in a less brutalhumor. Then there must be a merry-making. Then allmust move to the measure of a tune. Then Master Eppsmust needs regale his melodious ears with the musicof a fiddle. Then did he become buoyant， elastic， gaily“tripping the light fantastic toe” around the piazza and allthorough the house.
Tibeats， at the time of my sale， had informed him Icould play on the violin. He had received his information161
from Ford. Through the importunities of Mistress Epps，her husband had been induced to purchase me oneduring a visit to New-Orleans. Frequently I was calledinto the house to play before the family， mistress beingpassionately fond of music.
All of us would be assembled in the large room ofthe great house， whenever Epps came home in one ofhis dancing moods. No matter how worn out and tiredwe were， there must be a general dance. When properlystationed on the floor， I would strike up a tune.
“Dance， you d—d niggers， dance，” Epps would shout.
Then there must be no halting or delay， no slow orlanguid movements； all must be brisk， and lively， andalert. “Up and down， heel and toe， and away we go，” wasthe order of the hour. Epps’ portly form mingled withthose of his dusky slaves， moving rapidly through all themazes of the dance.
Usually his whip was in his hand， ready to fall aboutthe ears of the presumptuous thrall， who dared to rest amoment， or even stop to catch his breath. When he washimself exhausted， there would be a brief cessation， but itwould be very brief. With a slash， and crack， and flourishof the whip， he would shout again， “Dance， niggers，dance，” and away they would go once more， pell-mell，while I， spurred by an occasional sharp touch of the lash，sat in a corner， extracting from my violin a marvelousquick-stepping tune. The mistress often upbraidedhim， declaring she would return to her father’s house at Cheneyville； nevertheless， there were times she could notrestrain a burst of laughter， on witnessing his uproariouspranks. Frequently， we were thus detained until almostmorning. Bent with excessive toil—actually suffering for alittle refreshing rest， and feeling rather as if we could castourselves upon the earth and weep， many a night in thehouse of Edwin Epps have his unhappy slaves been madeto dance and laugh.
Notwithstanding these deprivations in order to gratifythe whim of an unreasonable master， we had to be in thefield as soon as it was light， and during the day performthe ordinary and accustomed task. Such deprivationscould not be urged at the scales in extenuation of any lackof weight， or in the cornfield for not hoeing with the usualrapidity. The whippings were just as severe as if we hadgone forth in the morning， strengthened and invigoratedby a night’s repose. Indeed， after such frantic revels， hewas always more sour and savage than before， punishingfor slighter causes， and using the whip with increased andmore vindictive energy.
Ten years I toiled for that man without reward. Tenyears of my incessant labor has contributed to increasethe bulk of his possessions. Ten years I was compelled toaddress him with down-cast eyes and uncovered head—inthe attitude and language of a slave. I am indebted to himfor nothing， save undeserved abuse and stripes.
Beyond the reach of his inhuman thong， and standingon the soil of the free State where I was born， thanks beto Heaven， I can raise my head once more among men.
I can speak of the wrongs I have suffered， and of thosewho inflicted them， with upraised eyes. But I have nodesire to speak of him or any other one otherwise thantruthfully. Yet to speak truthfully of Edwin Epps would beto say—he is a man in whose heart the quality of kindnessor of justice is not found. A rough， rude energy， unitedwith an uncultivated mind and an avaricious spirit， arehis prominent characteristics. He is known as a “niggerbreaker，” distinguished for his faculty of subduingthe spirit of the slave， and priding himself upon hisreputation in this respect， as a jockey boasts of his skill inmanaging a refractory horse. He looked upon a coloredman， not as a human being， responsible to his Creatorfor the small talent entrusted to him， but as a “chattelpersonal，” as mere live property， no better， except invalue， than his mule or dog. When the evidence， clear andindisputable， was laid before him that I was a free man，and as much entitled to my liberty as he —when， on theday I left， he was informed that I had a wife and children，as dear to me as his own babes to him， he only raved andswore， denouncing the law that tore me from him， anddeclaring he would find out the man who had forwardedthe letter that disclosed the place of my captivity， if therewas any virtue or power in money， and would take hislife. He thought of nothing but his loss， and cursed me forhaving been born free. He could have stood unmoved andseen the tongues of his poor slaves torn out by the roots— he could have seen them burned to ashes over a slow fire，or gnawed to death by dogs， if it only brought him profit.