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Aus Davis

“…snatched the head off a goose…”

Narrative of Mary Kindred.

Rawick, G. P., Hillegas, J., & Lawrence, K. (1978). The American slave: A composite autobiography: supplement, series 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Pub, Vol. 6, Texas, p. 2204.

Mary Kindred

“…bet a slave on the outcome…”

Narrative of Aus Davis.

This is from a smaller set of slave narratives compiled by John B. Cade. They are available for download through the John B. Cade library at Southern University.

Aus Davis

“A whole army of slaves…”

See “…egg beating…,” above.

“…that slaves shared news…”

Narratives of Benjamin Russell and Sarah Benjamin. It only follows that when enslaved persons were gathered for weddings, cornshuckings, etc., it was an opportunity for news to travel from plantation to plantation.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., South Carolina Narratives, Vol. 4, pp. 32-33.

Rawick, G. P., Hillegas, J., & Lawrence, K. (1978). The American slave: A composite autobiography: supplement, series 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Pub, Vol. 2, Texas, p. 256.

“…a fearful doctor named Dr. Sims…”

This passage draws on many facts—Sims’s surgeries on club feet and crossed eyes, and his experiments to demonstrate that “capital” surgery could be performed without a willing patient—that are established later in the book. Sims claimed that he had achieved significant local renown as a surgeon, but says nothing about how the enslaved population thought of him. The horrible episodes of Sam and George, described in a later chapter, would surely have resulted in apprehension, if not terror.

SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, p. 209.

“…slide up next to a woman he liked…”

Narrative of Candis Goodwin.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Virginia Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 19.

Candis Goodwin

“Every he thing…”

Narrative of Frank Adamson.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., South Carolina Narratives, Vol. 4, p. 16.

Frank Adamson

“Girls poked dried chinaberries…”

Narrative of Gus Feaster.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., South Carolina Narratives, Vol. 2, p. 52.

Gus Feaster

“An older man…”

Narrative of Della Briscoe.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Georgia Narratives, Vol. 1, pp. 127-28.

“…or the missus…”

Narrative of Rosa Starke.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., South Carolina Narratives, Vol. 4, p. 148.

Rosa Starke

“A new cabin was prepared…”

Narrative of Julia A. White.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Arkansas Narratives, Vol. 7, p. 110.

Julia A. White

“…a blue calico dress…”

Narrative of Sallie Carder.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Oklahoma Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 27.

Sallie Carder

“…You’re both good slaves…”

Narratives of Jim Allen and Peter Corn.

Library of Congress. (2018). Slave narratives: A folk history of slavery in the U.S., Mississippi Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 4; Missouri Narratives, Vol. 1, p. 86.

“…Dark and stormy…”

Narrative of Harriet Jones.

Rawick, G. P., Hillegas, J., & Lawrence, K. (1978). The American slave: A composite autobiography: supplement, series 2. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Pub, Vol. 6, Texas, p. 2097.

Harriet Jones