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Epps
allowed
us
three
--
others
allow
four
,
five
and
six
days
,
according
to
the
measure
of
their
generosity
.
It
is
the
only
time
to
which
they
look
forward
with
any
interest
or
pleasure
.
They
are
glad
when
night
comes
,
not
only
because
it
brings
them
a
few
hours
repose
,
but
because
it
brings
them
one
day
nearer
Christmas
.
It
is
hailed
with
equal
delight
by
the
old
and
the
young
;
even
Uncle
Abram
ceases
to
glorify
Andrew
Jackson
,
and
Patsey
forgets
her
many
sorrows
,
amid
the
general
hilarity
of
the
holidays
.
It
is
the
time
of
feasting
,
and
frolicking
,
and
fiddling
--
the
carnival
season
with
the
children
of
bondage
.
They
are
the
only
days
when
they
are
allowed
a
little
restricted
liberty
,
and
heartily
indeed
do
they
enjoy
it
.
It
is
the
custom
for
one
planter
to
give
a
"
Christmas
supper
,
"
inviting
the
slaves
from
neighboring
plantations
to
join
his
own
on
the
occasion
;
for
instance
,
one
year
it
is
given
by
Epps
,
the
next
by
Marshall
,
the
next
by
Hawkins
,
and
so
on
.
Usually
from
three
to
five
hundred
are
assembled
,
coming
together
on
foot
,
in
carts
,
on
horseback
,
on
mules
,
riding
double
and
triple
,
sometimes
a
boy
and
girl
,
at
others
a
girl
and
two
boys
,
and
at
others
again
a
boy
,
a
girl
and
an
old
woman
.
Uncle
Abram
astride
a
mule
,
with
Aunt
Phebe
and
Patsey
behind
him
,
trotting
towards
a
Christmas
supper
,
would
be
no
uncommon
sight
on
Bayou
Bœuf
.
Then
,
too
,
"
of
all
days
i
'
the
year
,
"
they
array
themselves
in
their
best
attire
.
The
cotton
coat
has
been
washed
clean
,
the
stump
of
a
tallow
candle
has
been
applied
to
the
shoes
,
and
if
so
fortunate
as
to
possess
a
rimless
or
a
crownless
hat
,
it
is
placed
jauntily
on
the
head
.
They
are
welcomed
with
equal
cordiality
,
however
,
if
they
come
bare-headed
and
barefooted
to
the
feast
.
As
a
general
thing
,
the
women
wear
handkerchiefs
tied
about
their
heads
,
but
if
chance
has
thrown
in
their
way
a
fiery
red
ribbon
,
or
a
cast-off
bonnet
of
their
mistress
'
grandmother
,
it
is
sure
to
be
worn
on
such
occasions
.
Red
--
the
deep
blood
red
--
is
decidedly
the
favorite
color
among
the
enslaved
damsels
of
my
acquaintance
.
If
a
red
ribbon
does
not
encircle
the
neck
,
you
will
be
certain
to
find
all
the
hair
of
their
woolly
heads
tied
up
with
red
strings
of
one
sort
or
another
.
The
table
is
spread
in
the
open
air
,
and
loaded
with
varieties
of
meat
and
piles
of
vegetables
.
Bacon
and
corn
meal
at
such
times
are
dispensed
with
.
Sometimes
the
cooking
is
performed
in
the
kitchen
on
the
plantation
,
at
others
in
the
shade
of
wide
branching
trees
.
In
the
latter
case
,
a
ditch
is
dug
in
the
ground
,
and
wood
laid
in
and
burned
until
it
is
filled
with
glowing
coals
,
over
which
chickens
,
ducks
,
turkeys
,
pigs
,
and
not
unfrequently
the
entire
body
of
a
wild
ox
,
are
roasted
.
They
are
furnished
also
with
flour
,
of
which
biscuits
are
made
,
and
often
with
peach
and
other
preserves
,
with
tarts
,
and
every
manner
and
description
of
pies
,
except
the
mince
,
that
being
an
article
of
pastry
as
yet
unknown
among
them
.
Only
the
slave
who
has
lived
all
the
years
on
his
scanty
allowance
of
meal
and
bacon
,
can
appreciate
such
suppers
.
White
people
in
great
numbers
assemble
to
witness
the
gastronomical
enjoyments
.
They
seat
themselves
at
the
rustic
table
--
the
males
on
one
side
,
the
females
on
the
other
.
The
two
between
whom
there
may
have
been
an
exchange
of
tenderness
,
invariably
manage
to
sit
opposite
;
for
the
omnipresent
Cupid
disdains
not
to
hurl
his
arrows
into
the
simple
hearts
of
slaves
.
Unalloyed
and
exulting
happiness
lights
up
the
dark
faces
of
them
all
.
The
ivory
teeth
,
contrasting
with
their
black
complexions
,
exhibit
two
long
,
white
streaks
the
whole
extent
of
the
table
.
All
round
the
bountiful
board
a
multitude
of
eyes
roll
in
ecstacy
.
Giggling
and
laughter
and
the
clattering
of
cutlery
and
crockery
succeed
.
Cuffee
's
elbow
hunches
his
neighbor
's
side
,
impelled
by
an
involuntary
impulse
of
delight
;
Nelly
shakes
her
finger
at
Sambo
and
laughs
,
she
knows
not
why
,
and
so
the
fun
and
merriment
flows
on
.
When
the
viands
have
disappeared
,
and
the
hungry
maws
of
the
children
of
toil
are
satisfied
,
then
,
next
in
the
order
of
amusement
,
is
the
Christmas
dance
.
My
business
on
these
gala
days
always
was
to
play
on
the
violin
.
The
African
race
is
a
music-loving
one
,
proverbially
;
and
many
there
were
among
my
fellow-bondsmen
whose
organs
of
tune
were
strikingly
developed
,
and
who
could
thumb
the
banjo
with
dexterity
;
but
at
the
expense
of
appearing
egotistical
,
I
must
,
nevertheless
,
declare
,
that
I
was
considered
the
Ole
Bull
of
Bayou
Bœuf
.
My
master
often
received
letters
,
sometimes
from
a
distance
of
ten
miles
,
requesting
him
to
send
me
to
play
at
a
ball
or
festival
of
the
whites
.
He
received
his
compensation
,
and
usually
I
also
returned
with
many
picayunes
jingling
in
my
pockets
--
the
extra
contributions
of
those
to
whose
delight
I
had
administered
.
In
this
manner
I
became
more
acquainted
than
I
otherwise
would
,
up
and
down
the
bayou
.
The
young
men
and
maidens
of
Holmesville
always
knew
there
was
to
be
a
jollification
somewhere
,
whenever
Platt
Epps
was
seen
passing
through
the
town
with
his
fiddle
in
his
hand
.
"
Where
are
you
going
now
,
Platt
?
"
and
"
What
is
coming
off
to-night
,
Platt
?
"
would
be
interrogatories
issuing
from
every
door
and
window
,
and
many
a
time
when
there
was
no
special
hurry
,
yielding
to
pressing
importunities
,
Platt
would
draw
his
bow
,
and
sitting
astride
his
mule
,
perhaps
,
discourse
musically
to
a
crowd
of
delighted
children
,
gathered
around
him
in
the
street
.
Alas
!
had
it
not
been
for
my
beloved
violin
,
I
scarcely
can
conceive
how
I
could
have
endured
the
long
years
of
bondage
.
It
introduced
me
to
great
houses
--
relieved
me
of
many
days
'
labor
in
the
field
--
supplied
me
with
conveniences
for
my
cabin
--
with
pipes
and
tobacco
,
and
extra
pairs
of
shoes
,
and
oftentimes
led
me
away
from
the
presence
of
a
hard
master
,
to
witness
scenes
of
jollity
and
mirth
.
It
was
my
companion
--
the
friend
of
my
bosom
--
triumphing
loudly
when
I
was
joyful
,
and
uttering
its
soft
,
melodious
consolations
when
I
was
sad
.
Often
,
at
midnight
,
when
sleep
had
fled
affrighted
from
the
cabin
,
and
my
soul
was
disturbed
and
troubled
with
the
contemplation
of
my
fate
,
it
would
sing
me
a
song
of
peace
.
On
holy
Sabbath
days
,
when
an
hour
or
two
of
leisure
was
allowed
,
it
would
accompany
me
to
some
quiet
place
on
the
bayou
bank
,
and
,
lifting
up
its
voice
,
discourse
kindly
and
pleasantly
indeed
.
It
heralded
my
name
round
the
country
--
made
me
friends
,
who
,
otherwise
would
not
have
noticed
me
--
gave
me
an
honored
seat
at
the
yearly
feasts
,
and
secured
the
loudest
and
heartiest
welcome
of
them
all
at
the
Christmas
dance
.
The
Christmas
dance
!
Oh
,
ye
pleasure-seeking
sons
and
daughters
of
idleness
,
who
move
with
measured
step
,
listless
and
snail-like
,
through
the
slow-winding
cotillon
,
if
ye
wish
to
look
upon
the
celerity
,
if
not
the
"
poetry
of
motion
"
--
upon
genuine
happiness
,
rampant
and
unrestrained
--
go
down
to
Louisiana
,
and
see
the
slaves
dancing
in
the
starlight
of
a
Christmas
night
.
