Excerpts from Lester, Julius. To Be A Slave. New York: Puffin, 2002.
The slave owner
lived in a fear that was almost as bad as the fear held by the slaves. He had to
live with the knowledge that at any moment his slaves might try to kill him. He
knew, whether he admitted it to himself or not, that if he had been held as a
slave, he would have done anything to gain his freedom. He knew, also, that his
own slaves had such thoughts. The record of planned slave insurrections is long
and it was mainly due to treacherous house servants that most of these planned
uprisings were uncovered. And in one instance, at least, the organizer of a
slave insurrection betrayed it……
The inevitable
white response to any mention of a slave insurrection was to institute even
more force upon the slaves. In 1831, a Virginia slaved named Nat Turner led an
insurrection in which more than sixty whites were killed. Federal militia was
eventually called in to stop the rebellion, and for a long time after, slaves
throughout the South lived through a reign of terror.
Yet no matter how
repressive slave owners became, there were always slaves who tried to escape,
who knew little more than that if they followed the North Star they would
eventually reach a place where they would be free. And they were always helped along their way by other slaves.
I heard a
rap—bump! bump! on my door. I answered a-hollerin’! Then someone whispered,
“Hush! Don’t say nothing, but let me in!” I let her in. Lawd, that woman was
all out of breath and a-begging. “Can I stay here tonight?” I told her she
could, so the woman done sleep right there behind me in my bed all night. I
knew she had run away, and I was gonna do my part to help her along. I took and
hear the horses and talking in the woods. Dogs just a-barking. I peeped out the
window and saw white folks go by. I don’t move, I was so scared they was gonna
come in the cabin and search for that po’ woman. Next morning she stole out
from there and I ain’t never seen her no more.
Jennie
Patterson
The
Negro in Virginia