My master’s name was Bill Messersmith and he called himself a Pennsylvania Dutchman… My masters father, before he died, told his children that at his death he wanted each child to put their slaves to work until they earned $800 a piece, to earn their own freedom, and in that way each slave paid themselves. He did not believe it was right to keep them in slavery all their lives. But the war came and they were free without having to work it out.
We all worn home-spun clothes, made of wool mostly. Mother carded. Spun and wove all our clothes. My master let us come and go pretty much as we pleased. In fact we had much more freedom than the most of the slaves had in those days. He let us go to other places to work when we had nothing to do at home and we kept what money we earned, and spent it to suit ourselves. We had it so much better than other slaves that our neighbors would not let their slaves associate with us, for fear we would put “devilment” in their heads…
My father and mother had their own cabin to live in, with their family, but the rest of the slaves stayed with our mistress. We used to sing all the old plantation songs, but my father and mother were not such good singers. We all had good times along with the work. During Christmas times, and the whole month of January, it was the ruling to give the slaves a holiday in our part of the country. A whole month, to go and come as we much as we pleased and go for miles as far as we wanted to, but we had better be back by the first of February. If we wanted to go through a territory where it was hard to travel, or get by, we got a pass from our master.
We had quiltings, dancing, making rails, for days at a time. My goodness! We don’t have nothing to eat now like we did then. All kinds of game, wild ducks, geese, squirrels, rabbits, possum, pigeons and fried chicken - my, women in those days could cook! Great big pound cakes a foot and a half high. You don’t see such things now-a-days. I remember my father shooting so many pigeons at once that my mother just fed them to the hogs… I have seen the wild pigeons so thick they looked like storm clouds coming. I’ve seen them so thick they broke tree limbs down. Ducks and geese the same way… White folks and coloured folks came to these gatherings from miles around, sat up all night, dancing, eating, and drinking. People kept whiskey by the barrel in those days. You see, in those days they just loaded up ten or twelve bushel of corn, took it to the still-house and traded it for a barrel of whisky. Not much selling in those days, everything was traded, even our labor. Our folks would tell us to go and help so-and-so and we did it
Mother was the cook in those days at our place. The log house we lived in was very big, about five or six rooms. In times of our holidays, we always had out-of-town musicians. Sometimes we sent ten or twelve miles for a fiddler. He’d stay a week or so in one place and then he would go on to the next farm, maybe four or five miles away, and they had a good time for a week.
There was plenty of work for everyone then, even to the little darkies, if only to pull weeds. We raised wheat, corn, cotton, tobacco, cabbage, potatoes, sheep, hogs, and cattle. Had plenty of everything to eat.
Our closest neighbors were the Thortons. Old man Thorton didn’t allow his slaves to go anyplace. He was a rough man, a low heavy set fellow, weighed about one hundred and sixty pounds. He was mean to his slaves. He whupped them all the time. I’ve seen their clothes sticking to their backs, from blood and scabs, being cut up with the cowhide. He just whupped them because he could. He used to say he “Always give his n----- a ‘breakfast spell’ every morning!” Whupped them every morning. I remember he had a n----- woman about seventy years old on his place. The Thorntons did not feed their slaves good, they were nearly starved. One night that old woman was so hungry she stole a chicken from her master and was cooking it in her cabin. He found it out some way and started to her cabin, and caught her, while she had it on boiling. He was so mad he told her to get a spoon and eat every bite before she stopped. It was scalding hot and he made her do it. She died right away, her insides burned.
Well, here’s how it happened. She put a piece of candy on her wash stand one day. I was about eight or nine years old... I seen that candy laying there, and I was hungry. Ain’t had a father working in the field like some of the children to bring me eats – had just little pieces of scrap each morning thrown at me from the kitchen. I see that peppermint stick laying there, and I ain’t dared go near it cause I knew old Misses just waiting for me to take it. Then one morning I so hungry that I can’t resist. I went straight in there and grab that stick of candy and stuffed it in my mouth and chew it down quick so old Misses never find me with it.
Next morning old Misses say: “Henrietta, you take that piece of candy out of my room?” “No, ma’am, ain’t see no candy.”
“Child, you lying to me. You took that candy.”
“Indeed, Misses, I tell the truth. Ain’t see no candy.”
“You lying and I’m gonna whup you. Come here.”
“Please, Misses, please don’t whop me. I ain’t seen no candy. I ain’t took it.”
Well, she got her rawhide down from the nail by the fireplace, and she grabbed me by the arm and she try to turn me across her knees whilst she set in the rocker so she could hold me. I twisted and turned till finally she called her daughter. The girl come and took that strap like her mother told her and commence to lay it on real hard whilst Misses hold me. I twisted away so there weren’t no chance of her getting in no solid lick. Then old Misses lif’ me up by the legs, and she stuck my head under the bottom of the rocker and she rock forward so as to hold my head and whipped me some more. I guess they must of whipped me near an hour with that rocker leg pressing down on my head.
Next thing I knew the old doctor was there, and I was lying on my pallet in the hall, and he was pushing and digging at my face, but he couldn’t do nothing at all with it. Seem like that rocker pressing on my young bones had crushed them all into soft pulp. The next day I couldn’t open my mouth and I feel it and there weren’t no bone in the left side at all. And my mouth kept slipping over to the right side and I couldn’t chew nothing – only drink milk. Well, old Misses must of got kind of sorry because she gets the doctor to come regular and pry at my mouth. He got it after a while so it open and I could move my lips, but it kept moving over to the right and he couldn’t stop that. After a while it was over just where it is now. And I ain’t never growed no more teeth on that side. Ain’t never been able to chew nothing good since. Don’t even remember what it is to chew. Been eating liquid, stews and soup ever since that day, and that was eighty six years ago.
Here, put your hand on my face – right here on this left cheek – that’s what slave days was like. It made me so I been going round looking like a false face all my life. What children laugh at and babies gets to crying when they see me. Course, I don’t mind it no more. I been like this so long now that I don’t never think on it, except when I see someone staring hard and wondering what devil got in and made me born this way. And it was a devil that done it – a she-devil what’s burning and twisting in hell.
She never would bother me much after that. Maybe it was cause Master raised such a rumpus because of what she’d done. Never did beat me again. Used to see her sometimes looking at me while I was dusting or sweeping. Never did say nothing, just set there looking without knowing I knew it. Guess she got tired of having me around. When I got about thirteen years old she and master gave me to Master’s cousin. They was good: all I had to do was mind the children. Was with them when freedom come and they let me stay on there same as before, except they give me money each month. Stayed with them till I got married. Soon after I got married, I heard that old Misses had died. Didn’t make me drop any tears.
compare and contrast both individuals’ experiences with slavery.
The experiences of Henrietta and her family, as described by her, paint a picture of a relatively privileged and humane form of slavery compared to the brutal treatment endured by the slaves on the Thorton plantation. Henrietta's family had more freedom of movement and were allowed to earn their own money to eventually buy their freedom. They were also allowed to have holidays and participate in social activities, and were generally well-fed and clothed.
In contrast, the Thorton plantation was characterized by severe cruelty and abuse towards the slaves. Old man Thorton was described as a rough and mean man who constantly whipped his slaves, even to the point of death in the case of the elderly woman who stole a chicken. The slaves on the Thorton plantation were malnourished and barely allowed any freedom or recreation, in stark contrast to Henrietta's family.
Furthermore, the incident with the candy and subsequent severe punishment inflicted upon Henrietta by Misses illustrates the extreme cruelty and lack of compassion that characterized slavery on the Thorton plantation. The physical and emotional abuse suffered by Henrietta left her permanently disfigured and unable to eat solid food for the rest of her life. This stands in stark contrast to the relatively benign treatment Henrietta experienced before being given to Master's cousin.
Overall, the experiences of Henrietta and those on the Thorton plantation highlight the stark contrast between different forms of slavery, ranging from relatively humane treatment to extreme cruelty and abuse. Despite the relatively better conditions experienced by Henrietta, the inherent dehumanization and brutality of slavery are evident in both stories.