I know of a case on a large plantation in the South in
which a young white man, the son of the former owner of the
estate, has become so reduced in purse and self-control by reason
of drink that he is a pitiable creature; and yet, notwithstanding
the poverty of the coloured people themselves on this plantation,
they have for years supplied this young white man with the
necessities of life. One sends him a little coffee or sugar,
another a little meat, and so on. Nothing that the coloured
people possess is too good for the son of "old Mars' Tom," who
will perhaps never be permitted to suffer while any remain on the
place who knew directly or indirectly of "old Mars' Tom."
I have said that there are few instances of a member of my race
betraying a specific trust. One of the best illustrations of this
which I know of is in the case of an ex-slave from Virginia whom
I met not long ago in a little town in the state of Ohio. I found
that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three
years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect
that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so
much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself,
he was to be permitted to labour where and for whom he pleased.
Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there.
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