第50章 Chapter XIV.(3)
Sometimes the current of her wrath turned upon himwhom she had just cause to hate. But the storm of angrywords would pass over at length， and there would bea season of calm again. At such times Patsey trembledwith fear， and cried as if her heart would break， for sheknew from painful experience， that if mistress shouldwork herself to the red-hot pitch of rage， Epps wouldquiet her at last with a promise that Patsey should beflogged a promise he was sure to keep. Thus did pride，and jealousy， and vengeance war with avarice and brutepassionin the mansion of my master， filling it with
daily tumult and contention. Thus， upon the head ofPatsey—the simpleminded slave， in whose heart Godhad implanted the seeds of virtue—the force of all thesedomestic tempests spent itself at last.
During the summer succeeding my return from St.
Mary’s parish， I conceived a plan of providing myselfwith food， which， though simple， succeeded beyondexpectation. It has been followed by many others in mycondition， up and down the bayou， and of such benefithas it become that I am almost persuaded to look uponmyself as a benefactor. That summer the worms got intothe bacon. Nothing but ravenous hunger could induce
us to swallow it. The weekly allowance of meal scarcelysufficed to satisfy us. It was customary with us， as it iswith all in that region， where the allowance is exhaustedbefore Saturday night， or is in such a state as to renderit nauseous and disgusting， to hunt in the swamps forcoon and opossum. This， however， must be done at night，after the day’s work is accomplished. There are planterswhose slaves， for months at a time， have no other meatthan such as is obtained in this manner. No objectionsare made to hunting， inasmuch as it dispenses with draftsupon the smoke-house， and because every maraudingcoon that is killed is so much saved from the standingcorn. They are hunted with dogs and clubs， slaves notbeing allowed the use of fire-arms.
The flesh of the coon is palatable， but verily thereis nothing in all butcherdom so delicious as a roasted’possum. They are a round， rather long-bodied， littleanimal， of a whitish color， with nose like a pig， and caudalextremity like a rat. They burrow among the roots andin the hollows of the gum tree， and are clumsy and slowof motion. They are deceitful and cunning creatures. Onreceiving the slightest tap of a stick， they will roll over onthe ground and feign death. If the hunter leaves him， inpursuit of another， without first taking particular pains tobreak his neck， the chances are， on his return， he is not tobe found. The little animal has out witted the enemy—has“played ’possum” —and is off. But after a long and hardday’s work， the weary slave feels little like going to the swamp for his supper， and half the time prefers throwinghimself on the cabin floor without it. It is for the interestof the master that the servant should not suffer in healthfrom starvation， and it is also for his interest that heshould not become gross from over-feeding. In theestimation of the owner， a slave is the most serviceablewhen in rather a lean and lank condition， such a conditionas the race-horse is in， when fitted for the course， and inthat condition they are generally to be found on the sugarand cotton plantations along Red River.
My cabin was within a few rods of the bayou bank， andnecessity being indeed the mother of invention， I resolvedupon a mode of obtaining the requisite amount of food，without the trouble of resorting nightly to the woods.
This was to construct a fish trap. Having， in my mind，conceived the manner in which it could be done， the nextSunday I set about putting it into practical execution. Itmay be impossible for me to convey to the reader a fulland correct idea of its construction， but the following willserve as a general deion：
A frame between two and three feet square is made，and of a greater or less height， according to the depth ofwater. Boards or slats are nailed on three sides of thisframe， not so closely， however， as to prevent the watercirculating freely through it. A door is fitted into thefourth side， in such manner that it will slide easily upand down in the grooves cut in the two posts. A movablebottom is then so fitted that it can be raised to the top of the frame without difficulty. In the centre of the movablebottom an auger hole is bored， and into this one end ofa handle or round stick is fastened on the under side soloosely that it will turn. The handle ascends from thecentre of the movable bottom to the top of the frame， oras much higher as is desirable. Up and down this handle，in a great many places， are gimlet holes， through whichsmall sticks are inserted， extending to opposite sidesof the frame. So many of these small sticks are runningout from the handle in all directions， that a fish of anyconsiderable dimensions cannot pass through withouthitting one of them. The frame is then placed in the waterand made stationary.