The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian SlavePrince, Mary
History
The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave
Prince, Mary
Fugitive slaves -- West Indies -- Biography; Prince, Mary; Slavery -- West Indies
Though we worked from morning till night, there was no satisfying Mr.
D----. I hoped, when I left Capt. I----, that I should have been better
off, but I found it was but going from one butcher to another. There was
this difference between them: my former master used to beat me while
raging and foaming with passion; Mr. D---- was usually quite calm. He
would stand by and give orders for a slave to be cruelly whipped, and
assist in the punishment, without moving a muscle of his face; walking
about and taking snuff with the greatest composure. Nothing could touch
his hard heart--neither sighs, nor tears, nor prayers, nor streaming
blood; he was deaf to our cries, and careless of our sufferings. Mr. D----
has often stripped me naked, hung me up by the wrists, and beat me with
the cow-skin, with his own hand, till my body was raw with gashes. Yet
there was nothing very remarkable in this; for it might serve as a sample
of the common usage of the slaves on that horrible island.
Owing to the boils in my feet, I was unable to wheel the barrow fast
through the sand, which got into the sores, and made me stumble at every
step; and my master, having no pity for my sufferings from this cause,
rendered them far more intolerable, by chastising me for not being able to
move so fast as he wished me. Another of our employments was to row a
little way off from the shore in a boat, and dive for large stones to
build a wall round our master's house. This was very hard work; and the
great waves breaking over us continually, made us often so giddy that we
lost our footing, and were in danger of being drowned.
Ah, poor me!--my tasks were never ended. Sick or well, it was
work--work--work!--After the diving season was over, we were sent to the
South Creek, with large bills, to cut up mangoes to burn lime with. Whilst
one party of slaves were thus employed, another were sent to the other
side of the island to break up coral out of the sea.
When we were ill, let our complaint be what it might, the only medicine
given to us was a great bowl of hot salt water, with salt mixed with it,
which made us very sick. If we could not keep up with the rest of the gang
of slaves, we were put in the stocks, and severely flogged the next
morning. Yet, not the less, our master expected, after we had thus been
kept from our rest, and our limbs rendered stiff and sore with ill usage,
that we should still go through the ordinary tasks of the day all the
same.--Sometimes we had to work all night, measuring salt to load a
vessel; or turning a machine to draw water out of the sea for the
salt-making. Then we had no sleep--no rest--but were forced to work as
fast as we could, and go on again all next day the same as usual.
Work--work--work--Oh that Turk's Island was a horrible place! The people
in England, I am sure, have never found out what is carried on there.
Cruel, horrible place!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account