The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By HimselfEquiano, Olaudah
History
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By Himself
Equiano, Olaudah
Enslaved persons -- Great Britain -- Biography; Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography; Equiano, Olaudah, 1745-1797
trying to pass them in the market, amongst other white men, I was
abused for offering to pass bad coin; and, though I shewed them the
man I got them from, I was within one minute of being tied up and
flogged without either judge or jury; however, by the help of a good
pair of heels, I ran off, and so escaped the bastinadoes I should have
received. I got on board as fast as I could, but still continued in
fear of them until we sailed, which I thanked God we did not long
after; and I have never been amongst them since.
We soon came to Georgia, where we were to complete our lading; and
here worse fate than ever attended me: for one Sunday night, as I was
with some negroes in their master's yard in the town of Savannah, it
happened that their master, one Doctor Perkins, who was a very severe
and cruel man, came in drunk; and, not liking to see any strange
negroes in his yard, he and a ruffian of a white man he had in his
service beset me in an instant, and both of them struck me with the
first weapons they could get hold of. I cried out as long as I could
for help and mercy; but, though I gave a good account of myself, and
he knew my captain, who lodged hard by him, it was to no purpose. They
beat and mangled me in a shameful manner, leaving me near dead. I lost
so much blood from the wounds I received, that I lay quite motionless,
and was so benumbed that I could not feel any thing for many hours.
Early in the morning they took me away to the jail. As I did not
return to the ship all night, my captain, not knowing where I was, and
being uneasy that I did not then make my appearance, he made inquiry
after me; and, having found where I was, immediately came to me. As
soon as the good man saw me so cut and mangled, he could not forbear
weeping; he soon got me out of jail to his lodgings, and immediately
sent for the best doctors in the place, who at first declared it as
their opinion that I could not recover. My captain on this went to all
the lawyers in the town for their advice, but they told him they could
do nothing for me as I was a negro. He then went to Doctor Perkins,
the hero who had vanquished me, and menaced him, swearing he would be
revenged of him, and challenged him to fight.--But cowardice is ever
the companion of cruelty--and the Doctor refused. However, by the
skilfulness of one Doctor Brady of that place, I began at last to
amend; but, although I was so sore and bad with the wounds I had all
over me that I could not rest in any posture, yet I was in more pain
on account of the captain's uneasiness about me than I otherwise
should have been. The worthy man nursed and watched me all the hours
of the night; and I was, through his attention and that of the doctor,
able to get out of bed in about sixteen or eighteen days. All this
time I was very much wanted on board, as I used frequently to go up
and down the river for rafts, and other parts of our cargo, and stow
them when the mate was sick or absent. In about four weeks I was able
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account