After the new planter had once secured their confidence, nothing seemed more characteristic of the negroes than their constant desire to screw a little higher wages out of him; or, in one way or another, to make him turn over to them his superabundant greenbacks. All regarded him either as an adventurous swindler, without any money at all, or as a Crœsus, made of money. So long as they doubted his ability to pay them, they were suspicious and watchful; captious as to the quality of the flour and meal furnished them; severely critical on the pork, and perfect almanacs as to the approach of pay-day. The crisis passed, supplies abundant, money promptly paid when due, the planter then found himself under constant siege, perpetually approached under covered ways, which infallibly led to the citadel—his pocket.
“Mass’r, I’se got my own ’pinion ob you,” I heard one gray-wooled fellow say to his employer, with scrape of foot, tug at cap, and every insinuating means of expressing profoundest respect and regard; “I doesn’t tink your’m de hardest mass’r in de world; an’ all I wants is to hab you ’sidah my case. I’s all ’lone; I’s allus been good niggah. Rain or shine, me an’ my hoss am at your service. We hauls de feed for de mules to de lowah place ebery day; and on Saturdays we hauls for Sundays too, kase I’s ’ligious, an’ wouldn’t work on Sundays no how. Now, mass’r, I wants you to please ’sidah my case. Doesn’t you tink dat for dat extra work on Saturday you ought to ’low me anoder day’s wages?” and he tugged off his cap again, and gave an extra scrape to the No. 14 shoe which encased his foot.
The facts in his “case” were, that he was employed to drive a wagon from the granary on one place, each day, to the stables on the one below it, both being controlled by one man, who, living at the upper place, preferred to keep all his supplies under his own eye. The old man never handled the grain; it was put in and taken out by others, and his sole duty was to drive this wagon from one place to the other once a day. This work done, he was generally sent to the swamp for a load of wood. But on Saturdays, in consideration of his having two days’ supply of grain to haul, he was given no other task. Now the shrewd old fellow proposed to get extra pay for what he thus called extra work.
A sickly young man, on one plantation which I visited in April, had been hired to watch the stables at night; mules not being safe even from the negroes on the place, much less from those roaming about over the country. He could not make a “half hand” in the fields, but, in the hope that good wages would make him faithful, he was engaged at precisely the same rate with the first-class hands, although his work was the easiest, and, during the greater part of the year, the pleasantest on the place. He seemed perfectly satisfied for two or three months; then, suddenly, he discovered that he was working Saturday and Sunday nights extra, and for them must have extra pay. “Didn’t you contract to watch those nights as well as the rest?” “Yes.” “Didn’t you contract to do this work regularly for fifteen dollars a month?” “Yes.” “Well, what right have you to charge extra for these two nights, after that bargain?” “Well, it’s been mighty cold, sah, nights; but I wanted to watch to ’blige you; but I’s sure you pay me extra for workin’ when de oder hands don’t work!”
At one place a man who was unable to do field work, had been hired to feed the mules. He made his bargain, and was supposed to be entirely satisfied. At first the mules were fed only at noon and in the evening. After a while, orders were given to feed also in the morning. Straightway Morton presented his claim for extra pay for this extra duty. Soon afterward he had another claim for extra work—throwing in corn to the mules on Sunday! And yet the whole work of this man consisted in putting corn and hay for thirty mules in the troughs, both being delivered to him at the door; and for this he was being paid the same wages as the plowmen!
“We’s worked mighty hard for you;” thus said a stout, pleasant-faced negress on an upper-coast plantation to the proprietor, on the occasion of his long-expected visit. “We’s cut down de briars, all de briars on de whole plantation for you, and dey was mighty high an’ tough; an’ we’s all in rags, for de briars done tore up all our coats,[[75]] an’ we want you to gib us new ones.”
“But, girls, I’ve just paid you off. Now, you ought to take that money and buy your own clothes; that’s the way free laborers do up North, and the world over.” “But we done tore our coats cuttin’ down you’ briars, and we’s all rags. Why, if anybody’d come along heah you’d be ’shamed ob us, ’deed you would, we looks so bad. An’ we all wants you to gib us new coats. Den we fix up Sundays, an’ you be mighty proud o’ yo’ niggers.” This last appeal was irresistible, and the girls got their “coats,” at a cost to the planter of about two hundred and fifty dollars.[[76]]
The feeling among the negroes about education varied considerably with the locality.
On the Fish Pond plantation a few soldiers, just discharged, had recently been added to the working force. The old hands, most of whom had belonged to the owner of the plantation, and had rarely traveled a dozen miles from its lines, were disposed to look with critical eyes upon the new-comers. The latter, in turn, were very eager to dazzle the “home niggers” with a display of their acquirements.
“Don’t you know figgers?” inquired one of them, rather pityingly, of the young head-driver; selecting as the time for making his inquiry, an occasion when a number of girls from another plantation were making them a visit. The driver had not been at all satisfied with the questioner’s performance in the field. “No, I doesn’t pretend to nuffin’ more ’n I does know, like some people dat’s lately come to dis plantation. But I tell you, Dan, if I’d a had you heah fo’ yeah ago, and you didn’t wuck no better’n you’m doin’ now, I’d made figgers on you’ back! You miserable, good-for-nothin’ nigger, you done broke more barrers dan you’m wuf already, an’ you ha’n’t wuck two days yet!”