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Next
day
,
rolling
up
my
blanket
,
I
started
on
my
return
to
the
Big
Cane
.
After
traveling
five
miles
,
at
a
place
called
Huff
Power
,
the
ever-present
Tibeats
met
me
in
the
road
.
He
inquired
why
I
was
going
back
so
soon
,
and
when
informed
I
was
anxious
to
return
by
the
time
I
was
directed
,
he
said
I
need
go
no
farther
than
the
next
plantation
,
as
he
had
that
day
sold
me
to
Edwin
Epps
.
We
walked
down
into
the
yard
,
where
we
met
the
latter
gentleman
,
who
examined
me
,
and
asked
me
the
usual
questions
propounded
by
purchasers
.
Having
been
duly
delivered
over
,
I
was
ordered
to
the
quarters
,
and
at
the
same
time
directed
to
make
a
hoe
and
axe
handle
for
myself
.
I
was
now
no
longer
the
property
of
Tibeats
--
his
dog
,
his
brute
,
dreading
his
wrath
and
cruelty
day
and
night
;
and
whoever
or
whatever
my
new
master
might
prove
to
be
,
I
could
not
,
certainly
,
regret
the
change
.
So
it
was
good
news
when
the
sale
was
announced
,
and
with
a
sigh
of
relief
I
sat
down
for
the
first
time
in
my
new
abode
.
Tibeats
soon
after
disappeared
from
that
section
of
the
country
.
Once
afterwards
,
and
only
once
,
I
caught
a
glimpse
of
him
.
It
was
many
miles
from
Bayou
Bœuf
.
He
was
seated
in
the
doorway
of
a
low
groggery
.
I
was
passing
,
in
a
drove
of
slaves
,
through
St.
Mary
's
parish
.
Edwin
Epps
,
of
whom
much
will
be
said
during
the
remainder
of
this
history
,
is
a
large
,
portly
,
heavy-bodied
man
with
light
hair
,
high
cheek
bones
,
and
a
Roman
nose
of
extraordinary
dimensions
.
He
has
blue
eyes
,
a
fair
complexion
,
and
is
,
as
I
should
say
,
full
six
feet
high
.
He
has
the
sharp
,
inquisitive
expression
of
a
jockey
.
His
manners
are
repulsive
and
coarse
,
and
his
language
gives
speedy
and
unequivocal
evidence
that
he
has
never
enjoyed
the
advantages
of
an
education
.
He
has
the
faculty
of
saying
most
provoking
things
,
in
that
respect
even
excelling
old
Peter
Tanner
.
At
the
time
I
came
into
his
possession
,
Edwin
Epps
was
fond
of
the
bottle
,
his
"
sprees
"
sometimes
extending
over
the
space
of
two
whole
weeks
.
Latterly
,
however
,
he
had
reformed
his
habits
,
and
when
I
left
him
,
was
as
strict
a
specimen
of
temperance
as
could
be
found
on
Bayou
Bœuf
.
When
"
in
his
cups
,
"
Master
Epps
was
a
roystering
,
blustering
,
noisy
fellow
,
whose
chief
delight
was
in
dancing
with
his
"
niggers
,
"
or
lashing
them
about
the
yard
with
his
long
whip
,
just
for
the
pleasure
of
hearing
them
screech
and
scream
,
as
the
great
welts
were
planted
on
their
backs
.
When
sober
,
he
was
silent
,
reserved
and
cunning
,
not
beating
us
indiscriminately
,
as
in
his
drunken
moments
,
but
sending
the
end
of
his
rawhide
to
some
tender
spot
of
a
lagging
slave
,
with
a
sly
dexterity
peculiar
to
himself
.
He
had
been
a
driver
and
overseer
in
his
younger
years
,
but
at
this
time
was
in
possession
of
a
plantation
on
Bayou
Huff
Power
,
two
and
a
half
miles
from
Holmesville
,
eighteen
from
Marksville
,
and
twelve
from
Cheneyville
.
It
belonged
to
Joseph
B.
Roberts
,
his
wife
's
uncle
,
and
was
leased
by
Epps
.
His
principal
business
was
raising
cotton
,
and
inasmuch
as
some
may
read
this
book
who
have
never
seen
a
cotton
field
,
a
description
of
the
manner
of
its
culture
may
not
be
out
of
place
.
The
ground
is
prepared
by
throwing
up
beds
or
ridges
,
with
the
plough
--
back-furrowing
,
it
is
called
.
Oxen
and
mules
,
the
latter
almost
exclusively
,
are
used
in
ploughing
.
The
women
as
frequently
as
the
men
perform
this
labor
,
feeding
,
currying
,
and
taking
care
of
their
teams
,
and
in
all
respects
doing
the
field
and
stable
work
,
precisely
as
do
the
ploughboys
of
the
North
.
The
beds
,
or
ridges
,
are
six
feet
wide
,
that
is
,
from
water
furrow
to
water
furrow
.
A
plough
drawn
by
one
mule
is
then
run
along
the
top
of
the
ridge
or
center
of
the
bed
,
making
the
drill
,
into
which
a
girl
usually
drops
the
seed
,
which
she
carries
in
a
bag
hung
round
her
neck
.
Behind
her
comes
a
mule
and
harrow
,
covering
up
the
seed
,
so
that
two
mules
,
three
slaves
,
a
plough
and
harrow
,
are
employed
in
planting
a
row
of
cotton
.
This
is
done
in
the
months
of
March
and
April
.
Corn
is
planted
in
February
.
When
there
are
no
cold
rains
,
the
cotton
usually
makes
its
appearance
in
a
week
.
In
the
course
of
eight
or
ten
days
afterwards
the
first
hoeing
is
commenced
.
This
is
performed
in
part
,
also
,
by
the
aid
of
the
plough
and
mule
.
The
plough
passes
as
near
as
possible
to
the
cotton
on
both
sides
,
throwing
the
furrow
from
it
.
Slaves
follow
with
their
hoes
,
cutting
up
the
grass
and
cotton
,
leaving
hills
two
feet
and
a
half
apart
.
This
is
called
scraping
cotton
.
In
two
weeks
more
commences
the
second
hoeing
.
This
time
the
furrow
is
thrown
towards
the
cotton
.
Only
one
stalk
,
the
largest
,
is
now
left
standing
in
each
hill
.
In
another
fortnight
it
is
hoed
the
third
time
,
throwing
the
furrow
towards
the
cotton
in
the
same
manner
as
before
,
and
killing
all
the
grass
between
the
rows
.
About
the
first
of
July
,
when
it
is
a
foot
high
or
thereabouts
,
it
is
hoed
the
fourth
and
last
time
.
Now
the
whole
space
between
the
rows
is
ploughed
,
leaving
a
deep
water
furrow
in
the
center
.
During
all
these
hoeings
the
overseer
or
driver
follows
the
slaves
on
horseback
with
a
whip
,
such
as
has
been
described
.
The
fastest
hoer
takes
the
lead
row
.
He
is
usually
about
a
rod
in
advance
of
his
companions
.
If
one
of
them
passes
him
,
he
is
whipped
.
If
one
falls
behind
or
is
a
moment
idle
,
he
is
whipped
.
In
fact
,
the
lash
is
flying
from
morning
until
night
,
the
whole
day
long
.
The
hoeing
season
thus
continues
from
April
until
July
,
a
field
having
no
sooner
been
finished
once
,
than
it
is
commenced
again
.
In
the
latter
part
of
August
begins
the
cotton
picking
season
.
At
this
time
each
slave
is
presented
with
a
sack
.
A
strap
is
fastened
to
it
,
which
goes
over
the
neck
,
holding
the
mouth
of
the
sack
breast
high
,
while
the
bottom
reaches
nearly
to
the
ground
.
Each
one
is
also
presented
with
a
large
basket
that
will
hold
about
two
barrels
.
This
is
to
put
the
cotton
in
when
the
sack
is
filled
.
The
baskets
are
carried
to
the
field
and
placed
at
the
beginning
of
the
rows
.
