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Wiley
is
forty-eight
.
He
was
born
on
the
estate
of
William
Tassle
,
and
for
many
years
took
charge
of
that
gentleman
's
ferry
over
the
Big
Black
River
,
in
South
Carolina
.
Phebe
was
a
slave
of
Buford
,
Tassle
's
neighbor
,
and
having
married
Wiley
,
he
bought
the
latter
,
at
her
instigation
.
Buford
was
a
kind
master
,
sheriff
of
the
county
,
and
in
those
days
a
man
of
wealth
.
Bob
and
Henry
are
Phebe
's
children
,
by
a
former
husband
,
their
father
having
been
abandoned
to
give
place
to
Wiley
.
That
seductive
youth
had
insinuated
himself
into
Phebe
's
affections
,
and
therefore
the
faithless
spouse
had
gently
kicked
her
first
husband
out
of
her
cabin
door
.
Edward
had
been
born
to
them
on
Bayou
Huff
Power
.
Patsey
is
twenty-three
--
also
from
Buford
's
plantation
.
She
is
in
no
wise
connected
with
the
others
,
but
glories
in
the
fact
that
she
is
the
offspring
of
a
"
Guinea
nigger
,
"
brought
over
to
Cuba
in
a
slave
ship
,
and
in
the
course
of
trade
transferred
to
Buford
,
who
was
her
mother
's
owner
.
This
,
as
I
learned
from
them
,
is
a
genealogical
account
of
my
master
's
slaves
.
For
years
they
had
been
together
.
Often
they
recalled
the
memories
of
other
days
,
and
sighed
to
retrace
their
steps
to
the
old
home
in
Carolina
.
Troubles
came
upon
their
master
Buford
,
which
brought
far
greater
troubles
upon
them
.
He
became
involved
in
debt
,
and
unable
to
bear
up
against
his
failing
fortunes
,
was
compelled
to
sell
these
,
and
others
of
his
slaves
.
In
a
chain
gang
they
had
been
driven
from
beyond
the
Mississippi
to
the
plantation
of
Archy
B.
Williams
.
Edwin
Epps
,
who
,
for
a
long
while
had
been
his
driver
and
overseer
,
was
about
establishing
himself
in
business
on
his
own
account
,
at
the
time
of
their
arrival
,
and
accepted
them
in
payment
of
his
wages
.
Old
Abram
was
a
kind-hearted
being
--
a
sort
of
patriarch
among
us
,
fond
of
entertaining
his
younger
brethren
with
grave
and
serious
discourse
.
He
was
deeply
versed
in
such
philosophy
as
is
taught
in
the
cabin
of
the
slave
;
but
the
great
absorbing
hobby
of
Uncle
Abram
was
General
Jackson
,
whom
his
young
master
in
Tennessee
had
followed
to
the
wars
.
He
loved
to
wander
back
,
in
imagination
,
to
the
place
where
he
was
born
,
and
to
recount
the
scenes
of
his
youth
during
those
stirring
times
when
the
nation
was
in
arms
.
He
had
been
athletic
,
and
more
keen
and
powerful
than
the
generality
of
his
race
,
but
now
his
eye
had
become
dim
,
and
his
natural
force
abated
.
Very
often
,
indeed
,
while
discussing
the
best
method
of
baking
the
hoe-cake
,
or
expatiating
at
large
upon
the
glory
of
Jackson
,
he
would
forget
where
he
left
his
hat
,
or
his
hoe
,
or
his
basket
;
and
then
would
the
old
man
be
laughed
at
,
if
Epps
was
absent
,
and
whipped
if
he
was
present
.
So
was
he
perplexed
continually
,
and
sighed
to
think
that
he
was
growing
aged
and
going
to
decay
.
Philosophy
and
Jackson
and
forgetfulness
had
played
the
mischief
with
him
,
and
it
was
evident
that
all
of
them
combined
were
fast
bringing
down
the
gray
hairs
of
Uncle
Abram
to
the
grave
.
Aunt
Phebe
had
been
an
excellent
field
hand
,
but
latterly
was
put
into
the
kitchen
,
where
she
remained
,
except
occasionally
,
in
a
time
of
uncommon
hurry
.
She
was
a
sly
old
creature
,
and
when
not
in
the
presence
of
her
mistress
or
her
master
,
was
garrulous
in
the
extreme
.
Wiley
,
on
the
contrary
,
was
silent
.
He
performed
his
task
without
murmur
or
complaint
,
seldom
indulging
in
the
luxury
of
speech
,
except
to
utter
a
wish
,
that
he
was
away
from
Epps
,
and
back
once
more
in
South
Carolina
.
Bob
and
Henry
had
reached
the
ages
of
twenty
and
twenty-three
,
and
were
distinguished
for
nothing
extraordinary
or
unusual
,
while
Edward
,
a
lad
of
thirteen
,
not
yet
able
to
maintain
his
row
in
the
corn
or
the
cotton
field
,
was
kept
in
the
great
house
,
to
wait
on
the
little
Eppses
.
Patsey
was
slim
and
straight
.
She
stood
erect
as
the
human
form
is
capable
of
standing
.
There
was
an
air
of
loftiness
in
her
movement
,
that
neither
labor
,
nor
weariness
,
nor
punishment
could
destroy
.
Truly
,
Patsey
was
a
splendid
animal
,
and
were
it
not
that
bondage
had
enshrouded
her
intellect
in
utter
and
everlasting
darkness
,
would
have
been
chief
among
ten
thousand
of
her
people
.
She
could
leap
the
highest
fences
,
and
a
fleet
hound
it
was
indeed
,
that
could
outstrip
her
in
a
race
.
No
horse
could
fling
her
from
his
back
.
She
was
a
skillful
teamster
.
She
turned
as
true
a
furrow
as
the
best
,
and
at
splitting
rails
there
were
none
who
could
excel
her
.
When
the
order
to
halt
was
heard
at
night
,
she
would
have
her
mules
at
the
crib
,
unharnessed
,
fed
and
curried
,
before
uncle
Abram
had
found
his
hat
.
Not
,
however
,
for
all
or
any
of
these
,
was
she
chiefly
famous
.
Such
lightning-like
motion
was
in
her
fingers
as
no
other
fingers
ever
possessed
,
and
therefore
it
was
,
that
in
cotton
picking
time
,
Patsey
was
queen
of
the
field
.
